G. W. Brown – författare

This book studies the relationship between institutionalism and schizophrenia in the lives of mental patients. The authors observed schizophrenic patients in three different mental hospitals over a period of eight years. Their conclusions are important for the better management of institutions and for the future of extra-mural mental health services. The lives of long-term schizophrenic patients are strictly limited by their institutionalised environments, which often produce negative effects. For example, patients are especially vulnerable to social understimulation, reacing with apathy and withdrawal. On the positive side, symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations may actually decrease during institutionalisation. The interesting approach to the positive and negative effects of institutionalisation on schizophrenics will give this book a wide readership in psychiatry, social psychology and the social sciences as well as among social workers, nurses and occupational therapists.

Desert Biology: Special Topics on the Physical and Biological Aspects of Arid Regions, Volume II records the conditions and life in the arid regions of the world. This book discusses the hydrogeology of arid regions, desert soil surfaces and classes, and physical and vegetational aspects of the Sahara Desert. The Piman Indians of the Sonoran Desert, approach to the water relations of desert plants, desert arthropods, and aquatic environments of deserts are also considered. Other topics include the artificial changes in the hydrogeology of deserts, soils of individual world deserts, rainfall and water supply of desert plants, and ecological plant types in arid regions. The hydrature in true xerophytes, chloride accumulation in halophytes, and biological response to desert water conditions are likewise covered in this publication. This volume is recommended for researchers and specialists interested in the hot, dry regions of the planet.