impostor syndrome
/None of the right people have impostor syndrome. -Natalia Imperatori-Lee
ideas that challenge / comfort / inspire
Articles of interest about higher ed - Sept 23
/***HIGHER ED & THE VIRUS
Colleges Are Canceling Spring Break To Help Stop The Spread of Coronavirus
There are now more than 40,000 cases of COVID-19 at American colleges and universities
Colleges knew the risks but they reopened anyway. Here's how they got it all wrong
Don't Rely on Student Contracts to Safeguard Your Campus
Infection rates soar in college towns as students return
***SPECIFIC SCHOOLS
Wichita State instructors prohibited from informing students of possible class COVID-19 exposure
After 80 students test positive for COVID in 2 days, a New England college switches to remote learning
***K-12
Some schools withhold COVID-19 information from parents
***LAYOFFS & FURLOUGHS
Pacific Northwest College of Art Will Merge With Willamette University
***HIGHER ED
Cornell to receive ‘on-campus’ accreditation visit via Zoom
Michigan Offers Free College Education To Essential Workers
State auditor says University of California wrongly admitted well-connected students
***HIGHER ED IN COURT
Affirmative action: Challenge to Harvard's admissions practices hits federal appeals court
Ex-Georgia Tech Researcher Can Proceed With Lawsuit Against University Officials
***HUMANITIES
What a U.S. Liberal Arts Education Can Provide International Students
***ONLINE CHEATING
Universities need to condemn the use of problematic online proctor services (opinion)
Students share concerns about cheating in online classes
***ACADEMIC LIFE
Professor Who Called COVID-19 the ‘Chinese Virus’ on Leave
University of Michigan faculty approves no-confidence vote against President
Mississippi auditor investigating Ole Miss professor for striking
Canadian professor at heart of controversy over White House push to control COVID-19 messaging
How Can A Tenured Professor Become A Homeless Ward Of The State In Just A Few Days?
91-year-old University of St. Thomas professor goes viral in online teaching photo
***ADMINISTRATORS
Lincoln University reappoints president who had been ousted two months earlier
Ohio University Administrator in the middle of decision to lay off 100s accepts $100K Bonus
***CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS
Students protest racism at Lancaster Bible College
Houghton College resets tuition to aid students during COVID-19
‘Ring by spring’ isn’t everyone’s thing
***LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
911 Call From Intoxicated Jerry Falwell Jr.’s House Last Month Describes ‘A Lot Of Blood’
The New York Times files to dismiss Liberty University's defamation lawsuit
***RESEARCH
The top public universities in producing research which needs to be corrected or removed
***STUDENT LIFE
Oregon fights historic fires with college students on the front lines
New Report Addresses Mental Health of Students of Color
College students give failing grade on return to campus
On Campus Students are targeting Greek Life
You Could Get Us All Sent Home
RAs enforcing Covid rules: ‘I think about quitting every day’
University of Missouri president unblocks students on Twitter after backlash and lawsuit threat
Graduate students reach deal with University of Michigan to end strike
***STUDENTS IN COURT
Attorneys file opening brief before US Supreme Court in Gwinnett County free speech case
***STUDENT MEDIA
University of California San Diego settles lawsuit with satirical campus publication
College Newspapers Aim To Keep Schools Transparent During Pandemic
***SEXUAL HARASSMENT & ASSAULT
Woman sues Wisconsin over reinstatement of former football player Quintez Cephus
Prestigious British university rocked by online allegations of rape, sexual misconduct
***HIGHER ED & RACIAL ISSUES
Survey finds 'shocking' lack of Holocaust knowledge among millennials and Gen Z
University of Chicago only accepting English students willing to work in black studies
University of Wisconsin-Madison grad student admits pretending to be a person of color
Conditional Acceptance
/Too often we claim that we accept others for what they are when we truly mean that we accept them as long as they do what we want them to. When we truly accept others the way they are we no longer have to take unnecessary responsibility for others’ emotions an behaviors, we maintain emotional balance at a time when it is most needed, and we encourage the other person to be more responsible for his own emotions and behaviors.
Les Carter, Imperative People: Those Who Must Be in Control
Nothing is easier
/Nothing is easier than self-deceit. For what each man wishes, that he also believes to be true. -Demosthenes
Self-handicapping
/The fear of being unmasked as the incompetent you “really” are is so common that it actually has a clinical name: impostor syndrome. A shocking number of successful people (particularly women), believe that they haven’t really earned their spots, and are at risk of being unmasked as frauds at any moment. Many people deliberately seek out easy tests where they can shine, rather than tackling harder material that isn’t as comfortable.
If they’re forced into a challenge they don’t feel prepared for, they may even engage in what psychologists call “self-handicapping”: deliberately doing things that will hamper their performance in order to give themselves an excuse for not doing well. Self-handicapping can be fairly spectacular: in one study, men deliberately chose performance-inhibiting drugs when facing a task they didn’t expect to do well on. “Instead of studying,” writes the psychologist Edward Hirt, “a student goes to a movie the night before an exam. If he performs poorly, he can attribute his failure to a lack of studying rather than to a lack of ability or intelligence. On the other hand, if he does well on the exam, he may conclude that he has exceptional ability, because he was able to perform well without studying.”
Megan Mcardle writing in the Atlantic
Articles of Interest about religion - Sept 20
/***THE VIRUS
How Can I Tell Whether I Have Flu or COVID-19?
Russia vaccine data called into question as experts worry about global distribution
Survey finds 61% of Americans aren’t comfortable returning to the workplace
***RELIGION & THE VIRUS
Thousands gather for Christian music concert at California Capitol, breaking COVID-19 rules
***RELIGION
Girls tell of terror, abuse at Missouri Christian boarding school under investigation
I Was a Pastor’s Wife. Suicide Made Me a Pastor’s Widow
How a mysterious man fooled a Harvard scholar into believing the 'Gospel of Jesus' Wife' was real
Max Lucado: After I was molested as a child, Jesus met me in my storm
***RELIGION BY THE NUMBERS
10 key findings about the religious lives of U.S. teens and their parents
LifeWay Research “State of Theology” poll
***RELIGION AND POLITICS
The surprise religious group that could decide Trump's fate
Evangelical pastor urges Christians to "mobilize" to fight civil war against left-wing activists
Faith and politics mix to drive evangelical Christians' climate change denial
***RELIGION & THE LAW
Ruth Bader Ginsburg who died Friday was shaped by her minority faith
***RELIGION & RACIAL ISSUES
Black Pastor Wants His Mostly White Congregation To Understand Racial Justice
Televangelist Pat Robertson says Black Lives Matter is trying to destroy Christianity
***CATHOLIC
Judge Amy Barrett's charismatic Catholicism — Who are the People of Praise?
Mark Galli, former Christianity Today editor and Trump critic, to be confirmed a Catholic
***CHANGING NAMES
Prominent Southern Baptists are dropping 'Southern' name amid racial unrest
Evangelicals for Social Action Leaves Behind ‘Evangelical’ Label
***MOVIES
Infidel review: Jim Caviezel again in faith-centric thriller
I just hate them
/“I just hate them,” says one woman when asked why she refused to put one on. “I think I hate them because you have to wear them, and I think it’s more of a ‘you’ve got to wear it’, so I don’t want it.”
“I think, whether you’re male or female, it’s a dominance thing,” replies the man next to her. “I’m in charge, you don’t tell me what to do.”
The interviewees were British drivers who admitted to not wearing their seat belts while in cars in 2008, despite it being a legal requirement in the UK to wear one in the front seat of a vehicle since 1983 and in the back seat since 1991.
William Park writing in BBC Future
The things that you care about
/Fight for the things that you care about. But do it in a way that will lead others to join you. -Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Slow to Anger
/Learning to be slow to anger gives us the time and freedom of mind to decide how we should solve our problems or how we should express our anger. Being slow to anger allows us to respond to conviction, to confess our sins of anger, and to rise above hate to forgive those who have offended us.
Mark Cosgrove, Counseling for Anger
Stretching
/My own happiest times have not been when all was secure but rather when I was stretching to learn to fulfill a task which called for more than I have to give – and I was trying to give it.
Virtual Leaders are Doers
/New data shows that the confidence, intelligence and extroversion that have long propelled ambitious workers into the executive suite are not enough online, because they simply don’t translate into virtual leadership. Instead, workers who are organised, dependable and productive take the reins of virtual teams. Finally, doers lead the pack – at least remotely.
The study shows that, instead of those with the most dynamic voices in the room, virtual teams informally anoint leaders who actually do the work of getting projects done. “They are the individuals who help other team members with tasks, and keep the team on schedule and focused on goals,” says lead author Radostina Purvanova,
As expected, the face-to-face teams chose leaders with the same confident, magnetic, smart-seeming extroverted traits that we often see in organisational leaders. “The people who portray themselves as organised, dependable and reliable look to us like effective leaders,” says Purvanova. But those chosen as remote leaders were doers, who tended towards planning, connecting teammates with help and resources, keeping an eye on upcoming tasks and, most importantly, getting things done. These leaders were goal-focused, productive, dependable and helpful.
In other words, virtually, the emphasis shifts from saying to doing.
Arianne Cohen writing for BBC WorkLife
My optimism
/My optimism wears heavy boots and is loud. – Henry Rollins
Articles of interest about higher ed - Sept 14
/***THE VIRUS
14% of U.S. adults say they have tested positive for COVID-19 or are ‘pretty sure’ they have had it
Medical records suggest coronavirus was loose in L.A. before China even announced its outbreak
***HIGHER ED & THE VIRUS
Texas Tech addressing video of young woman at party saying she has COVID-19
'Astonishingly risky': COVID-19 cases at colleges are fueling the nation's hottest outbreaks
OU Installs PPE Vending Machines On Campus
***CLOSING COLLEGES
Experts Say Colleges Should Rethink Punishing Students For Partying
Despite Warnings, No Clear Advice on Closing Dorms
***OUTBREAKS AT SPECIFIC SCHOOLS
All Michigan State students asked to quarantine due to 'exponential growth' of COVID-19
Ole Miss sees an influx of COVID-19 cases since students returned
A University Had a Great Coronavirus Plan, but Students Partied On
WVU suspends in-person classes amid rising COVID-19 cases
Coronavirus cluster linked to a University of New Hampshire frat party, state says
Dartmouth quarantines 23 Tuck students after party in dorm
Coronavirus Spread At University Of Illinois Leads To Student Lockdown
At Georgia College and State University, one in 10 on-campus students has had COVID-19
***K-12
Volusia school district tries to stop teachers from talking with the media
The extremely weird story of a remote-learning company that’s making parents livid
Virginia's Largest School System Hit With Ransomware
Meet the students thriving in remote learning
***UNIVERSITY RANKINGS
University rankings don’t measure what matters
Here's what changed in this year's U.S. News college rankings
***HIGHER ED
UC Berkeley Fined $2.35M for Clery Violations
Martin Methodist may join the University of Tennessee system
Inside a private university's decision to create a 2-year college
***HIGHER ED AFTER 2020
How forcing colleges to go online could change higher education for the better
Cal State to Stay Virtual in Spring 2021
As colleges opt for hybrid and online-only classes, parents and students look for a cheaper Plan B
Ohio State cancels spring break, makes other changes amid COVID-19
***HUMANITIES
Liberal Arts Colleges Need an Overhaul or They Won’t Survive
Student debt and the end of the liberal arts dream
COVID crisis shows value of a liberal arts degree
***ONLINE CLASSES
Zoom Is Making a Major Change to Protect Security. What You Should know
The surprising traits of good remote leaders: good doers instead of good talkers
Report: Most educators aren't equipped for student-centered learning
***ONLINE CHEATING
Cheating during online class: Is it more common during virtual learning
***ACADEMIC LIFE
University puts white professor on paid leave for using n-word in class
Professor, can you take us through your theory in layman’s terms? … No.
***ADMINISTRATORS
College President Dies After COVID Battle
***CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS
Christian Colleges Are in Crisis. Here’s What That Means for the Church
Catholic college removed a statue of founder from campus following revelations of slave ownership
Education Department Finalizes Religious Freedom Rule
Houghton College ranks No. 1 in NYS for social mobility, No. 10 in nation no-10-in-nation
At Liberty University, an Evangelical spin on Black Lives Matter
***RESEARCH
Can we estimate a monetary value of scientific publications?
COVID-19 arrived on a meteorite, claims Elsevier book chapter
***PREDATORY JOURNALS
How reliable and useful is Cabell's Blacklist
Dozens of scientific journals have vanished from the internet, and no one preserved them
***STUDENT LIFE
Facebook returns to its roots with Campus, a college student-only social network
College students struggle with uncertain job market after graduation
Recent Articles about Data Science
/Automation will ultimately increase demand for data scientists instead of decreasing it
True purpose of neural networks begins to emerge: DeepFake Smashed Mouths Smashup
The Guardian publishes its first-ever op-ed written entirely by artificial intelligence
Why machine learning remains a niche while and automation dominates business use of technology
How artificial intelligence and robotics are changing chemical research
Blockchain, the amazing solution for almost nothing
Trending data science 2020 topics/tools
Analyzing the logical components of a time series using R
an R package for fitting Bayesian epidemiological models using Stan code
5 free resources for data scientists
Quantum-proof encryption leaps forward
Is natural language processing is chasing the wrong goal
Even job openings for data scientists are in deep decline
An animated video of the top 10 data science tools over the past two decades
Being a selfish jerk doesn’t get you ahead
/“I was surprised by the consistency of the findings. No matter the individual or the context, disagreeableness did not give people an advantage in the competition for power — even in more cutthroat, ‘dog-eat-dog’ organizational cultures,” said Berkeley professor Cameron Anderson.
The researchers found those who scored high on disagreeable traits were not more likely to have attained power than those who were generous, trustworthy and generally nice.
That’s not to say that jerks don’t reach positions of power. It’s just that they don’t get ahead faster than others, and being a jerk simply doesn’t help, Anderson said. That’s because any power boost they get from being intimidating is offset by their poor interpersonal relationships.
Read more in Berkeley News
Miracles
/Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see. -CS Lewis
Building walls
/Never build a wall until you know what you're walling in and what you're walling out.