Ecogeofemme tagged me for a nice and challenging meme. Here are the rules:
1. Write your own six word memoir
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like
3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post and to this original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere
4. Tag five more blogs with links
5. And don’t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play
OK.
I can try and do this!
I suspect many people have been tagged already, but maybe not Dr. Jekyll & Mrs. Hyde?
Monday, 31 March 2008
Sunday, 30 March 2008
A reference letter
I have to write a reference letter for my PhD supervisor.
Eheh.
He has applied to a new position and has negotiated to get tenure, since he has already. So they are doing a sort of retrospective tenure assessment and are contacting his previous PhD students, and asking them for letters assessing our experience with him, his supervising qualities, his teaching, whether he trained us well, including at other things than research etc.
It’s quite a funny situation really, to have to do that. I have asked him for so many reference letters, now it’s my turn to write one.
But I am happy to do it. He is a great supervisor. He’s still an important mentor for me, actually. In his field he is one of the best currently, he’s really good with details but also with the general view of the field and of specific problem that one often lacks as a PhD student, because it requires a fair bit of experience. But also he taught me all sort of other things like write reports, speak at conferences and meetings, apply for grants and positions,… When I look around me I see that many supervisors do not bother teaching these things. I wonder why ? they don’t think of it ? they don’t think they’d get any benefit from it ? (whereas actually, if their students are successful later in their career, they’ll look (and feel ?) good too ?)
Since this year, he has also advised me more than once in issues related to administration or teaching. (I am still in the same place, yes)
If he gets/takes the other position, I will be really happy for him. On the professional level, it would be a huge change in terms of working conditions (funding, other academics in the department, probably admin hassle). But I will miss him in work!
In any case, I want to write a letter that will be interpreted as I wish to: I find him a great colleague and supervisor. The position is in the US, and he has told me once, when I applied there somewhere, that the style for reference letters is quite different than here.
Has anyone got tips for me?
Eheh.
He has applied to a new position and has negotiated to get tenure, since he has already. So they are doing a sort of retrospective tenure assessment and are contacting his previous PhD students, and asking them for letters assessing our experience with him, his supervising qualities, his teaching, whether he trained us well, including at other things than research etc.
It’s quite a funny situation really, to have to do that. I have asked him for so many reference letters, now it’s my turn to write one.
But I am happy to do it. He is a great supervisor. He’s still an important mentor for me, actually. In his field he is one of the best currently, he’s really good with details but also with the general view of the field and of specific problem that one often lacks as a PhD student, because it requires a fair bit of experience. But also he taught me all sort of other things like write reports, speak at conferences and meetings, apply for grants and positions,… When I look around me I see that many supervisors do not bother teaching these things. I wonder why ? they don’t think of it ? they don’t think they’d get any benefit from it ? (whereas actually, if their students are successful later in their career, they’ll look (and feel ?) good too ?)
Since this year, he has also advised me more than once in issues related to administration or teaching. (I am still in the same place, yes)
If he gets/takes the other position, I will be really happy for him. On the professional level, it would be a huge change in terms of working conditions (funding, other academics in the department, probably admin hassle). But I will miss him in work!
In any case, I want to write a letter that will be interpreted as I wish to: I find him a great colleague and supervisor. The position is in the US, and he has told me once, when I applied there somewhere, that the style for reference letters is quite different than here.
Has anyone got tips for me?
Thursday, 27 March 2008
A simple proxy for the expected sex ratio in science and engineering
I happen to work in a building from the early 1970s. It was designed to welcome two existing departments. It was fairly customised to match academics requirements. On my floor there was:
-one female toilet (with space for a potential second one, that was installed in 2001 or so);
-two male toilets and two urinals.
Recently, both sides have experienced a number of technical problems, which have reduced the infrastructure available. A colleague exasperated by the queues found out the legal minimum for these basic equipments. Here are the numbers:
-one toilet for 15 females;
-one toilet for 25 males and 1 urinal for 15 males.
A simple calculation therefore allows to conclude that, at the time of construction, the architect expected to have to provide bathrooms for
-less than 16 females (although more might turn up).
-between 44 and 50 males.
Now, let me elaborate on this. This week I am doing a training, which happens to take place in a building with lecture rooms essentially used by students in engineering. This building dates from a similar time. There are:
-3 toilets for females;
-about 8 toilets for males, and probably something like 4 or 6 urinals (I did not go and check!).
So if we apply to recommended numbers mentioned above, we get:
-less than 46 females;
-about 200 males.
Or in both cases, about 20% female.
How’s this for “built-in” discrimination?
-one female toilet (with space for a potential second one, that was installed in 2001 or so);
-two male toilets and two urinals.
Recently, both sides have experienced a number of technical problems, which have reduced the infrastructure available. A colleague exasperated by the queues found out the legal minimum for these basic equipments. Here are the numbers:
-one toilet for 15 females;
-one toilet for 25 males and 1 urinal for 15 males.
A simple calculation therefore allows to conclude that, at the time of construction, the architect expected to have to provide bathrooms for
-less than 16 females (although more might turn up).
-between 44 and 50 males.
Now, let me elaborate on this. This week I am doing a training, which happens to take place in a building with lecture rooms essentially used by students in engineering. This building dates from a similar time. There are:
-3 toilets for females;
-about 8 toilets for males, and probably something like 4 or 6 urinals (I did not go and check!).
So if we apply to recommended numbers mentioned above, we get:
-less than 46 females;
-about 200 males.
Or in both cases, about 20% female.
How’s this for “built-in” discrimination?
Tuesday, 25 March 2008
Another thrilling experiment in the kitchen
This weekend I got around to make one of my favourite sweet things in the world: caramel slice (aka millionaire). They are readily available in the UK but I have never seen them here. They are fantastic: a thick layer of shortbread, with then a layer of onctuous caramel, topped with a crunchy layer of chocolate. Butter and sugar-o-rama. They are great. But recipes are difficult to come around - or at least recipes that seem to work. My previous attempt had liquid caramel instead of onctuous, and that was not good at all. This time, the caramel was almost right, and the rest was fine. Fortunately I managed to distribute most of them to my parents and some friends, otherwise, I'd have eaten them all myself.
I think I could still improve:
-caramel texture and onctuousness,
-maybe replace dark chocolate by milk chocolate
-make a flat shortbread crust. Flat hands is not flat enough here.
Other than that, we visited my parents for Easter, and that was great fun.
Saturday, 22 March 2008
Interviewing
The interview yesterday did not go badly, I think I managed it well, but I was so surprised by the questions that I am wondering if my application had not been rejected already when I got there, and that they thought they'd learn some useful things instead of getting bored with the usual stuff.
The thing is, after speaking to alumni of this organisation, I thought they would want to know why I selected the place and lab that I did, and why going to that specific place would bring more benefits than any other place (or no place at all).
Instead, I mostly got questions on my scientific project, which is fine, but none of the persons who interviewed me are specialist in my field - not even closely (although this is my assumption from the stuff they asked, because they were not introduced, which is bad, really). What they learned was either for their own curiosity or to see how good I am at making this understandable to other scientist.
Anyway, it was quite puzzling. And besides any pessimistic thought I can have about the outcome of this application, it's made me wonder to what extent you can prepare yourself for an interview. I am a great believer in preparing talks, but I'm not convinced you can really prepare for an interview.
Of course there is a number of things you can do -and should do-, like:
-learning a few basic facts about where you want to go/who you're talking to;
-know how to explain in a few catchy words your project;
-know the necessary scientific details to convince someone that you’re not just catchy words;
-prepare a few short things on what are your assets for a specific task/project.
Yet, I find that you also have to be "ready" for unexpected questions, because there is always going to be something you did not think of while preparing, and because of that, I think one should always consider their preparation as imperfect. If you keep that in mind, then when to inevitable unexpected questions comes up, you don't get blocked because you didn't prepare it. Instead, you can answer because:
-you know why you're there: you're there because you applied for something which means you filled in pages and pages of application, so you know what you’re talking about;
-your brain is in the right mode: flow of thoughts, not remembering stuff you prepared (which is going to be useless for the unexpected question).
I think the worse interview I did was the one for which I had worked most. And because it was over the phone (not helping either, that) I had spread all my notes in front of me... and couldn't lift my eyes and my brain off them.
I also remember my PhD examination: none of the questions I had prepared came out...
The thing is, after speaking to alumni of this organisation, I thought they would want to know why I selected the place and lab that I did, and why going to that specific place would bring more benefits than any other place (or no place at all).
Instead, I mostly got questions on my scientific project, which is fine, but none of the persons who interviewed me are specialist in my field - not even closely (although this is my assumption from the stuff they asked, because they were not introduced, which is bad, really). What they learned was either for their own curiosity or to see how good I am at making this understandable to other scientist.
Anyway, it was quite puzzling. And besides any pessimistic thought I can have about the outcome of this application, it's made me wonder to what extent you can prepare yourself for an interview. I am a great believer in preparing talks, but I'm not convinced you can really prepare for an interview.
Of course there is a number of things you can do -and should do-, like:
-learning a few basic facts about where you want to go/who you're talking to;
-know how to explain in a few catchy words your project;
-know the necessary scientific details to convince someone that you’re not just catchy words;
-prepare a few short things on what are your assets for a specific task/project.
Yet, I find that you also have to be "ready" for unexpected questions, because there is always going to be something you did not think of while preparing, and because of that, I think one should always consider their preparation as imperfect. If you keep that in mind, then when to inevitable unexpected questions comes up, you don't get blocked because you didn't prepare it. Instead, you can answer because:
-you know why you're there: you're there because you applied for something which means you filled in pages and pages of application, so you know what you’re talking about;
-your brain is in the right mode: flow of thoughts, not remembering stuff you prepared (which is going to be useless for the unexpected question).
I think the worse interview I did was the one for which I had worked most. And because it was over the phone (not helping either, that) I had spread all my notes in front of me... and couldn't lift my eyes and my brain off them.
I also remember my PhD examination: none of the questions I had prepared came out...
Thursday, 20 March 2008
Not fair :-(
Today was a very long day with a whole morning of teaching and practice supervision, followed by a whole afternoon of presentations by students. Not bad on average, but we’ll have to give them feedback on a few aspects of oral presentations. I say « we » because this is supposed to be organised by two professors (including me) and a TA.
Both have left it mostly to me to :
-come up with a project for the students to do
-write up the documentation
-find the data
-follow up on organisation.
As if such an unfair share of the work wasn’t insulting enough, the other prof who is supposed to take the same part as me in marking the essays for this has been useless there too, but what makes it worse is the excuses he’s been coming up with :
-he has been very busy (aren’t we all ?)
-he has been very busy preparing A new lecture (this is my first year : all my lectures are new, and I have little experience in the course prep)
-the essays are boring.
Yeah, you read right. Boring. He gave me the load of them today, saying he “took a look” at them, but they were soporific… So I asked whether he made comments or suggestions for marks. He did not – which probably means that he literally just gave them a quick look but didn’t read them in enough detail to come up with anything useful.
The reports are just the first part of a larger project. They are supposed to describe field site selection and field visits the students did. Of course they weren’t going to be full of exciting quantitative analysis! But the consequence is that I can do the whole marking business.
This guy has a reputation of being terribly messy, but this isn’t messy, this is taking the piss. (And I’m pissed off).
On another note, I am going to an interview tomorrow as part of an application for funding to spend three months this autumn in a lab in the US! Much more exciting stuff!
Both have left it mostly to me to :
-come up with a project for the students to do
-write up the documentation
-find the data
-follow up on organisation.
As if such an unfair share of the work wasn’t insulting enough, the other prof who is supposed to take the same part as me in marking the essays for this has been useless there too, but what makes it worse is the excuses he’s been coming up with :
-he has been very busy (aren’t we all ?)
-he has been very busy preparing A new lecture (this is my first year : all my lectures are new, and I have little experience in the course prep)
-the essays are boring.
Yeah, you read right. Boring. He gave me the load of them today, saying he “took a look” at them, but they were soporific… So I asked whether he made comments or suggestions for marks. He did not – which probably means that he literally just gave them a quick look but didn’t read them in enough detail to come up with anything useful.
The reports are just the first part of a larger project. They are supposed to describe field site selection and field visits the students did. Of course they weren’t going to be full of exciting quantitative analysis! But the consequence is that I can do the whole marking business.
This guy has a reputation of being terribly messy, but this isn’t messy, this is taking the piss. (And I’m pissed off).
On another note, I am going to an interview tomorrow as part of an application for funding to spend three months this autumn in a lab in the US! Much more exciting stuff!
Tuesday, 18 March 2008
Teaching evaluation
Yesterday I met a person from the pedagogy institute of the university in order to discuss my teaching evaluation. The faculties organise a standard evaluation, which is to some extent out of your control. In this case, the evaluation questionnaire is tailored to a specific course, after a detailed discussion about what one wants to assess or improve. Sounds a bit more useful to me than the standardised questionnaire. Indeed, after picking the course that seemed the most important and useful to assess this year, and discussing my main worries and priorities in this course, I had to go through a list of items for the questionnaire.
I really had to make an effort to make rational choices, as opposed to “ Let’s skip this one, because I know I was crap at that one !” or “I think I got this one right, let’s pick it !”. The lady in charge of me will now prepare the customised questionnaire. This bunch of people are really nice and enthusiastic and imaginative about teaching, it is really inspiring.
On the other hand, the university has announced the suppression of a large number of TA jobs. Because of that and other glitches, there is a serious chance I will loose mine. Some of the stuff I teach would be useless without practical exercises… where is the pedagogy there?
The will in this university to have professors look critically at their own teaching in order to improve it has increased dramatically over the past few years, and it’s a good thing. But what if what’s given in one side is taken away at another side? Proper education isn’t only about the right mind frame and background of lecturers… it’s also about proper support… no?
I really had to make an effort to make rational choices, as opposed to “ Let’s skip this one, because I know I was crap at that one !” or “I think I got this one right, let’s pick it !”. The lady in charge of me will now prepare the customised questionnaire. This bunch of people are really nice and enthusiastic and imaginative about teaching, it is really inspiring.
On the other hand, the university has announced the suppression of a large number of TA jobs. Because of that and other glitches, there is a serious chance I will loose mine. Some of the stuff I teach would be useless without practical exercises… where is the pedagogy there?
The will in this university to have professors look critically at their own teaching in order to improve it has increased dramatically over the past few years, and it’s a good thing. But what if what’s given in one side is taken away at another side? Proper education isn’t only about the right mind frame and background of lecturers… it’s also about proper support… no?
Saturday, 15 March 2008
Fun fun fun* in the kitchen
oooh I was dreaming about this for a few months.
Friday I finally managed to go to the appliance shop and spend the voucher we got from work for our wedding (last year!). We're not "good" consumers of household appliances. We've got the usual stuff, but we don't really have any fancy stuff for the kitchen. And when I had picked the toaster we've been talking about for months, I was still far from having spent it all... so I went for my current kitchen fantasy: a waffle maker...
So this afternoon I made waffles, and it was great fun! My mum makes them quite a bit, but it's typically the kind of stuff for which she doesn't really trust me, and I never really got to learn. But now I have my own! I made a nice pile of waffle, which we had with a bit of sugar. Completely bad for you and delicious...
This actually fits in with one of my New Year's resolution, which is to improve my cooking. On a daily basis, it's mostly Husband doing the cooking. So I tend to cook more on weekends. Because Husband, although a fab cook - much better than me!- doesn't really enjoy cooking sweet stuff, I have started specializing a bit more in desserts and such things. And also because... I love eating them! So the waffles fitted in the previous pattern of sweet stuff and of the New Year's resolution: I've done something new!
I look forward having people around and bake waffles for them. It would be fun in itself... but also two people is a small number for baking waffles... what you see in the picture was what was (and still is) left after we finished... I know what we'll have for breakfast tomorrow... and what will be the first task of the toaster!
*Thanks to flipflopflyin for title inspiration
Thursday, 13 March 2008
Hanging to the positive stuff
The two past weeks have been tough in work, because I'm in first line to receive trouble that is mostly caused by people's carelessness in the months/years preceding my start as a lecturer.
In one case people seem to be fine with acting in their exclusive interest, ignoring in the process not only my situation but also the department's teaching quality. Both are really frustrating.
In another, an accumulation of errors and inattention by several people and decision bodies mean that I have to handle some difficult cases of failing students on my own even though I was not involved in the process at any point. This isn't just frustrating, it is a real pain in the.
But I'll stop going on about this and think instead of exciting stuff coming up. Archaeology students have been following one of my classes, and I got into contact with their department to learn more about how they're using this stuff. I am going to visit them next month, and have started discussing research project with the student attending. It would be really nice if we could collaborate. I can't wait to meet them all and hear more about their work! It's mostly unrelated to mine, except that we share some techniques of analysis, and finding imaginative ways to adapt them sounds like great science fun.
In one case people seem to be fine with acting in their exclusive interest, ignoring in the process not only my situation but also the department's teaching quality. Both are really frustrating.
In another, an accumulation of errors and inattention by several people and decision bodies mean that I have to handle some difficult cases of failing students on my own even though I was not involved in the process at any point. This isn't just frustrating, it is a real pain in the.
But I'll stop going on about this and think instead of exciting stuff coming up. Archaeology students have been following one of my classes, and I got into contact with their department to learn more about how they're using this stuff. I am going to visit them next month, and have started discussing research project with the student attending. It would be really nice if we could collaborate. I can't wait to meet them all and hear more about their work! It's mostly unrelated to mine, except that we share some techniques of analysis, and finding imaginative ways to adapt them sounds like great science fun.
Tuesday, 11 March 2008
Déjà vu
This is a story told so many times over and over... but I can't help but find it appalling... During a practical yesterday, a student asked a question and after the (female) TA showed the procedure on the computer, the student (very candidly) said "Oh so that's how to do this! So-and-so, the previous (male) TA never wanted to show me because it was useless since I am a girl!"
Of course, this was probably said on a "joking" tone... and, of course, questions from student can be tedious after several hours crammed in a computer room with unfocused students.
But.
I still find this:
-not funny at all
-inacceptable
-unhelpfull
-discouraging.
This is just one more anectode to the mount of stories showing that there is still a long way to go... if only to show these girls they can do it too...
Of course, this was probably said on a "joking" tone... and, of course, questions from student can be tedious after several hours crammed in a computer room with unfocused students.
But.
I still find this:
-not funny at all
-inacceptable
-unhelpfull
-discouraging.
This is just one more anectode to the mount of stories showing that there is still a long way to go... if only to show these girls they can do it too...
Sunday, 9 March 2008
Teaching is universal
So as part of my duty, I have to lecture.
Many aspects are fantastic, some are horrifying (this week I feel a bit like I could replace aspects by students, but anyway), but this is not the point of this post.
The point here is this one: my mum, now retired, has been a teacher for all of her career. She taught in very poor areas of my western european country, in what is basically the most basic of the schooling systems. She taught mostly practical courses such as cooking, cleaning, hygiene etc. (from which you can infer my mum did not go to university)
Now her daughter, me that is, is teaching bachelor and master degree course in science. And what's fascinating and fantastic is that her experience and advices are proving very valuable. I've come to love sharing what happens during the week with her. She can really understand what's good and what's frustrating in the teaching, and she's been of great advice in a few tricky situation I've been in recently.
This is really nice to me, and to her too I believe, on more than one level:
-although we get a good share of daughter-mother chatting, it's the first time we can really exchange on something work-related
-her advice is really useful
-I really appreciate being able to share with someone who is unrelated to academia and therefore has a totally fresh outlook on it.
My mum rocks!
Many aspects are fantastic, some are horrifying (this week I feel a bit like I could replace aspects by students, but anyway), but this is not the point of this post.
The point here is this one: my mum, now retired, has been a teacher for all of her career. She taught in very poor areas of my western european country, in what is basically the most basic of the schooling systems. She taught mostly practical courses such as cooking, cleaning, hygiene etc. (from which you can infer my mum did not go to university)
Now her daughter, me that is, is teaching bachelor and master degree course in science. And what's fascinating and fantastic is that her experience and advices are proving very valuable. I've come to love sharing what happens during the week with her. She can really understand what's good and what's frustrating in the teaching, and she's been of great advice in a few tricky situation I've been in recently.
This is really nice to me, and to her too I believe, on more than one level:
-although we get a good share of daughter-mother chatting, it's the first time we can really exchange on something work-related
-her advice is really useful
-I really appreciate being able to share with someone who is unrelated to academia and therefore has a totally fresh outlook on it.
My mum rocks!
Saturday, 8 March 2008
Hi there
Well, that's it... I started a blog....
For many months now I lurked on great blogs (see right for a sample), sometimes left a comment -don't look for them, I signed with my first name, which isn't going to appear here-, very often found them inspiring... and now I have decided to share my thoughts with you. (Anyone out there?)
My thought will probably revolve mostly on these topics:
-my adventures as a young academic - I guess I'm something along the lines of a tenure-track professor although that's not what I'm called here where I am
-as a subset of that, partly, how being a woman is inflecting the trajectory
-I guess there might be some questions related to the environment
-other random stuff in my life...
The page will improve very soon I hope and become a bit more welcoming... and with *real* posts!
For many months now I lurked on great blogs (see right for a sample), sometimes left a comment -don't look for them, I signed with my first name, which isn't going to appear here-, very often found them inspiring... and now I have decided to share my thoughts with you. (Anyone out there?)
My thought will probably revolve mostly on these topics:
-my adventures as a young academic - I guess I'm something along the lines of a tenure-track professor although that's not what I'm called here where I am
-as a subset of that, partly, how being a woman is inflecting the trajectory
-I guess there might be some questions related to the environment
-other random stuff in my life...
The page will improve very soon I hope and become a bit more welcoming... and with *real* posts!
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