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Research Culture: A survey of new PIs in the UK
Sophie E Acton ,
Andrew JD Bell ,
Christopher P Toseland ,
Alison Twelvetrees ,
University College London, United Kingdom;
University of Sheffield, United Kingdom;
Feature Article Sep 20, 2019
Recommendations to improve support for new PIs
The challenges facing a new independent group leader, principal investigator (PI) or university lecturer are formidable: secure funding, recruit staff and students, establish a research programme, give lectures, and carry out various administrative duties. Here we report the results of a survey of individuals appointed as new group leaders, PIs or university lecturers in the UK between 2012 and 2018. The concerns expressed include difficulties in recruiting PhD students, maintaining a good work-life balance and securing permanent positions. Gender differences were also found in relation to starting salary and success with research funding. We make recommendations to employers and funders to address some of these concerns, and offer advice to those applying for PI positions.
Academic careers have expanded across the university sector at all career levels in recent decades, but there remain relatively few levels in the hierarchy – PhD student, postdoctoral researcher, and independent group leader/principal investigator (PI)/university lecturer. In general the system trains more PhDs and postdocs than can be employed as independent group leaders, PIs or university lecturers, so the competition for these positions can be intense. The present authors know this first-hand because we all started in such positions at universities in the UK between 2015 and 2018. Moreover, we know that new group leaders, PIs and university lecturers face a wide range of challenges as they seek to establish their research groups and undertake new responsibilities in their department or institute.
In this article we will use the term PI as a short-hand for independent group leader, principal investigator or university lecturer. There are several routes to becoming a PI in the UK. The two most frequent are: i) recruitment as a permanent lecturer (subject to passing probation) at a university; ii) recruitment as a fixed-term research fellow at a university or research institute (funded directly by a university, or externally by research councils and charities). There are pros and cons associated with both routes: lecturers typically have long-term job security, but externally-funded research fellows can often establish their research programme faster than lecturers.
To explore how new PIs are recruited, supported and evaluated, we conducted a survey of PIs appointedin the UK between 2012 and 2018. This article reports the results of this survey, discusses what it tells about the hopes and concerns of new PIs in the UK, makes recommendations to employers and funders to address some of these concerns, and concludes with advice for those hoping to become a new PI.
Our survey is described in detail in the Methods section. In summary, the survey was completed by 365 individuals who had become PIs over the past six years: 83% worked in the life sciences (Figure 1A), 57% were male (Figure 1B), 51% were from the UK (Figure 1C), and 84% classified themselves as white (Figure 1D).
Figure 1 with 2 supplements see all
Overview of cohort demographics.
(A) 83% (302/365) of respondents classified themselves as being in the Life Sciences (LifeSci); 16% (59/365) were in the Physical Sciences and Engineering (Ph/Eng); and 1% (4/365) were from in the Social Sciences and Humanities (Soc/Hu). (B) 56.7% (207/365) of respondents were men; 41.6% (152/365) were women; and 1.6% (6/365) were 'Prefer not to say'. (C) 51% (185/365) of respondents were from the UK; 31% (113/365) were from other EU countries; and 18% (67/365) were from the rest of the world (Non EU). (D) 84% (305/365) of respondents were white. (E) 51% (180/355) of respondents had between five and seven years of postdoc experience prior to independence. Consequently, the majority of respondents were in their mid-thirties at the time they became new PIs (see Figure 1—figure supplement 1); the most recent new PIs were the least likely to have dependents (see Figure 1—figure supplement 2).
The average respondent had spent seven years between finishing their PhD and starting their own group (Figure 1E), which suggests they had held two or three fixed-term positions before gaining independence. This seven-year period likely reflects the eligibility restrictions that were in place for some fellowships until recently, and it will be interesting to see if the recent decision by many funders to remove such restrictions has an influence on the time taken for PhDs to become PIs.
A longer time spent as a postdoctoral researcher may allow some individuals the extra time needed to complete and publish ambitious or collaborative projects. However, it might also increase the average age at which researchers become independent (which is 34 years old for the respondents to our survey; Figure 1—figure supplement 1), and this would increase the length of time during which postdocs have to balance starting a family with the pressures imposed by fixed-term contracts and the need to show mobility.
With regard to families, half of our cohort had dependents, female investigators had taken the longest career breaks and were the most likely to have dependants, and almost everyone (361/365) worked full time (Figure 1—figure supplement 2).
International mobility plays a key role in the academic career path. 51% of respondents had spent more than one year training outside of the UK as postdocs, and 67% had undertaken at least one international move as part of their career (either when moving between their PhD and postdoc, or when moving from a postdoc to a PI position in the UK; Figure 2). And when moves within the UK are included, the percentage of respondents who moved to take up their position increases to 78%: moreover, 77% had not previously worked in their current department.
Overview of cohort mobility.
An alluvial plot of cohort migration, where line width is proportional to the percentage of respondents. Colour corresponds to the nationality (UK; orange, Non-UK; blue) of participants as they move through their careers (PhD and postdoc training). 26.8% (98/365) of respondents had spent all their career in the UK, while 22.2% (81/365) had not worked in the UK before starting as a new PI in the UK.
Job satisfaction and well-being
While details about our cohort reveal information about the sector as a whole, it is when we ask about job satisfaction that we begin to see where problems may lie for new PIs. In general the number of respondents who replied that they were satisfied or very satisfied clearly exceeded the number who were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied about the six different aspects they were asked about: their department; their institution; space and facilities; their funder; work-life balance; and optimism (Figure 3). However, 24% (79/330) were either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their space and facilities, compared with 56% (185/330) who were satisfied or very satisfied. We think there is scope for funders to put pressure on institutions to address concerns about space and facilities.
Satisfaction and optimism.
Participants were asked to rate their satisfaction with their host department (Dept), host institution (Inst), lab space and access to facilities (Space&Fac) and support from their funder (Funder). Participants were also asked how they felt about their current work-life balance (W/L) and their optimism about their future career (Optimism). With the exception of work-life balance, more than 50% of respondents replied that they were satisfied or very satisfied.
Moreover, 33% (111/331) were either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their work-life balance, compared with 41% (135/331) who were satisfied or very satisfied. Flexible or part-time working is often put forward as a way to improve work-life balance but, as noted above, just four of the respondents worked part-time. Given all the challenges associated with being a new PI – find funding, build a research group, publish work, prepare and give lectures – it is not surprising that practically no one works part-time.
The pressures of being a new PI are best expressed in this direct quotation from one respondent: "I feel like I'm trying to do three separate jobs (research, management/admin, teaching) as well as be a mother... be my own postdoc (because I can't afford one), be the lab technician (because I can't afford one), be the lab manager (because I can't afford one...), be a good mentor for my students, plan strategy, write grants (constantly, I need the money), stay up to date with other research, prepare new teaching material (this takes me ages, I want to do a good job), teach, mark assessments and answer student queries etc. I could go on. No, seriously, is it even possible?".
Clearly there is a need to find other mechanisms to improve the work-life balance besides offering part-time/flexible working patterns. However, despite elements of dissatisfaction, it is important to highlight over 50% of respondents were optimistic for the future (Figure 3). This highlights a strong resilience and positivity amongst new PIs as they tackle the various demands of their role. It was also encouraging to find that having dependants did not affect satisfaction ratings or optimism scores for new male or female PIs (Figure 3—figure supplement 1).
Career track comparison and gender disparity
As previously mentioned, there is no single route to becoming a PI in the UK. Typically, two career paths exist: (a) appointment as a lecturer, possibly followed by promotion to senior lecturer, then reader and lastly professor; (b) appointment as a research fellow, possibly followed by an advanced fellowship or a transfer to the lecturer career path. 41% of our respondents were on the lecturer career path, with 59% on the research fellow path (Figure 4). The research fellows secured funding from a range of bodies and 70% of respondents were from 24 research-focused institutions, referred to as the Russell group (Figure 4A). This puts a large amount of resources into very few institutions.
Initial recruitment.
(A) 75% (234/311) of respondents were from Russell Group universities, and a majority of these recruits (64%; 149/234) were brought in as research fellows (top). 25% (77/311) of respondents were from outside the Russell Group, and a majority of these recruits (60%; 46/77) were brought in as lecturers (bottom). (B) 35% (108/311) of respondents were required to have secured a major grant or fellowship in order to take up their position: 52% (94/182) of fellows were expected to have secured such funding, compared with just 11% (14/129) of lecturers. (C) Some respondents (mostly research fellows) had secured more than £1 m in external grant funding when they started as a new PI.
38% of our new PIs were required to successfully apply for major grants or fellowships in order to take up their position (Figure 4B), with research fellows bringing in the highest levels of funding (some 25% of research fellows secured more than £500,000 before starting their position; Figure 4C).
We also start to see a gender disparity emerge in grant funding early in the careers of new PIs: the majority of respondents (80% of men, 77% of women) had secured some additional funding within the first five years, but male respondents had secured significantly more than female respondents (Figure 5A–C). In particular, male PIs are much more likely to have secured additional funding in excess of £1 m (p=0.025), and female PIs were awarded significantly fewer grants (p=0.039). Compared to new female PIs, it looks as if new male PIs were better able to gain momentum and accelerate through continued grant success, allowing them to build critical mass expanding the numbers in their labs. We should delve deeper into this issue and ensure that new female PIs are being encouraged and supported to apply for more funding and to build their teams in the same way as new male PIs.
Gender comparisons in pay and grant income.
All plots are expressed as the percentage of respondents within each category. (A) Grant success versus year of independence (12 = 2012, and so on). (B) Half of the male respondents had received three or more grants since starting; half of the female respondents had received two or more. (C) Grant values (expressed in £m) for new PIs who started in 2012–13, 2014–16, and 2017–2018. (D) The self-reported salaries of new PIs at the time they were appointed show a substantial gender pay gap.
Female PIs were also paid £3000–5000 less per year than male PIs (Figure 5D), both as lecturers and research fellows (with lecturers generally starting on lower salaries than research fellows; Figure 5—figure supplement 1A): moreover, male PIs tended to be appointed at a higher grade (eg, at grade 8 rather than grade 7 for lectureships; Figure 5—figure supplement 1B). The appointment of women to lower grades will impact their rate of career progression compared to men.
Teaching and administration
It came as a surprise to us that a majority of research fellows (57%) were expected to teach, despite their time being protected for research and a majority having their salary paid by an external funder rather than the university (Figure 6A). Although the number of contact hours was significantly less than the number for lecturers, nearly 40% of research fellows were expected to have more than 10 contact hours with undergraduates per year, and 10–15%, were expected to have more than 40 contact hours per year (Figure 6B). There is an argument that research fellows should engage with their departments, bring new material to undergraduate courses, and participate in some level of teaching early in their independent careers: moreover, if the new PI hopes to be appointed as a lecturer in the longer term, gaining teaching experience will be beneficial. However, having to give more than 40 hr of lectures and tutorials is excessive for a new research fellow, so we suggest that all funders should consider specifying a limit on teaching hours. Some funders already apply limits, but these data suggest there is a lack of enforcement by either the fellow or the institution.
Teaching and administration load.
All plots are expressed as the percentage of respondents within each category. (A) Almost all (119/121) new PIs appointed as lecturers are expected to teach, along with 60% (100/167) of new PIs appointed as fellows. (B) Lecturers generally have much higher teaching loads than fellows, and women have more contact hours assigned than men (both as lecturers and fellows). (C) Women were expected to contribute to more committees than men.
In general, we would suggest that the best way for new PIs to engage with undergraduate teaching would be to focus on the supervision of undergraduate laboratory projects or literature projects, so that the teaching is directly contributing to their research programme. After 2–3 years of having their time 'protected' in order to establish their research programme, direct teaching commitments through lectures and examinations can begin.
The fact that new female PIs have higher teaching loads (Figure 6B) and higher administration loads (Figure 6C) than new male PIs may contribute to the reduced grant success (and to the smaller lab sizes discussed below). These statistics suggest female PIs are over-committing themselves and/or are more frequently tasked with non-research roles than male PIs. Efforts by universities to ensure equal numbers of men and women sit on committees could contribute to the higher administration loads on female PIs (both new and established) because there are fewer female PIs overall.
Mentorship and career development
Support for new PIs is especially important when they take on roles they have no prior experience of. We found that almost 25% of all new PIs felt that they had no mentorship: moreover, the female PIs who did not have a mentor were the least optimistic for their career progression (Figure 7). All but 3% of lecturers reported having an annual review, but almost 18% of externally funded fellows did not have an annual review. However, these fellows benefited from forms of support not available to most lecturers (for example, funders organize meetings that bring together all the fellows they fund, and these meetings can be a valuable source of peer support and career advice).
Mentorship and optimism.
Women with mentors were more optimistic about the future than women without mentors. Men with mentors were a little more optimistic about the future than men without mentors.
Most lecturers (88%) were provided with start-up funds, which were typically in the region of £20–60K, by their university (Figure 8). Once again there was a gender gap in favour of male PIs, who received an average of £14.6K more than female PIs.
Start-up funds.
Female respondents received an average of £31 k (red line; top panel) in start-up funds, whereas men received an average of £45.6 k (red line; bottom panel.
A major concern for externally funded research fellows was what to do at the end of their contract. While one might assume that such a fellow would be appointed as a lecturer (or higher on the academic career ladder) at their host university when their fellowship ended, 70% of research fellows did not have an agreement for such a 'proleptic appointment' in place with their host university (Figure 8—figure supplement 1). Moreover, 58% were unaware of what they had to do to get a permanent position or how their host institution or department went about making such decisions. Since these fellows are hired by universities on contracts which are dependent on the funding source, they can be made redundant at the end of the fellowship with little consequence. These fellows do not have job security despite supporting their own salary, bringing in large grants, passing stringent external selection processes and, on the whole, being more likely to contribute to the research excellence framework (REF: this is the process through which university research is assessed in order to determine the future level of government funding). We would encourage funders to address this issue in order to protect their investment in these researchers.
Some of our respondents were extremely critical about these matters. "Career progression is very non-transparent" said one, "Vague descriptions of the areas in which excellence is required, but no idea of the level equivalent to excellence. Getting a proleptic appointment is very difficult." A second commented as follows: "It is widely believed that if you have funded your own salary from grants for seven years then the school should take you on as a full-time lecturer. However this does not appear to be written down anywhere and may have been inconsistently applied."
Building a research group
Although 80% of respondents had at least one PhD student (Figure 9A), both lecturers and research fellows reported difficulty in recruiting PhD students. One reason was that many PhD studentships in the UK have been gathered into large doctoral training centres, and senior researchers have been more successful in having their projects accepted by these centres: moreover, students seem to have a preference for joining established labs.
Building a research group.
PhD students currently supervised (A), postdocs currently supervised (B), presence of a research assistant or technician (C) and current size of research group (D) for lecturers (men and women) and research fellows (men and women). Responders were asked to include undergraduates and master's students when reporting the size of their research group. All categories are expressed as the percentage of respondents within each category.
Some 80% of research fellows also had at least one postdoc in their lab, and some had three or more: however, 50% of lecturers did not have a postdoc (Figure 9B). Research fellows were also more likely to have a research assistant than lecturers (53% vs 25%; Figure 9C). However, lecturers tended to have bigger groups than research fellows (Figure 9D), which suggests high numbers of undergraduate students in the lab: in the absence of postdocs or research assistants to help train and supervise these students, this will only add to the pressure on the new PI, and may not provide the best training for the students either.
Again, the best way to convey the frustrations experienced by some respondents is to quote them directly: "To be successful as a fellow it is primordial to get a PhD student during the first year of contract," said one. "Without hands in the lab we cannot work. This is not granted, I struggled to get my lab members. Actually I secured an external studentship, but incredibly and annoyingly my Institution does not allow me to be primary supervisor". A second commented as follows: "I was told in no uncertain terms that the department could offer me nothing as a start-up. I am part of 2 possible PhD schemes in the university but funding only has been awarded to senior colleagues."
Gender bias in recruitment
As reported in Figure 1B, 56.7% of respondents were men, 41.6% were women and 1.6% preferred not to say. However, when we plot the percentage of male and female respondents against year of appointment, we find a spike in the number of male researchers appointed as new PIs in 2013 (Figure 10). We feel it is likely that this spike was caused by a wave of recruitment ahead of REF2014. The next REF will be in 2021. Each REF tends to be preceded by a 'transfer window' in which new academic staff are appointed and established staff sometimes move between universities. However, it is extremely clear from our data that the wave of new appointments before REF2014 significantly favoured male applicants. It seems likely to us that this wave of male recruitment may have been due to an increase in direct head-hunting, or more informal recruitment techniques driven by networks within fields, and that these practices seem to favour men. We urge institutions to ensure that female academics are not disadvantaged in this way ahead of REF2021.
Recruitment of men and women by year.
The gap between the number of men and women appointed as new PIs seems to have narrowed in recent years (with the gap being eight in 2012 and just one in 2017 and 2018), with the very noticeable exception of 2013, when 47 men and 21 women were appointed. A possible explanation for this is discussed in the text.
While the career trajectories of academics are diverse, our survey suggest that there are a number of overarching issues that affect most new PIs. We list below actions that could be taken by host institutions and funders to address these overarching issues and ensure that all new PIs have the opportunity to reach their full potential.
Actions by host institutions
Recruitment should be driven by long-term strategy based around an investigator's potential. The recruiting department should conduct a rigorous interview for both fellowship candidates and lectureships with a long-term view to support that individual.
Ensure that all new lecturers and research fellows are appointed a departmental mentor.
Ensure that all new lecturers and research fellows receive a formal annual appraisal.
Ensure that the criteria for promotion and proleptic appointments are transparent, and that these criteria are communicated to new lecturers and research fellows when they are appointed.
Arrange that all research fellows be assessed for a proleptic appointment, or supported in their application for a senior fellowship, at least 24 months before the end of their fellowship (year 3/4).
Have a policy of non-negotiable start-up packages for all recruits to help avoid gender bias.
Ensure oversight of starting salaries by human resources to track and eliminate gender bias.
Limit the number of undergraduate and masters project students supervised by a new PI to fewer than the number of lab members able to provide supervision (ie, PhD students, postdocs, RAs and the PI).
Include new PIs in university-administered doctoral training programmes and/or award a proportion of PhD studentships to new PIs.
Ensure that research fellows can spend the majority of their time on research and do not have a significant teaching load.
Consider a standard policy that new lecturers and university-funded fellows be appointed at grade 8 and considered for promotion to senior lecturer (grade 9) upon successfully winning their first major research grant.
Consider a standard policy that research fellows be appointed at grade 9 if they start their position with a major external research grant.
Action by funders
Reconsider the decision to fund PhD studentships primarily through large university-administered training programs as this approach can favour established labs.
Consider including PhD studentships in fellowship awards.
Funders should withhold funds from the host institutions if commitments such as lab space or access to facilities is not provided.
Funders should engage with host institutions to monitor the career progression of research fellows, to ensure equal and fair assessment of fellows and lecturers.
Consider a standard policy to recommend that research fellows be appointed at the equivalent of a senior lecturer.
Advice when applying for new PI positions
When visiting an institution that might employ you as a new PI, don't leave anything to chance when discussing what taking up a position at this institution would involve.
Be aware that you are being recruited to become part of a department, so you should fully understand the department's goals and what role you are expected to fill as you join.
Talk details. Ask to see the lab space you will be working in; ask who will provide lab basics like the fridges and freezers; find out what administrative support you will have (ordering, finance, travel bookings).
Talk starting grade/salary, because where you start in the system will impact your future promotions. If you are being appointed as a new lecturer in the UK, negotiate to be appointed at grade 8, moving to grade 9 when you get your first big grant. If you are being appointed as a research fellow and are bringing a big grant with you, negotiate to be appointed as grade 9.
Ask to speak with other new PIs, either in your department or in other departments, to find out how the host institution works and how they were recruited and supported.
Make sure you have a mentor in your department.
Make sure you have an annual review, and that you know the criteria you will need to meet to be promoted (or awarded a proleptic appointment).
Don't assume that the person you are negotiating with has the power or authority to agree to what you are requesting, and be aware that heads of department can change, so be sure to get everything in writing.
Once you start as a new PI, find your peers and talk with them often. Starting a lab can be a lonely business and is very different from being a postdoc, so other new PIs will be your best support network.
The survey was conducted using convenience sampling, with most participants finding out about it through Twitter or forwarded email invitations. The majority of those responding were in the life sciences, in part because of the networks that the survey was circulated around, and partly due to the language used in the survey (the term PI does not have the same meaning in the social sciences, for instance). We do not claim that this is a fully representative sample. However, the sample has a similar gender and nationality breakdown to those reported for the sciences elsewhere (e.g., by the Higher Education Statistics Agency in the UK), and we do feel that it allows us to say important things about at least a significant subgroup of new PIs in the UK.
A pilot version of the survey was originally run with 10–12 volunteers recruited via the UK_NewPI slack group. On the basis of this a number of questions were revised, including changing some definitions, revising categories, and changing the salary question to refer to monetary values rather than pay bands. The revised survey with full questions can be found in Supplementary file 2. The survey was distributed, through the authors networks, via the NewPI slack (both UK and US), the eLife ambassadors mailing list, LinkedIn, and Twitter. In the end, of the 365 respondents, 311 were recruited via Twitter, 11 via email links, 16 via weblinks, and 1 from LinkedIn.
Much of the analysis consists of simple descriptive statistics – that is, looking at the distribution of individual variables. However, where we were interested in the relationship between variables, we used a mix of ordinal logit regressions and chi-squared tests depending on the nature of the relationship being studied (see Supplementary file 1 for details). Ordinal regression allowed us to control for multiple factors, to be more sure that the relationship that we found was not a result of (at least measured) confounding factors, for ordinal outcome variables. Full details of these models (both model estimates and specific variables used in different models) can be found in Supplementary file 1. The models used were as follows:
Ordinal logit regressions, with starting salary (8 bands) as the outcome variable, and gender as the main predictor variable of interest. Control variables include ethnicity (white/non-white), nationality (UK born/not), age, year of appointment, years between PhD and appointment, number of children, and type of appointment (lecturer/research fellow). These models allow us to see what individual factors are most associated with higher and lower salaries on appointment.
Ordinal logit regressions, with 'optimism for the future' as the outcome variable (5-point likert scale). Various combinations of covariates were used including gender, ethnicity, nationality, whether respondent does teaching, starting salary (8 bands) number of grants received, value of grants received, whether respondent is in a Russell group university, whether the respondent has an RA/Tech (3 categories: Own RA, shared RA, no RA), number of PhD students, number of postdocs, years between PhD and PI appointment, year of PI appointment, and type of job (lecturer/fellow). These models allowed us to see what individual factors are most associated with feeling optimistic/pessimistic about their future careers.
Ordinal logit regressions, with 'optimism for the future' as the outcome variable (5-point likert scale). Predictor variables were satisfaction with the lab, the department and the university/institute. The purpose of these models was to show which of those three influenced the respondents' optimism the most.
A Chi squared test of REF year (2013 against all other years) and gender. This revealed the increase in male (but not female) recruitment associated with the REF.
Chi Squared test of type of job (lecturer, senior lecturer, research fellow and other) against amount of teaching (6 categories) vi) An ordinal logit model where the outcome is grant income (5 categories) and the outcome of interest is gender, with control variables of ethnicity (white/non-white), age, year started as a PI, years of postdoctoral experience, number of children, and the year of first appointment as a PI. We also ran the same model as a standard logit model whether the outcome was dichotomised (over one million/less than one million).
Peter Rodgers
Senior Editor; eLife, United Kingdom
Emma Pewsey
Reviewing Editor; eLife, United Kingdom
Amanda N Sferruzzi-Perri
Reviewer; University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
Thank you for submitting your article "The life of P.I. - Transitions to Independence in Academia" for consideration by eLife. Your article has been reviewed by 3 peer reviewers, and the evaluation has been overseen by myself (Emma Pewsey) and the eLife Features Editor, Peter Rodgers. The following individuals involved in review of your submission have agreed to reveal their identity: Amanda N Sferruzzi-Perri (Reviewer #1).
The reviewers have discussed the reviews with one another and the Reviewing Editor has drafted this decision to help you prepare a revised submission. While the list of points to address may seem long and will require major revision of the article, we feel that they will greatly benefit the clarity of the article, and its ability to influence decision-makers. We hope you will be able to submit the revised version within two months.
SUMMARY OF MANUSCRIPT
This is an important and timely topic that should get major spotlight and we congratulate the authors for deciding to tackle it. The paper does a good job of identifying the major struggles of new PIs, and makes some suggestions for how PIs, host institutions and funding agencies can help to prevent these struggles. The opportunity that the findings present to influence senior academics and other decision makers therefore make it crucial that this manuscript is of excellent quality and that it leads to clear conclusions about why and how the situation should change.
LIST OF REQUIRED REVISIONS
1. There are a number of incorrect citations (for example, the in-text citations for the panels of Figure 10 are labelled as Figure 9, and a citation to 14F appears to be for 14G). Also, the 4th sentence in the caption to figure 13 should start: "Fellows (D) and Lecturers (E) were then.. . ". Please check and correct the text and figure captions for issues like these. Please also ensure that all in-text discussion of data that's presented in a figure cites that figure.
2. Please present the findings in a more neutral manner. For example, instead of making a broad statement such as "too many new investigators express frustration", please report on the percentages who are frustrated.
PRESENTATION OF FIGURES
3. The article will be easier to read if the number of figures is reduced. eLife allows the figures in a paper to have figure supplements; the figures appear in both the online and pdf versions; the figure supplements only appear in the online version, but the figure caption makes it clear that the figure supplement are available online. Please combine figures and convert some panels into figure supplements as suggested below.
4. Some panels are not discussed in the text (2C, 6A, 6B, 6D, 6E, 7A, 7B, 9C, 10A, 13B, 13C, 14D, 14E, 14F, 14I, 15A); please either i) delete these or ii) convert them to figure supplements (and make sure they are cited somewhere in the text or the relevant figure caption).
5. The results of yes/no questions (5A, 5B, 5C, 6C, 10B, 10C, 10D, 10E, 12A, 12B, 13A, 14A, 14B) would be better presented by stating the percentage of respondents who answered yes in the text and/or figure caption, and citing the appropriate section of your supporting data file.
6. Please include y-axes and keys for figures where these are missing (including Figures 3, 4, 11).
7. Figure panels 14G and H show the same data, so please convert one to a figure supplement. Also, for 14G, please adjust the y-axis scaling to make it possible to see the data that supports the statement in the text about start-up funds "in the region of £20-60K".
8. Please ensure that the order of the figures matches the order in which they are cited/mentioned in the text.
9. Please present the results of the statistical tests for all the data shown; for example, this is missing from comparisons between female and male PIs and/or lecturers and researcher fellows. Please state the types of statistical tests run for each piece of presented data, with details on how certain confounders were controlled for, as well as detailing any corresponding statistical outcomes.
10. The first sentence of the results states that '...365 respondents represents a significant proportion of new group leaders in the UK.' To support this comment, please state the number of new group leaders in the UK for the period corresponding to the results presented.
11. Please rephrase the final sentence for the second paragraph of the results ('There has been some discussion... in redressing the balance') to make its meaning clearer.
12. Please clarify what Figure 2B represents by describing it in the figure legend; you may also wish to add further clarification in the main text. Should the values for women and men add to 100%? Does this graph show only those that had dependents/caring responsibilities? Does '0' for length of break mean the individual had a dependent but took 0 months off from work? What is the mean and median for the data for each gender? How does this relate to the number of dependents per respondent? Furthermore, the panel shows possibly 1 or 2 men taking very long periods of leave, which does not appear to support the statement in the text that '... fathers are also taking significant periods of leave and sharing childcare responsibilities.' Please clarify.
13. Please provide the data supporting the following sentence: 'It was also encouraging to find that having dependents did not affect satisfaction ratings or optimism scores for either females or males'; the data presented is not separated by sex.
14. Instead of stating that the proportion of lecturers to research fellows captured in the study was roughly equal, please state the exact percentages.
15. The comments about research fellows being based at Russell group universities (bottom of page 3) seems to reflect that these universities first recruit individuals as research fellows (rather than as lecturers), as shown in Figure 5D. Please discuss this in the text.
16. Could the data presented in Fig 8 and 15 also relate to when career breaks may occur for a women (which we know are for longer periods)? Was information collected about the timing of leave with regard to the trajectory of the respondent's career paths? In regards to 8C, could this be related to men asking for more money for each grant compared to women? Could a calculation be made to determine whether the amount awarded per grant varied between women and men?
17. Based on the data presented in 9B and C, women have the larger loads for teaching and committees. Please discuss this, as these data may be related to the finding that women also secure fewer grants and have small lab sizes - as they are simply over-committing themselves to, or are more commonly tasked with, non-research activities.
18. The sentence 'New PIs should also be aware that supervision of master's students and PhD students would also count as teaching contribution', is not strictly true for all universities. There are differences in what universities classify as part of a teaching load.
19. Please check that the data presented in 10C does correspond to the sentence stating 'Nearly 18% of externally funded fellows reported not having an.. .'.
20. The statement '...participated by submitting projects to up to 5-6 in some cases (Fig 14C).' does not agree with the data shown in Figure 14C.
21. Please show the data that supports the statement that '...lecturers were the least satisfied with worklife balance compared to research fellows'.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVED SUPPORT OF NEW PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS
22. Many of the advice points are not related to issues arising from the data. It would instead be more compelling to discuss recommendations directly related to the data and/or to discuss sources that may support the potential effectiveness of these solutions. The article would also be strengthened by more recommendations that new PIs can act on regardless of host support. For example when mentioning that mentorship to new PIs is not ideal, you could direct readers to resources for effective use of mentorship.
23. For the actions by host institutions, could you recommend anything related to the observations that there are clear gender differences in salary and start-ups, as well as recruitment around the REF?
24. Please explain the rationale for suggesting different grades for research fellows and university-funded fellows (action points 7 and 8 for host institutions).
METHODS AND SUPPORTING DATA
25. Please expand the methods section to give full details of the nature of the items included in the survey and explain why these were chosen, the pilot testing and revision process, the specific definition of the sought respondents, and the recruitment strategy used. Please also refer the reader to the document of the final survey questions.
26. Please provide a supporting data file that clearly states the number and percentages of respondents to each option in the survey, broken down by gender and lecturer/fellow as appropriate.
[Editors' note: further editorial revisions were requested prior to acceptance, and these revisions resulted in changes to the numbering of the figures.]
We repeat the reviewers' points here in italic, and include our replies point by point, as well as a description of the changes made, in Roman.
REPLY: The figure panels and numbering have all been updated to address edit suggested below. The text has been edited to reflect all of these changes. Many panels have also been removed from the main figures to streamline the manuscript, and now form supplements for each main figure.
REPLY: We have edited the text with this comment in mind, all changes are tracked in the submitted text document. We have deleted statements such above, and replaced with numbers from the data collected.
REPLY: We have rearranged all of the figures to streamline the manuscript
Please see table of rearranged figures below
REPLY: Please see table of rearranged figures below
REPLY: This is now changed. Please see table of rearranged figures below for updated figure numbering.
Figure in manuscript
Reviewer suggested actions
Final Figure numbering
Figure 1A - gender Figure 1B
Figure 1B - nationality Figure 1C
Figure 1C - age DELETED
Figure 1D - race Figure 1D
Figure 1E - dependents Figure 1-figure supplement 2A
Figure 1F - field Figure 1A
Figure 2A - postdoc experience Figure 1E
Figure 2B - career breaks Figure 1-figure supplement 2B
Figure 2C - age at independence discuss or delete Figure 1-figure supplement 1
Figure 3 - mobility Figure 2
Figure 4 - satisfaction Figure 3
Figure 5A - full time/part time delete Figure 1 - figure supplement 2C
Figure 5B - uni or inst delete DELETED
Figure 5C - russell delete DELETED
Figure 5D - first job Figure 4A
Figure 6A - advertised port discuss or delete DELETED
Figure 6B - position created discuss or delete DELETED
Figure 6C - moved to start group delete Figure 2 - figure suplement 1
Figure 6D - previous in current dept discuss or delete DELETED
Figure 6E - probation period discuss or delete DELETED
Figure 7A - £ required discuss or delete Figure 4B
Figure 7B - external fellowhsip discuss or delete DELETED
Figure 7C - external funding Figure 4C
Figure 8A - grant success by year Figure 5A
Figure 8B - grants recieved Figure 5B
Figure 8C - grant income Figure 5C
Figure 8D - starting salary Figure 5D
Figure 9A - teaching Figure 6A
Figure 9B - contact hours Figure 6B
Figure 9C - committees discuss or delete Figure 6C
Figure 10A - dept size discuss or delete DELETED
Figure 10B - mentor delete DELETED
Figure 10C - annual review delete DELETED
Figure 10D - union member delete DELETED
Figure 10E - fellows meetings delete DELETED
Figure 11 - mentoring Figure 7
Figure 12A - proleptic appointment delete DELETED
Figure 12B - proleptic in place delete DELETED
Figure 13A - clear criteria delete DELETED
Figure 13B - promotion criteria discuss or delete DELETED
Figure 13C - proleptic offered discuss or delete Figure 8 - figure supplement 1A
Figure 13D - fellows porleptic Figure 8 - figure supplement 1B
Figure 13E - lecturerers promotion DELETED
Figure 14A - PhD student delete DELETED
Figure 14B - PhD programmes delete DELETED
Figure 14C - number of programmes Figure 8 - figure supplement 2
Figure 14D - facility access discuss or delete DELETED
Figure 14E - lab space discuss or delete DELETED
Figure 14F - start up funds discuss or delete DELETED
Figure 14G - start up amount point 7 DELETED
Figure 14H - start up amount point 7 Figure 8
Figure 14I - lab space funds discuss or delete DELETED
Figure 15A - PhDs to completion discuss or delete DELETED
Figure 15B - PhD students Figure 9A
Figure 15C - postdocs Figure 9B
Figure 15D - RA/tech Figure 9C
Figure 15E - group size Figure 9D
Figure 16 Figure 10
NEW respond to point 16 NEW Figure 1 - figure supplement 2D
NEW responding to point 21 NEW Figure 9 - figure supplement 1
NEW to go with "It was also encouraging to find that having dependants did not affect satisfaction ratings or optimism scores for either male or female PIs." NEW Figure 3 - figure supplement 1
NEW Grade level appointed at - was previously missing NEW Figure 5 - figure supplement 1B
NEW Starting salary for Lecturere's Fellow - see CT comment on line 201 NEW Figure 5 - figure supplement 1A
REPLY: The methods section has been extended and updated, changes are tracked in the attached document. We now also include. xls files for each graph shown, which makes clear the total numbers for each category/response.
REPLY: We have been unable to find a total number of PIs in the UK, this statement was based on estimates knowing the approximate number of fellowships awarded by each of the larger funding bodies per cycle. However, we would be happy to remove this statement if required.
REPLY: Please see tracked changes in the attached text.
REPLY: Figure 2 B has been edited and now forms part of the supplement for figure 1. We do not have data for the number of dependents per respondent, this was sometimes supplied in the comments but we are unable to break the data down in this way.
REPLY: This data is now included as a supplement to figure 3, split by gender as requested.
REPLY: This has now been addressed
REPLY: This has now been addressed, please see tracked changes
REPLY: We did not collect data regarding the timing of leave with the career trajectory, although this would be an interesting question. We also did not ask for grant amount per application, and since this would vary greatly depending on the type of grant it would not be possible to draw concrete conclusions. It would be very interesting to ask funders to look at the grant amount awarded split male to female.
REPLY: We have edited this please see tracked changes
REPLY: This figure has now been removed from the manuscript
REPLY: This data has been move to Figure 8 - figure supplement 2, and the text has been edited to match the plots.
REPLY: This is now shown in a new figure supplement - NEW Figure 9 - figure supplement 1
REPLY: Please see tracked changes, we note that peer-peer mentorship can be extremely important and an excellent source of support.
REPLY: Having discussed this with our host departments this is a very difficult issue to address, as they require a degree of flexibility in starting salary in order to recruit their favoured candidates who may have other offers.
REPLY: University funded fellowships are generally a scheme to bring in potential candidates for career development fellowships, so within our peer group this is generally viewed as a stepping stone towards independence which is solidified when external funding is awarded.
REPLY: Please see tracked changes, we have added detail to this section
REPLY: We have uploaded the supporting data for each plot now shown, broken down as presented.
Sophie E Acton
Sophie E Acton is a Cancer Research UK career development fellow in the MRC Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology, University College London, United Kingdom
Conceptualization, Data curation, Investigation, Writing—original draft, Writing—review and editing
s.acton@ucl.ac.uk
"This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0003-2704-716X
Andrew JD Bell
Andrew JD Bell is a lecturer in the Sheffield Methods Institute, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
Software, Formal analysis, Validation, Methodology, Writing—review and editing
andrew.j.d.bell@sheffield.ac.uk
Christopher P Toseland
Christopher P Toseland is an MRC Career Development awardee in the Department of Oncology and Metabolism, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
c.toseland@sheffield.ac.uk
Alison Twelvetrees
Alison Twelvetrees is a Vice Chancellor's fellow in the Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
Conceptualization, Data curation, Visualization, Writing—original draft, Writing—review and editing
a.twelvetrees@sheffield.ac.uk
We thank all the members of UK_NewPI slack group for active discussion, honesty and productive practical suggestions for improvement which could be made to ease this difficult career stage. Email one of the authors if you would like to join this group. Thank you also to Dr Yanlan Mao (MRC LMCB, University College London) and Dr Ian Sudbery (University of Sheffield) for input on the structure and content of the survey questions, and to the MRC LMCB Athena Swan and EDIC committee for their discussions and engagement in this project. Thank you the #eLIFEAmbassadors who have supported this project and thank you to the funders and universities who have engaged with us throughout the analysis and are enthusiastic to listen and to make change.
Human subjects: Participants were invited to respond to the survey under the understanding that only summary data would be used or presented. We collected no identifying information and as such all responses are anonymous. Having sought the advice of the UCL ethics committee we are informed that our study is exempt from the need for ethics approval under the following category: "Research involving the use of non-sensitive, completely anonymous educational tests, survey and interview procedures when the participants are not defined as 'vulnerable' and participation will not induce undue psychological stress or anxiety."
Peter Rodgers, eLife, United Kingdom
Emma Pewsey, eLife, United Kingdom
Amanda N Sferruzzi-Perri, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
Accepted: August 5, 2019
Version of Record published: September 20, 2019 (version 1)
© 2019, Acton et al.
careers in science
NewPI
Listen to Sophie Acton discuss how new group leaders feel across the UK
What are the experiences of new PIs and group leaders in the UK, and what could be done to better support them?


text:
Tired Teens More Likely to Commit Crimes as Adults
We already know from previous research that teens who self-report feeling drowsy mid-afternoon also tend to exhibit more anti-social behavior such as lying, cheating, stealing and fighting. Startling new research now shows that those same teens are 4.5 times more likely to commit violent crimes a decade and a half later.
"It's the first study to our knowledge to show that daytime sleepiness during teenage years are associated with criminal offending 14 years later," said Adrian Raine from the University of Pennsylvania.
He and Peter Venables, from the United Kingdom's University of York, published their findings in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.
Raine had collected the data for this work 39 years earlier but had never analyzed it. Recently, he began noticing cross-sectional studies, those that analyze multiple behaviors at a single point in time, connecting sleep and behavioral problems in children. He dug out his old dissertation work to look for a link between these and illegal behavior in adulthood.
"A lot of the prior research focused on sleep problems, but in our study we measured, very simply, how drowsy the child is during the day," Raine said.
To get at this information, he tested 101 15-year-old boys from three secondary schools in the north of England. At the start and end of each lab session, which always ran from 1 to 3 p.m., he asked participants to rate their degree of sleepiness on a 7-point scale, with 1 being "unusually alert" and 7 being "sleepy." He also measured brain-wave activity and sweat-rate responses to stimuli, which indicates the level of attention a person pays to a tone being played over headphones. This represents brain-attentional function, Raine said.
Next he collected data about anti-social behavior, both self-reported from the study participants, as well as from two or three teachers who had worked with each teen for at least four years.
Finally, Raine conducted a computerized search at the Central Criminal Records Office in London to suss out which of the original 101 had a criminal record at age 29. Excluding minor violations, focusing instead on violent crimes and property offenses and only those crimes for which participants were convicted, the researchers learned that 17 percent of participants had committed a crime by that point in adulthood.
With these data in hand, Raine also incorporated the study participants' socioeconomic status. He found a connection.
"Is it the case that low social class and early social adversity results in daytime drowsiness, which results in inattention or brain dysfunction, which results 14 years later in crime? The answer's yes," he said. "Daytime drowsiness is associated with poor attention. Take poor attention as a proxy for poor brain function. If you've got poor brain functioning, you're more likely to be criminal."
The researchers stress that drowsiness in and of itself doesn't always predispose a teenage boy to becoming anti-social. And many children with sleep problems do not become lawbreakers. But the researchers did find that those with sleepiness and a greater frequency of anti-social behavior during teenage years had higher odds of a life of crime later.
Knowing this could potentially help with a simple treatment plan for children with behavioral issues: Recommend they get more sleep at night.
Source: News Release
It's Official, Everyone Skimps on Sleep
Too Much Sleep Could Predict Dementia

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How to Drive in Snow Safely?
To drive safely when it is snowing, you need to know the common mistakes most of the people commit when they drive in snow and then tips that will rectify the mistakes.
In winter, more snow fall occurs and the roads are entirely filled with snow and you can't see the roads properly. The roads may have some pot-holes and patch works which may cause accidents or land you in trouble when you drive fast. This is the a mistake that most of the people especially, youth do ignoring the condition of the road condition, or weather.
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Driving when it's snow is extremely dangerous. However, following these tips, you can have a safe drive in snow. You can also take your own precautions that you feel better.


text:
Crowded Hospitals
Ann Arbor Argus-Democrat, February 3, 1899
The Grand Rapids Herald correspondent in Ann Arbor, has the following to say about the hospital faoilities and general library of the university. He evidently believes that the institution belongs to the whole people of tbe state. Eight years ago the newspaper correspondents were -writing about the completion of the new hospitals of the University of Michigan; today they are writing about their crowded condition and the want of room. This shows how well the expenditure of the money has been appreciated by the people of the state. As the country becomes more enlightened, the more do th citizens of the state realize that a modern hospital is not only the best, but also the most comfortable place at which to be sick. Every citizen of the state, be he or she ever so poor, is entitled to admission to the hospitals, upon the order of the directors of the poor or supervisors. The district from which sucb patiënt comes has only the expense of transportation and board, which is $5 per week. This covers not only treatment but also surgical operations. At the present time, both the allopathic and homeopathio hospitals are so f uil that beds must be engaged in advance. The question of asking of the legislature by tbe university authorities for more buildings is not yet decided, as some other matters seem more important, but it wonld not be out of the way if the legislature insisted upon more hospital room. The university bindery in charge of Will Hollands has proved a very good investment. There is a large amount of binding and all delays through sending books, files of newspapers and pamphlets away, is now avoided, and ;he binding is well done. Some years ago at the meeting of the Michigan Editorial Association a resoution was passed that each editor present the general library with a file 3f his paper. Many editors have done so, but there are still many who have aot. Sending files of papers, old books, pamphlets, etc, to the general library means that these donations are bound ind placed in fire proof vanlts, always iccessible to the students and general public.
Ann Arbor Argus-Democrat


text:
Q: How to include CSS in mail template in core PHP? I have created mail template in html

test.html

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    <title>Easy Donation</title>

Easy Donation Receipt

Thanks For Donating!

            First Name:
            {{test}}

            Last Name:
            {{test}}

Internal CSS

mail.php

$to = "example@gmail.com";
$subject = "Example test";
$message = file_get_contents("test.html");
// Always set content-type when sending HTML email
$headers = "MIME-Version: 1.0" . "\r\n";
$headers .= "Content-type:text/html;charset=UTF-8" . "\r\n";

mail($to,$subject,$message,$headers);

It is working fine I am getting mail but the style sheet (Internal CSS) is not applying in mail template.
Thanks in advance.

A: a quick solution for that is to put your html code directly in a php variable like this:
$my_var = <<<EOT

<meta charset="utf-8">
<title>Easy Donation</title>

Easy Donation Receipt

Thanks For Donating!

        First Name:
        {{test}}

        Last Name:
        {{test}}

EOT;

It works all the time. Also just put your css in the head section.

A: Try to write inline css.
Example:

A: Internal CSS may not work in all mail portal, Therefore it is better way to add inline css as per requirement. It will work. For example:

--Body element--

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text:
Epstein: Zobrist could return to Cubs this season
4yJesse Rogers
10hTristan H. Cockcroft
10hESPN Fantasy
Jesse RogersESPN Staff Writer
Jesse joined ESPN Chicago in September 2009 and covers MLB for ESPN.com.
LOS ANGELES -- Chicago Cubs president Theo Epstein said there's a path for veteran Ben Zobrist to return to the team before the end of the season.
"There's been a little definition added to how he hopes this thing might go," Epstein said on Thursday before the Cubs played the Los Angeles Dodgers. "I've been in constant touch with Zobrist. He knows the door is open. I think he's got an idea in mind on how he would like this to go, but his priorities are clear -- that's family first."
Zobrist, 38, has been on the restricted list since May 7 for what was described as personal reasons. Soon after, both he and his wife, Julianna, filed for divorce. The couple have three kids.
Zobrist has been in touch with the team throughout the process and recently reached out to his teammates. If he returns to the Cubs it's likely to be late in the season, potentially in September, according to one source.
"Certainly the door is open and the possibility of a return is there for him later in the season," Epstein said. "We'll see how things evolve. We'd all love to see him back here and he would love to be back. We'll see if that can come to fruition."
Zobrist is in the final year of a four-year deal with the Cubs. He was a few days late to spring training, also for personal reasons, then was scratched from the team's game on May 6 before going on the restricted list. Despite the news of the possibility of return, Epstein isn't committing Zobrist to anything just yet.
"Nothing has been determined," Epstein said.


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text:
Lives & Legacies
Stories from George Washington's Ferry Farm and Historic Kenmore
Washington House Construction
Lecture – Drinking with the Washingtons: Archaeological Evidence of Colonial Imbibing at Ferry Farm [Video]
May 9, 2019 / ferryfarmandkenmore
On Tuesday, May 7, 2019, Archaeologist Mara Kaktins, Ceramics & Glass Specialist at The George Washington Foundation, presented a lecture titled "Drinking with the Washingtons: Archaeological Evidence of Colonial Imbibing at Ferry Farm." Mara explored a wide variety of beverage-related artifacts from teawares to punch bowls and discussed how cups and glasses reflected efforts by Mary Washington to demonstrate the family's economic status and refinement.
Join us on Tuesday, May 14, 2019 for "Food in the Eighteenth Century" when Deborah Lawton, Park Ranger at George Washington Birthplace National Monument, will explore the new dishes and changing tastes that marked the foodways of the eighteenth century. Talk begins at 7:00 p.m. The lecture is FREE and hosted at the Fredericksburg branch of the Central Rappahannock Regional Library at 1201 Caroline Street, Fredericksburg, Virginia. To learn more, visit http://www.kenmore.org.
"It is Indeed Bad to Eat Apples. It is Better to Make Them All Cider": When Cider Reigned Supreme in America
November 22, 2017 November 21, 2017 / ferryfarmandkenmore
"It is indeed bad to eat apples. It is better to make them all cider" — Benjamin Franklin
Name a beverage consumed by all age groups, men and women alike, the poor and the very rich, from sun up to sun down, that is touted as healthy and refreshing yet also contains alcohol. If you were a colonial American, the answer was hard cider. In America's early days, cider reigned supreme and, even though the beverage is currently enjoying a resurgence in popularity, consumption of cider is nowhere near as high as it was during George Washington's lifetime. To better understand early Americans' obsession with cider, one must go back to the first European colonization of America (What a great idea! Let's do that).
It's the early 17th century and colonists are trying to make their new home a bit more like their old home. One sure way to do this is to bring over plants to grow the food you already like. Sometimes, this doesn't work very well (grapes, for example) but, sometimes, the introduced species thrive in their new environment. Such was the case with apples. Technically, there are already two varieties of crabapple native to the Americas but these are not especially good eating compared to domesticated apple varieties in Europe. Ultimately, the apple became such a popular cultivar, some land grants stipulated that to claim legal ownership you had to plant apple trees to prove you intended to stay and improve the land.
"Still Life with Apples, Grapes and a Pot of Jam" (1700s) by Luis Meléndez. Credit: Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya / Wikipedia
That North American climate and soil was well suited to apples was especially fortuitous since colonists were also looking for things to ferment into alcohol. Alcohol was a large part of their diet, and it just so happens that apples lend themselves very well to this end. Think about it, in addition to providing fresh fruit, apples could be dried for storage, fed to livestock in the fall to fatten them before butchering, made into apple cider vinegar which is both useful for medicinal purposes but also a key ingredient for pickling, one of the most common preservative methods at the time, and finally turned into lots of yummy fermented beverages like, apple brandy, and applejack (we'll talk about this interesting drink a bit later), and cider..
Making apple cider is very simple, and it's even simpler to make hard cider. In fact, left to their own devices, apples practically ferment themselves since they are covered with wild yeast that loves to eat sugar and throw off alcohol as a pleasant byproduct. So, colonists didn't have to work very hard to turn perishable cider into hard cider, which could be stored longer. Furthermore, if you expose hard cider to oxygen for too long, it will naturally turn into vinegar. What's not to love?
"Cider Making" (c.1840) by William Sydney Mount. Credit: Metropolitan Museum of Art / Wikipedia.
Did I mention how much cider was consumed during the colonial period? It should be noted that even though it did contain alcohol it wasn't necessarily considered an alcoholic drink. John Adams drank a large glass of cider every morning (yep) and fancied himself an abstainer of strong drink. Cider was described as healthy and a thirst quencher, likely owing to the slight carbonation which is also a byproduct of fermentation. Children regularly consumed hard cider, which isn't nearly as horrific as it sounds when you take into account that it had a low ABV of around 3% and this probably made it safer to drink that most water available.
However, children were not encouraged to partake of cider's much bigger and somewhat brutish brother, applejack. Applejack resulted when you allowed hard cider to freeze and removed the frozen water crystals, leaving the concentrated alcohol behind. The more times this simple distillation process was repeated the stronger the applejack becomes. This method also does little to remove impurities contained within the cider so the result can be a very high octane skull splitter, which was still much beloved of colonials.
Although cider was a very common drink, it could also be elevated to gourmet status. Just as wine drinking has advanced to a fine art, with enthusiasts who obsess over the distinctive notes each grape produces under distinctive growing conditions, so did gentry colonists enjoy comparing fine ciders from different regions and varieties of apples. Much was made of the 'terroir' of ciders, or the climate, soil, and landscape where the apples were produced. Modern varieties of apples are much different than those available three hundred years ago so it's interesting to ponder over the distinct flavors colonial ciders would have had, especially given that they had access to a wider variety of apples than we do today. There were thousands of varieties available across the colonies and early Republic producing thousands of distinct ciders. So perhaps the saying should not be 'As American as apple pie' but rather 'As American as apple cider'.
Mara Kaktins, Archaeologist
Ceramics & Glass Specialist
Brown, John Hull. Early American Beverages. Bonanza Books, New York. 1966
Grasse, Steven. Colonial Spirits. Abrams Image, New York. 2016
Oliver, Sandra L. Food in Colonial And Federal America. Greenwood Press, London. 2005
Root, Waverly and Richard De Rochemont. Eating In America. The Ecco Press. 1995
George's Hometown: Julian's Tavern
September 29, 2017 September 29, 2017 / ferryfarmandkenmore
As George Washington's Ferry Farm prepares to celebrate the reconstruction of the Washington house, we traveled around George's hometown – Fredericksburg, Virginia – to visit a few places important in the transformation of George from boy to man.
Besides learning to survey and receiving his formal schooling, young George Washington also pursued an education in the social graces valued in gentry circles while a young man at Ferry Farm. These social graces included dancing, fencing, horseback riding, and gentlemen's games like cards. Card-playing was a popular pastime in the taverns that Washington frequented all across Virginia.
On one occasion – Christmas Eve 1769 – adult George passed the evening at Julian's Tavern in Fredericksburg with Edward Jones, the overseer of Ferry Farm. This tavern was located at the corner of present-day Amelia and Caroline Streets.
You can ready more about when Washington returned to his hometown for Christmas in 1769 by clicking here.
Join us at the Washington House Celebration on Saturday, October 7, 2017 from 12:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. to celebrate the construction of the Washington house! A special ribbon-cutting ceremony will begin at 1:30 p.m. featuring notable speakers. After the ceremony, guests will be invited to view the reconstructed Washington house! Parking for the event is off site at the VRE Fredericksburg Park and Ride Lot G at the corner of Prince Edward Street and Frederick Street. Limited handicap parking is available at Ferry Farm. Buses will transport guests to and from Ferry Farm. The Washington House Celebration is a free event and RSVPs are not required.
Drinking Vessels and Their Drinks
May 11, 2016 / ferryfarmandkenmore
The goal of studying archaeological artifacts and, indeed, the goal of studying history more broadly is to understand the people who lived in the past both in the small moments and in the times of monumental change. Something as ordinary as the beverages people drank and the objects from which they drank reveal what life was like in the past. In this post, we examine three popular beverages, the vessels used to drink them, and their historical significance.
Tea: In the 18th century English speaking world, tea was synonymous with high society. Not only was the tea itself expensive (since it was shipped from across the globe) but the entire culture around tea was costly. One could not serve tea without a proper tea service or equipage. The first English references to tea come from early 17th century English merchants abroad in Asia. However, tea wouldn't enjoy universal English adoration until later in the century when Charles II married Princess Catherine of Braganza of Portugal in 1662 and brought the practice from Europe into England. From then on, tea represented wealth and high society wherever the English went, including across the Atlantic. Over a hundred years later, however, Parliament inadvertently changed tea's beloved status amongst their North American colonists as colonists boycotted the drink to show their displeasure with the mother country's rule. Even with that change, tea remained a highly-prized status symbol among many and even inspired some Americans to create 'Liberty Teas' from locally grown herbs and fruits.
Like the tea itself, teawares (the vessels in which tea was prepared and served) were fashionable and reflected societal trends. Well-to-do families like the Lewises of Historic Kenmore exhibited their finest teawares and were expected to update their china cabinet with the most stylish wares they could afford. Silver topped the list followed by porcelain. If those were lacking, elaborately decorated and finely potted stone and earthenwares would do in a pinch. At the end of the Revolution, Fielding and Betty Lewis were reeling from wartime expenses so their teawares likely resembled this lovely creamware piece with a delicate strawberry flower at the base of the handle. While not the most expensive teaware at the time, this molded creamware exhibited good taste and was suitable for the Lewis family to use while serving tea to their guests.
Punch: Much like tea, punch was also a status symbol in the 18th century. A punch's different ingredients usually came from all over the world and were therefore quite expensive. Punch is first written about by 17th century English sailors. The word 'punch' is believed to come from the Hindustani word 'paanstch', meaning 'five', and may explain why historic punches have 5 parts: sweet, sour, strong, weak, and spice. Typically, the sweet was sugar, the sour was a citrus fruit such as lemons, limes, or oranges, the weak was water or tea, the strong was alcohols like rum or whiskey, and the spices could be nutmeg or cinammon. These 5-parts allowed punch to be made from any number of ingredients and to take on unique identities and flavors. Punches varied greatly between taverns and recipes (receipts) were closely guarded secrets. What was not flexible was the necessity of punch. Colonials could hardly have an elegant ball, a large celebration, or even a small get-together without the ubiquitous drink.
As with tea, imbibing punch was a communal event requiring fancy equipage. The bowls themselves ranged from elaborately decorated to elegantly simple and came in many sizes. The smallest served a single individual while grand bowls served lavish parties with dozens of tipplers. Some bowls even conveyed political opinions or leveled jokes at members of society. Suitable for a modest gathering of friends, this tin-glazed punch bowl displayed at Kenmore was owned by the family during their more prosperous pre-war days. By the time they moved to Kenmore, however, this cheerfully hand-painted bowl was falling out of fashion. Tin-glaze was less refined than later wares and was easily chipped and cracked, making it less desirable.
Fortified wine: In 18th century America, fortified wine reigned supreme. Lacking our own wine industry, despite the best efforts of Thomas Jefferson and others to establish wine grapes in the colonies, we relied on imported wines from Europe. Because of the ocean journey, fortified wines such as Madeira, port, and sherry became very popular. These wines shared one thing in common: The fermentation process was halted by the addition of brandy. This upped the alcohol content considerably and made the wine portable over long distances. Most wines prefer a quiet life in a cool environment. Fortified varieties, however, thrive on chaos and age better when subjected to extremes of temperature, humidity, and constant sloshing around in the belly of a huge ship. These choice wines even exhibited labels documenting their torturous journeys. Wines that traveled south of the equator before eventually making their way up the coast to the colonies were especially prized. Once a fortified wine found its way into a household, it was likely stored in an attic or on a portico, where it would continue to improve while battered by cold winters and sweltering heat.
Today, fortified wines are considered desert wines to be consumed after dinner. The colonists, however, needed no such excuse to pop open a bottle of fine Madeira. They did, however, traditionally drink these more potent wines from smaller glasses. This lovely lead glass example is hand-blown and engraved using a copper wheel. Probably manufactured in England in the late 1700s, one can only imagine the delicious wines it once held!
Joe Ziarko
Manager of Interpretation & Visitor Services
George Toasts George?
March 18, 2015 March 18, 2015 / ferryfarmandkenmore
At George Washington's Ferry Farm we've just wrapped up a ceramic mending project. We explain how and why we undertake these mending projects in this post. Our most recent effort focused on Westerwald stonewares owned by the Washington family. Stoneware is a high-fired, non-porous ceramic that is excellent for producing storage containers and drinking vessels. But what is a Westerwald, you may ask? Well, Westerwald stonewares were a ceramic produced in the Westerwald region of what is now Germany beginning in the 1500s. Destined for the British Isles and British colonial markets, this particular ceramic is common to archaeological sites in the Chesapeake region.
Westerwalds were salt-glazed, meaning that during the firing process large quantities of salt were introduced into the kiln. The salt vitrified (converted into a glass-like substance) upon contact with the vessels, producing a shiny glaze and a characteristic 'orange peel' texture on the surface of the pots. Decorated predominantly with molded and incised designs that are filled with bright cobalt blue and deep purple, Westerwalds are strikingly beautiful.
Jug with a bird motif.
We've learned a great deal from analyzing the Westerwalds used by the Washingtons. Many of the vessels identified in the Ferry Farm assemblage were tankards, jugs, and other drinking vessels from which beverages such as ale and cider, a large part of the colonial diet, were consumed. Some tankard handles we've excavated have small holes at the top, where a pewter lid — a distinguishing characteristic of German-made steins — was attached. These lids often do not survive in the archaeological record because the metal had value. Rather than being discarded, the pewter was often recycled.
In addition to being aesthetically pleasing, Westerwald drinking vessels often served a political purpose. An excellent example of this is to be found within our assemblage of Westerwalds in the form of multiple mugs emblazoned with the initials 'G.R.', meaning Georgius Rex, the Latin for King George. During the time Westerwalds were produced in Germany, three British kings were named George. Interestingly, however, all three came from the House of Hanover, a German royal family placed on the British throne in 1714. For Americans, of course, the most famous of these Hanover kings was George III.
Sprig decorated G.R. medallion on a jug fragment.
Thus, a gentleman sporting a 'G.R.' on his tankard or jug advertised his loyalty to the Crown with every draught of ale. A night of drinking involved numerous toasts "To the King's Health!" It was not unheard of for dozens of toasts to be recited for the king, his family, and anyone else of political interest the imbibers saw fit to honor. Toasts and drinking vessels were also utilized to express disagreement with political powers. Politics and drinking definitely went hand-in-hand in the colonies. Once George Washington became a public figure, there were toasts such as "To General Washington, and victory to the American arms!" to honor him.
The presence of these initialed Westerwalds at Ferry Farm show that until the Revolution the Washington family, like most Americans, viewed themselves as loyal subjects of the British Crown. Indeed, many families in Fredericksburg would have owned such mugs and toasted their monarch prior to the war. In fact, several 'G.R.' vessels have also been excavated at Historic Kenmore, the home of George Washington's sister, Betty. The people of Ferry Farm, Kenmore, and Fredericksburg found their daily lives governed by Britain's global economy and imperial culture. Colonial men – whether gentry, tradesman, or servants – pursued homes, professions, pleasures, and possessions that conveyed their status, wealth, and English identities. One such possession that emphasized this identity was Westerwald drinking vessels.
Hollowware fragments with an unknown motif.
One has to wonder what became of these mugs once the Revolution began. Did Loyalists quietly stash away some of their 'G.R.' mugs once the tide of war went against them? Perhaps some tankards and jugs were smashed publically by Patriots in a ritual different from their intended purpose of toasting but no less a political act than those toasts had been. Nevertheless, it is intriguing to picture a young George Washington drinking heartily from a 'G.R.' mug and toasting a king against whom he would lead a revolution.
Mara Kaktins
Archaeologist/Ceramics & Glass Specialist
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www.kenmore.org
The Rooms at Kenmore
Follow the refurnishing project at Historic Kenmore on The Rooms at Kenmore blog.
George Washington's Ferry Farm
Fredericksburg, Virginia 22405
Historic Kenmore


Developer: Ed Mary Investments Ltd. and Ay Ilan Levy properties Ltd.
Residential neighborhood at the southern entry to Zefat, near Nof Kineret neighborhood, planned on the ridge overlooking the view of the Galilee and the Kineret.
Sincere there are natural reservation south and north and the importance of the area, being an ecological corridor to wild life which pass between the reservations, the neighborhood planned in a way that it will function as a connecting point between the two reservations. It is planned so that in western end of the site, where road 8900 bends, a small valley will be dug wide enough for free passage for wild life.
It is planned so that alongside there will be a wide green boulevard from the eastern end to the valley. On the tallest point on the ridge near the valley, an overlooking hotel is planned.


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import org.powerbot.script.ClientContext; //methodcontext

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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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Three powerful Porsche models battle it out on the track (VIDEO)
Porsche staged a race involving the Taycan Turbo-electric car, the 911 GT3 RS sports car, and the 911 GT3 Cup GT3 Cup track car.
The company held the race at Sandown International Raceway near Melbourne, Australia.
Professional drivers drove the Porsche cars. Two heats were held, in which Taycan started 3.4 seconds earlier and GT3 RS 2 seconds earlier. The electric car finished first in both cases.
By the way, the Taycan is Porsche's first production electric car. The electric vehicle's entry-level version has two versions: a 530-horsepower version with a 79.2 kWh battery pack and a 571-horsepower version with a 93.4 kWh battery pack. Top performances are also available in two versions; 680 hp and 500 kW and 761 hp and 560 kW. The electric saloon has a top speed of 260 km/h.
Porsche news
Porsche pictures 4379
Mitsubishi Vision Ralliart


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New efforts to change stereotypes and encourage African American young men
UWM is working to change the stereotypes and the prospects for young African American males through a collaborative effort called the African American Male Initiative. "This effort is a merger of two initiatives aimed at black youth to help them be successful," says Jim Hill, associate vice chancellor for Student Affairs. The collaboration grows out of Saving Black Boys – an initiative that Gary L. Williams, director of the Black Cultural Center and the Institute for Intercultural Research, started at UWM several years ago – and efforts on the part of Student Affairs to recruit and retain African American males and assure they graduate. Williams' initiative, which included a forum in 2012 and a summit for African American Youth in 2013, aimed to address challenges such as a soaring high school dropout rate, a pipeline that often ran straight from school to jail for many; few job opportunities; and a society that often viewed these young men as intimidating or uneducable. The goal of AAMI is to combine the efforts of UWM faculty, staff and students with those of other community initiatives to engage and empower the community to change biases and empower these young men to help reshape their future. This year the group is joining with the city of Milwaukee, Community Advocates, Center for Youth Engagement, and many other community organizations to host a kick off for Boys and Men of Color Week (Oct. 26- Nov. 1). This opening event will be at 10:30 a.m., Monday, Oct. 27, in the UWM Student Union Ballroom. The AAMI is also planning another summit on Dec. 17, anticipating that 600 middle and high school young men will attend. In addition to the Division of Student Affairs, UWM's African American Student Support Services, Black Cultural Center, Institute for Intercultural Research and Inclusive Excellence Center are all involved in the efforts. And, a new group, Brother to Brother, will involve UWM students in outreach and mentoring to African American high school students. In addition to MPS, the Wauwatosa, Racine and other local districts have requested information, says Hill. "These young men can talk to students about making the transformation from high school to college." One of the key supports UWM can provide to these efforts is the research and evaluation component, says Hill. "With the limited resources available, it's important to find out what's working and what's not." Related research projects on black male joblessness, black male incarceration and organizing local resources and priorities are already underway through the Center for 21st Century Studies, the Research Center for Urban Education Leadership, the UWM Center for Economic Development and the Employment and Training Institute It's also vital that UWM builds a connection with these young men, says Williams. "They need to see that they have options and there are people who care for them and who can provide them with what they need to have success." The AAMI group would eventually like to expand its efforts to include Latino young men. "The percentage points may differ, but young black and brown men face many of the same challenges. They're not graduating from high school and too many are involved with the criminal justice system, Hill notes" The committee leadership for the AAMI effort includes members from a variety of different areas of campus. They are: Decoteau Irby, assistant professor of administrative leadership in the School of Education; Jim Hill, associate vice chancellor for Student Affairs: Monique Liston, Women's Resource Center; Emmanuel Ngui, Zilber School of Public Health; Jeffery Roman, Community Advocates; Robert Smith, Global Inclusion and Engagement and Cultures and Communities; Simone Smith, Institute for Intercultural Research; Warren Scherer, Inclusive Excellence Center Gary L. Williams, associate professor of educational policy and community studies. For more information, email sobmymke@uwm.edu.
Apply for FAFSA—get money for college!
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Milwaukee Academy of Science Selects Anthony McHenry as next CEO
MPS announces summer learning programs for 2018


Get to know more about our cover girl.
Exactly two years ago, a very young Kelsey Alaine Merritt appeared on a beauty editorial for the February 2014 issue of Preview. Time swiftly flew by, and today, the It model everyone's talking about is front and center of this month's ish. But exactly how did the Kelsey Merritt we know today start? Scroll down and have a look at her evolution through the multiple times she's appeared in our glossy.
Her first ever appearance on Preview was for a beauty editorial, White Out.
It also happens to be her favorite. She shares, "It was my first time working with Preview and I've been dying to work for them. That editorial finally gave me my chance and I still remember the feeling! I had to wait five months before it came out. I couldn't contain my excitement when I finally saw the editorial on print."
A few months after, she came out on a beauty workshop page, Color Science.
Watch: How Does Fashion Become Power?
She also went with us when Preview explored the beauty of Palawan. This was the same month her modeling BFF, Janine Gutierrez, was on the cover.
In June 2015, she was chosen as one of Preview's 20 favorite muses. We even shot her in New York!
Kelsey went out of her comfort zone in the fashion editorial Inventing The New Victorians.
Did you know that aside from her cover story, Kelsey also modeled for a beauty editorial on this month's issue?
Of course, she also did six different layouts with the Preview cover boys.
Here she is killin' it on her solo cover.
Grab a copy of Preview's February issue now to get to know her more.


An army of 200000 monsters is awaiting you towards north.
An army of 175000 monsters is awaiting you towards north.
An army of 150000 monsters is awaiting you towards north.
An army of 100000 monsters is awaiting you towards north.
It was 200 000 monster block, We started on May 11, 2018 and cleared on Jan 15, 2019. It took 249 days. We also cleared total 150 426 invasions during this period.
I SUGGEST BLOCK #10241 AS THE NEXT TARGET. 150000 MONSTERS.


I must say I am very disappointed. I mean, you have all had a whole day to come up with questions for Flopsy Girl in her new position as Agony Aunt for Bunny Camp News, and not a single bun of you has managed to ask a question!
Hi Dandy - oh my goodness, we are sure your 2foots will not forget to go to the allotment every day, you are too special.
Please do not worry about the lack of questions for Flopsy Girl, we are sure they will soon be flooding in. We are at present actually making a list of questions, but as a little guide what sort of things can we ask Flopsy Girl, we are not sure on what an Agony Aunt actually does.
If there is anything you are not sure about, like how best to handle your 2-foot, how to choose a 2-foot, or how best to get on with each other, these are all the kind of thing that you could ask her.