Based on some recent experiences, a short blogpost on senior power in academia and why so many professors seem to misunderstand why I (and perhaps others like me) use social media http://neurochambers.blogspot.com/2018/11/invisible-police-in-senior-academia.html …
-
-
Replying to @chrisdc77
It is hard to distinguish between junior academics either not misunderstanding how you use twitter (being true to yourself), or instead not wanting to dare criticise someone more senior to them. Being true to yourself rather than the "perfect" RR advocate is valid anyway.
1 reply 0 retweets 3 likes -
Replying to @MichaelProulx
That's true - you can never know. I hope any junior scientists on here feel they can criticize me freely w/o any retributive consequences from me. A lot of my views have been influenced by debates I've seen on here (and sometimes been part of) led by by ECRs.
1 reply 0 retweets 6 likes -
Replying to @chrisdc77 @MichaelProulx
TBH though aren't most people on Twitter (in general, not specifically academic Twitter) scared to speak up more because of dogpiling than anything else?
1 reply 0 retweets 9 likes -
To put it another more general way they may be reluctant for reasons outside being worried about you reacting yourself. They might not say anything and it might have nothing to do with what they think of you personally, but of the nature of the medium, if that makes sense.
1 reply 0 retweets 6 likes -
Replying to @o_guest @MichaelProulx
Totally makes sense. I’ll reply more later about this (kids in bath right now) but I think this is an important point
1 reply 0 retweets 3 likes -
So to follow up...yes I agree that's a plausible explanation for silence on twitter. What's interesting is the asymmetries I find in the private & in-person comms: almost entirely +ve from ECRs & roughly 50:50 from senior academics. But this could just be power dynamics again.
1 reply 0 retweets 1 like -
It's very diff to know, which is one reason I find the personal criticisms - when they come - so helpful. I feel that the more senior you get in academia (& perhaps in life in general), the harder it is to obtain an accurate sense of how your motivations are perceived by others.
1 reply 0 retweets 2 likes
I feel like it might be different for different people though too. But roughly, yes, as one moves upwards one has fewer peers (given some meaning of the word — it's a pyramid after all) and thus less chance at feedback.
-
-
Replying to @o_guest @MichaelProulx
I suppose w twitter there is at least the possibility of feedback from anon accounts. I remember last year some extremely valuable (albeit quite angry) feedback re RRs that led us to make a major policy change. I learned later it was an ECR & I owed them. It's an valuable voice.
1 reply 0 retweets 2 likes - 10 more replies
New conversation -
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.