Human Ecology Forum articles from March 1997

Human Ecology Forum archives from March 1997

Adoptive parents favor opening adoption records.
March 22, 1997... Parents of adopted children in New York are overwhelmingly in favor of laws that allow adult adoptees access to information in their birth certificates about their birth parents, according to a new Cornell study. "One major argument for...

Childhood sexual abuse affects relationships in adulthood.
March 22, 1997... College women who were sexually abused before age eighteen tend to have less secure and trusting relationships with their partners and lower levels of interpersonal functioning and social adjustment than college women who were not abused,...

Working on the hot seat. (effects of work-related stress on bus drivers)
March 22, 1997... The stress of traffic congestion, tight schedules, and dealing with passengers causes high rates of stress-related health problems in bus drivers. Professor Gary Evans and his colleagues are finding that new ideas in bus route design may do a...

The greening of plastics. (biodegradable plastics)
March 22, 1997... Landfills are clogged with the detritus of unusable or just unwanted plastic consumer goods. Why not, asked fiber scientist Anil Netravali, make a plastic that decomposes? A plastic that, in fact, could end up in the compost heap instead of the...

The science of thought.
March 22, 1997... For years psychologists have considered most children and adults to be pretty mediocre scientists. Professor Barbara Koslowski says that a broader understanding of what constitutes scientific thinking shows that we're really quite good at it....

The healthy office. (modifying the office environment to minimize work-related stress)
March 22, 1997... Computers take center stage in most office environments today. But little has been done to adjust the physical setting for worker health and safety. Hence, complaints of eyestrain, headaches, wrist injuries, and shoulder, neck, and back pain....

The folate debate. (importance of folate sufficiency in pregnant women) (with related article)
March 22, 1997... Folate deficiency in pregnant women can cause birth defects in their children. For some women, the deficiency is a result of improper diet. But for others a cellular metabolism problem is the culprit. Professor Patrick Stover's research in folate...

Benefits of child support have implications for policy.
March 22, 1997... Children who benefit from child support payments seem to fare better than those who obtain the same amount of money from welfare, according to a Cornell study. And when child support stems from an agreement between parents rather than a...

College offers expertise to state policy makers.
March 22, 1997... Welfare reform provides New York State with an opportunity to examine all its programs affecting families, children, and work. But to benefit from that opportunity, programs need to be carefully planned and evaluated, Associate Dean Charles...