Norman Garmezy (1918-2009)

Norman Garmezy, a pioneer in research on risk and resilience, died in Nashville, Tennessee, on November 21, 2009, at the age of 91. He was a legendary mentor as well as an eminent scientist in clinical psychology. Norm was born on June 18, 1918, in New York City and grew up in the Bronx in a Jewish neighborhood where educational attainment was highly valued. The scientific study of resilience as conceived by Norman Garmezy, his peers, and students has transformed the science and practice of multiple disciplines, from the molecular level to the global ecosystem, infusing a strength-based and recovery-oriented approach into psychology, education, social work, and psychiatry. Current research on resilience ranges from studies of plasticity in brain development to effective planning for resilience in the context of disaster. Norm's influential ideas and research earned him international acclaim and many honors for lifetime achievements in science. Throughout his career, Norm held many leadership roles. Throughout his life, Norm spoke with great love about his wife of 63 years, Edie Garmezy (who died just months before him in 2009), and their children. In addition to his work and his family, Norm had three abiding passions-theater, movies, and politics. During the last two decades of his life, Norm and those who loved him endured his long decline from Alzheimer's, which slowly stole his brilliant mind and hilarious sense of humor. Nonetheless, the incredible spirit and humanity of this giant scholar continued to shine through this terrible disease. To the end of his life, Norm's face would light up with a smile as he greeted the people he loved, and he would often exclaim, "Wonderful!" Norman Garmezy was a remarkable person and scholar who left an extraordinary legacy of love and work to inspire future generations in their efforts to understand and promote the human capacity for competence and resilience.     

Missing the target: A reply to Koehler & Macchi (2009)

Koehler and Macchi 2009 criticize the experiments presented in Newell, Mitchell, and Hayes 2008 as being “virtually irrelevant” to exemplar cuing theory. This reply addresses that interpretation and argues that the experiments dealt with issues at the heart of the theory and provided evidence highly relevant to understand how people think about low‐probability events. The role of the ‘target’ in probabilistic statements is examined, highlighting the need for further theoretical and empirical clarification of the concept. The remaining specific criticisms raised in the commentary are discussed as well. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

2009年全球甲型H1N1流感流行病学特征分析

截至8月30日,全球5大洲177个国家或地区共报告甲型H1N1流感确诊病例254 206例,死亡2 837人,病死率1.12%.病例以青壮年为主,无性别差别,年龄中位数12岁～17岁(范围0岁～85岁),约10%需住院治疗,37%的住院病例和80%的死亡病例有基础性疾病史或妊娠.全球甲型H1N1流感总体较温和,适时将其纳入季节性流感常规监测,掌握其流行病学和病原学变化,研制安全有效的疫苗;提高医务人员重症病例救治能力均能有效地预防控制甲型H1N1流感.