Hi PhdMechEng

I don't think there is any problem/ bad issue with starting with small conference. I had also sent a 2 pages paper to a local conference from my Masters thesis. Later, I rewrite the paper by including more results, giving a different title to it, expanding it to 6 pages and sent it to an international conference. I don't think there is any problem with that. Or you can also send the paper to a larger conference straight away if you want to. Both are fine to me. Sorry if my reply doesn't help much.

Congratulations Dr. Keenbean!!!! So happy 4 u. :-):-):-):-):-)

======= Date Modified 30 Jul 2011 09:36:39 =======
My current experiment should be finish by end of May but until now (2 months later) it still fails. I have tried several methods and made many modifications but still couldn't get it right. I really hate it when the mechanism breaks down all the time and have to repair it everytime, which makes it very difficult for me to move on further with validating my theory. I feel terrible (including can't get up from bed in the morning, feeling reluctant to go the lab downstairs, compelled to procrastinate) everytime I want to start the experiment, feeling that I will fail again. I don't know what my supervisor thinks about me as I have been avoiding him for months. I feel really bad about this. I feel like such a loser.
In addition to that, I just realized that I've made a big mistake in the revision of the journal paper that I sent. I'm not sure whether to send a new revised version or just wait for their reply (it has been almost one month now) or what else to do. Is it possible that the journal editor/reviewers ask for a new revised version if they think that it needs further improvement, or do they usually reject the paper if the first revision is not adequate? I am also inferior of my friend whose paper was already accepted and was questioning about the number of reviewers for my paper. As far as I know, usually there are at least 2 reviewers but I got comments only from one reviewer. I'm wondering if this means my paper is not good enough even though is accepted for publication, but I should be thankful enough if it is accepted.
Besides that, I also have 1 major and 1 minor part of my research which need to be done by the end of this year - which only 5 months left. I need to finish this experiment quickly, but I can't see how is this possible. Sometimes I feel like throwing the whole hardware set up into the river. I need to have at least two accepted journal papers by next February in order to graduate (it is one of the graduation requirements), but I really don't know how can I achieve this- experiment still fails- don't know how much longer will it take or will it ever be successful, big mistake in the revised paper, haven't even started the 3rd n 4th part of my research where I only have less than 5 months to complete them.

I can't sleep at night and have tried to talk with some friends and even invited some of them to come over to my house in order to release the stress, but each time I feel even more depressed and wanting to isolate myself further looking at their happy faces and listening to their progress and all of the wonderful things happening in their life. Am I the only one who feels like this? I feel like dying...

Sorry for venting and if my problem is actually very small compared to others', but I really need to talk this out freely (without covering up my real emotion) with someone who does not know me. Thanks.

Hi Ninoum,

I also received "not acceptable for publication in its present form" reply from the journal editor when I submitted my Masters research for journal publications last time. It does not mean that your paper is rejected for the time being, but you need to make revisions according to the reviewers comments and send the revised paper,. They will then review the revised paper and made the final decision based on it.
About the second reviewer's comments, as far as I know you can email the journal editor back to ask him to clarify the things that you don't understand or you can provide rebuttal points to the comments explaining why his negative comments are wrong/ not accurate.

Hi Blue,

First of all, congratulations!!!!:-):-):-)

Secondly, may I ask you some questions?
Is what your supervisor said (thesis is short- the thesis doesn't reflect all the work) true? In my case, many of my experiments also didn't work and didn't contribute to the final product.  I feel & think that I don't have much significant results to be included in the thesis. If the same also applies to you, may I know how do you approach & defend your thesis/ viva? I mean, do you stress only on the parts that produce significant results, do you include that parts that does not work, what are the main points that you focus on, etc etc etc...

Thanks.

continued...

... paste the link here in case it is helpful http://www.crystal-reflections.com/stories/story_73.htm

I understand, it is hard. I feel it too, but keep on trying. Nothing is really over until you stop trying.

Hi In_Between

Hope you are feeling better today.

Unfortunately, I procrastinate a lot too. Do you know why are you procrastinating now? Is it because:

1. you couldn't meet the previous datelines that you had set and this frustrated you, thus causing you to procrastinate further? If yes, I wouldn't say forget about the dateline. Instead, set a realistic dateline that you think you can achieve. Even if you can't achieve it, just acknowledge/ appreciate what you have done so far and then move on-continue to complete the unfinished things on the next day. Slow progress is better than not progressing at all.

2.  you feel that the task is overwhelming and you feel that you can't finish it, so you feel reluctant to carry it out? If yes, as many have said in this forum, try to break the task into smaller parts and solve them solve little by little everyday/ every working day rather than looking at it as a whole. In my opinion, accomplishing few/ many smaller tasks can motivate/ boost some confidence to continue doing the next tasks.

3. you feel tired/ stressed that you can't stand to look at the work anymore? If yes, it is better to take some rest- do something that you like and then you can return to the work feeling fresher. I am usually able to complete the same work faster when I am fresh than when I am tired. Sometimes feeling tired/ stressed can hindered you from seeing the real problem clearly as it appears to be unsolvable and larger than it actually is.

4. you are being perfectionist? I see many of my friend who got lower grades than me during undergraduate finish their PhD earlier than me. I think one of the reason is that I procrastinate a lot as I want my work to be perfect. So, I loosen up a little on this and it helps me to move on.

5. you are not confident with your work? I think, it is better to do as best as you could about it and then just move on to the next part. After that, just make improvements if your supervisor suggests any. Because, if you keep on focusing on the same part, it is difficult to move on the next part and it will take a long time to finish the whole thesis.

6. you are stressed about what people think about you? Previously I was also stressed about what my supervisor thinks about me. Does he think that I am wasting the laboratory money and the government money on my scholarship? Do my friends think that I am a failure and stupid as they have already finished their PhD although I started earlier then them? etc, etc. I had once asked one of my friends about this, and was so relieved when he told me that no one think I am stupid at all. Sometimes our mind are just creating false things/ assumptions that do not exist. In my opinion, it is best to focus and think about the thesis. Stop wasting energy on other things which might be not true at all.

Sorry if you have already known and tried all these. These are just some of my efforts in minimizing my procrastination.

As for the confidence issue, is it possible to send any paper from your research to a conference now? I had a terrible viva during my master that I completely lost my confidence a human being.  However, I try to regain my confidence back during this PhD, by sending my papers to conferences and to my surprise, I was given the "Best Young Author Award" in the conference that I attended last week. Although I think that they might have made some mistake for accepting my paper and selecting me for the award, this helps in improving my confidence for the time being. Although the panels during my master presentation look down on me, at least there other research community who accept my work.  

I agree, it is very sad and frustrating when the significant other condemns us during 'down times' when he/she is the one who should support and believe in us the most. Have you ever read about 'the story of the frog?' Perhaps you already know about it, but I just would like to share and

I don't mean to be rude, but I think he is horrible.

Hi Moonblue- Thank u so much. I never though it is some kind of a book. I'm going to find it in my uni library right now. Thanks a lot.
Hi Thephder- I'm very sorry. Yup, there is some mistake in the title that I typed for the paper from International Journal of Systems Science. The correct ones are only the two above. Thank you for helping and sorry for taking your time.

======= Date Modified 17 Jun 2011 08:28:37 =======
======= Date Modified 17 Jun 2011 06:59:45 =======
======= Date Modified 17 Jun 2011 06:41:02 =======
======= Date Modified 17 Jun 2011 06:36:26 =======
I really appreciate if anyone could help me to get this paper:

bertin, d. bittani, s., bolzern, p., (1986) Tracking of nonstationary systems by means of different prediction-error directional forgetting techniques, 2nd ifac workshop on adaptive systems in control and signal processing

D. Bertin, S. Bittanti, and P. Bolzem, “A prediction-error directional forgetting technique for recursive estimation,” Systems Science, vol. 11, pp. 33-39, 1985.

thanks

Hi

I really appreciate if anyone could help me to get this paper:

Bertin, D., Bittanti, S., Bolzem, P. (1986). Tracking of
Nonstationary Systems by Means of Differnt Prediction
Error Direction Forgetting Techniques. 2'Id IFAC
Workshop on Adaptive Systems in Control and Signal
Processing, pp. 91-96, Lund, 1986

Thanks

Hi

I really appreciate if anyone could help me to get this paper:

Some issues on the practical use of recursive least squares identification in self-tuning control International Journal of Control Volume 53, Issue 5, 1991, Pages 1021 - 1033 Authors: O. P. Malika, G. S. Hopea, S. J. Chengb DOI: 10.1080/00207179108953663Thanks

Congratulations!!!!!!!

I'm so happy 4 u :-)

Hi Starlight222,

It's ok... Thank u so much 4 trying to help. I really appreciate it. :-)