Gender differences in information seeking behavior in three universities in West Bengal,India

The Information Revolution has resulted in dynamic changes in information dissemination services. It is difficult for most people to understand the dynamic causes, processes, and the effects of these changes on the information world. Gender as a variable has been identified in some studies as a possible influencing variable in information seeking research. Some social psychology depicts physical, mental and social differences between men and women in society. Gender as a variable may be useful for better understanding the cognitive and social background of human information processing and may have important implications for information dissemination services and systems. Hence, it is pertinent to explore the gender-specific differences in information seeking behavior of university students so as to better assist them in their information search processes.

The objective of this study was to determine whether gender as a variable is related to the information seeking behavior of university students. Data were collected from 600 university students studying different disciplines (arts, science and commerce) from three state-aided universities in West Bengal, India. Data tools included a General Information Schedule and an Information Seeking Behavior Inventory. Significant differences were noted in most of the domains of information seeking behavior with respect to gender (male and female). Females scored high on all the domains of information search except in diversity in search where the males were found to be high. The findings may have implications for research and practice in psychology, especially in the subfields of educational institutions, library science, cognitive development, and training and performance appraisal.     

The status of Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA): Adherence to standard practice in FBA methodology

The application of functional behavioral assessment (FBA) has become increasingly visible in school settings since its inclusion in the 1997 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Despite the mandate for FBAs within the educational program of students with disabilities displaying behavior problems, the federal government put forth guidelines that made what constituted an FBA subject to interpretation. Many states have assumed the responsibility of establishing policy for completing FBAs. This investigation examined the resources acquired or developed and disseminated by each of the 50 states for FBA completion and compared the information from these resources to standard practice for FBA and functional analysis (FA). © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 42: 737–744, 2005.     

Understanding the development of interest and self-efficacy in active-learning undergraduate physics courses

Modeling Instruction (MI), an active-learning introductory physics curriculum, has been shown to improve student academic success. Peer-to-peer interactions play a salient role in the MI classroom. Their impact on student interest and self-efficacy – preeminent constructs of various career theories – has not been thoroughly explored. Our examination of three undergraduate MI courses (N?=?221) revealed a decrease in students’ physics self-efficacy, physics interest, and general science interest. We found a positive link from physics interest to self-efficacy, and a negative relationship between science interest and self-efficacy. We tested structural equation models confirming that student interactions make positive contributions to self-efficacy. This study frames students’ classroom interactions within broader career theory frameworks and suggests nuanced considerations regarding interest and self-efficacy constructs in the context of undergraduate active-learning science courses.     

Paraoxonase activity and antibodies to oxidized-LDL in chronic renal failure patients on renal replacement therapy

Serum paraoxonase (PON1) and antibodies to oxidized-LDL (anti ox-LDL) were measured in chronic renal failure subjects on renal replacement therapy such as hemodialysis (HD) peritoneal dialysis (PD) and transplantation (Txp). Paraoxonase activity was significantly lower in HD and PD group (P<0.001) than in control subjects. In transplant patients, paraoxonase activity was not significantly different from that of controls. Antibodies to ox-LDL was significantly higher in HD, PD and Transplant patients (P<0.0001) compared to control subjects. High titers of antibodies were observed in the HD group compared to the PD and Transplant subjects. A decrease in paraoxonase activity and high titers of Antibodies to ox-LDL in the dialysis group suggest a decreased cardio protective effect of HDL and enhanced risk of premature cardiovascular complications. Whereas in case of transplant subjects, there seems to be restoration of PON1 activity, but elevated levels of anti-oxLDL could still be a potential atherogenic factor. Hence, we propose that estimation of these two parameters can be used as a useful index to measure the cardiac risk in the above patient category     

Lead as a Risk Factor for Osteoporosis in Post-menopausal Women

Lead exposure is increasingly becoming an important risk factor for osteoporosis. In adults, approximately 80–90 % of absorbed lead is stored in the bones. These bone lead deposits are released into the blood during periods of enhanced bone resorption like menopause, forming a potential endogenous source of lead exposure. Postmenopausal women are at a higher risk for bone lead release because of hormonal and age related changes in bone metabolism. Estrogen deficiency is associated with increase in osteoclasts number and activity leading to both the early and late form of osteoporosis. Hence, high blood lead level coupled with concomitant environmental exposure exposes women in this age group to lead related adverse outcomes like hypertension, reduced kidney and neurocognitive functions as well as increased risk of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular mortality. A few studies have also identified coexisting variates like ethnicity, occupation, residence, education, smoking, alcohol medications, water etc. as significant determinants of bone and blood lead in women, thus increasing the magnitude of postmenopausal bone changes. Hence, interventions focused on reducing the intensity of bone resorption during menopause will help decrease exposure to endogenous lead. This would play a significant role in decreasing the morbidity and mortality associated with menopause. Also, identification of modifiable factors that prevent bone lead release will reduce the risk of chronic lead exposure and improve the health outcomes of post-menopausal women.     

Distribution and circulation of Indian films in Singapore

ABSTRACT

Despite the long history of the export and exhibition of Indian films in Southeast Asia, a systematic documentation of how Hindi and Tamil films from India found their way into the region has yet to be undertaken. Theatrical exhibition of Indian films is reported to have sharply declined or ended since the late 1970s in their traditional markets in Malaya, Ceylon, British East Africa, Burma, Persian Gulf Ports, Thailand and South Vietnam. Yet films continued to be circulated through formal and informal networks such as video parlours, CD shops, television and, lately, on the internet. Although Singapore has the unique distinction of being the only Southeast Asian country, which still has a few theatres exclusively dedicated to screening Indian films, theatrical exhibition is not the only medium through which they are circulated. Based on fieldwork conducted between 2008 and 2010, this paper contrasts the formal distribution of Indian films with their informal circulation through which they “leak” into the multi-ethnic spaces of the global city. Drawing on photographs, exhibits, interviews, reports and observations, the essay focuses on television, CD shops, lending libraries and the internet through which Indian films are disseminated in Singapore.     

Serum magnesium levels in preterm labour in relation to socioeconomic status

The present study revealed significantly lower levels of serum magnesium in patients with preterm labour without any apparent cause as compared to normal term pregnant women in labour. The values were also lower in women with low socioeconomic status, older age and consuming vegetarian diet. Hence, estimation of serum magnesium levels in pregnancy may be a useful parameter in preterm labour.     

Measuring language learning environments in secondary science classrooms

The purpose of this study was to explore a new learning environment instrument which could be used by teaching practitioners and other educators to measure the language learning environment in the secondary science classroom. The science teacher is central in creating science classrooms conductive to the language needs of students and should be promoting the learning of language in the science curriculum and in the teaching strategies with English as second language learners. The data in this study were collected using a structured self-administered survey with a sample of 240 secondary school students from eight science classrooms. Factor analysis identified five dimensions, namely, Teacher Support, Vocabulary Development, Assessment, Motivation and Language for Learning Science. These five dimensions explained 56.9% of the variance in the language learning environment instrument. The internal reliability of the dimensions using Cronbach’s α ranged from 0.603 to 0.830. The study revealed significant differences in the dimensions of the language learning environment between what the students perceived to actually be occurring to what they would prefer. Implications from this preliminary research include the ability for measuring the language learning environment in the secondary science class and the potential for practitioners to use the information to develop teaching strategies conducive to learning for all students.     

Containment as Neocolonial Visual Rhetoric: Fashion,Yellowface, and Karl Lagerfeld's “Idea of China”

Grounding our evidence in Karl Lagerfeld's Paris-Shanghai: A Fantasy, a filmic homage to Coco Chanel, we theorize a “visual rhetoric of containment,” which limits the subjectivity of the racial Other and consolidates whiteness. The visual rhetoric of containment manifests in four ways: the creation and enactment of “the yellowface gaze,” which affirms whiteness through the eyes of the “native” Other, the affirmation of a post-feminist model of exchange, which objectifies the Chinese, the representation of Chanel as a master of place and order, and the conception of time as a constraint that Chanel, but not the Chinese people, can transcend.