Introduction to the Special Issue on Interdisciplinary Conversations (Part 2): The Impact of Interdisciplinary Conversations on Courses

Abstract

The two parts in this special issue address interdisciplinary conversations involving mathematics courses in the first 2 years of undergraduate work. The special issue was inspired by work funded by the National Science Foundation under a grant titled “SUMMIT-P.” The special issue includes papers written about projects both from SUMMIT-P and from outside of SUMMIT-P. Part II focuses on what the results of interdisciplinary collaboration look like in the classroom.     

Too much too little: educating just in case?

Cultural Studies of Science Education - This response builds upon some of the issues raised in the article Windows and mirrors: three images of the US science curriculum as reflected through...     

Identity Management and Relational Culture in Interfaith Marital Communication in a United States Context: A Qualitative Study

This study explored the identity management processes in interfaith marital communication in a United States setting. Sixteen marital partners participated in this interview study. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, interpreted, and analyzed. Guided by identity management theory, the interview data analysis revealed three general themes: development of the interfaith relational identity via the co-creation of a superordinate spiritual and value system; implementation of relational boundaries to prioritize the relational identity; and identification of key milestone decisions (i.e. wedding plans and children socialization coordination) interfaith partners face in their intimate relationships. Contributions, limitations, and directions for future studies on interfaith marital communication are addressed.     

You Are Whom You Love

相信所有人都有过类似的经历:我们可能会遇到某个人,第一次见面就认为他/她是自己一直在等待的那个人。于是我们的主观意识就会根据这样的情况设计出一段足以受用一生的爱情梦。在这个爱情梦境中,我们看到的全都是对方最理想、最完美的一面。然而,在新鲜感逐渐消退的过程中,你也不可避免地发现:原来想象与现实根本就是两回事,你必须想办法将它们融为一体……     

The effect of carbohydrate and caffeine mouth rinsing on kicking performance in competitive Taekwondo athletes during Ramadan

ABSTRACT

Mouth rinsing has been proposed as a strategy to minimize performance decrements during Ramadan. We investigated the effect of 4 weeks of Ramadan on kicking performance in 27 Taekwondo athletes performing weekly Taekwondo Anaerobic Intermittent Kick Tests (TAIKT). The effects of a placebo, 6.4% glucose and 6-mg/kg caffeine mouth rinses on TAIKT performance and perceived exertion were investigated before, during weekly training sessions, and after Ramadan in a counterbalanced, crossover design. Ramadan had a significant negative impact on the percentage of successful kicks in Week 1 of Ramadan (pre: 76.7±0.4%, Week 1: 69.9±3.2%). The percentage of successful kicks was significantly greater in the caffeine mouth rinse condition compared to the glucose and placebo conditions during the first 3 weeks of Ramadan (caffeine: 38.3±6.8%, glucose: 36.4±6.9%, placebo: 36.0±6.5%). Caffeine decreased perceived exertion during Ramadan (0.74-1.15 AU, p>0.05). Our results showed that Ramadan had a significant negative effect on repeated high-intensity kicking efforts that should be considered when training and competing. Additionally, there were significant positive effects of a caffeine mouth rinse in a sport-specific test. These data suggest that athletes can consider mouth rinsing as a strategy to enhance performance when undertaking training or competition during a period of privation.     

The Undecidable Grounds of Scientific Expertise: Science Education and the Limits of Intellectual Independence

Motivated by the work of Hardwig (1985, 1991) on epistemic dependence and trust in expertise, we enquire into the nature and extent of the critical assessment that non-scientists can make—and that they should be taught to make—with regard to science. Our thesis is that critical assessment of science is possible for non-experts because at the basis of science is a set of norms, beliefs and values that are contestable by non-scientists. These norms, beliefs and values are of critical importance to science education and valuable to explore from a pedagogical perspective.     

Validating the Hornik & Woolf approach to choosing media campaign themes: Do promising beliefs predict behavior change in a longitudinal study?

Hornik and Woolf (1999) proposed using cross-sectional survey data to prioritize beliefs to address with communication campaign messages. The empirical component of the approach combines evidence of (1) association of beliefs with intentions and (2) current level of beliefs to calculate a “percentage to gain” as the potential promise of a belief. However, the method relies on cross-sectional data; its conclusions are open to challenge. Here, a panel study assesses whether the calculated promise of a belief actually predicts future behavior change. A nationally representative sample of 3,204 U.S. youth and young adults were interviewed twice, six months apart. Sixteen beliefs about the benefits and costs of smoking cigarettes are compared with regard to their percentage to gain (calculated from cross-sectional data) and their ability to account for subsequent cigarette use. A belief’s cross-sectional percentage to gain is substantially associated with its ability to predict subsequent behavior change (r = .53, p < .05).     

Profiles of choice: Parents’ patterns of priority in child care decision-making

Responding adequately to parental priorities for child care is important for shaping children’s early experiences and development, and for facilitating parenting at the nexus of work and caregiving roles. Although much research on child care choice has relied on variable-centered approaches that treat parental priorities as distinct and isolated, this article aims to understand parents’ care choices from a person-centered, holistic perspective. Using data from the National Household Education Survey of Early Childhood Program Participation of 2005 (n = 4570), we conduct latent class and multinomial logistic regression analyses, identifying four empirically and substantively distinctive classes of parents based on their scores on seven indicators of child care priority. Class 1 parents (35%) rank all seven indicators as very important. Class 2 parents (18%) prioritize practicality factors. Class 3 parents (9%) do not, on average, rank any of the indicators as highly important. Class 4 parents (37%) emphasize learning and quality-focused factors. Class membership is associated with child’s age, race/ethnicity, and parent respondent’s gender, age, employment status, and socio-economic status. After controlling for socio-demographic factors, parents in the learning-focused class are more likely to choose center-based cares whereas practicality-focused parents prefer home-based relative or non-relative care arrangements.