The Ostrich Community Internet-Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Program for Distress Related to Carrying Debt

Many individuals struggling with debt will experience associated psychological stress that negatively impacts both their physical and psychological health. People in debt may be too ashamed to participate in support groups or to seek face-to-face therapy but may welcome the more anonymous help that can be made available through an internet-based therapeutic intervention. The Ostrich community internet-cognitive behavioural therapy program was specifically designed to assist individuals with distress related to carrying debt, facilitating them to move out of denial of their financial problems to managing stress symptoms and mobilizing them to be able to cope more effectively with the financial problems. Preliminary outcome studies have demonstrated the feasibility of this approach and its effectiveness.

The Relevance of Islamic Economics and Finance Fundamentals to the Contemporary Economy: Islamic Economist Perceptions

There have been some studies related to the fundamental values of Islamic economics and finance. However, not many studies directly examine the relevance of the fundamental values of Islamic economics and finance to the modern contemporary economy. This study intends to examine the perception of Islamic economists on the relevance of the fundamental values of Islamic economics and finance to the contemporary economy. This research was conducted with a qualitative design by conducting a structured survey and in-depth interviews with 61 participants. Data analysis used in this research is collected from surveys and interviews from several sources and analyzed by qualitative descriptive method. The findings show that the Islamic economists perceived that the Islamic economics and finance fundamental values are relevant to contemporary modern economic conditions. The values are also considered better in overcoming economic and financial problems, thus achieving Islamic goals of public prosperity. The results also reveal the need for more vigorous efforts in promoting Islamic economics and finance fundamental values.==========================================================================================================ABSTRAK – Relevansi Fondasi Ekonomi dan Keuangan Islam dengan Ekonomi Kontemporer: Persepsi Ekonom Islam. Kajian-kajian terkait dengan nilai-nilai dasar ekonomi dan keuangan Islam telah banyak dijumpai dalam literatur. Namun, tidak banyak penelitian yang secara langsung mengkaji relevansi nilai-nilai fundamental ekonomi dan keuangan Islam dalam tataran ekonomi kontemporer. Oleh karena itu, penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji persepsi ekonom Islam terhadap relevansi aspek fundamental ekonomi dan keuangan Islam dalam terhadap ekonomi kontemporer. Penelitian ini dilakukan dengan pendekatan kualitatif dimana data-data didapat dengan cara survei terstruktur dan wawancara mendalam dengan 61 peserta. Analisis data dilakukan dengan metode deskriptif kualitatif. Hasil kajian menunjukkan bahwa para ekonom Islam menganggap bahwa nilai-nilai fundamental ekonomi dan keuangan Islam relevan dengan kondisi ekonomi kontemporer. Nilai-nilai tersebut juga dianggap lebih baik dalam mengatasi masalah ekonomi dan keuangan kontemporer, sehingga mencapai tujuan syariah untuk kesejahteraan umat. Hasil kajian juga mengungkapkan tentang pentingnya upaya yang lebih gencar dalam mempromosikan nilai-nilai fundamental ekonomi dan keuangan Islam.

"You all are sisters! We are all family!" The construction of parenthood in 'RuPaul's Drag Race'

Drag queens epitomise gender fluidity, where the heteronormative binarism male/female is blurred and parodied. Their unconventional nature is reflected in the structure of their community, where they have created alternatives to the heteronormative family, which is historically based on heterosexual marriage and parenthood. Drag families are to be seen as places of personal and financial support, a refuge for young gay men who have been rejected by their “real” families and have financial problems. This study seeks to give prominence to the construction of parenthood in RuPaul’s Drag Race (2009-2021) by analysing the discourse – i. e. the system of statements – around drag family, parenthood and sisterhood in a corpus of 174 episodes. The research is carried out in the light of Corpus Linguistics, with the use of #Lancsbox, a software for the analysis of language data and corpora.

Physician's Burnout and the COVID-19 Pandemic—A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study in Austria

Background: The current study assesses the prevalence of burnout and psychological distress among general practitioners and physicians of various specialities, who are not working in a hospital, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally in this context, contributing factors are registered.Materials and Methods: Burnout and psychological distress were assessed with the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI-18). A newly developed self-reporting questionnaire was used to evaluate demographic data and pandemic-associated stress factors.Results: 252 general practitioners and 229 private practice physicians provided sufficient responses to the outcome variables for analysis. The prevalence of clinically relevant psychological distress was comparable between groups (12.4 vs. 9.2%). A larger proportion of general practitioners than specialists had intermediate (43.8 vs. 39.9%) or high burnout (26.9 vs. 22.0%) without reaching statistical significance for either category. When combining study participants with intermediate and high levels of burnout, the group difference attained significance (70.7 % vs. 61.9%).Conclusion: Our findings provide evidence that practicing physicians are at high risk of burnout in the context of the pandemic. Being single (standardized beta = 0.134), financial problems (beta = 0.136), and facing violence in patient care (beta = 0.135) were identified as significant predictors for psychological distress. Burnout was predicted by being single (beta = 0.112), financial problems (beta= 0.136), facing violence in patient care (beta = 0.093), stigmatization because of treatment of SARS-CoV-2-positive patients (beta = 0.150), and longer working hours during the pandemic (beta = 0.098).

The Influential Factors in Burnout in the Healthcare Staff in Kermanshah, Iran

Background: Burnout plays a key role in the life and physical and mental health of individuals and may reduce the efficiency and motivation of healthcare staff. Objectives: The present study aimed to evaluate the influential factors in burnout in the healthcare staff of Kermanshah, Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on the healthcare staff in Kermanshah in 2019. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire and the Maslach burnout inventory (Cronbach's alpha: 0.78). The participants were selected via census sampling (n = 282). Data analysis was performed in SPSS version 22 using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and Spearman’s correlation-coefficient. Results: Significant correlations were observed between emotional fatigue, disease history (P = 0.006), and financial problems (P = 0.05), as well as between depersonalization and financial difficulties (P = 0.024) and between personal adequacy and family disease history (P = 0.015). However, no significant associations between burnout and gender, educational level, professional status, marital status and living situation were shown. Conclusions: Considering the high prevalence of burnout in the healthcare staff with a disease history in themselves and their families and the association between burnout and financial problems, special attention should be paid to the health status of healthcare status through measures such as stress management and counseling to diminish occupational stress and the impact of burnout on these employees. In addition, measures such as the implementation of leisure and educational programs and stress management workshops are recommended.

Increasing Competition in the Process of Commercialization in the Sports Industry

The article provides a preliminary analysis of the development of commercialization in the sports industry in the “pandemic period”. The entire global sports industry is going through difficult times, as many sports organizations (federations, professional leagues and clubs) have lost a certain part of their income. This became especially noticeable when there were serious restrictions on the presence of fans at sports events. Therefore, now many sports organizations have serious financial problems, including such as the IOC, international sports federations, professional leagues and clubs, both in America and in Europe. Although, some sports have only benefited from the global COVID-19 pandemic, for example, chess and cybersports. In the context of increasing competition in world sports for the attention, interests and money of the main consumers, the conditions for the development of different sports will change. Whoever adapts faster to the current factors of intersectoral competition will remain the winner. Although popular sports, such as football, basketball, tennis, boxing and some others, initially have the best starting opportunities for commercialization and increasing their income. It is important for the Russian sports industry to understand the future trends in the development of world sports and intersectoral competition in order to find the optimal balance between economic and sport results. The results of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo allow us to hope that Russia’s sports potential can be developed and improved by competing with other leading sports countries.

To Remember or Forget?

Since the early twentieth century, the Swedish financial system has experienced five major financial crises—both domestic and internationally generated. With three crises within 25 years, the use of memories from previous financial problems seems a little far-fetched. But so far this has not explicitly been analysed. However, with sources from official investigations, material from the Swedish central bank (the Riksbank) as well as memos from the Bank Inspection Board and larger commercial banks, it would be possible to reconstruct how experiences from earlier financial crises influenced banks risk management and business strategies. During the financial crisis of the 1990s the lack of memories from the 1920s and 1930s was noticed. It was said that knowledge of risk management had been reduced during 60 years of governmental control. This chapter explores this loss of memory using archives and interviews.

Analysis of Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR), Non-Performing Loan (NPL), and Net Interest Margin (NIM) in Predicting Financial Distress in Financial Reports of PT. Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk

The present work investigates and predicts the condition of financial distress in PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (persero) Tbk, Unit Wonosari. All data, comprising quantitative and qualitative data, were analyzed based on the financial ratio. These data were retrieved from observation and direct interviews. Based on the data analysis, the hypothesis stating that PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (persero) Tbk Unit Wonosari did not experience financial distress was accepted. This is because the results of the measurement of CAR, NPL, and NIM of the bank are in good condition (CAR and NIM fell under a very good category, and NPL fell under the good category). It can be concluded that PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (persero) Tbk Unit Wonosari did not experience financial problems.