Letters to the Editor

Quantitative graphics have been central to the development of science, and statistical graphics date from the earliest attempts to analyze data. Many familiar forms, including bivariate plots, statistical maps, bar charts, and coordinate paper, were used in the 18th century. Statistical graphics developed through attention to four problems: spatial organization (17th and 18th centuries), discrete comparison (18th and early 19th centuries), continuous distribution (19th century), and multivariate distribution and correlation (late 19th and early 20th centuries). Today, statistical graphics appear to be reemerging as an important analytic tool, with recent innovations exploiting computer graphics and related technologies.     

A Comparative Analysis of the Effectiveness of Conciliation Counseling on Certain Personality Variables*

Twelve couples undergoing court-ordered counseling in Iowa were compared to a “voluntary” counseling group, and a no-counseling control group to see what changes, if any, would occur during the treatment period on certain personality variables, as measured by the Taylor-Johnson Temperament Analysis (TJTA), and on perceived marital adjustment problems, as measured by the Marriage Adjustment Inventory (MAI). Dissolution rates were also compared post-treatment. Minimal differences were found among the groups in the amount, and direction, of changes on the two instruments. Differences in dissolution rates were found, as expected, but court-ordered counseling did appear to have a positive effect with some couples.     

The state of American Sociology

Sociology appears to be one of the most internally divided disciplines, if not the most. Departmental struggles, which have led to sociologists complaining to administrators about each other, have put the field in bad repute among campus officials and have endangered its survival in some schools. The American Sociological Society and American Sociological Association have been among the most conflict-ridden associations in academe for generations. Severe internecine struggles have a long history in the field. It may be suggested that they are related to the propensity of the field to attract social reformers and political activists. But hard evidence indicates sociology graduate students are among the weakest, as judged by test scores.This is an elaboration of an American Sociological Association presidential presentation to a plenary session of the Southern Sociological Association on April 2, 1993.     

Strengthening the Domestic and Family Violence Workforce: Key Questions

ABSTRACT

The significant impact of domestic and family violence in Australia calls for a workforce that is both highly skilled and capable of meeting the demands of complex and challenging jobs. Yet despite the increasingly national visibility of domestic violence, the workers—and work itself—have largely remained invisible. We argue for a shift in conversation, highlighting the need for a workforce approach that is not only strategic but that also applies a theorised lens to domestic and family violence work inclusive of both gender and Indigeneity.

IMPLICATIONS

• The domestic and family violence workforce and workers should be made more visible to better support development in this sector.

• A workforce development strategy is needed to build knowledge about who is doing this work, the nature of the work, workplace structures and cultures, and work environments and conditions.

• The significance of gendered power relations, Indigeneity, high risk, trauma environments, and emotional labour in domestic and family violence work cannot be ignored in development strategies.

     

Perceived benefits and psychosocial outcomes of a brief existential family intervention for cancer patients/survivors

This study assessed a range of benefits from participation in a brief existential intervention consisting of a semi-structured videotaped interview with cancer patients and their families designed to illuminate a life legacy for the family (the Life Tape Project [LTP]). Results indicated the majority reported intervention-specific benefits, especially in the areas of symbolic immortality (passing on personal values and philosophy), self-reflection and growth, and improved family cohesion and communication. Participants, particularly those who had perceived their cancer as a threat of death, serious injury, or threat to their physical integrity, and responded with intense fear or helplessness, also reported more general reductions in mood disturbance, improvements in aspects of well-being (including overall quality of life), satisfaction with the understanding they received, and enhanced cancer-related posttraumatic growth. In short, the LTP is a brief, inexpensive, existential intervention that can yield broad positive psychosocial changes for a majority of participants.     

Democracy,Civil Society and Antislavery in Tocquevillian Perspective

From his earliest encounter with slavery during his journey to America in 1831 until his death in 1859 Alexis de Tocqueville never ceased to regard slavery as a moral outrage and a fundamental contradiction to the principles of liberty, equality and humanity. In France, he was a charter member of the French Society for the Abolition of Slavery. Yet both his writings and political activity were hedged with significant silences and hesitations from beginning to end.     

Evaluation of Support Groups for Child Abuse Prevention: Outcomes of Four State Evaluations

ABSTRACT

Parent support groups have grown in popularity as a strategy for preventing child maltreatment, but there have been few evaluations of these groups. The purpose of this paper is twofold. One goal is to identify some of the major challenges in the evaluation of parent support groups and to provide strategies for minimizing these potential difficulties. The second goal is to illustrate successful evaluations of parent support groups (i.e., the Circle of Parents® program) in four states. Three of these states used a retrospective pretest method. Outcomes indicated positive performance across all domains of functioning, as measured by a self-report questionnaire. Strengths and limitations of the evaluations are discussed, and recommendations for future evaluations are provided.