Given Danziger’s Claims Essay Example for Free

Given Danziger’s Claims Essay Given Danziger’s claims about ‘methodomorphic theories’ and given what you know of quantitative and qualitative research methods and psychology in general, what do you think would be the obstacles to attempt to break free of the ‘methodological circle’? Research methods in modern psychology offer a variety of methodological options for researchers to utilise. However, there are issues associated with all methods. This essay will examine problems associated with the ‘methodological cycle’, such as the monopolisation of statistical methods in social sciences. These ‘issues’ continue to be common practice in psychological research and present obstacles to moving towards a less rigid, constrained method of working. This will be followed by exploring approaches that move forward, towards a more fluid and inclusive method of empirical psychology, such as Theoretical Sampling in Grounded Theory and Relational metatheory. Danziger coined the term ‘methodological circle’, asserting that many psychological researchers adopt methods based on certain assumptions about the subject matter, which in turn â€Å"only produce observations which must confirm these assumptions† (Danziger, 1998, p 1). These assumptions continue to be common practice in current psychological research, and pose as a barrier to moving away from the ‘methodological circle’. Psychology as Pure Science Kuhn (1962) described ordinary science as involving discussion of problematic truth claims and is carried out within the context of implicitly shared metatheoretical frameworks; on the other hand â€Å"paradigms† involve discussion that challenges these metatheoretical frameworks themselves. Psychology operates within both of these frameworks. ‘Ordinary science’, also known as Scientism, involves uncritically accepting that science is both highly distinct from, and superior to, common sense and methods for identifying cultural patterns. However, factors that a social scientist may wish to study do involve facets that are not static and are defined by the context in which these facets operate. An example of this could be trauma. Trauma is viewed by individuals in Western society as a concept which individuals or a collective may suffer after a disrupting or distressing event. However, in less developed societies, such as in Rwanda which suffered mass genocide, no instances of trauma are reported (Alexander et al, 2004). Such examples highlight the problems presented by adopting a purely scientific (positivist) approach to a social phenomenon. In addition to this, it must be remembered that even though research will always endeavour to be as objective as possible they will, ultimately, use their common-sense knowledge of how social phenomena operate in order to define and measure these variables for precise investigation (Silverman, 1993). Psychologists who work purely in line with Scientism make the error to totally remove itself from common sense, rather than acknowledging and working with it, adopting, say, a more constructivist approach e.g. Conversation Analysis. Kock (1973) sums this up assumption beautifully by saying â€Å"The entire subsequent history of psychology can be seen as a ritualistic endeavor to emulate the forms of science in order to sustain the delusion that it already is a science (Kock, 1973, p. 66). Dependence on statistics The use of statistical methods in psychology can be said to have become â€Å"institutionalized† (Danziger, 1998, p. 4). According to Danziger, such institutionalization presents 3 main problems: 1. It assumes that statistical conclusions are the only means of providing reliable and valid results for interpreting and developing theory; 2. It asserts that certain rules and models are constant, and cannot be amended or updated by new evidence; 3. it postulates that methodology must lead theory formation, and not the other way round. Such facets create a rigid environment, which restricts ways in which the social scientist can explore social phenomena which focuses on interactions between figures rather than meanings of interactions. The importance of the meaning behind words was acknowledged as far back as Freud, who stated â€Å"In medics you are accustomed to see things†¦in psychoanalysis, alas, everything is different†¦Words were originally magic and to this day words have retained much of their ancient power†¦Words provoke affects and are in general the means of mutual influence among men† (Freud, 1918, p.12). This statement emphasises the importance in not just, say, overt behaviour in the amount of words one uses (i.e. numerical data) in an interview, but also what one says and the meaning behind those words (i.e. qualitative data). Artificial settings to measure real life Psychology is the science of the real life, cannot be manipulated in artificial models. In its attempt to become a ‘pure’ science, psychological research methods tend to prefer to use controlled, experimental procedures, where one variable is directly manipulated by another variable, controlling for any other influencing factors. While such methods offer detailed and reliable statistical information, details of social, political, economic, and historical contexts can be overlooked (Waitzkin, 1990). The variety within psychology Psychology is a broad discipline with a variety of approaches such as Social and Cognitive Psychology. Social Psychology looks at qualitative interactions in the real world between people, whereas Cognitive Psychology examines the thought processes involved in individual reasoning. The former cannot be effectively manipulated in a controlled laboratory experiment, whereas the latter can be. If one attempts to artificially create and conduct a social experiment which uses solely statistics as a method of obtaining and interpreting results, one will miss the rich data that can be gained through qualitative measurement, looking at meanings and interpretations. A degree of flexibility is required in theory construction and method development, taking care to acknowledge how applied the science is and the vast array of methodological procedures to adopt. Top down vs. bottom up When conducting empirical investigation in psychology, the research question should lead the methodology, not the other way round. However, with the dominant quantitative method, researchers tend impose theories on data and see whether or not the data supports the theory. Upon these results, the researchers either accept or reject their hypotheses, rather than further exploring any discrepancies. Alternatively, researchers who adopt a qualitative method allow the data drive the theory and design models and theory from data. This is unpopular with many as it can oversimplifying complex social phenomena. As we can see, both designs appear to be poloarised, with little or no room for convergence. Deductive vs. Inductive Another assumption that perpetuates the ‘methodological circle’ is the belief that quantitative methods always must use a hypothetico-deductive approach and qualitative methods an inductive approach. Again, this restricts the way in which researchers can work with their subject matter, and rather than adopting an antithetical approach, researchers should endeavor to focus on the rationale of the study and the research question. Realism vs. Idealism In a similar vain to the short discussion above, there is the determinist assumption that all quantitative researchers are realists and qualitative researchers are idealist in their approach. This assumption enforces more restrictions on the way research would be carried out. Indeed quantitative research could do well to accept more subjective and individual attitudes, as qualitative methods could with more objective, measurable approaches. Moving forward Acknowledging the obstacles above, I will now explore ways in which psychology can move forward, away from the ‘methodological circle’ towards an approach that recognises and embraces both ‘quantitative’ and ‘qualitative’ virtues. Such an approach should not be concerned with paradigmatic purism but more concerned with identifying effective ways of conceptualising and discovering answers to the research questions. Grounded Theory -Theoretical saturation and sampling When using Grounded Theory, researchers use Theoretical sampling until they reach ‘Theoretical saturation’, where researchers collect data â€Å"until (a) no new or relevant data seem to emerge regarding a category, (b) the category is well developed in terms of its properties and dimensions demonstrating variation, and (c) the relations among categories are well established and validated.† (Strauss Corbin, 1998, p. 212). Such a fluid and flexible approach provides a useful means in theory construction because it builds the theory as it evolves from incoming data, offering an alternate perspective on how the results are interpreted than the restrictive positivist, deductive approaches. Relational metatheory Relational metatheory offers a relational dialectical perspective in which interpretation (a more quantitative, positivist approach) and observation (a more qualitative, construstivist approach) are both acknowledged and used (Overton, 1998; 2003). Relationism metatheory acknowledges that there is interconnection between the person, culture and biology (Hase, 2000), which is a much more fluid and explorative method then a split metatheory (using only quantitative or qualitative). This results in more complex, self creating, self organising, self regulating and adaptive systems that function and develop in relation with sociocultural constructs. In conclusion, there is a range of obstacles researchers encounter when attempting to break free of the ‘methodological circle’. These include both theoretical considerations such as theory construction and practical considerations such as the dependence on statistics. In order to move away from these imposed restrictions, researchers should consider adopting a more inclusive, flexible approach such as Grounded Theory and Relational Metatheory. As Danzgier concludes we must overcome these problems associated with the ‘methodological circle’ in psychological research; if not â€Å"theory testing in psychology will be a matter of choosing among different versions of a theoretical position, the fundamental features of which are in fact beyond dispute.† (Danziger, 1985, p.13). References Alexander, J. C., Eyerman, R., Giesen, B., Smelser, N. J., Sztompka, P. (2004) Cultural Trauma and Collective Identity, University of California Press, CA Danziger, K. (1985) The methodological imperative in psychology. Philosophy of the Social Sciences, 15, 1-13 Freud, S. (1918) The Complete Introductionary Lectures on Psychoanalsis, Alden Press, Oxford Hase, S. (2000) ‘Mixing methodologies in research’, NCVER conference, Coffs Harbour, April. Koch, S. (1963) Psychology: A Study Of a Science, (Koch, S. (Ed.). (1959-1963), McGraw-Hill, New York Kuhn, T. S. (1962) The structure of scientific revolutions. University of Chicago Press, Chicago Overton, W. F. (2012) Paradigms in Theory Construction, (Eds L’Abate, L.) Springer; US. Silverman, D. (1993) â€Å"Beginning Research†. Interpreting Qualitative Data. Methods for Analysing Talk, Text and Interaction, Sage Publications, Londres Strauss, A. L. Corbin, J. M. (1998) Basics of qualitative research: techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory, Sage Publications, US Waitzkin, H. (1990) On Studying the Discourse of Medical Encounters, Medical Care. 28:6, 473-487

The Joy Luck Club and The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts :: The Woman Warrior

The Joy Luck Club and The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts Amy Tan’s novel, The Joy Luck Club describes the lives of first and second generation Chinese families, particularly mothers and daughters. Surprisingly The Joy Luck Club and, The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts are very similar. They both talk of mothers and daughters in these books and try to find themselves culturally. Among the barriers that must be overcome are those of language, beliefs and customs. The novel The Joy luck club starts with a story that right away suggests the importance of family and language. It is the tale of a hopeful young woman traveling from China to America to start a new life. She carries with her a swan, which she hopes to present to her American daughter someday. The language barrier is exposed when the woman’s good wishes for her future child are defined by the idea that this daughter will never know the hardships endured by her mother because she will be born in America and will "speak only perfect American English" (Tan 18). Though, things do not turn out exactly as planned for the young woman. Her lovely swan is confiscated by customs officials, and her treasured daughter, now an adult, does indeed speak only English and cannot understand her mother at all. Without a common language, â€Å"the expected loving link between mother and daughter is broken. Communication becomes impossible.† (Kim 37) This story sets the stage for conflict between the Chinese mothers and their American daughters. The issue of the language barrier is a constant theme in both The Joy Luck Club and The Woman Warrior. The English language plays a major role in assimilating the new world. For Tan, there is a conflict between Chinese and English, in her real life and in her story. Tan herself stopped speaking Chinese at age five. Tan’s mother, Daisy, however, speaks "in a combination of English and Mandarin" (Cliff notes 6). Tan was taunted in high school for her mother’s heavy Shanghai accent (Cliff notes 6). Because Daisy never became fluent in English, the language problem only escalated between the two women. (Cliff notes 6) Tan expresses this stress in her novel with the character Jing-mei. Jing-mei admits that she has trouble understanding her mother’s meaning. "See daughters who grow impatient when their mothers talk in Chinese, who think they are stupid when t hey explain things in fractured English" (Tan 40).

Most common learning disabilities are in reading

The most common acquisition disablements are in reading. Children with larning disablements besides have jobs with attending, memory, and behavioural jobs as a consequence of defeat. The term â€Å" learning disablements † covers a combination of possible causes, symptoms, interventions, and results. What is a larning disablement? With at least 12 definitions that appear in professional literature, there is no exact definition. Most experts agree that the acquisition disabled have troubles with academic accomplishment and advancement and that disagreement exist between a individual ‘s potency for larning and what he really learns. Learning jobs are non due to environmental disadvantages, mental deceleration, or emotional perturbation Dyslexia is the most recognizable term in the field of larning disablements. It is typically associated with a kid ‘s inability to larn to read. There is much involvement in how to handle dyslexia through placing specific patterns and techniques for developing and bettering the reading accomplishments of kids. A common misconception with the term is that parents and others may believe that dyslexia is a cause for a kid ‘s trouble acquisition to read and are incognizant of the existent significance of the term. Dyslexia is a descriptive term, which means damage in the ability to read. Lending to the misunderstanding of the term dyslexia, are recent media studies about dyslexia and about research workers who are get downing to place anatomical and chemical differences in the encephalons of good and hapless readers When reading the article about Jeffrey H. Gallet was really animating to me because what he had to get the better of while being in school and non cognizing that he was populating with dyslexia bulk of his grownup life. Therefore going a successful justice makes me desire to endeavor even further in my instruction way. I was diagnosed tardily in college of holding dyslexia, affected my surveies in the extent that I ab initio picked subjects non suited to my acquisition demands. For illustration I struggle with foreign linguistic communication and Science even though I excelled in topics I thought would give me the most jobs such as English and History. This was n't the first of my jobs. It foremost started in First grade when I was introduced to reading and composing. That is when my parents were told that I was holding trouble and was unable to larn Phonics. I was ne'er told of my job from my parents or instructors. I was merely past through in the educational system. I ever got by with B ‘s, C ‘s and D ‘s. I was ever placed in particular instruction category. At that clip no one knew what was incorrect with me. Why could I non read or compose like the remainder of the pupils. I ‘m positive that holding been diagnosed with dyslexia affected my overall public presentation if I would hold had been diagnosed sooner I feel that my academic public presentation could hold improved over the old ages. By holding dyslexia I feel that instructors may be peculiarly confused by the pupil whose consistent underachievement seems due to what may look like sloppiness or deficiency of attempt. These kids can be made to experience really different from their equals merely because they may be unable to follow simple instructions, which for others seem easy. It is a category instructor ‘s duty to supply an atmosphere conducive to larning for all students within their category. Class instructors need to hold an apprehension of the jobs that the dyslexic kid may hold within the schoolroom state of affairs. Hopefully, with this cognition, a great trade of misinterpretation of a kid ‘s behaviour can be prevented. In a positive and encouraging environment, a dyslexic kid will see the feeling of success and self-value. Of peculiar importance is an apprehension of the jobs that hapless auditory short term memory can do, in footings of retaining input from the instructor. Examples of hapless audile short term memory can be a trouble in retrieving the sounds in spoken words long plenty to fit these, in sequence, with letters for spelling. Often kids with hapless audile short term memory can non retrieve even a short list of instructions. In decision to be able to learn, every bit far as possible, harmonizing to each kid ‘s educational demands, it is indispensable to see him or her as a whole individual, complete with single strengths and failings. An apprehension of the student ‘s specific troubles, and how they may impact the pupil ‘s schoolroom public presentation, can enable the instructor to follow learning methods and schemes to assist the dyslexic kid to be successfully integrated into the schoolroom environment. Dyslexics have much strength: unwritten accomplishments, comprehension, good ocular spacial awareness/artistic abilities. More and more dyslexic kids could go gifted and talented members of our schools if we worked non merely with their specific countries of trouble, but besides their specific countries of strengths from an early age. To make this we have to allow travel of antique point of views that a dyslexic kid must first neglect in order to be identified. These are the kids of our hereafter and they have a right to assist and back up before they develop the awful sense of failure which is so insidious. Class instructors covering with dyslexic kids need to be flexible in their attack, so that they can, every bit far as possible, happen a method that suits the student, instead than anticipating that all students will larn in the same manner. Above all, there must be an apprehension from all who teach them, that they may hold many endowments and accomplishments. Their abilities must non be measured strictly on the footing of their troubles in geting literacy accomplishments. Dyslexic kids, like all kids, thrive on challenges and success

Evaluate factors that influenced the effectiveness of each interaction Essay

In this piece of coursework I will be analysing and evaluating the factors that influence the effectiveness of each interaction in relation to the one to one set at a GP’s for a patient that has really bad back pains and is complaining about how sharp the pain is. I based the one to one interaction on a patient with back problems and they’ve come to the GP’s for something to be given to them. I thought of this because it’s something I went through and I thought it would be nice to let people know what process I went through and how hard it was. The first factor, I thought that influenced the one to one interaction was the patient and doctor taking turns while talking and not interrupting. Turn taking is a major factor that involves our everyday lifestyle and it’s helpful because you know you will get a turn at having your own say. Turn taking helps out a lot especially if you are with younger children or at a GP. For example, the patient came to her doctor and she told her doctor what was wrong with her and how much she’s in pain, the doctor listened to her while she was talking and didn’t ask questions until she finished talking then, the doctor answered all her questions and asked her own questions trying to figure out what was wrong about that patient and what actions will need to be taken for the patient to feel better. Towards the end the doctor referred the patient to her local hospital for an x-ray to see what’s going on. What’s good about turn taking is that everyone listens to each other and you don’t get interrupted also you know you’ll have enough time to talk while others have a chance to think about questions to ask you. The second factor I realised that influenced the one to one interaction was listening. Listening is letting people talk and you concentrating on just what they are saying, listening is a very important communication skill because if you don’t listen you may misunderstand something which may leads you to thinking differently and feeling insecure. Read more: Describe factors which may influence children’s development essay Listening was one factor that influenced the one to one interaction because if one of us didn’t listen while the other person was talking we may have not heard what they were saying or concentrated enough to understand what they were saying which can lead to giving wrong answers which could be a problem to the persons health that’s why when others are talking you always have to listen. For example, in the one to one interaction Emily was my partner and she helped me concentrate listening to  her because little things distract me easily so I had to make sure I listened to her also, we had our script which was used as a prop if we missed out something we carried on listening to each other while looking at what was said to not give the wrong answer. We listened to each other because we knew how important listening is and we were successful at getting through the one to one interaction without not knowing what was going on because we listened to each other. The third factor that also had an influence on the one to one interaction was respect towards each other. Respecting each other shows you give them pride and you are happy about what they are saying or doing also, respect comes from learning to care about people from older ages because we have to respect people to get along with life if we don’t respect then there could be consequences. Respect is very important because we all have to respect everyone no matter what their race, gender, age or features are we have to because we live in a society that moves with respect. For example, if we didn’t respect the army that looks after the country for losing their lives to make the world a much happier place and for us to be safe then that will be a major consequence because what’s the point of those people dying for us if we can’t have a little respect for them. The reason why I thought respect had a influence in the one to one interaction was because if we didnà ¢â‚¬â„¢t respect each other we wouldn’t have been able to understand each other and we wouldn’t have been able to do the doctor and patient script because a doctor always has to respect their patients no matter what happens they have to so does the patient too. An example of this would be, when the patient walked into the room I felt the respect from the patient by the way they answered me and facial expressions. This had a big impact on the interaction because it made it less awkward to talk with the patient and not only was the patient comfortable with asking questions to do with her illness but as a doctor being able to have enough respect from a patient to ask them what areas of the back hurts and being able to have a look at the patients back to check what’s wrong. The last factor that had an influence on the interaction was how professional I was. Being professional can be difficult because if you’ve always been in an environment that’s unprofessional and you don’t know where to use what language that can be an issue. So being professional was key in this interaction because I was a person that had a reputation,  that had power to help people and look after them. If I didn’t act professional the patient could have not taken me serious but I did. The reason why being professional was an influence in the interaction because I realised the more professional you are no matter where you are you will always be looked up to and that’s why I thought it was an influence because it made the patient feel secure with me, it made the patient understand no matter what happens I will always be supporting the patient which would make both of us happy. For example, the minute the patient knocked on the door I dropped everything I was doing and stood up and shock the hand then I made the patient feel welcomed and asked how they were then they started explaining what the problem was and the actions I was doing showed I was professional.

Antonin Scalia essays

Antonin Scalia essays Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was born on March 11, 1936 in Trenton, New Jersey to a Sicilian immigrant father and an Italian-American mother and was raised in Queens. He attended Catholic schools in New York City as a child and teen. Scalia then attended Georgetown University, spending his junior year at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland, and graduated at the top of his class with an A.B. (Sorry, I dont know what that means) in 1957. He also attended Harvard, serving as the editor for Law Review. Scalia graduated from Harvard in 1960. On September 10, 1960, Scalia married Maureen McCarthy, and the two went to go live in Cleveland, Ohio. While in Cleveland, Scalia was admitted to the Ohio Bar and worked for the law firm of Jones, Day, Cockley, and Reavis until 1967. The Scalias then moved to Virginia, and he was admitted to the Virginia Bar in 1970. While In Virginia, Scalia taught law at the Virginia Law School until 1974. In 1971, Scalia became General Counsel of the Office of Telecommunications Policy for the White House, and from 1972 to 1974, he was the chairman of the Administrative Conference of the US. Scalia was then appointed the assistant attorney general of the Office of Legal Counsel for the Department of Justice. In 1977, Scalia returned to teaching after 6 months serving as the resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in DC. Him and his family picked up and moved again to Chicago, Illinois. While In Chicago, Scalia taught at the University of Chicagos law school (he was also a visiting professor of law at his alma mater, Georgetown University, and also at Stanford University during that time) until President Ronald Reagan appointed him to the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit in 1982. Scalia took his oath of office on August 17 of that year. Four years after Scalia began working at the Court of Appeals, President Reagan then chose him to be an a ...

How to Create The Go-To Content Hub In Your Niche [PODCAST]

How to Create The Go-To Content Hub In Your Niche [PODCAST] Do you want to be known as the one-stop resource for just about everything pertaining to your niche? If you have a content hub, you can be just that. Today we are talking to Krista Wiltbank, the head of social media and the blog at GetResponse, an all-in-one online marketing platform. She has launched a content hub centered on marketing automation. She’s going to talk to us about what a hub is and how it differs from a blog, how to launch your own content hub, and how to maintain the hub once it’s launched. You’re not going to want to miss this episode! Information about GetResponse and what Krista does there. What a content hub is and an example of one that many listeners will recognize. Why a content hub is important and what type of information it includes. Factors that make a content hub launch a success. The process that Krista used to determine what needed to be included on the GetResponse content hub. A step-by-step approach to adding pieces of content to the hub, where to put it, and how to stay organized. How helps Krista and her team promote their content on social media. Tips for promoting webinars and other events. Thoughts on promoting infographics and how to optimize infographics for different platforms. How Krista leverages influencers and cultivates relationships that aid in content creation. The goals behind creating a content hub and the achievements that GetResponse has reached. Krista’s best advice for getting a content hub started. Links: Krista Wiltbank GetResponse Marketing Hub If you liked today’s show, please subscribe on iTunes to The Actionable Content Marketing Podcast! The podcast is also available on SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Quotes by Krista: â€Å"A content hub is important because you are helping to broaden the educational aspect of that topic and bring in more content about the topic for general education purposes.† â€Å"We really wanted to bring all sorts of thought leadership behind marketing automation together under our roof.† â€Å"Plan a lot. Planning will take a very, very long time. Expect that from the beginning.†

How Culture Affects the Spread Of HIV In the United States Essay

How Culture Affects the Spread Of HIV In the United States - Essay Example It is estimated that over 1 million individuals are living with the virus; despite the aggressive prevention and education efforts that are underway to try and curb the spread of this virus. The socio-cultural norms that surround most communities need to be addressed so as to ensure that every individual is well-versed on the issue (Organista 43). This paper will examine the extent to which culture is affecting the spread of this virus, and what is being done to ensure that its spread is curbed before it is too late for all those affected or infected. Issue of concern There is a saying that arises whenever there is the mention of the HIV virus that goes; one is either infected or affected by this strain of infection. It is true to assume that one can be close to someone that has acquired the virus, or one could also be a victim. Among the Latino and African American communities, the spread of the virus is said to be higher than that experienced in other communities in the U.S. This i s especially among the young people who are constantly engaging in risky sexual activities (Organista 52). The unawareness of their status could be one of the main reasons why the spread is much higher in these communities. The spread of this virus is on the rise due to a range of factors, for example; denial, lack of proper medical care, poverty, and even stigma. All these are factors that restrict the prevention efforts aimed at addressing the scourge. Culture, in most ethnic minority groups, plays a major role in the response of the HIV strain among individuals. The diversity that most people of ethnic groups exhibit makes it harder for prevention efforts to have a foothold in most ethnic communities (Dayer-Berenson 76). It is this diversity that makes them engage in behavioral risk factors that differ, hence; increasing the possibility of acquiring the virus. The attitude behind sex and sexual activity among ethnic minority groups is probably one of the main reasons that may lea d to the progression of the virus. The concept surrounding sex and traditional roles in these communities makes the prevention of HIV a complicated topic in countless households. Factors of the problem The problem involved with culture is the fact that people are afraid of talking about sex. This is with either their partners, families, or even their children. In many cases, it is considered as being embarrassing to all the parties involved. This makes it harder for young men and women to understand the importance of communication when it comes to sexual activity with their partners as they grow up, which only works to increase the prevalence rate among these communities (Ray 118). In some instances, the perception that a ‘good’ woman is not supposed to know about sex is the essence that surrounds most homes. Women are, therefore, reduced to remaining ignorant when it comes to sex and their sexuality, which increases the dangers that this virus plays in their lives. Cul ture also plays a vital role in the traditional roles of gender in the U.S. In some minority ethnic groups, for example; the Latino, the men are supposed to be highly sexual individuals. To most of them, abstaining from engaging in sexual activity is an impossible task, and according to some, may even be unhealthy. Such attitudes lead to double standards among these groups, which then allow men to stray from their marriages. In other instances, the role of the man is