'Girl geeks' tackle science gender imbalance

A group of volunteers called the Manchester Girl Geeks is offering free courses - and cakes - to get more women interested in male-dominated sciences like physics and coding.

It's a sunny Saturday afternoon, but a group of youngsters have chosen to spend two and a half hours in a Manchester library to learn what is still a very "boys-only" science - computer coding.

"I just made it pop up something that says 'I am the best!'" exclaims 11 year old Florence Jones. She has just got to grips with how to write code for the computer and make it do exactly as she wants, rather than being content with what most of us do, namely, use a program someone else has written.

"Coding means to tell the computer what to do. It means you can create your own stuff, and also it means you can make it unique. Me and my friend both like computers so we just thought we'd come along and see what it's like," Florence says.

She is one of around 20 young girls - and a few boys - who had come to this taster session in computer coding run by Manchester Girl Geeks, a group of volunteers working to get more girls and women interested in science.

Cakes and coding

The Girl Geeks run talks and workshops on everything from math to solar physics, while encouraging participants to bring homemade cakes to keep spirits high.

"Girls are generally not encouraged to do any programming because it is still regarded as something that boys do," says Sam Baile, a computer graduate at Manchester University and one of the founders of Manchester Girl Geeks.

"There have been some studies [showing] that girls aren't really into programming just for the sake of making elegant code, but because it helps them find solutions to solve problems, for instance, in health care or in other areas where they can actually do something useful," says Baile.

Sam Baile is very pleased that so many girls have chosen to spend a sunny Saturday afternoon in front of a computer screen, and hopes at least some of them will develop an appetite to go on and take their interest further.

"It's great to see so many girls come along. I know that not all of them will go away and become top programmers, but just having a general understanding of how things work I think is already quite helpful in dealing with technology in general."

A man's world

At the coding workshop Florence is accompanied by her mother, Paula Jones. She is very happy to see her daughter taking an interest in computers and science at such an early stage. As a youth worker, she says she encounters many people who still think science is a man's world.

"I've been really shocked how many of the girls will say 'Well, a doctor is a man's job,' and particularly nowadays when you've plenty of doctors who are women. But they'll say 'Well, you say doctor and it sounds like a man.' So, I think you've got quite a lot to overcome really - even in 2012," says Jones.

British girls tend to do well in science at school. The number of female science university graduates is growing. But women are still under-represented in higher science positions and some sciences are still perceived to be the realm of boys. Computer coding is one of them.

"There is this sense that coding and programming is this geeky, lonely, anti-social activity that is more attractive to men than women," says Liz Hannaford, a media lecturer at Salford University.

Hannaford decided to teach herself computer programming in her spare time earlier this year. She wants to be able to help her two young daughters, aged 5 and 7, if they should ever want to learn coding.

"I'd love them to know how all this works and to be interested in it and to get into it, but if I can't do it myself I'm not much of a role model or a help to them," Hannaford says. She is now looking into the possibility of setting up a computer programming course at her daughters' primary school.

Like the Manchester Girl Geeks, Liz Hannaford believes young girls preparing for the future could do a lot worse than learning how to make computers work.

Good programmers are hard to find. But most industries will be looking for IT professionals with coding skills for years to come. The girls at the Girl Geek's workshop might have taken their first step towards controlling their own computing future.

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Chessboxers take it on the chin

Chessboxing - an oxymoron to some - could be the best way to find the smartest tough guy in the world. Contests in Berlin are a sell out. But is it bad news for the brain?

The man behind the chessboxing phenomenon is Dutch performance artist, Iepe Rubingh. He grew up playing chess and started boxing in his 20s. Then he read a graphic novel by French-Serbian author, Enki Bilal, which envisioned chessboxing. And by 2003, it was born for real.

Contestants fight 11 rounds in the boxing ring, alternating between four minute long rounds of chess, and three minute long rounds of boxing, with a one minute break in between.

The fight begins with a round of chess, but players can win with a knockout or checkmate.

If the chess game is tied, the winner is decided by points scored in the boxing rounds. Conversely, if the boxing match ends in a tie, the player who had the black pieces on the chessboard wins.

21st Century manhood

There is no doubt that chessboxing is a test of the body and the mind.

But it could be tougher on the mind than the body.

The head gets hit with fists and then has to muster up the concentration for a top-level game of chess.

Some of the best boxers in the world have come away from their careers with brain damage - and they are probably not playing a lot of chess in their retirement. But Rubingh says the sport is an expression of manhood in the 21st century.

"You fight in the ring, not in a bar or in the streets. And you wage war on the chessboard, not in the Middle East," says Rubingh. "It's all about the control of aggression."

It sounds like a noble aim, but judging from the winces of some audience members - seeing two guys beat each other up right in front of you - is a little brutal.

At the recent Berlin Chessboxing championships, the first match was between 24 year old chess grandmaster, Arik Braun, who is studying physics and math, and 40 year old IT developer, Felix Bartels.

Braun started chessboxing two years ago, while Bartels began just four months ago after a friend told him about the sport.

"I really like the people because I think they are different than usual boxers," says Bartels. "On the first day, in the locker room, there were two guys exchanging book titles. You probably wouldn't see that in a normal boxing club. I like the idea of being able to fight guys without having this real hatred against each other. And the training is really good, too."

Blood on the brain

The match between Braun and Bartels goes for the full eleven rounds and really takes its toll on both players.

Braun wins on the chessboard in the final round. He looks worn out and will soon be sporting a black eye. But he is unconcerned about the effect on his brain.

"No, it should be fine," he told DW.

None of the guys seem particularly worried about the effect of punches to the head.

Doctors remain divided over whether Mohammed Ali's condition is caused by boxing or Parkinson's.

But Dr Ingo Schmehl, director of the Clinic for Neurology at the Emergency Hospital in Berlin, has seen a fair number of head injuries caused by boxing and other sports.

"The speed of a boxing punch is a minimum of 10 meters per second when it hits the eye or the head," Schmehl says, pointing to an MRI brainscan on his computer. "These dark spots show typical bleeding after a traumatic brain injury or a knockout."

It's a risk

As a sport, Chessboxing is still in its infancy. Most of the competitors at the Berlin championship were more experienced in chess than boxing. And even the referee had his doubts.

Referee Holger Prokot is a Berlin-based physiotherapist. He started boxing at the age of 10 and later became a coach and then a referee. He also trained Iepe Rubingh.

When the second two fights ended abruptly, with knockouts in the first round, Prokot said it was the risk that beginners take.

"I've never understood how grown up men can decide to take the risk of going into the ring because it's really, really dangerous," Prokot says.

"They're not 10 years old anymore, weighing just 30 kilograms. They are big men, six foot tall, weighing 80 kilograms and more. And mistakes inside the ring are punished heavily. When you grow up with boxing, you just learn it - it's just a part of you. But when you learn boxing as an adult, it's hard."

From concussion to dementia

Despite the pummeling, the guys seem to love it.

When 24 year old German champion, Nils Becker, shouts with victory, he's all adrenalin, muscle and masculinity. It's hard to imagine this is the same guy who is studying renewable energies. Becker says it is difficult switching between chess and boxing, but he thrives on the challenge.

"It's about finding the balance between the fighting sport and the mental sport, so it doesn't matter if you're a good chess player or a good boxer, you have to combine both of them," says Becker.

Schmehl, the Berlin neurologist, warns however that blows to the head can cause many problems from concussion to dementia. They can also cause short-term memory loss, affect fine motor control, and slow down cognitive ability - which means you react slower.

Boxing is not the only sport that can do you damage. Ice hockey, rugby, soccer, American football and bungee jumping can all be dangerous. But if you really want to jump in the ring, the doctor's advice is "invest in some protective head-gear."

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German President Gauck challenges far-right

President Joachim Gauck has urged Germany to resist far-right extremists without fear. His remarks precede the 20th anniversary of anti-foreigner rioting in Rostock that shocked Germany shortly after its reunification.

German head of state Gauck told the Ostsee Zeiting newspaper on Monday that at next weekend's remembrance in his home city he would show that Germany had "trained" really hard to develop a "defensive culture" against far-right extremism, and that "we will remain active."

"We won't hand over our fear as a present to the far-extremists; we won't let them prevail," Gauck said on Monday.

Germany has learned to resist the far-right, says Gauck

In late August, 1992, hundreds of far-right extremists, applauded by several thousand spectators, surrounded and attacked a high-rise apartment block in Rostock-Lichtenhagen used as a central hostel for asylum-seekers in the former communist East German port city.

Some 150 inhabitants, including Vietnamese who had previously been contract workers in East Germany, were forced to flee when rioters fire-bombed the building while local police held back. The incident during nationwide debate on asylum policy ranked as the worst anti-foreigner rioting in post-war Germany.

Rioting 20 years ago inexcusable

Gauck told the newspaper on Monday that the rioting was inexcusable but its roots lay in under-developed climate of civic debate in former East Germany where authorities proclaimed and enforced their version of "truth" by violent means.

In 1992 asylum-seekers were forced to flee Rostock's hostel

In the early 1990s, Gauck said, many eastern Germans lacked employment and orientation. Some were susceptible to misguided "black and white" thinking, he said.

In another interview, Gauck told the Leipziger Volkszeitung newspaper on Monday that any fresh application by federal authorities to Germany's Constitutional Court to ban the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD) must be "very thoroughly" prepared.

In 2003, the court in Karlsruhe rejected a previous prohibition application on the grounds that evidence had been tainted by the authorities' use of informants. Germany's constitution sets high hurdles for the banning of political parties.

Calls for a NPD prohibition have surged since the detection last year of a neo-Nazi gang that had murdered nine immigrants, mostly of Turkish origin, and a policewoman between 2000 and 2007.

Starting Monday, Gauck, who is normally based in the capital Berlin, will spend four days in Bonn, Germany's former post-war seat of government. The German head of state's second official residence is located in Bonn's Villa Hammerschmidt on the banks of the Rhine.

ipj/mz (epd, dpa, Reuters)

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Signs point to power struggle in Gu Kailai case

In China, the wife of former leading politician Bo Xilai has been convicted of murder. A number of experts believe the case is merely a result of a grab for power among members of China's elite.

A court in the eastern Chinese city of Hefei convicted Gu Kailai, the wife of Chinese politician Bo Xilai, of murder on Monday (20.08.2012). Chinese state media have reported that Gu, a former prosecutor, admitted to poisoning British businessman Neil Heywood. The court sentenced her to death, but that sentence has been commuted. If Gu maintains a clean record for the next two years, she will serve a life sentence in prison rather than being executed.

Gu's husband Bo Xilai, who was party chief of China's largest city Chongqing, had been seen as a top candidate to become a member of China's center of power - the Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee. To the shock of the nation, he was removed from his office in March. Until that point, he had been the charismatic bearer of hope of the so-called "New Left," son of a famous veteran of the revolution and a poster child of the upper class of "princelings." Now, with the loss of his seat in the Politburo and in the party's central committee, his career in politics has come to an end.

Heywood (left) and Gu Kailai are said to have had a falling out

His wife was investigated for the murder of Heywood in July. According to official accounts, both had their differences in terms of business. Heywood was found dead in a hotel in Chongqing last November. The official diagnosis was alcohol poisoning. The body was cremated soon after he was found without an autopsy.

Poisoning, escape, house arrest

The murder charge against Bo's wife is seen by many as part of a campaign against Bo himself. The connection between Gu Kailai and the death of 41-year-old Heywood fits perfectly into the mosaic of the following events:

Heywood (left) and Gu Kailai are said to have had a falling out

At the beginning of February, Chongqing's police chief, Wang Lijun, is fired. No official reason is given for his dismissal. Apparently, there had been a row between him and Bo Xilai right before his dismissal. Wang is said to have admitted that his officers expected foul play in the death of Neil Heywood. They had not wanted to put their names to a report that spoke of death by alcohol poisoning.

After close colleagues start to disappear, Wang Lijun starts to fear for his life and escapes to a US consulate 300 kilometers away in the city of Chengdu. Police from Chongqing surround the consulate and the affair receives international recognition - to the great dismay of Beijing. A day later, Wang Lijun leaves the consulate - voluntarily, as they called it. Officialls from Beijing escort the former police chief past the Chongqing police in Beijing. Now he is being accused of high treason.

The National People's Congress follows in March. The annual meeting of China's parliament is supposed to take place without any glitches. Bo Xilai makes his last public appearance. Right after the People's Congress draws to a conclusion, he is removed from his office as police chief on March 16. No official reason is named as to why. Since then, Bo has been under house arrest.

'Classic' power struggle

Bo Xilai rose up the ranks of power and was tipped to be promoted to the nine-member Politburo Standing Committee. During the 18th National Congress, which will take place in autumn 2012, new members will be selected for the committee.

Bo Xilai was a prominent representative of the so-called "New Left" movement, which seeks to gain more control over societal problems in China such as growing disparities between the rich and the poor and an increase in corruption while at the same time embracing the legacy of the revolution.

In Chongqing, Bo banned TV advertisements and promoted revolutionary songs from the Mao era. He started an anti-corruption campaign which rounded up thousands of law breakers and sentenced dozens to death. But the campaign failed to place much emphasis on law and justice.

Many experts believe a political power struggle is the reason for the case

On the other side of China's political spectrum are the more economic liberally mided people backing Prime Minister Wen Jiabao. These people seek to solve the country's problems through the implementation of more reforms; they want to downsize the state and a stronger justice system. Recently, Wen Jiabao spoke in favor of breaking the monopoly of China's large state-run banks.

China expert Willy Lam told DW the recent events in China were all part of a classic power struggle. After months of wrangling behind the scenes, what the party leaders now wanted was to present a picture of unity, he added.

"That is in the interest of all the factions." We will only understand the "behind the scenes horse trading" and the "intrigues" after the Standing Committee has been announced. Lam said it was also possible that the number of members in the Standing Committee could be reduced from nine to seven - in case the row among the factions could not be solved behind the curtains.

The Chinese leadership wars are said to have already decided over the fate of Bo's family during their traditional summer retreat at the resort Beidahe, where party chief Hu Jintao is also said to have decided on the topics of the up-coming party congress and also on the new members of the Politburo. Now that Gu Kailai has been found guilty, her husband's political fate lies with the gods.

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Somalia swears in formal parliament on home soil

For the first time in two decades, a formal Somali parliament was sworn in on home soil at a ceremony at Mogadishu Airport. It is the latest bid two end two decades of instability in the war-torn country.

Due to fears of attacks by Islamist militant groups such as al Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab, the parliamentarians were sworn in on the tarmac in the capital Mogadishu's heavily fortified airport zone under the protection of African Union (AU) troops.

The parliament was the first to be sworn in on Somalian soil in more than 20 years. The Horn of Africa nation has not had a stable central government since former president Siad Barre was killed in 1991.

DW.DE

Can a new government end the violence in Somalia?

Somalia is due to have a new government as the mandate of the transitional regime runs out. Many Somalis are not convinced that peace and stability will now return to their civil war-torn country. (17.08.2012) 

"Somalis have been through over 20 years of chaos ... people are ready for a new day in Somalia," said Hussein Arab Isse, a lawmaker and defense minister in the previous government.

The swearing-in was the culmination of a UN-backed process in which lawmakers were chosen by a group of 135 traditional elders. The ceremony officially brought an end to Somalia's transitional government after eight years of political infighting.

The process of forming a new government was hailed as an "unprecedented opportunity for greater peace and stability," said a joint statement from the UN, AU, United States and European Union issued on Sunday.

"The conclusion of the transition should mark the beginning of more representative government in Somalia," leaders wrote in the statement, which was also signed by Norway, Turkey and East Africa's main diplomatic body, IGAD, among others.

The airport where the swearing-in ceremony was held adjoins the base for the almost 17,000-strong AU force, which has propped up Somalia's Western-backed leadership against attacks by al-Shabaab.

No presidential election yet

Islamist group al-Shabaab has been linked to al Qaeda

While the ceremony was hailed as a success by some, others took a far gloomier outlook, suggesting it offers little but a reshuffling of political positions for a nation that also suffers from rampant corruption.

"Whilst parliament remains a selected rather than elected body, it is essential that it cuts its ties with the past of self-interest and warlordism," the international statement said.

Also, there was no clear time-frame for when voting for key positions - first for parliament speaker, then for president - would take place.

"The presidential elections will not be held today," said lawmaker Aweys Qarni. "The election committee must still be convened ... There is still work to go before the presidential elections."

Outgoing Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, in power since 2009, is considered one of the favorites for the job, though he is a controversial figure among some Western observers.

A July UN report said that under Sharif's presidency, "systematic embezzlement, pure and simple misappropriation of funds and theft of public money have become government systems." Sharif has rejected the claims.

Over a dozen candidates are expected to run for the presidency. Voting will be held by secret ballot, with up to four rounds possible to select the president. In addition to Sharif, Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali and outgoing parliament speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan are also thought to be contenders.

Massive problems, some progress

Without a central government since 1991, several issues plague Somalia. Piracy is a serious concern along the coast, where hundreds of foreign nationals and ships have been held for ransom. In mid-2011, a famine resulted from the worst drought in East Africa in more than 60 years, killing tens of thousands.

Past efforts to restore peace in Somalia have had mixed results. A US-led offensive to remove local warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid in 1993 ended in disaster, with Aidid escaping and 19 American troops and more than 1,000 civilians and militia slain.

According to the CIA World Factbook, life expectancy in Somalia is just 50.8 years - the seventh-lowest in the world.

Yet progress has been made recently, with improved security in the capital and large numbers of Somalis returning to their homeland from places such as Kenya, Europe and the United States.

A military offensive by the AU, Somali and Ethiopian troops has driven al-Shabaab from several key bases in recent months, but fighters have also staged a string of guerrilla attacks.

bm/msh (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)

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Myanmar lifts political, religious media censorship

For nearly five decades, media organizations in Myanmar have been required to submit their content to a censorship board prior to publication. Now, the last of the restrictions has been lifted.

The head of the government's Press Scrutiny and Registration Department, Tint Swe, said on Monday that political and religious publications would be free from government scrutiny, the last type of publication to have censorship requirements lifted. Pre-publication requirements on sports, entertainment, and some other stories were lifted last year.

"For now on, local publications do not need to send their stories to the censorship board," Swe said.

Lifting the ban is the latest in a series of democratic reforms introduced in Myanmar, which is also known as Burma, since the government of President Thein Sein took office in March 2011.

Some forms of censorship still remain, however. An official from the information ministry told the AFP news agency that film censorship remained in the place, and television journalists still turned to the government for instructions regarding sensitive news.

mz/pfd (AFP, dpa)

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dOCUMENTA, the biotope

From sculptures for dogs to voting rights for strawberries, dOCUMENTA's weird and wacky artworks are grabbing attention. Mid-way into the 100-day show, DW takes another look.

A lot of grass has grown in the past few weeks - not only over all the speculating ahead of this edition of dOCUMENTA, the international exhibition of modern and contemporary art that occurs every five years in Kassel, Germany.

Grass has also grown over the hill of Chinese artist Song Dong's artwork. It's a green hill covered with garden waste, and absolutely magnetizes visitors. Yucca plants are sprouting next to turnip cabbages and bright blue flowered vines are curling around yellow rapeseed. Chance has taken hold of the brush in this work.

Garten waste becomes art

One visitor points to all the "weeds" in distaste, speculating that the artwork is a warning to all potential gardeners. The little signs with "Doing" and "Nothing" printed on them are almost entirely hidden under all the greenery, but seem to confirm her suggestion. However, the artist had a different goal in mind: He wanted to prompt people to be more prudent in their use of resources, even when they appear as worthless as garden waste. The piece addresses one of the central questions this 13th edition of dOCUMENTA poses: how to deal with Planet Earth.

Love, freedom and butterflies

A group of first-graders squeezes up in front of a flowerbed that looks as though a painting of a lawn by Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer has turned reality. German artist Kristina Buch entitled her work "The Lover," and it's more like an island of plants than anything else.

The butterflies have artist Kristina Buch to thank for their sourroundings

Buch has been in Kassel since March, tending the garden and releasing butterflies there daily. The artist, who studied biology and theology in addition to art, sees the piece as an act of commitment to a work that is exceedingly ephemeral, like the brief life of a butterfly. Nonetheless, or precisely because of this, it's an ideal "symbol of freedom." Her garden of butterflies is not flush with the ground, but raised, bringing animals and plants to eye-level and prompting visitors to dispel with their anthropocentric views. A radical change in perspective is just one demand of this edition of dOCUMENTA, which also aims to broaden the scope of art in all directions.

Taking an umbrella to view the artworks is not such a bad idea

Over 160 artists were invited to contribute their works to the show in Kassel, and never have so many been outdoor works. Most of them are located across the majestic 125-hectare (more than 300-acre) Karlsaue Park. In such a pleasure garden, it's not hard to shake one's anxieties about contemporary art. Visitors can stroll along tree-lined paths, losing themselves in the labyrinth of art as if in a Grimm Brothers fairytale.

Spectators of life and death

A feminine figure surrounded by carnivorous plants lies between heaps of compost. Her head is a buzzing bee's nest.  A white dog with a pink leg guards the work by French artist Pierre Huyghe entitled "Untilled."

"Untilled" by Pierre Huyghe

It's a spectacle of growth and putrefaction, life and death. What the dog is about, nobody knows. But whatever it means, one thing is clear: this edition of dOCUMENTA is leaving its mark.

Other works are easier to comprehend. Sam Durant constructed a jungle gym that, upon closer inspection, turns out to be gigantic pieces of scaffolding. They are true-to-scale models of execution units significant in US history. There are the gallows used to execute Dakota Native Americans in 1862, and Saddam Hussein in Iraq in 2006.

Sam Durant's work is not a jungle gym

The construction stands at the apex of the Karlsaue's main path, and is likewise a symbol of the Absolutist history of the grounds - and the era of guillotines in Europe. It's a strong comment on the death penalty, yet its platform provides a broad view of the English-style park and symbolizes a new perspective on human beings and nature. Durham's scaffold is one of many political artworks in Kassel that also point to the history of the dOCUMENTA location.

The healing power of art

This year's show is vested in the notion of the healing power of art, reflected in its motto "Collapse and Recovery." That can be viewed in terms of political-historical significance, or seen in the context of ill health and recovery.

Pedro Reyes's "Sanatorium"

A line has formed in front of Mexican artist Pedro Reyes's "Sanatorium," where visitors can "admit" themselves and select from 15 different types of therapy, from primal screaming to Fluxus events. Is it a lark, or esoteric thinking?

Reyes would like to treat urban illnesses such as stress, loneliness and fear. Visitors react to his work in a myriad of ways. Some crack jokes, while others reveal all the crooks and crannies of their inner lives to the young art students conducting the sessions.

A shared space

The nicest biotope at dOCUMENTA, though, lies beyond the Karlsaue at the Huguenots house. Once a residence of the bourgeoisie, it was then turned into a hotel before being severely destroyed in the war. Now, however, American installation artist, sculptor and activist Theaster Gates of Chicago has gutted and restored the building, filling it with new life as a residence for Chicago- and Kassel-based participants of employment incentive programs.

The Huguenots House as a Gesamtkunstwerk

"It could end up being the building with the greatest sex appeal in Kassel," Gates predicted. And it's proven to be true. Cool furniture designs and artworks have sprung forth from materials left over from buildings torn down in Chicago. In this place, the history of the house mixes with that of Black Power. Flat screens flash music performances onto faded floral wallpaper. Concerts take place here regularly, filling the house with music.

The bathroom is a little less appealing

Two elderly women move to and fro on an avant-garde Hollywood swing. A group of Japanese visitors peeks inside the bedrooms of the building's residents, while the latter sip ice tea in the kitchen. All in all, a place virtually anyone would want to move into - a new form of community where people live, work and play together.

It's just one of the many impressive works to be found at dOCUMENTA this time around, and you'd need days to cover the entire ground. Even then, you may not be able to discern an entirely clear concept of "Collapse and Recovery," but you can relish in the wildly sprawling cosmos of artistic expression. dOCUMENTA is sometimes esoteric, often political, but always linked to the demand that we ponder things - a demand visitors readily fulfill.

Author: Ulrike Sommer / als
Editor: Kate Bowen  

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