Historical perspectives on the decennial census

A brief review of the American census begins with the framers of the Constitution assembled in Philadelphia in 1787. When the delegates agreed on State representation in the Senate and proportional representation in the House, they wrote a census clause into the Constitution to ensure periodic adjustments. During the nineteenth century, the volume of census questions increased dramatically, provoking criticisms of census accuracy and calls for a permanent Census Bureau, established in 1902. In recent times, major innovations in census work have improved accuracy and timeliness, along with more popular interest in the enumeration. For the 1980 census, many people wanted to help set the stage for the census, and most people want to be counted, continuing the best traditions of 200 years.     

Who is the competent physics student? A study of students’ positions and social interaction in small-group discussions

This article describes a study which explored the social interaction and the reproduction and challenge of gendered discourses in small group discussions in physics. Data for the study consisted of video recordings of eight upper secondary school groups solving physics problems and 15 audiotaped individual interviews with participating students. The analysis was based on gender theory viewing gender both as a process and a discourse. Specifically discursive psychology analysis was used to examine how students position themselves and their peers within discourses of physics and gender. The results of the study reveal how images of physics and of “skilled physics student” were constructed in the context of the interviews. These discourses were reconstructed in the students’ discussions and their social interactions within groups. Traditional gendered positions were reconstructed, for example with boys positioned as more competent in physics than girls. These positions were however also resisted and challenged.