Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Mea Culpa, Doctor Free-Ride Ah, just one more post...this one to say that I am shame-faced about calling Doctor Free-Ride a he, when she is a she, if you follow me.  I should have investigated further before assigning gender... mea culpa.  And while I'm apologizing, I might as well tell you that you ought to read this post on her site, on the subject of should we care if there are more men than women in science.  It will give you a lot to think about.  Worth it just for the analysis of a proposal before the Florida legislature.  This really has to be it for the day.  It's almost dinner time, and Zuska does not miss meals willingly.    5:55:26 PM    comment [] Fantasy and Reality - Recruiting Future Scientists Just proving what I said earlier about my procrastination skills, here's another post with two news stories to consider.  The Real Reason Children Love Fantasy. Kids aren't escapists, they're little scientists. By Alison Gopnik. [Slate Magazine] This is a wonderful article.  Although Gopnik doesn't think fantasy will make children better chemists, I wonder otherwise.  Is there some way in which children's affinity for fantasy could help make them more interested in being scientists?  If we presented science in a different way - a way that would make a connection for those kids between science and fantasy.  So that it would already seem familiar and appealing to them.  I suspect such an approach would do wonders for keeping girls interested in science.  I'm not sure what shape such an approach would take.  But I like fantasizing about this idea.  :) In a less happy vein, Inside Higher Ed directed me to this article in the Boston Globe about the declining participation of women in computer science.  Except for the subtext of "Danger!  The foreigners are coming!", this article presents a compelling analysis of the problem and presents possible solutions.  Here's an excerpt:  ...something similar happened in physics after World War II, when the atomic bomb catapulted the subject to preeminence in society, according to David Kaiser, a physicist and historian of science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Facing a sudden and dramatic rise in enrollments, physics departments grew less intimate and coped with the crowds by teaching the subject in a more routinized and less creative wayThe percentage of women studying physics, already low, dropped dramatically and stayed in the single digits for decades. Eventually the physics bubble burst for men as well, and today a high percentage of the country's physicists are foreign-born. Some computer scientists fear that they may be going in the same direction. They view the dearth of women as symptomatic of a larger failure in their field, which has recently become less attractive to promising young men, as well. Women are ''the canaries in the mine," said Harvard computer science professor Barbara J. Grosz 5:28:24 PM    comment [] Another News Roundup A few new blogs and an email roundup today... Dr. Mom talks about her life in science and dispenses good advice.  I think I may have mentioned her before, so pardon me if I'm redundant, but hey, she's interesting.  Doctor Free-Ride is a scientist-turned-philospher and dumb things make him her grumpy.  Zuska whole-heartedly concurs.  From the PGELIST, this info about a new initiative by Cisco to get more girls interested in math, computers, and technology: On November 7, 2005, Cisco Systems, Inc. and The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) launched a campaign to increase awareness of education and career opportunities for girls and women in math, computing and technology. The campaign is designed to address the declining interest of girls and women in information technology careers, a problem that persists despite U.S. Department of Labor predictions that the number of future jobs in the professional technology workforce will outstrip available, qualified candidates by two-to-one. The campaign kicks off with a letter targeting parents, educators, and girls, and introduces a comprehensive digital library with a variety of resources for encouraging interest in math, computing and technology, including information about careers, local technology clubs, programs, curricula and summer camps. Partnering with Cisco and NCWIT on the initiative are Education Development Center Inc., the Information Technology Association of America, the Stanford University Office of Science Outreach and Junior Achievement. This looks promising! From Celeste Baine: The Engineering Education Service Center (EESC) has recently added a page of Women in Engineering Programs to the resources on our website. We are hoping that students, parents and teachers that are browsing for information on engineering or engineering technology programs, events, competitions, camps or scholarships will find it useful. In addition, we hope that it will facilitate increased communication between programs. The page is still under construction and the listing for a few programs are outdated or incomplete. This is a nice resource for finding a Women in Engineering program near you Now I really must go work on an article I am supposed to be writing for the good of the world.  I know at least one friend who will be on my case if I don't.  Unfortunately for me, this blog totally enables my procrastination.  I am so co-dependent.  This post edited to correct correct Doctor Free-Ride's gender.    12:03:39 PM    comment []

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