Researcher’s Dilemma

There was an editorial some time ago in the New York Times about Virginia Commonwealth University taking money from Philip Morris for research:

In short, the article shed light on a secret deal between the tobacco giant and the university to have Philip Morris retain proprietary control, including the final say of what study results were published. The article posed the issue of accepting certain industry support in general, and it roundly condemned the forfeiture of publishing rights on research results to companies.

In a difficult economic situation, academic institutions will suffer just as the private sector has. With endowments tied to the market and reliance on large donors a vulnerability, the question becomes: what kinds of research ethics are worth fighting for? It is already a reality that campus politics does impact what kinds of research are supported; that the projects a research university pursues is in important ways tied to who is willing to financially back these studies. At the same time, you have case like that of Dr. Nemeroff from Emory University, who took huge kickbacks for consulting pharmaceutical companies.

How do we definitively draw boundaries for academic researchers versus researchers-for-hire? How can donors be encouraged to give to research that is not agenda-driven? It seems to be getting increasingly difficult.

 

She Waits

She stands in front of St. Matthew’s Cathedral,
Black clothes standing in contrast to her bright red lipstick.

I wonder, what is she thinking about? She seems tormented. During the day, she paces back and forth, as if she were a guardian of that holy space. Something or someone brought her here one day. And the day after, and the one after that. Did she lose someone dear, did she come to a crossroads in her life at this very place? Maybe someone long ago told her to wait for them, and wait she does.

Weekday or weekend, rain or shine, she is as constant at the fresco adorning the cathedral’s interior. I’ve often thought of walking up to her, asking about her life, her regular presence here and what she waits for. I’ve realized, though, that this is her journey, her search, and I can only pass by her soul’s struggle each day and wish her the best.

It’s My Label!

I would rather not prefer to be a indescribable, nameless entity, but sometimes a person becomes a little fed up with the territoriality and vindictiveness with which people hoard their labels. With every major identity group (e.g. religious, ethnic, racial, gender, sexual orientation, occupation), there are labels used in common parlance to help us drawing at least soft lines say what we are.

There are two aspects of note to this process that are inevitable and ever-frustrating. The first is that our labels are essentially positive labels; we define ourselves as who we are, rather than who we are not. So “I am a Christian”, “I am European”, or “I am an academic” are common statements of identity. Taking this construct to one of its natural conclusions, of the most psychologically jarring things someone can go through is involuntary being labeled as non-what-they-think-they-are. I would venture to call this identity excommunication: as with the religious version, its comes with all of the fun shaming, exclusion, and boxing.

The other process is comparing the ideal that a particular label represents and what its various manifestations in reality. If I were a perfect x-religionist, I would magically have insight into the interstitial meaning in scripture, the history of discourse on faith and practice, and all points of ambiguity would dissipate with my footsteps. If I were a perfect x-ethnicity, I would have a deep and wide understanding of my mother tongue, I would understand regional cultural vernaculars, and I would be able to make references to classical artistic expression in my culture relatively easily. If I were a perfect x-worker, I would know the office lingo, the human resources manual as well as exactly where the rules could be bent, and my career would be an incarnation of best practices. The reality is always short of the ideal, and claiming the mantle of “a true such-and-such” is dangerous, and dangerously common.

I think back to a time before people had last names, and where people of multiple talents were not highly specialized into efficient occupational groups. But alas, I live the labels I choose, and I would be loathe to let others exclude me.