If you read my first post I think that there was little space for misinterpretation there. But the point is that we only look for what we want to see - often superficially. I also feel that a little bit of kindness when expressing opinions would cost very little and bring a lot in return. I don't mean that you have to agree with whatever is on the table.

The expression I was referring to was actually: 'emotional types'. It doesn't change the juice of what I meant anyway. Cheers.

thanks for answering. I'll think about it and apologise for now to all users on this thread for any perceived rudeness

O Stoll & Corinne -- can you please stop now? This is all off topic. Please sart a new thread to argue between yourselves on. Anybody would think you were flirting

"a little bit of kindness when expressing opinions would cost very little and bring a lot in return"

And sometimes people need harsh words to help them snap out of their lapse in mature and reasoned judgement. There are plenty of good parents out there who will say that sometimes a child needs a good whack on the bum to keep them from misbehaving, in lamp's case it will be more appropriately tagged as professional/academic misconduct depending on the circumstances.

Your talk about respecting other people's feelings is all fine and dandy but in lamp's case, I hardly think her partner/family is going to respect being stabbed in the back, neither will the supervisor's partner/family. And as I've said a number of times, I don't think the uni ethics committee will respect any kind of romantic tomfoolery either if anything should eventuate.

RogueAcademic - you have a problem with my username... seriously??? Unfortunately it also happens to be my actual name so I guess you'll have to take your issue up with my parents.

As for your username, I think you've misspelt it - it should start in 'A' and end in 'hole'.

Peace Out.

My apologies, my comment about your username 'Rosy' refers to my belief that you view the world through rose-coloured glasses.

I'm sorry it's your real name.

A classic thread

RogueA is seething with fury at everything !

You damn right! Academic misconduct is a personal pet peeve!

Every semester students come crying, using every excuse under the sun about why they shouldn't be booted out of the university for some kind of misconduct, or for consistently performing extraordinarily badly in their work. After years of this you learn to distinguish between the genuine cases, and 'Oscar-winning' performances that attempt to rort the system for all it's worth. Of course there are also many uncertain cases for whom benefit of the doubt must be given, but this case with Lamp smells bad right from the get-go. It only smells worse when people encourage their actions or intentions by using language that validates their feelings of victimisation, amongst other things, however much self-induced it was to begin with.

I know of quite a few relationships with Professors and PhD students. Some of which they were the first supervisor, others where they were just peripherally involved. No one turned a blind eye really, just some interesting gossip. They all got their PhDs, one couple got married had a baby and then the PI had an affair with another student.

Lots of workplaces say you can't have office relationships and yet it happens and everything works out fine. And of course sometimes the shit hits the fan, such is life.

RogueA - most institutions allow consensual relationships between students and staff as long as they are openly declared in order to ensure there is no conflict of interest e.g. the academic marking their partner's work. It is not considered professional misconduct (ill-advised maybe, but even the universities - unlike yourself - accept such relationships)

I think it's just unprofessional.

"a romantic or sexual advance by an instructor to a student in her/his class or academic program may seriously compromise that relationship and may therefore be presumed to be professional misconduct. The Academic Senate resolved in 1987 that even a single, mutually welcomed advance of an explicit romantic or sexual nature from an instructor to a student currently enrolled in her or his course must be regarded by the academic community as a serious breach of professional ethics and proper standards of professional behavior."

Quoted from: http://www2.ucsc.edu/judicial/handbook03-04/f.htm

Would you like me to post a list of links from a number of universities around the world with similar affirmations of "serious breach of professional ethics"?

katq & sixkitten - so... which academic institutions do you know of, that will allow relationships between supervisors and their respective PhD students? Care to list them here?