Helping girls to fall in love with science

Inspiring and encourging girls to pursue a career in science continues to  be a challenge and not always the first option considered by parents and educators. We are set forth into the 21st century, but prejudices and second thoughts when it comes to a career in science - couple of steps up to the professional ladder than teaching sciences in primary school - deter many girls to follow a career they dream about.

Designed as a journal, I Love Science aims to offer the basis for a smooth take off in the world of science. Presented in a graphic format, it has a short introduction into scientific methodology and practices, details about HTML, equations and the periodic table, but also inspiring quotes by women scientists from different domains, from mathematics to chemistry or astronomy, some of them Nobel Prize winners.

Significant space is left for observations and remarks that the scientist-in-the-making is supposed to make during the field research.

The graphic format is colourful and easy to read, but personally, I would have chose a different lettering style.

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange of an honest review

Advice for a debt-free graduation

Living and studying in Europe my whole life, I ignored for a long time the fact that education can be a very problematic investment and burden. When talking with my American academic friends, they often mention that even after 10 years, they still have to pay or find solutions for paying an impressive college debt. As for me, I went from college to MA and after that, PhD studies, without paying any dime. Just because high education was free, unless I wanted to enroll to some private academic classes, which I didn't. I used to work since 18 and was independent financially since, but I still think that an eventual college financial burden would have dramatically affect my life.

Hopefully, there are more and more books lately aimed to help parents and children navigate the troubled waters of high education in the US. Kristina Ellis, herself a beneficiary of impressive scholarships, is sharing her experience and knowledge in a very systematic and practical way.

'Think of paying for college as a marathon. By maintaining a steady stride between spending and saving, you can make it through each leg of the race and cross the finish line, graduating debt free'. Usually, the average costs for attending college per year can go around 19,500$, for in state, and $44,000 private.

First and foremost, the potential college candidate should start working towards the goal as early as possible. Starting to make a plan, for instance, by creating a budget and starting to save, using the power of compound interest or earning as many credits in advance as possible.

Second, it is important to be informed and in this advanced Internet era, everything is much easier than before. For instance, you do not need to go in person at the college tours, and use instead the virtual presentation. It could be a significant source of financial relief. Information is gold also when it comes to the decision to go to college as such. The potential student should start asking as many questions as possible in order to figure out if this college and no other is answering his or her academic needs and professional plans. 

The application process can be expensive too, as it involves passing various tests and acquiring documents proving the conformity to the academic standards expected from a potential student.  

When it comes to applying for scholarships or federal loans - such as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid -, the process should be started as early as possible, taking into consideration all the documentation requirements and criteria necessary. 

With a lot of work and careful preparation, the application can be accepted or various alternatives used in order to eliminate or diminish significantly the financial burden. Otherwise, students are adviced how to find ways to start paying the debt even from the first year of college, by taking side jobs or building their own freelance business. Such an approach can be very helpful for the next professional steps, due to the acquired experience and the practice of work ethics. 

Although with a clear readers target, the North American students, or anyone interested to apply at an an American college, this book is also useful for those without the need to worry about college loans, but that can learn a lot about how to plan the academic and professional career as early in life as possible.

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher via NetGalley.

The turning point of campus politics

After the last year racial unrest in US and Canadian universities, it seems that it was about time to start a larger discussion about the successes and failures of campus politics. Aimed to explain the current state of the art of academia beyond the high walls of universities, Campus Politics aims and succeeds to offer a balanced perspective on what was wrong and right with the philosophy that structured the campus everyday life in the last decades. 

In a way I was expecting more boldness in approaching strategies such as the downsides of 'political corectness' and left wing mindsets, but this is not the purpose of the book. Instead, it offers a basis for serious discussions, and possible reconsiderations in the future. First, you need to know the terms and conditions and the reality. For instance, contrary to the stereotype, there are more conservative teachers and students in the North American universities than expected, which can explain how, in fact, the 'politically corect' approach was not that successful, despite the predominance of this discourse in the public space. 

Many terms, such as freedom of speech - which isn't 'a license for professors to do whatever they want' - are sometimes misused and misunderstood, ant the race and gender equality is still an aim. In a way, academia is only one of the many environments a person is part thereof during a lifespan and as long as the other segments of the society ignore the need to consider seriously their admission and acceptance policies, universities are not (the only) responsible for the failure. 

Another merit of the book is to take into consideration the 'very hard to understand world' shaped by the challenges taking place after 9/11, and also mentions the anti-Israel bias that can be encountered in many high-end academic circles. 

As everything is in the making right now, with an unknown outcome, there is the responsibility of the students to offer a different approach. Instead of requesting the administration to take the needed measures, better they try to request and fight directly for their rights. 

Written in a very analytical way - without trying to be apologetical or over-critical, with many information about the history of campus politics, the book is a recommended read to both academics and students, and anyone interested to understand the current academic challenges in the USA. 

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange of an honest review

German university history: Lutherstadt Wittenberg

As a visitor in the city of Luther, it is hard to imagine nowadays how the city used to look like in the 16th century when the University was first created here. Most of the houses from what it is now the old city were used as accommodation for students from all over the German speaking area and even from abroad. On many houses, names of famous students are written on the front of the doors of what used to be their study homes. Among the famous visitors or students are Giordano Bruno, poet Martin Opitz or the first African student in Germany, Anton Wilhelm Arno, Schiller, Lessing and Goethe.

Compared to other university cities, the majority of studies here were dedicated to religious topics and hence, probably the streets were less lively then in Heidelberg, for instance. 

Shortly after the creation, the university turned into an important center of protestant reformation. In 1512, Luther himself took his PhD in theology and continued to be part of the university as teacher of Bible studies. In 1580, Augusteum was built, one of Germany's oldest university buildings.

Nowadays, the university from Wittenberg bears the name of Luther and is part of a consortium together with the University of Halle. The University from Halle is much younger, being created in 1694. The current structure is functioning since the 1930s. 

The Leucorea center in Wittenberg hosts seminars and various conferences on topics regarding theology or social sciences. This center was created in 1842/43, during the time when the university was closed during the Napoleonic Wars and currently hosts the foundation dedicated to academic studies.

Wittenberg is no more the very active university center that used to be, but it keeps the prestige of academic excellence and the memory of prestigious personalities that studied and taught here.

The thing with the 'Hair'

One of my favourite movies when I was in high-school was 'Hair', given its message of freedom and independence from all adults rules - although I was not too much involved in the 'pros' and 'cons' of Vietnam though. As someone who broke free from the communism, I knew how much emphasis was put on the clean short cut of men and carefully arranged tresses for girls - that I never had, as my mother chose to keep me with the hair cut short. The hair was so important for my formative years that I even took part to a sit in in the school yard against the decision of a school director to cut the hair of some rebel youngsters. 

Even we acknowledge it or not directly, the way we look at hair plays an important role in the history of mentalities ad this book reveals several interesting aspects. Actually, we can easier read a culture through its ways to look at hair as 'all cultures have created clear rules and of dress and hair styling to vindicate gender and (usually) marital status'. Hair is more than part of an invidiual identity and personal statement, but is part of an intricated system of beliefs and cultural codes. New hairstyles are indicating a change of attitudes, more than a simple fashion. 

Although the book focuses extensively on the religious approaches to it - in my opinion, the Jewish one is quite underrepresented, but maybe it is because I know too much about it, but it also introduces the approach of almost unknown Christian groups, such as the strange House of David - it goes beyond it, trying to read the cultural messages and meanings. It is well documented, but written in an accessible way.

I recommend this book to any contemporary historian, and anyone interested in the history of mentalities. 

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher via NetGalley.com

Manifesto for the 'slow professor'

After so many 'slow' movements in food and the everyday life in general, it was about time to approach the high-speed academic life from this perspective too. In previous academic blog posts I touched upon several times the idea of 'publish or die' and other high pressures - such as bureaucracy that I do not fancy at all, regardless its shapes and aims - that taint the fragile intellectual achivements of the academia. 

'Corporalization has compromised academic life and speed up the clock', complain the authors, who continue: 'In the corporate university, power is transferred from faculty to managers, economic justifications dominate and the familiar 'bottom line' eclipses pedagogical and intellectual concerns'. However, as long as the universities are part of the state system and do receive budget funding, a certain scrutinity of the funds and criteria of performance should be considered. Also, universities are part of a larger state conception on education and, thus, they prepare future members of the work force. What can be done?

The authors pledge for a reconsideration of the academic pace: 'We need time to think, and so do our students. Time for reflection and open-end inquiry. 

One of the highest pressure the professors should deal with is time. Time to correct and edit papers, to apply for grants, to write books, to answer bureaucratic demands, to spend time with the family. Although several books were dedicated to the time-management issues in the academia, this does not alleviate the burden and the deep guilt for the time spent not 'at work'. Somehow, the book does not approach the issue of the high level of university graduates, compared to decades ago, which creates pressure for the market and the need of high efficiency at the university workplace too. 

An interesting approach concerns the pledge for 'pleassure' at teaching, a focus on emotions and emotional intelligence in the classroom. Hard sciences as mathematics or nuclear physics, just to mention randomly, do not necessarily require such an emotional involvement, but very often during my academic expriences I noticed the lack of any personal involvement of teachers in the process of sharing knowledge. 

Understanding is more important than knowledge, consider the authors, and I agree, but in the nowadays world, with so many sources of information and so many possibilities to expand the knowledge, it is very hard to resist the temptation of too much knowledge. I am going through this right now and secretely I enjoy the pleasure of not being able to find the right balance.

The book is very important for the stage of academic discussions right now, but it does not provide any specific mean of action, despite the need of more collaboration and 'conviviality' among teachers. I will be curious to find out how exactly the current culture can be institutionally challenged. Maybe then I will finally decide to make the big step of joining the academia. 

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange of an honest review 

Science blogging, a step-by-step introduction

Academics and particularly scientists do not have time to blog or read newspapers or be on Instgram. They are in the libraries, labs, at high-end conferences where they discuss the latest equations or microbiology discovery. True or not?

It is a matter of choice, after all, but nowadays, Science Blogging is a reality and sometimes all you need in order to proceed to the next practical step - like opening your blog - is a little bit of encouragement and acknowledgement of the results already achieved by other professionals in your domain. This essential guide reunites articles written by famous scientists bloggers, who are explaining in a very simple yet encouraging way what science blogging means, what are the advantages, how to manage the various technical choices - Tumblr vs. Blogger vs. Wordpress; if you ask me, I keep being a faithful Blogger follower and practician- how to use visual content or keep in mind copyright issues. There are also tips about how to read your blog metrics and how, eventually, one can make money out of it, although this should not necessarily be the main aim of the project. 

Instead of being dismissed as futile activity, mostly a waste of time, science blogging offers to the scientists several noticeable advantages: practising writing on a daily basis, personal branding, networking with other scientists, creating a platform for further academic contacts and freelancing work, to mention only few of them. 'Blogging is a marathon, not a sprint', mentioned one of the authors, as a warning that, similarly with the academia, science blogging does not guarantee a blitz-success. Science blogging improves teaching skills and social skills in general, can help testing concepts and ideas and, what I think it is very important, offer to scientists a voice against pseudo-science. 

Addressing the beginner and skeptical science bloggger, it is well written with good references and many good tips. Personally I think blogging can tremendously make a difference in the life of a PhD student that needs to polish his or her writing skills permanently, but also constantly test and confront various conclusions and results of the research. Wish I had used this opportunity more often during my doctoral research.
Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher via NetGalley.com in exchange of an honest review