37 minute read
date: Guilty finding ‘We’ll come down on you like a ton
IN d IA /CA PO l ITICS All about Nishan Sahib, the saffron flag hoisted by protesting farmers at Red Fort
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to power in 2014. The body of one protester draped in an Indian tricolour lay in a central Delhi street after the tractor he rode overturned in one of the clashes, said a witness, Vishu Arora. “He died right there,” Arora added. A Reuters witness saw at least five police and three protesters injured at the Red Fort from whose ramparts Modi delivers an annual speech. Some of those who scaled its walls carried ceremonial swords, overwhelming police who were trying to prevent them from entering. The government ordered internet services in some parts of the capital to be blocked, according to mobile carrier Vodafone Idea, in an attempt to prevent further unrest.
Lost control
Tens of thousands of bearded and turbanned farmers, many bundled against the winter cold, began the day in a convoy of tractors festooned with Indian and union flags along the city’s fringes. But hundreds of protesters soon broke away from pre-approved routes, heading for the city centre where the government was holding an annual Republic Day parade of troops and military hardware on Tuesday morning. “Modi will hear us now, he will have to hear us now,” said Sukhdev Singh, 55, a farmer from the northern state of Punjab, who was among hundreds of protesters, some on horseback, who broke away from one of the three protest routes. From the city’s north they headed towards the government buildings in the centre. They commandeered cranes and used ropes to tear down roadblocks, forcing constables in riot gear to give way, Reuters witnesses said. A second group rode tractors to get to a key central traffic junction, also breaching barricades after similar clashes with police. Hundreds also fought police outside the Delhi police headquarters. In a statement, Delhi police accused those who diverged from the agreed routes of “violence and destruction”.“They have caused great damage to public property and many police personnel have also been injured,” the statement said. Protest organiser Samyukt Kisan Morcha said the groups deviating from set routes did not represent the majority of farmers. “We also condemn and regret the undesirable and unacceptable events that have taken place today and dissociate ourselves from those indulging in such acts,” the group of farm unions said in a statement. Amarinder Singh, chief minister of Punjab state where many of the protesters came from, called the clashes “shocking”. “The violence by some elements is unacceptable,” he said in a tweet. “It’ll negate goodwill generated by peacefully protesting farmers.”
Farmer pressure
Agriculture employs about half of India’s population of 1.3 billion, and unrest among an estimated 150 million landowning farmers worries the government. Indian policemen beat farmers driving a tractor after protesting farmers and policemen clash during India’s Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi, Jan 26. — AP Nine rounds of talks with farmers’ unions have failed to end the protests, as farm leaders rejected the government’s offer to delay the laws for 18 months, making a push for repeal instead. The government says that the farmers have been manipulated by opposition parties which have largely backed the rural campaign. “The farm organisations have a very strong hold,” said Ambar Kumar Ghosh, an analyst at New Delhi think tank the Observer Research Foundation. “They have the resources to mobilise support, and to continue the protest for a long time. They have also been very successful in keeping the protest really focused.”
All over the city, security forces fired tear gas and staged baton charges. But the farmers also laid into police with branches and metal bars and hijacked buses that had been used to block their convoys. The US embassy released a “security alert” warning American nationals to avoid trouble zones. The government had opposed the rally saying it would be a “national embarrassment” on Republic Day. Police allowed the demonstration if farmers waited until after the military parade and kept to a route away from central Delhi. But the security was breached while Modi and other dignitaries watched tanks and troops pass along the Rajpath boulevard while newly acquired Rafale fighter jets flew overhead. Modi waved to crowds and was driven back to his residence barely 30 minutes before the fleets of tractors took over the centre.
Popular support
“We are going to show the government that we mean business,” said protester Nareesh Singh as he revved up his tractor and drove into a cloud of tear gas. Farmers’ leaders say they have enough supplies to keep their protest camps going for a year. The leaders said the police had provoked the farmers into violence. In a statement, police replied that they had to act after the farmers broke the conditions for the rally. “When you attack a peaceful protest, then difficulties for the government will surely increase,” union leader Kawalpreet Singh Pannu told AFP. “This won’t stop here. Our movement and message have only become stronger.” He said a new protest would be held on February 1 outside parliament when the government announces its budget. On one main road, people on rooftops threw petals on the tractor convoys. Elsewhere people cheered and applauded as farmers went past waving Indian flags and blowing horns.India showcases its military hardware with a parade every year on Republic Day, which marks the adoption of its constitution in 1950. This year’s ceremonies went ahead despite security concerns. The parade was cut back because of the coronavirus pandemic, with the number of spectators reduced from 125,000 to 25,000. Smaller farmer demonstrations were held in Mumbai and Bangalore and in the rural state of Haryana. Source: dawn.com
MPs unanimously agree to urge feds to designate Proud Boys a terrorist entity
Members of Canada’s parliament have agreed to call on the federal Liberal government to formally designate the Proud Boys a terrorist entity. The motion, introduced by NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh passed with unanimous consent in the House of Commons on Monday. The motion calls upon the government to “use all available tools to address the proliferation of white supremacists and hate groups starting with the immediately designating the Proud Boys as a terrorist entity.” The NDP has for weeks been calling on Trudeau and the Liberals to “immediately ban and designate the Proud Boys as a terrorist organization.” The move comes after thousands of supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, leaving dozens injured and five people, including one police officer, dead. Members of the Proud Boys were reportedly present during the riot. The federal government said it is considering designating the group as a terrorist entity. “As Minister Blair has said, we strongly denounce ‘ideologically motivated extremists including groups like the Proud Boys, white supremacists, anti-Semitics, Islamaphobic and misogynist groups,’” Mary-Liz Power, a spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Bill Blair told Global News earlier this month. “Intolerance and hate have no place in our society.” Canada considers labelling Proud Boys as
terrorist group Canada considers labelling Proud Boys as terrorist group – Jan 14, 2021 Power said national security and law enforcement agencies are “very actively engaged in monitoring the activities of these groups, and gathering the evidence required to support a determination of listing as a Terrorist Organization.” Now that the motion has passed, the federal government would need to formally add them to the long list of terrorist entities. If the Proud Boys are designated as a terrorist entity, the group would be joining a long list of other organizations including the Taliban, Al Qaeda, Boko Haram and the Islamic State. Source: globalnews.ca
‘We’ll come down on you like a ton of bricks,’ B.C. premier warns visitors who disobey guidelines
VANCOUVER -- The premier of British Columbia gave a stern warning Wednesday to travellers entering the province from other parts of Canada, but said he’s still not convinced stronger quarantine rules are necessary. Manitoba announced this week that non-essential visitors will soon have to self-isolate for 14 days upon their arrival, a measure intended to slow the spread of the concerning new COVID-19 variants that have been detected in the country. But B.C. Premier John Horgan said his government isn’t planning to follow suit – at least not yet. ”Until such time as the public health officer advises me that there’s a benefit to going down that road, we’re going to leave it untravelled,” he said. “The public health evidence is not there at this time.” The premier said provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has promised to keep him informed of the evidence as it emerges. In the meantime, Horgan stressed that he expects non-essential visitors in the province to abide by local rules and restrictions. “You better follow our public health guidelines or we’ll come down on you like a ton of bricks,” he said. Given the threat of the faster-spreading U.K. variant, which has already been detected half a dozen times in B.C., professor Fiona Brinkman from Simon Fraser University argued it could be time for a phased approach to quarantines. Brinkman, who is part of a national project tracking the variants, called the mutations “a significant concern” on the horizon. “I would argue it is the time to prepare for this,” she said. “We can combat these viral variants by simply following public health guidelines – however, the problem is people are tired.” Manitoba has set a deadline of 11:59 p.m. Thursday for people to return to the province and avoid the new quarantine requirement. When announcing the measure, Premier Brian Pallister cited speculation that “restrictions will have to remain for significant periods beyond this year as well because of the variant dangers.” The province’s self-isolation rule won’t apply to people entering Manitoba for essential reasons, including medical treatment. Earlier this month, the B.C. government sought legal advice regarding a potential ban on travellers coming into the province for non-essential reasons, and determined the extreme measure was not viable. But Horgan did indicate stronger restrictions could be imposed if those visitors are found to be “causing harm to the health and safety of British Columbians.” Source: bc.ctvnews.ca
BY: RABBI ALLEN S. MALLER
Over the last four years, more than 41,000 visa requests from Muslim countries have been denied due to Donald Trump’s travel ban. Nobody in Trump’s cabinet had a parent of a grandparent who was a refugee. Will This Year Be Blessed By God? Let’s assume that all the nominees of the Muslims should expect that the five Jews in newly elected president Joe Biden are con- the cabinet will be strongly supportive of firmed, including the heads of 15 executive refugees and immigrants. The Torah uses departments and eight other key positions. Israel’s history of having been strangers in In that case, Biden’s cabinet will be the most Egypt as a reason why Israelites must be racially and ethnically diverse ever. Among kind to the strangers in their land. them are six African Americans, five Jews, Thus, Jews often hear these words from the four Hispanics, three Asian Americans, and Torah: [Exodus 23:9], “You shall not oppress one Native American. a stranger, for you know the feelings of the Two of the five Jewish nominees are children stranger, having yourselves been strangers of Holocaust survivors. Mayorkas’ mother in the land of Egypt”, and Deuteronomy Anita was a Romanian Holocaust survivor [10:19]:” You must befriend the stranger, who fled Europe to Cuba. There she married for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” Mayorkas’ father, a Cuban Jew. And most impressive of all: “Love the stranBlinken’s stepfather, Samuel Pisar, was a Pol- ger, for you were strangers in the land of ish Jew who survived four concentration Egypt” [Deuteronomy 19:19] camps and was liberated by the U.S. Army Since the Torah is part of the Christian Biin Bavaria, Germany. Blinken’s paternal ble, Christians should also be positively ingrandmother, Vera Blinken, fled communist fluenced by these commandments from the Hungary as a young girl. one God that Christianity, Judaism, and Is-
Biden Ends Trump’s Muslim Ban
lam share. Since the new Biden cabinet will be the most racially and ethnically diverse we have ever had; there is good reason to hope that this year will be a year blessed by God above and humans here on Planet Earth. Allen S. Maller is an ordained Reform Rabbi who retired in 2006 after 39 years as the Rabbi of Temple Akiba in Culver City, California. His web site is www.rabbimaller. com. He blogs on the Times of Israel. Rabbi Maller has published 400+ articles in some two dozen different Christian, Jewish, and Muslim magazines and web sites. He is the author of two recent books: “Judaism and Islam as Synergistic Monotheisms’ and “Which Religion Is Right For You? A 21st Century Kuzari”. Source: islamicity.org
BY: NOAH LANARD
Donald Trump began his presidency with a Muslim ban, and President Joe Biden has begun his by revoking one. On his first day in office, Biden followed through on a campaign promise by issuing an executive order that revokes the final version of the Muslim ban—which blocked people from seven, mostly Muslim-majority nations from entering the United States—along with another immigration ban that largely impacted people from four African nations. Jake Sullivan, President Biden’s National Security Adviser, told reporters on Tuesday that the order directs the State Department to return to normal processing of applications for people who’ve been impacted by the bans. Sullivan added that Biden is asking the State Department to find ways to help people who’ve been denied entry to the United States as a result of those bans, as well those whose applications have been ban. Now, those cases will be starting from stuck in administrative limbo. scratch. The bans have led to thousands of chil- Trump’s initial Muslim ban in January 2017 dren, spouses, and parents being separated caused chaos and outrage at airports across from loved ones in the United States. Im- the nation as people from mostly Muslimmigration lawyers say bureaucratic hurdles, majority nations were blocked from enterTrump’s attacks on the immigration system, ing the United States. and the ongoing pandemic mean that it will The rushed executive order was quickly likely take months, and potentially more blocked in court, but a third version of the than a year, before people are finally able to ban was upheld by the Supreme Court in immigrate to the United States. 2018. The ban applied to people from Iran, “While this is absolutely amazing news that Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, Biden is getting rid of the Muslim and Africa and Venezuela, and allowed some people to travel ban,” said Mahsa Khanbabai, a Massa- receive waivers to come to the United States. chusetts immigration attorney, “I think, sad- But in practice, the waivers often proved imly, it’s really going to take time for families possible to obtain. Last year, Trump issued to be able to actually come together.” Hiba another immigration ban that applied to six Ghalib, an attorney at the Atlanta-based im- countries, including Nigeria and three other migration law firm Kuck Baxter, said that African nations. The Africa ban was ostensiin other cases people haven’t started green bly designed to protect national security becard applications because of the Muslim cause of vague concerns such as how much
intelligence information the targeted countries were sharing with the United States. In practice, the ban appeared to be more about demographics: It only applied to immigrants who wanted to settle in the United States, not people traveling on temporary visas. (Source: Noah Lanard, Mother Jones, 1/20/2021 ) Source: islamicity.org Pakistani-Saima Mohsin,American set to become first Muslim attorney in US
WASHINGTON: Saima Mohsin, a Pakistani-American, will become the first Muslim US attorney next week, when she replaces the current attorney in Detroit, Michigan, the US media reported on Monday. In the United States, US attorneys are the chief federal law enforcement officers in their districts and are also involved in civil litigation where the US government is a party. The President appoints a US Attorney to each of the 94 federal districts. Michigan’s largest newspaper, The Detroit Free Press, reported on Monday that Ms Mohsin, 52, will take charge of her office on Feb 2 after the current US attorney for the district, Matthew Schneider, stepped down on Feb 1. Serving for three years, Mr Schneider announced his resignation on Thursday and said Ms Mohsin, currently the first assistant US attorney for eastern Michigan, will replace him. Saima Mohsin will take charge of her office on Feb 2 Born in Pakistan, Mohsin has been a federal prosecutor for decades, working since 2002 in the US Attorney’s Office. “As an immigrant of Asian descent who is Muslim, she will bring diversity to an important position that is the chief federal law enforcement officer in the eastern part of the state,” the newspaper added. Ms Mohsin has served in the US Attorney’s Office Violent and Organised Crime Unit, the Drug Task Force and the General Crimes Unit, the US Department of Justice said in a news release. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim advocacy and civil
rights group, told the Free Press they were not aware of any US attorney or acting US attorney who has been Muslim. Mohsin is also believed to be the first US attorney who is Pakistani-American. Michigan has a sizable number of Muslims and a Pakistani-American population with several mosques across the region. Ms Mohsin needs to be confirmed by the US Senate to become a permanent attorney. Ms Mohsin graduated from Rutgers University in New Jersey, earning a bachelor’s degree and law degree. She became an assistant district attorney in New York City and then worked for the state of New Jersey’s Division of Criminal Justice, serving as a deputy attorney general in organised crime and racketeering. Source: dawn.com
‘We are heartbroken’: larry King, CNN talk show legend, dies at 87 after being hospitalized with COVID-19
Larry King, the Brooklyn-bred man who became cable TV’s most well-known talk show host (Larry king live from CNN 1985-2010), died on Jan 23. He was 87. King had been hospitalized with COVID-19. He died Saturday morning at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, according to Ora Media, a production company King founded with Mexican media mogul Carlos Slim. “For 63 years and across the platforms of radio, television and digital media, Larry’s many thousands of interviews, awards, and global acclaim stand as a testament to his unique and lasting talent as a broadcaster,” the company said. King’s three surviving children mourned him in a family statement shared Saturday night on his Twitter account. “We are heartbroken over our father’s death,” the statement read, signed by Larry King Jr., Chance King and Cannon King. “The world knew Larry King as a great broadcaster and interviewer, but to us he was ‘dad.’ “He was the man who lovingly obsessed over our daily schedules and our well-being, and who took such immense pride in our accomplishments – large, small, or imagined. And through it all, we knew without a doubt in the world that he loved us more than life itself. He was an amazing father, and he was fiercely loyal to those lucky enough to call him a friend. We will miss him every single day of our lives.” ‘TV is less interesting without you’:Meghan McCain, Andrew Cuomo, more react to Larry King death Over the course of more than five decades in radio and TV broadcasting, half of it spent hosting CNN’s “Larry King Live,” King mingled with the famous and infamous and average people who became either. By his count, he interviewed more than 60,000 subjects, and when his run on cable ended in 2010, he segued to the internet with “Larry King Now,” a daily talk show on Hulu from Ora TV, and became an active presence on Twitter. He vowed never to retire and to keep interviewing until he died. King was not immune to other illness: 30 years after undergoing quintuple heart bypass surgery, which prompted him to quit a three-pack-aday cigarette habit and lose weight, a checkup in 2017 revealed a cancerous lung tumor that was removed with surgery. He revealed he had a stroke in March 2019, was in a coma for weeks and considered suicide. “I thought I was going to bite the bullet; I didn’t want to live this way,” he told an interviewer at Los Angeles station KTLA. In April that year, he had an angioplasty after complaining of chest pains. Once again, he recovered and kept working. Near the end of 2020, King landed in CedarsSinai Medical Center with COVID-19. Hospital protocols prevented his family from visiting him. He was moved to the intensive care unit on New Year’s Eve and was receiving oxygen but moved out of the ICU in early January and was breathing on his own, said David Theall, a spokesman for Ora Media. The author of several books, King started his career in Miami radio before moving on to TV and newspapers. His nightly CNN program, which premiered in 1985, remained the network’s top-rated show throughout his tenure, which ended in 2010...Source: usatoday.com
women/LIF e STYL e & CULTUR e How to make sure you have a productive day – everyday?
By: Asma Shums,
1. Create a Good Morning Routine One of the best ways to start your day is to get up early and eat a healthy breakfast. CEOs and other successful people have similar morning routines, which include exercising and quickly scanning their inboxes to find the most urgent tasks. You can also try writing first thing in the morning to warm up your brain
2. Prioritize
Sometimes we can’t have a productive day because we just don’t know where to start. When that’s the case, the simplest solution is to list everything you need to get accomplished, then prioritize these tasks based on importance and urgency.
3. Focus on One Thing at a Time
One of the biggest killers of productivity is distractions. Whether it be noise or thoughts or games, distractions are a barrier to any productive day. That’s why it’s important to know where and when you work best. Need a little background noise to keep you on track? Try working in a coffee shop. Can’t stand to hear even the ticking of a clock while writing? Go to a library and put in your headphones.
4. Take Breaks
Focusing, however, can drain a lot of energy and too much of it at once can quickly turn your productive day unproductive. To reduce mental fatigue while staying on task, try using the Pomodoro Technique. It requires working on a task for 25 minutes, then taking a short break before a 25 min session. So make sure you take breaks and do not burn out.
5. Manage Your Time Effectively
A learning strategies consultant once told me that there is no such thing as free time, only unstructured time.For example, reading the news while exercising or listening to meeting notes while cooking can help save you time. Many of the mundane tasks we routinely accomplish can be paired with other tasks that lead to an overall more productive day.
6. Celebrate and Reflect
No matter how you execute a productive day, make sure to take time and celebrate what you’ve accomplished. It’s important to reward yourself so that you can continue doing great work. Plus, a reward system is an incredible motivator. Additionally, you should reflect on your day in order to find out what worked and what
didn’t. Reflection not only increases future productivity, but also gives your brain time to decompress and de-stress. Therefore, try your best to have a productive day and then at the end of the day make sure you reflect on your day you have had. We keep moving. We push through. We don’t stop to reflect. We stay in jobs that are (literally) killing us, relationships that zap our energy, circumstances that leave us stressed, unhappy, frustrated and tired. We keep running on the treadmill of life thinking we don’t have time to waste. So we keep moving in order to keep up. But too often, we just crash and burn. That’s because the only way to keep up with the pace of life is to STOP. To hop off the treadmill. To reflect on what’s working and what’s not. To identify what to keep and what needs to change.
Email info at: asmashums@gmail.com How Gender Stereotypes Kill a Woman’s Self-Confidence
by: Dina Gerdeman Researchers believe gender stereotypes hold women back in the workplace. Katherine Coffman’s research adds a new twist: They can even cause women to question their own abilities. Women make up more than half of the labor force in the United States and earn almost 60 percent of advanced degrees, yet they bring home less pay and fill fewer seats in the C-suite than men, particularly in male-dominated professions like finance and technology. This gender gap is due in part to “occupational sorting,” with men choosing careers that pay higher wages than women do, labor economists say. For example, women represent only 26 percent of US workers employed in computer and math jobs, according to the Department of Labor. New research identifies one reason women might be shying away from certain professions: They lack confidence in their ability to compete in fields that men are stereotypically believed to perform more strongly in, such as science, math, and technology. Women are also more reluctant to share their ideas in group discussions on these subjects. And even when they have talent—and are actually told they are high-achievers in these subjects—women are more likely than men to shrug off the praise and lowball their own abilities. This weak self-confidence may hold some women back as they count themselves out of pursuing prestigious roles in professions they believe they won’t excel in, despite having the skills to succeed, says Harvard Business School Assistant Professor Katherine B. Coffman. “Our beliefs about ourselves are important in shaping all kinds of important decisions, such as what colleges we apply to, which career paths we choose, and whether we are willing to contribute ideas in the workplace or try to compete for a promotion,” Coffman says. “If talented women in STEM aren’t confident, they might not even look at those fields in the first place. It’s all about how good we think we are, especially when we ask ourselves, ‘What does it make sense for me to pursue?’” Coffman has recently co-written an article in the American Economic Review as well as two working papers, all aimed at studying men’s and women’s beliefs about their own abilities. “WOMEN ARE MORE LIKELY THAN MEN TO SHRUG OFF THE PRAISE AND LOWBALL THEIR OWN ABILITIES.” What she found, in essence, is that gender stereotypes distort our views of both ourselves and others—and that may be especially troubling for women, since buying into those stereotypes could be creating a bleak self-image that is setting them back professionally. Here’s a snapshot of findings from all three research studies:
Women are less confident than men in certain subjects, like math
In a study for the journal article Beliefs about Gender (pdf), Coffman and her colleagues asked participants to answer multiple-choice trivia questions in several categories that women are perceived to have a better handle on, like the Kardashians, Disney movies, cooking, art and literature, and verbal skills. Then they were quizzed in categories considered favorable for men, such as business, math, videogames, cars, and sports. Respondents were asked to estimate how many questions they answered correctly on tests, and to guess the performance of a random partner whose gender was revealed. Both men and women exaggerated the actual gender performance gaps on average, overstating the male advantage in male-typed domains as well as overstating the female advantage in female-typed questions. And in predicting their own abilities, women had much less confidence in their scores on the tests they believed men had an advantage in. “Gender stereotypes determine people’s beliefs about themselves and others,” Coffman says. “If I take a woman who has the exact same ability in two different categories—verbal and math—just the fact that there’s an average male advantage in math shapes her belief that her own ability in math is lower.”
In an experiment for Coffman’s working paper Stereotypes and Belief Updating, participants completed a timed test of cognitive ability in five areas: general science, arithmetic reasoning, math knowledge, mechanical comprehension, and assembling objects. They were asked to guess their total number of correct answers, as well as how their performance compared to others. A woman who actually had the same score as a man estimated her score to be 0.58 points lower, a statistically significant gap. Even more surprising, even after participants were provided with feedback about how they performed, this gender gap in how well they perceived they did continued. In a second study participants were asked to guess how they performed on a test in a randomly assigned subject matter and to predict their own rank relative to others completing the same test. The researchers then provided participants with feedback about their performance. They found that both men and women discounted good news about their scores in subjects that their gender was perceived to have more trouble with. Stereotypes play on our minds so strongly that it becomes tougher to convince people of their talent in fields where they believe their gender is weak, Coffman says. “A policy prescription to correct a confidence gap in women might be: Let’s find talented women and tell them, ‘Hey, you’re good at math. You got a really good score on this math test,’” she says. “But our results suggest that this feedback is less effective in closing the gender gap than we might hope. It’s harder than we thought to convince women in male-typed fields that they’ve performed well in these fields.” It’s unclear whether women would feel better about their abilities if they received repeated rounds of positive feedback, rather than one piece of good news. “I’d be interested to find out if the gender bias gets smaller over time, once a woman has heard that she’s good at math over and over again,” Coffman says. “You might have to encourage women a few times if you want to close these gaps.” “OUR WORK SUGGESTS A NEED FOR STRUCTURING GROUP DECISIONMAKING IN A WAY THAT ASSURES THE MOST TALENTED MEMBERS BOTH VOLUNTEER AND ARE RECOGNIZED FOR THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS, DESPITE GENDER STEREOTYPES.” It’s important to note, Coffman says, that these studies also show that men have less confidence than women in their ability to shine in fields dominated by women. “It’s not that women are simply less confident; what we find consistently is that individuals are less confident in fields that are more stereotypically outside of their gender’s domain,” Coffman says.
Women hold back on expressing ideas on ‘male topics’
In a third paper, Gender Stereotypes in Deliberation and Team Decisions, Coffman and colleagues studied how teams discuss, decide on, and reward ideas in a group. The research team compared the behavior of two groups that had free-form discussions in response to questions that varied in the amount of “maleness” of the topic. In one group, the gender of each participant was known, and in the other group, the gender of speakers was not identifiable. They found that men and women had the same ability to answer the questions, yet once again, gender stereotypes warped people’s responses. As the “maleness” of the question increased, women were significantly less likely than men to self-promote their ideas within the group when their gender was known, particularly in cases where only one woman was talking with a bunch of men. But in the groups where gender was unknown, no gender differences were found in terms of how much women and men talked up their ideas or were recognized by others for their input. The researchers even found that stereotypes seemed to play a role in the way outside evaluators rated the contributions of each group member after reading transcripts of the conversations. Without knowing the gender of speakers, these evaluators were significantly more likely to guess that participants who came across in the transcripts as “warm,” or friendly, were female and that a negative or critical participant was male—even though researchers found no actual differences in how men and women in the group communicated. Male raters also were significantly less likely to believe that speakers who were judged as “competent” were female. In addition, warmer participants, particularly warmer women, were less likely to be rewarded for their input in the discussions.
Speak up for success
To achieve professional success, people must voice opinions and advocate for their ideas while working in decision-making teams, so it’s a problem if women are staying quiet when it comes to male-typed subjects—and if their ideas are appreciated less when they do express them, Coffman says. “Our work suggests a need for structuring group decision-making in a way that assures the most talented members both volunteer and are recognized for their contributions, despite gender stereotypes,” the paper says. It’s also important for managers to be aware of how confidence gaps may impact the workplace, particularly in professions long dominated by men, and to realize that women may need extra encouragement to express their ideas or to throw their hat in the ring for a promotion, Coffman says. “I would encourage business leaders to think about how [workers’ confidence levels] impact the processes in their organizations,” Coffman says. “I would say providing extra feedback is a good start. If you as an employer see talent somewhere, reaching out to make sure the person is encouraged, recognized, and rewarded—not just once, but repeatedly—could be a helpful thing to do.” With this new data on gender stereotyping, Coffman and her colleagues hope their work will help inform future research to piece together answers to some puzzling questions, like why men and women alike believe that men will perform better than women in some domains and what interventions can be considered to close this gender gap in self-confidence. “Stereotypes are pervasive, widely-held views that shape beliefs about our own and others’ abilities, likely from a very young age,” Coffman says. “Until we can change these stereotypes, it’s essential to think about how we can better inoculate individuals from biases induced by stereotypes, helping people to pursue fulfilling careers in the areas where their passions and talents lie.” Dina Gerdeman is senior editor at Harvard Business School Working Knowledge. Source: hbswk.hbs.edu
H e ALTH/ Y o UTH
Kids with autism and the struggle with mental health
‘This is a special population that requires special attention’: study
by:Kelly Servos
Anew study published in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry has found nearly 78 per cent of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have a minimum of one mental health problem in the United States. More than half have more than one mental health condition. According to Autism Speaks Canada Autism, or autism spectrum disorder, refers to a range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviours, speech and nonverbal communication, as well as by unique strengths and differences. Dr. Connor Kerns, an assistant professor in UBC’s psychology department and lead author of the study said “The longer mental health conditions are allowed to exist and worsen, the harder they are to be to treat . It’s much better to catch them early. Right now, we don’t have a great system for doing that.” The study collected reports from more than 42,000 caregivers of children (ages three to 17) describing their child’s condition. It was found that 44.8 per cent of preschool children with ASD suffer with a mental health condition. These numbers are critical to note because mental health treatment is known to be more effective when a child is younger and mental health symptoms increase with age. “For a long time, mental health in kids with autism was neglected because the focus was on autism,” said Kerns. “There’s much greater awareness now, but we don’t have enough people trained to provide mental health treatment to kids on the autism spectrum.” “We need to bridge these two systems and the different sets of providers that tend to treat these children.” The study compared children with autism with children from other groups including those with intellectual disabilities and other health concerns and found that those with autism had more mental health problems. For example, children with autism suffered with anxiety 6.3 per cent times more than children in the other groups. Autism Speaks Canada states that at least one third of children with ASD suffer with some form of anxiety and struggle with controlling their anxiety when it is triggered. The outcome of the research is an indicator that mental health treatments will be more accessible for children with autism. “If we think about ways to screen and intervene against these mental health conditions before these children even get to school, then we might be way ahead of the game,” Kerns said. It is estimated that one in 66 children from five to 17 years old suffer with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Canada, according to The 2018 Report of the National Autism Disorder (ASD) Surveillance System. The occurrence of ASD is four times more in males compared to females. Source: healthing.ca
Almost half of adults with autism struggle with depression
The study also revealed that depression is more commonly diagnosed when clinicians ask the person with autism directly about their symptoms, rather than asking a caregiver The Conversation, January 9, 2020 By Chloe C. Hudson and Kate Harkness, Queen’s University, Ontario Nearly half of adults with autism will experience clinical depression in their lifetime, according to our new research published in the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. Depression can have devastating consequences for individuals with autism, including a loss of previously learned skills, greater difficulty carrying out everyday tasks, and at worst, suicide. People with autism should be regularly screened for depression so that they can access appropriate treatment. Autism is a disorder that involves difficulties with social interactions and restricted repetitive patterns of behaviours. Autism also raises risk for severe mental illness. Until now, researchers and clinicians did not know how many individuals with autism were affected by depression. Our study, which involved a systematic review of nearly 8,000 research articles, now reveals clear evidence that depression is highly prevalent in both children and adults with autism. It also reveals that depression is more common in individuals with autism who have higher intelligence. Symptoms of depression and autism Clinical depression is defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders by a longstanding pattern of negative mood. Additional symptoms include loss of interest in activities, physiological changes (e.g. sleep, appetite, or energy disturbance), cognitive changes (e.g. feelings of worthlessness, difficulties with attention) and suicidal thoughts or actions. In the general population, clinical depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide. Depression in autism is defined by these same criteria, but the symptoms can be challenging to detect. Individuals with autism often have trouble identifying and communicating their feelings. Clinicians may have to rely on observed behaviour changes, or the reports of others close to the individual to make a diagnosis. Clinicians also have to be particularly careful that they do not confuse the symptoms of depression with the symptoms of autism. For example, people with autism and people with depression have difficulties with social relationships. The key difference between these groups is why they experience these problems. People with autism often lack the social skills necessary to engage with others. In contrast, people with depression often withdraw from others because they lose the ability to find pleasure in their social interactions. Higher IQ, higher rates of depression We found that the highest rates of depression are seen in individuals with autism who have above average intelligence. This finding is in contrast to the general population, where lower intelligence is associated with higher rates of depression. While this study did not look into why higher intelligence was associated with higher depression rates in autism, we can make some guesses. On the one hand, it could be that individuals with autism who have above average intelligence are more aware of the social difficulties associated with their autism diagnosis, and this awareness leads to higher rates of depression. On the other hand, it could be that individuals with below average intelligence have difficulties communicating their symptoms, making it difficult to diagnose depression in this subgroup.
The impact of research methods We also learned that how studies assessed depression influenced the rates of depression. Rates were highest among studies that used standardized structured interviews to assess depression, compared to studies that used less formal assessment methods. It is possible that structured interviews may be picking up on symptoms that other assessment methods are missing. At the same time, structured interviews may bias the prevalence of depression because these interviews were not designed for people with autism. Depression is also more common when clinicians ask the person with autism directly about their symptoms, rather than asking a caregiver. It is possible that individuals with autism are experiencing depressive symptoms that their caregivers are missing. It is also possible that studies used a caregiver when participants were not able to report on their own symptoms (for example because of low intelligence). Depression is more widespread in people with autism than we previously thought. This important research will hopefully prompt clinicians to include an assessment of depression in their routine clinical practice with people with autism. This assessment will ensure that people with autism are receiving appropriate treatment. Source: healthing.ca From Tween to Teen: Understanding their Social,Emotional, and Cognitive Growth
Parenting young teens can be very challenging. The developmental changes your preteen is undergoing at this age, combined with the stress of increased schoolwork and extracurricular activities, can make you feel like you don’t know what to expect from one day to the next. Understanding the social, emotional, and cognitive changes your preteen is experiencing can help bridge the disconnect you may feel and help you through this parenting challenge.
Afraid of Being Different
Young teens often feel afraid of being different and worry that somehow there is something abnormal about the changes they are undergoing. Your child likely seeks peer support and companionship and wants to act, dress, and look like one of the group. She may worry there is something wrong with her, and she may be hesitant to discuss her fears with you. As a parent, be ready to lend support and reassurance when she needs it, but be aware of your teen’s growing need for privacy, and give her space as well.
Focused on Self
or desires of others. They frequently focus on their own experiences, appearance, and behavior. They feel surrounded by the everpresent “imaginary audience” and believe that those around them are passing judgment on how they look and everything they do. You can help by setting positive ground rules with your child about being kind, respectful, and compassionate, both with herself and others. Model empathy by being a good listener and trying to understand what your child is going through.
Consequences Don’t Apply
Young teens are beginning to understand abstractions, but they are unable to reflect on the impact of their own behavior. Your child may think, “No one else has ever felt like this.” This feeling of uniqueness may be expressed by risk-taking behavior, believing ordinary consequences don’t apply. Young teens are also driven to become autonomous and make their own decisions at this stage; it’s how the brain prepares them for adulthood. Help your preteen gain a sense of personal autonomy by allowing him to make his own decisions on things such as hairstyles, extracurricular activities, and learning new skills.
Learning to Adjust
Young teens develop at an uneven pace, including periods of rapid growth. Moreover, there is no synchronization among growth areas. For example, a girl may be physically developed but have little growth emotionally. Young teens undergoing bodily changes are sometimes embarrassed by them, and this can lead to feelings of low self-esteem. In addition, hormonal development means that your preteen may experience mood swings, including bursts of boundless energy and periods of dreamy lethargy. Show compassion and empathy for the changes your child experiences, and remind your young teen that everybody develops at their own pace. Source: safesitter.org
