[nabs-l] doing research in a lab and a blindness question

Cindy Bennett clb5590 at gmail.com
Wed Oct 28 14:36:54 UTC 2009


Mary, I think you summed up what I meant better than I originally said it.

Thanks

Cindy

On 10/27/09, Mary Oliver <screwdrivermary at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Hi Jedi,
> I definitely don't want to discourage anyone from working in a lab, but to
> me, this doesn't seem that simple. Yes, Cindy could get a reader who could
> tell her what the rats are doing, but then what would Cindy be contributing
> to the lab? Often as an undergraduate lab assistant, you get the "grunt
> work" of collecting data or physically running experiments while the more
> experienced faculty and graduate students do a lot of the thinking. There
> are certainly lots of exceptions, but if the main point of Cindy's job would
> be to observe the rats and gather data about their behavior, and she hired a
> reader to help her accomplish those tasks, wouldn't she just be hiring
> someone to do her job? Maybe it would be better if she could find a lab
> project she could contribute to independently with marginal, if
> any, assistance from a reader. There are probably several options, and
> personally, I would feel a lot better about my job if I knew I wasn't
> relying on a
>  sighted person to do most of it.
>
> Respectfully,Mary
> --- On Tue, 10/27/09, Jedi <loneblindjedi at samobile.net> wrote:
>
>
> From: Jedi <loneblindjedi at samobile.net>
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] doing research in a lab and a blindness question
> To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> Date: Tuesday, October 27, 2009, 5:48 AM
>
>
> Who says you can't watch rats when you're blind? Why can't someone just
> describe what's happening with the rats just like in DVS or when using a
> live reader? So long as the experiment doesn't actually require you to
> visually perceive the rats, who cares if you're blind? Just get a reader.
>
> Respectfully,
> Jedi
>
>
> Original message:
>> Hi,
>> If it is the professor and not an assistant, yes, by all means email
>> her, and let her know that you are still interested in her research,
>> however, you are blind and cannot watch rats on videos. However, there
>> are plenty of ways  that oyu could effectively work in a lab, so
>> request a meeting. Let her know though, since that way se will be able
>> to think about ways htat you could work. Also, I hope you sent her a
>> resume, so that she knows about your experience and evaluates you on
>> that rathr than on your blindness.
>> Mary
>
>> On 10/26/09, Cindy Bennett <clb5590 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> I am very interested in working in the psych lab on campus. There are
>>> opportunities for undergrad students to get course credit for doing
>>> this, but they have to interview with and be accepted by a professor.
>>> I met with one of my psych professors today who I know does research
>>> just to learn the logistics of the process, and he told me a lot of
>>> details and answered a lot of my questions which was helpful. So I am
>>> now in the process of corresponding with professors whose research
>>> interests me.
>
>>> My question is this. In my initial email, I simply expressed my
>>> interest cordially and explained why I was interested in their
>>> research. However, I got a reply of a professor who is willing to work
>>> with me, but her research is concentrated on observing rats’ behavior
>>> and taking measures such as wait and stuff. She may very well be the
>>> only professor to reply positively to my desire to do research with,
>>> so I want to say in an effective way that I may not be able to perform
>>> these tasks, but I am still interested in meeting with her to discuss
>>> whether there are jobs that I could effectively do in her lab. Should
>>> I just respond that I am interested and arrange a time to meet, or
>>> should I say that I am blind in my email but still request a time to
>>> meet as well as mention the fact that there still might be ways in
>>> which I contribute? I guess what I am curious about is, is it wrong
>>> for me to say that I am interested but rather than meet with her to
>>> confirm things like my response would connote, I would really be
>>> meeting with her to let her know that there are several aspects of her
>>> data collection that I cannot do? Should I turn down the opportunity?
>>> I am all about the belief that I can do anything, but I wouldn’t want
>>> some professor to take me on if there wasn’t enough things that I
>>> could effectively do.
>
>>> I would appreciate your input; in whatever I say, I just want to be
>>> sure not to make my blindness look like a major hindrance, because
>>> then she might rethink whether she wants to accept me, but I don’t
>>> want to mislead her.
>
>>> Thanks, and any lab tips that any of you experienced research
>>> assistants have are helpful.
>
>>> Cindy
>
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>
>
>> --
>> Mary Fernandez
>> Emory University 2012
>> P.O. Box 123056
>> Atlanta Ga.
>> 30322
>> Phone: 732-857-7004
>> In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that
>> greatness is never a given. It must be earned.
>> President Barack Obama
>
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