Nice new corner! Come and chat!

[NeverEverAnythingEver]

We have our new board! Calling all cademics/aspiring academics/fed-up academics - come and chat!

Late as always but commiserations to those who did not get posts. It's crappy isn't it. I hope that 2016 brings good academic things your way.

Is anyone else doing any work bits over the hols? Supposed to have written a grant but it has not happened. Children do not make this easy! I have done some other bits as big lecture next Mon.

Hoping for a productive 2016 for all.

drspouse, I recognise you from elsewhere by the way. Good to 'see' you again. :)

Yes, happy new year everyone from me too.

purplepandas I've managed some bits and bobs. Not so much despite the DC, but despite my feeling very lazy. I've achieved one thing I'm particularly pleased about: I've read and commented on a full draft PhD, which is the sort of big chunk of work that I find tricky to fit in normally.

On the other hand I've avoided even looking at a journal article review that's come in. I'd managed to postpone the response date to early January, but the date suddenly seems worryingly close.

BTW all: what's your view on my new resolution to only do journal peer review on open access journals? I read a tweet by someone on twitter who'd decided this. The more I think about how we're exploited by publishers the more I resent giving my labour for free.

I've done nothing, I would have done any marking that was hanging over but some deadlines were moved so there isn't any.

I tried once in recent years (post DCs) to count a day's work over Christmas as not-annual-leave. As a part timer I don't get that many days but have to use several during this period depending on when Christmas etc. fall. For example if Christmas Eve is a "closed day" and a day I work I get 0.6 days annual leave but have to use a full day up to take it as AL.

HR complained that I couldn't do that because the University was shut and I wasn't security staff etc. that are expected to work then. So I was told "oh, sorry you worked that day and got your DH to stay home and look after your DC, but you don't get an extra day's AL".

So I'm not doing that again. I don't mind doing marking on days off/evenings at home though to get it out of the way (I don't particularly mind taking it on holiday as it doesn't feel like such hard brain work).

Thanks for replying. Imposter, interesting about the reviews for open access as a colleague forwarded an article about this to us all just before Christmas. I think it is a great resolution.

Worst, good point about AL. You are right to be careful about keeping your AL. Clearly the system is not fair so stand firm!

I have only done v small bits to be honest. I am feeling really guilty as I have not written the rough draft of a grant that I promised myself (and CI) that I would. I just have not had the time to think and can't face it now. I hate the guilt!

Don't feel guilty! Enjoy the break and see this as an opportunity to recharge your batteries.

(I'd love to see that article if you wouldn't mind)

I dunno about open-access only reviewer. Would I turn down review request from JAMA or The Lancet (answer = No).

I've done a bit of work at home. Low grade killing time, maybe 25% efficiency considering time taken. Bits of a tedious task. I wanted to physically go to work but porters were adamant that the security system would implode rainbow fireworks at me if I so much as tried to flash my campus card at door scanner (hmph) before 4 January. DP was away with family duties for 5 days, anyway.

Emails: a very long invitation to resubmit with a million requested (helpfully contradictory) revisions has arrived. Something to sink teeth into.

Doing post doc applications albeit in an extremely half hearted manner and busily kicking myself I didn't do more earlier.

medschoolrat point taken. My feeling is though that we should be paid, even a token amount, for our labours. The profits made by the big name publishers are obscene, given that they're on the back of free labour. The new regime of gold open access, with absurd amounts going back to the publishers is just a new version of the same exploitation.

Nb this isn't a pipe dream - at least - one open access press I know pays for reviewing book proposals (can't name for fear of outing myself), though that's not the same as journal articles, I realise.

Presses I review book proposals for pay a derisory sum in money, but twice that in books. I take the books - no tax to pay & books I wouldn't normally buy.

Peer review for journals is a bit trickier - I think it's part of what we all should do in facilitating the research conversation/community. The "top" journals in my field aren't open access, but then I"m in humanities & it's a different game to STEM publishing I think.

Imposter, the paper can be found here along with other info. Happy reading :)

I know what you mean about the rainbow fireworks medschoolrat, I have been told the same. It made me laugh so cheers.

You are right about the break, I do always feel guilty. I am new to FT academia with children (had the same job at same HE pre kids) and obviously things are very different now. I feel guilty but don't have the time I once did. I am never productive enough in my book.

Thanks purplepandas!

A Happy New Year one and all! I'm pushing on with grants applications! Properly as well, not just guilt assuaging faffing around. Has any one got any knowledge of doing/supporting Leverhulme eary career applications in the Arts/Humanities? Any tips or obvious pitfalls to avoid would be most gratefully received.

Well done Compos, it sounds as if you are doing fabulously. No experience of Leverhulme but wishing you the best of luck. I did make a start on mine today and will attack again tomorrow. Doing some prep for tomorrow's session in a second.

That is an interesting idea Buffy actually. I think that it could work you know. Always good to have support :)

Cheers Purple and best of luck with yours too. Spent a lot of time at the computer, but not a lot of words on the page. The whole registering for Leverhulme seems absurdly convoluted.

Post Christmas and post Viva, I seem to have lost a lot of impetus and my (fragile at the best of times) confidence, but I just need to keep going, I think.

Sent off a Leverhulme ECF for the first round just before christmas. Not optimistic: there are 5 humanities ones that will be supported at this institution, spread across ... 5 departments. If you make the first round (unlikely), then it's still v. unlikely to be awarded one.

Plan is to get some papers out this year, and hang in there. There are people I know who are now working FT e.g. admin jobs, and don't have much time to do this sort of stuff post-PhD. I know it's a luxury, but my god, it's still depressing to think nothing may really happen this year.

My subject in particular seems to be populated by old, white, over-privileged, men that don't really have a clue about what it's like to have to fight for things. "Just work hard and it will happen" they say, completely ignoring their wealthy background that gave them all sorts of opportunities. Then if you point this out, you look bitter. Well, I am a little bit: I still love the subject (mostly), but the academic culture ... I dunno. Wavering on that one.

I wonder if something similar could work for academic women?

Most universities have mentoring schemes, and some subjects/research fields also have mentoring schemes organised through professional bodies/research councils. (I don't know whether research councils/professional bodies organise mentoring in the humanities, but it is fairly common in STEM fields.)

In my experience there is rather low uptake of mentoring but it can work very well for the mentee (and be rewarding/informative for the mentor).

Typically a university mentoring scheme will be run centrally and you will be put into contact with potential mentors from outside your department/faculty. (The mentor is usually chosen to be close enough to your research field to be able to advise sensibly: e.g. a mathematician might mentor a computer scientist, physicist or engineer but not a historian or a linguist!) Mentors are of both genders - as an academic woman it's good to have input from unbiased men, and men who sign up to be mentors are generally committed to helping nurture ECRs - but you can request a specific gender mentor if you wish.

Universities also often have personal development programmes targeted at early career female academics - they might be called springboard, or something similar - in which female academics meet in a group for four or five sessions with a facilitator to work on their career aims, work-life balance etc. Again these programmes have relatively low uptake but are often useful, particularly for people considering side steps or changes in direction.

I think the main problem is that people don't know that these schemes exist in their institutions/research councils/professional bodies - they are accessible to everybody and most of them are actually not very "formal". You typically don't need a referral either: you can self refer. A big plus point of using mentoring within your own institution is that the mentor knows the rules of the game in that institution. Similarly a plus point of mentoring within your own subject field is that the mentor knows about funding and job opportunities within that field.

If you started a scheme like the literary scheme, there could well be the same kind of problem as with other mentoring schemes: how to spread the word and get enough mentors and mentees involved. The same issue tends to apply to support networks - these are pretty common for women in STEM subjects, as we are often very isolated day-to-day in our research environments, but they don't always get off the ground as not that many women engage with them (due to lack of time, family and work pressures etc).

BTW I would also suggest thinking about contacting senior women academics in your field for mentoring and support, particularly if you feel you developed a rapport with somebody you met at e.g. a conference. I have had ECR women approach me for mentoring and I am happy to help.

And finally with Athena SWAN being extended to all subject areas I would bet that there will be lots of new initiatives for support and mentoring in the pipeline....

Are new people allowed? I got very confused after the first page :-)

There are people (women) in our dept trying to get mentoring scheme off the ground. tbh, has zero appeal for me, but some others very enthusiastic.

I don't sync with the idea of uniquely female career perspective or experience (suppose I'm a lousy feminist). Maybe makes sense if you're ambitious.

I interviewed today.... resisting the temptation to lurk on TSR, expecting to read OMG one of the interviewers today had the WORST haircut I've ever seen!