2012 DMD Self-Nomination and Election timeline notice November 12, 2011
Posted by thinkphd in : Delta Mu Delta , add a commentBob Uda, President of Lambda Eta Chapter of Delta Mu Delta at Northcentral University, has announced the schedule for Chapter Officers Elections and encourages all members to consider running for office. Officers’ terms will be from January 1 to December 31, 2012. To qualify for nomination and election, you must be a member of Lambda Eta Chapter, be prepared to perform all the duties of the office, and agree to uphold the chapter bylaws.
The duties of each office are:
President - assists with keeping the officers motivated; leads with whatever schedule is appropriate for chapter operation, including regular business meetings held at minimum the first week in June and December annually as per the bylaws; leads Officers’ meetings; ensures bylaws are understood by Chapter Officers; uses Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised, as the parliamentary authority for meetings; moderates the Officer’s Installation Ritual for new officers following the Election of Officers
Vice President - functions as the chair of chapter activities, including but not limited to, moderating the New Member Induction Ceremony and leading local scholarship activities
Treasurer - keeps track of incoming memberships; retains copies of new member payments; assures prompt payment to Central Office for all items ordered; completes the chapter’s Financial Statement; ensures payments for products and scholarship monies are disbursed in a timely manner
Secretary - keeps track of the chapter’s records including, but not limited to, creating and retaining minutes of meetings; retains copies of membership data profile (MDP) forms; handles chapter correspondence; completes the Annual Report for the chapter with assistance from other officers and administrative assistant; conducts Officer elections; monitors NCU Honor Society Discussion Board and answers questions
Faculty Advisor - enforces compliance with the Chapter’s bylaws and conformance with National Chapter standards and regulations; assists the National Chapter; represents the Chapter at meetings and conventions of the National Chapter; serves as liaison between the National and local Chapter; works with the school’s administration; attests to the eligibility of memberships; monitors the chapter for compliance to bylaws; is the conduit of communications with Central Office
The schedule for Elections is:
Wednesday, November 2: self-nomination for Chapter Officers opens
Monday, November 28: self-nominations close
Wednesday, November 30: election opens for all Chapter Officers and Faculty Adviser via online ballot
Wednesday, December 7: election closes
Thursday, December 8: New Chapter Officers notified
Saturday, December 10: Chapter Officers Induction Ceremony
****Are you a member of Lamba Eta Chapter? Download the Delta Mu Delta Lambda Eta Officers Self-Nomination Form here:
https://sites.google.com/site/ncudeltamudelta/elections
Still waiting… November 5, 2011
Posted by thinkphd in : DIS9324B , add a commentI am still waiting for Office of Academic Research (OAR) response in regard to my Dissertation Manuscript (DM) submission over a week ago. Technically, they are supposed to respond within a week. I have been on pins and needles all week, and the stress is showing in the bags under my eyes. Sometimes I feel ambivilent and tell myself it will be what it will be. Other times, I think about things I might have added or enhanced or were missing. I listened to four DM presentations this week trying to get a feel for how they run so that I will be prepared. Then I think - whoa - you are getting the cart before the horse - you are not even approved yet!
Today, I am very nervous and wondering if I will have major re-writes or nothing to do this weekend. Does a delay mean they LOVE my DM and are reading it over and over just for fun (!!), or does it mean they are nitpicking it and are writing extensive correction notes, or does the delay simply mean they are busy this week? AAARRRGGGHHH!!!!
DMD LE Chapter Website October 29, 2011
Posted by thinkphd in : Delta Mu Delta , add a commentOur Delta Mu Delta Chapter website is up and running - here is the link: https://sites.google.com/site/ncudeltamudelta/
We set it up as a (free) Google site. Qualifications for membership are listed on the main page. If you are member, consider self-nominating to become an officer. Elections are coming up very soon! I was the Secretary this year and truly enjoyed working with the Officers and members. We have some great new local scholarship news coming up soon!
The schedule for Elections is:
Wednesday, November 2: self-nomination for Chapter Officers opens
Monday, November 28: self-nominations close
Wednesday, November 30: election opens for all Chapter Officers and Faculty Adviser via online ballot
Wednesday, December 7: election closes
Thursday, December 8: New Chapter Officers notified
Saturday, December 10: Chapter Officers Induction Ceremony
Holding my breath.. October 27, 2011
Posted by thinkphd in : DIS9324B , add a commentI am holding my breath.
My dissertation manuscript went to the OAR yesterday.
So I am….
waiting for the other shoe to drop
waiting for the next aftershock
watching the sky for rain
walking on eggshells
watching paint dry
waiting for the dust to settle
waiting for my ship to come in
waiting for the pot to boil
…clichés or not…it’s pretty nerve wracking. The OAR has 7 days to review my work and either thumbs-up it or thumbs-down it. I am holding my breath…and trying to think positive thoughts! Perhaps if we all hold hands and wish really, really hard…..!
Waiting and fixing October 23, 2011
Posted by thinkphd in : DIS9324B , 1 comment so farI continue to wait on Dissertation Committee member Dr. W’s return of my DM. Technically Committee members have 7 days to review my paper but today is Day 9. So I have done these things yesterday and today:
- placed the change matrix in front of the DM - I had it as a separate document but Dr. M says to put it at the front
- updated the change matrix to show accurate page numbers where the changes were made
- addressed Dr. B’s recommendations to the DM
- augmented the Chapter 5’s Conclusion to help “tie” it together with some points made earlier
- since I never received permission to use a specific figure from its author, I deleted the figure and updated the table of contents (TOC) and wording that referred to it as a figure
- I responded to thinkPhD reader emails
- I corrected all my et al. errors. I have a tendency to write (Author, et al, 20xx). There should be no comma after the author’s name, and a period after the “al” - thanks Word for the find and replace function!
- I wasted time on the NCU Discussion Board and made a few comments
- I looked online at the photo of Mariah Carey’s cute new twins (certainly not a time waster - they are so CUTE)
- I turned in my “Weekly Dissertation Update” as required by the school
- I read the entire 217 page DM one more time…it’s a real sleeper!
So waiting and fixing is what I will be doing today. I hope to receive my DM back from Dr. W, make the corrections, and send it back asap to Dr. M so that he can submit it to the OAR before the end of my class on Oct 30!
The Committee Speaks October 21, 2011
Posted by thinkphd in : DIS9324B , add a commentWell, one of the Committee members speaks…so far….
Dr. M sent my Dissertation Manuscript (DM) to my Dissertation Committee last Friday. Dr. B returned it yesterday and I am making his recommended changes today. He was complimentary and suggested adding to a few paragraphs in certain places. I have not heard from Dr. W, yet. Technically, the Committee gets one week to review and comment. I hope to see something from Dr. W tonight, so that I can make her changes and turn it back into Dr. M no later than tomorrow. This would mean that my DM could possibly be sent to the Office of Academic Research (OAR) in a few days!!!
I am pretty nervous at this point and not trying to focus on horror stories of DMs being rejected by the OAR. I am trying to stay confident that my work is good enough to move forward. But we will see very soon….
DM to Committee October 13, 2011
Posted by thinkphd in : DIS9324B , add a commentMy DM will go to my Committee for the first time today. I am pretty nervous about this next big step! The Committee has not seen my work since reviewing the DP ages ago. I hope that my Committee will review it and turn it back into me quick. This class ends on Oct 31 and it would be FANTASTIC if I did not have to take another DIS course to complete my coursework. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
DM - put together October 9, 2011
Posted by thinkphd in : DIS9324B , 1 comment so farToday, I turned in my completed DM to Dr. M. Last week, he saw everything except the Abstract, Chapter 5, and a couple of the Appendixes. Today - he got the whole bologna!! He will look, make suggestions, I will make changes, then on to the committee!
Chapter 4 was a real kicker because my data did not yield beautiful stats. I had to get some help understanding what the data meant and figuring out what procedures to use. Some of the assumptions for MANOVA were violated and so I ended up with nonparametric Mann-Whitney to supplement the results. Ultimately, there was not a statistical difference in the two groups.
Initially, I was crushed because I felt like my results may not be showing anything. But the more I thought about it, it was apparent that there was a change…. a change from old managerial principles to new ones. Companies with sustainable strategies used be considered cutting-edge leaders. Now, they are just like the other guys. Over time, the other guys crept up on them by mimicing certain strategies, then normalizing them. And so, the last sentence of my DM Chapter 5 reads:
In support, this study revealed that firms without public reporting of sustainable activities have imitated the actions and strategies of those that do, and sustainable initiatives have been adopted as normal strategic imperatives for business success.
The Scholarly Kitchen October 2, 2011
Posted by thinkphd in : Miscellaneous , add a commentThe Scholarly Kitchen is an interesting website you might want to check out. Its mission is to “advance scholarly publishing and communication, and the professional development of its members through education, collaboration, and networking.”
Supported by the Society for Scholarly Publishing, the website showcases recent research and changes in various scholarly fields. However, you will find lots of interesting and non-stuffy stuff on this website. For example, the September 30 entry was a video should some pretty fantastic street dancing (Pumped Up Kicks - Dubstep)!!
If you are stuck right in the middle of your dissertation or your concept paper or any other paper that is DRIVING YOU CRAZY, navigate over to the Scholarly Kitchen for something good to “eat”!
Congratulations to new Delta Mu Delta Lambda Eta Chapter members! September 11, 2011
Posted by thinkphd in : DIS9324B , add a commentYesterday, we inducted 13 new members in our Delta Mu Delta chapter. Congratulations to the new members! We are working to build our chapter and offer “local” or NCU-specific scholarships. If you interested in learning more about the Lambda Eta Chapter, send me a note or post a comment here.
I believe that honors and awards can be very effective motivators, and serving in a leadership capacity is a growth opportunity. I am the Secretary for the Chapter and I have met quite a few interesting people through this role. Let me encourage you to join and take part in an honor society like DMD!
SurveyMonkey September 3, 2011
Posted by thinkphd in : DIS9324B , add a commentI used SurveyMonkey for data collection. I chose the Select plan at $17 per month. The Free plan only allows 10 questions per survey and 100 responses. This plan does not have Excel download. The Select plan allows unlimited questions, unlimited responses, and skip logic. Skip logic is necessary for every dissertation survey because if the participant refuses to accept the Informed Consent Acknowledgement, the participant should not be allowed to take the survey. This plan also has Excel export and the survey can be downloaded by PDF. SurveyMonkey invoices every three months.
Now that I am finished with data collection, I am reverting my account to the Free plan. Survey hosting is one of those expenses that no one told you about. It would be great if the school had a hosting account. I think responses might be better if the web address had .edu instead of some of the crazy hosting service names, like SurveyMonkey. This name does not sound professional or academic!
All in all, this hosting package was sufficient. Keep in mind that it takes time to set up the survey because it could not be uploaded from Word. I recommend that you create the survey and have a friend take the survey to check it for misspellings, poor logic, etc., before initiating a pilot study. I had a misspelled word that I never caught until the pilot study, and what an embarrassment!
Entering the world of NONPARAMETRIC August 28, 2011
Posted by thinkphd in : DIS9324B , add a commentOh my, I’ve been working on Chapter 4 statistics and it looks like my data is nonnormal…so will I have to enter the world of NONPARAMETRIC? What dangers lurk in that galaxy? Will I be taken captive and forced to morph into a NONPARAMETRICON?
AARRGGHHHHHH!
I spent so much time working on understanding MANOVA that in all honesty, I have not investigated nonparametric possibilities. However, I have read a number of articles indicating that often data collected “in the wild” turns up as nonparametric rather than parametric. In some of the analyses, it appears dissertations have been completed using parametric when they would have been better suited as nonparametric. Unfortunately, the scenarios and problems completed in stat classes are mostly parametric sprinkled with a few nonparametric models.
It appears as though the Mann-Whitney U will soon become my best friend. SPSS analysis is revealing the same conclusions as my work with MANOVA…it appears there is little (or no) difference in my two groups. This is surprising as I had supposed there were some similarities, but not to this extent.
So next time you see me, I may look a little different; morphing into a NONPARAMETRICON of house Mann-Whitney U is quite painful!
Statistics make my head hurt August 21, 2011
Posted by thinkphd in : DIS9324B , add a commentI have worked almost all weekend on my DM chapter 4, “Findings.” There is so much to consider when doing an analysis. I have some little reminders here on my desk, like “when the p-value is low, the Ho gotta go.” Silly, huh? Just trying to get my mind around the procedures to follow and what the numbers truly mean is quite a task. Right now, my mind is kind of blurry and it is definitely time to set chapter 4 aside.
Statistics make my head hurt!
Kathryn Schulz: On Being Wrong August 7, 2011
Posted by thinkphd in : Miscellaneous , add a commentThis is a great video - Kathryn Schulz gives an inspiring speach at TED, and reminds us that being wrong is very much part of being human.
Statistics resources July 31, 2011
Posted by thinkphd in : DIS9324B , 1 comment so farI have collected many websites over my journey that have helped me through some tough stats problems, data collection, etc. Here are a few that may help as well:
Alan Reifman’s Collection of Practical Statistics Resources
David Ritchie’s Data Analysis page
David Ritchie’s Data Display page
Application of Statistics in Educational Research (ASER)
Is that an Assumption or a Condition?
Daniel Arkkelin’s textbook “Using SPSS to Understand Research and Data Analysis”
Companion Website to Andy Field’s textbook “Discovering Statistics Using SPSS, 3rd Edition”
StatPages
StatPages Free Statistical Software
SPSS On-Line Training Workshop
Statnotes: Topics in Multivariate Analysis by G. David Garson
Laura Kazan’s SurveyMonkey to SPSS and Excel
