[DIALOGnews] DIALOG AND DISCCRS News July 26, 2002
Susan Weiler
weilercs@whitman.edu
Fri, 26 Jul 2002 18:04:27 -0700
--============_-1184390623==_ma============
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" ; format="flowed"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Study Fuels Worry Over Glacial Melting
Australian Research Helps Predict Climate Change
Pressure Putting [Australian] Academics at Mental Risk:
Where have all the (American) Grad Students Gone
Congress restores funding to U.S. Geological Survey
Asteroid impact in 2019?
Postdoctoral Research Position in Carbon Cycle Research at UCLA.
********************
STUDY FUELS WORRY OVER GLACIAL MELTING
from The Washington Post
Alaska's glaciers are melting at more than twice the rate previously
thought because of warming temperatures, dramatically altering the majestic
contours of the state and driving up sea levels, according to a new study.
Scientists using highly precise airborne laser measurements of 67 Alaskan
glaciers from the mid-1950s to the mid-1990s discovered that the glaciers
are melting an average of six feet a year -- and in some cases a few
hundred feet -- and that the rate has accelerated in the past seven or
eight years.
As one measure of the severity of the problem, the researchers calculated
that the glaciers are generating nearly twice the annual meltage of the
Greenland Ice Sheet, which is the largest ice mass in the Northern
Hemisphere and second only to the Antarctic. That would mean the Alaskan
melt is adding about two-tenths of a millimeter a year to sea levels -- a
seemingly small rise that nevertheless could eventually have long-term
implications for flooding on Pacific islands and along coastal areas, the
researchers concluded.
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25660-2002Jul18.html>
********************
AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH HELPS PREDICT CLIMATE CHANGE
DARWIN, Australia, July 22, 2002 (ENS)
The United States and Australia are collaborating on a new Atmospheric
Radiation Measurement (ARM) research site in Darwin that will help predict
global climate change. For the full article, see:
<http://ens-news.com/ens/jul2002/2002-07-22-09.asp#anchor6>
---SOURCE: Environment News Service, July 22, 2002. Copyright Environment
News Service (ENS) 2002. Republished with permission from ENS online at:
<http://ens-news.com>
*********************
PRESSURE PUTTING [AUSTRALIAN] ACADEMICS AT MENTAL RISK: study
By Misha Ketchell
(Submitted by DIALOGer Adele Pile; Hmmmm, do they really think it is
any better overseas? )
July 4 2002
Half the academics working in Australia's universities are at risk of
psychological illness due to unhealthy stress levels, a new study has
found.
A survey of more than 8000 Australian academics found they suffered higher
than average levels of stress-related medical conditions such as
migraines, hypertension and coronary heart disease.
The study, Occupational Stress in Australian Universities, revealed
academics were more likely than average Australians to report
stress-related symptoms such as sleeping difficulties and headaches.
According to lead researcher Professor Tony Winefield, of the University
of South Australia, 50 per cent of staff who took part in the study were
at risk of psychological illness compared with 19 per cent of the
population overall.
Professor Winefield said the study, jointly sponsored by the National
Tertiary Education Union and the Australian Research Council, showed the
highest stress levels were among junior academics, those employed in the
newer universities and those working in the humanities and social
sciences.
Job satisfaction among academics was lower than most other occupations.
One of the main causes of stress was excessive working hours, with almost
one-third of academics claiming they worked more than 55 hours a week.
"Many of the things that made academic work popular in the past - job
security and academic freedom - no longer exist," Professor Winefield
said.
"There are higher levels of psychological strain caused by worsening
student-staff ratios, higher levels of casual staff."
=46igures released last month by the Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee
showed that student-staff ratios had deteriorated from close to 13:1 in
1990 to almost 20:1 last year.
National Tertiary Education Union president Carolyn Allport said the
survey was graphic evidence of the human cost of the funding crisis
afflicting Australian universities.
"This situation is bad for the individuals and their families, bad for
universities and bad for the wider economy due to increased absenteeism,
staff turnover, stress-related injuries and student dissatisfaction, all
of which reduce the productivity of the tertiary education sector," Dr
Allport said.
The president of the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations,
Leisa Ridges, said many young postgraduates were put off academic careers
by the increasing demands on junior lecturers.
"Often they're at a point in life where they have family responsibilities.
They also have to deal with the pressure of tight deadlines and writing
constant grant applications to fund their research," she said.
Opposition education spokeswoman Jenny Macklin said the study should not
be a surprise to anyone, given the numbers of students academic staff were
required to teach.
"Many academics are leaving universities and trying to get jobs overseas.
We urgently need a decent investment in our universities but Education
Minister Brendan Nelson says there won't be greater public investment. If
that's the case, things will only get worse."
A spokesman for Education Minister Nelson said he had not seen the study
and was not able to comment.
This story was found at:
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/07/03/1025667007270.html
***************************
WHERE HAVE ALL THE [AMERICAN] GRAD STUDENTS GONE?
Commentary from The Christian Science Monitor
PASADENA, CALIF. =96 Is it just me, or are things getting kind of quie=
t
around here? For several years now, a complaint has been heard in the
hallways of our top universities: where have all the graduate students
gone? Every year, there seem to be fewer and fewer qualified students
applying for positions in science and engineering doctoral programs.
The problem is far from anecdotal. Now, with statistics compiled by th=
e
National Science Foundation, professional science organizations, and the
federal government, it's official. Prospective students are turning away
from careers in science. Since a peak in the early 1990s, the number of
science and engineering students has tanked. In some fields, the decrease
has been as much as 5 percent per year, according to a study published by
the National Science Foundation. In electrical engineering, enrollments
have dropped nearly 30 percent in the last 10 years. Overall, the number of
Ph.D. students in science and engineering is at a 40-year low, and there is
little sign of a turnaround.
This trend has sent academic departments and education experts scurryi=
ng.
Graduate students are the lifeblood of research universities, working in
the trenches to produce the discoveries that lead to publications, as well
as shouldering much of the teaching load. The top dozen or so American
universities may have to admit students they don't feel are up to their
standards, but for other universities, the problem is far more acute.
<http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0725/p25s01-cogn.html>
******************************
CONGRESS RESTORES FUNDING TO U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
AGU: ASLA 02-18 Congress Poised to Restore Funding to USGS
The House has passed a bill that restores funding for the U.S. Geologi=
cal
Survey (USGS) for fiscal year (FY) 2003. Funding for the USGS would
total $928 million in the House version, up 6.6% over the president's $867
million request and 1.6% over FY 2002's $914 million allocation. The
Senate is considering an appropriation for the USGS close to the House
number: $927 million or 6.5% over the request, and 1.4% over FY 2002.
Water and geologic programs that were proposed for large reductions,
elimination, or transfer in the president's request were completely restored
in both bills. Both House and Senate bills are accompanied by strong
language chastising the administration for failing to adequately support the
important work of the USGS.
Please write to members of the House and Senate committees, especially=
if
you are a constituent of a member on the Interior Appropriations
subcommittee, to thank them for making a strong investment in the
geosciences. You can contact your congressional delegation with a few
mouse clicks by using the AGU Alert and Action web site
http://advnet.agu.org/ .
**************************
ASTEROID IMPACT IN 2019? As if things aren't bad enough--or, there is
more than one way to achieve global change....
NEW ASTEROID HAS LONG ODDS FOR EARTH CRASH
from The New York Times
A newly found asteroid, large enough to wreak worldwide destruction, will
cross Earth's path in 2019, and although the chance of a collision is slim,
astronomers cannot yet rule it out.
If the asteroid, named 2002 NT7, were to hit, it would be on Feb. 1, 2019.
The odds of that happening are less than 1 in 200,000, NASA's Jet
Propulsion Laboratory said yesterday. That is roughly the same chance that
an unknown, as yet unseen meteor will hit Earth between now and then.
Scientists expect the 1-in-200,000 odds to grow longer as they learn more
about the asteroid's orbit.
On the 0-to-10 Torino scale describing asteroid hazards, 2002 NT7 ranks a
1, meriting careful monitoring but with the chance of impact judged
extremely unlikely. A ranking of 0 means no danger; a 10 means certain
impact with worldwide devastation.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/25/science/25ASTE.html>
**************************
POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH POSITION IN CARBON CYCLE RESEARCH AT UCLA
The department of Atmospheric Sciences and the Institute of Geophysics and
Planetary Physics (IGPP) at UCLA are inviting applications for a
postdoctoral fellow to work in the Biogeochemistry Group of Prof.
Nicolas Gruber on inverse methods to study the global carbon cycle. The
work will focus on the estimation of the magnitude and variability of the
exchange of carbon dioxide across the air-sea interface on the basis of
measurements of ocean interior carbon concentrations and of atmospheric
carbondioxide. Responsibilities of this job include the further
development and application of inverse methods to study air-sea CO2
exchange and other carbon cycle problems, the analysis and interpretation
of results of oceanic and atmospheric tracer transport models, and the
interpretation of oceanic and atmospheric observations relevant to the
carbon cycle. Candidates must possess a Ph.D. in earth, applied math,
physical, biological, or chemical sciences. Training in oceanic and/or
atmospheric sciences is strongly preferred. A strong mathematical
interest with experience in inverse methods is highly desirable.
Experience with numerical models of the ocean or atmosphere is not
necessary but helpful. The appointment will be made for an initial period
of two years at the PGR VII level, with a starting annual salary of
$40,512. A third year of funding is available. Please send a
resume, a statement of research interest, and the names of three
references to Nicolas Gruber, 5853 Slichter Hall, University of
California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095. e-mail:
ngruber@igpp.ucla.edu. Deadline for applications is September 30, 2002.
UCLA is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and encourages
women and minorities to apply.
***************************
--
C. Susan Weiler, Ph.D.
Biology Department
Whitman College
Walla Walla, WA 99362
Tel: 509-527-5948
Fax: 509-527-5961
Programs for Recent PhDs http://aslo.org/phd.html
DIALOG and DIACES poster http://aslo.org/dialog/dialogposter.pdf
DISCCRS poster
http://aslo.org/disccrs/disccrsposter.pdf
Minorities in the Aquatic Sciences http://aslo.org/mas/
MOVING? Please send ADDRESS CHANGES to phd@whitman.edu
--============_-1184390623==_ma============
Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
<!doctype html public "-//W3C//DTD W3 HTML//EN">
<html><head><style type=3D"text/css"><!--
blockquote, dl, ul, ol, li { padding-top: 0 ; padding-bottom: 0 }
--></style><title>DIALOG AND DISCCRS News July 26,
2002</title></head><body>
<div>Study Fuels Worry Over Glacial Melting</div>
<div>Australian Research Helps Predict Climate Change</div>
<div>Pressure Putting [Australian] Academics at Mental Risk:</div>
<div>Where have all the (American) Grad Students Gone</div>
<div>Congress restores funding to U.S. Geological Survey</div>
<div>Asteroid impact in 2019?</div>
<div>Postdoctoral Research Position in Carbon Cycle Research at
UCLA.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>********************</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>STUDY FUELS WORRY OVER GLACIAL MELTING<br>
from The Washington Post<br>
<br>
Alaska's glaciers are melting at more than twice the rate
previously<br>
thought because of warming temperatures, dramatically altering the
majestic<br>
contours of the state and driving up sea levels, according to a new
study.<br>
<br>
Scientists using highly precise airborne laser measurements of 67
Alaskan<br>
glaciers from the mid-1950s to the mid-1990s discovered that the
glaciers<br>
are melting an average of six feet a year -- and in some cases a
few<br>
hundred feet -- and that the rate has accelerated in the past seven
or<br>
eight years.<br>
<br>
As one measure of the severity of the problem, the researchers
calculated<br>
that the glaciers are generating nearly twice the annual meltage of
the<br>
Greenland Ice Sheet, which is the largest ice mass in the Northern<br>
Hemisphere and second only to the Antarctic. That would mean the
Alaskan<br>
melt is adding about two-tenths of a millimeter a year to sea levels
-- a<br>
seemingly small rise that nevertheless could eventually have
long-term<br>
implications for flooding on Pacific islands and along coastal areas,
the<br>
researchers concluded.<br>
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25660-2002Jul18.ht<span
></span>ml></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>********************</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH HELPS PREDICT CLIMATE CHANGE<br>
DARWIN, Australia, July 22, 2002 (ENS)<br>
The United States and Australia are collaborating on a
new Atmospheric<br>
Radiation Measurement (ARM) research site in Darwin that will help
predict<br>
global climate change. For the full article, see:<br>
<http://ens-news.com/ens/jul2002/2002-07-22-09.asp#anchor6><br>
---SOURCE: Environment News Service, July 22, 2002. Copyright
Environment<br>
News Service (ENS) 2002. Republished with permission from ENS online
at:</div>
<div><http://ens-news.com></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>*********************</div>
<div>PRESSURE PUTTING [AUSTRALIAN] ACADEMICS AT MENTAL RISK:
study</div>
<div>By Misha Ketchell</div>
<div>(Submitted by DIALOGer Adele Pile; Hmmmm, do they really think it
is any better overseas? )</div>
<div>July 4 2002<br>
Half the academics working in Australia's universities are at risk
of<br>
psychological illness due to unhealthy stress levels, a new study
has<br>
found.<br>
A survey of more than 8000 Australian academics found they suffered
higher<br>
than average levels of stress-related medical conditions such as<br>
migraines, hypertension and coronary heart disease.<br>
The study, Occupational Stress in Australian Universities,
revealed<br>
academics were more likely than average Australians to report<br>
stress-related symptoms such as sleeping difficulties and
headaches.<br>
According to lead researcher Professor Tony Winefield, of the
University<br>
of South Australia, 50 per cent of staff who took part in the study
were<br>
at risk of psychological illness compared with 19 per cent of the<br>
population overall.<br>
Professor Winefield said the study, jointly sponsored by the
National<br>
Tertiary Education Union and the Australian Research Council, showed
the<br>
highest stress levels were among junior academics, those employed in
the<br>
newer universities and those working in the humanities and social<br>
sciences.<br>
Job satisfaction among academics was lower than most other
occupations.<br>
One of the main causes of stress was excessive working hours, with
almost<br>
one-third of academics claiming they worked more than 55 hours a
week.<br>
"Many of the things that made academic work popular in the past -
job<br>
security and academic freedom - no longer exist," Professor
Winefield<br>
said.<br>
"There are higher levels of psychological strain caused by
worsening<br>
student-staff ratios, higher levels of casual staff."<br>
=46igures released last month by the Australian Vice-Chancellors'
Committee<br>
showed that student-staff ratios had deteriorated from close to 13:1
in</div>
<div>1990 to almost 20:1 last year.<br>
National Tertiary Education Union president Carolyn Allport said
the<br>
survey was graphic evidence of the human cost of the funding
crisis<br>
afflicting Australian universities.<br>
"This situation is bad for the individuals and their families,
bad for<br>
universities and bad for the wider economy due to increased
absenteeism,<br>
staff turnover, stress-related injuries and student dissatisfaction,
all<br>
of which reduce the productivity of the tertiary education sector,"
Dr<br>
Allport said.<br>
The president of the Council of Australian Postgraduate
Associations,</div>
<div>Leisa Ridges, said many young postgraduates were put off academic
careers</div>
<div>by the increasing demands on junior lecturers.</div>
<div>"Often they're at a point in life where they have family
responsibilities.</div>
<div>They also have to deal with the pressure of tight deadlines and
writing<br>
constant grant applications to fund their research," she
said.<br>
Opposition education spokeswoman Jenny Macklin said the study should
not<br>
be a surprise to anyone, given the numbers of students academic staff
were<br>
required to teach.<br>
"Many academics are leaving universities and trying to get jobs
overseas.<br>
We urgently need a decent investment in our universities but
Education<br>
Minister Brendan Nelson says there won't be greater public investment.
If<br>
that's the case, things will only get worse."<br>
A spokesman for Education Minister Nelson said he had not seen the
study<br>
and was not able to comment.<br>
This story was found at:<br>
<font
color=3D"#0000FF"><u
>http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/07/03/1025667007270.html</u></font
></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>***************************</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>WHERE HAVE ALL THE [AMERICAN] GRAD STUDENTS GONE?</div>
<div>Commentary from The Christian Science Monitor<br>
PASADENA, CALIF. =96 Is it just me, or are
things getting kind of quiet<br>
around here? For several years now, a complaint has been heard in
the<br>
hallways of our top universities: where have all the graduate
students<br>
gone? Every year, there seem to be fewer and fewer qualified
students</div>
<div>applying for positions in science and engineering doctoral
programs.<br>
The problem is far from anecdotal. Now, with
statistics compiled by the<br>
National Science Foundation, professional science organizations, and
the<br>
federal government, it's official. Prospective students are turning
away<br>
from careers in science. Since a peak in the early 1990s, the number
of<br>
science and engineering students has tanked. In some fields, the
decrease<br>
has been as much as 5 percent per year, according to a study published
by<br>
the National Science Foundation. In electrical engineering,
enrollments<br>
have dropped nearly 30 percent in the last 10 years. Overall, the
number of<br>
Ph.D. students in science and engineering is at a 40-year low, and
there is</div>
<div>little sign of a turnaround.<br>
This trend has sent academic departments and
education experts scurrying.<br>
Graduate students are the lifeblood of research universities, working
in<br>
the trenches to produce the discoveries that lead to publications, as
well<br>
as shouldering much of the teaching load. The top dozen or so
American<br>
universities may have to admit students they don't feel are up to
their<br>
standards, but for other universities, the problem is far more
acute.</div>
<div><http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0725/p25s01-cogn.html></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>******************************</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>CONGRESS RESTORES FUNDING TO U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY</div>
<div>AGU: ASLA 02-18 Congress Poised to Restore Funding to USGS</div>
<div> The House has passed a bill that
restores funding for the U.S. Geological<br>
Survey (USGS) for fiscal year (FY) 2003. Funding for the USGS
would<br>
total $928 million in the House version, up 6.6% over the president's
$867<br>
million request and 1.6% over FY 2002's $914 million allocation.
The<br>
Senate is considering an appropriation for the USGS close to the
House</div>
<div>number: $927 million or 6.5% over the request, and 1.4% over FY
2002.<br>
Water and geologic programs that were
proposed for large reductions,<br>
elimination, or transfer in the president's request were completely
restored<br>
in both bills. Both House and Senate bills are accompanied by
strong<br>
language chastising the administration for failing to adequately
support the</div>
<div>important work of the USGS. </div>
<div> Please write to members of the House and
Senate committees, especially if<br>
you are a constituent of a member on the Interior Appropriations<br>
subcommittee, to thank them for making a strong investment in the<br>
geosciences. You can contact your congressional delegation with
a few<br>
mouse clicks by using the AGU Alert and Action web site</div>
<div>http://advnet.agu.org/ .</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>**************************</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>ASTEROID IMPACT IN 2019? As if things aren't bad enough--or,
there is more than one way to achieve global change....</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>NEW ASTEROID HAS LONG ODDS FOR EARTH CRASH<br>
from The New York Times</div>
<div><br>
A newly found asteroid, large enough to wreak worldwide destruction,
will<br>
cross Earth's path in 2019, and although the chance of a collision is
slim,<br>
astronomers cannot yet rule it out.<br>
<br>
If the asteroid, named 2002 NT7, were to hit, it would be on Feb. 1,
2019.<br>
The odds of that happening are less than 1 in 200,000, NASA's Jet<br>
Propulsion Laboratory said yesterday. That is roughly the same chance
that<br>
an unknown, as yet unseen meteor will hit Earth between now and
then.<br>
Scientists expect the 1-in-200,000 odds to grow longer as they learn
more<br>
about the asteroid's orbit.<br>
<br>
On the 0-to-10 Torino scale describing asteroid hazards, 2002 NT7
ranks a<br>
1, meriting careful monitoring but with the chance of impact
judged<br>
extremely unlikely. A ranking of 0 means no danger; a 10 means
certain<br>
impact with worldwide devastation.</div>
<div><http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/25/science/25ASTE.html><br>
</div>
<div>**************************</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH POSITION IN CARBON CYCLE RESEARCH AT
UCLA<br>
<br>
The department of Atmospheric Sciences and the Institute of Geophysics
and<br>
Planetary Physics (IGPP) at UCLA are inviting applications for a<br>
postdoctoral fellow to work in the Biogeochemistry Group of Prof.<br>
Nicolas Gruber on inverse methods to study the global carbon cycle.
The<br>
work will focus on the estimation of the magnitude and variability of
the<br>
exchange of carbon dioxide across the air-sea interface on the basis
of<br>
measurements of ocean interior carbon concentrations and of
atmospheric<br>
carbondioxide. Responsibilities of this job include the further<br>
development and application of inverse methods to study air-sea
CO2<br>
exchange and other carbon cycle problems, the analysis and
interpretation<br>
of results of oceanic and atmospheric tracer transport models, and
the<br>
interpretation of oceanic and atmospheric observations relevant to
the<br>
carbon cycle. Candidates must possess a Ph.D. in earth, applied
math,<br>
physical, biological, or chemical sciences. Training in oceanic
and/or<br>
atmospheric sciences is strongly preferred. A strong mathematical<br>
interest with experience in inverse methods is highly desirable.<br>
Experience with numerical models of the ocean or atmosphere is not<br>
necessary but helpful. The appointment will be made for an initial
period<br>
of two years at the PGR VII level, with a starting annual salary
of<br>
$40,512. A third year of funding is available. Please send a<br>
resume, a statement of research interest, and the names of three<br>
references to Nicolas Gruber, 5853 Slichter Hall, University of<br>
California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095. e-mail:<br>
ngruber@igpp.ucla.edu. Deadline for applications is September 30,
2002.<br>
UCLA is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and
encourages</div>
<div>women and minorities to apply.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>***************************</div>
<div><br></div>
<x-sigsep><pre>--
</pre></x-sigsep>
<div>C. Susan Weiler, Ph.D.<br>
Biology Department<br>
Whitman College<br>
Walla Walla, WA 99362</div>
<div> Tel: 509-527-5948<br>
Fax: 509-527-5961<br>
Programs for Recent
PhDs
http://aslo.org/phd.html<br>
DIALOG and DIACES poster
http://aslo.org/dialog/dialogposter.pdf<br>
DISCCRS
poster <span
></span
> <span
></span>
http://aslo.org/disccrs/disccrsposter.pdf<br>
Minorities in the Aquatic Sciences
http://aslo.org/mas/<br>
<br>
MOVING? Please send ADDRESS CHANGES to phd@whitman.edu</div>
<div><br></div>
</body>
</html>
--============_-1184390623==_ma============--