Does school suspension affect subsequent youth non‐violent antisocial behaviour? A longitudinal study of students in Victoria,Australia and Washington State,United States

School suspension has been not only associated with negative behaviours but also is predictive of future poor outcomes. The current study investigates (1) whether school suspension is a unique predictor of youth non‐violent antisocial behaviour (NVAB) relative to other established predictors, and (2) whether the predictors of NVAB are similar in Australia and the United States (USA). The data analysed here draw on two statewide representative samples of Grade 7 and 9 students in Victoria, Australia and Washington State, USA, resurveyed at 12‐month follow‐up (N = 3,677, 99% retention). School suspension did not uniquely predict NVAB in the final model. The predictors of NVAB, similar across states, included previous student NVAB, current alcohol and tobacco use, poor family management, association with antisocial friends, and low commitment to school. An implication of the findings is that US evidence‐based prevention programmes targeting the influences investigated here could be trialled in Australia.     

Identifying predictor variables of weight loss outcome: Implications for a stepped program and weight management

Abstract

Four variables were identified that predicted outcome for the minimal and moderate intensity weight control programs presented in sequence. Predictive models for pounds lost and percentage overweight lost were computed for both programs and follow-up and accounted for 33% to 62% of the variance. The predictor variable that contributed to the two programs and follow-up was success in losing weight previously. Greater rate of weight loss in the first five weeks contributed to the model for the minimal intensity program and for follow-up and total number of calories expended in nonroutine physical activity added to the model for the minimal intensity program. Marital dissatisfaction of subjects was a predictor for the moderate intensity program and follow-up. The findings have utility for a stepped program for weight and provide confirmation of variables noted as predictors in prior research. This study may help in the quest to identify consistent predictors of weight loss success.     

Attributions Toward Injury in a Military Physical Training Environment

The effects of military culture on causal attributions in a physical training environment were examined. The participants were male Australian Defense Force (ADF) members: 49 physical training instructors (mean age = 32.21 years) and 63 physical training participants (mean age = 34.22 years). Participants filled out a questionnaire describing 3 injury scenarios, each with a different severity of injury. The participants assigned causal attributes on 4 dimensions: lack of ability, environmental condition, lack of effort, and bad luck. There were main effects for scenario (low, moderate, and high severity of injury) and group (physical training instructors and injured trainee). Military culture may therefore encourage attributions that are internal and unstable. The results demonstrate the significant effect of military context on “normal” attribution biases. Therefore when seeking explanation of causation, there is a need to be aware of the tendency for those involved to distort attributions and how these distortions may be affected by a military context.     

Chile's Environmental Assessments: Contested Knowledge in an Emerging Democracy

Abstract

In 1990, Chile transitioned to democracy after 17 years of military rule. The new democracy built the country's first environmental institutions and began efforts to revitalize science, among them attempts to connect scientific expertise to public decision-making. Just over a decade into these efforts, conflicts over the environmental impacts of large industrial projects began to multiply. These environmental conflicts were often also credibility contests, where the authority of science to speak to public issues was contested. Two such conflicts, a gold mine called Pascua Lama and a hydroelectric project called HidroAysén, enrolled several scientific teams, yet in each case the state made its final decision on each project autonomously from science. Though some scientists became central participants in each conflict, carving out for themselves access to needed resources that they used to practice ever-narrower forms of science, their credibility was called into question by many of their scientific colleagues. Chile's scientific community fractured over how to define credible science. Divisive and decisive issues included the source of funding, ethics, access to resources, and being local. Although some scientists and non-scientists used boundary work to try to affirm the authority of science, no stable map of scientific credibility resulted from these efforts. Chile's new democracy is more plural than its recent military dictatorship but still lacks adequate spaces in which to negotiate what counts as credible science. These experiences highlight the need to better understand how science fares through regime transitions and what it contributes to emerging democracies.     

Therapeutic Use of Space

ABSTRACT

The project described in this article addresses the therapeutic use of physical space in an outpatient counseling facility. It was theorized that an improved facility environment could be used as a practice tool when working with a vulnerable population. The authors undertook the project with limited time and finances. The process of the change project is discussed in detail in an attempt to encourage other counseling facilities and social service agencies to consider such an effort. Related literature from varied fields is reviewed. The article also relays client and staff feedback regarding the redecorated space and addresses design considerations such as the relative strengths and drawbacks to involving clients and staff in the process.     

CRF受体对五羟色胺系统的调节作用及早期环境因素的影响

早期环境因素持续影响脑与行为的发展,增加个体成年后应激相关精神疾病患病的易感性.应激反应的中枢启动因子促肾上腺皮质激素释放因子(corticotropin-releasing factor,CRF)通过两种受体CRF1和CRF2调节中缝背核(dorsal raphe nucleus,DRN)-五-羟色胺(serotonin,5-HT)系统,后者已被证实在应激相关情绪疾患发病和治疗过程中发挥重要作用.已知CRF受体以相互影响相互拮抗的方式动态调节DRN-5-HT系统,提示这两种受体相对作用的调节对于协调复杂环境中DRN-5-HT系统的应激反应过程起着关键性作用.早期环境因素和遗传因素交互作用导致CRF受体的分布和反应性持续改变并造成DRN-5-HT系统反应异常,可能是导致应激反应和精神疾病易感性个体差异的重要神经基础.     

Mutual Funds Efficiency Measurement under Financial and Social Responsibility Criteria

Socially responsible investors pursue financial as well as nonfinancial goals. Whereas the role of financial criteria in investment decisions is well understood, much less is known on the influence of social responsibility considerations. This work seeks to integrate both dimensions within a data envelopment analysis framework consistent with second‐order stochastic dominance efficiency. We compare the performance of conventional versus socially responsible mutual funds on an empirical data set. Our data do not support the conjecture that conventional mutual funds exhibit superior overall performance. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

浅谈《管子》中环境哲学思想

面对着日益严重的环境危机,今天的人们已经逐渐意识到问题的重要性和迫切性。然而,人们对环境问题的认识仍然存在着严重的局限考虑——自然环境。这种片面的认识是不利于环境问题的根本解决。面对今天复杂、多向的环境问题,《管子》可以提供我们一些有益的启示：以＂道＂为核心的有机整体主义自然观和具体的一些自然资源保护措施;包含着经济正义、法律正义等的社会环境思想;心灵和谐的人文环境思想;自然、社会、人文整体主义的＂一体之治＂思想等。     

Enriched housing reverses age-associated impairment of cognitive functions and tPA-dependent maturation of BDNF

Although tissue type plasminogen activator (tPA) and brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) have been extensively described to influence brain outcomes in a number of disorders, their roles during physiological aging are poorly investigated. In the present study, we investigated whether maintenance of mice in different environmental conditions could influence age-associated changes in hippocampal tPA expression and BDNF maturation in relation with modifications of their cognitive performances. Our data indicate that maintenance in enriched housing led to a reversal of age-associated decrease in expression of hippocampal tPA. A subsequent increase in the level of mature BDNF and an improvement in emotional and spatial memories were observed. Taken together, these data suggest that the tPA–BDNF axis could play a critical role in the control of cognitive functions influenced both by the age and housing conditions.