This study examined the relation between mothers' long-term socialisation goals and the social networks they construct for their infants. Middle class Anglo (nˆ32) and Puerto Rican (nˆ28) mothers were interviewed regarding: (a) their long-term socialisation goals; (b) how often their infants' typically have contact with friends and family members; and (c) speci c family circumstances which might in uence contact with relatives, including geographic distance, maternal employment status, and child care arrangements. Study results indicated that mothers' long-term socialisation goals were correlated with the type and frequency of social contacts they structured for their infants. Moreover, limited evidence was found for the in uence of group membership on frequency of contact with relatives, despite individual variations in family circumstances. Results are interpreted as illuminating one aspect of the interface between cultural beliefs and socialisation practices within the constructs of individualism/sociocentrism.

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BackgroundThe northern fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus) is an important cultural and nutritional resource for the Aleut community on St. Paul Island Alaska. In recent years, an increasing number of zoonotic pathogens have been identified in the population, but the public health significance of these findings is unknown. To determine the prevalence of Coxiella burnetii and Brucella spp. in northern fur seal tissues, eight tissue types from 50 subsistence-harvested fur seals were tested for bacterial DNA by real-time polymerase chain reaction.FindingsOf the 400 samples tested, only a single splenic sample was positive for Brucella spp. and the cycle threshold (ct) value was extremely high suggesting a low concentration of DNA within the tissue. C. burnetii DNA was not detected.ConclusionsFindings suggest that the risk of humans contracting brucellosis or Q fever from the consumption of harvested northern fur seals is low.

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An increase in birth rates to Minneapolis minors following the enactment of a parental notification law was examined. A well-publicized link between increasing birth rates and the law is shown to have been premature. Birth, abortion, and population data by age, race, and region suggest that the increasing birth rate in Minneapolis was not related to parental notification, but rather to a growing racial minority population.