Debate regarding the continuity of Cypriot political forms from the Late Bronze Age to the Cypro-Archaic is persistent, resulting in a scholarly divide with few signs of resolution. This article reviews the historiography of political forms proposed for Cyprus as the essential context for this debate. It considers several major themes that emerge from the debate: the use of anthropological models for state formation, regionalism, social networks, and the nature of spatial power. The author views the debate as centred on two equally valid motivations: using related social science theory to enhance archaeological explanation and emphasizing Cypriot autonomy. These motivations need not be set in opposition but, together, illustrate the island's unique history and provide the basis for vibrant scholarship.

The restrictive measures taken by nursing homes during the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 (e.g., quarantine) may have been important stressors for which residents needed resilience to safeguard their well-being. Based on 30 semi-structured interviews with nursing home residents and close relatives, this study explored the lived experiences with respect to the restrictive measures. The data were collected in psychogeriatric, somatic, and mixed wards in The Netherlands and Flanders, Belgium. The restrictive measures were important stressors for residents, indicated by feelings of loneliness, sadness, and powerlessness. To deal with these measures, residents used various resources, which were determined by factors in the individual (e.g., health), interactional (e.g., possibilities for social interactions) and contextual (e.g. nursing home policy) domains. Because the lived experiences with respect to the restrictive measures seemed to relate to the resilience of nursing home residents, it is crucial to reinforce resources in the individual, interactional, and contextual domains.

During the pandemic, older adults were perceived as a vulnerable group without considering their various strengths. This study explored the associations between character strengths and resilience, and verified if some of these could predict resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. A sample of 92 participants (women = 79.1%), ≥ 70 years of age (mean = 75.6 years), completed an online version of the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths – Positively keyed (VIA-IS-P) to assess 24 character strengths (grouped under six virtues) and the Connor and Davidson Resilience Scale. Results showed that 20 of the 24 strengths correlated positively and significantly with resilience. A multiple regression analysis revealed that the virtues of courage and transcendence, as well as attitudes toward aging, uniquely predicted the level of resilience. Interventions should be developed to improve certain strengths (e.g., creativity, zest, hope, humor, and curiosity), while reducing ageism, in order to promote resilience.

To document the reactions and experiences of older persons during the COVID-19 pandemic, we have conducted a qualitative study of 25 older adults (50 years of age and older) throughout the pandemic, using serial interviewing methods. This analysis reports on the data collected from the first two rounds of interviews – one conducted in the summer of 2020 and one conducted in the fall of 2020. Our thematic analysis found eight major themes: thoughts on the dangers of the pandemic, how the virus has changed daily life (including social life), health care during COVID (being a caregiver, losing a loved one, seeking health care), missing spontaneity and dealing with existential dread, the growing frustration, seeking connection through civic participation, adaptation and resilience, and the social ills that the pandemic has revealed. These stories describe both loneliness and connection, hope coupled with disappointment, but overwhelmingly, an insight into what the pandemic has shown us about the social ills that it has revealed.

This study examines associations between lifestyle behavioural factors and appraisals of “healthy aging” among older adults experiencing multimorbidity. A Social Determinants and Health Behaviour Model (SDHBM) is used to frame the analyses. Using baseline data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA), we studied 12,272 Canadians 65 years of age or older who reported 2 or more of 27 chronic conditions. Additional analyses were conducted using three multimorbidity clusters: cardiovascular/metabolic, musculoskeletal, and mental health. Using hierarchical logistic regression, it was found that, for multmorbidity and the three illness clusters, healthy aging is consistently associated with not smoking (except for the mental health cluster), an absence of obesity (except for the cardiovascular and metabolic cluster), better sleep, and a better appetite. It is not associated with inactivity. Several socio-demographic, environmental, and illness covariates were also supported. The findings are examined using the SDHBM coupled with a resilience lens in order to elucidate how modifiable health behaviours can act as resources to mitigate multimorbidity adversities. This has implications for healthy aging for persons with multimorbidity, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study presents on the initial development and validation of the Resilience Scale for Older Adults (RSOA). This new measure is based on a theoretical model of resilience grounded in qualitative research conducted with older adults. The scale consists of four resilience protective factors with 11 underlying facets. The Intrapersonal factor consists of Perseverance and Determination, Self-Efficacy and Independence, Purpose and Meaning, and Positive Perspective. The Interpersonal factor consists of Sense of Community, Family Support, and Friend/Neighbour Support. The Spiritual factor consists of Faith and Prayer, and the Experiential factor consists of Previous Adversity and Proactivity. The findings of three independent studies using older adult samples support the four-factor, 11-facet structure of the RSOA. Results also provide promising initial reliability and validity information, and analysis of gender invariance suggests that the factor structure is comparable across men and women. Implications for the applicability of the RSOA in research and clinical settings are discussed.

The COVID-19 global crisis is reshaping Canadian society in unexpected and profound ways. The significantly higher morbidity and mortality risks by age suggest that this is largely a “gero-pandemic,” which has thrust the field of aging onto center stage. This editorial emphasizes that vulnerable older adults are also those most affected by COVID-19 in terms of infection risk, negative health effects, and the potential deleterious outcomes on a range of social, psychological, and economic contexts – from ageism to social isolation. We also contend that the pathogenic analysis of this pandemic needs to be balanced with a salutogenic approach that examines the positive adaptation of people, systems and society, termed COVID-19 resilience. This begs the question: how and why do some older adults and communities adapt and thrive better than others? This examination will lead to the identification and response to research and data gaps, challenges, and innovative opportunities as we plan for a future in which COVID-19 has become another endemic infection in the growing list of emerging and re-emerging pathogens.

Il est impossible de faire un barème des traumatismes : ce qui fracasse l’un, fait sourire son voisin. À l’inverse on peut évaluer tous les facteurs de résilience. Mais alors, il faudra renoncer à séparer le corps et l’esprit et s’entraîner aux raisonnements systémiques. Un isolement sensoriel précoce (préverbal), en cessant de stimuler l’arborisation préfrontale, provoque une altération de la représentation du temps et l’acquisition d’une vulnérabilité neuro-émotionnelle. Tout événement prend pour un tel organisme la valeur d’une agression. Plus tard, quand le blessé est capable de parler, c’est la représentation du trauma qui peut s’ajouter à sa souffrance où la réparer : un récit non partagé mène à la rumination mentale, mais le sentiment provoqué par ce récit dépend de la relation avec un autre et de la congruence avec les récits sociaux.

La littérature suggère qu’une enfance instable engendrerait une résilience plus faible, et qu’une résilience faible serait prédictrice d’un plus haut risque de dépendance et de complications psychiatriques [1,2]. Dans ce contexte, notre objectif a été d’étudier l’ensemble de ces facteurs en une même étude afin d’affiner les trajectoires des patients consommateurs de cocaïne. Nous avons réalisé une étude préliminaire sur 200 patients régulièrement suivis dans 6 centres de soin parisiens. Nous avons évalué la résilience à l’aide de la CD-RISC [3] qui est un auto-questionnaire en 25 questions évaluant 5 dimensions et donnant lieu à un score total. De plus, nous avons procédé à des hétéro-évaluations concernant les variables psychiatriques et les antécédents familiaux (évalués rétrospectivement) et mesuré les dépendances aux différentes substances à l’aide des critères du DSM-IV. Les facteurs de vulnérabilité nous montrent que l’abus (ou dépendance) d’alcool du père, ainsi que le nombre de ruptures parentales sont associés à une plus faible résilience. L’étude des variables psychiatriques révèle qu’une faible résilience serait associée à un plus haut risque de commettre au moins une tentative de suicide dans sa vie, à un plus haut risque d’hospitalisation en service de psychiatrie et de diagnostic de schizophrénie. S’agissant des comorbidités addictives, une faible résilience est prédictrice d’un plus haut risque de dépendance aux opiacés, ainsi qu’aux benzodiazépines, et d’injection de cocaïne. Enfin, les facteurs du CD RISC sont associés à plus de sevrages hospitaliers. En reprenant la théorie de Didier, les adolescents s’intègrerait dans un groupe de pairs dépendants pour palier à une cellule familiale insecure [2]. Une faible résilience de ces patients pourrait conduire à plus de dépendance aux produits anesthésiants comme stratégie de coping. Pour aller plus loin, il pourrait être pertinent d’étudier conjointement résilience, traumatismes et style parentaux.

Duplex stainless steels are known to have a good resistance to localised corrosion,especially thanks to their quiet high level of chromium (and for some of them molybdenum),but also because of their very low level of sulphur. These very low levels of sulphur arealso useful to guaranty a good toughness and a good hot workability for these grades.Concerning long products like bars made in Duplex Stainless steels, one of their mostimportant property, after corrosion resistance, is their machinability. Unfortunately, oneof the most known way to improve the machinability of stainless steels is to increasetheir sulphur level, thus forming manganese sulphides in the stainless steels which inducebetter chip breaking and lubrication at the chip – cutting tool interface. So the questionis: can the sulphur well-known way to improve machinability of stainless steels be used onDuplex Stainless Steels, without inducing hot rolling difficulties and too important adecrease of their other main properties, i.e. localised corrosion resistance andtoughness? If not, are other ways possible?

Embrittlement of duplex stainless steels after aging below 500 °C is a well documentedphenomenon, usually attributed to the unmixing of the ferritic Fe-Cr solid solution,either by spinodal decomposition or by nucleation and growth of Cr-rich α′ phase,depending on aging temperature. Additional precipitation taking place during aging, likeNiSiMo-rich G phase or Cu-ε, are also known to participate to embrittlement, making thecomposition dependence of embrittlement kinetics even more intricate. In this study, longterm aging treatments, up to 2 years at intermediate temperature (250–400 °C), have beenperformed for various duplex stainless steels grades containing different alloyingcontents in Cr, Mo, Si, Ni and N. Impact toughness has been measured after each agingcondition, and an apparent activation energy could be deduced for the various grades. Thisquantity is a good indicator of embrittlement resistance. Fine microstructuralcharacterizations have been performed in the ferrite: composition before aging wasdetermined by EPMA, and precipitation state before and after aging was observed on TEM.The influence of alloying elements on the embrittlement phenomenon is analyzed on thebasis of these results and of driving force calculations performed onThermo-Calc®.

Les aciers inoxydables ferritiques connaissent un développement régulier depuis de nombreuses années, en partie grâce aux variations importantes du coût des éléments d’alliage et notamment du nickel qui impactent fortement le prix des nuances austénitiques classiques. Toutefois, il ne faut pas négliger les avantages techniques que présentent les nuances ferritiques. Cet article présente une série d’exemples illustrant les performances des aciers inoxydables ferritiques dans des domaines d’applications variés et souligne la large gamme de propriétés qui peuvent être obtenues.

Despite the focus on burden of caregiving in gerontological research, studies have shown that few caregivers are overly burdened. This article compares predictors of role-specific burden and two quality-of-life measures among caregivers experiencing heavy care demands to assess role-impact on each. The study included 92 community-based caregivers on Vancouver Island. Predictors included primary stressors, personal resources, and socio-demographic factors. Demands of caregiving emerged as the most significant correlate of role-specific burden and was important for overall well-being indirectly, through burden. Resilience was an important correlate of all three outcomes. Over the year of the study, caregivers improved in all three outcomes examined, but we were unsuccessful in predicting that change. Findings suggest caregivers can both be burdened and simultaneously experience good or high well-being, pointing to the importance of not generalizing from studies restricted only to caregiver burden in making recommendations about these people's overall lives.