Re-authoring the stories we work by Situating the narrative approach in the presence of the family of therapists**

This paper evaluates the work of the narrative school of family therapy, as developed by Michael White. This is examined in relation to the field of ideas in family therapy out of which it emerged, highlighting some of the similarities and differences, The lack of acknowledgement by the narrative school of many of the commonalities shared with others is then considered. A second order perspective is taken, situating the therapist's theory in the presence of the family of therapists to examine the development of the narrative approach to theory and practice. Constructionist contributions are considered in relation to the development of an eclectic approach where the therapist adopts a multiverse of theories to draw upon in practice. Development of theory becomes then a dialogue between different lenses rather than the development of any one truth.     

Labor’s inequality of bargaining power: myth or reality?

This article responds to Morgan O. Reynolds’ paper which questions the inequality of labor’s bargaining power by addressing four issues: (1) the economic case for collective bargaining, (2) the concept of an inequality of bargaining power, (3) the extent of employer market power, and (4) the role of public policy. The author thanks Jack Blicksilver for helpful comments.     

Self-regulatory responses to professional misconduct within the legal profession

Dans cette communication, l'auteur s'appuie sur des documents des archives d'une association provinciale du Barreau canadien pour étudier les facteurs qui conditionnent les décisions de poursuivre ou de sanctionner les avocats pour faute professionnelle. Selon le modèle présenté, il existe des similitudes entre la façon dont les décisions sont prises par les cours criminelles et par les instances d'autoréglementation de la profession juridique. Plus précisément, l'auteur avance l'hypothèse selon laquelle la position occupée à l'intérieur de la profession, le degré d'inexpérience et l'état de l'économie influeront sur la décision de poursuivre et de discipliner un avocat. Le modèle tient compte d'autres facteurs, tels la nature de l'infraction au code de déontologie, l'existence plaintes pour faute professionnelle antérieures et le sexe de la personne. Les données étudiées tendent à confirmer les hypothèses émises et font ressortir certaines tendances communes entre le système public et le système professionel en matière de poursuites et de sanctions. Using archival data from a Canadian provincial bar association we examine contingencies that structure decisions to prosecute and sanction lawyers for professional misconduct. A model is explored which asserts similarities between criminal justice and professional self-regulatory patterns of decision-making. More specifically, we hypothesize that intra-professional position, inexperience and the economic recession will influence disciplinary decisions to prosecute and sanction lawyers. Offence characteristics, complaint histories and gender are also included in the models. Our findings offer some support for our hypotheses and for the assertion of similarities between professional and public systems of prosecution and sanctioning.     

SOCIAL INFLUENCE, SELF-REFERENT IDENTITY LABELS, AND BEHAVIOR

Self-referent identity labels are frequently argued to be a central component of the self and to be important in the planning of conduct. Despite the attractiveness of this argument, relatively little research has yet appeared that supports it, and studies of the etiology and effects of self-referent labels often fail to control for the confounding effects of preferences, norms. or other conceptions that are known to affect conduct. In this paper, propositions are argued concerning the causes and independent effects of self-referent labels. Some of these propositions are then tested in two studies, one concerned with alcohol use among adolescents in four Western countries, the other focused on alcohol and tobacco use among American high-school and undergraduate students. Both studies found strong ties between reports of peer modeling and respondents self-referent labels and that the latter had significant and independent effects on reported behaviors. Theoretical and practical implications of findings are discussed.     

A child's imaginary companion: A transitional self

The article explores the use of the imaginary companion by normal children, two to five years of age. Some existing literature on the imaginary companion is reviewed. Three case presentations demonstrate the use of the imaginary companion and its effect on ego development.Major findings are the prevalence of the mechanism of splitting and the use of the imaginary companion as transitional phenomenon by the children. An ensuing discussion relates an object relations understanding of the normal developmental use of splitting and transitional phenomena to the case presentations. The imaginary companion is viewed as a transitional self on the developmental lines of narcissism and object relations.     

Mark-resighting analysis of a California gull population

California gulls ( Larus californicus ) of known age and sex were censused on their breeding colony in 1979, 1980 and 1984 through 1993. Ages of 235 males and 196 females ranged from 4 to 27 years. Age classes used in the analysis were limited to 17, 4 through 19, and 20 or more as a final age category because data on gulls over 20 were sparse. Survival declined with age in a way that was parsimoniously modelled with a quadratic function. Other factors, sex and time, did not explain any variation in survival. Resighting depended on age, sex and time. Younger adults skipped breeding more frequently than did older adults, and females skipped breeding more frequently than did males. There was also good evidence for time dependence in resighting probability, but its inclusion in the model occurred at the expense of interpretability and precision. In a data set such as this, resighting probability may assume more importance than a mere 'nuisance parameter'. In this study, resighting history measured attendance at the breeding ground. In turn, attendance rates may be a manifestation of reproductive strategy, which can also have consequences for survival. In this situation, there may be heterogeneity in both survival and resighting probability that is unexplained by the model. While such complexity may well be a nuisance to deal with, it can also point to important biological questions.