Therapist-Parent Interaction Patterns in Home-Based Treatments: Exploring Family Therapy Process

At the current stage of development in the family therapy field, exploratory, small-scale process studies are necessary in order to understand through what interpersonal processes child and family change occur. The goal of this article is to show how relevant therapist-parent interactions within family-based approaches can be explored and linked to the reduction in childrearing and behavior problems. Sequential analyses on 13 treatments using the Family Project Approach revealed that, within the most successful treatments, therapist and parent interact in a collaborative way in the phase of Direct Influence. In the beginning of this treatment phase, the therapist must activate the parents to tackle the problems actively. Further explorations indicated that a collaborative interaction pattern between therapist and mother during the first three sessions of therapy contributes to a better outcome.     

Characteristics of on Organizational Environment which Stimulate and Inhibit Creativity*

The study investigated the characteristics of Brazilian organizations which affect creativity. A sample of 25 workers were interviewed. The respondents answered several questions about the characteristics of a work environment which promote and inhibit creativity, and about factors in their own work environment that contribute to the promotion or inhibition of creativity. Content analysis of the transcribed interviews indicated 10 categories of stimulants and 11 categories of obstacles to creativity. Among the most mentioned stimulant factors to creativity were organization support, organization structure, support from the boss, and colleagues' support. On the other hand, some of the most prevalent obstacles to creativity were organization structure, boss characteristics, personal relationships, and organization culture. Results are discussed in terms of the similarity with data obtained in other contexts.     

RELATIVISM AND ABSOLUTISM: HOW BOTH CAN BE RIGHT

This paper makes a small point concerning the contraposition of relativism and absolutism. Relativism need not be vulnerable to the self-refutation argument; as for internal consistency both positions can be equally right. They are asymmetric, however, in that according to the absolutist only one of the two positions can be right, whereas from the relativist's viewpoint they can both be right.     

Men's and women's reactions to fair and unfair treatment in relationship conflict

Abstract Evidence of gender differences in reactions to experienced fair and unfair treatment in relationship conflict was examined in 4 studies among dating, cohabiting, and married participants in The Netherlands. Using a critical incidents method and a scenario, this research provided convergent results suggesting that the relationship between fairness of treatment and affective feelings or relationship satisfaction is stronger for women than for men. This gender difference disappeared under conditions of high relationship commitment. Furthermore, men who identified strongly with their relationship showed stronger reactions to fair treatment than men who identified weakly with their relationships. Finally, the manipulation of relationship salience led to heightened sensitivity to fairness of treatment among men, but not among women.     

INTRODUCTION: GLOBAL DEMOCRACY AND EXCLUSION

Abstract: Does democracy or popular sovereignty imply exclusion and drawing borders? And if so, what type of exclusion and borders, and what kind of justification can we give for them? Moreover, if democracy really requires some kind of exclusion, is global democracy then a paradoxical union of two contradictory ideals? Can we create a demos on the global level? The focus of this collection of essays is on this potential conflict and its underlying values.     

Changes in contact and support exchange in personal networks after widowhood

The convoy model conceptualizes older adults’ networks of personal relationships as convoys of social support. This prospective study examined how contact and support in several relationships changed due to widowhood. Using observations between 1992 and 2002 from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam, multilevel models describe change in contact and support of 227 widowed and 408 married older adults. Contact and support were low before widowhood and increased in all relationships after widowhood, and more so in child and sibling relationships. Around 2.5 years after widowhood, contact and support started to decrease. Our findings increase our understanding of the heterogeneity of network changes in old age and of the instability of the network as a social convoy in late life.