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Monday, May 23, 2011
Would You Hire Her?
I'm a 30-something Physical Science PhD. I finished my PhD a few years ago, just before my middle child was born. Since then I have been primarily a stay-at-home mom, but I have remained involved with my collaboration in a low-level way - I've worked with my collaborators to finalize our analysis and to write and publish the associated paper, given some seminars, and traveled to give talks at conferences. Last year, my former advisor noticed that I had been doing quite a bit of work for free and offered to pay me by the hour, so I am currently working 0-10 hours per week. Recently, I have been writing a paper and looking into the possibility of a new analysis.
My third (and final) child is now over a year old and I am applying for postdoc positions. My CV doesn't exactly have a "gap" - I have papers and/or talks for every year since my PhD -- but my unusual situation obviously requires some explanation. I have added "stay-at-home mother, no employer" to my CV and I explain in more detail in the cover letter.
I'm wondering how all this is going to be viewed by the professors with whom I'm applying to work. I was a good student in a high-ranking department, my thesis was a high-profile analysis, and my advisor tells me that his letter of recommendation is quite enthusiastic, so I should be a strong candidate unless people see the time with my kids as a deal breaker. I'm curious how you would feel about an application like mine and if you have any thoughts on how I am handling the topic in my applications. It would be very helpful to hear any concerns you might have about hiring someone in my situation - especially things that you wouldn't actually bring up with a candidate.
I would hire her, and I would have no hesitations or concerns about doing so.
Her record or accomplishments and research potential is strong, the letter of recommendation from the PhD advisor is apparently strong, and the evidence for an ability to get things done is impressive. I have had single, childless postdocs who got less research done while employed (by me) full-time than what this woman has done while being a "stay-at-home" mom with three kids.
Of course the final decision (relative to other candidates) would rest on the quality of the work etc. etc., but my answer to the hypothetical question of whether I would hire this person or whether the stay-at-home mom episode was a deal-breaker is an empathic yes, I would hire her.
In terms of the mechanics of the application, I don't think she should dwell much on the "unusual" situation. It's fine to account for a gap in employment in the CV, but additional explanation need not be lengthy and certainly should not be defensive or be the first thing in the cover letter.
The recommendation letter from the advisor could be worded to turn this situation into an example of the impressive abilities of his former student; what might seem like a liability could be a strength. This woman apparently has superpowers when it comes to being focused and productive.
Would you hire her? Why or why not?
And: What (if anything) would you like to see in the application materials in terms of an explanation for the stay-at-home mom "gap" in employment?
73 comments:
This is the kind of person who deserves to be hired. She is far from the typical "quota woman". Its amazing that she kept up with writing papers and giving talks while being a stay at home mom. The typical quota woman should learn from this example...
I would hire her, if her skills would be helpful to my research program. I think she should be more concerned about highlighting her unique skills and analytic approach, and less defensive about her "gap."
How about "stay-at-home parent"? It's the parenting that's at issue, not that it's mother doing it. And some people, yes, might find it awkward to see the word "mother" in a c.v.
I wouldn't put it in my c.v., though I'm a mom (and talk about my kids a lot). - 5/23/2011 01:28:00 AM
I agree: the candidate's productivity during this time is remarkable, and a strong positive argument for a hire. Also agree with keeping the explanation to a quick mention in the CV; honestly, if she is confident that her former/current advisor is doing a good job of explaining her recent employment situation --in a positive light, of course-- I would consider not mentioning it in the cover letter at all, to avoid dwelling on it too much. But a quick mention would be fine.
I would definitely hire her!
Here's a related question: Would you also hire a 'him' with a similar story? I am writing this because I (a man) had been a stay-at-home dad for several shorter stints (3-4months) between jobs (PhD-Postdoc-Postdoc) and I have noticed that potential employers didn't really appreciate this. I feel that paternity leave for a man is still not accepted while woman seem to be in a better situation for this. - 5/23/2011 04:01:00 AM
@ anon 12:38:00, I would hope the typical "quota men" would also learn from this example.
The typical quota woman should learn from this example...
I... I have no words - 5/23/2011 04:36:00 AM
I would hire her, though I wonder how many doors it has closed for her. SAHMs just aren't respected in todays society.
I once had an application for a postdoc position from someone who looked strong, but had spent a surprisingly long period of time as a PhD student. This was completely unexplained in her application, except for a single comment in the letter from her advisor, to the effect of "She rightfully decided her priorities were elsewhere after the birth of her child and, so, took longer to finish than her peers." She had already been hired by someone else before I could interview her.
I found the complete lack of mention of this in her application materials to be a little surprising (since the length of her PhD studies was certainly outside of the norms in our field). Perhaps her advisor had suggested she do so, and that he would explain in the letter. In any case, the "mommy time" certainly wasn't held against her. - 5/23/2011 06:08:00 AM
I would hope that the advisor's recommendation somehow states, even though it may make him look bad, that this women was so committed to her work that she was writing papers/doing research while not being paid and having to take care of a child. That level of interest in and of itself would put her at the top of my list of candidates.
We don't have postdocs in the same way, so the hiring is not so much up to a single prof as it is up to the whole dept. But as you say, if the quality of her research is as high as the other top candidates and her letters are as good as the other top candidates, she would certainly make a short list. The real question is, "would you hold the time away against her," and I think my dept would say no.
In our last bout of hiring, there were many comments like, "X hasn't really done much with three years of a non-teaching postdoc" and "Y has gotten a lot done, given that he's been teaching a 2/2 load (which is the same as ours)." The comparisons are relative to the position they've held, and part of what we consider is whether we think you'll be research active in our dept.
Anyone who's been staying in the field and staying productive while a SAHM has proven themselves able to multi-task in a big way. So with all other factors being equal, I think we hire her. - 5/23/2011 06:50:00 AM
I agree with what everybody has already said. I would definitely also hire her and I think it's impressive that she kept working while being a mom.
That being said, I would try to come up with a strategy that takes attention away from the fact that she was doing a lot of work for free and that she only started to get paid once her "advisor noticed" that she "had been doing quite a bit of work for free".
To me this sounds, potentially, like she didn't really have the assertiveness to ask for pay and was simply waiting until someone offered to do so?
Obviously, I may be wrong, and I don't know all the circumstances, but I feel that it's important that she makes it clear that she knows that she's an excellent candidate, who also deserves to get paid for her work. Unfortunately, I feel that it is still especially important for women to make a clear statement on this point.
Maybe there's a good explanation for why she wasn't paid? Or maybe it's even the case that people in her position usually don't get paid, but because she did excellent work and this was noticed, they offered to pay her on an hourly basis anyway? If so, this could be highlighted. - 5/23/2011 06:55:00 AM
- nicoleandmaggie said...
Do NOT put "stay at home mother" on the CV. That is incredibly unprofessional!
It can be addressed in the cover letter, "working part-time for family reasons" but any more detail than that does not belong anywhere in the application. The bulk of that paragraph should be a detailed description of how she has kept active in the field.
She could be taking care of an aging parent or having babies or stuck as a trailing spouse... it doesn't matter what the family reasons are and the employer does not need to stereotype her because of it. She should be talking about what she has done, not what she hasn't done. She should be putting her work-self forward, not her personal life.
As employers, all we care about is whether or not she's going to be a good employee and we're not allowed to take into account her children, gender, marital situation. It's best if she doesn't give information on those things because it causes cognitive dissonance in the employer. - 5/23/2011 07:18:00 AM
I'd hire her if she fit well with the group's needs. The fact that she was publishing papers and giving talks even while she wasn't really employed is a very positive thing.
When I hire someone I do not only see if they publish a lot or are super productive; I make sure the person is cool and fun to be with. I already have a job, if they want to get their shot at TT then they need to find motivation to work hard, I don't need to hear about it in some cover letter or recommendation. In the recommendation letter I want to see: "likes to go out to happy hour after a long day in the lab".
I'd hire her. My advice, though, is to be prepared in an interview to answer questions about motherhood. I was on the job market this year and, even though search committees aren't supposed to ask, I was asked about my marital status, whether I took my husband's last name, how many kids I had, even whether I planned to have more kids! I don't know what the right answer was to those questions, but I wish I had thought to have answers prepared beforehand. (I'd naively assumed no one would be so crass as to ask them.)
- julia m said...
What kind of job is she applying for? Does it matter? Would it be different if she were applying for postdoc positions vs. faculty positions?
I'm impressed she kept analyzing data, writing papers and going to conferences although she wasn't employed. Since some people don't understand the responsibilities of parenthood, I wouldn't write "stay at home mom" on a resume, but rather "volunteer research associate" as to highlight her involvement with science. Great job!
- starbellysneetch said...
Yes, I would hire her. No I am not the author of this email. But it could have been me (some years ago).
I didn't mention anything in my resume and the gaps show prominently. Perhaps references writers mentioned something, I don't know.
Be bold, take a risk, do something different. These things will increase your chance of a finding tt appointment or some other position.
Answering anonymous 4:01am, yes same is true for men, provided you do something bold like start your own company. No need to mention that it didn't quite work out. That's assumed when you are in the job market again. - 5/23/2011 09:29:00 AM
@nicoleandmaggie: I agree that she shouldn't call herself a "stay at home mom", but for slightly different reasons. To many readers, that implies full-time parenting, doing no other work. They might not read further to discover how much more she was doing. "Work-at-home mom" (WAHM) would be both more accurate and better received.
I agree with everyone who says mention it, but don't dwell on it.
Not long ago, I was looking for a full-time out-of-the-home job after four years of a WAHM situation even more jumbled than this woman's. I acknowledged that it *was* jumbled; explained briefly that I had done this intentionally, and why; and declared that I was ready to return full-time focus to my career. No one had a problem with that. Furthermore, by being the first one to mention it, I defined the boundaries of the conversation. No obnoxious additional questions such as SocSciPhD mentions! - 5/23/2011 09:35:00 AM
The situation, once explained is fine, I would hire her.
I would not put the term "Stay at home mom" on the CV. or even in the cover letter. She should say she worked on a volunteer basis and then part time for family reasons. Parental leave is a good term to use.
Perhaps it is unfair, but I think she has to err on the side of sounding formal. - 5/23/2011 09:36:00 AM
- a physicist said...
I'd happily hire her. I agree with what others have written, that it would be useful to at least briefly mention it in her cover letter, to address questions of "what has she been up to in all this time." The other thing I would want to see -- as is true for all postdoc applicants -- is what she wants to do next, after the postdoc. Someone who wants to work hard during their postdoc because they see it as a way to get further in their career would be great, which is the picture I'm drawing from the generalized email.
Everything I've written also applies to a stay-at-home-dad who wants to get back into research. A very good friend of mine from grad school was a stay-at-home-dad for a while, I'd be happy to hire someone like him who was applying. - 5/23/2011 09:38:00 AM
I would definitely *NOT* put "stay at home mother" on my CV. Never. I don't think there's any need for her to explain the "gap" because it doesn't sound like there really has been one - she's been working on publications. As long as there's a record of academic work, I don't see any reason to draw attention to the gap. Maybe something to explain in a cover letter, possibly something to discuss in an interview, but no need to put it on the CV.
I'd certainly hire someone like this, if everything else checked out and they fit well into my research group. I don't view taking some time off for parenting as any kind of drawback and wouldn't hold it against a woman or a man, for that matter. I'm especially impressed with her output while on leave, because I didn't get anywhere near that much done while I was at home with my child.
And all I have is a giant o_O for anon#1 with the "quota woman" BS. - 5/23/2011 09:40:00 AM
I also don't think she should use the words "stay at home mother." Unfortunately, that phrase still has negative associations. "Parent" is a little better. Maybe "Family matters" is better, but I don't know what the best phrasing is.
(Sorry, Anon at 4:01, but yes, the "rules" are still against you as a dad. I wish the pro-women movement would fight for dads as hard as they do for moms. My pro-equality husband probably would have taken some time off between PhD and post-doc to take care of our baby if it were more accepted. He considered it and decided it was going to be too detrimental to his career. Instead I took a break from my PhD. Blech.)
I disagree with nicoleandmaggie; it has to be on the CV. You need to explain the gap in the employment section. But I agree keep it to a minimum in the cover letter.
In addition I think she should avoid mention of "working for free" or even "volunteering" while being a SAHM. She was doing academic work, period. Yes, she also had another non-paid full-time job. But you set yourself up for low pay if you mention that you're willing to work for little or nothing. It doesn't have to be mentioned if/how much she was paid. She can just say she was a part-time researcher while managing family matters full time.
Thanks, FSP, for running this post. And I'm heartened to see the "yes, hire" responses. I'm going to have a bit long PhD due to baby #1 and I plan to take some time off between PhD and postdoc for baby #2. Glad to see that if I'm a good researcher my baby time won't be held against me (most of the time, at least). - 5/23/2011 09:56:00 AM
The relative amount of experience compared to other candidates will matter, so if she's competing with other candidates who have full postdoctoral experience, then she might be at a disadvantage. But if competing with people straight out of grad school, she'd have at least as good, or better chance. The fact that she continued to be active during her hiatus could easily be seen as a positive. But if the amount of work hasn't been a whole lot, the hiatus could definitely be seen as a negative, too. So how you sell it will matter. And I agree that putting "Stay at home mom" on your CV is a terrible idea.
- Cherish said...
While I think what she's doing is great, I question putting it in the cover letter besides 'personal reasons'. If a person has a medical condition that requires them to do the same thing, people will assume that it's more risky to hire this person. It really shouldn't matter what the person was doing during that time as long as they were still being productive.
Anon @4:11
Except that there is no such thing as a "quota man". The National Academy of Sciences has nailed all your sexist lies in a 2009 extensive report that starts its "key findings" section with the words:
"Men and women faculty have enjoyed comparable opportunities...and gender does not appear to have been a factor..."
You folks can take the empty chair in cloud cuckoo land...right beside the Creationists, Flat earthers...and global warming deniers. - 5/23/2011 11:01:00 AM
I vaguely recall having seen someone put "scholar-at-large" on a vita, which cracked me up.
it is hard to read between the lines about whether the productivity is typical for what would be expected at her career stage, or is a bit low for someone who was employed in science, but astoundingly good for someone who was doing the work unpaid and without an institutional affiliation and the supports that come with that, or whether the productivity on her record is well within the norms for someone who'd been working more or less fulltime in an official capacity. if the latter, i'd not bother to mention this; in the former, i as an employer would want some context for understnading how amazing the productivity in fact is. - 5/23/2011 11:04:00 AM
- nicoleandmaggie said...
*cough cough*
We think that perhaps that first anonymous poster is suffering from this scientifically-diagnosed typical member problem: http://nicoleandmaggie.wordpress.com/2011/05/22/stereotype-threat/ - 5/23/2011 11:52:00 AM
I'd definitely consider hiring her. Continuing to stay involved in science while a SAHM shows impressive dedication and genuine interest in research. What field/sub-field is she in? I'm looking for a postdoc... :)
I'd hire her - and might also encourage her to look at grants specifically designed for women who have taken a 'break' (doesn't sound like she has from the science just from job titles) from science for family reasons. The EU has money for this and I think AAUW does too. Anybody know if there are other resources like this? These would help because really anytime you bring money in it makes most questions about 'what were you doing' go away.
I would also like to know what the heck a "quota woman" is. Personally I think reading that comment means I've met my monthly quota of jackasses. - 5/23/2011 12:30:00 PM
@ anon 11.01 I was being sarcastic. It is demeaning to imply that women who have been successful in obtaining a research position are there purely to fill some quota (regardless of ability) and therefore to call them 'token quota women'. It is as correct to call men in science 'token quota men' as calling women in science 'token quota women'. Both men and women can learn from this mother's impressive ability to multitask and continue self-motivated with her research, in such a way that she has been able to publish and present talks while not researching full time. It is encouraging to read in the comments from others that this will not hinder her employability as a postdoc.
- John Vidale said...
I think this boils down to how productive she's been in the last few years, as it would for any other applicant.
An employer might expect her productivity to step up a notch from landing the full time job, but also might expect her to spend fewer hours in the office and have a more constrained schedule than some other candidates due to having three young kids.
She certainly shouldn't use the kids as an excuse - they are not going away any time soon save using her salary to hire more help. She might or might not mention working w/o a fulltime position - perhaps a nebulous reference to a position working with her collaborators during that interval would suffice. It's definitely a disadvantage in the eyes of many to not be writing proposals and working daily within an active research team. Playing the difficulty of managing kids would not gain plaudits in my eyes, it's a lifestyle choice somewhat at odds with the long hours many in science contribute.
But if the accomplishments in the last fews years are as impressive as FSP relates, she's a very good candidate. - 5/23/2011 12:51:00 PM
I don't see why she shouldn't be hired if her research profile matches.
However, I do have to say that I am shocked by how many people I see around me who are working for free. A lot of freshly graduated phd students at my institute come in regularly for months to finish projects without pay (they are being sponsored by parents and by the state as you can get benefits after a phd in my country). Others are being sponsored by their partners (like in this example).
This is fundamentally wrong for research, especially as most examples I have involve research which is writing pipelines for large projects. - 5/23/2011 01:01:00 PM
- Elena said...
I would consider hiring her. I would put some (minor) explanation on the cv, but I wouldn't make a big deal out of it.
I also think how this is received is culturally determined. Here in Canada, we have a section on grant applications, etc., where we are asked to list any maternity, paternity, or other extended leaves, so it is not so weird to have something like this listed on a cv.
At the same time, I wouldn't make a big deal out of it, but would request the supervisor to add an explanation (like the one FSP suggested, which shows a strength based on her performance while a "stay at home" mom) in his/her recommendation letter. - 5/23/2011 01:12:00 PM
- GMP said...
I would hire her, but would recommend against mentioning the word "mother" on the CV or in the cover letter. I know it shouldn't, but it automatically puts you in a different category in people's eyes; besides, hiring decisions should be devoid of influences from the candidate's personal life choices.
I think the key in the CV is to indicate that she never ceased to have an academic affiliation, it doesn't matter if she was part-time or fully without pay. I think that's sufficient. If she is able to write that in years 200X-20YY she was a part-time research affiliate, research associate or honorary fellow, or some such title, associated with (presumably) her previous academic institution, that's perfectly sufficient for her CV. Academic CV's don't have to show how you earned or didn't earn money -- if you are short on money and moonlighting at McDonalds in grad school you don't put that on CV -- but what your scientific affiliation and activities have been. That's perfectly sufficient.
The part-time affiliation can be explained in the cover letter as being due to family obligations, but I personally would not; it sounds too defensive. - 5/23/2011 01:20:00 PM
I'd consider her in the same way as any other candidate, and wouldn't be turned off by the gap. I would like an explanation on the CV of any gap, regardless of the reason, however, but it needn't be extensive or detailed, and it could come in the cover letter. I then interview any reasonable postdoc, and have them meet the members of my lab. A person who managed to be actively engaged in science, giving talks and revising papers while raising three kids, would sound like a pretty good time manager in my mind.
Mark P - 5/23/2011 02:44:00 PM
- Cloud said...
I agree with those saying don't put "mother" (or for that matter, "father") on the CV if you have actually been working as a scientist, even part time. I don't think it matters whether you've been working out of a home office or going in to an office. What matters is that work got done.
I work in industry, not academia, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.
This is one of those situations where it is clear to me how different hiring in academia and industry are. If an applicant were aiming for an industry job and had a similar situation, I would advise him or her to network like crazy until (s)he found someone who could make an introduction to the hiring manager or at least someone else in the target company.
Then explain the situation in person, when you can respond to the cues that the hiring manager gives.
With that said, I would happily hire a qualified candidate with a gap on his or her resume. There are some dinosaurs out there who wouldn't, but you probably don't want to work for them as a parent of small children, anyway. Of course, sometimes a job with a jerk is better than no job... but think carefully about that. I think it is harder to recover from a bad recommendation from a jerk boss than from a gap in your resume. - 5/23/2011 02:54:00 PM
I think honestly the reason so many people are willing to give her a chance (deservedly!) is that she is looking for a postdoc position, which is fairly low risk for the employer. I don't think there would be as many positive responses if the break was between postdoc and faculty. I would love to be wrong.
Anon at 7:42 who is only interested in people who are cool and fun... What are you thinking? She has three kids. I guarantee she is not going out to happy hour after a long day in the lab. Your attitude is as discriminatory as any knuckledragger.
Bless you all for your positive responses. I'm in a similar situation and it's good to hear your reactions. Granted, the people whose opinions really count may not be represented by commenters here, but it's good to know that open minds abound.
I've been leaving the gap on my CV unremarked upon and inserting one line into the very end of my cover letter that reads "after my last position I took a maternity leave but am now ready to return to full-time employment". I view my CV as a list of my academic accomplishments, and prefer potential employers to see it that way. If they are curious as to what else I've been doing with my life, they can ask me about it during the interview. - 5/23/2011 05:58:00 PM
Anon @5:25, I agree with anon@7:42, why would anyone want to work with someone they don't enjoy the company of. Also, you are the one that is discriminating by implying any mother of three is not fun. I know lots of mothers with multiple kids to come out after a long day and enjoy a nice glass of wine. This is why we interview, a lot of people are great on paper, but personalities are more important. I would rather work with an average researcher that is fun than a superstar researcher that is antisocial. Ideally they will be a superstar researcher that is also the life of the party....like me:)
I would hire her, although I would be suspicious of the fact that she traveled to conference to give talks while not technically employed. How did she afford the travel, hotel and conference fees if she wasn't a paid member of any organization? unless they were all local conferences? But still, conference registration fees can be pretty expensive it you have to pay out of your own pocket.
- Female Science Professor said...
I edited that info from the original e-mail. To me, it's a detail.
I would suggest "full-time parent" in place of "stay-at-home mother." And I'd certainly be inclined to hire her if her work was the best or among the best. Doing any of that while parenting is impressive and her career/family decisions suggest a strong sense of conviction and confidence that would serve my organization well, I think.
I think it's strange that a woman can't use the term 'mother' without seeming unprofessional, but the generic term 'parent' works. I suppose a stay-at-home father should also use 'parent', so it's an equal-opportunity problem with the gender-specific terms, but I personally wouldn't care if someone (in an application) referred to their status as a mother/father vs. parent.
- prodigal academic said...
I would hire her, but I agree with previous posters that she should leave "mother" and "parent" off her CV. Since she was working in academia part-time, I would put that on instead. Either her letter writers could address her situation, or she could use one line in her cover letter to explain that she was working part time, but now is ready for full time employment.
SHe does not want to go in the "mommy" pile before getting a chance to show off her stuff. Unfortunately, moms are seen as less capable (though dads are seen as more). - 5/24/2011 09:09:00 AM
I think the perceived stigma associated with the word "mother" or the phrase "stay at home mother" is extremely interesting and very, very telling.
I wouldn't call it a stigma. I just don't think any form of parenting belongs on a CV. A cover letter can bring it up to provide context for "gaps" in employment history, but in a CV, it just comes off to me as too much information that I wouldn't divulge to someone else and that I don't want to know about a complete stranger.
While the positive responses here to this situation are encouraging, I'm a wee bit skeptical that it would be so positive when faced with a CV with a gap and you didn't already know the situation. Would you ignore any gap? A history of unemployment can indicate work problems and lack of interest, and that the person would need some time to get up-to-date in the field. Obviously you would include in your CV any science-related activities that would mitigate that perception. I just think you're darned if you do indicate 'family leave' and darned if you don't. Your best chance is finding a position with known contacts, at least on a short-term basis to get back into the market.
And we're definitely talking postdoc-level reentry or perhaps a teaching position or some other transitional position - there's zero chance that a gap would fly with research-intensive tenure-track searches. - 5/24/2011 11:38:00 AM
I would love to see a post asking this question if her break had been post postdoc and this were a faculty hire. As others have said, I suspect the answers might be very different.
As long as her interests and experience fit the position, I would not see her mom-status as a drawback, but as a strength. I would advise her to not include it in her cv, but explain it in one brief sentence in her cover letter and ask her advisor to discuss it in the recommendation letter.
And, yes, I believe men in a SAHF situation should do the same. - 5/24/2011 07:51:00 PM
I don't see a problem with listing the gap in her CV as due to having left the workforce for family reasons. If it's not explained upfront, the employer is left to their own imagination as to why there is a gap and could come up with negative reasons like she was a bad worker and no one wanted to hire her, or something like that. If she didn't have kids but instead decided to spend a couple years traveling the world or joining the Peace Corp, that would also be a gap on the CV that I feel should be explained rather than leaving the prospective employer to guess about.
I don't see a gap in employment as a problem, even in a research-intensive faculty hire. A gap in publication may need explanation (a stint in industry can stop publication for several years), but is not a show-stopper.
If one is re-entering the job market after some time out of it, there does need to be something in the cover letter to indicate that one's skills are current and one's enthusiasm for work high. Saying something like "After several years of doing research part-time while raising my family (only 2 papers/year), I am ready once again to … " might be all that is needed. More detailed explanation can be left for the interview. - 5/25/2011 01:06:00 AM
I would rather work with an average researcher that is fun than a superstar researcher that is antisocial. Ideally they will be a superstar researcher that is also the life of the party....like me:)
(-Anon 7:46)
Anon, what do you have against introverted people?
"Enjoying someone's company" or thinking they're a "fun person" is probably one of the most subjective things there is, anyway. - 5/25/2011 09:45:00 AM
I think the correct question is:
Everything else being equal (publication record, etc), would you hire her or somebody with a full-time postdoc experience or even a fresh PhD? - 5/25/2011 03:51:00 PM
I don't see her being a stay at home mom as being in any way relevant to the job that she is applying for. I don't hold it against her, but I don't think it makes her a stronger candidate either. I wouldn't deduce that she was super efficient and a good multitasker just because she also has kids, for example. Just stick with her academic skills and experience and stop worrying about what else she did besides academia.
I think the comments are unrealistically positive. In reality, I think most prospective PI's -- even women -- would in fact not be impressed by her multitasking skills (or would not care) and would worry that her family would keep being a distraction.
I wish it weren't true, but it is: taking any time off for childbearing/childrearing does hurt your career, especially in very competitive fields such as academia; plus, the more male-dominated the field, the worse it is. If I were her, I'd try to get my foot back in the door with one of former advisor's buddies where he can vouch for me strongly. - 5/26/2011 01:23:00 PM
I am troubled by many aspects of this post. It is not lear to me what exactly this woman was doing OVER TIME OF HAVING 3 children - not one. DId the PhD take longer because of kids, even though it seems like the last one was at the end. And attending conferences etc. I agree with the other comment about who paid.
I am a woman but I have to say that I would be dubious about this woman, unless she convinced me that she was 100% into the postdoc. I'm sorry, but granting agencies look at productivity. Period.
I am also not convinced that all those who replied 'yes I would hire her' are being completely honest with themselves.
It depends - if you want a 'glorified technician' or someone who can do something that you need in your lab - then possibly. If you want a 'go get'em' postdoc who is looking for a faculty position afterwards, I would have to be convinced by her that she can do it. - 5/26/2011 01:41:00 PM
- starbellysneetch said...
Strangely enough I agree with the last few 'hold on now are you sure about this' type comments. Those who read my blog know I'm living proof that something like this is possible. But ... they have a valid point.....
Thanks to FSP for this post and to everyone who responded. This discussion has helped to clarify some things about how I want to present myself and how I might be perceived - I think it has been quite helpful.
In the comments that have expressed doubts, I see a few common issues and I'm wondering if it's possible/advisable to address them in my applications.
*Future career plans - I am planning to go on the job market for a tenure-track job as soon as I complete an appropriately productive postdoc - in my field 2-4 years is typical. I don't see an obvious place in the usual application materials to discuss long-term career goals. Is this something you typically see in an application or more of a read-between-the-lines thing?
*Travel funding - I'm a little surprised that this is an issue. My travel was funded out of my former advisor's grant as it was related to my PhD research. This is not unusual, so I do not address it in my application. Could someone elaborate on what their concerns are?
*The kids - the only mention of them in my application is the one sentence where I state that I have been at home with them for the past few years. I don't actually say that I have 3 in my application, but with my name and a few seconds on Google someone could find out all about them. I do state that I am excited and ready to return to full-time research. Is there anything more I could say to be reassuring that I'm ready for a normal postdoc workload?
Thanks again for your input. - 5/27/2011 04:28:00 PM
hi Letter Writer, I'm the anon @ 5/23/2011 09:00:00 PM who expressed doubts about the travel.
I'm glad to hear that it was indeed all legitimate so my concerns are gone now.
But until you stated that it was in fact legitimate because your former advisor had grant money left over and spent it on your travel even though you were no longer being employed by him/her (a situation which I personally have never heard of, as usually I have seen left over grant money go to fund "existing" students rather than those who have already left, or else to fund the advisor's own travel), I was concerned if there was academic dishonesty going on as follows:
if a new job applicant says they have long ago left their former employer and have been unemployed for awhile, yet also says that he/she went to conferences to give talks during that period of unemployment, I would think this highly unlikely and difficult to believe because of the exorbitant costs of attending conferences when funded out of one's own pocket. Since the applicant said they had long ago left their lab, how could they afford to attend conferences without an employer to pay for it?
Therefore, I would suspect the job applicant must be lying about having given those talks during the unemployment period. And that any conference citations with that applicant's name, must be due to the former advisor having continued the applicant's project via putting new students on the project but also putting the applicant's name on it due to his/her past involvement.
maybe I'm weird or close minded for not having assumed that the former advisor had left over grant money that they were willing to spend on a former student who has already left the lab...but I dont' think I would be the only one to find this strange.
anyway, with that cleared up you sound like a strong candidate. good luck with your job search! - 5/27/2011 08:05:00 PM
Letter writer: My travel was funded out of my former advisor's grant as it was related to my PhD research. This is not unusual, so I do not address it in my application. Could someone elaborate on what their concerns are?
I have seen this happen but for a short period of time (maybe 6 months or up to a year after graduation). But it seems at best unusual and at worst really wrong (from the standpoint of granting agency obligations) that the advisor would pay travel for someone no longer affiliated with the university for several years after he/she has left (presumably the original grant have long expired).
Anyway, I am one of the anons above
(5/26/2011 01:23:00 PM). I wish you the best in your job search. Just make sure it's unequivocal that you are planning to be every bit the go-getter during your postdoc and that your ambitions have in no way been dampened since you finished grad school.
Also, I would write the CV so as not have a gap in the academic affiliation -- as someone said above, you probably have some sort of title as a part-timer (research affiliate or associate), so list that.
I would still think that trying to get a postdoc with one of your advisor's trusted collaborators/friends or someone you know personally from conferences is your best bet.
Best of luck! - 5/27/2011 11:19:00 PM
"maybe I'm weird or close minded for not having assumed that the former advisor had left over grant money that they were willing to spend on a former student who has already left the lab...but I dont' think I would be the only one to find this strange."
It is not unusual for grant funds to be paid for travel expenses to conferences for the person who did the research, even if that person has since graduated or was working without pay. I would do it for a volunteer or part-time worker in my lab, if I had any funding.
In many fields it is not unusual for people to pay for conferences out of their own pockets. Conferences in those fields are usually less expensive than in the fields where everyone expects someone else to be paying. I'm in a field where everyone is expected to have travel funds, but I've paid for conferences out of my own pocket.
I certainly would not expect that someone was lying about conference presentations, since that is so easy to check on the web for most conferences. - 5/28/2011 09:48:00 AM
I too haven't seen situations where someone who has left the lab is still being funded to go to conferences by their previous advisor. to me this raises legal/ethical concerns as to accountability. But could be because I work in a federal government lab where we have a lot of red tape about how money is and is not to be spent. I often envy the flexibility given to academic researchers in how they spend research funds as I think it makes life a lot easier (though maybe or maybe nor "fairer") for everyone for example in situations such as this.
Dear Letter writer,
Re: number of children - you do mention 'your middle child' so I assumed 3 (rather than, say 5).
Your responses seem very defensive ( and not very thoughtful). Frankly, after reading them I would be less likely to hire you.
May 'clocks' are counted from year of PhD. So it will be obvious that you have a 'gap' even though you have papers published after that date.
I do not know what you should say about it, but if your PhD was 'a few years ago - how many? - it will leap out at you.
I wonder why the letter writer says that with her name and Google people could figure out how many kids she has? What does she have posted on line? I could be very careful to make sure that if someone Googles her (in prep. for an interview, for example) she is certain that potential employers will find only what she wants them to find. - 5/30/2011 06:20:00 AM
The kids - the only mention of them in my application is the one sentence where I state that I have been at home with them for the past few years. I don't actually say that I have 3 in my application,
"My third (and final) child is now over a year old and I am applying for postdoc positions."
There seems to be some confusion - the email I wrote to FSP (that she printed with this post) is not the letter that I am including with my application materials. In writing to FSP, I emphasized the family situation because I was looking for feedback specifically on that issue. In my follow-up comment, I was attempting to provide additional information about what is in the cover letter in my application materials - it contains much of the same information, but the application letter is much more specific with respect to career stuff (dates, research projects, names of conferences, etc) and contains less information about my family. I am not trying to hide anything about my family situation - I don't mind if someone Googles me and finds our family pictures page - I just want my application to focus as much as possible on my research while still being honest about my employment history.
"I am not trying to hide anything about my family situation - I don't mind if someone Googles me and finds our family pictures page - I just want my application to focus as much as possible on my research while still being honest about my employment history."
well said. You don't have anything to hide. You have a family, you took time off for them. So what's the big deal? it's not like you were in jail for a felony as the reason for the gap in your CV!!
Just be completely transparent. that's my personal motto anyways. otherwise it's easy to drive yourself nuts and become neurotic trying to predict how as-yet-unknown people (potential employers) are going to interpret the situation you present. Any situation you present can be interpreted any way, so the best is to just tell it like it is.
(but you don't have to take my word for it. while I am content with my career so far, there are certainly many who are more "successful" in their careers than I...depending on what metrics are used to define success. I am where I want to be, though. so my above advice has served me well. But it may or may not work for you.) - 5/31/2011 04:34:00 AM
I have a friend who works a non-academic job but continues to publish and do research. He describes himself as an "independent scholar". Given her ongoing publication/presentation record, this could be a fair description if she didn't feel like highlighting being a stay-at-home-parent on the CV.
i wouldn't hire a him or a her with this story. science is not fit for everyone. someone who is not in the lab for many many hours a day simply isn't going to be competitive with someone who is. science is under no obligation to hire this person. for those who think they would be fine hiring her, that's great! go for it.
I doubt many will see this, but for the record...
I applied for almost every open position in my field over a period of 4-5 months, around 20 jobs in all. I only got one interview, but it was with a really good group and they hired me. So I am now happily and busily employed. - 11/02/2011 08:09:00 PM
- Female Science Professor said...


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subset: commoncrawl


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(CNN) -- Online classified service Craigslist's decision to censor its adult services section is a "good step but a continuing battle has to be fought," a leader in the fight against prostitution ads said on Sunday.
"I'm very pleased by this very solid and significant apparent step in the right direction," said Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who spearheaded a recent letter from 17 attorneys general urging Craigslist to discontinue its adult services section.
"I say apparent because we have received no definite or definitive word from Craigslist that the shutdown is permanent or complete," Blumenthal told CNN's Tom Foreman.
Blumenthal said he wants to broaden his fight against online prostitution ads but that "right now our focus is really on Craigslist."
"We're taking it one step at a time," he said. "We want to verify and confirm that Craigslist is in fact shutting down (its adult services section)."
The embattled website has been under fire for allegations that it promotes prostitution.
"These prostitution ads enable human trafficking and assaults on women," Blumenthal said Saturday. "They are flagrant and rampant. Craigslist has lacked the wherewithal or will to effectively screen them out."
The section that usually reads "adult services" on Craigslist was replaced Saturday by the word "censored."
It was not clear whether Craigslist removed the adult services and replaced them with the "censored" section, which had a link that was not active. But for users who accessed the account outside the United States, the adult services link was still active.
Craigslist representatives said on Saturday that they will release a statement at a later time.
"If it remains shut down it will be a model for other sites, we hope, because Craigslist is by far the biggest," said Blumenthal, who is running for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut as a Democrat.
He said that he would try to change federal laws to make it easier to prosecute sites like Craigslist.
"Craigslist says it cannot be held legally responsible for anything on its site," he said. "My belief is strongly ... that we need to change that."
In the August 24 letter to Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster and founder Craig Newmark, the attorneys general wrote: "The increasingly sharp public criticism of Craigslist's Adult Services section reflects a growing recognition that ads for prostitution -- including ads trafficking children -- are rampant on it."
Blumenthal said on Sunday that attorneys general from three more states have joined his campaign against Craigslist's adult services ads. Blumenthal didn't say which attorneys general joined the initial list of 17.
A Craigslist spokeswoman said at the time that the site agreed with at least some of the letter.
"We strongly support the attorneys general desire to end trafficking in children and women, through the internet or by any other means," said Susan MacTavish Best, who handles press inquiries for Craigslist.
"We hope to work closely with them, as we are with experts at nonprofits and in law enforcement, to prevent misuse of our site in facilitation of trafficking, and to combat such crimes wherever they appear, online or offline."
In their letter, the attorneys general highlighted an open letter, which appeared as a Washington Post ad, in which two girls said they were sold for sex on Craigslist.
When the ad came out, Buckmaster wrote a blog post in response that said, "Craigslist is anxious to know that the perpetrators in these girls' cases are behind bars."
The letter also highlighted a report in May by CNN's Amber Lyon, who posted a fake ad for a girl's services in the adult section. She received 15 calls soliciting sex in three hours.
Earlier this month, Lyon interviewed a woman named "Jessica" who sells sex on Craigslist. The woman said a Craigslist ad was "the fastest, quickest way you're for sure going to see somebody that day."
In a later blog post, Buckmaster said Craigslist implemented manual screening of adult services ads in May 2009. "Since that time, before being posted each individual ad is reviewed by an attorney," the post said.
He said the attorneys are trained to enforce Craigslist's posting guidelines, "which are stricter than those typically used by yellow pages, newspapers, or any other company that we are aware of."
Attorneys general from Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia made the request a week after accused "Craigslist killer" Philip Markoff committed suicide in jail.
Markoff was charged with the April 2009 killing of Julissa Brisman. Boston Police said that Brisman, a model, advertised as a masseuse on Craigslist, and Markoff might have met her through the website.
In 2008, under pressure from state prosecutors, the website raised the fees for posting adult services ads. In 2009, it started donating portions of the money generated by adult ads to charity.
A CNN investigation of Craigslist's adult services section, which replaced "erotic services ads" two years ago, counted more than 7,000 ads in a single day. Many offered thinly veiled "services" for anything from $50 for a half-hour to $400 an hour.
CNN's Deborah Doft and Nicky Robertson contributed to this report.


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Medical examiner Judy Melinek says we shouldn't expect extra autopsies to shed new light on what happened in the Michael Brown shooting in Missouri
The autopsy is playing a very big role in the case of Michael Brown. How can the public understand these findings?
The thing to keep in mind is that the investigation is still in its preliminary phase. Witness statements and details about the clothing aren't yet public.
Sometimes the wheels of justice, particularly in criminal cases, are slow. It requires time to collect evidence. Having answers right away might satisfy your curiosity but they may not be correct. We don't want to incarcerate or even indict people unless we've got the evidence.
There have been three autopsies in the Michael Brown case. Is that useful?
To most forensic pathologists, a second and third autopsy is a little absurd, especially when you're dealing with an independent office staffed by board-certified forensic pathologists.
Can multiple autopsies be truly independent?
A second autopsy done by an attorney-hired pathologist is not independent. And it will be affected by the first, which changes the physical findings and alters the evidence. From a forensic perspective, it is only really useful if the first autopsy was not done properly. Also, to do it, the pathologist needs access to the original materials, otherwise changes caused in the body during the first autopsy can lead to mistaken conclusions. Unless you saw photos from before the body was cleaned and the wounds were cut into, you're going to misinterpret the findings.
What kind of relationship do medical examiners usually have with the police?
It is one of mutual respect but with a certain degree of suspicion as well. I have been in circumstances where the police have told me the conclusions of their investigation and I've told them: "That's not consistent with the autopsy findings." It is not in anyone's interest for me to lie. Everything gets reviewed and eventually becomes public, so, if there is a discrepancy, we let them know it.
What is the future of forensic pathology?
I'm worried about it, because in the US there is very little consistency in death investigation. Counties that are short on funds tend to invest less than those in areas where there is more money and more crime. It's frustrating, because as well as affecting individuals, the inconsistency can lead to a disparity in public health recognition.
Why do people become medical examiners?
The whole point is prevention. It's not because we're somehow attracted to the gruesome. We do this because our ultimate goal is to give closure to the families and prevent additional deaths.
Have you taken any lessons from your work?
There are lessons about safety and staying healthy. That's why, in many places, our records are public: so we can track what kills people and what we can do to prevent it. But my work has mainly taught me to appreciate life. Every single death is a lesson about our temporary existence.
This article will appear in print under the headline "You can't hurry the truth"


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Internet Providers in Marbella, Andalusia, Spain
January 2024
This information on internet performance in Marbella, Andalusia, Spain is updated regularly based on Speedtest® data from millions of consumer-initiated tests taken every day. After you've learned about median download and upload speeds from Marbella over the last year, visit the list below to see mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds from additional cities within . Then compare your internet experience by taking a Speedtest below.
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To be added to this list for mobile or fixed broadband, 75% of a city's monthly unique user totals over a 13-month period must have a minimum of 200 monthly unique user results.
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Samsung Mobile and Internationally Recognized Designer Alexander Wang Partner for Industry's First Crowd-Sourced Design Process to Benefit Art Start Charity
Creative expression and drawing tools on the Samsung GALAXY Note II will be used to interpret inspiration for the creation of a limited-edition bag
NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a global leader in digital media and digital convergence technologies, and New York-based designer Alexander Wang announced today a collaboration to create the industry's first co-created print inspired by crowd-sourced sketches and images using the GALAXY Note II. The print will appear on a limited-edition bag that will be sold in key markets around the world to raise funds for Art Start, an award-winning, nationally-recognized charity that uses the arts to nurture the creative talents of at-risk children and youth.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130131/NY52282-a )
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130131/NY52282-b )
Leveraging the GALAXY Note II's inherent create-and-share benefit, Wang will engage a group of special friends, stylists, photographers, and others to create "doodles" – an image, pattern, or a photo – on their GALAXY Note II device. Gathering from active idea-capturing and immediate-sharing, the celebrated New York designer will then curate these sketches into one collectively-inspired final print.
"I am most inspired from my everyday life and the people that surround me, so the idea of a co-creation with the people that I admire and respect the most is very exciting," said Alexander Wang. "This collaboration represents a new way that technology and style can come together. And, through a concerted effort, I am happy to be a part of supporting such a great charity as Art Start that embraces creativity and art in a way that can change lives."
Wang quickly joined the fashion elite after winning the coveted CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund in 2008. He is recognized for his global fashion sensibility that exudes a sense of irony and ease. Wang's knack for pushing boundaries and delightfully surprising his consumers made him the perfect partner for Samsung's most cutting-edge technology.
"Wang's passion for experimentation, his playful sensibility and his on-the-go lifestyle are the traits that we seek to empower with the Samsung GALAXY Note II," said Younghee Lee, Executive Vice President of Samsung Mobile. "Technology is becoming more deeply linked with the creative processes of fashion designers, and Samsung products are empowering users with the freedom to be creative and productive without limits. As technology and fashion converge, we will continue to create products that inspire passion through innovation."
The multi-tasking GALAXY Note II, with a perfect viewing experience and unique and differentiated features, allows users to discover information and capture their ideas faster, express thoughts freely and manage tasks more efficiently. It is the ultimate smartphone for creative, expressive and unique individuals. Consumers can easily use the phone's simple expression tools to personalize messages with the S Pen, share calendars and contacts, write information while on a call, or share links to maps, YouTube videos and apps, making it ideal for those constantly on the move. Thanks to the GALAXY Note II's 5.5" HD Super AMOLED screen, they will also be able to see crystal clear images on a larger screen.
Art Start is a New York City-based non-profit organization that uses the arts to save lives and to transform communities. Focusing on at-risk children and youth between the ages of 5 – 21, Art Start's creative arts workshops seek to nurture the creativity and talents of their youth participants, while instilling the confidence to pursue meaningful opportunities in life.
"As we have found over the past 21 years, art is the starting point of a process; the medium through which change takes place," said Johanna De Los Santos, Executive Director at Art Start. "By partnering with Alexander Wang and Samsung mobile, we'll be providing our youth with exceptional opportunities that are typically not available. By inspiring and enabling our participants with technology, industry mentorships and direction, we'll demonstrate how creativity begets success and happiness."
In addition to partnering with Wang, Samsung mobile is also an official sponsor of New York Fashion Week. Samsung mobile will host an exclusive VIP lounge that will engage and inspire the fashion elite with the power of the Samsung GALAXY products. Art Start students will also get a backstage look at this iconic NYC event through on-site visits and mentorship opportunities. Media can also take advantage of the media tents with working stations and high-speed internet, as well as courtesy battery replacements during the show. Follow the action at Fashion Week via the #GalaxyNoteFW hashtag. For more information, please visit www.samsungmobilepress.com.
About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in consumer electronics and the core components that go into them. Through relentless innovation and discovery, we are transforming the worlds of televisions, smartphones, personal computers, printers, cameras, home appliances, medical devices, semiconductors and LED solutions. We employ 227,000 people across 75 countries with annual sales exceeding US$143 billion. Our goal is opening new possibilities for people everywhere. To discover more, please visit www.samsung.com.
About Alexander Wang
San-Francisco born Wang launched his eponymous label with a full women's ready-to-wear line in Spring 2007. He was the recipient of the Vogue/CFDA Fashion Fund in 2008, and in 2009, was recognized by his peers by winning the Swarovski Womenswear Designer of the Year and the Swiss Textiles Award. In 2009, Wang also launched the T by Alexander Wang women's and Footwear line, followed by the Men's T by Alexander Wang a year later. The brand's ready-to-wear line for men was launched in 2011 and Wang was acknowledged by GQ as Best Menswear Designer of the Year and by the CFDA for Best Accessory Designer that same year.
In addition to its flagship store in SoHo, New York, there are over 15 Alexander Wang stores worldwide, with Men's and Women's categories offering ready-to-wear, T by Alexander Wang, Accessories (such as handbags, footwear and small leather goods) and the OBJECTS collection. His collections may be viewed at www.alexanderwang.com
About Art Start
Founded in 1991, Art Start is an award-winning, nationally recognized model for using the creative arts to transform young, at-risk lives. Through Art Start's daily creative arts workshops taking place inside some of the city's loneliest places, at-risk youth living in New York City collaborate with local teaching artists and educators who donate their time and guidance to nurture the youth's creativity and talents. To date, Art Start has given over 11,000 young people the chance to find their voices in a nurturing, supportive, and safe environment. Visit www.art-start.org to learn more about the organization.
SOURCE Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.


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SYDNEY – Major League Baseball dismissed a report that the Los Angeles Dodgers could open the 2014 season in Australia.
"We are not currently exploring the possibility with the Dodgers or any team to play in Australia," Pat Courtney, MLB's senior vice president of public relations, said Wednesday.
Australian promoters told the Sydney Morning Herald they were working on a deal that could have the Dodgers open with a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
MLB opened its season at Tokyo in 2000, 2004, 2008 and this year, at Monterrey Mexico, in 1999, and at San Juan, Puerto Rico in 2001.


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These Wall Heater powerful Broan120 Wall Heater are factory wired at 1000W, 1500W and 2000W and can be easily converted to half-wattage for added versatility. This low wall mounted Wall Heater has a register look grille, in neutral white finish. This means these Wall Heater are designed to be as inconspicuous as they are efficient. Plus, these Wall Heater don't restrict furniture placement the way baseboard heaters can. Put a wall thermostate 86 on the wall and enjoy a warm cozy bathroom or small room with this dual voltage 120 or 208 or even 240volt
Rough Size is 10.25 x 7 3/4 x 3.34
Grill Size is 14.25x 9.25x7/8


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Browse our range of 60 x 45cm picture frames below.
Please Note: All of the frames displayed below will fit an artwork / picture size of 60 x 45cm.
All of the 60 x 45cm frames below can be customised, just click the one you like below to see the available customisations.


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Gene Hackman -- Smacks Homeless Guy Who Dropped C-Word
Gene Hackman Smacks Homeless Guy Who Dropped C-Word
Gene Hackman pimp-slapped a homeless man who physically threatened the actor and his wife outside a New Mexico restaurant ... TMZ has learned.
Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the incident went down Tuesday as Hackman and his wife were leaving a Santa Fe restaurant. We're told a homeless guy named Bruce Becker approached them in a threatening manner.
We're told the incident escalated big time when Becker called Hackman's wife a "c**t" -- and then Hackman dished out some street justice ... slapping Becker across the face.
Becker then called the cops to report the incident.
We're told cops interviewed Hackman and his wife, determined the slap was in self-defense ... and, for now, no charges have been filed.


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Arlington, VA (SportsNetwork.com) - Jaroslav Halak's tenure in Buffalo lasted less than five days.
At Wednesday's trade deadline, the Washington Capitals scooped up Halak and a third-round draft pick in 2015 from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for goaltender Michal Neuvirth and defenseman Rostislav Klesla.
The 28-year-old Slovakian backstop landed in western New York this past Friday, in a multi-player deal with the Blues which saw Ryan Miller shipped to St. Louis.
But Halak had yet to appear in a game for the Eastern Conference's worst club, after racking up a 24-9-4 mark, 2.23 goals-against average and four shutouts in 40 games with St. Louis.
The Caps, needing to stay afloat in the competitive Metropolitan Division, haven't been able to find a clear No. 1 goaltender despite having Neuvirth, Semyon Varlamov, Braden Holtby and Philipp Grubauer in the system.
Halak helped the eighth-seeded Montreal Canadiens author a seven-game, first- round upset against the top-seeded Capitals in the 2010 playoffs.
Neuvirth, 25, went 4-6-2 with a 2.82 GAA in 13 games with the Caps in 2013-14. Since breaking into the NHL during the 2008-09 season, he compiled a 59-41-13 mark, 2.67 GAA and seven whitewashes. His best year was 2010-11, leading Washington to a Southeast Division crown by going 27-12-4 with a 2.45 GAA and a career-best four shutouts.
Klesla was acquired from Phoenix on Tuesday for Martin Erat. The 31-year-old Czech tallied a goal and four points in 25 games for the Coyotes before the transaction. The veteran of 659 NHL games has compiled 620 penalty minutes in that span, along with 48 goals and 111 assists.


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Chat Home
Welcome to Baseball Prospectus' Monday June 04, 2012 1:00 PM ET chat session with Bradley Ankrom.
The author of "The Process" processes your questions and spits out answers in an afternoon chat.
Bradley Ankrom: I shaved and showered for this, and I hope you did, too. Let's get started.
Calico Cats (Moon): Have any gut feelings on who the Rays might take tonight?
Bradley Ankrom: They're so far down in the order that it's hard to offer more than an educated guess. I like Kevin Goldstein's justification for D.J. Davis in his latest mock, though.
Glow (Memphis): Can Derek Dietrich become a second division starter in the majors?
Bradley Ankrom: I think so, maybe even a little more. I've always been a fan, though he's a longshot to stick at shortstop as he climbs the ladder. Nice pop, respectable average, solid-enough glove if he moves to third base.
cknapp34 (Whitewater, WI): Biggest name we see traded in-season is___________?
Bradley Ankrom: Cole Hamels? With the addition of a second wild card this year, more teams are going to feel like they're in the race in late-July, which could lead to a rather boring trade deadline.
Mike McDale (Dunedin): Matt Dominguez and David Coopers can be all stars right? Both are so good out there. Hard not to like
Bradley Ankrom: Absolutely. Their bats will play well in the Northern League.
Flotsam (Grimwood ): Baseball America's writeup says D.J. Davis is faster than Billy Hamilton. Do you buy that?
Bradley Ankrom: I haven't seen Davis in person, but I find it hard to believe. Hamilton is god-tier fast.
Glow (Memphis): Best arm in the Rays system that nobody talk about?
Bradley Ankrom: Wilking Rodriguez is in the mid-90s as a starter, and he could tick up if he moves to the bullpen.
Alex (Anaheim): How soon will the Padres be a formidable team, or is it debatable that they will be in the first place?
Bradley Ankrom: Have to love their organizational depth, especially behind the plate. How quickly they return to the top of the NL West will depend upon how successful they are at developing bats. I hope the aggressiveness of the Jason McLeod era carries over in this year's draft.
Ralph (Springfield): Thoughts on Stetson Allie?
Bradley Ankrom: I like the move. He wasn't showing progress in harnessing his stuff on the mound, and he was a potential first-round pick as a third baseman out of high school. Don't see any downside to giving him a try as a hitter, though I don't think he'll stick at third base. Moving to right field would make the transition a bit easier, I think, and I wouldn't be surprised if he saw time out there later this summer or in instructs.
SMcEwen (Winnipeg): To be fair on the DJ Davis-Billy Hamilton question, Baseball America is citing Track 60 yard times, not home to first times.
Bradley Ankrom: The first 30 yards are all I care about.
Paul (DC): What are the ETAs for the D-Backs triumvirate of pitching phenoms: Bauer, Skaggs, and Bradley?
Bradley Ankrom: Skaggs and Bauer should be up in September, though I think the former's superior command will make him more useful if Arizona is in the race. The Diamondbacks' pitching depth at the top ensures Bradley will have plenty of time to develop, and I wouldn't expect to see him in the majors earlier than late-2014.
Flotsam (Grimwood ): Highest radar gun reading you've ever seen?
Bradley Ankrom: My jaw dropped when Bruce Rondon hit 103 on a Stalker gun in a relief outing in Tampa a few weeks ago.
Paul (DC): According to Pythag the Mariners should be at .500, but instead are posting a 24 and 32 record. Which happens first, Eric Wedge fired as Manager or Dan Hultzen called up to the team?
Bradley Ankrom: I don't think Wedge has done a bad job in Seattle, given what he's had to work with, but he would certainly have to be on any short list of managers on the hot seat.
Paul (DC): Is there anyone stopping Christian Yelich from taking over as the Marlin's starting left fielder come 2014?
Bradley Ankrom: I think some of Yelich's timetable depends on the progress, or lack thereof, Sanchez and Morrison make. If Sanchez tanks and Morrison slides to first, left field is Yelich's for the taking. If Morrison sticks in left, that complicates things. I don't think Yelich is going to be a big-league center fielder.
R.J. Anderson (Intel): Wax poetically about Scott Shuman. Please?
Bradley Ankrom: "There's no earthly way of knowing, where that slider's truly going. It certainly isn't showing any signs that it is slowing." I love Shuman, mostly because I have a weird obsession with guys who throw hard and don't know where it's going. He's in Double-A this year, but if he reaches the majors I'll be gleefully surprised.
michaelmcduffe (ottawa): Is there any concern about Archie Bradley's control--30 walks and ten wild pitches--or is this routine, just part of the deal with a young pitcher learning to harness remarkable stuff?
Bradley Ankrom: Part of the deal. He was a top-shelf quarterback recruit in high school, so he's still a little raw. I was happy to see Arizona assign him to a full-season club this year, and I'm more encouraged that he's held his own than discouraged by his command/control issues.
Paul (DC): Ankrom? Is that some electrical unit of physics or a magical symbol used by Zatanna when fighting the enemies of the Justice League?
Bradley Ankrom: It's Scottish for "basement dweller."
Jim (Levittown, NY): Lots of people gushing about Zach Wheeler lately, your thoughts?
Bradley Ankrom: Justified gushing. He's maintained his strikeout rates while allowing weaker contact at Double-A. Hope to see him pushed to Triple-A in the second half.
Glow (Memphis): Whatever happened to Nick Barnese?
Bradley Ankrom: Lost velocity and couldn't stay healthy.
Paul (DC): Adam LaRouche, come back player of the first third of the season?
Bradley Ankrom: Why not? Health is a wonderful thing.
DF (Wilmington, NC): Teheran continues to puzzle. He was sharp again last night, but has been wildly erratic this year. Any thoughts on if he's working on something in particular?
Bradley Ankrom: Kevin says he's been working on his breaking ball a lot down at Gwinnett. He's only a few months older than Mark Appel; plenty of time to work things out.
Jim (Levittown, NY): How would you rank Mets 3rd base prospects - Marte, Flores, Aderlin Rodriguez? If D. Wright gets locked up could any of them play elsewhere?
Bradley Ankrom: Flores may have the bat to profile at first base, but Davis is entrenched there for the immediate future. Marte could probably handle himself in left field.
Jake (Chicago): How much stock do you put in a player being "bored" in the minors, and it affecting his performance. See: Keith Law's recent comments regarding Shelby Miller.
Bradley Ankrom: I didn't see what Keith Law said re Miller, but I'm sure players get bored if they don't feel challenged. I've been bored at jobs before. Not this one, of course.
Fisty (Seattle): Do you think the Reds make a move? So far, so good, but LF remains something of a black hole and while the rotation top to bottom is decent, there is no one there who would scare another team in a 5-game series. Any chance they deal for a real ace rather than a pseudo one like Latos?
Bradley Ankrom: Do they have the depth to acquire someone of that caliber? Even if they did, who would be available? Like I said earlier, the additional wild card is going to keep teams in the race longer this year, and there are going to be fewer options for teams looking to make substantial upgrades to their roster.
jr (mass): My grandfather is very ill and doesn't have long. The one question he asks "when they gonna trade that bum youkilis?" He doesn't like him because he met him a few yrs back in pawtucket and he was arrogant and rude during a autograph session. What do u think boston could get for him. Plus what do they do when all there guys come back off dl. On a personal note thank u bp for these chats cause reading them takes my mind off him dying of cancer. Please if u know someone who smokes help them to stop. Things I have seen with him I don't want any of u guys to go through. Thank u sorry to sound "girly"
Bradley Ankrom: Don't expect a great return for Youkilis. The value will be in clearing a spot for Middlebrooks to play every day.
Cris E (St Paul, MN): When I think about the Twins picking Byron Buxton all I can see is Aaron Hicks. Can Buxton pitch? Tell me reassuring things about the great potential of youth.
Bradley Ankrom: He may have the most potential of any player in this year's draft. If Houston opts for Appel over Buxton and Minnesota takes the latter with the second pick, I think the odds of your being pleased with that selection in five years are very good.
johnny (T Hills): Chris Young is about to start his latest comeback. What can we expect?
Bradley Ankrom: He's such a unique guy to begin with, it's hard to say what to expect of him coming back from shoulder surgery. Wish him the best, though. Us tall folks have to support each other.
Bradley Ankrom: Thanks for all of the great questions, everyone. As a reminder, if you have any research-related questions, feel free to send them to me (bankrom at baseballprospectus dot com) for possible inclusion in an upcoming Research Mailbag. Hope everyone enjoys the draft festivities!
Major League Baseball trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.Copyright © 1996-2024 Baseball Prospectus, LLC.


text:
How Three College Students Built a Health Provider Search Site in Six Weeks - A Lesson for the Federal Government
In six weeks, a team of three college students with no industry experience and only academic software-specific knowledge, developed and designed a health care provider search system using only open source software. To tell you how they got there, let's start with a little history of open source software in the US federal government workspace.
The open source software (OSS) movement has grown and matured over the past four decades. What first began as a strategy by Bell Laboratories to recruit pre-trained college students who had hard to find UNIX skill sets, has blossomed into an alternative to the "cathedral" approach to software development. This movement gained momentum, particularly after development of Linux in the early 1990s, and use of the open source approach for production of high quality, innovative software has grown exponentially. Despite this impressive track record, and some notable exceptions, OSS has been generally avoided as a viable software alternative within the US federal government sector. The objections to OSS are based primarily upon two pivotal concerns: security and lack of support.
While anxieties over security issues continue to persist, they seem to have lost a good deal of credibility. In 2001, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) adopted the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 197. FIPS 197 used the Rijndael algorithm for both its encryption and decryption. The algorithm was publicly published by NIST, and for three years prior to its adoption cryptanalysts from around the world were invited to try to defeat it. Their efforts were not successful.
In 2007, Actuate (co-founders of the BIRT Open Source Project) reported that a continuing impediment to Federal adoption of open source software (OSS) was the widespread perception that it still lacked the capacity to provide long-term support. There is considerable foundation for this latter assertion. Its earliest practitioners were generally more interested in the programming problem-solving challenges associated with OSS than the mundane and tedious task of documentation and training. When training and documentation did come, it was more often in the form of informal exchanges via email, rather than in the form of formal, well-written documentation. It almost always assumed the user had a base level of technical understanding. Moreover, regardless of the availability of training and documentation, while OSS was "free" in a monetary sense, it was not free in the broader sense of individual time and effort. Organizing and implementing a cogent training curricula was hard to imagine.
From a governmental perspective—making the difficult transition from a manual paper-based bureaucracy to a technology-based bureaucracy—this made the adoption of OSS problematic. And despite the current use of sophisticated OSS programs in the public sector (i.e., Apache Tomcat, Apache Hadoop, Linux, PostgreSQL, Drupal, and Google Earth), the assumption continues that OSS support is not readily available. Oddly enough, countering these perceptions through the well-distributed documentation of OSS project outcomes has not been a high priority within the OSS community. The experiment that this business case analysis reports is intended as a small step forward towards rectifying what we consider a flawed point-of-view.
The experiment
In response to the HHS final rule on the Administration Simplification provisions under HIPPA, the National Provider Identifier (NPI) was initiated in May 2007. Its purpose was to provide a standardized approach for electronic HIPPA transactions, unique and intelligence free health provider identifiers, and the efficient coordination of health benefit transactions.
Legacy provider identifiers such as a Unique Provider Identification Number (UPIN), Online Survey Certification & Reporting (OSCAR), and National Supplier Clearinghouse (NSC) were replaced by a single, common identifier for all HIPAA standard transactions. Billions of state and federal dollars have already been spent on making this mandated transition. It appears that much of the software development for this effort will be accomplished with Commercial-off-the-Shelf (COTS) software and applications. Could a small team of college students with no industry experience and no professional software-specific knowledge, develop and design a useful health care provider search system using only OSS?
A remote team of six college students were recruited, as interns from the University of Central Oklahoma and from North Carolina A&T State University, to determine whether such a goal was feasible. Using current professors from each of the respective universities, a syllabus was circulated to students for a guest lecturer credit course: Web Site Application Development Through PHP Programming.The course focused on taking publicly available health care data from the Federal government and making a web application of that data available to the public. The team was given the functionality requirements by the project manager. The team took the requirements and built the application using OSS: LAMP (Linux, Apache, MariaDB, Python).
Project management with this remote team was handled through weekly team meetings via WebEx interactions and teleconferencing and email exchanges with individual team members during the project lifecycle. The project kicked-off on December 6, 2013 and ended five weeks later. A core of three team members completed the assigned project tasks.
On January 10, 2014, the health care provider search web site, an internet site that allowed users to freely search for both individual and business healthcare providers, was implemented at http://xenvcounts10.srihosting.com/www/. Its MariaDB backend contained in excess of 4 million records, taken from public sources.
Open source software was never intended to be free, nor was it intended as a panacea. Rather, it was intended... "to deny anybody the right to exclusively exploit a work. Typically, in order to permit their works to reach a broad audience, and, incidentally, to make some sort of living from making works, creators are required to surrender all, or substantially all, of the rights granted by copyright to those entities that are capable of distributing and thereby exploiting that work." (from St. Laurent, A. M. (2004). Understanding Open Source and Free Software Licensing. Page 4. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly Media.ac)
The health care provider search website project demonstrates that many of the objections to using OSS may no longer hold water. A single instance of a fairly small and uncomplicated software development project has certainly not thrown the continuing reluctance to use OSS in the Federal sector on its head. We hope, however, that it has, at the very least, put a significant crack in its foundation.
Note: This article was adapted from the whitepaper on this research project. The team is available to speak with anyone or give presentations to groups who are interested in learning more about the project or the issues presented here.
This article was written by Mark Lefcowitz and originally published in Opensource.com. It is being republished by Open Health News under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. The original copy of the article can be found here. |
- Tags:
- Actuate
- BIRT Open Source Project
- Commercial-off-the-Shelf (COTS)
- cryptanalysts
- federal government sector
- Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 197
- health benefit transactions
- health provider identifiers
- health provider search site
- HIPAA standard transactions
- HIPPA administration simplification provisions
- innovative software
- long-term support
- Mark Lefcowitz
- National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
- national provider identifier (NPI)
- National Supplier Clearinghouse (NSC)
- North Carolina A&T State University
- Online Survey Certification & Reporting (OSCAR)
- open source documentation
- open source healthcare website
- open source software (OSS)
- open source training
- Unique Provider Identification Number (UPIN)
- University of Central Oklahoma
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text: I am an accredited mediator with Indian Institute Of Arbitration And Mediation (IIAM). I work in Goa Mediation Center and use a combination of facilitative and transformative approach in my mediations. I have been involved in meditations and conciliations for the last over 30 years; I have participated both as a mediator and a Judge in International Mediation competitions including ICC competition held in Paris and CDRC in Vienna. I have also sat on the High Court panel of Lok Adalat to try and settle the court cases pending in the Goa sitting of the Bombay High Court. I have developed a training module comprising of basic and advanced techniques in negotiation and mediation for users which includes both counsels and disputants. It is a two day course of 8 hours each day with theory, practicals and simulations with appropriate video presentations.


text:
I have this memory from when I was 12 years old of going to a friend's house for a sleepover and feeling quietly scandalized by something I discovered about her and her family.
No, they weren't heroin addicts or part of an armed militia.
They. Were. Catholic.
And they weren't even trying to hide it.
Seeing the images of Mary all over their house….well, this Church of Christ girl wouldn't have been more scandalized if those pictures in their living room were playboy pinups. I knew Catholics existed with their saints and candles and rosaries and all their other exotic ways of being wrong. But now I had met some. And I realized I couldn't stop staring at their Mary. She seemed luminescent and good and trustworthy and her beauty strong. And I was secretly jealous as all get out.
Because let's be honest. Protestants don't really know what in the world to do with Mary. It's like Roman Catholics already have dibs on her and we just kind of stand by…only dusting her off once a year to be the pretty young girl in the nativity set and then putting her quickly away before she embarrasses anyone.
So after that night of being transfixed by my Catholic friend's Mary I didn't pick up my love of her again until my 20s.
Which is sad because there are so many reasons to love Mary.
She has been loved for centuries for being the docile picture of purity and virginity. As a matter of fact church doctrines have been written to say that Mary was perpetually a virgin and born without sin. But that always sounds to me like a way of saying that God could never choose to make God's home in the womb of an actual woman since we know that actual women are sinful, fleshy, temptresses. So Mary had to of been a special one-off kind of woman that was really really different. And it was her really really differentness from actual women was what earned her God's favor.
Mary also has been loved by leftists as a sort of first-century teenage female Che Guevara singing in the Magnificat of the overthrow of the social order where the hungry are fed and the rich sent away empty handed. And I like this image…even while I am sure it's slightly misguided.
Others still, disturbed by the a-rationality of the whole thing see Mary and especially the Virgin Birth as like, a fairy tale for the gullible. Something ignorant people believe in because they haven't learned to use human reason or listen to NPR enough.
I just don't feel satisfied with any of the above. I mean I guess I want a way to view Mary and even the Christmas Story itself without Sentimentality OR Cynicism.
Actually, getting through the Christmas season itself without Sentimentality OR Cynicism would be awesome.
So… here we have a girl, likely 13-15 years of age. She's a peasant and she's engaged to a pretty religious guy. An angelic figure visits her saying that she's found favor with God and is going to conceive a son by the Holy Spirit.
I know people get hung up on believing the virgin birth thing, but for me the harder thing to believe was that the Angel Gabriel actually found someone to say yes! I mean If…and this is a big if mind you, but IF I ever would have said yes to something so bizarre I would only have done so if I knew what was in it for me. Namely how am I going to be blessed by this God who wants to use me.
But Mary, based on very little solid evidence or information, said I am God's and let it be with me according to God's Word. She said yes.
I've always wondered if there were like a VH1 Behind the music special about Mary if we'd finally learn the whole story. Like, how many girls said no that night before the angel Gabriel found one who would say yes?
And if there were a string of girls saying no that night you really can't blame them can you? I mean, a few verses later Elizabeth calls Mary blessed and Mary sings
that for generations to come people will call her blessed but think about how the story played out for Mary — Is that was being blessed looks like?
We usually use that word a bit differently, like: "You're so blessed to have that new boat". So, how exactly is Mary using that word? Did she feel blessed as her unwed belly grew under the gaze of disapproving others. Did she feel blessed when laboring amongst sheep and straw? Did she feel blessed when her heart dropped realizing she left her 12 year old in Jerusalem? At his arrest did she feel blessed seeing rope dig into the wrists of both God made flesh and the flesh of her flesh? Did she feel blessed when they lifted him up? "Blessed are you among women."
If that's what blessing is, I might have to pass. It was hard enough sending my oldest kid to middle school. Golgatha is a whole other matter.
But I think the prophet Mary of Nazareth had a particular wisdom from God. I'm not convinced that she was perpetually full of nothing but virtue, virginity and pure receptivity. But I am sure she wasn't just another Joe Schmo who doesn't deserve any more honor given her than any other character in the Bible. That yes she gave was fierce.
I think Mary deserves our devotion because in her we see what casting our lot with and being blessed by the God of Israel really looks like. Namely that being blessed means seeing God in the world and trusting that God is at work even in things we can't see, or understand, or imagine.
Mary saying "God, I'm yours. Let's do this thing." She said yes.
She didn't say yes because she thought by doing so God was going to shower her with cash and prizes. No. Here's where this girl had some serious chops. She got something I really struggle to understand: that getting a blessing is not the same as getting a present. She said yes not based on the expectation of things being awesome for her but based on the expectation that God can create something out of nothing. And the thing is: we just never know simply based on how our life feels if it is filled with blessing or not.
To be a people marked by the faith of Mary is to be a people, who say, "Ok, I don't understand what's going on and I know that my life isn't going to end up looking like one I would choose out of a catalogue but I trust that God is at work in all of it."
Blessedness is being used for God's purpose more than it's getting what I want or things being easy.
Christmas itself isn't about getting what you want, or making sure you're giving others what they want. To experience Christmas is to trust that God can do this thing again. God can again be born in me, in you, in this broken mess of a gorgeous world.
In the 4th century St. Gregory of Nyssa wrote, "What was achieved in the body of Mary will happen in the soul of everyone who receives the Word."
See, God is at work in you in much the same way God was at work in Mary. (Not necessarily in that the Holy Spirit's going to knock you up.) But I do think that you carry in your body the blessing of God and having faith like Mary means allowing yourself to trust that.
So, may the God through whom nothing is impossible help you to be Marys….saying a fierce, or timid, or quiet, or confident yes.
May it be with you all according to God's Word.
Nadia Bolz-Weber is a Lutheran pastor living in Denver, Colorado, where she serves the emerging church, House for all Sinners and Saints. She blogs at www.nadiabolzweber.com and for Patheos.com, where this sermon originally appeared, and is the author of Salvation on the Small Screen? 24 Hours of Christian Television.
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