Practical Steps for Completing Your Thesis or...

Practical Steps for Completing Your Thesis or... Full Title: Practical Steps for Completing Your Thesis or Dissertation. Saturday, Nov. 13Dr. Wendy Carter, Dissertation Coach for UMBC and PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP will present: Practical Steps for Completing Your Thesis or Dissertation Saturday, November 13, 2011, 10AM – 2:00 PM, Commons, Room 329, UMBC’s Campus, Breakfast will be served. Dr. Carter is the coach for The Dissertation House (http://www.thedissertationhouse.com) and is the founder of TADA, Thesis [...] ]]>

Full Title: Practical Steps for Completing Your Thesis or Dissertation. Saturday, Nov. 13Dr. Wendy Carter, Dissertation Coach for UMBC and PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP will present: Practical Steps...

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When I was in my 20s, I began to see patterns in situations that had mystified me and sometimes caused me pain. Surprised by what I was learning, I started writing a list of insights, partly to help ensure that I would never forget them in moments of anxiety or despair. After several years of this I had compiled the collection set forth below.

I first published my list on this blog three years ago, and in light of the response have re-posted it each year. I hope you find something that resonates with you.

A very large portion of people’s behavior is driven by insecurity. And a very large portion of the behavior that stems from insecurity can look like confidence.

In many situations, people face a choice between doing something in a way that feels right, resonates, comes from the heart, makes sense, and fits the moment; or doing the thing in the way that they think they are supposed to do it. Examples: Giving a speech; proposing marriage; dealing with somebody’s emotional crisis; disciplining a child; interviewing a job candidate; responding “heroically” to a threat. More often than not, the genuine approach produces more satisfying results. And more often than not, people instead choose to do what they think they are supposed to do. (Part of the problem is that people’s sense of what they are supposed to do comes from many sources, including media, that present the relevant situations in misleading ways. For example, the media may capture the mechanical aspects of an effective speech but not the way the words match the emotions of the moment).

Situations take a while to play out. There’s no need to panic, or to assume that what initially seems to be true will always be true.

People tend to overreact.

A situation that has been imagined, read about, etc. may not be easily recognized when it becomes a real situation. This is because the feel of the imagined situation may have been very distinctive, but the real situation feels much more like every other real situation. Examples: “corruption”; “falling in love”; “heroism.”

In many situations, a variety of motivations drive people’s choice of actions. These motivations can range from deeply spiritual to simply practical. However, over time, the more abstract motivations tend to be forgotten, and the more practical motivations remembered and acted upon. It’s hard to cling to a concept; but practicalities—deadlines, costs, etc.—are hard to forget, and create their own inertia. As a result, people repeatedly find themselves going through the motions: continuing to do things that they once made the choice to do, but without retaining any sense of connection to their deepest needs and motivations. They feel lost, and their activities provide no real sustenance.

People are not their roles.

Many situations apparently resolved through formal processes, such as hiring staff, or creating legislation, are really resolved through a complex combination of formal and informal processes. Very often, the informal processes—which may be unacknowledged and hidden from view—are the more important ones.

The key to effective communication is to understand one’s audience. And a lot of people can’t or don’t bother to understand many audiences for their communications.

People may have to hear the same good idea many times before it enters their consciousness.

Ideas are not appreciated or rewarded in proportion to their truth, beauty, explanatory power, or even social value. Other factors typically matter more. Among them: The credentials of the idea’s originator (however arbitrary their connection to the idea); the prospect that somebody can turn a profit from the idea; and the degree to which the idea departs from, or even improves upon, accepted wisdom (the more it does, the less likely it will be appreciated and rewarded).

Often people want things for reasons they can’t quite put their finger on. It’s just something that they feel—maybe the subtle combination of a number of subjective factors (“I want Chinese food—even though we had Chinese last night”; “I want to go home now”; “I want this job despite the fact that it pays less than the other one”). Because they are personal impulses rather than the products of reasoning, these desires can be difficult to assert or defend. In forums where a collective decision is being made, logical arguments may be favored and impulsive arguments dismissed. But the impulses are real, and their connection to people’s welfare is real as well. It is perfectly legitimate to act on such impulses, and to resist the people who try to defeat them with arguments.

Many actions appear to reflect clear, easily inferred motives but in fact do not. People and institutions do all sorts of things that may seem planned, polished and connected to a strategic agenda, but actually are the products of inertia, laziness, whim, jittery responses to incomplete information, or other motives more complex or confused than they seem.

Social change happens in a gestalt—not as the result of any single well-conceived, well-executed program, policy or intervention. There is no single initiative that will save the world. This is because people, institutions, relationships and cultures are extremely complex. Any single action aimed at social change, however well-conceived and widely supported, is likely to be challenged, diverted, thwarted, misunderstood and/or misapplied in a thousand different ways. But honest, thoughtful efforts can have a cumulative effect. Slowly, person-by-person, relationship-by-relationship, they shift the underlying culture and expectations. So the good that we do is not always the immediate good that we intend.

People express opinions for a lot of different reasons. That they really, deeply believe in what they are saying is only one of them.

Overly zealous advocacy of a certain perspective alienates people who might otherwise have adopted that perspective in due time.

The most insidious way to attack or undermine an idea is to call something else by its name.

There are many situations that feel rotten, even when handled perfectly. (Examples: consoling somebody on the death of a friend; apologizing for a mistake that caused a lot of harm). So it is a mistake to assume from the rotten feeling that you have said or done the wrong thing.

A picture left in the same place on the wall long enough will become invisible.

Some things can be learned only through experience.

When the true relationship between cause and effect is unknown, very simple patterns can appear vastly more complicated than they really are.

Perceptions freeze more easily than situations. Once a person has formed a perception of a situation, he or she is likely to miss the fact that the situation has shifted subtly or gradually over time.

Ambiguities in the early part of an arrangement can be costly to resolve. They may be the only things making the arrangement possible. Business deals, marriages, friendships—all may depend on the parties failing to reveal and resolve conflicts in their perceptions about the facts behind their transactions. If one of the parties, at the commencement of an arrangement, sees that these unresolved conflicts may exist, it can be very tempting to keep quiet about them and hope for the best. But the cost of cleaning up the messes that can arise when these conflicts come to light later, long after all parties have begun to take actions consistent with their own perceptions, can be far, far greater. In general, it is much better to name and attempt to resolve ambiguities on the front end of an arrangement rather than risk the catastrophe of having them derail the arrangement later.

Justice is often associated with equality. “Splitting the difference” has a ring of fairness to it. Exhibiting “balance” in reporting on a situation—for example, devoting the same amount of journalistic space to each side of a controversy—seems evenhanded. But in situations in which there actually is a fundamental underlying inequality, treating people equally is fundamentally unjust. For example, if two people disagree about ten aspects of a transaction, but one of the two people is correct about all ten aspects and the other is simply lying for his or her own gain, it would be unjust to conclude that each person must be right about five of the ten sources of disagreement, or to simply “split the difference.”

The two major sources of happiness are self-expression and love. And in truth, they are the same things.

Note: I had finished compiling this list by the time I started working at UMBC in 2003. Since then I've added another collection of observations, which I'll post later this week.

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When I was in my 20s, I began to see patterns in situations that had mystified me and sometimes caused me pain. Surprised by what I was learning, I started writing a list of insights, partly to...

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On Friday November 5, two of our campuses will focus on teaching! Our PROMISE program is an AGEP initiative (National Science Foundation’s Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate)...

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I’m asking some of the people you might encounter on the UMBC campus, including students, faculty, staff and alumni, to answer a few questions about themselves and their experiences. These are their responses.

Name: Erin Shinholt Kleopa

Hometown: Columbia, Maryland

Q: How long have you been at UMBC?

A: 5 years.

Q: What is your current title (job or student organization position)?

A: Special Assistant to the Director of Student Life.

Q: In 12 words or less, what role(s) do you play on campus?

A: I have my hand in every flavor of the Student Life cookie jar!

Q: What aspect of your UMBC role(s) do you enjoy most?

A: Being a resource for students to make their difference at UMBC and beyond.

Q: What is the most important or memorable thing you learned in college/have learned at UMBC?

A: The most important thing I learned in college is that no matter how involved you are, you have to set aside enough time to sleep - otherwise you will literally fall down a flight of stairs. Trust me - it could happen to you! :) The most memorable thing I've learned at UMBC so far is that staff are truly passionate about serving and supporting our students.

Q: Complete this sentence: "I am a big fan of __________"

A: Living life, dancing, laughing, sustainability, and healthy relationships.

Q: Do you have any UMBC stories, little-known facts about UMBC, favorite spots on campus, or anything else you’d like to share?

A: Two things. One, last year I saw Dr. Hrabowski going into the Giant on Wilkens Ave - I've wondered since then what he bought. Stamps? A rotisserie chicken for dinner? Two, I got married to a marvelous man in 2010 all because I went to Involvement Fest in 2005! If you're curious, ask me how! :)

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I’m asking some of the people you might encounter on the UMBC campus, including students, faculty, staff and alumni, to answer a few questions about themselves and their...

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If you listed your UMBC campus address as your home address when you registered to vote, your polling station is located on the campus of Catonsville High School. UMBC Transit and the Office of Student Life are sponsoring free shuttle rides on Election Day (Tuesday, November 2nd) between Commons Circle and the Catonsville High polling station from 8:00 a.m. until 7:30 p.m.. The shuttle will stop at Commons Circle every 30 minutes. The last shuttle will depart from Catonsville High at 8:15 p.m. So go vote!

You can track the location of the voting shuttle using the Transit Tracker web site. The route will be called "Catonsville High Voting."

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If you listed your UMBC campus address as your home address when you registered to vote, your polling station is located on the campus of Catonsville High School. UMBC Transit and the Office of...

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Name: Delana Gregg

Hometown: Harrisburg, IL (pop. 9,582)

Q: How long have you been at UMBC?

A: 8 years

Q: What is your current title (job or student organization position)?

A: Assistant Director of the Sondheim Public Affairs Scholars Program (UMBC's scholars program for students interested in lives of public service).

Q: In 12 words or less, what role(s) do you play on campus?

A: Mentoring, teaching, organizing events, internships and service opportunities for Sondheim Scholars.

Q: What aspect of your UMBC role(s) do you enjoy most?

A: Connecting individually with students. As an advisor and teacher, I get to learn students' stories and (hopefully) help them become more engaged in their communities, public policy issues, and solving social problems. I firmly believe that experiences are our most important teachers, and helping students get involved in service, internships, research, and study abroad is very gratifying.

Q: What is the most important or memorable thing you learned in college/have learned at UMBC?

A: An organization/institution (UMBC, USA, Peace Corps, a club, a church etc) is not a "person", it does not "do" things or make decisions...it is a group of people working together, and if that is true, than any institution/organization can change and improve through the actions of people.

Q: Complete this sentence: "I am a big fan of __________"

A: JOSS WHEDON! Firefly, Serenity, Buffy, he is one of my favorite writers, his love of language and ability to create new worlds with strong female heros always empowers me and makes me laugh out loud.

Q: Do you have any UMBC stories, little-known facts about UMBC, favorite spots on campus, or anything else you’d like to share?

A: CERA (Conservation and Environmental Research Area, http://www.umbc.edu/cera/) is about 50 acres of wildland at UMBC, you cross the new wooden foot bridge across the circle from Administration Building and you can visit Pig Pen Pond, a lovely trail through the woods. It is peaceful and always helps me connect to the land of UMBC, to its historical and agricultural roots, and to the research being done here on trees, grasses, animals and water. Definitely my favorite place on campus. Also, the Women's Center,, http://www.umbc.edu/womenscenter/, is my home away from home on campus, a relaxing place to have lunch, meet friends, get help and support (Commons, bottom floor). Both totally worth a visit.

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I’m asking some of the people you might encounter on the UMBC campus, including students, faculty, staff and alumni, to answer a few questions about themselves and their experiences....

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One of the reasons I write this blog (and teach a class on social change, and work with college students) is that I believe too few people—in particular, too few college students--recognize how much power they have over their own lives and communities. It’s very easy to get into the habit of assuming that almost every institution or social dynamic you encounter is a given, beyond your capacity to change or affect. A great many intelligent people spend their lives drifting from situation to situation, doing what they think they are supposed to do, never really discovering and asserting their innermost selves, and never really challenging the set of assumptions in which they’re immersed. (That’s how I became a lawyer without ever really deciding to do so--a story I told here). For both the individuals and for society, this taken-for-granted helplessness can give rise to a lot of unnecessary pain.

In no context is taken-for-granted helplessness more devastating than in personal relationships. Dating violence is ridiculously prevalent on college campuses. Past research studies found that:

32% of college students report dating violence by a previous partner, and 21% report violence by a current partner. (Source: C. Sellers and M. Bromley, “Violent Behavior in College Student Dating Relationships,” Journal of Contemporary Justice, (1996))

12% of completed rapes, 35% of attempted rapes, and 22% of threatened rapes occur on a date. (Source: B. Fisher, F. Cullen, and M. Turner, “The Sexual Victimization of College Women,” (Washington: NIJ/BJS, 2000))

51% of college males admit perpetrating one or more sexual assault incidents during college. (Source: A. Berkowitz, “College Men as Perpetrators of Acquaintance Rape and Sexual Assault,” College Health, (1992))

This pattern undoubtedly reflects the difficulty of coming to terms with, and challenging, threatening and violent behavior in one’s own relationships or in friends’ relationships. It’s easy to feel powerless in the face of another person’s rage or private misery.

UMBC is about to join a national movement aimed at empowering all of us in connection with dating violence. On November 3, 2010 at 12:15 p.m. in the Sports Zone, UMBC will launch its participation in the Red Flag Campaign, an effort to help students identify “red flags” for dating violence in their friends’ relationships and encourages them to intervene. The Red Flag Campaign features a series of eight posters that illustrate “red flags” that might be present in a relationship in which dating violence is occurring. The campaign is a result of the combined work of students, faculty, and victim advocates from nearly 20 colleges and universities.

In addition, UMBC (through the Division of Student Affairs) has been awarded a grant from the Verizon Foundation to enhance domestic violence prevention within the UMBC community. The Red Flag Campaign event will be just the first of several related initiatives to go forward this academic year. The Division of Student Affairs is looking for committed work group members (faculty, staff and students) to serve in planning and implementing the work for each component of the grant. If you are interested in serving, please contact Kim Leisey (leisey@umbc.edu) or Fritzie Charné Merriwether (charne@umbc.edu).

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One of the reasons I write this blog (and teach a class on social change, and work with college students) is that I believe too few people—in particular, too few college students--recognize how...

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Name: Sheriff Gaye (Amran to my friends).

Hometown: Banjul, The Gambia, West Africa.

Q: How long have you been at UMBC?

A: Two years and a bit.

Q: What is your current title (job or student organization position)?

A: Junior Sys Admin at CSEE.

Q: In 12 words or less, what role(s) do you play on campus?

A: I fix broken computers (and add to campus diversity ;)).

Q: What aspect of your UMBC role(s) do you enjoy most?

A: Getting to meet lots of new and different people outside of my usual experience (sometimes even out of my usual comfort zone - which is a great way to learn maturity). Also - and this may not make much sense - being part of a... system which strives to be as self-contained as possible - I find it fascinating to watch how the school is run, and how everything integrates together to create the community we know and love: from the campus police to the inspirational posters talking about recognition we have received to boost school spirit, and all of it run by people who seem to genuinely love their jobs and what they do. It's a bit like living in a model city, a micro city without all the complexities of a full one, but a tightly coupled system nevertheless - and so every little change propagates through the system and has consequences (such as the current parking troubles we are facing). Kind of like a real life version of Civ 4 (with a lot less variables, of course :)).

Q: What is the most important or memorable thing you learned in college/have learned at UMBC?

A: Generally speaking, everyone on campus (and I guess this is true about life as well) is friendly and willing to talk and open up if approached, just like you are. So hesitating to speak to someone, or reach out and make connections because you are afraid (of saying the wrong thing, of being rebuffed), is not only based on the wrong assumption ("everyone looks so sure about themselves, and I'm not"), but is also a sad missed opportunity - the sooner you learn this, and learn to just relax, the better.

Q: Complete this sentence: "I am a big fan of __________"

A: Mad Men. :) My fanboism waxes and wanes, and is attached to different objects (Avatar the Last Airbender, the novels of Manuel Puig) at different times - right now the writing and acting in Mad Men is what gets me most excited about TV. Oh and the iPad. ;)

Q: Do you have any UMBC stories, little-known facts about UMBC, favorite spots on campus, or anything else you’d like to share?

A: The UMBC theatre gives some great performances a few times a year - try and catch one of them when you can. They've got some very talented players, and are not afraid to try out new things - it's a great way to relax after a semester of long nights jacked directly into an endless-seeming feed of homework.

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I’m asking some of the people you might encounter on the UMBC campus, including students, faculty, staff and alumni, to answer a few questions about themselves and their experiences....

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I don’t have any plans to run for public office, but if I ever do, I’d appreciate it if nobody lied on my behalf. I know it’s an unusual request, one that may doom me to defeat. But it just seems to me that if you’re seeking election in a democracy, you ought to respect the voters and the process enough to be honest, and to ask your supporters to do the same. Plus if I did get elected, I’d like it to have been because the voters appreciated my ideas and had confidence in my abilities, not because I’d scared them into believing that my opponent might actually be a sociopath, or a criminal, or a fire-breathing lizard, or undead.

I know how radical this request must seem, almost as strange as if I were asking shadowy organizations with innocent-sounding names not to spend money on my behalf. So to avoid any misunderstanding, I’m going to give some specific examples of what I want you not to do for me:

Please do not imply that I’m going to fix something that is not within the powers and responsibilities of the office I’m seeking. For example, please don’t promote my campaign by saying “David believes in putting the most qualified teachers where they’ll have the greatest impact on kids,” if I’m running for Sheriff.

Please don’t attack my opponent for something that is equally true of me. For example, I’m originally from California. So never run an ad against an opponent of mine in which you have an announcer say in a snide voice, “And [my opponent] is not even from Maryland!”

Don’t distort my opponent’s record by taking one consequence of a past decision and morphing it into something obscenely destructive. For example, if my opponent voted in favor of funding five new police officers, do not turn that fact into an ad claiming “[my opponent] voted to put more people with guns on the streets. [My opponent] even voted to buy them the bullets!”

Do not say something truthful about my opponent’s positions in a way that becomes a lie because you leave out important information. For example, suppose my opponent supports, or is willing to compromise on, a combination of policies A, B and C (perhaps A is a tax increase, B is a tax cut and C is a spending cut). Don’t run ads saying anything like, “now [my opponent] even wants to stick us with Policy A. [My opponent]: too Policy A-loving for Maryland,” without, you know, mentioning the whole Policy B and C thing.

Don't claim that my opponent is actually motivated by a desire to inflict suffering on others, as in: "[my opponent] wants to make America weaker, and hopes to run up the national debt so that our grandchildren will be begging in the streets!"

Please do not run any ad in which you include a photo you’ve chosen, or altered, to make my opponent look like an angry dog or a vampire (unless I’m actually running against an angry dog or a vampire, in which case the photo wouldn’t be a lie).

Please do not run an ad in which you surround a photo of my opponent with images of storms, locusts, flesh-eating bacteria or the like, or play horror-movie music in the background.

I thank you in advance for your cooperation and restraint.

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I don’t have any plans to run for public office, but if I ever do, I’d appreciate it if nobody lied on my behalf. I know it’s an unusual request, one that may doom me to defeat. But it just...

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The University System of Maryland encompasses 11 universities, a research institute and two regional higher education centers. It employs more than 13,000 faculty members and owns more than 1,000 buildings. Its annual operating budget is $4.2 billion. There are more than 148,000 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at its various institutions. But only one of them gets to participate directly in the decisions of the Board of Regents, the system's governing body. Twice in the past eight years, that one student--the Student Regent--has come from UMBC. Could you be next?

Please take a look at this description of the Student Regent position and application, and consider applying. Please also pass the information along to friends who may be interested. (If you have trouble opening the documents mentioned in the first sentence of this paragraph, try going here instead). The student selected will serve from July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012.

The application deadline is Wednesday, November 10th at 5:00 P.M. Submit completed applications in hard copy to my mailbox in the Office of Student Life, Commons 336, and also email the application form and essays to me at dhoffman@umbc.edu. I'm very happy to answer questions about the position and the process, so don't hesitate to contact me if you'd like to know more.

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The University System of Maryland encompasses 11 universities, a research institute and two regional higher education centers. It employs more than 13,000 faculty members and owns more than...

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