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The Best of Our Knowledge # 809

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-503233.mp3

Albany, NY – THE BLUEPRINT FOR MY GIRLS , Pt. 1 of 2 -
More than half of the 40-thousand faculty members polled, believe
it is important to develop undergraduates' moral character and
values. The survey was released this month by the Higher
Education Research Institute at the University of California at
Los Angeles. Long before that study, Yasmin Shiraz, launched
a magazine aimed at college students. Shiraz visited youth
organizations and colleges across the U.S. to teach young people
how to pursue their dreams. Young women, in particular, were
drawn to her confidence and determination...and sought her
opinions on a wide range of issues including social and academic
pressures. After years of meetings with students, she developed
this book to help young women discover who they are, and to stay
positive.
Glenn Busby reports. (6:34)

**(Attention For more details, the website given listeners at the end of the above story is: www.yasminshiraz.net.

(MUSIC BRIDGE)

ORIGINS OF LIFE/SCIENCE RESEARCH IN EDUCATION SERIES
GLOBAL MEASUREMENTS OF THE EARTH'S SPECTRAL
ALBEDO: CLIMATE CHANGE AND BIOLOGICAL SIGNATURES -
The Earth's climate system has an essential influence on the well-being
of our society. It effects world socioeconomic activity, population
distribution, and in general, the stability of many countries. The
contribution of humans to the enhanced greenhouse effect during the
industrial era has been one of the main issues of scientific and political discussion during the past decade. Nevertheless, the climate has
fluctuated following changes that occurred in the sun, since the
formation of the solar system. Therefore, determining the natural
climate variability is of great importance. Today, we speak with an
astronomer gathering data for this important study by measuring how
much sunlight is reflected off Earth's surface.
Dr. Pilar Montanes-Rodriguez is originally from the Canary Islands off
the coast of Spain. But now she's an Earthshine Researcher at the
Big Bear Solar Observatory in Big Bear City, California.
Glenn Busby reports. (6:47)

The preceding material is supported by the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration.

**(Attention For listeners interested in more information about this story, or any of the other more than 120 stories featured in this exclusive radio series, or would like to hear them again via their computer, the website mentioned at the
conclusion of the above segments is: www.origins.rpi.edu, then click on Seminar Program.)**

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WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH / CAROLINE HERSCHEL -
Our next story is also about another woman astronomer.
Continuing TBOOK's recognition of Women's History Month,
Actress Kate Mulgrew (internationally known for her role as
Captain Kathryn Janeway in Star Trek Voyager ) provides
us this profile of Caroline Herschel, who many claim was the
first lady of astronomy.
Kate Mulgrew narrates. (2:00)

**(Attention If you would like to hear all
26 of these two-minute historical profiles, just go to our special website: www.womeninscience.org, and visit the
series HER-STORY THEN. )**

(MUSIC BRIDGE)

19TH CENTURY CHILDREN'S SCIENCE BOOKS -
More than a century before Darwin, and two centuries before
what we now call Intelligent Design gained so much attention,
science and religion were often linked in education texts.
Today, Rita Smith provides us with some historical perspective
about the religious content in science books for young people.
Smith is Curator of the University of Florida's Baldwin Collection
of Children's Literature, one of the leading historical collections
of its kind in the U.S.
Rita Smith comments. (2:27)