In/formal sex education: learning gay identity in cultural and educational contexts in Mexico

This paper addresses how educational and cultural contexts incorporate lessons around sexuality, particularly sexual and gender identity, and how these contexts impact on identity construction of gay men in Mexico City. We analyse the experiences of 15 gay men reported through semi-structured in-depth interviews and how they incorporate sexuality through socialisation with primary social institutions in Mexico's contemporary educational political context. The sample was divided into three generations, and was selected through maximum variability. Results show that men incorporate negative meanings around same-sex sexuality, and themselves from institutions such as school and family. Men are able to deconstruct these meanings through interactions with educational tools such as the Internet and interactions with gay friends. These results are discussed using post-structuralist perspectives to understand how identity is fluid and changing constantly, as well as the need to incorporate stigma-free curricular content in educational contexts.     

Virtual Teaching Dispositions in an Open Distance Learning Environment: Origins,Measurement and Impact

An understanding of the key characteristics and implicit competencies underlying online teaching is essential to distance education institutions that embark on the assertive use of technology in their tuition development and delivery. The Virtual Teaching Dispositions Scale (VTDS) assists in investigating professional teaching dispositions associated with effective online instruction. It was initially validated among academic staff members at a residential university in the United States of America (USA). Strong support was found for the construct's cognitive, pedagogical and social presence that served as the conceptual foundation for developing the scale. The aim of this study was to validate the VTDS among academic staff members of an open distance learning (ODL) institution and to make suggestions for improving online teaching in this environment. This study highlights the need for interventions aimed at enhancing academic staff members’ experienced level of virtual/technological presence.     

Perception of the future and the future of perception

The definition of a problem and the action taken to solve it largely depend on the view which the individuals or groups that discovered the problem have of the system to which it refers. A problem may thus find itself defined as a badly interpreted output, or as a faulty output of a faulty output device, or as a faulty output due to a malfunction in an otherwise faultless system, or as a correct but undesired output from a faultless and thus undesirable system. All definitions but the last suggest corrective action; only the last definition suggests change, and so presents an unsolvable problem to anyone opposed to change (Herbert Brün, 1971).This article is an adaptation of an address given on March 29, 1971, at the opening of the Twenty-fourth Annual Conference on World Affairs at the University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, U.S.A.     

Building functional models: Designing an elbow

Previous work suggests that children largely perceive science as the passive observation and recording of events. In contrast, studies of practicing scientists show a concern with building and testing models. In this study we investigated the role of a design context for developing children's understanding of science as the construction and revision of models. Grade 1–2 children were given the task of building a model that works like a human elbow. Via discussion, model building, evaluation, and revision, children came to understand that not only motion but also constraints on motion were important qualities to include in their models. Moreover, review of classroom activity and analysis of the postmodeling interview suggest that as early as first grade, children's model-evaluation skills may be quite amenable to development: In comparison to a nonmodeling peer group, modelers were largely able to ignore perceptual qualities when asked to judge the functional qualities of models. Further, they showed an understanding of the modeling process in general that was similar to that of children 3–4 years older. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 34 : 125–143, 1997.     

The effect of potential fall distance on hormonal response in rock climbing

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of alterations in potential lead fall distance on the hormonal responses of rock climbers. Nine advanced female climbers completed two routes while clipping all (PRO-all) or half (PRO-½) of the fixed points of protection. Venous blood samples were analysed for total catecholamines, noradrenaline (norepinephrine), adrenaline (epinephrine), dopamine, lactate, cortisol and serotonin. Differences between the two conditions pre, immediately post and 15 min post climbing were assessed using a 2 × 3 repeated measures ANOVA. All hormones and blood lactate concentrations increased significantly (P < 0.05) immediately post climb, except for cortisol. Peak cortisol concentrations did not occur until 15 min post ascent. Further, significant interactions between climbing and clipping conditions were found for total catecholamines (890% of basal concentration in PRO-½ vs. 568% in PRO-all), noradrenaline (794% vs. 532%) and dopamine (500% vs. 210%). There were no significant interactions for adrenaline (1920% vs. 1045%), serotonin (150% vs. 127%) or lactate (329% vs. 279%). The study showed a greater catecholamine response with an increase in potential lead fall distance. The most pronounced increases seen in catecholamine concentration were reported for dopamine and noradrenaline.     

The Teleological Concept of the Physical Qualities of Man

Despite considerable research, the question of whether obese individuals are more metabolically efficient than their nonobese counterparts has not been conclusively answered. This paper examines the research on energy expenditure in obesity, particularly the resting metabolic rate (RMR). Because of the paucity of research using obese males as subjects, the paper focuses on obese females. Absolute RMR has been found to be higher in obese than in nonobese women, RMR per kg fat-free mass is often similar between the groups, and RMR per kg body weight is typically lower in the obese. Formerly obese women often have reduced energy requirements, suggesting a degree of energy efficiency. Factors that affect energy expenditure, and which might account for the lack of consistent findings in RMR studies of the obese, are discussed. These include (a) diet and exercise, (b) genetics, (c) age of obesity onset, and (d) the composition of body weight. Implications for research are presented.     

Young Children’s Thinking About Decomposition: Early Modeling Entrees to Complex Ideas in Science

This study was part of a multi-year project on the development of elementary students’ modeling approaches to understanding the life sciences. Twenty-three first grade students conducted a series of coordinated observations and investigations on decomposition, a topic that is rarely addressed in the early grades. The instruction included in-class observations of different types of soil and soil profiling, visits to the school’s compost bin, structured observations of decaying organic matter of various kinds, study of organisms that live in the soil, and models of environmental conditions that affect rates of decomposition. Both before and after instruction, students completed a written performance assessment that asked them to reason about the process of decomposition. Additional information was gathered through one-on-one interviews with six focus students who represented variability of performance across the class. During instruction, researchers collected video of classroom activity, student science journal entries, and charts and illustrations produced by the teacher. After instruction, the first-grade students showed a more nuanced understanding of the composition and variability of soils, the role of visible organisms in decomposition, and environmental factors that influence rates of decomposition. Through a variety of representational devices, including drawings, narrative records, and physical models, students came to regard decomposition as a process, rather than simply as an end state that does not require explanation.     

Partnering for research: A critical discourse analysis

Using a critical discourse analysis, informed by poststructuralist theory, we explore the research phenomenon of coerced partnership. This lens allows us to pay attention to the social relations of power operating in knowledge generation processes, especially as they affect feminist researchers in adult education. We propose an alternative vision of partnership which politicizes the term partnership, attends to civil society, maps resistances and values the process by all partners.