Structured Voluntary Youth Activities and Positive Outcomes in Adulthood: An Exploratory Study of Involvement in Scouting and Subjective Well-Being

This study explores whether youth involvement in Scouting has positive consequences later in life. We examine whether the number of years of participation in Scouting is positively associated with human and social capital and recreational lifestyles in adulthood, and whether these are linked to subjective well-being: relational, emotional, and physical health. To explore this potential relationship, we estimated a structural equation model, analyzing data from a national sample of adult males. We found that youth involvement in Scouting is positively related to subjective well-being indirectly via the positive adult outcomes

Over 1200 drugs-related deaths and 190,000 opiate-user-years of follow-up : relative risks by sex and age-group

Heroin users/injectors' risk of drugs-related death by sex and current age is weakly estimated both in individual cohorts of under 1000 clients, 5000 person-years or 50 drugs-related deaths and when using cross-sectional data. A workshop in Cambridge analysed six cohorts who were recruited according to a common European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) protocol from drug treatment agencies in Barcelona, Denmark, Dublin, Lisbon, Rome and Vienna in the 1990s; and, as external reference, opiate-user arrestees in France and hepatitis C diagnosed ever-injectors in Scotland in 1993-2001, both followed by database linkage to December 2001. EMCDDA cohorts recorded approximately equal numbers of drugs-related deaths (864) and deaths from other non-HIV causes (865) during 106,152 person-years of follow-up. External cohorts contributed 376 drugs-related deaths (Scotland 195, France 181) and 418 deaths from non-HIV causes (Scotland 221, France 197) during 86,417 person-years of follow-up (Scotland 22,670, France 63,747). EMCDDA cohorts reported 707 drugs-related deaths in 81,367 man-years {8.7 per 1000 person-years, 95% CI: 8.1 to 9.4} but only 157 in 24,785 person-years for females {6.3 per 1000 person-years, 95% CI: 5.4 to 7.4}. Except in external cohorts, relative risks by current age-group were not particularly strong, and more modest in Poisson regression than in cross-sectional analyses: relative risk was 1.2 (95% CI: 1.0-1.4) for 35-44 year olds compared to 15-24 year 3 olds, but 1.4 for males (95%CI: 1.2-1.6), and dramatically lower at 0.44 after the first year of follow-up (95% CI: 0.37-0.52)

The Expanded Kinesin-13 Repertoire of Trypanosomes Contains Only One Mitotic Kinesin Indicating Multiple Extra-Nuclear Roles

BACKGROUND: Kinesin-13 proteins have a critical role in animal cell mitosis, during which they regulate spindle microtubule dynamics through their depolymerisation activity. Much of what is known about Kinesin-13 function emanates from a relatively small sub-family of proteins containing MCAK and Kif2A/B. However, recent work on kinesins from the much more widely distributed, ancestral Kinesin-13 family, which includes human Kif24, have identified a second function in flagellum length regulation that may exist either alongside or instead of the mitotic role. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The African trypanosome Trypanosoma brucei encodes 7 distinct Kinesin-13 proteins, allowing scope for extensive specialisation of roles. Here, we show that of all the trypanosomal Kinesin-13 proteins, only one is nuclear. This protein, TbKIN13-1, is present in the nucleoplasm throughout the cell cycle, but associates with the spindle during mitosis, which in trypanosomes is closed. TbKIN13-1 is necessary for the segregation of both large and mini-chromosomes in this organism and reduction in TbKIN13-1 levels mediated by RNA interference causes deflects in spindle disassembly with spindle-like structures persisting in non-mitotic cells. A second Kinesin-13 is localised to the flagellum tip, but the majority of the Kinesin-13 family members are in neither of these cellular locations. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These data show that the expanded Kinesin-13 repertoire of trypanosomes is not associated with diversification of spindle-associated roles. TbKIN13-1 is required for correct spindle function, but the extra-nuclear localisation of the remaining paralogues suggests that the biological roles of the Kinesin-13 family is wider than previously thought

The elegans of spindle assembly

The Caenorhabditis elegans one-cell embryo is a powerful system in which to study microtubule organization because this large cell assembles both meiotic and mitotic spindles within the same cytoplasm over the course of 1 h in a stereotypical manner. The fertilized oocyte assembles two consecutive acentrosomal meiotic spindles that function to reduce the replicated maternal diploid set of chromosomes to a single-copy haploid set. The resulting maternal DNA then unites with the paternal DNA to form a zygotic diploid complement, around which a centrosome-based mitotic spindle forms. The early C. elegans embryo is amenable to live-cell imaging and electron tomography, permitting a detailed structural comparison of the meiotic and mitotic modes of spindle assembly

The importance of economic surroundings on religious adherence.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 30-34).Sociological explanations of religious adherence tend to focus on characteristics of the individual. One exception is the largely discarded concept of relative deprivation. By its nature, relative deprivation is dependent upon the comparative nature of one's relationship with fellow members of a community. This study expands upon the premise of relative deprivation by exploring the role that the ecological economic characteristics of a community play in determining religious adherence. Independent analyses are performed at the county-level, with Evangelical and Mainline Protestant adherence rates as the dependent variable to test several associated hypotheses. A combination of U.S. census and RCMS data from 2000 suggest that economic surroundings are important determinants of religious selection. In particular, income inequality has diametrically opposed effects on the adherence rates of Protestant denominations, with Evangelicals benefiting and Mainline groups suffering. Explanations include the need for boundaries and doctrinal claims of the how the world functions.by Buster G. Smith.M.A

American Buddhism : a sociological perspective.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 123-134).This dissertation examines the relationship between Buddhism and the sociology of religion, by examining the ways in which the study of American Buddhism can inform the theories of the sociology of religion, as well as applying the techniques and methodologies of sociology to this particular topic. Chapter 1 describes the difficulties associated with empirically studying American Buddhism, reviews current surveys on the subject, and suggests future avenues of research. Chapter 2 explores a central debate within the study of American Buddhism, which is how best to distinguish the distinctive forms the religion takes. Employing techniques similar to those used by Steensland et al. (2000) to distinguish among forms of American religions, this paper assesses the utility of three of the primary typologies. Findings indicate that school of Buddhism and cultural vs. convert status are important separations within American Buddhism, in regards to spiritual beliefs and behaviors, views on morality, and trust of others. Chapter 3 examines the differences in political views among immigrants who maintain a religion that is foreign to their new residence and converts to the religion in the new country. Findings indicate that converts are generally more liberal than cultural Buddhists, but not on all political issues. Chapter 4 looks at the ways in which globalization and modernization have led to a number of changes in Buddhism. This study tests the hypothesis that religious doctrinal differences are relative and the borders between religious organizations are malleable. This study examines the use of websites by American Buddhists, both to determine the networks they are part of and what content they use. Consequences for studying Buddhism and future avenues of research involving the internet are discussed. Chapter 5 examines the effects of congregational diversity on growth. Using the United States Congregational Life Surveys (USCLS), findings indicate that neither homogeneity nor heterogeneity is related to growth in religious organizations. To the contrary, among 576 statistical models, only 8 show significant associations, implying that neither shared beliefs nor shared behaviors are associated with the size or changing size of a congregation.by Buster G. Smith.Ph.D

American Secularism: Cultural Contours of Nonreligious Belief Systems

A rapidly growing number of Americans are embracing life outside the bounds of organized religion. Although America has long been viewed as a fervently religious Christian nation, survey data shows that more and more Americans are identifying as “not religious.” There are more non-religious Americans than ever before, yet social scientists have not adequately studied or typologized secularities, and the lived reality of secular individuals in America has not been astutely analyzed. American Secularism documents how changes to American society have fueled these shifts in the non-religious landscape and examines the diverse and dynamic world of secular Americans. This volume offers a theoretical framework for understanding secularisms. It explores secular Americans’ thought and practice to understand secularisms as worldviews in their own right, not just as negations of religion. Drawing on empirical data, the authors examine how people live secular lives and make meaning outside of organized religion. Joseph O. Baker and Buster G. Smith link secularities to broader issues of social power and organization, providing an empirical and cultural perspective on the secular landscape. In so doing, they demonstrate that shifts in American secularism are reflective of changes in the political meanings of “religion” in American culture. American Secularism addresses the contemporary lived reality of secular individuals, outlining forms of secular identity and showing their connection to patterns of family formation, sexuality, and politics, providing scholars of religion with a more comprehensive understanding of worldviews that do not include traditional religion.https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu_books/1028/thumbnail.jp

Theism, Sexuality, and Social Policy: The Case of the American States

Book Summary: Does theism dominant the language and practices of public life in the United States? This volume explores this question from a humanist perspective, and in so doing it provides insight into the relationship of religion to public policy, and offers ways to advance a more democratic and secular public arena