INTRODUCTION: RETHINKING PHILOSOPHICAL PRESUMPTIONS IN LIGHT OF COGNITIVE DISABILITY

Abstract: This Introduction to the collection of essays surveys the philosophical literature to date with respect to five central questions: justice, care, agency, metaphilosophical issues regarding the language and representation of cognitive disability, and personhood. These themes are discussed in relation to three specific conditions: intellectual and developmental disabilities, Alzheimer's disease, and autism, though the issues raised are relevant to a broad range of cognitive disabilities. The Introduction offers a brief historical overview of the treatment cognitive disability has received from philosophers, and explains the specific challenges that cognitive disability poses to philosophy. In briefly summarizing the essays in the collection, it highlights the distinctive contributions the collection makes to ethics, political philosophy, bioethics, and the philosophy of disability. We hope that the richness of the topics explored by these essays will be a spur to further investigation.     

A historical and contemporary overview of Asian American and Pacific Islander experiences: Immigration, racialization, and liminality

When various contemporary issues of crime, violence, and gangs confronting Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities are presented, they are often explained from an ahistorical perspective. This leads to a decontextualized understanding of the communities and the challenges they face. The first part of this article will provide a general historical overview of selected AAPI communities that examines salient aspects of immigration and racialization, resulting in generations living a circumscribed life on the margins of mainstream society. The balance of the article will draw on U.S. Census datasets from 1990 to 2000 to capture the size and growth of Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, and provide population, language, citizenship, education, income, and poverty data to contextualize emerging crime, violence, and gang issues that affect these communities. Data will show commonalities across AAPI communities, but will also reveal information specific to AAPI subgroups, shedding more light on the state of AAPI communities and their diversity.     

Suicidality Protective Factors Among Black College Students: Which Cultural and Personal Resources Matter?

This study examined the influence of cultural resources (ethnic identity, Afrocentric worldview, and religiosity) on suicidal thoughts and behaviors among Black college students and the role of personal resources (ego resiliency and optimism) as mediators of this link. Data collected from 257 participants were analyzed. A bivariate correlational analysis showed that ethnic identity was significantly associated with lower levels of suicidality. In addition, ego resiliency mediated the relationships between Afrocentric worldview, ethnic identity, and religiosity and suicidality. Este estudio examinó la influencia que tienen los recursos culturales (identidad étnica, visión del mundo afrocéntrica y religiosidad) sobre los pensamientos y comportamientos suicidas entre estudiantes universitarios negros, así como el papel de los recursos personales (resiliencia del ego y optimismo) como mediadores de esta conexión. Se analizaron los resultados recogidos de 257 participantes. Un análisis correlacional bivariado mostró que la identidad étnica estaba asociada significativamente a niveles más bajos de tendencias suicidas. Además, la resiliencia del ego medió la relación entre la visión del mundo afrocéntrica, la identidad étnica y la religiosidad y las tendencias suicidas.     

Psychological testing for Hispanic Americans

The need for culturally responsive mental health services for Hispanic Americans has never been greater. This population will soon become the largest of all U.S. ethnic minority groups, and recent epidemiologic studies suggest that Hispanics have rates of mental health need that are similar to those found in the general population. Developing culturally relevant mental health services, including diagnostic and assessment procedures, for this population is essential. A synthesis of extant literature pertaining to psychological testing for Hispanics is presented. It is limited to the adult literature and discusses issues related to personality, neuropsychological, and intellectual assessment. The importance of language as it influences the assessment process has also been discussed. Based on clinical and research experiences and the results of the literature review, a set of general guidelines is proposed for those working with this population.     

Contemporary Muslim Families: Research and Practice

This research project was undertaken to provide family professionals with the basic information necessary to work appropriately with Muslim families. The Muslim population represents 4–6 million people in the United States, yet it is significantly underrepresented in the family literature. Qualitative analysis of focus groups and interviews revealed multiple key findings. Emergent themes include an interest in gender respect rather than gender equity, the importance of extended family, the centralism of Islam in daily life and the qualified acceptance of professional interventions. Implications for practice are discussed.     

COMPARISON AND HISTORY IN THE STUDY OF RELIGIOUS ETHICS: An Essay on Michael Cook's Commanding Right and Forbidding Wrong in Islamic Thought1

Qur'an 3:104 speaks of “commanding right and forbidding wrong” as a constitutive feature of the Muslim community. Michael Cook's careful and comprehensive study provides a wealth of information about the ways Muslims in various contexts have understood this notion. Cook also makes a number of comparative observations, and suggests that “commanding” appears to be a uniquely Muslim practice. Scholars of religious ethics should read Cook's study with great appreciation. They will also have a number of questions about his comparative comments. In this article, I suggest that scholars of comparative ethics should think less about the “uniqueness” of the materials examined by Cook, and more about the ways groups of human beings discipline their members, thereby constituting and maintaining themselves as communities of virtue.     

Reaching the Limits of Secularization? Turkish‐ and Moroccan‐Dutch Muslims in the Netherlands 1998–2006

This research note focuses on Muslim minorities living in a secular context, the Netherlands. The question is whether mosque attendance among Turkish‐ and Moroccan‐Dutch changed between 1998 and 2006, testing mechanisms of religious decline and religious vitality. Elaborating on previous research of the same Muslim groups, this study examines a longer time span and adds contextual‐level explanations. Whereas previous research reported a linear trend towards secularization over time and over generations, in recent years the trend has become more complex. The revival of religious attendance among the second generation is most striking. Forces of secularization such as educational attainment and generational replacement gradually lose their predictive power. Over time, processes of secularization are therefore not inevitable.     

Perceiving Racism in Ambiguous Situations: Who Relies on Easy-to-Use Information?

Abstract

In situations that are ambiguous with regard to the presence of discrimination, how do people arrive at their conclusions that discrimination has (or has not) taken place? This question was examined from a motivated social cognition perspective via the interaction of two factors: the prototype effect—the notion that ambiguously discriminatory behavior is more likely to be perceived as discriminatory when the executor is prototypical and the need for cognitive closure—the tendency to jump hastily to and seize on an answer. Results provided replicating evidence of the prototype effect among European American participants but not among African American participants. Specifically, European Americans were likely to perceive ambiguously racist behavior enacted by a prototypical executor (i.e., a White person) as more discriminatory than the same behavior exhibited by a non-prototypical executor (i.e., a Black person). African American participants, on the other hand, showed no reliance on this simple cognitive heuristic. Furthermore, results showed that European Americans with a higher need for cognitive closure were more likely to rely on the easy-to-use information offered by prototypes. These findings are discussed from a motivated social cognition perspective.     

Prejudice Against Muslim Australians: The Role of Values,Gender and Consensus

Data from an Australian community survey (n = 189) examining the predictors of prejudice against Muslim Australians were analysed. Using thematic analysis, we investigated the specific values our participants reported regarding their perceptions of Muslim Australians and Islam. We then investigated the relationship between prejudice against Muslim Australians, the most important value priorities given by our participants, and other prejudice‐related variables. After entry into a regression analysis, the participants high in prejudice were found to be significantly more likely to have lower educational levels and more right‐wing views. They were also significantly more likely to report high levels of national attitudes (i.e. stronger identification with Australian identity), concern about gender equality within the Muslim community, less concern about equality generally and report that Muslims were not conforming to Australian values. High prejudiced participants also scored higher in the reporting of negative media‐related beliefs, were more likely to perceive higher support in the community for their views than was the case and were more negative towards Muslim men than Muslim women. The implications for anti‐prejudice interventions are discussed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Asian American Intermarriage

SUMMARY

This paper describes the therapeutic process of an interracial couple: an Asian American woman and a White American man. The intent of this therapy was to broaden the conversational space and encourage the couple to explore the effects of cultural beliefs and practices on their relationship. The therapist introduced two approaches for evoking the couple's interest in sharing narratives about their individual and couple racial identity. One approach was to have the couple interview their partner's “internalized other.” The other approach used two research studies to stimulate conversation about outmarriage with Asian Americans. This case study offers an account of two different ways individual narratives and shared conversational space can be expanded.