jojo: about editors_ 1) did you mean editors or proofreading? Anyway from my sad experience I sugegst- take only an editor/proffreader that is recommended by someone who has used his/her services. Otherwise will be like in my case- I paid loads of money but examiners still pointed out problems with English in my MpHil thesis.

Amazing, impressive!!! Congratulations!

I understand, writing up is quite a difficult stage, not easy to keep going. What helped me was that I set a deadline when I want to finish and then working backwards planned all work I have to do day by day. And also planned a reward for each stage completed. So, every morning I start with the aim what I want to accoplish today, work and if I finish early, go out have fun and enjoy my reward. Also having friends who ask frequently to report what have I done helps...
Keep my fingers crossed for you as well;)

cc: I am so yeallous:) But it motivates me to finish by Dec. So, guys who want to finish by Dec- we are gona do it, are we:)?

Steve1982, thank you, good luck to you as well!Shall we organise a support group for those aiming to submit in December;)?

Well done! COngratulations! You are almost a PhD:) I am aiming to submit early in December..

Ask you university because it may vary by university. In my you do not pay any fees after the third year, indepdenetly from your fees paying status (i.e. U, EU or Overseas).. But it could be different in your university.

rozza: I was reading your post and emphatised with you very deeply. For women combining a career and family is a big issue...especially in academia where you are expected to show 'potential' as early as possible to be promoted. I am in the same boat as you but I am even older, I ll be 35 when I finish my PhD and I even havent got a boyfriend anymore (he did not want to keep his life on the hold while I am finishing my PhD). But I want children very much.
Have you made any decisions yet? BTW, I think combining children with work is easier in academia where you do not have to be in office from 9-17 or longer. But before having them oe has to publish as much to possible to be able to get a good job.

One more 'soon to be find out fraud here'....:)I have a constant feeling that 'they' will find out that in fact I am absolutely stupid and got MPhil from the top university just by an administrative error or because of my talent to fool people, and that I definitely do not deserve a PhD....

rick: in the begining of the focus group you ask every member to say their name (or a nickname they want to use) and some sentences (e.g.what their had for breakfest;)) in the recorder. Then the transcriber will know who is who. Also during the focus group refer sometimes to participants in their name, e.g. Dr. John what are your opinions about this?

Dear Marbeaux, that sounds so familiar:) I can assure you that many of Phds doing any calculations have experienced something similar....Me too, I once had to rewrite a whole chapter because of a small mistake in programming statistical analysis. That mistake turned into disaster. But need to go back to the square one is almost regular...I find myself redoing the same thing many times... So, keep up, you will be alright, eventually.

I prefer working at home. Working in office would drive me crazy....

Take it easy- conference papers are important but they dont add much to your CV:))) Not as much as papers in journals.

a big virtual hug to you. PhD is a serious challenge in life and affects everything. Dont give up. About references- in any case you will need more than one reference. PhD examiners usually write references as well+ maybe you have a good relationship with other people in the faculty/lab/department with whom you have done some work together. People udnerstand that in some cases supervisors and their students dont go well on....

I agree that organisaitonal culture is a very broad concept, maybe it would be helpful to identify first which aspects of the organisational culture are more relevant to your research questions.