astronomy

Roberta G. Simmons

Roberta G. Simmons is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Roberta G. Simmons rather than just read about it. In short: Roberta Grodberg Simmons (November 30, 1937 – February 15, 1993) was an American sociologist. A 1979 Guggenheim Fellow, she studied the psychology of adolescence and later organ transplants and authored the books Black and White Self-Esteem (1972), Gift of Life (1977), and Moving Into Adolescence (1987).

Key takeaways

Roberta G. Simmons belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Roberta G. Simmons to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Roberta G. Simmons from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Roberta Grodberg Simmons (November 30, 1937 – February 15, 1993) was an American sociologist. A 1979 Guggenheim Fellow, she studied the psychology of adolescence and later organ transplants and authored the books Black and White Self-Esteem (1972), Gift of Life (1977), and Moving Into Adolescence (1987). She was a professor at the University of Minnesota and University of Pittsburgh, and she served as president of the Midwest Sociological Society.

Biography Simmons was born on November 30, 1937, in Boston, daughter of Burton C. Grodberg. She attended Wellesley College, where she obtained a BA in 1959, and Columbia University, where she obtained an MA in 1961 and a PhD in 1964. Her doctoral dissertation was titled An experimental study of the role-conflict of the first-line supervisor. After working as a lecturer at Barnard College, she was assistant professor at Columbia in 1966, before working as a staff fellow at the National Institute of Mental Health's Laboratory of Socio-Environmental Studies from 1966 to 1968. She joined the University of Minnesota as an assistant professor in 1969, before being promoted to associate professor in 1972 and full professor in 1976. She later moved to the University of Pittsburgh in 1987, retaining her professor title. Simmons studied the psychology of adolescence and later organ transplants, with one of her findings concluding that an organ transplant "was considered a priceless gift by some recipients and a burdensome debt by others". She was author of three books: Black and White Self-Esteem (1972), Gift of Life (1977), and Moving Into Adolescence (1987). Dale A. Blyth said that "her work on biomedical altruism and organ donation is highly regarded", and United Network for Organ Sharing executive Lin McGaw called Simmons "really way ahead of her time" due to her work in the field. In 1979, she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for "a comparative study of the policy and ethical issues of organ transplantation". She won the NIMH Research Scientist Career Development Award fifteen times and was a 1986-1987 Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences Fellow. She was president of the Midwest Sociological Society, vice-president of the Eastern Sociological Society, and chair of the medical sociology section of the ASA, as well as a council member at the Society for Research on Adolescence (1986-1990) and the ASA. On September 7, 1958, she married Richard L. Simmons, who later co-authored her first book. They had two children. Simmons died on February 15, 1993, in UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in her native Pittsburgh, after fifteen years with breast cancer. She was 55 and predeceased both her father and husband.

Bibliography Black and White Self-Esteem (1972; with Morris Rosenberg) Gift of Life (1977; with Susan D. Klein and Richard L. Simmons) Moving Into Adolescence (1987; with Dale A. Blyth)

Notes

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Roberta G. Simmons

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Roberta G. Simmons claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Roberta G. Simmons before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Roberta G. Simmons ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Roberta G. Simmons

In research: Roberta G. Simmons appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Roberta G. Simmons in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Roberta G. Simmons is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1937 births, 1993 deaths, 20th-century American sociologists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Roberta G. Simmons outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Roberta G. Simmons in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Roberta G. Simmons means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Roberta G. Simmons out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Roberta G. Simmons in simple terms?

Why does Roberta G. Simmons matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Roberta G. Simmons?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Roberta G. Simmons.