Treatment of Marital Disharmony Where One Spouse Has A Primary Affective Disorder (Manic Depressive Illness): I. General Overview—100 Couples*

This paper gives a general overview of the treatment of marital disharmony where one spouse has a primary affective disorder. This is the first of a series of clinical-statistical studies on the subject. Neither purely clinical conclusions without the insights of statistics nor vice versa are sufficient methodologically. By treatment we mean a variety of interventions ranging from psychotherapies to somatotherapies (pharmaceuticals and/or electroconvulsive therapy [ECT]). By marital disharmony we mean where the nature of the marital relationship is such that it leads to sufficient pain in either or both spouses to warrent treatment.     

Research notes/Notes de recherche: Du français dans le del: un conflit en retard

This paper examines the factors which may account for the timing of the francophone-anglophone conflict in air traffic control in Quebec in 1975–76. Following recent debates in the literature of collective action two hypotheses are considered. Explanations stressing relative deprivation are examined, as well as interpretations based on the propositions of the resource-mobilization approach.
In the case studied here it appears that resources are indeed the crucial factor in explaining the timing of the conflict. However, the dynamics of the conflict cannot be fully understood unless socio-psychological factors are included. Research methodologies taking account of these two dimensions must be elaborated to study conflict.
Cet article examine les facteurs qui expliquent le moment historique du conflit qui opposa les groupes francophone et anglophone dans le contrôle de la navigation aérienne en 1975–76. Les contributions théoriques de deux courants divergents dans la littérature sociologique contemporaine sont retenues. Les facteurs psycho-socioiogiques tels que les sentiments de frustration et d'insatisfaction privilégiés par le modèle dit de privation relative sont examinés. Les facteurs structuraux tels que l'organisation et la disponibilité de ressources nouvelles mis de l'avant dans l'approche mobilisation de ressources sont aussi invoqués.     

The Determinants of Non-Executive Representation on the Boards of Large UK Companies

An important aspect of current governance practice is theutilisation of non-executive directors to monitor the behaviourof senior management. The purpose of this paper is to provide aninitial insight on the determinants of non-executiverepresentation on the boards of large UK companies. The studyadopts an agency theory perspective, focusing specifically on theimpact of company size and ownership on non-executiverepresentation. I find that larger companies, where monitoringvia ownership is expected to be less efficient, utilise higherlevels of non-executive representation. I also find thatnon-executive representation is positively associated with theownership of external blockholders. The presence of CEO/chairmanduality has a negative impact on non-executive representation. Overall, the findings suggest that companies utilise boards withstronger monitoring potential when size and ownershipcharacteristics suggest that alternative governance mechanismsmay be unable to ensure managers pursue shareholders' interests.     

Supporting familial and community care for children: legislative reform and implementation challenges in South Africa

This article critically evaluates important legislative reforms in South Africa, which, at the height of the AIDS pandemic, are intended to reduce the need for removing children from their families or communities. In a textual analysis of the 2005 Children's Act and the 2006 Children's Act Amendment Bill, the shift in focus from individual interventions to a developmental approach incorporating prevention and early intervention is explained. New family service and alternative care orders such as partial care, shared care, cluster care and support for child-headed households are described. Although these creative solutions have considerable potential, there are gaps in the legislation that require supplementary wording. Drawing on the work of researchers and commentators, it is also shown that an inappropriate approach towards implementation has commenced, which harms rather than assists children. Recommendations are made for improving implementation that may be of relevance to other countries faced with similar challenges.     

Social structure and personal choice

A review of representative literature in the newly developing area of alternative lifestyle research suggests an antisocial structural bias. The origin of this trend and its implications for a theoretically based social science of alternative lifestyles are explored. The aged, women, and Black families are viewed as examples where social structural conditions affect the diversity of intimacy, marriage, and family alternative lifestyles chosen. Current definitions of alternative lifestyles, individual freedom, and choice are seen as reflecting and supporting the social, political, and economic status quo in American society. It is concluded that a social science of alternative lifestyles is only possible when we more fully understand the individual, institutional, and historical dynamics determining the availability and feasibility of alternatives in intimacy, marriage, and family life.     

Reassessing a Theory of Professional Expertise: A Cross-National Investigation of Expert Mental Health Social Workers

This paper presents the findings from a cross-national studyof expert mental health social workers in Melbourne, Australiaand San Jose, California, USA. In this study, expert socialworkers were selected based on a peer-nomination process andthey were invited to participate in two-hour focus group interviewsin which they described memorable practice situations. Detailedaccounts of these practice situations were gathered from nineteenAustralian and American expert practitioners employed in community-basedmental health settings. The study findings corroborate manyof the dimensions that are explicated in a theory of professionalexpertise developed by Fook et al. (2000). Further, the findingsdescribe the skilful and ethical comportment of these socialworkers in the context of often complex and challenging practicesituations. Narrative accounts are used to demonstrate the distinguishingdimensions and features of expert practice described by Fookand her colleagues, especially when providing services to peoplewith chronic mental illness. In-depth articulation of practiceexpertise using cross-national data enhances social work researchand pedagogy by providing important exemplars that inform morefully the development of empirically based practice theories.