links for 2009-02-12

"If one of the goals of stimulus is to get American consumers shopping again, then I think itâs going to take some substantial changes to the entire retail landscape for that to be more than a momentary upward blip in a relentlessly downward spiral. And at least some of those changes will involve rethinking the size, scale and ubiquity of retailing."

"More than a year ago, a major study of 71 Division III member institutions of the National Collegiate Athletic Association documented a significant academic achievement gap separating male athletes and non-athletes at selective liberal arts colleges. Although admissions practices â potentially biased in favor of enrolling athletes â might be to blame for this gap, a new study suggests that the perceived threat among athletes of confirming the negative stereotype of the âdumb jockâ might also help perpetuate the gap."

"If I were in charge of science fairs (clearly, I am not), I would make the primary goal to be the promotion of science and to give students a chance to do some real science. I guess this is the goal of the actual science fairs. However, I really donât think science fairs promote sound understanding of the nature of science."

"As my tribute to the memory of Darwin, I thought Iâd take a look at some of the references to evolution in science fiction and horror in the years following its discovery! Weâll look at stories from almost the time of the publication of On the Origin of Species (1859) to the 1930s. This list is by no means exhaustive, but represents some of the tales Iâve come across recently."