SOME IMPLICATIONS OF BION'S THOUGHT

Following up Bion's idea that dreaming is a continuous process that takes place in waking life as well as in sleep, the author develops its theoretical and technical implications. He describes the narrative derivatives of waking dream thought as the means, or interface, whereby access may be had, albeit indirectly, to the constantly forming sequences of alpha-elements. Examples of the formation of these sequences out of childhood memories, present-day experiences and sexual feelings are given. Reference is also made to the notion of the analytic field. The author goes on to demonstrate the clinical value of these concepts both for studying the session's microtransformations and as a means of in-depth examination of the analyst's own mental functioning, including its lapses, in a session. Abundant clinical material is presented to help analysts who normally apply different models of the mind share these ideas. Finally, it is suggested that night dreams result from a further elaboration of the elements formed during waking life.     

Analytic Group Psychotherapy: A Uniquely Effective Crisis Intervention

This paper describes the author's experience doing crisis intervention with survivors of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center in New York City. It focuses on enhancing the understanding of and potentially expanding the theory and technique of analytic group therapy as applied to this unique situation.Private practice in     

Journal Reviews

Covington, Coline. 'Learning how to forget – repeating the past as a defence against the present'.
Grotstein, James. 'Bion, the Pariah of O'.
Hinshelwood, R. D. 'The elusive concept of "internal objects" (1934–1943): its role in the formation of the Klein Group'.
Lippmann, Paul. 'On dreams and interpersonal psychoanalysis'.
Renik, Owen. 'Conscious and unconscious use of the self'.
Schaverien, Joy. 'Men who leave too soon: reflections on the erotic transference and countertransference'.
Williams, Gianna, 'Reflections on some dynamics of eating disorders: "no entry" defences and foreign bodies'.
Slavin, Malcolm & Kriegman, D. 'Why the analyst needs to change: towards a theory of conflict, negotiation, and mutual influence in the therapeutic process'.     

The “Epidemic” of Cheating Depends on Its Definition: A Critique of Inferring the Moral Quality of “Cheating in Any Form”

The incidence and moral implications of cheating depend on how it is defined and measured. Research that defines and operationalizes cheating as an inventory of acts, that is, “cheating in any form,” has often fueled concern that cheating is reaching “epidemic proportions.” Such inventory measures appear, however, to conflate moral and administrative conceptions of the problem. Inasmuch as the immorality of behavior is a function of moral judgment, academic misconduct is immoral only when it is intentional, and the greatest moral weight should be ascribed to violations that students judge to be the most “serious.”     

Herbert Rosenfeld in Italy, 1978–1985

Abstract

In this paper, the author attempts to shed some light on Herbert Rosenfeld’s thought and his way of working when was in Italy during 1978–1985. In particular, the author would like to show, in a sketchy way, the evolution of his thought, with specific regard for the new way in which he looked at clinical practice at that time. In the author’s opinion, the Rosenfeld that he and his group met and got to know in Italy was able to open new horizons in clinical practice, implicitly questioning some of his own or his circle’s previous viewpoints.     

Book Reviews

Jung, C. G. Visions. Notes on the Seminar Given in 1930–34.
Edinger, Edward F. The Psyche in Antiquity. Book 1. Early Greek Philosophy. Book 2. Gnosticism and Early Christianity.
Margaret Arden. Midwifery of the Soul: A Holistic Perspective on Psychoanalysis. Collected Papers of Margaret Arden.
Rodriguez, Leonardo S. Psychoanalysis with Children: History, Theory and Practice.     

Argumentational Integrity: A Training Program for Dealing with Unfair Argumentative Contributions

In this article we present a training program based on the empirical research conducted in the project 'argumentational integrity'. After a brief sketch of the problem dimensions concerning unfair argumentation we give an overview of the training concept and the underlying empirical research. Exemplification of the instructional design is given for the second and the fifth training dimension (standards of argumentational integrity and reactions to unfair contributions). Finally we indicate how the training is to be evaluated and present initial results demonstrating that in comparison with an untrained control group participants in the training significantly improve their skills in identifying and naming argumentative rule violations.     

Contributors to this issue

Geoffrey Blowers
Francis X. Charet
Terence Dawson
David Hewison
John Izod
William E. Kotsch
Patricia Michán
Joe Redfearn
Julieta Besquin Rubinstein
Mara Sidoli     

Time complexity and consistency issues in using the AHP for making group decisions

Two different ways of using the AHP in making group decisions are compared and evaluated. The first method combines different experts’ opinions before applying an eigenvalue method to obtain final weights for decision alternatives. The second, in contrast, derives each expert's rating for the decision alternatives before combining them. Both methods take into account the relative importance of different experts in making decisions. Comparison and evaluation of these two methods are made by using two criteria: time complexity and consistency indices. A numerical example is provided to illustrate the use of these two methods, and results of a mathematical simulation are presented for comparing the time complexity in different-sized problems. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Euclid: Strategic alternative assessment matrix

The vast amount of information that must be considered to solve inherently ill‐structured and complex strategic problems creates a need for tools to help decision makers (DMs) recognize the complexity of this process and develop a rational model for strategy evaluation. Over the last several decades, a philosophy and a body of intuitive and analytical methods have been developed to assist DMs in the evaluation of strategic alternatives. However, the intuitive methods lack a structured framework for the systematic evaluation of strategic alternatives while the analytical methods are not intended to capture intuitive preferences. Euclid is a simple and yet sophisticated multiobjective value analysis model that attempts to uncover some of the complexities inherent in the evaluation of strategic alternatives. The proposed model uses a series of intuitive and analytical methods including environmental scanning, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), subjective probabilities, and the theory of displaced ideal, to plot strategic alternatives on a matrix based on their Euclidean distance from the ideal alternative. Euclid is further compared to the quantitative strategic planning matrix (QSPM) in a real world application. The information provided by the users shows that Euclid can significantly enhance decision quality and the DM's confidence. Euclid is not intended to replace the DMs, rather, it provides a systematic approach to support, supplement, and ensure the internal consistency of their judgments through a series of logically sound techniques. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.