robot_hamster

Aren't course evaluations supposed to be anonymous?

What do you mean by switching majors? Some programs will let you switch your focus area as long as it is in the same department and you have someone willing to work with you. Completely changing programs, on the other hand, is very different. You would most likely have to reapply to the other program.

I will need to collect survey data in the field. I have been looking at iPad apps, but there are so many out there. Has anyone done surveys with an iPad? What app worked well for you?
 
I need:
Offline data collection capability
Scaled responses, as well as multiple choice
The ability to sign (consent) would be really helpful
 
Do these apps allow you to later upload the data to a spreadsheet?
 
Thanks!

Ooh I was just reading about this! In George C. Galster's paper, "Urban Opportunity Structure and Racial/Ethinic Polarization", he introduces a model of "life choices" within the context of (you guessed it) urban opportunity structure. This is part of what he says:

"Central to this model is the notion that decisions are made rationally, but with imperfect information, in the context of the constraints and payoffs percieved by the decision-maker.... Thus, observed behaviors that contribute to current and future socioeconimic achievements (for example, bearing children out of wedlock as a teen, acquiring more education, committing a crime, or participating in the labor force) are shaped not only by personal characteristics but also by the geographic context in which those decisions are made. Unfortunately, low-incom racial/ethnic minorities often occupy residential niches wherein they encounter an inferior set of choices and associated payoffs. Just as space is warped in an Einsteinian universe, so urban space is warped in its structure of opportunities, to the disadvantage of poor minorities typically residing in core neighborhoods."

The examples are things like, if your only schooling option isn't a good one and it won't prepare you for college anyway, the percieved pros & cons balance of a low-quality high school education or just entering the labor force shifts.
Based on this, the post about kids making "bad decisions" is not neccearily mutually exclussive to what everyone else is saying, if it is understood that "bad" implies "not conducive to long-term financial success" (or some such thing), and that there often aren't "good" alternatives. Of course, blaming the victim or preaching pure meritocracy can and should be countered at depth; I just don't know if that was necessarily the implication.

And as for having good role models... the article talks a bit about that, too. With two identical families who, say, value education equally and have raised their kids with equal work ethic, the family who lives in a neighborhood where the other families have more education is more likely to go to college, just because they are exposed to more of those options, whereas in tougher neighborhoods the easiest path to money that they are exposed to probably does not involve education.. So even if both have postive role models in the home, simply being in poorer neighborhoods can make the path trickier.
Regardless of role models is the concept of networking/ developing "soft skills". Going to integrated schools gives children from minority cultures a chance to learn majority culture norms, which are helpful in the majority culture controlled labor market. Spending time with people who have good jobs means you are more likely to hear about good job openings, for instance.

So, to return to the OP, while most grad students don't have diamonds on the soles of their shoes (Paul Simon anyone?), it's certainly easier to make it to a position where grad school is an option if one has had the privilege of good local school system, minimal financial influences on college choice, etc. Based on that, it seems there's destined to be more "priveleged" people there. But, like others have said, different priorities can also help to explain a difference in backgrounds. Maybe two people with parents of the same middle-class income, one opted for a more expensive house in a better school district, one opted for a cheeper house/less impressive district and saved the money toward a trip to Europe.

Wow, sorry this is so long. I'm taking a class called "The Political Economy of Urban Education", so this stuff is on my mind a lot.

I never really experienced this, so I can't really comment. I just wanted to say that if it were me, I would rather take the time off. You know, allow myself to get things together without feeling rushed.

I don't know if amount had anything to do with it, but I didn't owe any taxes when I filed. Graduate assistants at my school are exempt from federal taxes as long as they are taking classes at the same time. I was told by the school that if I needed to pay federal taxes, then it would be deducted from the monthly checks.

How much have you looked into the current literature? You need to read in order to figure out what has been done already.

As far as difficulty-level goes, I haven't really had any problems. To my surprise, some of my classes have even been "easier" than I was initially expecting. For undergrad, I went to a private college where expectations were high. I am used to having to put a lot of effort into things and to hand in "professional-quality" work. I now attend a large state university and it feels like the expectations there are not quite as high (although it depends on the class). This doesn't mean that I haven't had difficulty with my grad-level classes. I have shared on here before that I SO do not fit in with the majority of students. Our ways of thinking about the world are very different. It is good to exposed to different ways of thinking and points of view, but it can feel very overwhelming at times. Suddenly, I find myself reading stuff that I wouldn't normally read to prepare myself for class discussions. It can be very frustrating! So I think everyone probably has feelings that grad school is not the way they were expecting at times. It can come in different forms though.

As far as difficulty-level goes, I haven't really had any problems. To my surprise, some of my classes have even been "easier" than I was initially expecting. For undergrad, I went to a private college where expectations were high. I am used to having to put a lot of effort into things and to hand in "professional-quality" work. I now attend a large state university and it feels like the expectations there are not quite as high (although it depends on the class). This doesn't mean that I haven't had difficulty with my grad-level classes. I have shared on here before that I SO do not fit in with the majority of students. Our ways of thinking about the world are very different. It is good to exposed to different ways of thinking and points of view, but it can feel very overwhelming at times. Suddenly, I find myself reading stuff that I wouldn't normally read to prepare myself for class discussions. It can be very frustrating! So I think everyone probably has feelings that grad school is not the way they were expecting at times. It can come in different forms though.

I'm not a PhD student and I don't have a fellowship. If I have a TA position though, there is nothing that says I can't have outside employment. If you're allowed to work during the summer, then maybe you could say to your adviser:
"Hey, I have this job lined up for summer but they would like me to start a little early. Would it be okay if I start working there before the semester is over?"
It's worth a shot. Plus you wouldn't risk someone going to this place and seeing you.

Hey guys,

This is probably not the right place to even post this, but I need some support right now.
I'm having a rough night.
I just found out that my 18 year old cousin is getting married. Her and her boyfriend have been dating for about 4 or 5 months.
Just some back story: She was in Israel for her first year of university this year when she met him. She's a modern religious Jew, so her family is a bit different from mine. Mine is Jewish, but very conservative. My immediate family values education over marriage.
But I can't help but feel a little bad. I'm the eldest of 15 grandchildren and always just assumed I would be the first to get married, especially since me and the second youngest, who happens to be my sister, are 4 years apart. She's the same age as my engaged cousin.
So I always just assumed it would be me. But now it won't be and I'm having a bit of a rough time accepting it. I know it's not exactly a wise decision to get married at 18. She has no means to support herself: no degree, barely any money, and no real skills. Her fiancé is my age (almost 23, which is why this bothers me even MORE) and doesn't have a degree yet either. They've been dating for 5 months. I just don't understand. And because they're both religious, they aren't able to touch each other in any way until marriage. I just...don't get how this works.

I'm not really sure where I'm getting at with this. I'm upset for several reasons:
1. She's very young. She's had trouble with severe depression and (apparent) bipolar disorder in the summer. And then she moves away to Israel, finds this guy, and suddenly she's engaged and over the moon? It just seems strange.

2. I really got used to the idea of being the first. I know it sounds petty, but this girl keeps stealing my experiences! She went away for school when she was 13 years old. Her parents sent her to Israel for junior and high school to get a more religious experience. That year, when she came back for the holidays, she asked me "Does it bother you that I got my independence before you?" Ugh. Obnoxious. So she came back here for her last year of high school and then went back this year. And now she's taking the first wedding away from me too, and most likely the first great-grandchild (I hear from her sister she wants to be pregnant 2 months after the wedding, which will be this August)

3. And I think the first wedding wouldn't be as important to me if I weren't so close to my grandfather. I think because I'm the eldest grandchild, we have a strong connection and are very close. For years, he's been saying the next wedding in the family is going to be mine and he's so excited, etc. I just got used to it!

I should be really proud of myself right now, though. I should be over the moon. I graduated in 2011 with a BA Honours in Psychology with an excellent GPA. I worked so hard for my diploma. I took the year off to work and save money, take the GRE, and apply to grad school and I got into my top school, NYU. NYU has always been my dream - I mean it - since I was 15 years old. I have wanted that program and that school. And I got in and I'm 90% sure I'm going (getting finances in order). I should be so happy right now because this is what I wanted. I didn't want marriage early. I always always said I would have a degree and a career and be independent before I got married. I'm also newly (as of 2 months ago) single and loving my independence. I wish this wasn't bothering me so much!!

And now I have to see them both tomorrow night at a family dinner for passover and meet the guy for the first time. And it's going to be so incredibly awkward because I really don't know what to say to them, or how to behave. And I don't want to hear the comments and excitement around the table or see my grandparents so happy about this. This whole family (except for this girl's mother) were so against this marriage until the guy came back here to meet everyone. And they liked him - so now it's suddenly okay.

I know this may sound petty and obnoxious, but I really needed to vent. Any support is welcome. I just feel kind of icky tonight and needed some kind words.
I've never really felt so completely ridiculous before.

Not to sound like a dick, but where do you think the money comes from to finance the costs of setting up these conferences?

Aren't course evaluations supposed to be anonymous?

I still don't understand how someone would even be put in this situation. I fill out course evaluations all the time. No one has ever called me into their office to ask me how I scored them on the evaluation. The evaluations are supposed to be anonymous. I don't care if the professor thinks someone doctored or changed the evaluations to make them look bad. The burden of proving it should not fall on the students. If someone higher up actually felt it was necessary to do an investigation, they should be the ones doing the investigating. Not the professor.
I apologize, but this scenario just doesn't sound right.

I'm not a PhD student and I don't have a fellowship. If I have a TA position though, there is nothing that says I can't have outside employment. If you're allowed to work during the summer, then maybe you could say to your adviser:
"Hey, I have this job lined up for summer but they would like me to start a little early. Would it be okay if I start working there before the semester is over?"
It's worth a shot. Plus you wouldn't risk someone going to this place and seeing you.

I'm not a PhD student and I don't have a fellowship. If I have a TA position though, there is nothing that says I can't have outside employment. If you're allowed to work during the summer, then maybe you could say to your adviser:
"Hey, I have this job lined up for summer but they would like me to start a little early. Would it be okay if I start working there before the semester is over?"
It's worth a shot. Plus you wouldn't risk someone going to this place and seeing you.

I have to agree with the others. This is something that happens more often then you might think. Since my field is interdisciplinary, it isn't too uncommon for a professor to not be knowledgeable about every single thing. Often times, students will have knowledge to add to the class because they come from differing fields and areas of expertise. Even if this isn't the case here, there is still nothing wrong with a professor having a particular expertise and deciding to focus on that.

I'm not a PhD student and I don't have a fellowship. If I have a TA position though, there is nothing that says I can't have outside employment. If you're allowed to work during the summer, then maybe you could say to your adviser:
"Hey, I have this job lined up for summer but they would like me to start a little early. Would it be okay if I start working there before the semester is over?"
It's worth a shot. Plus you wouldn't risk someone going to this place and seeing you.

I have to agree with the others. This is something that happens more often then you might think. Since my field is interdisciplinary, it isn't too uncommon for a professor to not be knowledgeable about every single thing. Often times, students will have knowledge to add to the class because they come from differing fields and areas of expertise. Even if this isn't the case here, there is still nothing wrong with a professor having a particular expertise and deciding to focus on that.

I'm not a PhD student and I don't have a fellowship. If I have a TA position though, there is nothing that says I can't have outside employment. If you're allowed to work during the summer, then maybe you could say to your adviser:
"Hey, I have this job lined up for summer but they would like me to start a little early. Would it be okay if I start working there before the semester is over?"
It's worth a shot. Plus you wouldn't risk someone going to this place and seeing you.

I still don't understand how someone would even be put in this situation. I fill out course evaluations all the time. No one has ever called me into their office to ask me how I scored them on the evaluation. The evaluations are supposed to be anonymous. I don't care if the professor thinks someone doctored or changed the evaluations to make them look bad. The burden of proving it should not fall on the students. If someone higher up actually felt it was necessary to do an investigation, they should be the ones doing the investigating. Not the professor.
I apologize, but this scenario just doesn't sound right.

I still don't understand how someone would even be put in this situation. I fill out course evaluations all the time. No one has ever called me into their office to ask me how I scored them on the evaluation. The evaluations are supposed to be anonymous. I don't care if the professor thinks someone doctored or changed the evaluations to make them look bad. The burden of proving it should not fall on the students. If someone higher up actually felt it was necessary to do an investigation, they should be the ones doing the investigating. Not the professor.
I apologize, but this scenario just doesn't sound right.

Aren't course evaluations supposed to be anonymous?

I wasn't offered funding initially. After I was admitted, I talked to the coordinator and was set up with a position for my second semester. You should find out how your school handles setting up TA positions. Do you go through your advisor or is there a coordinator who is set up to take care of that?

I'm not sure how to interpret this post. I feel like it was a bit condescending. I'm getting impression that you think I feel entitled in some way.
I had/have a job outside of school. I gave up my employment status in order to be a TA. Being a TA paid better and got my tuition waived. It was a better deal, so I took it. I knew I was taking a risk by letting my employment status go, but I had to in order to take the TA position (would have been impossible to TA and work the required hours at the other job). Now I'm sort of stuck because I can't regain my employment status at this other job (was told so, they hired someone else). I am now looking for another job that pays enough to pay the bills and allow me to continue through this semester as planned. I don't want to be set back even further, my graduation has already been pushed back twice because of other circumstances (problems with thesis, etc).

** Edited for clarity reasons.