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38,675 |
In addition to the main sessions, the workshops, and the special sessions, many conferences provide also some **tutorials**, usually the day before the beginning of the event or the day after the end of the event.
Computer science [NIPS conference](http://nips.cc/), for example, is one of these.
I've attended some of them, and I know what they are. But, if I talked with colleagues about tutorials, each of them would give a different definition of this conference aspects.
**What actually are tutorials in conferences?**
Are they specific lectures for young attendees of the conference?
Are they specific talks to give the guests the opportunity to explain and advertize a particular aspect of their research?
Or are they just a way to add one day to the conference schedule?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38678,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "I think this varies a lot from field to field. In High-performance Computing and Scientific Computing, tutorials are very likely to be a set of lectures and hands-on laboratory sessions giving attendees instruction in how to use a computer, API, or other software. This could include \"Programming for Intel Xeon Phi\", \"Introduction to Computing System X\", \"Python for HPC\", etc. (many of which I have personally been involved in teaching). These kinds of tutorials are typical of conferences like *Supercomputing* and *IEEE Cluster*."
},
{
"answer_id": 38687,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "At the conferences I attend, the tutorials tend to be sort of an oral survey of a topic, introducing practitioners (young or old) to a coherent body of work likely to be of interest to them. For example, a person might give a detailed \"how to\" introduction to a new (or newly imported) set of methods that many people are interested in applying, or might present a coherent picture of important results within a subfield."
}
] |
2015/02/11
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38675",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/379/"
] |
38,683 |
I am a recent PhD student. My adviser is really a very nice, kind, and open-minded person. They are always open to discuss about subjects of my interest.
As I am almost at the half of my first year, my rhythm of working has evolved from making lectures to doing something concrete. So, I have started to contact my adviser more often in the last month.
How often a PhD student can see his supervisor? Is it really disturbing to send them some results to take their opinion every week? For the moment, my adviser does not seem to be disturbed but are there some "implicit" norms that have escaped me?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38686,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "The frequency that students and advisors meet depends a lot on the particular student and advisor, and also varies highly by time. In my experience, once a month is quite a bit on the low side, but not unusually so. A more typical pacing is once a week or once every two weeks. \n\nThe reason for this frequency is not for the sake of \"norms\", but rather is a good spacing for giving enough time for the student to accomplish something but not so much so that the student is likely to end up wasting a lot of time or becoming very frustrated going down a bad path that the advisor might have been able to detect and help remedy.\n\nIf your advisor is meeting with you once a month and happy with your progress, then perhaps you are simply doing very well at self-direction. It is quite reasonable, however, to ask for more frequent supervision if you think that you will benefit, and as a new Ph.D. student, I think that you likely should do so."
},
{
"answer_id": 38759,
"author": "Massimo Ortolano",
"author_id": 20058,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/20058",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "Let me give you an answer from the \"high side\", just to remind you that [Academia varies more than you think it does](https://academia.meta.stackexchange.com/a/1212/20058).\n\nI typically meet my PhD students from three times a week to once a day, at least for a short meeting (or just for a coffee or lunch). Among the many reasons for such high-frequency meetings, I wish to highlight the following:\n\n1. I see here on Academia.SE many PhD students asking questions, like yours, which really should be addressed to their own advisors. So, I make clear with my PhD students that questions pertaining our relationship and their activities should be first addressed to me, *whenever* the need arises, because it's my duty, as advisor, to answer them. Should I eschew from answering this kind of questions, they'd better call me \"unadvisor\".\n2. There are fields, especially among experimental sciences, where a PhD student cannot work independently on a research topic, but he or she are instead part of a group which works on a certain number of already ongoing experiments. Frequently, these experiments should follow a certain schedule, especially when devices and instruments should be built by other co-workers, or when there is an ongoing international collaboration (e.g. devices and instruments might need to be exchanged between institutes at certain dates). Therefore, I want to be sure that PhD students can complete the assigned tasks on time, and correctly.\n3. In certain experiments, mistakes are always around the corner and results need to be cross-checked between different people, even between senior researchers. Therefore, I want to cross-check the results from my PhD students as soon as the data are available.\n4. Personal issues can lower scientific productivity (see e.g. [How to handle pressure from collaborators when life circumstances make it impossible to get work done?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/38655/20058)): I think these kind of issues should be discussed as soon as possible with the advisor, and I ask my students to do so."
},
{
"answer_id": 38797,
"author": "James Palmer",
"author_id": 23409,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/23409",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "I think the existing answers are quite comprehensive, but I want to reiterate that you should be asking your advisor what is expected. What I'd like to add is another example of how the relationship can vary. \n\nWith my advisor, we would often meet informally several times a day. This was often while critical experiments were happening, or just to bounce ideas off of each other. As my advisor requested for everyone, our lab as a whole kept this culture, where we all were available in the lab for each other. We were also welcome to stop by our advisor's office whenever something needed to be discussed, as he kept an open door. I found this to be very positive and enabled faster progress on our projects."
}
] |
2015/02/11
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38683",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/24694/"
] |
38,693 |
In my university department there is a professor who holds the position of Head of the department, and then there are also several Deputy Xeafs, who are in charge of different management areas —more precisely: Research, Teaching and Infrastructure. Notice that, in our case, the Head and the Deputy Xeafs are not necessarily 'senior professors' or 'full professors'; they can be also (young) 'associate professors'. They are in fact elected by popular vote within the teachers belonging to that department.
My question is just this: What is the right way to refer to the Deputy Head who is in charge for the Research matters of the department?
* Research Deputy Head?
* Deputy Head for Research?
* Deputy Head of Research?
* ...
Actually, I am not sure whether the term 'Deputy Head' is right or not, in this context.
I would appreciate your feedback on this terminology question.
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38695,
"author": "Colin Johnson",
"author_id": 22703,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22703",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "\"Deputy Head of Research\" is someone who deputises for the \"Head of Research\".\n\nBy contrast, \"Deputy Head for Research\" (or, sometimes, \"Deputy Head (Research)\") is someone who deputises for some generic \"Head\" in the specific area of research.\n\n\"Research Deputy Head\" is unidiomatic and sounds like a command \"go and research the deputy head\" rather than a title. The \"research\" coming first somehow stresses it as a verb rather than a noun.\n\nEven more common than any of those constructions, at least in my part of the world, is the simpler \"Head of Research\".\n\nIn practice, there will be a definitive answer to this question which you can only find out by asking within your university."
},
{
"answer_id": 38714,
"author": "StrongBad",
"author_id": 929,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "I am not sure Department Head is an honorific as much as a job description. I am confident that Head of Research is not an honorific. I would just go with Professor/Dr instead of using the job title. If you want to be informal, and it sounds like you do not, go with first names. The only positions that you might want to start using the job title as an honorific is Dean, Chancellors, and Presidents."
}
] |
2015/02/11
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38693",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4132/"
] |
38,702 |
I know that it is important to have dates on papers that you hand in to teachers. I usually put the date that I start the paper, but sometimes I change it to make it seem like I'm not procrastinating. I've also used the date the paper is due. No teacher has ever said anything to me or taken off points for how I have the date.
So my question **What is the correct date to put on a paper?**
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38703,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "Regardless of whether it is homework or any other sort of technical document, the correct date to put on a technical document is the date of its most recent revision. If the history is important, other dates can be added as well (e.g. the submitted/revised/accepted dates on some journal papers). \n\nAs for your professors never saying anything... they likely had no reason or even ability to discriminate between the different systems you used to date, and it likely did not matter for the purposes of the class."
},
{
"answer_id": 83354,
"author": "ggiaquin16",
"author_id": 50899,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/50899",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "To add to what Jakebeal stated, going with the date you LAST touched is important to get in the habit of from a work perspective too. If you are working on a document that helps write out the steps needed to be taken for a certain process, documenting when it was last touched is key for co-workers. This helps them to know if it has been updated or not any time recently. If it is older and they know the process has changed, they may ask for you to change it or go in and change it themselves. \n\nSay though that you put in the date you first started the document, but, due to doing other duties, takes you 3 months to document this process. Someone may think the document is not up-to-date or missing information that may have been provided after the date. So by always keeping the date of when you last touched it current, you help others know the validity of the information.\n\nIf all else fails.... there is an option in word to allow for the date to be changed automatically to when you next open/edit I believe. I know there use to be not sure if it is still a feature."
}
] |
2015/02/12
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38702",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29245/"
] |
38,715 |
One of my classmates just got accepted into the graduate program I also applied for. We both are strong candidates but she is a stronger one, hence the earlier acceptance.
I was wondering if it hurts my chances for an admit if someone from my undergrad university already got accepted for the program I also applied for?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 39011,
"author": "Corvus",
"author_id": 27900,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27900",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "I am unaware of any graduate program that makes an active effort to diversify with respect to the undergraduate institutions of their students. If our top 10 applicants were all from UC Berkeley, for example, we'd have no qualms about admitting them in exclusion of applicants from any other school. Thus in a direct causal sense, it shouldn't hurt you at all that another applicant from your school has been accepted (other than the fact that there is now one fewer slots available in their incoming class).\n\nHowever, knowing that a fellow student has been admitted already does change your conditional probability of being admitted, for the worse. Given that at least some acceptances have been sent out and you are not among them, it is now less likely than it was before that you will be accepted. But this logic applies equally well to any acceptance from any school; it is no more discouraging that the accepted student happens to be from your institution."
},
{
"answer_id": 40032,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "I agree with the answer by Corvus that seeing anyone else get admitted before you is a bad sign, but it's unlikely that the admissions committee would deliberately hold it against you that there's another strong student at your university.\n\nThe most plausible way this could be a problem is prejudice based on your department, if it doesn't send many students to graduate programs at this level. The admissions committee then has to decide whether there's an unusual cluster of strong applicants from your department this year. Occasionally people may take shortcuts and say things like \"Department X doesn't send many students to top programs, so it seems risky to take their second best student. Let's just go with their top student.\" This is lazy and unfair (the evaluation should be based on the applicant, not their pedigree), and I'd object if I heard another committee member say it. It's not inconceivable that someone could think that way, but in a properly run search committee it shouldn't carry any official weight."
}
] |
2015/02/12
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38715",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29262/"
] |
38,717 |
I have heard a few times that having single-author papers is good for your career. I suppose this is because it shows you are capable of producing research on your own. But I wonder if it is a double-edged sword. Say you are early in your career and have only solo papers. Does this also look bad because it suggests you are not good at collaborating?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38718,
"author": "Peter Jansson",
"author_id": 4394,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4394",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "EDIT: Just to make the perspective clear. Disciplines have varying authorship traditions. In many fields within the sciences, and where I come from, first name in an author list is first author (considered to have contributed most) and collaborative papers are the norm.\n\nAny article where you are first author is \"good\" for you. Single author articles have become increasingly rare, at least in fields with which I am familiar. The reason is of course that science is rarely done by single persons but rather in groups. Where single author articles are still relatively common are in the form of review articles where a single author can collate and critically assess the state of affairs in for example a subfield.\n\nGoing back about 20-30 years, again in the afore mentioned for me familiar fields, single authorship was almost demanded from PhD students and older faculty would basically frown on co-authored articles. Now, single authorship almost carries something odd about it in the sense that one can wonder if the person does not know how to collaborate. The later is of course not a good view to express but it shows how much the views have turned.\n\nSo to conclude, writing a well-referenced paper in a high impact journal as first author takes precedence over single or multiple authorship today. I doubt many would look at single authorship as much better than first authorship on a co-authored article today."
},
{
"answer_id": 38719,
"author": "damian",
"author_id": 27812,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27812",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "It highly depends on the discipline. In the humanities, single-authored papers are (still) often kind of the norm, in the \"hard\" sciences an exception, and social sciences being somewhere in between (if one can make such a broad generalization anyway). But as a general publication strategy, I think it is always good to aim for a bit of diversity: If most of your papers are probably multi-authored anyway, there is no need to fear that that two or three single-authored papers would give you a reputation of being unable to work in a team. So, if you have a good idea, and if you have the time and ressources to do it on your own, go ahead and write that solo paper. It can be fun, and in terms of reputation, I'd say it is a good chance to communicate: Hey, this is *really my* work and sth that I really care about, next to all the cool co-authored stuff."
},
{
"answer_id": 38722,
"author": "Trylks",
"author_id": 7571,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7571",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "Regardless of what it suggests. Having **only** solo papers is \"suspicious\", hiring such a person is therefore risky. When collaborating you are *probably* going to be able to write more and better papers and your statistics are *probably* going to look better (depending on how additional authors impact on them). Therefore, when competing for a position, *usually* collaboration pays off.\n\nAt the same time, having **some** solo paper definitively proves your skills, assuming the quality of the papers is good, they are published in some good venues, etc. Some conferences give \"best paper awards\", having one of those in a solo paper would definitively prove you as a reliable researcher.\n\nOf course all this depends on the area and what is customary, but I think this summarizes the general idea. And from this you can infer the only point I want to make:\n\n> \n> This is not a double-edged sword by any means.\n> \n> \n> \n\nThe more papers, the better. In principle no paper is going to hurt you, unless it is wrong, shows no ethics, or similar *issues*. If you have `x` solo papers and `y` papers collaborating with other researchers, then having `x+z` and `y+u` is only going to be good (for `z` and `u` greater than 0).\n\nIt's a single edged sword, don't worry about publishing, strive for quality and quantity and worry about not-publishing.\n\nSo, to make it crisp clear. If you find yourself writing solo papers and publishing only solo papers, go ahead and do it, do it as much as you can and as well as you can. Then try to write some papers collaborating with more people *additionally* to that (not *instead of* that)."
},
{
"answer_id": 88834,
"author": "Developer",
"author_id": 10062,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10062",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "It is a **good practice to have both solo papers and collaborative works**. While the latter show your capability of **team working**, the former demonstrate your **self-motivation** and ability to publish on your own. Both are top remarks that hiring team would consider important.\n\n* If all papers are co-authored it would sound suspicious that you are heavily dependent on others; this is a bad mark.\n* If all papers are solo-authored it would sound suspicious that you are incapable of working with colleagues.\n\nHence it is the best to have both in your CV.\n\nBeside all the above, in current date, hiring especially in academia does not solely depend on your publication, but on many other factors.\n\nTo say that, you should not worry too much about your situation from this point of view.\n\nAnd it is quite easy to find someone to be added to your authorship list of your paper. Just look around, you will notice many are waiting or willing to do so."
}
] |
2015/02/12
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38717",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13119/"
] |
38,728 |
Although some guidelines can be taken from [this post](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/149/what-is-a-sandwich-thesis), additional details would be appreciated.
When building the introduction, I have difficulty trying to join and describe all the aspects of the 3 published articles I have. This will be also the same for the final discussion. In fact, it makes me feel that I'm repeating what I've already written in the papers. I like the [DRY](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_repeat_yourself) principle.
Here is a preliminary outline:
* TABLE OF CONTENTS
* ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
* LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS USED
* SUMMARY
* INTRODUCTION
* HYPOTHESIS AND OBJECTIVES
* MATERIALS AND METHODS
* RESULTS
* Paper1
* Paper2
* Paper3
* DISCUSSION
* CONCLUSIONS
* REFERENCES
* ANNEXES
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38730,
"author": "Davidmh",
"author_id": 12587,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12587",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "Your introduction has to wrap the rest of the thesis, not replace it. So, DRY partially applies here too.\n\nA paper is directed towards other researchers working in your field, whereas a PhD thesis introduction usually is meant to be accessible by anyone in that discipline. Your aim is to write something that will allow your undergrad class mates to get up to speed and understand your papers. You should also give an overview of how all the pieces work together. For example,\n\n> \n> *\"In paper I we showed that our new experimental technique works better than the previous ones, in Paper II we used it to solve a new problem that couldn't be tackled before, and in Paper III we combined it to improve another different technique\".*\n> \n> \n> \n\nSo, a paper that uses machine learning in Bioitechnology would say \"we used a SVM trained on this and that features over this dataset\". The introduction to the thesis will include a chapter introducing machine learning, and explaining what a SVM is. If it were relevant, you could consider adding another one explaining why these features are relevant.\n\nDiscussion and conclusions are not a part of the sandwich thesis I am familiar with, because they would belong into the papers."
},
{
"answer_id": 38731,
"author": "o-0",
"author_id": 21552,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/21552",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "This is the structure that worked for me and number of my friends throughout western European universities: \n\n***Title***: A title that reflects your contributions/publications. \n\n***Table of contents***\n\n***ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS*** \n\n***ABBREVIATIONS*** \n\n***Abstract*** \n\n***INTRODUCTION*** \n\n**Note on Introduction**: Most important of all is to highlight what you want to answer in your research. Also the problem/motivation should be discussed here. \n\n***Paper1 ... PaperN***\n\n**Note On Paper-Based Chapters**: The order of them are very important. Order them based on the content not the year of the publication. \n\n***Evaluation***: In this chapter put both the *discussion* and *results*. Try to figure out the benefits and shortcomings of your research.\n\n***CONCLUSIONS and Future Work***: conclude based on your contribution and highlight the future work. \n\n***REFERENCES***\n\n**Note**: Not so many students take time on organizing their references' style. Most of them just copy/paste the Bibtex code and don't look if all their references obey the same style rules. \n\n***ANNEXES***"
}
] |
2015/02/12
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38728",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/19880/"
] |
38,753 |
I am writing my PhD research proposal. In "Research Aims / Questions" section, I have proposed two distinct research questions which are from the same sub-field but divert from each other a little bit.
Here is an example in my discipline, Computer Science, and subfield, Communications. The first research question involves analysis of router throughput with some specific algorithm. The second question involves a compression mechanism a router, and the compression mechanism is not related to its throughput.
Question: Can I be successful having two not-closely-related research questions? or should I write two separate research proposals?
Any help would be appreciated.
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38730,
"author": "Davidmh",
"author_id": 12587,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12587",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "Your introduction has to wrap the rest of the thesis, not replace it. So, DRY partially applies here too.\n\nA paper is directed towards other researchers working in your field, whereas a PhD thesis introduction usually is meant to be accessible by anyone in that discipline. Your aim is to write something that will allow your undergrad class mates to get up to speed and understand your papers. You should also give an overview of how all the pieces work together. For example,\n\n> \n> *\"In paper I we showed that our new experimental technique works better than the previous ones, in Paper II we used it to solve a new problem that couldn't be tackled before, and in Paper III we combined it to improve another different technique\".*\n> \n> \n> \n\nSo, a paper that uses machine learning in Bioitechnology would say \"we used a SVM trained on this and that features over this dataset\". The introduction to the thesis will include a chapter introducing machine learning, and explaining what a SVM is. If it were relevant, you could consider adding another one explaining why these features are relevant.\n\nDiscussion and conclusions are not a part of the sandwich thesis I am familiar with, because they would belong into the papers."
},
{
"answer_id": 38731,
"author": "o-0",
"author_id": 21552,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/21552",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "This is the structure that worked for me and number of my friends throughout western European universities: \n\n***Title***: A title that reflects your contributions/publications. \n\n***Table of contents***\n\n***ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS*** \n\n***ABBREVIATIONS*** \n\n***Abstract*** \n\n***INTRODUCTION*** \n\n**Note on Introduction**: Most important of all is to highlight what you want to answer in your research. Also the problem/motivation should be discussed here. \n\n***Paper1 ... PaperN***\n\n**Note On Paper-Based Chapters**: The order of them are very important. Order them based on the content not the year of the publication. \n\n***Evaluation***: In this chapter put both the *discussion* and *results*. Try to figure out the benefits and shortcomings of your research.\n\n***CONCLUSIONS and Future Work***: conclude based on your contribution and highlight the future work. \n\n***REFERENCES***\n\n**Note**: Not so many students take time on organizing their references' style. Most of them just copy/paste the Bibtex code and don't look if all their references obey the same style rules. \n\n***ANNEXES***"
}
] |
2015/02/12
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38753",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/20062/"
] |
38,769 |
Recently in a presentation about networking the presenter mentioned that it is important to maintain a good relationship with your past academic supervisors and collaborates (teammates) because employers (industry employer, not academic employers) will go contact these people to gain information about you, especially you are a recent grad with net zero industry experience.
Is this a common practice? Does anyone know if employers will actually go out of their way to contact your supervisors even your teammates?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38772,
"author": "Jonathan Kenigson",
"author_id": 29239,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29239",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "In general, your supervisor will more likely be contacted if your graduate fellowship is listed as employment experience. Background checkers will likely interpret your supervisor as a \"boss\" and contact them accordingly, not to tease out the minutia of your research but to ensure such qualities as dependability, integrity, and punctuality."
},
{
"answer_id": 38778,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "How deeply they check you out entirely depends on what industry you are going into and what company. If you're going to be a coding slave at Oracle, they probably don't give a damn. If you're interviewing where I work, however, we'll most certainly check you out..."
}
] |
2015/02/12
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38769",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/23380/"
] |
38,770 |
I have a couple of papers that are works in progress or in the submission process. Can I list under my publications list (and clarify they are not yet published but on the road to it)?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38771,
"author": "Jonathan Kenigson",
"author_id": 29239,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29239",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "Yes, this is done routinely; provided, however, that these papers are clearly marked as \"currently under peer review\" or \"submitted for review\" and specify the journal. If the paper has passed peer review and us merely awaiting publication, it can be marked as \"to appear.\" If the paper has not passed peer review, it should not be labeled as \"to appear.\" \n\nBest regards and wishing a swift publication process."
},
{
"answer_id": 38860,
"author": "yo'",
"author_id": 1471,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1471",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "There are 4 different stages of a paper:\n\n1. **In preparation.** In maths, this means: we know it's true and we're writing it down. In engineering it can be: measurements done. Etc.\n2. **Submitted.** That's clear what it means. I'd just add: In general, you don't say to which you have submitted it, just in case it got rejected and you re-submit it elsewhere. However, for an application, I would include this information to show the level of journals or venues you aim at.\n3. **Accepted** or **To appear** or **In print.** You've got a final \"ACCEPTED NOTIFICATION\" from the journal. Maybe the proofreading wasn't done or whatever, but now it's clear that the paper will be published (well, it need not, but that's a borderline thing). I personally prefer to write \"accepted\" since that's clear. Both \"to appear\" and \"in print\" may indicate that the volume and pages have been assigned, which need not be true.\n4. **Published.** It's published.\n\nYou can include papers in all 4 categories in your application. I would actually say that for 2,3,4 you *ought to include them*. For the ones in preparation, consider the significance of the paper, it can look like: The applicant hasn't done anything yet on it and is just blowing up his publication list. Of course, you have to say in which stage the paper is (well, not for stage 4 papers)."
},
{
"answer_id": 38873,
"author": "Massimo Ortolano",
"author_id": 20058,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/20058",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "Probably you'are asking for a PhD application in the US, but, just in case, let me give you an answer from a different country. In Italy, in general, unpublished papers don't count for an application, whatever the position you're applying to: PhD, researcher or professor. So, you can list them, but it's typically useless: they will be discarded by the application board. \n\nMore specifically: accepted papers might count, typically not as much as published ones, but you have to attach the acceptance letter received from the journal's editor; submitted papers rarely count; and manuscripts in preparation never count.\n\nIn any case, what counts and what doesn't count is specified in the announcement for the applicants."
}
] |
2015/02/12
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38770",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29303/"
] |
38,773 |
I am attending graduate school this fall and one thing that I still could not wrap around my head is that some of the papers are written by seemingly a group of authors (5 people or more). I am curious how this is usually done.
Are each person assigned a small chunk of work and the paper is put together when everyone is done? This raises so many questions such as what if a person doesn't finish his or her part? How do you piece together the paper so that it is coherent throughout (since people may have different perspectives or understanding).
And is there important differences between a paper written by two person and those written by five or more?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38785,
"author": "user141592",
"author_id": 27327,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27327",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "In my field (math) one person is generally in charge of a specific section / result. They write the rough draft of the section they are responsible for, and then like Jamoer pointed out in the comments, one person is usually more in charge. That person puts the pieces together in the correct order and writes the introduction and transitions (this is also sometimes simply the person who has the best English). After that, (in the papers I've worked on) the file is put on ShareTex and edited by everyone until everyone is happy with it.\n\nAs for what happens if one person doesn't finish their part: the same thing you do in group project when one person doesn't do their share. That material is either cut from the paper, or someone else has to take on more work."
},
{
"answer_id": 38824,
"author": "gerrit",
"author_id": 1033,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1033",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "In my field (Atmospheric Science) you will find papers with dozens of authors. That doesn't mean there are dozens of individuals who have all contributed equally. There may be one or two people leading the research, needing little bits of data from everyone. For example, one might describe a major intercomparison study between 10 datasets. Suppose that each dataset is prepared by a PhD student or postdoc; then for each dataset this person is a co-author, and perhaps also their supervisor. Their contribution is small but significant — provide data essential to the paper and assist in the discussion as to why/how their results are different from others. In this case, having 10–20 co-authors is not unusual at all. The actual *writing*, however, might come for 90%+ from the first author."
},
{
"answer_id": 38853,
"author": "ResearchEnthusiast",
"author_id": 28389,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28389",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "My field is theoretic Computer Science, and I don't want to speak in behalf of the whole field but personally (and this is probably a very individual) I like collaborations where a lot of the work is done while sitting together throwing ideas to the air and discussing them and then thinking (everyone together) later on solutions or new ideas for problems we encountered then calling everyone again for a followup meeting.\n\n(The writing is a different story, but who cares about it anyway?)"
},
{
"answer_id": 38958,
"author": "o4tlulz",
"author_id": 6978,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6978",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "I think that [this article](https://theresearchwhisperer.wordpress.com/2012/02/21/co-writing/) from [the Research Whisperer](https://theresearchwhisperer.wordpress.com/) covers aspects of how multiple authors can collaborate to get a paper done. It is an interesting and quite brief read that I would recommend. \n\nTL;DR version: \n\n1. One leads the project and the initial drafting with others\ncontributing to an almost complete draft.\n2. The team splits the work into broad sections for each collaborator, which then draft, combine and revise.\n3. Decide on all the details and each writes its own section with minor final corrections.\n\nFrom my experience, the first one would be the most common with an almost final version making it to the very senior people in the article."
},
{
"answer_id": 38962,
"author": "Peter Jansson",
"author_id": 4394,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4394",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "Collaborative writing differs from article to article. First, it may be useful to say that in at least some cases, all authors may not be worthy of author or contributorship according to the Vancouver protocol ([here exemplified by ICMJE](http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/defining-the-role-of-authors-and-contributors.html)). If we disregard such issues and assume all authors deserve authorship the following cases seems most likely. Since I reside in a community using the ordering of authors to signify importance/impact on the final product, the use of first author a co-authors should be seen from this perspective.\n\n1. All authors have contributed a significant part of the manuscript (MS). They are all specialists required for the research and provided vital input on their specific field of expertise. Typically, one person will take charge and make the first draft to which the others add their parts and comment on and add to the parts common to the MS. This case probably means all authors have similar intellectual input to the MS. Review and cross-disciplinary articles may be examples of types of articles written this way. Who will be first author could be a matter of who initiated the work, who took on the task of coordination or a matter of the alphabet.\n2. One or a subset of the authors have a more leading role and essentially write the MS on which the other authors provide specific input and comments. This is perhaps most common when contributions vary in importance and where a few have a major intellectual input on the science whereas the other authors provide smaller but crucial input on aspects of the MS. This is likely the most common case in most collaborative research involving groups of researchers. The first author will vary from publication to publication produced in such a group where all have provided sufficient input to fulfil the requirements for authorship/contributorship. Author order will be determined according to contribution.\n\nRegardless of which way one goes, it is necessary for someone to take on the chore of being \"secretary\" and actually get common ideas into text. It is possible that a single authors can provide a section or two to the MS which is included verbatim but usually some editing is necessary to make the reading uniform throughout the MS and that would be the role of the \"first author\". It is therefore common that the \"secretary\" makes a first draft asking others to add both specific parts and commenting on the text from the others. The MS will be passed around until all are satisfied. So most multiple author articles have been produced in some fashion along these lines."
},
{
"answer_id": 38973,
"author": "Jim Raynor",
"author_id": 14500,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14500",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "\nImage credit: phdcomis.com\n\nFor entertaining purpose. Don't take this cartoon as a serious answer or generalization, just however it resembles pretty much my experience, especially the last 3 positions: the second-to-last, the last, and the middle one. \n\nThe first ones are not necessarily true. In my field (CS), the first name is still the most important one, normally a PhD student working on his own sub-problems towards his thesis; and having his name at the first place is important for his overall thesis evaluation.\n\nWhen I have to review paper, I often frown upon papers with many authors, especially short papers. One extreme was a 4.5-page paper with 8 authors (gosh...)\n\nTo my experience of having read a lot of papers in the field, the most beautiful and important papers are normally the ones written by **2 authors**, then papers written by **only one** author. Never seen a great one with *7 authors*... ;)\n\n---\n\nNote: this experience may be different in other fields, for example my friend for once said that in his field (earth sciences), each part of the task is already a huge work (collecting 40GB of raw data (1 person), preprocessing it (1 person), sharing expertise on the configuration setting (1 person),...) and they all end up in the author list. For sure, anyone with contributions should be given credit, but in the case of my friend, perhaps an Appendix or Acknowledgement section seems more appropriate."
},
{
"answer_id": 38999,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "My publication history crosses disciplines and the multi-author papers range range everywhere from two to thirty-two authors. Across all of these publications, I have seen two main modes of multi-author paper-writing, which I will call \"collaborative\" and \"pedagogical.\"\n\n* **Collaborative** is the typical mode of writing that I have seen in scientific collaborations. Authors generally tend to fall into three rough categories:\n\n\t+ *Primary authors* are one or more people who take responsibility for organizing the writing of the paper, and who produce the vast bulk of the text.\n\t+ *Secondary authors* contribute specific pieces to the writing at the direction of the primary authors, most often figures, examples, and experimental methods.\n\t+ *Tertiary authors* are people whose technical contributions rise to the standards of authorship for the field, but who are not needed to contribute any writing. This is highly field-specific. These range from common in experimental fields like biosciences or experimental physics to practically unheard of and possibly unethical in more theoretical and mathematical fields.In fields where author order matters, the category of author and their responsibilities tend to closely mirror their order in the paper, according to the customs of the field. In formulating the manuscript, the primary authors tend to form a writing plan, often dividing responsibility for sections, but sometimes having one do a first rough pass and then \"passing the token\" around for further refinement. Towards the end of the writing, when the secondary authors' pieces are integrated and the primary authors are satisfied, the paper will typically be sent out for commentary and feedback from all authors, and after a few further iterations there are no significant objections, the primary authors are satisfied with the paper, and they submit.\n* **Pedagogical,** on the other hand, is when you have a clear split between junior and senior authors, where the junior is a student or postdoc and the writing of the paper is also being used by the senior(s) as a part of their training. In this case, the text is typically generated primarily by the junior author (either one section at a time or all at once), and then submitted to the senior for feedback and instructions. This may go on for many iterations. Eventually, if there is a fixed deadline, or if things are dragging on too long, the seniors may seize control and \"finish\" the paper between themselves in collaborative mode.\n\nOccasionally, there may be more than one junior author, in which case the partition of their responsibilities are typically dictated by the senior. Likewise there may also be secondary and tertiary authors, just as in collaborative authorship."
},
{
"answer_id": 40311,
"author": "NotaGoodProgrammer",
"author_id": 30731,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30731",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "In my view, the division of labor would be between the individuals involved, and cannot be answered as a industry standard. As for unfinished work, I doubt that the other authors who have contributed to a finished work would leave the unfinished portion incomplete. So either the contributing authors will finish the incomplete work (giving credit for what work the author of the unfinished work did) or they group would cut out the author who failed to meet the dead line by doing his work from scratch and simply not include him or her as a contributing author.\n\nAs for coherence in thought and readability, I would believe this is solved during the editing process. Often times, one of the authors (the best skilled) would take the job of editing the work and working with the other authors to smooth over the rough edges.\n\nThe only difference between papers written by one person and papers written by multiple authors is that the work and credit is shared by all who are involved. All the basic steps are still involved, their simply altered for the piece being done. Or so that is my understanding."
}
] |
2015/02/13
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38773",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/23380/"
] |
38,774 |
Here is a situation that I have been in several times, but have only recently begun to give careful thought to. Suppose you are asked to teach a course that you have not taught before. A fairly common practice (at least where I teach) is to approach the colleague(s) who taught the course most recently and ask if you can adapt their syllabus (on the grounds that reinventing the wheel is in nobody's interest). In every case in my experience, the colleagues have freely given me not only their syllabi, but also their assignments, exam questions, and any other instructional materials that they used, and have given me permission to make use of them however I wish.
Of course being something of a control freak, I never use those materials without re-engineering them somewhat; like many (most?) academics, I feel the need to take ownership of the course by putting my own stamp on it. But I *do* usually take large chunks of those older course materials and incorporate them into my own. I suspect this is not uncommon (although maybe I am just wrong on this point).
It has only recently occurred to me that if one of my students did something comparable to what I do -- copy large blocks of text from somebody else's work and insert it into their own without attribution -- it would be a clear case of academic misconduct. And I would never dream of doing something like this in a work that was intended for publication. But somehow until now, doing this in a purely instructional context has always seemed innocuous.
So my questions:
1. How common is this practice?
2. Is it generally viewed as a form of plagiarism (and have I just been oblivious to something that should have been obvious to me all along)?
3. If one does make use (with permission) of a colleague's course materials, is there an appropriate way to acknowledge that? For example, by putting an "Acknowledgement" note at the bottom of the first page of the syllabus? At the very least, doing something like that would model good behavior for one's students.
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38911,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "This sort of practice is quite common, and documents of this type are often treated as the \"community property\" of a department. This is a lot like authorship on a community wiki, where there is no expectation that the document is the original work of any author and there is the expectation that further authors may freely modify and contribute more text. It is therefore not plagiarism to use your colleagues notes as a base, any more than it is plagiarism to contribute to a Wikipedia article.\n\nOften, these documents have no copyright or authorship markings, and are simply handled by custom and tradition. If you want to make the collective agreement more explicit and remove any doubt for those that come after you, then you should probably select a creative commons license (like [CC0](http://creativecommons.org/about/cc0) or [CC-BY](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)) and put a small marking to that effect in the header or footer of the document. If you choose to formalize it in this way, however, you should explicitly get your colleague's consent as well, because you are moving the document beyond the informal method of relationship-based exchange in which it was given to you."
},
{
"answer_id": 38921,
"author": "user1258240",
"author_id": 29406,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29406",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "It is an extremely common and very accepted practice to copy other people's courses in their entirety or partially, with or even without asking for permission. At least in my field (computer science) people often put course material online with the intention of letting others use them freely. Unless explicitly written otherwise on a course website, I usually assume that it is ok to use any freely available material from there. Of course if someone actually gives you the material then there's no problem at all. \n\nThere is a big difference between journal papers, the sole purpose of which is to present new knowledge, and courses, where the goal is to teach known material to students. In the first case there is always a claim of originality, and if you are copying other work you are therefore commiting plagiarism. In the latter case, as long as there is no implicit claim of originality there is no problem. \n\nPeople still like to be credited for their work, though. So for the sake of honesty and also giving credit, I usually tell my students where I got any significant part of the course material. If my course has a Web page, I state my sources there as well, and provide links to relevant notes or course Web pages when it's possible."
},
{
"answer_id": 153648,
"author": "paul garrett",
"author_id": 980,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/980",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "I think that even when one has permission to use the results of someone else's efforts, a word of thanks is always appropriate, and perhaps a reference to a URL or such. This also does set a good example for students.\n\nFor that matter, even if \"the facts\" are 100+ years old, as often happens in mathematics, insightful presentations are not automatic... and deserve acknowledgement.\n\nAnalogously, even though some disparage Wikipedia, if one has literally used Wikipedia to obtain useful links, keywords, bibliographic pointers, I strongly believe one should acknowledge this. Be honest! Not only to give credit where credit is due, but to avoid false pretenses (to students, et al) about how the enterprise actually works."
}
] |
2015/02/13
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38774",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/17928/"
] |
38,777 |
In the past I have included the following statement on my syllabus:
>
> Office Hours: Mon 1-2pm, Weds 3-5pm, or by appointment
>
>
>
However, I am beginning to get too many requests for appointments. Appointments are really inefficient. They waste both of our time trying to schedule them, and with multiple appointments per week in addition to office hours, even holding them takes a lot of time away from research. How do you accommodate students who can't make your office hours without devoting too much time to this task?
I thought about setting up a class message board where they can ask each other and answer each other's questions - anonymously if they wish - (I can also answer questions on the message board) and put on the syllabus "All content related questions should be posed in class, on the message board or in office hours. I do not reply to questions about content via email. Please schedule an appointment to meet with me if you are having difficulty getting a question answered after trying the above options"
Some Background: I'm a graduate student lecturer. I teach 2 sections of calculus, so about 60 students. Since classes are small (~30), there are about 10 lecturers (some are faculty and some are grad students with masters degrees) and we all have office hours. Mine tend to be very crowded, about 5-10 students showing up (some from other sections). I tell my students to go to other instructor's office hours, but they say they aren't as helpful.
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38783,
"author": "Jeff",
"author_id": 1171,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1171",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "What an interesting problem to have. When I saw the title, I thought, \"This must be hypothetical, because this problem never, ever occurs.\" But I was wrong.\n\nAnyway, I don't know how to deal with having too many students try to schedule office hours, because I have never had that problem, even when teaching 60 students. \n\nI do, however, employ the message board tactic that you mentioned, which probably helps cut down on office hours (and dramatically reduces the number of emails I get). I suggest the free (and extremely slick) service [Piazza](http://www.piazza.com). Students can collaboratively (wiki-style) answer each others' questions, and instructors can edit everything in sight, as well as create their own answers. When posting questions, students can also appear anonymous to their classmates, but not to the instructor, which eliminates any embarrassment they might feel. \n\ntl;dr: Try Piazza."
},
{
"answer_id": 38787,
"author": "Patricia Shanahan",
"author_id": 10220,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10220",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "I agree with the message board idea. This is in addition.\n\nIf you have a lot of students not able to make your office hours, there might be an issue such as conflicts with other courses they are taking. \n\nMaybe begin any appointment scheduling with \"Why can't you get to my Monday or Wednesday hours?\". That encourages thinking of the appointment approach as an exception, and also collects potentially useful data. It may be possible that rescheduling the office hours to a popular time for appointments would improve the situation."
},
{
"answer_id": 38796,
"author": "Geoff Hutchison",
"author_id": 21869,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/21869",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "I poll students at the beginning of the term. I pick 3-4 possible slots for office hours and then post a poll on Piazza (or your favorite course management system or by show of hands in class) for the preferred times.\n\nThis gives students a sense of input into the schedule, but also maximizes overlap of office hours and student availability.\n\nBefore I did this, I found many students might have conflicting classes (e.g., they take my class in chemistry, but take another class in the major or a math or physics class) at the same time as my arbitrarily-chosen hours.\n\n**Update**:\n\nAlso, for setting up ad-hoc meetings, I use [doodle.com](http://doodle.com/) which connects to my calendars and lets students suggest times that work for them *and* me. It will anonymize your schedule and just indicate \"busy\" blocks. Highly recommended."
},
{
"answer_id": 38833,
"author": "blankip",
"author_id": 11420,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11420",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "I think adding more office hours based on student feedback is obvious.\n\nHowever that does not seem to cut into the real issue that you are having, which is - **Why do your students need so much help outside of class?**\n\nI am not sure what kind of system is available to you but you need to find a message board clone that students can ask their initial questions. It is highly likely that you may not have been explaining either the \"homework\" or the topic clearly and the students are confused a bit. With a message board something is asked once, answered, commented/viewed by many. \n\nAnd I didn't mean the above to be a knock on your teaching style. We have all not explained something clearly and I have dealt with a barrage of phone calls from students when I did. When I switched to an online format (I have even used twitter) it was much easier to deal with. \n\nThe only other time I have had the issue of too many appointments was when the female students believed that I was on the market. I then started dressing shabby and talked about my wife more. If this is your real problem, good luck."
},
{
"answer_id": 41181,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "Give them a strict time limit (e.g. 15 minutes or 10 minutes). Let them know that they must be well-prepared with their questions during the appointment. If it's a highly productive 15 minutes, I don't think you will mind too much either.\n\nAlso, feel free to say no, especially to those who keep asking for appointments.\n\nYou are probably not contractually obliged to have all these additional appointments. And if you are like most grad students, you are paid pretty poorly and so there is certainly no moral obligation either."
}
] |
2015/02/13
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38777",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8101/"
] |
38,779 |
For some reason I don't understand, Google Scholar thinks two of my papers are the same, despite different titles, co-authors, and publication years. When I click on one ("Resonant absorption as mode conversion?") it lists 27 versions, most of which are the completely different paper ("Three Dimensional MHD Wave Propagation and Conversion to Alfvén Waves near the Solar Surface. I"). It therefore combines the citations for the two. How can I split them? I even tried deleting both papers and adding them manually from scratch, but without success.
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38799,
"author": "RJ-",
"author_id": 19923,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/19923",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "You can report the error at the following link:\n\n<https://support.google.com/scholar/contact/general>"
},
{
"answer_id": 89583,
"author": "Ali Al Sawalmih",
"author_id": 73595,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/73595",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "\"unmerge\" in GoogleScholar is not possible.\nSOLUTION: delete the [merged articles] noted with \\*, then add them separately ;-)\nit worked for me.. \nGood luck!!"
},
{
"answer_id": 98926,
"author": "strpeter",
"author_id": 10574,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10574",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "By now, there is an option when editing the merged GoogleScholar article's version as shown in the example below. Ensure you are logged in as the article's author.\n\n1. Open the \"edit your article\" e.g., via clicking on the asterisk right to the number of citations in the list of your articles. Alternatively, open your article's page on GoogleScholar, where you press the edit button.\n\n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/LgFwS.png)\n\n2. The option is called \"Unmerge this article and add it to my profile as a separate entry.\"\n\n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/LgFwS.png)\n\nUsually, there is a star on the right hand side of a merged article. If there is not, just add a new entry."
}
] |
2015/02/13
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38779",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29306/"
] |
38,780 |
I am in contact with institution A about a potential tenure track position. Meanwhile another institution, let's call it B, has offered me a position. Naturally, I have to mention to A that B has made an offer.
>
> Should I mention the name of B to A when being asked? Or should I just say "another institution has made an offer?
>
>
>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38790,
"author": "RoboKaren",
"author_id": 14885,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14885",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "You may not have a choice. If I were A and you were to tell me you had an offer from another school, I would immediately ask the name of the school B. \n\nYour refusing to tell me B's name may raise some red flags for me (indicating a level of shiftiness about your candidacy that I may not have been aware of). I cannot think of a good reason why you wouldn't tell me -- other than B is so far below my institution's rank that it'd be laughable (aka, A=MIT and B=Poconos Community College).\n\nHowever, if B=CalTech and A=MIT, then I would very much make sure that we were processing your application with all due haste.\n\n---\n\nWith the new details that A=preferred for personal reasons but B=higher ranked, then certainly you can tell A that you have an offer from B. It would likely lead to increased interest in your candidacy **if** A is at least somewhere the same ballpark as B.\n\nThat is, if A were Poconos Comm College and B were CalTech, then A may feel that there is no possibility of getting you and drop you even before an offer for being overqualified. You need to emphasize why you are so interested in A. \n\nNote that lying is a bad idea. If we phoned our colleague at CalTech and they had no idea who you were, you'd be immediately dropped."
},
{
"answer_id": 38792,
"author": "Bob Brown",
"author_id": 16183,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/16183",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "Tell A that you would prefer to work for them, but that you have another offer which you must accept or decline by [date certain] and ask whether they can help you. It is neither necessary nor helpful to name B."
}
] |
2015/02/13
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38780",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29307/"
] |
38,781 |
If you're hiring a postdoc, how much do you care about the techniques they've used in the PhD?
I'm thinking ahead to the postdoc search (will probably start in earnest in summer/fall). My current field is a somewhat obscure area of human molecular genetics, lots of old-school techniques. I'm very interested in moving to a model organism that will provide quick output during the postdoc and let me transition to a career at a primarily undergraduate institution. I've also had very little opportunity for bioinformatics training, which I would like to learn. (I see lots of online ads for postdocs listing a slew of particular skills, but I've heard these are less common paths compared to personal networks so I'm wondering if they're representative.)
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38782,
"author": "Anonymous Physicist",
"author_id": 13240,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13240",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "I'm not hiring a postdoc, but: Benrz skills/experience matter a lot. PIs want to hire someone who can use the existing lab to produce data without training.\n\nThat said, it is difficult to anticipate what skills PIs will be looking for at the moment you need a job."
},
{
"answer_id": 38786,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "I'm likely to ask a fresh PhD holder (whether the title is postdoc or not) to do things that are in keeping with the work they did during their PhD, but I'm likely to ask them to do things beyond that, too. You should expect to be asked to figure out how to do things that were explicitly not part of your existing training. You might have questions, which I might or might not be able to help with. Once you have a PhD, you should be able to do anything you did during your grad school training, and you should be able to acquire new capabilities as needed."
},
{
"answer_id": 38823,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "The degree to which bench skills matters depends strongly on your field. In something like computer science, advisors often hire a postdoc expecting them to adapt their existing knowledge to a new area, in which case the knowledge often matters little. In biological sciences, however, I have often seen postdocs hired as a way of \"importing\" methods into a laboratory, in which case the bench skills are precisely what they are hired for. Thus, in your case, I would expect that they would be quite significant."
}
] |
2015/02/13
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38781",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29308/"
] |
38,784 |
I am a coauthor on a psychology conference paper that was accepted based on a short abstract. The first author became unable to attend the conference and offered the opportunity to present to the coauthors. I accepted and later found out that I need to prepare the slides and text for the presentation.
The first author had presented similar material to a very different audience (a practitioner audience in a workshop setting in Spanish) and offered me the slides from that presentation. The material needs considerable reworking: it needs to be adapted for a researcher audience; have a theoretical framework integrated; be shortened considerably; and be written in (or translated to) English. I should also say that I made scientific contributions to the overall project and these particular results.
My colleague agreed that given the extent of the changes, I should be first author (up from fifth author where I am currently) and he second (remaining authors unchanged). He contacted the conference organizers with the request, but the conference program has already been finalized. The first author believes that this means that no authorship changes can be made, but I am not sure.
There will be no conference proceedings, so the conference program is the only documentation, other than the presentation slides and any documents we distribute.
Can authorship changes be made in the presented version of a conference paper even if the conference program is already finalized? Can we list the paper on our cvs differently from how it appears in the program? Are there any written guidelines on this topic?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38803,
"author": "OK-",
"author_id": 8542,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8542",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "According to [Science](http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_magazine/previous_issues/articles/2001_03_30/nodoi.9203462371499238483),\n\n> \n> there are no hard standards for the order of authorship. Most\n> institutions have guidelines, but few are written down.\n> \n> \n> \n\nHaving said that, the situation varies from case to case. You need to consult with the conference organizers. As far as I know, the order of authors is not generally changed after submission, let alone after acceptance or publication of proceedings. This is also true for extreme situations; for instance, I know of at least two A\\* journal publications where the first author passed away after submission and the second author completed the article. Still, the original order of authors remained intact.\n\nAlso see related questions on [the first author](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2467/what-does-first-authorship-really-mean) and [the order of authors](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/535/order-of-authors-on-publications) in a publication."
},
{
"answer_id": 38804,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "I have very little experience with \"talk only\" conference papers (*and, as jakebeal correctly asks, why is it a paper if there is no paper?*), but generally, the ordering of authors (or even who *is* an author) of a conference submission has very little to do with who prepares the presentation or who actually does the talk.\n\nRather, the order on papers is usually either alphabetical or by some measure of \"who did the most work\" for the actual research that is being presented. Hence, a change in who presents a paper (which often happens, due to time constraints, visa problems, illness, ...) usually does not require a change in the order of authors, as the underlying work (and who did it) has not changed."
}
] |
2015/02/13
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38784",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29309/"
] |
38,789 |
I am an international student who has been admitted at a low ranked institute in the US. I also have an offer from an institute in my own country to do a Masters'. I ultimately want to get admitted at a prestigious program in the US.
I was recently advised to join the low ranked US institute, do my course work well, establish contacts with professors at more prestigious schools, and then switch to a better school for a PhD. It sounds immoral to me. But I was told it is not immoral in practice as the institute receives thousands of offers to fill up the seat you will be vacating.
Is doing the above seriously unethical?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38793,
"author": "Eric D. Brown D.Sc.",
"author_id": 29287,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29287",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "This is far from immoral or unethical. Theres nothing wrong with attending a program and transferring to another one that might be a better fit. Making the transfer to another program would really be up to you, your work and the networking contacts you make while in your masters program."
},
{
"answer_id": 38815,
"author": "RoboKaren",
"author_id": 14885,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14885",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "If you were to apply to my hypothetical mid-tier PhD program school A and were given funding -- and if I were your advisor and put a lot of work toward mentoring you and advancing you to candidacy -- and I were to find out it was always your intent that you would switch schools to the more elite school B at the first opportunity, then yes I would be miffed.\n\nFor example, my school offers tuition waivers and stipends (approx $28,000) to every incoming doctoral student in Arts and Sciences, for six years. This is guaranteed funding. Students are assigned advisors from the first year to work on their projects. We invest a lot in our students. In my case, we're a top R1 but I know my colleagues at mid-tiers try hard to scrounge together packages for their students and make up with even more intense mentoring. \n\nIt's one thing to switch schools because of fit issues that come up between advisors and advisees. I would never tell a student who is unhappy to stay. It's also another thing to be scouted and stolen. This occasionally happens. But to come into a program that is providing you with resources with the intent that you graduate (from them), with one foot already out the door seems lacking in [ethics](http://www.diffen.com/difference/Ethics_vs_Morals). \n\nPeople often use the marriage metaphor for doctoral programs -- while divorce is always an option and the (unhappy) result of a lack of fit, marrying into a program with the intent of cheating and switching up at the first opportunity is not ethical practice. [Again, some schools don't give you any sort of commitment in the form of funding either, so in that case you are free to explore other options].\n\nThere's also a couple of hitches in your plan:\n\n1. When you apply to other schools, you will need letters from school A -- presumably the reason you are doing this is to get letters from an American institution -- i.e, from us at a moment when we might be none too pleased with your strategizing.\n2. The new school you're applying to will want to know why you're not continuing with the PhD at the old school. If you are honest and tell them that you are switching because you already intended to use school A as a stepping board, they may take it as a sign of your low regard for academic ethical behavior. Someone who cheats once may cheat twice.\n\nOn the other hand, applying to an MA/MS program at school A in order to get into a high-ranked PhD program at school B is not only typical but desirable behavior on the part of school A. \n\np.s. My advisor once told you me that you owe as much loyalty as you are given (in reference to academia). If you are in a program that give you guaranteed funding and where your advisors invest time and energy in you and your project, then of course they will be hurt if you change mid-stream and they learn that was always your intent. If, on the other hand, you owe little to a place that guarantees no funding and your advisor is missing or never assigned."
},
{
"answer_id": 38888,
"author": "Pete L. Clark",
"author_id": 938,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/938",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "If I understand the OP correctly, he does not yet have a master's degree so could enroll in a master's program *and then* transfer to a different PhD program. That is absolutely, wholly kosher, and in fact it is a very common practice. For instance, at my state university every few years an exceptionally strong student gets a master's degree along with their bachelor degree (or perhaps takes an extra semester or year) and then goes on to do a PhD at an elite school. Everyone is happy with this.\n\nAlso, in my opinion if you do not get funding -- and especially, if you are paying any nontrivial tuition or fees whatsoever -- then absolutely you can leave at any time and under any circumstances (even in the middle of a semester: you will probably have to continue paying tuition and fees as though you were still enrolled; if you are willing to do that, you don't need to show up). \n\nThere *is* a case where I see an ethical issue: what if you get funding for a graduate program (master's or PhD, though funding for master's programs is rather rare) and your intent is to transfer out of that program before completion? Here I think it matters what the precise meaning of that is. Though some have differed on this point, in my opinion if you simply want to transfer to a better program if/when you are given the opportunity, then okay, that is your right if you get admitted. If that other program is really better for you, then those in your current program who are invested in your success will be happy for you. However, if you are *in absolute terms* uninterested in receiving the degree from the program you've accepted funding in -- in other words, if you couldn't transfer somewhere else you know that you would either continue on without a degree or drop out of the program -- then you are behaving unethically and deceptively: quite generally it is unethical to receive funding to do X if you are not in good faith trying to do X. \n\nThe other thing I would say is that once you're in a PhD program, transferring to another program can be done but is not that easy, and in fact may involve setbacks and duplication of effort (e.g. you may need to spend time fulfilling requirements in the new program that you had already fulfilled in the old one). The people who transfer programs usually have clear personal/family/life issues motivating their decision or are struggling in their current program. Neither of these situations is ideal for \"leveling up\" to a better program. If you're a good student in a mediocre PhD program, I think the question is whether you can find a suitable advisor who will help you maximize your potential and ambitions. If you can, then growing where you're planted and thinking in terms of leveling up in your postgraduate academic jobs is a much better strategy than trying to switch horses midstream: this has every risk of being unhelpfully disruptive *to you*."
}
] |
2015/02/13
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38789",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29311/"
] |
38,798 |
Here is the somewhat awkward situation.
I am a TA for a class that I have never taken before. The professor (probably) knows this, but I don't think the students have caught on, since it is a lower-division class and as a graduate student I have significantly more mathematical maturity than most of them.
As a TA, I am responsible for preparing the lecture notes for the class. A different TA is responsible for grading assignments.
A few weeks ago, the professor made a (small) mistake in his lecture, and I transcribed the error onto the lecture notes without realizing it was a mistake.
Recently we had a midterm, and the other TA noticed that a lot of the students were making the same mistake. The other TA recognized it was wrong and is now docking points for the error, even though I told him there was a mistake in the lecture notes.
What should I do? I think the students will be mad when they hear about this, and if I tell the professor, he might get mad at me for preparing bad lecture notes.
Edit: It was the kind of error that would be confusing after the lecture, but hard to spot during the lecture. Basically he used a matrix where he should have used the matrix's transpose. And in the example problem he solved on the board, the matrix was a diagonal matrix, so it made no difference. But the matrix on the midterm wasn't.
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38800,
"author": "ff524",
"author_id": 11365,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11365",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "Just tell the professor: \"The transcription of the lecture included an error, and many students made the same error on the midterm.\" (It really doesn't matter whether the mistake was made first in the lecture or the notes.)\n\nHe will decide what to do about the midterm.\n\nHe will almost certainly be very happy to hear about his error from you, rather than from a large number of irate students (which is likely to happen if you don't tell him).\n\nNobody is infallible - not professors, not teaching assistants, not students. If he gets mad at you for preparing \"bad lecture notes\" for proliferating one mistake that he made, he is completely unreasonable.\n\nAs an aside: this evening, I gave my students a quiz, and during the quiz my TA - who was helping me proctor - pointed out an error. I thanked him and told the students to disregard that question. Then, after the quiz, I had the students get together in groups and work on \"fixing\" the question (the nature of the error made the fix non-trivial). It was an interesting and helpful educational exercise, for my students and for me. Errors can sometimes be an opportunity for good things.\n\nOf course, I told my students that this is an important lesson on the dangers of taking code snippets off the Internet or from a book without carefully checking them :)"
},
{
"answer_id": 38801,
"author": "Ramrod",
"author_id": 28310,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28310",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "I think this atleast partially depends on the maturity of the students. Are these first year students? Or perhaps students who struggle with math? Shouldn't they know enough to realize the error?\n\nIf you honestly transcribed the error as presented by the professor, I can't see where you're at fault. Your job isn't to fact check entire lectures. Since the other TA doesn't seem too keen on making adjustments, you may mention about asking the professor for input. If they don't seem keen on that, go to the professor anyways so they won't be blindsided with angry students. Mistakes in notes can be a headache.\n\nOf course, to play devil's advocate, the case can also be made that the students didn't understand the material. They're regurgitating the same mistake made in the notes without asking questions.\n\nIt's a tough call, but at the very least (regardless of point deductions) the professor needs to know the situation."
}
] |
2015/02/13
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38798",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29315/"
] |
38,807 |
I have had a privilege of knowing what concerns the admission committee about my applicant's file for pure math degree. As of right now, the most significant concern expressed was my weak performance on the GRE subject test (in math.) My question is, would the committee care about the perfect performance on AP Calculus tests, AB and BC? Could it somehow help to mitigate the less-than-appealing GRE math score?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38809,
"author": "Nate Eldredge",
"author_id": 1010,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1010",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "I would say a graduate admission committee in pure mathematics would consider AP Calculus scores **completely irrelevant**.\n\nGood scores (even perfect scores) on these exams show only that you are (or were) competent at high school / freshman calculus; if this were not the case, you probably should not be applying for grad school in mathematics at all. As a mathematician would say, calculus competence is *necessary but not sufficient* for success in a grad program. Of more direct relevance is your preparation in more advanced, proof-based subjects (abstract algebra, real and complex analysis, etc), of which the GRE is a better (thought not necessarily *good*) measure. You must have observed that these courses are of a very different flavor from calculus, with much more theory and less rote computation; at the graduate level this trend will only continue.\n\nEven if you are brilliant at calculus, math professors know that this does not necessarily carry over into more advanced subjects. They really want to see what you have been doing *lately*.\n\n(Disclaimer: I am a mathematician but have not been on an admission committee.)"
},
{
"answer_id": 38846,
"author": "Ben Bitdiddle",
"author_id": 24384,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/24384",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "No. Half the people who take the Calculus BC exam get perfect scores, so you can assume almost every applicant has a 5 on the BC exam. (Except they wouldn't say so, because by the time they graduate college they usually have other accomplishments that carry more weight.)\n\n<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AP_Calculus#Grade_distributions_for_AP_Calculus_BC>"
}
] |
2015/02/13
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38807",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29323/"
] |
38,814 |
Student societies are often fantastic fun. At the university I attend there are some members of societies who don't attend the university, they just come along because they happen to like an unusual hobby (Quidditch, table top rpg, fencing...). I have never seen any lecturers or professors however.
Is it considered odd for a lecturer or professor to be part of a society of their own university? Why? Would it still be possible? I would like to work in a university (in a research orientated position) and if there was no serious disadvantage or barrier I would defiantly want to be part of societies there.
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38817,
"author": "o-0",
"author_id": 21552,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/21552",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "In essence there is no problem, here in the UK, for the lecturers/professors to join societies. I experienced it first hand, both as a student and lecturer, and loved it. But you have the following ethical responsibilities: \n\n**Socializing and Not Dating**: Most social clubs go out a lot. For example, they might go to some other part of the country to do hill walking, or pub crawling which involves loads of drinking. The bottom line is that you can socialize with students, but don't lose your mind and start dating a student while camping somewhere. Some social clubs are hubs for dating, so join them for the cause and socializing, and avoid dating altogether. \n\n**Close Friendships**: Here in the UK, in my experience at least, some students are looking for an easy way out of studying. They are young, and therefore they just want to get by. Don't create a situation where they can take advantage of you and abuse your friendship.\n\nOverall, know your limitations. Deal with students outside the university in a respectable manner, and don't get too comfortable. At the end of the day, you are the lecturer and they are the students."
},
{
"answer_id": 38825,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "Student societies are about more than just shared interests: they are also a place for students to escape from the pressure of their studies, to blow of steam, and to relax. Having an authority figure around (and a professor is most definitely an authority figure) generally has a strong chilling effect on these aspects of a student social life. With a professor around, students are likely to feel uncomfortable complaining about classes, bad-mouthing other professors, just plain being profane, and other such things that they would otherwise do---and this goes for both undergraduates and graduate students. Having other non-students there, like alumni or random community members, does not have the same effect, because they are not in authority over students. Likewise, it doesn't matter if they're your students or not: you still belong to the same group, and they generally don't know how much or how little you actually interact with other faculty in other areas.\n\nIn short: it's a student space, and a professor in that space can disrupt it. Except in rare cases, then, I would strongly advise **not** to join: don't harsh on their mellow."
},
{
"answer_id": 38828,
"author": "Dennis",
"author_id": 29346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29346",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "This answer is built upon my personal experience in the Netherlands (A neighbor country of the UK). It basically supports the answer by @Dave Jese.\n\n---\n\nDuring my study I attended numerous activities, and though most were just attended by students, some where also attended by lecturers. Some key observations:\n\n1. Only activities with a very open nature were attended (hosted in a public place & it was also common to bring flatmates for example)\n2. Most activities were without lecturers, and if they were there then always just 1 or 2 at the same time\n3. They did not act as lectures (typically they won't have 10+ beers or stimulate people to get drunk, but will also not criticize those who do)\n4. They don't bring up the activities afterwards in public (especially nothing embarrassing)\n5. They mostly let students come to them rather than approach them proactively (may also be because of their general personality)\n\nOf course it was a bit surprising at first, but given the previous five points, my fellow students and I didn't mind and just considered it to be 'the more the merrier'."
},
{
"answer_id": 38837,
"author": "mozart the best",
"author_id": 29356,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29356",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "At my institution, all student societies must have a \"senior member\" who is a member of academic staff in order to be officially registered (which helps with funding/sponsorship). \n\nIn practice, there's plenty of postgraduate student involvement in societies, and the youngish academics (esp. postdocs and one year research fellows) don't really stick out if they get involved. Some of the more academic societies have very high faculty involvement, and this does make the socials *relatively* sedate affairs."
},
{
"answer_id": 38849,
"author": "Anonymous",
"author_id": 11565,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11565",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "I don't know about the UK, but I can answer for the US. In short, it depends and you can usually find out for the particular society or club you're interested in.\n\nThere are some organizations that are deliberately welcoming of faculty. Many of them have websites, and it's common for them to specifically say that faculty and staff are welcome to attend. In this case I think these organizations can safely be taken at their word. \n\nI would be reluctant to join any student society or club that was mostly social. But if the club is centered around some specific activity (e.g. fencing) my experience is that such clubs are more welcome of participation by faculty.\n\nFinally, it's often easy to look up contact information for the (student) leadership of the club. Get in touch, and ask if you'd be welcome to join. If you decide to try it out, it is polite to keep your eyes and ears open for the possibility that you are intruding a little bit on a student space; if you feel at all uncomfortable, it is polite to thank everyone at the end of the meeting and not return. But you might instead be warmly welcomed, and have everyone express the hope that you'll come again."
}
] |
2015/02/13
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38814",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/26492/"
] |
38,829 |
Is there something like a "standard dress code" for a Ph.D thesis discussion? And, if there is - how important is it? Obviously, one should not (I think) dress *too casually*, but I do not know what is deemed appropriate.
I don't know how much this varies around the world; if it helps, I am from Europe.
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38830,
"author": "Brian Z",
"author_id": 9298,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9298",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "In my experience, different professors can have very different feelings about this. If you have any doubt, best to ask your primary adviser."
},
{
"answer_id": 38832,
"author": "TheWanderer",
"author_id": 11338,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11338",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "I think it varies across cultures. Being a stereotypical italian, I think it is important to dress smartly and with style. Most importantly, however you dress, you should do it for yourself, rather than for the committee. \n\nClearly, if you go with a t-shirt and jeans, there might be those who think that you are not taking it seriously. But it depends on who these people are. Are they those who go to world-leading conferences and give a talk wearing shorts and a regular shirt? If so, you might be in trouble if you wear a suit!\n\nThe way you dress might be important for the first 5 minutes, afterwards it will depend on the work you have done."
}
] |
2015/02/13
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38829",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28451/"
] |
38,831 |
I understand that it is difficult for people with stuttering to verbally communicate and explain their ideas/research or to give lectures. Does that means there is no chance for them to work in academia even with the PhD degree?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38834,
"author": "blankip",
"author_id": 11420,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11420",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "I don't want to turn this into an answer about how universities or society in general should deal with disabilities. I will offer what I have witnessed first hand through a good friend. \n\nCan you work in Academia?\n\nYes. \n\nWill people make fun of you?\n\nProbably but who cares. People make fun of others for everything. \n\nBut...\n\n* don't try to hide your problem\n* embrace the stuttering. Nobody cares that much unless you do.\n* spit out what you are trying to say. The content and meaning are key. Don't let the stuttering stop your speech.\n* don't try to dumb down your words to help the stuttering (to a point). You will be judged by most on what you say, don't let stuttering get in the way of that.\n\nSo my friend - let's call him Zeul (sorry Zeul for using your real name) had a big banquet speech he was asked to do after much of his research was published. Four of the faculty members/advisors Zeul was thanking were named Zotn... So he says, \"I would like to thank Joh-Joh-Joh-Joh-Joh-Joh-Zotn. (He catches his breathe and smiles at the crowd). Well I had fou-fou-four Zotns and I think I thanked too many.\" It could have been two hours of drinking but people were honestly laughing for two minutes straight. \n\nIn reality it probably would effect you more if you were in a field were public speaking were part of the field. Zeul was a scientist. I hate to say this but I think the stuttering became his calling card and made him even more likable, and even better presenter. \n\n**Add:** After seeing this question get a ton of hits I want to be clarify my answer. Stuttering and other issues, whether it is a disability or just something that someone isn't good at - be honest with yourself about any \"shortcomings\" and don't make others feel awkward (I know this is hard). Whether it is a strong accent, stuttering, talking low, saying \"ummmm\", whatever - if you know you have an issue own it and put your audience at ease. \n\nA perfect example of this is Jeff Foxworthy. He readily admits that he talks like a redneck. That is his shtick. People like him and think he's hilarious because he openly talks about his accent and redneckedness. If he came out to an audience, unknown to them, and tried to (poorly) hide his accent and redneck background, people would feel uncomfortable. Everyone has issues, some worse than others. Acknowledging your issues makes your more personable and relateable to your audience as they know that they too might have trouble talking in front of a large group."
},
{
"answer_id": 38838,
"author": "KSmarts",
"author_id": 29354,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29354",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "People with a stutter can definitely have a career in academia. I know this because I've *had* a professor with a stammer. \n\nFrom what I understand, a stutter can be amplified by stress. So if someone has serious anxiety about public speaking (giving lectures, presentations, etc.), it may not be a good idea to pursue an academic career. Of course, one could easily see the anxiety as the primary problem in this case, and the stutter as incidental. In general, if you have a stammer and think you could be a professor, then you probably can. You've had the stutter all your life, you know better than any of us how to handle different situations.\n\nDon't worry too much about whether other people think you can do the work, either. What they think about your ability doesn't affect your *actual* ability. Furthermore, if anyone tries to interfere with your work or deny you a job because a speech disorder, they are probably violating worker protection laws."
},
{
"answer_id": 38851,
"author": "J.R.",
"author_id": 780,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/780",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "If [Jim Abbott](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Abbott) can pitch with one arm, if [Hector Picard](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Hector_Picard) can complete a triathlon, then you (if the question is about you) can certainly lecture with a stutter. Follow your dreams. \n\nBy the way, I work in academia alongside a physicist who is a very effective lecturer despite his stuttering. I've also known people who succeeded in academia despite their lisps, their heavy accents, their shyness, or their wheelchair – folks who were generally well-liked by students and had rightly earned the sincere respect of fellow faculty. Need I mention Stephen Hawking?\n\nLisps and limps, stammers and stutters, accents and hoarse voices; these are all things that will get noticed during the first day of class, but go largely unnoticed by the third or fourth week, especially when the lecturer has passion for the subject and is amiable in the delivery."
},
{
"answer_id": 38926,
"author": "Liam Schumm",
"author_id": 27167,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27167",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "You would at some points be held to a higher standards than others; however, if your research is good, you should be respected."
},
{
"answer_id": 40062,
"author": "Shahryar",
"author_id": 10773,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10773",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "Make it your advantage. The art of embracing things like that and instead glowing confidence can make one to be remembered and to be respected above normal."
},
{
"answer_id": 67882,
"author": "Jorge",
"author_id": 53339,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53339",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "This blog is the first one that I have found about pursuing an academic career having to stutter on The Internet. I was born with hypoacusia, and I was treated to recover almost all of the hearing capacity. Then, I have been stuttering since I was a kid. Now, I am doing the last year of my Ph.D. abroad and in English. In my native language, I have managed to control my stuttering by using synonyms to hard words, talking very slowly and using tag words linked to words that are hard to say to me without stuttering. Indeed, it has been a challenge to apply these techniques in English.\n\nIn all my years in academia (undergraduate, then in my Masters (working as a teaching graduate assistant) and finally in my Ph.D. years), I have to say that it is possible to carry on and survive academia with stuttering. Although I had had terrible presentations when my stuttering was so intense, that I couldn't finish explaining my point, I also had very good presentations where I could speak almost with total fluency. I have learned from these good and bad experiences, and I came out with a strategy to deal with the stuttering. Also for me, I tend to stutter when I am introducing myself to new people. Indeed, meeting new colleagues, presenting your work and networking are very common things to do in academia. \n\nI have some tips on how to deal with situations when stuttering is more probable. Maybe these tips sound too obvious, but this has worked for me so far:\n\n1) Indeed, by feeling that you have prepared your presentation by practising by yourself and even making a script help to boost your confidence and avoid the stuttering.\n\n2) I find the first seconds of the talk the worst because automatically I feel that I will stutter. Therefore, I have found that the best way to overcome that is to find the words which I felt more comfortable to speak with and try to organise a starter sentence. For instance, I tend to start my sentences with tag words such as \"OK\" or \"well\". Although sometimes I had silly ways to start talking, this helped me to \"break the ice\" and no stutter from the beginning. When I have applied this technique, most of the presentations had finished very well. This method gave me confidence from the start; like a boost.\n\n3) Another strategy is trying to avoid the use of text as much as possible in the slides. Only using pictures or diagrams. I always felt so frustrated when I tried to say a word that is on the slide; this situation leads me to stutter for sure. Therefore, by using mostly graphs and diagrams, I was not feeling the pressure that I have words to say. Then, I can be open to improvising and use synonyms when reaching a word which I use to stutter with (I am aware that this technique of using synonyms is used widely by people who stutter. However it has been a challenge for me to apply this method in another language). I had the opportunity to master this technique when I was a teaching to undergraduates. Indeed, I felt so much confident that the stuttering was almost entirely gone. Moreover, the students were so happy with the way I explained using diagrams and animations.\n\n4) Indeed, I have experienced an improvement in my speech when I modulate my breathing. I encourage to do this exercises a couple of hours before any presentation. Conscious breathing helps to relax. It is like tuning and adjusting the sound system of a concert.\n\n5) If you have plenty of time, it is recommended to have a script for your presentation. By doing this, you can see which words are the most problematic to say. Then, it will help you to prepare alternative-more-relaxing-words to say.\n\nIn general, I have to say, my presentations in academia have been like a rollercoaster with ups and downs. The important thing is not to succumb or feel defeated when you have a bad presentation. Like every time, just learning from my mistakes and analysing why I was stuttering. I know it feels awful when you again stutter in a presentation. However, the key thing is to avoid feeling so bad and understanding and accepting that stuttering is part of your life. I think that in part when you are applying this technique of talking slowly and with some style, you are making your lectures or way to interact socially so unique that people will remember you more. \n\nPlease let me know if you have any comments. I will like to discuss with people having my same situation. So far, I have not met anyone experiencing this situation at a Ph.D. studies level. Finally, I have to say that I chose an academic path because I like to research and teach."
},
{
"answer_id": 77516,
"author": "Marshall",
"author_id": 62504,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/62504",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "A person who stutters can definitely have an excellent career in academia. I am a stutterer and have been a professor of business at a good university in Canada for over 30 years. I did encounter some discrimination in both obtaining my Ph.D. and in securing an academic job. For example, when I was working on my Masters degree I asked the Department head to write me a letter of recommendation to get into the doctoral program. He refused, stating that he 'could not waste a valuable spot on someone who couldn't teach'. He was wrong to do that, of course, as I teach just fine (albeit with some stuttering). You should pursue the career that YOU want and not let others tell you what they think your limitations are. The only limitations, I believe, are the ones we impose on ourselves. Good luck!"
},
{
"answer_id": 77518,
"author": "Leon Meier",
"author_id": 56935,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/56935",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Don Knuth, computer scientist No. 1, is somewhat stuttering. Not much, but he still struggles with his speech. Stephen Hawking cannot speak without a computer at all. Said that, the absence of clear speech is not a stopper; you **can** make an excellent academic career. You may have some trouble speaking publicly, but that's a different issue.\n\nIf stuttering bothers you personally, you might think about investing time and money into working with a speech therapist rather than into academia, which is a hard sports anyway. Your progress with the therapist may be small, especially if you are older, but it's worth it for your life. Not for academia."
}
] |
2015/02/13
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38831",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29348/"
] |
38,836 |
I've sent the article to the conference and it has been accepted. However, I received a message that my paper has been accepted as the short paper.
I know that there's a difference in, for instance, the oral presentation time between those 3 kinds of papers. However, I wonder if the type (regular, position, short) can say anything about the *quality* or the *importance* of the paper's subject?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38839,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "Here is what I have observed at the peer-reviewed conferences that I attend:\n\n* A regular full paper is your basic standard peer-reviewed paper.\n* A position paper is for ideas that don't have any results, per se, but are worth communicating to the community, or for announcing a result that has been published with another community.\n* A short paper is for work that is worth publishing, but doesn't rise to the level of quality or significance of a full paper.\n\nShort papers are generally significantly less respected than full papers, but may be worth it anyway: a short paper in a high-profile conference is often better than a full paper in a less significant conference. Position papers are funny and in a different category: they aren't attempting to be the same as a full paper, and are typically judged more by a standard of \"interesting to discuss.\""
},
{
"answer_id": 38841,
"author": "Alexandros",
"author_id": 10042,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10042",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "I will speak from the CS perspective, which I know. \n\n> \n> If the type (regular, position, short) can say anything about the\n> quality or the importance of the paper's subject?\n> \n> \n> \n\nUnfortunately, it does. Although the short paper will still appear in the proceedings, it will have a maximum limit of usually 4 pages. Therefore most details will have to be omitted, due to the limited space. Also, in CS conferences short papers might be presented in a fast-forward fashion (1-2 minutes per paper) or together with the demo papers presentation and therefore they do not attract as much attention as the regular papers. In that case, during the demo / poster session people can come in to your \"booth\" and discuss about your paper (which is more informal but still a nice way to network).\n\nThe better way to take advantage of this situation (your paper was accepted after all, even as a short paper) is to make an extended version of this paper for submitting to a relevant journal, where you can reveal all the missing details from the proceedings short version, along with some additional extra material."
},
{
"answer_id": 38844,
"author": "TheWanderer",
"author_id": 11338,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11338",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "To add to other answers, I'll say that at least in HCI, it depends on the conference. At CHI, for example a short paper is not necessarily one that has less quality. It means that the contribution can be adequately be described and discussed in 4 pages. \nHowever, there are other conferences who explictly declare in their CfPs that short papers can be about preliminary results, works in progress, etc.\n\nIf we are talking about evaluating a researcher's CV, a preponderance of short-papers might indicate that the person in question was not able to focus on any one topic long enough to study it in detail."
}
] |
2015/02/13
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38836",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29353/"
] |
38,843 |
I met someone who was doing a PhD in dance. What exactly do those people do? Do they do research in dance? Conduct experiments in dance? Prove theorems about dance? Do they become dance professors when they graduate?
Do they mostly focus on the history of dance, and compare different styles of dancing?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38847,
"author": "BrianH",
"author_id": 6787,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6787",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "In short: yes, and a whole lot more.\n\nA PhD in the arts usually most closely resembles other PhDs in the humanities, like English or History, but often have a more experiential/practical component as well. Depending on the program and field of study, it might be somewhat of a mash-up of psychology, anthropology, physiology, literature, history, political science...whatever relates to one's area of research and study!\n\nI'll give a concrete, real-world example: in the Psychology department of my present university there are faculty and students (undergraduates and those preparing for masters/PhD studies) conducting cross-departmental research with the Theatre & Dance department on the \"Psychology of Dance\". In one experimental study they looked at inter-rater reliability of those who are not particularly trained or experienced in interpretive dance, and then showed them specially created dance performance videos. They were looking to see if interpretive dance really is a genuine form of communication: can the artists/performers communicate specific emotions consistently to the audience such as anger, fear, affection, companionship, etc? Or is it all just people assigning arbitrary meanings, like people giving serious meaning to a randomly generated drawing? Their results so far indicate that especially for some emotions, there is a very strong inter-rater reliability: even those who have never studied/seen interpretive dance before can identify certain emotions, activities, representations, etc - and as usual they work on writing up and publishing such results, giving talks, etc.\n\nAs another example, at [NYU they have a Performance Studies](http://performance.tisch.nyu.edu/page/courses.html) program and they have a lot of detail on their website about the kind of things student's are doing. These include things like studying different styles of dance, dance in other cultures, documenting and studying modern performance art, and so forth.\n\nAs with most PhDs, the purpose of them is research and instruction, but what one does with it varies. Some will be instructors, professors, researchers, owners of studios, contributors in community organizations, lecturers, writers, performance artists...some will go into 'industry' as choreographers, directors, producers, and so on. It's a far cry from Underwater Basket Weaving!\n\nOne thing I'll note from personal observation: many, many people working in the arts choose not to go by the title \"Doctor\" or even \"Professor\". This seemed odd to me, but it's a culture thing - they just don't do it. So, many people who have a PhD in the arts, especially in music and dance, don't advertise their education in any way - so you've probably known more people with a PhD in the arts than you realize!"
},
{
"answer_id": 38848,
"author": "StrongBad",
"author_id": 929,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "I am not familiar with PhDs in Dance, but in Music and Art the thesis consists of a traditional written document and usually an original piece of art. There are some history and theory only degrees, but these are often then degree is Art History. I wouldn't describe what they do as experiments, but you could argue that they prove, or provide evidence, in support of Art theory. For example, a PhD in poetry might consist of a book of poems and then a scholarly introduction of how the poems fit into the broader field of poetry. A PhD in music might involve composing an album and the thesis would place relate the album to past types of music. Alternatively, a PhD in poetry could also just examine a particular poet's work, or a group of poets and a PhD in music could look at a particular musician.\n\nGetting a doctoral degree in the arts is relatively new. It used to be that an MFA was a terminal degree. I think most doctoral students in the arts are looking to be professors"
},
{
"answer_id": 40039,
"author": "Nicola",
"author_id": 30531,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30531",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "There are several approaches to a PhD in dance. One of the first that pop up into my mind is understanding how we interpret and classify movements in different cultures, or in intra cultural communities. \nOther can be the analysis and interpretation of traditional dance, and their role in a society. \n\nThe output can be teaching dance theory, but there can be also some jobs in robotics (most of them use Labanotation Analysis for classifying movement, that it was actually invented for writing down dance movement)!\nIt is only a matter of research questions, but let's not forget that dance is about movement, and movement it is a big research field right now :)"
}
] |
2015/02/13
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38843",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/24384/"
] |
38,857 |
I'm currently finishing up my last year of study as an undergraduate mathematics major at a top 2 public school. I've been interested in getting a phD in mathematics for some time now, but my GPA and work in some classes in my 1st and 2nd years leaves a lot to be desired. Let's just say I got pretty bad grades in important classes. Since then, I've worked my but off and currently have around a 3.3 GPA.
Luckily, I was accepted into a Statistics/Computer Science related Masters program. In this program, I will have the opportunity to take electives and plan to take some higher level math classes.
My question is, will doing very well in my masters program next year override my poor performance as an undergrad? Also, should I be really trying to get a research position this summer?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38858,
"author": "Eric D. Brown D.Sc.",
"author_id": 29287,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29287",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "I think you'll be fine if you can show your skills and abilities during the Stats/CompSci Masters program. Yes...definitely go after a research position as it will add your profile when it comes time to apply for a PhD program."
},
{
"answer_id": 38881,
"author": "Oswald Veblen",
"author_id": 16122,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/16122",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "Yes, high grades and excellent letters of recommendation from the master's program can help overcome poor grades from earlier. \n\nRemember you will apply for the PhD program a year in advance, so the professors you have the first two semesters in the master's program will be the ones you need to ask for letters. You need to be excellent from the start of the master's program. \n\nThe other thing that can help overcome bad grades (to some extent) is a high score on the math subject GRE. You want to study thoroughly for that, unless you already have a high score. See e.g. [What is the median math GRE subject score for admission to a Group 2 or 3 PhD program in applied mathematics?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/13678/what-is-the-median-math-gre-subject-score-for-admission-to-a-group-2-or-3-phd-pr)"
}
] |
2015/02/14
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38857",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29376/"
] |
38,861 |
I am in high school but soon I will be going to college. I already have a hard time dealing with the silliness of high school (on an intellectual level), and in particular I have 0 interest in humanities courses (frankly I think literature is pathetic thing to study). I am interested only in maths and science.
When I get to college, I plan only to take maths and science courses and not attend any humanities courses even if they are required as part of the core curriculum. What are the potential ramifications of this assuming the college is one of the prestigious ones like Harvard/MIT. Will a bad grade in humanities course mean less opportunities later on?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38862,
"author": "Patricia Shanahan",
"author_id": 10220,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10220",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "I have a lot of sympathy with your viewpoint. I grew up in England, so once I had completed the O-level General Certificate of Education, at age 16, I could spend most of my time on mathematics and physics. My mathematics undergraduate program only had courses in various branches of mathematics.\n\nI do read widely, including history and literature, but that is something I do for fun, not something anyone is forcing me to do.\n\nThe consequences of not taking humanities will depend entirely on the college and its regulations. In some cases, it would mean no degree, which would obviously mean less opportunities. You should carefully examine the undergraduate programs at each college you are considering for the subjects in which you are most interested, to see which have what graduation requirements.\n\nI don't think Harvard would be a practical choice for you: \"General Education, Expository Writing, and the language requirement combined require nine to 11 half-courses, or around 30 percent of your overall program.\" [Graduation Requirements](https://college.harvard.edu/academics/planning-your-degree/graduation-requirements)"
},
{
"answer_id": 38863,
"author": "Corvus",
"author_id": 27900,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27900",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "Science is not merely something that you do in isolation; science is a communal activity by which hundreds or thousands of people work together on a shared path to discovery. Therefore to practice science you need not only to uncover new truths or at least posit new hypotheses; you must communicate them to the other participants in the institution of science, be it orally or in writing. The most brilliant thinker fails to do science if she fails to convey her discoveries to others. Your humanities will teach you a great deal about how to communicate more effectively; they will help you become a much better scientist. \n\nSo in short, what happens if you take no courses in the humanities? You will be a less effective scientist than you otherwise could have been."
},
{
"answer_id": 38864,
"author": "Compass",
"author_id": 22013,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22013",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "> \n> What are the potential ramifications of this assuming the college is one of the prestigous ones like Harvard/MIT.\n> \n> \n> \n\nI don't think I've ever been in a humanities courses that had more than 30 people in it.\n\nIt is likely the professor will take attendance or require participation to ensure that coursework is being done. In most cases, you have to get a certain minimum grade for core as well.\n\nLooking at [Harvard's core in Computer Science](http://static.fas.harvard.edu/registrar/ugrad_handbook/current/chapter3/computer_science.html) as an example:\n\nYou have to take 7 of these types courses, and *receive a passing grade in each of them.*\n\n* Foreign Cultures\n* Historical Study A\n* Historical Study B\n* Literature and Arts A\n* Literature and Arts B\n* Literature and Arts C\n* Moral Reasoning\n* Science B\n* Social Analysis\n\nSo if you decide to just skip them entirely, that will be probably 7 x 3.5 credits = 24.5 credits worth of courses. Let's say you pass with a D, a fantastic 1.0 for GPA calculations.\n\nWith an estimate of 120 credits for graduation, and As in every other class (95.5 credits), you'll end up with a GPA of 3.39, [which is likely to impact graduate school or professional school applications](http://poetsandquants.com/2014/03/27/average-gpas-at-top-50-u-s-business-schools/).\n\nIf you AP out or something, and end up with only needing 90 credits for graduation, it becomes a 3.18. I'm pretty sure it's all but impossible to get into any sort of graduate program with a GPA that low.\n\nI'd also like to point out that writing skills are typically looked upon positively as well, in both research and academia."
},
{
"answer_id": 38865,
"author": "jamesqf",
"author_id": 27365,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27365",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "It's really simple: if you don't attend the classes, don't do the homework, or don't take the exams, you will flunk the course. (Unless of course you are a football or basketball player at certain schools.) If you flunk enough courses, or any of the required ones, you will flunk out of the university, which means you will not get a degree. The ramifications of this are that you won't get any sort of job in your field. 'Required' means just that.\n\nWhat you may be able to do is to take some of the lower-level courses by examination\\*. Other courses can be quite interesting, and a good way to get easy As. And, if a social life is of any interest to you, the female/male ratio tends to be a LOT higher in humanities than in science & math (or at least it was when I was an undergrad).\n\n\\*I did this with several of the basic ones like English 101/102 and US history, but I was over 30 at the time, and had spent the intervening years in the military and building my first business."
},
{
"answer_id": 38866,
"author": "user6726",
"author_id": 28972,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28972",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "It depends on what your eventual life goals are. For example, if your intent is to pursue some line of \"automatic\" scientific employment, like running tests in a lab according to pre-set procedures, and if that is all you plan to do in life, then avoidance of humanities courses probably won't harm your plans. On the other hand, if you plan on engaging in more adventuresome forms of employment, such as being a research scientist, or even worse, an academician, then an absolute avoidance of humanities is deleterious to your goals. This does not need to come in the form of official coursework, but it needs to happen somehow.\n\nI do not mean to imply that knowledge of the latest *au courrant* theory of literary interpretation is intrinsically useful to your career as a future scientist, but lit-crit is not the whole ball of wax when it comes to the humanities (with due apologies to any lit-crit readers out there). The noted astrophysicist Arthur Eddington was one of many practicing scientists who made substantive contributions in the area of epistemology, and actually understanding (vs. merely memorizing the math) the issue underlying De Broglie-Bohm theory vs. the Copenhagen interpretation calls for a grasp of metaphysics. Insofar as your actions as a scientist have unavoidable consequences, with respect to other humans, life-forms, of physical structures, you cannot avoid consideration of ethics, and the study of history as a means of validating your conclusions regarding those ethical principles.\n\nBy \"cannot avoid\", of course, I mean \"cannot rationally cannot\" -- you *can* do whatever you feel like at the moment."
},
{
"answer_id": 38868,
"author": "chipbuster",
"author_id": 8158,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8158",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "A fun fact: when I was in high school, I rejected mathematics as a silly and useless field that nobody would ever actually use.\n\nWell, I was wrong, of course, but my points is that subjects as taught in high school are not at all like subjects taught at the university level. Outside of the need to stick to a state curriculum and teach to a standardized test, and in the hands of a skilled teacher who has dedicated their life to the field, a lot of subjects that seem boring and dull can come to life.\n\nTell you what, when you get to college, take just *one* humanities course and darn well try to like it. If you don't, at least you gave it a shot. From there, you can try to \"cheat\" your way through the system---for example, some larger schools offer \"History of {Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics}\" courses that you might be able to have count as humanities credit. You can satisfy your course requirements and learn more about the great minds in your field at the same time. There might also be classes that have you do literature reviews of a field of your choice--these often count for writing requirements.\n\nEssentially, what I'm trying to say is that not all humanities courses boil down to \"reading Tanl or writing some dopey philosophy essay.\" Even at a school as small as mine, there are lots of interesting courses that fulfill the humanities requirements while still letting you work on scientific problems---and some really good courses on just the humanities too, and not taking the courses will cause you to miss out on a lot of potential learning experiences."
},
{
"answer_id": 38871,
"author": "Bombyx mori",
"author_id": 6335,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6335",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "I think, to be very honest that you have **wrong expectations** of college life. The goal of college education is to offer a holistic educational environment that helps you to become a better person overall. This means you have to challenge yourself in subjects you never heard of and presume you are not interested. For example, it is fashionable to understand how to design a computer interface that could act interactively with its user like iOS Upzs. What kind of menu should I use? How should the user understand the functions of my software? But there is no such class offered ten years ago in most universities. The courses offered by the university that is mostly relevant to you would be graphic design, art history, photography, architecture, etc in the art division of the university. So if you miss these classes, you will miss an opportunity to become someone you could be, guided by an expert much more experienced than you are. My point is not original - it has been well articulated by Lhate Jubs in his famous graduation speech. \n\nTo me, it is precisely that a subject is \"far away\" from my current field that makes it worth exploring in college. I am far from perfect and if I can remedy some of my deficiencies during college life, why should not I do that? For example, a health dose of history and literature (like knowledge of the Biblical literature) makes my trip in Europe much more enjoyable. To look at the painting of Da Vinci or Michaelangleo in the Vatican and do not know how to begin appreciate it properly would be a shame. I am not advocating for learning everything just because it might show up once at some crucial moment in future. But I think it is at least helpful to know what one's weakness is. And obviously I would not know how much I do not know unless I step into the classroom listening the actual lecture. The better the university is, the more diversity they have in the classroom and the more individualized the education will be. Unless you are sure your interest with humanities is negative infinity, such that no positive input would be able to change your attitude, I think it is not too late to start from zero now."
}
] |
2015/02/14
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38861",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29380/"
] |
38,867 |
I am an "abnormal" graduate student in the sense I had been diagnosed with [Aspergers syndrome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger_syndrome) by a professional psychiatrist when I was in college. In college days I mostly study mathematics on my own and covered the subject by reading textbooks/lecture notes online, and I mostly learn by having private conversation with the professor instead of going to the lecture. However after entering graduate school I noticed for teaching undergraduate students, this approach does not really work. Last semester I tried to teach measure theory to my students in the probability class, and the result was in the end of the semester they still did not get [what expectation really is](https://matheducators.stackexchange.com/questions/5981/what-is-a-good-way-to-explain-the-lebesgue-integral-to-non-math-majors).
This semester I have changed my approach and assuming that they knew nothing more than pre-calc. As a result my teaching performance has improved. But I still suffer from problems I assume normal instructors would not encounter. For an extreme example, I met a student asking me for quiz contents tomorrow and who makes the quiz, because the ones I gave tend to be more difficult. I responded that any event is likely including I die because of traffic accident or suicide because of depression, and in the above case there will be no quiz to prepare for.
(Added: When he pointed out this was quite bleak point of view, I suggested that) another quite unlikely event is I won Megamillion tickets and decided to quit grad school, so there will be no quiz too. (Added: Similar to this I also quoted possibility of me being late or there is a class cancellation due to snow storm. When he pointed out that no one can foresee these events, I suggested that is why having health insurance that enable me to see a therapist as well as covering physical diseases is important.) I suggested that he should prepare for anything that might happen with the quiz, and take consideration of the probabilities to maximize his performance of quiz with the time and energy constraint available.
(Added: When he suggested that bell curve is all he needed to pass this course), I also told him real life events often do not follow Bell curve and central limit theorem has limited value for random variable with no expectation exists. To make sure he is not confused, later at night I sent an email to the class repeating my points and suggested everything in the book we learned so far can be tested, and the bonus problem content can be coming from anywhere.
Later I received an email from the instructor of the course, claiming that the student was so unhappy that he suggested to remove me as an TA, because I made him "extremely uncomfortable" and "a bit scared". Further the student suggested I am "literally crazy". But I could not notice anything illogical in what I told him or craziness out of me. The instructor and I had a down to the earth conversation on this. I promised that this would never happen again. However, to be a responsible person I am confused what exactly went wrong. I suppose this is not an isolated event because the instructor told me he has received "many complaints" from students already. My questions are as follows:
1. What did the student went through? Why is he unhappy? I did not use any profane language or threatened him in any way. I think what I said are largely "abstract nonsense" everyone knows. In fact, I think I was being very polite for speaking with him on this boring topic for 15 minutes or not appear to be unhappy with him at all. I thought he would think like what I did during my student days, that before a test students wish the class might be cancelled and one can spend more time to review.
2. Has there been anyone else in this forum also having Aspergers syndrome? Can someone describe his/her experience and make some suggestions?
3. Is there anyway for me to avoid this kind of unwanted events in future? There is no prospect that I can "convert" to a normal person. And I do not want people to be unhappy with me for trivial events like this in future. I could have dismissed the case as the student being irrational, but I think there might be something deeper into it. So I think I should ask.
4. Even if there is no one mentioning this on my future teaching reference, would I be qualified for a teaching position in future once I got out of grad school? I ask because it is literally impossible for a graduate student in my university to get a serious research oriented post-doc unless he or she did something very remarkable. While I am not diffident about myself, I feel I should be serious with my future teaching career now, since I would have to teach as a post-doc as well and there will more teaching load.
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38869,
"author": "Anonymous",
"author_id": 11565,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11565",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "In the first place, I believe that the student was quite rude.\n\nThat said, your response regarding the quiz was presumably regarded as sarcastic and mean-spirited, even if it was not intended as such. I think that it is a fair question which deserves a reasonable answer, based on what you intend to do. That answer might be \"Everything we've covered in class in the last three days, and in Sections X, Y, and Z is fair game for the quiz\" if you don't want to be more specific.\n\nUntil you get more comfortable with teaching, I recommend making your courses extremely predictable. (This is especially true if you are a TA rather than an instructor.) You can get creative with your lectures, but I would recommend making all of your course policies very explicit (e.g. what material is covered on the quizzes), standard, and explaining them as clearly as possible. Your quizzes should focus on material emphasized in your lecture and/or the book, and not have any \"trick questions\".\n\nIn general, in ordinary conversation, I would usually recommend ignoring the possibility that highly unusual circumstances (i.e., your death) might occur. The question \"What will you do?\" may be interpreted as \"What will you probably do?\" or \"What do you intend to do?\"\n\nBest of luck to you."
},
{
"answer_id": 38872,
"author": "Stephan Kolassa",
"author_id": 4140,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4140",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "+1 to [Enenymooy' answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/38869/4140).\n\nIn addition, you mention that you have [Asperger syndrome](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger_syndrome). One of the key symptoms in Asperger - right in the first paragraph at Wikipedia - is \"significant difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication\". That is: your interaction with the student was likely \"abnormal\", to use the term that you used. And importantly, you probably have a hard time in understanding just what it is that caused the student distress.\n\nWhat could have been \"abnormal\"? This is hard to say. Communication happens on many levels. Only a very small percentage (I have seen suggestions of 10%) are the actual information content. The rest is \"everything else\": choice of words, intonation, facial expression, body language, context, surroundings, relationships and so forth. It is *very* hard to explain what really goes on here. And of course your 10% information content could have been exactly on the mark, while the other 90% could have been just a bit outside what the student expected within the parameters of such a conversation. And that would be enough for him to conclude that you are \"crazy\". (Although of course telling this to your professor is rude.)\n\nSo, what can you do? One problem with Asperger is that you will need to consciously learn and practice communication norms that non-Aspergers soak up automatically, so they don't even need to think about them. I am not a therapist, so take my advice with a large grain of salt. But I would make sure that you stick with the actual information you need to convey (as Enenymooy recommends). Given that you have problems in understanding how you come across, better to reduce the possibilities of being misunderstood. Don't do jokes, don't discuss six-sigma events like a meteorite hitting you.\n\nIn addition, I would *strongly* recommend that you look for help. Either talk to a therapist - student services at your university could probably help you there. Or at least look for a self-help group. Asperger's is not too rare, so you may find such a group close by. If you have a trusted (non-Asperger) friend, ask him to observe you in conversation and ask him to give you feedback. Maybe even take a video of you in an interaction so the two of you can go over it in detail.\n\nIf you work on your communication skills, I don't think you would be barred from teaching. One question is whether you actually enjoy it - many people with Asperger's don't enjoy interaction with other people."
},
{
"answer_id": 38877,
"author": "blank",
"author_id": 29386,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29386",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "(posting anonymously, so can't make this a comment)\n\nThe first piece of advice I've been given is to accept that the majority of students are not really interested in learning, only in passing the exam. They are, in my experienced, obsessed with meaningless details like how many questions there are on the exam (who cares, when you don't know how long a question is?). Tell them exactly what they will be asked and when, so they can get marks with as little effort as possible (and repeat it every time they ask, even though you've already told them multiple times), and a good proportion of the students will be happier.\n\nThe second piece of advice I've been given is to not care about student feedback. \n\nI don't think either of these fit well with being an Aspie."
},
{
"answer_id": 38879,
"author": "tim",
"author_id": 23297,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/23297",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "> \n> What did the student went through? Why is he unhappy? \n> \n> \n> \n\nI can only guess, but I would say that the student expected concrete and short answers, such as: \n\n* Question: \"Who makes the quiz?\" Answer: \"I will be making the quiz\" (unlikely events preventing you from making the quiz are implied).\n* Question: \"what will be the content of the quiz?\" Answer: \"Everything we covered in the last X weeks\" or \"Chapters X, Y, and Z of the book\" or \"Topics A, B, and C\".\n\nYour answer to the first question was probably received as too general and off topic, and might have made the student uncomfortable because it was a bit personal (regarding depression and suicide).\n\nAs to your answer to the second question: `everything in the book` is not an answer students like to hear, but it certainly can be a valid answer (if everything in the book is actually relevant to the class). `content can be coming from anywhere` on the other hand will make most students unhappy, because they cannot prepare for it. I know it is just for bonus points, but still, it would probably be better to base those questions on the content of the book as well, as to not frustrate students.\n\n> \n> Is there anyway for me to avoid this kind of unwanted events in future? \n> \n> \n> \n\nTry to give short answers that you think will help the students the most. You can - as you did in this case - follow that up with an email, in which you can go into a bit more detail.\n\nAnd although there is nothing wrong with being a hard teacher, scaling down the difficulty of your tests will make students happier and more forgiving. You don't have to create incredibly easy tests just so students will like you, but if your tests are always more difficult than those of other teachers, this can make students resentful (even if their main objective is to learn, passing this class and getting good grades is important for them and their future).\n\nAs others mentioned, you might also want to look for outside help. This can be therapy if you want to and can afford it, but you could also discuss events such as this with friends/family/possibly colleagues, and send important email (and maybe tests) to them before sending them out to students for proofreading.\n\n> \n> Even if there is no one mentioning this on my future teaching reference, would I be qualified for a teaching position in future once I got out of grad school?\n> \n> \n> \n\nI don't think you should let yourself be hold back by this. It seems that you would have to do some work (because you received \"many complaints\"), but if this is something you like to do, do it."
},
{
"answer_id": 38883,
"author": "Alexandros",
"author_id": 10042,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10042",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "First of all, kudos to the OP for sharing his problem. Without a doubt, this the first step towards addressing the problem. Unfortunately, most of the answers do not seem to get to the \"meat\" of the problem. And the main question is:\n\n> \n> Was the OP rude to the student and was the student on the right to\n> complain about this behavior?\n> \n> \n> \n\nThe answer to both questions is a big YES. When someone asks a question about a test quiz and gets an answer like \"I do not want to tell you because I might commit suicide because of depression\" the student (in his human imperfection), has the right to feel \"scared\" and \"awkward\". But even then, the student still made the right choice: He notified the university \"authorities\" (the main instructor of the course) about the problem he faced. This is what we suggest all students to do (in this SE forum) when they are dealing with a dangerous or threatening situation within the university campus. And although the danger was not real, the student felt that way, so he reported it. What would a teacher do, when one of his students told him when asked about a meeting, \"I do not know if I can make the meeting tomorrow because I might be dead\"? Exactly the same thing. Notify the university authorities. So first, I believe we must all agree that the student did the right call. Otherwise, the OP might not even have acknowledged the problem and how the student felt from this situation (which I am not sure if he totally gets is 100%). And BTW commenting on \"I do not want people to be unhappy with me for trivial events like this in future\", let me tell the OP that being \"scared\" by your university teacher is not a trivial event at all.\n\nI am not a doctor and I cannot provide remote diagnoses. No one should do it especially online. But being a teacher is mostly about the students and not ourselves. We are still human, we are imperfect and we sometimes make irrational mistakes. But if something (disease, personal state, even grief) prevents us to do what is best for THEM, we should do whatever it takes (therapy, medication, personal leave) to protect them and be the best teachers we can be. Otherwise, we are not doing those young people justice."
},
{
"answer_id": 38886,
"author": "mhwombat",
"author_id": 10529,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10529",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "I think the other answers have done a good job of explaining the why the student was offended by your response in this situation. So instead I will try to give you some general \"rules of thumb\" that would help you avoid similar situations.\n\n*When someone asks you a question, before you answer, think about why they are asking and what the answer means to them.* Often there's a deeper, more fundamental question underlying what the person actually asks, and that's the question that you need to answer. In this case, the student was nervous about the exam, and wanted to know how he could improve his chances of passing.\n\n*If you have to deliver bad news, acknowledge what it means to the other person, and stick to directly relevant facts.* In this case, the bad news that you had to deliver was that you couldn't (or wouldn't, for pedagogical reasons) tell the student what was on the exam.\n\nHere's an example of an answer that might have worked better in this situation: \"I understand you're worried about the quiz. I can't tell you exactly what's going to be on it, but it will be material that we discussed in class. If you review your class notes, you should be well-prepared.\" The first sentence acknowledges how the student feels. The second sentence delivers the bad news. The third sentence answers the underlying question, sticking to the facts. You might add something helpful like \"Make sure you understand the concept of 'expectation'.\"\n\nThis answer will not completely satisfy the student, who was probably hoping to be told exactly what the quiz would be so he wouldn't have to do as much studying. But at least it delivers the bad news in a way that doesn't make the student feel any worse than he already feels."
},
{
"answer_id": 38891,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 7,
"selected": true,
"text": "> \n> I think what I said are largely \"abstract nonsense\" everyone knows.\n> \n> \n> \n\nI'd bet that's part of the issue here. When people ask a question, the general assumption is that the answer will try to maximize usefulness. When this doesn't seem to be happening, it's viewed as a very strong signal. For example, suppose I ask you \"Are you having lunch with Zotn tomorrow?\" and you reply \"I don't know. Maybe he'll commit suicide tonight.\" If there's no special risk of suicide, then this is a useless answer, since everyone knows suicide is a theoretical possibility that would disrupt the lunch plans. So it's natural to interpret this answer as suggesting you honestly fear Zotn will kill himself. Giving a logically correct but near-vacuous answer is considered highly eccentric (if not done deliberately) or rude (if done deliberately). Either way it will upset people, because it completely throws off their ability to judge what is really meant. It can be OK as a joke under the right circumstances, but otherwise it's generally problematic.\n\nSo there's a real danger whenever you try to explain \"abstract nonsense everyone knows\". It can be misinterpreted in many ways. \"He thinks I'm an idiot who needs to be patiently told things everyone knows\", \"He's making fun of me\", \"He's intentionally being rude\", \"He's gone crazy and can't stop talking about suicide and the bell curve even though they are irrelevant to my needs\", \"He's severely depressed and is trying to prepare me for the possibility that he might be gone by tomorrow [or is awkwardly asking for help]\", etc.\n\nMath culture can play a role here as well. It's not uncommon for mathematicians to be a bit obsessive about logical correctness in everyday life. For example, when someone asks me about my lunch plans, I have to fight to urge to reply \"as far as I know\" instead of \"yes\", since of course I don't really know for sure. If I see a bag sitting my itself in my classroom as everyone is leaving and ask the class \"Did somebody leave their bag behind?\", I'm sure to get an answer of \"yes\" from multiple students. Among mathematicians, this communication style is widely tolerated, and it can be viewed as amusing or a sign of in-group solidarity, but it can really provoke non-mathematicians.\n\nSo it's important to keep in mind that Asperger's and math culture can line up in ways that interfere with effective communication. This is usually less important in advanced classes, but it can be a big deal in introductory classes, especially with students who are not majoring in mathematics.\n\nDealing with this can be nontrivial, but I'm confident you are on your way to sorting it out. As I see it, the two biggest obstacles are realizing that there's an issue and recognizing that it's more than just \"students can be irrational\", and you've made it past both of these obstacles.\n\n> \n> Even if there is no one mentioning this on my future teaching reference, would I be qualified for a teaching position in future once I got out of grad school?\n> \n> \n> \n\nYes, Asperger's is far from rare in mathematics and it is in no way a disqualification for a teaching career. Overcoming initial hurdles can lead to a very effective teaching letter, since this demonstrates a serious and professional commitment to teaching.\n\nMany universities have a teaching center or the equivalent, where people can go for feedback or assistance with their teaching. For example, someone could sit in on your class and offer advice, or video a session and go over it with you (seeing yourself teach from a student's perspective can be illuminating). It might also be possible to be paired with a long-term mentor. There can be advantages to working with someone outside the math department (who is not involved in evaluating you professionally) or within the department (who can offer better feedback on the clarity of your mathematical explanations). Either way, it's worth looking into what resources might be available, since this can be a valuable way to improve and to demonstrate commitment."
},
{
"answer_id": 38900,
"author": "gerrit",
"author_id": 1033,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1033",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "There have been a lot of useful answers already. Although my own teaching experience is limited, my own Asperger's syndrome has frequently led to communication problems because of different understandings, so I will try to address your questions from an Asperger perspective.\n\n> \n> Is there anyway for me to avoid this kind of unwanted events in future?\n> \n> \n> \n\nYou can minimise, but not completely avoid.\n\nAll humans, in particular [neurotypicals](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurotypical), are irrational. The statement “I might be dead tomorrow” is rationally obvious. Rationally, the statement might be expected to have *zero* impact (but see [MSalters' comment](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38867/how-should-an-graduate-student-with-aspergers-syndrome-prepare-for-a-teaching-ca/38900?noredirect=1#comment86771_38900)). However, it will have non-zero impact on almost everybody (including many Aspergers, who have been functioning in a majority neurotypical environment and have consciously or subconsciously adapted). This illustrates that people are irrational — unless, as MSalters points out, listeners *assume* the statement *must* have non-zero information, and therefore assume there must be some non-literal (i.e. hidden) content.\n\nYou can minimise this kind of unwanted events by constructing a (mental) model of how information is perceived. This is non-trivial. It requires an understanding of [Theory of mind](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_mind). For such an understanding, Asperger's Syndrome is a handicap. Although Aspergers are likely over-represented in a mathematics department, Aspergers are still the minority. So, we need to adapt.\n\nOther answers have addressed how information is perceived in this specific example. I'm almost sure you have experienced similar¹ miscommunications before — if you're not aware of any, then that's almost certainly because you did not receive the feedback you received now. Therefore, my literal answer will be: No, there is no way to completely avoid this kind of unwanted events in the future.\n\nHowever, you can minimise. How would you go to construct such a mental model? I would recommend seeking communication with fellow Aspergers. There are many forums, chatrooms, and mailing-lists for Aspergers online, including some [specifically focussed on Aspergers at universities](http://www.larry-arnold.net/Neurodiversityeu/autunivl.htm). Perhaps there is a autism meetup group at your campus or in your city. As Asperger's, we need to adapt to a neurotypically-dominated world. Based on my personal experience, at this stage in life, I think this is more productive than therapy. Online or offline — sharing experiences with people with similar neurological wirings is no doubt helpful.\n\n---\n\n¹In this case, by *similar*, I mean: any misunderstanding that can be attributed due to an Asperger sender intending a literal content, but a receiver interpreting a non-literal content."
},
{
"answer_id": 38913,
"author": "ceoec",
"author_id": 28695,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28695",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "This probably would be better as a comment, but I cannot comment yet so I have to write this as an answer:\n\nI work with children with high function autism/ aspie. I think the \"trolling\" part was Aspie learned it is not good to just say \"no I won't tell you\" so OP do not have the intention to be rude, indeed a lot of Aspie would say a lot of weird things when they are learning how to deny a request in a more socially acceptable manner. And saying no is somehow difficult for 'typically developing' person, so yes it is really hard for Aspie to do that in a proper manner. \n\nI think one safe approach would be just say no to the students, as in a teacher and student relationship, being direct would be okay, students may say you are strict (or even unkind), but at least they won't say you are weird. (But I won't suggest you to do so to your peers...)"
},
{
"answer_id": 38997,
"author": "Mark Joshi",
"author_id": 29181,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29181",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "Certainly many mathematicians are strange in one way or another. In some departments to the point that not being so makes you stand out. In one very prestigious department I worked in, it was quite common to make statements like \" he was strange even by the demanding standards of this department.\"\n\nSo I wouldn't rule out a mathematics academic career. That said, I think it's unwise to become a lecturer/professor if you don't actually enjoy teaching. \n\nI would echo what others have said regarding seek professional help. A large part of teaching is trying to understand the learner's point of view and this is roughly what Asperger's syndrome makes you bad at. \n\nOne coping strategy I would suggest is that every time something goes wrong, make a note of what happened and work out what the correct response should have been. Then remember this and use it the next time the situation arises."
},
{
"answer_id": 39000,
"author": "user29493",
"author_id": 29493,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29493",
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"text": "You wrote:\n\n> \n> I met a student asking me for quiz contents tomorrow and who makes the quiz, because the ones I gave tend to be more difficult. I responded that any event is likely including I die because of traffic accident or suicide because of depression, and in the above case there will be no quiz to prepare for. And another quite unlikely event is I won Megamillion tickets and decided to quit grad school, so there will be no quiz too. Similar to this I also quoted possibility of me being late or there is a class cancellation due to snow storm. When he pointed out that no one can foresee these events, I suggested that is why having health insurance that enable me to see a therapist as well as covering physical diseases is important.\n> \n> \n> \n\nThis is a very odd response - if I had a teacher say something like that I would be alarmed as well.\n\nFirst of all, suicide, depression, personal health, and therapists are all private topics that are personal, alarming, and intrusive to bring up out of nowhere. These are things you should be very careful about discussing with others, especially in a professional context. When you're talking to students, you have to have different boundaries than when you're talking to a friend - you have to be professional and not bring up personal and private things, especially concerning and alarming things like therapists and depression and suicide.\n\nWhat were you thinking when you said that? Why did you bring that up? It's important to be aware of people's boundaries and how they might react when you say something, especially as a teacher.\n\nSecond, it's not in any way relevant to what he asked - he was asking for information on the test and none of what you said has anything to do with that.\n\nI'm not sure if anyone's linked to this yet, but it would be good for you to read and study this and follow it when talking to people: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperative_principle>\n\n> \n> I suggested that he should prepare for anything that might happen with the quiz, and take consideration of the probabilities to maximize his performance of quiz with the time and energy constraint available.\n> \n> \n> \n\nThis is oddly and very formally worded, but it's at least an answer to the question. Why not just give a simple and direct answer like \"Everything we talked about in class could be on the test.\" I thought people with Asperger's were often very direct - doesn't that strike you as a clear and direct answer, whereas talking about winning the lottery or snowstorms is off-topic?\n\n> \n> I also told him real life events often do not follow Bell curve and central limit theorem has limited value for random variable with no expectation exists.\n> \n> \n> \n\nWell yes, but again what does that have to do with anything?\n\n> \n> To make sure he is not confused, later at night I sent an email to the class repeating my points and suggested everything in the book we learned so far can be tested, and the bonus problem content can be coming from anywhere.\n> \n> \n> \n\nSaying \"everything in the book can be tested\" is a fine answer, but I hope you didn't \"repeat the points\" about suicide - that's the kind of thing you could easily get fired for.\n\n> \n> Later I received an email from the instructor of the course, claiming that the student was so unhappy that he suggested to remove me as an TA, because I made him \"extremely uncomfortable\" and \"a bit scared\".\n> \n> \n> \n\nNot surprising, seeing as you brought up suicide and seeing a therapist. That tends to make people uncomfortable and scared.\n\n> \n> However, to be a responsible person I am confused what exactly went wrong.\n> Is there anyway for me to avoid this kind of unwanted events in future? There is no prospect that I can \"convert\" to a normal person. And I do not want people to be unhappy with me for trivial events like this in future. I could have dismissed the case as the student being irrational, but I think there might be something deeper into it.\n> \n> \n> \n\nIn a word - boundaries. Be aware of what boundaries people have, what they expect and don't expect, what they are comfortable with and uncomfortable with. This isn't trivial or irrational - it's a big deal. When people's boundaries are violated, the way you violated that student's boundaries, they feel very uncomfortable and it will cause you a lot of problems.\n\nSuicide and mental health are an extreme example - that's the kind of thing people only talk about with people they're close to. Same goes for sex, religion, and politics. With people you don't know well, or people you have a professional relationship with (like students you teach) make sure you stay with \"safe\" topics of conversation. \n\nI would suggest finding a therapist or social skills group or someone who can talk to you about this and help you get a better understanding of people's boundaries and expectations and how to relate to people in a professional setting.\n\nBy the way - this isn't just you. It's very difficult to figure out how to comfortably talk to people you don't know or people you have to be \"professional\" with, and this is true for everyone, Aspergers or not."
},
{
"answer_id": 39006,
"author": "Peter Bloem",
"author_id": 6936,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6936",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Just to add to the ocean of answers:\n\nWhen people ask something, there's the literal question and the actual problem. Usually they have surprisingly little to do with one another. This counts double when it comes to students.\n\nI imagine the student was worried about not passing the test, and the uncertainty of what the test would contain was creating stress. They were looking to relieve this stress by obtaining more information. This is the kind of subtext that your condition blinds you to. I guess it's no use telling you to empathize with the student, since that's not really an option, although an analysis of the way people deal with uncertainty and stress might help you to understand some of the patterns.\n\nI think a good thing to do is to be up front about it. Tell people about your condition and what they can expect from you. Your student was already stressed by the test and her own uncertainty, so an unexpected response form the TA exacerbated the issue, and made her lash out (albeit through your professor). If your students know about your condition, and know how it works, they can help the communication from their side. They can be more explicit in their questions, and when you respond in a strange way, they'll know where it comes from and how to deal with it."
},
{
"answer_id": 40480,
"author": "Lemon",
"author_id": 30849,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30849",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "My child was diagnosed mild Aspergers 2 years ago, and I found I have the same syndrome though I'm too late to be diagnosed. I'm in IT line which requires less communication more calculation. I prefer work/social/play with familiar people, nervous otherwise, good in maths, poor in language, communication. But people describe me nice, shy and smart. You'll be a good teacher in future, just need time to gain experience. Or do researching instead of teaching?"
},
{
"answer_id": 40540,
"author": "cbeleites unhappy with SX",
"author_id": 725,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/725",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Let me add some formulation suggestions, mainly in addition to [mhwombat's answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/38886/725) and some feedback to the dialogue in the question.\n\nI think an important assumption of \"normal\" communication is that the words are meant to transport an information content > 0. \n\n* Refrain of adding irrelevant sentences: do not talk of generally known but typically irrelevantly low risks (car accident, suicide). \n\nPeople may interpret things into them that you never intended to say. In particular, the fact that the risk is important enough for you to state it will be interpreted as being substantially above the known general *negligible* risk. I emphasized negligible because negligible translates to both negligible wrt. preparing for the exam and to neglecting to mention these risks in everyday spoken communication.\n* If you keep a conversation going, people will probably take this as a hint that a) you *want* to keep the conversation going and b) you want to communicate some content. So, if you don't have a relevant statement to make, do not make a statement. No not make irrelevant statements (there are uses of this, also in exams, but maybe you should leave this to teachers who have a very keen perception of whether communication goes well, and who also know how to rescue failing communication).\n\nThe dialogue you cite leaves the impression with me that you actively kept up the conversation. Yet below you state that it was extremely boring to you. Such a contradiction between predicted (impression) and literally stated desire/emotion/communicaton aim will mainly tell people that they cannot successfully recognize/predict what you want. Logical conclusion: they don't know what you want and the expectation shifts towards difficulty as in possible failure in communication also in the future. Plus: expect it to be hard work to communicate successfully with you.\n* If you are not able to judge the students' emotions very well (with very well I actually mean a perception that is well above the average \"normal\" person's ability to judge emotions!), the time around exams is not a good time to try being funny or communicate by subtle hints.\n* In contrast to what other people suggested, I don't see for the described situation that being short, direct, honest and to the point with the answers about the exam (\"I will prepare the quiz, and it can cover all the topics we had in the lecture so far.\") would make the students unhappy or anxious or upset. In particular: this is not upsetting at all as I'd consider this the \"default-value\" for the answer and therefore totally expected. \n\nBut then I'm from a culture that has a reputation to be very direct.\n* Even if the student realizes that you probably don't mean what they would usually expect to be the meaning, they will (possibly emotionally/unconsciously) conclude that they cannot properly communicate with you - and that is highly alarming to students facing an exam: the failed communication leads them to fear that the communication in the exam may go wrong as well. This is completely rational: they conclude from a failure that failure may occur - though at the same time it is not comprehensible to you if you cannot detect the failure in communication. And in exam situations the acceptable risk of failed communication is very low.\n* You emailed\n\n> \n> bonus problem content can be coming from anywhere\n> \n> \n> \n\na \"less alarming\" formulation (assuming this covers the meaning you wanted to transport) could be\n\n> \n> \n> > \n> > To solve the bonus problem, you'll have to transfer techniques covered in the lecture to solve a new type of problem.\n> > \n> > \n> > \n> \n> \n> \n\nThis will be less alarming than \"can be everything\" because it is a positive and more precise statement of what the bonus question is about.\n* In a comment above you told me: \n\n> \n> I do not want to give the false impression that they can prepare for the quiz.\n> \n> \n> \n\nThis was a highly unexpeced statement for me. In particular, the dialogue you described in the question did not suggest to me that this was a possible intention of yours. And I still find it slightly (situatively) contradictory to your statement \"before a test [...] spend more time to review\". I'm aware that I implicitly assumed that this statement would apply to the current test as well. \n\nI met very few exams for which no preparation was possible or reasonable. Preparation for me means increasing the understanding of the subject and connecting it to other subjects rather than being able to repeat stuff from a list. So if you really and literally mean the students cannot prepare for the exam, state it. Logically, if the students objectively cannot prepare, they also need not prepare - and because that is a very unusual situation, state this as well and in addition explain why they can and need not prepare for this exam - they'll be suspicious and not take your statement at face value otherwise:\n\n> \n> \n> > \n> > You cannot and need not prepare for this exam. Don't worry, this exam is meant to be taken without further preparation, because [reason].\n> > \n> > \n> > \n> \n> \n> \n\nwith [reason] e.g. being \"you can solve all questions by logical thinking\"\n* > \n> My points on extreme cases was a hint.\n> \n> \n> \n\nI wouldn't have gotten that hint. I *may* have gotten such a hint/nuance by someone whos communication I can judge very well. In the dialogue you quore, I'd have dismissed your sentences as weird/inadequate and possibly-to-probably irrelevant and my major conclusion would have been that I do not understand you reliably. Therefore, I would *not* even have looked for any hidden meaning: the chance of hitting the right hidden meaning [if there is any] would have been too low compared to the \"noise\" of obviously failed communication. \n\nMy guess is: just as you cannot judge the nuances of what the students say, they (and I) cannot judge the nuances of what you say. Or maybe you overestimated the amount of \"guessing\" that goes on in \"normal\" communication. \n\nBut the result is anyways a communication problem that goes both directions. I think the solution here again is to go for very clear and direct subject related sentences without hints or other kinds of hidden meaning, keeping in mind the \"> 0 information\" criterium. Plus building up a reputation of having such a direct style of meaning literally what you say. If people can trust that they just need to take you literally, things may be much easier for both sides.\n\nSo, if it is not wise to restrict the world-view to bell-curve only, you could say:\n\n> \n> \n> > \n> > It is not wise to restrict yourself to bell-curves. \n> > \n> > \n> > \n> \n> \n> \n\nAlthough, personally, I'd have not said anything at all. (Which, by the way may be taken as a hint or not, but this does not matter particularly - you are safe either way) \n\n---\n\n(resorted statements)\n\n* > \n> I want to let them know real life is often random and one has to make reasonable guess at times. \n> \n> \n> \n\nWhile this is true in a narrow and literal sense, I have the suspicion that you may experience life (particularly where other people's reactions are concerned) as far more random than I do. E.g. most communication with other people (including their reactions) is highly logical and even predictable to me. I am not used to perceiving everyday life as random, although I professionally do lots of statistics and I often take the role of the one who points out what cannot be concluded due to randomness/noise. \n\nIn the context of exam, I'd call randomness arbitraryness (of the examiner) and see it as totally inadequate. This would not be the \"narrow randomness\" of having different versions of the exam populated with random numbers to avoid cheating in the calculations, this is rather the randomness that means that the student has to be very knowledgeable in the subject in order to be able to *guess* what the examiner is driving at/wants to hear. \n\nIn other words, be clear about the separation of different layers of meaning in the exam and don't mix them. The topic of the exam being randomness does not imply that questions or grading should be arbitrary. On the contrary: questions still should yield a reliable and reproducible measure of the students' abilities wrt the topic of randomness.\n\n---\n\n> \n> In this case the student would have to make an educated guess what might be on the quiz, and if he failed to do that he would have to study very hard in advance like I did, or more likely a combination of the two approaches.\n> \n> \n> \n\nWell yes, but again on a \"normal\" level this is obvious - also for the student. The \"> 0 information assumption\" means that explicitly stating this emphasises this educated guessing, so you transport a meaning that this is far more relevant in the present situation than usually. \n\n> \n> Neither solution is optimal but it would help out him much more this way than giving a few fixed topics and ask him to review these topics.\n> \n> \n> \n\nI don't agree, although I see your point. I may be thinking of a list of much broader topics than you think of, though. But IMHO the more general connections to other topics can only be made after one has mastered the narrower points and only the general level allows informed guessing. Otherwise the guess is not educated but wild. \n\nAnd again, there should be no need to guess \"what topic did the teacher have in mind here?\". But asking good exam questions is an art that few people master. \n\n---\n\nEmotionally mature students are probably able to \"buffer\" some or even most \nof the \"weirdness\" due to your Asperger's in normal lecture situations (in particular if they know about your condition). But they are probably unable to do so in stressful situations like before/during an exam. So exams (including some time before and when handing back the exams) are a time where you need to be extra careful. \n\nAs explained, failed communication will increase their stress/nervousness as in addition to the subject they realize they need to prepare for an additional psychological stress test. \n\nLast but certainly not least I want to point out that the nervousness of students before an exam may include conditions like exam anxiety. The combination of student anxious because of the fact that they are facing an exam (which can be totally independent of their ability wrt. the topic of the exam) with your Aspergers is IMHO just heading for trouble. \n\nUnfortunately, I cannot give any good advise on this: such a student would probably anyways try to not let you (or other examiners) know of their anxiety, particularly if that is triggered by a fear of examiners being unfair and arbitrary and taking advantage of their power [so it is tactically bad to show weakness]. If the communication with you does not work as with other people, this may trigger lots of suspicion and anxiety. And I guess this is a situation that you will basically be unable to recognize - most examiners may not be able to recognize it. For this, your only safe bet is to behave always as extremely reliable and fair and as predictable as possible. \n\nPersonally, I'd think it much preferrable to have direct, honest, to the point and expicitly logical communication than failed guesses how a fancy communication could be."
},
{
"answer_id": 102803,
"author": "PhDinEng",
"author_id": 86509,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/86509",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "Good for you for trying to find out what went wrong! \n\n> \n> What did the student went through? Why is he unhappy? I did not use\n> any profane language or threatened him in any way. I think what I said\n> are largely \"abstract nonsense\" everyone knows\n> \n> \n> \n\n**Talking casually about death, dying, and suicide is a social taboo.** Some people may interpret this as frightening. As someone with Asperger's, you may have to memorize certain social norms. Temple Grandin has noted (see her [TED talk](https://www.ted.com/talks/temple_grandin_the_world_needs_all_kinds_of_minds)) that one thing that she thought was helpful is that when she was a child, social norms were taught to children (\"children were taught manners\"). Nowadays, most children are expected to pick up on social norms intuitively. I found this book helpful (even if you aren't a girl): \"A Smart Girl's Guide to Knowing What to Say\" by Patti Kelley Criswell (Author)\n\n> \n> Is there anyway for me to avoid this kind of unwanted events in\n> future? There is no prospect that I can \"convert\" to a normal person.\n> And I do not want people to be unhappy with me for trivial events like\n> this in future.\n> \n> \n> \n\nOne thing you might want to do is just tell the class that you have Asperger's. You could start out a tutorial session with something like: \n\n*\"Before I start talking about the material this week, I think I need to just let you know that I have Asperger's. This means that I don't pick up on social cues very well. So sometimes I might say things that are odd to you. I am sorry. I am trying to interact better with people, so if I do something odd, please feel free to tell me, and I will listen and take note. If you want to learn more about Asperger's, you can watch this great TED talk at this URL. Now let's get on with the material.\"* \n\nIn my experience, students are much more willing to accommodate someone if they know what is going on, and if they know you want to improve. It might make them happy that they can teach *you* something."
}
] |
2015/02/14
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38867",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6335/"
] |
38,874 |
I have recently been given an opportunity to attend a conference on Robotics although I don't have any paper to present. The registration fee is around 7k. Before spending such an amount, I wanted to know if it is worth attending conference sessions just for its sake. Please help.
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38880,
"author": "Stephan Kolassa",
"author_id": 4140,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4140",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "There is one additional benefit of attending conferences: networking.\n\nNetworking works best, of course, if you present a paper, because then you are formally advertising your work and yourself. But whether or not you are presenting, you should spend *a lot* of time talking to other people, getting to know them and getting *them* to know *you*. Spread your contact information and your research interests far and wide.\n\nNo, this won't show up in your CV. But knowing people and being known is usually *far* more important than whether a conference or a conference paper shows up in your CV.\n\nBrowse the many questions tagged [conference](/questions/tagged/conference \"show questions tagged 'conference'\") or [networking](/questions/tagged/networking \"show questions tagged 'networking'\") or [both](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/networking+conference) for ideas on how to go about this. (Hint: start preparing *before* the conference, by checking who will present and who you will want to meet. Maybe even contact a few people beforehand and set up meeting.)\n\nWhether this is worth the registration fee (in whatever currency), plus travel time and costs will depend on you, your career plans and how well the conference and its attendees match your interests. I certainly have attended conferences without presenting for networking purposes."
},
{
"answer_id": 38896,
"author": "Johnathan Clayborn",
"author_id": 29299,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29299",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "I agree with Stophot. Just attending a conference is not useful for a CV. Speaking at a conference is helpful, but not attending one. Networking is certainly a valuable benefit of attending conferences. For me, personally, I will not spend the money in travel and other fees associated with the conference if I am not at least somewhat interested in what they are talking about, so I will hopefully learn something too. I also definitely agree with Stophot about knowing whom you will want to meet prior to going. Just walking around and meeting random people might not be very productive."
},
{
"answer_id": 38901,
"author": "Phil",
"author_id": 19988,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/19988",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "Well, I wouldn't put it on my cv. But there are a few reasons, in addition to networking, that it might be beneficial:\n\n1. It gives you a first hand account of the state of the art\n2. It gives you the opportunity to question the authors directly about the work to understand it more deeply.\n3. It gives you a broader perspective on your field (if you go to presentations that are not about the specific topic you are mainly interested in).\n4. You'll have a better idea about what goes on at conferences if you present at one in the future."
}
] |
2015/02/14
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38874",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29384/"
] |
38,875 |
I'm a statistician being offered 45k CAD for a postdoctoral position in Canada. I have a few questions:
1. Is this number negotiable at all?
2. Is it rude to ask for extra money to cover relocation expenses (US to Canada)?
3. The cost of a parking pass is 1000 CAD per year at this place (compared to 200 per year for faculty at my current university). Is it weird to ask for this to be compensated?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 44626,
"author": "Tony Albano",
"author_id": 33904,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/33904",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "1. In my experience, postdocs are grant-funded with a nonnegotiable salary. It doesn't hurt to clarify though.\n2. The department chairs I have known would not have considered this rude. Reimbursement for moving costs is often offered as a sort of signing bonus.\n3. Reimbursement for parking is unheard of in my experience. Again, asking politely shouldn't be a problem, but I wouldn't get my hopes up."
},
{
"answer_id": 55240,
"author": "T K",
"author_id": 12656,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12656",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "1. I didn't negotiate a Canada offer and declined. After the fact, I was told it was negotiable once the colleague became a collaborator, but this was only because my postdoc was funded by an institute and he would have been sweetening the pot using his research funds in addition to the institute's money.\n2. You can always ask. Some postdocs do have moving expenses covered.\n3. I don't know."
},
{
"answer_id": 55672,
"author": "I Like to Code",
"author_id": 8802,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8802",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "### Q: Is the salary negotiable?\n\n**Short answer:**\nYes, it is,\nbecause principle investigators have some discretion\nabout how to use their research funding.\n\nLet me illustrate this point by sharing my experience.\n\nA few years ago, I applied for a postdoc at a Canadian university.\nI was originally offered a stipend of 36K CAD.\nAfter speaking to the principle investigators,\nthey decided to increase the stipend to 38K,\nand to pay for my medical insurance,\nwhich brought the total to about 40K.\n(I suspect that the reason they increased the offer is\nthat they learned that I was married with kids,\nand my wife was not working,\nso they were compassionate.\nHowever, they did not explicitly state why they increased the offer,\nso take this only as my best guess.)\n\n### Q: Are moving expenses covered?\n\n**Short answer:**\nMaybe. You need to ask.\nIt also depends on the type of postdoc.\n\nIt can depend on what type of postdoc opportunity you have.\nI had a friend who took a 3-year postdoc at Berkeley\nand his job offer included relocation expenses.\nIn his case, because the job was for 3 years,\nit made more economic sense for the job offer to include relocation.\nBut if your job offer is only for 1 year,\nit may not normally include a relocation package.\nIncidentally, tenure-track job offers usually include\nsome amount of relocation allowance.\n\n### Q: Can I ask for compensation for parking?\n\n**Short answer:**\nYou can definitely ask, but I wouldn't get my hopes up.\n\nIf the price for parking is 1000 CAD per year,\nit is possible that most students and even some faculty\nmay take public transport to school.\nYou should investigate the public transport options.\nAs a postdoc, I took a bus to and from school every day,\nwhich took at most 30 minutes if there was a long wait.\nIn fact, at that university,\nriding buses was free with a university card,\nwhich was a nice perk.\n\n### Conclusion\n\nIn the end, I declined the offer from a Canadian university\nand accepted a postdoc at another university.\nThe main reason why I chose a postdoc at another university\nis because I felt that the project was more interesting\nand a better fit for my skills.\n\nPersonally, I did not think that salary was that important as a postdoc.\nMy mentality as a postdoc was that my postdoc was a temporary position,\nuseful as a stepping stone to a permanent tenure-track academic job.\nWhile a bigger postdoc salary is nice,\nthe most I could get might be 5K more a year.\nIf I instead focused on getting good research experience,\nand landing a tenure-track job,\nat that point my salary would be at least 80K a year,\nwhich is approximately double my postdoc salary.\n\nIf for some reason having a high salary in the short-term\nis important to you,\nthen you shouldn't be looking for postdoc jobs,\nor even tenure-track jobs,\nbecause they don't pay that well.\nIn that case, it may be more expedient to get a job at\na bank, hedge fund, or in consulting,\nor even at a company like Google, Microsoft or Apple."
}
] |
2015/02/14
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38875",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
] |
38,876 |
I am told that we can use copyrighted images in our lectures to students now as they are for purely educational purposes, as long as we correctly attribute them. That is to say there is no need to ask the permission of the copyright holders.
What is the status of using copyrighted images in conference talks? Does it also count as education?
---
As pointed out, this will depend on the country in which the talk is given. Let me restrict the question to the US and UK in that case. If anyone knows the situation in another country then it would be great to hear that too of course.
In the UK, the reason why I suggested you could use copyrighted material in lectures without asking permission was <http://lti.lse.ac.uk/copyright/copyright-2014.php#education> .
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38884,
"author": "Piotr Migdal",
"author_id": 49,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/49",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Legal status can vary by country, content and sometimes even - the intended audience.\n\nIn many places you are allow to use otherwise copyrighted materials within [fair use](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use), e.g a figure from a paper.\n\nFor things, which are not directly relevant to talk (e.g. \"let's put a nice stock image of a man with a plant\") the story may be different.\n\nIn any case:\n\n* from the practical perspective, you are unlikely to go to jail (or even: getting fined) for showing copyrighted images in an academic talk,\n* from the legal perspective, unless you are a lawyer (or your country has a very clear law on copyright) you are unlikely to know wether is is legal or not.\n\nHighly relevant:\n\n* [Can I use images showing up in Google search for my presentation slides without violating any copyright?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/7620/can-i-use-images-showing-up-in-google-search-for-my-presentation-slides-without?rq=1)"
},
{
"answer_id": 38894,
"author": "Johnathan Clayborn",
"author_id": 29299,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29299",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "In the US this is legal and is covered under the \"Fair Use Act\".\n[Link](https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/) ([archived version](https://web.archive.org/web/20210605143659/https://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html))."
},
{
"answer_id": 42621,
"author": "Heike R",
"author_id": 32181,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32181",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "**In Germany:**\n\nYou are allowed to use copyrighted material for teaching and research (also conference talks) as long as it is not more than 10% of the original work or if it only concerns small works (less than 25 pages) and as long as it is only for a specific audience (one where you can name the participants afterwards). This is regulated by [UrhG §52a](http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/urhg/__52a.html), although the numbers are determined by several court decisions and not by the law itself.\nPresenting images from papers in a scientific and non-profit talk is legal.\n\nWhat is illegal: To upload the slides of the talk or a video of the presentation to the internet afterwards. This would violate the 'specific audience' clause since everyone could see it.\n\nDo not forget to cite the source of the images. This is always required."
}
] |
2015/02/14
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38876",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/37765/"
] |
38,887 |
I am a 29 year old female. I want to go back to school. I have been told that I have a *very* good chance at getting into a very good graduate computer science program (machine learning, AI, robotics, theoretical cs, so many algorithms... it's the real deal here, you guys). Due to cost, the fact I need to work full-time and giving myself the best chances for success, I will be doing this at a very slow, part-time pace.
As an undergraduate, I saw woman drop out for family, so my question is:
**How common is it for women to drop out of graduate school because they have children?**
I'm preferentially looking for answers that draw on personal experience or statistics.
---
Some additional background you might find relevant:
My boyfriend/fiance/partner of 10+ years died about a year ago. I don't know what I'm doing about all that yet.
I have been out of school for a while. You don't really need a degree in IT and I hadn't really considered going back because it didn't seem manageable or practical with the rest of my life. But... now that life is gone, it's cool because it has to be, and I would have never even dared to dreamed about being able to enroll in this graduate program before.
I don't necessarily care if I have a family and/or kids but I'm fairly positive it will not happen on accident. To me, being with someone or married does not automatically mean having kids, either. For the sake of the question, when I am ready, I feel it will be very logistically easy for me to date again.
Articles like these motivate my question:
* [In the Ivory Tower, Men Only](http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2013/06/female_academics_pay_a_heavy_baby_penalty.html)
* [Work and Family on the Rise among College Graduate Women](http://www.nber.org/digest/aug04/w10331.html)
* [When Girls Don't Graduate](http://www.nwlc.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/when_girls_dont_graduate.pdf)
* [For Female Scientists there's no good time to have children](http://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2013/07/for-female-scientists-theres-no-good-time-to-have-children/278165/)
Helpful Articles:
* [Council of Graduate Schools' Master's Completion Project](http://cgsnet.org/masters-completion-project) (Perhaps combine that with statistics on the rate of pregnancy / childbirth among United States graduate students? There's data for [unmarried Chinese graduate students](https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2458-13-198)...)
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38892,
"author": "Johnathan Clayborn",
"author_id": 29299,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29299",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "First of all, let me start out by saying that I am sorry for your loss. I cannot imagine what you must have gone through. With regards to your specific question, I cannot provide an answer from the \"as a woman\" perspective, but I can answer as a father, and as a graduate student. I've successfully completed my Master's Degree and I'm ABD status this week in my PhD. \n\nGraduate school is hard work. Lots of people drop out for a wide variety of reasons. Some people can't hack it mentally or emotionally. Some people get discouraged and give up. Some people have too much going on with their work. And some people do drop out for family reasons. I've been working full time and going to school full time since I started my Bachelor's program. It's tough, but not impossible. The biggest key to success that I've found is maintaining balance and effective time-management. If you become pregnant during your coursework almost every school should have a clause that allows you to take a temporary leave of absence from your program which will give you some time off right after childbirth. My own kids are young, but not babies. I facilitate my family time by working on my homework at night after they go to bed, or on the weekends when they are out playing. Having a set schedule certainly helps you succeed too.\n\nSo, the short answer to your question is yes, people (men and women) do drop out of graduate school for family reasons."
},
{
"answer_id": 38893,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "On questions of family, the road is a lot harder for women in academia than men. Some of that is biological, but most of it is cultural: there's still a *lot* of sexism both within academia and in the larger culture, and numerous studies have shown that women are judged more harshly than men for making the same choices. \n\nThis all shows up in a phenomenon known as the \"leaky pipeline,\" which is [quantified nicely here](http://ucfamilyedge.berkeley.edu/leaks.html). That particular data doesn't quantify graduate school, but it follows similar trends: at any given stage, women are somewhat (but not hugely) less likely than men to progress to the next stage, and this difference is amplified (again, significantly but not hugely) by having a family. Overall, this means that women are badly underrepresented in academia, particularly at the higher ranks. For your own goals of education, however, there is no reason to think that you are unlikely to be able to succeed: most who start, finish.\n\nHowever, I would question your assumption that the cost of education will mean that you need to work full-time and must go slowly. If you get into a *good* computer science Ph.D. program, *they* should be paying *you* as a full-time job and covering tuition. Some Masters' programs, particularly the really good ones, are the same way. If won't be great wages---typically, you are paid just a stipend that covers the cost of living in your areas---but a good program will generally enable you to dedicate yourself fully to it, which also greatly increases your probability of success."
},
{
"answer_id": 39010,
"author": "daaxix",
"author_id": 4572,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4572",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "My wife and I both started graduate school, in STEM fields, in Ph.D. programs, a bit later than most. \n\nDue to this, we decided to have children during graduate school. Note that I am in the USA at the one of the top programs in my field at an RU/VH university.\n\nA few negative points are \n\n* As a graduate student, you are expected to work full time, *but* you are not paid enough to **afford daycare costs** for young children.\n* For the first year of the child's life your research output *will be severely limited.* Some PIs may not like this.\n* After children, you have to be very focused and disciplined to continue, time scarcity increases a great deal, and time is already scarce even if you are a single graduate student with no life.\n* My wife had severe morning sickness, which decreased her research output. Pregnancy complications can affect your work.\n* After you have children, being poor really starts to become a burden. After all, we want to give our children a good life.\n* Your time in graduate school *will be extended.*\n\nA few positive points are\n\n* Due do the nature of research and graduate school, hours are very flexible compared with a typical job. This allows for juggling of schedules when needed, etc. which is very helpful to us.\n* The Ph.D. is less crucial than a post-doc or a tenure track position, so I would posit that there is less risk to have children during graduate school as opposed to other crucial academic career milestones. However, the caveat is that graduate students receive the *least money.*\n* Many PIs don't care what you do, as long as you make research progress. This makes it easy to work around a young child's needs.\n\nThe way that we have dealt with this situation is by \n\n* Having understanding PIs who also have children, and are flexible.\n* Acquiring some debt (that we wouldn't otherwise incur) and I've done some lucrative consulting on the side. The consulting has however, increased the time to graduate in my program.\n* Being very disciplined in our schedules and having our children in daycare/preschool so that we can work. This is *very expensive.*\n* Not having a social life (but graduate students aren't supposed have those anyway right?).\n\nTo answer your question, for us it is working. However, I do know a few other couples who are doing this, one other couple is like us with both parents in graduate school, but nearly all of the others have only one parent in graduate school. \n\n**From my perspective, it appears that women leaving academia due to children is becoming less of a problem, but is still large, and unsolved.**\n\nNote : our university *does not* provide daycare to graduate students. They do provide a $1000 annual subsidy, but our daycare costs are $10,500 per year. These costs decrease for preschool, but are very expensive for the first three years.\n\nSecond Note : My graduation time will likely be right around the 6.5-7 year mark, I had my mother die during my time in graduate school, and we have had two children, so the actual time increase wasn't obscene, but I already had an MS in Mathematics coming in and was expecting to finish in 3-4 years. My wife entered her program straight from BS and will probably finish in 5.5-6 years. \n\n**I would also like to say that the needs of the child and the lack of sleep disproportionately affect women** in this situation, and this is a biological necessity in the first 2 years of the child's life. For this reason, equality for women in academia does not mean equal treatment, it means providing for the **ability for women to have children if they so please, without it impacting their career!** This necessitates providing more support for women and families to have careers *and children.*"
},
{
"answer_id": 63821,
"author": "confused",
"author_id": 32010,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32010",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "I would suggest reading Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg. While the book doesn't directly address academia, it talks about this topic more broadly.\n\nJust because you plan to have children in the future, does not mean that you need to make choices based on hypothetical children today. Yes, being pregnant or a mother to young children is hard but it shouldn't deter you from achieving professional goals.\n\nI personally had multiple new mothers in my class when I was in graduate school. While all of them had a very hard time, none of them found motherhood as an obstacle to graduation and they all obtained a PhD. None of the people who dropped out of the program did so because they recently had a child."
},
{
"answer_id": 63822,
"author": "Fomite",
"author_id": 118,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/118",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "I am not a woman, but I am in a field where women are the majority of graduate students, so I have a non-zero amount of personal experience watching my friends go through this.\n\nIt's a harder road than you'd otherwise have - there's no escaping that, and while that's extremely unfortunate, it's also the current culture of academia. However, a large proportion of the women I knew while in graduate school had children, and to the best of my knowledge, this was the cause of exactly none of them dropping out. Several had more than one child.\n\nIt is certainly difficult - a baby does not understand \"Please go to sleep, this paper is due tomorrow\", and several faculty members made not entirely supportive comments when it seemed like a substantial fraction of the department was suddenly pregnant, but I don't know of anyone who dropped out because of it. Of course personal circumstances will vary - but if it's something you want to do, it's certainly doable. One piece of advice I would have is to make sure to find a supportive supervisor - your time to graduation might be slightly longer, and having someone who doesn't view that as a failure is helpful.\n\nAs an aside, I'm very sorry for your loss."
},
{
"answer_id": 63825,
"author": "paul garrett",
"author_id": 980,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/980",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "I am not a woman, but I had a PhD student who was, and who was in her mid+ 30s in grad school, and had two kids while in grad school, and finished an excellent thesis in 6 years. Sadly, her (now ex-) husband was not helpful, in fact the opposite, etc., but she wanted both the kids and the mathematics. A very energetic, intelligent, and strong-willed person, yes, not to mention a bit more grown-up and focused than many grad students. She at first thought there was almost a \"rule\" that she'd have to drop out, but I assured her that there was no such rule, although there was the obvious practical need to figure out how to work things. (Amazingly, there is an almost-reasonable university-subsidized daycare... of course, the waiting list is longer than most people would imagine...)"
},
{
"answer_id": 102900,
"author": "nervousapplicant",
"author_id": 86619,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/86619",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "This comment from the OP struck me and I think it's something to keep in mind when answering the question:\n\n> \n> I saw so many woman as an undergrad stop because they got married or something (which is fine). I have never looked into the graduate world before. So... I'm asking... \"what is typical?\" Do graduate students stop for family at the same rate I saw undergraduate students stopping for family?\n> \n> \n> \n\nI don't know the details of your experience but it is certainly quite different from my own (woman in science at elite university). I saw zero undergraduates quit school because they got married or became a parent. There was one man who took a few months off because he knocked up his girl friend but he came back. There was one woman who dropped out for other reasons then later became pregnant. Even so, I believe she'll be returning next year. A few people at my university became engaged as undergrads but (with the exception of the guy that knocked up his girlfriend) none of them got married as undergrads. Even if they had, I can't imagine any of them dropping out because of it. My mom got knocked up with me and still finished her undergrad degree. Perhaps others could weigh in on their experience but *from my perspective*, I very much doubt graduate students drop out for family reasons at the rate you saw undergrads drop out.\n\nI recently got my undergrad degree and am waiting to hear back from PhD programs so I don't know as many graduate students as others on here might. I have only known one pregnant graduate student - she had her baby and is back to working on her Ph.D. Late-stage pregnancy and getting a tiny human out of your body might make it take a few months longer to get your degree but the length of time for finishing grad school is so varied anyways that I don't think it matters much in the grand scheme of things. I will say it's probably easier if only one parent is a graduate student (and the other has a stable job or works remotely). I also imagine it would be very, very difficult if the other parent is lazy or if one is a single parent but even then, it can still be done. I agree with the the other poster who says don't make choices based on hypothetical children. Also, if you're doing comp sci you will probably be able to make a decent salary later on so if you don't want to give birth at 45 or whatever you will be able to afford adoption or maybe even a surrogate. There are many options for having children.\n\n> \n> Due to cost, the fact I need to work full-time and giving myself the best chances for success, I will be doing this at a very slow, part-time pace.\n> \n> \n> \n\nDo look into fellowships and scholarships for women in comp sci because there are many. In biology, it is typical to go bachelors -> PhD and it is typical to receive a stipend (~$30,000/year) during PhD studies. Can anyone comment on what is typical for comp sci at masters and PhD levels? There are also companies that reimburse tuition for higher level degrees.\n\nAs an aside, I've looked at data of women in STEM and the rates of grad school graduation for women and men are pretty equal (at least since Title IX laws came into play) - it looks like the leaky pipeline issues happen earlier or later. The raw number of men and women is different but the rates are similar That's just me messing with data though."
}
] |
2015/02/14
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38887",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29391/"
] |
38,889 |
Do IEEE Journals accept LaTeX-formatted manuscripts using the standard `article` or `proc` class provided by LaTeX?
It is not made clear to me, if I should stick with the `IEEETrans` class IEEE has provided me with or I can just use the standard article classes - pre-installed with LaTeX - and submit my manuscript this way.
Thanks in advance
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38890,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "My reading is that you can submit anything that complies with the rules on [Manuscript Types and Lengths](http://www.computer.org/web/peer-review/journals#Manuscript%20Types%20&%20Page%20Lengths), but if you actually use the template for the journal you are submitting to, they really, really appreciate it. If your article is accepted, you will have to work with them to reformat it to use the specific journal's style."
},
{
"answer_id": 38895,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "I disagree with Bill Barth's answer: I strongly believe that you should use the LaTeX classes that IEEE has provided you with. The reasons are two-fold:\n\n1. The reviewers will be used to almost always seeing IEEE submissions in IEEE standard formats. If you submit in another format, it will likely prejudice the reviewers against you, as it will appear \"amateurish.\" Whether or not this is fair, it is a risk you are taking with your paper that there is no need to take.\n2. Many IEEE journals have length constraints, and some are quite adamant about them. If you submit in a non-standard format, it will be difficult to tell whether you are actually complying with the length constraints or not. This may annoy the editor, again unnecessarily.\n\nIEEE formats are pretty easy to use, and have really good instructions. Since that is the case, I simply see no up-side to avoiding the standard formatting, and plenty of down-side."
}
] |
2015/02/14
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38889",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27067/"
] |
38,905 |
Why as the level of a college course goes up, is the course generally more specific and more specialized but not necessarily the easier one on the lower level, also you don't have to have the knowledge of the previous class, even if it served as a prerequisite?
For example, you study general biology first, then study anatomy or endocrinology, but you probably won't need to have the knowledge of general biology to study anatomy or endocrinology.
Is there any reason that every subject appears to be in that pattern?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38908,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "I strongly dispute your assertion that knowledge of the more general subject is not needed for the more specific subjects. To use your own example, general biology will include general cell anatomy and metabolism and probably some basics of evolution. More specialized courses like anatomy and endocrinology will make no sense without these basics.\n\nEven when a direct subject material connection is not obvious, in a well-designed set of courses there is often an important dependence in skills. For example, in the mathematics classes that I took, there was not much direct connection in material between Analysis and some the higher-level subjects like Abstract Algebra and Topology that had it as a required prerequisite. However, Analysis was the subject where students were expected to learn how to properly approach and formulate mathematical proofs, and the higher-level subjects assumed these skills. Likewise, many engineering departments have a required \"general engineering\" subject for freshmen, which drums in the general philosophy of engineering through hands-on applications in various areas: even if an electrical engineer never uses a machine-shop again, the \"engineering way of thinking\" that they have learned will be critical to their success later on.\n\nReturning, then, to your basic question: there's an awful lot of knowledge in the world, and much of it simply *is* very specialized. General classes give the foundation required by many different specialized subjects, and so a well-designed curriculum tends to naturally form a \"tree\" structure that starts general and becomes more specialized as one progresses deeper into a subject."
},
{
"answer_id": 38910,
"author": "410 gone",
"author_id": 96,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/96",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "It's because of a combination of several reasons.\n\n1. There is knowledge overlap between the general and the specific.\n2. The general gives context, and thus meaning, to the specific.\n3. Complex systems such as biological systems are rich in emergent phenomena: having an understanding of the system is crucial to understanding one of its components.\n4. There is skills overlap: develop the skills in the general, and apply them to the specific.\n5. It's economically efficient to teach it that way: general basic courses form the foundations for a whole host of later specialisms.\n6. It's economically efficient to learn it that way: there are very few biology opportunities for someone who knows the rudiments of endocrinology and no other biology. If you want economically useful endocrinology, you're going to have to learn it to quite a deep level."
}
] |
2015/02/15
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38905",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1391/"
] |
38,916 |
One of our thesis advisers insists (*not* suggests) that we include the title of the journal we are citing in the introduction, one part of which is a paragraph containing some of the reviews we will be expounding more on the next chapter.
So far, almost all the studies I’ve seen only use in-line citation in their literature review. Our adviser made it seem that it is a wrong practice to do this without mentioning the title. I don’t think it is, based from what I’m usually reading and I think it’s good because it reduces the length of the paper (especially when the cited titles are loooong). Also, the title of the cited works are included in the bibliography section anyway.
Our other thesis adviser neither supports him nor discourage us from following him in this matter. (There are other times though that this happens.)
I want to do the in-line citation, but I know he’ll insist that again. If I reasoned out, he won’t listen to me (based from previous attempts).
In our university, our advisers are there just to guide us and not to grade our thesis. (But their direction in making our thesis will definitely affect our grade, of course.)
What should I do?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38922,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "> \n> One of our thesis advisers insists (not suggests) that we include the title of the journal we are citing in the introduction\n> \n> \n> \n\nSo do it. Questions of style are pretty much always down to taste of the involved individuals. If that for whatever reason is important to one of your advisors (although it does sound highly unusual), then why not just do it? Is that really a battle you want to fight against the person grading your thesis?\n\nI would understand pushing back against this of this was a paper that *other* researchers will review, but outside from your thesis advisors, a thesis is pretty much a write-only document anyway."
},
{
"answer_id": 38928,
"author": "Wrzlprmft",
"author_id": 7734,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7734",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "Your advisor may be referring to or be inspired by the following:\nAll journals I know require you to use a complete citation¹ in the rare case that you want to cite something *in the abstract* of your paper ([example](http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.91.022115)).\nThis makes sense as there are some cases in which people only have access to the abstract and thus a stand-alone citations are desirable.\n\nHowever, this does not apply to the introduction (of any kind of work) and I would not see any good reason for it. Moreover this has the following problems:\n\n* Unless you use this citation style throughout your thesis, it would make your citation style inconsistent, which is confusing for the reader.\n* It interrupts the regular text flow and thus makes the text more annoying to read.\n\nWhether this is worth starting a quarrel is something only you can decide as it depends on the influence of your advisor and the risks you are willing to take. Most importantly you should find out the opinion on this by whoever will actually read and grade your thesis. If your advisor has some influence but will never read your final thesis, you could change the citation style just before printing.\n\nEither way, you can ask your advisor whether he has any other argument for this other than his own opinion (but again you are taking a risk here, only you can evaluate). After all, he might give bad advice to other people in this regard – or we are all missing a good reason for this advice.\n\n---\n\n¹ Containing sufficient information to uniquely identify the cited work, usually author, journal and year, sometimes also the page number, but usually not the title."
}
] |
2015/02/15
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38916",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29349/"
] |
38,917 |
I am trying to help assess grad school applications this year but have little experience. In most cases I can work out a rough ranking but I find Italian university grades very hard to understand. For example, we have one candidate with
* Master degree in Information Technology (Date) University of Catania
Grade: 1st (Italian grade: 110/110 cum laude)
* Bachelor degree in Information Technology (Date) University of
Catania Grade: 2.1 (Italian grade: 110/110)
Does this rank the student as being the top of their year or do many people get 100% in an Italian university?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38918,
"author": "Aubrey",
"author_id": 26682,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/26682",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "It seems to me that without having specific information (for example, the year of graduation), it is impossible to give you a proper answer.\n\n*110/110 cum laude* means that it is top of the class (it's the maximum possible result), but if we knew the year we could search the percentage of students who got the same result in that class. \nIn the end: the results are really good, but without a bit of research we cannot know exactly how good they are related to others. \n\n**Update**: you can see some statistics [here](http://www2.almalaurea.it/cgi-php/universita/statistiche/tendine.php?LANG=en&CONFIG=profilo)."
},
{
"answer_id": 38923,
"author": "Massimo Ortolano",
"author_id": 20058,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/20058",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "> \n> Does this rank the student as being the top of their year or do many people get 100% in an Italian university?\n> \n> \n> \n\n110/110 *cum laude* is the maximum obtainable result for a graduation in Italy. To achieve this result a student should pass most of the exams with a grade equivalent to that of US A/A+ and produce a very good dissertation. Take into account that in Italy, typically, exams are not graded on a curve.\n\nMore specifically, exam pass grades in Italy range from 18 to 30. To have the possibility to get a final grade of 110/110, a student should typically average about 28 or more along the 3 years of the BsC degree or along the 2 years of the MsC degree.\n\nHowever, the relative number of students who achieve this result can depend on the field and can vary between universities (this is a major source of problems when comparing grades). Unfortunately statistical data about grades are not easily found on universities web sites (e.g. I couldn't find these data for my university). Maybe the consortium [Afme Laurea](http://www.almalaurea.it/en) might provide general statistical information. \n\n---\n\n**Edit I:** I've found some statistical data: [this pdf file](https://www.almalaurea.it/sites/almalaurea.it/files/docs/universita/profilo/profilo2014/rapporto2014-profilo_volume-completo.pdf) from Afme Laurea contains a report on the 2013 graduates (unfortunately, it is in Italian only). On p. 120 there is a graph which shows grade classes vs field. For the engineering field (ingegneria), 16% of the students achieved the maximum result of 110/110 *cum laude*.\n\n---\n\n**Edit II:** As [Aubrey](https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/26682/aubrey) noted in [his answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/38918/20058), the Afme Laurea web site contains also a [searchable database](http://www2.almalaurea.it/cgi-php/universita/statistiche/tendine.php?LANG=en&CONFIG=profilo) of graduates' profiles. For example, for the year 2013, for the Department of Electric, Electronic and Computer Engineering (Information Technology probably belongs to that Department) at the University of Catania, the database reports [these data](http://www2.almalaurea.it/cgi-php/universita/statistiche/framescheda.php?anno=2013&corstipo=tutti&ateneo=70008&facolta=944&gruppo=5&pa=70008&classe=tutti&corso=tutti&postcorso=tutti&disaggregazione=tutti&LANG=en&CONFIG=profilo). The average grade for the MsC degree is 107.5/110 (110/110 *cum laude* is considered as 113/110 for the calculation of the average).\n\nFor comparison, and to show that there can be a large spread on the averages, for the same year and the same kind of Department, graduates from the [Politecnico di Torino](http://www2.almalaurea.it/cgi-php/universita/statistiche/framescheda.php?anno=2013&corstipo=tutti&ateneo=70032&facolta=899&gruppo=5&pa=70032&classe=tutti&corso=tutti&postcorso=tutti&disaggregazione=tutti&LANG=en&CONFIG=profilo) (my university) have an average grade of 99.6/110 and those from the [University of Rome](http://www2.almalaurea.it/cgi-php/universita/statistiche/framescheda.php?anno=2013&corstipo=tutti&ateneo=70026&facolta=765&gruppo=5&pa=70026&classe=tutti&corso=tutti&postcorso=tutti&disaggregazione=tutti&LANG=en&CONFIG=profilo) an average grade of 101.8.\n\n---\n\n**Edit III:** Last but not least, students can ask to their universities the so called [Diploma Supplement](http://ec.europa.eu/education/tools/diploma-supplement_en.htm), a document which should help the international recognition of the qualifications. This document provides information on the Italian grading system and reports the corresponding student's grades in the [ECTS grading scale](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECTS_grading_scale). So, in case of doubts, better ask foreigner students to attach this document to the application documentation."
}
] |
2015/02/15
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38917",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29418/"
] |
38,930 |
Why do professors take on service duties, such as reviewing papers for a journal, or sitting on university committees?
What benefit does this have to their careers? I can't imagine they *enjoy* reviewing papers, at least not more than all the other things they need to fit into their busy schedule.
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38931,
"author": "J W",
"author_id": 12339,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12339",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "Taking on service duties demonstrates to the community, including co-workers and superiors that you are willing to roll up your sleeves and pitch in; it demonstrates a certain level of team spirit. Not doing so could get noticed at some stage and might affect your reputation as a good employee or community member.\n\nA benefit from sitting on certain committees is that it could allow you to influence policy or decision making.\n\nYou could also derive a certain feeling of personal satisfaction from undertaking service duties."
},
{
"answer_id": 38933,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "Most professors are required by their departments to do some sort of service to the university and department. It's a duty of their job, often assigned by their department chair, and may be required as part of their tenure case. Someone who is actually a professor may be able to say more. \n\nPaper reviewing, and the peer review system as a whole, is a cooperative system. Profs need peer-reviewed publications to get tenure, so someone has to do the reviewing. Nobody gets explicit points or credit for reviewing, but if everyone tried to free-ride, then no papers would get reviewed, and the system would collapse. As a non-professor, I don't do as much reviewing (dozens of papers a year) as my professorial colleagues (hundreds per year, often, depending on field), but every time I submit an article to a journal, I'm asked to do a review by the editor, which helps keep me involved in reviewing. I suspect that people also don't want to develop reputations as free riders, so when asked to review, within reason, they do it. \n\nIn addition, sitting on a program committee for a conference involves a lot of reviewing, and it can be a great way to meet and network more closely with more senior or more junior researchers depending on your own level, both of which have their advantages. Doing both kinds of reviewing and doing it well can help one build a reputation as someone who supports the system. Besides the general benefits of a good reputation, it may lead to program committee chair positions, other conference organizing positions, and journal editorships. \n\nIn the end, having a bad reputation for not reviewing and not doing other kinds of service could seriously affect one's tenure case or future job prospects."
},
{
"answer_id": 38934,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "In addition to the other good answers here, service is also a good way to promote something that you actually believe in:\n\n* Do you like Conference X and want it to be better? Somebody's got to run it, and run it well, or else it's going to be a crappy conference.\n* Don't like jerk reviewers? Be a thorough reviewer who gives constructive criticism.\n* Were you helped by others in any way? Step up to do the same and [pay it forward](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay_it_forward)."
},
{
"answer_id": 38948,
"author": "Tom Au",
"author_id": 755,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/755",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "A professor that wants his career to survive needs to help his university to survive. \n\nTwo \"survival\" tasks for the university are reviewing others' papers, so that the university will continue to be seen as a source of research, and \"administrative\" tasks that allow the university to continue operating.\n\nNot every professor will enjoy doing both sets of tasks. Some will prefer one to the other, and specialize in those, while a few can do \"nothing\" and let others carry the burden for them."
},
{
"answer_id": 38949,
"author": "user6726",
"author_id": 28972,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28972",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "1: It is a job requirement (relevant to tenure, promotion and raises, being allowed to have graduate students, and in extreme cases, keeping your job). 2: It can be in your self interest to support good research and weed out bad research. Likewise teaching, and policies about teaching (such as, what courses are required, what can be used to satisfy generic requirements)."
}
] |
2015/02/15
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38930",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/24384/"
] |
38,937 |
One of my research papers have been accepted to a very prestigious conference (top most in my field of study in Computer Science).
Since I am not a full time student, university rules do not allow for funding my travel and conference registration charges. Also, I do not earn enough to support my own travel to a different continent. Moreover, my advisor, who is also a co-author in the paper cannot travel due to personal issues.
The conference website doesn't mention about any kind of support neither have I ever seen(short career) such a support being provided.
So my questions are:
* Should I rather target journals for publications since most of the reputable ones in my field are free to publish but may take anywhere between 1-2 years to get accepted. Moreover, they may require more comprehensive work and analysis which I may not always be able to commit to, resulting in my work lying unpublished.
* Is it normal to just aim for journal publications ?
* I am a Phd Student. I want to go in academia in future. I believe aiming for journal publication would result in less number of publications for me. Would it affect my career in future ?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 39016,
"author": "Jacques Wainer",
"author_id": 28968,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28968",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Very likely having only journal publications will NOT harm your future career prospects. Let me elaborate. \n\nIf you plan a career outside the US, this is even truer. As far as I understand most countries are moving towards a more journal evaluation of computer science. I cannot point to a paper to that effect, but most of the papers that discuss conference x journals in CS are from non US researchers, which may indicate that there is some pressure in these countries to move out of the conference publishing business-as-usual model for CS. \n\nFor a career within the US, @jakebeal answer to [this Academia question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38086/why-are-conference-papers-so-important-in-computer-science-cs) seems to suggest that journal publications are also the important metric of evaluation in \"lesser institution\". \n\nI heard from someone that was applying for faculty positions two years ago that the most prestigious CS departments were only considering candidates that had at least 1000 citations - so the most prestigious institutions do not seem to care for number of publications and where (this is hearsay information). \n\nNow for the caveats, as you realize, a journal-based career will imply in less papers - which I argue is not necessarily a problem, but you have to be sure that you will have some paper/papers published when you apply for a job. Avoid, if you can, journals with too long a review cycle - you may not have any/enough papers published by the end of your PhD."
},
{
"answer_id": 147854,
"author": "a3nm",
"author_id": 17423,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/17423",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "Yes, I'm afraid that having only the opportunity to publish in journals will harm your career prospects:\n\n* you will appear to have published less than someone who could publish the same work first at a conference and then at a journal;\n* journals have a far longer review cycle so getting journal papers out during your PhD will take time.\n\nIn addition to what was suggested in the other answers, you could try to contact the conference organizers (before submitting) and ask to give a talk remotely. If you know some colleague who is attending the conference, you could also ask them to present the paper on your behalf even if they are not an author.\n\nYour situation is a prime example of why mandatory travel to publish in conference proceedings, which is the norm in CS, is a broken system."
}
] |
2015/02/15
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38937",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2823/"
] |
38,942 |
I'm currently an undergraduate at a prestigious private university in the U.S. I'm majoring in Physics, Mozh, and Computer Science and currently am a junior. I've taken 5 graduate level courses so far (including Real Analysis and Algorithms) and have undergraduate experience working in a lab in a field unrelated to quantum computing (for which I'm in the process of writing a paper about). I've also taken a course in quantum computing, 2 semester of undergraduate quantum mechanics, 2 semesters of discrete math, and a course on complexity theory. I plan to take 2 semesters of grad quantum in my senior year as well as 2 semesters in mathematical logic.
I'm interested in going to graduate school for theoretical work in quantum computing and quantum information theory. I'm wondering if I should be aiming to apply to Computer Science, Mozh (Applied I would guess), or Physics departments if I want to do research in those fields.
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38943,
"author": "Davidmh",
"author_id": 12587,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12587",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "You should aim for whichever department has people working on the topic.\n\nQuantum Computing is somewhat multidisciplinary, and not present in every university. So, before applying, check where are the quantum computing groups and follow them. Your background seems to be a good fit for either side.\n\nBy the way, I wouldn't be surprised if there was somewhere a department dedicated to quantum computing. Recently I saw a \"department of glycoscience\"."
},
{
"answer_id": 38945,
"author": "Ben Bitdiddle",
"author_id": 24384,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/24384",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "1. Figure out which conferences (and/or journals) are strong in quantum computing (your quantum computing professor would be a good person to ask about this).\n2. Figure out which professors publish the most in those venues.\n3. Apply to wherever those professors are.\n\nGood luck!"
},
{
"answer_id": 38955,
"author": "D.W.",
"author_id": 705,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/705",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "The general principle is: study each place you are considering applying, and look at the faculty in each of those departments to find where the faculty who work on quantum computing are affiliated with -- and then apply to that department.\n\nYou don't say what kind of research you want to do, but here are some guesses about where you're most likely to find folks. If you want to study algorithms, computer science departments are most likely where you will want to be. If you want to do experimental work (build experimental apparatus), a physics department is a good bet. Math departments are less likely to be a good fit. There will always be exceptions -- these are just some guidelines."
}
] |
2015/02/15
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38942",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29437/"
] |
38,944 |
I am a computer science student from Turkey. While I was checking the websites and publications of various CS Professors in Turkey for my future studies, I noticed a strange trend. (Excluding minor exceptions)
Usually, these professors hold a Ph.D from leading western institutions, and during their Ph.D they have published papers at extremely competitive top venues, like ICCV, ICDM, ICML and other places depending on their research interests. But, after returning back to Turkey and starting in an academic position, they can't even get their papers published in second tier venues.
So, what might be the reason for this ? If these people can publish during their Ph.D then why can't they do now ? Also, CS is not a field where extremely expensive lab equipment is required. So why are these people unsuccesful at publishing in top conferences/journals ?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38946,
"author": "RoboKaren",
"author_id": 14885,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14885",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "The problem that faces faculty at second- (and lower-) tier institutions including those in foreign countries is that research is often not valued or not given the resources necessary to flourish.\n\nFor example, at many national universities faculty have considerable responsibilities other than research, including teaching and national and local service. They may not have enough (or any) quality graduate students to help with teaching, to inspire them to explore new research areas, or to conduct research together. They may also have much more administrative duties with much less administrative support. \n\nFinally, there may be little incentive for them to do or publish research. They may have civil service salaries that are not adjusted for research output. External consulting or tutoring may be more lucrative than doing work within the university."
},
{
"answer_id": 38984,
"author": "JaT",
"author_id": 29480,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29480",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "I think that if the professor really published during his PhD, then probably it's a matter of not enough incentives in his home country (that is, he just needs to teach some courses per year, and scientific production is not a pre-requisite for tenure). In my country, for instance, in one of the most reputable universities, hiring equals tenure.\n\nHowever, if he didn't publish during PhD, then one of the possibilities is that he just can't do research (not that he is not capable, maybe he just doesn't fit). As far I'm concerned, to get in top10 univ. at US you just need very good grades and excellent LoR, so it's perfectly possible that a very smart yet not good at research do PhD studies at top10. \nThen, univ. back in their home country hires them due to prestige of top10, even if there are better researchers that did top50, for example."
}
] |
2015/02/15
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38944",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29439/"
] |
38,952 |
I work for a company that has several projects involving computer vision. The literature rarely has papers on the exact problems we are solving. Furthermore, the state of the art in much of computer vision is often not reproducible or not ready for actual applications. Furthermore, the rate at which new papers come out in the areas we are interested in would make it very time consuming to digest most, let alone all of them.
On the other hand, we often get stuck and would like to get answers or at least inspiration from existing work.
Our goal in the end is to get to solutions as fast as possible. Does anyone have any guidance on how to balance time spent reading vs doing?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38953,
"author": "Simon",
"author_id": 29446,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29446",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "I'd look to the main conferences and focus on the most current papers, specifically the ones from researchers that have made their code available online, then you can more easily replicate their results. If it's computer vision work, you're talking deep neural networks now for most problems. In that case, you are very lucky, there are lots of open source and scaleable deep learning algorithms out there in many different languages to experiment with. I would pick a framework like Torch that has a lot of backing and is constantly getting updated with new results, that way you can download the latest research into a package you are familiar with. Caffe is also very popular. Graph Lab also has a deep learning module with a network structure pre-built for image classification problems."
},
{
"answer_id": 38956,
"author": "malarres",
"author_id": 9924,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9924",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "Given that Computer Vision is a fast-paced research topic these days, I'd go for a Systematic Literature Review:\n\n> \n> A systematic review (also systematic literature review or structured literature review, SLR) is a literature review focused on a research question that tries to identify, appraise, select and synthesize all high quality research evidence relevant to that question.\n> (source: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systematic_review>)\n> \n> \n> \n\nMore specifically, Guidelines for performing Systematic Literature Reviews in\nSoftware Engineering could be helpful to you: \n\n> \n> The stages associated with planning the review are:\n> • Identification of the need for a review (See Section 5.1).\n> • Commissioning a review (See Section 5.2).\n> • Specifying the research question(s) (See Section 5.3).\n> • Developing a review protocol (See Section 5.4).\n> • Evaluating the review protocol (See Section 5.5).\n> The stages associated with conducting the review are:\n> • Identification of research (See Section 6.1).\n> • Selection of primary studies (See Section 6.2).\n> • Study quality assessment (See Section 6.3).\n> • Data extraction and monitoring (See Section 6.4).\n> • Data synthesis (See Section 6.5).\n> The stages associated with reporting the review are:\n> • Specifying dissemination mechanisms (See Section 7.1).\n> • Formatting the main report (See Section 7.2).\n> • Evaluating the report (See Section 7.3). \n> \n> \n> \n\n(source: <http://www.elsevier.com/__data/promis_misc/525444systematicreviewsguide.pdf> )\n\nAs you may not need to *report* the review, you could skip this part. The thing I foresee more useful to you is that this system gives you insights about what you left behind in case you have to go back to study the literature, and it also helps to share the work among your colleagues.\n\nSo, for example, once you've determined the conferences to read, the authors to follow, etc. you can start by reading the titles of the papers, that goes to a table. If the title seems promising, then read the abstract, so to another table. Finally you would have a stack of papers you have read completely, so you can write some lines about them in that very moment... and when you have a problem you didn't have before, you can re-read your previous work before searching for a new solution in the wild."
},
{
"answer_id": 38960,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "There is a wonderful quotation by Frank Westheimer that accurately summarizes the relationship between work and reading:\n\n> \n> A couple of months in the laboratory can frequently save a couple of hours in the library.\n> \n> \n> \n\nIf you don't know what's in the literature, you can easily spend days, weeks, or even months reinventing the wheel. It's tempting to get your hands dirty, but it can be a very expensive proposition if you later find that somebody else has already done the same thing."
},
{
"answer_id": 38967,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "> \n> On the other hand, we often get stuck and would like to get answers or at least inspiration from existing work. Our goal in the end is to get to solutions as fast as possible. Does anyone have any guidance on how to balance time spent reading vs doing?\n> \n> \n> \n\nIn addition to the other great answers here, if this problem comes up frequently for you guys, you could consider associating in some way with a near-by researcher in computer vision. Their job is essentially to know the current state of research, and even if they don't know by heart whether a solution to a concrete problem exists, they should be able to figure it out relatively quickly (\"it\" being checking whether there is a published solution on this problem, not necessarily solving the problem if no known solution exists). \n\nWhat kind of relationship works for you guys differs from time to time - could be short-time consulting contracts, could be a longer-time joint project (if your problem is not yet solved and interesting to the researcher), could be something else entirely (I know researchers that joined the advisory board of a related company, and basically get paid for giving scientific advise on an irregular basis)."
},
{
"answer_id": 38968,
"author": "Noah Snyder",
"author_id": 25,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/25",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "If your group is large enough, hiring a new Ph.D. every few years would make sure you always had someone who was up on the current literature."
},
{
"answer_id": 42510,
"author": "kishjeff",
"author_id": 32367,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32367",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "If you are in the product business as opposed to the research business then you have deliverable cost-timeline constraints probably. In this vein of thought I would imagine that the path worth considering is researching the best commercial/open source solutions available and \"foldable into your product\". This might be a library or other resource your products can use, as opposed to studying the latest research as that portends adding the effort of writing your own from scratch once you find a promising idea or technology.\n\nIf on the other hand your business model includes complete R&D then tie your research stopping point to what offers a clear path to your deliverable. \n\nI would still in this case look at open source and commercial offerings as you could glean some path to a previously unconsidered technology path ie you might find something you would NOT use but which reveals a possible approach you have not considered or realized exists.\n\nHTH\nLefd"
}
] |
2015/02/16
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38952",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29449/"
] |
38,959 |
I'm currently a computer scientist, with work experience in both academia and industry. I'm starting to get very interested in the intersection of law and computer science. I do think we really need people that know law and computer science at the same time very well, to decide on the important issues currently we are dealing with.
What is the best way for me to deal with my decision? Do I need a law degree first, before I do research on this matter, If so I should start with an Bsc?; or should I apply for a junior research position in the law department?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38964,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "You most certainly can work in the intersection without a law degree, and a number of prominent people have done so. A nice example is [Edwina Rissland](https://www.cics.umass.edu/people/rissland_edwina), who is a well-known expert on machine reasoning about the legal code, and who actually taught at Harvard law school for quite some time without ever having a law degree. I heard one of her lectures on the subject once, and found it gave me a whole new understanding both about how our law really works and how we humans think about the world.\n\nDo note, however, that without a law degree, you will likely need some collaborators who *are* lawyers, to help you with their expertise in the subject, just as if you were digging into computational chemistry without being a chemist yourself. As for how to get into the area... just the same way as you would any other research area."
},
{
"answer_id": 100238,
"author": "Meng Weng Wong",
"author_id": 84247,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/84247",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Coincidentally, I started researching computational law around the time you originally posted the question. I've spent the last two years on fellowships at Harvard ([Berkman Klein](http://cyber.harvard.edu/)), Stanford ([CodeX](http://codex.stanford.edu/)'s [CompK](http://compk.stanford.edu/)), and Ca'Foscari University of Venice (Venice is awesome).\n\nSome of my preliminary findings are available at\n\n* <https://github.com/legalese/legalese.github.io/blob/master/doc/intro-course.org>\n* <https://legalese.com/v1.0/page/past>\n* <http://legalese.github.io/doc/chapter-201707.html>\n* <https://drive.google.com/open?id=10n25p2uwoDP91V-JbyFdWBSAbXfoZOlM-F9YmHeJk5s>\n\nBased on this research I believe there's a big opportunity, as Marc Andreessen at A16Z might say, for software to eat law.\n\nI'm working with a small research group to continue this line of research and ultimately produce some open-source software to illustrate the alignment between CS and law. If you'd like to get involved, please message me after you've skimmed the above materials, and maybe we'll discover some ways to collaborate!"
}
] |
2015/02/16
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38959",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/21552/"
] |
38,961 |
I just received the feedback from the Editor-In-Chief that my paper has been rejected for publication in this high-ranking journal.
>
> There are several concerns raised by one of the reviewers. Therefore, it would not be possible to accept this paper for publication.
>
>
>
Based on the reviewers' comments, two of them seem to be in favor, as they raise no "substantial" concerns (they raise 5 and 4 points, respectively), i.e. their findings are mostly of a cosmetic nature (rephrase that, elaborate this, color the figures differently, correct a spelling mistake), and their recapitulation of the work is more precise than that of the third reviewer.
Now the third reviewer raises 6 points of concern. 4 of them are very valid remarks, however, they are not fundamental problems, at least, I don't perceive them as such, because they are easily amended (by at most 2 sentences each) and present no conceptual fallacies, i.e. as I see it, the particular parts are not clear to the reader and need additional explanations and more appropriate emphasis. The fifth concern addresses the structure of the paper, the reviewer proposes another ordering of the sections. The final point states the need for a discussion, which I indeed drafted, but chose not to include in the paper. It is not irrelevant, but it is not crucial for the problem, solution or background and could possibly distract the reader from the focus of the paper. In addition to space constrictions, this discussion was left out before submission.
Between submission and the decision, there was a change of the Editor-In-Chief at the journal. This might be the reason the review took longer than usual (10 instead of 6 weeks). Perhaps that could even influence the accepting policies...
After the first review, I'm used to getting rather harsh comments, either rejecting the paper or proposing another review cycle, it doesn't matter. The important part is usually that I get meaningful feedback about my paper and improve it. In this case, however, the reviewers' comments resemble something I would expect after the second or third review cycle, i.e. something that I can alleviate in a morning.
The problem is that I don't understand the reason for rejection. Even when I address all the reviewers' suggestions, I would still feel that nothing crucial has changed. Furthermore, when rejected, I can't submit the same paper to the same journal. I obviously intend to submit the paper to another journal. However, before doing so, I consider emailing the Editor-In-Chief and asking for more information regarding his decision. As things are now, the reviewers' comments state neither fundamental fallacies which imply that the paper is of low scientific value nor point how I could realistically improve on it. Is this a good idea?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 39015,
"author": "Jacques Wainer",
"author_id": 28968,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28968",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "I have never been an EIC but I have spoke to some, I have been a reviewer of many papers, and I have had the similar experiences as you described. \n\nIt is probably useless to further inquire about your paper. The EIC decision could have been based on the private communication channels of the review process. The reviewer might have been lukewarm about your paper - maybe it was not a case of a substantial error but that the result was uninteresting. It could also be the case that the new EIC did not have the time for a careful consideration of your paper, of balancing the different reviews and based her decision on the less positive one. EIC are usually very overloaded and some of them explicitly use the rule of deciding based on the most negative review. If it is any of these two cases, you will not receive any further information from the EIC regarding your paper.\n\nMy personal experience is that I was only able to change a EIC decision once, when the negative review was reasonably detailed and I could show that some of the main points made by the reviewer were 100% opposite of what was already written in the paper. The other occasions where I asked for more info or criticized what I thought was a wrong interpretation of the paper, I would receive a polite answer that the decision was made. \n\nNow, I wait a week until the frustration and the anger of how \"dumb is this reviewer\" subsides, make the the changes I think are reasonable and send to the another journal."
},
{
"answer_id": 40026,
"author": "Willie Wong",
"author_id": 94,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/94",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "The editorial board's job is to keep out the worst papers, keep in the best papers, and make some (sometimes subjective) decision on which of the remaining to publish and which to reject. \n\nNote that it does **not** include helping your write your paper better. (Note that while *good* referee reports often do provide sufficient feedback for you to revise your paper accordingly, the main goal of the reports are to inform the editorial board to allow them to come to a decision.)\n\nEICs being busy as they are generally will not bother to carefully respond to requests for more information: all the info they can provide to you are already provided to you. It is possible that they made their decision in part on *confidential reports* by the referee to the editorial board (yes, most journals I referee for allow me to write a few sentences in private to the board that the authors don't get to see), and so cannot reveal that to you. It is possible that they are just so backlogged with submission right now that anything negative will cause them to reject. \n\nYou are much better off finding a somewhat senior person in your field, show him or her your paper and all the referee reports, and ask for his or her opinion. Chances are one of the following is true:\n\n1. There are certain things that the referees wrote between the lines that you didn't quite understand yourself, and with this explained you can figure out how to much improve your paper.\n2. There are nothing strictly wrong about your paper, but maybe you were too ambitious in your original choice of journal (importance/sexiness of results and so on), and the senior person can point you to a more appropriate one.\n3. The senior person can, in an unbiased way, agree with you that your paper should not have been rejected, and that the EIC made a mistake to reject you. Then you just pretty it up and submit it to the next journal."
}
] |
2015/02/16
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38961",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14133/"
] |
38,969 |
Prompted by discussion in [this post on Meta.MathOverflow.net](https://meta.mathoverflow.net/questions/2139/an-interactive-graph-of-mathoverflow-tags) I got interested in comparing usage of tags from [MathOverflow](https://mathoverflow.net/) to submissions in the respective disciplines of [arXiv](http://arxiv.org/). (Vide a similar idea of [language popularity, GitHub vs StackOverflow](http://www.dataists.com/2010/12/ranking-the-popularity-of-programming-langauges/) (or [one from 2015](http://redmonk.com/sogrady/2015/01/14/language-rankings-1-15/)).) Moreover, as people often use their real names on MO, it may be interesting to check the overlap of mathematicians.
The question is, how to get such data?
There is [arXiv API](http://arxiv.org/help/api/user-manual#query_details), but for bulk downloads of metadata they recommend [Open Archives Initiative (OAI)](http://arxiv.org/help/oa/index). Yet, as I see, it can query one article at a time, and one needs to know its id. So without knowing arXiv ids beforehand, it turns into a guessing game.
There are some plots in [arXiv usage statistics](http://arxiv.org/help/stats), yet I don't see this exact data.
Also, one can get total submission to `math` from [links in Mathematics -> Article statistics by year](http://arxiv.org/archive/math), but it misses the splitting into subdisciplines.
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38982,
"author": "Piotr Migdal",
"author_id": 49,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/49",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "My main confusion was not realizing that [The Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting](http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/openarchivesprotocol.htm) is a separate protocol, not a subset of arXiv API.\n\nIn this case, the relevant queries are `ListIdentifiers` (10k items per query) and `ListRecords` (1k items per query). To get just identifiers we need to write:\n\n```\nhttp://export.arxiv.org/oai2?verb=ListIdentifiers&set=math&metadataPrefix=oai_dc\n\n```\n\nIt results in 10k identifiers in the following form:\n\n```\n\n 2015-02-16T19:28:22Z\n http://export.arxiv.org/oai2\n\n oai:arXiv.org:0704.0002\n 2008-12-13\n math\n\n ...\n\n oai:arXiv.org:0712.1769\n 2011-06-23\n math\n\n 760571|10001\n\n```\n\nAs there are more results, to get next batch we need to specify `resumptionToken`, in this case:\n\n```\nhttp://export.arxiv.org/oai2?\n verb=ListIdentifiers&resumptionToken=760571|10001\n\n```\n\nand so on.\n\nOther useful parameters are `from` and `until`, e.g. as in\n\n```\nhttp://export.arxiv.org/oai2?verb=ListIdentifiers&set=math&metadataPrefix=oai_dc&from=2015-01-14&until=2015-01-14\n\n```\n\nTo directly get categories (bear in mind that `set=math` specifies mathematics, but there are no smaller subsets), one can write:\n\n```\nhttp://export.arxiv.org/oai2?verb=ListRecords&set=math&from=2015-01-01&until=2015-01-31&metadataPrefix=arXiv\n\n```\n\nIt's important to set `metadataPrefix=arXiv`, so that subdisciplines will be listed:\n\n```\n\n math-ph cond-mat.other math.MP nlin.CD physics.class-ph\n\n```\n\nEDIT: \n\nI used delay as Nate Eldredge suggested, in my case - 25s. Yet, while trying to get all math (250k items so in 250 queries) it gave error at 70. I did continue it (with even higher delay) but sometime around 110 the query was not longer available.\n\nSo, the way to go is in getting smaller chunks - e.g. by month (or for mathematics - at most by year)."
},
{
"answer_id": 67639,
"author": "miku",
"author_id": 6198,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6198",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "Shameless plug: I wrote a generic OAI harvesting tool, that will harvest Arxiv just fine. It's called [metha](https://github.com/miku/metha) and consists of a few commands:\n\n```\n$ metha-sync http://export.arxiv.org/oai2\n\n```\n\nThis will download all data up to the last full day (it will take a couple of days). The XML API responses are compressed and placed under `~/.metha` directory. Metha will use monthly windows and a resilient HTTP client to ensure downloads succeed, while not stressing the server. It has been tested in the wild on hundreds of OAI endpoints.\n\nAfter (and during) download, you can inspect (already downloaded) records with:\n\n```\n$ metha-cat http://export.arxiv.org/oai2\n\n```\n\nFor any further processing you will have to use your favorite XML tools.\n\n---\n\nUpdate: Additionally to the metha (incremental) harvester, I wrote a small tool called [oaicrawl](https://github.com/miku/oaicrawl), which does no caching and just fetches records off an OAI endpoint one by one. This create more overhead, as there's an HTTP request for each record but can be useful, if the OAI endpoint does not support selective harvesting (e.g. by date) or is otherwise broken and you are ok with having a *best effort* data set harvested from the service.\n\nSyntax would be similarly simple:\n\n```\n$ oaicrawl http://export.arxiv.org/oai2 > arxiv.data\n\n```\n\nNote, that this will concatenate the raw responses from the API and hence won't be valid XML out of the box."
},
{
"answer_id": 96550,
"author": "Eric Malmi",
"author_id": 80390,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/80390",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "A torrent for a metadata dump \"collected from the OAI-PMH API endpoint using the 'metha-sync' tool\" is available at: <https://archive.org/details/arxiv-bulk-metadata>\n\nNB: This dataset contains metadata also for *non-math* articles."
},
{
"answer_id": 153571,
"author": "miku",
"author_id": 6198,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6198",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "Arxiv metadata and fulltext have been made (more easily) accessible in 08/2020.\n\n* <https://blogs.cornell.edu/arxiv/2020/08/05/leveraging-machine-learning-to-fuel-new-discoveries-with-the-arxiv-dataset/>\n* <https://www.kaggle.com/Cornell-University/arxiv>\n\n> \n> The full set of PDFs is available for free in the GCS bucket `gs://arxiv-dataset` or through Google API (json documentation and xml documentation, [gsutil](https://cloud.google.com/storage/docs/gsutil)). They are grouped into several .tar.gz files in the tarpdfs folder, the complete set is about 1.1TB in size.\n> \n> \n>"
}
] |
2015/02/16
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38969",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/49/"
] |
38,975 |
I asked this question on Stackoverflow and was directed to ask it here. The question is:
I wanted to ask about plagiarism detection tools for source code written in C++. When I searched Google the ones I found compare between documents that you already have. What I'm looking for is a tool that compares against content on the internet (i.e Github).
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40441,
"author": "cmbarbu",
"author_id": 30824,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30824",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "There are many general sites such as: \n\n<http://smallseotools.com/plagiarism-checker/>\n\nSure, they will flag everything that \"has to be copied\" such as \n int main\nbut everything that \"has to be copied\" should be common between your students. It should then be fairly easy to not take it into account using a simple script removing anything shared by more than 80% of your students, preferably before submitting it to the plagiarism checker. \n\nIt would probably be easier using a website with an API such as: \n<https://api.plagscan.com/guide>"
},
{
"answer_id": 44653,
"author": "Ryan Dougherty",
"author_id": 19685,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/19685",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "We use the MOSS (Measure of Software Similarity) system provided by Stanford, at [here](https://theory.stanford.edu/~aiken/moss/)."
},
{
"answer_id": 144178,
"author": "Patrick Kelly",
"author_id": 32046,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/32046",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "Haven't used it, but I found this:\n\n<https://codequiry.com/>"
}
] |
2015/02/16
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38975",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29472/"
] |
38,980 |
I would like to know if assumptions are accepted among the scientific community. especially in the field of theoretical computer science.
To be more specific, is it OK to say something like: "The behavior X **might be** explained by . . ." when you are not 100% sure that it is the correct explanation, or you are not able to explain it mathematically or statistically.
**Edit:**
Indeed the possible explanation I'm talking about is not the main point of the paper, but a small part of results discussion that is, from my point of view, important for future investigations. Also, if I take the time to run some additional tests it would be off-topic and very time-consuming.
|
[
{
"answer_id": 38981,
"author": "Dave Clarke",
"author_id": 643,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/643",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "This is not so much an assumption, but a hypothesis. If this is the bulk of the work, then it is not likely to be acceptable. But if this is part of the discussion of a larger piece of work, then it may well be acceptable. Your paper needs a contribution beyond the hypothesis. \n\nUltimately, hypotheses are fine in papers. Good questions drive research forward."
},
{
"answer_id": 38983,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "It depends on what you mean by \"is it OK\". If you write \"The behavior X might be explained by...\", it's certainly OK in the sense that nobody will be offended or automatically reject your paper. You are acknowledging some uncertainty, so there's nothing to object to (while there would be if you claimed greater certainty than your work justified). On the other hand, speculating about possible explanations is not as good as giving a compelling explanation. It's reasonable if this is not the main point of your paper, or if the speculative explanation is awfully clever. However, if the main point of your paper comes down to speculation that you just haven't investigated carefully enough to resolve, then it will probably not impress readers. You could end up with a paper that's not objectionable but still isn't very good."
}
] |
2015/02/16
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/38980",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8813/"
] |
39,017 |
I don't really want a degree. I just want to get married, and have weekends and evenings off, and chill out and play board games, and have nice conversations with friends, and have time to exercise and eat good food, and partake in hobbies, and read books and play computer games and watch movies and write a novel or two. Stuff I used to do as a kid, that I can't do as a grad student.
I like my research, and I like my advisor, but I feel like I work a lot harder than my friends in industry, and I'll be putting my life on hold for at least the next two years, while I'm finishing classes and qualifying exams. Frankly I don't feel like I can survive the next year, and just the thought of staying here for the next few months makes me depressed.
The problem is if I wasn't a PhD student, I'd just be another fat ugly loser with no social status, and nobody would love me or think I was valuable. I wouldn't be taken as seriously when it came time to apply for jobs, and people would think I was stupid or at least not any better than someone with a bachelor's degree. At least now I can apply for internships and get interviews. And because I am a PhD student at a top school, people assume I'm smart, which also helps me find dates, even though I'm obese, wear glasses, and dress poorly. It puts me in a different "league" and if I quit I'd have to go back to dating losers who only want me because they can't find any other girlfriends.
Also if I quit my PhD, I would never be able to come back, and what if my new job ended up sucking, or I couldn't even get a job? I do like my work, and I'm glad I get to do such interesting stuff, I just wish there was less of it.
|
[
{
"answer_id": 39018,
"author": "Aubrey",
"author_id": 26682,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/26682",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": false,
"text": "I cannot answer your question right now. So, take this as a friendly advice from someone on the Internet. It may be wrong, of course. \n\nI think you *should not* quit your PhD. Not right now. \nThere will be time for that, maybe. \nBut a lot of stuff is going on, and from your message your work is the only thing you seem to like and that gives you self esteem. \nSo, two thoughts.\n\n**[Growth mindset](http://mindsetonline.com/changeyourmindset/firststeps/)**. Please don't be fixated that you are like you are and there is no solution to that. You can do many things. You are smart, you can lose weight, you can dress better. These are not easy things, but you can accomplish them. So, maybe, think of eating healthier. Of being a little more careful on your health and body. This alone will make you feel better.\n\n**Seek counsel**. There are people, more competent and talented than a stranger on the Internet, that can help you. Find one, it's the best way you can spend your money. Counselors are great, they can help you find solutions you thought they were impossible. I used them many times, I never regret it. There's no shame in that, remember. \n\nIn my very humble opinion, you need to clear your mind about what are the burdens in your life, **then** decide if you want to quit your PhD. It may be the problem, it may be not. Good luck Jeswawer!"
},
{
"answer_id": 39019,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "*(I feel this is borderline out-of-scope, but I decide to answer this anyway half-expecting the question to be closed soon)*\n\n> \n> I don't really want a degree. I just want to get married, and have weekends and evenings off, and chill out and play board games, and have nice conversations with friends, and have time to exercise and eat good food, and partake in hobbies, and read books and play computer games and watch movies and write a novel or two. Stuff I used to do as a kid, that I can't do as a grad student.\n> \n> \n> \n\nIf that's actually how you feel, this is strike 1 that you should almost certainly quit. However, make sure that you are not falling prey to the \"the grass is always greener on the other side\" effect. There are plenty of things you also can't do working in industry because you'll have no time. (writing a novel might be one of those things)\n\n> \n> I like my research, and I like my advisor, but I feel like I work a lot harder than my friends in industry, and I'll be putting my life on hold for at least the next two years, while I'm finishing classes and qualifying exams. Frankly I don't feel like I can survive the next year, and just the thought of staying here for the next few months makes me depressed.\n> \n> \n> \n\nIf you feel you can't survive next year, this is strike 2 that you should get out. But again, make sure that you have make *correct* assumptions about life on the other side. Many people in industry definitely work at least as hard as I do in academia.\n\n> \n> The problem is if I wasn't a PhD student, I'd just be another fat ugly loser with no social status, and nobody would love me or think I was valuable. I wouldn't be taken as seriously when it came time to apply for jobs, and people would think I was stupid or at least not any better than someone with a bachelor's degree. At least now I can apply for internships and get interviews. And because I am a PhD student at a top school, people assume I'm smart, which also helps me find dates, even though I'm obese, wear glasses, and dress poorly. It puts me in a different \"league\" and if I quit I'd have to go back to dating losers who only want me because they can't find any other girlfriends.\n> \n> \n> \n\nThat's a really concerning paragraph, which makes me feel that you maybe want to seek out professional help. You seem to have a habit of putting yourself and others into buckets of \"valuable\" and \"less valuable\" people, based on quite superficial distinctions (looks, whether somebody has an advanced degree or not, losers, etc.). As a sidenote, I am close to 100% sure that you don't get more or better dates because you are a grad student, but (if at all) because you feel better about yourself as a grad student. This is strike 1 that you maybe should indeed stay in grad school.\n\n> \n> Also if I quit my PhD, I would never be able to come back, and what if my new job ended up sucking, or I couldn't even get a job? I do like my work, and I'm glad I get to do such interesting stuff, I just wish there was less of it.\n> \n> \n> \n\nIs there no way to turn down your workload a bit without giving up grad student status entirely?"
},
{
"answer_id": 39020,
"author": "Ander Biguri",
"author_id": 16023,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/16023",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "I think that if you don't feel like that sometimes in your PhD, it means that you are not doing it \"properly\". Its a hard thing, specially personally talking. It gets into your life and makes you feel like you can't anymore sometimes. \n\nBut cheer up, if it makes it better, everybody doing a PhD feels like that sometimes; it's part of the job. In my university there are several courses every year just for grad students to help us cope with this kind of feelings. \n\nActually, not long ago a guy came to our uni. He wrote a book (and some *Nature* papers) called \"the 7 secrets of successful PhD students\" (<http://www.ithinkwell.com.au/>). I recommend you look at it. There are 2 main ideas that may help you deal with it, and deal with it happily:\n\n1.- There is more chance you fail kindergarten than grad school. If you make it to the end, you'll pass. So the problem here will be perseverance, if you get there, you'll make it.\n\n2.- **Treat it like a job!** Go to uni, work (and work hard), but when you get out, its not PhD time anymore. Play video-games, read, go out for a beer (or 7!) and write that novel. Define a strict line between PhD time and free time.\n\nMy advice as PhD student. You can. Of course you can. You are not a loser. You definitely can deal with the PhD and the workload. If you are unhappy with your life, change it, and get out of the PhD, but if you like it and it's just workload pressure that makes you feel bad, keep with it, because it's probably going to be worth it."
},
{
"answer_id": 39021,
"author": "Giacomo Alessandroni",
"author_id": 28699,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28699",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "I do not know the law of your country but, e.g., in Italy is possible suspend the PhD. Ask freely to your supervisor, if he/she is a person, as I hope, that not only observes the professional side of things, but also (and especially) the human, you have chance to find an agreement.\n\nTry to explain, to your supervisor, your situation with this words. And remember: your life is the only and too much important to hear the thoughts of the people who do not believe in you."
},
{
"answer_id": 39023,
"author": "CaptainCodeman",
"author_id": 15541,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15541",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "You can quit if you like. Life isn't that bad on the \"outside\" (I quit my first degree), and if you're good at what you do you can get a job. You'll get much better opportunities if you finish your PhD though. You can get married and have kids and watch movies either way, the question is what will you be doing with your life when you're not doing these things.\n\nIt seems to me that you are going through an emotional low period, and you may have self-esteem issues which make it difficult for you to overcome them. Which is quite common. Most PhD students think of quitting at some point. You can talk to your counseling service, they are equipped to help you. (Admittedly sometimes they can be useless, but it's worth having a chat.)\n\nAlso if you're upset about being fat, you can get in shape. (It has nothing to do with whether or not you quit your PhD.) I used to be a fat college dropout working in IT with no friends and no girlfriends.. but you make gradual changes and improve. It takes time but it's worth it. Momentum is key, you need to make gradual changes to your lifestyle and as you move forward it becomes easier as you become more motivated. See <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTuElM6T50w>"
},
{
"answer_id": 39024,
"author": "Piotr Migdal",
"author_id": 49,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/49",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "If you are miserable, but stick to your situation, seeing other possibilities as even worse, you may be suffering [Stockholm syndrome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_syndrome).\n\n> \n> Stockholm syndrome, or capture-bonding, is a psychological phenomenon in which hostages express empathy and sympathy and have positive feelings toward their captors, sometimes to the point of defending and identifying with the captors. These feelings are generally considered irrational in light of the danger or risk endured by the victims, who essentially mistake a lack of abuse from their captors for an act of kindness.\n> \n> \n> \n\nMoreover, one of he key dangers of PhD in academic career in general is that we tie our academic success (grant, paper, fellowship) with sense of own value. Many people are afraid to \"give up\" (as it hits their sense of identity) even if they would be happy to pursue other options.\n\nSee:\n\n* Rebecca Schuman, [Why Is Academic Rejection So Very Crushing?](http://chronicle.com/article/Why-Is-Academic-Rejection-So/146883/) *Losing out on a job, tenure, or publication can be a unique agony. The cure is not success, it’s compassion.*\n\nI cannot recommend on weigthing your choices (on the one hand you like your research, on the other - you would like to have more social life). But don't tie your sense of value to your academic status."
},
{
"answer_id": 39026,
"author": "Murphy",
"author_id": 16078,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/16078",
"pm_score": 5,
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"text": "\"I like my research, and I like my advisor\"\n\nYou might be surprised how rare these things can be, there's a lot of people in industry who have neither of those things and pretty much feel the same way while also being bored out of their minds 99% of the time. \n\nI can understand your feelings about social status but you're probably overestimating their social effects vs the social effects of your own perception of yourself. You got into a PHD program in a top school, you say people \"assume\" you're smart as if you don't believe that yourself but it's extremely unlikely you got where you are by being anything other than *actually* very smart. When you're surrounded by very bright people all the time it's easy to underestimate yourself. \n\nAs for your perception of yourself: I've felt the same way and in your shoes I would have regarded any kind reassurance from nice internet people as a simple phatic gesture since it's just what nice people do when someone is feeling crap about themselves but suffice to say, it's important to realise that your own judgement of yourself is probably not 100% reliable and is likely heavily skewed towards the negative.\n\nPersonally I found the best way to deal with feeling crap about myself was to pick the things I felt most negative about myself and to try to do at least one thing to improve each each week, feeling like you're not going anywhere can make it worse. \n\nYou sound burned out and for that the same generic advice probably applies:\n\nIt really really sounds like you may need to sort out your work-life balance a little, better to work 40-50 hours a week and be able to finish than work 80 and burn out half way. If it's crushing you to not be able to write that novel and leaving you unable to do the PHD it's essential that you get time to write the novel. If you feel the PHD is damaging your health then it's essential that you get the time to tend to your own health."
},
{
"answer_id": 40028,
"author": "pojo-guy",
"author_id": 30516,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30516",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Take advantage of the university facilities to improve your physical condition. That will help with the perception of pressure, improve your social options and self-esteem, and relieve some stress. I started martial arts training 26 years ago with a university club because I needed exercise and the club fit my schedule. Throughout my post-academic career, the practice of martial arts has remained a near-constant.\n\nA PhD is a three-year program. It is transient, finish it. (Corrected per comments below)\n\nThe industry is not necessarily less stressful. My careers outside of academia, in more than one industry, have always involved a certain amount of 24x7 work. While academia is not without its stress, the stress of not getting published is not in the same league as the stress of not getting the 2 million dollar bid that your company needs to survive the next six months."
},
{
"answer_id": 40029,
"author": "Ivana",
"author_id": 6223,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6223",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Before making any decisions, it may be worthwhile to see if you can stay with your PhD, doing research with the supervisor you like, while fixing some of the things that cause you problems. You say you do not have any weekends or evenings. This is something i recognize but it may not be all due to your PhD program. \n\nThis happens when the work is (or feels) important, ambitions are high, and both your own and your supervisor's expectations are unrealistic. I've had the same problem at two separate jobs. My friend had it worse: he had a job for 3 days a week while in reality he worked full time and quite a few times through the night. \nA tell-tale sign is when work and leisure mix in a bad way, like working (because it needs to be done by Monday) while watching television (because you are allowed to take micro-breaks, it's the weekend!).\n\nThis can be fixed. Your university maybe has courses and/or counselors to help you with time management. If your workload is insane, it helps to get a clear picture of it, so that your supervisor also understands that a more realistic plan needs to be made. The people i know who are efficient and good at work/life balance: 1) spend time planning their work, that is, prioritizing tasks and writing down how much time each will take 2) stick to their plans 3) communicate plans and any changes in plans with their supervisors, co-workers and/or bosses.\n\nMy friend now has a far more responsible job, works full time and he even has the evenings off."
},
{
"answer_id": 40075,
"author": "Mathematics",
"author_id": 4203,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4203",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Whenever you feel down, compare what you have achieved in a certain period. \n\nE.g. Were you happy before starting PHD, was your life as beautiful as you think it would be after quitting PHD.\n\nYou quit PHD or not, one thing you should always remember, \n\n**Always be grateful**, never compare yourself with people better then you, but think about people who are in worse situation then yours."
},
{
"answer_id": 40078,
"author": "Aru Ray",
"author_id": 948,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/948",
"pm_score": 8,
"selected": true,
"text": "> \n> I don't really want a degree. \n> \n> \n> \n\nThere are many good reasons to get a PhD. Probably lots of people get say, bachelor's degrees and master's degrees, because they just want a degree, but the number of people who get a PhD just for the sake of getting a degree is (in my opinion) lower (for example, you might want to teach at the university level, see answers [here](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/10522/should-i-stay-in-phd-program-i-dislike-to-have-a-shot-at-liberal-arts-teaching)). This is partly because a PhD is in some sense harder and more time-consuming that bachelor's/masters degree, but also that the degree isn't really the point of a PhD, see for example, [this answer here by Pete L. Clark](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/17232/is-doing-two-phds-a-good-path/17245#17245). To very briefly summarize, a PhD is a way to 'learn how to learn' and the stuff that you learn is a lot less important than the process of obtaining said knowledge. So your statement that you 'don't really want a degree' worries me a bit. I mean, the degree is not the point, and wanting a PhD is not at all the same as wanting a degree in general. Why did you apply to PhD programs? What was your motivation? What are your goals?\n\n> \n> I just want to get married, and have\n> weekends and evenings off, and chill out and play board games, and\n> have nice conversations with friends, and have time to exercise and\n> eat good food, and partake in hobbies, and read books and play\n> computer games and watch movies and write a novel or two. \n> \n> \n> \n\nDon't we all! Anyway, you know, you can do these things as a graduate student. This is easier/harder depending on your exact circumstances/stage of graduate career, but certainly doable. I recently graduated (with my PhD in mathematics), but in my graduate department on Friday nights a lot of us hung out at the grad student bar and then repaired to the department lounge to play boardgames often to the early hours of the morning. Some of us came in to work over the weekends, but not all of us. Anyway, even while physically in the department, we would visit each other's offices and goof off fairly regularly. Okay, for us goofing off also often involved talking about mathematics, so it wasn't entirely a waste of our time. In any case, chilling out and nice conversations with friends occurred throughout the workweek as well. In the first few years of graduate school, I did a really good job of eating right and reading and such, since my time was a lot more structured, and I was able to plan relatively well. Much of my department were regulars at the gym, and quite a few of us were spotted running on the jogging track (some of us were/are pretty good at this stuff: for example, [one of did quite well in the Houston marathon](http://news.rice.edu/2009/01/22/grad-student-is-top-local-finisher-in-houston-marathon/) and [a current student is doing some awesome Crossfit things these days](https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=778702422211725&pnref=story)). During major exams, or thesis-writing, or trying to get a paper out, these things got a bit harder of course. Aside from fitness, many of us did well with hobbies. Some of us were hardcore gamers – we even had an informal Magic the Gathering tournament periodically among the grad students; others enjoyed cooking – the rest of us enjoyed the food they would bring in to share; I enjoyed jigsaw puzzles – for a while we did jigsaws in my office, where others in the dept would drop by to puzzle for a bit when they needed a break from work; one of us was in a band, others in in/formal choirs and such; I and some others were involved to various extents in students organizations; and so on. Some number of us got married while in graduate school (not me personally), and one of the students in my cohort had a child as well. How did we do all this stuff? We had an advantage in being mathematics graduate students, since we are not tied to a lab as our counterparts in the rest of the STEM fields, and we had the advantage of being in a department with supportive faculty (who sometimes joined us for weekly boardgames and graduate student bar hangouts) and awesome fellow students. \n\nThe most important part of the above list though, were the **awesome fellow students**. I was in a small department, so it was natural for us all to hang out together, but perhaps you're in a large department where this is harder. Try to find some fun fellow students. They are possibly feeling much of the same things that you are, and if they are in your department they possibly share your interests. If you don't know too many people (if this is your first or second year in the program), organize something – a movie night at your home, a potluck, or a boardgame night. You might be surprised at how many of your fellow students also want to find someone to chill with. \n\nThe second most important thing is **time management** and **prioritization**. Figure out what's important to you, and then figure out a way to do it. You might have to be very disciplined and focused during the workday so you can run in the evenings, or play boardgames every weekend. But, if there's one thing I learned in grad school, it's that the number of hours you work is not as important as the quality of work you are getting done. You might end up spending less time overall on work, but if you're happier in general, you will probably do better work in the smaller amount of time. For example, I absolutely need some time every week that I can be at home by myself watching TV, probably with multiple cats napping on me. This might seem like wasted time to the outside observer, but really it's time that I need to recharge so that I can get actual work done at other times. That's just the way I work. \n\n> \n> I like my research, and I like my advisor, \n> \n> \n> \n\nThat's really great. I mean this sincerely. The opposite is sadly far too common. \n\n> \n> but I feel like I work a\n> lot harder than my friends in industry, and I'll be putting my life on\n> hold for at least the next two years, while I'm finishing classes and\n> qualifying exams. \n> \n> \n> \n\nWell, to be frank, it is possible that you are working harder than your contemporaries and that you are putting your life on hold, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing. \n\nLots of people have lots of life-changing stuff happen in their mid-20s. For example, it seemed to me for a while that everyone that I knew in my age group was getting engaged, married, or having kids. I decided to count in 2013 and here is what I found\n\n* 51 people I know got married i.e. about 1 wedding per week.\n* 31 people I know got engaged i.e. about 2.5 engagements per month.\n* 19 people I know had a baby i.e. about 1.5 babies per month.\n\n(The count is with multiplicity, that is, if two people I know independently get married, I counted two weddings. There were no twins/multiple births that I'm aware of.) That's pretty intense! \n\nThese are all cool people and I wish them all the luck, but I don't want to be getting married and having kids just because all my friends seem to be (I mean, what an odd story to tell your grandkids someday). \n\nAgain, yes a PhD is hard work, hard work that doesn't ever get compensated for in any 'real' way. But the point of the PhD is not some eventual reward, the point of the PhD is really just the process of the PhD. Most likely I will never make the same amount of money as my friends with MBAs; they will probably have fancier job titles than me, and depending on where we are in the world, they might get more respect and power as well. But (forgive me) a PhD craves not these things. If you want prestige, power and such things, a PhD is not the right way to go at all. \n\nIf you're getting a PhD chances are that you have somewhat different priorities than the average person (which is fine, just as the average person's goals are also just fine). My friends who are younger than me have much more seeming grown-up lives true, but they are on a different track than me, and it doesn't really make sense to compare. \n\n> \n> Frankly I don't feel like I can survive the next\n> year, and just the thought of staying here for the next few months\n> makes me depressed.\n> \n> \n> \n\nThis is concerning. Please consider talking to someone directly. It's great that you asked AC.SE this question, but we are after all strangers on the internet. Talk to someone you know and trust. Your university probably has a counseling center. Talk to your advisor/mentor. \n\nGraduate students are often discouraged and depressed (I was no exception, see [here](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/2219/how-should-i-deal-with-discouragement-as-a-graduate-student)), for example, see this [article](http://www.apa.org/gradpsych/2012/01/heal.aspx). The 'usual' discouragement often passes, but it is not uncommon for us to have undiagnosed mental/emotional health issues. A trained professional is a much better person to talk to about these things, and I hope you will consider doing so. \n\n> \n> The problem is if I wasn't a PhD student, I'd just be another fat ugly\n> loser with no social status, and nobody would love me or think I was\n> valuable. \n> \n> \n> \n\nThis seems very unlikely to me. From just this question itself I see that you enjoy reading, and playing boardgames and video games, and enjoy good food and hanging out with friends; from this I see that you have hobbies and interests, and enjoy people. You asked this question, from which I gather that you can be introspective and that you are giving actual sincere thought to what you want to do with your life. This is all from this one question. The poster of this question seems like an interesting person to me. \n\nSome of us are fat and some of us are less than conventionally attractive. Each of these things comes with barriers that one has to overcome. Conventionally attractive folks have their own set of hoops to jump through too. Yes, there do exist people in the world who think 'this person is overweight/stick-thin/different race than me/unattractive/the opposite gender/something else and therefore I do not value them', and those people can go f\\* themselves. There are enough of the rest of us too though. \n\n> \n> I wouldn't be taken as seriously when it came time to apply\n> for jobs, and people would think I was stupid or at least not any\n> better than someone with a bachelor's degree. \n> \n> \n> \n\nThat's kind of a judgmental statement about people with bachelor's degrees. Anyway, all of this depends on what kinds of jobs you're applying for. There are some jobs where having a PhD would actually hinder you (see [here](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11149/what-are-the-potential-pitfalls-of-having-a-phd)). \n\n> \n> At least now I can apply\n> for internships and get interviews. And because I am a PhD student at\n> a top school, people assume I'm smart, \n> \n> \n> \n\nThis is also a worrying statement. It's possible that I'm misinterpreting your statement, but in case I'm not, please look up [imposter syndrome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome), it's distressingly common in academia; in short, this is a phenomenon where despite much evidence to the contrary, someone is convinced that they do not deserve the success that they have achieved (also see this [question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11765/ive-somehow-convinced-everyone-that-im-actually-good-at-this-how-to-effect)).\n\n> \n> which also helps me find dates,\n> even though I'm obese, wear glasses, and dress poorly. \n> \n> \n> \n\nIf you think that wearing glasses is hurting your ability to date, you could wear contacts. Similarly you could try to dress better (I recommend the show 'What Not to Wear'), or try to lose weight. \n\n> \n> It puts me in a\n> different \"league\" and if I quit I'd have to go back to dating losers\n> who only want me because they can't find any other girlfriends.\n> \n> \n> \n\nThe people I know that are single do not all look alike, or dress alike, or all have poor vision. There isn't much that's common to them than the fact that they are single. You seem to be saying that if there were two individuals who were identical in every way except that one is in a PhD program that the grad student version would get more dates – I simply do not buy this. I might be willing to accept that this would be a true of a man, but I absolutely do not buy it for women. \n\nIf you think someone is dating you just because they can't find another girlfriend, please dump them. Similarly, if you think someone is dating you just because you are a PhD student, please dump them just as fast. \n\n> \n> Also if I quit my PhD, I would never be able to come back, \n> \n> \n> \n\nI know this guy who was a PhD student in my department (mathematics) in the 60s, didn't finish, left with his master's and was teaching in community college. He kept doing math on his own time though, and he came up with something cool, enough that a faculty member he had been in touch with got him back into our program and he eventually got his PhD in 2011. He is an inspiration. (See [here](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/24577/i-want-to-do-research-but-im-too-old-for-a-phd) for more such stories). So, yeah, I disagree with this statement. \n\n> \n> and what if\n> my new job ended up sucking, or I couldn't even get a job? \n> \n> \n> \n\nYeah, it's possible. But it's possible that you couldn't get a job with a PhD. Or that the earth is destroyed tomorrow to make way for an interstellar bypass. But worrying about this will not help us in any way. \n\n> \n> I do like\n> my work, and I'm glad I get to do such interesting stuff, I just wish\n> there was less of it.\n> \n> \n> \n\nYou know, reading your question, it really seems to me that it's not that there's too much work, but more that there isn't as much fun non-work in your life right now. I would really suggest trying to build a social circle among your fellow graduate students, not only for having people to do fun things with, but also for people in similar situations to talk to. I know that for me it was really helpful to talk to my fellow students about my doubts and concerns, because we were all in the same boat. It sounds like you are very concerned about dating, so for what it's worth, lots of graduate students I know dated other graduate students. \n\nWhile on the subject of dating, please consider whether you're giving too much thought to it. It is nice to have a partner that you can talk to, who will support you and care for you when needed, but finding such a person doesn't need to be take over your life. I strongly believe that successful relationships are composed of people that are also happy on their own and in their own skins. Perhaps it might be worthwhile to work on your own happiness for a while before seeking out a partner, particular since when having self-esteem concerns it is very easy to find oneself in abusive and/or unbalanced relationships. \n\nI would also recommend that you give some serious thought to what you value most in your life and what you want to do with it. What are you looking for? What is your dream job? It will probably help to talk to someone directly about such things too. You said that you like your advisor, so they might be a good person to talk to. Most of us that have been through graduate school have dealt with these things to some extent. \n\nDepending on this self-examination, you might decide that a PhD is not for you. **This is fine**. Or, you might decide to stick with it. **This is fine too**. With the caveat that you're doing it for the right reasons. Some of us hang on to PhD programs with this notion that 'quitting is bad'. That's a poor reason to stay in a PhD program. On the other hand, if you truly enjoy doing what you're doing, and you want to keep doing it for the rest of your life, that's a great reason to hang in there. If you want to stay in the program so that some hypothetical someone might deign to date you, that's a poor reason to stick around, and also such a person clearly isn't worth your time. \n\nGetting a PhD can be hard work, probably harder work than your contemporaries are doing in industry (I speculate, I've never had a job in the real world). It is rewarding in its own way though, to some people. This isn't a value judgment. Math makes me feel like a complete idiot almost all the time. The remaining 0.01% of the time is pretty good though, and that's enough for me. Mostly this makes me a masochist I think, but that works for me. But it makes perfect sense for it to not work for everyone, and honestly these other folks are probably better adjusted anyway. \n\nLastly, your last paragraph makes me think that you're worried that you're making irreversible decisions. You're not. If you choose to leave your PhD program now, you can still come back to get a PhD (probably somewhere else). If you started your PhD with the goal of being in the academic world, but decide later that you want to be in industry, you can still do that. If you want to start back from scratch and work in sociology (say), you can still do that too. These things might require some work, but they are all still possible. \n\nBest of luck in your decision-making! I'd like to reiterate, pretty much all of us wanted to quit at some point, and pretty much all of us wondered why we were doing it. You're not alone!"
},
{
"answer_id": 40080,
"author": "Dunk",
"author_id": 885,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/885",
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"text": "I would like to point out that 99% of the people out there don't give a darn about your being in a PhD program versus \"only\" having a bachelor's degree. The only people who care would be employer's looking for a PhD person to fill a specific position and snooty people like you are projecting yourself to be, by thinking that being in a PhD program actually gets people to like you more. At best, being in the PhD program might give you more confidence which is what attracts people.\n\nI will also point out that while you may believe you \"work a lot harder than your friends in industry\", I can guarantee you that you are almost certainly wrong in that regard. New grads tend to have to work their butts off to get noticed in their early years. They are making money, so they do have more opportunities to have fun experiences than a college student just scraping by, but that doesn't mean they have more time or are under less stress. But I suppose that also depends on the type of job and degree your friends have and their own ambition levels.\n\nWith regards to: \"I just want to....\" and not having time to do it has nothing to do with being in a PhD program. It is what happens when people transition from being a child with no responsibilities to anyone but their self to actually growing up and being a responsible adult where they not only have obligations to their self but to others also. If you think being in a PhD program leaves you no time for the fun stuff you like to do, wait until you get married and have children. You will long for all the free time you have right now in your PhD program.\n\nFinally, part of the reason people prefer to employ people with college degrees is not just because of the education. Many jobs that require a degree can be adequately learned and performed by someone without a degree. One of the key reasons that employers like people with a college degree is that it shows that the person is not a quitter. Almost everyone goes through a phase or phases in their college career where they just want to chuck it all in and quit. Many people do just that. However, those who persevere and finish their degree demonstrates a high degree of willpower and the ability to do what needs to be done whether they want to do it or not. Employers want that kind of person because there will be many times on the job where people will want to chuck it all in and quit. Employers want people who will persevere, not those who quit.\n\nI am of the opinion, you made a commitment to get a PhD. So get the PhD. Don't quit. Quitting easily becomes habit forming. I also think you are falling prey to the grass is greener syndrome."
},
{
"answer_id": 40082,
"author": "thomij",
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"text": "There is already a lot of good advice here, so I'll keep mine short.\n\nIt's hard to get into a PhD program, and it's easy to get out. You can quit any time, but it will be very hard to get back into a program if you change your mind later.\n\nIt sounds as though you like the work but you don't like the workload.\n\nInstead of just quitting, why not try dialing down your commitment just a little bit first?\n\nYou mentioned not being happy about your weight (I assume you are saying you are not happy, and not that you just think other people are not happy). Why don't you set aside some time each day, a half hour or so, and go for a walk? It will improve your health, might improve your self-image, and it will give you time to think. Think of it like a \"trial quitting.\"\n\nDuring that time, think about what you really want out of life, and whether a PhD will help you get there. Maybe you will decide that it won't, but then you will be making the decision from a calm, thoughtful place, and not from a feeling of being trapped.\n\nIf you think you might want the PhD, but that the effort to get it is too much, you should know that every PhD student goes through this (speaking for myself and the people I went to grad school with).\n\nThis might be hard to understand while you are in the middle of it, but the truth is that we tend to make things seem more important than they really are. We have high expectations for ourselves, and in a PhD program, it is easy to feed into other's expectations as well and make ourselves miserable. If you can reach an understanding that it is all just expectations - none of it is real - it might help you.\n\nMy other advice (after you take daily thinking walks for a week or so) is to talk to your advisor before you quit. He or she might have some ideas of ways that you can make the workload more manageable. Your advisor probably went through a similar crisis, and probably helped many of their former students go through them as well, and so they will probably also be able to give you some advice."
},
{
"answer_id": 40087,
"author": "Blaisorblade",
"author_id": 8966,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8966",
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"text": "> \n> The problem is if I wasn't a PhD student, I'd just be another fat ugly loser with no social status, and nobody would love me or think I was valuable. \n> \n> \n> \n\nThat's concerning in two ways.\n\n1. Proving you're cool to other people is often listed as a bad motivation for doing a PhD — it's not strong enough. Good motivations are closer to \"you care about your research\" --- and you do! And that's so great — so few people have that!\n2. Thinking of yourself as a loser is a negative attitude which is (to some extent) a self-fulfilling prophecy.\n\nIn fact, a PhD might be helpful to prove to yourself your worth. OTOH, you \"shouldn't\" need to get a PhD to prove to yourself you're worth. I would indeed seek psychological counsel. If you have a good advisor you might also talk to him/her - lots of PhD student have motivation crises.\n\n1. There are lots of reasons for low self-worth. One which also increases your workload *and* is probably common among PhD students is perfectionism --- \"maintaining standards that are unrealistically high and impossible to attain\".\n2. You might regret quitting, especially if that's just due to depression or something else.\n\nGenerally, if you enter a PhD, getting a PhD or not is not a question of ability/intelligence, but of motivation - it's not a battle against your topic, but against yourself.\n\n> \n> And because I am a PhD student at a top school, people assume I'm smart\n> \n> \n> \n\nWhat do **you** think? It sounds like you don't agree (you say \"assume\"). But you're at a top school, so you might be a victim of impostor syndrome (thinking others overestimated you). I think it's endemic between PhD students.\n\nAlso, BTW, if you're working a lot it's probably also because you're at a top school, and research is a career profession — a bit like running for an election, being a top manager, etc. None of those jobs are easy or would take less effort.\nFor me, realizing this was very scary, since I've avoided such jobs on purpose - but I decided to stick with it, and right now I'm happy I did."
},
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"answer_id": 40088,
"author": "ARM",
"author_id": 17859,
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"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "I want to just address one aspect of the question, which is:\n\n> \n> I just want to get married, and have weekends and evenings off, and chill out and play board games, and have nice conversations with friends, and have time to exercise and eat good food, and partake in hobbies, and read books and play computer games and watch movies and write a novel or two. Stuff I used to do as a kid, that I can't do as a grad student.\n> \n> \n> \n\nI did everything on this list on a regular basis while a PhD student in a top-level program. (Except for the married bit, I only did that once.) This is kind of piling on at this point, but if you are in a program in which you need to put in 80-hour work weeks to be successful, *you are in the wrong program.* There's always going to be other people who work insanely hard, but unless your entire life revolves around an all-encompassing need to be the best scientist of them all, you shouldn't. Work hard during the day, and at the end of it go home and have a life. \n\nEdit: Misread this the first time. I read tons of novels but wrote zero."
},
{
"answer_id": 40094,
"author": "benroth",
"author_id": 6043,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6043",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "I'm glad that I finished my PhD.\n\nWhy?\n\nBecause I had very similar thoughts as you describe them, and (after very hard struggles) managed to grow as a person.\n\nI now have a clearer view on my priorities, and I know where I don't compromise. I make the rules for my life now.\n\nCurrently I work as a postdoc and ultimately I determine my workload.\nI will not accept any workload that undermines my life quality.\nI now communicate this clearly and politely to the head of my lab.\nOn the other hand, I will spend a considerable amount of time to furthering my career, and will pursue the goals that I chose.\nI now communicate this clearly and in a friendly manner to my partner.\n\nThe point is that these are all subjective decisions, that know one can answer for me. Having been on the fringe of quitting the program, and going through a process of evaluating all my life decisions, has brought me into a very fortunate position, I find in retrospect."
},
{
"answer_id": 40286,
"author": "I Like to Code",
"author_id": 8802,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8802",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "To add to the excellent advice posted by many others,\nI just want to focus on one particular aspect of your post:\n\n> \n> The problem is if I wasn't a PhD student, I'd just be another fat ugly loser with no social status, and nobody would love me or think I was valuable...\n> I'm obese, wear glasses, and dress poorly.\n> \n> \n> \n\n**Question: Why do you feel like a fat loser?**\n\nI have felt like a loser at various points in my life.\nMostly, I feel this way when things are going badly\nand I feel that they are out of my control.\nIt seems to me that you feel that\nmany things in your life are out of your control.\nIn particular, your obesity seems to be\nan extremely discouraging situation.\n\nHow do you deal with things that seem out of control?\nI found the following so-called *Serenity Prayer* helpful:\n\n> \n> God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, \n> \n> The courage to change the things I can, \n> \n> And the wisdom to know the difference.\n> \n> \n> \n\nYou have to accept the things that you can't change—such as\nwho you are today,\nthe situation you are in—yet\nwork towards making it better.\n\nIn addition,\nI would strongly encourage you to find someone whom you can trust\nto talk regularly with;\nthis can be a friend / mentor / religious leader / counselor.\nWhen I was a PhD student and dealing with depression,\nit was extremely helpful to see a counselor about once a week.\nThis was a perk provided free-of-charge\nby the student health services at my university,\nand was conveniently located a short walk from my office.\n\nFinally, with regard to the issue of obesity,\nwhile I am not an expert in that area,\nI empathize with you because\nthis can be a very frustrating issue for many.\nIt is just so hard and discouraging.\nWorse still, there are so many different viewpoints\nabout what is the right types of foods to eat,\nfrom veganism to paleo to really crazy ones like the hCG diet (don't try it!).\nPersonally, I feel that the book\n[Why We Get Fat](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0307474259)\nby Gary Taubes\nseems to me to be the right scientifically based explanation\nas to why many people today in the US are fat.\nI would suggest that you do your own research\nto find out what is causing you to be obese,\nso that you can figure out what you want to do about it.\nBy doing this, you won't feel like you are a victim to your circumstances\nbut that you are able to overcome them.\nIf you can become a healthier person,\nthis would improve your self-image\nand your general sense of well-being.\n\nGood luck! Hang in there!"
},
{
"answer_id": 40318,
"author": "giaour",
"author_id": 7010,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7010",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "Is your ultimate life goal to be a tenured professor working 60-80 hours a week? If no, then you don't really gain anything by staying in your program.\n\nA lot of the answers provided imply that staying in your program should be the default option. I don't really know if that's how you should approach your decision because it really depends on whether you're committed to the academic life.\n\nThe fact that you were smart enough to both get into and do well in a top-tier PhD program and quit when you realized that path wasn't for you will signal to interviewers that you're intelligent and great at cost-benefit analyses, so I wouldn't worry about no longer being able to get interviews if I were you. All else being equal, I would hire someone who quit a PhD program over someone who stuck it out."
},
{
"answer_id": 40323,
"author": "einpoklum",
"author_id": 7319,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7319",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "There are quite a few very nice answers, so I'll just make a minor point.\n\nWhen I was in grad school, I also sometimes felt I'd fallen into this hole in which I have to work very hard and that if I fail and quit I'd be a disappointment and a failure. It's not the same as in your case but, well, similar. I also considered quitting, and was stuck with my research for long(ish) periods of time.\n\nThe reason I'm telling you this is not to moralize and say \"Ah, but I managed to pull through and so can you, don't worry be happy\". The point is that even after getting the PhD, occasionally in my life I've felt *the same way*, i.e. I was worried I'm going to end up as a big (non-fat) loser with a PhD, and that people mighty pity me for having let my academic training go to waste and not amounting to anything.\n\nWhich is to say, what you're feeling is not really about quitting or keeping up the Ph.D. at all.\n\nAnd of course: You're not a big fat loser damn it. I could find objective justification to this in your own question, but you really should think about positive things you've done and even if it's not convincing you emotionally, start by making a mental argument for your not really being a loser. Maybe just someone with supposedly-simplistic/childish desires? Probably even not that. Also, read about [Impostor Syndrome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome)."
}
] |
2015/02/17
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/39017",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29506/"
] |
39,022 |
As a young researcher, it is really interesting for me to gain knowledge in different topics related to my major. I attend many conferences and seminars in my field, I read papers and books which I find related to my major.
However, I sometimes find it disturbing to my research productivity when I read a book or two about one research field and then I find another interesting research paper and try to read some papers about that field of research.
I have the feeling that this changing of research path is disturbing my research productivity. Now, I have read so many papers and books in many branches of my field, but I have not gone in depth of any of them. Although I have good vision about the research fields I have studied, but I think that having no concentration on one or two research fields will be disturbing for me in long period of time.
Reading many books and papers in many fields gives me good vision about those fields, gives me ideas on some interesting research topics but also disturbs my concentration on one research field. I have the feeling that this is a good path for short period of time that I want to find my way; but in long term, I will miss my concentration on a research field.
* As a young researcher who is just trying to find his research path which I want to stay in, how should I make sure that this is the topic I want to do research in my whole academic life?
* How should I stop my interest to learn new topics disturb my research productivity in future?
* How should I overcome my desire to do research in many research fields and work on different research topics and stick to just one or two research fields and read papers and books only related to the research topic which I want to work on in long period of time?
The questions above are so close to each other and I think they can be answered under one question post.
|
[
{
"answer_id": 39025,
"author": "Piotr Migdal",
"author_id": 49,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/49",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "> \n> As a young researcher who is just trying to find his research path which I want to stay in, how should I make sure that this is the topic I want to do research in my whole academic life?\n> \n> \n> \n\nYou can't. The world will progress, funding will change and your interests are likely to *develop* as well.\n\n> \n> How should I stop my interest to learn new topics disturb my research productivity in future?\n> \n> \n> \n\nThere is inherent trade-off between focused work on a predefined topic and an open-ended mind-wandering. The current climate in academia seems to focus on productivity, which (in my opinion `*`) is not good for any non-incremental progress.\n\nBut as long as you find enough time to publish good papers, I wouldn't bother about not being focused enough (publishing requires you to focus, whether you like or not). \n\n> \n> How should I overcome my desire to do research in many research fields and work on different research topics and stick to just one or two research fields and read papers and books only related to the research topic which I want to work on in long period of time?\n> \n> \n> \n\nDon't take a narrow (and, I think, common) definition of productivity as sticking to a narrow field and never wandering around. If you read a *research-level book* on another field (not just - its first chapter) then it is not shallow.\n\n`*` Piotr Migdał, [There are no projects like side projects](http://crastina.se/theres-no-projects-like-side-projects/) (on Avboyn Uunstoin, Yohr Bilt and Jogg Xarsuck)"
},
{
"answer_id": 40047,
"author": "Johnathan Clayborn",
"author_id": 29299,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29299",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "As a social sciences researcher and PhD Candidate myself I very much enjoy reading about (and sometimes participating in) studies that are beyond my narrow scope of Ed Psych. The more I understand about *everything* the more I see how many different things are inter-related and I see connections to things that others who don't venture out as much miss out on. I don't think that there is such a thing as too much knowledge. I read almost everything I can get my hands on. Even though my focus is on how people learn, I follow neuroscience, media, technology, sociology, and even DNA and evolution research. Sometimes they uncover something that is not useful for them, but is insightful for me."
}
] |
2015/02/17
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/39022",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15723/"
] |
39,027 |
As I browse the Internet, I observe that a U.S. phd program may send its offers to the applicants at different time points.
However, does this difference imply the difference in favor? I mean, does getting an offer earlier imply getting a better offer?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 39030,
"author": "Marcus G",
"author_id": 29517,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29517",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Probably not. My institution has different sources of phd funding - for instance, from national bodies, overseas collaborations and agreements, internal scholarships in order to promote different initiatives (for instance we might have an agreement to fund 5 scholarships for students from Asia) etc. In addition, research projects might have PhD scholarships attached and these happen all the time. Therefore, we recruit new PhDs throughout the academic year. (and occasionally have new PhDs start outside of the standard start of the academic year)"
},
{
"answer_id": 40027,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "I'll assume you are talking about a department that admits students via a single admissions committee (rather than offers from individual professors or groups, in which case all bets are off regarding the timing).\n\nAs a general rule, getting an offer earlier is a sign that the committee is more interested, but that doesn't mean the actual offer will be better in any concrete sense. Often there will be a first wave of offers, which may be followed by additional offers depending on how many people seem likely to accept. Sometimes the further offers are explicitly described as a waiting list, but sometimes the only distinguishing factor is that they come later in time."
},
{
"answer_id": 40030,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "In general, most graduate departments have \"flat\" offerings to their incoming graduate students—everybody gets essentially the same level of financial support. There may be some differences based on the students' abilities to secure their own funding (for instance, a \"bonus\" or \"premium\" if they bring in an external fellowship). \n\nNow there are some cases where graduate students have special fellowships for outstanding graduate students, but these are often highly competitive and require an additional round of review before the awards are made. However, the one example I am aware of announced the decisions at the same time as the admissions decision itself. So, unless you've been told at the time of admission that something like this might be possible, I would assume that your offer is going to be essentially the same as all other graduate students coming in. The school likely just wants to move quickly to get a better chance at retaining students it thinks are especially qualified."
}
] |
2015/02/17
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/39027",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/18107/"
] |
40,036 |
I wish to know how the Graduate Admissions Committees for top Universities in the USA decide about awarding Teaching Assistantship to a prospective student. If one had preferred **both** 'RAship' and 'TAship' in his/her application, does that mean he/she must first be eliminated from the RAship race and then awarded TAship as a consolation?
Also, if being a Research Assistant requires a stellar undergraduate research record, publications and so on, what are the factors which would have been considered for awarding the Teaching Assistantship?
To be very specific, if the student is from a country like India or China, would his English-speaking skills and academic competence be re-reviewed?
If so, please help me understand how these two factors transform from mere selection criteria to those for awarding Financial Assistance.
The Universities, I received assistant-ship from are among the best in my field of interest in Computer Science. Also, their CS departments are known to be well-funded and generously award their students with assistant-ships and scholarships every year.
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40041,
"author": "user6726",
"author_id": 28972,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28972",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "In the US, TAships and RAships are generally assigned by the department. There may be a rule about first year students (ours was that 1st year students could not be assigned TAships). You should also not assume that the division is made by a committee. RAships can be grant-related, or funded by generic department funds. The PI would usually make the decision if a student is considered especially appropriate for the project (unless the PI has a lousy department that doesn't give him/her much autonomy). Depending on the level of democratic sentiment, either the chair decides on the allocation, an admissions / funding committee does, or the whole department faculty does. TAships are also subject to university rules, if any, or department policy, about language competence, so it may be impossible to grant an incoming student a TAship if their English isn't certified for oral proficiency.\n\nGenerally speaking, an RAship is better than a TAship from the student's perspective, but the department might either have a particular need for a TA (prehaps in a specific area) in that year, or it might be advantageous to have a year's teaching out of the way so that in your second year you can do something else. I would say that you should not over-interpret either outcome, if you checked the \"both\" box. \"Prefer\" means prefer."
},
{
"answer_id": 40054,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "Here's the way I read one STEM department in the US that I have some insight into, but I'm also reading this through third-party comments and the experience of a few students I know, so take it with a grain of salt. RAs go to professors who have grant funding or startup funding to support them. If a student is admittable, but no professor puts their hand up to say they want to support them on an RA, then they may or not be actually admitted depending on how many TA slots are available and how the committee feels about them otherwise. There may be a handful of department-level or privately-funded RA fellowships available for really great students. Some students may be admitted with no funding, though I think this is unlikely for students explicitly applying for PhDs (more below). \n\nI know of two separate cases where a student was rejected when no professor was willing to stick their hand up and offer them an RA during the committee meeting. In one of those cases, the student was admitted the subsequent year after publishing a few great papers and making a few contacts. The other student decided to do his PhD at another nearby school. I don't know what drives this difference between TA and RA admissions in this particular department, but it seemed clear that if you have someone who wants to work with you, you can surmount many admission obstacles, assuming they have funding. Not having a champion can also scuttle your chances. I think that some really top notch students must be \"claimed\" by professors based on their applications only, that is without prior contact with the prof, but I can't prove that and don't know how it works.\n\nMy strong impression, but more speculatively, is that some students are admitted to the master's program with no funding hoping to score a TAship along the way or impress a professor in one of their early courses and land an RA. After that, being admitted already, they will try to upgrade themselves to a PhD student along the way. I think a lot of the TA positions go to these students. This latter impression is based on the huge number of requests for RA positions I get in a non-academic research organization every year from MS students with no apparent funding. \n\nNow with all that being said, students coming to this department with master's degrees already in hand appear to be at a disadvantage unless they have very strong CVs or prior contact with a prof that wants to work with them. That was the case with the two students I mentioned before."
}
] |
2015/02/17
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40036",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/26638/"
] |
40,037 |
I am starting a PhD, and an interested in getting technical skills I will need over the next few years.
Are there any ethical issues with paying for people to help you to get these skills, assuming they are fully acknowledged?
From what I have read, I am working with the assumption that it is OK, as long as they are not "contributing to the research". However, this seems a bit fuzzy to me. Where does the boundary between the acceptable and unacceptable input lie?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40038,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "In principle, as long as you give credit where credit is due, and as long as you do a thesis worth of work yourself, there need not be any problem. A nice example: many large biosciences have lab-specific technicians or technicians in share core facilities who carry out routine work and protocols. The student may not be paying them directly, but they are paid to do things for the benefit of the student's work (e.g., mouse colony maintenance, routine DNA preparation, sequencing, etc.) that may end up contributing to a thesis.\n\nThe specific examples of work that you want to outsource, however, are rather concerning. If you are working on computer algorithms, then you should be comfortable with basic data analysis, plotting, and programming. If you aren't, and need a tutor to help get your skills up to speed, that's fine. If you're outsourcing simple but non-routine analyses that you should be doing yourself, however, it's likely to introduce serious problems because you will not be in a good position to debug the problems that *will* arise during analysis. Furthermore, as a prospective future employer, it would also make me very concerned about your competence in your area of study.\n\nIn short: tutoring and outsourcing routine tasks if fine; outsourcing your core work is not."
},
{
"answer_id": 40042,
"author": "enthu",
"author_id": 15723,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15723",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "As mentioned in [your comment](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40037/is-it-ok-to-get-external-help-during-your-phd-if-it-is-acknowledged?noredirect=1#comment87923_40037) you are planning to ask help on data analysis and programming.\n\nAs you are a PhD student, not a project manager; you should ask your PhD advisor whether those chores are your duties or not. I mean, it may be part of your duty as a PhD student to do data analysis and programming, so asking someone else to do it for you will not be a good idea.\n\nMay be your PhD advisor has another PhD student or postdoc in his laboratory or research group and he may ask that person to help or teach you the programming and data analysis methods. He may decide that person to collaborate and do some parts of data analysis/programming for your project. May be he is expecting you to do those duties as part of your PhD programme.\n\nPolicies on your program and project also play important role in answering your question. You should make sure whether you are allowed to ask somebody to enter your project (even for short periods) or not.\n\n> \n> Is it OK to get external help during your PhD if it is acknowledged?\n> \n> \n> \n\nMy answer to your question is, I cannot say whether it is OK or not. It depends on your PhD program, your university/research institute's policies and expectations of your PhD advisers from you.\n\nOf course, learning methods you need to do your project and asking somebody to teach these skills and methods to you is a good idea. You may ask someone to teach you programming or data analysis methods."
},
{
"answer_id": 40046,
"author": "Johnathan Clayborn",
"author_id": 29299,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29299",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "As a fellow PhD Candidate myself, here's something else to consider. In my field of study (social sciences) people often hire professional statisticians to run the analysis for their dissertations because they are \"people persons\" and don't like advanced math. They often want to go into counseling or something like that where knowing how to run a multinomial logistic regression isn't really useful for their day-to-day job. It's understood that this is a wide-spread practice. I, for one, enjoy research and I've made it a point to learn everything I can about the analysis for the simple fact that the analysis *will* be asked about during my oral defense. If I paid someone to \"run the numbers\" for me, would I be able to adequately explain what methods they used or what the results mean and why I came to those conclusions? I'd rather take the extra time and do it myself so that I understand every aspect of the analysis. I have seen several people bomb their defense for this reason."
},
{
"answer_id": 40052,
"author": "Nick Vence",
"author_id": 30542,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30542",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "If your PhD is in computer science or electrical engineering, it is expected that you can implement an algorithm in, say python or C++. Ask your advisor.\n\nOnce upon a time, a civil engineering, PhD student, friend told me he had discovered this approximation (optimizing a hill's shape/slope for erosion resistance). He asked me (a physics PhD) if I could help him justify the math in exchange for being the middle author. I agreed and spent 10s of hours learning about continuum mechanics, programming a boundary value problem, deriving math, and proofreading the draft. Everyone was very happy with the collaboration."
}
] |
2015/02/17
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40037",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30528/"
] |
40,043 |
I'm a PhD applicant. I recently got an offer from a school I will not be attending.
The Professor that I spoke to politely asked that, if possible, I give an answer as soon I know if I'm attending the university.
I've already determined that I won't be attending, as I'm deciding between a couple other offers that I like better. What's the best way to turn down the offer without explicitly mentioning where I'm going instead (since I don't know yet).
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40044,
"author": "ff524",
"author_id": 11365,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11365",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "> \n> Regretfully, I am declining your offer. Thank you very much for considering me for your program. \n> \n> \n> Best regards,\n> \n> \n> ThatGuy\n> \n> \n> \n\nYou don't have to say where you're going instead."
},
{
"answer_id": 40045,
"author": "Aru Ray",
"author_id": 948,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/948",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "Here is what I wrote back in the day (I make no claims about this being good): \n\n> \n> Thank you so much for offering me admission into your graduate\n> program. I was very impressed by [[University]] [[other details like\n> faculty/students I had talked to personally, etc.]] and so I had a\n> difficult decision to make regarding which graduate program to choose.\n> After a lot of careful thought, I have decided not to accept your\n> offer. I will mail the response form to you as soon as I can, but I\n> wanted to let you know my decision now, since it may affect applicants\n> on your wait list. [[Thank you so much again, etc.]].\n> \n> \n>"
}
] |
2015/02/17
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40043",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/19655/"
] |
40,055 |
I'm a law student acting as a teaching assistant/fellow for a tenured and notable law professor. Between last year when I took the course myself and now when I am a TA/TF, his mental acuity and health has declined significantly. He has essentially no short-term memory, tremors, and can't follow conversations. He rambles, mixes up classes and assignments, and even physically wanders off to look for things (not returning with anything...) in the middle of class.
The students know that something is wrong and often exchange looks when he loses the conversation or rambles. The faculty certainly does know. His assistant attempted to see someone in the administration for help but they brushed her off, and once the professor found out, he never forgave his assistant and there is a rift between them.
My heart breaks for him. He's had an excellent career and I don't want him to face this kind of humiliation. But at the same time, his condition is so poor that I had to teach the two-hour class today. He must know that something is wrong, too, because he will often make awkward jokes to cover memory lapses.
What can I do? He won't see a doctor. I am afraid of burning bridges with him by confronting him, since that's what happened to his assistant. I don't want to go behind his back to the administration for the same reason. I need his recommendation/reference for my career aspirations. His family is absent. I also worry that any intervention at this stage, in the middle of the semester, will only hurt his students.
Who, if anyone, in a school administration could I speak to about this? Is there someone who handles this sort of thing? Should I? Is it inappropriate for me to insert myself in someone's personal affairs like that?
**Update one year later:** posted as an answer [here](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/61374/79875).
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40056,
"author": "ff524",
"author_id": 11365,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11365",
"pm_score": 8,
"selected": true,
"text": "Let the department head know what you've observed. You can write an anonymous letter if you feel uncomfortable or are worried about burning bridges.\n\n(I've been in this situation, as a student. We - the students in the class - wrote a collective letter to the department head. He was able to arrange extra TA support for the professor for the rest of that semester. He also arranged things so that this professor had other duties in the department going forward, but no more teaching.)"
},
{
"answer_id": 40063,
"author": "Ander Biguri",
"author_id": 16023,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/16023",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "If nobody does anything about it, it will eventually blow up, but probably not in the nicest way.\n\nI had a similar experience with a professor that had a more than a small problem with alcohol. We were students, so we didn't want to risk our mark/course by going \"against\" him/her, so what we did was (as @ff524 suggested) to write some anonymous letters to the department. This lead to him/her going to seek help and everything got fixed in the end. \n\nIf nobody would had done this, it would probably have ended in some very unpleasant situation where the school probably would have been forced to fire him/her. Informing the school about the problem was definitely the best option for students, the school and him/herself.\n\nThis is just a personal experience in a bit different scenario, but I thought I may be helpful."
},
{
"answer_id": 40072,
"author": "Snezzy",
"author_id": 30567,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30567",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "There is a possibility that he has (as my late father had 15 years before his death) a mere circulatory impairment, and that a simple (well, somewhat routine) \"roto-rooter\" treatment (balloon angioplasty) in hospital will restore his acuity. My dad got his marbles back. So can your prof, if it's the same difficulty.\n\nGo to the Diap, and stress the importance of getting your dear professor to the doctor now, before it is too late."
},
{
"answer_id": 40073,
"author": "RoboKaren",
"author_id": 14885,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14885",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "It is very wrong to assume that the other members of the department or the administration do not know about this faculty member's condition. It's very likely that they knew about it previously and they know about it now. \n\nHowever, they are not at liberty to share the details about what they know about their colleague's health with you. This is both an issue of medical privacy as well as a human resources / personnel issue. They may be taking steps themselves to lessen his workload or to arrange a temporary medical leave -- but again, they may not or cannot share those details with you until they are officially public. And they may deeply care for their colleague and not want to publicly embarrass him by removing him from his post before they can arrange a phased retirement.\n\nSo when you speak to them, they may only be able to listen and not tell you what they know or what they are going to do. Which seems from the outside like they do not care, but it may be far from that in reality. \n\nNow they might not be aware of some of the impact that his recent decline has had in the classroom. It might be useful to write a private letter or to talk to your chair/dean/provost about how to mitigate the impact on other grad students. But making a big public fuss and public embarrassment might be exactly what the administration may be trying to prevent."
},
{
"answer_id": 40099,
"author": "zwol",
"author_id": 6209,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6209",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "If you think you can handle the extra work, you could speak privately to the professor yourself, and -- cautiously -- offer to take over the lectures for the rest of the term. He might be glad of a way to get out of this situation without losing face."
},
{
"answer_id": 40106,
"author": "Steven McCann",
"author_id": 30607,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30607",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "He could have early stage form of dementia such as alzheimer's. Addressing it earlier on is important as interventions can slow the progression of the illness. I think you should contact the department in some way to start forming some shared approach to assisting the professor. He will probably need to visit a neurologist.\n\nI'm currently working on a project researching those with Dementia, and its quite common for those with it to deny any problems. I have spoken with families who have and elder with dementia, and some of them haven't told the elder about the problem, as they thought it would be too much for them to bear. However, there are known treatment methods for dementia and it's important to get started sooner rather than later since in the case of dementia it's a progressive degenerative disease of the brain.\n\nNow I know there is no formal diagnosis, but there are groups like <https://www.dementiafriends.org.uk> which are a collective of people who share information on how to best deal with those suffering with dementia. If you reach out to them they may be of assistance also.\n\nBest of luck."
},
{
"answer_id": 40321,
"author": "einpoklum",
"author_id": 7319,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7319",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "First, a point of principle: It is your ethical responsibility as an academic and as a teacher to make sure the students do not experience a mis-taught course (or worse) due to this situation. So, you must do something and it's a matter of choosing tactics.\n\nSecond, a warning. Your Professor might get very angry at you if he does not agree he has a problem, but finds out you've gone round accusing him of being a nutty professor, so to speak :-( Do things to mitigate this risk.\n\nSome ideas (some complementary, some contradictory):\n\n* You wrote the other faculty \"MUST know\". Maybe that's true, maybe it isn't and you're just jumping to conclusions. Find out. Does he have friends among the faculty? Talk to his friends, tell them you're worried but you're embarrassed/afraid to talk to him directly since you don't want it interpreted the wrong way. They should at least be understanding and may well provide valuable insight/information. Hey, maybe they intend to do something themselves...\n* You wrote the family is \"absent\". Make them non-absent. Determine phone numbers (phone! not email!) and call them by order of proximity of relation. If you can't get a phone number, only email to say you have a delicate personal matter that worries you regarding Prof. Somebody, and that you very much ask that they agree to a phone conversation.\n* Try not to act alone. Are there other TAs? Try to coordinate actions with them. Do you have a faculty union? Coordinate with your union rep before going to management with this.\n* What about the students? If they've noticed, try having a discreet word with the relevant Student Union rep. Make him promise not to attribute any claims to you, but tell him you're concerned and if the students initiate some sort of a complaint, they will get non-confrontational backup from you (or others as well, if you're coordinated with others).\n* Try to ask/manipulate someone authoritative to be in the room when your Professor is having one of his spells."
},
{
"answer_id": 40348,
"author": "peterh",
"author_id": 10234,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10234",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "On my opinion, simply left it alone. I explain, why.\n\nI am sure, the administration of the university knows the situation much better as you would think. They also know, when and how to intervene. It is surely not the first similar situation which they need to handle, and don't forget: you only want to say him, what they already know. They have to solve the situation\n\n* Without humiliating,\n* finding a new successor,\n* and capable to make the switch with the smallest possible overhead.\n\nAnd, what if your Professor only needs to find a doctor who prescribes some pills for him. You simply *can't* do this to a people so much older as you.\n\nGoing to pension is seldom a funny thing for the profs, actually, not a funny thing for everybody.\n\nIncompetent professors are not a rare thing in the academic sphere, and most of them are *not* good-standing, but as you write, he is."
},
{
"answer_id": 61374,
"author": "Anonymous",
"author_id": 30545,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30545",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "It's been a year and I thought I should post a follow-up. I waited until the semester was over and then went to the administration, but was blown off. I even tried reaching out to his family, who didn't think there was a problem. Ultimately the issue came to a head without my involvement. He was so unable to teach that they took him off the teaching roster. Speaking engagements received very negative feedback, and ultimately there was no ignoring the issue anymore. He has since gotten medical attention and is no longer teaching, but the experience was as humiliating as I had feared it would be.\n\nIt's really a shame that it came to this, and ultimately none of my concern or help made a difference--it had to just blow up in his face. I am disappointed that the administration was too little and too late."
}
] |
2015/02/18
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40055",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30545/"
] |
40,057 |
I noticed some prominent academics omit where they got their undergraduate degrees from in a CV (I am sure it's not a case where they never earned an undergraduate degree at all; those people also exist).
My question: After earning a PhD degree, is it bad form to remove from your CV that you have also earned an undergraduate degree (possibly from a lower ranked place)?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40059,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "There are all sorts of CVs, ranging from complete CVs to abbreviated highlights. Job applications or promotion/tenure cases generally require complete CVs, but shorter versions can be useful for getting a quick overview in other circumstances. Senior faculty sometimes post short CVs on the web, to emphasize their best qualities (most famous papers, most prestigious prizes, etc.). For comparison, a complete CV could easily be twenty pages or more, which would be much more cumbersome. I would not recommend imitating this until your CV also becomes unmanageably long; otherwise, it can come across like unrealistic boasting: \"there are so many wonderful things I could tell you about myself that I wouldn't want to waste time on trivia like where I went to college.\" Of course it can sound like boasting for senior faculty as well, but so can posting a lengthy but complete CV (\"I bet the world is eager to read a list of every invited lecture I've given\"), so there's no really modest option there."
},
{
"answer_id": 40061,
"author": "Pete L. Clark",
"author_id": 938,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/938",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "> \n> My question: After earning a PhD degree, is it bad form to remove from your CV that you have also earned an undergraduate degree (possibly from a lower ranked place)?\n> \n> \n> \n\nYes, I think this is bad form in most circumstances. Your **curriculum vitae** is supposed to be a *comprehensive* description of your academic history. Technically speaking \"brief CVs\" are not really CVs at all. This is really a technicality, because by whatever name these \"like CV's but briefer\" documents are often used for various purposes, including posting on your website and for grant applications. In particular when you apply for an NSF grant you need to turn in a **biographical sketch**; unlike what you might expect this is not a brief vignette about your life story but is in fact a severely abbreviated CV, generally limited to two pages. What you put in this document is carefully prescribed by the NSF: your undergraduate education *is* one of the things they ask for. In general the length issue seems to me to be a red herring: how many undergraduate institutions will someone have? This information belongs on the first page of any CV; how many pages follow is less relevant.\n\nComing back to the general question, the purpose of a CV of whatever length is to describe your academic and professional history. Here are the two basic principles of (academic) CVs:\n\n(i) They should be honest and forthcoming. \n\n(ii) Subject to (i), they should paint the candidate in the best possible light.\n\nIf you don't include your undergraduate institution because you don't want people to know that information, then in my opinion you are violating (i). Someone who tries to hide such basic and innocuous information seems problematically unforthcoming by academic standards.\n\nThen there is (ii): if you omit mentioning your undergraduate institution from your CV, then a lot of people are going to suspect you're doing this for reasons other than the ranking of the institution. Things that I would think of:\n\n* Maybe you didn't get an undergraduate degree at all. (This is rare but could be a problem in some circumstances. Or maybe you claimed to have an undergraduate degree to get into a graduate program but actually didn't. (Again rare, but crazy things have happened!) Anyway, these are things that people don't need to be worrying about if it is not the case.\n* There is something fishy or problematic about your undergraduate education: e.g. maybe your degree got rescinded later. If you don't list the institution, then we cannot even in principle investigate, and that's a cause for concern.\n* Maybe you are trying to hide how long you spent in school or how long you spent out of it. Although (at least in the US) your age is really not our business, we are allowed to notice and take into account if you spent ten years out of school in between your undergraduate and graduate degrees. When I look at candidates' CVs, I calculate the number of years in between the undergraduate degree and the PhD. People who did their undergraduate degree a long time ago are (I think) more likely to either be a bit less committed than the norm *or* unusually mature, decisive and experienced (in other words, it's bimodal). I also largely subscribe to the \"real mastery takes ten years of hard work\" school of thought that has been espoused in various recent literature, so if I can see that someone is, say, only eight years past their enrollment in an undergraduate program then I expect them on the one hand to be a little green and on the other hand to still be on the rise. If you spent ten years in industry applying your undergraduate work, then the learning curve is different.\n\nFinally, let me say that even the premise of being embarrassed at having gone to a lower ranked undergraduate institution seems suspect to me. In the US, most people decide that they want an academic career years after they decide on their undergraduate institution, so having gone to an undistinguished undergrad institution is rather common even among top people. Moreover, most people view the undergraduate education as being distinctly \"negative time\". In other words, if I know that you got a PhD from a top place and then I learn that you went to a mediocre undergrad institution, then given where you are now learning about how far you've come makes you look if anything better, not worse. If you got your undergrad degree at Harvard or Princeton, probably some pretty good graduate program will take a chance on you even if you did not actually do all that well. However, if you go to Gonzaga University and then get admitted to a top program (I am not picking on Gonzaga but rather choosing a real life example of a high-flying collaborator of mine), then gosh: you really must be good."
},
{
"answer_id": 40084,
"author": "sevensevens",
"author_id": 14754,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14754",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Short answer - no.\n\n**The Pragmatic reason**\n\nAt any American university (and likely any decent university), they will check that you actually graduated with the degrees you list. A missing BS/BA will be found out in short order if you are hired.\n\n**The Academic reason**\n\nYour CV is suppose to be a complete list of your academic achievements - papers, talks, degrees, and the like. Its not meant to be brief. You should provide a complete list of your academic credentials including undergraduate studies."
}
] |
2015/02/18
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40057",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30546/"
] |
40,070 |
Several weeks after I received the recommendation from Professor M, he sent an email to me and asked me about the result of my application to a graduate school. He wants to know whether his recommendation is helpful and my application is accepted or not.
Although I have submitted my application and supporting documents to the graduate admissions, the deadline for the program I have applied for is on the 18th April.
The only message I received from the graduate school was that they had received my application. I have no idea whether my application is successful or not, but the email from professor M made me nervous.
I can see that there are a lot of professors here. I guessed that some of you had written recommendation letters for your students. I would love to know this:
>
> What were your reactions when you heard of your students telling you that their applications failed or your recommendation letters useless?
>
>
>
I feel scared when thinking of this situation.
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40071,
"author": "StrongBad",
"author_id": 929,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "You should not be nervous about the enquiry, he just wants to know the outcome. Many academics lose track of time and/or have unrealistic expectations about how fast things move. I would respond that you haven't heard anything yet, but will let him know, regardless of the outcome, when you hear.\n\nIf you get in, he will fell happy for you and if you don't get in he will feel a little sad for you. Even if you are unsuccessful, I would not tell a letter writer that the letter was \"useless\". The only case I might say something like that, and I would be much more positive about it, is if you chose not to use that individual as a reference. Something like: for that position, I was limited on the number of reference I could submit and I felt my other references were a better fit for the position."
},
{
"answer_id": 40074,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "\"Was my letter helpful?\" is really a pretty useless question: assuming that you used the letter, you'll never really know whether it helped or hurt, because the admissions committee should not ever give you that information. The professor is probably really just asking the second question twice with different word: did you get in?\n\nYou should not feel nervous about this. Instead, you should feel good, because it means the professor cares enough about you to follow up with you and to hope that you've gotten good news. Thank the professor for their interest, tell them the letter was helpful (after all, it helped you fulfill the requirements to apply), but that you don't yet have any news because of the late deadline of this particular program."
}
] |
2015/02/18
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40070",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27408/"
] |
40,079 |
Is it permitted in UK academia to have more than one Research Associate post which totals greater than 1.0 FTE? \*. What's the general opinion if no definitive answer is possible.
Obviously 2.0 FTE would be a stretch, but I was thinking more along the lines of 1.2 FTE or 1.3 FTE.
* FTE = full-time employment.
|
[
{
"answer_id": 41037,
"author": "gdp",
"author_id": 31290,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31290",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": true,
"text": "Generally in UK academic institutions, you are paid based on your \"grade\" on the pay scale (for posts up to but not including professor). If you were asking if you would receive more than 1.0 FTE in pay, I believe the answer is no, as you would no longer be on the regular scale. Your pay is based on your post, and the research funding would contribute to the University's costs and overheads, as well as your pay. The HR office would not let you be paid more than you should receive according to their calculations.\n\nIf you mean holding more than one Research Associate post, while still receiving the same pay, this depends on your institution. I have many colleagues working on multiple projects simultaneously. They're putting in more than 1.0 FTE of effort. As to their official FTE, I believe thy are officially 1.0 FTE, and they are a Research Associate \"for\" a given member of staff. Their time is then \"unofficially\" (for want of a better term) split between multiple projects. \n\nI am sure this will vary between funding sources and institutions, as to what is tolerated/the norm. In this case I reference, however, this is not a case of holding multiple RA posts; rather holding a single post, which works on multiple projects. Since their post is not tied strictly to a single project, the FTE is perhaps not the best metric to gauge them by."
},
{
"answer_id": 81273,
"author": "John Doe",
"author_id": 66082,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/66082",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "It seems quite common at UK institutions to offer a 20% FTE position to non-UK academics to beef up the REF return. These people have at last 1.2 FTE employment, and possibly have more positions.\n\nWhen academics are evaluating or reviewing for funding agencies (e.g. European Commission) or engage in external examination duties, they also have a (limited time) contract with other employers taking them over 1 FTE. This is often explicitly allowed in the employment T & Cs, as activities comprised within the university's core business."
}
] |
2015/02/18
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40079",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
] |
40,081 |
I'm currently a 20 year old undergrad studying CS at a reputed institute in my city. I'm one of the very few from my batch who's interested in studying theoretical CS and mathematics (about 10 students from a batch of 200) and want to pursue research as a career.
Thing is, out of these 10 students, I'm the dumbest. I score the least in a graph theory exam, I cannot come up with creative solutions to problems in complexity theory as quick as they can (sometimes I keep on thinking for days, if not weeks, and still cannot come up with anything useful), I'm the student who the professor looks at and wonders: *why are they here?* To be very honest, I don't really like programming or web development. I like to spend time thinking about stuff, solving problems by hand, and learning fascinating things in logic and modern algebra. I'm weak at exams, true, but then I'm mostly clueless and disinterested in web development classes, where I can score easily but not learn something that I couldn't have learnt by watching tutorials on the Internet. I'm obviously looked down by my peers, too; and my grades are, well... not too great. In my current semester, I'm studying four theory courses (Complexity Theory, Graph Theory, Abstract Algebra and Cryptography) and one introductory CS security course. I'm going through the most difficult time of my academic curriculum so far; getting around 3-4 hours of sleep every day, with most of my day spent in attending classes and solving assignments. I'd like to drop a course from my current roster, but I'm afraid that since that'd show up in my transcript after I graduate, it might ruin my chances of getting into a respected grad school or landing a job.
I was recently diagnosed with manic depression, and while there are a few personal problems I have (premature balding, asocial lifestyle etc.) that might have caused that, some amount of the aforementioned issue might have also contributed to the cause. Anyway, I'm not asking for any consolation.
What I'm asking is: if anyone who's been through similar experiences while pursuing academia, how did you cope up? Even if you weren't like me (chances are pretty high that you weren't like me, CS theory/Math students are usually very intelligent), what do you advice? Should I stop studying theoretical CS due to my frequent failures? I mean, I don't believe in that kind of stuff, but usually if you fail too much at a certain thing, maybe that's some sort of sign or something? I don't really have a lot of friends, and no one from my family has received as much education as I have (so far), so I don't really have anyone I can ask for advice.
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40083,
"author": "afaust",
"author_id": 21371,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/21371",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "First, slow != dumb (your words). In fact, these are two completely different cognitive processes. WISC, a widely used IQ test, measures IQ as a composite of four scores. Two of them are working memory and processing speed, which is your general ability to quickly solve problems. Another two scores are Verbal Comprehension index and Perceptual Reasoning Index, which measure loosely your problem solving skills and pattern recognition. Many score high on one, and not the other. \n\nSome problems are hard, and it is very difficult to learn how to solve them. But, after solving (or understanding solutions to) many, many of them, you develop the feel how to approach a new problem. If you are passionate about the field, so much so that you have enough discipline to practice and work hard day after day, the results will come. \n\nLast, take care of yourself. And you might want to read up on imposter syndrome, <https://counseling.caltech.edu/general/InfoandResources/Impostor> . A very common occurrence in academia, it is a mindset where people downplay their own successes, focus only on their struggle, fail to see others' struggles. For example, just from your post: you are more educated that the rest of your family, you have been admitted to a top school, are eager to tackle some of the most difficult problems, and have a very heavy class load. These are your successes. Give yourself credit for it. Focus on the struggle: you tend to call yourself names, and over-generalize several setbacks (bad grades), while seeing others in glorified way. A more constructive would be to look for a solution for your current struggle that takes an advantage of your strengths: maybe dropping a class, if you can, to give yourself more in-depth studying time."
},
{
"answer_id": 40096,
"author": "Carlos Bribiescas",
"author_id": 23569,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/23569",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "Having taken the courses you mentioned in college, you feel about how I would expect someone to feel in your position. If you feel you're overwhelmed its because for your workload you can easily be overwhelmed. I agree with @Davidmh and @afaust on their points. \n\nAlso remember you're comparing yourself against 10 other students (who i assume) have similar interests. If you were all equal, you might expect yourself to get the best/right answer 10% of the time. So it would feel as though everyone else is always doing something better than you. The only objective measure i see in your post is that you got the lowest score on **a** test. Everything else is just feelings.\n\nAlso, think about the pool you're in. Say the baseline for your opinion of yourself was high school. You went to a college where the bar for average people was raised. Then you went on to a program that sounds similar to mine so I assume the average raised more. Now you're taking courses that are again challenging courses so the average raises more. Judging by where you are now, I suspect you were at the top in high school and now see yourself as failing because you aren't 'the best.'\n\nIf you can't cope with the fact that you're competing with more and more qualified people, you need to dial it back a bit and get to point where you're feeling good again. Other people may downvote this, but you should drop a course, get some sleep, and get your bearings. Try the course next time its available."
},
{
"answer_id": 40100,
"author": "kronos",
"author_id": 30600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30600",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "A person says s/he is diagnosed with manic depression and there are a lot of very important details that might drive to a very unhappy state of mind. But the advice is to get some sleep and *don't force yourself too much, be nice to yourself, you are beautiful*. \n\nUsing these examples, I can tell you my own experience in academia (with a phd, did some post-doc bla bla) I had the same pace like you but my story ended up not so bitter as you might anticipate however ridiculously difficult in the making. I'm now kind of known internationally in some small circle and it came much after the time I was struggling desperately inside academia so I don't care now but once in a while I review a few papers for the fun of it. \n\nThis pattern probably going to be like this. While it might seem very attractive as you can get away with minimum human contact and sticking to your own imaginary world and enjoying algebraic constructions, academia unfortunately gets more and more socially demanding and on a subjective note with very unpleasant pretentious geniuses around you. After some masters or phd you will find yourself *OK, what now?* and then people will start saying *well you should have done some networking too*, or better *talk to that department head, this professor* and suddenly you would find yourself in a self-pitching game. Well the idea was to avoid that stuff WTF? Then your options would be much fewer than now. \n\nAlso it gets more and more demanding in terms of non-research like stuff, grants or teaching or this paper form, that email etc. So the initial kick that almost you get from other substances wears off very quickly. The internet is filled with grad student stories and most of them are not dealing with half of your challenges and still having those hard times. Do the math(excuse the pun). \n\nSo this utopia of *oh maybe you would do amazing things* is nothing more than *buy a ticket, you might win the lottery*. You don't even know what you might be working on. And that is the danger. You like the idea of research but you don't even know if you would like the topic or not. Imagine the frustration now and fold it many times if you get stuck in a topic that you don't like. On top of all those \"succesful\" people stress, you would be extra depressed that you don't want to work on bla bla. \n\nMy strong recommendation is that don't see research as a place where people let each other alone and it is relatively peaceful for introverts. It is definitely not. And if you can try to comfort yourself and achieve smaller things, having smaller steps and most importantly if you can keep yourself happier bit by bit, two steps forward a few back, 5-2+3-6+2+1-7 ... you get the idea, keeping the total a bit on the positive side then you don't need this stuff. You can think about stuff outside academia anyways. You can even make money as analyst or some other thing that you can utilize your analytical skills. \n\nLastly, instead of hanging out with the academia, you can use your thinking skill to create something that **might** lead to a path that you can walk on. Not some grad student's errands. And don't underestimate those Web development stuff. you sound like an academician already. Watch those youtube videos and try to do them then complain about triviality.\n\nYou'll see pretty clever stuff also in those things. Clever people are everywhere and even better; math people are still people. Open any bell curve look at it carefully. That small percent that on the right side still denotes the intelligent people. I've seen some math people in quite good institutions whose IQ might be somewhere between a paper weight and a toaster. They know the lingo for sure but what they do with that information is still the same. \n\nIf you find out that you get your kick out of a specific topic then consider academia and find out if there is a demand for it. Otherwise do it outside academia. There are more people like you out there than inside the academia. I think this would make a nice problem for you about the distribution of the risk and your chances."
},
{
"answer_id": 40117,
"author": "Sumyrda - remember Monica",
"author_id": 13138,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13138",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "First: I wholeheartedly agree with the answers by Davidmh, afaust and Comlus Brebuewcar.\n\nSince your title asks about handling peers and your questions included \"How do you cope?\", I want to answer that aspect:\n\nDon't see the others only as rivals. They are your peers and you are in this together. Think about joining/forming a study group.\n\nI'm socially shy and a bit awkward, but my first year professors got me into the habit of looking for or forming study groups and whether I was the fastest or slowest student in my study group I always profited a lot by seeing other people's approaches, by learning to explain my reasoning and by having others help me stay focused.\n\nI participated in study groups of 2 to 4 students for many but not all of my classes, and having a study group was a real bonus every time.\nI did some classes solo and did well, but the material of classes I took with a study group came so much easier to me that I really can't recommend it enough.\n\nOne thing to keep in mind when doing study groups: Besides any questions you might have from the lecture, do discuss (and maybe solve) homework problems until you're satisfied that everybody understood enough to write a solution, but never let anybody take home any homework solutions from the study group - if you can, meet in an empty classroom, use the board, and erase when you're done. The purpose of the study group is to work on an understanding of how to do the problems but the actual doing has to be done by each student on their own, in order to get the practice in and also to avoid plagiarism issues."
},
{
"answer_id": 75696,
"author": "Inquisitive",
"author_id": 27985,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27985",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "One thing that impresses me about you, based upon what you've written, is that you seem to be able to handle more adversity than the average person. Unfortunately, you don't realize it. There are several very basic things that you should probably focus intensely on:\n\n* Stop knocking yourself because you are obviously stronger than you think. When you berate yourself, you are wasting time and being counterproductive.\n* Spend some quick and intense effort thinking about what kind of occupation you'd like. Spend some time looking at this [resource](http://www.bls.gov/ooh/).\n* Realize that you might very well be a \"deep thinker\". You reject easier, more superficial solutions quickly because you want to find the BEST solution. Many times, if not most times, \"creative\" solutions are in the eye of the beholder.\n\nI think you have a lot more going for you than you realize. Sit back and, logically and objectively, analyze your situation."
}
] |
2015/02/18
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40081",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30578/"
] |
40,085 |
Do all schools have candidates at tenure-track campus interviews meet extensively with faculty members and administrators one-on-one? Are there schools where it is customary to devote a campus visit primarily to group interviews (faculty and students), job talk and/or sample class, tours of the facilities, and meals (with faculty)? Basically, does such a schedule signal lack of interest or is that the usual in some places?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40086,
"author": "Nate Eldredge",
"author_id": 1010,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1010",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Whatever the schedule is, it's almost certainly identical for all candidates. You can't deduce anything about the school's interest from the schedule.\n\nThe way my department does tenure-track interviews, the only one-on-one meetings are with the department chair and the dean. Other than that, there are, as in your description, group interviews with faculty and students, a research talk, a sample class, and meals with a group of faculty. The schedule doesn't include one-on-one meetings with individual faculty. And this is the same for all candidates. \n\n(This is a mathematical sciences department at a medium-sized public university in the US.)"
},
{
"answer_id": 40092,
"author": "user6726",
"author_id": 28972,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28972",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "Also take into consideration their overall interviewing load. If it is a large department and they are interviewing many candidates for a position or especially have many positions to fill, it may be extremely difficult to manage 1-on-1 interviews and keep everybody's sanity."
},
{
"answer_id": 40126,
"author": "StrongBad",
"author_id": 929,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "While a lack of scheduled 1-on-1 interviews could indicate a lack of interest, it generally is just a function of how the search, and possibly other searches, is being run. For example, my current department does not use 1-on-1 interviews as part of the formal hiring process since HR mandates that the same formal process is used for all campus visits. We have to ask identical questions to all the candidates at the panel interview. That said, almost every candidate we interview, and from what I remember every candidate we have hired, has asked to meet with a small number of faculty members (generally within our department, but sometimes outside our department) individually. If the visit does not include meetings with the people you would be interested in collaborating/interacting with, then you need to ask the search committee to arrange meetings."
}
] |
2015/02/18
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40085",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30586/"
] |
40,097 |
Which free online academic plagiarism checker is closest to Turnitin by quality standard of rigour?
*Turnitin* features that even somebody plagiarize the context of a passage by use synonyms or simply rephrase the sentence, it is still able to catch the student cheating...
Please notice that *Turnitin* is not free and some of free software are not rigorous enough or even people called it a joke!
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40118,
"author": "Mathieu K.",
"author_id": 29055,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29055",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "I suspect that given the breadth of material that can be plagiarized (not all of which material is available for free), a free option of the same calibre as paid options will never exist.\n\nI have not got the personal expertise required to give you a product comparison. If you're looking for a free product, I'd suggest making your own sample text and using it to test all the free ones. For a list of what's available, I like to use Google's Similar feature, which is hidden behind that little green down-arrow next to the green URL in search results, and which gives something like this: <http://www.google.ca/search?q=related:turnitin.com>"
},
{
"answer_id": 40122,
"author": "FraEnrico",
"author_id": 27499,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27499",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "I never tried any software thoroughly enough. If you google your question, you can find a lot of solutions, and it's just a matter of contacting the vendors and benchmark the different options. \n\nThe question you must ask is: what are the sources against which the system makes a comparison? If you only look for free sources, your possibility of finding similarities are limited. If your system matches also the high amount of academic literature hosted by publishers, the odds to find a match are higher. But since the highest amount of academic literature is accessible only via paid subscription, your anti-plagiarism system has to make some sort of agreement with the publishers.\n\nSo bottom line is: the best software is the one which searches through the highest number of resources. If a product is only limited to what is freely available on the web, it is very short-breathed."
},
{
"answer_id": 40136,
"author": "earthling",
"author_id": 2692,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2692",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "I have recently (2 year ago) done a fairly thorough search for good, free alternatives to TurnItIn. My motivation was that my school did not use TurnItIn but that does not stop me from caring about my students' work. In the end, **I found all of them (and there are many) are simply terrible in comparison to TurnItIn.**\n\nI've been using TurnItIn for 2 years now and I find it quite solid (of course there are things I would change but the basic functionality works well). The system has flaws but as I see, they maintain it and when a vulnerability is found (allowing a student to game the system), they generally fix it.\n\nAdd to this the fact that most often (my) students copy from previous students, searching freely available online sources will not do a proper job.\n\nTurnItIn has a bit of a natural monopoly so it seems unlikely that any free alternative will ever gain much market share, meaning they will not have the papers to check leading to a vicious circle.\n\nI see you are a high school student which makes me wonder why you want to know. Without knowing your true intention, I'm afraid my answer will be less useful to you.\n\nIf your purpose is to recommend a system for your school, they need TurnItIn. If your purpose is to check your own papers, you should use TurnItIn's student version (I know, it's not free)."
}
] |
2015/02/19
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40097",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1391/"
] |
40,098 |
The situation I have in mind is concerned with teaching introductory probability and statistics to business students, and there may be similar situations in other fields. Because of the risks associated to cheating in exams where computers are allowed, exams are restricted to basic hand-held calculators and datasets are consequently very small : compute mean and standard deviation for less than 10 data points, etc. As the material gets more complex (regression analysis) the sole option is to ask about analysis of printed computer output.
As a consequence, a lot of time is spent both in class and in student study time on learning such useless skills as computing standard deviations with a calculator (even I get it wrong half the time). This in turn leaves less time to teach what actually is useful : doing basic analysis with the computer (Excel, to start with). Another consequence is that it turns the students off any interest for the material as they understand that what is taught in class has little relevance for practice.
In short:
* time is wasted on outdated methods
* useful skills remain untested and mostly unlearned
* relevance is lost (course is "boring")
I would rather avoid complex, time-consuming and costly methods of computer surveillance. Blocking wifi (jamming) internet access during exams is not an option due to local legislation and there is no access to a lab (students have to have their own laptops). Having the students use their computers as cheat-sheets is less of a concern.
So my question is: how can I improve the situation?
The main objective is to bring in more computer-assisted skills while limiting the opportunities for cheating.
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40101,
"author": "user141592",
"author_id": 27327,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27327",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "My undergraduate multivariable statistics class was designed like this: there were 5 larger computer labs, where we got to analyse large amounts of data using various computer programmes to try to answer some questions. We found out in advance that there were 15 sets of data, and 5 versions of the questions, so everyone had a different assignment. These labs were used to check our computer skills. \n\nDuring the final exam, we were tested on theory: proofs, deriving formulas, explaining which statistical test we would use for some hypothetical situation, and one question on interpreting the output from the statistics programme (MINITAB) that we used the most. This way, we were tested on the computer skills in a setting that was very similar to how we might use them in our working life, and the exam was pure theory: I never even opened my calculator during the final exam. Giving us different data sets, as well as requiring a full lab report analysing the output ensured that we actually understood what was going on with the computer and made it very difficult to cheat."
},
{
"answer_id": 40102,
"author": "Nate Eldredge",
"author_id": 1010,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1010",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "A common approach (not useful in your specific case, but I'll leave it in case it is useful to others) is to hold the exam in a university computer lab, where you control the hardware and software on all the computers. With the cooperation of your IT staff, you can install all the software they need, and then do some of the following:\n\n* disconnect the computers from the Internet (by disabling the connection in software, or physically pulling plugs)\n* install selecting Internet-blocking software\n* install keyloggers or similar tools, whose logs you can use as evidence if there is any misbehavior\n* walk around and watch what students are doing - so that they aren't opening administrative tools, rebooting from USB drives, searching the Internet with their phones, etc.\n\n(I presume the \"local legislation\" says that you can't use RF jamming to prevent students from getting wireless Internet access on their own devices. But surely you can block Internet access from university-owned devices; there can't possibly be a law against that.)\n\nYou've added the information that your university doesn't have computer labs; students have their own laptops. I believe there is such a thing as blocking software that can restrict access to the Internet, other applications, etc. You could require that students temporarily install such software on their laptops. This is kind of obnoxious, especially for students using alternate operating systems or other unusual setups, and it won't stop a determined student (who could, for instance, set up their laptop so that the software appears to install but doesn't actually block anything), but it may be worth considering."
},
{
"answer_id": 40120,
"author": "Jessica B",
"author_id": 20036,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/20036",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "I don't know if they could be set up for suitable questions, but some automatic assessment programs can be set up for 'proctored exams', where the students can't leave the browser while still taking the test. I've not used this myself, but I've seen the options available."
},
{
"answer_id": 40121,
"author": "MathAndCo",
"author_id": 28473,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28473",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Maybe the right approach here is to have a smaller exam mainly on the rest of the material (is there any?) and also a big home project / assignment."
},
{
"answer_id": 40125,
"author": "icedtrees",
"author_id": 30608,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30608",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "Not having a university computer lab is absolutely painful. However, you can improve the situation:\n\n* Make computer-assisted assignments for the relevant section. Ideally you would have an original, challenging assignment which is difficult to complete even with the internet available, and where Googling the answer is not of use.\n* If conducting an exam, put a perceptive tech-familiar exam supervisor in the same room to make sure the students are not cheating.\n* Ask students to turn off mobile phones and other electronic devices in the exam room\n* In the exam, assess computer skills in a written form: \"What would you do in this situation?\" \"How would you solve X with Y program?\" \"What does A function do in B program?\"\n* Allow the students internet access! You mention 'skills that would be useful in practice'. In practice, you do have internet access, and it's useful to learn to use it well! (Keep in mind you will have to monitor them to stop them communicating with other people.)"
},
{
"answer_id": 40129,
"author": "Neil Strickland",
"author_id": 12638,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12638",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "You could try a written exam with questions like this:\n\nHere is a description of an experiment. The experimenters gathered 10000 data points and analysed them using R. Here is a printout of the R session.\n\n* Describe in words the tests that were carried out.\n* Which of these tests were appropriate to this situation, and which were misguided?\n* The experimenters carried out a foobar test with these parameters, and then changed their mind and used those parameters instead. Which was correct?\n* Can we conclude XYZ? Does it make a difference whether XYZ was specified as a hypothesis before the experiment?"
},
{
"answer_id": 40142,
"author": "semi-extrinsic",
"author_id": 27555,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27555",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "You could actually do this with the student's own laptops if you are willing to do the following:\n\n* Have the students use < name\\_of\\_statistical\\_software > in Linux on the exam. Assumes that this software runs on Linux. In this case you should have them use it in Linux also during the semester, so they are familiar with it.\n* Buy one 8GB memory stick for each student (plus a few spares).\n* Have someone in your IT department roll a Ubuntu (or whatever you like) live USB image that has all networking support removed.\n* Hand out these USB sticks a few minutes before the start of the exam.\n* Make sure that everyone's laptops can run said live USB image, and provide a few (probably 5-10 depending on class size) university laptops for those students who have laptops incompatible with your live USB image.\n\n**Bonus**: not only can you deny them internet access, you can also deny them access to the hard drive of their computers during the exam, if the live USB image is setup to require a root password (which they don't have) for mounting hard drives.\n\n**Second bonus**: this way their computer will be back to normal as soon as they reboot the computer and remove the USB stick."
}
] |
2015/02/19
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40098",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10318/"
] |
40,107 |
I just noticed that most of the research papers published (in the engineering faculty) are formatted such that each page contains two columns worth of information, side by side, for example:
If I were to write a research paper, then each page would only contain one column of material.
Furthermore, some material (such as the abstract) can occupy both sides at the same time. This is impossible to do using Word document.
Can someone enlighten me as to what type of formatting is used to produce this effect? Is there a standard template?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40110,
"author": "Andrés Marafioti",
"author_id": 24429,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/24429",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Most journals offer format guidelines. They tend to also give away some LaTex code in order for you to stay in the norm. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America offers [this template](http://jasa.peerx-press.org/html/jasa/Using_LaTeX_for_JASA.html). That should do it for the 2 columns you are looking for."
},
{
"answer_id": 40115,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "The examples that you show look like quite similar to either typical [IEEE paper formats](http://www.ieee.org/publications_standards/publications/authors/author_templates.html) or [ACM paper formats](http://www.acm.org/sigs/publications/proceedings-templates). Engineering conferences and journals tend to use this type of extremely dense format, and often provide templates (like those linked above) in both LaTeX and Word. \n\nYes, you can do these things in Word, especially following a provided template, but you probably should not: LaTeX is very widely used in the scientific world because it is much better at precisely typesetting scientific papers, especially mathematical equations. LaTeX is also much easier to do collaborative writing with, since its textual format is well-suited for diffs and merges with version control software. If you contemplate a career in engineering or mathematical research, you are well advised to invest a little bit of time in learning LaTeX, as it will make many things in your life much easier. Life sciences, on the other hand, tend to leave all of the formatting to the journal and submit everything in arbitrarily formatted Word."
},
{
"answer_id": 40116,
"author": "Mathieu K.",
"author_id": 29055,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29055",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "See other answers/comments for info on LaTeX, which is much better than Word at typesetting, but which I haven't used myself, except for the occasional mathematical or chemical formula. (Edit: In fairness, I have never submitted a paper for publication, as I've never done research at the graduate level.)\n\nIn a more basic word processor (like Word, OpenOffice, etc.), you can **select a portion of text** (by dragging the cursor over it) and \n\n* choose to **format it in two columns**, as in the body of the paper, **or**\n* introduce **additional indents**, as in the abstract."
},
{
"answer_id": 40135,
"author": "Peter Jansson",
"author_id": 4394,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4394",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "Your question is actually two. How are articles typeset and what can be used to type set articles.\n\nTo answer the second, how you can accomplish this, there are three basic choices (1) a word processor such as Word or , for example the word processor in Openoffice, (2) (La)TeX, both suggested by others and (3) a typesetting software such as InDesign, Quark Xpress, Scribus or Publisher. Out of these choice (1) is the weakest and (2) and (3) provides much better control on the final product. There are freeware options in all three categories with LaTeX being the only free core. Option (3) is constructed for very flexible design and is used throughout the graphics industry for typesetting. LaTeX has huge advantages to automate advanced type setting and also handle both long complicated documents as well as documents with common elements such as scientific articles. Option (1) is perhaps the easiest to start using but is not intended for advanced typesetting such as for example in academia.\n\nTo the first question, how are research papers typeset? Many, if not most, journal publishers use LaTeX to set articles. In fields where equations and specific scientific notation is frequent, it will be used almost exclusively. I doubt many prominent journals would use word to typeset their final product but many probably use different forms of specific typesetting software.\n\nThe choice of typesetting method is, however, not necessarily coupled to how the author needs to format their manuscripts. A journal typesetting in LaTeX can easily accept word files. Remember that a manuscript is rarely provided in the final layout of the journal, the layout is something the journal does in the end. I know journals have provided cuts in pricing for those who provide type set articles after review but for manuscripts a single column wider line spacing text is all that is required. This means that the choice of format for the manuscript is less important although, if a journal provides a template or class file for a specific format that should be used (always follow journal instructions to the point)"
},
{
"answer_id": 103716,
"author": "Rasmus Larsen",
"author_id": 9379,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9379",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "**Use a template for Microsoft Word**\n\nYour can find templates to achieve that look in Microsoft Word if you google it. \n\nHere is an example:\n<https://pubs.acs.org/page/jacsat/submission/jacsat_templates.html>\n\nLooks like this. Just fill in with your own text:\n\n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/WQ60S.png)"
},
{
"answer_id": 103724,
"author": "Fomite",
"author_id": 118,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/118",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "While there have been some strong answers here for how to accomplish typesetting using LaTeX or templates, etc. there is an alternative for some fields, particularly those (like biomedicine) where LaTeX doesn't have particularly strong penetration:\n\nYou submit the unformatted document in (usually) Word, and the journal typesets it for you.\n\nFor example, in my own career, I have *never* typeset a document for a journal."
}
] |
2015/02/19
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40107",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/23380/"
] |
40,112 |
I ran across [this thread](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/10941/25375), in which the accepted answer mentions to *"[..] Start on a research project (independently or otherwise) if you have not already ASAP. "*
I'm an undergraduate studying mathematics and physics. I have an Associate's degree in Computer Science, and am very comfortable with programming. I'm currently taking a course in numerical analysis, and this has really motivated me to apply things we're learning to problems I come across while programming.
As an undergrad, with a lack of proper training/education to perform real mathematical research, would it look good (to future graduate schools to which I will apply) if I, for example, write a paper or two based on things I do applying mathematics to Computer Science and programming, e.g.- solving optimization issues in GPU processing of large data sets, etc?
Even if the papers aren't so interesting, would it at the very least look good on my "resume", so to speak?
For the record, I'm hoping to go to graduate school to study mathematics, not computer science, which is why I can't quite answer this question myself.
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40114,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "Undergraduate research is whatever research that you do as an undergrad, period. So if you do something that ends up being publishable, or feeds into another research project in a real way, it's undergraduate research.\n\nHowever, for practical purposes, you want to get some faculty involved in your research project. It will help with funding for travel (you *do* want to submit to conferences rather than journals in CS), it will make the work better, and you will end up with a good letter writer afterwards. And if you think your project won't be interesting to faculty in your current school, what makes you think it will later on swoon an admission committee?\n\n> \n> would it look good (to future graduate schools to which I will apply) if I, for example, write a paper or two based on things I do applying mathematics to Computer Science and programming, e.g.- solving optimization issues in GPU processing of large data sets, etc?\n> \n> \n> \n\nSure - if the paper is good. Solving optimization issues does not sound bad at all to me on first glance, but of course it is impossible to tell without seeing the paper or knowing in much more detail what you would want to do.\n\n> \n> Even if the papers aren't so interesting, would it at the very least look good on my \"resume\", so to speak?\n> \n> \n> \n\nI guess that depends on what you mean with \"so interesting\". It does not have to be A\\* / Transactions level quality, but the paper certainly needs to be published in a reasonable, peer-reviewed, non-spam venue. Papers in pay-to-publish OA journals don't help at all.\n\nThis seems to me to be an unfortunate side effect of the \"prior research experience required\" mantra that many admission committees nowadays seem to have - many students seem think that sending crap papers to pseudo-venues will help them get accepted. They don't. A paper that is substantially below the level that a prof. would want to submit himself won't help you.\n\n> \n> For the record, I'm hoping to go to graduate school to study mathematics, not computer science, which is why I can't quite answer this question myself.\n> \n> \n> \n\nIf you want to continue in maths, a maths paper will help more than a CS paper. Still, a good CS paper will be much better than no paper at all, I suppose."
},
{
"answer_id": 40133,
"author": "Kimball",
"author_id": 19607,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/19607",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "Let me question your question. First of all, note the disclaimer in the answer you refer to that that user just gave some second-hand advice. Also, the answer with the most votes places much less emphasis on undergrad research.\n\nFor admissions to most grad schools in math, undergrad research is neither necessary or expected (particularly published research--in fact, publications in good journals in math usually take a long time to get accepted, so the chances are low that you would have a good paper accepted by the time you apply for grad schools).\n\nIf there are specific problems that you want to research on your own, that's great, and as xLeitix says you should try to get a faculty member to help guide you. If however you just want to write a paper to help get into grad school, this may not be worth it. While research experience is good for your application (though may not be extremely helpful if it's not in math), you need to consider the opportunity cost.\n\nWhat (let's say US PhD) admissions committees are looking for is evidence that you're talented, motivated and have solid preparation. Even if you've done some research, unless it's outstanding, if you don't have much advanced coursework, or didn't do well in abstract classes, you're probably in a worse position than someone in the opposite situation. The best preparation for grad school is taking a lot of advanced math classes and doing really well in them.\n\nThat said, it's great if you do your own research on the side if it's not at the expense of your coursework, and if you have a faculty to discuss things with, they can write you a recommendation letter that can mean a lot, whether you've published, or even submitted, something or not. However, if you can do something like an REU (in math), that will be even better."
}
] |
2015/02/19
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40112",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/25375/"
] |
40,119 |
Context
-------
I am graduating from a Bachelor's degree (Computer Science) at the end of the year from a fairly large Australian university (top50 world). I am keen for a lecturing role (only teaching) at the university I am graduating from, specifically in the introductory computing subject (equivalent of Computing 101).
I am aiming for a lecturer (employment position), not lectureship (academic position, e.g. associate professor/professor). I assume that it will most likely be on a casual basis.
I have a great deal of previous teaching experience in computing areas. I have two years of experience as a course tutor for the same subject I plan to lecture for. This involves two hours of lecturing to a class of 20 students, plus four hours of lab assistance a week.
Things I am aware of
--------------------
* Lecturers normally get picked from the researchers. I imagine this is to save the costs of hiring a dedicated lecturer (correct me if I am wrong).
* Lecturers normally are PhDs. My faculty has had several exceptions, notably in the COMP101 subject and the Programming Competitions subject. (bachelor's lecturer and undergrad lecturer respectively).
* Even if I am successful, my job security will be nonexistent. I am okay with this.
* My faculty is on a fairly tight budget.
Things I am doing
-----------------
* Trying to get a recommendation from existing lecturers I know. This may be difficult, because they are risking their reputation on a somewhat dodgy applicant.
* Asking existing non-researcher lecturers how they got hired
* Actively undertaking volunteer work in educational groups
Questions I am often asked
--------------------------
* **Why don't you teach for high school instead?** Because I would be teaching on a much smaller scale (i.e. class of ~10 people) and making little impact. Because Australia's technology curriculum is miserable.
* **Why don't you do a PhD?** I wish to avoid research. I believe I can be a good lecturer, and that I can make the course more interesting, and I think I can do that without a PhD. Sorry if I offended anyone.
* **Aren't you unqualified for the job?** Are my academic qualifications substandard? Yes. **Am I unlikely to get the job? Yes.** Would I be a worse lecturer? Absolutely not. For an introductory subject, enthusiasm, empathy and communication are far more important than a postgraduate qualification.
So, my concluding question is:
**What can I do to improve my chances of being hired?**
\_
Thanks to your great answers, I am considering:
-----------------------------------------------
* Focusing on a casual instructor-type lecturer rather than a full-time academic position
* Getting more industry experience (I have had only two previous software jobs).
* Master's in CS or Education (preferably overseas)
* Working (possibly for free) for an education company (coursera, openlearning, etc.)
* Education startup
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40124,
"author": "ff524",
"author_id": 11365,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11365",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "Gain specific professional experience in the subject you want to teach.\n\nIn my (engineering) department, all of the teaching staff who do not hold PhDs (or are not current PhD students) have industry experience in the subject they are teaching.\n\nIn other words, if you are a professional penetration tester, you may be hired to teach computer security. If you work for a major telecom, you may be hired to teach computer networks. [Kickstart](http://www.kickstarter.com) a successful electronics startup, and you may be hired to teach circuits. You get the idea.\n\nThe point is to have *some* domain-specific expertise you can bring to the table (because university professors are supposed to be subject matter experts, or at least be able to pretend to be). If it's not from research, professional experience can also work."
},
{
"answer_id": 40131,
"author": "Alexandros",
"author_id": 10042,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10042",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "My answer might be a little unpleasant. Please do not take any of it personally, because I do not know you and I really wish you the best. However, there are certain things that must be told.\n\n> \n> \"I wish to avoid research\". I believe I can be a good lecturer\"\n> ...\" and I think I can do that without a PhD\".\n> \n> \n> \n\nThis is wrong. Part of teaching in a university should be dedicated to helping students (even undergraduates) how to do research. How can you teach something you know nothing of? Lecturers should be able to supervise theses and guide those students with the potential to really flourish. How can you guide a student like that, when (and this is the really bad part) you do not even WANT to do research?\n\nAlso, as @ff524 has already posted in her excellent answer, you have no industrial experience and therefore you only know CS from what you learnt in the university. In case your students want to enter the industry, they should learn how to do that by an expert. Again, with no industry experience, how can you tell them of good software practises, facilitate those techniques in your class, teach them to write software reports, do debugging, when you have not actually practised it on a large scale outside the university?\n\nWanting to teach is a noble cause. But people should start small. You cannot simply teach in a high-ranked university with no real-world working experience and without a PhD degree. A PhD is not only learning to do research but TAing, supervising theses and get a grasp of how the university \"works\". If teaching is really your call, you should start from private facilities towards certifications (e.g., Oracle) although even then people will ask you first to succeed in those certifications yourself, before teaching them. Still, those classes are smaller and therefore you can learn the ropes in a more fail-safe environment. Then after a few years of experience and multiple teaching hours under your belt, you might realize that a) teaching is not really that fun or b) It is fun for YOU and this is really what you want to do. Then you must start striving towards your goal to teach at a university.\n\nIn a nutshell, wanting to be a lecturer at university in a Western World country, without a PHD and without industrial experience and straight out of your BSc is highly unrealistic. Gain some experience (teaching and industry as @ff524 suggested) and then come back in a few years."
},
{
"answer_id": 40144,
"author": "RoboKaren",
"author_id": 14885,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14885",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "Part of the problem with academia right now is that supply (the number of unemployed or underemployed PhDs) greatly outnumbers the number of positions available. One of my colleagues told me he got 400 applications for just one t-t position, this isn't unusual. \n\nThus, universities don't have to lower their selection criteria in order to find willing and able candidates for even the worst of academic jobs -- the per-course, per-semester adjunct lecturer.1\n\nUnless you are a relatively Famous Person®, it'll be very difficult to get past even the initial screening for a lectureship without a PhD at a university.\n\nYou may have much better luck at community-colleges, technical colleges, online colleges, and polytechnics -- but even there, the economics of oversupply have meant jobs are tight for all.\n\nFn1: There is so much competition in the USA that some adjuncts are paid less than [$1500 per course-semester](http://adjunct.chronicle.com/) -- that means that even if they taught a 5:5 schedule (10 courses a year), they would still meet the US federal poverty guidelines for food stamps."
},
{
"answer_id": 40148,
"author": "Ian",
"author_id": 9902,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9902",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "As the question is about computing and IT, there is another way in. In some UK universities there are “instructors” these are people that teach but don’t do research, instead they run the universities IT systems.\n\nIn the first year programming courses there is a great demand for lab supervisors to help the students with their programmer labs, as well as interview the students to check that they have written the program themselves. \n\nIf you can get to work at the university in IT, you can then see if you can become a lab supervisor for a few hours a week. Then once you have proved yourself, you MAY get the option to do more teaching."
},
{
"answer_id": 40154,
"author": "Nate Eldredge",
"author_id": 1010,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1010",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "I am going to try to focus on your specific question: ways to increase the chance of getting hired. I'll try to avoid digressing into a discussion of the pros and cons of such a career, but I'd recommend you explore those further - my impression from your questions and comments is that you don't yet have a clear sense of what such a job is like. Also, my answer will be based on the situation in academia in general, based on my knowledge of it: it is always possible that your university is a significant outlier.\n\nSince there is a lot of confusion over job titles across countries, in this post I'll use the word *instructor* to refer to a person who teaches in a university, and has full responsibility for the classes they teach. It should be distinguished from a *teaching assistant* whose teaching is done under the supervision of an instructor. In general, the basic qualifications to be hired as an instructor are **content expertise** and **a record of successful university teaching**.\n\nContent Expertise\n-----------------\n\nOne of the features that most strongly distinguishes university education from high school is that teaching is done by content experts - people whose knowledge of their content area goes well beyond the introductory level. Have you ever had a teacher who you felt was learning their material one chapter ahead of the students? At a university, the goal is to get as far from that situation as possible. The most basic way to demonstrate a level of expertise is to **earn a postgraduate degree**. At many universities, a masters degree is an absolute minimum requirement for any instructor, and a doctorate is usually preferred. \n\nI think it is easy for people to underestimate the importance of this. After all, if you learned calculus your first year of college, why should you need to take 5-8 years of more advanced classes (many not involving calculus in any obvious way) before you can teach it? But in my personal experience, I think that having deeper experience in mathematics (a doctorate and research) really has helped me understand calculus - what it can be used for, different ways to interpret its results, how it relates to other parts of mathematics - at a much deeper level than I could as a college freshman, or even as a college graduate. And it benefits my teaching: I can help students make connections, discover alternate approaches, etc, in a way that I couldn't do otherwise.\n\n(In particular, it is not likely to be helpful to take the point of view that you don't need a postgraduate degree because it won't help you teach. For one thing, the people hiring you are the university faculty - they will almost all have postgraduate degrees, and won't take kindly to someone suggesting they are of little value.)\n\nIt's quite unusual for someone with only a bachelor's degree to be a university instructor, and it would be extremely unusual for someone without a bachelor's degree. I'm rather startled to hear you mention that your university has such people working as instructors. (Is it possible they are actually teaching assistants?) If it's really the case, this may not be a good sign - it may suggest that your university is operating below international academic standards.\n\n**Research experience** beyond the PhD is viewed as an even stronger sign of content expertise. If you aren't interested in research, then you should know that this is going to work to your detriment when you compete with people who have been active in research.\n\nIn some cases, there can be alternative ways to demonstrate an appropriate level of expertise. In some fields, **industry or clinical experience** can serve as a sign of expertise, even if you don't have a postgraduate degree. But it usually has to be pretty significant - the institution wants to be convinced that your work in the field has been extensive enough to fill in any gaps in your formal education. And part of the benefit of hiring someone with industry experience is that their teaching can be oriented toward techniques, tools, approaches, etc, that are actually widely used in industry - so they will want to be convinced that your experience is broad enough that your sense of industry standards is accurate. (For instance, if you only worked at one company that had some oddball approach, you might have a skewed view that this was common in the industry - if you train your students only in the oddball approach, they won't be well prepared for other industry jobs.) So I'd say they'd want you to have pretty extensive industry experience - maybe 10 years or more. If you are thinking of going into industry as a back door into academia, realize that you are playing a very long game, with no guarantee of success.\n\nIn any case, you should expect that you will be competing against other applicants who have masters and doctoral degrees, and that, all other things equal, those candidates will likely get preference.\n\nA Record of Successful Teaching Experience\n------------------------------------------\n\nFor an instructor-level teaching position, most employers would expect that you have **experience teaching at the university level**. You don't have to have had experience as an instructor - it can suffice to have worked as a teaching assistant. But they definitely want to see that you have taught university-level content to university students, preferably for several semesters, and that it went well. Often, they want to see **evidence of your success**, in the form of letters of recommendation from faculty who supervised your teaching, student evaluations, or similar data. Enthusiasm and idealism (\"I love the thought of teaching,\" \"I have great ideas to revolutionize teaching,\" etc.) will not substitute for actual experience.\n\nThe most common way for people to start gaining this experience is, again, **graduate school**. Most graduate programs have the option for students to work as teaching assistants, often as a requirement of funding. You may not have full responsibility for your classes, but at least you are working in a university classroom and learning to address the challenges of teaching. \n\nYour experience as a \"course tutor\" sounds like sort of a light version of this - a good start, but far less than a successful applicant would be expected to have.\n\nIn some cases, teaching assistants get greater autonomy, and have the ability to essentially run their own class with minimal interference from supervisors - such experience is a plus. Also, many applicants for a university instructorship will have already had experience as an instructor at other institutions; in some cases several years. So you should expect to be competing against people with such backgrounds.\n\nI want to mention a special case of your situation - you're thinking of applying at an institution you've attended as a student. To a hiring department, this has pros and cons. Of course, they know you, and they know you are familiar with their institution's system and culture. But on the other hand, there is a benefit in bringing in people with outside experience who can broaden the \"gene pool\" - if they keep hiring their own people, they may get stuck in a cycle of suboptimal practices which everyone just thinks are normal. On balance, all other things being equal, I think most institutions will prefer *not* to hire their own students. But if you go elsewhere for a graduate degree, or otherwise get experience of the academic world outside your current institution, that would help.\n\nOn the flip side, it's easy as a student to fall in love with your undergraduate institution, think it's the best place ever, and want to work there forever. Honestly, it's probably not prudent until you have seen other places as well - your view is likely to be skewed. Also, if you did get such a job, having your entire education and career at one institution is likely to be a detriment if and when you want to seek another academic job.\n\nSummary\n-------\n\nIf you want a university teaching job, the most straightforward first step is to **earn a masters degree in your content area** and **work as a teaching assistant**. You can then start to test the waters and see what kinds of jobs you might be able to get. But it's entirely possible that you will have a very hard time getting hired without a PhD and/or further university teaching experience.\n\nIt would also be a good idea to talk to faculty at your institution who know you well - perhaps academic advisors - and let them know this is a career that interests you. They will be more likely to have advice specifically relevant to your field and the job market in your area."
},
{
"answer_id": 40155,
"author": "Yasha",
"author_id": 28181,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28181",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "There's already a lot of good advice here, but I'll risk redundancy and enter the fray ...\n\n@icedtrees, the problem here isn't your motivation - it's your inexperience. It's awesome that you want to teach, but the problem is that, from both an academic and a professional point of view, you don't really have much to offer.\n\nI'll depart a little bit from the question of whether you need a PhD and instead focus on the fact that, from a computer science standpoint, *you are woefully underqualified* to teach, even at the basic level. I'm not saying this to offend you - I'm simply trying to help you understand why, as an individual without research or practical experience, you're not likely to be considered as a candidate to teach.\n\nI completely understand that you don't want to research. Not everyone is built for research, and it's not the only way to make a contribution to the field. For many, their contribution to computer science is through *actually working in the field and becoming an expert in certain practices and applications*. That's completely fine. As far as I can tell, most successful developers don't have PhDs in computer science. What they *do* have, however, is loads of experience. Simply put, you don't.\n\nThe only experience you have is your college education, which, as admirable as it is to have completed it, offers you only the beginning of a glimpse into the world of programming. Your knowledge of computer science extends only as far as the curricula you have encountered - and even then, you likely only recall some of it (at best). You've not been pushed to actually apply it in a professional environment, and therefore, you're unprepared to lecture others. Most developers and computer scientists will tell you that the bulk of your learning happens *outside* the classroom. You'll learn more about the logic, philosophy, and practice of programming in your first year in the job market than you will in four years of undergraduate study.\n\nAsk yourself this - is simply having passed a driver's education course enough to qualify one to teach 'intro to driving'? Sure, you've successfully received your driver's license, but that's only *the beginning* of your experience with driving.\n\nIt sounds like you could probably do well for yourself by setting out a five year plan. Why not complete a 2-year master's degree in computer science, and then seek out employment for at least three years? After five years, you'll not only be much more attractive *on paper*, but you'll have the confidence and experience to help instruct those who are just entering into the field. This would allow you to get your foot in the door without completing a large research project."
},
{
"answer_id": 40202,
"author": "awsoci",
"author_id": 28324,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28324",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "As a level-A lecturer in Australia, I can add the more specific expectations you'll have to meet should you wish to lecture in a university setting and the difficulty in getting a position in Australia. \n\nFull time lecturers (either on contracts or tenured) have to meet a set of expectations that exceed teaching duties. The level of these expectations are also determined by your level (A-E). A level A position is rarely given for teaching (you see it much more often as a researcher position), and when it does occur, it is often an internal hire of a finishing postgraduate who has either just completed their PhD/MA or is close to doing so in that same department/school. Generally, this postgraduate will already have experience in teaching, lecturing and coordinating units as a sessional contract. Getting sessional contracts are generally word-of-mouth (I know so-and-so) or offered by your thesis supervisor if you are studying at the university. It is very (and I mean VERY) rare that they are advertised, and if they are, only internally.\n\nLevel A (for lecturing) are generally not advertised on job boards, you'll often see Level B-C as advertised positions, and levels D-E sometimes advertised or done through word-of-mouth. The expectations that you'll have to meet, apart from your teaching duties include:\n\n1. Publishing a set amount of publications, where a % of those publications are in quality/high impact journals as determined by the university/faculty\n2. Attracting a set amount of grant money\n3. Supervising postgraduate students and meeting a % for successful completion for said students\n4. Associated administrative work, such as coordinating honours degrees for your discipline, setting up/running seminars or conferences, etc\n5. Joining research committees and being part of professional organisations\n\nThese will be based on set targets, either yearly, or every 3 years and so on. Some universities, such as the one I teach at, do not have set expectations for a Level A, but it is expected that you attempt to reach Level B targets (which will also help with academic promotion).\n\nMost Australian universities want lecturers who can be on the cutting edge of research, and use that knowledge to teach their courses. It is also very, very competitive out there in Australia, there are plenty of PhDs with publications, research experience and so on who can't even get their foot into the door. They also want international scholars to beef up their reputations. \n\nIt's fantastic that you want to teach, but if you don't want to do any research, your options are very limited for university lecturing. The more post-grads that complete their degrees (many of which will have teaching experience), the harder it is going to be for you to get your foot in the door when competing against others for jobs. Australia also does not have the abundance of universities and technical colleges available that a place like the US has, so this limits your options even further. Australia has approx 43 universities, 18 TAFE/polytechnic colleges and 19 private colleges. The US has approx 2,618 (not verified) accredited institutions (which I think includes both colleges/universities). \n\nThis is by no means discouragement! It's just outlining the reality of teaching in Australia, and thinking about what you need to do to get there. You might have better success at teaching at TAFE/Colleges than in university if you don't want to do research, since it's all about skill, industry experience and practical learning."
}
] |
2015/02/19
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40119",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30608/"
] |
40,123 |
Open book exams are exams that are taken in a classroom, with a limited amount of time, but where the student can consult notes, textbooks, and any kind of written material. They are usually meant to test problem-solving abilities and the capacity to apply the existing theory rather than memorization.
It seems natural to allow the use of e-books in these tests as well as their dead-tree equivalents, since a student should be able to use their preferred medium to study and may have bought the e-book version rather than the paper one. Also, ecology and save the forests.
However, many modern e-book readers have 3G or Wi-Fi networking, and this would make it easy to cheat by getting external help (which is, of course, not allowed). It is not simple to make sure that this connectivity stays off during the exam: you can't just remove the SIM card and everything is ok.
>
> Is there a solution other than "live with the cheating" and "forbid e-book readers overall"?
>
>
>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40127,
"author": "Aubrey",
"author_id": 26682,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/26682",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "I would recommend allowing ebook readers based on E-ink, but not tablets or smartphones. \nIt is technically possible to browse on the Internet with those, but it is painstaking and difficult. You would probably see a person typing slowly and for a long time, so it's easier to spot. \n\nYou can maybe try yourself with a Kindle or a Kobo."
},
{
"answer_id": 40134,
"author": "ceoec",
"author_id": 28695,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28695",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Cheating happens with e-book or not. Many students cheated when they go to bathroom, and there is really nothing you can do about that; or they just looked at other's answer even without e-book, and you don't even have evidence to catch them. It is impossible to avoid cheating, but you can increase their difficulties of cheating by having more eyes on them. \n\nSo if you allow the student the use of e-book, given it may be easier for those who want to cheat, you can have more tutors to invigilate so they would worry about being caught which may hinder them from cheating."
},
{
"answer_id": 40139,
"author": "Moriarty",
"author_id": 8562,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8562",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "I'm of the opinion that internet access should be absolutely forbidden or impossible during exams. It's a can of worms that is best left tightly sealed.\n\nEvery modern tablet computer, and most e-readers, have Wi-Fi capability – therefore internet access. Really, it only makes sense to allow these if it is non-trivial to access the internet and if you have sufficient deterrents in place for the more determined cheaters.\n\n* If the exams are held in a lecture block that is isolated from any offices or research labs, it should be feasible to request that the Wi-Fi network is turned off for the duration of the exam.\n* Some tablets and e-readers have cellular network capabilities. For an exam with many students, this might be difficult to police. But if you check the model of each tablet or e-reader on entry to the exam and remove the SIM cards, that will remove their internet access. Unless the student puts a fake, inactive one in the device and keeps their active card in their pocket, that is.\n* The Kindle 3G e-ink readers (perhaps others, too) *do not have user-accessible SIM cards*. Sure, web browsing on them is a pain and limited to 50MB / month – but you can still have email or webchat conversations with a friend on their computer at home who is telling you the answers. You cannot reasonably ban Kindle 3G readers but allow iPads.\n* Anything with Wi-Fi capability can connect to an ad-hoc Wi-Fi network that someone created with their cellphone hidden in their bag that they left at the front of the room. This is absurdly easy to set up, though it is also possible to detect hidden SSIDs which would alert you to a possible cheater.\n\nAs the years pass, although it does seem increasingly unreasonable to disallow e-readers into an open book exam, allowing networked devices owned and controlled by the students *will* make cheating easier. All we can do is make it hard enough to deter casual offending. A determined cheater *will always find a way*.\n\nOther than locking everyone inside a Faraday cage, you simply cannot stop people who have their own devices from accessing the internet. You do your best to find them, though!\n\nOther mitigation strategies might be:\n\n* Increased presence of invigilators. If the exam is held either in a room with individual desks, or in a lecture hall *with every second row empty*, it is easier for the invigilators to see up close what everyone is doing. If there were 6 to 10 invigilators in an exam hall of 100 students, as opposed to the usual 2, that might be a sufficient deterrent.\n* Use electronic surveillance / prevention, such as a [PocketHound](http://www.bvsystems.com/Products/Security/PocketHound/pockethound.htm).\n* Ban all electronic devices, but have enough copies of the course textbook in the library so that anyone who does not have one can borrow a copy. This might get expensive for a large class!\n* Hand out university-provided e-readers to everyone without a paper copy. If the network capabilities are locked down under a password, this should be safe. Again, not a cheap or easy option.\n* Only allow one or several pages of *handwritten* notes into the exam. In most subjects, spending too much time flipping through a textbook during the exam is a waste of time and an indication of a lack of study. The time spent in carefully curating a \"cheat sheet\" is usually worth far more in the exam than the cheat sheet itself. Is a full open book policy really necessary? If every question needs the student to refer to a textbook, perhaps the exam isn't asking the right sort of questions."
}
] |
2015/02/19
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40123",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/958/"
] |
40,141 |
I am an 'overseas' student in a university, currently pursuing a bachelor's degree. Although I am really interested in signing up for graduate school, I am bonded to work for at least three years as soon as I get my bachelors degree. I am afraid that this might weaken my application and my chances of getting into a good university after I fulfill my bond obligations. Are my fears unfounded? Do professors really care about how long it has been since someone finished school when they review applications?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40249,
"author": "Tom Wilkinson",
"author_id": 30696,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30696",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "When I started my PhD the majority of my fellow students had spent time working before they started. Some of them had been in full time employment for years (I believe the most was 7 years). As someone who went straight from BSc to PhD I was definitely the exception and not the rule. It shouldn't be something to worry about.\n\nMy supervisor's take on the subject of how he chose candidates was: \"Whoever seems right at the interview.\"\n\nFrom my experience of interviews having relevant experience and showing a good work ethic is as important in academia as working for any other employer. Working outside of academia for a spell is no limitation and can in some case be a boon.\n\nPassion for the subject area and proof of regular hard work will get you a very long way with most academics."
},
{
"answer_id": 40360,
"author": "MrMeritology",
"author_id": 17564,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/17564",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Your fears are unfounded. \n\nInstead of worrying, you should instead focus on growing and learning as much as you can in these three years. Above all, learn about ***yourself*** -- what are you good at? What do you care most about?? In what circumstances are you most productive and most alive?? If you can answer any of these question in this three-year period, then you will have used your time very productively."
},
{
"answer_id": 40401,
"author": "farnsy",
"author_id": 20591,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/20591",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "It won't count against you except in rare cases (maybe music performance or something?). For the most part, having worked a little means you are more mature and possibly have some extra skills. Those are good things.\n\nIn some fields it's a huge bonus. If you want to go to business school, for example, having worked is a huge advantage regardless of whether you want an MBA or Ph.D.\n\nThe only hard thing about going back to school (this is my experience) is that it is hard to get used to being an impoverished and ill-respected student after having spent some time in the working world, where hopefully you were more respected and better paid."
}
] |
2015/02/19
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40141",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30624/"
] |
40,145 |
Consider a research work that is present in another person's thesis, submitted two years before at the university, but not published online anywhere. Can someone extend that work and submit it to a journal?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40146,
"author": "Stephan Kolassa",
"author_id": 4140,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4140",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "It does not matter whether the work can be found online or not. From the [plagiarism tag wiki](https://academia.stackexchange.com/tags/plagiarism/info):\n\n> \n> Plagiarism is the unethical practice of taking credit for someone\n> else’s work. It is a major concern both in research, where the most\n> common issue is improper use of citations (or lack thereof), and in\n> coursework assignments.\n> \n> \n> Self-plagiarism refers to reusing one's own previously published work\n> (or previously used coursework), without properly citing it as such.\n> \n> \n> \n\nSo if you use previous work, whether available online or not, whether it's your own or someone else's work, cite it appropriately."
},
{
"answer_id": 40147,
"author": "Nate Eldredge",
"author_id": 1010,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1010",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": false,
"text": "You can work on anything you want. If you publish you must:\n\n* cite the thesis;\n* give an accurate account of what work was already contained in the thesis, and what you added;\n* if you use passages of text or images taken directly from the thesis, identify them as such (as a quotation or similar). Extensive use of such quotations or images may also require permission from the original author and/or their university, depending on who holds the copyright."
},
{
"answer_id": 40149,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "That the thesis was not published online is not relevant. You *can* conduct follow-up research, just like you can write a follow-up to anything somebody else has published. However, you most certainly *cannot* pretend that something originating from this thesis is actually your work. Just that the results have not been published in a peer reviewed venue does not make the results somehow \"free lunch\" for somebody else to claim."
},
{
"answer_id": 40150,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": false,
"text": "The situation that you describe perfectly matches the situation fifty years ago, when nothing was published online. Now, just as then, it is entirely possible for somebody who wants to find the thesis to go to the university and look it up, or otherwise request access to the original. It is just that now, our expectations have been raised by the ready electronic availability of material.\n\nThus, the situation with regards to plagiarism is the same as it has always been: \n\n* You can build on any intellectual work that has been created.\n* You must properly cite any work that you have built on.\n* You cannot claim the work of another person as your own."
},
{
"answer_id": 40252,
"author": "adrianmcmenamin",
"author_id": 4351,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4351",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "A work is published if it is given to anyone other than the author. So the mere fact it has not been published online is not to say it has not been published. So the thesis should be considered as a published work - in that sense your question is poorly framed.\n\nYou are, of course, able to cite another's work but you should not seek to pass it off as your own. You can extend it and seek publication for the extended work, but whether it will be worthy of publication will likely depend on the nature of the extension.\n\nBut an unpublished paper is a better outcome than being accused for all time of being a plagarist."
},
{
"answer_id": 41545,
"author": "Kakoli Majumder",
"author_id": 9920,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9920",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "It is expected that any resource you use in your paper, whether published or unpublished, should be cited. For unpublished data, most journals would also expect you to take permission from the author. \n\nHere's the policy that [Nature](http://www.nature.com/authors/policies/plagiarism.html) follows with regard to citing unpublished data:\n\n> \n> Manuscripts are sent out for review on the condition that any\n> unpublished data cited within are properly credited and the\n> appropriate permission has been sought. Where licenced data are cited,\n> authors must include at submission a written assurance that they are\n> complying with originators' data-licencing agreements. Referees are\n> encouraged to be alert to the use of appropriated unpublished data\n> from databases or from any other source, and to inform the editor of\n> any concern they may have.\n> \n> \n>"
},
{
"answer_id": 122262,
"author": "Kabir",
"author_id": 102448,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/102448",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "The definition of plagiarism \"again\":\n\n> \n> \"the practice of taking someone else's work or ideas and passing them\n> off as one's own.\"\n> \n> \n> \n\nUntil and unless you are not claiming the work as your own, you are not plagiarising. Give the credit to the original author and take his/her consent before working on it.\n\nOne of the most important things to keep in mind while writing a new thesis is to cite correctly. Don't forget [secondary citation](https://utas.libguides.com/c.php?g=498348&p=3412828) while working.\n\nName the original work in-text and cite the secondary source you have seen. Include only the secondary source in the reference list."
}
] |
2015/02/19
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40145",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30628/"
] |
40,156 |
I am a PhD Student in Australia and I have been asked to help out a research team in my lab on a grant related research project. I have a fair bit of knowledge in the area they are looking in too. I am 'close' with all members involved (two are my supervisors and one is a postdoc in my building).
All signals are going my way indicate an enthusiasm regarding including me - however, I am also aware that the project may be time consuming for me. If I do get involved, I want to ensure I will be author on any papers that are released.
Would it be a naive question to explicitly ask one of the members whether I would be an author on any papers before committing myself to research?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40157,
"author": "Piotr Migdal",
"author_id": 49,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/49",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "Early. There is a fair number of questions here, because people had different expectations.\n\n> \n> Would it be a naive question to explicitly ask one of the members whether I would be an author on any papers before committing myself to research?\n> \n> \n> \n\nNo. Ask about your possible contribution to the project and conditions (authorship, conference presentations, extra funding etc).\n\nIt's your time and expertise, so you have full right to ask what is the expected return. Asking for it does not mean that you lack passion - you just make professional arrangements.\n\nBTW: When it comes to authorship, it is great to make such arrangements by e-mail or anything leaving a written trace. I never had any issue with it, but I know a few first-hand stories in which people were moved first->middle or even denied authorship. So, better safe (and safe in an non intrusive way) than sorry."
},
{
"answer_id": 40180,
"author": "Nicholas",
"author_id": 1424,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1424",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Just to add to Piotr's answer -- I notice in your question that you are considering asking *one of the members* in the new collaboration about how authorship will be determined. \n\nBy all means, ask this particular member. However, ***unless this member has some sort of authority over all the other co-workers in the proposed collaboration***, don't be surprised if other members have a different view on how the authorship list on any given future paper should be formed.\n\nRe-iterating Piotr's point -- get this point answered **early**. \n\nMy suggestion -- ensure **everyone** is engaged in this discussion **early**, so that dissenting views can be discussed and a policy set in place **before** the first research paper is written.\n\nThere's no need to feel embarrassed about sorting this out now. Other members are likely to want to have this cleared up early as well. A polite email -- naturally indicating your enthusiasm for getting involved -- is easily written, along with a bald question like \"How is the authorship list going to be arranged for papers arising from this project?\"."
},
{
"answer_id": 40184,
"author": "afaust",
"author_id": 21371,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/21371",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Another way to go about it is to have a conversation about the project and expectations. Meet with them to find out what the project is, and offer your particular contributions. There is nothing wrong to ask during this conversation if this work is going to go toward a paper, or simply suggest writing a paper. \n\nFor example, they have a problem they can't solve. You are pretty sure that you can solve it. Be proactive and suggest explicitly your involvement - I can develop code that solves the problem, and will write up in a paper. You will run the experiments, and write that section of the paper. Where are we submitting?\n\nThen you can follow up in the email to express your excitement about the project, and summarize roles and responsibilities."
},
{
"answer_id": 40189,
"author": "Nick Vence",
"author_id": 30542,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30542",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "This sounds like a great opportunity for you to diversify you graduate experiences. Developing your professional network is very important to your career's success.\n\nYou are wise to clarify expectations early on:\n\n* Do you *want* to join this collaboration?\n* How much time will be involved?\n* Is your advisor ok with this time investment?\n* What do you have to gain? coauthorship? on multiple papers?"
}
] |
2015/02/19
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40156",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/19894/"
] |
40,159 |
In academia, is there evidence that including phrases such as "refreshments provided" in a seminar announcement increases the average attendance (even slightly)?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40160,
"author": "Cape Code",
"author_id": 10643,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10643",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "Yes.\n----\n\nI would love to be able to say how content matters the most (I still believe it does), but in my experience in several academic institutions, providing refreshments is welcomed by grad students and faculty alike. If there are two events with equal content quality, one of which offers food, it will most likely get increased attendance."
},
{
"answer_id": 40161,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "My own experience is that it depends mainly on the level you are dealing with.\n\n* With graduate students, postdocs, and faculty/staff, it is not so much that refreshments attract people, but that when refreshments are customary in a community that a lack of refreshments will disappoint attendees. I have known highly attended seminar series that never have refreshments.\n* With undergraduates, refreshments make a big difference, especially cookies or pizza."
},
{
"answer_id": 40169,
"author": "Yasha",
"author_id": 28181,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28181",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": false,
"text": "I think you should approach the question slightly differently - don't ask whether more people will come to your presentation because there are refreshments. Instead, ask whether refreshments will enhance the overall experience. In my experience, refreshments help to keep the group together *after* the event is over, which in turn allows for people to mingle, share ideas, and get to know one another better. When refreshments aren't provided, people tend to bolt out the door immediately following the end of the lecture. In this sense, refreshments give you the chance to build community, and give undergrads, graduate students, and junior scholars the chance to bend the ear of a senior scholar."
},
{
"answer_id": 40203,
"author": "Researcher17",
"author_id": 30663,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30663",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "It works for best *'newcomer'* group among researchers.\n\nWhen I was a new grad student, I was enthusiastic about the *'refreshment'* part. Often attended programs for it.\n\nGradually, we grow out of it. Now, *free pizza* does not appeal as much as it used to do 3 years ago. Drinking sugary drink was much more fun without *guilty* feelings (I was slightly younger, and cared less about my body that carries the head that contains the grey matters)"
},
{
"answer_id": 40240,
"author": "Taladris",
"author_id": 15528,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15528",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "I don't see any reason that offering food could repel people. \n\nBut, if the seminar is not attractive by himself, offering food may be of no help. I remember that, few years ago, my university decided to have a (very unformal, simple) cocktail after our general colloquium. It had almost no effect on the attendance to the seminar: most absentees didn't come to the seminar because it was at 5PM and they wanted to be home early. Offering crackers, cheese and good wine (that was in France) and orange juice didn't change anything for them."
},
{
"answer_id": 40322,
"author": "Philip Oakley",
"author_id": 30739,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30739",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "If you are doing a seminar where you expect folk to travel to hear it, then I have found (for professional engineering (UK) seminars) that a nominal charge will help folk actually turn up (things for free aren't worth anything are they; Are they?).\n\nA small fee also allows folks to 'justify' their attendance and ancillary expenses that would not be allowed for a free seminar (a flight, a hotel, etc). It's a case of knowing your target audience and their issues and concerns, even contradictory ones!"
}
] |
2015/02/19
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40159",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4018/"
] |
40,163 |
If I write I paper in which I criticise a view or argument expressed by another author, is it considered polite or customary to offer the author an advanced/draft copy of my paper?
My criticisms are of course at an academic rather than personal level.
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40167,
"author": "Yasha",
"author_id": 28181,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28181",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "No, you don't have to provide a copy in advance to this individual. It is customary within most scholarly works to point out in the literature review which theories you do and don't agree with, and why. You are not expected to agree with everyone; in fact, agreeing with everyone would indicate a serious lack of critical thinking on your end. It's good that you don't agree, as long as you are able to express it professionally and support your disagreement with a strong counter argument buttressed by sturdy methodology and data.\n\nFinally, it's likely that this individual will be asked to review your article when you submit it for peer review. You can be assured that he/she will rebut your criticisms during the review process, so by the time your paper does manage (if it does) to pass review, you'll have likely had to rework a significant portion of the paper.\n\nIf you are submitting this to a non-scholarly publication, then it is likely that the publication itself will provide the author a chance to respond to your criticisms."
},
{
"answer_id": 40168,
"author": "Alexandros",
"author_id": 10042,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10042",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "> \n> If I write I paper in which I criticise a view or argument expressed\n> by another author, is it considered polite or customary to offer the\n> author an advanced/draft copy of my paper?\n> \n> \n> \n\nMost certainly not. The other author will have a copy of the paper when it is available after publishing. Contacting him just to show him your published \"opposite\" paper (especially if you do not know the guy personally) will probably seem weird if not unfriendly. People on one scientific area know when there are other papers a) citing them or b) contradict their previous papers (Google scholar notifications are excellent for this). So, there really is no need for sending a special \"reminder\" about your paper. \n\nOn the other hand, if you know these people personally an email saying \"This is my new paper building on your previous work\" and \"...tell me what you think about it\" might not be that bad. Still, it might be better to wait for them contacting you about your work, especially if those guys are more famous and established than you."
},
{
"answer_id": 40171,
"author": "Pete L. Clark",
"author_id": 938,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/938",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "This seems very field-specific. In some fields -- e.g. philosophy -- \"criticizing the work of others\" is more than business as usual: it's a substantial part of what all papers in the subject do. (Philosophy is probably the extreme case: though I am far from an expert in this area, I do have some familiarity with it, and my understanding is that a truly correct and unassailable philosophical argument would in most cases serve to show that the problem was not really philosophical at all! This is a field in which the rank and file philosophers of today criticize the golden gods of the past two thousand years as well as each other...and everyone seems pretty happy about it.) In certain other fields there is the sense -- and this can only be meant sociologically without opening up some truly deep cans of worms -- that \"right\" and \"wrong\" work is not a matter of individual opinion or belief: it is something that the community as whole must come to an agreement on. For instance, two scholars can happily present rival theories on the meaning of *Hamlet* or even on its authorship. Two scholars who report inconsistent physical experiments cannot coexist so happily: the community as a whole has a strong feeling that at least one of the experiments must be wrong.\n\nIf you are just presenting a rival theory to someone else's in the sense of philosophy or the humanities -- i.e., the community as a whole will have no *a priori* problem with allowing the two theories to exist and each gain their own adherents -- then it seems to me that this is business as usual and everyone can read about it in the paper. But if you are working in a scientific, mathematical or other field in which the two works cannot coexist simultaneously in the community as a whole, then you are doing something that is potentially much more destructive to the other person. This doesn't mean that you shouldn't do it -- on the contrary, if anything you are more obligated to bring the issue to light -- but *I* think it would be at least courteous to personally contact the person whose work would be specifically invalidated by yours. On the other hand, whether something is \"courteous\" is clearly a matter of culture. I think that scientific fields vary widely on whether and how discourteous this practice is. For instance, there are some fields -- e.g. string theory -- in which large numbers of people are working within a very small and rapidly moving space. In this kind of situation, it is my understanding that you just take a good, rapid shot and see how everyone else reacts to it. If on Wednesday two contradictory string theory papers show up on the arxiv, then you know what people will be doing on Thursday: in other words, the community is so automatically and rapidly self-correcting that people think in terms of \"good ideas that didn't pan out\" rather \nthan \"wrong papers\". Or so is my understanding anyway: string theory is quite an amazing field to me because it is technically so similar but sociologically so different from my own.\n\nIn my field -- mathematics -- the culture regards my publishing a paper saying \"Your paper is wrong\" as an extreme act to be avoided at many costs. Much better would be for **you** to publish an erratum/corrigendum/retraction saying \"Unfortunately the result I stated before is wrong; I thank [you] for bringing this to my attention.\" Publishing a paper -- or even circulating a preprint, say on the arxiv -- saying that Author X's work without making any attempt to contact Author X would be regarded by some as being discourteous to Author X. It could also be a strategically poor decision in some circumstances: when this happens, very likely some part of the community will mobilize to figure out \"as a whole\" who is right, you or Author X (or neither!). This mobilization will probably involve several people having conversations with both you and Author X, to the extent that you may end up talking to each other *through* other people. It could be more efficient and more seemly to have that conversation directly and privately with Author X. In particular, for better or for worse (and I think it is somewhat for worse) if you publish a paper saying \"Author X is wrong\" and *you* turn out to be wrong, then you may acquire a reputation for being a bit of a troublemaker. \n\nFinally, in very technical fields, it is often the case that the unique person who is maximally well equipped to resolve the discrepancy between your work and Author X's is...Author X. So unless you have some reason to think otherwise, availing yourself of this resource sooner rather than later is probably a good idea."
},
{
"answer_id": 40178,
"author": "Sverre",
"author_id": 11053,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11053",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "I think this depends on both the customs in your field and on you as an individual. I doubt that there is any \"unwritten rule\" either way. You should do what you think is most beneficial to you.\n\nI myself do always send out manuscripts to people whose ideas I criticize in my paper, and I do this before submitting them anywhere else. My main reason for doing this is to give them the chance to correct me if I have misunderstood their arguments. It would be in no one's interest if I publish a paper with such mistakes - not in their interest, since I would be misrepresenting their research, and not in my interest, since I would be making a vacuous counter-argument. I have also experienced other people sending me their manuscripts for the same reason.\n\nAnother reason I send them out is because I have good reasons to think they would care about my paper. After all, they have written about the very same thing."
},
{
"answer_id": 40193,
"author": "D.W.",
"author_id": 705,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/705",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "In my experience, the expectations depend on the nature of your criticism, and probably on the field you are in. At a broad level, based on what I've seen in my field, I can separate this into two different kinds of situations:\n\n* **A factual dispute.** Here, I'm referring to a situation where there is an objective truth. In my field, if I write a paper that says that a technical claim in a prior paper is wrong -- say, an alleged proof had a technical error -- it is considered polite to send an advance draft to the author of the prior paper. This is a situation where there is an objective truth: either the proof was correct, or it was flawed.\n\nWhy is informing the prior author customary, in this kind of situation? First, it's polite to the author of the prior paper; it's a nice courtesy to them, so they aren't surprised and don't feel personally attacked. Second, and perhaps more importantly, it helps get at the truth more efficiently -- which is supposed to be our motivation for doing the science in the first place. For instance, suppose your criticism is wrong and you simply misunderstood or have a mistake in your reasoning; then the prior author may be able to point this out and save you some embarassment. Or, suppose they agree with your criticism and had actually already issued a correction to their paper which corrects the error. Then you can cite their correction. Finally, suppose they feel your criticism misrepresents their views or is not a fair characterization of what their paper was claiming. Then this is an opportunity for you to review whether your criticism is valid (taking into account their perspective) and possibly revise or refine your argument. In each of these cases, everyone benefits: you benefit from having a stronger argument, the prior author benefits from avoiding surprise or invalid criticism appear in print, and the scientific community benefits from getting to the truth of the matter more efficiently. So it's not that you are somehow obligated to inform the prior author, but it benefits you and it is considered polite to let them know as a courtesy and give them a chance to respond.\n\nOf course, this might well vary from field to field.\n* **A matter of opinion.** It's a different story when reasonable people could disagree. Perhaps it is a matter of professional opinion or judgement; perhaps we are trying to draw conclusions based on imperfect information; perhaps there are multiple possible answers with complex tradeoffs; perhaps we are making a case for a particular conclusion, but the problem is complex and one could plausibly make a case for the opposite conclusion. This kind of situation might be more common in the humanities, in philosophy, in law and public policy, and other fields than in mathematics and the core sciences, but it can arise in any field.\n\nIn these situations, I would not expect any clear custom or expectation about whether you share an advance draft of your paper with the authors of the prior paper. At least in my field, there is no expectation to share a copy of your paper with the prior authors. Here debate and counter-debate is expected and part of the norm in the published literature.\n\nSo, in this kind of situation I would suggest that you evaluate what to do based on what you think makes sense in your particular situation, without feeling constrained by politeness norms. If you think the authors of the prior paper might give you valuable feedback, you could share an advance draft with them. If you feel that is unlikely to be useful, you could skip it (and you can still share a copy of the paper with them once the paper is published). It's entirely up to you.\n\nAt least, this is my experience, in my field. Norms and expectations may vary from field to field, so I encourage you to talk to your advisor, a mentor, or someone senior in your field who you trust."
}
] |
2015/02/19
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40163",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30639/"
] |
40,164 |
I have recently finished my thesis and submitted to both university and national thesis center.
However, it is not online yet (probably there are many thesis pending). Should I wait for the thesis center to make it available or can I just put it to my website?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40165,
"author": "Piotr Migdal",
"author_id": 49,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/49",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "I asked my advisor when I should put my thesis on arXiv and he said I should do it after my defense, but not earlier. (And I complied.) It seems to be a standard practice (at least in theoretical physics).\n\nIf there is demand, (very likely) you can mail your thesis privately (I did a few times). But putting it publicly may give some risk:\n\n* it could look as if you have already defended it,\n* in the case of failing (which, depends on country and procedures, may be possible or unlikely) it is kind of awkward.\n\nPlus, the standard caveats: ask your advisor, check your institution policy etc."
},
{
"answer_id": 40166,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Unless your university has a policy that explicitly forbids it (which would be very strange), you should feel free to post your thesis online as soon as it has been officially submitted and accepted."
}
] |
2015/02/19
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40164",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15949/"
] |
40,172 |
There [are](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/29219/how-to-address-a-mistake-in-an-old-paper-in-a-very-prestigious-scientific-journa?rq=1) [several](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/520/how-do-you-make-corrections-to-a-published-paper?rq=1) [questions](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/3445/what-should-can-i-do-on-finding-an-error-in-a-published-article?rq=1) on this site [about](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/27147/what-is-the-correct-procedure-to-report-typos-or-errors-in-journal-articles) [errors](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/18911/what-should-you-do-if-you-spotted-a-non-trivial-error-in-a-highly-cited-paper) in [papers](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/12195/what-should-i-do-if-i-found-a-citation-error-in-a-published-paper) and even the [errors-erratum](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/errors-erratum) tag. I'm specifically thinking of mathematical errors, where there is an unambiguous mistake, like a wrong sign or wrong physical constant. I have come across ~5 of these in the past month.
Is contacting the publisher really the best way to correct these? Sometimes papers are old and it seems unlikely that a new PDF will be generated. Would the academic research community find it useful to have one canonical site that made it very easy to submit errors and corrections. Then, when reading a paper, one could check the site with the DOI or title and see if that paper has an entry. I am considering making such a site, but wanted to check with other academics if it seems like a worthy endeavor, if a site like this already exists, or if there is a reason it does not exist.
I realize this is an opinion question. I know these types of questions get closed, but this is still the best site I can think of to ask the question, so hopefully I get some good replies before this gets downvoted.
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40182,
"author": "enthu",
"author_id": 15723,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15723",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "As far as I know, the journals or publishers which publish a paper accept errors/erratums on their published papers. So, if the errors and mistakes are too problematic, you may look for errors in the journal in which the paper is published. If you can not find such papers on errors of a previously published papers, you may write an erratum on the paper you find errors in. Also, if the errors are minor; such as grammatical mistakes, punctuations, citations, etc. you may write to the editor of the journal or it's publisher and tell them about such minor errors. They may correct such minor errors.\n\n> \n> Is there a website to record errors in papers?\n> \n> \n> \n\nIf I want to answer your question; I have never seen a journal or website in which the errors of papers are published. But, I have seen journals accepting and publishing erratums on papers they have published before (depending on their policies) which I encourage you to search the journals'/publishers' websites for such papers.\n\n> \n> Should there be such a website to record errors in papers?\n> \n> \n> \n\nThere are many journals and papers published in every branches of science. That would be a huge work to track errors in the papers. I am not so familiar with website design but I think that there should be very efficient system of moderation in such website. Also because, readers can find erratums on major errors of papers in the websites of the journals or publishers; and minor errors are not that much important to be tracked in a separate website; I personally do not find creating such website productive or helpful."
},
{
"answer_id": 40183,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "A site which has some ambitions and potential in this direction is [PubPeer](https://pubpeer.com/), which aims to be a general \"online journal club\", but which has also become a place to dissect papers for errors and possible fraud, particularly in biomedical areas. It is thus one clearing house for discussing errors in papers.\n\nInterestingly, they also have apparently set up a system that allows you to use a browser plugin to easily dual-post your comments on PubPeer to comments on the paper at the corresponding journal's site, which may also help with putting pressure on editors to actually make corrections..."
},
{
"answer_id": 40245,
"author": "Johnathan Clayborn",
"author_id": 29299,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29299",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "It's been my experience that *electronic journals* are much more friendly to correcting errors than traditional, print-based journals. That's because print-space is at a premium and it costs them money to print an erratum to a previously published article. So, in the minds of the traditional publishers, they have to justify the cost of the erratum. Electronic journals, like the one I am the editor for, don't have to worry about that. We can just go into the file, edit the word and save the document and the problem is fixed."
}
] |
2015/02/19
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40172",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/185/"
] |
40,173 |
In the introductory chapter of my thesis, I've been surveying the previous work in my field. As part of this, I've used images from some of those publications and included them as Figures in my own thesis.
Occasionally, I have slightly edited them - for instance, changing the labelling.
I usually only use one image from each paper.
My understanding is that this falls under academic fair use, and I do not need permission from any of the publishers to re-use these images in my thesis.
Am I correct?
Update:
It is fairly easy to get permission using RightsLink with most publishers. Just fill out the form on the website and you get the licence immediately.
Bill Barth's comment is extremely important - fair use is a defence rather than a prophylactic and I for one don't want to be in a position of having to defend my use of Figures in a court of law.
Of course, it is extremely unlikely that any publisher would do such a thing, but my feeling is it's better to be safe than sorry.
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40182,
"author": "enthu",
"author_id": 15723,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15723",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "As far as I know, the journals or publishers which publish a paper accept errors/erratums on their published papers. So, if the errors and mistakes are too problematic, you may look for errors in the journal in which the paper is published. If you can not find such papers on errors of a previously published papers, you may write an erratum on the paper you find errors in. Also, if the errors are minor; such as grammatical mistakes, punctuations, citations, etc. you may write to the editor of the journal or it's publisher and tell them about such minor errors. They may correct such minor errors.\n\n> \n> Is there a website to record errors in papers?\n> \n> \n> \n\nIf I want to answer your question; I have never seen a journal or website in which the errors of papers are published. But, I have seen journals accepting and publishing erratums on papers they have published before (depending on their policies) which I encourage you to search the journals'/publishers' websites for such papers.\n\n> \n> Should there be such a website to record errors in papers?\n> \n> \n> \n\nThere are many journals and papers published in every branches of science. That would be a huge work to track errors in the papers. I am not so familiar with website design but I think that there should be very efficient system of moderation in such website. Also because, readers can find erratums on major errors of papers in the websites of the journals or publishers; and minor errors are not that much important to be tracked in a separate website; I personally do not find creating such website productive or helpful."
},
{
"answer_id": 40183,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "A site which has some ambitions and potential in this direction is [PubPeer](https://pubpeer.com/), which aims to be a general \"online journal club\", but which has also become a place to dissect papers for errors and possible fraud, particularly in biomedical areas. It is thus one clearing house for discussing errors in papers.\n\nInterestingly, they also have apparently set up a system that allows you to use a browser plugin to easily dual-post your comments on PubPeer to comments on the paper at the corresponding journal's site, which may also help with putting pressure on editors to actually make corrections..."
},
{
"answer_id": 40245,
"author": "Johnathan Clayborn",
"author_id": 29299,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29299",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "It's been my experience that *electronic journals* are much more friendly to correcting errors than traditional, print-based journals. That's because print-space is at a premium and it costs them money to print an erratum to a previously published article. So, in the minds of the traditional publishers, they have to justify the cost of the erratum. Electronic journals, like the one I am the editor for, don't have to worry about that. We can just go into the file, edit the word and save the document and the problem is fixed."
}
] |
2015/02/19
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40173",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30642/"
] |
40,174 |
I published three papers during my PhD, I'm now writing my thesis.
I have written three chapters, each based around each paper, but re-written so as not to fall foul of self-plagiarism rules. However, I've still used ALL of the figures from the publication in the chapters.
My concern is not really with this aspect of my thesis, though please tell me if I've misunderstood.
Finally, in the appendix, as reference, I have included the PDF files of my published papers, exactly as they are from the journal website.
Am I allowed to do this?
If not, am I allowed to use my own copies of the paper (e.g. the versions submitted on the [arXiv](http://www.arxiv.org/))?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40176,
"author": "Davidmh",
"author_id": 12587,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12587",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Plagiarism is passing other people's work as your own. Self plagiarism is reusing your own work, while passing it for new. From an ethical point of view, there is no problem in reusing the figures, provided you indicate it as reproduced from the paper.\n\nThe copyright issue is trickier. Technically, in most cases, the journal owns the copyright, and you are not allowed to distribute it or reuse your figures without their permission. But, as many institutions follow a sandwich thesis (that is, the body of the thesis are the papers verbatim), the copyright transfer agreement explicitly permits this reproduction. You should look at what you signed and see if it applies. Otherwise, you should ask the journal."
},
{
"answer_id": 40177,
"author": "Nicholas",
"author_id": 1424,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1424",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "I don't understand why you are repeating the same material twice in your thesis. Each of your three papers is re-cast in a separate chapter in your thesis, and then verbatim in an appendix. \n\nYou most likely have assigned your original copyright in your papers to the journal that published them.\n\nI think adding the papers as an appendix is unnecessary, and may fall foul of the journal's copyright. The interested reader should be pointed to the journal article relating to each of the three chapters. \n\nIf you reproduce substantially the same figures as that which appears in the journal -- to whom you've presumably assigned the copyright in the figures -- then you will need to ask for a license to reproduce those figures."
},
{
"answer_id": 40188,
"author": "Giannos Antoniou",
"author_id": 30648,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30648",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "First of all, this is a topic you HAVE TO discuss with your supervisor, no matter what we will tell you here.\nThe answer for me is clear: Use your papers in your thesis and use reference every time you are stating something important. It is important,before the abstract, use one page where you list your accepted papers (full description, including the publication), state your contribution (in case of multiple authors), and explain in a high level in which chapters you have used it.\nFor the Figures, just use references.\n\n\" but re-written so as not to fall foul of self-plagiarism rules\"....Try to realize the role of a conference paper, a journal paper and a chapter and it's really easy to avoid the self-plagiarism rules. Once you realize their differences, you will do many changes, especially to the first two and the last two sections. Believe me.\n\nNo need to add as an appendix your accepted papers. You just need to declare them in your references."
},
{
"answer_id": 40192,
"author": "Nick Vence",
"author_id": 30542,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30542",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "The purpose of a thesis/dissertation: showcase the work you *have* done.\nIt need not include substantial, new, unpublished work.\n\n* Organize your papers to tell the story of your graduate experience (one paper per chapter).\n* Add appropriate transition material.\n* Write an Introduction & Conclusion chapter.\n* Talk to your advisor.\n\nConsider the following chapter-opening paragraph:\n\n> \n> The following text in this chapter is my first publication [1] (Journal of Computation) which describes the method I developed for ...\n> \n> \n> Insert Title, Abstract, & Text of your 1st publication\n> \n> \n>"
},
{
"answer_id": 40195,
"author": "awsoci",
"author_id": 28324,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28324",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "**The below response may or may not be helpful depending on the copyright laws of your university/country etc (this is based on Australia):** \n\nI just completed my PhD so I can enlighten you a bit, having published papers during the course of my PhD that was then used in the body of my thesis. \n\nI published an article based on a chapter I had written, and then reincorporated that article back into my chapter (effectively 'updating' the chapter). \n\nI didn't have to worry about any copyright issues regarding tables/figures/material nor did I have to cite the information.I was able to really just copy and paste it in. All I had to do was write in my acknowledgements:\n\n> \n> Parts of \\_\\_\\_ have been previously published as (insert citation here). \n> \n> \n> \n\nI was able to do this, because I chose to **NOT** publish my thesis as an ebook through the university (nor did I choose to publish it as a book). Your thesis is not considered a publication unless it is published as an academic book, or as an ebook (online copies through the library are not considered ebooks). This also meant that any pictures (of which I had plenty) only required citation information/source information, but I did not have to seek permission to use those images. If I wanted to publish the images in a paper or book, I would have to seek permission. \n\nIf you are planning to publish your thesis as an ebook or academic book, that is when you will run into self-plagiarism issues. \n\nMy advice? **Do not opt to publish your thesis as an ebook/academic book.** You've already published three papers (which is fantastic!) from your data, continue to go that route. \n\nThis means you can use as much as you want from your publications into your thesis. \n\nOf course, this is the practice where I studied, as others have suggested, get in touch with your supervisor about these issues as well as the copyright experts (usually associated with the library). \n\nGenerally though, you don't have to worry about copyright regarding reincorporating your journal articles back into your thesis UNLESS you then decide to publish said thesis. You don't even need to cite the information you've used from your journal articles if they were formed from the data of your doctorate. \n\nThis is of course, based on the idea that your journal articles were based on your thesis chapters and are not too different/not relevant to your thesis."
},
{
"answer_id": 135633,
"author": "buzjwa",
"author_id": 82333,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/82333",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "Refer to the publisher's copyright agreement. It should detail exactly what types of reuse are allowed for authors.\n-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nReproducing your published articles in your thesis is generally permitted and indeed some universities require it as part of the thesis.\nThe only way to be sure is to directly check with the publisher(s) of your papers.\n\nHere is an example from OUP Journals ([source](https://academic.oup.com/journals/pages/access_purchase/rights_and_permissions/publication_rights), emphasis mine):\n\n> \n> ### Rights retained by ALL Oxford Journal authors\n> \n> \n> * ...\n> * **The right to include the article in full or in part in a thesis or dissertation, provided that this is not published commercially;**\n> \n> \n> For the uses specified here, please note that there is no need for you\n> to apply for written permission from Oxford University Press in\n> advance. Please go ahead with the use ensuring that a full\n> acknowledgment is made to the original source of the material\n> including the journal name, volume, issue, page numbers, year of\n> publication, title of article and to Oxford University Press and/or\n> the learned society.\n> \n> \n> \n\nHere it is very clear that you are allowed to reproduce your papers published by OUP in your thesis and are not required to ask for permission.\n\nCheck with the publishers of your papers. It is very likely they have something along these lines in their copyright agreements."
},
{
"answer_id": 135809,
"author": "ATTMK2",
"author_id": 30642,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30642",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "An update on what I ended up doing: it turns out that most publishers will allow you to publish your own papers in your PhD thesis in full without any issue - I included all my papers, in their full published format and also in edited form in the Chapters, and this was covered by the copyright usage on the publisher websites."
}
] |
2015/02/19
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40174",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30642/"
] |
40,200 |
I am currently working in a faculty where among the courses in CS there is one about Computer Graphics. That course was taught last year by a professor who actually has retired, and who was a specialist in the field. The thing is that the Diap has talked to me for putting me in charge of that course in the undergraduate level, mostly because the other lecturers are with no available free time at all; and it will take some time to hire another professor.
The problem that I have is that even I hold a MSc in Computer Science, the knowledge that I have about Computer Graphics is basic. Only what I have followed in my bachelor's a long time ago.
Actually I am little scare of what to do, I have started compiling material for read and prepare my upcoming lectures, but I am afraid that maybe I will not be able to make a good course. In short, what strategy should I follow for lecturing a course in which I have only a basic background? Should I be completely honest in the first session and mention the students that this area is mostly new for me?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40201,
"author": "icedtrees",
"author_id": 30608,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30608",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "I have a few additions on top of the related question.\n\nI don't think you should be too concerned about your abilities. Your domain knowledge will be beyond the vast majority of the undergraduate students, and thus you will acquire knowledge very quickly. It is inevitable that you will miss some of the obscurities and fine details in the first time running the course, regardless of your graphics background.\n\nSpecifically about Computer Graphics: I had a lecturer who had no background in computer graphics. She was taking the course for the first time, and it was one of the best courses I've experienced as an undergrad.\n\nFactors contributing to success:\n\n* She took material from the previous lecturer (who had experienced success) and adapted it to her needs.\n* She used many illustrative, well-commented code examples\n* The assignments were fun, the results were impressive, and there was much opportunity for creativity and your own modifications. (bonus marks awarded for 'extension' tasks such as rain, fire, shadow effects)\n* Lectures were absolutely full of practical examples. She wrote code on the spot and demonstrated how they affected the graphics. She solved mathematical equations on the spot and connected them up to code examples.\n* The ideas taught facilitated graphical effects that were impressive and instructive, and with simple code examples. For example, a rain effect is constructed very concisely by randomly generating 2D rectangles, and you can teach billboarding with it. A realistic tree is constructed concisely with a lindenmayer system.\n\nThe [course website](http://webapps.cse.unsw.edu.au/webcms2/course/index.php?cid=2363) is open to everyone.\n\nI think you should mention that it is your first time teaching it, and ask the students for feedback during the semester (**early** in the course). They will be more forgiving and more inclined to offer helpful suggestions."
},
{
"answer_id": 40358,
"author": "MrMeritology",
"author_id": 17564,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/17564",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "I suggest that you plan for a self-study program in Computer Graphics before you start the first day of this class. If you can't plan a self-study program for your self, then you do not have adequate mastery to teach the course.\n\nYou should do ***all*** of the exercises and projects yourself. If you can't or won't do this, then you shouldn't teach the course. As you do all these exercises and projects, you should take copious notes on what questions and problems arise, and what you find confusing. Computer Graphics is a well-established branch of Computer Science, so if you find yourself unable to explain the basic concepts clearly, then you shouldn't teach the course.\n\nFinally, you should put some attention to your written communication. Your question has many grammatical mistakes. E.g. \"Actually I am little scare of what to do, ...\" should be: \"Speaking frankly, I am a bit scared regarding what I should do.\" No matter what you are teaching, speaking and writing well is a vital skill."
}
] |
2015/02/20
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40200",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6144/"
] |
40,205 |
My dissertation is drafted in a paper format which consists of three papers that I am planning to publish in future. Can I submit the manuscript to journals in 'as is' condition or I will have to draft new manuscripts based on the old manuscripts.
Please advise.
Thank you.
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40207,
"author": "Behacad",
"author_id": 15261,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15261",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Are you hoping to publish in a peer-reviewed journal? If so, I expect your dissertation will need to go through substantial revisions. More specifically, I expect your dissertation will need to be condensed to some extent. Many journals for example want articles less than 5000 words, and I expect your dissertation, even in three papers, would be larger than this. \n\nIt is possible that your dissertation is brief and will require minimal changes, but this is not often the case. I would check what journals you want to submit to, and check their length requirements. Often manuscripts based off of manuscripts feel like they were originally a manuscript, and not in a good way. Journal articles often get to the point quite quicker. For example, in original research articles (not reviews and such), introductions vary from 500-3000 words depending on the field (more is possible, of course). In a dissertation, an introduction might be 30 pages!\n\nYour dissertation likely also covers a fair bit of breadth. Make sure to include in a manuscript only the information that is relevant to that specific paper and line of thinking. \n\nI'm assuming this question is about the content/format, and not copyright and such. If you are wondering about copyright, my impression is what in most cases you can submit your dissertation exactly as it is for publication, unless you have already signed your copyright away."
},
{
"answer_id": 40210,
"author": "mako",
"author_id": 5962,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/5962",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "**It is often possible to republish your dissertation as articles but it depends on the publishers and it sometimes requires permission.**\n\nJournal publishers will generally not publish work that is published elsewhere but dissertations are a common exception. [This page run by the MIT libraries](https://libraries.mit.edu/scholarly/publishing/theses-copyright/theses-and-article-publishing/) lists many science and engineering publishers and their rules about publishing articles that first appeared in dissertations. For other publishers, you'll need to check websites or ask journal staff or editor."
},
{
"answer_id": 108621,
"author": "user2768",
"author_id": 22768,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22768",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "**You can extract three manuscripts from your dissertation and publish**, but...\n\nYour dissertation presumably comprises of the following sections: (1) Introduction, (2) Tools (filed dependent background material), (3) Manuscript 1, (4) Manuscript 2, (5) Manuscript 3, and (6) Conclusion. You can't simply pull-out Sections 3-5 and publish, because they lack sufficient introduction and tools. Moreover, before your dissertation is accepted, those sections might change. So, \n\nI suggest that you:\n\n1. Wait until your dissertation is accepted (hence, all sections are in final version),\n2. (Assuming you're using LaTeX) add macros to Section 2 so that it can present tools for each of Manuscripts 1-3 individually (this avoids having to maintain three overlapping sections), and\n3. Merge each of Sections 3-5 with Section 1 and the aforementioned tools section to derive three manuscripts.\n\nIf you are still drafting your dissertation, then you might be able to reduce the above work load a little, but, I'd suggest not worrying too much about that."
}
] |
2015/02/20
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40205",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30667/"
] |
40,208 |
I'm a Computer Science graduate student enrolled in a US University. In a class I'm currently taking, the professor has just given us a strange assignment. The professor works full-time in industry and is teaching classes at the University by night.
He has given us a piece of legacy code from the company where he works, which he doesn't have time to deal with. Our assignment is to optimize this piece of code for him. For full credit, we must obtain a 10% performance increase, but the professor isn't sure that this is even possible. He has also stated that he will take the best solution and use it in his commercial applications at work.
Additionally, the professor has offered cash prizes for the top 4 or 5 students, ranging from $50 - $400.
I have several issues with this:
1. A successful assignment is going to require something new and/or novel to accomplish it, since the professor isn't sure how to do it himself. I'm not ok with just giving him and his company the copyright and other IP rights to the code I create to do this.
2. There's no direct educational goal associated with this assignment. He's simply offloading work he doesn't have time for or can't accomplish to his class.
3. To me, it seems unethical to try to monetarily incentivize the class to perform better at the work.
My questions:
Are my concerns legitimate and should I get my adviser or the department head involved?
Is there some way I can opt out of the assignment and request an alternative assignment to complete, based on my IP concerns?
**Update:**
I checked my university's IP policy and students do indeed retain all rights to works created without financial backing from the university. Also, it seems other students had similar concerns and got the department involved before I even had a chance to. The department had the professor alter the assignment so that the requirements were more clearly defined and he doesn't stand to gain much from students answers.
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40214,
"author": "ctokelly",
"author_id": 12045,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12045",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Your institution will likely have a policy on IP and assignments so that might be worth exploring. The IP will likely either rest with you or with the university itself, or with you but with conditions (such as you accepting the work be submitted to plagiarism checking software and the like).\n\nEither way, it's possible that your institution would have something to say about professors using their professorial time for private gain."
},
{
"answer_id": 40215,
"author": "earthling",
"author_id": 2692,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2692",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "You stated:\n\n> \n> I'm not ok with just giving him and his company the copyright\n> \n> \n> \n\nI sounds like you would not be *giving* but rather *trading* your code for the prize money. As ctokelly wrote in another answer, you should check your university's IP rules for code created as coursework and who holds the copyright. It might not even be yours to begin with (but do not assume either way - check).\n\nSelling custom code happens all the time but I agree, you should not be forced into participating. I applaud the prof's use of real-world examples in order to teach students. **I suspect if you approach your prof with your concern, he would find a solution to your concern** (like giving you an alternate assignment or simply not taking the copyright). That said, practicing on real-world problems is always good (even if you feel you do not want to submit your solution)."
},
{
"answer_id": 40267,
"author": "D.W.",
"author_id": 705,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/705",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "You seem to be asking about two different things: (a) is it OK to assign coding assignments based on the instructor's real-world experience, and where the instructor isn't sure how to solve it himself? (b) is it OK for the instructor to use your solution/your code in his company, without your permission? You should keep them separate, as they're likely to have very different answers.\n\n**Is it OK to assign this sort of assignment?** Yes, absolutely! It sounds like it could potentially be a great project, if designed well. A course project that's based on a real-world problem? Sounds wonderful. The instructor isn't sure what the best way to solve it will be? Open-ended projects can be great, too, as a way to boost creativity.\n\nOf course, it's the instructors responsibility to design the course project so it will inspire learning and meet the pedagogical goals of the course, but nothing about \"based on the instructor's real-world experience\" or \"the instructor doesn't know how to solve it himself\" is incompatible with that (and those could even be beneficial features). So, your negative reaction to that aspect is unjustified.\n\n**Is it OK for the instructor to use your solution in his company, without your permission?** Almost certainly not. There are both ethical and legal concerns.\n\nFrom an ethical standpoint, this seems like a potential abuse of the instructor's position of power.\n\nFrom a legal standpoint, this could run into intellectual property issues for the company. At the university I am most familiar with, the university has an official policy on copyright. It explicitly states that student coursework remains the student's property: the student retains copyright in essays, code, etc. that they write in their course.\n\nSo, look into your university's official policy. If the university has a similar policy, then the situation is very clear: this is a great assignment, and the instructor has every right to offer this assignment -- but he cannot use your code at his company (without a written signed agreement from you transferring copyright, and it would of course be highly improper for him to expect/demand this as a requirement of the course).\n\nAlso, depending upon laws in your jurisdiction, it's possible that this abuse of the instructor's position of power [could itself pose legal issues](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/24563/705).\n\nIn his enthusiasm, your instructor might not have realized these issues or thought through them very carefully. Don't assume bad faith -- this could well be a situation where the instructor saw a great opportunity for learning, and failed to recognize the issues with this aspect of the assignment. I'd suggest you start by talking to the instructor in person and very respectfully having a discussion about this: you could start by mentioning that you are not comfortable with him using your code for anything beyond the course, and his statement that he would use solutions makes you uncomfortable. Have a meeting in person -- an email is too easy to misconstrue. Assume good faith, share your concerns, and see what he has to say. It's possible that this might be a misunderstanding or that he might be entirely receptive to your concerns."
},
{
"answer_id": 40529,
"author": "cbeleites unhappy with SX",
"author_id": 725,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/725",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "* I totally agree that this has a smell of abusing power maybe even extracting benefits.\n* But then you should never use conspiracy theories to explain things that may just be thoughtless.\n\nAll the rest of this answer depends very much on your legislation. I'm stating guesses (IANAL) from a German perspective. \n\n**Copyright** thougts:\n\n* I guess that whoever holds the copyright is most likely not the professor (i.e. probably the student, possibly [for Germany: very unlikely] the university). So the professor needs to obtain a license to use the assignment code in their application.\n* But: copyright is about the actual work = actual code. The idea behind is not covered by copyright. So using someone else's algorithm for an application with their own implementation is usually legal (unless the algorithm is patented).\n\n**Ethics** and related legal stuff:\n\n* But: doing this in an exam-like situation may constitute abuse of power, because the students are not free to decide whether they tell the professor of their solution: the grading assignment *forces* them to reveal their best idea. Thus, they are not in an equal position. \n\nI really have no idea about the legal situation this, but I could imagine that this could lead to a special protection of the student IP (something along the lines of unconscionability).\n* The assignments need to be *graded* before the prize money could be offered to any particular student. If something like a license agreement plus \"prize\" is \"offered\" after student already received the mark, the student may be in an equal position for negotiation again.\n* On the other hand, if the grading is not the final mark, and/or there is a chance to encounter the professor in other lectures, the professor may violate their duty (Germany) to avoid everything that could cast a suspicion of extracting benefits/undue pressure.\n* Note that a copyright transfer without proper compensation may be void, at the very least in a situation where the professor's side can dictate the price.\n* Putting the students under undue pressure in an exam-like situation may anyways void all kinds of agreements (e.g. license agreements before the assignment is graded)."
}
] |
2015/02/20
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40208",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30668/"
] |
40,218 |
In my thesis, I would like to refer to a set of links. These are tools/calculators/etc. related to my subject, included to show that there is an interest in society at large in this topic.
I'm wondering what the best way would be to include them. Options include:
* all (15+) in the running text is cumbersome;
* a table with only one column looks just plain weird;
* as references [1,3-5,76] breaks the flow of reading, and mixes them up with formal, cited literature sources. I would not suggest that these links are quality sources of anything, their simple existence is the point;
* as an appendix diminishes their impact.
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40219,
"author": "Maarten Buis",
"author_id": 14471,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14471",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "You could include them as an itemized list. Something like:\n\nThere is a lot of intest in topic XYZ, as can be seen from the following example websites:\n\n* http://(somepersonalwebsite).xyz\n* http://(department).(institution).xyz/(applicable-tool)/\n* etc.\n\nIt is basically a variation on the table with 1 column, but it looks less \"weird\"."
},
{
"answer_id": 40221,
"author": "d_l_b",
"author_id": 30678,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30678",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "I am personally more in favor of using footnotes for that purpose; I used this approach extensively in my theses.\n\nYou can use a web link for one of two purposes: to point to the website of something you mentioned, or as a reference to support a statement you make. In the latter case, a citation to a formal reference is preferred (with title, link, authorship date, and the date you last checked the link):\n\n* Text: McDonald’s toys are A, B, and C [42].\n* Reference: [42] “McDonald’s Happy Meal Toy Safety Facts,” McDonald’s Corporation, accessed July 19, 2008, xttp://www.mcdonalds.com/corp/about/factsheets.html.\n\nBut you are asking for the former case, for which I'd opt for something in the lines of:\n\n* Text: Social network websites like Facebook¹, Twitter² of LinkedIn³ are... .\n* Bottom of the page: \n\n¹ `http://www.facebook.com` \n\n² `http://www.twitter.com` \n\n³ `http://www.linkedin.com`"
},
{
"answer_id": 40225,
"author": "O. R. Mapper",
"author_id": 14017,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14017",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "Personally, I am in favour of adding them as references in the bibliography section.\n\nWith that said, I am from a CS subfield that is very close to the \"real world\" in a way that related work is almost always a motley mixture of peer-reviewed publications, books, newspaper articles, technical standard documents (such as those by W3C), and actual innovative software or websites (whose concepts were never formally published in a scientific venue), i.e. sources with a continuously varying degree of reliability. Consequently, trying to find a well-defined rule about what to add as a footnote and what to add as a bibliography reference is certain to give you headaches (and uncertain to lead to a useful and consistent result).\n\nHowever, I can see a few (maybe a bit subjective) general advantages of using bibliography items rather than footnotes for links (in no particular order):\n\n* Bibliography items tend to more or less have a fixed format. Frequently, meta-information such as year of publication or author can be provided for web resources just as it can for anything else. When using a footnote, authors may be tempted to just provide the link and skip the meta-information that would be naturally included in a bibliography item, thereby foregoing both any due attribution and any information required to possibly locate the resource again, should the link die.\n* I have seen styleguides that generally forbid the use of footnotes (e.g. [\"Please do *not* use footnotes at all!\"](https://www.eg.org/index.php/downloads/file/26-egauthorguidelines-cgf-sub)), but I have yet to see a styleguide that generally forbids the use of a bibliography. By not using any footnotes, your manuscript is one step closer to being agnostic of the final formatting used (and thus matches with the ideal of separating content from layout).\n* If the same web resource is mentioned twice throughout your document, there is absolutely no problem if the link is provided in a bibliography item, which is simply referenced twice in your text, if appropriate (e.g. if the two mentions are sufficiently far apart). If the link is in a footnote, on the other hand, things are not so clear:\n\t+ The footnote can be added several times in the document. However, this means a waste of space, and it may also confuse readers who expect some new information when reading a new footnote for the first time, or who might wonder whether they are looking at a copy-and-paste error where a previously unmentioned link should be provided. Personally, I consider this \"solution\" downright bad style.\n\t+ The same footnote can be pointed to several times. While this may be slightly cumbersome in some typesetting software, it is definitely feasible. However, it significantly increases the effort for finding the footnote (it might be on any page in the document), and the need to switch to another page than the one the reader is currently on kind of defeats the purpose of footnotes, anyway.\n* As a reader, I find keeping track of references, figure numbers, and table numbers that I still want to look into after finishing or while reading the current paragraph or section hard enough. There is no reason to add yet another independent list for footnote numbers.\n* Also as a reader, I have a certain expectation what amount of information I will find when following a pointer to additional information. For bibliography references, it is clear that the pointer points to an entire external document. For footnotes, I conversely prefer it to be clear that the pointer points to no more than one or two sentences worth of additional information (for which I do not need to search for and/or open another document)."
},
{
"answer_id": 40228,
"author": "Rafa Soler",
"author_id": 30684,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30684",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "I did it like bibliography using a url shortener, this way the link is usable for those who read it in paper or electronic format and will avoid many issues with the bibliography format.\n\nOne thing you should consider is to include the lasta access data to the link (they can remove it).\n\nJust in case, you can consider adding and annex where display the URLs unshortened whit their match, so if anyone can't access any of them can try to search by ieself in the web."
}
] |
2015/02/20
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40218",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28202/"
] |
40,220 |
A prospective employer requested a copy of my PhD thesis and some unpublished papers (still working on them). Is it wise to hand these to them?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40231,
"author": "user141592",
"author_id": 27327,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27327",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "From the ethics course we had to take during the first semester of grad school: it depends. \n\nIf your research contains anything that is waiting to be patented, then you can't pass it on to a potential employer. \n\nIf your research was funded by industry, then you can't pass on unpublished work without the permission of whoever funded it (you could get sued). \n\nIf it is part of a larger project that your advisor is working on, then you shouldn't pass it on without their permission (you probably won't face legal action, but your advisor could be very upset with you). \n\nAs Nate pointed out in the comments, if you have coauthors for any of this material, you need to check with them before passing on anything.\n\nIf it was funded by anyone who made you sign confidentiality agreements, then you can't pass it on without permission (I know people who receive funding from the NSA for cryptography work, or the DoD to work on certain engineering projects who had to sign such papers).\n\nIf your chapters contain medical or otherwise personal data collected, make sure it has been anonymised to whatever standards there are in your field (HIPAA etc).\n\nIf none of these apply, then you can probably pass it on without problems. I would still check with my advisor if I were you though, just to make sure."
},
{
"answer_id": 40242,
"author": "Johnathan Clayborn",
"author_id": 29299,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29299",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "I agree completely with Juhevna. Chances are, if you mentioned the papers during an interview, they might be trying to assess your ability by looking at your work, much like a portfolio. They probably aren't looking to steal your work, if that's what you're worried about. And if you are worried about that, why would you even want to work for them at all?"
},
{
"answer_id": 41700,
"author": "8404man",
"author_id": 31785,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31785",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "If you value the papers, give them a sample or a copyrighted version, if you think they are valuable enough to put copyright on. But if not, send them, and if they copy, you ruin their reputation by creating a campaign on social media about mistreatment of employees."
}
] |
2015/02/20
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40220",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30677/"
] |
40,227 |
I currently hold a bachelor's degree at Biomedical Engineering and I want to do a Master's Degree in Computer Science at California.
Would that be a problem?
Since I don't have a high GPA and the proper specialization, should I pursue a certificate of Computer Science first, increase my GPA and then apply for the Master's?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40231,
"author": "user141592",
"author_id": 27327,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27327",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "From the ethics course we had to take during the first semester of grad school: it depends. \n\nIf your research contains anything that is waiting to be patented, then you can't pass it on to a potential employer. \n\nIf your research was funded by industry, then you can't pass on unpublished work without the permission of whoever funded it (you could get sued). \n\nIf it is part of a larger project that your advisor is working on, then you shouldn't pass it on without their permission (you probably won't face legal action, but your advisor could be very upset with you). \n\nAs Nate pointed out in the comments, if you have coauthors for any of this material, you need to check with them before passing on anything.\n\nIf it was funded by anyone who made you sign confidentiality agreements, then you can't pass it on without permission (I know people who receive funding from the NSA for cryptography work, or the DoD to work on certain engineering projects who had to sign such papers).\n\nIf your chapters contain medical or otherwise personal data collected, make sure it has been anonymised to whatever standards there are in your field (HIPAA etc).\n\nIf none of these apply, then you can probably pass it on without problems. I would still check with my advisor if I were you though, just to make sure."
},
{
"answer_id": 40242,
"author": "Johnathan Clayborn",
"author_id": 29299,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29299",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "I agree completely with Juhevna. Chances are, if you mentioned the papers during an interview, they might be trying to assess your ability by looking at your work, much like a portfolio. They probably aren't looking to steal your work, if that's what you're worried about. And if you are worried about that, why would you even want to work for them at all?"
},
{
"answer_id": 41700,
"author": "8404man",
"author_id": 31785,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31785",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "If you value the papers, give them a sample or a copyrighted version, if you think they are valuable enough to put copyright on. But if not, send them, and if they copy, you ruin their reputation by creating a campaign on social media about mistreatment of employees."
}
] |
2015/02/20
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40227",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/19954/"
] |
40,230 |
Related to my work is a large project, with many publication. There is not a single recent publication that is particularly related to my work, and most of the publications have a particular focus on some aspect of that project that is less related.
What is the best way to reference that project’s work in general?
As my advisor advised against citing something too old, my current approach is to pick the latest entry on their publication list that roughly covers the project as a whole. In this case, it is the invited talk at a large conference, so I am not sure if it is the best choice.
If you care about the details: The field is computer science, and I want to reference the `CompCert` project [(publication list)](http://compcert.inria.fr/publi-by-year.html).
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40232,
"author": "Stephan Kolassa",
"author_id": 4140,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4140",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "> \n> pick the latest entry on their publication list that roughly covers\n> the project as a whole\n> \n> \n> \n\nThis sounds like the best you can do in this situation. You should clarify that you are referring to the project as a whole, e.g., by writing: \n\n> \n> ... as found by the CompCert project (e.g., Foo & Bar, 2012; see also <http://compcert.inria.fr>)...\n> \n> \n> \n\nThe \"e.g.\" clarifies that this is an *example* publication. I like [xLeitix' suggestion](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40230/how-to-cite-large-projects#comment88378_40230) of citing the project website. \n\n---\n\nIn this particular instance, I notice that there are no publications after 2012, so it seems like the project is finished, is it? In such cases, people might have a capstone publication \"The CompCert project: overview, lessons learned and the way forward\" that you could cite - which of course won't help you if the project is still ongoing.\n\n---\n\nFinally, you could of course contact the project's principal investigators and ask them how they would like the project to be cited. It would be a good idea to put such a piece of information somewhere prominent on the project website."
},
{
"answer_id": 40233,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "Since software usually isn't peer reviewed, there's often a so-called marker paper that serves as the paper the authors want everyone to refer to when giving credit to the project for the software itself. These papers usually have a title like \"FooBaz: the Frobinator for Multi-core Systems\" or some such thing. In this case \"Sylvie Boldo, Jacques-Henri Jourdan, Xavier Leroy, and Xiilneuro Melxoionf. A formally-verified C compiler supporting floating-point arithmetic. In ARITH, 21st IEEE International Symposium on Computer Arithmetic, pages 107-115. IEEE Computer Society Press, 2013\" seems like a pretty good overview of the project (from the title), but I haven't read it. \n\nAs we say around here, you should only cite works you've read, so you should read whatever you end up citing."
}
] |
2015/02/20
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40230",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30686/"
] |
40,234 |
I like to get as much practice as I can before an exam so is it permissable to use other colleges or universities' practice exams or handouts for practice. I am not distributing them to anyone, selling them or profiting. Just want to get as much practice as possible. I was wondering if this is ok?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40235,
"author": "enthu",
"author_id": 15723,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15723",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Studying universities practice exams, handouts, pamphlets, books, etc. is perfect only if you respect their privacy and rights."
},
{
"answer_id": 40244,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "If they've put it up freely available online, then they have made it available for people like yourself to read. Enjoy!"
}
] |
2015/02/20
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40234",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30687/"
] |
40,239 |
I have only 2 publications from my PhD, and I am applying for a post-doc position.
My fields are: Theoretical physical chemistry; condensed matter physics;
computational chemistry; cluster science.
I am already a postdoc and I am finishing 2 publications, and my collaborators are going to write other 2. The problems are: I have no idea when those 2 papers, that I am going to be co-author, will be published; the only proof I have publications is those 2 from my PhD, which are not really connected with the position I am applying for.
How to justify the lack of publications in my application form?
I always had this feeling that putting "manuscript in preparation" in my publication list sounds weird, even if it is true.
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40246,
"author": "Memming",
"author_id": 386,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/386",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "If you are nearly finished with your papers you are preparing, you can always send them to show that things are in the pipeline. Just make sure to put a note saying \"in preparation: DO NOT DISTRIBUTE\" or something similar in your manuscripts.\n\nDepending on your area 2 papers is not bad, especially if they are really good papers."
},
{
"answer_id": 40248,
"author": "Federico Poloni",
"author_id": 958,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/958",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "I do not understand why you find \"weird\" putting manuscripts in preparation in your CV. In my field, it is perfectly normal and accepted, and I guess in all academia.\n\nThis is the best way to explain what you did in the last years. It won't be strange at all, especially if you have talks on those results already, as you imply in a comment. These things happen; sometimes papers take a long time to prepare, and a selection committee should be aware of this fact.\n\nIt would look much weirder, in my view, if you don't list them and write a long statement in the cover letter about the lack of publications. As they said in ancient Rome, \"he who excuses himself unsolicited, accuses himself\"."
},
{
"answer_id": 40273,
"author": "Tom Au",
"author_id": 755,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/755",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "The issue is not \"how many\" publications you have, but how good (and relevant) they are.\n\nIf you have two publications that \"hit the mark\" in your field, you're fine. The rest can be explained by the fact that you were doing a lot of coursework, or maybe teaching.\n\nIf someone has a bunch of second-rate publications in \"general science,\" that's not going to get them very far in physics or chemistry research."
}
] |
2015/02/20
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40239",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15639/"
] |
40,257 |
If all students of a class sign a petition claiming that a professor of a course is unqualified to teach, does the department/faculty change that professor?
Do students have this right? and what is the procedure to do so?
When ALL students sign a letter that they do not learn in the class of a professor, what is the responsibility of the department/university?
Some mentioned the need for solid evidence. What evidence students can provide that they do not learn anything in a class?
Isn't it the university responsibility to satisfy students by offering high quality education?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40259,
"author": "Nate Eldredge",
"author_id": 1010,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1010",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "Such a petition is something that a department head or dean would take seriously. But at most universities, it would be their decision what action to take, if any; a petition wouldn't obligate them to make a change. \n\nConsider that if such petitions were binding, it would give the students an undue amount of leverage over the professor; if they got a difficult homework assignment or something else they just didn't like, they could threaten to submit a petition to get the professor removed.\n\nThere is a principle of \"academic freedom\" that the administration will generally avoid interfering with how courses are taught, within reason, so it would probably take a pretty egregious deficiency for the administration to take the disruptive step of removing a professor in the middle of a course.\n\nIt is likely to be more effective to start with one or two students having an informal discussion with the department head about the situation; a petition doesn't leave much opportunity for dialogue or compromise.\n\nNote also that the department head's decision would likely be based less on the students' *opinion* of the course, and more on objective information about what the professor is actually doing. So it would be more helpful to avoid phrases like \"everyone hates this class\" and prefer specific examples: \"the professor did this and this, and here is why we think this is a problem\"."
},
{
"answer_id": 40297,
"author": "awsoci",
"author_id": 28324,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28324",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "I would tread carefully with this situation. It seems as though you dislike this professor, and without detailed information as to why, it comes across as that you just don't like them and want them changed. \n\nI also don't think you've given enough information to help us formulate a strong response, so I'm going to just have to go with the bare minimum that you've provided.\n\n**My questions to you:**\n\n1. Why do you feel that you are not effectively learning in this course? Have you been doing your assigned readings and putting enough time and effort with your assessments? Have you been attending office hours of the professor or TA to help your learning with topics that you are struggling with?\n2. What is it specifically about this particular course that you feel the professor is doing a poor job in teaching? Are they not explaining concepts clearly enough? Do you not like the structure of the content? Is the professor displaying any behaviours that are sexist/racist etc and making you feel uncomfortable? Is there a large gap between the course content taught, and how you are assessed (i.e. are you being tested on material never covered, either in the lecture or in your reading packages?). Are you utilising other services in the university, such as language and writing services (if you are writing essays) or are you expecting the professor to help you with everything and not taking responsibility for your education?\n3. Are you receiving poor marks on your assessment? Do you feel that you are not receiving enough feedback? Is this frustration about your marks and not necessarily about the professor, in which you are blaming the professor for your performance? Are the students as a collective receiving poor marks across the board (i.e. are all students failing?)?\n4. How much of this 'collective' regarding how students feel about the professor is, in part, a truthful perspective? Sometimes, a person's voice which is the loudest can influence others to feel the same way but is not reflective of reality.\n5. Is this actually about their teaching, or do you just not like the professor? Are they challenging you more than others have? Is the teacher young and female, or of an ethnicity/race that does not conform to the standard white, middle-class heterosexual male? There are studies that have shown on multiple occasions that students are much more likely to disrespect young female professors/professors of colour and believe that they lack the competency to teach. Do you think this could be the case if the above is true?\n6. What kind of university/college are you attending? Some universities are teaching orientated, while others are research orientated. This means that how content is taught and assessed with dramatically vary.\n\n**My response based on the limited information you've provided:**\n\n1. Complaining about a professor, even as a group, will be regarded with a high level of scepticism, especially if students are not able to provide **objective** evidence to support their claims. If the course content matches what you are assessed with, and it comes to light that as a student, you have not attended office hours or put in the extra effort to improve your learning, your concerns will be disregarded. If; however, the content does not match that which is assessed, and the lectures are found to be sporadic and unhelpful, you have a case that should be considered.\n2. If you decide to go meet with the head of school or dean, you need to prepare a list of reasons that can be objectively assessed (i.e. evidence of the lectures and assessments, examples of feedback on your assessments, and so on). You also need to be prepared that if you are doing poorly in the course, that you have evidence that you have done everything you can as a student to try and improve (i.e. meeting with the professor to go over poor assessments) and so on. One suggestion that you can give, or might be met with, is having a member of staff sit in on the class to evaluate the professor's teaching. They will have the expertise to effectively determine whether or not the course content and the lectures are accessible for students.\n3. One thing students seem to forget, and struggle with, is that this is not high school where you might have been (what we call) 'spoonfed.' At university, there is an expectation that you are mostly an independent learner/ A professor is not going to identify you as a student if you are struggling, you have to take responsibility for that yourself.\n\nSome things to think about. I'm not suggesting that you don't go to the head of school or the dean if you really think that something is wrong. What I am asking you to do is think more objectively about why you want to remove a professor from a course, and whether you have a legitimate cause, or if you are just frustrated."
},
{
"answer_id": 40301,
"author": "Kate Gregory",
"author_id": 12693,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12693",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "I faced this as a student. A small group of us went to the head. Getting someone else to take over the course during the term is rarely an option. It's not like there is someone else who knows the material and is teaching one course less than a full load just waiting to be asked to take this on. However the department can assign a TA to reduce marking workload (or increase marking fairness) and help students during extra tutorials, they can reduce some of the prof's other duties to allow more time to be spent prepping your course, and they can generally tell the prof \"pull up your socks.\" These things may help you a lot more than getting the prof turfed and having the course taught by a contract lecturer.\n\nIf you intend to go to the administration, here are some tips:\n\n* go with a problem (our prof is not doing a good job) not a solution (please fire this prof). Let your head or chair come up with solutions\n* go early rather than later. I understand you need some time to be sure there's a problem, but every week that goes by people are not learning and flexibility is diminishing\n* two or three leaders should go. As an undergrad we had \"class reps\" for this, but it should be easy to get a small group who can meet the head.\n* do not bring petitions or other \"we all think this\" artifacts. You want to discuss a problem early and listen to the head's plan to deal with it. Petitions set the wrong tone.\n* Remember your true goal is to get a good education. Not to win a political battle, get someone fired, or be awarded a mark you don't deserve.\n* be there to listen as much as to talk. Your head may surprise you\n* don't assume your unanimity gives you power. You think they can't fail the entire class? Think again. You will live on in legend like the entire fourth year class at my undergrad alma mater who failed and were expelled. Not for trying to turf a prof, to be fair, but for deciding they didn't need to do assignments since \"they can't fail all of us.\"\n\nDecades later, I filled in for someone during his sabbatical and taught one course for one term. I had triple the normal enrollment. Everybody had to take the course; nobody wanted to take it from him. The department never gave it back to him :-). So another option may be to drop this course and see if someone else offers it in the future."
},
{
"answer_id": 40428,
"author": "Peter K.",
"author_id": 3965,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/3965",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "I had this happen. The teacher in question had some personal problems that caused him to drink (alcohol) to excess. Mostly it did not really impact his teaching. Then one day he came into the class falling-down drunk.\n\nOur class representative went to the head of school's office and brought him (or perhaps it was a trusted colleague; this was 30 years ago) into the class to view what was happening.\n\nIn this particular case, the teacher was reprimanded and was given a leave of absence to get over his personal problems. He returned in a later semester and was a much better teacher then."
}
] |
2015/02/20
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40257",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30703/"
] |
40,260 |
Our applied math department is beginning to have a serious attendance problem at our colloquium. The appropriate level for our colloquium is that any person with an undergraduate degree in a quantitative/theoretical field should be able to follow the talk as long as they are paying close attention.
In an invitation letter to our speakers, who are mostly faculty members at other Universities in a variety of fields but also include some faculty at our university, we say
>
> "Your talk should be entirely self contained. You can assume the audience is mathematically mature and has a solid understanding of undergraduate real analysis and linear algebra but do not assume any prior knowledge in physics, biology or more specialized mathematics. Of course feel free to talk about such topics, just be sure to explain all basic concepts needed to follow the rest of the presentation as soon as they come up."
>
>
>
Despite this warning, speakers go on, as usual, giving seminar level talks. Graduate students and the few advanced undergraduates that used to attend have basically stopped attending, which looks bad on our department, and lowers graduate student morale. Note the target audience is not undergrads. The target audience is first year grad students (and up) and faculty from many different quantitative fields.
I think part of the problem is that speakers assume applied math means "The math done in my field of research". They don't understand despite us linking to our graduate student's list of research interests in the email that applied math is extremely broad. Some researchers will have never taken probability theory or optimization and some who work in theoretical computer science haven't studied a differential equation since their sophomore years of college. And science backgrounds outside of math will be even broader.
Besides adding the request in our email, that the talk not be too technical, is there anyway to prevent speakers from giving talks that are too specialized or advanced?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40261,
"author": "Moriarty",
"author_id": 8562,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8562",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "I think there are a couple of layers to the problem:\n\n* The wording of your request to the speaker could be more clear. You should be very specific that you *encourage graduate students to attend the department talks*, so please keep the talk accessible for non-experts.\n* Some of the speakers may not be prepared or able to give a (I presume 30 to 50 minute long) \"popular science\" style talk on their current research. Some things are much more difficult to distil than others. Either that, or (donning my Hat of Cynicism) they're ignoring your request because they don't want to write a whole new presentation or they didn't read the email properly.\n\nPerhaps you could ask the guest directly if they are able to distil their research down to a talk that is appropriate for a grad student not familiar with the field. If they decline, make it clear in the talk invitation that it is a specialized presentation. If the speaker agrees to do this, you should explicitly tell your grad students that the talk should be accessible for them. This will avoid them feeling as if they wasted their time attending high-level talks, thus they'll be more likely to attend the others."
},
{
"answer_id": 40263,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "One important thing to do is to be more choosey about inviting speakers who you know are capable of presenting to a broad audience. Some people will never give an accessible talk, no matter what you do. Others are good at speaking to a broad audience. Some good ways to find such speakers:\n\n* People who do cross-disciplinary work are often really good at this, since they are generally used to speaking to non-specialists (i.e., people who are specialists in the other disciplines that they work with).\n* Look for people who have recent survey publications which are broadly accessible, or who have had recent articles or other publications in the popular media.\n* If you go to conferences and workshops, look for people who give accessible talks, even to a specialist audience. The best speakers will always *frame* their work accessibly, even when the meat of it is extremely specialized.\n\nOnce you have invited a speaker, make the speaker give you a full abstract, as well as a title. If the abstract is getting too technical, it's a bad sign for the talk. Send it back with request for revision to attract a broader audience. This can help people adjust expectations, though you can never prevent a speaker from speaking badly once they've begun.\n\nIf you feel brave, you might even explicitly challenge your speakers more in the information that you send them. My favorite series that I have ever been involved in organizing was the [\"Seminar on Dangerous Ideas\"](http://projects.csail.mit.edu/dangerous-ideas/dangerous/www/) that I helped create when I was a graduate student, and which ran for about five years. This seminar was really trying to push people outside the box, and one of the ways we did it was to ask the speakers to address [\"the five questions\"](http://projects.csail.mit.edu/dangerous-ideas/dangerous/www/instigator.html), which included things like \"Why should I fear your research?\" and \"What should I tell my mom about it?\" Many of the best talks that I have ever heard were in this series, because the challenges that we gave were able to create an atmosphere in which academics felt safe to say things they otherwise would not.\n\nYou'll also need to work to revive your existing seminar series. A good way to do that is to line up several speakers in a row who you are certain will have broad appeal and be able to give a good talk."
},
{
"answer_id": 40268,
"author": "user6726",
"author_id": 28972,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28972",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "I would suggest saying in the invitation \"The appropriate level for our colloquium is that any person with an undergraduate degree in a quantitative/theoretical field should be able to follow the talk as long as they are paying close attention. The target audience is first year grad students (and up) and academics in many different quantitative fields\". I don't know what it means for a talk to be entirely self-contained, and that kind of wording encourages the inference that this is supposed to be a general public lecture -- then the remainder of the guideline shows how that's not so. Therefore I would expand on what the first sentence means. \n\nI take it the problem is not that the talks are at too low a level, but rather they are at too high a level. Saying that \"the audience is mathematically mature\" may encourage reaching too high -- I tend to think of ABD grads and faculty as being \"mature\" in a discipline. If the problem is that speakers are interjecting arcana from physics or biology or unrelated areas of math, then you need to strengthen the \"do not assume\" clause. Make it a sentence on its own, and elaborate."
}
] |
2015/02/20
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40260",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8101/"
] |
40,270 |
My lectures (mathematics) are delivered in a theatre with full projection facilities, and my lectures are given as PDF slides. But I often need to explain something not covered in enough detail on a slide, in response to a particular student difficulty (my lectures are very interactive!). For that I can use the whiteboard in the same room.
However, my lectures are recorded, and the recording system only picks up, as its video, what's projected through the computer onto the projection screen. My whiteboard ramblings (which often amount to a significant part of each lecture) aren't recorded, although my voice is.
A simple solution would be a graphics tablet which I could switch to and write on; as it would be projected through the computer system it would be recorded.
So - does anybody have any advice for a relatively inexpensive graphics tablet which would work for this purpose?
(A few years ago I used a Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet, running Android, which came with a nice digitizer pen. But my newer Lenovo Yoga tablet doesn't support such pens. And I don't want to buy a new whizz-bang tablet+pen. A cheap-and-cheerful solution is my hope here!)
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40279,
"author": "Davidmh",
"author_id": 12587,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12587",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "I would put up a webcam recording the whole lecture. This way, the students can see the whole whiteboard and your hand movements, and you get to use an instrument suitable for writing.\n\nI don't like the idea of using a tablet for this for two reasons: the size is limited (you can only write in a 20 cm wide range, as opposed to two metres of board), and the handwriting looks, for most people, terrible."
},
{
"answer_id": 40345,
"author": "Federico Poloni",
"author_id": 958,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/958",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "Wacom makes a few good USB graphic tablets in the 100$ price range. I have used a Bamboo Craft model myself, and I am kinda satisfied. You can plug them into a computer and sketch notes using applications such as Windows Journal or Sankore (the latter is open source).\n\nThe main drawback is that they have no screen, so you'll have to practice writing while looking at the computer screen rather than at your fingers. But one quickly gets over it; you will get a decent handwriting on them with a little practice.\n\nWhat matters most is that these graphic tablets have a quality active digitizer. This means many pressure levels and better writing accuracy than the touchscreen you get in most consumer grade tablet pcs. To match that quality, you'd have to go with a device explicitly meant for pen input (nTrig or Wacom digitizer --- I think your former tablet had one, while the new Yoga doesn't, so you probably noticed the difference yourself already).\n\nAs Davidmh notes, another drawback is the limited screen real estate --- the cheaper models have a small writing area. But it doesn't matter much in the end because one can be precise enough even with a small writing area as long as the digitizer quality is good."
},
{
"answer_id": 40377,
"author": "Moritz",
"author_id": 22893,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22893",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "My personal experience with different media used during lectures (basic calculations during an engineering course)\n\nTablet:\n\nI experimented with my tablet (Galaxy tab S) but to be honest, my handwritten notes look like a child had written them. The Galaxy S is not particularly designed for taking handwritten notes, so maybe other tablets are suited better.\nGraphic tablets from Wacom may be suited well. The possibility to project the notes live while explaining something to a particular group anywhere in the classroom may be a big advantage but in my opinion it does not outweigh the unprofessional look. Unfortunately, no shop in my town has Wacom tablets in stock. Otherwise I would try them. One of my students uses the new tablet-laptop from microsoft and is very satisfied with his handwritten notes. Still, the writing looks not very professional.\n\nDocument camera:\n\nThere are different models and I used a document camera in the price range of 700 $. The camera itself can be used to capture the notes while writing on a notebook. The video can be streamed live using standard video software. Additionally, it is possible to record the session and save the data on a SD card (including your voice). I like the feeling of a pen on paper and my notes look much better than on a tables. In my opinion it is the easiest solution right now.\n\nBut nothing beats the white or chalkboard. The possibility to teach while using my whole body for supporting the things I said is most comfortable for me. Furthermore, there is no device or desk between me and the students. As a consequence, it is easier to focus their attention.\n\nSince most questions do occur every year again and again, I produce short videos at home using my hq-webcam. It is much easier for me because I can focus on one particular goal (producing a video, or explaining something to one student in one particular class). I am not the multitasking type.\n\nTo sum it up:\nIf you like the feeling of a pen on a paper you might want to search for \"document camera\"\n\nYou may want to look at those two videos:\n[Tablet for Tutoring](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3kn_6S8GeY&index=8&list=PL-D9VzCLcFVeiCVuJ_75WZTm9GM1Jh-wK) [Wacom Pad in Teaching](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gG99_eD_JA&list=PL-D9VzCLcFVeiCVuJ_75WZTm9GM1Jh-wK&index=12)"
}
] |
2015/02/20
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40270",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30710/"
] |
40,275 |
I am a mathematics undergraduate. I would like to get into a top 10 PhD school and might not do so this year. I would like to apply again and want to do what whatever is necessary to maximize my chances.
I have always heard that a masters in math is terminal and it might be too late to apply for one this year anyway(please correct me if I am wrong here).
What are my options?
Edit: I am currently in India, finishing my bachelors from one of the top schools here. I applied to places like UCB, Columbia, Chicago, Michigan-Ann Arbour and Wisconsin - in the area of algebraic number theory. I now realize that it was a little out of reach as of right now.
I have slightly low grades overall and good but not great math GPA(8.5 and 9.3/10 - 10/10 in graduate courses) and Subject scores(88%). I also do not really have research but from what I understand, undergraduate research is rare.
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40278,
"author": "aaaaa says reinstate Monica",
"author_id": 30716,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30716",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "First, of course, it would be nice to know more. Exact field you are interested in (applied math, mechanics or CS?), which school are Top-10 for you, what is the experience.\n\nI would say that best advice would be to go and try to find a job in academia or research-related area. It might be harder in Mozh, but in bio-related labs one can often find job or volunteering opportunity.\n\nIs there any lab/professors who publish something that you are interested in? It would be great to contact them and describe your situation, maybe suggest why you failed this year and how you can improve, ask for advice. In my experience, many might reply, and almost everyone reads emails.\n\nI don't believe there are terminal degrees or positions, just lack of will and energy to present yourself and seize the opportunity.\n\nIf you aced your tests (I assume), then you might lack in area of personal communication (can't present yourself as a strong and relevant candidate, can't show interest in PhD program of choice, appear to just trying to escape the \"real world\"), or you lack experience and research-related extra curriculum activities in your CV (volunteering in lab, working along grad student of your school etc).\n\nPS: I come from bio so by \"lab\" here I mean any research center/group/PI, academic or not."
},
{
"answer_id": 40320,
"author": "sevensevens",
"author_id": 14754,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14754",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "You've got a couple of options\n\n1. See what happens with the current applications. You may be surprised.\n2. Try to get a job as a researcher at your current university. If a prof. has worked with you and can vouch for you this will be much easier.\n3. Have really awesome GRE or equivalent scores.\n4. Cast a wider net. [Searching \"top 10\" on this site gets you 200 results!](https://academia.stackexchange.com/search?q=top%2010) You may want to apply to schools outside of the top 10 in your field as this seems to be the cut-off most well-qualified applicants use."
}
] |
2015/02/21
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40275",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30712/"
] |
40,283 |
Why don't typical US colleges offer more online courses so that all of the classes could be taken online?
Online courses are cheaper, more profitable and more efficient to produce quantity of student(which translate into more people can be educated); students don't have to spend time traveling to classes. Students could simply hand in homework online and colleges can just open up a lot of computer labs for the students to take exams in exchange and lay off some lower quality professors. Also, students can have more time to themselves to interact privately on the computer and all formal discussions can take place within the class online.
Also, the government would be able to pay less financial aid and students would have the convenience of learning the class material on a cell phone.
The most importantly,students can join a reputable college outside of thier home city and able to save the charge of dormitory
Also, isn't that it is better to eliminate the high cost private college by competition and let more low cost public university survive by let our government became richer from giving away less financial aid?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40292,
"author": "Ramrod",
"author_id": 28310,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28310",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "I think there are multiple reasons, I'll touch on some:\n\n* Currently online courses tend to fill a gap for students who otherwise would not be able to complete many courses. \n This allows non-traditional students to have a chance at academically being competitive, although traditional students sometimes utilize them as well. They aren't designed to replace traditional courses, but to augment them.\n* It's harder to verify who is actually doing the coursework.\n\n This seems like a fairly important issue, after all, you want potential employers to be confident that the degree a university bestowed means something - namely that you earned it. As a university, you want to be sure that your students aren't cheating.\n* Market saturation. \n In-line with the previous bullet point, if classes were very cheap for many students, universities wouldn't be able to charge as much in general per student. This essentially translates to a lower value \"per degree\". This effectively tackles you point about joining \"reputable\" universities - the general train of thought is \"If everyone can get in... is it necessarily reputable?\" (Definitely a con from the university's point-of-view as they can potentially inflate their importance by limiting degrees conferred.)\n* Points of failure. \n An online class, depending on the format, could potentially require a large amount of bandwidth. This means the university would be footing the bill to effectively run these courses, and the facilities to run quality web-based courses may not be cheap. While it's true the lectures could just be recorded or utilize some sort of learning software, decreased student interaction tends to lead to lower grades overall (Source: multi-year TA)\n* Decreased profit. \n Arguably, I believe colleges make a fair amount of money by physically having the students on campus. \"Butts-in-seats\" mean that they charge more longterm for dormitories and food. Increased physically facility usage allows colleges to approach benefactors for more money, citing student use and need of expansion. Benefactors want a dorm with their name on it, not a server rack.\n* Collaboration. \n Not the bad kind, mind you. Like @WetLabStudent mentioned, physically being at a college or university exposes you to ideals, people, and methodologies you might have never come in contact with. The ability to interact with a large spectrum of people is an important skill for the vast majority of students to develop.\n\nThis isn't an exhaustive list, but I hope it raises some of the issues. If I missed a few more major relevant points, feel free to comment."
},
{
"answer_id": 40315,
"author": "user141592",
"author_id": 27327,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/27327",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "This is in addition to the practical problems raised by Ramrod, since in Europe many universities offer online degrees where you just take the final exam on campus and everything else happens online.\n\nFrom my experience at universities in Europe and the US, there is a really big difference in the attitude to an undergraduate degree. In Europe, a degree is something you complete and you end up with a record of courses you took and you performance in them. In the US, it is more about the experience: you live on campus with everyone else, you eat on campus with everyone else, you take the same basic required classes with everyone else. It's not just about getting the knowledge and a degree: it's about the college experience. You can't get this experience through online classes, so such degrees would be vastly different from the degrees on campus students get."
},
{
"answer_id": 40317,
"author": "sevensevens",
"author_id": 14754,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14754",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Some high profile university do offer several programs online, such as Georgia Tech, which offers an online masters program (<http://www.omscs.gatech.edu/>).\n\nI believe the reason more colleges do not offer these courses is simple. American brick-and-mortar universities are very good as selling \"the college experience.\" Universities are very good at convincing (mainly) young, high-school graduates to attend. They do this by having a nice looking campus, with (usually) a really nice gym and theater they can show perspective students.\n\nMost universities require freshmen to live in the dorms, and have a meal plan. The university also has several sports teams that parents and alums pay to watch. There is also a dining hall and a bookstore (and sometimes a swag store) that students tend to frequent. Online students can't spend money buying stuff on a virtual campus.\n\nFinally, adding online courses would mean hiring more profs. This coupled with the fact online courses are usually cheaper means that the university would be better off having more in-person courses, and accepting more students to stay in the dorms, eat at the campus dining hall and see campus sports teams."
},
{
"answer_id": 40319,
"author": "Davidmh",
"author_id": 12587,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12587",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Another issue: online learning requires much more self discipline. Precisely, one of the points you make \"students don't have to spend time traveling to classes\" is part of making them successful. The daily commute is establishing a routine, and just by sitting in class, they are absorbing information, and a pace is set.\n\nIn an online program, you don't have a class telling you what you should know. You have little pressure to keep up studying. In all practical ways, you are entirely responsible for your own study. We can agree that with ideal students (spherical, massless, and in a vacuum), that should be sufficient, but experience shows that, in most cases, it isn't.\n\nAlso, online discussions are not the same as in person. Writing on a forum keeps a permanent record, and gives you time to think and rewrite your arguments. But you loose spontaneity: it takes some time to get back and forth, and it becomes easy to talk through each other. In particular, if you are explaining some concept to me, and you misunderstand my doubt, it may take some time before we both realise it. In person, I can give you feedback until you say \"Aha! I know what you mean!\".\n\nA chat is a bit better in this respect, but it is still slower to type, and you loose visual feedback. If you explain me something, you want to know if I am following you, getting more confused by the moment, or completely ignoring you. Furthermore, the clarity of a chat decreases with more than two participants.\n\nThe closest thing to real life would be a video chat. But still, given the quality of audio, you have to make sure you don't interrupt others (that can make getting into the discussion difficult), you are in a completely silent room, all the hardware and software is functioning properly (never a given! At work, we have professional equipment and a team of great IT support, and still, every now and then, our remote collaborator cannot join our meetings), etc."
}
] |
2015/02/21
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40283",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1391/"
] |
40,288 |
In a class, students asked the professor to give us a copy of his powerpoint presentations, but he refused and claimed this is personal property.
Students need the presentations to review the topics presented throughout the semester.
Is the course presentation personal property of the professor or part of the educational materials which must be delivered to the students?
>
> **Edit**: Related question, but from the perspective of the faculty member:
> [Is it common to provide digital notes (slides or handwritten) for students?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/27347/is-it-common-to-provide-digital-notes-slides-or-handwritten-for-students?rq=1)
>
>
>
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40289,
"author": "dmckee --- ex-moderator kitten",
"author_id": 440,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/440",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "The choice to give them to you or not is the professors, not yours. If he won't, then you need to find another way to preserve a useful record what went on in class.\n\nMind you the only reason I see right away for withholding the slides involves trying to pressure students to appear in class. I have other way to do that, not the least of which is that a significant amount of material is not on the slides: it is only in my patter."
},
{
"answer_id": 40296,
"author": "earthling",
"author_id": 2692,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2692",
"pm_score": 7,
"selected": false,
"text": "You wrote:\n\n> \n> Students **need** the presentations to review\n> \n> \n> \n\nBack when I was your age (of course I have no idea of your age but I am guessing you are a traditional undergraduate student), we had to take notes using these two antique tools called pen and paper. \n\nI don't think even one of my professors gave me anything, other than pausing so I had time to write down the important points. \n\nYou have to take some responsibility for your education - don't just blame the professor for not handing you what you want.\n\nThere is teaching research showing that students who take notes retain much more information than those who do not. It could very well be that the professor is trying to take advantage of this knowledge to force you to learn more.\n\ndmckee's answer is also great. The prof might be using this as leverage but in the end, you did not create the slides, they are not yours to demand. While many profs do freely give out their slides, it is actually unreasonable for you to demand them."
},
{
"answer_id": 40313,
"author": "RoboKaren",
"author_id": 14885,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14885",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": false,
"text": "@Patricia asks what happens if a student is not able to take notes and think at the same time.\n\nIf the student has a disability that prevents note taking (say for example, they are blind or they broke their arm), then in the United States the university will normally provide a note taker (usually another student in the course). The student will of course have to petition the disability services office for this and provide documentation. \n\nOtherwise, this professor is providing a valuable learning experience for you. Learning *how to learn* is just as - if not more- important in college as *what you learn*. \n\nIn life, there are many occasions when you will have to be able to take notes (using pencil and paper) and quickly respond:\n\n* Working with a client in a business who orally gives an explanation of their situation and wants an immediate bid/response.\n* Taking depositions as a lawyer and immediately needing to come up with additional questions.\n* Listening to testimony as a jury member and needing to come to a decision of innocence or guilt\n* Listening to a patient explain their medical history and then needing to come up with a diagnosis and treatment plan\n* Students complaining how life / your course is unfair and needing to come up with reasons why they need to suck it up.\n* etc. etc.\n\nLife does not always give you its powerpoints."
},
{
"answer_id": 40328,
"author": "Penguin_Knight",
"author_id": 6450,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6450",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "Somewhat a tangential answer to how to cope with this situation. Hope it'd help.\n\nIf you missed the chance of taking the notes in the first class, by all means try to explain to the professor and ask for at least an outline for this one lecture. After that, you'll need to use a new strategy.\n\n1. At least practice writing down the main theme or title of the slide, so that you can go home and fill in the details.\n2. Do the preparatory readings so that you can better put the slides into a mental framework, familiarize with the lingo, and ask relevant questions to clarify.\n3. Practice to listen for \"hint phrases.\" Lecturers come with different ways of speech, some are more \"fluffy\" and some are \"denser.\" Nonetheless, they often have some catch phrases before enumerating main points or emphasizing key concepts.\n4. Use systematic note taking system like the [Cornell method](http://coe.jmu.edu/learningtoolbox/cornellnotes.html) or [Mind mapping](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_map) to quickly write down the ideas and their associations. Then you can rely on readings and research to fill in the details.\n5. Compare notes with your peers. It may help to clarify what's missed.\n6. Negotiate with the professor within reason. For instance, if he/she just flies through many tables and graphs from many journal articles, at least try to ask for a list of the references for each session. Do show the lecturer your notes and explain that it'd be very hard to copy the citations. (Although with author's last name, year, and the first three words in the title there is usually no problem.)"
},
{
"answer_id": 40350,
"author": "peterh",
"author_id": 10234,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10234",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "It has more to do with law. The slides are probably the intellectual property of the Prof, or maybe they are the IP of the Uni.\n\nYet another possibility, that they are under publishing, or they were soon published, and the contract between the publisher and the IP owner rules out any reproduction.\n\nIn any cases it is unlikely if you can do anything. But actually the whole thing isn't governed by the IP laws of your country, but by the local policies of your university. The problem is, that these are probably against you, too.\n\nOn my opinion, your have the best chances if you try to reach your goal on a more cooperative way.\n\nI think, the goal of the prof is probably to motivate the students for an analytical reproduction of his lectures.\n\nI also really don't like this - unfortunately, not uncommon - behavior. But the prof has his viewpoints, too. Most of the ppts are easily reproducible by free hand. On my opinion, a slide is the best if you can reproduce its content on your logic, *while* you hear the lecture.\n\nHis goal is probably not a bit-to-bit reproduction of the slides, but a *real* understanding what he teaches.\n\nMaybe a little bit hilarious idea, but he may or may not allow to make photos from his slides during the class. But one is sure: you *can* ask him, if he allows it, in worst case he will reject."
},
{
"answer_id": 40357,
"author": "Keonramses",
"author_id": 30754,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30754",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "You could always explain to your professor, about the situation (ie. You needing it for review), telling him you might understand his reasons for not wanting to give it out. Also you could suggest that he give you key points in text books so you could make your own slides (you'd understand it better)."
},
{
"answer_id": 40364,
"author": "Patric Hartmann",
"author_id": 20449,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/20449",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "It is the student's own responsibility to take care that he has all the material he needs for review. Take notes and draw sketches, if he shows pictures. I am now almost half-way through my 4th semester of lecturing and I do *not* hand out any of my materials: no powerpoints, no lecture scripts. The only thing the students have, is a schematic overview, so to say the \"table of contents\" of my lectures.\n\nThe reason is simple: Taking notes by hand is the most efficient way to memorise something. If I would provide all the material, they would not pay attention anymore. In fact, a survey around here has shown that the average grades are higher in lectures where no material is provided.\n\n//edit\nAnd the other problem is: Facts and figures may change over time. If I hand out my material and it circulates among the students, then they suddenly get confused and use outdated material."
},
{
"answer_id": 40366,
"author": "Cape Code",
"author_id": 10643,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10643",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "I really like [earthling's answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/40296/10643), but like all the others it (rightfully) tells OP why she/he *shouldn't try too hard to ask* for the notes. To the question of whether one can *force* a professor to give copies of the slides it's pretty clear that the answer is: **No, you can't.** \n\nThe reasons are that there is most likely nothing in the school regulations or, even less so, the law, that can coerce a lecturer to give copies of presentations.\n\nDeal with it."
},
{
"answer_id": 40383,
"author": "J.R.",
"author_id": 780,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/780",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "There are several reasons why a student would want the slides, and several reasons why a professor might not want to make them available. \n\nFor example, I can add a Dilbert cartoon to my slides, and, so long as I'm only showing them in class, that can fall under the umbrella of Fair Use. Make those same slides publicly available, though, and I may have just committed a copyright violation. \n\nIf we want to give the benefit of the doubt to the students, we can assume they find these slides to be a convenient way to review major topics. If we take a more skeptical view, however, perhaps the students are trying to \"shortcut\" the educational process. \n\nI've been surprised sometimes at the number of students who tell me, \"Sorry I could not attend class yesterday, but I'll make sure I look at the slides,\" as though looking at the slides is almost as good as the real deal. (A lot of my slides contain visual prompts that remind me of topics I want to discuss, and little more. For example, if I want to discuss the [Denver Airport fiasco](http://calleam.com/WTPF/?page_id=2086), I might post a picture of an airplane on a tarmac. Good luck, absentee, on figuring out what that sleek 737 represents or means.)\n\nOne of my students once remarked, \"Your slides are really good in class, but not so good when studying for exams.\" I smiled, and informed the class that my slides were intended for me to use as a presentation tool, in order to help me lecture more effectively – not as a study aid. I'd be put off if students demanded my slides as though they had some sort of right to them. \n\nThat said, I do understand there can be legitimate reasons to use slides when preparing for exams. Occasionally, I have built two sets of slides for each lecture: one \"juiced up\" version to use while lecturing, and another \"pared down\" version to give to the students; that can be a nice compromise. (Of course, it can take a lot of time to develop two sets of slides, so I don't always do this. In this business, everything is a tradeoff.)"
},
{
"answer_id": 40391,
"author": "AJMansfield",
"author_id": 9407,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9407",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "In this case, the copyright status of the presentation files is **irrelevant**, as what you want is not the *right to use* a copy, but a copy itself.\n\nJust because you attend concert doesn't mean you can demand that they give you a copy of the score, or require that they provide you with a recording of the performance, *regardless of the copyright status of the work*.\n\nSimilarly, it would be **unreasonable** for you to demand that the professor furnish you with a copy of presentation files.\n\nThis is a similar principle to that involved in selling free-as-in-freedom software or works that are under the public domain: even though anyone with a copy is allowed to distribute it, they are not required to do so, and can even charge others money for the service of furnishing a copy."
}
] |
2015/02/21
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40288",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30718/"
] |
40,290 |
My question is in the title, but I'm specifically curious about the case where all students give a professor a negative evaluation. In that instance, does the department/university stop giving him new courses? Does it have any effect whatsoever?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40291,
"author": "Ramrod",
"author_id": 28310,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28310",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "It depends.\n\nIf it's a research institution, the professor might not have been hired for their teaching ability to start with. Often times, however, they are still required to teach a couple courses. Large amounts of negative evaluations often cause professors in this position to be shifted to \"research only\".\n\nIf a professor does not have tenure, student evaluations can serve as a basis for refusing to grant that professor tenure.\n\nIf a professor does have tenure, I'm honestly not sure what happens. I imagine the repercussions would be university specific, perhaps even department specific."
},
{
"answer_id": 40298,
"author": "awsoci",
"author_id": 28324,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28324",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "It depends on the university, the class dynamics, and the position of the professor/lecturer (i.e. are they ajuncts or casuals? Or are the tenured/continuing contracts? Are they solely there to teach, or is teaching a small component to their research expectations?) \n\nShort answer: **Generally not.** Student evaluations are taken with a large cup of salt. This is because the anonymity of evaluations allow for students to provide unhelpful, derogatory and discriminatory comments without repercussions. If there is trouble with a class, the professor/lecturer may have already brought it up with the head of school/faculty prior to the course ending or evaluations coming through. \n\nI would also be careful in claiming that ALL students will complain. You might find that some students are only agreeing with the loud voices who are disgruntled, but may not feel the same. Students also often tend to only provide bad evaluations, students who really enjoy the course do not always tend to indicate as such on student evaluations and this is taken into consideration. We are more likely to provide negative feedback when we are displeased, than we are when we are happy. \n\nWomen and individuals of colour/disabilities and so on are more likely to receive bad evaluations based on preconceived biases that students may not even be aware of. These are also taken into consideration when evaluations are received.\n\nStudent evaluations can be helpful regarding what the professor can do to improve the course (structure, content and so on) but they are not helpful in assessing the popularity or whether students *like* a professor. It's not a professor's job to be liked by the students nor is it a popularity contest. \n\nThe best teaching evaluations are those where students have carefully considered their responses and provided **constructive feedback** for improvement. Anything that reads as malicious or aggressive is ignored, and anything that says one thing which can be contradicted with evidence (i.e. a student claiming that a professor didn't spell out expectations, where in fact, there is hard evidence supporting that the professor did) will be ignored as well. If a professor received contradictory evaluations (i.e. one student saying really positive things, others who say exact opposite on the same topic) there is a general assumption that the student who says the negative things did poorly and is frustrated with their grade."
},
{
"answer_id": 40316,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "When I was a student, we did an interesting experiment on this, with the professor's consent. In a class of about 30, on evaluation day, the professor left the room briefly while we schemed about a collective set of outrageous lies to tell. I can't remember the full set, but it definitely included \"always shows up drunk, if he shows up at all.\" Then the whole class filled in some variation of these lies on our evaluations.\n\nLater the professor reported back on the results: nobody ever said a word about it to him. Our conclusion was that, given such a coherent attack on a professor widely known for his excellent teaching, the people processing the evaluations must have simply decided that it was a fabricated as a prank and tossed it out.\n\nThe moral of the story is this: students generally vary widely in their experiences and their preferences for a class, and I expect that unanimity in anonymous dislike would actually be taken less seriously than specific and factual criticisms from individuals."
},
{
"answer_id": 40335,
"author": "Harlan",
"author_id": 25147,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/25147",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "I think that `awsoci` answered your question quite well. But to add to it: student evaluations are taken seriously, or at least they should be, *if* a trend appears. Student evaluations are generally mixed with bare evaluations that were hastily completed, or overzealous ones, or those from students who are disgruntled for whatever reason. Therefore, I think that evaluations would only become a decision making factor if a trend began to appear, which was supported by other data."
}
] |
2015/02/21
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40290",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30718/"
] |
40,293 |
1. I want to know a way to find past IELTS questions. If they are available freely?
2. Are there good exams for all modules? (Specially Listening)
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40295,
"author": "enthu",
"author_id": 15723,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15723",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "You may use the books available in which some preparation exams (sample tests and past tests) are published and you can study those exams and sample tests. Some of these books and preparation materials are available in [How do I prepare?](http://www.ielts.org/test_takers_information/how_do_i_prepare.aspx) page on [IELTS official website](http://www.ielts.org/), [Cambridge English Exams and IELTS books](http://www.cambridge.org/us/cambridgeenglish/catalog/cambridge-english-exams-ielts) and [books about IELTS by other publishers](https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&hl=en&q=ielts&gws_rd=ssl).\n\nIf you are seeking for free online sample exams and studying materials, there are some preparation materials for exam available in different websites over the net, which you can find by a [simple search](https://www.google.com/search?q=ielts%20free%20sample%20test)."
},
{
"answer_id": 90919,
"author": "Antony",
"author_id": 74792,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/74792",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "You can find some practice tests for each module [here](http://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/prepare-test/free-practice-tests).\nEven though they're not free you might want to consider buying books, including [official practice materials](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Official-IELTS-Practice-Materials-Audio/dp/1906438463/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1497566231&sr=8-16&keywords=ielts). \n\nAnd of course, as it has already been mentioned, a quick simple search on any search engine might give you enough preparation materials."
},
{
"answer_id": 93905,
"author": "Mari-Lou A",
"author_id": 24018,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/24018",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "It is well worth investing in at least one [IELTS past examination book](https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_4_6?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=ielts%20practice%20tests&sprefix=IELTS%20%2Cundefined%2C407&crid=J7FY3J3749S0), make sure the CD is included in the price otherwise you'll have to pay for it separately and that single CD can be ridiculously high-priced. \n\nA word of warning for candidates who are self-studying, some IELTS websites are truly awful. Their suggested sample essays, for example, are an embarrassment and should not be touched with a barge pole. \n\nOn the other hand, there are professionals who genuinely care, and are also native speakers. [**Flo-Joe**](http://www.flo-joe.com/ielts.htm) and [**IELTS Liz**](http://ieltsliz.com/) are among the best in my experience. Liz's videos, especially, are very useful, clear, and straightforward. \n\nI am not affiliated with either website. But I have used these resources in private lessons to help Italian candidates pass their exams, or obtain that elusive 7.0 grade (IELTS)."
}
] |
2015/02/21
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40293",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/21783/"
] |
40,294 |
PhD program is new in our department, and first experience of the faculty members and department head.
Our PhD classes are exactly like undergraduate classes: monologue lecture, strict attendance rule, no discussion, etc.
We are PhD students, and we have not experienced PhD classes before, but our expectation was something different. When we complain, the department replies this is the standard method around the world.
* How can we gather some information/evidence that how is a standard PhD class to convince the department?
* How the PhD class are actually different from undergraduate courses?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40302,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "Graduate-level classes are not necessarily any different than undergraduate classes, just more intense and more specialized. Some graduate-level classes are just exactly the way that you describe. Others have more of a \"seminar\" format, in which there is more reading and discussion, and in which students are expected to do part of the teaching---but at many institutions, there are also undergraduate classes like this.\n\nThe real heart of a Ph.D. program, however, is not the classes, but the research that students are involved with and should ultimately learn to initiate themselves. Typically, Ph.D. programs start with a couple of years of intense classes, but then, once students have \"qualified\" (often by passing an oral or written examination), then classes become largely optional and you are expected to focus on research instead."
},
{
"answer_id": 40310,
"author": "Pete L. Clark",
"author_id": 938,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/938",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "Students in a PhD program can (and should, and should be encouraged to) give feedback and offer constructive criticism on various aspects of the program. However it is a different matter for them to try to convince the faculty running the program that it should be run in a significantly different manner than it is. I don't mean that it is not their place to do so, but rather: if as a group the students in a PhD program feel that they know what the program should be doing better than the faculty then....time to go to a different PhD program. \n\nAs for many questions on this site, yours could be improved by adding more identifying information, both geographically and in terms of subject matter. Advice which applies to all PhD programs everywhere in the world must be very general to the point of lacking acuity. However, from the little you've said it sounds to me that you are in a very small place: certainly a small university, maybe even a small country without a wide or strong academic tradition. The idea that the *faculty members* in your program have little experience with PhD programs sounds very provincial and distressing. Certainly they should have had, at the very least, experience *in their own* PhD program. (If that is not the case -- i.e., if by any chance the curators of your PhD program do not themselves have PhDs in your field -- just get out right away. That's silly.) But really each of them should be familiar with at least one PhD program other than their own, either from a postdoctoral or visiting position or, at the very least, being well-traveled and asking key questions to the people that they visit. \n\n(It is highly typical for academics to engage in shop talk like this: for instance I visited a collaborator at a different university last semester. I believe I was there for three days. In that time I spoke to about one third of the department faculty and had lunch with my colleague and a handful of graduate students in which I asked them questions about the program and their decision to enroll in it. At one point my colleague asked me what graduate courses we typically offer in area X in my department *and he wrote down what I told him and asked followup questions*. Does this make you think that this department was either very new or trying to recruit me for a job? Neither one was the case! We just very much want to know how everyone else does business...in fine detail.)\n\nThe point is that most faculty administrating PhD programs are continually comparing their practices to what other programs are doing, to make sure that their own practices are as good or better in various ways. When you start up a new PhD program you need (I believe: I haven't done it) to do an enormous amount of this type of comparison in advance, and you have to explain to everyone involved why you're doing what you're doing: much more specifically than \"this is the standard method around the world\". Also most new programs start gradually: first you add a master's program and give everyone time to get used to that. Then, when you have enough master's students who really wish they could stay where they are for their PhD, you begin to try to build a PhD program, but it will be small at first, small enough to be easy to cater to the needs of the students you already have. \n\nIn your case it sounds a bit like someone just came in the middle of the night and built an entire PhD program based on very broad ideas about what such things should be. That doesn't sound very good to me. I would encourage you to shop around for a more established program and one that meets the needs of the students who are taking it. If you are in a geographically isolated region, seriously consider moving out of it, at least temporarily. Going from one place to another to avoid provincialism is not an essential component of the academic experience, but it is a common and healthy one, and I strongly endorse it to those who have the option."
}
] |
2015/02/21
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40294",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30720/"
] |
40,303 |
Can an ABD (all but dissertation) return to the university to redo the dissertation? If yes, how do they proceed?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40304,
"author": "Bill Barth",
"author_id": 11600,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11600",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "ABD isn't usually thought of as a final status. Most people don't leave their university ABD. Most people spend a couple of years in the program, having passed quals, taken all the classes, and proposed a topic working on their dissertations. At this point, they are colloquially considered \"All But Dissertation\" because that describes what they've done so far not an official status. Every university will have a policy about what happens if you leave while ABD, and most will have some mechanism for coming back in reasonable time (not decades later) and finishing. Ask your advisor and graduate school or coordinator."
},
{
"answer_id": 40314,
"author": "RoboKaren",
"author_id": 14885,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14885",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "**tl;dr**: it depends\n\nWe had two students who were AWOL for many years while ABD and tried to submit:\n\n* The first student had delayed writing for a decade or so due to family commitments but kept in regular touch with faculty, refreshed the theory and data of the dissertation, reconstituted a committee, submitted the dissertation, and graduated.\n* The second student had not kept in touch with faculty. Their primary advisor had passed away many years ago and they had no committee. The student asked the department whether they could submit their dissertation but the data and theory used in the dissertation was decades old. They were not allowed to submit the dissertation.\n\nWhether or not you will be allowed to even submit a dissertation depends on your university, on the provost, and then finally on the department and advisor. You will need to reconstitute a dissertation committee. After submission, the department will then have to decide whether to accept the dissertation as proof of your qualification for the PhD."
},
{
"answer_id": 97460,
"author": "Bruce M. Mackh",
"author_id": 81450,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/81450",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "Yes, every university has its own specific policy. Some policies may or may not include:\n\n1. A person who has completed their classes and has passed qualifying exams becomes a doctoral candidate, and is, colloquially, ABD.\n2. ABD status at some universities may also be called a Candidate in Philosophy.\n3. Some schools confer the degree of MPhil to recognize a candidate's accomplishments until a candidate completes and defends their research, at which point, if successful, a candidate earns a Ph.D. or other doctoral degree.\n4. At some universities, there are some very specific ABD Status Agreements, including considerations for status as ABD In Residence, and ABD In Absentia.\n5. At some universities, you are ABD only so long as you have not abandoned your degree program and have not timed-out.\n6. At some universities, you are no longer, by their policy, ABD if you have left your degree program, or you have timed out.\n\nIt's important to recognize that more often than not \"ABD\" is not a credential conferred, granted, or bestowed. Rather \"ABD\" is an indication of status--that status being you have not yet completed your research, and/or defended your research.\n\nGenerally speaking, you should check with your university to understand their policy regarding the status, \"ABD.\""
}
] |
2015/02/21
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40303",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30730/"
] |
40,306 |
I am a PhD student in the social sciences at an American university. I have completed coursework, my prospectus, qualifying exams, and teaching. I am about to leave for one year of dissertation fieldwork.
As is the case for most PhD students in my position, the project is larger, longer, and more independent than anything I have done before -- conducting one year of full-time original research, writing a dissertation, and then writing a book. Although my prospectus outlines a research plan, it feels too abstract to give day-to-day, week-to-week guidance.
What strategies have you used to succeed in a large, long-term research project, especially when it is based on fieldwork and for a dissertation? Personal anecdotes, experience, advice, and tips are welcome.
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40312,
"author": "user6726",
"author_id": 28972,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28972",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "The most relevant advice (about the research, not life in the field) I can give is to keep on top of the analysis as the data comes in, and do *not* stockpile data in the hope that you can make sense of it when you're home. Analysis will reveal gaps and problems, which you need to address before you go away. Though if you're stuck with a rigid methodology where everything has to be set up before you go and then you just grind through the questionnaire, then you have my sympathies."
},
{
"answer_id": 40326,
"author": "Penguin_Knight",
"author_id": 6450,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6450",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "**For each of the components, have a plan B, even plan C:** Be flexible about pretty much everything. For example, if you rely on making copies of questionnaires, would you still be able to collect data if the copier in the field office fails? Etc. It's always good to mentally play a couple what-can-go-wrong scenarios when planning the study. Do so within reason, however, or you may risk stressing out yourself.\n\n**Incorporate some immersive observation of the field:** If safety and cultural environment allow, try to observe more as a bystander. For instance, a patient with diabetes may tell you that she always wears shoes to protect her feet when walking on the dirt, but in fact the local people may only own one pair of shoes and they only wear them in festivals or when meeting with visitors.\n\n**Learn the local languages:** Interpreters in some places are not exactly fluent in English, knowing some of the local languages can help you better engage with the process like interview or daily dialogue. It will also facilitate your mixing-in with the community.\n\n**While you're there for your research, also think how you can benefit the community:** For instance, you may volunteer some time to work, train some locals to empower them, share with them your results at the end, liaise local stakeholders to address your questions and give input to your solutions, etc. If possible, be more \"by the community, for the community.\" \n\n**Back up and back up again:** If you use field note, get the ones with the brightest cover so that it's easily recognized and less likely to be lost. Written and drawn field notes should be photographed and archived regularly. Computer records should be backed up into at least two other media (external hard-drive and/or encrypted cloud storage.) Don't store your external hard drive and work computer at the same place (e.g. left in the car or office together.) For people who might have picked up your lost notes and wanted to return, make sure your equipment and notes have a contact method (like the address and phone of your host organization) to reach you. If possible, do not leave your personal address if you'd be living alone.\n\n**Backward engineer from your products:** A day-by-day routine may be difficult, it's easier to set up milestones along the way. I found it useful to decide what the product will be (say, a 1,500 word literature review x 5 parts) and then give them an estimated duration to complete, followed by fitting them into the calendar. Once the big skeleton is in, then do the finer level like weeks/days to determine daily word quota you'll need to fulfill. Give everything some cushion time. Most of the time, I found myself underestimate i) transportation mishaps, ii) local festivals and holidays, and iii) administrative difference, like some clinic can just close for the day because they gave out all their medicine in the first hour after opening.\n\nAnd I totally agree with another answer that you should start entering and evaluating the data as soon as they are ready. Time to time I've found questions being misunderstood. E.g. I had respondents answering an English-to-Portuguese question \"What is your top three favorite foods?\" with \"Breakfast, lunch, and dinner.\" Knowing something has been lost in translation allowed us to correct the question quickly."
},
{
"answer_id": 40355,
"author": "MrMeritology",
"author_id": 17564,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/17564",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "I suggest that you create no more than ***three*** Post-It notes to attach to your computer screen. On these, write your most concise statement of:\n\n1. Why am I doing this research?\n2. What is significant about the way I am doing this research? (new? different?)\n3. In the end, who will care about these results? How can I make my results vivid for them?\n\nLook at these Post-It notes every day as you do your research and write your dissertation. If what you are doing deviates, either re-write your Post-It notes, or rewrite your research.\n\nThis advise comes from my decades of experience. My best writing and research comes when I can feel direct and *visceral* connection with the people who might benefit from what I'm writing."
}
] |
2015/02/21
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40306",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7934/"
] |
40,329 |
After encountering a few official forms to fill out (tax, medical, LinkedIn, job applications), I don't know what my official job title is during my PhD. There doesn't seem to be a standard for this. I don't think "student" accurately reflects my role, because I'm doing research and getting a small stipend for it. What should I put down as my occupation?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40330,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "Your professional title is Ph.D. student, or doctoral student, or just student."
},
{
"answer_id": 40333,
"author": "dmckee --- ex-moderator kitten",
"author_id": 440,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/440",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "Your department may employ you as a *\"graduate teaching assistant\"* or *\"graduate research assistant\"*. In the US, at least, these title will be understood to imply that you are a student."
},
{
"answer_id": 40334,
"author": "Harlan",
"author_id": 25147,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/25147",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "Since you mention title for tax purposes and similar, if I were you I would assume the title of whatever your \"job\" functions are. Generally, in the case of a PhD candidate, you are usually either a \"Assistant Lecturer\" or \"Doctoral Candidate Research Assistant.\" Otherwise, you are a Doctoral Candidate, which I would use to explain my job title, rather than student."
},
{
"answer_id": 40341,
"author": "Nate Eldredge",
"author_id": 1010,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1010",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "There's really three different things mixed up here.\n\nYour *job title*, as an employee, is whatever it says on your paychecks. Maybe \"Teaching Assistant\" or \"Research Assistant\" or something similar. This is what you should list on job applications, etc, under \"employment\". No choice here.\n\nYour *educational status* is \"graduate student\", \"PhD student\", or the like. You could also use language like \"PhD (in progress)\" or \"PhD (expected completion 20xx)\". You *might* be a \"PhD candidate\" but defer to your institution's rules as to if and when they consider you to have that status.\n\nYour *occupation* is just a word to describe the field you are in and the type of work you do. So you could list \"biologist\", \"historian\", \"physicist\", etc, as appropriate. You could also choose something more generic like \"researcher\", \"educator\", \"scientist\".\n\nFor tax forms in particular, I don't think it makes a lot of difference how you describe your occupation. I don't actually know how they use this information (maybe a good question for Money.SE), but I've always assumed it was mainly that if you gave your occupation as \"oil baron\" or \"railroad tycoon\" and then reported a tiny income, they'd probably audit you."
},
{
"answer_id": 40361,
"author": "Patricia Shanahan",
"author_id": 10220,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10220",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "During the time I was studying for my PhD, I put \"Student\" as my occupation on my income tax forms, even when I was being paid as a TA or GSR. That was after my industry career, so I had a more complicated financial situation. The returns were prepared by a tax-specialist CPA who agreed with \"Student\".\n\nI had a lesser form of the \"oil baron\" issue Nate Eldredge mentioned: the change in occupation from \"Computer Architect\" to \"Student\" explained both the disappearance of the relatively high wages I had been reporting, and the appearance of educational expenses."
},
{
"answer_id": 180653,
"author": "Deipatrous",
"author_id": 119911,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/119911",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "Student.\n\nYou may not like it, but it is: student."
}
] |
2015/02/22
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40329",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12227/"
] |
40,336 |
We have published a workshop paper last year. Now, we are planning to submit it to a conference. The conference paper roughly have 50% new materials. Basically, the workshop paper studied a 3.5-year data set while the conf version extends it to 4.5-year. The conf version also has a new data set. We also applied several new analysis methods to the data, obtaining new results.
My question is, is 50% new material enough for a new conference publication? Also, can I reuse the analysis methods in the workshop paper? What about reusing some text?
Thank you very much!
**Update**: Based on the valuable answers and comments from the community, I think a good approach to handle this is issue is to carefully cite our previous work for any content that is originated from it. Therefore, we make a clear distinction between old stuff and new stuff. But a trick thing is anonymity. We probably can only cite our previous work anonymously in the submission, otherwise the reviewers can easy tell the paper is from us...
We will also consult the conference for more information.
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40339,
"author": "Blair MacIntyre",
"author_id": 28128,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/28128",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Depends on the specific workshop and conference.\n\nSome workshops (if they are small events at bigger conferences, and if they don't publish the proceedings) don't count as prior publication, so you can use all the material again.\n\nSome workshops are actually more like a regular conference, but use the name workshop. So you should treat it as prior publication.\n\nI suspect from your question that it is more the former. I would suggest asking the papers chair for the conference; if the workshop is related, they are probably familiar with it."
},
{
"answer_id": 40353,
"author": "Alexandros",
"author_id": 10042,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10042",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "You work is published on a CS workshop with proceedings. This is a prior publication. Period. \n\nAll CS conferences I know of, require original material. Not 50% original material but 100% new material. This rule will be clearly written in the CFP. For example for [WWW](http://www.www2015.it/) conference:\n\n> \n> Submissions must represent new and original work. Concurrent submissions are not allowed. Papers that have been published elsewhere, are currently under review, or will be submitted to other meetings or publications while under WWW2015 review should not be submitted to WWW2015.\n> \n> \n> \n\nOr more clearly for [SIGMOD](http://www.sigmod2015.org/calls_papers_sigmod_research.shtml):\n\n> \n> Every research paper submitted to SIGMOD 2015 must present substantial novel research not described in any prior publication. In this context, a prior publication is (a) a paper of five pages or more presented, or accepted for presentation, at a refereed conference or workshop with proceedings; or (b) an article published, or accepted for publication, in a refereed journal. If a SIGMOD 2015 submission has overlap with a prior publication, the submission must cite the prior publication, along with all other relevant published work, following the guidelines in the Anonymity Requirements for Double-Blind Reviewing section below.\n> \n> \n> \n\nIf your plan is to just put the same concepts and contribution, the same proofs and just add new datasets and new experiments and charts, then you should not publish in a CS conference. Instead there are journals that accept extended versions of your conference / workshop papers and you should aim for those."
},
{
"answer_id": 40369,
"author": "Orion",
"author_id": 19732,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/19732",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "When in doubt, ask your advisor. Some IEEE venues support iterative publication cycle, workshop, conference, and journal. In robotics, for example, at least 30% of novel material is needed to go from a workshop to conference, and a conference to journal publication. In that case, your new paper is just fine. Other venues, not so much.\n\nIn any case, cite the previous paper, and be explicit about what is new in the paper your are submitting."
}
] |
2015/02/22
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40336",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30744/"
] |
40,359 |
Is it a standard practice for tenure and promotion committee to ask for referee reports of some published papers of the one evaluated?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40365,
"author": "GEdgar",
"author_id": 4484,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4484",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "**Review reports** as in your title: yes. Asking an outside expert in the field for comments about the published work of the candidate. This is standard practice in some places and in some fields.\n\n**Referee reports** as in the question: I have not heard of that. Except maybe in the case of a paper that has been accepted but not yet published: the referee report or editor's letter may be used as evidence of the acceptance."
},
{
"answer_id": 40367,
"author": "Massimo Ortolano",
"author_id": 20058,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/20058",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "I can't think of a committee expecting candidates to preserve the referee reports of previously published papers. I delete the referee reports from my mail box as soon as a paper is published.\n\nThey can ask, however, the acceptance letters of the papers listed in your CV as *accepted for publication* but not yet actually published. In case you don't provide the acceptance letters, the committee might not (or *will* not, depending on the country, institution etc.) consider those publications in the evaluation process."
},
{
"answer_id": 40368,
"author": "RoboKaren",
"author_id": 14885,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14885",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "My university (a private R1) does ask for **referee/reader reports** in the case of newly published material in tenure and promotion cases. This is done when the scholar has recently published material that has not been cited elsewhere (thus, no bibliometric citation data) and the committee wants to ascertain the contribution to the field of study that the text may make. \n\nAssuming your publication was accepted, you should view this as a good thing. Referee reports in those circumstances are positive, highlighting the contribution you are making to the field (otherwise, why would the journal publish it?). Folks on tenure and promotion committees also know to read through the negative cruft on reader's reports, so don't worry about that issue either. \n\np.s. I should note that at my university (as well as others), there is pushback against the use of pure bibliometric data (impact factors) as a way to ascertain a scholar's prominence in the field, but that is another question."
}
] |
2015/02/22
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40359",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30756/"
] |
40,372 |
Does this status mean it has been sent to referees? Or is could it still be desk rejected?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40373,
"author": "Peter Jansson",
"author_id": 4394,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4394",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "Under review implies it has been sent out for peer review and has passed the initial check. T & F primarily uses ScholarOne Manuscripts but also have their own electronic submission system. There may be slight differences between these but I would think they are set up similar to each other. I am familiar with the ScholarOne system."
},
{
"answer_id": 58132,
"author": "NYC10027",
"author_id": 43994,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/43994",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "From my experience, this status means that the manuscript has passed the in-house review and has been sent out to the reviewers."
}
] |
2015/02/22
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40372",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30766/"
] |
40,376 |
I am applying to various universities to study for an msc in maths or pure maths.
After sending of my application I have realized that I have not mentioned anything in the way future career plans.
Was this a bad idea?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40415,
"author": "Gimelist",
"author_id": 22213,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22213",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": true,
"text": "I don't think so, unless they specifically asked for it.\n\nThis is not a doctorate- research is not the only goal of your masters. You are still a student and you will probably have to take courses as well, and you are there for the education. Your time at the institution is limited (one or two years). I doubt that anyone cares or expects you to know \"what you want to do when you grow up\". This is hardly significant for PhD applicants, let alone for masters.\n\nYou do not need to worry."
},
{
"answer_id": 40437,
"author": "Pim",
"author_id": 30818,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30818",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "Actually your masters are a great time to find out for yourself where you want to take your professional future. Be it a PhD and research or the industry.\n\nSome purely research oriented masters may expect that you continue with research, but still it is your carreer and your life. A master that is well balanced between research and the industry will not have such expectations of you.\n\nAnd as Migkaol said, the short answer is you don't need to worry about this."
}
] |
2015/02/22
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40376",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
] |
40,378 |
I am a graduate student and one of my research projects requires me to crawl a website using their public API. This is going alright but the amount of data we can collect is limited, since it is a public API.
As it happens, I will be doing an internship at the company that owns that website, and will soon have access to an unlimited supply of their data. Is it okay if I use that data for my academic research project, or will they expect me to only use their data for projects relating to my internship?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40380,
"author": "Stephan Kolassa",
"author_id": 4140,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4140",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "You should ask the company where you do your internship. Perhaps they are fine with whatever you want to do. Perhaps they will allow you to use their data but only release summaries, not the raw data. Perhaps they will require you to anonymize it.\n\nIn addition, how will you do the analysis? Will you take the company's data and transfer it to your own computer? (This may well not be welcomed by the company.) Or do you plan on using a company-supplied machine to do your analyses? (Same problem - companies don't necessarily like it if you use their hardware for what are essentially personal tasks.) Do you want to install third party software to analyze your data on their machines?\n\nThink through what you want to do, then go to your supervisor. Depending on their personality, people may even be interested in working with you on this, perhaps get a publication out of it.\n\nWhatever you do, *don't, don't*, **don't** just use the data without asking. Whether or not you sign an NDA."
},
{
"answer_id": 40395,
"author": "Damian Nikodem",
"author_id": 30775,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30775",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "Ask them and see what they have to say. It's one thing to crawl their public api in your own time ( which actually may specifically prevent you from doing your research according to its terms of use ) but using their internal data directly without asking would be unethical at best and potentially illegal at worst. ( and the last thing that you would want is to be known as the guy that stole people's personal information for their own gain then got dragged through court when they made it public) while your research may only contain aggregate data or anonymised datasets then that still won't change the perception of potential future employers."
},
{
"answer_id": 40409,
"author": "smci",
"author_id": 12050,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12050",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "* You have to ask for permission, in writing [\\*]. Don't just use the data without asking, that would be terminally unethical. If they are reluctant or have a confidentiality or security concern, you (and/or your research supervisor) need to make the case to them in terms of how they will benefit from publications and exposure - for reputation, recruiting, etc. Conduct this negotiation at the highest appropriate level you can manage, i.e. involve the people who have the authority to say yes and are actually incentivized to. (Also good for your career recognition). Sometimes you need the engineering dept to nudge the legal dept on your behalf, or override stupid policies.\n* Define whether you can/should anonymize/double-anonymize/ aggregate/sample/fuzz the data (e.g. look at how the Census does it). Or maybe only use non-identifying fields. They may ask you to take reasonable efforts to secure it (password, encryption, firewall, external HDD), but don't agree to unlimited indemnification.\n* Try to get the agreement as broad as possible, i.e. no time-limits, no limits on (non-commercial) scope, allow derivative works by you, your dept or your co-researchers. Agreements will almost always forbid derivative commercial use. If you come up with a patentable idea, who holds the rights? etc.\n\n[\\*] UPDATE: nightmares like the following (a retrospective IP policy) are precisely the sort of thing that can happen: [***\"PhD student, issued contract at year 3 which will sign over intellectual property. Is it legal?\"***](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40519/phd-student-issued-contract-at-year-3-which-will-sign-over-intellectual-propert). Now that person can have all their publications vetoed and their thesis closed by the industrial partner."
},
{
"answer_id": 40454,
"author": "David Richerby",
"author_id": 10685,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10685",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "> \n> I will be doing an internship at the company that owns that website, and will soon have access to an unlimited supply of their data. Is it okay if I use that data for my academic research project\n> \n> \n> \n\nNO!\n===\n\nNo with the same strength as the answer to the question, \"I'm doing research on wages in different professions. A friend has invited me round for dinner next week. Is it OK if I rifle through his filing cabinet to see if I can find a payslip?\"\n\nIf you want to use somebody's data and that data is not unambiguously public, you get their explicit permission, first. In a corporate environment, there are many reasons why permission may be refused: for example, the data may be commercially sensitive or the company might have privacy obligations towards its customers. The fact that you need privileged access to get hold of the data should tell you immediately that you need permission to use it for anything other than the specific reason for which you were granted that access."
},
{
"answer_id": 40455,
"author": "K. Alan Bates",
"author_id": 19953,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/19953",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "What you are talking about doing is technically considered corporate espionage without explicit permission from the client. \n\nFacts (as you have stated them):\n\n1. You are performing academic research consuming public data of Corporation A\n2. You will be taking on an internship with Corp A and have access to Corp A's private information\n3. Your capacity within Corp A is disjoint from your academic research involving Corp A.\n4. You are at least entertaining the idea of using Corp A's private data for research purposes without their consent.\n\nSo my recommendation is entirely dependent upon the nature of the relationship between your internship with Corporation A and their knowledge of your research project involving their data.\n\nIf they knew about your research project before granting you an internship, I see it as entirely appropriate to ask them for permission.\n\nIf they did not know about your research project before granting you an internship, you put your internship at risk by asking for permission to use their private data, depending on the sensitivity of the data you would have access to and the personalities of the business members in control of your relationship with the corporation. The risks associated with you violating their denial of your request could be more trouble than you are worth.\n\nIf they did not know about your research project before granting you an internship and you publish private corporate data without explicit consent, they have a legitimate claim that you sought your internship with them for the express purpose of gaining dubious access to their private information and you would be in for a world of hurt both legally and professionally. Depending on the fallout of that, you could reasonably expect to find yourself to never be employable again in your field and you could reasonably expect to find yourself in prison depending on the nature of the data that you expose and the political clout that is held by the people that you piss off.\n\nEdit To Add\n-----------\n\nYou may already be between Scylla and Charybdis on this. Look at the potential optics: you have a research project (the nature of which you have not disclosed.) You also have an internship with access to corporate private data of one of the subjects of your research study. Assuming that you do not announce your research project and you take the internship, your standing both within your academic community and within the corporate world will definitely hinge on the nature and results of your research project. \n\nIf you take an internship with them and then crucify them in your research project, their quid pro quo will be reciprocal regardless of whether or not they consent to you publishing their private data. With access to their private data, your research methodology will be called into question (perhaps legally) and any potential mistake you may have made will be exacerbated. If your results are flattering to Corporation A, then your academic peers may consider you to be politically beholden to Corporation A. \n\nYou may already be in a no win scenario other than to cancel your research project or cancel your internship. You really are not supposed to do what you are thinking about doing."
}
] |
2015/02/22
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40378",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30767/"
] |
40,381 |
I keep hearing my teachers (high school and college) joke about how professors make their grad students write parts of textbooks for them.
For example, one high school teacher picked up a history textbook and joked that Spielvogel (the author) just made his grad students write all 1000 pages or so.
How common is this practice? Does this even have a grain of truth?
|
[
{
"answer_id": 40388,
"author": "jakebeal",
"author_id": 22733,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/22733",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "Amongst the number of professors I have known who wrote textbooks, I have never known this to be the case. Of course, I have only a small sample...\n\nI *have* however, known professors to trial run their textbooks on the students in the appropriate class. I would consider this entirely reasonable and appropriate, as in many cases it would probably be more accurate to say that, in fact, the textbook is a condensation and evolution of the lecture notes of the course that the professor has been developing in any case."
},
{
"answer_id": 40418,
"author": "Lubo Antonov",
"author_id": 17730,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/17730",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "I can't provide you with general statistics on this, but I can relate what I have seen. In my undergrad I had a 3rd year project course where the professor had published a book that consisted of projects written by students in previous years. We were told that the projects we did would also be destined to be considered for future editions. I don't remember if credit to the student was given in the book, so let's just say that it was.\n\nIn any case, I voiced my objection to not being given a choice about it (and was shouted down by my colleagues :). The professor's response was that 'MIT does this all the time' - I think he had his PhD from MIT.\n\nBut this is the only time I have seen students being 'used' to write a book."
},
{
"answer_id": 40433,
"author": "GEdgar",
"author_id": 4484,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4484",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "As a student, I studied from a great [textbook](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0387901388), by Hewitt and Stromberg. Hewitt was the senior professor, Stromberg was his Ph.D. student. I met Stromberg years later. He did not consider that Hewitt has \"used\" him unfairly. On the contrary, writing this textbook was the start of his career."
},
{
"answer_id": 90422,
"author": "vahidbahrami",
"author_id": 74356,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/74356",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "This can be very common. Even some students rise the suggestion to cooperate with another professor to author a specific book. For example when I was involved in researching and writing a book about mathematics of cryptography, I thought it'll be a good opportunity to receive the advice of my teacher and therefore to work with him completing that book. I hope you would love such thing as this is very common and many books published yearly have authored even by 20 and more persons based on their chapters. It seems that such method of publication will be very popular in near future."
},
{
"answer_id": 120403,
"author": "sachy",
"author_id": 100952,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/100952",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "On my colleague, we got a new professor who started writing new textbook of Linear Algebra during the semester on-the-fly based on \n\n* previous version (written many years ago by prof. predecessor)\n* feedback from students (us) on how to better explain the topics\n\nSo from my experience, the student-professor collaboration on textbook is something from which **both sides will profit**."
}
] |
2015/02/22
|
[
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/40381",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/17661/"
] |