Solidarity Revisited: Group-level Effects on Individual-level Union Voting

Rooted in the theory of planned behavior, our empirical reinvestigation of archived union certification election data provided strong evidence that workgroup solidarity was a significant predictor of individual voting behavior. Specifically, group-level attitudes toward unions accounted for individual voting behaviors beyond the individual-level attitudes toward unions. This study offers a meaningful increment to our knowledge as it provides a quantification of the extent that employees are willing to, and actually, comply with subjective norms. Important practical implications for both unions and employers as well as directions for future research are discussed.     

Multicultural Career Counseling: Theoretical Applications of the Systems Theory Framework

Increasing recognition of cultural influences on career development requires expanded theoretical and practical perspectives. Theories of career development need to explicate views of culture and provide direction for career counseling with clients who are culturally diverse. The Systems Theory Framework (STF) is a theoretical foundation that accounts for systems of influence on people's career development, including individual, social, and environmental/societal contexts. The discussion provides a rationale for systemic approaches in multicultural career counseling and introduces the central theoretical tenets of the STF. Through applications of the STF, career counselors are challenged to expand their roles and levels of intervention in multicultural career counseling.     

Book Review: Adrian Wood,Raymond Apthorpe,and John Borton (eds.), Evaluating International Humanitarian Action: Reflections from Practitioners,Zed Books,London, 2001, 224 pp., $22.50 (paperback)

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations -     

Treatment for Children with Trauma-Attachment Disorders: Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy

Children with histories of maltreatment are at significant risk of developing severe psychiatric problems. Treatment of such children is difficult and there are no empirical studies evaluating the effectiveness of outpatient treatment for children with trauma-attachment disorders. The present study examines the effectiveness of Dyadic Developmental Therapy, a treatment based on attachment theory, provided by one therapist in an outpatient setting. The 64 subjects all had trauma-attachment disorders, met the DSM-IV criteria for Reactive Attachment Disorder, and had histories of serious maltreatment. The 34 children in the treatment group were treated in weekly outpatient therapy at The Center For Family Development with Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy. The 30 children in the control group were evaluated but did not received Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy and received treatment from other providers at other clinics. Eligible subjects were children between the ages of five and seventeen years whose case had been closed in 2000 or 2001. All children had significant past histories of abuse, neglect, or orphanage care. Findings for children in the treatment group, as measured by the Achenback and Randolph Attachment Disorder Questionnaire, were significant decreases (p<.01) in symptoms of attachment disorder, withdrawn behaviors, anxiety and depression, social problems, thought problems, attention problems, rule-breaking behaviors, and aggressive behaviors. The findings for children in the control group showed no changes in the variables measured. Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy appears to be an effective treatment for children with trauma-attachment disorders.The author would like to gratefully acknowledge Ms. Geraldine Gallucci, a master’s level social work intern, who was placed with The Center For Family Development. Ms. Gallucci ensured that the follow-up questionnaires were mailed to the families and returned to the agency.Arthur Becker-Weidmann is affiliated with Center for Family Development, Williamsville, USA.     

INFORMATION, CHANCE, AND EVOLUTION: ALCHIAN AND THE ECONOMICS OF SELF-ORGANIZATION

The strong invisible hand theorem says there is emergent order in human affairs. Smith and Hayek described it; Alchian gave the evolutionary proof. He showed that profit maximization is an emergent property of evolution when survival depends on positive profits. I extend Alchian's argument to consider how evolution discovers and adopts successful organizational forms. Evolving organizations "lock in" on inefficient equilibria. Noise and imitation—the evolutionary operators Alchian stressed—promote learning and adaptation to move the evolutionary dynamic off inefficient paths. Evolution is orders of magnitude faster than optimization; the relative time scales make the processes observationally distinguishable.