Mother–child interaction and sleep regulation in one‐year‐olds

The regulation of sleep–wake states is controlled not only by biological mechanisms but by care‐giving context as well. In this study the association between mother–child relationship and the infant's sleep was examined. Thirty‐seven 12‐month‐olds and their mothers participated in a 10‐minute laboratory play episode. The dyadic interaction was coded with the Early Parent–Child Relational Assessment (Clark, 1985) and with the Emotional Availability scales (Biringen, Robinson, & Emde, 1993). The child's sleep was measured at home with a small‐computerized activity monitor. Although mothers' behavior was not related to the child's sleep, infants who were more responsive in the play episode woke up more frequently compared to infants who were less involved in the interaction. The link between social‐emotional competency and fragmented sleep, among nonrisk infants, could be an age‐related phenomenon. ©2001 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.     

Neuroscience, Neuropolitics and Neuroethics: The Complex Case of Crime, Deception and fMRI

Scientific developments take place in a socio-political context but scientists often ignore the ways their innovations will be both interpreted by the media and used by policy makers. In the rush to neuroscientific discovery important questions are overlooked, such as the ways: (1) the brain, environment and behavior are related; (2) biological changes are mediated by social organization; (3) institutional bias in the application of technical procedures ignores race, class and gender dimensions of society; (4) knowledge is used to the advantage of the powerful; and (5) its applications may reinforce existing structures of power that pose ethical questions about distributive justice. The case of crime, deception and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) shows the complexity, and the political and ethical challenges that confront those who seek to use neuroscience to explain the etiology of crime, and who base policy on its findings. An ethically grounded neuroscience needs to take account of existing structures of power and difference, and to develop a public neuropolitical consciousness that ensures that those subject to risk by the application of science and technology are participants in the decision-making processes involving the implementation of policies that affect them.     

Standards of Scientific Conduct: Are There Any?

The practice of research is full of ethical challenges, many of which might be addressed through the teaching of responsible conduct of research (RCR). Although such training is increasingly required, there is no clear consensus about either the goals or content of an RCR curriculum. The present study was designed to assess community standards in three domains of research practice: authorship, collaboration, and data management. A survey, developed through advice from content matter experts, focus groups, and interviews, was distributed in November 2010 to U.S. faculty from 50 graduate programs for each of four different disciplines: microbiology, neuroscience, nursing, and psychology. The survey addressed practices and perceived standards, as well as perceptions about teaching and learning. Over 1,300 responses (response rate of 21 %) yielded statistically significant differences in responses to nearly all questions. However the magnitude of these differences was typically small, leaving little reason to argue for community consensus on standards. For nearly all questions asked, the clear finding was that there was nothing approaching consensus. These results may be useful not so much to teach what the standards are, but to increase student awareness of the diversity of those standards in reported practice.     

Thinking,Doing, and the Ethics of Family Therapy

In this article, we examine how family therapists develop their capacity to make ethical decisions in clinical practice. We present an approach to clinical ethics that builds upon, and integrates the central features of, professional training and development in family therapy itself. We also explore the similarities and differences between the theoretical, top-down approach of bioethics, with its emphasis on “principled decision making,” and the clinical, pragmatic, bottom-up approach discussed here.     

Parents' gender-stereotyped perceptions of Newborns: The Eye of the Beholder revisited

Sex Roles - This study sought to update and extend J. Z. Rubin, F. J. Provenzano, and Z. Luria's [(1974) “The Eye of the Beholder: Parents' Views on Sex of Newborns,” American...