Another useful link I just found on organizing in academia from the AAUP: http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/pubsres/academe/2010/JF/
Angela J Brandt Ph.D. Candidate, Oregon State University Secretary-Treasurer, Coalition of Graduate Employees Vice President at Large, American Federation of Teachers - Oregon > Date: Fri, 23 Apr 2010 08:20:43 +0100 > From: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Grad students: what are they worth, and does their > work space effect their productivity? Input gratefully accepted > To: [email protected] > > Hi, > > Definitely look into unions (student and work) as there is certain > conditions which should be meet. However I was surprised to arrive at > my university (XXXXXX) and find a lot of students in a prefab building > which had many problems, heating, foxes and leaking rooms which went > onto computers a couple of times! I dont have to work under these > conditions thanks to a good funding grant but others do. > > People put by with things because that is the way they are. Definitely > fight to stop them changing things to poorer conditions. I am sure > there are studies on light conditions and depression in medical > journals. I do find it interesting that students and postdoc's are > often treated like they are not employed by a university and therefore > do not get the same standard of conditions. > > Good topic, > Rebecca > PS. If you had lots of people including lectures complaining formally > ie. petition it might help > > > > On Fri, Apr 23, 2010 at 3:11 AM, Marty Pfeiffer <[email protected]> wrote: > > The responses so far have primarily focused on the value of grad students > > and not on the impact that workspace has on their productivity. > > > > My own experience as a grad student focused on productivity has been as > > follows. I have appreciated the workspace offered to me on campus and the > > incredible collegiality that I've experienced when taking advantage of that > > workspace. However, there is a cost associated with the opportunity for > > collaboration. And that is the cost of interruptions to "thinking" time. > > And my experience has been that I need lots of thinking time to tease out > > and communicate the main messages buried in my field data. > > > > I have the "benefit" of a home office and self-funding of my graduate > > studies, so I have taken full advantage of the flexibility to say "no > > thanks, I'm working from home today." Thus my collaborations have been > > rifle shots and not shotgun blasts. I meet with people when there is a > > specific issue that benefits one or the both of us. As a result, I am on > > target to complete my research project about 15 months from the date it was > > started. This is a Master's project and undoubtedly the timelines are > > longer for PhDs. But my adviser has repeatedly expressed surprise at the > > speed with which I have progressed. I, in turn, ascribe it to a bit of > > sacrifice in collegiality and a whole lot more focus on getting the work > > done (by escaping to private thinking space). > > > > As others have said, this is not a scientific position, but a sample of > > one. I'm a people-lover, but let's face it, we're a social animal and that > > fact will most assuredly show itself when we're thrown together in a big > > room. > > > > Marty > > > > P.S. There is no doubt that this is a question that transcends graduate > > students. I worked for a long time in the business world, and I am quite > > sure that employee productivity has been studied up, down, and sideways, > > including organization of the office work environment. If you look to the > > business world, I can assure you there will be lots of studies on this > > topic. Best of luck to you. > > > > -- > > Martin J Pfeiffer > > University of Wisconsin > > Nelson Institute > > [email protected] > > (608) 669-6619 > > _________________________________________________________________ The New Busy think 9 to 5 is a cute idea. Combine multiple calendars with Hotmail. http://www.windowslive.com/campaign/thenewbusy?tile=multicalendar&ocid=PID28326::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:WM_HMP:042010_5
