Joan Cannon, Jill Norgren and Julia Sneden Review: Kristin Hannah’s The Winter Garden is a slightly flawed but enjoyable tale about people who fit the fiction, but some of them perhaps not quite to the life; Daniyal Mueenuddin’s In Other Rooms, Other Wonders is a sober, engaging, and thought-provoking volume that explores the decline of Pakistan’s feudal order; In these days of bodice-rippers and cliff-hangers, there are precious few books which are best experienced in short dips. Thomas Mallon’s Yours Ever, People and Their Letters is a prime example of the latter.
Blog
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Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
The American Association of University Women has issued a report written by Catherine Hill, Christianne Corbett and Andresse St. Rose:
The number of women in science and engineering is growing, yet men continue to outnumber women, especially at the upper levels of these professions. In elementary, middle, and high school, girls and boys take math and science courses in roughly equal numbers, and about as many girls as boys leave high school prepared to pursue science and engineering majors in college. Yet fewer women than men pursue these majors. Among first-year college students, women are much less likely than men to say that they intend to major in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM). By graduation, men outnumber women in nearly every science and engineering field, and in some, such as physics, engineering, and computer science, the difference is dramatic, with women earning only 20 percent of bachelor’s degrees. Women’s representation in science and engineering declines further at the graduate level and yet again in the transition to the workplace.
Drawing on a large and diverse body of research, this report presents eight recent research findings that provide evidence that social and environmental factors contribute to the underrepresentation of women in science and engineering. The rapid increase in the number of girls achieving very high scores on mathematics tests once thought to measure innate ability suggests that cultural factors are at work. Thirty years ago there were 13 boys for every girl who scored above 700 on the SAT math exam at age 13; today that ratio has shrunk to about 3:1.
This increase in the number of girls identified as “mathematically gifted” suggests that education can and does make a difference at the highest levels of mathematical achievement. While biological gender differences, yet to be well understood, may play a role, they clearly are not the whole story.
Girls’ Achievements and Interest in Math and Science Are Shaped by the Environment around Them
This report demonstrates the effects of societal beliefs and the learning environment on girls’ achievements and interest in science and math. One finding shows that when teachers and parents tell girls that their intelligence can expand with experience and learning, girls do better on math tests and are more likely to say they want to continue to study math in the future.
That is, believing in the potential for intellectual growth, in and of itself, improves outcomes. This is true for all students, but it is particularly helpful for girls in mathematics, where negative stereotypes persist about their abilities. By creating a “growth mindset” environment, teachers and parents can encourage girls’ achievement and interest in math and science.
Does the stereotype that boys are better than girls in math and science still affect girls today?
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My Family Health Portrait; A Tool From the US Surgeon General
The older we get, the more we think that we’d like to maintain a copy of our health records; memory dims about specific medical procedures and diagnoses, we move to new locations and employ a procession of various professionals, and our medications increase and change. Our list of caregivers may grow as might our concerned family — all good reasons to keep our own records and share them as we find useful; even more reasons are listed below. This is a secure government site that should prove helpful in creating our own records, My Family Health Portrait.
Questions and Answers for Consumers and Practitioners
Why is family health history useful?
Your family health history can help your health care practitioner provide better care for you. It can help identify whether you have higher risk for some diseases. It can help your health care practitioner recommend actions for reducing your personal risk of disease. And it can help in looking for early warning signs of disease.
What are the key features of the Surgeon General’s family health history tool?
The Surgeon General’s “My Family Health Portrait” is an internet-based tool that makes it easy for you to record your family health history. The tool is easy to access on the web and simple to fill out. It assembles your information and makes a “pedigree” family tree that you can download. It is private — it does not keep your information. It gives you a health history that you can share with family members or send to your health care practitioner.
How long does it take to fill out the form? What do I do with it then?
It should only take about 15 to 20 minutes to build a basic family health history. Individuals with larger families will spend more time entering in their information. Then you have the option of sharing it with other family members, if you wish. They may help provide information you didn’t know. And relatives can start with your information and create their own history. You will also probably want to provide your health history to your health care practitioner. You and your health care practitioner should review it together before making it part of your medical record.
What about my privacy? Does the government (or others, like my employer) have access to my information?
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Candide at 250: A NYPL Digital Exhibition
“Have men always been liars, cheats, traitors, ingrates, brigands, idiots, thieves, scoundrels, gluttons, drunkards, misers, envious, ambitious, bloody-minded, calumniators, debauchees, fanatics, hypocrites, and fools?”
“Oh, Heavens! To what excess does religious zeal carry the ladies.”
“I was ravishing, was exquisite, grace itself, and I was a virgin! I did not remain so long.”
“Mankind must have corrupted nature a little, for they were not born wolves, and they have become wolves.”
“Fools admire everything in an author of reputation. For my part, I read only to please myself.”
Take an illustrated journey with Candide, Dr. Pangloss, Cunegonde, and others, conducted by artist Rockwell Kent at the New York Public Library’s exhibit online. what follows is the introduction to the exhibit:
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Were You ‘Dethroned’ In Your Birth Order? Birth order effects in the formation of long-term relationships
By Joshua K. Hartshorne of Harvard, Nancy Salem-Hartshorne and Timothy S. Hartshorne of Central Michigan University writing in the Journal of Individual Psychology
Researchers have debated for 134 years whether birth order has long-term effects on the development of a child, and so far no consensus has emerged. In addition to practical applications and relevance to the study of personality, birth order effects are an important test case for theories about how and whether home environment affects the adults children become. In two large surveys of diverse populations, we found that people are more likely to form close platonic and romantic relationships with other people of the same birth order. This effect cannot be explained by confounds of family size.
In 1874, Francis Galton noted that first-born sons and only sons were overrepresented among scientists (Galton, 1874), making birth order one of the first constructs studied in psychology. Presciently anticipating the next 134 years of debate, he attributed this effect to both practical circumstances – “they are more likely to become possessed of independent means, and therefore able to follow the pursuits that have most attraction to their tastes.” – and their “independence of character,” a result of having been treated more as companions by their parents.
Since then, numerous studies have investigated systematic differences in intelligence, achievement and personality between children of different birth orders. A number of theories have been postulated to account for such differences, generally focusing on the fact that each child’s home environment is at least partly a function of their birth order.
In 1918, Alfred Adler gave what is likely the first comprehensive account of birth order, focusing on “dethronement”. The eldest child was, at some point, the center of attention; this is lost with the addition of a sibling.
Younger children, in contrast, see their elder siblings as “pacesetters,” and race to catch up. The youngest child, in contrast, is never dethroned. A number of effects on personality are predicted on this basis.
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The CBO’s Health Plan Cost Debut and Medicare Benefits Enunciated
What follows for a number of paragraphs is Final Legislation, a White House blog posted by Dan Pfeffier on March 18, 2010 at 5:08 PM EDT:
The final health insurance reform legislation that will be voted on by the House this weekend, and debated in the Senate soon after, is now available. As the President said in Ohio, “We have debated this issue now for more than a year. Every proposal has been put on the table. Every argument has been made.” This legislation represents the best ideas to emerge from both sides of the aisle to put American families and small business owners — not the insurance companies — in control of their own health care.
It makes health insurance affordable for middle class and small businesses — including the largest middle class tax cuts for health care in history — reducing premiums and out-of-pocket costs. It gives millions of Americans the same types of private insurance choices that members of Congress will have — through a new competitive health insurance market that keeps costs down.
It holds insurance companies accountable to keep premiums down and prevent denials of care and coverage, including for pre-existing conditions.
It improves Medicare benefits with lower prescription drug costs for those in the ‘donut hole,’ better chronic care, free preventive care, and nearly a decade more of solvency for Medicare.
[Editor’s Note, the Donut Hole or Coverage Gap defined by Medicare:
Medicare drug plans may have a “coverage gap,” which is sometimes called the “donut hole.” A coverage gap means that after you and your plan have spent a certain amount of money for covered drugs (no more than $2,510), you have to pay out-of-pocket all costs for your drugs while you are in the “gap.” The most you have to pay out-of-pocket in the coverage gap is $3,216.25. This amount doesn’t include your plan’s monthly premium that you must continue to pay even while you are in the coverage gap. Once you’ve reached your plan’s out-of-pocket limit, you will have “catastrophic coverage.” This means that you only pay a coinsurance amount (like 5% of the drug cost) or a copayment (like $2.15 or $5.35 for each prescription) for the rest of the calendar year. Note: If you get extra help paying your drug costs, you won’t have a coverage gap. However, you will probably have to pay a small copayment or coinsurance amount.]
It reduces the deficit by more than $130 billion over next ten years, and by more than one trillion dollars over the following decade; reining waste, fraud and abuse; overpayments to insurance companies and by paying for quality over quantity of care.
Read the rest of the health care bill blog at the White House site
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How Ethical is Your Travel Destination?
The best ethical travel destinations chosen by Ethical Traveler for 2010 are: Argentina, Belize, Chile, Ghana, Lithuania, Namibia, Poland, Seychelles, South Africa and Suriname. Countries were graded across three main categories: support for ecotourism, environmental protection, and social development. Of course, as Ethical Traveler staffers point out, none of the countries named in the report are ethically “perfect.”
“In drafting our report, we use scores of information sources including publicly available data — to rate each country’s genuine commitment to environmental protection, social welfare and human rights.” says Christy Hoover, co-author of the report. “Data sources include the United Nations Development Program, Human Rights Watch, Columbia University, Reporters Without Borders, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and many others. Private interviews with NGO leaders are part of the process, as well.” The full report can be viewed at www.ethicaltraveler.org/destinations. In Pictures: Ethical Destinations 2010
The twelve green rules that Ethical Traveler recommends:
1) Be Aware of Where Your Money Is Going, and patronize locally-owned inns, restaurants, and shops. Try to keep your cash within the local economy, so the people you are visiting can benefit directly from your visit.
2) Never Give Gifts to Children, only to their parents or teachers. When giving gifts to local communities — from schoolbooks to balloons, from pens to pharmaceuticals — first find out what’s really needed, and who can best distribute these items.
3) Before visiting any foreign land, Take the Time to Learn Basic Courtesy Phrases: greetings, “please” & “thank you,” and as many numbers as you can handle (those endless hours in airport waiting lounges, or aboard trains and boats, are all opportunities for this). It’s astonishing how far a little language goes toward creating a feeling of goodwill.
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State of the Packaging Art: Educational Wine Labels Help Consumers Make Smart Choices
Sharon Kapnick writes: The Ecocoder technology, available in select markets, combines a hand-held scanner that releases information stored in a special layer of ink with a speaker that plays an audiofile stored in its memory card. It shares information about the wine’s history, origin, production and flavors and suggests appropriate food pairings.
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Looking at Why Do Investors Trade Too Much?
University of California Professors Brad M. Barber and Terrance Odean published research and findings in a paper entitled Why Do Investors Trade Too Much? What follows are some excerpts:
Overconfidence
Psychologists observe that most people are overconfident; they overestimate the precision of their knowledge and the level of their abilities. If, for example, you ask a group of people to rate their own driving abilities, you will find that most people consider themselves to be above average drivers. Overconfidence afflicts experts — including psychologists — as well as laymen. The overconfident investor is so sure that she is right, that she is more likely to act on her beliefs. The result: she trades too much.
Active Trading: The Real Evidence
Consider an investor making a speculative trade. She isn’t selling to realize a deliberate tax loss or to raise money to pay a debt. She sells one stock and buys another because she thinks the stock she is buying will outperform the one she’s selling. To break even on this trade, the new stock doesn’t need to merely beat the old one. It needs to do so by enough to cover trading costs. Unfortunately for most individual investors, the stocks they buy subsequently underperform the stocks they sell. In our studies of investors at a large discount brokerage in the US, the average shortfall over a one-year horizon is more than two percentage points. If you add in the costs of trading — bid-ask spreads, commissions, and taxes — the shortfall more than doubles.
The more actively investors trade, the less they earn. We divided 66,465 households into five groups on the basis of the level of turnover in their common stock portfolios. The 20 percent of investors who traded most actively earned an average net annual return 7.2 percentage points lower than that of the least active investors .
Overconfidence and Gender
Men tend to be more overconfident than women. The difference emerges most strongly in areas such as finance that are perceived by our society to lie in the male domain. If overconfidence leads to excessive trading, one might then expect men to trade more than women. They do. We find that men trade 45 percent more actively than women. Single men trade 67 percent more actively than single women. Both men and women are lousy traders; men merely trade more frequently. Both men and women reduce their returns by trading, men reduce theirs by an additional 1 percentage point annually, and single men by an additional 1.4 percentage points.
If 1 percentage point — compounded year after year — strikes you as an inconsiderable amount, consider the effort you would expend to save 1 percentage point on a home mortgage. In short, trading is a mistake made by both men and women; men simply make more mistakes than women.
Overconfidence and Diversification
Overconfident investors underdiversify. If you know you are right, what’s the point of hedging your bets? In a typical month, the median investor in our sample held three common stocks. Of course, some achieved diversification by also owning mutual funds, and others may have owned stocks at other brokerages. While overconfidence accounts for some underdiversification, it is likely that many investors simply don’t understand the advantages of holding a diversified portfolio. In 1999, the S&P 500 index returned 21 percent. Eight stocks accounted for half of that gain. At the end of 1999, 230 of the S&P 500 stocks were below their level of two years earlier. An investor who held only three S&P 500 stocks during this period had a 4.1 percent chance of holding at least one of the big eight winners and a 9.6 percent chance of holding only losers. Thus, in the midst of a bull market, an undiversified investor was more than twice as likely to be left at the starting gate as to win the sweepstakes.