"Is that a dik dik?"

experiment 626

the best of all possible good things: PUPPY!!!!!

my family in Calgary got a puppy. he is the Christmastime mini-beast.

The Crumb

In 2006, one of my favourite people, R, sent me and three other favourite people, an email entitled "A Crumb Has Ruined My Life." A couple of days ago, we got "The Crumb, Part II."

"A Crumb Has Ruined My Life" (2006)

By R.L.

Save me from myself.  

My room: littered with papers, pens, pencil shavings, bottle caps, days old Starbucks cups, highlighters, trident gum wrappers on the desk, floor, beside table, plates, utensils, sugar , remnants of food that I once enjoyed but did not make it fully to my mouth and now line the floor, desk, any place a crumb could find its way, it's there. 

Now for the clincher. 

Today: sit down to begin the tedious task of studying stats.  I open my books.  A crumb, or something that looks incredibly similar to a rolled oat, is found in between the  pages.  I pick it up and eat it.  I PICK IT UP AND EAT IT.  ONE SINGLE BLOODY ROLLED OAT THAT COULD HAVE BEEN THERE FOR WHO KNOWS HOW LONG?!  Maybe it was still in there from one another stats student who, like me, likes to eat when studying, and accidently split his/her rolled oats.  In fact, maybe it wasn't a rolled oat.  Hell, its not like I examined it before I popped it in my mouth or anything.  no no.  My thought processes were as follows: Food.  Eat.  Now.  ONE SINGLE CRUMB and my life is now over as we know it.  I've gone to the dark side, show me thelight...soon... otherwise I fear the time of redemption is slowly closing and it may be too late for me.  

"The Crumb, Part II"  (2010)

 I was sitting on the couch yesterday, snacking on some delicious coconut shrimp.  I ate these with enthusiasm, dipping them delicately into a lovely spicy sauce, and lovingly eating them all. 

Then I realized that I had eaten them all. 

I was sad.  

Then I looked down and saw a little morsel had dropped onto my sweatpants.  

REJOICE!  

I eagerly picked up this left behind, but not forgotten crumb, and hurriedly stuffed him into my mouth to enjoy! 

...

....

Chewing... chewing.  

Ah, yes.  It was a pencil shaving. 

Crumb Fail.  

Faculty Experiences with Bullying in Higher Education - Causes, Consequences, and Management

...While academics have paid little systematic empirical research attention to bullying in academic settings, this has not been the case in several popular online outlets and more traditional trade publications. For example, http://bulliedacademics.blogspot.com and www.mobbingportal. com/index.html represent some online destinations. In terms of a respected “industry” publication, the Chronicle of Higher Education has published numerous articles recently on the hostility and mistreatment that occurs on campuses (e.g., Fogg, 2008; Gravois, 2006). This suggests that academic settings are worthy and in need of concerted attention by researchers in workplace aggression and bullying...

...When bullying/mobbing occurs, it tends to be long-standing. McKay et al. (2008) found that 21% of their sample reported bullying that had persisted for more than five years in duration. In our 2008 study, 32% of the overall sample (faculty, staff, administrators, etc.) reported bullying lasting for more than three years. This percentage increased to 49% when we focused on faculty. It may be that academia is a particularly vulnerable setting for such persistent aggression as a result of tenure, which has faculty and some staff in very long-term relationships with one another. Both conflict (Holton, 1998) and aggression (Jawahar, 2002) research note that the longer and more interactive the relationship, the greater the opportunity for conflict and potential for aggression. Further, while ensuring a “job for life,” tenure may also restrict mobility so that once a situation goes bad, there are few options for leaving. Zapf and Gross (2001) observed that the number of actors was linked to the duration of bullying. They found that the more people who joined in the situation, the longer it went on, concluding that it may become increasingly difficult for witnesses/bystanders to remain neutral as bullying proceeds and intensifies...

...While injustice perceptions are common in all work settings, institutions of higher education may present numerous (sometimes unique) opportunities for such perceptions by faculty. For example, student evaluations of instruction are used in many important faculty personnel decisions such as discretionary salary increases, promotions, and reappointment and tenure decisions. Research clearly demonstrates that the content of the course, and “tough” grading, can adversely impact student ratings of teacher performance—leading to stress and frustration (which we discuss below), especially among junior (untenured) faculty. To combat this problem, some faculty may resort to grade inflation as a way of improving their own student evaluations—which, by the way, is often resented by other faculty members. This problem may differ according to academic disciplines and across academic departments. Faculty members are also evaluated using subjective, often ambiguous, criteria, as evident in reviews of scholarly/ intellectual contributions, department- and college-wide service, continuing growth, and community service. Few institutions have clear standards for judging such contributions and, instead, rely on general guidelines or descriptive criteria for making such evaluations. Such judgments often lead to perceptions of distributive injustice, unfair treatment associated with outcomes and procedural injustice, and unfair treatment associated with the decision-making process used to determine those outcomes (Greenberg & Colquitt, 2005)...

...Finally, the mechanisms available in higher education institutions may not be appropriately suited for helping faculty deal with these tensions due to their highly formalized structure and limited mandate (Leal, 1995). For example, in the United States and Canada, unions are designed to handle issues between faculty and the administration. They are not set up to handle member-on-member issues. Also, faculty members are less inclined to utilize these formal mechanisms because they take control of the situation out of faculty hands and into those of administration, impinging on the sacred value of autonomy...

Keashly, Loraleigh; Neuman, Joel H.(2010). Faculty Experiences with Bullying in Higher Education - Causes, Consequences, and Management. Administrative Theory & Praxis, Vol. 32 Issue 1, p48-70

What to do now?

I am a single white tenured male who is being bullied in a primarily all female department. I am a full professor, have a new book coming out next week, however have been called in my dean's office along with another female colleague of 3 years (I have been here 15 years) and had my course schedule changed to work primarily with freshmen... an insult in many cases. Today we did course evaluations and a student came to me and told me that both my dean and the other colleague had pulled them aside a told him to be certain about his narrative answers on the evaluations. He came to me with a "heads up" and told me he did not know what was going on, but I needed to look over my shoulder because he felt someone was out to get me. This guy is 40 years old and former military. So what do I do now?

Signed,
Confused and Angry

Get serious University of Virginia!

There’s even more to the Univ. Virginia tale. A couple of years ago, UVa recruited WBI (and others with extensive experience with university communities as well as being researchers and consultants, in other words, heavyweights in the field) to come to campus. UVa instead brought in a “motivational” speaker. At WBI, we pass on several on-site speeches when employers resist creating a solution for the problem that prompted the request in the first place.

The result at UVa was that nothing was done after the speech. The former President’s office was not engaged in discussions about bullying, and possibly the specific Kevin Morrissey complaints. If something had been in place, Morrissey would not have had to resort to pleading with HR and the other institutional helpers as his phone records indicated was done. HR may be implicated in Morrissey’s death. And the feel-good motivational speaker actually encouraged this negligent employer to believe that it had adequately addressed bullying on campus with a speech alone! Get serious UVa. What will it take to get American employers to stop the carnage within the ranks?

From: http://www.workplacebullying.org
Also: UVa Report after Morrissey suicide – No negatives for boss Genoways

The Anxiety of Influences

And WHY was I so predisposed to shopping? Probably because I've just finished Mini Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella, famed pen-name of British author Madeliene Wickham. I have been reading the Shopaholic books since 2000's Confessions of a Shopaholic and, --what I really want to write here is some sort of excuse as to why I would spend two days absorbed in chicklit. It's embarrassing, right?, to admit you enjoy such drivel. But I won't make excuses. I truly enjoy drivel-- Kinsella is a gifted comic writer. In addition, she is a clever person in general whose ability to market herself has me planning my own entry in the publishing industry.

According to Wikipedia, Kinsella graduated from New College, Oxford in 1990. She worked at at investment firm until the publication of her first novel, under her real name, when she was 24. After six pretty successful novels, "Wickham" sent the first Shopaholic book to her current publishers under the pseudonymous Kinsella and they jumped at promoting this new voice. Kinsella did not divulge her real identity until five years later.

Mini Shopaholic continues to follow the shopping-induced traumas of Rebecca Brandon (nee Bloomwood), who now has a two-year old daughter named Minnie and a birthday party to plan for her workaholic husband. It's great.

I gave up. I went shopping and spent $200 on jeans. There. I said it.

\

It took me six months to cave. In that time, I've not bought a thing to cover myself other than black tights and a shall while in Istanbul. I'm pretty proud of myself. But then, I went "Christmas Shopping" yesterday and somehow ended up in Holt's clutching a pair of Sevens. I'm done. & I'm going shopping on Boxing Day. 

(pic from fashiongonerogue)

What price victory? Ten times more than defeat

The huge costs that universities can incur fighting employment tribunal claims, even when the institution is vindicated by the result, have been highlighted by a case in Scotland.

The University of St Andrews spent more than £200,000 on legal fees successfully defending itself against a claim brought by a former lecturer - around 10 times the amount that it might have expected to pay in compensation had it lost the case.

The claim was lodged by Declan Quigley, who alleged that in 2002 he had been forced out of his job as a lecturer in social anthropology by a culture of bullying in his department.

He lost his claim for constructive dismissal in 2004, as well as a subsequent appeal.

A Freedom of Information request has now revealed that the university spent £204,000 on the case - far more than the lecturer could have expected to win.

Dr Quigley, who now practises alternative medicine in Barcelona, claimed that the university and its principal at the time, Brian Lang, had failed in their duty to protect him from what he said were intolerable working conditions.

However, the tribunal dismissed his case after hearing evidence that Dr Quigley had been determined to leave. He later brought an appeal on various points of law but these were thrown out by the Employment Appeals Tribunal following a hearing in 2006.

A spokeswoman for St Andrews said the university had "no option" but to defend the allegations made by Dr Quigley.

She said: "We have a commitment to act fairly with respect to all employees and to publicly establish the facts, especially where the reputation of an academic department is being attacked. In this instance, that responsibility came at considerable cost.

"We regret the cost. As a default, the university seeks to ensure that all its resources are focused on teaching and research. But in this case we are vindicated by the result."

Dr Quigley said that, had he won the case, the employment tribunal would have been unlikely to award him more than £20,000.

"I would have settled for much less than the £200,000-plus that the university ended up spending on its legal expenses," he said.

From: http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk

Also check: Skorupski's Law

Please help me

Please help me. I have a principal who is nagging me although all my students are passing their classes. Her comments are that because I was raised Catholic I do not have to teach like I am in a catholic school. Another teacher makes fun of my accent and handwriting. I was born in Europe. The other teacher is American born, falsifies attendance records and yet nothing is done. What can be done? I need this job but it really annoys me to work with such an unethical group of people.

Anonymous

This cake is delectable

Reading Sarah Selecky's Giller-nominated collection of short stories This Cake is for The Party (Thomas Allen, 2010) is like spending an afternoon at Kalendar, catching up with a group of terribly interesting people, all about your/my age and level of education, all dealing with things you/I am/could be dealing with, and to all of whom you/I can relate. They (the stories and the people) are smart and funny and poignant. Selecky's language is not over-ornate but is a little rococco, a little decorated with swirls and arabesques, but so subtly you hardly notice.

My favourite stories in the collection are "Standing up for Janey," in which a young couple that shouldn't get married plans to get married, causing one maid of honour and one very suspicious ex-boyfriend to  come to terms with their own lost loves-- for each other, for the couple in question, and even for themselves--, and "Prognosis" a kind of open letter from a daughter-in-law to the mother of her husband, where apologies and tensions are worked out amongst a series of miracles (a mysterious crying ear and the visage of Virgin Mary in a supermarket apple) and academics ("the epistemological diversity of current Catholic theologins" (141)). All in all, a fast read, a very Canadian read (consider, in the story "Where are You Coming From, Sweethart?" these references: "The Big Smoke," "the Beer Store," "the CNE," "a guy who knew the Tragically Hip," "the bong-and-incense store on Queen Street," "Metric t-shirt," Fluevog Mary Janes," and to top it off, "a Roots bag"), and an incredibly enjoyable read.

Goes perfectly with a glass of Osoyoos LaRose.

Abused PhD candidate

As a dissertation editor hired by a PhD candidate who is being emotionally abused by her adviser, I've been googling "grad-student abuse" to find out more about this sickness. I'm appalled how little is being exposed about this, and almost nothing that's recent. It appears to me that this adviser is sabotaging the grad student's work in order to keep her under her thumb as long as possible. This adviser is isolating the student in order to emotionally abuse her, keeping her on the phone all hours of the day and night. She's even ordered the student not to have contact with me. I've APA-edited the paper perfectly and the adviser continues to undo my work and revert to previous versions randomly, so no one knows what's in it anymore. All the while insisting that the student have it done YESTERDAY... The student is about to have a breakdown and it seems there's nothing I can do to help her, since she needs that lunatic's signature in order to submit her paper. How do students keep from murdering their advisers who are certifiably insane?

Anonymous

Recommended reading

Niall Ferguson's The Ascent of Money
"In 2006, the British Financial Services Authority carried out a survey of public financial literacy which revealed...one [person] in ten did not know which was the better discount for a television originally priced at 250 pounds: 30 pounds or 10 per cent. As that example makes clear, the questions posed by the surveys were of the most basic nature. It seems reasonable to assume that only a handful of those polled would have been able to explain the difference between a 'put' and a 'call' option, for example, much less the difference between a CDO and a CDS" (14).

The book is like A Short History of Progress + Planet Money + having a meandering chat with Alex Dick from UBC's English Dept.

Definitely accessible and easy to get into, & he quotes Dante!

Disrespectful behaviors at U of I?

IOWA CITY — Complaints of disrespectful behavior to the University of Iowa Office of the Ombudsperson have increased steadily over the past four years, a trend university officials called disappointing and disturbing.

In presenting their annual report to the Faculty Council on Tuesday, two ombudsmen said 22 percent of their office’s visitors in 2009-10 came with complaints about disrespectful behavior. That’s up from 17 percent in 2008-09, 12 percent in 2007-08 and 8 percent in 2006-07.

That follows an alarming national trend showing workplaces in general are becoming more disrespectful, with incidents of bullying, yelling, swearing and shunning, staff ombudsman Cynthia Joyce said.

“It is a real concern to us,” she said.

Two years ago, the university office started tracking complaints of bullying, which falls under the category of disrespectful behavior. Explicit complaints about workplace bullying were made by 10 percent of visitors in both 2008-09 and 2009-10.

“The consequences can be very severe ... so we’re worried about that as well,” Joyce said.

Such behavior is a departmental culture issue that must be addressed at the level of each department, said Susan Johnson, the faculty ombudsman.

The office served an all-time high of 517 visitors in 2009-10, a 6 percent increase from the previous year. University staff make up the bulk of the visitors, at 48 percent, followed by 30 percent students and 17 percent faculty.

The increase in visitors could be because of better visibility of the office on campus, along with the belief that early intervention in conflicts is of value, officials said.

The largest area of concern and complaint for all visitor groups to the office stems from a supervisory relationship, such as with a boss or dean — or a faculty member, in the case of students.

The office also is seeing an growing number of situations in which information is posted on Facebook or some other social media site that begins or worsens a conflict. Some people have been fired after inappropriate Facebook postings, Johnson said.

From: http://www.omaha.com

Cindy Sherman, you give me a hard on

all the time. but also, when you and Balenciaga get together.

the over-listener strikes at YVR

I overheard (okay, am straining my ears) the following conversation at VYR:

First man, in chinos and long-sleeved MEC gortex shirt (paradoxical dressing?): "I always liked that pizza place on Edmonton Trail for their, you know, pizzas."
Second man, in suit and tie: "I like pizza."
1st man: "You know that place on Edmonton Trail?"
2nd man: "Yeah."
1st man: "I like their pizzas."

***
which wouldn't have be too weird, I've had similar conversations when I'm tired and not paying attention. But then they switch roles...
***

2nd man: "There's this place on Edmonton Trail, I think it closed down, they used to make the best pizzas."
1st man: "I know, right?"

***
& he didn't even sound incredulous, just in full on agreement mode. I think they were complete strangers.

Merrigan versus University of Gloucestershire (UK)

Nothing like good news to remind everybody of anti-bullying week (15-19 November 2010).

Summary

Kara Loraine represented a Claimant who alleged that because she was raising concerns about financial mismanagement at the university (protected disclosures), the senior management of the university tried to push her out of her job and when that failed she was sidelined from involvement in various projects.

The Tribunal upheld the complaints, finding that although the university had been supportive when the focus of the investigations/disclosures was on one individual Dean who had since left the university, the senior management’s attitude changed when the Claimant made disclosures that implicated others. In particular the Tribunal held that the Dean of the Business School had influenced others to form a negative view of the Claimant because of her disclosures and this was the reason for the attempt to remove her from her job and the sidelining, which were also found to be detriments.

The Claimant was awarded £6,000 for injury to feelings.

Unison Press Release:

UNISON helped a whistleblower win compensation from the University of Gloucestershire after she was sidelined for exposing suspected financial mismanagement.

The Business Development Manager at the University was asked by the University’s former Deputy Vice Chancellor, Paul Bowler, to look into the finances in June 2009. He had been hired to put together a financial recovery plan for the university, which is on the Higher Education and Funding Council for England’s “at risk” list.

After Mr Bowler left the university in November, the attitude of senior staff, including the Vice Chancellor, Head of Finance, Dean of the Business School and Director of Marketing within the university changed towards Mrs Merrigan.

She told the Tribunal that they had colluded against her to was move her off the work she was doing - the recovery plan and financial investigation were effectively suspended.

Bristol Employment Tribunal found yesterday (30 September) that the Dean of the Business School, who was implicated in Mrs Merrigan’s disclosures, influenced the University to take action against Mrs Merrigan.

As a result, the Business Development Manager had suffered at the hands of the University for disclosing information on financial problems and she was awarded compensation of £6,000 for injury to feelings.

From: http://www.oldsquare.co.uk

Also:

University of Gloucestershire whistleblower wins case

Gloucestershire University whistleblower wins industrial tribunal

University whistleblower who lifted lid on excessive spending on overseas travel wins tribunal

Doctrine of Affections

Okay so I google myself occasionally.

& for some reason, you can read my review of Doctrine of Affections on this strange website.

"I changed my mind about this book. After reading, in order, the first 10 of Headrick's 11 musically- themed short stories, I was lulled into feeling I had this writer figured out. Although each story occupies disparate moments in time and space - from a melancholic guitarist in Post-Napoleonic Paris to a jazz- loving Engineering student at UBC - each tale is shrouded in tonal sameness, evoking a similar- feeling longing for fidelity to a higher truth. But it was the last story, the one told by a version of the author himself, that shook me out of my stupor and made me pay attention...." Read more.

Then, if you're keen, you can check out Mr. Headrick's blog.

Behind the Times

I realize my blogging has been spotty at best. I take for granted that I am beholden to no one.

Some belated shout-outs are in order, however!! And here they are, in a list of THINGS YOU MUST DO WITH YOUR FIRDAY (it's mostly about buying books):

1. Feeling Expansive? Answer: The Journey Prize Anthology #22.

My amazing friend Andrew MacDonald has his short story "Eat Fist!" chosen for this year's shortlist. After reading it, I was chuffed to discover I had already read a portion of the story in manuscript form. How connected do I feel? Plus, the story is a truly Andrew-story: featuring a lesbian body-builder, Wonder Woman and poignant moments about Ukrainian heritage. Andrew was interviewed by the National Post, and he sounds very charming.

And then "Eat Fist!" won a Western Magazine Award for fiction. It's like dominoes of good feelings.


2. Need Relationship Advice in a time of War and Turmoil? Answer: The Mandarins by Simone De Beauvoir.

I was supposed to bring Simone home to Calgary for a friend abroad because her suitcases are too heavy. Instead, I brought her to Vancouver and my bedside table.

3. Feeling Indie? Answer: magazine, Broken Pencil #49 


In which I wrote a lil' book review (I'm proud, I'll admit it) of Paul Headrick's Doctrine of Affections, and in which resides other work by contributors I adore: Andrew (he's ubiquitous these days), Spencer Gordon and Matt Loney.

There is also a review of The Sentimentalists by Johanna Skibsrud, which, if you have been paying attention, just won the Giller. It's so interesting to read a review that was written before the hype. In it, reviewer Kris Rothstein is by no means won over by the book-- Rothstein writes "The Sentimentalists is a thoughtful, gentle novel, and while it fails to deliver a strong narrative, its careful prose demands attention." Well, attention it received-- and when I first saw the review, I thought (evilly) that this is a one of those moments of hindsight where you wish you'd written, "this book should win the Giller!" just so you can grin maniacally when it does. But, the review is in fact better in every way because it was written pre-hype. I have not read the book (yet), so I remain conflicted about what the Giller's effect on my own reading will be.

"Johanna Skibsrud is the winner of the 2010 Scotiabank Giller Prize honouring the best in Canadian literature.

Her voice quavering, the 30-year-old Nova Scotian thanked her publisher Gaspereau Press, which brought out the book in a tiny edition of a few hundred copies."

--stolen from the Nat'l Post.

Suffice to say, I haven't read any of them, because I have been writing a massive and still not exhaustive bibliography...but that is no excuse... I will, I promise! Congrats to Johanna and to Gaspereau.

How could the French let us down??

In a post related to this post by Ish, this is what happens in France when you decide that people should work a little harder, for a little longer:

& this is what Mr. Sarkozeee has to say about it:

Related events:

drinking a bottle of gewurztraminer; waking up at 5am

words of wisdom from one of my imaginary personal heros

"...The stroller caught something and began to fold. The boy began to cry. The driver opened the door and shouted angrily, 'You gonna get off lady? I got traffic here.'

The woman was magnificent. She adjusted her coat and gloves before doing anything else. Then she righted the stroller. Then she picked up the boy. She adjusted her purse on her shoulder. Then she picked up the stroller. Then, very deliberately, holding traffic up all over Manhattan, she lowered herself and her things down the steps, pausing before stepping down onto the curb. As the bus pulled away, Rosie looked back and saw the woman serenely strap the boy, who was no longer crying, into the stroller, then hand him a banana from her purse, then begin her promenade down the sidewalk. It was a riveting sight. She said to Mary, 'Did you see that?'

'What?' replied Mary.

'That woman.'

'God she was rude,' said Mary.

And from that Rosalind knew that Mary would live the rest of her life in the Midwest, which she did.

Rosalind saw that, if you had enough self-possession, you could reconnoiter, plan ahead, take your time. It went beyond being careful. Being careful was something you did if you were in a rush. If you were self-possessed, you never had to be in a rush.

And so Rosalind had cultivated her self-possession at Smith College, at Mademoiselle magazine, working as an intern, at Conde Nast Traveller, working as an editor, and in Westchester County, as the wife of Alexander P. Maybrick and the stepmother of his three children, who didn't especially like her but admired her capacity for resisting their father" (Jane Smiley, Horse Heavan, 30).

hallowe'en bestie

via: der Spiegel: Picture This

Stop the bullying at the University of Memphis!

I want to bring your attention to bullying happening at the college level at the University of Memphis.

I've become a victim to this and I know it's not just me as another young woman in my program got bullied by our department's administration. The interim chair, Sandra Sarkela, told this woman's adviser, David Appleby, that she wanted the woman "out of the program". Then Sarkela had the woman's graduate assistantship supervisor, Katherine Hendrix, assign the woman last minute "work" on a Saturday. Their tactics worked, the young woman dropped out of her assistantship credits and Sarkela's class.

Another young woman in the program was barred from taking certain classes when younger, Caucasian students were allowed. She was also treated differently than these others in terms of grading. When she brought this up to Sandra Sarkela, she was discriminated against and retaliated against.

I, too, have been treated in this manner by Sandra Sarkela and our department administration and even by the university administration and Shirley Raine's office. I have a ADA medical condition that was ignored by the Affirmative Action Officer, Michelle Banks. I was put in a work condition (noisy public computer lab, no air conditioning, no water, being surveillanced) that caused my anxiety problems to worsen.

I complained about discrimination to Sandra Sarkela, who then had me terminated, hence attempting to destroy my academic and work credibility when I have an unblemished record. After figuring out that was a federal crime, the university reinstated me, but since then has retaliated against me at every turn to try to make me leave "voluntarily" like the first young woman.

When I turned in my work, they ignored my sources and called me a plagiarist in an email, again attempting to undermine my academic and work future. They also refused to fill out an incident report for a work injury I had and threatened via email with an "If/Then" statement to stop paying me. This was by university counsel Sheryl Lipman. I am a minority female who moved from California to get a PhD and become part of this community. Now, the university has put a condition on my assistantship that I sign over a full psychiatric examination (fitness for duty) for just working by myself with books- over to them. This is not right.

I would like to share with you and our community the atrocities that are going on in higher education at The University of Memphis.

More info at: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/7/stop-the-bullying-at-the-university-of-memphis/

King's College London: Support Virginia Jibowu

-----------------
Sign the online petition at:
http://www.gopetition.com/petition/38617.html
-----------------
I am a 26 year old female of Nigerian-Welsh origin. I was a full-time undergraduate student on the Defendant’s Extended Medical Degree Programme (EMDP) from September 2002 until December 2008. On 20 October 2008 I was injured by a porter driving a wheelchair into the back of my leg whilst I was on my clinical attachment at King’s College Hospital. As a result of my injury, Professor Greenough (Head of the medical School) removed me from my programme. I am currently unemployed and suffer from reduced mobility as a result of the injury sustained.

King’s College London medical School is called Guy’s King’s and St Thomas’ School of Medicine (GKT). KCL is in partnership with Guy’s, King’s and St Thomas’ NHS Trust Hospitals. The Institute of Psychiatry (IOP) became a school of King’s College London in August 1997. The King’s College Hospital is further affiliated with the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust. KCL also has various alliances with South London G. P. Practices within Lambeth and other Primary Care Trusts. The General Medical Council and the South Thames Foundation Schools are also closely linked with KCL.

Whilst at King’s College London (KCL) I was subjected to disability discrimination preventing me from taking up the F1 post I had secured with the Wales Foundation School. I suffer from severe incapacitating dysmenorrhoea. This is a debilitating condition which prevents me from carrying on my normal day to day activities for at least 2 days every month (I refer to the letter dated 6 August 2001 from Anne Giwa-Amu to the Health Authority (marked exhibit 1), with the response dated 17 August 2001 (marked exhibit 2), and also the letter dated 10 August 2001 from Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital confirming my referral to the Pain Management Centre (marked exhibit 3).

I was also subjected to ‘continuing acts’ of racial segregation, racial discrimination, harassment, bullying and institutional racism from 2002-2009. In summary:

a) I was racially discriminated against during the recruitment and selection process and racially segregated onto the EMDP course which I had not applied for.

b) Despite my protests, I was kept on the EMDP course from 2002-2008/9.

c) The EMDP course is a 6 year programme whilst the standard MBBS is a 5 year programme. Therefore, being placed on the EMDP course subjected me an additional year at university during which time I could have been employed.

d) I was compelled to wear a badge from 2002-2008/9 marking me out as one of the EMDP students. As the course was advertised as being designed to bring in more students from socially deprived ethnic minority backgrounds this was a humiliating experience for me.

e) I was compelled to participate in various research projects without my knowledge and consent. This included social research, psychological research and IQ tests from 2002 -2008/9.

f) I was covertly monitored without good reason over a period of time whilst on the EMDP course.

g) My complaints of racial harassment and bullying by fellow students were not investigated but I was ‘watched’ because I had made those complaints.

h) I was subjected to ‘institutional victimisation’ because of my complaints by members of the management team who orchestrated a campaign to discredit me.

i) Following my injury whilst on clinical attachment at King’s College Hospital, management refused to investigate my complaints and continued to spread false and defamatory statements about my mental health.

Further details are provided below.

Due to my complaints of racial segregation, racial discrimination, harassment, bullying and institutional racism, I suffered victimisation from members of the management team. My protected acts are as follows:

a) In 2002 I protested to Gavin Brown that my application for the MBBS 5 had been rejected in order to channel me onto the experimental EMDP course.

b) In 2002-2003 I made complaints to Dr Pamela Garlick and Professor Standring about the segregated nature of the EMDP course and asked to be transferred to the MBBS5 course.

c) In 2005 I made a complaint to the college of harassment and bullying by Richard Pinder who was my clinical partner at the time. I asked to be moved away from him.

d) On 2 December 2006, I submitted a written complaint of harassment and bullying against Emily Bowen, Steve Dixon and Simon Hill. I made a verbal complaint to staff indicating that the harassment was racially motivated.

e) On 19 September 2007 I made a complaint to the Dean of Victoria Hospital (St Lucia), and the Elective Coordinator against Alexis Johnson, Johanne Adley, Jaskiren Kaur, Emon Malik and Sivathatishana Meinerikandathevan for assault, bullying, harassment and breach of contract.

f) On 9 September 2007, I sent Emon Malik a ‘letter of claim’.

g) 24 September 2008, I submitted a claim at the Employment Tribunal.

h) 21 November 2008, I submitted a claim for discrimination at the Central London County Court (8CL09060) which was lost on the court system.

i) 23 December 2008, I submitted a replacement claim at the Central London County Court (which was returned as permission was needed to serve on the defendant’s Solicitor)

j) On 28 January 2008, I submitted the claim for racial discrimination at the Central London County Court.

More information at: http://www.virginiajibowu.co.uk

a sudden bout of melancholia, in honour of Lauren Leaving Day

My awesome friend Lauren is off to Tanzania today to do the kind of amazing and necessary work of which the world needs more.

This girl's blog must be mined for content like the Romantic primary text it surely is.

...

“Artworks,” says Adorno, 
“have the immanent character of 
being an act, even if they 
are carved in stone, and this endows them 
with the quality of being something 
momentary and sudden.”

The unkindly art of mobbing - in Academia

At a practical level, every professor should be aware of conditions that increase vulnerability to mobbing in academe. Here are five:

• Foreign birth and upbringing, especially as signaled by a foreign accent.
• Being different from most colleagues in an elemental way (by sex, for instance, sexual orientation, skin color, ethnicity, class
origin, or credentials).
• Belonging to a discipline with ambiguous standards and objectives, especially those (like music or literature) most affected by
post-modern scholarship.
• Working under a dean or other administrator in whom, as Nietzsche put it, “the impulse to punish is powerful”.
• An actual or contrived financial crunch in one’s academic unit (According to an African proverb, when the watering hole gets
smaller, the animals get meaner).

Other conditions that heighten the risk of being mobbed are more directly under a prospective target’s control. Five major ones are:

• Having opposed the candidate who ends up winning appointmentn as one’s dean or chair (thereby looking stupid, wicked, or crazy in the latter’s eyes)
• Being a rate buster—achieving so much success in teaching or research that colleagues’ envy is aroused.
• Publicly dissenting from politically correct ideas (meaning those held sacred by campus elites).
• Defending a pariah in campus politics or the larger cultural arena.
• Blowing the whistle on, or even having knowledge of serious wrongdoing by, locally powerful workmates.

The upshot of available research is that no professor needs to worry much about being mobbed, even when in a generally vulnerable condition, so long as he or she does not rock the local academic boat. The secret is to show deference to colleagues and administrators—to be the kind of scholar they want to keep around as a way of making themselves look good. Jung said that “a man’s hatred is always concentrated on that which makes him conscious of his bad qualities.”

By Professor Kenneth Westhues

various activities one could engage in, in lieu of work

1. make fun of luck-obsessed people who got married on Oct 10th in Vegas because 10/10/10 is somehow auspicious.
you. cannot. win. in. Vegas.
2. create a playlist of songs that alternatively make me want to sleep and startle me awake. Decide this will absolutely help my writing.
3. look at the bed bug registry and plan to torch multiple buildings in close proximity to mine.
4. multi-coloured pedicure.
5. pace. read Ginsberg aloud in an angry voice. pace more.
6. have vibrant imaginary conversations with various people in my life.
7. handstands.
8. think about doing something about this: Tightrope Books is accepting submissions for an anthology about Canadian hospitals for a proposed 2012 publication date. All pieces must be from personal experience and written in first person P.O.V. Length and form are flexible. Send abstracts of 100-300 words by December 1, 2010.
9. research puppies.
10. handstands. handstands. handstands.

trying to write something, and stopping now and again, to ask myself..

Where are we going?

At which point I have to sing this Bright Eyes song aloud to myself:

So there was this woman and 
she was, uh, on an airplane and 
she's flying to meet her fiancé 
sailing high above the--the largest ocean 
on planet earth and she was seated 
next to this man who, you know 
she had tried to start conversations 
an really--really the only thing 
she heard him say was to order his bloody mary
and she's sitting there and she's reading 
this really arduous magazine article about a 
third world country that she couldn't 
even pronounce the--the name of and 
she's feeling very bored and very despondent
and--and then, uh, suddenly there's this huge mechanical failure and one of the--the engines gave out 
and they started just falling -an- thirty thousand feet 
and the pilot's on the microphone and he's saying, 
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Oh My God, I'm Sorry" 
and apologizing and she looks at the man and she--and she says,
"Where are we going?" and he looks at her and he says, 
"We're going to a party, it--it's a birthday party. 
It's your birthday party, happy birthday darling. 
We love you very, very, very, very, very, very, very much."
And then, uh, he starts humming this little tune and--and, uh, it kind of goes like this, it's kinda...

I wish I had more vices. 

Stop bullying at the University of Newcastle - Australia

We are a group of people who have all spoken out about wrongdoing here and have been bullied into silence. From our experiences, we feel very strongly that the situation cannot continue. To end the bullying, we need to have information on the extent and type of bullying that is going on. This is why we are asking people to fill in this survey.

We are very aware how devastating bullying can be and we do not intend to make anything worse for you. That is why we assure you that this survey is completely anonymous and no details (e.g. ISP addresses) will be tracked.

Please help us to end this bullying.

If you would like to share your story, please add to our blog - you can post anonymously to this blog and no details (e.g. ISP addresses) will be tracked. PLEASE NOTE: Do not include any identifying details in your blogs - we are not responsible for the information posted on this site.

It is a huge support to others to hear your stories of bullying so please contribute if you feel you are able to.

http://stop-b-uon.blogspot.com/

the advantages of belonging to an infinite number of listservs

are receiving emails like this:

Dear all,

I've just realized that 200 years ago today Percy Bysshe Shelley arrived at University College, Oxford. Here's to the beginnings of quiet (and not so quiet) revolutions.

My hopes that the fall is beautiful where you are on this serene Friday.


Best,
----.


happy autumn, everyone.

one-eyed gaze; art faces

Robert McGinnis (reblogged from supersonicelectronic)

(reblogged from supersonicelectronic)

Angela Fraleigh (reblogged from Zizart)

after 200 years, is it restitution in the animal kingdom or just ecologists jerking off? either way, I think it's good news

For the past decade, conservationists have been releasing zoo-bred Eurasian lynx in Germany's  mountains, with the goal of returning them to their natural habitat. The lynx, once targeted by hunters because they threatened farm animals and local game, disappeared from the region nearly 200 years ago.

On Easter Sunday, 2009, officials at Germany's Harz National Park opened the gates to their wooded enclosure and let out two young lynx. The brother and sister, who had been found orphaned by the roadside a few months before, were once again on their own in the wild. And, witnesses said, they didn't look back.

der Spiegel : Predatory Cats Return to the Harz Mountains

If the lynx from the Harz can connect with other populations in the Bohemian and Bavarian forests scientists will worry less about inbreeding, which is now a concern. It will also prove that the Harz population is sufficiently established, since lynx have to spread out to find their own territory.

"It is our challenge to do the best job we can, give the lynx a good start and find out if they are able to survive -- not in computer models but in the real world...If they make it, we will score a win for another big threatened mammal species. If not, we would have to face the fact that in Germany, the age of the lynx and its habitat is definitely over."

On acting the asshole and being wrong

I awoke this morning to find I had transformed into a snaggle-toothed pirate. This had nothing to do with the wine Rohanna and I drank last night. I think. One of my little bone-graft-spacer thingys-- pontics, lil' fake teeth-- had completely rotated around and was sticking out of my moth like an asymmetrical chiclet.

As it was Saturday morning, many dental office answering machines were consulted, and finally a call was answered to my "no-longer-beholden-to-me" periodontist, Dr. ----, on his personal cellphone. The long and short of this tale is that he was completely understanding, met us downtown at his office, fixed my tooth, spoke nicely to my mother and I, and then apologized about our previous two interactions of his own volition. Truly, I was astounded.

& I am going to take him back.

Submission of evidence to IUSS (Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee) regarding plagiarism at Liverpool John Moores University

Introduction

I would like to submit written evidence on "plagiarism" at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU). I have been fighting for years to expose the truth about plagiarism at the University but to no avail. I have recently written to the Rt. Hon Mr John Denham MP, Secretary of State for DIUS and Professor Paul Ramsden, Chief Executive for HEA regarding this issue. I have also formally written to HEFCE (evidence enclosed:[346] electronic correspondence with Professor David Eastwood) and QAA (evidence enclosed letter from Mr Peter Williams to the Chairman of Select Committee on IUSS) asking for the issue to be thoroughly investigated.

It was made clear to HEFCE and QAA that I am unwilling to disclose the substantive, compelling and indisputable evidence of plagiarism at the University without protection against future litigation (please see Mr Peter Williams letter to the House of Common on 30 October 2008).[348] The position of these organisations is that they cannot investigate my revelations without disclosing my identity to the University, nor can they offer me protection against future litigation.

I understand the only available pathway to divulge the truth to the public about plagiarism at the University is through the "Parliament Protection Privilege". To this end, enclosed please find a very small sample of the plagiarised students' course work reports as evidence.

1. Background information

I am Professor of Applied Physiology and worked at the University till I was summarily dismissed on 3 January 2007. I have contributed significantly to the British Education over the last 30 years in the teaching and research domains (please see enclosed statements by colleagues). This encompassed academic and administrative commitments including the supervision of several Ph.D. and MSc students to successful completion. I have published more than 200 refereed articles, scientific correspondence items, and meeting abstracts. My capability as a teacher and researcher furnish the grounds for my personal written evidence to IUSS on plagiarism at the University…

3. Plagiarism: the case

As it was advised by [committee staff], I sent to the Committee a very few course work of the students' plagirised reports. I would be happy to send substantially more plagiarised reports if this is required at this stage. These reports clearly and unambiguously exhibit the following:
— The verbatim copying of another's work within reports without clear identification and acknowledgements. This is defined as plagiarism according to the University's definition.
— That some or all of the students appear to have copied review articles and text books carelessly. Unidentified and unacknowledged quotations from another work are the main feature of the students' course work reports. This is plagiarism according to the University's definition.
— That some or all the references at the back of the report are not referred to within the text. This is plagiarism according to the University's definition.

3.1 The majority of students are tempted to lift sections of words from published papers or from textbooks. This is a very serious problem in the University. The students were clearly informed at the beginning of each academic semester and prior to the submission of the course work that this lifting is known as plagiarism and it is a very serious academic offence (please sees evidence attached). Students were also informed when they were handed back their course work reports to reinforce the point.

3.2 The first lecture of each new semester was allocated for an overview of the module syllabuses and the subject of the course work assignment. An over head projector was used to advise the students how to write their assignments and avoid plagiarism in line with the University's Modular Framework Assessment Regulations. A single printed sheet of A4 under the title "Assignment general and specific comments" was handed to the students at the commencement of the semester. This sheet contained a number of comments defining plagiarism and stating why it was unacceptable (please sees evidence attached). Students were advised to develop their own ideas and arguments and learn how to express themselves. They were informed about the seriousness of plagiarism and how to avoid it. The enclosed "Assignment general and specific comments" sheet was clearly explained to the students and at the commencement of each new semester, during the semester, and prior to the submission of the course work.

3.3 Students were also referred to the University's Modular Framework Assessment Regulations (Section D Appendix C) regarding academic impropriety and that their course work should conform to those regulations. Students were advised to show that they have learnt about and can use other people work. They were taught how to quote and reference to show where they got the material from. Students were clearly informed that, in their assignment, when discussing other people ideas, they should acknowledge where the ideas came from with supporting references.

3.4 Students were advised that they must avoid direct copying from published papers or textbooks as this practice may suggest that they are incapable of using ideas for themselves. Students were also informed not to rely heavily on copying out segments from printed literature as copying the literature obscure whether the students understand the topic of the course work. Students, when submitted their course work reports, were required to sign a declaration that all sources consulted have been appropriately acknowledged (evidence submitted as attached to some of the plagiarised course work reports already sent to the Committee).

4. Although plagiarism is a very serious academic impropriety as clearly stated in the University's Modular Framework Assessment Regulations (Section D Appendix C), the University management has not taken this issue seriously.

4.1 The University strategies to identify plagiarism were inadequate and the procedures available to combat plagiarism were ineffective. I repeatedly tried to have my concerns about excessive toleration of plagiarism considered by the University. However, I was constantly put off by the University Management. All my complaints were ignored despite a litany of requests for action and no penalties were sanctioned when plagiarism was suspected and detected.

4.2 I had numerous grounds of grievances in relation to plagiarism over the years against colleagues and Management at the University. Most notably in May and December 2003 I have attempted to have my grievances about excessive toleration of plagiarism dealt with and investigated under the University's grievance procedures. This never happened.

4.3 When I suspected and identified plagiarism, the University should have taken my concerns seriously and a thorough investigation should have been conducted promptly in line with the University's regulations. This never happened.

4.4 I was only allowed to down mark the plagiarised assignment by 10% (see attached evidence entitled "Disciplinary Case"). I was not allowed to sanction more severe penalty or to fail any plagiarised course work during the consultation and moderation processes. Following my suspension, two Managers at the School alleged that they have remarked the assignments and came to the conclusion that no plagiarism had taken place (evidence would be provided on request). The external examiner confirmed the Managers conclusion (evidence would be provided on request)! I viewed this as an unacceptable practice. I believe that the managers at the University in collaboration with the external examiner were trying to cover up plagiarism.

4.5 I raised my concern about plagiarism through the University's procedures but it was then converted into a disciplinary against me with allegations that I had not followed University procedures, which is not true (see attached evidence entitled "Disciplinary Case"). There has been not the merest hint of actually dealing with the issue of plagiarism and I was stopped from providing the evidence I had gathered (abundant compelling evidence is available on request). This demonstrates, I believe, disregard for professional standards to an extent that should be intolerable in a British University.

4.6 Instead of investigating and determining my concerns of May and December 2003 in respect of plagiarism, managers at the University chose to suspend me on 10 December 2003. I was suspended for an unimaginable long time while the most dilatory "investigation" imaginable was conducted. This is viewed as the worst kind of sharp practice. Then I was accused of gross professional misconduct. The University managers made up false allegations against me to justify "Gross Professional Misconduct". I was eventually dismissed in January 2007 following an investigation and grievance and disciplinary hearing in October 2006. In April 2007 I appealed to the University's Board of Governors against the dismissal, but my appeal was not upheld and the final dismissal decision was conveyed to me in May 2007. The investigation was flawed in design and substance. The grievance and disciplinary and the appeal hearings were discriminatory and I was unfairly dismissed.

5. Through the University College Union (UCU) Legal Services Department, three claims (one in 2005 and two in 2007) were lodged with the Employment Tribunal and 20 days have been allocated for hearing the case commencing 14 January 2008. These complaints were based, among other issues, on protected disclosures in relation to plagiarism and overseas students' bench fees and unfair dismissal.

5.1 The Employment Tribunal hearings to a full trial never took place as I was virtually forced to enter into a compromise agreement with confidentiality clauses attached. The compromise agreement was signed on my behalf by the UCU's Director of the Legal Department as I was in a hysterical state and heavily sedated with medications and utterly refused to sign the compromise agreement.

6. My health disintegrated further as can be established by reference to several medical reports including one by the University's own occupational health doctor.

6.1 My academic career is now completely ruined, my health is ruined and the normal social fabric of my family is in a state of turmoil. The damage to my reputation and to my name and career is immense.

7. Conclusion and Recommendation

I do believe that the unfortunate story of plagiarism at Liverpool John Moores University is in the public interest and it is therefore my responsibility to bring the above facts to the IUS Select Committee Attention. The corrupted practices by the University are a threat to the public interest and to the reputation of British Education standard nationally and internationally.

I believe that the allegations about plagiarism presented in this written evidence are very serious and warrants further considerations and investigation by IUSS Select Committee…

Submission from Professor MS El-Sayed