Thyroid dysfunction in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women

Thyroid dysfunction is common, especially among women over the age of 50. In caring for peri- and post-menopausal women, it is important to recognize the changing clinical manifestations of thyroid disease with age. Postmenopausal women are at increased risk of both osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease, and untreated thyroid disease may exacerbate these risks. Screening for thyroid dysfunction in asymptomatic individuals is controversial, but aggressive case-finding should be pursued, especially in older women. Women with overt thyroid dysfunction should be treated. Therapy for women with subclinical thyroid dysfunction is more controversial, although women with levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) > or =10 mU/L should be treated, and treatment may be considered in symptomatic women with subclinical hypothyroidism and TSH values <10 mU/L, and in women with subclinical hyperthyroidism who have TSH values consistently <0.1 mU/L. In women who are treated with thyroxine, careful dose titration and monitoring are required in order to prevent the adverse consequences of iatrogenic subclinical hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism. Finally, caution is required in diagnosing and treating thyroid dysfunction in women who are taking oral estrogens or selective estrogen receptor modulators.     

The roles of vertical and shared leadership in the enactment of executive corruption: Implications for research and practice

Recent scandals involving executive leadership have vaulted the topic of executive corruption to a central concern in the organizational literature. History suggests that power can corrupt and that absolute power can be an especially toxic influence. In this paper we propose that the propensity for corruption (as measured by CEO responsibility disposition) of leaders and the degree to which leadership is shared are key factors in understanding the potential for executive corruption. More specifically, shared leadership is proposed as a moderator that can deter corruptive tendencies by providing checks and balances capable of reducing the potential for corrupt behavior. A conceptual model is offered along with propositions to help guide future research and practice.     

Getting Comfortable as “Fish Out of Water”: Using Qualitative Research Methods Training to Enhance the Technical Capacity of Family Therapy Trainees

This article describes a qualitative research methods training project undertaken in a COAMFTE‐accredited family therapy master’s‐level program. Graduate students were trained to collect research data for a qualitative study on the resilience of families displaced to the United States because of war and politically motivated violence in their country of origin. By involving trainees in a research project with refugees, the project was intended to address a gap in clinicians’ training, specific to the refugee population (Miller, Muzurovic, Worthington, Tipping, and Goldman, American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 2002; 72 : 341). However, the training process was also a way to increase the students’ skills at interviewing in complex situations, develop their cultural sensitivity beyond awareness, enhance their capacity for routine self‐reflection, and introduce them to basic practices of qualitative research methodology. In this article, we focus on the students’ experience of the training and discuss the potential implications of their feedback for family therapy training.     

Cubic lattices

In some experiments, the problem is to compare many unstructured treatments in small blocks, the classical example being the study of new plant varieties on variable land. A common method is to use lattice designs, i.e. block designs based upon rows and columns of a square format, with ficrther replicates being formed, required, from orthogonal squares applied to the format. It has been known for some time that cubes can be used instead; this paper sets out to explore the possibilities. There are two cases. In one case, the blocks are formed from the planes of the cube and, in the other case, from its lines. The cubic lattice basically has three replicates-one from each dimension-but, two or four replicates are required, a design can be found by omitting or duplicating one of the dimensions. Where standard treatments need to be introduced, -a useful device is to reinforce, i.e. supplement each block with additional plots of standards, with each block of a replicate being supplemented in the same way. These possibilities are examined. It emerges that cubic lattices with two or three replicates usefully extend the range of available designs, but that those with four replicates are disappointing. However, there is the alternative of using designs based upon Latin cubes. This matter is not taken far but it is shown that, where the Latin cube exists, it gives a better design. A quick way of calculating an approximate analysis of variance is given, which is applicable in a wide range of cases.     

Firing Back: Against the Tyranny of the Market 2

Pierre Bourdieu, Verso, 2003, 96 pp., ISBN 185984 6580, NewPress, New York, USA. Pierre Bourdieu (1930–2002) was a highly influential socialscientist of the twentieth century, on a par with Marx, Durkheimand Weber of the nineteenth, and Foucault, Derrida and Habermasof his own century. Yet, the relevance and insights of thesecontinental intellectuals is often missed and misunderstoodin the pragmatic Anglo-American intellectual culture. If youread this short collection of trenchant essays as a startingpoint for entering Bourdieu's world, you can, however, see thevirtue of theoretical thinking to practice. Despite     

Parental mental health and child protection—making the links through training

This article refers to the impact on single discipline working on professional understanding of mental disorder, particularly as it relates to child protection. The dilemmas of bringing a multi‐agency group with diverse experiences and knowledge base together into one training event are considered, with suggestions as to how the difficulty might be addressed. Topics of common concern are identified and training techniques and methods described. The benefits and outcomes of joint training across disciplines and agencies is acknowledged in relation to child protection and parental mental disorder Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Revisiting Family of Origin in the Training of Family Therapists

Family of Origin exploration has had a controversial history in family therapy training. This article describes a process that aims to integrate family of origin work with skills development Co‐developed by a training group and their trainer, it builds on the existing approach at the Bouverie Centre in Melbourne. Family of origin work is clearly and practically linked with the enhancement of clinical skills, as argued for in the literature. Informed consent trust and safety are taken seriously, and negotiated within the training group. Trainee and trainer stories are included and the authors discuss the learning that resulted from asking trainees to present their family of origin to the group, including the unpredictable personal ramifications that inevitably occur in such processes.