Categories and sexuality

The categories we create and how we think about these categories are fundamentally important—and are often open to misinterpretation. The following points are illustrated using examples related to gender, sexual orientation, and other aspects of sexuality: (a) Categories are created by people; thus, there are no objective or universal definitions. Definitions change over time and place, and they have political implications, advantaging some people and disadvantaging others. (b) Beware of exaggerating differences between categories. A significant difference between groups does not mean that they do not overlap; they usually overlap considerably. There is almost always more variability within groups than between groups. (c) Categories are often proxies for other variables. When interpreting differences between categories, remember that other variables confounded with these categories could be driving the effect. (d) Neither a similarities perspective, in which the differences between two categories are minimized or ignored, nor a differences perspective, in which the differences between the two categories are emphasized or exaggerated, has totally positive or negative consequences. It is often useful to consider both.     

The transition from Encomienda to slavery in seventeenth‐century Barbacoas (Colombia)

Testing the Chains, Resistance to Slavery in the British West Indies. Michael Craton. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press. 1982. 389pp. £27.90.

Freedom: A Documentary History of Emancipation, 1861–1867. Selected from the Holdings of the National Archives of the United States. Series II. The Black Military Experience ed. Ira Berlin, et al. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1983. xxx+ 852 pp. £37.50.

Slavery and Freedom (expanded edition, ed. by William W. Freehling). Willie Lee Rose. New York: Oxford University Press. 1982. xi, 254pp. £6.95.

The Plantation Mistress: Woman's World in the Old South. Catherine Clinton. New York: Pantheon. 1982. xix + 331pp. $19.95.

Gregarious Saints: Self and Community in American Abolitionism, 1830–1870. Lawrence J. Friedman. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1982. xi + 344 pp. £20.00.

Immigrants, Minorities and Race Relations: A Bibliography of Theses and Dissertations Presented at British and Irish Universities, 1900–1981. Victor F. Gilbert and Darshan Singh Tatla. London: Mansell Publishing Ltd. 1984. xxxiii, 153 pp. £13.50.     

Change and Inertia in the New York State Medicaid Personal Care Services Program: An Institutional Case Study

This study analyzes how competing logics (belief systems) of stakeholders have influenced patterns of change and inertia in the development of the New York Medicaid Personal Care Services (PCS) program. A case-study methodology was used to collect documents, statistics, and interview data from four key stakeholder groups: state and city officials, PCS agencies, a labor union, and consumer advocates covering the period 1999 to 2005. The New York PCS program is one of the oldest, largest, and most stable programs in the United States. Its early unionization of workers resulted in relatively generous wages and benefits and made New York number one nationally in PCS spending per capita. In spite of wide support from stakeholder groups, the overall number of participants has gradually declined since 1999. A consumer-directed model of personal care developed in 1995 challenged the status quo and has grown steadily. Resistance by public officials, agency providers, and union representatives to the consumer-directed model has resulted in a small program that is often targeted toward individuals labeled “difficult to serve.” Dominant stakeholders in New York have ensured a stable personal care program that has resisted change and led to program inertia.     

Commentary: Male Osteoporosis—Policy Gaps in Prevention and Treatment

Osteoporosis is a disabling disease affecting 10 million Americans, leading to increased risk of fractures and poor functional ability. Although typically thought of as a women's disease, millions of men are diagnosed with osteoporosis or low bone mass, and the risk for osteoporotic fractures is increasing. To address undetected and untreated osteoporosis among men, public health education should be targeted to males. Insurance programs, including Medicare, should add the heel qualitative ultrasound (QUS) for age-eligible men with follow-up every 2 years. Policy changes should address funding of targeted education and prevention programs for aging males, including coverage of screening tests.     

A Retrospective,Empirical Study of Grief-Related Beliefs in a Veterans Affairs Medical Center

This article reports on the findings of a retrospective, empirical study that explores and describes grief-related beliefs of a convenience sample of 312 persons in a Veterans hospital. These beliefs may facilitate bereaved individuals’ emotional regulation and adaptive responses to loss conceptualized in the dual process model. The study addresses the question: Do gender, employment status, and loss burden contribute to differences in grief-related beliefs? The findings reveal significant gender differences, and also that grief-related beliefs are reality rather than myth-oriented. Study limitations and implications for social work practice in bereavement care and hospice settings are discussed.     

How Social Media Use Mitigates Urban Violence: Communication Visibility and Third-Party Intervention Processes in Digital Urban Contexts

Qualitative Sociology - There is growing alarm among the media and public that digital social media amplify the frequency and severity of urban violence. Contrary to popular imagination, however,...     

The Trace Restriction: An Alternative Identification Strategy for the Bayesian Multinomial Probit Model

Previous authors have made Bayesian multinomial probit models identifiable by fixing a parameter on the main diagonal of the covariance matrix. The choice of which element one fixes can influence posterior predictions. Thus, we propose restricting the trace of the covariance matrix, which we achieve without computational penalty. This permits a prior that is symmetric to permutations of the nonbase outcome categories. We find in real and simulated consumer choice datasets that the trace-restricted model is less prone to making extreme predictions. Further, the trace restriction can provide stronger identification, yielding marginal posterior distributions that are more easily interpreted.     

Authenticity and the disclosure of the information preserve: The case of adoptive parenthood

This paper explores the processes whereby people disclose information that is potentially stigmatizing but relatively inaccessible to others as a tactic to maintain personal authenticity. This general issue is examined by investigating how 71 infertile adoptive mothers manage information about adoption within and outside the family. Attention is also given to the codes of conduct regarding adoption advocated by professionals and their relevance for disclosure of a potentially stigmatizing attribute. Respondents acknowledge differences in their families in public (as advised by practitioners), but covertly reject difference by disavowing deviance. Thus, adhering to professional codes for achieving authenticity appears to create, instead, a personal sense of inauthenticity. The relevance of the disclosure of private information for a sense of personal authenticity is considered in other areas of social life.This research was supported by grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and from the Government of Ontario.