El climatismo

En la actualidad, el lenguaje dominante en que se expresa la conciencia ecológica o ambiental gira alrededor del cambio climático antropogénico. La política de la ecología hoy día es la política del climatismo. El climatismo refleja, en primer lugar, la evolución de los discursos ambientales desde su aparición hasta el cambio de siglo y la nueva constelación política. En segundo lugar, encarna una configuración específica de actores y discursos en forma de un sentido común dominante a la hora de pensar la relación sociedad-medio natural, que generan un efecto de maquillaje verde, de pánico, de homogeneización métrica carbónica, y de sujeción estatal bajo el régimen Kioto. Todos estos efectos ayudan a crear o enmascarar inequidades. Tomar en cuenta ciertas visiones alternativas del régimen climático global puede ayudar a corregir estos efectos.

Panika moralna w dyskursie publicznym. Rosjanie wobec współczesnej imigracji z Chińskiej Republiki Ludowej.

Wydział Nauk Społecznych: Instytut Socjologii

Nietzsche's orphans: music and the search for unity in revolutionary Russia, 1905-1921

At the dawn of the twentieth century, Imperial Russia was in the throes of immense social, political and cultural upheaval. The effects of rapid industrialization, rising capitalism and urbanization, as well as the trauma wrought by revolution and war, reverberated through all levels of society and every cultural sphere. In the aftermath of the 1905 revolution, amid a growing sense of panic over the chaos and divisions emerging in modern life, a portion of Russian educated society (obshchestvennost’) looked to the transformative and unifying power of music as a means of salvation from the personal, social and intellectual divisions of the contemporary world. Transcending professional divisions, these “orphans of Nietzsche” comprised a distinct aesthetic group within educated Russian society. While lacking a common political, religious or national outlook, these philosophers, poets, musicians and other educated members of the upper and middle strata were bound together by their shared image of music’s unifying power, itself built upon a synthesis of Russian and European ideas. They yearned for a “musical Orpheus,” a composer capable of restoring wholeness to society through his music. My dissertation is a study in what I call “musical metaphysics,” an examination of the creation, development, crisis and ultimate failure of this Orphic worldview. To begin, I examine the institutional foundations of musical life in late Imperial Russia, as well as the explosion of cultural life in the aftermath of the 1905 Revolution, a vibrant social context which nourished the formation of musical metaphysics. From here, I assess the intellectual basis upon which musical metaphysics rested: central concepts (music, life-transformation, theurgy, unity, genius, nation), as well as the philosophical heritage of Nietzsche and the Christian thinkers Vladimir Solov’ev, Aleksei Khomiakov, Ivan Kireevskii and Lev Tolstoi. Nietzsche’s orphans’ struggle to reconcile an amoral view of reality with a deeply felt sense of religious purpose gave rise to neo-Slavophile interpretations of history, in which the Russian nation (narod) was singled out as the savior of humanity from the materialism of modern life. This nationalizing tendency existed uneasily within the framework of the multi-ethnic empire. From broad social and cultural trends, I turn to detailed analysis of three of Moscow’s most admired contemporary composers, whose individual creative voices intersected with broader social concerns. The music of Aleksandr Scriabin (1871-1915) was associated with images of universal historical progress. Nikolai Medtner (1879-1951) embodied an “Imperial” worldview, in which musical style was imbued with an eternal significance which transcended the divisions of nation. The compositions of Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) were seen as the expression of a Russian “national” voice. Heightened nationalist sentiment and the impact of the Great War spelled the doom of this musical worldview. Music became an increasingly nationalized sphere within which earlier, Imperial definitions of belonging grew ever more problematic. As the Germanic heritage upon which their vision was partially based came under attack, Nietzsche’s orphans found themselves ever more divided and alienated from society as a whole. Music’s inability to physically transform the world ultimately came to symbolize the failure of Russia’s educated strata to effectively deal with the pressures of a modernizing society. In the aftermath of the 1917 revolutions, music was transformed from a symbol of active, unifying power into a space of memory, a means of commemorating, reinterpreting, and idealizing the lost world of Imperial Russia itself.

A Utilitarian Perspective of Social and Medical Contributions to Three Illustrative Conditions, and Recent UK NHS Policy Initiatives

Background: To date debate concerning the relative merits of social and medical sciences has been largely academic. Aims: To outline and critically appraise a utilitarian approach to mental health research that reflects a critical realist perspective. Method: Consideration of the relative utility of differing approaches to illustrative ‘‘psychiatric’’ disorders, and recent policy initiatives. Results: Socially relevant outcomes of Bipolar Affective Disorder are determined by influences that operate independently of the characteristic instability of mood. There is now a highly specific and effective psychological treatment for Panic Disorder. Its benefits are still not fully exploited because of continuing lay and professional focus upon the condition’s social manifestations. Great numbers of people presenting in primary care are unhelpfully caused to adopt the role of ‘‘patient’’ due to practices limiting the professional response to a medical one. Such practices reflect public and professional perceptions of the nature of ‘‘mental health difficulties’’ much more than they do the achievements of medicine. Recent policy-supporting initiatives influencing UK NHS mental health services are much more likely to be supported by social sciences than by medical research. Conclusions: There is considerable scope for a contribution to applied mental health research from frameworks and methodologies that are rooted in a social sciences perspective.

First-episode psychosis in a 15 year-old female with clinical presentation of anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis: a case report and review of the literature

BACKGROUND: Anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis is an autoimmune disease that was identified in 2007, and manifests in a stepwise manner with psychiatric, neurological and autonomic symptoms. The disease is caused by autoantibodies against NMDA receptors. It can have a paraneoplastic origin, mainly secondary to ovarian teratomas, but it can also be unrelated to the tumor. This disease can affect both sexes and all ages. CASE PRESENTATION: Here, we present a case of a 15 year-old female adolescent with first-episode psychosis with anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis not related to tumor, which manifested with delusion, hallucinations, panic attacks, agitation, and neurological symptoms, and later with autonomic instability. She was treated with immunotherapy and psychiatric medication resulting in improvement of her main psychiatric and neurological symptoms. CONCLUSION: Our main objective in presenting this case is to alert clinicians to this challenging and recent disease that has a clinical presentation that might resemble a functional psychiatric condition and can be underdiagnosed in the context of child and adolescent psychiatry

The diagnostic validity and reliability of an internet-based clinical assessment program for mental disorders

BACKGROUND: Internet-based assessment has the potential to assist with the diagnosis of mental health disorders and overcome the barriers associated with traditional services (eg, cost, stigma, distance). Further to existing online screening programs available, there is an opportunity to deliver more comprehensive and accurate diagnostic tools to supplement the assessment and treatment of mental health disorders. OBJECTIVE: The aim was to evaluate the diagnostic criterion validity and test-retest reliability of the electronic Psychological Assessment System (e-PASS), an online, self-report, multidisorder, clinical assessment and referral system. METHODS: Participants were 616 adults residing in Australia, recruited online, and representing prospective e-PASS users. Following e-PASS completion, 158 participants underwent a telephone-administered structured clinical interview and 39 participants repeated the e-PASS within 25 days of initial completion. RESULTS: With structured clinical interview results serving as the gold standard, diagnostic agreement with the e-PASS varied considerably from fair (eg, generalized anxiety disorder: κ=.37) to strong (eg, panic disorder: κ=.62). Although the e-PASS' sensitivity also varied (0.43-0.86) the specificity was generally high (0.68-1.00). The e-PASS sensitivity generally improved when reducing the e-PASS threshold to a subclinical result. Test-retest reliability ranged from moderate (eg, specific phobia: κ=.54) to substantial (eg, bulimia nervosa: κ=.87). CONCLUSIONS: The e-PASS produces reliable diagnostic results and performs generally well in excluding mental disorders, although at the expense of sensitivity. For screening purposes, the e-PASS subclinical result generally appears better than a clinical result as a diagnostic indicator. Further development and evaluation is needed to support the use of online diagnostic assessment programs for mental disorders. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN121611000704998; http://www.anzctr.org.au/trial_view.aspx?ID=336143 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/618r3wvOG).

Detection of anomalous crowd behaviour using hyperspherical clustering

Analysis of crowd behaviour in public places is an indispensable tool for video surveillance. Automated detection of anomalous crowd behaviour is a critical problem with the increase in human population. Anomalous events may include a person loitering about a place for unusual amounts of time; people running and causing panic; the size of a group of people growing over time etc. In this work, to detect anomalous events and objects, two types of feature coding has been proposed: spatial features and spatio-temporal features. Spatial features comprises of contrast, correlation, energy and homogeneity, which are derived from Gray Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM). Spatio-temporal feature includes the time spent by an object at different locations in the scene. Hyperspherical clustering has been employed to detect the anomalies. Spatial features revealed the anomalous frames by using contrast and homogeneity measures. Loitering behaviour of the people were detected as anomalous objects using the spatio-temporal coding.

Ataques de pânico: Aprender com o paciente

Dissertação de Mestrado apresentada no ISPA - Instituto Universitário

O impacto dos acontecimentos significativos no processo terapêutico: Um estudo de caso de sucesso

Este estudo teve como objetivo descrever os impactos associados aos acontecimentos significativos, identificados pelo cliente e terapeuta, ao longo de um caso de sucesso clínico. Utilizámos a metodologia de estudo de caso, com um cliente adulto, diagnosticado com perturbação de pânico e acompanhado em terapia comportamental e cognitiva. A versão portuguesa do questionário Helpful Aspects of Therapy foi administrada em todas as sessões para a recolha dos acontecimentos significativos e respetivos impactos. Categorizámos o tipo de impacto percebido a partir de uma grelha de análise temática construída com base na literatura. Os resultados mostram diferenças nos impactos percebidos pela terapeuta e pelo cliente. Enquanto para a terapeuta esses impactos incidiram sobre as categorias de Orientação, Autocompreensão, Sensação de fortalecimento e Mudança de comportamento, para o cliente os impactos percebidos incidiram nas categorias de Autocompreensão e Sensação de fortalecimento. Estes resultados sugerem que ambas as perspetivas devem ser consideradas na compreensão do que é útil para a mudança do cliente e que o terapeuta deve atender à possibilidade de emergirem outros possíveis impactos no cliente, alinhando a sua intervenção no sentido de os potenciar e contribuir dessa forma para a mudança do cliente.

Especificidade de evocação de memórias autobiográficas na perturbação de pânico um estudo à luz do modelo carfax

Dissertação de Mestrado apresentada no ISPA – Instituto Universitário para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Psicologia especialidade de Psicologia Clínica.

Does Australia need a Queer History Month?

Over the past few weeks, there have been heated discussions around what people learn about sexuality and gender at school. In some ways it has reminded me of the 1970s moral panic that occurred after the publication of Young, Gay and Proud (written by the Melbourne-based Gay Teachers and Students Group). That was almost 40 years ago.

A crowd of pedestrian dynamics – the perspective of physics.

Walking is the most basic form of transportation. A good understanding of pedestrian’s dynamics is essential in meeting the mobility and accessibility needs of people by providing a safe and quick walking flow. Advances in the dynamics of pedestrians in crowds are of great theoretical and practical interest, as they lead to new insights regarding the planning of pedestrian facilities, crowd management, or evacuation analysis. As a physicist, I would like to put forward some additional theoretical and practical contributions that could be interesting to explore, regarding the perspective of physics on about human crowd dynamics (panic as a specific form of behavior excluded).