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There is evidence to suggest an association between mood disorders, in particular bipolar disorder, and creativity. This paper aims to examine the evidence that the writer Herman Melville suffered from bipolar disorder.

An interdisciplinary approach is adopted, examining the genetic and biographical evidence as well as textual examples that illustrate the argument in his masterpiece Moby Dick.

Taking the genetic, behavioural, and textual evidence together, it is concluded that the likelihood that Melville did have bipolar disorder is high.

Retrospective analysis of the biographies and work of deceased writers has acknowledged limitations. Close examination of all Melville's literary output would be useful to either add credence to this theory or refute it.

Adding to the evidence that revered writers and artists were on the bipolar disorder spectrum helps people with the condition feel more positive and reduces stigma.

Close literary examination of textual examples of hypomanic writing, combined with a psychological approach to Melville's biography provides evidence that Melville's mental illness contributed positively to his creativity as a writer and is therefore evidence that this condition has some benefits to society.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether Shared Reading (SR), a specific literature-based intervention, is transposable to a prison context and whether mental health benefits identified in other custodial and non-custodial settings were reported by women prisoners.

In all, 35 participants were recruited within an all-female maximum security prison and attended one of two weekly reading groups. Qualitative data were collected through researcher observation of the reading groups; interviews and focus group discussions with participants and prison staff; interviews with the project worker leading the reading groups; and a review of records kept by the latter during group sessions.

Attendance rates were good, with nearly half of the participants voluntarily present at =60 per cent of sessions. Two intrinsic psychological processes associated with the SR experience were provisionally identified, “memory and continuities” and “mentalisation”, both of which have therapeutic implications for the treatment of conditions like depression and personality disorder.

Limitations included the small sample, lack of control for confounding variables, and constraints imposed on data collection by the custodial setting.

Although more controlled research is required, the findings indicate that women prisoners will voluntarily engage with SR if given appropriate support, and that the intervention has potential to augment psychological processes that are associated with increased well-being.

A recent research project examined partnerships between booksellers, publishers, library suppliers and librarians that were being used to promote books and reading. The full project report, Partnership in Promotion, contains an extensive literature review, referring to over 70 items – journal articles, books, conference proceedings, manuals and news items – as well as a range of organizations and resources in the field of reading promotion. In this article, the seminal texts of the last ten years (1992‐2001) are reviewed in order to highlight the rise of reader development and the growing partnership working among sectors of the book industry. The purpose of the article is to draw together the principal texts in this largely uncharted area in order to provide practitioners with a concise and reliable guide to developments of the last decade.

Farmer sentiment may be an important indicator for the agricultural sector, similar to the way that consumer sentiment is linked to the general economy. This study uses the Purdue University–CME Group Ag Economy Barometer to test the degree to which farmer sentiment is correlated with demand for United States Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency (FSA) direct loan applications.

We estimate the dynamics between farmer sentiment and applications to FSA direct operating or farm ownership loans using monthly measures of farmer sentiment and loan applications from October 2015 to April 2023 and pairwise vector autoregression.

A negative relationship exists between farmer sentiment and FSA direct operating loan applications. In contrast, a positive relationship exists between farmer sentiment and FSA direct farm ownership loan applications. Together, the estimated nonzero relationships suggests that the Ag Economy Barometer may be a leading indicator for the Agricultural Economy and that FSA loan programs play a nuanced role in the agricultural credit market.

This study uses unique data sources to further the discussion on the link between farmer sentiment and real economic outcomes and the role of an important US Federal Government farmer lending program: FSA direct loans.

Parking choice involves an individual selecting a parking place based upon various inter-related factors. This chapter examines the factors that influence parking choice decisions.

A review of the literature on parking choice has been undertaken. The influence of various factors on parking choice and recommendations for future parking policy will be outlined.

Most often it is a combination of several factors which influence individuals’ choice of parking place.

Increased knowledge of the factors which influence parking-search behaviour will inform urban parking policy applications with associated environmental and economic benefits.

This paper reviews the life of Liberty Hyde Bailey and highlights his contributions to the structure of US farm credit 100 years after the Country Life Commission.

This paper is a qualitative historical review.

The paper provides a chronology of life events that led Liberty Hyde Bailey to evolve from botanist/horticulturalists to one of America's most vocal proponents of agricultural and country life, culminating in the recommendation in 1909 that rural credit in the USA be developed along the lines of cooperative principles.

The biography is limited to issues of social science, culminating in 1915.

The paper offers a historical perspective on conditions in agriculture in the early twentieth century and provides insights into how the present system of rural credit in the USA evolved.

This paper provides a historical perspective on US rural credit that is of use to students of rural credit in the USA while providing insights to students and scholars outside of the USA with a perspective on the evolution of US credit reform and cooperative credit.

This study aims to examine the scope and contribution of Forensic Clinical Psychology (FCP) advice from the National Crime Agency (NCA) to criminal investigations in the UK to address the gap in current knowledge and research.

The 36 FCP reports reviewed were written between 2017 and 2021. They were analysed using Toulmin’s (1958) application of pertinent arguments to the evaluation process. The potential utility of the reports was analysed in terms of the advice provided.

Most of the reports involved murder and equivocal death. The reports focused primarily on understanding the offender’s psychopathology, actions, motivation and risk to self and others using a practitioner model of case study methodology. Out of the 539 claims, grounds were provided for 99% of the claims, 91% had designated modality, 62% of the claims were potentially verifiable and 57% of the claims were supported by a warrant and/or backing. Most of the reports provided either moderate or high insight into the offence/offender (92%) and potential for new leads (64%).

The advice provided relied heavily on extensive forensic clinical and investigative experience of offenders, guided by theory and research and was often performed under considerable time pressure. Flexibility, impartiality, rigour and resilience are essential prerequisites for this type of work.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to systematically evaluate forensic clinical psychology reports from the NCA. It shows the pragmatic, dynamic and varied nature of FCP contributions to investigations and its potential utility.