MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'discrimination'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 01:53:11 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5096361&cid=t_105198_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F08%2F04%2Fpolicy-implications-of-implicit-social-cognition%2F Situationist Contributor Brian Nosek and Rachel Riskind recently posted their paper, “Policy Implications of Implicit Social Cognition” on SSRN.  Here is the abstract. * * * Basic research in implicit social cognition demonstrates that thoughts and feelings outside of conscious awareness or conscious control can influence perception, judgment and action. Implicit measures reveal that people possess implicit attitudes and stereotypes about social groups that are often distinct from their explicitly endorsed beliefs and values. The evidence that behavior can be influenced by implicit social cognition contrasts with social policies that implicitly or explicitly assume that people know and control the causes of their behavior. We consider the present state of evidence for implicit... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5096361 Thu, 04 Aug 2011 04:01:10 +0100 5096361 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5096209&cid=t_105198_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Feven-with-insurance-childbirth-is-an-expensive-undertaking%2F2011.08.03 Childbirth hospital costs these days aren’t cheap. Some studies suggest the cost of raising a child exceeds $200,000, not including education expenses.   Most insurance companies charge women of childbearing age more for their insurance because the actuarial tables say so.  Mrs  Happy and I now have a 3 month old Zachary in our wings.  He is a cute little peanut.  His two brothers, Marty and Cooper adore him. Forty-two days after his April 21st, 2011 delivery, we still had not received our explanation of benefits from Blue Cross Blue Shield for the midwife charge.  I had previously received a statement from them saying the charge was under review.  Perhaps they believed that delivering Zachary was not medically necessary.  I can’t explain it. When I called to ask them w... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5096209 Wed, 03 Aug 2011 18:00:00 +0100 5096209 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5057763&cid=t_105198_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F07%2F23%2Fsallie-mae-markel-and-dewar-discriminate-against-people-with-mental-illness%2F Sometimes you just have to shake your head — the more things change, the more they stay the same. It can really be depressing to see how, 3 years after the federal mental health parity act was passed, the company known primarily for underwriting students loans — Sallie Mae — is discriminating against people with a mental illness. It’s doing so through one of its myriad of products called tuition refund insurance, something that allows you to reclaim up to 100 percent of your tuition if an illness strikes you while you’re in school. But not just any illness — it has to be a physical illness. If a mental illness strikes you, you will only get 75 percent of your tuition returned. There’s a silver lining on this cloud… suggesting change may be fo... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5057763 Sat, 23 Jul 2011 12:42:04 +0100 5057763 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5107805&cid=t_105198_133_f&fid=35084&url=https%3A%2F%2Fballastexistenz.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F07%2F07%2Fthank-goodness-for-that-instinct%2F That instinct was back again this week. I’m pretty sure I’ve written of it before. Despite terrible conscious body awareness, this instinct has popped up to save me more than once. It tells me “There’s something wrong with your body. If you don’t find a way to detect and treat it, you could die or end up in the hospital.” It sounds ominous but it’s not a panicked “OMG I’m going to die AAAAAAACK!!!!”, it’s more like a calm but firm realization. In the past, it has warned me of things like organ failure, untreated bronchiectasis (treated it’s only a little more dangerous than asthma, untreated it can kill you), and the beginnings of going septic. And this week it popped up two or three times (seemed like twice, but the ... Ballastexistenz blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5107805 Thu, 07 Jul 2011 19:00:10 +0100 5107805 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4952800&cid=t_105198_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FofDEWKTgXJc%2F By Walter OlsonIn today’s decision in Wal-Mart v. Dukes, the Supreme Court unanimously found that the Ninth Circuit had jumped the gun in certifying what would have been one of the largest class actions in history, a job-bias action against the giant retailer on behalf of female employees. A five-justice majority led by Justice Scalia found that the plaintiffs had clearly not met the requirements needed to have the case certified for class treatment; four dissenters led by Justice Ginsburg would have sent the case back for more consideration. While some press commentary simplistically treated this case as a “Which Side Are You On” parable of workplace sexism, both the majority and the dissent spend much time grappling with more lawyerly issues specific to class actions a... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4952800 Mon, 20 Jun 2011 16:57:44 +0100 4952800 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4902690&cid=t_105198_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FiilDc3sIUbE%2F AstraZeneca will pay $250,000 to 124 women who were subjected to pay discrimination while working at an office in Wayne, Pennsylvania, according to the US Department of Labor, which filed a lawsuit last year alleging the drugmaker discriminated against female sales reps by paying them salaries that were, on average, $1,700 less than their male counterparts. The department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs conducted a scheduled compliance review of the business center in 2002 and found that AstraZeneca had violated Executive Order 11246 by failing to meet its obligations as a federal contractor to ensure employees were paid fairly without regard to sex, race, color, religion and national origin (read the lawsuit). AstraZeneca holds a contract valued at more than $2 bil... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4902690 Mon, 06 Jun 2011 21:07:59 +0100 4902690 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4872480&cid=t_105198_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F4QhGY2Ul8hM%2F A class action law suit alleging that Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals discriminated against female employees has now been expanded to include female sales reps and all women in the Bayer HealthCare Consumer Care unit, two groups of employees who were not originally part of a discrimination complaint filed two months ago The initial lawsuit, filed by six current and former Bayer employees, charges a pattern of discrimination in pay, promotions, and the treatment of pregnant women and mothers. An amended complaint filed yesterday says sales reps were paid less but not promoted as often as men in similar jobs, while women in consumer care were sexually harassed by execs but the drugmaker ignored the problem. Such charges have emerged in many workplaces, but recently allegations of sex discr... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4872480 Thu, 26 May 2011 12:40:48 +0100 4872480 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4847955&cid=t_105198_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fsurgeons-who-refuse-to-treat-obese-women-liability-containment-or-discrimination%2F2011.05.20 In a nation with 93 million obese people, a few ob-gyn doctors in South Florida now refuse to see otherwise healthy women solely because they are overweight. Fifteen obstetrics-gynecology practices out of 105 polled by the Sun Sentinel said they have set weight cut-offs for new patients starting at 200 pounds or based on measures of obesity — and turn down women who are heavier. Some of the doctors said the main reason was their exam tables or other equipment can’t handle people over a certain weight. But at least six said they were trying to avoid obese patients because they have a higher risk of complications. Source: visiontoamerica.org/719/report-doctors-refusing-to-treat-overweight-patients/ While I have not specifically “refused to treat” obese patients, I have in a few cas... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4847955 Fri, 20 May 2011 22:00:14 +0100 4847955 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4742472&cid=t_105198_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F04%2F22%2Funconscious-racial-attitudes%2F This article is the introduction to a law review symposium on unconscious racism and social science and statistical evidence of bias as bases for race discrimination claims, focusing concretely on discrimination in employment and housing. The article starts with an example of unconscious racism in the bail-setting court in Philadelphia. Two drunk-driving cases about a week apart were identical in all respects except the races of the defendants, but the judge, who was not an overt or self-perceived racist, showed empathy to the white drunk driver while his reaction to the black one was dominated by fear. Unconscious racism specifically, and the biases and motivations of alleged discriminators in general, were not of much interest in civil rights law or litigation until the Supreme Court beg... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4742472 Fri, 22 Apr 2011 04:01:57 +0100 4742472 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4693504&cid=t_105198_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F21CAXYYz48I%2F After months of overseeing a series of controversial moves at the FDA press office, Beth Martino has resigned to take a job with the American Health Care Association as a public affairs advisor. Her departure caps a brief, but tumultuous reign for the 31-year-old former press aide to Kathleen Sebelius, the former Kansas governor who is now Department of Human Health & Services secretary. As much as she attempted to manage the news, Martino succeeded in making news herself. In December, her office purged a few senior specialists who are 50 years and older. Three staffers were let go and a fourth, career employee Donna Avallone, 62, was stripped of her title and reassigned by Carl Chitwood, a 37-year-old Martino appointee, although he later denied forcing anyone out of a job (back story... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4693504 Fri, 08 Apr 2011 13:59:23 +0100 4693504 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4653385&cid=t_105198_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F03%2F30%2Fthe-situational-effects-of-iqbal%2F This article examines the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129 S. Ct. 1937 (2009) from a social-psychological perspective, and empirically studies Iqbal’s disparate effect on claims of race discrimination. In Twombly and then Iqbal, the Court recast Rule 8 into a plausibility standard. Under Iqbal, federal judges must evaluate whether each complaint contains sufficient factual matter “to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” When doing so, Iqbal requires judges to draw on their “judicial experience and common sense.” Courts apply Iqbal at the pleading stage, before evidence has been presented, when judging the plausibility of all claims, including claims of discrimination by members of stereotyped groups. Decades of social-psychological researc... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4653385 Wed, 30 Mar 2011 04:01:14 +0100 4653385 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4653312&cid=t_105198_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FBu-siNuvTgo%2F By George Scoville Shifting America's focus away from individual liberty is waging war on the future, not winning it. U.N. "authorization" is the Emperor's new fig leaf for war with Libya. Why are we fighting Mexico's drug war? David Boaz remembers Geraldine Ferraro, who helped advance the war against gender discrimination in politics. Chris Preble eulogizes the Weinberger/Powell doctrine against the backdrop of the Libyan war: Tuesday Links is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4653312 Tue, 29 Mar 2011 15:32:20 +0100 4653312 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4615425&cid=t_105198_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FVTA_6SZzBh8%2F Six current and former Bayer employees have filed a lawsuit against the drugmaker and its US unit over charges they suffered gender discrimination, denial of equal pay and promotions, and retaliation. And they are seeking $100 million in damages and class-action status. They are represented by the same firm that filed suit against Novartis and resulted in a $152 million over similar charges (back story). The lawsuit alleges a pattern discrimination in pay, promotions, and the treatment of pregnant women and mothers. Specifically, they charge Bayer pays women less than their male counterparts; deny promotions to better and higher paying jobs; limits employment opportunities to lower and less desirable job classifications, and exposes them to different treatment and a hostile work environmen... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4615425 Mon, 21 Mar 2011 16:38:45 +0100 4615425 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4566148&cid=t_105198_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F03%2F10%2Fthe-rhetorical-situation-of-law-and-the-situation-of-rhetoric%2F This article will describe the shift in the Supreme Court’s rhetoric over time, with an eye toward trying to understand why this shift has occurred and what the implications of this shift are for those who have suffered discrimination and wish to pursue their rights in court. In addition, this article will consider non-legal sources to determine whether such a shift is warranted by a decrease in race and gender discrimination in American society. * * * Download the paper for free here. Related Situationist posts: Responding to Subtle Racial Harassment “What Are the Legal Implications of Implicit Biases?,” “Confronting the Backlash against Implicit Bias,” “The Situation of Situation in Employment Discrimination Law – Abstract.” Patrick Shin at Harvard Law School Liabil... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4566148 Thu, 10 Mar 2011 04:01:10 +0100 4566148 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4549938&cid=t_105198_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FTQEeCNPfLVo%2F That’s the contention made by Sylvio Baltodano, a former Merck sales administration and compliance manager who worked outside San Juan, Puerto, and claims he was fired because non-Hispanics were held to higher standards than their Hispanic counterparts. He was fired in October 2006 and, subsequently, filed a lawsuit, which was just reinstated by a federal appeals court. What happened? Having bounced around Central America and Miami for Merck before landing in Puerto Rico in 2003, Baltodano and another non-Hispanice were told by a supervisor that they “would have to work harder than their Puerto Rican co-workers in order to advance,” according to the ruling. One example offered: he later learned that employees from Puerto Rico were given time off to complete their certific... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4549938 Fri, 04 Mar 2011 14:28:51 +0100 4549938 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4507283&cid=t_105198_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fon-health-and-discrimination-in-hiring%2F2011.02.22 From a [recent] article in the New York Times on hiring discrimination against people who smoke: “There is nothing unique about smoking,” said Lewis Maltby, president of the Workrights Institute, who has lobbied vigorously against the practice. “The number of things that we all do privately that have negative impact on our health is endless. If it’s not smoking, it’s beer. If it’s not beer, it’s cheeseburgers. And what about your sex life?” I think he’s right, more or less, in a slippery-slope sort of way, seriously. *This blog post was originally published at Medical Lessons* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4507283 Tue, 22 Feb 2011 14:00:45 +0100 4507283 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4495254&cid=t_105198_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F02%2F19%2Fresponding-to-subtle-racial-harassment%2F This article traces the development of racial harassment jurisprudence, explaining the development of the traditional model, which does not recognize subtle bias. It concludes with an analysis of an alternative jurisprudential model that “sees” subtle racism. * * * Download the article for free here. Related Situationist posts: “What Are the Legal Implications of Implicit Biases?,” “Confronting the Backlash against Implicit Bias,” and “The Situation of Situation in Employment Discrimination Law – Abstract.” (Source: The Situationist) The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4495254 Sat, 19 Feb 2011 04:01:27 +0100 4495254 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4489972&cid=t_105198_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F-DyuPn_7pBM%2F Yet another personnel problem is weighing down the FDA media office. This time, the FDA Inspector General is investigating hiring practices after Carl Chitwood, the recently appointed director of web communications, resigned amid allegations that he hired a former colleague for an FDA job, even though other individuals were better qualified for the position. The tumult may eventually envelope Beth Martino, the embattled associate commissioner for external affairs, since she approved the hiring, according to the AssurX blog. In response to questions, Meghan Scott, the FDA deputy director for external affairs, would only write that: “I am unable to comment on these personnel matters, as the investigation into Carl Chitwood is ongoing.” The recent hire was reportedly tapped for a ... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4489972 Thu, 17 Feb 2011 17:03:18 +0100 4489972 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4455307&cid=t_105198_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F02%2F09%2Fnegotiating-the-situation%2F Lu-in Wang,  has posted an intriguing situationist paper, titled “Negotiating the Situation: The Reasonable Person in Context ” (forthcoming Lewis & Clark Law Review, Vol. 14, p. 1285, 2010) on SSRN.  Here’s the abstract. * * * This Essay argues that our understanding of the reasonable person in economic transactions should take into account an individual’s race, gender, or other group-based identity characteristics – not necessarily because persons differ on account of those characteristics, but because of how those characteristics influence the situations a person must negotiate. That is, individuals’ social identities constitute features not just of themselves, but also of the situations they inhabit. In economic transactions that involve social interac... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4455307 Wed, 09 Feb 2011 04:12:00 +0100 4455307 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4441991&cid=t_105198_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F02%2F06%2Fpatrick-shin-at-harvard-law-school%2F On Tuesday, the HLS Student Association for Law and Mind Sciences (SALMS) is hosting a talk by Suffolk Law professor Patrick Shin entitled “Unconscious Bias and the Legal Concept of Discrimination.” Professor Shin is a professor of law at Suffolk University Law School. He conducts research into the meaning and value of diversity in antidiscrimination law. He has applied psychology to real-world problems of employment discrimination law. Professor Shin will be speaking in Austin East from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. Free burritos will be provided! For more information, e-mail salms@law.harvard.edu. (Source: The Situationist) The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4441991 Sun, 06 Feb 2011 19:12:52 +0100 4441991 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4399617&cid=t_105198_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F01%2F26%2Fmotherhood-and-depression-an-interview-with-tracy-thompson%2F Today’s interview is with Tracy Thompson, the author of “The Beast: A Journey Through Depression” and “The Ghost in the House: Motherhood, Raising Children, and Struggling with Depression.” She has won numerous mental health awards, including one from NAMI for her “lasting contributions to mental health issues.” Question: The first two sentences of your book are brilliant: “Motherhood and depression are two countries with a long common border. The terrain is chilly and inhospitable, and when mothers speak of it at all, it is usually in guarded terms, or in euphemisms.” You’re obviously on my team of those moms fighting against the stigma of mental illness. But even I shy away at times — like when someone will joke about ... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4399617 Wed, 26 Jan 2011 16:49:36 +0100 4399617 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4343207&cid=t_105198_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F01%2F13%2Fthe-situation-of-retail-discrimination%2F Here is another segment from John Quinones’s excellent ABC 20/20 series titled “What Would You Do?” — a series that, in essence, conducts situationist experiments through hidden-camera scenarios. This episode asks, “How would you respond to blatant retail discrimination?“ * * * * * * To review a sample of related Situationist posts, see “Racial Prejudice in Real Estate Markets,” “Journalists as Social Psychologists & Social Psychologists as Entertainers,” “Solomon Asch’s Famous Compliance Experiment,” “The Situation of Bullying,” “Jane Elliot’s Situationist Pedagogy,”  “Black History is Now,” “The Toll of Discrimination on Black Women,” “The Cognitive Costs of Interracial Interactions,... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4343207 Thu, 13 Jan 2011 13:51:48 +0100 4343207 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4305037&cid=t_105198_133_f&fid=37107&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Faspiewebnet%2F%7E3%2FwK9PcCWBzrU%2F Reports are coming forth that Apple Computers is being sued for discriminating against a disabled employee at one of their stores.  According to a law suit filed in federal court the employee needed to take a leave of absence due to a nervous disorder and when returning to the Apple store she was assigned to [...] (Source: AspieWeb.net) AspieWeb.net blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4305037 Mon, 03 Jan 2011 03:57:20 +0100 4305037 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4237847&cid=t_105198_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F12%2Fblogscan-fda-dont-need-no-smart-old.html We have posted numerous times about the requirement for seasoned expertise (the kind that only comes with age) in healthcare leadership.FDA, CDC and other HHS agencies may have different ideas:http://gooznews.com/?p=2194Age Purge in FDA Press Office?December 5, 2010By GoozNewsFDA Webview (subscription required) reports that the new FDA associate commissioner for external affairs, Beth Martino, 31, a former Kansas aide to HHS secretary Kathleen Sebelius, has conducted a purge of senior specialists, all aged over 50, in her office and in the press office. The abrupt removals were made to make room for younger people closer to Martino’s own age, the trade journal reports. “She’s uncomfortable with people who know more than she does,” a source told FDA Webview.Three of the displaced st... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4237847 Tue, 07 Dec 2010 23:21:00 +0100 4237847 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4233421&cid=t_105198_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FmgKGXEvVg-M%2F Oh, to be young. And that appears to be a requirement to work in the FDA press office, at least according to FDA Webview, which reports that FDA associate commish for external affairs Beth Martino, who is a 31-year-old former Kansas aide to HHS secretary Kathleen Sebelius, is purging senior specialists who are 50 and older. The moves were described as abrupt and undertaken to make room for younger people closer to her age. Three of those let go: Elaine Gansz Bobo, 52, Dick Thompson, 65, and Ira Allen, 62, who were told they could be terminated as probationary hires for “incompetence” or resign, FDA Webview writes. Bobo and Allen had to immediately clean out their desks and were escorted off the premises, while Thompson, a former Time magazine Washington bureau science editor and high-... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4233421 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 14:45:35 +0100 4233421 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4229239&cid=t_105198_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2Fflle7Nkmclw%2F Now This Is Potty Humor: Apparently, a boss in Norway ordered his female office employees to wear special red bracelets while they were menstruating, so he’d have a more accurate record of how often they needed to use the bathroom during work hours. We quit! (via Vitamin G) Post from: BlissTree (Source: Genetics and Health) Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4229239 Fri, 03 Dec 2010 19:00:52 +0100 4229239 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4175680&cid=t_105198_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FT2DFI4g2qIE%2F By Walter OlsonAt Compensation Cafe, Stephanie Thomas explores some of the “nonsensical implications” of a misnamed bill that’s a high Obama administration priority in the lame duck session: Let’s assume that John and Jane have identical characteristics (education, work experience, etc.) except for gender. ABC Company makes offers of employment to John and Jane on the same day, for the same position, for the same starting salary: $45,000. Jane accepts the offer, but John negotiates the salary, and ends up with $50,000. Under the current equal pay laws, there’s no problem; John is earning more because he negotiated and Jane did not. Makes sense, right? Under the Paycheck Fairness Act, ABC Company would be guilty of gender discrimination. Here’s another ex... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4175680 Wed, 17 Nov 2010 15:45:18 +0100 4175680 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4125282&cid=t_105198_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FUb_7GINy_ac%2F Three years ago, Angel Vega-Colon told his supervisor at Wyeth’s plant in Puerto Rico, where he worked as a packaging equipment supervisor, that he would soon return to active status in the US Army Reserve. Around the same time, his bid to become a reliability engineer was rejected and he received a performance improvement plan, or PIP, for his 2006 job review. There was also a dispute about whether he made a comments about the 2007 Virginia Polytechnic Institute shootings that led Wyeth to briefly deny him access to the facility. And so Vega-Colon, who entered Army unit was mobilized in November 2007 and has been on military leave since then, filed a lawsuit against the drugmaker, which is now owned by Pfizer, charging that he suffered discrimination and retaliation based on his mil... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4125282 Mon, 01 Nov 2010 13:19:25 +0100 4125282 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4125010&cid=t_105198_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fprogressive-healthcare-rationing-what-will-it-look-like%2F2010.11.01 In prior posts, DrRich introduced his readers to Ezekiel Emanuel, M.D., Ph.D., brother of Rahm, eminent medical ethicist, and one of the White House’s chief advisers on healthcare policy. Dr. Emanuel was one of the authors of that recent paper in the Annals of Internal Medicine which admonished American physicians that resistance is futile. He has also famously called upon American physicians to abandon the obsolete medical ethics expressed in the Hippocratic Oath. The reason the ideas (and pronouncements) of Dr. Emanuel are important is that he presumably will be a major “decider” in determining who will serve on the GOD panels, and how those panels will operate to advance his (and Mr. Obama’s) program of healthcare reform. So, before we leave Dr. Emanuel to his important duties, ... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4125010 Mon, 01 Nov 2010 12:00:10 +0100 4125010 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4074323&cid=t_105198_133_f&fid=37107&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Faspiewebnet%2F%7E3%2FpQELRKLZz5M%2F While this is not an Autism Advocacy issue its a disability advocacy issue.  A local self advocate was traveling to a self advocate conference and was told by the air line he has to disembark from the plane as he was too disabled to fly according to reports. John Tuitel who markets himself as ‘America’s [...] (Source: AspieWeb.net) AspieWeb.net blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4074323 Thu, 14 Oct 2010 21:37:56 +0100 4074323 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4065613&cid=t_105198_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F7xnycViW3MI%2F John Ziegler says the answer is no, but he believes Abbott Laboratories fired him in February 2006 from his job as a sales rep due to his age. At the time, he was 54 years old and so he subsequently filed a complaint with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which recently filed a lawsuit against the drugmaker. The complaint charges Abbott with “unfairly disciplining” Ziegler and “failing to properly acknowledge his successful sales performance.” And the drugmaker, the lawsuit goes on to claim, ultimately replaced Ziegler “with a less-experienced, less-educated, but much younger (then 34) sales representative who was not subjected to the same discipline and lack of acknowledgement as Ziegler.” We will update you with any reply from Abbott. UPD... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4065613 Wed, 13 Oct 2010 10:51:47 +0100 4065613 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3895890&cid=t_105198_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcovertrationingblog.com%2Fpodpress_trac%2Ffeed%2F876%2F0%2Fobesitydividend.mp3 DrRich has pointed out several times that it is very important to our new healthcare system, as a matter of principle, to be able to discriminate against the obese. The obese are being carefully groomed as a prototype, as a group whose characteristics (ostensibly, their lack of self-discipline, or their sloth, or their selfishness, or whatever other characteristics we can attribute to them to explain how their unsightly enormity differentiates them from us), will justify “special treatment” in order to serve the overriding good of the whole. The obese are a useful target for two reasons. First, their sins against humanity are painfully obvious just by looking at them, so it is impossible for them to escape public scorn by blending in to the population, unlike some less obvious sinners ... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3895890 Mon, 23 Aug 2010 14:00:16 +0100 3895890 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3880845&cid=t_105198_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fs4kbUW4ySfU%2F Some leaders within the Republican Party seem to have fixed on a useful club with which to bludgeon the president and his fellow Democrats — Cordoba House, aka the “Ground Zero” Mosque. Over the weekend, Republican strategist Ed Rollins explained how the party would use the issue in the coming months: ROLLINS: Intellectually, the president may be right, but this is an emotional issue, and people who lost kids, brothers, sisters, fathers, what have you, do not want that mosque in New York, and it’s going to be a big, big issue for Democrats across this country. “Face the Nation” Host Bob SCHIEFFER: So you see it as an issue that’s going to continue? ROLLINS: Absolutely. No question about it. Every candidate — every candidate who’s in t... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3880845 Mon, 16 Aug 2010 18:51:51 +0100 3880845 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3827347&cid=t_105198_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FoIuII9duRl0%2F Two years ago, Wyeth began facing several lawsuits filed by employees at its Pearl River, New York, plant who claimed they suffered discrimination and retaliation. One such lawsuit was rejected by a jury, which decided against Howard Henry, an African-American chemist and production engineer who charged he was demoted, denied promotions and experienced inequitable performance reviews (look here). Now, though, a federal appeals court has overturned the finding on retaliation, although not on racial bias. As a result, Pfizer, which, of course, owns Wyeth, faces a new trial. The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit wrote the district court judge overseeing the trial was wrong to instruct the jury that Henry needed to show the supervisor who allegedly retaliated did so knowing that Henry... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3827347 Thu, 05 Aug 2010 12:58:03 +0100 3827347 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3823129&cid=t_105198_136_f&fid=39026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcarolinemfr.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F08%2Fits-discrimination.html As soon as you start treating people differently because of their health, age, skin color, language, eye color, height, weight, shoe size, pant size, food allergies, eating preferences, ability to use chopsticks or not, career aspirations, job, salary, or whatever, you create discrimination.When you are first diagnosed with cancer, you believe everyone will know that you have cancer as it is tattooed on your forehead for the world to see. They see the word cancer and either:a. Run away - because they might catch cancer cooties or they just don't know how to talk about this.b. Tell you how you can be cured - they know because their neighbor's second cousin's hair stylist's dog groomers, great nephew had a completely different kind of cancer thirty years ago and it cured him.c. Ignore it and... Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3823129 Wed, 04 Aug 2010 17:08:00 +0100 3823129 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3754073&cid=t_105198_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F3mzvkMJOwQA%2F Two months after a federal jury told Novartis to pay $250 million in punitive damages for engaging in a pattern of discrimination against female employees, the drugmaker has agreed to pay as much as $152.5 million to settle the sex discrimination class action lawsuit brought by female sales reps (background). The money will to go to eligible class members - $60 million for back pay and an $40 million for compensatory damages. Other payments will go to plaintiffs and class members who testified in the case. Novartis will spend another $22.5 million over three years to improve personnel practices, and also agreed not to oppose $40 million in fees and expenses for lawyers who represented the sales reps. “The terms of this agreement allow for full compensation of both former and current fema... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3754073 Thu, 15 Jul 2010 01:17:43 +0100 3754073 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3718365&cid=t_105198_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2Fthe-best-places-to-work-arent-always-great-for-women%2F You have a bad day at work, you go to the grocery store, and the latest “100 Best Places To Work” headline mocks you from the magazine rack. You might pick up one of those lists and drool over the companies you wish you worked for, but Joanne Cleaver of BNET’s Insight Blog says to think twice before you hand in your notice and apply to every office on that list. Want proof? Cleaver points out the case of Novartis, the mega- pharmaceutical company that lost a class-action discrimination lawsuit in mid-May for unequal treatment of women, despite being listed as one of Working Mother Magazine’s 100 Best Companies To Work For for the last eleven years. In the lawsuit, the jury found that Novartis paid female salespeople less than male reps and had demoted some of them w... Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3718365 Thu, 01 Jul 2010 22:25:05 +0100 3718365 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3706654&cid=t_105198_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F4UrRkZz_iyg%2F By Neal McCluskeyWhile we’re all shooting off our guns in celebration of good Supreme Court news, Roger has reported the blow to liberty dealt by the Court’s lower-profile CLS v. Martinez decision. I won’t elaborate on whether the Court made the right decision — on that I stand with Roger (and Alito, Roberts, Scalia, and Thomas). I just want to add one thing about the root problem in the CLS case: You can’t have both taxpayer funding of higher education and full freedom. As Ilya Shapiro and I wrote in an April op-ed about the case: It is impossible to reconcile free speech with governmentally compelled support of speech. Just as public colleges cannot choose both which student groups to fund and avoid discrimination, they cannot pay a professor without priv... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3706654 Mon, 28 Jun 2010 18:52:50 +0100 3706654 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3679766&cid=t_105198_93_f&fid=35707&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FHemodynamics%2F%7E3%2FANi20KA73j4%2Feric-balderas-is-free-for-little-while.html Eric Balderas, a Harvard College sophomore studying molecular and cell biology, was recently granted a stay of deportation. Eric was picked up by immigration authorities after trying to use a Harvard ID card to get on a plane. His story is one of many arguments for the DREAM Act, which would enable undocumented young people, brought to the United States as children, to earn citizenship if they met a specific set of conditions (earning a high school diploma, college degree, or serving in the military). This would transform the lives of many members of our society, including some who matter very much to my family and me.Around these parts, Harvard actually has a significant number of students in this situation, in part because it can offer full financial aid to young people who are not citiz... hemodynamics blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3679766 Sun, 20 Jun 2010 13:23:00 +0100 3679766 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3599734&cid=t_105198_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FmKpSwNtRVFs%2F Last week, a federal jury ordered Novartis to pay $250 million in punitive damages and $3.3 million in compensatory damages for discriminating against female employees, who alleged they suffered a pattern of gender discrimination (see this). A dozen women filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of about 5,600 female employees over pay, promotion and pregnancy-related matters. One of those who testified was Raelene Ryan, 41, who worked as a Novartis sales rep from June 2001 to August 2003. She described how the drugmaker schemed to fire her because she expected to be on leave for several months due to an upcoming pregnancy, but argued her dismissal was due to falsifying records (see testimony). An email from her manager to HR, however, states: “As you are aware, she is going to be term... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3599734 Wed, 26 May 2010 13:56:09 +0100 3599734 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3599359&cid=t_105198_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fasg8hAKKiiM%2F By Walter OlsonThe California Department of Fair Employment and Housing has agreed to stop investigating citizens on the theory that their political expression in and of itself constitutes a potential violation of laws against housing discrimination. The concession came in a settlement with Julie Waltz, whom it had dragged through an investigation for publicly opposing the placement of subsidized group homes in and near her Norco, Calif. residence. A news release from the Center for Individual Rights: During the year-long investigation, state investigators told Waltz that her speech violated state fair housing laws, requested that she refrain from her speech activities, and threatened her with prosecution. An investigator also told her that the investigation would end if she removed signs ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3599359 Tue, 25 May 2010 19:12:24 +0100 3599359 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3589042&cid=t_105198_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FBMfqNcP46DQ%2F We know lawyers are supposed to discredit witnesses, but then there is the choice of words that are used to do so. Consider the impression left by Richard Schnadig, who represented Novartis, which this week was told to pay $250 million in punitive damages for engaging in a pattern of discrimination against female employees. The dozen women filed a class action suit over pay, promotion and pregnancy-related matters (see the lawsuit). Given that this was a case about sex discrimination, it might have been advisable to avoid using language that fosters sterotypes. But as The American Lawyer point outs (subscription required), here’s how some of the women who filed suit were characterized in the closing remarks… For instance, Tara Blum testified her manager pressured her not to hav... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3589042 Fri, 21 May 2010 16:15:54 +0100 3589042 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3581844&cid=t_105198_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FY2c__p9bhwk%2F Six years after being hit with an embarassing lawsuit, Novartis was told by a federal jury that it must pay $250 million in punitive damages for engaging in a pattern of discrimination against female employees. The dozen women filed a class action suit over pay, promotion and pregnancy-related matters (see the lawsuit). This comes on top of $3.3 million in compensatory damages awarded earlier this week. Their attorney, David Sanford, says the jury “sent a message to Novartis and all other corporations in America that they cannot continue to get away with the discrimination and the systemic problems that have gone on for so long. That day has come and we’re absolutely delighted.” He had sought $285 million in punitive damages, and came up with that amount by estimating No... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3581844 Wed, 19 May 2010 16:01:26 +0100 3581844 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3573946&cid=t_105198_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FmJff_xT5HiY%2F A federal court jury decided that Novartis engaged in a pattern of discrimination against female employees who filed a class action lawsuit in 2004 over pay, promotion and pregnancy. And so the big drugmake must pay compensatory damages totaling $3.3 million along with punitive damages, which will be decided in a separate hearing. The women have been seeking least $200 million in damages. The lawsuit, which was filed on behalf of about 5,600 current and former female employees, alleged that while working for Novartis Pharmaceuticals, the drugmaker’s US division, they were systematically denied promotions, paid less than their male colleagues and subjected to differential treatment (back story). They also charged their complaints to human resources division were regularly ignored (see... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3573946 Mon, 17 May 2010 20:05:31 +0100 3573946 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3560174&cid=t_105198_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F05%2Fmore-fat-bigots-in-leader-of.html I am amplifying a post by Roy Poses entitled "Why Pretend An Advertising Executive and Chamber of Commerce Leader Are Public Health Experts?".In that post, Dr. Poses noted a lack of relevant professional credentials in executives making profoundly misinformed and indeed cruel statements about the obese:Obesity as a public health problem has been the subject of considerable discussion. So that luminaries from the prestigious Partners Healthcare system and Massachusetts Blue Cross Blue Shield would weigh in on the issue at a public meeting should surprise no one. But see this report by the Boston Herald:When asked about rising health-care costs, Jack Connors - chairman of the Partners chain, which includes Mass. General and Brigham and Women’s hospitals - said yesterday, 'Taking care of yo... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3560174 Wed, 12 May 2010 11:54:00 +0100 3560174 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3556036&cid=t_105198_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F05%2Fmore-fat-bigots-in-leader-of.html I am amplifying a post by Roy Poses entitled "Why Pretend An Advertising Executive and Chamber of Commerce Leader Are Public Health Experts?".In that post, Dr. Poses noted a lack of relevant professional credentials in executives making profoundly misinformed and indeed cruel statements about the obese:Obesity as a public health problem has been the subject of considerable discussion. So that luminaries from the prestigious Partners Healthcare system and Massachusetts Blue Cross Blue Shield would weigh in on the issue at a public meeting should surprise no one. But see this report by the Boston Herald:When asked about rising health-care costs, Jack Connors - chairman of the Partners chain, which includes Mass. General and Brigham and Women’s hospitals - said yesterday, 'Taking care of yo... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3556036 Wed, 12 May 2010 11:54:00 +0100 3556036 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3511604&cid=t_105198_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F04%2F28%2Fliability-for-unconscious-discrimination%2F Patrick Shin recently posted his excellent article, titled “Liability for Unconscious Discrimination? A Thought Experiment in the Theory of Employment Discrimination Law” (forthcoming Hastings Law Journal) on SSRN.  Here’s the abstract. * * * A steadily mounting body of social science research suggests that ascertaining a person’s conscious motives for an action may not always provide a complete explanation of why he did it. The phenomenon of unconscious bias presents a worrisome impediment to the achievement of fair equality in the workplace. There have been numerous deeply insightful articles discussing various aspects of this problem and canvassing its implications for antidiscrimination law. My purpose in this paper is to focus directly on what might be called a mo... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3511604 Wed, 28 Apr 2010 04:01:33 +0100 3511604 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3511528&cid=t_105198_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fd3Ze7kVTUW8%2F By Mark MollerThe Ninth Circuit has issued its long-awaited en banc decision in Dukes v. Wal-Mart, a pathbreaking class action seeking relief from Wal-Mart for alleged gender discrimination on behalf of somewhere between 500,000 and 1.5 million women. The upshot: a 6-5 partial affirmance of one of the most questionable class certification approvals in recent memory. The case is sparking considerable commentary: see here, here, and here, for starters. Cataloguing all the myriad questionable parts of the 135+ page decision, which range from the standard for admitting expert testimony in support of certification, to the permissibility of so-called “issue classes,” to due process restraints on award of class-wide punitive damages, would take a blog post rivaling the length of the N... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3511528 Tue, 27 Apr 2010 21:05:04 +0100 3511528 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3454199&cid=t_105198_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FAAWTYIbFkQc%2F Once again, another working week will soon draw to a close. We are actually finishing out a vacation day and so posting will be abbreviated this morning as we pack our travel gear and hustle one of the short people along the winding road home. Nonetheless, we have located a few interesting items that may have missed your attention. Meanwhile, we hope you have a nice weekend, whatever you do. See you soon and stay in touch… Novartis Reps Say They Were Cheated (Associated Press) Glaxo To Keep Upstate NY Plant, But Close NJ Plant (The Albany Business Review) Celgene Says Stem Cell Therapy Met Safety Goal (Associated Press) photo thx to kossy@finedays flickr (Source: Pharmalot) Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3454199 Fri, 09 Apr 2010 12:15:02 +0100 3454199 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3437926&cid=t_105198_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FqzoLt1bc1pE%2F A class-action lawsuit alleging the drug maker discriminated against thousands of female sales reps is headed to trial this week as 17 current and former sales reps seek at least $200 million in damages for themselves and more than 5,000 colleagues. They allege Novartis subjected them to sexual discrimination in pay, job evaluations, promotional opportunities and pregnancy-related matters, along with sexual harassment and retaliation (back story). The suit, which was filed in 2004, charges women were paid an average of $75 less each month than men (here’s the lawsuit). The allegations also include some rather remarkable remarks made to the women: former senior sales consultant Christine Macarelli, claimed a manager encouraged her to get an abortion; former sales rep Jennifer Ryan Ts... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3437926 Mon, 05 Apr 2010 12:25:08 +0100 3437926 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3412464&cid=t_105198_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F03%2F28%2F5-gifts-of-being-highly-sensitive%2F Today I have the pleasure of interviewing Douglas Eby, M.A./Psychology, who is a writer and researcher on the psychology of creative expression, high ability and personal growth. He is creator of the Talent Development Resources series of sites (including HighlySensitive.org) at http://talentdevelop.com. I know many of you are “highly sensitive” and enjoy articles on that topic, so I am excited to pique his highly-sensitive brain today! Question: If you had to name the top five gifts of being highly sensitive, what would they be? Douglas:  1. Sensory detail One of the prominent “virtues” of high sensitivity is the richness of sensory detail that life provides. The subtle shades of texture in clothing, and foods when cooking, the sounds of music or even traff... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3412464 Sun, 28 Mar 2010 10:10:40 +0100 3412464 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3390989&cid=t_105198_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FL2s9waOHfpA%2F There appears to be yet another reason to scrutinize clinical trials - exclusion of lesbians and gay men from clinical trials in the US, particularly those with sexual function as an end point, according to an analysis that was published in the letters section of The New England Journal of Medicine. A search using the terms “couples,” “erectile dysfunction,” and “hypoactive” (related to hypoactive sexual disorder), yielded 243 studies, of which 37, or 15 percent, had explicit exclusionary language. The results indicated that industry-sponsored trials, multi-region trials (according to census definitions), and Phase III trials were the most likely to exclude lesbians and gay men, according to researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. They al... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3390989 Mon, 22 Mar 2010 16:03:28 +0100 3390989 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3370670&cid=t_105198_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FSvCBfRrfEjI%2F After four years of squabbling, Sanofi-Aventis has agreed to pay $15.4 million to settle a class action lawsuit that accused the drugmaker of underpaying and underpromoting about 4,000 female sales reps in the US. The plaintiffs filed a motion in federal court in New York asking for preliminary approval of the deal on behalf of all US female sales reps. The deal comes shortly after Novartis lost a lawsuit filed by a rep who claimed discrimination over her pregnancy (see here). The agreement includes base pay adjustments for current female employees to “ensure improved access to opportunities for advancement and equitable compensation,” and the value of the $2 million set aside for this purpose could reach nearly $10 million in total additional compensation over the next three y... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3370670 Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:06:45 +0100 3370670 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3354579&cid=t_105198_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FX1smhdVAAws%2F A former Novartis sales rep was awarded more than $579,000 by a federal court jury that decided she suffered retaliation for taking maternity leave covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act. Mary Kate Breeden worked in Virginia for eight years promoting transplant drugs when she was fired in January 2008, after her territory had been reduced as part of an alleged overhaul. Breeden contended the move was discriminatory, partly because she underwent IVF treatments and was under pressure to ensure related medical appointments didn’t interfere with her job (lawsuit and order). Whether this could or should be seen as an isolated incident will likely be a matter of dispute. A class-action lawsuit alleging the drug maker discriminated against thousands of female sales reps is headed to tr... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3354579 Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:43:28 +0100 3354579 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3302681&cid=t_105198_180_f&fid=38610&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.productivity501.com%2Fhow-i-learned-racial-discrimination%2F5461%2F Footsteps pounded the sidewalk behind us.  We turned toward the sound and saw a young man careened around the corner and heading down the small, Boston side street. My wife and I stepped out of the way.  At 25 feet, I noticed he was clutching a woman’s purse to his chest.  His quick glances over his shoulder made it obvious that he was being pursued.  At 20 feet, I realized that everything I was seeing was telling me he had stolen the purse and someone was coming running after him.  At 15 feet, I sized him up to determine if I could stop him.  He didn’t seem to have a weapon, didn’t seem any bigger than me, and his haste would make him easy to delay.  At 10 feet, I decided I could easily stop him by tripping him to let who ever was chasing him catch up. At 5 feet, ... Productivity501 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3302681 Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:40:25 +0100 3302681 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3302572&cid=t_105198_133_f&fid=37107&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aspieweb.net%2Fadoption-agency-discriminate-aspergers%2F As I posted earlier today I had an important meeting with the adoption agency today.  It went as expected, horribly.  The adoption agency has chosen to discriminate against me because I have Aspergers Syndrome.  They have even admitted this to me on the phone, and to my social worker at the hospital.  Because I have [...] (Source: AspieWeb.net) AspieWeb.net blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3302572 Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:30:46 +0100 3302572 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3239753&cid=t_105198_133_f&fid=35090&url=http%3A%2F%2Faspiehomeeducation.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F02%2Fhomeschoolers-excluded-from-laptop.html Another petition:We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to allow home educating families to apply for home access laptop grants.At the moment home-educating families are purposely excluded from the Home Access free laptop scheme for families on low incomes in England. We believe this to be discriminatory against families who strive to bring a nurturing and personal education to their children and at their own cost. Ed Balls said that children without access to the Internet at home are "...at a disadvantage to their peers..." yet is utterly at home leaving a tiny section of society in that very place: at a disadvantage to everyone else. Please make the laptops available to home-educated children too. The current criteria is negligent and exclusive. More here. (Source: Aspie Home-Edu... Aspie Home-Education blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3239753 Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:21:00 +0100 3239753 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3163850&cid=t_105198_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F01%2F12%2Fkrieger-on-the-situation-of-discrimination-in-france%2F Situationist Contributor Linda Hamilton Krieger is the French-American Foundation’s scholar-in-residence at Sciences Po.  She recently appeared on a France24 debate to discuss French and American strategies for fighting discrimination in hiring and education.  You can watch the roughly six-minute video of the interview below. * * * * * * To review a sample of related Situationist posts, see see “Implicit Associations on Oprah,” “Afraid of Knowing Ourselves,” “Why Race May Influence Us Even When We “Know” It Doesn’t,” “Geoffrey Cohen on “Identity, Belief, and Bias”,” “Colorblinded Wages – Abstract,” “The Cognitive Costs of Interracial Interactions,” “Measuring Implicit Attitudes,” “Firefighters and ... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3163850 Tue, 12 Jan 2010 04:10:43 +0100 3163850 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3124666&cid=t_105198_133_f&fid=35129&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwhitterer-autism.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F12%2Fgreater-than-sum-bird-brain.html It’s the usual rigmarole, or rather it isn’t - a variation on a theme. I’ve not visited the Bird shop for a couple of years, so I am quite delighted on Christmas Day. The boys went there, with their Dad. It was as much an exercise in perspective taking as gift buying, more or less one and the same, although Dad footed the bill - the value of money is still a work in progress. It’s a whole 24 hours later and there they all are, the most extraordinary collection of peculiar shaped items - gift wrapped. I’d understand if each one was the same as it’s fellows, uniform in shape, or size, but they’re not. If I had chosen something three foot long, the shape of a lollipop, I’d remember what was inside. Nor could I forget something heavy, like an upside down umbrella. There aren’... Whitterer on Autism blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3124666 Mon, 28 Dec 2009 07:30:00 +0100 3124666 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3048066&cid=t_105198_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F12%2Fwhy-we-have-federal-antidiscrimiation.html The following stunning quote appeared in the Nov. 27, 2009 Newsweek article "The Hospital That Could Cure Health Care" about the Cleveland Clinic:[Cleveland Clinic president and CEO Dr. Delos M. Cosgrove, a former cardiac surgeon] has even taken on the most intractable driver of American health-care costs: Americans. Having already banned the hiring of smokers (a dictate enforced by urine tests for nicotine), Cosgrove declared this year that if it weren't illegal under federal law, he would refuse to hire fat people as well. The resulting outcry led him to apologize for "hurtful" comments. But he has not backed down from his belief that obesity is a failure of willpower, which can be attacked by the same weapons used to combat smoking: public education, economic incentives, and sheer exhor... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3048066 Wed, 02 Dec 2009 03:08:00 +0100 3048066 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3056603&cid=t_105198_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.blisstree.com%2Fbreastfeeding123%2Fbreastfeeding-mother-forced-to-leave-target%2F Sadly I can’t say it surprised me to read that a breastfeeding mother in Michigan was forced to leave a Target store by the police. After all, on a recent visit to Target to buy a baby-related item, I received a coupon for artificial baby milk with my receipt. That certainly isn’t the mark of a breastfeeding-friendly corporation. The ironically nipple-like Target bullseye; Photo by TheTruthAbout... MyFOXDetroit.com reports that on Sunday at the Target store in Harper Woods, Michigan, the mother of a 4-week-old baby was told by security that breastfeeding in the store was illegal. When the mother and her off-duty police officer husband disagreed, the police were called and the mother was so embarrassed that she felt forced to leave the store! Target headquarters issued this sta... Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3056603 Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:22:53 +0100 3056603 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3048077&cid=t_105198_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.blisstree.com%2Fbreastfeeding123%2Fbreastfeeding-mother-removed-from-target%2F Sadly I can’t say it surprised me to read that a breastfeeding mother in Michigan was removed from a Target store by the police. After all, on a recent visit to Target to buy a baby-related item, I received a coupon for artificial baby milk with my receipt. That certainly isn’t the mark of a breastfeeding-friendly corporation. The ironically nipple-like Target bullseye; Photo by TheTruthAbout... MyFOXDetroit.com reports that on Sunday at the Target store in Harper Woods, Michigan, the mother of a 4-week-old baby was told by security that breastfeeding in the store was illegal. When the mother and her off-duty police officer husband disagreed, the police were called and the mother was removed from the store! Target headquarters issued this statement in response to the incident:... Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3048077 Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:22:53 +0100 3048077 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2924773&cid=t_105198_86_f&fid=36669&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffadelibrary.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F10%2F25%2Fage-equality-in-health-and-social-care%2F Title: Achieving age equality inhealth and social care Skinny: Report that considers what health and social care organisations should do to ensure that people are not discriminated against by services because of their age. It looks at evidence about the nature, extent and variability of age discrimination in health and social care services. It also details reforms that are already in train to tackle age discrimination and support greater age equality. Evidence is taken from a wide variety of sources, including academic research, stakeholder submissions, personal testimony and the conclusions of a number of workshops and engagement events. Publisher: DH Size of Publication: 63p Published: 22/10/2009 Posted in Equity, Grey Literature, Health Needs, Inequalities in Health, Local Authorities... Fade Library blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2924773 Sun, 25 Oct 2009 11:00:44 +0100 2924773 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2916439&cid=t_105198_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FGufJPwVU9NI%2F A class-action lawsuit alleging the drug maker discriminated against thousands of female sales reps is headed to trial next year after a federal court judge denied the drugmaker’s motion for a partial summary judgement on Tuesday. The suit was filed in 2004 by 19 current or former female reps, and was certified as a class action representing 5,600 female employees. They allege Novartis subjected them to sexual discrimination in pay, job evaluations, promotional opportunities and pregnancy-related matters, along with sexual harassment and retaliation (back story). Vincent Fitzpatrick, an attorney for Novartis, could not be reached for comment. Steven Wittels, an attorney for the plaintiffs, told The Star-Ledger of New Jersey that a trial was a long time coming. “They (the female plainti... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2916439 Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:42:45 +0100 2916439 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2894566&cid=t_105198_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2009%2F10%2F15%2Fyour-patient-rights-in-therapy%2F Before you go into psychotherapy, you should be informed of your rights as a patient ahead of time by the therapist. The therapist should, in addition, give you a printed copy of something that reads similar to the below, so that you can take it home with you. We’ve long had a version of these rights here on our website, but I thought it might be helpful to further describe or explain each right in a little more detail. Therapists nowadays may also often offer you their guidelines for electronic and/or outside contact, (such as through Facebook, email, telephone, etc). This sets the ground rules for how you may contact the therapist outside of session, in event of an emergency, or in the event that you just want to share something with your therapist (or change your appointment or su... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2894566 Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:09:57 +0100 2894566 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2876333&cid=t_105198_137_f&fid=35426&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FTheAlzheimersReadingRoom%2F%7E3%2FYCMPljsWYC8%2Ffaces-of-alzheimers.html By Angil Tarach Alzheimer's Reading Room When I was first introduced to the Alzheimer’s Reading Room, I have to say the first time I saw the facial logo, distorted in nature, I thought it was a little creepy. With more thought, I understand this logo on a much deeper level. It really isn’t the face that’s distorted but the view of how the general public sees a person afflicted with Alzheimer’s. Unless you are personally close to a person with Alzheimer’s, or are one of the special people who work with Alzheimer’s patients, and understand the disease, you most likely see the person as a disease, rather than a person with a disease. I would like to help clarify the faces of Alzheimer’s, in an effort to clear the distortion. This disease is like any physical disease, such a... Alzheimer's Reading Room, The blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2876333 Fri, 09 Oct 2009 04:42:52 +0100 2876333 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2824178&cid=t_105198_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F09%2F23%2Fthe-motivated-situation-of-inequality-and-discrimination%2F Aaron C. Kay, Danielle Gaucher, Jennifer M. Peach, Kristin Laurin, Justin Friesen, Mark P. Zanna, and Steven J. Spencer have recently published their article, “Inequality, Discrimination, and the Power of the Status Quo: Direct Evidence for a Motivation to See the Way Things Are as the Way They Should Be” (97 Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 421– 434 (2009).  Here’s the abstract. * * * How powerful is the status quo in determining people’s social ideals? The authors propose (a) that people engage in injunctification, that is, a motivated tendency to construe the current status quo as the most desirable and reasonable state of affairs (i.e., as the most representative of how things should be); (b) that this tendency is driven, at least in part, by people�... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2824178 Wed, 23 Sep 2009 04:01:41 +0100 2824178 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2800665&cid=t_105198_136_f&fid=37852&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdonnatrussell.com%2F2009%2F09%2F16%2Fyou-want-savers-not-debtors-since-when%2F My new Politics Daily / Woman Up post: It’s not often that Kansans make the national news. But one did so a few days ago in The New York Times. His name is Ray Rucker, and he lives in Overland Park, a suburb of Kansas City. Rucker is 62 years old. He wants to work another 10 years, but he’s been laid off. And no one wants to hire him. For 32 years I have lived just a few miles from Overland Park. So I think I can describe the mindset of a typical Kansan: They are polite to a fault. If they have something unkind to say, they keep silent. They go to church. They vote Republican. They work hard. They hoard more than they spend. The cliche of the salt-of-the-earth Midwesterner is not far off the mark… Read the rest on AOL: You Want Savers, Not Debtors? Since When? Posted in K... Donna Trussell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2800665 Wed, 16 Sep 2009 05:09:55 +0100 2800665 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2782252&cid=t_105198_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F0C-a34DYUiE%2F Photo courtesy of kyz (flickr.com) We continue our week of spectrum artwork today! * * * A Book for Our Times: Understanding Jason (AuthorHouse) is a new book written by Marsha Rae Osborn and illustrated by DeOnna Mills, and it tells the story of a group of typical students who learn from their teacher how to accept and help an autistic student, Jason, fit in with their class. (Osborn is an RN and the mother of twin boys, one of whom has autism.) Told in rhymes, Jason seems typical of the kinds of titles we need to see more of. (”We don’t understand,” kids say, “Why does Jason act that way? He is different from us all, He can’t even catch a ball …”). I’ve always held that typically developing children often only benefit from learning about t... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2782252 Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:53:10 +0100 2782252 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2778377&cid=t_105198_87_f&fid=34925&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbestyoucanbe.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F09%2Fabercrombie-fitch-humiliation-of.html There's a sickness in the culture of this clothing retailer. Emphases mine.Abercrombie & Fitch fined in MOA discrimination case | StarTribune.comA judge ordered retail giant Abercrombie & Fitch to pay $115,000 for discriminating against a 14-year-old autistic customer at its Mall of America store.The civil penalty, the largest of its kind in at least two years, came four years after store employees refused to let the autistic teen join her older sister in a fitting room because of the clothing chain's anti-shoplifting policy. The store refused to relent even after the sister, and later the girls' mother, explained that the 14-year-old couldn't be alone because of her disability.The confrontation humiliated the girl, who testified that the incident made her feel like a "misfit.""She... Be the Best You can Be blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2778377 Wed, 09 Sep 2009 03:00:00 +0100 2778377 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2768670&cid=t_105198_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F09%2F05%2Fthe-situation-of-litigators%2F This study examined whether explicit and implicit biases in favor of Whites and against Asian Americans would alter mock jurors’ evaluation of a litigator’s deposition. We found evidence of both explicit bias as measured by self-reports, and implicit bias as measured by two Implicit Association Tests. In particular, explicit stereotypes that the ideal litigator was White predicted worse evaluation of the Asian American litigator (outgroup derogation); by contrast, implicit stereotypes predicted preferential evaluation of the White litigator (ingroup favoritism). In sum, participants were not colorblind, at least implicitly, towards even a “model minority,” and these biases produced racial discrimination. This study provides further evidence of the predictive and eco... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2768670 Sat, 05 Sep 2009 04:01:22 +0100 2768670 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2730297&cid=t_105198_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FfKI66EsyUN4%2F Luck beat forethought in the case of a missing autistic 5-year-old who has been found four miles from his home in West Virginia. The boy, found in the woods by a neighbor two hours after his mother called the police, is part of Project Lifesaver, a program that helps police track adults and children who wander off due to Alzheimers, autism or other related disorders. Sadly, the boy wasn’t wearing his tracking bracelet. A local sheriff’s department sergeant stressed that tracking equipment must be maintained ceaselessly: battery checks every day, inspections for the transmitter and the bracelet, and ascertaining bracelet location on the body. See here for more information on Project LifeSaver. *    *    * Photo courtesy of dbking (flickr.com) If only they all turned out li... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2730297 Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:24:14 +0100 2730297 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2727091&cid=t_105198_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.blisstree.com%2Fbreastfeeding123%2Fbreastfeeding-laws-in-the-news%2F It never fails to amaze me how companies manage to get themselves into hot water for failing to follow the law regarding breastfeeding in public or in the workplace! Here are just a few of the most recent incidents. Acosta Tacos: The owner of Acosta Tacos in Los Angeles, California has been ordered to pay Marina Chavez $21,645.00 in lost wages plus $20,000.00 for emotional damages after the owner fired Chavez for breastfeeding her baby on her breaks. In this groundbreaking case, the California Fair Employment and Housing Commission found that breastfeeding is intrinsic to the female sex and thus breastfeeding discrimination is sex discrimination under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). The owner was also ordered to pay a $5,000 fine, establish a written policy on sex discriminatio... Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2727091 Mon, 24 Aug 2009 08:07:08 +0100 2727091 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2626215&cid=t_105198_134_f&fid=35187&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDiabetesDaily%2F%7E3%2F6oGgY9OXVuc%2Fthe-direct-threat-of-good-control.php One of the most interesting sessions I went to at the Children with Diabetes conference was called "The Challenge of Employment Discrimination" and was hosted by John Griffin. I will admit that I missed the first ten or so few minutes of his talk because I was picking up swag in the exhibit hall, but the parts I caught - very interesting!   I'll admit that I approach the ADA... (Source: Diabetes Daily) Diabetes Daily blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2626215 Wed, 22 Jul 2009 12:49:39 +0100 2626215 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2602038&cid=t_105198_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F07%2F15%2Fwhat-are-the-legal-implications-of-implicit-biases%2F A federal judge and regular reader of The Situationist recently sent me a thoughtful e-mail containing the following paragraph.  The judge is asking for input regarding the practical legal consequences of IAT research for employment law. * * * A thought about the IAT and employment law from a practicing judge–even if the law as it now stands does not effectively address some instances of bias, where do we go with that insight? I see no practical, effective way to utilize the IAT in actual employment cases.  Moreover, by far the biggest problem in employment law that any one studying our actual cases would discern is the surfeit of meritless cases.  The ease with which many weak cases get by summary judgment and the likelihood of substantial litigation expense lead to settlement o... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2602038 Wed, 15 Jul 2009 04:01:07 +0100 2602038 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2550214&cid=t_105198_87_f&fid=34595&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnhsblogdoc.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F06%2Fpink-list.html The short post below, "Cultural Differences", attracted a lot of attention. Gender will never be irrelevant. Sexuality should be. Today, the Independent on Sunday publishes its annual "Pink List". Peter Mandelson is, of course, at number one.Our very own Iain Dale slips in at number 26, up from last year's position of 49. He writes an accompanying article entitled Tory bedfellows can be anything but homophobes. The Pink List makes Iain less eminent than David Starkey, Gok Wan and Ben Bradshaw but more eminent than Alan Duncan and Nick Brown. He will have to live with that. (He seems to be coping!)I don't like it. People should not be classified according to their sexual preferences. The concept of "eminent homosexuals" may sound "right-on" but is in fact patronising, closet homophobia. The... NHS Blog Doctor blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2550214 Sun, 28 Jun 2009 08:49:00 +0100 2550214 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2511026&cid=t_105198_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F06%2F23%2Fthe-depressing-effects-of-racial-discrimination%2F From Cornell News Service, here is a news release regarding fascinating research on the effects of racial discrimination. * * * Many studies have shown that experiencing chronic racial discrimination chips away at the mental health of African-Americans. But a new Cornell study sheds light on precisely how – and to what effect – chronic racial discrimination erodes mental health. The study found blacks may, in general, have poorer mental health as a result of two mechanisms: First, chronic exposure to racial discrimination leads to more experiences of daily discrimination and, second, it also results in an accumulation of daily negative events across various domains of life, from family and friends to health and finances. The combination of these mechanisms, reports Anthony Ong... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2511026 Tue, 23 Jun 2009 04:25:58 +0100 2511026 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2512145&cid=t_105198_125_f&fid=34820&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dentalblogs.com%2Farchives%2Fadministrator%2Fdentists-sexual-harassment-discrimination%2F Every day, it seems, a news story tells us about a dentist or dental professional who has molested a patient during a dental appointment. The nature of dentistry (and medicine) is such that we are in a prime situation to (a) sexually harass and (b) be accused of sexual harassment. Sometimes, though, allegations of sexual harassment (not physical contact) result from how a patient perceives a dentist or dental professional. Mitchell Karp, MSOD, tells us in his article at www.DentalOfficeMag.com, that dentists are considered powerful by patients, and because of this, patients may not feel confident telling their dentist when they feel uncomfortable. Karp’s article, “How to avoid allegation of sexual harassment and/or discrimination: Five things you need to know,” recommends not making ... dental blog for dentists about dentistry blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2512145 Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:48:18 +0100 2512145 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2473533&cid=t_105198_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F06%2F12%2Fthe-situation-of-human-trafficking-abstract%2F This article suggests that a central reason for the limited success in preventing human trafficking is the dominant conception of the problem, which forms the basis for law developed to combat human trafficking. Specifically, the author argues that “otherness” is a root cause of both inaction and the selective nature of responses to the abusive practice of human trafficking. Othering operates across multiple dimensions, including race, gender, ethnicity, class, caste, culture, and geography, to reinforce a conception of a virtuous “Self” and a devalued “Other.” This article exposes how this Self/Other dichotomy shapes the phenomenon of human trafficking, driving demand for trafficked persons, influencing perceptions of the problem, and constraining legal... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2473533 Fri, 12 Jun 2009 04:01:54 +0100 2473533 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2348435&cid=t_105198_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F04%2F18%2Fthe-situation-of-situation-in-employment-discrimination-law-abstract%2F This article puts the debate over social framework expert testimony in context, explaining what the testimony is and the role it has played in employment discrimination litigation, with a particular focus on the way the testimony has been offered in class action suits like Dukes v. Wal-Mart. It explains how the normal rules of evidence law should apply to social framework expert testimony, and under the flexible and permissive standards of the Federal Rules of Evidence, framework testimony offered by a qualified expert should be admissible in many employment class actions. The argument that this kind of evidence should always be excluded is driven as much by a particular view of employment discrimination law as by the governing evidentiary rules. Ultimately, the arguments for blanket exclu... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2348435 Sat, 18 Apr 2009 04:01:39 +0100 2348435 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2347915&cid=t_105198_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F04%2Fmedical-war-against-elderly-british.html This study and the story of the nurse illustrate the subversive impact of the bioethical "quality of life" ethic--that is fast supplanting the Hippocratic "equality of life" approach--on medicine. The bioethicists might respond by denying they support discrimination--they see themselves as liberals, after all (although they really are not)--only "rational" withholding of high tech and expensive care based on the bioethical principle of distributive justice. But this excuse ignores the impact of ideas and how they can impact actual practice in the trenches. As a logical species, we take accepted premises where they lead. In this situation, the idea that ill elderly patients have less value based on quality of life, causes people to perceive such people as different from other patients, resu... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2347915 Fri, 17 Apr 2009 15:40:00 +0100 2347915 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2284474&cid=t_105198_87_f&fid=34595&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnhsblogdoc.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F03%2Fkings-college-medical-school-accused-of.html King's College Medical SchoolJust under a year ago, I wrote an article about King’s College Medical School dumbing down its entry requirement. This was the Extended Medical Degree Programme (EDMP)(EMDP) aimed to attract bright students from state schools in inner London who had A-level results that were far too poor to gain entry to medical school and show that, with the right help, they could succeed. Students would normally require two As and a B at A level, but the scheme, called the Extended Medical Degree Programme, accepted those who had managed no better than three Cs.The Times…many of the students who are from lower professional and managerial groups have a Black African heritage and from families headed by women….Many of the students classified as being from semiroutine and ... NHS Blog Doctor blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2284474 Wed, 18 Mar 2009 17:42:00 +0100 2284474 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2240587&cid=t_105198_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F03%2Fwhy-cant-society-be-unequivocal-in.html Relativism is the bane of our times, although it is still selectively applied. We tell teenagers to try not to have sexual intercourse, but if you do--which we know you will--then please use a condom. Yet, we still know how to be unequivocal in some areas: We tell kids, "Don't smoke,!", not, "Don't, smoke--but if you do, only use filter-tipped cigarettes," because we know that if we did that it would only result in a lot of tobacco smoke being inhaled.It seems to me that well meaning people are being seduced into an equivalent stance on suicide, and it would just result in more suicides. Case in point is the column by Atlanta Journal Constitution pundit Jay Bookman, who in supposedly opposing the Forced Exit Network defendants, has fallen for their basic premise that bad health or disabili... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2240587 Thu, 05 Mar 2009 21:19:00 +0100 2240587 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2210745&cid=t_105198_140_f&fid=35448&url=http%3A%2F%2Fseemedlikeagoodideathetime.com%2F2009%2F02%2F23%2Fsean-penn%2F I liked you better when you were  this guy…..Spicoli. Spicoli wouldn’t hang out with Hugo or Fidel. Spicoli was stupid enough to be honest. Spicoli wouldn’t haven’t spouted his left-wing propaganda at the Academy Awards. Spicoli would have realized the irony in what he was saying if he did spout off at the AW. Spicoli would have [...] (Source: bipolar chicks blogging) bipolar chicks blogging blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2210745 Tue, 24 Feb 2009 03:48:04 +0100 2210745 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2201146&cid=t_105198_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FBreastfeeding123%2F%7E3%2FX_x0OIkTL90%2F After Crystal Everitt was harassed for breastfeeding her son in an Asheville, North Carolina, Denny’s restaurant, she sought the help of FirstRight to approach the regional management about its policy on breastfeeding. Here is the statement of policy given to FirstRight by Rick Pate, Director of Operations for Success Management, which operates 32 Denny’s restaurants (including the Asheville, NC location), on February 16, 2009: We at Denny’s work very hard to insure all guests have a pleasant dining experience. Breastfeeding is absolutely allowed in our restaurants; we do request that it be done with respect and discretion, as we are a family restaurant. We defer to our managers to carry out the company’s position. In response, breastfeeding advocates argue that by asking for ... Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2201146 Thu, 19 Feb 2009 01:05:23 +0100 2201146 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2182702&cid=t_105198_140_f&fid=35448&url=http%3A%2F%2Fseemedlikeagoodideathetime.com%2F2009%2F02%2F12%2Fget-you-some%2F Awesome! I gettin’ my 13 bucks/week extra mine. Hey why not? Chicago Pay to Play politics have gone national; and since  evil people in D.C. have decided to not stimulate the economy by giving us more of our money to spend, and businesses more of their money to invest and to be able to grow*that would =hiring [...] (Source: bipolar chicks blogging) bipolar chicks blogging blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2182702 Fri, 13 Feb 2009 16:09:09 +0100 2182702 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2184118&cid=t_105198_133_f&fid=37107&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Faspieweb%2F%7E3%2FwwBhkqtC_dw%2F It just happened - an apartment complex has sent eviction paperwork to me because of the companion dog I keep to help me with Aspergers. Background I sublease through a mental health service provider an apartment in Concord Place Apartments in Kalamazoo, MI.  Before moving to this apartment I subleased from the service provider a more [...] This is an excerpt from an article on AspieWeb.net, A blog writen by an Autistic Blogger. (Source: AspieWeb.net) AspieWeb.net blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2184118 Fri, 13 Feb 2009 11:51:28 +0100 2184118 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2167742&cid=t_105198_140_f&fid=35448&url=http%3A%2F%2Fseemedlikeagoodideathetime.com%2F2009%2F02%2F08%2Fdefective%2F yes, this IS a mental health post -it concerns your rights & privacy. Read on… You’ll never guess who is sponsoring  this. If you answered: That race baiting congressman from the corrupt city of Chicago, Black Panther and Army deserter, Bobby Rush. You were correct. Click the link at the top and if you are pressed for time, check out these sections [...] (Source: bipolar chicks blogging) bipolar chicks blogging blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2167742 Sun, 08 Feb 2009 15:00:45 +0100 2167742 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2160715&cid=t_105198_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F02%2F05%2Fwages-are-only-skin-deep-abstract%2F Joni Hersch recently posted a fascinating paper, titled “Color, Discrimination, and Immigrant Pay” on SSRN.  This is her latest paper in a larger set of articles on the topic.  Here’s the abstract. * * * In “Profiling the New Immigrant Worker: The Effects of Skin Color and Height,” (Journal of Labor Economics 2008), I present strong evidence of a wage penalty to darker skin color among new legal immigrants to the United States. Immigrants with the lightest skin color earn on average 17 percent higher wages than comparable immigrants with the darkest skin color, taking into account Hispanic ethnicity, race, country of birth, education, English language proficiency, family background, and occupation in the source country. This current paper demonstrates that ... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2160715 Thu, 05 Feb 2009 04:01:20 +0100 2160715 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2150858&cid=t_105198_140_f&fid=35448&url=http%3A%2F%2Fseemedlikeagoodideathetime.com%2F2009%2F02%2F01%2Fmy-thoughts-exactly%2F Tongue in cheek; but yeah-I was wondering wtf too. Of course, I am just aping what lefty blogs were saying about Bush less than 24 hours after Katrina’s hurricane winds stopped blowing. Hello? Fema? heh. Obama dozed, people froze Good news! So far: no reports of hospital employees performing euthanasia. Katrina - Listed under: “The Agenda-additional issues” taken [...] (Source: bipolar chicks blogging) bipolar chicks blogging blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2150858 Sun, 01 Feb 2009 13:08:02 +0100 2150858 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2134799&cid=t_105198_140_f&fid=35448&url=http%3A%2F%2Fseemedlikeagoodideathetime.com%2F2009%2F01%2F26%2Fcan-i-say-it-now%2F "there appears to be no funding...." Ya think?! Probably because no one knows what the f. it is! (Source: bipolar chicks blogging) bipolar chicks blogging blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2134799 Tue, 27 Jan 2009 05:43:46 +0100 2134799 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2113656&cid=t_105198_140_f&fid=35448&url=http%3A%2F%2Fseemedlikeagoodideathetime.com%2F2009%2F01%2F18%2Frsvpmy-i-suck-really-suck-party%2F First, let me hereby acknowledge that I certainly do really, really suck as a person sometimes. Why deny it? It is what it is. At least, I’ve got the balls to admit it. But, let me assure you that I do not really, really suck as a person most of the time.   I wish that I could [...] (Source: bipolar chicks blogging) bipolar chicks blogging blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2113656 Mon, 19 Jan 2009 07:37:02 +0100 2113656 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2104426&cid=t_105198_87_f&fid=34595&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnhsblogdoc.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F01%2Fracist-abuse-sooty-paki-and-staff-grade.html Kuldip Dhillon and the PrinceBoth Prince Harry and the Quacktitioner Royal himself are racist. It runs in the family. A life time's close exposure to the Queen Mother and the Duke of Edinburgh can have no other result. They probably do not realise that they are but that only goes to mitigation. Is it intrinsically worse to talk about a "Paki" than it is to talk about a Brit, or call a Welshman Taffy? Yes, of course it is.  "Paki" is a term of racial abuse. "Brit" is not. I suspect the whole of Prince Harry’s unit used the word Paki. That does not make it any better and is a sign of the insitutionalised racism that still exists in the army. I am even more uncomfortable to read that the Quacktitioner Royal and his nice but dim friends at Cirencester Polo Club call Kuldip Dhillon, a fellow... NHS Blog Doctor blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2104426 Wed, 14 Jan 2009 13:18:00 +0100 2104426 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2074415&cid=t_105198_140_f&fid=35448&url=http%3A%2F%2Fseemedlikeagoodideathetime.com%2F2008%2F12%2F30%2Ffan-effin-tabulous%2F Just when Blago couldn’t stoop much lower…he did. Yee-haw, looks like we got us a token prospective senate nominee.  *update* Not just any typical Illinois politician. This guy had ambition-so much so that he was willing to send an innocent man to death row, just to appear to be tough on crime.  Little details, such as [...] (Source: bipolar chicks blogging) bipolar chicks blogging blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2074415 Tue, 30 Dec 2008 20:56:17 +0100 2074415 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2021620&cid=t_105198_140_f&fid=35448&url=http%3A%2F%2Fseemedlikeagoodideathetime.com%2F2008%2F12%2F08%2Fhey-whos-up-for-some-involuntary-ect%2F Not this guy. Stephany’s all over this story over at her blog. Pissed off?  Find it scary?  Then act. 5 minutes of your time to make a phone call and/or dropping a few emails could help. What if it were you? Posted in bipolar disorder, discrimination, health care, I feel like breaking shit, injustice, media, mental health, [...] (Source: bipolar chicks blogging) bipolar chicks blogging blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2021620 Tue, 09 Dec 2008 06:54:42 +0100 2021620 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2017869&cid=t_105198_140_f&fid=35448&url=http%3A%2F%2Fseemedlikeagoodideathetime.com%2F2008%2F12%2F06%2Fno-privacy-in-this-new-deal%2F Question: How comfortable are you with the idea of the general public (including your present or any prospective employers) knowing that you have been or are currently being treated for a mental health related condition?  Don’t forget to figure in the general public’s ignorance, and the stigma factor. A couple of posts back, I mentioned the Cleveland [...] (Source: bipolar chicks blogging) bipolar chicks blogging blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2017869 Sun, 07 Dec 2008 04:01:11 +0100 2017869 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2006396&cid=t_105198_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F471290984%2F That’s the allegation in a lawsuit filed last week by Laura Bedford, who was a senior administrative specialist and project coordinator at the time she was dismissed in June 2007. She had worked for the drugmaker since 1989. Bedford charges that, in early 2007, Wyeth outsourced invoices to India, causing her “significant difficulties,” because the info coming from India was “always muddled and incomplete,” according to her suit, which was filed in federal court in Philadelphia (here it is). Bedford subsequently complained that jobs should not be outsourced and that Wyeth was discriminating against US workers. On June 18, 2007, she alleges she was suspended, pending an investigation, because her personal mail was mixed with work mail. Her lawsuit then states sh... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2006396 Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:20:35 +0100 2006396 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1990545&cid=t_105198_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F11%2Faustralia-allows-family-with-child-with.html This is a follow up of an earlier post discussing Australia's refusal to grant a German physician and his family permanent residency because his son has Down. Well the light of publicity apparently so embarrassed the country that the decision has been reversed. From the story:A decision to deny a German doctor and his family permanent residency because his son had Down syndrome has been overturned by the immigration minister.Bernhard Moeller, a specialist physician, moved his family to Horsham, in Victoria's west, two years ago to help fill a doctor shortage. But the Migration Review Tribunal (MRT) yesterday upheld the immigration department's decision to deny Dr Moeller's permanent visa application because his 13-year-old son has Down syndrome and was deemed a potential drain on the healt... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1990545 Wed, 26 Nov 2008 22:30:00 +0100 1990545 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1968641&cid=t_105198_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F11%2Fuk-official-denigrates-elderly-with.html Sickening. Just sickening. A public official in the UK who is "Labour's czar for the elderly," posits a duty to die by having society refuse to medically support demented patients, and denigrates them with the V-Epithet to boot. From the story: Dame Joan Bakewell says she does not want people to be kept alive because of machinery when their 'identity has ceased to exist.' Old people should be allowed to die if they become 'vegetables', Joan Bakewell has said. Labour's czar for the elderly said she had made a living will that will mean she is 'not kept alive if I'm a vegetable'.She added that people should not be helped to go on living by machinery if they had outlived their normal lifespan. The 75-year-old television presenter also called for laws that would allow terminally ill patients t... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1968641 Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:20:00 +0100 1968641 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1939109&cid=t_105198_87_f&fid=34935&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmedicine.com.my%2Fwp%2F%3Fp%3D5206 I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.” - Martin Luther King. Aug. 28, 1963 For the first time, an American with African roots gets elected as President of the USA. I think it showed the whole world what true democracy means when the people of a nation can elect who they think is most qualified for the job, irrespective of one’s race. I think this is foremost in people’s minds and it brings to question selection policies which seem to be solely based on race. President Obama’s victory was debated in Parliament and the PM claimed ‘Anyone can be PM’ though in reality it seems a PM is elected by one party’s divisions (how ... Malaysian Medical Resources blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1939109 Thu, 06 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0100 1939109 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1933375&cid=t_105198_140_f&fid=35448&url=http%3A%2F%2Fseemedlikeagoodideathetime.com%2F2008%2F11%2F04%2Fjerry-and-barry%2F Obama’s Spiritual Mentor Why is it a legitimate concern that Barack Hussein Obama spent twenty years in the Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s church, appointed Jeremiah Wright to his campaign staff, and called Jeremiah Wright ”his spiritual advisor”? One’s Spiritual belief is the most fundamental and deep rooted principal within a persons make up. For a person to call [...] (Source: bipolar chicks blogging) bipolar chicks blogging blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1933375 Tue, 04 Nov 2008 14:42:03 +0100 1933375 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1924399&cid=t_105198_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F10%2Faustralia-children-with-down-syndrome.html This is shameful eugenics, morally akin in my view, to laws in the USA that barred disfavored nationalities and Jews in the years running up to World War II. A German family has asked for permanent residency in Australia and the country said no because their son has Down syndrome. From the story:A German doctor hoping to gain permanent residency in Australia said Friday he will fight an immigration department decision denying his application because his son has Down syndrome. Bernhard Moeller came to Australia with his family two years ago to help fill a doctor shortage in a rural area of Victoria state. His temporary work visa is valid until 2010, but his application for permanent residency was rejected this week. The immigration department said Moeller's 13-year-o... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1924399 Fri, 31 Oct 2008 16:20:00 +0100 1924399 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1924537&cid=t_105198_87_f&fid=35052&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FWomensBioethicsBlog%2F%7E3%2F437093223%2Fnyt-women-pay-more-for-same-health.html From the NYT: Women Buying Health Policies Pay a Penalty It has been found that women could be charged as much as 31 percent more than men when buying the same health care plan. With more and more deregulation of health care, more individuals have to shop around for plans offered by private insurance companies, who are free to set up their own standards for pricing. Justifications for charging women more include childbearing-related issues and higher frequency of going in for regular checkups. “Women often fare worse than men in the individual insurance market,” said Senator Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana and chairman of the Finance Committee.Insurers say they have a sound reason for charging different premiums: Women ages 19 to 55 tend to cost more than men because they typically use... Women's Bioethics Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1924537 Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:02:11 +0100 1924537 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1911693&cid=t_105198_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F10%2F27%2Fsubtly-sexist-language-abstract%2F Pat K. Chew and Lauren Kelley-Chew recently posted their interesting article, Subtly Sexist Language (16 Columbia Journal of Gender and Law 643 (2007) on SSRN.  Here’s the abstract. * * * Sometimes, sexist language is blatant and universally shunned. Other times, it is more subtle and even socially acceptable. For instance, as summarized in this article, substantial social science research has considered the use of male-gendered generics (the use of such words as he, man, chairman, or mankind to represent both women and men) rather than gender-neutral alternatives (such as she or he, human, chairperson, or humankind). This research concludes that male-gendered generics are exclusionary of women and tend to reinforce gender stereotypes. Yet, these words may not be recognized as disc... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1911693 Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:55:35 +0100 1911693 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1901672&cid=t_105198_140_f&fid=35448&url=http%3A%2F%2Fseemedlikeagoodideathetime.com%2F2008%2F10%2F23%2Fcold-night-hot-soup%2F -n-crackers. Journalism, it ain’t what it used to be. * writing characterized by a direct presentation of facts or description of events without an attempt at interpretation I began this post on 10/21 and became busy with other things-yeah, I know this is long, it took me a long time to write it too. So [...] (Source: bipolar chicks blogging) bipolar chicks blogging blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1901672 Fri, 24 Oct 2008 01:35:40 +0100 1901672 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2522982&cid=t_105198_93_f&fid=35707&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fhemodynamics%2F%7E3%2FlAenvM_JQrI%2Ffollow-up-to-mccain-and-melanoma.html Kyle makes a couple of arguments below in the comments of my last post, and my reply is long enough and separate enough from my original post that I'm posting it separately:Kyle,I don't disagree with your political conclusion of what to do at the end of the day. The point is that any president might die. The fallacies of the Altman argument are that:1) the medical chart does not contain information on what is most likely to kill a president; and 2) John McCain has some unknown risk of recurrent melanoma, which further information might allow us to calculate slightly differently than what we know to be his generic risk without further information. But John McCain either will or will not die in office if elected. And, with or without melanoma, he has a reasonable probability of dying in offi... hemodynamics blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2522982 Thu, 23 Oct 2008 17:22:00 +0100 2522982 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1888308&cid=t_105198_140_f&fid=35448&url=http%3A%2F%2Fseemedlikeagoodideathetime.com%2F2008%2F10%2F18%2Fwhy-am-i-not-suprised%2F Obama supporter beats up McCain supporter. go read this….. This was obviously an unstable man that beat the crap out of this woman. That’s not the point. Just wondering how many times this would have already been played out in the biased media if it was an Obama supporter being beat up by a McCain supporter. PLEASE, WAKE [...] (Source: bipolar chicks blogging) bipolar chicks blogging blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1888308 Sun, 19 Oct 2008 06:10:42 +0100 1888308 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1883412&cid=t_105198_140_f&fid=35448&url=http%3A%2F%2Fseemedlikeagoodideathetime.com%2F2008%2F10%2F16%2Fthe-audacity-of-nope%2F     Five Good Reasons Not To Vote For Obama… 1. Ted Kennedy Loves Him….. ..        2. He wants Al Gore in his cabinet ………..     3. Rev. Wright……     4. The Economy……….   5. ACORN……….(supposedly bi-partisan?)….   Bonus….William Ayers and Tony Resco……..            (Source: bipolar chicks blogging) bipolar chicks blogging blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1883412 Fri, 17 Oct 2008 07:51:06 +0100 1883412 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1856144&cid=t_105198_140_f&fid=35448&url=http%3A%2F%2Fseemedlikeagoodideathetime.com%2F2008%2F10%2F06%2Fobamas-tax-planmore-welfare-paid-by-working-class%2F I was researching Obama’s tax plan on the internet when I came across the following article. I could not begin to explain Obama’s tax plan better than this.     Barack Obama’s tax plan is the opposite of supply-side economics. He proposes to raise marginal rates for just about every federal tax. He also proposes a raft of [...] (Source: bipolar chicks blogging) bipolar chicks blogging blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1856144 Tue, 07 Oct 2008 02:54:05 +0100 1856144 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1852679&cid=t_105198_140_f&fid=35448&url=http%3A%2F%2Fseemedlikeagoodideathetime.com%2F2008%2F10%2F04%2Fhow%2F I just don’t get it. I really, really do not. How can *anybody vote for this empty suit? (*anybody…..I started to write “parent, sister, brother,grandparent, aunt, uncle” but quickly realized that we are all at least one of these.) It’s time for us to unite. Each one of us can be heard and make a difference. Is this [...] (Source: bipolar chicks blogging) bipolar chicks blogging blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1852679 Sun, 05 Oct 2008 03:55:51 +0100 1852679 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1850976&cid=t_105198_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2008%2F10%2F03%2Fmental-health-equality-finally%2F Since the 1990s, legislators in Congress have been pursuing the end of discrimination for people with mental illness by health insurance companies and employers. Even after they passed historic legislation (at the time) in 1996 to end this discrimination, health insurance companies found ways to subvert the intent of the bill and still discriminate against the people they covered if they had a mental health issue. On Friday, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the $700 billion bailout bill (263 to 171), which included the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008. This Act (which we reported on earlier), a compromise that’s been years in the making, mandates that all employers with more than 50 employees offer mental health coverag... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1850976 Fri, 03 Oct 2008 19:10:47 +0100 1850976 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1844648&cid=t_105198_111_f&fid=34712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdigitaldoorway.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F10%2Feconomics-and-confusion.html Thinking further about the economic issues that I touched on in my last post, it's so hard to get one's brain around what's happening here in the U.S. this week. With such dire news and warnings of financial Armageddon, how does one tease out the truth from all of the hyperbole?Articles abound about what will happen if the bailout doesn't pass. Blame is passed from hand to hand. But where do we ordinary citizens fit in? What do we stand to lose or gain in the process?Economics is one area where this nurse is most weak when it comes to understanding the bigger picture. Understanding my own personal economy is difficult enough. But I just can't stop thinking that many of the people in need of a bailout themselves are going to be left in the dust no matter what happens.Whether we look at the ... Digital Doorway blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1844648 Wed, 01 Oct 2008 20:29:00 +0100 1844648 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1829119&cid=t_105198_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2008%2F09%2F25%2Fdiscriminating-against-people-with-mental-illness%2F You’d think that as people become more and more educated about the complex biological, social and psychological factors that go to make up mental illness, people would become more understanding and less stigmatizing. As we are on the cusp of having a nationwide ban from discriminating in mental healthcare reimbursements, you’d think government and ordinary people are getting the message. Well, you would be wrong. First, we learn from the Mental Health Blog that Nova Scotia almost began discriminating against drivers renewing their driver’s license because of a mental disorder. Their new renewal form initially had a question regarding one’s prior history of mental disorder diagnoses, as though there were any research to show that people with a mental illness someh... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1829119 Thu, 25 Sep 2008 18:21:42 +0100 1829119 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1812848&cid=t_105198_140_f&fid=35448&url=http%3A%2F%2Fseemedlikeagoodideathetime.com%2F2008%2F09%2F22%2Fyes-there-is-evil%2F Just read it. All of it. Do it-c’mon, who loves you? We damage ourselves for self abuse, fun, to entertain you. Then I’ll be done with this ….for awhile. Be good and I’ll show you the pics of the winner of “Vote for Keywork win a date with….”and I’ll tell you the story of how I lost my [...] (Source: bipolar chicks blogging) bipolar chicks blogging blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1812848 Mon, 22 Sep 2008 06:34:10 +0100 1812848 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1812849&cid=t_105198_140_f&fid=35448&url=http%3A%2F%2Fseemedlikeagoodideathetime.com%2F2008%2F09%2F21%2Fthe-blog-stands-alone%2F Let me begin with a sidebar that sadly, did not surprise me. I dunno what to call it…brainwashing? Reeducation? Indoctrination? I think I’ll go with indoctrination. Okay- on with my original post: A lot of “ifs” here.  If this is his blog and if he’s the minion who wanted glory, “Earlier it was just some prank to [...] (Source: bipolar chicks blogging) bipolar chicks blogging blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1812849 Mon, 22 Sep 2008 05:16:11 +0100 1812849 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1802992&cid=t_105198_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F09%2F18%2Fschema-theory-and-lesbian-and-gay-identity-abstract%2F Todd Brower posted his paper, “Social Cognition ‘At Work:’ Schema Theory and Lesbian and Gay Identity in Title VII” on SSRN, where you can download it for free.  Here’s the abstract. * * * Lesbians and gay men are frequent subjects for modern news, politics, and court opinions. From marriage for same-sex couples to Congressional hearings on the military’s “Don’t ask, don’t tell” regulation, decision-makers are setting policy based on their ideas about how gay people are and how they fit into society. But what are those perceptions and how do they interact with law? We ordinarily think of lesbians and gay men as predominantly childless, urban residents of cities like San Francisco, New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles or as inhabita... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1802992 Thu, 18 Sep 2008 04:01:26 +0100 1802992 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1802611&cid=t_105198_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F09%2Fugly-discriminatory-face-of-medical.html This story out of the UK illustrates the ugliness of medical futility. Under the theory, medicine is being devolved from a life-saving enterprise to a life-saving enterprise if we approve of your life's quality. But if we don't and you want to live (or your family wishes you to continue on)--then medicine becomes the decider that it is your time to die. From the story: A couple fighting for their daughter's right to live were yesterday celebrating her return home from hospital.Amber Hartland, six, suffers from Infantile Tay-Sachs, a rare incurable brain disorder that has left her paralysed. She is back with her family after being treated in hospital for a chest infection. Doctors say it is time for Amber to die and are taking legal action to stop her going to intensive care again. Mr Har... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1802611 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:12:00 +0100 1802611 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1802610&cid=t_105198_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F09%2Fprotecting-vulnerable-in-hospitals-by.html I am currently in Worcester, MA for a series of speeches in MA and in CT. My primary sponsor is the Social Role Valorization Implementation Project (SRVIP). From an article about SRV: The basic premise of SRV is that people are much more likely to experience the "good things in life" if they hold valued social roles than if they do not. Therefore, the major goal of SRV is to create or support socially valued roles for people in their society, because if a person holds valued social roles, that person is likely to receive from society those good things in life that are available to that society and can be conveyed by it, or at least the opportunities for obtaining these.The SRVIP, among other matters, trains people to serve as advocates for people with disabilities when they are hospitalize... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1802610 Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:12:00 +0100 1802610 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1794379&cid=t_105198_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2008%2F09%2F16%2Fare-our-racial-biases-following-us%2F An interesting study published last week looked at whether the virtual worlds we create online are just going to reflect all of the typical biases and ways we discriminate in the real world. This is an interesting experiment because many proponents of virtual worlds suggest that such worlds are largely free from such cultural bias and discrimination. In one of the most striking findings, the effect of the DITF technique was significantly reduced when the requesting avatar was dark-toned. The white avatars in the DITF experiment received about a 20 percent increase in compliance with the moderate request; the increase for the dark-toned avatars was 8 percent. “For decades, research has shown that the outcome of that reciprocity-inducing technique is affected by how the requester is per... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1794379 Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:10:22 +0100 1794379 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1764019&cid=t_105198_140_f&fid=35448&url=http%3A%2F%2Fseemedlikeagoodideathetime.com%2F2008%2F09%2F05%2Fb-rabbit%2F *fusion post* merging mental health & whatever the hell I want “Here-tell these people somethin’ they don’t know about me” ‘B-Rabbit’/Eminem ~ 8 Mile ****************************************** I had a conversation with my mom the other morning. Not a long one, in order to get into that we would have ended up talking for hours; but that is why this [...] (Source: bipolar chicks blogging) bipolar chicks blogging blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1764019 Fri, 05 Sep 2008 08:41:01 +0100 1764019 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1764352&cid=t_105198_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F09%2F05%2Fcolorblinded-wages-abstract%2F Joni Hersch, recently posted her intriguing paper, “Skin Color, Immigrant Wages, and Discrimination” on SSRN. Here’s the abstract. * * * Immigrant workers with darker skin color have lower pay than their counterparts with lighter skin color. Whether this pay penalty is due to labor market discrimination is explored using data from the New Immigrant Survey 2003 to estimate wage equations that control for skin color, sequentially taking into account a series of individual characteristics related to labor market productivity and personal background. These characteristics include Hispanic ethnicity, race, country of birth, education, family background, occupation in source country, English language proficiency, visa status, employer characteristics, and current occupation. T... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1764352 Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:01:59 +0100 1764352 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1760273&cid=t_105198_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F09%2F04%2Fpatricia-devine-on-resisting-implicit-associations%2F Nicole Fritz has a nice article summarizing research of Patricia Devine, a University of Wisconsin-Madison psychology professor. Here’s a sample. * * * It is a question on many Americans’ minds: Is the United States ready for a black president, or will deep-rooted and even unconscious prejudices show at the polls? For Patricia Devine, . . . who researches prejudice, the answer isn’t black and white. “Your conscious mind might tell you to vote for [Obama], but in the privacy of the election booth your unconscious biases may vote differently,” Devine says. However, Devine holds out when she reflects on the outcome of the election. “It remains to be seen but, cautiously, I think America is ready.” It is Devine’s rare and constant optimism in peo... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1760273 Thu, 04 Sep 2008 04:02:31 +0100 1760273 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1733872&cid=t_105198_111_f&fid=34712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdigitaldoorway.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F08%2Freligion-and-discrimination-in.html (Note: This is my fifth post under the auspices of the nurse blogger scholarship which I recently received from Value Care, Value Nurses.)A San Diego fertility clinic that refused to provide artificial insemination to a lesbian woman based on her sexual orientation has tasted defeat at the hands of the California Supreme Court.Guadalupe Benitez was denied insemination by two doctors at the North Coast Women's Care in Vista, California, after being told by the doctors in question that their Christian values would not allow them to artificially inseminate a lesbian. In later testimony, the doctors stated that they simply would not perform the procedure for any woman who was unmarried, despite her sexual orientation.While a state appeals court did indeed rule in favor of the doctors' rights t... Digital Doorway blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1733872 Mon, 25 Aug 2008 09:00:00 +0100 1733872 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1689252&cid=t_105198_117_f&fid=36026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.healthtalk.com%2Fzimney%2Faugust-is-psoriasis-awareness-month%2F Each August, the National Psoriasis Foundation sponsors Psoriasis Awareness Month, and this year’s theme is “Pools are for recreation, not for discrimination,” because surveys have found that one in five people with psoriasis have reported being denied service at a public pool in the prior 12 months. In fact, however, psoriasis is not contagious and cannot be spread by any form of contact. Unfortunately, many of the approximately 7.5 million Americans with psoriasis suffer from discrimination in any number of public places including pools, hair salons, gyms and health clubs. To address these issues, Psoriasis Awareness Month 2008 focuses on dispelling the myth that psoriasis is contagious. Rather, it is a chronic inflammatory disease of the skin that just happens, in some... Dr. Z's Medical Report blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1689252 Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:46:23 +0100 1689252 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1686645&cid=t_105198_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F08%2F07%2Ffractured-bonds-abstract%2F This article presents a unified analysis of all race based annulment cases for the first time. Simultaneously public and private affairs, these dramas impacted far more than the individual couples or courtrooms, sending out shockwaves that reverberated beyond their points of origin. The results of the cases are startling and contrary to previous work on the subject. Using this unique set of cases, this article argues that while declaring these women white appears like a deviation from white supremacy, the courts’ decisions were used to preserve white racial dominance. Through the annulment case decisions, the court stepped in to protect women with a taint of blackness, declaring them pure and worthy of the mantle of whiteness. By legally erasing the women’s potential racial tai... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1686645 Thu, 07 Aug 2008 04:01:41 +0100 1686645 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1671611&cid=t_105198_140_f&fid=35448&url=http%3A%2F%2Fseemedlikeagoodideathetime.com%2F2008%2F08%2F01%2Fwhos-leading-this-mob%2F Freeze! Let’s see some credentials. *Slowly*. You’re a Chewley’s Gum Representative? And you’re stirring up all this anti-smoking sentiment to, what, sell more gum? GET OUT OF HERE! And you people, don’t you have jobs to go to? Get out of here, go commute! You oughta be ashamed of yourselves. Bunch of easily-led automatons. Try [...] (Source: bipolar chicks blogging) bipolar chicks blogging blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1671611 Fri, 01 Aug 2008 10:31:33 +0100 1671611 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1655673&cid=t_105198_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F345600725%2F A handful of women - three of whom once worked as sales reps for the drugmaker and two who still do - have succeeded in preventing the drugmaker from issuing subpoenas to their new employers, and even prospective employers, a tactic their lawyers accused Sanofi-Aventis of pursing in hopes of intimidating them into withdrawing their sexual discrimination lawsuit. The info sought by drugmaker included resumes, applications, benefit data, payroll records, and references, among other things. In a motion filed in federal court in New York, the reps claim the move by Sanofi-Aventis was a fishing expedition and an invasion of personal rights that is irrelevant to the discrimation claims made and, instead, is designed to harass, embarrass and frighten. The lawsuit was filed last year by Jennifer S... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1655673 Fri, 25 Jul 2008 12:10:53 +0100 1655673 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1616209&cid=t_105198_140_f&fid=35448&url=http%3A%2F%2Fseemedlikeagoodideathetime.com%2F2008%2F07%2F12%2Fbuypolar-defense%2F I’m truly sick of this nonsense! Chicks, it’s giving all of us a bad, bad rap. What am I talking about? The bipolar (which I from now on will call “buypolar” defense. How many of us with bipolar disorder live day after day without managing to get our names in the news? Yes, there are times [...] (Source: bipolar chicks blogging) bipolar chicks blogging blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1616209 Sun, 13 Jul 2008 10:27:30 +0100 1616209 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1560972&cid=t_105198_140_f&fid=35448&url=http%3A%2F%2Fseemedlikeagoodideathetime.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F07%2F01%2Fsee-ya-theredoc%2F Physicians blamed the delayed care on shrinking budgets that have prompted many hospitals to either consolidate mental health services or shut them down completely. Well that will get attention. Psych patient left to die. This hellhole is more than likely one of many. I’m taking that horrific point and running with it…..I wonder what “physicians’” excuses are [...] (Source: bipolar chicks blogging) bipolar chicks blogging blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1560972 Wed, 02 Jul 2008 01:29:38 +0100 1560972 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1556506&cid=t_105198_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F323492559%2F The drugmaker will pay $64,400 to settle a lawsuit charging severance pay was withheld from a long-time employee in order to force her to withdraw a discrimination charge, the Associated Press reports. Lilly must also specify in future severance agreements that employees don’t have to waive the right to file a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or cooperate in an investigation. “A company may not condition receipt of benefits, such as severance benefits, on an employee’s promise not to cooperate with the EEOC,” Laurie Young, a EEOC regional attorney, says in a statement. Starr Johnson worked for Lilly for more than 23 years before she was fired in 2005, shortly after filing a discrimination charge with the EEOC, the AP writes. Documents in the ... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1556506 Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:52:56 +0100 1556506 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1551250&cid=t_105198_86_f&fid=36669&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffadelibrary.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F06%2F27%2Fthe-costs-of-addressing-age-discrimination-in-social-care%2F seeks to gauge the extent of age discrimination in council-funded social care services for adults (people 18 or over). It draws on a quantitative analysis of the level of support provided to service users. Lower expenditure per head on services may indicate age discrimination, but there are also a range of ‘legitimate’ reasons for this pattern of spending. The analysis aims to determine whether people in different age groups are treated differently after these ‘legitimate’ differences are removed. (Source: Fade Library) Fade Library blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1551250 Fri, 27 Jun 2008 04:26:25 +0100 1551250 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1546561&cid=t_105198_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F06%2Famericans-with-disabilities-act-missing.html The House of Representatives has overwhelmingly passed an expansion of the ADA's protection against workplace discrimination. From the story:In deciding whether a person is disabled, the bill says, courts should generally not consider the effects of "mitigating measures" like prescription drugs, hearing aids and artificial limbs. Moreover, it adds, "an impairment that is episodic or in remission is a disability if it would substantially limit a major life activity when active."The chief sponsor of the bill, the House Democratic leader, Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, said the situation was now bizarre. "An individual may be considered too disabled by an employer to get a job, but not disabled enough by the courts to be protected by the A.D.A. from discrimination," Mr. Hoyer said... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1546561 Thu, 26 Jun 2008 15:04:00 +0100 1546561 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1543417&cid=t_105198_140_f&fid=35448&url=http%3A%2F%2Fseemedlikeagoodideathetime.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F06%2F25%2Fyes-virginia-there-is-a-real-boogeyman%2F I’m spittin’ mad. This is bullshit…. WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down a law that allows the execution of people convicted of a raping a child. In a 5-4 vote, the court said the Louisiana law allowing the death penalty to be imposed in such cases violates the Constitution’s ban [...] (Source: bipolar chicks blogging) bipolar chicks blogging blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1543417 Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:11:51 +0100 1543417 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1543929&cid=t_105198_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F319778323%2F A handful of women - three of whom once worked as sales reps for the drugmaker and two who still do - are seething over subpoenas Sanofi-Aventis lawyers sent their new employers, and even prospective employers, seeking a raft of employment info in hopes of intimidating them into withdrawing their sexual discrimination lawsuit. The info sought includes resumes, applications, benefit data, payroll records, and references, among other things. In a motion filed in federal court in New York, the reps claim the move by the drugmaker is a fishing expedition and an invasion of personal rights that is irrelevant to the discrimation claims made and, instead, is designed to harass, embarrass and frighten. “Such interference by Sanofi-Aventis is particularly damaging in the tight-knit and cohesi... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1543929 Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:18:26 +0100 1543929 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1531913&cid=t_105198_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F06%2F20%2Fthe-legal-situation-of-race-equality-abstract%2F Ivan Bodensteiner has posted his paper, “The Supreme Court as the Major Barrier to Racial Equality” on SSRN. Here’s the abstract. * * * This Article suggests that the U.S. Supreme Court, through its decisions in cases alleging race discrimination, stands as a major barrier to racial equality in the United States. There are several aspects of its decisions that lead to this result. Between 1868 and 1954, the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, while it had been interpreted to strike down a few blatant forms of de jure discrimination, allowed government to separate the races based on the separate but equal fiction. Beginning in 1954, Brown and a series of subsequent decisions attacked this fiction and for a period of nearly twenty years the Court was intent... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1531913 Fri, 20 Jun 2008 19:04:40 +0100 1531913 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1500285&cid=t_105198_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F306119703%2F Are some Lilly employees using too much Cialis? Tricia Galecke, a former gymnast who was once offered a job as a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, is suing the drugmaker because her former boss and sales partner repeatedly subjected her to come-ons about her “hot body” and “stripper heels,” The New York Daily News reports. The 36-year-old Manhattan woman contends she was fired in March after nearly 11 years as a sales rep because she complained about unwanted attention from supervisor, Michael Polkowitz, and sales partner, Michael Lyons, the paper writes. Galacke filed a sex harassment suit in which she accused her former boss of doctoring an expense account from a client dinner at a Manhattan restaurant to get her canned. She also alleged that, after she was axed, Lill... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1500285 Fri, 06 Jun 2008 14:02:06 +0100 1500285 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1497752&cid=t_105198_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F305277535%2F Pfizer lost a bid to stop depositions that are expected to support claims by former sales reps that the drugmaker fabricated misconduct allegations as a pretext for age discrimination, Health Law360 reports. One of the former reps, Karen Kirkpatrick, who was first hired by Parke-Davis in 1989 and was 55 when she was fired early last year, wants to depose several doctors and nurses to prove she didn’t falsify sampling records by altering dates, according to court documents. She was replaced by a 25-year-old rep. Here is the lawsuit. A magistrate in federal court in Kansas denied Pfizer’s motion for a protective order to prevent the depositions of five doctors. The depositions may be used by the lawyers for the former reps to gather evidence that may be cited as a reason for firi... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1497752 Thu, 05 Jun 2008 11:54:51 +0100 1497752 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1467022&cid=t_105198_133_f&fid=35119&url=http%3A%2F%2Frettdevil.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F05%2Fyes-alex-you-are-special-good-kind.html In Port Saint Lucie, Florida, a five year old boy was voted out of his Kindergarten class by his classmates and a truly deploarable excuse for a teacher.This teacher had the students tell Alex Barton, age FIVE, exactly what they dislike about him. Alex is being evaluated for Asperger Syndrome and has since this spring. Diagnosis, though, isn't what matters here.What matters is that this so called teacher acted in a thoroughly detestable manner towards a child. This is hateful, builds stigma, and builds hate. Not acceptable. If you can't handle kindergarteners you shouldn't teach kindergarten. It is really that simple. Spreading the idea that it's ok to treat others like garbage just makes it all the worse. She has no business working with kids if she cannot control herself. Adults who bull... The Rettdevil's Rants blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1467022 Sun, 25 May 2008 04:19:00 +0100 1467022 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1461022&cid=t_105198_87_f&fid=35052&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FWomensBioethicsBlog%2F%7E3%2F295348916%2Fgina-is-now-law-of-land.html Finally! The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act has been signed into law. More info here, there, and everywhere. Oh, and here too. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] (Source: Women's Bioethics Blog) Women's Bioethics Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1461022 Wed, 21 May 2008 21:29:49 +0100 1461022 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1417952&cid=t_105198_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F05%2F02%2Fdiscriminating-mind%2F Amy Wax posted her article, “The Discriminating Mind: Define it, Prove it” (forthcoming 40 Connecticut Law Review (2008)) on SSRN. The abstract is below. * * * Differential group achievements in competitive spheres like business, government, and academia, in conjunction with professed organizational commitments to fairness and equal opportunity, fuel claims that unconscious discrimination operates widely in society today. But attempts to blame disparities by race or sex on inadvertent bias must be approached with caution in the current climate. Many allegations concerning unconscious discrimination do not properly allege category-based treatment at all but rather target the disparate impact, or differential effects, of category-neutral criteria. Such impacts often reflect w... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1417952 Fri, 02 May 2008 22:00:52 +0100 1417952 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1416169&cid=t_105198_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F05%2Foutlawing-genetic-discrimination.html Well, this is long overdue. Congress overwhelmingly passed, and the president will sign, a bill outlawing genetic discrimination in employment and insurance. From the story:The bill passed with overwhelming support in the House on a 414-1 vote, a week after being approved by a 95-0 vote in the Senate. The only member of Congress to vote against the bill was Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas. President Bush has promised to sign it.But the nearly unanimous support for the measure masks a hard-fought 13-year battle to pass the bill. Health insurers and employers groups fought the measure vigorously, and ultimately secured some changes to the bill. House GOP leaders, who viewed some provisions as anti-business, blocked it from reaching the floor until Democrats took power last year.The bill has strong su... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1416169 Fri, 02 May 2008 18:39:00 +0100 1416169 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1404250&cid=t_105198_151_f&fid=35793&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thejunkyswife.com%2F2008%2F04%2Fhey-goodyear-screw-you.html Me and some Cuntfaces are pissed off about Goodyear not treating female employees right. Nothing gets my goat like unequal pay for equal work. Please go to The Point and sign the petition to show your support. Please sign and make me happy, and spread the word on your own blogs. You can read the summary of the issue below:Lilly Ledbetter worked for Goodyear for over 20 years, and only upon retirement was she informed that she had consistently made significantly less than every man in the same position for her entire career. She was significantly less than the lowest paid male in a similar position.Goodyear Tire Co refused to settle the case for a measly $60,000, the difference between Ledbetter’s pay and the lowest paid male worker in the same position. A jury awarded Ledbetter damages o... Heroin Addiction Codependence blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1404250 Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:22:00 +0100 1404250 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1399183&cid=t_105198_87_f&fid=35052&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FWomensBioethicsBlog%2F%7E3%2F277757263%2Funtouchable-woman-dies-after-birth.html Maya Devi, a Dalit woman in India, died yesterday, 24 hours after an unassisted birth outside the Kanpur Medical College maternity ward in Uttar Pradesh. Her son died almost immediately after being... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] (Source: Women's Bioethics Blog) Women's Bioethics Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1399183 Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:27:29 +0100 1399183 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1393767&cid=t_105198_87_f&fid=35052&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FWomensBioethicsBlog%2F%7E3%2F276264048%2Fblog-post.html The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) is finally coming up for a Senate vote, according to Michael Stebbins of Scientists & Engineers for America. Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) has had... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] (Source: Women's Bioethics Blog) Women's Bioethics Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1393767 Wed, 23 Apr 2008 16:22:48 +0100 1393767 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1382421&cid=t_105198_140_f&fid=35448&url=http%3A%2F%2Fseemedlikeagoodideathetime.com%2F2008%2F04%2F18%2Fsorry-about-that%2F Two weeks ago I was at my neurologist’s office for my check-up. (I’ll leave out my trigeminal neuralgia rant on this guy for now) In the epilepsy department…he does okay. He talks a lot. He likes to visit. He’s actually a nice guy. I have more of a problem with his office (it’s way [...] (Source: bipolar chicks blogging) bipolar chicks blogging blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1382421 Fri, 18 Apr 2008 20:26:35 +0100 1382421 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1325057&cid=t_105198_133_f&fid=35098&url=http%3A%2F%2Fclub166.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F03%2Ftrump-card.html photo credit-iboy danielcreative commons licenseKristina Chew got me thinking today with her post on "Race, Diagnosis, and Identity". In it, she talks about her son Charlie's biracial (Asian/Caucasian) heritage, as well as his other difference, his autism. Kristina also references an article by Peggy Orenstein in the New York Times Magazine called "Mixed Messenger", which discusses Barack Obama's biracial status as a candidate, and being biracial in America today.When Liz and I were contemplating adoption, we thought long and hard about whether to adopt trans racially or not, which race children we would accept, and what sorts of disabilities we would accept (our children, Buddy Boy and Sweet Pea are biracial African-American/Caucasian). It all sounds so clinical, cold, and calculating, bu... Club 166 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1325057 Tue, 25 Mar 2008 03:17:00 +0100 1325057