I know what you mean Emma, the workplace coffee mug- yuck :-s

Probably the more you try to block it from your line of vision, the larger and more grotesque it gets??? Could you not wait 'til the owner is not about and find that it spontaneously gets lost?!?!?!?

I don't go into college that much anymore as I work from home but when I do I have my own mug stashed away in my drawer, just in case somebody might be tempted to borrow it 'coz it's so clean ;-)

Thanks so much, and so fast as well :-). I'll pm you now.

Hi All

I'm finding Sage Publications far more restricted than previously and was wondering if anybody could access the following:

Rocha, Elizabeth (1997) A ladder of empowerment. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 17, 31-44.

Thanks a mill

A

Sent it to you now Dunni :-)

When I access a paper for somebody here, I just save the pdf to my desktop and email it to the person once I have their email id. I got that one via ScienceDirect. Actually I didn't think that I would be able to get it as when I initially logged on it said access was from 2002 onwards but it turned out that older papers were there!

You never know...!

I can get it :-) - I can email you the pdf if you want to pm your email id.

Any word from your errant third supv yet??

A pass is a pass and definitly not a fail so congratuations (up). That must have been so disconcerting hearing them discuss your thesis before yoru viva actually started. 'Def a book in your thesis" is fab news and coming from the external is brilliant. It hints that maybe they didn't 100% like how you constructed it but did like your argument.

Hopefully between you and your supervisor you will be able to get clear instructions as to exactly what they want you to do.

Congratulations :-)

Absoltuely briliant [but not surprising!!] news Dr. Chuff. Probably the flat feeling is a release of tension. Your viva sounded tough but fair and you sound like you did your thesis and yourself justice. Thanks for including how it actually went - I need to digest that. You gave your word count breakdown per chapter a while ago and mine sounds eerily similar!

Enjoy your first weekend as Dr. Chuff (up)

Hi Chococake

While I can't comment directly on your situ, I have worked in two academic libraries and the issue came up in both. In one, the librarian just wasn't interested and there was no other office space in that university. A student at a sister college had asked if she could study in the library and was told NO. The other university was far bigger and they had no problem letting different postgrads study at some of the postgrad corals in the library. But I don't think there was any question of office space.

At the moment one of my colleagues just goes to another university and works in that library all day. He brings his laptop, plugs it in and nobody has ever said anything to him. I was that library worker and you would never question a student unless you thought they were trying to pilfer books, or something like that. There is just too many of them to start tackling individual students. My colleague has been working unofficially in this other library for over a year!

If you actually want office space I would imagine you would have to get your HoD or Dir of PG studies to make an official request for desk space. Desk spaces are like hens teeth in most unis so it could be tough. Unless you really need internet access I would think about 'squatting' in the library!

Good luck with it

Sent it to you just now, hopefully at least some of it will be of some use :-)

Tusco was the lone male but he hasn't been around so it's pretty much an all girls thread!

Pink, I wrote my pilot up for publication (it's not published yet but fingers and all ten toes crossed that it might be one day!). I have a few references for pilot if you want them. There's actually very little written about the qualitative pilot so I really had to hunt for them. I can put the refs here if you're interested or email you the pdfs if you prefer but no worries if not.

A

======= Date Modified 02 Mar 2011 15:44:21 =======
I have a research masters which is 55,000 words long. I had originally intended transferring to a PhD but during my first year it became apparent that my supv and I had wildly divergent views on methodology etc and actually life in general!! I won't bore you with details! After deciding that I would write it up as a Masters, I then did this in three months. I agree with Dunni completely and would only add that I would work out exactly when your submission has to be and work back from that. If you are to get it done, you have to be ruthless at this stage and write, write, write. I would set myself deadlines for each stage and take them seriously and stick to them. I would open a document for each chapter and get writing - now! 5,000 words so far for a lit review isn't too bad - mine was about 11,000 in the finished thesis. You either need to flesh these 5000 words out, or be reaslistic and start again if you don't think they're up to stratch.

It can be done. I did it but it was hard (up). Unlike a PhD your July submission deadline is probably set in stone and won't be changed so that alone should motivate you to finish. Good luck (up)

Edit (15.45) I should add that my masters is not the most groundbreaking thesis in the world but I needed to get it done so as to start a completely different PhD.

My sympathies Clarabelle, it must be really tough to work on your PhD when you are going through all this. In a way you pre-empted my answer to you - reading is tough if you're not focussed so I would just try to keep up with the practicalities of your PhD that need attention. Can you press ahead with fieldwork, interviews etc. I would park the serious reading and just keep tipping away at whatever you can.

Positive thoughts to you

======= Date Modified 02 Mar 2011 10:22:53 =======
Hi SarahLouise

While I haven't done an internship myself I know a good lot of people who have. In my uni, it's normal for people to do them in the summers of their undergrad, and also in the interim between finishing undergrad and starting postgrad. I don't actually know anybody who has done one during their PhD. In theory I think they're a good thing, it puts you in the academic milieu and also you can make useful contacts and do a bit of networking - definitely a skill required these days.

My life experience is different to yours as I'm a lot older :-( but I did go straight from undergrad to masters to PhD. My problem is connecting what I did in my other life with what I want to do after this PhD. My advice is whatever work you do during your PhD, tease out the transferable skills from it. So I would get involved with teaching, open days etc. It shows you're a teamplayer, if that's not too corny!! If you think you could cope with a part time job (never mind the money aspect) it might be worth considering as it would show a potential employer that you are flexible and don't just have the narrow focus of whatever your topic is.

Finally, I have seen you post on the 'one goal' thread and to me you come across as very organised and efficient. That in itself is a transferable skill so don't be afraid to promote the efficient project management of your PhD post PhD, if you know what I mean!

the link doesn't seem to be working - what's the name of the author, title etc?

I'm copying out Pink's suggestions as well :-)

The Tinkler and Jackson book - 'The Doctoral Examination Process' covers preparing for the viva - both long term and immediately beforehand - could be worth a look. Chapter 10 is the viva itself which I am close to knowing off by heart at this stage, I've thumbed it so many times :$. Haven't actually finished the thesis yet mind, but when I do, I hope that chapter will help!

I'm just being nosey now but I was wondering how shy of three years are you? I'm hoping to submit in September and that would be one month short of the three years. Have you found any opposition from faculty members about submitting it now?