Testing privatization of "long arm" service of process

The research addresses questions about the desirability of privatizing a key component of the child support enforcement process, namely, the serving of legal documents or "service of process" for cases in which the noncustodial parent is living in another state. Child support enforcement cases that require this type of "long arm" service of process were randomly assigned to a private vendor and to out-of-state sheriff offices using an experimental research design. The author finds that although there is no difference in the time it took the two groups to process cases, the private vendor was more successful, on average, at performing this function. Furthermore, he finds that the higher success rate of the private vendor is sufficient to produce a substantively important increase in collections in child support enforcement cases. Additional questions about the suitability of privatizing "service of process" and other like services are also discussed.     

Pragmatism and the Scientific Validation of Professional Practices in American Special Education

A number of American special educators have recently stated that new professional practices should undergo a process of 'scientific validation' whereby researchers decide the effectiveness or value of the practice. This essay critiques this position by way of the philosophical framework of pragmatism, an American philosophy spanning from the works of Peirce, James and Dewey to the current writings of neo-pragmatists Richard Rorty and Cornel West. Rorty's critique of the representational use of language is explained. Emphasis is placed on the importance of an equal, democratic dialogue in decision-making processes involving professionals, served individuals and families. The essay concludes with a brief illustration of a pragmatist's approach to inclusive education.     

STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS IN FRANZ KAFKA'S THE METAMORPHOSIS

Kafka's The Metamorphosis is not only a masterpiece of modern literature, but also a work that exemplifies many ideas of structural family therapy. In this essay I have examined how this novels embodies concepts such as parentified children, enhancement, intergenerational boundaries, coalitions and triangles, structural dysfunction, and structural thinking on anorexia nervosa.     

Altering the Function of Commands Presented to Boys with Oppositional and Hyperactive Behavior

The Analysis of Verbal Behavior - Mentalistic and behavioral analyses of noncompliance among children with hyperactive behavior are contrasted. Then, a behavioral training program for 3 boys with...     

Our favourite melodies: musical consumption and teenage lifestyles

The present study explores the determinants and lifestyle correletes of musical preferences among a large sample of high school students in Toronto, Ontario. Our work is informed by theory and research on cultural stratification and adolescent subcultures. In terms of cultural stratification, we engage with Bourdieu's (1984) and Peterson's (1996) conceptualizations of elite taste, while subcultural theory encourages us to focus upon more dissenting tastes and to explore connections between musical tastes and peer group activity. Our findings suggest that racial and ethnic identity, school experiences and cultural capital are significant sources of variation in musical tastes that loosely correspond to existing typologies; they also confirm what has often been inferred - that musical tastes and peer group cultural practices are closely linked. Our findings are then discussed in the light of current debates about the nature and dimensions of listening audiences for music.     

PREDICTING MARITAL THERAPY DROPOUTS*

The purpose of this study was to predict therapy dropouts using data gathered at marital therpay intake. Intake data included standardized assessments and demographic information. The sample consisted of 474 couples who were seeking marital therapy and who attended at least one therapy session. Seventy-two couples met the dropout criteria, and a random sample of equal size was drawn from the rest of the couples for the analyses. Data from these two groups of couples were analyzed with multiple regression and discriminant analysis formulas. Three variables-having less than two children, having a male intake clinician, and a presenting problem relating only to one spouse-were significant predictors in accounting for couples who would drop out of therapy. In the best model, high phobic anxiety scores for husbands and a presenting problem relating to parenting, along with the other three variables, produced a model that accurately classified 82% of the couples who dropped out of therapy.     

Right-to-Die Legislation: A Note on Factors Associated with Its Adoption

Legislation allowing for some form of death prior to it naturally occurring presently exists in very few industrial democracies. This article explores what large-scale economic and social factors may be associated with the legality of right-do-die measures, namely, a nation's health care expenditures, the old-age dependency ratio, religious pluralism, and homicide and suicide rates. Using data from several sources, we find an association among these factors and right-to-die legislation. Four of the six countries with recent experience of legalized physician-aided death ranked in the top 50% of countries on our combined measure of the five factors under examination. Implications of this study and suggestions for future research of this timely issue are discussed.