Research & Scholarly Activity

Research & Scholarly Activity

Major Long Term Research Projects
Funders include: National Science Foundation, Fulbright Institute, American Institute of Indian Studies, San Jose State University.

MAJOR  RESEARCH (fieldwork-based, primarily involving ethnographic and questionnaire data)

1982-present. The Cultural Context of Gendered Science, Cross-Culturally.  Focus: India and the U.S.A.  Part of broader exploration of Sexual Division/s of Labor/s].

2005-2007:  College as Culture: exploration of the culture of 1st year college students. Field Site: San Jose State University. In conjunction with MUSEFreshman classes, College as Culture.

1981-present:  Cultural and Cultural Diversity Issues in American (U.S.) Schools. 

            Long-standing action-oriented research to identify and address issues of cultural diversity (including race, ethnicity, gender, U.S.centrism, ethnocentrism) in pre-college education and within teacher education.   Has included working with teachers and teacher educators, developing curriculum and teaching resources. Includes recent work on RACE museum exhibit (see publications; info below)

1988-present.    Cross-Cultural and Cross-Ethnic (within the United States) Research on gendered science, academic choice processes and cultural and social contextual factors affecting participation of South Asian [India] women in science & engineering. 

            Research-related work in India. 1988, 1989, 1996, 2004, 2008.

            Research-related fieldwork and analysis of secondary sources in the United States.  1987- present,

1992-present.   Changing family, gender, and sexuality systems in the Silicon Valley among cultural groups with "Patrifocal family"  traditions (e.g.  South Asians).

1984--1988.    Initiated research on cross-cultural and ethnic differences in women’s participation in science and engineering.  Initial ethnographic study of academic decision-making among multiethnic sample of college students [Chico,CA].  Also gathered and analyzed California State Universityand national aggregate institutional data on ethnic and gender differences in Applied Science participation and performance.  Subsequently extended to comparative study in India.

1982--present.  Gendered work in family, educational and scientific contexts,  using cultural models and ethnographic decision  processing approaches.

1980-81. New York.  Folk models of race/ethnicity and gender.  Explored the intersection of ethnic and gender stereotypes using ethnosemantic data and multidimensional scaling.

1979. United States--selected sites.  Researcher for Successful  Sites Study,  a national study of compensatory education programs.   Contractor:  Systems Development Corporation, Santa Monica,CA.

1976-80. Los Angeles,California.  Dissertation research on sexual  division of labor in families of hospital nurses, using an ethnographic decision-modeling perspective.  Explored cultural models of gender, work, and family underlying household task decisions; implications for prevailing theories of gendered labor.

1970-74.  LA.   MA Thesis: Cultural & nutritional  aspects  of  changing foodways of Indian immigrants.  A cultural model of Hindu food decisions.

 

  • Grants and Awards
    1965-3000

    Description:

    SIGNIFICANT EXTERNAL GRANTS, AWARDS AND OTHER PROFESSIONAL HONORS (additional grants/awards are available on request)

    Co-Initiated & Helped Write Grant Proposals for American Anthropological Association (AAA) public education project, Understanding Race and Human Variation [RACE].  Funded by Ford Foundation and National Science Foundation ($4.5 m.). 1998-2007

    2005. Invited Lecture for Annual Lecture Series,  Harvard Graduate School of Education, HarvardUniversity, May 2005.  Title of Presentation: Are American Theories of Gendered Science Culture-Bound?  A Cautionary Tale from India

    National  Science  Foundation,  Anthropology  Program.   Project:  The Cultural  Context of the Gendering of Science: An Indian  Case  Study.  1995-1997.  $90,000+

    NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates [REU] supplement to existing Award.  1996: $4000.

    Indo-American Research Fellowship, Council for International  Exchange of  Scholars  (CIES),  l987-l988 Award.  Research  Project:  Women  in Science  and  Technology:  The Indian Case. Utilized  in  Spring  1988 [sabbatical]. India. 

    Invited Scholar, Centre for Theoretical Studies, Indian  Institute of  Science, Bangalore, March 1988.  Lectures  (Hierarchical  Decision  Models in Ethnographic Research, Beyond  Babies  and Brawn:  Rethinking the Sexual Division of Labor) and served as a  consultant to a Ph.D seminar on Ethnographic Research Methods.

    Professional  Development Research Fellowship, American Institute  for Indian Studies, 1987-8. Project: Women in Science and Technology:  The Indian Case. India.  Utilized in late 1988--early 1989.

    1986-1987- Administrative Fellow, San Francisco State University, Coordinated Campus Response to CSU Task Force Report on Representation of Women in Math, Science and Engineering.  Produced policy report and comprehensive set of recommendations.

    Appointed to California State University Chancellor's System-Wide Task Force  on  Representation of Women in Math, Science  and  Engineering, l985-1987. Chaired sub-committee on students.

    CSU  Chancellor's Academic Program Improvement Grants:   Mainstreaming Multicultural Perspectives into Teacher Training Programs. A  Curriculum  Resource  Guide. With Hilda Hernandez. l984-5.  Released  time  & monies.  l983-4.  Faculty Workshop Series. Release time & monies.

    NIMH-ADAMHA Small Grant Program:  "Father -Infant Relationship Among Central African Pygmies". With Barry Hewlett. Approved for funding but inadequate priority number. l983.

    Travel Grant, Conference on Women and Development, WellesleyCollege, l976.

    Regent's Fellowship, University of California,Riverside, l973-74.

    NDEA Grant--Institute on Teaching Disadvantaged Students. l965.