Hi Beebles, Walminski, Sneaks,

yeah, I meant try and lower the pitch of the voice a bit. Not the volume, I do not know what the volume of Sneaks's voice is. Although if one speaks very softly, this could be interpreted as the person being shy or wise, depending probably on other body language messages.

I thought the video was funny, and no, I did not have such change of voice in mind! I am fully aware that these things are easier said than done!

As mentioned, these are tactics. The ideal strategy for me would be to stay myself, however, I would think this is hard if I would apply for my dream job and I really wanted to make a good impression.

:-)

Hi Dunni,

welcome to the forum. And indeed, quite an achievement to have got this far with 3 young children.

I was thinking, as your husband is in the forces, there probably must be colleagues of his who may be doing research projects, Mscs etc. and perhaps they may be helpful and may be able to provide some support.



:-)

Oops, your dream job, well that is obviously great!!

mm, that would make my strategy a bit more difficult, although I think you should still believe in yourself.

Tactics could be:

Count 1,2,3 before you answer. Not giving the answer immediately gives you a bit more time to structure your answer and may come across as a wise reply.

Instead of laughing, giggling, keep your mouth closed and just smile. May come accross as sympatic yet clever.

Lower your voice a bit, comes accross as more mature.
:-)

Hi Sneaks,

perhaps you could consider the following: confidence = being content with whom you are.

As such the trick may be, in my opinion, to be yourself and to transport the message that are as you are and that you would be an asset for them (the employers), yet if they do not want you, that will be fine too, as you do not have to work for them. It really is a mental issue. Is it a fantastic job that you are going for or have you got some reservations? Especially if you do have reservations this may help you in saying to yourself: Are these employers good enough to have me? Do I really want this job? What do they need to offer for me to accept the job? These type of questions may then boost your confidence. Good Luck!

Hi Zelda,

good question! I am not an expert in this field, far from it, yet have read a bit about constructivism, in the Handbook of Qualitative Research (Lincoln). Perhaps I can describe my interpretation of constructivism and you to describe constructionism?

I have interpreted things in this way, again based on Lincoln: There are a few major paradigms which influence how research should be done. According to the positivist paradigm everything that exists is based on certain laws, in other words is based on facts and is fixed. This can be researched by quantitative methods, comparing one fact with another and calculate whether there is a significant difference.

On the other hand the constructivist paradigm indicates that human beings try to make sense of the situation they are in, and therefore social phenomena are the result of human interpretation. As such people create certain social phenomena. This cannot be "measured" via quantitative research methods, and here is were the qualitative research has its place.

These more or less contrasting paradigms has major implications on the research approach. Typical for research based on a positivist view would be: looking for explanation, verifying hypotheses, objective, values excluded etc, while a constructivist approach would be: looking for understanding, individual reconstruction, authentic, values include etc.

:-)

Well done Barnaby,

and nice to hear you enjoyed doing the PhD, seems more the exception than the rule.

I think it is not much use to look at your thesis again, at this moment in time, as you cannot change anything anymore and inevitably you will find typos. Better to use some time for yourself and kids, and then when you viva is nearer, to open up the thesis again / use some of the preparation methods as mentioned in the postings recently.

Again, congratulations.:-)

Hi Jojo,

first of all still congratulations for having submitted and for coming this far. As such you are a winner already, as many who try a PhD, for whatever reason, do now reach this step. Now it is a matter of perseverance, getting from submission through to the viva.

I am in a similar position as you, have submitted some time ago and expect the viva to be in November, yet do not know the exact date. Reading the thesis again and again, is just boring and I am not sure whether that will bring a lot. By the way, it is inevitable that you will come across mistakes / typos, everyone does. Perhaps it is useful to produce a list of typos, which you can take with you at he viva, indicating that you have spotted them yourself.

Like you I am trying to prepare via the production of a paper. As this is "just" viva preparation I have aimed for a relatively "easy journal", yet the good news is that this has been accepted, and will be published next year. Also I have summarised the thesis according to the book of Jackson and Tinkler.

Overall I think the trick is to stay occupied with the subject, but to avoid "learning by heart".:-)

"...may challenge prefixed (or encrusted, embedded etc.) behaviour patterns" ?

Hi Royfan,

you are right that if the journal is peer reviewed, it would be considered to have more academic weight. As such, if you have published a lot, it may be best to go for quality peer reviewed journals.

However, if you have not published yet, this may be good opportunity to get something published. If a professor asks you for your work, I would not ignore that. Also, it may be a good exercise to write your work in the format of a paper, and to go through the submission process. This may then help you to get later work published, in perhaps better quality journals.

Well done, AL!!! Congratulations! You have deserved it!!:-):-)

Well done, Sim.

With one and a half hours to go, one can say that you use your time effectively!

Enjoy the feeling!:-)

Hi Claudia,

I recognise your dilemma. Like you, I have submitted a few months ago and will probably have my viva end of October. Like you, I am sick of the thesis and reading it over and over again.

To make the viva preparation a bit more interesting, try to use different methods of engaging with the subject. Perhaps imagine that you need to write an article regarding what you have done in your PhD, from start to finish. Or try and organise a training session in which you explain to others what a PhD is like, explain to them what your PhD is about. Another means would be to write a summary of your thesis page by page (as per Tinkler and Jackson).

Good luck!:-)

Dear Sue,

I am sorry that you did not get the job. You must be very disappointed, which comes forward very clearly from your posting.

What can I say? Perhaps just that from the postings you come a across as a very dedicated skillful researcher with good social skills, traits which one can be proud of. I know that does not really help you now, but perhaps in the future when you apply for another academic or non academic job. Even so, as said, I feel for you, as you are so disappointed.

Hi Sneaks,

first would like to give you a virtual hug!

More practically I think is to use the layer principle of clothes. Make sure you wear a tight shirt close to your body, then another layer, like a second short with long sleeves, then a pullover / fleece etc. If need be, and perhaps not very lady like, use long underwear. Use a hat to cover your head. This principle is used by people like mountaineers, soldiers etc. in cold weather situations and really helps to keep warm at home.

Also paradoxically it helps to go outside a lot, staying used to the temperatures outside, may help you to be more resistant do the cold inside. Similarly taking a cold shower etc.

:-)

Hi Nieky,

welcome to the forum!

I am in health  / medicine, yet related to humans.

The nice thing is that on this forum there are plenty of people from all kind of discipines. This is often useful as it enables to look at a problem from different angles.

Again, welcome!
:-)