Thinking like a lawyer: Gender differences in the production of professional knowledge

Accounts of law schools often report that women find law school a hostile atmosphere, although most studies do not compare male and female reactions. In this study of thirtyseven students at an elite law school, the author finds that the impact of a “women's” voice on professional knowledge is more complicated than a strict dichotomy between male and female reasoning proposes. While the process of “learning to think like a lawyer” retains traditionally male attributes, women students clearly learn this cognitive style competently. Many women do find the law school experience distancing and problematic, and are more likely to point out the inadequacies of legal thinking. Men, though far from universally positive about law school experiences, are more likely to describe the process as a game or a puzzle. Men and women's reactions are not essentialized, however; a few women thrive on the masculine style, while some men clearly do not like it. Debra Schleef is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Mary Washington College, Fredericksburg, Virginia. She has published articles on socialist law and feminist jurisprudence, and the social responsibilities of business and law students. She is currently writing a book on law and business student socialization, “Elites in Training: Accommodation and Resistance to Professional Socialization in Law and Business School.” She has recently published in the Sociology of Education.     

Interorganizational influences on the founding of african american organizations, 1955–1985

This paper examines the relationship between traditions of social action and patterns of organizational development, using data on the formation of national African American protest, advocacy, and service organizations between 1955 and 1985. Following research in organizational ecology, Poisson regression is used to examine the association between organizational density and organizational formation across strategic forms. The results provide some support for the idea that interorganizational influences are important in shaping the contours of the African American social movement industry. Outside funding, internal organizational capacities and protest levels also play a significant role.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 1992 annual meeting of the Eastern Sociological Society.     

Body mass index and functional status in community dwelling older Turkish males

Abstract

Objectives: To assess sex hormones in men with obesity and prostate cancer (PCa) and to study association between androgens and the pathogenesis biology of PCa in vitro.

Subjects and methods: One hundred and eighty-one men older than 45?years selected from of a population attending to Urology departments screening for PCa, (78 participants without PCa and 103 patients with PCa). All participants were assessed for body mass index (BMI), age, Gleason score, and PSA. Endocrine profile was determined for LH, total testosterone (TT), 17β-estradiol (E2), prolactin and leptin. Biochemical profile (HbA1c, triacylglycerols and lipoproteins) was also determined. In vitro experiments were also performed, involving the study of 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and E2 in the presence of adipocyte-conditioned medium (aCM).

Results: All variables were continuous and described a Gaussian distribution unless mentioned. To determine the relation of aggressiveness, variable were transformed into categories. Thus, PCa aggressiveness is associated with the increase of age and BMI (p?<?.0001) but with is decreased with TT and E2 (p?<?.05). Moreover, adipocyte-secreted molecules increase aggressiveness of PCa cells in vitro. Lastly, DTH but not E2 enables invasiveness in vitro.

Conclusions: It was observed a coexistence of hormone axis profile alteration with sex hormones and BMI in PCa patients, in accordance with the new perspective of PCa pathogenesis.     

Student Veterans: Meaning in Life,Negative Career Thoughts,and Depression

Student veterans may experience challenges as they transition from military to student life, including adjusting to the academic environment, coping with mental health concerns, and redefining their identities. Research indicates that veterans may have difficulty finding meaning and purpose outside of the military (Brenner et al., 2008; Doenges, 2011). This study explored variables that may affect meaning and purpose in student veterans' lives, specifically negative career thoughts and depression. One hundred thirty-two student veterans at U.S. institutions were surveyed. The results revealed that both negative career thoughts and depression were statistically significant predictors (p < .001) of the presence of meaning in life, with 46% of the variance in the presence of meaning in life scores accounted for by participants' negative career thinking and depression levels. Pearson correlations indicated that all variables were statistically significant (p < .01). Future research could explore how other career readiness and self-assessment constructs are related to meaning and purpose in student veterans' lives, as well as the intersection of mental health and career factors. Interventions that focus both on the presence of negative career thoughts and depressive symptomatology may positively influence student veterans' report of meaning and purpose in life.     

Information Technology Risks as Seen by the Public

Risks related to information technology (IT) are becoming a focus of concern in current risk debates. The use of IT is rapidly spreading in the population, as is access to computers in general. The present article reviews the literature on IT use (especially electronic mail and various Internet applications) and the related risks. In addition, the results from a survey about IT use and risk perception, given to a random sample of the Swedish population, are reported. In general, participants were quite positive to IT and were, to some extent, aware of the related risks. However, risks of IT were mostly seen as pertinent to other people, a finding in contrast with other results on perceived technology hazards. The attitude toward the use of IT was strongly related to general attitude toward computers, and less clearly to risk perception. Only a small percentage of the respondents reported having had negative experiences with IT hazards such as Internet addiction, depression, and social isolation. When extrapolated to the general population, however, these small percentages amount to large groups in the population that have been negatively affected by IT use.     

Women's Labor in the Global Economy Women Make Movies Brings It All Back Home

This article does not have an abstract     

The impact of welfare reform on the parenting role of women in rural communities

Current family policy suggests that in order to restore family values we, as a society, need to focus on reviving a child-centered household. Full-time mothering is lauded as an honorable choice that will advance this goal and ultimately strengthen traditional family values. However, current welfare policy is contrary to this notion in that mandatory welfare-to-work programs deny women receiving public assistance the choice to be full-time mothers. Based on in-depth interviews with female welfare recipients in four rural Appalachian counties, this paper evaluates the problems women face as they confront the difficult choices of being either a “good mother” or a “good recipient.” From a feminist perspective, findings suggest that welfare reform programs in rural communities have put poor women in a proverbial “catch-22” with regard to effective parenting. Although many of the women strive to be ideal mothers as defined by societal standards, they often find that they cannot carry out the role effectively because of welfare reform regulations.     

Nuclear Families and Nuclear Risks: The Effects of Gender,Geography, and Progeny on Attitudes toward a Nuclear Waste Facility*

Abstract Studies of reactions to nuclear facilities have found consistent male/female differences, but the underlying reasons have never been well‐clarified. The most common expectations involve traditional roles—with men focusing more on economic concerns and with women (especially mothers) being more concerned about family safety/health. Still, with changing gender roles, women are becoming economic providers as well as caregivers; past studies have not actually examined the interaction of employment and gender effects. This study examines a rural county where issues of risk and economic interest were both salient—a county where a nuclear waste site had been proposed but where an existing nuclear power plant was a major employer. Overall, concern levels expressed by employed mothers did not differ significantly from those in the rest of the sample, but further analyses revealed a sharp contrast: In the half of the county that was home to the existing nuclear power plant, where economic concerns could be expected to be more salient, over 90 percent of the employed mothers expressed low levels of concern; in the other half of the county, closer to the potential risks of the proposed nuclear waste site, almost 90 percent of the employed mothers expressed high levels of concern. No such differences are found for other sociodemographic groups. This county may or may not be unique; what the findings show is that the interplay of geography, gender roles and risks should receive more attention in other contexts, as well.