Personal construct psychotherapy: Fixed-role therapy with forensic clients

Abstract

Fixed-role therapy, a dramaturgical approach to psychotherapy developed by Kelly in 1955, has been used in a variety of situations over the years with various client groups, including criminal offenders. Some of the benefits and limitations of fixed-role therapy with sexual abusers will be discussed. It is suggested that the strengths of some offenders, such as the social skills necessary to succeed at confidence games, be recognized and directed in fixed-role sessions. Illustrations of a number of issues will be drawn from two clinical case examples.     

Productivity growth of East Asia economies' manufacturing: A decomposition analysis

Applying a stochastic production frontier to sector-level data within manufacturing, this paper examines total factor productivity (TFP) growth for seven East Asian economies during 1963–98, using both single country and cross-country regressions. The analysis focuses on the trend in technological progress (TP) and technical efficiency change (TEC), and the role of productivity change in economic growth. The empirical results reveal that although input factor accumulation is still the main source for East Asian economies' growth, TFP growth is accounting for an increasing and important proportion of output growth, among which the improved TEC plays a crucial role in productivity growth.     

Prevalence and blood concentrations of benzodiazepines and opioids in opioid-positive death investigations in Ontario,Canada, from 2017 to 2021

The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of benzodiazepines in opioid-positive death investigations, including trends in frequency and combination of drugs, as well as demographic data and blood concentrations, where available. Additionally, naloxone concentrations in polysubstance compared to opioid-only cases were analyzed. This was a retrospective study that consisted of all post-mortem toxicology cases in Ontario, Canada, from January 01, 2017, to December 31, 2021, with an opioid finding in any analyzed autopsy specimen. There were 11,033 death investigations identified. The overall rate of benzodiazepine co-involvement was 54.5%. Males accounted for the majority of cases (71%), and the most affected age group was 30- to 39-year-olds. The most frequently detected opioid was fentanyl and the most frequently detected benzodiazepine was etizolam, which was also the most frequently observed opioid/benzodiazepine combination. Findings related to differences in concentrations of opioids when naloxone was also present were mostly non-significant, except for methadone. The rate of benzodiazepine detection with opioids grew faster than opioid detections overall, potentially due to the increasingly toxic drug supply. Detection of novel psychoactive drugs fluctuated more unpredictably than opioids and benzodiazepines associated with clinical use. These findings can help inform policy decisions by public health agencies in exploring harm reduction efforts, for example, education and drug-checking services.     

Congressional Intelligence Oversight: The Electoral Disconnection

This article seeks to reconcile congressional oversight models in theory with oversight realities in intelligence. For nearly three decades, political scientists have argued that Congress controls the bureaucracy – and in surprisingly efficient ways. Yet the history of intelligence oversight suggests the opposite. We take a fresh look at the logic and empirics of police patrol and fire alarm models and find that neither explains intelligence oversight well. Both rely on assumptions, such as the presence of strong and plentiful interest groups, which characterize domestic policy but not US intelligence policy. Our data – comparing committee hearing activities, legislative productivity, and interest groups across different policy domains between 1985 and 2005 – reveal that oversight varies dramatically by policy issue, and that intelligence almost always ranks at the bottom. Ironically, the same electoral incentives that generate robust oversight in some policy areas turn out to be far weaker in intelligence.