A Behind‐the‐Scenes Guide to School‐Based Research

Schools are an important context for both basic and applied scientific research. Unlike the laboratory, however, the physical and social conditions of schools are not under the exclusive control of scientists. In this article, we liken collecting data in schools to putting on a theatrical production. We begin by describing the large cast of characters whose collaborative efforts make school‐based research possible. Next, we address the critics, including the university Institutional Review Board (IRB) and school administrators, whose feedback often improves the final study design. We then turn our attention to set building, stage directions, and rehearsals—key steps in the iterative process of refining study procedures. We end with a discussion of the day of data collection itself and activities that take place after the curtain drops. Throughout, we make recommendations based on our recent experience collecting data at several high schools.     

Nucleosynthesis and energy production in stars: Bethe’s crowning achievement

On the 6th of March this year, the seemingly immortal Prof. Hans Bethe passed away, at the ripe age of ninety eight. His mighty mathematical prowess, coupled with his amazing virtuosity in applying the tools of theoretical physics, helped him make original contributions to an astonishingly large number of topics in theoretical and applied physics. In this age of hyperspecialization and super computers, Bethe steered his path through the myriad problems at the frontiers of physics and kept on calculating numbers on his trusted slide rule. In this article we will discuss one of his great contributions that fetched him utmost satisfaction, in addition to the Nobel Prize. Indranil Mazumdar is reader in nuclear physics at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. His primary research activities are in nuclear structure studies, especially experimental studies of the decay of giant dipole resonances from hot rotating nuclei and related instrumentation. His theoretical activities involve investigations of light neutron rich drip line halo nuclei using nuclear three body techniques. He loves cricket, poetry, clouds, rivers and rain.     

Congenital Lead Poisoning: An Unusual Presentation

Lead poisoning presents a common acquired as well as congenital environmental threat to children’s health today. An unusual case of severe lead poisoning in breast fed male infant is presented here. The objective of the study is to describe a patient who developed clinical lead intoxication with an uncommon source of poisoning. A 6 months old male baby presented with gradual loss of weight, not feeding well and persistent vomiting. Laboratory investigation revealed that he was having anemia (Hb level 5.4 gm/dl), abnormal liver enzymes (including elevated transaminase activity) and high blood lead value (83 μg/dl). RBC morphology showed basophilic stippling with cabot ring, suggestive of a case of lead poisoning. A course of chelation treatment using calcium versenate (EDTACaNa2) was prescribed following which a radical solution for mobilization of lead from his systems was observed.     

Status of Serum Calcium,Vitamin D and Parathyroid Hormone and Hematological Indices Among Lead Exposed Jewelry Workers in Dhaka,Bangladesh

Jewelry utilizes lead either directly or as a base metal. Costume jewelry requires lead before molding and plating the product with valuable metals. Therefore, such ornaments have a great potential to release heavy metals having health hazards. Also, jewelry makers engaged in preparing German silver, an alloy, apply lead in smelting, alloying, rolling and milling silver wires and pieces. The metal is taken up by blood, soft tissues and bone. The biological effects of lead are dependent upon the level and duration of exposure. Lead inhibits three enzymes of heme biosynthesis- δ-amino-levulinic-acid dehydratase (ALAD), coproporphyrin oxidase, and ferrochelatase, impairing heme synthesis and depressing serum level of erythropoietin resulting in decreased hemoglobin synthesis. Lead exposure also affects calcium metabolism and impair the synthesis of Calcitriol. In the present study, jewelry makers from Dhaka, Bangladesh, were shown to have significantly high levels of lead, protein, albumin, and parathormone in their blood, and significantly high amount of zinc-protoporphyrin and δ-amino-levulinic-acid in their urine. The control group, on the other hand showed significantly higher amounts of calcium (both total and ionized form) Vitamin D₃ and non-activated erythrocyte ALAD in their blood, along with hemoglobin. It might be due to inhibition of 1-α-hydroxylase enzyme in renal tubules. Lead causes nephro-toxicity and inhibits 1-α- hydroxylase enzyme leading to decreased calcitriol synthesis resulting in impaired calcium absorption across gastro-intestinal tract and renal tubules. Low Vitamin D₃ and significantly increased Parathyroid hormone (PTH) in study group has been found.     

Being a princess: young children's negotiation of femininities in a Kindergarten classroom in Indonesia

This paper attempts to explore young children’s construction of femininities in a kindergarten in Indonesia. Using a postdevelopmentalist and postcolonial approach, this paper seeks to understand how young children in the school develop, negotiate and resist existing gender construction. This paper is based on an ethnography research conducted in 2010 for eight months. Findings of this study reveal that discourse of femininities in the school is situated in the discourse of a princess. This paper argues that there are multiple meanings attached to the discourse of a princess. It does not only become a signifier for femininity, but it also acts as a signifier for social class. The findings also suggest that the discourse perpetuates the legacy of colonisation in the school. It is, then, recommended that, in order for kindergarten teachers to be able to disrupt the construction of femininities, they need to be able to understand multiple meaning of femininities as well as power relation embodied in the construction.     

Affluenza Revisited: Casting Doubt on Cultivation Effects

The researchers use three secondary analyses to explore further the “affluenza” claims linking amount of television viewing with consumerist/materialist values and “affluenza symptoms” such as life dissatisfaction. Those links were generally supported by multiple regression analysis, though at low levels of explanatory power. Heavy news viewing ran in the opposite direction, with heavy TV news viewing correlated with less consumerist values. The authors also found that viewing by streaming on portable devices did not show affluenza correlations. These findings suggest that active audience program selectivity plays a broader role than that envisioned by cultivation theory.     

Socio-Economic Profile of Shopkeepers in Embedded Markets: Social and Cultural Perspectives From a Hundred Years of Bengali Literary Works

Retailing, in the context of developing economies, has been claimed to be a social practice. A review of fictional literature from the ethno-linguistic region of Bengal may enhance our understanding of the social and cultural history of independent retailing. The evidence from social sciences shows that most retail markets in the economically less developed countries function in similar ways. Such a similarity in social structures may be explained using the concept of embeddedness. This article identifies the history of socio-economic roles of rural unorganised retailers in the embedded markets of developing economies through the discourse analysis of Bengali fictional literature.