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#31
Research & Scholarship / Re: March Research Thread
Last post by Parasaurolophus - March 27, 2024, 08:32:49 AM
Busy teaching day, but I'd like to manage to check ~6 manuscript pages.
#32
General Discussion / Re: cord cutting, redux
Last post by mythbuster - March 27, 2024, 08:01:26 AM
We cut the cord several years ago in terms of cable only providing the internet, and then streaming with either You Tube TV or Hulu.

K16 mentioned sports in his post so I will say- live sports is what can really drive up the cost. Both Mr. Buster and myself are sports fans, and Mr. Buster is particularly a fan of international soccer. This has resulted in us having a combination of streaming packages (Hulu+live TV/ESPN currently) with a cost almost as much as a cable package. Once March Madness is over, we plan to eliminate the live TV aspect and see what we feel we can and can't live without. We are already planning to pick up a Peacock subscription for the period of the Olympics.

Mr. Buster has been doing his research on how best to balance cost and what we actually watch. There is no clear winner right now, so my suggestion is to try out one of the services and see if it provides what you want.
#33
The State of Higher Ed / Re: J.D. Vance: "Sanctuary Cit...
Last post by Anselm - March 27, 2024, 07:47:18 AM
What's the word?  Grandstanding? Posturing?  Virtue Signaling?  Like K16 said, it is already against the law.  I am not aware of any undocumented person working at any school I have been at except for myself when I lost my social security card and went years before I replaced it. Then you got those price gouging undocumented teen girl babysitters who work for cash under the table but that is a matter for another thread.

However, I do find this less of a problem than the attempts to mandate equal time for controversial topics.
#34
General Discussion / Re: NYT Spelling Bee
Last post by ciao_yall - March 27, 2024, 07:01:26 AM
Morning!

QBABM!!! Last word journo. LB synchronous-stickpin.

Happy solving!
#35
The State of Higher Ed / Re: J.D. Vance: "Sanctuary Cit...
Last post by ciao_yall - March 27, 2024, 06:58:48 AM
Quote from: bio-nonymous on March 27, 2024, 06:33:20 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on March 27, 2024, 05:27:06 AM
Quote from: Wahoo Redux on March 26, 2024, 02:22:42 PMOhio U.S. Senator JD Vance Introduces Bill to Prohibit Universities from Hiring Illegal Aliens

QuoteOhio U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) and Indiana U.S. Representative Jim Banks (R-IN-03) have introduced a bill that would prohibit universities that receive federal funding from hiring illegal aliens.

The bill, titled the College Employment Accountability Act, would specifically amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to "prohibit an institution of higher education that employs unauthorized aliens from receiving funds from federal student assistance or federal institutional aid"

Institutions of higher education would have to participate in the E-Verify Program, which is a federal program that checks the immigration status of all employees, in order to receive federal funds under the bill.

Do universities hire a lot of "illegal aliens?"



They must be unfamiliar with HR protocols in colleges, private and public, where all potential employees have to provide evidence that they are either US citizens or green-card holders authorized to work in the US. There's a name for these one-page forms. Brains seem to be travelling south along the human spine these days!


I-9 forms--my newest RA just had to turn theirs in to get on the payroll! But the point of the legislation might be that ALL institutions don't use the form and to make a unified requirement?--Giving Vance the benefit of the doubt since I do not know the HR policies of all institutions.

The only industries that fought against the requirement to require confirmation of legal working status were agriculture and hospitality.

#36
Research & Scholarship / Re: The best predatorial journ...
Last post by bio-nonymous - March 27, 2024, 06:45:41 AM
Typical email solicitation coming in multiple times a day:

"Dear Dr. 'Bio-Nonymous '[ed: actually was "Last name, first name"],

I am 'Someone', Managing Editor of 'Random Acronym' Journal. We are planning an upcoming issue on 'Random Name' Online Journal of Sciences, Astrophysics, and related branches of it. So, could you help us by suggesting a few topics and kindly do let us know if you can participate in this issue with any of your unpublished short articles.

Submission deadline: On or before April 05, 2024.

Will be waiting to have your response.

'Someone
Somewhere
' "

I am a biomedical researcher, why would I have an astrophysics article sitting around waiting for this opportunity?

#37
The State of Higher Ed / Re: J.D. Vance: "Sanctuary Cit...
Last post by bio-nonymous - March 27, 2024, 06:33:20 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on March 27, 2024, 05:27:06 AM
Quote from: Wahoo Redux on March 26, 2024, 02:22:42 PMOhio U.S. Senator JD Vance Introduces Bill to Prohibit Universities from Hiring Illegal Aliens

QuoteOhio U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) and Indiana U.S. Representative Jim Banks (R-IN-03) have introduced a bill that would prohibit universities that receive federal funding from hiring illegal aliens.

The bill, titled the College Employment Accountability Act, would specifically amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to "prohibit an institution of higher education that employs unauthorized aliens from receiving funds from federal student assistance or federal institutional aid"

Institutions of higher education would have to participate in the E-Verify Program, which is a federal program that checks the immigration status of all employees, in order to receive federal funds under the bill.

Do universities hire a lot of "illegal aliens?"



They must be unfamiliar with HR protocols in colleges, private and public, where all potential employees have to provide evidence that they are either US citizens or green-card holders authorized to work in the US. There's a name for these one-page forms. Brains seem to be travelling south along the human spine these days!

I-9 forms--my newest RA just had to turn theirs in to get on the payroll! But the point of the legislation might be that ALL institutions don't use the form and to make a unified requirement?--Giving Vance the benefit of the doubt since I do not know the HR policies of all institutions.
#38
General Discussion / placeholder
Last post by apl68 - March 27, 2024, 06:14:11 AM
My ears have been hurting off and on for two days now.  At the moment my right ear aches so much I can hardly concentrate on what I'm trying to do.
#39
General Academic Discussion / Re: 3-year degrees/race to the...
Last post by marshwiggle - March 27, 2024, 05:35:24 AM
Quote from: Langue_doc on March 27, 2024, 05:18:53 AMThe NYT article:
QuoteIn the Fight Over How to Teach Reading, This Guru Makes a Major Retreat
Lucy Calkins, a leading literacy expert, has rewritten her curriculum to include a fuller embrace of phonics and the science of reading. Critics may not be appeased.

There were several reports, mostly negative, on the Calkins/Columbia approach. Just google Columbia, phonics.

Interesting that even having had her methods debunked, she still gets the title.
#40
General Academic Discussion / Re: What do admincritters do?
Last post by marshwiggle - March 27, 2024, 05:32:59 AM
Quote from: Kron3007 on March 26, 2024, 01:44:17 PM
Quote from: marshwiggle on March 25, 2024, 08:03:28 AM
Quote from: ciao_yall on March 25, 2024, 07:41:31 AMHad this conversation with a colleague the other day about the recent cycle of narcissistic Presidents my current institution has had at the top. I think one has to be a bit of a narcissist to decide to become a college President. The question is whether the person is good at controlling these impulses.

Or, as the saying goes, the higher a monkey climbs, the better you can see its behind.

This is even more the case when it comes to leading a country. What makes a person think "The best person to lead the entire nation is ME."? By definition, it requires a person who has a pretty elevated self-conception.



I always theorized this is somewhat true even at the faculty level.  Maybe narcissistic is not exactly right, but I feel there is a disproportionate level of crazy among faculty.  I have always wondered if the system is selecting for it, or inducing it.


Well, when you're selecting people for the job who are, by definition, more obsessed with some (possibly tiny and obscure) area of knowledge than the vast majority of people around them, it's no surprise that *they often have priorities that most people would consider "unusual".


*My dad was blue collar; built his own house, worked on his own car, ran heavy machinery, etc. I have absolutely none of those skills. (I wish I did.) If he'd been sent in a time machine 200 years into the past, he probably would have done fine. If I were, I'd have been essentially useless.