Category Archives: Science

Plagiarism and Copyright – Know the Rules

Plagiarism and Copyright

I prepared this text for my students to help them understand the difference between plagiarism and copyright infringement as they work on videos as a class project. There is always confusion about what’s legal and what isn’t and what exactly constitutes plagiarism. I hope this is helpful for all.

How to avoid plagiarism in your work:
Plagiarism applies to ideas. If something is not your own original thought, then you cite the person or paper from which you got the idea. The complete reference for that paper or person must fo into the references cited.

How to avoid copyright infringement in your work:
Copyright applies to whole documents, images, and video. If you did not take the photo, draw the drawing, make the video etc., then it’s not yours to use unless you have permission. A CITATION IS NOT ENOUGH!Continue reading “Plagiarism and Copyright – Know the Rules”

Mass Spectrographs and the Birth of Stable Isotope Geochemistry

I’ve been working on a little project that has required me to dig a little into the history of stable isotope geochemistry. Today I learned about the first mass spectrometers. I’ve found the results interesting and thought I might share them here. This is research in progress…

The First Mass SpectrographsContinue reading “Mass Spectrographs and the Birth of Stable Isotope Geochemistry”

Technical Help Needed – IRMS Instrumental Quandry

This is a technical post. I’m writing for other scientists who use the same (or similar) instrument as I do to ask a technical question. I’m having a problem with the mass spectrometer and need the advice of others.

If the mechanics of isotope ratio mass spectrometry aren’t your thing, you might wanna stop reading now. If you’re interested in the types of challenges that arise with these high-falutin’ instruments, you might keep going.

The problem:

I’m getting intermittent power fluctuations through the source. These are little 1-second-long sinusoidal waves of around 10-20mV. These are often overprinted on broader waves or interferences (maybe 100 seconds?) of around 50mV. These are wrecking our analyses.Continue reading “Technical Help Needed – IRMS Instrumental Quandry”

#365papers: January 26, 2015

There’s this Twitter thing going around with some academic-types I know.

#365papers

The goal is to read a new technical paper daily for the next year, in an effort to stay on top of the science. I love this idea and immediately challenged myself to read a new paper daily.

Almost as immediately, I got behind. Nevertheless, I have been mindful of some interesting papers that have recently been published. I’ll include a couple here, from time to time. Apologies for any that are paywalled.
Today’s Round Up:

Getting protein from bone

Mesozoic mammals from China

Nannofossils establish timing for volcanoesContinue reading “#365papers: January 26, 2015”

Why Are the Paleos Talking About Laundry?

I think I just had one of the more entertaining Twitter conversations ever. I have to share.

It started with me whining a bit, because I can:

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsMy tweet garnered this amusing response:

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Continue reading “Why Are the Paleos Talking About Laundry?”

Field Gear – What’s with All the Hammers?

Geologists use hammers. We all possess at least one of the easily recognized ‘rock hammers’ (I have four!). But we don’t all use the traditional rock hammer. And, as I showed in an earlier post, I often take more than one type of hammer to the field.

These five hammers will definitely be going to the field with me.
These five hammers will definitely be going to the field with me.

So, why all the hammers? What difference does it make?

Well, let’s look at the pros and cons of each type of hammer.Continue reading “Field Gear – What’s with All the Hammers?”