Friday, November 30, 2012

My First Report

Salam peeps.. how are doing?

Fuh... what a great relieved. I just finished a discussion with my SV and at the same time presented my report to him. The report I told you guys in the previous post. I don't know whether he satisfied with it but he smiled all the way through the discussion. Well, one thing I sure that I'm satisfied with myself. Alhamdulillah..  Allah made it easier for me with the help of some of my friends who gave suggestions and tips. Special thanks to Kak Yanti Awang, Kak Yanti FIST, Kak Fizah, Kak Anis, and Ayen. May Allah rewards you. And I also want to share my tip with all of you. This worked for me since I was in the first year at USC. If you have a task to be completed, ask Allah to make it easier for you all the time. For example, I follow "Zikir Harian". Today is Friday and the the zikr for Friday is "Ya Allah".

"Ya Allah, permudahkanlah bagiku untuk siapkan research report ini"

Repeat this for the whole day while you are walking, cooking, sleeping etc. In sha Allah.. Allah will hear and be close to you, and the miracle will just pop out  in front of your eyes whether you noticed it or not.

And now, as expected I got lot more works to do. He asked me to add the following into the report: yield stress, reactive, transport, entire system, analysis, small and large parameters, asymptotic analysis, probability to mechanistic, spatial-temporal, nondimensionalization, and the list goes on.. WHAT?? Really? Seriously? that's require too much deep thinking and time friends. Now, I know I'm in the real business of research and I can see his expectation is quiet high. Actually, I knew this from the beginning. That's the reason I chose him as my SV. No, he chose me as his student and I agree. I can feel that this is a barakah from solat istikharah. Before that, I approached two potential supervisors but they don't really fit into my interest but  I still decide to stick with the second. Subhanallah, Allah showed me the third one in a way that we cannot expect or think. He hope that I can be a marketable mathematician like him. He always said that.

Ready or not, I must keep my head high, stay focus and follow his rythms. I'll try my best, but the result is in Allah's hand. May Allah make this PhD journey full of blessing and barakah and I wish the same for all my friends out there.

Amin Ya Rabb..

Till then.


Thursday, November 15, 2012

Merangkak-rangkak! Duh...

Salam friends..

As in previous post,  I told you about tons of research papers scattered on my desk need to read. Because,.. by the end of this month, I need to submit a research report discussing about ONE paper using my own words and fill any gap by discussing every details of steps to my SV. Basically, I have 15 days to complete it, but now I feel something wrong with my work. I mean, my question is how to do that in simpler way. I realized that I didn't do it systematically. What I'm doing right now is I keep reading the related papers at the references and write some note that might be filling the gap of my understanding. To make things worse, I just copy and paste the sentence. Ouch! And now, my report consisting of various part from various authurs, and it's all messed up. This is not good. 

But, Alhamdulillah, yesterday I found this blog http://drotspss.blogspot.com/.. I think it might be helpful to me. Now, I spending some time to read that blog hoping that it will solve my problem, but I didn't finish it yet. There are so many tips and I don't know where to start. So guys, if you have knowledge about it, please please please share with me.

Jazakallahu khair. May Allah bless you. Amin Ya Rabb..

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Turn your thesis into a book!

Assalammualaikum. Hi peeps, today I was overwhelmed by this email in my inbox. Just want to share with you guys, it might be benefited to you as well. Who knows..

To my close friends who just embarked their journey in PhD especially to Kak Yanti and Kak Lyn, I wish you good luck! and also those who still struggling in half way to finish PhD like me, umm... all the best ya!  I'm now in the first phase to begin my research. I was given a very simple task by my Research Advisor. "Read this paper (not these) , understand every details, and see me next week". Sound very relax and chill right. Not many papers, just one. As simple as that.

After 3 days, I still cannot figured out every details. Why the equation like that, why he use integral, why the limit is like that and so many questions arised. Then, I know I should  refer to the references at the back of the paper, printed it out and read. Some questions answered but more questions blurted out. Then, I searched more papers in the reference of the referenced paper. You know what I mean. At last, tons of papers scattered on my desk. From one single paper to one file of papers. Good! Now I know, this is the reality of research.

Allright guys, till then. Bye, bye.. stay focus and keep moving. May Allah make it easier for us. Amin Ya Rabb..

Ok, this is the email I said earlier:
___________________________________________________________________________

Dear Ms. Mohd Jamil

I hope this finds you well.  I am writing to you with regard to your work in the Department of Mathematics.

I would like to enquire as to whether you have given any thought to publishing your completed doctoral thesis as a book upon its completion? Should you be interested in such an endeavour, I would be delighted if you could spare a few minutes to consider our proposal below.

Cambridge Scholars is an independent academic publishing house, founded by former lecturers and researchers of Cambridge University, to promote knowledge and learning through the publication of high quality academic literature. While we publish across many disciplines, we have a longstanding presence in the field of Humanities & Social Sciences, and predominantly publish the research monographs and edited volumes of established academics; with over 3,000 titles currently on catalogue.

We also have a policy of dedicating 10% of our annual publication output to the work of aspiring academics, who might be taking their first steps into the world of publication. As such, we pro-actively seek out proposals from doctoral students at academic institutions across the world, with a view to potential publication; should their work prove to be of an exceptional academic standard, and should it be possible to revise and edit it to convert it from a thesis into a successful book.

We appreciate that you may still only be in the early stages of your doctorate and it may be too early to think about publishing a book based on your thesis; but this correspondence is simply to make you aware of this potential opportunity and to warmly introduce you to the services of our publishing house.

It is perhaps worth considering the benefits attributed to having a successful publication to one’s name, and what Cambridge Scholars can offer you in this regard:

1. Publishing a book is a terrific way to raise both your own profile and that of your academic work in your specialised field.

2. At Cambridge Scholars, we focus upon the publication of highly specialised academic literature which we feel deserves to be shared with a wider audience; please take a moment to review works within a similar field on our website (www.c-s-p.org).



3. Whilst the editorial process will require input from yourself, we do not charge you as an author for any part of the process.  Instead we offer a number of complimentary copies of the finished publication.

4. The copyright will remain with you, and Cambridge Scholars has no objections to you using chapters or excerpts from the thesis in academic journals or other publications, after consulting with us.

5. To ensure a high degree of quality control, every aspect of the production process is carried out internally.  This ensures a faster than normal turnaround (typically around 6 months) without compromising upon the quality of the publication.

6. We distribute and market our books through major international retailers such as Blackwell’s, Amazon, Ingram and Baker & Taylor; as well as advertising in internationally circulated publications such as The New York Review of Books and The London Review of Books. These aspects ensure your book will receive maximum exposure in the global academic market.

Thank you for taking the time to read our correspondence. If you are interested in publishing your thesis, either now or at some time in the future; please feel free to contact me to discuss the issue further and perhaps submit a proposal. If you are not interested in publishing your work however, I wish you every future success in your academic career.

With kind regards


Camilla


Camilla Harding
Commissioning Editor
Cambridge Scholars Publishing
www.c-s-p.org