Sensitivity to bodily nonverbal communication as a factor in practitioner-patient rapport

The relationship between physicians' nonverbal sensitivity and the satisfaction of their patients was tested in two field studies. In the first study, 40 physicians were given a film test of nonverbal sensitivity (the PONS test) and were evaluated by their patients. The second study was a replication using 31 additional physicians. Most noteworthy for research in therapeutic interaction, the present studies contained three methodological advances: (1) the use of actual patients' ratings of satisfaction with treatment, (2) the extension of research from psychological to medical settings, and (3) the use of a standardized test of nonverbal decoding skill. Physicians' skill at reading the emotion conveyed through the nonverbal channel of body movement was found to be significantly correlated with their interpersonal success with patients in the clinical setting.The authors would like to thank Donald Dickson, M.D., Mary Ann Spadaro, M.D., Louise M. Prince, John L. Helmuth, Jr., Helene M. Murphy, and the physicians and patients who participated in the research. Study I was supported by a Peter B. Livingston Fellowship from the Massachusetts Mental Health Center and Study II by a W. K. Kellogg Fellowship from the Hospital Research and Educational Trust, both to the senior author.     

COMPETITIVE INDUSTRY EQUILIBRIUM UNDER UNCERTAINTY AND FREE ENTRY

This paper investigates the properties of industry equilibrium under price uncertainty given free entry and exit. For any form of risk-averse behavior, it is shown that an increase in demand uncertainty (as measured by a mean-preserving spread) increases mean output price and reduces output of firms in long-run equilibrium.     

Formulating the mess: The role of decision aids in problem formulation

Analytic decision aids have been criticized by some practitioners for their inability to address questions of problem formulation. These aids typically begin with the assumption that a problem has been recognized and stated, and that the task of the sequential step-wise analysis process is to indicate the optimal strategy in terms of a specified choice criterion. Writers such as Ackoff, Mason & Mitroff and Raiffa have argued that this approach may lead to solving the wrong problem, particularly when applied to ill-structured, complex organizational decision problems. The purpose of this paper is to provide a more thorough understanding of the nature of problem formulation and the use of techniques for assisting decision-makers in this process. The paper attempts first to develop an understanding of the process of organizational problem formulation through the examination of current literature and research. This is seen to be a necessary prerequisite for discussing the value of decision aids for problem formulation. Second, attention is focused on aids to problem formulation. Included is discussion about the matching of problem to problem type, creativity stimulants, dialectical inquiry and devil's advocate approaches, as well as the role of formal analysis as a stimulant for a policy dialogue process. Finally, the relationships between the various approaches are examined and a synthetic model for their use in problem formulation is suggested.     

Understanding the means and objects of addiction: Technology,the internet,and gambling

This article describes how using new computer technology and the Internet for gambling can represent both the means and object of addiction. However, these technological factors do not represent the cause of addictive behavior. Given the widespread availability of computer technology and the remarkable expansion of the Internet, it is not surprising, however, that these technological advances have become associated with intemperate gambling activities. By discussing the concept of addiction and its associated social setting, neurochemistry, and gaming characteristics, this article suggests that addiction is the result of shifts in subjective experience and that new technology and the Internet can provide relatively reliable and potent contemporary vehicles for changing emotional states.Special thanks are extended to Joni Vander Bilt, Matthew Hall, and Gregory O'Donohue for their helpful comments on earlier versions of this article.     

EFFICACY OF FAMILY THERAPY FOR DRUG ABUSE: PROMISING BUT NOT DEFINITIVE

Drug abuse is an enormous public health problem with consequences not only for individuals using drugs but also for families, communities, and society. Moreover, research evidence and clinical experience agree that drug abuse is one of the more difficult problems to treat. Despite considerable research on the connection between family factors and drug use, and the existence of family therapy models for drug abuse, comparatively few controlled efficacy studies have been conducted. This article presents a critical review of controlled treatment outcome research in the area of family therapy for drug abuse in both adults and adolescents. A number of studies from different clinical research groups demonstrate that different versions of family intevention can engage and retain drug users and their families in treatment, significantly reduce drug use and other related problem behaviors, and enhace particular domains of prosocial functioning. Moreover, a smaller number of comparative efficacy studies have shown family therapy to be more effective than nonfamily therapies. Family therapy of adolescent drug abuse is more developed at present than family therapy of adult drug abuse. Although the results of the reviewed studies are promising, a blanket confirmation of family therapy's efficacy for drug abuse cannot be made at this time because of the relatively small number of studies and the noted methodological limitations of the studies published to date. Nonetheless, substantial progress in this clinical research area has occurred, and if research and funding support continue or can expand, significant breakthroughs in the treamtment of drug abuse with family-based treatments are possible.     

Transfer pricing—A survey using discriminant analysis

There is a considerable literature on transfer pricing. One strand of this literature is empirical and is concerned with the extent to which companies use the various transfer pricing methods. The other strand is strongly normative being directed to devising transfer pricing methods and defining the circumstances under which it is appropriate to use them. This study attempts to address both these questions by using discriminant analysis methods to predict which approach a company will use to determine transfer prices given its weightings of certain ‘determinants’ which theory suggests should be relevant to the decision. Domestic and international transfer pricing are considered separately. Discriminant analysis is shown to be quite successful in predicting the transfer pricing systems adopted by the UK companies surveyed.