DYSFUNCTIONAL MARITAL CONFLICT: AN INTEGRATIVE INTERPERSONAL-INTRAPSYCHIC MODEL*

An integrative interpersonal-intrapsychic model of dysfunctional marital conflict is presented and research support for the model is reviewed. The therapeutic applications of the model are discussed and illustrated with a clinical example.     

Revisions of the Fish Invasiveness Screening Kit (FISK) for its Application in Warmer Climatic Zones,with Particular Reference to Peninsular Florida

The initial version (v1) of the Fish Invasiveness Scoring Kit (FISK) was adapted from the Weed Risk Assessment of Pheloung, Williams, and Halloy to assess the potential invasiveness of nonnative freshwater fishes in the United Kingdom. Published applications of FISK v1 have been primarily in temperate‐zone countries (Belgium, Belarus, and Japan), so the specificity of this screening tool to that climatic zone was not noted until attempts were made to apply it in peninsular Florida. To remedy this shortcoming, the questions and guidance notes of FISK v1 were reviewed and revised to improve clarity and extend its applicability to broader climatic regions, resulting in changes to 36 of the 49 questions. In addition, upgrades were made to the software architecture of FISK to improve overall computational speed as well as graphical user interface flexibility and friendliness. We demonstrate the process of screening a fish species using FISK v2 in a realistic management scenario by assessing the Barcoo grunter Scortum barcoo (Terapontidae), a species whose management concerns are related to its potential use for aquaponics in Florida. The FISK v2 screening of Barcoo grunter placed the species into the lower range of medium risk (score = 5), suggesting it is a permissible species for use in Florida under current nonnative species regulations. Screening of the Barcoo grunter illustrates the usefulness of FISK v2 as a proactive tool serving to inform risk management decisions, but the low level of confidence associated with the assessment highlighted a dearth of critical information on this species.     

Becoming Self-Employed

This study explored how persons become self-employed. In critical incident interviews (Flanagan, 1954) with 5 self-employed persons, the critical events that assisted or hindered progress toward self-employment were elicited in chronological order. First, the 108 incidents were organized into 22 categories. Next, using the chronological order of categories of events, 2 basic patterns or plots for becoming self-employed were identified. Last, 8 distinctive themes of personal progress in the patterns were described. In general, becoming self-employed involved establishing conditions of action that enhanced a sense of agency, enabling each person to make a decision.     

When Working Hard Is Not Enough for Female and Racial/Ethnic Minority Apprentices in the Highway Trades

Drawing on employment records, qualitative interviews, and a survey, we explore the experiences of apprentices in the highway trades in Oregon. We demonstrate that female and racial/ethnic minority apprentices have lower rates of recruitment and retention and disproportionately face challenges with interpersonal interactions, hiring practices, and supervisory practices. Yet, we find a pervasive narrative that attributes apprentices' success to “hard work,” which contributes to the legitimacy of these inequalities. Consistent with the conceptualization of work organizations as inequality regimes, we argue that the apprenticeship system has policies, practices, and ideologies that are on the surface gender and race/ethnicity neutral, yet lead to the perpetuation of inequalities.     

Fertility patterns among religious groups in Canada

The U shape that has been traced out by the crude birth rate in the United States and Canada is well known. Falling birth rates reached a low point in the mid-1930’s; the rate rose to a peak in 1947 and remained high through the 1950’s. In terms of cohorts, completed family size was smallest for women born around 1910, whose childbearing was concentrated in the 1930’s. With data from the 1961 census of Canada, trends in cohort marital fertility by religion are examined. The U pattern appears for both Protestants and Jews. For Catholics, a reversal in the downward trend of family size had not appeared by 1961, although the U pattern can be discerned for some subgroups such as Catholics living in big cities and persons of Irish ancestry. In the United States, however, changes in family size for all three religious groups and both whites and nonwhites follow the U pattern. Religious differentials in family size in Canada have been decreasing, but they remain much larger than either religious or color differentials in the United States, which show no decrease. The distinctive features of Catholic fertility in Canada are most pronounced among the regionallyconcentrated French Canadians, suggesting an interplay of religious, regional, and ethnic influences.     

A Psychometric Analysis of Field Evaluation Instruments Designed to Measure Students’ Generalist-Level Social Work Competencies

ABSTRACT

There is a dearth of research on the evaluation of the psychometric performance of instruments designed to measure students’ generalist-level social work competencies. There is also uncertainty on the performance of various response option formats used to measure students’ competencies in assessment instruments. Using a sample of 198 master of social work students and 198 field instructors, the current study employs confirmatory factor analysis to assess the psychometric performance of a field evaluation instrument designed to measure students’ generalist-level social work competencies. The results provide evidence to support the validity and reliability of the instrument. The results also highlight nuances associated with a 5-point response option format for items used to measure competency indicators. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.     

Subjective Probabilities on Subjectively Unambiguous Events

This paper suggests a behavioral definition of (subjective) ambiguity in an abstract setting where objects of choice are Savage‐style acts. Then axioms are described that deliver probabilistic sophistication of preference on the set of unambiguous acts. In particular, both the domain and the values of the decision‐maker's probability measure are derived from preference. It is argued that the noted result also provides a decision‐theoretic foundation for the Knightian distinction between risk and ambiguity.     

Are We Playing the Same Game?: Publishing Task Environments and Research Productivity Among Management Specialists

Archival data on over 15,000 contributors to 33management journals are used to examine productivitydifferences among scholars in different areas ofmanagement. The results suggest that a fragmentedpublication network offers specialists from different areasdissimilar publication opportunities and experiences,and may contribute to varying levels of publicationproductivity among authors. The implications of our results for future research and facultyevaluation processes are explored.