Identity - Science in Society

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Identity

Constructing relatedness: ethnicity, gender and third party assisted conception	Author	Source	Last Updated
This paper discusses some of the findings from an ESRC funded study designed to explore ‘public perceptions’ of gamete donation in British South Asian communities. Research addressing the field of new reproductive technologies generally has repeatedly failed to explore the potential implications for women and men from minority ethnic communities in the UK. In addition, research which relates to the practice of gamete donation has been limited and has tended to focus on the experiences of and consequences for white, middle class individuals and couples. The study on which this paper is based explores how the conceptual frameworks and knowledges around new reproductive technologies and gamete donation in particular may be influenced by ethnic, religious and cultural contexts and how such discourses may impact on the willingness or otherwise of individuals to donate or accept donated gametes. Data is derived from focus group discussions with women and men from four British South Asian ethnic/religious communities (n=100) and interviews with health professionals and key informants (n=20). Initial findings from the study suggest that women’s perceptions of gamete donation are influenced by constructions of the ‘connectivity’ between women and egg/fetus/child. Using donated eggs is more ‘acceptable’ since the genetic link with the father is maintained, whilst the mother maintains a ‘biological’, nurturing link to the child through pregnancy and birth. However, donating eggs is regarded as subject to a number of emotional and social risks, especially in the context of the ending of donor anonymity in the UK.	Lorraine Culley and Nicky Hudson. De Montfort University, Leicester UK.	Ppaper presented at ISA World Congress of Sociology to be held in Durban, July 2006	Last Updated - 7th August 2006


Changing the Boundaries of Dementia: How do Scientists Conceive Mild Cognitive Impairment?	Author	Source	Last Updated
How is mild cognitive impairment (MCI) reconfiguring the boundary between 'normal' and 'abnormal' cognitive ageing processes? This paper addresses this question by focusing on the perspectives of biomedical scientists. Sociological studies of the introduction of new diagnostic categories and techniques in disease classification systems have shown that such processes are structured by contestation and difference. Using methods from the history of medicine, the paper traces the trajectory of MCI as a biomedical category from its origins to its current status. With these techniques, it will identify the evolving lines of epistemic demarcation brought about by this concept. The paper will further suggest that these lines of demarcation deploy different ideals of the relationship between the biomedicine of dementia and older citizens and their families.	Tiago Moreira University of Newcastle	The Gerontologist, 44, Special issue	Last Updated - 12 January 2005