Selective pressure operates on the phenotype and success of failure
depends on overall fitness -- a balance between competing selective
pressures. A weakness in one characteristic is often compensated for by
strengths elsewhere.
In this case, the institution would get more loyalty, motivation, and
team spirit from those who benefit from spousal hires.
Conversely, the single-minded researcher who is best from a scientific
standpoint can have a divisive and destructive influence that harms the
institution's overall fitness, leaving behind unhappy, unproductive
employees; unhappy, unproductive students; wrecked research programs and
difficulty in recruiting candidates who can rebuild the institution's
fortunes.
Hiring is about the best fit for the institution, which is based on a
hell of a lot more than just having a tyrosine at position 37.
Dave
On 8/20/2011 1:05 PM, Aaron T. Dossey wrote:
Do you believe in evolution?
So, let's take a specific amino acid in a protein as an example. If
there is a selective pressure to maintain a tyrosine at position 37
(ie: the most important thing is the relationship that the candidates
being considered for a position is their relationship to a specific
other person, or even each other - which is the same because ALL
CANDIDATES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED INDIVIDUALLY), and none on the other
positions in the protein, the others will change over time either
randomly or based on weak minimal requirements of stability of the
protein/system (ie: the candidate has a Ph.D. in the field, so they
are qualified, and by God they have a tyrosine at 37 and no one else
does, so they are hired!). If the selectiv pressure is artificially
induced in the lab (ie: this person MUST be married to person X)
rather than through natural selection (ie: they have the most
publications, best topic, objectively the best formulated research
goals, the most grants, etc.) then the overall organism (field,
department, institution, etc.) over generations will not be as adapted
to the environment and thus not competitive or even viable in a real
life setting. This isn't to say they might not hold onto some form of
existence and survive, but the entity certainly will not thrive -
whereas those with more germane selective pressures will and will
certainly out-compete the latter.
The point is (to answer your question): you get what you prioritize,
and everything else will go to chance - and there are no guarantees in
chance of quality or anything else. If you priorities superfluous
and non-germane criteria, the quality of things like efficacy in the
field will inevitably wane over time in a department, institution, or
field overall.
Aaron T. Dossey, Ph.D.
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
http://www.allthingsbugs.com/Curriculum_Vitae.pdf
On 8/20/2011 12:36 PM, Gary Grossman wrote:
Viewing things from a Manichean perspective isn't going to contribute
to constructive discussion of important issues on this list, but I'd
love to see your evidence that spousal hires have any impact
whatsoever on "the fruits of intellectual pursuit at Universities".
Please provide some data to back up your claims, Aaron.
On Sat, Aug 20, 2011 at 11:46 AM, Aaron T. Dossey <[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
Maintaining the quality of one's marriage, personal life, sexual
relationships, etc. is not an employer's, University's,
Department's, the tax-payer's (for public institutions and those
who receive government grants/funds) or even society's
responsibility. The stake holders here are not just that family
and those they work with - the nation and world depend on the
fruits of intellectual pursuit at Universities - science such as
biomedical discoveries, engineering, education, etc. The stakes
are just too high to not pursue the highest germane standards
based on emotional or nepotistic considerations.
On 8/20/2011 10:05 AM, Gary Grossman wrote:
I hope that some day we have a society that values ecologists
as much as it
values medical doctors and that everyone has a job!
Only married ones, right? :)
Aaron T. Dossey, Ph.D.
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
http://www.allthingsbugs.com/Curriculum_Vitae.pdf
On 8/20/2011 10:05 AM, Gary Grossman wrote:
As someone who
was hired in the pre-spousal hire era I've watched many
marriages and
families dissolve under the pressure of jobs in separate
cities, etc. I've
also seen faculty who spent a substantial amount of time
interviewing at
other institutions, rather than focusing on teaching and
research, because
no provision was made for their well qualified spouse.
On 8/20/2011 10:05 AM, Gary Grossman wrote:
Might a University be better off if
there was an open search (my guess is that at most
universities the spousal
hire isn't an open search) -- probably from the disciplinary
point of view
but then from a personnel management and teaching point of
view they get
much greater stability and dedication from "couple hires".
--
Gary D. Grossman, PhD
Professor of Animal Ecology
Warnell School of Forestry & Natural Resources
University of Georgia
Athens, GA, USA 30602
Research & teaching web site - http://grossman.myweb.uga.edu/
<http://www.arches.uga.edu/%7Egrossman>
Board of Editors - Animal Biodiversity and Conservation
Editorial Board - Freshwater Biology
Editorial Board - Ecology Freshwater Fish
Sculpture by Gary D. Grossman
www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/album.php?aid=2002317&id=1348406658
<http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#%21/album.php?aid=2002317&id=1348406658>
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<http://www.hutsongallery.net/artists.html>
--
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