The decision to remain single may be perceived as different from many within an individual's family or social group. The purpose of this discussion is to highlight some of the societal problems and pressures women experience when choosing to not marry. Negative and positive consequences of this marital choice across cultures are examined, and…

Seniors are routinely subjected to negative stereotypes regarding their physical and cognitive abilities. The power and prevalence of cultural stereotypes of aging essentially results in a "double-whammy" to seniors. First, they influence the way that seniors are treated by society. Second, cultural stereotypes affect how seniors see…

The current debate about whether to permit the use of heroin in the management of dying patients is symptomatic of a larger problem: the lack of a humanistic approach to the care of the incurably ill. (Author)

Negative messages about the detrimental impacts of divorce on children prompted urgent calls in the United Kingdom for a reinstatement of traditional family values. Suggests that although the effects of divorce are real, care should be taken to avoid exaggeration, thus moving the debate to one centered on providing better support, advice, and…

In this paper, the authors discuss the influence of democracy and law on music education in Sweden and Finland, and the potential for music education as training in democracy. The latter consideration can be instructive regardless of the nation, or its laws and paradigms of music education. The theoretical background is based on Jurgen Habermas'…

This article reviews current literature on early and midlife childbearing to clarify the relative contributions of biological and cultural factors to the obstetrical risks facing teenage and midlife mothers. (MT)

Despite evidence which disproves the idea that some languages and language varieties are defective for logical thought or intellectual expressiveness, there are still language policies and social programs in operation which are based on these and other discredited assumptions. (Author/GC)

Examines family policy and family impact analysis in relation to concepts such as policy, policy analysis, social policy, social policy analysis, and social impact assessment. It attempts to arrive at definitional clarity and contribute to the developing conceptualization of family policy and family impact analysis. (Author)

Assesses the role of identity in interlanguage development and performance, focusing on what research suggests about the relationship of identity to the speaker's overall target, to selected features of the speaker's interlanguage, and to target language speakers' attitudes toward the interlanguage speaker. (Author/CB)

Discusses the assertion that allophonic variations are not only important for the purposes of social acceptability. It is argued that the question of social acceptability and the concern for nativelike standards has been primarily viewed from the perspective of monolingual societies, and that social acceptability is not a linguistic issue, rather…

Reviews major areas of controversy concerning creativity's definition in chronological order corresponding to the publication of each definition of significant influence. Each definition's reasons for failing to achieve widespread acceptance are analyzed, and a suggestion for a general definition is provided. (Author/CR)

Study examines the public's confidence in clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, master's and doctoral-level counselors, and social workers by ranking confidence levels across five case vignettes of varying severity. Results indicate that the doctoral-level counselors were perceived similarly to clinical psychologists across all cases and were…

The book is intended to aid the public information and advocacy efforts in such agencies as consumer organizations, independent living centers, rehabilitation facilities, and state vocational rehabilitation agencies. An introductory section reviews the language of disability, citing examples from the media in which disabled individuals are…

A sample of 460 17-year old students from six high schools in the south of England was analyzed to determine differences in associations between political party preference, social status, and socio-political attitudes. Findings indicated that there was a significant association between subjects' sex and political party preference and a negligible…

Presents a variety of issues and opinions related to competency testing in industry and business. Calls on professional, public, and legislative groups to act to influence public policy on the use of tests. (HLM)