April 27, 2006
simple beauty
There's something really sweet and beautiful about Cash's Redemption Songs. I mean, honestly, how often do 'Christian songs' sound like Cash's 'The Man Comes Around'.
One down, one to go
My 'advisor' would like to submit this paper next year to be considered for the Shepard Award. Will never happen, but was a really nice complement.
"The Shepard Award, in memory of an outstanding scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is presented to the graduating student who is deemed by the faculty to have prepared the most scholarly research paper. Departments in the school submit two theses, which are considered the best work of students graduating in the summer or spring. Each student presents their research in a 15 minute segment, 10 minutes for presentation and 5 minutes for questions. The Charles C. Shepard Award has been given annually since 1986 for academic excellence."
April 25, 2006
Glory Glory
From the last two posts it might be evident that I am almost finished with my thesis. In fact all I have left is some editing and signatures from my two advisors. The particular 'advisor' from which these letters came I never thought would give me any positive feedback for the last year and a half. He's an adjunct prof. who sees students...never....and really seems to have a dislike in working with MA students as apposed to PhD students.
What's next? I'm not sure. It's wonderful and horrifying to be done...i hate applying for jobs!
"Ari:
I want to read it more carefully again, and will do so by thursday, but you've really done a hell of a job. I think you have two or three points that would fit well in a paper and since there is relatively little about adherence in children, I think it would be a real contribution. In particular, the peculiar interaction of age, adherence, and the child's knowledge of disease status is of considerable importance. I'll get back to you or perhaps we can talk more on Thursday (nothing to change, just to discuss).
'Advisor' "
April 17, 2006
Makes you feel good comment
"Ari:
I think the discussion is very strong, and really indicates to me that you have a publishable paper lurking within. The interaction of adherence and disclosure is fascinating, and you might want to contemplate the long term effects of nondisclosure (where you gain a little bit) versus disclosure (where you lose a little bit, but may actually gain something in the long term). Perhaps the answer is that there is an optimal time to tell kids their status. You're probably not in the mood to do any more fooling with the data, but you might want to see if this disclosure effect holds for both younger and older kids. If there's an important difference, that could be explanatory and could foster disclosure, which strikes me, for whatever intuition is worth, as a better route to follow.
But I think you could use this virtually as is, just filling in some of the blanks. I think the stuff about how much improvement you get for 80% adherence or 100% adherence is a very telling message. In this population, there is only so much you can do.
-Advisor"
April 11, 2006
Omnivore's Dilemma
In a break from work I started listening to Fresh Air's guest, Michael Pollan. It was a really wonderful interview right up my alley. Some of the topics that were most interesting dealt with cost-effectiveness, social status discrimination, unequal distribution of government subsidization, sustainability, and local vs. organic food.
If you're interested in listening.
April 7, 2006
Happy Birthdays
Today, it’s still April 6th by my calendar, is my youngest nephew’s 0 birthday (Liam Ryder) and my husband’s 25th. Cesarean section has its benefits in making tim the ‘best’ uncle ever. How can I compete?
Thankful for a successful surgery and a beautiful boy.
