Public attitudes toward genetic testing

This article, which reports the results of a telephone survey of a national sample of the adult US population, was designed as a first measure of attitudes in an area likely to undergo significant change over the next few years. Among the major findings: (1) First, attitudes toward prenatal testing are overwhelmingly favorable at this time, with about two thirds of the respondents saying they would want to undergo such tests themselves (or would want their partner to do so) and believing that the tests will do more good than harm. (2) Second, information about the new technology is not yet widely dispersed in society, and knowledge is unrelated to attitudes in any of the areas we measured. (3) Third, attitudes toward testing for genetic defects and attitudes toward abortion if tests are positive appear to be quite distinct so far. (4) Fourth, the particular conception of genetic defects held by the respondent influences preferences for abortion but not preferences for testing. (5) Fifth, testing for fetal sex clearly falls outside the pale of acceptable behavior at this time, but not if the couple already has three offspring of the same sex.     

“Wearing a Mask Won't Protect Us from Our History”: The Impact of COVID-19 on Black Children and Families

The data on COVID-19 show an irrefutable and disturbing pattern: Black Americans are contracting and dying from COVID-19 at rates that far exceed other racial and ethnic groups. Due to historical and current iterations of racism, Black Americans have been forced into conditions that elevate their risk for COVID-19 and consequently place Black children at the epicenter of loss across multiple domains of life. The current paper highlights the impact of the pandemic on Black children at the individual, family, and school levels. Based on an understanding of the influence of structural racism on COVID-19 disparities, policy recommendations are provided that focus on equitable access to quality education, home ownership, and employment to fully address the needs of Black children and families during and after the pandemic. Research, practice, and policy recommendations are made to journal editors, funding agencies, grant review panels, and researchers regarding how research on COVID-19 should be framed to inform intervention efforts aimed at improving the situation of Black children and families.     

Gender,social change,and the professions: The case of pharmacy

This paper examines the nature of increasing female entry into the profession of pharmacy. Using data from a survey of Ontario pharmacists, it compares the work experiences and career paths of 668 men and women in the profession. In terms of hours worked, where they work, and the nature of the work that they do, we found considerable differences between males and females that are becoming increasingly pronounced as more women enter the profession. These findings are then discussed in terms of available theories of gender, professions and social change.     

In search of correlates of learning underlying “learning disability” using a bio-ecological assessment system

A valid and consistent diagnosis of learning disability is constrained by many conceptual and methodological challenges. Chief among them is the lack of diagnostic efficiency of standardized tests to shed much light on the nature and quality of the “potential disability” underlying children's very poor academic achievement. In this paper, we make the point that any assessment measure of learning difficulty should do more than merely identify or confirm the presence of a problem. Rather, assessment in the service of learning should identify learning needs at a sufficient level of detail so as to inform adaptive pedagogical planning and intervention. Toward this end, a discussion of theoretical and empirical research on the correlates of learning from a sociocultural perspective is examined that provides the conceptual basis for a proposed bio-ecological assessment system. The components of the system are delineated and its feasibility explored in order to provide a richer source of information beyond what is possible with current standardized tests.     

National Networks of Corporate Power: An Irish Perspective

This paper maps the network of interlocking directorships formed by the boards of the top 50 financial and 200 non-financial companies in Ireland. The Irish network is compared with those in ten countries, based on the same sample size and selection criteria as used in this paper, using the methods and theory of Social Network Analysis (SNA). Fundamental to the paper is the idea that the network of interlocking directorates is in some way structured, and not the result of random processes.Irish boards were found to have a relatively loosely connected network structure which is sparser and less dense than those of other countries. This is reflected in the relatively low percentage of multiple directors and the relatively fewer number of directorships per multiple director.In general, indigenous Irish public companies tended to be central in the network, while a disproportionately large number of foreign and private companies were isolated on the periphery. However, a number of foreign-owned companies were central to the network -- in particular, those which started as indigenous Irish companies which were subsequently taken over.When account is taken of the nature of the Irish economy and business, in comparison with that of the ten other countries, it is seen that the opportunities for company interlinking at board level in Ireland are relatively fewer. However, within these constraints, there is a thriving network of corporate power in Ireland.     

Kinship Support,Family Relations,and Psychological Adjustment Among Low‐Income African American Mothers and Adolescents

The association of kin social support with mothers' adjustment and family relations was assessed among 204 African American mothers and adolescents who were on average 14.45 years of age. Also examined was the association of mothers' adjustment with family relations and adolescents' adjustment. Findings revealed that kin social and emotional support was positively associated with mothers' optimism. Poor relations with kin were positively associated with mothers' depression. Kin advice and counseling and kin social and emotional support were positively linked to family routine. Poor relations with kin were positively associated with parent/adolescent communication problems. Mothers' optimism was positively associated with family routine and mediated the association of kin social and emotional support with family routine. Parent/adolescent communication problems were positively associated with adolescents' depression. The findings were discussed in light of their support for theoretical and empirical work on family processes among poor African American families.     

A history of intellectuals and the demise of the new class: Academics and the U.S. government in the 1960s

Theory and Society -     

Book Review: Compassion in Human Nature

Book reviewed in this article:
R. J. Davidson and A. Harrington (eds.), Visions of Compassion: Western Scientists and Tibetan Buddhists Examine Human Nature