调查：白领更易患抑郁症

调查：白领更易患抑郁症
White collars 'suffer worst depression'
[ 2007-04-26 09:06 ]


Money really can't buy happiness, according to a new survey showing lawyers and other well-paid white-collar workers are more likely to suffer depression.

A national survey of more than 7500 professionals has found that almost one in 10 reported moderate to severe depressive symptoms.

The legal profession had the worst result, with almost 16 per cent reporting symptoms of clinical depression. Next were accountants and insurance underwriters, both on 10 per cent.

People in IT services, architecture and engineering also had depression rates above the average.

The survey conducted by Beyondblue, an organization devoted to fighting depression, also showed that those under 30 had the highest rates of depression and were the most likely to "self-medicate" with drugs and alcohol.

Beyondblue deputy chief executive and psychologist, Dr Nicole Highet, said the survey-the largest of its kind- was first to reveal the extent of the problem.

"We often associate depression with the most socially disadvantaged (and) people under financial pressure, but here's a whole different group," Dr Highet said.

She said while it was difficult to know exactly what made some groups more prone to depression, it was likely to be driven by work pressures.

"It seems, with law in particular, there's a problem with employee expectations and their working reality," Dr Highet said.

"People base their whole identities on being successful in their role and when it doesn't live up to expectations, and they fail to keep a work-life balance, that impacts on their mental health."

Among female lawyers, the average age of first pregnancy was 39, "reflecting the all-or-nothing pressure that the sector places on individuals", she said.

Law Institute of Victoria chief executive Michael Brett Young said the survey supported anecdotal evidence that depression was a growing problem.

"Our message is no one should feel ashamed about being stressed," Mr Young said.

"Ask for help from your colleagues rather than suffer in silence."

(AAP)

看来金钱确实买不到快乐。一项最新调查表明，律师和其他一些高薪白领患抑郁症的几率较大。

一项对7500多名职员开展的全国性调查发现，近十分之一的受访者称自己有中度至重度的抑郁症症状。

法律行业的情况更糟糕，近16%的人称自己有临床抑郁症的症状。会计和保险承保人的这一比例位居其后，均为10%。

IT服务、建筑和工程行业的人患抑郁症的比例也高于平均水平。

此外，这项由抗抑郁症组织Beyondblue开展的调查表明，30岁以下的人患抑郁症的比例最高，而且这一人群用药物和酒精饮料进行“自行治疗"的几率最大。

Beyondblue副首席执行官、心理学家妮可·海耶特博士说，该调查是此领域目前规模最大的一次，首次暴露了这个问题的严重程度。

海耶特博士说：“我们常把抑郁症与最弱势的社会群体以及有经济压力的人联系在一起，但事实上是另一个完全不同的人群存在这个问题。”

她说，至于为什么有些人群更容易患抑郁症还难以解释，但这可能是由于工作压力造成的。

海耶特说：“员工的期望值与他们实际工作状况的差别可能是个主要问题，尤其对于法律行业的人来说。”

“人们将事业成功作为自己的首要目标，当实际情况达不到期望值时，他们就无法维持工作与生活的平衡了，这便会对他们的心理健康产生影响。”

她说，女律师首次怀孕的平均年龄为39岁，“这反映了这个行业对从业者的压力是一种极端的状况，要么压力很大，要么没有压力。”

维克多利亚律师事务所的首席执行官迈克尔·布雷特·杨说，这项调查证明抑郁症是个越来越严重的问题。

杨说：“我们的观点是，患抑郁症的人不应该觉得这是一种羞耻。”

“向你的同事求助，不要自己默默的承受。”

调查：“王”为中国第一大姓

调查：“王”为中国第一大姓
Wang tops list of surnames
[ 2007-04-25 16:53 ]

全文见： http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/language_tips/2007-04/25/content_860022.htm

If you've ever worried about running into someone with the same name as you, then spare a thought for the Wangs, Lis and Zhangs of this world, whose names have just been declared the three most popular in the country.

The results of a nationwide survey, released yesterday by the Ministry of Public Security, show that there are some 92.8 million Wangs in China, about 7.25 percent of the population, making it the nation's most popular.

Li came in second with 92.07 million (7.19 percent) and Zhang third with 87.5 million (6.83 percent).

Aside from the top three, the survey found that a further seven names are each used by more than 20 million people: Liu, Chen, Yang, Huang, Zhao, Wu and Zhou.

Twelve more have between 10 million and 20 million owners: Xu, Sun, Ma, Zhu, Hu, Guo, He, Gao, Lin, Luo, Zheng, Liang.

The most common 100 names account for 84.77 percent of the population, which is about 1.3 billion.

The ranking was conducted according to the national household registration system, which includes ethnic minorities, but excludes Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

Du Ruofu, a retired researcher from the Chinese Academy of Sciences said: "As the first national survey of surnames, the results are precious."

Du published a book on Chinese surnames, the genetic differences between people from North and South China and Chinese linguistics in 1992.

"The new survey is more accurate because of its larger scale," Du said, comparing it to his own research conducted in 1987, which was based on a sample of about 500,000 people.

In Du's research, Li, Wang and Zhang again held the top three spots, accounting for 7.9 percent, 7.4 percent and 7.1 percent of the population, respectively.

(China Daily)

如果你曾为会与别人重名而担忧过，那你可以想想那些姓王、姓李、姓张的人，他们的姓是全中国最普遍的三大姓氏。

公安部昨天公布的一项全国性的调查结果显示，王姓是我国第一大姓，约有9280万人，占全国总人口的7.25%。

李是第二大姓，共有9207万人（7.19%）；张为第三大姓，有8750万人（6.83%）。

除这三大姓外，姓氏人口数超过2000万的姓依次为：刘、陈、杨、黄、赵、吴和周。

姓氏人口数在1000万至2000万之间的共有12个，包括：徐、孙、马、朱、胡、郭、何、高、林、罗、郑和梁。

百家姓的人口总数占总人口的84.77%，约为13亿。

这一排行根据包括少数民族在内的全国人口户籍登记制度编纂而成，但不包括港、澳、台地区。

中科院退休研究员杜若甫说：“此项有关姓氏的首次全国性调查的结果很有价值。”

杜研究员曾于1992年出版了一本有关中国姓氏的书，重点探讨了北方人和南方人的基因差别与汉语言学之间的关系。

杜若甫曾于1987年开展过一项针对50万人的抽样调查，他说：“这项最新调查范围更广、更加准确。”

根据杜若甫1987年的调查，李、王、张依次为全国的一、二、三大姓，分别占人口总数的7.9%、7.4%和7.1%。

= = = = =

百家姓：赵钱孙李. 周吴郑王. 冯陈褚卫. 蒋沈韩杨. 朱秦尤许. 何吕施张......

十大最令人满意的职业

美公布十大满意度最高的职业
Survey reveals most satisfying jobs
[ 2007-04-20 09:20 ]

[Photo] Are you satisfied with the current job?

Firefighters, the clergy and others with professional jobs that involve helping or serving people are more satisfied with their work and overall are happier than those in other professions, according to results from a national survey.

"The most satisfying jobs are mostly professions, especially those involving caring for, teaching and protecting others and creative pursuits," said Tom Smith, director of the General Social Survey (GSS) at the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago.

In the current study, interviewers asked more than 27,000 people questions about job satisfaction and general happiness. Individuals' level of contentment affects their overall sense of happiness, Smith said.

"Work occupies a large part of each worker's day; is one's main source of social standing and helps to define who a person is and affects one's health both physically and mentally," Smith states in a published report on the study. "Because of work's central role in many people's lives, satisfaction with one's job is an important component in overall well-being."

Across all occupations, on average 47 percent of those surveyed said they were satisfied with their jobs and 33 percent reported being very happy.

Here are the Top 10 most gratifying jobs and the percentage of subjects who said they were very satisfied with the job:

Clergy-87 percent
Firefighters-80 percent
Physical therapists-78 percent
Authors-74 percent
Special education teachers-70 percent
Teachers-69 percent
Education administrators-68 percent
Painters and sculptors-67 percent
Psychologists-67 percent
Security and financial services salespersons-65 percent
Operating engineers-64 percent
Office supervisors-61 percent

A few common jobs in which about 50 percent of participants reported high satisfaction included: police and detectives, registered nurses, accountants, and editors and reporters.

"The least satisfying dozen jobs are mostly low-skill, manual and service occupations, especially involving customer service and food/beverage preparation and serving," Smith said.

(Reuters)

据美国一项全国性调查的结果显示，消防员、牧师等从事帮助或服务于他人的行业的人员工作满意度较高，而且总体上他们比其它行业的人更加快乐。

芝加哥大学全国民意调查中心普通社会调查的负责人汤姆·史密斯说：“满意度最高的工作大多是一些需要特殊技能的职业，尤其是护理类、教育类、为他人提供保护以及一些创造性的职业。”

在目前的这项调查中，调查人员对2万7千人就工作满意度和总体快乐感进行了访问。据史密斯介绍，受访者的工作满意度对他们的总体快乐感有影响。

史密斯在发表的研究报告中说：“工作占据了一个人一天中的大部分，它是一个人社会地位的主要决定因素，而且能‘定义’一个人，在生理和心理上都会对人造成影响。由于工作在很多人的生活中处于核心地位，因此对于工作的满意是生活幸福的一个重要因素。”

在所有职业中，平均47%的受访者表示对自己的工作满意，33%的人称他们非常快乐。

以下是十大最令人满意的工作及对此工作感到满意的人数百分比：

神职人员--87%
消防员--80%
身体治疗师--78%
作家--74%
特殊教育类的教师--70%
教师--69%
教育行政人员--68%
画家和雕塑家--67%
心理学家--67%
安全人员及金融服务销售人员--65%
操作工程师--64%
办公室管理人员--61%

在普通职业中，有50%的受访者对警察和侦探、注册护士、会计、编辑和记者等职业的满意度很高。

史密斯说：“满意度最低的工作大多是一些技能要求低、手工和服务类的职业，尤其是顾客服务和餐饮准备及服务的职业。”

美国女性：想和茱丽一样美

摘自 China Daily《双语新闻》[ 2007-04-17 17:57 ]

美国女性：想和茱丽一样美
Jolie's beauty a gold standard in world of plastic surgery

小问题不少，但有一处完全搞错的地方，看看大家能不能找出来。

Angelina Jolie is the gold standard of beauty among women seeking cosmetic surgery and that's not about to change, a leading Hollywood surgeon has told Australian specialists.

好莱坞一位著名外科医生日前告诉澳大利亚的整形专家，安吉丽娜·茱丽是那些想做整容手术的女性心目中的美人标准，而且这一标准不会改变。

The US movie star has the most requested look - exaggerated, almost cartoonish lips, eyes and cheek bones - desired by American women wanting a nip and tuck, Professor Ava Shamban says.

艾娃·沙姆班教授说，这位美国影星拥有美国爱美的女性最想要的面孔--夸张得近乎有些卡通的嘴唇、眼睛和颧骨。

The Los Angeles-based cosmetic dermatologist told a gathering of 400 fellow Australian specialists that demand for this brand of exotic look is here to stay.

这位洛杉机的整容皮肤科医生对400名澳大利亚的同行们说，人们对这种带有点异国情调的长相的青睐会持续一段时间。

"Angelina Jolie, with her exquisite looks, is the current gold standard of beauty in the states and in the West in general right now," said Prof Shamban, who has appeared on the chat show Oprah and the reality TV series Extreme Makeover.

沙姆班教授在参加“奥普拉脱口秀”和“整容真人秀”节目时说，“安吉丽娜·茱丽精致的面孔是目前美国和西方普遍认同的美丽标准。”

"And that's not about to change. The exotic look, like (actresses) Halle Berry and Penelope Cruz, is here to stay, and Angelina is the ultimate embodiment of that."

“而且这个标准不会改变。像哈里·贝瑞和佩内洛普·克鲁兹她们那种带有异国风情的长相一直是美的典范，而安吉丽娜则是这种特点的‘终极体现’。”

解密：美国、日本男孩出生率为何下降？

解密：美国、日本男孩出生率为何下降？
Male births declining in the US and Japan
[ 2007-04-18 09:10 ]

Mother Nature has always ensured that male births outnumber female ones, but the gap has been gradually narrowing over the past three decades in the U.S. and Japan, according to a new study.

Researchers suspect the decline in male births can be explained, at least in part, by paternal exposure to environmental toxins, such as certain pesticides, heavy metals, solvents or dioxins -- chemical byproducts produced during incineration or the manufacture of other chemicals.

Traditionally, it's been expected that for every 100 girls born, there will be about 105 boys. But since 1970, the U.S. and Japan have experienced a downward shift in this male-to-female birth ratio, researchers report in the online edition of the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

In the U.S., the proportion of boys dropped from 105.5 per 100 girls in 1970 to 104.6 in 2001; in Japan, the male-to-female ratio dropped from 106.3 boys for every 100 girls to just fewer than 105 per 100.

The changes may seem small, but the study authors suspect they are one manifestation of the effects of environmental pollutants on the male reproductive system.

The decline in male births has occurred "at the same time that we've been seeing other signs that male reproductive health is in danger," said lead study author Dr. Devra Lee Davis, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health.

These other signs, she said, include lower testosterone levels and sperm counts, as well as increases in testicular cancer, a disease that most often affects young men.

Environmental toxins may be a common denominator here, according to Davis and her colleagues. Such exposures may specifically lower rates of male, rather than female, births for a few reasons. They may, for example, affect the viability of sperm that bear the Y chromosome, which determines male sex -- or the viability of male fetuses.

Davis's team found that while fetal deaths have declined overall in recent decades, the proportion of male deaths is growing. In Japan, in particular, male fetuses accounted for about two thirds of all fetal deaths in the 1990s.

Over the years, there have been a number of reports showing that heavy exposure to certain pollutants may affect a man's likelihood of fathering a son.

从人类的自然发展史来看，男孩的出生数量总是多于女孩，但据一项最新调查显示，美国和日本的男女出生数量差距在过去三十年中逐渐缩小。

研究人员怀疑，男孩出生数量的下降一部分是由于父亲与杀虫剂、重金属、溶剂或二恶英等环境中的有毒物质的接触造成的，这些有毒物质是在燃烧或制造其它化学物质过程中所产生的化学副产品。

一般来说，女孩和男孩的出生比约为100比105。但据研究人员在环境健康观察期刊在线版上发表的报告显示，从1970年开始，美国和日本的男女出生比率开始下降。

美国的男女出生比率从1970年的105.5:100下降到了2001年的104.6:100；而日本的这一比率则从1970年的106.3:100跌至不足105:100。

可能这些变化看起来微不足道，但研究人员提出，这是环境污染对男性生殖系统所造成的危害的一种表现。

匹斯堡大学公共卫生研究生院的流行病学教授、研究报告的主要撰写者德芙拉·李·戴维斯博士说，除男孩出生数量下降外，“我们还发现了男性生殖健康受到危害的其它信号。”

据德芙拉博士介绍，这些信号包括睾丸激素水平和精子数量的下降，以及年轻男性易患的睾丸癌发病率的增长。

据戴维斯博士和她的同事们介绍，环境中的有毒物质可能是造成男孩出生数量下降的共同原因。由于一些原因，接触这些物质可能会导致男孩--而不是女孩，出生数量的下降。比如，这些物质会影响含有决定男性性别的Y染色体的精子的生存能力或男性胎儿的发育。

戴维斯领导的研究小组发现，虽然胎儿死亡率在近几十年来总体上有所下降，但男性胎儿的死亡比例却在上升。这种状况在日本尤为突出，上世纪90年代，日本男性胎儿的死亡率占所有胎儿死亡的三分之二。

近些年来，有很多研究报告表明，过多接触某些污染物质会影响男性生儿子的几率。

英国：大龄女性剧增

英国：大龄女性剧增
One us three women is still single at the age of 35
[ 2007-04-11 09:05 ]

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/language_tips/2007-04/11/content_847820.htm

One in three women in UK is unmarried at 35, official figures show. In 2000, only a quarter were not married. And in 1990, just one in ten was in this position.

Marriage began to experience a decline in the 1980s, but in the last decade its popularity has fallen more sharply.

The downward trend corresponds with an increase in women following careers, the rising cost of buying a home and the growing acceptance of couples simply living together.

Analysts believe the introduction of tax credits to the benefit system since 1999 has dissuaded many from marrying, as they favour single mothers.

Figures show a couple with children must earn ￡50,000 a year between them before they are better off than if they lived apart.

The figures, from the Office of National Statistics, showed that fewer than two-thirds of women who reached 35 in 2005 had married - 665 from every 1,000.

Among those born five years earlier, nearly three-quarters had been married by 35.

About nine out of ten women who were 35 in 1990 had been married at least once.

However, the trend away from marriage seems at odds with the wishes of both men and women.

Previously polls have found that about seven out of ten still aspire to marriage.

Robert Whelan of the Civitas civic value think-tank said: "This is an incredible collapse, not just because of the extent but because of the speed.

"If it goes on we will soon see a majority of women unmarried in their mid-thirties.

"What we are seeing is a huge and growing gap between what people want in their lives and what they are getting."

(Daily Mail)

据官方数据显示，英国35岁的女性中，有三分之一的人单身。2000年这一数据仅为四分之一，1990年只有十分之一。

英国的结婚人数从上世纪80年代开始减少，在过去十年中减少的更快。

这一趋势主要是由追求事业的女性增多、房价上涨以及同居日益被接受造成的。

分析人士认为，从1999年开始实行的税款抵免福利制度使很多人不愿结婚，这一政策对单身妈妈最为有利。

有关数据显示，一对有孩子的夫妇一年必须挣到5万英镑，才能使生活比一个人时过得好。

英国国家统计署的统计数据显示，2005年满35岁的女性中，已婚比例不到三分之二（1000人中有665人）。

而在40岁的女性中，近四分之三的人在35岁前已结婚。

1990年，90%的35岁女性至少已经结了一次婚。

然而，这一趋势与男性和女性的愿望似乎并不相符。

此前的调查发现，约70%的人仍然渴望结婚。

民众价值智囊团Civitas的罗伯特·威兰说：“无论是从范围还是从速度上，这种下降让人难以置信。”

“如果这一趋势继续下去，不久之后我们就会看到大多数女性到了30多岁还没结婚。”

“目前的状况是，人们对于生活的期望与他们所得到的结果之间存在着巨大的、而且仍在加大的差距。”