Easter break

It is time for an update I suppose... it has been a while since my last report. Since I last posted quite a bit has happened. First of all, I finished my first experiment and have jotted it all down into a neat 25 minute presentation. I gave this presentation to my lab group (a meeting of the forensic, social, and personality psychologists in the department) and it went over quite well. Next step will be to give the same presentation to the entire department in May, and then a gamers conference in Bedfordshire in June.

Oh yes, I also made a trip to Amsterdam with Jeff! It was a lot of fun and nice to see another country. It really is a beautiful city with lots to see and do! (The Van Gogh museum was a highlight ^^)

Currently I am (attempting to) reading about stereotype threat. My supervisor wants me to have a comprehensive review of the literature on this topic and bust out an essay for him to revise at the end of Easter break. However, the last few days I have been more interested in playing the Sims 3 than reading about this... but I'm trying to force some motivation and get it done. At least I have all my marking done already...

Lets see..what else.. oh yes! Rex will be here tomorrow. After an extremely rough few days in Texas he is heading over here to relax with me in Bath. Hopefully we will be able to make a trip to Stonehenge and check out a wonder of the ancient world :)

Term Two has begun!

Been a while since my last update - so here we go.. /deep breath

Term one finished on an "okay" note.. I ended up getting a 58 in statistics (which is not as bad as it sounds my American friends... a 58 here is like a C+/B-). I am not very happy with this mark but it is what it is and it is a passing grade.. (all I needed was to get above a 50). Apparently in PhD land we have earned the right to have grades not matter - they are recorded per say but they don't count for or against you. So I'll have to learn to live with that.

Term two has started now and I only have one class - Professional and Generic skills II. I am currently trying to place out of it based on the previous classes I have taken (hopefully I will be able to). This class is pretty much a waste of time.. they are teaching us things that 1) I have already been instructed on and 2) are pretty much common sense. Yes... we know how to give a powerpoint presentation... we have been giving them since high school... ;)

I had my first research committee meeting this week! I was very nervous but it turned out to be not as bad as expected. At one point a member of my committee asked me how my research was going to contribute to "science" in general. I almost died when he asked me that! But somehow I busted out a coherent answer and even got a "Good answer" response out of him! So... yay me :)

As for now I am just continuing with my literature survey... which means reading, reading, and more reading. Oh yeah, and reading. I am also preparing for my first experiment (so exciting!). The guy in the tech office is dragging his feet on giving me access to the server so I can format my survey... but other than that it is pretty much planned out. Just have to execute!

Until next time... Ciao!

It is almost the end...... of Term 1!

Tomorrow is my statistics final and after taking that it will mark the end of my first term here. Honestly, it went by super fast! Through the last 10 weeks I have learned the basics of statistics, attended a lot of talks about a variety of psychological phenomena, and finally figured out what my dissertation research question will be.

It is kind of crazy the roads my dissertation idea has gone down... it has changed quite a lot. I came here with the idea of doing something about internet gaming immersion and adaptive functioning...

which turned into doing research on the role of play and learning for adults through online video games as compared to the role of play in children..

which turned in to internet games as a teaching tool for the socially inhibited...

which then became researching the formation of stereotypes..

which then turned in to what is is now which is studying the formation of stereotypes on online gamers. Basically what are the stereotypes of internet gamers and why and how have they formed.

I'm really liking what my research question has landed on since it seems like a perfect combination of my research interests (internet gaming) and my supervisors interests (stereotypes).

Well guess I should get back to studying for statistics.. not sure my brain can take much more of these formulas but I have to try!

Ugg...

So this morning I finally got to sleep in and I go down to have a smoke. While down there, I walked over to the laundry place to see if any machines are open because I need to do my laundry. I peek in and see there are 4 machines that are not in use (4 out of 6 total so it was pretty shocking). So I race back to my room, grab my laundry, my money, and my soap and go back to the launderette. When I get there, there is some guy there putting his stuff into 2 machines. I initially think that is pretty rude considering there are only 6 machines total for the entirety of Wentworth (which is about 400 students) but I figure hey, there are 2 machines still open. I go over to machine number 6 and there is a note on it saying it is out of order. I scoot over to machine number 5 and there is a sign on that one as well that it is out of order. /sigh

We only have 6 machines to begin with and now 2 of them don't work! How is anyone supposed to get their laundry done :(

So...dejected, I walked back to my room and now I have to wait an hour and hope to sneak my stuff into Mr. Rude Guy's machine when his laundry is done.

Oh! And to top it off... the sign on the number 5 machine was on the floor under it.. so I stuck my 2 pounds in there and then when I knelt to put my stuff in I saw the sign... so not only did I not get to do my laundry - I paid 2 pounds into a broken machine (It won't give me my money back - /cry)

I survived week 1!

Well actually, I have survived the first two weeks - the week of orientation and the first week of lectures. Orientation week was pretty uneventful, I went to a bunch of talks that taught me nothing and pretty much wasted my time. Although, I did meet some nice people during that time so I guess it wasn't all for nothing. One of the people I met was Jeff - an American (yay!). He is from Maryland and is getting his MSc in Forensic Linguistics (impressive, I know). Since we met we have hung out a bunch of times and I like him very much. He's fun!

During orientation week I also met Eva and Adele... from Greece and France, respectively. Eva and I have hung out a bunch of times, had expeditions to the local Morrisons, and shared a few dinners. Eva, Adele, and I are even going to dress up and hit up the Halloween Party on Friday. I think Adele is going to be a vampire and Eva is gonna be a devil... my plan is to be a bumble bee but we will see if that costume fits when it arrives :P

The first week of lectures was okay. Stats is pretty much over my head though. What the professor covered in the first lecture is probably what I learned in the first 4 months of my first statistics class in undergrad. So I think I need to focus a lot of time on statistics or I am going to be totally left behind. The Contemporary Issues class is okay... basically every week a different professor will come in and lecture on something pertinent to our research life. For example, the first lecture was put on by Dr. Andrew Monk and he taught us the process of getting our experiment through the ethics committee. I think we will have to write papers for that class but no one has explained that to us, so we'll see if we hear anything about it this week.

I have also started some reading relating to my dissertation... my supervisor suggested that I read "Mind, Self, & Society" by H.G. Mead. I am about 30 pages in and it isn't too bad so far. Some of the concepts make me think "wha?" but most of it makes sense. I think it will provide me with a lot of information to base my lit review on... which is the goal of my 1st year here - produce a 4,000 word lit review.

Well that is all for now! I'm still alive and managing to make it through the days here... athough..the washing machine did eat my money today. Gah, guess nothing can run smoothly.

I am here!

So I arrived in York a few days ago and a lot has happened since I got here. After what seemed like a *zillion* hours of travel my Dad and I finally made it to the city. The first day we explored the town a lot and bought a bunch of things that I needed - a computer printer, a hair straightener, pots and pans, dishes, etc. I also was able to meet my supervisor, Dr. Oldmeadow. I think him and I are going to get along wonderfully! We talked for a little while and then he and I and my Dad went and had a cup of coffee and talked a little more about our backgrounds and whatnot.

The next day Dad and I brought some stuff up to the dorm and started to unpack. I was still feeling pretty uneasy about this whole getting abandoned in Europe thing. It is still overwhelming, being this far from home and not knowing the town or the people or the customs. As we were unpacking though it seemed like the space would be big enough for all of my stuff.... until we came back today with the *rest* of my things.

First of all, the bathroom is TINY and the light doesn't even work properly! When we were here for the first time we noticed the light was flickering... good thing I don't have epilepsy... and reported it to the *go to* guy for the Wentworth building. Well as I write this the light in the bathroom is still flickering at me... and the light above the desk is going out... and I have discovered that the bathroom sink does not drain. /sigh Dorm life I guess?

I met some really nice people today and I am feeling a little more comfortable in these surroundings. Although, I know when my Dad leaves in a few days it is going to become that much more difficult for me. It has been REALLY nice having him here to help me with this whole process. If I had come out here by myself I would have turned around and gone home the next day... seriously.

Well.. we will see what tomorrow brings! Tomorrow is orientation day so maybe I will start to feel better as I learn more about the university.

Polio, really?

So the other day (on my birthday actually) I went and got all the immunizations I need in order to gain clearance for entry into the U.K. I thought I was only going to need 3 shots but I ended up getting 6 :( It made me a little sick... I'm not really sure you should get 6 at once, but at least I am all shot up and ready to go.

I have also received my U.K student Visa! Yay! So there is nothing else needed for me to do until I actually arrive at York! I have my Visa, I have my housing, and I have all my shots. I'm starting to get slightly nervous about actually going over there... moving all the way on the other side of the world knowing absolutely no one! However, this is an experience that not many people get to have and I am going to try to make the most of it. Not many people get to live their dreams, and I am going to be one of those lucky few who do.

Now to just pass the time until I take off (October 4).... since I no longer have to worry about anything related to York until I actually arrive there, I don't know what to do with my time!