Let’s all watch me try to navigate this post. It’s about sex and Trojans and Mormons and how well 141 universities assist their undergrads in traversing the seas of collegiate sex. The odds of me crashing and burning into a twisted pile of political incorrectness and offending everyone on my way down are as excellent as a bloated road-kill raccoon is to finally pop in July–one hard wave of heat moving up from the asphalt and nothing will smell good ever again.

I usually have no qualms about the possibility of offending the sensibilities of other humans, but today it seems as if I should run.

First off, I’m not Mormon. But I do have Mormons in my family. I love them and they love me and there are no issues between myself and the Mormon contingent of my family tree. Aside from the fact that I always forget who I’m with and continue to cuss like a drunken sailor whenever I visit them and I never ever go to church while they continue to pray for my unquestionably hell-bound soul and respect my request to not be recruited, we’re all good.

The Trojan condom company (possibly more famous than the Mormons) puts out an annual survey ranking the sexual health of undergraduate colleges and universities. Rankings are based on sexual health resources and support available to students on campus, from pamphlets to condoms to someone to talk to.

Out of 141 schools ranked in 2011, Brigham Young University came in 140th. This either means BYU is a cesspool of STD-sharing Mormon youth, or those Mormon kids are living cleaner than the rest of us and are abstaining, thereby severely reducing the need for condoms, counselors, and antibiotics at the student health center.

I’m sticking with the abstinence and not-a-cesspool theory. While not on board with the Mormons and their beliefs, I have to say they’re super serious about innocent perfection and clean living. No alcohol, no smoking, no premarital sex. They don’t even allow caffeine, for crying out loud (it’s near the top of my Why I’m Not a Mormon list).

Further Reading:

Columbia University Tops the Trojan® Sexual Health Report Card Rankings for the Second Year in a Row

Posted by Alexa Harrington

The question thousands of high school and college students want to know the answer to: Does Marijuana Make You Stupid? Jonah Lehrer at The Frontal Cortex has the answer.

Posted by Alexa Harrington

Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce recently released a study on how median earnings compare between 171 Bachelor’s egree majors in 15 categories: What’s it Worth? The Economic Value of College Majors. Yes, it sounds familiar—there are dozens of studies and reports out there ranking degrees and future earnings potential–but this one’s actually a shiny new study based on a larger research group, newly available census info, and includes gender and race/ethnicity data.

Excerpt from the press release:

Some of the findings include:

The top 10 majors with the highest median earnings are: Petroleum Engineer ($120,000);
Pharmacy/pharmaceutical Sciences and Administration ($105,000); Mathematics and Computer Sciences ($98,000); Aerospace Engineering ($87,000); Chemical Engineering ($86,000); Electrical Engineering ($85,000); Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering ($82,000); Mechanical Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering and Mining and Mineral Engineering (each with median earnings of $80,000).

The 10 majors with the lowest median earnings are: Counseling/Psychology ($29,000); Early Childhood Education ($36,000); Theology and Religious Vocations ($38,000); Human Services and Community Organizations ($38,000); Social Work ($39,000); Drama and Theater Arts, Studio Arts, Communication Disorders Sciences and Services, Visual and Performing Arts, and Health and Medical Preparatory Programs
(each at $40,000).

So if you’re just in the college game for the money, go for Petroleum Engineer and avoid the Psychology Department at all costs.

Posted by Alexa Harrington

(image: petroleum engineering paraphernalia)

CourseSmart just released the results of a study by Wakefield Research. The study clears up any questions we all may have had with regard to how addicted college students are to their technological gadgetry. Students really, really need their Smartphones and their laptops and cannot go more than ten minutes without checking their devices for any updates from the outside world.

I would scoff and begin dishing out pen-and-paper snobbery if technology-is-for-sucks me didn’t also require her Smartphone, laptop, and iPod to get through the day. I mean, I don’t NEED my devices, and it goes without saying that I can stop anytime I want. But then I would be out of several social loops, I would have no idea what I should be doing or where I should be going, I would miss appointments and dinner parties and deadlines, and I would be unable to do my job or complete my coursework.

Which is to say I do not require technology in order to survive, but my life would deteriorate rather quickly if I were to unplug and stick with a pen-and-paper lifestyle. I choose life, people, and for that I prefer sexy, sleek little devices that connect me gracefully with my world. What a wretched thing to admit. I may have just rolled over in my future grave.

From the press release:

CourseSmart today announced the results of its “Digital Devices in Higher Education” survey, conducted by Wakefield Research. The new survey provides insight on the digital devices students are using, how often they use them and how these devices are changing the traditional college experience. The findings include:

“¢ Nearly all of the students surveyed (98%) own a digital device
“¢ 38% of students surveyed said that they could not go more than 10 minutes without checking in with their tech device
“¢ 63% have read an eTextbook on their device at least once
“¢ 46% reported they would be more likely to complete their reading if it was in a digital format
“¢ 85% of students reported that technology saves them time when studying—an average of two hours per day

Digital Dependence of Today’s College Students Revealed in New Study from CourseSmartâ„¢
Findings show college students feel helpless without technology—checking their devices at least every 10 minutes and foregoing face time for Facebook®

SAN MATEO, Calif., June 1, 2011 — CourseSmartâ„¢, the world’s largest provider of eTextbooks and digital course materials, and Wakefield Research, a consultancy specializing in strategic and tactical research, recently completed a survey of more than 500 currently enrolled college students, providing insight on how mobile devices and technology have changed the traditional college experience and the role technology plays in students’ academic abilities and success. Today’s students are truly carrying a digital backpack with nearly a quarter (27%) of students surveyed listing their laptop as the most important item in their bag—almost three times the number of students who chose textbooks (10%).

The findings further reveal that students are completely dependent on technologies—eReaders, Smartphones, laptops and more—to get through their daily college routine. Nearly all of the students surveyed (98%) own a digital device. And 38% of students surveyed said that they could not go more than 10 minutes without checking in with their tech device—about the same amount of time it takes to walk to class. Largely based on the fact that technology helps students learn more efficiently, 85% of students reported that technology saves them time when studying—an average of two hours per day.

Given this shift in behavior towards technological dependence, it’s unsurprising that almost three-quarters (73%) of students surveyed claim they would not be able to study without using some form of technology. Additionally, it is clear that laptops and Smartphones are two types of devices that students are using to further their academic potential. Nearly half (48%) of all students who own a tech device frequently read eTextbooks and 63% have read an eTextbook on their device at least once. In fact, of the 91% of students who said they failed to complete required reading before classes, about half (46%) reported they would be more likely to complete their reading if it was in a digital format.

According to the survey, eReaders and eTextbooks are some of the emerging technologies helping students save time while still being effective. While 69% said an eTextbook is easier to carry than a traditional textbook, 61% cited that eTextbooks make it far easier to search within a text (thus saving time), 60% mentioned that eTextbooks save them money, and 55% said that they are easier to read “on the go.”

Additionally, new media options are increasingly engaging students, who said they use tools such as CourseSmart (39%), videos and podcasts (24%) and iTunes® (12%) to access study materials from a professor — a far cry from the library card catalogues and encyclopedias of previous generations. Students are also spending their time using email (89%) and school Web sites (83%) for gathering course materials from their professors.

The library is not the only college campus fixture fading into the past; office hours are quickly becoming an antiquity as well. Students seem to prefer Facebook® to face time with the majority seeking extra help from their teachers via email (91%), cell phone (13%), or social networking sites (8%).

Furthermore, outside of everyday reading and studying, students also use digital devices for many of the tasks that previously required a pencil and paper to carry out—writing papers (82%), research (81%), taking class notes (70%) and making class presentations (65%).

Posted by Alexa Harrington

According to The Guardian, UK, Wikipedia has realized the lack of academic contributions to its massive heap of information and is making an effort to get smartypants specialists to contribute some well-informed knowledgey bits on the site.

Whether it’s a site-able source (it’s absolutely not, according to many professorial types) or not, everyone uses Wikipedia as a quick way to satisfy some burning question (what in the hell does “the whole nine yards” mean, anyway?*) or as a starting point on some quest for reams of information on almost any subject one can think of. It’s like a Twinkie or Oscar Meyer baloney: I don’t trust it, I would never serve it at a dinner party, but I’m still gonna eat it.

Wikipedia’s reputation as a less-than accurate source for information stems from the fact that any chucklehead with access to the Internet can edit and add information to the site. It’s funny that that trips people up, as the entire ethereal mass of binary perfection that is the online universe is all subject to bastards hosing down the suckers with false information. I’m just saying.

*Wikipedia is no help on this one. It gives a laundry list of what the phrase doesn’t refer to. I’d always thought it referred to the length of cloth required for a traditional kilt and the across-the-chest portion of said garment. See Braveheart if you have no idea what I’m talking about.

Posted by Alexa Harrington

Drawn to the sciences? Hoping for a career in research? I have it on good authority that society has some issues with Alzheimer’s. It’s a problem, but the first wave of Boomers are hitting old age hard and fast and our little Alzheimer’s problem is only going to get bigger.

When the sh*t is actively hitting the fan in large amounts, everyone who was supposed to be dealing with the crap in the first place suddenly starts running around like their hair is on fire, desperately scrounging for a solution.

This is good news for the future of Alzheimer’s research. I’m hoping the research will increase due to the hotness of the topic, and that research funding will begin to flow as people start throwing money at the situation. Fingers crossed, people.

Plus, where’s the negative in your day job involving the using of your powers for good? And, as an added bonus, no one looks stupid in a lab coat. Those things are hot. Unless that’s just my thing…

The following hard-to-ignore information comes from the Alzheimer’s Association and their recently released, groundbreaking study: Generation Alzheimer’s: The Defining Disease of the Baby Boomers.

“¢ An estimated 10 million baby boomers will develop Alzheimer’s.

“¢ Starting this year, more than 10,000 baby boomers a day will turn 65. As these baby boomers age, one of out of eight of them will develop Alzheimer’s — a devastating, costly, heartbreaking disease. Increasingly for these baby boomers, it will no longer be their grandparents and parents who have Alzheimer’s — it will be them.

In addition to the human toll, over the next 40 years Alzheimer’s will cost the nation $20 trillion, enough to pay off the national debt and still send a $20,000 check to every man, woman and child in America. And while every 69 seconds someone in America develops Alzheimer’s disease today, by 2050 someone will develop the disease every 33 seconds – unless the federal government commits to changing the Alzheimer’s trajectory.

Posted by Alexa Harrington

(alzheimer’s)

Everyone needs to back the hell off of policing my caffeine consumption. One hundred years ago this month, the Coca-Cola company was in court fighting a lawsuit brought against them by chemist Harvey Washington Wiley: He felt the company had “adulterated” their wonder beverage with high doses of the chemical we know and love as caffeine. A bottle of Coke in 1911 had as much caffeine as a can of Red Bull does in 2011. I fail to see the problem with that. Eighty milligrams per bottle/can is still less caffeine than one cup of coffee.

Caffeine may not be considered as beneficial as scarfing down 5 pounds of organic kale, but it’s not the worst chemical we humans suck up. I feel particularly justified in my caffeine use/addiction as I don’t drink alcohol or smoke or have any recreational chemical habits of any kind. If I didn’t need caffeine, what else would I have to lose when the apocalypse comes? How would college students get through four years or more of lecture halls, paper writing, and all-nighters? And who in their right mind would pass up something that can give you a day like this?:

On Feb. 25 [1911], an abstainer was dosed with four grains of caffeine (260 milligrams, the approximate equivalent of a 12-ounce cup of Starbucks coffee): “Gradual rise of spirits till 4:00. Then a period of exuberance, of good feeling. Fanciful ideas rampant.”

The scientists are still cranky, and feel the need to do lots of research regarding the detrimental effects of caffeine on sleep, blood pressure, etc. so as to get some regulation going on the caffeinated beverages of 2011. They must be working some long, hard research hours in the lab. One wonders which chemical fuels their intense lab time…Nutritious kale smoothies? Stimulating, I’m sure.

Further Reading:

Caffeine Content in Coffee, Tea, Medications, Etc.
Is Caffeine Dehydrating? [No]
Caffeine: How Much is Too Much? [Way beyond average consumption]
A Century Later, Jury’s Still Out on Caffeine Limits
Caffeine and Blood Pressure [Not so bad]

Posted by Alexa Harrington

(coca-cola bottle)

Researchers studying highly anxious people were intrigued to find that the more twitchy humans among us don’t necessarily want the sources of our anxiety to be dealt with; we like our high anxiety levels where they are, so back the hell off. It’s free, it’s legal, and it’s an awesome rush.

According to the study, some of us are used to living in a constant state of panic and anything resembling peaceful calm either freaks us out or bores us to tears. Living calmly and peacefully is a lovely, healthy thought, but being naturally amped is difficult to give up. Some of us find great comfort in existing in a highly anxious head space, and some of us get an excellent kick in productivity when we’re going 80 million miles an hour and are right on the edge of losing it.

Caffeine is only necessary (for me) first thing in the morning. I avoid it otherwise. There’s a reason I’ve never ingested a Red Bull: No one wants to watch me dig to the center of the earth using only spoons.

I lived peacefully once. I was calm and had no stress or anxiety from October of 2004 through December of 2005. I was so bored I re-cleaned, re-catalogued, re-archived, re-organized, and re-alphabetized my entire existence.

My dreamy vision of my future (when I can’t take you humans any longer and have to chuck it all) involves a tropical island, books, pens, notebooks, fruit, hammocks, and diving equipment. Just myself and my significant others in paradise. Sounds wonderful, yes? Here’s what would really happen: within a week I’d be eating a tree just to have a new project.

Posted by Alexa Harrington

(tense)

I can’t tell whether this is genius in a twisted, Machiavellian sort of way, or in a We’ll give you what you think you need until you can’t remember what that was sort of way:

The Benrath Senior Centre in Düsseldorf, Germany got the local public transportation network to install a bus station directly outside of their building, in plain sight of the residents.
This seems counterproductive to their goal of keeping their residents from wandering – except for the fact that the bus stop… isn’t! It looks exactly like one, but no buses ever come. More…

It does work, which is something, but it’s still wrong on some level, somewhere. But who can ever really do right by an Alzheimer’s patient?

Someone thought outside the box, which I applaud. Now someone needs to fix the Alzheimer’s situation. That means you, neuroscientists. Get on it.

Posted by Alexa Harrington

That was for their The Trouble With Mergers cover from the Sept. 10th 1994 edition.

The article about PhDs in a recent issue makes me close my eyes, cover my ears, and yell with loud immaturity, “La la la la la! I can’t hear you! Shut up shut up shut up shut up!” Sadly, I fear there may be some truth in the article.

One thing many PhD students have in common is dissatisfaction. Some describe their work as “slave labour”. Seven-day weeks, ten-hour days, low pay and uncertain prospects are widespread. You know you are a graduate student, goes one quip, when your office is better decorated than your home and you have a favourite flavour of instant noodle. “It isn’t graduate school itself that is discouraging,” says one student, who confesses to rather enjoying the hunt for free pizza. “What’s discouraging is realising the end point has been yanked out of reach.” More…

Posted by Alexa Harrington