Notes from a Curious Mind
Whenever I’m asked to select a certain number of words that best describe job applicants, I automatically think about which terms would apply to me. But I never found the one word that would best describe me. Until my daughter’s partner called me “curious”, and it struck me that having a curious mind has been a driving force in my life, from spending the money earned from my paper route as a teenager on popular science books to changing careers from chemistry to medicine to reference publishing to teaching, research, and writing. The essays and narratives I will post on this blog spring from this lifelong curiosity, including the results of my research projects. They are, of course, personal, and I don’t expect everyone to always like what I write or agree with my opinion or point of view. Still, I hope you’ll enjoy the variety of topics and the insights provided.
Generation Z
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“Pulling out and hoping for the best” – Advice from female students on how to prevent pregnancies
As part of my survey “Why do students have sex”, I asked female respondents whether they used birth control regularly. Respondents who selected ‘No’ were asked, “How do you prevent pregnancy?” as a follow-up question. More than 700 students provided information, with 60% using condoms, 10% some form of abstinence, 10% Plan B on its own or combined with other methods, and 20% variations of ‘pull-out’ methods. There were also some rather unusual answers and a few that sounded more like respondents trying to educate me about contraception. For some reason, quite a few students who had not yet engaged in vaginal intercourse responded, and an unexpectedly high number of lesbian students commented even though they stressed that they were not engaging in intercourse and, thus, not at risk of becoming pregnant. Continue reading... |
More about Gen Z
Are pansexual people promiscuous or polyamorous? “Good times lead to good feelings” - Being out with friends encourages students to meet someone and engage in casual sex “No one likes the girls who tell.” Why victims of sexual violence remain silent The rise of bisexual Gen Z students Sometimes sex is better than exercise To wait or not to wait - that is the question. Is it nobler to wait or have sex on the first date? Don’t think you have a gender identity? Think again |
College life
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Want to earn your degree? Get enough sleep, eat breakfast, and stay away from fast food
As a group, college students are surprisingly understudied regarding their health behaviors and habits and their impact on students’ academic success or failure. Various surveys collect data on students during primary and secondary education (K-12). For example, the national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) consists of a set of surveys that collect data from students in grades 9 through 12 every second year. However, once young adults leave the K-12 system, they cannot be reached easily anymore. Therefore, it doesn’t surprise that most published research on the correlation of eating habits and associated GPA/grades has focused on students in Pre-K through high school. On the other hand, there are only a limited number of studies concerning college students. Continue reading... |
More about college life
Greek life – all fun, no work? Fall 2020 – the COVID semester that pushed faculty and students to their breaking point What type of natural disaster has a greater impact on students’ mental health – chronic or acute? “I however can not remember, if water is a chemical substance.” The challenge of teaching science college courses Getting drunk isn’t always just care-free fun |
Holistic thinking
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Too many Americans spend too much on supplements
We’ve all read or heard that Ben Franklin supposedly said, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” However, the exact date or context in which Franklin might have said this is not documented. Still, it seems like something he may have said, given his wisdom, diverse interests, and contributions to the advancement of science and technology. After all, he invented the lightning rod and bifocals. Continue reading... |
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