A January 14 post below touched on physics
scholarship and the arXiv (and on a New Haven Review article that discussed the progress of scientific research and
the arXiv for a general audience).
NPR/APM have run radio broadcasts on science lecturing, with an emphasis on physics, from reporting by Emily Hanford for a documentary inspired by physicist and White House science advisor Carl Wieman. In a 2001 Nobel Prize speech, Wieman incidentally remembered his rural Oregon childhood yielded “a profound appreciation for the value of public
libraries. At the time I was quite envious that my friends had televisions while we did not, but in retrospect I am very grateful
that I spent this time reading instead of watching TV.” He continued: “My young idealistic
teachers in mathematics and science there had a significant influence on me. I particularly remember my science teacher …
[who] did a great deal to kindle my interest in science with his enthusiasm and knowledge. I still remember his explanations
(far better than any of the material from my college courses!) of the structures of atoms in the periodic table and how these
structures determined the various chemical properties and molecular reactions.”
Harvard physicist Eric Mazur figures centrally
in Emily Hanford’s January 1 NPR/APM story on certain physicists who “seek to lose the lecture as teaching tool.”
...
Beyond physics – citing Eric Mazur among others, as well as decades of his own
teaching – Yale evolutionary biologist Stephen C. Stearns has reflected on Designs for Learning. Yale molecular biologist Jo Handelsman and colleagues explore Scientific Teaching. Jo
Handelsman and Stephen Stearns are among the Yale faculty members who have been involved in review of science teaching and learning at the university, including for non-science majors. Jo Handelsman directs the Yale Center for Scientific Teaching.
Stephen Stearns and Ramamurti Shankar (the latter in fundamentals of physics) are among the faculty members in the sciences whose lectures are collected as Open Yale Courses.
Other
Open Yale Courses include one in environmental studies led by John P. Wargo and one in biomedical engineering led by W. Mark Saltzman.
John Wargo and Mark Saltzman have each led several seminars through the Yale-New Haven
Teachers Institute and its National Initiative to strengthen teaching in public schools, with public school teachers participating
as Fellows and developing curriculum units for their students. John Wargo’s most recent seminars
have addressed “Energy, Environment, and Health”; “Energy, Climate, Environment”; and “Urban Environmental Quality and Human Health.” The subjects of the seminars that Mark Saltzman has led include “Health and the Human Machine,” “Nutrition, Metabolism, and Diabetes,” “The Brain in Health and Disease,” “Nanotechnology and Human Health,” and “Organs and Artificial Organs.”
A
National Research Council committee produced A Framework for K-12 Science Education, to be published in final form in March 2012.
…
February 12, 2011, April 10, 2011 and June 25, 2011 blog posts, among others, treated science instruction and science fairs in elementary and secondary grades.
Domestic violence
and its prevention have been the subjects of previous blog posts, such as on October 15, 2011. Last month, the CDC released results of the National Intimate Partner and Sexual
Violence Survey (NISVS). According to that survey, and quoting or paraphrasing the news release:
Nearly 1 in 5 women has been raped at some time in her life.
One in 4 women has been a victim of severe physical
violence by an intimate partner in her lifetime.
Almost 70 percent of female victims experienced some form of intimate partner violence
for the first time before the age of 25.
About 80 percent of female victims of rape were first raped before age 25.
Female victims of violence
(sexual violence, stalking, intimate partner violence) were significantly more likely to report physical and mental health
problems than female non–victims.
Across all forms of violence (sexual violence, stalking, intimate partner violence), the vast
majority of victims knew their perpetrator (often an intimate partner or acquaintance and seldom a stranger).
…
About 1 in 7 men has experienced severe physical
violence by an intimate partner at some point in their lifetime.
Male victims of violence (sexual violence, stalking, intimate partner
violence) were significantly more likely to report physical and mental health problems than male non-victims.
…
“This report
highlights the heavy toll that sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence places on adults in this country.
These forms of violence take the largest toll on women, who are more likely to report immediate impacts and long-term health
problems caused by their victimization,” said Linda C. Degutis, Dr.P.H., M.S.N., director of CDC′s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.
“Much victimization begins early in life, but the consequences can last a lifetime.”
The CDC’s NISVS results document the severity of violence as a public
health problem and how violence can have impacts that last a lifetime. Findings indicate female victims
of violence had a significantly higher prevalence of long-term health problems, such as diabetes, frequent headaches, chronic
pain, and difficulty sleeping.
“The health problems caused by violence remind us of the importance of prevention,” said Howard
Spivak, M.D., director of the Division of Violence Prevention in the CDC’s
Injury Center. “In addition to intervening and providing services, prevention efforts need to start earlier in life, with the ultimate goal of preventing all
of these types of violence before they start.”
The NISVS provides data to help inform policies and programs aimed at preventing violence, while providing an initial benchmark for
tracking the effectiveness of prevention efforts. In summary, in the U.S., “On average, 24 people
per minute are victims of rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner,” based on this survey conducted
in 2010. Over a year, that represents some 12 million women and men. More than 1 million women are raped in a year, over 6
million women and men the victims of stalking.
The NISVS is one of various related CDC resources, including on teen dating abuse.
…
Within
Connecticut, Domestic Violence Services of Greater New Haven (DVSGNH) is now part of a larger regional Center for Domestic Violence Services (CDVS), a program of BHcare. BHcare provides domestic violence and family mediation for Ansonia, Beacon Falls,
Bethany, Branford, Derby, East Haven, Guilford, Hamden, Madison, Milford, New Haven, North Branford, North Haven, Orange,
Oxford, Seymour, Shelton, West Haven and Woodbridge.
The CDVS Crisis Hotline numbers remain (203) 736-9944 and (203) 789-8104,
as well as 1-888-774-2900 toll-free.
These developments reflect a trend over several years for nonprofits
to consolidate toward greater efficiencies in their operation. Many (though not all) of the same dedicated
staff people who worked with the former DVSGNH remain under the new, broader CDVS and BHcare identities.
News includes a March 10 bowling event to benefit CDVS and the women and children it (mainly) serves.
As an April 2010 opinion article argued, “No one should
have to stay with an abusive partner or keep kids in a hazardous home because of a shortage of shelter space and staff. Much
of the state’s safety, advocacy, counseling and preventive public awareness efforts come via underfunded regional nonprofit
service centers. Public money and philanthropy must maintain a partnership to keep pace. . . . Domestic violence harms families
and communities. It haunts children and consumes law-enforcement resources. It invades workplaces and schools. It limits women’s
freedom. It repeats through generations. It has to stop. This is not just a private problem; it is a public challenge —
a challenge to act. It is in everyone’s interest to halt the cycle of abuse. Men, especially, can help. Let’s
show our brothers and sons that we can do better, and our sisters and daughters that they can expect more. Indeed, that’s
their right. Our culture and our systems of justice should advance that right: a safe home for all.”