Natural ways are better: Adolescents and the ‘anti-obesity’ gene

Empirical research with young people in Finland, Germany, Spain and Britain was carried out as part of the BIOCULT project funded by the European Union. The project focused on their attitudes to biotechnology and, in particular, the formation of arguments about risk and safety. This paper looks at the responses of 14–18 year olds to a story about the so called anti-obesity gene, in the form of advice to a friend who is taking it. The majority advised against taking it with some differences by gender and country. Most reservations were on grounds of safety and the feeling that ‘natural’ ways to lose weight are better: A minority questioned the idea of striving for a ‘perfect’ body. The types of arguments used by the young people reveal underlying perspectives on the place of human beings in the world and whether they have a right to manipulate nature and their own bodies. Marie Levitt is a sociologist with research interests in attitudes and values in relation to biotechnology, health and religion.     

自由回忆和线索回忆测验中的系列位置效应

本文以96个中国汉字为材料,使用自由回忆和线索回忆测验方法,对20名被试进行6组分测验和最后所有汉字的总测验。发现自由回忆分测验中存在明显的系列位置效应,总测验出现负近因现象;线索回忆分测验也表现出明显的系列位置效应,但最后的总测验没有出现负近因现象。上述结果验证了Bjork和Whitten（1974）提出的顺序或情景理论。     

大学生解决物理问题的表征层次的实验研究

设计了两个实验,探讨优、差生物理问题表征层次的特点。结果表明,优、差生物理问题表征层次有差异。优生侧重于科学理论表征,表现为以物理原理分类,在科学理论表征层次上多为正向推理：差生则受初始表征的影响,以表面特征分类,在科学理论表征层次上多为逆向推理。     

Shrinkage estimation of linear combinations of true scores

This paper is concerned with combining observed scores from sections of tests. It is demonstrated that in the presence of population information a linear combination of true scores can be estimated more efficiently than by the same linear combination of the observed scores. Three criteria for optimality are discussed, but they yield the same solution which can be described and motivated as a multivariate shrinkage estimator.Input from Eric Bradlow, Charles Lewis, and Linda Zeger is acknowledged. Research for this paper was funded by the Program Research Council (ETS). Suggestions of the Editor and of anonymous referees were instrumental in several improvements of the paper.     

A Logic for Reasoning about Relative Similarity

A similarity relation is a reflexive and symmetric binary relation between objects. Similarity is relative: it depends on the set of properties of objects used in determining their similarity or dissimilarity. A multi-modal logical language for reasoning about relative similarities is presented. The modalities correspond semantically to the upper and lower approximations of a set of objects by similarity relations corresponding to all subsets of a given set of properties of objects. A complete deduction system for the language is presented.     

Latinas with Arthritis: Effects of Illness, Role Identity, and Competence on Psychological Well-Being

Tested a theoretical model on the effects of social role identity, illness intrusion, and competence on psychological well-being among 109 low-income Latinas with arthritis. All six roles studied were rated as highly important identities. Sex-role nontraditionalism was associated with less importance of the homemaker, mother, and grandmother roles. Negative affect increased as a function of intrusions into valued identities. Having important role identities contributed to feelings of competence (i.e., self-esteem and self-efficacy), which in turn, contributed to psychological well-being. Competence also mediated the effects of pain, identity, and illness intrusions on psychological well-being. Results suggest competence processes play an important role in well-being.     

医学伦理学概念之探究

医学伦理学的概念看起来很简单,一般情况下人们便习以为常地接受了作为应用规范伦理学的一个分支的科学地位,而忽视了医学对医学伦理学所起的作用。本文认为：医学伦理学的具体内容是医学科技与伦理道德两因素相互作用的产物,对其相互作用的形式和产物的具体分析和总结便可构成这门学科的理论体系。     

Powerful Pedagogy in the Science-and-Religion Classroom

This essay is a discussion of effective teaching in the science-and-religion classroom. I begin by introducing Alfred North Whitehead's three stages of learning—romance, discipline, and generalization—and consider their implications for powerful pedagogy in science and religion. Following Whitehead's three principles, I develop a number of additional heuristics that deal with active, visual, narrative, cooperative, and dialogical learning styles. Finally, I present twelve guidelines for how to use e-mail and class-based listserves to achieve some of these outcomes.     

The Question of God in an Age of Science: Constructions of Reality and Ultimate Reality in Theology and Science

Both science and theology have lately faced a crisis of authority. Their shared realization of the extent to which knowledge is underdetermined by the data and socially constructed provides a kind of common ground for reconsideration of their respective methods of inquiry as well as of the status of the claims they have warrant to make. Both fields are now consciously and critically employing a models approach. This article proposes criteria for assessing models and applies the criteria to one model from each field. The model of understanding evolution as a struggle for existence is considered from the field of science, and the traditional model for understanding the God-world relation as that of a king's relation to his kingdom is considered from the field of theology. Each of these models is evaluated with respect to its credibility, religious viability, and moral adequacy. In each case an alternative analogy is proposed and argued for.