Friday, February 5, 2010
Peer Review Gender Biases in Science
Well, I just finished being part of a panel discussion on women in science. Depressing! While other disciplines are routinely double blind reviewed, the science community keeps embracing the good 'ol boy system using gender, name, race, institution etc as biases. I wonder why that hasn't hit the press yet?! Biases?! Statistics prove that the gender bias during peer review makes a difference of 33% in acceptance rates.
Quick Takes: Gordon Gee Wants to Talk About Tenure Criteria - Inside Higher Ed
Quick Takes: Gordon Gee Wants to Talk About Tenure Criteria - Inside Higher Ed
No kidding! What a stupid way we have now to evaluate a professor's work. The publishing companies are making a killing of this requirement. .. Also, what is wrong with academia?! Why can't professors respect each other's work and give credit where credit is due. It seems that profs are in the business of constantly de-valuing each other's work rather than appreciating and CONSTRUCTIVELY critisizing.
No kidding! What a stupid way we have now to evaluate a professor's work. The publishing companies are making a killing of this requirement. .. Also, what is wrong with academia?! Why can't professors respect each other's work and give credit where credit is due. It seems that profs are in the business of constantly de-valuing each other's work rather than appreciating and CONSTRUCTIVELY critisizing.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Quick Takes: San Francisco City College Kills Summer Session - Inside Higher Ed
Quick Takes: San Francisco City College Kills Summer Session - Inside Higher Ed
Imagine you paid (a lot of) tuition and can't get the classes needed for grad school!
Imagine you paid (a lot of) tuition and can't get the classes needed for grad school!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Tenure... Whose idea...
Well, well, well,... who wouldn't like to have tenure?! What a great idea to ensure academic freedom. What would would most of us do if we had a job that we couldn't get fired from as long as we showed up? It is amazing how most academics go to work every day taking their responsibilities very serious. Maybe because they love what they do...
Have you ever met someone who give unsolicited advice wholeheartedly? Maybe a neighbor who knows exactly how YOUR yard should look or how to raise YOUR children? And even though that neighbor raised children 30 years ago they keep telling you how to raise yours... Well, you are free to take this neighbor's advice or leave it. This is not so easy i other areas of life. What does one do with well meaning senior faculty who do not have a good understanding of modern teaching and research? As a matter of fact they may have gotten tenure on one or two peer reviewed papers... if any. Times change and universities are a lot more competitive than they used to be. Fair enough! Nevertheless, at least acknowledge that fact! At least acknowledge that you are not up on teaching research. Acknowledge that junior faculty works more than humanly reasonable. Because they do. Acknowledge that you haven't read your own teaching evaluations because they are abusive.
What is the due process for junior faculty? None. Really! Except to acknowledge that life is just not fair. You want a career in academia? Think twice! First you will be a slave to your graduate advisor, then a slave to your postdoc advisor, then a slave to senior faculty, only to be a well trained slave master in the end.
Having written the lines above, I have to say that it really is amazing how well academia functions without due process...without any oversight...with tenured professors ruling over their own universes (and most of them do an amazing job)... Could the academic world be better? more equitable? more considerate? better performing without academics stumbling all over each other? Sure.
Have you ever met someone who give unsolicited advice wholeheartedly? Maybe a neighbor who knows exactly how YOUR yard should look or how to raise YOUR children? And even though that neighbor raised children 30 years ago they keep telling you how to raise yours... Well, you are free to take this neighbor's advice or leave it. This is not so easy i other areas of life. What does one do with well meaning senior faculty who do not have a good understanding of modern teaching and research? As a matter of fact they may have gotten tenure on one or two peer reviewed papers... if any. Times change and universities are a lot more competitive than they used to be. Fair enough! Nevertheless, at least acknowledge that fact! At least acknowledge that you are not up on teaching research. Acknowledge that junior faculty works more than humanly reasonable. Because they do. Acknowledge that you haven't read your own teaching evaluations because they are abusive.
What is the due process for junior faculty? None. Really! Except to acknowledge that life is just not fair. You want a career in academia? Think twice! First you will be a slave to your graduate advisor, then a slave to your postdoc advisor, then a slave to senior faculty, only to be a well trained slave master in the end.
Having written the lines above, I have to say that it really is amazing how well academia functions without due process...without any oversight...with tenured professors ruling over their own universes (and most of them do an amazing job)... Could the academic world be better? more equitable? more considerate? better performing without academics stumbling all over each other? Sure.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Blog Site for Advanced Physics Course
Great place for students to share computational and analytical physics experiences. modeling and experimental tools
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Peer Review - Schneer Review
Just got a turn back from Journal of Applied Optics. The editor declared in broken English that he is not even entering manuscript to be peer reviewed under the pretense that optical shape recognition doesn't fit into Applied Optics. LOL!!! What is broken here?! And why do we pay these high membership fees to OSA when we are treated this way? Also, why isn't there a BLIND peer review process like in other disciplines... Please tell me that this does not have anything to do with gender, race, or ethnic biases. Does non-blind peer review in the sciences assure that ivy league institutions get preferential treatment?
Friday, November 27, 2009
New Applied QM and Applied Optics Course
Created a new upper level undergrad course in physics that will use contemplation tools such as a log/diary, peer review through Wikis and lots of tools that will helpo internalize physical phenomenons in advanced EM and QM.
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