Gender in Computer Science

2011 ◽  
pp. 615-621
Author(s):  
Colette Wanless-Sobel
Keyword(s):  
Computer Science ◽  
Programming Languages ◽  
Gender Equity ◽  
Women Professionals ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Analysis Of Algorithms ◽  
Industrial Applications ◽  
Computer Hardware ◽  
Programming Software ◽  
E Mail

Computer science (CS) is defined in wikipedia as a branch of human knowledge “relating to computation, ranging from abstract analysis of algorithms and formal grammars, to subjects like programming languages, software, and computer hardware” (Computer Science, 2005). Computer science emerged as a distinct field in the 1940s and 1950s with the development of the first electronic digital computers. To limit computer science to just computer use or its knowledge bodies, however, is reductive; CS is embedded in a complex, unquantifiable cultural context, including socio-economic and gendering practice. Computer hardware and software are designed to complement and supplement human activity and processes such as warfare, industrial applications, information management, including education, the Internet, a knowledge commons, and most recently biotechnology. Although CS is typically considered neutral and scientific, its episteme and practice is androcentric or male centered, often to the exclusion of females (Herbst, 2002). Female attributes have not typically been associated with computer science or computers. Although there is general agreement that women are as intellectually capable as men in CS, the fact remains that women today do not have equal participation in CS majors, CS engineering, programming, software design, Web site construction, or computer repair. (Jepson & Perl, 2002). In the technetronic 21st century, when computers are becoming standard for education and in symbolic analytic jobs, women’s enrollment in CS has declined, and many women do not feel confident using computers for more than e-mail transmissions, e-commerce, and social interaction in forums or newsgroups. Women who do not have knowledge or confidence in their abilities to work in CS not only have unrealized potentials in CS but also are left out of employment activities. Reasons for gendering in CS are complex and debated. Socialization, overt and tacit discrimination, and epistemological plurality are three dominant explanations. CS industries, educators, cognitive scientists, parents, and women professionals in CS are some of the groups currently working to attain gender equity in CS.

scholarly journals Shaping the foundations of programming languages

2021 ◽  
Vol 64 (6) ◽  
pp. 120
Author(s):  
Leah Hoffmann
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Computer Science ◽  
Programming Languages ◽  
Computer Science Education ◽  
The Future ◽  
Turing Award

ACM A.M. Turing Award recipients Alfred Aho and Jeffrey Ullman discuss their early work, the 'Dragon Book,' and the future of 'live' computer science education.

Object-Oriented Programming in Computer Science

2018 ◽  
pp. 7470-7480
Author(s):  
Rahime Yilmaz ◽  
Anil Sezgin ◽  
Sefer Kurnaz ◽  
Yunus Ziya Arslan
Keyword(s):  
Computer Science ◽  
Electronic Circuit ◽  
Object Oriented ◽  
Computer Programs ◽  
Human Mind ◽  
Object Oriented Programming ◽  
Computer Hardware ◽  
Programming System ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Application Programming

A program is composed of commands, which runs within a computer or an electronic circuit. Programming is a mathematical methodology to write a program and to encode the algorithm into a notation. It can be classified into two groups such as system and application programming. System programming is a branch of the general programming that is composed of low level instructions which are used to operate and handle computer hardware. Application programming is considered as the improved version of the computer programs which can perform specific tasks. One of the application programming types is the object-oriented programming (OOP) which is about how information is represented in human mind. OOP is useful to provide easy modeling in design and developing real entities. This approach is aimed to model the entities and the relationships existing between them. OOP enables to define the required classes to create the objects and to apply modifications on them. The inherent properties of OOP are modularity, extensibility and reusability. This chapter provides a substantial survey of OOP.

Women and IT in Lilongwe

2019 ◽  
pp. 121-132
Author(s):  
Alice Violet Nyamundundu
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Gender Equity ◽  
Cell Phones ◽  
Cultural Beliefs ◽  
Computer Hardware ◽  
African Women ◽  
African Culture ◽  
Widespread Availability ◽  
The Times ◽  
General Computer

The purpose of this chapter was to investigate and describe why women in Malawi and Africa at large are underrepresented in IT despite the widespread availability of IT through cell phones, institutions, and general computer hardware and software. Gender discriminates women in education and world of work. The gender issue is all rooted, promoted, and strengthened in cultural beliefs. Literature reveals that for their part, African women have internalized the so-called inferiority position through their culture and society. Critiques of these beliefs commonly agree that there is need for mental rewiring on gender equity roles. Women need to believe in themselves and shun the positional gender differences that are causing severe imbalances in education and workplaces across Africa. The findings led to the overarching conclusion that African culture is not really changing with the times and it pushes women on the edge. One recommendation will be arrived at; there is need to include to a larger scale gender equity and justice system in education and workplaces across Africa.

Digital Image Metamorphosis as a Research Tool for Paleontology

1994 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 341-346
Author(s):  
Jody R. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Computer Graphics ◽  
Computer Science ◽  
Software Design ◽  
Computer Hardware ◽  
Complex Data ◽  
Electronic Technology ◽  
Computer Interfaces ◽  
Human Computer Interfaces ◽  
Visualization Tools ◽  
Made In

This is an exciting era to be a scientist, due to the increasing levels of technology available to us; particularly due to the advances that have been made in the field of computer science. Advances in electronic technology have made computer hardware very powerful and affordable, while advances in software design and human/computer interfaces have made computers more natural to use. Computers have been utilized in nearly every field of scientific study, permitting new levels of development in those fields that wouldn't be possible otherwise. Computer graphics are useful visualization tools that help scientists understand complex data, and convey ideas to others.

Gender Equitable Education and Technological Innovation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Jenson ◽  
Suzanne de Castell
Keyword(s):  
Computer Science ◽  
Gender Equity ◽  
Technological Innovation ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Educational Interventions ◽  
Socioeconomic Class ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Considerable Work

The literature on gender equity, education, and technological innovation identifies three primary areas of concern: STEM (collective disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), computer science, and, interestingly enough, reading comprehension. These gendered divides are often framed in public discourse as problems of equality; however, most research and scholarly discussions focus on equity, on fairness. Considerable work by feminists in the social studies of science and technology, demonstrating how innovation and technology are already gendered, has lent strong support to an educational emphasis on how “fairness” might best be achieved. It remains the case that “gender” in most research studies refers to a binarized conception of sex: either male or female, girls or boys, men or women. However, critical intersectional understandings of gender that take into account age, socioeconomic class, race, ethnicity, sexuality, and dis/abilities hold out promise for more nuanced understandings of inequities in education. For example, taking the widest perspective, it is socioeconomic class, not gender, that continues to create the greatest disparities in educational outcomes, whereas within any given socioeconomic context, gender is paramount. For girls and women, equity-focused educational interventions aim to develop better pathways to higher education and jobs in STEM subjects and fields. Female underrepresentation in STEM and computer science is often framed as a gender-specific skills deficit impeding access to and success in globally competitive, technologically innovative, and the most highly remunerated occupations, rather than as a barrier created by differences in expectations, norms, experience, and prior educational provision. Gender equity initiatives for school-aged boys are concentrated in the areas of reading and comprehension skills, with little connection made in the literature to either presumptions about or implications of this underachievement as a deficit that jeopardizes future educational or vocational skills. It may be that evolving conceptions and practices of gender that take better account of both gender diversity and intersectionality will enable educational interventions beyond these stereotypical and binarized educational analyses and initiatives, lending hope that we may yet see women and girls assuming not just an equitable but indeed a transformative role in technological innovation.

Exploring Quasi-Concurrency in Introductory Computer Science

1996 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-66
Author(s):  
Liejune Shiau
Keyword(s):  
Computer Science ◽  
Programming Languages ◽  
Science Curriculum ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Concurrent Programming ◽  
Parallel Computers ◽  
Software Systems ◽  
Introductory Computer Science ◽  
Computer Labs ◽  
Programming Courses

Most programming courses taught today are focused on managing batch-oriented problems. It is primarily because parallel computers are not commonly available, therefore problems with concurrent nature could not be explored. This consequence, at the same time, causes student's under preparation to meet the challenge of modern multi-process computation technologies. This article demonstrates an easy solution for implementing concurrent programming projects in computer labs. This solution does not require special hardware support or special programming languages. The goal is to facilitate a means to deal with the concept and usefulness of multi-process software systems in the early stage of computer science curriculum. We also include detailed descriptions on a few creative and interesting concurrent examples to illustrate this idea.

Building a Conceptual Computer

1972 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-60
Author(s):  
Frederick H. Bell
Keyword(s):  
Computer Science ◽  
Student Participation ◽  
Computer Hardware ◽  
Easy Access ◽  
History Of ◽  
Computer Facility

Providing students with an introduction to the rapidly expanding field of computer science can be somewhat of a problem for the majority of teacher who do not have easy access to a computer facility. The seemingly inherent facination that computers hold for many children can be subverted if a teacher's first lesson about computers does not provide proper motivation for students. Lengthly discussions of the history of computers, binary and hexadecimal arithmetic, computer hardware, and computer progmmming can best be presented after the stage has been set by an initial informative and motivational lesson providing opportunity for student participation.

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