The International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD) Task Force report on the nomenclature of course and outcome in bipolar disorders

Objectives:  Via an international panel of experts, this paper attempts to document, review, interpret, and propose operational definitions used to describe the course of bipolar disorders for worldwide use, and to disseminate consensus opinion, supported by the existing literature, in order to better predict course and treatment outcomes. Methods:  Under the auspices of the International Society for Bipolar Disorders, a task force was convened to examine, report, discuss, and integrate findings from the scientific literature related to observational and clinical trial studies in order to reach consensus and propose terminology describing course and outcome in bipolar disorders. Results:  Consensus opinion was reached regarding the definition of nine terms (response, remission, recovery, relapse, recurrence, subsyndromal states, predominant polarity, switch, and functional outcome) commonly used to describe course and outcomes in bipolar disorders. Further studies are needed to validate the proposed definitions. Conclusion:  Determination and dissemination of a consensus nomenclature serve as the first step toward producing a validated and standardized system to define course and outcome in bipolar disorders in order to identify predictors of outcome and effects of treatment. The task force acknowledges that there is limited validity to the proposed terms, as for the most part they represent a consensus opinion. These definitions need to be validated in existing databases and in future studies, and the primary goals of the task force are to stimulate research on the validity of proposed concepts and further standardize the technical nomenclature.

Islamic organizational leadership within a Western society: the problematic role of external context

This research tests qualitatively the relationship between leadership, organizational culture and organizational effectiveness in Islamic organizations in Australia in the early years of the 21st century. We also researched the contextual challenges faced by Islamic organizations in Western societies during the early years of the 21st century. Qualitative and quantitative data were analyzed qualitatively. Theoretical sampling and theoretical coding generated a positive and negative story-line. A grand narrative of Muslim disenfranchisement and several micro-stories of organizational complexity brought to life the story-lines. One conclusion is that context invariably is problematic for leadership. Another conclusion is that leadership cannot be studied fruitfully out of context. A third conclusion from this substantive setting is that a challenge for Islamic leadership is to reconstitute the context of the organization. An underlying parallel with structure-agency theory is noted. The leadership of Islamic organizations is faced with the traditional leadership challenges found in the extant literature. In addition it must accommodate a problematic external context, a heterogeneous followership, the important role of religion, the influence of Imams, and increasing roles for women and young Muslims. © 2010.

Staging systems in bipolar disorder: an International Society for Bipolar Disorders Task Force report

We discuss the rationale behind staging systems described specifically for bipolar disorders. Current applications, future directions and research gaps in clinical staging models for bipolar disorders are outlined.

Sri Lankan civil society and its fanatics

The current moment, seen by some as an interregnum between societies of discipline and control, is marked by intense forms of religious fanaticism and iconoclasm that are striving to create new forms of the state. This is evident in the militancy and political engagement of Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka, who promote war against Tamil separatists as well as violent resistance to the proselytization identified with global civil society agencies that, due to the war and the 2004 tsunami disaster, have been active in the country. The article looks at this rising Buddhist militancy, which is associated with a political party that is linked to the more famous party known as the JVP. It argues that instead of resisting the formation of the new global civil society, the iconoclasm of this Buddhist political formation is facilitating its establishment.

Uneasy alliances: Traditional dynamics in women's relationships in urban Hindu society (1910-2010)

This paper argues that in spite of the phenomenal economic progress made by India, the urban Indian Hindu woman still faces major challenges and hindrances in charting the course of her existence, some aspects of which are still located within a very traditional discourse. Women of particular age groups combine highly competitive careers in medicine, management, engineering, and other demanding professions with marriage and motherhood, while simultaneously juggling the eternal roles of the docile, hardworking daughter-in-law and the dutiful daughter. It is, yet again, another sacrifice of individual needs and time on the part of the urban Indian Hindu woman within a discourse that imposes constant adjustment and compromise from one's birth as a female child. The economic context might appear to be very different in this century, and the socio-cultural discourse may appear to have changed along with it, but the expectations and the status quo of the urban Hindu woman has not changed very much, given the underlying historical and socio-cultural discourse that is still extant.

Analysis of operating environments: A diagnostic model for linking science, society and policy for sustainability

Through analysis of the dynamics between science and decision-making, we argue that diagnosing fit-for purpose approaches to linking science and decision-making may be possible. Such diagnosis should enable identification of appropriate processes, institutions, objects (e.g. tools, information products) and relationships that can facilitate outcomes. We begin the paper by unsettling the traditional constructions that science must distance itself from debates about values and what is at stake, and so from policy making. Then, drawing from mixed methods case studies in coastal South-eastern Australia, we describe how scientific research has had a bearing on decisions affecting society and the environment. These analyses suggest that the willingness and capacity of research organisations, programmes or projects to actively reflect on and participate in the evolution of the 'operating environment' for their research is integral to their ability to inform outcomes through science. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd.

Sustainable assessment: rethinking assessment for the learning society

Assessment practices in higher education institutions tend not to equip students well for the processes of effective learning in a learning society. The purposes of assessment should be extended to include the preparation of students for sustainable assessment. Sustainable assessment encompasses the abilities required to undertake those activities that necessarily accompany learning throughout life in formal and informal settings. Characteristics of effective formative assessment identified by recent research are used to illustrate features of sustainable assessment. Assessment acts need both to meet the specific and immediate goals of a course as well as establishing a basis for students to undertake their own assessment activities in the future. To draw attention to the importance of this, the idea that assessment always has to do double duty is introduced.