Familial Association and Frequency of Learning Disabilities in ADHD Sibling Pair Families

In a sample of 235 families with at least two children with Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), the frequency and familial association of learning disabilities (LD) were assessed. Familiality was examined both between sibling pairs and between parents and their children. Two methods for defining LD, a discrepancy-based and a low-achievement model, were employed to examine the occurrence of LD in this sample. The specific types of LD examined included Reading Disability (RD), Math Disability (MD), and Writing Disability (WD). The prevalence rates were highest for RD, followed by WD then MD. The two definitions of LD yielded similar prevalence rates but identified different groups of children with vastly different IQ scores. Strong familial association was demonstrated for RD both between sibling pairs and between parents and children, with weaker association for WD. There was evidence of nonrandom mating for LD among parents, but not for ADHD or for ADHD + LD. Despite the high comorbidity of ADHD and LD among parents, the presence of ADHD in the parents did not predict child LD supporting independent familial factors underlying ADHD and LD.     

Privacy Rights,Crime Prevention,CCTV, and the Life of Mrs Aremac

Over the past decade the use of closed circuit television (CCTV) as a means of crime prevention has reached unprecedented levels. Though critics of this development do not speak with one voice and have pointed to a number of different problems in the use of CCTV, one argument has played a dominant role in the debate, namely, that CCTV constitutes an unacceptable violation of people’s right to privacy. The purpose of this paper is to examine this argument critically. It is suggested that the argument is hard to sustain.     

Cosmopolitan Justice and Equalizing Opportunities

This paper defends a global principle of equality of opportunity, which states that it is unfair if some have worse opportunities because of their national or civic identity. It begins by outlining the reasoning underpinning this principle. It then considers three objections to global equality of opportunity. The first argues that global equality of opportunity is an inappropriate ideal given the great cultural diversity that exists in the world. The second maintains that equality of opportunity applies only to people who are interconnected in some way and infers from this that it should not be implemented at the global level. The third, inspired by Rawls's The Law of Peoples , maintains that it is inappropriate to thrust liberal ideals (like global equality of opportunity) on nonliberal peoples. Each of these challenges, I argue, is unpersuasive.     

Global Justice: Is Interventionalism Desirable?

In 1994, the European Parliament published a resolution on the right of humanitarian intervention. Interestingly, the declaration maintains that such intervention is not in contradiction with international law, although it formulates the concept of right in a way that is translatable into the vocabulary of individual rights. I analyze some implications of the resolution for the mutual duties of states. I thereby focus my attention on two possible applications: by way of Rawls's duty of assistance and by way of the cosmopolitan theory of global distributive justice. I conclude that the latter theory promises better results for protecting individuals' basic rights, but I also show that it is at the cost of a strongly interventionist structure requiring a powerful supranational institution. Finally, I envision the conditions under which such an increase of interventionism in favor of human rights can be acceptable.     

Impact of Applicant Disability on Selection: The Role of Disability Type, Physical Attractiveness, and Proximity

A laboratory experiment contrasting disabled and non-disabled job applicants assessed the impact of disability type, physical attractiveness, and proximity of the job opening to the decision maker. Physically disabled applicants were rated higher than either non-disabled or mentally disabled applicants. However, some evidence was found of a bias against disabled applicants, particularly the mentally disabled, when the position involved was in close proximity to the decision maker.     

A Zero-Relationship Justification of Rights: A Contractual Approach Based on Rawls’ Device of the “Original Position”

In contemporary moral and political philosophy, there are two leading approaches to the justification of rights. These could be broadly identified as deontological theories and consequential theories. These two schools of theories each have their own strengths and weakness, while there is also a third contractual approach that is under represented. Because Rawls’ and Scanlon’s well-known contractual theories are designed for purposes other than the justification of rights, the purpose of this paper is to establish a principle of rights on the basis of Rawls’ justification device of the “original position.” First, it supplies a criterion based on human conduct or action. Second, based on this account of human conduct, different types of relationships are constructed and presented to the parties in the “original position.” Third, it will show that the parties in the “original position” would choose one of these relationships as the principle of rights. Finally, Rawls’ first principle of justice will be reformulated. The procedure of choosing a principle of rights in this paper could also be viewed as a demonstration that, when properly situated and motivated, human beings exhibit their potential as rational beings.     

民主的概念

The core elements of modern democracy are citizens who share equally in mutually-compatible basic rights, serve as the final decision-makers on the community’s constitution, and choose whom to be entrusted with legislative and executive powers, while at the same time wielding final veto power over the present government. The rule of the majority in modern democracy is no longer a fundamental principle, but rather a derivative principle the validity of which is based on the above-mentioned core elements. Translated by Hu Jinglei from Tianjin Shehui Kexue 天津社会科学 (Tianjin Social Sciences), 2007, (5): 7–12     

Exploring the Current Usage and Preferences for Everyday Technology among People with Serious Mental Illnesses

While literature reports people with serious mental illnesses can benefit from everyday technology, evidence supporting whether or not they are using it in their daily lives is limited. This study investigated what people with serious mental illness are using technology for, what they would like to use it for, and why they are currently not using particular features. Results indicated 97.1% of participants own or use a wireless device, 82.4% use text messaging, 64.7% use email, and 70.6% use voicemail. Implications for further research as well as implications for therapeutic interventions using technology are discussed.     

On Affectionate Respect in Gender Justice: An Inquiry into the Cultural Abuse of Sex

Phallogocentrism as cultural abuse of sex is a difficult issue that has been addressed by many modem Western feminist philosophers.By comparing their insights with those deriving from Chinese Confucianism and Daoism,I propose the concept of "affectionate respect" as an intellectual counterbalance to phallogocentrism.In this essay,I have discussed certain arbitrary fallacies based on masculine predominance and spotlighted the merits of being female in balancing emotion and reason,justice and fairness,and institutionally-biased powers and the human rights of innate dignity.To achieve gender justice and equality before God and under Heaven must be logically and morally extended to law and politics.