Homophobia in medical students of the University of Hong Kong

Homosexuality is now accepted as a normal variant of human sexuality, but homophobia among healthcare professionals is well documented. Establishment of trustful doctor–patient relationships is impossible in the presence of homophobia. We were interested to examine the extent of homophobia among medical students, the future doctors. This article aims to study attitudes of medical students of the University of Hong Kong towards homosexuality and to identify significant factors affecting their attitudes. A cross‐sectional study was performed on students of the University of Hong Kong. Attitudes towards homosexuality were compared between medical and non‐medical students. More than 25% of the medical students agreed with the statement ‘homosexuality is a psychological disorder that requires therapy’. More than 15% would avoid any physical contact with homosexuals to minimise the chance of contracting diseases, especially AIDS. Comparison between the medical students and non‐medical students showed that the attitudes of the medical students were significantly more homophobic. Factors explaining the difference included the importance of religion in the formation of moral values, gender, experience of working closely with homosexual friends, sexual orientation, experience of the heterosexual sexual act, acquaintance of homosexual friends, and experience of homosexual love relationships. In conclusion, there appeared to be a certain level of homophobia among the medical students. This could possibly be explained by their lack of experience of working closely with homosexual friends. Relevant curriculum modification and development are urgently needed, to provide ongoing opportunities for students to realise their own values that could unconsciously affect their clinical judgements.     

THE PRIVATE SCHOOL IN THE AMERICAN SCHEME OF EDUCATION

This article explores the possible contribution to Jewish education found in the resources of Judaica scholarship. It begins by exploring the complex and often uneasy connection between the world of the university and the world of education and then offers an alternative to this tension by suggesting ways that Jewish subject matter scholarship might both help expand Jewish educational research and improve the actual practice of education. Four models are offered as means of implementing these ideas. These models are explored through specific examples and analysis of the potential advantages and challenges embedded in each.     

Associative structure of integrated temporal relationships

According to the temporal-coding hypothesis (TCH; Savastano & Miller, Behavioural Processes 44:147–162, 1998), acquired associations include temporal information concerning the interval between the associated elements. Moreover, the TCH posits that subjects can integrate two independently acquired associations that share a common element (e.g., S2–S1 and S1–US), which results in the creation of a third association with its own temporal relationship (S2–US). Some evidence has suggested that such temporal integration occurs at the time of testing (Molet, Miguez, Cham, & Miller, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes 38:369–380, 2012). Here we report two fear-conditioning experiments with rats conducted to identify the associative structure of the integrated temporal relationship. The goal was to distinguish between two possible associative structures that could exist following an initial test on which temporal integration occurs: (1) Conditioned responding to S2 on subsequent tests could be the result of recurring successive activation of two independently learned temporal maps that remain independently stored in memory (i.e., S2–S1 plus S1–US). (2) Temporal integration at the moment of initial testing could result in the formation of a direct S2–US (or S2–response) temporal map. Integration was found to occur at test and to produce a new association that was independent of associations with the common element (S1). However, the associative status of S1 appeared to modulate whether or not the new association with S2 was US-specific (S2–US) or directly activated a fear response (S2–response).     

Teaching as Theater

As new media proliferate, professors need to be particularly attentive to the ways by which students learn—in and out of the classroom—and how scarce classroom time can be organized. This article argues that professors' comparative advantage lies as an exemplar of discipline‐based thinking. Effective training in how to think about problems (the essence of any discipline) demands that professors embrace the classroom as theater, where business drama and the story it tells can capture the hearts and minds of the student participants. The article talks through a case as theater.     

伦理学、经济学与高等教育——作为一种公共物品的大学

本文探讨了大学教育的经济学与公共物品的功利主义概念.笔者认为,现代大学的发展与演变是与物品这一概念的变化相伴随的.早期的自由主义经济学理论(代表人物如穆勒)认为,一种物品能够被供给,要么是因为它作为一个整体对社区有益,要么是因为它不能或者不应该通过私人的方式供给,比如国防.正如国家和社会在规则制定与福利供给方面变得越来越复杂,物品的定义也日益复杂.政策的合理性往往是通过它有助于公共财富的积累而得到证明的,具体来讲,政策应该要么满足社会受众的某种具体利益(这种福利是需要政府提供的,如学生的受教育经费),要么增进社会作为一个整体的利益(比如受教育人口的增长).这与现代大学的成长和进步是并行不悖且相互砥砺的.新自由主义的观点是对以上观点的一种挑战,它认为私人的投资与供给所产生的回报要远高于公共的投资与供给,而且从道义上来讲,个人与社会对于供给何种物品应该具有选择权;同时,由经济效能与个人选择所带来的混合的社会利益可以获致更多的集体公共物品.然而,这种观点没有考虑到规范的议题(如公平与社会正义)的影响.因此,本文旨在思考上述几重张力对于以下问题的影响,这些问题包括现代大学与公共物品的当代意涵之间的联系,以及大学占统治地位的经济功能能否与其在知识和文化方面的使命相协调.     

Método de carpeta para la evaluación de la lectura en clase: los porqué, los qué y los cómo

Además y más allá de la descripción de las características formales del método de carpeta, este artículo propone que el valor real de un buen método de carpeta es su capacidad para cambiar actitudes y actividades de estudiantes y educadores, extendiendo como guía de aprendizaje y meta-conciencia de lo que se hace el propio proceso de evaluación.     

La interacción familiar como educación moral

Sin lugar a dudas, el estilo de comunicación de los padres influye en el desanollo del razonamiento moral de sus hijos. En este artículo se presentan las conclusiones de diversas investigaciones realizadas al respecto, mostrando cómo las pautas de comunicación familiar reflejan el «estadio» familiar de razonamiento moral y desarrollando, además, un modelo de tratamiento de temas morales entre compañeros de clase denominado discusión transactiva.