Newsletter May
Transcription
Newsletter May
NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION Issue 4 NUPSA Newcastle University Postgraduate Students’ Association May 2015 TYPE TAGLINE HERE IN THIS ISSUE Procrastination NUPSA AGM 2015 Updated Kellie Cathcart writes for us ATTENTION: ONCE AGAIN DUE TO UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES THE 2015 NUPSA AGM HAS BEEN POSTPONED TO THURSDAY MAY 14. WE APOLOGIZE FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE Find out what you can do to support Nepal Notice is hereby given that the 2015 NUPSA Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on Thursday May 14, 2015, commencing at 12.00pm, at the HMRI Building at the John Hunter Hospital. This is part of our new initiative of hosting the AGM at various campuses and locations. Transportation to HMRI can be arranged but is on a first come, first served basis. You are also welcome to take your own car as there is parking at HMRI but you need to book in for access. Alternatively, there is a direct bus route to HMRI The AGM will be preceded by the Semester 1 Free Lunch. An invitation is extended for Postgraduate and Honours students to attend. You will have a chance to catch up with the NUPSA Executive, make new friends and establish contact with students in your area of study, and also have an opportunity to find out about NUPSA – YOUR STUDENT ASSOCIATION at Newcastle University You are asked to confirm by Monday May 11 with the NUPSA office (email nupsa@newcastle.edu.au) if you will be attending. FOR THOSE WHO FORGET TO RESPOND, ARE NOT CERTAIN BEFOREHAND IF THEY CAN ATTEND, OR FIND OUT ABOUT THE LUNCH AFTER MAY 11– YOU WILL STILL BE ABLE TO ATTEND ON THE DAY, BUT THE GUESTS WHO HAVE RESPONDED BY THE TH 11 WILL BE SERVED FIRST. Page 2 Support for Nepal From the President’s Desk Page 3 Hear from Lorna Katusiime Page 3 Making friends - again A piece from our GLBTI representative Sink or Swim Page 4 A piece from the Thesis Whisperer Page 5-6 Attendees on the day will also receive a NUPSA bag and pen. Shut Up & Write Join us at this workshop PHD Movie Page 6 Update on the PhD movie sequel Page 7 PHD Comics Need a laugh? Page 8 NUPSA NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION | Issue 4 2 Procrastination by Kellie Cathcart other way. Why do today what you can put off till tomorrow! If I am being entirely honest I never used to be the kind of person that would put things off until the next day. During High School I was the annoying person in class who handed her work in early. When I got to my undergraduate days I again started work early. Organised a study schedule to ensure I would have enough time to do my work. Whilst my grades were not that great I could at least say I was organised. By the time I started my postgraduate studies all hell had broken lose and my assessments were started the week they were due. It wasn’t until I allowed myself just 4 hours to complete an entire case study worth 60% of my final mark that I realised I had become that person who puts off today what they can do tomorrow. In reflecting on my own experience and in the research I’ve done I have diagnosed myself as a procrastinator. I would and still do make lists of the tasks ahead of me. I break it down into the immediate, short term and long term tasks. But lists are not enough, what I need is action plans. So I have 7 strategies or tips that might help you beat the procrastination bug that seems more common than not for postgraduate studies. Don’t wait for the perfect time to do something because it doesn’t exist. There is no magical time to start reviewing your lecture notes or writing an assignment. Magic only happens in the world of Walt Disney, or Harry Potter. The saying ‘no strain no gain’ is rubbish. It could be that the reason we feel like we work better under stress, working hard against a deadline is that we seriously haven’t tried it any It’s a time of great accomplishment in other areas of your life. Well yes I can’t really deny that when I was writing my thesis my house hadn’t been cleaner. I did a lot of other things to put off writing my thesis. In doing them all I did was prolong my anguish over writing my thesis. Minimise the distractions in your environment. Use your common sense. Move away from TV’s, turn your phone off, and if there is loud music coming from the room next to you then try heading to the library to study. Break down the larger goals into smaller more achievable goals. Instead of looking at the year, look at the month, week or day if you need to. Set yourself smaller goals that contribute to the bigger goals. If you are writing an essay start typing up your cover sheet, make your footer and page numbers as a way of starting. If you are writing a lab report think of it in sections, introduction, methodology, results, discussion. Tick them off one by one across time so you feel you are working toward the large goal of a lab report. If you are studying for an exam focus on just one area of revision as a time. If you can forward plan then spend an hour of each week making one sheet of key points that you learned from each subject in a separate notebook and use this to revise at the end of the semester. Reward your hard work and use the promise of the reward to motivate you in completing your goal. Think about setting different rewards for different levels of achievement. When you finish a reading or reviewing a lecture then reward yourself with a small chocolate, a quick walk or watching a TV show. When you complete a chapter of your thesis then take the night of and socialise with friends. Make sure the reward matches the effort that you gave when completing the goal. My final recommendation is to ask for help. This could be help from a friend in joining forces and studying together, checking something with your supervisor or lecturer, or seeking help from a counsellor* on your struggles. It’s harder to procrastinate if you have let someone know your goals and keeps you motivated to achieve them. I’m not saying that these are the only things to help with procrastination, or that they will all be true for everyone. Maybe you will try one approach and it won’t work. Don’t give up, try another approach. Don’t be afraid to fail. It’s better to have tried and failed then to regret never having tried. *If you would like to chat with Kellie or another counsellor either online or face-toface visit her blog http://uonblogs.newcastle.edu.au/onlinecou nselling/ or phone the counselling service on 49215801 TO CONTACT KELLIE Kellie Cathcart is the online Counseller at Newcastle To contact her EMAIL onlinecounselling@newcastle.edu.au SKYPE UoNonlinecounsellor. NUPSA NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION | Issue 4 3 SUPPORTING NEPAL Lorna Katusiime 2015 NUPSA President Before: Nepal's Langtang Valley As you are aware, Nepal recently suffered a devastating earthquake with over 7,800 deaths and with another 16,390 people injured. As well, over 300,000 houses have been completely damaged and over 200,000 partially damaged due to 7.9 magnitude quake. The quake has also left almost a million children without classrooms, adding that almost 24,000 classrooms were damaged or destroyed. We have several postgraduate students at this University who are from Nepal and they would like to show their support for their friends and families as well as all the other people of Nepal and have started a collection of relief materials like medicines, clothes, blankets, etc. If you wish to help contribute, please contact Ritu Ritambhara.Aryal@uon.edu.au. We are working with Ritu to arrange for this to be sent to Nepal and then delivered straight to the people who need this. We are also happy to report that two of our local PhD students who were trekking in Nepal when the quake hit were found safe and have recently returned home. I know that some of their friends and colleagues are also fundraising for Nepal. Other ways that you can help: The School of Mathematics & Physical Sciences is hosting a gofundme campaign in support of one of our Maths lecturers Bishnu Lamichhane who has lost all his family’s homes. Or you can donate to Oxfam https://www.oxfam.org.au/ The International office has also interviewed one of our RhD students Raj Yadav, who was on the phone with his nephew when the earthquake hit. You can watch it here: https://vimeo.com/126763763 or on one of our Facebook pages. We also ask you to share this as widely as possible to show your support for one of our own students. After Nepal's Langtang Valley From the President’s Desk by Lorna Katusiime Hello all, come along and have your say in your student association as we reflect on our achievements and set new targets. I hope you are all ok. Life can be surprising and not always in a good way. In the space of a few short weeks, our community has been rocked by two natural disasters. The recent storm, the largest in a decade to hit New South Wales, and the earthquake that ripped through Nepal have seen devastating loss of lives and property. Our hearts go out to all of those who have been affected. We all have family and friends who are experiencing loss and pain as a result of what has happened in NSW and Nepal. The community response in the aftermath of these events is heart-warming. We extend our thanks to students, staff and community at large for support towards relief and rebuilding efforts. Thankfully the Australian government and the state of New South Wales have disaster recovery mechanisms and resources to ensure a quick recovery in the aftermath of any natural disaster. The university made every effort to ensure the impact on student learning was not adversely impacted by the storm and post disaster clean up. Many students have asked us how they can help in the wake of the earthquake in Nepal. We encourage you to get behind already available initiatives. A number of student clubs, the international office and community based organizations are already running disaster relief campaigns for Nepal. As you are aware, due to the storm, the NUPSA AGM, originally scheduled for April 22, 2015 was cancelled. It has been rescheduled and is now due to take place on May 14, 2015 at HMRI. I encourage you all to Also, the three minute thesis competition is coming up and I encourage you all to consider entering your faculty heat. Once again, NUPSA together with Helen Thursby have organised training workshops to help participants prepare. Participating in the 3MT provides an excellent opportunity to consolidate ideas around your PhD and showcase your research, as well as gain external feedback and support. You will have the opportunity to gain career enhancing skills, meet students from across the university, hear about their research, win prizes and most importantly, have fun! Please keep an eye out for other upcoming workshop series. I hope to see you around! God bless, Lorna NUPSA NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION | Issue 4 4 Making friends, again by Andi Deane, NUPSA GLBTI Officer I told my mum that I was gay when I was 16; she thought I was about to tell her I had gotten someone pregnant, Surprise! Suffice to say, she had no idea that I was a friend of Dorothy, I had become the perfect little straight actor. I’d started to attend a gay youth group so that I could meet other people like me, I met my first boyfriend, and everything seemed perfect. Unfortunately I was seen going to this youth group by a delightful bunch of people from school. The next school day was a whole school photo, they only did them every 5 years or so it was a big event. As my year was gathering in the courtyard outside the main school for our individual then year photos, all 150+ of us, my cover was blown and I was outed by a delightful girl called Beth. “That’s him, there, that’s the Queer!” She screamed with that foghorn mouth of hers, pointing towards me. I froze, for what seemed an eternity, with them all looking at me. What was I going to do? Then a teacher called my name and ushered me to the front of the individual photo queue, the photographer positioned me and took the photos, I still remember my knees shaking under my robes, and trying desperately to hold back the tears as he took the photo. I immediately left the room, but rather than returning to the courtyard, I ran through the deserted school and out the back gates and headed home. Over the next few weeks I began to haemorrhage friends, specifically male ones. Nothing too nasty happened, they just distanced themselves, would never call or sit with me at lunch or in class. I’d get called names in the corridors and on the bus, the lads would yell “bums against the walls” when I walked past. Then one day, I walked into the library and one of the rugby lads, the cutest actually, jumped up and ran towards me, grabbing me by the throat and pinning me to the wall, yelling at me that he wasn’t gay! Teachers eventually pulled him off me and it transpired that people had been teasing him, saying that I fancied him. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t have said no, but that’s not how being gay works, I can’t simply like someone, glance over at them and that will make them gay! (If only!) I would say losing friends like this hurt but in truth it didn’t. I had been living a lie for so long, fitting in, and playing it straight. I even kissed a girl during a game of spin the bottle at a house party once! Yuck!!! I was relieved, I was finally able to express who I was what I thought and I felt great. As I lost one set of friends, I gained new ones, gay ones and of course fag hags. It may seem odd to some, and perhaps familiar to others, I have never had a close straight male friend since losing them at 16. All of my close friends are gay or fully paid up fag hags. When I moved to Newcastle from the UK, I left my dear ones behind, and yes we keep in touch, but being half a world away just isn’t the same. I made plenty of friends when I arrived, but not many gay ones. My partner and I went to the local gay bar, the Gateway hotel, a few times and tried to socialise, but that got us nowhere fast, plus I loathe Karaoke. Eventually I made a few gay friends here in Newcastle, all outside bars and clubs, and indeed university. They all had the same problem; they were sociable and outgoing, but found it hard to make gay friends here. We decided to try to grow our group of friends but where to find them? I downloaded the Grindr and Growlr apps and began to chat to local people; unfortunately most are not looking for “friends” per say, and the group meet ups are NSFW. Eventually we came up with the idea of using MeetUp, and have formed a group for LGBTI people in the hunter region. We called the group Newys-out-friends. This has proved very successful, and to date 106 people have joined us. We have held 3 events in the last 2 months, a BBQ, lawn bowling and a social event in a bar. We are meeting up for drinks again this Saturday in town if any LGBTI students, staff or friends want to join us please feel most welcome to. The membership is diverse and friendly. Details are available here http://www.meetup.com/Newys-OutFriends/, everyone is welcome to join the group, it’s free and more events will follow. If you have any ideas or suggestions for events or know of any GLBTI related events please get in touch need my email is Andrew.deane@newcastle.edu.au Hope to see some of you on Saturday Oh and don’t forget IDAHOT on May 15 International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia Friday 15 May 11am Newcastle Library, Laman St Newcastle. Free music, morning tea, photo booth, tree wrapping, other activities, Outing Disability exhibition and more.... NUPSA NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION | Issue 4 5 Sink or Swim by Victoria Graham and Michelle Redman-MacLaren Anyone who has swum for exercise will know it can be gruelling. We are talking about lapswimming-in-a-pool for exercise here (not long, leisurely strokes in the warm Pacific Ocean for example). Both of us love to swim (well, ‘love’ might be a stretch for Michelle) and at the end of a recent #ShutupandWrite session, we talked about our respective progress with our swimming. During the discussion, we realised there are many parallels between swimming and writing a research thesis. So let’s jump in: It is hard to get started and warm up, even with instructions and lanes to follow When you first jump in the pool, there is a sense of both excitement and duty. You know a challenge lies ahead. The first few laps are the hardest as your body adjusts to being in the water. It is a struggle to regulate breathing as you adjust to the underwaterworld. Swimming with limited breath can sometimes feel scary, but once you slow down and let yourself flow into the rhythm, you gradually unwind and take control. You recall the coach’s instructions and concentrate on the lane markers below – eyes pinned to floor. Focus, focus, focus, turn – and now onto the second lap. Getting in the flow is pure joy Like starting a research thesis, getting started is often the hardest part of the swim. The initial wobbliness is forgotten as you use your stroke to find rhythm. Perseverance is as essential to swimming laps as it is to writing a thesis. Gliding through the water without a worry in the world can be like the initial drafting of the thesis. Once you really discover what your research question is and better still, you think you know how to answer the question, writing can be pure pleasure. Maybe you will contribute something towards solving that biggest of environmental (or social) dilemmas of the 21st century. Sometimes it hurts after a big session and you just need to rest Usually after a big swim you feel exhausted. Goals have been set and attained. However, thinking about how challenging that swim was and how much you have yet to overcome is scary. Like in swimming, ‘thesis triumphs’ are short-lived as you realise this was only one day out of one thousand and ninety-five (365 x 3 years). The Imposter’s voice starts, “Maybe I should get out now while I can” and “What was I thinking taking this on?” Do not entertain said Imposter. Instead of swimming that extra lap (or writing for just one more hour), finish your session on a high and leave yourself wanting more. The next day your body will thank you. Remember, if you finish a session feeling defeated rather than exhilarated, it makes it that much harder to start-up again next time. Sometimes there is no time to rest (and the coach won’t let you) Rest in short breaks and rest in moderation. It is no good swimming flat out until you can’t swim anymore and then taking a long break. When you return to swimming after getting out of routine, it is harder to achieve your goals. Sometimes there are deadlines to be met “10 x 100 metres in 20 minutes”, and your coach is watching. Remember you approached your coach (or someone approached them on your behalf) because you knew you could achieve this goal with some support, so you had better listen to what they say. In the beginning, the coach will explain the finer details – lift your arm higher out of the water more, pull your stroke right through…but as you improve and grow in confidence, you will need your coach less. This also holds for doing a research thesis- enjoy your supervisor’s interest in your progress (and the cheering as you earn it) because it will not last forever. Swimmers around you may not be swimming at your pace – swim your own race All swimmers need to swim at their own pace. If you start too slow, you feel left behind. But if you start too fast, you risk peaking too early. Swimming is less about intensity as it is about patience and perseverance. The first two laps always feel hard, not matter how fit you are. But get through them and you fall into a languid, fluid stroke. Just like swimmers, graduate researchers need to swim their own race. Sometimes you feel productive and awesome, other times you feel overcome. However, persevere, set your own goals and do not compare yourself to those around you. This is your race. You need to sprint at the end – it’s the only way to make it on time Most PhD students in the ‘final-lap’ of their thesis are sprinting. You know the research thesis is a marathon not a sprint, but like any good marathon swimmer, you know you need to sprint the final lap. You want to bring it home strong. The final lap is the best lap and you swim your best time on the home stretch. Once you reach your final lap, everything has crystallised. You have relaxed into your stroke, got your breathing pattern under control and you feel like you could keep going forever. In the final-lap’ of the a research thesis, you know what you are talking about and better still have the ability to express it up clearly. The end stretch needs to be focused for you to finish on a high. So what have we learnt and what can we do differently: Accountability is key – be it your peers, your family or friends. Writing goals are shortlived if you have no-one to be accountable to and worse still, no one to share your successes with (note the use of the plural here, because there will be many). NUPSA NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION | Issue 4 6 Michelle is an Australian social worker/public health researcher who has worked in rural, remote and international settings for over 20 years. Passionate about the Pacific, Michelle currently facilitates research capacity strengthening in PNG and Solomon Islands and is completing her PhD about HIV prevention with women in PNG. You can read about Michelle’s research here. Perseverance is essential. You have probably heard it said a research thesis is 10% intelligence and 90% perseverance. Don’t force yourself into going too fast at the beginning; remember it is a marathon, not a sprint. Make sure you leave enough energy for your final lap. You will definitely want to sprint then! Remember; try not to finish each session feeling exhausted. Always, reserve a bit of energy for what’s around the corner. Does our swimming metaphor resonate for you? Do you participate in a sport that has taught you something about writing a postgraduate thesis? Do you disagree? We would love to hear from you. Post your thoughts on twitter using the hash tag This was originally posted on the Thesis Whisperer website. NUPSA regularly prints articles found here and would recommend you check them out if you are looking for inspiration or distraction from your studies. The Thesis Whisperer Just like the horse whisperer – but with more pages #sinkorswim This post is the joint effort of Victoria Graham and Michelle Redman-MacLaren, both of James Cook University. Save your energy. When you are feeling worn down after a big session, be kind to yourself. Rest and regain your strength. Victoria is passionate about conservation biology and has dedicated the last four years studying just this. She loves to write and is currently completing an MPhil at James Cook University investigating the potential of a carbon incentive scheme for mitigating climate change and conserving forests in Southeast Asia. You can read about Victoria’s research here. Shut Up & Write As referred to in the Thesis Whisperer article, NUPSA also does Shut Up & Write sessions as part of its support for postgraduate students. We are hosting the weekly Shut Up & Write Sessions throughout the Semester on Thursdays in HA 158 (Hunter Meeting Room, Hunter Building. The idea is simple: We will get together for a regular writing session at a convenient location possibly the library but somewhere with power points and coffee if needed. After introductions, each person sits quietly and writes. It doesn’t matter what you write, just as long as you How it works: Every Thursday Arrive 1.00pm - settle in, turn off electronic devices and start writing 1.05pm door is locked 1.25 pm – stop writing, have a break and grab a coffee/tea. There will be free coffee and tea available or you can pop over to the Bites café and grab a “real” coffee. 1.30pm start writing again 2.00pm – finish .session 1 Commence session 2 2.05pm door is locked 2.25 pm – stop writing, have a break and grab a coffee/tea. There will be free coffee and tea available or you can pop over to the Bites café and grab a “real” coffee. 2.30pm start writing again 3.00pm – finish .session 2 If this session is not suitable, please let us know and we will see about other times. NUPSA NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION | Issue 4 7 The PhD Movie – an update In 2011, an independent comic strip writer took huge risk and did something that had never been done before: an independently produced movie adaptation of an online comic. The PHD Movie, based on Piled Higher and Deeper Comics (phdcomics.com), that we include each month in our newsletter and featured real grad students and scientists in many of the lead roles (including producer and director), and was screened at over 500 Universities and Research Centres worldwide (including Antarctica!) during its release. In December 2011, NUPSA became one of those locations, holding a screening of The PhD Movie and was one of the first Universities and the first regional University to screen it in Australia. Filmed on location at the California Institute of Technology, the movie followed four graduate students and their struggles with teaching, love and getting their research to work. 'Piled Higher and Deeper (PHD)' is a liveaction adaptation of the popular web comic strip by Jorge Cham. With humour and heart, the film follows the personal journeys of two graduate students as they struggle to find their place in the confusing (and often hilarious) world of high-stakes Academic research. Along the way, they learn that the academic journey is as much about finding truth in books and experiments as it is about finding truth in you. Filmed on location at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), the film features real scientists and researchers (including two MacArthur 'genius' award recipients). In 2014 Jorge Chan decided to create a film that follows up on the characters from the first movie and tells more hilarious and heartfelt stories from the front lines of Academic research. Whereas the first movie was about creativity and passion, the theme of the second movie will be the Quest for Significance (significant results, feeling significant). The general plot finds Cecilia about to submit and defend her thesis. Expect lots of jokes about the agony of writing, dealing with your committee, more jokes about being a Teaching Assistant and overcoming the dreaded Impostor Syndrome. NUPSA again decided to be involved with this and contributed to the kickstarter fundraiser for this movie with the aim of, not only screening it here but also being actively a part of the movie. (To find out how, you will need to wait until the screening) Due to the interest in this fundraiser, the goal of a 30 minute movie was exceeded and has become an 1 hour and 15 minute movie - The PHD Movie 2: Still in Grad School To watch the trailer go to http://phdcomics.com/movie/ They are currently in post-production for this film and are planning screenings for later this year and NUPSA will certainly be screening this. We are thinking of screening Movie 1 on week and Movie 2 the next week. We are also planning to screen at other locations – just let us know if you are interested. So watch this space for details or send as an email for suggestions on screening order and locations. Email us at nupsa@newcastle.edu.au and keep an eye on our Facebook page and twitter feed for updates. NUPSA NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION | Issue 4 PhD Comics NUPSA Newcastle University Postgraduate Students’ Association How to contact us The NUPSA office is located in Room HA150 (opposite Huxley Library) Hunter Building, Callaghan Campus. The office is open Monday to Friday from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm. Telephone number is (02) 4921 8894 email - nupsa@newcastle.edu.au Check out the NUPSA web site - nupsa.org.au Follow us on twitter - @Your_NUPSA Or join our Facebook page HA 150 Hunter Building Callaghan NSW 2308 https://www.facebook.com/NewcastleUniversityPostgraduateStudentsAssociation Contact us 4921 8894 nupsa@newcastle.edu.au nupsa.org.au 8