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The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of nitrogen (N) deposition on clonal growth in a rhizome clonal plant, Leymus chinensis (Trin.) Tzvel.

The study established seven N concentration gradients (0, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64 g N m⁻²) to simulate the continuous increase in N deposition for the cultivation of L. chinensis seedlings and assess the response mechanism of the cloned L. chinensis plant at different N levels by analyzing the aboveground and belowground plant appearance traits, parent ramets and daughter ramets of resource allocation and biomass allocation.

The results of this study showed that the different N treatment levels could promote clonal growth and had certain regularity under the seven treatments. The addition of N could significantly increase the ramet number, rhizome length, rhizome spacer length, biomass of mother ramets, daughter ramets and belowground L. chinensis population when the N addition was greater than 4 g m⁻²; however, the clonal growth ability of L. chinensis decreased and the rhizome length, ramet number, stem and leaf biomass of daughter ramets and stem biomass of mother ramets significantly decreased when the N addition was greater than 32 g N m⁻².

With global warming, atmospheric N deposition is increasing and it is of great significance to explore the response mechanism of different N levels for the growth of clone plants. This study provides basic data and a theoretical basis for the survival prediction of cloned plants under the background of a global climate change strategy and has important theoretical and practical significance for the scientific management of grasslands in the future.

This paper describes the development of a novel integrative self-directed treatment tool which uses cognitive behavioural therapy techniques to reduce anxiety symptoms in patients presenting to treatment for alcohol-related problems. More specifically, the purpose of this paper is to explore patient and health practitioner perceptions of the booklet, in order to determine its suitability and utility in the context of existing alcohol treatment services. The extent of cross-informant agreement between patient and health practitioner responses is also examined.

This research utilises a cross-sectional qualitative research design using semi-structured interview methods with patients presenting to hospital for alcohol-related diseases/illnesses/accidents/injuries (n=15) and practitioners (n=10) working at inpatient, outpatient and residential substance treatment facilities.

The present study found that the majority of patients (80 per cent) and practitioners (90 per cent) expressed a motivation to utilise the proposed booklet, agreeing that the booklet was a practical, achievable and educational resource for patients suffering from co-occurring anxiety symptoms in substance abuse facilities. Participants outlined limitations of the resource, suggesting that the booklet would be most suitable for patients with moderate to high cognitive ability, who also exhibit a motivation to change alcohol consumption and have access to additional support.

Findings from the present study suggest that the booklet may be most effective in improving treatment accessibility and patient treatment seeking behaviours; rather than reducing practitioner-patient contact.

This paper focuses on the development and utility of a novel resource suitable for substance abuse treatment facilities. The findings and feedback produced from the present study can assist with modifications of the intervention and in improving the effectiveness of future trials.

Students with special needs include children with impaired attention, disruptive behavior, learning disabilities, and developmental disorders, among many other conditions. When a child has been diagnosed with such a disorder, his or her parents may seek treatment that could assist the child to be more academically and socially successful. Numerous interventions exist for the treatment of childhood disorders; however, these treatment methods differ in the types and amounts of evidence supporting their usefulness and effectiveness (Lilienfeld, 2005).

In this chapter, the authors consider the relationships between institutional settlements at the field level and the instantiation of logics at the organizational level. The authors present the case of Supervised Consumption Sites (also known as Safe Injection Sites) in Alberta, Canada where a settlement of logics supported by one government was disrupted with the election of a new provincial government in 2015, and then disrupted again after the election of yet another government four years later. The authors use this case to show how different institutional settlements can support or threaten particular types of organizations, and they also show how the instantiation of different settlements in organizations (organizational hybridity) can impact the ways in which organizations present themselves. By analyzing the public justifications provided by key members of Supervised Consumption Sites, they draw attention to connections between institutional settlements at the field level and organizational attempts to manage multiple logics.

The purpose of this paper is to describe and discuss interventions of stabilisation of emotions and behaviour in adults with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This topic is understudied in persons with intellectual disability.

The aim of this study was to investigate interventions of stabilisation in persons with more severe intellectual disability; i.e. persons with moderate or severe intellectual disabilities. Five patients in a specialised psychiatric inpatient unit for patients with intellectual disabilities were included. Information about treatment of the patients was collected through case files, observations, and interviews. The authors of this paper followed a training programme for trauma therapists in addition to the inpatient treatment of the five patients.

Six main areas of stabilisation of emotions and behaviour were identified: validation, anxiety relief, treatment of depressed mood, increased mastering of daily activities, protection against anxiety triggers, and facilitated staff communication. Protection from anxiety triggers seems to be a core element of milieu therapy interventions. Interventions for neurotypical PTSD patients, such as exposure therapy may be contraindicated for patients with more severe intellectual disabilities.

Research on interventions of stabilisation towards adults with more severe intellectual disabilities is still in its infancy. The case reports may help milieu therapists to facilitate interventions towards patients with moderate or severe intellectual disabilities.

Across the world, 3.3 million people die every year as a result of harmful use of alcohol. In Australia, excessive alcohol intake is responsible for 3.2 percent of the total burden of disease and injury. Disulfiram is one of the few pharmacotherapies approved for the treatment of alcohol dependence, and interferes with the metabolism of alcohol causing unpleasant symptoms as a deterrent effect. To date, no studies have examined the efficacy of disulfiram in an outpatient setting in Australia. The purpose of this paper is to describe the medium term outcomes of patients commencing disulfiram in a specialized drug and alcohol outpatient setting in Australia.

Data were extracted from outpatient clinical notes for all patients commenced on disulfiram at any location in the drug and alcohol service between January 1, and December 31, 2013.

In total, 80 patients were included in the study. At three months following commencement of treatment, 42 patients (53 percent) were considered to have been successfully retained in treatment. Totally, 36 (45 percent) patients reported remaining completely abstinent from alcohol during their first three months of treatment. Patients that self-referred to outpatient disulfiram treatment had 75 percent lesser odds of succeeding in treatment compared to those that were referred by other means (i.e. via hospital, GP or forensic services).

This study demonstrates that patients receiving supervised disulfiram for three months in the context of this treatment model can achieve abstinence. Further work is needed to compare this with other treatment options.

The efficacy of cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) for schizophrenia in community and general psychiatric settings has been widely investigated and its practice recommended in primary and secondary care. In secure forensic mental health services the evidence is less established. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of group CBT for schizophrenia in a high secure hospital.

In all, 27 male forensic patients completed a manualised CBT group and were compared on primary and secondary outcomes to patients receiving treatment as usual (TAU). Primary outcomes were positive and negative symptoms as measured by the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS), Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) and the Psychotic Symptom Rating Scales (PSYRATS). A secondary outcome was interpersonal functioning as measured by the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP-64).

CBT participants showed improvement on negative symptoms; affective flattening, alogia, anhedonia and avolition; in comparison to participants in TAU. CBT participants also showed reductions in delusions and hallucinations on the SAPS but not the PSYRATS. TAU participants improved on positive symptoms as measured by the PSYRATS. CBT participants showed reductions in overall interpersonal problems, and most notably in being socially inhibited and self-sacrificing. No iatrogenic effects of treatment were found; improvements in depression anxiety and stress were reported by group completers, which contrasted to experiences of the TAU group.

Absence of random allocation to CBP or TAU groups retains the risk of recruitment bias. Findings are preliminary given the sample size. Multiple outcome assessments increase risk of a type I error.

CBT for schizophrenia can be effective with clients in secure forensic mental health settings. Improvements in negative symptoms and interpersonal functioning appear to be particular gains. Self-report measures might be subject to specific demand characteristics in such settings.

The evaluation includes a comparator group in a high secure setting, which is typically absent in reported evidence for this population (Blackburn, 2004). The study also investigated changes in interpersonal functioning, which has previously been noted as an important but absent outcome in CBT for psychosis (Haddock et al., 2009). Iatrogenic outcomes were also considered in the evaluation to ensure no adverse effects were experienced from treatment.

Managerial stress exists and has to be coped with. The author describes a study that demonstrates that cue‐controlled relaxation can be applied to groups of managers to reduce psychological and physical stress. The study involved 36 middle managers with stress problems who were randomly exposed to treatment and non‐treatment, which consisted of a three‐week programme to teach conditioned relaxation responses to self‐administered cues. Three months after both groups completed measures of psychological strain, physical strain and job satisfaction. Results indicated that the treatment reduced psychological and physical strain and improved job satisfaction, but had a negligible impact on performance and physiological strain.

The biomedical paradigm enjoys growing importance in our society. Biomedicine (e.g., Genetics) seems to occupy the position once held by religion and politics. In this context, every trivial problem of daily life is thought to require an appropriate remedy, and perfect health becomes a paramount value, especially within the upper class.

Medicalization is not only promoted by doctors. Today, other engines of medicalization are also available. These include pharmaceutical companies through marketing, advertising, and disease mongering; active consumers who seek a pharmacological solution – a magic bullet – to solve non-organic problems; technology, because highly sensitive diagnostic tools can now detect potential abnormalities even in very low quantities; and the culture of risk, which is connected to the evolution of diagnostic tools, because it is now always possible to be at risk of something.

The parts of life today considered pathological or quasi-pathological are ever increasing shyness, sadness, imperfect blood pressure, or glucose levels. Progressing editions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) – the text from which diagnoses of mental illnesses are made – reveal a growing number of syndromes. These “diseases” are diagnosed on the grounds of certain symptoms and the number of weeks they last (quantification). Smartphones, with their tremendous capacity for data collection, contribute to a growth in self-diagnoses. For example, invited to log our every moment of sadness through a “trustworthy” avatar from our app (gamification), we can easily make too much of normal moments of discomfort, immediately seeing them – with a simple computation – transformed into something pathological in need of a cure.

The purpose of this paper is to extend the slippery slope framework by exploring different dimensions of compliance quality and tax minimisation under different tax climate manipulation by groups.

The authors run a random assignment of tax climate manipulations through questionnaire with 301 usable data collected from the full-time postgraduate students, employed individuals and self-employed individuals. Manipulation check and results are generated via multivariate analysis of variance.

The results confirm the biggest impact of synergistic climate on voluntary compliance, and small to medium impact of antagonistic climate on tax evasion across three groups.

The manipulation of this research is constrained with two treatments in addition to the common pitfall of social desired responses of self-report.

Theoretically, this study empirically explores tax minimisation dimensions and provides new insights that only illegal tax minimisation is at maximum under the prevailing negative antagonistic climate, but not for legal tax minimisation. Second, the effect of tax climate represented by trust and power on enforced compliance is minimal, as compared to the strong effect of positive synergistic climate on voluntary compliance. As for policy implications, possible guidelines and interventions are outlined to policy makers which would lead to a better quality of compliance behaviour.

This study operationalises and manipulates tax climate from perceptions of trust, legitimate power and coercive power. It also further affirms the prior inconsistent findings in respect of tax behavioural intentions due to sampling group and cultural differences.