Here's a site for people interested in improving science literacy and education, including but not limited to: Parents, science educators, home school teachers, science industries, botanical gardens, museums, and, zoological garden staff. Please feel free to post a comment with ideas or links. Use the search bar at the top left of the blog to find subjects (If you don't find something, please leave a comment.). The left hand column has reference links and the bottom has a survey.
Hi. I have extensive experience in science education and tutoring, a doctorate in a biological field, research that requires advanced knowledge in engineering and biochemistry. My teaching includes courses and laboratories in biology, chemistry, Earth science, genetics, botany, anatomy and physiology and many other subjects on a college level, and also in pre-K-12 science classes, will help you to succeed. At Harvard University, I honed my algebra teaching skills, after getting my doctorate at UNH. That math expertise facilitates math, engineering and advanced science subject learning for my students. I am certified to teach middle school and high school and have taught for (10+ years at those levels. I am willing to tutor in NH, MA, NY, and elsewhere via Skype including students in Africa and Europe. For example, a Hungarian student via Skype got the top score on his exit exam from university.) I present workshops in higher order thinking skills, too, for colleges, schools, parents, families, libraries and home schools.
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"Five Million Test-Tube Babies Born WorldwideThe birth of Louise Brown, the world's first so-called test-tube baby, made headlines around the globe in 1978. The use of in vitro fertilization (IVF), an assisted reproductive technique in which the egg is fertilizedoutside the womb and then implanted in the uterus, was considered controversial at the time, but in the decades since, it has been widely accepted and has helped millions of infertile couples to conceive. To date, experts estimate that five million test-tube babies have been born. About 350,000 enter the world every year.More ...Discuss" Source: In the News. Accessed July 5, 2012.
The quote above is from In the News included at the left. Because the left-hand column In the News section changes every day, the quote for today is included here so the correct In the News item stays with the post.
Parents can use newspaper and web articles on current science topics to strengthen their children's science literacy:
Build vocabulary
fertilization
in vitro
in vivo
reproduction
reproductive
egg
ovum
conception
conceive
fertile
infertile
test-tube
womb
uterus
reproductive system
meiosis
Capture student interest
Use the picture
Relate to a family that is trying IVF
Link to topics in the curriculum
meiosis
somatic versus sex cells
life cycles
Discuss family values
Talk about possible families, adoption, IVF, abortion, sharing your values
Build the habit of staying current in science and technology
Make, "keeping up with the times," a habit.
Enjoy the news with your family. Build science literacy as you do. Your child may develop an interest in further studying one of the news topics and be gifted to bring new science news to us in the future. At a minimum, it is likely that keeping up with science as it develops will enhance employability and youthfulness. Yes, enjoy the news with your family.
(c)2012 J S Shipman . All rights reserved. All posts on this blog are copyrighted.
(This post is continuing to evolve. Please feel free to add comments and discussion... Note that Dr. J (not a medical doctor, so see your medical doctor if needed) One good arising out of the public horror at the Sandusky trial is attention to personality disorders (See, for example, http://thedailyreview.com/news/sandusky-evaluated-for-personality-disorder-1.1331252 (Accessed July 3, 2012). In my opinion, there is a great need to do more research on personality disorder. Many people are hurt by people with personality disorders. These victims often get blamed instead of the abusers...Why didn't they see the, "red flags." Only a small percentage of populations have personality disorders. The set of personality disorders is difficult to diagnose and cures are not certain. So, few researchers work in this tiny field. Those that do may themselves be sucked into the drama of the person with "personality disorder. They, too, in addition to other victims, are conned. Yet, people with personality disorders are able to hurt streams of people as they gratify themselves. Still, they often see themselves as perfect and not as having any mental illness. One of the better-known personality disorders is, "narcissistic personality disorder (NPD)." Let's take a look at "NPD.". People with narcissistic personality disorder show, a "persistent pattern of grandiosity, hypersensitivity to the evaluation of others, and lack of empathy that begins early in adulthood and is present in a variety of contexts," and they exhibit a variety of symptoms:
react to criticism with feelings or rage, shame or humiliation
take advantage of others to achieve own goals
have a grandiose sense of self-important
hold a belief that his/her problems are unique and can only be understood . by other special people
have a preoccupation with fantasies of unlimited success, power, beauty, intelligence, or ideal love
have unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment
require constant attention and admiration
be unable to recognize and experience how others feel
be preoccupied with feelings of envy
Yet, "The cause of Narcissistic Personality Disorder is unknown at this time," (Source:
Let's look at that again, the, "cause of Narcissistic Personality Disorder is unknown at this time," (Source: http://nyp.org/health/psychiatry-narciperso.html. Accessed July 3, 2012). Eek! Doesn't that make you feel sorry for the victims and also for the perpetrators... No help for them in sight. A video about this disorder is found at http://evl.vcsd.k12.ny.us/safevideos/Video.aspx?id=FFgoGtt7wu4, and it states that people with this disorder often fail to go get help because they think they are so special and wonderful already. In actuality, they tend to hurt a lot of people, have a hard time forming relationships, and, they also have a fragile sense of self (Source: http://evl.vcsd.k12.ny.us/safevideos/ Video.aspx?id=FFgoGtt7wu4. Accessed 1 Oct 2012). How about other personality disorders? Consider, "...there are very few empirical data about histrionic character disorder but a vast literature on antisocial personality disorder," (Source: Davison, Gerald, C. and John M. Neale, 2001. Abnormal Psychology. "Personality Disorders." P. 359). Sure, there are a few that work with people with personality disorders, like NPD, antisocial personality disorder, histrionic character disorder, or other personality disorders, but, not many. Much of what has been available on the internet is either anecdotal evidence, people's own stories, or earlier studies, such as those of Karen Horney. Although the terminology and groupings of what is now called, "personality disorder," have changed since Karen Horney's book, I believe she truly understood the disorders and that her classic book on human growth is well worth reading. You may have to read each page several times, but, there is a treasure trove of information on each page. The state of the knowledge base on personality disorders (previously called, "character disorders") indicates a need for research that is not always linked to immediate profit. It also indicates a need for health insurances to better handle mental disorders, for longer periods of time. Would your insurance cover more than five sessions, for example, if you needed them? Someone with Borderline Personality Disorder or Narcissism might not even reveal his or her problems during that time (Source: Davison, Gerald, C. and John M. Neale, 2001. Abnormal Psychology. "Personality Disorders." Pp. 357-379). Can we find out if levels of divorce and crimes are related to personality disorders? Can we prevent tragedies like Sandusky's and of the many victims who knew him if we study more of these disorders? So what are other personality disorders and how do we go about studying them? Do we see people with personality disorders in the technical literature? Do we see them in the literature of language arts? How about other personality disorders? There are different categories or clusters of personality disorders:
Odd/Eccentric,
Dramatic/Erratic, and,
Anxious/Fearful (Source: Davison, Gerald, C. and John M. Neale, 2001. Abnormal Psychology. "Personality Disorders." Pp. 357-379).
Let us look briefly at each of these clusters in turn. These are not complete lists, so, use them as starting points for further research into personality disorders.
Odd/Eccentric
Paranoid Personality Disorder
suspicious of others
unjustified doubts about trustworthiness of others
Schizoid Personality Disorder
do not appear to enjoy nor desire relationships with others
experience few pleasurable activities
indifferent to praise, criticism and sentiments of others
appear aloof
are loners
Schizotypal Personality Disorder
may have odd beliefs or magical thinking
may believe they are clairvoyant or telepathic
may have unclear use of words
suspicious
may be paranoid
may have illusions
may occur with other personality disorders (narcissistic, avoidant, borderline, paranoid)
Dramatic/Erratic
Borderline Personality Disorder
impulsivity and instability in relationships, mood, and self image
emotions are erratic and can shift abruptly
very hard to live with
unpredictable
cannot bear to be alone
have fears of abandonment
demand attention
undeveloped sense of self
remain unclear about their values, loyalties, and choices
transient psychotic symptoms
may have relatives with schizophrenia or schizotypal personality disorder
likely to also have an Axis I mood disorder
comorbidity with other personality disorders is likely (For example, with narcissism)
addictive (sex, or drugs,or alcohol, or other addictive behaviors)
often depressed with feelings of emptiness
living from one emotional disaster to the next
crave intimacy but repel it when they find it
perhaps had inconsistent love and attention during childhood or other adverse childhood experiences (parents may be high in neuroticism).
dysregulation and invalidation, diathesis for emotional dysregulation (child abuse (sexual and non-sexual), wants and feelings are discounted and disrespected.
fragile egos
frontal lobes do not metabolize glucose well (research shows increasing serotonin helps)
split their world into all good, all bad dichotomies failing to integrate positive and negative aspects
has intolerable anxiety and fear
About 50% of people with this disorder can get well...They have to want to get well.
Histrionic Personality Disorder
overly dramatic and attention seeking
draw attention to themselves with clothes, make-up, or other external features
may be unable to give supporting details to back up ideas
emotionality and seductiveness may have been encouraged by parental seductiveness
parents may have thought sex was dirty yet to be desired and conveyed this to the child
exxagerated displays of emotion
need to be the center of attention
pre-occupation with sex
Narcissistic Personality Disorder
have a grandiose view of their own uniqueness and abilities
self-centered (an understatement)
expect others to do special favors for them without giving back a fair shake
have extreme reactions to criticism
lack of empathy
Antisocial Personality Disorder and Psychopathy
conduct disorder
continued antisocial behavior in childhood
Anxious/Fearful
Avoidance Personality Disorder
Dependent Personality Disorder
Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder
(Source: Davison, Gerald, C. and John M. Neale, 2001. Abnormal Psychology. "Personality Disorders." Pp. 357-379).
Our way of dealing with life's challenges... our style of relating to other people... Fluctuations in personality occur, however, when these patterns of personality are long-standing, pervasive, dysfunctional, and concerned with bolstering the ego, rather than being honest and deep patterns of interacting with others, then, a personality disorder might be determined to exist (Source: Davison, Gerald, C. and John M. Neale, 2001. Abnormal Psychology. "Personality Disorders." P. 358). Ability to diagnose personality disorders is improving as diagnostic criteria are refined and structured interviews are developed (P. 359). Since people with personality disorders are often experts at lying and conning people, including therapists and counselors and doctors, friends and family, they are hard to diagnose in the time frames allowed by courts and by insurance companies. Many slip through the cracks and go on to hurt more and more people. Symptoms of some personality disorders are not stable over time. For example, person with borderline personality disorder adapts his cunning nature as situations change (Pp. 359 and 362).
Here are links some with borderline personality disordered individuals in their lives, either self or other loved ones, might find beneficial:
Personality Disorders and Literature In literature, characters may share traits with individuals with personality disorders. Shallowness, failure to bond, lying often, betrayal, trail of victims... Here are some examples with links to the books. Narcissus (Νάρκισσος)... Greek Myth Sources: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bramapp/131945049/. Accessed July 3, 2012;
Narcisism is found in many examples in the literature. Here are some examples modified from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissus_ (mythology)#Narcissus_in_literature, Accessed July 3, 2012). If you go to that site, you can also find references to examples from film and music. (Note: In addition, advertisements to these books, and other related works, are included, purchases from which support the development and continuation of this blog on science literacy. Using the overlap of science and literature can increase the love of science among more people.)
In Stendhal's novel Le Rouge et le Noir (1830), find a classic narcissist in the character of Mathilde, "She looks at herself instead of looking at you, and so doesn't know you. During the two or three little outbursts of passion she has allowed herself in your favor, she has, by a great effort of imagination, seen in you the hero of her dreams, and not yourself as you really are," (Page 401, 1953 Penguin Edition, trans. Margaret R.B. Shaw, as cited by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissus_(mythology)#Narcissus_in_literature, Accessed July 3, 2012).
Novel by Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray is the classic "selling of the soul" story, but, remind students that originally the mental illnesses were often understood from a religious context as there was not the science known to understand them otherwise. As knowledge is revealed, we understand more, thus the change of name of the disorder from , "character," to , "personality," disorder.
Hermann Hesse's character "Narcissus" in "Narcissus and Goldmund" shares several of mythical narcissus' traits, based on his intellect rather than physical beauty.
A. E. Housmanrefers to the 'Greek Lad', Narcissus, in his poemLook not in my Eyesfrom
A Shropshire Lad "...variety of daffodil, Narcissus Jonquilla, which like Narcissus looks sadly down into the water"
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissus_(mythology)#Narcissus_in_literature, Accessed 3 July 2012. Another book is The Mask of Sanity by Cleckley which has featured a person with psychopathy (Source: Davison, Gerald, C. and John M. Neale, 2001. Abnormal Psychology. "Personality Disorders." P. 366).
Another resource on narcissism is by Alice Miller: The Drama of the Gifted Child: The Search for the True Self. "This book could also have been named The Trauma of the Gifted Child. This sort of home environment often produces people with Borderline Personality Disorder." Source: http://bachdevelopment.com/bach22.html, Accessed 14 Sept 2012.
Karen Horney mentions additional examples in literature of other character disorders which we now classify as personality disorders, removing the religious concept of selling one's soul to the devil, from the name of the disorders where, often, the people with these disorders lie, even to themselves, and without full consciousness.
Personality Disorders in the Technical Literature Let's look now for the technical literature on personality disorders. Here are some names and dates to get you started:
Kohut 1971; 1977
Gunderson, Golb, and Austin 1981
Herman et al. 1989
Modell 1984 “survivor guilt”
Beck and Freeman 1990
Millon and Davis 1996
Jellema 2000
Akhtar and Thomson 1982
Hollander et al. 1993
Dimaggio et al.2002
Kernberg 1975
Key et al. 1968
Ross et al. 1998
Spitzer, Endicott and Gibbon 1979
Wagner, Linehan, & Wassan 1989
Zarnarini et al. 1998
Giancarlo Dimaggio has advanced the studies on personality disorder. He has many journal articles and books. Here are some of his books:
Here are some abnormal psychology books including Davison, Gerald, C. and John M. Neale, 2001. Abnormal Psychology. "Personality Disorders," referenced above :
Here is a quote from today's In the News. Because the content of In the News, in the left hand column, changes every day, the quote is included here:
Once-A-Day HIV Drug Promising Today's drug treatments are quite effective at keepingHIV in check and improving the health and quality of life of those living with the disease; however, the often complex cocktails of multiple drugs must be taken at various times throughout the day, making it challenging to adhere to the regimen. Still, it is vital that patients do so, as missing doses can have serious consequences. A new once-a-day "quad" pill, which combines four different medications in a single tablet, was found to be both safe and effective in a recent study and could make it easier for HIV patients to take their pills as prescribed.More ...Discuss
Ideas for Teachers and Students:
Students can check the details of this "story" about science with journal articles that are refereed laboratory reports.
Students can see if there are any politics involved in approval and manufacturing of drug treatments like the one discussed in the quoted article.
Students interested in sports or medicine can see if there were any famous patients involved in testing new drugs.
Who were the original researchers working on the proteases involved in drugs for HIV? How has the internet and rumors on the internet aided or worsened their careers?
Are there any incidents comparable to the McCarthy Era that relate to the pharmaceutical industry?
Well, these are some heavy questions that just might spark interest in science in someone who previously was uninterested or minimally interested in science.
Here are some more questions:
Does the statement, "
missing doses can haveserious consequences," apply to medications other than those for HIV, too...antibiotics? TB medicines? malaria medicines? more?
Why should aseptic technique be used?
What is the value of quarantine? Do any countries use quarantine when it comes to HIV? Do any not? Why or why not use quarantine? What is your opinion? Can you back up your opinion with references from the technical, refereed, literature?
(c)J S Shipman 2012. All posts on this blog are copyrighted.
Part of Science Literacy is knowing what you need to know...
Post under development Back later...
"I need help with Krebs' cycle, ATP production, cell communication, and photosynthesis as soon as possible."
So...here is a plea from a person who really wants to learn...What can we do...Even better, what can this person do?
Active learning is the best way to acquire and keep information. Knowing one's own style of learning is also helpful. Let's look at first steps.
How much time do we have to learn the information? This number is important for time management. We can decide how much time we have for each topic.
Jot the time you have down __________________________________.
Set up a schedule based on your other commitments and the time slots you can devote to this study. Get a notebook, and all your study materials and handout sheets, if any. You can use them to help support what other tools you find.
Now, lets look at each topic. Organize what you already know under each heading, even if it only a series of questions that you want answered.
Krebs' cycle
Cycle...sounds like circle or re-cycle....Maybe it has to do with something going around (Perhaps that's all you can think of.)
Add what else you already know here, add your questions, then go to the next topic. Afterward, come back and add information from other resources. I'll start you off. You continue. I'll be back in a day or so to see if you have made any progress...first, though, let's look at Kreb's Cycle
Krebs' cycle
Cycle...sounds like circle or re-cycle....Maybe it has to do with something going around (Perhaps that's all you can think of.)
Students often start with Wikipedia from a Google or other search engine search. Okay, let's start here. I'll be back when you've had a chance to read this. In fact, you can look up similar information on the other topics and glance through them. We'll figure out ways to comprehend the information later
The citric acid cycle — also known as the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA cycle), theKrebs cycle, or the Szent-Györgyi–Krebs cycle — is a series of chemical ...
Practice makes perfect! What do you think? Do you have a way to remember and use the information yet? Higher order thinking on these topics is your aim. So, let's work on that next. Come up with some memory aids or mnemonic devices.
Also, think about the kinds of questions you can be asked on these topics...Put another way, "What is important about them?" Then, make your reason for knowing them: "I need to know this because________________."
Think about location, location, location: Where do these metabolic processes occur in the cell? What if the cell is prokaryotic like bacteria and blue greens? What if the cells are eukaryotic like yours? Or, like a trees? Whay about in a set of organisms like found in a lichen?
What journal articles are found on these topics? Have you thought about current research related to these four biology topics?
Think about how you can use this information, because that linkage to you...that formation of, "relevancy," in your brain, is what will let you remember it and use it when you need it in some future, as yet unknown, situation. That will enable even higher order thinking such as synthesis, and analysis, needed to solve problems... global problems.
You might also wonder who is Krebs. How did he think? Isn't learning fun? Each new idea leads to so many more.
Posts
"...variety of daffodil, Narcissus Jonquilla, which like Narcissus looks sadly down into the water" 
Source: 
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