Toward a formal theory of interactive resocialization: The case of adoptive parenthood

Resocialization is pulled out of its structuralist roots and recast into an interactionist framework. Building on a substantive theory of the resocialization experience of becoming an adoptive parent, three theoretical properties of interactionist resocialization are presented. These can be summarized as involving unlearning and relearning some aspects of a core identity; the interpretation and active reconstruction of that identity which has reciprocal effects on all actors involved; and finally, the effects of both situational and trans-situational norms that give shape to the resocialization experience. Suggestions are made for other substantive areas of research that could be used for comparative analysis in order to further refine a formal theory of interactionist resocialization.     

The Intersubjective Experience of the Physical Body in the Clinical Setting of Eating Disorders

This paper will illuminate one dimension of self-disclosure as it relates to the inescapable presence of the body in treatment, and the female clinician’s ability to bring her physical body into clinical discussions during an encounter with a female client with an eating disorder. Although the clinical literature on eating disorders validates that transference and countertransference issues are particularly powerful, it generally neglects the exploration of these issues specific to the body’s physical presentation. Since body dissatisfaction is increasingly normative for women today, female clinicians need to have a theoretical road map on which to rely when they encounter a shared body experience. Thus, in order to encourage discussions of the therapist’s body in clinical social work practice, the body needs to be situated in a larger theoretical framework within which it can be explained and located; this framework is object relations theory viewed through an intersubjective lens. Concepts from object relations theory will demonstrate the importance of the body in the clinical exchange by highlighting the parallel between Winnicott’s ‘good enough’ mother and the ‘good enough’ therapist’s body. When the therapist is able to judiciously invite discussions of her body into the clinical arena, the client is given the opportunity to move from object relating to object usage. A case presentation exemplifies how this conceptual framework can be applied to clinical social work practice, strengthening the relationship between knowing and doing.     

A Probabilistic Dealing Strategy

A probabilistic dealing strategy is proposed which allows all premium brands in an established market to earn nonnegative profits without cooperation. Following the strategy, brands take turns attracting deal-responsive customers. Relative to a reactive competitive strategy, the proposed strategy improves the positions of all premium brands. With use of the strategy, average deal sizes are positively related to a brand's market share, the proportion of quality conscious customers, the proportion of informed customers, the span of regular prices in a market, and the range of customers' acceptable prices.     

Do peer effects mediate the association between family socio‐economic status and educational achievement?

Differences in levels of academic achievement according to socio‐economic status (SES), and parental education in particular, have been a persistent feature of Australian education systems. Young people with highly educated parents are more likely than their peers with low‐educated parents to attain high levels of achievement at school. Students with low levels of achievement are less likely than their high achieving peers to complete Year 12 and are more likely to experience negative post‐school outcomes. The SES of the neighbourhood, and in particular, the school attended, has also been found to have an effect on levels of both academic achievement and attainment. For this paper, we conduct analyses of National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy test scores for four cohorts of secondary school students attending government schools in the Australian Capital Territory to examine the associations between parental education, school attended and levels of educational achievement. Our findings show that students with university‐educated parents achieve at much higher levels than their peers with low‐educated parents and that attending a school with a higher proportion of students from educationally disadvantaged families has a negative effect on educational achievement.     

THE EFFECTS OF MACROECONOMIC CONDITIONS AT GRADUATION ON OVEREDUCATION

This article shows that unfavorable economic conditions at graduation decrease the likelihood of a good job‐worker match over a worker's subsequent career. Mismatch is quantified in terms of overeducation by both industry and occupation. The German Socio‐Economic Panel and region‐level unemployment rates from 1994 to 2012 are used. Instrumental variables estimates account for endogenous graduation timing. A single percentage point increase in regional unemployment causes an increase in the probability of overeducation of 1.6–1.7 percentage points for university graduates. Effects for technical tertiary education and apprenticeship graduates are smaller. Labor market entry conditions affect workers for up to 9 years after graduation. (JEL J23, J22, E32, I23)     

Assessing the contribution of fallen autumn leaves to airborne fungi in an urban environment

Urban Ecosystems - Many street trees in urban areas are deciduous and drop leaves during autumn. These leaves are a potential growing substrate for fungi, which when aerosolized and inhaled, can...     

The Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management: Origins,influences, issues and prospects

This paper chronicles the formation and development of the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management (GA) up to 2002. It sets the GA's genesis within the context of other internationalisation initiatives undertaken by the wider public relations practitioner community and draws links between the formation of the GA and the emerging phenomenon of globalisation. The paper's intent is to describe the formation of the GA from a historical perspective, to understand the forces that led to its creation and to appreciate the different drivers and motivation of founding members. These factors provide a springboard to consider some of the issues that currently challenge GA, some of which were inherent in the governance model it chose at its inception.