New Ontarians With Disabilities Act finally adopted

After several false starts, Ontario has passed legislation designed to remove barriers faced by disabled persons, including the barrier of stigma.     

Characterization and validation studies of powerPlex 2.1, a nine-locus short tandem repeat (STR) multiplex system and penta D monoplex

In order to increase the power of discrimination for human identification purposes, a nine-locus short tandem repeat (STR) multiplex, the GenePrint PowerPlex 2.1 system (PowerPlex 2.1) developed by Promega Corporation and a separate pentanucleotide-repeat locus, Penta D, were tested. This megaplex system includes the highly polymorphic loci FGA, TPOX, D8S1179, vWA, Penta E, D18S51, D21S11, TH01, and D3S1358 and may be used in combination with the eight-locus STR multiplex, the GenePrint PowerPlex 1.1 system (PowerPlex 1.1) that has been previously developed. Three of the loci, TPOX, TH01 and vWA, have been included in both systems for quality control purposes. As with PowerPlex 1.1, PowerPlex 2.1 is also based on a two-color detection of fluorescent-labeled DNA products amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and provides a valuable tool for accurate and rapid allele determination. The primer sequences used in the PowerPlex 2.1/Penta D system are also presented in this report. To meet the "Quality Assurance Standards for Forensic DNA Testing Laboratories" (FBI), we tested the efficiency and reproducibility of the PowerPlex 2.1/PentaD system by several validation studies that were conducted as a joint project among seven laboratories. Validation tests included concordance studies, sensitivity, and species specificity determination, as well as performance in forensic and environmentally impacted samples. The results produced from these tests demonstrated the consistency and reliability of the PowerPlex 2.1/Penta D system.     

Close relationships in adolescence: The case of the kibbutz

In this article, studies on close relationships among kibbutz adolescents are reviewed. The case of the kibbutz is examined in terms of the balance between relationship with parents and relationship with peers in the kibbutz as compared to the city and moshav, as well as within the kibbutz between communal vs. familial sleeping arrangements. The reviewed studies address three issues: Intimacy with a best friend; self-disclosure and emotional expression toward peers, parents, and figures outside the family; and peer group relations. Studies on intimacy in young adults, married adults, and parent-daughter relationships are considered as pointing to the possible consequences of the patterns observed during adolescence. Differences in intimacy and emotional expression among adolescents in the different settings are interpreted in terms of the effects of structural variables (sleeping arrangement, degree of contact with parents and peers) being a marker for greater peer involvement. It is argued that adolescents are likely to maintain their more inhibited pattern of expression of intimacy into adulthood when they stay in the same setting. Change in the level of expressed intimacy is likely to occur in adulthood, with change of setting. Based on cross-sectional studies, it is speculated that it is possible to close developmental gaps in intimacy at a later stage, thus supporting a situational-based pattern of intimacy and closeness.Received Ph.D. from Cornell University. Research interests include friendship, cross cultural studies, and attachment.Received Ph.D. from York University, Toronto, Canada. Current research interests are in relatedness and loneliness and in psychotherapy research.     

Who is afraid of success? And why?

This study was designed to facilitate understanding of different forms and expressions of Fear of Success. It had four specific aims: (1) to test for Fear of Success in response to a semiprojective measure among Israeli pupils in their last year in high school, (2) to test for developmental trends in this variable, (3) to investigate whether disadvantaged pupils also express Fear of Success, and (4) to investigate more overt expressions of negative attitudes toward success. The sample was comprised of 391 subjects of two age groups (13 and 17), two social classes (advantaged and disadvantaged), and both sexes. The results replicated Horner's findings in that advantaged girls in high school scored higher on projective Fear of Success than advantaged boys. However, in elementary school both scored low. A novel finding was that disadvantaged pupils of both sexes scored high on Fear of Success in high school. Subgroups scoring high on projective Fear of Success also revealed a variety of negative attitudes toward success in response to the overt measures. Analysis of the results suggested that Fear of Success is a complex phenomenon which may take different forms involving various kinds of cultural expectations and different degrees of conflict.Fields of interest are moral and political development and education, alternative frameworks in education, creativity.Received his Ph.D. from the Committee on Human Development, University of Chicago. Fields of interest are motivation, moral development.     

Information is important to Condorcet jurors

Group decision making is very significant in a broad variety of settings. This paper deals with committees that make binary decisions and addresses the question of whether informative decisions can be assumed within this framework. We show that when using the optimal decision rule, informative decision making is a Nash equilibrium. Thus we justify the assumption of informative decision making and provide support for the relevance of assumptions such as independent decision making, when using the optimal decision rule.     

Adults' attachment patterns: Coping with separations

The present study was designed to examine the correlation between attachment patterns of adults and reactions to separations from their significant others on both a phenomenological and a representational level. Cluster analysis technique was used to classify 137 college students into four attachment pattern categories: secure, avoidant, ambivalent, and controlling (compulsive care giver). On the phenomenological level, the current relationships of the subjects with their parents and romantic partner were assessed, in order to explore how they manage the developmental task of separation from one's parents. On the representational level we assessed, using a projective test (the SAT) subjects' responses to mild and severe separations. As expected, subjects with different attachment patterns coped with separations according to their attachment style. For example, secure subjects coped well with this developmental task. They tended to live outside the parental home and to attribute the highest significance to their romantic partner while sustaining close communication with their mother. Ambivalent subjects also tended to live outside their parental home but were all single and reported less committed and close relationships with romantic partners. On a representational level they reacted with strong anxiety, rejection, and self-blame to separations and even mild separations elicited strong attachment reactions. Avoidant subjects tended to refrain from dealing with the developmental task of separation, while controlling subjects were characterized by their use of mechanisms of reaction formation. Overall the results underscore the importance of considering attachment patterns of adults in our attempts to understand coping with the developmental task of separation.Received Ph.D from Tel-Aviv University, Israel. Research interests include attachment and close relationships.Received M.A. degree from the University of Haifa. Research interests include transition to adulthood.Received Ph.D. from Cornell University. Research interests include intimacy, ecological influences on the development of close relationships, and children's friendships.     

The effects of pubertal timing on body image,school behavior,and deviance

Variation in the timing of pubertal maturation may result in behavioral differences among early, mid-, and late maturers. Using data from the National Health Examination Survey, a national probability sample of children and youth aged 12–17, we investigated the relationships between maturational timing and body image, school behavior, and deviance. In terms of body image, the early maturing boys were the group most satisfied with height and weight. The early maturing girls were most dissatisfied with weight, with 69% wishing to be thinner. This great dissatisfaction with weight reported by early maturing girls is probably not an affect of early maturation, but a concomitant of maturation in general. The majority of girls became dissatisfied with their weight as they matured, and females from the higher social groups were more likely to want to be thinner than females from lower groups. Thus, a normal developmental process is being viewed negatively by females and positively by males. Male early maturers more often had deviant behavior, but there were no consistent findings for girls. There was no effect of maturational timing on teacher reports of school absence, adjustment, popularity, need for discipline, or grade repetition.This research was supported by the Stanford Center for the Study of Youth Development and by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.Received M.D. from The Medical College of Pennsylvania.Received Ph.D. in anthropology from Stanford University.Received Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Chicago.Received M.D. from Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons.Received Ph.D. in psychology from Harvard University.