Ritual Male Infant Circumcision and Human Rights

Opponents of male circumcision have increasingly used human rights positions to articulate their viewpoint. We characterize the meaning of the term “human rights.” We discuss these human rights arguments with special attention to the claims of rights to an open future and to bodily integrity. We offer a three-part test under which a parental decision might be considered an unacceptable violation of a child's right. The test considers the impact of the practice on society, the impact of the practice on the individual, and the likelihood of adverse impact. Infant circumcision is permissible under this test. We conclude that infant circumcision may be proscribed as violating local norms, even though it does not violate human rights.     

Coincidence: The Grounding Problem,Object-Specifying Principles,and Some Consequences

This paper lays out the basic structure of any view involving coincident entities, in the light of the grounding problem. While the account is not novel, I highlight fundamental features, to which attention is not usually properly drawn. With this in place, I argue for a number of further claims: (1) The basic differences between coincident objects are modal differences, and any other differences between them need to be explained in terms of these differences. More specifically, the basic difference is not a difference in sort. (2) A number of recent defenses of coincidence, which share the basic structure I outline, misidentify what, in their accounts, plays the basic role of addressing (if not solving) the grounding problem. More tentatively, I argue (3) Coincident entities differ only in these modal properties, and properties they entail. In particular, they do not differ in properties like ‘being a tree,’ ‘being a statue,’ or aesthetic properties, and finally (4) in light of how the account of coincidence offered addresses the grounding problem, the grounding problem provides no reason to prefer monism to pluralism.     

Healing Principles: A Model for the Use of Ritual in Psychotherapy

The author presents a model, based on 5 healing principles (i.e., centering, assessment, gathering energy, directing energy, and gratitude and closure), for using ritual in psychotherapy. Application of the model is illustrated in a case study of a neopagan ritual designed to assist the client in strengthening her sense of self, differentiating from her mother, and making a career decision. The author also suggests using the Healing Principle Ritual Therapy Model with other belief systems.     

The International Student: Female Circumcision Issues

The authors describe the process and practice of female circumcision, the impact it may have on circumcised female international college students, and some counseling strategies for the college counselor.     

包皮环切术的历史与宗教

探讨包皮环切术的历史与宗教起源。对包皮环切术的历史文献进行分析整理,归纳总结它们的历史。对于包皮环切术的起源肯定是在史前开始的。6000年以前的埃及木乃伊和浮雕上记录了最早的包皮环切术的过程。很多宗教都与包皮环切术有关系。包皮环切术有着很长的传统,与各民族和宗教的发展息息相关。     

包皮环切术的历史与宗教

探讨包皮环切术的历史与宗教起源.对包皮环切术的历史文献进行分析整理,归纳总结它们的历史.对于包皮环切术的起源肯定是在史前开始的.6 000年以前的埃及木乃伊和浮雕上记录了最早的包皮环切术的过程.很多宗教都与包皮环切术有关系.包皮环切术有着很长的传统,与各民族和宗教的发展息息相关.     

A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Say Yes to Life (SYTL) Positive Psychology Group Psychotherapy Program for Depression: An Interim Report

An RCT was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the Say Yes to Life (SYTL) positive psychology group psychotherapy program compared with treatment as usual (TAU). The current interim report is based on data from the first 82 cases recruited into the trial. There were 57 trial completers at post-treatment. At pretreatment on demographic and clinical variables, there were no significant differences between trial completers and dropouts in SYTL and TAU groups. There were two main significant (p < .01) findings. Compared with TAU treatment-completers, more than twice as many SYTL treatment-completers (28 vs. 72 %) were recovered 3 months after therapy using stringent recovery criteria (no longer meeting DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder and scoring below clinical cut-off scores on the Beck Depression Inventory II, the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, and the Montgomery–Asberg Depression Rating Scale and showing reliable change on these three measures of depressive symptom severity). Second, the overall average service use cost per case in the SYTL group was significantly lower than that of the TAU group (€726 vs.€1187). This was largely due to the lower cost of the SYTL group therapy program compared with TAU which involved individual therapy. The pattern of results in an intention-to-treat analysis was similar to that in the completer analysis, though group difference did not reach significance due to inadequate statistical power and conservative missing data imputation procedures. It is planned to collect data on 100 trial completers, based on a power analysis.     

Psychological Consequences of Pregnancy Loss and Infant Death in a Sample of Bereaved Parents

This study aimed to explore a broad range of psychological reactions to trauma in a sample of bereaved parents in order to assess whether the traumatic framework is adequate for describing the entire range of emotional reactions to infant death. A sample of bereaved parents (N = 455) who lost their child through perinatal or postnatal loss were compared to a control group of parents (N = 110) who gave birth to a healthy child. Multivariate regression analysis clearly demonstrated that bereaved parents scored significantly higher on the Depression, Anxiety, Dissociation, Sleep Disturbances, Somatization, Interpersonal Sensitivity, and Aggression subscales of the Trauma Symptom Checklist. Consistent with previous studies, the results showed that for up to 5 years postloss bereaved parents expressed elevated levels of trauma-specific and psychological outcomes, in particular interpersonal sensitivity and aggression.     

Determining Factors in Choice of Arcade Games and their Consequences upon Young Male Players

Two experiments, one conducted with male university students and the other with male high school and junior high school students, investigated (a) determinants of preferences for driving-type games widely available in public game arcades, and (b) the effects of extended play upon mood and motivation to continue playing. Four games were investigated: these were Death Race and Demolition Derby , which simulate violent, antisocial driving behavior; and Night Driver and Le Mans , which simulate skilled prosocial driving behavior. Preference for arcade games simulating aggressive behavior was found to be independent of personality and mood. However, preferences were closely related to the performers' c]apabilities. Players who exhibited higher levels of skill preferred the more skilldemanding games and those who showed less skill preferred aggression games, suggesting the operation of competency motivation in that the players preferred games appropriate to their level of skill. Subjects reported that the games were exciting, but extended play produced discomfort or an increase in negatively toned moods (fatigue, anxiety, and depression) and a decrease in positively toned moods (social affection, surgency, skepticism, concentration and vigor). However, these effects were not found to be a function of the anti- or prosocial content in the specific games studied and may well be effects accompanying activities that are subjectively fatiguing.