BlogHer - research - Comments

Mend the university as we know it...

PPR_Scribe — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 15:51:24 -0500

I agree with many of the critics of the op-ed that some of the points were off target and even out of touch with true current conditions. But I find much of the critique strange. Is higher ed really in such great shape that we think it should go forward as-is?

I do not think so--and I also do not think this is only an issue for graduate programs in the humanities and social sciences. (Ask an n-th year hard science post-doc if the tenure-track job outlook is rosy.)

I also find downright disingenuous how some commentators are morphing the op-ed to say what it isn;t saying. Being against departmental boundaries is being against intellectualism? Responding to current world problems is being beholden to random fads?

And, too, many of the defenders of the current university system are, themselves, comfortably tenured.

So really, who is this constant back-and-forth hurting? Current undergraduate and graduate students, post docs, untenured and adjunct folks, and (yes) taxpayers--all sort of people connected to the university. Instead of the two extremes--that things are fine the way they are or that the whole system needs to be ended--we should be admitting the real shortcomings and try to find solutions.

This So-Called, Post-Post-Racial Life

http://postpostracial.wordpress.com/

Car buying tips

shawn123 — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 22:16:24 -0600

The main think to consider while buying a new car is to check the mileage of the car and then go for Clearance, turning radius, BHP, CC.

=================

Shawn

New Cars

Not new or news but should still be taken seriously

hrwench — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 14:10:50 -0500

As a human resource professional, I can definitely assure you desk rage is not new. In my seven years in HR (and before that, in other sectors) I have see things like bullying/intimidation/threats, verbal abuse, intoxication at work, outbursts/tantrums and, unfortunately, even physical violence.

So, no, it's not new and it's not news. BUT it should be taken very seriously. A good human resource department focused on the success of the company will bust their behinds to make employees comfortable coming to them to report these incidents and resolve them ASAP.

If you do NOT trust your HR department, please take a moment to examine why you feel this way. Are their factual, provable reasons why you don't trust them? Is it due to rumor or speculation or actual, concrete instances of poor HR behavior? It does happen, sad to say...some HR folk don't know what the heck they are doing or are powerless against evil senior execs. But there ARE HR folks out there (like me!) that know what they are doing and WILL help you and protect you from retaliation if it is the last thing we ever do. Find us and reach out to us!

If you need help ascertaining whether or not your HR dept is trustworthy, shoot me and email or visit my blog: hrwench at g mail dot com or http://hrwench.blogspot.com.

See you in San Francisco!

Oh No!

Just4Moi — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 09:36:03 -0500

Olive was very impressive. I was watching some of her videos this morning. How amazing that she had such vivid recall on events that occurred over 100 years ago.

Seriously, I can't remember what I did last week.

Robyn

Oh no!

Denise — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 09:06:00 -0500

I've spent a lot of time reading about Olive, watching videos of her and reading her blog. Love her. I'm sorry to hear she's gone.

~Denise
BlogHer Community Manager

Flamingo House Happenings

Just blogged about this...

drmcr — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 11:48:01 -0500

My experience is that the level of humanity in my workplace is related directly to the way I choose to establish boundaries for myself and the choices I've made on who I work with (or for, earlier in my career). For example, when I was getting my postdoc set up, I had a great fellowship offer from a prestigious immunology lab to work there for 2 years. In the final interview, however, the PI, a single male, said to me, "Well, please tell me you're not going to do something stupid to srew up your career like have kids, okay?". Needless to say, I did not tell him that, and although it was a tough call, I said no to the fellowship, even though I lost the opportunity to work with a guy who'd had 4 Science papers in the prior year. The decision was, frankly a no-brainer, but given my expecations for my scientific career, it was a watershed moment for me.

I recently blogged about this issue of balance in two posts on my own blog. Please check them out and lets start a larger conversation about this issue- it still affects me to this day!!

http://professorandparent.blogspot.com/2008/07/thinking-gray-about-boundaries.html

http://professorandparent.blogspot.com/2008/06/myth-of-balance.html

Mary Coussons-Read, Ph.D.

http://professorandparent.blogspot.com/

http://www.powerfulmindcoaching.com/

True-that

Candelaria Silva — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 21:12:43 -0500

I've forgiven a lot. I think sometimes that forgetting is helpful, too. The most difficult person to forgive has been myself, but I'm working on it.

Good and plenty!

UPDATE: Anti -inflammatories did not ward off dementia

Catherine Morgan — Wed, 14 May 2008 22:39:05 -0500

UPDATE: Anti -inflammatories did not ward off dementia

Contributing Editor Catherine Morgan at catherine-morgan.com, The Political Voices of Women, Care2 Election Blog

Thanks Debra.

Catherine Morgan — Tue, 06 May 2008 20:28:03 -0500

Thanks Debra. Those are a lot of really great tips. :-)

Contributing Editor Catherine Morgan at Catherine-Morgan.com, The Political Voices of Women, Care2 Election Blog

Not taking preventative Ibuprofen

debra roby — Tue, 06 May 2008 20:05:41 -0500

Catherine,

I'm not taking a preventative dose of ibuprofen. Heck, I'm not even taking that baby aspirin. I figure I might take the ibuprofen at any time for pain relief (I have a tendency toward tendonitis) and don't want to worry about dosages.

What I am doing:
taking a statin. I've been on these for over 20 years now. Studies are showing that statins are prevent plaque formation not only in blood vessels, but also in some brain tissue.

watching my cholesterol level and my blood glucose level. Again, keeping these in a healthy range shows benefits for both diseases.

getting cardio exercise 3-4 times/week. Oxygenating the brain as well as challenging the cardiovascular system.

including balance and brain-body exercises in my workout. There is some evidence that we can strengthen brain connections through these movements.

intaking sufficient omega- fatty acids. Eating fish, nuts, and olive oils.

getting 7 hours of good sleep most nights. Sleep is when the body heals itself. It's a gift to my future to get that shut-eye at night.

Debra
A Stitch In Time
Deb's Daily Distractions

Hi Deb. Thanks for the additional information

Catherine Morgan — Tue, 06 May 2008 11:18:41 -0500

Hi Deb. Thanks for your comment and additional information. I'm wondering if your doctor has recommended that you take ibuprofen as a preventative measure, or is it something you are doing on your own? Do you take it for other reasons also (ie: arthritis, pain)? We have Alzheimer's in our family, and I know my mother is very concerned about it.

Contributing Editor Catherine Morgan at Catherine-Morgan.com, The Political Voices of Women, Care2 Election Blog

That Ibuprofen story's been around a while.

debra roby — Tue, 06 May 2008 09:00:59 -0500

I first read about the ibuprofen link when they studied a family with a strong genetic link to early-onset AD in the early 90s. Those family members who for one reason or another had taken long courses of an NSAID either had onset delayed several years or had the severity of the disease lessened a while. (note: early onset hits before 65, is genetic, typically runs the course quickly with most patients dead within 5 years).

They were then hypothesizing about the effectiveness of NSAIDs for EOAD, and for more normal AD. And wondering if the anti-inflammatory reduced sites where plaque might accumulate. Much like taking a baby aspirin to help prevent heart disease.

Now much of the work appears to be indicating that the same disease mechanism that causes heart disease is a major cause of regular AD. The body (for reasons unclear) seems to either develop disease in one system or the other, sometimes both. Your mentioned link to diabetes would strengthen the metabolic disease link tmentioned in these studies.

Since my family history shows I'm likely to get either heart disease or Alzheimer's (with a slight chance of early onset), I do try to keep on the news here. And I'm encouraged that that the steps I take to prevent one, appear to be likely to work to prevent both.

Debra
A Stitch In Time
Deb's Daily Distractions

i love librarians. i made

kazari — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 01:34:50 -0500

i love librarians. i made friends with the map librarian at my university - he was awesome!

I used to work in a public library, shelving books, and it was the best ever student job. Sadly, I gave up my aspirations of librarianhood because I lacked the requisite authority to make people leave at closing time.

when we moved here I seriously looked at studying library science but it wasn't to be.

Without the anthropologists

jjulesss — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 15:14:53 -0600

Without the anthropologists those doing war would make a much worse mess of everything than they currently are, and even with their support it's all a botch job, but the anthropologists are supporting a war effort. These two things cannot be separated. All I can say is I personally cannot support war. This is a decision I have made. Others have to make their own decisions.

Great post

aimai — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 11:13:34 -0600

There really can't, or ought not to be, a blanket proscription on working with the military that doesn't also apply to working with any branch of the US (or any other) government. That isn't to say that I'm not opposed to anthrpologists working with the military in Iraq or Afghanistan, because I am. But it is to say that I think that my opposition can't be framed as a particularly ethical one because I would certainly support anthropological input into other areas of the government--economics, diplomacy, health care. and all these areas are nearly as likely, if not as likely, to involve putting anthropological insights into the service of some pretty unsavory political agendas.

I am *for* the AAA putting out guidelines that make explicit what anthropological work can be done for particular institutions whose objective can never be unambiguously to help a subject population. And I'm for opening up the conversation to discussion and disagreement. But I think if we are going to do that we really have to be honest and realize that anthropologists have been working for mere lucre in a variety of fields from grant giving to advertising to education and healthcare for a long time and that we are just kidding ourselves if we think that the insights we offer our new masters are never harming the populations we see ourselves as "representing" or "not harming" in our own research.

aimai

BlogHer - research - Comments

*Mend* the university as we know it...

Car buying tips

Not new or news but should still be taken seriously

Oh No!

Oh no!

Just blogged about this...

True-that

UPDATE: Anti -inflammatories did not ward off dementia

Thanks Debra.

Not taking preventative Ibuprofen

Hi Deb. Thanks for the additional information

That Ibuprofen story's been around a while.

i love librarians. i made

Without the anthropologists

Great post

Mend the university as we know it...