Sometimes it depends where the pic is. It may be that it is covered by the uni agreement, but some areas are outside this, newspapers for example, and in my case the pic in a newspaper article which actually came from some school and if you want to use something like a hymn, you have to follow a whole new set of rules. If you want to use something you might want to consult with your librarian who will be able to tell you. Not all people will want payment, but it is polite to ask.

We are supposed to have a meeting at least every six weeks, but my guess is that communication over the summer will be by e-mail only. That suits me though because I too like my independence and have been given enough advice for me to get on with some of the work on my own several bits can be started but I also hope to be able to get into the library when it isn't full of undergrads - if you go in there on a weekday afternoom its as though they were having a party sometimes, and although some areas are designated silent working, the open planning means noise still drifts about a bit! I'm not that grumpy honest but sometimes it is so noisy it is impossible to concentrate - this is a new library policy, but it doesn't work!

I had a similar, but not so expensive thing, I found this picture in a newspaper that showed exactly what I needed to show in a presentation I was giving (although it wasn't what they intended to show)but I couldn't use it because the photographer was not around to give permission, it went with a government article, but it didn't have the usual photo by ... on it, such a shame it would have been ideal

It does seem as though you don't really know what you want to do in the future, and are in a bit of a panic about that. There is a whole world of jobs out there,and I bet you are young enough to be allowed a false start or two. Number one I would get down to the uni career advice dept, they may be able to suggest areas you haven't even thought of and that might settle you down a bit, and if they suggest sometihng that you really fancy, find out what qualifications you need. Secondly look at what you are doing, did you think it was something you realy felt strongly about, or was it a safe haven, or did you think of it as the natural progression? Thirdly unless you are writing up and deadlines are looming, you have time to consider your options, take that time and think about where you want to be, that should help you decide.

I guess a lot of folks would like to be able to do research in a particular field, and some have to wait until they retire to do it. I spent a lot of time in the past doing research, but only the boss man got the credit, however I found the doing of it far more important to me than whose name was on the paper. Of course when it comes down to it any post must give you enough to live on, the whole of academia in some areas would probably collapse if it were not for those who can afford to take a low salary. However this is something to take up as a cause in itself without need for comparisons with the wages of others for whom there is less excitement(?)/ variety in their working life.

When I saw the title I tohught it was going to be one of those why do... notes, so.....
why do bees hum


coz they don't know the words

sorry about that, I've just had a good meeting with my supervisor, next hurdle is about to be crushed underfoot (never was much good at hurdles)so feel the effort put in was worth it, so feel a mini celebration is in order, maxi when I get onto the next stage.

Incidentally I think it is quite difficult to avoid this kind of behaviour, I just tend to be non-committal and they then go away to find someone who is more responsive. Love the idea of 'proximity pal' too, sums up most work relationships nicely.

That isn't a bad starting salary really. However I do think you should be a little more careful about equating your salary to that of others. There is no way you can compare your - what I assume will be a relatively comfy post - with that of a bus driver, who has to work shift patterns, be out in all weathers and driving conditions, deal with drunks and worse, and for all you know might wish they had the opportunity to pursue any educational dreams they may have - and their circumstances may make that impossible - you are not superior to them, just on a different path. Others have to work at the sharp end of many situations where most of us would be hard put to cope. remember also, that if things go right for you, and I hope they do, you will end up earning a lot more than they will ever do.

Here it is expected that you will make every effort to find the reference, only citing it as so and so cites someone else as a last resort. Have you asked your academic librarian for help? If the ref is there they should be able to get hold of the article for you, it is better to get it if you can, just to check that the interpretation is correct, and they might have other avenuse you want to explore too!

with me it depends upon the person I am speaking to, as sometimes it makes people listen to what I am saying to them. I work in education, but am not a teacher (of children anyway)where letters and titles count for a lot. It sometimes makes me smile when I pass the head's office with its plaque detailing the qualifications they have as if I had one on my door they would need to make it bigger to get them all on . People in education seem to like this kind of thing, so when I have to deal with them I just casually drop the fact that I am studying for a PhD into the conversation, and like magic they stop treating me as though I haven't a brain cell in my head, which sadly happens all the time if you are not a teacher.. The rest of the time I only mention it when I have to have an hour or so off to see my supervisor!

Weaving on a proper big loom however is another thing entirely and even the threading is quite complcated. These days I haven't the time to even think about doing that and I gave my loom away a while ago anyway.
I see from your other thread that you are doing some work again, just take things slowly don't overdo it and make sure you give yourself permission to do whatever you want, when you want, best wishes J.

I never actually went to shear a sheep, but have had a whole fleece, its intersting to work with one, but there is quite a bit of waste if you only want to spin the wool. How long it takes you to learn how to spin depends in part upon what you are trying to produce, and also to some extent who is teaching you! I started with a drop spinning tool, as used be the spinsters of old and then went on to using a wheel, I like someone to show me the basics, but then I want to go off and do my own thing. (I was the person who made clay pots using dustbin lids when the rest of the class made dinky little pots)I'm a bit of an experimenter really, which is why I like 'knobbly' threads rather than the very fine threads needed to produce something like the Shetland shawl, which traditionally has to be able to pass through a wedding ring. A shawl can however be produced on a frame, and this is the method I use as it allows different threads to be used. You can also knit with them.

One thing though, I do like to do my own thing with it, so my teacher used to get a bit huffy when I said I had no intention of producing the even thread that she thought was best. It is fun to experiment and I have used my wool with metallic thread and even a second thread that I had threaded with beads, although that took ages to produce so I ended up just using it as a tiny part of a garment. Its a fun thing to do and if I wasn't so busy at the moment I would get my wheel out now (Its an Ashford from New Zealand).

In my crafty phase I learned how to spin wool and weave (a bit, it would have required far more time than I had available to learn to do it properly!) Now I just dabble once in a while - when my kids were at school I taught the whole class how to spin, which was fun. I buy my wool ready combed as I haven't the room to keep a whole fleece, although I think I may have some straight from the sheep wool in the attic somewhere. I often buy in breed specific wools and they are so different, some are really soft, and I've spun those, and made felt too, and some are much more, well hairy I suppose, Jacobs sheep, whch grow well in Wales, produce a quite rough but beautifully coloured wool, a very subtle grey, which i enjoyed spinning.

Without people doing research where would the world be? - and I'm not just thinking of science here. My supervisor has been at the forefront of stuff that is not, shall we say popular, with some others, but it is important in that it offers an alternative, and resists changes that affect, or have the potential to affect many aspects of life, and I hope my tiny contribution will add to that message. Passion is what all of us on this site and beyond have, not all the time, but enough to keep us going. hold on in there.

Olivia, what can I say? It is very hard to be away from family and friends, but it is also very hard to stop being who you are, and my guess is that you like the academic life, but you just don't like it at the moment . although some people have been supportive of me starting this research, some people have said 'what do you want to do that for?' (probably implying at my great age I should spend my time in more ladylike pursuits, or that it won't be reflected in my payscale). Well my answer is a)because I want to, and b)because I think it is important. If you think what you are doing is important, and of course you do, or you wouldn't be putting yourself through it, you should not only give yourself permission to quit, but also permission to carry on.