Thanks to all those on #phdchat…for the enormous help, moral support, motivation and kindness

To describe this as a journey is an understatement. It has been hard work, ridiculously difficult at times, but extremely rewarding, and I am surprised and amazed to have made it to this point. I have a number of people to thank for their support in getting this far on this doctoral journey.

First, thanks very much to my supervisor Ron Thompson, for his constant support, advice, calmness and tenacity over the last five years, and also to Roger Crawford my second supervisor for his advice on my draft thesis, and a big thanks to all the tutors who generously gave up their time for me to interview them.

Next on the list, a massive thank you to my husband, Duncan, and my lovely children, Nicola, Sam, and Lauren for all their love and support, for putting up with my moods and grumpiness at times, and for allowing me time away from family stuff to get this thing completed, and to you this thesis is dedicated. I am also forever indebted to my mum and dad for all they sacrificed for us, and thanks also to my lovely brothers: Dave and Pete; and sisters: Janet and Debbie, who are so supportive in whatever I do in my life.

A huge thank you to two very special colleagues: Cath Ellis, for believing in me and giving me the confidence to start on and continue on this doctoral journey; and to Liz Bennett, who I have been lucky enough to have had travelling this same journey alongside me, and whose constant support, practical advice and optimism has helped to keep me going, and dragged me to the finish line. I’d also like to thank Cheryl Reynolds and David Powell for all their support along the way.

Finally thanks to all those on #phdchat on Twitter, too many to name individually, for the enormous help, moral support, motivation and kindness. Phdchat is a great example of the affordances of social media, providing a personal learning network of doctoral students worldwide supporting and collaborating together.

Contributor: @SueFolley

Source: Folley, S (2013) Bridging the gap between face-to-face and online teaching: a case study exploring tutors’ early experiences of teaching online in a UK university 2009-2012. Doctoral thesis, University of Huddersfield

If you could see me now, I know you would be so proud. If I can be even half as courageous as you, I’ll do well.

With greatest thanks to my husband Daniel. We both know I could not have done this without you. Thank you for keeping me sane – a feat that easily exceeds that of researching a doctorate. Love you to bursting.

To Chris Griffin and Dawn Robins, sisters and fellow students, for love and understanding at every stage. To my brother, Al Robins, for practical gems of advice such as “Just get on with it, Sis”. Thank you Bruv, I hope you’ll be as proud of me as I am of you. To my Mum, Teressa Robins, thank you for your unwavering love and your faith in me. To my Dad, the late Christopher Robins: If you could see me now, I know you would be so proud. If I can be even half as courageous as you, I’ll do well.

To my lab-mates Lucy Chambers and Natalie Gould, thank you for your wonderful patience, continual support and warm humour – I am lucky to have made such great friends. To Aurelie Lesdema, thank you for the practical help you so cheerfully provided, and for your infectious smile. To Pennie Ingram, Elly Adams, and all in the Psychology school office: thank you for everything you do behind the scenes to make life easier for us.

To Janet Collett, Martin Eve, Rachel Entwistle, Tish Marrable, Sarah Pannell, Jannie Roed and Liz Thackray: thank you for the pep-talks, cups of tea, hugs, sound advice, encouragement and kicks-up-the-backside. All administered with impeccable judgement and timing. To Craig Haslop and Chris Kempshall, for the wonderful camaraderie as bizarrely we find ourselves approaching the finishing line together, and for educating me in subversive ways to ‘stick it to the man’.

I wish to express my deep gratitude to the academics that have shaped my curious career path so far. My thanks go to Dr Ray White, for sparking and cultivating my interest in psychology. To Dr Tamzin Ripley, for being a cracking role model, and to Professor Chris Darwin for down-to-earth pragmatism. To Dr. Anne Hole for boundless empathy and sensible advice. To Professor Pete Clifton and Professor Marion Hetherington for such a positive viva experience in the face of so many null results. Finally, and most of all, to my supervisor, Professor Martin Yeomans, for believing in me, and for all the support, encouragement and cajoling that was necessary to make me understand I could do this. Thank you.

This research was funded by a BBSRC Case studentship with Mars UK in the role of industrial partner. I wish to thank both organisations, and Penny and Francesca at Mars UK in particular, for providing me with insight into the industry way of doing things, and for being ever positive in the face of experiments that didn’t go quite as we had hoped.

A final thanks must go to Keith Blount, developer of Scrivener (probably the best writer’s software in the world) and Scapple for envisioning and creating outstanding software and tech support that goes beyond the extra mile.

Contributor: @SarahR_H
Source: Robins-Hobden, Sarah Louise (2012) Sensory-specific satiety and repeated exposure to novel snack foods: short- and long-term changes in food pleasantness. Doctoral thesis, University of Sussex.

It was not about the outcome of obtaining a PhD but instead it was about the process of getting there!

Life has thrown me many curve balls over the years and I would like to give special thanks to my parents for tirelessly supporting me through all the life changing events that eventually led me back to school. Thanks to my mum for being my rock and helping keep me in touch with reality throughout my studies. Thanks to my dad for letting me do it ‘my way’ and for encouraging and inspiring me to reach for my dreams.

Thanks to my husband Darryl (IAMIMOM), for all the inspiring and motivating conversations, that helped me grasp a better understanding of all things game related. Thanks also for being my gaming partner and fellow geek and for all those hours spent unwinding playing co-op Gears of War and Halo 3. Thanks to Kaci, for choosing me as your mum and thanks for keeping me entertained at work when I sneaked you under my table, dressed as a witch pretending to be in a castle full of evil vampires. Thanks to the Charles family for warmly welcoming me and Kaci into their family and for supporting me throughout my studies.

Thanks also to both of my lifelong friends Julie and Monica for being by my side all these years, through all the good times and the bad. “Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget.” Thanks to my friend Debbie (aka Wee Elf) for rescuing me from 2^nd yr and showing me that there is a life outside of university and it usually begins with a trip to Next, swiftly followed by a Starbucks! You helped keep my sanity intact although others may find this debatable!

Thanks to all my brothers and sisters, Richard, Brian, Niall, Peter, Danielle, Michaela, and Grace. You have all inspired me and helped me to remain focused and finish my studies. A special thank you to Grace for adopting Kaci as her own and babysitting for hundreds of hours so I could attend university.

Thanks to my excellent supervisory team, Prof. Dave Bustard and Dr. Michaela Black for making the process of doing a PhD both an invaluable and enjoyable experience. Thank you for all your support and guidance throughout the project. Thanks also to Dr. Roger Austin for his advice in the lead up to the write-up. Thanks to the University of Ulster, and also to all the staff from the School of Computing and Information Engineering. A special thanks to Mrs Pauleen Marshall who warmly welcomed me into the School as an undergraduate student and for looking after me so well all these years. I am indebted to you for your kindness. Thanks also to Mr Tony McLaughlin, without your ‘banter’ I may well have thrown in the towel, or shovel!

Finally, I would like to thank Prof. Randy Pausch RIP for giving me perspective and helping me realise it was in fact a ‘head fake’. It was not about the outcome of obtaining a PhD but instead it was about the process of getting there!

“Experience is not what happens to a man, it is what a man does with what happens to him.”

– Aldous Huxley

Contributor: Therese Charles – Therese can be found on LinkedIn

Source: Charles, T (2010) Enhanced eLearning Engagement Using Game AbsorptioN Techniques (E.L.E.G.A.N.T), PhD, University of Ulster, School of Computing & Information Engineering

Princess Nisa, you really are a little princess (and now it’s written in the Trinity College Library, so it must be true!)

Kenneth Henry – thanks for being a great supervisor and a good sport. Andrew ‘brain the size of a planet’ Lloyd, my mentor – Thank You For Sharing. None of it would have been the same if I wasn’t in such a positive, encouraging environment with the rest of the Wolfe Cubs. Karsten working side-by-side with you for the stuff of Chapter 4 was a great experience. I hope all my future collaborations are as fruitful and good-natured. Cathal and Lucy, the predecessors, thanks for showing me that it can be done (and how to do it!). Avril, thanks for always being willing to direct your insightful intellect towards my problems. Simon thanks for your willingness to help with anything. All of you, and the new folks, Antoinette, Kevin, and Sean, thanks for being so understanding and helpful while I’ve been writing up. Thanks also to Denis Shields for the suggestion of the block overlap simulations in Chapter 4, and all the members of the Tuesday lunchtime group for helpful comments over the years.

My family and friends deserve special thanks for supporting me in various ways. Mum – thanks for Friday lunchtimes in Dunnes & Crescenzi’s and ‘Friday Presents’. Dad – the running total is 2135 Brownie Points, a few more and you’ll have enough for a toaster. Emer – those cinema outings helped me stay relaxed, thanks. Wendy, my adopted Scottish sister and bestest friend – thanks for always dropping everything at a moment’s notice and making everything so much fun. Thanks to Gianluca for lots of emotional support and for help with footnotes and other LATEX oddities. Thanks to my ‘roomies’, Lisa and Emma Jane, for being great pals. Princess Nisa, you really are a little princess (and now it’s written in the Trinity College Library, so it must be true!). The girls on the rugby team definitely helped me keep my sanity by allowing me to vent my frustrations by tipping them upside-down in the mud of College Park … thanks!

Contributor: @aoifemcl

Source: PhD, Trinity College Dublin – for more on Aoife’s work

Without her support (mental, motivational, and financial) I may never have completed this thesis

I would like to thank my supervisors, Professors Mark Good and Rob Honey, listed in purely alphabetical order as their intelligence, contributions, support and, where necessary, motivational talks were equal and without parallel.

I am also extremely grateful to Dr. Mihaela Iordanova, for basically showing me exactly what it was I was meant to be doing on countless occasions, and always being willing to lend assistance whenever required.

I must also thank my family for their support and patience, specifically my Mam and Dad, without whom I wouldn’t be here, or, in fact, anywhere. I would also like to thank Mum and Dad Sachdev, for their generosity and support, and tolerance of the bizarre individual who is now a part of the family.

Finally, I must thank my wonderful wife Vanita, as without her support (mental, motivational, and financial) I may never have completed this thesis.

This work was funded by a studentship from the BBSRC

Contributor: @garwboy

They have stuck by me when most people would have written me off

There are so many people who have helped me in so many different ways over the past few weeks and months that it would be almost impossible to thank you all, but I’ll give it a go.

Firstly, Richard Chamberlain, my project supervisor.

Thanks to Steven, my trusty flatmate. Without the cups of coffee when I was working late at night, and then his nagging at me to get out of bed in the mornings, I don’t think this piece of work would ever have got started, let alone finished!

To Lol and Kev for their industry insight, and for giving me access to people and information I probably wouldn’t have been able to reach otherwise. This dissertation would not have been what it is without you guys’ help.

An extra special thank you to the people who so generously donated their time to provide me with the responses contained in this report. It was always my biggest desire to make this project as credible and professional as possible, and to extend to something beyond an undergraduate dissertation. That wouldn’t have been possible without the help of the people who’s words are carried within these pages.

Lastly, and by no means least, a huge thank you to my Mum and Dad. It has taken me 6 years to get this far, and they have stuck by me when most people would have written me off and given up on me a long time ago. I owe you both a huge debt of gratitude for everything you have done and everything I have put you through. This is for you.

Paul

Contributor: @Juniorc0
Source: BA