Folic acid and the prevention of neural tube defects: A position paper of the national society of genetic counselors

Considerable scientific evidence demonstrates the reduction in risk for neural tube defects (NTDs) associated with maternal preconceptional folic acid supplementation. The National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) endorses the U.S. Public Health Service recommendations for folic acid supplementation at the 0.4 mg level for women in the general population and at the 4.0 mg level for women at high or increased risk for NTD pregnancies for at least 4 weeks prior to active pursuit of conception. We encourage targeted educational efforts and surveillance to assess results of this dietary supplementation. The NSGC further urges the Food and Drug Administration to fortify staple foodstuffs with folic acid for a population-based approach to minimize the number of NTD births.     

Sex differences in self-disclosure: Effects of topic content,friendship, and partner's sex

Male-female differences in self-disclosure were found as a function of sex stereotyping of topic content. Men disclosed less than women on “feminine” topics, which emphasized personal concerns and sensitivities. Men and women did not differ in disclosure on “neutral” topics, considered appropriate for both sexes to discuss. Men and women did not differ in disclosure on “masculine” topics (emphasizing assertiveness) in two of three experiments. Theoretical mechanisms that might mediate sex differences in self-disclosure were considered.     

Hypothetical speech: A developmental perspective

The definitional responses on standardized tests of 49 children, ages 3–15, give evidence of a transitional stage in defining which is called hypothetical. Definitions of this stage are indicated by hypothetical markers. Five hypothetical markers are described briefly and one,like, in greater detail. The relationship oflike to taxonomic conceptual structure and to synonymy is stressed. The roles oflike in language development, logical inference, and communication are discussed.     

The development of therapeutic consultations in child-focused family work

This paper outlines the theoretical influences that have led to our use of a consultation approach to work with children and families. Winnicott's notion of therapeutic consultation, the narrative approach in family therapy, the use of letters in therapeutic work and the two-plus-one model of therapeutic contact are discussed. A model of the consultation interview and process is presented together with examples of consultation letters responding to typical client expectations of the process.     

Attentional scanning and space errors

Using the method of paired comparisons, pairs of simultaneous horizontal or vertical lines, with one line above and one below or one on the left and one on the right of a fixation point, respectively, were presented tachistoscopically for length comparison. Space errors were found to have a pattern similar to that of time errors. The tendency to guess the comparative response from the absolute magnitude of stimuli is proposed as a basis for time and space errors. Manipulation of attentional scanning, which implies a more frequent usage of this guessing strategy for one of the two lines in a pair, was shown to affect space errors.     

Conditioned tilt naming: A modified absolute judgment method is used to measure the oblique effect

Two naive human observers were conditioned to report on the slant of a 3.8-cpd sinusoidal grating viewed monocularly with a light-adapted eye and presented at various orientations extending from ?45 to +135 deg. The procedures used yielded a baseline measure of performance and measures obtained during conditioning, extinction, and reconditioning of the tilt-naming response. Both subjects learned rapidly, achieving a level of performance that permits efficient measurement of meridional differences in perceived orientation Ithe oblique effect) at a large number of angles.     

The relationship of moral maturity and ethical attitude1

Two issues related to Hogan's Survey of Ethical Attitudes (SEA) were investigated. First, the adequacy of Hogan's theoretical characterizations of the two poles of the SEA was tested. The results supported his characterization of the ethics of conscience, but only partially supported his characterization of the ethics of responsibility. Our second focus was on Hogan's prediction that “moral maturity” should be curvilinearly related to the SEA. As predicted, when moral maturity was measured in Hogan's sense, subjects scoring in the middle of the SEA dimension showed higher levels of moral maturity than those at either the ethics of conscience end or the ethics of responsibility end. In contrast, moral maturity in Kohlberg's sense was linearly related to the SEA with the most mature individuals scoring at the ethics of conscience end of the dimension. The total pattern of results highlights the importance of conceptual clarity and conceptual pluralism in research on morality.     

Rehearsal capacity and dimensional independence in retardates

Retardate use of retention strategies and the independence of color and form retention were compared with predictions of the Attention-Retention theory of retardate discrimination learning. Lists of two-choice discrimination problems were increased in length from one to capacity, which was defined through criterion retention across a 20-sec interval. It was demonstrated that (a) capacity and rate of adjustment of retentional strategy were directly related to intelligence, (b) at capacity limits the retention of problems in one dimension interfered with retention in a second dimension, and (c) results consistent with a capacity allocation strategy were obtained. The results were interpreted as reflecting short-term memory capacity constraints on the use of rehearsal.     

‘Just leave it blank’ non-religious children and their negotiation of prayer in school

ABSTRACT

This article examines how non-religious children experience acts of collective worship and prayer in primary school settings and analyses how they negotiate religion and their non-religious identities in these events. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork examining non-religious childhoods and collective worship in three English primary schools, the authors explore how non-religious children demonstrate their agency when confronted with particular boundaries and concepts related to religion and non-religion in school contexts. Attending to the experiences, perspectives, and practices of non-religious children adds to our understanding of the varieties of non-religion, which has to date largely focused on elite, adult populations. Focusing on non-religious children’s experiences of prayer reveals how these children did not experience tensions between praying to God and their non-religious identities and articulated their own interpretations of these practices, deepening understanding of the lived realities of non-religious cultures and identities.