thusspakezuska

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March 17, 2008
Good stuff from the AWIS Washington Wire: A new website on reducing stereotype threat. The engineering of ice cream, from Yale's first female dean of engineering. "More than half the women in the world live in countries that have made no progress in gender equity in recent years. " See the…
March 17, 2008
You just have to read Non Sequitur today. It's a great strip in general but I really liked today's comic for reasons that will be obvious to you. Lab Cat has announced a Fortnight-long Food Fest. In fact I am so excited about food and my "F" that I am having a food fest for the next two weeks. I…
March 13, 2008
Alice recently told her ethnic story over at Sciencewomen, and asked others to join in the attempt to "displace white from the default position". Of course lots of comments ensued; her follow-up is here, and well worth reading. In the follow up you can find links to others who took up Alice's…
March 11, 2008
A reader recently emailed me about Sociological Images. What a great blog! WHY: What with the kids these days being all media-saturated, a good image is often more effective for getting a point across than all the citations, repetition, or jumping up and down and saying "really I swear" can ever…
March 7, 2008
Last month I wrote about children, academic careers, and moms. Lively discussion ensued. Here's something you should read for a follow up, and hat tip to Sciencewoman for the link: Let me reminds you, once again, that people do not "choose" to have kids. A lot of people choose *not* to have…
March 7, 2008
According to the Chronicle news blog, computer science enrollment is down by half since 2000. ...undergraduate enrollment in computer-science programs had fallen to half of what it was in 2000 (15,958 to 7,915, to be exact). But according to Inside Higher Ed, the computer science major has…
March 6, 2008
Lucky for Scienceblogs - Jane of See Jane Compute has just moved in with us! Scienceblogs has really needed someone from a computer science/engineering perspective. I am thrilled to pieces that she has signed on.
March 6, 2008
I don't think this is what Dave Munger had in mind when he recommended using graphics in your blog posts, at the NC Science Blogging Conference. For the last two weeks, this post has been one of the top 3 posts on Scienceblogs - the number one post last week. This is the kind of post I would…
March 6, 2008
Bora has posted an interview with me at A Blog Around the Clock. See here for all the interviews in the series. He keeps adding new ones so check back now and then. Via the Chronicle news blog, I found this wonderful site with all of Audobon's paintings of North American birds. Bird lovers,…
March 5, 2008
Maria told me about WOC PhD. A link in this post led me to the Feminist Studies Collections: Women of Color & Women Worldwide pages, from which I hopped to the Women of Color page from the Wisconsin Women's Studies Librarian, which in turn took me to Joan Korenman's Women of Color websites…
March 4, 2008
Janet Stemwedel has a lengthy, informative, interesting post on that eternally troublesome question: When in my graduate career should I have a baby? After reading it, I am put in mind of that New Yorker cartoon with the guy on the phone, looking at a datebook on his desk, saying "How about never…
March 3, 2008
I had lunch today in downtown Philly with the wonderful and always-interesting Lab Cat. We ate at a restaurant whose philosophy seemed to be "why serve a reasonable portion of food when you can serve a GINORMOUS portion of food?!?!" This is what Cat got when she ordered a piece of chocolate cake…
February 29, 2008
Lab Lemming recently wrote to me: However bad the situation here on Earth gets, at least there is another planet in the solar system where women scientists and engineers can work and then directed me to this very heartening story on the Mars Exploration Rover tactical operations team. It seems…
February 29, 2008
There's been some quite lively blogging recently over at Abel Pharmboy's pad. Of particular note was the live-blogged vasectomy: Anyway, as a medical blogger, I will try to liveblog the process from my Palm Treo 700p at the Hospital-That-Tobacco-Built. While I hope it will distract me and relieve…
February 28, 2008
Skookumchick wants me to talk about renewal for the March Scientiae. I will try, though I'm sure this would be much easier for me if I had already undergone some form of said renewal. What do I find compelling about the work I do? What do I hope for? I would say I hope for a day when I have no…
February 27, 2008
Maybe you've been wondering just exactly how few women scientists and engineers there are in academia in the U.S. Or, to put it another way, maybe you've wondered just exactly how much men scientists and engineers are overrepresented in academia. There's a new website that gathers and presents…
February 21, 2008
Alice has a very good post over at On Being A Scientist And A Woman about resources on implicit bias, including some really nice stuff to help you counteract implicit bias in reviewing/hiring situations. Go read it!
February 21, 2008
Yes, February 17-23 is this year's National Engineering Week! I'm a little late to the party, I know...I've been a little preoccupied. But today is Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day! There are events going on all over the U.S. even as we blog. But you know, you can do your own IAGTE activity…
February 21, 2008
What happens when you speak up about gender inequity in Japan's science culture? Why, you can expect to be accused of "tarnishing the reputation" of the university, that's what. That's what happened to biophysicist Mitiko Go when she spoke out about an instance of egregious sex discrimination.…
February 15, 2008
If you are, you may want to read this article over at ScienceCareers. It's very informative, with a link or two to some resources, and what's even cooler, it features quotes from Mrs. Whatsit (named "Abigail" in the article) and Sciencewoman (named "Mary")!!! Good stuff. p.s. hat tip to my…
February 14, 2008
Abel Pharmboy reports on inaccuracies in breast cancer websites: So it was no surprise to me and actually quite alarming to read a recent report suggesting that while only 1 in 20 breast cancer websites offer incorrect information, CAM-focused [CAM = complementary and alternative medicine]…
February 14, 2008
If you find yourself in the condition of being unavoidably female, and you aren't willing to undergo a sex change operation, then your best publication strategy may be to hide the XX affiliation. The title of a recent publication on this issue is self-explanatory: "Double-blind review favours…
February 13, 2008
Sciencewoman ponders seen and unseen parenting responsibilities. In a discussion about parceling out responsibilities for a large project, the department chair expressed his desire not to unduly belabor a Department Dad because of his Very Special Parenting Responsibilities; Sciencewoman, however…
February 12, 2008
I've written in the recent past about why Jim Watson is bad for science, especially the perception non-scientists get of science as a result of his pseudo-scientific racist natterings. I analyzed the reactions within the scientific community to the recent Watson imbroglio. It's far past time…
February 11, 2008
Here's the word, from Sheril at The Intersection - and the word is exciting! For months everyone has been asking us, when will there be an invitation sent to candidates...a date... a venue... Well it's finally happened! It's official. Hillary Clinton, Mike Huckabee, John McCain, and Barack Obama…
February 11, 2008
It has been difficult to get back into a regular rhythm of blogging after all the time off when I was dealing with stuff for my mom. I think all that took more of a toll on me than I realized. Although mom is doing great in her new place, and seems really happy, I've still felt overwhelmed and…
February 11, 2008
February is turning out to be quite a great month at Scienceblogs! Welcome, welcome, welcome, Alice Pawley, now co-blogging with Sciencewoman! Alice "wants to be a feminist-but-tenured professor when she grows up". I say, why grow up? except for the tenured part. That will be nice. And may…
February 1, 2008
Hooray! Hooray! Green Gabbro joins Scienceblogs today! Welcome, Maria!
February 1, 2008
Science policy, 20 years of sexual harassment, French women students as prostitutes: a round-up of stuff from the Chronicle: Dan Greenburg of Brainstorm complains that the U.S. has no national science policy. Some commenters say "that's a good thing". Over at Chronicle Careers, Julie Vick and…
January 31, 2008
Raise your hand if you've been to diversity camp! You know - sometime during the academic year, your department head or dean announces there's going to be a diversity meeting/seminar/retreat. People grudgingly attend, they do some exercises to maybe show them just how prejudiced they actually are…