Be positive about things (and I don't mean be positive that it is all horrible and will never get any better! ) If your super is anything like me she will give anything- even her last choc - to get someone else to do SPSS, wish I could just pass it on to someone else - I've avoided it so far at the moment by arguing it isn't necessary for my data, so fingers crossed it will be always so. Things will improve I'm sure, just give it a bit of time. I'm not lab based -when I have my research hat on, - but I know what its like to have to bite your tongue from time to time, never gets any easier, but in the end it can get you what you want so look forward to your final goal, and just think of these things as bumps in the road.

try not to make an enemy of your supervisor, they probably have a lot to do and you need to treat them gently sometimes. supervisors are human too - or so I am told! They may not have understood what you wanted to do but got a bit upset themselves by your attitude. I'm not condoning what they did by the way, but try to look at it from their point of view too. Don't get too eager to tell tales on them, it may well get back to them and whatever you may think of them now, you amy need them later. You don't say what your area is, and that can make a difference but try to work with them rather than against them, its difficult I know when you have problems, but may be for the best in the long run.

You are right I will be doing a lot of learning from them! They both expect great things though as they taught me on the MA course and one wrote on an essay I submitted that it was probably the best thing he had read all year, but when I send anything in I always think - is it on topic,have I missed the point etc. or even - is it a load of rubbish! and of course they come out with all these names and think I have heard of them all, which I haven't. Still I think it will be a great experience, you can't get better than the best can you

If you remember earlier in the year, I was asking about someone wanting to be my second supervisor when this had already been chosen, well I got an e-mail today telling me that the change has been made- no idea what strings were pulled, but some must have been. Which is really really good as this guy is so enthusiastic, same as my other super that I think progress could be much faster. - however it is really scarey as well as they are both leading experts in the field and I am just the lowly worm and in comparison know absolutely nothing. How can you argue your point when they know so much more. Panic mode is setting in rapidly as I know great things are now expected. HELP

As the chapters are not following one on the other the methods chapter which is second on my list, overlaps a good portion of the labour process chapter and extends beyond, ending again with some writing up time. There is time nearer the end to do the abstract etc. On each row there is time built in for review. Don't know if I will be keeping to it, but my supervisor liked it!

I did mine on a spreadsheet, put the months along the top and the chapters down the side,with slots for writing the final thing. I then started at the end and blocked in a section with one colour, about 6months I think I started with (I'm psrt time)I then looked at the rest of it and decided when I was going to tackle what. For example the lit review is spread over most of the length of study, because of the nature of the research. The chapter on labour process is one of the first to be tackled, so I blocked in a section for that, starting a few months into the whole thing, and ending with a month or so of the writing up colour.

first of all, have you got a topic in mind? Once you have an idea about the area, try to find some articles, papers etc written in that area. Look at who is writing them and find one or two whose style you like. Read several of their articles, even if they are in slightly different areas from the one you want to research, then e-mail them, comment favourably on one or two of their articles and tell them about the area you would like to study, how you think that their work would inform your own area, and how much you would like to study with them as your supervisor. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by using this sort of approach, it shows you can research, you know what area they are working in and how your work would fit in with it, and if they can't help they may know someone who can!

try reading 'deschooling society' by Illich, it is quite thought provoking and you can download it from the internet

My subject is education, and i can tell you that all is not rosy here either. i started this as a result of realising that the government has their fingers well and truly in the education pie and are extracting everything they can. what started as a fairly mild anger at the ssytem is turning into a full scale rant. The trouble is it is having to be worded very carefully - to get it past the powers that be. This is causing a few hitches along the way, but I will get there and reveal all. Hope someone other than those already part of the struggle will get the message.

remember you will be doing this for what will seem like a lifetime so you need to be sure you are going to the right place for you. I would do as others suggest and contact the second university, don't accept the first one and then turn it down, chances are you will meet them later on and they will never forget. Treat thm as you wuld want to be treated.

Powerpoints are good, but keep them simple otherwise people will be concentratin on them instead of what you are saying. I never have things flying in or doing anything unusual, the words just appear. Use them as prompts rather than have whole chunks of text. If you want to wrtie out a script, make sure you can quickly find your place, colour code the slides on your notes so you know which one relates to which bit. Keep to the time limit it is easy to overrun. Make your slides using a master slide, then if necesary you can change all the text font, the background colour etc. really easily, not so important in a proper hall, but can be useful if, for example your background cannot be easliy seen on the wall it is being projected onto . when you are talking don't concentrate on one person,which is temptong, but let your eyes wander over the whole audience, start at the top and serpentine down, this makes everyone think you are talking just to them. It won't be as bad as you think!

My references were from my MA tutors, but not the one who supervised my diss, because I only saw him once too and when I needed the ref he had retired and was 'somewhere up a mountain'. I can't see why anyone would want to give you a bad ref, it wouldn't reflect very well on them and their course, but if you need one from them just let them know. They should be pleased that someone on their course is going onward and upward!

Have you tried grouping the pic and the caption? I guess it is because it is still looking for the deleted image,because that is what it had there. Have you tried creating a text box then importing the image into the box? I hope whatever you do you have several copies of this saved in various places, because sometimes doing complicated things like this tends to make computers throw up their hands in horror and give up!

you should really be getting more support from the university. It doesn't matter why your supervisor isn't there, it is up to them to sort out a suitable replacement, which this person so obviously isn't. Don't put up with it any longer, go to someone above her and complain. They should be providing you with someone else, not trying to 'calm her down', that is simply sweeping the issue under the carpet. If you want to be generous, just say it is a clash of personalities, but you are the one they should be supporting. Think of it as helping those who follow you as well as yourself, because if she has done it to you, she will do it to others and it needs to be stopped.

So far mine has a quite long and quite obscure title. My supervisor says this is essential so ensure that the Dean doesn't get a whiff of the political overtones! Not sure what I will do once it has gone through all the necessary preliminary hoops though as I think it needs to reflect what is actually in the tin rather than what the Dean thinks is in there, but this can only happen once I've cleared all the red tape.