Thanks Rewt. I've had a google and apparently it's standard in the US for it to be 4 by 8 longways (landscape shape). Seems they have a set way of doing it there!

Hello!

If a conference poster board is 4 by 8, do you interpret that as needing to be a landscape poster as opposed to a portrait one? Don't know why I find these basic things so tricky! I've managed to infer its referring to ft and I'm thinking it means longways.

Thanks anyone!

Tudor

Quite strong words - no wonder you feel a bit uncertain / stung. But - bear in mind three people have peer reviewed your paper (assuming two other reviewers plus editor). Were their reviews quite rigorous (even though they don't tear it to shreds like the omitted one)?

Just to help put it in perspective - if he hadn't emailed you, you wouldn't have had any idea about that opinion on your paper. But if it helps and you have someone you trust - why not drop them an email and see if they can read through it for you and give their thoughts? You could mention the key issues that the harsh reviewer had and get their take on it.

Hope this helps.

Tudor

The differing view of the reviewers is totally normally (everybody has this wretched "third reviewer" who seems to be reading a different paper altogether and tears it to shreds).

Him getting in touch isn't normal, but not that big a deal (a bit like in my continuation viva how one of the examiners said, "oh, I've been sent your paper to review" - ok... it's supposed to be anonymous but clearly isn't at times).

The editor choosing to ignore and omit his review and recommend that it be published is interesting! I knew their role was to make the final decision, but I didn't know that they actually removed a set of comments if they saw fit! How interesting! I wonder how frequent a thing this is! I suspect that he/she thinks that that reviewer was overly harsh/critical or perhaps as someone else suggested just thinks he is eccentric and his comments way out of line with everyone else' - and so just decided to disregard their review. It sounds as though they maybe often review things in that way if that was the response - so maybe it was an eye roll exercise for the editor! Good if you actually found the feedback in his email useful.

Sure, I would love to help. What do I need to do?

well it's not a soft rejection... to me that implies that you are rejected because you are deemed not good enough (i.e., the rejection part) but they say it in a soft way. this sounds more like you do not meet the criteria for funding. so you need to apply elsewhere.

keep on checking till you get the concrete answer yes or no. i once had this annoying situ where I'd been not only shortlisted but selected and I wasn't notified (and they thought i had been). not saying this is going to happen but you need to get the concrete answer so you can move on to the next thing. good luck!

Hi there, Hope you got the answer on this. I don't think soft rejections are a thing - it's just the rules if it's the rules. It should have been clear at the onset though. Good luck.

This is horrible and all too common (similar scenarios anyway - where relationships go sour). How would you feel about sending her the drafts etc and having her feedback by email? You don't have to meet with her in person. Would this be more manageable?

Hi Kat,

I am sorry to hear what you are going through. I am sure you are going to get some helpful replies on this forum. It may be that you need to discuss things with someone (or people on this forum) so that you feel clearer about what you want to do.

When feeling so overwhelmed about things it probably isn't the best time to make a decision. But it does sound a bit like you need to consider whether you WANT to continue or quit - deep down (regardless of what others would think - regardless of the money situation - what do you want?). If the answer is that you want to finish the Masters, then you will need a strategy to address all the issues you raise (stress, dyslexia, low motivation - all of which I am sure are compounding in a vicious cycle). And it IS possible with the right support (disability support, talking to a uni counsellor, making a timetable with small manageable targets etc).

And just to clarify, if you failed an exam this would not destroy your life. It might feel terrible and maybe take some time to get over it, but just to bring things into perspective, it would not actually be the end of the world. I do understand this catastrophic thinking though - it is normal when feeling very stressed. And so it's good to try and have a reality check with yourself now and then. What's the worst case scenario here - and is it actually SO bad that I couldn't overcome it?

Tudor

Ps. I had a friend whose dyslexia only became really apparent during her BSc. She had an assessment then and was able to get support. Really suggest that you look into doing this too, as it helped her a great deal to get the support.

No, but you could just read up on it or apply for jobs in it anyway.

Hmm, can't see how / why they wouldn't - if they are not being asked to make a financial outlay themselves...?

Hi MyWorld, I am really glad that the strategies you decided to use worked in the end!

Oh one more thing. Is your PhD funded by a research council? They sometimes have awards for shorter term institutional visits. You could piggy back your trip from one of those...