Thread: Patience is a virtue ..... they reckon

Originally Posted by austastar

Some students used to do unimaginably contorted keyboard work to mimic what could be achieved with a simple style.
Cheers

This! Seen it much over the years too. It often brought meaning to the mundane of reviewing revision x of a draft thesis, trying to decipher formatting issues.

Hello Windsock and Austastar,

I readily admit that I am no Word whiz. The only way I have learnt deeper insight of the foibles of Word is when something stuffs up. The biggest resource has been the internet and this thread and people like yourselves who have most kindly contributed to it.

It should be conditional that an institute that offers post graduate degrees employs a dedicated person on staff, or have arranged access to a contractor who is available for candidates to either train how to set up their thesis using the current version of Word and related suite programs to provide tips and tricks. Plus, be available to trouble shoot. Someone who is fully aware of just how important that single document is to the candidate. For example, a certain institution that I am aware of directs candidates to a pre-recorded tutorial regarding setting up your thesis that features a copy of Word that is not even the current version. Oh, the same place that features 'exemplar' theses that do not include any from my faculty. The same place that are promulgators of a mandatory title page and acknowledgements section that corrupts the rest of the thesis. Go figure!

Kind regards
Lionel

Originally Posted by Lionelgee

Hello Windsock and Austastar,

I readily admit that I am no Word whiz. The only way I have learnt deeper insight of the foibles of Word is when something stuffs up. The biggest resource has been the internet and this thread and people like yourselves who have most kindly contributed to it.

It should be conditional that an institute that offers post graduate degrees employs a dedicated person on staff, or have arranged access to a contractor who is available for candidates to either train how to set up their thesis using the current version of Word and related suite programs to provide tips and tricks. Plus, be available to trouble shoot. Someone who is fully aware of just how important that single document is to the candidate. For example, a certain institution that I am aware of directs candidates to a pre-recorded tutorial regarding setting up your thesis that features a copy of Word that is not even the current version. Oh, the same place that features 'exemplar' theses that do not include any from my faculty. The same place that are promulgators of a mandatory title page and acknowledgements section that corrupts the rest of the thesis. Go figure!

Kind regards
Lionel

Hello Lionel, Have endeavored to follow this thread as best I can, but what are you studying at the end of the day? Maybe you have mentioned it somewhere that is hiding from me?

It seem s a lot of hullabaloo to get something done & you seem to be having a hellava lot of obstacles put in your way.

Thanks.

4bee

Originally Posted by Lionelgee

Hello Windsock and Austastar,

I readily admit that I am no Word whiz. The only way I have learnt deeper insight of the foibles of Word is when something stuffs up. The biggest resource has been the internet and this thread. It should be conditional that an institute that offers post graduate degrees employs a dedicated person on staff, or have arranged access to a contractor who is available for candidates to either train how to use the current version of Word and related suite programs to provide tips and tricks. Plus, be able to be available to trouble shoot. Someone who is fully aware of just how important that single document is to the candidate.

Kind regards
Lionel

I wholly agree. It is a global issue. I have worked with or within two tertiary education providers and seen two very different levels of resourcing. Over time I have seen the really well resourced one forced to cut back due to cost constraints. The less well resourced one bounced around between under resourced and just fit for purpose. What you say is needed has not been the first time I have heard this call.

I often hear or read a mitigating argument that at postgrad level the expectation is on self-directed learning and research - "student, teach thyself". However, I have seen this in practice and if the student doesn't know what they don't know, self-directed learning is an aimless exercise in futility.

There is no doubt in my mind that one who gets to the point where they can submit a well reasoned and logical presentation of new knowledge has overcome far more than lack of knowledge in the topic.

Originally Posted by 4bee

Hello Lionel, Have endeavored to follow this thread as best I can, but what are you studying at the end of the day? Maybe you have mentioned it somewhere that is hiding from me?

It seem s a lot of hullabaloo to get something done & you seem to be having a hellava lot of obstacles put in your way.

Thanks.

4bee

Hello 4bee,

I think the expression is 'that it is character building'. Um how about .... from the book by Twilight of the Idols by Nietzsche (1888), “Aus der Kriegsschule des Lebens.—Was mich nicht umbringt, macht mich stärker,” which roughly translates as “Out of life’s school of war—what doesn’t kill me, makes me stronger.” Accessed 5th February 2022, from What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger - Dictionary.com.

It would also come under the guise of 'academic rigour'

One of the parts examiners focus on is the thesis' 'original contributions to knowledge'. I reckon I have that one covered in spades.

It is just now the matter of my surviving the foibles of Word. Plus, what I hope is the last round of corrections from my Principal Supervisor before a corrected version is made into a 'clean' copy and it gets sent off for examination.

I just have to wait patiently - Geeze - hasn't damn kettle boiled yet? Ooopsy - did I just let people know about my level of patience!

Kind regards
Lionel

Originally Posted by 4bee

Hello Lionel, Have endeavored to follow this thread as best I can, but what are you studying at the end of the day? Maybe you have mentioned it somewhere that is hiding from me?

It seem s a lot of hullabaloo to get something done & you seem to be having a hellava lot of obstacles put in your way.

Thanks.

4bee

Hello 4bee,

"What I am studying at the end of the day" - is the debilitating influence of stress and anxiety on all the domains of wellbeing in individuals with Autism. I have identified stress and anxiety as a root cause of debilitation by it exacerbating some factors and its subsequent undermining of other aspects of life. For example, you might have access to the most effective stress and anxiety control technique ever developed. This should allow you to take control and lower your level of stress and anxiety.

Your ability to enact this effective stress control technique is dependent upon your ability to recognise that your stress and anxiety levels are increasing. Because of other conditions related to Autism the ability to recognise stress and anxiety may not exist. Catch 22.

I have gone back to my own thesis a number of times and found where I outlined techniques to maintain and further develop the ability to recognise an individual's unique manifestations or intricacies of one's own stress and anxiety 'looks like'. Then sought out what strategies can be enlisted to stop being overwhelmed by stress and anxiety. Ergo, I have directly benefited from my own research on a number of occasions!

Kind regards
Lionel

Hi,
If you really want a monumental stuff-up in a Word document, put a senior manager behind the keyboard and give him 2 weeks paid leave at his weekender to produce a critical document with a deadline.
And then require the tech staff to convert it to a .pdf with clickable table of contents for the web.
Despite no use of styles,it did print correctly, because it fell in a heap at any editing attempts.
We ended up exporting it as text and then redoing it as per Word was designed to.
Cheers

Originally Posted by Lionelgee

Hello 4bee,

I think the expression is 'that it is character building'. Um how about .... from the book by Twilight of the Idols by Nietzsche (1888), “Aus der Kriegsschule des Lebens.—Was mich nicht umbringt, macht mich stärker,” which roughly translates as “Out of life’s school of war—what doesn’t kill me, makes me stronger.” Accessed 5th February 2022, from What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger - Dictionary.com.

It would also come under the guise of 'academic rigour'

One of the parts examiners focus on is the thesis' 'original contributions to knowledge'. I reckon I have that one covered in spades.

It is just now the matter of my surviving the foibles of Word. Plus, what I hope is the last round of corrections from my Principal Supervisor before a corrected version is made into a 'clean' copy and it gets sent off for examination.

I just have to wait patiently - Geeze - hasn't damn kettle boiled yet? Ooopsy - did I just let people know about my level of patience!

Kind regards
Lionel

Thanks Lionel but still N t W. You have now muddied the wqters even more so. If your character hasn't been built enough by now to enable you to get through your life as you know it so far, (& I'm guessing your age is aprox, 30 - 50 with a great sense of humour) then how the hell is what you are doing now going to improve it?
Not unless you like being bastardised by "perfect beings" with a peculiar interest in torture.

What is at the end of it, a better job, a better Salary, job satisfaction etc etc? Apologies for my 'igh falutin' words.


Des