I've had a look at some e-readers (but don't own one), and they are very easy on the eyes, but I would doubt they are a good substitute for making notes on a PC (the tiny querty keyboard alone puts me off). There is also 'e-paper' which looks like a piece of A4 paper but has a USB connection (I don't know if that's commercially available).

Kindle does a large screen version (DX) which doesn't look much smaller than A4 and has landscape orientation (I'd like to put that on my Xmas list!).

As a cheaper option, I bough a large LCD screen that comfortably displays two A4 pages. It has a document setting (which basically dims the screen).

Or otherwise, wouldn't a tablet PC do the job?

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All good universities are research led (whether they teach UGs, or only PGs), and publications will always be preferable to teaching experience because everyone are slaves to the RAE, now REF. Ultimately, a balance of both is best, but if you have to choose, concentrate on publications.

Whether you need good teaching exp. often depends on the HoD and their opinion on teaching, some are strongly committed to teaching and giving UG's good value for money; some see it as a secondary issue to research. I know academics who have got posts without any teaching exp. and then spent a year being eased into teaching (while they concentrate on research).

Research/publications also gives you more value when applying for posts outside academia eg. private research companies, government etc. Then again, if you're in business, finance, law, teaching exp. can be capitalised upon in the private sector.

Haha - yes, I have too!

Familiarity breeds contempt... we never like our own thesis.

Is anyone doing the BBC's Brain Training Experiment?

It involves 10 minutes of brain training everyday to determine if the claims from the brain training games/software programmes are true or not.

I've become quite addicted to doing the little games and attempting to improve my score.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/labuk/experiments/braintestbritain

Grrr I just wrote an answer, and it disappeared... so again:

Hi Supersteff, I echo what everyone else has said.

I also just missed a distinction, but by a smaller margin than you, and I beat myself up about it. But really what's the point?

It has very little tangible impact (particularly as you are already a PhD student).

Academics (unless conceited) generally do not publicise their grades/classifications, except for job applications, and a high merit versus a distinction will make no difference to an employer (particularly when you have a PhD under your belt).

On a separate note, if you feel you have been unfairly graded, you could appeal/request a remark.

Sneaks, don't use Dreamweaver. In the throws of PhD research, it's not the type of software package you want to get to grips with. I went on a basic Dreamweaver training course (and still gave up).

I did use the website builder tool on Network Solutions to create an 5 page site for a friend's business. It took me a few hours to put the whole thing together on a template (it's not free though, and probably not good value for money).

Some of the websites produced with Wordpress look really impressive (I was unaware Wordpress could be used for web design!).

I'm thinking the OP is our perennial deletion troll! Hello again!

Hi Someone3, I very nearly raised this issue myself some time back, but thought it would be yet another source of procrastination. However, I think it would be a good idea! You can set up chatroom on platforms, such as Chatango, or otherwise maybe we can use MSN messenger.

@Sue, the www.phinished.org 'Hall of Phame' v. funny!

Not seeking a star :p

Sherlock, see here:

http://www.ukcisa.org.uk/student/info_sheets/tuition_fees_ewni.php

If you're a permanent resident of 3 years, you should qualify for Home fees.

I was offered £24k rising to £29k (on a 4 year postdoc contract), but this was abroad, and when I took account of higher taxes, relocating and living costs, I calculated I'd bearly be breaking even.

Usually in my field we don't actually have postdoc positions, we go straight to lecturerships (which seem to be starting at £30-34,000k now, though I just saw a newer university outside London advertising a starting salary of £37,000!).

I need a star I'm sliding down the 'leadership' board! (which also means I'm spending more time on my thesis and less on here!).

Contact your registry, they may not have sent it out to your examiners yet, and as long as you're not under some final registration deadline, they may let you resubmit a copy. Otherwise, contact your supervisor, maybe he/she will contact your examiners with a corrections list.

I'm sure everyone finds errors in their work after submission. I'm reading a chapter of my work that I never intended on copy-editing again, and sure enough, I'm finding more errors.

======= Date Modified 02 Nov 2009 15:54:29 =======
You can't put everything in your thesis.

I have a number of research areas where I say something along the lines of... XZY is a problem, but XZY requires substantive research in its own right, or constitutes a research area beyond the scope of this thesis etc.

I'd say it's inappropriate unless the student has specifically requested that you mention it.