Between Amsterdam and Warsaw: Commercial Networks of the Ashkenazic Mercantile Elite in Central Europe

Between the mid-eighteenth and the early nineteenth centuries, commercial networks of Ashkenazim in central Europe experienced major shifts. I argue that this was a transitional period between the extensive trading and credit networks of central European Court Jews in the early modern period and the rise of new Jewish banking houses across Europe in the nineteenth century. Based on examples from Amsterdam, Frankfurt an der Oder (Prussia), and Warsaw I demonstrate how Amsterdam served as a center for the provision of credit to central and, indirectly, eastern Europe until the late eighteenth century, with Jewish merchants in central European cities like Frankfurt an der Oder serving as middlemen. Relying not on far-reaching networks but rather on more regional ones, a new mercantile Jewish elite rose in Warsaw beginning around the turn of the century, creating a new financial hub in east-central Europe. I suggest that the rise of Warsaw as a new center of Jewish banking and commerce can be described as a parallel development—though one on a much smaller scale—to the rise of London and that both new centers prospered at the expense of Amsterdam.     

What's mine is yours: The crossover of day-specific self-esteem

This diary study examines the daily crossover of self-esteem within working couples. By integrating self-esteem research into the crossover framework, we hypothesized that the day-specific self-esteem experienced by one partner after work crosses over to the other partner. Furthermore, we proposed that this daily crossover process is moderated by the other partner's general level of self-esteem and empathic concern. We conducted a diary study over five consecutive working days among 102 working couples. Multilevel analyses using the actor-partner interdependence model supported our hypotheses. Day-specific self-esteem experienced by one partner after work crossed over to the other partner in the evening, particularly when this partner had a generally low level of self-esteem and a generally high level of empathic concern.     

What do these clinical trial results mean? How product efficacy judgments are affected by data partitioning,framing, and quantification

Organizations often present data related to clinical trials, and other product efficacy information, in partitioned or aggregated formats, as successes or failures, and as frequencies or percentages. We examine how such different data presentation formats might interact to influence product efficacy judgments. The results of five experiments indicate that partitioned (vs. aggregated) frequency data affect judgments regarding perceived product efficacy and these effects are moderated by data frames (success vs. failure) and quantification (frequencies vs. percentages). Specifically, success-framed, partitioned, frequency data enhance product efficacy judgments and choice, while failure-framed, partitioned, frequency data have the opposite effects. However, these effects get attenuated when data are aggregated or presented as percentages.     

Einstellungen zu Psychotherapie

In a representative survey 2,129 subjects were questioned about their attitudes towards outpatient psychotherapy. This study was carried out on behalf of the Apotheken Umschau (Pharmacy Review) by the “GfK Nürnberg” (Society for Consumer Research Nuremberg) from January 2012 to February 2012. In the survey also people who had once received or were currently undergoing outpatient psychotherapy took part and these respondents were surveyed about their reasons for seeking treatment and their experiences with outpatient psychotherapy. When available results were compared with the findings from a survey carried out in 2003. The majority of respondents appraised psychotherapy as being essential and helpful in treating mental disorders and as being useful in personal crises. Women were more open-minded about psychotherapy than men; nevertheless 34 % considered that it would be embarrassing if neighbours or friends were aware that they were undergoing psychotherapy. Of the respondents 28 % categorically excluded psychotherapy for themselves, 216 declared that they had undergone psychotherapy and of the latter 83 % judged the psychotherapy to be successful.     

Perceived control and long-term changes in disability in late middle-aged and older persons: An eight-year follow-up study

This article examined the predictive role of perceived control in long-term changes in disability among 1541 independently living older persons. Disability referred to self-reported difficulties with (instrumental) activities of daily living. Perceived control referred to the extent to which one assumes oneself as having control over one's life chances, unlike the fatalistic assumption that one's life is ruled by external factors. Data on disability and perceived control were collected in 1993 and recollected in 2001. Covariates included age, gender, living arrangement, level of education, and the number of chronic medical conditions. Regression equations were estimated with disability in 2001 as outcome and the selected variables as predictors. The level of perceived control decreased and the level of disability increased significantly over an 8-year period. The predictive role of perceived control for subsequent change in disability was statistically significant but not very strong. The association between perceived control in 1993 and disability in 2001 was stronger for older persons (>65 years) compared to younger persons (≤65 years).     

Ambulante Psychotherapie in Deutschland aus Sicht der Patienten

This study analyzed the provision of outpatient psychotherapy services in Germany in standard practice settings. A total of 1,212 subjects who received or were still receiving outpatient psychotherapy during the past 6 years provided information about their experiences via a telephone survey. Outpatient psychotherapy was sought for many different conditions and was rated as highly effective. The improvement rates for all complaints were higher than 50%, except for obesity (37%) and sexual dysfunctions (44%). Patient ratings of worsening were less than 8% throughout. Treatment had very positive results not only for target symptoms but also for other aspects of patients?? lives. Almost 90% of those questioned stated that they were satisfied with their therapist. High agreement ratings were reported specifically with respect to positive therapeutic relationship, stable working alliance, experience of autonomy during therapy and therapists?? competency and ethical conduct. Patients gave their psychotherapists excellent evaluations and were highly satisfied with the changes achieved through treatment.     

Tinnitus

Tinnitus is defined as the perception of sound in the absence of an acoustic stimulus. With a prevalence of about 10-15% among adults tinnitus is a common symptom. If tinnitus persists for a longer time and if the patient does not adapt to it, a range of associated problems can be found. The most common problems are sleep disturbance, emotional disturbance and concentration problems. Given the distress caused by tinnitus the risk of patients falling into a vicious circle of increased attention to tinnitus, dysfunctional appraisal processes, negative emotions and avoidance behaviour increases. This in turn, can severely affect tinnitus distress and quality of life in the long run. Different treatment approaches for tinnitus have been developed and cognitive-behavioural forms of treatment in particular were found to be effective in reducing tinnitus distress. The present paper provides an overview of the symptom tinnitus, etiological models, diagnostic approaches and different forms of treatment.     

Social competence of adult chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) with severe deprivation history: I. An individual approach

Early social deprivation in highly social mammals interferes with their varying needs for security and stimulation. Toleration of social stimulation was studied in 18 adult ex-laboratory chimpanzees, who had been deprived for 16 to 27 years, during their 1st year after resocialization into 1 of 3 social groups. For this, a model of social competence was developed with 5 grades of social stimulation. The chimpanzees were classified as either early deprived (EDs; M = 1.2 years) or late deprived (LDs; M = 3.6 years) according to their age at entering the laboratory. EDs did not differ significantly from LD chimpanzees in the first 3 grades of social stimulation (i.e., the toleration of stationary vicinity, initiation of brief sociopositive contacts and gentle social play). LDs, however, clearly exceeded EDs in the 4th and 5th grade of social stimulation (i.e., their engagement in allogrooming and their toleration of passive close proximity). Furthermore, LDs showed greater social initiative in changing a social situation and had more expanded grooming networks compared with EDs. Moreover, in LDs and ED females, but not in ED males, toleration of stationary vicinity increased from the 1st to the 2nd year of group living.