January 16, 2014 – My Tiny Obsessions

It’s a sad time for young scientists and Science in Portugal!

The results for the Individual PhD Grants and Post-Doc from FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia) and the result is a cut of around 50% of the total number of grants, as you can see in the graphs below that show the number of grants given and the amount of applicants through the years (1st – PhD; 2nd – Post-Doc).

We didn’t have numbers so low for more than 2 decades! The President of FCT, Dr. Miguel Seabra, said that the it isn’t true that Portugal is investing less in Science, in fact, the amount of money invested this past year was larger than the previous years. He explains that we can’t look at this numbers and make this kind of statement, because FCT has been channeling the money a different way now: they are investing in the research centers, so that the centers themselves can hire PhD candidates and Doctors.

The problem is the Research Centers are saying that this is not true! Some are saying that the money they are granted is basically the same, the only difference is that they have to incorporate the budget for the researchers inside the money they get, which means: or you have the money but don’t have the people, or you have the people but don’t have the money! And you can’t do science without either!

We all expected cuts, it was obvious and expected, just like last year. But the numbers are overwhelming! To give an example, my area, which is Anthropology, had 99 candidates with only 6 of them receiving a grant. In total, 9 to 10% of all candidates received a PhD or postDoc grant… that’s way too low! In the same scientific field, in 2010, 19 grants were given between 47 candidates, and in 2011 (the year I got my grant) 17 in 44 were given… and back then, Anthropology stood alone, now it’s combined with 2 more fields…

It’s just so sad! You can read more about this: Público; SOL; RTP; Jornal I; Canal Superior; Noticias ao Minuto.

I was nominated for a Liebster Award! I want thank frikiorgullosa13 for nominating me for this, thank you so much! Thank you!

What is the Liebster Award

The Liebster Blog Award is an award for blogs with less than 200 followers. Liebster means “beloved” in German and a blog nominated for this award is “worth watching”.

Rules

Here are rules you should follow if you are nominated for a Liebster Award:

Link back to the blogger who nominated you
Answer the 11 questions given to you by the blogger who nominated you
Nominate 11 other bloggers with less than 200 followers
Go to the blogs you nominated and notify them of your nomination
Give your nominees 11 questions to answer

Answers

Here are the questions frikiorgullosa13 asked and my answers:

1. Who is your favorite Manga/Anime Character?

I grew up watching Sailor Moon. I watched it every day for years, in 2 languages and 2 different channels. A couple of yeas ago I tracked all the episodes and movies and watched it all over again… Yep! I like Sailor Moon!!! My favorite Anime/Manga characters are from SM: Haruka Tenoh, a.k.a. Sailor Uranus and Michiru Kaioh, a.k.a. Sailor Neptune. They are both just too awesome for words and I always found their relationship groundbreaking!

2. Which is your favorite rock band?

I don’t have favorite groups, I listen to everything and anything as long as I like it. That said, there are two rock bands that are always present: I have 3 older brothers (2 boys & 1 girl), so when I was little, Bon Jovi was BIG in the house, so it’s definitely always there for me! K’s Choice marked my exams seasons in the University, so they were always there as well…

3. Which is your favorite animated Disney/Dreamworks movie?

This one is easy: Tangled!!!! Frying pan, anyone?!

4. What is your most precious treasure?

Definitely my nephews! Other than that, I would have to say my computer and 3 external hard drives. There is one (material) thing I can’t live without, and that is my TV shows and movies…

5. Have you ever thought of giving up on blogging? Yes/No? Why?

Since I started one year ago, no, not really! I’m amazed I’ve been able to keep it going so far, so no, I never thought of giving it up.

6. Which is your favorite Sci-fi TV show?

Doctor Who, no doubt about that.

7. What are you MOSTLY afraid of?

Failure… if you never try, you never fail, right? =/

8. Would you like to be on a Apocalipsis Zombie? Who would you like to be on your team (10 people)? What would be your massive weapon? And where would you like to be when it happens?

I wouldn’t like to be in one, but if I had to be, my team (of fictional characters) would be: Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester, the Doctor (10th), Sherlock Holmes, John Watson, Castiel, River Song, Hermione Granger, Captain Mal Reynolds, Zoë Washburn. My weapon would be The Moment (I wanted Rose Tyler as well, but the Moment will do). I would like to be the hell away from it when it happens… that said: not NY or London, because we all know that’s where everything catastrophic happens.

9. Which is your favorite TV actor/actress?

Nathan Fillion and Kat Dennings.

10. What would you like to be : Timelord/ Wizard/ Detective/ Ninja/ Soul Reaper/ Demon/ Hobbit?

Detective or Wizard, all would depend on the companion.

11. Which is your favorite Book genre? And which book do you like the most?

Fantasy, real life is already a big enough drama. My favourite read is perhaps Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

Nominations

Now, here are my nominations for the Liebster Award:

Questions

So here are my questions, and I found this the hardest part…

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? Why?
Favorite Superhero? Why?
Favorite drama, comedy and SCi-Fi tv show?
What’s your TV guilty pleasure and why?
Which one is your Doctor? And Companion?
Which of the Deathly Hallows (Elder Wand, Resurrection Stone and Cloak of Invisibility) would you rather possess? Why?
Robert Downey Jr, Benedict Cumberbatch or Jonny Lee Miller, which one is the best Sherlock Holmes? And who is the best Watson, Jude Law, Martin Freeman or Lucy Liu?
Favorite comfort food?
What the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?
What made you start blogging?
What’s your favorite post that you have written? (Share the Link please)

That’s a wrap

That’s it! I can’t even tell you how thankful I am to frikiorgullosa13 for nominating me =). Thanks again! I hope I continue to work on the blog and that it continues to grow ;-).