Help My Grad Survey Research Methods Students With a Class Survey Project

Would you like to help with some academic research to help graduate students?


The following is a link to an online voluntary and confidential survey being conducted as part of a class research project. We are trying to get as many responses as possible and I am asking your help in getting this done. If you are interested in responding to this survey and you are an employed adult of at least 19 years of age, click on this link and read in the information page regarding the research. I appreciate your time. Next, I would like you to consider reposting information to your social networks about this post. Please repost, retweet, etc. the original tweet without adding any additional text. Thanks so much for your help on this research project!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/UAB-SOC-ICT-USE-STUDY

If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please contact us by email at uab.tech.work@gmail.com or contact the principal investigator, Shelia R. Cotten, Ph.D. at 205-934-8678.

If you have questions about your rights as a research participant, or concerns or complaints about the research, you may contact Ms. Denise H. Ball. Ms. Ball is the Interim Director of the Office of the Institutional Review Board for Human Use (OIRB) at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Ms. Ball may be reached at (205) 934-3789 or 1-800-822-8816. If calling the toll-free number, press the option for “all other calls” or for an operator/attendant and ask for extension 4-3789. Regular hours for the Office of the IRB are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CT, Monday through Friday. You may also call this number in the event the research staff cannot be reached or you wish to talk to someone else. Thank you in advance for your help with this study.

Do You 'Steve Jobs It'?

I am not surprised by the outpouring of concern when it was announced last night that Steve Jobs had passed away. However, I have been surprised by how much the death of Steve Jobs has made me feel sad, and I'm not even one of the Apple devotees. The only Apple product I have is an iPad2, which I love by the way! Regardless of whether I owned his products, he was obviously a brillant man who knew how to create technologies that appealed to the masses.

I saw this posting on twitter this morning and thought it was worth reposting here. I'll be curious to hear what you think and whether you 'Steve Jobs It': Do You 'Steve Jobs It'?

A Decade of Distraction?

I leave for a trip to the UK on Monday. This will be my first trip to the UK. I'm very much looking forward to it!

I'm part of two presentations at the conference at the iCS Oxford Internet Institute, A Decade in Internet Time. One of those is with Rey Junco, a higher education professor at Loch Haven University. We've posted a draft copy of our paper here: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1927049. We welcome any thoughts or feedback on it before we submit it for journal publication.

The Public Face of Sociology

I thought others might find this article interesting, as it discusses some of the different ways of doing sociology. I've increasingly moved into the public sociology realm in the past 5 years or so. I wish more sociologists embraced this approach! 

The Public Face of Sociology

Facebook for Centenarians: Senior Citizens Learn Social Media - The Atlantic

A great article on some of my NIA funded work. There are a few errors which they will correct but a great article overall!

Facebook for Centenarians: Senior Citizens Learn Social Media - The Atlantic

The Hits Keep On Coming

Last week the bad news keep coming and coming.

It started when I heard that my sister-in-law was very sick. She has been diagnosed with advanced cancer, that has spread to various parts of her body. She has always been such a strong person. I hope that her strength will guide her as she faces this latest challenge. We will be making a trip to visit her very soon.

On the same day I heard about my sister-in-law's health status, I received a call from one of my graduate students. She told me that she was taking a full-time job. She had just defended her thesis proposal a few weeks ago and I was hoping she would defend her thesis later this semester. While I know that taking a full-time job was not her first choice, unfortunately the graduate student health insurance is not great at UAB. She felt she had to have good health insurance given health issues she has. I couldn't tell her not to do this when I know finances have been a major source of stress for her. Not having a strong financial safety net can be very stressful, as I know from my own life. And, she'll make more in this job than she would starting with a PhD as an Assistant Professor. Even though I know she needs to do this, it is still sad. She works as an RA on one of my projects and the team is very close. We will all miss her working on the project and seeing her around the office. I am hopeful that she will finish her MA and also her PhD. She only has a few more classes for her PhD and then her dissertation. Her thesis is pretty far along, so I think she'll finish this pretty easily.

I told one of my grad students that I wondered what was going to be the 3rd piece of bad news, since they typically come in 3s. Well, a couple of days later, I heard that one of my cousins is in the hospital with a large brain tumor (the size of a baseball). The good news is that it doesn't appear to have spread and they hope they can remove it.

In addition to these things, some of you may have heard of Hurricane Irene which pounded the east coast of the US over the past few days. It came ashore near Cape Lookout, which is close to Atlantic Beach, NC. We're still waiting to hear about damage in Atlantic Beach (where we have a condo). Power was restored Sunday night and they began to let people back onto the beach. We hope that the damage was not severe to the community and to our condo. We feel for all the people up and down the east coast who have experienced the impacts of Irene!

I am hopeful that this week will not bring more 'hits' but rather some good news of some sort. As we look around us, we feel very lucky to have our health and our family.

UAB is hiring 3 new sociology faculty

We’ve had several retirements in the past couple of years, plus one of our colleagues passed away from cancer last fall. We’re hiring!


Please pass along this info to others who may be interested: - 1 Junior Position, 1 Open Rank Position, and 1 Teaching Assistant Professor. See descriptions below. We’re interviewing at ASA.

I’d love to have applications from people that do health and technology research (just my own opinion of course)!

1. University of Alabama at Birmingham. The Department of Sociology invites applications for a tenure-track/tenured position to begin August 1, 2012 for an Assistant Professor. Teaching and research should fit with the Department’s emphasis on medical sociology. Courses taught may include gender, statistics and medical sociology, with preference given to candidates with research interests in one or more of the following areas: genetics, obesity, nutrition, outcomes research, technology or health disparities. The successful candidate must hold a Ph.D. in Sociology at the time of appointment and have a record that demonstrates a strong independent research agenda. UAB is a Carnegie designated RU/VH: Research University institution with a population of approximately 17,500 undergraduate and graduate students. The Department has established research links with faculty in UAB’s Medical School, which is ranked in the top 25 in the U.S., and to various clinical programs and research centers on campus. The Department offers Bachelor’s degrees in Sociology and Social Psychology, the MA in Sociology, and the Ph.D. in Medical Sociology. Metropolitan Birmingham is home to over 1 million people and is at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, with plentiful cultural and recreational opportunities. Applicants should send current curriculum vitae, a list of at least three references, and a cover letter summarizing interests and experiences to: Dr. William Cockerham, Chair, HHB 460, 1401 University Blvd., University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294-1152. The deadline for applications is October 1 or until the position is filled. We welcome applications from under-represented minorities and women. The University of Alabama at Birmingham is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action institution.

2. University of Alabama at Birmingham. The Department of Sociology invites applications for a tenure-track/tenured position to begin August 1, 2011. Rank is open, with preference given to candidates with a strong history of external funding and publication. Teaching and research should fit with the Department’s emphasis on medical sociology. The successful candidate must hold a Ph.D. in Sociology at the time of appointment. UAB is a Carnegie designated RU/VH: Research University institution with a population of approximately 17,500 undergraduate and graduate students. The Department has research links to faculty in the School of Medicine, which is ranked in the top 25 in the U.S. and to several clinical programs and research centers on campus. The Department offers Bachelor’s degrees in Sociology and Social Psychology, the MA in Sociology, and the Ph.D. in Medical Sociology. Metropolitan Birmingham is home to over 1 million people and is at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, with plentiful cultural and recreational opportunities. Applicants should send current curriculum vitae, a list of at least three references, and a cover letter summarizing interests and experiences to: Dr. William Cockerham, Chair, HHB 460, 1401 University Blvd., University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294-1152. The deadline for applications is October 1 or until the position is filled. We welcome applications from under-represented minorities and women. The University of Alabama at Birmingham is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action institution.

3. University of Alabama at Birmingham. The Department of Sociology invites applications for a non-tenure track position to begin January 1, 2012 or later for a Teaching Assistant Professor. Courses taught may include Intro, Social Problems, and Social Change. Other courses should fit with the Department’s emphasis on medical sociology. The successful candidate must hold a Ph.D. in Sociology at the time of appointment. UAB is a Carnegie designated RU/VH: Research University institution with a population of approximately 17,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The Department of Sociology and houses the Center for Social Medicine and is affiliated with the Lister Hill Center for Health Policy, the Center for Aging, and others. The Department offers Bachelor’s degrees in Sociology and Social Psychology, the MA in Sociology, and the Ph.D. in Medical Sociology. Metropolitan Birmingham is home to over 1 million people and is at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, with plentiful cultural and recreational opportunities. Applicants should send current curriculum vitae, a list of at least three references, and a cover letter summarizing interests and experiences to: Dr. William Cockerham, Chair, HHB 460, 1401 University Blvd., University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294-1152. The deadline for applications is October 15 or until the position is filled. We welcome applications from under-represented minorities and women. The University of Alabama at Birmingham is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action institution.

Shelia

Self-Promotion: Shameless and Otherwise

There have been some interesting articles and blog posts recently about how academics, and others, promote their work, themselves, etc. Here is another worthy read in this area. I hope that women, in particular, will read this and think about the impacts of how we promote (or don't promote more often than not) ourselves and our work.

http://speculative-diction.blogspot.com/2011/08/shameful-self-promotion-vs-meritocracy.html

Thoughts on this topic?

1st Day of Kindergarten!

Today was Callen's first day of kindergarten. We had to wake her up much earlier than she normally gets up as her school starts at 7:45 (ouch!). She woke up in a great mood, which is amazing given she isn't a morning child. She got ready in her new school outfit and shoes, brushed her hair, ate a little breakfast, and even brushed her teeth. We were in the car by 7:15.

On the way to school she said: "I'm so excited!" I'm so happy for her. I hope she continues to love school as I did when I was growing up.

Here are a couple of first day kindergarten pix taken before we left home.

Preschool Graduation Day

Callen was excited but a little apprehensive about leaving her friends behind at her preschool. However, the graduation was a lot of fun. And, the teachers gave each child a wonderful scrapbook with pictures of them from throughout the school year. A very nice surprise for all of us! Below are a few pix from graduation day.

Callen with Ms. Tammy, the lead teacher in her class.

Callen with one of her best buddies, Brandt. Unfortunately her other best friend was at the beach during graduation, so no picture of Callen and Brooke.

Callen's other teacher, Ms. LaKisha, and one of Callen's friends.

They gave them all blue t-shirts and caps to wear on graduation.

Meet the Teacher Day

A few pictures from our meet the teacher day yesterday for Callen's kindergarten. She was excited and last night said that she loved her new school!

Her teacher, Ms. Morgan.

Today's Activities

As I've noted in other blog posts, I usually feel way behind and like I'm constantly juggling way too many things. I had my annual gyn appointment recently and mentioned it to my doctor. She noted, 'well, you can control that can't you?' Well, yes and no...Several projects are ongoing and funded externally so it would be hard to just stop work on them. Some, sure I could control. Learning to say 'no' better would help some certainly.

I was telling my postdoc that today seemed rather frenetic as I had been jumping back and forth between a slew of different activities today. Yesterday, a friend told me that my Facebook updates made him tired just seeing mine. I laughed but realized he has a point. I've been feeling rather burned out this summer, as this summer has been very busy (like most summers are for me it seems).

We had a faculty meeting yesterday and our chair at the end of it told us to all go home and not come back till Monday. I looked at him like he was losing his mind. Obviously he doesn't realize that my syllabus still isn't finished for my class that starts Tuesday AM, I haven't even started creating my Blackboard Learn site (which is new this semester since they change BB about every year it seems and everyone is complaining about how bad the change is this time), my desk is so messy I can't even see the top of it, I need to get quotes and order incentives for 1400 kids and teachers, I need to hire a new person for a project, I won't even mention the papers that I'm behind on (sorry colleagues!) or the new grant proposal I'm supposed to be writing now either.

Even with constantly feeling behind and overwhelmed, I feel very lucky to have a job that I love and to work with such great students, postdoc, and colleagues. We're now in week 8 of Bo's being laid off. This adds to the stress of everything for sure! We're hopeful that something will come along soon. He's working every network he has right now to try to find something. If anyone has any contacts in the planning/zoning or wireless industries or knows of any related job openings, please let me know.

To cap off this long blog post, here are just a FEW of the disparate things I've done already today:

• bought donuts for RAs on one project who are in an all day training
• got gas in my car
• got to the office before 8 AM
• responded to 50+ or so emails today
• met with a potential employee about joining one of my projects
• reviewed draft of a survey
• worked on my syllabus on and off all day
• reviewed some info on the new BB Learn site
• emailed 2 companies for quotes on flashdrives, talked to one on the phone, exchanged other emails back and forth with them
• ate lunch
• talked to an RA about project updates
• emailed another RA about a chapter I wanted her to get for me
• skimmed the texts for my class
• reviewed a ppt file for a student who is defending her thesis proposal in the AM
• emailed staff about materials that were supposed to have been moved
• returned phone calls to several people
• reviewed another ppt for ASA presentation next week
• and numerous other things that I can't recall right now...

Hopefully tomorrow will be less frenetic, though I have 2 students defending their thesis proposals in the AM and then Callen's meet the teacher in the afternoon. Should be a good day!

Could you take an email sabbatical?

I like danah's advice on how to actually take an email sabbatical. See: How To Take An Email Sabbatical - by danah boyd. However, I've never been able to do it completely. Even when I'm on vacation, I still check in for my email on a daily (usually more than once a day) basis.

And, having email on my mobile phone makes it so much easier to check email now! And, it makes it easier to get rid of junk email very quickly.

I suspect that my various projects would go on even if I didn't check in and respond to email queries, issues, etc. However, I don't know if they would proceed as smoothly if I didn't do this.

I hope to one day be able to do what danah suggests and take an email sabbatical. What about those of you who are tethered to your technological devices, could you take an email sabbatical? Or, for younger generations, a texting sabbatical?

2 Month Gap?

I didn't realize it had been almost 2 months since I did a blog posting.Wow, the time flies by so fast it seems. A few things that have occurred during the past 2 months:

• I had a large NIH grant proposal due the end of May that CONSUMED a huge portion of my time preparing it. I was pushing really, really hard the whole month of May on it. In fact, I was working so hard that I wasn't resting enough, nor taking good care of myself. I ended up with 2 bouts of strep throat in May! Thankfully the grant made the submission date, thanks to great help from wonderful grad students and others invovled in the project.
• For my NSF ICAC project, we were out surveying students everyday for over a week. It was gruelling but worth the effort.
• We went to Atlantic Beach for a week in May. Our dear friends from Maryland the McElroys joined us for part of it. Di and I had a day at the spa, which was glorious, and some girl time to hang out and talk! Callen loved playing with their dog Star. My friend Marieke and her family joined me and Callen for the last couple of days there, after Bo had flown home. Callen had a blast learning to ride the waves with Sabina. She was fearless! Although I had to work on various things while we were there, it was still nice to get away and feel the ocean!
• June started out hectic too. I had a large annual report due for my NSF ICAC project towards the end of the month. All the survey data had to be entered, cleaned, and analyzed so we could include part of it in the annual report. The annual report takes so much time! It was finally submitted the Friday before I flew to DC for a grant panel at NSF.
• The grant panel at NSF was another thing that made June even more frenetic. Remind me to never agree to be on a panel that occurs around the same time I have a grant annual report due!
• Callen continues to enjoy the last few weeks at her preschool. She's excited about starting kindergarten in the fall and at times wishes it would start sooner (but recognizes she will miss her preschool friends next year as they will go to various other schools).
• Callen started taking gymnastics in June at a local gymnastics academy. She enjoys it a lot but it is hard work.
• One of the most discouraging things that happened in June is that Jefferson County laid off over 500 people, including Bo. The county commissioners are not effective leaders and have no vision at all. The one in charge of his dept. eliminated 2/3 of the employees; you don't need a deputy director when you have so few employees remaining. Bo has been making calls and applying for various things, but there are not a lot of openings in his areas at this time. And, I'm sure none will pay even close to what he was making.
• The last item has led us to really start thinking about ways to not spend money. We hope that Bo will find another position soon.

This was a few of the main things that have happened in our lives the past 2 months. Hopefully it won't be so long before another posting.
Happy 4th of July!

A powerful story of first-hand experience with the tornado

UA student tells his story of going through the tornado. Very powerful story!

Alabama Tornado Relief List

For those who are wondering how they can help those in need in AL, here is a link to a list that was compiled that has a variety of ways that people can help. There are so many people in need. The devastation is incredible.

Alabama Tornado Relief List

Thanks for any support that you can provide!

Tornadoes kill over 200 - The Big Picture - Boston.com

Tornadoes kill over 200 - The Big Picture - Boston.com

Even more pictures of the devastation from the tornadoes here in AL. So very sad!

Amazing pix of destruction from storms in Alabama

Some of the most amazing pictures from the devastation in Alabama from the tornadoes!

The Atlantic - pix from the destruction in Alabama

So very thankful today! We only lost power for 15 or so hours and had a tree and some big limbs down in our yard. Very fortunate compared to the horrible devastation in other parts of Alabama!

My Little Reader

For the first time tonite, Callen read a whole book by herself! We only helped her with a few of the words. I am so proud of her! Here's a picture of the book - Pizza for Sam.

Why Academics Suffer Burnout - Inside Higher Ed

Much of what is said resonates in the academy of today. I wish they had been more proactive in suggesting structural rather than individual level changes to deal with this issue. Why Academics Suffer Burnout - Inside Higher Ed

Full Professor!

I received official notification on Tuesday that I have been promoted to Full Professor. I wanted to post the letter from President Garrison on the blog but can't figure out how to insert a pdf file into the blog. Oh well.

Several people have asked me if I feel any different since receiving the notice. I don't yet. I think it hasn't set in yet. Perhaps it is because I am so busy with so many different things that I haven't had a chance to even reflect on it yet.

My chair sent out a notice to the faculty in my department. All but 2 of my colleagues either stopped by or sent emails to congratulate me. I posted it on Facebook and lots of friends have congratulated me. Some of my grad students brought me flowers yesterday. Bo and Callen did too. My office smells so great with the flowers! What a celebratory week!

A colleague asked me how I planned to celebrate. He knows I love going to the beach. Relaxing for a few days at the beach is a great idea but I haven't found a time to go relax at the beach yet. Hard to do this when you have a grant proposal due in about 6 weeks! Hopefully I'll find some time soon to take a few days and contemplate this phase of my academic career.

Thanks to all my friends, family members, and colleagues for the emails, notes, and comments. I couldn't have made it this far without the support and friendship that I've received from each of you!

Here's to the next phase of my career, fun celebrations, and wonderful family, friends, and colleagues!

It’s 4:30 in the morning, do you know where your work/life balance is? - Inside Higher Ed

This post from Inside Higher Ed really resonates with me, even though I am no longer an assistant professor. So hard to find the work/life balance but we do the best we can! It’s 4:30 in the morning, do you know where your work/life balance is? - Inside Higher Ed

Shoes From a 5 Year Old's Perspective

When I dropped Callen off at her preschool yesterday, a girl in her class walked up to us and said: "Callen, I LOVE your sandals. You HAVE to tell me where you got them." So cute and so funny coming from a 5 year old! I wish I had a video of her saying it.

Out of the Mouth of a 5 Year Old

Callen says so many things that I want to remember and post on the blog, but as you know I haven't blogged much lately and by the time I do I usually can't remember the things she said or the way she said them. Here are just a few that I can remember.

• Lord have mercy.
• Don't make me get upset at you. (With as much attitude as any 13 year old!)
• You're awesome Dad.
• I love you more than the world Mama (I never tire of hearing that!).
• You make me do EVERYTHING! (After I've just finished making her lunch and taken her to swimming lessons, when I asked her to take her dishes to the sink.)

There are many more that unfortunately I can't remember at this time. Out of the mouth of babes!

Goals for 2011 - revisited

I posted these on Facebook on January 3rd. Thought I'd post them here too, now a month later.

Rather than resolutions for 2011, I'd like to think there are goals that I'd like to achieve. They include (in no particular order):

• live a more balanced life
• take a picture of my daughter each week
• laugh more often
• listen to good music on a daily basis
• don't let the political BS at a certain institution of higher education get to me
• move more on a daily basis
• spend more time with friends and family
• begin writing a book
• write more consistently on a daily basis
• check email less often
• enjoy the feel of the sun on my face more regularly
• spend more time near oceans
• update my blog more frequently
• cherish the friends and family in my life

I'm not sure how many of these have been worked on on a regular basis. I haven't met the goal of updating the blog more often. Hard to believe it has been two months almost since my last post. I guess it is more about the process of trying to be proactive in striving for the goals than in actually accomplishing them. Small steps eventually add up to large distances.

What are your 2011 resolutions, goals, etc? And, what is your progress thus far?