***spoiler***

hm... if you'd said that the youngest has blue eyes, i think i might have the solution, it would be that they are 6, 3, and 2. but like this i don't quite see why it can't be 9, 2 and 2, or 4, 3 and 3.

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anyone else?

heya,
i suppose you might convey that you "know" what to expect from a PhD through your "personal objectives", as discussed in the other thread. like, "In doing a PhD, I hope to achieve insights into all aspects of research, from the practical, hands-on stuff (...) to issues of working independently, self-discipline, and motivation in face of difficulties" (not in quite these words, of course

hm, that's hard
i would start thinking from the centre - you. what is it about you that makes you special, unique (or rather - what are the personal things you want to achieve which are very important to you? is there something that you want to achieve that is special?) most likely the special-ness lies in the combination of several things, rather than just one single aspect.
in general, i think a personal statement that is based on some real introspection will sound more convincing than "copied sentences", all by itself.
good luck!

3) although as a student, you are not entitled to many benefits, i just saw something today about benefits which you can get ONLY in case of "temporarily interrupted fundings". i saw that on www.ukcosa.org.uk in a section on benefits. that applies to international students but there might be a similar ruling for UK students. maybe someone here knows something about it or can point you into the right direction to find out?

oh dear oh dear, MsCrow, I feel so sorry for you, you must be really down. it's amazing you are still "up", so to say, doing things, when it seems every little step is being made hard for you.

i suggest you take the evening "off", stop worrying about things, and get back to them tomorrow. that will still be time enough! do you have someone who could give you a hug? have a virtual one from me (((hug)))

then tomorrow: 1) see if you can see a different doctor. you are not stuck with that one just because you've seen her once.
2) check out your student's union. they might have their own hardship funds or can point you into the right direction.

perhaps you could interpret it as "things you want to achieve on the personal level". then the first is "why?", the second "what you want to achieve on the personal level" and the third "what you want to achieve career-wise".
examples could be: develop as a researcher, learn about the deeper mysteries of statistics as can only be done in applied research, achieve a fundamental understanding of the research process and of the topic - or even, more personal - learn about your strengths and weaknesses, what drives you, how much you can achieve... (i'd stick to the more general "personal" objectives though)

hey MsCrow,
i don't know these things, i think you need to ask your student's advice centre or something. i would suppose that yes, it will mean a suspension of your bursary, as it is not a wage and thus you don't get sick leave. actually, i find that quite outrageous, because what are we PhD students supposed to do when we get sick? what are we supposed to live of?
on the other hand, you may then qualify for hardship funds. these tend to be quite uncomplicated and fast. look into that!
the suspension probably mostly means that your uni won't make a fuss when you're not finished in four years.
you don't know how you are going to feel tomorrow. i'd say that's exactly why you need the time out. you can't keep going if you're always scared that tomorrow will be a bad day.
good luck! i hope things look better soon.

well - i too would wish for a modernized forum software. i suppose this forum dates nearly from last century... i just would find it very convenient to have functions that are quite normal for forums these days, like a link which lets you jump directly to the last/newest posting in a thread, instead of clicking first in the thread, then having again to click on the "last page", and then scroll down. or the function that shows you if there have been any new postings on a thread since your last visit. things like that.
BUT i'm going to keep coming here even if that never happens. it's the users who make this forum good, the software is just a framework.

Naeem, you write that you are "in the UK". how long have you been in the UK already?
you see, you are not quite correct about the research councils. for them, nationality is only secondary. if you have been "normally resident" in the UK for three years, (and have "indeterminate leave to remain", that is, have "settled status"), then you are eligible for research council funding, no matter what your nationality is. so i'd suggest you make sure you know exactly if you are eligible or not.
other funding might be available from the scheveningen foundation, and from specific university departments, and from your home country. most universities have lists of potential funders, and you should also check out http://www.educationuk.org/scholarships/
it's your education. it's you who needs to do the research!
good luck!

hm... well i'm in the local SU's chess society and play interuniversity matches with the team. i wouldn't say it's spare time though, it's more like i take time off in order to squeeze that in. we PhDs don't have Wednesday afternoons "off" like undergrads!
i'm further thinking of volunteering to teach children chess in my neighbourhood, saturday mornings.

most of my evenings i spend on the phone with my partner who unfortunately lives in a different country.

i'm taking it you're not referring to what we do for procrastination...

what do you do in your "free time"?

walk to uni, or go by bike, instead of taking the bus. that can save you lots of money, and it keeps you fit. even if it means a 45 minutes walk each way; you get to uni awake and ready, and in the evening you have time to turn off.
use f.e. skype for phone calls. it's free. you don't need a landline.
if you do buy more expensive food, buy little at a time. go shopping for one item every day, don't do all the shopping once a week and watch half the things go off before you get around to eating them. plan your meals. being on my own, i find getting the smaller, often organic, and theoretically more expensive packs of stuff to be cheaper on the long run, because why should i spend 50p for a large pack of which i will only eat half before it goes off, when i can pay 40p for a much smaller pack (meaning, it's overall more expensive), but will eat all of it? sometimes a solution which is initially more expensive will save you lots of money in the long run. do the sums carefully.

for the above type B questions, "aspects" might be "how much is being inherited by whom these days, how much was inherited by whom previously, and how much is expected to be inherited by whom in the future?" and "in the past and in the present, who cares for who intergenerationally, at which ages, in which circumstances, how are these care relationships structured?"
hope this helps!

so, possible type B questions for above type A question could be "what are the material aspects of intergenerational relations, influenced by the 'ageing' of society, as concerning inheritance?" or/and "how are care relationships between generations influenced by the 'ageing' of society?" etc. in theory, you write up a whole list of "candidates" for your "type B" questions, which you constantly update, and then select a few from this list. a next step would then be to identify "aspects", things you need to find out, measure, know, in order to ANSWER your "type B" questions, (again in order to ADDRESS your "type A" question).

well, in general, i should think your question should be fairly open. so that it can't take as answer a simple "yes" or "no" - that would make a short dissertation! and also so it doesn't preclude the answer. word it so that it is clear what you want to research, but that it leaves you the space to go where your research takes you.

apart from that, i found one of my methods-lecturer's system of "type a" and "type b" questions very useful for ordering my thoughts. in this system, a "type a" question is a quite general, large, abstract question, such as "how are intergenerational relations affected by 'aging societies'?" you will most likely not ANSWER that question, as it is far to big for a PhD thesis. but you will ADDRESS this question, contribute a little to it's understanding, by ANSWERING a number of "type b" questions. these are far more precise questions, and they qualify as "type b" questions if the answering of them contributes to the knowledge about your "type a" question.

yeismeload, something else: well your supervisor doesn't want you to go part-time. you probably don't want to either. but tell him/her that it's either that or quitting and he/she will be glad you are going part-time.
of course it is preferable to study fulltime. but if you can't have that, perhaps part-time is next best. then it is up to you, not to your supervisor who can't judge your situation, to decide if that is a viable solution for you.