Life in Thesis-land : GEO

Want to get away from it all? Postgrad Writing Retreat applications now open.

Karen.Hall — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 05:35:00 GMT

The Graduate Research School is calling for applications for the Postgraduate Writing Retreat to be held in 2008. The writing retreat will take place on 4-8 February, at UWA’s Albany Centre, and includes both time for individual writing as well as opportunities to develop writing skills and receive feedback. 16 places are available for students, with costs for the retreat, accommodation, and transport to be covered by the Graduate Research School. Students wishing to participate must apply by Monday 10 December. Further details, including application forms, are available at
http://www.postgraduate.uwa.edu.au/events/writing_retreat

That's the official blurb: unofficially, I just like to point out that the writing retreat means

getting out of Perth to somewhere cooler in the middle of summer
having a whole building - including a ghost - to set up for your writing space
time to write without everyday interference
access to people whose job it is to help you write better
did I mention the getting out of Perth?

The applications aren't that scary. We basically want to know that you would make the most of the time and opportunity to make progress on your thesis. Don't promise anything unrealistic, like writing the whole thing in a week, but work out a clearly defined goal that fits the scope of the retreat. You're also asked to get a statement of support form your supervisor - this is so that they can support your goal-setting and shows that they won't report us for kidnapping you or anything! If you have any queries, comment here or contact me.

Life as an Average Academic Reader

Karen.Hall — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 01:02:00 GMT

Sometimes I think that my current job is about being paid to be an average academic reader. What is this 'average academic reader'?

The average academic reader is, ultimately, who we are writing to. That isn't to say that there aren't other audiences, and that they aren't important. In the early stages of drafting, writing for yourself - to find out what you know and think - is more constructive. Your supervisor(s) will be your most immediate audience, but the intellectual and emotion investments in the supervisor-student relationship, and their familiarity with your project, differentiate them from the average academic reader. Even your examiners will be different to the average academic reader - they've signed up to read the whole thing, and they are looking at it with a particular set of expectations and criteria in mind. (For the moment, I'm leaving aside the whole issue of writing for a general public, though I do think that is important.) The 'average academic reader' is a person who might pick up your published thesis or sections of thesis. They are also an abstraction of the broader scholarly community that research students are entering into dialogue with.

From the mere fact that the average academic reader has bothered to start trying to read your work, you can assume that they are in some way interested in it, and want to hear about your research. It's in your best interest to encourage that engagement and not to push the average academic reader over to the darkside (and when academic readers go darkside, trust me, it's all bad). Being consious of this reader, especially when you are at the revising and editing stages of your writing will help make your writing more appealing to its final audience.

So I'm starting off an occasional series on the average academic reader: likes, dislikes, natural habit, etc. I'll take requests and suggestions from the (vitual) floor.

For now, I'll start with one simple aspect of the average academic reader - they prefer the title (or subtitle) of a piece of work to match up with the contents!

Virtual Research Week

Karen.Hall — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 01:42:00 GMT

The PSA Research Careers Week (held 10-13 Sept) was a cornucopia of information for research students at any stage in their degree. From designing your thesis, to managing supervision and the mid-thesis doldrums, to examinations and what distinguishes a PhD, there was something of interest no matter where you are up to in your studies. There was also a focus on life after the degree: how the generic skills that you develop - as well as your expertise - can set you up for careers in research, academic or industry.

Even better, the Week is now a virtual cornucopia - with PowerPoint slides and Lectopia recordings up on the PSA website. Check it out!

Liveblogging Research Careers Week

Karen.Hall — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 01:11:00 GMT

I'm currently sitting in the foyer of the Tattersall Lecture Theatre, waiting for the PSA Research Careers Week to begin. Friday was a little bit crazy with all the last-minute preparation, but here we are now ready to go. The first session - right now, if you are reading this in real time - is on 'Life as an Academic', but there will be things happening all day, so come on down!

Preparing to be Unprepared?

Karen.Hall — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 09:04:00 GMT

At the moment I'm procrastinating over two workshops that I need to prepare. I hate preping workshops and will spend days trying to prep and simultaneously avoiding it. On the other hand, philosophically and practically, I like workshops as a mode of teaching and learning. So why the disconnect?

Part of the problem, I suspect, is that for me workshops are about being in the moment: responding to the needs of students and their ideas and problems, and to do so requires a deep engagement with what is happening there and then. Coming up with a highly planned structure is the antithesis of being in the moment. Yet (of course) having a plan, and having the materials, and having the conceptual tools is what makes that 'in the moment' mode possible. It is easier when you have a sense of the group you will be working with, which in these cases I don't. Still, I'll try to come up with some activities and then see where that takes me.

Conference Presentations workshop for Arts Postgrads

Karen.Hall — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 05:32:00 GMT

Successful presentations at conferences require planning and practice. This workshop – specifically for Arts, Humanities and Social Science postgraduates – will cover topics including defining a topic of suitable scope, conveying your argument clearly to the audience, using powerpoint effectively, and general public speaking skills. The workshop will help you to gain confidence and perform well at conferences: useful skills with the Social and Cultural Studies Graduate Conference coming up (and the chance to win prizes for presentation skills).
The workshop will be held on Friday 7 September, 2-4pm, in Guild Seminar Room 1. Register to attend.

That's the official blurb, anyway. More informally, this will be a workshop for all those people who think that a conference presentation should be more than regurgitating a series of powerpoint dot points, who want to give a vibrant and engaging presentation even if the norm in their area of study is reading out written papers, and who generally want to share their interest in their topic with an audience!

Research Skillz

Karen.Hall — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 01:14:00 GMT

Want to set yourself up with some mad research skillz? The Research Skills workshops, starting Friday 10 August, can help you get start and continue to make progress in your PhD and Masters research. There are four session, each running for three hours - with tea, coffee and chocie bikkies included!

Details about the workshops are available here, and also over on the myResearchSpace forums. You can register for the workshops here.

Any questions? Leave a comment.

More Prizes! (Higher Degree by Research Achievements 2007)

Karen.Hall — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 01:24:00 GMT

In my seemingly permanent role as announcer of prizes, here are the winners of the 2007 Prizes for Higher Degree by Research Achievements. All these postgraduate students have produced innovative research in the course of their degree, and have had an influence on the international acdemic community through the publication of their research. While 13 winners are listed here, there were many other entries of an exceptionally high standard (and one of the fun parts of my new job has been seeing the range of fascinating areas that UWA students are working on!). Congratulations to the winners, and perhaps this might encourage myRS readers to submit their work for the Prize in 2009.

Mathematics, Physical Science and Engineering

Award
Ajmal Mian (School of Computer Science and Software Engineering)
‘Three-dimensional model-based object recognition and segmentation in cluttered scenes’ in IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis & Machine Intelligence

Special Commendation
Desmond Lascelles (School of Earth and Geographical Sciences)
‘Black smokers and density currents: A uniformitarian model for the genesis of banded iron-formations’ in Ore Geology Reviews

Timothy Hillman (School of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering)
‘Microscopic particle discrimination using spatially-resolved Fourier-holographic light scattering angular spectroscopy’ in Optical Society of America

Biological Sciences

Award
James Underwood (School of Animal Biology)
‘Multiple scales of genetic connectivity in a brooding coral on isolated reefs following catastrophic bleaching’ in Molecular Ecology

Special Commendation
Vanessa Bussau (Human Movement and Exercise Science)
‘The 10-s maximal sprint: a novel approach to counter an exercise-mediated fall in glycemia in individuals with type 1 diabetes’ in Diabetes Care

Humanities and Social Sciences (Qualitative)

Award
Elizabeth Newnham (School of Psychology)
‘Evaluating the clinical significance responses by psychiatric inpatients to the mental health subscales of the SF-36’ in Journal of Affective Disorders

Special Commendation
Bradley Farrant (School of Psychology)
'Specific language impairment, theory of mind, and visual perspective taking: evidence for simulation theory and the developmental role of language’ in Child Development

Humanities and Social Sciences (Qualitative)

Award
Wee Song Ernest Koh (School of Social and Cultural Studies)
‘On the margins of the “Economic Miracle”: Non English-literate Chinese workers in Singapore, 1980-1990’ in Tonan Aija Kenkyu

Special Commendation
Nicholas Herriman (School of Social and Cultural Studies)
‘“Sorcerer” killings in Banyuwangi: a re-examination of state responsibility for violence’ in Asian Studies Review

Clinical Medicine and Dentistry

Award
Angela Ives (School of Surgery and Pathology)
‘Pregnancy after *** cancer: population based study’ in British Medical Journal

Special Commendation
Gareth Baynam (School of Paediatrics and Child Health)
‘Parental smoking impairs vaccine responses in children with atopic genotypes’ in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology

Creative Works

Award
Marcella Polain for The Edge of the World (Fremantle Arts Centre Press)

Special Commendation
Terrence Dowling for Basic Black: Tales of Appropriate Fear (Cemetery Dance Publications)

Induction Quiz: The Winners Are...

Karen.Hall — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 02:49:00 GMT

At the Postgraduate Welcome Ceremony yesterday, three students showed their mastery of the ins-and-out of being a graduate research student by having their correct answers to the Induction quiz drawn so they could win great prizes! (And yes, I did contemplate putting in an entry and rigging the system, but managed to restrain myself.)

First: Melaine Naumoff (prize: iPod from Winthrop Computing)
Second:Peter Golos (prize: book voucher from the Co-op Bookshop)
Third: Julia Anwar McHenry (prize: mouse from the Co-op Bookshop)

And for those who were wondering about the quiz questions and answers, here they are:

1. Where is the Graduate Research School located? Hackett Hall
2. What is the web address of the Graduate Research School? http://www.postgraduate.uwa.edu.au/
3. Who is the Pro-Vice chancellor of Research and Research Training? Professor Robyn Owens
4. What is the web address of the PSA? http://www.psa.guild.uwa.edu.au/
5. When and where if the next PSA event? Connect, Thursday 2 August, at the University Club
6. As a graduate research student, for how long can you borrow a book from the library? one semester
7. What is the online postgraduate research community called? (If you can't answer this one, there is no help for you!)
8. Where is Student Services located? Second Floor, Guild Building
9. Which of the following support services are NOT available through Student Services? Swimming classes, student email (there was a multiple choice list to select from).
10. Who are the two Graduate Education Officers? Krys Haq and Karen Hall

Writing a Scientific Paper for Publication - lecture 24 July

Karen.Hall — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 05:34:00 GMT

A lecture on 'Writing a Scientific Paper for Publication' will be given by
Professor Hans Lambers next Tuesday 24th July at 12 noon in Geography
Lecture Theatre 1 (Room G. 21). This lecture will be recorded using the
Lectopia system and available from the Graduate Research School's
website.

Professor Lambers is currently the Editor in chief of "Plant and Soil",
a member of the Editorial Review Board of "Plant, Cell and Environment",
Editor of "Tree Physiology", Editor of "Perspectives in Plant Ecology,
Evolution and Systematics" and a member of the International Review
Board of "Annals of Botany". He is an ISI Highly Cited Researcher, has
well over 200 publications in International Journals and has written or
edited 10 books.

Out-Geek This!

Karen.Hall — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 03:41:00 GMT

Signup to Get Smart! Get Smart is the new membership program for Study Smarter (formerly Learning, Language and Research Skills). They run a whole range of services - from workshops on grammar and critical thinking to public speaking peer learning groups - and you get even more information and support once you become a member.

(And on the geek front: see the nested registration form - that was me! And the funky rotating member profiles - that was me too (and working with HTML). In fact, apart from Lisa's very cool nested events thing, the page is all me! Do I win yet?)

The Wait is Over!

Karen.Hall — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 08:25:00 GMT

I blogged a while ago about things I was waiting to hear back on: the news is that my crazy week of application writing paid off! This week I've begun a six-month position as Graduate Education Officer here at UWA and I've also recieved a Whitfield Fellowship - a six-month, 0.5 role - that will begin after the GEO job finishes. In terms of the thesis, this means that I have six months to get it done and in - a slightly overwhelming prospect, but I'm trying to spin it to myself as an exciting challenge. (This is also a partial excuse for my recent blog silence).

What does this all mean for this blog space? A few different things, I think. Firstly, I'll need to articulate and post my 'ethics of blogging' because while considerations of professionalism, privacy and appropriate topics have always informed what I've chosen to put up here, this job means that I could be read as not just speaking for and about myself - even if that is all I'm planning to do. Secondly, I plan on using this blog as a reflective space to talk in particular about issues to do with thesis research and writing as part of the job. And finally, I guess it means that you'll still be hearing from me for another year, as I make the transition to early career researcher - so hopefully you the reader aren't sick of me yet!