Re: Organizing and taming hectic Academia work (faculty viewpoint)? Tips or a good guides sought after :)

["Julian Burgos" <julian@hafro.is>]

Windy, I am a researcher (not in academia, but in a government lab).  I
use emacs and org-mode a lot, for project management, programming (using R
and GRASS), writing papers, keeping notes, etc.etc.
I find that collaborative writing is problematic because most people use
Word, and in most cases will not become enlightened and use emacs.  I have
used two strategies.

a) I first write in org-mode.  Export to Word, either exporting first to
ODT and then to Word, or to LaTex and then use pandoc to convert LaTex to
Word.  My coauthor can edit the document as he wishes, using the "Track
changes" option.  Then, I transcribe their edits back into the org-mode
document.  Advantage of this approach:  your coauthor receives a clean
word file, that could include figures, references, etc., and he/she uses
the tools she likes to edit the file.  Disadvantage:  you have to manually
incorporate the changes to the org-mode file each time there are edits.

b) I write the manuscript in org-mode.  Then I send the org-mode file to
my coauthor.  Because the org-mode file is just a text file, my coauthor
can use Word to edit it.  I ask him/her *not* to use "track changes" and
to save the edited version also as a text file.  Then, when I receive it I
use ediff in emacs to compare both documents and incorporate the edits I
want.  Advantage of this approach: the merging of the documents is easy
using ediff.  Disadvantage: your coauthor has to edit a weird-looking
document, with markup, code blocks, etc.

All the best,

Julian

> Speaking as an advisor/teacher, you should do what they want if you want
> them to help you.
>
> You could ask if they are willing to comment on the pdf, either by hand
> writing on a printed version, or by pdf commenting, or maybe in the
> LaTeX source. But, if that is not what they want, and they cannot work
> with what you give them, you will not get as much feedback as you want,
> and you will end up creating frustration on your end and theirs.
>
> windy writes:
>
>> Another question, I am a student , I think it is a big problem that how
>> to exchange you article with your teacher, because the teacher will
>> comment or revise your article once again and again.
>>
>> However, Many teachers will not use emacs to write articles and also the
>> pdf file is not so convenient to do some modification, how will you deal
>> with the problem ?
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> 在2015年06月09 21时21分, "John Kitchin"<jkitchin@andrew.cmu.edu>写道:
>>
>> you might also enjoy our youtube video:
>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgizHHd7nOo
>>
>> And this one on using org-mode in teaching:
>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsSMs-4GlT8&list=FLQp2VLAOlvq142YN3JO3y8w
>>
>> and
>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRUCiF2MwP4
>>
>> See http://github.com/jkitchin/jmax for my Emacs setup for
>> org-mode.
>>
>> My only other advice is start learning to program in emacs-lisp. It took
>> me about four years to get proficient enough to write org-ref. I learned
>> by solving lots of little problems, and building up to bigger
>> problems. A lot of those are documented in my blog. Read the emacs and
>> emacs-lisp manuals (read them in Emacs or in a browser). They take some
>> time, so skip the stuff that doesn't make sense and come back to it
>> later if you need to. Consider getting the book at
>> https://www.masteringemacs.org. It isn't about org-mode, but it will
>> make you better at using Emacs. Consider reading Land of Lisp. It isn't
>> about Emacs or Emacs-lisp, but it might interest you in programming in a
>> lispy language, and it is a fun read.
>>
>> Buy the org-mode book:
>> http://www.amazon.com/Org-Mode-Reference-Manual-Organize/dp/9881327709/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1433855847&sr=8-1&keywords=org-mode.
>> yes,
>> it is the same stuff as in the manual, but it is a book you can read
>> anywhere anytime.
>>
>> Start by learning how to get org-mode to do some things you want. Just
>> do one thing a day. Every day.
>>
>> You hopefully have 30+ years of career ahead of you, so even if it takes
>> a few years or more to learn how to program in emacs-lisp to customize
>> your workflows, you still have plenty of time to benefit from it!
>>
>> Best wishes,
>>
>> Holger Wenzel writes:
>>
>>> Hi Xebar,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Xebar Saram <zeltakc <at> gmail.com> writes:
>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Dear Martin
>>>> Thanks so much for your prompt response. I did ofc do an extensive
>>>> google
>>> research yet found that as can be seen in your link most entries focus
>>> on
>>> either writing papers or general bits an pieces .What i am looking for
>>> is a
>>> holistic approach regarding organizing all aspects of academic life and
>>> to
>>> hear workflows of other colleagues using org for that
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I'd start with:
>>>
>>> http://kitchingroup.cheme.cmu.edu/blog/2014/08/08/What-we-are-using-org-
>>> mode-for/
>>>
>>> follow John Kitchin's blog there closely and read everything he posts
>>> in
>>> this list.
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>>
>>> Holger
>>>> z
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Tue, Jun 9, 2015 at 12:16 AM, M <Elwood151 <at> web.de> wrote:
>>>> >
>>>> >
>>>> > Von: Xebar Saram <zeltakc <at> gmail.com>
>>>> > Datum: Mon, 8 Jun 2015 19:39:14 +0300
>>>> > An: org mode <emacs-orgmode <at> gnu.org>
>>>> > Betreff: [O] Organizing and taming hectic Academia work (faculty
>>> viewpoint)?
>>>> > Tips or a good guides sought after :)
>>>> >> Hi all
>>>> >
>>>> > Im a young assistant professor (in humanities and thus my horrific
>>> coding
>>>> > skills..basically non ) and having been using orgmode for a year or
>>>> two
>>>> > now. I love orgmode dearly and use it mainly for note taking, lists
>>>> etc
>>>> >
>>>> > I am aware of the fantastic orgmode capabilities that could benefit
>>>> me
>>> greatly
>>>> > such as exporting, email tie-ins, beamer support, organizing my
>>> bibliography
>>>> > (i have switched to a .bib file recently for my references), agenda
>>>> > capabilities and so much moreand have tried several of these with
>>>> mild
>>>> > success.
>>>> >
>>>> > unfortunately (and this maybe due to me not being very technical and
>>> lack of
>>>> > coding skills) i still feel like im really not using orgmode to its
>>> potential
>>>> > and still feel miserably lost in terms of organizing my work in
>>>> academia
>>> from
>>>> > all aspects.
>>>> >
>>>> > i am looking for 2 things really:
>>>> > 1. as i said in the post topic a good guide if anyone is aware of or
>>> detailed
>>>> > examples of using org in Academia (mainly aimed at faculty :))
>>>> >
>>>> > 2. related to that as a young researcher with multiple students,
>>>> paper
>>>> > writing, grant applications, department duties, endless TODOS,
>>>> endless
>>> email i
>>>> > would really be grateful for even non org specific tips on how other
>>> people
>>>> > organize all this to make life more..well..organized :)
>>>> >
>>>> > thanks alot in advance and sorry for the long mail
>>>> >
>>>> > best
>>>> >
>>>> > Z
>>>>
>>>> Dear Xebar,
>>>> I think the first 10 results of the correspondindg google search
>>>> already
>>>> show some very interesting examples:http://www.google.com/search?
>>> client=safari&rls=en&q=emacs+org-mode+in+resear
>>>> ch&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
>>>> Did you have a look at those?
>>>> Kind regards
>>>> Martin
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>
> --
> Professor John Kitchin
> Doherty Hall A207F
> Department of Chemical Engineering
> Carnegie Mellon University
> Pittsburgh, PA 15213
> 412-268-7803
> @johnkitchin
> http://kitchingroup.cheme.cmu.edu
>
>