The underrepresentation of women in science: differential commitment or the queen bee syndrom?

We examined possible explanations for the underrepresentation of women among university faculty, in two different national contexts. In the Netherlands, a sample of doctoral students (N = 132) revealed no gender differences in work commitment or work satisfaction. Faculty members in the same university (N = 179), however, perceived female students to be less committed to their work and female faculty endorsed these gender-stereotypical perceptions most strongly. A second study, in Italy, replicated and extended these findings. Again, no gender differences were obtained in the self-descriptions of male and female doctoral students (N = 80), while especially the female faculty (N = 93) perceived female students as less committed to their work than male students. Additional measures supported an explanation in social identity terms, according to which individual upward mobility (i.e. of female faculty) implies distancing the self from the group stereotype which not only involves perceiving the self as a non-prototypical group member, but may also elicit stereotypical views of other in-group members

Are There Quantum Effects Coming from Outside Space-time? Nonlocality, free will and "no many-worlds"

Observing the violation of Bell's inequality tells us something about all possible future theories: they must all predict nonlocal correlations. Hence Nature is nonlocal. After an elementary introduction to nonlocality and a brief review of some recent experiments, I argue that Nature's nonlocality together with the existence of free will is incompatible with the many-worlds view of quantum physics.Comment: Talk presented at the meeting "Is Science Compatible with Our Desire for Freedom?" organised by the Social Trends Institute at the IESE Business School in Barcelona, Octobre 201

Theory for the electromigration wind force in dilute alloys

A multiple scattering formulation for the electromigration wind force on atoms in dilute alloys is developed. The theory describes electromigration via a vacancy mechanism. The method is used to calculate the wind valence for electromigration in various host metals having a close-packed lattice structure, namely aluminum, the noble metals copper, silver and gold and the $4d$ transition metals. The self-electromigration results for aluminum and the noble metals compare well with experimental data. For the $4d$ metals small wind valences are found, which make these metals attractive candidates for the experimental study of the direct valence.Comment: 18 pages LaTeX, epsfig, 8 figures. to appear in Phys. Rev. B 56 of 15/11/199

Risk factor-based screening compared to universal screening for gestational diabetes mellitus in marginalized Burman and Karen populations on the Thailand-Myanmar border: an observational cohort

Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) contributes significantly to maternal and neonatal morbidity, but data from marginalized populations remains scarce. This study aims to compare risk-factor-based screening to universal testing for GDM among migrants along the Thailand-Myanmar border. Methods: From the prospective cohort (September 2016, February 2019), 374 healthy pregnant women completed a 75g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) at 24-32 weeks gestation. Fasting, one hour and two hour cut-offs were based on Hyperglycaemia and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes (HAPO trial) criteria and cases were treated. The sensitivity and specificity of risk-factor-based screening criteria was calculated using OGTT as the gold standard. Risk factors included at least one positive finding among 10 criteria, e.g., obesity (body mass index (BMI) >/=27.5kg/m (2)), 1 (st) degree relative with diabetes etc. Adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes were compared by GDM status, and risk factors for GDM were explored. Results: GDM prevalence was 13.4% (50/374) (95% CI: 10.3-17.2). Risk-factors alone correctly identified 74.0% (37/50) OGTT positive cases: sensitivity 74.0% (59.7-85.4) and specificity 27.8% (3.0-33.0). Burman women accounted for 29.1% of the cohort population, but 38.0% of GDM cases. Percentiles for birthweight (p=0.004), head circumference (p=0.005), and weight-length ratio (p=0.010) were higher in newborns of GDM mothers compared with non-GDM, yet 21.7% (75/346) of newborns in the cohort were small-for-gestational age. In Burman women, overweight/obese BMI was associated with a significantly increased adjusted odds ratio 5.03 (95% CI: 1.43-17.64) for GDM compared to normal weight, whereas underweight and overweight/obese in Karen women were both associated with similarly elevated adjusted odds, approximately 2.4-fold (non-significant) for GDM. GDM diagnosis by OGTT was highest prior to peak rainfall. Conclusions: Risk-factor-based screening was not sufficiently sensitive or specific to be useful to diagnose GDM in this setting among a cohort of low-risk pregnant women. A two-step universal screening program has thus been implemented

When the going gets tough, the tough get going: Social identification and individual effort in intergroup competition.

Based on social identity theory, the authors predicted that in ongoing intergroup competition, people’s strength of social identification will have a positive impact on their behavioral efforts on behalf of an ingroup when its current status is low, whereas this will not be the case when its current status is high. In a first experiment, male participants showed the expected pattern of behavior. Female participants, however, tended to display opposite reactions. As a possible explanation, it was argued that the experimental procedure may have inadvertently evoked a gender-based stereotype threat for female participants. In an attempt to obtain more consistent support for their hypothesis, the authors therefore replicated the experiment with modifications to avoid such a threat. These changes proved to be effective in the sense that this time the predicted interaction effect between ingroup identification and current group status was obtained for both male and female participants

World radiocommunication conference 12 : implications for the spectrum eco-system

Spectrum allocation is once more a key issue facing the global telecommunications industry. Largely overlooked in current debates, however, is the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC). Decisions taken by WRC shape the future roadmap of the telecommunications industry, not least because it has the ability to shape the global spectrum allocation framework. In the debates of WRC-12 it is possible to identify three main issues: enhancement of the international spectrum regulatory framework, regulatory measures required to introduce Cognitive Radio Systems (CRS) technologies; and, additional spectrum allocation to mobile service. WRC-12 eventually decided not to change the current international radio regulations with regard to the first two issues and agreed to the third issue. The main implications of WRC-12 on the spectrum ecosystem are that most of actors are not in support of the concept of spectrum flexibility associated with trading and that the concept of spectrum open access is not under consideration. This is explained by the observation that spectrum trading and spectrum commons weaken state control over spectrum and challenge the main principles and norms of the international spectrum management regime. In addition, the mobile allocation issue has shown the lack of conformity with the main rules of the regime: regional spectrum allocation in the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) three regions, and the resistance to the slow decision making procedures. In conclusion, while the rules and decision-making procedures of the international spectrum management regime were challenged in the WRC-12, the main principles and norms are still accepted by the majority of countries

Does China's public assistance scheme create welfare dependency? An assessment of the welfare of the Urban Minimum Living Standard Guarantee

In China, there are increasing concerns among the public and academics on welfare dependency caused the 'generous' of benefits of the Urban Minimum Living Standard Scheme (UMLSS). This study examines this issue by analysing the levels of the UMLSS according to international poverty measurements as well as reporting the life experiences of MLSS beneficiaries in Guangzhou city. It concludes that the UMLSS assistance is actually too low to reduce claimants’ work motivation. Instead, supplementary benefits associated with the UMLSS contributing to the recipients’ staying in China’s public assistance scheme in order to gain access to basic housing, health and educational services

General practitioner practices in requesting laboratory tests for patients with gastroenteritis in the Netherlands, 2001–2002

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to estimate the (selective) proportion of patients consulting their GP for an episode of gastroenteritis for whom laboratory tests were requested. In addition adherence of GPs to the guidelines for diagnostic test regime was ascertained. METHODS: Data were collected from a GP network in the Netherlands. Information was also collected on the reason for requesting the test, test specifications, and test results. RESULTS: For 12% of the GP patients with gastroenteritis, a stool sample was requested and tested for enteric pathogens. In most patients, the duration, followed by severity of complaints or a visit to a specific, high-risk country were reported as reasons to request laboratory diagnostics. Tests were requested most often in summer months and in February. Campylobacter (requested for 87% of the tests), Salmonella (84%), Shigella (78%) and Yersinia (56%) were most frequently included in the stool tests. Campylobacter was detected most often in patients. CONCLUSION: Test requests did not always comply with existing knowledge of the etiology of gastroenteritis in GP patients and were not always consistent with the Dutch GP guidelines. Therefore, the data of this study can be used to develop educational approaches for GP's as well as for revision of the guidelines