texts: What is the logic behind definition of 1-year master programs in UK?

texts:
People always consider universities like Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial College etc. among the best universities on the planet, with centuries of experience in research methodology. One would assert that their policies to conduct 1-year master programs (versus their 2-year counterparts at rest of the world, specially north america) sounds a little odd and vague.

This article has tried to address some Pros and Cons. Seemingly, "Shortness" of the program might not be a true advantage, where the depth of the education might be endangered. Moreover, the students might not be, deservedly, flourished by the target program, because it will be supposed to be finished, when the students have just focused on the case, primarily, without acquisition of the all of the desired educational and research profundity. On the other hand, the investment does not sound to be a considerable factor to justify this policy, because most of the students (and their parents) realize that paying for graduate studies will construct their future and the investment on this case will, fairly, be compensated with the upcoming achievements, such as successful recruitment and so on.

So, I, personally, can not understand the real underlying logic behind taking such decision into account by UK universities. It is undeniable that a multitude of international students would not discern these short programs as efficient steps to build a robust future for them in either further academic progressions or professional job sector.

Why don't UK universities manage their master programs in 2-year periods, instead of current short 1-year ones?

What motivations could convince a typical international student to prefer a 1-year master program at UK to a 2-year one at north america?

PS. There is a, typically, similar question within the community, has which not asserted on the intrinsic facts, under the aegis of this policy. It's content, globally, demonstrates more reasons to revoke the credibility of the case.


texts: After publishing my manuscript, can I withdraw the manuscript and publish it at a different journal?

texts:
I published one of my manuscripts in June 2015 in a relatively new journal (6 volumes so far). The journal makes it clear in the website that it is available online and in print with ISSN. The key idea was getting a printed copy of the issue/journal for promotion requirements in my University. I contacted them many times to send the hard copy but till today I did not get it and I believe that they will not. I contacted them to remove the paper from their website to re-submit the paper in another journal for publication.

The question is: is this possible? and what is consequences for submitting the same manuscript to another journal?


texts:
I am asked to review a paper for a fairly highly regarded conference.
The paper presents some 'novel' algorithms to do a particular job, but it fails to mention any of the various related previous work which address the very same issue.
Even if the algorithm is sound and their method is thorough I am hesitant to accept the paper, since there is no comparison to existing techniques; neither on a methodological level nor on the level of results.
Can I reject such a paper based on the non-existent comparison to related work, or should I focus more on their method and results itself?


texts:
I recently received an unsolicited email from https://facultyawards.org. I tried Google to get a better sense of just what this group intends, but I couldn't find much insight. My question is simply this:

  What is the origin of this group and do their awards carry any merit towards a typical promotion for faculty tenure, etc?


texts: Writing papers in language X and translating to English vs. writing papers in English to begin with?

texts:
I'm working with a group in China, and we were discussing the following question, which I would like to ask here too:

  Question:  Is it better to write a paper in Chinese, then translate it into English, than to write it in English to begin with?

Of course, this question is not limited to Chinese.

Both myself, and the (Chinese) professors in the group I work with felt rather strongly that writing in English to begin with is better.  However, we didn't manage to articulate any tangible reason as to why we feel this way (mostly just out of intuition).  Hopefully the group here can offer some meaningful insight one way or the other.

Note: I'm sure if I leave out the specific context, I'll receive a comment asking for it.  So, in our case, the context was students writing technical scientific research papers (in computer science).


texts: How to cite lecture notes? (and should I even do this?)

texts:
When learning a new subject, I would frequently use lecture notes found somewhere in the Internet. When writing a paper (or a master thesis, as in my case, but the rules should be similar, I believe) one should give some reference for used results which are not common knowledge, if I understand correctly. This make me wonder: what do I do if I want to reference a result I found in some notes?

The natural thing to do would be to just add these notes to bibliography. What format would be preferable for this? Note that there will generally not be much publishing information, perhaps not even a definite year and place. (A BibTeX template would be .)

Secondly, is it OK to cite such materials as a reference?


texts: Is it necessary to have a background in philosophy in order to get a position in logic in philosophy departments?

texts:
What the title asks.

Apparently there are some professors in departments of philosophy working on logic or semantics (e.g. William Starr or Nino Cocchiarella [retired]). Does one need to know the "real philosophy" to get such kinds of positions in departments of philosophy? Or does one only need to know logic/semantics (and not, say, treatises of Plato)? And does one have to have a PhD in philosophy, or does a PhD in math or linguistic suffice?


texts:
I am a math postdoc in Europe, and have been a postdoc for the last 6 years. Unfortunetly, I was still not able to obtain a tenure track position
(I was very close to get one, but because of bad luck will have to try again next year).

My current postdoc position ends in a few months. Because I thought that I will get a tenure-track position this year, I did not bother to search for a new post doc position until very late in the year. As a result, in a few months I will not have a postdoc position.

My Phd advisor came to the rescue - He can fund me as a postdoc at the University I did my phd in.

I would like to ask if people will look bad on someone that goes do a postdoc with his advisor in future job searches?

I should mention that I did not work with my advisor at all after my Phd, and am very independent in my research. Still, I am worried about this, and wonder what people think about such a situation.

Thank you


texts: Tips for publishing draft manuscripts on arxiv

texts:
Some of you would probably know  the website http://arxiv.org/.

I am working on some  papers and I was wondering if I can publish a draft of them on airxiv in order to receive some feedback and then submit a final version to a journal.

This could be useful also to publish draft of paper that I am not sure to have the time to finish.

I would like to know some advices on how to use or how don't use this site.
I was also wondering how much does a publication on airxiv matter from a career point of view.


texts: How to protect my own ideas/solutions when another of my supervisor's students is studying the same thing?

texts:
Edit: Since teamwork has come up in the answers, I think it would be useful that I add this. The other student has requested to team up with me, and the advisor has rejected this. Besides, I already have the solution to my research question. Not much left for teamwork on that section. I will have to share my solution with my supervisory panel, and then start the evaluation which I can't and rather not to do in secrecy.

A student recently moved from another area to study with my supervisor. Along with this change in supervisor, the student has also changed direction and has started working on the same problem as mine.

The change in subject is quite a sharp turn too. For example, think of a student with a background in microbiology(all the way up to masters and over one year work of their PhD), suddenly starts working on a machine learning model for aggression in dogs. While I have deidentified the subjects, the problem I have been working on is even more specific than the imaginary dog problem. It might be worth adding that the subject of my study was proposed by myself after over two months of literature review.

The change sounded weird to me at first, but I wasn't worried until I saw part of my study plan and one of my ideas in this student's review presentation.

I am sure that this has been my big mouth not keeping what I say in check, primarily because I usually think very positively of people. I can keep my mouth shut from now on, and the supervisors I have are quite good. However, I imagine they have quite a challenging task in remembering which idea/solution was shared by which one of their students, and not to talk about it to the other student unintentionally.

I am not sure why the hell someone would throw away years of background and start working on something that they have no background in and is already being studied under their nose. A tough challenge is that how do I exchange information without a worry that these ideas might leak out? One of my supervisors is a very busy person, I am sure that this person has a fantastic memory. However, is it possible that they forget which idea was shared by who? and unintentionally share it with the other student?
What should I do? Suggestions?

To my principal supervisor, if they happen to see this:
Please do not take offence, I have great respect for you and will always be grateful for all the incredible support I have received. This issue is part of my learning process, and I'd like to tap into all resources available to me so I can tackle and learn about it to the best of my capability.

/walloftext


texts: How can I protect my unpublished work that I've sent to others?

texts:
I am a masters student from India applying for a PhD in the US.

I emailed a potential adviser at Harvard University an unpublished paper I have been working on for some time.

The application in the end did not work out but the adviser was enthusiastic about the paper and said I wasn't admitted due to funding issues.

Now I am a bit worried he may publish part of my work without mentioning me, since the paper is not published.

How likely is this? What actions I can take to protect my work?


texts: interdisciplinary Phd programs in philosophy and computer science (AI, ML)?

texts:
I have a BA in philosophy and I'm working on an MS in computer science specializing in "Interactive Intelligence" (a blend of HCI, AI, ML).  My end goal is a PhD in philosophy but specializing in AI.

A quick Google search hasn't revealed much that fits this.  Would cognitive science be a better fit?  There's Stanford's "Symbolic Systems" major but not much else.  Anyone aware of a program like this?


texts: Is community college GPA not included as the net GPA on the resume?

texts: I am a student in the US who is going to graduate with my bachelor's degree and I want to start applying for jobs. I am not sure if what GPA should I provide for job applications on my CV. I studied first 4 semester in a community college with a GPA of 3.8 and then got transfer to a university for the remaining 4 semesters. On transfer, my GPA was not carried over. I had to rebuild my GPA, but I managed to get 3.0 GPA in the remaining 4 semesters. Should I write 3.0 as my GPA on the resume or should I write accumulated GPA calculated over the 8 semesters from community college and the university? Please help. Thanks.


texts: How to effectively navigate a large library?

texts:
I am looking to decrease the time I waste looking for a book in the library. I generally know exactly what book I want, but not where in the library it is located.
(Finding out what book you want, is a matter for a whole range of other questions.)

My university has 4 libraries across its campus.
One for Art/Humanities/Business, one for Education, one for Science/Engineering and one for Law. All are multistory buildings.

Normally I will just use the library for my area, (that I am familiar with) but occasionally I will have to visit another for something cross-disciplinary.

The libraries separately shelf, books, periodicals, quartros and a few other types of publication.

Shelves are not always laid out in a linear order -- for space constraints and historical reasons, no doubt.

How can I optimally find the resource I am looking for?

My current method is:

Look up the book online. This will tell me the Library, the Floor, the media type (Book or Periodical etc), and its spine information: Dewey Decimal, year, author name and title.
Go to that floor. Walk past each and every shelf until I find the one that lines up with the Media type and Dewey Decimal range.
Entry that row and move, checking the Decimals every meter or so, on one shelf.
When I get to roughly the right area, check all spine codes til I find the book.

My latest failure at this, was in step 2, Finding the shelf. I was looking for a periodical with code 401.9.
I found the area with most periodicals on the floor, shelves we sequentially ordered from 200-399, then form 700 onwards. Skipping the 400s section I was looking for. After quiet a while of looking, eventually found the 400s section. It turned out that because there were so few 400s in this particular library/floor it was combined with the Quartros, and was in shelf sequentially after the 400 series books.

I figure there has got to be a better way.

I realized after, when I placed the journal in the re-shelving area, that while the re-shelving area had a section for 300 series Books, 300 series quartos and 300 series periodicals. It only has a section for 400 series anything. Thus if I had have looked in the re-shelving section at the start, I would have realized something was up with the 400 series, and known to be on the lookout for them to be all together.
Thus I figure there are other productivity tricks to get the layout of a library quickly.


texts: Is autism more prevalent amongst students in well-ranked universities?

texts:
I read on
https://www.wired.com/2016/10/president-obama-mit-joi-ito-interview (mirror):

  And if we were able to eliminate autism and make everyone neuro-normal, I bet a whole slew of MIT kids would not be the way they are.

Is autism more prevalent amongst students in well-ranked universities (vs. all universities)?


texts:
So, I'm sitting here, rewriting the abstract of a paper I hope to
submit shortly. The abstract I had was old and not very good.

I have on good authority that an abstract is an important part of a
paper, because it is often what makes a reader take a closer look at
the paper.

So, how does one write a good abstract that will make people take a
closer look? What are things to include and things not to include?
What are common mistakes, if any, to watch out for?

By way of example, here the abstract I am rewriting, in its current
form. This is for an applied statistics paper. Feel free to critique.

  We describe and implement a method to select a Bayesian model for
      a collection of DNA sequences. This method assumes the DNA
      sequences are generated from one of a particular class of
      distribution models. These models capture long range correlation
      structure among the sites of the DNA sequences. We choose a model
      from the class by using a simulated annealing search algorithm
      with a scoring function based on the prior predictive distribution
      corresponding to the model. We apply this method to model human
      and mouse Recombination Signal Sequences (RSS). We use the
      posterior predictive distribution corresponding to the model to
      predict which of a larger group of sequences are RSS in the
      context of a cross-validation setup.

ADDENDUM: Please comment on whether there is a standard abstract length limit in your field, unless it is journal specific.

EDIT: Here is a second attempt at an abstract. This is based partly on the discussion at How to Write an Abstract, which is a nice discussion of the main points to think about. The results teaser at the end is a little unorthodox, but it is intended as an inducement for people to look further at the paper. @F'x, do you have any feedback?

  Given a specialised set of DNA sequences, it is a biologically
  interesting problem to predict which members of a larger set of DNA
  sequences belongs to that set. In this paper we consider the
  particular example sets of Recombination Signal Sequences (RSS).

  Problems of this kind are commonly addressed in the biological
  literature. However, we approach this problem by selecting a
  Bayesian model for this specialised set. This is an approach that is
  rarely used in this context, but as we show, can give good results.

  We select our model from particular class of distribution models.
  These models capture long range correlation structure among the
  sites of the sequences. We choose a model from the class by using a
  simulated annealing search algorithm with a scoring function based
  on the prior predictive distribution of the model. We apply this
  method to model human and mouse Recombination Signal Sequences
  (RSS). We use the posterior predictive distribution of the model to
  predict which of a larger group of sequences are RSS in the context
  of a cross-validation setup. We summarize the results of the
  prediction in figure and tabular form, showing good results. Example
  statistic: out of 700,000 candidate sequences, 30 to 50 are actually
  RSS. The algorithm ranks these, in descending order, by how likely
  they are to be RSS. It ranks almost all the RSS (90\%+) in the top
  100.


texts: "This paper has been submitted/published in" stamp on arxiv

texts:
I am in the process of submitting a paper on arxiv and I would like to know if there is anyone who knows if the part in gray in the following picture gets automatically added on the paper or I should take care of it.

Thanks in advance for your help.


texts: APA reference for uppercase word in title of book

texts:
I need to complete references for an assignment in APA format, but one of the books has an uppercase word in it and I'm not sure if it should remain uppercase or be changed to lowercase:

The SAGE Handbook of Grounded Theory, by Antony Bryant and Kathy Charmaz

In this context, SAGE is the name of the publishing company (https://sagepub.com) and the origin of the name is that it comes from the first two letters of the founders names: SAra Miller and GEorge McCune. So the company name is meant to be capitalised normally.

However, APA states book titles should use sentence-case, with capitalisation for proper nouns...


texts: Return to academia [in administration] from industry

texts:
A colleague of mine was a very successful, well funded, highly published post-doc at a top-20 university who abdicated her post for industry. Having grown tired of industry, she now toys with the idea of returning to academia, but dreams of a role in administration (higher level, as [associate/assistant][dean/director of x]). She believes that her experience in industry, coupled with strong academic history, may make her a strong candidate. Yet there are few specific examples I can find of academic-turned-industry-turned-administrator.

Specific questions:

What is the distribution of administrator posts awarded to pure academics (e.g., step-ups from PI/professor) vs individuals already in administrator roles?
What is the distribution of administrator posts made internally vs external hire?
Anecdotes of industry-to-academic administrator success stories greatly appreciated.


texts: How would you decide to publish (or not) in F1000Research or other journals with alternative peer-review methods?

texts:
As pointed out by altmetrics, “Peer-review has served scholarship well, but is beginning to show its age. It is slow, encourages conventionality, and fails to hold reviewers accountable.”

Not all publications are created equal. Neither are the statuses of their authors. However, senior authors in life sciences rarely publish in isolation, so some junior researcher’s neck is always on the line (one of the many catch 22’s in academic publishing, and one I hadn’t really thought about much before).

I realize this makes the question somewhat subjective, and I hope that a variety of answers can be supplied - but if your answer is similar to an existing one, perhaps a comment will serve - thank you!

Here is some more background on my question:

An excellent article by Zen Faulkes, which doesn’t mention F1000Research but does mention Proceedings of Peerage of Science , suggests that the post-publication peer-review is unstandardized. It seems that F1000Research is trying to standardize the process within their journal, rather than relying on altmetrics. I think this is a reasonable approach: as a scientist whose job is partly to network with others, you can very likely get interested parties to review your paper (if not, then try one of the many journals supporting the traditional review method). Additionally, this publisher-centric peer review will probably attract more serious reviews; who wants to post a review on some random social networking site that few people will likely read?

If someone has strong negative feelings about your paper, then they can say so. Of course, there is a lack of anonymity on F1000Research. Oh dear, now we need to be polite (Faulkes also discusses this). I know it is a very difficult thing to be polite sometimes after multiple grants or papers have been rejected, but perhaps this is a step in the right direction.

Perhaps more importantly, the reviewers may have to defend their assertions without the editor making a summary decision about whether or not the authors can reasonably address the reviewers concerns. I think this form of review removes much more bias than it introduces by keeping the conversation open. And I don’t think this means the review process will go on indefinitely; the authors no longer need satisfy every whim of the reviewers, but only those they deem important enough so that their colleagues will respect the merit and credibility of the study.

Turning to other forms of review: I also think it is unlikely that any single review model with always be best for all people and all publications.

For instance, one type of review process that would necessarily need to be pre-publication peer review is the double blind scheme, where neither reviewers nor authors are given any direct evidence of the other party’s identity. It seems that this would not only make things more fair, but also open up the reviewer pool to highly cited authors whose input is no doubt frequently valued but difficult to obtain in the traditional peer review process. Unfortunately it does not seem to be at all prevalent in the sciences, and I know of no journals supporting it.


texts: Paper excluded from conference proceedings

texts:
Last year I submitted a paper to a IEEE conference that was going to be held in the US. I got funding from my university and registered to attend the conference. Unfortunately, my visa was rejected, which was unexpected for me because I had been in the US before for another conference.
Since conference presentation was mandatory for publication of my paper in the proceedings, I contacted the organizers to let them know about this issue and if there was something I could do like sending a video presentation. I didn't get any response and assumed that they were going to publish it anyways. However, a couple of months later I found that they didn't do so.
I tried to contact the organizers again to see if I could get a refund, but was ignored again.
Is this common? Is there something I could do to get the money back?


texts: Best practices for dissertation committees to review chapters?

texts:
From talking to colleagues in a variety of fields and different institutions, there seems to be a huge variability in the ways committees handle their responsibilities of reviewing dissertation chapters. I would like to know two things:

What do you consider the best practices for advisors, other committee members, and candidates in order to move the dissertation writing along efficiently?
Does the Journal Review policy (specified below) seem reasonable to you?

  Journal Review Method

  In this model, the dissertation advisor treats his or her role as the
  chair of the candidate's committee as if he or she were the editor of
  a journal and the dissertation chapters articles submitted for review.
  The student submits a chapter to the advisor who decides whether it is
  ready to send for review. If it is, then the advisor sends the chapter
  to committee members for review. The committee members make a brief
  (2-4 page) report to the advisor that either: accepts the chapter as
  is, accepts it pending minor revisions, rejects it pending major
  revisions, or rejects the chapter entirely. The advisor then makes the
  final determination as to the status of the chapter. It will be the
  advisor's responsibility to make sure other committee members submit
  their reports in a timely fashion. The defense is held when the
  advisor judges all of the chapters to be "accepted".

  The primary benefits of this policy are that it creates a clear
  organizational structure which allows candidates to receive prompt,
  actionable feedback on their work.


texts: How to identify predatory publishers/journals

texts: What are the best strategies for assessing if a journal is a "vanity" or "predatory" journal that should be avoided (both for publishing in and reviewing for)? For example, how would one go about determining if a journal/publisher belongs on Beall’s List of Predatory Open-Access Publishers?


texts: Chances of getting into PhD without any technical paper?

texts:
I am a bachelor pass out of 2018. Electrical background. Currently i am working in R&D in an automobile company for the past year. PhD is something I have always wanted to pursue (mainly because I want to be a professor). But the PhD scenario here in my country makes me really uneasy towards it. So pursuing it in Europe seems like the best option (lesser tuition fees than USA).

Now the main issue is that I don't have any technical publications. This is maybe just an excuse but during college i was mostly reinventing the wheel. So I never felt like I could write one. Although I have worked on so many different kind of projects that no matter the field, i have worked on it (at least as a beginner). I am working on some patents at my current job. But it'll be a while before i can apply for the patent.

So my question is, is there any chance I can get into doctorate program of any European college with no technical paper and just a bachelor's degree. And if not then is there a chance of getting into MS?

I looked at entry criteria into universities, but they generally don't mention anything about technical papers. Educational criteria are easier to find.


texts: Research approach for PhD thesis in Taoism: top down vs. bottom up

texts:
Originally I conceived of posting a "Roadmap for researching x" but I assume that would be too localized for this site.

Background: After much dilly-dallying, I have finally zoned in to pursue lifetime in Taoist research. I have studied mathematical philosophy, cultural anthropology, symbolic logic and enrolled in Eastern studies class for next semester. I understand the professor for latter class would be an excellent source of reference but currently semester is closed.

Problems facing: As I learned in English class it is important to take copious notes during research even if it means 24 hours so I am currently photographing everything that pertains to Taoism. But due to the complex nature of the subject itself and the concept of wu-wei, action in non-action, I am unsure as to how to approach research. I understand if I pursue degree in this field I should familiarize myself with the language and journals and pretty much everything that is related to it. This brings me to my original point:

Question: What would be a good strategy to do research on Taoism? Do I conceive of a thesis and work downwards from it? Or do I start from the scratch - so to speak- and bootstrap my way to a knowledge base. Problem with latter and given the complex nature is if I start with no thesis, then it would be an aimless wandering. But- then again, isn't that what Taoism is all about?

EDIT: In lieu of JeffE's comment below I am rephrasing the original question:

  During a research, is it a good idea to start with a working thesis as early as possible?


texts: Recommendations from professors in unrelated fields

texts:
I have been working with a professor (working meaning meeting roughly once a week to discuss progress and problems) for a few years now, but plan to apply for graduate schools in an unrelated field. I have enough (strong) references without needing to ask this professor for a letter of recommendation. Given this, I have a few questions:

Since I plan to list this experience (is this even a good idea?) on my application, will it look bad if I don't list this professor as a reference/ask them for a letter of recommendation?
If so, is there anything I can do to mitigate this? (My main reason for not asking for a recommendation is to avoid having too many letters. Is this even a problem?)


texts: How to reference multiple authors of a chapter from a book [APA]?

texts:
I need help deciding how to cite a specific chapter of a group for my thesis.
My problem is basically with the different types of authors the chapters of this book has.
The authors titles are: Coordinating Lead author, Lead Authors, Contributing Authors and Review editors.
So, which ones do I include?


texts: Emerging science citation index (ESCI) listed vs SCI listed journals - worthyness to publish

texts:
As I know 'Emerging science citation index (ESCI) listed journals' will not receive an impact factor from 'Thompson Reuters'. Further, Science citation indexed (SCI) and Science citation index expanded (SCIE) journals receive impact factors.

Suppose I'm gonna apply for a scholarship for a PhD and that scholarship requires me to have some contribution to the world as a researcher, is there a probability that they will ever consider a research published in a 'SCI' or 'SCIE' listed journal than 'ESCI' listed journal? provided those journals are from reputed publishers.

And is it worth to publish in a 'ESCI' journal? or am I just wasting my precious paper in a non-worthy journal? any other factors to be considered when publishing papers?

P.S: Suppose, my study area as 'Construction Management and Economics'


texts: Can Design & Implementation sections be combined in a project report?

texts:
I'm writing a postrgraduate project report on a system I've built. It is not designed with the user in mind, it is a backend system to a simple web application.

I'm struggling to separate the Design chapter from the Implementation chapter in my report, as I didn't so much design the system as build it as I went, changing how it was built depending on issues I encountered during implementation.

Is it possible to add all design and implementation information under one chapter, as they are fairly intertwined, or is it necessary to separate them?

Edit

I have solved my problem; the Design chapter is the idea and outline you had in the beginning of what you would like to create, with the various components you think you'll use, and the Implementation chapter includes all the issues that cropped up along the way, creating the need to change the original design.

Thanks for all your input!


texts: Why are the final copies of thesis dissertations often required to be double spaced?

texts:
From http://thewallaceline.blogspot.com/2006/11/double-line-spacing-in-dissertations.html:

  It is standard practice to require dissertations to be double-spaced. In the age of word processors, one wonders why this practice persists. This must surely be a legacy from the days when dissertations were typewritten and students were allowed to make corrections in situ rather than re-print. Word processors have eliminated that problem. Double-spacing might also be suitable for drafts which require annotation for editing, but final copies of dissertations are not used in this way and modern techniques such as commenting do this job.

How did this tradition get started? The ability to make corrections on the printed thesis in the days of typewriters sounds like a pretty good guess.


texts: Approaching a professor for a postdoc, after not taking his previous postdoc offer in favor of an industry job

texts:
I had a postdoc offer from a great research group at a US university towards the end of my PhD in April 2018. Around that time, a family member became severely ill. The nature of the illness was such that the doctors told me that they had to wait a few months to get a clear diagnosis and know whether it was going to be a long term condition or a one-off event. This put me in a dilemma - should I find a full time job that would let me relocate close to my family overseas if need be or should I stay in academia and hope it was just a one-off event? I decided to buy some time and wait a few months and never got back to the professor about the offer - I was very embarrassed to mention the illness as it's a highly stigmatized one. Morever, the professor wanted me to join immediately after my PhD and did not seem to be very flexible about my joining date. He never got back in touch after not hearing from me - I suppose he retracted the offer a few weeks after he made it.

I ultimately ended up delaying my PhD defense by a few months and found a corporate software job after that and started in February this year. My mental health has been slowly declining due to the fast-paced, extremely profit-driven nature of the corporate work environment and I am actually thinking of quitting and going back to a postdoc (my parents have decided to look after the sick family member so the illness is not as immediate a concern as it previously was).  I apologized to the professor in March about my non-response regarding his postdoc offer and told him about the illness and that I have moved on to the industry and he was very understanding and wished me all the best.

Here is my question: I know he is still looking for postdocs. How do I even begin the conversation with him on joining his group? I am also a bit concerned that the 1 year gap on my academic CV will be looked down upon negatively in future job searches.

If it is important to this question at all, I am 27 yrs old.


texts: If you were an editor-in-chief, would you appreciate to be informed that an associate editor has published sloppy information in his journal?

texts:
(Edited with thanks after the early comments helped gauge the perception of the post.)

This is the situation

I came across an article published in a reputable journal in the field of physics and engineering science.

The first author of this article is a member of the editorial board.
A handful of other co-authors follows. They are also affiliated to serious education establishments and hold positions with some standing.
Author and co-authors are associated by a grand research project. This lets me think that this article attracts and will attract attention for a while, at a minimum via legit self-citations.
Parts of the article had been copied and pasted, or slightly edited, from grey literature related to the same research project.
One of these parts is relevant for understanding the inner workings of their research outcome and, pragmatically, comparing my work and theirs. But

some terminology is plainly wrong (apples-for-pears)
some terminology is subtly wrong (community-bound misnomers)
some formulas lack
the references do not contain information integrating these lacunas

Therefore, it is impossible for me to verify the work they did and take at face value some claims of the article relevant for my investigation.
I have reached out to the research team

first asking for additional information (I had started my study from the item of grey literature of point 4)
the first author acknowledged the apples-for-pears glitch but did not provide the lacking information
I asked again for that integration I needed
radio silence
I then discovered the article, pointed out to the inconsistency with the paper, and urged the need for an integration, out of lack of alternative sources
radio silence
I moved on, carried an analysis of the topic at a considerable time overhead, and proposed to their judgement an integration for the lacking parts
radio silence

To sum up, 1-3 describe the context; 4-5 describe the problem; 6 describes what I did in search for clarifications.

Now onto the considerations

The shortcomings I have spotted must have passed several coarse filters.
The number of eyeballs (several co-authors and perhaps a couple of reviewers) that could/should have spotted at least some of these shortcomings from the outset is high.

I feel that the situation is particularly anomalous because of point 1.
That is, granted none is perfect, I would expect that associate editors are particularly strict ensuring that their own publications set a standard for the journal, or do not betray that standard.
In my view, this is surely no research misconduct, rather either a questionable research practice or a minor shortcoming, depending on judgement.
However, I feel this is not exactly OK.

I am also quite willing to wait for a few weeks for a satisfactory answer to come or for me to develop another perspective on the state of the play, also thanks to this community.

Now onto the questions

In this meantime, at any rate, I would like to gather views from this community on why

you would recommend to inform the editor-in-chief of the shortcomings in points 4-5 and motivate a request for revision?
you would rather recommend not to do this?

(I am neither an associate editor or an editor-in-chief.)


texts: Doing an unpaid Post-Doc in the US with own savings, visa

texts:
I was wondering if it is possible to do an unpaid post-doc in the united states (Boston, MIT) for one year, especially in regards to the needed visa (I am german). I am unsure if I would be eligible for a visa when my plan is to cover all the expenses during that year with my own saved-up money.
I already looked at all the regulations of J-1 visa but I couldn't find anything regarding the possibility of getting a visa without being paid. It seems like I need to be paid for H-1B though, so this won't help me.
Thank you in advance for any information or experiences you can share :)
Cheers!


texts: How can a miscitation in google scholar be corrected?

texts:
I discovered that the journal article Ten Migrant Returnees Ilongos, Mindanao Vignettes and the Memory of Nation published by the Philippine Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (PJSSH) which I authored is now authored by a certain H.V Banez. See Links below

http://pjssh.com.ph/index.php/PJSSH/article/view/169/72?fbclid=IwAR0Z0ZfdW9-StIjclUD7KRCvuICQr0BUmXug3aqsV0-NuC0Ge5ZWUFg-bGg

http://pjssh.com.ph/index.php/PJSSH/issue/view/30?fbclid=IwAR0HJ5sD0YPAI5CQXj3co3pLquyxX145-zMTd9CDUo9GKPYwg7RWjPcu6Yc

https://scholar.google.com.ph/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=Ma+Arve+Banez&oq=


texts: Using grant proposal for applying to faculty position

texts:
My grant application for independent research as a PostDoc got recently funded in Germany (the position started at the beginning of this year). This grant required me to choose host labs to work at. I had written the proposal by myself, with inputs from the host professors in Germany regarding the language and phrasing.
Concurrently, I have also started to apply for faculty positions in different countries. The institute at the very top of my list asks specifically for a research proposal which will play a key role in the selection process.
Since the PostDoc grant proposal is filled with many unsolved and interesting problems from my research career (in Mathematics), I would like to reuse it for my faculty application as well.
I have a few questions regarding this:
(1) What is the code of conduct around such a situation where I want to reuse the grant proposal in a faculty-position research proposal? I have never been in this situation, and I am completely unsure of how to proceed.
(2) If I am allowed to reuse the material from the grant proposal, how closely can I use it in the faculty proposal? A lot of thought and time was invested into the phrasing of the original grant, and it very concisely written. If possible, I would like to stay close to the original phrasing.
Of course, the faculty proposal will several new problems as well. Maybe, this question has an obvious answer, in which case I apologise for it. Any ideas/thoughts are very welcome.


texts: Should I write my master's thesis in English, as a non-native speaker?

texts:
I'm currently enrolled in a Master's degree Program in Statistics in Italy. I just started working on my thesis and my advisor asked me if I wanted to write it in Italian or in English. Apparently, both languages are accepted but presenting a thesis in English would mean having to discuss it in English too.
It's a 10-min Q&A session so not that big a deal, however I wouldn't want to put the evaluating committee in a difficult position since none of my professors are native English speakers.

Given that I have no interest (at the moment) in pursuing an academic career beyond my Master, what could be the benefits of writing the thesis in English? Would it realistically make any difference for future job search abroad, for example?


texts: Dropped out of PhD - should I seek acknowledgement of disability discrimination?

texts:
Summary: was targetted as a 'troublemaker' for missing time in PhD due to illness, PhD went badly, I dropped out halfway through. Should I seek formal acknowledgement of discrimination, to clear my name and limit damage to my career?

I did 2 years of a 4 year course at a university in the UK. I am disabled and for medical reasons was not always able to attend. I had medical evidence provided by my doctor, and a disability needs assessment written up by the university's disability support service, which (among other things) specifically mentioned that I would not always be able to attend.

The head of my department noticed my absence at some events and asked me about it - I told her I was absent for medical reasons.

From then on I came under repeated close scrutiny from her and she tried to get me out of the department - mostly by discreet means such as telling my supervisor he should refuse to supervise me as I would cause trouble, and claiming that my work showed I lacked the basic skills to be a student in her department (after which a meeting was held between her, my supervisor, and the head of my programme, at which the head of programme decided she was wrong and not to persue it further).

During these processes, numerous emails were sent around (most of which I don't have copies of, but was shown by my supervisor) to various people, some saying I was a problematic student and others disclosing confidential details of my disability without my permission, including to people who definitely didn't need to be told them (such as admins booking meeting rooms). I discussed this with the disability service, who got in touch with the department to remind them of my needs assessment.

Eventually my attendance dwindled more- when I was well enough to attend, I felt very uncomfortable in the department, where anyone I walked past might have been CCd into an email from the department head calling me a troublemaker or with private details. My work, which had started off well, degraded and my supervisor became unhappy.

I decided to suspend for 3 months to focus on health and get some distance from the departmental politics. My supervisor refused to sign my suspension form, as he was unconvinced that my work would improve after returning. I left anyway and effectively acted as if I were suspended for 3 months, after which I decided to withdraw as I had been offered a job which was more appealing than my unhappy PhD life.

I might want to try again at doing a PhD at another uni in a couple of years time. I am worried that dropping out of the last one will reflect poorly on me - but I feel that it was partly as a result of harassment due to my disability. Should I seek any formal recognition - either legally or through some university process - of discrimination, to help clear my name of the slander given against me and to clear an embarrassment from my CV?


texts: How can I find somebody to chat about papers?

texts:
I’m a computer-science PhD student. I want to find people to chat about papers (by others) online. How can I go about this?

I was looking into the chat of this website. I was also looking at some IRC channels.


texts: Audit or B in class when applying to grad school (mathematics)

texts:
Does a B in a class look worse for graduate school admissions than an audit, given I'm not expected to have the class in the first place?

More specifically, I'm studying abroad and taking five math classes. When I go back to my home institution, by the time I graduate I'll have exhausted all the math courses there, so the maximum math courses I'm "expected" to have is those plus four (four classes being a typical semester).

I have the opportunity to change a class to audit, even after I know my grades, so my question is, if there is a class I might get a B in (functional analysis, if you care), do you think having a B would look less impressive than not taking the course (or does audit risk the same sort of judgement)?

Does my question make sense? Does a B look "weak" when applying to grad school (even in comparison to nothing)?


texts: Does it look bad if I put a variety of interests in my research statement?

texts:
For reference, I am in mathematics.  I will be on the job market again, and I need to write up a new research statement.  I have interests in the area of pure mathematics that I did my thesis research on, but I also have interests in research in math education and also research in mathematics and art.

Does it reflect bad on me if I express my wide range of research interests in my research statement?

I am mostly interested in teaching positions, possible with some research, like a liberal arts college.

I am afraid it looks weird because these are quite disjoint from each other, although I have ongoing projects in each area, I am afraid may look like I'm scatterbrained.


texts: How much non-salary income do computer science professors make in the United States?

texts:
I have seen several questions pertaining to the salaries of professors in the United States. Is there any research/study/survey/... that looked at the non-salary income computer science academics (professors, research scientists, …)  make in the United States?

By non-salary income I mean any income that doesn't come from the salary. Examples of income source: teaching outside the university, cash from awards, running a side start-up/business, consulting, sitting on boards of directors, giving talks, book royalties, patent royalties. Ideally, the non-salary income should be broken down by the income source.


texts: What is the most effective way to negotiate for more time while waiting for other offers?

texts:
Suppose you've interviewed for two post-doc positions.  The first position has just been offered, but you really want to see if the second one offers a position as well.  Clearly, it would be best to press the second one to make a decision sooner.  But it may also be a good idea to press the first one to give as much time as possible to make a decision.

What are the most effective strategies to negotiate for more time to make a decision on the first offer?  How should one phrase it in the most positive and constructive way so as to maximize the possibility of gaining more time to make a decision?


texts:
I have worked on few research labs and performed research as a master's student with PhD students and faced similar issues.

It has been papers that I have contributed most of the work for that paper, including producing results, and writing. Yet the PhD student wants to put my name second due to seniority.

When I first got involved I understood that the order of the paper authors is important in showing the amount of contribution. It feels extremely demotivating to know someone else is getting credit for the very hard work I done and makes me want to stop being involved in research.

Questions:

What is the best practice to decide the author order for CS/AI/ML related conferences?
When everyone has contributed equally and ordering by name, is it the first name or last name you order by?
When the order of the authors doesn't match the level of contribution, what is a good way to bring it up and to who?


texts:
As we know, researchers without university affiliations who need IRB approval for human subjects research can obtain approval from an independent IRB.

What defines the legitimacy of an independent IRB? Logically, a university IRB derives an aura of legitimacy from the accreditation that its university carries, but how does an independent IRB differentiate itself from a "fake" independent IRB?

In other words, if I wanted to start my own Independent IRB and start approving research projects for independent researchers, nonprofits, and industry groups, what exactly would I need to do to become "legit"? Alternatively, what stops random people from starting up a "predatory" IRB that exists to rubber-stamp any old unethical garbage research in exchange for large cash payments?

Is the legitimacy of a self-claimed Independent IRB defined by the soundness of its ethical judgments? E.g. if you make good judgments, approve ethical research, don't approve anything unethical, etc., everything is golden. If you approve bad things (either intentionally or incompetently), you lose face and become seen as "fake".
Is the legitimacy defined in terms of inputs? e.g. if you have enough advanced degree holders, persons who have passed certain research ethics exams, etc., you are legit, else you are not.
Is there some formal accreditation process that wannabe independent IRB's must go through? In other words, if you have the formal accreditation certificate, you are legit, else you are not.
Is there no "gold standard" in legitimacy, and funding sources, journals, etc. all make their own independent determinations as to which IRBs to recognize? E.g. perhaps someone's research results turn out to be groundbreaking, but they can only publish in a third-rate journal because they used a small, discount IRB not recognized by most high-impact journals.
Is the real requirement simply that the research be vetted by someone other than the researcher(s), and using a formally constituted IRB is just a Best Practice that researchers typically choose to follow in order to reduce the likelihood that they will harm a research subject?

Alternatively, what stops the following from being heard more often?

  I got all this research approved by Uncle Bill's Discount Cigar and Research Ethics Adviseorium on Maple Avenue, behind the bowling alley next to the pawn shop, what do you mean they are not legit?

Although one may argue the extent of the problem and where exactly the border line between legit and non-legit is, very few people would dispute that "diploma mills" and "predatory journals" actually do exist. There seems to be no evidence, however, that "fake IRBs" are even a thing in the overactive mind of some busybody, let alone a significant concern. Considering that I have not heard much (actually, nothing at all) regarding allegations of "fake" or "predatory" independent IRB's bilking naive independent researchers in exchange for worthless rubber stamps, I am led to believe that either there is little money in independent IRB activities (e.g. low profit margins, very high overhead costs) to attract predators, or that there is already an onerous approval process that "fake" or less-competent wannabe reviewers cannot pass.

I might also expect that if there really were "fake" IRB's, someone would have performed a sting operation or expose by now. E.g.

  I submitted a copy of the Milgram Experiment to TomorrowIRB 21st Century Ethics, Inc., and they sent it back with a letter saying that they would approve it immediately if I paid them $20,000 by Western Union and signed a piece of paper promising not to use political prisoners. They are either on crack or predatory! Beware!


texts: Can I study and obtain two PhDs in different subjects simultaneously?

texts: I am a student of LLM. After LLM I want to do Ph.D on Waqf family courts. I am also interested in doing a Ph.D on comparative religion from Jamia Milia Islamia, New Delhi. My doubt is can I do a Ph.D in both subjects simultaneously from the same university or different university, or is it necessary to complete in one subject and then pursue another. After all is it allowed to obtain two Ph.Ds.


texts: How to cite a technical report for a double blind review process?

texts:
Some conferences follow the double-blind review process. As such, you cannot reveal your identity to the reviewers. Further, these conferences restrict the number of pages, say to at most 8 pages.

I am facing the following problem: I would like to submit a paper to some of these conferences but I have a paper that is 10-pages long; containing 2 pages of appendices (proofs). I am thinking to write a technical report and put these appendices in it. So now I have the paper to submit (8 pages) which of course cites the technical report (10 pages). How can I cite the technical report to not violate the double-blind review process?


texts: Saw Principal Repeat Key Word from Famous Professor without Citation

texts: I was looking at a principal's Message to the School page on her school website, and I noticed that she repeated a key phrase from a TED talk by a noted educator. This principal is using the key phrase in the same way as the TED talk speaker and is echoing the TED talk speaker, but this principal did not mention either the TED talk or the original noted educator who coined and popularized this phrase. Should I inform the TED talk speaker that she is being plagiarized? Is this a case of plagiarism? I mentioned this seeming case of plagiarism to the principal who tersely "thanked me for my viewpoint" and then ignored my comment. Should I just move on?


texts: Is it true that many people study psychology in university level originally for self-help reasons? I have heard about this and I wanted to ask what are people's opinion about it. Someone told me that it's very common that psychologist's first motives for the field started from self-help and later shifted towards helping others, research, etc.


texts: Our teacher is encouraging us to use cracked software

texts:
I'm taking a course named Numerical and Computational Methods Based on Mathematica (Or in Chinese: "基于Mathematica的数值计算方法"), but Wolfram Mathematica is a bit expensive for me to afford. On the first lesson of this course, the teacher told us how to crack this software, and asked us to have Mathematica 11.0 installed on our computers by this Wednesday. However, I just don't want to use cracked softwares.

While it is true that software cracking is inappropriate and even illegal, almost everyone around me uses cracked softwares(such as PS, AE...). As far as I know, nobody in the rest of our class refuse to crack and install the software.

So what should I do? Having a talk with my teacher or simply quitting this course?

Follow-up:

Finally, I've decided to quit this course, because I think I can gain the same knowledge by learning Mathics, a free software recommended by some answers below.

Thank you for all the awesome answers!

Follow-up II:

I feel obliged to mention that now everyone can download the Free Wolfram Engine for Developers. From my understanding, the Wolfram Engine implements the Wolfram Language and is the very kernel of Mathematica, so this is basically a free full version of Mathematica, just without the notebook interface.


texts: Would leaving my current PhD program ABD be a red flag when applying to other universities?

texts:
tl;dr: I am considering leaving my current PhD program ABD, after four years, several publications and a strained relationship with my bully advisor. How, when and do I explain why I'm leaving if I apply to other PhD programs (in different European countries) and would it be considered a red flag and mean an outright rejection?
Wider context: I am a PhD student in an STEM field at a European university, currently in my fourth year.
Over time, I have become increasingly disappointed and disillusioned, and I have been pushed around, bullied and slaved away for minimum pay. My relationship with my advisor is becoming worse all the time. They are a very self-absorbed person and a bully, but very well connected in the University. I have worked very hard for them not only on my PhD but on numerous other tasks that are not even related to my job. I completed all the formal requirements for graduation but my advisor keeps stalling because they need someone to work for them cheaply and the PhD dissertation is strong leverage.
Now I decided I am ready to leave my job and my PhD without graduation as it has become apparent that they will not let me finish no matter how much more I do.
I was thinking of applying to other programs, but it will be obvious that I was already a PhD student, as I can't just leave it off my CV and the publication track record will also be there. My question is, will quitting my program ABD and applying to another be a red flag? Do I mention anything about why I'm leaving and when? I have no intention of bad-mouthing my advisor to anyone (except obviously you strangers on the internet), so how do I explain my leaving without coming across as a whiner and a quitter? Or should I just give up and get a regular job?
P.S. I read this question which might be a duplicate, but there the student quit while having a relationship and contact with a specific advisor at the new university, while I am just thinking of applying to several calls where I do not have any personal connection with the people hiring. If people here think it's still a duplicate, I will agree.


texts:
I am concerned that an email I sent can be interpreted as an (informal) acceptance of a postdoc offer.
The email was in response to a PI who emailed saying that he hoped to have an official offer out soon, and then asked about an ideal starting date.
I replied,"Thanks for the update! I could start at the beginning of xxx."
My intention with my wording was to give the information requested without accepting the offer, but also without explicitly stating that I was looking into other options. After sending this email I applied to other laboratories, and received a couple offers. All the offers, including the one referenced in the email, are almost equally attractive and I would like to select the option that works best for me. However, I do not want to be guilty of any dishonesty with regards to the original offer. Does my email pass as a firm commitment? I have since clarified to the PI during a call that I was considering other options and he did not seem too bothered, but I do want to make sure I am acting ethically.
I can provide more details but I have tried to include the most relevant.
Thanks!


texts:
I want to start research in the field of Computational Cosmology. It includes the galaxy formation and reionization era. I know it involves extensive computing techniques including parallel and high performance computation but do I need to study General Relativity (detailed course) or I can work without it (or having its basic concepts)?
For the physics part, I have to study Astrophysical Hydrodynamics and galactic compact objects and their X ray sources etc.
Do I need complex differential geometry of General Relativity for this?
P.S: I have a physics background and right now in course-work phase at graduate level in Computational Science degree.


texts: What typically limits how many fellowships a PhD student can receive?

texts:
I'm not asking this question with a personal purpose (I don't have any fellowships and I wouldn't be greedy/unreasonable enough to abuse the system in this way), but I was still wondering out of plain curiosity:

Consider a graduate student who excels in the field and otherwise has many "favorable" attributes. In other words, if the student applies for any given fellowship, the chance that he/she will get it is very high. Given the cooperation of three professors being willing to write as many recommendation letters as the student wants, is there typically any restriction from the university or fellowship organization that would prevent the student from gaining an absurd amount of fellowships?


texts:
I've had experiences where some reviewers comment something along the line with:

  Why didn't you cite [x]. They solved a similar (but not strictly
  applicable) variation of your problem.

Now most of the times, I have read [x]'s abstract and conclusion + skimmed it, but I chose not to include it in my citations as it wasn't particularly relevant to my problem.

My question is, if I have read [x]'s abstract, conclusion, and skimmed its content, can I write a sentence such as:

  A considerable amount of work [a,b,c,x] addressing this problem, as
  well as its variations, has emerged in the recent years.

Is this considered citation stuffing?


texts: Is industrial organizational (I/O) psychology considered a STEM subject according to USCIS/DHS?

texts:
I'm looking to do a PhD in I/O psychology in the US. I learned that only a few psych subjects were considered STEM according to the list released by ICE in 2016 and I/O psychology is not one of them. However, on the list is "42.2799 Research and Experimental Psychology, Other". I'm wondering two things:

If this is the updated list
If a PhD in I/O Psych would be considered under "Other"

TIA!


texts: What is the difference between an explanation and an interpretation?

texts:
Can someone please clarify for me if there is a difference between an explanation and an interpretation in scientific discourse?

Whenever I am writing up results, I am careful to distinguish observations (which I associate with results) and interpretations (which I associate with discussion), because results are describing your data, where discussion is interpreting the data (which I always thought of as coming up with explanations for the results). However, I got into a discussion today with another scientist about the meaning the word explanation when they asked me add explanations into the results section of our paper (I thought they should go into the discussion).

I am particularly interested in the differences between these terms in the natural sciences (my area), but welcome comparison of the terminology between the fields of math, natural science, and social science in order to help clarify their definitions.

Concisely, here is how I view the terminology:

Observation ≡ Result

Interpretation ≡ Discussion ≡ Explanation

Is this misguided? And if so, can someone please clarify?


texts: Can a Letter of Recommendation be effective without much coursework

texts:
I'm applying to grad schools this coming fall and have 2/3 letter writers lined up, and am just trying to make a decision about the third. I took two classes with this third letter writer about two years ago, one survey course and one directed reading. We spent a lot of time in her office hours chatting and she got to know me as a student, and I achieved A+ in both courses.
However, both of those courses were two years ago, and we haven't had much interaction in the interim as I've been completing credits for my other major. I was planning to take a seminar with her this fall so as to get a third course in with her, and also one which is more recent so that I'll be fresh in her memory. But, the course conflicts with pretty much everything else I was hoping to take this academic year, including some courses much more directly related to my research interests.
Was hoping to solicit some thoughts on whether a LOR can be effective a) without much coursework and b) with not-so-recent coursework, providing that the coursework which was done was completed with great marks and lots of professor-student interaction. In other words, even with glowing comments, will a committee always look negatively on letters based on out of date courses (completed in 2nd year, for instance) and not that many of them, to boot?
Thanks


texts: Disclosing authorship of controversial app in CV

texts:
I'm an undergraduate physics student in EU.

I created a politics related android app that is to be released soon. Nothing fancy; I was just practicing a bit with GUIs and various programming tools.

Part of this app discusses modern world war propaganda (e.g. pretexts used to start a war), along with other similar topics. It also makes fun of various political beliefs and ideologies, including pro-vote propaganda.

Needless to say, its content would displease some people.

Initially I was thinking of being open about it (e.g. include it in my CV), but now I'm having second thoughts on how it could affect me in the future. Be it being granted a visa or being accepted in a research program.

I read a similar post but it wasn't helpful since many things differ in my case:

I don't "exist" on the internet. I don't use social media and the
few search results about my real name are related to physics. The only way to establish a link between my app and my identity is through my CV, and then the person searching would have to use the app to learn my political views.
I am not left or right nor anywhere in between, I consider elections (in their current state) an inefficient, resource-wasting game. Therefor, I don't know people's stance towards my beliefs. Also, considering elections a game (as defined above) is open to misinterpretation (which has happened before with my professor; he initially assumed I'm far-far-right).
The app strongly criticizes various policies without naming the governments or countries involved.

What should I do:

There are possible benefits from displaying some of my programming knowledge along with some risks, and I can't decide whether I should:

use a pseudonym in the app (copyrights holder, author etc) and never disclose my affiliation with the project.
use a pseudonym, and include the app in my programming portfolio. (is it worth the risk?)
or another option.


texts:
Two months ago, I submitted a paper to a journal. Within two weeks, editor in chief gave me: "Invitation to Revise". He himself read the manuscript and provides some comments.

I worked on his comments during the past two months. Today I finished the revision and submitted the revised version of the manuscript in the journal submission system. Eight minutes later, editor-in-chief emailed me that the paper did not accept, please see the comments to the editors and reviewers at the end of email.

There were two lines of comments, telling me could you please submit the manuscript to our new special issue, with a link.

When I look at the web page of their special issue, I found out that their special issue submission, will start some month later and its deadlines are much later. I don't have so much time, to wait for this.

What can I do? Is it useful to email to EIC?

When I don't have the right to submit the manuscript to two journals at the same time, what prevents EIC and editors from acting unethically?
Especially, when they have all the powers?
EDIT: In response to comments, the question is:

Is there anywhere to complain about the behaviors of editors of journals except themselves?


texts: Choosing a degree program with 'low academic standards'

texts:
I am not sure if this is the right StackExchange to post this kind of question. If not, I apologize.

I currently have a problem in choosing a undergraduate program to study. I am mainly interested in software engineering, life sciences and mathematics. As a result of this, I have bought multiple undergraduate text books for these subjects to teach myself all basics of these fields. This includes things like programming, theoretical computer science, data structures, algorithms, ... , set theory, linear algebra, real analysis in one and several variables, complex analysis, abstract algebra, ... , zoology, chemistry for biologists, genetics and so on.

Now, when I look at those many different degrees available, I am kinda stumbled. Because all degrees have kind of 'nothing to offer', as I see it. By this I mean that I feel like I already know 66% of the course's content, especially in mathematics. Of course, such programs can offer more things like help from tutors (which kinda became irrelevant due to the internet), field works, expensive laboratory experiments and so on. But I don't think that programs like for mathematics or software engineering have much of such things. And I am not sure if I really want to pay 9000£ a year for such a degree then. So a degree in biology would be the best.

But then again, I am just afraid of taking a biology degree, because I fear people (both in industry and academia) will deny me because this particular degree I have pursued did not include a programming course or fundamental mathematics, even though I did teach such things myself.

Now I have no experience in how people might react when I write in a CV things like 'I might have a degree in biology and not your desired degree in computer science or mathematics, but I do think that I fit your job as statistician very well, because I taught myself modern mathematics, methods of statistics and programming. (even though I do not have a certificate proving any of the listed skills, just believe me.)'

Edit 1 'To the Dunning-Kruger effect':

Well, you can often view course structures and syllabus' for the courses included in your degree online. Let's take for instance the Bsc Mathematics (G100) program from the Imperial College. Under 'Structure' you can read what you'll learn in during this degree and you can even see all the syllabus' for all individual courses, such as for 'Mathematical Methods I'. When you now have different books covering the topics listed plus other sources from the internet (like videos, papers, articles), I do think that you can teach yourself a lot of the degree. You even have people on StackExchange you could ask for help. Despite all of that there is even a list 'Appropriate books' in which the Imperial College recommends you books to read for that course!


texts: Which access-date should be used for cited websites

texts:
As the title says I am wondering which access date I should use for citing a website.

Let's say the assignment is due in one week and I have cited and accessed the website one month ago. Now I am revisiting the website to look for changes/new information only to find that nothing changed since my last visit. Which date should I choose as access date?

I think it would be nice to use the most recent date to show that the information is recent/still valid, however I think more recent dates could be frowned upon as it looks like I just recently started working on the assignment altogether.

If it matters: The field is Computer Science


texts: Should I pay for a certificate showing the quality of my manuscript before I submit it to a journal?

texts:
Some commercial services sell certificates to manuscript authors.  Frequently these certificates are marketed to authors in developing countries where English is not widely spoken.  These services claim that the certificate indicates that the manuscript meets a certain standard of quality.  Often the certificate states that the manuscript is written in correct English.  The certificate may be accompanied by editing services.

Should I pay for a certificate and send the certificate to a journal?

This is a general question is inspired by this one to avoid talking about a specific service.


texts: Can a "maitre de conferences" be called "professor"?

texts:
In the French system and other francophone systems, tenured faculty is divided in two categories: maitre de conferences, equivalent to associate professors if I understand correctly, and professeurs, equivalent to full professors.

I'm preparing a list of people for a meeting. I am required to distinguish between no title, Dr., and Prof. The question is simple: should I call the maitre de conferences "professors"? On the one hand, their title is not formally "professor". On the other hand, their rank is equivalent to "associate professor", and so they deserve to be called "professor".

I am interested in a general answer. Not necessarily only for my situation. Call this curiosity if you wish.


texts: Professor who I requested an LoR from told me to look for someone who knows me better, but would write me one if I couldn't find anyone

texts:
I made a post yesterday regarding when I should send a professor a reminder regarding a LoR request. Well, he actually got back to me today and told me that (translated and paraphrased from Korean):
"(small talk) I think it would be best for you to ask someone who may know you better. I'm afraid I may not know you well enough to write a detailed and strong recommendation letter. However, if you can't find anyone else I'd be glad to write one.
"Since I don't know you that well, it would help if you sent me your CV, SOP, and a one-page document laying out what you want me to specify or emphasize.
"Again, I strongly advise you to request a letter from a professor who knows you well, as that would lead to a stronger letter."
So yeah, it's not exactly an ideal response, but was expected. The problem I had is that I'm a MSCS student but am not originally from CS. Being busy with my own advisor and lab/projects has somewhat hindered me from becoming "close" with other professors. This particular professor I asked is one of the three who I've had interactions with a little more than the classroom level (I very briefly worked on a project with his lab mates, but it didn't turn into anything). The other two have stated they would write me letters already.
There is a postdoc in our lab who I've worked with, but I'd rather not ask a postdoc.
How negatively is this going to affect me? I don't think I really have a choice, and I don't believe this professor is someone who would write anything negatively about me, but I guess I would like some perspective from people who have been on both sides. Thanks.


texts: Which format should I use to submit a paper for review?

texts:
I am going to submit a paper to the journal of ACM Transactions on web, there is an option for attached files named "File for reviewers". I guess it is the option I should choose, but I don't know in which format the file should be. As I searched the site there are a word and a latex templates for articles, but they might be for the final version of the paper?

Can I submit it as a unformatted word document, but enhanced for reading? or a pdf but not based on the template on the site? by the way, I found their template awful for the reviewing purpose.


texts: Doubts about an experimental PhD project

texts:
I recently finished my MSc in Physics and my average is within the absolute 1% of the whole institute where I study. I really like programming and numerical work, so my thesis was also concerned a lot with this, but there was also some experimental work to "justify" the numerical results.

I want to continue with a PhD and my thesis-advisor offered me a PhD project. However, the project is mostly experimental and the amount of programming is quite limited. The project is still interesting, because a large part of it is realizing the setup I proposed and simulated in my MSc thesis. It should be noted that the project is partly funded by a relatively large space agency, so (besides looking good on my CV) there are good chances of getting new contacts through this specific project. I thought that I could use this opportunity to see if it possible to spend 1-2 (or more) months at this agency during my PhD, working with them on their programming-heavy work. This wouldn't be directly related to my PhD project, so I'm not sure I'm "allowed" to do this, but this should be an option for me to investigate further.

I'm not sure if I should accept this experimental PhD project, because I worried that doing too much experimental physics may not be where my interest lies. On the other hand, I don't have any other offer and it may very well take some time before I find an alternative.

Regarding my future, then I definately see myself having a job which is based on programming/numerical work. This is another motivation for finding an alternative project, but would an experimental PhD make me less "attractive" for such a job?

Besides looking at my future, are there any questions I can ask myself to clarify this decision I have to take?


texts: Choice of personal pronoun in single-author papers

texts: Which personal pronoun is appropriate in single-author papers - 'I' or 'we'? Could the use of 'I' be considered egotistical? Or will the use of 'we' be considered to be grammatically incorrect?


texts: Does a UK degree have the same classification in the US?

texts: Does a degree obtained in the UK have the same classification in the USA? So if I had a 2:1 in England would it be a 2:1 in the USA or something different?


texts: Is it OK to submit the same post-doctoral fellowship application two years in a row?

texts:
Last year, I submitted a post-doctoral fellowship application but didn't get it. This year, I thought about submitting basically the same research statement; slightly updated and refined, but having the same project in mind.

My thoughts are that my improved track record this year, and having two letters of invitations to top universities, which I didn't yet have last year, would make the difference.

Is it a reasonable/ethical/smart strategy?


texts: How can I avoid the requirement of using friends or acquaintances to complete coursework?

texts:
A friend of mine recently sent me a game he made as part of his coursework and asked me to make a Youtube video of it. He was supposed to get 3 people to do the same in order to get a better grade.

I'm happy to help my friend out this once but this is concerning for me because the professor asks non-enrolled people to do gradable work. Even if the 'external dependencies' are willing to do the work, they might not be able to due to other commitments, which could conceivably put unnecessary strain on the relationship.

I was told the video can be a short, 1 minute video, with you talking mentioning the title but the amount of work required isn't the point; the point is that any amount is required at all.

Assuming I was the student in question and asked to find reviewers for my game demo, what is the best way to refuse? I'd think the 2nd paragraph of this post is enough if reworded into an email but I'm not an academic, and there might be some nuances I'm not considering.

edit I have to clarify my objection. It's not that any work is required at all from a third party, it's that a student's grade depends on work being done by a third party that has no contract with the University and no obligation to deliver. This is different form many forms of outsourcing, be it a vendor (the student pays for something so the vendor must deliver) or an interview (the student still has to prepare for and edit the interview and still does most of the 'work')


texts: Why do Universities offer a "Double PhD Program"?

texts:
I just scrolled through the student list of my university and found a person who is a “double PhD candidate”. Since I have never heard of that, I tried to find some information. The best link that I found is “Joint-PhDs: A Guide” at Find a PhD.

However, the only explanation given is that,

  [...] universities offering double degrees rather than jointly-awarded degrees is often practical in nature, for example one country’s legislation does not allow joint-degrees.

I expected something like research in two research areas by one person. But giving two PhDs because of legislation seems odd to me. Can someone tell me more about this?


texts: How should one advertise a program if it doesn't lead to jobs?

texts:
(Asking this since similar themes have come up in a conversation with a friend)

So-and-so physics department has decided to start teaching more astrophysics classes, because they need more students. Astronomy with all its pretty pictures is supposed to attract students - certainly the general education classes that cater to students fulfilling their breadth requirements are very popular. The idea is to add several more astrophysics courses and offer undergraduates who take all of them a "concentration in Astrophysics", so their degrees say "Bachelor of Physics with concentration in Astrophysics".

The problem: in that particular city - or country, even - nobody is looking for astrophysics graduates. In fact after being subscribed to "astronomy" and "astrophysics" job advertisements for more than a year, I've only seen like two jobs with those keywords, and one of them had nothing to do with astronomy or astrophysics. One could still get a job leveraging the fact that astrophysics is "sort of" physics which is a quantitative discipline that teaches its graduates to think logically yada yada blah blah. But at that point, the astrophysics concentration seems pretty pointless.

How do you advertise a program knowing that its graduates will not be able to find jobs in that topic? What is a good response to "what do your graduates do after graduating?"


texts: Does it look bad if letter of recommendation comes from an emeritus professor?

texts:
I wonder is it a good idea to ask for a letter of recommendation from a emeritus professor who I took his course and knows me well?

I was wondering is it bad to get a letter from someone who is not in Academia anymore?


texts: Should I say something to an undergraduate research assistant who isn't really working full time?

texts:
I'm supervising an undergraduate research assistant this summer, who I hired for a full time position. There are several other full time research assistants in the lab, who work about 35-45 hours a week (specific hours of their choice).

This one student works about 25. He isn't unusually productive, either, and doesn't seem to be learning as much as the students who are actually working approximately full time. He isn't terribly behind, but I am sure he would make more progress on his project and have a better chance of finishing it by the end of the summer if he actually worked full time. (I designed the project so that it could reasonably be expected to be completed over the course of the summer by an undergrad working about 35-40 hours a week.)

Should I have a conversation with him about his working hours? If so, how to do it without sounding like a jerk?


texts: How to search for articles from a specific journal in Google Scholar when the journal name is a subset of other journal names (e.g., Science)?

texts:
A bit of an odd question, but I would like to search for a phrase in articles from Science (the journal). Yet I cannot do this on Google Scholar--if I specify in the advanced search that the source is Science or "Science," I get results from all sorts of journals with the word "Science" in them. "Science Magazine" or any further specification yields zero search results. Furthermore, Science Magazine's website search is terrible, and returns every article in the issue of an article containing a search term (my search is for "hierarchical model").

Has anyone else run into this? Can anyone think of a search term trick that might help?


texts: What license to choose for a model which we will freely distribute?

texts:
My research team has developed a model, analyzed data, and generated results. We are currently in the process of publishing the results -- the article is in review -- and we are preparing to make our model available (we're talking with the publisher about whether to include it as a supplementary material with the journal).

Regardless, we will retain rights to distribute the model on our own websites. We believe in the principle of free software and want to make this model generally and freely available but request that those who use it cite the paper in which we introduce the model.

Our question is which license -- I know of GNU and Creative Commons, among others -- is best suited to this goal? Is there a answer to this question?


texts: What's the role of colloquiums in academia?

texts:
During my bachelors and masters degree I have attended some brief talks called colloquiums in which a researcher was invited by a professor at the university and s/he gave a one-hour talk about a scientific topic most of which about his/her own research interests.

These talks are a little different from normal conference presentations and seminars because the speaker is invited to give a talk and he is not presenting a specific paper; but in a conference, except from keynote speakers; people normally submit their papers to be peer-reviewed.

I don't know what's the role of colloquiums in academia and what the speaker is seeking by giving such talks? Also, who can give such talks (a researcher, somebody from industry, an outstanding professor, etc.)?


texts: Why do admissions committees consider the Statement of Purpose to be important? Anyone with a command of English should be able to write a Statement of Purpose, in principle, so it seems a poor way to compare applicants' research potential. If I were to judge an applicant (obviously I've never been in this position), I would much sooner at grades than at their Statement of Purpose, simply because grades cannot (in general) be 'faked'.


texts: For me it's not clearly described what proceedings-published posters are. Here is a CFP...


texts: Where and how are Computer Science researchers publishing datasets?

texts:
We are publishing articles that use several different datasets acquired from user (clinicians, physicians and radiologists) analysis through interaction to our healthcare systems [1, 2, 3]. We would like to share them so that other researchers can use the same data for post-process analysis and verification.

Our work is a relation between both Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Health Informatics (HI) fields by study human behaviour, as a user of an AI-Assisted system for breast cancer diagnosis. From here, we measure several attributes, with several scales (e.g., NASA-TLX, SUS, Time, Number of Clicks, Number of Errors and Qualitative Analysis). It seems to us really interesting to not only publishing around our work but also to provide the information to other researchers.

Our question is as follows:

What strategies are available to share our dataset?

In a near future, we would like to take advantage of Google Dataset Search. However, our idea will be to publish the dataset on Kaggle and then publish an arXiv document to link the dataset. By doing this, we will not only promote the dataset for the scientific community but also have the chance of being cited by.

[1] Francisco M. Calisto, Alfredo Ferreira, Jacinto C. Nascimento, and Daniel Gonçalves. 2017. Towards Touch-Based Medical Image Diagnosis Annotation. In Proceedings of the 2017 ACM International Conference on Interactive Surfaces and Spaces (ISS '17). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 390-395. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3132272.3134111

[2] Maicas, Gabriel, Gustavo Carneiro, Andrew P. Bradley, Jacinto C. Nascimento, and Ian Reid. "Deep reinforcement learning for active breast lesion detection from dce-mri." In International Conference on Medical Image Computing and Computer-Assisted Intervention, pp. 665-673. Springer, Cham, 2017.

[3] Tiago Dias, Helder Araujo, and Pedro Miraldo. 2016. 3D Reconstruction with Low Resolution, Small Baseline and High Radial Distortion Stereo Images. In Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Distributed Smart Camera (ICDSC '16). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 98-103. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/2967413.2967435


texts: Do you think a computational math student should go to student seminars about pure math?

texts:
I am a first year graduate student with thesis topic on computational math, in particular inverse problem. Based on what I know, this area requires a solid background of functional analysis and numerical PDE.

Currently I am wondering what kinds of seminars I should attend. My department have weekly student seminars on analysis and theoretical PDE. Basically students presenting their work/research output to their supervisor. As this post and the great mathematician Terence Tao suggested, attending talks and conferences in different areas is beneficial.  Hence I will try to attend other numercial analysis groups' seminars. But I was wondering whether it's helpful for me to attend those pure math seminars about analysis or PDE.

Though I found those seminars are interesting, my main concern is that being lack of suitable background, I may only be able to understand a small part of the seminar (a PHD student working on theoretical PDE once told me he can't understand his group-mates' seminar until his third year). The other concern is I will have less time for my own research . So in your opinion, what kinds of seminars I should attend? Shall I attend seminars in other departments (say physics or engineering) regularly?


texts: What is a post-print of an article or research paper, and what is it used for?

texts: Today I ran across the wording "post-print version" of an article (on ResearchGate). I'm aware of terms pre-print, in preparation, under review, published, etc., but I have never seen the term "post-print" before. What does it mean and what else should we know about it (i.e., when to use it)?


texts: Why are some journal articles so expensive?

texts: Why are some journal articles so expensive, such as this article that costs more than $12.55 per page to purchase?


texts: Recommended rejection of a paper, but invited to review the paper again

texts: I was recently asked to review a paper, and ended up recommending a rejection of the paper. The journal has, apparently, asked the authors to revise their paper, and the journal has come back to me asking me to review the revised paper. There is, however, no option offered for me to decline. I will likely recommend rejection again as I see that the main problem with the paper is still not addressed. What should I do in this case? Should I write to the journal that I am not willing to review this paper again, or should I go ahead with the review and recommend rejection for the second time? Since I need to provide my comments to the authors again, what should I write while still being constructive? This was my first time recommending a rejection.


texts: Would this be considered a valid reason to apply for deferral for graduate school admission?

texts:
I have been recently admitted to a top 5 graduate school in the US and I am considering deferring my admission by one year.
My reason is that I am currently pursuing a master's degree and under normal circumstances, one can complete it in 3 semesters, however, I am in a position to graduate in two semesters. Still, I would like to work on a research project with my supervisor (who is very famous in his field) in the third semester starting this fall to hopefully publish something useful.
Do you think that this is a valid reason to ask for a deferral?


texts: Should I mention an informal research intern in my CV?

texts:
I was doing an informal research intern in a research institution more than a year ago, and it's probably the only experience related to the scientific research during my undergraduate time. Basically it's on a specific topic on AI, and I read papers and did the experiments under the instructions of graduate students of the institution. We submitted a paper where I was one of the co-author to a journal, but it was not accepted.
The word informal means:

I didn't sign an agreement with the institution and thus I didn't get the certificate from the instutution
I was doing the work with graduate students instead of the faculties of the institution. I even didn't see the professor (the supervisor of the graduate students who guided me). And it's almost impossible to get a letter of recommendation from the professor of the institution)

If I don't mention it in the CV, I will be the applicant with bare research experience.
If I mention it, without a letter of recommendation from a professor related, I will probably lose the credibility of the research experience.
PS: I am applying for a Master Program of Computer Science. I have other interns in tech companies but they are not for scientific research.
What should I do?


texts: The referee says that I did not attempt to "reject" my model – what does this mean?

texts:
A referee wrote:

The experimental results tried to confirm but did not attempt to reject the model.

Obviously my null hypothesis is that my model is wrong, and I rejected that hypothesis. What does the referee mean?
Details: the null hypothesis is that the model does not significantly explain the data. So I think if the null hypothesis is not rejected, then my model is not confirmed and not rejected. Confirm a model is much, much harder than not reject a model in statistics.
Did the referee mean that I have to set the null hypothesis as my model is correct and then try to reject that hypothesis?


texts:
My friend submitted a paper to a well-known computer science conference. One of the reviews was very short - only 2.5 lines of text, extremely general and vague, and rejected the paper. The review is so meaningless, that the author cannot even respond to it, or use it to improve the paper. Additionally, the review includes little justification to the rejection recommendation.

The other two reviews were balanced - there was one positive and one negative review.

The author feels that the short review should get a smaller weight in the final decision. How can he communicate this to the conference organizers? Is it a good idea to contact them directly by email?

The conference is organized by an automatic web-based submission system that allows the author to write a single response to the reviewers, but it is not clear if this response gets to the organizers or only to the reviewers.


texts: How to treat a paper accepted at a conference and included in proceedings if I could not attend the conference?

texts:
Recently I had submitted a paper to a conference. It got accepted for presentation. But I could not attend the conference. However, I had registered for it and paid my participation fee. My paper has also been included in the conference proceeding.

My question is how will I treat this paper:

Can I include it as a conference paper in my CV?
Can I submit it to another conference?
Can I submit it to a journal for publication?

I understand that part of this question is highlighted in previous questions e.g. Am I allowed to submit to a journal, a paper that was accepted to a conference but not presented yet?, but I need a specific and straight forward answer.


texts: How should my name and affiliation appear in a scientific journal publication as a student?

texts:
I am an undergraduate student who is co-authoring a publication for a scientific journal for the first time. My advisor has asked what I want my name and affiliation to be but I need some guidance.

My full name is Elizabeth Grace Duncan, but I go by Lizzi. I go to Virginia Tech which has the full name Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University although Virginia Tech is also an official name. I am majoring in statistics and minoring in math.

I'm thinking I should say my name is Elizabeth G. Duncan and affiliation is Virginia Tech Statistics Undergraduate. Is this appropriate detail? Any help is appreciated!


texts: Can external examiners be from research institutes?

texts:
Firstly, I understand what matter are the regulations from my own college and advice from my supervisor. I would like to ask this question more as a survey of experience and opinions.
It happens that my supervisor has suggested an external examiner that has lead a lab for numerous years, with extensive experience, knowledge and publications in the field of my thesis, who would surely be suitable in examining the quality of research work by expertise, but also one who comes from a research institute that does not use the titles "Lecturers" or "Professors".
According to the written regulations, an equivalent or higher rank is required, without specifying the nature of origin institute. As I search for more information to understand more of the general practice, I saw some writing "universities or research institutes", while oftentimes this is not specified.
It would be nice if anyone could share more on what have you seen and been thinking so far. Thank you so much!


texts: Can Mendeley create a folder based on a bibliography?

texts:
I have used Mendeley to manage references in a paper and create a bibliography. I would like to place all the cited references into one folder in Mendeley - is there a way of doing this automatically?

The reason is to be able to share the selected references in a group.


texts: How to reference different sources in a list?

texts:
I am writing my master thesis and I am not sure how to reference/cite different sources in a list.

I have a small list like:

  The benefits of an "incredibly interesting topic" are:

  benefit 1 (ref 1)
  benefit 2 (ref 2)
  benefit 3 (ref 2)
  benefit 4 (ref 1)
  benefit 5 (ref 3)

I think that putting the reference after each point is a bit intrusive, but I don't know how else can I do it.

Is there any convention of how to reference in this scenario?


texts: Indicate Journal name for "under review" and "accepted/in press" publications on CV

texts:
there are similar questions on how to list on CV publications that have not passed the accepted or in press stage when applying to junior research positions ( PhD/postdoc).

I am not clear if such publications should include the journal name or not, and what would be the reason for either choice.