Graphic Family Therapy: An Affective Alternative to Structure and Strategy1

A self-discovery hypothesis regarding changing family dysfunctioning is suggested. From this hypothesis a method for treatment called Graphic Family Therapy has been developed. The four stages of this design—Analysis, Motivation, Evaluation and Research—are discussed. Specific graphic exercises for eight categories of family dysfunction are described. Two illustrative cases, one long-term and one short-term, are presented. Conclusions regarding results, future research, training and other clinical applications are offered.     

Artist-run galleries—A contemporary institutional change in the visual arts

This paper focuses on the contemporary phenomenon of artists who, because of institutional changes in the social organization of the visual arts, become their own gatekeepers by running their own galleries, managing their own exposure and re-establishing direct contact with their audiences and communities. The author contends that the ways in which artists have pursued and organized their own galleries shed light on both the functioning of the established social organization of art and the circumstances that bring about its change. The paper explores the organization, operations and viability of visual artist-managed galleries in the San Francisco and Santa Cruz areas of California as an alternative to the established organization of the art market. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Pacific Sociological Association Meetings in Sacramento, California (April, 1977). This study was made possible by a grant from the Research Committee of the University of California, Santa Cruz. My warmest thanks to Judith Balfe and Gerald Platt for their substantive and editorial assistance and to Jenny Debouzek for her assistance throughout this research.     

Outcomes for the sociology of mental health: are we meeting our goals?

In this paper I argue that a fruitful discussion of the choice of outcomes in the sociological study of the social antecedents of mental health problems would benefit from a consideration of the goals that we are trying to achieve. The most clearly articulated goal is that of uncovering those aspects of society that produce harm. I examine the premises of the current conceptual framework--the stress paradigm--in light of its ability to fulfill this goal, and I discuss the implications for the types of outcome measures we use.     

Small Business Success in Rural Communities: Explaining the Sex Gap*

Abstract Building on previous theory and research, we propose a “structural relational” view of the sex gap in small business success. Our findings, based on analyses of data from 423 small business owners in Iowa, show support for our model and suggest that links between owners, social relational processes, business structure, and small business success operate differently depending on the industry location of the business and the owner's sex. Results also indicate that the business owner's sex has direct and indirect effects on business success. This finding suggests that social relations, organizations, and institutions are all gendered in ways that influence the sex gap in sales, but that further research is needed to more fully explain sex differences in small business success. We discuss these and other findings in terms of their theoretical and practical implications, and suggest directions for future research.     

Toddler Peers: From Nonverbal Coordinated Action to Verbal Discourse

Twenty-four toddlers (24 months of age) interacted with an adult play partner who experimentally created two different nonverbal interactive contexts surrounding her speech to the toddlers. One, a nonverbal imitation game, mimicked that hypothesized to facilitate toddlers' discourse with one another. The second mimicked another frequent form of toddler peer interaction, parallel play. After establishing the nonverbal context, the adult verbally described her own or the child's nonverbal action. Being engaged in nonverbal imitation games facilitated toddlers (1) responding verbally to the adult's speech in a topically well-connected way and (2) maintaining topically-connected responses over successive turns. Using nonverbal imitative acts, toddlers appear to nonverbally negotiate a topic for their interactions that facilitates their skill in verbal discourse.     

Children's narratives of sexual abuse

Children rarely disclose sexual abuse. Hence, studies of children's abuse experiences are relatively rare. This paper reports on a qualitative analysis of 2986 cases of self‐disclosure of sexual abuse from children, aged 5–18 years, who contacted ChildLine Scotland, a free, confidential telephone counselling service. Children discussed their feelings regarding the abuse, the impact of abuse on their health and well‐being, sources of support, disclosure, coping strategies, the context in which abuse occurs and the various ways in which they were groomed or their compliance in abuse was gained. Children's narratives contained detailed contextual information on their experiences of sexual abuse, perpetrators of sexual abuse and the circumstances in which sexual abuse occurs. The way in which children communicated about sexual abuse was found to differ quite considerably, and the terminology they employed was often markedly different from adult constructs. Nonetheless, children of all ages were able to describe their experiences and their feelings around the abuse in considerable detail. This study provides a rare insight into children's accounts of sexual abuse. The findings illustrate the profound impact that sexual abuse has on the lives of children and their understandings of the circumstances in which abuse occurs.     

“Shelf-Ready” Print Serials Acquisitions

The focus of this installment of “The Balance Point” is “shelf-ready” print serials acquisitions, including functions associated with traditional consolidation services (ordering, receiving, check-in, labeling, claiming and batch shipments), and the newer capabilities of uploading check-in data automatically into library systems. Featured authors discuss traditional vendor consolidation services, pilot projects and experiments in the pursuit of what they define as genuinely “shelf-ready” periodicals. The authors view obtaining “shelf-ready” print journal issues as an effective and efficient means of managing print serials operations while coping with the demands of managing digital resource acquisitions with limited financial resources.