Heather’s Doctorate Study Blog

oh I do like to be beside the sea….  especialy when its Sheep Dip Week starting tomorrow and I have NO CHANCE to be beside the seaside until Saturday!

Still, part of me is looking forward to it in a weird way - cohort capers, mumbling our way through presentations and praying that the red pen doesn’t come out too often

Still, one of my fave gurus is in town, and with any luck, I’ll get to catch up with another guru who is visting a nearby uni

In the meantime, wish me luck - I’ll be up at “good heavens its still night time” for a full on day (dear Brain, if you’re reading this, pay attention and switch on ready for tomorrow)

Somewhere out there are 2 anonymous reviewers whom I have to thank for their critique of my submission: I have plenty of food for thought to add grist to the mill - thank you!  Paper submission accepted - GULP.  Hopefully you can access it (brace yourself!) here

I know the prospect of actually getting my ideas “out there” in the wider context of the academic world has filled me with not-insubstantial or insignificant trepidation.  But the best bit is, the comments I have received are not only insightful, but there are even suggestions I can follow up on, and areas I need to focus on to strengthen my thought.  Even the “you forgot this bit” type stuff and the “style style style” issues!!

Like all advice however, there are bits we acknowledge and “take on board”, and bits at 1st glance we think “pah”.  The space I have now is to reflect on this feedback and work out where next - and pull a lil revised paper together (most likely) for the actual conference itself.  And a presentation. Oh goodie.

Bloody hell! More work!

He’s only gone & become a Professor!

Look out for the news on Brunel Business School: HWMBO is the new Prof. of Organisational Transformation - EXCELLENT!!!!!

I have opted to stay with Cranfield - I love the place, have my support network embedded there, and have my cohort colleagues to play with every time we have a study week.

And of course, its not like HWMBO doesnt deserve it… good on yer Prof!

Sometimes in the maelstrom of my thought process, I manage to snap shot an idea, or a few words, or a squiggly pic that ends up on my desk, or my whiteboard (yes, sad as I am I have a whiteboard at home), and every so often, a rocking moment of “hmmmmm” in the armchair will take me back to that capture moment…. and I recall with absolute clarity the phrase or feeling or imagery which caught my imagination.

Today’s moment: catch sight of a txt file snippet I had on the side of my screen with the words: “morphogenic mutation?”

Now what does that conjure up?

Loaded words… new whiteboard please, I filled the current one!

We have homework to do in preparation for our forthcoming study week (translation: “fit even more stuff in to life, engage brain on another plane; understand virtual 3d jigsaw of how YOUR research topics fit with Rest of Academic World…)

And one of the best bits I love about studying at Cranfield is this accessibility to the best and brightest in the academic world - doesn’t mater if they’re not there in their own capacity; they are there by this almost ethereal thread of fellow scholarship and tribal support (I recall the tribe bit from a previous blog moment)

And the bit I like best is: we’re not taken for total numpties, and we are acknowledged for our potential contributions to practice (Knowledge into Action: sound like a familiar tag line??) (Clue: its on the Cranfield SOM web site…)

But, back to reality, we are awarded doctorate degrees on our ability to engage in academic debate, and defend our theses on the premise of these conversations in research. And THAT’s one of my biggest challenges.  It’s no wonder my supervisor bless him gets so frustrated with me!

Anyway, this was triggered by some great feedback I had from guru Anne Huff : “Get the academic story right with just an anchoring nod to practice” - and I can’t wait to get back in the room now!