Infusion Tips

The late Dick Brinckerhoff suggested the following criteria for ways to infuse societal topics into our science courses: items should be a) challenging, b) relevant, c) brief, and d) require a value judgment.

1. According to an article in the 14 August 1998 issue of Science, deCODE Genetics proposes to network the health records of all Icelanders and their twentieth century ancestors so that genetically-linked diseases and their causes might be more easily identified. (Iceland's small and isolated population is ideally suited for this.) Opponents cite concerns about giving a private company exclusive rights to medical data on individuals. Proponents cite the economic and health benefits that will accrue. How do you feel?

2.According to The New York Times for 23 September, the Food Allergy Network, an eight-year-old advocacy group in Fairfax, VA has helped parents raise the alarm that "peanut allergies are a disability that schools must accommodate under the disabilities law." Citing the reaction of her daughter at eight months of age, which is believed to have been caused by her father's touching her face after eating a peanut butter sandwich, one mother is quoted as persuading a school to ban food containing peanuts in the school cafeteria to eliminate allergic reactions, reduce anxiety of causing them, and remove the stigma attached to them. What kind of research needs to be conducted in order to justify these measures?

---

Home          Fall 98          Full Screen

---

The TEACHERS CLEARINGHOUSE FOR SCIENCE AND SOCIETY EDUCATION