This study involves an exploratory content analysis of taped telephone calls to a suicide prevention and crisis service. The aim of the research was to discover variables that might differentiate between referrals resulting in "show" and those resulting in "no show." Forty calls-a show and a no show for each of 20 telephone therapists-were coded. It was concluded that a scale based on six indexes would differentiate between the two groups. Motivation of the caller for getting help and the concreteness of the therapist emerged as most important factors in th six-item scale. The relationship between this research and a crisis intervention model is discussed.

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This paper reviews twenty-three studies (based on a literature search covering 1945-70) evaluating group treatment of juvenile and adult offenders in correctional institutions. The studies are discussed critically under such headings as definition of treat ment, goals and theoretical presuppositions, and experimental design. The major conclusion drawn from the review is that, although the evaluation studies report a variety of positive re sults, still, as a whole the investigations fall short of meeting the criteria of scientific research, especially regarding replication; this makes it im possible to conclude that group treatment in correc tional institutions is an effective rehabilitation mode. Several issues deserving the attention of researchers are suggested, one of which is the question of the compatibility of institutional and post-institutional adjustment as criteria of success in group treat ment.

By almost any definition of need, the health care industry is a natural arena for experimentation in the design of innovative dispute resolution systems. Whether one's interest lies primarily ha addressing the medical malpractice "crisis," reducing the cost of liability insurance, improving working conditions for health care workers, or improving the quality of health care for consumers, there can be little doubt that: (1) disputes in this industry have high stakes for everyone involved; and (2) the costs currently associated with dispute resolution are high and in need of control (Slaikeu, 1988).This article describes a pilot project for the design and installation of a comprehensive conflict management system in a 335-bed metropolitan hospital. Following a summary of assumptions or postulates of system design that have guided this effort, the article will summm-ize the project itself, and suggest implications for systems design in health care and in other industries. Postulates of Dispute Systems DesignDispute systems design draws on organizational theory both as a framework for predicting the occurrence of disputes and as a means for creating systemic procedures and rules for their resolution. The following is a partial list of assumptions or postulates of systems design that are grounded in the twin disciplines of dispute resolution and organizational theory:1. ~Ihere is a definable continuum of theoretical options for resolving any dispute. The various strategies for resolving disputes (e.g., negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and the like) can be placed on a continuum, and grouped accor~ng to how tile decision is reached and who finally makes the decision to resolve the conflict. As pictured in Figure 1, avoidance is a method of resolution that leaves the decision to chance, with the hope that some lvaldom event