[Todos] Fwd: The corruption series (5 bis)

[fabio vicentini]

Canto Quinto:  Academic Corruption (English version)

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: fabio vicentini <fmvicent en gmail.com>
Date: Sun, May 19, 2013 at 4:07 PM
Subject: The corruption series (5 bis)
To: Moshe Sniedovich <moshe en ms.unimelb.edu.au>

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Buenos Aires, November 20, 2012

 Dear Moshe:

In the banana republic if I tell a colleague that he is being forced to
publish bullshit he will dismiss me as a crank. However if I tell him the
same thing in the lingo of the American empire he will pay attention. So I
am sending this letter to you with copy to the whole fucking school.

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Subject: Academic Bullshitting

 I am thoroughly convinced that my alma mater is in the hands of a mafia, a
group of individuals who hold the power of the college and use it for their
own benefit, brandishing the stick at those who do not submit to their
whim. Democracy is a parody, for they have perfected the scheme to win the
elections. They have been in power for the last 12 years or more. Every
time there is an election they produce a change which is no change.

 I entered my alma mater in 1995. Having a practical background, I found
the academic policy not to my liking. They had driven the "publish or
perish" culture to mockery. Academics are rated by the number of papers,
the contents of which have no bearing. As a consequence, the professor is
forced to maximize the number of published papers, and our school has
become a *bullshit production engine*.

 In order to increase the output academics team together into "research"
groups. They work under the motto "one for all, and all for one". The
papers obtained in confederacy are divided and parceled out so that each
paper is coauthored by the members of the group.  They choose subjects
suitable to make mileage out of it. The abstracts of their papers look
different, but they are mainly the same horse with different colors. They
send a paper to journal 1 and if it rejects it, they send it to journal 2,
if this one rejects the paper too, they send it to journal 3, and so forth.
Since 1,2,3,...  is a denumerable set, some journal along the line will
accept it.

 As soon as I landed in the academy, I was educated in the rules of the
game. First, and most important, you should write papers to peer-reviewed
journals at the rate of two per year as a minimum. In order to achieve that
aim you are advised to 1) join a prolific research group 2) choose a
successful coauthor 3) choose a papers-generating problem 4) exploit your
thesis students 5) enlist in the school mafia.

 Having worked as an OR practitioner for 30 years, I reacted against this
show by writing satiric articles. This was not welcomed, I was handled by a
mafia task force which gave me a thorough mobbing treatment. The dean
claimed that I was suffering from senile dementia. Finally, an academic
scoundrel found a way to give me the sack. All my efforts to find support
from my colleagues were futile. I cried for help but they acted as
employees in an organisation keeping their mouth shut as long as the get
the end-of-the-month salary.

Best Wishes,

Fabio



PS. Copia a la faculty de FCEyN/UBA
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