“A difficult tightrope to walk”: an exploration of therapists’ experiences of working with suicidal students in Higher Education

Suicide has become a public concern and a high government priority in the UK in recent years. Universities across the UK have witnessed increases in student suicide and with growing demands for university counselling provision, suicide risk amongst the student population is an increasing concern for mental health professionals in higher education. Existing research on suicide is dominated by quantitative research, which has mainly focused on the epidemiology of suicide and the identification of risk and protective factors of suicidal phenomena. Despite increases in mental distress and suicidality amongst students, research on mental health professionals working with this complex population is an area which has been largely neglected. Recognising the imperative need for research in this area, this study aims to address the significant gap in research by exploring therapists’ experiences of working with suicidal students in higher education in the UK. The study used a qualitative design with semi-structured in-depth interviews. Eight participants were selected purposively and interviewed regarding their experiences of working with suicidal students. The interviews were then transcribed and analysed for recurrent themes using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Four super-ordinate themes, each with inter-related sub-themes, emerged from the interpretative analysis: Exploring suicidality; The context matters; What helps?; and Barriers to working with suicidality in university counselling services. Participants’ accounts provided valuable insights of working with suicidal students in the higher education sector and created a space for therapists to give voice to their experiences of working with the implicit phenomenon of suicide. This research has increased knowledge, awareness and understanding of working with suicidality in the higher education sector. The findings have implications for therapists and counselling services in higher education as well as universities themselves, and it is argued that the findings could assist heads of university counselling services in planning improvements to service provision for suicidal students and improve support for therapists working with this vulnerable client population. Finally, implications for Counselling Psychologists working in the higher education sector are explored as well as areas for future research

Integrated waveguide and nanostructured sensor platform for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

Limitations of current sensors include large dimensions, sometimes limited sensitivity and inherent single-parameter measurement capability. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy can be utilized for environment and pharmaceutical applications with the intensity of the Raman scattering enhanced by a factor of 106. By fabricating and characterizing an integrated optical waveguide beneath a nanostructured precious metal coated surface a new surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy sensing arrangement can be achieved. Nanostructured sensors can provide both multiparameter and high-resolution sensing. Using the slab waveguide core to interrogate the nanostructures at the base allows for the emission to reach discrete sensing areas effectively and should provide ideal parameters for maximum Raman interactions. Thin slab waveguide films of silicon oxynitride were etched and gold coated to create localized nanostructured sensing areas of various pitch, diameter, and shape. These were interrogated using a Ti:Sapphire laser tuned to 785-nm end coupled into the slab waveguide. The nanostructured sensors vertically projected a Raman signal, which was used to actively detect a thin layer of benzyl mercaptan attached to the sensors

Toward Greater Flexibility in the Exchange Rate Regime of the International Monetary Fund: The Widening of the Band

It is a commendable achievement that, in the atmosphere of a war shattered world, it was at all possible to fashion an international currency system at the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944. Indeed, the International Monetary Fund represents a historic milestone in international cooperation. Since its inception at Bretton Woods, however, the international monetary system has been plagued by two major problems. First, the expanded use of trade constraints by countries following policies of full employment and internal price stability tends to foster a balance of payments disequilibrium; consequently, the present mechanism for adjustment is not satisfactory. Events after May of 1971, when the fixed exchange rates broke down, have made it clear that a return to the system fashioned at Bretton Woods is not feasible. The United States suspended the convertibility of the dollar in August of 1971 and ushered in a period that saw a floating of the currencies of major trading nations until the Smithsonian Agreement on realignment of currencies in December of that year. Six months later, in June of 1972, the British sterling--the other major reserve currency--went off the peg and has been floating since that time. The problem of the undervalued and overcompetitive German mark and Japanese yen is still very much alive. Increasingly the international monetary system is threatening disorder and detrimental effects on world trade. President Nixon, in his opening address at this year\u27s IMF Annual Meeting, aptly described it as a system that almost every year presents a new invitation to a monetary crisis. Secondly, no orderly arrangement exists for generating international liquidity to meet the demands of expanding world trade. This article will focus on only the first of these problems. Under the present institutional constraints, adjustment can be achieved through several methods. The first is a complete revolution that would adopt, for instance, a scheme such as the Triffin Plan. Although an ambitious solution, its implementation is not politically feasible in our present world. Secondly, adjustment could be encouraged by resorting more frequently either to such direct controls as tariffs, quantitative restrictions and exchange controls or other interferences with international trade--such as casting a wider net via anti-dumping and countervailing duty laws. This solution tends to impede international trade, however, and for that reason is unacceptable. Thirdly, the present excessively rigid adjustable peg system could be modified to achieve greater flexibility. Because of the present trend toward economic nationalism and protectionism aimed at reducing unemployment levels, the more sensible path lies in engineering greater flexibility into the present adjustment mechanism. This alternative would allow nations greater autonomy to pursue their domestic economic policies of full employment and thereby reduce pressures toward protectionism. Considering the alternatives, the widening of the band to permit greater flexibility is a step in the right direction. This article sets forth the adjustment problem, with an initial discussion of the present adjustment system, its shortcomings and the merit of the wider band. The discussion then proceeds to a detailed exposition of the present legal regime of the exchange rates against which the legality of the widening of the band is analyzed

Superconducting Electromagnetic Suspension (EMS) system for Grumman Maglev concept

The Grumman developed Electromagnetic Suspension (EMS) Maglev system has the following key characteristics: a large operating airgap--40 mm; levitation at all speeds; both high speed and low speed applications; no deleterious effects on SC coils at low vehicle speeds; low magnetic field at the SC coil--less than 0.35 T; no need to use non-magnetic/non-metallic rebar in the guideway structure; low magnetic field in passenger cabin--approximately 1 G; low forces on the SC coil; employs state-of-the-art NbTi wire; no need for an active magnet quench protection system; and lower weight than a magnet system with copper coils. The EMS Maglev described in this paper does not require development of any new technologies. The system could be built with the existing SC magnet technology

Kinetics of Isothermal Decomposition of Copper Benzoate [Cu(C6H5COO)2]

967-96

Thermal Analysis of Copper Salicylate Tetrahydrate

399-40

Type and Timing of Rehabilitation Following Acute and Subacute Spinal Cord Injury: A Systematic Review

Objectives: The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the literature to address the following clinical questions: In adult patients with acute and subacute complete or incomplete traumatic SCI, (1) does the time interval between injury and commencing rehabilitation affect outcome?; (2) what is the comparative effectiveness of different rehabilitation strategies, including different intensities and durations of treatment?; (3) are there patient or injury characteristics that affect the efficacy of rehabilitation?; and (4) what is the cost-effectiveness of various rehabilitation strategies? Methods: A systematic search was conducted for literature published through March 31, 2015 that evaluated rehabilitation strategies in adults with acute or subacute traumatic SCI at any level. Studies were critically appraised individually and the overall strength of evidence was evaluated using methods proposed by the GRADE (Grades of Recommendation Assessment, Development and Evaluation) working group. Results: The search strategy yielded 384 articles, 19 of which met our inclusion criteria. Based on our results, there was no difference between body weight–supported treadmill training and conventional rehabilitation with respect to improvements in Functional Independence Measure (FIM) Locomotor score, Lower Extremity Motor Scores, the distance walked in 6 minutes or gait velocity over 15.2 m. Functional electrical therapy resulted in slightly better FIM Motor, FIM Self-Care, and Spinal Cord Independence Measure Self-Care subscores compared with conventional occupational therapy. Comparisons using the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute Hand Function Test demonstrated no differences between groups in 7 of 9 domains. There were no clinically important differences in Maximal Lean Test, Maximal Sidewards Reach Test, T-shirt Test, or the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure between unsupported sitting training and standard in-patient rehabilitation. Conclusion: The current evidence base for rehabilitation following acute and subacute spinal cord injury is limited. Methodological challenges have contributed to this and further research is still needed. © 2017, © The Author(s) 2017

Socioeconomic indicators of health inequalities and female mortality: a nested cohort study within the United Kingdom Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening (UKCTOCS)

Evidence is mounting that area-level socioeconomic indicators are important tools for predicting health outcomes. However, few studies have examined these alongside individual-level education. This nested cohort study within the control arm of the United Kingdom Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening (UKCTOCS) assesses the association of mutually adjusted individual (education) and area-level (Index of Multiple Deprivation-IMD 2007) socioeconomic status indicators and all-cause female mortality

Circulation characteristics of a monsoon depression during BOBMEX-99 using high-resolution analysis

The skill and efficiency of a numerical model mostly varies with the quality of initial values, accuracy on parameterization of physical processes and horizontal and vertical resolution of the model. Commonly used low-resolution reanalyses are hardly able to capture the prominent features associated with organized convective processes in a monsoon depression. The objective is to prepare improved high-resolution analysis by the use of MM5 modelling system developed by the Pennsylvania State University/National Center for Atmospheric Research (PSU/NCAR). It requires the objective comparison of high and low-resolution analysis datasets in assessing the specific convective features of a monsoon depression. For this purpose, reanalysis datasets of NCAR/NCEP (National Center for Atmospheric Research/National Centers for Environmental Prediction) at a horizontal resolution of 2.5° (latitude/longitude) have been used as first guess in the objective analysis scheme. The additional asynoptic datasets obtained during BOBMEX-99 are utilized within the assimilation process. Cloud Motion Wind (CMW) data of METEOSAT satellite and SSM/I surface wind data are included for the improvement of derived analysis. The multiquadric (MQD) interpolation technique is selected and applied for meteorological objective analysis at a horizontal resolution of 30 km. After a successful inclusion of additional data, the resulting reanalysis is able to produce the structure of convective organization as well as prominent synoptic features associated with monsoon depression. Comparison and error verifications have been done with the help of available upper-air station data. The objective verification reveals the efficiency of the analysis scheme