The new mythologies and premature aging in the youth culture

Comparative studies of aging men in a variety of preliterate traditional societies suggest that older men, across cultures, are relatively mild and uncompetitive, as compared to younger men from the same communities. Older men are more interested in receiving than in producing, more interested in communion than in agency; their sense of pleasure and security is based on food, religion, and the assurance of love. The counterculture gives priority to the same themes, and thereby seems to sponsor a premature senescence, in the psychological sense. Various contemporary myths stemming from affluence and consumerism that have led to the new geriatrics are examined, particularly the myth of the all-including, omnipotential self, which is seen as a translation of socialist, collectivist ideals into the domain of personality. The effects of the new psychic collectivism on ego development in the adolescent and postadolescent periods are also considered.The overall program of cross-cultural research has been supported by Career Development Award No. 5-K3-Hd-6043 from the National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development. Field expenses for Indian studies in Mexico and America were covered by Faculty Research Grants Nos. 1344 and 1412 from the Rackham School of Graduate Studies, the University of Michigan, and by Grant No. MH 13031-01 from the National Institutes of Mental Health. Fieldwork expenses among the Middle-Eastern Druze were covered by Grant No. M66-345 from the Foundation's Fund for Research in Psychiatry.Received Ph.D. in 1959 from the Committee on Human Development at the University of Chicago. Main fields are clinical psychology and personality theory. Research interests are comparative psychology of aging and psychosocial aspects of ego development.     

Islamic constitutions and religious minorities

Public Choice - This study examines the effects of formal institutions, specifically constitutions that prescribe Sharia law as a source of legislation, on discrimination against religious...     

PGTandMe: social networking-based genetic testing and the evolving research model

The opportunity to use extensive genetic data, personal information, and family medical history for research purposes may be naturally appealing to the personal genetic testing (PGT) industry, which is already coupling direct-to-consumer (DTC) products with social networking technologies, as well as to potential industry or institutional partners. This article evaluates the transformation in research that the hybrid of PGT and social networking will bring about, and--highlighting the challenges associated with a new paradigm of "patient-driven" genomic research--focuses on the consequences of shifting the structure, locus, timing, and scope of research through genetic crowd-sourcing. This article also explores potential ethical, legal, and regulatory issues that arise from the hybrid between personal genomic research and online social networking, particularly regarding informed consent, institutional review board (IRB) oversight, and ownership/intellectual property (IP) considerations.