SCI & TECH
Friday 3rd February 2017
@redbricktech
17
Encouraging Women to Work in STEM Kara Watson Sci & Tech Editor @Karaml_Watson
Women going into STEM (science, technology, engineering, and maths) subjects has become more and more of a focus in today’s society, and many researchers are looking into why so few women choose to pursue science careers.
Stereotypes at a young age One recent study looked at whether the perceptions some women hold about science subjects start at a young age. They found that young girls are less likely to think of their gender as being 'brilliant' than boys. They are also more likely to stay away from activities that are described to them as being for 'really smart' people. In some earlier work, it was found that adult women are less likely to receive higher education degrees in areas that were perceived as 'brilliant'. Therefore, researchers from the University of Illinois, New York University, and Princeton University, investigated whether this perception began
from a young age. The study involved children aged from 5 to 7 years old. There were three parts to the research: the first was to tell the kids a short story about a person who was 'really smart', without referencing their gender. The 6 and 7-year-old girls were significantly less likely to decide the person in the story was their own gender than boys were. However, with children aged 5, boys and girls would almost always choose their own gender. This suggests that age 6 is a critical age for when these stereotypes form.
"Stereotypes about women being less able in 'smart' subjects starts at age six" The second part involved giving the children a questionnaire. The participants had to guess which of the four children in the question, the options were two girls and two boys, get the best grades in school. The results
showed that there was no significant difference between the ages of children and who they guessed got the best grades. This means that they separate the concepts of 'brilliance' and school achievement, even at that critical age. The final section presented the children with two new games. The first was described as a game for 'really smart people', and the other was for people who 'try really hard'. At age 5, there was no difference between boys and girls with the game they chose to play. However, at ages 6 to 7, the girls would tend to avoid playing the 'smart' game more than the boys. They saw themselves as more suitable to play the game for people who 'try really hard'. 'Even though the stereotype equating brilliance with men doesn’t match reality, it might nonetheless take a toll on girls’ aspirations and on their eventual career' said senior author Professor Cimpian.
Opinions are not fixed A different study looked at whether these perceptions stay static for their whole lives, or if
they can be changed at an older age. It was found that if parents talked to their children at high school age about the relevance of science and maths, then their children would receive better grades in STEM subjects, and their career interest in those areas would increase. The research was led by Dr. Rozek at the University of Chicago. 181 families were involved in the study, and they were recruited in 1990-1991 when the mothers were first pregnant. When their children reached high school, the parents were provided with materials designed by the scientists to help them engage their children with science and maths, and how to discuss the relevance of STEM subjects. Children who received this
intervention had improved grades in these areas, and were more likely to take more STEM courses at school. This in turn affected how many STEM classes in college they took, the careers they pursued, and their overall perception of science. A separate study looked at the perceptions of parents about their children’s maths abilities. It found that mothers tended to hold their son’s maths abilities in higher regard than their daughter's. This study again highlights the great impact parents can have on their children’s futures in science.
Volunteering with Police as a Med Student Tatiana Zhelezniakova Sci & Tech Writer @tvzhel
At a medical interview, when you are nauseous and transiently unable to understand human speech, you are inevitably asked the dreaded ‘why medicine?’ question. So, in a half-shout, you throw out interview prep book terms like ‘versatility’ and ‘continued learning’. But these are little more than vague concepts you think the interviewer would like mentioned. To me, ‘versatility’ meant the choice between medicine and sur-
gery. ‘Continued learning’ meant having to learn more unpronounceable drug names as they were licensed. What I didn’t think it would mean was standing on a wrecked Volvo, cutting off its doors with power tools lent to me by the fire service. I should probably mention that this was part of an extrication exercise at a Pre-Hospital Trauma Course, rather than an act of vandalism. The reason I was lucky enough to get a place on this course was due to my previous volunteering with the police service. All firearms police officers in
the UK are required to be trained in first aid, and multiple courses are organised across the country. Where do medical students come in? We’re the practice dummies. Generally, volunteers are from clinical years, the rationale being that students would have sufficient clinical knowledge to emulate trauma victims, while simultaneously assessing the competency of the trainees. We often participate in several scenarios ranging from basic life support to multiple trauma casualty scenarios. From our side, this provides a brilliant insight into police work: emergency services don’t operate in
isolation, and knowing your colleagues’ aims and competencies is crucial to cohesive and efficient teamwork. Occupational hazards include: committing too much to the art of theatre and actually hyperventilating to the point of peripheral paraesthesia (or, in English, not being able to feel your fingers), getting swatted by swinging guns, or having a part of your shirt cut when your borrowed top layer is being disposed of during a medical procedure. Occupational perks: brushing up on acting skills, using night vision goggles, and free coffee. While our main aim as volun-
teers is to assist the police service, the benefit to us is astronomical. Not only do we get a revision of old skills and the receipt of new ones, we also enjoy a completely different side to clinical medicine. To me, this work has demonstrated the excitement of working in a less controlled environment, and the extensive skillset and knowledge required to do so. If you ever get the opportunity to volunteer with emergency services in any capacity, I would strongly urge you to do so. Just remember to bring a spare shirt.
Creature Feature: Goats Not as odd as other creature features, but goats have some unusual behaviour, making them perfectly suited for this weeks feature. Ellen Daugherty reports Goats have been domesticated for thousands of years, and are used for meat, dairy production, religious sacrifices, and often just as pets. They are social animals, and will congregate in groups, but they do not stay in flocks as sheep do. It has been suggested by scientists, at Queen Mary University, that goats are as intelligent and caring as dogs are. This makes them great pets, as they can form an emotional bond with their owners. I’m going to focus on a few unusual traits that some goats have - some of which have stormed the internet. The Phenomenon of Fainting Goats You have probably seen the videos on YouTube of younger goats seemingly freezing up and
“fainting” in a stiff position. This behaviour is seen in some domestic goats after they have been startled, and is caused by a hereditary genetic disorder called myotonia congenita. It is painless, and just causes the goat to freeze up, and often fall over, for around 3 seconds. Researchers have said the spontaneous muscle contraction is likely to have been caused by an acetylcholine deficiency before birth. Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter in the nervous system that is involved in activating muscle activity. The condition does not affect the overall health
of a goat, and experts have said goats with this genetic condition also carry other vital genes that need to be conserved in the population. So it sounds like fainting goats won’t be disappearing from our screens any time soon. Mountain goats Made famous by numerous nature documentaries, and even recently featured in David Attenborough’s Planet Earth 2, mountain goats are not domesticated, and can only be found in the North American rocky mountains. Their natural habitat is mountainous, so they need to be able to climb danger-
ous and rocky terrain just to get around. They also use it for predator avoidance from bears, wolves, and cougars, out-maneuvering their pursuers up and down cliff faces. They can climb practically vertical surfaces, owing to having cloven hooves that spread out when climbing, revealing an inner pad to provide friction to be able to grip to the surface. They also have sharp claws that often stop them from slipping.
be able to look out for predators while they are feeding. The goats get a panoramic view of their surroundings, allowing them to accurately plot their escape route in front of them, the horizontal pupils giving a higher image quality of objects ahead of them. This effect is lost if the pupils are vertical when they tilt their head to graze, so the goats make sure to constantly adjust their eye so the pupil is always horizontal to the ground.
Horizontal pupils
With more than 924 million goats on the planet, it's safe to say they are not top of the conservation list. Although some species of wild goat have smaller population numbers, very few are actually endangered. But they are, without doubt, a very loveable creature.
OK, so not a behavioural trait, but have you ever wondered why goats have such creepy eyes with horizontal pupils? It is actually common in grazing prey animals, as it extends their peripheral vision to