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<issue_start>username_0: I have a non-academic acquaintance who is at a senior position in the telecom industry. He might have good links in academia. I am thinking to ask him for suggesting or referring me to his contacts in academia for a post-doctoral position. I do not want any favor based on nepotism or anything like that, just a chance of getting my CV noticed.
I am confused about it being ethical or not. Maybe I am being too eager.
How can I approach my acquaintance about this without giving 'him' the feeling that I want his favor or that I want to use his name?
PS. It is about North American institutes.<issue_comment>username_1: >
> How can I approach my acquaintance about this without giving 'him' the feeling that I want his favor or that I want to use his name?
>
>
>
You do want his favor and name, but that's fine: If he helps, then he is doing so because he wants to.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: You ask nicely, and by wanting his name to push your cv forward you want his favor and support.
So, realise what you are asking and respect that.
Upvotes: -1
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2020/02/22
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<issue_start>username_0: **Update on Feb 27**
The extension is confirmed. I can get the different reviewer, but sadly the graduate school will be able to make a replacement for me next semester.
My additional advice for others who come here to read later.
1. Going to the harassment center is effective, but please discuss with
your professor before going there (if you can).
2. Checking the rule who you should contact step by step.
3. Checking the rule alphabetically that your case is in the scope of what you are going to report. If you are not confident, consult someone from the small position to the top (as mentioned in number 2). If you are ignored, you still have the bigger person to go for.
Thanks all a lot again.
---
**Update on Feb 25**
My professor exchanged some emails with the reviewer. The reviewer confirmed that "I am unable to change my judgement" but said he was ok to meet me for thesis defense. My co-advisor (who is the expert in machine learning) came to the lab and confirmed that the reviewer misunderstood many points of my thesis.
I think I will get an extension and go for thesis defense with the reviewer. My prof and my co-advisor are very supportive and understanding.
Now is the national entrance examination period in Japan, so all staff (the Dean and so on) have to manage the exam and I have to wait to get the official approval of the extension (I guess). So, I would like to open this question for a short while. If someone would like to add something, I would truly appreciate it. Thank you very much for all the support and answers here.
---
Sorry for the long story. Some advice/insight would be very appreciated.
I am a Ph.D candidate in Japan.
I had my Ph.D. defense on January 21st. One reviewer out of three did not attend to my defense without informing my supervisor. We had no clue why it happened. After the defense, I had 10 days to improve my Ph.D. thesis from questions and comments I got from the defense, and submit it to the committee. I sent all of the committee my thesis on January 31st. The committee had time to review my thesis until February 21st.
The absent reviewer contacted my supervisor saying that he was abroad on February 2nd. Anyway, his evaluation was rejection. Since he did not provide clear comments on which points of my thesis had problems, my supervisor and I did not understand clearly his reasons. I contacted him immediately to say I could go to his campus and would like to present my research for him.
He replied to me on February 15th. He said that he will be available in March or May which is out of the deadline from graduate school. My supervisor sent him a reminder on February 19th that if he had some comments, please gave me before 21st. He gave me comments on the night of 20th. I had one day left to reply to all of his comments, which were many. Anyway, in order to be within the timeline, I revised as much as I could and sent it to him before the deadline. However, my supervisor found out that he submitted his rejection to graduate school before he gave me comments. This situation is very unlikely, particularly in Japan where people really respect others.
At this point, my supervisor contacted the Dean and the professor in charge of the Ph.D. thesis. At first, I felt he was very sure that I would pass. However, today, he contacted me to say that I have to get 3 passes from 3 reviewers. Also, I think he checked the rule and found that it was not written in the book about the reviewer must come to the defense. So, he may be wavering. I have already got 2 passes, and I think what that reviewer did is not right.
To be fair, I think many of his comments are very valuable and I like to improve the quality of my thesis as much as possible. However, according to his comments, he is misunderstanding many points which I can explain but I have no chance to defend. I also feel he underestimated the complexity of my data (biology-based) and biased to the style of his field (machine learning-based).
My questions:
1. What should I do in this situation? I do not want to be emotional and react to the situation carelessly, particularly with my supervisor.
2. Is this a mistreatment or a common thing in graduate school?
3. Sorry for another question, which may sound off-topic, but because this is not the first time in my experience that I feel the graduate school cannot protect me, should I quit or transfer my Ph.D. to elsewhere? I am just thinking about what I should do now, in the near future, and in the long run.
Thank you very much.<issue_comment>username_1: Ask for a different 3rd reviewer.
This person clearly does not respect the doctoral process and does not give you a fair chance to gain your PhD. He should be removed from the committee and replaced by someone else who does. You still can work in his comments as far as possible, as content-wise, they are relevant, but they should not be entrusted with judgement concerning your future academic (or otherwise) career.
Upvotes: 8 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Too new to comment, so following up on CaptainEmacs answer and whether it is "too late" to change reviewers.
I have a friend (albeit in the US) who had one reviewer out of three, not approve. And similarly, the reviewer was slow to give details, and asked for unreasonable amounts of not just changes but follow on work to be done before he would accept. His professor and this reviewer could not see eye to eye, and my friend was running out of time before he needed to leave to start a job he accepted. He basically had to choose to abandon all his work or take this job.
It was resolved in the following way: his professor decided to ask if the reviewer would mind letting someone else take his spot on the comittee, and the reviewer agreed he would give up his spot on the committee to someone else if the department found someone who would take his spot. Note, this was not required (I think with department approval, the committee can be changed at any point), but getting approval made anything easier "politics-wise", and also made it clear that it really was just that this reviewer did not want his name on it. In his case, it seemed the reviewer was an outsider to the field and did not understand how much additional research would be required to follow up on his questions (after all, interesting research always brings up follow-up questions; I guess there was a cross-field disagreement of where it is acceptable to draw that line).
---
In summary: Even in a case where all reviewers showed up, if the expectations are far enough out of line of the others, it is reasonable to change the committee.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: I worked for four years in Japan in a research setting close to academia (not a university). In my experience hiring and evaluating people in Japan is mainly based on the relationship of the boss/GL/supervisors to each other. What you call "they have respect for other people" is that in a normal setting in a Japanese hierarchy your would not do things which reflect badly on your superiors or people where you are either lower in the hierarchy (have to use honorific forms to address them) or to whom you owe a favour. My considerations may reflect the Japanese mentality as far as I understand it. It boils down to a few essential questions:
* are you a foreigner? If yes, nobody owes you a favour
* is the reviewer also foreign? If yes, he doesn't owe anybody (in the Japanese sense).
* if he is not: how is his relationship to your supervisor.
My uneducated guesses:
* If you are foreigner and all others are Japanese: Your supervising professor doesn't have a relationship to the reviewer which requires the reviewer to address him in honorific form -> your direct supervisor misestimated one or more of the following
1. The quality of your common work
2. the interest of the reviewer in it
3. Inter-institute politics
4. The support of the supervising professor/dean
5. The relationship between the supervising professor/dean and the reviewer
* If additionally you are Japanese potentially additionally:
6. The relative power/fame of the institution you did your master with
7. Your master thesis supervisors relationship to the reviewer
* If the reviewer is a foreigner, it takes some things off the table, since he will not be in the Japanese hierarchy. but some things will be added.
I have seen it happening before that due to communication issues the expected level and quality of work was not aligned between foreign collaborators/reviewers, i have been part of such constellations when it came to publications, where some people expected my formal collaborator "OK" but basically (even in a suitable diplomatic way) called out the bullshit. Some were as surprised as you (even if it was not a PHD thesis), since the GL obviously did not not communicate well before.
So my most likely estimation is that you direct supervisor did not communicate enough. I suggest that (if you are a foreigner) discuss the situation mainly with the dean and push either for a formal non-acceptance of your university of the reviewers comments (your dean will be experienced in finding convincing excuses) and another reviewer. If the reviewer is foreign and his comments are good, you could also try to shift the date and try to have a research visit at your reviewers institution.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: >
> What should I do in this situation? I do not want to be emotional and react to the situation carelessly, particularly with my supervisor.
>
>
>
Your supervisor should be your most important ally in this discussion. Your failed thesis reflects *very* badly on them, and they will almost certainly be very willing to go to bat for you (if not for your sake, then definitely for their own).
An urgent crisis meeting with your supervisor is in order. They will need to alert the PhD school about this problem, and discuss options. If there is no official process, the school will have to make up their mind how to handle the situation. Possible options include getting more reviews, giving you the option of more revision time, or simply overruling the reviewer. Of course they can, in principle, also say "the rules are the rules, so you failed" - but they are only shooting into their own foot. They now have one additional failed student for their statistics, a very disgruntled ex-PhD student (potentially with a case for formal complaint, depending on exact circumstances), a very disgruntled professor, and a cohort of current PhD students that learned that the PhD school will rather let them drown than support them. Normally, none of this is worth it to the school.
I would avoid going over your supervisor's head as long as they seem willing to fight for you. They are in a much better position to argue why your rejection was unfair, and the head of the PhD school will have a much harder time saying no to them than to you.
>
> Is this a mistreatment or a common thing in graduate school?
>
>
>
It sounds extremely rare, if for no other reason than that your reviewer likely also burned *a lot* of bridges with their action.
>
> Sorry for another question, which may sound off-topic, but because this is not the first time in my experience that I feel the graduate school cannot protect me, should I quit or transfer my Ph.D. to elsewhere? I am just thinking about what I should do now, in the near future, and in the long run.
>
>
>
Transferring now seems incredibly late in the process. If there is no other way, your supervisor and PhD school really cannot or will not help you, and you still want to do your PhD, then transferring might be your best shot, but I still feel there has to be a better way to handle this.
Upvotes: 3
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<issue_start>username_0: I am an independent student of math and want to use many interesting video courses. Unfortunately the [math video courses of Duke university](https://www4.math.duke.edu/video/video.html) are unavailable for others. So I want to know
>
> Is there any way to access these courses or is it possible that to get a temporary (and free) user account from Duke University?
>
>
><issue_comment>username_1: As a commentor wrote, "ask Duke". In practice, that means the following.
Note from the URL that the page is maintained by the math department. If you can, try to figure out who specifically is maintaining the webpage (i.e., a person's name), and contact them. Otherwise, I'd recommend writing to anyone in a position of responsilibity in their math department -- say, the graduate director. Tell them that you are interested in watching their videos, and ask if there's any way you could be permitted to do so.
The most likely outcome is either that they say no, or that you get no response at all -- but in my estimation it's okay to ask, and they might say yes.
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: The suggestion to ask Duke is correct, but the most likely outcome is that they will not give you access (or not respond at all). There are two things that are probably more likely to work:
1. **Ask the creator(s) of the videos.** Reaching out directly to the creators of the videos is more likely to get a response than asking some administrator at the university. The creator is probably passionate about what they have made, and if they have the ability to share the videos with you directly, they may do so. (Be sure to state your qualifications and be polite, for maximum chances of getting a response.)
2. **Ask a student at Duke, either someone you know or in an online forum.** Be aware that it may not be allowed for them to share with you.
If it fails, fortunately, there are many other places on the internet with online learning resources that you can look into. I would not get to disheartened if this particular resource is beyond your reach.
Upvotes: 0
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2020/02/22
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<issue_start>username_0: Just for some background information: I’m currently enrolled in a MS/PhD integrated program and finished my first semester last fall. I’m planning to opt out and apply to PhD programs this year and if all goes well then I’ll be attending school in the fall of 2021.
I’ve been looking into schools, labs, and professors that I may be interested in working with, and have fortunately found quite a few. Just an FYI, my field of interest is geometric deep learning in CS.
It is a little early to be asking, but I’ve sent emails asking professors if they believe they’ll have spots open in their labs for 2021. Some professors specify on their websites that if you’re going to send an email to attach a CV.
As of writing this, I don’t have any publications in journals or conferences. I submitted one as the second author in January to an international conference, and am involved in three other projects. However, I’m not sure if the results for the acceptance or rejection for these papers will be announced by the time I actually apply. Thus, the “Publications” section of my CV would essentially be blank.
What would be some advice for someone in my position? Should I specify the progress of the work that I’m doing or elaborate on my research interests?
Any tips or advice are appreciated. Thanks in advance!<issue_comment>username_1: If I were you, I would list four publications. It is normal to list publications as "submitted" "in press" or even "in preparation".
I wouldn't abuse the last one, especially if you have a lot already (you don't). But I think in your case, it makes sense to do that.
Sure, it's possible that no paper comes out of one of the three in progress projects. Or even that two come out of one project and none out of another. But it's clear that ANY publication, not finally accepted may still fall out (even a submitted or in press one).
If it makes you feel better ethically, you could start a Word file on each of the three projects that are likely to get published and just write an outline (and I mean a very high level outline). The good thing is this sort of practice (starter file for an in process project) may prompt you to get them over the goal line, rather than dropping off and never getting your merit badge. Sometimes doing this actually gets me motivated to do the research itself!
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> As of writing this, I don’t have any publications in journals or conferences. I submitted one as the second author in January to an international conference, and am involved in three other projects.
>
>
>
I cannot speak for admissions committees, but this looks really strong. You have already submitted a paper, and you are involved in not just one but ***four*** research projects. As such, you will want to make sure to highlight this at the very top of your CV.
To highlight it, I would not include a "Publications" section, but include a "Papers", and put *in submission* or *draft* for as many papers as that applies. (This is a common structure for academic CVs, even for mid-level PhD students.) I would also include a separate section for "Research Experience" or "Research Projects" and list everything you have been involved in.
If you are confident about naming research areas, including research interests at the top of your CV is also a plus. M<NAME>ers' comment is correct that this should be very brief, only bulleted keywords (e.g. "Geometric Deep Learning"). In my area of CS this is perfectly normal (although definitely not expected, particularly for someone who is only applying to a PhD, and not yet a student).
---
[This related question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/13453/how-to-overcome-no-research-experience-in-cs-ph-d-applications?rq=1) is about if you have no research experience. Fortunately, having significant research experience but no publications puts you in a far better position.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
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2020/02/23
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<issue_start>username_0: Sometimes advances are made in science research that have enormous and very easily visible potential. There are two examples that I have seen recently.
One example is [this newly engineered inexpensive process to convert carbon dioxide into methanol, for fuel](https://uwaterloo.ca/news/news/scientists-create-artificial-leaf-turns-carbon-dioxide-fuel). As the article says, "Making methanol from carbon dioxide, the primary contributor to global warming, would both reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide a substitute for the fossil fuels that create them." This has huge potential, and it seems this should be of great excitement to researchers and activists alike working in this field.
Another example is [this development](https://www.acsh.org/news/2019/05/20/natural-killer-cells-fighting-cancer-secret-police-14040) of four strategies that represent partial but significant progress into the fighting of general cancers. This also has lots of potential in its field, and clearly is more advanced than many methods used today.
These two advances are by no means the only ones of such significance that I have seen, and there are surely much more that I have not seen, yet none of us see these go beyond this stage.
Why do breakthroughs in science and research that have enormous (and obvious) potential often not (or barely) go beyond the lab, *and what makes them different from those that do become applied in the real world*?<issue_comment>username_1: They are just flashy press releases. They're really not as cheap (including both capex and opex), easy, high yield, resistant to catalyst impurities, or scale-up able as written.
I've been seeing these flashy press releases on thin film fuel cells and the like (methanol production, energy production, F-T synthesis, biodiesel, switchgrass etc.) since at least the 90s. The current press releases look amazingly similar to the same press releases from back then, with little evident improvement in the field. Or realization of (or shame for) the past press releases that went nowhere. Just a new assistant professor and another press hungry R1 school putting out more sizzle, sans steak.
And don't get me started on "nano". That was already max hype in the 90s and has basically gone nowhere commercially (i.e. outside the realm of ivory tower careers). And it still seems like a hot area for NSF funding and the like. And it's a field that really attracts the ego scientists and self-promoters.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: I am a graduate student in chemical engineering and will try my best at answering this question in the context of my field.
The short answer is that an industrial process that uses the most advanced technologies is not economical.
There can be several reasons for this.
1. The present value of the products generated from the process over the lifetime of the plant are not greater than the investment required to get such plant up and running
2. The process would not function at an industrial scale
In this example, of a catalyst that reduces CO2 to methanol I can give a few possible reasons why this process might not work on a large scale.
* The catalyst is poisoned easily and is expensive/impossible to regenerate
* The concentrations of CO2 required for the catalyst to function are higher than those found in industrial conditions
* The product poisons/destroys the catalyst
* Water or other common impurities in effluents from CO2 producing power plants would destroy the catalyst
* Extremely high temperatures, or low temperatures or high pressures are required for the catalyst to function
* The catalyst is really expensive
* Other products are made during the process that render the methanol unusable
* Oil prices are really low, making alternative fuels less attractive investments.
* The reaction rate is too slow.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: Because technological developments and scientific discoveries are processes at very different size and time scales of a development often under **very different boundary conditions (lab vs. real world surrounding)** of an in series producable technological product.
On average it often consumes even for easy transformable high-technology concepts and ideas **5-10 years to produce a prototype** that can be used to optimize a ready-to-use technology in industry.
To measure the status-quo of such a development the **"technology readiness level"** was conceived and is widely used in academia (research reports, funding calls,...) and industry to qualify and estimate necessary time, personnel and financial requirements to achieve a distinct readiness level or decide if a concept is in the stage to transfer it from academic R&D to industrial realization and product development.
[](https://businesscolumnist.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/trl-eu.jpg)
Economical requirements are not the key factor to realize a technological concept up to the final TRL level, mainly the societal use and profit (for example, nuclear fission energy/technology has long term much higher cost for society due to nuclear waste and it's correct disposal than the revenue of the companies selling energy with it).
From an economical perspective it is known that most of the high-tech startups fail. If this is due to a unknown/misestimated TRL level of the development and too early technological realization or just a bad idea or bad economical project managment would be interesting to know. But as this failure rate of high-tech startups is pretty high, likely this is not well known or statistically studied by anyone.
When you see that the number of patents is growing exponentially but money spent on R&D rather stagnates or grows slower, a lot of breakthroughs and concepts cannot be testified for readiness at all practically.
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/njYru.png)
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/3J3N8.jpg)
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_4: >
> One example is this newly engineered inexpensive process to convert carbon dioxide into methanol, for fuel.
>
The reason in this very specific case (and probably many other cases) is **economics**.
Carbon dioxide is a gas. In the clean energy economy of tomorrow, carbon dioxide is available only if (a) stored or (b) when wind/solar power is not plentiful and thus fuels are burned for energy. The process requires an energy input, so you can use it only when wind/solar power is plentiful. There is a mismatch: you create CO2 when clean energy is not plentiful and need it when clean energy is plentiful, so you need *gas storage*.
I'll assume here that the process cannot operate on 400ppm of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere currently but requires concentrated carbon dioxide. There are processes such as photosynthesis that operate on 400ppm of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere. In fact, there is millions of years old technology called "tree" that converts carbon dioxide into solid fuels using sunlight by doing photosynthesis. I know this because I'm a forest owner and own tens of thousands of these things called "trees".
If you're going to store significant amounts of CO2, you already have gas storage capacity and thus are not restricted to liquid fuels. You can store gaseous fuels as well. In particular, you can store methane (natural gas). As lot of natural gas has been used, there is a huge number of depleted natural gas fields that have the demonstrated ability to store methane for millions of years. So, for this methanol process to compete in the marketplace, it must displace water electrolysis (invented in 1800) and Sabatier reaction (invented in 1897). Both of them are well-known technologies and when used together, convert carbon dioxide into synthetic clean methane.
If I'm an investor with focus on clean energy and considering whether to fund a methanol production process, I'm primarily looking at these things:
* Longevity. The equipment must withstand use for tens of thousands of hours at the very least.
* Energy efficiency. The equipment must show energy efficiency gains over water electrolysis + Sabatier reaction to be able to successfully compete with synthetic methane.
* Usefulness of output. Current cars do not run on methanol which is a highly corrosive fuel. Electric cars and hydrogen cars are emerging. We may not ever have a large fleet of methanol-powered cars. In contrast, cogeneration and combined cycle gas turbines have a very high energy efficiency and can already burn methane. I'd much rather invest in methane production than methanol production for this very reason. There is a huge amount of methane powered electricity generation capacity already installed, and we probably have more methane powered cars than methanol powered cars.
* Cost of output. It must successfully compete with biofuels, for example, for internal combustion engine cars that do not excel in energy efficiency and are soon replaced by plug-in hybrids at the very least or fully electric cars.
* Investment cost of equipment. The equipment must be cheaper than electrolysis cells and Sabatier reactors.
* R&D cost. Commercial companies for example have invested in electrolysis cells and already paid the R&D. Does it make sense to pay further R&D for methanol production?
* Other alternative investments. For example, if you can store gas, you may be able to store hydrogen (\*) which requires no CO2 capture, if fuel cells + electrolysis cells will ever become cost-efficient. Hydrogen has better energy density by mass than methane, but poorer energy density by volume than methane. Yet, it may make sense to have a hydrogen economy for the reason that no CO2 capture and storage is required with hydrogen.
I'm sorry to say that as an investor I'll put my money into wind power, solar power, inverters, maximum power point tracking equipment, hydropower, electrolysis and forest. (In fact, I have already put my money into electrolysis by investing into an electrolysis cell manufacturing company, into hydropower, into forest, into MPPT equipment, into inverters, into solar power and into wind power.)
(\*): there are challenges in storing hydrogen because it's a very light atom so it can diffuse easily, and hydrogen can embrittle steel
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: <NAME> has written a book, [*Inadequate Equilibria*](https://equilibriabook.com/toc), on this subject.
The table of contents describes chapter 2 as *How, in principal, can society end up neglecting obvious, low-hanging fruit?* and if chapter 2 is the how, chapter 3 attempts the why.
I'm not an economist, so there's no way I can explain this as well as the book does, but it's a principle of stack exchange that I try not to leave link-only answers. The gist of these chapters can be summarized by the quote *Usually when things suck, it's because they suck in a way that's a Nash equilibrium.*
According to this theory, there would need to be at least two broken things about the system preventing their immediate, widespread adoption by single actors. In other words, two sets of independent actors would need to coordinate through a nest of conflicting incentives and inadequate information.
In the case of cancer care, you can observe pretty easily that effective, shared information is hard to come by. Patient privacy laws are a net good, but they do make some kinds of research harder. Since healthcare in general is very resistant to change, convincing evidence is both hard to come by and very much required for anything to happen.
Such lucky coordination doesn't happen very often or very fast.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: These are all good answers, but one thing that hasn't been mentioned is what can unkindly be called Fraud.
Or as they say in research circles "The inability of third parties to replicate the results". To say this has become pervasive in scientific research is an understatement.
So in addition to all the above reasons why a "breakthrough" cannot be commercialized, today we have to acknowledge the very high probability that it in fact doesn't exist at all.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_7: I would like to provide an answer from the biological/medical perspective.
The process of developing a drug for a disease is extremely long, complicated and expensive. This means the whole process typically takes more than a decade and over 1 billion USD. This is a major investment for a pharma company, and some initial "scientific breakthrough" in the lab is just the first of many steps needed to make a new drug. For example, basic scientific research cannot be done on humans, so it is often done in other biological systems such as mice. However, mice are not humans, and what often happens is that a treatment that works great in mice either does not work for humans or has some very serious side effects which make it unusable. So even if some initial work seems promising, it can mean that the chance of it becoming a drug increases from 2% to 10%.
Another thing to consider is that even for breakthroughs that do become drugs, it takes so long for a breakthrough in basic research to become a drug, that it may seem like nothing happened. Only a decade or two later the impact will be evident.
Finally, what may be presented as a "scientific breakthrough" is sometimes not really a breakthrough. This can happen for several reasons, for example the university PR which wants to attract attention from the general public, or the scientists overselling the results in order to publish it in a high-impact journal.
Ultimately, science advances in small steps, with work of many scientists building on the work of others. Each of these can be considered small breakthroughs, and they push the boundaries of knowledge a bit further. Big scientific breakthroughs are rare.
Upvotes: 3
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2020/02/23
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<issue_start>username_0: I am currently studying in BTech CSE 2nd year. My maths is very weak and I have to choose the specialization, but I want to choose a career in computer science which does not require maths. If there is maths in any career it should be very little or easy. Please guide me ..<issue_comment>username_1: I depends on what you mean by a career. For a low level position with not a lot of chance for advancement it would be possible. But almost all CS fields require some fairly deep understanding of at least some parts of mathematics. As user vonbrand notes it is mostly not calculus, though even that can help.
But one of the big ideas in CS is being able to separate the "simple" algorithms from those that will actually work in practice. You can go a ways with only standard and well known practice, but you won't be in a very good position to make advancements, even in a "career" in programming.
But some parts of CS require more maths than others. User Interface design, for example, and Human Factors, are more concerned with psychology and physiology than maths. But Algorithms, Machine Learning, Operating Systems, and lots of others, depend on being able to think in some of the same ways that a mathematician does. Logical, rather than empirical, evidence, can be fundamental.
The other problem, as you probably already know is that most education programs in CS have quite a lot of required maths. If you don't do well in those courses, your overall record may not be strong enough to advance.
So, perhaps you just need to find a way to deal with learning the maths you need. Tutors can help, especially if they are wise enough to evaluate where your blocks are. Some students need to repeat a lot of things they "should have learned" at an earlier stage, but didn't. A good tutor can help you get past such things, but it might require special insight into learning and into what is most important. But it also takes work (lots of it) on your part.
And, more important than specific mathematical "facts" is a mathematical way of approaching a problem.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: If you want a career as a *Software Engineer*, you can get a passing grade in your math classes, then get a Software Engineering job that doesn't require much math (there are MANY of these available, I had one of these for a few years).
If you really mean you want a career in *Computer Science*, as in, you want a Ph.D. in Computer Science and a research job in Computer Science then you will likely need to work hard to strengthen your mathematical skills. Many people are not "naturally" good at math, but can do just as good as others by working hard at it. I have several friends like this, who are accomplishing amazing things despite struggling with math early in college.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: The fact that you say "BTech CSE" and your name indicates that you are doing a course at an engineering college in India.
1. Many people in India take such courses to get a career in "Software" which *could* mean "Software Engineering" or something else. The mathematics requirements for these careers have been mentioned by others.
2. Many engineering colleges in India teach "standard" calculus as a default math course (since they copy IIT's and the USA) which may not actually be required for every such a career. However, there are *many* CSE careers which *do* require a background in calculus.
3. You should be aware that firms that hire people out of these engineering firms may give some weightage to your grade point score, which will include your score in mathematics courses.
All in all, as said by others, it is best if you take remedial courses so that you can get to a reasonable level in mathematics if you want to pursue a CSE career.
Upvotes: 1
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2020/02/23
| 1,438
| 6,147
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a student majoring in civil engineering and I am in my 3rd year.I had a harsh beginning: I took 2 intensive courses during my first year of college after a gap semester. I didn’t perform well during my first and second year of college. I have repeated one failed major course( got a D- the second time) and one physics course passed with a D( I got a C the next time). I have withdrawn from a surveying class during summer and retook it the next year. Recently, during the last semester of my second year I decided to work hard in order to raise my GPA and I achieved a score of 84.64 on my semester average.
However, I am regretting and overthinking what happened during the first 2 years so much that I think that the only solution to relieve myself of the pain of thinking and blaming would be to repeat the courses that I passed with a D( 5 courses: one of them is a social elective, one an environmental chemistry core course but important for my graduate field of interest, and the three others are major courses: geology, mechanics of material and mechanics of fluid).
Which is better, to move on or to repeat these courses? Or to audit them? ( I am asking in term of graduate admissions).
My GPA is 2.92 over 4 which means 77/100.
In my university, 80 is 3.2 over 4.
I don’t follow the lettering system<issue_comment>username_1: Yes, they will look bad unless the university replaces the old grade with the new one as some do. And if you continue to get poor grades in important courses it will look worse. But there are a number of other factors that people might consider, provided you can get them to look at an application.
First, starting out on the wrong foot isn't uncommon. Nor is it a sure indicator of future failure. But, you need to turn it around.
Next, people evaluating your record are more likely to put emphasis on what you've done recently than on what you did earlier. So, re-taking the courses, not for the grades but for the knowledge can help. And not having the knowledge will be a sure block to your future. Audits are less valuable, of course, as there is no record of your performance.
Those evaluating applications for further study or for a job are looking for indicators of success. If you can show that, then you have a chance. A record of doing better recently will help, but it will also be important to have letters of recommendation from people who can honestly say that the past is past and you have a high likelihood of success in the graduate program and beyond.
On the other hand, you will be faced with stiff competition from people who haven't had a once-deficient background. It is easier for evaluators to pick people who have always seemed to be a success than someone who has struggled. The decision has less risk when you choose an all "top marks" student. But, people know, also, that such "top" students don't always succeed and some people with special motivation will, especially if they have learned to overcome a weak background.
So, the bottom line is that it isn't impossible, but it will be hard. If you can turn it around and convince your current professors that you truly have put yourself on a better path, then you have a chance.
I'd also suggest that you don't "make excuses" for the past, but face it honestly. But get on the path to success and convince others that you have.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Of course the poor grades will look bad, especially in core courses. As username_1 says, it's always *easier*, however short-sighted, to admit students who have been consistently successful than students whose records are more variable.
But retaking the same (or equivalent) courses and doing well would be strong evidence that you've gotten past whatever was holding you back before especially if you also have strong recommendation letters, good research results, and/or other evidence that reinforces that message. Many admissions committee members will see that improvement positively. Definitely not all, probably not even most, but perhaps enough.
Everybody goes through rough patches. **Everybody.** People who serve on admissions committees know that, because we've been through those rough patches ourselves. Beating yourself up over your past failures is pointless and self-destructive. Take responsibility, yes, but forgive yourself. Do the best you can from where you are.
(My undergrad GPA was lower than yours.)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: It will generally look better if you retake a class than if you had just left on the original grades for sure. But the main issue is that you seem to have failed quite a few (at my university, C- or lower was considered failing for major requirements, generally meaning we would need to retake the class), and it doesn't help that on some of the repeats you had grades in the C-range). Its more or less understandable if you fail one or two, especially if you have a rough start to undergraduate studies. Beyond that, you'll have a trickier problem to the point you'll need to find a way to address it, either through SOP or recommenders when applying to graduate programs, especially since you noted you have a GPA of less than 3.
Also to add on, a course you failed may be considered to be worth retaking if the course is **extremely important/relevant** for what you want to study in grad school. But if you have taken a course and not done so well in that course but did well in a successor course that had the "failed" course as a prerequisite, then generally not so much of a need to repeat the course you failed because it shows somewhat of an upward trend (i.e. I got a C in an introductory linear algebra class, but got B or better for all future applied mathematics classes). I'm saying this because retaking courses takes time that you could spend on other pursuits. It's up to you to figure out the classes most worth retaking if needed and prioritize accordingly. As others have said, gaining research experience is also important for graduate admission so you don't want to neglect that entirely, even with repeating courses.
Upvotes: 0
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2020/02/23
| 656
| 2,723
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<issue_start>username_0: I had submitted an article and I got first decision. I wrote answers and explanations to the reviewer comments and re submitted the article. After 2 months it sent to the same reviewer (as per info given at help section) and i am told that the reviewer has not accepted the invite. It is very surprising, why would the same reviewer who reviewed my article once would not accept the invite to see my answers. Or why would the editor wait for almost 2 months for the reviewer to just accept the invite the review.<issue_comment>username_1: >
> After 2 months it sent to the same reviewer (as per info given at help section)....[W]hy would the editor wait for almost 2 months for the reviewer to just accept the invite the review[?]
>
>
>
The timeline seems to vary a lot by field, but sometimes the journal publication process is extraordinarily slow. On the whole, 2 months doesn't seem out of the ordinary to me. If it was just the editor waiting to ask the reviewer, I agree that seems strange, but there may have been some good reason for the delay (e.g. back and forth with this reviewer to see if they would be able to accept it or not).
>
> and I am told that the reviewer has not accepted the invite.
> It is very surprising, why would the same reviewer who reviewed my
> article once would not accept the invite to see my answers.
>
>
>
Unexpected things can happen. For example, the reviewer had some personal tragedy or health emergency. You simply cannot tell, so the best thing you can do is to discuss with the editor of the paper what to do next.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> Why would the same reviewer who reviewed my article once would not accept the invite to see my answers?
>
>
>
Lots of possible reasons:
1. They're too busy.
2. They retired/left academia/changed universities/passed away etc and the editor wasn't aware of the new development.
3. You didn't address their questions properly and they decided they didn't want to waste any more time on your paper.
4. They started up a collaboration with you in the interim, which made them have a conflict of interest and therefore are recusing themselves from the paper.
5. ... (you can probably think of a bajillion possible reasons).
>
> Why would the editor wait for almost 2 months for the reviewer to just accept the invite the review?
>
>
>
As implicit in your question, one would expect the same reviewer who reviewed your article once will accept the invite to review the revision. The editor undoubtedly thought the same, so they chose to wait almost two months in your case, even though for a new reviewer reviewing a fresh submission they might wait a shorter time.
Upvotes: 0
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2020/02/23
| 2,584
| 9,910
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<issue_start>username_0: **Note**: You may refer previous revisions for more context.
---
I read [Academia varies more than you think it does](https://academia.meta.stackexchange.com/a/1212), but in any school or university I've been to or heard of, students can always see how they were graded for any assignment. Or, at least, if the school won't let them keep it, but they will at least let the students view it (usually final exams).
I believe it's every student's right to know how e was graded on, well, a graded requirement. (see [<NAME>](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/56272) and [<NAME>](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/56221)'s answers) The only exception I can think of is [Educational Testing Service](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educational_Testing_Service), which administers the TOEFL and GRE, but it's not really a school or anything.
Recently, my [sibling](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/116017/are-there-areas-where-only-some-universities-that-pay-their-sports-scholars) was a little surprised with a grade on a paper and wants to know about how their particular paper was graded. But when my sibling tried to ask to view the marking of the paper, this was the reply:
>
> Are you an exchange student? [University] does not provide marks to students after the examination. The only thing that can be released is the Grade or Pass/Fail. Giving you the marks would be a violation of the regulations. In fact, all such information will be destroyed after a period of time. You can try asking other teachers about marks, they will also tell you the same.
>
>
>
(My sibling is **not an exchange** student.)
**Main question: [Do](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_economics)/[Should](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normative_economics) (see [here](https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/1375/what-is-the-opposite-of-argumentative) also) students have the right to see their how exams were graded?**
Some guide questions for the main question:
1. Is this policy unconventional or unethical or unfair? Based on
[Corvus' answer to this
question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/56330/what-do-universities-usually-do-with-a-students-graded-final-exams)
or [<NAME>'s answer to this
question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/56216/return-midterm-exam-paper-or-not),
I kind of think my sibling's university's policy is unconventional
or something.
2. How will any student get feedback on their communication or their mistakes if they do not see any of the marking of their work?
3. Is it unconventional, unethical or [unfair](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qL34_Oi5RH8) to tell them to ask other teachers rather than point to the specific university regulations?
4. Is it unconventional, unethical or [unfair](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qL34_Oi5RH8) to not have specific university regulations on this matter?<issue_comment>username_1: I doubt that this is a case of a student "offending" an individual professor and more one of rules in place that may not make sense and that you may not approve of, but still, rules.
I don't like, personally, such rules. I think they are wrong, but an individual professor has little actual control over rule making. They may not be willing to break the rules, especially if they are a junior faculty member.
Personally, I probably wouldn't give back final exams, though I did give back all others. But I would certainly let a student look over the grading. But I was bound by no such rules.
And, note that, depending on the scale of the institution, it might be very difficult to permit students access to final exams. When I was a TA, we graded Calculus finals as a group, with each TA grading only one problem. So, a student's grade was an amalgam of judgements. We were guided by a rubric, of course. But the professor didn't grade the finals and so might find it difficult to respond to exactly why a point (or ten) was lost. Smaller institutions can "afford" a more personal touch and usually strive to do so. It should be (perfect world) possible for larger ones to do so also, but often don't. And if there were a few hundred students, it is difficult to respond to individuals, just for the time it takes. Ideal? No.
Intermediate exams are a different matter, in my view, since they can and should be used to guide the student's learning. But, Rules.
And usually, by enrolling in a university, the student makes an implicit (at least) agreement to abide by the rules in place.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: It depends on the country and university regulations. At some universities in Canada where I was, students could see how they mid-term exams were graded, but they had to ask to see the final exam through a formal procedure (which they rarely did perhaps because the semester had ended and students had left). But students would often ask about their homework grades to try to get additional points. All exams would be kept safely for a few years. Now, at some university in Asia, I have never seen a student asking to see their grades of the final exam (probably based on the regulation) and very rarely seen a student asking to revise to get more points for a homework (perhaps based on the culture). However, all final exams are also kept in a secure room in case someone would want to check again.
For the question (it is unconventional, unethical unfair or do students have the right?), I think it depends. It may be unusual in some countries but not in others. In fact, this is more of a university-level regulation than country-level or professor-level decision. Would it be beneficial for students to see their copies? I think it could indeed let student learn from their mistakes. But on the other hand, it could further delay the publication of final grades at the end of the semester and increase the workload of professors (as they may not use TAs to grade the exams) etc., so someone could also argue that there are some practical reasons for not allowing it.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: Phil's answer is aligned with what I believe is true: Countries (and certainly states or territories) could have regulations in place to indicate how this is done. Universities might have their own if the government doesn't impose any guidelines. And even professors might have their own set of rules.
I taught part-time at a university in Fort Worth, Texas for 8 years. I don't recall any bylaws given to me by my department or the school with regards to this topic. In my case, my syllabus was the law. In the syllabus, I indicated things like grade scale, whether or not a curve was applied during grading (I never used a curve). And more importantly, I ALWAYS gave graded papers back to my students. But that was my own personal policy to ensure transparency in order to preserve fairness. Doing so, I never had a complaint from a student that I was being unfair in grading. I did that because I didn't want to deal with the drama of students trying to protest a grade in order to gain that extra point that will give him or her the next letter grade. And even after all that, I had a time or two when I had to engage with students that will complaint about their grades. In the end, I always advice them to compare with other students to determine how "unfair" I was.
Also, in the syllabus, the school required all professors to include verbiage (or a link) to let students know about formal appeal process. And so, my syllabus always contained this information.
For me, the bottom line wasn't so much about fairness, it was a lot more to do with making my own life easier; especially since I was a **part-time** professor. I had another, full-time job that require more of my time and I didn't want to take away from that to deal with all the drama as I mentioned before.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: My answer is specific to India. This question was the subject of litigation which went all the way upto the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled ([1](https://cic.gov.in/sites/default/files/court%20orders/CBSEAndAnr-Vs-AdityaAndOrs.pdf) [2](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1519371/)) that the examinees have a right, under the Right to Information Act 2005, to obtain xerox copy of their evaluated answer sheets. This judgment is binding upon all institutions which fall under the purview of the RTI Act.
Even independently of the RTI Act, there is a general duty on administrative bodies to disclose reasons for their administrative/quasi-judicial/judicial acts. See para 51 of this Supreme Court judgment <https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1304475/> which is a beautiful exposition of this principle. I would submit that this principle requires that students be given the opportunity of viewing their answer-books.
The above is from a legal point of view. But even from a general point of view, my view is that students must be shown their graded answer-books. There are multiple advantages for this : (1) Students get feedback on their understanding (2) If there is any inadvertent mistake in evaluation (e.g. marks totalling mistake, answer left unevaluated etc.) students can point out the error and get it rectified, (3) Transparency builds trust. Conversely, distrust breeds in opacity. It is not only important to have fairness in the system, but equally important for the system to be seen as being fair, and finally : (4) The academic institutions and systems exist for the students. The student is the one whose future shall be affected by the grades. It would be very unfair if the student is not even given the opportunity to see how he/she has been evaluated.
In my view, the student should not only have the right to view graded answerbooks, but must also have the right to appeal against the grades.
Disclaimer : I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice. Views entirely personal.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
|
2020/02/24
| 2,088
| 8,577
|
<issue_start>username_0: so basically I have recently started to teach my own course for the first time. In the past, I mainly taught professors in the department that were on leave etc and they normally supplied me with their teaching materials, so this is the first time I am completely writing my own notes/lecture slides.
Now, I am teaching a history survey course and when writing lecture notes/slides, I have mainly relied on the course textbook and a few secondary sources. **The question now is whether I need to provide references at all if I use the work of others in this context?** I do not copy anything verbatim of course and also dont claim anywhere that what is on the slides is my original work. However, while I normally rely on several sources for my lecture slides, at times several slides in a row more or less summarise a few pages from the textbook/another source. Would I be expected to give a reference for this? [I should add that I do provide references if I borrow a whole chart etc. from a book].
I have to say that at least in the humanities and in my own career as a student and teacher, I have never seen such references. In fact, a criticism of students about some of my former professors was that they basically just go through the textbook in lectures. **So, unless I am missing something, my guess is that I dont have to provide references** [I dont mean what would be ethically "perfect" but rather what is accepted practice in academia]. However, now that I am doing it myself, I thought I could ask here just to make sure.<issue_comment>username_1: I doubt that this is a case of a student "offending" an individual professor and more one of rules in place that may not make sense and that you may not approve of, but still, rules.
I don't like, personally, such rules. I think they are wrong, but an individual professor has little actual control over rule making. They may not be willing to break the rules, especially if they are a junior faculty member.
Personally, I probably wouldn't give back final exams, though I did give back all others. But I would certainly let a student look over the grading. But I was bound by no such rules.
And, note that, depending on the scale of the institution, it might be very difficult to permit students access to final exams. When I was a TA, we graded Calculus finals as a group, with each TA grading only one problem. So, a student's grade was an amalgam of judgements. We were guided by a rubric, of course. But the professor didn't grade the finals and so might find it difficult to respond to exactly why a point (or ten) was lost. Smaller institutions can "afford" a more personal touch and usually strive to do so. It should be (perfect world) possible for larger ones to do so also, but often don't. And if there were a few hundred students, it is difficult to respond to individuals, just for the time it takes. Ideal? No.
Intermediate exams are a different matter, in my view, since they can and should be used to guide the student's learning. But, Rules.
And usually, by enrolling in a university, the student makes an implicit (at least) agreement to abide by the rules in place.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: It depends on the country and university regulations. At some universities in Canada where I was, students could see how they mid-term exams were graded, but they had to ask to see the final exam through a formal procedure (which they rarely did perhaps because the semester had ended and students had left). But students would often ask about their homework grades to try to get additional points. All exams would be kept safely for a few years. Now, at some university in Asia, I have never seen a student asking to see their grades of the final exam (probably based on the regulation) and very rarely seen a student asking to revise to get more points for a homework (perhaps based on the culture). However, all final exams are also kept in a secure room in case someone would want to check again.
For the question (it is unconventional, unethical unfair or do students have the right?), I think it depends. It may be unusual in some countries but not in others. In fact, this is more of a university-level regulation than country-level or professor-level decision. Would it be beneficial for students to see their copies? I think it could indeed let student learn from their mistakes. But on the other hand, it could further delay the publication of final grades at the end of the semester and increase the workload of professors (as they may not use TAs to grade the exams) etc., so someone could also argue that there are some practical reasons for not allowing it.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: Phil's answer is aligned with what I believe is true: Countries (and certainly states or territories) could have regulations in place to indicate how this is done. Universities might have their own if the government doesn't impose any guidelines. And even professors might have their own set of rules.
I taught part-time at a university in Fort Worth, Texas for 8 years. I don't recall any bylaws given to me by my department or the school with regards to this topic. In my case, my syllabus was the law. In the syllabus, I indicated things like grade scale, whether or not a curve was applied during grading (I never used a curve). And more importantly, I ALWAYS gave graded papers back to my students. But that was my own personal policy to ensure transparency in order to preserve fairness. Doing so, I never had a complaint from a student that I was being unfair in grading. I did that because I didn't want to deal with the drama of students trying to protest a grade in order to gain that extra point that will give him or her the next letter grade. And even after all that, I had a time or two when I had to engage with students that will complaint about their grades. In the end, I always advice them to compare with other students to determine how "unfair" I was.
Also, in the syllabus, the school required all professors to include verbiage (or a link) to let students know about formal appeal process. And so, my syllabus always contained this information.
For me, the bottom line wasn't so much about fairness, it was a lot more to do with making my own life easier; especially since I was a **part-time** professor. I had another, full-time job that require more of my time and I didn't want to take away from that to deal with all the drama as I mentioned before.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: My answer is specific to India. This question was the subject of litigation which went all the way upto the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled ([1](https://cic.gov.in/sites/default/files/court%20orders/CBSEAndAnr-Vs-AdityaAndOrs.pdf) [2](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1519371/)) that the examinees have a right, under the Right to Information Act 2005, to obtain xerox copy of their evaluated answer sheets. This judgment is binding upon all institutions which fall under the purview of the RTI Act.
Even independently of the RTI Act, there is a general duty on administrative bodies to disclose reasons for their administrative/quasi-judicial/judicial acts. See para 51 of this Supreme Court judgment <https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1304475/> which is a beautiful exposition of this principle. I would submit that this principle requires that students be given the opportunity of viewing their answer-books.
The above is from a legal point of view. But even from a general point of view, my view is that students must be shown their graded answer-books. There are multiple advantages for this : (1) Students get feedback on their understanding (2) If there is any inadvertent mistake in evaluation (e.g. marks totalling mistake, answer left unevaluated etc.) students can point out the error and get it rectified, (3) Transparency builds trust. Conversely, distrust breeds in opacity. It is not only important to have fairness in the system, but equally important for the system to be seen as being fair, and finally : (4) The academic institutions and systems exist for the students. The student is the one whose future shall be affected by the grades. It would be very unfair if the student is not even given the opportunity to see how he/she has been evaluated.
In my view, the student should not only have the right to view graded answerbooks, but must also have the right to appeal against the grades.
Disclaimer : I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice. Views entirely personal.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
|
2020/02/24
| 2,305
| 9,828
|
<issue_start>username_0: I have a very high expectation of a lab that I want to join and It's highly possible for me to eventually do that after my rotation period ends. The [PI](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principal_investigator) is the kind of person whom I have been looking for for so long. The only concern is that the PI doesn't have previous grad students and if I join I will be the very first grad student. I know there're a lot of benefits for being in that position and that's what I want. However, for being the first grad student, what issues/problems should I be careful about since I have no senior grad student to talk to for more experience? Thanks
NOTE: in Canada and the US, the term principal investigator (PI) refers to the holder of an independent grant and the lead researcher for the grant project - source: [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principal_investigator)<issue_comment>username_1: A few things come to mind:
1. after you've graduated their recommendation letter (if you need one) may carry less weight than that of a more senior academic with a longer track record.
* They probably also have a smaller professional network and cannot help you as much with finding opportunities afterwards than a more senior academic could.
2. they may have less influence in the department
* That generally shouldn't affect you, but if for some reson you ever get caught up in department politics it might.
3. since they're just starting out, they may struggle to provide adequate facilities (if you're doing any experimental work) and you may need to spend part of your time setting up the lab.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: I am in a similar situation, whereby I am my supervisor's first PhD student, and she has just started out as head of department. I find myself agreeing with the comment of username_1, in the sense that your supervisor may struggle to support you with non-scientific endeavours, such as access to facilities and so on. I know this has been the case for me, even though my supervisor has introduced a lot of good change in the department.
With regards to the recommendation letter, I shouldn't worry too much, because you will work with other scientists of varying experience levels over the course of your PhD, and most senior scientists, if you have worked closely with them, will be happy to write you a letter of recommendation for jobs further down the line.
The one thing I would say is the worst about being the first grad student of a new faculty member in a senior position is that they may not be able to find as much time for you as you might like. I am lucky in the sense that my supervisor meets me (quasi) weekly. However our conversations are almost completely confined to this hour or two a week, it's not so easy to go and see her on a whim just in her office, like it is for the students of some of the less senior faculty members.
Nonetheless, it is impossible to have a perfect grad school experience without some mishaps, there are positives and negatives to every situation regarding supervision, research and training for the full 3-5 years! All the best :)
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: This may be country specific, but there are a couple of points I would make.
First, in the (UK) departments I know, there must be more than one faculty member involved in the supervisory team, and a completely inexperienced faculty member would not be allowed to lead (officially). It would be worth checking beforehand if there's a plan to have more faculty involved in the supervision, in what roles, and at what level. If possible, suggest faculty yourself (this could be difficult to do tactfully, as it may suggest to the PI that you don't trust their abilities and expertise: I would suggest something like "With our project, it might be interesting to consider doing X, but I know nothing about it. Could we involve Y in the supervision from the start so I can learn?").
Second, there are a number of directions that a lead supervisor should push a grad student on (such as day-to-day research, big picture research direction and future careers, profile raising activities like talks or posters, communication activities like papers, administrative issues and hoop-jumping like performance reviews or qualifying exams). The advantage of experienced supervisors (IMO) is that they are better at knowing what to push on and when. When less experienced, supervisors can put too much weight on everything at once, leading to too much pressure on the student.
One step to checking this is to have more experienced faculty involved with the supervision, as above. Another, particularly for the administrative hoop-jumping steps, is to have a strong network amongst the other grad students in the department or faculty. You mention that the PI has no other students: I assume the lab, or department more broadly, does. If so, make it a priority to connect with them, to find out timings and expectations, and build a support network. If there are no other students in the department I would say you're taking a very big risk joining the lab.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: In addition to some of the main points in the other answers, namely:
* a junior faculty *might* not have as strong as an academic network as a senior faculty, which possibly limits your opportunities for conferences, jobs, etc down the line
* from lack of experience, a junior faculty *might* be more at a loss of how to best guide you and help you through struggles
* a junior faculty might have less lab resources, and in particular no senior students/postdocs to help guide you (this also limits a source of people for your network in the future)
I would add that, at least in a tenure-track system if the professor is pre-tenure:
* a junior faculty may be under more pressure to produce for grants/tenure, putting extra pressure on you
* if the junior faculty is denied tenure, you may either have to find another lab or move to another university
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: Speaking from the US perspective, there are a couple of pros and cons I can make:
CONS:
* You will be the one who sets up a research environment (especially if you are only grad student of your PI, and no postdoc involves). Setting up the lab, the equipment, learning softwares, training newcomers will fall on you. And you will be expected to keep up with classes at the same time.
* If your PI hasn't written a grant proposal before or doesn't have the grant to cover most expenses, you will feel the pressure getting useful data to support the proposal. This pressure will be more than what your peers feel. If their grant is not enough to fund you until the end of your MS/Ph.D., you will most likely end up in a stressful situation financially.
* Even though you did your rotation with them, you probably do not have a clear idea about your PI's personality and won't have any students of them to ask.
* Since your PI will not be tenured yet; if they cannot get tenure on time or their position is ended earlier than expected by the university, you might have to find another PI and even change your project completely.
* The entire grad school experience might be lonely and isolating for you.
PROS:
* You will have a lot of room to grow, and you will have more freedom about what you are doing compared to other graduate students.
* You will learn the skills that other PhDs will probably learn in their postdoc years or later.
* You will be involved and exposed to all aspects of research. This would be very valuable in both academia and industry.
* New PIs are most likely to collaborate with other PIs, so there is a chance your name will end up in more publications compared to other graduate students.
* Your PI will also grow with you, and there will be a learning curve for them too. It can be an excellent chance to establish a great friendship and support each other.
Overall, it is essential to establish a good working relationship and learn to say no when necessary. Do not be afraid to say when it is overwhelming or if you cannot handle it. In the end, you are the student, and they are the PI. They are there to support and advise you. I hope you have a great graduate school experience. :)
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_6: Choose your committee wisely and be close to them. Many of the possible shortcomings of having a new advisor can be overcome by more established committee members. Example problems and how I've seen committee members help out:
* Your advisor does not get tenure and needs to leave before you can graduate: You can get handed off to a senior committee member.
* You need specialized resources such as lab tools: A more established committee member can share theirs.
* You want or need introductions for your network: A more established committee member can introduce you to their former students and other connections.
* Your advisor doesn't know how to mentor well: A more established committee member can advocate for you.
* Your advisor doesn't know how departmental policies or politics: A more established committee member can help guide you.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: Congrats! This can be a very rewarding path to your degree, and you might learn to build a lab from the ground up.
Aside from all the great advice you've been getting, I would urge you to form [your committee](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/7833/what-does-a-phd-committee-do) early, and meet fairly often -- at least once or twice a semester. This is always a good idea, but it's particularly important here. It can prevent unpleasant surprises, and bring in the benefit of more experienced investigators. You might also try to get at least one person with broad experience on to the committee.
Upvotes: 1
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2020/02/24
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<issue_start>username_0: I will apply for a Ph.D. position, and the university is asking for an English version of my transcript record and diploma.
My diploma/transcripts records are in French and the cost of a certified translation is enormous.
Is it possible to send non-certified translations? I would, of course, precise that they can ask for a certified one if necessary<issue_comment>username_1: Only they can answer the question as it is their rules that apply. But I think you propose a good solution. Send them a "faithful" translation that you can prepare at little cost. Offer to send a certified copy if necessary, but mention that the cost of such a translation is high.
But you might also be able to have your university provide an English language translation or even to assure the recipient that your translation is accurate.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Each program has its own rules and requirements, so the only way to know is to ask them what is required exactly. It could be the case that a certified translation is only needed at a later stage, or not at all.
If your degree is from a French University and relatively recent, you should be able to request a [Diploma Supplement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diploma_Supplement) which carries information in English about your degree. This could satisfy some requirements better than a non-certified translation (but again, you should ask).
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: My experience is that if a *certified* translation is required, it will be stated explicitly. In other words, asking for a translation is not the same as asking for a *certified* translation.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: You are entitled to receive your degree certificate in English directly from your university.
>
> Graduates in all countries taking part in the Bologna Process have the right to receive the Diploma Supplement automatically, free of charge and in any major European language.
>
>
>
Source: <https://ec.europa.eu/education/diploma-supplement_en>
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: If you're on good terms with someone in the admin in the French university, you could
1. do you own translation; follow the format of the French documents.
2. take the translations to the admin person, and ask them to put an "official stamp" on your translations.
3. Have them also stamp a few blank pages, in case you need them later.
Don't ask me how I know this.
(My experience is that French universities have lots of stamps, and that US universities (if that's where you're applying) are just looking for something that appears official.)
Upvotes: 1
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2020/02/24
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm in my late 30's and started a Ph.D. program and am wondering what my academic career prospects are. From my understanding, after the Ph.D., there are 2-3 years of postdoc, then 4-6 years of tenure-track before becoming a Prof. Is that correct?
My field is `machine learning` (or `artificial intelligence`) and I'm in the US.<issue_comment>username_1: I think the answer here is that it depends on a lot of factors, but that you'll generally do better in the Machine Learning field than you would in many of the older, more established fields.
For starters, there's just not that many people out there with PhDs in Machine Learning. I'm an economist, but I've spent a lot of time working around the edges of machine learning and data science. Many of the faculty in that area have degrees in different but related fields. Econ, stats, math, and computer science are common.
Machine learning is also an incredibly hot field right now. Before I went back to academia I worked in applied research, and finding an experienced person with a "data scientist" title in their job history was a nightmare. Private sector jobs are common, and the salaries are high, which pulls people away from academia.
**So while being an older graduate hitting the job market may be a challenge in academia, I think the shortage of talent available in this field will offset it.** Especially if you have relevant work experience in data science, research, and/or machine learning from before now.
On a side note, unless your goal is specifically to do PhD research (i.e. are you interested in applying ML in teaching or research, or are you interested in working on the mathematical underpinnings?) in the field and earn tenure, you can accomplish a lot, even in academia, with a master's degree in this field. Might be something to explore if you decide not to go the whole way.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Your age is not the thing you should be worrying about. You only have one life and you should be working to live it as you find comfortable, pleasurable, useful, ...
The particular field you think you want to enter now should also be a secondary concern in terms of its "hotness". Whether it actually interests you and you feel it is worth pursuing is a much more important consideration. Your chosen field, whatever it is, will probably have a different "hotness index" when you finish than when you start.
You will be older in a few years whether you do the doctorate or not. If you don't, then where will you be in your life's plan. My former spouse finished a doctorate at about 40 and went on to a nice career. And, of course, a decision made now can be altered somewhere along the line as things, including your own needs, change.
Whether you need to spend time in a post-doc depends on a lot of things. Many people do now-a-days, but a lot of that is just the job market. If it takes you a few years to earn the doctorate then the market is highly likely to be different when you finish than when you start. Unfortunately you can't say whether it will be better or worse then, but that would be true if you were 20, now.
And being on the tenure track in the US (an assistant professor) is really being a professor. You just don't have quite the same job security as a tenured person, but the job is really just the same: Teaching, Research, Service in some proportion depending on the institution.
So, my best advice is to do what most appeals to your sense of self-worth.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: A slightly utopian answer, but I’ll wait for all the naysayers out there to correct me if they want to:
**Your academic career prospects as a beginning graduate student in your late 30’s are the same as they would be for a beginning graduate student of any other age group.**
If you are talented and work hard, you will succeed. Don’t overthink this.
In addition to that, your area is super trendy and I’m hearing about a lot of hiring activity currently going on in this and related areas (anything that falls under the label of data science). So your prospects seem generally good, both in academia and (perhaps even more so) in industry.
Good luck!
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: Anecdotal evidence:
1. I started in my PhD program at age 40, and now have a permanent faculty position (teaching) in Electrical Engineering.
2. A friend was a little older than me when she started the program, and she is now an Assistant professor in computer science.
Here's what my friend and I found. As I aged, my raw ability to solve problems and memorize things has diminished. In exchange, I am really good at the following: prioritizing my time, presenting, writing, networking, taking initiative, and other important skills. Essentially, even though we're older, we still can have a good package, and other people know it.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: By and large, ageism in academia is *less* pronounced than in many nonacademic fields. In some fields like pure math and theoretical physics, *arguably* there is a bias that young minds do the best work, but even there demonstrated research success overcomes that bias, and I believe it is less in computer science to begin with.
However, age often correlates with greater family responsibilities and less geographic and schedule flexibility. The "two-body problem", navigating the job market, is challenging enough for a couple in their 20s, starting out a life together but (usually, not always) without additional dependents, and a decent tolerance for temporary distance relationships and sleeping on lumpy couches. It then gets more difficult when a move is required (e.g. postdoc to junior tenure track) just as the family unit wants to put down roots.
Since you're about 10 years older, think about how you and those close to you will react when your academic career requires you to move to a different corner of the country when you're, say, 42. Maybe that's not a problem, or maybe your specific qualifications will be enough in demand that you can be choosy, but worth considering how much this will constrain the optimal random walk through academia your career will take.
Upvotes: 2
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2020/02/24
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<issue_start>username_0: I am considering asking another professor to be my thesis advisor. My situation differs from that of other question-askers in that:
1. I am in a position where I have done enough research to write my thesis and be done in a couple of months.
2. My relationship with my current advisor, while rough at times, in generally good.
So why do I want to switch?
I feel that my research topic is a dead end. This wouldn't really bother me too much except that my particular topic turns out to be interesting to very few people (the number one complaint by reviewers). The result is that despite achieving good results, we have been having trouble publishing at the general and more influential conferences.
When I began my project I thought it was interesting, but no longer think this, partially because of reviewer feed-back, but more because of my expanding knowledge of the field.
**additional context**: I also feel that the work is quite trivial in that what I did to achieve good results is what anyone in the hotter subfields would do. The reason that it wasn't done before is that the method wasn't known/understood by my advisor (or tried by others in the relatively small community).
On the other hand, I have worked on another project in one of my classes that is not only more interesting to me, but is part of a much 'hotter' subfield.
I guess I am concerned with attaching my name to a thesis that few people will care about when I can potentially work on something else with much more interest. Not only that, but the latter project is in the area where I would like to do a PhD.
I don't mind that switching would add upwards of a year to my program. Rather, I am hesitant to make this move for the following reasons:
I don't want to do something that will harm my current advisor. I also don't want to piss this person off as they are my main reference for the past two years of work. Is switching likely to have either of these effects?
The professor I would like to switch to is very new and I don't want to put him in a position that might cause him to come into conflict with my current advisor. How likely is this?
Any advice on the above questions would be great. I just don't have the experience to know if my concerns are valid.<issue_comment>username_1: Switching now seems like a poor choice. You can finish in a bit, you say. And *then* you can change areas. Your old professor is happy with you. You have a success under your belt. The world is open to you.
Anyone can change at any time. There is no real reason to waste your past work.
You can then take up, somehow, in the new area, perhaps with the other professor. Or, maybe even apply for a doctoral program that will support you in the new area.
Being in an area with only a few people is fairly common in some fields (mathematics, say). It is a tradeoff. There is less competition, for example, though you have to look harder for collaborators.
Don't think that finishing in the current track will lock you in to that forever. You have valuable experience that you can exploit in a lot of ways.
And even if you do switch, abandoning old work, don't make a habit of it. Throughout your career other opportunities will sometimes seem pretty bright. If you chase every one you won't ever accomplish much. Finish what you start unless the situation is so bad as to have negative impacts on your life. That doesn't seem to be what you say here.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Based on a comment indicating OP plans to apply for PhD programs that start in Fall 2021 (that is, 1.5 years from now, with applications likely due around Fall 2020):
What I would suggest for someone in my own field is the idea you mention in a comment rather the one in the original post:
>
> I plan on working/interning for a year and then applying for PhD programs for the Fall 2021 intake. I have thought about finishing my thesis and then seeing if the other prof would hire me on as a research assistant to work on the other project with him. My general field is AI and location is Canada if that helps!
>
>
>
I'd start conversations with that other professor about work over the next year as soon as possible. If they don't have funding there may be other labs that fit you, as well, either at your own institution or someplace nearby. Start looking and applying for those positions now, while you wrap up the work you are doing.
It will be better for you to have a completed project plus some work towards a new direction than to switch directions at this point: you're too close to being finished. You'll have the most options available at that point. It really doesn't matter what your thesis is about, but the sum total of work you've done at the point you're applying for grad schools. You'll have a start on the work by the time you are applying, and if you are interviewing in the spring you'll have more work done that you can talk about.
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]
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2020/02/25
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<issue_start>username_0: In present day academia, it seems much harder to make foundational breakthroughs than it was in the past. Most work now synthesizes previously discovered results to study something extremely specific. Although this extremely specific thing may be valuable to know, it generally does not have the potential to rewrite the field.
For example, in physics, the beginning of the 20th century saw the revolutionary development of general relativity and quantum mechanics. While there is still much to be learned in modern physics research, it is much more difficult for someone to make large, fundamental contributions to the field, simply based on the fact that the large, fundamental contributions were already made. Now, even an extremely productive researcher may only become well-known in their immediate subfield. Similar notions can be applied to art and a variety of other academic disciplines, in which it is more difficult for one single artist's work to be foundational to the field.
Do academics worry much about the growing insignificance (for lack of a better word) of their work? Or is any knowledge gained worth the effort, simply because the academic enjoys studying the topic (no matter how esoteric)? Any sort of discussion about this concept would be enlightening.<issue_comment>username_1: >
> In present day academia, it seems much harder to make foundational breakthroughs than it was in the past. Most work now synthesizes previously discovered results to study something extremely specific. Although this extremely specific thing may be valuable to know, it generally does not have the potential to rewrite the field.
>
>
>
I see at least two factors at play in explaining this phenomenon, and the upshot may not be as cynical as it seems.
1. It only *seems* harder, due to survivor bias
-----------------------------------------------
Comparing academics today to Einstein is not a fair comparison due to **[survivor bias](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias).** Einstein was not the only physicist working in his day. For every Einstein there were at least hundreds of other people who tried to work on physics but failed to invent general relativity. For every Archimedes and Euclid there were at least dozens of other mathematicians who failed to make a name for themself reaching into the present day. In fact, it is impossible to even tell how many there were, as most have been lost to history: they will not have a Wikipedia page, or any mention on the internet, etc.
In other words, you are comparing the *average* academic of today with the *most successful* academics of the past, so you are not comparing apples to apples.
If we were to compare the *average* academic today and in the past, would we see a difference in how difficult it is to make foundational breakthrough? I expect that there would still be some effect, but it would not be nearly as pronounced.
### 2. Scientific progress inherently involves specialization
Looking back on foundational results like Einstein's theory of relativity (or Turing's definition of a computer, or Mendeleev's discovery of the periodic table), we get the feeling that a "breakthrough" is something like a huge paradigm shift, where everything we knew before was wrong, and now some new theory is found to be correct instead. But as science progresses, paradigm shifts may become less and less common, because we see that many prior breakthroughs turned out to be correct, so we must *build on* them rather than *replace them*. And the way that this happens is that subfields develop which build on the previous (now thought to be correct) theories in different ways, and/or explore the limits where those theories do not apply.
But is it accurate to say that these "specialized" results as less "foundational"? When Turing invented the definition of computer, he was a mathematician, not a computer scientist: at that time, you could say that computer science was just a small subset of math. But it later grew into its own field (and separated from engineering as well, a century later). So today, "computer science" is its own field, along with "physics", "chemistry", "biology", etc.
In summary, the possibility for foundational results *within a field* is independent of time; it is just that *the set of fields changes.* For example, today, rather than making foundational results in physics as a whole, you might try to make foundational results in quantum mechanics or in fluid dynamics.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Actually, exactly the same question might have been asked around 1900 when [<NAME>](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Poincar%C3%A9) ruled the world.
There is a tradeoff, of course. Some fields get saturated and the seemingly important questions get answered, closing the field in some ways. But those fundamental breakthroughs may open new lines of inquiry. And there is the corresponding effect that other fields open up. Mathematics is like the latter. People today think about a lot of mathematical ideas that didn't really exist historically.
Whether physics is a fixed field in which everything will eventually be known is, I think, an open and debatable question. I suspect that there will be new ways of thinking about things and thus new and important questions as long as humans can manage to still exist. Quantum entanglement is still pretty "spooky".
And in the social sciences we may be only at the beginning of what can be known.
Moreover, each new generation of scientists, in whatever field, starts out at a higher level than their predecessors, and so, have a base on which to reach still higher, with a deeper understanding. Poincaré had problems grokking relativity, as did many of those in his generation. After they started to actually die, relativity came to the fore.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: *Do academics worry much about the growing insignificance (for lack of a better word) of their work?*
This looks like a personal question, so I'll give a personal answer. I have no idea how widely my opinion is shared, so don't attach too much "statistical significance" to it. IMHO, most of us (myself included) have never had any chance to make any "major breakthrough" in anything by ourselves. Such breakthroughs *can* occasionally be made out of the blue (at least, in mathematics) but more often than not they just occur when the time is ripe meaning that the relevant tools and ideas get slowly developed to solve lesser problems, many of which will be later just forgotten. So, I view my task as merely trying to figure out things that haven't been figured out yet in the hope that in the process I'll find some new approach or, at least, a new twist of an old technique that will come handy later when some people smarter than I will solve some "big problems". The nice thing (again, I can confidently say it about mathematics only, but it may apply to other sciences as well) is that our knowledge is (at least currently) resembling not a solid disk like in that famous [depiction of PhD](http://www.openculture.com/2017/06/the-illustrated-guide-to-a-phd-12-simple-pictures-that-will-put-the-daunting-degree-into-perspective.html), but rather the [Sierpinski carpet](http://paulbourke.net/fractals/carpet/), so you can make a small side step from any position and find yourself on an uncharted territory where life immediately gets interesting enough to render all your existing knowledge if not totally irrelevant, then, at least, rather hard to use. Moreover, you don't need to search hard for those side steps.
*is any knowledge gained worth the effort* I would say yes, but not
*simply because the academic enjoys studying the topic*.
To start with, enjoyment is a rare event. The normal state is somewhere between slight frustration and deep depression and the main feeling is that of being totally inept and stupid. Normally with any problem worth being called by that name you start as "a blind kitten in a dark alley" going by touch, bumping your head against everything, and backtracking from dead ends at every turn. Slowly you may start seeing some light and distinguish some shapes (the more alien they look, the more interesting). Finally, if you are lucky (more often than not that event never comes), your eyes suddenly open fully and you see the surroundings and your way through. Then you have your few minutes of "enjoyment".
The value of *any* piece of knowledge comes primarily from the fact that the connections between problems, their relative significance, etc. are totally unclear until everything is done (by which time one writes short end elegant textbook expositions for students using about 1% of the work that went into obtaining a theorem). You cannot possibly predict what effect the solution of any particular "small problem" will have "on the big scale" as long as that solution is not achieved by totally routine means that have been available before. Usually you are just collecting sand grains that will be later mixed with water and cement powder to make blocks that later will be put together to form walls of magnificent buildings that together will form the city we call "scientific knowledge". Thinking of great cities, one rarely thinks even of cement blocks, let alone the sand particles (though some individual buildings may still come to mind and, on rare occasions, even the architect's names, but not the names of more numerous masons that did the work). The same with mathematics. The collectors of sand particles get always forgotten and the sand itself just becomes "common building material" available in abundance, but it is an endless process of sand collecting that makes the higher level building possible in principle. So, I'm personally quite content with being a "sand collector".
One may argue endlessly about whether there exists a qualitative difference between the process of obtaining a mathematical equivalent of a sand grain and that of building a grand theory. I would just say that a good theory builder works at higher level than a bad sand collector and a good sand collector works at higher level than a bad theory builder and stop at that (like a good CEO is worth more than a bad janitor but a good janitor is worth more than a bad CEO).
As to "most large contributions have already been made", I doubt it very much (though, by the very nature of the question, I am unable to come with explicit examples of the large contributions to be made within the next 50 years). The life is abundant with crazy twists and so is science. One just plays the game and sees how much he can score, leaving the erection of various "Halls of Fame" to future generations. Let me ask you one question however: you mention "general relativity" and "quantum mechanics". How well do you know either one? (I should confess that I'm almost a total ignoramus). If not really well, then those "major contributions" haven't happened in your life yet (though you can benefit from them indirectly), so it may be a good idea to scale down a bit and see how many *relatively* major things happened recently in the domain you have good knowledge about (say, within the particular area of research you work on) and then project the number upward making (perhaps, unwarranted) assumption that you just don't see the whole large picture but it is not dissimilar to the smaller scale one.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: The problem is not that there are no fundamental problems to solve. The problem is seeing the obvious big problem just at your feet while you are checking the horizon.
This happens more often than one would think. Perhaps not in the magnitude of the great two theories of QM and relativity, but there are quite amazing surprises lurking all around us. Just to give an example, in game-playing AI, the rediscovery (for the second time) of deep feed-forward networks and their combination with Monte Carlo Tree Search cracked a problem that was considered open for another 30 years (winning against the human Go champion).
Yes, this was a numbers' game, but with the old techniques, even with all number crunching power available, we probably would still be far off.
Information theory is a big one. After its discovery by Shannon, confined for a long time to the computation of point-to-point data transmission and a bit of glorified correlation measure, has now become an incredibly powerful Swiss army knife for all kinds of analyses and AI algorithms with major subbranches emerging every few years.
Or remember Quantum Computing, with its complete rethinking of what computation means.
Or the Quantum Decoherence framework which does away with the ad hoc Kopenhagen Interpretation axiom of measurement and embeds the latter organically as part of QM proper which leads to (experimentally verifiable) models for the dynamics of measurement in QM. This is particularly remarkable, because essentially for a long time any attempt to "understand" measurement properly in the QM framework was bluntly dismissed by the mainstream community with reference to Kopenhagen. This may have held back our theoretical understanding by decades. Zurek and his colleagues, however, understood that here is an important phenomenon to characterise here, and while the relevant mathematics is not particularly difficult in principle, and matches effectively what Kopenhagen had to postulate as axiom, they needed to attack the belief that what seemed obvious most certainly wasn't.
In short (I do not know who to attribute this saying to): "The fish is the last to discover water." - The water is there, but recognising it is the actual challenge.
Upvotes: 2
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2020/02/25
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<issue_start>username_0: I have submitted a paper to IEEE Transactions on Broadcasting on September 12th and after about 4 months the status changed from "Awaiting Reviewer Scores" to "Awaiting AE Decision". However, it's been around 40 days that the status has not changed and I haven't received a decision. I have contacted the AE twice politely through email (one month apart) and asked about the status but no response.
What can be the reason for this? Has anyone had a similar experience?<issue_comment>username_1: Unfortunately, turnaround for journals in most areas of computer science can be extremely slow. While I am not familiar with your area or this particular journal, the whole process can take anywhere from months to a couple of years. The typical reasons for the delay include:
* Computer scientists care more about conferences than journals, so they focus their efforts on that, whereas journals have no hard deadlines;
* Difficulty of finding reviewers (would-be reviewers say they don't have time); and
* Reviewers who take months or years to submit their review (it sits on their backlog until the editor pesters them enough to complete it).
In your particular case, note that "awaiting AE decision" does require some work on the editor's part, or maybe even further discussion from the reviewers. So you can't assume that just because the status has changed, the paper is finished reviewing and ready to give back to you.
I would not worry about this. Consider putting your paper up on the arXiv. I have had journal papers take around a year for the whole process, and I have heard of some taking 2-3 years.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: No, it's not normal. The fact that you're not getting a response from the AE indicates it's even more abnormal.
I would try to contact someone else at the journal (the Editor-in-chief, the journal office) to see what's up.
Upvotes: 0
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2020/02/25
| 835
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<issue_start>username_0: I would like to have advice on how a software engineer with a decent (>10 years) of industry experience can join a team doing academic research in the areas of physics, chemistry, biology or climate science. I am curious if there exists software engineer positions in these types of projects without having domain-specific knowledge or an advanced degree.
Is it necessary to be pursuing an academic degree such as a Masters/PhD or to have one already?
As I have never worked in academia before, I am looking for an insider perspective on this.<issue_comment>username_1: I think that for most projects there is little hope unless you get in to a doctoral (or maybe masters) program. The sort of work you envision, is mostly done by students and forms an integral part of their studies. Many projects in the sciences consist of testing hypotheses (made by students) by building things, again by those same students.
But if you are near some monster sized national or international lab in which a large number of specialists from different fields collaborate on things, then you might find a position. But we re speaking of CERN level projects, or TOKAMAK sorts of things. Or things related to astronomy or space exploration. These aren't typical projects in scope. I also can't predict what sort of career you could have doing such things as experiments eventually finish and people go on to do new things. But these are the sorts of things that require government (and grant) funding.
But if you want to get your feet wet, go to some local (large) university and ask there whether they can use some help, paid or not. This could help you decide if this is an avenue you really want to explore and also make the contacts and get the experience that could get you into some degree program. Having a doctorate is the normal path to an academic career. There are few other doors.
And if you can make a few contacts, it isn't impossible that a position might be written in for you in the next large grant proposal. But, that, again, is only a temporary solution. Grants end, though some are renewed.
However, there are also industrial labs, say IBM or Google, where the research isn't a lot different from that done in university labs. It is more applied at the current time (product focused) rather than pure theoretical research, but the organization of some of them is similar to that which you find in academia. Not all such places are very supportive, of course (think [Dilbert](https://dilbert.com)), so you need to do some explorations before joining them. Some of the pharmaceutical companies still do real science.
And it would be a big plus in many projects if you are skilled in statistics and, maybe, mathematical modeling.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Yes, it's possible, though the opportunities are likely to be somewhat rare, and might require specialist knowledge within *software engineering* just like you'd expect in your industry jobs.
Your work would likely be in more of a support role, though. Rather than driving the research project you'd be using your software expertise to write custom software or manage data. I disagree a bit with @username_1 on the scope of project that would hire software engineers; there are much smaller projects that can make use of programming skills, and in the past my small research group has had a share of a programmer's time.
I would recommend you start by looking at job postings at universities near you (or where you would like to live).
Expect salaries that are below what you would expect for your level of experience outside academia, and that many positions will be fixed-term.
Upvotes: 3
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2020/02/26
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<issue_start>username_0: I recently received the Galley proof from the journal. I sent my correction, but there are more than 50. All of them are minor. Part of them are caused in the copy-editing process, and the editor changed some words incorrectly. Part of them are caused by my own mistake on factual information, like missing a word in a citation, or giving wrong page number for a reference.
The publisher mentioned they would not expect to receive more than 30 corrections. I was wondering whether they would correct everything I mentioned (given these corrections do not change the content)? Is it possible to ask to review the corrected proof before they send it for publication? (Just to check they correct everything right, rather than suggesting new correction).
I am very nervous now, so any comment and suggestion would be great!<issue_comment>username_1: Yes, of course you can ask: "Due to the number of corrections, if possible I would like to review the proofs again after corrections are made, to make sure nothing gets missed. Would this be possible?"
But keep in mind that journal production runs on a tight schedule, and only a limited amount of time is available for reviewing and correcting the proofs. They may tell you that there won't be time to run the updated version by you, or they may give you a very short amount of time to check it (e.g. 24 hours).
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: It's impossible to tell from the outside since this is going to be specific to the journal's production staff.
It's possible that the 30-changes limit is just to dissuade authors from submitting hundreds of changes and/or requesting a fresh typeset from the original source files. It is also possible that this is a hard limit and the the typesetters will go "this author wants 50 corrections?? I refuse to do it!". It's possible that if the typesetters say this, the desk editor will persuade them to do it anyway. There really is no way to tell, even for the same publisher, since the typesetters/desk editors for each journal will vary, and this is a decision at the individual level.
The same goes for requesting a 2nd reading. You can certainly ask, but the desk editor might not oblige. It's a juggling act here because if they don't send you a corrected galley proofs and publish anyway, and the published paper turns out to be poor, they'd have to deal with an angry author (which nobody wants to). On the other hand if they do show you the proofs, then you might make even more corrections, and ask for a 3rd reading followed by 4th reading etc, and that is also not ideal for them.
That said, since it's only the 2nd reading, I would likely oblige if I were handling your paper. If you want to see the 2nd reading, you should let them know quickly, for their convenience.
Upvotes: 2
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2020/02/26
| 4,688
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<issue_start>username_0: I run a lab at an R1 university in the USA. Almost ten years ago I removed an undergraduate volunteer student from my laboratory group for harassing another student.
Today I received a multi-page, rambling, angry email from the student volunteer I removed. The email is disturbing, including references to drugs, illness, abuse, and depression. It ends in a way that could be construed as a threat, but is not a direct threat. It also does not contain any indication of intent to self-harm.
Were this person a student, there exists university services to help and check their situation, but they are no longer a student. They do live in the same city I do.
1. Am I correct that my university is in no way involved at this point?
2. Do I have any duty to attempt to help? If so, is there a way to do so that does not engage the individual directly (which I hesitate to do)?
3. Beyond a police restraining order, is there any action I might take to insulate myself and my significant other from any negative actions this individual might take?
UPDATE: Correct answer below. This person was so on-point. I contacted HR and University Legal and Campus Police, and they worked swiftly to protect the university. They did practically nothing for me or my family, and what little they did do was only after much prompting. It really helped me to understand a faculty member's very limited worth to a university.
The best action I took was to hire my own lawyer to help me understand some of the things my university tried to get me to sign. SIGN NOTHING YOU DO NOT FULLY UNDERSTAND.<issue_comment>username_1: Campus police is in charge of keeping everyone on campus safe -- both from other members of the university as well as people outside the university. They're your first point of contact, and if the email can be construed as a threat, then they should take it seriously. If they think that they require help from outside, they will refer the matter to the city police. City police will, for example, be in charge of restraining orders that relate to your home, your SO, and everything else you do outside campus.
As for helping: As humans, we want to and should. At the same time, I don't think that you have a moral obligation, and certainly no legal one. The person is no longer under your supervision or care, nor do you really have any way to connect to the person: They're clearly not interested in listening to you.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: You seem to imply but do not state that the email comes from the person you removed, not from the student who was harassed and subsequently protected by your action. If the latter, they are perhaps turning to you because you were a past benefactor. In this case you do have a moral duty to respond.
However, everyone here assumes you mean the former. In this case, some of the anger may be directed at you. Again, you imply this but do not state it. The implication seems to be that your action of removing him (her?) precipitated the subsequent loss of control, at least in his/her eyes. It is 10 years later and he/she may have harboured a grudge against you for ruining his/her life.
Normally speaking, participation in just one lab does not mean enough in the scheme of things to trigger a descent into depression drugs etc. However, there may be more to it. I assume your actions were fully justified. You may have been called upon to comment on the suitability of this student for other activities. You were bound then, both legally and morally, to explain what transpired; he/she may have guessed that this is what caused their subsequent difficulties in obtaining opportunities.
Also, and this is a difficult one, you do have to think again if you could not have done more to help them at the time. You did have a duty of care, which would have required you to look past their bad behaviour and treat them as a person who needed your guidance (if only this would have meant referral to a counsellor). Particularly if drugs were involved back then.
In sum: you should reply, because this person is at the end of their tether and you are evidently a focal point (unless this looks like an email he/she sent to a few dozen other persons, in which case: ignore and alert security).
You should stand firm on your erstwhile grounds for removing him/her. You should acknowledge that he/she feels this was an important event in their lives, and offer your sympathies while insisting that their subsequent actions and decisions were not your responsibility. Remind them that any action on their part to cause further disruption will only exacerbate the problems in their life.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_3: Be sure to inform somebody official, ideally the police. Make sure it's actually recorded.
If the person escalates he may well try to say that you are the instigator.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: @username_1 [already answered](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/144695/13407) the, to me, most pressing part perfectly well. Bring this to the attention of Campus police.
So as a side answer:
>
> 1) Am I correct that my university is in no way involved at this point?
>
>
> 2) Do I have any duty to attempt to help? If so, is there a way to do
> so that does not engage the individual directly (which I hesitate to
> do)?
>
>
>
While I applaud and personally would probably feel similarly in regards to what seems like your impulse to help, in terms of caring that someone seems to be experiencing distress, you may need to consider that because your prior interaction with the individual is related to the University, and that contact seems to be the only reason they are now contacting you, further involvement *on your part* may create a point of involvement for the University, even if it could be considered that the University currently has no current involvement with the individual.
First and foremost, reaching out to this person could be directly dangerous to you, given the nature of their communication so far. If you were going to help, it does sound like a situation where the best chance of achieving a positive outcome in terms of help would be by someone who is a mental health professional, which presumably you are not. Unfortunately, it can be very difficult in the US to arrange that type of help for someone else in a positive manner, and ultimately if it's not something they're receptive to in the first place it's unlikely to be helpful (or happen at all).
It might also be worth considering that even absent any legal duty on your part, your actions or lack thereof in response to this may come up for some kind of review (not necessarily in the formal/professional sense: for example, if a public incident were to occur and the press became involved, this might come to light and be cast certain ways, at which point you would definitely want to defer to your University's Communications/Public Affairs department) if something were to occur and it were linked to the University. This isn't the type of thing you should *have* to concern yourself with, but it's worth being aware of.
University Legal Counsel
------------------------
If you want to pursue this further, my personal first impulse would be to reach out to your University's legal counsel, because of the nature of the issue where you are still employed by the same University and the individual is a former student, and this most recent contact seems to only be related to that. They are also the ones most likely to be knowledgeable about perhaps connecting you with local resources (and related local laws) for trying to navigate any way that you can try to arrange for help for this person indirectly, without responding to them.
My personal feeling on this is that since the individual has contacted you in relationship to your position with the University and your contact with them in that position, the University's legal counsel is also an appropriate avenue for any concerns you might have beyond those addressed with notification of campus police. Note that legal counsel is for and represents the University, and seeking them out insofar as your role with the University is appropriate when the situation has occurred due to and in your role as an employee of the University, but even if they become involved they represent the University and if you have other legal concerns related to the situation you might need to seek your own individual representation. Hopefully things wouldn't go that far, but it's a distinction worth keeping in mind.
If University Legal Counsel *were* to consider this a strictly personal matter, then you would also have a fairly definitive answer in regards to their consideration of whether or not your University "is in no way involved at this point", and that answer would come from one of the parties that matter most in that vein, particularly if anything else were to happen in the future in relation to this.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: If the person is no longer a member of the university community, there isn't much they can do in terms of providing mental health services to help. The student isn't necessarily 'mentally ill' as much as they are upset about being removed from the group. It's pouring salt on a wound. That person may have already been struggling with things that you weren't aware of and you just further irritated the situation. Rejection is generally not an enjoyable experience for anybody and everybody reacts differently to it.
You have no obligation to help and I would advise against doing so. That's when a person can get themselves into serious trouble. People have been murdered in the past in these same situations. This person might still harbor some animosity toward you for removing them from the group. Also, people tend to think they're helping when they're actually causing further harm. The fact that you labeled this student as mentally ill and are trying to get them help for what you perceive as 'mental illness' would be an offensive slap in the face to the former student. You'd be pouring even more salt on the wound.
Every situation is different and needs to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. If it was just an email at this point I don't know that I would go as far as a police restraining order unless the harassment continues. Again, you'd be pouring more salt on the wound and this might further motivate the student to seek revenge against you. People always feel the need to win. They're programmed that way and that can cause the situation to escalate out of control. They always have to have the last word. They have to win the argument or the conflict at any cost.
You don't want to ruin anybody's life unnecessarily or as a first-resort effort. The best thing to do in this case is to not engage at all with the student. Simply ignore the email but don't delete it. Print it out and keep it documented. He obviously hasn't gotten over it if this happened 10 years ago. If the harassment persists that's when you need to escalate to the next level which may or may not include a police restraining order.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_6: Everyone else has given good advice about your own personal security.
With respect to helping your former student - if you know where they are currently located, I would recommend contacting the local police and requesting that they do a wellness check on the individual. This is not an accusation of a crime or anything like that, it won't go on their record or be used against them in any way, it's just a statement that you're concerned about the mental state of the individual and that they may be considering harming themselves.
The police will (usually, hopefully) send someone out to visit them and make sure that they're not an obvious threat to themselves or to the community. If the student is obviously unstable they will most likely get taken to the hospital for evaluation.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_7: I've had two similar cases. One student ended up trying to kill himself, and one went crazy and luckily disappeared from sight.
My personal takeaway is this:
1. Protect yourself: Disturbed people can be extremely dangerous in many different ways.
He might physically harm you, your loved ones, or your current students.
The best way is to disengage, but how to depends a lot on the specific case.
Maybe he will let go if you don't even reply, or maybe that will make him more angry.
Maybe you can reply in such a boring way that he loses interest, or maybe you can get him
help in such a way that he can't blame you.
You also have to expect that he might slander you. He could file complaints against you,
or accuse you of harassment. Universities take this very seriously and it might cost you your job.
2. CYA
You have to officially **and in writing** involve university authorities asap.
You should be aware though that police, university, and security are not your friends.
The university will fear any lawsuit, if the student falsely accuses you of harassment, it
might be less risky for them to get rid of you as well.
So you have to make it very clear in your written notice to the university administration that
this student was dismissed by you because of harassment. Hopefully there will be written records that you can attach.
In my case I contacted HR, and all they cared about was protecting the university.
All questions were very clearly geared towards this.
If you tell them that you do not fear for your safety, they will make a written note
that you said you didn't fear for your safety, and if anything later happens, they
will show this as proof that they used reasonable care.
3. Realize that you probably cannot help a deranged individual.
In my case, I thought that I could be a hero and rescue a lost soul, but that did not work.
I can't go into specifics, but I tried to be helpful and offered to meet a student who threated suicide on the weekend and go for a coffee.
This ended with the university administration accusing me of improper behavior.
Another student learned where I lived when I talked to her, she showed up at my place at night and put me in a very difficult situation.
She threatened to kill herself, but I could not call the police because I was afraid that the report might have made it back to my employer.
Mentally ill people have great skill to drag you in and make you belive that you are the only person who can rescue them, every one else is just treating them badly.
Don't fall for that trick.
4. History is full of messages getting lost, so you need to make sure that all of the right people are informed.
Definitely contact the legal counsel of the university **in writing**, but also contact the campus police, and consider filing a regular police report and getting a protective order
against him. Do not expect the campus police to talk to the regular police.
Do not just contact a random police officer or security guard. Make sure that whoever is in charge is informed. If you meet in person, send an email
with your notes to him afterwards so that they can't deny talking to you later.
5. Protect your students. Let them know about the person, keep doors locked, and instruct them to immediately call the police if he appears.
About your points.
1) I don't think this is correct, you definitely have to let the university know for your own protection and so that they can protect other people.
2) I don't think you can help without getting into the danger zone. The best you can do is inform authorities.
3) Don't think just because you filed a restraining order that he will stay away from you. If he shows up, do not engage, do net tell him to leave, immediately call 911.
You could also consider self defense. I am not sure if a firearm is a good idea, but get some pepper spray, make sure you have good situational awareness.
<NAME> wrote a couple great books on this subject.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_8: **1. Am I correct that my university is in no way involved at this point?**
Yes, unless you can convince them to become involved. That may or may not be beneficial.
**2. Do I have any duty to attempt to help?**
No.
**If so, is there a way to do so that does not engage the individual directly (which I hesitate to do)?**
Asking the police to do a wellness check may be such an option, but be cautious about records and rights. For example, you will want to look into public records laws. While these help with govt transparency, they also can make the simple act of asking for a wellness check itself a request-able record. This may be compounded if you are an employee of a state school. If, for example, you were at a state school in Florida you would find that any correspondence with your university, with police, or related to the original issue becomes public record, request-able for $12 and your name. You may then be exposed to further, more directed, harassment, or in some jurisdictions can be targeted for harassment charges yourself. Would you like to defend that the contents of your letter warranted such a request to the police, in court, on the record, for local newspapers? You should talk to an attorney about this. Do not trust the police to know the law.
**3. Beyond a police restraining order, is there any action I might take to insulate myself and my significant other from any negative actions this individual might take?**
Have a secure home and a plan. Talk to your family. Know your options and available actions in various scenarios. Only buy a weapon if you have a clear understanding of how and when to use it.
Buy good understanding of the law. A few hundred dollars to a lawyer specializing in harassment cases in your local area would be a wise investment. Do not rely on your friends, the police, or internet strangers to understand a situation that is rooted in a local legal and societal situation, as well as a set of circumstances you are clearly not comfortable posting in full on the internet. Nor should you be comfortable with that.
Also work to understand your university. HR, campus police, the dean, etc. are not your friends, necessarily. They exist to protect the university, not you. Be very cautious with the prevailing wisdom here: your university is likely to take actions that protect you only when they also protect the administrator in question, student body, etc. Do you have a strong local union? Talk to them. Can you find colleges who have faced similar situations? How did they fare? Tread lightly. In some scenarios you could tank your career even if the person never contacts you again.
Learn by talking to others. You sound like an individual who has lived a life with very little harassment. Frankly, this entire thread sounds like advice from a bunch of white men to one another: the blind leading the blind. Talk to the racial and gender minorities in your life, if you have some who are willing to speak directly with you. They will have dealt with harassment more often, and can tell you about your local environment. Also talk with any friends you may have on the local police force, away from their official capacity. In most jurisdictions, the police cannot protect you well from harassment. Even in the best of situations they arrive slowly. Reports and restraining orders come with an implicit understanding to the individual you wish to avoid that 'this person tried to hurt me'. That can have consequences.
In sum, much of the advice here seems, to me, deeply flawed and divorced from reality. You need to think hard about this. Advice about criminal harassment from an internet forum for professors and grad students, a largely privileged population, well, it's certainly suspect. Find better advice. Challenge your assumptions. This sounds like a scary situation for you. Be smart. Be safe.
Upvotes: 0
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2020/02/26
| 1,753
| 7,124
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<issue_start>username_0: I've just discovered that a former colleague is now working on some research ideas that I developed and laid the groundwork for now that I have left academia following failure to obtain funding. I'm happy that the work is being done, but feel that it would have been courteous to let me know that they were doing so. Are either of us in the wrong here?
**History:**
I did my PhD and a 3-year postdoc in a UK lab where we were expected to act very independently. As such I developed my own line of research during my PhD but didn't have time to publish the results until after I'd completed. I wanted to keep working on that line of work, so wrote a grant proposal with my supervisor, who acted as PI (I was named postdoc) which we were awarded.
During the postdoc, for complicated reasons, I developed another strand of independent research, with some guidance from a research fellow in the lab.
This strand then formed the basis of a large fellowship proposal that I was nearly awarded, but ultimately was unsuccessful. The fellow in the lab (who had a proleptic lectureship) acted as the academic host for the proposal.
Following a number of unsuccessful fellowship proposals, I undertook another postdoc for a year, then decided to take a different job and am now a software engineer at another UK university.
**Situation:** I've recently seen on twitter that the fellow who I had been working with (now lecturer) is now working on the project that I had proposed for my unsuccessful fellowship bid. We've had little contact in the intervening time and they've made no attempt to discuss this with me.
I know that it's kind of clear that I'm following a different path, and I'm happy to be doing so. But I'm a little upset that they wouldn't even send me an email to say "Hey, remember the stuff you came up with, well we got some money to do it etc.."
Am I wrong to be upset by this?
It's a small field, and my experience of my 7 or so years working in the area was that we all tried to be collegiate and courteous and not step on each others' toes. So this seems a little out of sorts.
I don't think there's anything to be done about this, but it has got under my skin for someone I trusted to have no qualms about using ideas I worked to develop whilst I had to leave the field to find work.<issue_comment>username_1: >
> Is it okay to work on colleagues' ideas after they leave academia?
>
>
>
I'm going to be blunt: yes, absolutely yes. What is the other option? That the progress of humanity should be stifled because you didn't get a job?
Ideas do not belong to anyone. The way I read it, you did not even come up with the idea independently, but "with some guidance from a research fellow in the lab". Look at it from the fellow perspective: they helped someone develop a research proposal, the person didn't get a job and the grant wasn't awarded, the person left academia, and (correct me if I'm wrong) made no effort to keep in touch with the fellow and/or work on the topic again. What is the fellow supposed to do now? Trash the idea, waste all the time spent helping the other person?
This happens all the time of academia. Supervisor helps a student/postdoc develop a research proposal, the proposal fails, the student/postdoc leaves academia. Now what? Is the idea not good anymore? There's no reason not to continue working on it.
Now let's answer your apparent actual question:
>
> I know that it's kind of clear that I'm following a different path, and I'm happy to be doing so. But I'm a little upset that they wouldn't even send me an email to say "Hey, remember the stuff you came up with, well we got some money to do it etc.."
>
>
> Am I wrong to be upset by this?
>
>
>
I'm not going to tell you that you're wrong to feel something. But if the question is "did the fellow act reasonably", I would lean on yes. It depends what your relationship was, but based on what you've told us, the idea has been developed a long time ago (several unsuccessful fellowship proposals + a year of postdoc + since whenever you took the software engineering job, as far as I can tell), and it's not clear you kept in touch with the fellow. What is clear though is that you're not working on the idea anymore. At some point it becomes fair game.
>
> I don't think there's anything to be done about this, but it has got under my skin for someone I trusted to have no qualms about using ideas I worked to develop whilst I had to leave the field to find work.
>
>
>
Academia and life in general is not just. Yes, it's unjust that you were unsuccessful and had to quit when you proposed this idea, but the other person is apparently successfully working on it. But this other person cannot change what happened or give you the job. I don't know you or your situation, but it sounds more like you're upset about having had to leave academia more than at your colleague.
Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_2: It depends on the dimension of "it's okay":
* On the **ethical dimension**, your colleague did nothing wrong. Ideas don't belong to anybody, and it's a routine thing to happen that a group of authors follow up on an idea devised by another group of authors (for example, an idea mentioned in a "vision" paper, or a "future work" section of a paper).
* On the **dimension of interpersonal relationships**, your colleague pulled off a bit of a dick move, and it's legitimate that you're a bit annoyed by this. Since you devised the initial idea together, they should have had the courtesy to ask you if you want to be involved in the work.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: The courteous and customary thing for your colleague to do in such a situation would be to mention you in the Acknowledgements section of the first publication that results from the work (and perhaps subsequent ones, depending on further contextual details).
Until a publication materializes, I wouldn’t have thought that any action on their part to notify you of the project is expected.
Human emotions being what they are, it seems meaningless to say that you are wrong to be upset. But your colleague hasn’t done anything wrong so far as I can see.
And, in general, it is completely okay for anyone to work on anyone else’s ideas that they are aware of, assuming it is not some sort of competitive situation where a colleague tells you about what they are working on or plan to work on in the imminent future and there is an implicit or explicit expectation that you will not take advantage of this knowledge and work on the ideas yourself.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: If you have any interest in pursuing this, one approach would be to contact those concerned and say "I'm thrilled that you're keeping this project going -- feel free to contact me if you need to". This can save them a ton of trying to retrace your steps.
This would, of course, be accompanied by either a subtle hint or a blunt statement that you hope your earlier contributions would be recognized with authorship at publication time. I'd lean toward blunt statement, personally.
Upvotes: 3
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2020/02/26
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<issue_start>username_0: I visited the campus for an in-person interview 2 weeks ago.
They supported my flight and hotel.
I thought I was good at the interview and the director stated that she will be in touch after several weeks.
Is it okay if I send follow-up email?
I am so nervous and cannot focus on my work.
Any comments will be appreciated.<issue_comment>username_1: Unless they gave you a specific time frame, then yes, it is fine to ask them about the current state of your application.
If you have other options, then keep them open until things are definite, but don't bring them up when asking for an update.
Don't become a pest, but a couple of weeks is a pretty good interval.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I would say that if no time frame is specified, two weeks is enough to warrant an email. I've actually had cases where I had been accepted to a position, they just hadn't informed me yet. It is likely that they may still be interviewing other candidates or have not made a decision so it will do you well to keep your email straight and to the point, IE
>
> Dear interviewer,
>
>
> Thank you for taking time to interview with me, I was wondering if
> there were any updates on the position.
>
>
> Thank you,
>
>
> OP
>
>
>
You could maybe add a thank you to their hospitality but I find most people in academia don't like emails, so besides adding the standard niceties, I try to get in and out quick.
Note: my field is CS, so small talk is usually at a minimum. Some people find this type of communication a little too impersonal.
Upvotes: 1
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2020/02/26
| 423
| 1,685
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<issue_start>username_0: Papers funded by NSF grants usually contain a phrase like "This research was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants ENG-XXXXXX".
I wonder if it is possible to find some information about these grants with the grant numbers. I am interested in who applied for the grant, original proposal etc.
I tried to search on the NSF website with the specific grant number, but did not get any results.<issue_comment>username_1: Visit [research.gov](https://www.research.gov/research-portal/appmanager/base/desktop?_nfpb=true&_eventName=viewQuickSearchFormEvent_so_rsr)
>
> Research Spending & Results gives the public, the scientific community, and Congress insight into federally funded research. Research Spending & Results provides information about how federal research dollars are being spent, what research is being performed, and how the outcomes of research are benefiting society as a whole. Anyone can easily access, search, and sort information in new ways through Research.gov. Currently, information is available for NSF and NASA awards.
>
>
>
Search the award data.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Often, you can find the relevant pages from the NSF by simply googling the grant number. That never failed for me, at least.
>
> Is there any database for awards from the 80ties?
>
>
>
This is more difficult; you probably won't be able to find things on the web. Maybe you can check with your university's library to see if they have any (physical paper copy) books of historical NSF grants. I am often surprised by what physical books, journals, etc. they have on hand in storage somewhere at my university.
Upvotes: 1
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2020/02/26
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<issue_start>username_0: Two weeks ago I have done and I have submitted the corrections that a journal had asked me to do, but today thay asked me to do the same corrections. I am looking for a good letter cover to let them know.<issue_comment>username_1: Perhaps the new version didn't arrive or they lost it. Perhaps the editor clicked the wrong link and sent you the wrong response. Write back that you made those corrections and sent them on *date*. Include a fresh copy of the new document. Ask for instructions on how to proceed if there is any difficulty.
I suspect it is just a simple error. Make a simple and friendly response.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: **Keep it brief and don't overthink it.** Do not go on and on to apologize, ask for what you have done wrong, etc., when it is mostly likely that this can be attributed to a simple mistake.
I agree with username_1's suggestion; something like this seems appropriate:
>
> Dear [editor],
>
>
> We previously addressed the corrections to our article, and emailed them to [address] on [date] (see attached). Were you able to receive the corrections? Is there anything else that we can provide at this time?
>
>
> Thank you,
>
>
> [your name]
>
>
>
Upvotes: 2
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2020/02/26
| 771
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<issue_start>username_0: What if when taking a test you could select multiple answers and the percent per question you got was
(100)(1/n), n being the amount of answers selected (only award points if any a selected answer was correct, and only for multiple choice questions). What this does is give people the option to sacrifice a chance at more points, and take a better chance at getting less points. *What are some pros and cons of this system, would it be in any way worth trying?*
**Addition:**
If you think this question fits better on a different site, please note. I have no idea what tag(s) to use, and I don’t know how well this question fits in Academia.<issue_comment>username_1: You are not the first person to think about this idea.
People use similar ideas in forecasting and your idea is similar to the [Brier score](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brier_score).
The premise of this foresting is to be the *best* at predicting the future.
People weight their certainty of predictions over time (e.g., the probability of rain tomorrow is somewhere between 0 and 100%).
Over the short-term, the Brier score penalizes *certain* wrong answers (e.g., if you say there is a 95% chance of rain but it does not rain, your score is lower than if said there was a 55% chance of rain).
But, over the long term, this method penalizes both uncertainty and inaccuracy (e.g., if I consistently make right predictions with 55% probability, I will have a lower score than if I make correct predictions with a 75% probability).
The Good Judgment Project uses [Brier scores](https://www.gjopen.com/faq) to evaluate people's ability to forecast and would be a good starting place for you to you look.
That being said, I don't know how your proposed idea would work on exams unless you wanted your students to study game theory, forecasting, or predictions rather than your subject material.
In general, many if not most education experts think multiple choice questions are a bad way to assess learning (e.g., for some of the reasons described in [this article](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/12/schools-standardized-testing-fail-students)).
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: One major drawback is answering them all gives points while it does not show that the test-taker knows the answer. It also doesn't discriminate between selecting the two best answers out of five and the correct answer and the most incorrect.
A common way to do this sort of thing is (given 5-answer questions), is to take off 1/4 of a point for incorrect answers and award 1 for a correct answer. Therefore, a student that guesses randomly earns 0 points on average, where as normally they would earn 20% of the points.
The SAT [did this](https://www.princetonreview.com/college-advice/should-you-guess-on-the-sat-and-act) when I took it, and I use it occasionally when I write tests for a high school science competition, typically when the material is fairly basic.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
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2020/02/27
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<issue_start>username_0: I am in an online, accredited, public, post-baccalaureate degree program. I think it's the first time my instructor is teaching a university course -- at least at this institution.
The instructor said he had found someone to play the part of a potential client. We were supposed to have a simulated phone intake call with this person. She would give us her basic demographic information and the reason she was seeking legal and advocacy services, and we were supposed to probe for more information about the problem she was seeking help with, because the pretend client had been instructed not to volunteer all the important information on her own. We were to fill out an Excel template and then write a letter to the client.
The instructor provided feedback for my homework. When I read his response, I eventually came to understand that he had listened in secretly to the phone intake call. He had not made clear in the instructions that he would be listening in.
This made me uncomfortable. But I don't know if my reaction is reasonable. Are there any typical institutional guidelines, or ethical considerations, that would help me figure this out? I'm not sure whether this is something to let the program chair know about, or whether I need to adjust my own expectations.
I did let the instructor know a polite version of how I felt: "I hope that for future semesters you'll make clear that you'll be listening in on the call. I, for one, would be more comfortable knowing this ahead of time." The response: "I don't find this necessary. It should be presumed I am listening in on the assignment I provided so I can accurately grade." Note, I don't know why he didn't just play the part of the potential client himself....
**Further clarification**:
* The school is in New York State (part of the SUNY system). From the exchange we had, I'm confident he only listened, and didn't record.
* I thought we would be evaluated and graded on the written submission (spreadsheet plus letter) only.
* I am asking about what's generally allowed or considered ethical by university policy or relevant professional organizations. Less interested in quasi-legal advice.
* I checked with a classmate. He didn't realize the instructor would be listening in either. He himself wasn't bothered but understood why I was.<issue_comment>username_1: This is bizarre and unorthodox to say the least. It also raises some pretty serious legal issues. Specifically, if you live in one of the eleven “two-party consent states”, what the instructor did was illegal. According to [this article](https://commercemagnj.com/recording-conversation-legal/) (emphasis added):
>
> In the context of recording conversations, the states in our country are divided as either “one party consent” states or “two party consent” states. A “one party consent” state a makes it a crime to record or eavesdrop on an in-person or telephone conversation unless one party to the conversation consents. **A “two party consent” state makes it a crime to record or eavesdrop on a conversation, including a private in-person communication or telephone call, without the consent of all parties to the conversation.** Most states, like New Jersey, New York and Texas are “one party consent” states. Eleven states, including California, Massachusetts, Florida and Pennsylvania are “two party consent” states.
>
>
>
[This link](https://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/recording-phone-calls-and-conversations) seems to have a list of the eleven states. Unlike the first article I quoted, it only talks about *recording* a conversation rather than eavesdropping/listening in, so I’d rather not quote the list and risk misleading people. Also, for some of the states it seems like there are further distinctions depending on the manner in which the recording was made and perhaps other details.
Now, if the phone conversation took place in a “one-party consent state” then what the instructor did was likely not illegal. Nonetheless, from a university instructor one can expect a much higher standard of behavior and ethics than the minimum required by law. It seems to me that given that this stunt would be illegal in much of the country, you would be quite reasonable to complain about the instructor’s behavior. Even if he is not found to have violated any policies (probably because no one had ever even imagined that such a policy was necessary), once the behavior is scrutinized I would fully expect him to be forbidden from ever pulling such a trick again.
**Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer and cannot vouch for the accuracy of the legal information in the articles I linked to.**
---
**Edit:** some people are saying in comments and other answers that OP should have had no “expectation of privacy” during the call, that they don’t see “a meaningful ethical distinction” between listening in and getting a report from the actor, and that they “honestly don’t see what the problem is”. Fine; I have no strong disagreement with any of these statements, and actually started drafting an answer saying some similar things before posting the current answer. But I’m amazed that so many people are ignoring the very serious legal issues here. OP seems to live in New York, a one-party consent state, so the instructor might have escaped an accusation of outright breaking the law (to be precise, committing a crime) in this situation. But what if OP happened to be visiting a friend in nearby Massachusetts while they were making the phone call? The instructor’s behavior might (IANAL) instantly turn into a crime.
Imagine you are a university administrator considering OP’s complaint regarding the instructor’s behavior. Knowing that the instructor is treading on some dangerous legal ground, would you really think even for a second that the legal risk and potential liabilities he is putting your university in are acceptable? (Not to mention in a situation when there is no discernible academic benefit that comes from this surreptitious phone call eavesdropping strategy.) Yes, the instructor might come up with some arguments in defense of his behavior involving expectation of privacy or whatnot. But seriously, who wants to have to even go there? Isn’t it much easier to just inform the students of what’s going on instead of having to plan how you will argue your way out of this messy legal situation if someone decides to make a fuss?
Note that I didn’t say the instructor was behaving unethically - he may or may not have been, I haven’t really thought deeply about that question. But the legal issues make it unnecessary to even consider that aspect of the question. No sane university would allow an instructor to adopt such legally fraught assessment methods. It’s highly inappropriate and needlessly risky. I’m not saying they should punish the instructor or anything. OP should report their concerns and point out the legal issues as well as the fact that they were made to feel uncomfortable by the incident. My guess is the practice would be discontinued quietly, and everyone will move on with their lives.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: I have to side with your professor here. You did not have a private phone conversation. You had a simulated conversation with a person you knew to be a fake client with the purpose of evaluating your skill. If the professor listens in to the conversation that means he will evaluate you himself instead of relying on the person he got to play the potential client. This is good for you.
I honestly don't see what the problem is, you did something that you knew to be a test, so your professor gets to see/hear it to evaluate you. If instead of doing this over the phone this would have been a live interview, would you feel different about your professor listining in?
Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_3: Because of the situation, normal (legal) rules do not apply to this, no matter what State you're in. At all. This call, in no way, would be considered a private call, and the instructor has every right to listen-in, whether you've been notified or not. If you inform the dept. Chair he/she will tell you the same.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: It doesn't surprise me. This was a simulation where the professor is evaluating you. How would you expect them to evaluate you if they weren't listening in?
There is no reasonable expectation of privacy in college. The school I went to has access to everything. Your school calendar/email. They use the InterviewStream system and administrators can access everything you do on there. When you apply for a job through them they can see that. When you scan your student id to enter a building they can see that. Even the software you download from them is connected to their systems. They spy on everything you do.
They control every process. They're always testing and evaluating you. They determine who succeeds and who fails. They control the registration process. If you're deemed unworthy and someone wants you to fail they can ensure your failure by giving you an 'impossible task' or in this case an impossible course load. It's not just about grades.
You're gonna have a hard time when you get into the workforce because employers pull tricks like this all the time. If you work in a call center environment there's always somebody listening in or recording the calls for 'quality assurance'. Even before they hire you they'll spy on you using electronic resources, applicant tracking, social media, spyware, hacking or they'll send someone into your current place of employment. That's the 'background check' especially when nothing shows up in a records check. It feels sketchy but hiring is risky business and the company has a reputation to uphold. They gotta protect themselves and make sure everyone they hire is on their best behavior.
Wouldn't you do the same if that were your company or you were managing the department? The most successful companies and managers do. If you want to be successful you gotta be ruthless and unforgiving. Drain the swamp. Get rid of the people who are yelling, picking fights, arguing with customers, being rude and providing extremely poor customer service and replace them with better people.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_5: I think what bothers us most perhaps is that the instant case is so similar to the usual case, wherein there is a real client on a normal phone call and there IS a reasonable expectation of privacy and listening in like this would be illegal - especially as it is apropos seeking legal advice and thus would be covered by attorney-client privilege. Also, we’re so used to receiving notice that a call is being recorded or monitored (as at the start of most customer service calls) that when one is monitored or recorded without notice it *feels like* it must be have been illegal.
So I think the OP is right to be bothered, but what the professor is doing is OK, legally AND ethically. But it takes a lot of thought/ analysis to see this. And the upsides of adding a standard “this call may be monitored or recorded for quality analysis purposes” announcement at the start of each call far outweigh the downsides. (It seems he’s after realism since he’s not pretending to be the client himself and such an announcement would just add to that realism. )
To support my legal claims, let’s look at the
[California law](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN§ionNum=632) , which states in part:
>
> (c) For the purposes of this section, “confidential communication”
> means any communication carried on in circumstances as may reasonably
> indicate that any party to the communication desires it to be confined
> to the parties thereto, but excludes a communication made in a public
> gathering or in any legislative, judicial, executive, or
> administrative proceeding open to the public, or in any other
> circumstance in which the parties to the communication may reasonably
> expect that the communication may be overheard or recorded.
>
>
>
Only **listening in on** or recording “**confidential** communication” is barred.
>
> (d) Except as proof in an action or prosecution for violation of this
> section, evidence obtained as a result of eavesdropping upon or
> recording a confidential communication in violation of this section is
> not admissible in any judicial, administrative, legislative, or other
> proceeding.
> Section d is OT, but interesting.
>
>
>
There’s another reason I quote California law in the first place. Because the currently second highest rated answer incorrectly states this:
Specifically, if you live in one of the eleven “two-party consent states”, what the instructor did was illegal.
I think what the prof did is not illegal for students in California or other two party US states. Why? Because under these very specific circumstances (including because it’s a test, with fake info, and not a normal call) I don’t think there was a reasonable expectation of privacy, even though it was an actual phone call over the highly regulated POTS. (I recall a [**shocking MINORITY** SCOTUS opinion that claimed an extremely narrow definition of expectation of privacy, apropos listening in to a cordless phone conversation](https://casetext.com/case/state-v-mcveigh-2) ... but it was only minority a opinion\*)
\*excerpt:
>
> *<NAME>., dissenting: I respectfully dissent from the majority opinion. I do not believe that the broadcast of radio waves into public airspace constitutes a "wire communication". ... wiretap statutes, that the radio wave segment of cordless telephone communications cover all communications that, at some point, are carried over telephone lines.*
>
>
>
It's **shocking** and frightening because in it, a SCOTUS Justice is doing what I see justices so often do: make claims that clearly conflict with the plain language of statute. In this case: "DEFINITIONS. The following words and phrases, as used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context otherwise requires: "(1) `Wire communication' means any communication made in whole or in part through the use of facilities for the transmission of communications by the aid of telephone or telegraph between the point of origin and the point of reception furnished or operated by any person engaged as a common carrier in providing or operating such facilities for the transmission of intrastate, interstate or foreign communications."
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: Thanks to comments made by Daniel and Nick, I found some better google search terms. Here's [what I found](https://www.apa.org/ethics/code/). Even though my course wasn't remotely in the field of psychology, this does seem helpful: The American Psychological Association's "Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct," which states:
>
> 7.06 Assessing Student and Supervisee Performance (a) In academic and supervisory relationships, psychologists establish a timely and
> specific process for providing feedback to students and supervisees.
> Information regarding the process is provided to the student at the
> beginning of supervision.
>
>
> (b) Psychologists evaluate students and supervisees on the basis of
> their actual performance on relevant and established program
> requirements.
>
>
>
I found an [ethics explanation](https://www.apa.org/monitor/may05/ethics) of that section in "ETHICS ROUNDS: The supervisor as gatekeeper: Reflections on Ethical Standards 7.02, 7.04, 7.05, 7.06 and 10.01" by Dr. <NAME>, APA Ethics Director:
>
> Ethical Standard 7.06 gives supervisors both the discretion to determine how best to assess a supervisee's performance, and the responsibility to make clear to the supervisee how the "timely and specific" process of assessment will work.
>
>
>
Dan's use of the word *surreptitious* also enriched my internet searching. Here's [something about ethics](https://www.apa.org/science/programs/testing/third-party-observers.pdf) -- again, in the field of psychology: "Statement on Third Party Observers in Psychological Testing and Assessment:
A Framework for Decision Making," Committee on Psychological Tests and Assessment
American Psychological Association:
>
> Although
> surreptitious observation and recording (in which the
> examinee is unaware of the observation) may minimize the examinee’s reactivity to observation, surreptitious surveillance may also raise ethical (e.g., APA,
> 2002; AERA, APA, NCME, 1999) and legal issues
> regarding the psychologist’s obligation to disclose to
> the examinee the fact that the session is being observed
> or recorded and the identity of individuals who may
> have access to the observation or recording.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_7: I'd like to tackle a point of view that IMHO hasn't gotten the attention it deserves so far.
* Leaving legal aspects aside, IMHO **transparency** about exam procedure is **very important for a good and healthy student - teacher relationship**.
The lack of transparency, but even more importantly **refusing to announce the exam mode in future IMHO seriously undermines the possibility of a trusting relationship**.
I'd certainly expect any kind of bad surprise in future dealings with such an examiner, and in my mind mark them as sneaky, underhand and potentially backstabbing.
(My culture has a reputation of being blunt and rude [we call it direct and truthful] - and we sometimes judge behaviour as backstabbing that is considered a polite white lie in other places. However, I utterly fail to see any polite intentions here - whereas I can usually see the politeness aspect with the white lies)
* Also, **"should be presumed"** sounds to me like a **recipe for disaster in** any kind of **consulting** I'm familiar with. So in this particular case, it is a bad role model for the situation that is examined.
* It is not obvious to me that listening in is to be expected as several modes of exam are thinkable, including a mode where the actual call simulation is graded indirectly at best (just as in a written exam text understanding is only indirectly graded).
1. The exam could be formulated in a way that a pre-specified set of important points which you are supposed to extract and write down is compared with your notes, and you get marks for the correctly retrieved information.
Sure, that would leave no possibility to grade whether you guess right or did in fact ask, but the student is not responsible for bad design of the exam, and many exams in fact do not distinguish whether the answer guessed right or concluded right.
2. The grading could be done in two parts: the notes by the professor and the phone call by the "actor".
3. Professor grades your notes and takes also the actor's notes into account.
Again, not so good due to possible chinese whisper losses.
4. As it happened, by the professor listening in.IMHO the actual mode of the exam should be clearly announced in any case. Sure a student may realize the situation is ambiguous beforehand and ask, but I'd say that as less intrusive exam modes are perferctly thinkable (1st option) and deviation should be clearly announced.
I really don't think this is different from announcing that the written exam will be 3 hours and books are allowed.
* There are situations (scientific studies) where the subject being influenced by knowing in which way they are studied can influence the result. I.e. there is a trade-off between transparency to the subject and reliability of the results. For such studies, a review by an ethical committee is anyways needed so the subject can rely on a third party having checked that the procedure is ethical.
In the case of the exam, no such 3rd party check has been done, and without being a psychologist I'expect that the main reasons for changed behaviour in those psychological studies are similar or related to "being examined". In the case of an exam, you know that you are examined. It's hard to argue that not telling you how exactly you are examined will make you act more naturally in this situation.
**I therefore don't see any drawback to being transparent about what, how and by whom the grading is done.**
---
Further thoughts about the situation.
* My cultural background: here, not only recording without everyone's consent but also listening into a phone call is plain illegal, even if the phone call is between two neighbor rooms of the same institute.
If you put the phone into speakerphone mode, it is customary here to announce this to the other side even if there's noone around to listen in.
* I've once met a situation where we weren't told when exactly we wrote the exam. However, we were told in advance:
+ That we'd write the exam without knowing as it would just look like the usual in-class excercises, and
+ that the reason for this was that the teacher had the experience that knowing "this is the exam" made people nervous and caused more mistakes (this was an eving course on touch typing with many attendees not being used to exams any more since they had finished school long ago - but the results were important for their job prospects).
+ I'm sure that had anyone requested to know when they have their exam, they'd have been offered a separate, announced occasion for their exam.
* While I never had a simulated phone call exam, when I had oral exams and if anyone else in addition to the examiner was around, the thing started with a formal introduction of the 3rd party "This is XY, who is going to write the protocol." I also had: "This is XY, who is going to start writing the protocol. At some point I'll take over the protocol and XY is going to ask - this is part of XY's preparation for becoming a professor."
Also, there was never a secret who did the grading: "Please leave the room for a few minutes while *we* decide on your mark. We'll then call you in."
*I'd say this very clear transparency also has the purpose to lower the examinee's nervousness (if possible): it communicates "I am clear and open, I will not spring surprises at you, you can trust me."* After all, the purpose of the exam is grade your proficiency with the subject matter, not your grasp on yourself wrt. exam psychology.
Upvotes: 2
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2020/02/27
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<issue_start>username_0: I have been nominated for a community contribution award alongside another professor in our field, this nomination for serving our research community (scientific activities). The conference is established by the leaders of the field and well-respected professor who nominated me.
This award is the for the first time in the history of the conference, I asked the professor who is also nominated alongside me, he said that he willnot go due to his teaching schedule and I asked him whether this nomination means receiving an ward or not, he said he dosnot have any idea, which make me hesitated whether I should go for the conference in that case (if I go I will present our ongoing work and meeting peers and the leaders of the field).
In the other side, here our project director doesnot want me to go to the conference since I dont have a. publication eventhough the conference registered me as staff( waived fees), my supervisor tried to persuade her, but she didnot want to support my travel from our project budget( very cheap expenditure though).
My question is: Should I persist on going to the conference and I dont know whether nomination means having an award or not in any way maybe would boost my academic career?
In the other side, do you think that my project coordinator refusing to supporting my travel although we explained I am going to (present poster/short paper+ oral presentation at well respected community+ award nomination) is a toxic behavior, actually, it is not the only action, she had many situation bothered me and I am only 7 months in the program, my supervisor is always afraid from her and thats worrying me so much, they didnot seem to support me that much and thats worrying, maybe this a red flag sign to consider other. opportunities or finding other place would support me, what do you think (BTW I spoke with my supervisor, but he said he will try persuade her again, but it seems dissapointing that I am not appreciated and that is my gut feelings).
=====EDIT======
I contacted the organizer and he said the nomination is confidential, I dont know whether this answered my question to. him whether I am going to receive award or not<issue_comment>username_1: This is bizarre and unorthodox to say the least. It also raises some pretty serious legal issues. Specifically, if you live in one of the eleven “two-party consent states”, what the instructor did was illegal. According to [this article](https://commercemagnj.com/recording-conversation-legal/) (emphasis added):
>
> In the context of recording conversations, the states in our country are divided as either “one party consent” states or “two party consent” states. A “one party consent” state a makes it a crime to record or eavesdrop on an in-person or telephone conversation unless one party to the conversation consents. **A “two party consent” state makes it a crime to record or eavesdrop on a conversation, including a private in-person communication or telephone call, without the consent of all parties to the conversation.** Most states, like New Jersey, New York and Texas are “one party consent” states. Eleven states, including California, Massachusetts, Florida and Pennsylvania are “two party consent” states.
>
>
>
[This link](https://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/recording-phone-calls-and-conversations) seems to have a list of the eleven states. Unlike the first article I quoted, it only talks about *recording* a conversation rather than eavesdropping/listening in, so I’d rather not quote the list and risk misleading people. Also, for some of the states it seems like there are further distinctions depending on the manner in which the recording was made and perhaps other details.
Now, if the phone conversation took place in a “one-party consent state” then what the instructor did was likely not illegal. Nonetheless, from a university instructor one can expect a much higher standard of behavior and ethics than the minimum required by law. It seems to me that given that this stunt would be illegal in much of the country, you would be quite reasonable to complain about the instructor’s behavior. Even if he is not found to have violated any policies (probably because no one had ever even imagined that such a policy was necessary), once the behavior is scrutinized I would fully expect him to be forbidden from ever pulling such a trick again.
**Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer and cannot vouch for the accuracy of the legal information in the articles I linked to.**
---
**Edit:** some people are saying in comments and other answers that OP should have had no “expectation of privacy” during the call, that they don’t see “a meaningful ethical distinction” between listening in and getting a report from the actor, and that they “honestly don’t see what the problem is”. Fine; I have no strong disagreement with any of these statements, and actually started drafting an answer saying some similar things before posting the current answer. But I’m amazed that so many people are ignoring the very serious legal issues here. OP seems to live in New York, a one-party consent state, so the instructor might have escaped an accusation of outright breaking the law (to be precise, committing a crime) in this situation. But what if OP happened to be visiting a friend in nearby Massachusetts while they were making the phone call? The instructor’s behavior might (IANAL) instantly turn into a crime.
Imagine you are a university administrator considering OP’s complaint regarding the instructor’s behavior. Knowing that the instructor is treading on some dangerous legal ground, would you really think even for a second that the legal risk and potential liabilities he is putting your university in are acceptable? (Not to mention in a situation when there is no discernible academic benefit that comes from this surreptitious phone call eavesdropping strategy.) Yes, the instructor might come up with some arguments in defense of his behavior involving expectation of privacy or whatnot. But seriously, who wants to have to even go there? Isn’t it much easier to just inform the students of what’s going on instead of having to plan how you will argue your way out of this messy legal situation if someone decides to make a fuss?
Note that I didn’t say the instructor was behaving unethically - he may or may not have been, I haven’t really thought deeply about that question. But the legal issues make it unnecessary to even consider that aspect of the question. No sane university would allow an instructor to adopt such legally fraught assessment methods. It’s highly inappropriate and needlessly risky. I’m not saying they should punish the instructor or anything. OP should report their concerns and point out the legal issues as well as the fact that they were made to feel uncomfortable by the incident. My guess is the practice would be discontinued quietly, and everyone will move on with their lives.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: I have to side with your professor here. You did not have a private phone conversation. You had a simulated conversation with a person you knew to be a fake client with the purpose of evaluating your skill. If the professor listens in to the conversation that means he will evaluate you himself instead of relying on the person he got to play the potential client. This is good for you.
I honestly don't see what the problem is, you did something that you knew to be a test, so your professor gets to see/hear it to evaluate you. If instead of doing this over the phone this would have been a live interview, would you feel different about your professor listining in?
Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_3: Because of the situation, normal (legal) rules do not apply to this, no matter what State you're in. At all. This call, in no way, would be considered a private call, and the instructor has every right to listen-in, whether you've been notified or not. If you inform the dept. Chair he/she will tell you the same.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: It doesn't surprise me. This was a simulation where the professor is evaluating you. How would you expect them to evaluate you if they weren't listening in?
There is no reasonable expectation of privacy in college. The school I went to has access to everything. Your school calendar/email. They use the InterviewStream system and administrators can access everything you do on there. When you apply for a job through them they can see that. When you scan your student id to enter a building they can see that. Even the software you download from them is connected to their systems. They spy on everything you do.
They control every process. They're always testing and evaluating you. They determine who succeeds and who fails. They control the registration process. If you're deemed unworthy and someone wants you to fail they can ensure your failure by giving you an 'impossible task' or in this case an impossible course load. It's not just about grades.
You're gonna have a hard time when you get into the workforce because employers pull tricks like this all the time. If you work in a call center environment there's always somebody listening in or recording the calls for 'quality assurance'. Even before they hire you they'll spy on you using electronic resources, applicant tracking, social media, spyware, hacking or they'll send someone into your current place of employment. That's the 'background check' especially when nothing shows up in a records check. It feels sketchy but hiring is risky business and the company has a reputation to uphold. They gotta protect themselves and make sure everyone they hire is on their best behavior.
Wouldn't you do the same if that were your company or you were managing the department? The most successful companies and managers do. If you want to be successful you gotta be ruthless and unforgiving. Drain the swamp. Get rid of the people who are yelling, picking fights, arguing with customers, being rude and providing extremely poor customer service and replace them with better people.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_5: I think what bothers us most perhaps is that the instant case is so similar to the usual case, wherein there is a real client on a normal phone call and there IS a reasonable expectation of privacy and listening in like this would be illegal - especially as it is apropos seeking legal advice and thus would be covered by attorney-client privilege. Also, we’re so used to receiving notice that a call is being recorded or monitored (as at the start of most customer service calls) that when one is monitored or recorded without notice it *feels like* it must be have been illegal.
So I think the OP is right to be bothered, but what the professor is doing is OK, legally AND ethically. But it takes a lot of thought/ analysis to see this. And the upsides of adding a standard “this call may be monitored or recorded for quality analysis purposes” announcement at the start of each call far outweigh the downsides. (It seems he’s after realism since he’s not pretending to be the client himself and such an announcement would just add to that realism. )
To support my legal claims, let’s look at the
[California law](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN§ionNum=632) , which states in part:
>
> (c) For the purposes of this section, “confidential communication”
> means any communication carried on in circumstances as may reasonably
> indicate that any party to the communication desires it to be confined
> to the parties thereto, but excludes a communication made in a public
> gathering or in any legislative, judicial, executive, or
> administrative proceeding open to the public, or in any other
> circumstance in which the parties to the communication may reasonably
> expect that the communication may be overheard or recorded.
>
>
>
Only **listening in on** or recording “**confidential** communication” is barred.
>
> (d) Except as proof in an action or prosecution for violation of this
> section, evidence obtained as a result of eavesdropping upon or
> recording a confidential communication in violation of this section is
> not admissible in any judicial, administrative, legislative, or other
> proceeding.
> Section d is OT, but interesting.
>
>
>
There’s another reason I quote California law in the first place. Because the currently second highest rated answer incorrectly states this:
Specifically, if you live in one of the eleven “two-party consent states”, what the instructor did was illegal.
I think what the prof did is not illegal for students in California or other two party US states. Why? Because under these very specific circumstances (including because it’s a test, with fake info, and not a normal call) I don’t think there was a reasonable expectation of privacy, even though it was an actual phone call over the highly regulated POTS. (I recall a [**shocking MINORITY** SCOTUS opinion that claimed an extremely narrow definition of expectation of privacy, apropos listening in to a cordless phone conversation](https://casetext.com/case/state-v-mcveigh-2) ... but it was only minority a opinion\*)
\*excerpt:
>
> *<NAME>., dissenting: I respectfully dissent from the majority opinion. I do not believe that the broadcast of radio waves into public airspace constitutes a "wire communication". ... wiretap statutes, that the radio wave segment of cordless telephone communications cover all communications that, at some point, are carried over telephone lines.*
>
>
>
It's **shocking** and frightening because in it, a SCOTUS Justice is doing what I see justices so often do: make claims that clearly conflict with the plain language of statute. In this case: "DEFINITIONS. The following words and phrases, as used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context otherwise requires: "(1) `Wire communication' means any communication made in whole or in part through the use of facilities for the transmission of communications by the aid of telephone or telegraph between the point of origin and the point of reception furnished or operated by any person engaged as a common carrier in providing or operating such facilities for the transmission of intrastate, interstate or foreign communications."
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: Thanks to comments made by Daniel and Nick, I found some better google search terms. Here's [what I found](https://www.apa.org/ethics/code/). Even though my course wasn't remotely in the field of psychology, this does seem helpful: The American Psychological Association's "Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct," which states:
>
> 7.06 Assessing Student and Supervisee Performance (a) In academic and supervisory relationships, psychologists establish a timely and
> specific process for providing feedback to students and supervisees.
> Information regarding the process is provided to the student at the
> beginning of supervision.
>
>
> (b) Psychologists evaluate students and supervisees on the basis of
> their actual performance on relevant and established program
> requirements.
>
>
>
I found an [ethics explanation](https://www.apa.org/monitor/may05/ethics) of that section in "ETHICS ROUNDS: The supervisor as gatekeeper: Reflections on Ethical Standards 7.02, 7.04, 7.05, 7.06 and 10.01" by Dr. <NAME>, APA Ethics Director:
>
> Ethical Standard 7.06 gives supervisors both the discretion to determine how best to assess a supervisee's performance, and the responsibility to make clear to the supervisee how the "timely and specific" process of assessment will work.
>
>
>
Dan's use of the word *surreptitious* also enriched my internet searching. Here's [something about ethics](https://www.apa.org/science/programs/testing/third-party-observers.pdf) -- again, in the field of psychology: "Statement on Third Party Observers in Psychological Testing and Assessment:
A Framework for Decision Making," Committee on Psychological Tests and Assessment
American Psychological Association:
>
> Although
> surreptitious observation and recording (in which the
> examinee is unaware of the observation) may minimize the examinee’s reactivity to observation, surreptitious surveillance may also raise ethical (e.g., APA,
> 2002; AERA, APA, NCME, 1999) and legal issues
> regarding the psychologist’s obligation to disclose to
> the examinee the fact that the session is being observed
> or recorded and the identity of individuals who may
> have access to the observation or recording.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_7: I'd like to tackle a point of view that IMHO hasn't gotten the attention it deserves so far.
* Leaving legal aspects aside, IMHO **transparency** about exam procedure is **very important for a good and healthy student - teacher relationship**.
The lack of transparency, but even more importantly **refusing to announce the exam mode in future IMHO seriously undermines the possibility of a trusting relationship**.
I'd certainly expect any kind of bad surprise in future dealings with such an examiner, and in my mind mark them as sneaky, underhand and potentially backstabbing.
(My culture has a reputation of being blunt and rude [we call it direct and truthful] - and we sometimes judge behaviour as backstabbing that is considered a polite white lie in other places. However, I utterly fail to see any polite intentions here - whereas I can usually see the politeness aspect with the white lies)
* Also, **"should be presumed"** sounds to me like a **recipe for disaster in** any kind of **consulting** I'm familiar with. So in this particular case, it is a bad role model for the situation that is examined.
* It is not obvious to me that listening in is to be expected as several modes of exam are thinkable, including a mode where the actual call simulation is graded indirectly at best (just as in a written exam text understanding is only indirectly graded).
1. The exam could be formulated in a way that a pre-specified set of important points which you are supposed to extract and write down is compared with your notes, and you get marks for the correctly retrieved information.
Sure, that would leave no possibility to grade whether you guess right or did in fact ask, but the student is not responsible for bad design of the exam, and many exams in fact do not distinguish whether the answer guessed right or concluded right.
2. The grading could be done in two parts: the notes by the professor and the phone call by the "actor".
3. Professor grades your notes and takes also the actor's notes into account.
Again, not so good due to possible chinese whisper losses.
4. As it happened, by the professor listening in.IMHO the actual mode of the exam should be clearly announced in any case. Sure a student may realize the situation is ambiguous beforehand and ask, but I'd say that as less intrusive exam modes are perferctly thinkable (1st option) and deviation should be clearly announced.
I really don't think this is different from announcing that the written exam will be 3 hours and books are allowed.
* There are situations (scientific studies) where the subject being influenced by knowing in which way they are studied can influence the result. I.e. there is a trade-off between transparency to the subject and reliability of the results. For such studies, a review by an ethical committee is anyways needed so the subject can rely on a third party having checked that the procedure is ethical.
In the case of the exam, no such 3rd party check has been done, and without being a psychologist I'expect that the main reasons for changed behaviour in those psychological studies are similar or related to "being examined". In the case of an exam, you know that you are examined. It's hard to argue that not telling you how exactly you are examined will make you act more naturally in this situation.
**I therefore don't see any drawback to being transparent about what, how and by whom the grading is done.**
---
Further thoughts about the situation.
* My cultural background: here, not only recording without everyone's consent but also listening into a phone call is plain illegal, even if the phone call is between two neighbor rooms of the same institute.
If you put the phone into speakerphone mode, it is customary here to announce this to the other side even if there's noone around to listen in.
* I've once met a situation where we weren't told when exactly we wrote the exam. However, we were told in advance:
+ That we'd write the exam without knowing as it would just look like the usual in-class excercises, and
+ that the reason for this was that the teacher had the experience that knowing "this is the exam" made people nervous and caused more mistakes (this was an eving course on touch typing with many attendees not being used to exams any more since they had finished school long ago - but the results were important for their job prospects).
+ I'm sure that had anyone requested to know when they have their exam, they'd have been offered a separate, announced occasion for their exam.
* While I never had a simulated phone call exam, when I had oral exams and if anyone else in addition to the examiner was around, the thing started with a formal introduction of the 3rd party "This is XY, who is going to write the protocol." I also had: "This is XY, who is going to start writing the protocol. At some point I'll take over the protocol and XY is going to ask - this is part of XY's preparation for becoming a professor."
Also, there was never a secret who did the grading: "Please leave the room for a few minutes while *we* decide on your mark. We'll then call you in."
*I'd say this very clear transparency also has the purpose to lower the examinee's nervousness (if possible): it communicates "I am clear and open, I will not spring surprises at you, you can trust me."* After all, the purpose of the exam is grade your proficiency with the subject matter, not your grasp on yourself wrt. exam psychology.
Upvotes: 2
|
2020/02/27
| 4,991
| 20,786
|
<issue_start>username_0: Many job offers state that they the applicant should *include the full contact information for three referees* in the CV. I was wondering about two things:
1) How to decide upon the inclusion of scholars? Naming your supervisor of the PhD thesis might be obvious, but then? Do only professors count or should the referees come from different institutions, etc.? Especially as an ERC (Eraly career researcher), I don't have many senior co-authors or collaboration partners at other universities.
2) Do you ask these people whether it is okay to name them in the CV and they might be prepared to get contacted or should I avoid this?
Are there any recommendations or past experiences that people are willing to share?
Thanks in advance!<issue_comment>username_1: This is bizarre and unorthodox to say the least. It also raises some pretty serious legal issues. Specifically, if you live in one of the eleven “two-party consent states”, what the instructor did was illegal. According to [this article](https://commercemagnj.com/recording-conversation-legal/) (emphasis added):
>
> In the context of recording conversations, the states in our country are divided as either “one party consent” states or “two party consent” states. A “one party consent” state a makes it a crime to record or eavesdrop on an in-person or telephone conversation unless one party to the conversation consents. **A “two party consent” state makes it a crime to record or eavesdrop on a conversation, including a private in-person communication or telephone call, without the consent of all parties to the conversation.** Most states, like New Jersey, New York and Texas are “one party consent” states. Eleven states, including California, Massachusetts, Florida and Pennsylvania are “two party consent” states.
>
>
>
[This link](https://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/recording-phone-calls-and-conversations) seems to have a list of the eleven states. Unlike the first article I quoted, it only talks about *recording* a conversation rather than eavesdropping/listening in, so I’d rather not quote the list and risk misleading people. Also, for some of the states it seems like there are further distinctions depending on the manner in which the recording was made and perhaps other details.
Now, if the phone conversation took place in a “one-party consent state” then what the instructor did was likely not illegal. Nonetheless, from a university instructor one can expect a much higher standard of behavior and ethics than the minimum required by law. It seems to me that given that this stunt would be illegal in much of the country, you would be quite reasonable to complain about the instructor’s behavior. Even if he is not found to have violated any policies (probably because no one had ever even imagined that such a policy was necessary), once the behavior is scrutinized I would fully expect him to be forbidden from ever pulling such a trick again.
**Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer and cannot vouch for the accuracy of the legal information in the articles I linked to.**
---
**Edit:** some people are saying in comments and other answers that OP should have had no “expectation of privacy” during the call, that they don’t see “a meaningful ethical distinction” between listening in and getting a report from the actor, and that they “honestly don’t see what the problem is”. Fine; I have no strong disagreement with any of these statements, and actually started drafting an answer saying some similar things before posting the current answer. But I’m amazed that so many people are ignoring the very serious legal issues here. OP seems to live in New York, a one-party consent state, so the instructor might have escaped an accusation of outright breaking the law (to be precise, committing a crime) in this situation. But what if OP happened to be visiting a friend in nearby Massachusetts while they were making the phone call? The instructor’s behavior might (IANAL) instantly turn into a crime.
Imagine you are a university administrator considering OP’s complaint regarding the instructor’s behavior. Knowing that the instructor is treading on some dangerous legal ground, would you really think even for a second that the legal risk and potential liabilities he is putting your university in are acceptable? (Not to mention in a situation when there is no discernible academic benefit that comes from this surreptitious phone call eavesdropping strategy.) Yes, the instructor might come up with some arguments in defense of his behavior involving expectation of privacy or whatnot. But seriously, who wants to have to even go there? Isn’t it much easier to just inform the students of what’s going on instead of having to plan how you will argue your way out of this messy legal situation if someone decides to make a fuss?
Note that I didn’t say the instructor was behaving unethically - he may or may not have been, I haven’t really thought deeply about that question. But the legal issues make it unnecessary to even consider that aspect of the question. No sane university would allow an instructor to adopt such legally fraught assessment methods. It’s highly inappropriate and needlessly risky. I’m not saying they should punish the instructor or anything. OP should report their concerns and point out the legal issues as well as the fact that they were made to feel uncomfortable by the incident. My guess is the practice would be discontinued quietly, and everyone will move on with their lives.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: I have to side with your professor here. You did not have a private phone conversation. You had a simulated conversation with a person you knew to be a fake client with the purpose of evaluating your skill. If the professor listens in to the conversation that means he will evaluate you himself instead of relying on the person he got to play the potential client. This is good for you.
I honestly don't see what the problem is, you did something that you knew to be a test, so your professor gets to see/hear it to evaluate you. If instead of doing this over the phone this would have been a live interview, would you feel different about your professor listining in?
Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_3: Because of the situation, normal (legal) rules do not apply to this, no matter what State you're in. At all. This call, in no way, would be considered a private call, and the instructor has every right to listen-in, whether you've been notified or not. If you inform the dept. Chair he/she will tell you the same.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: It doesn't surprise me. This was a simulation where the professor is evaluating you. How would you expect them to evaluate you if they weren't listening in?
There is no reasonable expectation of privacy in college. The school I went to has access to everything. Your school calendar/email. They use the InterviewStream system and administrators can access everything you do on there. When you apply for a job through them they can see that. When you scan your student id to enter a building they can see that. Even the software you download from them is connected to their systems. They spy on everything you do.
They control every process. They're always testing and evaluating you. They determine who succeeds and who fails. They control the registration process. If you're deemed unworthy and someone wants you to fail they can ensure your failure by giving you an 'impossible task' or in this case an impossible course load. It's not just about grades.
You're gonna have a hard time when you get into the workforce because employers pull tricks like this all the time. If you work in a call center environment there's always somebody listening in or recording the calls for 'quality assurance'. Even before they hire you they'll spy on you using electronic resources, applicant tracking, social media, spyware, hacking or they'll send someone into your current place of employment. That's the 'background check' especially when nothing shows up in a records check. It feels sketchy but hiring is risky business and the company has a reputation to uphold. They gotta protect themselves and make sure everyone they hire is on their best behavior.
Wouldn't you do the same if that were your company or you were managing the department? The most successful companies and managers do. If you want to be successful you gotta be ruthless and unforgiving. Drain the swamp. Get rid of the people who are yelling, picking fights, arguing with customers, being rude and providing extremely poor customer service and replace them with better people.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_5: I think what bothers us most perhaps is that the instant case is so similar to the usual case, wherein there is a real client on a normal phone call and there IS a reasonable expectation of privacy and listening in like this would be illegal - especially as it is apropos seeking legal advice and thus would be covered by attorney-client privilege. Also, we’re so used to receiving notice that a call is being recorded or monitored (as at the start of most customer service calls) that when one is monitored or recorded without notice it *feels like* it must be have been illegal.
So I think the OP is right to be bothered, but what the professor is doing is OK, legally AND ethically. But it takes a lot of thought/ analysis to see this. And the upsides of adding a standard “this call may be monitored or recorded for quality analysis purposes” announcement at the start of each call far outweigh the downsides. (It seems he’s after realism since he’s not pretending to be the client himself and such an announcement would just add to that realism. )
To support my legal claims, let’s look at the
[California law](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN§ionNum=632) , which states in part:
>
> (c) For the purposes of this section, “confidential communication”
> means any communication carried on in circumstances as may reasonably
> indicate that any party to the communication desires it to be confined
> to the parties thereto, but excludes a communication made in a public
> gathering or in any legislative, judicial, executive, or
> administrative proceeding open to the public, or in any other
> circumstance in which the parties to the communication may reasonably
> expect that the communication may be overheard or recorded.
>
>
>
Only **listening in on** or recording “**confidential** communication” is barred.
>
> (d) Except as proof in an action or prosecution for violation of this
> section, evidence obtained as a result of eavesdropping upon or
> recording a confidential communication in violation of this section is
> not admissible in any judicial, administrative, legislative, or other
> proceeding.
> Section d is OT, but interesting.
>
>
>
There’s another reason I quote California law in the first place. Because the currently second highest rated answer incorrectly states this:
Specifically, if you live in one of the eleven “two-party consent states”, what the instructor did was illegal.
I think what the prof did is not illegal for students in California or other two party US states. Why? Because under these very specific circumstances (including because it’s a test, with fake info, and not a normal call) I don’t think there was a reasonable expectation of privacy, even though it was an actual phone call over the highly regulated POTS. (I recall a [**shocking MINORITY** SCOTUS opinion that claimed an extremely narrow definition of expectation of privacy, apropos listening in to a cordless phone conversation](https://casetext.com/case/state-v-mcveigh-2) ... but it was only minority a opinion\*)
\*excerpt:
>
> *<NAME>., dissenting: I respectfully dissent from the majority opinion. I do not believe that the broadcast of radio waves into public airspace constitutes a "wire communication". ... wiretap statutes, that the radio wave segment of cordless telephone communications cover all communications that, at some point, are carried over telephone lines.*
>
>
>
It's **shocking** and frightening because in it, a SCOTUS Justice is doing what I see justices so often do: make claims that clearly conflict with the plain language of statute. In this case: "DEFINITIONS. The following words and phrases, as used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context otherwise requires: "(1) `Wire communication' means any communication made in whole or in part through the use of facilities for the transmission of communications by the aid of telephone or telegraph between the point of origin and the point of reception furnished or operated by any person engaged as a common carrier in providing or operating such facilities for the transmission of intrastate, interstate or foreign communications."
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: Thanks to comments made by Daniel and Nick, I found some better google search terms. Here's [what I found](https://www.apa.org/ethics/code/). Even though my course wasn't remotely in the field of psychology, this does seem helpful: The American Psychological Association's "Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct," which states:
>
> 7.06 Assessing Student and Supervisee Performance (a) In academic and supervisory relationships, psychologists establish a timely and
> specific process for providing feedback to students and supervisees.
> Information regarding the process is provided to the student at the
> beginning of supervision.
>
>
> (b) Psychologists evaluate students and supervisees on the basis of
> their actual performance on relevant and established program
> requirements.
>
>
>
I found an [ethics explanation](https://www.apa.org/monitor/may05/ethics) of that section in "ETHICS ROUNDS: The supervisor as gatekeeper: Reflections on Ethical Standards 7.02, 7.04, 7.05, 7.06 and 10.01" by Dr. <NAME>, APA Ethics Director:
>
> Ethical Standard 7.06 gives supervisors both the discretion to determine how best to assess a supervisee's performance, and the responsibility to make clear to the supervisee how the "timely and specific" process of assessment will work.
>
>
>
Dan's use of the word *surreptitious* also enriched my internet searching. Here's [something about ethics](https://www.apa.org/science/programs/testing/third-party-observers.pdf) -- again, in the field of psychology: "Statement on Third Party Observers in Psychological Testing and Assessment:
A Framework for Decision Making," Committee on Psychological Tests and Assessment
American Psychological Association:
>
> Although
> surreptitious observation and recording (in which the
> examinee is unaware of the observation) may minimize the examinee’s reactivity to observation, surreptitious surveillance may also raise ethical (e.g., APA,
> 2002; AERA, APA, NCME, 1999) and legal issues
> regarding the psychologist’s obligation to disclose to
> the examinee the fact that the session is being observed
> or recorded and the identity of individuals who may
> have access to the observation or recording.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_7: I'd like to tackle a point of view that IMHO hasn't gotten the attention it deserves so far.
* Leaving legal aspects aside, IMHO **transparency** about exam procedure is **very important for a good and healthy student - teacher relationship**.
The lack of transparency, but even more importantly **refusing to announce the exam mode in future IMHO seriously undermines the possibility of a trusting relationship**.
I'd certainly expect any kind of bad surprise in future dealings with such an examiner, and in my mind mark them as sneaky, underhand and potentially backstabbing.
(My culture has a reputation of being blunt and rude [we call it direct and truthful] - and we sometimes judge behaviour as backstabbing that is considered a polite white lie in other places. However, I utterly fail to see any polite intentions here - whereas I can usually see the politeness aspect with the white lies)
* Also, **"should be presumed"** sounds to me like a **recipe for disaster in** any kind of **consulting** I'm familiar with. So in this particular case, it is a bad role model for the situation that is examined.
* It is not obvious to me that listening in is to be expected as several modes of exam are thinkable, including a mode where the actual call simulation is graded indirectly at best (just as in a written exam text understanding is only indirectly graded).
1. The exam could be formulated in a way that a pre-specified set of important points which you are supposed to extract and write down is compared with your notes, and you get marks for the correctly retrieved information.
Sure, that would leave no possibility to grade whether you guess right or did in fact ask, but the student is not responsible for bad design of the exam, and many exams in fact do not distinguish whether the answer guessed right or concluded right.
2. The grading could be done in two parts: the notes by the professor and the phone call by the "actor".
3. Professor grades your notes and takes also the actor's notes into account.
Again, not so good due to possible chinese whisper losses.
4. As it happened, by the professor listening in.IMHO the actual mode of the exam should be clearly announced in any case. Sure a student may realize the situation is ambiguous beforehand and ask, but I'd say that as less intrusive exam modes are perferctly thinkable (1st option) and deviation should be clearly announced.
I really don't think this is different from announcing that the written exam will be 3 hours and books are allowed.
* There are situations (scientific studies) where the subject being influenced by knowing in which way they are studied can influence the result. I.e. there is a trade-off between transparency to the subject and reliability of the results. For such studies, a review by an ethical committee is anyways needed so the subject can rely on a third party having checked that the procedure is ethical.
In the case of the exam, no such 3rd party check has been done, and without being a psychologist I'expect that the main reasons for changed behaviour in those psychological studies are similar or related to "being examined". In the case of an exam, you know that you are examined. It's hard to argue that not telling you how exactly you are examined will make you act more naturally in this situation.
**I therefore don't see any drawback to being transparent about what, how and by whom the grading is done.**
---
Further thoughts about the situation.
* My cultural background: here, not only recording without everyone's consent but also listening into a phone call is plain illegal, even if the phone call is between two neighbor rooms of the same institute.
If you put the phone into speakerphone mode, it is customary here to announce this to the other side even if there's noone around to listen in.
* I've once met a situation where we weren't told when exactly we wrote the exam. However, we were told in advance:
+ That we'd write the exam without knowing as it would just look like the usual in-class excercises, and
+ that the reason for this was that the teacher had the experience that knowing "this is the exam" made people nervous and caused more mistakes (this was an eving course on touch typing with many attendees not being used to exams any more since they had finished school long ago - but the results were important for their job prospects).
+ I'm sure that had anyone requested to know when they have their exam, they'd have been offered a separate, announced occasion for their exam.
* While I never had a simulated phone call exam, when I had oral exams and if anyone else in addition to the examiner was around, the thing started with a formal introduction of the 3rd party "This is XY, who is going to write the protocol." I also had: "This is XY, who is going to start writing the protocol. At some point I'll take over the protocol and XY is going to ask - this is part of XY's preparation for becoming a professor."
Also, there was never a secret who did the grading: "Please leave the room for a few minutes while *we* decide on your mark. We'll then call you in."
*I'd say this very clear transparency also has the purpose to lower the examinee's nervousness (if possible): it communicates "I am clear and open, I will not spring surprises at you, you can trust me."* After all, the purpose of the exam is grade your proficiency with the subject matter, not your grasp on yourself wrt. exam psychology.
Upvotes: 2
|
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| 5,055
| 20,945
|
<issue_start>username_0: Many universities have *visiting* (also sometimes termed [adjunct](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adjunct_professor) outside the US) faculty positions for [non-salaried academics associated with a department](https://www.cmu.edu/mcs/people/faculty/resources/handbook/nonsalary.html). My question concerns the cases where faculty members, rather than an adjunct appointment, hold *parallel* appointments at two different universities, perhaps as a [part-time appointment](https://theuniversityfaculty.cornell.edu/the-new-faculty-handbook/3-titles-and-appointments-leaves/3-3-the-appointment-process/3-3-5-part-time-policy/). What types of rules are there regarding e.g. attendance, affiliation in publications, teaching, PhD supervision, committee membership, access to funding, lecturing responsibilities, and salary for such cases? I'd appreciate pointers to corresponding policies or regulations.<issue_comment>username_1: This is bizarre and unorthodox to say the least. It also raises some pretty serious legal issues. Specifically, if you live in one of the eleven “two-party consent states”, what the instructor did was illegal. According to [this article](https://commercemagnj.com/recording-conversation-legal/) (emphasis added):
>
> In the context of recording conversations, the states in our country are divided as either “one party consent” states or “two party consent” states. A “one party consent” state a makes it a crime to record or eavesdrop on an in-person or telephone conversation unless one party to the conversation consents. **A “two party consent” state makes it a crime to record or eavesdrop on a conversation, including a private in-person communication or telephone call, without the consent of all parties to the conversation.** Most states, like New Jersey, New York and Texas are “one party consent” states. Eleven states, including California, Massachusetts, Florida and Pennsylvania are “two party consent” states.
>
>
>
[This link](https://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/recording-phone-calls-and-conversations) seems to have a list of the eleven states. Unlike the first article I quoted, it only talks about *recording* a conversation rather than eavesdropping/listening in, so I’d rather not quote the list and risk misleading people. Also, for some of the states it seems like there are further distinctions depending on the manner in which the recording was made and perhaps other details.
Now, if the phone conversation took place in a “one-party consent state” then what the instructor did was likely not illegal. Nonetheless, from a university instructor one can expect a much higher standard of behavior and ethics than the minimum required by law. It seems to me that given that this stunt would be illegal in much of the country, you would be quite reasonable to complain about the instructor’s behavior. Even if he is not found to have violated any policies (probably because no one had ever even imagined that such a policy was necessary), once the behavior is scrutinized I would fully expect him to be forbidden from ever pulling such a trick again.
**Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer and cannot vouch for the accuracy of the legal information in the articles I linked to.**
---
**Edit:** some people are saying in comments and other answers that OP should have had no “expectation of privacy” during the call, that they don’t see “a meaningful ethical distinction” between listening in and getting a report from the actor, and that they “honestly don’t see what the problem is”. Fine; I have no strong disagreement with any of these statements, and actually started drafting an answer saying some similar things before posting the current answer. But I’m amazed that so many people are ignoring the very serious legal issues here. OP seems to live in New York, a one-party consent state, so the instructor might have escaped an accusation of outright breaking the law (to be precise, committing a crime) in this situation. But what if OP happened to be visiting a friend in nearby Massachusetts while they were making the phone call? The instructor’s behavior might (IANAL) instantly turn into a crime.
Imagine you are a university administrator considering OP’s complaint regarding the instructor’s behavior. Knowing that the instructor is treading on some dangerous legal ground, would you really think even for a second that the legal risk and potential liabilities he is putting your university in are acceptable? (Not to mention in a situation when there is no discernible academic benefit that comes from this surreptitious phone call eavesdropping strategy.) Yes, the instructor might come up with some arguments in defense of his behavior involving expectation of privacy or whatnot. But seriously, who wants to have to even go there? Isn’t it much easier to just inform the students of what’s going on instead of having to plan how you will argue your way out of this messy legal situation if someone decides to make a fuss?
Note that I didn’t say the instructor was behaving unethically - he may or may not have been, I haven’t really thought deeply about that question. But the legal issues make it unnecessary to even consider that aspect of the question. No sane university would allow an instructor to adopt such legally fraught assessment methods. It’s highly inappropriate and needlessly risky. I’m not saying they should punish the instructor or anything. OP should report their concerns and point out the legal issues as well as the fact that they were made to feel uncomfortable by the incident. My guess is the practice would be discontinued quietly, and everyone will move on with their lives.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: I have to side with your professor here. You did not have a private phone conversation. You had a simulated conversation with a person you knew to be a fake client with the purpose of evaluating your skill. If the professor listens in to the conversation that means he will evaluate you himself instead of relying on the person he got to play the potential client. This is good for you.
I honestly don't see what the problem is, you did something that you knew to be a test, so your professor gets to see/hear it to evaluate you. If instead of doing this over the phone this would have been a live interview, would you feel different about your professor listining in?
Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_3: Because of the situation, normal (legal) rules do not apply to this, no matter what State you're in. At all. This call, in no way, would be considered a private call, and the instructor has every right to listen-in, whether you've been notified or not. If you inform the dept. Chair he/she will tell you the same.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: It doesn't surprise me. This was a simulation where the professor is evaluating you. How would you expect them to evaluate you if they weren't listening in?
There is no reasonable expectation of privacy in college. The school I went to has access to everything. Your school calendar/email. They use the InterviewStream system and administrators can access everything you do on there. When you apply for a job through them they can see that. When you scan your student id to enter a building they can see that. Even the software you download from them is connected to their systems. They spy on everything you do.
They control every process. They're always testing and evaluating you. They determine who succeeds and who fails. They control the registration process. If you're deemed unworthy and someone wants you to fail they can ensure your failure by giving you an 'impossible task' or in this case an impossible course load. It's not just about grades.
You're gonna have a hard time when you get into the workforce because employers pull tricks like this all the time. If you work in a call center environment there's always somebody listening in or recording the calls for 'quality assurance'. Even before they hire you they'll spy on you using electronic resources, applicant tracking, social media, spyware, hacking or they'll send someone into your current place of employment. That's the 'background check' especially when nothing shows up in a records check. It feels sketchy but hiring is risky business and the company has a reputation to uphold. They gotta protect themselves and make sure everyone they hire is on their best behavior.
Wouldn't you do the same if that were your company or you were managing the department? The most successful companies and managers do. If you want to be successful you gotta be ruthless and unforgiving. Drain the swamp. Get rid of the people who are yelling, picking fights, arguing with customers, being rude and providing extremely poor customer service and replace them with better people.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_5: I think what bothers us most perhaps is that the instant case is so similar to the usual case, wherein there is a real client on a normal phone call and there IS a reasonable expectation of privacy and listening in like this would be illegal - especially as it is apropos seeking legal advice and thus would be covered by attorney-client privilege. Also, we’re so used to receiving notice that a call is being recorded or monitored (as at the start of most customer service calls) that when one is monitored or recorded without notice it *feels like* it must be have been illegal.
So I think the OP is right to be bothered, but what the professor is doing is OK, legally AND ethically. But it takes a lot of thought/ analysis to see this. And the upsides of adding a standard “this call may be monitored or recorded for quality analysis purposes” announcement at the start of each call far outweigh the downsides. (It seems he’s after realism since he’s not pretending to be the client himself and such an announcement would just add to that realism. )
To support my legal claims, let’s look at the
[California law](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN§ionNum=632) , which states in part:
>
> (c) For the purposes of this section, “confidential communication”
> means any communication carried on in circumstances as may reasonably
> indicate that any party to the communication desires it to be confined
> to the parties thereto, but excludes a communication made in a public
> gathering or in any legislative, judicial, executive, or
> administrative proceeding open to the public, or in any other
> circumstance in which the parties to the communication may reasonably
> expect that the communication may be overheard or recorded.
>
>
>
Only **listening in on** or recording “**confidential** communication” is barred.
>
> (d) Except as proof in an action or prosecution for violation of this
> section, evidence obtained as a result of eavesdropping upon or
> recording a confidential communication in violation of this section is
> not admissible in any judicial, administrative, legislative, or other
> proceeding.
> Section d is OT, but interesting.
>
>
>
There’s another reason I quote California law in the first place. Because the currently second highest rated answer incorrectly states this:
Specifically, if you live in one of the eleven “two-party consent states”, what the instructor did was illegal.
I think what the prof did is not illegal for students in California or other two party US states. Why? Because under these very specific circumstances (including because it’s a test, with fake info, and not a normal call) I don’t think there was a reasonable expectation of privacy, even though it was an actual phone call over the highly regulated POTS. (I recall a [**shocking MINORITY** SCOTUS opinion that claimed an extremely narrow definition of expectation of privacy, apropos listening in to a cordless phone conversation](https://casetext.com/case/state-v-mcveigh-2) ... but it was only minority a opinion\*)
\*excerpt:
>
> *<NAME>., dissenting: I respectfully dissent from the majority opinion. I do not believe that the broadcast of radio waves into public airspace constitutes a "wire communication". ... wiretap statutes, that the radio wave segment of cordless telephone communications cover all communications that, at some point, are carried over telephone lines.*
>
>
>
It's **shocking** and frightening because in it, a SCOTUS Justice is doing what I see justices so often do: make claims that clearly conflict with the plain language of statute. In this case: "DEFINITIONS. The following words and phrases, as used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context otherwise requires: "(1) `Wire communication' means any communication made in whole or in part through the use of facilities for the transmission of communications by the aid of telephone or telegraph between the point of origin and the point of reception furnished or operated by any person engaged as a common carrier in providing or operating such facilities for the transmission of intrastate, interstate or foreign communications."
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: Thanks to comments made by Daniel and Nick, I found some better google search terms. Here's [what I found](https://www.apa.org/ethics/code/). Even though my course wasn't remotely in the field of psychology, this does seem helpful: The American Psychological Association's "Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct," which states:
>
> 7.06 Assessing Student and Supervisee Performance (a) In academic and supervisory relationships, psychologists establish a timely and
> specific process for providing feedback to students and supervisees.
> Information regarding the process is provided to the student at the
> beginning of supervision.
>
>
> (b) Psychologists evaluate students and supervisees on the basis of
> their actual performance on relevant and established program
> requirements.
>
>
>
I found an [ethics explanation](https://www.apa.org/monitor/may05/ethics) of that section in "ETHICS ROUNDS: The supervisor as gatekeeper: Reflections on Ethical Standards 7.02, 7.04, 7.05, 7.06 and 10.01" by Dr. <NAME>, APA Ethics Director:
>
> Ethical Standard 7.06 gives supervisors both the discretion to determine how best to assess a supervisee's performance, and the responsibility to make clear to the supervisee how the "timely and specific" process of assessment will work.
>
>
>
Dan's use of the word *surreptitious* also enriched my internet searching. Here's [something about ethics](https://www.apa.org/science/programs/testing/third-party-observers.pdf) -- again, in the field of psychology: "Statement on Third Party Observers in Psychological Testing and Assessment:
A Framework for Decision Making," Committee on Psychological Tests and Assessment
American Psychological Association:
>
> Although
> surreptitious observation and recording (in which the
> examinee is unaware of the observation) may minimize the examinee’s reactivity to observation, surreptitious surveillance may also raise ethical (e.g., APA,
> 2002; AERA, APA, NCME, 1999) and legal issues
> regarding the psychologist’s obligation to disclose to
> the examinee the fact that the session is being observed
> or recorded and the identity of individuals who may
> have access to the observation or recording.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_7: I'd like to tackle a point of view that IMHO hasn't gotten the attention it deserves so far.
* Leaving legal aspects aside, IMHO **transparency** about exam procedure is **very important for a good and healthy student - teacher relationship**.
The lack of transparency, but even more importantly **refusing to announce the exam mode in future IMHO seriously undermines the possibility of a trusting relationship**.
I'd certainly expect any kind of bad surprise in future dealings with such an examiner, and in my mind mark them as sneaky, underhand and potentially backstabbing.
(My culture has a reputation of being blunt and rude [we call it direct and truthful] - and we sometimes judge behaviour as backstabbing that is considered a polite white lie in other places. However, I utterly fail to see any polite intentions here - whereas I can usually see the politeness aspect with the white lies)
* Also, **"should be presumed"** sounds to me like a **recipe for disaster in** any kind of **consulting** I'm familiar with. So in this particular case, it is a bad role model for the situation that is examined.
* It is not obvious to me that listening in is to be expected as several modes of exam are thinkable, including a mode where the actual call simulation is graded indirectly at best (just as in a written exam text understanding is only indirectly graded).
1. The exam could be formulated in a way that a pre-specified set of important points which you are supposed to extract and write down is compared with your notes, and you get marks for the correctly retrieved information.
Sure, that would leave no possibility to grade whether you guess right or did in fact ask, but the student is not responsible for bad design of the exam, and many exams in fact do not distinguish whether the answer guessed right or concluded right.
2. The grading could be done in two parts: the notes by the professor and the phone call by the "actor".
3. Professor grades your notes and takes also the actor's notes into account.
Again, not so good due to possible chinese whisper losses.
4. As it happened, by the professor listening in.IMHO the actual mode of the exam should be clearly announced in any case. Sure a student may realize the situation is ambiguous beforehand and ask, but I'd say that as less intrusive exam modes are perferctly thinkable (1st option) and deviation should be clearly announced.
I really don't think this is different from announcing that the written exam will be 3 hours and books are allowed.
* There are situations (scientific studies) where the subject being influenced by knowing in which way they are studied can influence the result. I.e. there is a trade-off between transparency to the subject and reliability of the results. For such studies, a review by an ethical committee is anyways needed so the subject can rely on a third party having checked that the procedure is ethical.
In the case of the exam, no such 3rd party check has been done, and without being a psychologist I'expect that the main reasons for changed behaviour in those psychological studies are similar or related to "being examined". In the case of an exam, you know that you are examined. It's hard to argue that not telling you how exactly you are examined will make you act more naturally in this situation.
**I therefore don't see any drawback to being transparent about what, how and by whom the grading is done.**
---
Further thoughts about the situation.
* My cultural background: here, not only recording without everyone's consent but also listening into a phone call is plain illegal, even if the phone call is between two neighbor rooms of the same institute.
If you put the phone into speakerphone mode, it is customary here to announce this to the other side even if there's noone around to listen in.
* I've once met a situation where we weren't told when exactly we wrote the exam. However, we were told in advance:
+ That we'd write the exam without knowing as it would just look like the usual in-class excercises, and
+ that the reason for this was that the teacher had the experience that knowing "this is the exam" made people nervous and caused more mistakes (this was an eving course on touch typing with many attendees not being used to exams any more since they had finished school long ago - but the results were important for their job prospects).
+ I'm sure that had anyone requested to know when they have their exam, they'd have been offered a separate, announced occasion for their exam.
* While I never had a simulated phone call exam, when I had oral exams and if anyone else in addition to the examiner was around, the thing started with a formal introduction of the 3rd party "This is XY, who is going to write the protocol." I also had: "This is XY, who is going to start writing the protocol. At some point I'll take over the protocol and XY is going to ask - this is part of XY's preparation for becoming a professor."
Also, there was never a secret who did the grading: "Please leave the room for a few minutes while *we* decide on your mark. We'll then call you in."
*I'd say this very clear transparency also has the purpose to lower the examinee's nervousness (if possible): it communicates "I am clear and open, I will not spring surprises at you, you can trust me."* After all, the purpose of the exam is grade your proficiency with the subject matter, not your grasp on yourself wrt. exam psychology.
Upvotes: 2
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2020/02/27
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm currently pursuing a master's degree (math) in the US, and I have been accepted to a different PhD program (applied math). I've been offered funding for only four years, though, because I am already pursuing my master's degree. Is this something of a big concern? I'll essentially have to start over at the new program by trying to pass their preliminary examinations, and all other universities seem to provide funding for 5 years, even if students come in with a master's degree because in the US, the PhD process seems to take some time to complete.
Any ideas and suggestions as to whether this is something of a big concern, and whether students can get funded for an additional year even if they're coming in with a master's degree?
Edit:
Here are some details about the two programs. The program that has offered me 4 year of funding has 2 qualifying exams. I will have to take classes for one of those qualifying exam. In principle, I think I can take the second qualifying exam soon, but I would still need to enroll in one one semester class to cover the last 20-30% of the material. This second exam, however, would require me to take at least some substantial time hitting 3-4 books, and practicing a lot to ensure I can actually solve the exam itself on the day of the exam.The program that has offered 5 years of funding has 3 exams, but I can fulfill the requirement for two of them by taking a sequence of graduate level course. One exam has to be written. The exams at both schools are of comparable difficulty, I suppose, with minor differences, of course.
I have been offered TA support by both schools, but I suppose this takes up a lot of time when it actually comes to getting down to doing research. I also don't know how the research experience, of course, is going to pan out.<issue_comment>username_1: This is bizarre and unorthodox to say the least. It also raises some pretty serious legal issues. Specifically, if you live in one of the eleven “two-party consent states”, what the instructor did was illegal. According to [this article](https://commercemagnj.com/recording-conversation-legal/) (emphasis added):
>
> In the context of recording conversations, the states in our country are divided as either “one party consent” states or “two party consent” states. A “one party consent” state a makes it a crime to record or eavesdrop on an in-person or telephone conversation unless one party to the conversation consents. **A “two party consent” state makes it a crime to record or eavesdrop on a conversation, including a private in-person communication or telephone call, without the consent of all parties to the conversation.** Most states, like New Jersey, New York and Texas are “one party consent” states. Eleven states, including California, Massachusetts, Florida and Pennsylvania are “two party consent” states.
>
>
>
[This link](https://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/recording-phone-calls-and-conversations) seems to have a list of the eleven states. Unlike the first article I quoted, it only talks about *recording* a conversation rather than eavesdropping/listening in, so I’d rather not quote the list and risk misleading people. Also, for some of the states it seems like there are further distinctions depending on the manner in which the recording was made and perhaps other details.
Now, if the phone conversation took place in a “one-party consent state” then what the instructor did was likely not illegal. Nonetheless, from a university instructor one can expect a much higher standard of behavior and ethics than the minimum required by law. It seems to me that given that this stunt would be illegal in much of the country, you would be quite reasonable to complain about the instructor’s behavior. Even if he is not found to have violated any policies (probably because no one had ever even imagined that such a policy was necessary), once the behavior is scrutinized I would fully expect him to be forbidden from ever pulling such a trick again.
**Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer and cannot vouch for the accuracy of the legal information in the articles I linked to.**
---
**Edit:** some people are saying in comments and other answers that OP should have had no “expectation of privacy” during the call, that they don’t see “a meaningful ethical distinction” between listening in and getting a report from the actor, and that they “honestly don’t see what the problem is”. Fine; I have no strong disagreement with any of these statements, and actually started drafting an answer saying some similar things before posting the current answer. But I’m amazed that so many people are ignoring the very serious legal issues here. OP seems to live in New York, a one-party consent state, so the instructor might have escaped an accusation of outright breaking the law (to be precise, committing a crime) in this situation. But what if OP happened to be visiting a friend in nearby Massachusetts while they were making the phone call? The instructor’s behavior might (IANAL) instantly turn into a crime.
Imagine you are a university administrator considering OP’s complaint regarding the instructor’s behavior. Knowing that the instructor is treading on some dangerous legal ground, would you really think even for a second that the legal risk and potential liabilities he is putting your university in are acceptable? (Not to mention in a situation when there is no discernible academic benefit that comes from this surreptitious phone call eavesdropping strategy.) Yes, the instructor might come up with some arguments in defense of his behavior involving expectation of privacy or whatnot. But seriously, who wants to have to even go there? Isn’t it much easier to just inform the students of what’s going on instead of having to plan how you will argue your way out of this messy legal situation if someone decides to make a fuss?
Note that I didn’t say the instructor was behaving unethically - he may or may not have been, I haven’t really thought deeply about that question. But the legal issues make it unnecessary to even consider that aspect of the question. No sane university would allow an instructor to adopt such legally fraught assessment methods. It’s highly inappropriate and needlessly risky. I’m not saying they should punish the instructor or anything. OP should report their concerns and point out the legal issues as well as the fact that they were made to feel uncomfortable by the incident. My guess is the practice would be discontinued quietly, and everyone will move on with their lives.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: I have to side with your professor here. You did not have a private phone conversation. You had a simulated conversation with a person you knew to be a fake client with the purpose of evaluating your skill. If the professor listens in to the conversation that means he will evaluate you himself instead of relying on the person he got to play the potential client. This is good for you.
I honestly don't see what the problem is, you did something that you knew to be a test, so your professor gets to see/hear it to evaluate you. If instead of doing this over the phone this would have been a live interview, would you feel different about your professor listining in?
Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_3: Because of the situation, normal (legal) rules do not apply to this, no matter what State you're in. At all. This call, in no way, would be considered a private call, and the instructor has every right to listen-in, whether you've been notified or not. If you inform the dept. Chair he/she will tell you the same.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: It doesn't surprise me. This was a simulation where the professor is evaluating you. How would you expect them to evaluate you if they weren't listening in?
There is no reasonable expectation of privacy in college. The school I went to has access to everything. Your school calendar/email. They use the InterviewStream system and administrators can access everything you do on there. When you apply for a job through them they can see that. When you scan your student id to enter a building they can see that. Even the software you download from them is connected to their systems. They spy on everything you do.
They control every process. They're always testing and evaluating you. They determine who succeeds and who fails. They control the registration process. If you're deemed unworthy and someone wants you to fail they can ensure your failure by giving you an 'impossible task' or in this case an impossible course load. It's not just about grades.
You're gonna have a hard time when you get into the workforce because employers pull tricks like this all the time. If you work in a call center environment there's always somebody listening in or recording the calls for 'quality assurance'. Even before they hire you they'll spy on you using electronic resources, applicant tracking, social media, spyware, hacking or they'll send someone into your current place of employment. That's the 'background check' especially when nothing shows up in a records check. It feels sketchy but hiring is risky business and the company has a reputation to uphold. They gotta protect themselves and make sure everyone they hire is on their best behavior.
Wouldn't you do the same if that were your company or you were managing the department? The most successful companies and managers do. If you want to be successful you gotta be ruthless and unforgiving. Drain the swamp. Get rid of the people who are yelling, picking fights, arguing with customers, being rude and providing extremely poor customer service and replace them with better people.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_5: I think what bothers us most perhaps is that the instant case is so similar to the usual case, wherein there is a real client on a normal phone call and there IS a reasonable expectation of privacy and listening in like this would be illegal - especially as it is apropos seeking legal advice and thus would be covered by attorney-client privilege. Also, we’re so used to receiving notice that a call is being recorded or monitored (as at the start of most customer service calls) that when one is monitored or recorded without notice it *feels like* it must be have been illegal.
So I think the OP is right to be bothered, but what the professor is doing is OK, legally AND ethically. But it takes a lot of thought/ analysis to see this. And the upsides of adding a standard “this call may be monitored or recorded for quality analysis purposes” announcement at the start of each call far outweigh the downsides. (It seems he’s after realism since he’s not pretending to be the client himself and such an announcement would just add to that realism. )
To support my legal claims, let’s look at the
[California law](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN§ionNum=632) , which states in part:
>
> (c) For the purposes of this section, “confidential communication”
> means any communication carried on in circumstances as may reasonably
> indicate that any party to the communication desires it to be confined
> to the parties thereto, but excludes a communication made in a public
> gathering or in any legislative, judicial, executive, or
> administrative proceeding open to the public, or in any other
> circumstance in which the parties to the communication may reasonably
> expect that the communication may be overheard or recorded.
>
>
>
Only **listening in on** or recording “**confidential** communication” is barred.
>
> (d) Except as proof in an action or prosecution for violation of this
> section, evidence obtained as a result of eavesdropping upon or
> recording a confidential communication in violation of this section is
> not admissible in any judicial, administrative, legislative, or other
> proceeding.
> Section d is OT, but interesting.
>
>
>
There’s another reason I quote California law in the first place. Because the currently second highest rated answer incorrectly states this:
Specifically, if you live in one of the eleven “two-party consent states”, what the instructor did was illegal.
I think what the prof did is not illegal for students in California or other two party US states. Why? Because under these very specific circumstances (including because it’s a test, with fake info, and not a normal call) I don’t think there was a reasonable expectation of privacy, even though it was an actual phone call over the highly regulated POTS. (I recall a [**shocking MINORITY** SCOTUS opinion that claimed an extremely narrow definition of expectation of privacy, apropos listening in to a cordless phone conversation](https://casetext.com/case/state-v-mcveigh-2) ... but it was only minority a opinion\*)
\*excerpt:
>
> *<NAME>., dissenting: I respectfully dissent from the majority opinion. I do not believe that the broadcast of radio waves into public airspace constitutes a "wire communication". ... wiretap statutes, that the radio wave segment of cordless telephone communications cover all communications that, at some point, are carried over telephone lines.*
>
>
>
It's **shocking** and frightening because in it, a SCOTUS Justice is doing what I see justices so often do: make claims that clearly conflict with the plain language of statute. In this case: "DEFINITIONS. The following words and phrases, as used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context otherwise requires: "(1) `Wire communication' means any communication made in whole or in part through the use of facilities for the transmission of communications by the aid of telephone or telegraph between the point of origin and the point of reception furnished or operated by any person engaged as a common carrier in providing or operating such facilities for the transmission of intrastate, interstate or foreign communications."
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: Thanks to comments made by Daniel and Nick, I found some better google search terms. Here's [what I found](https://www.apa.org/ethics/code/). Even though my course wasn't remotely in the field of psychology, this does seem helpful: The American Psychological Association's "Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct," which states:
>
> 7.06 Assessing Student and Supervisee Performance (a) In academic and supervisory relationships, psychologists establish a timely and
> specific process for providing feedback to students and supervisees.
> Information regarding the process is provided to the student at the
> beginning of supervision.
>
>
> (b) Psychologists evaluate students and supervisees on the basis of
> their actual performance on relevant and established program
> requirements.
>
>
>
I found an [ethics explanation](https://www.apa.org/monitor/may05/ethics) of that section in "ETHICS ROUNDS: The supervisor as gatekeeper: Reflections on Ethical Standards 7.02, 7.04, 7.05, 7.06 and 10.01" by Dr. <NAME>, APA Ethics Director:
>
> Ethical Standard 7.06 gives supervisors both the discretion to determine how best to assess a supervisee's performance, and the responsibility to make clear to the supervisee how the "timely and specific" process of assessment will work.
>
>
>
Dan's use of the word *surreptitious* also enriched my internet searching. Here's [something about ethics](https://www.apa.org/science/programs/testing/third-party-observers.pdf) -- again, in the field of psychology: "Statement on Third Party Observers in Psychological Testing and Assessment:
A Framework for Decision Making," Committee on Psychological Tests and Assessment
American Psychological Association:
>
> Although
> surreptitious observation and recording (in which the
> examinee is unaware of the observation) may minimize the examinee’s reactivity to observation, surreptitious surveillance may also raise ethical (e.g., APA,
> 2002; AERA, APA, NCME, 1999) and legal issues
> regarding the psychologist’s obligation to disclose to
> the examinee the fact that the session is being observed
> or recorded and the identity of individuals who may
> have access to the observation or recording.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_7: I'd like to tackle a point of view that IMHO hasn't gotten the attention it deserves so far.
* Leaving legal aspects aside, IMHO **transparency** about exam procedure is **very important for a good and healthy student - teacher relationship**.
The lack of transparency, but even more importantly **refusing to announce the exam mode in future IMHO seriously undermines the possibility of a trusting relationship**.
I'd certainly expect any kind of bad surprise in future dealings with such an examiner, and in my mind mark them as sneaky, underhand and potentially backstabbing.
(My culture has a reputation of being blunt and rude [we call it direct and truthful] - and we sometimes judge behaviour as backstabbing that is considered a polite white lie in other places. However, I utterly fail to see any polite intentions here - whereas I can usually see the politeness aspect with the white lies)
* Also, **"should be presumed"** sounds to me like a **recipe for disaster in** any kind of **consulting** I'm familiar with. So in this particular case, it is a bad role model for the situation that is examined.
* It is not obvious to me that listening in is to be expected as several modes of exam are thinkable, including a mode where the actual call simulation is graded indirectly at best (just as in a written exam text understanding is only indirectly graded).
1. The exam could be formulated in a way that a pre-specified set of important points which you are supposed to extract and write down is compared with your notes, and you get marks for the correctly retrieved information.
Sure, that would leave no possibility to grade whether you guess right or did in fact ask, but the student is not responsible for bad design of the exam, and many exams in fact do not distinguish whether the answer guessed right or concluded right.
2. The grading could be done in two parts: the notes by the professor and the phone call by the "actor".
3. Professor grades your notes and takes also the actor's notes into account.
Again, not so good due to possible chinese whisper losses.
4. As it happened, by the professor listening in.IMHO the actual mode of the exam should be clearly announced in any case. Sure a student may realize the situation is ambiguous beforehand and ask, but I'd say that as less intrusive exam modes are perferctly thinkable (1st option) and deviation should be clearly announced.
I really don't think this is different from announcing that the written exam will be 3 hours and books are allowed.
* There are situations (scientific studies) where the subject being influenced by knowing in which way they are studied can influence the result. I.e. there is a trade-off between transparency to the subject and reliability of the results. For such studies, a review by an ethical committee is anyways needed so the subject can rely on a third party having checked that the procedure is ethical.
In the case of the exam, no such 3rd party check has been done, and without being a psychologist I'expect that the main reasons for changed behaviour in those psychological studies are similar or related to "being examined". In the case of an exam, you know that you are examined. It's hard to argue that not telling you how exactly you are examined will make you act more naturally in this situation.
**I therefore don't see any drawback to being transparent about what, how and by whom the grading is done.**
---
Further thoughts about the situation.
* My cultural background: here, not only recording without everyone's consent but also listening into a phone call is plain illegal, even if the phone call is between two neighbor rooms of the same institute.
If you put the phone into speakerphone mode, it is customary here to announce this to the other side even if there's noone around to listen in.
* I've once met a situation where we weren't told when exactly we wrote the exam. However, we were told in advance:
+ That we'd write the exam without knowing as it would just look like the usual in-class excercises, and
+ that the reason for this was that the teacher had the experience that knowing "this is the exam" made people nervous and caused more mistakes (this was an eving course on touch typing with many attendees not being used to exams any more since they had finished school long ago - but the results were important for their job prospects).
+ I'm sure that had anyone requested to know when they have their exam, they'd have been offered a separate, announced occasion for their exam.
* While I never had a simulated phone call exam, when I had oral exams and if anyone else in addition to the examiner was around, the thing started with a formal introduction of the 3rd party "This is XY, who is going to write the protocol." I also had: "This is XY, who is going to start writing the protocol. At some point I'll take over the protocol and XY is going to ask - this is part of XY's preparation for becoming a professor."
Also, there was never a secret who did the grading: "Please leave the room for a few minutes while *we* decide on your mark. We'll then call you in."
*I'd say this very clear transparency also has the purpose to lower the examinee's nervousness (if possible): it communicates "I am clear and open, I will not spring surprises at you, you can trust me."* After all, the purpose of the exam is grade your proficiency with the subject matter, not your grasp on yourself wrt. exam psychology.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: I had a history project at school. There were two other partners besides me. So I did basically 98% of the work, another person did approximately 2% of the work, and the last person did 0%. :( Now we are (I am) almost done. For the video we had to make on Japanese calligraphy, I draw a LOT of drawings, found music, did 2 voiceovers, made all of the slides, and put together the entire video. The second person helped a tiny bit on putting together the video and also did 2 voiceovers, but nothing else. Finally, the 3rd person did.. umm... I don’t know (nothing). In class, we evaluated our team members. I didn’t give them very high scores, but now I feel like their scores should have been even lower. We made a group chat, and I STILL don’t have the 2 voiceovers of the 3rd person. This is completely unfair. Should I tell the teacher or not?<issue_comment>username_1: This is bizarre and unorthodox to say the least. It also raises some pretty serious legal issues. Specifically, if you live in one of the eleven “two-party consent states”, what the instructor did was illegal. According to [this article](https://commercemagnj.com/recording-conversation-legal/) (emphasis added):
>
> In the context of recording conversations, the states in our country are divided as either “one party consent” states or “two party consent” states. A “one party consent” state a makes it a crime to record or eavesdrop on an in-person or telephone conversation unless one party to the conversation consents. **A “two party consent” state makes it a crime to record or eavesdrop on a conversation, including a private in-person communication or telephone call, without the consent of all parties to the conversation.** Most states, like New Jersey, New York and Texas are “one party consent” states. Eleven states, including California, Massachusetts, Florida and Pennsylvania are “two party consent” states.
>
>
>
[This link](https://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/recording-phone-calls-and-conversations) seems to have a list of the eleven states. Unlike the first article I quoted, it only talks about *recording* a conversation rather than eavesdropping/listening in, so I’d rather not quote the list and risk misleading people. Also, for some of the states it seems like there are further distinctions depending on the manner in which the recording was made and perhaps other details.
Now, if the phone conversation took place in a “one-party consent state” then what the instructor did was likely not illegal. Nonetheless, from a university instructor one can expect a much higher standard of behavior and ethics than the minimum required by law. It seems to me that given that this stunt would be illegal in much of the country, you would be quite reasonable to complain about the instructor’s behavior. Even if he is not found to have violated any policies (probably because no one had ever even imagined that such a policy was necessary), once the behavior is scrutinized I would fully expect him to be forbidden from ever pulling such a trick again.
**Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer and cannot vouch for the accuracy of the legal information in the articles I linked to.**
---
**Edit:** some people are saying in comments and other answers that OP should have had no “expectation of privacy” during the call, that they don’t see “a meaningful ethical distinction” between listening in and getting a report from the actor, and that they “honestly don’t see what the problem is”. Fine; I have no strong disagreement with any of these statements, and actually started drafting an answer saying some similar things before posting the current answer. But I’m amazed that so many people are ignoring the very serious legal issues here. OP seems to live in New York, a one-party consent state, so the instructor might have escaped an accusation of outright breaking the law (to be precise, committing a crime) in this situation. But what if OP happened to be visiting a friend in nearby Massachusetts while they were making the phone call? The instructor’s behavior might (IANAL) instantly turn into a crime.
Imagine you are a university administrator considering OP’s complaint regarding the instructor’s behavior. Knowing that the instructor is treading on some dangerous legal ground, would you really think even for a second that the legal risk and potential liabilities he is putting your university in are acceptable? (Not to mention in a situation when there is no discernible academic benefit that comes from this surreptitious phone call eavesdropping strategy.) Yes, the instructor might come up with some arguments in defense of his behavior involving expectation of privacy or whatnot. But seriously, who wants to have to even go there? Isn’t it much easier to just inform the students of what’s going on instead of having to plan how you will argue your way out of this messy legal situation if someone decides to make a fuss?
Note that I didn’t say the instructor was behaving unethically - he may or may not have been, I haven’t really thought deeply about that question. But the legal issues make it unnecessary to even consider that aspect of the question. No sane university would allow an instructor to adopt such legally fraught assessment methods. It’s highly inappropriate and needlessly risky. I’m not saying they should punish the instructor or anything. OP should report their concerns and point out the legal issues as well as the fact that they were made to feel uncomfortable by the incident. My guess is the practice would be discontinued quietly, and everyone will move on with their lives.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: I have to side with your professor here. You did not have a private phone conversation. You had a simulated conversation with a person you knew to be a fake client with the purpose of evaluating your skill. If the professor listens in to the conversation that means he will evaluate you himself instead of relying on the person he got to play the potential client. This is good for you.
I honestly don't see what the problem is, you did something that you knew to be a test, so your professor gets to see/hear it to evaluate you. If instead of doing this over the phone this would have been a live interview, would you feel different about your professor listining in?
Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_3: Because of the situation, normal (legal) rules do not apply to this, no matter what State you're in. At all. This call, in no way, would be considered a private call, and the instructor has every right to listen-in, whether you've been notified or not. If you inform the dept. Chair he/she will tell you the same.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_4: It doesn't surprise me. This was a simulation where the professor is evaluating you. How would you expect them to evaluate you if they weren't listening in?
There is no reasonable expectation of privacy in college. The school I went to has access to everything. Your school calendar/email. They use the InterviewStream system and administrators can access everything you do on there. When you apply for a job through them they can see that. When you scan your student id to enter a building they can see that. Even the software you download from them is connected to their systems. They spy on everything you do.
They control every process. They're always testing and evaluating you. They determine who succeeds and who fails. They control the registration process. If you're deemed unworthy and someone wants you to fail they can ensure your failure by giving you an 'impossible task' or in this case an impossible course load. It's not just about grades.
You're gonna have a hard time when you get into the workforce because employers pull tricks like this all the time. If you work in a call center environment there's always somebody listening in or recording the calls for 'quality assurance'. Even before they hire you they'll spy on you using electronic resources, applicant tracking, social media, spyware, hacking or they'll send someone into your current place of employment. That's the 'background check' especially when nothing shows up in a records check. It feels sketchy but hiring is risky business and the company has a reputation to uphold. They gotta protect themselves and make sure everyone they hire is on their best behavior.
Wouldn't you do the same if that were your company or you were managing the department? The most successful companies and managers do. If you want to be successful you gotta be ruthless and unforgiving. Drain the swamp. Get rid of the people who are yelling, picking fights, arguing with customers, being rude and providing extremely poor customer service and replace them with better people.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_5: I think what bothers us most perhaps is that the instant case is so similar to the usual case, wherein there is a real client on a normal phone call and there IS a reasonable expectation of privacy and listening in like this would be illegal - especially as it is apropos seeking legal advice and thus would be covered by attorney-client privilege. Also, we’re so used to receiving notice that a call is being recorded or monitored (as at the start of most customer service calls) that when one is monitored or recorded without notice it *feels like* it must be have been illegal.
So I think the OP is right to be bothered, but what the professor is doing is OK, legally AND ethically. But it takes a lot of thought/ analysis to see this. And the upsides of adding a standard “this call may be monitored or recorded for quality analysis purposes” announcement at the start of each call far outweigh the downsides. (It seems he’s after realism since he’s not pretending to be the client himself and such an announcement would just add to that realism. )
To support my legal claims, let’s look at the
[California law](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN§ionNum=632) , which states in part:
>
> (c) For the purposes of this section, “confidential communication”
> means any communication carried on in circumstances as may reasonably
> indicate that any party to the communication desires it to be confined
> to the parties thereto, but excludes a communication made in a public
> gathering or in any legislative, judicial, executive, or
> administrative proceeding open to the public, or in any other
> circumstance in which the parties to the communication may reasonably
> expect that the communication may be overheard or recorded.
>
>
>
Only **listening in on** or recording “**confidential** communication” is barred.
>
> (d) Except as proof in an action or prosecution for violation of this
> section, evidence obtained as a result of eavesdropping upon or
> recording a confidential communication in violation of this section is
> not admissible in any judicial, administrative, legislative, or other
> proceeding.
> Section d is OT, but interesting.
>
>
>
There’s another reason I quote California law in the first place. Because the currently second highest rated answer incorrectly states this:
Specifically, if you live in one of the eleven “two-party consent states”, what the instructor did was illegal.
I think what the prof did is not illegal for students in California or other two party US states. Why? Because under these very specific circumstances (including because it’s a test, with fake info, and not a normal call) I don’t think there was a reasonable expectation of privacy, even though it was an actual phone call over the highly regulated POTS. (I recall a [**shocking MINORITY** SCOTUS opinion that claimed an extremely narrow definition of expectation of privacy, apropos listening in to a cordless phone conversation](https://casetext.com/case/state-v-mcveigh-2) ... but it was only minority a opinion\*)
\*excerpt:
>
> *<NAME>., dissenting: I respectfully dissent from the majority opinion. I do not believe that the broadcast of radio waves into public airspace constitutes a "wire communication". ... wiretap statutes, that the radio wave segment of cordless telephone communications cover all communications that, at some point, are carried over telephone lines.*
>
>
>
It's **shocking** and frightening because in it, a SCOTUS Justice is doing what I see justices so often do: make claims that clearly conflict with the plain language of statute. In this case: "DEFINITIONS. The following words and phrases, as used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context otherwise requires: "(1) `Wire communication' means any communication made in whole or in part through the use of facilities for the transmission of communications by the aid of telephone or telegraph between the point of origin and the point of reception furnished or operated by any person engaged as a common carrier in providing or operating such facilities for the transmission of intrastate, interstate or foreign communications."
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: Thanks to comments made by Daniel and Nick, I found some better google search terms. Here's [what I found](https://www.apa.org/ethics/code/). Even though my course wasn't remotely in the field of psychology, this does seem helpful: The American Psychological Association's "Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct," which states:
>
> 7.06 Assessing Student and Supervisee Performance (a) In academic and supervisory relationships, psychologists establish a timely and
> specific process for providing feedback to students and supervisees.
> Information regarding the process is provided to the student at the
> beginning of supervision.
>
>
> (b) Psychologists evaluate students and supervisees on the basis of
> their actual performance on relevant and established program
> requirements.
>
>
>
I found an [ethics explanation](https://www.apa.org/monitor/may05/ethics) of that section in "ETHICS ROUNDS: The supervisor as gatekeeper: Reflections on Ethical Standards 7.02, 7.04, 7.05, 7.06 and 10.01" by Dr. <NAME>, APA Ethics Director:
>
> Ethical Standard 7.06 gives supervisors both the discretion to determine how best to assess a supervisee's performance, and the responsibility to make clear to the supervisee how the "timely and specific" process of assessment will work.
>
>
>
Dan's use of the word *surreptitious* also enriched my internet searching. Here's [something about ethics](https://www.apa.org/science/programs/testing/third-party-observers.pdf) -- again, in the field of psychology: "Statement on Third Party Observers in Psychological Testing and Assessment:
A Framework for Decision Making," Committee on Psychological Tests and Assessment
American Psychological Association:
>
> Although
> surreptitious observation and recording (in which the
> examinee is unaware of the observation) may minimize the examinee’s reactivity to observation, surreptitious surveillance may also raise ethical (e.g., APA,
> 2002; AERA, APA, NCME, 1999) and legal issues
> regarding the psychologist’s obligation to disclose to
> the examinee the fact that the session is being observed
> or recorded and the identity of individuals who may
> have access to the observation or recording.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_7: I'd like to tackle a point of view that IMHO hasn't gotten the attention it deserves so far.
* Leaving legal aspects aside, IMHO **transparency** about exam procedure is **very important for a good and healthy student - teacher relationship**.
The lack of transparency, but even more importantly **refusing to announce the exam mode in future IMHO seriously undermines the possibility of a trusting relationship**.
I'd certainly expect any kind of bad surprise in future dealings with such an examiner, and in my mind mark them as sneaky, underhand and potentially backstabbing.
(My culture has a reputation of being blunt and rude [we call it direct and truthful] - and we sometimes judge behaviour as backstabbing that is considered a polite white lie in other places. However, I utterly fail to see any polite intentions here - whereas I can usually see the politeness aspect with the white lies)
* Also, **"should be presumed"** sounds to me like a **recipe for disaster in** any kind of **consulting** I'm familiar with. So in this particular case, it is a bad role model for the situation that is examined.
* It is not obvious to me that listening in is to be expected as several modes of exam are thinkable, including a mode where the actual call simulation is graded indirectly at best (just as in a written exam text understanding is only indirectly graded).
1. The exam could be formulated in a way that a pre-specified set of important points which you are supposed to extract and write down is compared with your notes, and you get marks for the correctly retrieved information.
Sure, that would leave no possibility to grade whether you guess right or did in fact ask, but the student is not responsible for bad design of the exam, and many exams in fact do not distinguish whether the answer guessed right or concluded right.
2. The grading could be done in two parts: the notes by the professor and the phone call by the "actor".
3. Professor grades your notes and takes also the actor's notes into account.
Again, not so good due to possible chinese whisper losses.
4. As it happened, by the professor listening in.IMHO the actual mode of the exam should be clearly announced in any case. Sure a student may realize the situation is ambiguous beforehand and ask, but I'd say that as less intrusive exam modes are perferctly thinkable (1st option) and deviation should be clearly announced.
I really don't think this is different from announcing that the written exam will be 3 hours and books are allowed.
* There are situations (scientific studies) where the subject being influenced by knowing in which way they are studied can influence the result. I.e. there is a trade-off between transparency to the subject and reliability of the results. For such studies, a review by an ethical committee is anyways needed so the subject can rely on a third party having checked that the procedure is ethical.
In the case of the exam, no such 3rd party check has been done, and without being a psychologist I'expect that the main reasons for changed behaviour in those psychological studies are similar or related to "being examined". In the case of an exam, you know that you are examined. It's hard to argue that not telling you how exactly you are examined will make you act more naturally in this situation.
**I therefore don't see any drawback to being transparent about what, how and by whom the grading is done.**
---
Further thoughts about the situation.
* My cultural background: here, not only recording without everyone's consent but also listening into a phone call is plain illegal, even if the phone call is between two neighbor rooms of the same institute.
If you put the phone into speakerphone mode, it is customary here to announce this to the other side even if there's noone around to listen in.
* I've once met a situation where we weren't told when exactly we wrote the exam. However, we were told in advance:
+ That we'd write the exam without knowing as it would just look like the usual in-class excercises, and
+ that the reason for this was that the teacher had the experience that knowing "this is the exam" made people nervous and caused more mistakes (this was an eving course on touch typing with many attendees not being used to exams any more since they had finished school long ago - but the results were important for their job prospects).
+ I'm sure that had anyone requested to know when they have their exam, they'd have been offered a separate, announced occasion for their exam.
* While I never had a simulated phone call exam, when I had oral exams and if anyone else in addition to the examiner was around, the thing started with a formal introduction of the 3rd party "This is XY, who is going to write the protocol." I also had: "This is XY, who is going to start writing the protocol. At some point I'll take over the protocol and XY is going to ask - this is part of XY's preparation for becoming a professor."
Also, there was never a secret who did the grading: "Please leave the room for a few minutes while *we* decide on your mark. We'll then call you in."
*I'd say this very clear transparency also has the purpose to lower the examinee's nervousness (if possible): it communicates "I am clear and open, I will not spring surprises at you, you can trust me."* After all, the purpose of the exam is grade your proficiency with the subject matter, not your grasp on yourself wrt. exam psychology.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: For example say a department has 5 full professors and 5 associate professors right now. Can we say that, assuming all the associate professors are good (and no retirements, institution changes, etc), the department will eventually have 10 full professors?
Or is there a hard limit that will stop the department from promoting everyone? If so, does it mean that it's possible to become an associate professor with no chance of further promotion?<issue_comment>username_1: This will differ to a large extend from country to country. However, in all countries universities have budgets and professors tend to be more expensive than associate professors. You can deal with this limitation in different ways. You could ration the number of associate professors you hire such that you can make them all full professors eventually. You can make staying an associate professor a normal career option (e.g. the Netherlands). Less nice systems exist as well (e.g. Germany).
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: This answer is US centric.
For a lot of reasons, including some legal ones, this would be difficult to do as a matter of policy in the US. The legal reasons have to do with the fact that a person's employment advancement should depend on their own actions. It isn't a matter of criminal law, of course, but lawsuits can arise from someone being limited by such a policy. But it would also depend on the procedures used in the promotion process. (I'll say more below about this.)
Moreover, a university would find such a policy to be "unfortunate". Holding back your best associate professors is a great way to lose them. So, over time, you would expect that the quality of the faculty would decline. Only (or mostly) those associate professors with little ambition would choose to stay.
And, having everyone at full professor is also undesirable, as it makes it hard to bring in people with new ideas at the low end of the scale. Often those new faculty can revitalize a discipline locally.
But the university has a lot of levers it can pull to avoid such a stratification from happening, even by chance. If a place has "too many" full professors, then it can choose to hire fewer assistant professors and use adjuncts to control costs. It can also increase teaching loads, perhaps using subtle means like increasing class sizes.
Another solution for the too many professor problem is to offer incentives to retire. For example, a department might make an open offer to all full professors with a certain number of years of service (and perhaps an age limit) a full year's salary (or even two) if they retire now. In the US it has to be an open offer, not one made to an individual. So, a full professor over 70 with 20 years as a full professor might be offered such a buy-out.
Another "lever" at the control of administration is just to limit pay increases for everyone. This is fairly normal, in fact. It incentivizes grant writing, also. And it can increase turn-over of the faculty, but again, at the cost of the most desirable people having the most incentive to leave.
But one of the main reasons that this is unlikely to exist, or at least be common, is that the usual procedures for promotion to full professor are managed by the faculty itself, not by the administration. It isn't normally just a decision made by a dean that gets you promoted. It is on the recommendation of your peers. For promotion from assistant professor to associate it happens that the dean can veto a positive decision of the faculty for financial reasons (We'd like to keep you and you are great. We just can't afford it.). But I would find this sort of thing happening for promotion to full to be so rare as to be invisible. Hence, lawsuits.
But an additional lever comes in to play. If a university is truly in dire straits, they can disband an entire department leaving all faculty without contracts unless another department is willing to take them. This happens and is one of the ways tenured faculty might lose a job legally.
But, also note that once a person becomes an associate professor, the clock starts ticking for the administration to assure that in a few years, say ten or so, that the person will be due for promotion. So, they have adequate notice to assure that decisions are properly made so that it won't be a financial issue when it arises.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm an engineer from the US at a large tech company who had to cease their undergraduate studies due to family complications. Previously, I was an assistant in a CS research lab during college, and in industry I've been able to work on engineering problems within the same CS sub-field for the past 4 years. I was a co-author on a published paper while working with the research group, though the professor I worked under has since retired.
Increasingly frequently, I have been reading papers, emailing authors, and desiring research related work again.
If I want to work towards a research career again in this sub-field, and don't want to complete a bachelors degree, what would be the easiest or most realistic path forward - entering a research role at big company without a graduate degree, or beginning a graduate degree without a bachelors? What are possible long term drawbacks of each path?<issue_comment>username_1: I don't think there is a good yes/no answer to this unfortunately, and by that I mean different companies and university have vastly different rules/traditions/standards as to how they hire/admit people to programs.
I would say the easier of the two would be entering a research role at a company with just a bachelors degree. The reason I say that is because what is more important (in my experience) at corporations is relevant work history/experience.
I would note that in my experience companies can be very wary about hiring people without at least a bachelors degree because they can be seen as a liability.
I have never heard of a CS department admitting someone to a research role without a bachelors degree. I would guess that this is because it is rare having someone want to research without a bachelors and on top of that it is already rare to award graduate degrees to people who don't already have a bachelors. Like I said in the beginning though, you may find a program willing to accept you.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: Having a BS/BA is not your issue, actually. Even in industry, great research organizations are staffed with PhDs and equivalent. What you want, if you feel the need to leave your present employ, is a doctorate. That will make you desirable. But you may have worked your way into a comfortable niche and it may continue to work for you without further action.
But if you want to gain the ability to move about freely in the world of research, either in academia or elsewhere, then you need to find a way to get a doctorate. I would suggest that you try to do this without going back and starting with a Bachelors, especially in the US. You probably already know whatever it is that a bachelors will teach you. This is especially true of knowledge required to do a job, but may be missing some theoretical parts of CS. The missing pieces may be more or less important depending on which sub-field you wish to focus on.
My suggestion is that you go and visit a few places, after making some appointments. You want to talk to a few faculty members. You want to explore your options with them. They can tell you what you need to know to start out with a combined MS/PhD degree program. You can tell them what you already have skills with. Perhaps they match up well.
Such a program in the US normally starts out with quite a lot of advanced coursework. It assumes the knowledge of a bachelors, but not much else. If you can handle that coursework then there is no issue about your suitability. The coursework leads to comprehensive (qualifying) exams. If you can pass those, you are considered ready to do research.
Any program that would accept you would be one that is fairly large, but not so large as to be required to fall back on rigid rules of entry.
You might also be able to convince some place to accept you through a small number of exams. Perhaps oral exams in which someone explores your knowledge. This could also give you a way to learn what actual holes in your education are required to be filled to be accepted into a full doctoral program.
But I think that completing a BS/BA is not necessary and would be the longest path to getting the needed credentials as a researcher. You would find much of it boring.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: In industry, with your background it sounds like you are just as well-positioned to succeed as someone with a bachelor’s degree. But if your hope is to get a “research role at big company”, that sounds very unlikely whether or not you have a degree, because industry has very few (almost none in fact) true “research roles”. They might have roles that involve one or another thing they call “research”, but since you mention wanting to work towards a “research career”, I don’t think what they usually mean by “research” is what you’re thinking of. (True story: a recruiter once called me up trying to get me interested in a “research” job on Wall Street, and had a hard time understanding why I wouldn’t be interested in switching from a “research” position in academia to a “research” job in the private sector that pays much more - after all, research is research isn’t it...?)
As for academia, the answer is also probably not what you were hoping to hear. Without a graduate degree, you have zero chance of finding an interesting job in academia that has a significant research component. (In fact you’ll have a hard time getting any job without a bachelor’s degree - academia is kind of conservative/snobbish about degrees.) And without a bachelor’s degree, you’ll have only a very small chance of getting into a graduate program - certainly not large enough to make this a reliable plan for career fulfillment, although if you wanted to try anyway, username_2’s answer has some interesting suggestions for how to go about it.
**TL;DR:** if you want a research career, finish your bachelor’s degree and then go do a PhD like everyone else who wants a research career does. It sounds like you have the talent and abilities, so hopefully you can find a way to make it happen. Good luck!
Upvotes: 0
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2020/02/29
| 608
| 2,738
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<issue_start>username_0: I want to cite a GitHub repository in scientific publications.
The repository that I used is a fork version of the original GitHub repository which is accompanied by a paper.
Both repositories are the same, but the fork has additional code for further calculations and plots.
I cited the paper to refer to the methodology.
But I did not use the original GitHub provided by the paper. Instead, I used the fork.
Should I cite the fork?<issue_comment>username_1: **Cite the most relevant version.**
>
> Could you please let me know if I should cite the fork version? or not?
>
>
>
You used a repository that forks the original to add code for further calculations and plots.\*
Given that you cite the paper's methodology, which appears in the original repository and is unchanged in the fork, I'd suggest using the original repository. That said, it doesn't really matter which you use.
*If the paper is published, then cite the published version, rather than GitHub*.
\* I don't immediately understand why a fork would be needed for additional code. That code could have appeared in the original repository.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: You should cite the original paper and the GitHub fork. You are obligated to cite all sources you used, even if they overlap. Your methods should also state exactly what code you reused.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: *For simplicity,* original code *refers to the software provided by the original repository or paper, and* additional code *refers to what is only provided by the fork.*
A good litmus test is this: Suppose you had written the additional code yourself. Would you mention this, what algorithms you used, etc. in the paper? Or would this code be part of your publication, e.g., to ensure reproducibility. If yes, you should also cite the fork.
For example, if the original code allows you to perform some simulations and the additional code is only about plotting and does not touch the actual simulations (and you checked this to a reasonable extent), do not cite the fork for the same reason that you would not mention or provide any own code or plotting library that does nothing but plot some existing data. There is no reason to assume that the original does not suffice to reproduce your results. If it considerably helped you in preparing your plots, consider acknowledging it.
If, however, the additional code modifies the original code in a way that could affect the results, cite it.
It does not matter whether the code added any functionality you used, but without this citation your work could not be reproducible anymore.
Remember that citing does not only give credit but also shifts blame.
Upvotes: 3
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2020/02/29
| 1,250
| 5,314
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<issue_start>username_0: The title is pretty self-explanatory, but let me explain.
The lab I'm at right now is very big. It's around 30-40 people. I'm a master's student that just finished his first semester and am looking to apply for PhD programs this fall/winter so that if all goes as planned I'll start school in the fall of 2021 right after graduation.
The problem is that my advisor is "more like a business person than an advisor," so to speak. He's always attending networking events, meeting people, etc. rather than advising his own students. The few times that he does hold "meetings" with students is when there's something to be discussed regarding a project that brings in the funding. Even in these meetings it's more like a briefing session where the students fill him in on progress rather than him advising us on what to do.
Anyway, long story short I need him to write me a strong letter but I'm not confident he'll be able to. Your advisor is the one who should be the most familiar with your work, but in all honesty my advisor probably doesn't even know what kind of research at least 90% of his students are doing.
I imagine that it would also look a bit strange on the admissions committees' parts if an applicant's advisor's letter lacks quality content.
What should I do in this situation? I have about 6-7 months until applications open.
Edit
----
Allure brought up a great point in a comment and I'll try to fill up some more details on how the lab I'm at usually operates.
The lab is usually busy grabbing government or corporate grants (as I assume most are).
1. The professor pinpoints a few that he wants.
2. The students write up a proposal and bring it to him, which he assesses. Afterwards he meets with whoever to present the proposals.
3. If the grant is approved then we get projects to work on.
4. Teams consisting of PhD students and juniors like myself are assigned to different aspects of the project.
5. The "meetings" that I mentioned are usually the aforementioned teams briefing the professor, with the PhD students usually doing most of the talking. Honestly speaking, juniors like myself usually just sit there and pretend to take notes.
So yes, usually it's PhD students that I'm working close with, and I'm more than certain that a letter of recommendation from "someone who's not even a PhD" aren't acceptable as LoR's.
My anxiety and worry stems from the fact that, as mentioned above, the most detailed and supportive letter should be from one's advisor. However, I have a strong feeling that it's going to turn up to be a generic one like "student X exhibits very strong research potential!"<issue_comment>username_1: First I'd explore the whole situation with the people you work closely with to make sure you know how letters actually work in that lab. They can probably give you advice on what happens. Even better, but harder to arrange, is a chat with a recent graduate.
But, and I'm just guessing here, that the letters in such a place work pretty much like everything else. You ask for a letter. Someone who knows your work (person A) gets asked to actually write the letter or to provide the essential elements of a letter. That is, letters get delegated like all other work. The PI, reviews what A provides may hold a two minute meeting with them. Perhaps all they have to do is ask if everything is OK and then the PI signs the already written letter.
I don't think that is an ideal way to run things, but I'll guess (and only guess) that it happens in such top-down lab organizations. The PI needs assurance that what they sign is accurate and won't reflect badly on themselves, but, and we hope, will also help promote those who do the work.
If it works similarly to that you are fine as long as you are known and respected by the people that you actually work with. But if it is otherwise you need to learn the local rules and processes, whatever they are.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: The best practical approach is to try to make it as easy as possible for your "hands-off" advisor to write the best letter about you. Even if they delegate the task to someone else, it will be helpful for whoever is writing to have all the relevant information about you. I recommend at least preparing the following:
* A summary of your research accomplishments. If you worked in teams, highlight what you personally added.
* A summary of your non-research contributions to the lab. This includes students that you mentored, any responsibilities you took on, other kinds of service to the department or university, and times when you helped others with their research.
* A few of your strengths and a specific example for each.
Whether your recommender uses this information is up to them. Having it can only increase the odds that their letter is more thorough, specific, and helpful to your application.
Finally, having an advisor like yours is obviously not ideal, but it is also far from uncommon. I assume that their mentees in the past have gone on to successfully find jobs, postdoctoral appointments, etc. So maybe your advisor cares more about writing recommendations than you might guess based on their advising style. After all, an advisor does have some interest in the success of their students as well.
Upvotes: 3
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2020/02/29
| 354
| 1,100
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<issue_start>username_0: I want to report a ratio in my thesis. The ratio is 16:84, but I also want tot report which number represents which class. Can I report that like this:
>
> The data was not evenly distributed with a ratio of 16:84 (CN:AD).
>
>
>
Or should I put the CN:AD in square brackets? And is it clear if I report it like this?
UPDATE:
Now reported it as:
>
> The data were unevenly distributed with a ratio CN:AD = 16:84.
>
>
>
Thanks for the suggestions!<issue_comment>username_1: I don't think there are really any standards for this kind of thing, but what's wrong with writing?
>
> CN and AD were not evenly distributed (ratio 16 to 84).
>
>
>
Your version would work for me as well, but my proposal feels maybe a tiny bit clearer.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: As pointed out by [username_1](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/144813/20058), there aren't really any standards on this. Another possibly clearer way to report that ratio is:
>
> The data were not evenly distributed with a ratio CN:AD = 16:84.
>
>
>
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
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2020/02/29
| 714
| 2,966
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<issue_start>username_0: From my observations comparing syllabi, grades, and coursework with a few of my peers, their professor's section of the same class has a significantly lighter work-load, more lenient grading policy, and a higher overall class-average (we're talking a letter-grade higher).
Do I have a case for a legitimate grievance?<issue_comment>username_1: I'm certain your university has some sort of student affairs or advising. That's who you should talk to.
I teach a class that has another section taught by another professor, and we've worked hard to align the workload and grading. We did so initially at the behest of the department and our own student advising dean. Both of us found the request perfectly fair.
A few points to consider though:
* Are the classes really identical? It sounds like they are from what you wrote, but be sure.
* Has this been a long-time situation? If it has been, it's possible the department is well aware of the issue and has been unable to bring about change. In that case there's no harm in adding your voice to it, but temper your expectations.
* Is one of the instructors a new professor/post doc/grad student? It's possible they're new to this and aren't aware that the difference is a problem.
* If you're unable to get anything changed it may just be something you have to accept (or change sections) - tenured faculty often get a lot of leeway in how they handle their classes.
Regardless, if you're going to do anything, don't confront the professors until you've spoken with student affairs or advising. This isn't something you should be putting your own reputation on the line for, and certainly not with anything like a formal grievance.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: It is hard to say and depends on the culture of your institution. But I think it more likely that you would do worse by making any formal complaint than otherwise. You might even be laughed out of the department head's office for making a complaint. But who can say. Professors are pretty independent in such things, though sometimes they do try to coordinate the workload if nothing else.
And what would you hope to accomplish? Toughening up the other section? Getting one of the professors disciplined? Switching in mid stream?
Being loved by some students and professors and hated by others? Lots of possible outcomes here.
And few of us from this distance can say if the "tougher" standards you might be facing are an advantage for you or a disadvantage. If you meet a high standard you learn more.
Being a tough instructor is different from being an incompetent one.
And, a secret. Some professors seem tougher than they are, making adjustments when it comes to final grades if the overall distribution of grades is too low.
I guess my best advice is to grumble to yourself if it helps, but use this as an opportunity to improve your understanding. Especially if this is an important course.
Upvotes: 2
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2020/03/01
| 849
| 3,682
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm an undergraduate who is going to apply for scholarships and to graduate school in physics in the coming months. At the start of last semester in August, I tried to join a group of a respected professor, where I was assigned a theoretical project. I've met with him maybe three times during the few coming weeks, before we mutually agreed that the assigned problem is pretty much a dead end. The professor had no idea for another suitable project, so I decided to join a different group, with which I stayed until very recently, when an analogous issue occured (but in this case I have actually done some work until that happened).
I was debating whether this "project" deserves being mentioned in my resume, at least for the sake of continuity, and so far have received contrary pieces of advice. Currently, that project is listed on my resume as follows:
>
> Worked with […] at […] on a project attempting to reformulate the
> definition of quantum-mechanical work for autonomous Hamiltonians.
>
>
>
I am certainly not going to ask for a letter of recommendation from that professor since there are others who know me much better. I only want to know whether the inclusion of the above description in my resume would have a positive or negative influence on my application.<issue_comment>username_1: I think for an undergraduate student, it is quite valuable to show that they have experience working on a diverse range of problems with different people, even if some of such projects do not lead to anything substantial.
Usually for grad school application and other fellowships there is an essay component. It may also be useful to mention such projects (briefly), and how such experience clarified your research interest/taught you how to do research/provided cross-disciplinary/cultural experience, etc. The exact messaging of course depends on what you think the program is looking for from the applicants.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: There is, or should be, no shame in not completing an undergraduate research project assuming that it was real research, not just an exploration into a relatively known space. Real research = exploring the unknown. Real research results can't be scheduled to meet with academic scheduling. It is, in its very nature, open ended, both in time and in results. This is why, in fact, it is impossible to even give a firm deadline in graduate studies. It also explains why some academics produce few papers with a long interval in between.
So, *yes*, list them. Given the constraints, it is a good thing that you worked on tough problems, rather than a bad thing that you didn't complete them.
And, when you say *failed*, I hope you just meant "didn't complete" rather than received a failing grade. Note that your professor also "failed" in some sense by suggesting a project that had a very uncertain probability of success.
It may well be that this professor would be a good reference, though a face to face conversation would help you know whether such a letter would be supportive. I wouldn't dismiss the possibility out of hand.
As a doctoral student, I worked on three problems in succession. It was a "three bears" situation. The first was *too easy*, and I produced theorems every day. It was fun, but my advisor and I agreed there was no real substance. The second was *too hard* and nothing I could think of (nor my advisor) could but the slightest dent in the shell of it. Again, abandonment was the right path. The third problem was *just right* and I was able to complete the research with good results in about a year or so. But, it wasn't over until it was over.
Upvotes: 1
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2020/03/01
| 1,600
| 6,876
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a master’s student (physics) in the US, and I am applying to this PhD position in Germany. This is what the application website says:
>
> Please apply online and provide a cover letter next to a CV in English, as well as your work certificates in one single pdf-file.
>
>
>
I just want to make sure what “work certificate” means. Is that just transcript/enrollment certificate from my master’s and bachelor’s university?<issue_comment>username_1: German here.
I guess that's just a questionable translation of the standard German phrase *Arbeitszeugnis* (pl.: "*-se*"), *Arbeit*=work and *Zeugnis*=certificate, diploma.
In business, *Arbeitszeugnisse* would mean a collection of diplomae, plus (relevant) testimonials from your former employers, or qualification certificates.
In your case, it'll probably a small collection, maybe just the diploma. That's absolutely fine at this point of your career. But if you already happen to have some experience as a lab/teaching assistant, or have worked in a related industry branch during non-term, providing some evidence might be a bonus.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: As @username_1 said, "work certificate" is the somewhat unlucky attempt to translate the German *Arbeitszeugnis*.
The closest to Arbeitszeugnisse you probably have are letters of recommendation.
So, I'd hand in the letters of recommendation and explain in the cover letter that in the US instead of Arbeitszeugnisse, letters of recommendation are used.
If you get the type of recommendation that is not handed to you but rather sent directly to the university where you apply, put that into the cover letter including of whom they are to expect such letters (maybe email with them how to deal with this situation – it may be that they nevertheless want you to provide that letters of recommendation and you can then show this request to your recommending professor).
I'd expect an academic employer looking into hiring a fresh Master from the US to know that you won't have any Arbeitszeugnisse.
A German applicant with fresh master’s applying for a PhD position will often not have any meaningful Arbeitszeugnisse either: most of them haven’t worked relevant jobs (and even if you have the right to get one, a student typically won’t ask for an Arbeitszeugnis at the pub where they had a student’s waiter job, unless that’s relevant for their field of study) – at this stage, the academic certificates and possibly your master thesis are more important.
---
Arbeitszeugnisse become more important once you have professional experience: when your PhD is 10 years old, the Arbeitszeugnis will tell a prospective employer whether you settled down or are still strongly looking into.
There are differences between US letters of recommendation and the German Arbeitszeugnis, you can read more on [The Workplace](https://workplace.stackexchange.com/search?q=arbeitszeugnis)
* In Germany every employee has the right to get an Arbeitszeugnis whenever they leave an employer (you can also apply for intermediate ones).
* The Arbeitszeugnis has to be true but also positive and there are tons of law suits about them. This has lead to standard phrases with somewhat hidden meaning.
* The Arbeitszeugnis certifies at the very least that you worked for that employer from `$startdate` till `$enddate`, and what your job was.
You can use it as proof of professional experience.
* Usually it also certifies particularly important work techniques that you used, and gives a “grading” at how good you were at your job and in a variety of job-related social skills.
* I gather that US letters of recommendation are sent to the prospective institution without the candidate ever seeing them. The German Arbeitszeugnis (or also letters of recommendation as English language replacement for Arbeitszeugnis) is always handed to the [former] employee, and the employee is expected to check whether they think it is correct and possibly ask for changes.
(I recently got one and the procedure was: PI: “Here’s the draft, please have a look whether you’d like to have any changes.” → some changes → PI: I’ve sent it to `$big_boss` for signature.” → some weeks later received snail-mail on fancy paper with big signatures.)
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: As already mentioned, *work certificate* is a blunt translation of *Arbeitszeugnis* ([reference letter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter_of_recommendation)). It is a standard thing to require for regular employments in Germany. The quoted sentence looks as if some bureaucrat bluntly translated the boilerplate of a regular German job ad into English and lacked the experience to adapt it to an international audience.
What is important for you is that German applications usually come with the pertinent certificates, references, etc. for every major item on your CV.
This will usually be your bachelor’s and master’s transcripts and diplomas (if already available).
This may imply letters of recommendation, if not mentioned otherwise in the job ad; however before you waste time on this, I would just ask them.
If you spent any extended time of your life doing something other than studying and you already have a certificate for this, you might as well include it, but I wouldn’t worry about organising anything before you got an offer (see below).
For example, my applications never included my poster award or the certificate for the year I spent in compulsory military/social service.
If you adhere to the above, I consider it very unlikely that your application will be dismissed for failing to include some certificate.
Your application will probably go straight to the professor or somebody else who can reasonably handle international applicants.
They will not dismiss your application for such a reason, but tell you if they want anything else.
Of course, there are exceptions, but in that case you probably do not want the position anyway.
In general, the main place for certificates is later in the hiring process, when you got offered the position and the administration will prepare your actual contract.
They will then usually tell you specifically what certificates they need, amongst others to calculate your salary.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: In Germany you should get an *Arbeitszeugnis* or letter of recommendation **at the end of every employment** you had. These are what they ask for here.
The *Arbeitszeugnis* would include some basic **employment details** proving you actually worked where you said did and can even include a short **job description**. It would also include an **evaluation** written in a coded language that your future potential employers can decode (not a joke!). This part is most like a letter of recommendation.
In case you have never been employment, you wouldn't have one of these.
Upvotes: 0
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2020/03/01
| 1,573
| 6,560
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm hopefully in the last half a year or so of my Ph.D. in a subfield of mathematics/theoretical physics and am considering applying for a postdoc within the next three months.
My supervisor works (partly) on field X, and I've pursued my Ph.D. in the direction of subfield Y (with the thumbs-up from my supervisor) – however, my supervisor neither has experience in subfield Y nor much familiarity with the type of mathematics involved. Furthermore, my supervisor is the only person working on field X at my institution.
I've therefore been working with zero direction/advice from my supervisor (I like them, I'm not complaining!) – essentially complete research freedom (which I guess is strange for a typical Ph.D. experience). Of course, this has its pros and cons. The cons mainly consist of working in complete isolation (internet aside) without any supervision in the traditional sense, and with no people in area X (let alone Y) to talk to – my own doing, I know it's what I effectively signed up for! This has been slightly daunting at times (given I had zero research experience before the Ph.D.); it's been 99% laissez-faire.
I have managed to attend a few relevant workshops. The discussions there have been great and have often left me feeling positive/excited about research – I guess if I managed to secure a postdoc in an environment with a group of people in field X (even better with some in field Y), I'd get to experience the stimulation/collaboration experiences that I've thus far missed out on.
**The question:** When applying for a postdoc, should I mention any of the above? I'm not sure if having done the Ph.D. in field Y in 'isolation' will be a mark for or against me. If I should mention it, what would be the best way (roughly) to word things?<issue_comment>username_1: Tread carefully to avoid a *doesn't play well with others* impression.
I was in a somewhat similar situation (Ph.D. supervisor in a different area), although I had plenty of contacts in my own area. In my applications, I never explicitly brought this up but did claim that I was rather independent in setting and pursuing my research goals. The evidence I brought up was *here's some single-author paper and here's a bunch of papers coauthored with all sorts of different people*. I left it to the letter from my supervisor to say anything more because he is in a much better position to put this positively.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: I think a careful inspection on your supervisor and your PhD subject/publications will reveal the truth. Therefore, no need to explicitly express it but you can mention it in your application.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: >
> Should I mention that I completed my Ph.D. with no supervision?
>
>
>
Definitely not. "I had no supervision during my PhD." could be interpreted as "Nobody taught me anything during my Ph.D. so I am unqualified." or "I am incapable of giving credit to other people who deserve it." or "I am so obnoxious my supervisor will not interact with me." or "I refuse to work with others." It is likely none of these are true, but the misinterpretation is a possibility.
What should happen is that your supervisor writes a letter of recommendation saying that you have shown a high degree of independence and that you now have more expertise in Y than they do.
Upvotes: 8 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_4: Do you have the experience, the knowledge and the expertise?
Was your thesis published and peer reviewed?
If so, what is the problem?
You need to sell you so think sales and marketing
Be honest in interviews and what you write down but no need to reveal details that do not affect your ability to do the job
I think you should keep it to yourself
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_5: **You shouldn’t say it, because it’s not true.**
Of course, I’m guessing here and this isn’t based on any specific information in your post, but “my supervisor didn’t advise me on the mathematics in my thesis” is not the same as “I received no supervision”.
I am fairly confident that your supervisor taught you many things about X, the philosophy of doing research in math/theoretical physics, career advice, productivity and writing tips, and probably other things. Those workshops you attended - how did you hear about them? How did you obtain funding to attend them? Was your supervisor really so “laissez faire” that they gave you no assistance whatsoever related to anything that you can attribute your success to? (In that case, in what sense were they your “supervisor”? And why do you like them?)
To summarize: I congratulate you on your independence, but this quality is best attested to by others. Be mindful of how things you say about yourself are perceived by others. When you say you received “no supervision”, it sounds like you’re saying you got no help. But everyone gets *some* help along the way, and denying that, or appearing to deny it, makes you sound petty and ungrateful.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_6: The ability to work independently and attain significant accomplishments is noteworthy. Your letters of recommendation should speak to your many qualities. Your published contributions should speak to your research accomplishments and your ability to publish original work.
We are talking a form of a job interview here. And people are hired not just for what they can do, but also for how they fit into an organization. If you are considering a place which values independent work, your story will work well for you. On the other hand, if you are considering a place which operates with a tightly coupled team, there may be reservations.
Understand what the interests and expectations there are, and figure out how you can give them what they want, then sell it with as much evidence as you can extract from your past.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: >
> When applying for a postdoc, should I mention any of the above?
>
>
>
I was in the same boat as you, one leg in one discipline, another one in a completely different one. I had one thesis director but the referees were from both fields. I also had the opportunity to discuss with them in the course of my PhD.
The experience was amazing. I made sure to highlight exactly this: the opportunity to be responsible, engage with people from different fields and end up with a thesis which bridged both. I was very grateful to all of them.
Turn it to your advantage by showing that you had a good time and that you are a team player
Upvotes: 2
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2020/03/01
| 911
| 4,152
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<issue_start>username_0: I am lucky CS senior undergrad who has received offers from a number of good departments in the USA. I am currently going through the usual factors for evaluating departments and supervisors. In the process, I've noticed a common trend in advice: most of the advice that I've gotten has not mentioned looking at where most of the students end up (e.g. quality of the thesis, do they get post-docs, coding jobs, industry research jobs, etc). Most advice (that I have read) emphasizes, not unproductively, the adviser-student relationship and the supervisor's research interests. This observation has led me to several questions:
1. Is it appropriate to ask potential supervisors what most of their students end up doing and why? Is there some other way to talk about this with potential supervisors?
2. How much should this factor into one's decision? Obviously, a lot of what happens to me is up to me and luck, but also obviously my supervisor plays some role in this beyond helping directly with my research.
3. Is there an easy way to figure out this information? Anything better than googling lots of names?
4. Are there more qualitative ways of looking at this question besides just looking at bare results? (Given the relative scarcity of positions over time and the amount of luck involved, I am amenable to the argument that simple stats are useless here.)<issue_comment>username_1: It's perfectly acceptable to ask a supervisor what their former students are doing now, and I think the majority of supervisors would be more than happy to discuss it. They might even give you email addresses of their old students -- I myself have been contacted many times by prospective students of my supervisor and am always happy to answer their questions.
How much you factor the information you gain into your decision is really up to you, and depends a lot on your own motivations for doing a PhD and what you want to get out of it. For example, if you want to go into industry afterwards but a supervisor tells you that all of her former students are still in academia, would that influence you away from studying under her? Or if the majority of a supervisor's students are now in industry, how do you know whether they had to leave academia because they couldn't get a postdoc or because they really wanted an industry job instead?
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: If you are entering a doctoral program in the US direct from a bachelors, this is easier than you think. Your actual doctoral research is still a few years away since the early part of the program will be coursework leading to comprehensive (qualifying) exams. You will have a chance to meet and interact with a number of professors before you need to choose your actual dissertation advisor, though you may have a less formal academic advisor along the way.
So, you will have several chances to sit down in the office of some potential advisor and talk about both research options and where you might wind up if you work hard. They will probably be more willing to discuss other students with you if they can do it anonymously. And they can, themselves, ask former students to contact you so you can explore further.
But, because of the time lag, you will also have the option to discuss various professors with their students, to see how they are getting along. That can be equally important to know before you sign up with someone. Many questions on this site deal with poor advisor relationships.
But this assumes that you are applying to a place with a fairly large faculty and plenty of options. It is a bit harder if you think you need the information just to choose between institutions.
I suspect that most institutions would be willing to provide you with a list of recent graduates and their dissertation titles, though perhaps not with contact information. Privacy and all. But that information and google can get you more information. Many professors list their completed students along with dissertation titles on their own web sites, as I do.
And note that this applies to the US and probably not so much elsewhere.
Upvotes: 0
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2020/03/02
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<issue_start>username_0: I would like your suggestion on a delicate matter involving a paper that I am reviewing. I will avoid giving too many details to preserve anonymity.
In this article the authors describe an algorithm for the (unmanned) control of a military armed drone. The work has been done completely in a simulator, but the authors show clear pictures of the type of real-world military drone they reproduced, explicitly saying that the real drone can be armed with different type of bombs. The performance of the algorithm is scored based on the number of times the simulated drone autonomously hit the target. The authors never discuss possible ethical concerns of this technology, neither they explicitly say if this technology will be used on real drones to hit human targets with possible involvement of civilians (e.g. in counter-terrorism).
My personal position is against the development of lethal autonomous weapons. Even though I have several years of experience in reviewing papers, this is the very first time I have to deal with such a problem and I am not sure how to move. I think that this kind of ethical problems are common in medical-related fields, but rather uncommon in engineering, and that they are catching our community off guard.
Note that, from a formal point of view the situation is fuzzy. Even though there has been an [international petition](https://futureoflife.org/open-letter-autonomous-weapons) against the development of autonomous weapons, the formalization in an international ban (like the one for [chemical weapons](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_Weapons_Convention)) seems to be far away. Moreover, the ethical guidelines of the journal just apply to the use of animal in research, and to experiments on human subjects. This let me conclude that from a formal standpoint the paper is legit since it does not break any rule.
I have considered writing to the editor expressing my concerns or pointing out these concerns directly in the review, so that the authors can give an answer to my queries. As last solution I am also considering the option of withdrawing, but I would prefer to set up a dialogue with the authors and the editor since this is more constructive for everybody. However, I think it is also important to consider the hypothesis that my ethical position can bias my review (even though I am trying to be as neutral as possible) and this may be unfair for the evaluation of the technical quality of the proposed method.
**My question is**: how should I proceed in the review process? There are a few options: withdraw for ethical concerns, just review the article, review and express my ethical concerns to the editor (and maybe to the authors).
---
**Update: 5 March 2020**
Thank you everyone for your answers, they really helped me to better understand the situation. I decided to withdraw as reviewer, and I sent an official letter to the editor. In the letter I expressed my ethical concerns without giving any comment on the technical quality of the paper. The paper did not break any formal rule, therefore recommending an official rejection would have been like imposing my personal ethics over the review process. In the letter I have also reported those sentences that clearly framed the drone like an autonomous lethal weapon.
The assistant editor wrote me saying that the editor liked my academic attitude and wanted me for a second review. The editorial team has contacted the authors, who said they did not wanted to create a misunderstanding and that they are willing to modify the expressions. This seems to imply that they have forwarded to the authors the list of sentences I confidentially reported to the editor, and that the authors want to adjust those sentences in the revised version.
My personal opinion is that just rephrasing the paper without changing the substance would not be enough. You can substitute "target" with "goal" and "attack" with "reach" but that remains an autonomous armed drone.<issue_comment>username_1: I suggest you withdraw and send a formal letter to the editor expressing your concerns. Cite a larger moral universe than the narrow one covered by the journal's policies. Suggest that the research itself is unethical and recommend, without detailed review, that the paper be rejected.
I've been in a similar but less fraught case. I was shepherd of a paper that crossed a less dangerous boundary. I had repeated contact with the authors and tried, over several communications, to convince them that the actions they were proposing were wrong. I failed to convince them. The paper was rejected. I was actually given an award for my efforts to convince them, even though I failed.
My experience suggests that the people who do this sort of thing are not going to be convinced by a dialog of any kind. They are too invested in it to bother to listen.
Don't wait for "the powers that be" to decide this stuff is immoral and leads to a bad end. If people like reviewers at the bottom of the pyramid don't complain about it, this sort of research will continue and will get implemented. There are too many historical exemplars of this to ignore the consequences.
Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_2: The OP is undoubtedly aware that this is a difficult question with some grey areas. It may also be difficult to provide an single objective answer, so I will first highlight some courses of action and then make a personal suggestion.
(1) Reject on grounds of the work being unethical- a reviewer has the moral right to do this. Of course, if there's no supporting legislation or precedent, this can become quite subjective, and the reviewer should be prepared for rebuttal.
(2) Reject on academic grounds- the approach would be to point out that the authors have not done a rigourous job since they haven't dwelt on the possible consequences of such technology, and this is an important part of technology development.
(3) Review the paper on purely academic merits, but in the review, convey explicitly to the editor that this work may have unintended negative consequences, and your review does not consider these.
(4) Scrutinise the journal and see if it publishes articles that are (in the reviewer's opinion) problematic. If so, withdraw from the review AND raise awareness about this journal publicly through media, academic networks and so on. (Write to the journal as well, since that is an expected courtsey.)Without the second action, the first is sterile and almost evading responsibility.
Yes, none of the options are easy, and they involve either inviting backlash or carrying guilt. One must take a decision based on one's fortitude and appetite for criticism. I personally cannot recommend taking the softer way out, so my recommendation would be either (3) or (4) depending on how strongly one feels about the issue.
EDIT:
Following a suggestion in the comments, it may be worth differentiating the background of (3) and (4).
In (3), where one conveys one's apprehensions through a private communication to the editor, the moral burden is placed squarely on the editor/journal. The reviewer has done a purely academic duty and is satisfied with communicating apprehensions privately. There could be some good reasons to adopt this stance- trusting the ethical/moral core of the editor/journal, believing that this grey area should be dealt with within professional confines and not publicly.
In (4), one does not absolve oneself on any moral responsibility, and chooses to tackle ethical concerns personally. This means accepting responsibility not only for backlash, but also for the successful dissemination of the message. It is inherently the more difficult, but more responsible and possibly satisfying approach.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: In the context of reviewing an article for publication, it is not your job to Save The World. Setting up a dialog with the authors would be to place yourself as arbiter of the actions of a group of people. The editor of the journal should, quite rightly, reject such a plan as part of the review of an article. Though it is just possible such a program might be acceptable outside the context of a review of an article, the journal is by no means obligated to follow such a plan.
You basically have two choices. You can withdraw from review. Or you can give an objective review of the paper based on the content and the publication policies of the journal.
If the journal in question routinely publishes such information, and you cannot accept such items as moral or ethical, then you should inform them, immediately, that you should not be considered for reviewing such articles.
The cure for speech you disagree with is more speech. If you think the work in this article should not have been done, then you should publish your work explaining why. There will be outlets for your positions and arguments. If they are sound arguments based on sound reasoning and valid data, then they will be accepted.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: ### tl;dr: Show backbone and reject the paper.
@Applied academic presented four courses of actions in [their answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/144869/7319); I'm referring to those and you could go read that first (but you don't have to).
My recommendation is:
* Start with (4): Check whether the journal is a problematic venue. You might have made a mistake if you've associated yourself with a journal which occasionally legitimizes assassinations and militarized lethal policing using drones, or other similar pursuits.
* If it is a problematic journal, just follow through on (4).
* If the journal rarely, or never, publishes such work: Do (1). That is, reject the paper should be rejected for ethical grounds. The fact that there *are* ethical guidelines and accepted bans means you have enough ground to stand on in claiming that such research should not be condoned legitimized and disseminated via the journal. Try to make your argument both on general principle, and - if you have credible information about the specific research you're reviewing - examples of abuse of drone technology by the authors, their institute, their funders or their government. Unfortunately, such examples abound in our world today.
I'm against options option (2), because complaining about lack of an "ethics section" suggests implicitly that the paper overall is close to being legitimate. I'm also against option (3), because that means you've "passed the buck" - you've done your part in getting that paper published, and you're now hoping the editor has more backbone than you have. It's doubtful they will, after seeing you've gone along with it.
Note: @DanRomik emphasizes in a comment that a reviewer does not actually reject or accept a paper, but rather recommends acceptance or rejection. That's well worth remembering even if we (and this answer) use the terms "reject" or "accept".
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: >
> **TL, DR:** You should just ignore your moral questionings for the purpose of reviewing this paper.
>
>
>
For disclosure: I work in a defense related field.
**In summary:**
1. The questioning you may be proposing is probably much more complex and involves more hard-to-draw-lines than you may be thinking.
2. Any political stance that may be held by the journal would be highly questionable, and also, not up to you to decide on them.
3. It is out of scope to have an ethical discussion on every such technical paper. Even though codes of ethic should be known and adhered to by all professionals in every field.
4. As far as established ethical guidelines on this kind of publication exist, none have been breached according to the present question (as you've pointed yourself).
5. You as a person and human being, have the option to refuse reviewing the paper. But don't expect or bully others into doing the same.
>
> **In detail/ranting mode:**
>
>
>
Despite this being an engineering paper, you kinda should think about the framework of science in general. "Science" and "ethics" are different things, which intersect within "actions". The paper does not claim to kill people for the purpose of testing, it only talks about simulations, hence, due to the lack of actions, the science part is distinct from the ethics part here, so in my book there is absolutely no ethical concern whatsoever that a reviewer should care about while reviewing the paper (other than fake simulated results, dishonest reports and other stuff applicable even to pure mathematics).
I see a lot of technical challenges within the field of autonomous weapons/drones/cars and so on, and those are fields in which people do active work and develop their careers on, for the good and for the bad.
If you are against the development of autonomous weapons, this is a political stance of yours that (IMHO) should not be endorsed by any scientific journal as an entity. You could check if the journal you that requested your review does have some related policy, but I doubt this is the case. Hence, it is not part of your review task to make political assertions about the papers you review.
**Where exactly do you draw the line?** Autonomous killing weapons are off to you, but what about face recognition AI? There are also concerns about unregulated development of AI applications, and even proposed temporary bans on usage of this technology. Do you expect every AI journal cease publishing until further notice? Maybe you'd like all weapon performance related publications to cease as well because weapons in general are bad? I get thousands of results from searching "missile efficiency" on google scholar, all in the first pages talking about engineering with no ethical discussion. Should all those papers have been rejected as well?
**Would it ease your conscience if the "theme" of the paper was a bit more disguised?** Maybe you'd have nothing against a purely mathematical essay on Monte-Carlo methods, but guess what: They trace back to the project of the atomic bomb. Back when I was an undergrad student, I've worked in a project where a simulated drone would take pictures of a target. Oddly, the camera would always break after the first picture was taken. Took me a few minutes to notice it was meant the simulate a bomb. Though it was the only time I've seen this topic be treated with no unaware people being a bit shaken, apparently it was an empathy move on the part of the teacher.
Bluntly, if my (technical/theoretical only) paper was denied due to a reviewer thinking that "this technology should be banned", I'd see this as no different that him/her saying "my religion disagrees with what you are saying". Which did happen in the past, stories tell that Napoleon once questioned Laplace about not dedicating any word to God on one of his treatises. Of course this gets blurred in humanities fields where the contents of a poor publication may translate into explicitly forbidden things like hate speech, fighting words, and so on. There is also a problem in medical/biological sciences where any decent publication needs empirical results (i.e. while I can simulate a drone strike, I can't simulate a poison acting on the human body). But this questioning is not about the scientific merit of the paper.
Also, don't ask the authors to include an ethical discussion on their paper. It's just out of scope, and frankly that's a humanities field of science, not an engineering field. At one hand, I'm completely equipped to write and read the scientific literature about weapon engineering (in the fields I work with), and I did have to take a course on ethics during undergrad school, I am aware and adhere to the codes of ethics applicable to my profession, but I'm a complete noob when it comes to research level ethical/political and legislative sciences. I cannot and should not be demanded to jointly review and discuss the latest literature on the ethics of autonomous weapons and their technical inner workings every time I write about algorithms for weapons. I just do the latter. An exception could be given to adding some standard boilerplate text like "Disclaimer: This paper does not endorse murder". But only only lawyers care about boilerplate text and I'm guessing you are not a lawyer.
Look, I work in a defense related field and know people who work with some products that may eventually (deliberately) kill people. Really, the ethical discussion gets old, you may spend a few days deciding if you are okay with it but once you're done, then discussion is over, just move on and either do the job or refuse it, revisit your values once you feel like it, but not every day (or on every paper for the current example) and don't go around questioning your colleagues about this every chance you get. I'm not minimizing it, companies that develop such products should and generally do have psychologists to support folks who may grow uncomfortable with this situation. And they do ask if the potential employee is okay with working on this kind of product, because this should be given some thought. But these questionings reach conclusions, and insisting on the discussion is just bullying others into adhering to your world view.
While some people have objections about working with weapons (particularly consumer available guns), and do "vote with their feet" by refusing to work in this field, the practicalities of life impose themselves into there existing a very thriving "defense" industry, armed police officers, armed forces and so on. There is just much more votes in favor of weapons existing and being developed than otherwise, like it or not, agree with it or not. And all the more demand for more weapons production and development.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_6: **If it really troubles you, withdraw from reviewing the paper and tell the editor about the ethical concerns.**
If you reject the paper for anything other than academic reasons, you're implicitly imposing your ethics on the authors. Ethical statements that make perfect sense to you might not make sense at all to someone else; the very fact that the authors did the research indicates they don't find autonomous armed drones ethically abhorrent. You could claim that your ethics are "better" than theirs, but that is not certain, and a reasonable person could take the reverse position. If you want nothing to do with the paper for ethical reasons, decline to review it, and let someone who is less troubled by the ethics review it.
That said, you can point out the issue to the journal and make sure they are OK with the ethics. It's possible the journal will agree with you that autonomous armed drones are unethical and will reject the paper without review. If they publish anyway, you can distance yourself from the journal by not reviewing for them and/or publishing with them in the future.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_7: You have a number of viable choices, obviously. My personal bent is that if you choose to recommend turning the paper down based upon the ethics of weaponized drones that you do it, state that opinion in the review, and get off the stage, refraining from reviewing on scientific matters.
This way your objection is noted, you haven't made yourself part of the bad ethical situation, and you give the editor opportunity to follow the recommendation or seek further review.
The other extreme is to recommend turning the paper down, not saying it's because of ethical reasons, and searching for scientific justification for your recommendation. I would personally consider this scientific sabotage, and thus recommend against it.
The middle ground is to state your conviction, but offer a fair scientific review. I believe this is hard to do, and it brings your review into question. I would refrain from doing this.
Personally, if I had this particular moral conviction, I would simply contact the editor and decline to review the paper, stating why.
Defense industries have driven a whole bunch of technology. There are those who further this effort. I can understand refusing to be a part of it, but draw my personal line where it comes to sabotaging the field with disingenuous reviews. There are ways to have your convictions come through well short of this-- turn down the review, write a letter to the editor for publication, work on the leadership of professional organizations to end the policy of publishing such stuff, recommend to your librarian to discontinue subscriptions, etc.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_8: You may be overthinking this. A reviewer does not accept or reject a paper. A reviewer **recommends the editor** to accept or reject a paper.
If you believe the journal should not want to be involved with weapons research, recommend rejection based on moral grounds. If the editor thinks moral grounds should not be considered, or believes weapons research is ethical, they may ignore your recommendation.
The difficult decision here lies with the editors¹, not with the reviewers.
---
¹Coming up with more extreme examples of research that has not directly harmed anyone in the methodology but still has strongly unethical implications is [l](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_law)eft an an exercise to the reader.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_9: **Summary:** ethical concerns come in degrees.
1. Some are sufficiently standardized in the academic (or even general public) world-wide that violating these standards means the paper should be rejected on ethical grounds.
2. Other ethical concerns are more personal in the sense that a reviewer may hold them personally, but they are not so widely agreed upon/standardized the authors should be held responsible to them.
OP should IMHO tolerate that others may have a different point of view for these concerns (2.).
Still, general personal ethical concerns (2.) often include ethical concerns that are widely accepted (1.) but on a narrower scope. These again are on topic for reviewing the paper.
---
I'd suggest to analyse the (un)ethical points a bit further.
I've never had to do with arms research, but in my field animal experiments are relevant, so I'll use them as an example for which I've considered my personal ethics, and for which I have also encountered other people's ethical considerations.
Here's my point of view:
* Is the unethical point something that is *"universally"*\* agreed upon as unethical by academia or even the general public? In other words, is there a current mainstream consensus that says it's unethical, and possibly even standardized formal ethical requirements that are violated? If so, reject on ethical grounds.
Examples would be plagiarism, presenting falsified results or observations or a study design that is considered unethical by the rules ethics committees work on (if there's relevant local variation, I'd judge by the local rules where the authors are).
\* I'm after a level of agreement that is stronger/wider than "my professional friends agree with me" and also stronger than "my local community/society" or "my religion says": e.g. my country has stricter laws (which I take as surrogate to ethical agreements) on experiments on humans than some other countries. But these differences do *not* mean that that other society thinks causing harm to humans is ethically fine, the differences result from nuances in where exactly the line is drawn, how much suffering a particular procedure is judged to cause, how much suffering is thought bearable and how much suffering is considered worth while. So there may be some cases where the judgment differs, but on many cases, the ethical judgment will agree. And that is what I'm after here:
a "current mainstream consensus" (thanks @ObscureOwl) across continents, countries, religions, ....
(I don't think one can claim that every single person agrees on any given ethical point - but asking for such an absolute agreement is pointless for the practical purpose here since it could not be used to determine whether someone's acts are unethical: as soon as they'd disagree, the required agreement could not be reached.)
* But I may have ethical objections that result from *my* (OP's) world-view/philosophy/religion/... and where I'd say while it is perfectly fine to personally object, but here I (OP) have to tolerate that other people have other points of view. Here,
+ a rejection as above is not possible. It would be abuse of power for a reviewer to force their *personal* opinion onto the authors and therefore unethical.
+ I may say "I won't be associated in any way with any such research" and refuse being a reviewer.
Unfortunately, this won't do the least in terms of diminishing the unethical research.
+ Sometimes, digging a bit deeper in *why exactly* you object to this research can help to arrive at a more constructive solution in that I do the review and in a fair and relevant manner make my concerns heard.General personal concerns that are expressed on a more detailed level may translate to ethical concerns that are universally agreed upon (on a narrower scope than the more general concern) or sometimes also to scientifically relevant points.
---
### Example from medical research
I once got a paper for review where more than 100 rodents had been used and killed for research. The paper reported proper ethical approval and proper handling (so so far fulfilled the universally agreed upon ethical requirements). They had studied a whole lot of different conditions.
The many different conditions meant that the supgroups in the experiment had only very few animals. While it may be good at the first glance to not make more animals suffer, it really meant that the whole study was worthless because no reliable conclusions could be drawn. This could have been known in advance.
Thus, we have
* the scientific concerns of a no proper sample size planning, leading to
* the study results being too uncertain to be of any scientific value and this also leads to
* the universally agreed upon ethical concern that *needless* suffering was caused to the animals.
In other words, valid reasons to recommend rejecting the study.
---
### Application to the paper in question
One obvious difference between this example and the automated arms is that the concerns with animal research are about what has been done already whereas I guess your automated arms concerns are more about future real-life consequences.
Considering as a thought experiment that it is acceptable for you to think about more specialized concerns such as that the proposed technology poses a danger to civilians.
While as you say a ban of automated arms is not (yet) universally agreed upon, AFAIK it is universally agreed upon that civilians should not be put into needless or unnecessarily high danger.
Starting form this narrower but universal ethical concern, I do suspect from your description that there may be several related scientific and engineering concerns with the paper. Which are serious because of the ethical concerns behind them.
>
> The performance of the algorithm is scored based on the number of times the simulated drone autonomously hit the target.
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Any such figure of merit can at most be *part* of the verification and validation of the algorithm.
Valdiation must include estimating and reporting the risk to civilians: if we don't know whether the algorithm leads to unnecessary danger to civilians, we cannot possibly consider it being fit for purpose.
Personally, I'd suspect that moreover there is a trade-off here in that hitting more targets may very well come at the price of also hitting more civilians.
If that is possible, a scoring function that does not penalize hitting civilians may well be considered inherently unsuitable even for development purposes.
I frequently find flawed validation procedures in papers with far less dangerous topics. If the topic is not too important, and the experimental effort to perform a proper validation is out of proportion now, I'm often OK if the resulting limitations are honestly discussed.
The manuscript in questions doesn't even seem to fulfill this much weaker requirement:
>
> The authors never discuss possible ethical concerns of this technology,
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(And with such a critical topic I'd tend to insist on proper validation.)
---
>
> neither they explicitly say if this technology will be used on real drones
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... this they may not know.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_10: To me, the answer is quite simple.
The matter at hand is not considered unethical by a clear majority of the scientific community (if it were there would be rules against it). Consequently, whether or not you consider it to be unethical is of little relevance, your views should not impact the ability of the scientific machine to make progress.
So your choices are withdraw **and make no recommendation as to what happens to the paper** or to review the paper on its merits and leave the discussions on ethics to their proper forum which is not the review process.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_11: I would review the paper and point out that the very practical limitations of the work are not clearly stated.
The ultimate goal of this research is clearly to construct an autonomous weapon system which can function on the battlefield. Now, all warfare is subject to law.
This includes the principle of proportionality.
The principle of proportionality allows for collateral damage and civilian casualties as long as such losses are not excessive compared with the direct military advantage resulting from the attack.
It is clear that the authors have not considered the principle of proportionality, because their scoring algorithm does not consider the value of the military target and has no concept of collateral damage or the loss of civilian life. It follows that any autonomous weapons system controlled using their algorithm will have a high potential for violating the laws of war. Therefore, their research has limited practical value and as scholars they are obligated to state such limitations clearly.
If you step aside, then there is no guarantee that these very practical limitations will be mentioned. More importantly, the readers will not be reminded of the laws of war.
There is a good summary of the legal principles of warfare in this [article](https://mca-marines.org/gazette/proportionality-in-the-law-of-war/).
The main focus is on the principle of proportionality.
Upvotes: 2
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2020/03/02
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<issue_start>username_0: Authors and readers can discuss about the writing of authors including ideas, experience design, hypothesis etc., like what people discuss at stackoverflow, rather than authors only get feedbacks until publishing the paper after all work done.
I am wondering if there is any website for researchers **around the world** to discuss about their research. (Thanks for Buffy.)
I know researchgate but it seems not for the purpose.
Thank you.<issue_comment>username_1: In the 20th century newsgroups like, e.g.,
<https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/sci.physics>
were perfect for this, they still exist and you can narrow down the scope and audience of such a group by creating one on your own. Nowadays probably more scientists in such a field post and read on bulletin boards like
<https://www.physicsforums.com/>
or
<https://physics.stackexchange.com>.
But, professional scientists don't have much time for long discussions. I think this is also the reason the Q&A format attracts much more then bulletin boards or formerly newsgroups. Academia is about asking the right questions, if you have the question, you have to work on it based on scientific rigor and methodology. There is not so much to discuss publicly before or during doing this work or writing papers and hypothesis. Science is about coming up with a way to solve or answer a question and comparing/commenting on that. The aftermath, discussions come *afterwards*, when work and answers have been published. So my experience is with disccusion formats you attract in best case undergraduates and early PhD students still learning. Professional scientists mostly have private or public discussions on conferences.
So the best option you might have to discuss with experts on your topics online are virtual conferences where maybe a chat or comment app is attached to each talk. I'm wondering myself how easy and cheap web-technology has become here as I'm now registered for a big conference in my field which will not be canceled with respect to corona virus due to organization cost but many presentations will be shown online after remote registration.
Researchgate I think also can work for this if you have enough followers reading your posted questions. Online, the question is always how do you advertise your post to readers and commenters you are looking for.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: >
> Authors and readers can discuss about the writing of authors including ideas, experience design, hypothesis etc.,
>
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Consider also participating to face to face meetings and research seminars.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
### (Since you are located near Paris, France and seems interested in PHP)
If you are near Paris and interested in information technology, [INRIA](https://www.inria.fr/), [ENS Ulm](https://www.ens.fr), [LIP6](https://www.lip6.fr), [Collège de France](https://www.college-de-france.fr/), [CNRS](http://www.cnrs.fr/), [CEA LIST](http://www-list.cea.fr/) have many research seminars that you can attend freely, and ask questions about your ideas. Also [AFIA](https://afia.asso.fr/). I gave there a [talk](http://refpersys.org/Starynkevitch-CAIA-RefPerSys-2020mar06.pdf) yesterday related to <http://refpersys.org/> at a [seminar in honor of the late Jacques Pitrat](https://afia.asso.fr/journee-hommage-j-pitrat/).
On a more industrial mode near Paris, consider attending [Systematic](https://systematic-paris-region.org) or [CapDigital](https://www.capdigital.com/) or [Syntec](https://syntec-numerique.fr/) meetings.
Or many [meetups](https://www.meetup.com/).
Most French universities and [Grandes Écoles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandes_%C3%A9coles) (e.g. [Telecom Paris](https://www.telecom-paris.fr/) but also [EPITA](https://www.epita.fr/) or [Centrale](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrale_Graduate_School)) organize regular research seminars that anyone can attend. You may need to subscribe to mailing lists or perhaps pay a small fee (a few dozens of euros) to attend them.
Use google to find seminar close to your research interests.
The [LIP6 computer science](http://documentation.sorbonne-universites.fr/bibliotheques/sciences-ingenierie/bibliotheque-mir-mathematiques-informatique-recherche.html) university research library is helpful too. You'll find names of computer scientists easily there.
>
> I am wondering if there is any 'online' seminar site for researchers around the world? Researchers can discuss about their research.
>
>
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You should consider meeting researchers face to face.
-----------------------------------------------------
In the Paris region there are many of them in information technology (including at [CEA LIST](http://www-list.cea.fr) where I work, or [Université Paris Saclay](https://www.universite-paris-saclay.fr/), [ENS Paris Saclay](https://ens-paris-saclay.fr/en), [Ecole Polytechnique](https://www.polytechnique.edu/), ....). Since face to face communication is giving more bandwidth (non-verbal communication) than most electronic media. See also [séminaire codes sources](https://codesource.hypotheses.org/).
Notice that Google and Facebook have research labs in Paris and they also sometimes organize seminars.
In 2020, research ideas related to software are practically using [open source](https://opensource.org/) or [free software](https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.en.html) proof-of-concept prototypes (read about [TRL](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_readiness_level) and attend [Horizon2020](https://www.horizon2020.gouv.fr/) or [HorizonEurope](https://ec.europa.eu/info/horizon-europe-next-research-and-innovation-framework-programme_en) meetings; you might meet me there). Perhaps organizations like [APRIL](https://www.april.org/) or [AFUL](https://aful.org/) or [IRILL](https://www.irill.org/) might be a good way to meet persons.
computer science research site
------------------------------
Obviously [cs.stackexchange](https://cs.stackexchange.com/) comes to mind
practical advice
----------------
If you are excessively scared to meet people in person (and I am also very shy), consider using the help of [some psychotherapist](https://www.psychologue.net/). My wife happens to be one.
PS. You could also send me an email (in English or French) to `<EMAIL>` mentioning the URL of your question, your actual research interests in computer science, etc...
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: There may be no *exact* answer to your question, but below I list a couple of sites that purport to do what you are referring to:
* **Paperhive**: Paperhive is a co-working hub for researchers and allows one to upload your article and open it up for other researchers to discuss. You may need to upload your article to arXiv or a similar preprint archive to use PaperHive. It definitely seems (from <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvGG_KOCcJc>) that the articles are open to the scientific community to discuss.
* **Morressier**: It seems as though Morressier allows you to upload conference posters and shorter-form findings and reveal it to the global community. I do not know it they allow you to discuss the work.
* **Figshare**: Figshare is a site that allows you to upload shorter form research findings and share it with the research community. I do not know if they allow you to discuss your results.
* **Pubpeer**: Is an online journal club that is really popular in the biological sciences. It seems that you can discuss any published research as well as preprints. It is, therefore, possible to get feedback prior to publishing with a large publisher.
* **Orvium**: Orvium is a startup that aims to radically change the way peer review is done. It seems as though their platform can be used to upload your research and get reviews outside of the traditional publishing cycle.
* **Researchgate**: As you have mentioned, Researchgate has a question board where you can ask anything. It is, therefore, a platform where researchers may discuss their research. Apart from the questions board, I now see that you can formally request feedback on an article from anyone. It, therefore, seems to be an ideal place to get feedback if you can convince people to spend time on your article.
I also suggest listening to Episode 76 of Everything Hertz (<https://everythinghertz.com/>). I recall them discussing Open review.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: Professor replied me this:"To start with the practicalities, do you have funding to support a trip to the UK, or would you need financial support?"<issue_comment>username_1: If you need funding support, just say so. You don't need to go into a lot of detail about why. It is probably more important to make sure that you have convinced them to want you as a student.
"I would find it difficult to travel to UK without financial support."
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: See what you'd need, and say e.g. "I have funding to pay for my stay, but would need for travel expenses", "the fees are paid for by < foo >, so I need..."
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: Professors in the UK rarely have access to funds that they can spend on whatever they like. Most funds already come hypothecated for particular uses and those are rarely for internships - grant funding is generally divided into £x thousand for consumables, £y thousand for equipment, £z thousand for travel and normally one salary for a postdoctoral research assistant for a fixed period (usually 3 years). Consumables money cannot be spent on staff, and staff money cannot be spent on travel (for example).
Might be that there are particular scholarships you can apply for, but that will be something you will need to apply for, and will not be in the Professor's gift to give, although he might know which ones you can apply to.
Upvotes: 1
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<issue_start>username_0: Referee comments for my paper have just arrived: while one makes some circumstantial and useful observations, the other asks me to add a plot:
>
> The paper still does not contain a single plot. I encourage the author to present some of their results in graphical form, which will greatly enhance the impact of this paper.
>
>
>
My paper regards some study of the flux of gravitational waves emitted in binary systems and is full of mathematical formulas.
While there may be a way to add a very cool and colorful plot to my paper, I don’t think it is necessary; it would be complicated to read and so I should add more text to explain how to read it.
I don’t want to add a plot. How should I respond to the referee?<issue_comment>username_1: The paper is yours and it is up to you how you revise it. You aren't required to take every suggestion, but you should, at least, consider every suggestion, including what is behind it.
Whether that makes your paper more or less useful is up to readers, of whom the reviewer is one.
But, perhaps the reviewer is more of a *visual learner* than you are and is making the point that a visual depiction of some data will make it more accessible to a class of users. That might be an advantage.
Respond to the referee with a new version of the paper. Follow the advice, or do not.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: Have you consulted with others? Good data visualization is a skill in and of itself; just because you can't envision a good plot from your data doesn't mean there isn't a good plot to be made.
Remember that while you've been steeped in your paper for a while, and find all of the content intuitive at this point, you still want to make it as easy as possible for a new reader to join you in that understanding. Few things can do that like a good plot.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: >
> While there may be a way to add a very cool and colorful plot to my paper, I don't think it is necessary, it would be complicated to read and so I should add more text to explain how to read it.
>
>
>
It doesn't seem to me that you have really considered the reviewer's request seriously. You seem to think *they should just be able to follow the formulas without any visual*, thus putting the onus on the readers to do the work of understanding your paper. The onus should be, instead, on you to explain your ideas in the clearest way possible -- and this will greatly improve the impact of your work, as the reviewer says.
I find it hard to believe that there isn't anything visual you can add that would be helpful, no charts, figures, or pictoral examples. When I read technical papers, I have found that visuals that go through an example in detail are almost always invaluable for understanding, regardless of the type of research (very applied or very theoretical, etc.) Are you sure that there is nothing you can add?
>
> The paper still does not contain a single plot. I encourage the author to present some of their results in graphical form, which will greatly enhance the impact of this paper.
>
>
>
You seem to have taken some offense that this was not a useful suggestion, but I find it very unlikely that this suggestion is *not* useful.
Upvotes: 7 <issue_comment>username_4: You do not have to do everything a reviewer asks, but you should respond to each point they ask. If you really don't want to do a plot, don't do it and justify it to the reviewer. In these circumstances, if there is something you really don't want to do, I would make sure I address all the other points the reviewer raised, to show that you have carefully considered what they said, even if you disagree with something. (Like additional citations you don't think are relavent but the referee does).
On the other hand a good plot goes a long way to explaing what you are doing, especially in astrophysics. If you make a plot I could then put that plot in my talks (advertising your work for free) if it made sense to what I do. If all you have is equations then I'm not going to put anything about your work in my talks.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: It's your paper and the reviewers only offer suggestions, so you are free to say "I won't do it". If you take this path you should give an explanation of why you're not doing it. Ultimately it's the editor you need to convince that a plot isn't necessary.
That said, I've heard people express sentiments such as:
>
> You can always understand a good paper by reading the abstract and the figures.
>
>
>
Which is also how, I suspect, most people start: check the abstract, check the figures and the captions, and then decide if the paper is worth reading in detail. If your paper has no figures, you could be deterring readers (or giving the impression that it's an extremely technical paper filled with so much jargon that only specialists can understand it).
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: "I do not think it is necessary" - to you or the reader?
Please note that there are many hard-to-read, sometimes obscure, papers out there. Not everyone thinks in terms of formulas, and you can increase your readership considerably by a judiciously chosen diagram.
Ultimately, you have to make the decision: if the plot is hard to create, then maybe it's not worth the extra effort compared to the increased readership. But if it is of limited complexity (e.g. because you anyway have a program computing the dynamics of your system and all you need to generate is the graphics), it could be worth adding.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_7: >
> I don’t want to add a plot. How should I respond to the referee?
>
>
>
First of all, assume that the referee is not an idiot but has at least some very vague idea how graphics could enhance your paper.
They apparently did not tell you, but I consider it acceptable to put this onus on you, so you cannot base your reply just on that.
So, here is what I suggest:
Collect at least three plausible ways to add a graphic to your paper.
The following may help you with this:
* The referee said *plot,* which at least in my world is strictly reserved for visualising data. Do you handle any data and if yes, how could you visualise it?
* The word *plot* could also have been used to refer to graphical representations in general.
Is there any way to do something like this?
For example, can you sketch the general structure of your model, the assumptions going into it, or the relevant forces?
* Did you ever make any sketches, etc. to explain your work to colleagues or yourself on paper, in presentations, or on posters?
* Do you have any colleagues who are familiar with your work and whom you could ask for suggestions?
Once you collected some ideas, try to flesh them out a bit.
Spend at least half an hour for each to sketch a potential graphic.
This should give you enough arguments as to why your graphic would not work or have other problems in your paper.
Write them up in a response to the referee.
Consider including your sketch as demonstration.
Of course, if you have general arguments against some form of graphics, include those as well.
For example, if your paper does not feature any data and you cannot easily produce some, that’s a good argument to exclude any plot in the narrow sense.
It should go without saying that your attempts to create a graphic should be sincere and you should be open to the possibility that your paper can be reasonably enhanced with graphics after all – in fact, I concur with the other answers that this is by far the more likely case.
But, if you can document that you honestly tried and failed, you have a good chance of at least convincing the editor not to enforce the referee’s request.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_8: Other answers have suggested diagrams for communicating what you are doing, which I think is picking up on your comment that the paper is full of equations. I certainly agree with the value of such diagrams and would encourage you to include them if possible - the more people who can understand your paper the better.
However, looking at the specific comment, the reviewer is proposing figures for your "results". Your comment about equations seems focussed on the theory. It seems to me that the reviewer is focussed on whatever data you are presenting, if any. Do you have tables summarising different conditions or other data that could be presented visually? It is much easier for a reader to compare numbers visually rather numerically if there are many comparisons.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_9: If you don't want to add a plot, explain plainly why you do not want to add it. It is your duty as an author to address the reviewer's point completely and accurately. From your wording I also feel that
>
> While there may be a way to add a very cool and colorful plot to my paper, I don’t think it is necessary; it would be complicated to read and so I should add more text to explain how to read it.
>
>
>
confuses the necessity of it with the (avail)ability of doing it.
Talking about necessities and abilities:
* You will need to bring positive arguments as for why **it is not necessary to have** a graphical representation. You can always admit that you don't feel yourself in the position to devise a suitable graphical representation of your own work; that is, a polite acknowledgement of a genuine 'I cannot draw', which should not impair the validity of your work.
Other scholars might attempt that in the future.
* Perhaps you might also develop arguments as to why **it is necessary not to have** a graphical representation. This could be bold and winning, and much cooler than a plot, but here you would probably take an epistemological stand that is worth a publication in itself elsewhere, rather than a skirmish behind the curtains of the peer-reviewing process.
Talking about opportunities:
* Making a plot is sometimes a way to discover errors, or confirming that there are none, or finding special circumstances. I would suggest to give it a try regardless of if you want to publish in this paper. Graphical representations, to be sure, can also hide exceptions. It is a complementary tool. My two cents.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_10: Ultimately is your decision, but maybe an additional perspective I have not seem addressed by others answers may help understanding why the reviewer wants you to add a figure.
First I'd like to point out that in no way I'm judging you nor your research, but i'm only taking an utilitarian approach. Thus I like to remind you that reading a paper is a very time consuming task and people's time is limited. No one can keep up with the speed at which papers are published so potential readers will try to be as efficient as possible, while spending as little time as possible figuring out if the paper will be relevant to them or not. In a less elegant way to put it "No one wants to read your paper, You want people to read it"
You have to put the utmost effort that any potential reader that finds your paper, will read it. You want to capture your reader's as soon as possible. If a reader did not bookmark or download your paper when first found, will probably never read it. Anything you do to (honestly) build up the interest is valid, relevant titles, clear abstract good figures.
Maybe there is no place in your paper for a figure, but if there is, consider it
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_11: The Referee suggests adding a plot simply because the paper does not contain a single plot. The Referee did not suggest that some specific information in the paper could be better presented using a plot. This is not useful feedback for a technical paper. You can respond by saying that you did consider adding a few plots, detailing exactly where in the paper, but that you ended up deciding against doing that, and then explaining why on balance the plot would make the paper worse.
What matters is that you can explain that the content of the paper is what it is for good reasons. So, plots are not included, not because you are too lazy to bother making plots that would likely make the paper a lot better, but rather because it would actually make the paper worse.
Technical papers don't need to look attractive, you don't need to catch the attention of readers using nice-looking figures and plots. It's unfortunate that there is now a trend where people do include figures for the wrong reasons in technical papers. Editors of journals don't act against this because figures add to the publication charges, particularly color figures.
Your audience are researchers who want to read your paper for the technical information contained in it. It's then best that the information is presented in a form that's most appropriate for them. If a plot were useful, then you would likely already have included a plot in your paper. If a potential reader would not have read your paper just because it doesn't contain a plot then obviously that reader is not doing serious research for which he/she needs to read your paper.
The logic of including plots to catch the attention of readers is therefore only appropriate when you're writing for a wider audience of people who are not directly involved in your research topic, for example in a review paper.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_12: Remember the four basic styles of learning.... "reading, watching, listening and doing"
* Words are for Readers. The vast bulk of academics would be strong in reading.
* Pictures/graphs/plots are for those who learn well by Watching. These people like to study maps and identify points of interest.
* Listeners respond well to discussion and lectures
* Doers tend to be hands-on.
Some things can't be effectively taught with words, like welding for example, so a Doing or hands-on learner has an edge here.
WRT the advisor, they're suggesting that your work has a lot of words with less to keep the interest of other styles of learners. Adding something visual will help to break up a potential wall of text and increase the reach and approachability of the work.
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: I want to apply to CS PhD programs this year. Just a litte background: I did my BS and (non thesis) MS in EE/ECE at the same school. During my BS I did two semesters of undergrad research that went fine and gave me valuable experience.
During the second (last) semester of my MS I took on for-credit research with a professor. We got all the forms settled and decided on a project. However, after a certain point (me reading papers to catch up on the work) he stopped responding completely. I sent him emails frequently asking for resources to start my project (required some simulation resources at the least), but he never responded. I also tried to catch him at his office whenever I was free during the semester but completely failed. At the end of the semester I was awarded a B. Should I even address this on my application? Would it look bad to not include this experience at all?
The other weird caveat is that this is the only B throughout both of my degrees, so it is pretty noticeable.<issue_comment>username_1: If I had no further information about what happened and it was me, I'd not mention it on application materials. That is, not try to explain it away. List it as a research experience on a CV, without other explanation. I'm assuming the grade you got is on a transcript. So, it isn't something you are hiding, but just not emphasizing.
If you are asked about it, you can honestly say that you don't understand the grade and that your supervisor stopped replying to your updates. You don't know why that was. Things happen. They aren't your fault. If the experience itself was valuable in setting your thinking then it was a net plus in spite of the mediocre grade. You can say those kinds of things.
But, as I mentioned in a comment, it would be good to also know why it occurred. I think I'd refrain from explaining it in written materials in any case, but you would have some additional background if the issue comes up.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I'm sorry that this happened, your professor was out of line to stop responding to emails when you were signed up for research credit, and to give you a B when this was out of your control.
On the other hand, even with this context, it does not necessarily make you look good. The issue is that people might wonder "why did this professor not want to work with this student?" and might wonder if there was some reason that you were a bad student. Of course, it would not be true, but it would unfortunately be hard to prove that you did everything you could to complete the research.
So I would do as username_1 says and not emphasize it, but have a prepared response / explanation.
Besides this, you seem to have email documentation that the professor started ignoring you, and there is a chance you could escalate this to the department chair. You should not propose that the grade be changed to an A, of course, as you did not do the work, but you could ask to have the grade removed. You could explain the situation and show the emails that were not responded to.
This would have been much more likely to work if you did it right after the grade was assigned or during the semester, so no guarantees, but it could be worth a shot. I think that overall given that you don't have any other B's, removing the B would be helpful.
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: I will be starting as an Assistant Professor this fall (in the US). My official start date is one week before the start of classes. This means I will need to develop the course during the summer, before I have officially started my position. I asked the department if there was compensation for class prep, and they said there was not because it is included in my job requirements.
Q: Is this the standard for new professors in the US?
I think it's a little odd, as I'm currently working a full-time job and developing a course on top of that will take substantial effort. If I were being paid for class prep, I could leave my current position earlier. I'm not suggesting that I should be paid for subsequent course preps, but I have never been asked to put so much effort into a job before officially starting the position.
I don't hold it against the department-- I don't think they have anything to do with this decision. I would just like to know if this is typical or not.<issue_comment>username_1: It's also my understanding that your situation is standard.
Basically, you're expected to know how to teach that class already. Any prep you do before hand amounts to you getting ready to do the job they hired you for, which a normal private sector company doesn't pay you for either.
But really, the explanation doesn't matter so much as the fact that this is widely accepted as normal.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: I doubt you could expect to be paid for anything prior to formally starting your position and there might be rules that forbid it, especially in, say, a State University in the US.
But, if I were the department chair, and I was very happy to have "caught" you as a new professor, I'd try to find some pot of money to give you a few silver pieces to make you happy as a clam as your first experience. I might fail at that, but I'd try.
I hope, at least, that they are working to make your entrance a happy and easy one otherwise. But all funds expended need to be accounted for and if you aren't actually on the payroll it is a hard game.
Some faculty get an initial grant of funds to get things going - mostly research -, but none of that happens until you are on board.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Aside from the practical issue of it being the universal (US, at least) standard to not pay new professors extra for prep time, it’s also logical not to treat this as a “new professor” issue, for the simple reason that the same issue also affects “old” professors. You will be asked many times over your career to teach classes you haven’t taught before. The fact that you’ll need to work a bit harder to prepare materials when that happens is factored into the job expectations, and the compensation for the work is factored into the normal pay structure. Thus, your idea of a special payment for new professors doesn’t make logical sense.
And speaking of things that are factored in, the assumption that you are a person who actually enjoys (or at least takes it in stride) having to delve into a new subject and prepare materials for a new class is factored into the department’s decision when hiring a new faculty member...
Congrats on the job, and good luck with the class! One week sounds like plenty of time to get ready for the first lecture. I’m sure you’ll do fine.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: Payment for something like this is sometimes done; if you negotiate for it when accepting your position. From what I have seen in the US, it is somewhat common to be offered summer support (in terms of salary) without having any teaching responsibilities for some of the months leading up to your first semester, and/or to have a reduced teaching load during your first semesters to account for this. But this is something you need to ask for before you sign your contract.
Once you have agreed to take the position, there is 1. little motivation for the university to offer this to you, and 2. (probably more importantly) much less possibility of there actually being some money available to the college/department to be used for this purpose.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: I've been a professor at three universities (one private university and two state universities), and none offered me summer pay for course preps before the start of my position. For my most recent position, I spent three months developing three new courses while also working another job full-time (which meant working from 8am-11pm every day Monday-Sunday), so I understand why you are asking. But, again, my own experiences tell me this is standard practice. (By the way, I absolutely love teaching. But loving what you do doesn't mean you're not allowed to occasionally get irritated when you're expected to do that thing for a new job for 3 months with no pay.)
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: As a counterpoint to the other answers: yes, you will be paid for that time. But not today. You will be paid when closing in on retirement / job change. During your last semester at the university, you will not be asked to prepare a course for the next year. But you don't expect your salary to drop accordingly at that time to account for that, do you? Your salary is simply differed to that moment if you really want to know what and when you are paid for discrete tasks. In fact, your salary will certainly even be higher when you near retirement than it is today, so you can rejoice in the fact that you are paid extra for that prep time.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_7: **Employees are paid from their contractual start date, employers don't expect work before this date.**
>
> My official start date is one week before the start of classes. This means I will need to develop the course during the summer...I asked the department
> if there was compensation for class prep, and they said there was not
> because it is included in my job requirements.
>
>
>
Your employer doesn't anticipate a need for course development before you start, you needn't work during the summer; the department expects you to prepare your classes once you've started, for which you will be compensated.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_8: Your situation is utterly standard in the US. I’m not going to try to make any arguments for why, you’re probably right that it’s unfair, but it doesn’t matter because it’s how it is.
One thing that is common at top universities is to give new faculty one fewer course in their first year in recognition of the fact that they’re likely to be doing more prep than returning faculty.
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: Let's assume that a journal editor has been allocated a submission, started reviewing it himself, but stopped responding to the managing editor (= you) despite a long time since the authors had sent the submission (a little less than 3 years). The submission is longer than each of the papers accepted during the last 5 years, but historically, even longer papers were accepted. The authors are aware of the length issue, but they are concerned. The editor's Web page gets updated (say, new teaching contents appears), so, she/he is presumably still alive, but simply unresponsive.
The journal has no written, formal deadlines in its guidelines. How long is it acceptable for the managing editor (= you) to wait after the first unanswered message to the editor before replacing the editor? What is typical in the field of computer science?<issue_comment>username_1: I'd start getting concerned with no responses after about two weeks, and very concerned after about one month.
If the editor doesn't answer increasingly-urgent emails asking about the status, then I'd use different ways to contact them. The obvious way is to email their department receptionists. Alternatively, I might also phone the editor, or contact other people in their research group.
Three years is certainly way over the top; if a submission goes three years with no visible signs of being handled I would assume as an author that the journal is dead (and the publisher is being irresponsible, too).
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> How long is it acceptable for the managing editor (= you) to wait after the first unanswered message to the editor before replacing the editor?
>
>
>
If the lack of contact is unexpected and unannounced, then wait three weeks with weekly email reminders.
If it is expected or announced, then negotiate with the authors. The authors might prefer to wait out an editor's absence if the editor has suitable expertise.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm applying for a grant to the National Science Foundation of the United States of America.
The grant is to fund our research in numerical methods for fashion. I want to conduct a survey where I show two images to a human subject. One of the images shows the original dress and the other one shows our simulation. Then, I ask them to grade 1-5 how good they think is the simulation.
I think this is quite harmless stuff for humans (beyond the trauma of our bad taste in fashion), so is this considered experimentation with human subjects for the National Science Foundation of United States of America?<issue_comment>username_1: It sounds like your grant application requires you to indicate if you are doing human subjects research. Yes, you are. You are experimenting on humans as part of your research. The level of risk is irrelevant.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: In almost all circumstances you need IRB approval to carry out the "experiments" that you are contemplating. The reason isn't that taking surveys is, somehow, dangerous, but, rather, that the data you collect might be sensitive. Moreover the subjects of the survey might have privacy concerns and expectations.
So the issue is about the data collected. How will it be maintained? How will it be disseminated? Is it (even potentially) name linked? Etc. The treatment of the data implies some treatment of the subjects.
While there are a few exemptions to IRB approval, the best place to learn if your study falls under exemption is from the IRB itself. It is better to ask and be told that approval isn't needed than to make assumptions.
For your specific situation, the fact that you may be using human models as part of the materials introduces another aspect. An IRB will want to be assured that you have proper releases from everyone.
So, ask.
Since you are concerned about a grant writing process, rather than the experiment itself, it would be wise to run a version of your proposed experiment, not just the questionnaire, past your IRB so that you can assure the NSF that you have your processes in place.
---
The [NSF policy](https://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/human.jsp)
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
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<issue_start>username_0: Let's assume that a journal editor has been allocated a submission, started reviewing it himself, but stopped responding to the managing editor (= you) despite a long time since the authors had sent the submission (a little less than 3 years). The submission is longer than each of the papers accepted during the last 5 years, but historically, even longer papers were accepted. The authors were aware of the length issue, but they were concerned. The editor's Web page got updated (say, new teaching contents appears), so, he/she is presumably still alive, but simply unresponsive.
Let's further assume that you've waited long enough (say, 1 month), tried to give them editor a call, but got no response at all.
Is it the managing editor's (= your) responsibility to replace the editor for the paper? And is it your task to get him/her off the editorial board? What is the typical in the field of computer science?<issue_comment>username_1: It sounds like your grant application requires you to indicate if you are doing human subjects research. Yes, you are. You are experimenting on humans as part of your research. The level of risk is irrelevant.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: In almost all circumstances you need IRB approval to carry out the "experiments" that you are contemplating. The reason isn't that taking surveys is, somehow, dangerous, but, rather, that the data you collect might be sensitive. Moreover the subjects of the survey might have privacy concerns and expectations.
So the issue is about the data collected. How will it be maintained? How will it be disseminated? Is it (even potentially) name linked? Etc. The treatment of the data implies some treatment of the subjects.
While there are a few exemptions to IRB approval, the best place to learn if your study falls under exemption is from the IRB itself. It is better to ask and be told that approval isn't needed than to make assumptions.
For your specific situation, the fact that you may be using human models as part of the materials introduces another aspect. An IRB will want to be assured that you have proper releases from everyone.
So, ask.
Since you are concerned about a grant writing process, rather than the experiment itself, it would be wise to run a version of your proposed experiment, not just the questionnaire, past your IRB so that you can assure the NSF that you have your processes in place.
---
The [NSF policy](https://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/human.jsp)
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
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2020/03/02
| 376
| 1,579
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<issue_start>username_0: I applied to a faculty position at a university (a small state school) near my hometown and I just received an email invitation for a Skype interview later this week. Coincidentally, I am visiting my parents' house this week, which is about a 20 minute drive from the institution offering the interview.
**Would it be weird if I mentioned that I am nearby and/or offered to come in and meet some of the members of the department in person while I'm here?**
I didn't mention anywhere in my application that I grew up nearby nor did I indicate that I have family here. I did all of my studies out-of-state and I'm currently living on the other side of the country. However, I am excited about the opportunity to move back "home"!<issue_comment>username_1: It is worth asking and is probably worth a visit even if they would rather stick to a Skype interview. They may prefer that so as to treat all candidates equally, but if that isn't necessary, they might prefer you to come in person.
It is a good way to get a feel of a place and to meet a few students and several faculty. I don't see any downside in asking.
"I'm actually quite close and could easily arrange a face to face visit. Would that be preferable?"
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Do not offer to come by as it might be interpreted as a request for special or biased treatment. You can mention that you are nearby. It is highly likely that all candidates will be interviewed using the same technology, even if they work on campus, because it is considered fairer.
Upvotes: -1
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2020/03/02
| 576
| 2,596
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<issue_start>username_0: Is it possible for a faculty to take leave for 1 or 2 years to go and learn some new technologies in order to broaden their research area into a more interdisciplinary area?
Imagine you are working on statistical and computational modelling of cellular dynamics, now you want to go and learn experimental technologies in order to generate your data, validate your results, etc and basically turn into a dry lab/ wet lab instead of a totally computational lab. Is it possible to be funded by your university in order to go and do some *self-improvement* which would eventually lead to dramatically better research outputs in the future even though it may cause a hit in your short-term output? Something similar to sabbatical leave but not exactly that, as sabbatical leave policies are not funding your goals during the leave and might even stop you from your regular compensations.
I am especially interested in Canada and the US.<issue_comment>username_1: The most common way I have seen this occur is through *collaboration*.
Rather than starting from scratch learning like a student in another professor's lab, the faculty member would start a collaboration with someone at the same or another institution. As part of this collaboration, it is possible to trade and learn skills from each other.
Especially in the situation you describe, it sounds like you have skills that are directly useful to a potential collaborator who has the wet biology background without the computational side, and such a collaboration could increase rather than decrease your productivity.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: Let me add to the [advice of username_1](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/144909/75368) that such a collaboration may not require a move at all. Lots of things can be done remotely these days.
But on the other hand, it is also possible to take a leave from one place and take a temporary paid position at another so as to make the collaboration more intense. The other position might be "visiting professor" or something with agreed upon duties.
If you can do this in conjunction with a paid sabbatical leave from your home institution then you can actually wind up earning more than you would otherwise.
Lots of things are possible depending on your other obligations (grad students, etc). But the department head and probably the dean need to get involved.
None of that suggests an additional degree, however. Most people don't need such a thing except in some European places where the concept of a higher order doctorate exists.
Upvotes: -1
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2020/03/03
| 3,241
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<issue_start>username_0: I have seen questions about people changing their last names due to marriage but not for trans people. However, for them, it can be much more harmful (and wrong) to always carry their old names forever, although all other kinds of public records can be changed. Moreover, they should not be forced to out themselves every time.
I have asked Elsevier and said it is not possible. What would be some ways to minimize the damage (e.g. search engines, CV, ways to apply more pressure for change etc.)?
I'm not asking for the work to change but if the only author identifier is the name (which is supposed to be immutable but isn't), it doesn't make sense right?
It can only add confusion and be harmful, as I mentioned. By minimizing the damage, I mean either replace it or hide it wherever possible (e.g. something like a second edition).
I understand all the complications with hard copies, citations etc.<issue_comment>username_1: By design, published works cannot (generally) be edited after publication, since doing so would corrupt the record of those works. (There are some [exceptions](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/144926/is-there-a-way-to-edit-author-name-after-publication-for-trans-people-at-least/144986#144986).) New works can be published under an existing or new name. ([Younes](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/144929/22768) explains how to create a relation between an existing name and a new name. I'm unsure whether that's in scope or even desirable, given that some people don't want to create such relations.) Our publishing model will surely evolve in a manner that supports editing of published works, but we're likely stuck with the current model for a couple of decades (assuming new models emerge during the coming decade and widespread adoption follows in the decade after).
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: The published articles/books cannot be edited after publication. Therefore, if a published work contains an error, the only solution is to publish an erratum or even retract it. However, the original publication will still exist. We need to think of a publication as a part of a physical object (i.e. a book) which is distributed all over the world with an ISBN and other identifiers.
In the case of changing the name (for any reason), you can still claim your oldest publications and list them in your CV. What you need to do maybe is contacting famous references indices (e.g. DBLP) to resolve the author ambiguity (please see [DBLP Instructions](https://dblp.org/faq/How+does+dblp+handle+homonyms+and+synonyms)) or you may even change them by yourself in open knowledge bases (e.g. Wikidata). This makes any author identified by a unique identifier (in the corresponding base) instead of his names that are subject to change, encoding issues, synonymy and antonymy.
You can also change your name in Google scholar (check [here](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/77545/how-to-change-author-profile-name-in-google-scholar)).
In conclusion, you may publish with your new name and claim all your publications (under different names) in all platforms and knowledge bases / reference indices.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: In the version control system "git", there is the possibility to "rebase" a history - this corresponds to a rewrite of history. However, it is always warned to use it on private histories and to avoid doing so when a history has been published, because it creates endless confusion.
Same here - do not rewrite history after publication; in the best case it causes confusion, in the worst people will feel gaslighted. Better is you keep your ORCID (I do not know whether you can change your name there) and go from there. Of course, if, as some commenter suggested in a tongue-in-cheek way, you look for ways to disavow your papers, it may make sense to publish the new ones under a different name - then, you would avoid ORCID.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: I know of one theorist who did the following:
* She edited her preprints to use her correct name. In the new preprints she adds a header with the reference to the published version (in the APA style, which is common in her field and also only uses initials of first names).
* Posted them to the relevant preprint service ([PsyArXiv](https://psyarxiv.com/), in her case). PsyArXiv has fields for two DOIs: a "preprint DOI" and a "peer-reviewed publication DOI". The latter points to the older published version.
* She now encourages other researchers to cite her using those preprints and their associated preprint-DOI.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_5: Traditionally, journal publications are archived "as is" and in immutable form. There was no way to change names or, in fact, anything else -- and that was the point of it.
But publishers are understanding that this might be harmful to authors who are in exactly your situation. Some are starting to address this. For example, the Association for Computer Machinery (ACM), one of the largest professional organizations in the US, has convened a task force to address the question, and the recommendations are that authors can request to have their names changed on their publications *after the fact*, including many years later. This would include altering both all of the metadata stored for each paper, but also the PDF of the actual publication.
I don't know where ACM is with actually implementing this step, but I would suspect that it will be possible within a year. I would also assume that all other big publishers will follow soon.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: At the journal PLOS One, we have “republished” papers if someone changes their name as part of a transition. This will replace the name on a paper completely without changing doi or anything else about the paper, and should subsequently also be picked up by indexing services. We have been doing this on a case-by-case basis as a way of reducing any negative implications on careers by this type of name change (arguments we heard were for example issues with citations or credit).
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_7: I am the academic referred to in the following [answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/144933/120121) by username_4:
>
> * She edited her preprints to use her correct name. In the new preprints she adds a header with the reference to the published version (in the APA style, which is common in her field and also only uses initials of first names).
> * Posted them to the relevant preprint service (PsyArXiv, in her case). PsyArXiv has fields for two DOIs: a "preprint DOI" and a "peer-reviewed publication DOI". The latter points to the older published version.
> * She now encourages other researchers to cite her using those preprints and their associated preprint-DOI.
>
>
>
The essence of that answer is correct, the following is an elaboration. The three main points I would make are as follows:
1. **Sometimes the journal will agree.** In most instances, journals will refuse to alter metadata associated with the paper, but this is not universally true, as noted in [<NAME>'s answer](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/144983/120121). Some journals do allow this: answers asserting that it cannot be done such as [this one](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/144927/120121) are factually incorrect.
2. **You can use preprint servers to generate competing metadata**. If journals refuse to change their metadata, you are permitted to release your own via a preprint server (in my case, via PsyArXiv). Journal publication agreements will often (not always) offer you scope to do so and you can ask people to share only the version that uses the correct information. What I did was edit the name on my author-accepted manuscripts and posted those.
3. **ORCID and Google Scholar can help**. I changed my name on both ORCID and google scholar. The latter in particular is useful because the searchability of paper relies heavily on GS in practice, and GS allows you to merge records (e.g., it allows you to merge the preprint version with the journal version and specify which version you consider to be the correct one). Note also that GS indexes personal websites if you post author accepted versions there too (see [this question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/69592/how-does-google-scholar-find-papers-on-personal-websites)) which will also have some effect.
The above answers the question from a technical perspective.
In addition to the technical aspects, there are some social and practical hurdles to consider when doing this. Most transgender people understand the importance and sensitivity of this issue, as it pertains to our personal identity, mental health and in some instances physical safety. Unfortunately, most people will lack this knowledge and you are likely to encounter resistance. With this in mind, I would add the following suggestions based on my own experiences. I suspect you have considered these issues already (in my experience transgender people almost always do!) but on the off chance that you have not...
4. **Discuss with your coauthors**. I spoke with my coauthors about my intentions to check whether they had any concerns. What I found is that most people initially didn't understand why it mattered to me but when I explained to them the importance of the issue everybody was fine. Most of my coauthors offered to help me with recovering source code from old manuscripts etc.
5. **Don't take it all on at once**. I found it distressing to go through the process. I'm old enough to have a lot of papers to edit: there are about 100 papers published under my deadname. Doing the editing brought back a lot of traumatic memories that are psychologically associated with the papers (e.g., one paper is associated with a person who raped me: attempting to edit that one set off flashbacks). This may not be a concern in your case, but many transgender people have trauma histories and those may come into play here.
6. **Be patient**. What I have noticed as that as more papers have accrued under the correct name, various automated "profiles" have started to use my name correctly.
As a final point, not for the original poster directly, but in service of the deeper goal of making this process easier in the future: I found it easier to solve this problem when people took my privacy & safety concerns seriously, and did not treat this subject lightly.
In light of the fact that there are very real concerns that the transgender members of our academic community have expressed about our safety and personal well being in connection to this issue, it is important that we start pushing to improve these systems and place some pressure on journals to change their practices.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_8: In July 2021 a partnership called ["The Name Change Initiative"](https://diversity.lbl.gov/namechange/) to support name changes on past published papers was [announced](https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2021/07/28/transgender-inclusive-name-change-process-for-published-papers/) by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which coordinated the effort. The list of participating publishers and institutions is available [here](https://diversity.lbl.gov/namechange/), and provides links to several specific policies. Participating institutions will directly support their researchers in the name change process, helping with the administrative difficulties and hopefully alleviating the emotional difficulties involved.
The more broadly applicable development since this question was asked is that many journals' policies have shifted (including those of Elsevier). At least the participating publishers now allow for name changes, and authors can often opt for having the change carried out discreetly without having correction notices issued. This is in line with COPE's recommendations outlined in [A vision for a more trans-inclusive publishing world: guest article](https://publicationethics.org/news/vision-more-trans-inclusive-publishing-world):
>
> Any publisher who implements a process for trans authors to change their name should work to minimize the disclosure risk to the requesting scholar. This includes foregoing traditional announcements and notices typically associated with updates, corrections, retractions, and errata, both in metadata structures and on changed documents.
>
>
>
Finally, below is the current (as of May 2023) [list of publishing organizations and services participating in The Name Change Initiative](https://diversity.lbl.gov/namechange/):
>
> * American Chemical Society (ACS)
> * American Institute of Physics (AIP)
> * American Meteorological Society (AMS)
> * American Nuclear Society (ANS)
> * American Physical Society (APS)
> * American Society for Microbiology (ASM)
> * arXiv
> * Canadian Science Publishing
> * Clarivate
> * eLife
> * Elsevier
> * Hindawi
> * ORCID
> * Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS)
> * Public Library of Science (PLOS)
> * Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
> * protocols.io
> * SAGE Publishing
> * Science Journals – American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
> * Scopus
> * Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM)
> * Springer Nature Group
> * Wiley
>
>
>
Upvotes: 3
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2020/03/03
| 2,617
| 11,313
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<issue_start>username_0: **Summary: A co-author on a manuscript under review hasn't really done anything. Should I remove their name (with or without notice), keep their name and tell them it's unfair, or do nothing.**
Some time ago I met someone at a conference who works on similar topics. We had a nice conversation. Months later, this person contacted me about something I had worked on -- they had a few positive comments and some questions about methods. I appreciated the positive comments and answered the questions about methods.
Because I don't have a lot of collaborative papers, and I wanted to have more, I asked this person if they would be interested in collaborating on a paper to submit to a conference I had been planning to submit to anyway. They said yes.
In the following months we exchanged many emails, which were all positive in tone, discussing ideas and approaches. I began to notice that my collaborator would typically respond to my ideas, rather than propose something themselves. I asked my collaborator to send me some data they had, which they did. Eventually the submission deadline was approaching, so I wrote that I would work on a draft, then we could see about combining whatever they had prepared.
A few weeks later, I sent them my draft. They made a few editing suggestions, added a sentence or two, and added two additional references, one of which was to one of their own papers. They were not bad sentences or references, so I sent it off to the conference. The paper was accepted. My co-author said they wouldn't have time to attend to the conference. I wrote that was fine, they could send me some slide contents, if they wanted, and I would show them at the conference. I ended up presenting my own slides at the conference, because my co-author didn't send me anything. I wasn't really bothered by any of this, because I would have done more or less the same thing if I had submitted a single-authored paper to this conference.
After the conference, an organizer announced they were soliciting contributions of extended versions of conference papers for an edited volume with a well-reputed publisher, with a submission deadline six months hence. I forwarded the email to my co-author, with a note that I would not immediately commence work on the extended paper because I was simply too busy with other things. They were pleased at the prospect of submitting to the edited volume and wrote that we should work on it.
About a month after that, my co-author wrote that they had been approached by someone wanting contributions for an edited collection, in a different language, about a topic somewhat related to the one we had been working on. I responded that it sounded fantastic, and if they would write up a plan or a draft, I would try to work on it, but that although I knew that language, I didn't do a lot of academic writing in it. My co-author wrote that it was no problem, we could worry about that later.
So everything seemed to be progressing smoothly. My thinking was that as I had done almost everything for the conference paper, my co-author would take the lead with this manuscript, as a tit-for-tat, and also because they are in mainly writing in that language. So I imagined things to often work in collaborations.
Anyway, a few months later, my co-author wrote me that they had prepared a first draft for the other-language submission. The attached file was simply a translation of the introduction and methods section of our previous conference paper into the other language. I wrote back that I found it unsuitable, because the contribution should be about a different topic. In addition, the text appeared to have been machine-translated using copy-paste to a website.
As a response my co-author wrote that they actually didn't have very much time, so I could take the lead with the manuscript, as first author, and write up a draft. I wrote back that I did not have enough time to do that, nor sufficient expertise writing in their language. They responded that they would forego this submission.
I was disappointed, but didn't think about it too much. A few months later I finally got around to writing up the extended version of the conference paper. My co-author, although they knew of the deadlines, did not contact me about it, and made no contribution. I sent them the submission draft about a week before the deadline, but received no response. I submitted the manuscript with their and my names on it.
A few months later: My co-author wrote to me that the deadline for submission to the other-language edited volume had been extended, and they would have enough time to write something now, if I was still interested, and also, what was the status of the extended paper?. I wrote back very briefly as I had months earlier, that I was interested, and they should write up a draft, and that the extended paper was with the reviewers.
Cue to now: My co-author wrote again, stating once again that they didn't have enough time to work on the other-language contribution, and would signal to the editors that no contribution would be forthcoming.
Meanwhile, the reviews for the extended paper came back to me, and are positive. The changes requested by the reviewers will not require a great deal of time.
So my question is now: Should I
1) Remove my co-author's name on the submitted extended paper, with the justification to the editors (and the co-author) that they contributed nothing, and inform my "co-author"?
2) Remove my co-author's name on the submitted extended paper, with the justification to the editors (and the co-author) that they contributed nothing, and not inform my "co-author"?
3) Keep my co-author's name on the extended paper, but write them explicitly that I find it unfair that I have done everything and they are apparently not willing to reciprocate on other projects?
4) Keep my co-author's name and do nothing?
My feeling is that my "co-author" was hoping that I would write papers and add their name. I am also bothered by the rather ridiculous "draft" that they sent to me which was simply a translation of my own text.
I don't have a lot of experience with collaborations, so any advice is appreciated.<issue_comment>username_1: You absolutely cannot remove your coauthors name as they obviously (by your description) meet criteria for authorship. Also you must give your coauthor the opportunity to review the final version of the manuscript in good time before you submit it. A week is not normally enough time for this, unless the coauthor has agreed beforehand. I would give at least two weeks.
There's no point being confrontational or burning bridges. You can choose whether or not to work with somebody again. And now somebody owes you a favour. So option 4 for me.
If you want further advice you should consult the documents produced by the Committee for Publication Ethics (COPE) <https://publicationethics.org/authorship>. Criteria for authorship vary across fields and disciplines (and sometimes with different journals and institutions), and are always open to interpretation.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: In most fields, there would be a great deal of difference between the *bar for authorship* and the *bar for true equal contribution*. In this situation, from your description, it seems that your co-author probably meets the bar for authorship, but of course not equal contribution. Below are some of your statements that were evidence for this, at least in my interpretation:
>
> In the following months we exchanged many emails, which were all positive in tone, discussing ideas and approaches.
>
>
>
...
>
> I began to notice that my collaborator would typically respond to my ideas....I asked my collaborator to send me some data they had, which they did.
>
>
>
...
>
> A few weeks later, I sent them my draft. They made a few editing suggestions, added a sentence or two, and added two additional references, one of which was to one of their own papers. They were not bad sentences or references, so I sent it off to the conference.
>
>
>
I understand that you are frustrated that they have not contributed *equally*, but in general they have responded to your emails, made an effort to see where this work can be submitted, and been (partially) involved in the original work, although they have been very busy. It might be dishonest to exclude them now at the last minute. Additionally, it might be too late -- you can exclude them from the next follow-up thing you work on, but this was a thread of research that you began together, even if you did not finish it together.
In some cases, I would say that 5% actual contribution can be sufficient for authorship (though this depends on the field and the total number of co-authors). I have even seen at least one academic who lists on their CV their percent of contribution on various papers, and some are listed at 5 or 10 percent.
**So my question to you is: does your co-author meet, say, a 10% bar for contribution, keeping in mind the intellectual ideas, not just the writing and editing work?**
How you proceed will depend on the answer to this question. Let's consider the options you provided:
>
> 1) Remove my co-author's name on the submitted extended paper, with the justification to the editors (and the co-author) that they contributed nothing, and inform my "co-author"?
>
>
> 2) Remove my co-author's name on the submitted extended paper, with the justification to the editors (and the co-author) that they contributed nothing, and not inform my "co-author"?
>
>
>
These two options are terrible, because they treat this decision as yours to make, not in consultation with the co-author. Even if they did not do most of the work, they were a part of the project, and they should be able to have a say in whether they think they contributed enough to merit authorship.
Both options would likely cause a falling out with the co-author, and possibly some kind of minor scandal where (even if you are in the right), some people might believe you unfairly excluded them from co-authorship.
>
> 3) Keep my co-author's name on the extended paper, but write them explicitly that I find it unfair that I have done everything and they are apparently not willing to reciprocate on other projects?
>
>
>
This option is fair. But tread very carefully. Treat it as a question, not a request. Email your co-author and explain your concerns. Ask them if given the concerns, they feel they should still be on the paper. Be very clear that if they feel they did contribute enough to merit authorship, that you will include them. And follow through: actually include them if they feel they should be included.
You are already the first author, so it will be clear you have contributed more. But another way to phrase this request would be to ask if you should list "primary contribution" and "secondary contribution" as footnotes to your names (if this is appropriate in your field). In any case, even with this smaller request, be very careful and diplomatic.
>
> 4) Keep my co-author's name and do nothing?
>
>
>
If the answer to the question about whether the co-author contributed 10% or more is yes, then this would be my preferred option.
Upvotes: 2
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2020/03/03
| 2,520
| 10,929
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<issue_start>username_0: I will have a draft of a new textbook ready for the fall semester. It is an engineering class.
I very much want feedback from the students concerning the quality and usefulness of the material.
What are the best practices for getting this feedback from students? Is it ethical to give a grade (or extra credit at least) based on students' feedback?<issue_comment>username_1: It is ethical to ask students to proofread a textbook. It isn't (generally) ethical to grade students based upon their feedback having proofread (unless their is an agreed-upon educational basis).
Some students will read the draft of your textbook, especially if it is required reading. You can ask students that do read your book to provide feedback and you can offer to include any students that do with an acknowledgement.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> Is it ethical to give a grade (or extra credit) based on student feedback?
>
>
>
I think the key question is, **will reading draft material from your textbook help students towards their understanding of the subject of this class?**
**If yes,** then it honestly sounds like a great exercise to me. Not only does it force the students to actually read some material related to the class (albeit in an unpolished draft form), it also could allow them to "check" their understanding by comparing the draft with the material they are already familiar with. Some suggestions:
* It seems best if they are asked to read material that you have already covered in class and that there are other sources on; that way they are not just completely lost, but they have something to compare to and a way to reliably detect errors.
* If this is part of the grade (extra credit or otherwise), I think it should be mainly based on completion, not on how many errors and typos they find. You could also ask them to write a "summary" of the chapter to check their understanding and thoroughness.
**If no,** then it is unethical. Your job as a teacher is to help the students learn the material, and using them as free labor to proofread your book is inappropriate.
This could be the case, for example, if the book is not exactly on the subject of the material that the class is covering, or if it is in such an unpolished form that it is difficult to get anything out of while still a student, and not an expert on the material.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_3: One textbook we used was created, chapter by chapter with all the examples over several semesters at one university.
The author expressed his thanks to the students in the preface...
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: It is ethically fraught in any case. It can be perceived as a bribe by some. It can be perceived as a requirement by some students that asks them to go beyond learning and demonstrating their learning.
Certainly you can ask students to proof your text books and you can solicit their opinions. I would do the latter anonymously, however. You will get better and more honest replies. You can still give an acknowledgement to the class, if not to individuals.
It is fairly common to pay grad students to do this sort of thing and to ask them to write exercises. But there are no grades involved.
My suggestion is to make it a side transaction, fueled by money, not by grades.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: I have done this in one course (letting students proofread my lecture notes for extra credit) and might be doing it a few more times. A few caveats:
* Keep the stakes low. This should be extra credit that can take an A- to an A, not a source of points that lets students max out their grade without writing exams. There are several ways to do this: You can make each correction worth very little, or you can cap the correction points per student, or you can let correction points peter out (e.g., the n-th correction a student finds is only worth 1/sqrt(n) points or so). I don't know what the best option is. Moreover, there should be a way to get the maximum grade without reporting errors. **Rationale:** There is generally a certain type of student that tends to find a lot of mistakes, while others just don't see them, either subconsciously correcting them in their mind or focusing on the "big picture" and reconstructing the details on their own. All else being equal, error spotting probably correlates positively with scientific success, but all else is not usually equal, so it is not a great measure of ability. Moreover, if you value corrections too highly, students will get too defensive about bad corrections for the sake of grade optimization.
* Make sure you aren't only rewarding the "fastest gun in the west". Let students know they can still get points for correcting slightly outdated versions in reasonable time.
* Prepare a few canned "thanks, but that's not what I'm looking for" responses for students "correcting" what are actually matters of style. In case of doubt, give out points, even if you don't correct.
* Prepare a comfortable way to keep track of what student has received how many points. A specific tag in your mailbox is one option, but there are probably better ones around.
* Including the model solutions in the "bug bounty" (i.e., giving extra credits for mistakes found in them as well) is probably a good motivator to make students read model solutions, which may improve their later homework quality.
* As my lecture notes are open content and closely relevant to the class material, I have never found any conflict of interest in rewarding students for improving them. If the notes were to become a commercial textbook, I'd be a bit more conflicted, although I'd still say it is on the ethical side, if the students get to keep the notes. If the notes were unrelated to the class material, I honestly don't know; as a student I would find such a grading scheme somewhat bewildering.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_6: In grad school I took a class where we test-drove a textbook draft (not the professor's, but a colleague's). We used a tool where the PDF was available online and students could highlight parts of the text and post comments or questions or feedback about it. Everyone could see and respond to each other's comments, including the textbook author and the professor.
I don't remember exactly, but I think students were required to participate by posting regularly on each week's assigned chapter, and constructive feedback was requested, but it was pretty much just a participation/effort grade. Comments didn't have to be feedback or constructive to get full points.
I don't know if this kind of approach would work for you, but I think it was very effective for students and the book's author and I feel there were no ethical issues with this setup.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: I would hand out a draft of the book to the students (or the relevant parts only) and award bonus points towards the final grade for every valuable suggestions that helps to improve the manuscript. I did this several times already and the students appreciated this. Probably relevant: I used the bonus points only for a "pass of fail" grade, so the students could look for improvements to make up for fails in the homework assigments but not to improve a final grade.
To make sure that you only count every suggestions once, you can use a forum to collect them. I do this will all my teaching material for some years and it really helps.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_8: In practice, you will receive great feedback from a very small proportion of the students (and this subset will consist almost entirely of students who will do well on the course regardless). But even the weakest students can and will make perspicuous observations, or point out gaps in your explanations, that will be helpful. And then many students will be hard-pressed to contribute anything.
If any credit at all is traded for feedback, you actually raise the threshold for students who are aware they are not among the top and hence afraid of saying something dumb. The "swots" might go into overdrive, which generally produces lots of great feedback, but you feel you are abusing the time and kindness. The majority who has no substantial thing to contribute might feel compelled to manufacture something.
The "extra" idea does not mitigate against the latter problem, since students will evaluate every bit of possible credit in terms of the relative effort. Any carrot being dangled is far play.
So: my answer based on experience over **several** books and **years** of teaching: do *not* skew or degrade the feedback you could be garnering with any of these extra credit arrangements (quite aside from ethics which has been well addressed in the other answers). Use the book-in-progress as lecture notes, make it very clear that you are aware it is still teeming with mistakes, and that any and all comments are hugely appreciated.
At the end, you will know the main feedback contributors by name. They will come to you for recommendation letters, career advice, and so on. And then you will be able to reward their kindness in kind. Such is not a bribe; the praises you have to sing about such a student are genuine!
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_9: Proof reading is work. Pay them.
It's probably worth checking with your faculty if they have arrangements with any proofreading services for publications since these will already exist. If you want to reward students with work experience in academia then you should request a casual work contract that is managed by your institution's HR department (never engage in a contract by yourself). Though, it is still an iffy question ethically, particularly where this might take work away from professionals.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_10: A long time ago, one of my professors used *lecture notes* that were intended to become a textbook. He offered a bottle of champagne to the student or team who reported the most errors in the manuscript.
This clearly removed the issue of a grades-for-services trade, and still encouraged us to spot *and report* errors. The bottle was good enough to try for, yet cheap enough that it wouldn't bother the tax authorities.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_11: No. We were required to buy a draft release of a new text book, written by the professor. Corrections were handed out on photocopies. The typsetting was bad. The binding was poor. The book was $250 back in 1997.
And we didn't get a 'new' copy with all of the fixes.
Just remembering this event... and we (as students) all made fun of the situation and how ridiculous it was as a requirement for the course.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_12: It's your book. You are the one who should proofread it, not anybody else. You should take sole responsibility for it, but also, you should then receive sole credit for it.
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: I am currently studying undergraduate school in Europe and am toying with idea of applying to a U.S. collage for graduate school.
So I‘ve read a bit online about GPA requirements and there it says that one should have a score of at least 3.0. My current GPA would be way below that and I‘m not a crazy outlier at my school. All of my friends have grades similar to mine.
At the same time I know a few friends in America who all never have grades worse than a B.
So do I just coincidentally know two absolutely non-overlapping groups on either side of the Atlantic is it easier to get good grades in America?<issue_comment>username_1: It is hard to answer this question as the educational systems in the US and the EU are very different at the undergraduate level. A bachelor's degree, say in mathematics, in the US includes many other courses such as writing, history, philosophy, etc. Only about half of the program is mathematics. In the EU the degree is normally much more focused on maths. But for any given course in maths, I'd guess that the level of difficulty is about the same, though this varies widely from place to place.
So, a GPA (overall) in the US means something quite different from one in EU. The GPA in field is a more comparable number.
But, with more focus in the EU, some courses that would be taken in graduate school in the US show up earlier in the EU.
You have to work hard on both sides of the pond to achieve success. Don't expect lower standards in either place.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: I have received my undergrad degree in Eastern Europe, and my GPA was below 3 when I graduated. Of course it was a disadvantage while applying the grad school in the US because the admission offices usually check the GPA of an applicant first, and I was rejected directly. Yes, it was difficult to get accepted but not impossible. Here are some things that helped me:
1. Even though I had lower GPA than my US counterparts, I had a very good lab experience and internships from my undergrad years. I made sure that I highlighted those in my statement of purpose and in emails I sent professors.
2. Speaking of professors, I found and emailed professors whose research area was a good fit for me and told them that I was interested in joining their groups. It particularly helps because the professors can accept you as a grad student even though admission offices not. It happened in my case, and I was accepted for PhD even though I applied for MS.
3. In my country, we had to take 8 courses per semester whereas in US, most students take max 4 courses. It affects the performance, and I made sure to indicate it in my documents and conversations in a positive way.
4. Even though I am not a supporter of GRE, I made sure I get a good score to increase my chances for acceptance as it was required.
5. I also used transcript evaluation services to define my education in US terms. It is common to see GPA increase with those services. But of course it is not a guarantee.
Overall, I recommend being aware of your strengths and advertising them. Good luck on your applications.
Upvotes: 2 [selected_answer]
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm applying to two courses viz - Mathematical Physics MSc and Theoretical Physics MSc at the University of Edinburgh. I'm currently a final year bachelors student. From what I can gather post a decent amount of research, the two courses differ in the allocation of compulsory math courses. I've attached a description from the course website.
I'd like to know how similar the personal statement can be. Obviously I have included program specific components in the two separate statements, and I have also added different motivations behind applying to both courses. But fundamentally they are similar courses, and the parts of the SOP that involve my background or my interests towards physics/math physics will remain the same. I'm honestly worried that if the same admissions team receives both statements, they may not read whichever statement they read second, because of a similar narrative (introduction atleast, for the lack of better explanation).
Do I have to give an entirely different personal statement now?<issue_comment>username_1: You want the two statements to be unified, so that a person reading both isn't confused. And especially, doesn't think you are playing to the audience rather than being honest. As you suggest, the programs may share faculty, and hence admissions committee members.
But especially, don't say things in one that are inconsistent with things in the other.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: As others have said, write a strong essay that contains some specialization to the program and identify who you want to work with and why. If the beginning of this essay overlaps with another that should be fine, just don't contradict yourself.
How your application is evaluated might depend on how separate the two programs are.
1. One way this might get broken up is that mathematical physics gets a stack of mathematical physics applications and theoretical physics gets a stack of theoretical physics applications. Of the hundred(s) who apply, each side of the program selects their top candidates. The two programs then meet to fight about how spots are allocated. (Maybe everyone acknowledges that mathematical physics happened to receive generally weaker candidates in a particular year, so more spots are allocated to theoretical physics, &c.)
2. Every application is dumped in a giant pool at the beginning.
In the first case, if only one of your applications makes it to the top, you're fine. If two of your applications make it to the top it seems unlikely to me that the program rejects you. In fact, it's good evidence in your favour: twice as many people have independently found you to be a desirable candidate.
In the second case, I'm not sure what happens.
Contacting a program coordinator to get more information is probably a good way of figuring this out.
Upvotes: 0
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<issue_start>username_0: My question is about [this](https://www.quora.com/Which-PhD-programs-in-Germany-would-you-recommend/answer/Carlos-Paul) apparently well-received answer on Quora:
>
> Q: Which PhD programs in Germany would you recommend?
>
>
> A: NONE...The German Ph.D. system is feudal and archaic. At the top is the professor, who, unlike his Anglo Saxon counterparts, can take as many Ph.D. students as he wants. 20 to 30 is very common. They are used to do the grunt work. If you are a foreign student, the professor will do nothing to help you stay on, network, or find a job in Germany....
>
>
> In Germany, [it is very difficult to find an academic job]. In practice, unless your Professor pushes you, and he will only push a bunch of favorites who are German, you won't get a job. Why do you think there are so few foreign faculty in German universities? And surprise! Those who are there have PhDs from the Ivy League...If you take a PhD and then try to move to industry, you need to have a job that requires a PhD, and...it will be an immigration officer who decides that....
>
>
>
Is this really the case? I have known few non-German people with German PhDs and none of them mentioned these issues. I especially find it unlikely that anyone can have 20–30 PhD students worth of grunt work in fields like mathematics. Many of the other issues also seem to be present in other countries. On the other hand, there is also [this](https://theprofessorisin.com/2013/02/11/if-youre-considering-graduate-school-in-germany/) article, which largely agrees.
To narrow the question, let's ask specifically about foreign graduate students in mathematics who seek academic careers.<issue_comment>username_1: >
> NONE. Don t do this mistake. The German Ph.D. system is feudal and archaic. At the top is the professor, who, unlike his Anglo Saxon counterparts, can take as many Ph.D. students as he wants. 20 to 30 is very common. They are used to do the grunt work. If you are a foreign student, the professor will do nothing to help you stay on, network, or find a job in Germany. Of course, they are happy to see you leave for your own country to do technology transfer!
>
>
>
There clearly exist some poorly managed research groups in Germany, but also some remarkably well-managed ones. The onus is on the applicant to make the necessary research. Relevant questions are: How many PhD students does the professor currently have? How many PhD students has the professor recently graduated? In the case of a big group, is there a sufficient number of post-docs that may support the professor with the hands-on aspects of supervision? (None of these questions is specific for Germany.)
>
> If you cannot find a job in the 12 years after your PhD you are barred from applying to academic jobs
>
>
>
Effectively true, as far as academic jobs in Germany are concerned. If your goal is to find a permanent academic job, you either need to become a rock star or be prepared to change countries after your PhD. If you're open to the latter option, a PhD from a German university might, if anything, have a mildly positive impact on your chances, due to a better-than-average reputation.
>
> There are so many other elements to this rotten system. DON T EVER DO A PhD in GERMANY ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE A FOREIGN STUDENT. YOU WILL REGRET IT
>
>
>
Clearly, the author is generalizing their own, negative experiences to an unfair extent. I say that as a co-supervisor of two foreign PhD students in Germany who will complete their PhD this year.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_2: I came across this question and I feel obliged to address it. I personally experienced everything that the original quote says. And when I say "everything" - I mean it. This quote pretty much summarizes my entire PhD experience. Similarly to an original poster, I do NOT recommend doing your Ph.D in Germany, if you have any other options. Let me address it point by point:
1. I had no mentor-ship, no support, no input from my "supervisor".
2. The group was very large and not well managed.
3. German students were treated differently than foreigners. There were more tolerance toward them, a blind eye was turned to their behavior.
4. Zero networking opportunities, zero consideration or support for an alternative careers for graduate students.
5. Customarily bad reference letters (or no references at all) for foreigners, esp. those that didn't speak good English.
6. Unrestrained power of German PI.
7. Absolute inability to recognize own mistakes. I was under impression that my PI is a genuinely kind person, simply overly busy or maybe unaware that he hurts people's careers. But when all postdocs and PhD students [repeatedly] complained about multiple issues and all complaines were given no consideration...in your face!!!
8. Again, a lot of subtle discrimination: Germans are treated better than foreigners, women are treated differently than men.
9. It is considered as a Kindness to tell a foreign scholar / grad.student that he better look for a career elsewhere, because he doesn't look/sound German.
10. Industry - the original poster said it all; there is a complicated immigration rules which pretty much ban any hiring of non-EU people.
11. Generally, across the globe you are far better off with a PhD from UK, USA, Canada. It is much easier to switch to alternative careers with degrees from those countries. USA PhDs and English are in demand everywhere, no one cares about German PhD.
12. Worst of all: you have ZERO chances of doing you due diligence. You have no way to understand who your PI is until you are in and it's too late. No one will ever warn you or disclose anything negative. Many places do not have "alumni" pages, so you have no way to contact former group members.
A couple of points more:
1. German academia (faculty) is 90% white and 80% German. There are no Visible minorities and no diversity. Can be proven by simply opening a web-site of any German University or research Institute. Where is diversity? Are these international PhD programs simply supplying cheap labor?
2. Germany is the richest country in EU. Several centuries of academic "freedom" tradition and university history; developed research infrastructure, big universities, major corporations headquartered in Germany, multiple academic societies and research institutes (like <NAME> and Fraunhofer). Why with all these enormous resources the survey shows only average or below average PhD student experiences in Germany? Why with all these unparalleled resources PhD students cannot have the best experiences possible ?
3. Why there are only Germans who "whitewashing" German academia here? Why there are no "international students" with wonderful experiences, who launched their successful careers by doing PhD in Germany? O would really love to hear from them? Any comments from them? This Question has more than 3K views now. Is it a big enough sample size? Where are comments from happy and fulfilled foreigners (Grad students/postdocs) residing in Germany???
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: >
> The German Ph.D. system is feudal and archaic.
>
>
>
Sounds like an opinion. Let's check all points to form an own opinion.
>
> At the top is the professor, who, unlike his Anglo Saxon counterparts,
> can take as many Ph.D. students as he wants.
>
>
>
True. But it's more like "as many PhD students as he can pay".
>
> 20 to 30 is very common.
>
>
>
No. More than 6 is rare in math, more than 10 is extremely rare. About 1 to 4 is more common.
>
> They are used to do the grunt work. If you are a foreign student, the
> professor will do nothing to help you stay on, network, or find a job
> in Germany.
>
>
>
This can be true for any professor in any country as well. I do not see any evidence why German professors are worse than others in this respect on average.
>
> Of course, they are happy to see you leave for your own country to do
> technology transfer!
>
>
>
I have no idea where this conclusion comes from. In Germany the companies often struggle to get good applications and there is no reason for anybody to be happy when a well qualified PhD graduate leaves the country to work somewhere else (except to be happy for that person...).
>
> In Germany, unlike in most other countries, a PhD qualifies you only
> to teach as a docent.
>
>
>
No. A PhD qualifies for a bunch of jobs depending on the discipline. What is probably meant is jobs in academia. See below.
>
> To become a professor you need another degree a Habilitation. After
> that, you need to be called to the chair.
>
>
>
Not anymore. There are more ways to become a professor. There are junior professorships (vaguely similar to assistant professorships), you can become a junior group leader at Max-Planck institute or a bunch of other research institutes, get your own funded research group (DFG and BMBF are just two agencies with funding in this direction) and of course being a productive postdoc (with or without doing a Habilitation) is possible.
>
> If you cannot find a job in the 12 years after your PhD you are barred
> from applying to academic jobs.
>
>
>
No. What is true is that there is a law that says that you can only work on limited time contracts for six years after PhD. But this excludes contracts based on grant money and I've seen more exceptions to this (e.g. for junior professors). Even if you leave university, there is the possibility to return to academia (depending on the discipline) and a professorship at a Fachhochschule even requires work experience in industry.
>
> In practice, unless your Professor pushes you, and he will only push a
> bunch of favorites who are German, you won t get a job.
>
>
>
This is an overgeneralization.
>
> Why do you think there are so few foreign faculty in German
> universities.
>
>
>
There are not a lot foreign professors in Germany. Probably the required teaching in German plays a role? Other than that, foreign applicants are treated equally.
>
> And surprise! Those who are there have PhDs from the Ivy League.
>
>
>
No.
>
> If you are a Masters then look for a job in industry. If you take a
> PhD and then try to move to industry you need to have a job that
> requires a PhD and in practice it will be an immigration officer who
> decides that.
>
>
>
Immigration officers play a role, but I don't know of any PhD graduate who could not get a job that was offered to them because of immigration policy. As noted in the comments, there are simplified rules as of March 2020 which I don't know yet (link in the comments).
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_4: Summary
=======
The quote mostly reflects individual experiences.
In general surveys on satisfaction with supervision and employment of international PhD (and other) students, Germany only scores slightly worse than the international average.
Individual Experiences
======================
The quote in question is a great example for one of the reasons [why we do not allow shopping questions](https://academia.meta.stackexchange.com/q/3657/7734) on this site (quoting myself):
>
> No single person can compare the alternatives in life-changing career decisions (such as choosing a field), because everybody only has one life. At best you could statistically evaluate the experiences of people who made a similar decision a decade ago. However, during such a long period of time there will likely be changes that invalidate the comparison.
>
>
>
Specifically, the quoted text mixes some clearly individual experiences (“If you are a foreign student, the professor will do nothing to help you […].”) with ones that could be based on general facts (“20 to 30 [PhD students per professor] is very common.”). This suggests that the author of the quoted text is just stating their experience as general, while lacking any true means of comparison. And since you can go through the experience of doing your (first¹) PhD only once in your life, no single person can.
In general, doing a PhD is a highly individual experience.
The impact of the individual professor or workgroup is much higher than that of the country or even university (in particular in countries like Germany, where there are no such big quality differences between universities).
Therefore, I suggest to focus on assessing your supervisor when deciding for a PhD.
Predictions
===========
On top, all statistics and experiences you find now are inevitably outdated since they at best apply to people who were in the same situation as you three years ago, but usually it’s rather five to ten years ago.
This particularly applies to pursuing an academic career in Germany after your PhD, it’s hard to predict how the academic job market will look in three to fifteen years, which is the relevant time span for you.
For example, the mentioned twelve-year time limit on fixed-term academic jobs will only apply to you in twelve years².
There are good chances that the law is changed until then.
Statistics
==========
I am using the following sources:
* **BuWiN:** [*Bundesbericht Wissenschaftlicher Nachwuchs*](https://www.buwin.de/) – This is a big-scale general study (it has its own web site) commissioned by the German government.
It doesn’t separately address the experience of international students much, but it serves for some general information.
* **ISB:** *The International Study Experience in Germany. Findings from the International Student Barometer [**2018**](https://www.gate-germany.de/marketingwissenkompakt/the-international-study-experience-in-germany-findings-from-the-the-international-student-barometer.html)* and *[**2016**](https://www.gate-germany.de/marketingwissenkompakt/the-international-study-experience-in-germany-findings-from-the-international-student-barometer-201-1.html?backUrl=%252Fartikel-studien-publikationen%252Fmarketingwissen-kompakt.html)*
– This aggregates some statistics from the International Student Barometer.
It was published by the [German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Academic_Exchange_Service).
Only some of the data is specific to PhD or post-graduate students.
I am including the 2016 version, because it contains some data not featured in 2018.
* **[Sozialerhebung](http://www.sozialerhebung.de/sozialerhebung/archiv):** [*International Students in Germany 2016*](http://www.sozialerhebung.de/sozialerhebung/archiv/soz_21_ba-report_eng.pdf) – This is a study commissioned by the German [Studentenwerk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studentenwerk), conducted by the [Deutsches Zentrum für Hochschul- und Wissenschaftsforschung](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsches_Zentrum_f%C3%BCr_Hochschul-_und_Wissenschaftsforschung) (German centre for research on academia), and financially supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
Mind that none of these resources contains relevant data specific to mathematics.
However, the quote in the question suggests that the alleged problems are a consequence of the German system, culture, etc. Hence they should affect the general statistics.
Conversely, while it is conceivable that mathematics is the big bad outlier here, I see no indications for this and nobody has suggested so so far.
>
> At the top is the professor, who […], can take as many Ph.D. students as he wants. 20 to 30 is very common.
>
>
>
According to BuWiN (Abb. B47 on page 150), the average number of PhD students per professor in mathematics and physical sciences is 6 (at a given time, not over the entire career).
Mind that this number is not limited to mathematics, where the average number of PhD students is lower.
Other groups of fields have similar values, with the main outliers being engineering at 11 and veterinary medicine at 9³.
The study also states (p.149) that only 1100 professors (of 46700, Tab. B8) in all fields have 21 or more PhD students.
>
> If you are a foreign student, the professor will do nothing to help you stay on, network, or find a job in Germany.
> […]
> he will only push a bunch of favorites who are German
>
>
>
ISB 2018 (p. 37) asked all students (not only PhDs) “How well has your experience prepared you for your career goals?” (final year only). For Germany, 10% answered “not well”, 26% answered “moderately well”, 41% “well”, and 22% “very well”, whereas the international averages are 8%, 25%, 42% and 25%.
Also, in ISB 2018 (p. 37) 71% of all students (not only PhDs) were “satisfied that their course will help them to get a good job”, 71% were “satisfied with making good contacts for the future”, and 62% were “satisfied with the career advice from academic staff”, whereas the international averages were 72%, 73%, and 60%.
>
> If you take a PhD and then try to move to industry you need to have a job that requires a PhD and in practice it will be an immigration officer who decides that
>
>
>
ISB 2016 (p. 52) included the question “What would make you leave your host country after graduation?”.
For Germany, “Work permit restrictions” ranked at 28% (vs. 25% in the international average), “Visa restrictions” at 35% (vs. 27%), and “Employers are not interested in foreign candidates” at 36% (vs. 35%).
Note that this data is not specific to PhD students.
### Other Satisfaction Scores
In ISB 2016 (Figures 6 and 11), there is data comparing the satisfaction of “postgraduate students” with the international average for certain items:
* “managing research”: 85.9% (Germany) vs. 89.6% (all)
* “topic selection”: 81.0% vs. 86.7%
* “opportunities to research”: 65.1% vs. 71.5%
* “graduate school”: 93.1% vs 94.2%
ISB 2016 (p. 10) also reports: “Of the 1,835 international PhD students who answered this question, 40% stated they would actively encourage others to apply to a German higher education institution.”
ISB 2018 (p. 40) asked “How likely is it that you would recommend this institution to family or a friend?”, grouping the results into three groups (detractors, passives, and promoters).
Germany scored 25%/42%/32%, while the international average was (20%/42%/38%).
In Sozialerhebung (Fig. 6.15, p. 71), 56% of international PhD students answered “yes, absolutely” and 28% answered “yes” as to whether they would recommend Germany as a place to study.
These scores considerably (measured for all students) considerably improved between 2006 and 2016 (Fig. 6.14, p. 70).
To give some comparison, BuWiN (Tab. B29, p.151) cites two studies (from 2011) of satisfaction of all (not only international) doctoral students in Germany, according to which 55%–65% are satisfied with their supervision and 15%–19% are dissatisfied.
Further Remarks
===============
>
> In case you think I am just bitter, here is another link that discusses this
>
>
> [If You’re Considering Graduate School in Germany](https://theprofessorisin.com/2013/02/11/if-youre-considering-graduate-school-in-germany/)
>
>
>
This link is mostly about part-time employment in addition to your PhD, which is not very common in Germany, as your PhD position should give you sufficient money (though, admittedly, this is about Munich, which is notoriously expensive).
Also, taxes in Germany are much higher than in the US because of the social security system (health, pension, etc.); in the US, you would have to pay all these things from your salary (or not have them).
>
> If you cannot find a job in the 12 years after your PhD you are barred from applying to academic jobs.
>
>
>
This is not completely true, as it does not apply to several funding programmes for junior professorships and similar.
It should be noted that it is generally considered an asset (or even a condition) for such programmes to have international experience – for which your experience probably already counts, while people who did their PhD in Germany usually do a postdoc abroad to fulfil exactly this.
---
¹ Doing a second PhD is inevitably a completely different experience since you already know how academia works, etc.
² Technically, it can affect you somewhat earlier, as it also prevents you from entering fixed-term employments that exceed the time limit.
³ This is not about PhDs, but VMDs (doctors of veterinary medicine), which have considerably different requirements in Germany.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_5: As already better answers regarding statistics have been proposed I will comment on the "preference towards Germans" issue that has been mentioned both by the main post and subsequent answers.
I am a foreign in Germany and finished a MSc from an international MSc/PhD program and have contact with many foreign PhD students and **the number one problem** that I see and that is behind this "there are not a lot of international academics, they are all German because they prefer Germans" is that **foreign students come to Germany and expect it be an English speaking country!** If you do not speak German you will feel left out, period.
**In Germany, people speak German, German is spoken in the workplace, and if you expect to be an academic in Germany, it can also be that you have to write grants in German.**
A big bunch if not the majority of the international PhD students that I know have lived up to 5 years in Germany without learning the language beside the basics for buying things in the supermarket and have surrounded themselves with English speaking people.
What results of it? They leave Germany at the end of the PhD and go the US or back to their home countries of course.
The foreign professors that I know, can speak German ( and btw they are not all white, like a previous answer was suggesting).
Conclusion: If you expect to find a job after completing the PhD in Germany, **learn German fluently.**
Upvotes: 3
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2020/03/03
| 1,491
| 6,470
|
<issue_start>username_0: My current computer science postdoc ends in the summer. I'm planning to leave academia after that. For the purpose of this question, because reasons I won't go into, we may assume I will never return to academia.
One of the peculiarities of the field of computer science is that research has not really happened if one doesn't travel to present it in a conference over 4 months after the paper has been submitted.
For all relevant conferences that take place before my contract ends, the paper submission deadlines have already passed. Since I don't know what my next job will be or in what continent I'll be living, I cannot commit to traveling to a conference after my contract ends. (And also even if I could, I would not because no matter what people say, I don't want to endorse such a practice.)
I currently have one ongoing project that I've been working on with my advisor. However, it is uncertain how much time is required to finish it. In addition, there are some ongoing projects in our group that I perhaps could join, but I don't know how much I actually could contribute to those projects.
Anyway, I'd like to spend the remaining work time of my contract doing something that's worth doing, when I'm at work working. It seems that there are no good solutions in my situation. But certainly many CS postdocs have had a similar problem before. Is there a solution to this that I'm missing?<issue_comment>username_1: Perhaps your advisor has one or more students that could benefit from more mentoring than the advisor can supply?
Helping young graduate students learning to do research and write papers would be worth doing in its own right. If you are going on to an industry career mentoring junior programmers would be a valuable skill. It would be a different sort of experience to put on your resume when job hunting, not just more of the same.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Your contract runs out and you want to leave academia but you still want to do something useful for your advisor. That is very honorable and username_1's answer has a good idea for that. But even if you don't do anything that your advisor finds useful, not a lot of bad can come from it (assuming you don't need recommendation letters, but academic letters are rarely needed in industry).
So go job hunting and polish your CV. Do some online courses or study some material that seems useful for your industry career. Slack off for a bit if you feel you need it.
You should set things up for a smooth transition for your advisors group, so make sure the other group members can continue your projects where appropriate. Beyond that it is ok if you don't produce any more ground breaking research in your last few weeks.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_3: >
> One of the peculiarities of the field of computer science is that research has not really happened if one doesn't travel to present it in a conference over 4 months after the paper has been submitted.
>
>
>
This is not true.
What *is* true is that if a researcher writes a paper, publishes it and then immediately afterwards leaves academia without doing anything to promote the work, then unless the research is obviously important/of very high quality, it will likely go unnoticed and will end up having little to no impact on the field. In that sense, it is as if the research “has not really happened”. But the point is that this is (almost) equally true for papers presented at a conference as for papers published in a different format. Conferences are of course important in computer science, but your logic of “there are papers I can write, but the conference deadlines have all passed. Oh well, I guess I’ll go find something else to do with my time” doesn’t add up.
>
> Anyway, I'd like to spend the remaining work time of my contract doing something that's worth doing, when I'm at work working. [...]. Is there a solution to this that I'm missing?
>
>
>
If you have good ideas for research papers, involving research that you are excited about and think have value for the research community, the best thing that you can do is to write those papers and publish them - online, in a journal, or any other venue that it’s practical to publish in. This is the main “work duty” of a research postdoc.
Now, if you don’t have research ideas, or at least *good* ideas that you are excited about and think have value for your research community, then some alternatives to consider are teaching, mentoring, outreach, or developing software that might benefit our supervisor or other researchers. But I also wonder why you are staying on until the summer in the first place. A postdoc who doesn’t want to do research is probably not producing the maximal utility/happiness either for themselves or for their sponsor. The best thing to do may be to find another job as soon as you can and move on to a more fruitful/fulfilling employment situation.
Good luck!
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_4: I've got a few suggestions, some of which have been noted already.
1. **Document your work.** Make it easy for other people to pick up where you left off. This is especially true for coding projects. You also want to make sure that any logistical responsibilities you handled are ready to be handed-off as well.
2. **Assist someone else.** Just because you can't go to a conference doesn't mean no one can. Perhaps there are tasks you can do to strengthen a paper a grad student is working on; there may be something time-intensive or disinteresting to the grad student that could get you authorship. You could also consider mentoring undergraduate students in the work you're doing; if you let them take the lead on the research, they can take the lead when submitting.
3. **Promote your existing work.** Make your code and data open-source (if your advisor allows) and easy to understand. Set up or strengthen the web presence of your work. Reach out to people at your University involved with publicizing the research going on in your lab/department/college/etc. and find out what that process is like. Look for other opportunities to promote your work, like giving talks at a department, that might be specific to your situation.
4. **Just keep researching.** Perhaps not directly applicable to the OP, but others might consider continuing on with research they don't intend to publish for the sake of whoever picks up the project in the future.
Upvotes: 0
|
2020/03/03
| 1,123
| 4,619
|
<issue_start>username_0: I recently graduated from my PhD program. To put things into prespective I need to mention that I, unfortunately, don’t have a good relationship with my adviser. I currently have one under review paper with my adviser. We received the reviewers’ comments for this paper. However, I don’t have time to work on this paper anymore.
Recently, my adviser asked the area editor to extend the deadline. When I asked her to forward this email to me, she insistently refused to forward the email.
Can my advisers publish this work without my consent? Can they remove my name from the paper given the fact that I will not work on this paper anymore? How do I need to communicate this with area editor if at all?<issue_comment>username_1: Let me try to capture the comments in an answer.
If you work on something and your work appears in a paper, then, ethically, you are an author of the paper and no one can, properly, deny that.
If you are an author of a paper, then, ethically, your permission is needed to publish it.
Those are the accepted rules, but they are sometimes broken. I don't know how much you trust your advisor to behave properly. Most will, but some will try to cut corners and a few are unethical. Sometimes that arises from desperation to publish themselves.
I find it odd (disturbing) that the advisor won't let you see the email from an editor. This is a red flag. But asking to extend the deadline isn't problematic in itself. Perhaps the advisor thinks the paper needs more work or is hoping to get your participation.
In many ways it would be better if you don't drop out of the project altogether, but suggest that other commitments require you to spend minimal time on this one. That keeps you connected, at least, but doesn't require a big commitment. Thoughts more than time, perhaps.
But if you truly feel at risk and don't feel you can trust the advisor, then reminding the editor of the facts of the case might be wise. Don't make accusations, but just note to the editor that the work is based on your dissertation and that, properly, you are an author with an interest in the work.
Also, if you are not in academia or have switched fields, then it would also be wise to give permission to publish as long as you remain a co-author and approve of the work generally.
But also note that if the work has been extended, and the main results are no longer yours, then you might not have a claim at first authorship of the result. That may matter only a little or a lot, depending on your current situation.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> Can my advisers publish this work without my consent?
>
>
>
No. But why would you refuse it? Just to harm your supervisor? That seems petty. You have nothing to gain by sabotaging her and throwing away months or years of work for both of you.
If the problem is that you have no time to work on the paper anymore, just write that to her. She might be happy to finish the work herself.
>
> Can they remove my name from the paper given the fact that I will not work on this paper anymore?
>
>
>
No. Assuming your past contribution was substantial, you are rightfully an author.
It would be a major *faux pas* for her to try to get it published without your name. You'd have every right to complain and ask for retraction, and plenty of evidence from your dissertation (if what you write is correct). That sounds like major academic misconduct. Her reputation, and possibly also her job, would be at stake.
>
> How do I need to communicate this with area editor if at all?
>
>
>
What do you wish to communicate exactly? Are you afraid that she is going to remove you from the list of authors? That seems an unreasonable concern to me. (See above.)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: It is usually *quite* difficult to remove a person from the list of authors *after* a manuscript has been submitted. In fact it is not always possible to change the ordering of authors in the author listing.
I would think that any such drastic changes as removing an author when revisions are made would automatically raise flag with the editor and the journal.
Moreover, any submission or re-submission is normally expected to be done with the consent of all the authors.
So: it probably opens very many cans of worms for your supervisor to try to publish without your consent or your name. Ditto for the journal concerned: while it may not be so easy for them to verify the consent, the removal of an author would be clear to them, and would open them to legal action.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
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2020/03/03
| 936
| 4,014
|
<issue_start>username_0: I have read several questions for this topic, and haven't found one which is comprehensive enough for me and has all this factors that are unique to my case. I have won a special grant from an educational fund and now I can do a self-funded research internship in US. I am a third year undergraduate student majoring in Electrical and Computer Engineering. The biggest struggle to date is to find a good lab and professor to work with. The process of looking up labs and researchers is time-consuming, and my emails rarely get responses. If you can kindly describe some strategies that might help me accelerate the process.
By the way, I want to do research in Computer Vision and/or AI and human interaction. If you have any suggestions for labs or professors, who are doing interesting and relevant work in these fields, can you please write them down?
Additionally, I wanted to ask whether it is acceptable to call professor's office and ask to read my emails, if they do not respond. Will it be considered rude?<issue_comment>username_1: Not very organized, but here goes.
Make a list of your specific interests (not just for now, going forward: are you interested in graduate school or work afterwards?). Areas of particular interest? Make a list of potential schools, their strengths (and possible non-matches with your interests, "weaknesses" is just too strong a word). Look which ones most closely match you. Check at their policies with respect to students like you (do they have an office for foreign students, or some equivalent?). Try to contact students/student ombudsman/... for a insider view. Check for alternatives for housing (it can be rather expensive, specially if you need to pay for utilities!). Check the courses offered, see which ones are near your interests. Check what requisites the courses ask for, see if you have them (or can learn them on your own).
In the end, this is a *very* personal decision, it is very little we can offer apart from general drivel like mine.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> I have won a special grant from an educational fund and now I can do a self-funded research internship in US.
>
>
>
This depends a lot on the scientific field you are working in.
In AI and computer science, you certainly could consider contributing to some *existing* [open source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-source_software) project.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I happen to have a PhD in AI (defended in Paris, in 1990) and you might consider contributing to one of the following open source projects:
* [Bismon](https://github.com/bstarynk/bismon), a static source code analyzer, funded by [CHARIOT](https://www.chariotproject.eu/) and [DECODER](https://www.decoder-project.eu/) European projects
* [GCC](http://gcc.gnu.org/), a compiler for C, C++, Ada, Fortran....
* [Frama-C](https://www.frama-c.com/), another static source code analysis framework
* [RefPerSys](http://refpersys.org/), an open source symbolic artificial intelligence framework for Linux
* many [GNU software](https://www.gnu.org/software/) projects are developed by academics mostly.
* [OpenCV](https://opencv.org/) is a computer vision library
And you'll find thousands of other open source projects on [github](https://github.com/) and [gitlab](https://gitlab.com/) or [sourceforge](https://sourceforge.net/)
My personal recommendation is to send emails to professors.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Because they are used to read many emails, and they could either ignore yours, or take a couple of days to answer you. **Making a direct phone call seems rude**, if the person you are calling never met you or did not invite you for a phone meeting by email.
Of course, the organization having given you that special grant should provide both good advice and constraints.
Upvotes: 0
|
2020/03/04
| 817
| 3,424
|
<issue_start>username_0: I did my PhD on topic X, and my PhD advisor is an expert on X and on Y. For a problem I have come across in my postdoc, I think that Y would be a good approach. There is no one I am currently working with that I could ask about Y, so I would like to send my PhD advisor an email asking for literature recommendations on topic Y. Is this customary? What would be the most polite way to ask? What is the best way to go about this?<issue_comment>username_1: Not very organized, but here goes.
Make a list of your specific interests (not just for now, going forward: are you interested in graduate school or work afterwards?). Areas of particular interest? Make a list of potential schools, their strengths (and possible non-matches with your interests, "weaknesses" is just too strong a word). Look which ones most closely match you. Check at their policies with respect to students like you (do they have an office for foreign students, or some equivalent?). Try to contact students/student ombudsman/... for a insider view. Check for alternatives for housing (it can be rather expensive, specially if you need to pay for utilities!). Check the courses offered, see which ones are near your interests. Check what requisites the courses ask for, see if you have them (or can learn them on your own).
In the end, this is a *very* personal decision, it is very little we can offer apart from general drivel like mine.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> I have won a special grant from an educational fund and now I can do a self-funded research internship in US.
>
>
>
This depends a lot on the scientific field you are working in.
In AI and computer science, you certainly could consider contributing to some *existing* [open source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-source_software) project.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I happen to have a PhD in AI (defended in Paris, in 1990) and you might consider contributing to one of the following open source projects:
* [Bismon](https://github.com/bstarynk/bismon), a static source code analyzer, funded by [CHARIOT](https://www.chariotproject.eu/) and [DECODER](https://www.decoder-project.eu/) European projects
* [GCC](http://gcc.gnu.org/), a compiler for C, C++, Ada, Fortran....
* [Frama-C](https://www.frama-c.com/), another static source code analysis framework
* [RefPerSys](http://refpersys.org/), an open source symbolic artificial intelligence framework for Linux
* many [GNU software](https://www.gnu.org/software/) projects are developed by academics mostly.
* [OpenCV](https://opencv.org/) is a computer vision library
And you'll find thousands of other open source projects on [github](https://github.com/) and [gitlab](https://gitlab.com/) or [sourceforge](https://sourceforge.net/)
My personal recommendation is to send emails to professors.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Because they are used to read many emails, and they could either ignore yours, or take a couple of days to answer you. **Making a direct phone call seems rude**, if the person you are calling never met you or did not invite you for a phone meeting by email.
Of course, the organization having given you that special grant should provide both good advice and constraints.
Upvotes: 0
|
2020/03/04
| 1,447
| 5,856
|
<issue_start>username_0: I applied to CS masters programs in the US, and I have recently received an offer from a top-15 institution.
The program is unfunded, and I want to wait for decisions from other programs I applied to, some of which are funded.
However, the institution is telling me that they are only giving me one week to make my decision (I must respond by 3/13) and that I must deposit a non-refundable $5000 by that date in order to secure my admission.
As the school is not giving out a funded offer, they need not abide by the April 15th resolution.
Seems somewhat unethical to me, but in any case, I have some questions:
a) How common is this? For MS programs to force you to deposit huge sums of money within one week of the decision?
b) If I accept this offer, would it somehow notify other schools that I have accepted this offer, and make other schools less likely to give me an offer?
c) Let's say I decide to shell out my 5k -- would it be unethical for me to withdraw at a later date if I get into another school? They're not investing anything into me, and they get free money.
d) If I go the route of c), with whom would I be burning bridges with? Only the admissions folk?<issue_comment>username_1: I do not think the quick monetary outlay is common. You seem to be leaning toward acceptance and then backing out if you get a better offer. This may be possible because, in my experience, there is not a centralized system which lets other schools know you have accepted (although perhaps that could be different for Masters programs where you are using federal aid, not sure).
However, I would encourage you to take an alternative approach. Call them and explain that you are waiting to hear from other programs, some of which would be funded. Ask for a deadline extension until the April 15th deadline. In the past I was successful with this strategy, and I know students in our program have also successfully received extensions.
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: I just want to answer just this part of the question:
>
> c) Let's say I decide to shell out my 5k -- would it be unethical for
> me to withdraw at a later date if I get into another school? They're
> not investing anything into me, and they get free money.
>
>
>
if anything, it is (in my opinion) unethical for them to charge this much as a non-refundable deposit. Because of this, if you do spend the deposit I don't think you would be burning any bridges if you rescinded. In fact you just gave them 5k, I don't know how you could dislike someone after that....
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: From the Schools perspective its just a business decision. They make more offers than they have places for, knowing that on average not all offers will be accepted. Furthermore not all accepted offers will go on to study with the institution.
The philosophy here on the part of the University, is to make offers to students who are willing to pay a $5k reservation fee, so that there is greater certainty that the students "accepted" will enroll. If the student doesn't enroll, collateral has been paid for the unfilled position.
Other Schools dont know if an applicant has made such a downpayment. Nor would they care. As far as they are concerned, the applicant has paid a $5k optional premium with ABC to hold their place.
If you can handle the downside of perhaps losing existing offers, don't pay the reservation. However it never hurts to reach out to the college to see if they are willing to cooperate with your needs.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: a) Increasing common in oversubscribed programs,
b) Very unlikely. I can’t imagine schools sharing admission details. Moreover, if baseball and basketball owners cannot collude, universities cannot either.
c) It is *never* unethical to accept another offer. The University might not like it but if they want you it’s up to them to make a better offer. Nobody can prevent you from changing your mind, and if a university doesn’t agree with this do you really want to go there?
d) If you choose to walk away, you are burning your bridges with them, not the other way around. See second sentence of c) above.
Although the letter of the April 15th resolution does not apply, it is well worth [reading it to understand its spirit.](https://cgsnet.org/april-15-resolution). This passage is particularly relevant:
>
> In those instances in which a student accepts an offer before April 15 and subsequently desires to withdraw that acceptance, the student may submit in writing a resignation of the appointment at any time through April 15. However, an acceptance given or left in force after April 15 commits the student not to accept another offer without first obtaining a written release from the institution to which a commitment has been made.
>
>
>
To me this reinforces my point in c). What *is* unethical is to keep two offers in play at the same time, i.e. not promptly advising university A that you have accepted the offer of university B.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: Tell them to get lost. It's disgraceful to demand a non-refundable payment of $5000 whilst you are still waiting to hear back from your other applications and are not in a position to make an informed decision. The corporatisation of universities has made them corrupt and it is better to avoid them. Anything you learn in a degree, you can easily teach yourself using books and the internet. You can make it clear that you are self-taught in job applications, because you did not see the wisdom in paying a large sum of money for knowledge that is cheap and easy to obtain. If I was reviewing job applications, I would be more likely to offer a self-taught person an interview than any graduate, on the grounds that they are more resourceful.
Upvotes: 1
|
2020/03/04
| 942
| 3,874
|
<issue_start>username_0: I wonder if there is a deadline for submission to a journal? So far, I only know that submission to conferences has a deadline, but I'm not sure about journals.
I've looked at several journals of Elsevier, IEEE, and Springer, and I cannot find any information about the deadlines. I did some search on Google and understand the process as follows:
* One journal may publish multiple issues per year. If at the moment I submit a paper to a journal and miss the deadline of the current issues (which I do not know of), my paper will be reviewed for the next one.
* Although there is no "fixed" deadline, but if I submit a paper and it is to be revised, I will then have some amount of time to finish the revision - so that's some sort of deadline, but it's relative to each paper.
Another question is that, as a Ph.D. student in machine learning/artificial intelligence, should I focus more on conferences or journals? It's been 6 months since I started my Ph.D. and I haven't published anything. In France, a Ph.D. lasts for only 3 years and my doctorate school demands at least 4 papers published from a "successful" Ph.D. student. Should I start worrying now?
Thank you very much!<issue_comment>username_1: I will start from the bottom; No you should not worry. Without knowing your field, a PhD topic needs several months to get well defined (even though, things can change after) after reviewing state-of-the-art. So, I think you cannot say anything about your status and it is logical that you don't have any submission. For the other questions:
>
> I've looked at several journals of Elsevier, IEEE, and Springer, and I cannot find any information about the deadlines.
>
>
>
No regular issues don't have deadlines. Special issues, yes! However, special issues are well specified in terms of topics.
>
> One journal may publish multiple issues per year.
>
>
>
When we submit a paper to a journal, we don't know how long it will take until the final decision (from weeks to years). Also, we cannot decide to which issue it will appear.
>
> I will then have some amount of time to finish the revision - so that's some sort of deadline, but it's relative to each paper.
>
>
>
This deadline is only for you to revise the paper and send it back to the same reviewers. Otherwise, the editor cannot reach the reviewers or they forget about your paper.
>
> should I focus more on conferences or journals?
>
>
>
Only your supervisor and/or the PhD committee at your faculty can answer this.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: Generally speaking journals have multiple issues on some schedule from weekly to annually. A paper can be submitted at any time. The review process will then proceed and the paper may be revised on recommendation of reviewers. When the paper it ready for publication, an editor (managing editor) will schedule it for some future issue.
So, there is no real deadline for normal journal submission. However, there is no guarantee that a paper submitted *right now* will be published *soon*. The review process takes time and there can be delays. But earlier submission (of a well written paper) is preferred. Submitting a sloppy paper early and hoping for early publication is probably a bad idea. The review will take longer and rejection is possible.
However, some journals publish special issues, perhaps on a topic or to honor some person. For those, there is a deadline, but it is made clear when the "call" for papers goes out.
For the question which is better - journals or conferences -, it depends on the field. In CS, for example, conferences are the preferred venue for new work. In other fields conferences are *much* less important. Your advisor will know which is best for you and also whether you should have any concerns about your progress.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
|
2020/03/04
| 1,532
| 6,203
|
<issue_start>username_0: I know that some consider certain activities of Sci-hub to violate the law in some jurisdictions. Many of the previous questions and opinions related to Sci-hub have focused on these legal aspects (and they are certainly important to consider).
However, I am wondering what are the main harms or downsides associated with the existence of Sci-hub and similar services from the perspective of academics, researchers, and students. I am asking because this topic is relatively new to me, and I would like to better understand the main cons of Sci-hub as perceived by fellow academics (as opposed to publishers or lawyers).<issue_comment>username_1: Publishing requires money.
If you reduce the amount of money in the system, publishers will lose incentive to publish. That would be bad for authors since publishers, simply by publishing, provide a valuable service to authors as well as others wanting access to scholarly works.
It might be possible to do all of it as a charitable endeavor, but it would still require money. It needn't be a profit making business, but it isn't free (as in beer).
It is also possible to do this as a government (tax) funded operation. But that would bring the possibility of censorship of things that a given government might not want to support; reproductive health comes to mind in the US under the current government.
Online publishing requires *less* money than print, but most of the expenses are still there. It doesn't eliminate the need for money. People still expect to be paid for their efforts. And note that a publisher putting something online is, in effect, promising to keep that server running in perpetuity. Few organizations can make that commitment lightly.
So, the "academic" argument is actually an economic one. If you want something to exist, you need ways to assure that it does.
---
Let me note that if you are a working academic and need access to papers to continue your work, there are zero cost (to you) alternatives that are perfectly accepted and valid. If you ae normally grant funded you can usually charge access and, perhaps, even subscription fees to a grant. If you are not grant funded and your need is sporadic, you can sometimes get a university department to cover your fees. Failing that, you can sometimes contact authors for "preprints" that are often given to them for print journals. And, almost every academic librarian knows how to find copies of almost everything on the planet through inter-library loan. The existence of high fees need not be a block to academic progress.
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: Every journal and conference I've ever published with allows me to post my papers on my personal website and distribute them freely. When SciHub posts my work they are not actually adding any value, as my work is already available for free. Instead, they're breaking copyright law and driving traffic away from my personal website, where interested researchers might find out more about me and what I do.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: >
> What is the academic argument against Sci-Hub?
>
>
>
There are none. The arguments against sci-hub are legal or economic. Copyright is a legal right, not a moral or intellectual right.
You could argue that repositories like ArXiv or open access journals are better than sci-hub because they are more reliable. But that is not an argument against sci-hub.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: Sci-Hub violates copyright law.
Do you believe in copyright law? I'm certain you use a lot of copyrighted things in your work (e.g. Windows, Google Chrome). When you use a program like Google Chrome, you are supposed to agree with the terms of service. Typically these terms will [include something similar to this line](https://www.google.com/intl/en_pk/chrome/privacy/eula_text.html):
>
> 9.2 Subject to section 1.2, you may not (and you may not permit anyone else to) copy, modify, create a derivative work of, reverse engineer, decompile or otherwise attempt to extract the source code of the Software or any part thereof, unless this is expressly permitted or required by law, or unless you have been specifically told that you may do so by Google, in writing.
>
>
>
What Sci-Hub does is say "I don't care about this, I'm [taking your program and reverse-engineering it](https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2018/09/18/guest-post-think-sci-hub-is-just-downloading-pdfs-think-again/) anyway, because it is *for the greater good*"\*. If we take this to its logical conclusion, then to do research I need to have access to a computer (therefore it should be permissible for me to rob my local computer store), power supply (ditto for siphoning power off the local power grid), and install a pirated version of Windows (my grant is already too small to pay for software licenses, Microsoft already makes billions of dollars in profit anyway). Hell, if I need grant funding to send a space probe to Uranus and NASA rejected my application, I should be allowed to hold the NASA director hostage until he funds me. It's all *for the greater good*.
If you've read the Harry Potter series you might recognize that phrase as the [mantra of the Dark Wizard Grindenwald](https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/For_the_Greater_Good).
All that said, it's ultimately up to your personal values and morals. I am against using it entirely, and would not approve of anyone who does.
PS: Here's [a recent question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/144994/advice-needed-on-publishing-a-textbook) by someone looking to make money off a textbook. If the book is published, Sci-Hub is undoubtedly going to pirate it too, because making its information accessible to all is *for the greater good*. Is it? Again, it's up to your personal values and morals.
---
\*If you think Sci-Hub is a benevolent entity that only breaks the laws by sharing the files it acquired legally, read the link.
**Edit:**
Tried to access a particular article and ran into this error message:
[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/tk0LZ.png)
Thanks, Sci-Hub. /sarcasm
Upvotes: -1
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2020/03/04
| 1,207
| 5,032
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<issue_start>username_0: In January, I started my third year of a computer science PhD. My goal has always been to balance "X" and computer science ("X" being a non-engineering subject), and I thought I could do that at my current institution while officially getting my computer science degree. Unfortunately, I underestimated the extent to which I'd be required to work on my advisor's agenda (he is strictly a machine learning person), so, while I've gotten a few minor papers in computer science + "X" workshops, I haven't been able to pursue the research agenda that I particularly care about. In addition, I realized I really need a more deep study of "X" than I realized, and potentially than of CS.
The way I see it, I have three viable options:
1. **Leave this summer with a terminal masters in CS, find a temporary job as a software engineer or whatever I can manage for a year, and apply to "X" degrees this fall, to start in Sept. 2021.** This doesn't sound too bad, but I'd risk not getting into "X" and ending up with no PhD and hence no chance at a faculty position (which I want).
2. **Continue publishing workshop papers on the side, and try to get a postdoc in "X" in a few years.** My worry is that if I skip doing a PhD concentrated on my desired research topic (which is fairly specific and isn't something people are currently working on), I'll never get a chance to explore it fully, and that I'd only be able to get mediocre postdoc positions if I'm applying to a field I don't know enough about.
3. **Get a PhD in CS as fast as I can, and then head straight to the start of another PhD in "X".** I like the idea of having a PhD in my back pocket, and this way I would have a lot of time to develop my research agenda, but I'm nervous that admissions committees would look down on someone who was "collecting degrees."
Any advice?
Also, for clarification: My desired research agenda in "X" has nothing to do with machine learning, so, while I can try to merge interests while a CS student, I believe it would be fairly superficial and only for the purpose of leaning my resume in that direction.
Edit: "X" is a humanities field that generally shares very little with CS except among a very few "computational X-ers"<issue_comment>username_1: I see no reason for a second doctorate, and admissions committees might not either, if the "new" field's fundamental research methodologies are similar to those of the old. You might just be taking up space in a program that might better go to another. You probably won't really learn a lot.
There would be some value in it if the fields were wildly divergent. You have the skills. Use them during the post-doc to position yourself through scholarly work with the techniques you already know. The other is a wast of time - yours and other's.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: I guess I would approach this from the opposite end. You want a faculty position, what is the best path to that goal? And would your feelings change if you had to fit your future research plans into a more acceptable box?
You say "no one" is working in the field you want to work in, and it's not a sufficiently interesting topic to catch your current advisor's interest in letting you play around in that space. Have you reached out to anyone in X field at your university? Do they seem interested or supportive? Are they willing to commit cold hard cash to your training or research?
To me, the idea that you're interested in a 100% new out-of-the-box field suggests that actually finding a faculty position in that field would be close to impossible, because from a hiring committee's point of view, your chance of landing big papers, big grants, finding students who share your interests, etc., would be next to zero. You'd be fighting uphill the whole way.
The reality is that academia is hyper-specialized at the moment, and academic careers have probably always been very prestige-/stature-driven. Someone doing computational medievalism (or whatever) risks seeming like a dilettante by the medievalists, and imho most science-minded folks sadly don't hold their humanities colleagues' research in very high regard. [aside: i very clearly remember attending a career panel back in grad school where a physicist casually suggested that humanities papers don't undergo peer review. The indignant English prof in attendance lost no time setting the record straight!]
Therefore, you might consider whether your research direction, however novel/interesting it is to you, has a place in your academic ambitions? Or maybe once you land your CS professor job, you could always try and learn something during a sabbatical? In any case, before you put years of your life, not to mention your own money (my understanding is that most humanities PhDs are self-funded or require substantial time spent doing teaching work for a small stipend), you should get more perspective from others whose opinions you truest in the two fields you want to bridge.
Upvotes: 3 [selected_answer]
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2020/03/04
| 510
| 2,187
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<issue_start>username_0: I want to seek some ideas about what kind of topics I can talk about during the dinner or lunch time during my upcoming on-site faculty interview. I will have a dinner with the searching committee, department head, and other faculty members in the department. What typical topics I can pick up to avoid silencing the time.<issue_comment>username_1: The more social events of an interview program are typically meant for the candidate and the other participants to get to know each other better. They would like to know: who are you as a person, beyond your direct research and teaching interests? Do you have any hobbies? Do you play any sports, or instruments? What are your favorite travel destinations? Depending on your personal interests, you can keep topics closer to your research field, or further away into general knowledge / state of the world things. Make sure they get an authentic impression of who you are, what makes you tick, how you reason about things.
If the other faculty members and the department head have not been part of the formal interviewing process so far, you can inquire after their own research interests, and try to make connections with your own work. Building bridges cannot hurt.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: Actually, this advice is quite different from that of [Wetenschaap](https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/145055/75368), though I don't disagree with that suggestion.
Instead of talking about yourself, spend the time asking about them. Ask about the students. How motivated are they? Ask whether there are unique aspects of the educational program. Ask about their future goals. Ask about trends, both positive and disturbing that they see on the horizon. Ask about collaboration. Ask about the research of others. Ask about what research seminars are available.
And these are things you want to know before accepting an offer.
Or ask about the local environment. Are there good places to, say, ride a bike or hike. If you have a partner, ask about opportunities for them locally.
Lots of things. But don't make it too focused on yourself or you might seem narcissistic.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
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2020/03/04
| 649
| 2,678
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<issue_start>username_0: So I met with a potential supervisor at an Open day and she seemed very excited at my research interest as it aligns with hers. She said she is recruiting students for Fall 2020 and she would want me on her team but wants to contact my references and will then get back to me. I know she contacted one already, and I know they gave a great feedback, but it's been more than two months now without hearing from her.
Should I contact her and ask if she needs any extra info or wait?
Thanks!<issue_comment>username_1: Many things might be happening/have happened:
1) The worst is that the other reference did not give positive feedback, or
2) The other applicants have better (from her perspective) profiles, or
3) She is busy and doesn't have time to proceed with recruiting processes, or
4) She is waiting until interviewing all the applicants and hearing from their references, or
5) Many many other possibilities.
Now what you can do is definitely contacting her so that you don't wait if there is no chance and you apply for other positions. She will most probably give you a definite answer.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> I know she contacted one already, and I know they gave a great feedback, but it's been more than two months now without hearing from her. Should I contact her and ask if she needs any extra info or wait?
>
>
>
Definitely contact her! There was genuine interest between you and you have nothing to lose, everything to gain.
It is easy to fall under the impression that contacting professors/supervisors is "a bother", and that you are being annoying by doing so. However, I have found that the opposite is often true: some supervisors use whether you follow up as a way of gauging your true interest in the position. So although I don't know the full context, I think waiting two months was not the best. Worst case scenario, she has now assumed you aren't interested anymore.
As long as you are not officially admitted, I would therefore follow up ASAP to make sure she knows:
1. That you are still interested
2. That you are waiting to hear from her (i.e., she has to do something), and what it is she has to do
Depending on her response you can follow up repeatedly as needed, for instance:
* If she doesn't respond I would follow up again in about 1 week
* If she responds indicating some delay (e.g., she is waiting for a response from reference X), follow up again depending on the expected delay, maybe 2 weeks or so
Also, you can directly talk to your other reference to see if they have been contacted by her. That could also help in case the reference is causing the delay.
Upvotes: 1
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2020/03/05
| 1,467
| 6,595
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a teaching assistant (TA) in a second-year undergraduate course and have just received the results of my students' multiple choice midterm exam, which were marked by an optical marking ("Scantron") machine. The students are required to print their name in pencil, and are also asked to fill in a clearly-marked set of bubbles with their student number so that the Scantron machine can create an overview printout with each individual student's mark for me (as well as statistics related to the test, i.e. class average, percentage of students who selected the correct answer, etc.). These forms are standardized across our university, and all of my students have used them before. There are 4 students who did not fill in their student numbers, even though they are explicitly directed to do so before the start of the exam.
We check photo ID at the door of the exam to ensure that students are on our class list, and the course instructor may still have the list of highlighted names of students that attended. This means that I very likely *can* identify which four students these no-name exams belong to. The bigger issue in my mind is that we require students to fill in their student number so the scanner will be able to identify them, but also as an extra measure to ensure that students are writing a test in their own name, and not impersonating another student. Even if I *can* go back and look at the students' individual bubble sheets, I still need them to understand the importance of filling in their testing sheet correctly. Other instructors or TA's are not necessarily so understanding.
How can I address this issue with these students? It feels very unfair to say, "Sorry, you didn't write your student number, so you get a zero," but I also need to ensure that we aren't allowing students to cheat because we are being lenient in verifying student identity. Is this something I should just say at the beginning of the next lecture, or do I need to approach these students individually and remind them of the requirement?<issue_comment>username_1: I think your instincts are good. I would also not want to give students a zero in this case -- but your taking extra time to track down identifiers, and possibly signal that the IDs are not required, requires incentives/correction.
I would recommend a relatively small penalty, like 5% off the exam or something like that. Usually I find that students respond to fairly small adjustments like that with greater attention than I would expect; likely that's all it would take to not see it anymore. (E.g.: My syllabus says no writing exams in weird colors like red/purple that make marking difficult; 5% penalty when that happens corrects the problem.)
There is a downside, in that extracurricular penalties like this might corrupt the statistics on the exam (the per-question total and the overall exam results won't synch up, actual average won't reflect skill performance, etc.) That may or may not be a concern to you or your supervisor.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: This is definitely something you want to avoid in the future, as it takes time to cross-check everything to ensure you have the correct four student names (without relying on self-identification by students). However, I recommend not deducting points now or in the future, although you do want the professor to explicitly tell students to do this. Probably the simplest way to avoid students forgetting is to simply have a reminder note about this written on the blackboard (or whatever equivalent is used for that classroom) when the exam papers are being handed out. Also, the TAs should be glancing at the exam sheets as they are turned in to ensure that each has a student name and number. In fact, I've actually had to do this for at least one large lecture course I was a TA for — a student would give their completed exam sheet to a TA, who would then glance at it for two or three seconds to make sure that everything appeared to be OK before dismissing the student.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: I agree with not hitting students with a zero, at least not right at the start. But this isn't just an arbitrary convenience; you said yourself that it's done to help make sure the student taking the exam is who they say they are.
What I would do here is leave those students with a (temporary) zero when grades are uploaded, then announce to the class that their exam grades are posted and they should come to you with any questions.
The students who failed to fill in their student id will discover that they did, in fact, get a zero, and will then come to you to figure out why, whereupon you explain the problem and fix their grade. In that way you've minimized your own extra work, avoided unfounded academic penalties, and driven home the importance of filling in their information.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: Y'all have never proctored or taken SATs?
**Give *only* the answer sheets out first, and have students complete the important information before they even get the questions.**
If you don't give the questions until students have filled out the relevant information on the answer sheet, they won't be able to ignore the answer sheets, in lieu of answering questions.
It may require a bit of a rethink as to the time available for the test (i.e. take five minutes away from testing and put it onto "administrivia"), but this might just be time well spent.
You could even incentivize students to arrive early to complete this task quickly by saying that the question packs will be given out as soon as all students have filled out their information; any student who shows up to class (up to five minutes) early will be given their answer sheet to fill out. If all students have their answer sheets filled out by the time "##:##", the tests will be handed out then. Anyone who shows up late will have to complete their information on the answer sheet at the front of the room *before* being given the questions.
Or, have part of the ID process be that students have to show you their IDs AND a completed information section on their answer sheet *before* they get the questions (or, maybe before they take their seats).
If it's an important step in the process, make sure it has a defined step in the process.
To forestall the comments I know are coming: Yeah, I know: Young adults should be able to follow directions. OTOH, negative reinforcement doesn't have the learning results you think it does. Don't penalize students for a bad process.
Upvotes: 3
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2020/03/05
| 798
| 3,239
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<issue_start>username_0: As a faculty member, it can happen that a student tells you that they are intending to commit a crime (while also attempting to swear you to secrecy). This might be something as simple as buying illegal drugs but it may also be something more serious.
It seems you might have three sources of responsibility. A moral one to do the right thing, a second responsibility to follow university guidance and potentially a legal responsibility to report the intention.
Assuming the university has no clear policy on this question, what is the right and legal thing to do?<issue_comment>username_1: "What is the legal thing to do" depends on the jurisdiction. In Italy, for instance, during your job as a professor or instructor you have the role of a civil officer (*pubblico ufficiale*), and obligated to report all criminal offences (*reati*) (relevant law: [art. 361 c.p.](https://www.brocardi.it/codice-penale/libro-secondo/titolo-iii/capo-i/art361.html)).
On the other hand, since you make that example, buying a modest amount of drugs for personal use (below a given threshold depending on the exact substance) is *not* considered a *reato*, but just a milder offence.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> what is the right and legal thing to do
>
>
>
I think this question mixes two different concerns: The right thing to do is a matter of personal ethical judgement. The legal thing to do is, well, a matter of law.
One might argue that the ethical concern is more fundamental than the legal one, since "I will do whatever the law requires me to do" is already an ethical statement -- and, depending on the case, a highly problematic one: History is full of examples where laws were set up in a way that was clearly not *right* -- from our view as citizens in modern societies today, and from the view of ethically-minded individuals who initiated changes to these laws.
One's personal ethical judgement, however, will depend on the case at hand, unless one takes the shortcut of just doing whatever the law requires one to do.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: If you were a priest, psychologist, etc., people talking to you in that capacity have a reasonable expectation of privacy and confidentiality (though I believe that the confidentiality *can* be broken if it involves an intent to commit a *future* crime that will directly *harm* someone).
But if someone says something to a professional who is not acting in that capacity (e.g. a conversation at a party), there is no reasonable expectation of privacy.
In your case, it's unlikely that the plan to commit a crime is related to your relationship as a professor. Asking you to keep it secret happens at the personal level, not professional level. So how you choose to deal with the knowledge should be no different that how you would handle it if an acquaintance at the gym had told you the same thing.
On the other hand, if the crime *is* related to your official relationship, failing to report it could make you complicit. As an extreme example, suppose your student tells you he is going to abduct people to perform experiments for his thesis.
The fundamental issue is *why* the student told you this information.
Upvotes: 2
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2020/03/05
| 804
| 3,356
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<issue_start>username_0: I completed my PhD in mechanical engineering last year. It took me 5.5 years to complete it. I already held a master's degree previously albeit in a different research area. The main reason was my inability to understand the topic, develop ideas and carry out focused work during the first 2 years of PhD.
I got disinterested in my topic/research area early on in my PhD. This was mainly because I had to self learn many advanced topics which were not taught in my university. That made me less sure about my knowledge.
However, post 3rd year, I worked hard, got interested in the topic and published 2 papers in decent journals.
In addition, I did very few TAs during my PhD because I was unfocused during my first few years and couldn't invest time in any other activities.
Now, I am pursuing a postdoc with my PhD supervisor on a different approach to my PhD project which is interesting and will help me secure better positions later. I plan to use this time to publish 4-5 papers.
Will the ghost of my past bad decisions made during PhD haunt me and affect my future even if I do a focused and productive job in my postdoc?<issue_comment>username_1: First of all, congratulations for your achievements!
I did not a complete a PhD, not to mention a postdoc, but I had my own bad experiences during my academic and professional career.
From reading your question, it seems you have all conditions to succeed in this new stage of your life/career. Obviously, you had your low moments a few years ago, but you saw with your own eyes they can be overcome. I believe this could give you the extra confidence when facing obstacles later that you can spot them and know how to resolve them by yourself or with help from others.
Regarding obtaining future positions/jobs, I am confident PIs, universities and generally employers do no look that far in the past, but rather focus on the performance of people in recent years. In consequence, I believe you should keep a positive attitude and when the ghosts from the past appear realise they can be again defeated.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: What "ghost of your past"? This sounds like a totally normal experience. People who are at their best all the time are the exception (if they anywhere exist at all). Working through personal or professional lows is part of the job. You succeeded at that.
As a more general answer:
1. **For job applications the more recent achievements typically by far outweigh anything that happened a long time ago**.
2. So if for someone something in your PhD time is a negative sign, that will cease to have influence and be outweighed by your following endeavours - for better or worse.
3. There are always exceptions: Someone might highly value the time in which you did your PhD, the number of your papers per year or your math grade in the kindergarten (what you did not get a grade there? sorted out!). Some people have a particular - sometimes weird - focus, but overall 1. and 2. apply.
Upvotes: 0 <issue_comment>username_3: It's not a digital thing. Not "absolutely, no hope for you...just give up". Not, nobody cares either. But you have to do good work moving forward. Every day is a new day. If you continue being slack, then you will reap the results of that. If you buckle down, then good things will happen.
Upvotes: 2
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2020/03/05
| 1,718
| 7,458
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<issue_start>username_0: I am an organizer for a graduate student conference in Mathematics occurring in April. My co-organizers and I are debating on a plan for what to do if the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States worsens. Right now, most of the participants are from states with no confirmed cases of the coronavirus, but this may change rapidly as the situation develops between now and the conference.
This is an issue other conferences throughout history have surely had to deal with, so I wanted to ask StackExchange if there were any best practices around for dealing with an issue like this. Some questions:
* How far out should the go/no go decision be made? If the conference is late April, should we be planning to let participants and speakers know by early April so they can cancel flights and so on?
* What criteria should best inform whether we cancel or not? Number of cases in the participants' states for instance?
* In the event we are to cancel the conference, how can we still give the speakers a chance to advertise their results? Have there been successful "video conferences" before where the organizers collect video for each talk and then upload them and participants can make comments?<issue_comment>username_1: Cancellations of venue, catering, etc. on your end will be entirely based on the individual companies' cancellation policies. Same with airlines for participants - each requires a certain amount of notice, and will refund or credit as per company policy. Sooner is better than later if you need to cancel arrangements for food, accommodations, etc.
The most reliable resource for info on COVID-19 at this point is the WHO, which provides situation reports daily on their website. The CDC's information is being filtered through the presidential administration, so keep that in mind when looking at White House press releases. Travel advisories are also something you'll want to keep an eye on if you're concerned. Your local health authority can also provide information about whether they are recommending cancellation of large gatherings.
If you decide to go ahead with the conference and have concerns about possible spread of coronavirus, perhaps remind attendees of the importance of handwashing and covering your cough in your opening remarks. Have hand sanitizer accessible to participants, and encourage "elbow bumps" instead of handshakes. Supplying and using facemasks is **NOT** being recommended at this time to the general public, so please don't go out and buy them in anticipation of the conference. This could contribute to a shortage for those who could actually need them, i.e. hospital staff.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: Regarding **remote conferences**, these have been successful. Often the motivating factor has been mitigating climate impact. For example, *Yale Climate Connections* wrote an [article giving advice](https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2019/10/how-can-academic-and-professional-organizations-reduce-flying-to-conferences/) for running virtual conferences. Author <NAME> presents three kinds of virtual conferencing, all of which have been done successfully:
* remote presentations in a traditional conference format. If people choose to not travel, they can still remote in or follow the session on social media. (Example: [AGU](https://eos.org/opinions/agu-should-support-its-members-who-fly-less))
* hub-based conference, where people gather in regional clusters. Each hub has some of its own content but are able to watch each other's presentations. (Example: [International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition](https://music-psychology-conference2018.uni-graz.at/en/about/))
* an entirely remote conference, where people record and upload videos of presentations and conferencegoers have weeks to ask questions and interact. (Example: [A Nearly Carbon-Neutral Conference Model](https://hiltner.english.ucsb.edu/index.php/ncnc-guide/))
I'll add that an entirely virtual synchronous conference has also been done successfully. One example is [NACADA](https://nacada.ksu.edu/Events/24hr-Virtual-Conference.aspx), the Global Community for Academic Advising, which ran a 24-hour live-streaming virtual conference.
The mixed-conference or hub models may or may not be feasible, since they would still involve people gathering in some models, and you aren't sure yet whether that will be feasible on any scale. Also, developing regional hubs would take time you don't have. Thus, if you decide to go entirely virtual, a synchronous-with-live-streaming conference and a asynchronous recorded approach have been done, and the resources linked should provide a way to start researching or planning that model. I also advise contacting your own IT department about the possibility.
Upvotes: 5 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: I'm in Germany and just got an email that a trade fair and conference that was supposed to happen in the first week of April was postponed to October due to the virus.
* The email indicated that the decision was made by the organization running the fair grounds together with the local/regional health authorities.
I'd suggest that you get into contact with your relevant health authorities.
I'd also suggest you check the contracts for venue etc. about cancellation policies and whether it makes a difference on your side (your cancellation policies with venue etc.) whether you decide to cancel or whether the health authority tells you to cancel.
* On the participants' side: I don't think I could have gotten reimbursement for the fees that would have been due for cancelling the travel - and if probably only after months of burocratic struggle with administration.
**Update** I may have been too pessimistic here: the professional society who organizes the conference now asks who had how much "leftover costs" after cancellations. They also outlined some rules (e.g. they cancelled the hotel where they had reservations for invited speakers, cancellation fees of other accomodation is probably not going to be reimbursed). *end of update*
This is of course up to local rules, but if the rules around you do not reimburse if the travel had not taken place\*, please cancel or postpone the meeting ASAP.
The more so as you say it's for grad students who due to being early in their carreer did not yet have the chance to accumulate emergency funds that should be able to eat such losses.
As a compromise (if you do not want to decide yet), you could also consider to remind people that the meeting may have to be canceled on short notice and recommend to take that into consideration for booking the travel.
---
\* Personally, I think this may be used as a trigger to openly discuss travel booking and reimbursement policies. IMHO there are several possible fair policies, but they should be communicated clearly and in advance: should early booking and fixed travel plans be used as they are usually cheaper? Should cancellation insurance be booked or not? What are good reasons to cancel and how does reimbursement work then?
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: A conference called ACM UIST allowed participants to join online via social virtual spaces. You don't need fancy virtual reality equipment to join. They used Mozilla hubs which seems straight forward and easy to set up.
More info here: <https://uist.acm.org/uist2019/online/> and <https://hubs.mozilla.com/>
Upvotes: 1
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2020/03/06
| 2,897
| 12,202
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<issue_start>username_0: For my bachelor thesis in theoretical CS I paid someone to
* fix some weird LaTeX issues I had
* make some figures in LaTeX for which I provided exact (!) hand-drawn pictures
* adjust the document class/template (font size, margins, …) to university standards
In particular, all the text, formulae, figure sketches and remaining, say, 70% of the remaining typesetting were done by me. Let me also say that I got the best grade possible to highlight that my contents were more than substantial for a bachelor thesis.
**By academic standards, is it ethical to outsource parts of typesetting one's (BSc|MSc|PhD) thesis by paying someone?**
Note that I am looking for opinions about the academic culture, not about legal situations. My university regulations are especially blurry and demand that one's thesis must be solely produced (in German: angefertigt) by the author. Whether that includes typesetting and in what proportion, is probably up to interpretation.
Related post: [PhD student hiring a LaTeX expert to typeset thesis?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/54006) asks about pragmatic reasons, not about ethical concerns.<issue_comment>username_1: I do not see any unethical point in this.
You were supposed to make an original contribution to your thesis in terms of your research. With respect to writing, you can take help from your friends, supervisor, or anyone else (free or paid).
In our university in New Zealand, there was a dept. which used to charge a small fee to fix language issues for students with English as a second language. I suppose this should also work for the images/pictures thing as you are not an artist but an expert in your particular field.
Cutting it short, I do not see anything unethical in it.
Upvotes: 8 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: This is quite common. Some Universities in the UK are hiring private companies to improve the presentation of grant proposals, which includes typesetting, proofreading, professional preparation of graphics, and in many cases editing the text. Academics are encouraged to also use these companies to help improve their papers before they are submitted to a journal / conference (the Universities won't pay for this but academic can pay from their grants).
This practice does not quite fit in a popular vision of academy as a world where personal skills and commitment are more important than social background, money, old boys network, etc. It appears that those with money, fame and powerful friends have better chance to be supported, win the competition and get even more money, fame and powerful friends. Personally, I find it frustrating, but on a global scale this is acceptable and is not considered unethical or morally wrong.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: When publishing an article for a scientific journal, you provide the text (and formulas, and figures) in tex format, and they take care of the layout and typesetting. Alternatively, you have to use their template to fit your article in it.
I don't see why anyone should consider latex formatting as a part of the student work for a thesis, apart from strictly practical reasons.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: I also see no big problem here. Generally, there is nothing wrong with accepting help for any part of your thesis, I would even encourage everybody to discuss and refine their work with others from the field or the group. A paid service is nothing I would usually recommend, but it is also possible.
**You however must make the support (paid or not) you got transparent,** especially if you have to include a statement which says that you disclosed all help you got. Then it is for the graders to decide if your thesis justifies the top grade. In your specific case you could have mentioned the services you used in the acknowledgements.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: Unless the thesis itself is about LaTeX and its usage, I'd see no problem, and I've never seen rules against it. But if we're talking ethics...
1. The university should provide a complete and usable LaTeX template for thesis and other works, so no student would need to waste time creating or adjusting a template. This removes a lot of the effort on both librarians who may need to review typesetting and the hassle of dealing with professors who make a big deal about typesetting/formatting errors.
2. Dealing with LaTeX issues is just dealing with a text processors bugs. Good thing LaTeX is open source so you can debug it yourself, but what happens if you were using Microsoft Word and a bug prevented you from continuing your work? I once had to work with a document so large and so full of references that it would crash Word frequently (it also had configuration management). Would paying an IT technician to see this unethical? Would contacting Microsoft be unethical? Was it unethical in the first place to pay for a test processor? If the lack of RAM memory was the issue, would paying for more RAM sticks be a problem? I myself think its perfectly fine to outsource tools/software repair/maintenance, as long as those are means for delivering my thesis and not a part of the thesis itself.
3. People, by default, will assume that if you've done your work in LaTeX, then you know how to use it. So maybe you have a small impostor syndrome for delivering a work that makes people assume you have a level of proficiency with LaTeX that you don't have. But that's easy to solve: Mention your LaTeX wizard on the acknowledgements. You could even ask for a discount for doing this.
4. Now the controversial part: Teachers will sometimes let typesetting and other aesthetic aspects of a work have a more than fair impact over final grades. Nobody admits it, but this happens. Any bold claim made by a paper with several typos receives much more skepticism than a similar claim made by an aesthetically flawless paper. While I think this justifies investing a lot of effort into typesetting and formatting, it is a flaw in the system and in us humans that we need to live with. So maybe you think hacking this flaw by adding steroids to your formatting (by hiring professional typesetting work) looks like "cheating". But that's just a regular dose of life being unfair, you are not in the wrong in this case, and reviewers should make the effort to separate pure typesetting from the actual content merit.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: Learning LaTeX requires significant time and effort. By not learning LaTeX to the point where you could overcome your problems on your own and draw your own figures you have had more time to develop and polish your thesis compared with your peers. If you have not acknowledged the aid you have purchased you have given the grader the impression that you have acquired skills you do not have. As a rule, you simply do not present the work of others as your own. The regulations of your university are crystal clear to me. They require your thesis to be produced by you. I am Danish and work at a Swedish university. I would not approve the involvement of third party, unless there were special circumstances, such as sudden illness or a death in the student's family. I wonder, what is the position of your department?
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: >
> Is paying someone to fix LaTeX issues in one's thesis ethical?
>
>
>
No, it is not (but you should ask your advisor), but **you should mention** (in acknowledgements) **that you did this**.
Another important consideration : **if you want to get additional degrees** (e.g. a Master's or a PhD thesis) **you'll better improve your LaTeX skills**. They will be useful later (even in industry).
So pay someone to *teach you* how to better use LaTeX. You are extremely likely to need LaTeX later, if you stay in technical circles (a big lot of technical conferences prefer LaTeX to Microsoft documents). With oversimplification: LaTeX is useful for a technical career, MicroSoft Word and Excel is useful for management. A big lot of computer science or programming books (e.g. [this](https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/learning-php-mysql/9781491979075/) one) are typeset using LaTeX. [Doxygen](http://www.doxygen.nl/) can generate LaTeX documents (so [PDF](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDF)) from comments inside your source code. [Pygments](https://pygments.org/) can do something dual.
If you write (later) any kind of computer software running on Linux (and most web servers are running Linux), generating `*.tex` files (or some `\input`ed parts of it) is an efficient way to automatically generate [PDF](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDF) printable files (even if there are other solutions, maybe involving [Lout](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lout_(software)) or [Patoline](http://patoline.org/) or [LibreOffice](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LibreOffice) or [libpdf++](http://libpdfxx.sourceforge.net/doc/index.html) etc).
At last, [tex.stackexchange.com](https://tex.stackexchange.com/) is a nice place to get help in LaTeX.
Be also aware of LaTeX to HTML5 converters such as [HeVeA](http://hevea.inria.fr/). They can be a nice way to write a documentation in LaTeX and have it converted to a set of web pages.
PS. A big mistake of mine was to write my PhD thesis in AI without using LaTeX (in 1990). That was probably the biggest professional mistake of my entire career (ending in a few years by retirement).
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_8: Yes. Typesetting is not the same as contributing to the contents of a document. It is not unethical to hire a typist either, who would take your handwritten essay and produce a properly formatted document using MSWord, LaTeX or any other typesetting/processing program.
The *contents* (and associated ideas) is expected to be and should be your own.
Note that in some cases hiring outside help for such technical matter can be efficient, especially if one is not so proficient with the tools needed to produce a document meeting specific technical requirements.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_9: Many departments have some official description of the educational goals, grading criteria, or similar, for the thesis. **Do these educational goals or grading criteria include anything about learning scientific/professional typesetting, or something less specific like “presentation” that could be understood to include typesetting?**
(I’ve certainly seen these explicitly named as goals/criteria for courses that had a “mathematical writing” component, which are often a prerequisite for theses. I’ve never seen them explicitly listed for a thesis itself, but I wouldn’t be shocked if a department chose to include them.)
If the goals/criteria don’t mention presentation/typesetting, then I agree with most other answers, outside help on typesetting is fine.
**If the goals/criteria do include typesetting or presentation, though, then what you did was possibly problematic.** In this case, I would recommend speaking to someone suitable (e.g. your advisor or the dept’s bachelors thesis co-ordinator) for advice; if they think it is problematic, you could offer to e.g. re-typeset the thesis yourself, as make-up work. Since you acted in good faith, I hope they would not react punitively, but they will almost certainly be more sympathetic if you approach them pro-actively and apologetically than if they discover this independently.
If your department doesn’t have a document publicly laying out the goals, criteria, etc, for the thesis, then again, as other answers say, you were quite reasonable to assume that typesetting wasn’t considered part of the content.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_10: When you really want to make sure that nobody can claim academic misconduct, add a note to the thesis that you got typesetting help. The reviewers should review the content of the thesis and not the typesetting details and probably do not have any problem with it.
Then nobody can claim you were not honest when you undersigned that you did not use any help that is not mentioned in the thesis.
When you're unsure if you are username_10wed to get such help, ask your advisor before getting the help.
Upvotes: 1
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2020/03/06
| 3,228
| 13,256
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<issue_start>username_0: I am currently teaching a basic R programming course with about 80 students.
Under normal circumstances,
a core course assessment component is a programming exam,
which is done in the computer lab using the lab computers.
I will arrange for the Internet to be cut off,
and we will have exam invigilators who are patrolling the exam venue
to detect or dissuade students from cheating.
At the end of the exam, the Internet is restored,
and students submit an R script (basically programming code)
using the course learning management system.
This semester, due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19),
the university where I work has replaced all on-campus teaching activities with online teaching **for the entire semester**!
* With regards to teaching,
the faculty have been asked to teach our classes online using Zoom,
which gives students the freedom to take classes wherever they like.
* With regards to exams,
the faculty have been asked to administer their course exams online,
with students completing the exams online from home. (What??!!)
I am very concerned about students taking exams online from home,
because I am worried that some or many of the students may use this as an opportunity to cheat on the exam —
whether it is collaborating with their classmates,
or even asking another student to take the exam in their place.
My questions:
1. Is there any way to detect if students are cheating (e.g., sharing answers),
when students are doing an online quiz or exam at home?
2. Is there a way to dissuade students from cheating?
Response to comments:
* *How much help do you have for these 80 students?*
I do have one PhD student who is a grader.
She is supposed to spend about 6 hours a week to help with the course.<issue_comment>username_1: I also teach a data and programming course, though I mainly use Python.
**Is it possible for you to shift grading away from an exam and toward something else? A project, for example?** Before going back to academia I spent years working as a policy researcher, and exam conditions simply aren't a realistic test of real-life coding abilities. For that matter, coding with the internet turned off is also not remotely what real work looks like either.
In my class I like to give a larger project and let them have a few weeks to work on it, but I could also imagine a more simple project that they only have a few days, or even hours, to do. **Real data work often comes with time constraints, but it does not come with a lack of internet access in exam-like conditions.** Just scale the scope of the project based on how long you want them to have to work on it.
There is still a huge advantage to knowing the material, rather than having to look it up. You can also grade on the quality of code and correctness of results, and allow for creativity with open-ended questions like "summarize this data with two plots". This way each student is not only tested their knowledge of R, they're tested on their actual ability to use R in a realistic environment.
If you, unfortunately, are required to give an exam, I know there is software available for proctoring online tests. The sort of thing that utilizes their webcams to make sure they don't leave during the test, or consult other devices, or open other web pages. I've not used them though, so I couldn't make a recommendation. I imagine they all require university subscriptions.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: I come at this as a former student and as a TA who assisted with exams.
At my college there was one class I took that allowed for students to actively write and submit code via live submission for tests in person. They did not cut off the internet for us, but we were timed, and the requirements for the examination were strict enough that if you did not know the material well, searching for the answers would not get you very good results.
They did this by making sure that you were using a data set that was hand constructed for that test. It happened to have a test in R as well. This data set was unique, and as such, you could not find the answers anywhere online.
As a TA I also know, submissions were automatically compared to each other by the submission system in a way that it could be determined which ones were close matches, so that it would become obvious when 2 people shared answers. These would be flagged for the professor to review.
Altogether, I do not know how effective this system was, as it was fairly new at this point. I was in my senior year, and this was the first time they had tried it, having had paper programming tests only previously.
To summarize, what they tried was to develop an online submission system that uses Closest Strings Matching to determine percentage score matching between student submission, and to develop unique secret problems for each test that cannot be found online in order to have a digital system that can be used in person or online, as well as having a strict but fair time limit to take the test.
As for the success of that system, only time will tell. The school I graduated from is UCF.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: **Make the question non-amenable to Googling**
Many of colleagues used to do what you mentioned: Having exams in labs and cutting off internet/network access to isolate their terminals. All with good intentions of not cheating.
A different approach that I implemented was rethinking *what* I want to test them on and use that as the guiding source and create the problems from scratch. That way, even if they were to Google the question it’s unlikely to find any answer. However, if they are to search for something specific like “Breadth First Search in Java” that is probably okay IMHO. The idea is for them to understand/decipher the problem such that they can correctly infer to use that algorithm. If the implementation language is Java, then they’re free to look up certain implementation details (assuming they’ve had past assignments/practice in some form).
This takes away the focus from the act of “coding the algorithm” to “solving a problem *using* the algorithm”. The latter is more copy-proof IMHO. Even though they may “copy” the algorithm implementation, they’ll still have to adapt it to the problem at hand and that itself can be a lot of work.
For those open to this “overhead” that’s the choice they make. For those who’re comfortable implementing it from scratch, they won’t rely on this approach. It also takes away the pressure of memorizing/debugging in a very time critical environment and gets them to focus on the act of solving the problem with the intended algorithm.
I’ve had *very* good success with this approach. It’s more work to come up with these problems and you may run out of them. For that a good strategy is to ask the students to come up with some good problems for the next year and they can earn bonus credit for good submissions - also works like a charm ;)
There are online tools that check for “code similarity” to infer if two people collaborated/shared code. One is MOSS that we used. There are surely others that can help with detecting “cheating/sharing” with great success.
**Example:**
>
> I have a city map with ‘travel time’ for each bus route between 2
> stops. Write a program that asks the user for starting and ending stop and returns the fastest way to get there:
>
>
>
```
Input/setup:
A -> B: 5
B -> C: 10
C -> D: 1
A -> C: 3
Example IO:
Start-stop?: A
End-stop?: D
Computing...
A -> C -> D: 4
```
Testing on the ability to find the shortest path - whether they use BFS or Dijkstra is up to them. This is not easy to Google for and even if they do, it’ll take a while to translate to the above problem.
You can timebox the implementation time if you’re using services like Code Signal or the like.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: Ask the center for teaching and learning (or whoever at the university is in change of arranging faculty workshops on teaching - all the places I have taught have one) what the options for online proctoring are. When I have taught similar courses, there is software which can be used to proctor online exams. It basically consists of a browser lockdown, recording the screen, and access to the webcam, which records if the student behaves suspiciously while sitting there. Yes, this is pretty intense scrutiny, but it seems to work for our faculty who give exams for online courses.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_5: There are tons of open source software or scripts or libraries written in R.
Give your students a randomly chosen such project (not a too small one), with the task of explaining what that software does in written English (perhaps with some math formula in LaTeX or KaTeX), and to extend or customize or execute that software (or library) for a problem of their choice. In other words, ask them for a [code review](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_review), and if additional time is available, to add one extra functionality or feature (described in written English) to that software.
Such tasks are currently hard to be entirely automated. They might use the Internet, but it won't help them that much....
You could expect cooperation, by giving to each small group of students one additional (but different for every group) feature to add. Notice that such team cooperation is close to industrial practice.
I did teach at University a few years ago. One of the tasks I gave students was to download [sash](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stand-alone_shell) and extend it to add one additional builtin (described in French) in two hours. Access to the internet does not help much in practice. The time was limited, of course.
Today, I am working (in my free time) on [RefPerSys](http://refpersys.org/). By experience, it is difficult to make motivated persons (which I never met in real life) reviewing some of my `git commit`-s. I sent them the URL of many papers describing them (e.g. the [ObjVLisp](https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/051f/852ac2883a694c51151c88490603867f5ffb.pdf) model). I am writing [emails](http://refpersys.org/refpersys-Qt-based-GUI-mail-2019dec19.html), submitting [papers](http://refpersys.org/ecai2020-highlight-refpersys.pdf), [draft reports](http://starynkevitch.net/Basile/refpersys-design.pdf), and [slides](http://refpersys.org/Starynkevitch-CAIA-RefPerSys-2020mar06.pdf) quite often. We all are very motivated. Even with that, getting [code reviews](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_review) and [code `git commit`](https://gitlab.com/bstarynk/refpersys/-/commits/master)-s is difficult. And today, such a task cannot be realistically automatized.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: For exams such as AZ-300, Microsoft use a combination of a secured browser and chat using the webcam of the computer being used. The person taking the exam has to scan the webcam around the room to show no other machines are on, and is observed while taking the test. They have dedicated software to ensure that no other browser sessions are open, but most screen sharing software with recording could be used for an invigilator to check that, once the webcam has confirmed there's only the one screen.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: As this applies to the entire university, your case may actually be more amenable to a technological solution than a course where the majority of exam answers are in the lecture notes that the students might have right next to them on paper as they take the exam (so even a secured browser session wouldn't help). The university is likely to be working on a way of handling grades under the circumstances, but it may be too little, too late for you to make adjustments yourself, or it may invalidate those adjustments.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_8: Disallowing internet searches for a programming course seems a bit outdated these days.
I would change the exam so that it relies less on memory and more on technique.
I've had pre-interview technical tests which allowed internet searches, but were hard enough that if you had to constantly look up stuff, you'd never complete it.
Main problem with online exams is that a test taker could just have someone else do the exam for them, even with a webcam pointed at them from their laptop (just have the accomplice use a separate keyboard and monitor).
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_9: From a student's perspective: Don't do time crunched tests that don't really help anyone. Do a project or smaller quizzes. Especially in online classes, tests are the most agonizing task that create SO MUCH anxiety because there is so much that can go wrong that is out of our control. Most students also do better on a honor policy, to trust most students will honorably do their work without the need to spy on them. They will have much less pressure and will learn and retain more. You can design the course in such a way that they are forced to keep up with instruction and that they pay attention to instruction and practice but take the pressure off of them. A little mercy and grace and leniency will mean a lot more than an iron fist and I can say with 100% certainty, your students will retain much more this way.
Upvotes: 1
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2020/03/06
| 1,754
| 7,481
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm from the top math university in my country (it's not really world class but on average one guy from every other batch in my uni goes to Harvard/MIT/Princeton/UChicago/Stanford/UMichigan for PhD).
I'm in my second year and I'm broadly interested in number theory and geometric analysis, but there's no "good" faculty in number theory in my university (there's only one prof and he don't do any active research and don't have much reputation outside my country), so I'm almost on my own to study number theory.
It's pretty hard to learn everything by myself with simultaneously handling the coursework, so I'm wondering whether it's a good/sensible idea (wrt say grad school application where I need to compete with many people from top colleges in USA who are taking legit number theory courses by world class number theorists) to switch completely to geometric analysis and ditch number theory ? I think I can focus more on geometric analysis in that way too -- the only thing that is bugging me from switching completely is that I like number theory more than geometric analysis.
There were one guy from my college who went to Princeton for number theory who wrote a solo number theory paper as an undergraduate, but I'm nowhere close to being that smart. Also I can do reading courses/summer internship under some active number theorist researchers in my country, but the problem is that you need to know some nontrivial amount of number theory before you can do some internship under some reknowned number theorist !<issue_comment>username_1: I think you should do what your heart tells you to do. If you love number theory, do number theory. However, there are certain economic realities to take into consideration. Most people study with the intention of getting a job afterwards. Therefore, since you have a talent for mathematics, I would suggest that you become a statistician, since there are far more jobs in statistics than in any other area of mathematics. You can make a decent living as a statistician, and pursue number theory in your spare time. The fact that the distribution of prime numbers has properties akin to a probability distribution, in view of the prime number theorem, indicates that work as a statistician would not be inconsistent with doing number theory as well. Also, there are primality tests that involve probability arguments, such as the Miller-Rabin test. I would suggest statistics-cryptography-number theory is the way to go, in view of your talents.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: Number theory is perhaps the historically deepest, most studied area of mathematics. To even begin to understand research in most areas of number theory, you need two full years of graduate coursework over several subfields of mathematics.
What one can learn in an undergraduate course, or even a first graduate course, in number theory is so far from the frontiers of research that it makes absolutely no difference whether the person teaching is active in research or even has ever done research in number theory. You probably won't get into the 20th century in an undergraduate course, and not much beyond the 1940s in a first graduate course.
Except for a few exceptional students who are taking several graduate courses while still an undergraduate, no one is doing serious, mainstream number theory research as an undergraduate. Hence, it doesn't matter. You're not competing with people who have somehow learned lots of number theory already.
I should add that, in the job market for permanent positions in pure mathematics that support significant amounts of research, the sky has fallen. Only exceptional people are getting permanent research-oriented jobs now. Given that your job after your PhD (and your postdoc if you get and do one) probably won't involve doing research in either number theory or geometric analysis, you might as well study what you're interested in.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: It is true, as @username_1 observes, that there probably are economic realities to be considered. Unless you're independently wealthy, you'll eventually need to have a paycheck. And probably a reliable one. If you're "on your own", with no responsibilities to anyone else, you can obviously take more risks than otherwise.
So.
One point is that you have just one (immediately apparent) life, and if you are fond of number theory and don't pursue it, it'd be a pity. But, yes, risky, especially in your situation of not having senior people to give you good advice about it.
Also, in my experience in the U.S. at a "research univ", and having been involved with grad admissions for 35+ years, sensible people on admissions committees are well aware that people applying to grad school are very much in formative, transitional parts of their lives. What I myself look for is *enthusiasm* and self-starting, as much as anything. So, for example, the possible fact that your affection for number theory might compel you to pursue it despite lack of support in your immediate environment is a plus... while I'd know that you'd have some disadvantages in terms of advice and mentoring.
That is, to first-order approximation, do what you want to do. Second-order: try to make a living at it. :)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: >
> Is it reasonable to do [SUBJECT X] without active/good prof in uni
>
>
>
I will answer generally, since whether number theory or something else, the advice is the same.
It will be harder, for sure. Having a good advisor, active, in your research area can be extremely important, especially early on in your PhD, to make sure you are studying the right areas, and learning things that are relevant to current academic research. Without such an advisor, you will have to be a lot more proactive in learning things on your own, reading textbooks and papers from your research area, studying problems, and digesting material (e.g. blog posts) from some well-known researchers at other universities.
However, by no means is it impossible. And there are three points to make here:
1. Having ***no*** professor in the subject X would be even harder, but here you merely have no ***active*** professor. That leaves you in a much stronger position. I would advise against being officially advised by a professor who is not active, but you can still have a close mentorship with them, and they can be your "real" advisor if they are interested and available. Just because they are not publishing anymore doesn't mean you can't learn a lot from them.
2. Your passion and interest in a subject will take you far further than any mentorship. If you choose a subject that you are not interested in, then why do a PhD at all? To spend 5-10 years on something, you must truly love it, and truly want to become an expert. If you do want those things, you can succeed, although it is a lot of hard work. (Your interests may evolve later -- I find that almost all students' interests do, e.g. evolving more towards what their advisors do -- but if you are right now interested mainly in X, then you should do X.)
3. By the end of your PhD, whether you have an expert in your field or not, you become an expert in your specific sub-problem who knows much more than your advisor. So, although choosing an area where you don't have an active advisor makes you "on your own" earlier, you would be on your own eventually anyway -- that is the whole goal of a PhD.
Upvotes: 0
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2020/03/07
| 1,398
| 6,116
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<issue_start>username_0: I recently finished my Bachelor's thesis in math and I am about to be having my bachelor thesis defense (colloquium). The topic I've covered in my thesis is highly theoretical (differential- and algebraic topology) but also quite geometrical, i.e. I've added quite a lot of illustrations into my thesis.
I am now preparing my bachelor thesis defense where I am going present the work I've done and answer questions from my supervisor and maybe some other professors.
However, I am quite uncertain whether to do it the traditional way, i.e. writing myself a short lecture-script and writing the things I am presenting on the blackboard using only chalk.
Or rather setting up a "fancy" LaTeX-Powerpoint presentation where everything might be already written down and illustrated and I am basically just explaining what is going on.
The obvious advantage of using a Powerpoint presentation is that I might save a lot of time I would otherwise spend on writing everything down on the blackboard such as definitions, theorems etc.
On the other hand, I actually like the traditional style where I can draw the pictures on the blackboard and write things down my own (similar to a lecture). I am also always a bit sceptical about Powerpoint presentations (in mathematical lectures) since it forces me to read things out rather than write things down.
What would you recommend? This might indeed be a question I could ask my supervisor, but he will most likely be open to both and I think this is more a question about "personal preference" where both directions might be appropriate.<issue_comment>username_1: Don’t make the classic error of just reading off the slides...
Instead, point out the interesting parts: “this term in the left hand side controls the rate of dive” etc.
However, ppt or chalk is minor, it’s how you put it across **and** how you answer the questions... They have probably prepped their questions anyway, either about interesting bits or parts they did not find clear.
Good luck.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: You typically want to maximize the amount of interesting content that is presented. (Where the definition of *interesting* can vary significantly by field and purpose of the talk.) So, the primary questions I think you should be asking are "How much time will it take to draw on the board?" and "Is this time well spent?".
Some pros for slides:
* Drawing/writing on the board takes time, and often the audience just has to sit around and wait for you to do this. If this takes a significant amount of time, you are wasting the time of your audience.
* In a thesis presentation you may have some material you want to present superficially, which is much more efficient with slides.
* If there are good explanations that require visuals (animations or complex figures), you can't do this on a blackboard like you can on a computer.
* I often (but not always) find that when people begin drawing on the board in the middle of an otherwise slide-based presentation that they just haven't spent the time to prepare proper slides.
* If you want to give the talk again later, having slides can make it easier to repeat. This is especially if you go to an environment like a conference presentation where you can't use a blackboard.
Some pros for lecturing with no slides:
* I usually write things out on the board when I am trying to teach a concept to a class, because I want to go through the content slowly and methodically, asking questions of the audience along the way. If you have time to do this it can be much more engaging and the audience can understand things more deeply.
* When lecturing on a board, you can dynamically make changes based on the questions of the audience in a way that you can't do with slides.
All the usual caveats about giving good presentations apply. You're going to have to decide what you're most comfortable with, and go with that. In the end its up to you and your advisor.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: I'd advise you to be very careful about this part of your question: "The obvious advantage of using a powerpoint presentation is that I might save a lot of time I would otherwise spend on writing everything down on the blackboard such as definitions, theorems etc."
That time you "save" might well be the time your audience needs to absorb the meanings of those definitions, theorems, etc. The biggest danger (in my opinion) of slides is that they make it too easy to go too fast. Even if you decide to use slides, make sure that your theorems and especially your definitions remain visible long enough for the audience to understand them (not just long enough for you to say you've presented them). This may even require repeating a statement on two or more slides.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: A thesis defence for a Bachelor degree is at a rather different level than for, say, a doctorate. Your audience already know everything you are likely to say, but they are there to judge whether YOU know it and understand it. (I am assuming that the bachelor's degree in question is a particular subject rather than teaching skills, to which entirely different principles would apply).
So the question is how do you persuade them that you do indeed know what you are talking about.
To me, that suggests very strongly that you should spend minimum (maybe zero) time writing already known stuff on a blackboard, but maximum time on showing how well you understand it. So, you could use slides to set the context and to define your nomenclature so that when you say 'x' they know what it is that you are referring to.
Then focus your energy on explaining what you have done. I know that it is not easy in words, but if your starting point is how to use words, and then what picture would help, and if you get that far, what equation is needed to display my work, there is a good chance that your audience will be impressed.
It is very easy if you have been immersed in your subject to start with the equations and work backwards to the words. I urge you to start with words.
Upvotes: 1
|
2020/03/07
| 767
| 3,003
|
<issue_start>username_0: **TL;DR:** I told a professor something fundamental about a friends' work that is absolutely wrong, and I should have known, but I was drunk. Will it help the situation if I clarify and apologize via e-mail?
Yesterday evening I attended a festivity at my old university. I got drunk and talked to a professor who is working in a field related to my studies.
In particular, I told him that a friend and coworker of mine did his master thesis on a topic that is related to a project the professor is working on. However, I got it mixed up and this is not true. He appeared surprised and said he was going to look into that.
Now I regret getting drunk and I am wondering whether I should email him to clarify (and apologize). Either he did know that I was in the wrong, and did not correct me out of politeness, or he will actually ask around and several people will know that I gave the professor wrong information. The latter option would be very embarrassing to me, since I actually attended my friends' thesis defense and I know what it was about.<issue_comment>username_1: I don't see why Germany should be any different from other places, but generally it is a good idea to apologize for stupid things said drunkenly. And since this may have a bearing on the reputation of a third party you probably have an obligation to make sure the record is correct.
Sooner is better than later in such things, so the professor doesn't spend effort on a lost cause.
Upvotes: 8 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: This shouldn't be a big deal. If I were in your position I would simply email the professor and apologise, say you had made a mistake. But keep it professional, don't make a big deal about it, and you don't need to draw attention to the fact you were drunk... especially since not everyone's drunkenness presents as making up random things about people, and it might lower the professor's opinion of you. Just say something along the lines of, "Hi, it was nice to have a chat the other night. I know I spoke to you about x, but I realise I was mistaken."
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_3: There is no need to apologise for being drunk, as this is really not relevant; such a mixup could happen in any state of mind. There is also no need to apologise profusely for giving him false information; it is just a small mixup that is of little consequence to anyone. To keep the consequences at a minimum, it would grace you to spare your professor the wasted time of looking up (or even going through) an irrelevant thesis, by sending him an email along the following lines:
>
> Dear X,
>
>
> A few days ago I suggested that my coworker's masters thesis might be of interest to you, as its topic is related to your field. Today I realised I got his thesis mixed up ; his is not at all related to your work.
> Sorry for the confusion.
>
>
> Regards,
>
>
>
You could start off the email with some niceties depending on how familiar you are.
Upvotes: 4
|
2020/03/07
| 1,543
| 6,563
|
<issue_start>username_0: I know this is a topic that some people have strong opinions about, but a toxic culture is developing in my department whereby several postdocs have convinced themselves that they are being mistreated because of extremely small -- often imaginary -- confrontations.
For example, a postdoc encountered a senior staff member in a doorway. The staff member apparently gave her a "funny look", which confirmed the postdoc's view that this staff member is abusing their position of privilege. Anyone who points out that this is a total non sequitur is accused of allowing bullying to flourish.
This situation has been building steadily over the last few years and now five or six postdocs keep a running tally of "microaggressions" so microscopic that it is very difficult to see how they can exist. For example, one postdoc sits with their back to a door, and a professor came in to talk to another colleague, and didn't acknowledge them. This incident was talked about for weeks as evidence of the professor's "rudeness". In other cases, some people are labelled "creeps".
To be clear: I absolutely do not condone abuse. I know power dynamics are real, and that many minorities (of which I belong to several) experience daily microaggressions and othering. I have been on the receiving end of workplace bullying myself, and would never wish to silence real problems. I too am a postdoc, so have no additional power and gain nothing from allowing abuse to flourish.
What worries me is that none of these incidents are being raised with any of the staff members in question. Therefore, many junior researchers have accepted as fact that their professors are horrible and selfish people. I'm concerned about this mindset, because in at least three cases, these "selfish" professors have some form of autism (I know this as I'm a wellness officer). Perfectly ordinary behaviour is framed as malicious.
Personally I've found it very upsetting. Many of the people on the receiving end of this gossip are very kind, if not socially awkward, people. It scares me that so many people uncritically accept that everyone with a permanent job is some kind of bogeyman; of course, I cannot betray confidentiality by informing my colleagues that many of these incidents didn't occur and indeed it's kind of ableist to assume you can read minds all the time. Abuse and power struggles certainly can, and often do, occur... but if any of these complaints were substantial they should be raised with HR.
The sad truth is that I think my colleagues just get their power from trash talking others, and aren't actually interested in the truth. Dissenting voices get shunned (and accused of being privileged / not being woke). Anyone who isn't in 100% agreement gets immediately shut down. But, also, my colleagues are just upsetting themselves for no reason. They're scared of encountering these "terrifying" professors, most of who have done nothing worse than dressing slightly shabbily and being uncomfortable with eye contact.
Anyone have any advice on dealing with this kind of situation?<issue_comment>username_1: Ah. Yes. I am acquainted with things similar to this...
Yes, being "on the spectrum", is a sort of disability, manifestly. That is, one has trouble understanding the subtexts. And, specifically, one would not understand how other lower-status/lower-privilege people would receive one's comments/assertions/proclamations.
I myself have come to think that people "on the spectrum" can/should be considered "disabled" (in a particular technical sense) since they do have problems dealing with the general population.
The obviously actionable problem is the incomprehension ...
Aaaaaaaaah. I do not have a good answer.
-p
Upvotes: -1 <issue_comment>username_2: I don't know whether it would work in your situation, but I have often found that disagreeing in a questioning manner helps defuse more than disagreeing directly when dealing with this sort of 'build up' because explicitly disagreeing makes a person defensive and more rigid in their position. For example, instead of saying "Prof X wasn't being rude", you could try something like "yes, Prof X did seem unusually focussed this morning, must have had something on his/her mind".
But it sounds like nobody knows each other very well. Such problems tend to disappear when there is more interaction because people are more likely to attribute a bad interaction to 'must be having a bad day' rather than 'must be a bad person' when they know the person. Would it be possible to encourage more interaction within your department? For example, you could suggest a work-in-progress monthly session where PhD students and postdocs once a year or so talk about their work. If you have 4 people from different groups presenting, then more senior people will turn up as one of 'their' students/researchers will be presenting.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: For dealing with this kind of issue, I recommend looking at the rules for bullying and harassment *from both ends*. It is settled law that rules on workplace bullying protect both junior employees from senior employees, but also protect senior employees from junior employees. Moreover, to sustain a complaint of workplace bullying and harassment, this requires some ongoing or serious acts; it is not established by trivial isolated incidents of the kind you are describing (i.e., so-called "microaggressions").
If your description is correct then a formal complaint of harassment for these "micro-agressions" would almost certainly not meet the requirements to be sustained. In view of that, the people making the complaints must be careful that their own characterisations of senior staff, and their own rumour-mongering, does not *itself* amount to bullying and harassment. In particular, referring to other staff members as "creeps", if done repeatedly and without any legitimate basis, could certainly amount to bullying.
In terms of advice, that is where it gets tricky. If someone is subject to name-calling and rumour-spreading they have the option to document this and put in their own complaint of bullying, even if they are a senior person and the bullying is coming from a junior colleague. Ultimately you will need to think about what level of confrontation with this issue is desirable, and whether the staff in your department would be more amenable to an informal discussion to reduce tensions, or a formal complaint process where bad behaviour is dealt with through formal channels.
Upvotes: -1
|
2020/03/07
| 1,108
| 4,898
|
<issue_start>username_0: I failed an exam last year and now I am retaking it but in a different format.
Everytime I sit in front of my laptop to write the assignment I have anxiety. My anxiety is mainly caused by the fear I have to fail the exam or the fear to make the things wrong. The anxiety probably depends also on other reasons(I have a chronic disease plus other families related problems). I did not say anything to my teacher about the anxiety because I don't want he thinks I am using the anxiety as an excuse.
The problem is that I already asked for a small extension but now, I realized I need few more days. What should I do?I am spending all my days crying because I am stuck with this assignment and I cannot procede. I have the fear of the deadlines, I always wait the last days to finish an assignment because of my menthal status and the medical treatment the doctor gave is not helping me as I am feeling sleepy the whole day.
I don't know what exactly to ask to the teacher...If I can say the truth(stress/anxiety related problems) or if I can tell him that I need few days because I would like to achieve better result without talking about my mental status(which is something I need to fix as soon as possible).
---
Update 09/03/2020: I didn't receive any answer from the teacher :( I am feeling really really bad<issue_comment>username_1: Most universities have an office dedicated to helping students deal with disabilities of various kinds. Perhaps you should visit them. They can probably help with stress reduction. In extreme cases a doctor's help might be needed.
But, you might also consider asking your professor for an alternate way to take the exam than online. Perhaps taking it on paper would be helpful. Perhaps having someone else in the room with you would be helpful. But think about more options than just additional time. There is something going on in your life that suggests that time, alone, isn't the issue.
Even an oral exam is better for some people, though not everyone. But it requires a certain amount of empathy from the professor that not all will exhibit.
But if you need to ask, do so in person if at all possible. It is more likely to be successful and the professor might be able to suggest alternatives that won't come up in an email exchange.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: It is not ideal to ask for multiple small extensions. Moreover, if your condition causes you to wait until the deadline to begin work, an extension may just push back the point at which you begin work, so think about what you *really* need here. In any case, your options are either to ask informally for another small extension, or put in a formal application under the policies of your university. The most important thing to do in this situation is to make sure you make a clear request, as early as possible. If you decide to make a formal request, I would recommend the following:
* Read the university policy on extensions/special consideration, and make sure that what you are asking for is consistent with the rules set out in that policy. Ideally, you should frame your request in a way that makes it clear that you have read the policy, and that you are making a formal request under that policy. E.g., "In accordance with Rule 4.3 of the University Special Consideration Policy, I would like to apply for an extension of seven days for my assignment."
* Clearly state how much of an extension you are asking for (i.e., when do you propose for the assessment item to fall due), and the basis for your request. Provide evidence of the adverse circumstances you are claiming --- for example, if you are suffering from a psychological/medical condition, then get a note from your doctor to this effect. If you cannot get this in time, put in your application anyway, and tell your professor that you will provide a medical certificate at a later date.
* You do not need to worry about whether or not the professor will take your application as an "excuse", or what "impression" it will give them. Most professors are very matter-of-fact people who will assess an application for an extension/special consideration on an objective basis, based on the evidence in the application. If they think the requested extension is not merited, they will reject the request and then they will probably just forget about it. As the old saying goes, you wouldn't worry so much about what others think of you if you knew how seldom they do.
Regardless of whether you are able to get an extension on this piece of work, it is probably a good idea to go and talk to the university counselling service to deal with the broader problems you are having with anxieties over deadlines. Regardless of whether you are doing assessments at university, or projects in the workforce, managing deadlines effectively is a skill you will need to develop.
Upvotes: 0
|
2020/03/08
| 841
| 3,614
|
<issue_start>username_0: My paper met acceptance (through email notification from editor) with one reviewer requiring a minor change which is not minor according to my perception and would revise all my figures and results. The detail is:
Editor’s comments:
*Your manuscript entitled "xxxxxxxxxxxx" has been accepted for publication in IEEE xxxxxxxxx. The comments of the reviewers who reviewed your manuscript are included at the foot of this letter. We ask that you make changes to your manuscript based on those comments, before uploading final files*.
Reviewer 1 comments
Recommendation: Accept (minor edits)
Comments:
*I think the authors have either answered all my questions or made the relevant revision concerning the suggestions raised by the reviewer. I have no further comments*
Additional Questions:
Does the paper contribute to the body of knowledge?: Yes
Is the paper technically sound?: Yes
Is the subject matter presented in a comprehensive manner?: Yes
Are the references provided applicable and sufficient?: Yes
Reviewer: 2
>
> Recommendation: Accept (minor edits)
>
>
> Comments:
> The responses of the authors are satisfactory. But they can incorporate the sensing error parameter to bring more realistic scenario in their model.
>
>
> Additional Questions:
> Does the paper contribute to the body of knowledge?: Yes
>
> Is the paper technically sound?: Yes
>
> Is the subject matter presented in a comprehensive manner?: yes
>
> Are the references provided applicable and sufficient?: Yes
>
>
>
Should I mention that I will undertake the recommendation in my future work? If I do so, can it lead to rejection of my paper after acceptance?<issue_comment>username_1: Whether you should comply or not should be ruled by asking yourself if doing so will improve your work. If you come to the conclusion that it would improve the paper, you really should follow the advice. Most other considerations such as if it is a lot of work should be very low (if at all) on your list.
As a self-confident researcher the quality of your work should be in your focus. It is therefore never mandatory to follow reviewer advice, but it is mandatory to explain the reasons if you decide against it. If there are good reasons not to do as requested, you can explain it accordingly to the editor. In any case, the editor is the one to convince, so you could discuss your question with her/him.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: From the sounds of it your paper is not accepted, the referee has recommended acceptance but the editor must finally accept it before it's formally accepeted (at which point the only changes allowed would be formtting issues and typos). As you have minor edits it maybe the referee thinks the changes are small and thus may not want to read the paper again, in which case you only need to convince the editor that the work is not minor. They can then decided whether to ask the referee (or not) for thier opinion on whether to accept without the changes.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Rule of thumb number 1 for replying to referees: Never say "no" if it can be avoided. If I had your case, I would include a discussion (a few lines) of the inclusion of said parameter, and highlight it as a topic for a future article. Then I would thank the referee profusely for giving this suggestion, that it would be a challenging thing to do, and that this is something I would consider further in the future.
Given that the paper is already accepted with minor changes, I would not expect the referee to push back on this.
Upvotes: 3
|
2020/03/08
| 890
| 3,626
|
<issue_start>username_0: I am a Ph.D. student, close to finishing up. **I am looking for a post doc position** and have been in talks with multiple professors in various universities. However, **most of them want me to visit their lab** for a talk or a presentation, without having directly confirmed anything. Although they sound positive about me, there is no confirmation yet. Moreover, this being a relatively early stage of my post-doc job hunt, I haven't truly made up my mind yet.
**I would like to know if it is unethical to accept reimbursement for travel** and stay to these labs and subsequently refuse the offer, since obviously I can't accept all of them (if they happen to confirm me). Please share your opinion on this.<issue_comment>username_1: There are no ethical considerations here. They are willing to spend the money to get a look at you as well as let you look at them. Just be honest with them so that you don't seem to be leading them on.
Thinking of it any other way would imply that a small expenditure from them would lock you in. That would be unethical.
Good luck.
Upvotes: 8 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: There’s nothing unethical about visiting a lab, giving a talk, and expecting to be reimbursed for expenses you incurred for this visit.
The lab will get something out of your visit: the talk and the interaction with other members of the lab. Of course if you promise a talk and don’t deliver that’s another matter.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_3: Interviews are two way things. It would cost nothing for the lab., and they would benefit from a talk from you. It's only fair they reimburse at least some of your expenses. If they like what they see, an offer may be forthcoming. If not, nothing. You may like what you see, and accept, if not, nothing. Ethics don't get involved here. It's a two way thing. And they realise that you, in your position, want the best for you. If it's not that lab., that's life.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: I agree with the other answers that there's no ethical problem here, and I'd add that, even if these visits had been official job interviews, there still would be no ethical problem. I think it's understood (certainly in my field but I think in other fields too) that people who are finishing a Ph.D. will apply to many places, will go to interviews, might get several offers, and will decline all but one of the offers. No one thinks that, just because they invited a candidate (whether for an "interview" or "just a talk") and reimbursed expenses, the candidate is required to accept whatever offer they might make.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: At my work, we often have recent PhDs give a talk when interviewing. They usually pick the topic, but every now and then a lab head asks for a particular subject. The talks give the team insight as to the applicant's approach, style and personality.
The interview team conducts interviews, takes the applicant to lunch, designates a host, and the convenes after the visit to review the candidate.
At one point, when hosting candidates, my lab head encouraged me to spend money on them. Nice dinner, slightly upgraded hotel, business class seating, whatever. His point was they are coming here to see if there is a mutual fit, and they are contributing at least a day of their time (usually two or three when travel is factored in) and the company can contribute their share. Both parties have skin in it.
Just because you go on one date, doesn't mean that you will marry that person. This is an exercise in finding the level of mutual interest.
Upvotes: 1
|
2020/03/08
| 1,044
| 4,398
|
<issue_start>username_0: Some of the students in my class take a class with another member of faculty. That other, tenured, member of faculty has taken to abusing individual students in front of the whole class. This abuse takes the form of calling them "dumb" and "racist", and threatening to "report" them (whatever that means).
From my perspective, in my class the students are polite, diligent, and get on well with their peers. I'm happy to have them in my class.
**Is there something I should / could be doing more than being as objective and supporting of them as possible for my own course?**
The students have already started walking their complaints about the tenured faculty member up the university hierarchy. Each successive rung (department head, dean of school, provost so far) seems intent on fobbing them off.
If it makes a difference, the students involved are women of color and I am an older, white male.
Added: Apparently this behavior is not new. That's how the faculty member started out pre-tenure. The behavior modified. They were granted tenure last year, so the previous behavior has returned.<issue_comment>username_1: Depending on how your department works there might be something you can do. People don't like their foibles and sins brought to light. Bad things happen in the dark.
See the caveat, below, but if you have regular faculty meetings, you could raise the issue without naming anyone. "Students are complaining to me of racist/sexist behavior by some faculty member. I think we need to discuss it and whether we need policies to prevent it going forward. It is affecting their learning. It is affecting our reputation." This isn't a formal complaint about a person but it could bring about some discussion and possibly a change in behavior, if the person thinks they get no support from colleagues.
I can't guarantee that, of course. Some jerks will just be jerks.
But the caveat is that if you are a new faculty member (within, a couple of years of hire) this could be extremely dangerous for you to mention. Some places have a culture and they don't want newcomers to rock the boat in any way. All you will get, in some places, is "shut up shut up shut up". You will need to analyze how faculty generally treat one another before stepping forward. If they are willing to accept bad treatment of students, perhaps they are willing to do so generally.
In the worst case, start looking for an exit. There are some things over which you have no power and no control as a newcomer. You can find a place where faculty respect one another and the students as well.
---
A second option, if you don't feel safe in coming forward in public, is to feed ideas to students to make the issue a public one. Nailing theses to the cathedral door has a clear historical precedent. But this would need to come from students and they may not have thought of the possibility. Having a list of grievances posted on office doors is pretty dramatic.
But this would depend on some solidarity among students themselves. Some actions can be anonymous. Some can be through a spokesperson. And they can get a conversation going amongst faculty that is necessary.
Upvotes: 6 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Talk to someone in Dean of Students to help. Although the department head, dean, provost, etc. are supposed to help, the Dean of Students are the ones who can probably help you the most in this case. It’s their job to protect students from any form of harassment.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: How to support students who are/were being abused:
* Ask students how they are feeling and what they need.
* Tell them you care.
* Thank students for telling you about their problems. Just telling someone is scary.
* Tell students that abuse is wrong and should not happen at universities, but that sometimes it does happen.
* Tell students about resources available to them. Do you have a counseling office? A diversity office? An omsbudsperson?
* Ask students if they want you to keep what they tell you private. Tell them that if they are in danger or if you receive a court order, you may not be able to keep a secret.
* Tell students that if they have experienced trauma, they may need help from a mental health professional, especially if they feel bad after four weeks.
Taken in part from "Standard Mental Health First Aid."
Upvotes: 2
|
2020/03/08
| 1,401
| 5,800
|
<issue_start>username_0: I am planning to take a break from industry (software) and want to work under a professor/lab on a research project for 3-6 months, computer science/computing related. I was wondering if people could give me some advice on how to go about achieving this arrangement - success tips, what not to do and the feasibility of this whole endeavour.
I'm in my late 20s. Went to a good UK school and got a decent GPA. I got what is known as an undergraduate masters (MEng), which for all intents and purposes is a BSc + MSc. I regret never undertaking a summer UROP placement while doing my undergrad. I've often wondered about doing a PhD (I kinda always thought I would) and this would be one way to get some kind of feel of what it might be like. Who knows maybe I will change my career and move into research.
I have some potential projects (though still a little vague) that I would like to work on, but I am also looking for existing projects that sound interesting to contribute to. My current plan is to reach out to professors that seem like a good fit with my research interests (by scouring their academic pages and published work). I'm yet to reach out to anyone. Actually that's a good question - would I have more luck joining an existing research project or proposing my own?
This potential opportunity is unlikely to happen again - I currently do not have too many responsibilities e.g. kids, a mortgage, etc. That and the window for me doing something like this is shrinking all the time. I want to make the most of it by going to go to what is considered a competitive school (not that I'm applying for a programme per se).
I also want to sample US university life (I have a degree from the UK), go to a new city and meet some new people.
What I hope works in my favour is I have the money to entirely fund myself - I've been working in the tech indusry for the last half decade. Hopefully this means I don't have to work within the confines of the academic calendar nor compete for funding. I am concerned about the legality of working for free - I have seen [Nonpaid, volunteering position in a lab](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/18083/nonpaid-volunteering-position-in-a-lab).
I understand what I am trying to do may be a little unorthodox, but if I was a professor, and there was an enthusiastic individual who has a decent academics and willing to give up 6 figures for a chance to work on something interesting to us both, then I'd like to meet them. Of course I'm nothing special and I could be a hindrance, but hopefully my work experience, previous academics and genuine interest abate these concerns. To academics reading this, imagine if it was you I contacted asking for this opportunity, what would make you consider me?
Anyway, if people could give me some kind of assurance if what I want to do is not out of the question (or let me know it is), along with some pointers on how to be successful in finding a position.
Really appreciate it,
Thomas<issue_comment>username_1: In my field (though different from yours), 3-6 months is not nearly enough time for a novice to approach a research project.
Student volunteers (undergraduates, who may also get credit for the work so not entirely "volunteer") may take on projects of this duration, but there is little expectation that they accomplish anything concrete - they take more time to train than their research output is worth.
That said, a university has a mission to educate students, and that trade-off is okay for students - it's a service to the next generation of researchers, to make sure students get exposure to what research is like. **If you aren't a student, it's harder to make a case that the time should be spent with you rather than those interested, enrolled students.** Yes, you may be interested in maybe switching to a research career, but you're not nearly as invested in that exploration as someone who is enrolled in a degree program.
Additionally, there are the legal issues with what defines an employee as in [the answer you already linked](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/18083/nonpaid-volunteering-position-in-a-lab).
There are more issues as well involving privacy, data security, intellectual property, etc: universities have policies and agreements in place to address these concerns for both students and staff; you can't really sneak a volunteer in without going through those same processes, so it isn't quite as simple as just "showing up".
Lastly, just a bit of a caution:
>
> an enthusiastic individual who has a decent academics and willing to give up 6 figures
>
>
>
does not seem to me nearly as impressive as you make it sound, especially when you've made it clear you are secure enough financially to go unpaid for a bit. Any university is full of **currently enrolled students** who have financial and life difficulties and yet are working towards a degree already without the security that you've built for yourself. They are enrolled and earning meager salary despite having those responsibilities like children, sick parents, and family members in dangerous situations elsewhere in the world. It's fine to be proud of what you've done for yourself so far, but I'd be very cautious in thinking that it positions you above others in any way.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_2: There are “pre-doc” research positions in many fields. If you are considering going back to get a PhD this would likely be an appropriate thing to apply for. Usually they are working on a pre-ordained project with a faculty member who has been successful in getting a grant. But they are typically a year minimum... it would probably not be worth it for a faculty member to try to train you up for just a 3 month gig.
Upvotes: 2
|
2020/03/09
| 1,804
| 7,234
|
<issue_start>username_0: A PhD candidate has damaged possessions of a flatmate in non-university housing by purposely dropping their laptop and keying their car.
Is it acceptable to report such behavior to the university of the PhD candidate?
**Clarification:**
This has obviously been already reported to the police. The question was whether this should be reported additionally to the university. The given US university has a lengthy "off-campus student conduct code". However, a contact is only specified for a title IX coordinator. The guideline does not specify how or if non-sexual misconduct as defined by the "off-campus student conduct code" should be reported.
**Clarification 2:**
All of us from the same university, but no overlap at all in terms of departments.
**Clarification 3:**
The remaining flatmates and me decided not to take any university-related action. Nevertheless, the thought that the given person will soon graduate as a PhD and get hired by someone expecting a "qualified" postdoc that will "mentor" students is irritating to some degree to me.<issue_comment>username_1: No, it would be inappropriate to report misconduct to a university if the misconduct has no relation to the university, except that the perpetrator was a student.
If the misconduct occurred on campus, involved university equipment/resources, or involved an official supervisory relationship, then it might be reported.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: I don't know how it works in all countries, but in all cases, the university does not have the jurisdiction to investigate in such a situation. You accuse the PhD candidate of misbehaviour off-campus but this needs a process to be confirmed and only the police can start such a process.
In Germany, such behaviour affects the PhD candidate when he wants to submit his/her thesis, some faculties ask for a newly issued certificate of conduct. The idea is that a PhD should have good behaviour reflected in society. However, this is judged by only the competent authority, which is obviously not the university.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: In my experience, such a report would only hurt your own reputation.
If Bob the PhD candidate, damaged possessions of Alice, his flatmate, and keyed her car **in non-university housing**, and you report it to the university, it is highly possible to have the response "please report the incident to the police" in return.
There are always many bilateral relations going on in a workplace, and the administrators, *if they are professional enough*, will try not to involve in vendettas. Thus, if you yourself get involved in such a situation, not only you will gain anything, but the results will possibly be:
1. You superiors will have a bias about you, and you will be remembered as a person who is involved in some irrelevant plot.
2. Bob will definitely hold a grudge against you and probably will seek for your mistake to report it to your superiors.
3. Alice will probably say "thank you" and be grateful, but ultimately, she will not *return the favor* in case you face above two consequences.
I don't know what is the positive side of reporting such an incident, but I am almost certain that there will be negative consequences in the future.
>
> Is it acceptable to report such behavior to the university of the PhD
> candidate?
>
>
>
It sure is. You can report literally anything -- even what you had for lunch -- to the university. However, what you report tells a lot about you. Therefore, if I were you, I'd stay away and try not to involve in such an incident, unless my name comes up.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: I think whether to report this incident to the university, and how, depends crucially on the relationship of the flatmate to the PhD candidate and the university.
If, for example, the two are both PhD students with the same supervisor or working in the same lab, this could be considered a workplace harassment issue. The flatmate should report it to their lab and/or PhD supervisor and say that they feel threatened being around this person.
If both are students at the university, whether and how to report this probably depends on details of their relationship. "Reporting" may not be quite right, but perhaps there is an office for conflict resolution (an Ombudsman or Dean of Students should know) that could help the two deescalate this conflict.
If the flatmate has no relationship to the university, I can't see much point in trying to involve the university. Dealing with it through the courts is probably the best way to go. In addition to involving the police, as OP indicates has been done, the flatmate should pursue civil claims, and possibly consult a housing lawyer to discuss either evicting the PhD student from the flat or breaking lease and leaving the PhD student to find another roommate.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_5: I know a univerity library that checks books upon return, because in the past students have copied relevant pages for themselves and then blacked out the information so that they could learn and have good grades but deny others of learning and getting good grades.
So if the PhD candidate did this to sabotage the flatmate who is also a student at the same university, for example because both are running for the same job offer, this may be of interest to the university. Otherwise, I don't think it's any of their business to deal with it.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_6: When the police investigation is done, and the person has receives a sentence, it might be appropriate to inform the university, but that is a job for the police, if the law in your country says so. In no way is it right to tell anyone else than the police about something like this. If you do, the university might want to do some investigations themselves, and that's not their job. That's how Kangaroo courts started. Let the police do their job and let if be with that.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_7: Adding this datapoint, which I interpret as saying the answer is **yes, with caveats**.
[Press release by the Dean of Students of the National University of Singapore](https://news.nus.edu.sg/sites/default/files/resources/pressrel/2019/2019-04/NUS_Press_Statement.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3W8Om6G55jXWM-zKJI6iAwijyOmrvm3iTeTgdpyIOpBopYVR7UTnPhXlM)
>
> When such offences are committed, the NUS Board of Discipline, which comprises
> student and faculty representatives, will also conduct its own disciplinary proceedings.
>
>
> It will consider factors such as the severity of the offence, the need for justice for the victim, the rehabilitative needs of the student offender, the safety of the NUS
> community, and also the decisions and penalties imposed by the authorities.
>
>
>
I'm not familiar with the facts of the case but from what I have seen, one NUS student committed voyeurism against another NUS student. The police investigated and issued a "12-month conditional warning", and NUS has (?) imposed their own penalties.
Caveats are that 1) police were involved already 2) the media at large also got involved 3) the crime was committed on campus 4) voyeurism is likely more serious than keying cars.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm a PhD student in computer engineering and I have recently finished writing and editing a paper under the supervision of my professor. Now it is ready to be submitted to a journal. We have chosen an Elsevier journal. Since my professor seems to be busy, I've decided to submit the paper myself. Now my question is that:
>
> Is there any difference between submitting the paper myself or my
> professor? I mean if my professor submits the paper, is it better and
> may have a better influence on reviewer?
>
>
>
The paper contains the names of both of us (my professor and I), I just want to know if it is important who submits the paper (ant does the submission related tasks).
If it is not important, I don't want to waste the time and I want to submit the paper ASAP. Otherwise, I should wait until my professor find the enough time to submit the paper.<issue_comment>username_1: It is common for more junior researchers to submit papers, since the submission procedure is an administrative procedure which more senior researchers don't want the burden of. Before submission, it should be agreed upon where to submit. It is also useful to establish which authors want to be included email communication, if supported by the venue.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: It doesn't really matter who submits it, since it's just an administrative procedure.
What matters is that the authors and co-authors are properly listed in both the manuscript and the submission system.
In every submission system I ever used, you have to define who is the main author and who are the co-authors, and there's usually an option to register their contact/email address so they can receive updates on the status of the procedure.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]
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<issue_start>username_0: I finished my master's degree (Computer Science) a short time ago, and I don't currently plan to continue my academic studies.
My adviser asked me for the source code of the application I developed for my final paper (and for which I received a perfect score) in order for one of students they currently advise to continue my work as part of their bachelor's final project.
This question is similar to this one [Advisor professor asks for my dissertation research source code](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/79101/advisor-professor-asks-for-my-dissertation-research-source-code). The difference is that my work will be used (continued?) by another student as part of their final paper.
Should I do this or is there any reason for me to be concerned about this?
**Update**
To provide some clarification. I was not paid for the work that I did for my paper. (however I also did not pay for my master studies in case this matters). I put a significant amount of time into this (by my standards at least) around 5 months. Also, my paper was not submitted in an article, journal etc. It was only submitted to the university (without the code), and then I defended my work in front of a committee. This paper/project is the work based on which the diploma is given. The mark received for this is noted on the diploma.
In the end decided to make the repository public (with a license).
Thanks for all the answers, they made me realize that learning is based on sharing.<issue_comment>username_1: You developed the code as part of your curriculum. It's quite possible that therefore, the source code belongs to the university anyway. This does depend on the laws of the country your university is in.
Also, I don't see what you should be concerned about. Someone else building on your work is exactly how science is supposed to proceed. If I were you, I'd take the request as a compliment.
Upvotes: 8 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: Why would you refuse? You might want “negotiate” an explicit acknowledgment at the end of any paper that uses your code as seed for something else (“ We thank <NAME> for permission to use an older version of this code which he developed” or “This code is build on a previous code by <NAME>” or something you think better reflects the situation, like citing your thesis) but aside from this there is presumably no issue of priority since your thesis is dated.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_1: >
> [The OP worries about] the possibility that the other student might get their final score based on my work and not on theirs (if they don't really contribute that much to what I already did), as the professors will probably not be aware how much of it is my work and how much will be the other student's.
>
>
>
IMO this is the wrong thing to worry about. This seems unlikely to happen, since your advisor presumably knows what you did, and in any case if this happens it won't hurt you.
A better thing to worry about would be whether the person using your code will not really understand in detail what it's doing and how it works, and that they will then do incompetent things with it, with results that then hurt your professional reputation. As an oversimplified example, say they use your code to produce a proof that 2+2=5, and then they publish that result, with an acknowledgement section in the paper saying, "We thank <NAME> for writing the computer code that allowed us to prove this amazing fact about mathematics."
Your first line of defense against this is your advisor's competence. If you have faith in that, then there is probably no reason to worry.
A second line of defense would be that, depending on the norms in your field of research, it might be expected that papers using your code would have you as a co-author. You would then get a chance to read the paper and object if it's wrong. But this could be a double-edged sword, because you've left academia, so you may not wish to be have this responsibility.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: **Unless you are angling for commercial use of your code, you should post the code publicly, to GitHub, your own website, etc.**
To be clear, you are almost definitely under no obligation to provide your code. You have completed your Master's. Absent an express agreement regarding the IP in your source code (you have not mentioned one, so I'm assuming there isn't one), you don't have to provide it to anyone at this point, any more than you would have to provide your research notes if you submitted a thesis on Shakespeare's *Hamlet*. (See more information on this point below.)
If you are merely concerned that you receive intellectual credit—or, as you indicate, that the undergraduate is able to differentiate between your work and their contribution—the easiest thing to do would be to post the code publicly, for example to a [GitHub](https://github.com/) repo with an open source license, and then just send the professor the link to the repo. As a bonus, posting your code publicly is a good way to show off your work.
Regarding specifically the concern that the undergraduate will rely too much on your code, not enough on their own additions, and the professor won't know the difference, there are three points:
1. That's not really your concern, it's the concern of the professor supervising the project.
2. Are you certain that the new student's project is a coding project? Perhaps you wrote some analytical code, and the new student's project is to actually run it against various datasets and analyze the results.
3. If you post it to GitHub, the new student can fork the repo and the professor (or you!) can then very easily use diff to view the changes.
Mostly, I understand the desire to get credit for one's own small contribution to the growth of knowledge (this is not to belittle your work—most of us, myself included, will only ever get to make small contributions). The best way to do that is to share your code with **everyone** rather than keep it from one person with an immediate need for it.
---
Additional notes regarding university IP in student work product:
A commenter has suggested that the university has IP in the student's work. In their field (chemistry) they were required to turn in all notebooks, images produced by electron microscopes, etc.
I reviewed my own university's policies on Inventions and Patents. Graduate students are included in a long list of roles who automatically assign IP rights to the university. Undergraduates are not. Work produced on the person's own time, not using university equipment, is not included.
Does this turn on whether OP was programming on a university computer or a personally-owned laptop? I poked around online, and came up with an interesting FAQ by the World Intellectual Property Organization. (Note, I am not an IP lawyer, just a university social science faculty member, so I can't evaluate the legitimacy of this source. But it does on the face of it seem credible.) The full result can be read at <https://www.wipo.int/about-ip/en/universities_research/ip_policies/faqs/index.html>, but the gist is this:
>
> **Who owns IP generated by students?**
>
>
> Most universities recognize as a general principle that students who are not employees of the university own the IP rights in the works they produce purely based on knowledge received from lectures and teaching. However, there may be some circumstances where ownership has to be shared or assigned to the university or a third party. Typically, these include:
>
>
> * **Students who are sponsored.** […]
> * **Students working on a sponsored research project.** […]
> * **Students working on research, theses or publications in collaboration with academic staff.** […]
> * **Use of university resources.** […]
>
>
> While it is important to address these issues in the university IP policy, the university would usually need to have an **express agreement** from the student before he or she embarks on the research. This is because students are not automatically bound by the policies of the university.
>
>
>
My takeaway from this, and thoughts on the current question are:
1. Unless OP believes there is commercial potential for this code, there is probably no reason not to provide it to the faculty member.
2. If it is shared, there is no reason not to share it widely (and some reason *to* share it widely).
3. It is hard for me to imagine the professor pursuing an IP claim against the student. If the student refuses to share the code, that will probably be the end of it.
Upvotes: 5 <issue_comment>username_4: Here's how I'd look at the situation in case OP (or a future reader) is in **Germany**.
* In Germany, the IP of a Bachelor or Master thesis is almost always owned by the student.
* With software, there may be a more complicated situation if the student wasn't the only author of that software - but the exam regulations for the thesis would anyways require that the student's contribution can be unambiguously identified (and that would apply to the next thesis student as well).
* The university (or advisor) must not ask for a license/IP rights before the thesis is finished and graded.
More details on this: <https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/63605/725>
With this background, were OP in Germany I'd say that the advisor now after the thesis is finished is an indication that they are a **good & nice advisor** who follows these rules. So to me, that would be highly reassuring, the contrary of creating concerns.
*Unfortunately, I'm emphasizing this because in my experience there are professors/advisors who do not care at all about these rules and (at the very least) create the impression that the student does not own such IP produced during a Bachelor or Master thesis\*.*
For OP, I'd recommend to use the occasion to learn about software licenses, and talk to the supervisor what license they'd need.
---
As the code is part of the Master thesis, it likely has scientific merit (as opposed to being a tool that is helpful to the group but does "contain" scientific advance). That means that in publications *about* the software, OP should be co-author. Publications that *use* the software should cite OP (the thesis).
There shouldn't be anything to negotiate here as the rules for academic co-authorship (and for the next student being required to cite & report all sources for their thesis) are quite clear. Nevertheless, it doesn't hurt to explicitly talk about this.
---
\* The situation is very different for PhD thesis since many (most?) PhD students are employees of the university, and that employment relationship automatically transfers IP rights to the university.
Upvotes: 2
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<issue_start>username_0: I would like to be able to live-stream presentations online in case my school closes. My presentations are in power point. Ideally I would like to share my screen so I can use other software simultaneously. Finally I would like student to be able to ask questions from home and be heard by everyone, but I would like to have control over who is heard.
Any software recommendations? Even better if it's open source, or at least free<issue_comment>username_1: At my university we use [Zoom.](https://zoom.us/)
It allows you to host a room, share screens, create "breakout rooms" for group work, etc. Don't know what the limitations are as far as how much the free version gets you, but it would be worth poking around with.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: A free alternative to zoom is [Google Hangouts](https://hangouts.google.com), which works without installing any separate software for either side (neither you nor your students). Performance might be best with Google Chrome, but other browsers should work, too.
Upvotes: 1
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| 350
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm submitting a paper to an Elsevier journal. One of the submission steps says that:
>
> Please enter any comments you would like to send to the Journal
> Office.
>
>
>
What does it mean? What should I exactly enter as a comment? I thought it means the cover letter, but it seems that I was wrong...<issue_comment>username_1: Well, if you don't have anything to say to the Journal Office, then the logical approach is to just leave the field empty. And if you there was something you wanted to say, then that's the place to put it!
A typical thing people might want to put there is that they think that a particular editor would be a good fit for the article you're submitting. Another example would be if you think that an editor is negatively pre-disposed to your work or has any other kind of conflict of interest, or if there are reviewers for which this is true and that you don't want to be involved in the paper.
But if you can't think of anything that you want to say, then don't say anything :-)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: This kind of question is a "catch all" in case there is something you wanted to add that did not fit in any of the other questions in the submission. If there's nothing you can think of that was not already covered in the rest of the submission, just leave it blank. I have now submitted a number of papers on submission sites that use a question like this, and I have never had anything to add.
Upvotes: 3
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<issue_start>username_0: [What To Do When The Trisector Comes](http://web.mst.edu/~lmhall/WhatToDoWhenTrisectorComes.pdf) claims that most [cranks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crank_(person)) (for lack of a better word) are old men (*trisector* refers to a specific type of crank):
>
> One obvious characteristic of trisectors is that they are old. The typical trisector heard of the trisection in his geometry class, but did not succeed with his construction until many years later, usually after retirement. "His" in the last sentence is not sexist because almost all trisectors are male. From the two female trisectors I know of, it follows by an invalid statistical calculation that we can be 95% sure that the proportion of female trisectors is less than .04. Women have too much sense to waste time on such things. Trisectors are old men.
>
>
>
(Can't tell if "invalid statistical calculation" is a typo in the source)
I'm looking for:
1. A more detailed explanation for why cranks tend to be male (more detailed than "Women have too much sense to waste time on such things"). References would be even better.
2. An explanation for why cranks tend to be old.<issue_comment>username_1: In order to assess this claim, it is important to first bear in mind that classification as a “crank” theory actually requires a reasonably high level of technical development. For example, in the linked article on trisection of an angle, it actually takes quite a bit of skill and work even to come up with a plausible-sounding *false* theory of how to do it. There are almost certainly millions of adolescents in geometry classes around the world who would think that you can trisect an angle using straightedge and compass, and are willing to give it a go. You would probably find thousands who think they have figured out how to do it. The reason we don't class these kids as “cranks” is not because they are any smarter than the “cranks”, but just because they lack the time and technical skill to put forward a plausible-looking method, backed up by technical argumentation. Even if they did, you wouldn’t tend to call an adolescent a “crank”, since the expectation of knowledge is lower.
Secondly, one should consider the likely preconditions for spending a large amount of time trying to prove something that professionals in the discipline assert to be false. This will generally occur only if: (1) the person is of the view that these authority figures are fallible, and there is some reasonable prospect of success; or (2) the person gets direct enjoyment from the challenge, regardless of its impossibility. Therefore, a “crank” is more likely to emerge among people who are either sceptical of institutional and professional authorities, or among people who get direct enjoyment from playing with technical problems. Having then found a “solution” that appears plausible to them, what are they supposed to do? Keep it to themselves?
Thus, assuming that your hypothesis is true (i.e., that most “cranks” are indeed older men), I would posit that the most likely explanations are probably a combination of the following factors:
1. There are far more men than women in technical professions that give them the requisite skill to develop a “crank” argument (ergo more men than women);
2. There is strong evidence that men score lower than women on the personality trait of “agreeableness”, and they are also much more interested in things in the people–things dichotomy. There is some psychological evidence that men are more sceptical/resistant to institutional authority. They are therefore much more likely to satisfy the preconditions for gaining utility from working on a problem that is asserted to be impossible by professional authorities (ergo more men than women);
3. In order to develop a theory in sufficient technical detail to be considered a “crank”, one needs a substantial amount of technical training, e.g., in engineering, mathematics, physics, etc., and there are more men and older people with this technical training (ergo more men and more older people);
4. In order to develop a theory in sufficient technical detail to be considered a “crank”, one needs a substantial amount of time, such as would be available in retirement (ergo more older people). Moreover, professionals who are able to work on these problems during their primary career (e.g., academics and other professional researchers) are less likely to pursue these types of theories due to their professional training and institutional feedback from peer review, so the main class of people that might have the time to develop a crank theory prior to retirement (when they are younger) are unlikely to do so (ergo more older people);
5. Even under equivalent circumstances, an older person is more likely to be classified as a “crank” than a younger person, due to the fact that certain younger people (particularly children, adolescents, and young adults) are not expected to have a high level of technical knowledge, and are generally excused for making assertions that are belied by expert knowledge (ergo more older people);
6. The context for discussion of “cranks” often tends to be technical disciplines like mathematics, engineering, physics, etc., which are heavily dominated by men. There are many other fields of interest dominated by women, where silly ideas are ubiquitous, but these tend not to be raised as examples of “cranks” in these kinds of technical discussions. For example, for every male “crank” in the field of mathematics, there are probably a hundred woman who believe in [crystal healing or tarot cards](https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2018/jan/18/crystals-potions-and-tarot-cards-the-mystical-rise-of-new-age-businesses), or some other scientifically baseless idea in a field that is more popular with women (ergo more men than women);
Incidentally, these are exactly the same reasons why the vast majority of *correct* technical methods in the fields of mathematics, engineering, physics, etc., are developed by men, with a reasonable representation of older men – for every few “cranks” that put forward asserted proofs of false theories, we get an innovator who breaks new ground with a correct theory that extends existing knowledge. In any case, these are just hypotheses, but they seem pretty plausible to me, and I am not aware of any literature that attempts to study this problem. Personally, I find it unlikely that a gender imbalance is due to women “having too much sense”. Both sexes can lay claim to a great many people with very little good sense, and in my observation, various women spend absurdly large amounts of time on activities that are no less ill-advised than trying to prove/disprove difficult/impossible technical theories.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_2: Perhaps there is something psychometrics can tell here. I suggest it here as a possible perspective into the question.
[This](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Five_personality_traits) wikipedia article claims:
>
> Previous research has found evidence that most adults become more agreeable, conscientious, and less neurotic as they age.
>
>
>
with [this](https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0033-2909.132.1.1) reference.
And it further claims
>
> For example, women consistently report higher Neuroticism, Agreeableness, warmth (an extraversion facet) and openness to feelings, and men often report higher assertiveness (a facet of extraversion) and openness to ideas as assessed by the NEO-PI-R.
>
>
>
with [this](https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0022-3514.81.2.322) reference.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_3: Old men in general don't work anymore, which means
* They have plenty of time on their hands.
* They don't have employers/ bosses/clients/subordinates anymore for which they have to behave (normally)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_4: "Old men" have a lot of accumulated knowledge and experience, and have usually developed a lot of wisdom.
We can often look at a situation, immediately know what superficial details to ignore, and then quickly assemble and analyze the fundamentals.
Unfortunately, we sometimes look at situations outside of our expertise, where our knowledge is less than it should be, and then we develop amazing answers that are totally wrong.
I myself learned about trisection from my grade 10 teacher, who had the patience to read my proof and point out that "*draw a line connecting points A, B, and C*" made an unwarranted assumption.
I later learned that when a soft-science expert says something is impossible, it really means that it goes against all common knowledge and reasoning, but when a mathematician says something is impossible, it really *does* mean that it is impossible.
Those that grew up in non-mathematical fields tend not to be aware of this distinction, and so see impossible as a challenge, not as an absolute fact.
(E.g. it used to be impossible to transmit a signal of much more than 5 kHz over twisted pair telephone wires.)
For the sexist part of the question, all I can suggest is that males tend to be more aggressive, challenging the status quo, and women tend to be more conciliatory, working for compromise. E.g. an "old man" would say that trisection *is* possible, and here's why, while an "old woman" would say, if she said anything at all, that trisection *might be* possible, and here's why.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_5: Interesting that all of the responses so far seem to be from men. I believe that the extreme gender-skew among math and physics cranks is the flip side of the cult of genius, which is deeply entrenched in mathematics and theoretical physics, and also heavily gendered.
"Genius" in the sense of having brilliant insights into an abstruse field is almost exclusively conceptualized as male. As a result, men are far more likely to imagine themselves as possessing undiscovered or unappreciated brilliance. This delusion either intensifies with age or retirement provides more opportunities for indulging it.
Upvotes: 4
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<issue_start>username_0: Would Nature, Science or other leading academic journals prioritize publishing work on COVID-19, the novel coronavirus that has caused more than 3k deaths so far? If so, has this happened before in the past, during another crisis?<issue_comment>username_1: Absolutely. Journals are ways of disseminating scientific information, and they do take into account what is of current interest.
More specifically, however: Both Science and Nature do not just publish scientific articles, but also commentary and news stories. For example, in Science they are in the "News" and "Perspectives" parts of the magazine, and they definitely cover current events. As, if I may add, they should.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: When your question bears the underlying motive/question, if it easier to publish in nature and science in the next years by doing research on this topic, then my answer would be no. There will likely be an over-proportional amount of COVID-19 related papers be published in top-tier magazines, but at the same time an enormous amount of additional funding money will flow into biomedical research institutes and create competition to solve this problem in a kind of competition, while many biometdical researchers and drug developers have already stated that the development of a remedy against COVID-19 will take 1-2 years. As Buffy commented above and I conclude, the review likely becomes and should much more rigorous for COVID-19 related papers. Additionally the submission rate and competition to get into review will rise.
I'm aware of several retractions in nature magazine covering biomedical breakthroughs over the past years. Many retractions related to COVID-19 would not be very advertising for a journal within a [reproduction crisis within academia](https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/q/12520/48038).
I also want to mention that really important and technical papers are not only published in top-tier journals like nature and science, often the authors also choose intentionally a journal within the community to fasten the progress and reach the biggest possible dissemination. In case of COVID-19 a journal most of the researchers within a community have access to and which offers a format allowing the authors to transport the content they think is necessary to disseminate in the fastest and most completest way with short review time (which is often much longer among nature and science) to the community is probably a much better choice to save human lives.
It's a delicate question when the research question affects million of lives within a short time period, what ethically the right publishing and reviewing behaviour should be amoung authors and journals. There are of course preprints for nature and science, but do nature and science really have the best specialists, reviewers and review system for solving a very specific scientific problem within short time or rather journals that cover since decades virus deseases? I'm at least wondering if COVID-19 will also create new ways of publishing/commenting of researchers worldwide within short-time on a very high quality level and with open-source access.
So I'm skeptical about @username_1's answer if Nature and Science *should* prioritize COVID-19 papers without changing their review system/duration and if both magazines are the best place to publish such papers concerning the importance of a fast progress in R&D. This depends really a lot upon how biomedical researchers share information in the fastest way via specific journals with short but rigorous review while retaining a high reproduction rate of the results.
Upvotes: -1
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2020/03/10
| 911
| 3,828
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<issue_start>username_0: Most journals require to make data available at the time of publication (repository / upon request or similar). But for how long does the data need to be kept (field of on (bio)medicine)? This would especially be interesting in relation to the scientific wish to keep the data forever vs the *General Data Protection Regulation* (GDPR).
Journal guidelines as below seem not to specify this ...
* <https://www.nature.com/nature-research/editorial-policies/reporting-standards>
* <https://authors.bmj.com/policies/data-sharing/><issue_comment>username_1: This is a question you should ask the funding agency that is paying for your work. They usually have requirements for how the data that is produced should be handled.
As an example, [this is what the main German funding agency DFG says](https://www.dfg.de/foerderung/antrag_gutachter_gremien/antragstellende/nachnutzung_forschungsdaten/):
>
> Den Regeln der Guten Wissenschaftlichen Praxis folgend sollen Forschungsdaten in der eigenen Einrichtung oder in einer fachlich einschlägigen, überregionalen Infrastruktur für mindestens 10 Jahre archiviert werden.
>
>
>
My rough translation:
>
> Following the rules of good scientific practice research data should be archived in your own facility or in a topically relevant national infrastructure for at least 10 years.
>
>
>
There are certainly different considerations when the research data contains private information, e.g. patient data. I can't say anything about the regulations there, I'm only considering public research data that doesn't have any privacy implications.
In general the scientific community benefits if the data remains available forever. And while the 10 years in my example are a minimum, many parts of the produced data like the publications and depositions of structured data into repositories like crystal structures to the PDB remain archived indefinitely. And many repositories like the PDB are steadily increasing the amount of raw data they would like to get along with the final output.
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: The question "how long should I keep data from my research" is basically a synonym for "how long should my research be relevant for?" Once your work can no longer be reproduced, its value and ability to be a part of the discussion on its topic is seriously limited.
This doesn't mean that you necessarily need to stash your datasets forever, but I do wonder why anyone would ever choose to enforce the obsolescence of their own research. There are many excellent solutions online that make maintaining it costless and virtually effortless\*. Something as simple as putting your code on GitHub and your data on Google Drive, making both public and providing a link to them on your website will take care of the issue for the foreseeable future. Of course if Microsoft or Google ever decide to terminate these (extremely popular) platforms, you would have to make new arrangements, but at least it would all be collated in one place and ready to go elsewhere.
As for the GDPR, it's my understanding that only applies to personal data. In fact if you pull up the [Wikipedia entry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Data_Protection_Regulation#Exceptions) for it, the "Exceptions" section clearly lists scientific research.
The only other exception I can think of is the case of private or personally-identifiable data, such as health surveys. In this case control of the data was probably (hopefully?) spelled out in the initial proposals, and/or taken before an IRB.
\*I am assuming here that your data isn't "big" data. If your work relies on half a terabyte of data, everything changes. But if you work in the field of "big data" you likely have more knowledge of how to work with it already.
Upvotes: 2
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2020/03/10
| 1,013
| 3,673
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<issue_start>username_0: As in many other universities, due to the coronavirus outbreak now we are supposed to do our teaching online in videoconference style. Our university suggests using either Microsoft Teams or Google Meet, but I am not so keen on using a service run by one of these data-collecting behemoths where "you are the product".
**Which alternatives exist to these two big players for videoconferencing with a large number of students?**
For my lectures, I would like to share my desktop's content (livestream) and my voice on microphone. Students should hopefully also have a way to give feedback and ask questions. You may assume ca. 100-200 students.
My university used to have an internal videoconferencing service but they discontinued it.
I would prefer something open source, in theory: I understand that bandwidth does not grow on trees, but that seems like a problem that could be solved using p2p, at least in theory. Otherwise, I am open to considering other commercial services that are a bit more privacy-preserving; for instance, something run by a company less focused on advertising and monetizing user data. Apple looks slightly better, and so does Amazon (Twitch -- it has ads, but I don't know how intrusive they are).
In the past I used to publish my in-class lecture videos, but I realize that by doing so without a class I would lose all interactivity.<issue_comment>username_1: [BigBlueButton](https://bigbluebutton.org/) is software designed for remote teaching. It makes it possible to teach using videos, share slides, annotate them, do breakout rooms, etc., and can be integrated with Moodle. It is open-source and can be self-hosted.
It is apparently not easy to set up, but can be done, and can scale to dozens of participants provided they don't all have their webcam set up (e.g., only the instructor and a few people asking questions share the webcam).
Upvotes: 4 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: A few resources exist to pick your free/libre and open source software:
* [FSFE](https://wiki.fsfe.org/action/edit/Activities/FreeSoftware4RemoteWorking)
* [FSF](https://libreplanet.org/wiki/Remote_Communication)
* [SFC](https://sfconservancy.org/blog/2020/mar/17/remotetools/)
Others have resources on how bad the proprietary software is:
* [EFF](https://www.eff.org/issues/covid-19)
* [EPIC](https://epic.org/privacy/ftc/zoom/)
* [NOYB](https://noyb.eu/en/interrupted-transmission)
In France there are more options:
* [Chapril](https://www.chapril.org/-services-.html)
* [Continuité Pédagogique](https://www.continuitepedagogique.org/)
* [Framasoft](https://framablog.org/2020/04/04/pour-un-plan-national-pour-la-culture-ouverte-leducation-ouverte-et-la-sante-ouverte/)
* [Service de webconférence pour l’éducation Nationale](https://educnat-ensemble.scaleway.com/)
In Italy there's some self-organisation:
* [iorestoacasa.work](https://iorestoacasa.work/)
* [Italian Wikibooks](https://it.wikibooks.org/wiki/Software_libero_a_scuola/Solidariet%C3%A0_digitale)
Some free software like Jitsi is extremely easy to set up but also very generous in its default configuration (allowing a number of participants or video quality which Google and Microsoft don't dream of allowing), so it's easy to go beyond its limits and end up dissatisfied.
When you need 100-200 simultaneous users, it's better to use a commercial provider with some experience handling such traffic. They can advise on how to configure your free software of choice so that it satisfies your needs without melting. You can usually find a list of the more established providers on the official website of the software project.
Upvotes: 2
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2020/03/10
| 767
| 3,178
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<issue_start>username_0: A great many top US physics PhD programs have canceled their open houses with no plan to reschedule.
Some are intended on running "virtual open houses." Other's are just sending links to information that could be found on the internet regarding their program.
Is the April 15th requirement of a decision regarding accepting grad school offers of admission still ethical?
Is it reasonable to propose that April 15th be moved a month or two later?
A STEM PhD could take anywhere from 4-7 years in the US. That is a non-trivial amount of your life.<issue_comment>username_1: 1. You presumably did some research before deciding on where to apply to in the first place. That research is still valid. Any other contact with the institution(s) and faculty add to that basis of judgement.
2. You seem to presume that there is one uniquely right answer on your choice, and that getting to that one answer requires attending an open house. Likely, almost any choice could turn out well, or turn out badly, all depending on factors totally divorced from the open house.
3. Note that many people accept without having been to an open house. So, the decision can be made without going to one.
4. You seem to presume that actions to reduce the spread of the virus are unethical, something that I would hotly contest.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: >
> Is it reasonable...
>
>
> It does not seem ethical
>
>
>
I'd ask you to consider this from the perspective of graduate admissions director. Nothing like the COVID-19 situation has happened before, at least in the US within the careers of most faculty. None of us know exactly how bad the situation will get or what exactly will happen. The worries could turn out to be overblown, but they could also turn out to *not* be overblown.
From their point of view, every possible course of action comes with substantial disadvantages.
I would recommend, first of all, that you try to see this from the perspective of the graduate director. Then, figure out what you want. Do you want to set up Skype meetings with potential PIs, or current grad students? Would you like to ask if the deadline can be postponed, in case visiting first is important to you?
The graduate director might or might not say yes, but it's okay to ask.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_3: If you care greatly about meeting the PIs, you can perhaps visit the institutions without an official open house, and coordinate meetings with faculty there with a few emails, for those programs who do not forbid such personal visits. For others, you could schedule video chat interviews with the PIs you are interested in meeting. It won’t teach you about what life looks like in the town where the university is located and other things that you want to know, but it’s something.
So yes, it is ethical. Not to mention that holding the open house and contributing to the public health crisis has its own (likely much more serious) ethical implications.
Asking for an extension on the deadline also sounds reasonable, and certainly cannot hurt. I advise you not to impugn people’s ethics when making such a request though.
Upvotes: 3
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2020/03/10
| 960
| 4,135
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<issue_start>username_0: I am going to give an on-campus job talk for a tenure-track assistant professor position. According to the searching chair, my talk will include teaching, research, and service philosophy, and other attributes that show me as a good match for the position. The time slot allocated for the presentation will be about 45 minutes.
Since the anticipated appointments for this position are about 60% research + 40% teaching, I wonder if my talk should cover the two topics in a similar proportion, with just briefly touching on services. Regarding research, how should I balance my previous and future research?
Logically I will first talk about my research philosophy, then some selected past research projects and finally future research plans for this position, but there may be other more effective way. Similarly, I will talk about my teaching philosophy, experiences and future teaching interests.<issue_comment>username_1: Let me suggest that this depends to a certain amount on what is already in your CV. If you need to "boost" any area there, use more of the time to provide that boost.
For example, if your CV is already very strong in research output, you don't need to focus especially on that, other than to give an overview of your future directions (sort of like an SoP). So, spend a bit more time on teaching philosophy.
But if you are a bit weaker in the research area (hard to judge, I know), then focus more on that.
In any case, talk about how you fit in the department; synergy with current faculty members.
But don't completely ignore any area, even at an R1 university (or at a liberal arts college, for that matter). It has a broad mission, after all.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: *While not an exact duplicate, you might benefit from some advice given in [this related question](https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/192941/192971#192971). I will repeat some of that advice here.*
While the breakdown of your presentation time for each topic is important, a more important thing is to see your presentation as a unity, and use each part of it to demonstrate your abilities in all aspects of your academic work. Ideally, your presentation of your research should show what a great teacher you are (e.g., by exhibiting your engaging style, the ease of explaining the material, etc.) and your presentation of your teaching style and method should show what a serious and thorough researcher you are (e.g., that your method is informed by pedagogical research, etc.). Similarly, your professional service is likely to interact with your research and/or teaching, so it can often be weaved into these parts to augment them as you go. By augmenting topics in this way, you can "cheat" the time allowance --- e.g., your audience is seeing what a good teacher you are both when you talk about teaching and when you talk about research or service.
Likewise, rather than trying to demarcate your research philosophy from your actual research, and do these in a strict sequential order, it ought to be possible to weave these together so that they are a unity --- e.g., discuss your research philosophy, but use examples of your past research to concretise this discussion. Similarly, use discussion of your research philosophy to explain choices you've made within your actual research. As you illustrate your past research, you can raise questions that you want to pursue in future research, again tying this in so that your past and future research are unified.
The ideal result here is for each part of your presentation to augment the other so that the exact split of time between the parts is not to the derogation of one or the other. If you can make an engaging presentation where your research, teaching and service weave together into a compelling whole then your audience is likely to be left with a positive impression of each. It is unlikely that people will care much about the time split so long as they felt that your presentation was engaging and interesting, and they got at least a little taste of each part and how it ties together as a whole.
Upvotes: 0
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2020/03/10
| 453
| 1,729
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a Ph.D. candidate. Here I have a question, and I really want to hear what you would suggest.
Recently I did some literature studies, and I read a researcher's Ph.D. dissertation. She is kinda a pioneer in my research area, therefore I read her dissertation really carefully. However, I found that in the literature review chapter of her dissertation, there are parts of verbatim plagiarism. They are not blatant paragraph-to-paragraph copy and paste. They are just around four or five sentences, which are directly copied from other journals.
Her dissertation is around 300 pages with 8 chapters. I would say this dissertation is a high-quality dissertation. Besides these two tiny parts that are susceptible to plagiarism, it is really perfect.
I just wonder: what would you guys do? From my side, I don't want to report this to anybody at all, because I believe this might just an innocent mistake or something like that. Honestly, these two parts of verbatim plagiarism may account even less than 0.0001% of that dissertation.<issue_comment>username_1: >
> They are just around four or five sentences, which are directly copied from other journals.
>
>
>
This is not a mistake, it is plagiarism. It doesn't matter that it is not in an important part of the dissertation. It also does not matter how much of the dissertation is plagiarized.
However, in this case the misconduct apparently has nothing to do with you, so there is no need for you to do anything.
Upvotes: 1 <issue_comment>username_2: A few sentences copied out of the papers reviewed in the literature overview *before* the main text of the thesis? I'd be rather surprised if that doesn't happen all the time.
Upvotes: 3
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2020/03/05
| 988
| 4,096
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<issue_start>username_0: **Short version:** Is it better to switch focus as a postdoc or wait until after tenure?
**Details:** I'm a PhD student in math (combinatorics) graduating next year. Let's suppose that I'm a strong candidate for research-oriented, tenure-track positions in math, but my long-term research program is interdisciplinary with TCS. If I have a really productive 1-2 years of postdoc in TCS, will I have a shot at being hired in a good CS department in the US?
I'd rather be in a CS department, but many people in my area don't share that enthusiasm (or are located in Europe). I'm worried that I'll end up with papers in both general math journals and STOC/FOCS and still be unhireable. Should I wait until after tenure?
**Edit:** Here's why I'm asking. I have postdoc offers in both math and CS departments - I want to take the CS one, but all of my publications are in math journals, and the CS postdoc won't make me a stronger candidate for math departments.<issue_comment>username_1: My 2 cents. I would say that getting hired in the theory area in CS departments, even in good times like now, is difficult and depends on many factors. Counting on getting hired even with a productive postdoc is not a good idea. You should try but keep the expectations reasonable and be prepared to be hired in math and enjoy doing the work you like at the interface. If things work out really nicely you can try moving later in your career as well.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: It depends a lot on the kind of research you do and the CS department you are applying to. But my guess is that getting a tenure-track position in TCS will be harder than in math. There are some reasons for this:
* I think that even if you do a postdoc in CS, people will likely see you as a math person (by background and training). In my experience I am not sure that is a positive: while there are lots of strong CS candidates getting hired on interdisciplinary research agendas, usually it comes in the form of *applications* of their research -- applications to medicine, biology, etc. Even in TCS, it looks really good if you are applying your TCS research to some specific problem domains (say in computational biology, machine learning, systems, whatever).
* To get hired in CS, you have to not just convince the TCS person who is fighting for you, but that person also has to convince the rest of the department. So even if your research is getting published in STOC and FOCS, you also need to have a clear impact in computer science as a whole and that impact needs to be unquestionable.
* Usually part of the hiring process in US universities is a talk that you give to the entire department. These talks are very general-audience and need to have a clear focus on specific applications and problems, with minimal mathematics (aside from boiling technical things down to some very simple ideas that are digestible, and maybe a few slides where you explain some proof in detail but no more than that).
I have found in these talks that it can be a bit harder for TCS researchers, compared to those who work on systems, security, etc., because you just need a lot of clear applications. This is where it depends a lot on your research; have you worked on finding applications of your research to some other areas of CS?
>
> I'm worried that I'll end up with papers in both general math journals and STOC/FOCS and still be unhireable.
>
>
>
I think here what matters is how to make yourself the strongest candidate, not the specific journals and conferences (assuming they are top journals and conferences). If your research agenda is interdisciplinary, no one will be surprised that you are publishing in both and that should be seen as a positive.
But I think the "interdisciplinary" pitch is likely to work a lot better in math departments than in computer science departments. So if that is the road you are going for, I would stick to math for now (depending on the impact of your work in TCS course -- if you are proving P = NP, your background won't matter).
Upvotes: 1
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2020/03/11
| 1,436
| 6,180
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<issue_start>username_0: I have a PhD in applied mathematics from a top university. I didn't realise it at the time because I was so focussed on my research, but it seems my research area (numerical analysis of PDEs) is actually very niche in terms of real-world problems in industry.
All the job listings I see are looking for people with a probability/statistics/machine learning background. There are literally hundreds of listings for these types of jobs for every one job in my area. I am currently a postdoc but I plan to leave academia for industry (probably finance) in the near future.
As the need for people with statistical skills is so clear, I have started considering the possibility of doing a second PhD, this time in a statistical area.
It would have to be part-time as I will be working full-time in industry. However, I currently work 7 days a week and very long hours on research as a postdoc, it is my hobby as much as my job. So when I begin working in industry, which is a standard 40 hour Mon-Fri working week, from my perspective I will have a huge amount of free time, i.e. eveninings and weekends, that I could dedicate to statistical research.
So I have several motivating factors for considering doing a second PhD:
* Statistical skills are very much in demand and are of far more use in real-world applications than my own niche skillset. I would like to work on important real-world problems and it would be ideal to have a qualification for this.
* I absolutely love research and having a goal to work towards to motivate me to get really deep into a topic. I will have alot of free time when I move to industry soon, and I would like to dedicate that time to something constructive.
* I am interested in probability and statistics from a theoretical perspective and I would like to make a contribution to this field. Originally I applied for PhDs in this area, along with applied math PhDs; I went with the math PhD as I was also very interested in that area and it was a great opportunity to work with an excellent supervisor and university.
So a second PhD in a statistical area seems to make alot of sense to me.
**Questions:**
* Would any professor even be interested in working with me considering
that I already a PhD and that I plan to work on the second PhD during evenings and weekends?
* If you think there are professors that might be interested, how
should I go about approaching them? I would not like to appear
unprofessional.
* I don't need any funding as I will be working full-time. Will this help me in finding a professor for a second PhD or is it largely irrelevant?<issue_comment>username_1: As most of the comments already say, doing a second PhD is probably not a good use of your time and not very helpful. From an industry perspective you have a math PhD, that means you are very smart and can learn anything, especially any maths very quickly. Learning some statistics or machine learning can be very helpful for an industry career but there is no need to get a formal degree in it. You can state in job applications that you have a math PhD and that you know statistics. Even if the statistics is entirely self taught in the real industry world this is equivalent to a PhD in statistics.
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_2: From your question and comments it seems that there are two distinct issues:
* Finding a good industry job with your profile: since you mention statistics I assume that you are looking at jobs in the area of data science. There is so much demand in this area that you don't even need a formal diploma, you could just teach yourself and acquire some experience with online material. In case you really want a diploma, what you need is a Master, not a PhD.
* Keeping doing research because you enjoy it: you don't need to do another PhD in order to keep practicing research as a hobby. Most advisors would be reluctant to
take you on anyway if you are not able to work full time on the PhD: they would often see you as a "flight risk", since you don't have any specific funding and no strong reason to finish a (second) PhD. However you could certainly collaborate on some research projects, many academics would appreciate a skilled collaborator that they don't have to pay.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_3: I'm a retired Uni academic.
If you are determined to study more (and bravo for that), I would strongly recommend an MSc or an MMath in the subject. If you are short on skills, you will get far more from a good Masters. It will be cheaper, quicker and more intensive. Frankly, you will learn more as well. You've proved you can do research and that's the end of PhD for you. You would slow down your career too much by doing another.
Distance learning is appropriate if you are strapped for time.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: I also have a PhD in numerical analysis of PDEs (I would be interested to know in more detail what you studied).
During my studies I made good friends with a senior statistics professor at the university and I was pretty surprised by the amount of overlap some of the things we were looking at. In particular we had a good conversation about applications of the Proper Orthogonal Decomposition which had applications in my particular studies (reduced basis approximations of high dimensions PDEs) as well as in simplifying complex statistical models.
There is also an obvious huge overlap if you ever worked in the area of stochastic PDEs. I feel like I could have definitely continued a post doctorate with this statistics professor if he had anything available and I actually wanted to. I would suggest doing some background research into what some specific statistics professors have been working on and see if you can tie any of it back into your own studies. I think you'll be surprised.
On a side note, I didn't want to continue in academia and instead became a software developer. If you have some computational experience, which I assume you will having done numerical analysis, then I would also recommend looking into this because it is also in huge demand at the moment and it's really fun. ;)
Upvotes: 1
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2020/03/11
| 568
| 2,287
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<issue_start>username_0: I am a masters student from India applying for a PhD in the US.
I emailed a potential adviser at Harvard University an unpublished paper I have been working on for some time.
The application in the end did not work out but the adviser was enthusiastic about the paper and said I wasn't admitted due to funding issues.
Now I am a bit worried he may publish part of my work without mentioning me, since the paper is not published.
How likely is this? What actions I can take to protect my work?<issue_comment>username_1: >
> How likely is this? Have you ever heard a Professor of this caliber doing something like that?
>
>
>
This depends on the field -- in some fields people are more worried about being "scooped". It could be anywhere from "unlikely but possible" to "extremely unlikely". Overall it is not a serious concern that you should worry about, but it is a remote possibility that you could consider taking steps to prevent.
In response to some comments, let me add that *blatant plagiarism* (where they publish your writing as it is) is much less likely because that is academic misconduct that could get a professor in real trouble when you present the proof.
On the other hand, *scooping* is where you get the idea from the paper, and do it yourself. It is still academic misconduct, but more difficult to prove and it may go unpunished.
>
> What actions I can take to protect my work, assuming I need about 6
> months to have it ready for publication?
>
>
>
The best solution is to publish the draft online. This is common in many fields and becoming common in others. If you publish online, everyone will see that this is your work and you did it first; you have documented proof on the internet.
It could also help to document it in other ways: send the draft to others, and put together some proof that you wrote it, just in case.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_2: That professor won’t “scoop” you as there is already a paper trail.
Also, he has his own reputation to consider, in fact he might be useful support to you getting your paper published.
I suggest you should not be worried about that professor but getting your paper published asap just in case someone else has a similar paper “ready to go”...
Upvotes: 0
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2020/03/11
| 2,094
| 9,495
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<issue_start>username_0: I'm a senior TA helping out my instructor with restructuring the course in light of the coronavirus causing in-class cancellations at our university. We have tools allowing our students to do their programming labs online, and therefore our class can still run, but we still have a lab practical that's a huge part of students' grades, and I personally would prefer that that not be replaced by some generic homework.
Would any of you happen to know of ways to make secure environments where a website (in this case, the tool allowing students to do their labs) could be loaded? The student shouldn't be able to navigate to another tab or close full screen, and the website immediately submits code to the server when the time for the virtual "exam" is up.
I've tried searching for examples myself, but I'm not sure if I'm wording my problem correctly because I don't get any relevant results. I'd really appreciate the examples you have. Thank you in advance!<issue_comment>username_1: As already outlined in some of the comments, **it is impossible** to achieve what you want: You cannot control a computer to this extent without a severe invasion that would go far beyond anything that I would allow you to do on my computer due to privacy and security concerns. Unless you want to video-monitor students, you can also not prevent students from using a second computer, a virtual machine, or having somebody else working on their computer for them. And even then you need at least two cameras to see everything that the student is doing or that is happening to them and you would have to frequently check that they are working themselves, did not rig the video, etc.
On a more general level, controlling cheating on any exam that is based on limiting resources is already difficult if you do it in a setting that you can control (i.e., your room, your computers, your toilets, etc.).
By taking this battle to the “enemy’s territory” and limiting your knowledge, you can only lose.
I would thus suggest the following **alternative**.
This is how my programming practicals were done when I was a student.
I also successfully applied this to a programming “exam” in a course I co-organised.
1. The students do the programming practical with no restrictions except time.
For example, they may use the entire Internet, course material, etc.
2. After they submit the code, there is a short oral exam on the code.
Depending on the details of your course, you can very this exam in length and relevance, with the extreme examples being:
* You grade the code and the oral exam only serves to ensure that the students didn’t cheat (and may be as short as five minutes).
* You only check that the code is doing what it’s supposed to do, while the oral exam determines the grade and may also contain questions about other aspects of the course and deeper understanding.
Here, the oral exams may cost more time, but you also spend less time looking at their submissions.
3. If applicable, also perform plagiarism checks on the code.
Some pros and cons of this approach:
* You somehow have to organise remote oral exams, but these could be just via the phone, if that suffices to establish the examinee’s identity for you. Also be prepared that this mode will amplify anxiety, language, and other issues for some students (while it reduces them for others).
* You may need to modify your tasks to account for full Internet access and similar, for example it should not be anything to which a bazillion of solutions exists.
Depending on your topic, this may be very difficult.
* The exam is more realistic: except for taking exams, your students will have Internet access for the rest of their career and using it properly is also a relevant skill.
* The oral exam allows you to gauge actual understanding, whereas the purely written exam may be solved by rote-memorising algorithms, etc.
* In case of group work, you do not need to worry much about some incompetent student benefiting from a stronger partner.
(I am aware that this point doesn’t apply to you; I mention it only for completeness.)
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: You are looking for a remote proctoring service, of which there are many
========================================================================
Unfortunately, these are usually enterprise level services which your university would have to contract for.
Background
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I also use in class programming quizzes which I think are equivalent to what you mean by practicals. And I'm also trying to adapt to the new reality with a course that was never intended as an online course, and would have been set up differently if it had been.
The assignments are short, simple programming concepts like constructing a basic loop within a fixed period of time. In some years I have had the students email me their completed script, but for the past few years I have had them upload their script to the course LMS (my school happens to use Canvas). In the LMS, the assignment is constructed as a quiz. They open the quiz, see a question which is created as a "File Upload Question" (i.e., the "answer" is a file uploaded by the student), copy starter code to their programming environment, complete the script, save it, and then upload their answer.
Remote Proctoring
-----------------
My university has provided us access to a remote proctoring service that can do what you are looking for. **Note that I am not endorsing any particular commercial service, nor did I have a hand in my university's selection.** Therefore, I am not naming the service we use. A variety of such services exist, and can be easily discovered through a search engine with "online remote proctoring" or something similar as your search term.
These services usually integrate with the major LMSes (Blackboard, Canvas, etc.) and may offer the following features, which can be configured for each quiz/assignment:
* Video recording
* Audio recording
* Screen recording
* Logging all web traffic
* Forcing all browser tabs other than the quiz tab to close, and preventing opening other tabs (note, this is easily defeated if the student has a second browser installed, so I don't know how useful this is if you don't also have screen recording or web traffic logging turned on)
* Identity verification (such as through an school ID card, video captured)
* Live proctoring provided by the service
Auto-submission when the time limit is reached (your other request) is built into the LMS. Note, however, that the students are not coding *in* a web IDE, so in my setup an auto-submitted assignment is just blank, because it means the student didn't attach their completed script file in time.
The problem with such a solution is that most (all?) of these are enterprise level solutions which an institution subscribes to rather than an individual. So if you don't already know whether your university has a subscription, you may well not. (But maybe in the flurry of announcements that have been generated this got lost in the mix? Check with your department chair and/or your university's ed tech support.) If you want to use such a service and can't find one that allows individual faculty to subscribe, and your university doesn't have such a service, your only hope (other than coming up with an alternative assignment or an alternative way of evaluating the submissions) is to convince the university to get something going fast. Your voice alone won't accomplish this, but this would be something to mention to the instructor you TA for, or your department chair. If several chairs wanted this, maybe it is something the university could do. On the other hand, enterprise level contracts often take months to hash out and implement, so this may be unrealistic (unless current circumstances make people move faster).
Warning
-------
Some students in my course (roughly 20%) have raised privacy concerns about being videoed while taking the quiz. I'm not 100% certain that this qualifies as a privacy concern, as I warned the students ahead of time and told them to be conscious of their backgrounds prior to starting the quiz, but at least one student has said that it is a continual distraction to be aware of the video and their surroundings. The service we use also has a facial recognition component which a student objected to, although I do not have the identity verification feature turned on (it's a small class and I can see who is taking the quiz). A software which can control your web browser and monitor web traffic can also be characterized as spyware.
If you have any concerns about these features, you shouldn't go this route. If you don't have concerns about these features, your students may nonetheless say "This isn't what I signed up for." If your university doesn't have such a service, it's possible it had been considered already and was rejected or is being held up because of these privacy concerns.
Obviously, if my course was designed as an online course from the beginning, this would all be different, because either:
1. The students would have been made aware from the beginning that a remote proctoring solution was being used, and could choose to take an in person course or a different online course if they had objections to remote proctoring; or
2. I would have designed a different set of quizzes/assignments or a different manner of evaluation where I was less concerned about outside assistance.
Upvotes: 1
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2020/03/11
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<issue_start>username_0: I was invited to give a talk at an important conference, which has now been canceled due to coronavirus. Can I still list the fact that I was invited on my CV, with a parenthetical note? It's not the same as if I turned down an invitation or failed to show up. Obviously this is not really that big of a deal and I can accept it if that's not a suitable thing to do, but I'm trying to find a silver lining.<issue_comment>username_1: I would say yes, provided that you label it correctly. Just add a sentence that the conference was cancelled for health reasons. You can also say that the talk was accepted, but not delivered because ...
For some conferences the talk will be in the proceedings or follow up journal. It that case your write up will be available to people in any case. In fact, it is normal that the reach of a conference is normally wider than just the people who attend.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: Yes. I had a similar experience where my agency restricted travel and did not allow me to present. In my case, I listed that the presentation was delivered by someone else who could attend.
Matching the style of your CV, I would write something like:
>
> Academic, F. My cool title. Awesome conference. City, State. March 2020. **Invited oral presentation**. *Unable to deliver, meeting canceled due to COVID-19 outbreak.*
>
>
>
Based upon personal experience, I will now be adding a similar entry to my own CV. Also, based upon some of the comments, here's why I would list an invited talk even if the talk was not delivered: The invitation is an honor in itself because it shows people recognize you, at some level, as an expert on a topic. Thus, the invitation has value besides simply delivering the actual talk.
Upvotes: 6 <issue_comment>username_3: Technically yes, you could put it in with the appropriate caveat - but I wouldn't if I were you.
It sounds like you're straining too much for recognition. If it weren't for covid-19, I would think less of you if I read about your cancelled-conference-planned-talk in your CV. The way things are my reaction would be more neutral... but then - next year someone will read your CV and the "Corona crisis" will have ended already.
Notes:
* Caveat: I don't evaluate academics' CVs.
* I realize the covid-19 epidemic turns everything upside down, but it's just one talk.
Upvotes: 3 <issue_comment>username_4: A speech is a noteworthy achievement; an undelivered speech isn't. Since CVs focus on achievements, I suggest the OP omits their undelivered invited speech from their CV. (At best, it is an achievement of little merit.)
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: Rather than listing it with (already) delivered talks and adding a parenthetical note, I would suggest listing it under a separate heading, such as 'Upcoming Invited Talks', where you can give the planned details. The parenthetical note could be 'Postponed indefinitely due to COVID-19 outbreak in xx country/venue.'
Two reasons for this:
(1) It shows that you are being upfront about it and distinguishing it from talks already delivered. Some may interpret the alternative as straining too hard to show an achievement. At the same time, it underscores that you have been found worthy of nomination.
(2) It is easier to simply remove this section, should you wish to edit the CV/make a modified version for some purpose. If it is in your main list, you need to ensure that numbering and sequencing is not affected. It is quite common to have different versions of one's CV for different purposes; some are very elaborate while others focus on the major achievements only. By keeping this/similar talks separate, you can easily include/exclude them when you like.
Upvotes: 0
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2020/03/12
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<issue_start>username_0: ### Overview
I am a physics PhD student, currently in my fourth year, in a US university. During the last couple of years, I have been experiencing a decrease on the respect I have for my advisor, for a series of reasons. Besides all the stuff related to his role as a teacher in our institution (mostly his lack of effort to make students learn), there are several reasons related to his role as my advisor.
### The Problems
He has a very hard time to explain his ideas clearly, and even harder time showing (I mean actually writing down on a blackboard) mathematical relationships containing the information that he's very verbose about. This makes me feel that his knowledge about the details of the topics he works on is somewhat limited. He doesn't offer much structured guidance as advisor. He jumps between quite different areas in short time scales, pursuing only hot topics that (in my opinion) could maximise the number of citations received per unit time spent on preparing a paper, while he's not an expert at all in many of those topics. The depth of our papers is thus not great, although the yield is (we've published ten papers).
When I mention that I'm not happy with my understanding about some part of a paper, or about the confidence I have on the claims we make, I usually receive a dissuasive answer suggesting me to look at it in more depth after the paper is published, because it's important to send the paper as soon as possible.
When I mention that my research work seems unstructured and it feels hard to think about how to put everything together for a thesis, he seems not to see that as a valid point. Indeed, I often receive a "this goes in the thesis" when we're starting to work on a new paper.
What I consider to be the worst is that we have very different ideas of what academic ethics means. His approach to our projects is like "we need to obtain a result X for the paper to be relevant, so let's try to take only data that is favourable, let's only explore the model to the range of applications that could give favourable results, and let's not mention clearly if we obtain an unfavourable result".
Of course, I am a co-author of those papers too, so I am responsible for it as well. My own (soft and not too confident) personality doesn't help in going against his will. He's quite pushy and not often open to changing his mind. He speaks with grandiosity, but usually doesn't back up his words with technical details. I am not in the best mental condition, so many times I just give up after my opinions or suggestions are dismissed a couple of times.
Facing the second half of my fourth year, I'm trying to decide how to continue. There is a topic I am interested in, but I have lost faith in the ability of my advisor to guide me through it. I have been studying, and I already have experience with many of the concepts, and the tools (mostly simulations and statistics for analysis) that I would need to actually do some interesting work. I have mentioned three times my interest on focusing on this project as my dissertation work, instead of collecting all the previous papers and making a dissertation out of them. He seemed to understand and even respect my idea when we talked about it, but his actions haven't changed. He keeps pushing me into new projects and not caring about my desires. I find it hard to go to campus and meet him, and I try to avoid it unless I have to teach my own classes. I have very negative feelings towards him these days, and I feel very disgusted by the idea of doing my dissertation in his style. I think if I did that, I would just not have any respect for myself or my work, and would end up getting out of academia.
### Questions
I would appreciate some advice on how to deal with the situation, or comments about similar situations you have gone through.
The specific questions I want to ask are:
* To which extent am I supposed to submit to his will in terms of what to work on for a dissertation?
* How feasible is it for me to direct myself on this specific topic I want to work on?
What alternatives could I use, such as contacting other researchers who could provide some guidance?
* Do I make a dissertation with my advisor without feeling good about it, or do I make it without my advisor and feeling better about it?<issue_comment>username_1: There are institutional rules when it comes to a PhD, which (almost) always includes that you can't get a PhD without an advisor. In that case, your second "option" (finish without an advisor) just does not exist.
You could get a different advisor, but since you are in your fourth year, you should be pretty much done by now. In that case, changing advisors could become problematic and you should consider the option of just finishing, and focus on getting a more rewarding post-doc position.
You could keep your current advisor and add a co-advisor. This depends on the formal rules in your institution and the relationship between the advisor and co-advisor (you really really really do not want to end up in the middle of a conflict between two advisors). But if the rules allow it, they get along well, and you value the input of the co-advisor, then this could work.
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_2: Unless your field has a very high publication rate or your publications so far are mostly part of bigger collaborations (neither of which seems to be the case), you seem more than ready to defend your PhD.
And this is what I recommend to do: Finish your PhD as soon as possible without getting into disputes with your advisor.
You seem to overly value your dissertation.
While I totally get and it honours you that you want to deliver a respectable masterpiece here that is your and only your thing, this would be pearls before swine.
Unless your field is atypical in this respect, your dissertation will be read by your supervisor and some co-examiners and that’s it.
What a PhD certifies is the ability to perform and publish research.
This already happened in your case and your papers already demonstrate this;
the dissertation is just the formal finish.
Also see: [What's the point of PhD theses if nobody reads them?](https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/124689/7734)
Moreover, you will hardly get any better at this with your current supervisor.
Pragmatically speaking, you are ready to defend when your advisor considers you ready:
You cannot defend without the approval of your advisor; and when your advisor approves, you will pass the defence.
Your ideas for a new project are a great starting point for a postdoc.
Contact group leaders that have expertise in this topics and ask whether they have a postdoc position for you or would be supporting you in writing a grant to get one.
From your description, I would expect that your supervisor would even be supporting such plans, but of course you know him better.
As far as I can see, you have two choices:
* Spend a few more annoying months while quickly finishing your PhD (your advisor’s way) and then have a hopefully great time as postdoc doing your own project while learning from a better advisor.
* Spend one more year (or similar) trying to turn your pet project into a thesis without proper guidance, probably missing some of the opportunities it provides, and learning far less in the process that you potentially can.
Upvotes: 7 [selected_answer]<issue_comment>username_3: While I generally agree with the advice given by the answers here (just finish the damn PhD and then go on doing something else, possibly working with someone who you think is thinking more like you), I think the answers here are sweet-talking an often overlooked, very problematic and sad fact in modern academia:
Some big-shot PIs have an obviously unsound (scientific) ethic framework and mainly care about themselves. To me, it seems like you are a person that values scientific integrity very much and you have found such a PI. You're now having troubles coming to terms with the fact that your values (integrity, curiosity, excellence, and above all, an honest look at the world and the data) are not being mirrored by your boss. I've been in a similar situation and I would have greatly appreciated if just **one damn person had the honesty to simply tell me that this can happen, that it's not your fault and that there's no point in dwelling over it**. You obviously have three choices: (1) Quit and leave academia (2) Quit and restart/continue your work with another supervisor. (3) Stick with it and make the best out of it. Pragmatically, I think you should stick with (3) and then go on doing something you really like. **Don't overthink it, you're almost there.**
Upvotes: 4 <issue_comment>username_4: >
> How to complete PhD?
>
>
>
Work on that extra idea/topic you want to finish up your Ph.D. with independently, or together/with the help of someone who's not your advisor.
This is:
1. Allowed.
2. Legitimate.
3. Often looked favorably upon.
That's not to say your advisor will necessarily like it - he might and he might not - but you can always try and present it as the result of independent discussion and being a joint initiative of the other academic you've talked to; and argue that it's important for you to also have experience doing more independent work.
Upvotes: 2 <issue_comment>username_5: Stop chasing topics and simply put down everything into thesis. Your advisor is very likely could lose interest in you too, so in 1-to-1 situations you will be the losing side. Because you need him more then he needs you. Push for thesis faster to get to your Postdoc. Then you will be able to switch to the new subjects your advisor is not able to convey for you. We all are mortals and your advisor is too, so he is unable to know everything about everytopic.
Again, nobody cares why you failed your thesis. So you should not also care about whatever obstacle you got there. If it is your morals or "dignity", step over it and break yourself. Morality exists only for winners, not for losers. You will have plenty of time to discuss your previous papers and your mistakes in those papers when you finish your thesis and start working on Postdoc research.
Check out how programming development goes on. Same as in open source. If you are afraid to push new commits (pieces of code) to upstream, nobody will care whatever moral reasons you got. If you don't push things, you failed. Make mistake, then go back to fixing it, it will be much better then if you would simply do nothing. Development of scientific idea goes in the same style.
PS. Following to remark by @nick012000: Then you will find yourself in infinite loop of overthinking about whether or not some issue should be pursued, you are not a scientist and you become a philosopher or publicist. Scientist should not overthink and hence should not inflict self-censorship on himself. There is no such thing as "bounded scientist". You are either bounded person or you are scientist. And even worse thing is self-bounded scientist, who just overthink every time he got really genius idea and so he stuck in endless cycle of genius ideas which are forever lying on the shelf and never used. I know it because I have it at some degree and I fight my "overthinking problem" every day.
PS2. As long as existed word *science*, it was called *unethical*. Up to the point of making me think that this words are more intimately related then it could seem to casual observer. Of cause I am against *barbarian* methods in science. But think about it: simply looking inside human body, **even if it is your own body**, was considered a *sin*.
Upvotes: -1
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