Quarters and Dissertations
September 30th is end of the third quarter. How many quarters have you spent on your dissertation? How much of your dissertation have you “banked?” The dissertation is a unique endeavor compared to anything else you’ve ever undertaken in school. It’s kind of like you were forced into a helicopter, chopper out to sea, and […]
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Coffee and Dissertations
September 29th is National Coffee Day. So, how about a little dissertation coffee talk? Hello, and welcome to Cawfee Tawk. My guest today is the smahtest girl in the whole world… My cousin’s step-brother’s mother-in-law’s grand niece, Louise! Louise is so smaht. She’s goin’ to be a docta. But, not one of those white-coat wearin’, […]
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Troubled Times, Security, and Dissertations
Do you feel safer, happier, and more secure today than you did at this time last year? Let’s talk a bit about the times in which we live and how your dissertation fits in… Reading the daily news has always been an adventure in patience and courage. Lay-offs, crime, corruption. They’re all part of our […]
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Relativity and Dissertations
On September 27, 1905 Albert Einstein published his special theory of relativity. In this paper he presented the most famous equation in science, E = mc². But, did you know that he also explained why time moves so slowly when you’re working on your dissertation?… If you’ve never read a popular account of Einstein’s theory […]
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Grease and Dissertations
September 26th is Olivia Newton-John’s Birthday. She’s perhaps best known for her turn as Sandy from Grease. And, even for dissertation students, grease is the word… A few words of dissertation wisdom from Grease: 1. Don’t be a (beauty school) drop out. 2. Your dissertation committee isn’t hopelessly devoted to you. And, 3. Grease is a word. Speaking of words, […]
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Math and Dissertations
September 25th is National Math Storytelling Day. Doctoral students can’t afford to be mathophobes. Not when a little math storytelling can save you months off your dissertation journey… My kids’ favorite math story: Why is 6 afraid of 7? Because, 7, 8, 9! Here’s another: A wanderer found himself in the court of the Emperor […]
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Punctuation and Dissertations
September 24th is National Punctuation Day. Doctoral students often complain that their writing is thwarting their dissertation. The real problem is something else… Your dissertation will require you to develop many skills that you may not currently possess. One of the most important of these is perspective. Dissertation students (and some dissertation chairs) often find it […]
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Fall and Dissertations
September 23rd is traditionally the first day of fall. If it’s officially fall, then you should officially be back to work on your dissertation… Do you remember summer break when you were a kid? We didn’t have all that much when I was a kid, so summer break meant hanging around the house while my […]
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Acceleration, Moving Too Fast, and Dissertations
September 22 is the birthday of Nobel Laureate, Saul Perlmutter. It’s also the day the science moved too fast. Lessons for dissertation students abound… I’ve had a colorful academic past. Although I ultimately earned my Ph.D. in Organization & Management, mine was certainly the road less traveled. I started off in science, picking up degrees […]
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Hobbits and Dissertations
On September 21, 1937, J.R.R. Tolkien’s, The Hobbit, was published. It’s the story of a long journey against impossible odds. Which should sound familiar to a dissertation student… The Hobbit is a story of small people, several dwarfs and a hobbit, on a treacherous journey to an unfamiliar home. They face great challenges from enemies, both new and […]
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