<div dir="ltr"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>From: <b class="gmail_sendername">fabio vicentini</b> <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:fmvicent@gmail.com">fmvicent@gmail.com</a>></span><br>
Date: Tue, Jun 18, 2013 at 3:25 AM<br>Subject: Fwd: The corruption series (42)<br>To: "<a href="mailto:jcaccav@dc.uba.ar">jcaccav@dc.uba.ar</a>" <<a href="mailto:jcaccav@dc.uba.ar">jcaccav@dc.uba.ar</a>>, Laura Fraile <<a href="mailto:lau.fraile@gmail.com">lau.fraile@gmail.com</a>>, Santiago Norverto <<a href="mailto:santiagonorverto@gmail.com">santiagonorverto@gmail.com</a>>, alicia Grande <<a href="mailto:aliciagrande@gmail.com">aliciagrande@gmail.com</a>>, Nicolás Nieto Moreno <<a href="mailto:nnietomoreno@gmail.com">nnietomoreno@gmail.com</a>>, marcelo luda <<a href="mailto:marceluda@gmail.com">marceluda@gmail.com</a>>, Ignacio Vissani <<a href="mailto:ivissani@gmail.com">ivissani@gmail.com</a>>, "<a href="mailto:lachacha1982@hotmail.com">lachacha1982@hotmail.com</a>" <<a href="mailto:lachacha1982@hotmail.com">lachacha1982@hotmail.com</a>>, Agustin Petroni <<a href="mailto:agustinpetroni@gmail.com">agustinpetroni@gmail.com</a>>, "<a href="mailto:dfslezak@dc.uba.ar">dfslezak@dc.uba.ar</a>" <<a href="mailto:dfslezak@dc.uba.ar">dfslezak@dc.uba.ar</a>>, Marcelo Salierno <<a href="mailto:salierno@gmail.com">salierno@gmail.com</a>>, "<a href="mailto:dianaru@ege.fcen.uba.ar">dianaru@ege.fcen.uba.ar</a>" <<a href="mailto:dianaru@ege.fcen.uba.ar">dianaru@ege.fcen.uba.ar</a>>, Esteban Beckwith <<a href="mailto:estebanbeck@gmail.com">estebanbeck@gmail.com</a>>, "<a href="mailto:stef_gs@hotmail.com">stef_gs@hotmail.com</a>" <<a href="mailto:stef_gs@hotmail.com">stef_gs@hotmail.com</a>>, Santiago Laplagne <<a href="mailto:slaplagn@dm.uba.ar">slaplagn@dm.uba.ar</a>>, "<a href="mailto:pedro@qi.fcen.uba.ar">pedro@qi.fcen.uba.ar</a>" <<a href="mailto:pedro@qi.fcen.uba.ar">pedro@qi.fcen.uba.ar</a>>, "<a href="mailto:andes@gl.fcen.uba.ar">andes@gl.fcen.uba.ar</a>" <<a href="mailto:andes@gl.fcen.uba.ar">andes@gl.fcen.uba.ar</a>>, "<a href="mailto:pilar@di.fcen.uba.ar">pilar@di.fcen.uba.ar</a>" <<a href="mailto:pilar@di.fcen.uba.ar">pilar@di.fcen.uba.ar</a>>, "<a href="mailto:cgallo@qo.fcen.uba.ar">cgallo@qo.fcen.uba.ar</a>" <<a href="mailto:cgallo@qo.fcen.uba.ar">cgallo@qo.fcen.uba.ar</a>>, "<a href="mailto:mininni@df.uba.ar">mininni@df.uba.ar</a>" <<a href="mailto:mininni@df.uba.ar">mininni@df.uba.ar</a>>, "<a href="mailto:suchitel@dc.uba.ar">suchitel@dc.uba.ar</a>" <<a href="mailto:suchitel@dc.uba.ar">suchitel@dc.uba.ar</a>>, "<a href="mailto:krick@dm.uba.ar">krick@dm.uba.ar</a>" <<a href="mailto:krick@dm.uba.ar">krick@dm.uba.ar</a>>, "<a href="mailto:juancalvo@fibertel.com.ar">juancalvo@fibertel.com.ar</a>" <<a href="mailto:juancalvo@fibertel.com.ar">juancalvo@fibertel.com.ar</a>>, "<a href="mailto:rduran@dm.uba.ar">rduran@dm.uba.ar</a>" <<a href="mailto:rduran@dm.uba.ar">rduran@dm.uba.ar</a>>, "<a href="mailto:nceballo@bg.fcen.uba.ar">nceballo@bg.fcen.uba.ar</a>" <<a href="mailto:nceballo@bg.fcen.uba.ar">nceballo@bg.fcen.uba.ar</a>>, "<a href="mailto:aromano@fbmc.fcen.uba.ar">aromano@fbmc.fcen.uba.ar</a>" <<a href="mailto:aromano@fbmc.fcen.uba.ar">aromano@fbmc.fcen.uba.ar</a>>, Roberto Etchenique <<a href="mailto:retcheni@gmail.com">retcheni@gmail.com</a>>, "<a href="mailto:burton@qo.fcen.uba.ar">burton@qo.fcen.uba.ar</a>" <<a href="mailto:burton@qo.fcen.uba.ar">burton@qo.fcen.uba.ar</a>>, "<a href="mailto:paz@df.uba.ar">paz@df.uba.ar</a>" <<a href="mailto:paz@df.uba.ar">paz@df.uba.ar</a>>, "<a href="mailto:carolina@cima.fcen.uba.ar">carolina@cima.fcen.uba.ar</a>" <<a href="mailto:carolina@cima.fcen.uba.ar">carolina@cima.fcen.uba.ar</a>>, "<a href="mailto:reboreda@ege.fcen.uba.ar">reboreda@ege.fcen.uba.ar</a>" <<a href="mailto:reboreda@ege.fcen.uba.ar">reboreda@ege.fcen.uba.ar</a>>, "<a href="mailto:casenave@de.fcen.uba.ar">casenave@de.fcen.uba.ar</a>" <<a href="mailto:casenave@de.fcen.uba.ar">casenave@de.fcen.uba.ar</a>>, "<a href="mailto:smoreno@qb.fcen.uba.ar">smoreno@qb.fcen.uba.ar</a>" <<a href="mailto:smoreno@qb.fcen.uba.ar">smoreno@qb.fcen.uba.ar</a>>, "<a href="mailto:mgil@de.fcen.uba.ar">mgil@de.fcen.uba.ar</a>" <<a href="mailto:mgil@de.fcen.uba.ar">mgil@de.fcen.uba.ar</a>>, "<a href="mailto:mgonza@de.fcen.uba.ar">mgonza@de.fcen.uba.ar</a>" <<a href="mailto:mgonza@de.fcen.uba.ar">mgonza@de.fcen.uba.ar</a>>, "<a href="mailto:apuba.fcen@de.fcen.uba.ar">apuba.fcen@de.fcen.uba.ar</a>" <<a href="mailto:apuba.fcen@de.fcen.uba.ar">apuba.fcen@de.fcen.uba.ar</a>>, "<a href="mailto:andrea@qi.fcen.uba.ar">andrea@qi.fcen.uba.ar</a>" <<a href="mailto:andrea@qi.fcen.uba.ar">andrea@qi.fcen.uba.ar</a>><br>
<br><br><div class="HOEnZb"><div class="h5"><div dir="ltr"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>From: <b class="gmail_sendername">fabio vicentini</b> <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:fmvicent@gmail.com" target="_blank">fmvicent@gmail.com</a>></span><br>
Date: Tue, Jun 18, 2013 at 3:10 AM<br>Subject: The corruption series (42)<br>To: "<a href="mailto:presidencia@conicet.gov.ar" target="_blank">presidencia@conicet.gov.ar</a>" <<a href="mailto:presidencia@conicet.gov.ar" target="_blank">presidencia@conicet.gov.ar</a>>, <a href="mailto:FulbrightNEXUS@iie.org" target="_blank">FulbrightNEXUS@iie.org</a>, <a href="mailto:info@fundacionsadosky.org.ar" target="_blank">info@fundacionsadosky.org.ar</a>, <a href="mailto:info@mincyt.gob.ar" target="_blank">info@mincyt.gob.ar</a>, <a href="mailto:prensa@mincyt.gov.ar" target="_blank">prensa@mincyt.gov.ar</a><br>
<br><br><div dir="ltr">
<p><span lang="EN-US">Canto LXII:
Throwing a <span>bottle</span> in the ocean (2)</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-US"> ---------------------------------</span></p>
<p>Buenos Aires, June 17,<span>
</span>2013</p>
<p><span lang="EN-US">Dear Colleague:</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-US"> Subject: A
query</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-US"> After working 15
years as an OR practitioner at the DU PONT chemical company, and 10 years at the
steel-making TECHINT organization, I entered the University of Buenos Aires
(UBA) as full-time professor in the math department.</span><span lang="EN-US"></span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-US">UBA has 13 schools and
one of them, the School of Exact Sciences (FCEyN), is divided into 12
departments: Physics, Computer Science, Mathematics, etc. The math department
has 60 professors. I was one of them for a while.</span><span lang="EN-US"></span></p>
<p><span style="color:blue" lang="EN-US"> </span><span lang="EN-US">As soon as I landed in
the school, I was instructed in the rules of the game. Firstly, and most
important, I should write papers for peer-reviewed journals. Secondly, I should
submit requests for research grants. Thirdly, I should attend scientific
meetings. The number of papers should be as large as possible (content not
being essential). The grant's amount should be as large as possible. Academic
meetings in California or Paris are to be preferred to those taking place
in my home country. </span></p>
<p><span style="color:blue" lang="EN-US"> </span><span lang="EN-US">Once in a while they call
for a contest (concurso) for Calculus, Algebra, Topology, etc. Mathematicians
do not know what applied mathematics is, so they will call for the catchall
"Applied Mathematics" label whatever it contained.</span><span lang="EN-US"></span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-US">Three academics (jurado)</span><span style="color:blue" lang="EN-US"> </span><span lang="EN-US">presided over the concurso
to choose the best candidate for the applied mathematics’ niche. There were two
candidates, a youthful rookie who had already concocted a bunch of papers
on differential equations, and myself (60) with no papers at all, but 30 years
working experience as an operations researcher. The jurado counted the number
of papers of each candidate, and the youngster scored 22 goals to
naught, and won the academic match. </span><span lang="EN-US"></span></p>
<p><span style="color:blue" lang="EN-US"> </span><span lang="EN-US">In spite of my defeat I
was permitted, for a while, to lecture on OR-related subjects, mainly
because I was the only genuine applied mathematician in the school. Also I did
some moonlighting in OR consulting for industrial firms, and took my students
to manufacturing plants as research assistants, but as soon as it became clear
that I would not write papers I was dismissed.</span><span lang="EN-US"></span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-US">Right now I am doing a
case study on academic corruption. The main point is that academics are forced
to publish bullshit because they are measured by the number of papers rather
than their content. </span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-US">This letter advances the
question “Is writing bullshit to peer-rewied journals a worlwide tendency? ” I
will take your response as confidential. <span> </span>I may use the information, but I will keep you
and your institution out of my study. I would appreciate it if you might
provide me with your assessment on this delicate matter. </span></p>
<p>Sincerely,</p>
<p><span lang="EN-US">Fabio
Vicentini, PhD</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-US">Operations
Research Consultant</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
</div>
</div><br></div>
</div></div></div><br></div>