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Science Horizons Fellowship
Five Science Horizons Research Fellowships are available for undergraduates interested in careers in science. The fellowships are designed to enable students to undertake mentored research projects in a variety of scientific fields in off-campus environments. Potential internship sites include industry and government labs, research universities, and medical centers. Fellowship stipend - $4000 plus $1000 for living and travel expenses.
Application deadline - February 27, 2009; On-line Application Form
Click here for summary of research performed by 2008 Science Horizons Fellows
Experiences of Childlessness in an Indian Context: A Gender Perspective
This article focuses on the gendered experiences of involuntary childlessness and the societal perceptions of the state of being childless. It is based on research aimed at understanding the experience of involuntary childlessness among women and men in the urban middle class of a cosmopolitan city (Vadodara) in India. The study involved a gendered analysis of individuals’ experiences, with specific reference to ideas about parenthood, the importance of children, and the psychosocial implications on self and marital relationships within the context of family and society. The results revealed substantial gender differences. The euphoria surrounding the event of parent-hood, the importance of a child in fostering cohesiveness among family members, and strengthening the marital bond were also examined. The implications of childlessness on self and on marital relations were manifested as feelings of loss, especially during the initial years. Based on the findings, interrelationships are drawn between larger ideologies of Indian culture.
Women and Male Partner-dating Violence in Nigeria
In this article we address experiences, understandings of and responses to dating violence among a small sample of abused Nigerian female university students. Dating violence broadly manifested in forms such as physical hurt, sexual harassment and emotional abuse in public and private spaces appears to be a male strategy for sustaining women's place within certain culturally defined boundaries. Women's views regarding their abuse reinforce the cultural belief that men are naturally violent and that women are sometimes to be blamed. Women's understandings of their abuse and responses to it refract the patriarchal ideologies that organise gender relations in Nigeria. Social and cultural institutions need to be repositioned to meet the challenges posed by the abuse of women by their intimate male partners.
Male Hierarchies and Gender-balanced Boards
The aim of the present study is to examine whether the established fact that men by far outnumber women in leading positions is an inherent unintentional characteristic of a hierarchy where appointments happen one by one on an individual basis, as opposed to boards where the members are appointed as a group. The sample consists of those appointed to the hierarchies as well as the boards of 36 state universities in Sweden. The main finding is that significantly more men are appointed in hierarchies than to group-composed boards. When the gendered distribution of those in leading positions becomes fully apparent, the last and final position in the hierarchy is significantly more often given to a woman. However, these women are much older than their male counterparts, a fact that makes it harder for them to reach the final step of the ladder. The article concludes with a discussion of whether the higher probability of appointing a woman as vice-president when both chair and president are men is a fair acknowledgement of an unfair gender distribution, or if there are other possible explanations.
Domestic Violence in India: Effects of Education
This article studies domestic violence between husband and wife in India, and attitudes to domestic violence. We use the term ‘gender-based violence’ because some men use violence to control their wives. Data from the Demographic and Health Survey 1998–2000 has been analysed. This survey includes women in the ages of 15 to 49, in 26 Indian states. We focus only on violence by husbands against wives, ignoring other types of violence (such as a wife being hit by her husband's family, or a man being hit by his wife). Evidence in this paper is consistent with previous research indicating that gender-based violence is very prevalent in India. It seems likely that it is related to whether such violence is seen as acceptable in the perpetrator's family and in the local community. We suggest that there are similarities between the behaviour of some Indian men and the ‘machismo’ values reported in other cultures (especially in Latin America). We confirm previous claims that violence is less common if women and men are well educated; we also note that acceptance of domestic violence appears to be related to the respondent's education level. Thus, we encourage the Government of India to prioritise education for both boys and girls.
Gender Disparity and Legal Awareness in Assam
This article addresses the question of gender disparity and legal awareness in Assam, and attempts to contextualise ‘legal awareness’ among women in the state within a complex framework of the post-colonial legal structure. This is a legacy of the traditional pre-colonial and colonial legal structures, and is reinforced through various social, economic and political forces. Such an approach would enable the understanding of the historical development of legal awareness as such, from tradition to change and its continuity, and also to explore whether there were spaces for women's legal awareness within the traditional constrained sphere of a dominant patriarchal society.
Book Reviews
New Resources
Hands-on Activities for Teaching Biology to High School and Middle School Students
We invite comments on Hands-on Activities for Teaching Biology to High School and Middle School Students, including suggestions for other teachers, useful preparatory or follow-up activities, additional resources or any questions you have, or a brief description of any problem you might have encountered.
If you would prefer to send your comments or questions in a private message, please write Ingrid Waldron at iwaldron@sas.upenn.edu.
Cellular Respiration in Yeast
In the lab, Cellular Respiration in Yeast, students learn about the basics of metabolism and then design and carry out experiments to test how sugar concentration and other variables influence the rate of anaerobic respiration in yeast. In an optional extension activity students can use their yeast mixture to make a small roll of bread.
Get the Lead Out! Game
In the lab, Get the Lead Out! Game, this board game reinforces learning about the sources and biological hazards of lead exposure.
Sexual Health and Reproduction
In the lab, Sexual Health and Reproduction, this activity provides questions and Web sites to guide student investigation of birth control methods, fetal development, risks of alcohol and smoking during pregnancy, changes during puberty, and HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.
Studying Our Senses
In the lab, Studying Our Senses, students investigate how a person identifies different flavors of jellybeans and explore the surprising ways the brain interprets the patterns of light and dark that reach our eyes.
Breathing and Holding Your Breath
In the lab, Breathing and Holding Your Breath, students begin with interactive activities to develop a basic understanding of regulation of breathing and then carry out an experiment to test whether changing levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide influence how long they can hold their breath.
Regulation of Human Heart Rate
In the lab, Regulation of Human Heart Rate, students learn how to measure heart rate accurately. Then students design and carry out an experiment to test the effects of an activity or stimulus on heart rate, analyze and interpret the data, and present their experiments in a poster session.
Invertebrate Diversity
In the lab, Invertebrate Diversity, students compare basic characteristics of earthworms, snails, and several arthropods, all of which can be purchased at low cost from local pet stores.
Some Similarities between the Spread of an Infectious Disease and Population Growth
In the lab, Some Similarities between the Spread of an Infectious Disease and Population Growth, a simple simulation demonstrates exponential spread of infectious disease in a population, and discussion questions develop student understanding of how human diseases spread. Additional discussion questions and a graphing activity develop an understanding of exponential and logistic population growth.
Evolution by Natural Selection
In the lab, Evolution by Natural Selection, principles of natural selection are demonstrated by a simulation involving different color pompoms on different color and texture habitats and student feeders equipped with different types of feeding implement. Students learn how different adaptations contribute to differences in survival and reproductive success, which results in changing frequencies of genotypes in the populations.
From Gene to Protein - Transcription and Translation
In the lab, From Gene to Protein - Transcription and Translation, students learn how a gene provides the instructions for making a protein, and how the gene for sickle cell hemoglobin results in sickle cell anemia. Simple paper models are used to help students learn the basic molecular biology of transcription and translation.
