sandi

nolhtairt

******I got an email from a student a couple days ago informing me that she just realized that she missed the last exam. It was three weeks ago! She was busy with other things and it just slipped her mind. She wanted to know what she could do now to make up those points.

Isn't she entitled?

If she cared enough about her grades to ask how to make up for it, she shouldn't have missed it in the first place.

That was my thought too. I pointed out that the course requirements have to be the same for everyone in the class. I can't give her alternate exams or assignments.

I suggested she start attending class, turn in the remaining homework assignments when they are due (she's missing a couple of assignments too), and study for the final since she will need to ace it.

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I got an email from a student a couple days ago informing me that she just realized that she missed the last exam. It was three weeks ago! She was busy with other things and it just slipped her mind. She wanted to know what she could do now to make up those points.

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I think this is a men's rights issue. I've learned from reading that I may get throat cancer as a result of HPV. For some reason it is being argued that young females should receive this vaccine.

How about young males? Or adult males? Understanding that heterosexual immunity may develop from vaccinated women, why is there not more stuff out there about the health risks to males from HPV and how women getting this vaccination can save male lives, as well?

Actually, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends the vaccine for both females and males now. It is recommended to be part of the standard vaccination schedule for all children.



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Arvoitus

Is the software doing the video coding and data analysis some ready made software or is done by the people using the devices? Because if it is some ready made software then the kind of devices you'll need, depend a lot on whether the software can use some of the features of the hardware, like GPU's for processing the data.

It's all existing software. I'm still decided what coding software I want to use. I'm debating if I want to stick with what I've been using or see if I can find something better. Once the videos are coded I'm just doing stats, I typically use either SAS, Mplus, or R. Those are fine on pretty much anything.


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rmsmith

If your lab computers are not going to be in a LAN with server storage then you should consider workstation class computers with raid mirroring disks. Video editing and processing also requires lots of memory and multi-core processing power, again workstation class computers. Workstations are expensive, $5k to $8k each, but worth every penny if you need them. Look at Dell T7600 or HP Z820 workstations. You really need to talk with a professional with business, financial or scada type hardware experience. Good luck on your project.

I will have server storage so the videos will be stored there. I want a decent amount of memory and power but I think the Workstations are beyond what I actually need.


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There is software I can use to create computer-based experiments such as E-Prime, although I don't know anyone who has used it with a touch screen or tablet. I'll have to check into that. What I need is an application that is basically a simple game where I'm looking at specific responses and reaction times bases on perceptual skills.

Yeah, I'm a little worried about that. I have a meeting set up next week with someone about possibly creating some experiments in app form, so I'll see what she says. It may be easier to work with a non-mac tablet.

Questions for the computer people out there. I don’t know hardware that well so I am looking for advice on new computer purchases.

I’m setting up my new research lab and I will be ordering 3 computers for the lab plus a tablet. I also need a new personal laptop.

For the lab I think I have to get HP products (or Apple) since I have to go through the university. One computer will be connected to 3 video cameras and a switcher. The other two will be used for video coding and data analysis. I want them to last a long time. Right now I have start-up funds for my lab, so I can pretty much get whatever I want, I’m just now sure what I want. I probably don’t actually need anything too fancy, but since I have money to spend I might as well get good (and fast) computers.

I also need a tablet to run some experiments on (Cognitive, perceptual type stuff). I’m thinking of getting a new iPad Air but I haven’t compared the iPad to other tablets that are out now.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.


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champu

When I was in elementary school they gathered about 20 of us from across the district and put us in our own 5th and 6th grade class, calling it the Special Opportunities Program or SOP. We were given a much more challenging curriculum. It was great, I enjoyed it a lot.

Other kids in the school called us SOP students "Stupid On Purpose." It took me a while to appreciate the life lesson there.

My school did that too, although we didn't have a catchy name, it was just called the accelerated class. They pulled the top 4/5 graders and then we continued the next year for a 5/6 grade class. We had the same teacher for the two years. It was an excellent program.

Now it seems the goal of the educational system is to achieve mediocrity. My daughter is in 4th grade and they refuse to give her anything remotely challenging to work on despite the fact that her test scores are way above grade level. I'm now supplementing her education at home or she wouldn't be learning anything.

There is a lot of emphasis on "closing the achievement gap." I guess one way to do that is to bring down the smart kids. I personally don't think striving for mediocrity is in the best interest of the kids or the country as a whole.


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Hmmm, where to begin. I guess first what is the “future Ph.D.” thing. Last time I checked I had a Ph.D. Second, WedMD, if you really want to understand what is currently known in the field you need to read the actual research and more than one paper.

Now, what I said was that you’re statement “Now we also know that men and women have different wiring in their heads, they have different brains. That means Woman are better at some things and worst at something when is comes to mental capability same for men” is not an accurate representation of the research.

Men and women use the same parts of the brain to perform the same functions; they don’t have different “wiring.” I did not say there are no differences between men and women, of course there are, if would be surprising if there weren't. For example, as mentioned women’s brains are typically smaller than men’s (proportional to one’s body). Brain size tells you absolutely nothing about intelligence or particular skills.

I can’t get into a whole literature review here but I will say that yes there are some differences between men and women in certain areas. From a research perspective these are very interesting. However, in real terms these findings have very small effect sizes and to say that men or women are bad a certain thing is making a huge leap. The media makes those leaps all the time to say things that are not actually supported by the data.

I’ll use spatial skills as an example. Men typically outperform women on spatial tasks. That’s pretty well known. However, that doesn't mean that the differences in performance are enormous nor does it mean that all men are better than all women at spatial tests. If you look within genders you will see a large variance. Some men will be in low range and some high, same for women.

What’s interesting to me since I’m interested in brain development is that many of the performance differences you see in adults do not show in children. The differences may not be inherent male/female differences; they may be the result of different environments and activities. Boys are typically given toys that involve using spatial skills such as Legos, whereas girls are given dolls. The neural connections for spatial representation then become strengthened in boys.

I could go on but this is speaker’s corner, no one really cares what the actual research findings are.

The main points here are: 1.) differences found in adults do not mean that men and women just have different brains or have completely different ‘wiring’. 2.) You can’t make enormous leaps from these small differences to say women or men can’t do certain things, the data does not show that. 3.) There is also variance within genders, so you really need to take people as individuals rather than generalizing groups.





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GeorgiaDon

How's the faculty position working out? Hope you're having fun with it.

Don

I haven't started yet, I'm finishing up my post-doc and moving on the 23rd. Then the fun begins, prepping to teach new courses and getting my lab set up. I can't wait to start ordering equipment and putting my lab together, it's currently a big empty space.

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Now we also know that men and woman have different wiring in their heads, they have different brains. That means Woman are better at some things and worst at something when it comes to mental capability same for men.

Do you have references for this? I'm fairly knowledgeable in this area and I don't think that's an accurate interpretation of the research findings.

billvon

>That is not what your average faculty member makes. That would be professors
>who are many years into their careers, who are leaders in their area of research,
>and who work at Research 1 universities. I just accepted a faculty position . . .

You're bringing real world experience into Speaker's Corner? That's not how we do it here! Messes with all the cubbyholes we have for people.

(kidding, thanks for the info)

Oh, I forgot this is Speaker's Corner. I'll stay away from facts and reason.

jgoose71

******SHHHHH!!!!!!

I think I heard Kallend say something about taking a pay cut for the good of the students.....

Do a little research. Faculty salaries are a rather small slice of the pie.

Yes, I'm sure that $100-$200K Salary is small compared to a $500 Million budget... 1%er...

That is not what your average faculty member makes. That would be professors who are many years into their careers, who are leaders in their area of research, and who work at Research 1 universities. I just accepted a faculty position and I can tell you my salary won't be anywhere close to 6 figures and what I'm getting is pretty standard, actually on the higher end, for a new professor (I had another offer that was about 10K lower than the one I accepted).

I can't think of any other field that requires so much education and training and pays so little.

Back to the student loan issue. Student loans aren't necessarily evil. Without student loans I wouldn't have a Ph.D. because I would never have been able to get a bachelor's degree. Over the many years of education I've had numerous scholarships, fellowships, but also loans. I'll be paying off loans for awhile but I don't have any regrets. Those loans enabled me to accomplish my goals and get a great job where I get to have my own research lab and continue the work that I am passionate about. Even with loan payments I'll still make a decent living and be able to support myself and my daughter.

Sure student loans can be abused. Borrowing 200K for a bachelor's degree is just irresponsible. However, that is not a typical student loan debt. I would have to double check but I think the average is around 25K.

edit - forgot to add- Yes, I agree with most people that cost of higher education has skyrocketed over the past 20 years or so (but it isn't due to faculty salaries). A college degree may not be worth it for everyone. If someone chooses to take on debt they need to be aware of what the payments will be and take steps to reduce the amount of loans they need (get a job, look for scholarships, get lots of roommates, etc).


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Just be aware, if you move to Wisconsin, being a Packers fan is NOT optional.

That's football, right? Can I just buy a Packers t-shirt and say I'm a fan? Or do I have to actually watch games?

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Congrats on the new job! Whitewater is a great town. Small town but with a great college vibe. Whitewater puts you pretty much equal distance from Milwaukee and Madison. But if you want to live closer to big city I'd lean more towards Milwaukee than Madison, Madison tends to be higher priced in my opinion. There's Waukesha, and Delafield areas. I'm not sure on school quality. I know Whitewater itself has great schools. Mukwonago is on hwy 43 just south of Milwaukee and East troy/skyknights is just up the road.
If you end up actually leaning towards the small town vibe in the end Fort Atkinson and Whitewater are great towns. There is a great Cessna drop zone in between Fort Atkinson and Jefferson that gets a ton of jumpers from the west Milwaukee/Madison/Whitewater area (My home DZ) along with the mentioned seven hills more north of there in Marshall.
You are more than welcome to drop into my DZ (Atmosphair skydiving) to chat when you're here. A couple folks at the DZ just moved over to the West Milwaukee area and could likely give much better advice.

I'll be working at the University in Whitewater and I don't really want to super long commute. But I think I would rather be closer to Milwaukee. I guess I'll just have to drive up and spend a weekend driving around to check out different areas. I'm kind of looking at Mukwonago though, the schools are really highly rated (I have a nine year-old) and that would put us close to Milwaukee.

***And lots of jumpers come down to Skydive Chicago from that area.