Non-tenure track salaries

I was preparing a data analysis assignment for one of my classes, and decided I needed an example for my students.  Similar to what I’m asking of my students, I wanted to use public employee salary data from the the Texas Tribune Government Salaries Explorer.  After a few moments’ thought* , I hit upon the topic of salaries for non-tenured faculty at the University of Texas at San Antonio, where I teach statistics.

I downloaded the UTSA data–an Excel CSV file–and selected out employees whose job titles contained the words “ADJUNCT”, “LECTURER”, or “TUTOR”, and copied those to a separate worksheet page.  From there on, every bit of my example was done using R, all composed and arranged nicely with RStudio.  The full analysis is here, but look at this interesting graph:

• How the heck do two part-timers in the College of Education and Human Development’s Department of  Educational Leadership and Policy Studies make over $100K annually?  That’s one sweet gig!
• Working in the Women’s Studies Institute is a vow of poverty.  Should have gone to trade school.
• The Writing Core Program is almost as bad.  Learn to write advertising copy and move to the College of Business Marketing Department.
• Part-time NTT economists seem to make more than full-timers.  That doesn’t seem to make make economists credible.

*Thanks for the nudge from a new follower, Adjunct Professors—-Overworked & Underpaid!

Advertisements

Confucius say “Uh oh”

The Confucius Institutes in the US are in the government’s crosshairs:

President Trump is about to sign the new National Defense Authorization Act, which will prohibit funding to Chinese-run Confucius Institutes on American campuses.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz added the key amendment to “The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019,” which also restricts funding to universities that host Confucius Institutes and requires them to provide a public record of any agreements or contracts they have with the program, which has deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

This is going to be a bit of a problem at UT San Antonio:

Right out of Lenin: “The Capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them.”

Update:  Apparently UTSA has learned from the Confucianists to “embrace the harmony of opposites.”

 

 

The Urban Chicken Movement Turns Dark

This is what happens when city folk “play country:”

Live poultry in backyard flocks are linked to several multistate outbreaks of salmonella infections that have now sickened 212 people in 44 states, federal health officials warned Monday.

Health officials advise washing with soap and water right after touching live poultry or anything nearby. They also advise not letting live birds inside the house, especially where food or drink is prepared, served or stored. Also, no kissing or snuggling with birds only to then touch your face or mouth.

You shouldn’t have to tell people this.

Tip from Drudge, who don’t permalink nuthin’.

My Ultimate Margartia

Texas is awash in margaritas, both frozen and on the rocks.  Most are made with some sort of evil bar mix, shaken by hand or machine, and dished up in glass with a salted rim.  As Dan Jenkins wrote about chicken-fried steak, “Pretty good.  But not real good.”

Inspired by reading a recipe on the back of a liquor bottle, I’ve concocted a Better Margarita, for folks who want to go beyond the mediocre.

Ingredients (to make 2 doubles)  In a large shaker half-filled with ice, add

• 4 shots of good (not excellent) white tequila
• 1 shot of triple sec or orange liqueur (I prefer Patron Citronge)
• 1 shot of lemoncello (the secret ingredient)
• fresh juice of 8 limes
• juice of one small orange (see prep below)
• one or two of the lime peels from the juicing

Preparation for serving

• for each drink glass, cut a thin slice from the center of a fresh orange, juice the rest
• use a piece of lime peel from the juicing to moisten the rim of each glass
• set each glass, inverted, into a shallow dish of margarita salt (kosher salt works OK)
• into each salted glass, place an orange slice

Do the deed

• Cap the shaker and shake until the shaker is covered in condensation
• Pour into the prepared glasses, filling almost to the rim

Caution:  this recipe makes TWO DOUBLES.  Do not plan on driving or operating machinery after drinking one of these.  Do not plan on inciting a revolution in Mexico after drinking two of these.

This is cute

Web surfing occasionally leads me to the Lid Blog.  I’m always amused with this admonition for commenters

One of these things is not like the others.  CAN YOU TELL WHICH ONE?

Data to Viz

For data analysts using R, this is huge.  Find out how to generate the graph you need for the data you have with just a few clicks.

Yes, you’ll find some fine print explaining that the site is not comprehensive.  BUT, it still has a trove of graph types and accompanying R and python code to generate them.

Tip from the R Bloggers

Update: from the O’Reilly Data Science Newsletter, I learn that the Data to Viz site has a CAVEATS page, showing many of the most common “worst practices” of data visualization, whether confusing, misleading, or downright deceptive.

I’m not quite sure, though, why the site displays only 7 examples when I select the Top 10 filter ….

Diversity has committed the First Sin of Fashion

It’s become outmoded, pointless and boring.