The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine has completed an investigation into sexual harassment of women.

2018

Sexual Harassment of Women (click here)

Climate, Culture and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering and Medicine

Contributors

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Policy and Global Affairs; Committee on Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine; Committee on the Impacts of Sexual Harassment in Academia; Paula A. Johnson, Sheila E. Widnall, and Frazier F. Benya, Editors

Description

Over the last few decades, research, activity, and funding has been devoted to improving the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women in the fields of science, engineering, and medicine. In recent years the diversity of those participating in these fields, particularly the participation of women, has improved and there are significantly more women entering careers and studying science, engineering, and medicine than ever before. However, as women increasingly enter these fields they face biases and barriers and it is not surprising that sexual harassment is one of these barriers.

Over thirty years the incidence of sexual harassment in different industries has held steady, yet now more women are in the workforce and in academia, and in the fields of science, engineering, and medicine (as students and faculty) and so more women are experiencing sexual harassment as they work and learn. Over the last several years, revelations of the sexual harassment experienced by women in the workplace and in academic settings have raised urgent questions about the specific impact of this discriminatory behavior on women and the extent to which it is limiting their careers.

Sexual Harassment of Women explores the influence of sexual harassment in academia on the career advancement of women in the scientific, technical, and medical workforce. This report reviews the research on the extent to which women in the fields of science, engineering, and medicine are victimized by sexual harassment and examines the existing information on the extent to which sexual harassment in academia negatively impacts the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women pursuing scientific, engineering, technical, and medical careers. It also identifies and analyzes the policies, strategies and practices that have been the most successful in preventing and addressing sexual harassment in these settings.

The Brookings Institute has already compiled a report on the study and has identified three factors permitting the existence of sexual harassment in academia.

"It happens here, too: Lessons for universities on preventing sexual harassment" (click here)

By Dick Startz

...the report has one finding that shocked me....

...the evidence says when it comes to sexual harassment. According to the National Academy: “[Among employees], the academic workplace … has the second highest rate of sexual harassment at 58 percent (the military has the highest rate at 69 percent) when comparing it with military, private sector, and the government, where a broad definition of sexual harassment is used.”...

• Power and silos
• Institutional “see-no-evil”
• Plain, old insensitivity

...In contrast, if I give a student a failing grade, tell a Ph.D. candidate that their dissertation isn’t acceptable, write a referee report judging that a journal ought to reject a submitted paper, or vote against someone’s tenure, the truth is there is little to no recourse....

...The problem of power is reinforced in academia because organization is so “siloed.” When I’m advising a Ph.D. student, basically no one else knows what I’m doing and probably no one else on campus could judge whether the mentor/mentee relationship is reasonable, even if they could observe it....

...“Too often, judicial interpretation of Title IX and Title VII has incentivized institutions to create policies and training on sexual harassment that focus on symbolic compliance with current law and avoiding liability, and not on preventing sexual harassment.”...

...The second issue is whether the campus makes public the extent to which there are consequences of bad behavior. If you want to deter misbehavior, be sure that there are consequences and everyone on campus knows it. If you want victims to come forward, they need to know that complaints result in actions....

...So a little advice to faculty, staff, and teaching assistants who either don’t care how women feel or who—despite all the attention the subject has gotten—still don’t understand how women feel. Don’t make sexual remarks. The fact that women may laugh or go along doesn’t make it okay, because some of them won’t feel they have a choice, and you won’t know that....

The decision to end government surveillance of a very damaging insect, the Emerald Ash Borer, is premature.

Trees are important to the people of the USA. The Emerald Ash Borer has presented itself as a very damaging insect. It's damage became apparent in Michigan in 2003 and the spread of the lousy bug continues to grow into the year 2018.

The map above can be found at this link (click here). The statement the regulation has outlived it's usefulness is bizarre and completely out of touch with current scientific findings. How can the USDA remove regulations of a tree borer that continues to grow in range? It doesn't make sense.

"Ash Borer Information Network" (click here)

What the heck is the USDA thinking? Are they thinking? Or is this someone's bonus to get rid of regulation just for the sake of getting rid of regulation. This BUG does a heck of a lot of damage and the best hope of ending it is an abundance of woodpeckers.

APHIS (click here) is proposing to remove the domestic quarantine regulations for the emerald ash borer (EAB). Eliminating this regulation is in keeping with USDA’s goal of reducing regulations that have outlived their usefulness. The proposal would end APHIS’ domestic regulatory activities, which includes actions such as issuing permits, certificates and compliance agreements, making site visits, and conducting investigations of suspected violations, and instead direct all available resources toward managing the pest. APHIS remains committed to controlling this invasive pest and wants to conduct more research and release a greater number of biological control agents—tiny stingless wasps that are natural predators of the EAB—since biocontrol has shown the most promise for stopping EAB’s spread....

If Trump wanted to put more tariffs on China, he could have started with the exporting of their bugs. There are more lousy bugs and invasive species of ANYTHING LIVING that comes from Asia that anyone can point to as biological warfare.

Originally from Asia, (click here) the emerald ash borer (EAB) was first discovered in the Detroit area in 2002. It is believed to have entered the country on wooden packing materials from China. The bright metallic-green beetle may be smaller than a dime, but it is capable of taking down ash trees thousands of times its size. Adults are typically ½ inch long and ⅛ inch wide. Eggs are extremely small—approximately 1/25 inch—and are reddish-brown in color. Larvae are white, flat-headed borers with distinct segmentation.

Adults usually emerge in mid- to late-May from infestations to the trees during the previous year (earlier if the weather is warm), with females laying their eggs shortly after. The larvae bore into the ash tree and feed under the bark, leaving tracks visible underneath. The feeding disrupts the tree’s ability to transport water and nutrients, resulting in dieback and bark splitting....

Woodpecker feeding: (click here) Woodpeckers eat emerald ash borer larvae that are under the bark. This usually happens higher in the tree where the emerald ash borer prefers to attack first. If there are large numbers of larvae under the bark the woodpecker damage can make it look like strips of bark have been pulled off of the tree. This is called "flecking." An example of this is shown below.

This is a Pileated Woodpecker which is a fairly large bird. As you can see it is aggressively eating the ash borer larvae under the bark of the tree. The woodpeckers do damage when they eat from the tree, but, in this case when the woodpeckers find the larvae the tree is already damaged and compromised. Killing the Emerald Ash Borer at the larval stage is the best any arborist can hope for and I believe any woodpecker variety is more of a friend than enemy in getting rid of the lousy bug.

Meet Davey: (click here)

There will be no nuclear disarmament by North Korea.

I believe this is more the case with North Korea. There will be historic disarmament of North Korea of nuclear weapons. Sure the economics will be better than any North Korea has seen in decades, but, it will still keep it's missiles. There has been house keeping by Kim Jong Un with some missile bases and ending testing, but, there still is no verifiable destruction of nuclear weapons.

September 10, 2018
By Alex Ward

...“They (click here) kept the nuclear systems out (of the parade) because they don’t need to flaunt them anymore,” tweeted Vipin Narang, a nuclear expert at MIT. In other words, now that North Korea has proved it can most likely hit America with a nuclear weapon, there’s no need to signal to everyone — and Trump especially — that it can do so.

If true, that means North Korea may start to act like India, Pakistan, and Israel: The country may avoid talking about its nuclear capabilities, even though the world knows it has bombs.

So looking at this another way, North Korea just acted like an established nuclear power and received praise from Trump for it. That could lead Kim to think the US will accept North Korea’s arsenal as long as he doesn’t boast about it, which would solidify Pyongyang’s place as a nuclear power — and make Trump the president who gave his seal of approval....

September 17, 2018
By Jung H. Pak

...Third (click here) Kim seeks to maintain the initiative on shaping the global debate about how to approach the North Korea problem. That is, he is looking to shift the discussion to non-nuclear issues to deflect attention away from its nuclear weapons and dampen the international community’s appetite for implementing sanctions. After declaring that he has completed the nuclear weapons program, Kim has pivoted toward engagement and focusing on the economy—key themes in the recent parade held last week to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the country’s founding. The past nine months of summitry have revived and sustained calls for further engagement, even as Pyongyang continues to reject timelines and verification measures for denuclearization and covertly make additional progress on its strategic programs.

Finally, Kim is probably seeking to reduce his dependence on China by trying to start the process for peace negotiations with the United States. Kim might be calculating that sustained bilateral talks with Washington would increase his leverage against Beijing and stimulate Chinese leaders to be more pliable to Pyongyang’s preferences—such as reducing sanctions implementation—by taking advantage of Chinese concerns about being sidelined in Korean Peninsula issues....

Live sex streaming of children. Does the perverse imagination ever end?

18 September 2018
By Anna Leask

...The fact the children were in a poverty-stricken country (click here) was also an aggravating factor as well as the "considerable and likely permanent" impact on the children was another factor.

"Your abuse of the children was at the higher end… You were paying to have the children used as toys," said Justice Wylie.

The Herald can now reveal the full details of Lawes' years of child exploitation and how his offending was exposed. 

Police have also revealed Lawes is one of a growing number of offenders using live sex streaming to abuse children - a huge concern for law enforcement agencies across the globe....

...He would then send payments for the "shows" through third party money remitter Western Union.

Initially those payments were made in the name of Tony Henry - but Lawes would also use his wife's maiden name in an effort to conceal his activities.

Legislative changes were then introduced requiring Lawes to provide ID and make all transactions in his own name.

Soon after, Lawes' account was restricted due to the "suspicious nature" of his cash transfers.

That didn't stop him though - he began using PayPal to fund his online activity....

...In September 2017 the FBI contacted the New Zealand Police about Lawes.

They had been investigating a child sex ring in Iligan City and believed Lawes was connected in some way.

Police here then seized two computer hard drives and a laptop from Lawes' home on the North Shore, handing the devices over to Customs for forensic analysis.

The three computers contained almost 300 media files - images and videos - showing the exploitation or sexual abuse of children.

Many files depicted "pre pubescent and young teenage children" exposing their genitals and engaged in "sexual play" with other children or being abused by adults....

...Another adult Lawes communicated with was paid $4684 for live streamed sex shows....

...Lawes communicated with Donna more than 6000 times and she sent numerous "objectionable images showing the exploitation or abuse of children"....

..."He also stated that he was helping the people involved by giving them money as they were often living in poverty....

...The fact that the offending crossed multiple international jurisdictions also made investigating difficult.

But authorities in the lower socio-economic countries at the centre of the abuse were now actively hunting abusers and many had set up dedicated police units to stop and prevent abuse.

"It means they can investigate it much more effectively," he said.

"And international partnerships are so important - New Zealand police got onto this through a referral by the FBI.

"But for that referral, Martin Lawes may not have been apprehended."...

I am sure the idea she could be vulnerable to violence never occurred to her.

18 September 2018

A man (click here) has been charged with murder in the death of a prominent Spanish golfer.

Celia Barquín Arozamena, 22, was found dead at a golf course in Iowa.

Barquín was a leading student athlete at Iowa State University, and won the European Ladies' Amateur championship in July.

Police were called to the Coldwater Golf Links in Ames, Iowa after golfers found an unattended golf bag at the golf course early on Monday.

Officers found Barquín's body "some distance away" and determined that she was assaulted.

Collin Daniel Richards, also 22, has been charged with first-degree murder according to police.

"This is a tragic and senseless loss of a talented young woman and an acclaimed student athlete," said Iowa State University president Dr. Wendy Wintersteen in a statement.

"We mourn with her family and friends in Spain, her teammates here and all who knew her. On behalf of the entire Cyclone family, I extend our deep condolences to Celia's family and her many friends and teammates at Iowa State. We are deeply saddened."

Barquín was the 2018 Big 12 champion and the school's female athlete of the year.

A story of heartbreak and rescue is making it's way into the collective global heart.

It is the story of fear, leaving and being trapped in ways no one expects. This is why no one should wait for the last minute when fate is the only power at work.

September 18, 2018
By Theoden Janes

It's hard to make out (click here) in the thicket of trees maybe a hundred yards to the north of Highway 218, but it's there: a Hyundai Elantra, hanging nose down, as if caught in a spiderweb.

By mid-morning on Monday, as the sun peeked out for the first time since Florence came in from the coast late last week, the field of soybeans between the road and the strung-up sedan looked as if someone had simply left a sprinkler system on too long....

...The powerful current then swept the car over the flooded field and into the trees, police said. Once it was lodged in place, Lee worked her way out of the driver's seat and freed Kaiden from his child seat. By that point, most of the car was under water.

"As I understand it, she can't swim," Cathey said. "She was able to get out herself, but she couldn't get her feet on the ground.

"The water was still over her head, and she was just struggling."

Through sobs, not long after she was plucked from the river, Lee told a reporter for Fox Charlotte: "I was holding his hand, trying to hold him, trying to pull him up. And it got to the point I couldn't hold on anymore - and he let go."...

This is noteworthy as an insult to Hillary Clinton turned into a title for a very interesting book.

4 January 2018
By Fiona Capp

Hannah Jewell (click here) clearly had a lot of fun writing this book and it's a lot of fun to read. She takes her title from Donald Trump's remark to Hillary Clinton that she was "such a nasty woman". A nasty woman is, then, one who has managed "to piss off a man for not behaving as she was expected". The women whose stories feature here range from women "with impressive kill counts" such as Artemisia of Caria, the skilled military tactician and only female commander in the Greco-Persian wars, to "women who punched Nazis" such as Irena Sendler, who saved 2500 Jewish children from the Warsaw ghetto. It is gobsmacking what so many of these women achieved in the face of massive resistance. Take 19th-century mathematician Emmy Noether, who was barred from studying at university but went on to formulate what has become known as Noether's theorem and was described by Einstein as a genius.