Breast cancer representations in Canadian news media: a critical discourse analysis of meanings and the implications for identity

Despite the importance of critical media work, much is to be learned about breast cancer representations within media discourses and the implications for women’s identity construction. Building on research from Australia from a discursive perspective, this article used an eclectic approach to critical discourse analysis to explore the cultural construction of breast cancer in 25 detailed stories within Canada’s two national newspapers, The Globe and Mail and the National Post. Ten images accompanying stories and 17 advertisements/public service announcements were also analyzed to contextualize discourses and subject positions/identities within the stories. Analysis of this media affords the unique opportunity to explore taken for granted assumptions and prevailing meanings about breast cancer and the implications for subjectivity. Two primary discourses were identified: a discourse of biomedicine and a discourse of healthism. Subject positions identified included “breast cancer survivor,” “the good consumer,” and the “medical expert.” The psychological, social, political, and health promotion implications are discussed.     

An investigation of overlap in children's speech

The simultaneous speech of six 4-year-old girls was investigated within three-party conversation. The data reveal two major types of overlap, one providing instances of turn completion projections and the other reflecting tension for the turn at speaking. The data are discussed in terms of the Sacks, Schegloff, and Jefferson (1974) model of conversational interaction.     

Islam and Mental Disorders of the Older Adults: Religious Text,Belief System and Caregiving Practices

Journal of Religion and Health - This paper illustrates the impact of Islamic religious texts on dementia care in the Middle East. It examines how old age and older adults mental disorders are...     

Sex differences in adolescent ethanol drinking to behavioral intoxication

Rodent models have been especially useful for investigating adolescent ethanol exposure. However, there is a paucity of studies examining sex differences in behavioral intoxication from adolescent ethanol drinking. Here, we used an ethanol drinking model to investigate if adolescent rats of both sexes readily drink ethanol to measurable behavioral intoxication, indicated by increased impulsive action and motor incoordination. Beginning on postnatal day (P) 28, male and female Long‐Evans rats were given 30‐min access to a solution of sucrose (20%) or sweetened ethanol (20% sucrose +15% ethanol) every other day until P60 and once after 2 weeks of forced abstinence (on P75). On alternate (nondrinking) days, rats were reinforced with a food pellet for making a cued nosepoke response. Beginning on P56, rats were tested in this task after drinking sessions to assess ethanol‐induced changes in impulsive action, defined as premature responding prior to cue presentation. Motor coordination was assessed before and after drinking sessions using an incline plane test. Adolescent male and female rats readily consumed ethanol to behavioral intoxication, measured as reduced motor coordination. Following forced abstinence, females displayed greater ethanol‐induced impulsive action. These studies provide evidence for sex differences in behavioral intoxication following adolescent ethanol drinking.     

What do you think about ink? An examination of implicit and explicit attitudes toward tattooed individuals

Tattoos are increasing in popularity, yet minimal research has examined implicit attitudes or the relationship between implicit and explicit attitudes toward tattooed individuals. Seventy-seven online participants (Mage = 36.09, 52% women, 78% white, 26% tattooed) completed measures assessing implicit and explicit attitudes toward tattooed individuals. Results revealed evidence of negative implicit attitudes, which were associated with less perceived warmth, competence, and negative explicit evaluations. However, implicit attitudes were not correlated with measures of disgust or social distance. In addition, age predicted implicit prejudice, but other individual difference measures—such as personal tattoo possession, political identity, and internal/external motivations to respond without prejudice—did not. These findings are discussed in terms of how attitudes toward tattooed individuals may be multifaceted, and research may benefit from measuring implicit and explicit attitudes.     

Decreasing Child Distress During Needle Sticks and Maintaining Treatment Gains Over Time

This study examined the effectiveness of an intervention for reducing behavioral distress in children during needle sticks. Participants were eight children and their parents. The children received injections or venipunctures for hematological or oncological disease. The distress management intervention included instruction for children to engage in a distraction activity during needle sticks and parent training in coaching their children. The intervention was adapted to clinic and home treatment settings. Results indicated that five children exhibited significantly less distress after treatment when compared with baseline sessions, that treatment gains were maintained at follow-up for three of them, and that child distress was significantly and negatively related to use of the experimental distractor. Implications for clinical practice are discussed.     

Differences in American English, Spanish, and monkey perception of thesay-stay trading relation

An interesting phenomenon in human speech perception is the trading relation, in which two different acoustic cues both signal the same phonetic percept. The present study compared American English, Spanish, and monkey listeners in their perception of the trading relation between gap duration andFl transition onset frequency in a syntheticsay-stay continuum. For all the subjects, increased gap duration caused perception to change fromsay tostay; however, subjects differed in the extent to which theFl cue traded with gap duration. For American English listeners, a change from a low to a highF1 onset caused a phoneme boundary shift of 26 msec toward shorter gap durations, indicating a strong trading relation. For Spanish listeners, the shift was significantly smaller at 13.7 msec, indicating a weaker trading relation. For monkeys, there was no shift at all, indicating no trading relation. These results provide evidence that thesay-stay trading relation is dependent on perceptual learning from linguistic exposure.     

Applying Continuity Theory to Older Adult Friendships

Continuity theory provides a rationalization for understanding older adult friendships. Older adults do not have to anticipate disengagement but can exercise their choice to actively participate in establishing and maintaining friendship structures. The role of friend is one a person can choose to maintain. Friendships are dynamic and progress on a continuum with beginnings, periods of endurance and change, and endings. Continuity theory provides ways to understand why particular people have developed and adapted distinct friendship and social support networks. This insight provides social service professionals, gerontologists, and family members ways to enable older adults to remain in their communities longer and maintain support stability.     

Community Violence and Youth: Affect, Behavior, Substance Use, and Academics

Community violence is recognized as a major public health problem (WHO, World Report on Violence and Health, 2002) that Americans increasingly understand has adverse implications beyond inner-cities. However, the majority of research on chronic community violence exposure focuses on ethnic minority, impoverished, and/or crime-ridden communities while treatment and prevention focuses on the perpetrators of the violence, not on the youth who are its direct or indirect victims. School-based treatment and preventive interventions are needed for children at elevated risk for exposure to community violence. In preparation, a longitudinal, community epidemiological study, The Multiple Opportunities to Reach Excellence (MORE) Project, is being fielded to address some of the methodological weaknesses presented in previous studies. This study was designed to better understand the impact of children’s chronic exposure to community violence on their emotional, behavioral, substance use, and academic functioning with an overarching goal to identify malleable risk and protective factors which can be targeted in preventive and intervention programs. This paper describes the MORE Project, its conceptual underpinnings, goals, and methodology, as well as implications for treatment and preventive interventions and future research.