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AAUW Educational Foundation, and AAUW Legal Advocacy Fund. “Girls in

Mathematics and Science.” Shortchanging Girls, Shortchanging America. Washington, DC: American Association of University Women, 1994. 16. American Association of University Women. Web. 28 Sept. 2009. <www.aauw.org...‌research//.pdf>.

This report gives information about the links between math, science, and self-esteem. It is noted that “Girls who like math are more confident about their appearance and worry less about others liking them”. Within the entire 20 page report different possibilities are given as to why girls loose interest in math and science, along with the studies that were conducted to prove those possibilities as valid opinions. We are also introduced to ways that the group American Association of University Women is working to change the current statistics of women involvement to give a greater interest for girls at a younger age.

 

Agrawal, Ruchika, et al. The Shortage of Female Computer Science Faculty at

Stanford University. N. pag. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2009. <cse.stanford.edu>.

This report was constructed by students at Stanford University to discover underlying reasons for the lack of female faculty in the computer science department. Possibilities given include “Lack of Self-Confidence”, “Parental Support”, “Motivation”, “Social Awkwardness”, and several others. Each possibility is given its own section, describing how women relate to this theory, and its connection with computer science. Interviews were conducted and given within the report, as well as several sources.


Agusto, Denise E. “Summary of the Research.” Girls Tech: Evaluating Electronic

Resources for Girls. Douglass College, n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2009. <girlstech.douglass.rutgers.edu...>.

This project, in partnership with Girl Scouts of the U.S.A., focuses on introducing more technology to girls to develop greater interests in technology. They believe that the cause of technology separation can be defined through the “Gender-schema theory”. Essentially, girls wish to “identify [themselves] as a stereotypical young woman according to society’s general stereotype of the ideal female (i.e., nurturing, acquiescent, non confrontational, untalented in working with computers and technology, etc.) and consequently to have an attitudinal barrier against pursuing a computer-related career”. A very expansive and detailed list of references is provided.


“Alice in computer science Wonderland.” USA Today (Magazine) Sept. 2008: 8(1).  

Gale Professional Collection. Web. 27 Sept. 2009.

Alice is an educational tool created to raise interest in computer science to middle and high school students. This program involves the user inputting commands into the program to create a 3D world while learning basic programming concepts. Its main purpose: demonstrating “how programming works and how it can be fun”. Professors hope that raising interest in students while still in school will attract more women and minorities to study it as a career option.


Carnegie Mellon. “About Us.” Women in Computer Science. Carnegie Mellon, 2 Oct.

2009. Web. 2 Oct. 2009. <women.cs.cmu.edu>.

This website describes the Women at SCS program at the Carnegie Mellon University School of Computer Science. The website provides job and scholarship resources, links to relevant research, and descriptions of activities and outreach programs sponsored by the Women at SCS. This resource targets and informs women about activities targeted at them to raise interest in computer science. Information is given on the opinions of why there is such a low percentage of women involvement in computer science.


Carnevale, Dan. “Group Seeks to Make Computer Science More Attractive.” The

Chronicle of Higher Education 52.40 (2006): n. pag. Gale Professional Collection. Web. 17 Sept. 2009.

There has been a decline in computer scientists in the professional field over the past several years. Computer science has a reputation of being for boys without social skills, but an organization of educational professionals from Florida State University and University of North Carolina are working to promote “computer-science courses as more welcoming and more sociable than they are reputed to be”. Their plan is rather than putting students directly into difficult computer courses, students will first become engaged in courses on Web-site development or multimedia applications to raise interest. Computer science majors will visit students while in middle and high school to promote interest, as reported by Dan Carnevale, a technology education reporter.


Ceci, Stephen J., Wendy M. Williams, and Susan M. Barnett. “Lack of Ability Does

Not Explain Women’s Decisions to Opt Out of Math-Intensive Science Careers, According to Study.” APA Online. American Psychological Association, 3 Mar. 2009. Web. 17 Oct. 2009. <www.apa.org...>.

This article notes that a new study has found that women do not pursue careers in math-intensive fields “because they want the flexibility to raise children, or because they prefer other fields of science that are less math-intensive--not because they lack mathematical ability”. According to this theory, it is believed that is why there are many more men than women involved in technology related careers as they do not commonly raise children on their own. This report was concluded from several surveys conducted of academic professionals, university faculty, and students.

 

Chute, Elanor. “Lack of diversity part of equation in STEM fields.” Pittsburgh

Post-Gazette 10 Feb. 2009: n. pag. Web. 17 Oct. 2009. <www.post-gazette.com‌/‌-298.stm>.

This article is about Tonya Groover, one of the few female and black students studying computer science at the University of Pittsburgh. She is working with others to find a solution to the decline of female students involved with computer science. Groover believes a main cause is “women are attracted to areas or fields [in which] they feel they’re making a difference. Computer science is not presented in such a manner. Computer science is a field that will make a difference in the lives of hungry people or sick people”. She suggests involving everyone during middle and high school to become involved in a technology based class, to help raise interest from the minorities and females.


“Computer Science Degrees: Starting Salaries.” Computer Majors.

ComputerMajors.com, 2009. Web. 14 Oct. 2009. <www.computermajors.com...‌starting-salaries-for-computer-science-grads>.

This web page gives the average starting salaries available to a computer science graduate. The pay is high, with its lowest starting salary at $44,417. We are told that this amount is continually increasing every year. It can be concluded that the salary is probably not one of the causes pushing women away from computer science and other technical related careers.


“Computer Science Needs More Good Women.” redOrbit. redOrbit, 31 Mar. 2009.

Web. 16 Oct. 2009. <www.redorbit.com‌/‌computer_science_needs_more_good_women/.html>.

This article primarily focuses on the stereotypes that are formed of computer scientists as being a reason for discouraging an increase of female computer scientists. We are introduced to Barbara Liskov, a very well known and recognized computer scientist, who describes the changes she has seen in the computer science field within the past several years. She notes that fewer and fewer women are receiving their bachelors’ degrees in the field, and focuses on the stereotype “that women aren’t good at math and computer science, which is just not true”.


Computing Research Association. “Home.” CRA-W: Committee on the Status of

Women in Computing Research. Computing Research Association, 2009. Web. 17 Oct. 2009. <www.cra-w.org...>.

This website is for the CRA Committee on the Status of Women in Computing Research, a sub group of the Computing Research Association. Their mission is “to take positive action to increase the number of women participating in Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) research and education at all levels”. They offer many opportunities for women interested in computing including mentorships, undergraduate and graduate classes, a research faculty, and resources. The group is sponsored by the National Science Foundation, and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

 

Cuny, Janice, and William Aspray. Recruitment and Retention of Women Graduate

Students in Computer Science and Engineering. Washington, DC: Computing Research Association, 2001. The Computing Research Association’s Committee on the Status of Women in Computing Research. Web. 2 Oct. 2009. <www.cra.org&rwomen.pdf>.

This report is given of a workshop held to both recruit and retain women involvement in computer science. Each main section is developed through several subsections that focus on a single topic, such as “Increasing the number of women enrolling in a given department”. Within that, recommendations are given along with the reasoning behind it explaining how and why the recommendation was given. Recommendation 11states: “Actively counter negative stereotypes and misperceptions of computer science and engineering”. Some examples of negative stereotypes listed include computer scientists are hackers, “workaholics”, competitive, and lack of a social lifestyle. An expansive list of references is given at the end.


Dean, Cornelia. “Computer Science Takes Steps to Bring Women to the Fold.”  

New York Times. New York Times, 17 Apr. 2007. Web. 14 Oct. 2009. <www.nytimes.com...‌/‌/‌//‌comp.html?pagewanted=1>.

This article focuses on bringing female high school and college students into computer science. There are several reasons for the lack of women involved including the thought of no jobs available, and stereotyping. Both of these theories are disproved as true for computer scientists. Another reason stated is the high school Advanced Placement program currently in use for computer science. It is said to primarily focus on the programming aspect of computer science only, instead of the overall focus of how the computer works with programs and it functions as a whole within a career assignment.


Demski, Jennifer. “BlueJ or bust! Can a learning environment that simplifies the

teaching of programming skills help restore America’s dwindling population of computer scientists?” T H E Journal (Technological Horizons In Education)Professional CollectionGale Professional Collection. Web. 15 Sept. 2009. 35.10 (2008): 16(3).

This journal, written by a freelance writer, gives information about the popular Java environment, BlueJ. The developer, Michael Kolling, originally intended to keep the environment as a research project at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia in 1999. As the program grew, it was seen as a solution to grow interest of High Schoolers into computer programming. “BlueJ provides a visually based, object-oriented programming environment that enables beginning students to create projects”. The BlueJ environment is used throughout the United States as an efficient teaching and learning tool for teachers and students alike. BlueJ receives financial support from Sun Microsystems, the developers of the Java language, to name it a reliable beginners programming tool while remaining a free open source tool as well.

 

Dodd, Tony, and Mike Allaby. “Appendix 4: FactFile: Programs and Operating

Systems.” SIRS Researcher. N.p., 1 Dec. 2003. Web. 13 Sept. 2009.

This section written by Tony Dodd and Mike Allaby, computer scientists, explains how the website programming language HTML, or hypertext markup language, has evolved from the first programming language, FORTRAN. The positives and negatives of using HTML are discussed as well as what HTML programming is able to explain. A table of HTML symbols, elements, and their meanings is given that are used to create an HTML document.

 

Dodd, Tony, and Mike Allaby. “Chapter 7: The Future of Computing.” SIRS

Researcher. N.p., 1 Dec. 2003. Web. 13 Sept. 2009.

This article written by Tony Dodd and Mike Allaby, computer scientists, explains how computers have advanced since the 1960’s. Dodd and Allaby go in-depth about how as size of computers dramatically decreased, the reliability and speed has increased. This ratio is due part to discoveries in memory storage and retrieval, a vital part of computer function.


Duffy, Tom. “Teaching teen techies; Corporations are helping take responsibility

for educating the next generation of IT workers.” Network World 11 Sept. 2000: 47. Gale Professional Collection. Web. 27 Sept. 2009.

This article follows Greeneville High School in Tennessee which has made computer programming technology a part of their daily school schedule. A program installed to the school allows students to learn advanced topics such as robotics to computer design. Students are also given the opportunity of an Internship within an IT business. It is in hope of creating this program that students will be more exposed to the fields of an IT worker, and therefore be more interested in pursuing it as a career.


Edwards, Paul N., Ph.D. “Berners-Lee, Tim.” World Book Student. World Book,

2009. Web. 13 Sept. 2009.

This article gives information on Tim Berners-Lee, the developer of the World Wide Web. This British computer scientist created “a system that linked words in one computer file to those in another” as well as HTTP and HTML. For all his work on the “Web”, Tim received the Millennium Technology Prize as well as several others. The author, Paul Edwards, heads the Program on Science, Technology, and Society in the School of Information at the University of Michigan.

 

Ferrell, Keith. “Internet.” World Book Student. World Book, 2009. Web. 8 Sept.

2009.

This article explains the internet beginning with what the Internet is to its uses, and the concerns people have. There are many different sub-sections to this article which explains each aspect of the internet in a deep level. Also, there is a sub-section on “How the Internet Works” which describes every step which must be taken for a person to connect their computer to a specific website. The author, Keith Ferrell, was former editor of OMNI magazine which is the world’s largest circulation science magazine.


Frauenfelder, Mark. “The Future of the Internet.” World Book Advanced. World

Book, 2009. Web. 7 Sept. 2009.

This article originally published in “Wireless World” explains the changes which are believed to occur to the internet within the next few years. We are first introduced with a summary of how the Internet works, and then progressed into the topic of XML, or the semantic web. We are then introduced to the changes which can be expected of our internet including 3-D video, new speeds being reached, and a program being tested referred to as “immersion”. The author is the founding editor-in-chief of Wired Online, one of the most respected technology information sources which publish a monthly magazine.

 

Hughes, Herman D. “Opportunities and Challenges Await Computer Science

Graduates.” The Black Collegian Feb. 2001: 68. Gale Professional Collection. Web. 23 Sept. 2009.

The author Dr. Hughes, a professor of Computer Science and Engineering at Michigan State University, explains how those interested in the computer science and IT fields will have a plethora of job opportunities as the number of degrees in those fields continue to decrease. He gives information to help those who are planning to study IT or computer science to succeed in college, as well as what employers will be looking for in a potential employee. One of these suggestions are “companies are looking for candidates who are skilled in database software made by Oracle, C, C++, Visual Basic, and JAVA. Also, experience with UNIX and Windows 2000 operating systems is essential”.


Hutchinson, Marie K., and Kay C. Weaver. Barriers to Women Studying Information

Technology Courses. N. pag. Bulletin of Applied Computing and Information Technology. NACCQ, Nov. 2004. Web. 4 Oct. 2009. <www.naccq.ac.nz‌/‌Hutchinson_BarriersToWomen.htm>.

This study focuses on women in New Zealand entering the Field of Information Technology. This field is viewed as a male career, which is why women are not as interested in technology. It is stated “that factors involved for women in not choosing IT courses and qualifications included a lack of knowledge about IT courses ... lack of confidence in their ability to master IT, and traditional gendered perceptions of appropriate roles and careers for women”. Information was gathered primarily through questionnaires given to current students of technology courses at Waikato Institute of Technology.

 

Israelsen-Hartley, Sara. “Women Advised to Pursue Tech Careers.” Deseret News.

N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2009. <www.deseretnews.com...‌,5143,705284905,00.html>.

This article informs the reader about Cydni Tetro, “the director of the Utah-based nonprofit Women Tech Council and an MBA and computer-science graduate who loves breaking the stereotype that technology jobs are just for men”. She encourages more women to become involved in the workforce, gaining jobs that years ago were reserved as male only work. It is her goal to introduce more women to technology jobs through her “annual Women in Technology Conference”.


Jonsson, Patrik. “Can Competitions Raise ‘Cool’ Factor of Math, Science?”  

Christian Science Monitor 16 May 2008: n. pag. SIRS Researcher. Web. 27 Sept. 2009.

This article looks at how competitive science and math fairs have increased interest levels in the topics. “Dr. Jim Hamos, program director of the Math and Science Partnership Program at the National Science Foundation in Arlington, Va.” explains “we have a generation where math and science became uncool...People are wondering what’s the galvanizing moment [for math and science education], and competitiveness may be that galvanizer. It’s one way to make science and math cool...as opposed to abstract and minimalist”. Since the introduction of competitions for math and science, more students have enrolled to try and become the winner.


Kane, Amy. “Wanted: Girls Interested in Computers.” Seacoast Online. Seacoast

Media Group, 23 Apr. 2006. Web. 3 Oct. 2009. <archive.seacoastonline.com‌//‌99161.htm>.

This news article describes the actions being taken by high school programming teacher Norm Messa to increase female interest in computer programming. He offered several nights focused towards middle school girls to learn free programming using interactive programs that make learning fun and simple. A creator of Alice, one of the programs used, states “girls are more interested in potential applications for computers and programming than they are in computers themselves”. By introducing programming to girls through a medium which they enjoy, they were more excited overall about the learning opportunity.


King, Joyce. “Truth About Math, Science and Women.” redOrbit. redOrbit, 28 Jan.

2005. Web. 16 Oct. 2009. <www.redorbit.com...‌/_about_math_science_and_women/.html>.

It has long been perceived that males are smarter than females, but studies conducted have begun to disprove that theory. It is stated that “fourth- and eighth-grade girls now outperform their male classmates in reading and writing tests... girls have caught up to boys in math and science”. However, “this is roughly the age girls become less interested in both [math and science]”. This article argues that men are the cause for lack of women involved within the technology fields, by always claiming to be more intelligent than men.


Liu, Wei-Chuan. Personal Interview. interview. 23 Sept. 2009. Teacher. Wilde

Lake High School. Computer Science AP.

Questions answered during the interview included how to raise interest in computer science, the most common jobs for those with computer science degrees, and what encouraged her to become a computer scientist. Ms. Liu has been a qualified computer science teacher for over 12 years. She was unaware of the decrease in interest of computer science majors throughout the past several years.


Margolis, Jane. “Newsmaker: Computer science’s gender gap.” Interview by

Alorie Gilbert. CNET News. CNET News, 8 Feb. 2002. Web. 16 Oct. 2009. <news.cnet.com‌-1082-833090.html>.

The interviewee, Jane Margolis, studied over 100 computer science students at Carnegie Mellon University to study their behaviors in computer science as research for her book “Unlocking the Clubhouse: Women in Computing”. From the data she collected, she gave information about possible reasons for the lack of women in computer science, referred to as the gender gap. One of Margolis’ reasons was “because of early socialization in schools and at home, and a sort of early claiming of the computer as a boy’s toy, that girls who wanted to major in computer science and got into one of the top computer science departments in the country actually came in with less hands-on experience”.


Nagel, David. “Girls on technology: a study brings video games into the

classroom to address the persistent digital gender gap.” T H E Journal (Technological Horizons In Education) 33.8 (2006): 12(1). Web. 19 Sept. 2009.

This article was to announce the findings of an experiment. Richard Van Eck with the Advanced Instructional Media Lab at the University of Memphis conducted a study of boys versus girls and technology using video games. Using fifth and sixth graders, he engaged both genders into adventure games, simulations, puzzle games, and games focused on either boys or girls in specific. It was found that the girls were as interested in the video games as the boys because they were related to their interests. Van Eck hopes from his research that by exposing more girls to such games, there will be an increase in female activity in the IT workforce in the years to come.


Nagel, David. “New alliance launches drive for more women in IT: girls are scarce

in computer science classes, but a new coalition hopes to reverse that trend.” T H E Journal (Technological Horizons In Education) 34.8 (2007): 14(1). Gale Professional Collection. Web. 19 Sept. 2009.

The article tells how there has been a decrease of “female first-year college students who chose to major in computer science between 1996 and 2004”. It is predicted that within several years women will make up half of the working population. Because of this, it is crucial for IT companies to encourage women involvement. The K-12 Alliance is working to change the female to male ratio through a networking system that will allow females to “understand that a background in computer science is critical for 21st-century careers and for life in general”.


Narins, Brigham. “Computer science and corporations.” Science Resource Center.

Thomson Gale, 2007. Web. 22 Sept. 2009.

This article provides information about how computer science began and the major focuses of the first computer scientists. The first corporation, Eckert-mauchly Computer Corporation established in 1946, “created one of the first digital electronic computers, the ENIAC (Electronic and Numerical Integrator and Calculator)”. The company soon surpassed its first creation with the UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer), which was “Fast, reliable, and useful for both scientific and business tasks...it was the first computer that had programs stored in its memory”. The article continues focusing primarily on the first computers.


Narins, Bringham. “Computer science and mathematics.” Science Resource Center.

Thomson Gale, 2007. Web. 22 Sept. 2009.

This article explains the relations of mathematics and computer science and how each has helped aide the other. It is explained how “many of the topics of applied math, such as numerical analysis, are investigated almost exclusively in conjunction with computers”. There are several math theories which have evolved from computer science: algorithmic algebra, Boolean algebra, and numerical analysis. The overall conclusion, “mathematics makes progress in computer design possible”.


National Center for Women & Information Technology. National Center for Women &

Information Technology, 2009. Web. 16 Oct. 2009. <www.ncwit.org...>.

This website is the home site to a nationally recognized organization dedicated to women who are involved with information technology, a field closely related to Computer Science. They have examples of the work they have completed as a whole, as well as news and events they are involved with or which involve women and technology. They work to interest women of all ages to pursue work in the information technology field.


“Nerd gap? (news & trends)(survey on computer science education)(Survey)(Brief

article).” Technology & Learning Sept. 2009: 12(1). Gale Professional Collection. Web. 17 Sept. 2009.

This survey taken by the Computer Science Teachers Association details the decline in student enrollment of computer science classes. The survey, including schools throughout the country, was taken over a six year time period (2005 - 2009) of introductory computer science and AP computer science class availability. Another contributing factor towards the decrease in class availability is how “Computer science educators see rapidly changing technology as a challenge in teaching computer science”.


Network World Staff. “Doing Something About the Lack of Women in IT.” Network

World. Network World Inc., 17 May 2006. Web. 17 Oct. 2009. <www.networkworld.com‌/‌-women-in-it.html>.

This article gives information about how several universities are working to encourage more women and minority groups to join the technology field. With about 2 million in support from the National Science Foundation, they are removing the “nerd image” that many have associated with the thought of technology work, and “emphasizing the coolness of the field through print and Web ads”. It was “found in interviews with 167 women working in IT in the U.S. and three other countries that women’s career choices were influenced by a wide range of factors including gender stereotypes, family issues and job security”.


O’Leary, Dianne P. Accessibility of Computer Science: A Reflection for Faculty

Members. N. pag. University of Maryland, 25 June 1999. Web. 1 Oct. 2009. <www.cs.umd.edu...‌~oleary//>.

This report was written in response to the low number of females involved within science and technology. Arranged as a series of questions, this report gives reasons for many questions being asked about the women percentage. Main sections of interest include “So why do so few women enter the Computer Science program?”, “Why do so many of these leave the Computer Science program?”, and “Do women ‘think’ differently about technical subjects like Computer Science?” One reason given for the lack of female involvement states “they never seriously consider the major unless they are encouraged by a relative or friend in the field or by an outreach program run by a university”. Written and published by a Computer Science professor at University of Maryland.


Sommers, Christina Hoff. “Foolishly Seeking Gender Equity in Math and Science.”  

USA Today (Magazine) Sept. 2008: 58(5). SIRS Researcher. Web. 25 Sept. 2009.

From years 2001 to 2006, women received majority of the research PhD’s awarded to Americans. However, majority of those awarded were not in science and engineering. The percents representing women involvement in the fields given tell “24% of the Ph.D.s in the physical sciences--way up from the four percent of the 1960s, but still far behind the rate they are winning doctorates in other fields”. A chart is given to better describe in detail the comparisons of degrees awarded between 1979-1980 and 2004-2005.


Sommers, Christina Hoff. “Why Can’t a Woman Be More Like a Man?” The

American Mar.-Apr. 2008: 27+. SIRS Researcher. Web. 25 Sept. 2009.

This article outlines the statistics of women with degrees in the workforce, and describes possibilities for the current statistic. It is explained that though women make up the largest percent of those earning PhD’s, there are very few who are interested in science and engineering. Title IX, the provision to the Education Amendments Act of 1972, explains “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex...be denied the benefits of...any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance”. It is thought that many women are still viewing professions as gender-oriented, and are therefore not looking into sciences as an educational opportunity.


Stross, Randall. “What Has Driven Women Out of Computer Science? (Money and

Business/cial Desk)(DIGITAL DOMAIN).” The New York Times 16 Nov. 2008: 4L. Science Resource Center. Web. 25 Sept. 2009. <www.nytimes.com‌/‌11/‌//‌digi.html?_r=2&th&emc=th>.

This article shows the dramatic decline in female computer scientists since 1991. It is stated that “from 1971 to 1983, incoming freshman women who declared an intention to major in computer science jumped eightfold, to 4 percent from about 0.5 percent”. Many believe the main purpose for these statistics rests in women not being introduced to computer science early enough to gain a high interest in it. A visual comparison given describes “it’s possible to have about the same number of men and women in computer science classes. That just about describes classrooms of 25 years ago”.


University of Bristol. “Famous Women in Computer Science.” University of Bristol.

University of Bristol, 2009. Web. 13 Oct. 2009. <www.cs.bris.ac.uk...>.

This web page lists 13 of the most influential and known names in computer science history, with its earliest entry as early as 1852, before computers were invented. This list notes the women’s names, important dates and information, and includes an image for reference. This web page is part of the Department of Computer Science in the University of Bristol.

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