Academic parents - welcome to the Senior Common Room of Requirement

[BoffinMum]

Welcome to the Senior Common Room of Requirement. You find yourself in a discreet space with a view over rolling lawns from large period windows, and a roaring log fire, with the College dog asleep in front of it. A number of comfortable Chesterfields and wing-backed armchairs are thoughtfully positioned around antique occasional tables. A selection of reading matter is on the medieval chest near the entrance, including New Statesman, Economist, New Scientist, Nature, Prospect, THES, every conceivable daily paper, Spare Rib and the Socialist Worker. Peters, the College butler (sponsored by a successful alumnus with a top domestic employment agency, so at no cost to the public purse) is on hand to fulfil all necessary demands. This is the place for MNetters of academic leanings, and post docs and student parents are welcome to knock on the door should they require academic or pastoral advice. Sit back, quaff your sherry, Fair Trade coffee or even a smoothie made from fruit grown in the College grounds, and enjoy.

[BoffinMum]

In social science these days if you get two samples or anything you're probably wetting your pants in excitement.

[Mimile]

knock knock...

moonbells - what do you call salami publishing (not aware of the term, sounds... German)?
is it result recycling?

Agree it's quite common - esp. amongst senior staff.


On the topic of the REF - for those who did a mock - did you have to self-assess your submissions?

[BeenBeta]

Publishing the same work in several slighty different forms in multiple journals.

[BoffinMum]

Yup, I have myself a four for everything on the grounds that I am wonderful and it is arbitrary anyway, but cheek! My boss DISAGREED! And talked it DOWN! Probably because I have published two more papers than him.

[moonbells]

Mimile at one conference I was at, they described Salami publishing as chopping up the research into as many small pieces as would be acceptable to publish and thus getting more papers out. Or re-publishing it slightly differently. Yes it was a publishing ethics talk... I guess we all have different terms for it!

Two points!
If I had a paper to referee with only two samples (unless a case study) it would get bounced so fast they'd think it was a new type of rubber...

[AuroraLeigh]

Hello, can I come and join in? Should be writing lectures as it's Reading Week but have spent an unproductive but enjoyable afternoon browsing Mumsnet due to afternoon-morning-sickness concentration lapses.
How unwise I am to be planning to give a paper at a conference (in the UK) 3 weeks after due date...?

[MamaChris]

AL I couldn't have given a paper at that time. I probably could actually have done the talking bit, but finding the time necessary in advance to write the slides, to be able to think, to attend all the other talks in the session at least, if not the whole conference, and traveling... that I would have found really hard. especially with ds1 who was born a week late, then spent a week in hospital, so we would only have been home a week. are you committed to give the talk already?

[MamaChris]

oops - apologies for extended bolding - should have previewed

[AuroraLeigh]

MamaChris I suppose I could get out of it, but would rather not... I shall have to write it all beforehand so that it's a matter of giving the paper rather than engaging brain. Not sure how much of the rest of the conference I shall be attending though!

[moonbells]

Heh. I have a photo of me sitting at my desk with 6-day-old DS on lap, fast asleep, while I wrote some abstracts. Thank goodness for email and electronic submission! Luckily due to ELCS he was early so I got them done OK and I'd not been on ML for long enough to drift down into inactive brain fog.

I didn't make the conference though. I was back at work by then, but didn't want to leave DS and go to N America for a whole week when he was only a few months old!

You'll be fine, as long as it's not a CS as you can't carry luggage. Least it's in the UK...

[Doowrah]

Have donned the burgundy smoking jacket and despite the Ofsted meltdown at work this week am feeling suspiciously happy pass the port and the truffles purrlease...lovely...

[fenner]

So, all those of who of you who finished your PhDs (I'm assuming that's most), what is it worth it in the end? I'm part way through and fantasy everyday about something useful sociable else!

[fenner]

Er, that would be fantasise, of course.

[BoffinMum]

Good morning chaps.

I have just emailed HEFCE with the following, to [email protected], about the RAE/REF interregnum issue, in case it's of interest to anyone, or you'd like to do something similar. Depending on the response, I may be bringing it to the attention of UCU and/or starting a resistance movement of some kind.

---

My HEI has indicated to me this morning that publications which fall after RAE 2008 but before the period to be assessed for REF 2013 cannot be submitted for assessment for REF 2013. This covers items published between 1.11.07 and 31.12.07. Could you confirm to me formally whether this is the case? If so, this apparent interregnum will be of particular concern to many social scientists. This is because we tend to be less prolific than some other groups of researchers, and papers can queue for journals for over a year, a matter over which we have no control. We may therefore have had key papers and indeed monographs published during this period, which will constitute a significant percentage of our total output, but which will not now be counted due to an administrative quirk. If this comes as something of a surprise to HEFCE, and is likely to be an institutional level decision rather than a HEFCE one, or a matter not yet decided by Panels, then I need to know that as well.

If it is the case, that HEFCE have indicated this period must be omitted from both Exercises, I would like to have copies of documents relating to this decision.

[Mimile]

I am interested to know more. My best paper came out Dec 2007...

[OhBuggerandArse]

Maybe we should do the same for clarification on the maternity (or equivalent) leave issue? I got a very dusty answer from my research director whan I suggested that there might be some kind of reduction in outputs required, so it'd be good to hear what HEFCE think.

[TessOfTheDinnerbells]

Aherm, Hello there (knocks at the door and peeks in)

Just wondered if anybody would mind providing a few pointers for me... A hopeful candidate for a Sociology & Social Policy degree.

Any hints for preparing for the selection interview? Or any recommended reading material? What do I need to know?

[TessOfTheDinnerbells]

And for those of you who have gone before me, (sociology), what career paths did it eventually lead you to?

[MamaChocoholic]

I need to work out if I'm in the new RAE. Last time I was RAE ready, but our dept didn't want (wasn't allowed?) to submit the same paper for two people. As my HoD was a senior author on all bar one of my papers, he grabbed the best for his return and I was left with lower IF papers and not entered (in science, so multiple authors is the norm).

This time I'm in a different institution. Does it matter to my career whether I'm entered? Have had two periods of maternity leave since Jan 2008, but one good first author paper, another very good 3rd author (out of 25 or so), and another decent paper on way. Have been focused on renewing my grant within the next four years, but should I also worry about RAE?

[Mimile]

MamaC - I'd say that in the current climate, better to return than not.
I'm always a bit surprised about the "no same paper returned twice" rule - it seems incredibly unfair to early career staff. And is it very feasible in big colleges where pretty much everyone research active will return in the next REF / where collaboration is on the up?

Heading back to OTBT to rock in the ivory tower corner. Feels weird talking REF on here - I am somehow paranoid about that stuff!

[BoffinMum]

Response back from HEFCE - basically along the lines of HEIs were told people could submit 'pending' papers and take the risk they might not be counted, so this precluded submitting things from Nov and Dec 2007. Don't quite get the logic of that one.

Anyone been striking this week, btw?

[Mimile]

tomorrow again.

[BoffinMum]

I could get used to this striking malarky.

[Mimile]

mmm - I was procrastinating on the Ivory Tower thread. I need some form of intellectual debate which sadly, is severely lacking in my department.

Striking makes my MNing during worktime justifiable. I like it :)

[BoffinMum]

I have done all my accounts, spent an hour having personal training courtesy of a fit bloke in shorts, found a valid load of work receipts I forgot to claim for (mwah haha), read some of Prospect and only answered one email from a worried upset student as That Didn't Count. Good day so far. Wondering whether to pootle off and do a bit more picketing, although last time I put my back out.