This was in interesting week, i did a very interesting presentation at a Research conference with a colleague with the title: The use of metaphor, poetry and art as agents in the qualitative research process…the audience responded very warmly and there was a spell of creativity that was provoked, for all participants, including us, the presenters!

the author of this blog has her birthday today. I make many wishes that are dear to my heart for this coming year…one of them is that by this time next year, i will have finished my PhD succesfully and will be full of ideas as well as opportunities to offer its contribution wherever it is my calling…happy birthday to me and the birth of a new phase of writing towards producing a good thesis!

i have spent the past 10 days of the year in Greece, visiting family and exploring the processes that take place inside in terms of home, culture, belonging and so on, for one more time, from the stage and phase that i am right now…I am contemplating on the year that just ended, so many experiences, so many challenges, learnings and so on. I welcome the New Year that just arrived… My wish now is that i complete this PhD research withing 2009, soulfuly and sucessfuly…greetings to all!

Well, handing the mass of research data and trying to figure out how to do analysis and the like does not feel very ‘cool’ thing to be doing right now, it requires a lot of concentration and it definitely takes more time than one imagines…However, i want to make note of an initiative taken by a PhD psychology student at the University of Edinbrough who created this site called Research is Cool aiming at promoting reseach networking worldwide. The website can be seen here: www.researchiscool.com

I am feeling a bit overwhelmed by the PhD demands at present but am sure there will be a day that i will be thinking about it all and realise that these research years have been indeed a cool thing to do!

Not sure if i agree with the argument below but it is something to dicuss in my thesis:
The Counseling Psychologist, Vol. 23, No. 1, 4-24 (1995)

Internalized Culture, Culturocentrism, and Transcendence
David Y.F. Ho – University of Hong Kong

Internalized culture is introduced as a psychological, rather than anthropological, construct most useful to counselors. It addresses explicitly both between-group and within-group variations resulting from individual differences in enculturation and helps to sensitize counselors against stereotyping. The problem of defining cultural boundaries arises, with serious difficulties in defining three specific classes of cultural phenomena. It is argued that there is a basic continuity from intracultural to intercultural understanding. In a sense, all interpersonal encounters are cross-cultural in nature. Accordingly, all counseling requires an awareness of cultural processes and the transcendence of one’s internalized culture.

Well, it has been a hectic few weeks, i have been working on various things related to the PhD in one way or another (readings, writings, meetings, dialogue with peers, identifying next steps, supervision, literature searcher etc etc). The last week has been particularly busy as i am flying to Berlin tomorrow morning to present a paper at the XIXX International Congress of Psychology about Counselling in the context of the Greek culture.  so much work to do really and at the same time so many ideas are floating in my head about how i can use my research for my carred development post PhD. BUT….i really have to focus this year and say NO to other activities in order to reallhy focus on my main job which is THESIS WRITING.

I see that the months are passing quickly, the writing process in heuristic terms cannot be rushed really and i have to now give my best shot to produce a good enough, rigorous PhD Thesis. Whatever i have done during the PhD years will not show its value if i now do not manage to make a good synhesis in the Thesis i need to produce, this is what i will be assessed upon anyway…so, i am off leaving UK for a while and i will be recording my process as and when web access is possible…here i take off soon!