Friday November 16th, 2012
Social Services News and Events
-
Social Services News & Events
Volume 11, Issue 9
November 16th, 2012
INSIDE THIS EDITION
Health Care History Through Humour ............................................................................................... 2
One Square Meal ............................................................................................................................ 3
How the Brain Forms Categories ...................................................................................................... 4
Christmas Cheer Depot ................................................................................................................... 5
Christmas Cheer 2012 .................................................................................................................... 6
Gender Discrimination a Reason Why Females Choose Careers Outside the Hard Sciences, Study Finds .... 7
On Board for Change ...................................................................................................................... 8
Take Time ..................................................................................................................................... 9
Childhood Abuse Leads to Poor Adult Health .................................................................................... 10
Facilitator Training Series .............................................................................................................. 11
‘Power of Sport’ ........................................................................................................................... 12
White Cane Matinee Group ............................................................................................................ 13
Exercise Boosts Satisfaction With Life, Researchers Find ................................................................... 14
Drop In Coffee Club ...................................................................................................................... 15
Grandma's Lemon Meringue Pie ..................................................................................................... 16
Confident Beginning Key to Happy Marriage: Don't Ignore Doubts, Experts Warn ................................. 16
Forget You Not ............................................................................................................................. 17
Brain Imaging Alone Cannot Diagnose Autism .................................................................................. 18
New Study finds Poverty leads People to Focus on Short Term Goals while Ignoring the Long View......... 20
Movie Nite – PFLAG Canada SSM .................................................................................................... 21
Being bullied can cause PTSD in children, study finds........................................................................ 22
Fall edition of the ARCH Newsletter is now available! ........................................................................ 23
What’s Your Goal? We Can Help! ................................................................................................... 24
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Friday November 16th, 2012
Social Services News and Events
Health Care History
Through Humour
Featuring more than 200 examples of the
century's best political art, a new history of health
care reform provides an entertaining review of 100
years of partisan wrangling over medical
insurance -- from Theodore Roosevelt's support
for protection from the "hazards of sickness" in
1912 to the Supreme Court's decision to uphold
the Affordable Care Act in 2012.
"Political cartoons cut to the essence of our battle
over who should foot the bill for medical coverage
and how that care should be structured," explains
Theodore Brown, one the four authors of The Quest
for Health Care Reform: A Satirical History due out
in October 2012. "But unlike the pain involved in
our political struggle, cartoons deliver their
uncomfortable truths with such irreverent wit and
visual imagination that you can't help but chuckle."
Brown, a historian of medicine, public health, and
health policy at the University of Rochester,
provides the historical context for each cartoon and
authored introductory chapters on early health care
reform efforts. He says the book's broad sweep
helps to bring into focus many of the themes and
political patterns that surface over and over
throughout the decades. The "political use of fear,
hope, selective memory, and outright distortion will
be seen as running threads in our health reform
history," he writes in the book's preface.
From the first decades of the 20th century, critics
sought to brand universal medical coverage as "unAmerican" and "socialistic." Government health care
was derided as "Germanic" after World War I, as
revolutionary following the Russian Revolution
(1917), and as a subversive plot engineered by the
Kremlin during the McCarthy era. Long before
accusations about "death panels" surfaced during
the 2009 debate, opponents decried federal
financed medical insurance as "state medicine" and
as early as the 1920s the American Medical
Association characterized any government plan as
"robotic."
While many of the overarching themes have
remained the same, the complexity of the nation's
health delivery system and the number and financial
power of special interests has mushroomed in
recent decades, says Brown. From pharmaceutical
and insurance lobbies to hospitals, physicians, and
patient rights groups, the debate has grown more
complex and confusing for the public.
It is precisely in this cacophony of competing
perspectives that political cartoonists have offered
some of our most brilliant social commentary, says
co-author Susan Ladwig, a public health
professional at the University of Rochester Medical
Center. Ladwig selected many of the cartoons for
the history and has collaborated with Brown for
years on presentations about the history of health
care. Using visual metaphors, like depicting the
public as a sick patient or the health care system as
an overly complicated machine, these artists are
able to home in on the underlying truths and selfinterests that can otherwise be lost in daily news
coverage, she explains.
"The book makes the whole complex topic of health
care more accessible, even fun," says Ladwig.
"Hopefully people are going to want to read this
history. I hope they don't just skip over the
narrative, but even if they just view the cartoons,
they will come away with a better understanding of
health care reform. It may even change a few
people's minds when they know the whole story."
The book brings together the work of more than 27
cartoonists, including 10 winners of the Pulitzer
Prize for editorial cartooning. Almost a fifth of the
selections are the creation of Matt Wuerker, winner
of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning
and a finalist for the award in 2010 and 2009. A
founding staffer at Politico, Wuerker is known for
lampooning partisan conflict in Washington. Other
Pulitzer winners represented in the book include
Mike Luckovich (2006, 1995), Nick Anderson
(2005), Clay Bennett (2002), and Joel Pett (2000).
The Political Cartoon History of Health Care Reform
is the brainchild of Georges Benjamin, executive
director of the American Public Health Association,
whose collection of close to 1,000 cartoons on
health care laid the basis for the project. Co-author
Elyse Berkman, a graduate student in health policy
at City University of New York, assisted with
research.
Article source: http://www.sciencedaily.com
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Friday November 16th, 2012
Social Services News and Events
One Square Meal
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Friday November 16th, 2012
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How the Brain Forms
Categories
How do we manage to recognize a friend's face,
regardless of the light conditions, the person's
hairstyle or make-up? Why do we always hear
the same words, whether they are spoken by a
man or woman, in a loud or soft voice? It is due
to the amazing skill of our brain to turn a wealth
of sensory information into a number of defined
categories and objects. The ability to create
constants in a changing world feels natural and
effortless to a human, but it is extremely
difficult to train a computer to perform the task.
How the brain forms categories
At the IMP in Vienna, neurobiologist Simon Rumpel and his post-doc Brice Bathellier have been able to
show that certain properties of neuronal networks in the brain are responsible for the formation of
categories. In experiments with mice, the researchers produced an array of sounds and monitored the
activity of nerve cell-clusters in the auditory cortex. They found that groups of 50 to 100 neurons
displayed only a limited number of different activity-patterns in response to the different sounds.
The scientists then selected two basis sounds that produced different response patterns and constructed
linear mixtures from them. When the mixture ratio was varied continuously, the answer was not a
continuous change in the activity patters of the nerve cells, but rather an abrupt transition. Such dynamic
behaviour is reminiscent of the behaviour of artificial attractor-networks that have been suggested by
computer scientists as a solution to the categorization problem.
The findings in the activity patters of neurons were backed up by behavioural experiments with mice. The
animals were trained to discriminate between two sounds. They were then exposed to a third sound and
their reaction was tracked. Whether the answer to the third tone was more like the reaction to the first or
the second one, was used as an indicator of the similarity of perception. By looking at the activity patters
in the auditory cortex, the scientists were able to predict the reaction of the mice.
The new findings that are published in the current issue of the journal Neuron, demonstrate that discrete
network states provide a substrate for category formation in brain circuits. The authors suggest that the
hierarchical structure of discrete representations might be essential for elaborate cognitive functions such
as language processing.
Article source: http://www.sciencedaily.com
Why would a plastic surgeon send you to a shrink?
Per "Longevity" magazine, a number of plastic surgeons now require their
prospective patients to undergo a series of psychological tests to determine
if they will become emotionally unstable, excessively anxious, or
threatening to the doctor following their cosmetic surgery.
When was Neptune discovered?
The discovery of Neptune was announced in 1846. But when astronomers
checked previous records, they found the record of an observation of the
planet as far back as 1795 by astronomers who, believing it to be a star,
recorded the position routinely.
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Social Services News and Events
Christmas Cheer Depot
Page 5 of 25
Friday November 16th, 2012
Social Services News and Events
Christmas Cheer 2012
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Social Services News and Events
Gender Discrimination a Reason
Why Females Choose Careers
Outside the Hard Sciences,
Study Finds
Both male and female scientists view gender discrimination as
a major reason women choose to pursue careers in biology rather
than physics, according to new research from Rice University.
"Gender Segregation in Elite Academic Science,"
which appears in the October issue of Gender and
Society, reveals differences in the way male and
female scientists view disparities in the proportion
of women in some science disciplines. The study
surveyed 2,500 biologists and physicists at elite
institutions of higher education in the United States.
Researchers also interviewed a smaller scientific
sample of 150 scientists one on one about the
reasons they believe there are gender differences in
scientific disciplines.
"The distribution of women and men across various
science-related occupations has long drawn both
popular and scholarly attention," said lead study
author and principal investigator Elaine Howard
Ecklund, an associate professor of sociology. "In our
research, we're interested in how scientists explain
the different proportions of men and women in
biology and physics.
"We know from various pieces of research that
people's perceptions of the way things are really
influence how they act with other people," she said.
"When mentoring students, they might pass these
views along. This makes their opinions extremely
important, as they can have a significant impact on
future scientists and research."
Regardless of gender or discipline, approximately
half of all the scientists interviewed thought that at
some point in women's educational lives, they are
discouraged from pursuing a career in physics.
Other reasons scientists gave to explain the
different numbers of women that pursue biology
when compared with physics include mentorship of
students in the fields of biology and physics and
"inherent differences between men and women."
One female scientist said, "I think women … want to
have more of a sense that what they are doing is
helping somebody. Maybe there are more women in
… biology (because) you can be like, 'Oh, I am
going to go cure cancer.'"
Whereas women often explained sex differences
between the disciplines using reasons of emotional
affinity, men stressed neurological differences as
being responsible for personal choices. One male
scientist suggested that there are "some brain
differences between men and women that explain
(the gender differences between the disciplines)."
Ecklund said, "It's extremely important to
understand how scientists at the kind of top
research universities we studied feel about this
topic, as they train the next generation of
researchers and leaders in the sciences and will
The study's key finding is that both male and female
pass on their ideas to these young scholars."
scientists view gender discrimination as a factor in
Ecklund authored the article with co-principal
women's decision not to choose a science career at
investigator Anne Lincoln of Southern Methodist
all or to choose biology over physics. However, the
University and former Rice University
two sexes still have differences in opinion about
undergraduate Cassandra Tansey. The paper is part
when discrimination occurs.
of Ecklund's larger study with Lincoln titled
"During interviews, men almost never mentioned
"Perceptions of Women in Academic Science," which
present-day discrimination, believing that any
examines how male and female biologists and
discrimination in physical science classes likely took
physicists in the U.S. differ in regard to important
place early in the educational history (primary
influences in their science career.
school), which they believe explains women's
The study was funded by the National Science
predisposition to biological sciences," Ecklund said.
Foundation.
"However, female scientists believe that
discrimination is still occurring in present-day
Article source: http://www.sciencedaily.com
universities and departments."
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Social Services News and Events
On Board for Change
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Friday November 16th, 2012
Social Services News and Events
Take Time
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Friday November 16th, 2012
Social Services News and Events
Childhood Abuse Leads to
Poor Adult Health
The psychological scars of childhood abuse can
last well into adulthood. New research from
Concordia University shows the harm can have
long-term negative physical effects, as well as
emotional ones.
Scientists hypothesize that stress in early childhood
causes physiological changes that affect a victim's
response to stress, which puts the individual at an
increased risk of disease later in life. Jean-Philippe Gouin,
who holds a Canada Research Chair in Chronic Stress and Health in Concordia's Department of
Psychology, tested this link and found that early-life abuse results in physiological changes that may
increase the risk of cardiovascular disease later on.
Along with colleagues from Ohio State University and the University of Missouri, Gouin looked at the
body's biological response to naturally occurring stress. "We wanted to investigate whether abuse during
childhood could have a lasting impact on the physiological response to stress in daily life," Gouin says.
"Past research has evaluated the impact of early abuse on stress-response among young adults. We
wanted to extend these findings to older adults."
The researchers spoke to 130 adults with a mean age of 65 about recent stressful events and their
childhood abuse history. Participants completed an interview which assessed the occurrence of stressors in
the preceding 24 hours. Some stressors included "having an argument with a partner" and "being stuck in
traffic, resulting in being late for an important appointment." Blood samples were then taken from the
participants to measure their levels of three biological markers.
The results of this study, which were recently published in the Annals of Behavioural Medicine, found that
there were marked differences between two groups in one of the three biological markers. In abuse
victims who reported multiple stressors in the preceding 24 hours, levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), a protein
that stimulates an immune response, were more than twice those of the participants who reported
multiple daily stressors but no abuse history.
The findings from this study indicate that the impact of early-life abuse extend well into older age. "While
the production of inflammatory markers such as IL-6 is essential to fight acute infection, its overproduction has been associated with the development of age-related diseases, such as cardiovascular
disease," says Gouin. "An exaggerated IL-6 response to daily stressors may create a physiological state
that, over several years, increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease."
Article source: http://www.sciencedaily.com
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Social Services News and Events
Facilitator Training Series
Page 11 of 25
Friday November 16th, 2012
Social Services News and Events
‘Power of Sport’
Paralympian Josh Vander Vies pushes to get more
disabled kids into sports
Josh Vander Vies — a paralympic bronze medallist in bocci —
believes more needs to be done to have disabled children
participate in sports.
“Young people need to have a healthy lifestyle and that can
happen with the experience of sport. I believe in the power
of sport. It improves our education, health care and crime
prevention,” Vander Vies said at an announcement at Variety
Village in Scarborough on Friday designed to attract more
disabled people into sports.
Invacare Canada medical manufacturer has partnered with
the Canadian Paralympic Committee to open pathways for
disabled Canadian children.
The four-year corporate partnership will supply sports
wheelchairs to the Para-Equipment Fund for pursuits such as
wheelchair tennis and basketball.
“It can be prohibitively expensive for kids with disabilities to
get involved in sport and that is something we are
committed to changing,” said Henry Storgaard, CEO of the
CPC.
“This partnership will help nurture the hopes and dreams of
kids with disabilities, allowing them to participate and be
active through Invacare’s product lines and maybe even one
day compete for Canada at the Paralympic Games.
It can be expensive getting disabled children involved in sports.
The CPC says a good pair of running shoes cost $150, but a wheelchair to race is worth $3,000.
To get geared up to ski costs an able-bodied kid is about $800, but a sit-ski for a disabled child costs
$3,200.
“We at Invacare Canada are thrilled to be working with the CPC,” said Vince Morelli, general manager at
Invacare.
“This relationship will allow us to work towards our goal of making life’s experiences possible, whether
providing opportunities for young people with disabilities to enjoy a healthy lifestyle or supporting the
achievements of our outstanding group of elite Canadian paralympic athletes competing at multi-sport
Games.”
The CPC doesn’t disclose the dollar value of what sponsors donate.
Article source: Toronto Sun
Why don't skydivers continue to accelerate?
Skydivers accelerate to a terminal velocity of 120 mph (193 km/h).
Earth's gravity is balanced by density of the air at this velocity, so
they fall at a constant rate.
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Social Services News and Events
White Cane Matinee Group
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Friday November 16th, 2012
Social Services News and Events
Exercise Boosts
Satisfaction With Life,
Researchers Find
Had a bad day? Extending your normal exercise
routine by a few minutes may be the solution,
according to Penn State researchers, who found
that people's satisfaction with life was higher on
days when they exercised more than usual.
"We found that people's satisfaction with life was directly
Researchers found that people's
impacted by their daily physical activity," said Jaclyn Maher,
satisfaction with life was higher on days
graduate student in kinesiology. "The findings reinforce the
when they exercised more than usual.
idea that physical activity is a health behaviour with
important consequences for daily well-being and should be
considered when developing national policies to enhance satisfaction with life."
The team examined the influence of physical activity on satisfaction with life among emerging adults ages
18 to 25 years because this population's sense of well-being appears to worsen more quickly than at any
other time during adulthood.
"Emerging adults are going through a lot of changes; they are leaving home for the first time and
attending college or starting jobs," said Maher. "As a result, their satisfaction with life can plummet. We
decided to focus on emerging adults because they stand to benefit the most from strategies to enhance
satisfaction with life."
The researchers recruited two groups of college students at Penn State. The first group, consisting of 190
individuals, entered information into a diary every day for eight days. The second group, consisting of 63
individuals, entered information into a secure website every day for 14 days. Both groups answered
questions aimed at determining participants' satisfaction with life, physical activity and self-esteem. The
personalities of all participants in the first group were assessed at the outset of the study using the Big
Five Inventory short form.
For the second group (the 63 individuals who filled out questionnaires online for 14 days), the researchers
wanted to further investigate whether physical activity was indeed, the cause of participants' increased
satisfaction with life rather than some other factor such as mental health, fatigue, or Body Mass Index.
"Shifts in depression, anxiety and stress would be expected to influence a person's satisfaction with life at
any given point in time," said David Conroy, professor of kinesiology. "In addition, fatigue can be a barrier
to engaging in physical activity, and a high Body Mass Index associated with being overweight may cause
a person to be less satisfied in a variety of ways."
By controlling for these variables, the researchers were able to determine that the amount of physical
activity a person undertakes in a particular day directly influences his or her satisfaction with life.
Specifically, the team found that by exercising just a little more than usual a person can significantly
improve his or her satisfaction with life.
The results appeared online this week in the journal Health Psychology.
"Based on these findings, we recommend that people exercise a little longer or a little harder than usual
as a way to boost satisfaction with life," said Conroy.
The National Institute of Aging at the National Institutes of Health funded this research. Other authors on
the paper include Shawna Doerksen, assistant professor of recreation, park and tourism management;
Steriani Elavsky, assistant professor of kinesiology; Amanda Hyde, graduate student in kinesiology; Aaron
Pincus, professor of psychology; and Nilam Ram, associate professor of human development and family
studies and of psychology.
Article source: http://www.sciencedaily.com
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Social Services News and Events
Drop In Coffee Club
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Friday November 16th, 2012
Social Services News and Events
Grandma's Lemon Meringue Pie
Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Servings: 8
Cook Time: 10 Minutes
Ready In: 40 Minutes
"Fresh lemon juice and lemon rind make this pie's filling tart and lovely. And when
it's poured into a waiting crust, topped with billows of meringue, and baked, it's
downright dreamy."
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups water
2 lemons, juiced and zested
2
4
1
4
6
tablespoons butter
egg yolks, beaten
(9 inch) pie crust, baked
egg whites
tablespoons white sugar
DIRECTIONS:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
To Make Lemon Filling: In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1 cup sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt. Stir in water, lemon
juice and lemon zest. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until mixture comes to a boil. Stir in butter. Place
egg yolks in a small bowl and gradually whisk in 1/2 cup of hot sugar mixture. Whisk egg yolk mixture back into remaining
sugar mixture. Bring to a boil and continue to cook while stirring constantly until thick. Remove from heat. Pour filling into
baked pastry shell.
To Make Meringue: In a large glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites until foamy. Add sugar gradually, and continue to whip
until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over pie, sealing the edges at the crust.
Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until meringue is golden brown.
Article source: http://allrecipes.com
Confident Beginning Key to Happy Marriage:
Don't Ignore Doubts, Experts Warn
Couples about to tie the knot shouldn't ignore any nagging doubts about getting
married, warns a University of Alberta researcher.
"If you are having doubts about the relationship, just ignoring them may make a difference years down the
road," said Matthew Johnson, assistant professor in the U of A Department of Human Ecology.
The study, published recently in the journal Family Process, showed that couples who were more confident as
they exchanged vows also spent more time together 18 months into the marriage, and were still happy sharing
life with their spouses at the three-year mark.
New to the U of A, Johnson joins the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences as a researcher in
the field of romantic relationships. His research involves the dynamics of couple relationships, including dating
and marriage, and he plans on deepening his scope of studies as he grows as a professor and researcher. "I've
found the U of A to be an incredibly supportive environment for my development into a productive scholar."
Johnson co-wrote the study while at Kansas State University, using existing research data to weigh the marital
confidence of 610 newlywed couples over a period of four years. Those who were most confident at the outset
of matrimony were still showing their happiness by sticking together as a couple long after the honeymoon was
over.
"These couples were spending time together, dining out, taking part in activities together, sharing meaningful
conversation and physical expressions of affection. Those who are more confident in getting married are willing
to invest in their relationships," Johnson said.
In a time when divorce is prevalent, dealing with relationship issues up front is key, even if it could dim the
glow of romance, according to Johnson.
"It is tempting to push those concerns down and just go with the flow, but couples need to remember, the
doubts you are having are there for a reason and dealing with them will be beneficial."
Premarital counselling is a good opportunity for couples to talk openly and honestly about their concerns, and
about their confidence in being able to meet future challenges, he noted.
Article source: http://www.sciencedaily.com
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Friday November 16th, 2012
Social Services News and Events
Forget You Not
Page 17 of 25
Friday November 16th, 2012
Social Services News and Events
Brain Imaging Alone
Cannot Diagnose Autism
In a column appearing in the current issue of the
journal Nature, McLean Hospital biostatistician
Nicholas Lange, ScD, cautions against heralding the
use of brain imaging scans to diagnose autism and
urges greater focus on conducting large, long-term
multicentre studies to identify the biological basis
of the disorder.
"Several studies in the past two years have claimed
that brain scans can diagnose autism, but this
assertion is deeply flawed," said Lange, an associate
professor of Psychiatry and Biostatistics at Harvard
Medical School. "To diagnose autism reliably, we
need to better understand what goes awry in people
with the disorder. Until its solid biological basis is
found, any attempt to use brain imaging to diagnose
autism will be futile."
Brain scans. An expert cautions against
heralding the use of brain imaging scans to
diagnose autism and urges greater focus on
conducting large, long-term multicentre
studies to identify the biological basis of the
disorder
While cautioning against current use of brain imaging as a diagnostic tool, he is a strong
proponent of using this technology to help scientists better understand autism. Through
the use of various brain imaging techniques, including functional magnetic resonance
imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and volumetric MRI, Lange points
out that researchers have made important discoveries related to early brain enlargement
in the disorder, how those with autism focus during social interaction and the role of
serotonin in someone with autism.
"Brain scans have led to these extremely valuable advances, and, with each discovery,
we are getting closer to solving the autism pathology puzzle," said Lange. "What
individuals with autism and their parents urgently need is for us to carry out large-scale
studies that lead us to find reliable, sensitive and specific biological markers of autism
with high predictive value that allow clinicians to identify interventions that will improve
the lives of people with the disorder."
Autism and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are terms regularly used to describe a
group of complex disorders of brain development. This spectrum characterized, in
varying degrees, by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal
communication, and repetitive behaviours, whose criteria have been revised in the newly
proposed Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). The prevalence
of ASD in the United States has increased 78 percent in the last decade, with the
Centers for Disease Control estimating that one in 88 children has ASD.
Article source: http://www.sciencedaily.com
Any kid will run any errand for you, if you ask at bedtime.
Red Skelton
Page 18 of 25
Friday November 16th, 2012
Social Services News and Events
Remember
http://www.facebook.com
WOULD YOUR LIKE TO
SHARE YOUR TALENT
WITH US?
Do you
write Poems,
Sketches,
Paints,
Short Stories,
Draws
Photographs
Or photographs your other hobbies
and to share with us?
Just e-mail to
w.houle@cityssm.on.ca
and we put in the newsletter.
Let share our talents together!
Are chickens on an odd daily cycle?
Some research suggests so -- A chicken will lay bigger and
stronger eggs if you change the lighting in such a way as to make
them think a day is 28 hours long.
Page 19 of 25
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Social Services News and Events
New Study finds Poverty leads People to
Focus on Short Term Goals while Ignoring
the Long View
A new study done by a team of researchers with business,
psychology and economics backgrounds suggests that people who
live in poverty tend to make poor long term financial decisions
because their economic situation makes it difficult to focus on
anything but the near term. They have published a paper in the journal Science
describing lab experiments they've conducted that they say show that when faced
with limited resources, people tend to focus on the needs at hand, rather than the long
term, which might explain seemingly contradictory behaviour exhibited by poor
people, such as taking out high interest loans.
The researchers note that many people over many years have studied the behaviour of poor people in
attempting to understand why most don't take steps to pull themselves out of their situation. Quite often,
instead of saving and planning for the future, for example, those living in poverty spend all the money
they do have on less than necessary items and then borrow money from high interest lenders to pay for
necessities such as rent or food. Some have suggested, they say, that many such people suffer from
mental disorders or simply lack the skills necessary to advance themselves.
In this new study, the researchers conducted several experiments meant to discover if living in poverty
itself may lead people to make poor financial decisions. All of the trials were based on volunteers being
given a certain amount of resources (playing time and/or points) when playing a video game – some were
given a lot, others very little. Play was then monitored to judge decision making skills and to compare the
choices made by the "rich" versus the "poor." The researchers found that those given limited resources at
the outset, tended to focus almost exclusively on accomplishing tasks at hand, even as they knew their
limited time allotment to accomplish goals was running short. To allow play to continue, the researchers
introduced borrowing at increasingly high rates. They found that in the game, just as in real life, those
with the most limited resources tended to be the heaviest borrowers, despite having to pay the higher
cost.
The researchers say their experiments indicate that living in poverty is itself enough to cause people to
make decisions that would seem contrary to those looking in from the outside. Because of that, they say,
programs to assist the poor should focus on ways of extracting people from their environments and then
providing assistance, rather than offering assistance that serves only to allow those living in such
conditions to maintain their way of life.
More information: Some Consequences of Having Too Little, Science, 2 November 2012: Vol. 338 no.
6107 pp. 682-685. DOI: 10.1126/science.1222426
ABSTRACT
Poor individuals often engage in behaviours, such as excessive borrowing, that reinforce the conditions of
poverty. Some explanations for these behaviours focus on personality traits of the poor. Others emphasize
environmental factors such as housing or financial access. We instead consider how certain behaviours
stem simply from having less. We suggest that scarcity changes how people allocate attention: It leads
them to engage more deeply in some problems while neglecting others. Across several experiments, we
show that scarcity leads to attentional shifts that can help to explain behaviours such as overborrowing.
We discuss how this mechanism might also explain other puzzles of poverty.
Article source: http://phys.org
If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts.
Albert Einstein
Page 20 of 25
Friday November 16th, 2012
Social Services News and Events
Movie Nite – PFLAG Canada SSM
Who organized the first city dump?
Athens organized the first municipal dump in the western
world, approximately 500 B.C. Scavengers had to
dispose of waste at least one mile from the city walls.
Page 21 of 25
Friday November 16th, 2012
Social Services News and Events
Being bullied can cause PTSD in
children, study finds
Problems caused by bullying do not necessarily cease when
the abuse stops. Recent research at the Universitiy of
Stavanger (UiS) and Bergen's Center for Crisis Psychology in
Norway shows that victims may need long-term support.
This study of 963 children aged 14 and 15 in Norwegian schools found a
high incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms among
bullied pupils. These signs were seen in roughly 33 per cent of
respondents who said they had been victims of bullying.
"This is noteworthy, but nevertheless unsurprising," says psychologist
Thormod Idsøe.
"Bullying is defined as long-term physical or mental violence by an
individual or group. It's directed at a person who's not able to defend
themselves at the relevant time. We know that such experiences can
leave a mark on the victim."
SUFFERING IN SILENCE:
Symptoms of post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD) may cause big
problems of concentration, have
disruptive effects and prevent the
sufferer from functioning normally
in daily life.
He has published an article on "Bullying and PTSD symptoms" in the
Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology with colleague Ella Maria Cosmovici Idsøe at the UiS Centre for
Behavioural Research and psychologist Atle Dyregrov from the Center for Crisis Psychology.
The study measured the extent of intrusive memories and avoidance behaviour among pupils. These are
two of three defined PTSD symptoms. The third, physiological stress activation, was not covered.
High levels
Recent research on working life has found that 40-60 per cent of adult victims of bullying reveal high
levels of these three defining signs. But few national or international investigations have been conducted
on the relationship between being bullied and PTSD symptoms among schoolchildren.
"Traumatic experiences or strains imposed on us by others can often hurt more than accidents," says
Idsøe.
"That could be why so many pupils report such symptoms."
They can cause great difficulties concentrating, have a disruptive effect and prevent sufferers from
functioning normally in daily life. Idsøe has personally seen how PTSD symptoms can create problems for
schoolchildren.
"Pupils who're constantly plagued by thoughts about or images of painful experiences, and who use much
energy to suppress them, will clearly have less capacity to concentrate on schoolwork. Nor is this usually
easy to observe – they often suffer in silence."
More girls
The research also shows that girls are more likely to display PTSD symptoms than boys, Idsøe reports.
"That accords with studies of other types of strain.
"We also found that those with the worst symptoms were a small group of pupils who, in addition to being
victims of bullying, frequently bullied fellow pupils themselves."
He finds it difficult to provide a definite explanation of why some groups are more likely to develop PTSD
symptoms, but says this question is a general issue among trauma specialists.
"One explanation, for example, could be that difficult earlier experiences make the sufferers more
vulnerable, and they thereby develop symptoms and mental health problems more easily."
Awareness
He hopes that the study's findings can help to boost awareness that a number of bullied schoolchildren
may need support even after the mistreatment has ended.
"In such circumstances, adult responsibility isn't confined to stopping the bullying. It also extends to
following up the victims."
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Friday November 16th, 2012
Social Services News and Events
Idsøe and his co-researchers have not investigated how much help bullied pupils get afterwards, but their
impression is that such follow-up remains inadequate.
Immediate
"We know that Norwegian schools devote much attention to putting a stop to bullying it, and that pupils
who need immediate support do receive it," Idsøe says.
"But we also see that such assistance stops too early. Although the bullying may have ended, PTSD
symptoms could persist for a long time with some children."
In his view, teachers and schools should be aware of the need certain pupils might have for long-term
follow-up. In some cases, that could also require the involvement of the health service.
"It's important to monitor how pupils develop after being bullied, and to be aware of the possibility that
they might develop PTSD symptoms. It's not always easy to spot that a child is being plagued by intrusive
memories and avoidance strategies. So teachers must be offered more information on these conditions."
"They need to know how to detect that a pupil needs to be referred on, and must be able to tailor teaching
for children with such difficulties."
Limitations
Idsøe acknowledges that the study has its methodological limitations, and that more detailed studies of
the link between bullying and PTSD are therefore required.
"Although we asked about PTSD symptoms related to episodes of bullying, we can't exclude the possibility
that the responses may relate in some cases to other traumatic incidents," he says.
To study this in more detail, the researchers will now join a Finnish study of 1,100 schoolchildren to check
the relationship between bullying and PTSD symptoms regularly over several years.
Idsøe also belongs to a national research group investigating the link between being bullied and the
psychiatric diagnosis of PTSD. That involves more criteria than a high level of symptoms.
Provided by University of Stavanger
Article source: http://medicalxpress.com
Happy Autumn!
Fall edition of the ARCH Newsletter is now available!
In it contains ARCH news, events, services, learning opportunities,
information on volunteering, and much more!
You can also access our newsletter on our website by following this link:
http://archhospice.ca
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Friday November 16th, 2012
Social Services News and Events
What’s Your Goal? We Can Help!
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Friday November 16th, 2012
Social Services News and Events
Can your taste water?
Pigs, dogs, and some other animals can taste water, but people cannot. Humans don't actually
taste the water; they taste the chemicals and impurities in the water.
Next Newsletter December 21st, 2012
Last day for submissions Wednesday DECEMBER 19th, 2012
Email to: w.houle@cityssm.on.ca
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UTH
Phone: Wendy Houle at 705-541-2822 or Fax: 705-759-5440
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UTH
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