Research paper on scholarly vs. media focus on sexuality

This essay is an analysis of both popular media and scholarly article on sexuality. The scholarly article that has been analyzed is by Jiankang, Chao et al. He wrote the article “ sexual knowledge, activities and attitudes of men in the military”. His article was about understanding, experience and knowledge plus attitudes regarding the sexuality of military recruits. The key constituent of Chao, et al, 2010 article is values, attitudes, skills and knowledge regarding sexuality. It is clear that the battle with HIV/AIDS involves parties that have enough knowledge to handle it. It is critical to ensure that people have the preferred knowledge. This article offers the necessary proof for development of sex education that is used in examining sexuality. It is also offers evidence that is used to examine sexuality of military recruits. The research also distinguishes the demographic characteristics men have had sex and those who have not.
The research was performed by both primary and secondary data sources (LeVay & Valente 2006). The necessary data was gathered from a military group in southern Taiwan between January and July 2009. The target age group was 18 to 29 years. There was distribution of survey questionnaires to 1230 recruits. The study proved that, within the last one year, approximately forty three percent of the recruits had vaginal sex, thirty-four percent had oral sex and seven percent had homosexual sex. The research also proved that the level of education did have effect regarding sexuality. Those with higher education levels had more knowledge regarding sexuality. Most of the participants had little knowledge regarding sexuality (Chao, et al.  2010).
The media article used is the “ HIV positive airman sentenced to jail for not revealing sex partners” by Michael Winter. The article talks about the sentencing of Sergeant Gutierrez David for eight years since he failed to inform his partners of his HIV status. The sentence required him to be discharged disgracefully. The military judge declared Gutierrez guilty of sexual assaults and refusing to follow orders from the commander (Winter, 2011). The contributing sources of info in the media article are the decision of the court to be executed by a military judge.
Gutierrez’s wife interviews also revealed the sexual behavior. Agent Toth carried of the interview, and there were several women who testified that they had sex with Gutierrez. The information that these people provided were the primary sources of information. The contributing sources are trustworthy since they have interacted with the guilty man. For example, the women who had sex with the man had many regrets. The woman said that if they had known that the man was infected with the HIV virus, they would not have had sex with him.

Comparison

Both articles have a number of common things, but they can be summarized as having knowledge on attitudes on sexuality. Both articles discuss issues that relate to the knowledge of sexuality. It is critical for people to have the necessary knowledge regarding issues that relate to sex (Chao, et al. 2010). Both articles prove that the possession of adequate knowledge on sexuality assists people to decisions that relate to prevention of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancy.
The articles also have derived the sources from primary sources. The scholarly articles had survey questionnaires distributed to target groups to collect data. The popular media articles had testimonies used to gather information. The conclusions that were made from the articles were done by analyzing the cases. The scholarly article required a program of sexual education and the media article had the offender being sentenced for being guilty of several offences.
There is also some prominent difference in the articles. The scholarly article has been organized and structured well. It has an introduction, an abstract, methodology discussions, results and a conclusion. This structure makes it possible to retrieve information easily. The “ USA today” article has no structure. It might not be easy to retrieve information. Another difference is that the scholarly article argues that possession of adequate knowledge on sexuality assists in making rational decisions. The media report argues that even after having such knowledge, people like David may not apply the knowledge for the societal benefit. This fact is evident since David was ordered by his senor to reveal his status to his partners, but he never did that.
The idea of consumers interacting with scholarly article, the consumers will learn that when they possess the knowledge of sexuality; they will have the ability to make decisions regarding their sexual life. There will also be the need to create programs that assist soldiers in learning about sexuality. The media report also talks of the same idea, although from a different perspective. The media article argues on the significance of having both programs and the measures that will force people to reveal their health status. Consumers will also learn that people ought not to hide their health conditions regarding sexuality (Chao, et al. 2010). both articles have background information form primary sources, which is relevant.

Conclusion

The review of both sources reveals that the article source is based on science, while the media source is based on opinion. Concerning authenticity and relevance, the scholarly article has the attributes. The scholarly article has a clear representation that one can easily follow. The structure of the media source is not well organized.

References

Chan et al (2010). Sexual knowledge, attitudes and activity of men conscripted
into the military. Retrieved February 2, 2013, from NCBI:

LeVay, S., & Valente, S. M. B. (2006). Human sexuality. Sunderland, Mass: Sinauer Associates.
Winter, M. (2011, January 19). HIV-positive airman sentenced to 8 years for not telling sex
partners. Retrieved February Saturday, 2, from USA Today: