scholarly journals Gender Systematics in the NRAO Proposal Review System

2021 ◽  
Vol 133 (1029) ◽  
pp. 115002
Author(s):  
Gareth Hunt ◽  
Frederic R. Schwab ◽  
P. A. Henning ◽  
Dana S. Balser
Keyword(s):  
Time Allocation ◽  
Bootstrap Resampling ◽  
Astronomy Observatory ◽  
Female Representation ◽  
Review System ◽  
Gender Imbalance ◽  
Principal Investigators ◽  
Proposal Review ◽  
Anderson Darling ◽  
Rank Distributions

Abstract Several recent investigations indicate the existence of gender-related systematic trends in the peer review of proposals for observations on astronomical facilities. This includes the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) where there is evidence of a gender imbalance in the rank of proposals with male principal investigators (PIs) favored over female PIs. Since semester 2017A (17A), the NRAO has taken the following steps: (1) inform science review panels (SRPs) and the telescope time allocation committee (TAC) about the gender imbalance; and (2) increase the female representation on SRPs and the TAC to reflect the community demographics. Here we analyze SRP normalized rank-ordered scores, or linear ranks, by PI gender for NRAO observing proposals from semesters 12A–21A. We use bootstrap resampling to generate modeled distributions and the Anderson–Darling (AD) test to evaluate the probability that the linear rank distributions for male and female PIs are drawn from the same parent sample. We find that between semesters 12A–17A that male PIs are favored over female PIs (AD p-value 0.0084), whereas between semesters 17B–21A female PIs are favored over male PIs, but at a lower significance (AD p-value 0.11). Therefore the gender imbalance is currently being ameliorated, but this imbalance may have been reversed. Regardless, we plan to adopt a dual-anonymous approach to proposal review to reduce the possibility of bias to occur.

Making it less WEIRD: The landscape of Brazilian female evolutionary psychology

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Bezerra Dutra ◽  
Phiética Raíssa Rodrigues da Silva ◽  
Aline Melina Vaz
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Psychology ◽  
Culturally Diverse ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Female Representation ◽  
Gender Imbalance ◽  
Evolutionary Theories ◽  
The Past ◽  
Female Authors ◽  
Similarities And Differences

Evolutionary psychology has been criticised regarding its limited samples and authorship, which are mainly represented by people from North America. Conversely, the discussion on gender imbalance in authorship in evolutionary theories has ignored the representation of female authors from other countries. Here we assessed the presence of Brazilian female researchers in evolutionary psychology (EP) journals and the Human Behavior and Evolution Society (HBES) conference, as well as in Brazilian publications in the field and meetings sponsored by HBES. We found that Brazilian women published 0.6% (compared to 0.8% of Brazilian men) of the papers in EP journals. Brazilian women (and men) were 0% of the invited speakers at HBES conference, versus 24% female (vs 0% male) speakers at the Brazilian sponsored meetings. This is striking considering the prominent roles Brazilian female evolutionary psychologists have had within the country in the past decades, which includes leading the publication of two books and one special issue on the topic. We highlight the similarities and differences between Brazilian and overall female representation in evolutionary psychology, based on our data. We propose that including more culturally diverse female authors in evolutionary psychology journals and meetings can generate a positive impact in the field.

Applying the Anderson-Darling Test to Suicide Clusters

Crisis ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 434-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald W. MacKenzie
Keyword(s):  
Poisson Process ◽  
Goodness Of Fit ◽  
Small Samples ◽  
Massachusetts Institute Of Technology ◽  
Homogeneous Poisson Process ◽  
Cornell University ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Suicide Clusters ◽  
Institute Of Technology ◽  
Anderson Darling

Background: Suicide clusters at Cornell University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) prompted popular and expert speculation of suicide contagion. However, some clustering is to be expected in any random process. Aim: This work tested whether suicide clusters at these two universities differed significantly from those expected under a homogeneous Poisson process, in which suicides occur randomly and independently of one another. Method: Suicide dates were collected for MIT and Cornell for 1990–2012. The Anderson-Darling statistic was used to test the goodness-of-fit of the intervals between suicides to distribution expected under the Poisson process. Results: Suicides at MIT were consistent with the homogeneous Poisson process, while those at Cornell showed clustering inconsistent with such a process (p = .05). Conclusions: The Anderson-Darling test provides a statistically powerful means to identify suicide clustering in small samples. Practitioners can use this method to test for clustering in relevant communities. The difference in clustering behavior between the two institutions suggests that more institutions should be studied to determine the prevalence of suicide clustering in universities and its causes.

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