SOURCES OF INFLUENCE AND TOPIC AREAS IN FAMILY THERAPY: TRENDS IN THREE MAJOR JOURNALS

Following Gurman (1981), this study reports on authors and topics of interest in prominent marriage and family therapy journals from 1980 through 1995. Fifteen of the 25 institutions that produced the greatest number of authors prior to 1978 continued to be among the top 25 between 1980 and 1995, and the 25 leading institutions produced 29.5% of articles from 1980 to 1995. Most authors held positions in university settings and taught in programs with a marriage and family therapy focus. Clinical issues were the most common focus of articles (61%), and one-third of all articles were research reports.     

The differential use of metaphor in psychotherapy

Metaphor is seen to play a significant role in psychoanalytic theory and technique. While acknowledging this view, this paper examines the differences in which individuals of varying developmental profiles, experience, comprehend and use metaphor in the context of psychotherapy. Differences in the capacity to play, adaptively regress, regulate affect, maintain ego boundaries, and symbolize, are found to affect capacities to employ those figures of speech in words or phrases literally denoting one type of object or idea but used in place of others by suggesting likenesses or analogies. A rationale for differential use of interventions involving metaphor is offered.     

Controlling type 1 error rate for sequential,bioequivalence studies with crossover designs

Sample size reestimation in a crossover, bioequivalence study can be a useful adaptive design tool, particularly when the intrasubject variability of the drug formulation under investigation is not well understood. When sample size reestimation is done based on an interim estimate of the intrasubject variability and bioequivalence is tested using the pooled estimate of intrasubject variability, type 1 error inflation will occur. Type 1 error inflation is caused by the pooled estimate being a biased estimator of the intrasubject variability. The type 1 error inflation and bias of the pooled estimator of variability are well characterized in the setting of a two‐arm, parallel study. The purpose of this work is to extend this characterization to the setting of a crossover, bioequivalence study with sample size reestimation and to propose an estimator of the intrasubject variability that will prevent type 1 error inflation.     

The story of Lucy: lessons learned,lessons taught

ABSTRACT

This article provides an extended case example highlighting the value of a supportive approach to practice, in addition to the importance of holding a psychodynamic developmental frame of reference. Concepts of repetition compulsion, the holding environment, and object constancy are applied to the clinical material. The case is underscored for its value as a teaching tool.     

Elderly migration: For sun and money

Discussions about elderly migration and its implications for growth planning tend to neglect the role of economic forces. Our view is that cost-of-living variations among states give elderly households on fixed incomes an incentive to move that closely resembles the effects of wage opportunities on workers who migrate. To test this view, we employ a state-by-state index of cost of living for a retired couple to explore its impact on migration choices of the elderly. The effects of cost of living on migration are investigated in terms of the probability that an elderly person will move out-of-state during a five-year period and the probability that a given state will be chosen as destination once a decision has been made to migrate. The influences of cost of living at both origin and destination are strongly confirmed.     

Elderly migration: For sun and money

Discussions about elderly migration and its implications for growth planning tend to neglect the role of economic forces. Our view is that cost-of-living variations among states give elderly households on fixed incomes an incentive to move that closely resembles the effects of wage opportunities on workers who migrate. To test this view, we employ a state-by-state index of cost of living for a retired couple to explore its impact on migration choices of the elderly. The effects of cost of living on migration are investigated in terms of the probability that an elderly person will move out-of-state during a five-year period and the probability that a given state will be chosen as destination once a decision has been made to migrate. The influences of cost of living at both origin and destination are strongly confirmed.     

Corporate Strategy and Gendered Professional Identities: Reorganization and the Struggle for Recognition and Positions

Will decentralization of responsibilities in services give women service workers at the lower levels of the organization better and more ‘professional’ jobs and a recognition of their importance in the organization? This article looks at the valuation of so‐called women's skills in services in reorganization processes involving dehierarchization and decentralization of responsibilities. Through four cases of reorganized private and public services in Norway it is shown that more focus on customers and decentralization of responsibilities for the services may lead to recognition of gendered skills and an improved position for women service workers at the lowest levels of the organization. When the tasks of the workers are closely linked to the core function of the organization and not dominated by the organization's ‘dirty work’, the women at the lowest levels may obtain a more ‘professional’ work role and their work be recognized as important for the organization.     

Nuclear Plant PRA: How Far Has It Come?

Nearly ten years have passed since the publication in August 1974 of the draft Reactor Safety Study (WASH 1400), the first detailed attempt to apply probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) techniques to estimate the public risks posed by commercial nuclear power plants. Now is an opportune time to look back and see how PRA has fared over these ten years. We will not attempt to pass judgement on how the Reactor Safety Study report itself has withstood the test of time, as that task is best left to others less directly involved in preparing the report. Instead, we will examine advances in the understanding, acceptance, and utilization of PRA techniques, as well as technical advances in PRA methods. Some of the significant insights gained from PRAs will be discussed. Finally, some observations on the future of PRA will be offered.