A Case Against Making the Control of Clients a Negotiable Contingency for Interdisciplinary Teams

Most discussions of interdisciplinary teamsassume that cross-functional teams are desirable.Critical analyses of the fundamental contradictionsinherent in bringing together professionals with diverse ideologies, interests, contingencies, andtechnologies are rare. Even less common are discussionsof the negative consequences of these contradictions forclients. Based on observations in an institution for youth-in-trouble, this paper argues thatthe control of clients is one key process underlyingconflicts and dilemmas in interdisciplinary teams; itbuilds a case against making the control of clients a negotiable contingency for teams. Given theuniversal nature of control mechanisms, those mostdirectly responsible for control have a superiorbargaining position because, in order to be effective,their control routines must be consistent. Althoughthese workers may yield to other treatment ideologiesregarding particular clients, the overall outcome is theenhancement of their interests. Moreover, the outcome of negotiations may generate confusionfor clients because of inconsistencies in theapplication of control mechanisms. Three strategies tominimize interprofessional negotiations regarding the control of clients are discussed: theformulation of clear boundaries between thoseresponsible for control and those who are not; theestablishment of policies to address conflicts betweencontrol and competing treatments; and, client determinationof differential levels of interprofessional coordinationand cooperation.     

Recruiting Arab Fathers in a Center for Children at Risk in Israel

Arab society in Israel is positioned between the traditional, collective values of Arab culture and the more prevalent Western individualistic values of the Israeli society at large. This poses a challenge for the welfare services in Israel, especially in the case of Arab clients, who tend to receive and interpret the social workers' messages as contradictory to their cultural norms. Therefore, recruiting Arab fathers for treatment is a particularly difficult task. The article focuses on creating a culturally sensitive process for recruiting Arab fathers for treatment in a center dealing with Arab families at risk in Israel.     

Fathers Under Scrutiny: Nonresidential Fathers’ Perceptions of Visitation Centers

Visitation centers provide a protected environment for meetings between noncustodial fathers and their children. The aim of the study was to analyze fathers’ experiences with the visitation center. This qualitative study is based on 12 interviews with fathers who had been meeting their children in visitation centers. Findings show that the fathers’ experiences were structured by two poles. On one pole were fathers who experienced the visitation center as a hostile place designed for supervision, limiting their parenthood role. On the opposite pole were fathers who experienced the visitation center as a secure and enabling space that helped in the continuity of relationships with their children. Another group of interviewees expressed both dichotomous voices, experiencing the visitation center as a positive opportunity to meet children, but as negative due to supervision. The discussion focuses on masculinity as constructing the fathers’ experiences.     

The Dialectic of Chaos and Control in the Experience of Therapists Who Work With Sexually Abused Children

The aim of this study is to contribute to the understanding the interaction between the emotionally destructive intensity of the trauma and forces that foster growth in therapists who treat sexually abused children. Data were collected through in-depth semistructured interviews with 14 experienced social workers. Content analysis reveals two emotional poles. At one pole, the dominant experiences are anxiety, turmoil, and intrusion that disrupted the order in the interviewee’s secure world. At the opposing pole, the dominant experiences are positive, such as hope and faith. These formed the basis of empowering meaning construction that engendered a sense of control, enabling the therapists to trust the value of intervention with sexually abused children. The discussion uses a dialectical perspective to examine how interaction between these two poles enhances our understanding of the emotional and existential threats inherent in working with children who have experienced sexual abuse and on the potential for positive change.     

Construction of Boundaries in Teacher Education: Analyzing Student Teachers' Accounts

This article analyzes student teachers' interactions in different practices over a period of one semester. We use Cultural-Historical Activity theory as a theoretical framework to address how interactions at the boundaries in teacher education are constructed and made relevant to the participants when they are working on object constructions. In the analysis, we show how an object, conceptualization of goals in education, emerges and develop in interactions, and how the object's trajectory differs as the students move between practices. In the analysis we call these practices learning spheres. Our findings indicate that the participants' positions are of importance. In teacher-led situations, such as supervision and mentoring, the teachers influenced the construction of the object, whereas in group work, the student teachers pursued and explored a variety of object constructions. Meaning emerges in the dialectical relationship between activity and action, and is regulated by the enactment of rules and norms, and the division of labor. An important finding is that the student teachers' learning trajectories vary across the different parts of the teacher education program.     

Indonesian civic engagement among college students

ABSTRACT

This paper aims to analyze the overall picture of Indonesian civic engagement, particularly among Palangka Raya university students. Through a quantitative approach and survey method, the population and sample of the research include the students who were on their fourth (2015/2016) and second (2016/2017) semester about 2,422 students. The answers were then divided into three categories: good, moderate, and poor. As for the civic attitude and civic behavior variables, the maximum value is 5 and the minimum 1, and then the answers were divided into five categories: very high, high, moderate, low and very low. Findings reveal (i) the similarity of civic engagement in each faculty and level of the students who are on their fourth and second semester is in moderate category in terms of their knowledge based on identifying the governmental process, rights, and duties of citizens in terms of laws and politics, as well as the lecturers; (ii) the similarity of the high category of their attitude based on the values of humanity, empathy, openness, tolerance, ethics, and social responsibility; (iii) the difference of civic engagement between the second semester students who are low and the fourth semester who are high in terms of their behavior is determined by learning experience where the fourth semester students are more experienced in coping with the problems in community than the second semester counterparts. Recommendation for future research is the exploration of the reason behind the emerging unsynchronized results between the Indonesian civic knowledge, attitude, and behavior.     

Private transfers with incomplete information: A contribution to the “altruism-exchange motivation for transfers” debate

We examine the role of altruism in determining optimal transfers from a principal (a mother) to selfish agents (her children) in return for attention services. Transfer-attention contracts are studied in a setting in which informational asymmetries arise from the inability of a parent to determine the extent of her children's selfishness. We find a predominating exchange motive for transfers in the symmetric informational regime we study. However, both altruism and exchange are important motives under asymmetric information. We show that altruism facilitates transfer-attention exchange arrangements with certain trade partners under incomplete information, but diminishes trade with others. Received: 19 November 2000/Accepted: 17 May 2001 The paper was written while Edward Seiler was a fellow at the department of Agricultural Economics and Management at the Hebrew University. The authors wish to thank Elad Aharoni for research assistance, and Judith Rivlin, Yacov Tsur, two anonymous referees and seminar participants at the Hebrew University for helpful comments. Responsible editor: Alessandro Cigno.     

Practical ways psychotherapy can support physical healthcare experiences for male survivors of childhood sexual abuse

Many survivors of child sexual abuse who engage in psychotherapy also experience physical health problems. This article summarizes the findings of a multiphased qualitative study about survivors' experiences in healthcare settings. The study informed the development of the Handbook on Sensitive Practice for Health Care Practitioners: Lessons from Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse (Schachter, Stalker, Teram, Lasiuk, & Danilkewich, 2009), which is intended to help healthcare providers from all disciplines understand the effect of child sexual abuse on some survivors' abilities to access and benefit from health care. This paper discusses what psychotherapists can learn from the healthcare experiences of the male survivors who participated in this project. It also offers practical suggestions for supporting male clients who experience difficulty seeking treatment for physical health concerns.