Factor structure and sex differences on the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence in China, Japan and United States

This study presents data on the factor structure of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI) and sex and cultural differences in WPPSI test scores among 5- and 6-year-olds from China, Japan, and the United States. Results show the presence of a verbal and nonverbal factor structure across all three countries. Sex differences on the 10 subtests were generally consistent, with a male advantage on a subtest of spatial abilities (Mazes). Males in the Chinese sample obtained significantly higher Full Scale IQ scores than females and had lower variability in their test scores. These observations were not present in the Japan and United States samples. Mean Full Scale IQ score in the Chinese sample was 104.1, representing a 4-point increase from 1988 to 2004.     

The social environments of early infancy in Japan and the United States

The social environments of early infancy in Japan and the United States were compared in terms of the context of caregiving and the quality of the month-infant interaction. Mothers of 17 Japanese infants and 17 infants in the United States were interviewed in their homes about the experiences that they provided for their 4-month-old infants, and mother-infant interactions were recorded on videotape. Levels of parents' education were similar in both countries. The context of the infant's development varied substantially with culture. Mothers in the United States provided a greater variety of experiences on the HOME and care of Japanese infants tended to be more exclusively provided by mothers whereas care of infants in the United States was shared by fathers and other caregivers to a greater extent. Examination of behaviour frequencies during mother-infant interaction indicated that mothers in Japan provided their infants with more vocal input and more physical play than mothers in the United States and Japanese mothers were more vocally responsive to their infants' vocalizations.     

Naturally occurring mentoring in Japan and the United States: social roles and correlates

Although the word mentor has traditionally been used to describe a relationship between an older adult and a younger person, recent work has extended its usage to relationships with peers and groups rather than with individuals and uncoupled the instrumental and affective qualities of the role. This paper examines (a) the extent to which adolescents' relationships with significant others in different social roles are characterized by mentoring and (b) the extent to which mentoring and other relationship functions covary. Adolescents' naturally occurring social relationships are explored in two very different contexts—Japan and the United States—that differ in the norms and patterning of social interactions. College students (N = 365) used questionnaires to describe the extent to which relations with significant others were characterized by mentoring. Results indicate striking similarity in the patterning of results in the two countries and support the traditional view of mentoring. Mentoring is most likely to occur in relationships with adults (especially parents), rather than with peers, and with same-gender, rather than other-gender associates. Mentoring by parents appears to covary with other aspects of positive relationships, but be more independent in relationships with unrelated adults or peers. Although more of the variability in experienced mentoring is attributed to differences between associates than to differences between adolescents in both the United States and Japan, this is especially true of the United States. Results suggest that although classic mentoring is most common in both countries, mentoring is somewhat less constrained by social role differences in Japan than is in the United States.     

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。     

Social Capital and Happiness in the United States

This paper explores the association between social capital and average happiness in the United States. Social capital is measured as a multidimensional concept consisting of social trust and two different indicators of sociability. In order to employ the variation both over time and across states, the data are organized in either a panel of nine US Census regions over the period 1983–1998 or in averages over this period in a cross-section of 48 states. The results show that social trust is positively associated with happiness while the potential effects of informal sociability at the level of society only appear significant in the regional estimates. The findings document the importance of social trust for average happiness but also hold more general implications for social capital theory.     

Alternative Measures of American National Identity: Implications for the Civic‐Ethnic Distinction

Studies of national identity distinguish between ethnic and civic nations and have sought to identify these alternative conceptions of national identity in public opinion. The standard measurement technique is to assess the normative content of American national identity by asking survey respondents to rate the importance of particular traits for making someone a “true” American. We argue that such measures are problematic, chiefly because of the impact of nonrandom measurement error. We explore the influence of using ranking measures instead of ratings, using a survey experiment conducted on a nationally representative sample of Americans in 2008. The ranking method is superior for distinguishing between ethnic and civic conceptions of nationhood and, therefore, for predicting preferences on issues such as immigration policy. We develop a new statistical method that effectively “converts” ratings into scores that approximate rankings, resulting in the creation of more valid measures of both ethnic and civic national identities.     

美国健康战略及启示

介绍了美国健康战略出台的背景,并重点介绍了美国“健康公民2010”战略的目标、优先领域、主要健康指标以及相应的行动计划,比较了美国“健康公民2000”和“健康公民2010”的异同,在此基础上总结了美国健康战略发展的基本特点与经验,并提出了对我国制定和实施“健康中国2020”战略的启示。     

Cognitive ability and political beliefs in the United States

Recent evidence indicates that cognitive ability has a monotonically positive relation to socially liberal beliefs and some measures of fiscally conservative beliefs, and that it has a non-monotonic relation to other measures of fiscally conservative beliefs. This study examines the relationship between cognitive ability and political beliefs in a recent, nationally representative sample of American adults. It finds that cognitive ability is positively associated with both socially liberal beliefs and fiscally conservative beliefs. The relationships with socially liberal beliefs are monotonically positive. In contrast, some of the relationships with fiscally conservative beliefs are non-monotonic: Americans of highest ability are less fiscally conservative than those of high ability. The association between cognitive ability and a dimension of fiscal conservatism is reduced substantially when controlling for socio-economic position.     

中美高等医学教育结构比较研究

高等医学教育结构合理化是衡量医学教育发展水平的重要指标, 是研究和制定医学教育发展战略的科学依据。优化高等医学教育结构对促进社会经济发展、提高教育经济效益具有重要作用。对中美高等医学教育结构进行比较, 旨在发现, 两国医学教育结构存在的差异。通过比较发现, 我国高等医学教育存在布局不合理、专业设置紊乱、专业层次结构偏低等问题。需要加强国家宏观规划和监督, 发展西部医学教育, 调整医学教育布局, 优化专业层次结构, 提升医学人才综合素质的培养。     

美国药物治疗管理服务的应用现状及对我国的启示

为解决不合理用药问题,美国政府正尝试利用药师的专业技术优势加强对患者药物治疗的管理。在查阅分析国外文献的基础上介绍了美国药物治疗管理服务的形成背景、运作模式、核心要素和实施效果等应用现状,以期为我国临床药学服务的发展提供启示和政策建议。     

Trends in Volunteer Mentoring in the United States: Analysis of a Decade of Census Survey Data

Over the past decade, considerable resources have been devoted to recruiting volunteer mentors and expanding mentoring programs. It is unclear whether these efforts have helped to counter the broader national trends of declining volunteer rates. The current study uses data from the Volunteering Supplement of the Current Population Survey (CPS), sponsored by the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, to explore population‐level trends in mentoring over the past decade. Results suggest that mentoring rates have remained relatively stable over the past decade, but that the population of mentors has changed somewhat in terms of age, ethnicity, educational background, and region of the United States. In addition, certain sectors of the mentor population show higher rates of attrition from 1 year to the next. Findings have important implications for the development of recruitment, training, and mentor support practices within mentoring organizations, as well as policies designed to meet the needs of at‐risk youth in the U.S.     

Exposure to national flags reduces tax evasion: Evidence from the United States,Australia, and Britain

There have been numerous theories from numerous academic fields explaining why individuals engage in tax evasion. Drawing broadly on Social Identity Theory, we predict that exposure to one's national flag can reduce tax evasion by making salient one's national identity, motivating one to sacrifice one's self-interests for one's country—which would presumably include paying one's fair share of taxes. In three experiments, we found that exposure to American, Australian, and British flags reduced Americans', Australians', and Britons' tax evasion in financially incentivized tasks (Experiments 1, 3) and increased tax-paying attitudes (Experiment 2). The effects arose because flag primes made salient participants' national identities that then motivated them to help their country. We ruled out social norms and trust in authorities as alternative explanations. As such, flag primes might reduce tax evasion and in doing so improve the economic and societal welfare of a country.     

美国补充与替代医疗体系的变迁及公众影响力

基于美国对补充与替代医学 (Complementary and Alternative Medicine, CAM) 的政策性文件, 结合美国亚马逊公司旗下产品"亚马逊 (美国) "的CAM图书的种类分布和销量情况, 以及美国公民使用CAM疗法的调查数据, 梳理了美国CAM体系变迁及公众影响力。美国政府对CAM的政策及体系界定经历了数次变迁。中医等传统医学及部分疗法在CAM体系内的归类发生过变化。部分CAM疗法被吸纳入美国医疗卫生保健体系。CAM在美国公众中有着巨大影响力。中医在美国的公众影响力主要在于针灸疗法, 且影响力在CAM疗法中并不突出。     

欧美生命伦理委员会的机构建设与咨询服务

在当今国际世界,生命伦理学已经发展成一种国际性的“社会运动”,成为学术界和公众关注的热点领域。在欧美国家健全和完善现代医疗保健制度过程中,“生命伦理委员会”起到至关重要的作用,它不仅促使人们从伦理学角度探索“我/我们应当如何决定和行为”的问题,也推动社会从制度建构和文化塑造层面回答“政府应当如何行为”、“如何增进公民的生命伦理意识”等问题,并从哲学领域深入探索如何应对生命伦理学理论与实践中的复杂问题与困境,论证相关伦理选择及其实践的合理性。20世纪60年代以来,欧美社会生命伦理学在机构建设、咨询服务和思维方式等方面的经验可以为中国生命伦理学学科发展及生命伦理委员会建设提供有益的参考。     

Predicting Presidential Performance in the United States: Equation Replication on Recent Survey Results

Abstract

For more than 2 decades, researchers have tried to identify the variables that predict the overall performance of U.S. presidents. In 1986, there emerged a 6-variable prediction equation (D. K. Simonton, 1986c, 1987b) that has been replicated repeatedly. The predictors are years in office, war years, scandal, assassination, heroism in war, and intellectual brilliance. The author again replicated the equation on recent rankings of all presidents from George Washington through William Jefferson Clinton according to a survey of 719 experts (W. R. Ridings, Jr., & S. B. Mclver, 1997). The original 6-variable equation successfully predicted both the overall rankings as well as the 5 core components of the rankings (leadership qualities, accomplishment, political skill, appointments, character and integrity). The predictive value of the equation was illustrated for the presidencies of Ronald W. Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Clinton.     

A New Methodology for Reporting the Status of Community Health Improvement in the United States

Objective To assure that Healthy Communities are achieved, a tracking methodology is proposed using four health improvement categories. Methods Counties are classified as having met or not met nine HP2010 mortality targets and as improving or not improving, creating four categories of community health improvement – static, progressing, exemplary, and maintaining. Results Exemplary counties make up 1.7%32.7% of counties, counties have both improved and met the HP2010 target during the period. Across all indicators, a large proportion remains of counties that have neither met the HP2010 target nor improved (33.572.8%). Conclusions Understanding why, how, and in what ways communities move from static to maintaining categories is necessary to guiding every local public health system to community health improvement.     

COVID-19-related threat perceptions,political identity,and voting in the 2020 presidential election

Perceptions of the COVID-19 virus varied drastically in the United States, with many people highly concerned by health-related consequences (realistic threats) and many others concerned by sociocultural implications (symbolic threats). Across three studies, we tested whether differing realistic and symbolic COVID-19 related threat perceptions varied along gender and political identity near the 2020 US Presidential Election. In all three studies, we found that realistic COVID-19 related threat perceptions were positively associated with a liberal political identity; this pattern did not vary by gender. In Studies 1 and 3, symbolic COVID-19 related threat perceptions were positively associated with a conservative political identity and also did not vary by gender. In Study 2, however, the association between symbolic threat and political identity did vary by gender. Symbolic COVID-19 related threat perceptions were positively associated with a conservative identity for men but not women; for women, threat and political identity were unrelated.     

Immigrant Acculturation and Transnationalism: Israelis in the United States and Europe Compared

This article examines relations between social integration into host societies, religio‐ethnic acculturation into group belonging, and ties to home country among Israeli émigrés in the United States and Europe. I use data from a 2009–2010 Internet survey into which I incorporated country‐contextual characteristics. The results of multivariate analyses show that a social integration combining duration of residence abroad and local citizenship enhances religio‐ethnic identification. Another measure of integration, social networks, deters group behaviors. All measures of general integration inhibit attachment to the home country, whereas religio‐ethnic acculturation is largely insignificant for transnationalism. The religiosity of the new country does not influence immigrants’ religio‐ethnic patterns or homeland attachment. Insofar as group size is a significant determinant of particularistic behaviors, it weakens them. The more policy‐based opportunities newcomers receive, the more they dissociate from group behaviors and homeland ties. Irrespective of individual and contextual factors, living in the United States encourages group affiliation more than living in Europe does. The results are discussed in reference to four working hypotheses—marginalization, integration, assimilation, and separation—and from a U.S.‐European comparative perspective.     

National Survey of Client's Perceptions of Chinese Psychotherapist Practices

The present study is a cross-sectional survey that investigates ethical practices among Chinese psychotherapists from the perspective of a large representative sample of Chinese clients (N?=?1,100). In reports from clients, we found that psychotherapists did poorly in providing informed consent and had other ethical difficulties in the therapeutic setting and with dual relationships. We conclude that Chinese culture, especially Confucianism, had significant impact on the attitudes toward the psychotherapists' ethical practices, which complicated ethical dilemmas. It is important for cross-cultural psychotherapists to become sensitive to the influences of traditional Chinese culture when counseling Chinese clients.     

The Cost of Being Christian: The Association between Christian Affiliation and Discrimination Experiences among Asians in the United States

Whether religion contributes to or mitigates social inequality is ongoing. This study provides new evidence by examining the association between Christian affiliation and Asian citizens’ discrimination experiences. Using data from the National Asian American Survey and employing the Inverse Probability Treatment Weighting approach, this study finds that having a Christian affiliation is significantly associated with more interpersonal discrimination experienced by Asians in the United States. Strengthened ethnic identity and intraracial contact largely explain the association. Results from several robustness tests confirm this finding. There is a cost of being Christian for Asians in the United States.