The Joint Vienna Institute

"How does the intellectual role played by international training organisations fit into the contemporary architecture of global governance? The international diffusion of economic policy ideas represents one of the core dimensions of contemporary global governance, which has generated heated controversy in recent years with international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank castigated for championing a ‘one-size-fits-all’ brand of neoliberal economic reform. Yet while substantial scholarly attention has focused on analysing the effects of the formal compliance mechanisms that the IMF and the World Bank rely on to implement neoliberal policy changes in borrowing countries, such as loan conditionality, less attention has been devoted to exploring the intermediate avenues through which neoliberal ideas travel from global governance institutions to national governance contexts. This article aims to address this gap in the study of contemporary global governance and neoliberal policy diffusion through critically examining the evolving role of the Joint Vienna Institute (JVI), an international training organisation set up after the end of the Cold War to transmit global ‘best practice’ economic policy ideas to national officials in post-communist economies.

Moral responsibility and mental illness : a case study

Various authors have argued that progress in the neurocognitive and neuropsychiatric sciences might threaten the commonsense understanding of how the mind generates behavior, and, as a consequence, it might also threaten the commonsense ways of attributing moral responsibility, if not the very notion of moral responsibility. In the case of actions that result in undesirable outcomes (e.g., someone being harmed), the commonsense conception—which is reflected in sophisticated ways in the legal conception—tells us that there are circumstances in which the agent is entirely and fully responsible for the bad outcome (and deserves to be punished accordingly) and circumstances in which the agent is not at all responsible for the bad outcome (and thereby the agent does not deserve to be punished)

Space shuttle engineering and operations support. Avionics system engineering

The shuttle avionics integration laboratory (SAIL) requirements for supporting the Spacelab/orbiter avionics verification process are defined. The principal topics are a Spacelab avionics hardware assessment, test operations center/electronic systems test laboratory (TOC/ESL) data processing requirements definition, SAIL (Building 16) payload accommodations study, and projected funding and test scheduling. Because of the complex nature of the Spacelab/orbiter computer systems, the PCM data link, and the high rate digital data system hardware/software relationships, early avionics interface verification is required. The SAIL is a prime candidate test location to accomplish this early avionics verification

Reasoning with comparative moral judgements: an argument for Moral Bayesianism

The paper discusses the notion of reasoning with comparative moral judgements (i.e judgements of the form “act a is morally superior to act b”) from the point of view of several meta-ethical positions. Using a simple formal result, it is argued that only a version of moral cognitivism that is committed to the claim that moral beliefs come in degrees can give a normatively plausible account of such reasoning. Some implications of accepting such a version of moral cognitivism are discussed

Bullying victimization and psychosis : the inter-dependence and independence of risk trajectories

In the last several years a number of studies have noted an association between bullying and psychotic symptoms. Our aim here is to offer an overview on the topic, focusing especially on a developmental perspective. First, we highlight the latest studies to date regarding psychosis across the continuum and its relationship with bullying. In the second section, we summarize the three main explanatory models investigated: developmental, biological and cognitive models. In the discussion section we affirm that the sharing of numerous risk factors put people at risk of both psychosis and of being bullied, and bullying itself may further enhance the development of psychosis. Moreover, bullying is a risk factor for several mental disorders and is non-specific for psychosis, but there is some particularity in the trajectory involved between victimization and the onset of psychosis. In conclusion we recommend that the study of bullying in psychosis requires careful study of the developmental trajectories involved and research should now focus on how personal, social and biological factors interact between them

At-risk mental state for psychosis : identification and current treatment approaches

© The Royal College of Psychiatrists 2016. The concept of an ‘at-risk mental state’ for psychosis arose from previous work attempting to identify a putative psychosis prodrome. In this article we summarise the current criteria used to identify ‘at-risk’ individuals, such as the ultra-highrisk (UHR) criteria, and the further identification of important clinical risk factors or biomarkers to improve prediction of who might develop a psychotic disorder. We also discuss important ethical issues in classifying and treating at-risk individuals, current treatment trials in this area and what treatment current services can offer

Facial Pain Associated with CPAP Use: Intra-Sinusal Third Molar

Objective. This paper describes a patient with left hemifacial pain elicited by the use of a CPAP mask. Case Report. A 74-year-old man was referred with a history of pain in the left maxillary sinus related to the use of his CPAP interface, thereby prohibiting the use of the latter. Computed tomography revealed an intra-sinusal ectopic third molar in the left maxillary sinus floor corresponding to the painful area. After removal of the ectopic tooth under local anesthesia by a Caldwell-Luc approach, the patient was relieved of his symptoms. Conclusion. Although an ectopic tooth in the maxillary sinus is rare, this case points out the importance of actively looking for a regional problem if patients cannot tolerate the CPAP interface since this can lead to issues of incompliance and medical complications due to the untreated obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome

Mood instability : significance, definition and measurement

Mood instability is common, and an important feature of several psychiatric disorders. We discuss the definition and measurement of mood instability, and review its prevalence, characteristics, neurobiological correlates and clinical implications. We suggest that mood instability has underappreciated transdiagnostic potential as an investigational and therapeutic target

At-risk mental state for psychosis : identification and current treatment approaches

© The Royal College of Psychiatrists 2016. The concept of an ‘at-risk mental state’ for psychosis arose from previous work attempting to identify a putative psychosis prodrome. In this article we summarise the current criteria used to identify ‘at-risk’ individuals, such as the ultra-highrisk (UHR) criteria, and the further identification of important clinical risk factors or biomarkers to improve prediction of who might develop a psychotic disorder. We also discuss important ethical issues in classifying and treating at-risk individuals, current treatment trials in this area and what treatment current services can offer

Two-photon quantum walks in an elliptical direct-write waveguide array

Integrated optics provides an ideal test bed for the emulation of quantum systems via continuous-time quantum walks. Here we study the evolution of two-photon states in an elliptic array of waveguides. We characterise the photonic chip via coherent-light tomography and use the results to predict distinct differences between temporally indistinguishable and distinguishable two-photon inputs which we then compare with experimental observations. Our work highlights the feasibility for emulation of coherent quantum phenomena in three-dimensional waveguide structures.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure