COMMENTARY ON COMMENTARIES: A SPACE FOR DIALOGUE AMONG DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES

In this commentary we discuss our reactions towards the six contributions on our article “The psychotherapist’s social role under a dialogical perspective: A study of the personal construction of «I as psychotherapist»” (in this issue). These commentaries discuss a multiplicity of problems and potentials, providing us with a meaningful space for dialogue among our multiple and sometimes discrepant perspectives. We have organized our reaction around three issues: (1) the importance of context influence on the process of being a psychotherapist; (2) the use of the motives as a tool to organize the psychotherapists’ diversity; and (3) the methodology for studying the dialogical processes

The comfort zone: Reflection on a taken-for-granted model

Reference to the comfort zone model is widespread within outdoor adventure education. It is based on the belief that when placed in a stressful situation people will respond by overcoming their hesitancy and grow. This model is often presented to students prior to activities with a perceived sense of risk and challenge which arouses strong emotional and physical responses to novel tasks (e.g., a ropes course). Students are encouraged to ‘stretch themselves’, to move outside their comfort zone and expand their preconceived limits and by inference learn. This article briefly explores the theories that underpin the comfort zone model and suggests that it is time to rethink how it is used

Explication of the Construct of Shared Care and the Prevention of Pressure Ulcers in Home Health Care

The purpose of this investigation was to render a more complete understanding of subjective perceptions of pressure ulcers from the perspective of family dyads, and to study the effect of these subjective experiences on preventive behaviors and pressure ulcer outcomes. A naturalistic inquiry, combined with objective measures, was used. Twenty-one dyads participated in four in-depth interviews to explore how they mentally represented and responded to the risk of pressure ulcers. Through the process of concept development, a lay representation of pressure ulcers was developed. This process produced a new concept, identified as “shared care,” that explained how the dyads interaction influenced preventive behavior. Shared care consists of three elements: communication of symptoms, decisions about how to respond to symptoms, and appraisals of reciprocity. Two contrasting patterns of care were identified: shared and directed/discrepant. In the shared care group, 10 patients were at risk for pressure ulcers but only 4 developed ulcers. In this discrepant care group, 3 patients were at risk and 2 developed pressure ulcers. Shared care was a pattern of interaction used successfully by family members to prevent pressure ulcers in patients at risk

Investigating the Consistency of Stellar Evolution Models with Globular Cluster Observations via the Red Giant Branch Bump

Synthetic RGBB magnitudes are generated with the most recent theoretical stellar evolution models computed with the Dartmouth Stellar Evolution Program (DSEP) code. They are compared to the observational work of Nataf et al., who present RGBB magnitudes for 72 globular clusters. A DSEP model using a chemical composition with enhanced $\alpha$ capture [$\alpha$/Fe] $=+0.4$ and an age of 13 Gyr shows agreement with observations over metallicities ranging from [Fe/H] = $0$ to [Fe/H] $\approx-1.5$, with discrepancy emerging at lower metallicities.Comment: 11 pages, 12 figure

Comfort zone: Model or metaphor?

The comfort zone model is widespread within adventure education literature. It is based on the belief that when placed in a stressful situation people will respond by overcoming their fear and therefore grow as individuals. This model is often presented to participants prior to activities with a highly perceived sense of risk and challenge which arouses strong emotional and physical responses to novel tasks (e.g., ropes courses or rock climbing activities). Students are encouraged to think about ‘stretching themselves’ by moving outside their comfort zone, to expand their preconceived limits and by inference learn (and become better people). This paper explores theories from cognitive and social psychology, based on the work of Piaget and Festinger respectively, that underpin the comfort zone model. The perpetuation of this model which uses risk to promote situations of disequilibrium/dissonance does not find strong support in educational literature. It is therefore suggested that the comfort zone model be reframed as a metaphor, for possible discussion post activity, rather than being used as a model to underpin programming and pedagogy in adventure education settings

Transgender theory, queer measurements, cis gender : gender perception discordance and marital quality amongst cisgender couples

Conventionally, surveys measure gender by asking respondents to select whether they identify as a man or woman. While researchers once considered this unproblematic, recent insights from queer theory and transgender studies exemplify that: 1.) binary measurements are insufficient because they obscure variation within groups, and 2.) single measurements are incomplete because how one sees themselves may not align with how others see them. To interrogate the transgender/cisgender binary that undergirds these differential practices, I analyze survey data from 458 cisgender married same-sex and different-sex couples in which actors place themselves and their spouse on a gender typicality scale. First, I critically explore the differences between self-determined and spouse-determined gender, investigating the demographic characteristics that correlate with placement on the gender-typicality scale. Next, I examine whether disagreements in perceptions of gender-typicality between spouses are related to marital quality, with implications for health. I find that higher levels of discordance in gender perceptions correlate with lower levels of marital quality. Results suggest the need to measure gender beyond the binary to capture intimate relationship dynamics.Sociolog

How Much Help Is Exchanged in Families? Towards an Understanding of Discrepant Research Findings

Responding to claims that contemporary families had abandoned their elderly members, gerontologists over the past 30 years have provided extensive documentation of intergenerational familial support. These studies have been lodged within conceptual frameworks of the modified extended family, intergenerational solidarity, and, more recently, intergenerational equity. By and large, studies claim to have found extensive levels of support. Closer examination of findings from various studies, however, reveals widely discrepant findings in terms of amounts of help given to and received by older family members. This paper examines the findings from four representative Canadian and American studies spanning four decades. Factors contributing to discrepant findings are identified at both methodological and conceptual levels, and implications for future research are discussed.intergenerational support

Maximum stellar mass versus cluster membership number revisited

We have made a new compilation of observations of maximum stellar mass versus cluster membership number from the literature, which we analyse for consistency with the predictions of a simple random drawing hypothesis for stellar mass selection in clusters. Previously, Weidner and Kroupa have suggested that the maximum stellar mass is lower, in low mass clusters, than would be expected on the basis of random drawing, and have pointed out that this could have important implications for steepening the integrated initial mass function of the Galaxy (the IGIMF) at high masses. Our compilation demonstrates how the observed distribution in the plane of maximum stellar mass versus membership number is affected by the method of target selection; in particular, rather low n clusters with large maximum stellar masses are abundant in observational datasets that specifically seek clusters in the environs of high mass stars. Although we do not consider our compilation to be either complete or unbiased, we discuss the method by which such data should be statistically analysed. Our very provisional conclusion is that the data is not indicating any striking deviation from the expectations of random drawing.Comment: 7 pages, 3 Figures; accepted by MNRAS; Reference added

The neural representation of mental beliefs held by two agents

Neuroimaging research has demonstrated that mentalizing about false beliefs held by other people recruits the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ). However, earlier work was limited to a single agent that held a false belief. We investigated the effect of two agents that held similar or mixed false and/or true beliefs. Participants saw animated stories with two smurfs holding true or false beliefs (Story phase). At the end of each trial, they were requested to take the perspective of the self or one of the smurfs (Question phase). We predicted that an increasing number of smurfs holding a false belief would increase activation in the TPJ when participants have to report the belief of the smurf, because the incongruent belief should have a stronger influence if it is held by two compared with one agent. This prediction was confirmed as activation in the TPJ during the Story and Question phase increased when more smurfs held a false belief. Taking the perspective of the self led to stronger activation of the TPJ in the two conditions that involved a true belief and weakest activation in the condition of two false beliefs. These data suggest that activation in TPJ depends on the perspective participants take, and that the number of agents holding a false belief influences activation in the TPJ only when taking the agent's perspective

Discrepancy between Parents and Children in Reporting of Distress and Impairment: Association with Critical Symptoms

Background: We examined discrepant parent–child reports of subjective distress and psychosocial impairment. Method: Parent–child pairs (N = 112 pairs) completed the Health Dynamics Inventory at intake for outpatient therapy. Results: Average parent scores were significantly higher than average child scores on distress, impairment, and externalizing symptoms, but not internalizing symptoms. There were significant associations between parent–child discrepancy (i.e. children who reported greater distress or impairment than parents or vice versa) and child endorsement of several notable symptoms (rapid mood swings, panic, nightmares, and suicidal ideation). Conclusion: Parents tended to report more externalizing symptoms, distress, and impairment than children reported; however, when children report more distress and impairment than parents, this may indicate serious psychological problems