People of a particular sort
/We might think that God wanted simple obedience to a set of rules: whereas he really wants people of a particular sort. –CS Lewis
ideas that challenge / comfort / inspire
Articles of interest about higher ed - March 6
/*** COVID-19
Illinois family grieving loss attributed to ‘COVID psychosis’
Experts explain what you should and shouldn't do if you're fully vaccinated
How to Deal with Crushing Vaccine FOMO
***HIGHER ED & COVID
Colleges That Require Virus-Screening Tech Struggle to Say Whether It Works ($)
At least two Southeast Texas colleges will still require masks on campus
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley apologizes after undocumented migrants refused vaccine
The Cost of Insuring Colleges Continues to Rise. And Covid’s Not the Reason. ($)
COVID-19 vaccines given to hundreds of University of Illinois employees who weren’t yet eligible, including coaches and instructors
***HIGHER ED & POLITICS
Accreditor may lose access to federal money after approving college without students rebuked
Colorado group aims to give colleges, universities a voice
***LAYOFFS & FURLOUGHS
Group protests Marquette layoffs, calls for worker reinstatement
***COLLEGE FINANCES
Becker College in jeopardy of closing
Why Haven’t More Colleges Closed?
***HIGHER ED
A New Report on the Future of Higher Education
A ‘gobsmacking number’ of students in need aren’t applying to college. Are we missing 'an entire generation'?
***HUMANITIES
I was a liberal arts major. Education is about more than jobs
***HIGHER ED IN COURT
Morehouse student denied access to program because of HIV status, lawsuit says
Auburn University professors suing over management of Econ department
UT Austin student suing school over spring 2020 tuition
Lawsuit alleges employment discrimination at the University of Cincinnati
***TEACHING
Okay, let me just share my screen… ah, nope. okay, you’re looking at my savings account
3 Lessons From Teaching A Course On UX Design
***ACADEMIC LIFE
Workaholic academics need to stop taking pride in their burnout
John Carroll University fundamentally alters tenure -- to the point that professors say it and academic freedom no longer exist
U of Florida suspends professors blamed in student's suicide
Ferris State professor fired following investigation after tweeting racial slurs
***ADMINISTRATORS
Lawrence University names first Black president
President Marjorie Hass to depart Rhodes College
Big Ten Presidents try to prevent public from seeing emails about return-to-school & COVID
Northwestern University President to step down next year
A College President Worried About the Risks of Dorm Isolation. So He Moved In
College president back and forth with paper over whereabouts of CFO
St. Bonaventure's 21st president, dies of COVID
Second interim president named at Guilford College to replace recently named first interim president
Scientist named president of University of Chicago
***CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS
Mass top court says Gordon College professor not a 'minister'
Virginia GOP rules out statewide convention at single venue after visit to Liberty University
These Christian Colleges Are Taking On Today’s Hot-Button Social Issues
Bob Jones University drops mask requirement in classrooms
President of The Master’s University and Seminary resigns
Rally to Support Southwest Baptist University Professors Draws Crowd in Front of School
***RESEARCH
What happened when a group of sleuths flagged more than 30 papers with errors?
Science journals rush to publish pandemic research but many have weak analysis, unsupported claims, & meaningless insight
There are no resources to inform researchers about the publication culture of a research group before joining
JAMA journal retracts, replaces paper linking nonionizing radiation to ADHD
Meet the postdoc who says he’s been trying to retract his own paper since 2016
***STUDENT LIFE
Will Universities take away the flexibility they have given to disabled students when the move back in person?
Many students are hesitant to discuss controversial topics in the classroom during Fall 2020 semester
VCU student found dead, fraternity suspended
'I felt immeasurably stuck': High school seniors face college acceptances, rejections alone
Study finds no link between gender and physics course performance
***SEXUAL HARASSMENT & ASSAULT
Independent investigation finds that LSU routinely mishandled allegations of sexual misconduct
'Institutional betrayal': Law firm faults OSU's Alexander for Title IX issues at LSU
Campus assault victims in limbo as Biden seeks to undo Trump reforms
Lawsuit says University of Nebraska-Lincoln did not act to stop a professor from sexually harassing student
***RACIAL ISSUES ON CAMPUS
Statue by Nazi-era artist removed from Bay Area college campus
Emails reveal Texas alumni threatening to stop donations unless song with racist ties is played at football games
Penalizing Black hair in the name of academic success is undeniably racist, unfounded, and against the law
Predominantly white colleges tackle racism, diversity, equity and inclusion
The Willingness to be Misunderstood
/Invention requires a long-term willingness to be misunderstood. You do something that you genuinely believe in, that you have conviction about, but for a long period of time, well-meaning people may criticize that effort … if you really have conviction that they’re not right, you need to have that long-term willingness to be misunderstood. It’s a key part of invention.
Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder
Getting closer to the truth
/We have a natural tendency to look for instances that confirm our story and our vision of the world. We can get closer to the truth by negative instances, not by verification. –Nissim Taleb
Method over Goals
/Little by little, preoccupation with method, technique and procedure gains a subtle dominance over the whole process of goal seeking. How it is done becomes more important than whether it is done. Means triumph over ends. Form triumphs over spirit.
Method is enthroned. Men become prisoners of their procedures, and organizations that were designed to achieve some goal become obstacles in the path to that goal.
A concern for “how to do it” is healthy and necessary. The fact that it often leads to an empty worship of method is just one of the dangers with which we have to live. Every human activity, no matter how ennobling or constructive or healthy, involves hazards. The flower of competence carries the seeds of rigidity just as the flower of virtue carries the seeds of complacency. “There is a road to hell,” said John Bunyan, “even from the gates of heaven.”
John Gardner, Self-Renewal
Solving problems
/We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. -Albert Einstein
Data Science articles from Feb 2021
/What will make a data science CV attractive—and separate yourself from the wannabes
At artificial-intelligence conferences, researchers are increasingly alarmed by what they see
Neural nets yield clues to how brains learn thanks to (yes) backpropagation
Double federal R&D spending for AI each year until it hits $32B: NSC rec on AI to Congress
DoD moves to limit AI-sprawl for better coordination among projects
New machine learning theory raises questions about the very nature of science
Scaling regression inputs by dividing by two standard deviations
Researchers claim algorithm can determine the basic emotional state of a person by wireless signals
Graph neural networks are set to become an important feature of artificial intelligence
A machine learning framework that exploits the variability of resistive memory devices
In order to implement a Markov chain--a class of Bayesian machine-learning algorithms
Health and Human Services issues a guide for its artificial intelligence strategy
Learning data analytics before stepping into data science
Microsoft Excel becomes a programming language
How Much Math Do You Actually Need For Data Science?
Synthetic data offers a way out of privacy risks and bias issues for artificial intelligence
Paradigm Shifts
/Steven Covey offers a moving example in Seven Habits of Highly Effective People as to how context can change our outlook. Covey was riding the subway when a man and his children boarded the car. The kids were loud and rowdy, throwing things and disturbing everyone in the car. The man seemed oblivious.
It was very disturbing and yet the man sitting next to me did nothing. It was difficult not to feel irritated. I could not believe that he could be so insensitive as to let children run wild like that do nothing about it, taking no responsibility at all. So finally, with what I felt was unusual patience and restraint, I turned to him and said, “Sir, your children are really disturbing a lot of people. I wonder if you couldn’t control them a little more?
The man lifted his gaze and said softly, “Oh, you’re right. I guess I should do something about it. We just came from the hospital where their mother died. I don't know what to think and I guess they don’t know how to handle it either."
Can you imagine what I felt at that moment? My paradigm shifted. Suddenly I saw things differently, and because I saw things differently, I thought differently, I felt differently. My irritation vanished. I didn’t have to worry about controlling my attitude or my behavior; my heart was filled with the man’s pain. Feelings of sympathy and compassion flowed freely.
While this change of perspective could be momentary, it doesn't have to be. We are continually faced with decisions about how we will approach life's circumstances.
Remember that piece of music you heard that suddenly lifted your spirit and changed your whole outlook in the middle of the day? Do you remember that pleasant smell that took you back in time to fond memories? Remember when you exited a movie theater seeing an exhilarating film, inspired to change the world? Imagine putting your feet to those sentiments.
If change is possible, that puts the responsibility on our shoulders to make it happen. It's a thought that's downright scary—and motivating.
Stephen Goforth
Articles of Interest about Religion - Feb 27
/***THE VIRUS
Which vaccine is best? Experts say it's not fair to compare J&J vaccine data to Pfizer, Moderna
I am getting a less effective vaccine now. Can I get a better one later?
***RELIGION & THE VIRUS
Black Church Group Offers Its Best Shot at Closing Vaccine Gap
Since this California church began flouting pandemic restrictions, attendance has surged ($)
***RELIGION
Most ‘Nones’ Still Keep the Faith
The toxic relationship between Rush Limbaugh and Christian radio networks
***CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM
Evangelical Leaders Condemn 'Radicalized Christian Nationalism'
Disinformation Fuels A White Evangelical Movement. It Led 1 Virginia Pastor To Quit
Understanding the fake historian behind America’s religious right
***RELIGION AND POLITICS
American Evangelicals, Israeli Settlers and a Skeptical Filmmaker
U.S. diplomat openly calls for Christian nation-states, rails against Jews
These Online Learning Platforms Offer a Surprising Lack of Church-State Separation
***RELIGION & THE LAW
The Equality Act can become law — if Democrats will add religious exemptions (opinion) ($)
***RELIGION OUTSIDE THE US
Megachurch in Mulhouse, France, marked covid outbreak anniversary with an indoor service
U.S. federal commission accuses Russia of "brutal campaign" against religious freedom
Canadian Members of Parliament pass motion declaring genocide against Uighurs in China
***DENOMINATIONS
United Methodists Reschedule Meeting — And Decision on Splitting — Again
The Christian and Missionary Alliance Revoke Ravi Zacharias’s Ordination
***SOUTHERN BAPTISTS
Southern Baptists Expel 2 Churches Over Sex Abuse and 2 for L.G.B.T.Q. Inclusion
Georgia SBC church faces banishment for accepting LGBTQ members
Southern Baptists divided over politics, race, LGBTQ policy
***MEGACHURCHES
***RELIGION & YOUTH
As we grew older
/We did not change as we grew older; we just became more clearly ourselves. -Lynn Hall
Articles of interest about higher ed - Feb 26
/*** COVID-19
Traumatized and tired, nurses are quitting due to the pandemic
Has a Univ of Texas Professor Found a Way to Stop COVID-19 Vaccines From Spoiling?
Organ transplant patient dies after receiving Covid-infected lungs
Why are at-home COVID-19 tests still not widely available?
***HIGHER ED & COVID
More than 530,000 cases of Covid-19 have been reported among students, college employees ($)
How 5 universities tried to handle COVID-19 on campus
As U-Va. & U-Md. try to curb coronavirus surge, neighboring communities brace themselves ($)
‘What’s the Point?’ Young People’s Despair Deepens as Covid-19 Crisis Drags On ($)
CDC Guidelines For In-Person Learning Prove To Be An Impossible Task For Many Schools
How colleges are using their disciplinary codes to punish noncompliance with COVID-related safety and testing protocols
***COVID AT SPECIFIC SCHOOLS
Rising coronavirus cases at U-Va., VMI and other Virginia colleges spark worry, lead to changes ($)
Univ of Washington bans students from in-person classes after attending large party
***LAYOFFS & FURLOUGHS
Ithaca College approves plan to eliminate 116 faculty positions, programs, majors
Point Park University cuts 17 faculty, citing pandemic
Ex-football coach says firing was violation of free speech
***COLLEGE FINANCES
Major expansion of Cal Grant financial aid proposed
Dorms at Iowa universities lose tens of million in pandemic
Why Jay Paterno spoke out against a $48M renovation of Penn State football’s Lasch Building
Regional Public Universities Don’t Need Rescuing ($)
College athletic programs scrambling to cut costs and innovate scheduling and income ($)
Faculty representatives say university budget cuts in Nevada extremely damaging
***HIGHER ED
Vermont State Colleges merger plan moves forward
University of Michigan says it shut down a campus library for two days after discovering venomous spiders
Interest Surges in Top Colleges, While Struggling Ones Scrape for Applicants ($)
***K-12
SF school board shelves plan to rename schools honoring Abraham Lincoln and others
New Education Research Showing Kids Give Up Easier If Parents Step in to Help
***HUMANITIES
Report: no evidence that the earnings of humanities majors ever “catch up” to peers in other disciplines
U of Kansas Will Cut Humanities Department
***HIGHER ED IN COURT
Group that sued Harvard asks Supreme Court to end use of race in college admissions ($)
ASU reaches settlement with student who sued after removal as manager of campus radio station
Student sues Jacksonville University for fees paid during coronavirus shut down
***ONLINE CLASSES
Stanford study into “Zoom Fatigue” explains why video chats are so tiring
Northwestern sued over biometrics privacy in test proctoring software
Anti-cheating in the age of COVID
***ACADEMIC LIFE
More Than Half Of College Faculty Have Considered A Career Change Or Early Retirement
Professor Says She Was Cut Loose in Retaliation for tweeting about the response of the school regarding COVID-19 ($)
Faculty Members Are Suffering Burnout. These Strategies Could Help ($)
Professor with heart condition files complaint against school for not letting him teach virtually
Group of VCU professors object to administration’s call to return in-person
Four of the 20-some professors Canisius College recently laid off are suing for violations of contract
Pacific University accused of threatening to find prof guilty of sexual misconduct if he didn’t quit
Ithaca College faculty wins arbitration against administration Ithaca Journal
Columbia professor: I do heroin regularly for ‘work-life balance’
***ADMINISTRATORS
Widow of President Who Died After Covid-19 Diagnosis Takes Over at Saint Augustine’s U
A Public-Information Act Request Revealed About My College President showed a disturbing pattern of mismanagement and deceit
***CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS
Concordia: How years of internal strife over gay rights helped turn it into a ‘$400 million crater’
Liberty University will host the Virginia GOP convention
Bible College graduate entered U.S. Capitol during Jan. 6 attack
Wheaton College Fiscal Plan projects $9 million annual savings and a balanced budget
Seattle Pacific University faculty, staff, students and alumni create a letter of Lament in response to the schools statement on human sexuality
What is the Difference Between Liberty University and Messiah College? (opinion)
CCCU launches new database of racial, ethnic diversity resources
Wesley Theological Seminary proposes massive dorm to house hundreds of students — mostly from American University
***RESEARCH
Women make up just 24 percent of research universities' top earners
Science needs a radical overhaul
Plagiarism and duplication in abstracts at conferences
Elite scientists picking up more citations than ever as the rest lose out
Increasing ‘junk science’ is wreaking havoc on the credibility of research coming out of China
Sloppy work or deliberate fraud can get you published in a prestigious journal and cited in many others
Re-evaluation of solutions to the problem of unprofessionalism in peer review
Sexual violence survivors say Moody Bible Institute still isn’t taking their claims seriously
***RETRACTIONS
Publisher retracting five papers because of “clear evidence” that they were “computer generated”
Research linking violent entertainment to aggression retracted after scrutiny
Citation of retracted publications: A challenging problem
***STUDENTS & MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT
Students With ADHD Need More Academic, Mental Health Support
Depression, Anxiety, Loneliness Are Peaking in College Students
Dramatically fewer students are seeking treatment from their college counseling centers
How to stop procrastinating with your online work
***STUDENT LIFE
George Washington Univ Does Away With RAs ($)
Free speech advocacy groups issue letters defending athletes right to kneel
1963 Morgan State University dropout giving $20 million to fund scholarships for needy students
University of Oregon's student gov ends contributions to athletics department in favor of struggling students
Students at Xavier University and the University of Cincinnati engage in ‘tip war' for restaurant workers
***RACIAL ISSUES ON CAMPUS
2020 college racial and gender report card shows 'insignificant progress'
Black undergraduates trust college leaders significantly less than their white peers
Meredith College students allege professor used N-word in class
Authorities Investigate Racist Attacks During City University of New York virtual events
Investigation into racism at VMI moves forward after dispute over lawyers at interviews ($)
UCLA athlete dismissed from team after racist comments, outcry among students
Investigation does not support accusations by a Smith College student that she was ejected from a dorm because she was Black
Baylor regents accept commission report on school’s history linked to slavery and racial injustice
Black students, faculty discuss diversity, activism on Pitt campus
How an accusation of racism, and resulting lack of evidence, is riling Smith College
***SEXUAL ASSAULT & MISCONDUCT
Massachusetts Enacts Sweeping New Campus Sexual Assault Law
University of Illinois Sued Over Handling Of Sexual Misconduct Claims
We can choose
/We cannot choose to have a life free of hurt. But we can choose to be free. -Auschwitz survivor Edith Eva Eger
Neighbor gives up COVID-19 vaccine appointment to stranger in need
/#GOODNEWS
Grandmother Emily Johnson of Austin, Texas, was in need of open-heart surgery, but her doctor said she had to have one vaccination before the operation. ABC News has a video report below or you can read the story here.
Articles of interest about journalism, scams, writing & more - Feb 25
/***COIVD-19
Studies Examine Variant Surging in California, and the News Isn’t Good
CDC says there’s one thing you shouldn’t do within 2 weeks of your coronavirus vaccine
Clergy On The Pandemic Front Lines: 'How Do We Really Grieve?'
What Could Happen If You Miss Your Second Covid-19 Vaccine Dose?
***JOURNALISM
A rule for good journalism: What is missing from this story?
Texas journalists are providing critical information about a disaster they’re living through
With the Loss of Physical Newsrooms, How are Young Journalists Faring?
One America News clashes again with White House correspondents over Trump-approved camera tent ($)
Trying a Des Moines Register reporter arrested while covering a protest violates free press rights (opinion)
***THE BUSINESS OF JOURNALISM
Pandemic drives nonprofit media boom
Al Jazeera to launch rightwing media platform targeting US conservatives
Judge rejects Rep. Nunes' defamation lawsuit against CNN
Sale Of Tribune Publishing To Alden Global Capital Raises Concerns In Newsrooms
The news media bargaining code could backfire if small media outlets aren’t protected: an economist explains
***FREE SPEECH
DOJ Settles First Amendment Suit Over White House Press Access
***WRITING: MICROSOFT WORD
Microsoft Word getting killer upgrade to battle Google Docs
This new Microsoft Word feature is bound to be a hit, especially with slow typists
***WRITING & READING
AI can write a passing college paper in 20 minutes
Slow Down and Write Better Emails
What does a manuscript rejection really mean? (probably not what you think)
Library staffer fired after being accused of burning Trump, Coulter books
The rise of Black science fiction and fantasy
***FAKES & FRAUDS
Science Is Truth Until It Isn’t
People with extremist views less able to do complex mental tasks, research suggests
Nearly 30,000 Macs reportedly infected with mysterious malware
The viral Mars Perseverance rover video going around is fake
The Disinformation Vaccine: Is There a Cure for Conspiracy Theories?
Scientists said claims about China creating the coronavirus were misleading
***SCAMS
Scam alert: Caller tells viewer she must pay to watch TV newscast
Online scammers are rushing to exploit people desperate to get the Covid-19 vaccine
7 Podcasts About the Art of the Scam ($)
***FAKE NEWS
Dominion's MyPillow and Smartmatic's Fox News election suits put 'disinformation' on trial
Fake News? How to spot a deep fake
How memes became a major vehicle for misinformation
***QANON
Pizzagate’s violent legacy ($)
Life amid the ruins of QAnon: ‘I wanted my family back’ ($)
***SOCIAL MEDIA
From Clubhouse to Discord to Twitter, The Future of Social Media Is All Talk
Facebook says it will pay news industry $1 billion over 3 years
Facebook Hashtag Purge Fails To Stop Covid-19 Conspiracy Theories Spreading
Facebook knew for years ad reach estimates were based on 'wrong data' per court filing
Facebook’s underground obituary pages
***SECURITY
France to boost cyberdefense after hospital malware attacks
Owner of app that hijacked millions of Android devices with one update exposes buy-to-infect scam
Microsoft: SolarWinds attack took more than 1,000 engineers to create
Ransomware gangs are running riot – paying them off doesn't help
How to stop robocalls: Every way we know to prevent the annoying ringing
***PRIVACY
You’ve been invited to Clubhouse. Your privacy hasn’t.
Tracker pixels in emails are now an ‘endemic’ privacy concern
***PRODUCING MEDIA
Audio takes off during the pandemic
***LANGUAGE
The Made-Up Language That Accidentally Became Real: The Story of Klingon
***POETRY
Beat poet, publisher Lawrence Ferlinghetti dies at 101
Poems by 10 Contemporary Black Poets
An experimental program enrolled students from high-poverty high schools in a Harvard poetry course, and the students excelled
Thanks to Undocupoets, poets don’t need papers to be heard
The way to love
/The way to love anything is to realize that it might be lost. -G. K. Chesterton
Getting ahead
/The way to get ahead is to overdeliver. -Jack Welch
Getting the Big Picture
/Without some grasp of the meaning of their relationship to the whole, it is not easy for individuals to retain a vivid sense of their own capacity to act as individuals, a sure sense of their own dignity and an awareness of their roles and responsibilities. They tend to accept the spectator role and to sink into passivity.
John Gardner, Self-Renewal
the widest possible difference
/Between the Christianity of this land and the Christianity of Christ, I recognize the widest possible difference. -Frederick Douglass (died Feb 20, 1895)
Inconvenient Conclusions
/Conspiracy theories may be deployed as a rhetorical tool to escape inconvenient conclusions. People selectively appeal to a conspiracy among scientists to explain away a scientific consensus when their political ideology compels them to do so—but not when the scientific consensus is of no relevance to their politics.
Stephan Lewandowsky & John Cook, The Conspiracy Theory Handbook