Questioning the Slippery Slope : Ethical Beliefs and Behaviors of Private Office-Based and Church-Based Therapists

Counselors and other mental health professionals whose primary office is in a church building often face unique challenges in maintaining appropriate client-therapist boundaries. A sample of 497 Christian counselors responded to an 88-item survey of their ethical beliefs and behaviors. Of the respondents, 148 reported a church as their primary work setting and 162 reported a private office as their primary work setting. Survey results were factor analyzed, then church-based therapists were compared with private office-based therapists regarding their views of ethical behaviors. Although church-based therapists take greater liberties with multiple-role relationships than private office-based therapists, they appear similar with regard to other ethical beliefs and behaviors. Results suggest that churchbased therapists who take liberties in nonsexual multiple-role relationships are no more likely than other therapists to violate other ethical standards

Client Home or Agency Office? How Do We Decide Where to See Our Clients?

Decisions about location of services sometimes appear to be made more on the basis of agency preference than assessment of need. Today the profession has enough experience with service locations that it is possible to develop more clear guidelines for the decision about where work with clients should take place, in the client’s home or nearby community or in the practitioner’s office. This study was conducted with two purposes; 1) to identify at a higher level of evidence the various reasons for seeing clients in their own homes and nearby community setting; and 2) to demonstrate how readily available information can be used to gradually increase the level of evidence by which practice decisions are made

ANOTHER LOOK AT CLARK\u27S ADIT-SILVER SERIES

The empirical semivariogram for Clark\u27s adit-silver series has been the subject of several publications. Its use in the literature along with some other discussed considerations makes this series a suitable selection for a classroom or workshop semivariogram modeling exercise. My emphasis in this exercise is on estimating the scale of fluctuation (8). Alternative unbounded, bounded asymptotic, and bounded transitional models are developed via weighted least-squares estimation for both regular and integral semivariogram parameterizations (ISV). Results are compared with Clark\u27s recommendation along with some other traditional models, nonparametric models, and ad hoc numerical methods. When a given model fits well using the regular method, generally the ISV does also. When a given model fits poorly using the regular method, however, generally the ISV form fits much worse, or gives unrealistic parameter estimates, or diverges. While an unbounded rational polynomial exponential performs well and presents some interesting existence considerations, for practical purposes the series can be considered bounded and a hyperbolic tangent is selected as the best performing simple parameterization. The ISV for the hyperbolic tangent gives parameter and 8 estimates closest to ad hoc independent values for them. In the spirit of non parametric models, however, splined-line segments can perform extremely well if parameter parsimony and parameter interpretation are not deemed important considerations by a given modeler

DAILY SOLAR RADIATION ESTIMATED FROM TKMPERA TURE RECORDS

Crop growth models and other environmental analyses require the input of daily global solar radiation values. Unfortunately many locations lack long-term solar radiation data. Most agricultural experiment stations, however, have daily temperature records. Also they are often the locations for which crop growth simulations are conducted. In an unpublished manuscript in the field of agricultural meteorology, researchers wanted to address this need. Specifically they wanted to estimate historical daily global solar radiation using daily air temperature data records by adapting a single published empirical intrinsically nonlinear model, a form of the Weibull curve. In order to help future research in the given field, this paper argues that the selected model is a poor choice. Two independent long-term data sets that come from a similar climate to that of the researchers\u27 are used, one for model development and the other for testing model prediction. Through the use of performance statistics on the cross-validation, three alternative models are offeredfor comparison (the performance statistics are accepted by researchers in the agricultural meteorology discipline). The results give no reason to favor the researchers\u27 selected model. Furthermore no model performed well under advective conditions. Future research should consider finding a better means to account for advection, developing and evaluating other models, and justifying the assumptions of the methodology to be employed

AN EXAMPLE OF DEVELOPING COVARIATES FOR PROBLEMS IN PRECISION AGRICULTURE

Methodology for precision agriculture is, perhaps, too focused on methods that allow for spatial correlation in the ANOVA error term. While sound inference about differences between local yields can be computed, no understanding of what is driving these differences is achieved. A completely general form for a spatial model can include suitable covariates. Most research in precision agriculture includes gathering a variety of site-specific information. Through the presentation of the analysis of data from a published soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] study, one specific type of covariate is developed - a duration index for soybean canopy light interception over the growing season. The relationship of the index to grain yield is reasonably well determined (R² = 0.82). We, therefore, suggest that the quest for modeling an appropriate covariate or covariates is primary. Treating spatial variation by other methods should only be used when the quest has failed

Forgiveness Motives Among Evangelical Christians: Implications for Christian Marriage and Family Therapists

Therapists and researchers interested in forgiveness can learn from those who have experienced interpersonal wounds and have chosen to forgive. We interviewed 20 evangelical Christian forgivers, asking about motives for forgiveness. Transcripts were analyzed using qualitative methods. Five categories of motivation are presented: comfort, duty, relational, humility/empathy, and Christian beliefs. Respondents described multiple motives for forgiveness, often combining a desire for comfort or a sense of duty with their Christian beliefs. Four implications for Christian marriage and family therapists are discussed: Expect diversity, avoid moralistic views of motives, remember religious resources in the forgiveness process, and expect benefits, but not immediately