Scott Brown

This is bullshit. Uni is not vocational training. Even if it was, graduate employment rates are not much different between humanities and STEM. abc.net.au/news/2020-06-1…

Our uni is reviewing the metrics they use to evaluate research excellence. They’re after academic input. So: what metrics indicate excellence? nothing’s perfect, they’re all biased in some way, but can we do better?

This was a cool webinar today, using data (and experiment manipulations) from Japanese vending machines in train stations. Had a speed-accuracy trade off component: how long til the train departs!

Kudos to the organisers of the @socmathpsych meeting 2020. This looks like it's going to be fun! Online, asynchronous, low-barrier to participate. Excellent choices! (Also pleased not to have to travel for a day and a bit each way.) Thanks, @VandekerckhoveJ @pernillehemmer

@SimonDeDeo Lonely!

Here’s the link to the article: phrp.com.au/issues/online-…

Check out this - a project from a recent PhD student in our lab! Public health impacts from the Australian bushfires earlier this year (remember them??). Well done, Dr. Zach Howard! theguardian.com/australia-news…

@JimGrange Our journal club meets in person, mostly, but have a Zoom option. Each week, several people attend via zoom. We’ve always kept it to @UoN people mostly, but I’ll float the idea of going global! Cognition paper every second week, meta-science paper every other week. @amieidels

Heard of Benford's Law? Used in fraud detection, and often discussed at Oz Math Psych conferences. COVID19-Benford, for next week's Journal Club meeting! nature.com/articles/d4158… jupiter.ethz.ch/~ajackson/benf…

@courtneybhilton That engineer would be safe, though, if the signal to "fire" was to be sent using the space bar on a butterfly keyboard.

@PaulMGarrett @KevinDShabahang @GR_i_PS No GoFundMe at our school. This is just pantry items - no money

@KevinDShabahang @3rdincharge Not that I know of @KevinDShabahang but I'd be happy to help set-up/contribute. @GR_i_PS, do you know if anything like this has been put in place to support UoM under-graduate/post-graduate students?

How you look after students & staff most in need says a lot about a department - it's great to see this initiative @3rdincharge.

@tonychemero True! We’ve put that one on our journal club’s schedule. It should be interesting.

Too many of our @Psychology_UON students live below the poverty line. A new initiative from the staff - a pantry of our donations to help those who need them. I’m proud of our department today.

@russpoldrack This is interesting and topical! We’re all struggling with similar changes from the pandemic. I am doing similar things for a methodology course (400ish undergrads). It’s hard to make the teaching high quality and also not create new barriers for struggling student sectors.

A big month for Zachary-now-Doctor Howard. Just got his PhD @Uni_Newcastle and published two articles based on his thesis: 1. Exploring memory intersections, with @simonjohndennis, in Cognition, authors.elsevier.com/a/1bAQU_EbvtkA… 2. Multi tasking, in PB&R, rdcu.be/b4A0Q

I have been away from Twitter for a while. Nothing bad, it just slipped down my list. But now is not the time to let this slide. Being silent about the injustices that black and brown people experience is not OK. We must all do our part to change the system. #BlackLivesMatter

Lab dog (a lab!) of the week is the gorgeous Lulu. Courtesy of a friend of the lab. Here she is having a lovely snore during our spirited discussion about experimental methods.

Join us today for the first of this year’s School Wide Seminars. Today it’s Flash Presentations from seven of our own staff. Some of these colleagues don’t often get a chance to talk research with us - should be fun! L326 at 12-1. Also zoom. uonewcastle.zoom.us/j/433518440

And now Murray cracking jokes on his way through the PhD confirmation seminar. We must make these more nerve-wracking somehow.

PhD student Tom working his way through a thesis plan in his confirmation seminar today.