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15,765 | <p>I worked for a publicly funded body. Whilst there I designed and developed a number of epidemiological surveillance applications.</p>
<p>I have left the organisation but since then I have noticed that some of my ex-coworkers have started to publish papers based on the data collected by the systems that I designed without crediting myself in the publication (in at least two cases directly referring to my system in the paper).</p>
<p>Since the publications wouldn't be possible without the systems I developed would I have any remit to ask for credit and/or authorship? How is this viewed any different from a co-worker using someone's lab results without credit for their own publication?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 15868,
"author": "badroit",
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"text": "<p>As per the comments on your question, I think this is really context specific and the role of an author can vary quite subtly from area to area. I'll try give a general answer to the general question first, and then look at the specfics of your case afterwards.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>How to handle not being credited for research software development in papers?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>The first question is whether or not you <em>should</em> be credited for the software you developed in the paper. The answer is predicated on what precisely the contribution of the paper is and what the contribution of the software is. </p>\n\n<p>If, for example, (part of) the core contribution of the paper is describing optimisations and techniques that you invented and applied in the software, then I think it is more than fair that you should be credited as a co-author.</p>\n\n<p>If, for example, the core contribution relates to a methodology for doing X where your software was specifically designed for that methodology, then you should probably be credited as a co-author or, at the very least, mentioned in the acknowledgements.</p>\n\n<p>If the core contribution of the paper is not directly related to the software itself but the software is used to some ends, then you should probably not be credited on the paper (otherwise Linus Torvalds would have millions of publications). But if the software system was described in another paper and played a significant/specialised role in the current paper, you could expect a citation.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Since the publications wouldn't be possible without the systems I developed would I have any remit to ask for credit and/or authorship? </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I think your reasoning is a little flawed here. Making a research paper <em>possible</em> does not entitle you to co-authorship (as a simple counter-example, if paper A builds upon the results of paper B such that paper A would not be possible without paper B, the authors of paper B should not expect co-authorship on paper A). Providing part of the core contribution of the paper—the reason why it was accepted in the first place—entitles you to co-authorship.</p>\n\n<p>I noticed something crucial in your comments that you didn't clarify in your question:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>\"Since xxxx <strong>our system</strong> has collated data on x cases and found that..\"</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p><strong>The authors should absolutely not be claiming credit for a system they did not design or build.</strong> This is clearly wrong. (And it also indirectly suggests that part of the contribution is indeed the system and the authors are trying to claim credit for it.)</p>\n\n<p>Since you know the authors, you should talk with them, show them the relevant quotes in the papers and tell them that you are not happy with them claiming the system as their own. Tell them that if they wish to continue claiming the system in future then you should be a co-author on the paper.</p>\n\n<p>If you wish to escalate, you can contact the editor(s) of the journal(s) involved and tell them your story. The editor(s) might agree to let you publish a letter referring to the specific paper and outlining your case. This should be considered the \"nuclear\" option.</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p><strong>EDIT:</strong> Not in answer to the question, but this quote in the transcript of Hamming's address \"<a href=\"http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~robins/YouAndYourResearch.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">You and Your Research</a>\" (well worth a read for anyone in research) reminded me of this question:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I also did a second thing. When I loaned what little programming power we had to help in the early days of computing, I said, \"We are not getting the recognition for our programmers that they deserve. When you publish a paper you will thank that programmer or you aren't getting any more help from me. That programmer is going to be thanked by name; she's worked hard.\" I waited a couple of years. I then went through a year of BSTJ articles and counted what fraction thanked some programmer. I took it into the boss and said, \"That's the central role computing is playing in Bell Labs; if the BSTJ is important, that's how important computing is.\" He had to give in.</p>\n</blockquote>\n"
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{
"answer_id": 15872,
"author": "Joe",
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"text": "<p>It's probably too late to deal with this after the fact, but much of the discussions that have occurred over the last few years regarding <a href=\"http://www.force11.org/datacitation\" rel=\"nofollow\">proper scholarly credit for data</a> also apply to software. In 2012, I presented a poster at the American Astronomical Society on <a href=\"http://sdac.virtualsolar.org/docs/SPD2012/2012_SPD_citation.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow\">Recommendations for Data & Software Citation in Solar Physics</a> that is broadly applicable to any research data or software.</p>\n\n<p>The one tricky part is that many journals will consider something simply posted on a website is often considered grey literature rather than 'Published'. For this reason, it's useful to get a DOI assigned to it, as you effectively make the citation look like any other cited work. If you're not attached to an institution that can mint DOIs, a possible work-around would be to post something to <a href=\"http://figshare.com/\" rel=\"nofollow\">FigShare</a> and they'll assign one.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15880,
"author": "Vizeroth",
"author_id": 10964,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10964",
"pm_score": 3,
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"text": "<p>The style guidelines used for citations in the paper usually include <a href=\"http://software.ac.uk/so-exactly-what-software-did-you-use\">guidelines for the citation of software</a>. In most cases, the question is not so much who was responsible for writing the software as how can other researchers acquire the software (theoretically to reproduce the results). As others have mentioned, though, if they are discussing algorithms that you introduced into the software as if they were their own work, there may be a significant problem.</p>\n\n<p>Finally, there is the question of the conditions (contractual and otherwise) under which the software was developed and whether that software is somehow unique, or just automates tasks that are otherwise tedious. The vast majority of the software I have written belongs to the people that paid for it to be written and the majority of the credit I have received has been in my salary and my resume, and the occasional thank you from a co-worker that wasn't followed up with a \"...now can you change this?\".</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16045,
"author": "user11100",
"author_id": 11100,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11100",
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"text": "<p>The key here is that it is a publicly funded effort. Any intellectual property belongs to the public. \nJust as if you developed that system for a corporation let say at work. The product is owned by the company. They paid you to develop it. </p>\n\n<p>In your example you do not own the system it was developed with public dollars. Even if you were volunteering the works you created belong to the organization.</p>\n"
}
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| 2014/01/14 | [
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15,772 | <p>I am a student applying in different places for postdoctoral positions and asking various faculties for position. It happened that, due to limited resources, I am not getting much response. However more than one faculty (from different institutes all in Europe) gave positive responses. The caveat is, I have to jointly write a research proposal with them for grant application/some fellowships. Whatever be the outcome of the proposal(s), I am starting my collaboration with them soon. </p>
<p>My dilemma starts here. The fellowships each one suggested are very competitive. Those faculties themselves informed me that getting those fellowships became more difficult in the present financial situation. Now is it ethical to do apply for multiple funding agencies in this way? Fortunately, each of them suggested applying for different fellowships. I am slightly afraid of the morality of the whole issue (like: what if all of the projects get funding). Please help. </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 15773,
"author": "Peter Jansson",
"author_id": 4394,
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"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>There is nothing wrong or strange to apply for several fellowships and funding as you describe. The opposite would mean you have to gamble on one and hope it comes through. What can be a bit problematic is perhaps if each proposal causes a lot of work for somebody in a department if you later is a no show despite funding. In such a case it would be good to let people know you are sending in other applications as well so they are not completely in the dark about your situation. I am sure everyone will be sympathetic. If they are not you may not want to go there anyway. </p>\n\n<p>The risk of getting money from several of your applications seems like a luxury problem. Yes, you have to decide which one to go for but that should be a pleasant problem. I would tackle the problem <strong>IF</strong> it becomes reality and not worry about it at this stage. Your first step is to get applications in, not worry about what to do when and if any funding comes through.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15777,
"author": "Dirk",
"author_id": 529,
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"text": "<p>It depends a lot what kinds of grants or fellowships you are applying to. In any case, you have to check the guidelines of the fellowships very throughly. It is not uncommon that you have to indicate if you have submitted a similar proposal elsewhere (stating precisely where). It may even stated that \"cross submission\" is not allowed.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 58544,
"author": "h22",
"author_id": 10920,
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"text": "<p>It is perfectly ethical and reasonable to write multiple applications because chances are low. In most of cases, you will get only one application accepted anyway and it will be no problems. In unlikely case when you get more than one positive response, it should make no problem to pick that suits for you best.</p>\n\n<p>Of course, theoretically if you are good enough for a position A, you should also be good for the positions B, C and D, if the requirements are similar. However this also depends on many random factors. Maybe you know some method they plan to use in research but for some reason did not state clearly in the announcement. Maybe the professor has (grounded or not) personal opinion that your institution or journal where you have published is very bad or very good. People pre-screening the applications may apply different priorities. Depends a lot on who else has applied for the position. Many things can happen.</p>\n\n<p>Waiting for the solution that often takes weeks at least and significantly reduces the number of applications that are possible to write, creating risks that you will never succeed with any.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 93549,
"author": "einpoklum",
"author_id": 7319,
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"text": "<p>You are applying for a <em>job</em>. A prestigious, noble and publicly-beneficial job, but that does not change its fundamental character. And as a post-doc you will do research work, and get a salary for it - just like a Professor, on one hand, and a security guard or cleaning crew member, on the other hand.</p>\n<p>Do you think any of them should only apply for one position at a time?</p>\n<p>Another aspect of this fact: Nobody will be doing you a favor. They make offers, and you can accept or reject them; just like they get applications and may accept or reject them. Your tone seems slightly self-deprecating - and there's no need for that. You're a (soon to be) recognized Doctor of Philosophy. Stand tall!</p>\n"
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| 2014/01/14 | [
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15,779 | <p>Reviewers are expert in their fields who can understand your work but are also potential competitors if they worked in the same field as you do. How frequent is a bad review from the reviewers due to the potential competition with your work so they can stall your publication?</p>
<p>For example, if you were a reviewer, would you be excited to learn that I have published research that are superior to yours or prove that your research direction was wrong? Another extreme example, if you were an HIV researcher/reviewer, how excited/horrible would you feel if I publish a cure for HIV and will be nominated for Nobel prize tomorrow and you will be sitting down there listening to my talk? What incentive do reviewers have to give out good/fair review?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 15781,
"author": "paul garrett",
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"text": "<p>It happens. Meanwhile, of course, it is difficult to document or argue about it... which is not surprising given that the people perpetrating this are not stupid, so will not leave themselves open to the simplest trail-of-damning-evidence.</p>\n\n<p>The question of \"how often?\" is essentially impossible to answer, exactly because no one wants to, or would wisely, document such things...</p>\n\n<p>But, yes, there is such a possibility, for sure, and it can have an impact. But, apparently, we are all to pretend that it is not happening, and to rationalize that there are other good reasons, etc. In terms of behavior-of-humans, this is similar to our collective rationalization that the seeming-issues seemingly-debated in politics touch reality directly. That is, there's scant purpose in rebelling too strongly, because then one disconnects from the actual process of \"politics\". On the other hand, it would induce insanity to believe too much that those things reflect sense or reality.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15786,
"author": "user10815",
"author_id": 10815,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10815",
"pm_score": -1,
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"text": "<p>Unfortunately, bad and/or fabricated reviews are common if you are in a competitive industry. It is harder and harder to find a <strong>genuine</strong> and <strong>unbiased</strong> reviewer who has no hidden interests or agendas. You can watch some industry forums, where writing service owners and freelance writers allegedly post misinformation or untrue statements about each other in order to discredit their competition.</p>\n\n<p>Another thing, you need to be careful whom you entrust your research work. Even if they don't use it today, they may use it tomorrow (or they may change some details and claim authorship). Hopefully, I didn't scare you too much though ;).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15803,
"author": "Twitch",
"author_id": 10817,
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"text": "<p>To echo Paul's statement above, it happens. To what extent just depends on unknown and incalculable variables. Odds are, if you are in the game for long enough, you'll hear about it, see it happen, and experience it. </p>\n\n<p>The problem is that the field of study becomes increasingly narrow, and so the pool of people that can provide peer reviews likewise become increasingly narrow.</p>\n\n<p>At some point, you'll even start to recognize the style of writing from blind feedback and can identify the author. </p>\n\n<p>And, what will really tick you off is coming up with an original idea, telling a colleague about it, and then 6 months later see that idea become the title of an article written by someone in your field at another university. </p>\n\n<p>That actually happened to me, and the title was verbatim. I'm still peeved about it.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15807,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
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"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>How often is a bad review from the reviewers due to the potential competition with your work so they can stall your publication?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Clearly there is no hard data on that, but I would wager much less than people think that it happens. I can only echo Matthew G.s sentiment above - In my experience papers in my field (software engineering) are rejected because of (roughly in order):</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Bad method</li>\n<li>Bad writing</li>\n<li>Bad reviewer</li>\n<li>Bad idea</li>\n<li>Actively malicious reviewer</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Of course, when people get a reject, it is much easier to conclude that bullet 3 or 5 happened than 1, 2 or even 4. However, that does not necessarily make it so.</p>\n\n<p>In my experience, the way to achieve modest success in science is to <strong>do your best work</strong>, and accept that occasionally bad things will happen to you. Achieving success in science is a bit like playing poker. There are hands that you play well but another player gets undeservedly lucky, but over the course of an evening (or career), the bad players usually lose and the good players usually win.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15809,
"author": "Trylks",
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"text": "<p>This question cannot be answered, nobody knows how often this happens. If someone knew the answer it wouldn't be relevant anyway, because it would be ephemeral.</p>\n\n<p>What we are talking about here is a form of corruption or perversion and pretending it's not happening or pretending it's impossible is the worst thing that can be done because that will only make it worse. Those who are corrupts get an advantage from a system that is not well designed for the present times, their behaviour is rewarded and so the system converges to a corrupt state.</p>\n\n<p>Therefore it's important to fight corruption (and changing the system, but I don't want to go too offtopic). So, how can we minimise the risk for this so that it happens less often?</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Preprints: arxiv.org (and similar services) can keep your preprints online, and they have become standard in some areas as physics (AFAIK). If reviewers try to publish papers that they have rejected the evidence is there, in the preprints server.</li>\n<li>Open reviews: some journals have open and public reviews. The reviewer may still give a bad review based on personal interests but in this way that would be more obvious. Transparency is not a solution to corruption, but it helps.</li>\n<li>Editors: if you have a problem with a reviewer you can raise your concerns to the editor. I have seen people doing this several times and they never had positive news on the result, but this is something that you can do in any case.</li>\n<li>Choose wisely your venues: if the editor is not trustworthy (and the reviewers are anonymous) you may prefer to choose a different venue. In a free market (of papers and venues) with perfect information these venues should theoretically disappear after some time, but practice and theory are not the same (in practice).</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>There are probably more things that you can do, I hope more people will suggest some in the comments (actually I'm making this post a community wiki post, so feel free to edit). But in short, doing nothing about it (as other answers and comments seem to suggest) would be a very bad idea.</p>\n\n<p>\"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.\" - Edmund Burke</p>\n\n<p>PD: The reasons why the system is not well designed are long to explain, it has grown larger (there has never been so many people in academia in history), the fields have grown more specific, the world is more globalized, there is a stronger competition, etc.</p>\n\n<p>PD2: I also agree that probably bad reviews are so because of other reasons, but one of them may be a bad reviewer or a reviewer having a bad day (as people seem to suggest), and what I suggest minimises the impact of this as well (e.g. open reviews).</p>\n\n<p>Additionally we should consider how often papers that are \"not that good\" get a positive review for other hidden interests (friendship, they are on the same project, they promote the same approach/idea, etc.) this causes an unfair advantage and other papers may get rejected more easily.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15822,
"author": "gerrit",
"author_id": 1033,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1033",
"pm_score": 4,
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"text": "<p>In my experience:</p>\n\n<p><strong>If the editor is fair, it doesn't matter terribly much.</strong></p>\n\n<p>The decision to reject a paper is not taken by the reviewers. <strong>The decision is taken by the editor.</strong> The role of the reviewers is to give a <em>recommendation</em>, upon which the editor takes a decision. If a reviewer recommends rejection (or acceptance, for that matter), the editor is free to ignore this recommendation (this has happened to yours truly). If the editor suspects that a reviewer recommends rejection because of potential competition, or for any other improper reason, then the editor should not weigh this recommendation heavily. This is one of the reasons why there should always several reviewers — at least in my field (atmospheric remote sensing), I've only come across cases with two or three reviewers.</p>\n\n<p>Secondly: <em>The editor knows who the reviewer is</em>. If a scientist makes a habit of recommending rejections for improper reasons, he or she will get a reputation among editors. Editors are usually well-known colleagues in the field, so you really don't want to be known as the envious guy (or gal) who will reject major works of research because it was <em>not invented here</em>. In the best case, they won't be asked as reviewers any more. In the worst case, it may harm a scientific career.</p>\n\n<p>Perhaps the scenario described above is somewhat naive, but in those cases where I've either been a reviewer, or been corresponding author, it would apply. The same for open review papers (such as the geophysical journal, published by EGU, <a href=\"http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/volumes_and_issues.html\">Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics</a>). It might be different in other fields, this I don't know. I hope that even in other fields, the editor does more than copy-paste and blindly follow whatever reviewers recommend.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15884,
"author": "h22",
"author_id": 10920,
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"text": "<p>It is fully possible situation. The editor tries to pick the most relevant reviewers, but these are also the most probable competitors, as they work on the same topic. If two near parallel research projects are close to publishing they results (and who will be first), yes, this is a problem. However if the works are different enough not to invalidate significance of each other, most of the reviewers will not be biased.</p>\n\n<p>It even happened for me to observe the competing laboratory simply delaying the review for a long time (as this also delays the publication) and ultimately refusing to provide it, openly stating that \"we are competitors\".</p>\n\n<p>As a result, many journals allow authors to provide a list of competitors that may not be capable of unbiased reviewing for that article. If some other laboratory is very much a competitor, or if have already been problems with such a reviewer in the past, the author should ask the editor to pick somebody else.</p>\n"
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15,782 | <p>I was recently admitted into a PhD program, and am currently a MSc Student. Both me and my advisor expected me to graduate this spring, which would mark the 4th semester. Because of that, I applied to PhD programs, and got into a good one. But now I think I might need a bit longer to complete the Thesis portion of it; I could switch to MA which is course based and head on to PhD 1) I am not sure if they will still accept me if I do not have an MSc (the strength of my application was the skills I learned during my thesis) and 2) I want to finish my thesis, because well, I want to publish the results and am interested in it. </p>
<p>What are my options? Many programs do not allow deference, and getting into a PhD program is so hard to begin with.</p>
<p>Thank you for your time.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 15788,
"author": "Nate Eldredge",
"author_id": 1010,
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"text": "<p>I don't know the details of your situation, but the conventional advice would probably be:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>Pound out a thesis that's good enough for your advisor to let you graduate. It doesn't need to be outstanding or publishable, or include every idea you've considered. It just has to get you the masters.</p></li>\n<li><p>Start your PhD program on time.</p></li>\n<li><p>If the project still interests you, continue working on it in your spare time. Stay in contact with your masters advisor. When it's far enough along to publish, do so (perhaps with your masters advisor as a co-author).</p></li>\n</ol>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15802,
"author": "Twitch",
"author_id": 10817,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10817",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>To add to what Nate said, explain your entire situation to your thesis advisor. You might be surprised how sympathetic they are and willing to give advice on how to get through the minimum. Unfortunately, a lot of PhD studies is about getting through the minimum. </p>\n\n<p>I have just myself reached the point where I can stop taking classes and focus on my research, but that took almost two years beyond my masters... so basically 4 years of graduate 400/500 level coursework. </p>\n\n<p>First and second years went like this: get excited about classes starting, first week introductions and orientation, gradually become consumed by all the coursework, become a zombie from lack of sleep, taper off and start to question my sanity, then blitz to the end to finish final projects. In my 3rd and 4th years, I was on my iPad halfway listening to the lecture because the coursework was like a programming language: same principals with a different syntax. </p>\n"
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| 2014/01/15 | [
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15,783 | <p>I am using an <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v323/n6088/abs/323533a0.html" rel="noreferrer">old paper</a>, published in 1986.
It is in the form of a "Letter to Nature" (which is a scientific journal).
It doesn't appear to be typeset in TeX, at least not TeX as we know it today.
Furthermore, it is a scanned copy, so it is just a image, embedded as a PDF.
The lack of multiline equations, and highlight-able text is getting to me.</p>
<p>I'm considering re-typesetting it myself by hand in LaTeX (it is quite short)
for my own benefit and understanding.</p>
<p>The paper is still being cited today, and is used in university courses to teach the subject. It seems a waste to have gone to the effort to retype it neater, and then just leave it in my draws.
If I re-typeset it, what can/should I do with the new version?</p>
<p>Can I host it online myself (giving full credit to the authors)?
Should I send a copy to authors, for them to do with as they will?
Are there issues with the fact that it has been published in Nature? Perhaps they have some copyright on it?</p>
| [
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"answer_id": 15789,
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"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The copyright is almost certainly owned by Nature. I don't know what sort of rights the authors retained in Nature's copyright agreement from 1986, or how to find out other than by asking Nature or the authors. My guess is that Nature will not want you to distribute the paper, and the authors may not even have a copy of the agreement or remember what was in it, but who knows. Nowadays Nature allows authors to post their own version of the paper on their own web site or institutional repository six months after publication. This clause couldn't have been in the 1986 agreement (there was no web back then), but maybe Nature would agree to it retroactively. If so, then the authors could legally distribute your retyped version. It's hard to say whether Nature will agree or whether the authors will want to bother with this, but it could be worth asking.</p>\n\n<p>Of course you could retype and distribute it without permission. Even aside from the illegality, it seems a little rude to distribute a retyped version without checking with the authors. For example, if you introduce typos, readers may not know who to blame, you or the authors. On the other hand, the authors probably can't legally authorize you to distribute it, so it's an awkward situation.</p>\n\n<p>It's too bad our laws and customs make it difficult to arrange things like this. When someone does retype a famous paper (such as <a href=\"http://cm.bell-labs.com/cm/ms/what/shannonday/paper.html\">Shannon's 1948 paper introducing information theory</a>), it can be a really useful service for the community. I hope you are able to find a way to do this with Nature and the authors' permission.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15894,
"author": "Norman Gray",
"author_id": 10983,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10983",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>The copyright will be owned by Nature, so it would be illegitimate (and, as @AnonymousMathematician says, somewhat rude) for you to distribute it yourself.</p>\n\n<p>However sending a re-typeset version to the original authors isn't <em>distribution</em>, but simply correspondence. If they want to re-distribute this, they're in a better place to do so than you are. This may not have occurred to them, and your action in suggesting they do so, will be at the very least encouragingly flattering!</p>\n\n<p>I doubt Nature would be opposed in principle. Their <a href=\"http://www.nature.com/authors/policies/license.html\">author licence policy</a> says that ‘[Nature Publishing Group] actively supports the self-archiving process, and continues to work with authors, readers, subscribers and site-license holders to develop its policy.’ That's a fairly vague remark, of course, but many universities and funders now <em>mandate</em> 'self-archiving' papers, and journals have no option but to go along with this; therefore the authors may have already have a way of distributing this in a way which is low-hassle to them, and unobjectionable to the journal(s).</p>\n\n<p>Detail: Authors aren't, typically, allowed to distribute the publisher's PDF version of a paper, but <em>are</em> increasingly allowed to 'self-archive' and distribute the 'post-refereeing authors' version' (that is, the same text as in the published version, but typeset by the author).</p>\n\n<p>So, get in touch with the authors. It sounds like you'll be doing the community a favour.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15902,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>While both answers above are correct in that you'd be violating copyright by typesetting the paper and distributing it, it sounds like your intent here is to create a document for your understanding, and that duplicating the paper is the way you're proposing to do that.</p>\n\n<p>Another way is to think of how you'd prepare lecture notes based on this paper. It's very common to see lecture notes that go into detail on a single paper. Now you can't reproduce figures/tables from the original work without permission, but you can definitely explain the paper using your own understanding it, and referring readers to the original source for any specific figures/tables/results. Since this particular paper is quite mathematical in nature, you should be able to explain it <strong>in your own words</strong> reasonably well without actually copying it. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/15 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15783",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8513/"
]
|
15,784 | <p>I am a senior undergraduate (electrical) engineering student, exceedingly interested in <strong>physics</strong>. 4 years ago when entering university, for some reasons (better: <em>illusions</em>) I chose engineering as my major, while I was interested (and also really knowledgeable) in physics . Soon after the first semester I realized that I've decided wrong, and I must have chosen physics.</p>
<p>Since our university is a technical institute and does not have a strong physics department I decided to <em>study</em> physics on my own, without changing my major.But I took and passed the basic <em>graduate</em> physics courses (advanced quantum mechanics, advanced statistical mechanics, electrodynamics I & II), have done a few research projects and had a paper published (maybe 1 more in the future). I have <em>explored</em> lots of research areas in physics and I think I have a good potential for doing research.</p>
<p>While concentrating on physics, I was inattentive to EE courses. Today, while searching for graduate programs, I saw that some schools require a minimum GPA, usually 3. I just calculated my GPA and found out that it is 2.95!</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Do all universities have a GPA threshold? </p></li>
<li><p>Since I'm changing my major and also have a good GPA in graduate physics courses, is there any way I can compensate for my (very) low electrical engineering GPA? (like by taking subject GRE, etc.)</p></li>
<li><p>If I first (somehow) get a masters degree in physics and then apply for a PhD, can I throw away this electrical engineering GPA in my PhD application ?</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Any other suggestion is warmly appreciated.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 15799,
"author": "BrenBarn",
"author_id": 9041,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9041",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I can't say \"all\" for sure, but I think you'll find that many if not most schools do have a minimum GPA requirement.</p>\n\n<p>Whether you can compensate for a low GPA depends on how the school handles it. In some cases it may be difficult, as admissions committees may literally scan apps for GPA and put all that do not meet the standard in a \"reject\" pile without even reading the rest of the application. In other cases the minimum may be \"soft\" and they will read the app. My advice would be to: A) get advice from a professor at your school you have a rapport with; and B) contact faculty at the schools you're applying to (or considering applying to). I would not just bluntly ask the GPA question on its own, but email them in general saying you're interested in the program, and mention the GPA issue along with whatever else you ask them about the program.</p>\n\n<p>You almost certainly cannot \"throw away\" your undergrad GPA in a PhD application. Even if you have an MA, most schools will want to see <em>all</em> your college transcripts.</p>\n\n<p>You should also take advantage of the time you still have during the year to bring your GPA up as much as possible. Even consider doing this by taking easy classes that you might not otherwise take. Personally, if I were in your situation, I would even consider delaying graduation by a year or part of a year, if it's financially feasible and your school will allow it, just to have more time to take classes and bring up your overall GPA.</p>\n\n<p>You have already made a significant blunder in letting your GPA get that low, as a GPA below 3.0 will be a red flag to many graduate programs. However, from what you say, you would be a strong candidate in other regards. If you can get people to look at your app long enough to read your statement of purpose and see your grad coursework, then you probably have a decent shot. To do that, you should leverage your strengths. If you have taken many grad classes, done research, and published a paper, you presumably have good contacts in the physics department. Lean on those people to write you glowing letters of rec.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15801,
"author": "Twitch",
"author_id": 10817,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10817",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There is a lot of politics in academia, and being nice or knowing the right people can get you pretty far. </p>\n\n<p>In your case, I would look at the universities that you want to study graduate level physics at, travel out there, and speak with the professors. They are used to meeting with students that are looking at several different graduate programs, so its all part of their job. You can ask them if they'd like to get coffee, and it doesn't hurt to look at the campus map and know which coffee shop is around the corner from their office.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Read and know their work before hand.</strong> They almost always have a CV listed on their personal web page, with the most recent publishings at the top. Start with that. </p>\n\n<p>Expect to spend no more than 30 minutes talking to them, but if the conversation is good, it can go an hour or more. At that point, you can talk about your background, your interests, why you transferred from EE to physics and so forth. </p>\n\n<p>While you're in town, talk to some other professors in that department; it can just be a casual swing by the office. Talk with the graduate student advisors in their office. See if you can get a tour of the labs, and while you're in there, talk to more people. </p>\n\n<p>I guarantee you that when your application is being reviewed, they will recognize your name and give you a much higher consideration.</p>\n\n<p>Grades are not everything. I made it into the #1 ranked program for my masters with a 3.0 GPA and a decent GRE score, then leveraged the 3.8 GPA to jump to a PhD program. Two years were knocked off my PhD requirements for having an M.S. And, I did the schmoozing all over again when I applied for the PhD. </p>\n\n<p>EDIT: One last thing, as was mentioned elsewhere, take some extra classes to get that GPA up. Even if they're summer courses, just get it up enough to push you above a 3.0. The last 60 hours are the most important. It demonstrates your level of commitment. </p>\n\n<p>Also, many schools have a Certificate of Advanced Study (CAS). Its not a masters, but its graduate level studies. If you get really good GPA in a CAS, then you'll make up for the low undergraduate GPA.</p>\n\n<p>EDIT #2: One more thing... heh... part of applying for any graduate program isn't simply a matter of if you meet the qualifications. The best programs always have people storming at the door. What the admissions committee is also going to look at is whether or not they are a good fit for you. So they will try to figure out not only if you have what they need, but if they have what you need. That includes deciding whether or not you would be in over your head after a year of study and then drop out, having wasted a slot that could have gone to someone else. And, there is one thing that benefits you, and that's having studied EE. That means you're essentially a non-traditional physics student. You can say that you're interested in studying the intersection of EE and Physics, and that professor Y's research would be the perfect compliment to augment your studies. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 64909,
"author": "AstroGuy",
"author_id": 50590,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/50590",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I just graduated from school X in BS. Physics & Astronomy. I graduated with a CGPA of 3.0 (did not do so well due to family health issues). But then I applied for only one school for my Masters in Applied Physics in school Y and got accepted. I also got the Graduate Assistantship (GA) position with that which gives me full scholarship and a stipend. I did not even have to take the Physics GRE to get accepted, just the General GRE. </p>\n\n<p>My advise get to know your professors really well. It's really amazing, what professors can do to get you accepted into a grad school. Get at least 3 excellent letters of recommendation relevant to Physics or Astronomy. Be the top student in the class you would like ask the professor for a letter. Be noticed by your professors as a determine & excellent student in class during your undergraduate. </p>\n\n<p>Be a TA or SI in Physics/Astronomy during your undergraduate, and this will show you can teach, looks very good on your resume and you can be accepted into GA positions in grad school. </p>\n\n<p>Publish papers & books in Physics/Astronomy journals. I did that, and I'm proud of my accomplishment and I stand out from the rest. </p>\n\n<p>Be good at computer programming. Matlab, IRAF, IDL, Python, Zemax are some good programming skills looked by most Physics/Astronomy grad schools. Knowing a computer language for grad school is essential for research and publications. </p>\n\n<p>Do research with professors from your Physics/Astronomy Dept. You will get to know your professor better and show that you can do research in lab. Lab skills are very important especially when you are going to grad school, as it shows you are knowledgeable and also experienced. Grad school will find it easier to select you this way. </p>\n\n<p>While taking classes irrelevant to Physics & Astronomy to boost your CGPA, sound like a good idea, it actually may not be the case all the time. Grad schools are only mostly concern with how well you did in your physics, astronomy & math classes. They are not bothered if you get A's in all your art or language paper if you're applying to Physics/Astronomy grad school. What matters to them the most are your Physics, Astronomy & Maths. </p>\n\n<p>While getting into grad school is one thing, but getting any financial aid or scholarship is another thing. Many student find grad school to be very expensive and in addition, they are still paying their loan back for their undergraduate. So funding your grad school is another thing to worry about, even if you got accepted. Most grad school requires a better grade to get any sort of scholarship or financial aid. For example, in my school only about 30-40 % of student got accepted into the grad school, will receive the GA position which gives student a full tuition waiver, a stipend and other benefits. I was the lucky few :)</p>\n\n<p>My general advise in CGPA to apply for grad school around the US (other criteria will be considered for admission) for Physics/Astronomy grad schools. Disclaimer:This is just a rough gauge on where you are standing and where do you see yourself in the future. </p>\n\n<p>1) 3.70-4.00 (Top schools in the nation)\n2) 3.50- 3.69 (Good schools)\n3) 3.00.3.49 (Most state schools)\n4) 2.80- 2.99 (Community colleges, small schools & mediocre schools)\n4) below 2.80 (Don't be a science major)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 64982,
"author": "Kimball",
"author_id": 19607,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/19607",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Requirements are not set in stone, but meant to filter out weak candidates and create a sense of selectivity. I remember a recent case where we accepted a PhD student who seemed strong, though for various reasons had a low GPA, which was below the threshold set by our Graduate College. This just meant we needed to write a letter to the Graduate College petitioning for an exception in this case. Incidentally, that student didn't accept, presumably having got into a better school.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/15 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15784",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10814/"
]
|
15,793 | <p>One of my professors has been in the IT development fields for over 40 years. He thinks he is up-to-date with all the latest research and technology. But I believe he's not.</p>
<p>The problem is - he hates when a student (like me) dares to point out his mistakes or flaws in reasoning. Or when a student suggests a better (modern) solution to a problem.</p>
<p>How to deal with such a situation - should I keep challenging him or keep quiet until the end of semester? I don't want to lose grades (he's been known to give lower grades to students who asked him too many questions he wasn't able to properly answer).</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 15795,
"author": "J. Zimmerman",
"author_id": 7921,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7921",
"pm_score": 7,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p><strong>Short answer:</strong> Probably not. </p>\n\n<p>As you pointed out, you may lose out on grades by challenging this professor. A larger problem, in my opinion, is when you (the student) approach the class with an attitude of discovering the professor's many mistakes. With this attitude, you also lose out on the opportunity to learn from his expertise. While this particular professor may not be as <em>modern</em> as you would like, it does not mean you cannot learn from him!</p>\n\n<p><strong>Keep quiet</strong> until the end of the semester, except when you have a valid question. And don't approach intending to prove him wrong; approach intending to find out how you can learn from what he knows. <strong>Ask questions because you want to learn, not because you want to prove the professor wrong.</strong> If you believe you know a better solution, it might be appropriate to ask \"Would this solution also work? If not, why not?\" <strong>Ask, don't tell.</strong> Your professor is human too, and most of us have a hard time always responding graciously to a smarty-pants student who thinks they know more than we do!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15800,
"author": "Twitch",
"author_id": 10817,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10817",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Have you ever seen a skit on The Chapelle Show called, \"When keeping it real goes wrong\"? </p>\n\n<p>Trust me when I tell you that every class in every semester has a student that thinks he or she knows it all.</p>\n\n<p>It can be hard to stand in front of a class and have all the answers. Sometimes when I've stood up there and say something, I've felt rushed to give an answer so I don't look stupid, and it just came out all wrong so I looked (or felt) even more stupid. Then I just walk around for two days realizing how stupid I am. </p>\n\n<p>Even the best professors can be wrong, but the better ones will at least correct themselves in the next class or send out an email explaining something further. </p>\n\n<p>The best way to handle the professor isn't necessarily to try and show them up in class, but to either go to office hours and ask for clarification. If you still think they are wrong, explain where you found the answer and show them. </p>\n\n<p>If its worth the time to engage them at all, then that can be best way to do it. If they don't respond well in that situation, then its not worth your time and you should just keep quiet and focus on your grade. </p>\n\n<p>Believe me, as an undergraduate I've battled many worthless TAs only to have the head of their department say that they have to back up the TA because that's just how its done. </p>\n\n<p>When I got to graduate school, it was a different ballgame and I really put a professor through the ringer with the department when she tried to give me a bad grade because she was incompetent. But when I did that, I slowly went up the chain, documented every conversation and interaction, highlighted the syllabus, noted changes she made mid-semester to the syllabus, and then made a formal complaint. In turn, the professor was reprimanded by both the head of faculty and head of graduate studies, and my grade was fixed. But that was a serious slog to get through. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15805,
"author": "Alexander F.",
"author_id": 10819,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10819",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Consider the situation as something like you're going to paint an abstract image - you're free to sketch whatever you can imagine but there has to be a meaning or purpose for what you're doing. The point is this: your professor is probably unaware of what you consider as \"flaw\" in dealing with his students, as such, serving as his \"shadow\" could make him realize such thing. But if he is aware, then the problem is not to think about the ways to harmoniously deal with him; rather, you should adjust with the kind of classroom atmosphere that he wants.</p>\n\n<p>It's indeed \"abstract\" because no one else really knows the best way to have the kind of learning environment or teacher that you want other than you...</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15814,
"author": "chuckctv",
"author_id": 10826,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10826",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It's his job to instill to his students he knows everything so they will listen and follow him. All you would be doing is damaging what he is trying to build with his students.</p>\n\n<p>It won't go well for you, nor offer you anything positive in the course and most likely harm your grades. If you know more then most, then instead of using it to attack your teacher, do something that will equally give you what I believe you do want from the teacher -- \"His respect, & knowing you are very knowledgeable\" -- by offering assistance to other students who do need help.</p>\n\n<p>This way you get to show your intelligence in the field, your teacher will love the help in class with most teachers already being spread thin, and he will most likely shine on your grades better. Even if \"YOU\" do make a mistake, because of the effort at assisting others, he may overlook it when grading.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15815,
"author": "Donna",
"author_id": 10827,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10827",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Let me put it like this, he is the teacher and you are the student. Ask yourself if the things he is wrong about, are really worth mentioning. If not, then it is probably best you keep quiet, and don't compromise your grades. There are always going to be people like him. If you keep trying to challenge him, you may very well become a 'right' fighter yourself, like him. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15836,
"author": "Julian",
"author_id": 6823,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6823",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It depends on whether this teacher is dangerously wrong or not.</p>\n\n<p>If his teaching the wrong things to everyone then he needs to be challenged. Challenging him in class won't help. Talk to him in his comfort zone and find out what you can. If he is genuinely a bad teacher, you need to find your campus support network and work out how to escalate the problem.</p>\n\n<p>But in this case it sounds like he is a good teacher, trying to get through a lesson as others have said, but not necessarily completely up-to-date or good at putting down smart-arses.</p>\n\n<p>In this case, learn what you can, he might have old ideas that are really great! When you can teach his class, critique it.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15840,
"author": "keshlam",
"author_id": 10225,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10225",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Never <em>challenge</em> a lecturer. Ask. If it's something that isn't directly related to PRECISELY the point they're currently teaching, ask during office hours rather than in front of the whole class.</p>\n\n<p>Praise in public, criticize in private -- and criticize by asking \"would this have been another answer, and if so why is the one you showed us better\", rather than by acccusing.</p>\n\n<p>Quoting Dean Inge: \"There are two kinds of fool. One says 'This is old, and therefore good.' The other says 'This is new, and therefore better.'\" Before demonstrating yourself to be the latter type, <strong><em>politely</em></strong> make sure you understand what was actually being taught and why. You may have completely missed the point he was making.</p>\n\n<p>(Note that this is just as true when working with a boss, or even when you're the boss. Start with a discussion rather than assuming one or the other side is inherently true and that there must be a winner or loser. In the end, the boss <em>does</em> have the final say, because they have to consider more than just the technical merits of that one point, but you're a lot more likely to have a pleasant and productive experience if you try to work with people rather than against them.)</p>\n\n<p>One more thought: \"who thinks he's always right\" is more of a comment about your attitude than about that of the instructor. Of COURSE he thinks what he's teaching is correct, or he wouldn't be teaching it. That doesn't mean he can't be wrong, but it does mean you need to respectfully justify your objection if you want it (and yourself) to be taken seriously. And unless the error is a simple typo/\"thinko\", that's likely to take more time than should be sliced out of most lectures. Talk to him afterward. He can always announce a correction at the next lecture if you convince him that one is needed. And if you can't convince him, ask yourself why not rather than assuming he's just being an ass.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15843,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Here in the United States, critical thinking is one of the core values of our higher education system. This is a social and institutional value that is opposite to the values seen in many other cultures, where the professor is always right, even when s/he is wrong. A competent college professor in the US should always welcome skeptical comments from students. The word \"skeptic\" itself comes simply from the Greek verb \"to think.\" If you're not being skeptical, you're not thinking.</p>\n\n<p>Of course, these values are not universal. For example, the educational system in India is infamous for teaching by rote memorization and discouraging critical thinking.</p>\n\n<p>As a professor, I've often made mistakes in class and been very grateful to students who corrected them. I often joke to my students that if I inadvertently wrote 2+2=5 on the board, I worry that they would come up to me after class and ask, \"Professor, you wrote 2+2=5 on the board. I always thought it was 4, but is 5 the answer you want us to give on the test?\"</p>\n\n<p>You should not refrain from asking questions in class because of any fear that it will confuse other students or make the professor fall behind and not have time to finish the lecture. Mistakes are very confusing to other students until they're corrected, and the reason you have a textbook is so that you have a source of information for any topics that there wasn't enough time to cover in class.</p>\n\n<p>Of course you should exercise normal tact, consideration, and humility. The goal is not to fight a battle with your teacher, it's to help yourself and everyone else in the class understand the subject correctly. There's the joke that at the age of 20, I knew everything, but now that I'm older I know a lot less. In computer science, there are basic principles that don't change much over time (a quick sort scales better than a bubble sort), but there's a lot of other random junk that amounts to styles and fads (choices of particular computer languages). Don't fall into the trap of thinking that there's something wrong with your professor just because he doesn't emphasize the flavor of the week.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>he's been known to give lower grades to students who asked him too many questions he wasn't able to properly answer</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>It's hard for me to imagine how you would know this. It's not as though you have access to records of what these other students' grades were on every assignment and a side-by-side comparison with what the grades would have been if they hadn't asked questions. It seems just as likely that these students had overblown opinions of their own abilities and therefore felt their grades were unfair.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15863,
"author": "h22",
"author_id": 10920,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10920",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This depends a lot on the country and university specifics. However during my studies once happened for me to observe students replacing professor they deemed it is not competent enough for the particular course.</p>\n\n<p>The student group should apply to university management asking to replace the teacher as not good enough. Of course, such application must list multiple factual errors in presented material, uncovered topics that you consider important for the subject, examples of undelivered information that you think would be highly relevant to the given lecture and the like. Significant number of students should apply so it would be difficult just to represent this as a personal conflict. </p>\n\n<p>If the teaching person is not a head of laboratory / department but instead is under supervision of another competent professor, you may also talk to his supervisor. Some universities concentrate on research so deeply that teaching may be delegated to somebody more junior and less experienced.</p>\n\n<p>If you cannot find enough arguments or supporters for this procedure, the professor is actually competent ...</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/15 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15793",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10815/"
]
|
15,806 | <p>When I started searching for a graduate programs that fits my research interests in the United States, I noticed that some universities have separate "Computer Engineering" and "Electrical Engineering" departments, while other universities have a combined department "Electrical engineering and Computer science".</p>
<p>Why do some universities choose to divide or combine these disciplines?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 15810,
"author": "Twitch",
"author_id": 10817,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10817",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>For starters, the descriptions for these areas of study in the US are not the same as they are in Europe, or other parts of the world. Sometimes they are not even the same for schools throughout the US. It is up to that particular department to provide a name of the program. This provides some flexibility to alter that name with the times. </p>\n\n<p>For example, many modern computer science programs began in mathematics departments and were not split until a few decades ago. </p>\n\n<p>Now, computer engineering, electrical engineering, and computer science are separate fields of study. Electrical engineering may never actually make use of a computer system, and may focus on radar systems or radio waves. </p>\n\n<p>Computer engineering may focus on the combined series of electronics that work together to comprise the computer system. For example, transistors, capacitors, circuit boards, or processors.</p>\n\n<p>And computer science may never go into the electronics of a computer system, but focus entirely on the software implementation, algorithm design, protocols, signal reliability, etc etc.</p>\n\n<p>Electrical engineering and computer science might be a hybrid of the two, such as programming embedded hardware, creating APIS, or digital signal processing in general. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15835,
"author": "Irwin",
"author_id": 5944,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/5944",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>It's usually politics or prestige.</p>\n\n<p>Back in the days when the computer science discipline was heating up (mid to late 1990s), there was a big discussion on where to put computer science. Traditionally, it was a science, but at that time the economic outlook for high-tech (which included electrical engineering and computer engineering) was really, really hot, and it was fashionable to have a department that encompassed \"everything high tech\". Thus, there was a big push to move computer science to the Faculty of Engineering. This was augmented at the time by the birth of \"software engineering\" programs and by a number of papers discussing programming and software development as more \"engineering design\" than \"science\".</p>\n\n<p>Fast-forward twenty years or so, and you have what we have now, where programs that are related to \"high-tech\" are roughly grouped together.</p>\n\n<p>As stated already, the disciplines are different. I won't repeat @TinActon's words since he's summarized them well. However, they operated under the same high-tech umbrella for a while.</p>\n\n<p>Really, you don't choose the department - you choose a program, but it's more likely that there's synergistic (industrial) collaboration in a department that has EE, CE, and CS together, as the industries that hire in EE, CE, and CS tend to overlap a lot. However, that's not to say that there isn't cross-disciplinary opportunities for CS and the other science fields either. Biology and chemistry and physics all have a very high dependence on equipment and techniques developed in the EE/CE/CS side, and similarly EE/CE/CS benefit from the work being done in the sciences side.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 26184,
"author": "Marxos",
"author_id": 19703,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/19703",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It may be immature curriculum development or mundane matters such as staffing and building architecture. In any case, computer engineering has to have some focus on digital electronics, while electrical engineering with analog electronics, and then computer science need not focus at the hardware level at all. </p>\n\n<p>These will be very specific to the personality of the department, it's not really a detriment either way as long as their emphasis matches your interests.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 59566,
"author": "Frames Catherine White",
"author_id": 8513,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8513",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Lets run though some examples:\nNote though that usage differs a lot.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Electrical Engineering:</strong> General power, motors, generators, transmission lines ...</p>\n\n<p><strong>Electronic Engineering:</strong> Transistors, ICs, signal processing ...</p>\n\n<p><strong>Computer Engineering:</strong> Adders, multipliers, CPU design ... (to an extent a special case of Electronic Engineering)</p>\n\n<p><strong>Computer Science::</strong> Algorithms, Machine Learning (<em>computer science is no more the study of computers than chemistry is the study of test tubes</em>)</p>\n\n<p><strong>Software Engineering:</strong> How to make computer programs.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Computational Science:</strong> Doing science (eg biology) making use of computers (eg for simulations).</p>\n\n<p><strong>Mechatronic Engineering:</strong> combined mechanical and electronic engineering. Robots.</p>\n\n<p>But these definitely overlap, also some things are poorly defined (Eg is computer vision CS or software eng?).\nI have a degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, from my universities Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering department.\nWithin which I took units in Electrical, Electronic, Mechatronic, Software, and Computer engineering.</p>\n\n<p>I also have a degree in computer and mathematical science, from the Computer Science and Software Engineering department. Where about half my units were on software engineering, and where people had the option to take mechatronic and computer engineering units.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/15 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15806",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9488/"
]
|
15,820 | <p>I am a second year PhD student in probability from the UK. I enjoy what I do, but here is a problem:</p>
<p>as I dig deep into my study, I realize I have to read a lot of stuff I do not fully understand and they often arise in fields of study which are not probability, but related areas: e.g. PDE theory, functional analysis.</p>
<p>I have a basic understandings about some of these things, sometimes I might even feel I have enough to get by, but I am unsatisfied. This is perhaps due to the fact I never studied some of these topics as an undergraduate, but to be fair, no one told me an understanding of PDE theory is very useful to probability (I even think this only depends on what you do)</p>
<p>I do want to know more and previously I tried to attend multiple courses in a term to make up for some of this - this was not effective. Going to 1 or 2 courses a term is fine, but doing any more is a big drain of time if I want to fully understand the material lecture. </p>
<p>So have others experienced this? What is the best way of getting around this?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 15823,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>so have others experienced this? </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Basically <strong>every</strong> smart person feels like that when starting their studies. The majority of the people for which this is not true are usually not the second coming of Terence Tao or Dr. Sheldon Cooper, but simply affected by the <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect\">Dunning-Kruger Effect</a>. You are not supposed to know everything, and in fact you never will. You already have a head start on your colleagues, who have simply not yet discovered (or wilfully ignore) that they do not fully comprehend many of the seminal papers in your or related fields. You, at least, can work on this in order to produce better research.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>what is the best way of getting around this?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>There is no <em>getting around</em> this. To paraphrase the title of your question, many things <strong>are</strong> to be learned. That's part of doing a PhD. The trick is to <strong>learn what you will really need for your research</strong>, and to not get lost in the things that are interesting but ultimately not relevant to you. This requires some experience. Hopefully, your advisor or a postdoc will put you on track of what to focus on for now.</p>\n\n<p>As funny as the advice mentioned by @dgraziotin above sounds - in practice, what you really need to develop is a good mental filter to select the 15 or so papers from a 30k papers field that are really relevant to to you.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15831,
"author": "Penguin_Knight",
"author_id": 6450,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6450",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Man... I have this problem on an hourly base. Here I will throw a bunch of \"strategies\" I have been accumulating for you to consider.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Sleep on it</strong></p>\n\n<p>Seriously. If I have to actually learn everything I think I should learn, I'd need to be live beyond 480 years old. And since the more you learn, the more you don't know... this route is not viable.</p>\n\n<p>A lot of the times, I suppressed the impulse and slept on it. In the process I usually think about this questions:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Do I need to learn this or do I want to learn this? Would the new knowledge make my work complete or make it better?</li>\n<li>Can the piece stand alone fine without it? Can it still contribute to the research questions I need to answer?</li>\n<li>Can I explain what I wouldn't learn as a potential extension/development in the Discussion section? Perhaps other people can work on it?</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Usually after a couple rounds of iteration, I could ditch most of what I wanted to learn, and focus on learning the skills that would make my projects a complete project.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Keep a wish list</strong></p>\n\n<p>Be it a go or not, I always write that down whenever I thought I need to know something. I use EverNote to document all these strayed thoughts. And if I come across any relevant materials (review articles, short courses, software, etc,) I'll document them with the same tags.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Draw a skill tree</strong></p>\n\n<p>It also pays off to sit down and analysis what are your knowledge and skill sets. A skill tree is simply just a conceptual framework or mind map that links up your skills and domain knowledge. Some people may grow a big deep-rooted tree while some may favor a garden of little bit of everything. We need both types of people but generally I would consider in academia it is better to have a good big tree with some side bushes.</p>\n\n<p>Now, you can focus on a few major branches, what are the domain knowledge? What are the skills associated with them? And what are the applications that are associated with each skill? I found it easier to start with my courses I have taken and the syllabi of those courses. You can also consider using some competencies published by professional organization as a blueprint.</p>\n\n<p>For myself, my big tree is statistical analysis applied in biomedical studies. If someone asks me to work on a project about, say, psychometrics, which is part statistics part psychology... I may return to look at my trees and think if this new skill will make a logical branch, or it's too far off. And if it's too far off, is it worth to plant a new one for this? And what kind of root (aka basic courses or books) do I need to plant? Then decide if it's a go or not.</p>\n\n<p>I found this exercise pretty useful because i) it's therapeutic, you may be amazed by your domain knowledge. And you're likely going to feel better about yourself. And ii) having a bird view network helps a lot on deciding the relevance of the desired skills.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Think return of investment</strong></p>\n\n<p>Before diving into the skill, think how much the skill can help you back. There are many sides to consider:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Will it lead to higher competitiveness or salary?</li>\n<li>Will it complement/strengthen your skill tree? Would there be any synergy?</li>\n<li>Can you re-purpose or re-use this skill? How versatile it is?</li>\n<li>Will I be using this skill enough to rip the benefit of the time and resource I spent in the learn process? etc.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Return of investment exercise is best done when you have competing desired skills to learn. Put them side by side, design a rubric if you must, and evaluate which one is better to go for.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Gathering good resources is 80% of the game</strong></p>\n\n<p>Okay... after much thought, we decided to learn a skill. When learning a new skill the major problem is not knowing where to start. I usually perform this beginning rituals: </p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Read up on Wikipedia or other encyclopedia to acquire general lingo.</li>\n<li>Read a couple relevant review articles.</li>\n<li>Schedule a meeting with a someones proficient in that skill/knowledge and ask for a few recommendations on i) text book, ii) journals, iii) controversies, and iv) prominent schools of thought and researchers in the field.</li>\n<li>Search for some syllabi that teach these knowledge and document their text books, software, course structure, etc. Those usually give you a good sense on what to cover.</li>\n<li>Gather all materials, and start working on it.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p><strong>Immerse at least 20 hours into it with undivided attention</strong></p>\n\n<p>This is a slight modification of Kaufman's <a href=\"http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/1591845556\">The First 20 Hours: How to Learn Anything... Fast!</a>. The book itself is not super groundbreaking but Kaufman also pulled a stunt journalism and explained how he learned some new skills and brought them up to functional level in 20 hours. It's an entertaining read, but what I got away from it is the importance of preparation and immersion.</p>\n\n<p>I usually spread my learning into many 90-minute chunk, and then make sure to enter these blocks first at the start of every week. I laid out what I need to learn, read, do exercises, watch videos, perform self-evaluation, talk to others (e.g. your committee members or other scholars)... It's actually pretty amazing looking at how I become a half-baked specialist in a matter of week.</p>\n\n<p>In the learning process, I focus on learning the basics really well, and I write down a lot of questions (for me or my specialist friends to answer later.) I also try to figure out the flow the ideas and their connections. When working on a problem I don't insist of getting it right, but I do insist on getting why it's wrong.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Compose a self-learning syllabus every 6 months</strong></p>\n\n<p>Every semester I also compose a self-learning syllabus. Basically I design courses for myself. I started doing this last year because I was getting tired always having to catch up with tasks that require me to learn new skills. I wanted to turn the table: I am going to learn some skills that I chose, and I'll look for opportunities in the tasks that I can apply what I learn and enrich the contents. I feel that being even just very so slightly more proactive has injected a good sense of control into my life.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Closing remarks</strong></p>\n\n<p>I can't say I am a successful learner, but I am moving along bit by bit. Action, even just very little each time, is the most important ingredient. Hikers may know this feeling... all the hills look so darn tall, but once you stepped onto the trail, the scenery was great, the air was fresh, and suddenly you forgot to wonder how tall the hill was.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15834,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If your question is:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>How do I learn (quickly) all the material that I need in order to be\n proficient in my area</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>then Penguin_Knight's answer has some excellent suggestions.</p>\n\n<p>If the question is also</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>How do I avoid feelings of despair and hopelessness when I think of\n how much I have to learn</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>then the trick is to change the premise. You're not acquiring knowledge in a Ph.D as if you're drinking from a (very large) cup that needs to be finished before you can move on. </p>\n\n<p>Rather, you've been plonked down without preparation in the middle of a raging river, when all you've ever dealt with before are little rivulets that drip into a cup. </p>\n\n<p>Accordingly, the goal here is not to try and \"drink the river\", but merely to observe little eddies and streams in the torrent and learn something about them. As you become more and more proficient, you'll see more and more of the river and you'll be able to manipulate it better, but you are never \"in control\" of the entire torrent. </p>\n\n<p>I might be stretching this analogy further than it can go, but hopefully my point is coming through: that you shouldn't fall into the fallacy of having to learn \"everything\" in order to be a competent researcher. Rather, as Penguin_Knight says early on, you should think strategically about what you really need to learn and how you can pick up relevant skills based on what you're working on. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15837,
"author": "Julian",
"author_id": 6823,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6823",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You have 2 choices.</p>\n\n<p>1) as a probability researcher, invent the infinite probabability drive and use this to increase the probability that you can instantly learn everything that will ever be known.</p>\n\n<p>2) go back and read xLeitix's great answer.</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"http://hitchhikers.wikia.com/wiki/Infinite_Improbability_Drive\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://hitchhikers.wikia.com/wiki/Infinite_Improbability_Drive</a></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15841,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>One way to keep it in perspective is to realize that these feelings are only going to become more extreme as your career progresses, but they aren't actually a problem in themselves. Instead, once you get used to them, they can actually be a source of joy.</p>\n\n<p>You're never going to catch up, because the amount you learn will grow at best linearly with time, while the amount of research you recognize to be relevant and important will grow rapidly (seemingly exponentially) as you learn more. You'll never be able to say \"Well, now I've got a solid foundation in everything I need to know,\" because each topic you learn will naturally suggest two more. And the more you understand how deep and interconnected everything is, the more you will realize how limited your understanding actually is. Anyone who thinks they have the world all figured out is not a researcher.</p>\n\n<p>As I see it, this is cause for celebration. The scope of your favorite subject is unbounded! In a few years, you will happily be using ideas you barely understand right now, or perhaps haven't even heard of yet. From a broad enough perspective, you have interests in common with researchers who superficially seem to be doing something utterly different. Why would you give up infinite possibilities in favor of a limited world?</p>\n\n<p>I can sympathize with feeling overwhelmed. I remember sitting in a class thinking to myself \"This is beautiful stuff, but I'm glad I won't need to use it myself, because that would be a lot to master in addition to my own research area,\" and then, a few years later, realizing to my horror that I did need to master it. It's not easy, but you shouldn't let that put you off. Research isn't easy for anyone. Famous mathematicians are also missing knowledge that would help them in their research, just like you are, so nobody can judge you or look down on you for your ignorance. Ultimately, we are all ignorant and struggling to become less so. Fortunately, what we learn is enough to justify the struggle.</p>\n\n<p>As for concrete suggestions, the other answers have lots of useful information, especially <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/15831/\">the one by Penguin_Knight</a>. One thing I'd emphasize is the importance of keeping at it over time, even if progress seems slow. It's easy to get depressed if you work intensely on something and have to give up when you can't sustain the time commitment. By contrast, slow but continual progress will really accumulate over time.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/15 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15820",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10156/"
]
|
15,824 | <p>This has been a subject that has occupied my thoughts for the past years but haven't really managed to formulate it completely for myself. I have this feeling (and I can't say it's more than a feeling at this point) that native speakers of English have an easier time with getting their article published.</p>
<p>I should make it clear, right away, that I don't mean just because you are a native speaker you can get whatever published, but given a particular project, if the main author is a native speaker the article is more likely to get accepted, or at least draw more positive reviews. I motivate the potential existence of such a bias on the fact that it's likely that a native speaker does a better job in writing than someone who has English as a foreign language. </p>
<p>Since I do not have any data to back this theory up, I would like to ask if you have come across any numbers/facts regarding any such bias in the publication/acceptance rates in general, as well as high-IF journals specifically. </p>
<p><strong>EDIT:</strong> I should perhaps rephrase and add a bit more details to the question here. I do not refer to small grammatical mistakes, misspellings or anything of that nature. What I am referring to here, is the wider vocabulary a native-speaker has in his/her disposal, the phrases and expressions that they use that might not be readily and easily available to non-native speaker. I could perhaps summarise it the differences as the metaphorical chocolate chips that a native speaker can and most likely will bake into the cookie that is the manuscript.</p>
<p>I am clear on the point that the clearness criteria is still the most important and that's why I did not talk about the rejections (it's natural that non-native speakers get their papers rejected based on language more often compared to native speakers). As a non-native speaker myself, it is beyond any doubt that I need to write my manuscripts with a clearly understandable language in order for them to get published, but again that's not really what I am asking here. I am more interested in whether or not articles written by native speakers come across as "better quality" based on the fact that they are more likely to utilise their edge with the language.</p>
<p>There are of course other factors at play, but it would be interesting to see if there are any stats involved. </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 15826,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Let me share with you my personal experience and feeling about this issue. I am not a native English speaker and I am aware that my word choices and the patterns of my sentences makes it clear to my audiences and especially my readers. However, I have received several positive compliments in the referee reports of my papers about my writings. Therefore I strongly believe that people who are in charge of deciding about accepting a paper mostly consider the logical and grammatical correctness of the writing of the paper ( and of course its scientific value). So I would be very surprised if I see such a phenomenon as you described.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15827,
"author": "Peter Jansson",
"author_id": 4394,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4394",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The answer is yes but the issue is not as clear as you state it. To publish a paper, it must meet certain criteria which include form, clarity and of course scientific contribution. If you are a native speaker it will be easier to meet these criteria and particularly those that deal with language issues. The disadvantage we, who are non-native speakers, meet is to be good enough with regards to these criteria. The point is not that grammatical errors as such may make acceptance less likely but if the language makes understanding the paper difficult or even make one misunderstand the paper, then it becomes a problem.</p>\n\n<p>So the problem can be called bias but it can also be seen as not meeting the standards required. From the latter point it is not clearly a matter of native <em>vs.</em> non-native speakers but a matter of being able to express the science in an intelligible way. I am chief editor of an international journal, albeit not with the IF of Nature, and out of all papers we reject (50% of all submitted) a small part is based on the above problem. In most cases it is due to poor science and then with no particular emphasis on native or not speakers.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15851,
"author": "BrenBarn",
"author_id": 9041,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9041",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If the effect is due to native speakers writing better in that language --- whether that's due to fewer grammatical errors, larger vocabulary, it's not really a native-speaker bias as such. You could say that native speakers have an \"unfair advantage\" in the sense that they have a leg up in using the language, but I think it's incorrect to call that a bias. Tall players may have an advantage in basketball, but that on its own doesn't mean that there is a \"tallness bias\" in player selection.</p>\n\n<p>In addition, it's not clear how reviewers (or anyone else who hadn't met the author personally) could know that the author was a native speaker, as opposed to just a good writer in the language. I'd say that to argue it was a native speaker bias specifically, you'd have to show that native speakers as a whole were given preferential treatment over non-native speakers, independent of their writing ability.</p>\n\n<p>A different question, though, would be whether there's a <em>writing quality</em> bias. I think it's possible that articles with a \"better\" writing style (whatever that may mean) get an edge over articles that are competently but not so eloquently written. It could be argued that this is a bias, if it means that interesting and important results are less likely to be published due to writing-quality issues at the top end of the scale. Everyone agrees that some minimum level of writing quality is needed for the article to be readable and useful, but if excellent writing \"above and beyond\" that minimum gives an article an undue boost over others with equally important findings, that could be a bias. Again, though, it would be a bias in the relative evaluation of characteristics of the <em>articles</em> themselves, not a bias related to the <em>author</em>'s status as a native or non-native speaker. In particular, this would mean that native speakers who aren't very good writers would also be adversely affected by the bias.</p>\n\n<p>I don't know of any data on this issue, but I'd be skeptical that there is a bias towards native speakers per se. I could believe there is a bias towards better writing (even when extra-good writing \"doesn't matter\" in terms of the scientific value of the article).</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/15 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15824",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/5674/"
]
|
15,833 | <p>My undergraduate research adviser is expelled from the university for political reasons (in Middle East) after more than a decade of teaching and research. Now they have even forced the department to remove his name from the faculty list on the website of the department and they have taken away his academic email address. </p>
<p>I am applying to graduate schools in US and I want to include his recommendation letter in my application. What are the chances that the admission committee rejects my application due to </p>
<ol>
<li><p>My adviser not being listed on the department webpage. </p></li>
<li><p>Not having an official email.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Some additional info: He has tens of publications which indicate his affiliation. He does have the letter head of the university, which can be used to print the letter on. The webpage of the department cannot be easily found by one search. One must find it through the university website which can take some effort. </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 15838,
"author": "JeffE",
"author_id": 65,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/65",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>This is a tricky situation, but as long as everyone is careful and honest, you should be fine.</p>\n\n<p>Here's what I would recommend. Yes, you should ask your former advisor to submit a reference letter on your behalf, from his non-academic email address. You should mention in your statement that he has left your university, but you should not say anything about <strong>why</strong> he left. Any further details are up to your former advisor to reveal, if he wishes to do so.</p>\n\n<p>Your former advisor absolutely should <strong>not</strong> submit his letter on university letterhead, because he is not affiliated with the university. He should include a very brief bio describing his <em>former</em> affiliation and listing his departure date. If possible, he should include some external evidence of his scholarship, like a pointer to his Scopus or Google Scholar profile. If he wants to describe the circumstances of his departure, he should keep the story <em>very brief</em>; his letter should focus on <strong>you</strong>, not about him, his former employer, or their political conflicts.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15883,
"author": "h22",
"author_id": 10920,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10920",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>An attempt to represent the former scientist as \"not a scientist at all\" in my opinion does not make any sense.</p>\n\n<p>Normally, the university professor should have publications. These publications stay forever. Not only they confirm the competence, also the article headers always include information about the authors affiliation. If the journals have been at least moderately reputable, such publications can be easily found on the web.</p>\n\n<p>Simply ask for a letter of recommendation. Of course, to make verification easier, he could also write a couple of sentences about himself, pointing to his most successful publications.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/15 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15833",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8289/"
]
|
15,842 | <p>What do the admission committees learn about an applicant by knowing which other programs and schools one has applied to? Does applying to another program which is more prestigious make the applicant seem more serious?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 15869,
"author": "OBu",
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"text": "<p>Some things I (as someone sitting in academic admission committees) would learn from this question is </p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>is the person flexible (willing to move)</li>\n<li>Did (s)he just apply to some randomly selected institutions or is there a clear dedication to one field</li>\n<li>Who are my main competitors (and this might be the true reason for this question).</li>\n</ol>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15891,
"author": "WetlabStudent",
"author_id": 8101,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8101",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>One thing that some programs look at is whether you are likely to come if they accept you. Say you have a 4.0 gpa, perfect GREs, great letters of recommendation, and publications in respected journals from your undergrad research, and you apply to a bunch of the top schools and some mediocre schools. If there isn't something in your personal statement explaining why you are applying to the mediocre school, and that school sees all the other great schools you applied to, that school may not accept you because they assume even if they did, you would surely go elsewhere. Why would a university do this? Well its a waste of money to fly you out, but more importantly when someone gets put on the wait-list awaiting your decline of the offer, that person may accept other offers from schools that did not wait-list them. I have been told first hand by members of admission committees that the \"where else did you apply to\" question is used at least partially for this purpose. </p>\n\n<p>Additionally, at the university administration level, they like to keep track of which universities they compete with for students. I have seen Universities present statistics on how many students reject their offers, and which universities they end up in. So the question is also probably there for statistics tracking purposes unrelated to the admission process. This is a potential reason why even the top schools will ask this question.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 60528,
"author": "D.Salo",
"author_id": 12438,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12438",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I concur with OBu that competitive intelligence is the major reason for this question, but there is one individual-level strategic concern: financial aid. It's sometimes possible to guess what kind and amount of aid a given applicant is likely to attract. That leaves us with the question of whether we can or should match it.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/15 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15842",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8289/"
]
|
15,844 | <p>I'm a medical school graduate student. However, I wish to apply for a PhD program in molecular and cell biology, I'm interested in understanding the interactions within and between cells at molecular level. However, it seems that at many programs, courses on physics and mathematics are required. I didn't take any mathematical or physical courses. Is it possible to take these courses without having to go through the whole bachelor's curriculum? If this is possible, how could I do this?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 15871,
"author": "h22",
"author_id": 10920,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10920",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Most of PhD projects in molecular and cell biology concentrate on experimental work and you will need to read a lot about other experimental works, results and conclusions, etc. </p>\n\n<p>You may also need to read about structures and interactions but this will be similar to human anatomy and physiology you have already tried.</p>\n\n<p>This is unlikely to be a problem for a medical graduate. I would say, go on.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15886,
"author": "StrongBad",
"author_id": 929,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In the US it is not uncommon for universities to allow students to take individual courses without seeking a degree. This is especially true of some of the larger introductory type courses that are required for getting into grad school. It is probably worth contacting the schools you are interested in applying and telling them you have not taken all the prerequisite courses and if there is something that can be arranged.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/15 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15844",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10895/"
]
|
15,852 | <p>What percentage of PhD theses (e.g., physics ones) are rejected nowadays? And why?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 15864,
"author": "h22",
"author_id": 10920,
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"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Very small, as every failed PhD defence is also a shame for the professor. As a result, the professor will not allow to proceed with defence of the really weak work. And he will listen for other professors that would usually tell in advance they think to vote against.</p>\n\n<p>Hence, most likely, the following will happen:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>If a PhD student just does not work enough, the professor\nwill not allow to continue studies after some time. </li>\n<li>If a PhD\nstudent is mad with some own theory or topic that academic community\nunlikely to accept, the professor will not allow to defend such a\nwork. </li>\n<li>If it is really a bad luck with your topic, the professor will\nchange the topic. </li>\n<li>If the professor has made a strategic mistake and\nyour diligent work does not give results that could be published in a\ngood journal, the professor should normally try to publish anyway in less reputable sources, good enough for PhD defence.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>The PhD supervisor is more interested in your success than a lecturer is interested in the progress of the student. Same professor that writes low grades with relatively little attention (as long as he is sure the student deserves) will spend more time when acting as a PhD supervisor, will try to help, will try to fix the topic. This is because PhD project is also <em>his</em> research project. And who would want ones research project to fail? Of course, the professor tries to find a good PhD student for his project, or, if this was not successful, at least to fire lazy or uncooperative student in the first year. But this is way before the actual PhD defence.</p>\n\n<p>If to ask differently, how many PhD students do not get they degree at the end, this really depends a lot on the traditions inside the institution. However in all places I have seen this was below 20 % or about. The first post doctoral position is also seldom a problem. </p>\n\n<p>The next serious threshold you will need to pass is the professor position or at least a permanent researcher position, if you want to stay in science.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15875,
"author": "user168715",
"author_id": 5596,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/5596",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I'm only personally aware of one student who failed his PhD defense (this is at an R1 US university). After his advisor refused to approve his thesis, he went over his head and got the department chair to schedule the defense anyway. Results were predictable.</p>\n\n<p>On the other hand, \"major revisions\" are very common, especially, I hear, in the humanities (in engineering, it's far more common to receive token feedback -- if the committee reads the thesis at all! -- than demands for substantial changes).</p>\n\n<p>Outright failing a student during a defense is an extreme embarassment, for the department, for the PhD committee, for the advisor, and of course for the student, so there is every incentive to ensure that a thesis that goes to defense will pass. Moreover, since most theses these days are compilations of previously-published work, it is very easy to tell well in advance if the student is expected to pass.</p>\n\n<p>So if an advisor has doubts about the quality of a student's thesis, he will either ask the student to spend more time improving it, or \"suggest\" the student start looking for jobs in industry.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/16 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15852",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9425/"
]
|
15,857 | <p>Many times I learn or look for some information, I find scientific article on <a href="http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/">ieeexplore.ieee.org</a> or similar, where articles are paid. Most of the articles are written by some professors of universities or students about their work.</p>
<p>My question is, why do they sell their results?</p>
<p>If I was a professor and made some work, I would like to gain some acknowledgement for it and I think there is no better way then see others work based on mine. So why not to publicly share the article for free? </p>
<p>I understand that private companies sell their innovations because that's the main source of their income, but people at universities are usually paid and writing articles are part of their job.</p>
<p><strong>So what are the advantages of selling results instead of sharing for free (is there any other except money)?</strong> </p>
<p><strong>Does selling your results have any negative influence?</strong></p>
<p>PS: I may not have enough backstage knowledge about how it works on universities and I don't want to offend anybody. I also don't mean work people do in their own free time, but work they do on behalf of universities. This just slows down the development and overall research in field in my eyes.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 15860,
"author": "Peter Jansson",
"author_id": 4394,
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"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The publication business is largely just that, a business. Publishers make money from selling their product, they need money to keep staff to provide the services as well as make a profit among other things. No journals that I am aware of, or at least have been in contact with, salary authors for what they write. I am sure there may be the odd exception but in general, research articles render no income to the author. Books may be a different story of course.</p>\n\n<p>In the last decades or so Open Access publishing has become more common and some research funding agencies demand results are published in such journals. Check, for example, the <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_access\" rel=\"nofollow\">Open Access</a> for an introduction to Open Access or the <a href=\"http://open-access.net/de_en/homepage/\" rel=\"nofollow\">Open Access Net site</a> for additional information. Open Access does not mean everything is free but it moves the charges from the reader to the author so that authors pay to have their papers published. There are free services for publishing. As with everything else, some less scrupulous business models have sprung out of the Open Access idea such as so-called <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predatory_open_access_publishing\" rel=\"nofollow\">predatory journals</a>Unfortunately. So awareness is necessary.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15861,
"author": "h22",
"author_id": 10920,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10920",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Professors who publish their research results normally do not earn money from these paid articles. It is the publishing journal who earns. There are even journals who ask the author to pay for publishing the articles.</p>\n\n<p>Contact the authors of the paid article directly and ask them for the copy of the article. Be polite, explain why do you need it for. In most cases, you will get that copy for free.</p>\n\n<p>Also, try put the article name and authors into Google search. Another similar article by the same authors may exist and be free to download.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15862,
"author": "Ondřej Černotík",
"author_id": 8164,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8164",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As others pointed out, publishing has its costs (editing, maintaining website, creating and distributing print versions etc.) and that has to be paid for. Either by the readers, or by the authors. Each has its pros and cons and it depends on many things, which of the approaches the author takes (funding agency might require the article to be made freely accessible, the author may not have the resources to pay the publishing fee himself, there can be some customs in their field that everyone follows or something else).</p>\n\n<p>I would, anyway, like to point out a different issue here – the number of readers is not affected much by the article being behind a paywall or not. Scientific articles use very technical language and assume certain level of knowledge in their readers, making them less accessible (or even completely unaccessible) to general public. The only readers then come from academic environments, and universities usually pay for subscriptions to the most important journals in each field. Other researchers can thus read scientific papers without any (visible) costs on their side. As long as there are universities willing to pay subscription fees, there will be journals where readers have to pay for articles.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15879,
"author": "cnst",
"author_id": 6026,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6026",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I have had two papers published with IEEE when I was an undergrad. There is no provision for me, or any of my co-authors, to be paid by IEEE. In fact, I was required to pay steep conference registration and publication fees, and also a fee for an extra page on one of the papers, to have the papers published by IEEE. I recall that some conferences also actually require you to attend the conference in order to have the paper published, so, add mandatory hotel accommodations and an airline ticket to that as well (although I'm not complaining, since I got plenty of support from my universities, and conference trips are always a lot of fun).</p>\n\n<p>The way the paper publishing world works is, after and if your work is accepted by a conference, you pay various registration fees and publication fees, <a href=\"http://cr.yp.to/writing/ieee.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">transfer your copyright to the publishing house like IEEE</a> (there are some <a href=\"http://cr.yp.to/bib/online.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">tricks around this</a>, like giving up the copyright instead, by placing your paper into the <a href=\"http://cr.yp.to/publicdomain.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">public domain</a>), or, as is the case with some other publishers, give them a non-exclusive irrevocable royalty-free licence, and then they publish your work on their web-site (with a right of collecting fees from web-site users, too), as well as possibly into a printed proceedings of the conference that's given to all attendees (sometimes for an extra fee, too).</p>\n\n<p>Many universities in the US, Canada, England and other contries, pay IEEE some kind of subscription fees, so, anyone on the university network is automatically given unlimited free access to all such papers that are published by IEEE. Otherwise, if you're using a home connection, or your university lacks any such agreement with IEEE, then IEEE collects individual fees for every paper directly from end users (and gives none of it to the authors of said papers).</p>\n\n<p>As mentioned by other answers, many authors also place a copy of their papers on their own web-site. This is often done illegally, since they often no longer own the copyright to such papers, so, depending on the circumstances, IEEE and such can potentially resort to legal methods to enforce its copyright against the illegal copies. For practical reasons and bad-publicity considerations, this is not actively done in reality. It is also the case that after having the copyright assigned to itself, IEEE and other publishers generally give some kind of non-exclusive licence back to the authors with some limited rights on what could be done with an exact copy of the paper. IANAL, but I think the language of such licence is generally restrictive enough that you're not actually supposed to provide the very same copy of the paper elsewhere to the general public in an unrestricted access.</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>In contrast, these academic conferences are different to the technical conferences around open-source software. With technical conferences, there is a lot of members of the general public who want to see the presentation of the author, and such members of the public pay modest registration fees, which, when taken together, together with some contributions by big-name sponsors, are enough not only to support the web-site with free access to all the resources, and potentially a publication of the paper proceedings, but are also often sufficient enough to even cover the airfare and other travel expenses of the authors.</p>\n"
}
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| 2014/01/16 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15857",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10931/"
]
|
15,890 | <p>My tex based on Espanta's answer</p>
<pre><code>@techreport{AAMI,
title = {Recommended Practice for Testing and Reporting Performance Results of Ventricular Arrhythmia Detection Algorithms},
institution = {{Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation}},
year = {1987},
address = {Arlington, VA, USA}
}
</code></pre>
<p>which is shown correctly now after Espanta's answer in Bibliography.
However, the thing is shown in my text similarly as before :</p>
<p><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/y4rCV.png" alt="enter image description here"></p>
<p>where <strong>AAM (1987)</strong> is shown.
I do not know what I should have in the text body for this citation, since the citation does not have author but institution.
I think <strong>AAMI (1987)</strong> is good.</p>
<p><strong>What is the correct way of citing this organisation in IEEE style?</strong></p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 15896,
"author": "Espanta",
"author_id": 6393,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6393",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I think what you are referring to is a technical report or white paper from certain company. Then it should not be misc type. I think if you change your item from misc to technical report, the IEEE style in latex will handle it. </p>\n\n<p>The correct field in citation style should be\nAuthors(if any), title, publisher, address, year.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15897,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Referring to</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I do not know what I should have in the text body for this citation, since the citation does not have author but institution. I think AAMI (1987) is good.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>and</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>The other problem remains with having appropriate text when citing the document in the body. </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>(comment to @Espanta)</p>\n\n<p>When using LaTeX / Bibtex, you are not supposed to control how the citation appears in your text. <strong>This is the task of the style that you are using</strong>. Unless you have clear evidence that this is not the case, I would assume if a given journal requires you to use a given style, then <strong>whatever text the style generates should be ok</strong>.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/17 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15890",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9009/"
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|
15,898 | <p>I am trying to figure out if a paper is open access or not. My university subscribes to many non-open access journals. Some journals offer mixed models where some papers are open access and others are not.</p>
<p>Some journal websites tell me I have accessed them through an institutional subscription, but if the journal uses a mixed model of open access, that does not mean all papers are behind a paywall. Is there a reliable way to tell if a paper is behind a paywall? </p>
<p>In particular I am interested in knowing if this <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v323/n6088/abs/323533a0.html">Nature paper</a> is behind a paywall.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 15899,
"author": "OBu",
"author_id": 10941,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10941",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>To answer your particular question: When trying to read it from home, it tells me \"To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right).\" (costs: 30 $US).</p>\n\n<p>You can easily check this by logging in from home, some public WiFi, or even with your mobile device (as long as it is not using WiFi in your university network to connect).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15901,
"author": "WetlabStudent",
"author_id": 8101,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8101",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>For a particular paper you can use the advice provided by OBu above, by trying to click the link over public wifi without logging into your universities library (or you can even use a public library computer or your smartphone)</p>\n\n<p>However, if you want to discover if a particular journal (not article) is open access, mixed access or completely behind a paywall, you can't use this method. for mixed access journals/publishers, the easiest way to tell whether ALL of their articles are behind a paywall or only some is to read the section entitled something like \"Instructions for authors\". If open access is an option this will always be mentioned somewhere in the instructions for people submitting papers to the journal (because they can pay to make their article open access). The reason why you can't just look up a paper at home and look for \"To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right).\" is because this may only be the case for some of that journals articles.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/17 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15898",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929/"
]
|
15,906 | <p>Say a paper submitted for publication in a journal by Prof. Bertie Wooster references a paper by Dr Augustus Fink-Nottle, but that paper was the subject of a critical peer-reviewed comment by Prof. Roderick Spode. Should I insist as a reviewer that Prof. Spode's paper should also be referenced and the criticism at least mentioned, even if I personally do not agree with Prof. Spode's point of view? </p>
<p>My intuition is that the reader of a paper should reasonably expect to be made aware of any element on which Prof. Woosters work is based that has been seriously called into question, so that he is able to form an opinion on the matter. Am I being unreasonable in this expectation?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 15908,
"author": "Peter Jansson",
"author_id": 4394,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4394",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This depends on why you reference the paper. If you reference it because of the details that were later commented on, there is definitely reason to also mention the disagreement. I would consider that a basic aspect of any referencing of relevant literature. If, on the other hand the comments by Spode have later been shown to be wrong (Jeeves, 2008) or irrelevant the \"historic\" discussion has little relevance.</p>\n\n<p>So I think your sense is correct. But, the necessity to reference both depends on the reason for referencing. The two are not eternally linked for every aspect of the original paper, only the parts where opinions differ and from which the discussion has arisen.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15929,
"author": "cbeleites unhappy with SX",
"author_id": 725,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/725",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I basically agree with <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/15908/725\">Peter Jansson's answer</a>. But I'm wondering:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>It's clear the follow-up papers need to be cited if they are important for the topic at hand. In that case, I'd not only reference them but sum them in a sentence or so. </li>\n<li><p>If they are not immediately relevant, I'd still mention them, like </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>... paper [Fink-Nottle] and the follow-up discussion [Spode, Fink-Nottle2]</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>or, even shorter </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>... paper [Fink-Nottle, Spode, Fink-Nottle2]</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>IMHO this is very low effort, and it is being nice to readers who want to look into the first Fink-Nottle paper (possibly because its topic is closer to what they are looking for than the major part of the present paper). </p></li>\n</ul>\n"
}
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| 2014/01/17 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15906",
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|
15,911 | <p>I am interested in pursuing my own part-time postdoctoral research in computer science, with a view to getting one or two publications over the next two to three years. My motivations are personal interest, and also to keep my options open in case I decide to apply for an academic or research post in 2016.</p>
<p>I am not sure where I should start looking for a project. Should I read academic papers until I get ideas? Should I just try and brainstorm my own ideas? Should I go back to my current university supervisor, or my previous PhD supervisor?</p>
<p><em>My Background</em></p>
<p>I am nearly 41 and married with two children (aged 10 and 13). I gained my bachelor's in computing in 2006. In 2012 I submitted a thesis in artificial intelligence (case-based reasoning) and the PhD was awarded in 2013. My family are not keen on moving and we live in an area with very few high-tech or academic employment opportunities. </p>
<p>I can't see a way to extend my PhD research. I have never worked as a post-doc; before the PhD I was a database administrator and immediately afterwards I was a software developer. </p>
<p>Fortunately, late in 2013 I found a position on a UK government scheme known as Knowledge Transfer Partnerships. I am employed by a Scottish university to work within an English manufacturing company, to use AI techniques to solve a particular engineering problem. I am based at the manufacturing company and I see my university supervisor very rarely. I am not allowed to publish anything from this employment. The contract ends in August 2016.</p>
<p>The KTP project will probably use standard AI methods; I won't be inventing any new techniques. If the manufacturing company consented (and they will not!) it would be possible to publish, but it would only be as an interesting application of AI, not a new way of doing AI.</p>
<p>I have a substantial training budget (GBP £2000 a year) which—with the approval of my employer—I can spend going to conferences, buying books etc.</p>
<p>I have discussed the idea of doing research with my university supervisor, either performing experiments myself, or a literature review paper. She made some nice noises but she was not overly enthusiastic. I think she is worried that it will divert me from the KTP project (for which her university gets paid a lot of consultancy money) and possibly upset the construction company who I am based with.</p>
<p>My interests and skills lie in artificial intelligence (neural networks, case-based reasoning), computer-aided design and software engineering.</p>
<p>I still have my PhD supervisor on my LinkedIn page and I could approach her. However, I worry that she will think it is strange if I ask to collaborate with her, given that I am currently employed by a different university.</p>
<p>I can commute to my current workplace (it's about an hour away) and there are 2 good universities (and another two not-so-good ones) about 60-90 minutes' commute from our family home, so location is the biggest restriction for me, I can't force my wife and children to move.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 15912,
"author": "J. Zimmerman",
"author_id": 7921,
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"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Partial answer: <strong>start reading!</strong></p>\n\n<p>Read for both breadth and depth, and be sure to occasionally step outside the boundaries of what you are familiar with, even exploring fields that seem only tangentially related. In the process, you will almost certainly discover an area that is begging to be explored further. Indulge yourself, dive into the literature, buy books and attend conferences (for which you say you have a budget), and keep excellent notes while doing so. </p>\n\n<p>You may discover that you can write a literature review fairly easily, and will probably also find that you have identified exactly what you wish to pursue for your research project. At worst, you will have spent many enjoyable hours increasing your knowledge; at best, you will be well on the way to completing your research.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15921,
"author": "aeismail",
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"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Doing \"unsponsored\" research would be tricky, but at least it's more feasible in artificial intelligence than in other fields (such as experimental particle physics or cell biology). </p>\n\n<p>In general, however, working with your PhD advisor on new projects after you have finished your doctoral research is considered a very bad thing. The reason is that this suggests that you are still dependent on your graduate advisor, and are effectively still \"riding her coattails.\" Consequently, it suggest you're not ready to stand on your own, which makes you much less desirable to hiring committees. Furthermore, in places like Germany, if you have only published papers with your graduate advisor, one can argue that you're not actually yet qualified to be an independent principal investigator, which can reduce your ability to apply for and receive grants.</p>\n\n<p>Note that this does <strong>not</strong> mean that you can't finish up papers that are part of your graduate thesis work after you graduate. It just means that you shouldn't start up anything new.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21332,
"author": "derelict",
"author_id": 14547,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14547",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The best way to start a project <strong>that will get funded</strong> is to read <a href=\"http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/description.htm\" rel=\"nofollow\">funding announcements</a> (FOA, PA, RFA, RFP, etc.) in your areas of expertise and/or areas that really interest you. Funding announcements are availible directly from the funding agency, or through online database such as <a href=\"http://pivot.cos.com/funding_main\" rel=\"nofollow\">Community of Science</a> and <a href=\"http://www.grants.gov\" rel=\"nofollow\">Grants.gov</a>. Reading funding announcements is an easy way to see the current state of knowledge as well as the gaps that exist (and available funding!). </p>\n\n<p>I disagree with some of the other comments, collaborating with your PhD supervisor is very common (in my field). Furthermore, cross institutional collaboration is encouraged as pointed out by Luke M. I see no downside to this. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21516,
"author": "avid",
"author_id": 15798,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15798",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>What do you want to achieve by doing research \"on the side\"? Is it purely for intellectual stimulation? Do you want to maintain/raise your profile in the field? Are you hoping to create something that leads directly to your next job (through a research grant or similar)? Thinking about these questions may help you work out where to go.</p>\n\n<p>First, you need to consider whether your current (KTP) employer is likely to raise any conflict of interest issues, and ensure you steer clear of any potential difficulties. Then, think about your PhD work: are there any outstanding issues that you could investigate? Projects that never got written up? In your situation, anything where you have a head start on the research is valuable. I'd definitely get back in contact with your original supervisor - they may have ideas, or contacts, or simply advice. Whilst it's true that in an ideal world, you'd expand your pool of collaborators, anything is better than nothing.</p>\n\n<p>Are there any research groups active in your field in the local universities? Make contact, find an excuse to visit - it can't hurt. Even better, are there any researchers from other fields attempting to apply AI to their own problems, or trying to solve problems that are suited to AI? (Almost certainly!) By bringing your knowledge to another field, you may be able to achieve much greater impact for a given amount of effort! And if you offer something that most people in that field don't have, you'll find people are much more keen to collaborate. If you make yourself sufficiently useful to a large and well-funded research group, you may find a job offer down the line. So, spend some time investigating what your local universities are good at, find something that interests you and you think you can contribute to, and make contact. They might not be interested, but it doesn't hurt to try (and you may find postdocs/junior faculty more receptive to developing a side-project than senior professors).</p>\n\n<p>I guess the bottom line is: be pragmatic. Unless you're only interested in the intellectual stimulation, in your present situation, you need to focus on maximising the cost:benefit ratio. This might mean not working on the things that most interest you, for the time being.</p>\n\n<p>Good luck!</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/17 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15911",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10994/"
]
|
15,913 | <p>I'm beginning my graduate study in theoretical computer science soon, and I've been admitted to two graduate schools in Northeastern Asia.</p>
<p>One of those makes it a rule to grant compensation for travel to conferences to graduate students who finished their master's thesis. However, for beginning graduate students, they said they cannot be sure if they can fully afford their travel costs for conferences.</p>
<p>The graduate school requires the students little coursework and all I will do there will be do actual research. As you may know, conferences are important in computer science and reputable conferences are usually held far removed from us in Northeast Asia.</p>
<p>Can I do with journals and preprint servers, and possibly without reputable conferences, in the field of theoretical computer science, as a beginning graduate student?</p>
<p>(By the way, the cons of the other school are that the professor supervises too many students and that he hasn't been nice to me.)</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 15915,
"author": "OBu",
"author_id": 10941,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10941",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In CS, conferences and journals serve different purposes: conferences are great for networking and exchange of ideas, and the important ones are having low acceptance rates so publishing there is worthy, but still, many (most?) are not listed in citation indexes and often people are just checking there for \"real publications\" (aka journal publications). </p>\n\n<p><strong>Edit due to many comments:</strong>\nJust to clarify this: I did not say that it is GOOD to judge someone based on journal papers, I just said some people do! I personally had to learn this the hard way since I had many good conference publications which were not regarded as \"publications\" in some contexts.\n<strong>Edit end</strong></p>\n\n<p>So if you do write journal publications, you made an important step towards a successful PhD (I know several advisoors who want to have x journal publications (x in {1..3} as pre-requisite), but you are missing the interaction and exchange of ideas. Especially in the first half of your thesis, this would be very valuable.</p>\n\n<p>But maybe the people at grad school were just honest: Usually there are not enough travel funds to let everyone travel to every conference - one has to build a strategy on who visits which conference and how often. It's just a matter of resources since an international conference visit costs about 2.500€ and most funding schemes would not allow for more than one international conference per year. </p>\n\n<p>I would recommend asking a grad student who is already there, how this is handled in practice.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15918,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Conferences are <em>very</em> important in CS. Journals are also important, but they tend to accept more mature work, and therefore might be especially hard to publish into as a beginning graduate student (which, in your terms, seems to refer to someone who hasn't finished his/her master thesis yet). Nothing is impossible, of course, but you have to be careful not to end up with no publications after 4 years, just because you were aiming too high. In addition, some journals are very slow to respond, so you might spend half a year or even more waiting for a decision. In the mean time, you cannot send this work anywhere else. </p>\n\n<p>You should ask students there how the official policy is, it might just be that they don't want to fund you a trip to a small workshop in Hawaii, but the question could be different if you were to get a paper at POPL. You should also consider that there are good conferences coming to Asia, and many conferences offer financial support to students (including reducing the registration fee, sometimes even helping with transport/accommodation). Finally, if you're writing your paper with someone else, such as your advisor, this person might be able to travel to the conference and present the paper (which would be a shame for you not to attend, but it still counts as a publication in your CV). </p>\n\n<p><strong>EDIT</strong> Some clarification: technically speaking, the only important thing is to produce good research, and to write good paper. What you plan to do after your PhD also matters, but if you'd like to stay in Academia, you will need at some point to get a job, and you will be judged on your papers (on other aspects too, but papers are very important). Now, to answer your question: <strong>yes, you could get a job with only journal publications</strong>, as long as they are good. <strong>Is that the best strategy? Probably not</strong>. Conferences are very important because they allow you to meet other people, to be exposed to state-of-the-art research, to confront your ideas with the community, to get published within a relatively short time period, to receive more frequent feedback, to construct your research project in a more incremental way (present your idea at some workshop, work on a good conference paper, present the extended version to a journal). </p>\n\n<p>If I can give you one example, I've presented some of my work at a workshop with no proceedings (so it didn't count as a publication), and I met there someone who accepted to be one of my external PhD examiners. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/18 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15913",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
]
|
15,914 | <p>I recently received an email from a department administrator that NSF rules have been changed (<a href="http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/pappguide/nsf14001/gpg_sigchanges.jsp" rel="nofollow">link here</a>), such that <em>all investigators must fill out a conflict of interest (COI) form.</em> They then go on to list a cadre of examples which meet the definition of investigator and a statement that all investigators must fill out this form. Our university has the definition of investigator <a href="http://orcr.arizona.edu/coi/uapol/investigator#investigator" rel="nofollow">here</a>.</p>
<p>My question is, are graduate students typically considered investigators by the NSF? If so, we certainly do not receive the recognition that PIs and other <em>listed</em> investigators get.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 15920,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Actually, the NSF, in its <a href=\"http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/pappguide/nsf14001/gpgprint.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow\">Grant Proposal Guide</a>, does not actually define the concept of an \"investigator.\" Instead, it chooses to define the different categories as \"senior personnel\" and \"other personnel.\" Typically, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students fall under \"other personnel.\" </p>\n\n<p>Personally, in such matters, I would opt on the side of caution and just have the graduate students fill out the conflict of interest form. It doesn't take very long, and having it in place makes life easier for everyone.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16032,
"author": "nagniemerg",
"author_id": 11084,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11084",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>PI stands for PRINCIPAL Investigator, i.e. the head investigator. Under this guideline grad students and postdocs ARE still investigators, albeit, not principal ones.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/18 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15914",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4572/"
]
|
15,923 | <p>I am currently deciding my next step in life and am pretty confused about my options. I am an English language teacher with an MSEd in TESOL and have a growing interest in both computer science and linguistics. I have been considering getting my PhD in linguistics, possibly with a focus on computational linguistics, but I also am really interested in beginning to develop applications, especially ones related to language and education (i.e. Android apps, python-based language tools, etc.).
I have little math experience, but do have some client-side programming skills (HTML, JavaScript, PHP).</p>
<p>So lately, I have been considering getting an MSCS (online) in order to build the requisite skills and also enhance my job prospects (a language teacher doesn't make much).
I've been looking at online programs that offer courses in AI, MT, NLP, and human-machine interaction. But, I've also been considering skipping the MSCS and doing Coursera, CodeAcademy, and other free tutorials to learn the development skills, then making some GitHub or publishable projects. I have done CodeAcademy for Python and picked it up pretty quickly. The problem with these free education sources, however, is that I lose motivation quickly. However, If I had paid for them, my motivation would be sustained because I spent the money and want to get my money's worth.</p>
<p>So, my vague question is: Do I do a MSCS or focus on what’s freely available, build my skills, and hope I get good enough to not need a real credential?</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Moderator’s notice: Please do not take this as a <a href="https://academia.meta.stackexchange.com/q/3657/7734">shopping question</a> and suggest specific courses.</p>
</blockquote>
| [
{
"answer_id": 15925,
"author": "OBu",
"author_id": 10941,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10941",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>That's a very difficult question - and a bit opinion-based, too! \nMaybe you should step back a bit and try to figure out, what your future job perspectives might be. If you want to be an employee in the CS-field, I would recommend a MSCS. On one hand because wou'll learn new things you would not pick when you can choose your courses freely, on the other hand because you get an official certificate from an established university. Depending on the country you are living in, this might be important.\nOn the other hand, if you want to stay in linguistics and just improve your skills, you can stick to online courses and tutorials since they allow you to learn what you are currently missing at your pace. </p>\n\n<p>If you want to dig deeper in the field of language processing, I would strongly recomment building some strength in mathematics and theoretical CS as well. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15927,
"author": "Matthew G.",
"author_id": 1165,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1165",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>What OBu said: This is going to depend on what your goal is. </p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>If you want to work as a programmer, generically, then a MOOC might be a good way to skill yourself up. As far as studying, fundamentals are going to pay off no matter where you work: Algorithms, Software Engineering, Math, etc. The problem with MOOCs is that it's not clear if they are going to get you through the door when job hunting; so be sure to focus on creating work that can demonstrate your skill, and help get you over that barrier. </p></li>\n<li><p>If you want to create research, write papers etc, then you could always <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/15094/1165\">try to create your own research program</a>. Having said that, if you don't have an established history of auto-didacticism then this is going to be difficult to maintain. A real masters program helps guide you down paths, and force you to <a href=\"http://xkcd.com/761/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">prune those search trees</a>.</p></li>\n<li><p>If you want to work as a programmer, in the NLP/MT/AI fields, then you might have to do both: MOOCS <strong>and</strong> an MSc. </p></li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>A side note; be warned that there are lots of MSc. programs out there, varying in style and quality. Some are essentially just more courses, while others are intended to produce new research. Be sure that the MSc. program you register for is going to <strong>get you what you want</strong>. Do your research. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 133628,
"author": "astaubin",
"author_id": 110933,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/110933",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Having completed my MS in Computer Science in an online program and taken a couple of MOOCs I believe they both have there place in learning and career skill growth. My online MS was great, but limited in teaching style and format. It helped me gain a greater foundation in Computer Science, but the greatest benefit was always the just in time learning I received while working full time as a Software Engineer.</p>\n\n<p>I have always found MOOCs to be great for deciding if a Topic is for you and if you want to continue with it. </p>\n\n<p>As an in-between, you should look into the Master's programs that many MOOC providers are now offering.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/18 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15923",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7317/"
]
|
15,930 | <p>My paper is accepted in one of the Taylor and Francis journals and Today I figured out that I made a mistake in one row of one of my tables ( the minimum of one of variables in statistic analysis table is 0 in the paper but the actual value is 1). In fact, it does not affect the other parts of paper and the verification part. </p>
<p>Editor will provide the proofread of my paper in a week.</p>
<p>My question is, Will the editor give me a chance to edit the paper again? or he will change the grammatical problems his self?</p>
<p>And if I ask the editor to correct that row of paper, will he give the paper to reviewers again? I am worried that if I ask him to correct that mistake, he ask the reviewers to review my paper again. I need my paper to be published soon. </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 15931,
"author": "Peter Jansson",
"author_id": 4394,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4394",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Since you have not proof read the paper yet, you simply ask the editor to make the changes to the table as part of the proof reading process. This is perfectly fine as long as the changes you make are trivial and does not change the basis for your conclusions. The worst case would be if the paper was accepted due to the data you reported and your changes will change the results so that the conclusions no longer can be made. The proof-reading stage comes after an accept and it is not allowed to make substantial changes. By substantial, I mean both by volume (changing a lot of text) or by quality (changing data upon which the decision was made).</p>\n\n<p>Supply the changes to the editor as part of the proof reading process but make sure you explain that the changes in the table does not influence the results and conclusions of the paper. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15932,
"author": "Brian",
"author_id": 11009,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11009",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Once the paper is published, there's no changing it. This seems to be the case whether it is physically printed in a magazine or first displayed online. Some journals will publish retractions, which are usually listed as a separate publication explaining what should be different in the original publication, though I'm sure that's not what you want.</p>\n\n<p>I can say with certainty for PLoS One, if you need to issue revisions in that stage between acceptance and publication, they will fix minor issues if it doesn't fundamentally change the direction of your paper. Editing is hard work - it doesn't make sense to send it back for revisions if the paper hasn't changed too much. You'll want to send a copy of your revised paper to the editor, along with an letter/email detailing exactly what has changed in the paper and <em>especially</em> how it doesn't affect the other parts of your paper. Remember that the editor is also one of your reviewers, so if you can make the case that the mistake is indeed minor and take the time to correct it yourself, the decision to send it off for a seemingly pointless re-review becomes less attractive.</p>\n\n<p>Source: A co-author made a small mistake that was corrected after acceptance.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/18 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15930",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11008/"
]
|
15,941 | <p>I'm currently thinking in which country to spend my undergraduate period, UK or US. I'm going to apply for PhD program of Molecular Biology in US university after graduating from undergrad school. So, it seems better to stay in US during undergrad period to prepare for PhD program admission. But I prefer undergrad programs of UK, because of its specialized and accelerated curriculum. Is it a rational choice to go to UK just because of my preference of its curriculum? </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 15942,
"author": "Neo",
"author_id": 6898,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6898",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Personally, I think it is to early to think about graduate school if you haven't even started undergraduate. I would go with where you want to live, and where you think you will have the most research opportunities, and where you think you will get the best grades. Most of all, I would go where you think you will be happiest in life, and not academics. It is infinitely harder to do good work, no matter what field, when you are not happy.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15943,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Academic success is only one component needed for acceptance into graduate programs; you also need to have advisors who can comment favorably on your capabilities <strong>as a researcher</strong>. That means you should focus not only on where you can do well academically, but on where you can also get the opportunities to do research.</p>\n\n<p>However, one thing which you should be aware of is that in the US, admission to PhD programs generally occur directly after the bachelor's phase. This may or may not be the case in the UK. The consequence of this is that, depending on the requirements of the (US) school, even if you have a master's you may need to repeat some coursework or take additional classes upon enrollment in the PhD program.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15949,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Among some of the valid points raised by aeismail and Neo, I would also say it makes a big difference how good the university you are admitted into is. Probably Cambridge Univ. or Univ. of Chicago are fine for most Life Sciences choices, but Univ. of South Cambridgeshire or of Northwestern Illinois aren't. </p>\n\n<p>You are shaping yourself as a person still; keep it simple and don't dwell on details. Go to a reputable university, built up yourself as an academic person and as you are there you will see and hear more stuff. You say \"PhD in Molecular Biology\" now but in 4 years time you might say \"PhD in Neuroscience\" (not to mention the possibility of you going off to industry with a good salary. :) )</p>\n\n<p>Without wanting to put you off, as Neo said, it is a bit early to think about your grad-school at this point. Go in a good university and be the best you can, the rest will come naturally (and even if you don't end up in an US PhD programme, you might still have great fun elsewhere!)</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/18 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15941",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10189/"
]
|
15,947 | <p>I had a very difficult personal problem. My head was not in the right place, and outside of getting through my administrative duties, my brain just couldn't function the right way to run wet lab experiments and come up with good research ideas. As a result, I did not work as much as I should have, and when I did I was all over the place. I concealed my emotional pain pretty well, and put up a good face while in the office/lab, so no one suspected personal problems, but my work definitely suffered. My parent's illness looks to be getting better now and after some counseling I feel like my life is back on track. </p>
<p>However, I feel like it is possible that my advisor's opinion of me has greatly declined due to my lack of productivity in the past. Would telling your advisor about personal problems, after they are over, with the intent of the advisor understanding a lack of productivity be appropriate? Would doing so just sound like excuses and make things worse? I assume it would have probably been better if I had mentioned it back when I was going through the problems, but is it a good idea to mention it now, or just cut my losses, work hard and hope he forgets about those unproductive years. </p>
<p>So my question is. When is it appropriate to bring up personal problems with an advisor? In this case and in general?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 15948,
"author": "Edgar Froes",
"author_id": 11017,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11017",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>As soon as possible. Problems are made to be transcended, not pushed over time. You already said your adviser is a cool guy, right? Go ahead and talk with him, say the truth.</p>\n\n<p>It's a long said term, even cliche sometimes, but the first step to change is recognizing that you have a problem. You already recognized you have it, so now it's time to fix it. Don't be afraid of what he'll think about you, what really matters is that it's true. If he can't understand your situation, then he doesn't really know how to be a adviser.</p>\n\n<p>Also, you're a student, you're there to learn. Better learn now where you can be mistaken with no serious consequences, then out there, where your problem can really damage you financially and/or much more emotionally, since people don't know how to handle with other people's problems, or know and just don't care.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 110371,
"author": "Nuclear Chemist",
"author_id": 91891,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/91891",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Well look at it from the point of view of an academic, most of understand that students have problems in their lives outside the lab which can affect their performance in the lab.</p>\n\n<p>The student has a choice.</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Fix their problem themselves, if they can do this then fine all is sorted.</li>\n<li>Seek help from someone / somewhere such as student health services and then fix their problem there nice and quick, maybe even their supervisor might not notice.</li>\n<li>Ask their supervisor for help (or tell them about the problem). Their supervisor may be able to help them, they might not be able to help directly but will point you in the right direction or they might be no help.</li>\n<li>Fail to fix problem and then your work will take a nose dive, you may appear to the supervisor as a lazy toad if you disappear from the workplace and do not tell them that you are ill or have a problem.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Now consider the following,</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>My student has not appeared in the department for two weeks, none of the rest of the group have any idea of where they are. What do I start thinking (hint \"lazy toad\").</p></li>\n<li><p>Student has not appeared in the lab for three days, on day three I get a email explaining that they are very ill. They are laid up in hospital and will not be back for over a week. What do I start thinking (hint \"Oh dear, my student is ill\")</p></li>\n<li><p>Student comes to me and tells me my child is sick or my dad has just died. Unless I am a totally evil toad, I will give the student some time off and try to help as much as I can.</p></li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>My advice is to try to establish and maintain a honest and open relationship with your PhD supervisor. They are not the evil toad enemy ! There are somethings you might not feel happy talking about with your supervisor, somethings might not be suitable topics of discussion with your supervisor.</p>\n\n<p>Rather than telling your supervisor that you have embrassing problems like relationship problems (like your partner has just run off with your best friend). You can tell them \"I have a serious problem in my life, I will need two weeks to deal with it\". While it is not going to be music to the supervisors ears it is better than just vanishing off the face of the earth for two weeks.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 110381,
"author": "Ar_lav",
"author_id": 71330,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/71330",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Try to communicate with your Phd supervisor and explain the situation. It might be that they might have useful advice and be also able ot help you adjust to the situation and become productive again- some supervisors are really great in also taking care of PhDs issues and nurturing them to fruition, so try to speak to them as soon as possible. This will also help establish a more direct relationship when you might need more emotional support if the issues continue. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/19 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15947",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8101/"
]
|
15,953 | <p>Say you made a smart move in solving an important question that your advisor did not think of and all of a suddenly your advisor becomes jealous because you have made your advisor look bad. What are the best way to manage situation like this? </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 15960,
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"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If your supervisor is already a professor, this is highly unlikely as the difference in the competence is way too big. If such thing really happened by pure chance, just ignore and concentrate on work instead. He is a professor. He is competent. He should manage.</p>\n<p>Such friction may only happen when, for instance, the professor assigns near finishing PhD student, young post doc or the like, to help the starting PhD student.</p>\n<p>Such "low level supervisor" may provide a lot of useful assistance, so you need to think twice before attempting to run away from it. But if you really do not want him, and are also sure you can get without him, go to the professor and ask to remove that supervision. This usually works no problem.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15961,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'd distinguish between three scenarios:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>If you have accomplished something genuinely magnificent (e.g., you just proved the Riemann hypothesis), then it may be natural for your advisor to feel a little envious, particularly if it was something your advisor had hoped to do someday. Hopefully they'll soon switch to feeling proud of their amazing student, and in any case your career success is assured by your great accomplishment.</p></li>\n<li><p>In less extreme circumstances, this could be a real problem. If your advisor feels threatened by your success, then you may need a new advisor, since you certainly don't want an advisor who goes around explaining how you aren't as great as you seem. Before you reach that point, it's worth discussing these issues. For example, you could say \"I've felt some tension recently, and you seemed upset with me at the X Symposium. Am I doing something that's making you unhappy?\" This may be an awkward conversation, but it's worth a try. It's possible that you are somehow making the problem worse (for example, by publicly saying things about your advisor that could be interpreted as disparaging, even if you didn't mean them that way), or that your advisor will feel a little sheepish that you noticed this behavior and will try to change. If talking about it doesn't work, then I don't know what to suggest. You either find a new advisor or put up with it as best you can.</p></li>\n<li><p>It's also possible that it's all in your head. I become suspicious whenever I hear someone attribute other people's behavior to jealousy, since it's an awfully convenient excuse. Until you have really clear evidence, you should keep an open mind regarding other explanations.</p></li>\n</ol>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15968,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>Say you made a smart move in solving an important question that your advisor did not think of and all of a suddenly your advisor becomes jealous because you have made your advisor look bad. What are the best way to manage situation like this?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Generally speaking, whenever somebody tells me that their advisor is jealous of their work, I get rather suspicious. Usually, students that make smart moves and solve important problems do <strong>not in any way reflect badly on advisors!</strong> Quite the contrary, hence there usually is absolutely no reason to be anything than happy for the student's success. That she (I am taking from other comments that your advisor is female?) did not think of the solution herself matters little - in practice, most concrete solutions to research problems come from students and not the advisors. Again, this would not reflect badly on the advisor in any way.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I am speaking from my personal experiences. Initially my advisor was very friendly[more like a co worker than a boss], but the moment she realized what i had accomplished and how the industry was blown away by my work and offered me internships,she kind of started acting more I say formal[like a manager]. We filed for patents and wrote to CHI (holy grail of HCI Conferences) which was unprecedented for MS students from an small university in the Midwest. The moment I realized this, the more I hated and resented her and and I think she realized this and our relationship went downhill from there.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>This is a statement of yours from one of the comments. First of all, congratulations on the CHI paper as well as on the patent applications. However, that being said, the entire paragraph reads like you maybe got carried away a bit by your own success (<em>how the industry was blown away by my work</em>, <em>holy grail of HCI</em>, <em>unprecedented</em>, etc.). Reflect for yourself - is there a chance that your advisor is not so much jealous, but simply annoyed by your high-handed behavior as of late? Are you rubbing your success into her face? Have you maybe even made sure that she understands that this was <strong>your</strong> success, and not in any way hers as advisor? </p>\n\n<p>Also, the last statement (<em>the more I hated and resented her and and I think she realized this and our relationship went downhill from there.</em>) kind of worries me. These are pretty strong words. Surely, more than a little bit of distant behavior and perceived jealousy has happened for you to <em>resent and hate</em> your advisor? </p>\n\n<p><strong>EDIT:</strong></p>\n\n<p>As it turns out, I am not capable of reading, as the second quote is not from the OP but from @james234. Anyway, I'll leave the answer here, as it seems to reflect the gist of such advisor/advisee problems quite well (even if it does not necessarily help the OP).</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/19 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15953",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10694/"
]
|
15,956 | <p>In US education system, the university academic positions start with Assistant Professor. But there are some occasions that positions for Endowed Assistant Professor are advertised. I could not find what exactly is <em>"endowed Associated Prof"</em>. Is there any difference with assistant professor? Is it a type of position different from tenure track or the title endowed comes from the particular funding source? There is a similar discussion about endowed chair in US system <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/12607/what-is-an-endowed-chair-exactly-how-does-it-compare-to-a-normal-position/12608#12608">here</a>, but I think that is slightly different.</p>
<p>Please let me know, whas recruitment committee members are concerned about when hiring endowed assistant professor.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 15957,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>There really is very little difference between the <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/12608/53\">answer Chris Gregg posted</a> and the answer for this question. An \"endowed\" assistant professorship is a position which provides funds for the group of the faculty member appointed to the professorship. It can be either salary, or perhaps additional funds that can be used to support members of the group. </p>\n\n<p>Usually, applicants are not hired directly into such positions; instead, they are hired to the department first, and then appointed into such positions after a few years. They often have names like \"career development assistant professorship\" which indicate that this is a transient award, not a permanent one. If the hiring advertisement actually specifies the position as an \"endowed\" assistant professorship, I don't think it really changes the hiring process, except that they're looking for the best candidate who satisfies the conditions of the endowment.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15969,
"author": "Mark Meckes",
"author_id": 101,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/101",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In mathematics, at least, some departments have multiple positions called \"So-and-so Assistant Professor\" (e.g. Szegö Assistant Professors at Stanford ), which are non-tenure track, 2–3 year visiting positions — basically, a postdoc who teaches (with teaching duties similar to, or somewhat lighter than, the senior faculty). I don't know whether this practice exists in other fields. For such positions, the hiring considerations are similar to other postdoc positions.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 91027,
"author": "paul",
"author_id": 74932,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/74932",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Actually, there ARE actual endowed tenure-track assistant professorships. Several of these are found at prominent liberal-arts colleges. And as with an endowed professorship at full professor rank, these too are funded by the endowment.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/19 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15956",
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|
15,966 | <p>I am currently hunting for research internships and going to apply for several positions. To make the admission officers accessible to my stories and experiences in further detail, I have created a personal Google Site showing those details and added the link into my CV.</p>
<p>Now it comes to my research part. I have one paper that is just informed to be accepted by a conference. However, since the conference is not held yet, the paper isn't available online. </p>
<p>I wish to make the paper accessible to the admission committee. How should I do that without harming my and my co-authors' interest?</p>
<p>Can I upload it to arXiv? Can I upload it to my own Google Site? Should I inform my co-authors of this? Does it really matter to them?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 15967,
"author": "OBu",
"author_id": 10941,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10941",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As the comment from Nate Eldredge said: read your copyright agreement and ask co-authors. </p>\n\n<p>You can definitely list the paper in your publications if you mark it as \"accepted for...\". If the admission committee is interested in reading it (often it is just interested in the title, unless this is the summary of your previous work), they can ask for it.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16093,
"author": "badroit",
"author_id": 7746,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7746",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I would not urge as much caution as the other answer/comment. Of course, checking with your co-authors and publishing agreement won't do any harm but ...</p>\n\n<p>... I would <strong>strongly urge you to put the pre-print of the paper online and add a link in the CV</strong> since the folks handling your application may want to see the paper but may not be bothered to email you for it ... they will have a long list of CVs to get through, esp. in the initial phases where a <em>confirmed</em> publication could really make you stand out.</p>\n\n<p>I emphasise this because I've seen lots of CVs for research internships and they often try to conncoct publications, mentioning \"<em>paper communicated to XYZ</em>\", or mentioning internal technical reports, etc. Having a link to a full-text will show them that it is not a vapour-paper and will let them get an idea of the quality of the work. Better still if you can add a link to the list of accepted papers for the conference with your paper in it.</p>\n\n<p>As for contravening a publishing agreement ... any decent CS/EE publisher will, at the very least, allow you to put the pre-print -- the version you submit to them -- online on a personal homepage. If for some reason they don't, you shouldn't publish your work with them. Putting papers on homepages is a common practice that should be <strong>strongly encouraged</strong>.</p>\n\n<p>If the publisher is IEEE themselves, then <a href=\"http://www.ieee.org/publications_standards/publications/rights/rights_policies.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">it's for sure no problem</a>.</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p><strong>Risk of putting your paper online on your personal page</strong>: a 0.000001% chance of getting a cease and desist letter from your publisher asking you to take it offline, in which case you take the paper offline and never submit to that publisher ever again.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Risk of not putting your paper online on your personal page</strong>: a small but significantly greater than 0.000001% chance of the folks handling your application not taking the publication into account and you not getting a job offer as a result.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16104,
"author": "sansuiso",
"author_id": 11141,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11141",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>From my own submissions at IEEE conferences and journals, I remember the following points:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>you are allowed to put a pre-print online if it is mandatory in your institution. I believe the sentence did also mention that it should happen on your institution pre-print server, so the extension of this notion to Arxiv needs to be worked out (though it is common practice, as far as I have seen);</li>\n<li>you are not allowed to publish online the final version of a paper. The final version is the one with the manuscript number, journal issue and so on;</li>\n<li>be careful when it comes to anonymous submissions (like some IEEE conferences). You have to wait until the official publication of the acceptance list.</li>\n</ul>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/19 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15966",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8079/"
]
|
15,972 | <p>I am a finishing Ph.D student in pure mathematics in the US.
In November, I received a 3 year postdoc offer in Europe on a PI's grant with a December reply deadline and accepted starting in 2015. Recently, I was offered an NSF MSPRF at an American school, starting in 2014. My plan is to use the NSF in 2014-2015 and 2016-2018 and go to Europe for 2015-2016--the NSF and my US host institution are OK with it.
However, when I accepted the European offer I did not specify that I would be staying for only a year (I had no other offers at that point).
A what point am I obligated to tell the European PI that I will stay for only a year? Now, before accepting the NSF? After starting the position in 2015?
More generally, in Europe is it considered normal or unethical/breach of contract to leave multi year (mathematics) postdoc positions after a year?
I know it's considered normal in the US but the postdoc hiring here is done at a departmental rather than individual level...</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 15974,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think this depends a lot on the hiring practices from country to country and from university to university. For instance, if you're offered a multiyear position on what amounts to a renewable annual contract, then there's much less of a problem leaving after one year than if it's a single multiyear appointment.</p>\n\n<p>However, essential communication with <strong>everyone</strong> involved is required <strong>before you start the positions.</strong> If people are not aware of what you want to do, and you spring it upon them as a surprise <em>after</em> you sign the hiring paperwork, you're setting yourself up for much bigger problems than if you talk to them and make sure everybody's OK with your plans in advance.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15975,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Going for one year would fulfill your obligations as I understand them, but I can't guarantee the PI will see things the same way. You should discuss it as soon as possible, to settle the issue and so the PI can at least make realistic plans. (I'd be a little offended if I discovered that someone visiting to work with me had dramatically changed their plans without telling me until much later, even if I thought the change was otherwise reasonable.)</p>\n\n<p>There are several plausible outcomes:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>The PI might insist that you have made a commitment to stay for more than a year. I don't think this is reasonable or likely, but it's better to find out now than later, so you can figure out what to do about it.</p></li>\n<li><p>The PI might be fine with one year. Then you won't have to worry about this issue any further.</p></li>\n<li><p>The PI might accept one year but seem unhappy about it. In that case, you could explain that you would really like to come for a year if possible, but you would be willing to withdraw if the PI would prefer to hire someone else for the full three years.</p></li>\n</ol>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15981,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think you know what is the appropriate action and what is not! You are probably hoping that somebody gives you a justification to do what you have planed. But even a teenager knows that when you accept to work with somebody for three years and later you change your mind and make another plan which conflicts with your agreement, <strong>you are obliged to let the PI know about your new plan as soon as possible.</strong> </p>\n\n<p>Besides, there are probably several other good candidates to fill the position that you want to leave after one year. In this way you take an opportunity from a fellow human being without even using it!</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/20 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15972",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9565/"
]
|
15,979 | <p>How can you find the top journals in a scientific field? I am an HCI graduate student, but I sometimes write to industrial engineering articles if it involves ergonomics. Right now, I'm trying to understand what standing the journal "IIE Transactions" has compared to other journals in the field of industrial engineering. </p>
<p>I was told that the impact factor is not a good indicator to find top journals. What other indicators are useful for identifing top journals within specific fields, like industrial engineering?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 15980,
"author": "Matthew G.",
"author_id": 1165,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1165",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Talk to your advisor about this. They will have a very good mental model of what the publication landscape in the area looks like. </p>\n\n<p>Sometimes, lists <a href=\"http://webdocs.cs.ualberta.ca/~zaiane/htmldocs/ConfRanking.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">like this</a> exist for your field, however they largely just reproduce intuitions your supervisor would already have. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15985,
"author": "fileunderwater",
"author_id": 7223,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7223",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There are problems with the <em>Impact factor</em>, but to find <em>top journals</em> in a field (as in leading/high reputation) the IF (relative to others in the field) is usually a good proxy. The problem with IF is mainly that it is a fairly poor predictor of citations to individual papers. Alternative journal rankings can be found at <a href=\"http://www.scimagojr.com/journalrank.php\" rel=\"nofollow\">SCimago</a> and <a href=\"http://www.eigenfactor.org/\" rel=\"nofollow\">Eigenfactor</a>. However, I do not have any knowledge about HCI and industrial engineering in particular.</p>\n\n<p>Beside @MatthewG recommendation to talk to your advisor, I would also suggest that you look at what you are reading and what journals the papers you are citing are published in. This is usually a good way to find suitable journals.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/20 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15979",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7937/"
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|
15,982 | <p>Would I be accepted at a Phd Program @Harvard when my '''education''' didn't go beyond high-school? I have however done lot of self-study after graduating from high-school by studying:</p>
<ul>
<li>Electrodynamics.</li>
<li>General Relativity.</li>
<li>Quantum Mechanics ...</li>
</ul>
<p>and all the maths that is related to those physics areas.
So do I have any chance?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 15987,
"author": "Sverre",
"author_id": 11053,
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"text": "<p>It's definitely <em>possible</em>. What you need is: (1) someone the PhD program at Harvard acknowledges to vouch for your academic skills, and (2) show them you have those skills. (1) is normally accomplished by including letters of recommendation from your college professors. You need to be creative in choosing your recommenders. (2) is normally accomplished by including a writing sample in your application (this is normally required anyway).</p>\n\n<p>And by the way, you're accepted <em>to</em> a program, not <em>at</em> a program. If your application contains grammatical mistakes like that, you're unlikely to be accepted. That's just the way it is.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 15990,
"author": "Wakem",
"author_id": 10739,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10739",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You PROBABLY don't have any chance at the moment. Have you published in the field? Do you have any projects that you could show to a professor (outside Harvard first?) that might shed light on your exceptional ability? Without ever going to any college you would have to be extraordinary enough to be an exception to Harvard's admission criteria. Of course, alternatively you could try taking some graduate level classes somewhere else, build a relationship with a professor, and either join their program for a preparatory master's or get them to comment to Harvard on your abilities. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/20 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15982",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11051/"
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|
15,983 | <p>I just started my 2nd semester of my part-time master, I was given a thesis topic last week and expected to submit an abstract this week. Because advisor told me -> I would have not choice. However, I just wonder:
Is it normal to submit an abstract to a conference when the research is NOT completed? Or people normally completed the research then write the abstract?</p>
<p>I read a topic asking about how to write an abstract without having the result
<a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/7428/how-to-write-abstract-for-conference-when-you-have-no-results-yet">How to write abstract for conference when you have no results yet?</a>
So I have basic understanding of what I should not write in my abstract.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 15986,
"author": "Dnuorg Spu",
"author_id": 9538,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9538",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>Is it normal to submit an abstract to a conference when the research\n is NOT completed?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Sure. There are plenty of fields where the purpose of a conference is to discuss research that is \"still cooking.\" In fact, many <em>journal</em> publications can be viewed as interim reports on larger research programs that are still in progress.</p>\n\n<p>You might use this opportunity to set a goal for (roughly) the piece of your thesis you want to have done by the date of the conference. It's ok if that piece is relatively small, and nobody at the conference will hold you strictly to what you say in the abstract.</p>\n\n<p>In fact, some people submit abstracts on one thing and then talk about something entirely different... I won't advocate that behavior as an intentional strategy, but I will say that many people (myself included) prefer a great talk to exacting consistency with the abstract.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16005,
"author": "h22",
"author_id": 10920,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10920",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Yes. The idea of the conference is to talk about the current research, not about the published articles. Conferences can also be used to discuss works that may or may not evolve into articles. And while conference abstracts are not rated as high as articles, they do help PhD student to support the significance of the work - especially when, because of various reasons, the article at the end have not been published.</p>\n\n<p>However if your work is close to completion, or even there is already an article in preparation, or otherwise the topic is very successful and highly promising, professor may suggest to avoid disclosing details that may help for potential competitors. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/20 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15983",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
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|
15,993 | <p>I was just offered a postdoc at 34 000 USD a year.</p>
<p>I am wondering whether this is an ok offer. Can someone give me feedback on this?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 15996,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It sounds like it's on the low side for the sciences, but not unheard of. For comparison, <a href=\"http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-12-033.html\">NIH NRSA postdoc stipends</a> start at about $39k for people with no previous postdoctoral experience and go up from there. Postdoc salaries can vary a lot by field, location, institution, etc.; if you have no other offers to compare with but want to know what's typical, I'd recommend searching online to find information that fits your background.</p>\n\n<p>As Paul Garrett pointed out, you also need to consider the cost of living. According to <a href=\"http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/cost-of-living/\">CNN Money's cost of living calculator</a>, $35k in Nashville is the equivalent of nearly $70k if you were living in Brooklyn. Of course these calculators are far from perfect, but they give you some indication of how prices and rents vary across the country. If you are going to live on $34k, Nashville is a good place to do it, and I would expect typical salaries there to be lower than in more expensive locations.</p>\n\n<p>Ultimately, unless you believe there is discrimination or bias involved, I wouldn't worry too much about abstract notions of fairness, or even comparisons with other people in different circumstances. Instead, I would focus on three questions. What do you need to live happily in the short term? What are your long-term goals and prospects for achieving them? And what other options do you have, including not just similar postdoctoral offers but also career changes? Only you can weigh these considerations and decide whether a given offer is acceptable to you.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16003,
"author": "ecellingsworth",
"author_id": 11068,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11068",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>For what it's worth, most Ph.D. chemists that I've seen graduate and move to post-docs get around $40k. The amount depends on how much was budgeted in the grant proposal that is paying the post-doc salary and typically there isn't much wiggle room. Considering the dwindling grant resources, current hiring climate, and level of competition in this field, most are happy just to get a job.</p>\n\n<p>On your question of fairness, did anyone else offer you another post-doc for more money? If not, I'd consider it fair.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/20 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15993",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
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|
16,000 | <p>I am aware of this post
<a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15041/some-questions-about-math-postdoc-offers">Some questions about math postdoc offers</a> but please let me ask a similar question. </p>
<p>I am currently on the math postdoc job market. Some of my friends were informed that they are on the short list but I haven't heard anything from the job market after 2/3 of January. According to the above post, the most job offers are made in the second half of January. I am afraid that all good positions are already taken and I now feel I need to apply for more positions to avoid the worst case. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>My webpage counter does not say that many people visited my webpage since Nov. Is this a bad sign? Do hiring committees really visit candidates' webpages? </p></li>
<li><p>Are most of the good positions such as "****** assistant professorship" already taken around this time?</p></li>
<li><p>Should I send inquiries about my application this week? Or should I wait for another? I hesitate to ask my advisor to do this, so I think I have to do this by myself. </p></li>
</ol>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16001,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>My webpage counter does not say that many people visited my webpage since Nov. Is this a bad sign? Do hiring committees really visit candidates' webpages? </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I wouldn't worry about this, since hiring committees do not necessarily visit web pages, even if they plan to make a postdoc offer. If your application was reasonably detailed and your papers are available elsewhere (for example on the arXiv or as part of your application), then there's no reason why someone would need to visit your web page. Even if your papers aren't available elsewhere, the number of visits you might see is both small and unpredictable.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Are most of the good positions such as \"** assistant professorship\" already taken around this time?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Almost all of them will be offered to someone by the end of January, but those offers will not all be accepted (so there will be multiple rounds of offers, which may extend beyond the common deadline). I would bet that most, but not all, of the most prestigious positions have already been offered to someone, but I don't know actual statistics.</p>\n\n<p>Note that early offers tend to cluster on the most popular candidates, so substantially fewer people get first-round offers than will eventually be hired.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Should I send inquiries about my application this week? Or should I wait for another? I hesitate to ask my advisor to do this, so I think I have to do this by myself. </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Inquiring this week is reasonable. It's worth asking not just your favorite schools, but also schools you are less excited about. (It may signal to them that they have a shot at you after all, and increase the chances that they will make an offer. At this point, you'll presumably be happy to have any reasonable offer, and once you have one you may be able to use it to provoke other places to make offers.) Asking this week leaves a little time for schools to act before the common deadline, although you shouldn't despair even if the deadline goes past.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I now feel I need to apply for more positions to avoid the worst case</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>If you applied to relatively few schools, it might be a good idea to add some more even now, but don't panic. Unless you're in an unusual situation, your job search doesn't sound really problematic at this point. (I can understand that it is worrisome, but there's a big difference between not getting a first round offer from a top department and not getting a job at all. Of course I can't predict how your job search will end, but I've seen people get excellent offers after having had no signs of interest this late in January.)</p>\n\n<p>Meanwhile, I highly recommend having a chat with your advisor about your job search. If your advisor is not worried, it may help you stay calm, and if you do reach the point where your advisor really starts to worry, I hope he/she will have suggestions for what the two of you can do to make sure you get a job.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16002,
"author": "fedja",
"author_id": 6118,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6118",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>My two cents:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>My webpage counter does not say that many people visited my webpage since Nov. Is this a bad sign? Do hiring committees really visit candidates' webpages?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>They do but rarely. The standard application file normally contains all information needed for screening and the grapevine provides the rest. </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Are most of the good positions such as \"** assistant professorship\" already taken around this time?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>You mean \"named assistant professorships\"?. Yes, they may well be. However, the normal (nameless workhorse) postdoc offers haven't been even considered yet in many places. The way it usually works is that the tenure track hiring is done first. Another thing is grants. Right where I am, we'll have or not have postdoc positions this year depending on whether we'll get or not get grant funding and nobody expects to hear from the NSF before the end of February (especially after the circus show by our 485 mouth goat herd in Washington D.C.; I still have a strong desire to send them all to deliver the equipment to the Antarctic research stations in small boats with no food; the only thing that would spare them if it were for me to decide is that I would hate to lose the gadgets). So, I wouldn't worry too much yet.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Should I send inquiries about my application this week? Or should I wait for another? I hesitate to ask my advisor to do this, so I think I have to do this by myself.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>It never hurts to get the information. Just be careful about how exactly you phrase your request and whom you contact. The last thing I would want as a member of the hiring committee (I was on 3 within the last 5 years) is to have to write \"polite and thoughtful\" responses to each and every of 70+ postdoc applicants before their consideration has even started. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16012,
"author": "hithere",
"author_id": 10447,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10447",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am also an applicant this year, and I have heard from some places.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>My webpage counter does not say that many people visited my webpage since Nov. Is this a bad sign? Do hiring committees really visit candidates' webpages?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I was able to guess that an offer was on its way (although one is never sure until you have the offer in your hands) by looking at the webpage counter for <em>some</em> schools. However, other offers/shortlists came as a complete surprise, as I had gotten no visits from these schools since I submitted my application. There were also schools who visited my webpage very frequently, but I heard that they offered their position to someone else. To sum up, the webpage counter is not very reliable.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Are most of the good positions such as \"** assistant professorship\" already taken around this time?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>To nitpick, these are not necessarily the best positions. For example, Princeton's postdocs just go by the generic name of \"Instructors\" (except the top candidate, who is the Veblen Research Instructor). To answer your actual question, several departments have offered most of their positions. On the other hand, many departments have not had their postdoc committee meeting yet; for some, school hasn't even started yet. Also, just be aware that many candidates sit on several offers at the moment, trying to coax a better offer from their top choice etc. But I think that a lot of these positions will free up again on February 3, the common AMS deadline.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Should I send inquiries about my application this week? Or should I wait for another? I hesitate to ask my advisor to do this, so I think I have to do this by myself.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I think you are supposed to talk to your advisor about this! They are there for you, and he/she would be the best judge of your situation. Some advisors can also contact their colleagues to inquire on your behalf, which may be better.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I now feel I need to apply for more positions to avoid the worst case.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>How many positions did you apply to? Many fantastic mathematicians apply to 50-60 places. In this case, it is worth applying to more places at this point.</p>\n\n<p>Also, don't stress out! Breathe! As an applicant myself, I know how you feel. It will all work out in the end. You've done all you can, so sit back and relax, and be patient. No matter what happens, you are still a bright mathematician who will be very successful in your career.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/21 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16000",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11064/"
]
|
16,004 | <p>I was offered an admission of offer (math) today and I found out that I have till Feb 15th to accept the offer. Most schools in my country (Canada) actually send out offers during Feb, and there is a low probability that I will get an offer then, is it okay to ask schools to extend the offer date?</p>
<p><strong>Note</strong> I am Canadian. Schools in Canada don't generally give out scholarships until NSERC hands out theirs. My school gives entrance scholarships after you get NSERC, in which case, they announce it in March, wayyy past the deadline.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16006,
"author": "David Ketcheson",
"author_id": 81,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/81",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Yes, it's definitely okay to ask. They're certainly not going to rescind the offer because you ask for more time. Depending on the school, their applicant pool, how bad they want you, and (probably) how rigid their administrative structure is, they may grant or refuse your request.</p>\n\n<p>You should, of course, word your request very politely and recognize that they have the right to say \"no\".</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16009,
"author": "StasK",
"author_id": 739,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/739",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>To pick up on <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/16006/739\">David's answer</a> -- UK (and the Commonwealth legacy counties like ANZ) have zero administrative wiggle room. US admission committees may be more lenient (I was asked once by our grad admissions director if I knew of any good applicants that they could get a couple of weeks past the deadline), but you need to have a strong case to have any leverage in deadline extension negotiations -- i.e., to be sure you are on the top of their pool (e.g., offered a good competitive scholarship). If you are not, you will hardly get your date extended. In most programs, there are dozens of applicants with a continuum of qualifications and a handful of places to offer, so if you can't commit to taking the spot, it is way too easy for the admissions committee to extend the offer to the next person in line. If you think you have a low probability in your own country, where your credentials are easier to evaluate than in a foreign country, you should seriously consider accepting with gratitude.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/21 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16004",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7349/"
]
|
16,011 | <p>I recently won an NSF mathematical Science Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at University 1. At this University, the math NSF postdocs have a have a much lower salary and benefits than regular "named postdocs" (XYZ Assistant Professor)and during their 2 years of half-time NSF support teach two thirds the amount (despite only half the salary coming from the university). I did not get a regular postdoc offer from Uni 1.</p>
<p>At the same time, I have a 3 year postdoc offer from a fancy institute at US University 2, with significantly higher salary than regular postdocs at Uni 1 (which is already much higher than NSF postdocs at Uni 1), more travel funding than the NSF MSPRF, and NO teaching unless I want to.</p>
<p>Research wise, Uni 1 is a better fit.
Would it be reasonable for me to leverage the Uni 2 offer to perhaps convince Uni 1 to raise my salary during my NSF postdoc there to the level of their regular postdocs and maybe give me the title of a regular postdoc at Uni 1 for one or two years when I am there?
Or perhaps reduction in the number of courses I have to teach?
If so, does one go about it?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16014,
"author": "hithere",
"author_id": 10447,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10447",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think that there is a difference between University 1 <em>wanting</em> you, and <em>having</em> you because you come with an NSF. That makes a huge difference in whether you can leverage for a higher salary or not.</p>\n\n<p>The fact that University 1 did not offer you their regular postdoc title sounds like a hint to me that they will probably not be up for negotiation. Though, it doesn't hurt to try.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 144710,
"author": "Deipatrous",
"author_id": 119911,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/119911",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I question the \"fit\" with uni 1. The postdoc is a glorified teaching job, with a load that seriously compromises academic output i.e. further career prospects.</p>\n\n<p>Uni 2 on the other hand seems to have everything going for it.</p>\n\n<p>Without wishing to seem rude, I suspect the \"fit\" here consists of factors such as: partner lives in that town, want to stay there; research is same topic as PhD; really like the idea of working with academic X... Such considerations can all have <em>some</em> legitimacy, but they are factors young academics systematically overrate.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 144741,
"author": "fedja",
"author_id": 6118,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6118",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Yes, you can try to negotiate but be prepared for the possibility that your requests won't be met and you'll have to resort to accepting the offer from University 2. </p>\n\n<p>The simplest way to start negotiations is just to write to the department chair at University 1 (possibly with a cc to the professor you are interested in working with) and to say that you are very much interested in going there (with a clear explanation why) but, \"regrettably\" would have to accept a better offer unless the terms are at least partially matched, then to state explicitly the terms of that better offer and stop there. Then the headache of deciding how much to upgrade the offer will be theirs and the only message you'll be sending will be that the <em>current</em> terms are not acceptable for you (which, from what you've said, seems to be the case anyway). The rest depends on how they respond (if they respond at all). </p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/21 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16011",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9565/"
]
|
16,030 | <p>I am creating an email signature and I am not sure what the protocol should be.</p>
<p>Should it say</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Dr. Locc</p>
<p>Department of Social and Consumer Sciences.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>or should my position within the dept. be referenced??</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Dr. Locc</p>
<p>Social and Consumers Science Department Chairman</p>
</blockquote>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16037,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There is no formal protocol for a \"signature block.\" You can put as much or as little as you would ike. If you know the recipient well, for instance, the block is unnecessary. For more formal occasions, however, I would include as much of your affiliation as is appropriate:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I. M. Professor<br>\n My Job Title<br>\n My Department<br>\n My University<br>\n Other contact information</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>If you are chair, I'd indicate that specifically. Instead of the second and third lines, those could be combined as:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Chair, Department of X</p>\n</blockquote>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16078,
"author": "nagniemerg",
"author_id": 11084,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11084",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>My signatures are usually of the form:</p>\n\n<p>Name</p>\n\n<p>Title</p>\n\n<p>Official Department Name</p>\n\n<p>University X</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/22 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16030",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11085/"
]
|
16,035 | <p>Recently I have received an offer for PhD studentship in Biology from a lab in Germany. I have completed my Bachelors degree and I have solid 2 years of research experience with 3 peer reviewed publications. Now to formally enroll as a PhD student they are asking me for Masters degree which I don't have. </p>
<p>My question is, is it possible to enroll without masters degree into PhD in Germany? I know that in US, UK Masters degree is not a pre-requisite for PhD. How about in Germany? Can't my research experience be accounted as qualification ?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16036,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Essentially, you cannot start a PhD program without a master's degree in Germany. Some programs feature a dual-degree option, whereby you're admitted to a master's program as well as a PhD program. US and UK programs do basically the same thing, which is why the master's degree is not a prerequisite—you earn it, or the equivalent, along the way to the PhD after the bachelor's.</p>\n\n<p>However, in German universities, most PhD positions are actually government jobs in what is known as the <a href=\"http://oeffentlicher-dienst.info/tv-l/west/\">TV-L system</a>. More precisely, it's what's called a \"TV-L E13.\" Now, one of the requirements of the TV-L E13 is a master's degree in the appropriate subject. There really isn't a way to waive this requirement. </p>\n\n<p>What perhaps can be done is to ask if the group is willing to sponsor you as a \"Wissentschaftliche Hilfskraft\"—essentially, a part-time worker in the group—while you complete the master's program. (If they're eager enough to hire you with a bachelor's, then they should be willing to support you while you get the necessary training.) </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16042,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>My question is, is it possible to enroll without masters degree into PhD in Germany? I know that in US, UK Masters degree is not a pre-requisite for PhD. How about in Germany? </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p><strong>In Germany, as well as many (most?) other places in central Europe, a Master's degree is a formal requirement for starting a PhD.</strong></p>\n\n<p>The reason for this is mostly historical: in Europe, we did not really have Bachelor's and Master's degrees until 2000 or shortly thereafter. Until then, a \"Diploma\" (sort of equivalent to master's degree, a bit of a mixture of MSc and MBA) was the first degree you could get from an university. Around 2000, the so-called <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bologna_Process\">Bologna process</a> went into action, with the goal of homogenizing the way how higher eduction works across Europe, and the chosen target model was the traditional Bachelor / Master / PhD model of US universities. Of course, adopting this model in the somewhat different realities of european universities meant that what was really implemented in many places was sort of a half-hearted mixture of old and new system. For instance, in my country of origin (Austria), almost every study basically just took the their old \"Diplomstudium\" (old curriculum, where the equivalent of MSc was the first degree) and more or less randomly awarded a BSc after 3 years. Of course, at this point, the student did not have a completed education in any way - the curriculum was fully designed that students do another 2 years after master studies afterwards (and the majority of students does so). As a result, public opinion, for instance in industry, of people with \"only\" a bachelor are not very good -- in many ways, those are considered people who stopped their studies prematurely. In a similar vain, universities also require a \"completed\" undergrad study (which, in Austria, means doing the entire 5-year original master studies) before being allowed to enroll into a PhD programme.</p>\n\n<p>Now, that being said, I find it more than just a bit awkward that your department in Germany did not clarify this in advance. This issue is not an unknown quantity in Germany -- everybody who hires even occasionally from outside of Europe should know about this and handle this issue in advance. I am afraid it will be a difficult problem to solve.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Can't my research experience be accounted as qualification ?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I highly doubt it. <strong>This is not just a small administrative hurdle</strong> -- in many places (I do not know about Germany, though), the requirement of a Master to get enrolled to a PhD programme is defined by national university law, so it is not a requirement that a university or professor can just waive for you.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16046,
"author": "Eirinn Mackay",
"author_id": 11102,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11102",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I believe it is possible. I have no masters but I have Honours (not really known or recognised outside the Commonwealth) and 3 years work experience as a research assistant. I had no trouble enrolling in my PhD in the Netherlands. The actual university guidelines say that candidates must have a Masters unless they have been given a special exemption by the director of the institute. If you've been given an offer then it's likely an exemption will be made, unless the rules are more strict in Germany than in NL.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16048,
"author": "Tomas Walek",
"author_id": 11103,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11103",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I know of some cases when it is possible: e.g. when the university offers a so called \n<strong><em>fast-track PhD program</em></strong>. In this case you are required to have at least a B.Sc. in a related field. Then within the first year of this fast-track program you basically start working on your M.Sc., but you don't write M.Sc thesis. Instead of that when the first year is over, you keep working on your topic for the next couple of years and make a dissertation out of it. </p>\n\n<p>Check out e.g. this page: <a href=\"http://www.gsn.uni-muenchen.de/studies/ft_program/index.html\" rel=\"noreferrer\">http://www.gsn.uni-muenchen.de/studies/ft_program/index.html</a></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16058,
"author": "Kristof Tak",
"author_id": 9401,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9401",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I see people claiming that Masters is an absolute requirement to start PhD in Germany. I am not an expert in the field but my supervisor in my university does not have a Masters, he has registered PhD studies immediately after the Bachelors. He is a German and was a student at the same uni. How he did it I don't know. What I know for sure is that such a case exists. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 148305,
"author": "Joooeey",
"author_id": 122249,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/122249",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Yes, the master's is typically a formal requirement for starting a PhD in Germany.</p>\n\n<p>However, many universities reserve the right to deviate from the usual pathway in exceptional circumstances. There are students who have started a bachelor's without earning their Abitur first and students without a bachelor's who were admitted to master's programs because of their industry experience.</p>\n\n<p>Since they have offered you admission in the program, they may consider you an exception. You shouldn't assume that they simply overlooked that you don't have a master's.</p>\n\n<p><strong>The exact rules differ by federal state (Bundesland) and university. So to answer your question, you have to read the university's policies closely and then contact their admission's office as well as your prospective supervisor.</strong></p>\n\n<p>EDIT:\nUniversities' published policies can be out of date. What really matters is what the people say and write. When I applied for my master's the written policy also said that the bachelor's had to be a four-year program but everyone at the admission office was very clear that they had no such rule, at least not for European bachelors. And indeed, there was no extra paperwork at all.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/22 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16035",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11088/"
]
|
16,047 | <p>Sometimes a thread on StackExchange could help your research. A technical problem, an inspiring discussion or even an idea. How can I acknowledge this kind of contribution? (considering that many users on SE do not use real name and it is very difficult to reach them privately) Has anyone done that? </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16049,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Most citation systems (e.g., MLA, Harvard, Chicago) have a means of referencing web pages. Therefore, if there are specific discussions and conversations that you can point to, then I would simply refer to those pages.</p>\n\n<p>If not, however, I would probably just leave it to a statement in the Acknowledgments section, since there isn't an actual \"public record\" which can be cited.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16052,
"author": "MasterPJ",
"author_id": 4079,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4079",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p><strong>EDITED according to the PiotrMigdal's comment</strong></p>\n\n<p>If you like to point out the SE contribution to your work I would suggest to acknowledge the community by any acknowledgement you consider suitable. For example:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>The authors would like to express their appreciation to the Stack\n exchange, inc. community for many useful inputs and valuable comments.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>or if you like you can be more specific</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>We would like to thank to community of Stack exchange, inc.,\n especially, Cross Validated group (section?) for advices regarding the data processing and data\n visualization.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Or you can combine what ever you like. </p>\n\n<p>If you think that only one user was the core of the contribution, you can mention only him or her.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Special thanks goes to Piotr Migdal, who significant contributed to\n the quality of this answer with his valuable and well-aimed comment.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>In case the person would be (or would like to stay) anonymous and you would still like to acknowledge the contribution, you can write the acknowledgement to anonymous person (as well you can <a href=\"http://www.documentit.co.uk/support/help.php?version=v3_02&topic=authors&query=Unknown%20Author%28s%29&template=support\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">citate a source with unknown author</a>). This happens typically when you refer to web-pages:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>We would like to acknowledge the discussion regarding the deep learning algorithm at Stack exchange, inc. in Cross Validated section\n (Available at:\n <a href=\"https://stats.stackexchange.com/questions/83092/regression-in-deep-learning\">https://stats.stackexchange.com/questions/83092/regression-in-deep-learning</a>,\n Accessed: 44rd August 2010).</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>However, I think that much better would be to try to contact the person/people. You can do it either by contact info or by comments. They can be willing to step out of the anonymity for you or, what is more, have some further discussion on the topic of your interest.</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>And if you would like to express your gratitude, you can always contribute to SE :)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16084,
"author": "Federico Poloni",
"author_id": 958,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/958",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Mathoverflow, which is the SE site for research mathematics, has a cite button, hidden inside the widget that pops up when you click \"share\". The citations it produces have the following form:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>user1347 (<a href=\"https://mathoverflow.net/users/1347/user1347\">https://mathoverflow.net/users/1347/user1347</a>), Can one make Erdős's Ramsey lower bound explicit?, URL (version: 2009-11-02): <a href=\"https://mathoverflow.net/q/3789\">https://mathoverflow.net/q/3789</a></p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<pre><code>@MISC {3789,\n TITLE = {Can one make Erdős&#39;s Ramsey lower bound explicit?},\n AUTHOR = {user1347 (https://mathoverflow.net/users/1347/user1347)},\n HOWPUBLISHED = {MathOverflow},\n NOTE = {URL:https://mathoverflow.net/q/3789 (version: 2009-11-02)},\n EPRINT = {https://mathoverflow.net/q/3789},\n URL = {https://mathoverflow.net/q/3789}\n}\n</code></pre>\n\n<p>As you can see, the Bibtex is far from perfect (no escaping of non-latin characters and capitals, no <code>\\url</code> command for links), but this could give you an idea.</p>\n\n<p>More importantly, this still uses the username as \"author\", so it doesn't really answer your question. This is an issue that has also been discussed in several places on mathoverflow and math.stackexchange; see for instance the amusingly-named question <a href=\"https://mathoverflow.net/questions/98082/etiquette-question-how-to-acknowledge-bugs-bunny\">how to acknowledge Bugs Bunny?</a> and the meta.MSE thread linked there.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/22 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16047",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10431/"
]
|
16,050 | <p>In <a href="http://www.academia.edu/terms">academia.edu's terms of service</a>, it says</p>
<blockquote>
<p>By making available any Member Content on or through the Site or Services, <strong>you hereby grant to Academia.edu</strong> a worldwide, irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, royalty-free license, with <strong>the right to sublicense, to use, view, copy, adapt, modify, distribute, license, sell, transfer, publicly display, publicly perform, transmit, stream, broadcast and otherwise exploit</strong> such Member Content only on, through or by means of the Site or Services.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This seems crazy, and posting anything there would clearly violate even the most lenient publisher agreement (for instance, many math publishers allow me to post the final paper on the internet, but not to sell it). Furthermore, these terms seem potentially very harmful to the users. What is their rationale for employing such terms? And why would anyone in their right mind even consider posting a paper there?</p>
<p><strong>Note (as of July 2016):</strong> this part of the terms of service have changed and seems slightly less horrific. Though other parts seem more insane, and also in contradiction with each other, like they own all your intellectual property rights.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16051,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 7,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>It's not necessarily crazy for academia.edu to ask for these things (although, as I say below, I certainly don't think users should agree to these terms). I imagine their lawyers advised them to use an agreement that covers all possible use cases as their business model evolves. For example, if they decided to charge their users membership fees, and only users who paid the fees got access to the site and could view profiles and download papers, then that would be tantamount to selling the papers and other user data (so they couldn't do it unless they had permission to sell this content). Posting ads on their web pages could be considered a form of commercial exploitation of the data, so they want to make sure they can do it. They might someday want to change file formats, such as converting PDFs into future super-PDF formats, and having permission to modify content submitted by users guarantees that they could do this. Even if they intend to take things down upon receiving requests from users, having irrevocable permission to post them means users cannot sue them for failing to take them down quickly enough. Basically, this agreement says they can do anything they want, which is obviously very convenient for them.</p>\n\n<p>For comparison, Harvard's <a href=\"https://osc.hul.harvard.edu/modelpolicy\" rel=\"noreferrer\">model open access policy</a> also retains very broad rights (although not the right to sell papers for a profit). I believe the motivation is that universities can be trusted, and it's better for them to retain more rights than fewer, in case they need them someday. See the notes to line 7 in the model policy for more discussion of this point. Of course, the difference is that academia.edu is a commercial website, and even if they are trustworthy now, they might become less so in the future or be bought by someone untrustworthy.</p>\n\n<p><strong>On the other hand, even if it's not crazy for the site to ask for these rights, it's certainly crazy for users to agree!</strong> I'm amazed that these terms of service are being used, and I assume just about nobody using the site has actually read them and understood that they are permanently granting the right to sell arbitrarily modified versions of their papers. I hope you send them a complaint, as well as publicize this on the internet, because they need to change these terms as soon as possible. In addition to being completely unreasonable, they clearly conflict with a large majority of copyright agreements for papers, as you point out.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16068,
"author": "Alecos Papadopoulos",
"author_id": 8575,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8575",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The "General Prohibitions" Section of academia.edu's Terms of Service, starts as follows:</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>General Prohibitions</p>\n<p>You agree not to do any of the following:</p>\n<p>Post, upload, publish, submit or transmit any Content that: (i) infringes, misappropriates or violates a third party’s patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, moral rights or other intellectual property rights, or rights of publicity or privacy; ...</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>Combined with what the question points out from these Terms of Service, their business model could even "secretly hope" to directly compete with scientific journals.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16069,
"author": "Irwin",
"author_id": 5944,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/5944",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It's \"member content\", not just papers.</p>\n\n<p>Data analytics is a huge thing for web sites like Academia.edu. If they wanted to, for example, add advertisements on the sidebar, they might use your user data (post history, your messages, the contents of the post you're reading) to recommend ads that are relevant and pertinent to your interests. In that situation, they're using your member content.</p>\n\n<p>If they come out with an advertising campaign talking to academics about why Academia.edu is awesome, maybe they'll have someone on camera with the web site in the background. That would be using the content in promotional videos. They don't want to have to ask the commenters for explicit permission to do that, so you waive that when you sign up.</p>\n\n<p>Usually, it's not worth it for the lawyers to try to separate academic papers that are posted here from everything else, so they just say \"member content\".</p>\n\n<p>If you don't like papers being there... then don't post your papers there.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/22 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16050",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/81/"
]
|
16,053 | <p>I am an international student in Australia studying Bachelor of IT.
Australian education system as the norm here is to take 4 subjects per semester and these subjects are pretty much "dumbed down". So a lot of subjects don't really teach much, for instance for Algorithms and Data Structures subject we weren't taught complexity at all, so during technical interviews for my internships, I was not able to give any answers in regarding to complexity. </p>
<p>Now this will be my last semester, and I feel like I still need more coursework for Computer Science and spending more money for Australian universities just sounds ridiculous at this step. Since almost all US and UK universities need honours award from Australian degrees (and that's extra $26k), I will not be applying to any US universities . I applied to one UK university that never mentioned requirement of honours and got rejection. I have applied to UBC in Canada but it will also cost me about CA$15-20k/y. So I had a look at European universities and found out that German and Swiss universities charges about 500-600 Euros per year. I found out that most German reputable universities don't really offer fully English Masters degrees in Computer Science, however that's not the case. ETH Zurich prefers students with honours as well. I found that EPFL has a good education and I would like to study Distributed Systems, which they offer quite a lot subjects on that, however what concerns me is after graduation job security. As I mentioned, my purpose of studying Computer Science is not to become an academia but to have stronger Computer Science skills.</p>
<p>Anyway so far it sounded like very specific, but my question is not that specific. Would it really worth studying Computer Science in Switzerland, with the consideration of graduate job prospects as well as doing internships and the fact that I don't have EU citizenship? I know that Google would accept international grads, but are there many companies like that?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16054,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As a general comment: I feel there is a lot of <em>fluff</em> in this question which (as you seem to figure out yourself) makes the question seem more specific to you personally than what it actually is.</p>\n\n<p>So after reading through rather unnecessary backstory (no offense :) ) I think this was your actual question?</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I found that EPFL has a good education and I would like to study Distributed Systems, which they offer quite a lot subjects on that, however what concerns me is after graduation job security. As I mentioned, my purpose of studying CompSci is not to become an academia but to have stronger Computer Science skills.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Yes, job security with a MSc in Computer Science, also, even especially, with a focus on distributed systems, is very good in Switzerland and the surrounding countries. Lausanne is considered a good to excellent university in Europe. However, if your current school is as bad as you describe it (no complexity theory??), you may find the masters in Lausanne quite challenging. Not impossible, but you will probably spend a lot (!) of time learning the fundamentals.</p>\n\n<p><strong>EDIT: (this has been added after my original answer)</strong></p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>with the consideration of graduate job prospects and the fact that I don't have EU citizenship?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I do not know how not having an EU citizenship factors in. I am also a foreigner working in Zurich, but coming from an EU state. I have heard that things are not always easy for non-europeans around here, but I cannot offer any concrete info.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16072,
"author": "Kristof Tak",
"author_id": 9401,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9401",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Honestly there are really cool universities in Europe where you can learn much about Computer Science and related subjects.</p>\n\n<p>If you look at the rankings of universities in the world you will see that ETHZ and EPFL are ranked among top 50 unis for CS subjects. Last time I checked ETHZ was somewhere around 7 and EPFL somewhere close to 20. However keep in mind that the rankings are important for future employers but not that important in terms of teaching. Wherever you go in Switzerland and Germany you will face the same approach to science, with top class professors.</p>\n\n<p>Let me clarify some stuff for you, first of all tuition fees in Swiss are not around 500-600 euros! They are a bit higher, however the real problem with living in Swiss are the living costs. I hear it is damn expensive over there. Especially if you think about Zurich.</p>\n\n<p>When it comes to Germany, the semester fees are less than 300 euros. So you will be paying at mos 600 euros per year for studies. In some federations of Germany you even get a semester ticket, which you can use for traveling for free by bus and by train withing the borders of the federation where your University is located.</p>\n\n<p>It is true that all the programmes offered by universities are not <em>completely</em> in English. However the selection of courses which is provided for international students is pretty nice. Additionally, at the moment there is a lack of IT people in Germany. My professor said \"The only way not to find an IT job in Germany is <strong><em>to die</em></strong> early\".\nIf you register for master studies in germany, the state requires you to have at least 8000 euro in bank for 12 months. So they have calculated that as a student you can live comfortably with that money. However, you are free to spend as much as you want. This is the minimum that I told you.</p>\n\n<p>If you are interested for English studies, bear in mind that Sweden provides CS studies mostly in English (over 80% of the population is fluent in English over there).</p>\n\n<p>I think the main thing that you have to consider when registering for your future studies is the difficulties that you will face due to \"poor\" background at the moment. Studies will be very demanding (I know it form myself, I've been in the same position), but with hardwork you can achieve everything. However, if you are not ready to invest extra time to your studies, do not bother going to ETHZ or EPFL, or top universities in Germany.</p>\n\n<p>I hope I answered you question, if you have further dilemmas let me know.</p>\n\n<p>Edit1: Since you are aware of your drawbacks coming from the Bachelors, analyze well the curriculum of the university where you are planning to apply, and before that make sure to watch some of the free courses (related to that curriculum) provided by top universities online: <a href=\"http://www.mooc-list.com/\">http://www.mooc-list.com/</a></p>\n\n<p>The courses provided in Masters studies are usually a continuation of the courses from the Bachelors, so check what the students have studies during bachelors in the unis that u are planning to apply</p>\n\n<p>Selam ;)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16082,
"author": "Stephan Kolassa",
"author_id": 4140,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4140",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>EPFL is one of the better technical universities. This has two consequences: 1) it will be hard (as @xLeitix notes, if your current school doesn't even teach complexity, you will be in for a challenging time at EPFL), and 2) you won't have a problem to get a job afterwards.</p>\n\n<p>Note that differences between schools are not as pronounced in Europe as elsewhere. For instance, I am pretty sure that you will not be able to attend a German or Swiss university without exposure to algorithm complexity. Consequently, employers (both academic and industry) in Europe don't really care all that much about school quality. Grades, internships and the impression you leave at the interview are much more important.</p>\n\n<p>Beware of costs of living in Zurich. Zurich compares with New York City. It's horrendous. (I used to live there.) Lausanne should be somewhat better, but Switzerland is generally an expensive place. If you seriously plan on going there, check local rents and/or supermarkets (coop.ch or migros.ch - you should be able to find this week's offers even without speaking German) and convert them from CHF to AUD to get an impression.</p>\n\n<p>Note the language: Zurich is German-speaking, but Swiss German is very hard for a non-native speaker, even if you did take German classes. Lausanne is French-speaking, and the Swiss French is closer to \"standard\" French than Swiss German is to German. Francophones dislike speaking English, so you will get by more easily in Zurich than in Lausanne in English.</p>\n\n<p>Switzerland is not in the EU (although it of course cooperates), so your EU membership is not all that important. With an ETH/EPFL diploma, you should have no problem getting a job anywhere in Switzerland or the EU.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16217,
"author": "h22",
"author_id": 10920,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10920",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In have been recently taking Master of Advanced Studies in ETHZ, Zurich. From that I have seen, most of courses are optional. Each of them just gives some number of points and you simply need to collect enough. If it is initially not obvious which courses are good, it is not uncommon to take more than planned and drop some you find less useful. Of course, there are also mandatory courses you must take and pass they exams, but in general you most likely will not study that you see useless.</p>\n\n<p>ETHZ seems quite oriented to self-dependent work and significant percent of the knowledge is acquired outside the lecture time (literature, assignments, etc). </p>\n\n<p>Some courses are in German but there are also many English courses, as ETHZ hires professors from the whole world. Have never heard about somebody giving lectures in Swiss German in the university or even secondary school. Standard German is used for teaching.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/22 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16053",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11104/"
]
|
16,057 | <p>For example, if I want to get the reference in APA, what web resources provide this style? I found a way through Refworks, but it requires several steps. Is there a faster way?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16059,
"author": "Matthew G.",
"author_id": 1165,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1165",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Write in <a href=\"http://www.latex-project.org\">LaTeX</a>, and use <a href=\"http://www.bibtex.org\">BibTeX</a> which will automatically format your references in <a href=\"http://www.reed.edu/cis/help/latex/bibtexstyles.html\">various styles</a>. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16060,
"author": "user1574546",
"author_id": 11083,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11083",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p><a href=\"http://scholar.google.com\" rel=\"nofollow\">Google Scholar</a> has a nice tool for this. If you search for the article, under each of the search results is a \"cite\" button which will automatically show you the reference in MLA, APA, and Chicago. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16061,
"author": "Trylks",
"author_id": 7571,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7571",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>With Zotero you can choose a format to export items among several, including APA. Then you can drag and drop a set of items and the references are formatted according to what you chose.</p>\n\n<p>You can even define your own formats with some Javascript programming if you plan to do this very often.</p>\n\n<p>PD: you should have added the reference before in Zotero before, which is a one-click operation (assuming the data is right), or you can import a set of references from BibTex and other formats.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16066,
"author": "mimigdal",
"author_id": 11119,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11119",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I recommend using <strong>bibtex</strong>: the procedure is very simple:</p>\n\n<p>1) Create an empty file and name it \"myreferences.bib\" (or any other \".bib\" name)</p>\n\n<p>2) Go to the website of the paper you would like to reference to and download the bibtex code. If this option is not available you can search for the article in Google Scholar and click \"Import into BibTeX\"</p>\n\n<p>3) Copy/Paste the cose into your \".bib\" file</p>\n\n<p>4) Enter your latex article, add the references at the correct points, and write, just before the <em>\\end{document}</em>, command: </p>\n\n<pre><code>\\bibliographystyle{plane}\n\\bibliography{myreferences}\n</code></pre>\n\n<p>For a list of bibliography styles see for example: <a href=\"http://sites.stat.psu.edu/~surajit/present/bib.htm\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://sites.stat.psu.edu/~surajit/present/bib.htm</a></p>\n\n<p>5) Compile your code using Latex. Compile your code using Bibtex. Compile your code using Latex.</p>\n\n<p>You are done!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16081,
"author": "earthling",
"author_id": 2692,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2692",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you are writing in MS Word, just go to References and select APA. </p>\n\n<p><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/DFWRW.jpg\" alt=\"Word References\"></p>\n\n<p>Then Insert Citation, Add New Source and fill in everything you need.</p>\n\n<p>This will handle your in-text referencing as well as your \"Works Cited\" section. </p>\n\n<p>Once you have added a reference, using it again is as simple as Insert Citation and clicking the existing citation.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 25874,
"author": "pcsnyder",
"author_id": 19522,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/19522",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>To be honest, I've found that just taking the time to actually learn the style guide is MUCH faster in the long run than putting everything into a citation tool. Using a citation tool basically adds <em>at least</em> one extra step, and that equates to lost time. You have to be able to identify the correct information either way, and you have to know what the final citations should look like either way. But if you type them in yourself, you save yourself the extra steps of 1) opening another program/accessing another website, 2) reviewing what that tool spits out at you, 3) copying it over to your work, and 4) adjusting any formatting as needed after copy/pasting. Knowing hotkeys for italicizing/bolding/underlining as needed is also a time-saver.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 26994,
"author": "andreas",
"author_id": 20529,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/20529",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I have been working and academia for many years, and recently as a developer of Paperpile I came across this problem several times. </p>\n\n<p>All modern citation/reference managers rely on CSL, the citation style language. For more information on this, see <a href=\"http://citationstyles.org/\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://citationstyles.org/</a>.</p>\n\n<p>Among these 7,000+ styles, it is, however, difficult to find the citation format you want to have. For this purpose, I would suggest to use the CSL editor search by example (<a href=\"http://editor.citationstyles.org/searchByExample/\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://editor.citationstyles.org/searchByExample/</a>).</p>\n\n<p>You can type in the inline citation and how the formatted citation should look like, and it will find the citation style that matches most closely. Once, you know the name of the citation style you want to use, you can actually use Paperpile to get the formatted citation (including bold and italic formatting).\nYou select the reference you want to create the citation for and simply hit Control+C. You will find it in your clipboard and can copy it to Word, Google Docs, and others.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/22 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16057",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/5689/"
]
|
16,063 | <p>I've been recently offered a couple of Postdoc positions, and I was wondering how you as professors would prefer to be informed if a candidate would rather work with another institution.</p>
<p>I know we are professionals, and these things are to be expected, and probably the professor has another candidates to choose from, but I just want to be as respectful and professional myself as possible, so how would you turn down an offer, or would like to be turned down.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16064,
"author": "Matt Reece",
"author_id": 6108,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6108",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Just send a short but polite note telling them something like: you appreciate the offer but have decided to accept a different one. Maybe tell them (especially if it's true!) that you respect their research, hope to see them at a conference or visit their institution in the future, or something nice along those lines. Don't overthink it, just be polite.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16065,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 7,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p><strong>Keep it short and honest.</strong> </p>\n\n<p>For example, </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Dear So and So, thank you for your offer for a postdoc at Blah. It's\n an attractive offer, but I've decided to take a position at Foo-Bar\n instead. The work you're doing over at Blah is very interesting and I\n look forward to interacting with you in the future.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Of course if you have more than one rejection to send out PLEASE PLEASE don't do it generically. Tailor it to each place individually. It takes a little more time, but it's a fair exchange given that they took the time to give you an offer. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16067,
"author": "Nate Eldredge",
"author_id": 1010,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1010",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I agree with the previous answers: short, honest, polite. I'll add: prompt. As soon as you accept an offer, let the other institutions know immediately. That will let them move on with their search.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16091,
"author": "Zane",
"author_id": 11139,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11139",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>First, I really like Suresh's answer. Short, straight, polite, and mentioning you would like to work with them in the future.</p>\n\n<p>When I did my post-doc, I had the same problem: I applied for more positions than I could accept 8^)</p>\n\n<p>Turning down the offers I could not accept was along Suresh's lines, but with one major point added: I did not send emails/write letters, I <em>called the professors and talked to them personally</em>. </p>\n\n<p>And yes, I met all of them again during my post-doc. The world of research is very small.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 18474,
"author": "michael",
"author_id": 13386,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13386",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>one additional thought: If the offer you reject is a good one (i.e. a lab you can see yourself work in), I really believe it is important to call the PI you turn down, confirm your interest in the research done in the lab, and make clear that it was a really tough decision for you to make. Being in similar situation coming out of my PhD, I ended up choosing lab A over lab B, and after a few months, I realized PI of lab A was a nightmare, so I contacted lab B again and had a productive postdoc there.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/22 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16063",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2806/"
]
|
16,075 | <p>I am a new worker in real functions with little experience and few published papers but not in top journals.</p>
<p>I together with my two colleagues found a new characterization of a well-known class of functions (first Baire class). I am pretty sure this is new. However, we cannot decide the extent of its significance because we are unable to find a good application. But suffice it to say there are some old results in the area that admit a very straightforward proof using our characterization. For instance, functions with countable discontinuities can be shown to be of first Baire class using our characterization with a very easy proof.</p>
<p>My question, is this enough for publication? I am afraid to submit it and got a snobbish review. By the way, I am from a third-world country. </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16079,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you don't submit a paper, you're never going to find out it's publishable—unless someone beats you to it. Basically, if you and your colleagues believe you have a publishable advance, then write it up and submit it. </p>\n\n<p>On a related note: have you solicited feedback from colleagues in the field? Has it been presented at a conference somewhere? What have you heard and done to \"talk the work up\" with colleagues? Has anyone told you it is (or is not) publishable?</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16083,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It sounds like your work merits <strong>submission</strong>. Whether it merits <strong>publication</strong> depends on the journal. It's always good to consult with experts ahead of time, but failing that the best approach is to find a journal that seems in tune with the results (maybe it's the one where the prior work was published, or one that contains most of the relevant material that you needed for your result). Then submit it and see what happens. In the worst case your paper will be rejected, but then you'll expect to get review feedback, which is really what you're looking for. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/23 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16075",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11123/"
]
|
16,076 | <p>I am a PhD candidate in computer engineering. I saw an announcement for a post-doctoral position on the internet. </p>
<p>I wrote to the professor having that open position asking him if I could come to visit him and his lab, and talk about the position.
He replied yes. We agreed on the date and I asked him if he wanted me to prepare a talk with slides to give during the visit.</p>
<p>He answered:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>You are welcome to give a talk or we may just have a meeting. It's fully up to you. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>So, <strong>what should I do?
Talk or just a visit?</strong></p>
<p>A meeting would be more relaxing and confortable, and provide no stress and no extra work.The talk would need time to work on it, and would be more stressful, but may explain better my previous research projects..</p>
<p>What do you suggest to me?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16077,
"author": "nagniemerg",
"author_id": 11084,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11084",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would come prepared with a talk. Depending on how many people are in his lab, or if you are going when his lab is having a meeting, you may want to give a talk then.</p>\n\n<p>Sometimes it's nice not to give a talk and to just have a meeting more generally. But, it may be better for your potential colleagues to know the kind of research you have done before and what you are interested in if there is any overlap.</p>\n\n<p>At the end of the day, it's up to you.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16080,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Unless told you shouldn't, you should <strong>always</strong> opt to give a talk under such circumstances. It makes discussions with your potential future advisor and group members much more meaningful, because your interviewers now have a much better sense of what you do. </p>\n\n<p>Moreover, a solid presentation of technically sound research shows that you have achieved one of the most important skills needed for a researcher: the ability to effectively communicate your work! As a postdoc, your advisor is going to expect you to have most of the research skills needed to complete your work with minimal supervision. Giving a good presentation will clearly demonstrate most of your credentials in a way that a face-to-face talk will not.</p>\n\n<p>Finally, giving a talk to a (mostly) friendly audience is always good practice for your future career. (People get better at giving presentations by giving presentations!)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16149,
"author": "OBu",
"author_id": 10941,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10941",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>No matter how you decide: Bring some slides and be prepared for short presentations. It might be good to meet several people, sit around a laptop and discuss some ideas. This could be more fruitful then a presentation to a wider audience. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/23 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16076",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8234/"
]
|
16,096 | <p>I am Computer science major at University of Wisconsin Madison.
I just want to ask you if i can get into graduate school with such a low GPA.
My current GPA is 2.9 and i have 20 more credit which makes me possible to go over 3.0
But I have finished my freshman year with 2.0 GPA and took 2 years of ESL program.(English as a second language).
I have done 2~3 internships in korea and plan to do 2 years of more working experience after i graduate from college this summer.</p>
<p>I am worried about my GPA because it is quite low and my CS GPA is only about 3.4
DO you guys think i have chance of getting into any top 30 or 40 graduate school out there in computer science field?</p>
<p>Thank you</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16097,
"author": "nagniemerg",
"author_id": 11084,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11084",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Anything is possible. In your cover letter highlight your strengths, perhaps mention that you have managed to have a BLAH GPA while at the same time learning English as a Second Language. If you word this properly, you can show that this is a strength, i.e. you had to properly manage workload balance while at the same time earning your degree. Highlight your internship experience. Make it known that you have a firm understanding of what is being done in industry and the type of problems one would regularly come across.</p>\n\n<p>All in all, you have just as much of a shot as anyone. The worse that can happen is that you won't get in anywhere. I highly suggest you apply to as many schools as you can as this increases your odds of being accepted, at least somewhere.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16098,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In my experience, most graduate programs that have competitive admissions (as would probably be the case with \"top 30-40\" programs, whatever that means concretely) require a minimum GPA to be considered for admission (see for instance <a href=\"http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/Gradadm/msphdadm.htm\" rel=\"nofollow\">UC Berkeley</a>).</p>\n\n<p>The first thing you can do is look up some of the programs that interest you to see if they have a minimum GPA requirement. If they do and your GPA is lower than what they're asking for, then the answer to your question is almost certainly no.</p>\n\n<p>Now, suppose that you were to satisfy the minimal GPA requirement of some \"top 30-40\" programs. Provided you satisfy their other minimal requirements, it is possible that you could be accepted. However, a low GPA will be seen as a weakness in your application. The admission to \"top 30-40\" programs are most likely going to be very competitive, and you will be competing against candidates who will have a high undergraduate GPA together with a strong application overall. Consequently, you would need to compensate for this. This could be done, for example, by managing to get well-known faculty write amazing letters of recommendation for you, or by demonstrating an exceptional aptitude for research.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16100,
"author": "Steve P.",
"author_id": 8022,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8022",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It depends on what you mean by graduate school. If you mean a masters program, then you can definitely get in, even at a top 30-40 school, assuming you have some sort of explanation for your grades and good letters of recommendation/evidence of work to ameliorate your application.</p>\n\n<p>If you're referring to a PhD program, may I suggest that you instead apply to masters programs first. This allows you to get a new GPA to associate with your name, research experience and recommendations. Then, you can apply to PhD programs and not only have a much better shot of getting in, but you will also be more prepared and have a much better idea of what you want to do.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/23 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16096",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11149/"
]
|
16,106 | <p>A professor, call <strong>X</strong>, who is with strong probability about to be my future MS Thesis supervisor/advisor, seems very interested to work with me. Mostly on lectures, <strong>X</strong> seems interested in my ideas and is very encouraging.</p>
<p>However, out of the class, <strong>X</strong> is totally unreachable, uninterested in my problems. e.g. very slow to respond questions, once I needed an important paperwork to be done and X totally slacked it, although a ceratin mouthful "sure I will do it" promise. I had really hardtime to fix related issue with much frustations, because of <strong>X</strong>'s attitude. And <strong>X</strong> did not give me any apologies for this situation. </p>
<p>I understand that profs are busy beings, managing tons of stuff at the same time, but I expect not to break a given promise or not to give promise at all to do something. I am really fed up and tired of this repeating behavior. </p>
<p>I have started to think that, it is not a good idea to work with <strong>X</strong>. I seriously doubt that professor would be reachable in my thesis study, not to mention to be helpful in my future academic pursuits, such as a strong letter for a Ph.D. application.</p>
<p>Am I expecting a lot ? Also, I want to kindly inform <strong>X</strong> that, I do not want to involve any future studies with <strong>X</strong>. What kind of wording should I use ? </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16109,
"author": "Shion",
"author_id": 1429,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1429",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Professors are busy and are always juggling multiple commitments.</p>\n\n<p>This does not mean that you are unimportant to them but maybe some judicious memory jogging is required for them to remember what X has promised you.</p>\n\n<p>Another excellent strategy which I have adopted is to show up to my committee members' open office hours with issues when I need them solved instead of bothering them over email. Usually I need 5-10 minutes of their time to explain my issue and solicit future directions. That works really well. I am not a big fan of long meetings.</p>\n\n<p>In response to your specific question, if you want to not work with X just tell X that you do not feel that you can work with them in the future. It might be helpful to have someone else lined up before you do so though.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16131,
"author": "OBu",
"author_id": 10941,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10941",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In addition to Shion's answer: Sometimes, I could be X... And the reason is described in Shions excellent answer. It does not mean X is uninterested, but there are important and pressing tasks which easily cover 60h/week in my position, and then there are still the not-so-urgent-but-still-important tasks left. </p>\n\n<p>I usually tell the students to remind me again if I did not do what I promised until xyz, and if they don't do that, I assume it was unimportant (well, usually I try to do what I promised, but still, things are slipping through).</p>\n\n<p>I would suggest talking to your potential supervisor and (politely) talk about your concerns. If they don't get your point, it is totally ok to look for an other one and they can not be surprised. If they get your point, you should try to find some arrangement which would help you in similar situation (e.g. you are allowed to be a pain in the ass of your supervisor). For good students whose work I value, I really want them to push me. On the other hand, I definitely don't want to micro-manage someone. So it's a matter of balance and communication about it helps a lot.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16223,
"author": "h22",
"author_id": 10920,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10920",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It is not obvious how this professor will look into your PhD. You also say he can be good and devote enough attention when he thinks this is appropriate (during the lecture).</p>\n\n<p>The most obvious way to decide is to look around. Does the professor have other PhD students? Not very good if you would be the only one over many years. Which percent of these PhD students been successful? Maybe you can talk with them? </p>\n\n<p>Also, that are most serious works of the professor laboratory? Recent <em>Science</em> or ten years without publications? Of course, asking such things directly is very tricky but try to visit the laboratory website.</p>\n\n<p>Understanding the professors overall attitude to exactly PhD work may help to decide. Heavy involvement into ongoing research projects and other relevant activities (so no time for general talking, etc) may actually represent the professor positively.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16229,
"author": "Penguin_Knight",
"author_id": 6450,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6450",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>Also, I want to kindly inform X that, I do not want to involve any\n future studies with X. What kind of wording should I use?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>No wording should be used. Don't send anything.</p>\n\n<p>Now you may be very angry or upset, but there is no point to send a message to imply you will never work with this person. If the professor does try to contact you for possible projects or studies, just simply say thanks, and proceed with saying that you have thought about this and have decided to pursue other options.</p>\n\n<p>If you send a no-involvement-in-future message, you'd just end up looking obnoxious. This is not grade school, we don't tell everyone that \"I am not going to play with you, and don't you dare inch your elbow over the side of my desk, or I am going to tell the Dean.\"</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 40485,
"author": "Joel",
"author_id": 30852,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/30852",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Talk to students. Always talk to students of the Prof. If you start finding out lots of previous students dropped out, don't go that route. If they look at you and say \"run\" follow their advice. If it's clear that they are trying to not say something bad about their supervisor but clearly aren't willing to say anything good: stay away.</p>\n\n<p>But don't burn bridges. Just go for other options. No need to say, \"I'm sorry you're too busy\". Just you've gotten interested in another problem.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/23 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16106",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11159/"
]
|
16,107 | <p>I'm writing my dissertation and I have drawn a diagram explaining how a algorithm works. Recently, I've found an ebook, legally obtained, illustrating the same algorithm, but with more details and better drawing. </p>
<p>Is it ok to use their figure instead of mine if I properly give the source? </p>
<p>Here is the copyright rules (highlight is mine):</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The Author(s) 2014 <br />
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. <strong>Exempted from this legal reservation are brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis or material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work.</strong> Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the Copyright Law of the Publisher’s location, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer. Permissions for use may be obtained through RightsLink at the Copyright Clearance Center. Violations are liable to prosecution under the respective Copyright Law. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication, neither the authors nor the editors nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I'm asking because of the highlighted excerpt:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Exempted from this legal reservation are brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis or material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I think my dissertation fits the "reviews or scholarly analysis" rule, so is it ok? This juridical part is very delicate.</p>
<p><strong>Update</strong> <br />
I have contacted the book's author; he was really nice and said that there are no problems of using his illustration. But, he advised me to contact the publisher (he even pointed me a page to do that). As the page was not working well, I sent an email to the publisher's staff to which they answered asking me some information:</p>
<blockquote>
<ul>
<li>your name, address, and email address;</li>
<li>ISBN of the book requested or journal title, volume and issue number, author/editor, year of publication of book or journal; </li>
<li>which material you would like to use indicating page numbers and figures numbers;</li>
<li>will your publication be open access? </li>
<li>purpose of using Springer-Verlag's material; </li>
<li>number of copies of your publication to be printed;</li>
<li>name of your publisher or the company/institute.</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<p>Now, I'm just waiting for their answer.</p>
<p><strong>Update 2</strong> <br /></p>
<p>The publisher gave me permission and I added the image to my dissertation. Here are the conditions that I had to follow:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Thank you for getting back to me. With reference to your request to
reuse material in which Springer Science+Business Media controls the
copyright, our permission is granted free of charge under the
following conditions: </p>
<p>Springer material</p>
<ul>
<li><p>represents original material which does not carry references to other sources (if material in question refers with a credit to another
source, authorization from that source is required as well);</p></li>
<li><p>requires full credit (book title, year of publication, page, chapter title, name(s) of author(s), original copyright notice) is
given to the publication in which the material was originally
published by adding: "With kind permission of Springer
Science+Business Media";</p></li>
<li><p>may not be altered in any manner. Any other abbreviations, additions, deletions and/or any other alterations shall be made only
with prior written authorization of the author and/or Springer
Science+Business Media.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>This permission </p>
<ul>
<li>is non-exclusive; </li>
<li>is valid for one-time use only for the purpose of defending your thesis and with a maximum of 100 extra copies in paper. </li>
<li>includes use in an electronic form, provided it is an author-created version of the thesis on his/her own website and his/her university’s repository, including UMI (according to the definition on the Sherpa website: <a href="http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/" rel="noreferrer">http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/</a>);</li>
<li>is subject to courtesy information to the corresponding author;</li>
<li>is personal to you and may not be sublicensed, assigned, or transferred by you to any other person without Springer's written permission; </li>
<li>is valid only when the conditions noted above are met.</li>
</ul>
<p>Permission free of charge does not prejudice any rights we might have to charge for reproduction of our copyrighted material in the future.</p>
</blockquote>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16110,
"author": "collegeskier",
"author_id": 11060,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11060",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you are critiquing the image or expanding on what was said then technically you are in the clear. In the real world it comes down to what Springer decides and the country that you are in. The exemption there is not really an exemption in the US. That is copyright law, the part called fair use. How the courts see it if you were sued is a different issue and Springer has the deep pockets here and could make your suffer no matter what. Whether it is worth it to Springer depends on the circulation of your thesis. If you can reproduce the graphic yourself you will obviously be better off. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16112,
"author": "paul garrett",
"author_id": 980,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/980",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>In fact, I think that your proposed use would <em>not</em> fall under \"fair use\", in the sense that you are not addressing the other authors' work, but merely (!) using some of their stuff. The fruits of their labors... which is what various reasonable notions of intellectual property are meant to protect.</p>\n\n<p>Of course, if you write the copyright owners and they say \"go ahead\", you are legally fine...</p>\n\n<p>However, legal correctness and moral/ethical correctness are not the same.</p>\n\n<p>Might be better to take the trouble to make your own graphic that is good enough. At the very least, in addition to investigating literal copyright issues, you might contact the people who made the graphic and ask their permission. If everyone says \"go ahead\", out of generosity or whatever, then you are <em>truly</em> fine.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16136,
"author": "nxx",
"author_id": 10680,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10680",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think the more relevant part of the rules is this:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the Copyright Law of the Publisher’s location, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>If you use the figure, you are duplicating a part of the text. The relevant copyright law is that of where the publisher is located, not your country. Finally, regardless of this, they say \"permission for use must always be obtained from Springer\", which seems pretty clear. This doesn't necessarily mean you will need to pay to use the figure, but you do need the publisher's permission.</p>\n\n<p>\"Brief excerpts\" in your bolded text probably refers to a short quotation, which of course would need to be indicated as a quotation and referenced. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16144,
"author": "Benoît Kloeckner",
"author_id": 946,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/946",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>No one seems to have mentioned this: of course legally you should contact the publisher, which in most probability is the copyright holder, but surely you should also ask the author how he or she feels about it. I would not like seeing my work being used without having been contacted.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/23 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16107",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7057/"
]
|
16,108 | <p>Sometimes professional bodies issue diplomas and postgraduate diplomas which, for example in the UK, are recognized at a very high training level.</p>
<p>What I am not sure about is whether these, even though not issued by universities, can help enter university at academia or research level?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16133,
"author": "sansuiso",
"author_id": 11141,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11141",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Usually, these topics are discussed on a case-by-case basis. For example, the professional institute can have some kind of agreement or understanding with some universities, but not with others. The best you can do is to choose a research program that you want to join, prepare your record (including professional diplomas) and ask the faculty that rules the program.</p>\n\n<p>Some universities may accept you without conditions, but I guess the most common case will be that you will have to take some extra courses in their program and get the corresponding credit in order to fit your profile and knowledge to their exact expectation.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16148,
"author": "OBu",
"author_id": 10941,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10941",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In addition to sansuiso's very good answer: In some countries there are legal pre-requisits which are required for a certain position. E.g. if you want to have \"Dr.\" in Germany (~about PhD), you are required to have a masters degree (there are some rare exceptions, but this is the normal process). Therefore you can have as many certificates and be as skilled as you want, you won't get in without taking this step. </p>\n\n<p>So check whether there are formal requiremnts in the country you are interested in. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/23 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16108",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11161/"
]
|
16,111 | <p>So here's my situation: I'm a senior electrical-engineering major student in a decent-ranked university (60-80), and I've been working in a lab in our department and published 2 papers as the second author (conference paper, IEEE) and currently I'm in charge of two projects so I may publish more before I graduate. The thing is: I have a low GPA (2.9), but there is a reason: I've been an athlete of the fencing team in our university, and for two years I've been the vice captain of it. I have to go to practice every night, Monday to Thursday, so I don't have a lot of time to study. My boss, who got her PHD degree from CalTech, trusts me a lot so I will have a kickass recommendation. She refers me as a student who's "not very good at theoretical learning, but always creative and can solve practical problems very well." She also granted me the fellowship.
I want to go to those well-ranked engineering schools, like UIUC or Berkeley, and pursue a master's degree (and even a PHD, if possible). Although I do have a good research background, I'm worrying about my gpa. Most schools do have a gpa threshold, but is it possible for me to get into these schools? Thank you. </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16133,
"author": "sansuiso",
"author_id": 11141,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11141",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Usually, these topics are discussed on a case-by-case basis. For example, the professional institute can have some kind of agreement or understanding with some universities, but not with others. The best you can do is to choose a research program that you want to join, prepare your record (including professional diplomas) and ask the faculty that rules the program.</p>\n\n<p>Some universities may accept you without conditions, but I guess the most common case will be that you will have to take some extra courses in their program and get the corresponding credit in order to fit your profile and knowledge to their exact expectation.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16148,
"author": "OBu",
"author_id": 10941,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10941",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In addition to sansuiso's very good answer: In some countries there are legal pre-requisits which are required for a certain position. E.g. if you want to have \"Dr.\" in Germany (~about PhD), you are required to have a masters degree (there are some rare exceptions, but this is the normal process). Therefore you can have as many certificates and be as skilled as you want, you won't get in without taking this step. </p>\n\n<p>So check whether there are formal requiremnts in the country you are interested in. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/23 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16111",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11162/"
]
|
16,113 | <p>I graduated from the University of Michigan with Psychology and Communication Studies degree.
I am planning to apply to Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) master's degree and Information Science master's degree.</p>
<p>For those of who do not know, HCI is an interdisciplinary field, combining mainly computer science, cognitive psychology, and design.</p>
<p>I have two GRE scores and I have trouble deciding which one to send for my application.</p>
<p>Score 1: Verbal: 158 (78%) / Quantitative: 165 (91%) / Writing: 4.0 (58%)</p>
<p>Score 2: Verbal: 162 (89%) / Quantitative: 161 (81%) / Writing: 4.5 (78%)</p>
<p>The second set of scores has higher verbal and writing values, but the first has a higher quantitative value. Which should I send?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16116,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I doubt it really matters which of these scores you send, for two reasons:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>I don't think GRE general test scores are particularly important in the first place. How they are used may vary between institutions or fields, but in my experience admissions committees do not pay any attention to them. Maybe there are other committees that do pay attention, but I'd be surprised if anyone relies on them as a major component of the evaluation process. [EDIT: As David Ketcheson's answer demonstrates, there's more diversity in how these scores are used than I had realized.]</p></li>\n<li><p>Small, random fluctuations are normal if you take the exam several times. This is widely known among people on admissions committees, and it's reinforced by seeing the applications that include multiple scores. This means no sensible admissions committee member will attach great importance to small distinctions.</p></li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>So I believe you are overthinking this, and either set of scores will be fine.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16130,
"author": "user11171",
"author_id": 11171,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11171",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I want to supplement Anonymous Mathematician's answer.</p>\n\n<p>I would lean towards the second set of scores. Writing skills are often overlooked in academia, but since you will be writing a (hopefully great) thesis, I would put the most emphasis on the writing.</p>\n\n<p>Your other scores are basically the same.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16132,
"author": "Nobody",
"author_id": 546,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/546",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Score 2 Writing: 4.5 (<strong>78%</strong>) is significantly better than Score 1 Writing: 4.0 (<strong>58%</strong>). This is one of the indicators that you may have better chance to succeed. Your presentation skills will be very much needed in graduate school. </p>\n\n<p>Score 1 Quantitative: 165 (<strong>91%</strong>) is better than Score 2 Quantitative: 161 (<strong>81%</strong>) but not that much. They are both fine. If the graduate school program you are applying to concentrates heavily on math/stats, Score 1 looks better. </p>\n\n<p>I just learned info from the comment the OP made, the student has the option to send single score or multiple scores. (This is why I like this site so much. We exchange info.)</p>\n\n<p>My suggestion is, send Score 2 if applying to a design oriented HCI program (your presentation skills will be important in this case). Send Score 1 if the graduate school program is math/stats oriented. Send both scores if you are not sure.</p>\n\n<p>Also, please note that not all schools require GRE. Good Luck !</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16134,
"author": "David Ketcheson",
"author_id": 81,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/81",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>First I will say that in <em>some</em> departments, GRE scores are a very important component of your application. For instance, I work in a department where each year we get applicants from hundreds of different universities in 70 or more different countries. Comparing GPAs between all the different educational systems is very difficult (we do it, but place relatively less weight on it due to uncertainties). Meanwhile, the GRE is a single standard. Also, whereas some departments in the USA can rely primarily on GRE subject tests, it's quite rare for international students to take those. The bottom line: good GRE scores will never get you admitted by themselves. But in some places at least, poor GRE scores will eliminate you.</p>\n\n<p>Now, as to whether the verbal/writing or quantitative scores matter more, I think this depends heavily on the field. If you were applying to a math/science/engineering program, the quantitative score would be by far most important. It's generally thought that good writing can be taught to you later (and technical writing is different from the persuasive writing the GRE tests you on, anyway).</p>\n\n<p>I assume that if you were applying to an English or fine arts program, the verbal/writing scores would be more important. The fields you're applying to are somewhere in between, and I don't know them well enough to say for certain.</p>\n\n<p>[<strong>Edit</strong>: see @shion's answer for the opinion of someone who knows more about your particular field.]</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16142,
"author": "Shion",
"author_id": 1429,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1429",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In my department (HCI/Information Science), the popular notion is that having a very good score on your GRE <strong>will not get you in</strong> but having a poor score (relative to the rest of the applicant pool) <strong>can keep you out</strong>.</p>\n\n<p>This is especially true for PhD applications and somewhat true for MS applications. For the latter, the pure numbers (GRE/GPA) matter more while for the former, your statement of purpose, research experience and letters of recommendation are what tips the balance in your favor.</p>\n\n<p>In sum, generally for most HCI/IS programs, all parts of the GRE matter equally.</p>\n\n<p>Logistically, it also does not matter which score you send because ETS will send all your GRE scores in the last 5 years i.e. admissions committees will see everything.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16189,
"author": "socialsciencedoc",
"author_id": 11154,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11154",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In my heavily quantitative social science program, I have heard some professors saying that GRE quant score is a good predictor for 1st year GPA of grad students. I do not know how seriously they consider GRE math score into admissions, but I am sure they give it more of a passing notice. That said, I think both your scores look fine and they do not really differ much. If I can, I would just send both. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/24 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16113",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11163/"
]
|
16,119 | <p>I applied for postdoc positions and I received a few interview offers. I thought not many institution have interview process for postdoc positions and they give offer only based on application material. Do I have false information?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16120,
"author": "nagniemerg",
"author_id": 11084,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11084",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Honestly, I think it depends on the situation. Being on the market myself (math) and also applying for postdocs, I was under the impression that there would not be many interviews. However, I did get two post-doc interviews, so far.</p>\n\n<p>My take is that this depends on the situation. Many times if they are departmental postdocs, there wouldn't be an interview (or so I gathered). However, if you are applying for a postdoc that is tied to a specific PI, then there would be an interview.</p>\n\n<p>Finally, the climate may be changing in such a way where departments are conducting more interviews now.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16124,
"author": "socialsciencedoc",
"author_id": 11154,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11154",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'm in the social sciences and most department postdocs search committees seem to interview before their final selection. I had a few Skype/phone interviews for positions I was shortlisted for. </p>\n\n<p>There are other postdoc fellowships, like national competitions by grant making foundations, which make decisions without interviews though. One I was a finalist for, only asked for a full 10 page proposal and a budget narrative for the final round. </p>\n\n<p>Like the other person said, I think this should really depend on the field, country, and type of postdoc. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16126,
"author": "OBu",
"author_id": 10941,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10941",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I personally would never employ anyone (even grad students) without an interview, and at least in Germany and and my field (CS), I'd say that most professors do interviews for post-docs since this is really a trust-relationship. On the other hand, the German system differs a bit from the US-sytem (our post-doc positions can often be compared to an assistand professor in the US).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16129,
"author": "user11171",
"author_id": 11171,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11171",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Assuming that you're a mathematician (seeing as how your question migrated from math.SE), I believe that you get interview if you applied for:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>European institutions</li>\n<li>tenure-track level positions at liberal arts colleges</li>\n<li>lower-level research universities who want to gauge the applicant's interest (was the applicant applying to this position as a safety, or is he/she genuinely interested?)</li>\n<li>(only sometimes true) positions where research and teaching are equally valued, or where teaching is valued more highly</li>\n<li>(only sometimes true) if a particular researcher is hiring postdocs out of his/her own grant</li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16191,
"author": "Memo94",
"author_id": 11140,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11140",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I guess it depends on the search committee in math major. I know one case that one institute sends out offer without interview this year but it interviewed the applicants last year.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/24 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16119",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1/"
]
|
16,121 | <p>I am having a lot of trouble understanding the material in one of my courses. I feel like the professor often rushes through the material, leaving me without enough time to catch up in my busy schedule.</p>
<p>This professor is also really esteemed for his/her research contributions and speaking to my adviser about this (who also happens to be close to this professor) would make me feel very uncomfortable. I even spoke to my peers in the course about this and they seem to agree about the speed at which things are delivered.</p>
<p>Anyway, I often think about what I can do in this situation since exams are coming up. One idea that I ponder is the possibility of privately hiring a tutor within the faculty who could better explain the ideas in the course to me; after all they have relevant teaching experience.</p>
<p>I'm not certain if this is a good idea or not and because of this, I would really appreciate feedback relevant to this idea. If there aren't any appropriate solutions, what else can you suggest?</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Note:</strong> I don't really want to give out any other details that would compromise his/her reputation. So I'll just leave it at that. </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16125,
"author": "OBu",
"author_id": 10941,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10941",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Let me give you a few thoughts (which might be slightly off-topic) from a professor's perspective:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>I usually design my courses in a way that the average student has a significant work load to keep up with the topic without frustrating them. (with 'average' I mean what I think the average student <em>should</em> be able to do after finishing the class - so this is a bit biased and independent of the actual students in my class)</li>\n<li>This leads to the situation that there is about 20% which keep up with (more or less) ease (I try to give them some extre assignments which are usually to hard for the rest of the course), ~50% are doing more or less fine (they have to work hard, but come along), and ~30% are having a very hard time. </li>\n<li>The ones which are having hard time are usully not having the required pre-requisites for the course (I talk to each of them and try to find out which problems they are having), this could be they dont have the knowledge and skills needed, but some have problems organizing their daily life etc. </li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Depending on the group you are in (I know, it's very rough classification and might not be helpful in your case), you can follow different strategies:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>If you are usually among the top performers in your class, you just might have some misconceptions which prevent you from putting the topics in the right part of your brain. I'd suggest talking to your adviser or your professor about this. They can help to disentangle your thoughts. </li>\n<li>If you are in the \"average\" group, you are the core audience of the class. Your professor <em>should</em> be interested in getting feedback about speed and perception of the content, but you must decide by yourself whether they are interested or not. If they seem to be open, I would suggest talking to your adviser and ask him about additional material or whether s(he) can recommend a tutor. </li>\n<li>If you feel you are missing some pre-requisites, you should clearly identify for your self, what you are missing. Try to get this first, even if it's not part of the course or you already <em>shoul</em> be knowing it. If you skip this opportunity kow, life will only become harder. After you know what you are missing, try to find appropriate ressources to learn thos skills (online courses, personal coaching, taking a class again, whatever). Additional tutoring will not help as long as your brain is not ready for the topic (unless the tutor helps you with getting this knowledge and skills).</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>In general, I assume that my studnets are working in groups. Many assingments are very hard to complete for one person, you often need discussion about the topics. One thought gives the other and having a group of peers working on the seem topics is very helpful. If you are learning alone at the moment, try to find some peers and team up with them. It is optimal if they are a bit better than you, but the most important thing is to talk about the course content and try to find different approaches to understand it. Tackle the problems from different directions and see which one is the best for you. That's the real skill you are learning when you are studying. </p>\n\n<p>I personally regard taking a tutor as a last resort, but that's a bit opinion based. A good tuutor is a coach helping you with the things described above (which is great, go, get one!), a bad tutor tries to think for you and focuses only on the course topic which is at hand. You won't learn much.</p>\n\n<p>And coming to the question whether it is ok to ask a faculty member: It depends! You can not ask someone who is actually involed in the course (directly or indirectly), otherwise one could argue that the course is intentionally to hard and the faculty members are doing side business by helping the studnts to succeed. This would really be unethical (end even if it is not the case, it might look like this to an outsider). </p>\n\n<p>If you can find someone, who is not involved in the course, and (s)he is willing to do it, I see no problem, unless there are no rivalries between your professor and the person. Still, I would prefer someone from a different institution since teaching students should be their main job, anyway. I personally would not take any students for private tutorship.</p>\n\n<p>I hope this helps a bit.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16127,
"author": "user11171",
"author_id": 11171,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11171",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As a faculty member, I feel that most students who struggle</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>don't put enough time into the course materials; most courses are designed with the expectation that you put into the course around 10 hours a week.</li>\n<li>don't seek out help, or don't speak up to communicate their difficulties; there are office hours by the professor, as well as the TAs, and most of these people would be very open to hearing your opinions of the course. If the course is going too fast, tell them.</li>\n<li>don't talk to their peers; sometimes understanding the material requires talking to others about it. You may <em>all</em> have been confused by the material, but by struggling through the assignments together, you will probably all learn (but remember to credit your friends).</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>If you have done all of the above and you are still struggling, then hiring a private TA may be the next step. One tip for choosing a good TA: I actually think that asking someone just a couple of years ahead of you is the best thing to do. They see from your perspective, and they often understand/remember what was hard about the material better than the faculty members. It's cheaper, and you'll learn better. As a faculty member, I would <em>never</em> agree to privately tutor a student. Teaching is only a small part of my job, and I prefer to be doing research instead of spending more of my time with an undergraduate student.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 18461,
"author": "WetlabStudent",
"author_id": 8101,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8101",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'm going to provide a completely different perspective, mainly based on your comment</p>\n\n<p>\"Well, I would say in a class of 16 students, I spoke to 7 of them about this issue (at different times) and most seemed to talk about their issues (with the class) quite a bit. I'm not sure about the other remaining students though\"</p>\n\n<p>if you have confirmed that many people in the class are struggling (note: it's not 100% clear from this quote that you have), this is enough to warrant talking to the professor about the general pace and difficulty level of the class. In this case You may want to schedule an appointment with the professor and speak to him/her about your troubles with the class and how you have talked with other students and that these students are having similar issues. Ask the professor about what he/she imagines the average work load is for the class. </p>\n\n<p>Most professors want the class to learn and are willing to teach to the ability of the class, but many of them are not so good at adapting to subtle cues from their students; they need to be explicitly told to slow down or cover more basic concepts. Find out what your professor thinks about what the course should be like and then adapt what you say based on that.</p>\n\n<p>Sometimes the instructor does not modify their course (or they try to but really don't change as much as they think they are). There isn't too much you can do about this, however, many professors will change the course significantly and you may find yourself happier because of it.</p>\n\n<p>However, whatever you do, do not make any accusations and try your best not to come off as entitled. Stay nice, and spend more time listening than talking. You may not end up needing a tutor</p>\n\n<p>That said: for most research colleges the answer is NO to your question (graduate students would be more appropriate, perhaps someone who TAed the course before - but not currently, and possibly not while this instructor was teaching the course). For teaching colleges, there are often not enough professors in the department to even find one that would be an appropriate match to the subject matter.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 18471,
"author": "Zai",
"author_id": 4318,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4318",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>From a student perspective, there are actually several things you can do:</p>\n\n<p>First, you can go to the professor and/or the TA's office hours to get help with the material that you're struggling with. You didn't mension whether or not you've tried this, but often if you aren't understanding things in class then the professor or the TA would be happy to go over it again with you and to try explaining it in alternate ways or more slowly. If you're having trouble making office hours because of scheduling, the TA or the professor will often be able to schedule alternate office hours to meet with you.</p>\n\n<p>Second, you can ask other students for help. You could try starting a study group or many students have mailing lists where you can ask for advice from people who have taken the class before. In addition, in a graduate level class there are likely to be graduate students who are working in/doing research on some of the topics covered in the course---these are definitely people who might be able to help.</p>\n\n<p>Last, as someone mentioned, it's unlikely that other faculty will have the time to provide private tutoring. It's much more likely that a TA or another graduate student, probably one who is doing research under that professor!, would have the time and the inclination to tutor. Some ways to try to get in touch with someone like this is through student mailing lists, the professor or lab's website, or by asking other graduate students.</p>\n\n<p>Most graduate students are pretty open and nice because they've been where you are in not getting a course, so don't be too nervous about approaching them.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/24 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16121",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11166/"
]
|
16,150 | <p>Q: Should I keep <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagle_Scout_%28Boy_Scouts_of_America%29">Eagle Scout</a> (the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America) on my CV?</p>
<p>I do not think that this is an appropriate item to include on a CV. However, CV is loosely translated as ''the course of my life'', and this is an achievement that takes a lot of perseverance, and something that is earned and not just given away. It requires a significant amount of time and volunteer work to complete a project that gives back to your community and also shows leadership and management skills which, you don't normally acquire until a little further in your academic career, but shows the ability to do so.</p>
<p>Is this award detrimental to include? looked down upon by hiring committees? not even given a second glance?</p>
<p>I have not found a satisfactory answer for this. </p>
<p>If it is kept on the CV, where should it go, i.e. award or outreach (both I think would be appropriate items, and it may be that if deficient in one or the other, one could move it around).</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16151,
"author": "Ben Webster",
"author_id": 13,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I wouldn't include it. I doubt it makes much of a difference, but you yourself say it's not an appropriate item. I agree.</p>\n\n<p>To expand a little bit, let me say this: the things you should put on your CV are those that directly connect to the job you want to have. Something like a job you had in an unrelated field is worthwhile in that it shows you were employed and not a hobo, but most other things that aren't really directly part of your career (jobs, education, publications, info about teaching, conference presentations, grants, etc.) is just a distraction, and will make it look like you are padding. I think high school achievements are especially bad in that they focus things too much in the past. Nothing on my CV goes earlier than my junior year of college (and probably I should cut that; nobody cares where I studied abroad). </p>\n\n<p>Of course, it's good to have lots of things to list on your CV, but you also want to keep the average high. There are only a few things on there that are really important, and you don't want to distract people from what they are.</p>\n\n<p>It would be great to discuss your experience as an Eagle Scout in a personal conversation, say if you have an informal dinner or drinks during an interview, but I just don't think the CV is the place for it.</p>\n\n<p><strong>EDIT:</strong> A point which a deleted answer raised also occurs to me: one reason to avoid putting extraneous things on your CV is that you can't control what associations people reading it might have. For example, the Boy Scouts of America have stirred up a lot of controversy with their stances on homosexuality, and for many people that maybe be the first thing that pops to mind. It's unfair to connect one scout to that, but people aren't logical. They read \"Eagle Scout,\" they think homophobia, and they have a negative reaction to your application that they weren't even conscious of.</p>\n\n<p>I recently read an application for graduate school by a student who listed on their CV membership in some political groups with which I vehemently disagree. I don't think that should affect my judgement of their file (luckily, I'm not on the committee, so I didn't have to try to make a judgement), but I honestly did not want to know about that aspect of their lives. I'm sure they thought it showed something about leadership, but to me it looked like very poor judgement.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16152,
"author": "OBu",
"author_id": 10941,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10941",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It depends on the position you are applying for. I would not include it in an application for a professorship, but for a post-doc I would keep it in under <em>\"misc\"</em> or <em>\"additional information\"</em>. If there is a structured application form and they are asking for it, then include it. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16156,
"author": "WetlabStudent",
"author_id": 8101,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8101",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>To me, as someone who isn't an eagle scout, it seems inappropriate. But I will tell you this, every person who I personally know in academia who also happens to be an eagle scout has for some reason left it on their CV (there may be some selection bias here, but in each of these cases I didn't find the fact out by reading their CV, so probably it's not that big - sample size of 2 though is very small - 1 postdoc - 1 grad student on the job market for postdocs - note no professors). Anyways, based on this fact, I surmise that other eagle scouts will see it as a positive. So if there is an eagle scout on the hiring committee it may very well be a net positive! Now the probability there is an eagle scout on the hiring committee is very low (as you point being an eagle scout is an amazing accomplishment and very few scouts ever get it). I'd leave it out based on my initial reaction, which I think is the reaction most people would have. I see why you might not want to leave it out though. This line shows a lot of qualities that may be important in academia but most people would find it irrelevant even though it is an amazing accomplishment. </p>\n\n<p>However, if you \"organized\" a massive charity event that is at least loosely related to academia as part of your eagle scout badge, you probably should list it, but not necessarily just putting eagle scout down. You might \"sneak\" it in by saying \"organized ... as a part of winning my eagle scout badge\" or something like that, and stick it in the service section. But if you do include it, at least make an attempt to make it sound relevant.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16283,
"author": "Theresa Liao",
"author_id": 5988,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/5988",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It depends on:<br/>\n- whether you have other volunteer experiences<br/>\n* If your last volunteer experience was only in Boy Scout, then I wonder why you didn't get involved in other things in undergrad/grad. If you are listing a bunch of experiences, it probably doesn't hurt to include it.<br/><br/>\n- whether this experience is related to what you are applying for<br/>\n* If you see this being relevant to an education or outreach aspect for the position you are applying for, then perhaps it is a good idea.<br/></p>\n\n<p>If you list this as part of your career achievements, I might think that you are a bit desperate (as if you don't have anything else to write about and just want to pack your CV). Not to say that this is not important, but for an academic position it is not directly relevant; if you want to include it, it should go into \"miscellaneous\" or \"volunteer experiences.\"</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16287,
"author": "Noah Snyder",
"author_id": 25,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/25",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I wouldn't put high school achievements on a professional CV unless it's at the level of a medal on international science olympiad or a top 10 Intel talent search finish. I don't think Eagle scout is quite at this level. That said, it probably won't make a big difference either way, unless your CV has enough questionable things that it looks padded (which is bad).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16292,
"author": "mako",
"author_id": 5962,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/5962",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you have a longer and more comprehensive CV, I would keep it. It's an achievement and it tells people who know a little about the Boy Scouts that you've learned a few things about leadership and engaged in significant community service.</p>\n\n<p>That said, I would put in <em>way</em> at the end with other trivia and less important tidbits. An an extra, it <em>might</em> end up being a slightly positive thing for some readers. For those of that don't care, make it very clear that you don't place this among your most important achievements as a scholar.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 17433,
"author": "Koldito",
"author_id": 12314,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12314",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I have a \"Non-academic activities\" section at the end of my CV that mentions that I'm a semi-decent long distance runner and that I used to moonlight for an amateur comedy troupe. But then, I do this because I can afford to do so: we are talking here about <em>two</em> bullet points that come after about 150 separate items including publications, talks, grants, teaching, advising... so it's obvious that I'm not including this to make my CV look longer than it actually is. If your CV is substantially shorter than this, you might want to think twice about including this kind of section. If you do include it, <em>please please please</em> do not write anything banal or mundane there. I once read a postdoc application to my department that included the line \"Hobbies: watching movies\". The CV in question wasn't great anyways, but this line was the metaphorical nail in the coffin.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/24 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16150",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11084/"
]
|
16,153 | <p>What should I do if I have lost faith in my PhD advisor (leadership, research direction, everything)? I have worked in this lab for three years and from my observation, none of my advisor's project work out and zero publications so far. Since I already had a gut feeling that everything would eventually go on a dead march, I have tried to propose to him an alternative approach but my advisor never listens (or only listens passive-aggressively). Guess what, my advisor ran out of funding, and he blamed us (the graduate students) for no publication. Now we all have to serve as TAs. I somehow manage to pump out my own project but my advisor didn't quite like it unless it's his idea. He told me he had no funding for my proposal and continue to gamble on his own project. (Come to think of it, no funding was a lie.) Recently, I am publishing my paper and the way he edited my manuscript is always cursory, mindless and pushy. I have a feeling that I am destined to fail the moment I joined this lab, any advice?</p>
<p>I joined the lab because his research topics are interesting but found out later that all his approaches to the problem just don't "hit" the point. For example, you know you need different tools to solve a problem but he just keeps using the same one again and again and my mind just get narrower and narrower. Also his work were simply a rehash of the previous one, like switching apple to orange, and everything else stays the same.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16154,
"author": "NeoN",
"author_id": 10297,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10297",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am sorry for your situation. I think many of us had confronted situations like this some time in our academic tenure.</p>\n\n<p>Although you should make your own mind about how to handle it, I personally suggest looking for another adviser. If you feel uncomfortable and you don't want to end your relationship in a bad term (assuming your current adviser will not take your decision easily), you can always think about adding a co-supervisor. This way you'll be on track and will be mostly working with your second adviser.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16155,
"author": "user11171",
"author_id": 11171,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11171",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Sounds like you two just don't get along. You are not interested in what the other is working on, and there seems to be no respect between the two of you. You need to think about working with someone else, or you need to be more open-minded about your advisor's suggestions and his ideas.</p>\n\n<p>I think that a very small percentage of advisors are universally terrible for everyone. Most student-advisor problems come from the fact that you are incompatible. You either need to make serious effort to understand one another, or you had better get out before it is too late.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16171,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>but found out later that all his approaches to the problem just don't \"hit\" the point</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>...</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I guessed he hate me for that and trying to stall my work</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>...</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Any risk that he will rant me to the co-supervisor?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>...</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I just had that bad feeling about the project he led and many of his direction doesn't make sense to me. Doing his way or my way is doomed anyway. </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>There is only one suggestion that we can give you. Get out of there. There is no telling whether his research is indeed \"doomed\", or whether you just have different angles of attack and ideas. In the end, it does not matter. You have no respect in his guidance and will need to find an advisor whose <em>advise</em> you actually trust.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16180,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>we get along okay</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p><strong>You don't.</strong></p>\n\n<p>Look at your question (and if you're so inclined, look at your previous questions). As user11171 and xLeitix point out in a previous answer, the advisor-student relationship is broken. </p>\n\n<p>At this point, it almost doesn't matter whose fault it is (but see below). Since the trust in the relationship is gone, even well-intentioned gestures will be misunderstood, and unless there's a strong desire on both sides to repair things, the best bet is to leave.</p>\n\n<p>For the future though, as you look for a new advisor, it's important to keep in mind that <strong>on average</strong> advisors are not malicious agents trying to harm their students. Again, I emphasize <strong>on average</strong>. Which means that behavior that carries multiple interpretations can be interpreted as benign but neglectful rather than as malicious. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 141987,
"author": "George",
"author_id": 117655,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/117655",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>For anyone else in the same situation, gather as much evidence you can and send a formal complaint to the management. Maybe that risks even more the chances you get your PhD. Another option is trying to readdress the situation with a new discourse (in emails) and trying to raise the accountability level from the supervisor. Another resource is to ask the management for an external communication assistant between you and your advisor. You can try this in the first place. These does not guarantee you fulfilling the PhD, but would you rather stay passive?</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/24 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16153",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10694/"
]
|
16,157 | <p>I am looking for an assistant professor job in engineering. While working on my Ph.D., I had the chance to mentor graduate students in my research group (suggesting experiments, helping them analyze results, etc.), and I also mentored an independent studies student for a summer. Would these types of activities even loosely be considered as "service activities" by a search committee, or, if the question comes up during an interview, just say that I don't have any such activities to mention? If the latter, what are some good ways to respond?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16160,
"author": "Tara B",
"author_id": 5955,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/5955",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>As for the question in the title, some common examples would be organising a seminar, helping to organise a conference or workshop, or serving on a committee.</p>\n\n<p>I don't think that the activities you mention are generally considered 'service'. They are definitely activities worth mentioning in other contexts, though.</p>\n\n<p>If you really don't have any experience in 'service activities', then perhaps a good way to respond to questions about service would be to admit that you don't have such experience so far, but express interest in gaining such experience (with specific details of the kinds of service you are especially interested in). I have no idea whether this is good advice, though, as I'm only a postdoc myself and have never been on a search committee.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16164,
"author": "David Ketcheson",
"author_id": 81,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/81",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As a grad student, you're not expected to devote much time to professional service. Even assistant professors are usually intentionally spared time-intensive service roles. Expectations increase as you become more senior. I was never asked about service in an interview for a post-doc position, and your postdoctoral supervisor would probably rather hear that you don't have time for service because you spend all your time on research.</p>\n\n<p>I think the only service activity you should naturally expect to be involved in is that of refereeing papers, but that generally won't happen until you have one or more accepted publications.</p>\n\n<p>You might also organize a minisymposium at a conference -- that's considered service and is a great excuse to get to know researchers in your subfield.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16166,
"author": "socialsciencedoc",
"author_id": 11154,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11154",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'm not sure if this is specific to the US, but on many graduate school admissions, search, or internal program related committees, there will be a graduate student representative serving alongside professors. I have seen people put this as service. </p>\n\n<p>You can also volunteer to preside at conferences, organize sessions, or serve on journal editorial boards, review as an ad-hoc reviewer if you have opportunities to do so. </p>\n\n<p>Another way of showing general commitment to the field and scholarship, at least in the humanities and social sciences, is contributing book reviews for journals (or other publications with book review sections). This will not go under the \"service\" section of your CV, but under a separate \"book review\" heading and will be a nice way of showing commitment to the field. </p>\n\n<p>However, I have also heard warnings against overdoing these things, especially when you do not have a good enough publication record. It can be seen as proof of inefficient time management, and not having one's priorities straight. As book reviews are not peer reviewed, and easy to get, they can be seen as \"fluff\" to your CV, if you have too many with not much else going on. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16187,
"author": "Shion",
"author_id": 1429,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1429",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As a current graduate student there are 3 primary ways in which I provide service to the academic community and mention them on my cv.</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>Reviewing articles in journals and conferences. I regularly review for a top journal in information science and a couple of the top conferences in HCI (Human Computer Interaction)</p></li>\n<li><p>I am the student member on our department's PhD admissions committee. My responsibilities include evaluating prospective applicants with the rest of the committee, matching applicants with interviewers and organizing the PhD visit day.</p></li>\n<li><p>I have been a student volunteer for top conferences in my area. Some of my other colleagues have been student volunteer chairs for said conferences or they have been in the organizing committee for such conferences.</p></li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>These are only my personal services to the academic field and my department recognizes and honors these services as an integral part of being a scholar (teaching-research-service). </p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/25 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16157",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11192/"
]
|
16,161 | <p>I'm an international student and I'm currently studying pure mathematics in undergraduate level with a relatively low GPA (~3.5/4.0). I've recently read so many positive reviews about the universities in Singapore. I checked the "National University of Singapore (NUS)" on the internet for its international ranking and it was ranked 9th in mathematics!</p>
<p>How much do you think the ranking of a university positively affects my future career? For example, one of my dreams is that I can study in some Ivy-league university in the USA or some grand ecole university in France like Paris Sud 11 in the future, but because of my low GPA I'm afraid that that will never happen for me. Do you think that going to the NUS can help me to get accepted into world top universities in the future?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16162,
"author": "Nobody",
"author_id": 546,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/546",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Rank is not an absolute index, it's relative. University X may have rank 9 this year, 15 next year. University Y may be ranked 16 this year and then rises to 10 next year. Different ranking agencies have different ways to rank universities.</p>\n\n<p>I see those rankings as references. It's a factor. I would put more attention on the programs/faculty when selecting a school I want to attend.</p>\n\n<p>I will not choose a school just because I want to increase my chance getting into Ivy-league universities. One reason for that is, I might have even lower GPA in a high ranking school. Of course, we can argue that better schools may have better professors so I can learn more. The bottom line is still, how hard do you study? In particular, you don't need expensive labs in order to study math. So, ranking may be important, but not a decisive one.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16173,
"author": "gerrit",
"author_id": 1033,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1033",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In my opinion, it is more important who you will be working with, than what university you will be at. There exist productive scientists who are great at supervising PhDs, while working at medium-ranked universities. Likewise, there exist tenured scientists at highly ranked universities, who are far past the peak of their career and lukewarm about PhD students. </p>\n\n<p>After your PhD, what matters most, is your publications and possibly reference letters. If you have great publications and superb reference letters from famous scientists in the field, I don't think you will miss out on this or that post-doc because whoever reads your letter doesn't immediately know the university where you got your PhD.</p>\n\n<p>This is my opinion, based on quite limited experience — having recently finished my PhD at a university that is not top-ranked, proceeding to do a post-doc at a university that is. I don't think the name of the university where I did my PhD is a handicap. In fact, I've always been better at doing research than at writing exams, so if the place where I'll be going for my post-doc would accept PhD candidates purely based on GPA, I'd never have gotten in.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16175,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>Is it a good idea to go to “National University of Singapore”</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>It may be. I have recently visited NUS, and talked to a lot of smart faculty and some truly outstanding students. Personally, I can only recommend both NUS and NTU Singapore. Singaporean universities are well-funded and offer a reasonable research environment. Singapore itself is also a nice place to live, with a quite interesting mixture of different cultures, lots of food, high standard of living, etc.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>just because of its high international ranking?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p><strong>Oh god no.</strong></p>\n\n<p>If you want to go to NUS, then because of the reasons stated above. It think convincing the world that university-level rankings are a good thing is the largest disservice that the US has done to research. Let me make this clear - if you graduate from NUS and do uninteresting research, <em>nobody will hire you</em>. If you graduate from another reasonable university and do good research, <em>you will find a post</em>. </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Do you think that going to the NUS can help me to get accepted into world top universities in the future?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Only for the reasons stated above - NUS has an environment that certainly enables you to do world-class research. For this reason, NUS may certainly help you get into a top university, but it does not make you accepted. The hard part (being a good researcher) will still be required from you.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16176,
"author": "J.R.",
"author_id": 780,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/780",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It might be enlightening for you to carefully study how these rankings were formulated. Some of them are based entirely on reputation and subjective opinions. Some of them are based on a suite of detailed metrics – factors which may or may not be of much interest to the typical graduate student. Seldom, if ever, are they formulated by a team that visits university classrooms to evaluate lecturers, or interviews graduate students to accurately determine overall satisfaction with their programs. These rankings don't come close to telling the whole story. </p>\n\n<p>Some schools have meteoric rises in the rankings just because their institutional research department is able to collect all the right data and send it back to the organization doing the rankings. </p>\n\n<p>I'm not saying that most of the highly-ranked schools are not good schools, or that they are undeserving of their good reputations and high rankings. However, you can get a very good education an unranked school, and you can get a below-average education at a very highly-ranked school. There are several factors that determine how well someone does in graduate school and beyond, and school ranking is probably <strong>not</strong> a very big factor in the overall scheme of things.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/25 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16161",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9254/"
]
|
16,169 | <p>I'm a first year postdoc in pure mathematics (geometry/topology with strong background in analysis) with undergraduate statistics and probability background (with also measure theoretic probability). I also have some programming knowledge in ForTran, C and Matlab, but I never used them in my pure mathematics career in my graduate school for the last 5 years.</p>
<p>In my next job, I'm considering doing a postdoc in machine learning (ML). The reason behind this switch is: I'm satisfied with my pure knowledge so far and have been wanting to see some real-life applications of mathematics, and also keep my options open in both industry and academia.</p>
<p>My questions are:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>How hard is this switch going to be? I guess I've all the required mathematics background, but will it be hard to pick up the necessary computer science skills, even if I work in more theory-oriented problems?</p>
<p>What exactly are the programming knowledge I need to master to work in ML?</p>
</li>
<li><p>Is there a website/email-list where I can get notifications on jobs in machine learning? I'm looking for jobs in Europe mostly, but information on the US would also be welcome.</p>
</li>
</ol>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16181,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>1) How hard is this switch going to be? I guess I've all the required\n mathematics background, but will it be hard to pick up the necessary\n computer science skills, even if I work in more theory-oriented\n problems?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p><strong>Not a problem</strong>: picking up the math associated with ML. You've got the right background and you'll find it easy to understand the papers after an initial learning phase.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Potentially a problem</strong>: understanding why certain questions get asked and what's considered interesting. This is where mathematicians and computer scientists tend to diverge, and translating your intuition for questions might take some time. But a more mathematical mindset can also lead you to ask interesting questions that CS folks are NOT asking !</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>What exactly are the programming knowledge I need to master to work in\n ML?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Depending on how theoretical the postdoc is, anywhere from <strong>none</strong> to R, python and matlab, and maybe even some distributed large-scale learning framework like GraphLab. But you should definitely get some familarity with the first three - ML is a good example of \"no problem formulation surviving first contact with the data\". </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>2) Is there a website/email-list where I can get notifications on jobs\n in machine learning? I'm looking for jobs in Europe mostly, but\n information on the US would also be welcome.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>One good mailing list is <a href=\"https://mailman.cc.gatech.edu/mailman/listinfo/ml-worldwide\"><code>ml-worldwide</code></a>. Another is the Google group <a href=\"https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/ml-news\"><code>ml-news</code></a>.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 41012,
"author": "Mashbat Suzuki",
"author_id": 31285,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31285",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you are a pure mathematician with background in geometric analysis there are interesting problems in the sub area of machine learning called \"Manifold Learning\" which requires quite a lot of Riemannian Geometry and intuition. Machine Learning is a vast area and it is a question of what suits you the best.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/25 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16169",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6259/"
]
|
16,184 | <p>I'm currently preparing an online tool for scholars, and part of that work involves creating a database with different categories for students at different stages of their college/university education (i.e. freshmen, second-semester juniors, first-year graduate students, etc). I'm struggling to find a standard classification system to use that would allow distinction between all of the stages in an undergraduate and graduate education. I could just use "first-semester senior" and the like, but if there's an existing standard - particularly one that even allows for students that don't use semester classifications - I don't want to complicate things with my own classification scheme. </p>
<p>Is there a convention, especially an international convention, that distinguishes between all or most of these stages in educational progress?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16181,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>1) How hard is this switch going to be? I guess I've all the required\n mathematics background, but will it be hard to pick up the necessary\n computer science skills, even if I work in more theory-oriented\n problems?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p><strong>Not a problem</strong>: picking up the math associated with ML. You've got the right background and you'll find it easy to understand the papers after an initial learning phase.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Potentially a problem</strong>: understanding why certain questions get asked and what's considered interesting. This is where mathematicians and computer scientists tend to diverge, and translating your intuition for questions might take some time. But a more mathematical mindset can also lead you to ask interesting questions that CS folks are NOT asking !</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>What exactly are the programming knowledge I need to master to work in\n ML?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Depending on how theoretical the postdoc is, anywhere from <strong>none</strong> to R, python and matlab, and maybe even some distributed large-scale learning framework like GraphLab. But you should definitely get some familarity with the first three - ML is a good example of \"no problem formulation surviving first contact with the data\". </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>2) Is there a website/email-list where I can get notifications on jobs\n in machine learning? I'm looking for jobs in Europe mostly, but\n information on the US would also be welcome.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>One good mailing list is <a href=\"https://mailman.cc.gatech.edu/mailman/listinfo/ml-worldwide\"><code>ml-worldwide</code></a>. Another is the Google group <a href=\"https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/ml-news\"><code>ml-news</code></a>.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 41012,
"author": "Mashbat Suzuki",
"author_id": 31285,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/31285",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you are a pure mathematician with background in geometric analysis there are interesting problems in the sub area of machine learning called \"Manifold Learning\" which requires quite a lot of Riemannian Geometry and intuition. Machine Learning is a vast area and it is a question of what suits you the best.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/25 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16184",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7795/"
]
|
16,188 | <p>I am trying to decide between some math postdoc offers, and I can't decide what is important for a postdoc position. I have talked to several senior mathematicians including my advisor, but they all seem to have different opinions. I just want to hear some more opinions on the following:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>How important is prestige? Suppose that I have an offer from school X, which is fairly prestigious (something like top 10, which isn't a well-defined notion). Also suppose that I have an offer from school Y, which is not as prestigious but a better match research-wise. Suppose that the ranking of school Y is approximately n (again, not a well-defined notion). For which values of n should I choose school X over school Y? My goal is to become a tenure-track professor in a PhD-granting institution.</p></li>
<li><p>What makes a good postdoc supervisor? I can think of the following criteria: compatible research interests, being well-known in one's field, compatible personalities, generous with time, etc. Am I missing anything else?</p></li>
</ul>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16240,
"author": "nagniemerg",
"author_id": 11084,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11084",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>At the end of the day, the quality of your research is more important than prestige. I would go with the university that is a better research match.</p>\n\n<p>As for what makes a good postdoc supervisor. I think this depends completely on the individual and how one conducts research. The two extremes are: hands off -- I have plenty of ideas and give me something to work on.</p>\n\n<p>The best is a combination of the two. This shows you are able to work independently and work well with others.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16285,
"author": "Ben Webster",
"author_id": 13,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>nagniemerg is absolutely right that at the end of the day, your results will be much more important than a name on your CV. I think being at a prestigious institution is very useful for getting a first look at your application (which is a f***ing valuable thing, as Rod Blagojevich would say); if the rest of what's there doesn't stand up, getting that look won't help much. </p>\n\n<p>That said, I would think carefully about how sure you are that institution Y really will provide a better research environment. Prestige tends to correlate (far from perfectly) with having an active department with a lot of seminars and visitors, which can often be more valuable than day-to-day contact with a single advisor. Having higher-quality students and colleagues can make you a better researcher.</p>\n\n<p>I also think there's a lot to be said for the uncertainty of life. Maybe you'll go somewhere and whoever you were going to work with will get a job somewhere else, or have a baby, or go on sabbatical. Maybe you'll start a collaboration with someone you don't even know exists yet. It's all very hard to predict, and on some level you have to go with your gut. You could do a lot worse than just going with the most prestigious option, but if other factors seem to point another direction, I don't think you should just ignore them.</p>\n\n<p><strong>EDIT:</strong> I wrote this is a bit of hurry last night, and I realize it might be a bit unhelpful. However, it's honestly quite difficult to say anything general, and you indicate that senior mathematicians who know you and know what your options are cannot come to a consensus. To me this indicates that probably you will not be able to conclusively figure out where is the better choice. This is not to say it doesn't matter, but once the uncertainties are sufficiently large, one might as well flip a coin (or at least flip a coin until you get the answer you want). </p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/26 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16188",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10447/"
]
|
16,190 | <p>Since University of Alabama offers me full-ride scholarship, I will probably go to this school rather than more competitive schools, not because I'm poor but because it seems silly to me to pay $200,000 for merely an undergrad education, even though I can buy a house by that money. I'm going to get PhD, and the name of undergrad school doesn't matter in my career. I'm worried about research opportunity in the school since I want to excel in admission of PhD program, but I think I can make up for it with my enthusiasm and knowledge. I'm going to major in Biology, and I want to study about regenerative medicine and stem cell in grad school. </p>
<p>Until I will graduate from my high school, I will certainly have about 12 AP scores (mostly 5's) and be able to get about 50 credits, even though the school's graduation requirement is 120. It seems easy to graduate within 3 years (or even possible to do within 2 years), but graduating early seems to put me in a disadvantageous position in grad school admission. I can probably get 70 credits in two years, and then what should I do for the next two years? Can I concentrate on research for this period, or should I take classes to get about 30 credits per year? Should I apply for grad program in the third year and try again in the next year if the admission won't be successful? </p>
<p>If you have some opinion not only related to the topics about college credit but also my choice of school, please tell me that, since I still can change my choice of university. Other schools of my choice are such as Reed, Carleton, U of Michigan, U of Wisconsin, and U of Manchester. I'm an international student. </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16192,
"author": "Nobody",
"author_id": 546,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/546",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>First of all, I know nothing about Biology at all. I can't comment on specifics. Instead, I rather say something about the comment:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Do you think double-majoring using the available time gives me a significant advantage in my admission? Or should I just concentrate on the area which I will study in grad school?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>You are far away from grad school yet. Undergrad education is for you to build the foundation of your academic career. You need to use it to broaden your knowledge base. Many courses can be benefit for you. You should consider taking the courses about humanities, fine arts, other sciences (math, chemstry, physics, computer science, etc.) and writing, etc.etc. Just don't limit yourself to a specific field. You won't know you're interested in something until you learn it.</p>\n\n<p>The above is from the bottom of my heart. I wish someone would have told me this when I was an undergrad student.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16195,
"author": "BrenBarn",
"author_id": 9041,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9041",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As a friend of mine once said: \"Why you want to finish college early, man? The sooner you finish college, the sooner you face life!\" (And he lived this philosophy, spending four years at the community college followed by two at a university.)</p>\n\n<p>Don't worry about grad school just as you begin your undergraduate education. Take classes in things that interest you or that you think might interest you. If you have units from AP classes, great; treat that as opportunity to take a broader range of things that strike your fancy, instead of intro classes that you might have otherwise had to take for general ed requirements.</p>\n\n<p>If by your third year you find you still want to go to grad school doing the same thing you mentioned, you can explore undergraduate research opportunities, etc.</p>\n\n<p>Basically, my advice would be, if you have extra units coming in, use that flexibility to <em>improve</em> your undergradate education, not shorten it. If you decide you want to shorten it when the time comes, okay, but don't lock yourself into that plan now.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16204,
"author": "Wakem",
"author_id": 10739,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10739",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I think, for admissions purposes, unless you are a prodigy, staying 4 years will be beneficial. Of course, you could get in somewhere after 2 years but the competition for jobs is such that you want to be able to compete with other people in your situation (they do exist, I had a somewhat similar situation in that I came into my undergrad with almost a year of credits). You could take the opportunity to (when you are confident you are ready) take many graduate level courses in and around your field. I think a lot of people are overblown about anti-specialization. I took my upper division math and lower division math at the same time, often taking 3 math courses at the same time and I loved it, miss it now. I think you should pursue your current goal wholeheartedly but take 1, maybe 2 courses a semester outside of it (if your APs don't satisfy all your GENED or your department has weird requirements, this will happen accidentally) at least in the early going. If you decide to switch plans at some point, you will have engrossed yourself in hard material (coursework, labs), the skills of which will transfer to WHATEVER OTHER ACADEMIC PLAN. Of course, because you are in biology not math, your field is not self-contained but this can be adjusted for in course selection to that end. Also, you might consider taking only 4 classes a semester early on (or forever) but make sure they are hard-hitting, if you might have problems with time management incongruous with your intellectual aptitude (depending on financial aid requirements!). </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16206,
"author": "vadim123",
"author_id": 7222,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7222",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>For an academically talented student likely to complete a Ph.D., the most important life decision will be where you go to graduate school. An undergraduate degree from Alabama, whether in 4 years or 2, is unlikely to lead to a good graduate school for you. I don't know your field, but in mathematics (my field) Alabama is among the worst places.</p>\n\n<p>You should go to Michigan, which is the best choice academically of the ones you've listed. And wherever you are, you need to:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Get high grades, and take some graduate classes.</li>\n<li>Get to know several faculty in your area very well.</li>\n<li>Engage in research, and publish if possible.</li>\n<li>Find some way to distinguish yourself, such as teaching experience or academic clubs.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>A second major can be an insurance policy, and can open doors to graduate programs straddling the two areas, so is a good idea.</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p>Followup: You should go to a Tier I institution, such as what <a href=\"http://classifications.carnegiefoundation.org/descriptions/basic.php\" rel=\"nofollow\">Carnegie</a> classifies as \"very high research activity\" RU/VH. Alabama is not on that list.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/26 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16190",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10189/"
]
|
16,193 | <p>How to highlight the changes I made to a text (report, thesis etc) to the supervisor? Red colour/adding bubble comments, you name it. I use Word.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16194,
"author": "Ana",
"author_id": 322,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/322",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In Word, you can use the 'track changes' function. </p>\n\n<p>It depends a bit on the amount of changes you're making though. Track changes will mark every cut and paste, every comma and deletion of every double space. This can make it too difficult to read. Personally, I've resorted to just underlining the most important changes so that my supervisor can see them easily, and adding the occasional comment bubble. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 18034,
"author": "Primal Pappachan",
"author_id": 12921,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12921",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you are writing the paper in latex <a href=\"http://pleasemakeanote.blogspot.com/2009/08/how-to-highlight-text-in-latex.html\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">use highlight</a> to denote sections that have been changed.</p>\n\n<p>While it might be too technical for most people, I would suggest using Version control if your advisor is okay with it. <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5277/why-use-version-control-systems-for-writing-a-paper\">Why use version control systems for writing a paper?</a> </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 18039,
"author": "Dirk",
"author_id": 529,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/529",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If you use LaTeX, then, of course, it would be easiest if you and your supervisor would have access to the same versioning tool (e.g. git/mercurial/svn/...) where you both could check changes in the source code.</p>\n\n<p>If you use LaTeX and your supervisor has no access to your versioning system then I suggest to use <a href=\"http://www.ctan.org/pkg/latexdiff\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">latexdiff</a> to produce a pdf that has the changes highlighted in nice way (see e.g. this image <img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/Ocoat.png\" alt=\"enter image description here\"> taken from <a href=\"http://crypto.junod.info/2010/07/03/latexdiff/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">this blog post</a>).</p>\n\n<p>If you don't use versioning then: Start now! If you still haven't started, keep versions by hand and use latexdiff.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 18043,
"author": "gman",
"author_id": 12454,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/12454",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As a starting point have a discussion with your supervisor on how they would like you to present documents with changes in them. Have you own research prepared so as that you can answer any questions they may have on what you are proposing. It may end up that you will us a combination of methods.</p>\n\n<p>I think you would find that using the track change feature in word would be of great benefit to yourself but it does include every change so may not be of the best for your supervisor reviewing. You would have to change the settings to only show the changes that your supervisor requires or requests. Here is a good blog entry on <a href=\"http://shaunakelly.com/word/sharing/howtrackchangesworks.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">How track changes works</a> and the feature explained from the <a href=\"http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word-help/track-changes-while-you-edit-HA001218690.aspx\" rel=\"nofollow\">Microsoft office site</a>.</p>\n\n<p>I know from my own experience I put in the footer of the document version number and date submitted (Draft V.1.0 27/02/2014). This helps you keep track of the documents so if you supervisor gets a new version they know there is significant changes to it. Bubble comments on the document explaining new or major changes to content can inform your supervisor of the major changes since the last draft.</p>\n\n<p>Just as a note I am at the moment using Lireoffice (similar to word) but am considering switching to LaTeX. I am in a Humanities field (history)</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/26 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16193",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/5689/"
]
|
16,198 | <p>I am applying for a research grant which specifies that the proposed research should be novel and innovative. However without previous experience, it is not clear what degree of novelty is required. For academic publications the requirement is generally that the presented results should be non-obvious (novel) and making a significant improvement in understanding about the topic. For this reason straightforward incremental advances are liable to be rejected.</p>
<p>When considering grants, is a similar degree of novelty required, or is it expected that the proposed research is a new departure from what has has been done before? By way of example, say you have done research on a certain sample to investigate physical property A, would a proposal to investigate physical property B qualify as novel?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16199,
"author": "OBu",
"author_id": 10941,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10941",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The dumb (but maybe best) answer is: It's what the reviewers and the funding agency regard as \"novel\". </p>\n\n<p>In some cases, this might be true for your example (e.g in medicine, it can be very valuable to investigate just an other aspect), but in most cases you should aim for something which is significantly beyond the current scope of the field (but still reachable). It should not be a straight-forward engineering approach (since this is development, not research).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16200,
"author": "Peter Jansson",
"author_id": 4394,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4394",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>The purpose of adding words like \"novel\" and \"innovative\" is to weed out proposals that may be poorly researched and thus copying others or or involve repeating other works in a slightly different setting (or equivalent). The phrasings makes rejecting proposals easier since it provides a critieria (one among many) against which it can be judged. Funding agencies are also keen to see their funding go to research that can be judged to contribute \"significant\" results.</p>\n\n<p>My experience says that what constitutes \"novel\" and \"innovative\" is difficult to assess in detail. In my field, environmental/earth science, some themes become \"fashionable\" or hot and signals these aspects, or rather absence means less likelihood to receive funding. These themes include finite element modelling (70s), acid rain(70s/80s) and climate change (currently). This can be seen as a communal will or interest to steer research in certain ways and so showing you can significantly contribute to these goals was/is more or less necessary to provide you with a good chance for obtaining funding. </p>\n\n<p>So to define \"novel\" and \"innovative\" will be difficult. And, as a side point, your research either is or is not \"novel\" or \"innovative\", there are no degrees. You need to come up with ideas that are truly new (testing new grounds) or which promise results that are significantly advancing science but more importantly, you need to convince the reviewers in the funding agency about your case. This means to avoid \"more of the same\" proposals, to be sure your idea has not been worked on before (know your field).</p>\n\n<p>A book, I strongly recommend for all is </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Friedland, A., Fold, C.L., 2009. Writing Successful Science Proposals, Second Edition. Yale Univ. Press</p>\n</blockquote>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 143297,
"author": "JoeG",
"author_id": 118668,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/118668",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Scientific progress can be viewed as a shape something like a star fish, we have a core center of knowledge and some spikes of advancement in certain topics but relative lack of knowledge in other topics. To be novel, you want to have a proposal that exists on the cutting edge of this progress based on the context of your topic of interest. For example, Newton observing a apple falling from a tree and characterizing it as gravity was novel in his time, but someone today observing an orange falling from a tree and calling it gravity is just replicating work or at best an incremental finding, not novel. To be really novel, you integrate multiple topics of scientific progress and create synergy that advances our collective understanding in multiple topics. An example of this is the great polymath Leonardo da Vinci who seamlessly integrated Science and Art. It is a lofty and somewhat irritating goal to aspire towards, never to be fully achieved.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/26 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16198",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4503/"
]
|
16,203 | <p>I am applying for Postgraduate degree research but for that I need to submit a Research Proposal with the application and it is very confusing for me because I never did any kind of research before.</p>
<p>I have been a small business owner for the last 7-8 years and I want to do research in the same field (Entrepreneurship or small- or family-business related), but I just don't know how to narrow down and select a specific topic.</p>
<p>Can you suggest some guidelines to select a topic?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16211,
"author": "OBu",
"author_id": 10941,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10941",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Why do you want to work as a Postdoc in this field? The answer to this question (as long as it's a scientific answer and not reputation etc.) can lead you to a good research topic.</p>\n\n<p>Nonetheless, thechniques like creative writing, brainstorming etc. can be helpful, but this is a bit out of scope for this platform. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16214,
"author": "Nobody",
"author_id": 546,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/546",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>I have been a small business owner for the last 7-8 years </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Have you run into issues/problems in those 7-8 years? Are those problems specific to your own business? Could other business owners have the same or similar problems?</p>\n\n<p>Can you <strong>generalize</strong> those problems so that you can conduct research on possible solutions to those problems in <strong>academic</strong> approach?</p>\n\n<p>Can you find the causes of those problems from <strong>academic</strong> perspective? How would you propose to do so? Should the government play a role or not? How could the society as a whole participate? Etc. Etc. There are hundreds of topics out there. Take your pick. Good luck!</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/26 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16203",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11214/"
]
|
16,207 | <p>I am trying to figure out if the following article is a primary or secondary source.</p>
<p><a href="http://genome.cshlp.org/content/20/5/547.full.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://genome.cshlp.org/content/20/5/547.full.pdf</a></p>
<p>I'm leaning towards secondary but here are my cases for both.</p>
<p>Primary: Published in a peer-reviewed journal.</p>
<p>Secondary: It seems to be mostly a summary of other works so it might not be original research.
Can anyone confirm this for me? Thank you!</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16209,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p><strong>Primary</strong> source material is \"direct evidence.\" This can include published reports of original research, but also journals, diaries, direct interviews, government records, and other types of \"produced\" work. (It need not be a research or scholarly work to be a direct source; thus the claim that it's primary because it's published in a peer-reviewed journal carries no weight in this argument.)</p>\n\n<p>On the other hand, a <strong>secondary</strong> source is a source which reports on the work of others, whether it is published or not. Citing a secondary work does <strong>not</strong> make it a primary work; it's the relationship of the cited work <em>to the original subject</em> that determines if it's primary or secondary.</p>\n\n<p>In this case, a \"Perspective\" column that summarizes ongoing work in the field is a <em>secondary</em> source, as it is analyzing the original work of others.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16210,
"author": "OBu",
"author_id": 10941,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10941",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In case of review articles, the original sources which were used to create the text are the primary literature. But, if the author draws own conclusions, creates statistics, etc., this would be considered a primary source. </p>\n\n<p>I'm not deep enough in the field to judge that for the article in question.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/26 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16207",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11217/"
]
|
16,220 | <p>I'm writing a literature review for a project and due to the nature of the project (website and database) I haven't used any books etc. I have used a number of websites to get information on subjects such as hosting a website and a database using Azure, is it acceptable to use websites in a literature review?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16225,
"author": "h22",
"author_id": 10920,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10920",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You can definitely put into references the official user documentation of your web server and database engine, as this software have not been just invented by you from scratch.</p>\n\n<p>While websites can also be used in references, it seems to me that you may need more in depth coverage. Try to Google and find some real publications. If the topic seems too broad, it should be some reviews. If there is a Wikipedia article, check which references it uses.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16228,
"author": "Penguin_Knight",
"author_id": 6450,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6450",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Website or not website is not the point. Printed journal articles are favored over website because i) they are peer-reviewed, carrying some degree of authority, ii) they are archived and retrievable, with payment or free of charge, and iii) once published, the contents do not change until they are formally revised, rebuked, or retracted.</p>\n\n<p>So, it would mean that when citing websites, a few more steps need to be done to increase their worthiness. First, you'd need to assess the credibility of the website and be able to critically evaluate the contents. In journal articles this step is done to some degree but in websites you're on your own. Second, you may need to do most of the archiving (including downloading, dating, and archiving the data sets you may download, or printing and dating website into PDFs, etc.) or use <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_archiving\">website archiving</a> to save a cross-section of the websites. There are free services like <a href=\"http://perma.cc\">http://perma.cc</a> and <a href=\"http://www.webcitation.org\">http://www.webcitation.org</a> available.</p>\n\n<p>Once they are archived, in your paper, it is a good practice to cite both original link and the archived link as well as the date you accessed the original link. For details, consult the project leader or editor. Some journals specialized in publishing Internet-related research such as <a href=\"http://www.jmir.org/cms/view/Instructions_for_Authors%3aInstructions_for_Authors_of_JMIR\">Journal of Medical Internet Research</a> may also provide useful format-related examples in their guide to the authors.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/27 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16220",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11229/"
]
|
16,232 | <p>In the verge of writing up a PhD thesis, is it fine to include the content of the work which is submitted to a conference and is "under review" at the time of writing up. More specifically if the conference has 'double-blind' review process.Or is it advisable to wait till the review decision on publication is out. </p>
<p>Please suggest.</p>
<p>Thanks, KR</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16233,
"author": "Peter Jansson",
"author_id": 4394,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4394",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I am sure this may vary but this is standard procedure for our theses since they are based on papers. A student will typically have about four papers/manuscripts in their thesis ranging from published through all stages of revision in a journal to not yet submitted manuscripts. </p>\n\n<p>You will need to check with your local guidelines what is expected from a thesis to figure out the details but it would seem difficult to demand all published papers unless the period to complete a PhD is open ended.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16254,
"author": "OBu",
"author_id": 10941,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10941",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You can do it, but you should clearly label it as \"submitted to xyz\" to make clear it is not accepted, yet. You should update the status (\"accepted for xyz\", no additional remarks) according to the progress.</p>\n\n<p>Nonetheless, you can (and should) write about the topics in your thesis since it is your work you are describing. The only difference is that the statments you are making are not peer-reviewed, yet. </p>\n\n<p>In general, it is a good idea to ask your supervisor about it since some can have different opinions on this topic. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/27 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16232",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6816/"
]
|
16,237 | <p>I happen to be involved in this project in which my advisor has made such a bad decision that the result turned out to be mediocre/uninteresting. While I am not the lead author, I will be one of the co-author for this. In that case, why should I endorse for my advisor's bad decision, when I don't have any means to change the course of this project? I know I won't look as bad as the first author, but still this will be one of my publication. I doubt my advisor will say something like this in the rec: "Oh yes, the bad publication was my idea, my student just followed my direction." <strong>How can I prevent this from ruining my future career?</strong></p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16238,
"author": "Nate Eldredge",
"author_id": 1010,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1010",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Personally, I can't imagine that being coauthor on an uninteresting paper could \"ruin your future career\" or even damage it significantly; a paper is a paper, so I think at worst it has a very small positive value. To actually be a negative, the paper would have to be horrifically wrong or plagiarized or something.</p>\n\n<p>Also, not to question your judgment, but you do probably have a lot less experience in the field than your advisor. It's just possible that the project is more interesting to the community than it seems to you; when you're deep in a project, it's often hard to see the context that it fits in to. Consider discussing the project with other researchers in the field (check with your advisor first to make sure you're not giving away too many details too soon), and see what they think.</p>\n\n<p>Even if the project is really worthless, as I said, I don't see it actively damaging your career. Just wrap it up, get it out the door, and start working on something more interesting!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16239,
"author": "earthling",
"author_id": 2692,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2692",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As Nate Eldredge wrote in his final sentence, stop worrying about the past project and start thinking about your next project.</p>\n\n<p>You will be judged much more strongly based on your more recent work so just make sure that your upcoming work is more interesting. You cannot change the past so don't spend time worrying about it. You should spend your time on your future.</p>\n\n<p>One uninteresting publication is not going to sink you unless the science is bad. If it shows you do not know how to do research that might hurt you. If the science is really bad, you might consider removing your name from the paper but since you only complain about the results being uninteresting, let it be and move on to something better.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16242,
"author": "user45756",
"author_id": 11209,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11209",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Judging by your past five questions (in fact, every question that you asked on here), you clearly have issues with your advisor.</p>\n\n<p>I doubt that your advisor is actually that bad. No one can be that bad, and survive academia. It is most likely the product of your not actually caring about your advisor's interests (and vice versa), and the lack of communication between the two of you.</p>\n\n<p>If there is still some time left, I recommend that you seek out another advisor instead of ranting about your advisor on academia.SE, which doesn't actually solve your problems in real-life.</p>\n\n<p>If you are close to graduating, I suggest that you \"pay your dues\" to your advisor; he let you use his lab and equipment, not to mention granting you access to his expertise, for the past 5+ years. The least you can do is to \"suck it up\" and pretend to care about your advisor's interests (and put some work into it). After all, you'll need your advisor's letter to stay in academia!</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/28 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16237",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10694/"
]
|
16,243 | <p>The data collected using "<em>Applicant Confidential Data Form</em>" will be used by US-based universities to monitor University’s Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity Programs as required by the US government. </p>
<p>I have seen that in (some) cases, faculty job applicant seeking academic job in US-based universities are asked to submit this form <em>after</em> they successfully submitted their initial application. The point is that, typically there is no instruction in "call for faculty member note" to fill this form and submit along with application. But the faculty search committee asks after while.</p>
<p>So it raises a question:</p>
<p>Do the faculty search committee sends this form to <strong>ALL</strong> the applicants or particular applicants who are allegedly suitable for the job. Is receiving this notification from the committee can be considered a positive sign in recruitment process?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16244,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would not read anything into such a form as this. In many cases, the university may require it, but the department doesn't mention it, or only sends it out afterwards. However, the nature of the form is not one that it should only be given out to \"suitable\" candidates; it's something that everybody who applies could be asked to fill out. So it is unlikely that this means anything, either positive or negative.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16263,
"author": "Nate Eldredge",
"author_id": 1010,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1010",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I've received this form from hundreds of employers that later rejected me. I think schools that use it will send it to every applicant. So it doesn't mean anything except that your application was received.</p>\n\n<p>I believe the reason for it being a separate form, rather than part of the application, is that it's meant to be for statistical purposes only, and should not affect the hiring procedure. The best way to achieve this is to ensure that the hiring committee never sees it. So they send a separate form, to be returned to a separate office within the institution, which holds it confidential.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16280,
"author": "BSteinhurst",
"author_id": 7561,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7561",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Having received these cards from many of the same institutions at Nate I speak from a lot of the same experience. There is a point I want to amplify from his answer though. In the US it is actually illegal for this information to influence the hiring process officially (there is lots of reason to suspect that unofficial ways of using this information still have an effect). But this means that the information, if collected, must not go to the hiring committee or anywhere near it. Some electronic application systems can handle keeping this information separate, but those that can't have to be supplemented with physical cards. Institutions that still allow paper applications also must be supplemented. </p>\n\n<p>The offices which send out and handle these cards are charged with making sure that the institution as a whole is being a Equal Opportunity Employer and complying whatever Affirmative Action requirements they are under. Once you start considering why paperwork related to legal compliance is the way it is the question gets much larger and won't always have a satisfying answer. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/28 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16243",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6393/"
]
|
16,246 | <p>I am a software developer by profession and was wondering what a professional doctorate (PdEng) would add to my career if I plan to work in the industry.</p>
<p><strong>EDIT:</strong> I am not talking about a Phd rather a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_Doctorate_in_Engineering" rel="nofollow">Professional Doctorate program (PDEng)</a>.It is a 2 year program and used for getting a job in a very specific sub discipline of a field. </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 21572,
"author": "Oliver Matthews",
"author_id": 15818,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/15818",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In general, for software engineering (in the UK), it will not help a lot in my experience - PhDs,PDEngs and EngDs will add to your initial salary over a masters. But probably no more than the extra experience that working in industry would get you.</p>\n\n<p>The main exception is start-ups - if your tech guy(s) have post-graduate degrees then it can help with the early sales (proves you are smarter). Plus there is a valid argument that when you are limited in the number of heads you can get, it is worth getting the smartest ones you can.</p>\n\n<p>The other exception is if it is for a <em>very</em> specific field and you want to go into that, it may help you beat out candidates with more experience in nearby fields (or satisfy a requirement of having experience in that field).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21580,
"author": "earthling",
"author_id": 2692,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2692",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You might get different answers for different countries. This answer is for the US.</p>\n\n<p>Speaking as a person who has hired many programmers (both for my own company and for other companies) I feel quite confident that having <strong>a doctorate of any kind will not help you land a job as a programmer</strong>. The simple fact is, people care about what you can produce. What frameworks, models, patterns, languages, etc. are you effective in? This is what people generally care about from a technical perspective. They will care about other things like how committed you are, how many hours you can work, etc. but what you would gain from a doctorate will not be of value to people who hire in industry.</p>\n\n<p>That said, it can be useful for career mobility. For example, I have see people chose one person over another for an IT management position because one had a doctorate. That turned out to be a terrible choice for the company, but I don't think the problems were connected to his doctorate (he simply had no experience managing people). Some people might see the value in the doctorate but only at a higher level (not entry level).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 21595,
"author": "Mangara",
"author_id": 8185,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8185",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p><strong>TLDR:</strong> It trains you in both technical and soft skills (technical writing, meeting management, etc.), and lets you gain experience with small and large industry projects, using different technologies. It essentially compresses multiple years of industry experience into two.</p>\n\n<p>There seems to be a lot of confusion about what the program actually <em>is</em>. The Professional Doctorate in Engineering (PDEng) programs offered at Dutch universities have more in common with industry traineeships than with a traditional academic doctorate. As such, most of the <a href=\"https://workplace.stackexchange.com/questions/13191/can-a-ph-d-have-a-negative-impact-on-your-career-in-the-software-industry\">negative effects</a> of a PhD on job propspects (<em>trouble actually writing code</em>, <em>far less job experience</em>, etc.) simply do not apply.</p>\n\n<p>For example, Eindhoven University of Technology describes their <a href=\"http://www.tue.nl/en/education/tue-graduate-school/designers-programs/software-technology/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">Software Technology PDEng program</a> as follows.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>The Software Technology program is designed to prepare you for an industrial career as a technological designer, and later on as a software or system architect. It starts with 15 months of advanced training and education, including 4 small, industry driven training projects, followed by a major design project of nine months in a company. </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>The program is specifically designed to teach MSc students with a good grasp of the theory how to efficiently apply that theory to practical applications. It is presented as a way to \"fast-track\" your career by gaining a lot of cross-disciplinary experience in only two years.</p>\n\n<p>They write the following <a href=\"http://www.tue.nl/en/education/tue-graduate-school/designers-programs/software-technology/information-for-industry/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">about their graduates</a>:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>The Software Technology program has been around for more than 25 years and to date trained more than 370 technological designers. Most designers have joined the companies where they carried out their design assignments and many now fulfill a management position. </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Their alumni association <a href=\"http://www.xootic.nl/\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">XOOTIC</a> released a <a href=\"http://www.xootic.org/images/magazines/201203/mar-2012.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">detailed survey</a> (pages 25-28), stating</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Having a job as an XOOTIC is still easy: only\n 1% of the XOOTIC’s is unemployed. [...]\n By far the most XOOTIC’s have an indefinite contract\n (82.6%).</p>\n \n <p>The OOTI program is known in the industry according\n to 80% of the answers and is rewarded\n according to 44% of the respondents.\n [...]\n XOOTIC’s, considering what they know now,\n would still do the OOTI program (96.7%).</p>\n</blockquote>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/28 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16246",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6273/"
]
|
16,247 | <p>I have a membership from an organization e.g. ieee.org and I have some options for my email ID which I want to use in academy and professional work. I'm not a native English and I'm not familiar with the culture involved. I have these three options:</p>
<p><em>(consider my name as Serim Doe, which Serim is my first name and pretty rare, I didn't want make example of John Doe which is very common name).</em> </p>
<p>[email protected] </p>
<p>[email protected]</p>
<p>[email protected]</p>
<p>I personally prefer [email protected] since it is more concise and shorter, but I want to know if making ID of only the first name is appropriate or not. </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16248,
"author": "OBu",
"author_id": 10941,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10941",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>In the US, everthing said in the comments applies (in short: everything goes, it's up to you).</p>\n\n<p>In Europe (and especially in German speaking countries), it is very unsusual to call other people by ther first name, therefore serim@ would be considered inappropriate and people might be confused and think of it as your last name. </p>\n\n<p>Therefore, if you think international, I'd propose s.doe@... or, serim.doe@... . Most companies and universities in Germany use the last version since it helps in avoiding name collisions (of course it's no guarantee).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16306,
"author": "Christian",
"author_id": 10073,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10073",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Using the firstname sends a signal of casualness. If you want to signal professionalism it's not a good strategy. </p>\n\n<p>It's a bit like wearing a suit and a tie. You are sending a signal by wearing those clothes. \nThere are professional contexts where you have to wear a suit and a tie. If you move mainly in those contexts, [email protected] might appear for people to be too casual. But it's not strong and I doubt that it will offend anyone.</p>\n\n<p>The fact that you have an email address @ieee already signals some professionalism.</p>\n\n<p>If you however move in areas where people don't wear suits and ties, [email protected] might be entirely okay.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/28 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16247",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10352/"
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|
16,250 | <p>I'm a TA in several modules and one thing I couldn't find yet is a system to help me manage student lab submissions. Most online collaborative tools I've seen do not allow me to, or make it quite complex to receive files from students and download all of them at once.</p>
<p>Note that in my university, there is not such a strict discipline, in the sense that late submissions are often tolerated; if students forget to send their files, I'd like to gently remind them to do so; etc.</p>
<p>So far, I use e-mail for managing student submissions, but there are several limitations:</p>
<ul>
<li>Students forget to send the e-mail, or send it to an incorrect address, or simply quit the course, but since I do not know in which case they are, I have to manually e-mail students from which no submission has been received;</li>
<li>Students have no guarantee I actually received the email, so I have to ACK them;</li>
<li>Students sometimes send an e-mail but forget the attachment, so I have to check each of them and notify the student;</li>
<li>Students sometimes send multiple versions, and if there is a deadline between them, it might change the grading criteria;</li>
</ul>
<p>So far, I have to manually open each email, download the files to a separate folder, and ACK the student. This is quite boring.
Something that would help me save some time and automate things (like sending reminders, one-click download of all files, etc) would be of great help.</p>
<p>So far I've seen Moodle and Piazza, but none of them seem to actually help much with student file management, or I missed something. Any indications of tools for the job?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16252,
"author": "OBu",
"author_id": 10941,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10941",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Well, moodle CAN do it (you can define a task \"file upload\" which has a due date). Give it a try and if you like it you are fine. </p>\n\n<p>I did not like it and wrote my own solution... (but I heard moodle improved the functionality so this might be sufficient).</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16253,
"author": "Tejaswi R",
"author_id": 11241,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11241",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You can create a dropbox account for assignments and use a tool which allows anyone with a link to submit files without accessing your dropbox account. It will be a browser window where the student uploads the file. Ensure that you communicate to students a 'file naming' format like: StudentName_AssignmentName.doc</p>\n\n<p>Some ways to upload to dropbox without access: <a href=\"http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-ways-send-files-dropbox-dropbox/\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-ways-send-files-dropbox-dropbox/</a></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16255,
"author": "earthling",
"author_id": 2692,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2692",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>One thing to consider is do you really need student assignments to be downloaded. I say this because I used to but I recently started using TurnItIn. However, I only use this for plagiarism detection, I do not use it for marking (university policy is that I MUST mark the paper copy...yes I know the dangers there, but that's for another day).</p>\n\n<p>Since you didn't mention the larger issue you are trying to solve, I'll continue just with your direct question about how to download many student assignments without a million clicks.</p>\n\n<p>What I did is simply setup an email account for students to email to (not my main email account). I instruct the students to use specific filenames (StudentID_StudentName_AssignmentName.docx) and they email me. I use a standalone email client (not webmail) so it all downloads to my computer. My client has a preview pane so I simply drag-drop to my assignment folder, move to the next message, drag-drop, repeat. I do this for 200-500 students per assignment per semester and find it does not lend itself to much more automation than this.</p>\n\n<p>In all, it takes me 2 clicks per student (literally) and I end up with all student assignments in one folder. It handles ACK'ing the student on the server (auto-responder) but I could also use read-receipts but those don't usually work with webmail.</p>\n\n<p>If you want to email students who did not submit, that's more complicated. I handle it during the marking process (let's see the file...ooops, they forgot...time to email them...or fail them for not submitting properly). TurnItIn will tell you which students did not submit.</p>\n\n<p>As for students submitting multiple versions, as long as they submit with the proper naming convention, you will overwrite the older with the newer. I'm not sure if that is what you want or not but I would assume so.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16301,
"author": "Nathan Francy",
"author_id": 11082,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11082",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>We use an online tool at my school called Blackboard. I think they host it in house on their servers. There's a teacher - student relationship where the teacher adds students based on their login id to the course they are teaching, and students login to view content. Teachers administer content and can control everything in the course. </p>\n\n<p>It supports (but is not limited to) quizzes and tests (timed, untimed, multiple attempts), storing downloadable files for students, message boards, wikis, and a gradebook that has all previous scores, etc. There's many more options, I've just included some of the important features.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16320,
"author": "The Disco Spider",
"author_id": 11279,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11279",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p><a href=\"https://piazza.com/\" rel=\"nofollow\">Piazza</a> is a nice tool for this. It's similar to blackboard but without the need to host in on school servers. The interface is also very good. It has built in emailing options and discussion forums. You can have students submit homework from the page you make for the course on the website.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 23443,
"author": "Adrienne",
"author_id": 13729,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/13729",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am assuming that the OP has checked and found that their university does not have any learning management system, like Blackboard, Canvas, Moodle, or Sakai. All universities I am familiar with in the US <strong>do</strong> have these systems, just in case you are visiting from Google and are not the OP. This is why there are few practical answers, and why I can only suggest likely options.</p>\n\n<p>If you are an instructor without an LMS, how can you track student uploads? The equivalent I am familiar with is middle school and high school teachers who want to collect student assignments. The most common tools these teachers use are Google Drive using scripts, and Edmodo. Here is the little info I know on these tools:</p>\n\n<p>Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Drive, and scripts/addons like:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http://cloudlab.newvisions.org/add-ons/doctopus\" rel=\"nofollow\">Doctopus</a>, which creates folders for students on Google Drive</li>\n<li><a href=\"http://cloudlab.newvisions.org/add-ons/autocrat\" rel=\"nofollow\">Autocrat</a>, which makes mail-merge from Sheets and Gmail</li>\n<li><a href=\"http://www.newvisions.org/blog/entry/drum-roll-please-announcing-the-new-improved-doctopus\" rel=\"nofollow\">Goobric</a> for automated grading</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>I've never used <a href=\"https://www.edmodo.com/\" rel=\"nofollow\">Edmodo</a>, but it is free, allows you to create groups for students to join, and allows students to upload assignments. I'm guessing it has some sort of messaging function for your emailing needs as well. Here are some vaguely current posts on Edmodo's functionality:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2013/08/15-things-you-can-do-with-edmodo-how-to.html#.U54n4PldUrU\" rel=\"nofollow\">15 things you can do</a> with Edmodo</li>\n<li><a href=\"http://teachbytes.com/2013/10/06/7-reasons-to-use-edmodo-in-your-classroom/\" rel=\"nofollow\">Seven reasons</a> to use Edmodo</li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 23625,
"author": "user3079666",
"author_id": 11719,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11719",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You could look at simply setting up an FTP sever (File Transfer Protocol) with separate accounts for each student and administrator accounts for faculty, they can use FileZilla (free ftp software with server version too), which is how we upload files in my university... IT professors should have little problem in setting it up and taking care of security issues, and even less in writing a program or script that gathers up all the files with a specific format in the file name.. There probably is someone in the faculty who can take care of this. In the database with the accounts you will also have the e-mail addresses of the students, it's fairly simple to gather every single e-mail in a file, then copy paste them all to the receiver box and send them the same e-mail. I have not looked much into networks, but from my fair programming experience, it's nothing hard to do.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 23755,
"author": "mmh",
"author_id": 10421,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10421",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You did not mention your field of study, but this works pretty well at least in computer science. Most institutions grant their students disk space for a personal university homepage, usually available via address like <a href=\"http://institution.edu/~username/\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://institution.edu/~username/</a>. Now, all you need to do is to ask the students to provide each of their weekly/monthly/whatever answers in a zip-file at their personal homepage in a specific format, e.g. </p>\n\n<pre><code>http://institution.edu/~username/course/week1.zip\nhttp://institution.edu/~username/course/week2.zip\n</code></pre>\n\n<p>After the deadline for returning the answers has passed, you just run a simple shell script like this</p>\n\n<pre><code>for STUDENT in ($cat ./students.txt)\ndo\n mkdir $STUDENT\n wget http://institution.edu/~$STUDENT/course/week1.zip\n mv week1.zip ./$STUDENT/week1.zip\n unzip ./$STUDENT/week1.zip\n echo $STUDENT >> returned.txt\nend\n</code></pre>\n\n<p>where the file students.txt has one username on a line, e.g. </p>\n\n<pre><code>john_smith\nmary_jones\n</code></pre>\n\n<p>and you will have the files neatly organized, and a text file \"returned.txt\" having the names of the students who returned an answer, which can be emailed to the course mailing list.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 27096,
"author": "Hung",
"author_id": 20634,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/20634",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I found <a href=\"http://dropitto.me\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://dropitto.me</a> is a beautiful app to you with Dropbox account (free 2G). There are also <a href=\"http://submitittome.com\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://submitittome.com</a> with many features that you can config as file name, file type allow, deadline of submission, and limit students that can submit for each task. You can try both and choose one.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 126142,
"author": "Marie. P.",
"author_id": 46977,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/46977",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Can you not set up a rule in your email inbox that takes all emails with a specific term in the subject and puts them in a separate folder? then you only need to download each of them manually, but that takes 10 seconds per email. You can also set up a rule that sends an automatic reply if the student's email adheres to the correct format and has an attachment, and only if received before the deadline.</p>\n\n<p>This takes care of points 2 and 3.</p>\n\n<p>I do not see why point 1 is a problem - if you receive no submission, then you have nothing to do? If the student has dropped the course, nothing happens. If they are still registered, they get the default failing grade with no extra work required from you. Which of the two it is, you can probably see when you have to enter all grades in the online intranet template if your university uses that; or you send an email to the examinations office saying \"all grades are attached, if a student is missing, they did not submit\".</p>\n\n<p>To take care of point 4: Why would you consider a submission after the deadline? Using the below rules, you do not acknowledge emails received after the deadline (that is what the deadline is for; if you want to be on the safe or kind side, maybe set the cutoff date to 5 minutes after the deadline)</p>\n\n<p>In sum, the only things not covered by this are </p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>that you only take into account the last submission when a student submits multiple versions</li>\n<li>that you still have to manually download and save the attachments.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>But the still-required manual work is minimal, and the cleanliness of the mailbox and reliability of process is fully established, which is very valuable.</p>\n\n<p>Example of the rules in Outlook:</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/E0DnT.png\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\"><img src=\"https://i.stack.imgur.com/E0DnT.png\" alt=\"enter image description here\"></a></p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/28 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16250",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11248/"
]
|
16,256 | <p>I have selected a single question for my master's thesis, within my field of Foreign Language Teaching. Most papers I have read contain just short literature reviews providing some background for a research study that occupied most of the writer's time. I think I could understand my question better if I focusing all of my effort on creating a 100-200 page literature review, examining and critiquing all existing literature on the subject, rather than on trying to come up with some new results.</p>
<p>Can a master's thesis be comprised of just a literature review? Do journals publish literature reviews on their own?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16257,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You're asking two different questions here.</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>Yes, you can publish a high-quality literature review in some, but not all, journals. However, many journals also <em>solicit</em> such reviews rather than take them automatically, and many will have length restrictions associated with them. So check with the journal before you start working!</p></li>\n<li><p>As for a master's thesis, that depends a lot on the requirements of your field. In the humanities, you would probably have to do some searches for primary references, but a large-scale literature review is an important part of such a work. In the sciences and engineering, however, you are much less likely to be able to submit such a thesis. The usual standards there require more original work than can typically be accomplished with a literature review. </p></li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16258,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>At least in my Faculty (of Computer Science), a master thesis can be \"just\" a literature review. A literature review can be an important contribution, and is part of what is usually called <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secondary_research\">secondary research</a>.</p>\n\n<p>However, you should consider performing a <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systematic_review\">systematic literature review</a>, which is a literature review comprising several analytic and precise steps to enhance the reliability of the study. A systematic literature review is a time consuming research activity but a very useful one. Please verify that such a review has not already been conducted recently, before starting it by your own.</p>\n\n<p><a href=\"http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=%22systematic+review%22\">Systematic reviews are publishable research</a> and often get many citations. As for thesis, I think that any publishable research activity can be a student's master thesis. <em>However, ask your (potential) advisor</em>.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 181329,
"author": "user152425",
"author_id": 152425,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/152425",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>A literature review with well-defined research questions that provides a synthesis of high-quality literature is considered very useful research. Generally, such reviews present a taxonomy of the domain, summarize the contributions and furnish them in an abstract manner from different aspects involved.\nA good quality review gets many citations, and it provides a very useful stepping stone for new researchers in a given area.\nThus, it can certainly be considered as an MS thesis.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/28 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16256",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/600/"
]
|
16,265 | <p>How do I handle silly questions? By silly, I mean questions that are unrelated to the material of the course. </p>
<p>First, I am a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teaching_assistant">TA</a>. Recently, a student asked me a very silly question at the end of a lab session. I say silly because: </p>
<ol>
<li>it was not related to the lecture, </li>
<li>it was asked at the end of a lecture - and the classroom was already full with the students of the next class, and </li>
<li>I have previously talked about this issue. </li>
</ol>
<p>The student insisted that I answer his question many times. So, I told him: "<em>It is already late, but let me know about your question</em>" .. when he asked it, I told him: "<em>You can't be serious, this is not a question!</em>" </p>
<p>He got upset, and he told me: "<em>You are paid to answer my questions!</em>" </p>
<p>I got angry, but how should I handle similar situations? </p>
<p>"I have previously talked about this issue." -- Yes, I talked about this issue even though it is not part of the course and the lecture. I talked about it to add more applications to the course material. </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16266,
"author": "waiwai933",
"author_id": 8091,
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"pm_score": 7,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>\"you can't be serious, this is not a question!\"</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Don't say this. Regardless of the question, this makes it sound like you think the student is either (1) intentionally wasting time or (2) very stupid. You can't make progress from there.</p>\n\n<p>Next, if it's a quick question that's related to the topic of the course, but not the lecture necessarily, then the best thing to do is to take a moment to answer it anyway, since (1) the student might think the two things are related and it'll clarify things if you just explain it now, and (2) it'll be much less hassle that way.</p>\n\n<p>If it requires an in-depth explanation, and you don't have the time for it because you have something else to attend to, tell the student that and also find the student a solution, whether that is telling him/her (1) to email you, (2) to ask you at the next lab, or (3) to ask the lecturer during office hours. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16268,
"author": "vadim123",
"author_id": 7222,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7222",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>To add to waiwai's excellent response, a good model to follow for TA's and faculty alike is professionalism. All too often, academics behave in an arrogant and demeaning manner.</p>\n\n<p>How would you feel if your doctor told you \"you can't be serious, this is not a question!\"? What about your lawyer?</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16271,
"author": "AndrejaKo",
"author_id": 9653,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9653",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>First, I'll assume that the student did actually ask a very silly question. </p>\n\n<p>One thing that needs to be always taken into consideration in situations such as this is: Is the student aware of the silliness of the question? </p>\n\n<p>While it may be obvious to you that the question is indeed silly, it may not be obvious to the student. You haven't posted any in-depth information about the whole background of the case, but it could very well be that the student is misunderstanding something extremely fundamental. You claim that the question is not related to the lecture, but at the same time, you say that you have in fact previously talked about the issue. In student's mind, that could somehow relate the issue to the lecture. </p>\n\n<p>One more thing that could be very problematic is if student has a flawed thought process. This can cause the student to relate things that are not actually related and to find cause and effect relationships where there are none. </p>\n\n<p>For example, due to administrative problems at my university, we were required to take an advanced course in one field before taking an introductory course. I already had some experience in that field, so a number of my fellow students asked me questions when they had problems with that exam. Some of them were actually very silly! Often, the silliest were for me the hardest to explain since that required figuratively digging through their brain in order to find the cause of the reasoning that got them to ask me the question in the first place. It often turned out that there was a mistake in reasoning somewhere or that they misunderstood something at a very basic level. One more thing that I noticed is that some people would try to avoid fully understanding the issue. Often, after explaining A for example, I'd have conversation going something like \"Is A clear?\" \"Yes!\" \"Really?\" \"Yes, really.\" \"100% clear?\" \"Yes, crystal clear!\" and then it turns out that it wasn't clear. </p>\n\n<p>Just explaining the initial problem and stopping there in cases such as the one I mentioned in the previous paragraph is just treating the symptoms of a disease and not the cause itself.</p>\n\n<p>Another thing I'd like to mention is that (at least in my environment) those who ask questions do actually care about the subject they're learning and in general have a valid problem. It's usually those who don't ask questions that have no idea what's going on. </p>\n\n<p>Next, I'll write a bit about \"You're paid\" problem itself.<br>\nIt's commonly repeated that there are no bad questions, only bad answers. In my opinion, whoever produced that piece of wisdom didn't see enough questions. </p>\n\n<p>You need to make a policy explaining what you should do in cases of inappropriate questions. Are you or are you not payed (or for some other reason expected) to answer such questions? What should you do in case you get a student who's too stupid to pass the course you're TA-ing for? What about students who can't form an answerable question in their mind? What about students who ask malicious questions? I was quite surprised to hear from one student at my school that he asks a certain TA senseless questions just because he like to see her struggle to answer them. </p>\n\n<p>Only thing I can advise here is to think hard about what you are and are not expected to do. Talk to your colleagues about that and talk to your superiors about that. Make the limits clear to yourself and to your students. This way, when you come to a similar situation again and you explore all other options, you can honestly and with clear consciousness respond to \"You are paid to answer my questions!\" with \"No, I'm not!\"</p>\n\n<p>Finally, I'd like to recommend to you to keep the tension low if at all possible. In this particular case, you mentioned that the student insisted that you answer the question many times. That probably means that the question is important to him. Is it normal that students should ask you more than once to answer a question? Is that expected in your culture? I never had to ask a professor or a TA question more than once in during my whole education so far. You provided an answer that upset the student. Were you aware that the student would be upset by such answer? If you were, think about why you gave that answer. Was that student confrontational before? Does he ask too many questions? Were you having a bad day? Did you give such an answer just because the student asked at an inappropriate time? </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16281,
"author": "Irwin",
"author_id": 5944,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/5944",
"pm_score": 8,
"selected": true,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>I got angry, but. . how should I handle similar situations? </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Got angry? No good!</p>\n\n<p>You're not necessarily paid to answer his question but you are paid to help advance knowledge and learning.</p>\n\n<p>Unfortunately, the tone of your answer doesn't let us know exactly how \"silly\" the question was (was it silly because it was personal question that had no bearing on the course? Was it silly because it was not relevant to the course material but possibly relevant to the overall subject? Was it silly because you had already covered the material in class? Was it silly because he was asking at the end of the lab session?) so unfortunately the exact way in which to respond might vary, but you might try:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>If it's a matter of time and you can't answer it because you have to clear the room, tell him, \"Give me a few minutes to pack up my things to get out of the classroom.\" Clear the room, entertain question.</p></li>\n<li><p>If it's a matter of you having another appointment, then get him to submit the question over email or in writing or before next class.</p></li>\n<li><p>If it's silly because it's not related to the lecture, I usually do my best to entertain these kinds of questions because it sometimes means the student is interested in other topics around the material. If my class is on object-oriented design and programming in Java, but the student asks me about \"how can you use design in procedural programming languages like C?\" I'd probably give some ideas on how it could apply to that situation.</p></li>\n<li><p>If it's a personal question that you don't want to answer, you can say, \"I don't feel comfortable answering that\", \"It's none of your business\", \"I can't talk about this\", or similar.</p></li>\n<li><p>If it's a stupid question because it's sooooo obvious or because you covered it before, then, sorry, it's not a silly question but is something the student needs explanations for. Get him to visit you over office hours for extra help.</p></li>\n<li><p>If it's a matter of the student talking on and wasting time with questions, then you can ask the student politely to keep questions for after the class. If the student is trolling you with questions and is otherwise being a nuisance this option usually works as well.</p></li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Yes, it is rude for him to declare \"You are paid to answer my questions!\" but it's also rude to say that \"Your question is silly\". You are the teacher, the role model, the example, so you should be more patient with them than they are with you. Besides, if you tell them you'll answer it later, you can simply say, \"Just wait - I haven't answered your question <em>yet</em>.\"</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16289,
"author": "Quora Feans",
"author_id": 8970,
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"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Technically the student is wrong regarding the payment part. You are not paid to answer any question at any time. And I'd be more interested in how to handle impolite students/clients, if this is the case, than in the silliness of their questions.</p>\n\n<p>However, I doubt that your account is accurate. At one place you claim that you have already dealt with the issue during the lecture and at another you claim it was not related. Besides that, you find it acceptable to post the reaction of the student, but do not find acceptable to disclose what question he asked, which would have been essential to know how to react towards it.</p>\n\n<p>So:</p>\n\n<p>If the question has a truly obvious answer, or if the student is truly lost, follow a Socratic approach, asking questions to make him realize how easy would have been to him to know the answer. This part is probably somehow related to your job, which is to educate people.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16291,
"author": "asteri",
"author_id": 6516,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6516",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I don't care how smart you are or how much of a rockstar you are in your field. You can be the most brilliant physicist on the planet, but you shouldn't be teaching PHYS 1101 if you can't convey basic information in a professional way to an <em>uneducated</em> audience. I emphasize \"uneducated\", because that's what your audience is. They don't know anything. It's your job to turn someone who knows <em>nothing</em> into someone who knows <em>something</em>. That's what being a professor is about (and, by extension, what's expected of you as a TA in a teaching position).</p>\n\n<p>It may not be easy all the time to do this. Teaching is a skill just like anything else. Having knowledge doesn't mean having the ability to convey it effectively.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>My question is briefly, how to handle silly questions? By silly, I mean questions that are unrelated to the material of the course.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I find it very hard to believe that a student came up to you randomly at the end of a lecture and asked you about something that is utterly unrelated to the course work. If you teach math, I'm fairly confident a student didn't approach you asking about the digestion mechanisms of an African elephant. Let's say you're a TA for MATH 1101 and going over basic calculus, and they ask you a question about geometry. To <em>you</em>, who supposedly understands all of this stuff, their question may appear completely unrelated and off-topic. But they <em>don't know any better</em>. If the question genuinely is outside the scope of the course, explain to them <em>why</em> that's the case. \"Well, you see, quadratic formulas are actually only very loosely related to differential calculus, so your question is a bit outside of the scope of this course. You'll learn more about that in MATH 1103.\"</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>He got upset, and he told me: \"You are paid to answer my questions!\" ... I got angry [...]</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>It's not unreasonable to get angry when people verbally attack you or your profession, but as a teacher in any capacity, like it or not, a big part of your job is essentially <em>human relations</em>. You aren't there to sit at a podium and rant about whatever your little heart desires. You're there to <em>convey information</em> to people. Human beings. Each of whom has their own ways of learning, their own things they think are important, their own philosophies, their own lives. It's your job to actually <em>connect</em> with them and get something you're saying into their skulls. It's a skill of <em>human interaction</em>. So while you're free to experience whatever emotion you want, you must always still act in a <em>professional manner</em> toward your students. It's part of your responsibilities. It doesn't matter if you think your student is a rotten turd; you degrade yourself, your department, and your entire institution by <em>treating</em> him that way. Again, if you don't think you can handle dealing with people on a day-to-day basis, and thus with the inevitable conflict, go back into research or leave academia entirely.</p>\n\n<p>Here's an example of how to handle conflict in a professional manner: \"I'm sorry that you're frustrated. I have another lecture to give right now, but why don't you come to my office hours or send me an e-mail so that we can discuss this further? If I can't resolve your issue, you may have to go see Professor So-and-so, as he has more knowledge and experience than I do.\"</p>\n\n<p>Part of the issue is that you've come here asking for advice and have given absolutely <em>no</em> detail about your problem except that a student asked you a question after a lecture which you thought was stupid. So all anyone can do is conjecture and try to make assumptions based on their own experience. If the goal of your question is genuinely to handle these kinds of situations effectively and to become a better teacher (and not just to rant about a student you dislike, as seems to be the case), how could you possibly expect to get a decent answer with the information you've provided? How would <em>you</em> answer such a question?</p>\n\n<p>Actually, I think we already have the answer to that; you'd just tell them:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>\"You can't be serious, this is not a question!\"</p>\n</blockquote>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16297,
"author": "J.R.",
"author_id": 780,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/780",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>A student, recently, asked me at the end of a lab session, a very silly question. I say silly because:<br>\n 1) it is not related to the lecture,<br>\n 2) it is asked at the end of a lecture - and the class room was already full with the students of the next class, and<br>\n 3) I have previously talked about this issue. </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I don't see how any of these make the question \"silly.\"</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>1) It is not related to the lecture</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>It might be a silly question if it was not related to the <strong>course material</strong> (I once had a student ask me about my favorite flavor of Jell-O, for example), but not all questions need to be related to the <strong>lecture</strong>. Part of teaching is synthesizing concepts. I hope you don't compartmentalize your lessons so much that you wouldn't answer a question about Lecture 3 during or after Lecture 6. </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>2) it is asked at the end of a lecture - and the class room was already full with the students of the next class</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I don't see how this makes a question \"silly.\" At worst, the timing is bad. Why not just step into the hallway and answer the question? Or, if you don't have time for that, ask the student to visit during an office hour? Or start your next lecture by answering that question?</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>3) I have previously talked about this issue. </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>This is one is most alarming in my mind. So, you talk about an issue, and you expect every student will understand it completely, the first time through, and never ask for it to be explained a second or third time?</p>\n\n<p>I agree that students can be stubborn and selfish and have a sense of entitlement. But professors can also be arrogant and condescending and not have a very good grasp of pedagogy and andragogy. </p>\n\n<p>Which is the case here? I believe that some standardized tests have an answer that goes something like, \"Not enough information given.\" A student telling an instructor, \"You are paid to answer my question!\" seems like a naïve view of academia, particularly if the question isn't relevant. However, your definition of a \"silly\" question leaves plenty of room for the student to be making a valid point. If the question is related to the course, then you <em>should</em> answer that question – even if the room is full, and you have talked about it before. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16305,
"author": "Jack Aidley",
"author_id": 5614,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/5614",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This strikes me as a poorly titled question since the key issue is not the student's behaviour but yours.</p>\n\n<p>Have you ever wondered why \"there are no silly questions\" is such a widespread position? It's not because there are no silly questions, we know perfectly well that there are, just as we know that there are students who will ask questions they could answer themselves if they'd simply bothered to listen and some students who are thicker than too short planks.</p>\n\n<p>So why say \"there are no silly questions\"? Because there's a much bigger problem with students who <em>should</em> ask questions not asking those questions and thus not getting the information they need than there is with students asking silly questions. By adopting and respecting the position that \"there are no silly questions\" you help create an environment in which students feel free to ask their questions and thus create a more positive and helpful learning environment for all.</p>\n\n<p>Your student shouldn't have said that to you; but you behaved badly first and you're the one who is supposed to be a professional not them.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16311,
"author": "Christian",
"author_id": 10073,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10073",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If a question in itself makes no sense, try to think about the motivation behind the question. Answer the question behind the question.\nJust because someone is bad at phrasing a good question doesn't mean that he's not worthy of an answer.</p>\n\n<p>There are however cases when you don't want to invest the time to help a particular individual at a particular time.\nIn that case I would simply say: \"I need a moment of rest to be at my mental peak at my next lecture. If the question is important to you, come back at office hours.\"</p>\n\n<p>In general, if you don't want to answer a question at a particular time don't say: \"It is already late, but let me know about your question.\"</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16332,
"author": "dmckee --- ex-moderator kitten",
"author_id": 440,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/440",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>“You are paid to answer my questions!”</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Actually, you are paid to do something rather more subtle than that. You see, contrary to common belief, the students are not your customers. Or at least they are not your only customers.</p>\n\n<p>You are paid to help students to learn <em>and</em> to evaluate that learning and certify it as acceptable <em>only</em> if it meets certain standards (which are set by the customs of your discipline and the expectations of people who will be looking at the credentials that the school does issue and are enforced by the accreditation agencies).</p>\n\n<p>So answering their questions is a part of your job, but so is knowing which question are meaningful or helpful.</p>\n\n<p>None of which really illuminates what you should do when confronted by this student, but it does provide a better framework for understanding your job than the one suggested by the student.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 36390,
"author": "M R R",
"author_id": 19761,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/19761",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p><strong>never become angry in the class.</strong></p>\n\n<p>I teach in 13 classes and this is my experiences :</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>the meaning of being angry is your mind does not work at the moment and you can not handle the situation. so better that our mind tell us what to do than our emotions.</p></li>\n<li><p>by being angry we just show students our week point. and that decrees their respect to their teacher.</p></li>\n<li><p>one example :</p></li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Once in one of my classes I said something and the student told me \"<strong>...that is silly work</strong>\" . For the moment all of students become quite to see what is my response . they watch me and my face to find any distortion or loosing my control. they all know he said very bad things but they just wait to see my reaction. </p>\n\n<p><strong>WHAT I DID ?</strong><br>\nFor the moment less than 2 second I become quite and I said \"<strong>...OK what is the next part of algorithm ...</strong>\"</p>\n\n<p>other students reaction after my word :</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>they all laugh him. because with any word I told him \"<strong>Your idea is not so important which I should care about</strong> \"</p></li>\n<li><p>I see the other student trust me more. I see that. </p></li>\n</ol>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/28 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16265",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4472/"
]
|
16,272 | <p>With my current major (Medical Lab Science) I am not required to declare a minor at my university. However, the program's supervisor informed me that through taking all of the required courses to complete the program, I will only be one credit in chemistry away from being able to declare a chemistry minor.</p>
<p>Is it worth it? Is there any real positive prospect in declaring a minor if it's not necessary, given my major?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16278,
"author": "wugology",
"author_id": 10209,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10209",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Why not? What's the disadvantage? An afternoon of paperwork? One extra class you have to take?</p>\n\n<p>Compare that to the advantages: Let's say you are looking for work, can't find any in your chosen field (medicine), and so begin looking to work in a chem lab. Being a \"medical lab science\" major doesn't necessarily mean you know how to do a lot of chemistry, it may just mean you know things about handling biohazards like blood carefully. A hiring manager who doesn't know your school or that program doesn't know how much or little chem is required for such a major. You can't prove you know any chem unless they ask for a transcript or you have relevant work experience. But having \"Minor in Chemistry\" on your résumé would show that. So you could potentially land a low-level chem lab job easier that way.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16282,
"author": "WetlabStudent",
"author_id": 8101,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8101",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Go for the minor if that one extra class is a class you think you will enjoy taking or are interested in. If there is a different class or academic extra curricular activity (research, internship, etc.) that you'd rather do, you should do that instead.</p>\n\n<p>Double majors and minors are usually not that meaningful to employers and graduate schools as most people think, unless they are in a very unrelated field. You can always make your resume highlight the classes you took in the field most applicable for their job. Very few companies or graduate schools will care that you have a minor, especially in a field as related to medical science as chemistry. Even if taking this chemistry class prevents you from taking a different chemistry class you'd prefer to take, take the more interesting one, and then highlight the things you learned on resumes and interviews. If you'd take the class required for you minor (after reading the course description) even if this minor wasn't offered, definitely do it. However, I suppose you wouldn't have asked the question if this is true.</p>\n\n<p>Personally, I really regret taking the one extra class I did to complete my minor. It blocked me from taking a really interesting project based class in the same field. People came out of that project class with great experiences an exciting line on their resume like \"built ....\" or \"Developed a new theory of ...\"</p>\n\n<p>As for when to declare the minor, I really see no advantage or disadvantage for doing it later vs. now. You might as well declare it now, so you don't forget, I guess. Usually no university privileges (like priority registration) are associated with having a declared minor. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/28 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16272",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11120/"
]
|
16,293 | <p>Where is the money going to? </p>
<p>How can it be that interested students pay so much, but many academic salaries are so low (excluding the obvious full professor in a field where the industry pays for getting research results, like IT).</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16294,
"author": "vadim123",
"author_id": 7222,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7222",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>An increasing fraction of college budgets is being spent on things <a href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/10/education/10education.html\">other than instruction</a>. Administration is a big part, including management and special programs like various tutor/counseling centers, compliance officers, legal, IT, etc. Also soaking up money are sports programs, construction costs, scholarships (to raise prestige), advertising, etc.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16299,
"author": "earthling",
"author_id": 2692,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2692",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I believe the answer is a combination of a few things.</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Easy student loans (as mentioned by nagniemerg in a comment)</li>\n<li>More demand from employers for higher ed degrees (because of the large, underutilized labor pool)</li>\n<li>Increasing use of adjuncts, which are paid very little (<a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/14729/2692\">see related question</a>)</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>So, it's really a combination of more customers being able to afford the product, limited competition due to high barriers of entry, along with teaching labor being cheap because it is abundant.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16302,
"author": "Superbest",
"author_id": 244,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/244",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Supply and demand. The value of something is what people are willing to pay for it.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Why is college tuition so high?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Because students will pay it anyway. If you headed the committee to decide how much tuition to charge, what would you base your decision on? You would probably want to charge as high as possible, since you're trying to bring in money for your school. And you would find (as many current committees do) that you can go pretty high and still have millions of students crawl over each other for the privilege of giving you piles of money.</p>\n\n<p>Why would universities lower tuition? Top schools already dismiss 20 applicants for every one they accept, despite the insane tuition cost. Clearly, either education is an inelastic service, or there is a ridiculous shortage - either way, HYP could probably charge 10 times what they do now and still have no trouble finding students. I would say that the main reason they don't is a combination of concern for their reputation and a fear of being sued.</p>\n\n<p>You may ask why the students are willing to pay so much; but that's an involved matter which is outside of the scope of this question.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Why are academic salaries so low?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Because professors will take the job anyway. If you headed the committee to decide how much salary to pay, what would you base your decision on? You would pay as little as possible.</p>\n\n<p>In many areas, money is the prime motivator. So, at least the top companies will pay top dollar for the best employees, because the best employees have a string of job offers lined up and you have to give them something extra to take up <em>your</em> offer over all the other. Unfortunately, it so happens that in academia, money is not a good motivator:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Most eminent professors are old and content and they couldn't care less if their professorship made them $75k or $85k - they'll still want to work at that one school that they like for the reputation and the work environment (like colleagues and quality of graduate students). The ones that do care about money probably have a side business that brings in huge sums of money which makes their salary look like peanuts in any case.</li>\n<li>Small time professors are either terrified of being fired (if not tenured) or can't get over the conflict between their ego and their lack of recognition, so they will readily take a pay hit to work at a more desirable institution if it means they can increase their own prestige.</li>\n<li>Post-docs and other grunts will take pennies to work for a slightly more famous institution, because they think the association is vital to getting a faculty job after their post-doc. I'm sure many of them would <em>pay</em> (if they can afford it) to work like crazy for a guy who is famous enough.</li>\n<li>Grad students are... Well... Grad students. The typical PhD candidate, when told that his job is essentially slavery, smiles and acts like it's a hilarious joke (<em>even though he acknowledges that it's true</em>). Many grad students already <em>do</em> pay to work like crazy, and not even for famous people.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>How do you convince a thrice Nobel prize winner to be professor at <em>your</em> institution and not Next Door U? Pay him an extra grand every month? He's got three Nobel prizes, he doesn't care. And since he doesn't care, you might as well pay him a pittance - and as a nice bonus, you can tell all the other wannabes \"Look, even <em>he</em> gets paid so little! Be content with your salary!\".</p>\n\n<p>If you ask why professors don't care, the answer is easy: Most people who care about money realize by the time they leave college that becoming a professor is not an optimal strategy for making money. To be a \"greedy\" professor, one must essentially wake up on their 30th birthday, and suddenly decide that even though all their life they haven't cared about money at all, from now on, money will be their chief concern. People who are old enough to have earned a PhD rarely have their worldviews change overnight so drastically.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Where is the money going?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Short answer: Admin staff, marketing, sports. Things such as cleaning staff and building maintenance are also factors, but crucially they are less dependent on the school budget. Whereas those three mentioned areas will benefit the most from budget increases (but perversely, academic salaries will be <em>harmed</em> the most by budget <em>decreases</em>).</p>\n\n<p>For details: Depends on the university, and may be determined by consulting the annual financial report of the university.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16366,
"author": "Zach H",
"author_id": 8857,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8857",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>One reason tuition is so high is so that the institution can charge a variable rate. Many people (in absolute terms, though not as a percentage) are able and willing to pay full tuition, and lower tuition loses those dollars. At the same time, many institutions advertise how large their financial aid awards are, which is essentially providing a discount. Variable pricing strategies of this form are quite common. It's not all that different from a lot of fashion companies: set a seemingly outrageous price because the smart shopper won't pay retail.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16425,
"author": "BrianH",
"author_id": 6787,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6787",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There are a few false-assumptions that must be clarified, I feel, to answer this question properly.</p>\n\n<h1>Why are academic salaries low?</h1>\n\n<p>Well, in the US, if you compare them to most citizens of the country they simply are not. Naturally if you compare them only to Hollywood Stars they are paid a pittance, but let's get clear on the facts by the numbers:</p>\n\n<p>In the US the lowest ranking full-time faculty professors receive salaries that are in the top 70% of all wage earners in the US. A full professor pulls in a salary that is in the 86% to 97% percentile of all wage earners over the age of 25 in the US. It also does not hurt that \"professor\" is consistently found to have some of the highest job satisfaction ratings across all jobs in the country, which certainly makes the job all the more desirable.</p>\n\n<p>This has led to there being more people who want to be a Professor than there are positions available both nationally and internationally.</p>\n\n<h1>Why is college tuition high?</h1>\n\n<p>Here's the thing, and it isn't always easy to remember this: <strong>college education is a durable, long-term investment</strong>. And for many - though <em>not all degrees from all institutions</em> - it is still an incredibly lucrative one.</p>\n\n<p>Indeed, college is perhaps the single most amazing investment pathway available to many Americans; it is one of very, very few that does not require you already possess wealth to take advantage of it. </p>\n\n<p>As <a href=\"http://chronicle.com/article/Earnings-Gap-Narrows-but/142175/\">one nice survey points out rather thoroughly</a>, even a bachelor's degree, on average, cuts your relative risk of unemployment in half (8% to 4%), raises the median earnings over 40 years of work to 65% higher than those who only have a high-school diploma, and many other pleasant benefits. In the worst of economic downturns a person has never, to date, been better off (at least statistically) to not have a college degree.</p>\n\n<p>Further, only 1% of college students take out more than $75,000 in student loans. Now if you are one of those (and one of my friends racked up over $200k)...I'm very sorry, that is one hell of a debt service. But no one suggests that's necessarily financially wise, or at least everyone knows it will be unpleasant.</p>\n\n<h1>Fancy Words: Price Discrimination</h1>\n\n<p>Most Universities in the US publish reports on this, but for most places I've considered the percentage stated is that 70% of students receive financial aid, and for 40% of students this aid covers all costs to attend (and often extra which is given back to the student to assist in general living expenses). This includes federal student loans, which are provided by the government at artificially low guaranteed rates - and service on the debt is deferable if you are unable to obtain gainful employment.</p>\n\n<p>Bottom line here: this is price discrimination, where some people pay more than others. But just as with the sticker price on a car lot here, most people do not pay as much as the official tuition posted. Endowment Universities, which often have the highest posted tuitions in the whole world (think Harvard, Yale, MIT, etc) regularly cover 80% or more of costs to attend for selected applicants who do not come from a wealthy family.</p>\n\n<p>Some Universities are just still crazy expensive though, but that's a different subject!</p>\n\n<h1>College Isn't Just For Academics</h1>\n\n<p>It's probably just a minor artifact of wording, but let's be clear: most people who go through college, even through graduate school, do not become employed as academics. Academics are the minority of the population, even for the graduate population. Therefore there are many, many more market factors at play in between the price of tuition and the salary of a full-time academic.</p>\n\n<h1>So Where Does The Money Go?</h1>\n\n<p>Um...well, everything else, basically. A standard metric of business is 20-30% of a budget is salaries/labor, and the rest is...all the other stuff! Buildings, campuses, food, insurance, chemicals, equipment, computers, various and sundry apparatuses for science and art folks. Then add in advertising/marketing, travel and reimbursable expenses, college libraries, IT infrastructure, maintenance, custodial, utilities, \"community involvement\"...and we still haven't mentioned the other costs of \"research\" activities not otherwise included. Then there's the extra-curricular, like sports, clubs, and other supported campus organizations, \"student life\" and entertainment, \"campus development\" like building yet more buildings and parking lots to allow expanded enrollment, etc etc etc...</p>\n\n<p>For most public institutions the actual charged cost of tuition to students is less than a quarter of the income required to balance a yearly budget. I must admit to ignorance about private institutions, largely because I have never been involved with them and because their budgets aren't usually made public.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 28245,
"author": "Oswald Veblen",
"author_id": 16122,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/16122",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Focusing just on \"why is tuition so high\", remember that not all schools are the same. </p>\n\n<p>It is true that elite private schools have so many candidates that, if they are willing to just admit anyone qualified who can pay, they can set tuition rates very high and still attract students.</p>\n\n<p>The situation is very different for non-elite public schools in the U.S., e.g. the \"regional universities\" and \"directional schools\". These schools are controlled by states and have a primary mission to educate students from that state. These institutions do need to worry about raising tuition, because their student body is not able to absorb price increases so easily. </p>\n\n<p>Since the 1970s-1980s, there has been a <a href=\"http://www.acenet.edu/the-presidency/columns-and-features/Pages/state-funding-a-race-to-the-bottom.aspx\" rel=\"nofollow\">significant reduction in state funding for higher education</a> in the U.S. This is true even for elite public universities; here is a <a href=\"http://www.vpcomm.umich.edu/pa/key/understandingtuition.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">quote from the University of Michigan</a>:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>However in the 1960s, state funding made up 80 percent of the U-M’s general fund budget – the budget that pays for the university’s core academic programs. In the coming year, the state appropriation will be around 16 percent of the general fund budget.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>The first link above shows that quite a few states are on track, if the current pattern of funding cuts were to continue, to have no funding for public education by 2030-2040. </p>\n\n<p>Non-elite public school are usually not in a position to obtain large amounts of grant funding, compared to elite public schools. Other sources of income are also difficult. </p>\n\n<p><strong>This does not mean that schools must raise tuition</strong> - they could (and do) try to cut costs elsewhere. But at least one factor in rising tuition has been this reduction in state funds. And the state legislators, who must budget for the entire state, are perfectly aware that the schools <em>can</em> raise tuition, which is sometimes mentioned to the universities as a partial justification for the budget cuts. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/29 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16293",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8970/"
]
|
16,296 | <p>I have an undergraduate degree (B.E.) in Biomedical Engineering. Right now, I am working on a M.S. in Applied Mathematics and Statistics and will be done pretty soon. I have very minimal research experience, and no papers published. I will be working in industry for the next year (since I didn't apply for any PhD programs this application season). However, I would like to get into a PhD program as soon as I can.</p>
<p>My interests are in the field of AI and Machine Learning. From the research I have done, most AI/ML research is done by Computer Science departments; so that is where I must head. What are my chances of getting into a good AI/ML program coming from a different background and no relevant research experience (although I have no direct research experience, I follow the literature and learn as much as I can on AI/ML in my free time)? What can I do to best increase my shots of getting into a top CS department known for AI (Stanford, Cornell, etc)?</p>
<p>Instead of working for a year, maybe I should seek a research assistantship at an AI lab (less pay, but if it can get me into a top program then so be it)?</p>
<p>Any advice is appreciated!</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16298,
"author": "Ryan M",
"author_id": 11285,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11285",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Honestly if you can prove yourself in the field then you should have no problem. I would suggest reaching out to various universities and trying to prove your knowledge. For instance my math advisor has a bachelors in engineering, a masters in economics, and a phd in math. It just depends on how much you know and how much you want it. It is most definitely possible.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16317,
"author": "Terry Griffin",
"author_id": 11335,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11335",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<ol>\n<li>High GRE scores open the door (quantitative reasoning and to a lesser extent analytical writing).</li>\n<li>Math / Statistics background will raise eyebrows.</li>\n<li>Creating a portfolio of projects to show the department that you can in fact code, will get you assistantships.</li>\n<li>Be pro-active but not a pest.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>When applying to a university, you might want to peruse the various web pages of faculty to see what fields they are publishing in. If you find a field that piques your interest, or that you've done some similar work in, contact the professor directly and seek advice. Be careful though. I get emails all the time with prospective students phishing for assistantships. I can tell when it's a bulk / canned email that was sent out to a ton of faculty just looking for someone to bite. </p>\n\n<p>I would start with a personal tone: </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Hello Dr. ______________ I was looking at your work on _____________ and wanted to let you know that I am very interested in this research topic. </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>It probably would be even better if you could tell them that you already applied to their university, but I understand that you would go broke with all the application fee's if you applied to every university that peeked your interest. </p>\n\n<p>Briefly explain what your seeking (cool research, with possible assistantship). Be patient, you might not get a fast response, if ever. These guys are busy, and probably getting a bunch of emails as well. Start early. At least a full 12 - 18 months out. This way you can narrow down your choices and not have to worry about application deadlines coming up too quickly.</p>\n\n<p>Communication skills can be big. If your comfortable in front of a classroom, and your english skills are good, maybe looking for a teaching assistant position could increase your chances. This does mean you won't as much research, but at least your getting your foot in the door. This will give you more opportunity to show a particular faculty member what your worth.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16329,
"author": "Shaz",
"author_id": 11349,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11349",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Terry has a great answer, so I'll just add a bit more...</p>\n\n<p>The biggest hurdles are your math, logic, and coding skills. If you can prove you have these, then you'll be in good shape. CS, on a theoretical level, is far less coding than you might think. I had professors in CS who didn't even have computers in their office, and made a point to never use/require computers in the classroom. Simply put, there's a lot of thinking, work, and research to be done on paper before you even attempt to program.</p>\n\n<p>Of course, since you're into AI, that means you'll need to code quite a bit. I don't know how much you know about AI, but I would recommend <a href=\"http://aima.cs.berkeley.edu/\" rel=\"nofollow\">Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach</a> which, in my experience, is the de-facto entry to AI in academia. It's usually split between two courses, sometimes one of which is undergrad, and the other grad level. It has used various languages over the years, but the two most notable ones are Lisp, which deals with list comprehensions, and Java, which is a typical Object-Oriented language. Having experience in both would be very beneficial for you on your CV as well as when you actually start working/researching.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/29 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16296",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11274/"
]
|
16,304 | <p>Several questions on this site relate to a situation where someone gets several offers simultaneously: for example, see <em><a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/16188/1033">How to choose between multiple math postdocs offers?</a></em>. But how does this situation arise? In my (limited) experience, offers do not come simultaneously, and need to be replied to almost immediately (within a week or so). For example, position A could have the application deadline 1 February, have interviews mid-February and announcements mid-March, while position B could have everything one month later. To have two open offers at the same time seems very unlikely in a specialised field where positions are not open on a weekly basis. Then how does this happen?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16307,
"author": "Christian",
"author_id": 10073,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10073",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would think they happen mostly by having a relationship with the person doing the hiring. That means that the offer isn't made through a tight bureaucratic process but can be more flexible.</p>\n\n<p>Many positions are never publically announced and the only way to access them is through networking. Some position will even be created to be able to hire a specific person.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16309,
"author": "Henry",
"author_id": 8,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In mathematics, the answer is easy: most American math postdocs are selected on about the same schedule. There are some variations of 4 to 6 weeks, but that still leaves plenty of room for second round offers from an early school to coincide with first round offers from schools that run later.</p>\n\n<p>Further, there's been a tendency for schools that tend to compete over people to try to race each other to making offers, so the number of simultaneous offers ends up being higher than the number of schools would suggest.</p>\n\n<p>(Also, a one week deadline to respond seems a bit short. What I've seen is more like two, with the ability to ask for an extra week or so which is usually granted if there's a chance of another offer.)</p>\n\n<p>(Just for clarity, by most I mean more than half; there's a big early cluster and then additional positions being considered for months.)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16331,
"author": "socialsciencedoc",
"author_id": 11154,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11154",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In American sociology, hiring usually happens during the fall and winter months (although the 2nd tier market goes on to the Spring, which is a bit different from the fall/winter markets). </p>\n\n<p>During these months, candidates (PhD Candidates, postdocs, VAPs, lecturers) send out applications for academic positions, usually in large numbers due to the high level of uncertainty and cut throat nature of the market-- Most positions get around 200+ applications (one postdoc competition I applied to last year was interdisciplinary social science and received 780 applications!).</p>\n\n<p>I applied to about 30 jobs this season, which number is actually considered pretty low (I am in a pretty niche field) and I personally know other people who have applied to nearly 100 positions. The fact is, candidates have limited information regarding the hiring (what the department is \"actually\" looking for- because many things are not noted in the vague job descriptions), and it is believed that, getting an interview, is not only the workings of credentials and qualifications, but also largely due to \"fluke.\" To up the chance, many people apply widely and in large numbers.</p>\n\n<p>Anyways, many candidates do not get anything after months of putting in applications, and a few lucky ones can get multiple interviews, offers, and so forth (interestingly, I find that probability of getting interviews does not correlate too much with publication records either, except for the absolutely top tier market). It is completely possible to have multiple offers and when you do, it definitely gives you more bargaining power in negotiating. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16334,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In faculty hiring, it's not uncommon for the following sequence of events to happen. </p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Candidate interviews at University A and University B</li>\n<li>Sometime later, University A starts making noises about making an offer (usually over email and on phone)</li>\n<li>Candidate puts out feelers to University B, hinting that if they were thinking of making an offer, now might be a good time.</li>\n<li>University B makes offer (email/phone) to candidate</li>\n<li>Much negotiating merriment ensues.</li>\n<li>.....</li>\n<li>Profit (for candidate at least)</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Sometimes, there might even be more than two players involved in the bidding. </p>\n\n<p>In short, the candidate can trigger multiple offers if they play their cards right. Or it can happen by fortuitous timing. But the approach described above is quite common.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16355,
"author": "Denis Lee",
"author_id": 11372,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11372",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Do you believe in the \"element of luck?\" Many people say that if you have this, you'll be able to achieve your life's goals in easier means as compared to others. And relating this to your question, those who receive simultaneous offers are probably \"lucky\" at that particular point in time. Unfortunate are those who really work hard but are not given such opportunity. Anyway, according to successful people especially those involved in real estate business, \"persistence pays\" - so never stop chasing what you truly deserve! </p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/29 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16304",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1033/"
]
|
16,308 | <p>I have a question about college education, or more specifically, admittance into college education in the US.</p>
<p>Since as far as I remember, I've always heard that colleges or universities in the US have a sort of special preference for admitting people that are considered "minorities". I would like to know if this is true, and if so, what it entails. </p>
<p>For example, I myself was born elsewhere but moved to the US at an early age, and eventually became a citizen. I don't know where this places me as far as "minority" programs go, if they exist. I imagine there'd be a sort of hierarchy such as scholarships > minority with scholarship > minority, but I really have no clue. </p>
<p>This interests me because I am studying in a university outside the US, and I'm considering applying for a PhD program in the US. I'm aware that schools function differently, but if someone knows of this topic for a specific school it'd help.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16310,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There is a slight preference in the US for what are known as \"underrepresented minorities\"—that is, people who belong to groups who are not adequately represented in college enrollment relative to their proportion in the general population. That currently includes groups such as Hispanics, African-Americans, and Native Americans, but not groups such as Asian-Americans. So long as someone is a citizen, it does not really matter if one was naturalized or was a \"born\" citizen.</p>\n\n<p>This does not mean that quotas are used, but it can be used as a \"plus\" quality in terms of admissions and hiring decisions.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16337,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>Since as far as I remember, I've always heard that colleges or universities in the US have a sort of special preference for admitting people that are considered \"minorities\". I would like to know if this is true, and if so, what it entails.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>It's sometimes but not always true, and at schools where it is true, the definition of the preferred groups varies. For example, in 1996 Californians passed Proposition 209, which, among other things, requires public schools to have admissions policies that are blind with respect to race, sex, and ethnicity. So, for example, UC Berkeley is not supposed to give preferences for admission to an African-American applicant, but Stanford can (and probably does). It would be up to Stanford to define their preferences.</p>\n\n<p>Many private schools have some admissions policies that, considered by themselves, would tend to <em>exclude</em> disadvantaged students. For example, MIT has need-blind admissions, but RPI isn't need-blind and doesn't have a policy of meeting full demonstrated need. This would tend to reduce access to RPI for students who come from working-class families. Many private schools have a practice called \"legacy preferences,\" which means that they are more likely to admit the children of alumni; for example, George W. Bush would have benefited from such a policy when he applied to Yale. One of the original purposes of legacy preferences was to exclude Jews. Being Asian is probably a disadvantage in college admissions. A 2004 study by Espenshade et al. puts the admissions penalty for Asians at the equivalent of about -50 on a the old 1600-point SAT scale.</p>\n\n<p>At places like California public universities where there is no longer affirmative action, politicians and administrators have invented a number of ways of trying to preserve \"diversity.\" For example, a certain number of spots are reserved for students who rank high in their high school's graduating class, even if the school's academic standards and offerings are weak. Admissions officers are said to look for whether the student has taken the most challenging curriculum offered at their high school, so, e.g., a student at an elite public high school that has an IB program could be at a disadvantage if s/he didn't do IB.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/29 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16308",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11312/"
]
|
16,312 | <p>Is it considered bad practice or unethical to remove some references/citations between the initial paper submission and the final one? I submitted an 8-page conference paper, it got peer-reviewed, it got accepted, and now I have to submit the final <strong>6-page</strong> version. In order to cut down on length, I'm thinking of removing some less important/relevant references that I included in the initial submission.</p>
<p>Are there any general "rules" against that? It's an IEEE paper btw.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16313,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>You are of course entitled to add or remove parts of your paper to adhere to length and content guidelines of a conference or journal. If such changes lead to a change in the references being cited, then that is reasonable. Of course, it is also reasonable for the journal or conference to determine if the changes that you've made affect the overall quality of the paper. So it cuts both ways.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16314,
"author": "Terry Griffin",
"author_id": 11335,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11335",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Every paper is written with one thing in mind: making a contribution to your field. If, by removing a citation you are impacting the quality of your contribution, then it needs to be left in.</p>\n\n<p>Having said that, I think the section of your paper the reference is in could help you determine if it's making an impact on your contribution. If it's from the related works section, and you have plenty of related work, then no big deal - remove it. But ... if it's directly in support of your contribution, then removing it may have more impact on what your trying to accomplish, and you should find a way to keep it in. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16315,
"author": "Peter Jansson",
"author_id": 4394,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4394",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In general no major changes should be made to a paper after acceptance unless either requested by the editor or, if suggested by you, approved by the editor. There are of course trivial changes and there are major changes that can result from making removing materials in a paper. When a paper becomes accepted, it is considered ready for publication by the editor. If you then make changes to the paper (apart from correcting spelling or grammar) you need to communicate these to the editor and make a good case for why you need to make them and how you can ensure they do not alter the content and more importantly the basis for your conclusions. The reviewers have reviewed the paper with all the information included and in the worst case your paper may not have been accepted were not all of it there.</p>\n\n<p>So making significant changes after acceptance is not to be toyed with and consulting the editor is necessary.</p>\n\n<p>The problem in your case lies, as pointed out by dgraziotin, in that you need to shorten the paper after acceptance which is normally considered too late. On the other hand, if the editor asks you to do so, then I would assume the editor will see to it that the reduction does not significantly influence any vital parts of the logic and reasoning leading to your conclusions. In such a case you will need to follow instructions, the responsibility for accepting the paper with the final revisions still lie with the editor and you have not done anything unethical or wrong. I will, however, say that the order of matters seems jumbled within the organisation of the conference peer review system.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16316,
"author": "vadim123",
"author_id": 7222,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7222",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>A paper is not accepted until the editor says it is. Having a glowing referee's report is not the same as an acceptance; at best it is \"provisional acceptance\". In this case, the editor wants additional changes regarding length. If these changes can be made to the editor's satisfaction (which may include sending the revised version to referees again), only then the paper is accepted.</p>\n\n<p>My advice is to do the best you can, and to address your changes in your cover letter. Honestly, how much space do your references really take up in an 8 page paper? Most likely you can make the cuts you need in the body.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/29 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16312",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11327/"
]
|
16,318 | <p>I'm currently applying for one "entry-level" faculty position in the UK (CS). Differently from other applications I have seen, in this one they ask the applicant to address each of the items listed in a "Person Specification" section of the job description.</p>
<p>There are 15 points, ranging from simple yes/no questions ("Do you have a PhD?") to more elaborate ones ("Evidence of Teaching excellence"). I've addressed everything I can think of in my document so far. However it is quite long, 3.5 pages.</p>
<p>My question is: how long is a statement of this nature expected to be? There are no page limits that I have seen. Should I try to shorten it?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16381,
"author": "earthling",
"author_id": 2692,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2692",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>I would not refer to what you are writing as a statement. I would say it is a response. Responses should be as long as they need to be, but not longer.</p>\n\n<p>If they have given you a person specification with 15 points, and ask you address every point, then, yes, your response is going to be long. There should be no need to guess on this. They have asked you to be thorough so you should be thorough.</p>\n\n<p>While it is common for companies to use person specifications to ensure they find a proper match for a position it is rare for me to see someone use it in the manner you describe. However, it does not sound crazy, just like they want to really be sure that they are getting all the information they need, and they clearly want to be thorough. In the end, the goal of the person specification is to make sure you eliminate, as early as possible, those people who are very likely to be a poor match for the position/organization. If you can respond appropriately to each point, then you are much more likely to be called for an interview. So don't leave anything out that answers their questions.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16393,
"author": "StrongBad",
"author_id": 929,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In the UK, HR departments are playing an increasing larger role in the hiring process. According to HR departments only applicants that meet all the essential requirements can be considered. If you have an applicant who meets all but one essential requirement and all the desirable requirements and another applicant who meets all the essential requirements and none of the desirable requirements, you must hire the one that meets the essential requirements. If you want to modify the essential requirements and do the search again, you must demonstrate that none of the applicants meet all the essential requirements. You can only hire non-EU applicants if there are no EU applicants that meet all the essential requirements. Further, if any applicant from the redundancy pool can meet all the essential requirements with some additional training (usually under 6 months), then they must be hired over external applicants.</p>\n\n<p>With this in mind, it is absolutely critical that your letter clear address how you meet all the essential requirements and which desirable requirements you meet. You want to provide anything that could be considered evidence to support your application. I would not worry about the statement being too long, although it should not address qualities that are not explicitly mentioned in the job description.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/29 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16318",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11338/"
]
|
16,319 | <p>This is inspired by the <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16265/you-are-paid-to-answer-my-questions-how-to-handle-silly-questions">other question</a> about dealing with stupid questions. The popular answers all seemed to assume that the student really wants to hear an answer. While this is a reasonable assumption, and the answers are very good, they don't cover trolls. </p>
<p>Imagine that you are teaching a computer science lab and a student asks you why our noses run and our feet smell. I agree that you should act professionally no matter what the student does - but what behavior would be considered "professional" in such a situation? </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16340,
"author": "BrianH",
"author_id": 6787,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6787",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There isn't One Right Way, any more than there is one right way to teach or manage a class room as a whole. I've most taken note of a few styles:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>\"Old-school\" academic style. They state clearly in the rules/syllabus they will treat everyone professionally, with respect, and they expect the same from all students. They will be more than happy to call you out, right then and there, for inappropriate behavior, and they will call a spade a spade without hesitation. They will, if necessary, be so clear and blunt that it will make you cringe, and if the person will not take direction then they will be shown the door - no one is required to be in their class.</li>\n<li>Humorist. My dad always use to say, \"ask a silly question, get a silly answer.\" Sometimes its just a fun invitation for a little ad lib comedy. Real smart asses find, if they push it too far, they will quickly end up the focus of the joke in a rather uncomfortable way (some people's version of humor gets very cutting in a hurry). These sorts tend to deal with such people like comics deal with hecklers.</li>\n<li>Redirection - judo master. This sort of style will take any question, no matter how assinine, and turn it into a good question that relates to the task at hand. \"Why do feet smell? Well, neurobiologists studying sensation often utilize specialized applications of neural networks to improve their understanding, but first we'll need to have a good hold on the fundamentals - which brings me to the next slide on genetic algorithms...any other questions on this slide before we continue?\" </li>\n<li>Sweet and simple, KISS. This style would just say, \"that's not within the scope of this class, or course. Any other questions about this slide/class/topic?\"</li>\n<li>Tangential. Maybe you just have extra time or enjoy talking about what they asked about. It has nothing to do with the course, or maybe even anything important, but go ahead and answer the question fully, in depth, with citations, if you know it. Go nuts. Have fun with it, and sometimes you can over-load them with so much knowledge and facts about something they didn't actually care about that they will simply reply with a nod and feel sorry they asked. I'm sufficiently good with this that someone once remarked, \"never trifle with someone who has a vastly longer attention span than you do.\" But obviously you'd better not be pressed for time!</li>\n<li>Troll right back (thanks to Shion). Tell them you'll be happy to cover his question next class if he'd like, you think it would make some nice variety to add to the mid-term and comprehensive final. Tell the student you aren't sure of the answer, but you love to learn something new every semester - why don't they look up the answer and prepare a 5-10 minute presentation? You'll even give them a bonus point! You can ask them to email you after class if they'd be interested in the bonus point. If they take you up on it, schedule it for an office hour.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>The thing is, most of the time you just really must assume good intent, because otherwise you will - especially if you are not in a fantastic mood - bite someone who genuinely wasn't trying to be unpleasant, or just wanted to be a touch playful. <strong>Anything you do to that student will ring much more loudly in the ears of the other students than the one you are addressing.</strong></p>\n\n<p>So be careful to promote a positive environment that encourages other students, rather than one that gets locked in on the one wise-acre who might just be playing a clown for the day.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16341,
"author": "Nobody",
"author_id": 546,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/546",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>a student asks you why our noses run and our feet smell. </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>My answer would be</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Sorry, I don't know the answer to your question. Please ask the experts.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>This is the <em>professional</em> answer I'll provide. Professional in the sense that I only say what I know.</p>\n\n<p>Be careful if you try to use some sense of humor to answer those questions. You can easily step out of boundry. In particular, the two examples you have may have something to do with health/privacy issues.</p>\n\n<p>If the student keeps asking this kind of questions, you'll know he has other reasons to do so (such as another student has running nose or came to classroom with bare foot). Talk to the student privately or take it to your superiors.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Edit</strong></p>\n\n<p>I received comments about part of my answer \"Please ask the experts\". I'll explain. I am recommending to pretend the trolling question is a serious one. I cannot guess what trolling questions the OP was asked. There are many possibilities. Many trolling questions are of personal type. I give an example here. A young male handsome prof. teaches in a college. He is asked all kinds of questions every new semester. The most frequent one is \"Professor, when are you going to get married?\" The prof. always replied \"Sorry, I don't know the answer. You need to ask my fiancee.\" In this case, the expert is his fiancee. You can use other serious ways to answer the trolling question. The point is to be <strong>serious (or jokingly serious if you can)</strong> about it so that the troller won't be able to continue the trolling.</p>\n\n<p><strong>End of edit</strong></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16387,
"author": "JRN",
"author_id": 64,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/64",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p><a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_%28Internet%29\">Don't feed the trolls.</a></p>\n\n<p>The student is most likely looking for attention. If you give it to him/her, then s/he would be encouraged to repeat the disruptive behavior. I recommend that you reply \"That question is not within the scope of the course\" then quickly continue with the class discussion.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 38850,
"author": "user29363",
"author_id": 29363,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/29363",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Be a buttface and just stare at them. Stare at them intently, and don't get phased. When they stop looking at you totally, and just stay looking away then turn yourself back to the task at hand. Just remember what it was, and this should put the student in their place.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/29 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16319",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/103/"
]
|
16,321 | <p>I am considering taking what should be considered a remedial math class, though is actually credit bearing at my university, so I can spend more time solving monthly problems/ studying graduate level theory on my own. Would subverting the curriculum, and reducing the problem of acquiring credit hours to a problem solved in or before middle school, be looked down upon by graduate schools? I have always heard that graduate schools only care about your math grades, only care about how much math you have studied. </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16326,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I assume that you are talking about applying to graduate programs in mathematics, rather than in other disciplines. </p>\n\n<p>To take remedial courses so that you can focus on \"graduate level theory\" on your own seems like a spectacularly <strong>bad</strong> idea. Why would a grad school take someone whose transcript shows remedial courses instead of accomplishments in upper-level undergraduate and graduate coursework? It also weakens your overall transcript in the process, since the remedial course will stick out like a sore thumb. Moreover, without some mechanism for documenting the work that you've done on your own, you won't easily be able to convince an admissions committee that you've <em>actually</em> done the work!</p>\n\n<p>If you want to do graduate-level work, just take the graduate-level courses corresponding to what you want to do.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 37407,
"author": "RoboKaren",
"author_id": 14885,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/14885",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Taking remedial or lower-level classes in your own discipline/major sounds like a recipe for disaster. At best you'll be seen as lazy, at worst your own competence in your chosen discipline will be suspect.</p>\n\n<p>There is a time-honored tradition of taking easier courses outside of your major/discipline in order to gain some more balance in your life and still earn enough credits for graduation. Ask your peers (or advisor) for the names of these courses -- the time-honored fictional one is called \"UWB100: Underwater Basketweaving for Beginners.\" </p>\n\n<p>While these will still be listed on your transcript, at least they won't cast suspicion on your disciplinary competence. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/29 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16321",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10739/"
]
|
16,330 | <p>The situation is thus: my institution allows professors to buy out of teaching a class. This semester, my advisor has done so and as a result they needed someone to fill in. After discussion with my advisor, I applied for the position to gain teaching experience (having had none previously).</p>
<p>Thus far, teaching the class has gone smoothly but our department has a huge waitlist problem. When I originally applied for the position, the class had 40 spots. Later, without my input, it was increased to 60, and there were still over 50 people on the waitlist.</p>
<p>Prior to the class starting, my advisor attempted to get the department chair to increase the class size to 90 so that more waitlisted people could get in. However, the chair responded by saying that the department felt that it was important for graduate students, particularly in their first attempt at teaching, to have a good experience, so they didn't want to increase the class size so drastically without my approval. I responded telling them that I didn't feel comfortable taking on so many students when I hadn't taught before and the issue was dropped.</p>
<p>Now, in the second week of classes, my advisor is again pressuring me to admit any waitlisted students that would like to take the course, increasing the class size to 70+. I've told him several times that I am not comfortable with this and thought the issue was closed. However, one of the waitlisted students has gone directly to my advisor and now he's specifically telling me to admit this student.</p>
<p>As it stands, I currently have 62 students in a 60 person class and I understand that taking on one extra student is technically not a big deal. However, I feel uncomfortable for several reasons: </p>
<ol>
<li>It feels like I'm rewarding bad behavior (e.g., the student going to my advisor and forcing entrance into the class)</li>
<li>If I admit this student for going to my advisor, I am concerned that every other student on the waitlist will go to my advisor and I'll get similar e-mails about all of them and suddenly my class size will be 70+ students</li>
</ol>
<p>Technically, I don't have to admit this student, but that would be going directly against what my advisor is telling me to do. </p>
<p>I guess the questions are: </p>
<ul>
<li>In the long term, how much control should my advisor have over my class?</li>
<li>In the short term, should I admit this waitlisted student?</li>
</ul>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16336,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>In the long term, how much control should my advisor have over my class</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>None, for the duration of this instance. The advisor bought out. You're in charge. End of story. Now you might need some help in standing up to your advisor, and you need to bring in the chair of the department (who's already shown a willingness to help) and/or other senior faculty who manage curriculum activities. Don't do it confrontationally: merely say that you're really uncomfortable expanding the class size and don't feel like it's right to selectively admit students who have access to your advisor, but that you'd feel more comfortable with a faculty intermediary to help mediate. </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>In the short term, should I admit this waitlisted student?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>No. you're right that this is both setting a bad precedent as well as being unfair. Again, as for how to proceed, see above. You haven't indicated exactly how the advisor is pressuring you, but I think it's fair to point out to them that this undermines your authority as the teacher, and you really need to maintain your independence because you're \"only a student\". Anyone with teaching experience should understand the importance of establishing authority and presence in the classroom. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16338,
"author": "earthling",
"author_id": 2692,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/2692",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You are the captain of that ship. You must never forget this, nor should you ever let anyone else forget this.</p>\n\n<p>I have issues with being asked for special things like this and I generally refuse, for two reasons:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>The school naturally wants larger class sizes because it means more revenue with less expenses (more students per teacher)</li>\n<li>The larger the class, the more classroom management work there is to be done which limits the energy I can dedicate to conveying the points I'm trying to convey, which in turn lowers the quality of the experience for my students</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>While I not a fan of using your power just to show you have power, I do suggest, especially when you are just starting teaching, that you start small and work your way up...and that you push back when others, including your adviser, are trying to get you to do something you are uncomfortable with.</p>\n\n<p>The first semester is always the hardest (my first semester showed me everything I thought about the right way to teach was wrong). You must also set the tone about who is in charge and when it comes to your classroom, you are. You should not admit anyone beyond what you think you can handle and I think a class of 60 is plenty for your first semester.</p>\n\n<p>When negotiating issues like this with your adviser, you must be able to speak from experience. You will have that next semester. For now, stand strong.</p>\n\n<p>Good luck!</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16342,
"author": "Penguin_Knight",
"author_id": 6450,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/6450",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Poor thing... Well, I am not going to teach you to say no because after all he is your adviser and you probably don't want to directly upset him over this teaching fiasco. However, I can provide some tips to be less miserable.</p>\n\n<p>First, <strong>refocus</strong>. Don't just look at the enrollment, <strong>look at your mode of teaching</strong>. Some teaching methods, when passing a certain number of students, do not change dramatically even the number of students keeps increasing. For class size less than 20 there may be more group work, interactive discussion... but once it passes 60, upping to 70 should not make you revise the syllabus to any considerable extent. Doing this favor can buy you some brownie points from the department and dean, etc.</p>\n\n<p>Second, once you're over that class size phobia, <strong>use your position to negotiate</strong>. Ask for a pay increase, if the payment is fixed, ask for a couple extra TAs, if there isn't any, ask for a copy of new software, a few books on teaching and engaging students (those suckers are expensive,) a laptop, a set of whiteboard pens, a plane ticket to an upcoming conference, parking reimbursement, publication fee, journal subscription... whatever you can think of. (I actually was in a similar situation once and I got a conference + hotel + air fare paid for.) Get the most support out of it and <strong>don't be shy! Your department needs you and it will do fair things to keep you a happy teacher</strong>.</p>\n\n<p>Third, <strong>stop over induction</strong>. Just because you allowed your adviser to send k more student can never imply he can send k + 1. You're trapped in your little logic maze. <strong>Counter offer</strong> him sincerely. Tell him that you really appreciate the student's desire to join, and you can up the quota, but in turn make your adviser promise making no more of such exception because <strong>the students will be very confused of who is actually in charge, and that will not go well along the semester</strong>. He, besides being a jerk, may just be excited that people actually want to learn a subject that he loves.</p>\n\n<p>Fourth, <strong>learn to deflect</strong>. You can often find a pivotal point to transfer the conflict between you and your supervisor to between someone else and your supervisor. For instance, tell him that you'll think about the 2 extra students, but don't inform the students yet. That way the students will not start broadcasting the trick. Respond yes to the registrar at 4:50 pm of the due date of the add/drop period. Want more in? Your supervisor will have to talk to the registrar, who already seems to be on the side of keeping the size manageable.</p>\n\n<p>In conclusion, excrement like this happens in academia on an hourly base. When you are at the lower end of an intricate power ladder, try to compensate, balance, and leverage. Having taught a big class is a good experience, and judging by the popularity I think the students will be motivated. Do get the most fun out of it, and best wishes to your first course.</p>\n\n<hr>\n\n<p><strong>Response to comments:</strong></p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Negotiations don't normally work once the semester has already\n started. You cannot reasonably expect to get extra teaching staff\n support after the allocations process is complete and courses are\n underway. That's one of the reasons for having registration limits in\n the first place!</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I think this comment <strong>further highlights how self-imposed rigidity can limit our options</strong>. First, just because I said TA doesn't mean I won't take a grader, I will even just take a couple more people to move chairs and tables, why not? It depends on OP's needs and I merely provided some examples. Second, tertiary institutions operate in so many different forms and traditions that if we have seen one academic department, we probably have just seen one academic department. Perhaps in our department it won't work, perhaps in OP's it does. I have only worked in two institutions, and this negotiation mechanisms worked in both of them. Once, as I have said, sponsored a conference trip. Another allowed me to up the food budget so that I can have two nights of presentation with refreshment and gave me US$350 budget for course-related expenditure.</p>\n\n<p>The key point, to me, is not if the class has started or not. It's the <strong>OP still has power to say no</strong>. As long as that is in effect, some form of negotiation should be able to take place.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/29 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16330",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4318/"
]
|
16,333 | <p>I have one official first name which appears on my ID card. I have another first name which friends call me by. Is it possible to use my unofficial first name and official family name to publish scientific papers? How can I prove to someone that I am one of the authors?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16345,
"author": "David Z",
"author_id": 236,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/236",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>It depends on the field, and in particular on the venue in which you are publishing. It's possible that some journals and conferences might have policies about this, which would of course override anything you read here. But in general: nobody checks (or cares) whether the name you put on a published paper matches your official name. So if you use an informal variant of your name, e.g. if your name is \"Stephen\" but you publish as \"Steve\", nobody will bat an eyelid. If you use a nickname or publish under a pseudonym, it would be a little odd if the nickname is something that sounds very informal, but still, it probably won't cause problems.</p>\n\n<p>What people do care about is building a record of your work, and putting a face to the name if they know your face. So you should (1) be consistent with the name you use to publish, and (2) make sure other people in the field know that it refers to you.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16358,
"author": "silvado",
"author_id": 3890,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/3890",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The answer of David Z covers all important aspects regarding the name choice. In order to prove your authorship to someone, you would have to show <strong>correspondence letters</strong> with the publisher. You will typically receive several of those, the most important one being the acceptance letter stating that the publisher will publish your manuscript. If you show these to anybody, it should be sufficient proof that you are an author, especially if the address on the letter can be clearly linked to you.</p>\n\n<p>Note that this is not just an issue with using pseudonyms. Anybody with a sufficiently common name will face exactly the same problem.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 72084,
"author": "agv",
"author_id": 57357,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/57357",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I have a legal (official) transliteration of my <strong>surname</strong> (family name) from the Greek alphabet to the Latin one on all my official documents. I consistently use for many years now another transliteration (just one letter difference) of my surname in all the publications I have produced until now. I have never had a problem with the name tag in my conference badge or the hotel reservation or paying the conference registration or anything. Nobody seems to care until now. The one and only exception was just one time that I needed to issue a travel visa for entering a country; in that case the embassy staff questioned me why my official surname did not match the invitation letter sent by the conference organizers to invite me to present in the conference. The visa was issued without any hassle in the end.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/29 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16333",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11374/"
]
|
16,344 | <p>Due to incompatibility with my current advisor, I am currently looking for other advisor on his back. Any advice? I am so scared that what if he discovers that I'm looking around. Now I have tried to set up new email account so I can deny everything if things get ugly. Any people have the same experience, can you share your trick with me please? It is pretty much a very dangerous covert mission.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16347,
"author": "Anonymous Mathematician",
"author_id": 612,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/612",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I don't see anything dangerous or necessarily covert about looking for another advisor, and I'm puzzled by things like using a new e-mail account you can deny was yours. (Are you planning to make contact under a fake name? Pretend someone was impersonating you if your current advisor finds out?)</p>\n\n<p>You don't need to be nearly so worried. It's completely reasonable to switch advisors, and I know plenty of people who have done it without any trouble at all. You don't owe your current advisor anything, and there are no good grounds for anyone to object.</p>\n\n<p>Of course you could cause offense if you are tactless. Don't tell your advisor \"I'm switching because I'd prefer a competent advisor.\" But there are plenty of reasonable excuses. For example, you could say your interests are developing in ways that are a better fit for an advisor with a somewhat different specialization.</p>\n\n<p>Fair or not, your advisor is probably not happy to be working with you either and may actually be relieved when you switch. In comments on other questions you have expressed a fear that your advisor will badmouth you to other potential advisors. That's possible, but you could also run into the opposite phenomenon: sometimes an advisor who is frustrated with a student will try to convince other faculty to take on the role of advisor, since then the student will be someone else's problem. (The less cynical version is that the student may get along better with an advisor with a different personality.)</p>\n\n<p>I'd recommend keeping two things in mind:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>You seem very interested in criticizing your advisor. Now is not a good time for that, whether it's addressed to your advisor or to a potential replacement.</p></li>\n<li><p>You seem worried that you are doing something underhanded. If you act nervous and suspicious, people may suspect you are up to no good. Looking for a new advisor is not doing anything wrong, and you may get a better reaction if you treat it straightforwardly and calmly.</p></li>\n</ol>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 17337,
"author": "DSAK",
"author_id": 7720,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7720",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It is better to have a single supervisor than two. Because every time you show some work, there will be two advices and many revisions to your papers,thesis.</p>\n\n<p>Unless you know the professors thoroughly, don't consider having two supervisors.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 17338,
"author": "trutheality",
"author_id": 11880,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11880",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>Due to incompatibility with my current advisor, I am currently looking for other advisor on his back.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Did you mean \"behind his back\"? That's okay, people usually don't tell their advisor (or employer, in the business world) when they're looking for another one to switch to.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Any advice? I am so scared that what if he discovers that I'm looking around.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>If he finds out and confronts you about it just tell him that you don't feel like you are able to contribute to the research that he does.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Now I have tried to set up new email account so I can deny everything if things get ugly. [...] It is pretty much a very dangerous covert mission.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Nope, that's just paranoid.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Any people have the same experience, can you share your trick with me please?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I switched, after a year with my first advisor. The work he was having me do didn't interest me at all, and to be honest, I wasn't doing it as well as I probably could (lack of motivation reduces work quality).</p>\n\n<p>I simply asked about the department for who was looking for graduate students (like I did in the first year to find this advisor in the first place). I didn't tell my current advisor, but I also didn't take any paranoid measures like switching email accounts. I used my official university account for everything. After finding a new advisor, he contacted the old advisor, making sure everyone is good with the switching arrangement, I finished up my semester of work (up to the end of the contract of the funded project) with the old advisor, I had a meeting where I gave an overview of the work to the person who will take it over and answered some questions, and then I started working with the new advisor.</p>\n\n<p>At the end, everyone was fine. I'm even collaborating with the old advisor a little on some research right now.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/30 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16344",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10694/"
]
|
16,346 | <p>The main troubles in my academic experience can be summarized in two popular (if somewhat cheesy) sayings:</p>
<ul>
<li>"Careful what you wish for" and</li>
<li>"With great power comes great responsibility"</li>
</ul>
<p>Throughout my high school and undergraduate education I kept (naively, I now reckon) chasing the dream of ultimate <a href="http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php?f=1436" rel="nofollow noreferrer">academic freedom</a>, where I would be able to study freely and learn at will, unencumbered by artificial constraints like scheduled classes, deadlines, curricula, etc. So I went after it, first getting a master's and now a pursuing PhD, but now that the classes and assignments are finally over, I find myself <em>unable to handle the freedom I wished for</em>. It wasn't even a sudden change: at each step, as the external support/control structures grew thinner, I had to rely more and more in self-discipline, but I failed to recognize my ineptitude on time.</p>
<p>Now, I'll be the first to admit that this issue isn't new or unique (indeed, the <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/2219/1348">two</a> <a href="https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/5786/1348">most</a> voted questions on this site deal with this kind of problem), but here's why I'm <em>still</em> asking this question: <strong>what I'm aiming for isn't tools or best practices</strong>;
todo lists, well-defined schedules, website blockers, I've tried pretty much all of those, and I've also read a lot about procrastination, motivation, flow, etc. I've been battling these issues for several years now, and I've been through this cycle many times, attempting new tools and techniques that work for a while, only to find myself back in a self-defeating loop of procrastination. I recently decided to seek psychological counseling precisely because I recognized I wasn't able to deal with this alone.</p>
<p>Essentially, I recognize my dependence on a structured environment to be productive, but also (due to attempting and failing many times) my inability to create and maintain such external structures. I'm therefore looking for strategies to improve my ability to motivate myself to actually follow the rules I try to impose on myself. So rather than creating friction in trying to control my behavior, <strong>I'm seeking strategies that make it the <a href="http://matt.might.net/articles/productivity-tips-hints-hacks-tricks-for-grad-students-academics/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">path of least resistance</a> to be productive and organized.</strong> My hopes, since all else has failed so far, is to use the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fake_it_till_you_make_it" rel="nofollow noreferrer">fake it till you make it</a> approach to eventually become an actual organized and self-disciplined person.</p>
<p>As an example, I have suppressed all sorts of notifications (a common advice), and don't keep my email or any such pages open in the background, to minimize the chance of interruptions. I also changed the chair in my desk to one that makes it less easy to slouch, based on the principle that <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=h7NewH-XWgUC&pg=PA82&dq="where+our+bodies+go,+our+minds+will+follow"" rel="nofollow noreferrer">body posture affects mental state</a>. Setting defaults such as these essentially "outsources" decisions I would otherwise have to make consciously, thus depleting my willpower. I also use <a href="http://beeminder.com" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Beeminder</a> to "outsource motivation", but it doesn't fit perfectly to every case. I'm interested in hearing how others dealt with the need to gradually develop the ability to self-regulate, particularly in the context of academia.</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>EDIT:</strong> I think my question was a little more pessimistic than it should (and definitely too verbose, sorry!). To be clear, my previous attempts <em>did</em> lead to some long-term improvement, but in a rather slow, two-steps-forward-one-step-backward kind of way. <strong>I'm not claiming those techniques don't work</strong>, but I believe it would be useful for many people to have a compiled list of environmental changes that "outsource" the need to make small decisions that otherwise have to be made each time, since most productivity advice focuses on the latter.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16348,
"author": "Jordan",
"author_id": 11363,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11363",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I recently finished High School and I'm about to start University. I had a similar problem when studying for my final exams. This really helped me so take it or leave it, here's what helped for me:</p>\n\n<p>1) Don't commit to doing huge mountains of work, you will only find procrastinating easier. Only plan to do a small bit and if you don't get into the rhythm of things then that's all you have to do.</p>\n\n<p>2) Go for a jog/run. I would go at a regular pace until I really wanted to stop, then I would go just a bit more, to the post ahead, then to the next post and so on, forcing myself to keep going. Then, with the same attitude in mind, I would study just doing one more paragraph, and the next, and so on. Little Victories.</p>\n\n<p>3) Remember: Every time you fail or feel like stopping, somebody else just gave up and each time you keep on trying, you do better and better than the people who gave up when you didn't.</p>\n\n<p>I hope this helps.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16472,
"author": "Sylvain Peyronnet",
"author_id": 43,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/43",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I have only one advice, which was and is the only working solution for me: <strong>change your environment drastically.</strong> </p>\n\n<p>It looks like you tried hard to work in your office, and that you decided to suppress any things that can distract you from work. It also seems that it does not work at all. The problem can be the place instead of the furniture, or the potential distractions.</p>\n\n<p>For me the solution was quite simple, and worked and still work very well : I NEVER work in my office. I think while walking or cycling or doing manual work. I wrote stuff on papers at home, in a bar, in a starbuck, in a public park, etc. And finally, I am going back to the office only for the things that need a computer (e.g. writing papers, grant proposals, and slides for the lectures).</p>\n\n<p>After a while, you will probably have a routine : a walk in the morning, then a coffee in a place where you draft your ideas, then the rest of the day in the office, for the boring stuff.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 159609,
"author": "fouad_shoz",
"author_id": 132307,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/132307",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In order to increase your mental toughness and resilience, a routine is necessary, and it takes time to get used to a higher level of work, some things that may help you out:</p>\n<ol>\n<li>a walk every day(to clean the melatonin from the bloodstream, it\nslows down thinking)</li>\n<li>a gym membership helps a lot ( you get a good night of sleep and it helps you stay motivated)</li>\n<li>2 (coffee/tea) pauses, one in the morning and in the evening</li>\n<li>a time tracker app or notebook to track time and see how you handle yourself every day, and a timesheet ( i find that more then 40 hours makes you burn out long term )</li>\n<li><em><strong>a weekend routine to destress (hobby, meeting friends, ...)</strong></em></li>\n<li>a todo list of tasks/shores home related, daily things</li>\n<li>a community to join so you can help people in your related field, and get motivated doing so, or maybe a personal project</li>\n</ol>\n<p>There are still some days you will find your self unmotivated, I try to push through and listen to podcast/show or work in library or outside of home.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 159625,
"author": "Qiao Zhang",
"author_id": 132371,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/132371",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'm going to provide a different perspective: don't worry about it.</p>\n<p>Feeling productive, efficient or organized doesn't really matter in the end. You graduate by producing creative work.</p>\n<p>Unfortunately doing creative work meant</p>\n<ul>\n<li>making far less progress than you expected given your effort</li>\n<li>chasing lots of dead ends because no one knows the answer</li>\n<li>spending lots of time iterating on ideas or writing with little guidance (your advisor isn't responsible for the paper or your graduation, you are!)</li>\n</ul>\n<p>I believe the above is far worse for other creative endeavors (e.g., math) than my field (CS).</p>\n<p>You just need to stay motivated by recognizing that it's not meant to feel a certain way, and grind.</p>\n<p>You almost always need some luck. You get lucky by staying in the game. Then you will finally produce something worthy after a long grind. You will feel rewarded. And the cycle starts again, until you graduate.</p>\n<p>In fact, if you are doing creative work (e.g., research) in your jobs, it's the same.</p>\n<p>You simply get over worrying about things. The reward of creative work will keep you going.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/30 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16346",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1348/"
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|
16,351 | <p>I am a PhD student studying wireless networks/telecommunications, and I have developed a set of lab exercises related to the field. We have used them with > 100 students so far in B.S. and M.S. classes on computer networks, wireless networks, and wireless communications.</p>
<p>With the first few cohorts, I asked them to rate each exercise with respect to:</p>
<ul>
<li>overall rating</li>
<li>difficulty of lab exercise</li>
<li>how interesting the material was</li>
<li>experiment design</li>
</ul>
<p>and to rate self on knowledge of topic before and after the lab. I also ask for general open-ended feedback ("How can we improve this exercise?" "Any other comments?") and recently introduced automated systems to measure exactly what students are doing in the lab. This gave me a general sense of which exercises were interesting to students, and which they thought were useful. Now I am looking for a way to evaluate how effective the labs are at educating students - not just their popularity. </p>
<p>I've been doing some reading in CS education research (although education research is not my field, so I can't devote too much time to getting up to speed on all the methodology), but I haven't come across a study design that I think would be a good fit for my scenario. I am under some constraints:</p>
<ul>
<li>I'm not the instructor for the class. </li>
<li>I just run the lab exercises via a website. I don't meet the students in person. </li>
<li>I don't have the ability to set up a "control group" by offering one section of the course with the lab and one section without. </li>
<li>I can't ask my students to do a lot of work that is only for purposes of methodology assessment (e.g. I can have them fill out a short pre-class survey, but not much more then that). I can ask them to do some things that are also learning assessments (like quizzes on the lab topic).</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
<p>Given these constraints, how can I effectively evaluate the educational tools I've developed? (specifically, learn whether they actually improve students' understanding of the course material)</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>Update:</strong> </p>
<p>I don't have access to a comparable cohort from one year to the next, or between two sections. In the end, I came up with a set of questions that I think will help evaluate the exercises, even across only one group of students, all of whom are participating in the lab; I describe this in my own answer.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16359,
"author": "OBu",
"author_id": 10941,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10941",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You are adressing a topic which (in my humble opinion) is one of the most difficult ones: How to measure effictivenes of teaching methods. </p>\n\n<p>The only good way is to have a control group (and make sure they are large enough, randomly asigned, subgroups represented equally, et.c). In most practical situations this is just not feasible. (I have the same problem at the moment).</p>\n\n<p>What I plan to do (so it is just an idea, not proven to be correct - fedback is wellcome!):</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>ask students who did the class twice how they liked the new format and whether it helps them in learning</li>\n<li>Compare outcome.</li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>I think 2.) is the one we should aim for since the ultimate measure of successful teaching is compentent students leaving the university. Since it is hard to measure their competence late in real life situations, the only thing we can do is measure their perfomence by tests / exams. So I'll compare the results of my current group with the one from last year and look for failure rate, attendeance at test, ... Given that your tests are comparable, this gives at least an indication. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 17030,
"author": "ff524",
"author_id": 11365,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11365",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In the end I decided to try the following, based on my understanding that lab exercises are particularly suited for repairing misconceptions that students might hold:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Before students complete the lab procedure, they have to answer an open-ended question about what they think the results will show, based on their knowledge of the course material.</li>\n<li>At the end of the lab, students have to write whether their initial guess was correct. If not, they have to explain why they originally made that guess, what factor they hadn't considered that led the actual results to be different, and what (if anything) they understand now that they misunderstood before.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>This serves as both a learning assessment for the students, and a methodology assessment for the lab. </p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>The students earn a grade based on whether they eventually have a good sense of what's supposed to happen, either before doing the lab procedure or after. </li>\n<li>The pre-lab and post-lab questions together help me quantify to what degree the lab exercises address misconceptions that students have about the content.</li>\n</ul>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/30 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16351",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
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|
16,352 | <p>I would like to post an repository on github that includes data and analysis code in R. The analysis and data forms part of a journal article submission. I'm happy for people to view the code and data prior to publication (in particular, it might be an easy way for reviewers to examine the code). However, I do not want anyone publishing analyses of the data prior to acceptance and publication of the journal article. After publication, I want to encourage people to re-analyse, re-use, re-publish (e.g., with a GPL licence with an encouragement to attribute).</p>
<p>Obviously, I could just keep the data and analysis code a secret until after publication, but I thought an appropriately worded licence might be more appropriate. I thought about just writing in plain English that the work is copyrighted at this time, and will be converted to GPL at a later date following publication.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Is there a standard way of licensing data and code so that people cannot republish the data and code until the corresponding publication has been published?</strong></li>
<li><strong>Or is it better just to keep the data and code secret until after publication?</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>UPDATE:</strong> I suppose there is a legal perspective to this, but I know that academia has its own norms and conventions regarding attribution and respecting the wishes of authors. So I'd be particularly interested in answers framed in that context. I.e., My broader aim is to be the first to publish my own research, generally get attribution, but also allow others to build on that work. So I'd be interested also in what is considered good practice when you are in the situation of wanting to share data and code while an article is being peer reviewed, but not wanting to lose your right of first publication.</p>
| [
{
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"author": "nagniemerg",
"author_id": 11084,
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"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>A1 : The legal department at your university or company should be able to help you out with this type of request. </p>\n\n<p>A2 : This depends on the journal to which you are submitting. Read their rules on copyright of submitted software and publication beforehand. </p>\n\n<p>Other comments / ideas : </p>\n\n<p>I have software freely available that I have submitted to a journal before publication (although, this may not have been the best idea) and software that is also ready and that I use that I could make freely available, but have not as of yet. </p>\n\n<p>An alternative would be to say that interested parties may email you for access to the code before publication happens.</p>\n\n<p>You could always publish the data (or paper explaining the data) on a pre-print server so that you cannot be scooped and then also publish the corresponding code. This will outline clear dates as to who published the research first.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16356,
"author": "silvado",
"author_id": 3890,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/3890",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You write that you </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>do not want anyone publishing analyses of the data prior to acceptance and publication of the journal article.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I am not a lawyer, but I don't think there's any license to enforce that. Once you publish data, other people are free to work with that data, and publish their analyses (although they might not be able to republish the original data, at least not in the same format as you did). As <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright#Scope\">Wikipedia</a> writes, copyright does not cover information itself, it just protects the way that it is presented, or the verbatim description. If you want to prevent others from publishing analyses of your data, I think the safest way is to keep the data confidential until you publish your paper. </p>\n\n<p>On the other hand, if you don't put a license on the data, you have whatever copyright protects there, so others will not be allowed to re-publish the data in the same format. Therefore, I think the risk that others publish an ernest journal based on your data is not that high, unless it's really spectacular data.</p>\n\n<p>The code is a different issue of course. You hold copyright on that, and if you don't put a license on it, others won't be allowed to republish it.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16357,
"author": "David Z",
"author_id": 236,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/236",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Honestly, I doubt that copyright protection is of any use. The copyright on the code itself does not<sup>*</sup> extend to data produced using the code. Similarly, the copyright you would hold on the paper submission covers<sup>*</sup> that particular presentation of the data, but not the data itself. So as long as someone is physically able to view your data, I believe there is no <em>legal</em> avenue to prohibit them from doing their own analysis on their data.</p>\n\n<p>However, for another researcher to take the output of your code and perform their own analysis in an attempt to scoop you, when they know you have your own paper doing the same analysis pending, is ethically very questionable. If it came to light that something like this happened, I think the academic community would strongly frown on it. That's a very strong incentive for any other researcher not to do this, and so I personally wouldn't worry about it.</p>\n\n<p>Besides, if it does happen, the other researcher will have to cite your code anyway so you still get credit. This can actually be a good thing. I would recommend including in your code a notice of the form</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Please cite the following reference if you use the results of this code in a publication:</p>\n \n <p><em>[reference to paper or code]</em></p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>(see <a href=\"https://github.com/diazona/SOLO\" rel=\"nofollow\">this example</a> from my own publication history) If you're worried about someone else abandoning all pretense of ethics and just using your results without citing them, rest assured that it is <em>very</em> difficult to pull that off, and it constitutes academic fraud, which is a career-ender if it's discovered.</p>\n\n<p>And finally, as a practical matter, you have a very large head start on anyone else who might want to publish an analysis of the outcome of your code. Don't underestimate the time and effort it takes for someone else to go through your code in enough detail to learn what it does and figure out how to use it enough to generate original results, and then to write and submit a paper and have it reviewed, typeset, and published.</p>\n\n<p>One more point worth mentioning:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>So I'd be interested also in what is considered good practice when you are in the situation of wanting to share data and code while an article is being peer reviewed, but not wanting to lose your right of first publication.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>You <em>don't</em> have a right of first publication. Not legally, anyway. If you want to ensure that you are the first one to have an opportunity to publish a paper based on some result, the standard practice is to keep the result private until you are close to publishing the paper yourself. But keep in mind that \"publishing\" in this context doesn't have to be peer reviewed. For instance, in physics it's very common to put a paper on <a href=\"http://arxiv.org\" rel=\"nofollow\">arXiv</a> before submitting it to a journal. That establishes the authors' claim to the result before it enters the peer review process.</p>\n\n<p><sup>*informed layperson speculation; see a lawyer for a definitive statement</sup></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16361,
"author": "user11383",
"author_id": 11383,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11383",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Your right as a owner of intellectual property, allows you to release and allow reuse of that \"property\" in any way you feel correct.\nThe use by a third party of your \"property\" is not allowed unless the party has a way to demostrate that you have somehow allowed it.\nThe way you allow it is up to you.\nObviously that creates an enormous exercise for the judge, that could be called to decide on the fact. Essentially there is a big legal hole, because I could decide for example to sell a book and to allow the purchaser to read it ONLY ON NIGHT from 8pm to 11:59pm.\nThat means that if you use the book in other times you are penaly responsible.</p>\n\n<p>So that is the reason that the legislator should take some decisions because if not a lot of problems may arise.\nThe limitions that the author may impose, may be illegal etc.\nMost important is that fact that licenses may be so long and articulated that no normal person may be able to understand them and so that person shouldn't be liable for the infringement of them.</p>\n\n<p>Any way my opinion is that you may impose any rule you may like. That is a one paty action and the other party should demonstrate that she is legaly using your work.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16363,
"author": "h22",
"author_id": 10920,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10920",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Who prevents you from releasing the code under GPL only after the article has been accepted for publication? </p>\n\n<p>In such case, probably you cannot add GPL header to the files in advance but unless it is very large project, this should not be a really big problem (you may write some script to add headers if it is really a lot of files).</p>\n\n<p>If you setup a public repository on GitHub, by doing so you allow to <a href=\"https://help.github.com/articles/github-terms-of-service\" rel=\"nofollow\">view and fork</a> it. If this seems not acceptable for you, publish on the university server instead and only publish to GitHub when you open source it. You can add any restrictions you want as long as it is your fully owned code. Just I am not sure if it will be easy to enforce these restrictions if somebody does violate.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16380,
"author": "Nate Eldredge",
"author_id": 1010,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1010",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>To address your revised question: </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>My broader aim is to be the first to publish my own research, generally get attribution, but also allow others to build on that work. So I'd be interested also in what is considered good practice when you are in the situation of wanting to share data and code while an article is being peer reviewed, but not wanting to lose your right of first publication.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>The usual practice in my field (mathematics) is that when the project is finished, you submit it to a journal, and simultaneously post it to <a href=\"http://arxiv.org\" rel=\"nofollow\">arXiv</a>, a public preprint server. This establishes your priority in two ways, and lets people start building on it immediately. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/30 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16352",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/62/"
]
|
16,360 | <p>As we all know, you typically abbreviate something the first time that particular term shows up in a paper. However, I've been told in the past that certain things in a paper should be written in such a way that 'it stands on its own'. One such thing would include the abstract of the paper. So, perhaps a <code><STRING></code> appears in the abstract that I want to abbreviate. Now one of two things can happen. </p>
<p>1.) If <code><STRING></code> appears more than once in the abstract, I could abbreviate the first instance and then just use the abbreviation from that point on.</p>
<p>2.) If <code><STRING></code> appears only ONCE in the abstract, then I shouldn't abbreviate it because then I would have defined an abbreviation that I would not have used again (given the concept of 'the abstract should be able to stand on its own).</p>
<p>The problem with (2) is that people will immediately think that the 'first instance' of <code><STRING></code> should be abbreviated and don't immediately consider the 'stand-alone' idea so I'm either having to revise or try to put up a convincing argument for what I did. </p>
<p>Also, I've been told by some that tables and figures should be able to 'stand on their own'. So, if the abbreviation for <code><STRING></code> appears in the table somewhere (or the caption), then I should explicitly spell out <code><STRING></code> and then define an abbreviation for it right then and there, even if I have already done so earlier on in the text of the paper.</p>
<p>So, my question is, what is the proper way of handling these abbreviations and is the idea of 'this piece must be able to stand on its own' valid (and if its valid, what exactly does this idea apply to)?</p>
<hr>
<p>Additional Information:</p>
<p>I am a computational chemist so we pretty much are forced to use the alphabet-soup of acronyms. MP2 is preferred over "second-order Moller-Plesset perturbation theory" and is commonly used. CCSD(T) is preferred over "The
coupled-cluster method that includes all single and double substitutions as well as a perturbative treatment of the connected triple excitations". The list can go on and on. If this wasn't abbreviated in an abstract, having to 'spell it out' even a few times would make for an incredibly long abstract, figure caption, table, etc.</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16362,
"author": "Peter Jansson",
"author_id": 4394,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4394",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>The first comment will be, do not abbreviate just because something occurs more than once. Abbreviations other than established ones (within your field) such as DNA, EDTA make reading more difficult. Of course all established abbreviation were new at some point but the message is, be restrictive. I understand your field may be in need of many abbreviations so make adjustments to these general comments accordingly.</p>\n\n<p>Now as for the abstract, I would recommend to not abbreviate anything even if it occurs more than once or twice (again barring established abbreviations). The abstract should be seen as a separable part which is (hopefully read) by a wider audience than the paper itself. If you need to abbreviate something in the paper, do so in the main paper as the \"first occurrence\". </p>\n\n<p>Tables and figures should be made to stand alone if possible (which probably is 80+% of the time). Often figures and tables may be the parts others take up when they describe your work. To have self-explanatory figures and tables is thus useful. With a table the table caption should be an integral part so I think it is reasonable to have abbreviations in the table body as long as the abbreviations are explained in the table caption. The same could apply to figures as well but I would go further and aim for making the graphics along self-explanatory even without its caption.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16388,
"author": "Benoît Kloeckner",
"author_id": 946,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/946",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In my opinion the general rule is that abbreviations should be used exactly when they make reading easier; in particular, in some circumstances it will be easier to understand a sentence when a long term is abbreviated (provided the abbreviation has been defined of course). The same rule should apply in abstract and captions, except that the cost (in term of reading comfort) of having to look for the meaning of the abbreviation is usually greater.</p>\n\n<p>The problem comes from the fact that we tend to use abbreviations when they make <em>writing</em> easier (or quicker), and this does not coincide with reading easiness.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16389,
"author": "cbeleites unhappy with SX",
"author_id": 725,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/725",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<ul>\n<li>If the abbreviation is so common that people use it instead of its real meaning (e.g. I'd call EDTA EDTA, but if I'm asked for the spelled-out name I mentally reconstruct that from the structure of EDTA - as opposed to knowing ethylenediamintetraaceticacid and reconstructing the structure from that) I'd use the abbreviation in the abstract.</li>\n<li>If the abbreviation is really common, but not the \"primary name\" of the thing in question, I'd spend that one word in the abstract and give both. </li>\n<li>Otherwise, I'm a big fan of a table of abbreviations. That way it is much easier for a reader who is not deeply familiar with the field to find the meaning than to search through the text to where the abbreviation first occurred.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>See also: <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/11678/shall-acronyms-in-scientific-papers-be-expanded-exactly-once\">Shall acronyms in scientific papers be expanded exactly once?</a></p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16391,
"author": "Flyto",
"author_id": 8394,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8394",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I would write it out in full the first time that it appears in the abstract, and again the first time that it appears in the main text. This isn't authoritative, however, it's simply what \"seems right\" to me. The abstract needs to stand on its own, and the introduction should also make sense to somebody who hasn't just read the abstract.</p>\n\n<p>Additionally, as some have said, in some fields there may be abbreviations that are so generally accepted that there is no need to expand them. To pick something that is not field-dependant, nobody would expect an author to spell out LASER or RADAR.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/30 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16360",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9569/"
]
|
16,365 | <p>I am a student of IT in India. I'm in my fourth semester and want to work on some project during summer. How should I write the email to the professor asking for the same?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16418,
"author": "Martian",
"author_id": 11404,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11404",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>How about something like the following.</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Dear Professor X,</p>\n<p>I enjoyed your course on letter writing and would like to learn more about it. Would it be possible to do a summer project with you?</p>\n<p>Sincerely,<br />\nYour student of IT in India</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>If you didn't do a course with him, there must be something that singled him out amongst the other 50 professors at your IT institute (and I don't mean his new glasses).</p>\n<p>Alternatives might be:</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>I enjoy topic X [your professors specialty] and have used it to program a simple program ...</p>\n<p>I tried to read your paper "Letter writing for IT students" ...</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>You asked for a letter, but allow me to suggest to go and talk to him directly. Make sure you know why you want to do a project with him. From a short conversation, you should be able to tell, whether he is willing to invest time into guiding you through a summer project. (He might be away on conferences or other business.) If he seems like he might be very busy, you might consider doing a project with someone else. (If your professor is too busy to meet with you every few days, anyone, even me, can give you a research project: "Research about topic X as much as you can and let me know what you found".)</p>\n<p>Say that you have never done a summer project before, and ask him how much time he expects you to put in (per day) and how often he might be able to meet with you.</p>\n<p>All of this can be settled in a short conversation of 5 minutes. Via email, this all might take well over a week, or the professor might just not care to reply.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16420,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I get <strong>many</strong> letters of this kind, and I now summarily delete them without replying. Let me explain why. </p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Money: it's never clear in these letters what kind of support the student wants/expects. The default assumption is that I would pay for them, and as an academic with limited resources, I have very little incentive to pay for an undergraduate to travel from India to the US to work with me, especially when it's unlikely they'll be able to do much in three months. Which brings me to </li>\n<li>Project timeline: most letters of this kind are of the form \"I'm interested in BROAD TOPIC A and want to work with you because you're interested in NARROW TOPIC B\". For a three month internship to work, a project has to be very focused, and set from day 1. There's no time to explore. </li>\n<li>Self-interest: There's very little gain for me here, or at least none that's mentioned in the letters. If I want to hire an undergraduate, I can do it locally. I can even get financial support (sometimes) for doing that. I can't do that with a student from abroad, and I can't even vet them in advance. </li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>So any successful letter needs to address these three issues very effectively and quickly (because I delete these emails without reading more than a few lines). </p>\n\n<p>Having said that, I know of at least one example where a student came from India to work with a colleague and that summer project turned into an application to grad school. The student is now at my university. </p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/30 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16365",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11398/"
]
|
16,367 | <p>In the USA, college sports are popular, and colleges <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletic_scholarship">may offer scholarship based on athletic skills</a>. Yet, <a href="http://www.floridatoday.com/usatoday/article/1837721">universities spend significant money on sports</a>, and <a href="http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1086">nobody earns as well as the head of the sports team</a>.</p>
<p>Considering that the universities are losing money on it, and it's not their core task, then <em>why do they spend big money on sports?</em> Who benefits, and how? Do all <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_colleges_and_universities_in_the_United_States_by_endowment">major universities</a> have commercialised sports teams, or are there major exceptions of universities choosing not to take part?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16369,
"author": "paul garrett",
"author_id": 980,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/980",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The University of Chicago's president (can't remember which one) chose to not have sports teams many decades ago.</p>\n\n<p>I think the practice of having college and university sports teams arose from one of the older functions of \"colleges\" and \"universities\", namely, as finishing schools for children of the wealthy, especially young men. (As opposed to theology seminaries, or medical or law schools, or teachers' colleges.) Just one more entertainment for them, but/and obviously the degree of quasi-professionalism was much less. </p>\n\n<p>In any case, it seems that alumni generally are more entertained by sports than by science or literature, say. I think it is believed that maintaining general alumni enthusiasm via sports may spill over into donations for other things. Certainly the box office revenue and alumni donations make sports programs <em>close</em> to self-supporting, sometimes running at a profit, depending on how one does the accounting.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16370,
"author": "Henry",
"author_id": 8,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>A partial answer is that the proposition that universities lose money on sports is controversial. Some sports bring in large amounts of money, making the athletics department as a whole not lose too much money, and most universities believe that the alumni donations brought in by the existence of sports teams more than make up for any remaining loss. (For public universities this is even more extreme, since the state legislatures that apportion money are often very fond of those athletic programs, to the point that state universities do better in state appropriations in years when their most important teams are doing well.)</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16379,
"author": "BSteinhurst",
"author_id": 7561,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/7561",
"pm_score": 8,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Here is one side effect of a university having a famous sports team as mentioned by Federico Poloni in a comment: people know your name. This helps recruit new students, it helps alumni impress potential employers with a degree from somewhere they have heard of! I only know that Boise State University is actually a real university (and as it turns out a pretty good one) because their football field has blue turf. </p>\n\n<p>One feature of American colleges and universities that is easy to forget is that they are often in the middle of nowhere. Pennsylvania State University is in a town named State College. You can guess which came first. So imagine you have thousands of young men and women in a place that is barely a town. What do they do on Saturday afternoon? Some will start organizing teams to play sports and then start going to nearby schools to play their teams. This grew greatly since the old days but the idea that a residential university is partly responsible for providing non-academic activities for their students take part in still exists as a real force. At smaller schools which do not have sports scholarships the sports teams are more about playing because the students enjoy it and it is just part of campus life. </p>\n\n<p>Also at many schools the mission statements include character formation such as \"building leadership skills.\" If this is the case you can actually argue that having some level of athletic competition on campus actually is part of the core mission. Maybe not an absolute vital part but one that contributes to the mission. </p>\n\n<p>I am of course ignoring in large part the money and corruption that is part of the NCAA Division I level of college athletics. Of which there is an extraordinary amount of both.</p>\n\n<p>Most schools, except for d3 schools, break even with their athletic programs. Americans want to be proud of something, that something for colleges is athletics. Most people wouldn't want to go to Harvard if they didn't have a good football team. I helps to bring diversity (age, interests, grades, and money) into colleges.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16383,
"author": "blankip",
"author_id": 11420,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11420",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There are good answers already for why does there continue to be a huge emphasis on sports in American academia but none really answer the question.</p>\n\n<p>The fact is that sports in America were introduced at universities out of necessity. Where in most parts of the world there has been long traditions of clubs or the local handling of games/sports, America had nothing. One small town might play another small town in a \"sport\" but that didn't satisfy everyone. You had elitist or exceptional athletes that wanted to compete against their equals, not Gary the blacksmith. </p>\n\n<p>So this is mid 19th century and America is boiling. A nation divided on many subjects. So instead of a local rowing club or in today's terms playing for your company team, the easiest thing to gravitate to is a local university. They had the money, organization, place to play the game, and so on. </p>\n\n<p>And back then universities had opinions and power concerning government and policy. So the elite universities (most were in this group at the time) wanted to take their debating and add physicality to it. Races, rowing, simple games. It invoked pride and if Harvard won the rowing competition then they must be right about slavery.</p>\n\n<p>I didn't even ask who has time for games in mid 19th century? Well you are probably a male, somewhere between 20-35, you have lots of money, and no job - you go to school. This is the epitome of sports culture. Where are all of these people stacked at... Universities. So it was just the perfect storm.</p>\n\n<p>Now once it started the early collegiate sports scene really was much like we see today - except it was admittedly like that in the late 19th century and early 20th century. What do I mean? Well players were old. You might not have many players on your football team under 20 and a few in their 30s. Some players student-status was highly questioned. There weren't really any rules at first and when they started the rules in the late 19th century there were ways around them.</p>\n\n<p>Players were paid, sometimes \"pros\" went back to college, there were boosters... the schools were driven by pride, power, and money. Maybe the only things different were (lack of) media and that they were not preying on teenagers. </p>\n\n<p>And the evolution of sports in the 20th century has gone from we have money and power so we will form the best teams, to we will get money and power from having the best teams. The big D1 schools are the worst. They hide huge huge earnings by allocating costs to sports teams so they can make millions/billions on tuition and licensing - yes everyone buys Texas Longhorns shirts for their Economics department. </p>\n\n<p>Some universities \"claim\" to be losing money. There have been economic impact studies done showing that almost none that made the claims were even near losing money on sports. When they factored in advertising, enrollment, exterior sales, and so on. Really the only thing that makes sports somewhat costly for universities now is Title IX. Very few women's sports make money and most women wouldn't go to a university because their softball team is good. </p>\n\n<p>So now we have the NCAA, colleges, tied-in businesses getting profits and tax breaks for players that are playing for free. This may change now that there has been talk of unionizing but could be years and years down the road. </p>\n\n<p>Even if this happened and the landscape changed were the big sports went to a club system there would still be sports in American universities. They would function because students expect this now. Things would probably work like they do for club sports at current universities or how things work at most DIII schools. You play local teams, you drive to the game, pay for your equipment, maybe offset a little by entrance fees or a nice booster.</p>\n\n<p>So why are there sports in American colleges? Pride, money, free-time of students, and the fact that there weren't other organizations to handle these things in the new America. Why will sports be played in American colleges in 100 years? Same reason they are played at clubs in France. Tradition.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16384,
"author": "Community",
"author_id": -1,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/-1",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Something I couldn't understand in American culture. Last summer, I've read an article - an interview with some south-american novelist (I can't remember his name).</p>\n\n<p>He said, it's a psychological trick. Generally, people going to university are among the best. They were the best, or one of the best in school. Now some of them have to be worst. People dislike being the worst, even if they are the worst among the best, and it's very discouraging. Many talents could get lost because of that.</p>\n\n<p>But if we get sportsmen, they would be usually the worst in the class, and they would be perfectly happy with it, as long as they would get promotion and could concentrate on sport.</p>\n\n<p>It's a logical argument for me.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16386,
"author": "StrongBad",
"author_id": 929,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/929",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I am gong to assume that the NCAA is a reasonable proxy for "commercialised sports teams". The <a href=\"http://www.ncaa.org/about/who-we-are/membership\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">NCAA has 1,200</a> members which while large is not every accredited US university. A quick check of your list of major universities reveals Pomona, with an endowment of 1.6 billion, is not a member of the NCAA. Despite its sizeable endowment, with only 1,600 undergraduates I am not sure it qualifies as a major university.</p>\n<p>As for the who benefits part, I will just quote the <a href=\"http://www.ncaa.org/about/what-we-do\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\">NCAA</a></p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>The result is that NCAA student-athletes are graduating at a higher rate than other college students. More than eight out of 10 student-athletes will earn a bachelor’s degree.</p>\n<p>Student-athletes work hard throughout the year to be among those who qualify to compete for 89 NCAA championships. That experience teaches them time management, leadership skills and the importance of working toward a common goal. They are the tools for success that last a lifetime.</p>\n</blockquote>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16403,
"author": "Stephan Branczyk",
"author_id": 11434,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11434",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In the US, you're less likely to have multiple professional teams in the same sport representing the same city. The number of franchises is set by the professional leagues themselves (with the US government exempting them at different times from <a href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2009/10/20/DI2009102001567.html\" rel=\"noreferrer\">antitrust</a> monopoly regulations). </p>\n\n<p>The cities in the US that have two teams have either stolen an existing team from another city, or they've been able to convince the professional leagues to expand the set number of teams (the latter of which very rarely ever happens). </p>\n\n<p>In Europe, there are no such restrictions, if a homegrown team is good enough, it will just start moving up through the ranks even if the city it inhabits already has other teams that are playing at that level. This artificial scarcity is what's providing American Universities with the opportunity to have semi-professional teams. </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Unlike major team sports in North America, where franchises are\n awarded to nominated cities, most European teams have grown from small\n clubs formed by groups of individuals before growing rapidly. </p>\n \n <p>...</p>\n \n <p>Clubs therefore had an equal chance to grow to become among the\n strongest in their particular sport which has led to a situation where\n many cities are represented by two or even three top class teams in\n the same sport. In the 2011–12 football season, <strong>London has five teams\n playing in the Premier League, while Liverpool and Manchester also\n have double representation.</strong></p>\n \n <p><a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport_in_Europe\" rel=\"noreferrer\">[source]</a></p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>If you think about it, in the case of American Football, 32 franchises is not nearly enough for a country like the US (which has way more than 32 cities potentially capable of supporting one or more real football teams at the professional level). And the cities could all battle it out with their own football teams, to see which ones are the better ones that should enter those leagues, but the professional leagues do not want teams selected that way. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16406,
"author": "Noah Snyder",
"author_id": 25,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/25",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In addition to looking at this from the perspective of universities, it's also worth looking at this from the point of view of professional sports leagues. In Europe soccer is based on a free market system with intense competition for players between leagues and between teams in the same league. As a result, teams sign younger and younger players. Thus top soccer players don't go to college (or even high school). In the US, by contrast, the leagues are strong cartels who collude to keep down the cost of talent. Both football and basketball in the US have strong salary caps (limiting how much a team can spend overall, and in basketball on how much they can spend on each player), revenue sharing (where the richest teams have to give money to the poor ones), etc. In particular, the leagues are able to enforce an age minimum. In basketball they require that americans be one year removed from their high school graduation date, and in football that's 3 years. This means there's a huge pool of future professionals who are barred from working in the professional leagues. In steps the NCAA, which is again a cartel which keeps down labor costs, and who has barred any member schools from paying their athletes. This seriously decreases the costs of running a sports team, and thus makes the cost/benefit analysis more favorable.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16407,
"author": "Noah Snyder",
"author_id": 25,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/25",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>In order to understand why big college sports exists in the US, I think it's important to understand the role that they play. For someone coming from Europe, I think this is the best explanation:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Big conference American Football is the closest U.S. equivalent to international soccer in Europe.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>The Ohio State-Michigan game is our equivalent of a Netherlands-Germany soccer match. It's what gets millions of people of all ages across a state out wearing team colors and rooting together.</p>\n\n<p>It makes a lot of sense that <em>states</em> should be running sports teams to play each other in the US the same way that countries in Europe run sports teams to play each other in Europe. (Remember that many US states are larger than a lot of European countries.) That the states happen to run their teams through their state-run universities is a bit strange, but the underlying concept of state-based sports teams makes a lot of sense.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16408,
"author": "Zach H",
"author_id": 8857,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8857",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Most of these answers address the existence of large sports competing at the highest level, or historical reasons for why sports first appeared. Here, most of the major points have been covered. It's important to note that the effects on alumni donations and new student enrollment (quantity and quality by standard metrics) are not speculative. See this <a href=\"http://www.nber.org/papers/w18196\" rel=\"noreferrer\">paper</a> and this <a href=\"http://www.nber.org/papers/w13937\" rel=\"noreferrer\">paper</a>. At the college where my dad teaches, when the basketball team makes the NCAA tournament, their applications increase both in quantity and quality. For this reason, the president loved the basketball team despite not caring a whit about sport.</p>\n\n<p>I'd like to address why smaller colleges would choose to have sports programs, despite negligible ticket sales and no TV contracts or media coverage. The rationales they present are typically in the form of character building, and this aspect should not be ignored. As a college athlete, I learned a great deal about social interaction and that awful buzzword 'teamwork'. At our athletics department banquet, someone always quoted the (apocryphal) words of the Duke of Wellington, \"The battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton.\" As institutions pride themselves on crafting the whole individual, it makes sense that they provide the opportunity to play sports. </p>\n\n<p>Another important aspect is recruiting. My choice of college was heavily influenced by the opportunity to play volleyball. Since graduating, my alma mater has added six new sports teams, all of which are sports traditionally played by the children of upper-middle class families. This is not coincidental: colleges are competing for students, especially those who can pay full tuition. For an explicit discussion of the economic benefits to the institution, scroll down to the Division III section of this <a href=\"http://www.universitybusiness.com/article/scoring-big-new-football-teams\" rel=\"noreferrer\">article</a> on why colleges are adding football teams (the first section addresses the financial and aspirational benefits to larger colleges).</p>\n\n<p>Lastly, the role of sports in helping students identify with their college is immense. This is larger at universities with major sports programs, but still non-trivial. When we played our rival, people came out and watched (which they almost never did otherwise). At those competitions, students identified with our college in a visceral way. As seen above, this can significantly influence the student's relationship with the institution.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16415,
"author": "Dryden Long",
"author_id": 11452,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11452",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>Considering that the universities are losing money on it, and it's not their core task, then why do they spend big money on sports? Who benefits, and how?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p><em>Big</em> money is only really spent on Football, and to a lesser degree, Men's Basketball. Football generally does turn a <a href=\"http://www.forbes.com/sites/aliciajessop/2013/08/31/the-economics-of-college-football-a-look-at-the-top-25-teams-revenues-and-expenses/\" rel=\"nofollow\">profit</a>, provided you are a successful enough team. Think of it as an investment. Pouring money into your football program is a huge risk. What if the team performs poorly? What if there is a lack of interest from students and the community? Your money could easily be wasted if this were to happen. That being said, if the team wins and the community supports it, there is a great deal of profit to be made.</p>\n\n<p>The money that lost in athletics usually comes from other, less popular sports. College football teams have multi-million dollar TV deals and merchandising rights. Certain programs have helped develop a brand for their university and in turn generate a demand for everything from t-shirts to admissions. </p>\n\n<p>Less popular sports however, do not generate such buzz but still require money to stay afloat. When <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title_IX\" rel=\"nofollow\">Title IX</a> became law in the '70s, it did amazing things for women's athletics and civil rights as a whole. Unfortunately, public interest is not that high for many \"Title IX\" sports. These teams, by law, must exist and while more popular sports such as football and basketball can generate profits, the less popular sports consume more than they can generate. This is where the losses come into play.</p>\n\n<p>Now, why do colleges and universities bother to host athletic teams if in the end they only cost money? It comes down to branding. Each college and university in America is competing for the best and brightest students. American higher education is a business, and a great majority of these schools exist in order to turn a profit. Why would a student choose to go to the University of Alabama over Harvard if he or she were accepted into both? Because of Alabama's brand. Harvard may offer a better education and hold a more prestigious position in the academic community, but Alabama wins national championships and that appeals to the youth of America. This also entices kids from the opposite of the country to attend school there. Each state hosts multiple colleges and universities, so a popular sports team can be a good reason to lure a kid out of his or her home state.</p>\n\n<p>Plain and simple, college sports teams (as a whole) are <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loss_leader\" rel=\"nofollow\">loss-leaders</a>. They are investments in marketing and allow the schools to have a national appeal. This appeal allows schools to justify higher admission costs and creates a demand among high school graduates nationwide.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16448,
"author": "drw",
"author_id": 11499,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11499",
"pm_score": -1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I'm going to start here with a disclaimer, This is my opinion based on how I think it came about. I have no references except life experience from which to draw this opinion.</p>\n\n<p>To me, sports teams came about because they needed to tire out their students. A large group of young people with nothing to do except study need an outlet. If all they did was sit in their chair and study all day, students would become restless. Restless powder kegs of young people developing world views is not good for stability. Provide a healthy distraction that keeps people fit and active. If you aren't a member of the teams at least you can go out, get some fresh air, watch and play vicariously. </p>\n\n<p>Sports also provide a method by which people goal oriented can be motivated to remain strong and healthy; similar to Shaolin monks developing their exercises to enable them to stay awake during religious lectures(sounds like college to me). </p>\n\n<p>Once these sports teams were in place, a desire for organization and status essentially lead to formation of leagues and regulations. Arms race capitalism happens and here we are today. </p>\n\n<p>Also, above people mention there are places in Europe, far from everyone else that make due without sports teams. To put some sizes in perspective, Penn State, mentioned above, in the city State College, is in the center of Pennsylvania and surrounded by barely populated farm country. Pennsylvania as a \"state\"(technically, commonwealth), is literally half the size of the United Kingdom. If you were on that campus back when the school was founded back in the 1850s, there was really nothing to do and no where to go. </p>\n\n<p>my 2 cents, thanks for reading.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16452,
"author": "J.R.",
"author_id": 780,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/780",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>Do all major universities have commercialised sports teams, or are there major exceptions of universities choosing not to take part?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>In the U.S., most major universities have sports teams, but not necessarily \"commercialised\" sports teams. For the most part, the bigger and more well-known the school, the stronger the commitment to big-time athletic programs, although there are some exceptions – a few very well-known universities do not have major sports programs. For example, MIT and Carnegie-Mellon are known for academics first, and sports teams second, although even these schools field intercollegiate squads in sports such as tennis, track, and volleyball. </p>\n\n<p>As for why they have sports teams, that is rooted in <strong>tradition</strong>. <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_athletics_in_the_United_States\" rel=\"noreferrer\">Collegiate sports rivalries go back into 1800s, and grew from there</a>. It's part of campus life, in the same way other extracurricular activities are. The U.S. is a sports-obsessed society, and, to some extent or another, sports programs attract a rather strong spotlight in both high school and college. </p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Why do they spend big money on sports?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Not every school spends big money on sports, and not every school spends big money across all sports equally. In the U.S., universities form athletic conferences. Some of the more well-known athletic conferences include the <a href=\"http://pac-12.com/\" rel=\"noreferrer\">Pac 12</a>, the <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southeastern_Conference\" rel=\"noreferrer\">SEC</a>, and the <a href=\"http://www.bigten.org/\" rel=\"noreferrer\">Big 10</a>. (The Big 10 so rooted in tradition that it still calls itself \"The Big 10\" even though there are presently 12 teams in the conference). Other conferences, such as the <a href=\"http://www.mac-sports.com/\" rel=\"noreferrer\">Mid-American Conference</a>, are comprised of teams that would not be considered athletic powerhouses. Teams in the same conference compete against each other in several sports. The Ivy League consists of some of the oldest and most prestigious schools in the U.S., and they compete against each other in both major sports (football and basketball), as well as other sports (such as volleyball, golf, and ice hockey). </p>\n\n<p>A key thing to understand is that not all schools devote the same amount of resources to their athletic programs. Conferences are generally made up of universities of comparable size, in roughly the same geographic region, with a commitment to athletics commensurate with other schools in that conference. Moreover, some schools might be known for having a very strong team in just one or two particular sports (for example, Wichita State University usually fields a very strong baseball team). </p>\n\n<p>Joining a major conference means a major commitment to athletics – you wouldn't see Eastern Texas Baptist University trying to join the <a href=\"http://www.big12sports.com/\" rel=\"noreferrer\">Big 12</a> unless they were prepared to dedicate the resources needed to field competitive teams in that conference, and the conference wouldn't let them join without that commitment, either.</p>\n\n<p>As for why a vast amount of money is spent on sports teams, that is rooted in <strong>prestige</strong>. In a sports-obsessed culture, a well-known sports team can put your university on the map. The average person on the street couldn't tell you much about the chemistry program at USC, or the computer science courses offered at Notre Dame, or the economics department at Michigan State, but five men in a barber shop could talk about their football teams all afternoon. </p>\n\n<p>There are hundreds if not thousands of universities in the U.S. The state of Georgia, for example, has about <a href=\"http://www.50states.com/college/georgia.htm#.Uu2gaPb6yR4\" rel=\"noreferrer\">six dozen</a> places where a student could obtain a degree. Most of these schools probably have sports teams, but only about four or so have have big-time, big-money commitments and nationally-recognized sports teams. The rest of the schools have athletic teams with everyday students who just happen to be on the diving team, or the wrestling team, or the softball team, participating in what amounts to an extracurricular activity, rarely playing their sport in front of more than 50 fans. </p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16471,
"author": "Anniepoo",
"author_id": 11527,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11527",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>We shouldn't forget that most American universities were founded at a time when there was great admiration for classical culture. Academics in the mid 1800's would have been well aware of the Athenian ideal of \"A Perfect Mind In A Perfect Body\". The Apollonian and Dionysian ideals were very alive for these people.</p>\n\n<p>It was only the demands for a relevant education in WWII and the 1960's that ended the classical educational curriculum with it's requirement that all students learn Latin or Greek. American universities remain a forest of Ionic columns.</p>\n\n<p>You can get a good sense of the position of 'sport' in the culture of the upper class in the 1920's by watching Fritz Lang's 'Metropolis'. </p>\n\n<p>I'd remind that one criterion for Rhodes scholarships is that of athletic prowess.</p>\n\n<p>Even as late as my own adolescence in the 1970's there was an assumption that the 'best' [male] students were the athletes. The ideal was Tommy, the quarterback of the high school team, and Suzy the cheerleader.</p>\n\n<p>Also remember that many universities in the US were training grounds for the military.</p>\n\n<p>In Europe, universities were more likely to have grown from the church.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/30 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16367",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1033/"
]
|
16,371 | <p>Things that make multiple research projects different and single project:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Inertia that sets in once I have spent a few weeks on single one of them. The 'switching cost' seems too high to me, and it leads to not much being done first few days of switching to the other project.</p></li>
<li><p>Pressure of producing 'visible' results every few months to keep manager/sponsors happy.</p></li>
<li><p>Pressure of keeping up with literature related to multiple topics.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>What can I do optimize my work productivity?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16378,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There is no easy solution to the \"task switching\" problem; it really is a strong function of how you work. </p>\n\n<p>In my previous job, I had a rather distressingly large number of projects to work on—as many as eight or nine, depending on how you define a project—at any one time (oddly enough, my academic position requires me to work on just as many projects, but in a supervisory capacity). For me, what helped to have to \"task switch\" was the fact that I had to provide regular progress updates at team meetings, and meet deadlines for the project. I couldn't spend weeks on a single project, because then I'd have to scramble to meet the approaching deadlines for everything else I was working on. So deadlines and meetings where you have to talk about your progress are good ways to make sure you keep on top of things.</p>\n\n<p>With respect to literature, I'd suggest setting aside some time each week for literature searches and literature reviews. I'd also use this as a chance to \"switch gears\" for a bit—use this time to keep up to date on the project that <em>isn't</em> taking up the majority of your time. </p>\n\n<p>Finally, if you're going to put away a project for several weeks or more, then you should <em>definitely</em> keep good records before switching your focus. Make sure you leave yourself a note of what you just finished working on, where you left things off, and what you think the next steps for the project should be after you return to it. That way, you're not figuring out where you left off—you've told yourself how to get yourself back on track.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 47332,
"author": "Fomite",
"author_id": 118,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/118",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>So you have highlighted some of the negatives of switching between topics, but you should also consider some positives:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>These projects open up different journals/conferences/spaces/collaborators to work with, which is always nice.</li>\n<li>It can help prevent burnout. If you're sick and tired of working on the same thing day in, day out, you can switch for a little while to freshen things up.</li>\n<li>It can actually boost productivity. If you've hit a wall with something, or it's just going to take a long time for the first project to finish, you can switch for a little while and let the previous project cook on the back burner while you get something else done.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>There's definitely a time management problem, and it is occasionally a hard one, but working on a single project puts all your eggs in one potentially failure prone, potentially exhausting basket.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 47333,
"author": "user3272992",
"author_id": 35959,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/35959",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Research assistants. I really don't understand why someone would spend an hour tediously filling numerous arrays of vials with cell-growth solution when they could just pay some high schooler $12/hour to do the same. Or even unpaid volunteers/interns.</p>\n\n<p>Think of all the new research we could do if every researcher used at least one research assistant.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/30 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16371",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11400/"
]
|
16,373 | <p>I am a German PhD student in South America and am worried about whether my PhD title will be accepted in Germany (as Dr.) and internationally in general.</p>
<p>If you successfully complete a PhD in the EU, you are allowed to carry the title "Dr.", as any PhD in Germany does.</p>
<p>I am working in a faculty with a professor with international experience, who, for research reasons, left a reasonably strong department in Europe for the position in South America, which is incidentally one of the strongest two departments in South America.</p>
<p>I am attending international conferences every now and then, have two papers published in international journals (one jointly, one alone) and two more papers in preparation.</p>
<p>For all I know, I can reasonably expect that my research performance (and eventually, my PhD thesis) is not below the European standard.</p>
<p>The default format for PhDs from a non-EU country is something like "Hans Wurst (Doutorado, Universidade de Ipanema)", which looks like I should just use my self-confidence instead and not mention that I did a PhD unless someone asks.</p>
<p>I don't know if it's off-topic, because this might just be "too localized", but of course I am wondering if it is possible to have my PhD accredited to use my PhD title in Germany like any "normal" PhD.</p>
<p>I'm also wondering, whether the international community is as strict as German law, or whether I should just call myself "Hans Wurst, PhD" on job applications, my professional webpage, etc. (where the place will be listed somewhere), and hope nobody tells me it should be "Hans Wurst (Doutorado, Universidade de Ipanema)" instead.</p>
<p>Did I make a mistake in my career planning in that the only title that is worth carrying (until full tenure, I guess) I can't carry without a large number of not-so-fancy accessories?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16375,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>Did I make a mistake in my career planning in that the only title that is worth carrying (until full tenure, I guess) I can’t carry without a large number of not-so-fancy accessories?</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>No. You make the good old German mistake of thinking that ‘carrying’ the title has any relevance whatsoever. You will have the equivalent of a doctoral degree from a respectable university (presumably) backed with a reasonable publication record. This is what’s going to matter. Whether it will be called a doctorate or a PhD does not matter to any employer (that you would actually want to work for). Also, for practical purposes, the people that care about such things <em>will</em> be calling you Dr. Hans Wurst anyway, even if you technically have a slightly different title. It’s close enough.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>The default format for PhDs from a non-EU country is something like “Hans Wurst (Doutorado, Universidade de Ipanema)”, which looks like I should just use my self-confidence instead and not mention that I did a PhD unless someone asks.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I don’t quite understand. You don’t want to mention your PhD because of ... what exactly?</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I’m also wondering whether the international community is as strict as German law, or whether I should just call myself “Hans Wurst, PhD” on job applications, my professional webpage, etc. (where the place will be listed somewhere), and hope nobody tells me it should be “Hans Wurst (Doutorado, Universidade de Ipanema)” instead.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Practically, on anything but the most formal documents, I have seen people in similar situations call themselves anything out of: Dr. Hans Wurst; Hans Wurst, PhD; or Hans Wurst, PhD (Universidade de Ipanema). All of those mean essentially the same thing to the pragmatic observer.</p>\n\n<h2>Clarifications</h2>\n\n<p>First off, I am not German myself, but Austrian with strong ties to Germany (and Austria is <em>the place that Germans make fun of because we are presumably so fond of our academic titles</em>), so I do think I am able to comment on this issue.</p>\n\n<p>Second, I think it is required to distinguish a few things which are somewhat mangled up in my above response as well as the questions:</p>\n\n<h3>Will the OP formally be allowed to carry the title Dr. Hans Wurst?</h3>\n\n<p>No, not without going through nostrification, as indicated in other answers.</p>\n\n<h3>Will people informally still refer to him as they would to the holder of a European PhD? (e.g., put a Dr. Hans Wurst on his door in the office?). Basically, would people in their day-to-day life consider the difference to be a technicality?</h3>\n\n<p>Yes, I am convinced that would be the case in most places. If non-EU people were treated as “not really doctors at all”, we would not have any foreign faculty or postdocs. In Vienna, while I did my postdoc there, we had people who had received PhDs from Austria, Germany, the US, and China, and they all were uniformly referred to as “Drs.” by peers and university administration alike. It may not be formally correct, but people are also not stupid (in general).</p>\n\n<h3>Will it make a difference in his professional life?</h3>\n\n<p>Assuming the university is indeed excellent (I have personally never heard of it, but my knowledge of African universities is very limited), it should really not make a difference. I guess the main problem is that if the university is not very well-known, a hiring committee might not go through the trouble of actually finding out whether or not the university is good. However, at least in academic posts, I would not assume that the OP will have any disadvantage in comparison to a holder of a German PhD. International experience is usually considered a big plus. The examples provided by <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/16377\">aeismail</a> and <a href=\"https://academia.stackexchange.com/a/16376\">Nate Eldredge</a> are completely opposed to every personal experience I’ve ever had.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16376,
"author": "Nate Eldredge",
"author_id": 1010,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/1010",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>To address your last question: the international community is <em>not</em> as strict as Germany. Here in the US, there are no formal regulations on the use of the title. If you hold an earned doctorate from a reasonable university somewhere in the world, nobody is going to complain about your use of \"Dr.\" or \"Ph.D.\" or both. Even holders of honorary doctorates, or those from non-accredited universities, usually get away with it. On the other hand, we typically don't use those titles as universally as Germans do.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16377,
"author": "aeismail",
"author_id": 53,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/53",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>How your PhD is counted depends a lot on from which country you obtained it. Currently, degrees from Australia, Canada, Japan, Israel, and most doctoral-granting American universities are recognized as fully equivalent to \"Dr.\" Beyond that, however, the PhD is listed as a PhD, so long as it's been granted by an institution accredited to give out doctoral degrees. (It has to be legitimately \"earned.\") You just would not technically be allowed to call yourself \"Herr Dr. Hans Wurst\"; you'd be \"Herr Hans Wurst, Ph.D.\" (or whatever the formal name of your degree is). </p>\n\n<p>Unfortunately, the classification of the degree <em>does</em> matter in Germany. Someone who holds a <em>Dr. rer. nat.</em> (sciences), for instance, will have a harder time getting a position in an engineering faculty than someone who holds a <em>Dr.-Ing.</em> (engineering). PhD's may or may not count as being equivalent to either degree, unless the specific regulations of the universities allow for this. (This can make a difference in setting up thesis committees, depending upon the regulations of the faculty in question. Yes, it's really annoying, but that's the way the system is set up.)</p>\n\n<p>Fortunately, as Nate says in his answer, the rest of the world is nowhere near as strict as German law (even the modified version now in effect).</p>\n\n<p>Also, you can apply to the <a href=\"http://www.kmk.org/zab.html\" rel=\"noreferrer\">Zentralstelle für ausländisches Bildungswesen</a> (Central Authority for Foreign Education) for recognition of a foreign-obtained degree as equivalent to the corresponding German degree.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/30 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16373",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11404/"
]
|
16,390 | <p>I have been thinking about a second PhD for the last year. I am currently a doctoral candidate in civil engineering at University of Texas at Austin (ranked 6th in my discipline) and working as a student statistical consultant at the university consulting center. I am working on spatio-temporal modeling of count data using Bayesian hierarchical models, with computationally efficient techniques for my dissertation. (I will have publications on this very soon; two of them are in review). I do have 2 publications in my area but their topic is the application of statistical models. I am also going to get a Masters in statistics next semester along with my PhD in civil engineering. I have done many courses related to Bayesian statistics including graduate level mathematical statistics, theoretical MCMC, stochastic volatility and time series models, statistical consulting, advanced econometrics (non-Bayesian), discrete choice modeling and one course on data mining (graduate level). In my field, I see massive datasets but very minimal statistical expertise, particularly on the big data side. This has motivated me to pursue something beyond my Phd and beyond my discipline. </p>
<p>I am very interested in handling large datasets and perhaps, machine learning applications. I would like to know whether a PhD in machine learning is going to help me realise my dreams. I do not have any formal research experience in data mining or machine learning. But, I do a lot of Bayesian hierarchical modeling on smaller datasets. Given my experience, I am not sure whether I can secure admission to a good program in the machine learning area. I appreciate any suggestions and advice on whether to pursue another PhD and the feasibility of securing admission to a good program in a PhD machine learning track. I am assuming basic financial assistance for any PhD program. </p>
<p>Thanks much in advance. </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16395,
"author": "Faheem Mitha",
"author_id": 285,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/285",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>This site has had such questions come up before. Usually (as in this case), I think the correct answer is that doing a second PhD is not necessary, and not a good use of your time. In my opinion, shared by many (most?), multiple PhDs are very rarely a good idea. As people have remarked elsewhere, a big part of a PhD is learning how to do research (hopefully) under supervision and guidance. The supervision and guidance do not necessarily happen in practice, anyway. Usually much of a PhD is deadwood and bureaucracy, like required courses.</p>\n\n<p>My personal opinion are that PhDs are not a necessary qualification in any case. Before they existed people did just fine. Check out the history of the PhD on Wikipedia</p>\n\n<p>If you know enough statistics to write research papers, you just go ahead and write papers. Once you know enough to do so, it is not rocket science. Machine learning is just statistics done by computer scientists for some reason, maybe because the statisticians are not interested in doing it.</p>\n\n<p>I think your general aims and perspective are sensible. Knowing things like Bayesian statistics and modelling is useful when working with data.</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>In my field, I see massive datasets but very minimal statistical expertise, particularly on the big data side.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Yes, this sounds accurate. Statistical expertise is not very commonly available or applied by non-statisticians, but it would be useful to them if they knew how to do it correctly.</p>\n\n<p>A couple of suggestions wrt things you could usefully focus on:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li><p>English language skills. Very important for a researcher. This is \nparticularly important if one does not speak English natively.</p></li>\n<li><p>Computational skills. This is getting to be also a truism, but\npeople in academia don't usually know what they are doing re\nprogramming and software development. A better understanding in\nthese areas will probably pay dividends for researchers in the applied \nsciences, though there are differences of opinion as to how much.</p></li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Neither of these skill sets would be usefully served by getting a second PhD.</p>\n\n<p>I have a PhD in Statistics, but I don't think I need to have one to offer the preceding opinions. Mostly they are just common sense.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16398,
"author": "Paul Hiemstra",
"author_id": 4091,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4091",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>As other people already stated, multiple PhD's is almost certainly not a good idea. How to transition into machine learning depends on where you want to work:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>academia, you can try to get a postdoc position in machine learning, in that way you can build your career by writing publications and get up to speed with machine learning during your postdoc research. This could be problematic as you might have to compete with people that have a PhD in machine learning. But this can be overcome during the interview stage. </li>\n<li>industry, you can simply apply to entry level machine learning positions (look for data science positions) and take it from there. Once you convince a company that you are a worthwhile addition, you can learn the ropes on the job.</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>In general, I would recommend already getting up-to-speed a bit in machine learning, try some online tutorials, etc. This can really help in securing a new position in either academia or industry.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/31 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16390",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11429/"
]
|
16,396 | <p>I talked with a professor for possible thesis guidance and mentioned that I aim to publish papers at top venues as soon as possible. The Professor got somewhat offended and said publication is not an aim and that I should aim to be problem oriented. </p>
<p>Maybe true, but I did not understand why that prof got offended and felt so bad about publishing. Do you have any ideas?</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16399,
"author": "Peter Jansson",
"author_id": 4394,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/4394",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>The traditions of writing a monograph as a thesis vs. writing a thesis based on a number of papers/manuscripts and a cover paper to tie everything together vary between university systems (academic cultures). Because many aspects of academia including evaluations for positions and grants to a large extent is based on published papers, the latter system is gaining interest. In my country, Sweden, it has always (in modern times) been the norm. So in your case the reaction can be caused by one or both of tradition and local academic culture.</p>\n\n<p>The professor has a good point in that the aim of writing a thesis should not primarily be to publish papers. Graduate school is about learning both practical and philosophical knowledge of how to conduct research properly with the aim to become a functioning research individual. At the same time, writing papers is a vital skill that must be included in such education so one does not preclude the other and my guess is that the response, hence, mostly is the result of tradition and culture rather than right or wrong. To be offended seems a bit over the top in terms of a reaction but I do not know the person to judge where such a reaction might originate.</p>\n\n<p>I know of many who have defended a monograph but written and published papers on the material included in the thesis. A monograph allows inclusion of much more details on experiments and results than the paper format does. This can be seen as an advantage of the monograph. On the other hand, a thesis consisting of papers usually also contains a cover paper in which the same type of details can be included.</p>\n\n<p>In the end the thesis you write will follow the local traditions or rules and my suggestion is to follow these but to aim to think about papers in parallel. Hopefully you will have an advisor that agrees.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16400,
"author": "xLeitix",
"author_id": 10094,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10094",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<blockquote>\n <p>I talked with a professor for possible thesis guidance and mentioned that I aim to publish papers at top venues as soon as possible. </p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>One can only speculate, but maybe the professor was annoyed by your usage of <em>as soon as possible</em> more than by your intention to publish (if this was indeed what you said to him in verbatim). Maybe he inferred from this wording that, to you, PhD school is an unnecessary nuissance that you expect to leave behind you quickly, so that you can go on to greater glory.</p>\n\n<p>I think in general a professor <strong>should really not</strong> be opposed to you publishing in good venues on principle, as this would mean that his students are basically locked out of an academic career for good - and which advisor would want that?</p>\n\n<p><strong>Edit:</strong></p>\n\n<p>To answer your titular question <em>Is being publication oriented bad?</em>:</p>\n\n<p>Yes, if it means you do only \"easy\" incremental research in order to minimize risk. No, if you just mean that you do not only want to do any research, but are actively looking for topics that are publishable and which will have an impact on the scientific community or, in some cases, industrial practice.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16401,
"author": "posdef",
"author_id": 5674,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/5674",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There is nothing wrong with wanting to publish, and wanting to publish more and better. The fact that you are goal-driven can only be a plus, from my and many others' point of view.</p>\n\n<p><strong>BUT</strong> the question arises when you start thinking about the implications of wanting to publish more and better. I will be a bit crass here and give a somewhat unconventional metaphor. I guess no one can deny that having sex is a good thing, in a way like publishing. If you go around telling people (especially those who are supposed to be your seniors) that you intend to get laid <strong>as often</strong> and <strong>as soon as possible</strong> with the as hot girls/guys as possible... Well let's say they might start questioning your motives and personality. </p>\n\n<p>Putting the metaphor aside, being an academic is mostly about doing research and from time to time communicating your work, primarily (but <strong>not exclusively</strong>) in the form of publications. Unfortunately the academic society has evolved in a way that how much you publish and where you publish often gets more attention than the quality, originality or the usefulness of the work you do. While I will not go on to claim that the two are not correlated, I personally do not believe how often and in which journals you publish your work is a <em>definitive</em> and <em>descriptive</em> indicator of <em>how good of a scientist</em> you are (anyone is of course entitled to disagree with me).</p>\n\n<p>I believe the professor in question, might have gotten offended by the fact that your primary concern/ambition does not come across as doing good science, but rather solely being successful within the current norms of academic environment.</p>\n\n<p>Hope that helps</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16419,
"author": "algorithmics",
"author_id": 11458,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11458",
"pm_score": 1,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>There is nothing wrong in what you said to the Professor. You stated your concrete end goals as clearly as you thought you could. However, its not in your Professors control as to whether you will be published in top journals quickly. Even if he is the best Professor in the world, he cannot make that happen for you. So, what you need to look for is a Professor who is willing to support you in your goals and help you help yourself to get there. In addition, you may want to define some other qualities you are looking for that are not strictly in line with your stated goal.\nA Professor is a coach and a mentor.\nHere are some qualities of a good coach : <a href=\"http://home.earthlink.net/~tfakehany/point.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://home.earthlink.net/~tfakehany/point.html</a> and <a href=\"http://www.mentalgamecoach.com/articles/CoachingQualities.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.mentalgamecoach.com/articles/CoachingQualities.html</a>\nThe main thing is you dont want a judgmental Professor because judgment is the antithesis of research.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/31 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16396",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11433/"
]
|
16,409 | <p>I had recently submitted a paper to an IEEE conference and got accepted, but for poster presentation. This is the very first time I have written a paper. Although it is a great achievement for me given my inexperience in the field, my goal is to get it published. </p>
<ul>
<li>Does IEEE publish papers accepted for posters presentations? </li>
<li>Should I pass on the poster presentation and send my paper to a journal?</li>
</ul>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16426,
"author": "Irwin",
"author_id": 5944,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/5944",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It depends on the conference. Many conferences publish the one page abstract that you're sometimes required to submit with the poster, but not all of them. If you didn't have to write the 1-page summary as part of the submission, don't expect it to be published. The poster itself is almost never published (I personally recommend that you make the poster available on the web).</p>\n\n<p>Despite that, you CAN still list it as a publication on your CV, but posters are generally not worth very much and it's good to compartmentalize them to their own section of the CV so that your (eventual) journal and conference papers get priority.</p>\n\n<p>A bit more description about \"weight\" and whether you should pass or not:</p>\n\n<p>Generally, the weight of a publication (all else being equal, like let's assume for a moment that every paper's research content is the same) depends on the venue it's in and the type of publication it is. Posters are on the bottom, then short papers, then full conference papers. Usually, you get a poster because the work isn't developed enough to fill up a full paper. One thing to note is that if you \"compartmentalize\" your work well enough, you should be able to get the poster out and then later extend it to the journal without any issues - that is, if your journal builds upon your poster (quite often by adding more results, more interpretations/implications from the data, more analysis, etc.) then you'll have no problem with having both the poster and the later journal paper/conference paper.</p>\n\n<p>I would like to take a moment to say that while this usually is okay for posters (poster to journal/conference paper), taking this path from a short paper/note to conference paper is often wrought with more problems. Because short papers already present an approach and sometimes results, you need to ensure that the full paper builds SIGNIFICANTLY on the short paper for it to be a real contribution. I've been seeing more recently people highlighting differences between short papers and long papers as a result (ex: \"This paper builds upon the work presented in [1] by adding a thorough evaluation through two lab studies and one industrial field study\"). You need to do this because if you don't, and someone does a web search for the topic of the paper, they might find your short paper and then be all like, \"So it looks like someone has done this before\". Unlike in a poster, where you really don't get that much space to talk about much of anything, you can usually discuss something of substance in a short paper.</p>\n\n<p>Anyway, in general, it's usually okay to present posters and then later expand them into journals or conference papers. Poster presentations are healthy in that they are a quick and easy way to get yourself \"out there\", solicit feedback from the community, and get further ideas for what you want to do with your work. You can usually use the feedback from the poster session to build upon what you have and get a stronger research direction in the future. But do be aware that you're not \"self-scooping\" yourself by putting super-important results in a poster, because posters have low impact.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16455,
"author": "Lev Reyzin",
"author_id": 10,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>It depends on the particular conference and the field. In computer science (where the main publication venue is conferences), many conferences divide the published papers into \"talks\" and \"posters\" (eg NIPS, AISTATS, ...), and there's no difference in terms of publication.</p>\n\n<p>In most other fields, however, acceptance at a conference means nothing, and you have to get published in a journal.</p>\n\n<p>TL;DR: ask your advisor.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/31 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16409",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11447/"
]
|
16,412 | <p>Currently I am applying for a LLM programme at SOAS and am having certain difficulties while writing the required personal statement. According to their guidance, the statement should be "describing your ambitions, suitability and interest for the programme you have chosen. This should be around 1,000 words in length", but I simply can't even fall under 2,000 words. </p>
<p>So my question is should I post the longer version that describes me better and for which I believe gives me a greater chance to be accepted, or should I simply delete half the text so I could manage their quota? </p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16413,
"author": "Henry",
"author_id": 8,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/8",
"pm_score": 5,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>There's some variability about how strict people are about word limits, so if you have any kind of inside knowledge (like someone who knows the culture at SOAS), they may be able to give you better guidance for this specific case.</p>\n\n<p>In the absence of reason to think they don't care about the word limit, I'd worry about going over, especially about going <em>way</em> over, like double the suggested length. You should consider that if you're that far over the limit, your personal statement may not actually be quite what they're looking for. Perhaps it's overly detailed, or trying to make too many separate points at once. In other words, you should at least consider that this indicates a problem with your statement of purpose that you're not seeing. (And you should try to get input from someone else who could give you a fresh eye on it.)</p>\n\n<p>The risks are:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>It's possible they count words and ignore/mark applications that don't follow directions.</li>\n<li>Even if they don't count words, people reading your application are likely to notice that you're statement is double (!) the length of most others. At a minimum, they'll probably discount your statement of purpose on the grounds that you had a lot more space than everyone else, which might take away much of the benefit of the longer statement.</li>\n<li>Worse, they might be annoyed at having to read twice as much or upset that you didn't follow directions.</li>\n<li>And, they might take it as an indication that you're not that serious about the application: it could mean that you weren't paying attention, or that you're recycling a statement you wrote for someone else without much effort.</li>\n</ul>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16414,
"author": "OBu",
"author_id": 10941,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10941",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It depends a bit on the programme, but the general answer is \"stick to the 1000\". Here are some good reasons for a committee enforcing such policies:</p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Someone has to read it. All of it. From everyone.</li>\n<li>It would be unfair, if everyone stays within the limit and you don't. Some people just stop reading after 1000 words</li>\n<li>Most things which can not be described in 1000 words are not better described using 2000 words. </li>\n</ol>\n\n<p>Some tipps:</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Try to be focused</li>\n<li>Avoid empty phrases</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>Best luck</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16429,
"author": "David Richerby",
"author_id": 10685,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/10685",
"pm_score": 3,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Look at it from the point of view of the person who has to read 200 of these things.</p>\n\n<ul>\n<li>1,000 words: expected;</li>\n<li>1,100 words: not noticeably different;</li>\n<li>1,200 words: looks maybe a touch long but whatever;</li>\n<li>2,000 words: \"wow, long [turns the page] blah, blah, blah [turns over again without even reading] why does this idiot think I want to read all of this?\"</li>\n</ul>\n\n<p>You're applying for an advanced degree in law. A critical skill in law is getting your point across concisely and simply, without extraneous waffle and without going on so long that the jury gets bored and the judge gets annoyed. If your personal statement is twice as long as it should be, the person reviewing applications can see that you lack a key skill without even reading the words.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16431,
"author": "J.R.",
"author_id": 780,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/780",
"pm_score": 4,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>If the writing style in your statement matches the writing style in your question, you should just do some creative revising. Cut the fluff and write more concisely; for example:</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Currently I am applying for a LLM programme at SOAS and am having certain difficulties while writing the required personal statement. According to their guidance, the statement should be "describing your ambitions, suitability and interest for the programme you have chosen. This should be around 1,000 words in length", but I simply can't even fall under 2,000 words.</p>\n<p>So my question is should I post the longer version that describes me better and for which I believe gives me a greater chance to be accepted, or should I simply delete half the text so I could manage their quota?</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p><strong>Much of that is extraneous and overly wordy:</strong></p>\n<p><em><strike>Currently</strike> I am applying for a <strike>LLM</strike> programme <strike>at SOAS</strike> and am having <strike>certain</strike> difficulties <strike>while</strike> writing <strike>the required</strike> <strong>my</strong> personal statement. <strike>According to their guidance,</strike> the statement should <strike>be "describing your</strike> describe <strike>your</strike> "ambitions, suitability and interest" for the <strong>chosen</strong> programme <strike>you have chosen. This should be</strike> in "around 1,000 words in length", but <strike>I simply can't even fall under</strike> <strong>I'm over</strong> 2,000 words.</em></p>\n<p><em><strike>So my question is</strike> should I post the longer version that describes me better <strike>and for which I believe gives me a greater chance to be accepted</strike>, or should I <strike>simply</strike> delete half the text <strike>so I could manage</strike> <strong>and meet</strong> their quota?</em></p>\n<p>yields:</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><em>I am applying for a programme and am having difficulties writing my personal statement. The statement should describe "ambitions, suitability and interest" for the chosen programme in "around 1,000 words in length", but I'm over 2,000 words.</em></p>\n<p><em>Should I post the longer version that describes me better, or should I delete half the text and meet their quota?</em></p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>Original version: <strong>99 words</strong>. Revised version: <strong>58 words</strong>. I've cut your word count almost in half but I believe there is minimal loss in content.</p>\n<p>Maybe you've done this already, but I thought this was worth mentioning, in case you haven't. By the way, in the past, when I've had to meet word count ceilings, I've usually been able to do it <strong>without</strong> eliminating core information.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16439,
"author": "g-man",
"author_id": 11489,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11489",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>Part of assigning a word count limit is to determine if you can be concise AND follow directions AND still get your message across to the reader. For example, if you are asked to drive someone across town but in an effort to impress you take them to the next state that isn't accomplishing the assigned task. If you can't get your message across within the word limit then you are failing the assignment.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/31 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16412",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11450/"
]
|
16,422 | <p>I'm TAing a class that uses Piazza (an online student forum), in addition to the traditional office hours. A student made a (private) post, where he uploaded a MATLAB figure and asked whether it is correct. The figure is what the first question of the homework assignment asks for.</p>
<p>Am I supposed to tell him whether his answer is correct/wrong? Especially over an online forum?</p>
<p>I don't think so, because that would be giving out the solution. How do I reply without sounding "mean"? Do I tell him to come to office hours instead?</p>
<p>(It's my first time TAing ever...)</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16424,
"author": "Suresh",
"author_id": 346,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/346",
"pm_score": 6,
"selected": true,
"text": "<p>Welcome to the most standard "trick" students use to get answers out of professors/TAs.</p>\n<p>My answer is as a professor, but I think the basic principle works for TAs as well. What I usually do is turn the question back to them. Something like:</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>S: Is this answer correct?</p>\n<p>Me: Well, what do you think?</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>Now things can go in different ways:</p>\n<ul>\n<li><p>case 1: S says "well I'm not sure". In which case you can say, "well how might you go about verifying that your answer is correct?". This might then lead to a discussion of how to check answers without you having to commit to commenting on their particular answer.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>case 2: S says "Well I think it's correct". Then you can say "Ok then. I understand that you think it's correct" and leave it at that.</p>\n<p>They might persist and say "can you tell me if you think it's correct". At which point you can say "No, but how would you go about checking its correctness?", taking you back to case 1 and the "methodology" of checking.</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n<p>The underlying pedagogical point is this: you don't want students checking answer correctness with you ahead of time because</p>\n<ul>\n<li><p>a) learning to check your own answers is an important part of learning. It allows you to diagnose problems and identify the correct path to an answer.</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>b) it's unfair to those who don't ask, and it's a waste of your time</p>\n</li>\n<li><p>c) using this Socratic approach allows you to assess how <strong>they</strong> are approaching the problem, and allows you to guide them in <strong>their</strong> approach, rather than spoonfeeding a prescribed answer. Everyone approaches problems differently.</p>\n</li>\n</ul>\n<p>P.S. Students often also ask for hints. The material I teach is usually mathematical, so they're asking for hints for a proof. There you have some more leeway, but the trick is to draw them out into explaining their thought process, and then trying to gently nudge them without revealing the answer. It takes some practice and a lot of Socratic dialogue.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 166215,
"author": "user2173836",
"author_id": 44102,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/44102",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>You can make an explicit policy or a little FAQ page saying that you won't answer if the results are correct, students will find out after you grade it.</p>\n<p>The more general problem is that the student's question is just not a good question, it's not specific enough and there is not enough information about what the student's concerns are. So you can include in your FAQ that you are going to answer good questions, with examples of good and bad questions. If the student sends you a bad question anyway, don't just sent them a link to <a href=\"https://stackoverflow.com/help/how-to-ask\">https://stackoverflow.com/help/how-to-ask</a> but also be specific with your feedback.</p>\n<p>E.g.,</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Dear student, it's not easy to answer your question, since it's not\nclear what are your specific concerns. Please specify why do you think\nyour answer might not be correct, and what did you try so far. See\nalso the link in the syllabus on how to ask good questions.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>You don't only want students to learn how to write good questions but also how to write useful answers, here you should mainly teach by example. These students might be your peers one day, and you will be asking them a question in order to solve your academic problem. I am sure you wouldn't want them to answer "Well, what do you think?"</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/01/31 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16422",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11327/"
]
|
16,433 | <p>Specifically, is it possible to apply for a second masters degree in <strong>MS&E</strong> (management science and engineering) or statistics (<strong>MS in statistics</strong>) after a masters degree in <strong>computer science</strong>?</p>
<p>How will my application be treated compared to other applicants? (with a bachelors degree)</p>
| [
{
"answer_id": 16751,
"author": "Jin-Dominique",
"author_id": 9861,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/9861",
"pm_score": 0,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>I do not know about your school, but in my school, the title of your degree doesn't really matter much PROVIDING THAT YOU HAVE SUFFICIENT ACADEMIC BACKGROUND in the discipline that you are interested in. For instance, if I am a BSc in Statistics grad, and if I have taken significant number of Computing Science courses, then given that my GPA is high enough, I will be admitted to the Computing Science department for their MSc program.</p>\n"
},
{
"answer_id": 16755,
"author": "pwaring",
"author_id": 11791,
"author_profile": "https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11791",
"pm_score": 2,
"selected": false,
"text": "<p>It's always possible to <em>apply</em>, whether you will be <em>accepted</em> is a different matter. The best thing to do is to speak to the academic who is the programme director (or similar title), explain that you are interested in applying for the course and see what they say. They will know what the general rules are as well as being able to provide specific guidance. The fact that your current masters degree is in a related subject (different department, but probably the same faculty) means it should be considered relevant.</p>\n\n<p>I applied for a MA in Classics & Ancient History after getting a BSc in Computer Science, and then went back to do an MPhil in Computer Science, so it is possible to move subjects.</p>\n"
}
]
| 2014/02/01 | [
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/16433",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com",
"https://academia.stackexchange.com/users/11481/"
]
|
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