White North American Research Articles

Black Readings of Exodus

Most academic study of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament in North America has been done from a White European or North American perspective. Post-graduate schools have predominantly required students to read works written by White authors, and the vast majority of professors are White. However, the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament also has a long history of interpretation by non-White and Majority World thinkers, and their contributions need to be more widely acknowledged and employed in studying the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. This article surveys the contributions of Black Hebrew Bible/Old Testament scholars on the book of Exodus. Black scholars employ a variety of methods and approaches as they engage with the biblical text. We consider these approaches by category, beginning with textual criticism and translation before exploring works that focus on Africa in the Bible, those that draw on African or African American context, and those that highlight issues of gender or the perspectives of liberation theology. We conclude with those employing multi-faceted or integrative approaches.

Society, Suspicion, and the Supernatural: The Factors Behind the Salem Witch Trials

The Salem witch trials of 1692-1693 evolved out of the factors of religious fanaticism controlling Massachusetts society, patriarchal constructs that negatively impacted the views of and the actions of women, white North American constructs of race and ethnicity, interpersonal and societal tensions, and the aftermath of King Philip’s War. Religious domination of Salem life espoused conformity, the supernatural as an explanation for negative events, and the dangers of secularism. Samuel Parris played upon these factors of the Puritan religion, along with the tensions between Salem Village and Salem Town, to spur the start of the witch trials, as he was personally affected by a supernatural bewitching. Puritan women, whether afflicted or accused, were subject to extreme notions of conformity and religious doctrine that maintained the inherent sinfulness of women but found avenues of power through accusing others of witchcraft or behaving as an afflicted. Parris’ slave, Tituba, represents the racial and ethnic outsider, whose Native American heritage cast her as the propagator of Salem’s demonic activity, but who was able to find power by upending the racial hierarchy the community had created. Economic tensions between Salem Town and Salem Village were highlighted in the witchcraft accusations and were exacerbated by religious differences and climate conditions. King Philip’s War impacted Salem’s concepts of Native Americans as demonic witches, highlighted the existence of religious enemies, diminished the authority of government, and increased Puritan awareness of sin.

The virility-fertility tradeoff: effects of fatherhood on (precarious) masculinity, sexual esteem, and sexual depression

ABSTRACT The stress, exhaustion, and negative impacts on sexual relationships associated with parenthood are well documented, but father’s perceptions of these changes are underexplored. Since sexuality and physicality are cornerstones of traditional/hegemonic masculine norms, changes in these domains resulting from fatherhood may produce concerns about masculinity maintenance and loss of masculine status. However, fatherhood provides clear evidence of a man’s sexual capability and virility – highly valued masculine traits. Therefore, fatherhood could theoretically make perceptions of masculinity more stable. The present study compared fathers and non-fathers on perceptions of masculinity and sexuality, and explored potential predictors of sexual esteem versus sexual depression during fatherhood. A sample of primarily heterosexual, White North American fathers and non-fathers participated in an online survey (N = 564) including measures of sexual esteem, sexual depression, and precarious manhood belief. Fathers were also asked to report their perceptions surrounding parenthood. Fathers endorsed precarious manhood beliefs less than non-fathers, and reported higher levels of both sexual esteem and sexual depression. Among fathers, a high personal sex drive predicted sexual esteem, while parental stress, low partner sex drive, and low self-perceived masculinity after parenthood predicted fathers’ sexual depression.

Toward decolonial community psychologies from Abya Yala.

The epistemologies generated from colonized spaces such as Latin America and the Caribbean have been excluded from the dominant Euro- and US-centric discourses of community psychology. Modern science is compartmentalized into disciplines forming silos and boundaries among them. Historically, psychology has been authored by European or North American White men, claiming superior expertise as detached researchers who study, analyze, interpret, and represent the inferior objects of study. Therefore, we should ask: what type of knowledges does psychology generate, with whom, and for what? Our praxis constitutes a political act which should question and challenge coloniality. In Latin America and the Caribbean, we became increasingly aware of the importance of generating knowledges about the communal (lo común)based on the experiences of Indigenous people in the Americas. Epistemologies from Abya Yala delink from the hegemonic, US-Eurocentric paradigms and address the structural violence of the neoliberal system. To co-create an inclusive and pluriversal discipline of psychology, we need to disrupt the linguistic colonization executed by the imposition of the English language legitimized as universal. We ought to convey the many examples of epistemologies and praxes from Abya Yala that contribute to the co-construction of decolonial psychologies emerging from their own localities and cultures. We propose counterepistemologies that disrupt a monocultural, monolingustic, universal, and hegemonic epistemology. This paper reviews selected decolonial contributions from Abya Yala and sketches pathways toward the making of decolonial community psychologies anchored in pluriversal ecologies of knowledges.

Intersectional perspectives of parents of transgender children in Aotearoa (New Zealand)

Introduction This article explores the intersectional perspectives of parents of transgender children in Aotearoa (New Zealand). The substantial body of research on parent experiences in this area has largely focused on parents who are white North American middle-class cisgender women. We seek to extend this research by taking an intersectional approach and examining the perspectives of a group of participants of different genders, sexual orientations, and cultural backgrounds. Methods We asked 20 participants in Aotearoa who self-identified as gender-affirming parents to draw their experience of parenting a transgender child and discuss this with us in interview. Results The research resulted in rich visual and verbal depictions of gender-affirming parenting, drawing from the intersectional perspectives of Māori, Pākehā, Pacific, Asian, queer, straight, female, male and non-binary parents. Using visual and verbal discourse analysis, we explore how the participants constructed their experience from their uniquely situated perspectives, both specific and multilayered. Conclusion We argue that the parents’ perspectives reveal both challenges and strengths, reflecting the burdens of intersectional oppression, while also fostering the parents’ capacity for engaging in discursive resistance to advance their children’s interests.

Perspectives of Minority Ethnic Caregivers of People with Dementia Interviewed as Part of the IDEAL Programme

Postwar migrants from the Caribbean and Indian subcontinent (Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan) to the UK are now experiencing the onset of age‐related diseases such as dementia. Our evidence base, both quantitative and qualitative, documenting the experiences of family caregivers of people with dementia is largely drawn from studies undertaken with white European, North American, and Australasian populations. Consequently, there is a need for research in the field of dementia caregiving to reflect the increasing diversity in ethnic identities of the older adult population of the UK. Using semistructured interviews, we investigated the experiences of 18 caregivers of people with dementia in Black Caribbean, Black African, and South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi) communities in England. Participants were recruited from the Join Dementia Research platform and were predominantly female intergenerational carers. We identified the following three themes: motivation to care (spending time with the care recipient and reciprocity), positive and negative consequences of caregiving (rewards and consequences), and the cultural context of caregiving (cultural norms and values supporting caregiving and negative attitudes towards dementia). Our findings develop existing literature by identifying (a) the importance of spending time with the person they care for, (b) the absence of faith as a caregiving driver, and (c) the challenge of watching the declining health of a parent. We highlight how the different motivations to care are intertwined and dynamic. This is illustrated by the linking of obligation and reciprocity in our dataset and positive and negative experiences of caregiving.

Bleeding All over the Shelves and Tracking It Out into the World: Theorizing Horror in the Indigenous North American Novels The Only Good Indians and Empire of Wild

Abstract: In this article, I theorize horror in the Indigenous North American novels The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones and Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline. There have been multiple article-length explorations of the emergence of a possible Indigenous gothic due to the gothic's scholarly reception as "highbrow," but the recent proliferation of so-called "lowbrow" horror literature written by Indigenous North American authors has seen little scholarly attention. Examining the history of the gothic in horror in North America and its relation to White North American subjectivity and regenerative violence, I begin to theorize why and how Indigenous authors are engaging with horror to posit multiple Indigenous North American subjectivities. I argue that both novels examined here reject White North American subjectivity and regenerative violence through metatextuality, closed cycles of justice, and generative violence while differing in important ways that are grounded in the concept of transmotion.

Normal Values of Three-Dimensional Right Ventricular Size and Function Measurements: Results of the World Alliance Societies of Echocardiography Study

Normal values for 3D right ventricular (RV) size and function are not well established, as they originate from small studies that involved predominantly white North American and European populations, did not use RV-focused views and relied on older 3D RV analysis software . The World Alliance of Societies of Echocardiography (WASE) study was designed to generate reference ranges for normal subjects around the world. In this study, we sought to assess the world-wide capability of 3D imaging of the right ventricle and report size and function measurements, including their dependency on age, sex and ethnicity. Healthy subjects free of cardiac, pulmonary and renal disease were prospectively enrolled at 19 centers in 15 countries, including 6 continents. 3D wide-angle RV datasets were obtained and analyzed using dedicated RV software (Tomtec) to measure end-diastolic and end-systolic volumes (EDV, ESV), stroke volume (SV) and ejection fraction (EF). Results were categorized by sex, age (18-40, 41-65 and >65 years) and ethnicity. Of the 2007 subjects with attempted 3D RV acquisitions, 1051 had adequate image quality for confident measurements. Upper and lower limits for BSA-indexed EDV (mL/m2) and ESV (mL/m2) and EF (%) were [48, 95], [19, 43] and [44, 58] for men and [42, 81], [16, 36] and [46, 61] for women. Men had significantly larger EDV, ESV and SV (even after BSA indexing) and lower EF than women (p<0.05). EDV and ESV did not show any meaningful differences between age groups. 3D RV volumes were smallest in Asians. Reliability of 3D RV acquisition is low worldwide underscoring the importance for future improvements in imaging techniques. Sex and race must be taken into consideration in the assessment of both RV volumes and EF.

Analysis and Comparison of Early Childhood Nutritional Outcomes Among Offspring of Chinese Women Under the Chinese 2021 and US 2009 Gestational Weight Gain Guidelines

In 2009, the US National Academy of Medicine (NAM) released revised gestational weight gain (GWG) guidelines, which were established primarily for White North American women and may be unsuitable for Asian women. In 2021, the Chinese Nutrition Society (CNS) released its GWG guidelines, but their applicability requires re-examination. To compare the differences between the CNS and NAM recommendations for GWG in association with health outcomes in the offspring of Chinese women. In this bidirectional cohort study, children in China were recruited at age 3 years from 2017 to 2018, with 2 follow-up visits over the next 2 years (between September 2017 and September 2020). Information during pregnancy was retrieved from medical records. Data analysis was performed from October 2021 to January 2022. GWG was classified as insufficient, appropriate, or excessive according to the CNS and NAM guidelines separately. Children's height, weight, fat mass, fat-free mass, and percentage of body fat were measured at each visit. Body mass index, fat mass index, fat-free mass index, weighted κ score, risk ratio values, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) were calculated. A total of 3822 children (1996 boys and 1826 girls; mean [SD] age, 3.79 [0.30] years) were enrolled; after exclusions, 3170 term singleton children were recruited and were followed at 4 and 5 years of age. According to the CNS guidelines, the prevalence rates were 14.1% for insufficient GWG, 48.1% for appropriate GWG, and 37.9% for excessive GWG, whereas the rates according to NAM guidelines were 39.7% for insufficient GWG, 37.2% for appropriate GWG, and 23.1% for excessive GWG. The weighted κ value for the classification agreement between the 2 guidelines was 0.530 (95% CI, 0.510-0.550). For the appropriate GWG group, the rates for low nutritional levels did not differ between the 2 guidelines, but the rates for high nutritional levels were significantly lower under CNS guidelines than under NAM guidelines. When the sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV with respect to the mothers who maintained appropriate GWG were used to estimate the nonhigh nutritional status of their offspring, generally higher values based on the CNS guidelines were found compared with those based on the NAM recommendations. These findings suggest that the GWG recommendations promulgated by the NAM are higher than the CNS guidelines, with the latter more suitable for Chinese women.

Applying space-for-time substitution to infer the growth response to climate may lead to overestimation of tree maladaptation: Evidence from the North American White Spruce Network.

Under climate change circumstances, increasing studies have reported the temporal instability of tree growth responses to climate, which poses a major challenge to linearly extrapolating past climate and future growth dynamics using tree-ring data. Space-for-time substitution (SFTS) is a potential solution to this problem that is widely used in the dendrochronology field to project past or future temporal growth response trajectories from contemporary spatial patterns. However, the projected accuracy of the SFTS in the climate effects on tree growth remains uncertain. Here, we empirically test the SFTS method by comparing the effect of spatial and temporal climate variations on climate responses of white spruce (Picea glauca), which has a transcontinental range in North America. We first applied a response surface regression model to capture the variations in growth responses along the spatial climate gradients. The results showed that the relationships between growth and June temperature varied along spatial climate gradients in a predictable way. And their relationships varied mainly along with local temperate condition. Then, the projected correlation coefficients between growth and climate using SFTS were compared against the observed. We found that the growth response changes caused by spatial versus temporal climate variations showed opposite trends. Moreover, the projected correlation coefficients using the SFTS were significantly lower than the observed. This finding suggests that applying the SFTS to project the growth response of white spruce might lead to an overestimation of the degree of tree maladaptation in future climate scenarios. And the overestimation is likely to get weaker from Alaska and Yukon Territory in the west to Quebec in the east. Although this is only a case study of the SFTS method for projecting tree growth response, our findings suggest that direct application of the SFTS method may not be applicable to all regions and all tree species.

The Globalization of the Church History Department: The Plight of an Outsider Looking In (A Personal Reflection)

The Globalization of the Church History Department: The Plight of an Outsider Looking In (A Personal Reflection)

Looking for Global Mormonism

Looking for Global Mormonism

Sibling Relationships in Adolescence and Young Adulthood in Multiple Contexts: A Critical Review

In many contexts worldwide, most people grow up with one or more siblings. The current paper reviews research on sibling relationship quality (closeness, communication, and conflict) in adolescence and young adulthood in four different contexts: primarily White North American and European samples (132 articles reviewed); ethnic minority families (26 articles reviewed); China (6 articles reviewed); and when one sibling has a disability (21 articles reviewed). Where the literature was available, within each context we addressed five questions: how does sibling relationship quality change from adolescence through young adulthood, how are demographic and structural characteristics linked to sibling relationship quality, how is sibling relationship quality linked to adjustment and behavior, how are familial relationships and processes linked to sibling relationship quality, and how is sibling relationship quality linked to non-familial relationships. Included articles were published between 2001 and 2021 and included aspects of sibling closeness, communication, or conflict in adolescence or young adulthood. Across all contexts, individual (e.g., gender) and dyadic characteristics (e.g., gender composition, birth order) play a role in siblings’ relationship qualities. In several contexts, the current literature suggests that sibling closeness and communication are linked to positive development, well-being, and healthy relationships with other social partners. In multiple contexts, sibling conflict is linked to poorer well-being and negative relationships with other social partners. These broad patterns, however, are qualified by each context and often multiple moderators.

An Apostolic Journey: Stephen L Richards and the Expansion of Missionary Work in South America

An Apostolic Journey: Stephen L Richards and the Expansion of Missionary Work in South America

Review: The Varieties of Nonreligious Experience: Atheism in American Culture, by Jerome P. Baggett

The Varieties of Nonreligious Experience is emblematic of the second of three main streams of atheist books published in the West over the past two decades. On the one hand, Jerome Baggett’s nuanced sentiments resemble the countercultural work of others—such as Alain de Botton’s study of atheist reclamation(s) of religiosity in Religion for Atheists (2012)—that confronts reductionist conceptions of atheists and theists by showcasing the symmetry between their respective worldviews. On the other hand, Baggett differs from the militant first wave tenor of atheist apologists such as Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion (2006) and Christopher Hitchens’ God Is Not Great (2007). In contrast to the New Atheist defenders of atheist orthodoxy who dominate the media landscape, Baggett illuminates the humanity and humility of ordinary atheists in his survey of more than 500 American nonbelievers. Most atheists, he concludes, are not antireligious as they are so often characterized, but rather freethinkers with multifaceted personalities.The Varieties of Nonreligious Experience has several strengths. The book is the second published in New York University Press’ Secular Studies series, which is edited by the leading sociologist of atheism Phil Zuckerman. Baggett is cognizant of major and minor debates, including whether, and in what ways, atheists contribute to American public life and the inextricable linkages between modern conceptions of God and atheism. In a society bedeviled by self-aggrandizement, Baggett’s self-effacement is quite refreshing. He muses that his book will certainly not become an instant classic. He under-promises hoping to over-deliver. Baggett lucidly takes readers on a narratological trek of case studies to map the perplexities of atheists moving from belief to nonbelief. In the Acknowledgments, Baggett confesses he aspires only to capture interviewees’ stories.Baggett makes coherent arguments and modest inferences too. His expertise as a thinker and writer are on full display. He nimbly situates the current mood of public atheism, from the outset in the Preface, within the broader perspectives of scholarship, theories, and concepts about atheism. Avoiding needless jargon, he introduces rich and relevant analytical categories—empirical, critical, agnostic, and immanent—to contextualize the varying styles of unbelief. The book aptly develops its organizing principle through two clear sections—one on the atheist identity, the other cultivating atheist sensibilities—to highlight how “ordinary atheism” is not an affront to theism. The mirror imaging of the theist versus the atheist stems from a false binary consciousness. Because neither group, the author insinuates, has a monopoly on truth, theists and atheists should be able to learn from one another.In terms of limitations, Baggett’s survey methodology reinscribes facets of a white normativity in the reimagining of atheism in American culture, which reinforces the invisibility and the angst nonreligious people of color face on a daily basis. Mimicking William James’ overreliance on Christian-framed psychological analysis in The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902), Baggett focuses on white atheists’ testimonials, based on the racial and ethnic demographics of the 518 respondents (detailed in Appendix B): 3 percent Asian/Pacific Islanders, 4 percent “others,” 6 percent African Americans, 7 percent Hispanics/Latinos, and 80 percent whites.The issue extends, however, beyond the nonrandom sample size of people of color to the ahistorical and decontextualized questionnaire (detailed in Appendix A). Contrary to western European and white North American atheist populations, African American atheists often become atheist not through the ruminations of Enlightenment scientific rationalism, but through the ramifications of historic-traumatic events, such as the injustices of institutional racism. Baggett could be more intentional in examining how race and ethnicity as well as gender, class, and non-heterosexual subjects and sources color analyses of irreligious literacy to allow for fresher, multilayered meanings of cultural atheisms. In my own undergraduate course in “Atheism, Humanism, and Secularism” at San Diego State University, I will assign Baggett’s text alongside the third book in Zuckerman’s series, Nathan G. Alexander’s Race in a Godless World (2019). When used in tandem, the books offer a counterbalanced cultural, theological, and historical overview of the diversity within, and discrimination encountered by, atheists in America and globally.Despite the limitations of the book, the veracity of Baggett’s central thesis regarding the primacy of incorporating lived atheism in the sociology of religion is difficult to refute. He provides a compelling and complex portrait of rank-and-file nonbelievers living meaningful lives, who cautiously rethink the real and the imagined boundaries of religious constraints. Scholars in the fields of New Religions Studies as well as Third Wave Liberationist-Atheist Studies will surely welcome the challenge to stigmas and stereotypes combatted by a misunderstood community on the margins of society.

Representation of racial diversity in picturebooks in teacher education programs in the Republic of Croatia

In the Republic of Croatia, the importance of intercultural education and competence-oriented curricula has gained momentum in the last decade, with children’s literature being perceived as an invaluable source of intercultural learning and a fruitful tool for an exploration of global cultural diversity. Given that empirical data indicate the importance of children’s age for selecting age-appropriate intervention methods that would help combat discriminatory and prejudicial views, especially during the period between early and late childhood, this paper explores the choice of authors and picturebook titles taught in children’s literary courses at six Croatian Faculties of Teacher Education (Rijeka, Pula, Zagreb, Osijek, Zadar, and Split) with the aim to determine how university instructors interpret multicultural children’s literature and to which extent their syllabi accentuate the potential of picturebooks in fostering future pre-school and elementary-school teachers’ intercultural competence.&#x0D; The findings indicate a misalignment between the objectives of intercultural education and the racial and ethnic representation of authors and their characters, especially protagonists. Furthermore, intercultural competence is not a major learning objective in the analyzed university syllabi. The choice of authors and picturebooks indicates a clear preference for white North American and European authors and white characters and protagonists. These findings highlight the need for teacher-educators, i.e., university instructors, to rethink the nature of their learning objectives and study content and to expand their reading lists with more diverse voices that challenge the traditional models that have historically left many ethnic groups misrepresented, under-represented, or fully omitted from school and university curricula.

Estimation and comparative evaluation of teeth prominence values of Saudis for bracket prescription

BackgroundThe racial and ethnic disparities in tooth morphology and alignment indicate the need for different orthodontic prescriptions. PurposeThis study aimed at utilizing the 3D digital models to measure the teeth prominence of Saudi adults and compare the results to previously published data. Materials and methodsThe sample included 60 sets of 3D digital dental models of subjects who presented with non-orthodontic normal occlusion and balanced profile. Rhinoceros™ 3D modeling software was used to mark the midpoint of the clinical crown (LA) and the embrasure line and then to measure the prominence of the teeth. The collected data was analyzed using SPSS (IBM SPSS Inc., version 20, Chicago, IL, USA). The mean and SD scores were obtained for each measurement. Independent t-test, paired t-test, and student t-test were used for the comparison at a significant level of P ≤ 0.05. ResultComparison between the right and the left sides, and between the male and female showed no significant differences, and hence the result data were combined. However, further comparison with the published data of the North American whites, Japanese, Indian, African and Italian showed significant differences in most of the teeth. ConclusionRacial differences influence the teeth prominence values that should be considered in presenting orthodontic bracket prescriptions. More research in this field is needed.

Racial and Socioeconomic Disparities in Spinal Cord Stimulation Among the Medicare Population

IntroductionSpinal cord stimulation (SCS) is used in the treatment of many chronic pain conditions. This study investigates racial and socioeconomic disparities in SCS among Medicare patients with chronic pain. Materials and MethodsPatients over the age of 18 with a primary diagnosis of postlaminectomy syndrome (ICD-10 M96.1) or chronic pain syndrome (ICD-10 G89.4) were identified in the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare Claims Limited Data Set. We defined our outcome as SCS therapy by race and socioeconomic status. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine the variables associated with SCS. ResultsWe identified 1,244,927 patients treated between 2016 and 2019 with a primary diagnosis of postlaminectomy syndrome (PLS) or chronic pain syndrome (CPS). Of these patients, 59,182 (4.8%) received SCS. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that, compared with White patients, Black (OR [95%CI], 0.62 [0.6–0.65], p < 0.001), Asian (0.66 [0.56–0.76], p < 0.001), Hispanic (0.86 [0.8–0.93], p < 0.001), and North American Native (0.62 [0.56–0.69], p < 0.001) patients were significantly less likely to receive SCS. In addition, patients who were dual-eligible for Medicare and Medicaid were significantly less likely to receive SCS than those eligible for Medicare only (OR = 0.38 [95% CI: 0.37–0.39], p < 0.001). ConclusionsThis study suggests that racial and socioeconomic disparities exist in SCS among Medicare and Medicaid patients with PLS and CPS. Further work is required to elucidate the complex etiology underlying these findings.

Investigation of a 22-gene genomic classifier (GC) for risk stratification and molecular subtyping in an Asian prostate cancer (PCa) cohort.

249 Background: A 22-gene GC has been proposed to refine risk stratification of localized PCa by conventional NCCN criteria, and this may potentially influence treatment recommendations. Nonetheless, majority of studies looking at the utility of GC were conducted in White and non-White men from Western cohorts. We therefore investigated the association of GC with NCCN risk groups (RG) in an Asian PCa cohort. Additionally, we examined for inter-racial differences in molecular subtyping between Asian and White/non-White PCa. Methods: GC (Decipher Biosciences Inc., CA) was performed on diagnostic biopsies of men who were treated with radiotherapy +/- hormonal therapy at a single institution (N = 75). ISUP Gleason’s grade (GG) and tumor cellularity were reviewed by an expert GU pathologist. RNA was extracted from 2 x 2.0-mm tumor cores using Qiagen AllPrep DNA/RNA FFPE Kit (Qiagen, Germany) and gene expression was performed on Affymetrix Human Exon 1.0 ST Array (ThermoFischer, CA). PAM50 molecular subtyping was derived using the DecipherGRID database. Results: We profiled 80 tumors from 75 patients, comprising of 18 (24.0%), 9 (12.0%), 21 (28.0%), and 19 (25.3%) NCCN low-/favorable intermediate-, unfavorable intermediate-, high- and very high-RG, respectively; of note, 8 (10.7%) patients had regional/metastatic disease at diagnosis. Using the GC, 27 (33.8%), 14 (17.5%) and 39 (48.8%) were classified as low- (&lt;0.45), intermediate- (0.45-0.6) and high-RG, respectively (&gt;0.6). When stratified using a three-tier clinico-genomic (CG) classification system (Spratt et al. 2017), 6 of 21 (28.6%) NCCN-defined high-risk and 4 of 19 (21.1%) very high-risk patients were downgraded to CG-defined intermediate-/low-risk, while 2 of 27 (7.4%) NCCN low-/intermediate-risk patients were in fact upgraded to CG high-risk. Next, we interrogated the PAM50 basal-luminal signature in our cohort. Interestingly, when matched to White (N = 5762) and non-White (N = 155) for NCCN RG, ISUP GG and age, we observed a high proportion of basal subtype (62.7%) in Asians, which contrasted the prevalence observed in White (16.7%) and non-White (15.9%) North American patients (Chi-sq P &lt;0.001). Conclusions: Here, we demonstrated the utility of the 22-gene GC for refining the NCCN risk stratification in a largest Asian PCa dataset to-date. An unexpectedly high proportion of PAM50 basal-subtype was observed, suggesting race-specific differences of the tumor transcriptome.

W. E. B. Du Bois's Data Portraits: Visualizing Black America ed. by Whitney Battle-Baptiste and Britt Rusert

Reviewed by: W. E. B. Du Bois's Data Portraits: Visualizing Black America ed. by Whitney Battle-Baptiste and Britt Rusert Christopher McAuley W. E. B. Du Bois's Data Portraits: Visualizing Black America. Ed. Whitney Battle-Baptiste and Britt Rusert. Hudson, NY: Princeton Architectural Press, 2018. Pp. 144 + 63 illustrations. $29.95 (cloth). "Black America in Technicolor" is what may come to mind as one studies the vividly colored and creatively designed maps, bar graphs, pie charts, and other shapes that W. E. B. Du Bois and his collaborators used to represent Black America at the Exposition Universelle in Paris at the opening of the twentieth century, now assembled and published for the first time by Whitney Battle-Baptiste and Britt Rusert in W. E. B. Du Bois's Data Portraits: Visualizing Black America. So accustomed are we to viewing social scientific data in black and white that we can forget that the originals, in some cases, were vibrantly rendered in the full spectrum of colors. But as the editors and contributors—Aldon Morris, Mabel O. Wilson, and Silas Munro—make clear in their short but effective contextual essays and commentaries, the choice of hues was only one part of the Du Bois team's strategy of data representation. No less important to its members were the configuration and layout of the numerical and statistical information, fully cognizant of the fact that to challenge hardened perceptions, like racial ones, the researcher must appeal to the senses as much to the intellect. Hence, their use of a variety of geometric shapes, angles, planes, symbols, lettering, and fonts in their "infographics." The results are exceedingly striking visual representations of data that one has to literally see to appreciate, especially those that Du Bois's team constructed to convey Black migrations and measures of social progress in literacy, landownership, and school enrollment. Our contemporary visual renderings of data look drab and flatly unimaginative in comparison. A firm believer in the independent power of empirical data Du Bois may well have been, but he also understood, like any Parisian boutiquier, that there is power in presentation. [End Page 196] The volume contains reproductions of all sixty-three "data visualizations" that were part of the American Negro Exhibit, and are divided into the categories that Du Bois's "design team" chose: The Georgia Negro: A Social Study and A Series of Statistical Charts Illustrating the Condition of the Descendants of Former African Slaves Now in Residence in the United States of America. Accompanying each plate are informative and suggestive remarks by Munro, describing how the Du Bois team's visual innovations anticipate later artistic movements. As the editors and contributors note, the aim of the Du Bois team was to present Black America at the state, national, and international levels, so as to move exhibit attendees to locate Black America in global history and processes, including their particular experience of racial enslavement. Also included in the volume is a reproduction of a photo of the exhibit area of the American Negro Exhibit, which shows the framed and mounted infographics along the back and side walls, as well as those in double-sided wing frames. The photo also reveals the other "eclectic set of objects, images, and texts" that Du Bois's team assembled in the exhibit area, including framed photographic portraits of prominent African American leaders and politicians; tools, harnesses, and other agricultural products from black industrial schools; a bronze statuette of Frederick Douglass; and an on-site collection of over two hundred and fifty publications authored by African Americans and compiled by Daniel Alexander Payne Murray. (9) The photo, along with the editors' inventory of the archive that the Du Bois team used to represent Black America, allow the reader to imagine how white European and North American passers-by, on-lookers, and the curious received that information and what they later related to others about it. We have no way of knowing if the committee that awarded Du Bois a gold medal for coordinating the American Negro Exhibit at the Exposition Universelle did so because its members were genuinely convinced of the central points of the exhibit's designers: that Black American...