Academic Dissertations in the News

Is Pharmaceutical Productivity In Decline? Maybe Not. Hult’s paper (his dissertation to be precise) reframes this conundrum, redefining productivity in terms of (arguably) the outcome that matters for drugs – patient health. This has some intuitive appeal; after all, the real output for pharmaceutical firms isn’t the total number of drugs they put out, but how those drugs help the patients that take them. Phillipson and Hult put it best: “a single drug that cured all cancers would be immensely more valuable than 100 new molecules that treated acne.”

Read more at http://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2015/04/13/is-pharmaceutical-productivity-in-decline-maybe-not/

by Lori A. Flores, Chronicle of Higher Education. Reflecting on what I did to get myself through that final push, here are 10 pieces of practical advice. . .

1. Budget some time for last-minute tasks.
2. Seek out (the right) sources of inspiration and feedback.
3. Saying no is necessary.
4. Don’t neglect your physical health.
5. Budget some money for last-minute escapes.
6. In times of writer’s block, turn to your acknowledgments.
7. This is no time for perfectionism.
8. There is a point where the dissertation ends and the next phase begins.
9. On a related note, corral your committee.
10. Have someone waiting for you at the finish line.

Read more at https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2015/04/10/essay-how-reach-phd-dissertation-finish-line

Written and directed by Noam Osband, 34, a doctoral candidate at the University of Pennsylvania, the 28-minute film was produced on a budget of less than $7,000. Released last year, it has been featured at film festivals and is set to air Friday at 10:30 p.m. on WHYY. In the Pines, is about Mexicans who come to the United States as guest workers to plant trees for reforesting in Arkansas.
 

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20150220_A_church_where_brogue_meets_bodega.html

For years the Chinese Communist Party justified persecuting unregistered house churches by labeling them as cults that disdained the government. Conkling’s published dissertation, titled Mobilized Merchants—Patriotic Martyrs: China’s House-Church Protestants and the Politics of Cooperative Resistance, is a careful analysis of the current relationship between the unregistered house church and the government, and gives a fascinating glimpse into a world few have access to. Of the hundreds of house church members he interviewed, “never once was there talk about overthrowing the government,” even if they had issues with certain aspects of the government’s policy. Led by a theology of martyrdom, house churches view persecution as a privilege, and thus do not respond violently against their oppressors.

Read more at http://www.worldmag.com/2015/02/a_look_at_china_s_patriotic_martyrs

As quoted in the Washington Post (30 Dec 2014), -- Based on his PhD dissertation, A Populist Zeitgeist? The Impact of Populism on Parties, Media and the Public in Western Europe (University of Amsterdam, 2013), as well as an article with colleagues Sarah de Lange and Wouter van der Brug, he concludes that mainstream parties in Western Europe have not imitated (right-wing) populist parties in terms of their populism. --

Read more at http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2014/12/30/jean-claude-juncker-and-the-populist-zeitgeist-in-european-politics/

By Melissa Dennihy (Chronicle.com). Here are some tips for A.B.D.s on how to juggle the demands of grad student life and job-searching while maximizing your chances at job market success.

Read more at https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2014/10/22/essay-how-succeed-academic-job-market-while-abd

Where the Time Goes. New data about time to degree in Ph.D. programs from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences complicate some current reform efforts to help students get through graduate school faster.

Read more at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/11/25/analysis-says-humanities-phds-get-take-longer-coursework-dissertations

Bill Cosby’s doctoral thesis was about using ‘Fat Albert’ as a teaching tool. He has a doctorate in education from the University of Massachusetts of Amherst earned in the mid 1970s, but how he got the degree is controversial.

Read more at http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/11/24/bill-cosbys-doctoral-thesis-was-about-using-fat-albert-as-a-teaching-tool/

It doesn’t have to take a decade. By Mark Braude (http://chronicle.com)
Tip No. 1: Hit the ground running.
Tip No. 2: Make coursework work for you.
Tip No. 3: Explore the archives (any archive) as soon as possible.
Tip No. 4: Don’t think of teaching as something keeping you from your "real" work.
Tip No. 5: Get thee to a conference.
Tip No. 6: Be open to change.
Tip No. 7: Draw on your adviser.
Tip No. 8. Leave your adviser alone.
Tip No. 9: Set a firm end date for yourself. Then set one for your committee.
Tip No. 10: When you’re stuck, take a walk or write your acknowledgments.

Read article at http://chronicle.com/article/Finishing-a-Humanities/149925/?cid=VTKT1

Get a chance to study under a science and technology scholarship in the US. The United States Government, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is now accepting applications for its research grants and scholarships in science, technology and innovation, in support of the Philippine Government’s push for innovation-led and inclusive growth.

Read more at http://www.rappler.com/bulletin-board/75369-usaid-grants-scholarships-filipinos