text:
How to learn how to pronounce and remember names of Chinese students?
Most Australian universities have a large number of international students. Common countries of origin include China, Singapore, and Malaysia. When interacting with students, it's much nicer if you can learn their name and pronounce it correctly. To reduce the scope of this question, I thought I'd limit it to Chinese names, but it could be broadened to include other Asian countries.
Several challenges emerge with Chinese names for an Australian (and presumably others from North America, Europe, etc.):

challenges of pronunciation
challenges when reading a Chinese name of knowing which part of the full name is the name to address the student by
challenges in remember the name. In particular, I find it difficult to remember a name that I can't pronounce. Furthermore, the less familiar I am with a name and the fewer associations I have with a name, the harder I find it is to remember.

Questions

How can I learn how to pronounce names of Chinese students?
How can I better recall names of Chinese students? e.g., get acquainted with common names, build some semantic knowledge around Chinese names.

I'd be particularly interested in any good online resources for this purpose.
UPDATE: Following the suggestion of @scaaahu I have asked this question also on Chinese Stack Exchange.com . I normally would not cross-post, but I think that this question might be a rare exception to the rule where cross-posting will provide complementary perspectives.

For the first question: why not just ask the student? Surely he or she knows how his or her name should be pronounced. I don't see why Chinese students should be treated any differently in this regard from Polish ones or Portuguese ones.

I agree asking the student is a good general strategy. With regards to my context I find most European names relatively easy to understand and recall (e.g., the most common Portuguese name is Maria. There's a greater linguistic similarity to English. Also with regards to the Australian context, between 25 to 50% of students are international students (most have an Asian background). I think building up an appreciation of the general rules of Asian names including Chinese would be really helpful to me.

I also agree that this isn't really an issue when you are interacting with someone regularly. It's more of an issue when you have several large classes with 60 new names to learn or when you are wanting to pronounce the name of a researcher that you have never met.

As a Chinese learner, I advise that you could spend time to learn Chinese pronunciation. There aren't many different sounds in Chinese so you could use a pinyin chart to give you all the romanization representation of each sound and have a tutor help you pronunciation each one of them. As well as learning different tones. You don't actually have to learn the meaning, just the pronunciation which is the easiest part of learning any language. (Compared to vocab) http://www.quickmandarin.com/chinesepinyintable/

It's funny, as I am reading this old question, I consider my own name. It's an easy one, a Scottish one, one that most Americans should have absolutely no problems with... and yet I can almost guarantee you'll mispronounce it, subtly. And when I start out pronouncing it correctly, it gets misspelled along with "oh you mean Cambel and then they don't spell it correctly.

First of all, I would like to sincerely thank you for your consideration on behalf of all Chinese (I am a Chinese myself).
Now, to answer your questions. One of the best ways to pronounce the individual Chinese names correctly is to ask them - those Chinese students. They would be glad to tell you.
In its nature, Chinese is hard for English speaking people to pronounce. This site is not the right place to discuss the details. There is a better Stack Exchange site.
There are many Chinese dialects. Mandarin Chinese is the most common one. I just did a search, this site seems to be a good place to use. I tried some of the audio sound clips and they sound fine.
Again, asking them is the best way. My Chinese last name is Hu. The correct pronunciation is like "who". Many non-Chinese speaking people pronounce it wrong. I already got used to it but I am always happy to tell them the right way when they ask me. So, thank you again for asking.
Your second question is how to recall Chinese names. This is even harder for a non-Chinese speaking person. My suggestion is to ask individuals what names they go by. If they have English names, would they prefer you call their English names?! I believe most of them would say yes. If they insist on you calling them by their Chinese names, I am afraid the only way is to ask their names every time you meet them. I am not sure they would like it but if that's what they want, that's the way they get.

Do Chinese get offended if their names are mispronounced? I am an Indian, but if someone pronounces my name wrongly, I won't really bother!

I think it's reasonable to expect someone to be a little annoyed if their name is mispronounced. I know I get annoyed.

@Bravo, it depends. Some would, some don't. But, I got a little bit upset when someone jokes about my name, like "Who is Hu(who)?".

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm happy to ask students. However, I would like to develop a basic framework for understanding Chinese names. E.g., pronunciation rules, know common names, know whether a name is male or female or gender-neutral, know which written name is the given name, know whether a name is Chinese or not, etc. I think having such a framework would make it easier to actually use Chinese names in real-world settings.

@JeromyAnglim, it's not that I don't want to answer your question. You actually ask a very good one - basic framework for Chinese naming. I believe you'll get good answers from Chinese Language SE. Please try there.

I find that when you ask someone how to pronounce their name, it helps to let them know (in your own words) that you really want to pronounce it as correctly as you can. Otherwise what usually happens is they pronounce their name for you, you make a first attempt, and they tell you that's correct because they appreciate that you made the effort. In the case of tonal languages like Chinese, I mention that I'm trying to use the  correct tones. Then they know that I'm not just asking out of politeness, that I really want to learn.

This answer is going to address not only Chinese names, but all unfamiliar names.
Most answers say "Just ask them!", but personally I found that to be insufficient and only marginally helpful. I have the same experience when people ask me about my own name, which many find confusing to pronounce. Repeating it back to them many times at their request does not appear to be the best way to help them remember.
Here's what works for me:

Do not try to remember sounds (what you hear). Write it down, and remember the written form instead. We are better at handling structured, abstract information than an unfamiliar amorphous sound blob.

Once you wrote it down, learn the basics of how to read the language in question, i.e. how to convert written letters to spoken sounds. This is easy with phonetic writing systems, such as Chinese pinyin, and shouldn't take more than 20-30 minutes. Once you have the knowledge, you can apply it to all Chinese names: just ask the person to write it down for you in pinyin. If you are a teacher with many Chinese students, it's a worthwhile investment of time.

The key is: (1) Remember a formalized, abstract representation. This helps with memory. (2) Learn the basic rules about how to read out this representation aloud, e.g. from Wikipedia. This provides some certainty and takes away the anxiety about "pronouncing it wrong."
Your own native language may not have all the required sounds. You may struggle with some of them. If you do, simply find a "good enough" approximation and stick to it deliberately. The purpose is to take out the anxiety from pronouncing the names. For example, if you are an English speaker and you can't roll your rs, simply substitute an English r. If you try to get that r right every time you talk to "Carlos", you may eventually find yourself avoiding saying his name.
Mandarin Chinese does not have many sounds that are especially difficult or unfamiliar to English speakers. The big one I can think of is ü, as in pinyin yu. Just ask someone to pronounce that sound for you, decide on the best approximation you can produce, and stick to it deliberately, even knowing that it is far from perfect. For xi and qi, most will naturally and easily substitute the English sh and ch. Of course, Chinese tones are also difficult, but again: skip them deliberately.

I find that this method works well for me in practice, both for remembering names or words in foreign languages. It also seems to work for helping others remember my own name. Many find its spelling intimidating, but once I explain that sz and cs are both indivisible units that represent a single sound (s from snake and ch from child, respectively), people find it much easier.
Unfortunately, in my experience, some English speakers struggle tremendously with the very concept of phonetic writing, or rather putting it into practice. Instead of consistently applying the rules of pronunciation specific to the writing system / language in question, they keep sliding back into trying to read it "the English way". They can't seem to segregate in their head two separate sets of pronunciation rules (for two languages) for the same set of symbols (Roman letters). I could never quite understand why, therefore I could never find an efficient way to help them. If you are one of them, then this might not be the best method for you. However, if you are a native speaker of a language that uses a phonetic writing system, understanding the basics of a different phonetic system will be trivial to you.

This method won't work well for a language that is usually written in Roman letters, but does not use a consistent phonetic system, such as French. In that case, you may need to make up your own phonetic representation. Languages that are not written in Roman letters usually have standard romanizations that tend to be consistent and phonetic (such as pinyin for Mandarin Chinese), so the only problem is knowing which Romanization you are dealing with, in case there are several.

There's a specific site that has examples of Chinese names. You might find that quite helpful. There aren't audio files though, and there seems to be a disagreement between the site and the one linked above about the correct pronunciation of 'zh' (as 'dr' or 'j').

Mandarin is my native language, so I don't use those sites often. I found the site I cited by Google. I cannot claim it's 100% correct. Actually, the pronounciation of zh is more complicated than the difference between dr or j. I am afraid the details is off-topic.

To those commenting "ASK THEM," yes, obviously. However, this doesn't exactly address the OP's issue, because this only provides a one-off for each individual name, but doesn't provide a framework for learning to pronounce new names in the future. It's also endlessly frustrating for a student to have to be like "my name is pronounced X," english speaker: "S?" Chinese student: "X", english speaker: "S??", etc.
The key issue for Chinese names from the perspective of native English speakers is that pinyin does not exactly map onto English pronunciation. I can't count how many times an English speaker has encountered pinyin like "qi" and subconsciously inserted a u, morphing it into "qui" or some other monstrosity.
It can be helpful to learn some basic Mandarin linguistics for name pronunciation. For example, each Chinese character is made up of a final and optional initial phoneme. The allowed phonemes are super small, thus all possible Mandarin pinyin can be written in a compact table:
https://chinese.yabla.com/chinese-pinyin-chart.php
Obviously this doesn't cover the tones, but comparing a student's name with this table and practicing the pronunciation (such as by recording yourself and comparing your recording with the audio file for the same pinyin) will get you much further than 99% of native English speakers.
As for remembering the names, this is challenging because as you mention memory is related to how many external connections you have to the word. Since Chinese names typically have no connections inside of a native English speaker's memory, to remember them you need to actively create those connections through simple/stupid mnemonics. As an English example: "His name is Joe, joe is another word for coffee, java is another word for coffee, Java is an island in the Pacific." or something similarly inane. It's remarkable how effective this has been for me personally.
As a conclusion, the important point is that you are making an honest effort and most people will appreciate that you are trying to do the right thing, no matter how far away you are from the "perfect" pronunciation. I once overheard an introduction between a Chinese person and English speaker, in which the English speaker came out with this gem: "Don't bother telling me your name, I'll never remember." If that had happened to me, that would stick in my craw for the rest of my life, and quite possibly beyond!!

+1 It seems that the people who answer "ask them" haven't tried to answer that question, and after the 4th time just had to say that's good enough, it's always too hard for non--speaking people. You can't learn to hear and pronounce foreign phonemes in a minute.

(cont'd) Obviously, asking people and then iterating is a good way to make sure you pronounce it in a way the person is happy enough with, but it does feel good when someone gets it very close, so a teacher who has actually studied some Chinese pronunciation can make a very good impression.

This isn't about pronunciation, but one thing I used to find myself confused by was not knowing which name was the family name and which was the given name (since sometimes people use the Chinese convention of family name first, but sometimes they westernize it by putting the family name last).  A pattern that really helps for this is that family names are almost always 1-syllable, while given names are usually 2-syllables.  This won't always work, it won't help you with Jiang Qing say, but as a quick sample it does work for every president of the PRC.

To be honest, unless you learn Chinese, it's always hard for you to remember a Chinese name. Let me give you an example. Apple is apple in English, while in Chinese it is spelled as Ping Guo [苹果]. The apple in Chinese consists of two Chinese characters and seven English letters in Chinese Pinyin (the Romanization of Chinese). Either of the two Chinese characters can be assembled with other Chinese characters to make up a new Chinese name. And unlike western names, Chinese names often do not have a fixed meaning defined by ancestors or convention although each Chinese character has its own meaning solely or multiply. You may hear lots of Chinese boys called Junjie and cannot identify who is who since in Chinese Pinyin their given names are completely the same. But in Chinese per se their given names can be written in different Jun [e.g. 俊, 骏, 隽] and different Jie [e.g. 杰, 洁, 捷] and so the meaning of the names might be wholly different as well. So the best way to remember a Chinese name is to understand the meaning of the names, while to understand the meaning, the best way is to know how they are written in its original language. As each Chinese character may look like a picture to English speakers, it might be still hard for you to link the 'picture' with the romanizations.
However, instead of given names, just remembering the most popular surnames may ease you. Most Chinese people are named by a handful of surnames. Of course, the drawback is that you may be confused again once two or more Chinese you meet up have the same surname. But at least this is a little bit of progress, isn't it? If you still want to have a better understanding, then there is no more suggestion than learning this language.
1. familiarize yourself with popular Chinese surnames
2. ask the meaning of their names and let them write it down in its original language
3. learn the language

Learning how to pronounce
As has already been mentioned, the best way is probably to ask the person yourself.  As a Chinese, I don't expect a non-Chinese to be able to pronounce my Chinese name correctly; pronouncing the pinyin is good enough.  Furthermore, I wouldn't expect a non-Chinese to know how to get the four tones correct.
However, if you're curious, and if you know the exact Chinese characters, one convenient resource is to use Google Translate's audio tool to play back Chinese words:
https://translate.google.com/#zh-CN/en/
You'll need to either cut and paste the characters into the text box, or use the handwriting tool to input the characters.  Note that the accuracy of the handwriting tool is likely dependent on getting the stroke order correct.
Remembering Chinese names
Unless the Chinese name is very common, it's likely very hard to remember a person's Chinese name without writing it down. In academic circles, if the person has a publication record, you could get hold of this indirectly by getting a journal reference to a paper authored by the person. Alternatively, with social media, you could add/follow the person via Research Gate, LinkedIn or Facebook. Now that you have the name in writing, you could also check on the web as to how it is pronounced.

Well, as I was some sort of a foreigner myself, I can tell you:
Ask them
The best way to pronounce someone's one in a foreign language is how they tell you it is pronounce. Notice, that this "first-hand" pronunciation might not correspond with the official one. (For the latter: basically, the way how our X-language tongue reproduces Y-language sounds might not benefit the recognition.)
Also, specifically for Chinese: some of them specifically adapt "easier" names for the communication with Westerners. So, fully expect something like:
"How should I call you?"
"Oh, my actual name is XY, but please call me just Z."


text:
Is it ethical to offer a student a job during the final weeks of his thesis if you are partly grading it?
Our institute has an open position for a student research assistant where it is hard to find qualified applicants. Currently, I'm supervising a very good student who is in the final weeks of writing down his bachelor's thesis. He has experience with the requirements of the position and I would love to have him as an assistant.
The position would start after he finishes his degree.
However, I'm worried that if I were to offer him the position now, it would put him under undue pressure to accept, since his thesis will also partly be graded by me. Is this a problem?
Edit: Thanks for all your thoughtful input and answers! The thesis will be submitted in about a month, my part of grading it will finish a week after. While the professor could veto a application, I am effectively solely responsible for deciding who to hire as research assistant.

If you are so worried about the potential ethical issues, and the position wouldn't start until after anyways, why not just wait until he completes the thesis?

@DavidGrinberg We have some administrative overhead which takes about a month between the decision and start of the contract. If I don't ask him, I have to ask around for other candidates to find one in time.

Would it be feasible to offer them of the position now, but let them accept or decline after finishing? Not much benefit for you compared to making the offer afterwards, but I know I would've preferred that when I was a student.

Will the decision about who to hire be made by you alone? If you're just suggesting he apply for a job, and the decision to hire will be made by someone else (or even by a committee of which you are a member) then I see much less difficulty.

I second the request to clarify the timeline here - what exactly is the event of "finishing the degree"? Does it mean submitting the thesis? Or does it mean grading is completed (which, in some places, may well take several months, definitely longer than the time the student usually takes to start a permanent job)? Or is the student going to stay at the university (to continue as a Master's student or so), anyway? Otherwise, you may want to make sure he is even still allowed to be employed as a "student research assistant", as he might be losing his student status shortly after graduating.

It is perfectly ethical to inform a student that you are currently supervising about open positions, especially if the student is about to complete the thesis and is a good fit to the position.
It is of course not ethical to let the student's action upon this information affect the grading of the thesis. That's for you to take care of, and I guess you were already aware of that.
If you have any concerns about putting pressure onto the student, an alternative way would be to have someone else inform the student about the open position. You write that you supervise the student's thesis, but your institute has the open position.
If that means that someone other than you is directly responsible for the open position, than just ask that person to contact the student about the position. That will probably make the student feel less guilty with respect to you if he or she doesn't apply for the position.

I came to say exactly this. As a student, I would have welcomed being told about this opportunities, and having time to prepare for it (accommodation, alternative plans, etc.).

As a student I've been in a similar position. My supervisor informed me that there would be opportunities... that way I knew I had a back up and  a job lined up so I wouldn't look elsewhere. The supervisor could also mention the position and encourage the student to "apply" that way the student may feel less pressure.

I have been in a different situation (on the student side) but it has some similarities. Maybe this helps you.
I was writing my MA thesis and had already been accepted to start my PhD. My assigned MA thesis supervisor and I did not get on at all, and my request to change supervisors was denied by the department. I asked my future-PhD supervisor to supervise me, unofficially, on my MA thesis, and he agreed. He told me there was a chance that he would be asked to grade my paper, and that I should think about whether this would be a problem for me, especially because in case of a negative outcome, I would then have to work with him for four years.
He ended up having to grade the paper he supervised. He told his colleague that he had supervised me to ensure there would be no ambiguity about my mark that I received (of course, it was marked by an external marker as well). I spoke to him about my mark and respected his decision. Was I happy about the mark? It was all right. But he had been honest with me from the very beginning and offered me alternatives in case the situation occurred, and thus I had zero bad feelings or any ambiguity afterwards. The PhD supervision that followed was, if anything, strengthened by the honest interchange.
I would suggest to speak to your student openly about that accepting or declining the position would in no way affect the mark, and that you are aware of a potential dilemma. Perhaps the student won't be able to accept, and feels like they let you down, affecting the mark- I personally think you have to make a call about the students personality and how openly you can speak to him or her.

The issue you describe might be interpreted into the situation, but the situation is also not unusual - student research assistants are often acquired based on their previous work, and the process of considering a student for such a position often starts before the previous work is done.
I think, however, that the concerns are mostly unfounded. To clarify things, you can tell the student explicitly that there will be no effect on the mark, but even without such a statement, the student should be able to decide freely.
In future offers the student might receive, there will rarely be a clean transition time. For instance, when asked to switch to a different position within the same company at a future job, the decision will usually overlap with time spent in a previous position. Reasonable or not, one might expect to be treated worse in the current position if one declines the offer. That can rarely be avoided, and as such, the student should learn rather earlier than later to make decisions based on the object of the decision, not based on the theoretically possible repercussions for the current task.
With that said, I find the concern comparably unlikely, compared to the inverse. Working as a student research assistant is not a "favour" from either side, or anything that is (or might feel like it is) based on somewhat fuzzy criteria. If anything, as a student, I would be concerned whether my performance in the thesis will influence the final decision on whether or not I can get the student research assistant position.

I don't see how this is any different from the situation in industry where a member of a work group applied for an different internal position in the same group, and a regular (e.g. annual) performance assessment was scheduled to take place at around the same time.
As a manager (which is what you are in this situation, regardless of differently named academic job titles), you need to be able to construct your own "Chinese walls" between two events which should not interact with each other, but both of which involve you.
If you can't trust yourself to be fair and objective, I suppose you could delegate some of grading activity to someone else, but I think any need to do that is your problem, not the student's.

I think it is fairly easy to separate both events, but the student may feel otherwise. And that is the problem the OP is concerned about, he may feel forced to take the job; plus, he may not have the professional maturity, or the confidence in it, to see when their manager is being honest and professional.

It depends on what kind of advisor you are and how you phrase it. The biggest compliment my MS advisor gave me was "I think we work really well together, and this grant has enough for you to do a PhD, would you stay?". Because our relationship is strong, I felt very comfortable telling him that I wanted to do a PhD, but that I also wanted to move on to another department. He understood that it is a healthy part of research to want to work with many different people, and accordingly, you should convey that to your student. You could offer your student the job by saying,
"I think you are a very good researcher, and we have an open position for someone like yourself. It would be wonderful if you were to stay after you have completed your degree. This could be a great opportunity for you.  Though I understand that you might want to work for another lab to get more experience, feel no obligation to accept this job just because I am your current research advisor."
Also make sure that the student knows he/she can accept the offer AFTER the thesis has been graded.

If I were you, I would say there is an open position you feel he would be well suited to, and you would be happy to have him take said position, but either suggest you discuss details at a later date, or if you are concerned he will make other arrangements in the meantime, make him the offer, but make it clear you do not want a response until after you have done marking his work.
You never know, he may want to work alongside you as much as you do with him. Equally it is possible he does not want to work alongside you.
If another person offers him the job, it has to be somewhat veiled - if another member of staff says Dr. X is looking for an assistant, this will have much the same impact as if you said it, I suspect. At least if you explain everything, he is fully aware. Hypothetically, say he absolutely loved working with you, but not so keen on other staff members. Or vice versa. Its more of an issue if he accepts a position, and finds out at a later date he is working with his worst nightmare.
Not to mention I wouldn't take it as a great confidence boost if a person I worked with often had a job opportunity they desperately needed to fill, and never mentioned it to me, yet another member of staff told me I was an ideal candidate. It kind of implies you think him unsuitable?
Give him all the infomation, but refuse to hear a response until grading is done - then he cannot say 'I did badly because I refused Dr. X', if he fluffs his thesis.

You should not personally inform the student about the position, because no matter what you say, this is a strong implication to the student that you want him/her to apply.
If I were you, I would send an email to all the students in the department, in your group (I'm pretty sure your university has such a mailing list), to inform about the position. That student will apply if he/she is interested. You may find equally competitive applicants.

"I'm pretty sure your university has such a mailing list" - whether or not such a list exists depends a lot on the administrative aspects of being a "student in the department"; I wouldn't be so sure of its existence. If there is such a list, it is of course worth a try.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Restriction on working hours for full-time students
I know that 20 hours/week when school is in session and 40 hours when school is out is the legal maximum working hour for international full-time students in United States. I was wondering whether this also holds for students other than international students. The website of U.S. Department of Labor mentions the same, but it is not clear whether it holds for all. Here is the extract from the website.

"Full-Time Student Program
This program is for full-time students employed in retail or service stores, agriculture, or colleges and universities. The employer that hires students can obtain a certificate from the Department of Labor which allows the student to be paid not less than 85% of the minimum wage. The certificate also limits the hours that the student may work to 8 hours in a day and no more than 20 hours a week when school is in session and 40 hours when school is out, and requires the employer to follow all child labor laws. Once students graduate or leave school for good, they must be paid at least the federal minimum wage.
There are some limitations on the use of the full-time student program..."

The extract you have linked is specifically for a program that exempts employers from paying the full minimum wage. There is, in principle, no law stating that students can only work 20 hours per week when school is in session. In fact, it's quite the opposite—students can work as many hours as they would like.
On the other hand, it is possible for universities to place conditions on financial aid recipients that they not work more than some number of hours per week, and in general it's not really that smart of an idea to be studying full-time and working full-time on top of that. And the university may also have limits on what students can do with on-campus student aide positions, whether or not they are on financial aid.
But as far as the US government is concerned? I don't think they really care.

That may be true—although in this specific case, it does ask about practices in the US. Things are also different here in Germany: universities cannot hire undergraduates as employees for more than 19 hours per week, for any reason.

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


text:
PhD Supervisor warnings
I'm a third-year PhD student. First year, due to my ill health and lack of command over the subject research progress was slow. My second year, I picked up well but still no clarity over the research problem.
After the second year, on a monthly basis my supervisor asked if I am interested or not, and said things like "You have improved but within three months if I don't see immense progress I'll give you a master's and get rid of you."
I'm interested and trying really hard to keep up to them. These questions demotivate me regularly even though I'm still confident. With this state of mind, working has become difficult.
If I get masters, it'll be of no use since I'm already a Post-graduate. How do I make this situation better?

Can you revise the title? It's a warning, not a blackmail. Blackmail is often unjustified and requiring something in return. For example, if your supervisor asks you to clean his/her house twice a week or you'll be expelled due to lack of progress, that's blackmail. Also, was your PhD proposal presented and approved? If you can briefly describe what kind of progresses you have made, it'd enhance the answers.

It may be a warning, but it also tells me that they  don't have faith in me and want to get rid of me. Revising a title is as good as quitting and starting a new one.

Thanks for the revision! By title I mean the title of this question, not your PhD title.

If you can, switch adviser. I did, and never looked back. If no other adviser is interested, maybe there is a problem; but your current adviser's statements sound like a delayed kick-out. I also warmly recommend seeing a shrink - you'll be surprised how many co-students you'll notice in the waiting room of the on-campus psych department. A good therapist can guide you in how to handle yourself to minimize the understandable anxiety you must feel.

possible duplicate of Problems in coping with my PhD Supervisors

Have never been at either side of the table in this kind of situations, but I can share some of my thoughts based on conflict resolution.
First, as I have stated in the comment, you need to let us know where you are at. Have you passed the qualifying exam? Have you submitted your PhD proposal? Was your proposal rejected? etc. All these can help the viewers here to give more concrete suggestions.
Think in your supervisor's shoes
First, you'll need to realize that mentor-mentee is a very delicate symbiotic relationship. The mentor guides the mentee by provide intellectual, physical and financial supports, while the mentee helps expand the research base of the mentor's, publish papers and solicit funding. Even you don't mind your progress being slow, you can significantly slow down your supervisor's career advancement, especially if he/she is struggling in a tenure track. So, the urge for you to get done is reasonable and you should understand that.
I am not entirely sure about your institution but in my institute, for a supervisor to keep a PhD student for two years (notice: not three, three is impossible) without producing any progress, a LOT of work has to be done (explaining to the promotion committee, to the dean, to the funding source, etc.) to keep the student safe. I suspect that your supervisor might have done a lot to protect you already, and finally gave in to the pressure and reality.
Ask for an evaluation guideline
If you really wish to stay and are confident that you can do that. First, ask for a set of criteria on what is meant by "immense progress within three months." Be it a draft of a proposal, a draft of a paper, a list of research aims, or whatever. Ask your supervisor for a list of deliveries and how they will be evaluated.
Then, go home and break them down into 2-week chunks of work. Turn the results into a monitoring chart. Every two weeks, you'll meet with your adviser and check off the items.
If anything slows you down, don't wait till the meeting, ask for help. If your supervisor is not giving you help, ask someone else or work it out yourself. Never attend the meeting without the promised delivery.
At the end of the third month, if both parties are happy, keep going and repeat the system. If for any reason it does not work, then bow out. At least you would get a Master in three years, and in that sense your resume wouldn't look too wrong. Getting a master after post-graduate is not rare, a lot of people get MBA or MPH after their doctoral studies. It's the nature of the Master degree and your work that matter.
Get professional help
You may also get some outside help (from someone who has no vested interest in your PhD). A career coach or an outside mentor would be a good choice. Frankly share with them your problem and let them give their diagnosis and suggestions. Be open and try them out.
In conclusion, get the requests in writing, and stick to it. Dive into the process for three months and see if both parties are happy. Leaving does not mean you lose. It may just mean this supervisor or this research topic is not a good fit. You may be amazed how much more you can actually get just by letting go.

Excellent advice. I take the road map method a lot when I have a daunting task ahead of me. Sure, I can't get it done in a week. But what can I get done in that time frame? I can write a few pages of my thesis, perhaps. Or start another experiment. Anything to keep the ball rolling.

I agree with most of your suggestions.I passed the qualifying exam. My proposal is 99% finalized and its accepted. I know that I need to work really fast and I'll give my 100% for that. One question I need to ask is :Is their warnings are too harsh at this level? given that I had received very minimal inputs, my research area is complex and Is it not the "big question" on my intelligence.

@user7720 That's good. Once your proposal is approved, hold on to it as a contract. Make the work in the proposal as concrete as possible so that there is not misinterpretation from either side. As for harsh or not, I don't know the person so I can't tell. I can tell that very few mentor-mentee relationships went unscathed, because conflicts of interest are everywhere. However, judging by the fact that you're still in the team, I'd guess your supervisor had done a lot for you. So cut him/her a break, and focus on becoming a good collaborator.

My proposal is 99% finalized and its accepted — This is inconsistent with your advisor "wanting to get rid of you".  [Are] their warnings are too harsh at this level? — No.  If your advisor is not confident that you are making adequate progress toward your degree, they must tell you so, respectfully but directly.

Dear Sir @Penguin_Knight. Now I have quitted PhD. But only bad feeling is I have wasted 4 years.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


text:
Can one attend a conference in the UK with a mere tourist visa?
Is it ok to attend a conference on a tourist visa, or is it considered "unpaid work"?
I am going to a conference in England in December. As a French citizen, I wondered if I needed a visa, and found on this website https://visalist.io/united-kingdom/visa-requirements/france the following statement:

UK authorities can refuse visa-free entry to anyone who they believe
is trying to enter for a purpose other than tourism. If you're
planning to do paid or unpaid work, volunteer or get married, you need
to get a visa before you travel.

Technically, I am going to England only "for work", so it is not tourism.
But I am not going there to work for someone in England, whether paid or not.

It's probably unlikely an EU citizen on a flight from France will see an actual agent, but I'm not an EU citizen.

Do EU citizens need any visa at all to visit UK? Is it that bad. I've travelled all over Europe as a US citizen and never had any visa, only a current passport.

I doubt that it is considered "work" unless the conference is paying you. I suspect that it would be considered unpaid work if you were somehow replacing someone in the workforce, but you aren't doing that, I suspect. The travel site here might have better answers: https://travel.stackexchange.com/

I am not an expert or a lawyer but I would strongly advised against using the word "work" when seeking a visa to enter the UK, as some years ago one of my visitors ran into a problem. "Exchange of academic ideas" under "business" might be more appropriate. I also agree with Buffy that you should check on https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration whether you really need a visa

As far as I can tell, the correct approach if a visa is needed would be to apply as a "Standard Visitor" and note you are there on business, which allows you to do certain business activities.
https://www.gov.uk/standard-visitor/visit-on-business
If you have a French passport, though, it seems you are exempt and can travel without a visa. You should always be honest with any officials about your reasons for visit.

You can come to the UK as a Standard Visitor for up to 6 months without a visa, but you can only do certain business or academic activities, for example go to a conference or a meeting.

https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa/y/france/work/six_months_or_less
I would always look for international travel information directly from the government of the country you are traveling to. There are all sorts of borderline scam and outright scam sites out there that promise to somehow facilitate your travel with their expert advice, but they're typically just fleecing you by charging for information you can get for free.

Nice observation at the end.

all_licenses: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


text:
Studies of the impact on research of measuring research output via publication statistics?
Are there any studies of the impact on research choices (i.e. which research topics do researcher choose, how likely they are to collaborate with others, whether they go to public or private research institutions, etc.) of measuring research output via publication statistics, such as publication numbers, citation numbers, or combination of both (H-index)?
BACKGROUND
Given a finite amount of resources and an infinite amount of questions about the functioning of the universe, some priorities must be established regarding the distribution of resources. In alignment with (Lord) Kelvin's quote of "If you can not measure it, you can not improve it", and with the neo liberal perspective which have been seeping into most branches of society, most institutions dealing with researchers (whether to hire them or to fund them) aim to measure their output, mostly so that they can incent and/or pressure them into "improving" such output, most often by selecting the researchers or research project with "the best output". Among the many options available to measure such "output", the main ones (and their variations) are the number of publications (passing various criteria of quality, depending of the variation); the number of citations (passing various criteria of quality, depending of the variation); and combinations of both (e.g. H-index, number of publications which have been cited a given number of times, within a restricted set of publications).
PROBLEM
Beyond the Observer's effect, the fact that any act of observation affects the observed system, the objective of selecting individuals and projects based on the results of such observation is to push the system in some direction, and the measures used to observe and select researchers and/or research projects do affect which and how researchers are recruited and research projects are executed.
BROAD QUESTION
How much alignment is there between a) the direction(s) in which institutions mean to incent researchers and research projects and b) the consequences of the choices made by researchers in reaction to such incentives?
MORE PRECISE QUESTION
Among the few measurable choices made by researchers (e.g. the simple choice of collaborating with fellow researchers can be measured by the average number of co-authors in publications in a given time period and scientific community, such as identified by a journal or conference), are there some which are noticeably distinct between communities (identified by nationality, scientific area, gender, or other criteria) with distinct research output measures and/or incentive policies?
SIDE NOTE
This is a sequel to another question I asked more than 8 years ago, about which behaviors are encouraged by such incentive system. Now that I am "Associate Professor", I would like to dedicate more time to such questions (and hopefully not wait 10 more years until I am (hopefully) "Full Professor"!), even though they do not directly fall into my research area.

There is of course a large field of people who research research and researchers. Many of the questions you ask are extensively debated in the literature. What have you already done to find starting points to this literature? This is not a good site to ask for where to find a whole research community.

See Loss of sustainability in scientific work for a related study.

@WolfgangBangerth What is the name of the "large field" concern with researching research and researchers? I apologize if it is obvious to you (and not the right place to ask about it), but I have been in academia for 21 years (since the defense of my PhD in 2002) and am not aware of such publications nor researchers, hence my question. The articles that I found are specific to research areas (like physics for the useful article pointed out by ZeroTheHero, thanks!)

I believe that this is a part of econometrics.

@WolfgangBangerth It does not seem to match? <<Econometrics is an application of statistical methods to economic data in order to give empirical content to economic relationships. More precisely, it is "the quantitative analysis of actual economic phenomena based on the concurrent development of theory and observation, related by appropriate methods of inference".>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Econometrics

Aren't incentives and how researchers perform their work economic questions?

@WolfgangBangerth You have a point, but I fear that Co author colusions (add me to your paper and I will add you) and citation colusions (cite me and I will cite you) would be so specific to academic researchers that economic researchers would refuse to consider it? I will inquire.


text:
How can I find the number of applicants per tenure-track position in Canada?
There are some anecdotal accounts of number of applicants per tenure-track position in the U.S., but I haven't been able to find anything for Canada. Kinds of information that would be helpful: government statistics, anecdotal accounts from applicants or search committees, estimates by organizations or authors, research studies, formal or informal communications, etc. I need this for the literature review in a paper on a study on working conditions of adjunct instructors in Canada. Thank you for any tips.

Why not formal communications? Have you tried reading e.g. https://elifesciences.org/articles/54097 and the references given in it?

Thanks. I added "formal" communications to my post. Thank you for the link. I checked about 25 of the works on that reference list. None of them pertained to Canada. None of the others appeared to contain application metrics.

I don’t this there’s a database for this except at the university level.  Education is a provincial jurisdiction so certainly not at the federal level (except possibly for CRCs) and provinces rarely meddle with hiring practices of universities except for the occasional random audit: I doubt there’s systematic province-wide statistics.

Having been on both side of hiring committees, this information generally never leaves the committee itself. I doubt there are statistics on this. I don’t think I could even find it out for my own département outside of committee of which I am a member of.

@BlaB In France, there are official statistics about this. For instance, at http://cache.media.education.gouv.fr/file/statistiques/37/8/Bilan_provisoire_Recrutement_2021_1419378.pdf (and you can find more statistics at https://www.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr/cid118435/personnels-enseignants-du-superieur-bilans-et-statistiques.html ), they say the ratio is about "6,7candidats par poste" (6.7 applicant per position). It would not surprise me that Canada has the same, hidden somewhere.


text:
How do I cite something that cites several other papers at once?
I’m currently writing an assignment, for which every single piece I would like to cite comes across as such:

ACEs are associated with a variety of physical and mental health
problems, including increased risk for problematic drinking and
development of alcohol and other substance use disorders (Afifi et al.
2011; Feliti et al., 1998; Fuller-Thomson, Roane & Brennenstuhl, 2016;
Meyers et al., 2018).

How would I reference this? Can I reference solely the article it’s from? Because looking into the other papers they also reference several others and none say exactly this either.

First, only cite papers that you have actually read. Don't just passively copy citations from the one paper you read. Second, learn APA in-text citation style. Put a comma after et al. and (new in APA 7th edition) use et al. for three authors even with the first citation.


text:
Is it "fair use" to use figures from a publication in monetized educational material?
Is it considered "fair use" (i.e. legal) to use figures and/or images from a journal/conference publication, in educational material (possibly for a lay audience) that is monetized or monetizable, assuming proper referencing is done?
Example: suppose someone has a Youtube channel that discusses science, and wants to cover some immunology. Can they display a figure from a Nature review during their video (say for a 2 minutes in a 30 min video)? Such channels do make money (or can, at least) from advertising.
In some sense, this is similar to science journalism I suppose.
My thought is that the safest thing to do would be to ask the publisher (since I think that usually the author is not the legal holder anymore). But would that have to be done, say, for every video and every figure in each video (using the example above)?
I am not looking for formal legal advice, just whether an academic doing such a thing is uncommon, if people have some experience in such matters, whether one should feel confidently safe (or not) to do such a thing, etc...
Edit: I'm mainly interested in the USA and Canada.

Ask whomever holds the copyright is IMHO the best way to go about it.

I can't answer anyway, but to stand a chance of useful answers you will need to specify what country you are in. Copyright law, and fair use provisions in particular, varies widely.

@Flyto I've edited to note that I am interested specifically in North America.

https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/more-info.html

@BryanKrause Awesome link; thanks! It does make it seem more reasonable, assuming the figures make up only a small portion of the work.

That is very problematic. Even if the author would allow it, the copyright is usually owned by the publisher and they are usually not interested in sharing. And even if they would allow it in principle, they are certainly not interested in answering letters from people that want to make Youtube videos.
Things are differently if the material is published under a less restrictive license, for example Creative Commons. Then you just have to follow the rules of the license. But even if the paper is published under Creative Commons, that does not necessarily hold for the pictures and secondly it only holds for very few publications.
That said, there are rules such as "Fair Use", but you have to consult a lawyer to get to know if these apply in your case. Have a look at Can I use data and images found online in my project report, under the fair use clause in copyright law?

Thanks for your answer. I figured things might be easier in cases like open access journals. I feel like fair use would apply if it was not monetized, but otherwise probably not...

My understanding is that fair use doesn't even apply once you make photocopies for a second consecutive offering of a class.  You certainly shouldn't make it part of a book (and no, I am not a lawyer etc.).

@kcrisman Sorry, I don't quite understand what you mean. Photocopies of figures in ... course notes? I guess you're saying one shouldn't put figures from papers into a book and sell it without permission (makes sense). I suppose it is analogous to videos. :)

I mean quite seriously that the interpretations I've read (no claim on their accuracy, though I think they are) say that up to X pages or < 1 chapter reproduce is okay for a class, but if you do the same class a second time then you are violating copyright and should have them copied with permission (and payment) in a properly constructed course guide.  (I mean for actually handing out for students to keep, not just showing in a lecture.)   Selling has nothing to do with whether it violates copyright.   But obviously this comment thread is getting more off-topic so I'll stop there.


text:
Which arguments should be taken into account when deciding to travel to conferences or rather present online?
Living in South America, I was planning to present 4 articles at a conference in England in december, visit laboratories and universities in different cities for a few weeks, and to spend christmas with my family in Europe. Seeing the news, Denmark seems to have quite a high Covid infection rate, and some predict that Europe will be quite bad with BQ.1.1 in December. I am contemplating canceling the trip right now (I am about to register to the conference and to buy the plane tickets) and replacing as many of the face to face talks by online ones. I am surprised that noone around me seems to limit their travels (let it be for Covid scare or for climate impact).
Covid wise or Climate impact wise or else, which arguments should be taken into account when deciding to travel to conferences or rather present online?
Background:
As an assistant professor (in Chile) soon to pass associate and having recently started a new research team in a new research area, the students I work with and I have 4 articles (the first ones in this area for me, the first at all for them) accepted at a conference in England in December.
The "default" plan is to

go to the conference for 1st week of December (with a master student for whom it will be the first time),
to visit a laboratory in Paris for one week (with the same master student),
to visit Universities in Copenhagen and Aarhus for one week,
to spend Christmas with my family in Europe,
come back "home" between Christmas and New Year Eve,
set up in January/February my move to another university (buying a new house, etc.),
to start a new job in March.

All of those are important to establish the new laboratory in the field, let people know what we do, develop social connections and potential collaborations. My research grant is paying for the trip (and hence the university is making it complicated, to make sure that people do not waste money). I find that, somehow, I do not want to go, but reason that it is important for my career (and, more importantly, for those of the students I am working with): it is a kind of work/life balance that I did not encounter before and I am curious as to how people deal with such dilemma.

I take the following into account when deciding whether to travel: "Is a negative test required to come back home?". Everything else is irrelevant.

I suggest you ask a medical professional for advice about COVID and travel. Many factors about your age, health, etc. can then be considered. It would be impossible for me since I'm old with some issues that increase the risk.

@wimi Does that mean you would go on a plane even if you had covid?

@Oliver882 well, I won't do a covid test abroad, so I simply would not know.


text:
Can abuse break a genius?
This question is motivated by the movie Whiplash which justifies the abusive behavior of a teacher by the future success of the student. The idea is that if a student fails to become fanatically driven to the degree that (s)he ignores/survives/enjoys teacher's abuse, then (s)he is no potential genius and his/her departure from the field is no loss to the field and Humanity.
Science is, of course, very different from music (which is the subject of the movie), e.g., they have very different Lorenz curves. I.e., a Ph.D. in Physics at the 50th percentile in his class can still have a decent professional life. In Music, he will probably drop out of the field (like the drummer who switched to medicine in the movie).
Still, I wonder what influence abusive professors (e.g., Landau) could have on science. We will never know, of course, of any potential Einsteins who left the field because they were mistreated by their thesis advisors, but we might be able to find circumstantial evidence.
Statistical evidence: are there any studies correlating students' success with teachers' personality at the high end of the spectrum? (I.e., very talented graduate students, very famous professors, success is measured in Nobel Prizes or something similar).
Anecdotal evidence: are there any examples of students leaving their advisors because of abuse and still achieving great success in science?
PS. Please note that the important point here is the high end of the spectrum (i.e., not elementary school, and not even college). The critical aspect of the question is that the teacher can claim that he is the senior colleague of the student, and that their common interest is advancing the field rather than educating the student.

Can you focus a bit what you are asking?  Your title is about damage from abuse, your first paragraph is about personality types, and your second paragraph is about success after dropping out of a program...

There is abundance of apprentice-"evil master" relationships. Though, it is hard to tell in which cases it helped, in which - it was success despite of he circumstances, and - in which cases would-be geniuses were broken. In any case, if it is a question in history, it is a question in history.

@jakebeal: my question is intentionally broad because I have no idea which aspect might bring an answer. Which version can you answer? If you have anything to say, please say it and I will modify my question to fit your answer.

Because of the way our systems work, at the top end of the distribution in fame, you will find people who are not only very good, but who also strongly desire to be famous and are very skilled self-promoters.  The market is simply too large for people to rise to the very top without that being the case.  And that means they are more likely to be abusers as well.
Sufficient abuse, academic or otherwise, can destroy any person.
Abuse can also help the abuser, by allowing them to effectively exploit other people... and that in turn might help those who survive (or who also learn to profit from the strategies of abuse), because they have a famous supervisor.
So: abuse can be profitable to the abusers and their chosen disciples, but it's a bad deal for the rest of the human beings they interact with and should be resisted at every turn.

Abuse of the wrong kind, at the wrong time, can break anyone.
I spent grades 3-7 fighting a near-total writing block, literally unable to put more than a sentence or two on paper though I was reading far above my grade. Driven into it by one abusive teacher whom I had made the mistake of correcting; brought out of it by one exceptional special-ed teacher who was able to give me assignments designed to gradually pierce that defensive shell.
I don't think that's the question you were asking, though.

Movies are intentionally fantasy.  You certainly should not interpret them as telling you the truth about much of anything.
"Genius" and "talent" are mostly movie fantasy.  The literary "chosen one" is not a real thing.
Anyone can experience a sudden mental illness.  "Broken" is the wrong word to describe that.  They are just sick, and they may get better.  Abuse might cause that illness, but it can also happen with no know cause.

Let me start by giving my opinion ( I do not think your question has one answer, correct or otherwise) from your last point.
You mention that statistical evidence suggests that talented students come from famous teachers, and it is these elites who get the Nobel prize. Yes, it is true. But it is not just because of the so-called 'genius' qualities. Nobel prize committee does not confer its prize by using some heavenly mechanism which shows them the best candidate. Winning a Nobel prize not only requires a lot of hard work but more importantly requires lobbying. Being able to find other top researchers in that area who can give letters supporting you. And that is where this game changes.
By working with a famous professor, you get a headstart in forming those connections. You get to work in those areas that those "top" researchers consider the most important. You get evaluated by the 'best', 'cited' by the best and you get to collaborate with the 'best'. I hope you get the underlying reason behind the statistics, which you refer to. Geniuses are created in the minds of the observers and commentators, not in the labs. Not every deserving researcher is celebrated. You need to be a salesman too, to be called a 'genius'. And this is true for all professions.
Now coming to the main part of your question. Abuse in any form should be unacceptable, even at the price of success. No one has the right to abuse anyone. Being a genius is less important than being a good human. As a society, we need to start rewarding only 'geniuses' who are good human beings.
I have been scolded by my supervisor (who is no genius) but with the sole intention of helping me. And that is not abuse, that is a gift because the truth was conveyed to me. I became confident, better. The supervisor would think for hours before giving his harsh opinion and would do it in a professional manner.
Then, I have also had a supervisor who was selfish to the core and would only look for his academic interest and exploit me, borderline abuse me. And that man is considered a gem in my university because of his tall accomplishments. After working with him for close to 2 years, I confronted him over a trivial matter. I decided to stand up. It just had to be done once, and his demeanor changed. I wish I had spoken up at least a year ago, I would have flourished more in my Ph.D.  as it was only after that moment that I could really enjoy my work.
So, one must determine if the strict demeanor of the supervisor is genuine or if it is totally selfish. And if it is abuse, then it is totally unacceptable. If they abuse for pleasure, it is the worst kind. If someone is accepting abuse in such a scenario, in the hope that it would make them a good researcher, it is akin to prostitution.
Also, note that there are examples of 'genius' students who never meet their supervisors during their Ph.D. study and won Nobel prizes. Science is above everything. And you as a person are more important than science.
Our society is changing. For example, more women are in the industry at least in Europe, the Americas, and most parts of Asia Pacific. Now mental health is important. We had a me-too movement. In a changing society, it is time that bullying, even by the "genius" is not accepted.
And, IMHO, movies are the last place to look for answers or form opinions.


text:
Our research is being ignored by other research groups
I am doing a PhD in molecular biology where we conduct research on human skin and skin diseases. Our group (EU based) has been in a discussion with another research group from the USA, where we can factually show that our methods are 'better' and cleaner than theirs. Nevertheless, they keep publishing work where they don't even cite any of our papers. We noticed that our publications were rejected by journals where people from the USA group function as editor/reviewer as well. We are always open for discussion and collaboration because good science cannot be done alone.
Very curious how we should handle this problem.

Counter strategy against group that repeatedly does strategic self-citations and ignores other relevant research seems related. You might find some of those strategies useful.

Just out of curiosity, is it one specific research group that ignores your research, or a ... family of research groups that are somehow related, or are they being ignored by the whole community?

I suspect (1) if I were to ask the other group they would say using diplomatic language that your approach is garbage; and (2) I would not be able to say who is right and wrong.  I am curious why is this a problem?

@emory: Unless the other group outright rejects the notion that the OP's research is topically related to theirs, it could be a problem that the other group doesn't even mention the OP's research in a way such as "An alternative method for this problem was presented by Johan et al., 2019, but it doesn't solve the issues X, Y, and Z that are addressed in our work."

"Our important research is being ignored" - tell me about it!

@einpoklum ... then tell me what you were told!

Continue to publish your results in journals that will accept them.  After a while people will be able to see for themselves whether the US group is ignoring your publications.

And give talks at international conferences, with a comparison of your results.

@Kimball, your comment is worth its own answer!

@Kimball if they are accepted / invited to the same conferences.

we can factually show that our methods are 'better' and cleaner than theirs.

Your methods may be better, but if their methods are adequate to support the results they claim, they may have good reasons to continue using their methods.  They already have the equipment for their method in their lab. They are more familiar with the analytical techniques related to their method. They want to be able to compare new results with past ones. Etc.
Only if their methods are actually producing wrong results would their not using your method require a letter to the editor other public response.

Nevertheless, they keep publishing work where they don't even cite any of our papers.

If they don't use your method, it doesn't seem necessary to cite your papers with reference to methods in a paper focused on experimental results rather than on methods.
If their results are contradictory to yours, then it could be out of line to present their results without discussing why they feel yours are in error. It also justifies publishing your results with a discussion of why your methods are an improvement, and makes your results more valuable as they overturn previously published ones.

"If they don't use your method, it doesn't seem necessary to cite your papers with reference to methods": Well, in many fields there is the expectation that the authors of a paper present at least in the introduction a broader view of the subject, and if there are several state-of-the-art methods to accomplish a certain task, the authors are usually expected to cite them.

@MassimoOrtolano, To me, it would depend whether the paper is meant to introduce a new experimental method (in which case I agree you should survey existing methods and show the new one is better), or whether it's meant to present some new result, in which case you would survey prior related results, rather than prior experimental methods.

@MassimoOrtolano, I have edited to clarify my meaning.

"Only if their methods are actually producing wrong results would their not using your method require a letter to the editor other public response." Actually, there might be value in doing a paper exploring the pros and cons of the two methods, to help future scientists select the appropriate method for their own experiments. Regardless of outcome, I'd expect the results to be enlightening to at least one of these two research groups...

@anaximander, of course, but it's the job of the group developing the new improved technique to write that paper, not the group continuing to use an established technique. And even if they do write that paper and show their method is better (reduces errors, or whatever), the other group is not then obligated to start using the new technique. They may still have reasons to continue with their old one.

"If they don't use your method, it doesn't seem necessary to cite your papers" <- If the two groups produce results closely related by their content, even though not by method, they should definitely be citing each other.

Consider a Europe-based journal or even a native language one.  It's not ideal -- usually the American society core journals are the best.  But there are some legacy good ones overseas also.  At a certain point, it becomes more important to get your stuff out and not be blocked.  I was tangentially involved in two specific instances related to this, where the publish abroad method was used successfully:

Tiff between two very big natural scientists with the US one blocking French group. The French ended up in a French language journal (not ideal, but important because it was a very hot area and they needed to get priority for a series of discoveries).
American-born, but France-based economist who published some findings that made several US companies unhappy (statistical evidence of collusion).  He made sure his book was printed in Europe.

If you are interested in the long game, having a record of your precedence will be helpful in three ways:

First, it may act as a deterrent to the US group. You can ignore one or two significant recent findings and defend it as an honest mistake, but if there is a long trail of it, this is a big problem. It may reach a point they are unwilling to pass.
Second, it makes it more likely the rest of the community notices.
Third, when it does emerge, you'll only get the credit for the work you actually published first.

Notice there is not a particularly strong effect of where the record exists for any of these points. Letters to journals etc can all help.
In the short term if you're convinced this is deliberate on their part there is not a huge amount I am aware of that you can do. The journals and the institution the US group are connected with may be willing to apply pressure to the group on your behalf. However their is no guarantee of any of this as it's even if it's clear to you what's going on it's potentially difficult to see this as anything other than grey until someone close to the field is involved (especially if there is not a publication record...). Also if there is something, it will likely not be you directly doing any of this. If the rest of the group is aware, there's no much more for you to do.
This is unfortunate for you as this kind of thing can take a while to be resolved, which in an established position may not be so bad but for a PhD this could well be to late for important events. I am sorry you are in this situation.

An increasing number of journal offers the possibility to publish short articles of critical feedback, often called "letters to the editor" and generally published online.
An example that comes to mind is PNAS' Letters in which scientists can reply to articles, provide feedback, point to fundamental methodological errors etc.
If you have reason to assume that the competing teams' methods are flawed, this type of open comments may be a good way to (constructively) suggest that alternative techniques (such as yours) are more accurate?

Ask them why they are ignoring your work!
Send a polite message saying you are following their work and very interested in it, it's proving very helpful to your own thinking. Ask them if they have considered using your approach, as if they think it would help, say you would be happy to discuss further or share lab protocols.
Come on guys, these petty lab squabbles are so tiresome and an immoral waste of funders money. There cannot be anything to 'steal' if you have already published.


text:
Negotiating for a higher hourly rate for RA position?
I am a Ph.D student. A professor from another university is interested in hiring me part-time for a project that he just received funding for. I am interested in the work (to hone my own skills) but I have asked and he has said that a co-authorship is unlikely to come out of this. The hourly rate is a bit lower than I have been used to—would it be appropriate to ask for a higher hourly rate? I’m having trouble thinking about how I would phrase it.

Are you moving to that university, or are you remaining at your current one, trying to work in two places for two professors? If the latter, this could end badly...

I think that under the circumstances you could just state your requirements. It doesn't seem like he is offering you very much professionally so you should ask for what you want to make it attractive.
Of course, he may not be able to offer what you want, or may be unwilling to do so. But you are giving up your current position to do this and the rewards seem a bit nebulous.
Other considerations might apply, of course. Is he a superstar that can/will advance your career otherwise? Is his position on co-authorship firm?
Think about the whole package.


text:
When to follow up for recommendation letter
I asked two potential referees, 1 month before application deadline, to write me a letter and both gladly accepted, and one asked me to write a draft (which I learned was a common practice).
It has been 10 days and I have never heard from them after I responded thanking them for accepting my request (and supplying the draft to the one who asked).
What is the best time to follow up with them without appearing pushy?
Also, one of my referees had an academic email address, which means the application system sent him an automatic electronic reference form by email, and I have no idea whether it was completed or not. Should I still follow up with him?

Is one of your referees writing a paper letter and the other submitting electronically?

Yes, that is correct.

some systems will show you, whether electronic recc was submitted or not, double check your system

I'd wait until about 5-7 days before the due date, and then send a polite email reminding them that the letters are due, and offering to have the links to the forms resent if they need it.
There is a balance between being "pushy", and sending them a reminder too late for them to avoid feeling time pressure if they haven't written it.  I try to stay on top of things, but if I forget, I would prefer to receive notification more than a day or two before the due date.
Of course, if there's a situation such as "rolling admissions", where an on-time submission can still be a bad thing, I'd ping them earlier --- but a situation such as that should never come up, as you would have let them know that an early letter was really necessary at the time you made the original requests.
It might be a good habit, when sending them the "thank you for agreeing to write me a letter" message, to say something like "unless you ask me not too, I'll send out a reminder about a week before the due date".

Given that you have approximately 20 days before the deadline, I would wait a while to do a follow up. The “proper” amount of time is very subjective, but I’d personally wait about a week until the deadline. While you have prepared well in advance for your application, you need to keep in mind that your letter writers are busy people who are going out of their way to do you a favor and will do so on their own time.
Your referees will likely let you know when their letters are submitted, but it would be good to initiate confirmation when the due date gets closer. Generally, the institution that receives your letters electronically will send you an automated email once your referee has submitted their letter.
There is usually a feature for electronic letters that allows you to send a push reminder email from the institution (just as the original letter request is), which is a good way to follow up without appearing too nagging. In the event that you decide to do a personal follow up, I would phrase your emails around the words: “if there is any other information you need to complete my letter, please let me know,” and remind them of the due date.


text:
Is there a preferable time of year when one should apply for a PhD in the UK?
[Edited] I am very shortly going to be sending off my PhD application. I cannot apply quite yet because I am waiting on my bachelor's documentation which was withheld (library fines which are now cleared) but now it is in processing, and I do have my transcript. I have my master's documentation. The BA uni say they don't know when the cert will be ready, it could be a week or two, or longer presumably. The deadlines for PhD applications are set as the summer, but I know that many faculties like to have the applications in sooner because they want to decide on their student quantities. Is there some kind of unspoken deadline that I should shoot for in general [e.g. late Feb, Apr etc] or does it vary by institution? Does one lessen one's chances of acceptance if applying nearer to the official early summer deadlines?
I should mention that a staff member in my choice of PhD uni has already approved my proposal and agreed to be my supervisor. Should I apply anyway without the BA cert and just say it is in processing [without going into reasons why]? I am not applying for funding.

I'd say you should start searching for positions and writing to potential supervisors right now. First, positions can appear throughout the year. Second, not having your MSc documentation on hand will likely not prevent you from applying. You can always say that you finished your masters and just waiting for documentation, and people will understand. Besides, MSc is often not a formal requirement.

@AlexeyB. thank you for this response. I should have added that I have emailed one supervisor who approved my proposal. I do not want to upload an application without the documentation that has been requested. Should I do so anyway or wait a bit longer [I imagine I will have everything I need by the end of Feb].

I think, you should discuss with that person how you should proceed. It depends on multiple things: what kind of position you'll applying for, whether the potential supervisor already want to have you as a student or just allow you to compete for the position, when they want you to start and so on.

Keep in mind if you are also applying for funding these deadlines can be much earlier.

@mg4w thank you for the note, I am not applying for funding for this though.

Question:
Is there a preferable time of year when one should apply for a PhD in the UK?
Answer:
This very much depends on the university, programme, funding, etc. So it's hard to generalise a single "preferable time".
But, that being said, many STEM programmes (which are not on a rolling admission) and funding opportunities tend to have application deadlines between around mid-September and around mid-February.

Question:
Does one lessen one's chances of acceptance if applying nearer to the official early summer deadlines?
Answer:
Not unless it says somewhere that places may be filled before the application deadline.

Question:
Should you apply without the BA cert and just say it is in processing (without going into reasons why)?
Answer:
Typically, applicants are not required to submit proof of any qualifications in the early stages of the application process. They are required, however, to submit an official academic transcript.
It is only in the later stages of the application process, e.g. after receiving a conditional offer, that applicants have to provide supporting documentation as evidence for meeting each condition of the offer.

My advice is that you get in touch with the admissions office of the place you are applying to, and ask them directly about the details of the application process and your BA cert.

Thank you very much indeed for your well thought-out answer. I did contact the admissions office, they said that if I could not provide a BA cert, to upload a Word doc with the reasons why one is unavailable then this would be taken into consideration with my application. I thought about just uploading one saying it is being processed by my BA uni and will be ready very soon. Do you imagine this may be sufficient?

@C26 Maybe, I don't know. But it doesn't seem like you have any other choice.

As described by this site:

As stated In the UK and in most countries around the world, PhD studentships begin in September/October. However, funded and self-funded PhDs can start at any time of year. You should begin applying as soon as possible. Although new studentships are advertised throughout the year, competition for places gets higher the closer you get to October.

It varies between groups within institutions and between institutions. However, in most groups that I know decisions could be made as early as January (although February-April is more usual), and (at least in the current climate) there's no attempt to keep spaces open for late applicants. You will lessen your chances by leaving the application late.

Thank you for this response. I don't know why I omitted this from the OP but I also am waiting for my BA cert [though I do have a transcript], this was never originally received since I owed the university library some books which I kept for a very long time! However, the books were located and the debt now cleared, so the BA cert is on its way. I am VERY embarrassed to admit this is what is holding things up since I know they are expecting the application. Should I mention that or just wait it out till I have everything [I am sure I will have all the docs I need by the end of Feb].

Transcripts are far more important than certificates: you won't get an offer without transcripts, but may get a (conditional) one without the certificate.

Thank you. It seems my master's cert/transcript have now arrived. This will be enough for the application, I imagine [no BA cert yet]?

Except very special cases, there is no preferable time in case of PhD applications.
Unlike master's degree, a PhD degree is basically requires a certain area of interest and motivation to conduct quality research. Therefore, it is best to directly get in touch with professors who are looking for PhD students. In most cases, it is entirely depended on professor's research budget or a new position opening in the research team.


text:
Should I talk to my supervisor about including a new field in my PhD?
I am a part-time PhD student coming towards the end of my first year – I have another five years left. My PhD is in Music and I do like my topic a lot. However, in the last 18 months I have also become very interested in an area that is not that related to music – computing and open source. I started looking at it as something extra to learn before my PhD started and am now finding it difficult to put down. As well as this, I would like to integrate some aspects of what I have learned into my PhD. I just don't really know what and how.
Is this something that I should bring up with my PhD supervisor or should I just "put up or shut up"? She may think it's a bit weird to mention it since she will probably feel that it doesn't really relate, however, computing (and its related ethics) are fundamental to the ways in which we undertake academic research these days. We've even had a few classes on software use. I feel that I could probably link the two in some way but little has come up yet which is obvious, though it may well present itself in the future. From past experience I tend to function at my academic best when integrating different challenging interests into my learning and I would love to integrate my learning of computing into my music PhD. I feel I have learned – and applied – a lot and I want to continue learning alongside my music learning and to combine the two in my topic.
Question: should I raise this with my supervisor, float some ideas past her about this or should I just ignore it? If I do the latter the question may well come back to haunt me further down the line. I don't think I "can" (nor do I want to) give this up, well, not without forcing myself to since it fascinates me. Do others have experience of wanting to mix in new ideas/subjects into their PhDs and how did you go about it?
For clarification - the PhD in Music is ethnomusicological, i.e. the PhD is to do with the study of music in culture and as culture rather than composition or performance.

You may be right. Maybe I should change the title of the question.

@corey979 indeed, I have added a small paragraph at the end which should hopefully shed more light on it.

Both "ethnomusicological" and "computing and open source" are too broad. If you want to incorporate computing in your thesis, you need a reasonable use for it. Don't force it. Is there something in your topic that would benefit from using some computational algorithm? I am speaking as an "interdisciplinary computer scientist" here. If you forcibly try to find a computational challenge in your work it will most likely not work or be fairly irrelevant.

I think "don't force it" is good advice. I have an idea - well, one is developing - about the relevance of computing to the topic. But this is just something that came up from reading someone else's work, it wasn't forced. I think your comment is a good answer for now, At the very least if I can't make this whole thing interdisciplinary I can make this idea of mine a chapter with relative ease.

What is your level of knowledge in computing? I'm sure that there are several interesting things to explore related to music with an interdisciplinary approach. However, depending on what is exactly your background in computer science, it could be quite a challenge and not feasible during the remaining time of your PhD.

I don't knowing much about music in research context, but something came immediately to my mind which I want to share:
I am a VR enthusiast and there is a game called "Beat Saber", if you don't know it, you should look it up. It is basically a VR variant of "Guitar Hero" where you play a game which is solely based on music. Maybe you can connect some aspects of gaming into your PhD which automatically would include computer science in general...not sure if this is interesting for you, just wanted to share.

First, this makes perfect sense. What you are describing is a project in the digital humanities, and there are others in music using computational methods to analyze music and its social context. The place I would suggest starting is to look at the Music Encoding Initiative, which has developed an xml mark-up language for music. The community there can lead you to many other possibilities for integrating music and computation at various levels of computational complexity. The focus remains on the music as the object of study but applies new research methods to it.

There are two "challenges" I see in this:

First, do you actually have the background to do the computer science at a good enough level (in CS PhD students are expected to publish). It is far from a social studies field and uses very different approaches and requires quite some technical knowledge.
A very common way to fail a PhD is the lack of ability to focus. A PhD requires you to focus on your topic for the entire duration of your PhD (which in part time is more than doubly hard - part time tends to be an up hill battle all the way). Going into a different field is a surefire way to waste your time not being able to present a single coherent PhD thesis/topic. (Esp. in the UK situation as 3 years/6 pt is very short. You normally take 1 year for getting started/literature review, 1 for writing up, and then have only 1 year for results (which would be double for continental 4 year PhDs).

Note that this doesn't mean that you should be able to find your own "angle" on your topic and refine the specific research question(s) you address.

Thanks, but this question was asked five years ago.


text:
Conflict with department chair
I am a new faculty member.  My chair is simply crazy in my perspective.

I am an assistant professor.  However, my teaching assignment is "offering individual statistical consulting/workshops", not "teaching any classes". This was indicated in my job description when I applied for this job.  However, several times, she says, "you are not teaching" - so she says that I need to do what she asks me to do because she pays my salary (I really do not know why she pays).
What she wants me to do is to write research/funding proposals and articles, then put her as the PI/the first author although they are my research ideas/works.  She has taken three studies so far.  More seriously, when she took the first one, I refused it.  Then she sent out an official letter including some other faculty, saying that she took my research proposal because it was originally her idea and I stole it.  Worse still, she then forced me to write the paper for her.
My Ph.D. is in statistics. She said that I couldn't get tenured unless I change my research field into an education field which she wanted to do. Her point was again "paycheck" - I should do something because I am not teaching.
Worst of all, she claims I am a bad person and faculty member because I refuse her unethical requests as a researcher.  Furthermore, she talks about me to all the other faculty members, causing them to hesitate to be friends with me.  Whatever I say goes to the chair.

I am preparing to leave this crazy medical school. However, my concern is the possibilities the chair could ruin my future career by using her connections.  What should I do?

Are you on "soft money"? This may be where several of her statements are coming from.

what does "soft money" mean?  I am not hired by her, but this school like the other faculties.

If it is a soft money position, you do not teach. But you are expected to raise your salary on grants each year. If you do not, then some senior faculty have to put you on their grants and pay your salary. You will then act as their postdoc (essentially) and they will be first author on most papers. The goal is to allow you cushion until you succeed in your own grant writing.

"Soft money" means that you do not have your own dedicated funding so that you are paid out of existing grants and research programs.

Lots of medical related faculty are paid by soft money. This should have been made clear to you at hiring, but sometimes the current faculty forget that it is very much unusual in other departments (stats/econ). My friend who is a health economist working in a medical department faces this culture shock too!

Thanks! I am not on soft money.  I am hired like the other faculties.

You could be hired like other faculty and be on soft money. My friend is a tenure track assistant prof hired by the department and her position is soft money.

Ok well double check on this. If that is not the explanation then her demands make less sense.

Even when being on "soft money", those demands sound pretty wrong. Even if OP would be a postdoc, those actions would be completely unacceptable...

I haven't heard about soft money or like that when I applied for/accepted this job position.  Does a school hire someone like the position (do research for someone) without any notification or agreement in advance?  Then I do not know...

I can't really explain 2 fully, but soft money would explain 1 and 3. I can't tell from 2 if you are doing the whole articles or the methods design, statistical analysis, and statistical writeup...

How much stats courses this medical school offer to the students? Do they have enough professors to cover those courses? Do they truly need stats profs?

Don't walk. Run. Start applying for jobs elsewhere today.

I am really unsure if talking with the other faculties would be helpful. She also asks me to write/analyze the other faculties' study without any credits. It was the way she made me as an outsider in this group - no one does any research in this school; with 2 to 3 publications in any journal, they got promoted. Anyway, I am leaving - what should I do to be free from the chair in the application procedure. I really do not want anyone to contact the chair as my referee. By the way, I wouldn't mention my chair in anywhere on my application documents.

who signed your letter of appointment with this medical school?  the department chair?  or the dean?  better talk with that person and find out precisely what your job is, what is expected of you, who you report to, and who ultimately evaluates you for re-appointment.

I strongly suggest having conversations with other faculty in your department, to get their perspectives on what your responsibilities actually are, and on the behavior of the chair. I would also suggest speaking with deans or associate deans, but only after talking to your colleagues within the department.
The situation sounds bizarre; good luck!

You need to sit down with the chair and have a long frank discussion about what your job duties are and what you need to do to get promoted/tenure. You should ask about mentoring for new faculty (you need a senior colleague who can help you). You need to have a beverage (or 6) with junior faculty to discuss what is up.

"What she wants me to do is to write research/funding proposals and articles, then put her as the PI/the first author although they are my research ideas/works. She has taken three studies so far." - can a person who makes such unethical requests actually be reasoned with? It sounds like the department chair is holding the OP's paycheck over their head saying "listen, you do what I say no matter what or you won't feed your family this month".

Change the order of these suggestions - last one should go fist I think...