TresSugar

Cambridge Wants Soap Opera To Make It School of the People

LibertySugar — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 08:00:31 -0700

Instead of using fancy brochures and an elitist image to attract students, Cambridge University is pitching the campus to Britain's top three soap operas as its latest marketing campaign.

Cambridge's spokesman said:

We're very keen to attract the brightest and best students regardless of their background. One of the better ways of communicating directly with potential students is to talk to them through the soaps and other programs they watch.

The British government, which funds both Cambridge and Oxford, has set a goal that half of all Britain's young people will attend college by 2010. With that mission, even the elite schools are targeting students from disadvantaged families. Officials hope that when the hard-trodden characters from EastEnders or Coronation Street enroll at Cambridge, all viewers will begin to picture themselves there, too. American schools adopt less salacious measures to attract a diverse student body - families making under $60,000 a year receive free tuition at Harvard. Do you think universities can have a diverse set of students, while keeping an elitist image?

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Smart and Rich? Scholar Says Poor People Have Lower IQ

LibertySugar — Fri, 23 May 2008 09:00:25 -0700

Dr. Bruce Charlton, an evolutionary English scholar, just submitted a paper that argues that the poor are intellectually mediocre. He claims that:

The UK Government has spent a great deal of time and effort in asserting that universities, especially Oxford and Cambridge, are unfairly excluding people from low social class backgrounds and privileging those from higher social classes. Yet in all this debate a simple and vital fact has been missed: higher social classes have a significantly higher average IQ than lower social classes.

He thinks that top schools are overwhelmingly populated with wealthy students as a result of the working class "meritocracy", not admission prejudice.

Charlton's tone, which seems to suggest that the poor are genetically inferior, is bothersome. Families working hard just to get by may not have the resources or time to foster their children's early education. Should higher education institutions and society in general take steps to correct the educational inequalities between the classes?

Do you see a class bias in IQ testing, or educational practices? Do the admission standards of elite universities exclude equally qualified students from working class families, or are there subconscious systematic factors at play here. Do universities have a responsibility to help those with a disadvantaged upbringing fulfill their potential?

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Front Page: HPV Vaccine Reminds Girls of Sexual Risks

TresSugar — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 08:00:43 -0700

A new study shows that the HPV vaccine reminds girls of risks associated with sex, such as contracting STDs, instead of giving them a license to be promiscuous as some people feared. - Salon
Wal-Mart is now selling affordable coffins. - BBC News
A Dutch court has told 14-year-old Laura Dekker that she is too inexperienced to sail around the world by herself, and she will be placed under the guardianship of child protection authorities until next year. - New York Times
A sixth person has been arrested for the gang rape of the 15-year-old California girl outside her homecoming dance. - CNN
Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates and Cambridge Police Sergeant James Crowley sat down for another beer this week, this time without President Obama. - Huffington Post

If We Can Make Sperm, What Good Are Men?

TresSugar — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 10:00:00 -0700

Have you ever dreamed of a world without men? Some scientists have hoped for years that someday, somehow, they'd create sperm without the mess and fuss of sex and men. Well, that day is near.

Or here, according to one professor at the Northeast England Stem Cell Institute, who says he's doctored up the world's first embryotic sperm. Other sperm specialists (their mothers must be proud) are not so convinced test-tube sperm are up for the swim. Azim Surani, a professor at Cambridge University, said they were "sperm-like cells" and "a long way from being authentic."

So we wait and ask questions, like "what's the point?" Ideally, it would be used to treat infertile men, but you can't clone cells in 2009 and not answer questions like "Are you trying to wipe men off the face of the Earth?" The Guardian has a pair of he-said/she-said pieces musing on such a world without men. He said? You'll be bored, less productive, and too clean. And she said? We'd be peaceful, clean, and . . . bored. Glad we can agree on something!

Photo by Flickr User blmurch

Smokestacks Meet Thumper: Disney and the Environment

CitizenSugar — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 07:56:50 -0700

Chim chiminey, Chim chiminey, Chim chim cher-oo! Disney may have made the life of a chimney sweep seem like dancing on the rooftops, but some decades later we've learned smudgy, sooty coal is a filthy form of energy. Which is why the news that much of Europe may be returning to their old coal ways requires a huge spoonful of sugar.

Italy is poised to increase its reliance on coal to 33 percent from 14 percent over the next five years. Total power generated from coal will billow to 50 percent. Don't just blame the Italians, countries all over Europe are expected to put into operation about 50 coal-fired plants over the next five years - plants and gunk that we will be able to enjoy for the next five decades. Germany in particular has 60 new coal-fired power stations planned. To see how Disney fits into the modern eco-picture, read more.

An animator who worked on Disney's Bambi went the way of Bambi's mom last week and requested in lieu of flowers, donations to the Natural Resources Defense Council. His request underscores a Disney obsession with the pastoral, evidenced in films from Bambi, to Pocohontas, to Finding Nemo. Some say these films inspire tiny environmentalists, like this researcher at Cambridge University.

These films have taught us variously about having a fundamental respect for nature. Some of them, such as Bambi, inspired conservation awareness and laid the emotional groundwork for environmental activism.

In a step to take the eco-activism from figurative to literal, Disney is launching new film production unit called Disneynature. They're gearing up to make feature-length documentaries about animals and the environment, similar to the wildly popular March of the Penguins. The first US movie to be released, is dubbed Earth is set to open April 22, 2009 - Earth Day a year from now.

Are we at a crossroad in terms of environmental decision making, where we need to choose between the black-lunged Dick Van Dyke chimney sweep of coal, and the blissful Disney forests? Are you surprised that countries are returning to coal? Was Disney a true trailblazer in the environmental movement? Does entertainment have a place in driving environmental policy?

Do you love that part in Bambi where the skunk says, "he can call me Flower if he wants to?"

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Do Good Grades Mean There's No Time For a Relationship?

DearSugar — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 16:00:00 -0800

According to a new study in the Daily Mail, students attending various colleges at Cambridge University that had more sexual partners didn't do as well in school as those with fewer. The article revealed:

Students at poorly-performing colleges are more likely to be sleeping around. Students studying medicine are among those who have the most sexual partners compared to mathematicians who had the fewest.

Homerton for example, was the worst academically-performing college they surveyed and their students had roughly seven sexual partners, far more than Christ's College who reported having the highest number of virgins.

If you think about it, this study makes sense - the more you concentrate on academics, the less time you have for your personal life, but ladies, tell me, in your experience, did this research ring true for you or did you make time for good grades and romantic relationships?

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Headline Of The Day

GiggleSugar — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 02:00:00 -0700

Jessica Alba Has The Perfect Wiggle, Study Says

Those academics have really outdone themselves with this one. A team of Cambridge mathematicians put their thinking caps on to determine that Jessica Alba has the hottest strut in Hollywood. Leave it to a bunch of brainiacs to take the "sex" out of sexy, leaving only the letters "x" and "y" (which happen to be axes on a graph) to determine the precise point where hip and waist meet to make the perfect hourglass figure. You think I'm joking? Read more.

Drama With My Mama

DearSugar — Tue, 23 May 2006 03:44:23 -0700

Dear Sugar
My Mom and I do not get along one bit...she is old fashioned and I'm not. It drives me insane. I need some ideas on how to deal with her because she's honestly making me go crazy. Help! Fuming Freida

Dear Fuming Freida
You know your Mother loves you so what you've got to try and do is figure out ways to communicate with her and still feel ok about it. Unfortunately, you are stuck with her - so instead of being in conflict for the rest of your life, try thinking about these things to see what helps. When you are arguing, is there any possible way for you to step back and get perspective on your Mother's side of the argument? What have her experiences been like for her to act like this? Also, do you need her to agree with everything or can you just yes her and then make your own decisions? Is your Dad around? You know Dads can be very valuable peacemakers. Have you ever thought that this isn't necessarily just a power struggle? Your Mom is a person too with feelings and according to the Cambridge study; researchers found that Mothers argue when they feel their daughters are rejecting them. Daughters tend to instigate arguments when they feel they're being criticized and when they're trying to demonstrate their increasing maturity. Perhaps there is a way to bring this up to her. If she feels heard then maybe she can start thinking more progressively. At least you can find some comfort in all of this. As often and as unpredictably as you fight, your warm, tender and compassionate moments come along too. I'll bet because you argue so often that you don't even realize that you are more yourself around her than you are with pretty much anyone else.