A comparative study of six different inpatient groups with respect to their basic assumption functioning

Seventy-five group therapy sessions of six different inpatient team groups in one short-term, one intermediate term, and one long-term psychiatric ward were studied with Group Focal Conflict Analysis and the Group Emotionality Rating System. The majority of the group sessions (41) functioned as fight-flight groups, twenty-four sessions functioned at a "pseudogroup" level, and ten sessions were dependency groups. The differences between the fight-flight groups and the dependency group on the variables aggression and dependency were highly significant statistically. A mixture of fight-flight groups and pseudogroups were found in the short-term ward with emergency obligations. The author discusses the assets and shortcomings of fight-flight and dependency cultures within psychiatric wards.     

Demographic characteristics and treatment experiences of women and men who stutter

This paper reports interview data collected from ten men and ten women who stutter. The responses of the subjects tend to (a) highlight the multidimensionality of stuttering, (b) provide additional support for the conclusion drawn earlier of gender differences in stuttering symptomatology, and (c) raise questions about the manner in which stuttering is treated.     

Appreciative Inquiry: A Case Study of a Woman's Experience of Poverty

This study utilised an instrumental case study to investigate the experience of a woman living in poverty in a South African community. The participant was a widowed African female with two children. Data were collected during an interview process that took place over a period of ten weeks. Each interview was in-depth and lasted between forty minutes and an hour long. Appreciative Inquiry (AI) was used to facilitate the construction of the interview questions. Data were thematically analyzed. Findings suggest that AI leads to a positive view of self and others even in the context of significant poverty.     

Counsellor verbal response mode usage and client-perceived rapport

The effects of usage of eight verbal response modes by trainee counsellors during an initial interview were determined by reference to client-perceived rapport. Data on rapport were gathered via a standardized client's minute-by-minute ratings of his experience of rapport on a five-point scale during the interview. A total of ten counselling interviews were conducted, and data were examinedfor overall effects (i.e. during the interview as a whole) and minute-by-minute effects. Restatements, Minimal Encouragers and Verbosity were significantly dafferent in occurrence in high versus low rated interviews. Minute-by-minute data revealed that these overall differences were not consistent at all stages of the interviews. Implications for counsellor training are discussed.     

Men's grooming in the Latter-day Saints Church: A qualitative study of norm violation

The role of personal grooming as an indicator of commitment to church hierarchy is examined in a study of one congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Latter-day Saints Church policy urges men to be clean-shaven. In the present study, we interview all men in one ward who have worn beards or mustaches, in order to investigate questions of authority, identity, and conflict that occurred as a result of violating the grooming norm. Interviewees describe an identity conflict, with self-expression conflicting with the desire to demonstrate faithfulness to their church. In some cases, they reconcile the conflict by conforming to the norm; in others, they violate the norm out of a sense of asserting their own identity, but this comes at a cost of distance from their church identity.     

Parish Ministry and the Elderly:

Oppurtunities for parishes and congregations to develop worthwhile programs with and for senior parishioners are abundant. The challenge lies in adding a spiritual dimension so the programs are not simply duplications of public programs. In this article results of a questionnaire survey, and interviews with ten Catholic parish pastors and 72 senior parishioners are reported. The interview questions worked well, and are included. Eight themes emerged from the interviews; and they imply direction for program development.     

EFFECTS OF ETHNICITY,ACCENT, AND JOB STATUS ON SELECTION DECISIONS

The present study investigated the effects of ethnicity, accent, and job status in the selection interview. Two hundred and ten student subjects viewed simulated, videotaped selection interviews in which applicant ethnicity, applicant accent, and job status were manipulated in a completely crossed 3 × 2 × 2 factorial design. Two sets of ratings were obtained, selection decision ratings of the job applicant, and subjective importance ratings based on the previous selection decisions. Significant main effects were obtained for ethnicity and job status in selection decision as predicted. Contrary to predictions however, the main effect for accent was not found significant. Further analysis of the importance ratings indicated a significant main effect for accent, but not for ethnicity. These findings indicated that applicant ethnicity and job status were important in selection interview decision and accent was not. Contrary to this however, subjects considered that accent was important in their selection decision ratings, while ethnicity was not.     

护理学专业学位硕士研究生临床实践体验研究

采用质性研究中的现象学研究方法,对来自全国各地10所院校的12名护理学专业学位研究生进行半结构式深度访谈。通过对录音访谈内容进行三级编码,逐步归纳提炼出三个主题,每个主题下涵盖不同的副主题：（1）临床实践获益感方面：提升核心能力、体现自身价值;（2）心理体验：归属感、失落感;（3）影响临床实践效果的瓶颈因素：缺乏明确的临床能力考评标准、临床带教师资队伍薄弱。因此,教育者和管理者应重视专业学位硕士研究生,晦床核心能力培养,构建一个充满人文关怀的临床实习环境,消除瓶颈因素,以提高其临床实践效果。     

Some effects of reduction in reinforcement magnitude in a monetary economy with hospitalized alcoholics

A 25% reduction in reinforcement magnitude (RIRM) of money paid to residents of an alcoholic rehabilitation program emphasizing the learning of behavior theory and its applications, was instituted to determine the effects on response rates on six classes of behavior—class attendance, desensitizing sessions, completion of desensitization hierarchies, tests on written material, and ward therapeutic and non-therapeutic activities. The effects of the RIRM condition on the behavior of eight subjects were compared with the behavior of ten subjects who spent a comparable amount of time in the program but were not subjected to the experimental condition (RIRM). The RIRM resulted in a reduction in rate of response on two classes of behavior and an increase in the response rate of a third. The three remaining classes of behavior were not significantly affected, although two of these three showed trends toward a decrease in response rate. Results are discussed in terms of altered response costs, accessory 'or intrinsic rewards. response switching, and individual differences.     

The Life and Work of Sigmund Freud. Vol. III: The Last Phase by Ernest Jones

This paper describes the ward group, a modified version of group psychotherapy, designed for use in conjunction with comprehensive long-term treatment for severely disturbed adolescents and young adults. The authors examine the structural features of the ward group and discuss the group in relation to the unit and the hospital regarding such issues as membership, confidentiality, space, time, and ward group identity. The complex issues of task boundaries, the ward group as both an administrative unit and as a therapy group, are given special attention. The ward group transmits unit and hospital values and expectations, maintains behavioral controls over patients, exercises administrative decision-making authority, operates as a reflective–explorational therapy group, and represents an important means through which patients can achieve a sense of significance within the institutional setting.     

A virtual psychiatric ward for orientating patients admitted for the first time

Misconceptions about psychiatric wards frequently cause newly admitted mental patients to stay away from these wards despite their need for treatment. Although ward orientation is typically conducted by nurses in an attempt to help patients to adapt to the new environment, it is considered time-consuming, and the method of orientation and the explanations given may vary among different nurses. This situation calls for a more effective and standardized approach to orientating mental patients on their first admission. To this end, a computer-based interactive virtual environment was developed based on a real psychiatric ward by using virtual reality (VR) technologies. It enables the patient to navigate around to gain understanding about the ward through a virtual guided tour. The effectiveness of this VR orientation approach was investigated by a randomized controlled trial with consecutive sampling. Fifty-four Chinese participants were randomly assigned to undergo ward orientation by either using the VR-based approach or reading text-based electronic information sheets about the ward with a computer. Subjective and objective measures were obtained respectively using the Chinese version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory questionnaire and the heart-rate variability measurement before and after the intervention. In addition, a test on the level of understanding about the ward was administered at the end of the session. The results showed that the VR orientation approach is helpful in reducing patients' anxiety while also improving their level of understanding about the ward.     

An information system for measuring patient behavior and its use by staff

A behavioral measurement system was designed around a point economy for a psychiatric ward of delinquent patients. The characteristics of the system were: (1) the records of points earned for appropriate patient behavior formed the primary data. (2) After the points were recorded in a data matrix, graphs were prepared to show the behavior of individual patients, the participation of the patient group in the various ward activities, and an overall index of ward operation. (3) Several techniques were devised for reviewing the graphs so that the ward staff could evaluate the success of their procedures over substantial time periods.     

Dominance in Marital Decision Making in Women's Liberation and Non-Women's Liberation Families

Fourteen couples of whom the wife was associated with the Women's Liberation Movement (WLM) and 14 “traditional” couples were interviewed using a modified version of the Revealed Differences Technique. The WLM-associated wives differed significantly from the control group in the dominance indices of “Speaks Last” (p < .001) and “Time Spoken” (p < .05) and in the content of responses to two of the ten interview questions. Analysis indicated that the WLM wives were more self-reliant, while the control-group wives were more passive and dependent. The two groups did not differ significantly on the “Speaks First” and “Decisions Won” indices of dominance and the conflict measures.     

Effects of gaze, touch, and use of name on evaluation of “Engaged” couples

Videotapes were made of actors playing the role of engaged couples in an ostensible interview with a research psychologist. Couples either gazed at each other or did not gaze, used each other's name five times or not at all, and touched each other or did not touch. The videotaped interviews were shown to groups of introductory psychology students for ratings on ten polar adjective scales. Gaze proved to be the most important variable, with gazing couples rated significantly more positively than non-gazing couples on all dimensions. Touching couples were rated more favorably than non-touching couples and name using couples received less favorable ratings than non-name using couples. Results of the study were related to equilibrium theory and discussed within the framework of other research relating nonverbal variables to interpersonal attraction.     

综合医院心理病房管理模式的探讨研究

为了探讨建立综合医院开放式心理病房新型管理模式的意义及可行性,对郑州市第九人民医院心理科病房采用开放式管理模式,分析480例住院患者的疗效。结果显示,综合医院哥放式心理病房管理模式具有疗效好、住院周期短等优点,提示综合医院开放式心理病房有利于精神病的治疗。     

Subjectivity and Class Consciousness: The Development of Class Identity

In this paper, the author explores issues of self and identity, in particular the development of consciousness of social class and the negotiation of conflicting class identities. Literature on working-class students and academics from the working class indicates that upward mobility from working class to professional class can be disorienting due to class-related sociocultural differences and the internalization of class conflicts. By drawing upon one case from an ethnographic study with ten female professors from the working class, the author explores the development of one woman's working-class consciousness and the ways in which it influenced her teaching. Detailed analyses of three narratives from one interview are presented that highlight particular contexts and events in a process of class identity development.     

Work-integrated practices in a technology education setting

This study sought to explore emerging university-industry partnerships in technology transfer education, the process for the engagement, and benefits to the learning and teaching experience. Participants were a convenience sample of ten lecturers at a technology university (females = 80%; management sciences = 70%). Data on the scope and nature of industry partnership practices and experiences were collected using semi-structured interview. Thematic data analysis revealed the lecturers to perceive benefits to learning and teaching from the university-industry engagement, including the use of field practice examples, customer service-orientated skills, innovation learning and technology transfer, curriculum enhancement and professional learning. A work-integrated approach to learning appears to be a serviceable model for real-world technology transfer education outcomes.     

Capturing environmental affordances: Low‐income families identify positive characteristics of a hotel housing solution

This qualitative study describes the positive characteristics of an extended‐stay hotel as identified by low‐income families that resided there. Interviews were conducted with ten hotel residents using a semi‐structured interview guide and participant photographs to elicit a deeper understanding of experiencing home at a hotel. Framed in the theoretical perspective of environmental affordances, findings suggest that despite discomforts of the hotel environment, residents were still able to enjoy family independence, social engagement, a sense of safety and connection to a community context. The findings of this study may help practitioners gain a balanced perspective of non‐ideal housing conditions for planning interventions. Even in these conditions, positive characteristics can be identified to reinforce family functioning and well‐being. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.