I have generated most of my statistical graphs in Systat, the statistics program I use predominantly (learning R was too hard (read: time consuming), though I realize its MANY great advantages). The problem with these graphs is that they are not easily edited and often appear jumbled together.
I am preparing my thesis in manuscript form, which means ready to submit to journals for publication. I've been sending my supervisor bits and pieces, and the terrible Systat graphs were one of the things he pointed out as needing to change. Just regraph them in Excel, he says, no big problem. And it wouldn't be, if I could find my spreadsheet with all the data. Apparently I generated it in Systat, and then accidently only saved the graph, not the data sheet.
So after spending two hours searching through every data sheet I had on my computer (in Systat, Statistica AND Excel form), I come to the conclusion that I definitley do not have it. So I'll have to start from scratch. Redo it. The most dreaded of all stats problems (at least for me).
And then I did it... took all of 30 minutes! Some quick calculations and a pivot table and I'm done like dinner. I could have saved myself two hours if I had just done that to begin with. Sometimes I think it's subconcious procrastination. My mind knows it will be faster, so it convinces me that it would be more work... and then I go about it the roundabout way (usually with distractions).
Monday, June 29, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Hybrid flying squirrels are not science fiction...
Recently the PhD candidate in my lab, Colin Garroway, along with our supervisor and other collaborators published a paper "Climate change induced hybridization in flying squirrels" in the journal Global Change Biology (see abstract/PDF here).
This is big news for climate change proponents... two species of flying squirrel at their respective northern and southern range boundaries have been shown to be hybridizing. The range boundary of southerns has been moving north with climate change, and therefore has increased the contact between the two species. This could in effect reduce biodiversity as two species merge to become one.
Anecdotely, I had southern and northern flying squirrels using the same nest tree at the same time, though I could never find the cavity and therefore I could not confirm if they were using the same cavity or not.
But more importantly, this story is not restricted to the academic journal. It has been featured on the Trent University website.
It is slated to appear in the Globe and Mail, and they have been in contact with science television programmers. This is great! Getting the story out to the public, those who influence change (since climate change is a policitically controlled issue) is critical. I'm glad the that the communications offices at Trent and MNR understand this and make an effort to publish these stories!
This is big news for climate change proponents... two species of flying squirrel at their respective northern and southern range boundaries have been shown to be hybridizing. The range boundary of southerns has been moving north with climate change, and therefore has increased the contact between the two species. This could in effect reduce biodiversity as two species merge to become one.
Anecdotely, I had southern and northern flying squirrels using the same nest tree at the same time, though I could never find the cavity and therefore I could not confirm if they were using the same cavity or not.
But more importantly, this story is not restricted to the academic journal. It has been featured on the Trent University website.
It is slated to appear in the Globe and Mail, and they have been in contact with science television programmers. This is great! Getting the story out to the public, those who influence change (since climate change is a policitically controlled issue) is critical. I'm glad the that the communications offices at Trent and MNR understand this and make an effort to publish these stories!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Wanted: A productive work environment
Graduate student offices have a reputation for being crappy. Crappy location, crappy desks, crappy ventilation, the list goes on. But here at the university who shall remain nameless they are especially bad.
Now that's an exaggeration. The old university buildlings have nice grad student offices, they even have windows! It's the new buildling that seems to have been built with a lack of foresight. The major grad student office is in the middle of the building, surrounded by classrooms and offices on all sides. So no windows. NO NATURAL LIGHT. How do they expect people to work without natural light? That must be an OHS issue (note to self: look up OHS regs).
At other universities I have visited, supervisors have an office and a lab, often in close proximity, where their grad students work/have desks. I like that idea because then the students develop a working relationship with the other students in their lab, and always have access to their supervisor. On the other hand, your supervisor would then ALWAYS have access to you.
That's the one thing I like about this windowless office full of corralled grad students. ONLY grad students have keys to this office, so there's no way your supervisor can sneak up behind you and catch you on Facebook... for the third time... this morning.
When it's all said and done, these offices aren't all bad. But, since I'm moving into a house with an open concept office (with windows on 3 of the 4 walls), I may just move my desk home. That way I can know the weather without having to look it up online!
Now that's an exaggeration. The old university buildlings have nice grad student offices, they even have windows! It's the new buildling that seems to have been built with a lack of foresight. The major grad student office is in the middle of the building, surrounded by classrooms and offices on all sides. So no windows. NO NATURAL LIGHT. How do they expect people to work without natural light? That must be an OHS issue (note to self: look up OHS regs).
At other universities I have visited, supervisors have an office and a lab, often in close proximity, where their grad students work/have desks. I like that idea because then the students develop a working relationship with the other students in their lab, and always have access to their supervisor. On the other hand, your supervisor would then ALWAYS have access to you.
That's the one thing I like about this windowless office full of corralled grad students. ONLY grad students have keys to this office, so there's no way your supervisor can sneak up behind you and catch you on Facebook... for the third time... this morning.
When it's all said and done, these offices aren't all bad. But, since I'm moving into a house with an open concept office (with windows on 3 of the 4 walls), I may just move my desk home. That way I can know the weather without having to look it up online!
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Cold feet... warm heart?
One thing I try to avoid while doing fieldwork is getting cold. It makes everything seem longer and more trying when you are cold. If you are warm, you can go all day in the winter and enjoy being outside. It's not so easy if your hands or feet are freezing.
On that note, I'm not sure why winter hikers for men and women are so different, but I can tell you that men's hikers seem to be made with much higher quality than anything I can get for myself. After working in snow for a month in 'winter' hikers (and consequently, freezing my feet for a month), I broke down and bought snowboots. Huge rubber bottomed leather topped boots with a removable liner - they showed promise.
I worked with the PhD student often, tracking squirrels all day in the snow. Me in my honkin' snowboots and him in his winter hikers. Me in huge overall snowpants and him in lined khakis with gators. Me in a huge winter jacket and him in a light raincoat. Me in a hat and him with a bare head. Basically I was dressed for a blizzard and he was dressed for cool fall weather. Guess who ALWAYS got cold and started to complain? Guilty as charged.
Besides his man hikers, the other thing he wore that I envied were a pair of long leather mitts. They were from Mark's Work Wearhouse and I developed a false hope that maybe, just maybe, they would carry them in an x-small or small. I finally broke down and dropped by Mark's after one extra-frosty day in the woods. I found the mitts and searched the sizes. Medium and larger... probably all sold out I thought to myself. So I found an employee and asked to get a pair in - apparently Medium is the smallest size. Who makes mittens from a M up? Men's mitten companies, obviously.
So, to date I have not found comparable products... but I keep the hope that I was not the only woman requesting comparable winter hikers and mittens, and that maybe that information will get passed on to the powers that be. Maybe then women can get some decent winter work clothing.
On that note, I'm not sure why winter hikers for men and women are so different, but I can tell you that men's hikers seem to be made with much higher quality than anything I can get for myself. After working in snow for a month in 'winter' hikers (and consequently, freezing my feet for a month), I broke down and bought snowboots. Huge rubber bottomed leather topped boots with a removable liner - they showed promise.
I worked with the PhD student often, tracking squirrels all day in the snow. Me in my honkin' snowboots and him in his winter hikers. Me in huge overall snowpants and him in lined khakis with gators. Me in a huge winter jacket and him in a light raincoat. Me in a hat and him with a bare head. Basically I was dressed for a blizzard and he was dressed for cool fall weather. Guess who ALWAYS got cold and started to complain? Guilty as charged.
Besides his man hikers, the other thing he wore that I envied were a pair of long leather mitts. They were from Mark's Work Wearhouse and I developed a false hope that maybe, just maybe, they would carry them in an x-small or small. I finally broke down and dropped by Mark's after one extra-frosty day in the woods. I found the mitts and searched the sizes. Medium and larger... probably all sold out I thought to myself. So I found an employee and asked to get a pair in - apparently Medium is the smallest size. Who makes mittens from a M up? Men's mitten companies, obviously.
So, to date I have not found comparable products... but I keep the hope that I was not the only woman requesting comparable winter hikers and mittens, and that maybe that information will get passed on to the powers that be. Maybe then women can get some decent winter work clothing.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Do I have permission to trap?
Trapping on or near private land is always interesting. I trapped on both public land (which was surrounded by cottages) as well as in a private sugar stand. Both situations had their benefits (and disadvantages).
Trapping on public land that is so close to property owners means their interest is instantly peaked. And yes, informing the public about research is very important. But EVERY day, EVERY time you go to do field work having to explain yourself and what you're doing (until each individual resident is informed) can be a bit time consuming. You'd figure, with human nature, that word would get around about what you're doing and why you're there... And then there's the dog owners who think it's a great idea to follow your trapline with their dog as their afternoon walk (which is obviously conducive to catching squirrels).
On private land it's a bit easier, as you explain yourself to the owner once and that's taken care of. BUT neighbors like to keep an eye on each other's property, and then send the cops in to check it out if there's a vehicle they don't recognize on the farm next to them. I speak from personal experience. Luckily I was wearing my Trent University t-shirt and pink rubber boots, so I looked pretty harmless... and the cop was really only interested about how the turkeys were in the sugar stand (apparently he hunts them there - I assume when he's off duty).
AND then there's the men who stop (usually when I'm parked on the side of the road with my field truck, getting ready to track my squirrels or check my traps) to ask me if I need any help. Because a girl can't just stop on the side of the road and walk into the forest... she MUST be in distress.
Or the gas station attendant, who assumes I am harvesting the squirrels for their furs!?!?! Honestly, these things are smaller than chincillas.
But overall, I usually get along ok. I don't ever have to worry about having to replace a flat tire or being broken down. Someone will always stop. Somedays it's good to be a girl :)
Trapping on public land that is so close to property owners means their interest is instantly peaked. And yes, informing the public about research is very important. But EVERY day, EVERY time you go to do field work having to explain yourself and what you're doing (until each individual resident is informed) can be a bit time consuming. You'd figure, with human nature, that word would get around about what you're doing and why you're there... And then there's the dog owners who think it's a great idea to follow your trapline with their dog as their afternoon walk (which is obviously conducive to catching squirrels).
On private land it's a bit easier, as you explain yourself to the owner once and that's taken care of. BUT neighbors like to keep an eye on each other's property, and then send the cops in to check it out if there's a vehicle they don't recognize on the farm next to them. I speak from personal experience. Luckily I was wearing my Trent University t-shirt and pink rubber boots, so I looked pretty harmless... and the cop was really only interested about how the turkeys were in the sugar stand (apparently he hunts them there - I assume when he's off duty).
AND then there's the men who stop (usually when I'm parked on the side of the road with my field truck, getting ready to track my squirrels or check my traps) to ask me if I need any help. Because a girl can't just stop on the side of the road and walk into the forest... she MUST be in distress.
Or the gas station attendant, who assumes I am harvesting the squirrels for their furs!?!?! Honestly, these things are smaller than chincillas.
But overall, I usually get along ok. I don't ever have to worry about having to replace a flat tire or being broken down. Someone will always stop. Somedays it's good to be a girl :)
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