Exploring Biology is a general education course designed to assist students in the development of critical life skills. One of the goals of this assignment is to assess student competence for each of these objectives:
I. Written and Oral communication: apply the scientific method to simple problems and identify areas of potential bias and its ethical implications (CCO2),
II. Critical Analysis and Reasoning: explain diversity of species and within species (CCO7),
III. Information Literacy: find, evaluate, use and cite valid sources in scientific reasoning and/or inquiry, and read and summarize information from basic biological publications (CCO3),
IV. Scientific and Quantitative or Logical Reasoning: provide examples in which intellect, scientific method, and technology have been used to understand living things (CCO10),
VI. Local and Global Diversity: explain how scientific advances in medicine, genetics, and biotechnology impact humans in different cultures and how these advances may affect personal decisions (CCO8).
Gender verification at the elite level of competition is a controversial topic. The purpose is to detect male imposters who would potentially have an unfair competitive advantage over female athletes.
The reality of sex-determination is complex, and it has been used differently in sports throughout times with different degrees of unethical practices.
ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS:
Respond to the following in several well-written paragraphs using academic English:
- Find a case in sports in between the years 1999-present that created a gender verification controversy (women athletes that failed a chromosomal gender verification test). In your answer include the following:
a. Name of the Athlete
b. Country and continent of origin of the athlete.
Include two maps: a political map of the country in which the name of the country is visible and a political map of the continent with the continent’s name visible in one page.
Provide a proper citation with each image.
c. Sport event: name, place and year.
Include two maps: a political map of the country in which the name of the country is visible and a political map of the continent with the continent’s name visible in one page.
Provide a proper citation with each image. - Explain the controversy and reaction answering the following questions:
a. What was the reaction of the athlete’s hometown/country when the news came out?
Do you think the athlete’s cultural environment was supportive? Why or why not?
Support your answers with properly cited evidence.
b. If the athlete were from a different culture (for example your own culture), would the reaction be different? How? Explain.