Please be aware that some of these writings may contain strong material that could evoke an emotional response. If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800) 273-8255 or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HELP to 741-741. Students may call the Student Counseling Center at (210) 7814-1331 to schedule a telecounseling appointment with a counselor.
Additional resources recommended by the Student Counseling Center include:
Beyond Bullying
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The first book to integrate shame research into a single overarching theory* Why are some kids magnets for bullying?* Why do gay teens commit suicide four times as frequently as "straight" teens?* Why do we have more men and women in prison than any other country in the world?* Why are school shootings and acts of domestic terrorism on the rise?What could possibly be the theme that ties all of these questions together, which provides a window into so many aspects of the darker aspects of human behavior? In a word, shame.Shame is a powerful and complex emotion, capable of producing dramatic reactions from even the most mild-mannered people. While shame can be employed in positive ways, such as teaching children good manners, other types of shame can be devastating, or even lethal. However, few people trulyunderstand the role of shame in acts of bullying, violence, and discrimination.In Beyond Bullying: Breaking the Cycle of Shame, Bullying, and Violence, veteran professor of social work Jonathan Fast deftly weaves together research from the fields of psychology, sociology, economics, and history to create a single overarching theory of shame. The book introduces the concept of"weaponized shame," a toxic and intentional attack on another person, noting that weaponized shame is often at the heart of bullying situations. With clear, straightforward language, Dr. Fast traces the nuances of shame through several common types of bullying, highlighting bullying based onsexuality, gender, and race. Noting the pervasive presence of weaponized shame in American culture, Beyond Bullying extends shame theory to acts of domestic violence, racism, school shootings, and domestic terrorism. The issues that cause bullying are not limited to the schoolyard, but rather areresponsible for horrific acts of violence across the nation.Beyond mere theory, the book provides concrete suggestions for healthy ways of dealing with shame, including techniques for diffusing potentially harmful situations. An invaluable resource for parents of bullied children, Beyond Bullying will also appeal to teachers, counselors, and socialworkers.
The Costs of Courage
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This volume introduces social workers and other helping professionals to the dynamic warrior culture of the US military and their families and provides practitioners with the cultural competence necessary to successfully interact with members of this culture. This book includes best practices and approaches that encourage social workers and other mental health professionals to better consider the needs of our military and their families. The text contains the most up-to-date subject matter on social work with military personnel and their families, including thorough descriptions of major conditions suffered by members of the warrior culture in the past and present. Relevant topics such as suicide, sexual assault, veteran issues, and Don t Ask, Don t Tell, Don t Pursue, are discussed. The content is accented with a glossary of commonly used military terms and acronyms.
A Faculty Guide to Addressing Disruptive and Dangerous Behavior
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College and university faculty are asked to serve an increasingly diverse and at-risk population of students. They face disruptive and dangerous behaviors that range from speaking out of turn or misusing technology, to potentially agressive behavior. A Faculty Guide to Addressing Disruptive and Dangerous Behavior provides the practical ideas and guidance necessary to manage and mitigate these behaviors. Grounded in research and theory that addresses the interplay of mental health, substance abuse, and aggression that may enter the college classroom, this accessible book serves as a necessary guide for busy faculty members facing challenging situations in their classrooms. Special features include: Vignettes from seasoned faculty that provide thoughtful reflections and advice from everyday experience. Research-based suggestions and intervention techniques to help faculty better assess, intervene, and manage difficult behavior. Coverage of special populations, including nontraditional, veteran, and millennial students. Discussion of the latest laws and regulations that should affect and inform faculty's decisions.
The Freshman Survival Guide
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Generation Me - Revised and Updated
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In this provocative and newly revised book, headline-making psychologist Dr. Jean Twenge explores why the young people she calls "Generation Me" are tolerant, confident, open-minded, and ambitious but also disengaged, narcissistic, distrustful, and anxious. Born in the '80s, and '90s and called "The Entitlement Generation" or Millennials, they are reshaping schools, colleges, and businesses all over the country. The children of the Baby Boomers are not only feeling the effects of the recession and the changing job market--they are affecting change the world over. Now, in this new edition of Generation Me, Dr. Twenge incorporates the latest research, data, and statistics, as well as new stories and cultural references, to show how "Gen Me-ers" have shifted the American character, redefining what it means to be an individual in today's society. Dr. Twenge uses data from 11 million respondents to reveal shocking truths about this generation, including dramatic differences in sexual behavior and religious practice, and controversial predictions about what the future holds for them and society as a whole. Her often humorous, eyebrow-raising stories about real people vividly bring to life the hopes, disappointments, and challenges of Generation Me. Engaging, controversial, prescriptive, and funny, Generation Me gives Boomers and GenX'ers new and fascinating insights into their offspring, and helps those in their teens, twenties, and thirties find their road to happiness.
It's Kind of a Funny Story
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Latinas Attempting Suicide
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Since 1991, surveys conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have shown that Latina teenagers attempt suicide at a far higher rate than other American youth in the same age group; one in seven Latinas attempt suicide while one in ten black and white girls do. While thesenumbers came as a shock to the general public, many urban clinicians have long suspected this disparity without having the data to confirm the problem or draw attention to it. Here, in a compelling account of a troubling trend that draws on interviews conducted both with girls who attempted suicideand those who did not, Luis Zayas begins to unravel the mystery of why young Latinas attempt suicide in such great numbers.Beginning with a description of the U.S. Hispanic population and the many values, beliefs, norms, and child-rearing practices that Hispanic families share in common, Zayas goes on to look at the development of young Latinas, girls caught between two cultures, struggling to reconcile them. By drawingon developmental, cultural, and family psychology and acculturation and immigration theory and research, Zayas' in-depth research forms a conceptual basis for understanding Latina suicide attempts. He illustrates with the girls' own words, and those of their parents, how social, psychological,family, and cultural factors come together into a flashpoint. The result is a startling look at the nexus of influences that make Latina adolescence a particularly risky time.This book presents the anatomy of experiences before, during, and after suicide attempts and suggests new ways of understanding them. More importantly, it offers researchers and clinicians a model for understanding and working with young Latinas and their families in a compassionate, culturallysensitive manner.
Sticks and Stones
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Being a teenager has never been easy, but in recent years, with the rise of the Internet and social media, it has become exponentially more challenging. Bullying, once thought of as the province of queen bees and goons, has taken on new, complex, and insidious forms, as parents and educators know all too well. No writer is better poised to explore this territory than Emily Bazelon, who has established herself as a leading voice on the social and legal aspects of teenage drama. In Sticks and Stones, she brings readers on a deeply researched, clear-eyed journey into the ever-shifting landscape of teenage meanness and its sometimes devastating consequences. The result is an indispensable book that takes us from school cafeterias to courtrooms to the offices of Facebook, the website where so much teenage life, good and bad, now unfolds. Along the way, Bazelon defines what bullying is and, just as important, what it is not. She explores when intervention is essential and when kids should be given the freedom to fend for themselves. She also dispels persistent myths: that girls bully more than boys, that online and in-person bullying are entirely distinct, that bullying is a common cause of suicide, and that harsh criminal penalties are an effective deterrent. Above all, she believes that to deal with the problem, we must first understand it. Blending keen journalistic and narrative skills, Bazelon explores different facets of bullying through the stories of three young people who found themselves caught in the thick of it. Thirteen-year-old Monique endured months of harassment and exclusion before her mother finally pulled her out of school. Jacob was threatened and physically attacked over his sexuality in eighth grade--and then sued to protect himself and change the culture of his school. Flannery was one of six teens who faced criminal charges after a fellow student's suicide was blamed on bullying and made international headlines. With grace and authority, Bazelon chronicles how these kids' predicaments escalated, to no one's benefit, into community-wide wars. Cutting through the noise, misinformation, and sensationalism, she takes us into schools that have succeeded in reducing bullying and examines their successful strategies. The result is a groundbreaking book that will help parents, educators, and teens themselves better understand what kids are going through today and what can be done to help them through it. Praise for Sticks and Stones "Intelligent, rigorous . . . [Emily Bazelon] is a compassionate champion for justice in the domain of childhood's essential unfairness."--Andrew Solomon, The New York Times Book Review "[Bazelon] does not stint on the psychological literature, but the result never feels dense with studies; it's immersive storytelling with a sturdy base of science underneath, and draws its authority and power from both."--New York "A humane and closely reported exploration of the way that hurtful power relationships play out in the contemporary public-school setting . . . As a parent herself, [Bazelon] brings clear, kind analysis to complex and upsetting circumstances."--The Wall Street Journal "Bullying isn't new. But our attempts to respond to it are, as Bazelon explains in her richly detailed, thought-provoking book. . . . Comprehensive in her reporting and balanced in her conclusions, Bazelon extracts from these stories useful lessons for young people, parents and principals alike."--The Washington Post
Suicide Prevention and New Technologies
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The internet, smartphones, computer self-help programmes and other technological advances are the new frontiers of suicide prevention, with organisations around the world rapidly expanding these services. This book provides a critical overview of new technologies in suicide prevention and presents promising practices and future perspectives.
True Selves
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Combines authoritative information and humanitarian insight intothe transsexual experience Filled with wisdom and understanding, this groundbreaking bookpaints a vivid portrait of conflicts transsexuals face on a dailybasis--and the courage they must summon as they struggle to revealtheir true being to themselves and others. True Selves offersvaluable guidance for those who are struggling to understand thesepeople and their situations. Using real life stories, actual letters, and other compellingexamples, the authors give a clear understanding of what it meansto be transsexual. They also give other useful advice, includinghow to deal compassionately with these commonly misunderstoodindividuals--by keeping an open heart, communicating fears, painand support, respecting choices.
Youth Suicide and Bullying
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High profile media reports of young people committing suicide after experiencing bullying have propelled a national conversation about the nature and scope of this problem and the means to address it. Specialists have long known that involvement in bullying in any capacity (as the victim or asthe perpetrator) is associated with higher rates of suicidal ideation and behaviors, but evidence about which bullying subtype is at greatest risk is more mixed. For instance, some studies have shown that the association between suicidal ideation and bullying is stronger for targets of bullying thanperpetrators. However, another study found that after controlling for depression, the association was strongest for perpetrators. Similar disagreement persists with regard to gender disparities relating to bullying and self-harm, for instance.Youth Suicide and Bullying presents an authoritative review of the science demonstrating the links between these two major public health concerns alongside informed discussion and evidence-based recommendations. The volume provides sound, scientifically grounded, and effective advice about bullyingand suicide at every level: national, state, and community. Chapters provide details on models of interpersonal aggression; groups at risk for both bullying and suicide (such as sexual minorities); the role of stigma; family, school, and community-based youth bullying and suicide preventionprograms, and more. Each chapter concludes with recommendations for mental health providers, educators, and policymakers. Compiling knowledge from the most informed experts and providing authoritative research-based information, this volume supports efforts to better understand and thereby reducethe prevalence of victimization and suicide.
The American Psychiatric Association Publishing Textbook of Suicide Risk Assessment and Management
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Black women's mental health : balancing strength and vulnerability
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This book offers a unique, interdisciplinary, and thoughtful look at the challenges and potency of Black women's struggle for inner peace and mental stability. It brings together contributors from psychology, sociology, law, and medicine, as well as the humanities, to discuss issues ranging from stress, sexual assault, healing, self-care, and contemplative practice to health-policy considerations and parenting. Merging theory and practice with personal narratives and public policy, the book develops a new framework for approaching Black women's wellness in order to provide tangible solutions. The collection reflects feminist praxis and defines womanist peace in terms that reject both "superwoman" stereotypes and "victim" caricatures. Also included for health professionals are concrete recommendations for understanding and treating Black women.
Building Youth for the Future: a Path Towards Suicide Prevention
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While much needs to be done in order to minimize the suicide attempts and suicides of adolescents, the work of Stop Youth Suicide (SYS) campaign and the comprehensive grassroots' approach is showing signs of success in the state of Kentucky. The 2013 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) showed that for the first time, indicators of youth suicide in the state are at or below the national average, where they were previously always above. In the three rural counties where the school systems have partnered with SYS and the Division of Adolescent Medicine in Lexington, there is an actual absence of completed suicides compared to the average of three per year prior to this partnership. In order to maintain and improve that statistic, we must ensure that students do not have easy access to weapons, guns and drugs by ensuring that these items are properly stored in homes where children are present. Kentucky's educators must continue to develop ways to provide safe and supportive school environments. In this book, the authors have gathered presentations from the 2017 Annual Stop Youth Suicide Campaign Conference, which we hope will be of interest and help to the readers.
Bullying
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This book is published in order to raise worldwide medical awareness about the nature of bullying and its link to serious health risks. It highlights the global occurrence of this type of maltreatment, which has been found to jeopardize the lives of millions of young people around the world, who either bullied others and/or were victimized themselves. These groups of young people are at higher risk, than their cohorts, for three leading proximate causes of death, such as accidents, suicide and homicide. Furthermore, they have a greater risk of non-proximate lethal etiologies including daily smoking, alcohol abuse, carrying and using weapons, eating disorders and running away episodes. This book is based upon two special issues published in the International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health and permission has been obtained from the publisher De Gruyter in Berlin to publish this modified and updated version of the papers in this book.
Dead Boys Can't Dance: Sexual Orientation, Masculinity, and Suicide
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Dorais and Lajeunesse analyse the adverse ways being stigmatized as homosexual affects personality and behaviour, discerning four types of reaction: the 'perfect boy, ' whose perfectionism and asexuality are an attempt to minimize the difference between how he is perceived and what he is supposed to be; the 'chameleon, ' who attempts to keep everyone from suspecting his secret but constantly feels like an impostor; the 'token fag, ' who serves as a scapegoat to his peers, especially at school, and suffers a consequent rejection and lack of self-esteem; and the 'rebel, ' who actively rejects any stigma based on his sexual orientation and non-conformity. They show that those who are heterosexual but suspected of being homosexual are most at risk of suicide and make recommendations for suicide preventi
Help Yourself Move Out of Depression and Anxiety
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This practical 12-step self-help programis a guide to overcoming feelings of fear, anxiety and depression.Encouraging a pro-active approach, Help Yourself is filled witheffective strategies for change OCo such as goal setting, positiveself-talk and letting go OCo and includes self-scoring record sheetsthat enable readers to track their own progress.Issues covered by the program include: OCo how to cope with panic and fear;OCo the causes of depression and anxiety;OCo how to deal with problems more decisively; andOCo how to confront unexpressed and unaccepted feelings.Developed through Helga RoweOCOs years of experience as atherapist, Help Yourself is an accessible guide to dealingwith negative thoughts and emotions."
Help Yourself Towards Mental Health
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A comprehensive guide to how an individual can help themselves resolve a wide variety of ordinary, everyday life problems and improve their mental health.'This is an extensive collection of self-help material, which has been written to provide resources to complement self-exploration or professional counselling. The knowledge has been built up through years of working in the field of mental health, listening to patients, and searching for the materials that could make a difference. The skill is in how the handouts have been put together to be easily accessible and helpful, and in a format that allows flexibility and tailoring to the individual. The attitude of current evidence-based guidelines is to support a range of self-help approaches and talking therapies to enable people to achieve better mental health, rather than turning to drugs. This is therefore a most welcome tool from which patients will benefit, and indeed, we could all use to help us achieve a better life/work balance and feeling of well-being.'- Dr Patricia Donald, MBE
How to Help the Suicidal Person to Choose Life: the Ethic of Care and Empathy as an Indispensable Tool for Intervention
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Immigration and Mental Health
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Immigrants' voyages to a new land have been among the most exciting and noble of human endeavors. It is the amazing courage to flee oppression, to leave behind everything that is familiar, and to chance the hostility of a completely alien culture in order to find freedom, opportunity, and a better life. Immigrants often face difficulty adjusting to their new home in a new country for many reasons, including coping with trauma experienced in their native country, overcoming cultural and language barriers, and encountering discrimination. This can lead to severe and long-lasting psychological and behavioral problems, including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and a high risk for suicide.
Invisible Wounds of War
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A comprehensive study of the post-deployment health-related needs associated with post-traumatic stress disorder, major depression, and traumatic brain injury among servicemembers returning from Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, the health care system in place to meet those needs, gaps in the care system, and the costs associated with these conditions and with providing quality health care to all those in need.
The Mindful Twenty-Something
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Preventing College Student Suicide
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Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among college students. Further, one in ten college students has considered suicide in the past year. Experts have called for a comprehensive, systemic approach to campus suicide prevention that addresses both at-risk groups and the general campus population. Since 2005, 138 colleges and universities have received funding under the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act to develop and implement campus suicide prevention programs. This volume highlights successful strategies implemented by grantee campuses. These approaches can serve as models to address student suicide and prevention on other campuses. This is the 141st volume of this Jossey-Bass higher education quarterly series. An indispensable resource for vice presidents of student affairs, deans of students, student counselors, and other student services professionals, New Directions for Student Services offers guidelines and programs for aiding students in their total development: emotional, social, physical, and intellectual.
Signature Wounds
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The surprising story of the Army's efforts to combat PTSD and traumatic brain injury The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have taken a tremendous toll on the mental health of our troops. In 2005, then-Senator Barack Obama took to the Senate floor to tell his colleagues that "many of our injured soldiers are returning from Iraq with traumatic brain injury," which doctors were calling the "signature wound" of the Iraq War. Alarming stories of veterans taking their own lives raised a host of vital questions: Why hadn't the military been better prepared to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI)? Why were troops being denied care and sent back to Iraq? Why weren't the Army and the VA doing more to address these issues? Drawing on previously unreleased documents and oral histories, David Kieran tells the broad and nuanced story of the Army's efforts to understand and address these issues, challenging the popular media view that the Iraq War was mismanaged by a callous military unwilling to address the human toll of the wars. The story of mental health during this war is the story of how different groups--soldiers, veterans and their families, anti-war politicians, researchers and clinicians, and military leaders--approached these issues from different perspectives and with different agendas. It is the story of how the advancement of medical knowledge moves at a different pace than the needs of an Army at war, and it is the story of how medical conditions intersect with larger political questions about militarism and foreign policy. This book shows how PTSD, TBI, and suicide became the signature wounds of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, how they prompted change within the Army itself, and how mental health became a factor in the debates about the impact of these conflicts on US culture. The surprising story of the Army's efforts to combat PTSD and traumatic brain injury The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have taken a tremendous toll on the mental health of our troops. In 2005, then-Senator Barack Obama took to the Senate floor to tell his colleagues that "many of our injured soldiers are returning from Iraq with traumatic brain injury," which doctors were calling the "signature wound" of the Iraq War. Alarming stories of veterans taking their own lives raised a host of vital questions: Why hadn't the military been better prepared to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI)? Why were troops being denied care and sent back to Iraq? Why weren't the Army and the VA doing more to address these issues? Drawing on previously unreleased documents and oral histories, David Kieran tells the broad and nuanced story of the Army's efforts to understand and address these issues, challenging the popular media view that the Iraq War was mismanaged by a callous military unwilling to address the human toll of the wars. The story of mental health during this war is the story of how different groups--soldiers, veterans and their families, anti-war politicians, researchers and clinicians, and military leaders--approached these issues from different perspectives and with different agendas. It is the story of how the advancement of medical knowledge moves at a different pace than the needs of an Army at war, and it is the story of how medical conditions intersect with larger political questions about militarism and foreign policy. This book shows how PTSD, TBI, and suicide became the signature wounds of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, how they prompted change within the Army itself, and how mental health became a factor in the debates about the impact of these conflicts on US culture.
Suicide Prevention: an Ethically and Scientifically Informed Approach
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The Unapologetic Guide to Black Mental Health
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Understanding and Preventing College Student Suicide
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Suicide is currently the second leading cause of death among college students in the United States. This complex issue on college campuses is often overlooked, and this book combines the efforts from several leaders in the field of suicidology in an attempt to grasp a better understanding of college student suicide. The book is divided into four parts. Part I discusses suicidal behaviors among college students, college student suicide risk and an analysis of national epidemiological data, gender considerations, racial and ethnic differences, and murder-suicide on campus. Part II explores the risk and protective factors, individual and family history, alcohol involvement, environmental stressors, interpersonal factors, and protective factors. Part III addresses identification and treatment, suicide assessment, cognitive behavioral therapy, including college suicide prevention programs and interventions. A case study presents a real illustration of a counseling intervention with a college student. Additional topics include the variability of college student suicidal behaviors, identification of at-risk students, and legal liabilities of universities. This unique and comprehensive book is intended for college counseling centers, researchers, clinicians, and professionals who are faced with issues relating to college student suicide on a regular basis.
What to Do When College Is Not the Best Time of Your Life
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If college is supposed to be the best time of our lives, why are so many students unhappy? What causes a well-adjusted and academically successful high school graduate to suddenly flounder when he reaches college? Why might she start to skip classes, binge on alcohol, or engage in unsatisfying hook-ups? Where does the anger and self-doubt come from, and why is it directed at loving parents or the student himself? Drawing on years of experience treating college-age youth, David Leibow, M.D. provides fresh, honest, and realistic answers to these and other important questions. Instead of adventure, liberation, and a triumphant march into adulthood, many college students experience shame, regression, and social and academic failure. Yet by understanding themselves better and making reasonable changes, students can grow from these challenges and turn bad choices into wiser personal and educational decisions. Leibow focuses on issues common to college settings-anxiety and depression, drug and alcohol abuse, laziness and work avoidance, body-image problems, and unhealthy relationships-detailing coping strategies and professional resources that best respond to each crisis. His intimate knowledge of campus life and its unique challenges adds credibility and weight to his advice. Reorienting the expectations of parents and students while providing the tools for overcoming a variety of hurdles, Leibow shows how college can still become one of the best times of our lives.
