BUILDING ON PRETREATMENT CHANGE TO CONSTRUCT THE THERAPEUTIC SOLUTION: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY

This paper reports the authors' "accidental" discovery that change in the problem situation frequently occurs prior to the first session, and that clients can often recall and describe such changes, if prompted. The authors describe one technique for eliciting reports of pretreatment change from clients, and discuss the results of an informal survey of 30 families who responded to this intervention. Rather than discounting pretreatment change as a "flight into health," it can be framed in Batesonian terms as a "difference that makes a difference."     

Age-related changes in maximal power and maximal heart rate recorded during a ramped test in 114 cyclists age 15-73 years

This study assessed age-related changes in power and heart rate in 114 competitive male cyclists age 15-73 years. Participants completed a maximal Kingcycle ergometer test with maximal ramped minute power (RMPmax, W) recorded as the highest average power during any 60 s and maximal heart rate (HRmax, beats/min) as the highest value during the test. From age 15 to 29 (n = 38) RMPmax increased by 7.2 W/year (r = .53, SE 49 W, p < .05). From age 30 to 73 (n = 78) RMPmax declined by 2.4 W/year (r = - .49, SE 49 W, p < .05). Heart rate decreased across the full age range by 0.66 beats . min( -1 ) . year( -1 ) (r = -.75, SE 9 beats/min, p < .05). Age accounted for only 25% of the variance in RMPmax but 56% in HRmax. RMPmax was shown to peak at age 30, then decline with age, whereas HRmax declined across the full age range.     

How a Catastrophe Found the Past Hurricane Floyd and the Rise of Historical Consciousness in Princeville,North Carolina

History has no voice. It requires those who care enough about the past to put it into words. But to narrate the past, we must be conscious of it. This paper is an inquiry into how a small town in North Carolina found its unique history in the wake of a catastrophic hurricane. In 1885, Princeville, North Carolina became the oldest town in America charted by free Blacks. In spite of its historical significance, over time the town's storied past was silenced. By the latter half of the 20th century, the unique place of Princeville in African-American history, indeed in United States history, was known to only a few elderly people; and they did not talk about it. The reasons a muted past begins to matter are themselves rooted in history. In 1999 Princeville was flooded by the deluge that was Hurricane Floyd. In the midst of mayhem this wordless past found a voice. In this paper we explore how a massive storm created space for the emergence of an historical consciousness among the town's residents. We also look at how the people of Princeville are leveraging their new found past to secure a safer, more predictable future.     

Collective Psychological Empowerment as a Model of Social Change: Researching Crowds and Power

The issue of psychological empowerment in crowd events has important implications for both theory and practice. Theoretically, the issue throws light on both intergroup conflict and the nature and functions of social identity. Practically, empowerment in collective events can feed into societal change. The study of empowerment therefore tells us something about how the forces pressing for such change might succeed or fail. The present article first outlines some limitations in the conceptualization of both identity and empowerment in previous research on crowd events, before delineating the elaborated social identity model of crowds and power. We then describe recent empirical contributions to the field. These divide into two areas of research: (1) empowerment variables and (2) the dynamics of such empowerment. We finally suggest how psychological empowerment and social change are connected through crowd action. We conclude with some recommendations for practice following from the research described.     

Comparative Hypothesis Assessment and Quasi Triangulation as Process Knowledge Assessment Strategies in Social Work Practice

Summary Despite a debate lasting some decades, there has been littleor no clear resolution about the way knowledge may be relatedto practice. To a considerable degree this is because of anassumption that knowledge is ‘knowledge as product’:given knowledge, researched and applied to practice. In recentyears, the concept of ‘knowledge as process’ hasemerged, focusing on knowledge of rigorous ways to think aboutpractice situations. This has generated a focus on hypothesisgeneration, testing and falsification, as well as lessons tobe learned from rigorous methods of qualitative analysis insocial research. Rigorous social workers, it has been suggested,would behave like ‘practical qualitative researchers ofthe individual instant’. However, there is little empiricalresearch on the matter. This paper evaluates process knowledgeforms used by social workers. It presents findings that socialworkers vary considerably in the extent to which they develophypotheses about the whole case, or aspects of it, in the depthwith which they analyse cases, and the systematic way they pursuean information gathering strategy. The paper concludes thatthere is clear evidence of social workers behaving as practicalqualitative researchers, but the rigour with which they do sovaries, with fundamental implications for the training process,and the extent to which rigorous strategies, along the linesof research methodology, should be taught.