jeudi 19 juin 2008
Reasons Why Women Leave Science and Technology Careers
A new Harvard Business Review paper argues that women leave science and technology careers in droves because of “hostile macho cultures” and risk-taking incentives, among other reasons.
The paper, produced by the Center for Work-Life Policy, found that more than half of women who enter science, engineering, and technology careers drop out. The paper’s authors identified several “antigens” in corporate sci/tech cultures that force women out: macho work environments, feelings of isolation or career stagnation, cultures that encourage risk-taking, and time-intensive positions that compromise family responsibilities. The study also analyzes 13 company initiatives that try to combat these pressures.
Studies from MIT, the National Science Foundation, and elsewhere have previously addressed the female brain drain in the sciences. The Chronicle has also covered efforts at universities to combat the “antigens” cited in the HBR study. The University of Southern California has set up a support network for women in science and engineering, for example, and Carleton College has developed a sort of professor mentoring program that seems to encourage more female students into science Ph.D. programs.—Catherine Rampell
From wored campus Online.
My comments:
What is happening in the other parts of the world is not just women are not enrolling science programs. Unfortunately still in some countries women do not have the right to education. and if entiteled to they just get the basics. One reason: supramacy to men who are the back bone of economy !
In developed countries, the problem is becoming more descipline oriented. In most of the Arab countries, large propotion of the illetrate are women. Fortuantely the trend is chaging and many voices from here and there are claming the right of decent education to women.
Nota: One of the pioneer countries in women education and civil rights is Tunisia. Former President Bourguiba gave the right of vote to women since 1957 (before switzerland and Italy and many other European countries). Education was compulsury and families who were against the idea of sending their children (Boys and Girls) to schools were sanctionned according to the law.
dimanche 8 juin 2008
Wild drivers of the morning !
I was about dying on my way to my work. In our religion if I'm dying in a such a way I'll be considered as martyr (Great!).
However, the problem is not there. The matter is about the agressive attitude of that lady who was driving her big white Toyota car that was about smashing my tiny one (In Europe, my tiny car would be considered above average and I would pay more taxes for the evironment ! Ooops). Eventhough she was mistaking - taking the worong lane in the round about - she was furious and injuriating ! (Pretty lady).
I can say that these attitudes are a matter of education. If one is educated for not respecting others (weaker people - understand it those with tiny cars ;) ), for not saying I'm sorry when mistaken, for not doing mistakes, for being always right, for having all the world at his own desires....What do expect.
Cheers.
European Universities meet to improve...The quality of their doctorates !
More than 270 European University Association (EUA) members and partners gathered in Lausanne this week to agree on an agenda for improving the quality of doctoral programmes in Europe’s universities.
Rectors, heads of graduate, doctoral and research schools, networks involved in doctoral training, and policy makers were taking part in the inaugural meeting of the EUA Council for Doctoral Education, a new structure created by the European University Association and dedicated to advancing doctoral education and research training in Europe.
As part of the debates at the meeting, discussion focused on outlining the ‘key priority areas’ to be addressed for advancing doctoral training in Europe. The following five themes emerged at the top of the list for European universities:
- Improving the supervision of PhD candidates, particularly through better training and monitoring of supervisors themselves;
- Enhancing institutional cooperation, notably through the development of joint doctoral programmes and double degrees;
- Introducing new structures (such as doctoral schools) within institutions to manage doctoral education;
- Better provision of skills training for doctoral candidates (particularly ‘transferable’ skills);
- Enhancing quality control and evaluation of PhD programmes.
There was also a clear call for the establishment of more structured doctoral programmes (e.g. in terms of curriculum design) and for improvements in student mobility (e.g. study periods abroad) and career development.
These issues will therefore be at the top of the agenda of the EUA-CDE in the next two years. The goal of the EUA-CDE, is to provide a framework to help universities across Europe deal with the challenges they face in improving the quality of doctoral programmes and training opportunities of young researchers in Europe. This is agreed by all, to be a ‘must’ if Europe is to improve its performance in research and innovation and thus its international competitiveness.
EUA President, Professor Georg Winckler, said the conference had been a resounding success underlining the importance of doctoral training to European competiveness and giving a clear mandate for the EUA-CDE to concentrate the efforts of European universities in building capacity and improving the quality of doctoral education and training. It is also clear that universities will expect the EUA-CDE to play a key role in developing the global dimension of doctoral education, partnering and working with networks and organisations not only in Europe but worldwide.
Over the next two years, participants outlined a number of activities for the EUA Council for Doctoral Education that will be built into the organisation’s work programme. These include establishing better data collection, analysis and sharing in the sector of doctoral education; the organization of thematic conferences and workshops to exchange best practice and networking; and the setting up of working groups/task forces to advance some of the key issues facing doctoral education.
EUA-CDE is pleased to announce that it will be organising a workshop focusing on ‘Enhancing Supervision: Professional Development and Assessment of Supervisors’ that will take place at Imperial College London, UK in January 2009.
dimanche 1 juin 2008
Qui a dit Que les BusinessMen ne font pas dans la culture !
Et si on s interssaient un peu plus a la culture et a la litterature. je viens de lire cet article que j ai voulu bien partager avec vous. Une bonne initiative n est toujours pas absente du dersert litteraire qui entoure notre MONDE ARABE. Les riches doivent prendre exemple et faire meme plus. Sorry for my Anglosanxon reders , this blog is in French ! H. Investissements Emiratis : de la pure littérature ?? |
| Par Oualid CHINE |
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| Qui a dit que les Emiratis ne s’intéressaient qu’aux projets immobiliers ? Les détracteurs de nos frères du Golfe se plaisent à souligner leur manque d’intérêt pour les choses de la culture et de l’esprit. Ils seraient les hérauts des valeurs mercantiles, les caravaniers du monde moderne. Grave erreur. Un homme d’affaires de Dubaï s’est tout récemment déclaré «à la recherche de pépites d’or». Toujours ce goût du clinquant ? Non ! Ce sont des pépites littéraires que recherche M. Omar Saif Ghobash. Et il en a trouvé dans le terroir tunisien. Il s’agit d’un businessman atypique, dans le monde arabe, en tout cas, puisqu’il a choisi de fonder une maison d’édition. Et le premier auteur retenu par notre bibliophile émirati est un Tunisien, notre écrivain Hassouna Mosbahi. Si la pierre reste une valeur sûre, le papier, ce n’est pas mal non plus, semble nous dire M. Ghobash. C’est ainsi que notre investisseur du troisième type a choisi de miser sur «Hikaya Tounsia». Un roman qui se base sur une sombre histoire vraie. Celle d’un jeune homme qui a assassiné sa propre mère. Parce que Omar Saif Ghobash, notre éditeur de 36 ans, a aussi choisi de lever «les tabous qui pèsent sur les lettres arabes».
Selon Omar, «un rapport affirme que les Européens lisent pendant 36 heures alors que les Arabes ne consacrent à la lecture que six minutes». Le rêve de Omar ? Doubler le temps de lecture arabe, pour arriver à 12 minutes. Et les quelques lecteurs arabes qui n’ont pas complètement disparu du paysage préfèrent lire des journaux et des magazines, selon une enquête menée par la Fondation Next Page.
Pis : l’un des obstacles à ce projet réside dans le nombre particulièrement faible des lecteurs arabes. Un rapport des Nations unies qui a fait date, a d’ailleurs révélé, que si les Arabes constituaient 5% de la population mondiale, leur production livresque, elle, plafonne à 1%. Autant dire que le roman n’est pas vraiment un produit très demandé sur le marché. Le rêve de Omar serait-il complètement irréalisable ?
Toujours est-il que l’initiative du jeune homme d’affaires émiratis a le mérite de faire souffler un vent frais bienvenu dans un monde arabe trop souvent obnubilé par l’immobilier. Comme quoi même chez nous les spéculations peuvent aussi être intellectuelles. L’initiative de notre promoteur des romanciers ( !) gagnerait à être suivie. Quant à voir un rush d’investissements du Golfe directement injecté dans notre littérature, c’est encore (malheureusement) de la science-fiction. Source: webmanager.com |
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