Research into effective interventions for the negative psychological impacts of long-term unemployment has been sparse. One intervention, based on cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), has been successfully implemented in two studies with long-term unemployed professionals and youth. Can these ndings be generalized to disadvantaged job-seekers who are long-term unemployed? Local support services for unemployed people located within disadvantaged areas in Sydney were approached to recruit volunteer participants. Participants were assigned in random blocks to a brief group CBT training programme or a non-CBT skills-based comparison programme. Telephone administered questionnaires completed before each course and 12 weeks later assessed psychological health variables (general mental health, self-esteem, hopelessness, optimism, self-ef cacy) and success in job nding. Analyses are based on the 57 CBT group participants and 43 comparison group participants who completed 12-week follow-up assessments. Both groups reported improvements in psychological health variables at 12 weeks. Improvements in optimism and hopelessness were greater for the comparison group than the CBT group. This study was unable to replicate the bene ts of CBT-based programmes for disadvantaged long-term unemployed job-seekers. The dif culties and limitations of disseminating effective interventions to unemployed groups who are most disadvantaged using existing support services are discussed.

BackgroundUnderstanding the dynamics of the microbial communities that, along with their secreted enzymes, are involved in the natural process of biomass composting may hold the key to breaking the major bottleneck in biomass-to-biofuels conversion technology, which is the still-costly deconstruction of polymeric biomass carbohydrates to fermentable sugars.However, the complexity of both the structure of plant biomass and its counterpart microbial degradation communities makes it difficult to investigate the composting process.ResultsIn this study, a composter was set up with a mix of yellow poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) wood-chips and mown lawn grass clippings (85:15 in dry-weight) and used as a model system. The microbial rDNA abundance data obtained from analyzing weekly-withdrawn composted samples suggested population-shifts from bacteria-dominated to fungus-dominated communities. Further analyses by an array of optical microscopic, transcriptional and enzyme-activity techniques yielded correlated results, suggesting that such population shifts occurred along with early removal of hemicellulose followed by attack on the consequently uncovered cellulose as the composting progressed.ConclusionThe observed shifts in dominance by representative microbial groups, along with the observed different patterns in the gene expression and enzymatic activities between cellulases, hemicellulases, and ligninases during the composting process, provide new perspectives for biomass-derived biotechnology such as consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) and solid-state fermentation for the production of cellulolytic enzymes and biofuels.

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span><p class="CenteredTextSingleSpace" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left; line-height: 200%;">Research has established that individuals who provide personal therapy to others should have stable personal and professional lives, and possess a keen and accurate perception of wellness. Unfortunately, sometimes students pursuing careers in counseling and psychotherapy have unresolved psychological issues that, if unresolved, could later affect them in their professional lives. However, nowadays few counselor education programs have a systematic way to evaluate and improve wellness in their students. Furthermore, the field lacks research studies addressing the well-being of counselors-in-training, their perception of wellness, and their need for self-care. As a result, this study aimed to examine the relationship between psychological well-being and perceived wellness in a sample (N = 97) of graduate students in a CACREP-accredited counseling program at a state university in Pennsylvania. It measured the participants' psychological well-being by the Scales of Psychological Well-Being (SPWB) and their perception of wellness by the Perceived Wellness Survey (PWS). Multiple regression analysis revealed a significant relationship between psychological well-being and perceived wellness of counselors-in-training.</p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span>

Over the past two decades, we have substantially increased our understanding of violence committed by individuals with mental illness, while comparatively less is known about the victimization experiences of this population. What has been established in the literature is that individuals with mental illness are more likely to experience victimization than the general public, and certain risk factors influence the likelihood of victimization. What remains unexplored is the possibility that a person with mental illness’ perception that mental illness is stigmatized may be significantly associated with victimization experiences. Thus, the purpose of the current study is to examine whether stigma and victimization are associated, and in what direction. In other words, does perceived stigma lead to victimization? Or does victimization lead to perceived stigma? To assess these research questions, data from the Community Outcomes of Assisted Outpatient Treatment study are used, which is a longitudinal study of individuals with serious mental illness ( n = 184). A variety of methods are employed to assess the association between victimization and perceived stigma including logistic and ordinary least squares regression models. Results from the logistic regression model indicate that perceived stigma is associated with an increase in the odds that a person with mental illness will experience victimization at later follow-ups. Results from the ordinary least squares regression analysis, however, show that victimization at baseline does not predict perceived stigma at later times. Implications regarding future research and clinical practice are discussed.