Administrators define the field
November 15, 2008
Administrators define the field
A panel of deans and directors from Kansas City educational institutions met at the School of Education Monday evening, affording students interested in college administration careers a chance to discuss the field’s challenges and opportunities.
The conversation was sponsored by UMKC’s Career Services Center and featured four panelists with extensive credentials in higher education administration including: UMKC’s Vice Provost for Academic Programs, Mary Lou Hines-Fritts, William Jewell College’s Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Residence Life, Ernie Stufflebean, Rockhurst University’s Assistant Dean of Students, Sean Grube, and Metropolitan Community College-Penn Valley’s Dean of Administrative Services, Thomas Walker.
LiveScience: Era of Scientific Secrecy Near End
Era of Scientific Secrecy Near End / By Robin Lloyd, LiveScience Senior Editor / posted: 02 September 2008 11:30 am ET
Secrecy and competition to achieve breakthroughs have been part of scientific culture for centuries, but the latest Internet advances are forcing a tortured openness throughout the halls of science and raising questions about how research will be done in the future.
The openness at the technological and cultural heart of the Internet is fast becoming an irreplaceable tool for many scientists, especially biologists, chemists and physicists — allowing them to forgo the long wait to publish in a print journal and instead to blog about early findings and even post their data and lab notes online. The result: Science is moving way faster and more people are part of the dialogue.
[snip]
Open Science
The open science approach forces researchers to grapple with the question of whether they can still get sufficient credit for their ideas, said physicist Sabine Hossenfelder, co-organizer of a conference on the topic set to begin Sept. 8 at the Perimeter Institute in Ontario, Canada.
[BTW: I Will Be Attending This Unique Conference Science in the 21st Century: Science, Society, and Information Technology [http://tinyurl.com/6ll8fb] / Look For Conference-Related Postings on the _Scholarship 2.0_ Blog [http://scholarship20.blogspot.com/] within the next two weeks]
[snip]
Open science is a shorthand for technological tools, many of which are Web-based, that help scientists communicate about their findings. At its most radical, the ethos could be described as “no insider information.” Information available to researchers, as far as possible, is made available to absolutely everyone.
Beyond email, teleconferencing and search engines, there are many examples: blogs where scientists can correspond casually about their work long before it is published in a journal; social networks that are scientist friendly such as Laboratree and Ologeez; GoogleDocs and wikis which make it easy for people to collaborate via the Web on single documents; a site called Connotea that allows scientists to share bookmarks for research papers; sites like Arxiv, where physicists post their “pre-print” research papers before they are published in a print journal; OpenWetWare which allows scientists to post and share new innovations in lab techniques; the Journal of Visualized Experiments, an open-access site where you can see videos of how research teams do their work; GenBank, an online searchable database for DNA sequences; Science Commons, a non-profit project at MIT to make research more efficient via the Web, such as enabling easy online ordering of lab materials referenced in journal articles; virtual conferences; online open-access (and free) journals like Public Library of Science (PLoS); and open-source software that can often be downloaded free off Web sites.
[BTW: Several Of These Innovations Have Been Profiled In My SciTechNet(sm) Blog [http://scitechnet.blogspot.com/] and/or The Scholarship 2.0 Blog [http://scholarship20.blogspot.com/]
The upshot: Science is no longer under lock and key, trickling out as it used to at the discretion of laconic professors and tense PR offices. For some scientists, secrets no longer serve them. But not everyone agrees.
Networked Cyborgs
Just a few decades ago, as a scientist, here is how you did your work: You toiled in obscurity and relative solitude.
[snip]
However, today, more and more scientists, as well as researchers in the humanities, operate like transparent, networked cyborgs. Background research is mostly done online, not in the library. Some data and preliminary research might be posted online via a blog or open notebook. Early write-ups of the work might be announced to the public, or at least discussed online with peers. And these early write-ups might also be posted to an online publication that is not peer-reviewed in the strict sense.
[snip]
“In areas like my own subfields of theoretical physics,” said MIT physicist David Kaiser, “the only constraint [on how rapidly one generates research papers] is, ‘Did you have more coffee that day?’ We aren’t usually held up trying to get an instrument to work, or slogging through complicated data analysis.”Most people think faster is better, but there are other issues.
Is It A Good Thing?
There is “no question” that all efforts to make science more open are positive for the progress of science, says open science proponent and chemist Jean-Claude Bradley at Drexel University in Philadelphia, who posts his lab notebook online and started a blog in 2005 called UsefulChemistry where he and his colleagues regularly discuss chemistry problems as well as Web 2.0 tools and the technical and philosophical issues they raise.His online notebook and blog definitely make it easier to communicate with colleagues, he said. Such sharing also makes it easier for others to “replicate” scientists’ work — try it themselves and convince themselves that you are right. And this replication issue is one of the principles behind scientific research. Anyone who has written down a recipe for a friend knows that we all tend to spell things out more clearly when sharing them than we would if we were just taking notes for ourselves in our own shorthand.
Open science also has the potential to prevent discrimination in access to information. Arxiv, the site for posting pre-print physics papers, was started in 1991 by Cornell physicist Paul Ginsparg, then at Los Alamos National Laboratory, to help provide equal access to prepublication information to graduate students, postdocs and researchers in developing countries.
[BTW: Paul Ginsparg will be one of several Major Players attending/presenting at The Conference [http://science21stcentury.org/abstracts.html]]
[snip]
And open science benefits the public, Bradley said. He tries to keep his posts fairly accessible (although this is not the case for all open notebooks and open science blogs).
[snip]
“It’s not clear to me that professional scientists or people in academic institutions have a monopoly on good ideas,” he said. “There are very smart people outside of academia, for example hobbyists or people in industry who could contribute, and having more contributors can only help. The same applies to interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary approaches.”
[snip]
Drawbacks of Open Science
One of the biggest fears of nearly all researchers is that someone else hears what you’re doing and beats you to publication. That means you wasted a lot of time (and most researchers work extremely long hours, so loss of productivity is especially painful and can also harm one’s chances for getting a job or promotion or funding for the next research project). Once you publicly reveal your thoughts, data or experimental results, some say, you lose control over ownership of that information. This topic is covered by an area of law called intellectual property, as well as patent law, and there can be significant money to be fought over when it comes to patents.
Hossenfelder, the conference organizer, says she knows of several examples in which scientists have had an idea for something, talked about it openly and then somebody else has published the fleshed-out idea first without giving any credit beyond an acknowledgment to the original idea-holder. Acknowledgments don’t advance careers.
However there are solutions to this, she said. For instance, the prominent scientific journal Nature encourages authors to include brief summaries of which author contributed what to a project. Some say that online posts provide a time-stamped record of when an experiment was documented. Those stamps can easily be arbitrarily altered after the fact, but it might also be possible to “lock” posts at a certain date after which they could not be changed without some sign-off permission to break the lock, Hossenfelder said. [snip]
Fear of Losing Peer Review
Another drawback of open science can be that results go public before they should. In science, experimental results are frequently proven wrong by subsequent work. Yet even peer review cannot ensure against this, nor can it prevent outright fraud, as proven by a 2005 case involving a South Korean scientist who claimed to have achieved the first cloning of a human embryo. A later examination of his work showed he had fabricated his results.
[snip]
“The social system of science has become so complicated, unregulated and dispersed in terms of geography and disciplines, so peer review has been elevated to a principle that unifies a fragmented field,” Biagioli said.
[snip]
And today, Arxiv, one of the most frequently cited examples of open science, has no peer review for individual papers, but it has begun to add in some constraints on allowable authors. The site used to allow anyone with email addresses associated with academic institutions to post their papers. Now, authors of research papers who post in Arxiv are vetted before they can post for the first time. In some ways, things are tightening up when it comes to openness in physics, Kaiser said. In any case, the function of print journals, in physics at least, is changing.
“Ease of sharing everything prior to peer review is flourishing, and in my opinion very few physicists are reading journals for information these days,” Kaiser said. “Journals have largely lost their information function.”
[snip]
For The Good Of Truth, Humanity, Economies?
Another argument in favor of open science is sort of a big picture issue for humanity, scientific truth and economies, Neylon said.
“Making things more open leads to more innovation and more economic activity, and so the technology that underlies the Web makes it possible to share in a way that was never really possible before, while at same time it also means that kinds of models and results generated are much more rich,” he said.
This is the open source approach to software development, as opposed to commercial closed source approaches, Neylon said. The internals are protected by developers and lawyers, but the platform is available for the public to build on in very creative ways.
“Science was always about mashing up, taking one result and applying it to your [work] in a different way,” Neylon said. “The question is ‘Can we make that as effective as samples data and analysis as it does for a map and set of addresses for a coffee shop?’ That is the vision.”
[http://www.livescience.com/culture/080902-open-science.html]
Thanks to Sabine Hossenfelder For The HeadsUp !
[http://friendfeed.com/rooms/science21]
The State of Things
November 13, 2008
The State of Things
by Jason Trumpbour, FODU spokesperson
ATAF Fundraiser
First, a reminder. Tickets remain for the Tahoe Raffle to benefit the defense fund. Click here or scroll down for information on how to order tickets. The proceeds support a very good cause you know you want that Tahoe! The number of tickets is limited and the drawing is on May 28th. Get yours before it is too late.
The End, the Beginning of the End or the End of the Beginning.
Now that Reade, Collin and David have finally been exonerated, it is time to think about the future of FODU. Obviously, our number one priority was ending the hoax and getting Reade, Collin and David from out of harm’s way and that has been achieved. However, our approach was originally premised on the fact that Duke should be a part of that process, not only for the sake its falsely accused students, but for its own sake. That objective has yet to be realized. Together, with many others, we changed the world around Duke for the better. However, Bob Steel’s most recent letter and the News and Communications Office’s recent attempts at history show the University still singing exactly the same tune it was a year ago.
When FODU first began operating, a friend of mine who is an alumnus was excited because he thought FODU could become an alternative to the University’s official, administration run alumni organization that would be more responsive to the concerns of alumni. Something like that has already happened as the FODU bulletin board has morphed into the Duke Community Forum and will likely live on beyond us. For my part, I have always hoped that the need for our group would be temporary. Unfortunately, the legal case is over and here we all still are.
At some point, the administration will have to come to terms with the lacrosse case. It is not going to go away. The incident will be relived countless more times as the many books about it are released. The story is not going to get any better for Duke with each retelling–indeed, quite the opposite. Hopefully, the administration will engage in some self reflection and soul searching so that, if the past cannot be changed, the future will. The University will have opportunities to do this in the near future. Settling the Dowd case fairly was a small step in the right direction. We are not going away yet and will watch events in the coming weeks.
Celebrations!
Last week, I had the distinct pleasure of attending not one, but two celebrations. The first was a luncheon, hosted by our moderator for FODU members and parents in the Washington area. David Evans and his family were the guests of honor. The second was a dinner hosted in New York by the Wolcotts in honor of last year’s graduating seniors on the lacrosse team. It is a tradition to have a dinner each year for the graduating seniors, but circumstances prevented last year’s seniors from getting theirs.
Over the course of the last year, I have had a chance to get to know many of the player’s families. I never fail to be amazed at their ability to conduct themselves with grace and dignity and even good humor throughout their ordeal. I have also been impressed by their ability to remain charitable toward people who have wronged them and to vigorously pursue justice without malice and with an eye toward everyone’s good, not just their own. They are remarkable people and it was thus a joy to share these two moments of great happiness with them.
However, the real pleasure in these celebrations was finally meeting some of the players themselves and speaking to them. I knew they were basically good kids and not miscreants and libertines as the hoax enablers tried the paint them. Nevertheless, I was quite impressed with them. They were polite, thoughtful, sincere and straightforward young men. They thanked me profusely and I assured them that I stood in for the many, many people who contributed to their cause in large ways and in small, both through FODU and alongside us. I now pass their thanks on to all of you and offer you their worthy lives rescued from ruin as reward.
It is worth noting that, to date, the players are the only actors in the entire saga who have expressed any genuine regret for inappropriate behavior on their part and who have been willing to examine themselves with an eye toward improvement. They are better people for this experience and will use what they have learned to make a difference in the world. Who else in all this can say that?
For those of us who love Duke, the dignity with which the players, especially Reade, Collin and David, conducted themselves throughout their ordeal showed Duke students in such a positive light and gave us all something of which to be proud. Let us also not forget the character, fortitude and resourcefulness shown by the women’s lacrosse team in standing up for what was right.
I got involved with this case because of the issues it presented, not the people. Good, bad or ugly, none of the players had committed a crime and neither they nor their families deserved the terrible ordeal to which Mike Nifong subjected them. Neither did they deserve the unfair vilification of them by those who either wanted to enable the hoax or who wanted to rationalize their inaction. No one is safe in a society that allows manifest injustice such as the lacrosse case to go forward. No institution dedicated to knowledge and social betterment can look the other way when something like it occurs.
In the end, however, the people were what made this experience so truly rewarding. We could not have asked for more worthy beneficiaries of our efforts than the players and their families, especially Reade, Collin and David and their families. For that, I and my colleagues at FODU are most grateful to them.
Roy Cooper
I have to commend Attorney General Roy Cooper and the Special Prosecutors for the professionalism and leadership they demonstrated during their investigation. You may recall that, when the Attorney General’s Office took over the case I had this to say:
- Roy Cooper and his attorneys have a real opportunity to restore confidence in North Carolina’s legal system. Furthermore, in doing so, they have a real opportunity to educate the public about the proper role of prosecutors in our legal system and how the legal system is supposed to resolve criminal matters. They can do these things by scrupulously executing their duties and exercising their discretion according to the requirements of law. Where Nifong allowed political considerations to influence his actions, they can embrace the rule of law. Where Nifong, abdicated his duties, they can embrace them. Where Nifong mislead the public as to the appropriate legal standards and his proper role, they can be honest. The public there and all over the world will be following their every move. Let us hope that they seize this opportunity and make the most of it.
Roy Cooper, Jim Coman and Mary Winstead did all these things and what a difference it made. Not only was justice done, but the way they conducted the investigation and the transparency with which they shared its results ensured that everyone, aside from a handful of narrow minded ideologues, would accept their findings. I am also grateful to Attorney General Cooper for going one step further and stating his conclusion that Reade, Collin and David were completely innocent. That he felt compelled to do so shows that he truly is a man of integrity.
We have had various letter writing campaigns asking our public officials to do something to help Reade, Collin and David. It is only fitting that we recognize them when they do something right. Please consider writing to thank Roy Cooper and his assistants for a job well done.
Final Fours
Finally, congratulations to the Men’s and Women’s lacrosse teams for advancing to the Final Four. That both teams could successfully overcome all of the enormous challenges presented by real life and also play lacrosse at the highest level is perhaps the final wonder of this whole saga.
Taiwan's ex-leader detained in graft probe - AFP
November 11, 2008
Taiwan's ex-leader detained in graft probe - AFP Taiwan's ex-leader detained in graft probe
BBC News
AFP -
TAIPEI (AFP) - Taiwan's former president Chen Shui-bian, accused of graft during his time in office, was detained Wednesday after a court approved a bid by prosecutors to take him into custody, officials said.
Chen held in Taiwan corruption inquiry
Taiwan court orders Chen arrest
Obama Aides Play Down Tensions With Bush - Voice of America Obama Aides Play Down Tensions With Bush
Voice of America
Voice of America -
By VOA News Aides to US President-elect Barack Obama are distancing themselves from reports that President George Bush pressed him to support a free trade deal with Colombia, in exchange for help with aid to the struggling automobile industry.
Video: US automakers appeal for help
Bishops pledge to fight Obama on abortion - USA Today Bishops pledge to fight Obama on abortion
Twin Falls Times-News
USA Today -
By Steve Ruark, AP By Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA TODAY BALTIMORE - The nation's Catholic bishops are expected to issue a statement Wednesday pledging cooperation with president-elect Barack Obama on numerous social issues but vowing all-out opposition to …
Catholic bishops will fight Obama on abortion
Catholic bishops plan to forcefully confront Obama
Study: Exercise offers little to heart patients - International Herald Tribune
November 11, 2008
Study: Exercise offers little to heart patients - International Herald Tribune
NEW ORLEANS : Exercise can do a lot of good for most people, but it apparently isn’t much help to those with heart failure. The study — the largest ever of exercise in patients whose hearts don’t pump enough blood — left many doctors disappointed. Results were reported Tuesday at an American
Critics say new mortgage aid effort for Fannie, Freddie loans doesn’t go far enough - Minneapolis Star Tribune
Since everything has to be “fair” now, how about dropping my interest rate 1/2 or 1 point on my mortgage? It would be the “fair” thing to … read more do. WASHINGTON - Once again, the government has offered another plan to help troubled homeowners. Once again, critics say it doesn’t go far enough
Taiwan’s Chen ordered detained - Washington Post
Former Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian arrives at the Taiwan prosecutor’s office in Taipei, Taiwan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2008. Chen said he expected to be arrested after being questioned over alleged corruption at the prosecutors’ office Tuesday, and police surrounded the building as dozens of his
Sasha and Malia Obama invited on ‘Hanna Montana,’ says Miley’s dad - New York Daily News
November 11, 2008
Sasha and Malia Obama invited on ‘Hanna Montana,’ says Miley’s dad - New York Daily News
Sasha and Malia Obama may appear along side Miley Cyrus on an episode of ‘Hannah Montana.’ Forget the new dog. ” Hannah Montana ” is offering the first daughters something really exciting. President-elect Barack Obama ’s girls are invited to appear on the wildly popular Disney Channel program next
Worries about housing send stocks lower - Detroit Free Press
NEW YORK — Homebuilder Toll Brothers Inc. and coffee chain Starbucks Corp. helped send Wall Street sharply lower today after giving investors more evidence that the housing market and consumer spending are getting weaker. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 200 points. With the
AP Interview: US commander of Afghan troop training expects Obama to elevate mission - Minneapolis Star Tribune
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The man who heads U.S. efforts to train and equip security forces in Afghanistan says he welcomes the attention President-elect Barack Obama says he will give on the war in that country. Maj. Gen. Robert Cone told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Obama’s plans add to the
Sarah Palin leaves door open to future campaigns - Reuters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin suggested in an interview broadcast on Monday that she might run for higher office in 2012 if the right opportunity presents itself. Even before the Republican loss in last Tuesday’s election in which Palin was the running mate of Republican
Teaching & Research Assistant / Ph.D. position in Accounting & Finance - University of Lugano
November 11, 2008
Teaching & Research Assistant / Ph.D. position in Accounting & Finance - University of Lugano
University of Lugano
Teaching & Research Assistant / Ph.D. position in Accounting & Finance
Swiss Finance Institute
The Faculty of Economics of the University of Lugano, Switzerland, opens an assistant position in Accounting & Financial Management, starting in Fall 2008. The main responsibility will be to support the teaching of accounting and valuation courses and to assist empirical research projects particularly in the field of corporate governance. It is encouraged that the candidate will begin a Ph.D. at the Swiss Finance Institute or at the Faculty of Economics in Lugano.
The successful candidate will be integrated in a young, strongly research oriented team. For further information on research activity, please visit the web-site: http://www.istfin. eco.unisi. ch and links therein.
The ideal candidate for this position should have the following qualifications:
* Master in Accounting, Finance, Economics, or a related discipline, with strong foundation in quantitative methods
* Excellent knowledge in accounting (particularly IFRS and European GAAP)
* Interest in Empirical Accounting & Finance, particularly Event Study Analysis
* Econometric proficiency is a plus, e.g., Time Series Analysis
* Programming and database experience is a plus as well as familiarity and experience in gathering and processing accounting and financial data
* Excellent command of English and either Italian or German
Closing date for applications is October 30, 2008, but applications will be accepted until the position is filled.
The position starts as soon as possible.
Please submit your application with a complete CV (email preferred) to:
Prof. Dr. Eric Nowak
Chair of Financial Management and Accounting
Swiss Finance Institute
University of Lugano
Via Guiseppe Buffi 13
CH-6904 Lugano
Phone +41-58-666-4637
Fax +41-58-666-4647
email nowake@lu.unisi. ch
Nifong Suspended
Two days ago, Durham District Attorney Michael Nifong was found guilty on 27 of 32 ethical charges brought against him by the NC State Bar in handling the Duke lacrosse case. As a result of those findings, Mr. Nifong was disbarred on Saturday. Earlier today, Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson suspended Mr. Nifong ending his career immediately as a district attorney.
Beth Brewer, a courageous Durham resident, should be congratulated and praised for providing the legal mechanism for the judge to issue Mr. Nifong’s suspension today. If not for the petition that Beth Brewer filed several months ago to remove Mr. Nifong from office, the suspension today might not have been possible. Thank you Beth Brewer, for being a good citizen!
Here are links for more details on today’s developments:
To read more about ‘good citizen’ Beth Brewer:
President Bush Greets Obama at White House - Washington Post
November 10, 2008
President Bush Greets Obama at White House - Washington Post
President Bush rolled out the red carpet today for his successor, meeting with President-elect Barack Obama in the Oval Office for a talk so private that no one else was in the room. The White House meeting between the two men followed two years of sharp criticism from Obama about Bush’s tenure in
Bushes and Obamas: All smiles at the White House - International Herald Tribune
WASHINGTON : All smiles and compliments, President-elect Obama and his wife, Michelle, called on President Bush and first lady Laura Bush Monday in a White House visit that was part political ritual, part practical introduction and a striking symbol of the historic transfer of power to come. The
Alpha Software ahora en Espanol!
November 8, 2008
Alpha Software ahora en Espanol!
We’re slicing the limes and passing the tequila here at Alpha Software today in honor of our newest Mexican partner, Serco Commercial. Just kidding, I’m just sitting alone in my office wearing a Sombrero eating a taco. Kidding again, I’m just alone in my office. But I am really excited!
Headquartered in Monterrey, Mexico, with branches throughout the country, Serco has been in the software biz for more than 15 years. They specialize in designing, programming, and implementing desktop and Web-based software solutions tailored to their customers’ needs.
We recently sat down with Luis Rodriguez, software engineer and president of Serco Commercial, to talk about our promising new partnership. Please welcome Luis and his team to the Alpha community, and enjoy this introduction we put together.
Y ahora, una version en espanol. You like that? I’ve been practicing.
Portable Adobe Digital Edition
Adobe Digital Edition Portable | 4.29 Adobe® Digital Editions software offers an engaging way to view and manage eBooks and other digital publications. Use it to download and purchase digital content, which can be read both online and offline. Transfer copy-protected eBooks from your PC to other computers or devices. Organize your eBooks into a custom library and annotate pages. Digital Editions
Announcements and a Follow Up
November 8, 2008
Professor KC Johnson, Durham in Wonderland blogger and
This event is cosponsored by Duke Students for an Ethical Duke and
One of the groups sponsoring KC Johnson’s address, Duke Students for and Ethical Duke (not to be confused with the equally estimable Duke Students for an Ethical Durham) is a new group dedicated to making sure that the appalling treatment of certain Duke students by the administration and a few of their professors is not forgotten and does not go unaddressed. They are pledged to “defend the dignity and the academic and legal rights of Duke students, both individually and collectively, whether threatened by other students, faculty, or administrators alike.” Here is an article from the Chronicle.
This is a very encouraging development. The fact that the number of groups focusing attention on these issues is growing and not decreasing with time should indicate to the trustees and administration that these issues are not going to go away. It is also good that the students themselves are getting involved. We at FODU are certainly concerned for Duke as an institution. However, most of all, we have done what we have done for the students. Those of us who are alumni want present students to enjoy what we enjoyed while at Duke: a university committed to the care, nurturing and dignity of ALL students. Those who are parents want these things for their children.
Follow up to Duke and the Police
First, a Duke official contacted me after I posted the last update and took issue with two statements I made there. I repeated information that had been told to me personally and which had also been widely reported. However, this official says these two statements are inaccurate and offers an alternative view. As the other bloggers in this case have done, I reproduce this person’s comments below in order to allow a fair opportunity to reply. I also appreciate this person’s willingness to respond and engage us in a dialogue, something lacking among Duke officials up to this point.
1) No one in the university “hired” Wes Covington. In fact, I was the unfortunate agent who brought him into contact with the players. When I met with them on March 17th and first learned of the police search, I was surprised and concerned that they had neither told their parents about it nor retained counsel. I told them to call their parents and consult with them about a lawyer. I said that I would also find out if there was anyone locally who could help them. I then asked Sue Wasiolek for a recommendation and she pointed me to Covington. I was the one who passed his name along to the four captains. They met with him at least once that I am aware of but to the best of my knowledge, he was never formally retained by any of them. I would be surprised if anyone in the administration other than Wasiolek knew anything about this until much later. By 3/24 (the day after the NTO was served) he was entirely out of the picture as far as I know.2) The persistent rumor about “student/teacher privilege” is somewhat inaccurate. This came up in a meeting between the captains and Trask, Pressler [and] Alleva . . . on 2/24. By then, the players had all retained counsel and been advised not to speak about the matter without the presence of counsel. Trask had been sent down to athletics (I think) to assess the situation and report back to Allen Building. When he asked the players to tell him everything that had happened, they responded that they had been advised not to speak (in fact, they were dying to tell anyone who would listen what had (or hadn’t) happened). Trask responded that they could call their lawyers to come over and that he would wait for them. The players (specifically, David Evans) then said they would go ahead without representation. At that point, Trask said “We could argue that it (their account of the evening of 3/13) is a protected educational record. We might lose that argument.” The players then went on to detail what had happened at the party. Incidentally, it was clear . . . that Trask was absolutely certain that nothing had happened and that the players were innocent; I’m not sure that he played much of a role in what ensued in the following weeks.
Either way, my larger point remains unchanged. Officials of Duke University–and, in a couple of cases at least, I do think genuinely–were indicating to the players their belief in their innocence at the same time that the University was surreptitiously passing protected personal information about them out the back door to police officers with questionable motives and disputed integrity.
The problems with Mike Nifong and his conduct were manifest as I mentioned in the last post. However, Duke had every reason to be very suspicious of the motives of the police as well. Before that interview with the victim occurred, the original police investigator assigned to the case spoke with Sergeant Mark Gottlieb and they agreed that he would take over the case. As detailed last September in both the News and Observer and the Chronicle, Sergeant Gottlieb had been the subject of numerous allegations involving the violation of the rights of Duke students and use of thug-like tactics against them because of some particular animus he had against Duke students. Days before the lacrosse case incident, Durham Police Department officials had moved Gottlieb from patrol to investigations in District 2 apparently in response to these complaints. Duke officials had been notified of the complaints against Gottlieb no later than February. Now Gottlieb was back chasing Duke students, having in his own words “adopted” the lacrosse case. And into Gottlieb’s very hands, Duke personally delivered this protected information without a subpoena.
Second, in the comments, someone asked why turning the key card data over to the police was prejudicial to the players. Sure it was illegal, but how did it harm them? A good investigator will gather as much information as possible and then form a theory. However, that is not how it is always done. Some police investigators unfortunately do not go wherever the evidence takes them. Instead, they make up their mind what happened and then go out and try to find evidence that supports their theory while ignoring all else. Sometimes they will even make up evidence. Even “good” cops sometimes do all this. No better illustration of these problems can be found than the way Durham police actually conducted the lacrosse case investigation.
Let me be clear. There is nothing inherently sinister about police. Most police officers are dedicated, honest professionals who want to make a difference in the community. As in every human organization, there are some who do not live up to these ideals. In the middle are a bunch of people who see police work as just another job. Even under the best circumstances, the role of a defense attorney, as with any other type attorney, is to protect against the worst case scenario. They do that by forcing police to establish probable cause and preventing opportunities for fishing expeditions.
In investigating an alleged crime, the police must establish two things: whether a crime occurred and who did it. In the context of the lacrosse case, the police had skipped over the first step and were already trying to find three people to indict. This was despite their initial skepticism about the accuser’s story. In fact, throughout the entire case, they specifically avoided looking for corroborating evidence to test the accuser’s claims, evidently afraid of what they would find. Remember that the application for the Nontestimonial Order sought by police stated that the dna evidence would “immediately rule out any innocent persons, and show conclusive evidence as to who the suspect(s) are. . . .” Yet, the police did not wait for the results of the DNA testing to come back before inducing Duke to give them the keycard information. The keycard data helped police establish who was at the party and, more importantly, who was not. As described in the Pressler/Yeager book, the police were afraid that the accuser would pick someone out of the lineup who was not at the party and that is exactly what she did.
It is not that information protected by FERPA can never be obtained by police. All police have to show is that they have some particular need for the information, i.e. that it would be helpful to them in their investigation. That is a very low threshold, yet the police and Nifong were unable to make that showing with regard to the key card data. That they were unable to do so demonstrates that no legitimate reason existed for them to have this information.
PhD Computational Analysis of Regenerative Strategies in the Intervertebral Disc - Technische Universiteit Eindhoven
November 8, 2008
PhD Computational Analysis of Regenerative Strategies in the Intervertebral Disc - Technische Universiteit Eindhoven
PhD Computational Analysis of Regenerative Strategies in the Intervertebral Disc
Technische Universiteit Eindhoven Department of Biomedical Engineering
Eindhoven, (Noord-Brabant) , 40 hours per week
Job description
This project is a part of the consortium on New Early Therapies for Intervertebral Disc Diseases: Drug Delivery and Augmentation through Smart Polymeric Biomaterials in the Biomedical Materials Program. Our previously developed osmoviscoelastic model of the disc and mechanoregulation of tissue regeneration will be combined to develop an adaptive biological model of regeneration strategies combining biomaterials, local slow releasing molecular therapies and injectable cell therapies. Model parameters will be determined from in vitro experiments, and the model will be validated against in vivo experiments, mostly conducted by partners in the consortium. Finally the model will be used to select strategies for further development and optimization for use in the clinic.
Requirements
Required education/skills: University Graduate
We are seeking a candidate facile with computational analysis and knowledgeable of biological processes. The candidate should be recently graduated from a MSc. program in biomedical engineering, mechanical engineering, (bio)physics or a related field, with,
*
Knowledge and experience in biomedical science and technology,
*
Strong affinity for multidisciplinary research and engineering science,
*
Experience with finite element modeling,
*
Capacity to write and communicate fluently in English.
Job type: Research / Advising
Workfield(s) :
- Research trainees, non-tenured lecturers, researchers
Organization
Technische Universiteit Eindhoven
Department of Biomedical Engineering
The Department of Biomedical Engineering is a joint-venture of the Eindhoven University of Technology and the University of Maastricht. Education and research focus on the most complex and fascinating quot;system quot; known to date: the human body. Biomedical Engineering plays a key role as a new discipline, interfacing and integrating engineering and biomedical sciences. Education and research have been organized around 3 profiles: Biomechanics amp; Tissue Engineering, Molecular Bioengineering amp; Molecular Imaging and Biomedical ImagingImaging amp; Modeling.
Conditions of employment
Estimated maximum salary per month: eur 2000 - 2500
Employment basis: Temporary for specified period
Duration of the contract: 4 years
Maximum hours per week: 40
Additional Information
Additional information about the vacancy can be obtained from:
Prof.dr. K. Ito
Telephone number: 31(0)402473851
Or Y. Bloemers-Kluijtmans
Telephone number: 31(0)402472030
E-mail address: pzbmt@tue.nl
Or additional information can be obtained through the following link:
* About the organization (http://www.tue. nl)
Application
You can apply for this job before 01-11-2008 (dd-mm-yyyy) by sending your application to:
Technische Universiteit Eindhoven
W-hoog 1.108
Mr. J.M.R. Debeij
Postbus 513
5600 MB Eindhoven
Nederland
E-mail: pzbmt@tue.nl
When applying for this job always mention the vacancynumber V50.096.
Petronas Scholarship for Undergraduate Study
The application for Undergraduate Programmes is open. Deadline for July 2009 intake is on the 3rd of March 2009.
The Government of Indonesia through its Oil and Gas Department or MIGAS and The National Education Department or Depdiknas in collaboration with Petronas is offering full time scholarships for studies in Malaysia towards the following degrees :
• BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING (HONOURS)
1. Electrical & Electronic Engineering
2. Mechanical Engineering
3. Chemical Engineering
4. Civil Engineering
5. Petroleum Engineering
• BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY (HONOURS)
1. Information & Communication Technology (ICT)
2. Business Information System (BIS)
General selection criteria are as follows;
1. Age Not exceeding 23 years old on date of application
2. Marital Status Single
3. Academic Qualification Must have passed High School Level Examination (GCE O’Level/ SMA equivalent), and / or Tes Potensi Akademik from major universities in Indonesia
4. Language Proficiency Good command of English (oral & written)
5. Course of Study To follow any one of the above courses offered by Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP)
The scholarships are offered to students to further their education and upon completion to serve either with Petronas or the Government of Indonesia in any of the designated departments, subsidiaries, companies, organizations or institutions for a period to be agreed upon.
Kindly download and complete the UTP Application Form (attached in this email) which can be obtained from the website at www.utp.edu.my, completed application form need to be submitted with your latest (non returnable) passport size photograph together with your contact number, address, curriculum vitae and relevant copies of full academic report to:
Petronas Representative Office Indonesia
Level 27, Citibank Tower
Bapindo Plaza
Jl. Jend Sudirman Kav 54-55
Jakarta 12190
Regards,
Desi Dwistratanti Sumadio
Msc IT - Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS
(Research area: HCI, virtual reality, augmented reality in education)
