Post 92: Effective Altruism and Grad School

Bit a hiatus from the blog since my trip home—I was ridiculously busy when I was there—but now I'm back, and determined to finish this thesis. However, before I speak more directly to thesis things, I wanted to revisit my trip to Berkeley for the Effective Altruism Global Conference I attended at the beginning of August. I've been thinking quite a bit about the people and ideas I encountered there, since. (I've just noticed that a significant number of the talks are posted, so go check them out!)

What's effective altruism? I won't rehash effectivealtruism.org's introductory essay about EA because you can read the whole thing here, but the general idea is to use evidence and reason to find the best way to make the biggest difference you can over your lifetime. If you're interested, I also recently co-wrote an introductory article to EA with Wray McOuat that you can check out here.

Gorgeous bougainvillea on a street in Berkeley.

So how is EA relevant for grad students? Well, we're pursuing training in a particular kind of skillset (research, teaching, critical thinking) that we will likely work to make a difference in whatever field we go into, so I actually think there's a lot of compatibility with pursuing careers (and an educative experience that emphasizes learning critical thinking, applying reason, and assessing different kinds of evidence for different causes).

A few words about the conference: as with attending conferences, it was an easy way to very quickly learn a whole lot, meet fascinating people, and test out my ideas—I also really love that the conference explicitly encouraged participants to seek out people with (on the face of it) opposing ideas, and to chat them out. Because of the conference I have radically changed my opinion about the effectiveness of giving money; previously I’d always held the idea that it’s better to donate time or creativity or energy in some way, but of course money is a representation of all of those things, applied in a particular way. At some point when your career is taking off, your ability to generate a decent income in a developed country can significantly outweigh the time and energy you may volunteer to a cause. And, if you're working full-time, you might not have the energy or time left over to donate. So, donating money can be a really good way to contribute to a cause that you support. 

Grand University of California, Berkley, campus architecture!

Having only once, for a brief period of time, made enough of an income to be classified above the poverty line, I have never thought of myself as being in a position where I could donate much, and so I don't think I had seriously considered it as an option, and my donating happened sporadically, to causes that I have come to believe are important (and still are), but I wasn't thinking about evaluating their effectiveness as much. The little bit that I gave, I did so because "it felt good." And I generally preferred to go volunteer my time or skills instead. Meeting a few people who were well into their careers and who didn’t have the extra time to volunteer, and who were proponents of such a method of doing good caused me to examine my beliefs about that matter. And then of course, the key is donating so to causes that are maximally effective. BUT -- I am still thinking about what this means for me, and I will revisit this in a future post. 

Dr. Max Tegmark delivering his talk via Blue Jeans, about 10 AI Safety Myths.

Further, what I think was particularly unique about this conference compared to others that I have attended, is that I found both very like-minded people, who described themselves as being altruistic and now working on the “effective” part, and also people who were very dissimilar to me: artificial intelligence researchers, philosophers, tech start-up founders, people who worked for various governments, or for charities and development organizations. People from the UK, from Australia, from the US, and all over. Such a diverse set of people!

And, Berkeley was beautiful as well. Overall, it was a phenomenal conference and I am very glad that I attended. Getting to talk to Toby Ord, an ethicist at the Future of Humanity Institute (Oxford) and really brilliant person, was spectacular. I had several discussions with Andy Fallshaw, CEO of Belroy, and am convinced he's one of the most generous people I have ever met: bright, charismatic, caring, and more than happy to make reading recommendations. On his advice, I'm currently looking at Douglas W. Hubbard's "How to Measure Anything," which I hope to discuss with my sister, soon. I definitely wish him well. 

Hike up to the Lawrence Hall of Science, which was really the coolest! 

I met several other tech start-up folks (EA is hoppin' in San Fran and has considerable overlap with the ambitious folks and business culture in the Bay Area), and the sense of ambition, vision, and possibility there was intoxicating for a little while. I didn’t get to speak with Will MacAskill in person, but hearing him talk was great, and there were free copies of his recent book Doing Good Better available. I devoured it on my return trip, and also learned a lot more about EA. If you're interested, I definitely recommend it as an introduction to effective altruism. There were a few awkward conversations, of course, because I found it difficult to maintain social grace at all times as an introvert, especially when I frequently found my energy bucket running on empty, but it was a good time overall.

From the Lawrence Hall of Science: A display of early cyclotrons: the things that smash atoms together. :D

Overall, I feel that the methodology and approach of EA is really a good one—and one to be applied more broadly than simply to EA. Using evidence and reason to figure out how to do the most good in the world appeals to me and speaks to my values. While I think there are still ideas to be worked out with how to measure and compare the effectiveness of different charitable interventions, the complexity behind undertaking such measurements is not without difficulty, and I am content that it is being worked on. Something to keep an eye on in the future. 

Happy September! Happy fall!

In my next post, I'll discuss the value of small successes along the way, to help build momentum and motivation during grad school.

Post 91: September Coming: A Few To-Dos, including GTIOP, our new TAC, and the TA Conference!

I know I said I'd write about my experiences of the EA Global conference as my next post, but a few important things have come up between, and I'm still working on that post. :)

I'm leaving for my trip home tomorrow, and I've been populating a list of things to do before I leave. One of those was remembering that the Graduate Student Tuition Income Offset Plan, which sets up a preauthorized electronic debit (PAD) with the university for 4 equal monthly payments of your tuition, instead of having you pay all of your tuition at the beginning of the semester. I've written about it previously here, and have found it immensely useful for keeping up on my financial well-being, and organizing my finances more generally. The deadline to submit the form so you're set up for the year is 15 September.

Cute neighbourhood succulent #1! <3

Dr. Anita Girvan left for a prestigious year long position at a Bucknell University in Pennsylvania after she finished her PhD last year (yay!), and the position of Teaching Assistant Consultant for the School of Environmental Studies has remained open over the past year. I'm glad to say that now the lovely Ms. Kristen Walsh has filled that position!

As our new TAC, she's been working hard to complete the training that comes with the position. I bumped into her last week at UH4 where she made a few comments about the work involved. I hadn't anticipated there to be so much training, but it makes a lot of sense! Thinking back to Anita, she put quite a lot of effort into the resources and sessions she provided us as teaching assistants (TAs), and there's quite a lot to think about if it's your first time TAing. I'm sure the training would also cover how to talk to TAs that are teaching for the first time, and for the students that already have a class or two in their TA roster.

I remember having the thought that the leap from being an undergraduate student to two years later suddenly being in the position of grading students' work (especially when it seemed to me that I was little more qualified than when I had been a student myself) felt a little bit concerning. Between the training provided by Anita, and the TA conferences I attended, I felt much much more prepared to do a good job as a new TA.

Cute neighbourhood succulent #2! <3

Speaking of: the TA Conference is coming up again! Plan out your schedule for it this year. The beginning of the semester is always a busy one, not the least of which is because there are welcome events, the Fall TA Conference and training, and for new graduate students, other orientations as well. But, the TA Conference is one that I highly, highly recommend.

This year the conference is being held Tuesday 6th September to Friday 9th September.

I've written about my enthusiasm and experiences at the conference previously here, and here, and while I'll be away for the conference this year, I'll definitely be thinking about it!  For those of you who can't make the conference in the fall, no fear! There is also the Spring TA conference that happens early January. (No link provided currently because there's only 2016 information posted.)

And cute neighbourhood succulent #3! <3

Post 90: Family Planning and Resources -- Considerations for Grad Students

This is another guest post with my lovely friend and colleague Dr. Garrett Richards!! The idea for this post came up during a catch-up the two of us had a few weeks ago, following the announcement that he and his wife would be expecting their first child in November. (So exciting!) So, here goes our post on parental leave and family resources on campus: 

As Garrett writes: "Early-career researchers (e.g. graduate students, postdoctoral fellows) tend to belong to the age group in which many people have their first child. As such, they may have to navigate the difficulties of parental leave and childcare without the standard benefits that apply to "typical" full-time employees. My partner and I will be having a baby in November. What follows are some of my thoughts on parental leave, based on my experiences as a postdoctoral fellow. I hope other early-career researchers might find the information useful. 

Gorgeous jasmine from the back deck! :)

Parental leave means getting some time off so that you can be with your new child and manage the transition, usually one year in total for each birth or adoption (i.e. having multiple children at once doesn't increase the time period). The parents can split this time however they like. For example, one partner could take a year off while the other remains at work, they could both take six months off at the same time, or they could each take six months off at different times to total one year. 

You should inform your supervisor of your plans several months ahead of time. For many graduate students, this will be a fairly simple request, unless your research is heavily integrated with that of someone else in your lab. You will generally need to get approval from both your university and anyone else that may be paying you. Check with your corresponding union to see if there are any particular provisions or procedures you should be aware of. By the way, it is a good idea for men to take some parental leave, since it helps break down the stereotype that only women make career sacrifices for their family. The far more complicated factor is parental benefits, which means getting paid while you are on parental leave, since you obviously cannot accept your normal stipend or scholarship while you are off work. 

Mystery flower down in Cadboro Bay.

Unions, again, are a good place to start your investigation on this, keeping in mind that you may belong to multiple unions. However, provisions for early-career researchers generally seem to be pretty scant. When I checked the collective agreement for sessional lecturers at my university, there was only a section on parental leave, not parental benefits (and when I phoned the union directly, they said no one had ever asked about that before, which I found surprising). Make sure to examine the provisions of your stipend or scholarship too, if you have one. For example, SSHRC fellowships (for both doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows) have a parental benefits program.

Although you should definitely look into these various avenues, your best chance of parental benefits is probably through employment insurance and the federal government. For information, head to the "Having a Baby" section of the Canada Service website (http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/lifeevents/baby.shtml). While this page is a fountain of general information, you'll want to examine the "Maternity and Parental Benefits" link in particular (http://www.esdc.gc.ca/en/ei/maternity_parental/index.page). Here, you can read about eligibility for parental leave. In general, if you have worked at least 600 insurable hours in the 52 weeks prior to the start of your leave, you can receive 55% of your insurable weekly earnings during the leave period. A good way to check on your accumulated insurable hours is to register for a "My Service Canada" account (http://www.esdc.gc.ca/en/msca/index.page), keeping in mind that they will have to send you an access code through the mail, which could take a few weeks.

Lovely summer hydrangea, their colours starting to fade out. 

The trickiest part of all this is that the main work done by early-career researchers generally does not qualify as insurable hours (after all, you are probably getting "paid" through a scholarship, not a salary). Only the work you do as a TA, RA, or sessional lecturer will count, and in my experience it's pretty rare for an early-career researcher to amass 600 hours of such work in a given year. This means that planning is very important when it comes to having a child at this stage of your career. I was fortunate in a few ways. First, since my partner and I are splitting the leave, and my half won't start until next May, I had some extra time to figure everything out. Second, I have a SSHRC fellowship, which will cover my parental benefits (although, interestingly enough, I have to decline those benefits if I am eligible for any others, which means I have to make sure I *do not* work 600 insurable hours in the 52 weeks prior to my leave). 

In reality, I think a lot of early-career researchers make do without parental benefits. Aside from the financial implications, it can actually be a pretty good time to have a child, given its flexibility. The best thing you can do is make sure you know what options are available to you. In short, check with your union, your funding, and the government. Finally, it's never too early to start thinking about childcare options, which are often available on university campuses if you put your name on the waiting list early enough."

****

A very cool looking but very dead bug on the sidewalk that ants were fighting over.

Garrett did a really good job (above) covering some of the general information and considerations for taking parental leave and the resources you should look at in Canada. I did some poking around about what other kinds of resources there are for child care on campus, and UVic's Childcare Services information can be found here. For childcare, there are, as Garrett points out above, very lengthy wait-times: a minimum of 2 years for children under the age of three, and between 3 and 5, it's about a year and a half. I also highly recommend checking out the program fees for said childcare, because keeping on top of your finances is also part of your health as a grad student.

As a grad student, you can also apply to live in family housing right on campus, which is pretty great. There's both apartment or townhouse style accommodation available.

UVic's Residences Services Family Resources page also provides information on public schools that are close by to campus (one elementary, two secondary, and one French immersion elementary school), and the Family Centre also provides information for a variety of things, including to health care resources on campus, connecting with the Family Centre, their programs, and fun things like their Welcome Back barbecue. 

Wishing all those out there planning families and with families under way lots of love! You have supports you can draw on, and I hope this post can help illuminate a few you may not have know about right off the bat. 

**Quick note: My next post will be covering my time at the Effective Altruism Global Conference in Berkeley, California this weekend. Keep your eyes open for it! :) 

Post 89: Summer Endings, Beginnings, and TCG at UVic

July is ending! Another month done again. Sometimes I really can just sit back and wonder where the time has gone. For me this July passed with the birthdays of at least six family and friends, a lake-swim, lots and lots of work, and most recently, the conclusion of my Thesis Completion Group (TCG).

The wonderful, stylish Dr. Janet Sheppard (see photo below!) who has been a long-time counsellor at UVic, ran the TCG for years now, and there were always long waitlists for graduate students wanting to get into the two weekly groups, which I think speaks to the value and need for a resource for grad students such as this. The format of the TCGs were face-to-face, discussion-style group sessions, with there being an average of about 3-8 members in the groups. It's been a little quieter over the summer, which I've very much enjoyed.

Janet and I at our last TCG meeting! I was feeling very sentimental about the goodbye.

Students attending the group would report on their thesis work: progress made, barriers encountered, worries, concerns, personal and professional relationship/communication stalls, committee trials and successes—everything. Janet guided the discussions, creating a safe space to talk about all of these things, asking pointed, insightful questions, and reminding students like myself to think about not only work-related goals, but also health related goals. And, we all definitely benefitted from the wisdom of the group, with numerous students chiming in with their own experiences, advice, and resources. We'd leave one week's discussion with those goals in mind, and revisit them the following week, checking in about how they went, how the process of being in graduate school was going. I loved it. It hasn't really sunk in that these weekly meetings are ending.

Participating in the group really turned around my perspectives about my thesis experience. It was immensely valuable to learn that the struggles I was facing are universal among graduate students; that the uncertainties and lingering questions and doubt about my abilities were part of the impostor syndrome; that talking about my fears and worries made me feel loads better, and better able to cope with those concerns; that by discussing concerns about graduate research, I would open myself up to the kindness and generosity and insight of my colleagues in the TCG; and, that by participating in the group, I would be able to get excited with, cheer on, and root for students who actually finished their degrees!! In turn, finishing became an achievable goal for me again, which for a while there, I wasn't able to see, anymore.

Mystery tree down in Beacon Hill Park. So beautiful! :)

If I think about it, a lot of my blog posts were motivated by some of the discussions had during the TCG. Certainly, the discussions, shared insights, advice, and kindness of my fellow students have been indispensable for turning my graduate school experience into a productive one. While I'm sad that the group is ending, I'm happy that Janet is making choices to find ways to continue with her passions in a different capacity now. She is a very special person, who's found a way to apply her leadership, skills, training, and insights in a unique application that fits an important niche in higher education. A major force behind organizing the thesis-writing bootcamps that have taken place in the past year, and running the TCGs, I'll miss Janet and her wisdom, and I'm also now so glad that I've kept every one of her weekly list-serve emails. They were always chockablock full of resources, her enthusiasm and encouragement, and of course, everyone's weekly goals and progress. A one-line acknowledgment in my thesis doesn't seem like it's enough to say, THANK YOU for everything. So, on top of an in-person goodbye, I'm writing this post, so my thank you can live a little bit longer.

Water lily out at Thetis Lake! I scared up a number of green frogs getting to this photo. 

With the ending of one thing, comes the opportunity for another beginning. Right now I'm feeling a lot of uncertainty about how Counselling Services (CS) will adapt and modify the TCGs that have been running for so long. Janet mentioned that CS would likely be contacting students who were involved in these groups to let them know about the upcoming changes, but it's also been made clear that the groups as they've happened so far won't continue. It sounded to me like the format will switch to a more satellite organized thing, where staff from CS will check in with self-motivated groups whose formation they'll help facilitate in the fall semester. I'm crossing my fingers that the transition will be a smooth one, but for now can't do anything other than wait. I'll let you know how this resource changes in September, as soon as I hear. :)

I've kept in touch with two colleagues from my TCG, and if nothing else, will pursue check-ins with the two of them. We're on roughly a similar timeline, with the three of us aiming to wrap up our degrees in the fall. Here's to keeping up the momentum.

Post 88: Science Advocacy in Action! Participate!

I intend to write a longer post putting together some of my thoughts about science (and specifically academic scientific knowledge production) and its relationship to the public soon, but for now I want to highlight an opportunity to contribute to giving the federal government feedback about science funding in Canada. These opportunities don't come along that often, and personally, I'm really excited by the opportunity to participate, and strongly encourage you to do so as well, especially if you think about, appreciate, or reflect on the role of science in Canada.

Evidence for Democracy, an organization that sprung from the momentum gathered by scientists concerned about the regressive policies, funding cuts, and scientific program shut-downs of the Harper government in Canada. In July of 2012, thousands of scientists, citizens, and activists rallied across the country in a series of "Death of Evidence Rallies" to demand "transparent, evidence-based decision-making" (EforD, 2013). Since then, this organization has become one of the leading advocates for evidence-supported policy in Canada.

Wild strawberry patch on campus! What a yummy find! Small, but SO delicious!

They are helping put together a synthesis report of contributions from scientists and others across Canada, that will be presented to the federal government's panel for the review of fundamental science in Canada that's under way right now. On June 13th, 2016, Canada's Minister of Science, the Honourable Kirsty Duncan, announced on that the review was underway. Much of the review focuses on how fundamental science is currently funded.

Please take 10 minutes to participate in the review!

You can do so by either by contributing comments to Evidence for Democracy: https://evidencefordemocracy.ca/en/fundamental-science-review
I couldn't find their deadline to submit comments on their website, but I encourage you to do it right away, before you a) get to busy, b) forget, or c) miss their deadline. (In my mind, I had a deadline of July 31st, which seems appropriate if they are going to compile a synthesis report.)

Or, contribute directly to the government's open invitation here: http://www.sciencereview.ca/eic/site/059.nsf/eng/home
Their deadline to contribute comments is September 30th, 2016.

Or, if you're feeling really motivated, do both!

Summer hydrangeas after a rain. :) 

And, after you participate, share this opportunity with others!! The more participation the better. To me, this is one of many ways of participating and contributing to a healthy democracy that goes far above and beyond voting once every four years in a federal election. :)

If you want a kick-starter for your reflections about science in Canada, I suggest going back to the article I mentioned in my previous post here: "The 7 biggest problems facing science, according to 270 scientists." I think there are several relevant points they bring up, and they may lead you to think of others.

Post 87: Summer Reading

As grad students, the work doesn't stop for us during the summer when classes have ended. Labs keep running, some TA for summer classes, but there's always another journal article or book to read, more data to analyze, or another paper to mark.

It's for this reason that I advocate for some lighter summer reading, not only because I've been reading broadly to keep myself sane, but because it's good to give yourself a bit of a mental break here and there (arguably, this kind of lighter reading should happen during the year, too, but I think the pressure from September - April can be more intensely felt).

The first Himalayan blackberries (Rubus armeniacus) are already ripe!!! 

Some of this summer's reading so far has brought me to a more serious, well-considered post like Vox's "The 7 biggest problems facing science, according to 270 scientists," which delivers findings from a survey undertaken with graduate students, researchers, and scientists across the globe. The seven major problems with science that the survey identifies are:

1. Issues to do with funding
2. Poorly designed studies being the norm
3. Not enough studies are being replicated, because scientists aren't incentivized to do so
4. Peer review doesn't work they way it's supposed to
5. Scientific knowledge is stuck behind paywalls and is generally inaccessible
6. Academic science isn't well communicated
7. Early career scientists have a rough go of it

It's an article with substantive depth and broad in its coverage, which I also find quite relevant for the current conversation in Canada where the federal government is currently reviewing funding for science. Evidence for Democracy has been inviting comments, and I was composing my thoughts to contribute earlier this morning, when I came across the article. (By the way, they're still accepting comments, so follow the link above to get to their main page for the link.)

Very cute Starwars themed balloons for a birthday party in the neighbourhood.

Following up on some of the links in the Vox article, I came across these two really fun Twitter tags that I thought some readers might enjoy, and want to participate in:

The first is #sixwordpeerreview which, as the tag describes, has scientists making comments about being reviewers or receiving reviews in six words. Some of my favs:

"I would have written it differently." (Adam Swallow: @perspectives45)
"Didn't cite me. Revise and resubmit." (Noah J. Toly: @noahtoly)
"No paragraph explaining paper structure. Reject." (Isabelle Augenstein: @IAugenstein)

And that also led me to find a few other fun Twitter hashtags like #PrincessBrideScience and #PeerReviewHaiku, though it looks like that one hasn't been used in quite some time. But, super fun to read through. :)

The most amazing balloon unicorn during the Victoria Pride Parade (July 10th), giving out hugs!

I also learned about eLife, a relatively new open-access journal that takes a collaborating peer-review editing process, whereby editors and reviewers work together to generate feedback from a full-review of an article, so authors know exactly what they are responding to. Their process of a quick turn-around assessment from a cover letter and pdf of the article BEFORE it goes to full review is a good idea, and I like the collaborative aspects of their reviewing. This seems quite different from the usual peer-review process that can have reviewers making contradictory comments for an author to respond to, is generally more time consuming, and can hold up the print for an article. (Acknowledgement of heresay: I have yet to publish an academic journal article, but this is what I've heard can stump authors.) Their short introductory video about their process was pretty great, and now I'm wondering if there is any social science journal doing the equivalent. Anything out there? Let me know in the comments below!

Alongside this fun reading, I've also immensely been enjoying a second read through of Italian writer Elena Ferrante's contemporary feminist book series, the Neopolitan Novels, which have amazed me as much the second time going through them as when I read them the first time. They are timely, relevant, detailing the ups and downs of a turbulent friendship between two girls from Naples, Lila and Lenu, the former marrying young, having a baby young, and diving head on into the working class relationships of their neighbourhood, and the latter pursuing education as a path to leading her out of that small neighbourhood, with its gossip and petty politics. After finishing her bachelor's degree, Lenu becomes a writer.

This short detailing of superficial plot doesn't tell you anything about the depth, clarity of insight, and experiences of these two women, and of Lenu's telling of the story, which is masterfully done. I highly recommend these novels, with their violence, the force of their honesty, and the two different stories of women growing older in Italy.

Some kind of rose down in the James Bay area. Gorgeous!

Do you have any recommendations for fellow students? Books you think have been wonderful, remarkable, eye-opening? You're welcome to leave a comment below. :)

Happy summer reading!

Post 86: Grad Student Resources: Tech Help on Campus

I'm writing this post with my colleague Sally in mind. Sally is a mature graduate student, having returned to university to complete a PhD to study other folks' motivations for similar volunteer work that she has done for years and years. There's a lot to admire about Sally: her kindness, her empathy, her hard work, her humour, and her willingness to problem solve and seek out resources when she doesn't know how to do something herself. She has a skill I'm not particularly good at: asking for help! For a bit more context, Sally is in a position where technology has quickly moved past the skills she learned and applied during her professional life, and she's had to do some scrambling to pick up some of those skills for her PhD work.

At the same time, I'm writing this post because I think it's generally quite useful to know your resources as a graduate student, because you never know what'll come up when you're working with software and hardware during your degree! So this post will talk about some of the tech resources we have on campus here at the University of Victoria, whether you want some extra help in making tables in Word, or learning how to make diagrams and visual models from your data.

One of several different roses at the BC Parliament Buildings. Gorgeous!

Resource 1: Your Colleagues and Peers
Intergenerational graduate student relationships are SO important during grad school. They help to counter the Impostor Syndrome, build collegiality and community, and if you're the one asking for help, you get to let other people look and feel smart and valued! And, by the time that people are in graduate school, you never know what kinds of skills and resources they have brought with them from their previous years of experience! Ask away! Ask people in your own cohort, as well as those further into their degrees: either second year or third year and up master's students, or other PhD students. In my own lab, a previous graduate student of my supervisor's gave us a presentation on how to use NVivo, a qualitative data analysis program that I subsequently used for my thesis work. I also met with her one-on-one for a more in-depth discussion afterwards, which was quite useful. I also had other graduate students make recommendations for me about different programs to use and other tips, so you never know what will all come up when you happen to fall into research conversation. And as you advance in your program, make yourself available for newer graduate students so you can help them out if they need a hand. I just responded to a few questions about transcribing for a colleague, and it was helpful for me to reflect on my own progress and the programs that I've learned to use during my degree.

I was also recently stumped about how to make a specific diagram for my thesis, when my awesome colleague Tanya recommended Lucid Chart, which she has been using for her own thesis. The free version is quite good, and has been more than enough to meet my thesis needs so far. If we hadn't bumped into each other and talked at the office, I certainly wouldn't have been able to solve my problem so expediently!

Love the texture and aesthetic of these little stonecrops (Sedum sp.)! 

Resource 2: Your Supervisor
If your supervisor wants you to use a specific program or software for your graduate work, they probably have used it themselves, or know why they want you to use AtlasTi instead of NVivo (different software for the same purpose: qualitative research analysis). Your supervisor will be a treasure trove of information on specific programs or software, and will also know about other resources if they aren't entirely certain themselves. Sometimes the reasons for choosing on program over another are as arbitrary as exposure—NVivo has been around longer than AtlasTi—but in any case, your supervisor should not be an underestimated resource. A few weeks ago, my supervisor and I could be found in our office meeting room problem-solving how to import the UVic thesis template into Scrivener, the composition program I've been using to write my thesis in.

For high-learning curve programs like ArcGIS or Adobe Photoshop or R (statistical data analysis program), you will likely be taking specific classes to learn to use these, and some of them may even have been requirements for entry into your grad school program, depending on your department. Frequently, however, graduate school is an opportunity to dive deeply into something, and learning new programs or statistical methods are certainly within the scope of what you can do in grad school. It depends partly on what you want to learn, how you see the opportunities available to you in grad school, and what you need to negotiate/discuss with your supervisor.

But that brings me to another thought: you can ask other professors in your department or across campus for their two cents of advice when you need it. Your supervisor can make introductions, or you can take initiative and reach out on your own. If they're not able to help you with the specific question you have, then they can likely make recommendations for where you need to go.

Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) from a wander on Galiano Island!

Resource 3: The Computer Help Desk
The Computer Help Desk has saved my butt and my work both during undergrad, and during my graduate degree. They are there to help problem-solve computer related issues, including equipment repair and network problems. Go check them out if you're getting Windows' blue screen of death, or the Mac equivalent of the blinking folder with a question mark. But also, please be wise, and make back-ups and follow other general data-management to-dos so you don't have them telling you that your hard-drive is corrupted, and all your work is gone.

Resource 4:  Computer Labs at UVic
There are several Computer Labs, some with specific focus, on campus. Each of these has friendly and capable staff that can provide help for your Windows or Mac questions. I haven't used these much myself, but the help is there. They are there for graduate student use, as well as for undergrads, so if you're teaching and need to make recommendations for your students, it's good to know about these as well.

Resource 5: The McPherson Library's Media and Music Equipment to Borrow!
So it turns out that you can borrow a whole bunch of different equipment from the library: everything from laptops and computers, to noise-cancelling headphones, to video cameras, to foot pedals for transcription! Bill Blair is the Music and Media librarian, and you can contact him about availability of the equipment, though I suspect if you were really in a pinch, you could ask him about how to use some of the equipment as well. For more involved tech stuff, your supervisor or your colleagues will probably be more helpful in either troubleshooting specific hardware issues, but I have an inkling that Bill would probably be able to make some useful suggestions for where to go as well. If not, there's always The Internet (discussed below).

The Music and Media Commons area also has some other hardware and software that you can use. Everything from scanners to Google Earth Pro, to the full Microsoft Office suite and Open Office Suites, to Garage Band, and lots and lots of others. It's actually amazing to me how many different programs there are available to use. There are tutorials within the programs (and Help pages, too), though you can likely also ask the librarians in that section of the library for help. I think that you'll have some thinking to do about where to spend money on programs that are needed for your thesis projects. Do you use the resources publicly available though perhaps limited in scope because of sharing the resource, or do you spend some of your own research budget to get your own copy of these programs? Asking these questions should probably happen with your supervisor, as discussed above. However, doing simple things, like using the scanners and turning hard copy versions of journal articles into digital ones, are things that aren't too difficult to learn on your own.

Western Starflower (Trientalis latifolia) from a wander through East Sooke Park recently. 

Resource 6: Other Specific Tech Resources
Are you TAing a class? Do you have power-point presentations? Do you want to show videos during your lectures? Do you need to organize a meeting with between your supervisor and committee member, but one of them is out in the field in Ontario, and needs to be video-conferenced in? The Audiovisual and Multimedia services on campus is our resource for all of these things at UVic!

My lab group and I have had one, if not two, presentations on Blue Jeans, the video-conferencing software that the University of Victoria has recently endorsed. We had a presentation from one of the fellows from the Audiovisual and Multimedia services, and it was super helpful! Your department may be pro-active and organize one of these presentations for your and your grad student cohort, or you may need to take initiative and get such a presentation organized yourself, but the resource is there.

Resource 7: The Internet
If it's 1:32AM, and you're at home plugging away and your research project, and you're asking yourself, what kinds of software is out there to help process interview files, you can always ask Google (no need to be as polite as this British grandmother, though!). This is how I came across Express Scribe, a free transcription software that was easy to use, and super helpful for transcribing my interviews.

Maybe you have a more specific computer issue that you're dealing with? Google and the dispersed intelligence of the Internet can probably help you, too. So, don't be afraid to look around for help in unexpected places. Afterall, we're researchers. We can ask questions, and get resourceful about finding the answers to those questions.

There are likely other resources (both on-campus and off) that I have missed. If you know of any, let me know, and I'll update the post!

Post 85: Academic Surprises -- Visiting Scholars!!

About two weeks ago, my supervisor announced that we'd have a guest for basically the entire month of June. Ella Furness is a visiting PhD candidate from the UK (Cardiff University), who is conducting qualitative (interview-based) research with folks doing ecological restoration here in Victoria. She really enjoyed Eric's book "Nature by Design," which was part of the motivation to come here to visit, as well as undertaking (some of) her fieldwork.

When speaking with her last week, I realized that I could have someone to chat with about qualitative research methods, which I'm really interested in, and I asked her to lunch today with that premise. Turns out that we had multiple connection points, and we ended up talking for about half an hour. One point of connection was that I realized I'd recently read one of the papers she published from or shortly after her master's work at UBC, about whether human values and community participation are key to climate change adaptation, published in the journal Climatic Change. That was such a lovely surprise!

One of several Pacific sideband snail (Monadenia fidelis) I spotted while out with a wander on Galiano!

We also shared a moment discussing the struggles of impostor syndrome (which I've previously written about here) and ways to cope with it, and that was also unexpected, kind, and heartwarming. The impostor syndrome is so common in graduate school! I'm amazed that we don't talk about it more frequently, sometimes.

So this post is a quick plug to encourage taking the plunge to connect with those you bump into in your grad school endeavours. Some of these connections will yield meaningful relationships, whether they last for a lunchtime discussion, or branch out into lasting friendships.

I'm also reminded of the excitement of previous visiting lecturers, visiting scholars, and visiting PhD students that I've come into connection with. These visits don't happen that often, but when they do, it can be super nice for your supervisor to introduce you to them, or for you to introduce yourself. Likewise, speaking with the PhDs in your department, or other graduate researchers—your colleagues and peers—is, I think, immensely important for finding shared support and encouragement for the work that each of you is undertaking.

Bright green maple leaf (Acer macrophyllum) also on the trail. Wonder why it fell...

I'm excited for Ella's presentation about her research. I'm sure we'll have some good discussion over lunch later today, but it's also great to give someone a meaningful platform to share their work.

I'm so glad that I said hi this morning! You never know how you can connect with someone until you start a conversation.

And now, back to thesis writing and editing. :)

Post 84: FOMO, Grad School, and You

Everywhere we go, there are opportunities to do things, get involved in projects, meet new people, attend workshops. And at some point, if you want to finish your thesis, you're going to need to start saying no to some of these things.

Time is a valuable thing. We only have so much of it to spend. I'm reminded of this watching the news and updates come in from Orlando, where a senseless massacre of innocent, wonderful people who I did not know happened, this weekend. A talented young singer lost her life, and nearly 50 people lost their lives to a man with a history of violence. It is my great hope that the US gets its act together and institutes significant gun reform laws so that we don't have to worry about safety and losing others that are loved, to insanity like the events of this weekend.

Red or common poppies (Papaver rhoeas) from my friend Jenna's garden on Galiano Island. 

After 9/11, everything from box cutters, scissors, and liquids over 100mLs were banned from air travel. When will Americans realize that people with guns kill people, and that they need to be regulated, and that they shouldn't be as easy to access as buying penny candies from a convenience store?! (Okay, it's not that easy, but this reporter was able to buy an AR-15 in under 7 minutes, which to me, is pretty horrifying.)
So while in Canada, the likelihood of being massacred in a nightclub or at a concert isn't as high as it is in the United States, and the chance of unintentional death caused by things such as poisoning, motor-vehicle crashes, cycling, recreational boating, drowning, falls, or burns accounted for about 4.2% of the Canadian population in 2011. Accidents happen, and I have things I want to get done before my life comes to an end!

Neighbourhood California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) with a visiting bee!

One of those things is finishing my thesis so that I can get a stable, fulfilling job working on projects bigger than myself, that attach to communities bigger in scale than simply the circles I walk in. I have a big heart, and I have a lot of energy I want (and try) to spend on the progressive causes that I care about.

So here's to knuckling down, kicking FOMO in the ass, and wrapping up this thesis!

FOMO stands for the fear of missing out, and Wikipedia has a great article all about it, here. So whether you deal with it a lot, or only sometimes, know that if you want to finish your thesis, it'll take a bit of work to understand your own behaviours, the way you make decisions, the kinds of actions you take, and how you prioritize tasks in your life.

Gorgeous "ruby heart hens and chicks" (Sempervivum) succulent from Jenna's garden.

As an introvert, I love meeting up with friends for coffee or over shared meals, and doing this on a one-to-one basis. I don't like big groups, I rarely attend big group parties and massive social gatherings, and value being able to stretch my legs over a catch up, or over a board game. I have also lived in Victoria for almost 10 years now. So when I live quite a ways from campus, so it can be difficult to say no when a colleague or friend wants to meet up for a coffee or get together that requires extra travel and time. I've seen a few days zip by that are 'running errands' and a coffee date, going to the library for one more book, and then I don't get any writing done! Watch out for those days. Don't let those be a habit. But do also make sure to balance your work time with your social time. So don't line up a coffee date or two every day, but do line one up here, and another on the weekend. Go for coffee during breaks, and take your watch so you know your timeframe and don't break it.

Prioritize your writing and work every day. Schedule your writing time and guard it. You can do it, and just like me, you're going to finish your thesis. I'm into the last chapters of my thesis, now. The end is in sight.

Happy writing/editing/revising!