Implementation of Behavioral Marital Therapy

Implementing behavioral marital therapy is discussed with emphasis on the techniques of problem-solving, communications training, behavioral contracting, and homework assignments. The therapist's intervention style and the aspects of treatment which aid in generalization and maintenance of therapeutic gains are also described, and a typical treatment session is outlined.     

Adjusting risky situations: A theoretical framework and empirical test

Experienced executives frequently try to modify the risky situations they face in order to make them more favorable rather than simply choosing from among available decision options. This article investigates several types of risk adjustments such as trying to influence the situation through bargaining and spending resources, gathering information, developing new options, and consulting one's superiors. A theoretical framework is presented that characterizes different types of adjustments and relates them to variables such as perceived risk, perceived control, perceived responsibility, decisiveness, and risky choice. The framework is tested using experienced decision makers who respond to four simulated risky business decisions.University of British Columbia     

Do eating and drinking habits interact with work schedule variables?

When compared to day workers, night-shift workers report that they eat fewer meals, have poorer appetites, are less satisfied with their eating habits, and eat at different times of the day. When demographic variables are held constant, there do not appear to be any significant differences between experienced day and night-shift workers in caffeine or alcohol consumption. Exceptions to and variations in these findings are probably due to the background influences of social and cultural variables. Eating and drinking behaviours do effect human performance and mood, but little relevant data have been gathered from experienced night-shift workers. There are no shiftworker data evaluating the effectiveness of the special diets or dietary recommendations that have been proposed for use by night-shift workers. Thus, attempts to manipulate night-shift worker eating and drinking habits require experimental test.     

Economic determinants of family size in West Africa

The economic theory of fertility postulates that income and prices, broadly defined, are important determinants of family size. What follows is an attempt to test this theory against the behavior of 717 predominantly urban households in Sierra Leone. Husband's education is used as a proxy for income; the "price" of a child is accounted for by wife's education and wife's wage rate. Other important variables are wife's age, a measure of child "quality," wife's age at first birth, and child mortality. The findings of the study tend to lend support to the economic theory of fertility but contain certain peculiarities which indicate a need for further research.     

A Study of Reputational Community Leaders Using The Concepts of Exchange and Coordinative Positions*

The general purposes of this study were to investigate the group and organizational affiliates of reputed community leaders in a rural community. The specific hypotheses were that the higher one is ranked as a reputational leader, (1) the more exchange influence he will likely have accumulated through occupying economic, kinship, occupational, ownership, and political-governmental positions which are reputedly influential in the community, (2) the more likely he is to be an active participant in formal and/or informal coordinative interstitial groups in the community, and (3) the more likely he is to be an active participant in those formal coordinative groups which are reputed to be influential over community affairs. The hypotheses were tested by comparing the sets of rankings of twenty-eight reputational leaders with (1) their rankings in terms of exchange positions scores, (2) their rankings in terms of social participation scores, and (3) their rankings in terms of weighted social participation scores. The results of the study tended to support the hypotheses, as stated, for the community involved.     

Social background,emotionality, and belief as predictors of punitiveness toward deviants

This research addresses the general question of which factors other than evidence determine the outcomes of criminal justice processing. Specifically, it investigates the relationships between social background factors, beliefs and emotions, and punitiveness toward deviants. The results offer support for the proposition that differing backgrounds are systematically linked with different views about human nature and society. The results also support the proposition that these variations in belief are linked to punitiveness toward deviants.     

Neuropsychological Correlates of Performance Based Functional Status in Elder Adult Protective Services Referrals for Capacity Assessments

We have previously described high rates of executive function impairment in clients referred by Adult Protective Services (APS) to geriatric psychiatry for decision-making capacity assessments. The purpose of this study was to determine the independent relationship between neuropsychological screening instruments, particularly instruments sensitive to executive function, and performance-based functional tasks in elder referrals. Our retrospective medical review (n = 75/157 referrals completed all neuropsychological and functional assessments) revealed that only the Executive Interview (EXIT25) contributed independent variance to money management performance (R² = 0.29, p < 0.001), telephone use ability (R² = 0.39, p < 0.001), and summed performance (R² = 0.45, p < 0.001). Executive instruments may specifically inform decision-making capacity assessments.     

Activism and the Limits of Symmetry: The Public Relations Battle Between Colorado GASP and Philip Morris

Litigation has forced tobacco companies like Philip Morris to disclose more than 7 million internal documents, including previously confidential public relations plans. We draw from this archive, as well as from activist materials, to demonstrate that, despite vigorous industry efforts to thwart them, activists in this case employed strategies of values advocacy and inoculation and capitalized on economic benefits to persuade publics. This watershed case poses continued challenges for the 2-way symmetrical or mixed-motive theoretical model of public relations. Accounting for public relations activism and understanding its voice in influencing contemporary public debate requires that scholars move beyond this widely accepted model that stresses compromise between activists and organizations. An alternative rhetorical theory of activist public relations is posited to account for groups that refuse to accommodate opponents.