Overview of Caterpillar27

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passed VIVA
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Huge Congrats!!!!:-):-):-)

Imminent Viva
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Huge Congrats!!!! :-):-):-)

Viva experience PART II
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Massive Congratulations!!! And thank you for your viva story - it is very interesting and helpful for us who have yet to get there!
Well done 8-)

Microsoft word 2010-PLEASE HELP
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======= Date Modified 19 Oct 2011 10:49:33 =======
Hi, I'm not sure I'm on that version of Word or whether this will help but....

Is it possible to start the page numbers from 0 and press the not show on the first page option?

I have done this before for essays etc that need to be uploaded electronically so cannot be put in a different documents and printed off.

Sorry if this is not that helpful and good luck

Caterpillar :-)

Ahh - I see you've sorted it - Fab :-)

writing up qual findings
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Personally, I would use pseudonyms to add a "real people" feeling. I don't think the amount of participants matters. Unless you are following only a few people, I don't think the reader expects to keep account of who said what, just what the issues/findings were and how they were expressed by the participants.

Good luck  ;-)

How important is home ownership to you?
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Hi, yes, really glad we bought when we did, but being so young we had a lot of sceptical comments! I remember my stepmum saying that we were only playing at house!!!!!
Also even though houses were cheaper, wages were a lot lower, so it was no easy task getting a mortgage! It was easier than it currently is though, as deposits were minimal.
My sister is in the horrid position of saving and saving........, but even now she has a substantial deposit, she still cannot get a mortgage high enough to buy anything on her wage:-(

How important is home ownership to you?
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Hi, I'm a joint home owner with my man. There are pros and cons...

PROS:
We now pay about £200 a month less than we would if we were renting a house the same as ours (and that is on a 10 year fixed rate - so secure for now).

The kids may have an inheritance.

We will be mortgage free in 10 years, so more money for us to spend on what we want :)

We can do what we want to the house (as long as we work with planning permission if needed, etc)

CONS:
We may have to sell the house to pay for our care when we're older.....

We have to repair and maintain the house ourselves.

Moving is REALLY expensive


I have to say that we first bought a house together 17 years ago, when I was 18, so we are in the lucky position of actually having some equity, which helps! I think both renting and buying can have benefits.

Caterpillar x

what to do?
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Hi, I feel for you (stressful situation), but perhaps your sup was just checking that if you got the draft back in a week you would have time to make any needed amendments before your deadline to submit?

If you can make any changes suggested by your supervisor in the time between hearing back and the end of Sept surely you could still submit then :-)

I would say try not to stress too much, take this week to relax and recharge your batteries, and still aim to finish and submit ASAP. I am a long way off from where you are though - not looking forward to the inevitable pressure/stress.

Hope all goes well, have a pie (mince) ;-)

Writing thesis in first year?
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PhDviva - Hi, my protocol is 6,500 words - I'm not sure what the REC thought of it.

Socpol - The meeting was about 20 minutes long. There were about 8 committee members present and they were very friendly. They asked me lots of questions about the study as a whole and then about specific issues, such as the Mental Capacity Act and how I would assess capacity, data storage, consultee issues and more. They appeared to want to satisfy themselves that I had thought through the issues and that I was capable of ethical conduct.

I am yet to hear from them, so fingers crossed  ;-) I did find them to be human though!!!

epistemology help...again
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I think it is something like this:

Ontology: what it is possible to know about the world - eg what reality is
Like, is it external to individuals or are there multiple realities? Realism etc

Epistemology: how is it possible to find out about the world - eg ways of finding out about reality
such as, interpretivsm, pragmatism, positivism

But I could be mistaken - this forum is great to thrash out things like this, so feel free to contest! :p

Writing thesis in first year?
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I thought it seemed an odd thing to put on your CV too, but my sups assurred me it would be good to add to it and they advised me to be "Chief Investgator" for the application too.

I haven't added it to my CV though - It does seem a bit odd - but maybe it could beneficial for some positions?

:-)

Writing thesis in first year?
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Hi, I'm coming to the end of my 1st year and am currently waiting to hear back from the SCREC (Social Care REC) after the meeting reviewing my application, which I attended.

It seemed to take me ages to get the IRAS form completed, reviewed by my sups, amended, sent to uni sponsor for approval, getting REC reference number onto it, then getting to sups to sign it and finally uploading it to the REC with checklist and over 20 supporting documents!! As the deadline was fast approaching and my sups were on holiday it was really stressful. Thank goodness for electronic signatures and helpful sups!!!

Nevermind - it is in now - just waiting for the verdict and the inevitable amendments!! Or further hoops to jump through!

Fingers crossed for your applications - I hope it all goes smoothly and apparently getting through an IRAS application looks good on your CV ;-)

Any other PhD mums?
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Hi, I have three children (ages 10, 12 and 13). I enjoy the school holidays, spending time with the children, not getting up so early, no packed lunches to make, homework, after school clubs, etc. BUT I can so agree with the comments about fighting!!!! My middle one also likes to push the boundaries and wind the others up (very frustrating)!!!!!

Also I find it so hard to work when they are around as I am easily distracted and there always seems to be so much other stuff to do. I can't even catch up at weekends when Hubs is home as I go to work then. I am getting some work done, but I have just lowered my expectations of what I can complete at the moment. Things are going to get intense in September though!!!! I aim to hit the ground running as soon as they go back to school.  ;-)

I passed!
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Congratulations - A massive WELL DONE especially after all the pressure you have been under!
:-)8-):-)8-):-)

Lit Review for Conference Paper
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Hi,

I'm in my first year too. I've just presented some of my literature review at a conference (last week). How I went about it was to choose an issue in the literature and focus the paper around that. I then made sure I had covered the relevant literature for what I would be talking about.

I basically gave a critical view of a the literature, highlighting the underlying assumptions and potential consequences of a particular change happening in my research area (social science). I wasn't critical about the change, but just highlighted some issues with it that may need addressing. It seemed to go down well. I wasn't saying "this is what the literature says" but more "this is the current situation, these are some concerns I have with it that should be considered"

I was worried it may be controversial, but it was well received!!!

Good luck - I only had 15 minutes and don't think I could have physically covered my whole literature area in the time! I also didn't touch on any PhD theses.