======= Date Modified 03 Sep 2009 22:55:34 =======
Sorry just to clarify, you want a non-response?

Hmmm, let's try another smilie:

(robin)

Darn it, they don't work anymore.

well looks like I'm settling on for the night. A presentation to write, which I've been putting off all day. Anyone else on the graveyard shift?

Hmmm, bug off! This is my prize.

Time to test the old smilies to see if they still work:

(orlandobloom)

If there were just 2 or 3 authors I think people would probably conclude that the lion's share of the paper was probably written by the first author. I think alot of us in the same boat insofar as any papers that come off my PhD will have to be written by me. Interestingly, the protocol here is that the person who wrote the paper gets the first author. For some former students, it means that where the supervisor has merely taken the thesis and juiced the best bits into a paper, they take the first author rather than the PhD student who did the research.

I appreciate what you're saying, but would it have more kudos iwith the academic community in the long term if it was seen that you had collaborated with an emminent academic (however much you dislike them)?

You were saying? (van)

As far as I'm aware you can name whoever you want on the paper. Nonetheless, you wouldn't win too many friends if you left them off. There's also the possibility that you might be more likely to get published with a recognised name or two on the paper. I suppose the yardstick is whether they have supplied intellectual content to the paper or not and, if someone were to later quiz them the paper, whether they knew what it actually was all about. Tread carefully here, for academic jobs you often have to supply your supervisor as a reference!

You can add, edit, polish forever if you were so inclined and actually, if the fundamentals of the chapter are wrong, you could have wasted alot of time doing it. I've got past the stage of trying to impress by supervisors now, I just send them stuff and get a feel for whether it's good enough or not. Sounds a bit naff, I know, but if I carried on as I was doing, polishing and polishing, I'd never get the thing finished. Send it off and move onto the next!

I concur with Sue, grab any lecturing position you can because there ain't a huge amount going out there right now. I tested the water earlier in the summer with 4 jobs (I haven't submitted yet) and didn't get a sniff and I have a friend who has their PhD and has been postdocing, and he went for the same job as me and didn't get a sniff either. So yes, get in there!

Wise words indeed. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that your PhD has to be a masterpiece that will rewrite history. It is merely a training exercise in independent research and so long as you add your little bit to existing knowledge, the PhD will be yours.

Why thank you very much. I'm sure this milestone is worthy of another star, hey the PGF team? ;-)

======= Date Modified 26 Aug 2009 16:34:16 =======

Further to what the others have said, do not work in your bedroom (if you can), keep it separate and it will help you close off your work each day rather than psychologically taking it to bed with you. Best of all, if you have space, designate a specific room as the work room and stay out of it during non-working hours, likewise avoiding procrastination rooms (e.g. TV) during work hours.

I'm not sure how knowing the pass rate will help you improve your dissertation. I'm guessing that your supervisor is merely suggesting improvements (those of us doing PhDs are only too familiar with these) rather than necessarily suggesting your dissertation is weak. As Rubyw says, you should compare it with marking criteria to see where you think you stand.

Personally, i think getting to know Matlab is time well spent as it's a useful line for your CV. Can you acquire it from someone in the department?