A solution for two-person bargaining problems

Everyday bargaining problems are often solved by tossing a coin. A solution for two-person bargaining problems is axiomatized, which is a Pareto-optimal generalization of this coin tossing method. The super-additive solution of Perles and Maschler is also shown to be a generalization of this method. Various properties of our solution are studied, including continuity and risk sensitivity, and compared with properties of other solutions discussed in the literature.This study was financed by the Yrjö Jahnsson Foundation, which is gratefully acknowledged. I like to thank an anonymous referee for useful comments.     

Governability of Democracies: —A Japanese Perspective—*

Abstract Some twenty years ago, the Trilateral Commission organized a project on ‘governability’ of democracies. At that time, North American and West-European democracies were facing serious crises of governability. while Japan was not. Now, although Japanese democracy is not in total crisis, but is facing new tasks to be tackled as a ‘major industrial democracy.’ Homogenization of economic institutions among major industrial countries is functionally inevitable in an age of globalized economy. Political reforms to enhance it are urgently required. Burden sharing for world democratic governance is posing serious tasks to Japan as a ‘civilian power.’ Although it is certain that Japan will remain as a democracy for any foreseeable future, but her governability in the sense of the capacity to contribute to world democratic governance is now, and will be, put on severe trial for years to come.     

CHRISTMAS ECONOMICS—A SLEIGH RIDE

This article reviews the literature on Christmas economics. First, we present an overall picture of the debate on the potential welfare loss of gift‐giving and we show strategies that reduce the potential welfare loss and might increase the number of presents received. Second, we discuss the effect of Christmas on prices and the business cycle. We provide evidence that at Christmas stock prices and airfares increase, while food prices decrease. (JEL D6, E3, H4, Z1)     

Nonprofit management—soup to nuts

The Jossey‐Bass Handbook of Nonprofit Leadership and Management—Second Edition. Robert D. Herman and Associates (eds.). San Francisco: Jossey‐Bass, 2005. 816 pp., $75.00 cloth.     

Preregistration in infant research—A primer

Preregistration, the act of specifying a research plan in advance, is becoming more common in scientific research. Infant researchers contend with unique problems that might make preregistration particularly challenging. Infants are a hard‐to‐reach population, usually yielding small sample sizes, they can only complete a limited number of trials, and they can be excluded based on hard‐to‐predict complications (e.g., parental interference, fussiness). In addition, as effects themselves potentially change with age and population, it is hard to calculate an a priori effect size. At the same time, these very factors make preregistration in infant studies a valuable tool. A priori examination of the planned study, including the hypotheses, sample size, and resulting statistical power, increases the credibility of single studies and adds value to the field. Preregistration might also improve explicit decision making to create better studies. We present an in‐depth discussion of the issues uniquely relevant to infant researchers, and ways to contend with them in preregistration and study planning. We provide recommendations to researchers interested in following current best practices.     

A Collaborative Approach to Service,Learning, and Scholarship

ABSTRACT

This article describes a research course that was a collaborative endeavor between a school of social work and a community organization. This project was guided by learning, service and scholarship goals. Specifically, the participants in this course provided a pro-bono evaluation for a community benefits district. The benefits district solicited assistance from the authors, with the caveat that district members not be involved in the data collection and analysis. The authors situate this project on a continuum of traditional versus participatory research, and propose a “mixed” model for collaborative university-community efforts. The authors suggest ways of engaging students in “real world” research that benefits the community and facilitates their own training as macro social work practitioners. Factors that facilitate and hinder such a project are also discussed.     

Family Constellation — A Therapy Beyond Words

Family Constellation, a psychotherapeutic approach associated with the name Bert Hellinger, has become a popular yet also controversial form of systemic therapy in the German‐speaking therapy community. ‘Family Constellation’ (Familienstellen) means the individual client's physical‐emotional positioning and re‐positioning of substitute family members in relation to each other, with help of a therapeutic group. Family Constellation is a one‐session approach that addresses family‐of‐origin issues. The therapeutic process is highly experiential, utilising multiple sensory modalities. Hellinger locates his model within phenomenology, and his practice has roots in several therapy schools. His model offers complementary therapeutic techniques in our ‘languaged’ world of family therapy.     

Therapy with Remarried Couples—A Multitheoretical Perspective

Work with remarried couples is often difficult and complex. The first part of this essay provides a comprehensive discussion of the many issues faced by remarried couples under the headings of: emotional consequences of separation, the presence of children in the new relationship, finances, lack of guidelines and models, complexity of structure, and women in stepfamilies. The second part addresses therapy, by first tracing the past contributions to the field by structural, psychodynamic and cognitive models and then moving on to speculate about the offerings of Adult Attachment Theory, Trauma Theory, Narrative Therapy and Feminist Theory. Consistent with the awareness fostered by feminism the essay attempts to create a respectful dialogue between these models with the hope of gaining value from all while elevating none. The discussion is illustrated by a case example.