Friday, September 21, 2012

AASWomen for September 21, 2012

AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of September 21, 2012
eds. Caroline Simpson, Michele Montgomery, Daryl Haggard, and Nick Murphy

This week's issues:

1. Parental Leave Wiki on AstroBetter

2. The Name Game

3. The Subtle `Stereotype Threat' That May Be Driving Women Out of Science-Related Fields

4. Online Mentors to Guide Women Into the Sciences

5. Planning Career Paths for Ph.D.s

6. Job Opportunities

7. How to Submit to the AASWomen Newsletter

8. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWomen Newsletter

9. Access to Past Issues of the AASWomen Newsletter


1. Parental Leave Wiki on AstroBetter
From: Nick Murphy via womeninastronomy.blogspot.com

Last year, our colleagues at AstroBetter provided wiki space to catalog parental leave policies at astronomical institutions:

http://www.astrobetter.com/wiki/tiki-index.php?page=Leave+Policies

The goals of this wiki are: (1) to allow astronomers at different career stages to easily compare parental leave policies, and (2) to encourage institutions to enact better parental leave policies by showing how they compare with peer institutions.

To read more, please see

http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com

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2. The Name Game
From: Nicolle Zellner via womeninastronomy.blogspot.com

Ms., Mrs., Mr., Doctor, Professor... what do your students call you?

As we start the new school year and I teach a new crop of first-year students at a liberal arts (LA) college, I'm again faced with a big decision - how should I have my students address me? I'm proud of the work I did in graduate school and my position at my college. We all worked hard to earn our PhDs - blood, sweat, tears, sacrifices...you know the story. Surely, asking the students to call me "Dr." or "Professor" is appropriate, right?

To read more, please see

http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com

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3. The Subtle `Stereotype Threat' That May Be Driving Women Out of Science-Related Fields

According to new research into the glaring gender gap in science and math-related fields, the psychological phenomenon known as the "stereotype threat" may be discouraging female scientists from relishing their work, which sucks because without more women entering the scientific workforce, America is probably going to soon become a nation of cave-dwelling primates that believe thunder is just God's giant cosmic dog thumping against celestial floorboards in an effort to scratch behind its ear. Or some such non-scientific wackiness.

To read more, please see

http://jezebel.com/5925704/the-subtle-stereotype-threat-that-may-be-driving-women-out-of-science+related-fields

or

http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com

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4. Online Mentors to Guide Women Into the Sciences
From: Joan Schmelz [jschmelz_at_memphis.edu]

Hundreds of prominent women working in science, technology, engineering and math will become online mentors for college students next month, part of a six-week program to encourage young women to pursue careers in STEM fields.

"I think of this as a MOOC - a massive open online course - and a big mentor-fest," said Maria Klawe, the president of Harvey Mudd College and a sponsor of the project. "Getting more women into STEM is my passion in life, and every institution thats set up mentorship programs for young women has been successful at increasing their numbers, so I think this can make a real difference."

To read more, please see

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/17/education/online-mentoring-program-to-encourage-women-in-sciences.html?emc=eta1&_r=1

or

http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com

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5. Planning Career Paths for Ph.D.s
From: Nancy Brickhouse [nbrickhouse_at_cfa.harvard.edu]

The 7 Sept 2012 issue of Science has an editorial on "Planning Career Paths for Ph.D.s" by Jim Austin and Bruce Alberts:

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/337/6099/1149.full

A free web application is now available for the purpose of long-career planning, starting at the postdoctoral level:

http://myidp.sciencecareers.org

While originally directed toward the biomedical field, this application is also pertinent to astronomers.

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6. Job Opportunities

* CIERA Postdoctoral Fellowship, Northwestern University, Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics

http://ciera.northwestern.edu/Research/fellowships.php#ciera

* Lindheimer Postdoctoral Fellowship, Northwestern University, Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics

http://ciera.northwestern.edu/Research/fellowships.php#lindheimer

* Postdoctoral Positions in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Northwestern University, Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics

http://ciera.northwestern.edu/Research/fellowships.php#astronomy

* Employment Opportunities at Gemini Observatory ( http://www.gemini.edu/jobs ) -Adaptive Optics Scientist: http://www.gemini.edu/jobs#138 -Intern, Hilo, Hawaii: http://www.gemini.edu/jobs#144 -Science Operations Specialists, La Serena, Chile: http://www.gemini.edu/jobs#132 -Science Operation Specialist, Hilo, Hawaii: http://www.gemini.edu/jobs#112 -Data Process Developer, Hilo, Hawaii: http://www.gemini.edu/jobs#41

* Education Support Scientist, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA, http://www.sonoma.edu - go to Jobs - then External Applications - then Position 103489

* NAASC Postdoctoral Fellow, NRAO, Charlottesville, VA

https://careers.nrao.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=50837

Job seekers are encouraged to check the WIPHYS newsletter for additional postings:

http://lists.apsmsgs.org/read/?forum=wiphys

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7. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter

To submit an item to the AASWOMEN newsletter, including replies to topics, send an email to aaswomen_at_aas.org

All material will be posted unless you tell us otherwise, including your email address.

When submitting a job posting for inclusion in the newsletter, please include a one-line description and a link to the full job posting.

Please remember to replace "_at_" in the e-mail address above.

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8. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWOMEN newsletter

Join AAS Women List by email:

Send email to aaswlist+subscribe_at_aas.org from the address you want to have subscribed. You can leave the subject and message blank if you like.

Be sure to follow the instructions in the confirmation email. (Just reply back to the email list)

To unsubscribe by email:

Send email to aawlist+unsubscribe_at_aas.org from the address you want to have UNsubscribed. You can leave the subject and message blank if you like.

To join or leave AASWomen via web, or change your membership settings:

https://groups.google.com/a/aas.org/group/aaswlist

You will have to create a Google Account if you do not already have one, using

https://accounts.google.com/newaccount?hl=en

Google Groups Subscribe Help:

http://support.google.com/groups/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=46606

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9. Access to Past Issues

http://www.aas.org/cswa/AASWOMEN.html

Each annual summary includes an index of topics covered.

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1 comment :

Douglas Duncan said...

For what it is worth, students sometimes call me, "Dr. Doug."
That usually happens in smaller classes where it is possible to establish a good classroom climate. In a class of 160 it is a little more formal.

I encourage "Dr. Doug" because it acknowledges my degree but also an aspect of friendliness. I expect respect in the classroom (student-student and student-faculty) but I am also very aware that many students are intimidated about speaking up. I make it clear that thoughtful answers that are wrong are appreciated and won't be held against students. In fact, we talk about what the classroom atmosphere should be, and I tell them what it is like at scientific meetings. They are almost always amazed. They think that faculty only speak the truth, and are sedate, because that's how we behave when they see us. They don't see us with our peers.