Extremely Premature and Very Low Birthweight Infants: A Double Hazard Population?

This article evaluates the contributions of birth status (defined by gestational age and birthweight) and family adversity at birth and at age 7 to explaining behavior problems at age 7. The behaviors of 96 extremely preterm and very low birth‐weight children and 66 full‐term children were assessed in a school setting by peers, teachers and parents. The results show that a significant relationship exists between birth status and isolation and social withdrawal problems as well as between birth status and social immaturity and inattention problems. Family adversity at birth has a significant contribution to aggressive behaviors reported by the three sources whereas, at age 7, this index is associated only with aggressive behaviors and social immaturity problems reported by parents. In conclusion, the results of the present study qualify the findings of studies that suggest that at school age, the effect of prematurity decreases and that behavior problems are explained chiefly by family environment characteristics. Our results indicate that the findings must take into account the cohort studied, the environmental measures used, the type of behaviors assessed as well as the type of informants.     

How human resource outsourcing affects organizational learning in the knowledge economy

Adaptability and knowledge management, key elements of organizational learn-ing, are critical to organizational success as a result of a fundamental shift towards a knowledge economy. HR outsourcing and the growth in contingent work can result in a significant loss in learning capital through a breakdown in the psychological contract. We explore how to preserve HR's strategic role in facilitating organizational learning in the new outsourcing and offshoring con-text. The problem is compounded if outsourcing is introduced for cost control rather than strategic refocusing reasons. We suggest that managers can posi-tively influence the relationship between outsourcing and organizational learn-ing through internal marketing tactics and enriched psychological contracts. A previous version of this paper was presented at the Administrative Sciences Association of Canada (ASAC) Annual Meeting, Toronto, Canada, June 2005.     

REVIEWS

Bigner, J. J., & Wetchler, J. L. (Eds.). (2004). Relationship therapy with same-sex couples .
Cling, B. J. (Ed.). (2004). Sexualized violence against women and children: A psychology and law perspective .
Folberg, J., Milne, A., & Salem, P., (Eds.). (2004). Divorce and family mediation: Models, techniques and applications .
Rholes, S. W., & Simpson, J. A. (Eds.). (2004). Adult attachment: Theory, research and clinical implications .
Sperry, L. (Ed.). (2004). Assessment of couples and families: Contemporary and cutting edge strategies .     

Abstracts

Bennett, D., Fox, C, Jowell, T., & Skynner, A. C. R. Toward a family approach in a psychiatric day hospital.
Blechman, E. A., Olson, D. H. L., & Hellman, I. D. Stimulus control over family problem-solving behavior: The family contract game.
Butler, J. F. The toilet training success of parents after reading "Toilet Training in Less Than a Day."
Dell, P. F., & Appelbaum, A. S. Trigenerational enmeshment: Unresolved ties of single-parents to family of origin.
Kalter, N. Children of divorce in an outpatient psychiatric population.
Kelly, J. B., & Wallerstein, J. S. Divorce counseling: A community service for families in the midst of divorce.
Kelly, J. B., & Wallerstein, J. S. Brief interventions with children in divorcing families.
Klein, M. H. Feminist concepts of therapy outcome.
Krell, R., & Miles, J. E. Marital therapy of couples in which the husband is a physician.
Leiber, L., Plumb, M. M., Gerstenzang, M. L., & Holland, J. The communication of affection between cancer patients and their spouses.
Rubenstein, R. Briefing on inner space.
Strean, H. S. The extramarital affair: A psychoanalytic view.
Turkel, A. R. The impact of feminism on the practice of a woman analyst.
Wincze, J. P., Caird, W. K. The effects of systematic desensitization and video desensitization in the treatment of essential sexual dysfunction.
Wyatt, G. E., Strayer, R. G., & Lobitz, W. C. The treatment of sexually dysfunctioning couples of Afro-American descent.     

Abstracts

Colapinto, J. The relative value of empirical evidence. Family Process,
Frank, H. Psychodynamic conflicts in female law students. American Journal of Psychoanalysis .
Riskin, L.L. Sexual relationships between psychotherapists and their patients: toward research or restraint. California Law Review ,
Verhulst, J. & Heiman, J.R. An interactional approach to sexual dysfunctions. American Journal of Family Therapy ,     

Muscle-power quality: does sex or race affect movement velocity in older adults?

To determine sex and race differences in muscle power per unit of muscle contraction, knee-extensor muscle power normalized for knee-extensor muscle volume was measured in 79 middle-aged and older adults (30 men and 49 women, age range 50-85 years). Results revealed that women displayed a 38% faster peak movement velocity than men and African Americans had a 14% lower peak movement velocity than Whites of a similar age when expressed per unit of involved muscle (p < .001). As expected, men exhibited greater knee-extensor strength and peak power per unit of muscle than women, but women had a faster knee- extension movement velocity per unit of muscle than men at the same relative strength level. Moreover, African Americans had greater knee-extensor muscle volume than Whites but exhibited lower knee-extensor strength and lower movement velocity per unit of muscle when tested at the same relative strength levels.     

Brazil’s non-indifference: a case for a feminist diplomatic agenda or geopolitics as usual?

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, Brazil took advantage of its economically and politically privileged position to challenge global normative structures. In 2004, the concept of “non-indifference” was integrated into the Brazilian vocabulary of foreign policy, justifying and legitimating the country’s acceptance of the invitation to command the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). On the one hand, non-indifference can be read as a discursive maneuver that enabled Brazil to accommodate its non-interventionist agenda to an old geopolitical game, given the pressure imposed upon “global players” to respond effectively and assertively to threats to international peace and security. On the other hand, the “Brazilian way” could also be seen as an alternative to a highly masculinized geopolitical approach to international security. This paper explores possible limitations, tensions and/or opportunities that emerge from the encounter between a feminist diplomatic agenda and a masculinizing ordering of the international space. It does so by contrasting Brazil’s ambition for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the club of powerful states, with Brazil’s diplomatic and military performance during MINUSTAH, widely evaluated as a success due to characteristics such as solidarity, generosity, flexibility and the “warm conviviality” of Brazilian culture.