What is this "peace & quiet"?

I think I may have experienced this once.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=german+supervisor+highway+Engineering+PhD+scholarship

good luck

I also have 4 and have had the same problems with being asked to do little pieces of work that I end up being beaten up on. Your comment about their relevance also resonated with me.

However, I've found it has helped my writing, and honed my reading techniques somewhat. Plus, the idea is that the little pieces eventually come together into a knowledge base that you can refer to, as well as providing a snapshot of your mind and research at the time.

They are very experienced people and I'm lucky to have them around, but that doesn't mean I have to abide by their every instruction. I started to fight back and set MYSELF work instead of leaving THEM to do it. Take control of YOUR PhD! I'm sure your supervisors will appreciate it.

Do you feel the course leader is putting you under pressure?

S/he is right, it won't look good.

Perhaps you should talk to the student and find out why this situation has occurred. If your course uptake is low, and you are getting above average drop-outs and plagiarism you have a duty to find out and understand the reasons, for your own sake as well as your colleagues. Blaming the students 100% may be a simplistic view.

My wife is very supportive, she's a wonderful inspiration to me juggling the house, our kids and her work. I have no right to complain about anything. If anything rather than acknowledge her I would blame her... :) without her encouragement I'm not sure what I'd be doing, probably something far less stressful!

Well I tend to take the meaning of words from the dictionary. :p

OK I'm being facetious.

Of course, I will concede that as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, bullying is in the mind of the bullied.

Perhaps you mean cyber-bullying.

"Bully" is quite well defined in the dictionary already, I think.

I'm not sure if I'd trust a computer program to tell me if I've plagiarised or not. There is of course a chance it might miss something that a human doesn't (as may have happened in this case).

That said, however, the idea that anyone will ever read my eventual thesis, outside of the examiners, is a bit of self-flattery!

I guess if you're going into politics you should definitely double-check your thesis.

Too late Mary quite contrary :p

Don't worry I did it proud, they were huge and golden, with a hollow centre in which to hold a nice pool of piping hot gravy.

Good to know, I wouldn't want to serve up the wrong thing. The pud worked out great and was delicious, I used a cupcake tray. I've tried to make one big pud before and it was exactly as you said ... soft and squishy in the middle. I need more practice!

I tend to go for the free-range chickens, and like to support local independent butchers and grocers where I can, makes me sleep a little better at night :-)

Agreed on the goose fat ... I cooked a goose for Christmas and the potatoes my oh my c'est magnifique! (up)

I'm not sure why you think being 41 is at all relevant to this debate. Nor why you feel the need to add personal details to your posts.

I feel I should share ... during this splendid debate I have made some yorkshire pudding batter to go with my Sunday dinner! I will let it stand for a while, and then put it in the oven.

So, that leads me to the next topic.... I know it is an English custom to have yorkshire pudding with beef, but are you allowed it with anything else? I am having chicken - is this terribly offensive? I just love the stuff, with plenty of gravy of course. Also, should it be a whole pudding as in made in a small baking tray, or individual puddings, like using a cupcake baking tray?

I think you don't give people enough credit, and are maybe generalising using your narrow experience. There are many people who have strange or uninformed views with which they hold little passion. To think that everyone is entrenched in their views is utterly without hope. I was trying to avoid the R word ... mainly because I have some experience with elderly people who have rather narrow (and ultimately amusing!) views on people of a different race, or even foreign people (french, german, polish, i.e. anyone with a "funny" accent). I wouldn't describe them all as racists or xenophobes, whereas you might.

My point is many are very open to debating the subject and will listen to opposing views whilst even becoming convinced they are at least partially wrong. Perhaps not immediately and not without a fight, but it can and does happen. There are many examples of people changing their minds through reasoned argument (debate), it would be a sad world if we were all as presumptuous.

OK let's test this: so if I were to persuade a person, through reasoned and convincing argument, that discrimination based on skin colour is an unreasonable action, then you would argue that I had done something unhealthy, in that I had somehow "controlled" or forced that person's thoughts?

Another example: I defend my PhD thesis in my viva successfully, though it was very difficult to convince the very stubborn examiner. What gives? Am I bad? Or am I jedi? Or both?

I would say the general point of debate is to present opinions or teachings, to persuade or educate.

Perhaps another point of debate is to try to reach a happy middle ground where people can tolerate each other.

The enemies of debate: haughty disdain, narrow-mindedness, blissful ignorance, indifference, being incredibly precious.

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I'm sorry no-one has jumped enthusiastically at your suggestion to limit all debates to one thread.

Why not get us all started with a topic?