One of our Dissertation House (DH) students started her own blog.  Margaret is a Chemistry student at UMBC and she is moving right along. Enjoy her posts, they will make you smile! http://adventuresofdissertationwriting.wordpress.com/ . Margaret wore her “6 Steps to Completing Your Dissertation” tee-shirt (distributed by AAAS at the American Chemical Society – ACS conference) to the DH last Friday. Humor is incorporated in the design of the shirt which describes the steps as drudgery, procrastination, panic, despair, drudgery, and printing.  Perhaps step 3 fits Margaret’s post for today, “Freak Out Moment #1.” We applaud Margaret on her blog and on her determination to work through the drudgery toward the great reward!

You can read comments from other DH students on our online challenge page. http://dissertationhouse.wordpress.com/blog-online-challenge/summer-2011-challenge/

One of our Dissertation House (DH) students started her own blog.  Margaret is a Chemistry student at UMBC and she is moving right along. Enjoy her posts, they will make you smile! http://adventuresofdissertationwriting.wordpress.com/ . Margaret wore her “6 Steps to Completing Your Dissertation” tee-shirt (distributed by AAAS at the American Chemical Society – ACS conference) to the DH last Friday. Humor is incorporated in the design of the shirt which describes the steps as drudgery, procrastination, panic, despair, drudgery, and printing.  Perhaps step 3 fits Margaret’s post for today, “Freak Out Moment #1.” We applaud Margaret on her blog and on her determination to work through the drudgery toward the great reward!

You can read comments from other DH students on our online challenge page. http://dissertationhouse.wordpress.com/blog-online-challenge/summer-2011-challenge/

This morning, Dr. Carter led a session called, “Good Morning Dissertation House!” This “Good Morning America” styled interview exercise allowed students to discuss their research in a succinct way, with imposed time limits.  Dr. Carter tackled issues of nervousness, rambling, organized thought, purposeful gestures, and confident volume. DH members joined the conversation following each interview to offer their peers constructive feedback. One member said that he now realizes that speaking about his research at any given time will be something that he will be expected to be able to do as a person with a Ph.D.

Suggested resources include joining a Toastmasters chapter to practice public speaking, and the book “Speaking About Science” by Barrett Whitener and Scott Morgan.  (This book is available online and in UMBC’s Bookstore.) We also discussed Whitener’s “Hour Glass” method of explaining your work which prompts speakers to talk about their topics broadly as a first step, then narrowly as you get to the middle of the talk, and end with broad statements to accommodate listeners at all levels.

Today is the final day of the Dissertation House at UMBC.  The Editor of the UMBC Magazine visited us a few times this week, so you may see more about The Dissertation House in a future issue of that publication.  We hope that our students leave with a sense of accomplishment and motivation as they work to finish their dissertations on this road toward the Ph.D.

This morning, Dr. Carter led a session called, “Good Morning Dissertation House!” This “Good Morning America” styled interview exercise allowed students to discuss their research in a succinct way, with imposed time limits.  Dr. Carter tackled issues of nervousness, rambling, organized thought, purposeful gestures, and confident volume. DH members joined the conversation following each interview to offer their peers constructive feedback. One member said that he now realizes that speaking about his research at any given time will be something that he will be expected to be able to do as a person with a Ph.D.

Suggested resources include joining a Toastmasters chapter to practice public speaking, and the book “Speaking About Science” by Barrett Whitener and Scott Morgan.  (This book is available online and in UMBC’s Bookstore.) We also discussed Whitener’s “Hour Glass” method of explaining your work which prompts speakers to talk about their topics broadly as a first step, then narrowly as you get to the middle of the talk, and end with broad statements to accommodate listeners at all levels.

Today is the final day of the Dissertation House at UMBC.  The Editor of the UMBC Magazine visited us a few times this week, so you may see more about The Dissertation House in a future issue of that publication.  We hope that our students leave with a sense of accomplishment and motivation as they work to finish their dissertations on this road toward the Ph.D.

Dr. Carter opened yesterday’s Summer Dissertation House at UMBC with a discussion on how to improve your working relationship with your advisor.  Tips included being on time for scheduled meetings, being prepared with written results and goals, and respecting the nature of the relationship by not treating it like a casual friendship.  The afternoon speaker was Dr. Jay LaVelle Ingram, Director of University Counseling Services for UMBC. Dr. Ingram took the group through some exercises and incorporated humor throughout her “counseling session.” The top discussions dealt with sleep deprivation and balance.

Some highlights from Dr. Ingram included the following points:

• If you don’t decide to stop, you WILL finish your dissertation.
• Have a vision of yourself as Dr. ________.
• You are running a marathon, not a sprint.
• Know the difference between necessities and luxuries. Sleep is a necessity, not a luxury. Food is a necessity. Exercise is a necessity.
• Learn how to say “no” without explanation, and learn how to say “yes” when people volunteer to help you.

Adhering to the doctor’s advice to take a “real” break every two hours, and to engage in something completely different from your work, members of the DH went downstairs and took an “ice cream break” around 3 PM to enjoy the free ice cream and waffle bowl cones that the university sponsored as one of the summer activities in the Commons.

Dr. Carter opened yesterday’s Summer Dissertation House at UMBC with a discussion on how to improve your working relationship with your advisor.  Tips included being on time for scheduled meetings, being prepared with written results and goals, and respecting the nature of the relationship by not treating it like a casual friendship.  The afternoon speaker was Dr. Jay LaVelle Ingram, Director of University Counseling Services for UMBC. Dr. Ingram took the group through some exercises and incorporated humor throughout her “counseling session.” The top discussions dealt with sleep deprivation and balance.

Some highlights from Dr. Ingram included the following points:

• If you don’t decide to stop, you WILL finish your dissertation.
• Have a vision of yourself as Dr. ________.
• You are running a marathon, not a sprint.
• Know the difference between necessities and luxuries. Sleep is a necessity, not a luxury. Food is a necessity. Exercise is a necessity.
• Learn how to say “no” without explanation, and learn how to say “yes” when people volunteer to help you.

Adhering to the doctor’s advice to take a “real” break every two hours, and to engage in something completely different from your work, members of the DH went downstairs and took an “ice cream break” around 3 PM to enjoy the free ice cream and waffle bowl cones that the university sponsored as one of the summer activities in the Commons.

This morning, we launched the first round of the Summer Dissertation House on UMBC’s campus. The day included introductions and goal-setting. Dr. Janet Rutledge, Dean of the Graduate School and Vice Provost for Graduate Education, was the afternoon speaker.  Dr. Rutledge discussed rules and regulations regarding defense preparation and graduation requirements. She also discussed the importance of putting in the work to develop a strong, professional, long-term relationship with your mentor.  In this case, your mentor is your advisor, and your relationship should be collegial and should be built to last.

UMBC now has trial access to The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism. The trial runs through August 4, 2011.

The Johns Hopkins Online Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism is an indispensable resource for scholars and students of literary theory and discourse. Revised extensively to reflect a decade of rapidly changing scholarship, the Online Guide features 48 new entries and subentries. Compiled by 275 specialists from around the world, the Online Guide presents a comprehensive historical survey of the field's most important figures, schools, and movements. It includes more than 240 alphabetically arranged entries on critics and theorists, critical schools and movements, and the critical and theoretical innovations of specific countries and historical periods.

For off-campus access, please login via VPN first (http://vpn.umbc.edu), and follow the link to the UMBC Library Homepage. Then follow the link under "News & Events" on the library homepage. For more info on remote access, see http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/services/remoteaccess.php.

Please let us know what you think. Send your comments to Janet Hack at jhack@umbc.edu.