Donor-Insemination Motherhood: How Three Types of Mothers Make Sense of Genes and Donors

ABSTRACT

This article analyzes how the variables of partnership type and gestational status that differentiate among partnered women who achieve motherhood through their own (or a partner's) donor insemination are relevant to shaping that experience. The article demonstrates that the three groups of mothers defined by these two variables differ on a variety of attitudes concerning whom the child resembles, the influence of genes, the position of the sperm donor, and reflections on the experience of motherhood. The gestational mothers in heterosexual partnerships experience contradictions in denying the influence of the donor and expressing interest in him. They view the children as resembling themselves more than either the donor or their partners. The gestational mothers in lesbian partnerships both deny the influence of the donor and express disinterest in him. Like the gestational mothers in heterosexual partnerships, they also see the children as resembling themselves more than either the donor or their partners. The nongestational mothers in lesbian partnerships offer an alternative form of mothering within the family in the form of collaborative influence on the child. The data for this study come from an online survey of parents; the survey was distributed through a number of national organizations in the United States.     

Correctly Linking Researchers to Their Journal Articles: An Overview of Unique Author Identifiers

ABSTRACT

A number of factors can make it difficult to consistently and accurately identify individual researchers and their scholarly activities. One solution is to use unique author identifiers. Many author identifiers are available from inside and outside the library community. This column will, in lay terms, compare Scopus Author ID, ResearcherID, ORCID identifier, and ISNI (International Standard Name Identifier)—some of the more commonly used author identifiers—and explore the advantages and disadvantages of each. It will examine the differences among the four identifiers and their relationships to one another.     

Suicide and suicide risk in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender populations: review and recommendations

Despite strong indications of elevated risk of suicidal behavior in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, limited attention has been given to research, interventions or suicide prevention programs targeting these populations. This article is a culmination of a three-year effort by an expert panel to address the need for better understanding of suicidal behavior and suicide risk in sexual minority populations, and stimulate the development of needed prevention strategies, interventions and policy changes. This article summarizes existing research findings, and makes recommendations for addressing knowledge gaps and applying current knowledge to relevant areas of suicide prevention practice.     

Ethnic Enclaves and the Earnings of Immigrants

A large literature in sociology concerns the implications of immigrants’ participation in ethnic enclaves for their economic and social well-being. The “enclave thesis” speculates that immigrants benefit from working in ethnic enclaves. Previous research concerning the effects of enclave participation on immigrants’ economic outcomes has come to mixed conclusions as to whether enclave effects are positive or negative. In this article, we seek to extend and improve upon past work by formulating testable hypotheses based on the enclave thesis and testing them with data from the 2003 New Immigrant Survey (NIS), employing both residence-based and workplace-based measures of the ethnic enclave. We compare the economic outcomes of immigrants working in ethnic enclaves with those of immigrants working in the mainstream economy. Our research yields minimal support for the enclave thesis. Our results further indicate that for some immigrant groups, ethnic enclave participation actually has a negative effect on economic outcomes.     

Identifying competencies for communication practice: A needs assessment for curriculum development and selection in New Zealand

A hierarchical needs assessment model used to identify the competencies required by communication management practitioners in the New Zealand workplace generated three key findings. First, there was evidence of a perspective of CM as a distinct discipline founded on an agreed body of knowledge, skills and values. Second, despite an identified lack of consensus about required CM competencies in the literature, we found high levels of agreement between practitioners and academics. Third, there was, however, a significant difference in views between these two groups about the importance of the competency managing client reputation. As this was rated as one of the two most important competencies by respondents, there are implications for changing the focus of tertiary curricula to ensure graduates are appropriately prepared for the reality of workplace practice.     

A normalization procedure for correcting biased response data

This paper presents a method for normalizing grouped data that exhibits response or sample bias as reflected by unequal marginal totals. The use of the method is illustrated on triad data of judged similarity of meaning collected in Guatemala. The model should have wide utility in the social sciences.     

Mental health and wellbeing of care leavers: Making sense of their perspectives

Despite considerable quantifiable data about the circumstances of care leavers in the United Kingdom, there is less qualitative data about how these circumstances are experienced. This article is underpinned by positioning theory, with a particular focus on the unfolding personal narratives of young care leavers in relation to their mental health and wellbeing and the role of a life‐skills programme in supporting them in this respect. The research illustrates that leaving care projects, such as the one in the current study, are more focused on employment and housing issues than on addressing the mental health and wellbeing needs of young people. Our analysis of interviews with young people illustrates the ambiguity of understandings of concepts such as “mental health” and “wellbeing,” and the complexity of responses to questioning around this area. This illustrates one of the major problems in evaluating the outputs and outcomes of such projects in terms of simplistic targets, where mental health and wellbeing are not clearly defined or understood by young people themselves. The current research provides a more complex picture. More research is needed that involves in‐depth and longitudinal assessment of specific mental health needs of care leavers and how they can be addressed successfully.     

Illuminating the Black Box From Within: Stakeholder Perspectives on Family Drug Court Best Practices

This article describes a mixed-methods, concept mapping study in an urban family drug court (FDC) designed to identify keys to FDC success from stakeholders’ perspectives. Participating FDC team members and clients developed a set of items they deemed integral to an FDC, thematically clustered the items, and then rated their relative importance. Using these data, cluster analysis and multidimensional scaling generated 6 themes perceived as contributing to positive outcomes. Resultant concept maps revealed that, compared to team members, clients view relational aspects of the FDC as more important. The findings point to implications for future research and social work practice.     

The Important Role of Binational Studies for Migration and Health Research: A Review of US‐Mexico Binational Studies and Design Considerations for Addressing Critical Issues in Migrant Health

The impact of migration on health is an important and growing concern worldwide. We conducted a literature review of published health literature in PubMed, between January 1999 and February 2015, representing studies including US and Mexico samples and the title word “binational”. Fifty‐nine studies representing three types of study designs were identified. The health issues examined included chronic conditions, mental health, substance abuse, reproductive health, infectious diseases, environmental health, and use of health‐care services. Binational research between the US and Mexico contributes to our understanding of migrant health and offers critical insights into the processes affecting health outcomes in the US and Mexico. Future studies of all designs can pay closer attention to the social determinants of health.