Women`s satisfaction with life following marital separation : coping resources and adjustment of lone-parent women

This questionnaire study examined the adjustment of 245 lone-parenting women following marital separation. A composite model included intrapsychic variables as intervening between demographic and contextual variables and adjustment (life satisfaction). Regression analyses showed that the demographic and contextual variables were partially mediated by the intrapsychic variables. The path model indicated that the intrapsychic variables (sense of coherence, control, depression, and grief) had a direct impact on life satisfaction and that there was an indirect path for depression through sense of coherence (SOC) and control. It was concluded that the intrapsychic variables had a more powerful relationship with women's post-separation life satisfaction than did the demographic/contextual variables. Social implications and recommendations for future policy are considered.

Abstract ethics, embodied ethics : the strange marriage of Foucault and Positivism in labour process theory

In this paper, I draw jointly upon a Foucauldian ethical discourse and the example of the so-called `Manchester school' of Foucauldian labour process theory (LPT) to question the political/ethical aspirations and effects of critical management studies. Specifically, I question the ethics and effects of LPT researchers' relationships with those they/we research. I organize the discussion around four Foucauldian ethical themes or feelings. I thread these ethical themes throughout the paper to argue that, though Foucauldian LPT may be understood to abstractly resonate with these themes, its contribution is seriously undermined through the authors' lack of attention to ways of embodying this ethics in relations with the researched. By not embodying these commitments, the marriage between Foucault and LPT risks being read more as a marriage of convenience than commitment. And, further, a marriage that reproduces a politically problematic `modernist/positivist' self-other separation or divorce between researcher and researched.

Gay men from heterosexual marriages : attitudes, behaviors, childhood experiences and reasons for marriage

In the current study, the attitudes, behaviors and experiences of 26 gay or bisexual men who were married to a woman are examined. Data are provided on childhood family background and experiences, sexual practices with men, reasons for entering marriage, and the “coming out” process. The frequency of childhood sexual experiences was associated with unsafe sexual practices with other men in adulthood. Attitudes toward lesbians and gay men were more negative now than at the time of marriage. The two most frequent reasons for marriage were that it seemed natural, and a desire for children and family life. The results support the hypothesis that internalised homophobia is a factor that leads men into mixed-orientation marriages. Cognitive consistency theory is used to explain the eventual marriage breakdown.

Who gets the cats...you or me? Analyzing contact and residence issues regarding pets upon divorce or separation

Mills and Akers outline the statistical incidence of pet ownership and people's need for domestic pets, discuss ownership or property rights in domestic pets, outline the criteria used by the courts when ruling on implied contact and residence rights regarding domestic pets upon the irretrievable breakdown between the "owners" of the particular pets, and highlight both the shortcomings in the existing law and possible means of overcoming those shortcomings.

The case for pre-mediation caucusing and a written risk analysis: an arranged marriage can be tempting.

This paper formed the basis of a presentation to the Law Institute, Victoria, on 11 November 2002. The motivation for this paper has come from the recent writings of Laurence Boulle/. J. H. Wade4. and Gegorio Billikopf-Eucina5 • In addition to the acumen contained in the writings of the three authors above, this paper is laced with assertions and anecdotal evidence derived from the authors' experience in a variety of negotiation and mediation settings.

Peer groups, power and pedagogy : the limits of an educational paradigm of separation

In contrast to the plethora of literature that suggests that the increasing gulf between teachers and young people is due to the shifting interests and expectations of young people, the focus of this paper is on the roles teachers play in this relationship. Provoking interest is a concern that some of the assumptions that underpin 'mainstream' pedagogic theory and practice might actually contribute, albeit unwittingly, to hardening rather than softening the communication divide. Drawing on an incident that took place between a group of 7–8 year old males in a primary school setting, the authors reveal the limits of a teaching paradigm that encourages teachers to adopt authoritative positions from which to separate and individualise student behaviour. In theoretical terms, they argue that the application of this paradigm asserts an exaggerated notion of agency to individuals in the construction of identity. In practical terms it promotes processes that individualise behaviour as a way of dealing with miscreance. Together these manifest themselves as a 'pedagogy of separation'. The process of building more productive pedagogic relationships, it is concluded, needs to begin with teachers better recognising and engaging with the collective investments of young people.

A new second-order method for blind signal separation from dynamic mixtures

This paper presents a new approach to separate colored stationary signals mixed by convolutive channels. A cost function is proposed by employing linear constraint to the demixing vectors. The linear constraint is shown to be sufficient for avoiding trivial solution. The minimization of the cost function is performed using the Lagrangian method. Simulation results demonstrate the performance of the algorithm.

Blind source separation based on phase and frequency redundancy of cyclostationary signals

This paper presents a new method for blind source separation by exploiting phase and frequency redundancy of cyclostationary signals in a complementary way. It requires a weaker separation condition than those methods which only exploit the phase diversity or the frequency diversity of the source signals. The separation criterion is to diagonalize a polynomial matrix whose coefficient matrices consist of the correlation and cyclic correlation matrices, at time delay .TAU. = 0, of multiple measurements. An algorithm is proposed to perform the blind source separation. Computer simulation results illustrate the performance of the new algorithm in comparison with the existing ones.

The separation of ownership and control under a happiness-based theory of the corporation

Explores the happiness-based theory of the corporation, suggesting that there is no conflict between the pursuance of economic and social objectives on the basis that their interplay is required to facilitate shareholder happiness. Considers: (1) the Berle-Means hypothesis and the separation of ownership and control, the dominant governance structure for large companies; (2) a happiness-based perspective on the separation; and (3) law reform applicable to a happiness-based theory. Argues that the separation of ownership and control is not in shareholders' best interests because the structure is not conducive to the happiness of individual shareholders and should be reformed.

Assessing adult adjustment to relationship separation : the Psychological Adjustment to Separation Test (PAST)

Relationship separation is associated with substantial adult adjustment problems. The Psychological Adjustment to Separation Test (PAST) was developed as a self-report measure of 3 key dimensions of separation adjustment problems: lonely negativity, ex-partner attachment and coparenting conflict. Two independent samples (n = 219 and n = 169, respectively) of recently separated adults, 60% of whom had children, completed the PAST and other measures of general adjustment. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated a replicable 3-factor structure, with each factor showing satisfactory test–retest and internal reliability and good convergent and discriminant validity. The PAST meets initial criteria for a potentially useful new measure of adult separation adjustment.

Satisfaction in marriage and committed heterosexual relationships: past, present, and future

The article discusses the factors associated with satisfaction in marriage and successful heterosexual relationships. It is stated that a major focus in determining marriage satisfaction is by examining spousal personality characteristics associated with marital happiness. Thus, to understand adequately the play of factors related to marital satisfaction, it is important to recognize that different factors may impact different types of people in different situations.