Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2013 April 29

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April 29

What is the oldest age a person can be an adopted or foster parent in Russia or Finland?

Since there is no age maximun for how old someone adpotes or foster a child in Russia or Finland I wonder how old the foster or adpoted parents has been in the past or is now? Venustar84 (talk) 03:35, 29 April 2013 (UTC)

We don't seem to have an article on Russia or Finland. μηδείς (talk) 01:05, 30 April 2013 (UTC)

Actually, in Finland a person over 50 cannot legally adopt a minor (there are some exceptions). The age difference between adoptive parent and adoptee must not exceed 45 years. An adult can only be adopted if it can be demonstrated that a child-parent-like relationship has existed between the adoptive parent and the adoptee when the latter was still a minor.

For foster parents, there is no set maximum age, but in practice it would be unlikely for a very old person to be approved as a foster parent, since it's hard work.

I believe the average age of adoptive parents in Finland is somewhere around 40, but I have no good source for this.--Rallette (talk) 06:11, 30 April 2013 (UTC)

university courses

So, it seems I've just dropped out of university. I feel like I was doing the wrong course, I want to try again at something else, but I don't know what. I feel like something sciency, but I'm not sure what area I'd want to specialise in. Is there anyone that I could go to and talk about different options with? I'm sure my school had a careers advisor for that, but I'm not in school any more, so I'll need somewhere else.

Kitutal (talk) 12:47, 29 April 2013 (UTC)

When I dropped out of university, I went to the campus careers advisor. We discussed options for me choosing a different course at the university, looked at suitable courses at other universities, and talked about my possibly starting a career. The fact I wasn't a student was absolutely no issue - in fact it seemed to be part of the university's 'after care' package for me.

For alternative options, it might be useful for us to know where you are. I know of various options that might be useful to you in the UK, but not so useful in Ubeki-beki-beki-stan-stan. - Cucumber Mike (talk) 13:01, 29 April 2013 (UTC)

I agree that going to the university and seeing an advisor (career advisor or whatever that particular school calls them) is a good idea. Just because you dropped out doesn't mean that you can't return. And they have an interest in getting another paying student on the books. (pun intended) Go talk to them and see what you might be more interested in. Dismas|^(talk) 13:39, 29 April 2013 (UTC)

I guess that could work, though I have no idea where the university career advice place is. I'll ask around, might also talk to friends on other courses Kitutal (talk) 13:54, 29 April 2013 (UTC)

Every Major's Terrible might give you some ideas ;-) Or you could work for a year or two and then come back with a better idea of what you want to do. Dmcq (talk) 14:04, 29 April 2013 (UTC)

This needs to be interpreted properly! --Stephan Schulz (talk) 16:21, 29 April 2013 (UTC)

You might want to take some free online classes at edx.org. They are offered by prestigious universities like MIT, and will give you an opportunity to take classes from a variety of fields. If you want to stick with a course, that's great, but if you drop out, there's no sense of wasted money. StuRat (talk) 18:28, 29 April 2013 (UTC)

I thought of that, or open university, but I'm enjoying the rest of the university experience. And besides, I'd lack motivation if it was just something I could look up online whenever I felt like, rather than set lesson times and deadlines and the like. But, maybe it'd be of use to see what different subjects are like over the next few weeks Kitutal (talk) 10:00, 30 April 2013 (UTC)

Don't be in denial. You're not enjoying the rest of the university experience, because you've dropped out. This is quite a big deal. You will one day see it as a major learning experience, but before then you need some strategies, as people have already suggested. Most people in your circumstances get a job. You can study part-time while you take stock and plan a career that may or may not involve going back to study. Distance learning and open learning are options so long as they fit into an overall plan. Itsmejudith (talk) 20:24, 30 April 2013 (UTC)

Disclaimer: the following are opinions with no reference whatsoever, take with a grain of salt. I don't know where you are but in Canada most post-secondary education institutions offer academic advising, especially to dropout students. You should book an appointment ASAP explaining your situation and explore your options (If you can't find it on the university website call their main switchboard/course registration number). Second, university is not for everyone. If you think you like working with your hands/a blue collar job consider trade school. You'll probably be happier and earn more as a tradesman than if you complete a Bachelor (earning highly dependent on your major). Most people in your situation would get a job and there's nothing wrong with that. You always have the option of returning to school later, when you are ready and motivated. However, I agree with Itsmejudith: don't be in denial and this is A BIG DEAL. To the best of my knowledge and experience, a bachelor is the admission ticket to most "good" jobs. Lot of employers hire people w/ degree not because of the knowledge (of course there are tons of exception, ex: Accounting) but because the degree demonstrate you have the will and intelligent to complete a degree (whatever that means :)). Royor (talk) 01:38, 1 May 2013 (UTC)

Royor makes some very good points. I'll throw in this excellent article I happened to read the other day, which the OP may find motivational. It's addressed to young men who don't have a clue which career path to follow, but all its points apply equally as well to young women. Textorus (talk) 07:48, 1 May 2013 (UTC)

I'd like to encourage seeing a careers advisor too. Don't take what they say as gospel truth defining your life though. One of my employers provided a range of personality/aptitude tests to employees as a perk to employees once without looking at the results themselves. According to that I was totally unsuited to what I was doing, a job I was very happy doing and if I may say so myself doing very well. and had no intention of leaving. If that Majors song above for instance sounded unfair about a career to you then that might indicate you would like something like that, and if there is something you are good at then that is pretty sound basis as people like to do what they are good at. Dmcq (talk) 09:22, 1 May 2013 (UTC)

twins and being gay

NBA basketball player Jason Collins recently game out as gay. He has a twin brother named Jarron, also a basketball player. Since most reasonable people know that being gay is something you are born with, it probably has something to do with genetics. I'm NOT asking if Jarron is ALSO gay (no need to start rumors, etc.), but I am wondering if there's a high incidence (either anecdotally or scientifically researched) of pairs of twins who are both gay, or if it is common for one twin to identify as gay, while the other is straight.--24.228.93.254 (talk) 18:17, 29 April 2013 (UTC)

If your twin is gay, you are more likely to be, yes. The interesting thing is that it's not 100%. So, even two people with the same genetics and presumably the same upbringing can turn out differently. This implies a random factor (either something truly random, or maybe some factor we don't know about yet). Perhaps epigenetics holds the clue. StuRat (talk) 18:20, 29 April 2013 (UTC)

There's more information about this in our article Biology and sexual orientation, and an interesting study from 1993 here. - Karenjc 18:30, 29 April 2013 (UTC)

I don't think it is certain that "being gay is something you are born with". It does seem to be something that most individuals have no control over, the evidence suggests a genetic component, and it may feel as though it is innate, but the existence of monozygotic (identical) twins with different orientations strongly suggests an environmental component. Possibly the environmental factor is in the womb or in very early childhood. Marco polo (talk) 20:16, 29 April 2013 (UTC)

While I agree with your first statement, and while this may not be a point of confusion for you, I think it's worthwhile pointing out to avoid confusion that any influence from the prenatal environment would also be something you are born with even if not genetic or not simply genetic. Nil Einne (talk) 20:46, 29 April 2013 (UTC)

It is worth saying, since no one has, that a characteristic or trait like this is a complex mixture of genetics, epigenetics, environment, etc. etc., and that none of that is deterministic on the individual level. At the averages over the entire population of humanity, broad statements can be made which indicate that a certain gene or environmental factor may result in a greater chance (meaning a higher percentage of people have statistically ended up this way) of being gay, but only one factor makes you gay: that's being gay. A gene doesn't make you gay. An experience doesn't make you gay. Something that happens in the womb doesn't make you gay. All of those factors may be correlated to greater numbers of people who are gay, but it isn't deterministic, and there's no way anyone can say if the twin of a gay person is him or herself gay than that person themselves. --Jayron32 21:22, 29 April 2013 (UTC)

Part of the problem may well be the notion that we're either one or the other, when orientation is more of a sliding scale. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 21:52, 29 April 2013 (UTC)

Don't all people wish they had twins, gay or straight? μηδείς (talk) 01:04, 30 April 2013 (UTC)

No. Bielle (talk) 01:11, 30 April 2013 (UTC)

yeah, when they need a liver transplant Gzuckier (talk) 03:48, 30 April 2013 (UTC)

It's worth stating it very explicitly that even when a Twin study shows a positive correlation between being a twin and sharing a phenotype, a genetic component is not implied! Maternal effects, including the intrauterine environment, can also explain such a positive correlation. Someguy1221 (talk) 04:03, 30 April 2013 (UTC)

Citing an entire paragraph Chicago Manual of Style

I can't see the find this online. But when using the Chicago Manual of Style parenthetical citation format, if in my paper, all of the sentences from an entire paragraph of my paper are all from the same single source, do I need to add a parenthetical citation to the end of each sentence? Or can I just add one citation to the end of the paragraph?

I think in APA you're allowed to just add one citation at the end of your paragraph if all sentences from the paragraph came from that single source. But can you do the same in Chicago? Acceptable (talk) 20:22, 29 April 2013 (UTC)

Yes, you may. See 15.26 in the 16th edition:

15.26 Several references to the same source

When the same page (or page range) in the same source is cited more than once in one paragraph, the parenthetical citation can be placed after the last reference or at the end of the paragraph (but preceding the final period). When referring to different pages in the same source, however, include a full parenthetical citation at the first reference; subsequent citations need only include page numbers.

— Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Edition

--Atethnekos (Discussion, Contributions) 20:37, 1 May 2013 (UTC)