miscellaneous

A case of a UCLA researcher, James E. Engstrom, who was reported soon to be “fired,” has been making the rounds of the Internet and has now penetrated print media. See below. It is not clear to me exactly the nature of the appointment involved from web sources. Dr. Engstrom’s official UCLA webpage is still active at http://www.cancer.ucla.edu/index.aspx?page=645&recordid=83 Dr. Engstrom’s work apparently is controversial because it questions ill-health effects of diesel and other pollutants and from tobacco. Googling his name pulls up various controversies surrounding his work and related personnel actions. I have no other info on this matter beyond…

August 20, 2010, NY Times (excerpt) Harvard Finds Scientist Guilty of Misconduct By NICHOLAS WADE Harvard University said Friday that it had found a prominent researcher, Marc Hauser, “solely responsible” for eight instances of scientific misconduct. Hours later, Dr. Hauser, a rising star for his explorations into cognition and morality, made his first public statement since news of the inquiry emerged last week, telling The New York Times, “I acknowledge that I made some significant mistakes” and saying he was “deeply sorry for the problems this case had caused to my students, my colleagues and my university.” Dr. Hauser is…

Excerpt picked up from Inside Higher Ed & from dailypress.com/news/newport-news/dp-nws-cnu-bookstore-20100819,0,745171.storyAugust 19, 2010 NEWPORT NEWS — Students wandering Christopher Newport University’s campus next year looking for the bookstore won’t find one. The annual college tradition of buying and selling textbooks will have to take place online for CNU students. The university announced Thursday that it’s shutting down its bookstore in the David Student Union and launching a textbook website instead. The change happens Jan. 1, 2011. The decision to close the store is based on student buying patterns and the proliferation of online competition, according to CNU. Students have begun flocking…

The US News & World Report rankings of universities by name are available at http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/national-universities-rankings/order+college_sort_name/page+7 Ranks are as follows:UC-Berkeley 22, UCLA 25, UC-San Diego 35, UC-Santa Barbara and UC Davis tied at 39, UC-Irvine 41, UC-Santa Cruz 72, UC-Riverside 94. Apparently, UC-Merced doesn’t rank. Music at:

http://www.skipclasscalculator.com/

The caption for this July 18, 1965 photo from the LA Times about an experiment at UCLA by a faculty member of that era reads: ONE FOR SCIENCE-Phillip Zuckerman, wired for reaction, drinks vodka and tomato juice while Dr. Richard F. Docter prepares to study reactions. Experiments are helping determine extent of drinker’s feeling of mental alertness.

The official Los Angeles Times caption on this June 12, 1964 photo in the UCLA Digital Collection is “SHAH RECEIVES DEGREE – Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, the shah of Iran, center, stands with Dr. Clark Kerr, left, president of UC and Chancellor Franklin D. Murphy after being presented an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.” Actually, the event was more tumultuous than the caption suggests. In an earlier post, I noted that Jim Klain gave a talk about the history of Royce Hall on August 11. Klain was in charge of campus events, not just Royce Hall. In response to…

New Site Lets Students Gamble on Their Grades KTLA News 10:51 PM PDT, August 11, 2010 LOS ANGELES — A new website is giving higher education a Vegas twist, allowing college students nationwide to bet on their own grades. The site, Ultrinsic.com, lets students bet on whether they can achieve or exceed a certain grade, with bets starting at $25. The student puts up some of the money, and the company fronts the rest — more for A’s, slightly less for B’s, and so on. The amount is also moderated by other information like the student’s past academic record and…