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What are the best practices for teaching second-language students in classes that have moved online mid-semester due to COVID-19?
I'm working on a research project for one of my university's departments that supports professional development and teaching development for our faculty and grad students. We are expanding our resources focusing on online teaching, and I have found a lot of resources dealing with best practices of online teaching.
However, I haven't found much on supporting students for whom English is a second language in an online context.
I'd be very surprised if this research doesn't exist, but I haven't been able to find it so far through EBSCO, Google, etc. Most of the results I'm finding have to do specifically for teaching developmental English classes for students learning the language, but what I'm looking for is resources on how professors in other subjects across the humanities and STEM fields can support their second-language students in this new all-online context for this semester (and potentially next year).
I'm interested in, for example, how can history or biology professors teach their online classes in a way that is easily accessible for students whose first language is not English?
Note that the same issue probably exists for languages other than English.

Let me suggest that any technique that would improve comprehension for these students would almost certainly also improve it for native speakers. My solutions rely on using text, such as subtitles and transcripts for videos. This also aids the partially deaf as well.

I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it is probably better on the Language Learners Stack.

@SolarMike and others, consider the fact that it isn't specifically about learning language, but about learning and teaching other things when language difficulties (and online...) intrude.

@Buffy  clearly talks about ELL & ESL ... so seems very precise.

And the OP may benefit from the Italian Stack, French Stack as they both cover teaching...

@SolarMike I think you've misunderstand the question. Perhaps it could be better phrased as "What specific difficulties do second-language speakers of English have in taking online content classes, and how can we help?" This isn't about teaching English online. Frankly, I think online classes would be easier since they could rewind and slow recording, and have more written resources, but it's a good, on-topic question.

@AzorAhai I did not misunderstand ELL or ESL - the O P was very precise. As I pointed out they have their own stacks due to the focus they bring. However, if you are the OP then please rephrase the question correctly for clarity for me , and no doubt, others.

@SolarMike They are using ELL/ESL as a term for second-language speakers or to identify students involved in those services who also take content classes. "How do I teach biology to a second-language speaker of English after we've been forced online because of COVID-19?" is not an language learners question.

If this is a question about student accommodations, what practices are already in place to assist these students?

@AzorAhai I’ll leave it to you, although I have many nationalities on my courses and over 90 different in the institution.

@SolarMike I don't understand how that pertains?

@AzorAhai I spend most of my time teaching students who take the class in English which is for them their 2nd, 3rd or even 4th language so I have a good idea of what works for me.

@SolarMike I'm not sure I follow why you bring that up, but it sounds like you'd be in a good position to answer the OP's question, then.

@AzorAhai but as you know so much about the question I will leave it to you - especially as you think I don’t understand... looking forward to your answer.

@SolarMike Understanding a question isn't the same as having an answer. I don't have a lot of experience teaching L2 students.

@SolarMike I don't agree with your close reason at all.  Questions about teaching and learning techniques should be encouraged here.  Though it might be better if the question were more specific to higher education.

@jamesG could you explain why you think classroom pedagogy for English language learners should be different from online pedagogy for the same people?  It seems to me that the same strategies apply, such as explaining things in multiple ways, supplementing listening with reading and watching, language immersion, etc.

@AnonymousPhysicist you are free to agree or disagree with whatever you want - fill yer boots...

how can professors teach their online classes in a way that is easily accessible for students whose first language is not English?

Teaching online does not change the students' brains.  Use all the pedagogical techniques you would use in a lecture or discussion class that was not online.  They will still work.
One thing that can be easier online:  you can record your lectures.  This can be done for in-person classes, but typically online teaching software makes it easy.  Lecture recording allows English language learners to listen repeatedly, at their own pace.  Just keep in mind that some students need privacy to practice speaking.


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About short author name
In my ID card, my complete name has the following form : FirstName MiddleName1 MiddleName2 LastName. I will give an example (created name): Ahmed El Mustafa Ali. As you can see there is a space between El and Mustafa. Also, El is not in reality a middle name since it does not make sense if we take it alone (but Mustafa or ElMustafa are meaningful). In this example, I would like to shorten it A.E. Ali instead of A.E.M. Ali
Could I use only the initial letters of my FirstName, MiddleName1 and LastName in my short author name and skip that of MiddleName2 whereas in my complete name I do it correctly as the ID card?

This is the name you intend to use on your publications?  You may abbreviate your name any way you like.  (It will help the rest of us if you always do it the same way...)  The only objection I can see is if you try to get credit for someone else's work by making your author name the same as his.

Does this answer your question? Choosing my name as an author when publishing a scientific paper, can I use my "unofficial" first name?

I assume you are asking this question in order to fit in to English conventions. Most academics are more-or-less familiar with names with particles like that. Also common are "von" or "de." I think the majority of academic would recognize "El Mustafa" as one unit, especially if you choose to spell it "el Mustafa."

In any case, A.E. Ali is what I would expect

If your chosen abbreviation make sense in your own culture you should feel free to use it.
But I make one recommendation, in case you are new at this. Choose a "public persona name" that you will feel comfortable using throughout your professional life. This will make it easier for people to find your work as your career progresses.
There is one additional consideration, however. You want your chosen name to be relatively unique in your field. In Egypt, for example, I think that the E in El has almost no distinguishing element. (I studied once with someone named ... El Masri: The Egyptian). If you can be confused with others, it won't help in your career.
This is more of an issue for women in some cultures where they may change their names for marriage and such.
But establish a persona, even if you want it to be a pseudonym, and stick with it. I doubt that editors or others will object.

Yes. In your example A. E. Ali sounds fine to me. It's your name so do it how you want. Just be consistent. Abbreviate it the same way every time.

The OP might want to check to see how many other people use that as their byline as well, and what their reputation is like. I know someone who used their full first name, rather than an initial, precisely to disambiguate themselves from another active author.

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Decline the PhD offer during the deferral
I've got a fully funded PhD offer from a US university. The department is open to deferral without any reason.
I want to go to work for one year before my PhD. If I feel satisfied with the job, I may decline the PhD offer and stay in the industry. Is this common in the US?
My concern is (1) if I decide to drop out one year later, my advisor may not have enough time to admit new students. This may negatively impact her tenure. (2) My break of offer may cause the department doesn't consider students from my country/undergrad school.

They're not going to come and take your liver if you drop out, so what are you concerned about? I.e. burning bridges, reapplying later?

@AzorAhai-him-, kidneys, though, have market value, so ...

Assume that the university has a backup plan, so that your turning it down will have minimal negative impact on them. If they offer a deferral, then they have a flexible plan.

@AzorAhai-him- I just added my concern in my question, thanks for asking about it.

I think this is fine in almost every case. If it weren't they would have you sign some legal document, but it is hard to see that happening. They might not be terrifically happy with you, but that would pass.
In a situation in which considerable university funds had to be spent (not just reserved) for you there might be complications, but then, any conditions would be clearly spelled out in advance.
I wouldn't worry about it unless something is said or implied in anything you sign.
Ethically, though, you should let them know as early as possible if you won't be taking it up later. But you want to keep your options open, also.

Generally speaking, though, in a situation like this, worry about your own best interests and assume that the other party is competent to worry about theirs. And since this is a friendly, rather than adversarial, situation, it will work out ok.

I like this answer, but there is a fine line to walk. Aggressively looking after (only) one's own affairs inevitably leads to retaliation from any competent adversary, which can drag down the common mode of interaction for everyone to something less trusting and less optimistic. I've heard from the workplace stack exchange that both employers and employees commonly take advantage of each other to a far greater extend in some developing countries, (e.g if employees routinely back out of jobs they've already committed to, then companies might retaliate in some way to discourage the behavior.)

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Does having multiple PhD offers from top local universities help in US admissions? Should I mention them in my CV?
I have at least 3 offers from some of the top research institutes in my country (Written examination +interviews) in Computer Science.
Should I mention them in my CV? Would it strengthen my CV?

I'm not familiar with a system where there's a written examination to get into PhD school. Is this written examination public? I.e. could you share your score or percentile?

Yes, the exams are public. Scores and percentile are mostly kept private but merit list is public. The college Im talking about are IMSc chennai, TIFR mumbai, CMI, ISI kolkata. Each of these college conduct their own test and interviews.

No, on your CV, list only your actual accomplishments and honors, not the offers you never accepted.  List the work you did and the places you studied or worked, not stuff you didn't.
If it does get to the point where you have multiple offers and you're trying to decide between them, that's when those other offers may become relevant.  For example, you might reveal a competing offer as a way of negotiating a better offer from the school you really want.

Would qualifying a hard test be considered as an accomplishment? I am honestly very proud of being able to qualify those examinations. If yes then, can I list my rank etc as an accomplishment.

No, I don't think that will help you.  Here in the US, the trend is away from using tests in admissions.  Many graduate admissions committees no longer ask even for GRE scores and they're deliberately ignoring GRE scores if supplied to avoid disadvantaging those who do not supply a GRE score.
They're also unlikely even to be familiar with an exam that's not used in the US.

Thinking strategically, I guess I wouldn't mention them. There is a possible upside as you note, but the potential downside is that if people think you are already settled and have other offers there is little need to press for your admittance. And that isn't one of the things that admissions committees are normally looking for in a student. They will do their own analysis of your potential rather than defer to the decisions of others.
But the deeper reason is that if you are good enough to get those offers, then your record is also probably good enough without mentioning them to have a good chance to be accepted at a good US school. But if you make application, don't limit yourself to only top US research institutions. There is too much competition for too few slots for that to be a good strategy. Don't ignore the top places, but also spread out your applications to cover yourself if you really want to study in US.

Thanks for responding.
There’s a catch. I have a very bad undergrad GPA. To compensate that I worked very hard and got very good GPA in my masters as well as did a lot of research work. Getting offers from the colleges I mentioned is extremely hard (acceptance around 0.005%). I was thinking adding these offers may validate my CV.

@Nitish Perhaps you're a better candidate than you think.  If several top colleges have been impressed already, there will likely be more.  Either way, offers you haven't accepted should not go on your CV. It's more likely to strike readers as inappropriate than impressive.

@Nitish I would certainly entertain your application if you note the following: (i) that your undergrad GPA is poor, and how you worked to improve your background, (ii) that you have offers from top local universities, and why you want to join my university.  At least for me, I look at the whole package.   I've met many students who bloomed later in life.

@VitaminE Yes, I agree with this.  Other offers don't belong in a CV, but it could go into a personal statement or a statement of purpose.

This system isn't familiar to American admissions committees. Institutions don't have admission exams1. There's the GRE, but many departments don't see it as very useful, and that's not administered locally. So listing acceptances will make it look like you don't understand US admissions, and I suspect a committee might not want to spend time on a student on the other side of the planet who already has local options.

The colleges I'm talking about are: IMSc Chennai, TIFR Mumbai, CMI, ISI Kolkata. (comment; edited for grammar)

I haven't heard of any of these universities - although I'm not in Computer Science. So unfortunately, name-dropping these might not be very useful.
Here is how I would list it in an awards/honors section:

Passed national competitive entrance exams at: Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai (percentile: 98th) ...

or maybe

Passed national competitive entrance exams at: Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai (pass rate: 30%, n = 6,000) ...

You'll have to mess around with the formatting and maybe not list all five depending on spacing, etc.

1: Except maybe for some licensed professions.


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Is an unexpected reference letter inherently a black mark?
I recently applied for a math postdoc in Europe. I contacted the number of letter-writers requested in the job ad, all of whom agreed and sent in letters for me. I also included the names of these people in my application.
I then found out that someone else I didn't ask, but who knew I was applying for this job (and would have been my next reference if the number of letters requested was higher) sent in a letter on-spec, without informing me in advance. Is that going to hurt my application at all, assuming that the letter is good? I'm worried it will make me look disorganised for omitting a letter-writer name, or similar.

You might want to actually register for the site. It gives you certain privileges, such as being able to edit your own posts if you leave and return. And, welcome to the site.

Thanks - and thank you for your answer

You’re probably overthinking it.

@DanRomik Thanks - I suspected as much, obviously!

I doubt that it would be treated as a negative thing, but just a failure of communication. I think that in some places, however, unsolicited letters commenting on a person have legal issues.
You may be asked to explain it, of course, and you might want to talk to that letter writer as well so that you understand what happened. Perhaps they misunderstood something, perhaps something you said.
A negative, but unsolicited, letter might be a serious issue some places and I think that some countries in EU make a point of regulating such things. Maybe elsewhere as well.
However, if they ask for three letters and get four, they might be required to discard one of them and you might not know which. But, in this case, you already told them who would be writing, so it is more likely that the unsolicited letter would be dropped. There doesn't seem to be any interpretation that suggests you were dishonest in any way.


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How do journals treat papers that have been transferred to them by a sister journal?
My recent submission to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) was rejected after the first round of reviews. The journal suggested transfer of the manuscript (after revision and response to reviewers) to its sister open-access journal PNAS Nexus. I looked up the details and found the following information:

PNAS Nexus was started in 2022 as a open-access sister to PNAS.

It charges a article processing fee of ~4000 USD from developed
countries.

It seems to be a similar venture as in the case of Science Advances    vs. Science.

The Clarivate impact factor report of 2023 gives it an impact factor of 2.2, although the journal website states its first impact factor will be revealed in 2024 summer.
What is the journal processing steps after transfer of a submission already reviewed by PNAS? Do they send for review again? Or do they decide on the basis of previous reviews directly?

This might depend on the reason for rejection. I doubt that nexus has lower standards.

@Buffy If the standards were identical, it would be pointless to suggest a transfer, or to have two separate journals, for that matter.

@user71659, one is open access the other is not. That is the difference. The standards could be the same or not, and that is why I mentioned the reasons. If the reason is simply scope mismatch it make sense.

Have you considered asking the editor that recommended this?

@Buffy These days PNAS is close enough to open access, at least in spirit. There is an expensive option for immediate (gold) open access, and a cheaper option that is initially paywalled but becomes free to access after six months. PNAS Nexus doesn't have the delay option.

What is the journal processing steps after transfer of a submission already reviewed by PNAS? Do they send for review again?

Well, like with all such transfer processes I've seen in different journals the answer is that it depends. Important factors tend to be what the reviews say (contrast "can't be published until X, Y and Z are fixed" vs. "great paper but not broad enough interest for this journal") and whether you make changes to the manuscript during the transfer process. That is, transfers tend to speed up the process, but it's not guaranteed in each case. The Submitting to the PNAS portfolio
page seems to agree

Submission transfers
Benefits of submission transfer
...

Rapid route to publication: Any previous reviews of your PNAS submission will be transferred to PNAS Nexus alongside your manuscript, potentially reducing the number of reviews required at PNAS Nexus and time to decision.
Alleviate reviewer fatigue: Because any previous PNAS reviews (and reviewer identities) will transfer alongside your manuscript, PNAS Nexus may make a decision informed by previous feedback, or invite the same reviewers to consider your revision. This allows PNAS Nexus to build upon the valuable assessment already conducted when possible, rather than starting anew.

Also note

However, it is important to note that a transfer recommendation is not a guarantee of acceptance at PNAS Nexus; the PNAS Nexus Editorial Board operates independently of PNAS and will assess your transferred submission against its own criteria.


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How can I tactfully decline my supervisor's suggestion and set boundaries?
New here. So I just started my postdoc about a month ago (great time to start a postdoc during a pandemic I know). Learning the ropes and trying to kinda set my own path in the lab has been challenging and I find using my voice or voicing concerns to be hard. So my boss mentioned something about me possibly going to use a piece of equipment on another campus about 2.5 hrs away, it would require me to go daily for about two weeks. I don't really need this equipment for anything at the present moment but she has really dug her heels in about staying productive.
My biggest concern is I'm really serious about these stay at home orders and have been kinda putting that to the side to go to work daily. Because I am new I don't want to seem to difficult, but this recent idea just seems like too much in general let alone during these times.
I have a PhD and I thought that would magically make me more assertive alas it has not. Any ideas on how to tactfully set some boundaries especially since it is in regards to my health.

What country are you in?

@astronat I'm in the the US. My state is actually increasing in confirmed cases! And a friend of mine contracted Covid

This might be as well (better?) served in [interpersonal.se].

@CGCampbell thanks. I'm new so wasn't quite sure. Tags are updated!

does your campus have COVID rules in place? Are you under a stay-at-home or safer-at-home order?

Also, five hours of commuting a day is obviously absurd. How have people handled using this equipment before.

@AzorAhai yes the campus is completely shutdown and we are meant to be on campus for essential work only (i.e. things like animal maintenance). I work basically everyday though. And the equipment seems to be possibly only something I need so no one has been faced with this yet except me.

@YvonneC. Are you doing essential work?

@AzorAhai no she has actually had me to start new experiments.....

@YvonneC. New experiments can be essential, but I assume they are not?

@AzorAhai one is but not the one I need the equipment for

Could you split the difference by mailing the samples and having someone local to the instrument make the measurements in exchange for co-authorship?

5h commute a day for 2 weeks is not acceptable, pandemic or not. To play it tactfully, I would ask the supervisor to pay for accommodation there for these 2 weeks. This will force your supervisor to:

pay for it, so reconsider whether it is worth it.
if she pays officially for it, she must check whether that trip is authorized by the university considering the pandemic, I know mine has forbidden all travel.
I think it is reasonable to ask for accommodation but would end up being a graceful way of dodging the bullet.

No matter how far it is, the OP should be compensated for their travel at the bare minimum, usually at the IRS rate (~$0.50/mi), since it's not their typical "duty station." Depending on the nature of the experiment, doing long days for a shorter visit would be reasonable, I think, as would be not paying for the OP to stay over the middle weekend. But, all a negotiation.

In normal circumstances I think this is good advice. However, I would argue that staying at a hotel in a different city, where you are forced to eat out for every meal, is less safe than commuting the 5 hours doing what research needs to be done in the most efficient manner, and staying at home the rest of the time.


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What should my name be on research articles?
Kamiruzzaman is my name. Although the last five letters zaman are typically used as a surname, my academic records all use the name Kamiruzzaman. However, I've been having trouble lately submitting research articles to various journals because they require my first and last names, mandatorily — I don't know how to respond.
I'm considering separating Kamiruzzaman into Kamiruz and Zaman as respective first and last names. Would it be an issue if I kept this separation for all of my research articles because my academic certifications will bear the name Kamiruzzaman?

Falsehoods programmers believe about names (apparently, journal editors too)

Sometimes a period '.' is used as dummy for a nonexistent entry.

What about "Kamiruzzaman Zaman"?

@CaptainEmacs: It's also common to use NLN (no last name) as an entry in such systems, since many systems won't tolerate a non-text placeholder entry.  Either approach seems more likely to cause future headaches than the advice offered in answers (hence why this is not posted as an answer).

If it feels right to you you could consider making up a first name and listing Kamiruzzaman as your last name. This has the advantage that you'll be cited as (Kamiruzzaman, 2024), and you're unlikely to get confused with other people called Zaman.

@gerrit While this is pretty funny, it would help a lot more to give examples and ways to deal with this. I mean, in very many countries people have some kind of official name on their birth certificate, passport, driver's license etc. And this name is surely written in the characters of some language, which are almost surely represented in unicode.

@N.Virgo Doesn't even need to be a full first name. I occasionally see "X" listed as the middle initial for people who don't have one. (Whether a fake name or fake abbreviation, this ensures that your real name does occur somewhere in the database, which splitting it up would prevent.) Also, consider that the name on the submission form probably isn't the one people will see: the one you put on the paper is. Alternately, if that name does get displayed somewhere, perhaps the first name of "Dr." would serve.

@JFabianMeier A version with examples.  How to deal with it?  Programming a form with less input restrictions is less work than more input restrictions.  But this becomes off-topic on Academia.SE.

@gerrit Thanks! Actually, for the first two weeks of my life, I did not have a given name as well...

You can use any name for publication purposes that you like as long as it doesn't involve fraud or misrepresentation. You can't be Albert Einstein unless you have some actual claim on that name.
Your solution of splitting your name into two parts is fine, but you should also get an ORCID identifier and use it and your name choice consistently throughout your career.
There are too many issues about names, mostly driven by incorrect assumptions, to list. The assumption, is that people have exactly three names and the given name is listed first, the family name last, and the one in the middle optional. This is globally false, but too many systems are built that way. Go to Hungary, or most places in Asia, or places where some fraction of the population has many, many separate "words" in a name, including honorifics. My spouse's "first" name is two words. In the old days, before computer algorithms messed it up this was not a problem. Her birth certificate and her passport correctly give her name, which has four separate words. But every other computerized system, even doctor's offices tend to get it wrong.
Ideally, your name should be presented as you choose to present it (with some restrictions, perhaps). That is to say, that systems should be designed to permit your publication name to be Kamiruzzaman if you choose that.
People change their names, also. This can be a problem for academics, just as "non standard" names are. I have some interest in changing my own IRL name (back to my birth name) but can't/won't for various personal and professional reasons.
I think there are lots of people in the world that have a single name and, within their culture, it is perfectly normal. Even some show business superstars have taken to using a single name.
But an ORCID, tagged to any publication will point to you. And you can provide, on a website, the linkage between your "publication name" and your IRL name if you like.
I think this problem will continue until those sites requesting names and intending to later display them, ask the individual for specific guidance (tags, perhaps) to guide the system. Imagine that "John Doe" is actually "family-name(John), given-name(Doe)".
I've also just noticed that there isn't even a universal agreement about how to "capitalize" names, assuming even that such is a meaningful question. bel hooks, for example, though that was a personally chosen pen name.
For a view of the complexity in naming see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_name

This so much! Even with a classic western name I was stunned how many systems are utterly incapable of handling a change of family name. An ORCID is absolutely worth the minor effort it takes to set up.

Just a note: Even the assumption many would have, that having a single name is a non-western or “exotic” thing, is wrong. Most European rulers had and have one single name, such as Queen Elizabeth.

@Neinstein Nitpick: Queen Elizabeth had three names, but these were all given names.

@rexkogitans Nitpick. Queen Elizabeth II had three forenames (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary) and one surname (Windsor): see her death certificate https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Queen_Elizabeth_Death_Certificate.webp

Indeed, Prince Harry was "Harry Wales" while in the army. So if it's any consolation to the OP and it's them and the royal family that have the same problem :-D

@erstwhileeditor (I am not sure, but) I am afraid that the surname on her death certificate is an example where a "falsehood of programmers" got materialized.

@rexkogitans AIUI "Windsor" is the royal families' surname/family name.  It used to be "Saxe-Coburg and Gotha" but was changed after the first world war because of anti-German sentiment in the U.K. at the time.  It is arguably closer to conforming to the "falsehood of programmers" now than it was at the time.  Their names (excluding titles) are fairly canonical for the U.K. (having more than one middle name is not that unusual, e.g. Mrs Marsupial).

@rexkogitans This is not any old death certificate: this one is issued by the Registrar-General. Her father is also given the surname Windsor, and this in a free text box, it's not a requirement to enter something. I agree it was not always so!

For a more exhaustive summary of all the ways our assumptions about names are wrong:  https://www.kalzumeus.com/2010/06/17/falsehoods-programmers-believe-about-names/

I’m a researcher with a single name, so here’s my approach. My full name is “Harshvardhan,” and I don’t have a last name on any legal documents. For publications, I use the name “M Harshvardhan”—though technically, I could choose anything reasonable. I put my name as the last name so that it can be cited as Harshvardhan et al. (20xx) if needed. I also attach my ORCID to all publications whenever possible.
I’ve noticed that Google Scholar sometimes doesn’t pick up my articles automatically, but this isn’t an issue as I can manually add them. I also have a post on my website explaining this situation in detail. When asked, I usually give a one-line explanation (“I don’t have a last name”) and share the link to my blog. So far, this approach has worked smoothly in academic circles.
Another tip: on Google Scholar, you have the option to say multiple names. Utilize that to add your publication name as well. Here's mine for example:

For government documents, however, things can vary. For example, my EU visa lists my name as “Harshvardhan Harshvardhan,” while in the U.S., it appears as “FNU Harshvardhan.” For official documents, it’s essential to follow each country’s guidelines, which you can ask/search beforehand. But for academic publications, you can choose a format and stick with it throughout your career.

FNU is an abbreviation used by the U.S. government system. It means "First Name Unknown". See for example https://uk.usembassy.gov/visas/visa-errors/name-appears-as-fnu/

How did you choose "M"? Just curious.

M is the first letter of my family name.

@Harshvardhan If you have a family name, why do you say your full name is only "Harshvardhan"? I'm genuinely curious because I definitely don't claim to know how every naming system works.

@Azor Ahai -him In the interest of brevity, I'll suggest checking the blogpost where I answer it in detail! https://arc.net/l/quote/yqvbqper

I read it, thanks for sharing! I'm still not sure where "M" comes from, though.

@AzorAhai-him- A family name ("Modi" for me) is not always used like last name. E.g., at a wedding, we would be called "Modi Family" but all my family members use different or no last names. Family name is often related to caste in India but that's also not always true.

Gotcha thanks! .

'Kamiruz Zaman' should be fine.  It is best to publish only under that one name.  If there are no papers by 'Kamiruzzaman', then there will be no confusion for references.  It will be unimportant that your academic credential reads 'Kamiruzzaman'

If you can present your name in a format that is both recognised by the system and relatively consistent with your academic records then you should be fine. It will be obvious to any human looking at your records that the name Kamiruzzaman is the same as the name Kamiruz Zaman.
Many people end up with their name formatted slightly differently between different journals anyway - for example using a middle initial which is sometimes expanded into the full name.

An automated search however might be unlikely to turn up a paper if the search was for "Zaman".

It will be obvious to any human looking at your records that the name Kamiruzzaman is the same as the name Kamiruz Zaman. [citation needed]

@WoJ i argue that it is not, in fact, obvious even to humans. it is very common for me to stumble on articles with this exact issue, and where i can't be certain that this is what's happening. I of course suspect it is, but it could also be a coincidence.

Fair points! I meant more in the context of when you need to show your academic credentials to someone in particular - e.g. in the context of a job application - it is a small enough change that it's obviously the same name when you explain it. In comparison to someone like me who has changed their first name by deed poll and needs to produce additional documents to prove I'm the same person.

You can use "NFN" as your first name, it stands for "No First Name". Teller, of the magic duo Penn & Teller, uses this as his first name on official government documents like his driver's license.

Actually, with a single name there is a question as to whether it is the "first" or "last" name that is missing. And, of course "first" and "last" has no universal meaning.

I think it's simply a common convention to treat single names as surnames (which is the generic term that avoids "first" and "last" issues).

Somehow I doubt that. It would mean that siblings would have different surnames.

That does happen. Consider Russian, where female and male surnames are different.

That is a different idea. Many conventions use something like a gender indicating suffix. But even in those cultures brothers, then, would have different "surnames". Likewise sisters.

In iceland siblings also have different surnames based on gender.

@Barmar The male and female surnames differ in many Slavic languages and also in Icelandic. As Buffy mentioned, these suffixes are gender-indicative. While the root of the surnames remains the same, the suffix changes to reflect gender. Therefore, they are considered the same surname, even though they are not the same word.


text:
What level of math does one usually require before being able to publish a paper of their own
At what level does someone become skilled enough in math to publish their work? I am an undergrad student currently in calculus 2. My dream is to publish work of my own, but I know that will come to fruition quite a while down the road due to my current level of math. I would appreciate any advice you have to give. Thank you in advance. Just to clarify I am asking about math papers.

If you want to do math research, you can start at any point on your own, but much of research (esp at first) consists of learning what's been done before.  Go read and think and compute for yourself.  And try to prepare yourself for something like a summer research program, where you'll get important guidance.

There is no such criteria. No journal asks 'what math courses have you taken' when you submit a paper.  IMHO, you're putting the horse before the cart.  The goal shouldn't be 'to publish', that's like saying "I want to be famous." (Famous for what? For how long? In what way? Why?) In stead, the goal should be to find and address an unanswered question that interests you.

@mikemtnbikes I agree with your comment, but you have the cart horse analogy backwards. The horse before the cart (pulling rather than pushing) is the natural thing to do. The cart before the horse is backwards.

@EthanBolker Oops. How embarrassing...

@mikemtnbikes, thought provoking, anyway.

@EthanBolker I don’t know about you, but my horse always  goes behind the cart. I thought everybody sets up their cart that way. Guess not...

There's lots of papers in lots of fields that don't have math at all. Many of my colleagues do both qualitative and quantitative research. This is unanswerable without a field.

@AzorAhai-him- I'm very sorry for not clarifying better. The field I want to work in is mathematics. As other comments have shown, I should try to figure out what exactly I want to work with but until then I should keep studying a broad range of mathematics.

It's ok - just edit your post to clarify that you want to publish math research

@VN,  Most people who publish high quality scientific papers and researches on reputable platforms usually have Ph.D.  Their papers/researches are always professionally and rigorously reviewed by their peers.

This is something that varies with every individual. The best advice is to first get a broad mathematical education and then focus on some area of interest. But along the way to that broad education, seek insight into why things work as they do, not just the computational skill that you normally get in something like Calc 2.
Some people are able to publish as undergraduates, but it is fairly rare. However, an undergraduate math degree should get you to the point that you have actual insight into one or two areas (mine were analysis and topology) sufficient to dig deeply.
Research is normally very narrow, focusing on some tiny aspect of some small subfield if mathematics (or physics, or ...). But before you go narrow, first go broad, so that you have some sense of the possibilities. And also, some sense of the interconnections between things.
Working with a professor on some project of mutual interest will give you both a sense of what it is like to explore the unknown and also lets you take advantage of their insights. And letting them know now of your goals can help you attain them.
Solve a lot of problems. Get a lot of feedback. Look for the why, not just the how. Notice things. Keep notebooks. Ask questions.

This is, I know, more than you asked for, but you seem eager to learn and I appreciate that. Also note that whatever "research" I did as an undergraduate was, though attempted vigorously, laughably naive. Oh well. It came, eventually. And it was "hella fun".

Especially at your early point in life, I think your label of what you want probably is not what you really-really want, if the meaning and entailments of labels were clearer.
That is, surely a mathematician's idealistic goal is to "understand/discover cool things".
Not clear that fame and fortune follow...
Not clear what the prerequisites might be, for discoveries/understanding that is at the forefront of our collective understanding. I think it is important to distinguish goals/progress of personal understanding from progress in collective understanding. In many regards, all that any of us can do is advance our own understanding. If by chance it is also an advance in collective understanding, so be it. Maybe that makes it "publishable" in the sense of peer-reviewed journal stuff.
But/and, especially at an early point, trying to think in terms of novelty in collective understanding, rather than the honest and productive idea of one's own personal understanding, is corruptive and distracting.
So, in principle, there are no entrance requirements for "publishing a paper"... except that it be suitable for the journal you submitted it to. What the heck does that mean? Well, it is a professional thing which is not what one might imagine. You'd want advice. Style-of-writing is very important to get your foot in the door, and professional writing in mathematics is not at all like textbooks, even at graduate level.
But, again, I'd suggest not describing your goal as "publishing papers" or even "doing research" but something more like "trying to understand things..." This is a much less corrupting name for the thing.


text:
Why do big companies ask for conference instead of journal publications?
It is generalized that journal publications are normally more complete research papers than those in conference proceedings. However, when applying for a job in the industry, most companies (e.g. Facebook) ask for first-authored publications at peer-reviewed conferences (e.g. ICRA, RSS, IROS, or similar).
Why is this? Are these top conferences more valuable than top journals like Nature or Science from an industrial standpoint? Why could this be?

Very strange, I’ve not noticed that at all, quite the opposite really. Maybe it’s field-dependent.

Does this answer your question? Is the status of conference publications in Computer Science really absolutely unique? See also further links in this question.

Also the first point here is relevant: https://academia.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/4471/academia-varies-more-than-you-think-it-does-the-movie#4472

Speaking from the perspective of a roboticist with publications in the conferences you listed and in Science:
Hiring for industry jobs (especially at junior levels) is going to be focused on finding employees who can use and modify existing robotics paradigms to achieve company goals. Conference papers (especially at the venues you name) provide useful evidence of this ability. They are also often the result of a short, focused piece of effort, which matches desired industry workflows on projects.
In contrast, a robotics paper that makes it into Science is likely to either be a description of a high-level principle arrived at through long academic study, or to report a new phenomenon that can be incorporated into future robots, but are not at a tech-readiness level to be incorporated into products or services. Industry interest in these kinds of results is limited mostly to companies that are making senior-level hires and/or are big enough to be running their own research departments.

It depends on what field you are in and the types of jobs you are looking at. In computer science, conferences are typically valued more than journals, although this doesn't necessarily mean the quality of the papers at conferences are better than journals. A popular computer science department ranking site, CSRankings, does their rankings by top conferences, where the three you list are used in the Robotics area.

It's also worth pointing out that the role of conferences vs. journals differs per sub-field in CS. There are sub-fields where top conferences and top journals are roughly of the same value (for example, Software Engineering). There are sub-fields where top conferences clearly matter more than journals (for example, Machine Learning, Security). And then there are sub-fields where the "conference vs. journal" dichotomy is not valid in the first place, because top conferences publish their proceedings in associated journals (for example, Programming Languages, Databases).

There is also some conversy about ranking websites like CSRankings that apply the same ranking model to all sub-fields of CS. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the creator of CSRankings has a track record that plays out favorably in his own ranking model. To some extent, this will probably apply to all rankings, but it's particularly problematic in the case of CSRankings, whose value assessment of publication venues is binary.

Excellent points, @lighthousekeeper. Thank you for clarifying.


text:
A measure implementation from my group deviates from an official implementation
In my master's thesis work, I am using several algorithmic measures to assess the difference between conditions.
One measure in particular is important to predict 'quality'. This may sound weird in abstraction, but there is a standard written by a number of related institutions in my field, and a reference implementation is given as the standard.
During course work, I was given an implementation of the measure which is written in a different programming language. It is labeled as meas_author, where meas is the name of the measure and author is the author of a well-known book in my field. The book also contains measure implementations that are often cited, in the same programming language as the one I received. I thought the versions were identical.
Now I have found a difference in outputs that is non-trivial (meaning that depending on the implementation, the outcome leads to different results and interpretation). After comparing the code, i noticed small comments like JSCHWARZ-04-04-2012:changed something for speed
and that the file structure is different.
Personally, this is a Problem because

The coursework I did based on the modified implementation has the same results as a paper from someone with comments in the code, suggesting both are not comparable with results obtained from standard implementations (!)
The code may have been used in other coursework, theses, or peer-reviewed publications (some of which received awards) from the people involved or using the measure
I need to decide whether or not to keep using the measure
I need to talk about this with my thesis supervisor at some point, especially about the flawed course work

Question: How do I handle this issue? I don't want to directly escalate it as I of course could be wrong. I could talk to the person supplying the code first, or to my supervisor. The former would be least drastic, but I'm not sure what I would do if he didn't cooperate/agree this is a problem.

The difference in output could be down to a difference in input. Does the modified programme expect inputs in different units to the original, for example?

@astronat My understanding is that both implementations enforce a standard scaling approach before applying the measure, which excludes differences arising from the input file format and similar issues. Ideally, the measure should be relatively robust against something like that.

@astronat I think it would make sense to construct a minimum working example without input differences before I talk to anyone about it. Thank you for the remark!

that certainly sounds like a good idea. Remember, ninety nine times out of a hundred, mistakes like this are just that: mistakes. There is likely no nefarious intent and it's not an "escalation" to ask a reasonable question about why your results differ.


text:
What are indicators that someone has a ghost writer?
After reading about paper mills, and knowing that there are companies that offer ghostwriting for bachelor theses, at least in Switzerland and Germany, I asked myself if there are methods to detect ghostwriting.  While this kind of service may be acceptable in some domains, in academia, having a ghostwriter may violate principles of scientific integrity. Unlike plagiarism, however, it seems to be much more difficult to find out if someone has a ghostwriter. Nevertheless, is there evidence that would point to it? I can only think of metadata of manuscripts (in case the ghostwriter forgot to clear his traces). I've certainly had students in the past who surprised me with their research paper because it didn't match my impression at all, but of course that's not really an indication.

Why do you think that it doesn't conform to principles of scientific integrity? I'm pretty sure that Stephen Hawking had a lot of help with getting the words on paper. That doesn't imply that the ideas weren't his, of course. What matters is where the ideas come from.

Sure, but I don't think Hawking wasn't transparent on this. I am talking about researchers who are not transparent on this.

How much of this do you fear goes on? Why do you think it is a problem worth spending time on? If someone wants to "fake it" metadata isn't going to stop them. Unusual changes in writing style could have many explanations - multiple authors, paper developed over a very long time line, ... Do you have an example of abuse?

Maybe the question is not whether getting a ghost writer is OK, but instead whether that guy should be added as an author of the paper.

@DanielHatton, I hope that contributing to the composition means little more than proof-reading (parts of) it. In a group effort it is useful if the "best" writer does the composition.

I can imagine a team writing initial drafts in its native language, then having an individual unaffiliated with the team translate it to another.  Is that an example of your concerns?

https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/160269/13240

This question is unclear; Are you grading student papers?  Are you a journal editor?  Are you an academic publisher?  Each might have different answers.

I do research and I do grade papers. Why would the answer differ based on the setting? The question is not about the consequences of ghostwriting for the student or the researcher, it's about known methods to find out who has a ghostwriter.

I am having a hard time even defining a ghostwriter on an research article.  If you narrow this question, it might get an answer.

Variant 4: persons A, B, and C have done some research together. A should write a first draft of the manuscript, but because of some reasons (lack of competence, time etc.), she hires person D to write the manuscript.

The utility of this answer depends on why you are seeking this information, but this comes from my own experience.
As a student, I was asked to help jog the memory of a researcher on some topics they had been working on in a collaborative project. This involved reading the papers of the collaborators, summarizing them, and figuring out how they all worked together. I wrote this all into one document, emphasized that they were notes only (not polished in any way), and did not give permission to use my work other than its intended use. I later found that the researcher published my work verbatim and claimed it as their own. After raising this issue as far as I could, I found that I was called a "ghostwriter" against my will.
Based on this experience, here are a few remarks:

When talking to them, the researcher could not explain the works in any sort of detail other than what I had given them for notes (it had been a while since they had worked on the topic).
Some members of the institution are aware that the researcher did not write their own work because I spoke up. This was formally documented.
As you noted in the question, metadata revealed that I had written large portions of the document rather than the researcher.
My writing style and the researcher's writing style differed considerably (they are not a native English speaker). If you were familiar with their work at all, mine would have stuck out like a sore thumb. Stylometry tools could have been used as well.

If you were looking to detect ghostwriters in students, you could employ a few strategies to help figure it out:

Give them an oral component to explain their answers in more detail.
Ask them to submit assignments electronically to have a paper trail.
Have them submit smaller assignments to reveal their writing style. This would not work if they had a ghostwriter for every assignment.

Ok, this covers many aspects of the issue I had thought about but wasn't sure they could really be relevant. Can you explore a little bit more on the metadata, was your name in the word file or something like that?


text:
How to reference Source Code
I'm writing a paper on a technique which I have implemented in open source software. I'd like to reference the location of the open source software and the code I implemented for the technique so as to increase reproducibility of my findings.
I was thinking of adding a sentence somewhere along the lines of "Note that the source code can be found at github.com/..." or "Note that the implementation is open source.\ref{myrepository}"
Which format is best?
I don't know where to put this line. In the introduction, the method description or the algorithm section? Other options would be the conclusion or the acknowledgements.

If you want, you can even make a specific release of your code citable with a DOI. See https://guides.github.com/activities/citable-code/ for more information.

@mhwombat Thanks, but I'd like to know where and how to reference the bib item containing the DOI.

Put the link where your readers will find it most easily, i.e. as early in the document as possible. A link to your repository in the introduction would be ideal. Placing an identical reference elsewhere in your paper wouldn't hurt - nothing is worse than having to hunt through a paper just to find the single github link.
Similarly, the exact format should be conducive to finding your code, so a direct link is likely easier to follow. A formal reference may work better if you reference the repository several times within the manuscript.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/


text:
Referring to the thesis itself
I am currently writing my thesis.
How should I refer to the thesis itself? "This thesis", "this text" or maybe "this work"?
I think that the fact that the text is currently used for my graduation (which makes it my thesis) is no inherent property of the text itself.
I am therefore hesitant to refer to it as "this thesis".

This project/initiative/study/investigation/trial/etc works if you are referring to your actual study. If you are referring to your text for some reason, then "text" or "thesis" is fine, or the specific section you are referring to.

Might be better suited for [english.se]

Potential use case: "This [document/thesis/text/work/?] is dedicated to [person], who passed away during its preparation." You need an antecedent for its, so you need a noun that refers to the document itself, in its entirety.

@Behacad Yes I am referring to the text itself and not the study. Take a look at the comments under the answer by leonardo.

all_licenses: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/


text:
Is it better to do an MBA with some work experience?
I wish to pursue my MBA in a premier business school. Is it better to go straight from my graduation (B.Tech in CS) or get some work experience and then go on with MBA?

Choose to go  to an A school if you can.

Ah. Then @pokepotter should spell it out.

How would you master the business when you did not had a business?

Usually, MBA is something that you do when you have significant work experience. There is a good reason for that. If you go straight from your graduation into the program, you will learn a few thing on the theoretical side of business administration. But if you already have encountered troubles in management, you will learn a lot from the numerous case studies (because most of the learning in a MBA is through case studies) and exchanges with other "students".
Moreover, the main advantage of a MBA, besides the few things you learn, is the network that you will acquire, and only a few fellow students will be ready to network with somebody without experience.

+1, sadly in India the standards of MBA have plummeted to poor depths. Here all it takes to get a respectable MBA degree is to have a UG degree with good grades and clear an entrance test.

I agree completely with @Sylvain. If you are intended to become a manager in any organization, it's more interesting to gain practical experience, be familiar with the actual problems, and them use a MBA as a way to overcome your company-related problems. I'm almost sure this way you will have a bunch of - good - "cases" to deal with during your course, an vice-versa, in a certain extent.

In fact many MBA programs will require that you have work experience, and will need you to supply reference letters from current/former employees.

I  agree that the more practical working experience you have, the more useful your MBA studies will be. That being said, the purpose of the MBA and the related timing will also be important. I assume you want this MBA to further your career (move outside of the technical/engineering side of your work and into management, marketing, etc.). If you think the MBA is going to help you do that and you want to move into the business side sooner rather than later in your career then it might be advantageous start the MBA sooner, especially since your undergraduate degree is non-business.
It depends on the school I imagine, but when I did an MBA all of the students with non-business undergraduate degrees had to take a set of core business courses before being allowed to proceed on with MBA courses. If you were working during the day and going to school at night I imagine this would add some time to your total time in the program, so getting started early might be a good idea.
Additionally, if you have to pass a test to get into the MBA program (GMAT, etc.) then taking that soon after you graduate might be advantageous as you are still kind of in the "study mode" of school and preparing for the test will be simpler than if you let years go by without having taken an exam. You should check, but I believe the GMAT is good for X number of years after you take it so if you pass it early after graduating you can still wait a while before actually applying. You say you want to go to a top level school as well, so I imagine a high score on this test will also be important. Starting early if you think it will take a few tries to get that high mark would also be smart.
Good luck!

If you want to get headhunted or an “MBA salary” after you graduate you need work experience, at least 5 years. However if you want to build your company or move up the ladder later you can do it now.
The MBA is in no way theoretical, you may get more out of it with previous work experience, but you will acquire “real” work experience through study by cases and simulations. You get to solve real world problems, and that gives you experience. Also, a Business School is a microcosm of the working world and you have teachers/bosses to please, team-members/colleagues to manage, bureaucratese/paperwork to deal with, etc.
Many programs do accept MBA students straight from undergrad.
Networking? Vaguely heard of it but never experienced it, especially as a foreign student. Maybe that was real in the dark ages when there where 20 MBA programs in the world. Now when there is a B school behind every bush and corner I do not believe in such think as networking. Though I may be wrong especially at top universities MBA programs.

You don't need to "believe" in networking. It is a fact of life, even if you are a foreign student.


text:
Should I cancel / alter office hours for committee meetings?
My contract requires that I maintain a certain number of office hours a week where I am available to meet with students.  In practice this time is rarely entirely taken up by student meetings however.
Recently I have joined some relatively large university committees that (not surprisingly) have a hard time arranging meeting times. I have historically indicated that I am unavailable to meet during my office hours but I am not sure if this is the appropriate position to take.
The solutions that I see are:

Consider this time booked and unavailable.
Consider this time flexible and reschedule office hours as needed (this would likely be somewhat frequent and could also just create more downstream conflicts).
Cancel the office hours as conflicts arise.

What is the appropriate way to deal with responsibilities that conflict with office hours?

One data point: I usually keep my office hours, unless the committee meeting seems particularly important.

Practice varies in my department: some faculty refuse to miss their office hours, other are happy to reschedule them. I think you just have to do something reasonable to try to balance your commitments. Remember that neither teaching alone, nor committee work alone, is what you are there for.

Just to clarify: The committee meetings do not have a fixed timeslot throughout the semester, at a time when all committee members are available?

@O.R. Mapper The meetings do not have a fixed time but are each scheduled seperately.

It seems to me that you need to generally be available for students a certain number of hours per week, without scheduling appointments.  That's because scheduling an appointment is somewhat of a barrier, making it less likely students will avail themselves of your assistance.  Office hours are largely intended to be for students who may have a hard time asking for help; those students may have a hard time getting help otherwise.  (Of course, whether this works in practice is another question...)
As such, if it's a rare thing, it's probably fine to just cancel the hours; but if it's as frequent as your question makes it out to be, you should keep the office hours as set.  If the committees often like to use that time for meetings, I would (permanently) move your office hours, but not reschedule them frequently - that leads to confusion over what hours you hold that particular week.

If the conflict is frequent, just changing the official "office hours" for the rest of the semester would also work.

My feeling is that it is fine to cancel or reschedule office hours when other responsibilities conflict, provided:

You announce it to students several days in advance;
You tell students that you  are happy to meet them at another time, if they make an appointment.

I think this is OK as long as you don't do it too often. As a student I had a few professors who canceled their office hours every other week and gave off the impression that they were not available if students needed them (even if this was not the case and they were available at other times).


text:
Postdoc that refuses to follow the terms of her contract
I am supervising a research group. Each year, our institution offers several four years postdoc positions, and one year ago I told a friend of mine to apply to it because we work in very similar fields and I thought there would be a lot of synergy. She got the position, but after these 12 months she refuses to do almost anything I tell her to.
At the beginning I waited, since we are friends and I did not want to trouble our friendship, but at some point I realized that she uses our good relationship as an excuse for not doing anything at all, and from the other side, it is hard for me to tell her that she is doing wrong. Anyway, in the last 2 weeks we have had some words, and I told her that she must respect her work conditions and work in our projects. She says she has never done that, since she feels pressure, and that she works better starting and choosing all projects by herself without any indication from me or any other supervisor. In those projects she does not even count me in for co-authorship and sometimes never tells me what she is doing. In her project proposal it was stated "I will contribute to the group's research lines and adapt to it" and in her contract it was written the same. So it is clear to me that she is going against these conditions. I have talked with her about the situation but she refuses to agree and says that I am wrong and that she deserves respect since she feels like a very important scientist.
I want to solve this situation but I feel dialogue does not work here anymore. Scenarios I see are:

I set up a meeting with her and the head of the department; here she knows she will be in real trouble,
I forget about her completely to avoid headaches, but I am responsible for her and need to report her output from time to time, so I could be in trouble if she does nothing,
....

So, what would you suggest to do in this situation?
Thanks

There is a point to what @CapeCode is trying to say here, I think. Your question is a superposition of two questions: 1) how to deal with superiority/leadership with a friend (or something along those lines). and 2) how to deal with a postdoc who doesnt follow the contract. The first point is very personal, whereas the second can easily be dealt with by a personal meeting, or via the HR department if you wanna go the more formal route.

Short answer: Business is business. Friendship is friendship. Don't mix them up.

In mathematics, a Postdoc position is supposed to be the time when the researcher starts working independently. I don't know how it is in your field, but for me a postdoc wanting to work independently would be a good postdoc.

@NickS You would employ someone to contribute to your group's research lines and be fine if they don't even tell you what they're working on?

@sgf If they work independently well and produce result, then yes. But again, this probably depends of area. Math is different.

@NickS in short: Math is very different. Almost all other STEM subjects you get a grant, a job, a salary to perform a specific research. Your supervisor pays you from her/his grant to help a specific project. Special snowflake grants are rare, and even those have some obligation to do research along a topic and to make progress reports to supervisors.

I think there is a very important detail which is not clear: who pays her? Is it a fellowship tied to specific research project or grant? Is it an independent fellowship? Who is the boss, supervisor, etc on paper?

it is paid by the university, but when you apply, you need to specify who will be your supervisor

A postdoctoral supervisor's primary responsibility is to help the postdoc develop into an independent researcher, if the postdoc is not already an independent researcher. The notion that a postdoc should just take orders and be another cog in a big machine is sad. So is the notion that a postdoc who independently obtains interesting results should add the nomical supervisor as a coauthor.

@DanFox I think we should recognize some shades here. Most fellowship and scholarship in my field, eg explicitly tied to other research project. Saying I do whatever I want because I am special is no way collaborative work or support other's work, and therefore against the very much the spirit of those fellowships. Also many of these contracts contain other responsibilities, not only just being pretty, but I guess there are exceptions.

Does she attain any reportable research outputs in her independent work?

I need to disagree @Greg, she got a scholarship from UNIVERSITY.

It IS a common situation, although there a two parts here: One is work related, she is employed, you are her supervisor, she is not doing her job, you should act in an appropriate way.
The other one is research related, she is producing results (although not together with you), so that might be a criterion to leave her alone. Once again, you shouldn't decide this on your own.
All in all, I would suggest to first talk with the head of department in an informal way, maybe don't even mention her name (unless it is obvious who you are talking about), ask how to proceed. Maybe she produces enough results to allow for a change of contract, giving her more freedom to do her own projects? Maybe she is just lazy and should be fired before getting you into trouble? Either way, you should act before it is too late and you are held responsible for whatever happens or does not happen.

Your additional information that you put under the comment section and I think it should be placed in Question also, is that post-doc is paid for by the University, not paid by you/from your grant. So you are not PR, you are an advisor.
Nick S, pointed out something that is not specific for mathematics, also physics, material science, applied science, engineering and some types of medicine (biomedicine), I will quote him

a Postdoc position is supposed to be the time when the researcher
  starts working independently. I don't know how it is in your field,
  but for me a postdoc wanting to work independently would be a good
  postdoc.

Dan Fox also pointed out very common thing

A postdoctoral supervisor's primary responsibility is to help the postdoc develop into an independent researcher, if the postdoc is not already an independent researcher. The notion that a postdoc should just take orders and be another cog in a big machine is sad. So is the notion that a postdoc who independently obtains interesting results should add the nomical supervisor as a coauthor.

At my university, it is explicitly written in contract that mentor/advisor needs to be the corresponding author of a paper from a postdoc.
I am aware that some contracts don't have this clause, and they can be purely independent.
However, if this is the case with her contract, you should stop giving her any resources. If she is not dependable on your resources and still yields some kind of results that are publishable, I am sorry to tell you this, but according to info that you provided in your question, she is in the right.
You need to report progress as it is to head and to above you body.
You need to be honest with people that are above you that you don't have any control over her and that you don't know direction of her investigation. Does she know you need to write a report about her progress? I think if she knew that she was evaluated, she would tell you how far in research and what she is doing now.
Again you should be more precise about the content of her contract.
As far as I know, contracts with universities are very liberal and give a lot of freedom to the postdoc.

Actually the 'mentor needs to be corresponding author'  might not be in accordance with best scientific practices. Quite a few countries and journals demand that all the author contributed (honorary autorship getting frowned upon)

"it is explicitly written in contract that mentor/advisor needs to be the corresponding author of a paper from a postdoc"---looks like private company, not a university or state funded institution. It is against the rules of good scientific practice.

It's unfortunate that you have let it run to 12 months, so that you cannot use the usual probation procedure, which is meant to deal with things like that from an employment perspective. If this were still during the probation period, you could refuse probation (or extend the period) on grounds that she is not fulfilling her contractual requirements.
If the contract is not for a full 4 years, but for 2+2 years, you could terminate the engagement after 2 years and/or suggest this to her.
But after probation, sacking her would

require a nasty and involved University-internal process of performance management
make the University and you vulnerable to being sued
damage your and your University's reputation
likely ruin her career for good
definitely ruin your friendship

So sacking is not worth it for just 3 more years.
What else could you do? I suggest

Keep talking to her regularly about her and your projects. In a research group, this can be naturally arranged by having regular (weekly) meetings of the whole group, where attendence is compulsory and each weak another member reports on their work (or on a conference they have recently attended) etc.
Don't consider her as a 'slave worker' (who does what you tell her), but try to support her projects. The best young researchers thrive when they have sufficient freedom to develop their own research agenda and are supported by experienced scientists.
Try to have at least one common research project with publications co-authored by both of you (and possibly others).
You have one last trump: reference letters. Point out that if you don't know her research well, you cannot really write supporting reference letters. She will know that failing to obtain a good reference from you may well end her academic career.

As a postdoc myself I agree fully with the strategies yet remarking that on (4) no everyone needs reference letters to move on with their academic careers. In my country you just apply for professorship without any need for written recommendations, and if hired, you're a professor for life.

There are various ways a post-doc - supervisor relationship can be symbiotic.  The postdoc can benefit from the position in a few different possible ways, for example

stimulating discussions with colleagues, and seminars
guidance or at least a sounding board for her projects
the opportunity to participate in someone else's project, as an apprentice
having an office, and access to the library, lab and computing resources
learning academic people skills (by example, counterexample, and by trying things out)
learning how to mentor less advanced colleagues
adding to her publications list, thanks to her affiliation with the department and group, and thanks to the mentoring and perhaps co-authoring she's enjoying

The group and the supervisor can benefit from having the postdoc be part of the group in a few different possible ways, for example

the postdoc takes her turn at running experiments and maintaining the lab
the postdoc brings glory and prestige to the department through her publications and conference presentations
the postdoc does her share in organizing workshops and picnics
the postdoc shows an interest in others' work; her enthusiasm is supportive, and her critical eye helps others improve

One doesn't need all of the above to occur in each individual postdoc.
I wonder which of these, if any, you'd be able to check off for this postdoc?
A postdoc position is indeed a time for the bird to still be in the nest to some extent, but to start to fly and hop around more independently.  If you find that the relationship between this postdoc and the group is out of balance, then you may want to negotiate with her.  The best way to do this may be by offering at least two options for her to choose among.
This way of looking at the situation will probably be more successful than thinking in terms of Is she following the terms of the contract.  After all, there's a difference between a lab assistant and a research postdoc.
You can certainly lay down some groundrules and common expectations for everyone in the group.  It may be best to allow for multiple ways for individuals to fit into them.  Let's take the example of keeping you apprised of what she's working on, and what progress she has made.  You could say, for example, in an email, followed up by an in-person conversation (or the other way around if you prefer):

Lisa, in our lab we don't just play solitaire.  Interaction among group members is the glue that keeps our group healthy.  But not everybody keeps in touch with the group in the same way.  Some group members like to chat informally with colleagues in the break room.  Some are introverts and like to send email updates.  Some like to give informal seminars from time to time, sharing what they've been working on.  Some like to keep in touch with everybody in the group, and some prefer to interact one on one with the P.I. or with one or another fellow student or postdoc.  Those are just some examples.  Everybody has to find what works best for them.  I'd like to ask you to think about how you can contribute to the cohesiveness that gives our group its character.

Then change the subject to something completely different.
But circle back (within a week) and ask her if she's thought about how she'd like to contribute to the team feeling.
Your university may offer some management workshops.  When these are well done, they can be rewarding and surprisingly helpful.

It all comes down to where the money is coming from and it will depend on the HR requirements of your University. If she is paid by you on your funding her job is to complete the project that is funded. In the US this is very clear as the effort is reported on grants. If she is an employee of the university and you don't pay her, you have no obligation to give her your own funding for her project. She has to pay for her own supplies, so if she wants to be independent she has to find her own money. As a young PI on a very strict tenure track I have to have very little patience for people who are unproductive because they waste time and grant money. That she's taking advantage of your friendship is particularly troubling...

I think how much the postdoc should be independent and how much she shares the result with you depend on the source of money, and written or non-written mutual agreement.
If her salary comes from your research money, and the contract says she is a part of your (bigger) project, she has a duty to spend her time (at lease some reasonable amount of time) to accomplish the goal of the project and report/discuss result to/with you.
If she is paid by her own grant/scholarship or is paid by university, she may have more freedom on her project. But it'd be still beneficial for her to work with you and collaborate (and share result with you by co-authering).
However, what makes me puzzled is that she doesn't want to discuss with you and share the result (and authorship) with you: If this is always the case, there is no reason for you to hire (whether you pay or not) her. Even if you don't pay her, if she doesn't collaborate with you nor shares, you're wasting your time and resource which you might have used to collaborate with others otherwise.
Assuming her goal is to become a professor or independent researcher like you, she might be in a pressure of proving herself through publication and research independence. She might expect also an authority equivalent to yours even though it's a wrong expectation for her position as postdoc.
I think it's worth addressing these issues and be on the same page as far as expectations before you fire her. Whether it's personal relationship or leadership, it's very important to synchronize the expectations and communicate. Without being emotionally hurt, I believe you can point out the expectation discrepancies between you and your friend and be clear about that you can help her to achieve her goal (e.g. by helping her to get mentored grant for postdocs) and give her independence which amount reasonable to both of you, and in return you expect that she will share the result (and authorship) on her independent projects (you deserve it as a give-and-take since you help her to keep the affiliation, provide resource and help her to grow) as well as contribute/collaborate on your projects.
I'd make the argument more win-win than threatening her. It's also a good idea discussing with your colleague and department before and while you talk with her- you may approach them to get some leadership/communication advice on your situation rather than to accuse her. Keep them posted while you talk with your friend (and document the procedure/evaluations/key conversations if possible). When you have gone through all reasonable efforts and she still doesn't get it, you have grounds and witnesses for firing her, so don't need to worry about a backfire.
It's easier said than done, but try to be proactive and win-win. Good luck.

I will write here from the standpoint of a postdoc who is likely to act in a similar manner. Perhaps there is something in what I state that could be of any help.
I have always worked independently. I had the same advisor from undergrad until MD who was one very open-minded, humane, slow-paced scientist. As a PhD student I worked on an interdisciplinary interface under the supervision of a professor that had little to offer, intellectually. As a result, I brew my own set of collaborations, projects, methods. I just need a lab and resources to do my experiments. Perhaps "your" postdoc is someone with a similar background?
There are too many labs nowadays that treat postdocs as technicians but still there will be those willing to host an early-career independent scientist. Likely you and your friend misestimated your lines in this scheme, and this needs to be readjusted.
My advice is that first you decide whether you'd like to work alongside this person or not. Because this postdoc will never work for you or anyone. You cannot change that: it is too late.
My second advice is to figure out whether this postdoc is really not doing anything in the lab or just not working with what you'd like her to. How to react will depend on understanding this very clearly.
Thus, if you decide you do not want to work together with this person, and apparently she is just fooling around the laboratory while consuming resources, just tell her exactly that. The situation should be quite self-explanatory. It doesn't mean you need to become enemies: there must be a reason for which you don't want to work together and/or no work is being done at all. You can focus on that point, while pushing to the best possible solution (i.e. postdoc moving elsewhere). A fully-blown bum/sociopath may require bold actions. A clearly lost & depressed individual may need your support much more as a friend than as a workmate.
Now, if you can see the postdoc is engaged in projects you feel like you'd also like to work on, you must do your best to get directly involved. Minding that you're just a collaborator and seeking to improve the project regardless of hierarchy or personal interests. Be prepared to end up in the Acks section of some paper while earning co-authorship (position not pre-defined) on something else. Then may you be able to do the best out of this situation conflicted interests towards future gains.
I really don't think forcing the department hierarchy or lawyers on this kind of postdoc will yield positive gains for either side.

Consider the following: while many people see postdocs similar to PHDs there is a simple difference: you are paid 100% to work for your employer. It's nice of you manage to get research done in the right direction, but not necessary (unless you have some independent funding/sholarship which allows you to do what you want).
About your friendship: If you dont manage to recover you work relationship, your friendship will also turn sour. It's better to try to recover the work relationship and see if she accepts the following and you can be still be friends.
Points to explain to her (you can do this in a friendly way like: "Sorry, but i have to protect the interests of this group and myself. And I would like to help you in achieving better, for which collaboration is necessary".):

An interesting aspect is that once she puts your group as an affiliation on the paper, you are able to call the journal one the article is published and most likely cause a retraction by saying "this research was not approved and checked by our group, and we are not affiliated with it" (which seems to me a perfectly true statement). Maybe in the end it goes trough ater a few iterations, but the timing could be a problem for a postdoc.
If she publishes without affiliation, you can sue her for fraud if she worked during the hours you paid for or used material provided by your group (and you can cause a retraction)
Explain to her that she will get no resources if she does not comply.
Explain to her that you can not give her a good reference under these circumstances.
On her own, she seems not to be super-productive either. She is there 12 months and you did not mention that she is visibly involved with any progressing research. Explain to her that this probably would not end well for her anyway.
Asking her how she feels and that you have the impression that she does not react to some pressure in the way which would be best for her- point out to her to seek counseling. (I had a colleague suffering from a psychological problem with very similar symptoms). If she agrees, set a timescale after which you revisit the topic.

"once she puts your group as an affiliation on the paper, you are able to call the journal one the article is published and most likely cause a retraction" Not at all. For this to happen, there would need to be an official policy which requires authors to have their research approved by their institution. I have never heard of such a policy.

Let's say i know a postdoc who actually took a lawyer, and for research done within the group the lawyer told to her that this was the case (Germany, federal research). The "maybe it goes trough" part of my comment was that if the research is not done within the group, the journal could be fine with it, but i am not sure about the affiliation usage - there must be a way for an employer to state that somebody does not speak as you employee, but as a private person.

Interesting, I wonder if the lawyer gave more details on the legal foundation of this opinion. In many aspects, academia is very different from a "regular" workplace, in particular since there is the idea of academic freedom. If an academic institution can enforce a right to approve all publications by their academic personnel, this seems to contradict this idea.

Dont have that possibility any more but NIH seems to see it the same way: http://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2012/05/24/publishing_without_consent

Academic freedom does not mean that you can do what you want and get paid, but that you (as an institution) are not prohibited by the government to do research. The power of the institution is transferred to Professors/PIs, who are responsible for the research (standards, ethics etc.).

Interesting. On the one hand, the focus of this blog entry is a bit different, since it's about the unapproved use of data rather than affiliation. On the other hand, I see that this distinction does not matter in most STEM fields, because all publications involve some kind of data. Still, some interesting cases remain, like Math and various subfields of Computer Science.

Yes, but the point is that is you are paid on a general postdoc for a given project, whatever you do is theirs, not yours. It's different if you have personal scholarship, obviously. But the Question was about working in a program/project. And there the PI is the primary source of decision. Not that I like it, but if fund were misdirected to other projects, the PI will be held accountable. (and yes, there has been work which i did as postdoc just for the purpose of reaching a goal set by the project)


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Should an Editorial be considered as a regular paper in CV, or should it be put in another section?
Me an other colleagues organized an Special Issue of some Journal (indexed by ISI) and after having accepted some of the submitted papers (10 in total), we wrote an editorial, which will also appear in the Journal. Do you think such effortless papers can be considered or cited in a CV as a regular paper or should be put into another section?

I am editing an ISI listed journal and have also noticed that the editorials I or others write end up as if they were regular publications and obtain citations. I do not think they should be considered as such but believe it simply is a flaw in the system. The persons entering data or who made the system that scans published papers simply cannot distinguish between editorials and papers, despite the word "Editorial:" occurring in the title of such contributions in "my" journal. Since these editorials are not reviewed by others than the editors-in chief (in my case) they are not fully peer reviewed and would definitely not pass a regular review since they were never intended as journal articles.
So, do one want to put an editorial "paper" in the CV? I do not think it belongs under the heading of papers published in refereed journals. But, having written an editorial means you have been instrumental to produce a thematic journal issue and so you can list it in conjunction with "meriting academic missions" (or whatever you might call it). It will represent the journal issue and the work done there which, in my opinion, is probably worth more than a paper. The fact that it might also be cited can be taken as indicating interest in the jorunal issue that you have summarized in the editorial, but should be kept separate from regular papers.
I should add as a final note that the key for me is whether or not the contribution has been properly peer reviewed. I doubt many editorial receive proper peer review.

+1: in my CV I also distinguish between "peer-reviewed" and "other" papers, not journals. But IMHO that does not mean that an editorial could (or should) not be cited (e.g. to point out some general development in the field).


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My proposed NSF GRFP project was just published; what should I do?
I am applying to NSF GRFP in a few days, and have a Research Statement where I outline a project for my PhD. The project I thought of is highly relevant and based on very new ideas in quantum computing, and have been discussing it with others since July, and so I wrote it up.
I was just looking on the arXiv, and found a paper from a month ago (September) that seems to implement my exact project. They took the exact approach I suggested, but simulated the results in a different way. I suspect that this approach has a flaw in going from simulation to actual experimentation on real quantum computers (that I discuss in my statement), and I immediately reached out to the authors to confirm if they have this flaw. The authors have responded, explained how they got around the flaw I raised, and offered to meet to discuss.
What should I do?
My instinctive thought is to make a footnote or something that explains what happened. Will this ruin my chances of getting accepted? I think I must address this (it would feel dishonest to leave it out), but I am unsure of how to do this.

I have spoken to my professors and other advisors, and they emphasize that NSF GRFP funds the student, not the project. That is to say, they are ok if I don't actually pursue this research problem in my PhD, they just want to see that I have the ability to pose good research problems and outline a good strategy to solving the problem.
I intend to make the submission tonight, and have added the following at the end of the appropriate paragraph in my essay:

(When wrapping up my NSF application, I became aware of the very recent work [...] on arxiv, which implemented [my project] using [this trick]. I am in communication with the authors and will soon meet them to discuss these results and future directions.)

The hope is that the reviewers will see that others thought of the exact same problem and solved it using the same approach as a sign of strength with respect to my research capabilities. Further, it is evidence that my problem is relevant, of interest to others, and publishable.

Sorry, this isn't an answer. Edit your question to add new information. See the help center: https://academia.stackexchange.com/help

@Buffy the question was "what should I do?", and this is my proposal for what I should do. If this is a good/bad idea, people can vote; can you clarify why it's not an answer?

Yes, people can either add an update to the main post or post the update as an answer, so long as the update really is an answer to the question. As David says, I think this is a fair answer.

I'm not a reviewer, but I would hesitate to draw attention to the fact that my project had already been done. Your reviewers will not be experts in your sub-field, and I would suggest it is more likely than not that they will have no idea this has preprint exists (they certainly won't go looking for it).

@AzorAhai-him- I agree that the reviewers will likely not be exerts and won't know about it. However, for intellectual honesty reasons, I feel that leaving it out would not be ok. Further, I think the fact that others are thinking about the same problems and solutions as I am shows that I am a good PhD student to fund (they are not funding the project, they are funding the student).

@DavidRaveh you have given all the best reasons to behave with integrity in this situation. That’s commendable. And then there’s the additional (not particularly honorable, but still valid) reason that having posted your story here using what appears to be your real name, if you proceed to behave unethically by withholding your knowledge of the preprint in your GRFP submission, you expose yourself to some serious criticism in the event that one of the reviewers makes the connection between this post and your proposal…


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Is it possible to ask a postdoc from external university to guide my first undergraduate research?
I am a freshmen student from non top tier HK university and very interested in ML/AI/DL/RL/optimization, or some interesting applications of AI like AI for drug discovery. I have some skills:

school ICPC steam

linear algebra, Multi-variable calculus (self study), convex optimization(self study), discrete math (self study), probability with basic understanding in measure theory (self study), real & complex analysis (current self-studying), functional analysis (future)

Just started to play Kaggle, with not a bad understanding on ML

There are few problems:

My GPA is low, with 3.37/4.3 (ranking unknown, but probably top 15%)

Very few professors are working on the fields I'm interested in

Thus, I pretty sure professors from my school won't need me; I got no email response. Is it is possible to embark my undergraduate research for free/no price?
If you were a ML/AI postdoc at top university, are you willing to remotely supervise this undergraduate?

My two cents: particularly at the beginning basically every undergraduate needs significant hand holding. That really doesn't work well remotely.

First, I think it's great that you want to go further in your academic work. It sounds like you're intelligent and hardworking, which are important attributes to be successful.
I'm going to start by answering your main question, then I'll give you some suggestions that hopefully will be useful to your goals.
If you were a ML/AI postdoc at top university, are you willing to remotely supervise any undergraduate？
It's very unlikely that a postdoc at a top university would be interested in remotely supervising an undergrad at another university.
The reasons for this are that postdocs tend to be extremely busy, poorly paid, and hyperfocused on their own research.
Now, a tenured professor with more time (or the need to carry out some kind of outreach work) might be a more likely candidate in terms of time and disposition, but the problem here is that professors at top universities have no shortage of undergraduates at their own schools.
What Should You Do Instead
I'm going to give you some suggestions here that will improve the likelihood of hitting your goals. Because again, you clearly have the drive and motivation, now you just need to work on some logistics.
1. Improve your spelling and grammar in formal situations.
Your writing style is excessively casual for someone reaching out about a potential research partnership. If I were a professor interested in remote mentoring, and I saw this question with statements like:

cuz i got no email response

I would not be inclined to reach out to you with an offer.
Note that this is different than how I feel about someone trying to write formally, but who is making the types of grammar and spelling mistakes common for those for whom English isn't their first language.
Most people will overlook the latter to some degree, but will frown at excessive casualness in formal communication.
2. Focus on Making Yourself Competitive for Graduate School
If you are interested in embarking on graduate-level research, you need to think now about how you can make yourself a competitive candidate for grad school.
This is going to mean improving your GPA, your writing skills, and thinking ahead to what kinds of programs you might wish to apply to.
3. Dig Deeper or Consider Transferring
If you are set on ML drug discovery undergraduate research, I suggest spending more time talking to professors at your current university about options. They are much more likely to help you than a remote professor or postdoc.
If nobody at your university is doing undergraduate research that you're interested in, consider transferring to a different undergrad program.
But I would make transferring a last resort and instead:
4. Recognize What Actually Matters To Future Grad Schools
Even if you can't find someone at your school doing ML-based drug discovery, doing any kind of mentored undergraduate research project is going to be a benefit when you later apply to grad school.
Grad school admissions committees typically aren't looking at undergraduate applications and thinking things like, "We need to find the best experts in ML-drug discovery in this set of applications..."
They are thinking, "We need to find people that have shown they can be successful in the high-stress academic environment of grad school."
For better or worse, that's going to include (depending on the school) metrics such as:

Communications skills as shown in your essays and other communications
Experience doing mentored research (any mentored research)
GPA
GRE scores (for US universities)
Leadership and volunteer experience
Letters of recommendation from professors

So, by all means continue working on Kaggle competitions if you find those interesting. But if you are serious about entering the world of mentored research, consider the suggestions above.

Thanks for your very helpful suggestions!