Articles of interest about higher ed - Feb 12

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***COVID-19

Can COVID-19 Be Transmitted Through Frozen Food Shipments?

A significant share of people now have at least some immunity to the virus ($) 

Why Swedish towns are banning masks

Researchers Learn What’s Driving ‘Brain Fog’ in People with COVID-19

We Asked People Who Lost Their Taste to COVID: What Do You Eat in a Day?

Virus is here to stay, but perhaps as a lesser threat

***THE VACCINES

Japan to discard millions of Pfizer vaccine doses because it has wrong syringes

So you got the vaccine. Can you still infect people? Pfizer is trying to find out.

Why Is It So Hard To Figure Out Where To Get Vaccinated For COVID-19?

***HIGHER ED & COVID 

Spring Semester Brings In-Person Classes And COVID-19 Spikes For Some Colleges   

Colleges Vowed a Safer Spring. Then Students, and Variants, Arrived ($) 

***COVID AT SPECIFIC SCHOOLS

UC Berkeley mandates weeklong sequester period for residential hall students

Auburn University Fully Returning to On-Campus Operations  

***LAYOFFS & FURLOUGHS 

Students And Alumni at St. Mary’s College of Maryland Rally Amid Talk Of Potential Programs Cuts

Faculty Union at City College of San Francisco Criticizes Moves Towards Layoffs

Indiana University of Pennsylvania cuts more than 80 jobs, alters 100 degree programs

University of Evansville spares music department from chopping block  

The fight at Ithaca college over plans to cut 116 full-time positions

University of Kansas faculty group decries dismissal policy

***COLLEGE FINANCES 

For-profit colleges brace for reckoning in Biden era

St. Joe’s and University of the Sciences have proposed a merger

SUNY Brockport facing $10M budget gap as ‘far fewer’ students returning to campus

Giving to colleges flattens without Bloomberg gift in 2020, ending decade of growth 

 ***HIGHER ED  

Some facts worth knowing about the history of higher education

How Universities Can Cope Amid a Ransomware Perfect Storm

Public Colleges Are Going After Adult Students Online. Are They Already Too Late? 

University of Oregon reports record number of fall term freshman applications

***HUMANITIES 

Reasons Why Liberal Arts Majors Succeed in Business 

A Small College Hopes to Claim Artificial Intelligence for the Liberal Arts 

***COLLEGE EMPLOYEES IN COURT  

Judge dismisses lawsuit filed by campus wellness center worker against Lehigh University 

Sexual harassment lawsuit filed against College of Southern Nevada, employee 

***ONLINE CLASSES   

What 114 Pre-Pandemic Studies About ‘Flipped’ Classrooms Could Tell Us About Refining Our Approach to Remote Learning in 2021

***ACADEMIC LIFE  

University of Akron reaches tentative contract agreement with faculty after tumultuous year

Group of University North Carolina faculty calls for chancellor's resignation after Silent Sam revelations

Nearly half of all physics chairs report their department is under some level of threat

A Student Stole My Academic Work, Copied My Tattoos and Gave Talks Pretending To Be Me 

Christian University Faculty Targeted for Social Media Posts Questioning Transgender Policies

***ACADEMICS IN COURT

N.J. university sued over ‘outrageous’ firing of tenured professors ($)
Litigious Ohio State professor loses appeal in federal defamation case 

Court fines historian over claims of Holocaust survivor's lesbian affair 

English professor joins lawsuit against Chancellor, Provost at University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh

***ADMINISTRATORS

University of Tennessee chancellor reflects on how grief has shaped her approach to life

St. Ambrose University announces next president

President of North Dakota State censured by Faculty Senate over provost appointment

After allegations of secret gifts, a chancellor emeritus is fired

Le Moyne College provost named president of University of Scranton

***CHRISTIAN COLLEGES 

Vandals repeatedly target campus home of the University of the South's new vice chancellor

Virginia asks judge to dismiss Liberty University lawsuit over financial aid changes

Lipscomb University President transitions to chancellor role in 2021

Gordon College bids end to professors discrimination suit based on ministerial exception

Evangelical Colleges Consider the Future of Online Education After COVID-19 

Valparaiso University drops Crusader mascot ($)

Imagining the future of theological education

***BAYLOR

Baylor panel: Campus censorship being driven by students, not administrators:  

Baylor and Southwestern settle suit that claimed a foundation was trying to misuse millions intended for the two schools

***RESEARCH 

An ugly truth about scientific publishing

Standardizing terminology for text recycling in research writing 

We must clear out the rubbish fouling up the scientific pipeline ($)

5 Things We Learned About Peer Review in 2020 

A toxic scientific ecosystem 

Academics Look to Restore Integrity to Science, Research  

***RETRACTIONS

Springer charges $40 to read a 2003 retracted paper and another $40 for the retraction notice

New bot flags scientific studies that cite retracted papers  

One publisher, more than 7000 retractions

***STUDENT LIFE 

Civil Rights Group Threatens Suit Over Bar Exam Facial Scans

Two Orange Coast College students found dead in dorms

1 in 10 US college students experience period poverty, report says

Some public universities act as if they have 24/7 authority over students: The students are fighting back

***STUDENTS IN COURT

Former University of Illinois student at heart of prof's resignation charged with filing false reports against ex

Lawsuit alleges Wake Forrest was negligent in student's fatal shooting

University of Louisville student files lawsuit alleging university 'deprived' students of in-person college experience

Robinhood sued by family of college student who took his life 

Court Rules Against Fordham Student in Class Action Lawsuit for Tuition Reductions During Pandemic 

***SEXUAL HARASSMENT & ASSAULT

LSU under federal investigation for Clery Act violations after sexual assault complaints

Rhode Island School of Design pay a former student and survivor of sexual assault $2.5 million  

Ohio University professor found to have sexually harassed two women shouldn’t lose tenure, Faculty Senate says 

***COLLEGES & RACIAL ISSUES 

Virginia College forfeits basketball game after players suspended for kneeling during national anthem 

Education Department Disproportionally Selected Black, Hispanic Students for Audit

Michigan university in turmoil after white professor says he’s faced discrimination for 40 years ($) 

Trump’s controversial diversity training order is dead – or is it? Colleges are still feeling its effects

Alabama university removes Wallace name from building

Black student sues University of Tennessee: 'Professional conduct rules are created to keep minorities out'  

 

Guilt v Shame Culture

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In a guilt culture you know you are good or bad by what your conscience feels. In a shame culture you know you are good or bad by what your community says about you, by whether it honors or excludes you. In a guilt culture people sometimes feel they do bad things; in a shame culture social exclusion makes people feel they are bad. 

David Brooks writing in the New York Times

Articles of interest about religion - Feb 8

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*** THE VIRUS

Why aren't kids getting vaccinated?

The Wealthy Are Getting More Vaccinations, Even in Poorer Neighborhoods

Which Covid Vaccine Should You Get? Experts Cite the Effect Against Severe Disease  

***RELIGION & THE VIRUS

Scientology Businesses Took in Over 80 Pandemic-Related Loans  

'Manage The Best We Can': Latino Church Adapts To New COVID-19 Reality

***RELIGION  

What Thomas Jefferson Could Never Understand About Jesus 

About one-in-five Americans who have been harassed online say it was because of their religion

Where Does the South End and Christianity Begin? (Opinion) 

***RELIGION & CRIME

Man facing felony charges accused of stealing $800k from Grand Rapids church 

He Wants His Pastor With Him At His Execution. Alabama Won't Allow It

***RELIGION AND POLITICS

Capitol siege puts spotlight on Christian nationalists  

Nebraska priest who said he performed exorcism at U.S. Capitol apologizes, explains actions

A second SBC pastor in Texas called Vice President Kamala Harris 'Jezebel'    

***ARTIFACTS & ARCHAEOLOGY

Museum of the Bible returns Artifacts to Egypt

Archaeologists find ruins of early mosque By the Sea of Galilee 

***RELIGION & THE LAW 

California can't totally ban worship, Supreme Court rules

Nativity scene OK in front of Jackson County Courthouse, federal appeals court rules

***RELIGION & RACIAL ISSUES

 Black Lives Matter banner defaced outside University Christian Church in San Diego  

Rick Warren apologizes for church video with Asian stereotypes 

Southern Baptists Condemn Racist Letter Received by Arlington Pastor

***RELIGION & LITERATURE

Biography explores 'subversive' Christianity of novelist Dorothy Sayers 

***DENOMINATIONS

National Cathedral criticized by Episcopalians for inviting Max Lucado to preach despite pastor’s anti-LGBTQ views  

***CATHOLIC

Five myths about Catholics ($)

SC’s largest Catholic high school sued for $300M for invasive locker room windows

Biden's Support Of Abortion Rights At Odds With Some Catholic Bishops 

***MEGACHURCHES

Hillsong Church hit with $20M in lawsuits for damages, ‘immoral’ acts  

The Prosperous Lifestyle of Megachurch pastor John MacArthur--America’s Anti-Prosperity Gospel Preacher  

***ISLAM 

Uighur camp detainees allege systematic rape

Muslim mother whose son was killed by terrorist wins international peace award

Journalist Noor Tagouri on misrepresentation of Muslims in the media

One year on, Muslim women reflect on wearing the niqab in a mask-wearing world 

***OTHER RELIGIOUS GROUPS

Ukrainian Orthodox Church Breaks Away From Russian Influence

Millennial and Gen Z Buddhists created an online forum to explore their identity ($) 

California's Punjabi farmers rally behind India protests

Rihanna's call to support Indian farmers, many of them Sikhs quickly embraced by other celebrities

For Latter-day Saints like Andy Reid of Kansas City Chiefs, football and faith go hand in hand 

Mummies in the audience

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“Keep on growing,” the commencement speakers say. “Don’t go to seed. Let this be a beginning, not an ending.” It is a good theme. Yet a high proportion of the young people who hear the speeches pay no heed, and by the time they are middle-aged they are absolutely mummified. Even some of the people who make the speeches are mummified. Why?

The thing that is really blocking self-development – the individual’s own intricately designed, self-constructed prison, or to put it another way, the individual’s incapacity for self-renewal.

John Gardner, Self-Renewal

Articles of interest about higher ed - Feb 5

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***COVID-19

Study reveals extent of Covid vaccine side-effects

Study: Young COVID Survivors Can Get Reinfected

CDC finds heightened COVID-19 risk for LGBTQ, calls for more data gathering

***HIGHER ED & COVID 

Colleges Add More In-Person Classes For Spring, Amid High Risk Of Coronavirus Spread

Can colleges make students get Covid vaccines? Here’s what experts say 

San Rafael school trustee was vaccinated at educators ‘free-for-all’

***COVID AT SPECIFIC SCHOOLS

New variant leads to stay-at-home order at U of Michigan  

Lake Forest College COVID-19 outbreak fueled by dorm gatherings involving men's hockey team, school president says 

***SPRING PLANS  

Tracking Colleges' Spring-Reopening Plans ($)

***LAYOFFS & FURLOUGHS 

Western Wyoming Community College Trustees approve layoffs, benefit reductions

University of Virginia announces athletic department layoffs

***COLLEGE FINANCES 

University of Nevada could face significant budget cuts under proposed state budget   

California private colleges could get reprieve tied to transfer students

Facing mounting debt, Laurentian University files for creditor protection  

St. Petersburg College trustees reject contract in blow to adjuncts

Oregon State gets $50 million to renovate the football stadium

***HIGHER ED  

Many colleges outside the top ones -- public and private alike -- are not having a good year in admissions 

Are Graduate Programs Pressing Pause — or Pulling the Plug? ($) 

The future of theological education (podcast)

Old Dominion Violated Disability Law, DOJ Finds

***HUMANITIES  

University of Vermont faculty and students hold teach-in to protest cuts in humanities courses

***HIGHER ED IN COURT 

Justice Department drops discrimination lawsuit against Yale University

Grand Canyon University files lawsuit against U.S. Department of Education

Pitt sues former wrestling coach, claims he manufactured discrimination lawsuit 

Northwestern sues robot maker over patents ($)   

***ACADEMIC LIFE  

MIT Professor Gang Chen Charged With Millions In Grant Fraud, Hiding China Ties

Two Professors Say They Were Fired for Speaking Out about Collin College's COVID-19 Plans  

Purdue professor tossed $100 Trump bill, pointed gun at bar patrons after political argument

Univ of Central Florida fires professor at center of controversial tweets for 'classroom misconduct’

Collin College Pushes Out Another Professor

North Texas Professor sues university, coworkers, students amidst accusations of racism

***ADMINISTRATORS 

Northern Kentucky University announces new provost 

Skipping search, University of Iowa names interim provost to become permanent

Mercyhurst University President Steps Down

St. Edward’s University welcomes new university president

***CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS  

Liberty University's interim president apologizes for unmasked snowball fight

Meet Belmont University’s New President

Faculty and staff at Michigan Christian college raise eyebrows after receiving some of the first COVID-19 vaccines 

Coach at a Christian University resigned after being accused of making racist statements

California Lutheran University donor redirects his multimillion-dollar gift to support students

Hillsdale College, a conservative Christian school in Michigan, is putting more than $15 million into a shooting-facilities  

Southwest Baptist University Trustees Deny Tenure or Promotion to Several Faculty Members

***RESEARCH  

Paper That Claimed Closed Schools Cost Lives Gets Correction 

Risk of being scooped drives scientists to shoddy methods

In a copy-and-paste world, plagiarism can still do long-lasting damage

How to Protect the Credibility of Articles Published in Predatory Journals

Former Texas postdoc earns 10-year federal funding ban for faking authors and papers to boost metrics

Publishers Still Don’t Prioritize Researchers

Citing Software in Scholarly Publishing to Improve Reproducibility, Reuse, and Credit

Researchers are embracing visual tools to give fair credit for work on papers

Communicating Expectations: Developing a Rubric for Peer Reviewers

***STUDENT LIFE 

2 ACU fraternities suspended while university investigates hazing allegations NEWS 

Student Who Joined Capitol Mob Faces Federal Charges 

A college student made big bucks off GameStop stock. Now he's using it to donate video games to a children's hospital

Penn State Black Caucus calls on PSU to investigate 51 who ‘ambushed’ Zoom call with white supremacist language, symbols

University Of Florida Student Uncovers Tomb Of Brazilian Abolitionist, 'Sea Dragon'

After five decades, UC Davis student newspaper secures right to select its own leadership

***STUDENTS IN COURT 

University of North Carolina settles lawsuit with student newspaper over open meetings law violaions

University of Tennessee student sues school, claims she was nearly expelled for her social media posts

***FREE SPEECH ON CAMPUS 

University of Iowa dean apologizes to conservative students, staff2

University of Illinois settles suit with free speech group

***SEXUAL HARASSMENT & ASSAULT

Harvard University Apologizes to Scholar Who Endured Harassment

George Washington Student Leader Resigns Amid Sexual Assault Allegations 

Stakes high for Iowa, athletic director in Title IX lawsuit: Experts say swimmers have a good case

Cheerleader sues Northwestern, describes harassment by drunk fans

***RACIAL ISSUES ON CAMPUS 

Baylor Campus security called on black students gathering in library

Saddleback College gets rid of ‘racist’ mascot

A Northwestern University postdoctoral fellow took his own life after being linked to anonymous anti-Semitic and racist social media posts 

University of Tennessee apologizes after faculty member writes racist acronym on whiteboard

***RANSOMWARE

Tips for Preventing Ransomware During Remote Learning  

Why schools are vulnerable to ransomware attacks  

Baldwin Wallace University target of cyber attack

Articles of interest about journalism, conspiracy theories, the virus & more - Feb 4

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***THE VACCINES  

Monmouth Poll: 24% of Americans have no plans to get Covid vaccine

Comparing three Covid-19 vaccines: Pfizer, Moderna, J&J 

Why the Second COVID-19 Shot Feels Worse

'Vaccine tourism': tens of thousands of Americans cross state lines for injections

'No issues': Drinking alcohol won’t affect COVID-19 vaccine efficacy, doctors say

What You Need To Know About The Coronavirus Vaccine And Children

Tech glitches, swamped websites impede US vaccine distribution

Newest vaccine weaker against virus mutations

Are the coronavirus vaccines safe for someone with cancer or dementia? ($)

***COVID-19 

A visualization of the pandemic's emotional wave

Younger adults responsible for most of COVID-19 spread

Unmasking the pandemic’s pollution problem

U.S. lagging in key tool against newer variants

Safe ways to return to exercising ($)

Zombie nation: Third of adults walking around in concussion-like daze due to stress, lack of sleep 

***JOURNALISM

Don't have time for video? Just pop open the transcript 

How Can Journalists Better Serve Immigrant Communities? (opinion)

Journalism and statistics team up to detect corruption in Peru

Times reporter disciplined over alleged slur use ($)

TV news crew threatened with arrest after asking congresswoman a question during town hall meeting

Why journalists in India are under attack

***JOURNALISM HISTORY

Thanks to the Internet Archive, the history of American newspapers is more searchable than ever

Seeing the Pentagon Papers in a New Light

The most inspiring journalism movie — maybe ever ($)

***THE BUSINESS OF JOURNALISM

The job of the future is editor in chief 

West Virginia newspaper publisher sues Google, Facebook

***COVID SCAMS

First Draft launches a hub to monitor misinformation about vaccines

Republican Lawmaker Indicted For Allegedly Selling Bogus Covid-19 Treatments

COVID-19 conspiracy theories in China are wildly different than in the U.S.  

COVID scams flourish despite efforts of health and law enforcement agencies

Anti-Vaccine Groups Exploit Coincidental Illness to Undermine COVID-19 Vaccinations

***POLITICS & CONSPIRACIES 

Trump Taught Teachers Conspiracy Theories. Now They’re Teaching Them To Students.

Trump's rise and fall unified the two most pernicious, racist myths about America

Twitter troll arrested, accused of election interference related to disinformation campaign 

***QANON 

Belief in QAnon Wavers Slightly Among Adults After Capitol Riots, Inauguration

QAnon and the Cultification of the American Right 

Where Have QAnon Supporters Gone?

***SOCIAL MEDIA 

Don’t share your COVID-19 vaccination card on social media. Here’s why.

What we know about Hive

Facebook developing a tool to help advertisers avoid bad news 

Social media giants try to lean into the creator economy

***PRIVACY & SECURITY 

Privacy survey: Consumers have poor understanding of data privacy yet think they are taking proactive steps | ZDNet 

Why You Should Never 'Unsubscribe' From Illicit Spam Emails and Texts

Microsoft tracked a system sending a million malware emails a month. Here's what it discovered 

Google’s next big Chrome update will rewrite the rules of the web

This Linux malware is hijacking supercomputers across the globe 

The U.S. Spent $2.2 Million on a Cybersecurity System That Wasn’t Implemented — and Might Have Stopped a Major Hack

Here’s a Way to Learn if Facial Recognition Systems Used Your Photos ($)

***LITERATURE

An ambitious project to visually map thousands of books

Untangling the Legacy of The Color Purple

***POETRY

With Sunflowers As Her Guide, Poet Tunes In To Dream Life For Debut Collection

Inauguration star Amanda Gorman to perform at Super Bowl

Poet learned the power of words as a kid

going to places where you don’t normally go

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An old joke says that if you torture the data long enough, it will confess. With enough work, you can distort data to make it say what you want it to say.

We all hold some beliefs, and that’s fine. It’s all part of being human. What’s not OK, though, is when we let those beliefs inadvertently come into the way we form our hypotheses.

We can see this tendency in our everyday lives. We often interpret new information in such a way that it becomes compatible with our own beliefs. We read the news on the site that conforms most closely to our beliefs. We talk to people who are like us and hold similar views. We don’t want to get disconcerting evidence because that might lead us to change our worldview, which we might be afraid to do.

One way to fight this bias is to critically examine all your beliefs and try to find disconcerting evidence about each of your theories. By that, I mean actively seeking out evidence by going to places where you don’t normally go, talking to people you don’t normally talk to, and generally keeping an open mind.

Rahul Agarwal writing in Built in

The qualities of creative people

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Some observers have been led to comment on a certain “childlike” or “primitive” quality in creative individuals. They are childlike and primitive in the sense that they have not been trapped by the learned rigidities that immobilize the rest of us. In their chosen field they do not have the brittle knowingness and sophistication of people who think they know all the answers. The advantage of this fluidity is that it permits all kinds of combinations and recombinations of experience with a minimum of rigidity.

One could list a number of other traits that have been ascribed to the creative individual by research workers. Almost all observer have noted a remarkable zeal or dive in creative individuals. They are wholly absorbed in their work.

Anne Roe, in her study of gifted scientists, found that one of their most striking traits was a willingness to work hard and for long hours. The energy they bring to their work is not only intense but sustained. Most of the great creative performances grow out of years of arduous application.

Other observers have commented on the confidence, self-assertiveness or, as one investigator put it, the “sense of destiny” in creative persons. They have faith in their capacity to do the things they want and need to do in the area of their chosen work.

John Gardner, Self-Renewal

Data Science articles - Jan 2021

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Exploring photonics instead of conventional electronics for artificial intelligence and neuromorphic computing in order to process data in a faster and more energy-efficient way

DARPA program Blackjack will be working on an orbital mesh network of low-orbit satellites that will create enough computing power to do machine learning in space

A new type of neural network (dubbed “liquid“) helps machine-learning adapt to the variability of data inputs found in real-world systems

Bayesian model averaging: a look at hierarchical modeling

Deep-learning based reverse image search from unstructured data to pull valuable insights for industrial applications 

Drones can now be equipped with cybersecurity powered by artificial intelligence   

Popular machine learning interview questions (with answers)  

New contract procedures to make it easier for small companies to bid on AI uses for the military as Pentagon aims to spread artificial intelligence across military services  

The incredible physics behind quantum computing—a simple video explanation  

A new IARPA research effort will monitor man-made and natural change with global-scale image processing and machine learning

What is semi-supervised machine learning?

New quantum algorithms finally crack nonlinear equations

The Caring Effect

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Patients with irritable bowel syndrome were told they'd be participating in a study of the benefits of a acupuncture—and one group, which received the treatment from a warm, friendly researcher who asked detailed questions about their lives, did report a marked reduction in symptoms, equivalent to what might result from any drug on the market. Unbeknokwnst to them, the researchers used trick needles that didn’t pierce the skin.

Now here’s the interesting part. The same sham treatment was given to another group of subjects—but performed brusquely, without conversation. The benefits largely disappeared. It was the empathetic exchange between paractictioner and patient. Kaptchuk concluded, that made the difference.

What Kaptchuk demonstrated is what some medical thinkers have begun to call the “care effect”—the idea that the opportunity for patients to feel heard and cared for can improve their health. Scientific or no, alternative practitioners tend to express empathy, to allow for unhurried silences, and to ask what the meaning patients make of their pain. Kaptchuk’s study was a breakthrough: It showed that randomized, controlled trials could measure the effect of caring.

Nathanael Johnson, Writing in Wired magazine