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NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION
Issue 3
NUPSA
Newcastle
University
Postgraduate
Students’
Association
April 2015
YOUR STUDENT ASSOCIATION
IN THIS ISSUE
Asking for help
NUPSA AGM 2015 Updated
ATTENTION: DUE TO UNFORESEEN
CIRCUMSTANCES THE 2015 NUPSA AGM
HAS BEEN POSTPONED TO WEDNESDAY
APRIL 22, 2015. WE APOLOGIZE FOR ANY
INCONVENIENCE
Notice is hereby given that the 2015 NUPSA
Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held
on Wednesday April 22, 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 Thursday April
16 with the NUPSA office (email
[email protected]) 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 APRIL 13– YOU WILL STILL
BE ABLE TO ATTEND ON THE DAY, BUT
THE GUESTS WHO HAVE RESPONDED BY
TH
THE 13 WILL BE SERVED FIRST.
Attendees on the day will also receive a
NUPSA bag and pen.
Kellie Cathcart writes on the benefits of
asking for help.
Page 2
From the President’s Desk
Hear from Lorna Katusiime.
Page 3
Frozen in Newcastle
The director of Disney’s hit Frozen is
coming to Newcastle.
Page 3
April & May NUPSA workshops
A full list of NUPSA run workshops for
the next two months.
Pages 4 & 5
Four More Reasons People
Quit the Ph.D.
Hillary Rettig outlines 4 more reasons
why people quit a Ph.D.
Page 6 & 7
Roller coaster ride in
Newcastle University!
Are your brave enough to participate?
Page 7
PhD Comics
Page 8
NUPSA NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION | Issue 3
2
Asking for Help
by Kellie Cathcart
Helen Keller captured my thoughts
beautifully when she wrote the comment
“Alone we can do so little; together we can
do so much”. If only people would believe
this and see that collaborating and asking for
help is a sign of strength rather than a
weakness. Asking someone for help is not
admitting you have no skills or strengths as a
person but that you value their skills in the
area you need and you would like to learn
from them. It also allows that person to feel
better about themselves for being able to
give to someone else; in fact scientists tell us
that when we are able to help someone or
give someone something we release
Oxytocin, a powerful bond-stimulating
hormone, making us feel good about
ourselves. So in asking for help from
someone else you are really giving them
something as well.
There are a lot of benefits to asking for help
with lots of different things in your life.
Asking for help might reduce your stress
levels; it might give you some relief from
your thoughts and feelings through sharing
the load. You could find some useful
strategies and ways to cope, or learn a new
skill. It could help you to feel less alone and
allow you to connect with someone new, or
strengthen a relationship with someone you
already know. You could stop a problem
getting bigger, from spiralling out of your
control.
I know I struggle at times to ask others for
help, and I sometimes struggle to accept that
I have flaws and can’t do it all by myself.
Knowing when to ask for help can be tricky.
Knowing who to ask for help can be just as
tricky. I heard Gail White welcoming some
students to the University of Newcastle at
the beginning of the year and she
congratulated them on choosing to study at
the University of Newcastle. I remember
thinking at the time that as students it must
be comforting to hear that they had made a
good choice. Now that I am part of trying to
make the student experience here at UON a
positive one I realise that it was a good
choice of mine to come work at UON. Here I
have been able to develop online counselling
services for students in a way that reflects
what the students want and need. You can
now access information about mental health
and student success from your computer or
smartphone device whilst sitting at home or
anywhere. I have been able to offer online
skype sessions to students off campus,
whether they are studying by distance
education or are away on placement. I have
also been able to offer these sessions outside
of business hours as well as in a casual sense
if you don’t want an appointment but just
have a few enquiries.
The new approach is something I find
exciting and I love being able to offer
students help when they ask. I guess the
scientists were right about the Oxytocin
release. But if you don’t find this way of
accessing help is for you we also offer
traditional face-to-face appointments and
some group sessions around campus on
different things like stress management and
mindfulness. If you want more information
you
can
visit
the
blog
https://uonblogs.newcastle.edu.au/onlinecou
nselling/ or you can call us on 49215801.
All of this wouldn’t be possible though if you
were not asking for help. So I guess Helen
Keller was right when she said “Alone we can
do so little; together we can do so much” and
next time you are struggling reach out and
ask us “Can you help me?”
TO CONTACT KELLIE
Kellie Cathcart is the online Counseller at
Newcastle To contact her
EMAIL
[email protected]
SKYPE
UoNonlinecounsellor.
NUPSA NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION | Issue 3
3
Oscar-winning Disney director
Chris Buck visits UON
The Academy Award-winning creator of Frozen,
Chris Buck, is making an epic and exclusive
journey to Newcastle.
As a UON Visiting Fellow, Chris will share the
experiences of a stellar 40-year creative career.
Chris has worked on many of Disney's most
popular movies including Tarzan, Surf's Up,
Pocahontas, The Little Mermaid and Who Framed
Roger Rabbit?.
UON has a vision for Newcastle as a hub of
creativity and innovation. Chris's insights and his
personal story will inspire our community to help
shape the future of our city and region.
At UON we know that nurturing and celebrating
new thinking inspires creativity. Through our
Disruptive Innovation Works series, we encourage
our community to engage with the
unconventional. Chris Buck will share his
remarkable story and award-winning creativity
with us during two Disruptive Innovation Works
events:.
Public talk – Wednesday 22 April – Newcastle City
Hall
'No Regrets': Behind the scenes of a creative life
Masterclass – Thursday 23 April – Great Hall, UON
Callaghan campus
'The art of story': a masterclass with a master
storyteller
You are invited to be a part of Chris's exclusive
visit to Newcastle. More information about the
talk and masterclass is available on each event
page, with details on reserving your seat.
Registration is essential for both events.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
http://www.newcastle.edu.au/events/home/disrup
tive-innovation-works-chris-buck
http://www.newcastle.edu.au/events/currentstudents/the-art-of-story-a-masterclass-with-amaster-story-teller
From the President’s Desk
by Lorna Katusiime
Hello all,
This has been a busy month for us. It has
been wonderful interacting with you at
various events. We are excited about the
rising number of students volunteering their
time with NUPSA. A big thank you to all the
postgrads volunteered their time to get
involved this month. Special shouts to
Cameron for helping us put on the best bush
tucker barbecue during the Harmony week
celebration in Civic Park. We were also happy
to hear your feedback on our last newsletter
issue. We really do appreciate your taking
time to read it and share your ideas on how
we can make it better!
Every year, the university comes alive during
the harmony week celebrations as students
from diverse backgrounds unit to share in the
richness of their individual cultures. It was
great to see many of you participate in the
celebration, the highlight of which are the
music and food showcase by talented
students
from
culturally
diverse
backgrounds. As part of the celebrations,
NUPSA hosted a barbeques at NBS, HMRI as
well as contributed to organizing the Holi
festival at Callaghan.
Look out for our workshops opportunities on
offer this month! These workshops are freely
available to all postgraduate students and
are designed to enhance your skills for
academic success. You are welcome to
attend as many as you like. NUPSA aims to
provide additional support for postgraduate
students through workshops, working in
collaboration with other university entities to
improve your research experience. We
continue to expand the range of workshops
available and are looking to increase the
number of workshops offered in 2015 at
satellite campuses.
I hope you all took the opportunity to step
out from assignments, exams and research
deadlines to enjoy the Easter weekend.
Social events for postgraduate students are a
major part of NUPSA activities and various
activities are planned throughout the year to
keep you entertained and informed.
nd
Please mark April 22 on your calendar. Our
annual general meeting will take place on the
nd
22 of this month at HMRI and we are very
much looking forward to it. We will be
sharing with you some of NUPSA’s
achievements in the previous year as well as
our plans for the current year. Come along to
participate in the discussion. It is also a great
opportunity to make friends and network
with other students.
We love to hear from you so don’t be a
stranger.
I hope to see you around!
God bless,
Lorna
NUPSA NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION | Issue 3
April & May NUPSA Workshops
Shut Up & Write
3 Minute Thesis
4
Faculty of Science & Information Technology,
Schools of Creative Arts & Humanities
Workshop 1 8 May 10-12pm The Clubhouse
Workshop 2 15 May 10-12pmThe Clubhouse
Practice Session June 12 10-12pm ATC 210
REGISTRATIONS ARE REQUIRED
If you wish to attend you can book in at
https://uonpostgraduates.typeform.com/to/yLHoQf
Thinking about doing the 3 Minute Thesis?
Want some help preparing?
The NUPSA has got you covered with our
3 Minute Thesis Preparation
Workshops
Faculty Heat dates:
Faculty of Business & Law Friday June 5
Faculty of Education & Arts: Friday June 26
Faculty of Engineering & Built Environment
Thursday July 9
Faculty of Health & Medicine Friday June 19
Faculty
of
Science
&
Information
Technology: Friday July 3
We once again are hosting the weekly Shut
Up & Write Sessions throughout the
Semester starting after the Easer break –
April 23 in HA 158 (Hunter Meeting Room,
Hunter Building)
University Final: Wednesday July 15 10am CT
202. For further details click on the link below
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
The winner of the UoN final will then move
on to compete in the National/Trans-Tasman
competition at the University of Queensland
on 2 October 2015.
How it works:
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
http://www.newcastle.edu.au/research-andinnovation/graduate-research/currentstudents/three-minute-thesis-competition
NUPSA and Helen Thursby have got
together to organise training workshops to
help you prepare.
Semester 1 Confirmation
workshops.
There will be two preparation workshops
followed by a practice session where you get
to present your 3 Minute Thesis in front of an
audience and receive feedback. These
sessions have been popular in the past and
have proven successful for the participants.
Want to attend?
Group A: Faculty of Business & Law, School of
Education
Workshop 1 16 April 3-5pm The Clubhouse
Workshop 2 23 April 3-5pm The Clubhouse
Practice School of Education 30 April 3-5pm
The Clubhouse
Practice FB&L 14 May 10-11.30am The Oasis
room
Group B: Faculty of Engineering & Built
Environment, Faculty of Health & Medicine,
Introduction to Research Study
14 April, 2015
Presented by Helen Thursby
3.00pm to 5.00pm
Location The Clubhouse (under Bar on the
Hill)
NUPSA NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION | Issue 3
The first workshop will provide an
opportunity for discussion of candidates’
experiences during their research program so
far and offer suggestions for managing
concerns. Strategies for efficient and critical
reading will be discussed and practised.
provide information on how to produce an
organised and critical discussion that shows
your reader how you have used the literature
in this discussion.
Presented by Helen Thursby
3.00pm to 5.00pm
Location The Clubhouse (under Bar on the
Hill)
Research can produce great results but
unless the thesis is well written, the world
will not know about it! This workshop offers
more strategies and the opportunity to
practise effective reading and summarising
of academic articles.
Writing for Confirmation 2 (note this
is a different workshop to Writing for
Confirmation 1)
April 28, 2015
Presented by Helen Thursby
3.00pm to 5.00pm
Location The Clubhouse (under Bar on the
Hill)
The focus of this workshop will be on the
writing of a critical review of the literature
relevant to your field of study. It will address
the purpose of the literature review and
Expressions of Interest
NUPSA is still seeking Expressions of Interest
for Thesis boot camp as advertised last
month.
Thesis Bootcamps a basically a weekend long
version of Shut Up and Write. Dedicated
solely to getting words down on paper (or a
computer screen), this program is designed
to help you get over that final hurdle or to
kick-start your writing progress if it has
stalled.
Sign up to join other postgraduate research
comrades in a no-excuses, no-time-forprocrastination, take-no-prisoners intensive
Managing Questions
May 19, 2015
Presented by Helen Thursby
Preparing an Oral Presentation
Writing for Confirmation 1 (note this
is a different workshop to Writing for
Confirmation 2)
April 21, 2015
5
May 5, 2015
3.00pm to 5.00pm
Location The Clubhouse (under Bar on the
Hill)
Presented by Helen Thursby
3.00pm to 5.00pm
Location The Clubhouse (under Bar on the
Hill)
This workshop will begin with a discussion of
concerns you might have regarding
presenting in front of an audience. We will
discuss ways to approach the task and
suggestions will be offered to help you to
plan a presentation.
Planning Visuals for a Presentation
May 12, 2015
Presented by Helen Thursby
3.00pm to 5.00pm
Location The Clubhouse (under Bar on the
Hill)
The use of slides to clarify information being
presented or to illustrate a point is widely
practised in academia and the wider world.
To help you avoid common pitfalls in
presenting when using slides, strategies will
be offered to ensure that your presentation is
interesting, informative and structured
appropriately.
writing weekend. Not for the faint hearted,
Thesis Boot Camp recruits will battle through
PhD blues, writer’s block and thesis fatigue
to achieve significant progress on their
manuscript.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
If you would like more information on any of our
workshops please contact the NUPSA office
EMAIL
[email protected]
If you wish to register for a workshop, please
follow the appropriate link
You know your research better than anyone
else, so you are entitled to speak with
confidence about it. However, many of us
feel nervous during question time as we
cannot be sure what people are going to ask.
This workshop provides some strategies for
interacting with the audience that can help
to make the experience more enjoyable.
Practice
Presentations
Evaluation
May 20, 2015
and
Presented by Helen Thursby
3.00pm to 5.00pm
Location The Clubhouse (under Bar on the
Hill)
This is your chance to put it all together and
demonstrate what you have learnt.
REGISTRATIONS ARE REQUIRED
If you wish to attend you can book in at
https://uonpostgraduates.typeform.com/to/VBXS86
NUPSA NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION | Issue 3
Four More Reasons People
Quit the Ph.D.
by Hillary Rettig
blindsided—for instance, denied a job,
publication, or other opportunity that you
were absolutely sure you were going to get—
your defenses are down. (Moderate your
expectations, people!)
And perfectionism, as usual, only makes
things worse, since perfectionists not only
set unreasonably high standards for success,
they tend to overidentify with their work,
and so can take rejection extra hard.
Harsh rejection impairs your productivity by
making you terrified to show your work—and
so you procrastinate as a way of avoiding
that. (If you don’t finish, you can’t show!).
After reading (and commenting on) Dr.
Mewburn’s recent fantastic article on Why
People Quit the Ph.D., I wanted to add four
more reasons to her list. As a writing
productivity teacher and coach, I frequently
see these among graduate students who are
stuck.
1) Prior Harsh Rejection
While rejection is endemic to work and life,
not all rejections are the same. Some are
harsh enough that they undermine you in
ways that make it difficult to get future work
done. If left unhealed, such harsh rejections
can easily derail a thesis and career.
Some harsh rejections are obvious, but
others may not be. A good rule of thumb is
that if you can remember a rejection, and
especially if the memory elicits feelings of
guilt, shame, or anger, then it was probably
harsh. Also, keep in mind that rejection:
The solution is two-fold:
(a) Start showing your work, even if only a
paragraph or sentence at a time. (E.g., “What
do you think of this paragraph? I know it
needs editing, but I’m pretty proud of the
main point.” Or, “Do you have any
suggestions for this paragraph? I can’t quite
get it right.”) Be very selective in whom you
choose to share with, especially initially:
neither your supervisor nor family members
may be the right choice. Most graduate
students benefit from having a “writing
buddy” or two to provide moral support, and
gentle feedback and encouragement: such a
person would be a great choice, and you can
also tell her exactly what feedback would be
helpful. (“I just want your overall thoughts on
the piece—please don’t worry about the
grammar.”)
(b) Can come from many more sources than
most people realize, including not just your
supervisor and other professional colleagues,
but friends and family, or even a news story
that disparages your work. And,
(b) Defuse the underlying traumatic rejection
through discussions with sympathetic friends
and colleagues, journaling, or therapy. In
some cases, you can address the person who
rejected you directly, especially if you feel
that they are not fundamentally mean or
vindictive. (That’s the best reason to only
seek to work with good, kind, generous
people, and avoid the others regardless of
how illustrious they are.) They may not have
meant to hurt you, and may not even be
aware they did. By having a non-blamey
heartfelt conversation, you may get your
healing plus affirm the relationship.
Blindsiding is a common amplifier of
rejection harshness, because when you’re
2) Challenging / Traumatic Field Work and
Other Research
(a) Comes in many more forms than most
people realize, and includes things like
callousness, capriciousness, disparagement,
diminishment,
bias,
marginalization,
hypercriticality, hypocriticality (neglect), and
ad hominem attack. And,
6
Sometimes graduate students whose field
work or other research was emotionally
challenging are reluctant to “revisit” it via
writing. I’ve seen this in students in fields like
anthropology or sociology, and also in
historians researching topics like genocide. If
the student has a personal connection to the
topic—e.g., his grandparents were Holocaust
survivors—or has bonded with his research
subjects, this can make the situation even
more fraught.
Sometimes
just
acknowledging
the
emotional challenge is enough to defuse it,
especially if you’ve got a good support
network. Journaling can also help you sort
out your feelings. But sometimes you need
professional help to deal with what might be
actual trauma or which, along with being a
mental health issue, can seriously degrade
your productivity.
If you are wondering whether you should
seek out a professional for this kind of issue,
you should probably just go ahead and do so.
Ideally, academic departments would
recognize that some types of research have
the potential to create emotional difficulties
for students, and do some work to prepare
students and minimize the harm. But I’ve
never seen one that did.
3) An Activist Component
Many thesis projects either intentionally or
unintentionally challenge the status quo, and
therefore can be considered activist as well
as academic projects. When you add activism
to scholarship, you add layers of intellectual,
emotional, and strategic complexity.
Intellectually and emotionally, your work
could challenge not just you, but your
committee members or others. Strategically,
it could limit your career options.
It’s wonderful if you want to combine
academics and activism, but do so
knowingly, and with abundant support from
other scholar/activists. In particular, you will
have to figure out how to balance your
activism with your career goals, especially if
you’re hoping for a job at a conservative
institution – which is not necessarily a sellout, by the way, since we need radical
viewpoints inside the system as well as
outside it. It’s also not a sell-out to: (a)
incorporate your radical views gradually into
your work, so that your thesis might not
actually be that radical; (b) collaborate with
nonradicals; or (c) present a conventional /
nonthreatening appearance that makes its
easier for your more traditional colleagues to
accept your more radical message. In fact,
these moves are often brilliantly strategic.
NUPSA NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION | Issue 3
For more on what an activist mission entails,
see my book on sustainable activism, The
Lifelong Activist; entire text available for free
at http://www.lifelongactivist.com ).
So, keep your critical eye, and definitely
create the list of things you would have done
better “had you only known.” Then take
those steps—on your next project.
4) Research Qualms
This post is by Hillary Rettig, author The 7
“Not enough.”
“Not the right kind.”
“Too narrow.”
“Too theoretical.”
“Not as interesting as I thought.”
“If only I could go back and…”
Many graduate students are dissatisfied with
the results of their research, and that
dissatisfaction, especially when coupled with
regret, remorse, guilt, etc., can cause them
to stall on their writing. Second-guessing
your research is a pure waste of time,
however; if your supervisor and committee
think your research is adequate, you should
accept their judgment and focus on your
writing.
More generally, a major challenge in many
fields, including academia, is learning to live
with, and keep working past, your mistakes
(Here’s a terrific video on that) It only makes
sense that you’ll make some mistakes and
misjudgments in what is probably your first
big research project; and you definitely want
to comprehend your weaknesses (and
strengths, of course) as a scholar. When,
however, your self-analysis crosses the line
into harsh perfectionism—which typically
leads to unproductive procrastination and
dithering—you’re not doing yourself any
favors.
7
Secrets of the Prolific: The Definitive Guide to
Overcoming Procrastination, Perfectionism,
and Writer’s Block. Hillary lives with her
partner, a physics professor at a midwest
liberal arts college, and her two fabulous
rescue dogs. She is a vegan, a free
software/free culture advocate, a living
kidney donor, and a former foster mom to
four Sudanese refugee teenagers (“Lost
Boys”),
now
all
adult
and
living
independently. Hilary coaches academics:
check out her online classes, and telecoaching
services. You can view more of her work on
How to Finish My Thesis and Life Long Activist
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
Roller coaster ride in Newcastle University!
When was the last time you had a stomachdropping experience of riding a roller
coaster? Well if you want the taste of that
experience again you have the chance now!
And the best part is IT’S FREE and you don’t
have to go anywhere. We have one of the
Europe’s best roller coaster rides in 3D and
we are looking for volunteers to ride it here in
UoN Callaghan Campus!
University investigating the effects of Motion
Sickness. In this study, Oculus Rift, a head
mounted virtual reality display, will be used
to provide a high quality 3D roller coaster
ride experience.
At almost 1,4 km in length, the ride lasts for
two minutes and includes seven inversions,
three airtime hills and plenty of drops, twists
and turns. It also features two launches to
keep riders entertained.
Reza Mazloumi
All this exciting experience is a part of
research study conducted at Newcastle
If you are interested in this experiment or
would like to get more information please
contact:
PhD student in the school of Biomedical
Sciences and Pharmacy
Tel: 0415 337 523
E-mail:
[email protected]
A/Prof Eugene Nalivaiko
Tel: 0422 400913
E-mail: [email protected]
NUPSA NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION | Issue 3
PhD Comics
by Jorge Cham
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 - [email protected]
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
[email protected]
nupsa.org.au
8