text:
Women in STEM fields
Title: Women in STEM fields
Subject: Technology assessment, Science education, Technology dynamics, Social shaping of technology, Sociology of knowledge
Collection: Employment, Engineering Education, Factors Related to Intelligence, Role Status, Science Education, Sex- or Gender-Related Stereotypes, Statistics of Education, Women in Technology, Women Scientists
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Many scholars and policy makers have noted that women have historically been underrepresented in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM fields). Scholars are exploring the various reasons for the existence of this gender gap in STEM fields and are also seeking ways to increase diversity within STEM fields.[1][2][3] [4][5]
Gender imbalance in STEM fields 1
Representation of women 1.1
Men's and women's earnings 1.2
Recent advances in technology 2
Explanations for low representation of women 3
Lack of female interest 3.1
Biological explanations 3.2
Structural explanations 3.3
Effects of age 3.3.1
Territorial segregation 3.3.2
Leaky pipeline 3.3.3
Reasons for the leakage 3.3.3.1
Gender and work 3.3.4
Social-psychological explanations 3.4
Stereotypes and heuristics 3.4.1
Discrimination 3.4.2
Implicit discrimination 3.4.2.1
Stereotype threat 3.4.3
Black Sheep effect 3.4.4
Queen Bee effect 3.4.5
Strategies for increasing representation of women 4
Social-psychological interventions 4.1
Role models 4.1.1
Self-affirmation 4.1.2
Notes 6.1
Further reading 6.2
Gender imbalance in STEM fields
Studies suggest that many factors contribute to the attitudes and achievement of young women in mathematics and science including encouragement from parents, interaction with mathematics and science teachers, curriculum content, hands-on laboratory experiences, high school achievement in mathematics and science, and resources available at home.[6] In the United States, research findings are mixed concerning the grade in which boys' and girls' attitudes about mathematics and science diverge. Analyzing several nationally representative longitudinal studies, one researcher found few differences in girls' and boys' attitudes towards science in the early secondary school years.[6]
Students' aspirations to pursue careers in mathematics and science influence both the courses they choose to take in those areas as well as the level of effort put forth in these courses. A report by the U.S. Department of Education found that the gap in the career aspirations of boys and girls in science or engineering fields exists as early as eighth grade. Among the eighth grade class of 1988, boys were more than twice as likely as girls to aspire to be scientists or engineers (9 and 3 percent, respectively), although girls were more likely than boys to aspire to professional, business, or managerial occupations (38 and 20 percent respectively). While male and female high school seniors are equally likely to expect a career in science or mathematics, male seniors are much more likely than their female counterparts to expect a career in engineering.[7]
A 1996 study of college freshmen by the Higher Education Research Institute shows that men and women differ greatly in their intended fields of study. Of first-time college freshmen in 1996, 20 percent of men and 4 percent of women planned to major in computer science and engineering, while similar percentages of men and women planned to major in biology or physical sciences. The differences in the intended majors between male and female first-time freshmen directly relate to the differences in the fields in which men and women earn their degree. At the post-secondary level, women are less likely than men to earn a degree in mathematics, physical sciences, and computer sciences and engineering. The exception to this gender imbalance is in the life sciences.[8]
Representation of women
According to the Census Bureau's 2009 American Community Survey, women comprise 48 percent of the U.S. workforce but just 24 percent of workers in STEM fields. Half as many women are working in STEM jobs as would be expected if gender representation in STEM professions mirrored the overall workforce. This underrepresentation has remained fairly consistent over the past decade, even as women's share of the college-educated workforce has increased. Among STEM jobs, women's representation has varied over time. While the percentage of women has declined in computer and math jobs, their percentage has risen in other occupations. In 2009, women comprised 27 percent of the computer and math workforce (the largest of the four STEM components), a drop of 3 percentage points since 2000. Engineers are the second largest STEM occupational group, but only about one out of every seven engineers is female.[9]
Men are much more likely than women to have a STEM career regardless of educational attainment. Women in STEM fields earn considerably less than men, even after controlling for a wide set of characteristics such as education and age. On average, men in STEM jobs earn $36.34 per hour while women in STEM jobs earn $31.11 per hour.[9]
Percentage distribution of probable fields of study among first-time college freshmen, by sex (fall 1996)
Probable major field of study
Arts and humanities 9.4 10.5
Biology 6.5 7.4
Business 18.1 13.8
Education 6.3 14.2
Engineering 15.2 2.6
Physical Sciences 2.7 2.0
Professional 9.8 20.2
Social sciences 6.1 11.7
Technical 3.7 1.4
Computer Sciences 4.3 1.2
Undecided 7.4 8.8
Other 10.5 6.5
The physical sciences include fields such as astronomy, chemistry, earth science, mathematics, and physics. The professional category includes fields such as architecture and health technologies. Women are more likely to hold jobs that are less prestigious and have lower wages than those held by men. While many prestigious fields such as engineering, chemistry, physics, and computer science are dominated by men, women are the majority in the social sciences and life sciences.
Men's and women's earnings
Although female college graduates shared in the earnings growth of all college graduates in the 1980s, they earned less on average than male college graduates. Some of the differences in salary are related to the differences in occupations entered by women and men. Among recent science and engineering bachelor's degree recipients, women were less likely than men to be employed in science and engineering occupations. There remains an earnings gap between men and women in comparable scientific positions. Among more experienced scientists and engineers, the gender gap in salaries is larger than for recent graduates.[10] Salaries are highest in mathematics, computer science, and engineering, fields in which women are not highly represented. Among recent college graduates who majored in the natural sciences, women earned less than men did. However, there was no measureable difference between the starting salaries of men and women who majored in computer sciences and engineering.[11] Even though women make up about half of the labor market, they are underrepresented in jobs in scientific fields and tend to be paid less than men.[11]
Recent advances in technology
Abbiss states that "the ubiquity of computers in everyday life has seen the breaking down of gender distinctions in preferences for and the use of different applications, particularly in the use of the internet and email." [12] Both genders have acquired skills, competencies and confidence in using a variety of technological, mobile and application tools for personal, educational and professional use at high school level, but the gap still remains when it comes to enrollment of girls in computer science classes, which declines from grades 10 to 12 and to post-secondary level program options.
Explanations for low representation of women
Many people have attempted to make sense of the relatively low numbers of women in STEM fields, leading to the rise of a number of biological, structural, and social-psychological explanations.[13][14][15]
Lack of female interest
A meta-analysis concluded that men prefer working with things and women prefer working with people. When interests were classified by RIASEC type (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, Conventional), Men showed stronger Realistic and Investigative interests, and women showed stronger Artistic, Social, and Conventional interests. Sex differences favoring men were also found for more specific measures of engineering, science, and mathematics interests.[16]
In their 3-year interview study, Seymour and Hewitt (1997) found that perceptions that non-STEM academic majors offered better education options and better matched their interests was the most common (46%) reason provided by female students for switching majors from STEM areas to non-STEM areas. The second most frequently cited reason given for switching to non-STEM areas was a reported loss of interest in the women's chosen STEM majors. Additionally, 38% of female students who remained in STEM majors expressed concerns that there were other academic areas that might be a better fit for their interests. Preston's (2004) survey of 1,688 individuals who had left sciences also showed that 30% of the women endorsed "other fields more interesting" as their reason for leaving. [16]
Biological explanations
Biological explanations tend to focus on gender differences in areas such as spatial skills. Spatial sense is considered a critical component to success in engineering and other branches of science, and men are sometimes found to outscore women in tests of spatial ability. However, studies have shown that spatial skills can be quickly developed through a small amount of training.[13] If girls are brought up in an environment where they are encouraged to use and develop their spatial skills, this gender gap in spatial sense will likely narrow.
Structural explanations
Margaret Rossiter offers two possible structural explanations for the low number of women in STEM fields: hierarchical segregation and territorial segregation. She describes "hierarchical segregation" as a decrease in the number of women as one "moves up the ladder of power and prestige." [14] There tends to be a lack of gender diversity in the upper echelons of many occupations where the highest positions are typically held by men. Rossiter also puts forth the concept of "territorial segregation."[17] This is the idea that women "cluster" in certain fields of study. For example, "women are more likely to teach and do research in the humanities and social sciences than in the natural sciences and engineering." [17] The majority of women in college tend to choose majors such as psychology, education, English, performing arts, and nursing.[18] One reason that women tend to form these "clusters" is because of a lack of support in STEM fields where they are outnumbered by men.
Effects of age
Among all workers from ages 16 to 34, women receive a little over 90 percent of men's earnings.[19] However, this ratio drops for women ages 35 to 64, who earn 80 percent or less of men's wages. While this pattern may signal workplace changes among younger cohorts, women do tend to fall behind men as their careers progress. It thus remains to be seen whether this is an age or generational phenomenon.[19]
Territorial segregation
The term territorial segregation (or occupational segregation) refers to how the STEM fields have traditionally been dominated by men, making it difficult for women to enter these occupations. Even within the STEM fields, women tend to be concentrated in the "soft" sciences: life, behavioral, and social sciences. Jobs in these fields often have lower salaries and are accorded less prestige. Only 9 percent of U.S. physicists are women.[20] Over the last four decades, the relative proportion of women Ph.D. recipients has increased more than 100-fold in engineering (from 0.2 percent in 1966 to 22.5 percent in 2006), 12-fold in the geosciences (from 3 percent to 36.6 percent), and 8-fold in the physical sciences (from 3.7 percent to 27.9 percent).[21] Even though many more women are now earning Ph.D.s in STEM fields, they still hold far fewer full professorships than do men. For example, although women held 62 percent of the Ph.D.s in psychology in 1994, only 19 percent of tenured positions were given to women.[22]
Leaky pipeline
The metaphor of the leaky pipeline has been used to describe how women drop out of STEM fields at all stages of their careers. Statistician Berry Vetter claims that 280 of any 2,000 9th grade boys and 210 of any 2,000 9th grade girls will have taken enough math to pursue a technical career. Of these, 143 of the men and 45 of the women will major in science in college. Forty-four of these men and 20 of these women will complete their degrees in science. Five of these men and one of these women will go on to obtain PhDs in science.[22]
According to A. N. Pell, the pipeline has several major leaks spanning the time from elementary school to retirement.[23] One of the most important periods is adolescence. Teachers often give boys more opportunity to figure out the solution to a problem by themselves while telling the girls to follow the rules.[24] Teachers are also more likely to accept questions from boys while telling girls to wait for their turns.[23] This is partly due to gender expectations that boys will be active but that girls should be quiet and obedient.[25] Girls also have less laboratory experience because they are given fewer opportunities to gain such experience than are boys.[23] In middle and high school, courses dealing with mechanics and computers as well as the more rigorous science and mathematics courses are mainly taken by male students and also tend to be taught by male teachers.[26] Girls' lack of opportunities to practice their math and science skills can lead to a loss of self-esteem in their math and science abilities. Such low self-esteem may prevent women and girls from entering science and math fields. Many girls will end up not taking enough math classes to qualify for three-quarters of majors in college.[23]
Reasons for the leakage
This leakage may be due to discrimination, both overt and covert, faced by women in STEM fields. Schiebinger claims that women are twice as likely to leave their jobs than men in science and engineering.[27] The reasons behind these decisions to leave include not being invited to professional meetings, the use of sexually discriminating standards against women, the struggle to balance family and work, the perceived need to hide pregnancies, and inflexible working conditions. The New England Journal of Medicine suggests that three-quarters of women students and residents are harassed at least once during their medical training.[27] In engineering and science education, women make up almost 50 percent of non-tenure track lecturer and instructor jobs, but only 10 percent of tenured or tenure-track professors. In addition, the number of female department chairs in medical schools has not changed for the past 20 years [23] this lack of women at the highest levels of a profession may be due to the so-called "glass ceiling." The glass ceiling is "the unseen, yet unbreachable barrier that keeps minorities and women from rising to the upper rungs of the corporate ladder, regardless of their qualifications or achievements."[28] Moreover, women who do make it to these high levels may face the difficulties associated with holding a token status. Because these highly ranked women are such an anomaly, they may lack support from colleagues and may face antagonism from peers and supervisors.[25]
Gender and work
Both men and women who work in nontraditional occupations may encounter discrimination, but the forms and consequences of this discrimination are very different. Although women entering traditionally male professions face negative stereotypes suggesting that they are not real women, these stereotypes do not seem to deter women to the same degree that similar stereotypes may deter men from pursuing nontraditional professions. There is ample historical evidence that women flock to male-identified occupations once opportunities are available.[29] On the other hand, examples of occupations changing from predominantly female to predominantly male are very rare in our history. The few existing cases—such as medicine—suggest that redefinition of the occupations as appropriately masculine is necessary before men will consider joining them.[30]
Although men in female-dominated occupations may contend with negative stereotypes about their masculinity, they may also experience certain benefits. Women, particularly those in male-dominated occupations, tend to hit a glass ceiling; while men in female-dominated occupations may hit a "glass escalator." [31] While the glass ceiling can make it difficult for women and minorities to reach the top of an occupation, the glass escalator allows men to excel in a profession that is female dominated. Since STEM fields tend to be male-dominated, it is likely that women will hit the glass ceiling.[32]
Social-psychological explanations
Psychologists have long studied issues related to discrimination, motivation, and performance. In more recent years, social psychologists have examined how certain social-psychological phenomena may apply directly to the STEM fields, and may explain the relative lack of gender diversity within these fields.
Stereotypes and heuristics
A heuristic is a cognitive shortcut that people use to make decisions.[33] Stereotypes, or commonly held beliefs about certain groups, are often employed as heuristics when making decisions in social situations. Stereotypes about what someone in a STEM field should look and act like may cause established members of these fields to overlook individuals who may be highly competent but may not fit people's idea of how a person in a STEM field should appear.[34] The stereotypical scientist or individual in another STEM profession is usually thought to be male.[35] This indicates that women in STEM fields may not fit individuals' conceptualization of what a scientist, engineer, or mathematician "should" look like and may thus be overlooked or penalized. The role congruity theory of prejudice states that perceived incongruity between gender stereotypes and the stereotypes associated with a particular role or occupation can result in negative evaluations.[36][37][38] In addition, negative stereotypes about women's quantitative abilities may lead people to devalue their work or discourage these women from continuing in STEM fields.[39]
Individuals of a particular gender are often perceived to be better suited to particular careers or areas of study than those of the other gender.[40][41] A study by Gaucher et al.[40] found that job advertisements for male-dominated careers tended to use more agentic words (or words denoting agency, such as "leader" and "goal-oriented") associated with male stereotypes. If individuals are given information about a prospective student's gender, they may infer that he or she possesses traits consistent with stereotypes for that gender.[42] Social role theory states that men are expected to display agentic qualities and women to display communal qualities.[43] These expectations can influence hiring decisions.[44] Madera et al.[44] found that women tended to be described in more communal terms and men in more agentic terms in letters of recommendation. These researchers also found that communal characteristics were negatively related to hiring decisions in academia.[44]
Some researchers have demonstrated a general evaluative bias against women.[45] In an audit study in which they sent email requests to meet to professors in doctoral programs at the top 260 U.S. universities, researchers found evidence for discrimination against ethnic minorities and women relative to Caucasian men.[46] While it was impossible to determine whether any particular individual in this study was exhibiting discrimination, since each participant only viewed a request from one potential graduate student, the overall tendency to favor Caucasian men over all other groups indicates that discrimination is still very much an issue. In another study, science faculty were sent the materials of student who was applying for a lab manager position at their university.[47] The materials were the same for each participant, but each participant was randomly assigned either a male or a female name. The researchers found that faculty members rated the male candidate as both more competent and more hirable than the female candidate, despite the fact that the applications were identical except for the applicant's gender.[47] Again, it is impossible to say whether any of the individual faculty members were acting in a discriminatory fashion, but it is apparent that there is still a widespread bias against women in science fields.
Implicit discrimination
In highly competitive STEM fields, the support and encouragement of a mentor can make a lot of difference in women's decisions of whether or not to continue pursuing a career in their discipline [48][49] This may be particularly true for younger individuals who may face many obstacles early on in their careers.[5] Since these younger individuals often look to those who are more established in their discipline for help and guidance, the responsiveness of these potential mentors and their willingness to help is incredibly important. Regardless of whether the majority of those in STEM fields outwardly agree with importance of increasing the representation of women in these areas, they may still hold biases—conscious or not—that affect how they interact with women looking to enter their particular discipline. If these biases manifest themselves in the differential treatment of women, particularly in respect to their willingness to assist young women in their respective field of study, this could impact the number of women choosing to enter into, and persist in, STEM careers.
Stereotype threat arises from the fear that one's actions will confirm a negative stereotype about one's in-group. This fear creates additional stress, consuming valuable cognitive resources and lowering task performance in the threatened domain.[50][51][52] Individuals are susceptible to stereotype threat whenever they are assessed in a domain for which there exists a negative stereotype about a group to which they belong. Stereotype threat has been shown to undermine the academic performance of women and girls in math and science to the extent that standard measures of academic achievement often underestimate the abilities of women and girls in these subjects.[15][39] Laboratory experiments have also found that individuals who identify strongly with a certain area (e.g. math) are more likely to have their performance in that area hampered by stereotype threat than those who identify less strongly with the area.[52] This means that even highly motivated students from negatively stereotyped minority groups are likely to be adversely affected by stereotype threat and, as a result, may come to disengage from the stereotyped domain.[52] Negative stereotypes about girls' capabilities in mathematics and science drastically lower their performance in mathematics and science courses as well as their interest in pursuing a STEM career.[53] Studies have found that this gender difference in performance disappears if students are told that there are no gender differences on a particular mathematics test.[15] This indicates that the learning environment can greatly impact women's success in a course.
Black Sheep effect
The Black Sheep effect occurs when individuals are likely to evaluate members of their in-group more favorably than members of their out-group when those members are highly qualified.[54][55][56][57] However, when an individual's in-group members have average or below average qualities, he or she is likely to evaluate them much lower than out-group members with equivalent qualifications.[54][55][56][57] This might suggest that women who are already established in STEM fields will be especially likely to help women who are earlier on in their career trajectories when these younger women display qualifications but will be less likely than their male colleagues to help younger women who do not display such qualifications.
Queen Bee effect
The Queen Bee effect is similar to the Black Sheep effect but applies only to women. It explains why higher-status women, particularly in male-dominated professions, may actually be far less likely to help other women than their male colleagues might be.[58][59] The study by Ellemers et al.[59] found that while doctoral students in a number of different disciplines did not exhibit any gender differences in work commitment or work satisfaction, faculty members at the same university believed that female students were less committed to their work than male students. What was particularly surprising was that these beliefs by faculty members were most strongly endorsed by female faculty members, rather than male faculty members.[59] One potential explanation for this finding is that individual mobility for a member of a negatively-stereotyped group is often accompanied by a social and psychological distancing of oneself from the group. This implies that women who are successful in male-dominated careers don't see their own success as proof that negative stereotypes about women's quantitative and analytical abilities are wrong but rather as proof that they personally are exceptions to the rule.[59] Thus, such women may actually play a role in perpetuating, rather than abolishing, these negative stereotypes.
Strategies for increasing representation of women
There are a multitude of factors that may explain the low representation of women in STEM careers. Anne-Marie Slaughter, the first woman to hold the position of Director of Policy Planning for the United States Department of State,[60] has recently suggested some strategies to the corporate and political environment to support women to fulfill to the best of their abilities the many roles and responsibilities that they undertake.[61] The academic and research environment for women may benefit by applying some of the suggestions she has made to help women excel, while maintaining a work-life balance.
Social-psychological interventions
A number of researchers have tested interventions to alleviate stereotype threat for women in situations where their math and science skills are being evaluated. The hope is that by combating stereotype threat, these interventions will boost women's performance, encouraging a greater number of them to persist in STEM careers.
One simple intervention is simply educating individuals about the existence of stereotype threat. Researchers found that women who were taught about stereotype threat and how it could negatively impact women's performance in math performed as well as men on a math test, even when stereotype threat was induced. These women also performed better than women who were not taught about stereotype threat before they took the math test.[62]
One of the proposed methods for alleviating stereotype threat is through introducing role models. One study found that women who took a math test that was administered by a female experimenter did not suffer a drop in performance when compared to women whose test was administered by a male experimenter.[63] Additionally, these researchers found that it was not the physical presence of the female experimenter but rather learning about her apparent competence in math that buffered participants against stereotype threat.[63] The findings of another study suggest that role models do not necessarily have to be individuals with authority or high status, but can also be drawn from peer groups. This study found that girls in same-gender groups performed better on a task that measured math skills than girls in mixed-gender groups.[64] This was due to the fact that girls in the same-gender groups had greater access to positive role models, in the form of their female classmates who excelled in math, than girls in mixed-gender groups.[64] Similarly, another experiment showed that making groups achievements salient helped buffer women against stereotype threat. Female participants who read about successful women, even though these successes were not directly related to performance in math, performed better on a subsequent math test than participants who read about successful corporations rather than successful women.[65] A study investigating the role of textbook images on science performance found that women demonstrated better comprehension of a passage from a chemistry lesson when the text was accompanied by a counter-stereotypic image (i.e., of a female scientist) than when the text was accompanied by a stereotypic image (i.e., of a male scientist).[35] Other scholars distinguish between the challenges of both recruitment and retention in increasing women's participation in STEM fields. These researchers suggest that although both female and male role models can be effective in recruiting women to STEM fields, female role models are more effective at promoting the retention of women in these fields.[66]
Self-affirmation
Researchers have investigated the usefulness of self-affirmation in alleviating stereotype threat. One study found that women who affirmed a personal value prior to experiencing stereotype threat performed as well on a math test as men and as women who did not experience stereotype threat.[67] A subsequent study found that a short writing exercise in which college students, who were enrolled in an introductory physics course, wrote about their most important values substantially decreased the gender performance gap and boosted women's grades.[68] Scholars believe that the effectiveness of such values-affirmation exercises is their ability to help individuals view themselves as complex individuals, rather than through the lens of a harmful stereotype. Supporting this hypothesis, another study found that women who were encouraged to draw self-concept maps with many nodes did not experience a performance decrease on a math test.[69] However, women who did not draw self-concept maps or only drew maps with a few nodes did perform significantly worse than men on the math test.[69] The effect of these maps with many nodes was to remind women of their "multiple roles and identities," that were unrelated to, and would thus not be harmed by, their performance on the math test.[69]
Association for Women in Science
Association for Women in Mathematics
Beyond Bias and Barriers
Implicit stereotypes
Inequality in the workplace
Heuristics in judgment and decision making
Category:Organizations for women in science and technology
Margaret W. Rossiter History of Women in Science Prize
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^ a b Moss-Racusin, C.A.; Dovidio, J.F.; Brescoll, V.L.; Graham, M.; Handelsman, J. (2012). "Science faculty's subtle gender biases favor male students". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 109: 16474–16479.
^ Sonnert, G.; Fox, M.F.; Adkins, K. (2007). "Undergraduate Women in Science and Engineering: Effects of Faculty, Fields, and Institutions Over Time". Social Science Quarterly 88 (5): 1333–1356.
^ Stout, J.G.; Dasgupta, N.; Hunsinger, M.; McManus, M.A. (2011). "STEMing the tide: Using ingroup experts to inoculate women's self-concept in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 100 (2): 255–270.
^ Schmader, T.; Johns, M. (2003). "Converging evidence that stereotype threat reduces working memory capacity". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 85 (3): 440–452.
^ Steele, C.M.; Aronson, J. (1995). "Stereotype Threat and the Intellectual Test Performance of African Americans". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 69 (5): 797–811.
^ a b c Steele, C.M.; Spencer, S.J.; Aronson, J. (2002). "Contending with group image: The psychology of stereotype and social identity threat". Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 34: 379–440.
^ Christine Bork, Women in science, Huffington Post
^ a b Eidelman, S.; Biernat, M. (2003). "Derogating black sheep: Individual or group protection?". Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 39 (6): 602–609.
^ a b Kerr, N.L.; Hymes, R.W.; Anderson, A.B.; Weathers, J.E. (1995). "Defendant-juror similarity and mock juror judgments". Law and Human Behavior 19 (6): 545–567.
^ a b Marques, J.; Abrams, D.; Serodio, R.G. (2001). "Being better by being right: Subjective group dynamics and derogation of in-group deviants when generic norms are undermined". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 81 (3): 436–447.
^ a b Taylor, T.S.; Hosch, H.M. (2004). "An examination of jury verdicts for evidence of a similarity-leniency effect, an out-group punitiveness effect or a black sheep effect". Law and Human Behavior 28 (5): 587–598.
^ Cooper, V.W. (1997). "Homophily or the Queen Bee Syndrome". Small Group Research 28 (4): 483–499.
^ a b c d Ellemers, N.; Van den Heuvel, H.; de Gilder, D.; Maass, A.; Bonvini, A. (2004). "The underrepresentation of women in science: Differential commitment or the queen bee syndrome?". British Journal of Social Psychology 43 (3): 315–338.
^ Slaughter, A
^ Finding a work-life-balance, Toronto Star, 11 July 2012
^ Johns, Michael; Schmader, Toni; Martens, Andy (2005). "Knowing Is Half the Battle: Teaching Stereotype Threat as a Means of Improving Women's Math Performance". Psychological Science 16 (3): 175–179.
^ a b Marx, D.M.; Roman, J.S. (2002). "Female role models: Protecting women's math performance". Personality and Social bulletin 28 (9): 1183–1193.
^ a b Huguet, P.; Regner, I. (2007). "Stereotype threat among schoolgirls in quasi-ordinary classroom circumstances". Journal of Educational Psychology 99 (3): 545–560.
^ McIntyre, R.B.; Paulson, R.M.; Lord, C.G. (2003). "Alleviating women's mathematics stereotype threat through salience of group achievements". Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 39 (1): 83–90.
^ Drury, Benjamin J.; Siy, John Oliver; Cheryan, Sapna (2011). "When Do Female Role Models Benefit Women? The Importance of Differentiating Recruitment From Retention in STEM". Psychological Inquiry 22 (4): 265–269.
^ Martens, A.; Johns, M.; Greenberg, J.; Schimel, J. (2006). "Combating stereotype threat: The effect of self-affirmation on women's intellectual performance". Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 42 (2): 236–243.
^ Miyake, A.; Kost-Smith, L.E.; Finkelstein, N.D.; Pollock, S.J.; Cohen, G.L.; Ito, T.A. (2010). "Reducing the Gender Achievement Gap in College Science: A Classroom Study of Values Affirmation". Science 330 (6008): 1234–1237.
^ a b c Gresky, D.M.; Eyck, L.L.T.; Lord, C.G.; McIntyre, R.B. (2005). "Effects of salient multiple identities on women's performance under mathematics stereotype threat". Sex Roles 53 (9-10): 703–716.
American Association of University Women (2010). Why So Few?
At last, proof women are smarter than men, Toronto Star, July 17, 2012
Science and technology studies
Economics of science
Economics of scientific knowledge
Antipositivism
Social constructivism
Social epistemology
Actor–network theory
construction of technology
shaping of technology
Sociology of the history of science
Strong programme
Antiscience
Boundary-work
Mapping controversies
Scientometrics
Team science
Unity of science
Cyborg anthropology
Digital anthropology
linear model
Normalization process theory
Reverse salient
Sociotechnical system
Technical change
critique of
theories of
Evidence-based policy
science of
Politicization of science
Regulation of science
Socio-scientific issues
Portals:
Factors related to intelligence
Sex- or gender-related stereotypes
Statistics of education
Women scientists
Oclc, Critical theory, Émile Durkheim, Qualitative research, Philosophy of science
Technology, Agriculture, Industrial Revolution, Nuclear technology, Fire
Anthropology, Time, Humanities, Geography, Archaeology
Education, Sociology, Technology, Epistemology, Scientific method
Technology, Sociology, Computer science, Positivism, Technological change
Social shaping of technology
Sociology, Technology, Computer science, Positivism, Sociology of scientific knowledge
Sociology, Technology, Émile Durkheim, Economics, Epistemology


Its fitting that these are the last three character studies. They each showed us what we need to do as Christian men in order to become true men of God. Joshua showed us that through obedience to God we can accomplish feats that no man would deem possible. When god spoke to Joshua he listened and obeyed. This obedience pleased God so much that when Joshua prayed "let the sun stand still over Gibeon and the moon over the valley of Aijalon." That God honor that request.
David showed us that through true praise and worship we can draw near to God, and be men after Gods own heart. He also showed us that no matter how close we are to God, we can still be tempted and fall to sin.
In closing, I want to thank all the Kings men for their prayers. This challenge has changed my life! I especially want to thank the Men's Ministry leaders for taking the time to invest in me and the other men of our church. Sir. Rick, Sir. Charles, Sir. Joe, and Sir Justin, I thank you for being obedient and submitting to Gods will. I look forward to the next Challenge.
Although Joshua was talking about his military battles and the territory, I can apply the principles by which God had worked there with my spiritual battles I face everyday. If we listen to God it does not matter if it is a military or spiritual battle he will get us though the battle we just have to follow him.
David had to make a choice to run or stay and let Saul have him killed. As a young man David did not run from any task that God gave him and as a King, David had to run because Saul had put a hit out on him. David would go from cave to cave to stay alive and like us we run from one sin to another sin. Once David fully dependent on God nothing matter anymore. The same applies to us when we depend on God nothing matters anymore.
Let me first talk about my run in with Jesus back in the summer of 1988 when I took a .357 with semi hollow point rounds to my head. I wanted to die I was at rock bottom and felt like no one cared about me. So one warm afternoon I had wrote a note and place it at my church door, my parents door, and my front door which read bang bang now he is dead took a .357 to his head no one knows why and no one cares bang bang now he is dead. Then I took the .357 and try the first round did not go off, nor the second, nor the third, and so on and Jesus said to me did I not die on the cross for you. Did I not take your sins away. Don't you know my father in heaven and myself love you? My father's work with you is not done yet. When the police came to the house and saw the .357 and saw that the primer had been hit they had no answer. My father (on earth) took the round in the box and fired them. To this day all I can say is that Jesus and The Lord stopped the rounds from discharging. There is no other like Jesus who saw my sadness and ask his father if he could come and be with me. Beside who else would die for us. Be blessed.
Jesus is born of God through Mary. As the Son of God and the Word made flesh, Jesus was perfect with no flaws. Jesus' greatest strength was his unending perfect love.
Jesus' great acts of love can be witnessed throughout the Gospels. Jesus shows his love to a woman that committed adultery that the Pharisees had brought to him in John 8:4-11. The Pharisees were testing Jesus in trying to get him to stone her as it is written in the law given to Moses. He then rebukes them by saying "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." He then stoops down to her level told her "Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more." Jesus knew when to show tender love, but he also knew when to show bold and tough love as well. He shows this tough love when tells a young rich man that in order for him to give to heaven he must give up all his riches and follow him. He tells him that because he knows what the young man loves more that anything else in the world, his money. Jesus wants our whole heart and full undivided attention, putting all things aside and severing only him for he is the only "way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by" Jesus (John 14:6). Jesus' greatest act of love is that he gave his life for our salvation, so that the first Adam's act of betrayal could be wiped away. All we have to do to receive that salvation is repent of our sins, accept him as our Lord and savior, and continue to spread the good news.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 22:37-39 "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." As his disciples Jesus wants us the first the Lord above all else, then love you everyone to include your enemy as he loves them. He wants to strive to be like him and let his light shine through us for all to see.
We may struggle in our walk occasionally, but he is always there to help us along.


Azimut Grande 95 RPH belongs to big yachts category thanks to its about 30 meters length. It's an extremely refined boat and, above all, it is the "Grande" collection strong point consisting of an important range of big dimension surfing boats made in fiberglass. It is characterized by well-finished exterior and interior lines designed by Stefano Righini and Studio Salvagni Architetti, respectively.
A really remarkable feature is the raised dash-board, a distinctive element belonging to professional boats, so that the steering gear is separated from the main deck by a further half deck and the ship owner can enjoy more available space and bigger privacy. So, the saloon is wider, while in the forward main deck you can also enjoy a view panoramic cabin reserved to the crew and provided with separated access from the galley. The stern can be equipped with the garage to place the tender or it can be used as a sunbathing area.
The saloon maintains almost a continuity with the exterior because of its great wideness. It is characterized by large glass windows, extended from the floor to the ceiling, in order to enjoy a wider horizon view, and big wall beams, similar to arches, able to instill a great deep sensation to the place. Relaxing and dining areas are equally characterized by wideness and able to hold a maximum of 10 people.
The interior is also extremely refined by the use of fine materials such as mahogany, leather and grey oak. In the bow, the glazed access doors to the main staircase and galley are embellished by silk tissues parts, while the forward bulkhead is also upholstered with silk. In the galley there is a dinette made in mahogany and a stowage area. Furniture is characterized by dimmer Led lights and wooden venetian blinds with mahogany finishing. Finally, the staircase connecting the decks is very elegant thanks to its onyx steps, leather finishing and mahogany handrail.
In the lowerdeck there are four Vip cabins with a private toilette for each one beyond the ship owner cabin. They are all characterized by furniture elegance and refinement, clear in leather bed heads and in night tables, wardrobes and beds mahogany finishing. The ship owner's cabin, provided with dressing room and many stowage compartments, is the most spacious. It is in the main deck with wide panoramic glass windows, while the full-beam toilette is in the bow. Each Vip cabin is provided with a folding double bed opening by pistons and a TV beyond a mirror.
Azimut Grande 95 RPH is equipped with two MTU 16V2000 M84 engines which allow to reach a full speed of 26,5 knots and a cruising speed of 20 knots thanks to a surfing hull provided with skeg in order to improve directional stability.


text:
DeSimone, Innovative Engineer With Impressive Hotel Projects, Dies at 78
DeSimone
Vincent J. DeSimone, founder and chairman of DeSimone Consulting Engineers in New York City, died on November 16. He was 78.
DeSimone, P.E., M.ASCE, established the firm in 1969 and had been senior principal-in-charge of design since its outset. The firm has designed projects in 40 states and 18 countries. DeSimone headed many projects, including the Four Seasons Miami (the tallest building in Miami when it was built), the Westin Diplomat Hotel in Hollywood, FL, the Atlantis in the Bahamas, the Sofitel Hotel in New York City, and the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, CT.
A Life Member of ASCE, having joined in 1957, he was also a member and past president of the Concrete Industry Board of New York City, a Fellow of the American Concrete Institute, and a former professor of structures at Princeton University's School of Architecture.
DeSimone was a Manhattan College graduate and held a bachelor's degree in civil engineering and an honorary doctorate degree. He was a licensed professional engineer in 23 states.
The key to structural safety may be collaborative reporting
Modeled on the British CROSS-UK system, CROSS-US accepts reports from any professionals who work with or have knowledge of structural safety issues.
Evaluating dowel-type connections' performance in cross-laminated timber
A paper in the "Journal of Structural Engineering" studies the performance of cross-laminated timber dowel-type connections.
Former ASCE board member and University of Delaware president Jones dies at 85
Russel C. "Russ" Jones, a civil engineering academic and past ASCE Board member who became president of the University of Delaware, has died. He was 85.
Longtime member, Long Beach port designer dies at 93
Charles L. Vickers Jr., an accomplished port engineer who designed the first container terminal on the West Coast, has died. He was 93.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
NJ Lawmaker: Fine Snow Plow Operators Who Block Disabled Parking Spots
CBS New York
TRENTON, N.J. (CBSNewYork) — When the next storm hits, be careful where you dump that snow — one New Jersey official is pushing for new legislation that would fine snow plow operators if they pile snow in spaces set aside for people with disabilities.
The 'Snow Removal Bill,' introduced by Assemblywoman Valerie Huttle, will impose a fine for snow plow operators who deposit snow on designated access ramps, curb cuts, special parking spaces, or other areas designed to provide access to people with disabilities, CBS2's Elise Finch reported.
"If areas are clearly marked accessible, these should be cleared out right away," Huttle said. "It not only safeguards people with disabilities, it's obviously a safe thing to do and it's the neighborly thing to do."
The first offense would result in a $250 fine, with each subsequent offense costing $500.
The bill was approved by the Assembly Human Services Committee earlier this week.
"A lot of people I spoke with say they can't get out of their doors to go places," Christopher Gagliardi, of Englewood Access advisory committee, said.
Paula Walsh, who has been using a wheelchair to get around for nearly 50 years, said her wheelchair is ineffective against snow-covered sidewalks and ramps.
"I think they assume that people in wheelchairs don't go out in bad weather," Walsh, of River Edge, said.
Snow plow operator Chris Kraykowski believes that the proposed bill is good in theory, but the reality of snow removal will make compliancedifficult.
"In some snow storms, especially like the one we just had, it is extremely difficult to do," Kraykowski said. "It's hard for us to really see all the markings especially when the snow starts piling up."
Improved marking are currently being discussed by New Jersey lawmakers as the bill is considered.
If approved, the bill could take effect as early as this spring.
snow shoveling news media


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Phil's Occasional Musings: No more "Playmakers"
ESPN has cancelled its dramatic series "Playmakers" after just one season. Unfortunately for the show, ESPN decided that it values its relationship with the NFL and its sponsors more than its programming, which is a shame. Like everything else in this world, it all comes down to money. I will admit that while the show was entertaining, I wondered how there could possibly be a second season, since they covered nearly every imaginable plotline in eleven episodes. They had marital problems, drug use and rehab, unplanned pregnancy, parent-child issues, homophobia, cancer, and steroids. I can't think of any story line that was left unmentioned, so aside from rotating these stories through the cast, I doubt a second season would do as well in the ratings. Still, I'd like to think that ESPN would have stood up to the NFL and said "it's just a show, relax." I never took any of the storylines that seriously, despite the "ripped-from-the-headlines" intentions. I thought it was about the same level of realism as the average "Law & Order."
Maybe the show will get a second chance on another network, like Showtime, that needs more highly-rated and critically-praised programming. I think it's unlikely, but stranger things have happened.


CHINESE commercial banks' bad-loan ratio is not so high that it would have the potential to trigger a systemic financial risk, said a senior official with the country's banking sector's watchdog.
edition of China Finance, a magazine published by the central bank.
corporate debt leverage and the liquidity, capital adequacy ratio and provision coverage ratio, Wang added.
balance of 1.4 trillion yuan (US$207 billion).
Chinese banks are also exploring changes to their business models to improve profits, making them more able to manage risks, Wang added.
sources posted over 20 percent rises year on year and an average share of about one third of their total revenue.
fluctuations or massive corporate bankruptcies, Wang said.
CHINA'S pool of high-earning consumers is set to surge in the next 15 years, their household spending growing to be greater than the European Union's current level, a report showed.
The number of people earning above US$10,000 per year is expected to grow to around 480 million by 2030, from around 132 million today, according to research by the Economist Intelligence Unit, a think tank with the Economist.
although inequalities in wealth will remain an important social challenge, the report pointed out.
"We expect that the purchasing power of individual Chinese consumers in 2030 will be roughly akin to that of South Korea today or the US in 2000," said Wang Dan, EIU China analyst.
Some interior cities will become major centers of consumption, with Changsha, Chengdu, Chongqing and Wuhan each having over 2 million high-income consumers by 2030.
However, other smaller cities may be left behind as regional inequalities persist.
THE "smart talk" last weekend was over smartphones, after International Data Corp (IDC) reported that Oppo and Vivo had overtaken Huawei and Xiaomi to become the best-selling mobile phone brands in China in the third quarter.
Oppo and Vivo, both owned by Guangzhou-based BBK Electronics, ranked first and second respectively in the IDC domestic rankings, surprising both the media and the information technology industry.
It's another sign of the emerging importance of domestic producers in the world's biggest mobile phone market.
In the third quarter, China smartphone sales grew 5.8 percent from a year earlier to 108.1 million units. The top five vendors were Oppo, with a 17.5 percent market share, Vivo with a 16.7 percent share, Huawei, with 15.7 percent, Xiaomi with 8.7 percent and Apple with 7.1 percent, US-based research firm IDC reported.
Huawei sales rose 23 percent on the year, while Oppo surged 122 percent in the same period.
As a technology reporter, I am not as interested in numerical rankings as I am in the emerging muscle of domestic technology in a market so long dominated by foreign brands. It's a sign that Chinese firms are coming into their own, becoming more aggressive and innovative.
Just look at Oppo's rapid battery-charging technology and improved camera processor, ZTE's naked-eye 3D photography and display, Huawei's dual camera with Leica design, Xiaomi's "coolest-looking" concept model and LeEco's eye-catching debut of its US store.
Indeed, the IT scene this autumn is radically different from that of a year ago, when domestic handsets suffered from sameness in design and lack of innovation. Firms like Xiaomi and Huawei used to spend a lot of time focusing on features of Qualcomm's processor and Sharp's screen, which are used in various models.
A change in thinking has been ringing up booming sales.
The July figures announced by Oppo, a company not prone to talking about such figures, showed 7 million units of its R9 model sold, meaning a sale of an average 1.1 units each second.
In the upgraded R9s model released last month, Oppo has a camera senor co-developed with Sony, featuring faster focus and better performance in dark environments. It's Oppo's first venture into the up-steam camera segment. The preorder sales of the new R9s "doubled" that of R9, said Oppo without revealing more figures.
Vivo, which offers professional and "lossless" music experiences on its smartphone, has announced a marketing linkup with the National Basketball Association to target sports-loving young consumers.
To some extent, both Oppo and Vivo have built up their strength in Tier 3-5 cities – smaller places not as deeply penetrated by big brands.
On a recent journey to Xining, capital of the far western province of Qinghai, I was surprised to find the two brands being aggressively marketed in off-line stores. In the downtown area, Oppo and Vivo had at least five times more retail outlets than any other brands.
The battery problems of Samsung, the world's top smartphone brand, and the short supply of Apple iPhone 7 models are expected to open wider opportunities for Chinese-brand smartphones.
Samsung halted sales of its flagship Galaxy Note 7 model in China last month, following a global recall of 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7s over exploding batteries.
The brands expected to benefit from the Samsung crisis include Apple, with its newly released iPhone 7, and Chinese brands Huawei, Vivo and Oppo, Taiwan-based research firm TrendForce said.
As Android phone makers, Chinese brands may benefit more directly from Samsung's recall.
Xiaomi released its Mi Note 2 and concept model Mi Mix last month.
Xiaomi Mi Note 2, with a similar look to Samsung's Galaxy Note 7, was jokingly called "the unexploded Samsung Galaxy Note 7," with its nice design and big screen. The more eye-catching Mi Mix, with a bezel-less design, is being hailed as "the coolest-looking phone of 2016" and has even been called "Xiaomi's iPhone 8." The accolades highlight the strength of Xiaomi's innovation capacity for a company once best known only for strong online marketing and sales.
Talking about core-tech products, ZTE last week unveiled a smartphone that supports 3D photography and naked-eye 3D views. It debuted at a prices of 2,999 yuan (US$448). The new Axon 7 Max is also the first 3D-featured smartphone model made by a mainstream phone vendor.
ZTE expects 3D and virtual reality to become mainstream digital entertainment formats in 4G and coming 5G eras. It has cooperated with several content and game partners to offer consumers full-scale 3D experiences, covering 3D picture shooting and transformation from 2D to 3D formats. It features a dual-camera for 3D photography, over 60 3D games and more than 1,000 3D programs.
LeEco, the Chinese technology company, is setting out to become a household name with smartphones and flat-screen TVs that undercut the prices of Apple, Google, Samsung and other industry stalwarts. LeEco heralded its entrance into the US market last month with an online store and smartphone, TV and online video services.
It may sound "crazy" to try to compete against Apple, Amazon and Google on their home turf, said Jia Yueting, LeEco's founder and chairman. However, he added, LeEco has its own unique ecosystem and advantages.
Huawei is expected to continue expanding into the higher-end of the market with its P9 and business-oriented Mate models. The latest versions are scheduled to be released later this month.
"It's important for vendors to focus on investment in technology in order to have a key flagship product that stands out in the market, getting people to talk about its brand," said IDC's Tay.
CHINA'S manufacturing activity grew at the fastest pace in more than two years in October, as the economy continued to stabilize and the supply-side reform achieved results, data showed yesterday.
The official Purchasing Managers' Index, a comprehensive gauge of operational conditions in largely state-owned manufacturing companies, added 0.8 points from a month earlier to 51.2 last month, according to the National Bureau of Statistics and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing.
A reading above 50 means expansion in the manufacturing sector.
The October figure pointed to a third straight month of growth, and was the highest since July 2014.
Meanwhile, the Caixin China General Manufacturing PMI, a counterpart for smaller and private manufacturers, also rose to 51.2 in October, the fastest pace since March of 2011.
Zhao Qinghe, analyst at the National Bureau of Statistics, said the improvement was due to renewed market demand and the results of supply-side reform, which pushed industrial companies to cut excessive capacity and move to more profitable sectors.
"The pace of capacity reduction in steel and coal industries has quickened in recent months, and it helped create a better industrial structure," Zhao said.
The components of the official PMI showed that new orders rose to 52.8 in October from 50.9 in September, while production improved to 53.3 from 52.8.
China's economy grew 6.7 percent from a year earlier in the third quarter, in line with the pace in the first two quarters and well within the government's target of between 6.5 percent and 7 percent.
The official non-manufacturing Business Activity Index, which measures the services sector, rose 0.3 points from a month earlier to 54 in October, the highest since December, the statistics bureau said.


Oct. 25, 2018, 8:44 a.m.
Festive family entertainment at its best, of course it is Pantomime.
Did you know pantomime was developed in England and is still performed throughout the United Kingdom today. It is a musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, modern pantomime includes songs, gags, slapstick, comedy and dancing. The stories are more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or folk tale. This type of theatre the audience are expected to sing along, shout out and dance to particular phrases.
Pantomime does have a long theatrical history in Western culture dating back to classical theatre and the Middle Ages with re-enactments of the legend Saint George and the Dragon around Christmas and New Year's. Although the stories, venues and characters have developed the time of year has remained. Aiding and influencing the developments is partly from the 16th century commedia dell'arte tradition of Italy and other European and British stage traditions, such as 17th-century masques and music hall.
Come and enjoy the very modern yet traditional form of family entertainment during the Christmas and New Year time of year.
This year Millfield Theatre celebrates their 30th Birthday, as well as 30 Years of Pantomime treats for families.
This year Millfield Theatre puts on the stunning much loved pantomime Beauty and the Beast, starting Thursday 29 November 2018 – Sunday 6 January 2019. Unmissable entertainment is guaranteed in a show packed with special effects, stunning costumes, beautiful scenery and, of course, lots of comedy that will have the whole family laughing along from beginning to end.
Complete with the famous rose, Millfield audiences can expect a fabulous telling of the infamous story, full of laughter, music and dance in the north London's biggest family pantomime.
Celebrate the history of festive family fun, celebrate 30 years of pantomime at Millfield Theatre and most importantly celebrate the festive season with your family.


text:
Trade war could spark global recession: KPMG
New KPMG modelling has shown that an all-out trade war between US and China would not only mean nearly 60,000 Australian jobs lost but see the world economy plunged into a recession.
A new report by KPMG, titled Trade Wars: There are no winners, has called on Australia to stay out of the trade dispute between China and the US.
The two superpowers have been imposing tit-for-tat tariffs on imported goods from either country that has cast a cloud over emerging markets, soured investor sentiment and seen the end of the 'synchronised global growth' narrative.
KPMG's report presents three scenarios for the outcome of the trade war between US and China: one where the escalation is only "limited" and remains between US and China; and a second where the trade dispute is fully escalated, but still sees no contagion to other countries.
The third scenario presented modelling results from an outcome where the trade war had been fully escalated and had also spread to other countries, with all nations applying tariffs of 15 per cent to imported goods.
Source: KPMG
Under this scenario, KPMG estimated that the world economy would potentially incur "significant damage" and suffer a cumulative loss of 3.5 per cent GDP after five years.
"An all-out trade war would plunge the global economy into recession. If financial markets got the jitters and over-reacted to such a trade war, all bets would be off and a global recession would occur.
"Even conservative modelling suggests that an all-out trade war would inflict a prolonged recession on the world economy," the report said.
China would be hit hardest, with an estimated loss of "almost 6 per cent" per cent GDP after ten years under this scenario. This would mean the nation's worst economic performance in nearly 30 years.
However, the US would not be spared either, and would see its GDP fall by 5.3 per cent a decade on.
"Far from winning an all-out trade war, the US economy would endure a recession and annual growth rates almost 1 per cent slower over five years."
Australia would see a 3.5 per cent fall – or $364 billion – in GDP across ten years, while the EU would see GDP drop by 2 per cent.
The report indicated that worst-case scenario of the trade war would have "extremely serious" consequences for Australia.
"Its impacts would last almost a decade, with an estimated loss of national income of nearly half a trillion dollars over 10 years, or the equivalent of losing just over 40 per cent of last year's household disposable income.
"Job losses in Australia would also be significant under such a scenario, falling almost 60,000, and pushing real wages down by about $16 per week for the average worker."
KPMG said it was in the "best interests" of Australia, as well as other nations across the world, to resist pressure to participate in the US-China trade spat as it would "do much more harm than good to their own economies".
"The best strategy for the rest of the world is to resist the political pressure to join a US-China trade war, despite the likelihood there may be increased domestic pressures to protect local industries from any displaced US and Chinese products looking for a new market."


text:
The security of our elections has been scrutinized since the 2016 election. It was also a prevalent theme during the House Intelligence Committee's recent impeachment hearing.
President Donald Trump and the GOP have suggested Ukraine meddled in the 2016 campaign. However, evidence points to the Russians. The fact that we are even discussing two foreign countries meddling in our election is reason for concern.
Following the Committee's release of its report on the impeachment case against Trump, Committee Chair Adam Schiff (D-CA) said that the President's actions seek to "undermine the integrity of the next election."
There is no denying that our election process, the bedrock of our democracy, was vulnerable to foreign interference - and still is. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (D-KY) refuses to take action.
"[Mitch McConnell] knows full well that blocking election security legislation makes it easier for Russia and other foreign powers to attack the next election," said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) "And my sense is this is a price Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump are willing to accept."
The House has passed three election security bills. The most recent bill requires campaigns to report any illicit offers of assistance by foreign governments or agents and would take steps to ensure that online political advertisements are subject to the same rules as TV and radio ads.
The House passed $600 million to help states bolster election security. The Senate reluctantly passed $250 million for election security. The final amount will be negotiated by the House and Senate as part of a final spending bill. The Senate will not be eager to provide more funding.
At home voter suppression is also influencing our elections and weakening the process. This week the House approved a bill that would restore key sections of the Voting Rights Act to help prevent voter suppression in the South and other areas.
Our founding leaders established a representative form of government. This can only be achieved when everyone eligible to vote is allowed to participate - and when there is no foreign interference in our elections.
Voting matters. Elections matter.
Support JAC candidates.
Not sure who to donate to? Make a donation to JAC and we will use it to support our candidates.
Click here to see JAC's upcoming events.
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Israeli Officials Said to Warn Jordan Valley Annexation Would Imperil Amman Ties
Israeli military officials are reportedly warning that Jordan may take drastic steps if Israel continues to push for annexation of the West Bank's Jordan Valley, including possibly freezing a quarter-century-old peace treaty between the nations.
Israeli Elections to Be Held on February 25 at the Earliest
Trump Administration Quietly Releases Delayed Lebanon Military Aid
ANTI-SEMITISM & BDS
Nearly 90 Pro-Israel Groups Call for DeVos to Prevent Federal Funding of Boycotts
Eighty-eight pro-Israel groups sent a letter to the Department of Education and Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos urging her to ensure that federal funding to universities isn't being used toward faculty members' political biases. The letter also notes that Middle East studies programs were five times more likely to sponsor pro-boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) speaking events if the programs featured at least one pro-BDS faculty member.
Hallmark's Making Some Hanukkah Movies. the Only Problem? They're Anti-Semitic.
Amazon Criticized for Selling Christmas Ornaments with Auschwitz Images
A New Federal Judge Appointed by Trump Has Fought Against Abortion, Fertility Treatments, and Surrogacy
Senate Republicans voted to confirm Sarah Pitlyk, who has argued against in vitro fertilization and surrogacy and touted the (debunked) "eugenic origins of the birth control movement," to a lifetime judgeship on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. Sen. Susan Collins was the only Republican to vote against Pitlyk's nomination; all Democrats voted no as well. The American Bar Association unanimously determined Pitlyk was "not qualified" for the judgeship due to trial and litigation experience in September, yet the Senate Judiciary Committee moved forward anyway, continuing a pattern of selecting young, controversial, and under-qualified judges.
The New Bill That Would Create a Crime Called "Abortion Murder," Explained
Here's Why Fetal Burial Legislation Is Surging in the States
States Could Soon Be Forced to Fund Religious Education
In January, the U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear a case that could result in states being required to use taxpayer money to fund religious education. The case, Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, asks whether Montana must provide tax credits for scholarships to private religious schools. With the addition of Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh to the Court, conservatives may finally have the Supreme Court that would give them what they want: a way to funnel taxpayer dollars into religious schools.
Let the Us Commission on International Religious Freedom Expire
BEYOND THE CORE
Gun Control Advocates Nervous as Supreme Court Takes up First 2nd Amendment Case in a Decade
The Supreme Court is set to wade into the highly charged gun control debate for the first time in nearly a decade, hearing oral arguments in a dispute over a New York City gun restriction that could have major implications for gun rights nationwide. The court has steadfastly declined to take up any gun rights cases since ruling in 2008's Washington, D.C. v. Heller that the Second Amendment provides a right to keep a handgun at home for self-defense, and later clarifying in 2010's McDonald v. Chicago that the right applies nationwide. Now the court's willingness to take the New York case - even though the law at issue was recently repealed - has gun rights supporters feeling optimistic that it could lead to a ruling about the right to bear arms outside the home.
Mississippi Felons Push Court to Restore Voting Rights
North Carolina Has a New Congressional Map for 2020
POLITICAL BYTE
Beware of Mike Pence
by Connie Schultz
In August 2018, I reviewed for The Washington Post a book about Pence by journalists Michael D'Antonio and Peter Eisner. Their in-depth reporting for "The Shadow President: The Truth About Mike Pence" led them to conclude that Pence is the most prominent "Christian supremacist" in the country. Now why, you might wonder, would a self-avowed Christian hitch his legacy to Trump, a racist, self-proclaimed sexual predator? Or, as the authors describe Trump, "a man whose immorality in the form of lying, cheating, and deceiving in every aspect of his life, from his marriage to his businesses, had made him a living exemplar of everything that Christianity and conservatism abhorred." Let's talk about this "nice guy."
He Wanted to Ban Feeding Homeless People. Now He's About to Lead a Federal Homeless Agency
House Democrats Have Passed Nearly 400 Bills. Trump and Republicans Are Ignoring Them.
Israeli Scientists Find Way to Treat Pancreatic Cancer in 14 Days
A new treatment developed by Tel Aviv University could induce the destruction of pancreatic cancer cells, eradicating the number of cancerous cells by up to 90% after two weeks of daily injections of a small molecule known as PJ34. Pancreatic cancer is one of the hardest cancers to treat. Most people who are diagnosed with the disease do not even live five years after being diagnosed.
100 Years of Ford and the Jews - from Antisemitism to Zionism
Joan Nathan's 15 Favorite Jewish Foods
JAC II
Introducing JACII, a JAC group for young professionals, advocates, and those young at heart who are looking to get involved. Groups have started in Detroit, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
Events will feature elected officials and speakers in lively settings. JACII is by and for young people. Now is the perfect time to get involved.
Know someone who would be interested in joining or hosting a meeting? Let us know at info@jacpac.org. We will be happy to help organize a JACII in your city.
Join JACII
"Sadly, but with confidence and humility, with allegiance to our founders and a heart full of love for America, today I am asking our chairmen to proceed with articles of impeachment. I commend our committee chairs and our members for their somber approach to actions which I wish the president had not made necessary."
-- Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
An Afternoon at the Theater with JACPAC
Brunch & Political Update: 11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Showtime: 1:00 - 2:30 pm
JAC's 2020 Annual Meeting
Celebrating 40 years of JAC
Click here to reserve your hotel room
Want to host a JAC event? Contact the office and we will help organize it.
info@jacpac.org or 847.433.5999
Joint Action Committee for Political Affairs (JACPAC) is a pro-Israel PAC with a domestic agenda. We support a strong U.S.-Israel relationship and advocate for reproductive health and the separation of religion and state and incorporate other issues of importance to the Jewish community, including gun violence prevention and climate change. In addition to providing financial support for U.S. Senate and House campaigns, JACPAC educates our membership with outreach events designed to inform and activate their participation in the political process.
Paid for by Joint Action Committee for Political Affairs. Contributions or gifts are not tax deductible. Federal law requires us to use our best efforts to collect and report the name, mailing address, occupation, and name of employer of individuals whose contributions exceed $200 in an election cycle. Corporate contributions and contributions from non-US citizens who are not lawfully admitted for permanent residence are prohibited. All contributions by individuals must be made from personal funds and may not be reimbursed or paid by another person.


Can You Sing in the Sunshine?
Being nice, giving kindness, and sharing happiness can be the most rewarding investments that you ever make. Buy some stock and reap the dividends.
Previous Can You Find The Light? Next Can You Find the Balance?


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Rome In Reverse premieres new song titled 'Oracolo'
Rome In Reverse a.k.a. Antonella Pacifico is an avant-garde dance DJ, who has just had her latest single 'Oracolo' premiered via TMRW Magazine on the 7th of February 2020. The track was written and produced by Antonella, and the mix and mastering was executed by Sun Glitters.
Antonella a self-taught musician, grew up in a music orientated family. She would listen to artists like Tears for fears, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Airplane, Emerson Lake & Palmer. She spent a few of her formative years in Italy before relocating to Denmark. Before her big move, the artist was a part of a grunge and post-rock ensemble. She realized that she wanted to be focused on her individual project instead.
Rome In Reverse's soundscapes are surreal as they transport you to a relaxed and escapist frame of mind. The artist elaborates on her latest single "Loops are my passion, especially the ones I have created with my voice. I feel that this track 'Oracolo' is a new standard of defining my sound, a ray of light which runs through me bouncing on other people and fading into the most beautiful place in the world."
Follow Rome in Reverse:
2018 Grammy Nominated DJ EDX Turns The Decks In 2019!
Bandcamp – Facebook – Soundcloud – Youtube – Spotify
Avant-gardeDJ
Previous Booka Shade announces a new EP "Red Medina / Acid Brain"
Next Q&A with London based DJ and Producer Lachie A ́rden
Music producer Paul Woolford Remixes Jonas Blue & Paloma Faith's song 'Mistakes'


HLS Handbook 4th edition January 2013 (NE350) - contains a suite of new options and updates aimed at improving environmental outcomes which come into effect from the 1 January 2013. As well as the introduction of new options, changes will also be made to a number of other ES option titles, prescriptions and points values.
Environmental Stewardship - Supplement for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd edition HLS Handbook (NE359) - This Handbook Supplement provides details of new options that will be available to existing agreement holders whose agreement started on the 1 February 2007 or later. They are part of a set of changes to Environmental Stewardship aimed at improving the delivery of environmental outcomes from the scheme.
Use this Supplement if you want to amend your agreement to include any of the new options on or after 1 January 2013.
Environmental Stewardship Inheritance Tax: Second edition - October 2012 (NE161) This guidance has been updated to reflect recent changes in Environmental Stewardship, and provides advice for owners and managers of heritage-relief properties in England who are considering applying for Environmental Stewardship.


Most Magic™ players play for fun and see a tournament as a social event. Regular REL (Rules Enforcement Level) encourages a welcoming atmosphere and friendly competition. Your demeanor should reflect this, whether you are playing, judging or both. Players and judges are encouraged to help one another at appropriate times,such as during deck construction or between matches. Judges are the last word when a dispute or question arises, and we should be as impartial and diplomatic as possible.
Regular REL is many players' first experience of tournament Magic, so ensuring a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere is important. A player whose behaviour may be upsetting others or making them uncomfortable should be educated and asked to stop immediately. If they make no attempt to correct their behaviour, applying a Game Loss may reinforce the seriousness of the issue. If this does not stop the behaviour, or if a player is being threatening, aggressive or harassing other players, these situations are Serious Problems.
Magic is a complicated game. While we can't prevent players from making mistakes, we should do our best to fix situations as fairly as possible. It is important that players know that when help is needed or something goes wrong, calling a judge is the best course of action. Our solutions should focus on educating the players and keeping the game going rather than worrying about the impact on the game. You should intervene if you see something illegal happen in a match, but beyond this you can exercise your discretion. For example, whether you step in when you see a player miss a trigger should be determined by the tone you want to strike for your event – it may be appropriate to provide this extra help in a more causal environment, but less so if your play group is more competitive.
When answering a question, double check the rules if you aren't sure of your answer. Remember to give the players extra time to finish their match to compensate for time taken by a ruling. The fixes found in the Infraction Procedure Guide, are designed for a stricter environment and don't apply at Regular REL. If a player accidentally breaks a rule, use the remedies described below and your common sense as guidance to make the best ruling you can. If you feel that the suggested remedy is not suitable to your particular situation you may suggest a more appropriate fix which is applied if both players accept it. Player education is a priority; remind the players to play more carefully, but avoid being heavy-handed in order to keep your events fun and relaxed. If a player continues to repeat a mistake despite multiple reminders, you may warn them that the next occurrence will result in a Game Loss. Hopefully this final step will not be required, but knowing it is possible should get the player to correct their behavior. Knowingly breaking a rule is a Serious Problem (see below).
If your event requires deck lists, provides large prizes, or is otherwise of a more competitive nature, it may be better to run it at Competitive rather than Regular REL. This will require use of the full Infraction Procedure Guide instead of this document, so make sure you're familiar with it before trying a higher REL.
These abilities are considered missed if the player did not acknowledge the ability in any way at the point that it required choices or had a visible in-game effect. If the ability includes the word "may," assume the player chose not to perform it. Otherwise, put the ability on the stack unless you think it would be too disruptive – don't add it to the stack if significant decisions have been made based on the effect not happening! Unlike other illegal actions (which must be pointed out), players may choose whether or not to point out their opponent's missed triggers.
Shuffle the card seen into the unknown portion of the library. If any player legally knows the position of any cards in the library, ensure that your fix preserves the positions of those cards.
determine how many extra cards have been drawn, take that many cards at random from the player's hand and place them on top of the library. Don't shuffle the library after doing this! If the extra cards were drawn while drawing an opening hand, shuffle the extra cards back into the deck instead and allow the player to continue making mulligan decisions with the remaining cards.
This will cover the bulk of player errors, and usually the least disruptive option is to leave the game as it is after fixing anything that is currently illegal (e.g. an Aura enchanting an illegal permanent). If the error involved a player forgetting to draw or discard cards, have them perform the appropriate action now. Otherwise, if the error was caught quickly and rewinding is relatively easy, you may undo all the actions back to the point that the illegal action happened. This can include returning random cards from the hand to the library to undo card draws (though don't shuffle the library if you do this), untapping permanents and undoing combat. This can be very disruptive where lots of decisions have been made or hidden information has been revealed since the illegal action, so don't go crazy with this!
Remove any cards that shouldn't be in the deck, put back any cards that should, then add basic lands of the player's choice if the deck is below the format's minimum size limit. Any cards that are added to the deck should be shuffled directly into the library. If the error was discovered during a draw effect, have the player complete the draw effect after the deck is fixed and shuffled. Encourage players to count their deck and present their sideboard (face down) to their opponents before starting a game to avoid these errors.
Taking unreasonable amounts of time making play decisions or sideboarding.
Asking for or providing strategic advice during a match or draft.
Determining match outcomes by incentives, coercion, or outside-the-game methods, or gambling on any part of a tournament.
with a Game Loss should the unwanted behaviour continue. Knowingly committing one of these behaviors is a Serious Problem.
Aggressive, violent, harassing or abusive behavior (physical or verbal).
Knowingly breaking or letting an opponent break game or tournament rules, or lying, in order to gain an advantage. "Bluffing" about cards opponents can't normally see is permitted.
Theft (including things like replacing a card in a draft with one from a player's binder).
Removing players in this way is called a Disqualification, and we must always try to educate our players on why these actions are unacceptable. Also let the player know that while your decision is final, the Judge Program would still like to hear their side of the story. You can contact your local Regional Coordinator, high level Judge, or WPN Representative to guide you through the Disqualification Process.
Got questions? Try apps.magicjudges.org, or if you need an answer right now, chat.magicjudges.org.
The Magic Tournament Rules give more information about how to run tournaments at any REL, and can be found at: http://wpn.wizards.com/en/document/magic-gathering-tournament-rules.
All trademarks are property of Wizards of the Coast LLC in the U.S.A. and other countries. © 2019 Wizards.


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bizEDGENew Zealand
The latest in entrepreneurial technology news for Kiwis
How smart load balancer choices make e-Commerce painless for SMBs
Article by Kemp APAC regional director Tony Sandberg
Conservative estimates put the number of people and businesses that buy goods and services on the Internet as well into hundreds of millions.
Several high profile experts are estimating the dollar value of these transactions to be in several hundreds of billions.
Any small or medium business (SMB) entering the e-Commerce world, faces a unique set of technical and business challenges to the design and management of its web and application infrastructure.
In terms of technology, inadequate server capacity, scalability concerns and fault-tolerant reliability, as well as the increasing size and complexity of e-Commerce applications, continue to place added pressures on already overburdened IT staff and budget.
A properly functioning site that is continuously up-and-running while providing optimum performance, is the key factor to the success of any e-Commerce initiative.
Site users need to receive a consistently positive experience in performance and accessibility.
Sluggishness in performance, or inability to complete a transaction for any reason, will invariably cause potential buyers to go elsewhere, with potentially disastrous results to the business's bottom-line.
Over the past five years, application delivery and server load balancers have emerged as one of the most important technologies for solving the problems of performance and accessibility for e-Commerce applications.
In its most basic form, a load balancer directs users to the best performing accessible server.
Should one of the servers (or applications on that server) become inaccessible, the load balancer will take that server off-line, while automatically re-routing users to other functioning servers.
In addition, using various load balancing algorithms, an intelligent load balancer can distribute users to servers that offer the best possible performance by dynamically interrogating key server elements such as number of concurrent connections and CPU/memory utilisation.
To further enhance and secure the user experience, more advanced load balancers also provide SSL acceleration.
SSL acceleration in the load balancer enables a business to offload the SSL handshake and encryption/decryption processes from the e-Commerce application servers.
This offloading dramatically increases the servers, while decreasing the time and costs associated with server's SSL certificate management.
For years, large corporations and institutions with e-Commerce initiatives were able to take advantage of server load balancing technology to significantly improve the performance, availability and scalability of their sites.
However, at an average cost of over $US40,000 per each redundant configuration, deploying intelligent server load balancing required fairly deep pockets.
For a small-to-medium sized business, the high cost of acquisition placed this technology out of reach.
However, that has all changed with Kemp Technologies' introduction of the LoadMaster.
Integrating powerful, stable, full-featured application delivery and server load balancing with the latest advancements in layer-7 content switching and SSL acceleration technologies, Kemp has created an ideal product for the small-to-medium e-Commerce business.
At a starting price of AUD5,000 for a virtual version and less than AUD8,000 for a hardware solution, both including first-year support, the LoadMaster family of products bring affordable, advanced e-Commerce technology to small to medium businesses.
Application delivery controllers
Acquia acquires AgilOne, looks to improve customer experiences
Acquia has announced it will acquire AgilOne in order to unify customer data from disparate platforms and drive personal experiences across every channel.More
NZ emerging as top fintech hub across Asia Pacific
"New Zealand could become the gateway to Asia, with great connections in both Singapore and Hong Kong."More
NZ's first impact fund invests in Auckland company Grounded
The Auckland-based business supplies a range of sustainably sourced packaging, including mailer boxes and bags for e-commerce.More
Gartner: Top 10 trends impacting IT infrastructure & operations in 2020
"This past year, infrastructure trends focused on how technologies like AI or edge computing might support rapidly growing infrastructure and support business needs at the same time."More
Rapid growth continues for business process applications market
New research from GlobalData shows that the business process applications market will surpass US$93 billion within the next three years.More
Trio of businesswomen to lead AI Forum of New Zealand
The AI Forum of New Zealand has appointed three local business women who are charged with leading New Zealand's use of AI into 2020 and beyond.More
Dunedin firm wins Expo 2020 Dubai Innovation Grant
"It is an enterprise with a mission to end preventable blindness through the use of affordable smartphone technology and artificial intelligence."More
SMBs delaying PC refreshes at great cost
2% of businesses surveyed said they do not have a PC refresh policy, nor were they actively pursuing one. More
The 21st-century phone system your team deserves
"Aircall gave us an accurate view of our customer care team's call volume, which allowed us to secure more budget for hiring in that area." – Customer testimony More
Cisco heralds silicon & optics as core of 'next decade of digital innovation'
Cisco has a plan for the next decade of digital innovation, and it all starts with pushing innovation beyond the boundaries of what's currently possible.More
NZ tech start up wins innovation award
"We've worked incredibly hard and getting this kind of recognition gives us the determination to keep pushing for innovation and better ways to fight climate change for the sake of future generations."More
Callaghan Innovation boosts support for deep tech startups
Callaghan Innovation's Vic Crone announced the new programmes this week, which are designed to help turn tech and science into successful businesses.More
Security, analytics and customer service top priorities for CFOs
With changing demands from both internal and external customers, CFOs are having to invest in emerging technologies and capabilities to meet demands."More
Humanforce designs accessibility-compliant app for those with disabilities
"Employers can be doing much more to make the workplace more inclusive for the people with a disability currently working and also to increase employment of the many people with a disability looking for work."More
Clear winners and losers in UFB race, research finds
"Adoption of UFB leads to some wage increases for incumbent workers, but these effects differ by gender, qualification level and skill type."More


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I dedicate my feat to Nana Addo – Shatta Wale
Dancehall Artiste, Shatta Wale has dedicated his latest feat to the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo after being featured by the US music goddess Beyonce in her new album "Lion King".
Ghana's dancehall icon Shatta Wale is climbing fast on the worldwide trends on Twitter after it emerged that he has a song with Beyonce on the 'Lion King' album.
'Strika' files case against handlers, accuses them of duping him
Young actor, Emmanuel Nii Adom Quaye, popularly known as Strika, has accused his handlers of denying him access to monies paid him by Netflix for his role in 'Beast of no Nation'.
R. Kelly 'arrested on federal sex trafficking charges'
R. Kelly is in custody after being arrested in Chicago on sex trafficking charges, according to reports in the US.
Akuapem Poloo to sue Blak P Gh & Vision Ent. for using her name in a song
Actress and Social Media host Akuapem Poloo born Rosemond Brown has threatened to file a lawsuit against Vision Entertainment for allegedly using her name without permission.
Medikal and Strongman apologize to each other for involving girlfriends in rap 'beef'
The two feuding rappers Medikal and Strongman have apologized to each other for involving their girlfriends in their recent rap 'beef' officially bringing to an end their already dead beef.
'Power' may not be ending after its 6th season
Popular Starz drama Power is officially set to end after its season six finale. However, it appears as the show's executive producer and star, 50 Cent, is having a change of heart.
Here are your 2019 BET Awards Winners
BET Networks honored a powerful and show-stopping lineup of artists, entertainers, cultural icons and inspiring humanitarians across more than 18 categories at the 19th Annual "BET AWARDS." The ceremony, hosted by actress and comedian Regina Hall, aired live on BET from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, June 23, 2019.
"It's not right to disturb anybody with marriage; I'll marry when I'm ready" - Anamoah
Shatta Wale, Stonebwoy case adjourned to July 16
Abraham Attah to star in Birdman's film
Fans troll Benedicta Gafah for fake hips in new photos