Prior research has examined a number of individual characteristics (e.g., gender, family connectedness) that protect individuals from engaging in heavy drinking and experiencing negative alcohol-related consequences, but less is known about specific behavioral strategies that might also serve as protective factors. In this study, 556 undergraduate students completed the National College Health Assessment (American College Health Association, 2000) and answered questions regarding the use of specific protective behavioral strategies (PBS), alcohol consumption, and alcohol-related consequences. Results indicated that less frequent use of PBS was related to a greater likelihood of experiencing negative alcohol-related consequences, even after accounting for the effects of gender and alcohol consumption. These results suggest that PBS may be an important component of both prevention and treatment programs for college students.

Researchers in the social norms area have previously focused primarily on alcohol consumption, paying comparatively less attention to drug use and sexual behavior. The major purposes of this study were to (1) compare perceptions of peer norms in the areas of alcohol use, drug use, and sexual behavior with actual behavior and (2) determine if a relationship existed between a student's perceptions of normative behavior and a student's actual behavior. Participants were 833 college students at a large, public university in the Northeast. Study participants overestimated alcohol use, drug use, and sexual behavior among their peers. There was also a positive relationship between actual behavior and perceived peer norms, although the effect sizes for all behaviors were small to moderate. The authors provide further support for the tenets of social norms theory and suggest that social norms interventions are appropriate both campus-wide and to targeted high-risk groups.

Engineering programs must demonstrate that their graduates have…an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility…. 1 " To address this need, we are creating an undergraduate biomedical engineering (BME) ethics course, which serves to raise awareness in students and better prepare them for careers in medicine, research, and engineering. The principles and methodologies of the course are centered around the Legacy learning cycle 2 used by the VaNTH Engineering Research Center, in accord with learning principles addressed in How People Learn 3. Students' awareness of professional and ethical issues are increased through the investigation of ten to twelve case studies with in-class discussion, in-class movies with pre and post discussion, and guest speakers. Investigation of cases include documentation of students' initial thoughts on issues, then systematic reflection on these thoughts through introduction of multiple perspectives provided by guest lectures, thought papers and in-class discussions. Case studies cover a wide variety of application areas, including genetic engineering, xenotransplantation, using animals in research, rights of patients and research subjects, and BME technology development. Media depictions suggesting ethical issues are alternative presentation modalities allowing students to develop awareness of purposes and viewpoints of authors as well as subjects covered. Guest speakers serve as experts on ethical issues in areas of biomedical and clinical research, clinical medicine, and biotechnology and also serve as resources for students in developing their own solutions to ethical problems. Students bring background knowledge and personal beliefs to the classroom, and in-class discussions and reference materials provide students with multiple perspectives on bioethics problems. Our expectation is that students will leave this course with broader perspectives, and increased ability to discern and make judgments on ethical issues in biomedical engineering, medicine, and clinical research.

As bioengineering students enter their new profession they must become sensitive to the ethical ramifications of their work. Bioengineering educational programs seek opportunities to engage students in the exploration of ethical dilemmas in bioengineering. Our involvement with the VaNTH ERC and the learning sciences' principles that guide their design of instruction has provided us with insights into potential methods to develop ethical awareness in our students. We are exploring the use of movies as a vehicle for identifying and refining understanding of ethical issues in a case. Although classroom discussions around case studies sometimes engage students, often the homogeneity and inexperience of the class result in a narrow focus on issues. In order to overcome this instructional problem, we have identified several popular movies that raise issues ranging from public health to research methods and practice. Students in a 2 nd-year undergraduate course on thermodynamics of biological attend an informal viewing of a movie, as one of their optional assignments (required as part a participation grade). Also invited were students from other disciplines on campus. This learning activity began by students generating their initial thoughts about ethical issues that relates to a movie they were about to watch. After watching the movie, everyone is asked to fill out a short questionnaire where they record issues they notice in the movie and potential ethical ramifications. Then, an open discussion follows in an effort to identify multiple perspectives. In this first study we focus on issues related to human subjects in medical research. Students view "Miss Evers' Boys" 1 as a catalyst for thinking about relevant issues. One of the goals of this instructional method is to prepare students to investigate the details of these issues identified in the Belmont Report 2. We find that individually students can identify several relevant issues both before and after, but not all the issues. The group as a whole can identify many aspects of the principles for "Respect for Persons" and "Beneficence", but miss issues related to "Justice". This instructional method has the potential for demonstrating the important issues related to conducting research involving human subjects. This papers discusses the benefits of using movies for instruction, describes a short interventions we designed around watching a movie and a short description of impact of these results on instruction.