Quite frankly, I don't think it seems realistic to pursue a PhD by publication in this particular case. Even outstanding academics with excellent contacts within dept. sometimes struggle to follow this pathway..

Good luck

I'm also currently writing the transfer thesis. Although I have no data I am relatively sure I will pass this. At the same time, there is this increasing feeling of depression. All of a sudden I'm asking myself weird questions like: Is it really worth it? Should I not rather live my life than waste it with this stuff? I was even thinking about dropping out today, something I've never ever thought about before. Probably just a period of depression. We'll see.

It's funny that you ask this question, I was just about to ask a similar question. 18 months in and slightly depressed today.

Data collected: no
Data analysed: no
Papers written: no
Chapters written: yes, but only Literature Review

They say that this is the most difficult time of any PhD where you are a substantial number of months (18) in and you still can't see the end of the tunnel. I hope this will happen soon though..

I'm surprised you did not think about the issue BEFORE you actually applied for a PhD. Realistically, I assume self-funding would be the best option. Good luck.

http://www.unicef.org.uk/press/news_detail.asp?news_id=890

Sorry for calling you "the UK"...that was probably quite a sweeping statement.

Thanks for this story, Astrid. Actually, I think you were EXTREMELY unlucky. I never heard of a similar case. First of all, I think the policeman was an Arsehole, what he did was not necessary, a formal warning would have been sufficient.

Secondly, you could have just said that you only entered with your car recently, it would have been a difficult task for him to prove otherwise. All I can say is: this story sounds to me like someone ignores the existence of the European Union and doesn't like Germans..sounds harsh, but might be true.

I'm pretty sure that those people on Radio 4 or BBC1, "experts", who discussed the limitations of the study, did not discuss the exact content of the study, only trying to find ways to de-value it or ignore it. I don't say that UNICEF did not make mistakes, but there might be a number of issues which are worth being discussed. To name these I would have to read the study first though (completely, not just excerpts) and everybody else on this forum who thinks it's worth debating the issue...

" I know that the UNICEF report's findings are dubious - because Tony himself said so "

Well, here we are again. The UK completely ignores any sort of criticism, unfortunately a society cannot improve for the better if everybody pretends everything is great.

One question: would it not be more useful to think about possible changes in society and to take the study and its specific observations on board instead of debating "holes" or limitations of its validity?

Personally, I don't care much if Tony himself announces that the study is worthless, who would not do the same in his situation?

Just read my statements again and it almost appears like I don't like the UK, this is not the case. In fact, I like this country as it has done a lot for me and given me many chances which I did not have in my home country. I just made a few observations and that's my personal opinion and I'm entitled to have this personal opinion. I also accept your different opinion, Insomniac, so calm down.

Consider the recent case of Easy Jet as an example: a women entered with her two children. The special children seat did not fit, so the women wanted to hold the children. However, EasyJet regulations state that you are not allowed to hold two children, so the old lady next to her offered to hold the second child during take off and landing. Easy Jet refused this with regard to its policy and the danger of child abuse (in a plane, sitting next to the mother, with 100 other people around). The mother and the two children had to leave the plane and had to wait for hours.

It's just an example but so typical for the obsession with health and safety regulations and paranoia in this country.

the paranoia propaganda has been successful, you already believe it. You probably also welcome the US system, where people can check on the internet if offenders are living near their home?

Concerning my general critique of UK, maybe these are my personal experiences, so forget about it. I came in from the outside and these are just my observations, although I know many people who had similar observations (coming from different countries into UK).

The NHS is crap, tell me what you want. It's an unfriendly, buerocratic organisation and one of the worst health systems in Europe. That is NOT a sweeping statement.

Still I like living in this country, but a bit of would be good for this country