Appended: from a Physics teaching list I frequent. Note the negative connotations associated with "object orientation" (= asocial = lack of social affect).
I take up this ethnographic thread in my blogs and this discussion list from time to time, as I think it's apropos to many subtopics (Diversity in particular). Here's my take on it from awhile back: http://worldgame.blogspot.com/2009/02/regarding-objectifying.html Kirby PS: on a related topic, there's also a negative connotation associated with "imperative programming". The word "imperative" gets translated to mean "bullying". The functional programmers exploit that connotation, and imply that functional programming is kinder to children. === Well, it is at least reminiscent of Sheila Tobias. On a possibly related note, Simon Baron-Cohen studied personalities of scientists and engineers across many subfields. Among his results was (sorry to bring bad news) that the closer one comes to physics, mathematics, or similar engineering disciplines, the more closely the median practitioner resembles high functioning autism (which, of course, affects males over females by a ratio of 4.2 to 1). That in turns brings with it all manner of asocial phenomena -- object orientation, lack of social affect and the like. - Show quoted text - -- Dr. Paul J. Camp Physics Department Spelman College Atlanta, GA 30314 404-270-5864 "The beauty of the cosmos derives not only from unity in variety but also from variety in unity" -- Umberto Eco The Name of the Rose in response to: Inside Higher Ed Why Female Engineering Students Are Discouraged October 26, 2011 - 3:00am Women perform as well as men in engineering courses, but are less likely to stay in the field because of a confidence gap, according to research published in the new issue of <http://www.asanet.org/press/engineering_and_women.cfm>American Sociological Review. Women are less likely to feel "professional role confidence," the study found, which has to do both with their view of their own talent and also of their sense that they are in the correct field. "Often, competence in engineering is associated in people's minds with men and masculinity more than it is with women and femininity. So, there are these micro-biases that happen, and when they add up, they result in women being less confident in their expertise and their career fit," said the lead author of the study, Erin Cech, a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University's Clayman Institute for Gender Research. <http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2011/10/26/why-female-engineering-students-are-discouraged#ixzz1btymrPZs>http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2011/10/26/why-female-engineering-students-are-discouraged#ixzz1btymrPZs _______________________________________________ Edu-sig mailing list Edu-sig@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig