Dorothy A. Forbes, Cathy Alberda, Betty Anderson, R. Denis Chalifoux, Susan Chandler, Judith Cote, Jean Collins‐Smith, Patricia Edney, Cindy Gerdes, Kathleen McIlveen, Carla Policicchio, Greg Ryan, Case Vink and Nese Yuksel
Notes that with health care reform moving at tremendous speed throughout Canada, a great deal of interest in outcomes research has been generated. States that the research team…
Abstract
Notes that with health care reform moving at tremendous speed throughout Canada, a great deal of interest in outcomes research has been generated. States that the research team consisted of 17 professional practice leaders from eight disciplines. Proposes, through the research, to identify from the perspective of former patients what results they hoped to achieve prior to discharge from hospital and what facilitated and hindered them in achieving these results. Reports that a representative sample was selected for the study. Forty‐one former patients each participated in up to two focus groups, with a total of 16 focus groups conducted. Hierarchical analysis revealed themes that fell within the framework of structure, process and outcomes. The findings will assist in ensuring that more appropriate and effective care is offered to patients by a variety of disciplines.
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Patricia Ahmed, Rebecca Jean Emigh and Dylan Riley
A “state-driven” approach suggests that colonists use census categories to rule. However, a “society-driven” approach suggests that this state-driven perspective confers too much…
Abstract
A “state-driven” approach suggests that colonists use census categories to rule. However, a “society-driven” approach suggests that this state-driven perspective confers too much power upon states. A third approach views census-taking and official categorization as a product of state–society interaction that depends upon: (a) the population's lay categories, (b) information intellectuals' ability to take up and transform these lay categories, and (c) the balance of power between social and state actors. We evaluate the above positions by analyzing official records, key texts, travelogues, and statistical memoirs from three key periods in India: Indus Valley civilization through classical Gupta rule (ca. 3300 BCE–700 CE), the “medieval” period (ca. 700–1700 CE), and East India Company (EIC) rule (1757–1857 CE), using historical narrative. We show that information gathering early in the first period was society driven; however, over time, a strong interactive pattern emerged. Scribes (information intellectuals) increased their social status and power (thus, shifting the balance of power) by drawing on caste categories (lay categories) and incorporating them into official information gathering. This intensification of interactive information gathering allowed the Mughals, the EIC, and finally British direct rule officials to collect large quantities of information. Our evidence thus suggests that the intensification of state–society interactions over time laid the groundwork for the success of the direct rule British censuses. It also suggests that any transformative effect of these censuses lay in this interactive pattern, not in the strength of the British colonial state.
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National Animal Health Week, usually the last week in May, was instituted by presidential proclamation in 1984. (The related observances Be Kind to Animals Week, sponsored by the…
Abstract
National Animal Health Week, usually the last week in May, was instituted by presidential proclamation in 1984. (The related observances Be Kind to Animals Week, sponsored by the American Humane Association, and National Pet Week, sponsored by the Auxiliary to the American Veterinary Medical Association, are usually celebrated during the first full week in May.)
Although Research in Economic Anthropology (REA) actually hit the quarter-century mark in 2003 with the publication of Volume 22, the series has now done so also in terms of the…
Abstract
Although Research in Economic Anthropology (REA) actually hit the quarter-century mark in 2003 with the publication of Volume 22, the series has now done so also in terms of the number of volumes. Twenty-five seems like an important milestone, and perhaps this edition can be noted for passing that, but it also marks the third editorial change in the history of REA. When a new editor takes over, it seems prudent to offer a summary of the book series’ evolution to date. As many know, George Dalton was the original editor – beginning in 1978 (REA was then published by JAI Press). Dalton subsequently handed the reins to Barry Isaac, who produced Volumes 6 through 20, along with a number of supplemental publications that focused on specific topics or regions and contained only chapters of an archeological or ethnohistorical nature. In fact, Isaac is still recognized for his efforts at granting archeology an equal footing with ethnology in the study of human economic behavior.1 While Dalton included previously published material in the pages of REA and welcomed works by non-anthropologists, Isaac considered only original manuscripts and generally limited his selection of chapters to those written by anthropologists. Since Volume 20, REA has been published by Elsevier.
Rosie Elizabeth Allen, Jerome Carson, Bethany Merrifield and Stacey Bush
The purpose of this paper is to compare a group of service users with mental health problems with a community comparison group of gym attenders.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to compare a group of service users with mental health problems with a community comparison group of gym attenders.
Design/methodology/approach
Cross-sectional questionnaire surveys were conducted at a large gym (n = 181) and two community mental health facilities (n = 127) in the Greater Manchester area using a convenience sample approach. All participants completed the PERMA Scale, a measure of flourishing.
Findings
Gym attenders scored significantly higher on the five elements of PERMA. Their physical health ratings were almost double. They also had significantly lower levels of negative emotions and loneliness and higher levels of overall happiness.
Research limitations/implications
This study only considered levels of flourishing. Previous studies of quality of life have shown similar disparities between people with mental health problems and others.
Practical implications
Professor Seligman has claimed that improving levels of flourishing is the main aim of positive psychology. The present study suggests this may be especially challenging for people with mental health problems.
Social implications
The concept of flourishing could provide a more positive non-medical focus for mental health services, in the development of what some have called positive psychiatry. This complements the current recovery model.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first studies to compare flourishing levels between individuals with mental health problems and a community comparison group using the PERMA Scale.