Ritual,Change and Psychotherapy

Symptomatic behavior often appears or is initially perceived during transitional stages in the life cycle when changes in behavior and relationships are culturally appropriate. Symptomatic behavior legitimates lack of change in the relationships of the symptomatic individual and those in his or her social context. By this it provides a pseudo-solution to the universal problem of dependency and autonomy (Sluzki & Vernon, 1971), which must be solved by individuals in every society. Many non-Western societies have rites of passage (van Gennep, 1960) to ritualistically mark significant transition. The performance of these rituals helps individuals change their position in the social context while at the same time validating the context. Rites of passage are characterized by paradoxical communications. The paradoxical structure of these rituals will be described and implications for the use of ritual in family therapy will be suggested using a case example as illustration.     

Larger posterior mode wavelet thresholding and applications

This paper explores the thresholding rules induced by a variation of the Bayesian MAP principle. The MAP rules are Bayes actions that maximize the posterior. The proposed rule is thresholding and always picks the mode of the posterior larger in absolute value, thus the name LPM. We demonstrate that the introduced shrinkage performs comparably to several popular shrinkage techniques. The exact risk properties of the thresholding rule are explored, as well. We provide extensive simulational analysis and apply the proposed methodology to real-life experimental data coming from the field of atomic force microscopy.     

R&D AND CREDIT RATIONING IN SMEs

We study the effects of credit rationing on research and development (R&D) investment using survey and accounting data on a large representative sample of manufacturing small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). Our econometric model accounts for the endogeneity of our credit rationing indicator and employs an innovative theory‐based identification strategy. We find that credit rationing has a significantly negative effect on both the probability to set up R&D activities and on the level of R&D spending (conditioned on the R&D decision), but the overall estimated reduction in R&D spending is largely to be associated with the first effect. (JEL G21, D82, O32, C35)     

Responses to global challenges: trends in aid‐financed global public goods

Based on four decades (1973–2013) of OECD‐Development Assistance Committee aid to developing countries, this article aims to show aid‐financed global public goods trends, their changing composition and their main drivers. In particular, a constant increase in the share of aid‐financed global public goods and a shift towards weighted‐sum and weakest‐link global goods are observed. Economic conditions, imitation effects, global engagement and domestic spending result as the main drivers of donors’ demand for aid‐financed global public goods. Besides, a certain complementarity in the provision of global goods plays a role, especially in European countries and Japan, partially easing the prognosis for the collective action problems related to global goods     

Intergroup contact and prejudice in Moroccan and Spanish users of Spanish public libraries: mediating variables and directionality of the process / Contacto intergrupal y prejuicio en usuarios marroquíes y españoles de bibliotecas públicas españolas: variables mediadoras y direccionalidad del proceso

This study tests two serial models of intergroup contact in intergroup relations between users of Spanish public libraries and the directionality of the contact-prejudice relationship. Participants were selected in libraries that meet IFLA Guidelines in Barcelona (N_Spaniards = 138 and N_Moroccans = 89) and libraries that do not meet these guidelines in Almería (N_Spaniards = 116 and N_Moroccans = 100). They responded to a survey about the quantity of intergroup contact, anxiety, ethnocultural empathy, outgroup knowledge and prejudice. Several serial mediation analyses reveal a model where the indirect effect of quantity of contact in the library on prejudice was mediated by intergroup anxiety and ethnocultural empathy in Moroccans in Almería and Spaniards and Moroccans in Barcelona, and it found that the direction of this relationship is from contact to attitudes, but not attitudes to contact. These results show that the mediating power of affective variables is stronger than that of cognitive variables. Explanations about the absence of significant results in Spaniards in the Almería group are provided.     

A Kaupapa Māori,culturally progressive,narrative review of literature on sport,ethnicity and inclusion

ABSTRACT

This Kaupapa Māori narrative review identifies themes in literature concerning sport, ethnicity and inclusion, from an indigenous ‘culturally progressive’ perspective. Scholars suggest that sport influences national identity and in Aotearoa/New Zealand, rugby is a rich site for examining such connections. Inclusiveness within sport is an expressed desire, although the academic scrutiny on this is limited. This study identifies and examines themes within literature (2008–2017), using a ‘Ngā Poutama Whetū’ culturally progressive review process, contributing nuanced understandings from the content. Results suggest that racist othering, representations and practices of ethnic minority exclusion are a reality in sport, although, locally, at least, the ‘cultural climate’ in sport strives for greater ethnic inclusivity. Conclusions suggest that current research in this domain is largely theoretical, insofar as challenges to organisations, power and privilege. However, future research should explore participants’ lived experiences at the intersections of ethnicity and inclusion in sport.     

Women entrepreneurs in and from developing countries: Evidences from the literature

Entrepreneurship has a leading role in economic development worldwide and, although it has usually been considered as a male dominated activity, recent studies emphasize how significant the contribution of women today is: in 2010, almost 42% of entrepreneurs in the world were, indeed, women (GEM, 2010).     

Child Well-Being in Advanced Economies in the Late 2000s

This paper aimed at comparing the well-being of children across the most economically advanced countries of the world while discussing the methodological issues involved in comparing children’s well-being across countries. A Child Well-being Index was constructed to rank countries according to their performance in advancing child well-being. The Index used 30 indicators combined into 13 components, again summarised in 5 dimensions for 29 rich countries. Data from various sources were combined to capture aspects of child well-being: material well-being, health, education, behaviour and risks, housing and environment. The scores for the countries on all variables and combinations of variables were discussed in detail. The Child Well-being Index revealed that the Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries (excluding Denmark) did relatively better than the other countries while Romania and the United States performed well below the average. Overall, serious differences existed in child well-being across countries suggesting that in many, improvement could be made in the quality of children’s lives.     

Context-contingent decision-making in child protection practice

Research on child protection practice has been concerned mainly with the problem of the maltreating parent. System philosophies and processes and the influences on these, while addressed by some authors, have not received the attention they deserve. Understanding the ways in which child protection practices are constructed offers insights into the equitable or otherwise application of these processes to different groups of parents within our communities. In the study reported here we examine how child protection workers make decisions about removing children and subsequently initiating court proceedings. By focusing our analysis on a particularly vulnerable group of parents, those with intellectual disability, we highlight the ways in which child protection workers carry out their legislative mandate to keep children safe.     

The socio-cultural context of child marriage in a Bangladeshi village

This article focuses on the reasons for child marriage in a Bangladeshi village. Although the mean age of marriage for women in Bangladesh is currently 20.2, nearly half of all girls are married before the age of 18. In Bangladesh, female sexuality is controlled through early marriage and the custom of purdah , which limits the social interactions between men and women. The methodology of this research was participant observation, supplemented by questionnaires, discussions, interviews and the construction of case studies. The study was conducted in a village in Bangladesh, and looked at why the rural people of Bangladesh marry off their daughters at an early age, whether they think that they will profit from it, and how. Cost-benefit analysis in exchange theory provides the theoretical framework. This study finds that child marriage occurs as a result of the profit-making motive of the people of Bangladesh, despite the huge costs to the individuals involved, the local community and society as a whole.