READING THE ALCOHOLIC FILM: Analysis of The Country Girl

This article offers an interpretive, interactional reading of the film The Country Girl (1954). It argues that such texts serve as empirical materials for cultural studies. The beliefs and themes about alcoholism which the film represents are discussed, and it is shown how these are a product of the era in which they were created. Bateson's theory of the double bind is applied to the dyadic and triadic interactions that make up the film's text. Unraveling the double bind in the alcoholic relationship better reveals how this particular form of social relationship destructively perpetuates itself through time. Films like The Country Girl reflect society back to itself, and in so doing contribute to the popular culture's understanding of alcoholism.     

Correlates of drinking and drug use by higher education faculty and staff: implications for prevention

The prevalence and frequency of drug and alcohol abuse among higher education faculty and staff is not known. Higher education is a cultural environment which, on the one hand, is stressful and, on the other, permits a high degree of autonomy. This relationship of stress and autonomy is predicted to produce drug and alcohol abuse. Information is gathered by anonymous, self-report questionnaires, on the frequency and prevalence of faculty and staff drug and alcohol use at a regional university. Responses show alcohol and drug use within the last year and month among four higher education occupational groups: faculty, administrators, clerical staff, and physical plant/custodial staff. While stress was found to be weakly correlated with some drug use in the last month, depression was consistently correlated with drug use and moderately correlated with suicidal thoughts and tendencies, as well as job dissatisfaction. Drug and alcohol abuse is a factor in behavioral problems that affect faculty/staff and can be addressed through Employee Assistance Programs.     

The perception of occupational stress and its relation to research and teaching among academic staff

A sample of full-time teaching staff from a former polytechnic participated in a study to examine the relationships between their perception of occupational stress and their involvement in research. Information was obtained from 60% of staff approached. The mean scores on the Occupational Stress Indicator (OSI) for job satisfaction and stress-related measures of mental health and physical health did not differ significantly from data obtained in previous studies on university academic personnel. Scores on these variables were not significantly related to research activity. The degree of satisfaction and degree of stress emanating from participation in research, in teaching and in administration were separately assessed in structured interviews.     

The organization of religious congregations: Tackling the issues

This article considers responses to the practical problems of organization that arise in religious congregations. Accumulated research findings on the organizational features and issues of congregations are synthesized and discussed under three themes: purposes and goals, the role of clergy, and growth and change. Theoretical frameworks that have been used to analyze congregations are reviewed, and it is suggested that further useful insights can be obtained by conceptualizing congregations as nonprofits and by building on knowledge about their organization and management. At the same time, the author argues, there are distinctive features of congregation organization that demand the development of more specialist theory.     

New competition in financial services

This article examines the effects of competition facing financial services institutions, from the strategic management and from organizational management viewpoint. Through analysis of a survey, the nature of the problems facing managers are highlighted. The article is intended as a case study of an industry under change, and the conclusions identify lessons to be learned from the experience.     

Does She Boil Eggs? Towards a Feminist Model of Disability

The Social Model of Disability is increasingly recognised as the theoretical and ideological underpinning for the collectivisation and politicisation of disabled people. This paper examines the Social Model from the perspective of disabled women. It then considers the position of disabled women in relation to both the women's movement and the disability movement. It argues that the former is oriented towards non-disabled women and the latter towards disabled men, with a consequent further marginalisation and disempowering of disabled women. Drawing on the history of black feminism, the author (who is a white non-disabled woman, and who teaches anti-discriminatory social work practice based on an integrated theoretical model) concludes by offering to disabled women a reframing of the analysis in which to explore their simultaneous experiencing of their gender and disability.     

Therapist,save my child: A family crisis case

This paper describes five sessions (the total treatment contact) with a mother and her 15-year-old daughter who was suddenly refusing to attend school. They were a very insecure and inhibited mother and daughter in an intensely dependent relationship involving much ambivalence on both sides. Not only was the immediate school problem resolved, but the clients developed some awareness of their own underlying conflicts related to the developmental phase of the family and of how their ways of handling these conflicts affected one another.     

Health satisfaction: A detailed test of the multiple discrepancies theory model

The present study employs calculated gaps to test the MDT model in the domain of health satisfaction. The results appear to contradict Multiple Discrepancies Theory in its present format, although it is possible that this is a result of the use of calculated rather than perceived gaps. The present findings specifically highlight the important influence of perceived current health status on health satisfaction ratings. It is argued that the basic principle of MDT (that perceived discrepancies between one's own current state of affairs and various relevant comparison levels, have an important influence in determining satisfaction) is not in doubt, but that the precise nature and point of influence of these perceived discrepancies in the formulation of satisfaction ratings may not be accurately portrayed by the current MDT model.