The science-technology-society movement in science education: A critique of the reform process

Changes in society and in science and technology have forced a rethinking of what is “basic” in science education. A perceived disjuncture between school science and the realities of a scientifically and technologically oriented society has resulted in proposals for new directions in science teaching. It appears that science education is about to undergo another paradigm shift. One particularly visible movement, the “Science-Technology-Society” (STS) movement, exemplifies how such directional shifts tend to occur within the field of science education. This article critically examines the program and professional development process that has characterized past and current science curriculum reform effort in an attempt to illustrate fundamental educational reform problems. The need for new directions in science education is uncontested here. The issue is the problematic nature of the reform process itself. The article contends that new methods of reform must be researched— methods that directly involve practitioners in critical reflection, participatory research, and science curriculum development.     

Examining Relations of Power in a Process of Curriculum Change: The Case of VCE Physics

Through interviews with members of the setting panel, this paper probes the process of setting the first external test for the VCE Physics course when it was implemented in 1992. The development of the course itself had been highly contested, but the contest was enacted largely outside the structures set up for formal negotiation between interested parties. Consequently the process was obscure, and the issues never clearly articulated. However, the outcome was that the course was much closer to a traditional course in physics than had originally seemed likely. The test setting panel provided a microcosm in which the contest that had shaped the development of the course was replayed. In the deliberations of the panel, certain discursive mechanisms can be identified as having operated to ensure that particular decisions became inevitable. Once identified in the deliberations of the test panel, similar mechanisms can be discerned during the process of devising the course itself. Some implications are noted for future efforts to reform curriculum and assessment in physics, and for current classroom practice.     

Effects of Immersive,Sexually Objectifying,and Violent Video Games on Hostile Sexism in Males

Research suggests that media images depicting aggression against sexually objectified women may promote hostile sexism in men. We empirically tested if such effects might occur when men commit simulated acts of aggression against sexualized female opponents in video games, and if such effects might be heightened by psychological immersion (i.e,. the sensation of “presence” while gaming). In two studies, male participants played a first-person-shooter game, with the sex and sexualization of opponents experimentally manipulated. Results indicated that game play increased hostile sexism, to the extent that players reported feeling present in the virtual environment and provided that opponents were depicted as sexualized females, not males or nonsexualized females. No effects on benevolent sexism were observed. These results suggest that the increasingly immersive nature of modern video games might amplify their influence on players, including effects that promote hostility and aggression towards women.     

Leg mass characteristics of accurate and inaccurate kickers – an Australian football perspective

Abstract

Athletic profiling provides valuable information to sport scientists, assisting in the optimal design of strength and conditioning programmes. Understanding the influence these physical characteristics may have on the generation of kicking accuracy is advantageous. The aim of this study was to profile and compare the lower limb mass characteristics of accurate and inaccurate Australian footballers. Thirty-one players were recruited from the Western Australian Football League to perform ten drop punt kicks over 20 metres to a player target. Players were separated into accurate (n = 15) and inaccurate (n = 16) groups, with leg mass characteristics assessed using whole body dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans. Accurate kickers demonstrated significantly greater relative lean mass (P ≤ 0.004) and significantly lower relative fat mass (P ≤ 0.024) across all segments of the kicking and support limbs, while also exhibiting significantly higher intra-limb lean-to-fat mass ratios for all segments across both limbs (P ≤ 0.009). Inaccurate kickers also produced significantly larger asymmetries between limbs than accurate kickers (P ≤ 0.028), showing considerably lower lean mass in their support leg. These results illustrate a difference in leg mass characteristics between accurate and inaccurate kickers, highlighting the potential influence these may have on technical proficiency of the drop punt.