“I used AI to combine the data from two excel lists and then send emails to people who were on one list but not another. Saved me so much time.”
My brother in academia, you just fucking discovered mail merge. Welcome to early nineties computing.
Bowling pins around a bowling ball labeled "strike!" Red text: HGSU on strike! Join us on the picket line! Tuesday April 21 starting at 8:30 am, Harvard Science Center Plaza
Harvard grad workers are on strike! Get to the picket! 🌹
My former employer is selling one of its campuses, ending almost all journal subscriptions, and shutting down programs (& laying off staff) left and right, but it has plenty of money to subject its community to surveillance and thought policing.
And that’s why we call it the scientific output, not the scientific method, right?
is it a bigger red flag for a scientist to shit on the scientific method or to amplify Matt Yglesias and why is the answer yes
This isn't the main point of the Kustov stuff, but Kustov is an experimentalist, and in my experience, no other subset of political science expresses such full-throated disdain for the rest of the discipline and its alleged lack of "rigor."
Every day I apologize to the world for political science as an academic discipline.
Lesley faculty are going on strike if something doesn't change at the bargaining table this week. All allies are welcome to sign this letter of support for these determined teachers:
Extremely normal and fine for a company to put this in a public statement
Lesley University faculty say they are ready to strike, and they want protection if the school shuts or sells
When I worked at a UK university, we didn't have a writing center, and apparently the suggestion that we should have one was "absurd" because helping students with their writing would be cheating.
Lots of technical issues today, it seems. A feed of union accounts sounds like it could be a good resource for people who use feeds! (I don't, so I'm not the best person to work on something like this.)
Read that again. This Louisiana bill forces homeless people to choose between jail and "treatment"—and if they can't pay for the latter, they will be forced to perform unpaid labor.
The historical precedents are clear: convict leasing, Black Codes, debtor's prison.
Ungated link: archive.is/htLcZ
For 2 years, Lesley's leadership has put appalling proposal after appalling proposal on the table, from 0% raises to forced service-only roles for faculty to a suggestion that faculty teach 2 different courses in the same room at the same time.
Lesley faculty are saying loud and clear: enough.
Lesley Core faculty were one of the first groups I worked with when I started with SEIU 509. To see them get to this point is incredible, and a testament to their steadfast commitment to one another and their students. LET'S GOOOOOOO 🌹
Sometimes The Youths want to look at spreadsheets on their phones and I retreat to the corner, clutching my laptop, weeping.
university administrators have devolved to telling unions to "ask AI to give you that info" in case you were wondering how the academic labor movement is going
"Writing with [insert stylistic quirk] is a giveaway that it's AI."
"You can tell this drawing is AI because [insert stylistic quirk]."
My sweet little children, WE DID THOSE THINGS FIRST. AI didn't invent the Oxford comma or the em dash - we used them correctly, and AI *stole our work*.
Most importantly, be OK with someone not responding or otherwise acknowledging your offer of sympathy, help, etc. They're likely getting dozens of the same message while also trying to liaise with doctors & relatives and deal with way too many emotions & also $$$. A nonresponse is not personal. /fin
If you’ve been through a similar situation and are OK sharing that, that can be really comforting to hear. I am continuously surprised by how many people in my life have dealt with the exact same thing. These folks get immediately that commiseration is good medicine. 6/
Other ideas: vids of your pet; low-stakes company (e.g. coworking); screaming “fuck cancer” at the sky. The most unexpected & useful thing someone’s offered is help paying for a plane ticket. Obvs read the room & if you’re unsure, “I’m sorry & I’m thinking about you” is a great place to leave it. 5/
“What can I do to help” is well-intentioned, and, it can create an obligation to think of something when your coworker isn’t sure what they need or you’re not the right person to provide it.
If there’s something you know you can do, suggest that instead. EX: “I'd love to order you some food.” 4/
Speaking of questions: varietals of “why aren’t you with your loved one right now” are really awful things to ask! Relationships are complicated; family dynamics can be a mess; once again, it is not your business how someone else manages their affairs. 3/
Try not to ask lots of Qs. This is an overwhelming time, & having to provide answers to yet another person adds to that overwhelm.
Also, you're probably not entitled to those answers! EX: unless you need to provide coverage, you don’t actually need to know when someone will be out of the office. 2/
So your coworker shares that their loved one has [insert horrific medical thing] and you would like to say something helpful: or, lessons from lived experience.
(of course, everyone is different, but here are some things you might think about) 1/
Solidarity with faculty at Holy Cross fighting against adjunctification at a school that loves to talk about how financially stable it is. 🫠
Same goes for every "genius" academic or scholar.
ALSO the only reason Tufts upped postdoc salaries (which are still too low given cost of living) is because it is terrified of them unionizing (hehehehe).
Anyway I have a lot of thoughts on this and if you are appalled at bosses boss-ing in such a bungled way: welcome to the labor movement.
Bosses!