让你的谈话发挥效力

让我们想象这样一幅场景：一位人类学家来到你的办公室，他用了一整天时间跟在你身边，寸步不离地观察你的一言一行。当你一天工作结束之后，他告诉你，在这一整天当中，他只看到了一件事情——人们在不停地进行沟通。这位人类学家告诉你，在这一天的时间里，他参加了一些正式的会议，看到人们在进行面对面的交流，进行随机的讨论，或者是通过电子邮件进行沟通。“没错，确实如此，”你说道，“可那叉怎样呢？”人类学家告诉你，你在这一天当中所说的话大多数都是重复的。“这很好，”你告诉自己，     

Prevalence and correlates of problematic gambling among Danish adolescents

This study reports the findings from a national survey on gambling behaviour among Danish primary school children. A questionnaire was administered to 2,223 primary school students ranging in age from 11 to 17 years. The questionnaire contained a gambling screen (SOGS‐RA) and items that measure gambling behaviour, social network and cognitive perceptions. The prevalence of problem gambling was 1.29 per cent, while 4.5 per cent were categorised as at‐risk gamblers. The three most frequently reported reasons for gambling were to win money, to have fun and to socialise with family and friends. It is suggested that gambling may be linked to a masculine universe and that at‐risk gambling behaviour patterns may be part of a normal adolescent life in which gambling serves recreational or leisure purposes. Implications for further research and preventive measures are discussed.     

Objective and Reputational Rankings of Ph.D.-Granting Departments of Sociology, 1965–1982

Abstract

From its inception in 1965 until 1975 when it stopped publishing such studies, The American Sociologist (TAS) published numerous quality rankings of Ph.D.-granting sociology departments and several articles that compared different rankings. During these years TAS published far more rankings of sociology departments than did any other journal This article reviews these studies as well as the rankings of sociology departments found in three major multi-disciplinary rankings (Cartter, 1966; Roose and Andersen, 1970; Jones, Lindzey, and Coggeshall, 1982). It discusses the major methodological approaches used in these studies and reviews the debate among scholars regarding the most appropriate ways to rank departments. An analysis of the various objective and subjective rankings reveals that there is an elite group of seven departments that consistently rank at the top regardless of the ranking method employed.     

Dispersion-diminishing transformations

Let D(σ) consist of matrices congruent to and dominated by a given matrix σ , and let T(σ) be the corresponding congruent transformations. These classes are characterized and their properties studied when σ is positive definite. Dispersion orderings are considered, including dispersion-diminishing linear transformations, concentration properties of which are shown. Arbitrary linear transformations are decomposed into contractions, isometries and dilations on subspaces relative to Mahalanobis norms. Applications are noted in statistical process control and linear inference     

Early retirement differences between Denmark and The Netherlands: A cross-national comparison of push and pull factors in two small European welfare states

The goal of this study is to give a comprehensive empirical account of push and pull factors, situated at various societal levels, which may influence people's early retirement. Factors in two contrasting European countries have been analysed and compared: Denmark, where the rate of early exit/retirement is relatively low, and The Netherlands, where this rate is relatively high. Our analysis, looking into possible explanations for the difference in rates, includes factors that operate at the macro or institutional level of the labour market and the social security system, at the meso level of firms and companies, and at the micro level of individual workers. In addition, we not only look into the effects of structural, objective factors, which impacts are usually analysed from an incentive perspective, but also into the effects of cultural factors, i.e. of preferences, attitudes and values. Cultural factors related to early exit have not been the object of much international comparison thus far, although their possible significance is readily acknowledged. The differences in retirement behaviour in Denmark and The Netherlands are explained by the fact that Danish workers, at all three levels, are less experiencing structural and cultural factors pushing them out of the labour market, as well as experiencing factors pulling them into retirement, compared to workers in The Netherlands.     

Significant Conversations or Reduced Relational Capacity? Exploring Couple and Family Therapists' Expectations for Including a Client Feedback Procedure

Little information exists on the specific reflective processes that precede therapists' choice of including or not including a structured feedback procedure in their established practice. In the present study, we aim to describe and explore experienced couple and family therapists' expectations for how the comprehensive therapy feedback procedure Systemic Therapy Inventory of Change might influence their practices. Through a thematic analysis of six focus group interviews, two main themes were elicited. The first main theme involved values embedded in current practice, with the following subthemes: (1) balance between the therapist's expert knowledge and the client's experience‐based knowledge; and (2) making time to build alliances. The second main theme concerned the presumed influence on current practice, with the following subthemes: (1) ‘Systemic Therapy Inventory of Change will disturb the therapist's capacity to stay present’; (2) ‘Systemic Therapy Inventory of Change will shape conversations’; and (3) ‘Systemic Therapy Inventory of Change will contribute to increased qualitative depth’. We discuss these results in relation to the notion of Systemic Therapy Invention of Change as a ‘third party in the room’. We also discuss the results in relation to implications for collaborative practices, and for client and therapist autonomy.     

Robert M. Teeter, 1939-2004

Robert M. "Bob" Teeter—political pollster, key strategistin the campaigns of every Republican president from 1968 to1992, co-director with Peter Hart of the Wall Street Journal/NBCPoll, board member and consultant to major corporations—diedof cancer at his home in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on June 13. Hewas 65. "Teeter’s work with Hart evoked respect on both sidesof the political aisle," said Tim Russert, NBC News’sWashington bureau chief and host of Meet the Press. "You could always take Bob Teeter’s     

Screening for recommended antenatal risk factors: How long does it take?

Background

Detection and management of antenatal risk factors is critical for quality care.