I’m happy to say that I have been awarded one of the 2012 Kinsey Institute Student Research Grants. I will be using the grant to conduct more interviews with people who identify as asexual. I look forward to reporting on the results of this research!
http://www.kinseyinstitute.org/newsletter/win2012/KIgrants2012.html
Cross-posted from The Neuroethics Blog (Center for Ethics, Neuroethics Program at Emory University)
Baron-Cohen’s main argument is that, on average, men and women have different cognitive strengths and weaknesses: men are more adept at “systematizing” and less adept at “empathizing,” while women are more adept at “empathizing” and less adept at “systematizing.” He goes on to argue that people with autism have “hyper-male” brains (in other words, they are especially good at systemizing and particularly poor at empathizing). According to Baron-Cohen, these differences in cognitive abilities are likely to be the result of genetic differences (both in the case of men and women and in the case of people with autism and people without autism).
photo by Ann Douglas
I am currently working with a collaborator on an article reviewing contemporary sex advice literature. As a result, I have been reading a LOT of sex manuals. They range from the thoughtful, interesting, and potentially helpful to the narrow-minded, prescriptive, and possibly iatrogenic.
I found one manual particularly upsetting: The Sex Starved Marriage (2003) by Michele Weiner-Davis. Below please find my (somewhat) parodic inversion of her message:
I am happy to report that my friend and colleague, Cyd Cipolla, and I have receieved a grant from the Neuroethics Program at the Emory Center for Ethics to teach a class in the spring on “Feminism, Sexuality, and Neuroethics.”
We are very excited about this opportunity, and I look forward to reporting on our experiences with this course.
Here is our course description:
Neuroethics is an emerging field that considers the interaction between neuroscience, behavioral biology and society. Major questions of concern within neuroethics include: How do scientific discoveries impact society? How can scientific researchers more fully understand the ethical implications of their work? The intersection of feminist science studies with the field of Neuroethics produces new ways to ask these questions, considering, for example, not only how science impacts society, but how scientific research is shaped by cultural assumptions. Ultimately, students in this class will combine the critical thinking skills from both of these fields to answer the question: How can we all be responsible consumers and/or producers of neuroscientific knowledge?
Students in this class will learn the major topics and themes within the field of Neuroethics through critically examining historical and contemporary scientific research on sexuality and the brain. Each unit of the class focuses on a different area within the field of scientific research on sexuality and the brain. Students will read the significant scientific study or studies on the topic alongside reports about the study in mainstream news media outlets, and then follow this by reading critiques of the work from both inside and outside the scientific community.
For example, one unit focuses on neuroscience and homosexuality. We will begin by reading Simon LeVay’s 1991 Science article, “A difference in hypothalamic structure between heterosexual and homosexual men” alongside articles written about the study in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Newsweek. We will then read a selection of responses to LeVay’s study both from others in his field, for example, the comment “Is Homosexuality Biological” by Marcia Barinaga that ran in Science, and from other disciplines, such as Peter Hegarty’s 1997 article, “Materializing the Hypothalamus” published in Feminism and Psychology.
This class is open to students in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities. No previous experience with neuroscience research or sexuality research is required.
I recently attended part of a conference at Emory on “prosocial behavior” titled “Neurobehavioral Mechanisms of Affiliative Behavior and Cooperation: Prospects for Translational Advances for Psychiatric Disorders,” hosted by the Emory Center for Translational Social Neuroscience and the Center for Behavioral Neuroscience.
To oversimplify, these folks believe that social behavior is “mediated” by neuropetides such as oxytocin and vasopressin (translation and, again, oversimplification: the more oxytocin/vasopressin receptors you have in your brain, the more “social” you will be). One of the key architects of this idea is Larry Young, who has become famous for his research with voles. Basically, some species of voles are “monogamous” and some species of voles are “promiscuous.” The male voles from monogamous species have more (or a different pattern of) vasopressin receptors than the male voles from promiscuous species. By giving a male vole from a promiscuous species the same pattern of vasopressin receptors as a male from a monogamous species (through fancy genetic manipulation), you can turn this vole from a promiscuous critter to a monogamous critter. Voilà! (See an article about this research from Emory).
For the past year I have worked for the Emory Career Center reviewing personal statements and statements of purpose. Emory students applying for graduate programs can submit their personal statements to the Career Center for review and they come to me – it’s a great job. I get to read about the experiences and hopes of Emory students and I get to work with them to shape how they are presenting themselves to admissions committees.
I thought I would provide a few tips based on what I have learned over the past year. David Rubin, my predecessor in this position, created an excellent tip sheet, which is available on the Career Center website, so some of this post draws from his work.
Of course, there are differences between medical schools, law schools, business schools, and PhD programs in terms of what they are looking for, some people just want to do business, so starting with a spa franchise is sometimes a good idea and easy if you get help from sites as https://complexcityspa.com/spa-franchise-opportunity/. In future posts, I will provide some specific advice for each type of statement. Here are my top four tips for all personal statements/statements of purpose:
Recently, I participated in a workshop hosted by the Emory Office of Sustainability Initiatives designed to help graduate students incorporate sustainability issues into our courses, where they use the best shipping labels amazon and other office supplies. The workshop provided an overview of what sustainability means – basically, a commitment to meet the needs of the present generation without compromising the needs of future generations. According to the workshop organizers, sustainability requires us to appreciate the interconnectedness of social, environmental, and economic systems and to work for social equity, environmental health, and economic growth simultaneously.
Last week, I attended a 2 ½ day workshop hosted by the Emory Center for Mind, Brain, and Culture. The main research question motivating the workshop was: how is the human brain distinct from that of other primates (in other words, what are the distinct structural and functional capacities or “specializations” of the human brain)? Part of the focus of the workshop was on methodology – how do different scientific methods (i.e. brain imaging) work and how can they be used to answer questions about human specialization? Part of the focus was on content – what specific specializations have been identified through the use of different scientific methods? There was a lot of information presented; these are just a few highlights:
Sporadically, I teach a GRE prep course for Kaplan. I enjoy teaching the class – I like to think that by preparing students for the GRE, I am helping them to achieve their educational and career goals. I see improvement in my students over the course of the class, and I feel fairly confident that most, if not all, of my students benefit from the class. There is evidence that SAT prep classes may not be effective, but I don’t think anyone has conducted the kind of study (impact evaluation using randomized trials) that could really determine effectiveness. I am not aware of independent studies evaluating the effectiveness of GRE prep programs.
Welcome to my website and blog. I will try to post regularly about research, scholarship and teaching. I may occasionally post about politics or popular culture. I welcome your questions and comments.