This email serves to inform you that you were part of a study undertaken by a group of MSc. Students at the Northern Caribbean University. The study is designed to test whether staff members at tertiary institutions across Jamaica engage in heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual relationships with students.

Uh, no. You don't inform "participants" after the fact that they WERE part of a study. That's not actually a study. That's punking at best.

BULLSHIT.

OH HELL NO. I have a VERY hard time believing any IRB/Ethics Committee would approve that, especially since in many jurisdictions, taping someone's conversation without their knowledge/agreement is ILLEGAL.

However, it's being discussed here now, so even if no one takes it on, that's one more discussion than before they suggested it.

Well, there you go. Now buffistas have thought about it, and may keep an eye out and notice more where there are not gender neutral bathrooms, and where there are a "Mens" and "Women's" that could be but aren't, etc etc. Consciousness raised. Provocative and it worked, even if you didn't do the actual exercise, hmm?

Hee. The approvers of that study do not realize with whom they are screwing. Er. you know what I mean.

Keep us apprised.

staff members at tertiary institutions across Jamaica engage in heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual relationships with students.

Also...how do you engage in a "bisexual relationship"?? I mean, sure, I know people who label their relationships "queer" because neither of them feels they relate on the gender spectrum as man/woman or man/man or woman/woman. But in the terms of this study? Unless you suddenly had TWO students going for you, one male and one female and you slept with BOTH of them...

Provocative and it worked, even if you didn't do the actual exercise, hmm?

Like I said, this in no way prevents anyone else (or indeed the same people) from doing anything else at the same time or subsequently. I'd just imagine there are more efficient ways to get better ROI, and that was pretty much the only thing I've been saying the whole time.

I'm really bad at English these days.

The approvers of that study do not realize with whom they are screwing. Er. you know what I mean.

Oh, yeah. I'd wish her the best of luck with her shit-raising efforts, but she doesn't need it.

[link]

THat's the Northern Caribbean University policy and procedures on grants and research, and mentions the use of the IRB. I would directly call the head of the IRB and start bitching, because that's unconscionable. And if they DIDN"T approve the student and their professor should be immediately sanctioned.

I can't fathom the brain of someone who thought sexually harassing someone for a "study" could be appropriate.

ita !, what does your sister teach? Do you know how they selected who they were going to "study"?

Also, per the policies/procedures:

"Although deception is practiced in some institutions in order to prevent or control participant reactivity, it is forbidden at Northern Caribbean University. An alternative procedure or strategy should be used to prevent participant reactivity."

WOW, that is BANANAS.

On the bathroom front, erika makes a good point that it is not just non-typically-gendered (??) people who have issues with gender-separated bathrooms.

And thinking about disabilities, I have to confess that I came very close to pulling a "some of my best friends are black" the other day when talking about this guy who works here and is blind. He is a hot mess -- walks into people all the time, etc., but I'm pretty sure he would do that even if he could see. So I'm talking about this guy, and feel the need to mention another former colleague who is also blind and definitely had her shit together. Who does that?? Me, apparently. Sorry, world.