Proofreading, grading, & relevance: The academics' thread

[windsor]

I would think twice before correcting the grammar of a man with a license to kill.

Is that like let the wookiee win, because droids don't rip people's arms off when they lose?

Exactly! Wookies and people with a license to kill should always be allowed to win. Tarholes should never be allowed to win.

[wilson]

3. We're a bunch of geeks, but none of us are language geeks enough to use "data" in its proper plural form, as in "the data are inconclusive".

Challenge.

[wilson]

Is that like let the wookiee win, because droids don't rip people's arms off when they lose?

I commend you for spelling wookiee correctly. Well done.

[colchar]

Since this is an academic thread I figured this was the place for this rant...

I wish to hell my university's useless head librarian would stop being so damned cheap and would fork out the money for the full run of some journals - especially for online access. I am currently trying to get my hands on some journal articles but our online access to this particular journal only goes back ten years. Shit! The school where I did my M.A. offers online access to the full run of the journal but, having graduated, I no longer have online access. They do have hard-copies in their library (my current university doesn't have hard-copies) so I can go get some of the articles (I live three blocks from that school so it is easy enough to head down there) but their hard-copies begin the year after a couple of the articles were published so I still can't get all of the articles I need. I can get them from my current school's library though inter-library loan but that will take some time and I had planned to read them and then get some writing done this weekend. What a pain in the ass!

Alright, rant over. I now return you to your regularly scheduled PWing.

[Lavabe]

Since this is an academic thread I figured this was the place for this rant...

I wish to hell my university's useless head librarian would stop being so damned cheap and would fork out the money for the full run of some journals - especially for online access. I am currently trying to get my hands on some journal articles but our online access to this particular journal only goes back ten years. Shit! The school where I did my M.A. offers online access to the full run of the journal but, having graduated, I no longer have online access. They do have hard-copies in their library (my current university doesn't have hard-copies) so I can go get some of the articles (I live three blocks from that school so it is easy enough to head down there) but their hard-copies begin the year after a couple of the articles were published so I still can't get all of the articles I need. I can get them from my current school's library though inter-library loan but that will take some time and I had planned to read them and then get some writing done this weekend. What a pain in the ass!

Alright, rant over. I now return you to your regularly scheduled PWing.

Many university libraries are facing MASSIVE budget issues, and online subscriptions eat up money. There's a system of priorities that most university libraries must face.

I'm surprised that your former university doesn't grant you alumni library access.

[colchar]

Many university libraries are facing MASSIVE budget issues, and online subscriptions eat up money. There's a system of priorities that most university libraries must face.

Oh I get that, but our head librarian wastes money on stupid shit that could be much better spent on other things. For example, this moron openly admits to being an online gamer who spends 6-8 hours per day playing online video games and he has decided to spend money on hiring a gaming librarian. That's right, a video gaming librarian! He can do that but he can't spend money on journal access?!?

I'm surprised that your former university doesn't grant you alumni library access.

I still have access but, due to copyright restrictions, I can't access online journals. I guess their agreements with the publishers only cover students who are currently registered.

[wilson]

Many university libraries are facing MASSIVE budget issues, and online subscriptions eat up money. There's a system of priorities that most university libraries must face.

Oh I get that, but our head librarian wastes money on stupid shit that could be much better spent on other things. For example, this moron openly admits to being an online gamer who spends 6-8 hours per day playing online video games and he has decided to spend money on hiring a gaming librarian. That's right, a video gaming librarian! He can do that but he can't spend money on journal access?!?

That's a fucking joke. He should be fired immediately...seriously.

[wilson]

Also, colchar, I sent you a PM. Take a look & give me a shout.

[colchar]

Many university libraries are facing MASSIVE budget issues, and online subscriptions eat up money. There's a system of priorities that most university libraries must face.

Oh I get that, but our head librarian wastes money on stupid shit that could be much better spent on other things. For example, this moron openly admits to being an online gamer who spends 6-8 hours per day playing online video games and he has decided to spend money on hiring a gaming librarian. That's right, a video gaming librarian! He can do that but he can't spend money on journal access?!?

That's a fucking joke. He should be fired immediately...seriously.

Some departments have demanded meetings with him and he only went to one. During that meeting the Religious Studies department ripped him a new arsehole and he has since refused to meet with any other departments - he always sends someone else and never ever deals with the concerns raised. The problem is that he wins all kinds of awards (obviously from like-minded librarians) so the administration thinks the sun shines out of his ass and, because of that, there is no way the idiot will be fired. And here I thought this place was a respectable research university...

[colchar]

Some departments have demanded meetings with him and he only went to one. During that meeting the Religious Studies department ripped him a new arsehole and he has since refused to meet with any other departments - he always sends someone else and never ever deals with the concerns raised. The problem is that he wins all kinds of awards (obviously from like-minded librarians) so the administration thinks the sun shines out of his ass and, because of that, there is no way the idiot will be fired. And here I thought this place was a respectable research university...

I just checked some university rankings. According to Maclean's magazine, which does a yearly ranking of Canadian universities, mine in ranked as the 6th best medical-doctoral institution in the country (they break the rankings down to primarily undergrad schools, comprehensive schools, and medical-doctoral schools - these are obviously schools with med schools and are usually the largest schools in the country). According to the rankings in The Times it is ranked 108th in the world. And according to the Shanghai Jiao Tong University rankings it is 89th in the world.

I know that these types of rankings are problematic but still, the school obviously enjoys a good reputation so how the hell can its head librarian be so fucking useless?!?