Attitudes toward genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis among a group of individuals with physical disabilities

Few studies have been published on the attitudes of people with physical disabilities toward genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis. Articles in the lay press and social science literature on this topic, mainly written by disability rights activists and advocates, imply opposition to prenatal diagnosis and the field of clinical genetics by the physically disabled population. In this study, 15 adults with physical disabilities were interviewed regarding their attitudes toward genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis. Genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis were generally viewed favorably by this sample of the disability community. Only a small percentage of the sample perceived genetics to be eugenic. Implications for genetic counseling and future research are discussed.     

Bird on Dispositions and Antidotes

In The Philosophical Quarterly , 48 (1998), Alexander Bird raises an objection against the conditional analysis of dispositions: where an 'antidote' is present all the supposed conditions for manifestation of a disposition are fulfilled but the manifestation does not occur. But Bird's argument suffers from equivocation. If we spell out properly whether the disposition's conditions are to include the presence of the antidote or not, the apparent counter-examples disappear. So his examples do not undermine the conditional analysis of dispositions; they show merely that we need to be careful about describing the examples consistently.     

The Negative Physical Self Scale: Initial development and validation in samples of Chinese adolescents and young adults

This research presents four studies on the initial development and validation of the 48-item Negative Physical Self Scale (NPS), a multidimensional measure of body image concerns for use with Chinese samples. In Study 1 (N = 1095), exploratory factor analyses identified five dimensions underlying the NPS (General Appearance, Facial Appearance, Shortness, Fatness, Thinness). In Study 2 (N = 1057), confirmatory factor analyses replicated this factor structure. In Studies 3 and 4, the validity of all NPS dimensions except Thinness Concern was supported via their patterns of relation with both objective physical characteristics/behaviors and other self-report measures of body image and general self worth. Because Chinese adolescents and young adults expressed relatively more concerns about General Appearance, Shortness, and Facial Appearance than about Fatness, the NPS may have greater utility for assessing body image disturbances in China than existing measures that focus exclusively on general body satisfaction and body size/weight.     

Verbal and cognitive distractors in driving performance while using hands-free phones

This study investigated the effect of different types of distractions related to use of a hands-free phone on driving performance. The study used three types of verbal distractors: casual conversation, simple arithmetic number guessing, and number adding, in the phone conversation. 12 adults were instructed to follow a lead vehicle on a closed-course highway in a fixed-based driving simulator. The results showed that use of a hands-free cellular phone involving verbal and cognitive distractions impaired driving performance and skill. Types of distraction produced significantly different effects on several dependent variables: the driving speed, headway (distance between the lead car and the manipulated car), brake reaction time, and number of collisions with the lead car. In general, the higher the cognitive load involved in the dialogue, the worse the driving performance.     

科学之魂——谈科学家崇尚科学精神

由于职业的关系,作为一位科普期刊记者的我常和科学家们打交道。走进这支特殊群体的内心世界,他们向我吐露心扉,为我讲述他们毕生执著追求的科技事业。我这才得知他们的故事很精彩。我常常把他们美誉为“金字塔上的人物”,这是因为这些科学家们用他们的卓而不群的智慧,将呕心沥血的科研成果广泛应用于实际生产当中,推动了中国乃至世界的生产力的发展。他们是最可爱的人。我常常思索这么一个问题:是什么样的一种力量支撑着这些科学家们投入到物我两忘、宠辱不惊的伟大的科技事业?继而,为了全人类生产力的发展,为全人类谋求一个和谐、幸福、和…     

管仲生年考

本文从民间传说入手,对照史籍,探求管仲生年。     

差异蛋白质组学研究与应用进展

差异蛋白质组学是蛋白质组学的一种重要研究策略,着重于比较不同生物体在不同时刻或状态下蛋白质表达的变化,在目前技术背景下有重要的现实意义.将近年来新发展的差异蛋白组学技术,如激光捕获微切割、蛋白芯片及蛋白质定量研究方面等的技术和差异蛋白组学应用进展进行总结.     

对塔斯基“真”理论的批评与重建

塔斯基首先提出关于真之定义的T模式即:"p"是真的,当且仅当,p。随后他又用X取代T模式中的"p",并且用"满足"来定义"真"。本文一方面根据"内容恰当性"要求,提出另一种模式T′即:"p"是真的,当且仅当,p是存在的;用以补充T模式,并完善塔斯基的语言层次论。另一方面根据"形式正确性"要求,指出塔斯基对T模式的这两项修改都是多余的。     

道歉在信任修复中的作用:来自元分析的证据

采用元分析方法对道歉的信任修复效果进行探讨。通过中英文献检索,共有18篇文献36个独立样本符合元分析标准(N=4731)。元分析的结果表明,道歉在信任修复中起到一定促进作用,呈中等效应量(d=0.44)。调节效应检验发现,信任违背类型的调节作用显著,相比于诚实型信任违背,道歉对能力型信任违背有较好的修复效果。此外,控制组设置对道歉的信任修复效果具有显著的调节作用,以沉默为控制组的信任修复效果优于以否认为控制组的信任修复效果。信任类型、道歉所包含的成分以及测量工具的调节作用均不显著。