The phenomenon of hate crimes in the United States

This review examines the phenomenon of hate crimes in the United States. Findings derived from the FBI data for the period 1996–2008 revealed that the incidence of anti‐racial hate crimes varied among different racial groups, that antireligious hate crimes were committed toward Jews and Muslims more than toward others, and that antisexual orientation hate crimes focused on male homosexuals more than others. Antireligious hate crimes were more likely to be directed against property, whereas anti‐racial and antisexual orientation hate crimes were more likely to be directed against people. We discuss these findings in the light of some relevant theoretical perspectives from social psychology. Potential solutions to hate crimes could be developed by focusing on the most relevant predictive factors.     

Cigarette Smoking and Food Consumption in the United States1

Correlations were computed between United States per capita consumption of cigarettes and 41 different foods for the years 1964–1977 and 1968–1973. There were significant negative correlations between consumption of cigarettes and sugar. Few other foods showed any relationship to cigarette consumption. These findings corroborate the results of a recent human laboratory study of cigarette smoking and food consumption and a recent animal study of the effects of nicotine on food consumption, taste preferences, and body weight. Taken together, these studies suggest that the inverse relationship between cigarette smoking and body weight may be partially explained by changes in consumption of sweet-tasting high caloric foods.     

Academic Integrity from China to the United States: The Acculturation Process for Chinese Graduate Students in the United States

The ethics-related beliefs of Chinese international graduate students are heavily influenced by their academic cultural background, and given the nature of that culture, they often face challenges when adapting to the U.S. academic environment. This qualitative study examines Chinese graduate students’ perceptions of the differences between Chinese and American academic integrity practices and the effects of those differences on their ethical practices and adaptations in a graduate program in the United States. Data were collected via semistructured interviews in a public university in the United States. Findings suggest that perceptions of academic integrity in Chinese universities are influenced by Confucian philosophy, collectivist assumptions, and a resultant convenience mind-set. These cultural premises clash with academic expectations in the United States. Participants describe how they, and their Chinese peers, navigate U.S. integrity standards and provide recommendations for ways that U.S. schools can help them better adjust. We expand on those and provide recommendations for university personnel.     

美国的创世论与进化论争论：历史与现状

在20世纪这个“科学的世纪”里,尽管由于受主流意识形态的影响在一些国家先后发生了社会性的反科学运动,例如纳粹德国对爱因斯坦相对论的批判、前苏联的“李森科”事件以及中国大陆在“文革”期间对“资产阶级学术权威”的批判等等,但是,在科学最为发达、最崇尚自由和民主的美国却发生几乎贯穿整个20世纪的反进化论运动,并且至今仍未结束。与其他反科学运动不同,美国这场反进化论运动既非出于科学上的无知,也不是主     

Infanticide/neonaticide: The outlier situation in the United States

Comparing the contemporary situation of neonaticides and infanticides in the United States with other countries reveals two salient factors: (1) The punishment and disposition exacted on women in the United States is often extreme, and (2) The unpredictability of the legal disposition in such cases is pervasive, varying from a homicide conviction to probation. This is partly due, at least initially, to cases being classified under some degree of homicide. Although the focus in this article is on neonaticides, none of the 50 states have any special infanticide or neonaticide statutes in contrast to the majority of other countries. Statutes of 50 other countries are provided in an Appendix A. A review of earlier historical and cultural approaches is given preliminary to discussion of the outlier situation presently existing in the United States.     

The Holocaust after 70 years: Holocaust survivors in the United States

Over 70 years, there have been different narratives of the Holocaust survivors coming to the United States. Survivors’ stories begin with an event of major historical significance. Difficulties in conceptualizing historical trauma, along with common distortions and myths about Holocaust survivors and their children are examined. This article proposes that it is impossible to discuss the consequences of extreme suffering without consideration of historical meaning and social context with which they are entwined. The evolution of the social representation of the Holocaust and the contradictions in clinical attributions to survivors and their children with consideration of the future is described. Attributions to survivors and their children with consideration of the future is described.     

Buddhists and Buddhism in the United States: The Scope of Influence

Researchers have speculated about the growing influence of Buddhists and Buddhism in the United States, but little has been done to estimate the scope of this influence or to consider alternative ways of understanding it. We present data collected from a large, nationally representative survey completed in 2003. The data show that one American in seven claims to have had a fair amount of contact with Buddhists and that one person in eight believes Buddhist teachings or practices have had an important influence on his or her religion or spirituality. We describe three perspectives from which variations in exposure to Buddhists and being influenced by Buddhism may be understood: two versions of the "strictness hypothesis" from the religious economies literature and a broader argument about institutional embeddedness. We find empirical support for each of the three perspectives.     

The State of the Union: Contemporary Interminority Attitudes in the United States

An emerging body of work examines relations among marginalized groups, presupposing that interminority interactions display increased levels of animosity or compassion as compared to majority–minority processes. The current article compares interminority and majority–minority attitudes in a nationally representative data set, finding that racial, sexual, and gender minority groups express similar or more favorable attitudes and political support toward a minority outgroup. Experimental follow-ups explore conditions leading to more positive interminority interactions, finding that primes of similarity facilitate increased support toward a minority outgroup. A final minimal-pairs design explores the role of comparative disadvantage in these processes, suggesting that increased interminority support does not extend to a minority target group that is more privileged than the ingroup. Theoretical and empirical implications are addressed.     

Assessment Centers: Current Practices in the United States

Purpose  

The goals of this investigation were to review current AC practices in the United States by evaluating whether they follow the Guidelines and Ethical Considerations for Assessment Center Operations (International Task Force on Assessment Centers, 2000). We both expanded upon and compared our results to a prior benchmarking study (Spychalski et al. in Personnel Psychol, 50:71–90, 1997), and investigated practices regarding job analysis, AC development, dimensions (i.e., job requirements), exercises, assessor characteristics and training, behavior recording, data integration, organizational policy, assessee rights, AC evaluation and AC technology. Data were collected via an online survey completed by individuals from human resource departments of organizations (N = 54) across the U.S; organizations to whom the survey was sent were selected by sampling Fortune 500 organizations based on economic sector.     

The academic study of Buddhism in the United States: A current analysis

This paper presents the results of a survey of 125 scholars in the discipline of Buddhist Studies, conducted during the academic year 1992–3. The results document the age range of the respondents, their gender, the schools at which they earned their academic degrees, their rank, geographic area of expertise, professional societies to which they belong and hold positions of authority in, journals and presses in which they publish, as well as the editorial positions they maintain, citation of grants obtained, and comparative publication data. The survey is presented in a contextual demographic framework relative to the discipline of Religious Studies and is nominally self‐reflective.     

美国医师的职责

在此讨论的主要问题是,什么样的社会力量能使医师对诊治病人和技术操作的质量担负起责任？这种社会力量的来源之一是职业理念;另一种约束力来自于正规社会机构的直接管理,相关权限的依据是国家和地区规范医院和医师行为的法律。第三种规范的形式和政府司法部门紧密相关,它在很大程度上是一种间接性的约束力,涉及病人因医疗事故对医生及其投保的责任保险公司所进行的索赔和诉讼。强调了第三种力量,并突出了在医师和医疗行业圈之外的社会力量对医疗活动的指导作用。     

Women in the United States Army

This article addresses the recent increase in the utilization of women in the United States Army. It traces the history of women in the Army from the turn of the twentieth century to the present and recounts research (both published and unpublished) concerning (1) attitudes toward the use of women in the Army, (2) the impact the changing role of women has had on the Army's ability to perform its mission, and (3) the adjustment of women to the Army. Finally, the author speculates about the future of women in the Army.This article is a revised version of a paper presented at the meeting of the Southwest Regional Conference Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society, Dallas, April 1978. This paper was written while the author was a Research Scientist at the U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not reflect sponsorship or an institutional position of the U.S. Department of Defense or any agency of the U.S. government. The author would like to acknowledge the helpful comments of an anonymous referee.     

Counselling psychology in the United States

Counseling psychology (CP) emerged in the US as the result of the convergence of a number of trends in early applied psychology, a number of social factors, as well as changes in the organizational structure of the American Psychological Association. We offer an overview of the history of counseling psychology in the US, focusing on key events that have helped establish and shape the profession. Struggles over the definition of CP as a specialty and its relations with clinical psychology and professional counseling are discussed, as are matters related to the licensing of CP practitioners, and the profession’s relationships with counseling-related professional organizations. The educational and professional preparation of CPs, the profession’s core values that affect both training in and the practice of counseling psychology, and the settings in which CPs work are briefly described. We close with a discussion of several of the challenges facing CP as it is organized and institutionalized in the US.