Overview of patseya

Recent Posts

Article Request Download: Virus Warning!
P

Guys, watch out for who responds and send you articles to download. My pc and laptop have both been infected directly as a result of this. Just be careful,
BW,
Pat.

Publishing a Monograph sections of which have been published in Journals
P

@DrCorinne (and others), if I may ask, which of the two (journal articles or monograph) do you think looks best on a prospective academic job seeker's CV?

Publishing a Monograph sections of which have been published in Journals
P

....continued...

For publishers, this isn't (I think) a case of the ethics of, but the economics of, publishing. If sections/chapters of a proposed title have already been previously published in journals, is it still worth it (in financial terms) publishing the book or monograph? Or, is it financially harmful (for a publisher) to allow an author to publish, as journal article(s), a chapter or two from a published book/monograph? It is in connection with this line of thought that I'm asking this question. Moreover, a top publisher who in spite of positive reviews (all three anonymous reviewers of my manuscript advised that the work be accepted for publication) declined publishing it, suggesting that I add an international dimension to the work when in my view the reason for declining it has to do with potential sales figures (the subject area, as a result of Michael Gove's educational policies, is in decline).

Publishing a Monograph sections of which have been published in Journals
P

@ MeaninginLife. I have seen instances where some publishers (including Taylor & Francis, Routledge) after publishing articles in one volume of a journal then re-published all the articles in that same journal as a book. Essentially, if you have a copy of that journal you din't need to buy the book because they have the same contents. I have also seen instances where academics collate journal articles they have published over the years and publish them as books. I have also seen instances where, after publishing their PhD theses as monographs, academics obtained copyright permissions from the publisher to publish chapters from the monographs as journal articles. In fact, a very senior academic in my field who is currently writing a book recently approached me to know if I could obtain copyright permission from the publisher of one of my articles from the publisher so he could include the paper as a chapter in his forthcoming commissioned book. Are these cases of self-plagiarism? If they are, I know Oxford, Cambridge, Stanford, Harvard academics who have these type of works on their public profiles. In fact, one example that I can site off hand is Joel Feinberg's "The Child's Right to an Open Future". Originally published in 1980, this paper has re-appeared in subsequently published works including as a book chapter in Randall Curren's Philosophy of Education: An Anthology.

Publishing a Monograph sections of which have been published in Journals
P

The above title more or less speaks for itself. I am planning to submit a revised version of my PhD thesis for publication as a monograph. However, I've already published 3 articles from the work in Q1 rated journals in my field. My question is this, all other things being equal (viz: quality and marketability), how is this likely to impact upon the publisher's decision?

Your experiential thoughts on this would be highly welcomed. Pat.

My life has been made a living hell by people who are a disgrace to professors everywhere !
P

Fled, that's so so so true. Truth bluntly and bitterly told.

Let me share this story with the readers on this forum. More than a decade ago, I witnessed a case in which a brilliant foreign student was simply literally "roasted" at her PhD viva. She was given major correction which should entail the collection of fresh data, fresh analysis and writing-up of an entirely new thesis within 12 months and then asked to resubmit for MPhil. Unlike the OP, she was fully funded. She initially fought the decision to resubmit for MPhil. This was upheld and she was allowed to resubmit for a PhD. However, because her work could best be described as attempting to gain a PhD from Pontificia Università Gregoriana in Rome on the basis of a thesis which affirms the Pope as an Anti-Christ, this lady packed it all in. But hers was a case of "she who fights and runs away will live to fight another day."

Now this is the interesting bit. She had an undergraduate diploma in another field which she picked and topped up in one calendar year, gaining a second bachelor's degree with a first. She then took a second master's degree which she completed with a distinction. Ultimately she got a fully funded PhD and successfully defended it in less than one hour at the viva voce examinations. It was case of gaining her bachelor's, masters and PhD (in the field of business studies/management) all in 5 years. Just one month after graduating from the PhD programme, she got a full time permanent lecturing position. Yes, it was a hellish, but she persevered and overcame. Latch on to the Obama Slogan and say to yourself "YES, I CAN!" and to all PhD students out there, do not allow anyone to turn your dream into nightmares: YES, WE CAN!

Article request
P

Got it. Many thanks, Lude.

Article request
P

Marples, Roger (2014) 'Parents’ Rights and Educational Provision', Studies in Philosophy and Education
33(1), pp 23-39.

You'll make my weekend if you help me get a copy of this article. Please HELP!

Is a UK PhD worth doing if it doesn't come with a guaranteed Teaching Assistantship?
P

@MeaninginLife. That's so true! You're on point.

Is a UK PhD worth doing if it doesn't come with a guaranteed Teaching Assistantship?
P

Montanita, stop speaking to many academics, and stop being spoon-fed. You're, presumably, a researcher. So, research it! Browse academic job websites (www.jobs.ac.uk; jobs.timeshighereducation.co.uk; www.higheredjobs.com) and you'll realise that under the person specifications for each advert, an essential criteria for virtually every advertised job is: "significant/substantial teaching experience in higher education or similar". In the current job climate, publications alone would NOT get you a lectureship (when other PhDers have similar amount/quality of publications, teaching/tutorial experience, conference papers, etc.)

Is a UK PhD worth doing if it doesn't come with a guaranteed Teaching Assistantship?
P

A UK PhD is typically awarded on the basis of a thesis, successfully defended at a viva voce examination. As such, PhD students in the majority of cases spend 3-4 years full-time, working on their theses, presenting at conferences, and (in some, not all cases) publishing book chapters and peer-reviewed journal articles. Unlike their counterparts in North American universities (who take courses, present at conferences, publish and teach undergraduate courses), many PhD students in the UK graduate without any teaching experience either as teaching assistants, or as module tutors/convener, etc.

Without such an experience, it’s very unlikely in the current climate that a PhD graduate would securing a lecturing position—well except in Zimbabwe, Ethiopia or Somalia (no pun intended). If one is unable to secure a postdoctoral position which pays around £28,000+ pa, one would more than likely (in a bid to remain within the academe) settle for Research Assistantships. The majority of these are fixed term contracts which require bachelors and masters degrees (not necessarily PhDs), and therefore pay between £23,000 and £25,000pa. The fixed term nature of Research Assistantships implies that many PhDers who settle for such positions have no permanent jobs. Competing with colleagues who possess substantial teaching experience on top of 2-3 postdoctoral positions seems daunting.

So, is a UK PhD worth doing if it doesn't come with a guaranteed Teaching Assistantship?

Your thoughts, please!

Conference editor managed to mess up my paper!
P

Sorry to hear this about your paper. If the version posted online isn't a true representation of the original version presented at the conference, I would send a new, correct version of the paper to the editor and the publishing company (e.g. ScienceDirect) and ask that the one online version is replaced with the correct version or completely withdrawn. Last month, my most recent journal article went online, showing my home (instead of institutional) address. One week after requesting both the journal editor and the editorial manager to look into this matter, nothing happened. So, I wrote them both asking that the article is completely withdrawn. The article was immediately taken down, corrected, and then put back online. Happy days! You need to be very firm. Your publications constitute your academic identity and image. Editors and publishers have a duty to get it right. It doesn't even put them in good light to publish poorly edited papers.

MA academic appeal
P

HazyJane raised some important questions here. Additionally, was the dissertation second-marked? If it was and the marks, as HazyJane further remarks, were fairly consistent, then that should be fine. I think, Masters' dissertation should be double-marked, and an agreed mark reached by the two markers (either 2 internals; or 1 internal and 1 external) before the external programme examiner validates the grades, and the students' grade officially made public.

Should I email my potential supervisor again?
P

I'll seriously rethink doing my PhD under the supervision of an academic who failed to reply my email after two initial contacts. Things do, and can, happen: there could be problems with her/his email; s/he may have become suddenly hospitalized; s/he may be away (e.g. field-working in some remote locations of the world where there is limited or no access to email facilities--automated response should have been set up in this case); s/he may no longer be in that university. Short of these, or any similar reasons, if s/he has simply ignored/failed to reply your emails, it could be a sign that s/he would treat you in much the same way when you start your PhD with her/him. Your worst nightmare would be to send materials to your supervisor to read and provide feedbacks but fail to get any responses from her/him, even after several reminders. As HazyJane remarked, try and contact the departmental secretary or administrator and find out whether or not this academic has been around. Best of luck.

PHD or Doctorate's abroad, Africa in particular?
P

You didn't state why you want to head out of England for somewhere in Africa. That could have helped in putting your relocation plans into perspectives when responding to this post. Bewildered is absolutely right. Do you know how many Africans travel overseas (Europe, North America and Australasia) in pursuit of academic qualifications? DO NOT, and I mean NEVER EVER consider obtaining higher degrees anywhere in Africa except South Africa. Even so, only do so at the exceptionally good ones (e.g. the University of Cape Town, Rhodes University or Stellenbosh University), if they offer the programme(s) you're interested in. Cape Town university and city, in particular, favourably compares with many Western European and North American universities and cities. Good luck.