Too Hard to Shout Over the Loudest Frame: Effects of Competing Frames in the Context of the Crystallized Media Coverage on Offshore Outsourcing

This study investigates the effects of competing frames in newspaper coverage of offshore outsourcing, an issue that is characterized by a predominantly negative, unemployment-focused media framing. The findings of a randomized, controlled experiment (N = 152) demonstrate that conventional framing effects do hold for this issue and for this media context by moving recipients’ attitudes in the direction consistent with the valence of the frame. However, they also show the backfire effect of the positively valenced frame among recipients with greater interest in political and economic news, who become less supportive of outsourcing if they read a story framing outsourcing from a consumer-oriented perspective. Our results contribute to the ongoing debate about the limits of framing effects on forming opinion about contentious policy issues and demonstrate the challenges for nondominant perspectives to make their way to news-savvy audiences even when the nature of the issue in question necessitates considering them.     

A REVISIONIST RENDERING OF STRUCTURAL FAMILY THERAPY

The popular view of structural faimly therapy sees the structural diagnosis of faimiles and lying at the heart of this therapeutic approach. This article challenges that view. It argues that the practive of structural family therapy is driven not by structural diagnosis but by two fundamental assumptions about human and family functioning: the assumption of comptence and the assumption of uniqueness. Consequences of this revisionist view are explored in two areas: (a) the area of the dialogue within the family therapy field regarding the emerging tradition of second-order therapy and (b) the area of training in structural family therapy.     

The use of antidepressants with elderly patients.

If we are to prevent treatment failures, we should eliminate the schism between psychosocial and biological treatments. Most depressed patients require both psychosocial and biological treatments. The patient who responds to biological treatment but does not make appropriate corrections regarding current environmental factors is at an increased risk for relapse. A strong support system can have an important preventive effect without the risks involved in long-term medication maintenance therapy. After a correct diagnosis of a major depressive disorder is made in elderly patients, the dosage of antidepressants should only be about half of the standard adult dose. Preference should be given to those antidepressants with a therapeutic profile appropriate to each particular patient. The antidepressant should have few side effects. Although antidepressant drugs are effective in treating depression, their demonstrable efficacy is surprisingly limited. Because of suicide risk and physical illnesses, older patients are more likely to require electroconvulsive therapy than younger patients. The presence of somatic delusion is a good predictor of positive response. Newer antidepressants have not been proven more effective than the older agents, such as imipramine or amitriptyline, in treating mild or severe depressions. However, they have fewer or varied side effects and therefore they are better tolerated by elderly patients (Figure 6). The consideration of side effects is a major determinant in choosing an antidepressant for a specific elderly patient. Research into the effectiveness of antidepressants has been limited by the existence of heterogeneous groups of depression and by the different therapeutic responses.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Knowledge Conflicts: The Strategic Use and Effects of Expertise in Social Movements

Based on a unique data set of research reports that appear in media coverage of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline conflict in the United States, the study brings together perspectives in social movement theory and the sociology of science and technology by (1) developing an understanding of the epistemic dimension of framing through the analysis of the strategic use of different types of research produced by experts in the context of social movement conflicts and (2) examining the extent to which research is relevant for regulatory and judicial decision making. The project identifies over 50 research reports that proponents and opponents discuss in the media. Proponents favor reports with economic framing, and opponents respond to those reports but also produce or fund reports that document environmental and other risks and political influence. Regulatory agencies at both the federal and state level tend to be aligned with proponents, but the federal courts provided independent decisions that contributed to the decision by developers to withdraw from the project. The analysis draws attention to an under-studied area of environmental and social movement conflict that brings together the framing and political sociology of science literatures. It also develops generalizable implications for future research as well as actionable, problem-oriented knowledge for activists and advocates. For example, the study suggests that activists may want to focus limited research resources on developing studies that can be used in regulatory and legal battles. If regulatory agencies are somewhat or highly captured, resources would best be spent on litigation in the courts.     

From Schism to Synthesis: The Off‐Centre Radical‐Reformist Role of Development Management

In a wide range of issues such as aid effectiveness, poverty reduction and planning, development management has witnessed a schism between reformists and radicals. This article traces the ‘schism’ between reformist and radical views, critiques their unnecessary dichotomization and proposes an epistemologically‐grounded metaphor for managing divergent ideas. Moving beyond the schism, the article examines current conceptions from Gulrajani that the synthesis should be at the ‘centre’ of the spectrum between radical and reformist frames. The article then proposes an ‘off‐centre’ radical‐reformist synthesis with a less apologetic acceptance of reformist or ‘managerialist’ approaches.     

The Discursive Performance of the Alliance in Family Therapy: A Conversation Analytic Perspective

Following the ‘discursive’ turn in family therapy, the attention of practitioners shifted towards understanding how culture and language shape meaning‐making in therapy. In this article, we demonstrate how conversation analysis (CA) can be used to examine the processes and outcomes of systemic/constructionist practice. We used CA to study collaborative interactions of a renowned constructionist therapist Karl Tomm and one client‐family. Viewing collaboration as a pivotal aspect of the therapeutic alliance, we demonstrate how the ‘split’ within‐system alliances were developed and sustained in the course of therapy and how they were discursively transformed into ‘intact’ alliances. The therapist's efforts to align with perspectives of family members (and subsystems) seemed pivotal in this process.     

Feeling Social Movements: Theoretical Contributions to Social Movement Research on Emotions

Recent literature provides evidence that emotions are intrinsic to the constitution of social movements. The present review examines how scholars theorize emotions in their empirical studies and focuses on the following topics: emotion work, emotional framing, emotional cultures and emotional opportunity structures. The combination of several constructs in the analysis of emotions signals a shift toward integration of preexisting perspectives common in the field of social movements.     

Crowded Advocacy: Framing Dynamic in the Fracking Controversy in New York

In the hydrofracturing controversy in New York advocates hotly contested notions of the problem, what should be done, by whom, and how. This controversy can be characterized as “crowded advocacy,” involving intense mobilization and counter-mobilization of advocates with competing perspectives. Extant theories about the expansion of advocacy organizations are unclear about how advocates’ interactions shape the policy arena, particularly when there is competition within and across multiple coalitions. This article contributes by asking: How do advocates’ interactive framing dynamics shape public discourse when advocacy is crowded? It assumes that advocacy in general, and framing in particular, evolves as advocates respond to each other. I find that competing “discourse coalitions” collectively influence public discourse by articulating divergent notions of (1) what constitutes credible knowledge, (2) who can speak with authority on the issues, and (3) what institutional arrangements should be activated to manage risks. The consequence is that advocates have to react to others' framing on these issues—to defend their knowledge, their credibility, and specific institutions, rather than arguing their case on the merits. The implication is that advocacy is not only the means of influence (strategy) but also creates the context of advocacy in particular ways in a crowded field.     

Exploring the Place of Forgiveness Therapy in Social Work Practice

This paper examines the potential contribution of forgiveness therapy to social workers who may often encounter clients who have experienced severe interpersonal injury, or who have inflicted significant harm upon themselves or others. Basic theoretical and empirical perspectives on the processes and dynamics of forgiveness, as well as an introduction to forgiveness therapy, are provided. A case example demonstrating the application of forgiveness therapy in a social work setting is utilized to underscore points of convergence and potential divergence between this innovative therapeutic approach and important social work values and practice concepts. Research directions that may promote the further incorporation of forgiveness and forgiveness therapy into social work are indicated.     

AESTHETICS AND PRAGMATICS OF FAMILY THERAPY REVISITED

After reacting specifically to Simon's (1992) proposal for the integration of first and second-order therapies, I note how he, as well as Anderson and Goolihian (1988, 1990), focus primarily on deliberate, intentional ways to promote a respectful stance in therapy. Although a consideration of which intentional stances and strategies will promote the most helpful conversations in therapy is important, an even more critial question concerns the possible limitations of intentional efforts and the relation of conscious mind to other natural orders of mind in the living world. I suggest that deliberate efforts on the part of theapists toward any intended therapeutic outcomes must be comlemented by instictive and intuitive ways of participating with clients.     

Race Lessons in Black and White: How White Adoptive Parents Socialize Black Adoptees in Predominately White Communities

This article examines the approaches, strategies, and perspectives that White adoptive parents use to teach their adopted Black children about coping with race-based discrimination and the development of a positive racial identity. Using qualitative methods and the theoretical construct of White racial framing, the authors identify and critically analyze themes in the parents' race lessons. The central aim of this article is to uncover how these race lessons position family members to either challenge or perpetuate historical, racial inequities and mistreatment faced by African Americans and other communities of color within US society.     

"NO WEAPON SAVE ARGUMENT":

US. woman suffragists routinely utilized two types of arguments in their demands for voting rights: justice and reform. The former argument held that women should vote because they were men's equals and therefore should have political rights equal to those of men. Reform arguments stated that women should have the ballot because women, given their unique womanly experiences and perspectives, would bring a unique contribution to politics, making society a more humane place. Although social movement scholars have increasingly studied the framing work of movement activists, few systematic studies of framing activity exist. In this work we examine the circumstances that led the suffragists to amplify one or the other of these motivational frames. We find that the suffragists were quite strategic in their choice of frames, targeting particular audiences and taking advantage of cultural opportunities for frame resonance. We find only limited evidence that their frames were driven by the collective identity of particular groups in the movement.     

Individual Therapy for Couple Problems: Perspectives and Pitfalls

Despite the demonstrated efficacy of conjoint couple therapy, many clients seeking help for couple problems ultimately find themselves in individual therapy for these concerns. Individual therapy for couple problems (ITCP) may evolve from a partner's refusal of conjoint therapy or from the treatment format preferences of either the client or therapist. Having acknowledged the role of partner refusals, we offer some perspectives about the idiosyncratic personal factors and professional background factors that may lead therapists to provide ITCP and discuss the significant pitfalls in its practice. We emphasize five central areas of concern in the ongoing practice of ITCP: structural constraints on change; therapist side‐taking and the therapeutic alliance; inaccurate assessments based on individual client reports; therapeutic focus; and ethical issues relevant to both attending and nonattending partners. We conclude by urging that this very important but largely neglected topic be paid greater attention in psychotherapy research, training and continuing education.     

Organizational crisis-denial strategy: The effect of denial on public framing

By applying a framing perspective, this study explores the effect of a crisis-denial strategy on public response. The online public framing of a specific crisis is compared with the crisis-denial frame provided by the organization. An automated semantic-network analysis is used to identify frames embedded in the public and organizational communication. The Max Havelaar crisis revealed that denial strategy is not always unsuccessful and would advance a more complex understanding. Moreover, the framing perspective and the semantic-network approach prove to be useful to analyze crisis-response strategies.     

Towards the Incorporation of Forgiveness Therapy in Healing the Complex Trauma of Parental Incarceration

This paper explores the potential contribution of forgiveness therapy to the treatment of minor children who have experienced the adversities associated with parental incarceration. Theoretical perspectives on the imprisonment of parents and on forgiveness, and a survey of existing forgiveness therapy (FT) models points to the utility of this therapeutic modality. DiBlasio’s family based conjoint model of forgiveness therapy is delineated and case illustrations of its application with children of incarcerated parents are presented. The possibility of forgiveness therapy facilitating successful family reentry is discussed, along with important limitations and contraindications of FT with youngsters whose parents are involved in the criminal justice system. Implications of forgiveness therapy for the field of practice of child and adolescent social work are considered.     

Expanding the Horizons of Forgiveness Therapy: A Cross-Cultural Application with a Bedouin-Arab Woman

This paper highlights forgiveness therapy, a therapeutic approach that has received limited attention in the social work literature. This study represents a beginning exploration of its cross-cultural application. Theoretical and empirical perspectives on forgiveness and forgiveness promoting psychotherapy are provided, and Enright’s pioneering process model is delineated. A case study of the utilization of forgiveness therapy with an Israeli Bedouin-Arab woman who experienced a traumatic interpersonal injury within the polygamous family is presented. LaRoche and Maxie’s guidelines for conducting cross-cultural psychotherapy are utilized to examine important dynamics that emerge in the case study. These authors’ recommendations, which are consistent with a process-oriented conceptualization of culture, as well as intersectionality, appear potentially useful for informing the transcultural application of forgiveness therapy. Future research questions and directions related to the utilization of forgiveness promoting psychotherapy with diverse populations are considered.     

Psychodynamic Couple Therapy: A Practical Synthesis

This essay reviews the most significant contributions of psychodynamic thought to the field of couple therapy. It distills the work of numerous clinicians and researchers who, though writing from diverse perspectives, share fundamental assumptions and concerns. Rather than emphasizing differences between schools of thought, this paper mines their best contributions in a discussion of five central therapeutic targets: underlying issues, divergent subjective experiences, transferences, projective identification, and acceptance. Two detailed cases illustrate the benefits and techniques for targeting these five therapeutic domains. Video Abstract is found in the online version of the article .     

Saints and Sinners: Elite Tattoo Collectors and Tattooists as Positive and Negative Deviants

Arguing that the deviance literature has presented an overly negative image of norm breaking, some researchers in the 1980s and 1990s began to argue for a category of positive deviance that included studies of individuals who exceed social norms (Ben-Yehuda 1990; Dodge 1985; Heckert 1989, 1997, 1998). The positive deviance perspective inspired several strong theoretical statements suggesting that deviance can only be conceptualized as a negative response to norm breaking (Best and Luckenbill 1982; Goode 1991; Sagarin 1985). The result is a schism between researchers studying positive deviants and those investigating negative deviants. This article looks at two groups within the most elite realm of tattooing, tattoo collectors and tattooists, and identifies how they use both positive and negative deviant attributes to maintain a privileged status on the fringe of society. By exploring an example of individuals who exceed and fall below social norms, I offer two new categories of positive deviance: high culture icon and popular celebrity. In addition, I examine how individuals who occupy both positive and negative deviant statuses challenge assumptions within normative and social response perspectives of deviants and point to larger processes of social change and social stability.