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Misconceiving Merit : Paradoxes of Excellence and Devotion in Academic Science and Engineering.

By: Contributor(s): Publisher: Chicago, IL : The University of Chicago Press, 2022Copyright date: 2022Description: ix, 248 pages : illustrations ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780226820118
  • 0226820114
  • 9780226820156
  • 0226820157
Other title:
  • Paradoxes of excellence and devotion in academic science and engineering
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 306.4/5 23/eng/20220112
LOC classification:
  • Q175.5 .B55 2022
Contents:
Misperceiving merit, excellence, and devotion in academic STEM -- The cultural construction of merit in academic STEM -- The work devotion schema and its consequences -- Mismeasuring merit : the schema of scientific excellence as a yardstick of merit -- Defending the schema of scientific excellence, defending inequality -- The moralization of merit : consequences for scientists and science.
Summary: "In Misconceiving Merit, sociologists Mary Blair-Loy and Erin A. Cech uncover the cultural foundations of a paradox. On one hand, academic science, engineering, and math revere meritocracy, a system that recognizes and rewards those with the greatest talent and dedication. At the same time, women and some racial and sexual minorities remain underrepresented and often feel unwelcome and devalued in STEM. How can academic science, which so highly values meritocracy and objectivity, produce these unequal outcomes? Blair-Loy and Cech studied more than five hundred STEM professors at a top research university to reveal how unequal and unfair outcomes can emerge alongside commitments to objectivity and excellence. The authors find that academic STEM harbors dominant cultural beliefs that not only perpetuate the mistreatment of scientists from underrepresented groups but hinder innovation. Underrepresented groups are often seen as less fully embodying merit compared to equally productive white and Asian heterosexual men, and the negative consequences of this misjudgment persist regardless of professors' actual academic productivity. Misconceiving Merit is filled with insights for higher education administrators working toward greater equity as well as for scientists and engineers striving to change entrenched patterns of inequality in STEM."-- Provided by publisher.
List(s) this item appears in: 2023 New Titles
Holdings
Item type Current library Call number Copy number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
BOOK BOOK NCAR Library Foothills Lab Q175.5 .B55 2022 1 Available 50583020015776
Total holds: 0

Includes bibliographical references (pages 175-235) and index.

Misperceiving merit, excellence, and devotion in academic STEM -- The cultural construction of merit in academic STEM -- The work devotion schema and its consequences -- Mismeasuring merit : the schema of scientific excellence as a yardstick of merit -- Defending the schema of scientific excellence, defending inequality -- The moralization of merit : consequences for scientists and science.

"In Misconceiving Merit, sociologists Mary Blair-Loy and Erin A. Cech uncover the cultural foundations of a paradox. On one hand, academic science, engineering, and math revere meritocracy, a system that recognizes and rewards those with the greatest talent and dedication. At the same time, women and some racial and sexual minorities remain underrepresented and often feel unwelcome and devalued in STEM. How can academic science, which so highly values meritocracy and objectivity, produce these unequal outcomes? Blair-Loy and Cech studied more than five hundred STEM professors at a top research university to reveal how unequal and unfair outcomes can emerge alongside commitments to objectivity and excellence. The authors find that academic STEM harbors dominant cultural beliefs that not only perpetuate the mistreatment of scientists from underrepresented groups but hinder innovation. Underrepresented groups are often seen as less fully embodying merit compared to equally productive white and Asian heterosexual men, and the negative consequences of this misjudgment persist regardless of professors' actual academic productivity. Misconceiving Merit is filled with insights for higher education administrators working toward greater equity as well as for scientists and engineers striving to change entrenched patterns of inequality in STEM."-- Provided by publisher.

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