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For more information on these science news and feature story tips, please contact the public information officer at the end of each item at (703) 292-8070. Editor: Peter West Contents of this News Tip:
Study of Women and Minorities in I.T. Asks "Why Aren't There More?"The high demand for information-technology (IT) workers in the U.S. has Ohio University researchers asking why women and minorities aren't choosing to work in the field. Phyllis Bernt, professor of communications system management, Joe Bernt, professor of journalism, and Sandra Turner, professor of educational studies at the Athens, Ohio school, are working with a three-year $556,000 National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to understand why, on the one hand, there is a great demand for IT workers, and on the other, that there is an "important (societal) infrastructure (that) is being developed by a small, non-representative group of people," Phyllis Bernt explains. The Ohio U. researchers suspect that as early as middle school, women and minorities turn away from considering IT as a career. In the study, middle-school media specialists and librarians nationwide will be surveyed to determine the kinds of potential overt and hidden messages, or stereotyping, that may be conveyed to pre-teens. From this, the researchers will create a new curriculum to help teachers inform students about career choices and media messages. [Bill Noxon] Virginia Tech Study of Women and I.T. Career Decisions Looks at "Pivotal" TransitionsScientists at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg are taking a theoretical approach in trying to encourage women to enter and stay in information technology (IT) careers. Lead investigator Carol Burger, who coordinates the school's science and gender-equity programs, along with Peggy Meszaros, director of the Center for IT Impacts on Children, Youth and Families, and Elizabeth Creamer an associate professor in interdisciplinary studies, are looking at the total environment in high schools, community colleges and universities to understand what shapes young women’s perceptions about technology. The three-year study, supported by a $655,000 NSF grant, will employ standard interviewing and survey techniques, and include case studies and workshops to validate and extend the principles of Marcia Baxter Magolda’s theory of "self-authorship." Women with this quality, according to the researchers, are considered more willing than those who are dependent upon others for self-definition to challenge stereotypical views about computers and technology. Because self-authorship is fostered through activities that promote social interaction and teamwork, "we'll be able to really help girls overcome barriers, and prescribe programs to public and private institutions that will lower those barriers and lead to better recruitment and retention of women in I.T. careers," says Burger. [Bill Noxon] New Earthquake Simulations May Have Multiple ApplicationsScientists have developed a new statistical method of analyzing earthquake faults that examines not just individual fault lines, but how they relate to each other in a network of such earthquake faults. Paul Rundle, a sophomore student at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, Calif., working with NSF-funded researchers at the Southern California Earthquake Center in Los Angeles, used sophisticated computer simulations to uncover distinct patterns in the way in which quakes cluster and interact with each other. The simulations were based on the known network of earthquake faults and the physics of the friction and stress found on the fault lines in southern California. The simulations showed that when an earthquake occurs, it releases elastic strain in one area, while simultaneously increasing or decreasing the strain on other faults within the network, leading to more earthquakes on other fault lines by means of slow, chain-reaction effects. Rundle and his collaborators believe that the mathematical simulation they developed can be used for other areas of research. "The principles can be applied to other systems, such as the neural network of the brain. Just as with a network of faults, neurons in the brain fire off signals that are transmitted to other neurons, and that triggers more brain activity," Rundle concludes. [Cheryl Dybas]
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