FROM STRATEGIZING TO NONINTERVENTION: TOWARD IRREVERENCE IN SYSTEMIC PRACTICE*

Within the field of marriage and family therapy, a debate has emerged regarding issues of control and noninstrumentality Concerned with the limitations inherent in the idea of power, many therpists/theoreticians have suggested the adoption of a less instrumental position. Oscillating processes, such as the swing from power to nonistrumentaliyth, are inevitable in the emergence of any discipline and are useful to the extent that these processes do not become so symmetrical that they induced rigidity in thinking. Therapists must be able to act unconstrictingly; However, they must also take responsibility for their actions. Believing too strongly in either strategizing or nonintervening in the therapeutic process can be constraining to say the least. This article will offer a new position called “irreverence” in the therapeutic process of systemic therapy.     

Spatial J-test: some Monte Carlo evidence

Researchers using spatial econometric methods generally assume a known structure for the process being modeled embedded in a spatial weights matrix. The present paper evaluates the performance of the J-test in selecting the most appropriate spatial structure in the context of a Monte Carlo study. Results suggest that the J-test performs well when used to select between different weights matrices. Increases in power are associated with the use of the full set of instruments.     

A continuous latent spatial model for crack initiation in bone cement

Summary.  Hip replacements rovide a means of achieving a higher quality of life for individuals who have, through aging or injury, accumulated damage to their natural joints. This is a very common operation, with over a million people a year benefiting from the procedure. The replacements themselves fail mainly as a result of the mechanical loosening of the components of the artificial joint due to damage accumulation. This damage accumulation consists of the initiation and growth of cracks in the bone cement which is used to fixate the replacement in the human body. The data come from laboratory experiments that are designed to assess the effectiveness of the bone cement in resisting damage. We examine the properties of the bone cement, with the aim being to estimate the effect that both observable and unobservable spatially varying factors have on causing crack initiation. To do this, an explicit model for the damage process is constructed taking into account the tension and compression at different locations in the specimens. A gamma random field is used to model any latent spatial factors that may be influential in crack initiation. Bayesian inference is carried out for the parameters of this field and related covariates by using Markov chain Monte Carlo techniques.     

Networks as mediating variables: a Bayesian latent space approach

Statistical Methods & Applications - The use of network analysis to investigate social structures has recently seen a rise due to the high availability of data and the numerous insights it can...     

Attachment and Coping Strategies in Middle Childhood Children whose Mothers Have a Mental Health Problem: Implications for Social Work Practice

Mental health has implications for the quality of relationshipswithin a family, particularly between parents and children,but also between other family and non-family members. Previousresearch has investigated parental reports of attachment infamilies with mental health problems, but relationship representationsas experienced by these children, especially in middle childhood,have not been so frequently investigated. An understanding ofchildren’s representations of attachment relationshipsand the different coping strategies that may result is importantfor social work practice when offering support, not only tothe children, but also other family members. Methods of investigatingattachment, such as the Separation Anxiety Test, have been usedto understand the relationship issues, fears and coping strategiesof other vulnerable children, and this study was designed specificallyto investigate relationship issues in middle childhood childrenwhose mothers had previously been hospitalized with mental healthproblems. We found that these children tended to be less emotionallyopen and secure, and generated fewer adaptive coping strategiesthan children whose mothers had never had mental health problems.Other themes also emerged from the interviews, such as a senseof trust in the parent–child relationship and the ‘containment’of fears. Implications for social work practice are discussed.     

Customer incivility and employee well-being: testing the moderating effects of meaning,perspective taking and transformational leadership

This study investigated factors that influence the relationship between experiencing customer incivility and the psychological well-being of employees in the service industry (N?=?215). Using the cognitive appraisal theory of stress, we identified and tested three factors that may buffer employees from the negative effects of customer incivility: finding meaning in work, perspective taking, and transformational leadership of supervisors. Transformational leadership was found to moderate the relationship between customer incivility and employee well-being. Meaning and perspective taking did not moderate the relationship between customer incivility and employee well-being, but did have a positive association with employee well-being. These findings contribute to the literature on customer incivility and suggest that organization-based resources that influence both primary and secondary appraisal, such as transformational leadership, are useful in buffering the harmful employee outcomes related to customer incivility.     

Structured process recording: A comprehensive model that incorporates the strengths perspective

Process recordings continue to be a reliable teaching tool for social work education. The structure of process recordings has undergone refinements over time in response to changes in practice. With the development of the strengths perspective within the profession, it is suggested that the structured format for process recording be further refined to include an ongoing assessment of clients' strengths. An ART (Assessment, Relationship, Treatment) Checklist is provided to enable students to systematically analyze their interventions along a number of dimensions, including strengths.