Madiba,

Thanks indeed for this piece. We should definitely learn something here.

Regards,
Omar.
-----Opprinnelig melding-----
Fra: Madiba Saidy <[log in to unmask]>
Til: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Dato: 13. oktober 1999 20:22
Emne: A STITCH IN TIME (fwd)


>Hi Folks,
>
>Thought some you might find the appended article interesting....especially
>students.
>
>Cheers,
>        Madiba.
>-----------------
>
>               ........ A STITCH IN TIME ..........
>
>
>GENESIS
>'Experience is the best teacher' is a popular saying which makes meaning
>only when you have gone through a problem or have first hand information
>from individuals with unique experiences.  What follows below is not based
>on personal experiences alone but also on the experiences of other Nigerian
>postgraduate students in Australasia and the UK within the last few years.
>Normally very few Nigerians find their way to study or work in the Pacific
>regions.  Somehow there is a growing statistics on the nature of harrowing
>experiences in the hands of Postgraduate Supervisors which makes one wonder
>whether the problem is Nigerian or world wide.  My stint as a lecturer and
>the time spent working in a research institute has provided added
>information to realise that the experiences being described below are not
>uniquely Nigerian.  But Nigeria is my domain, my interest and my home.  I
>will therefore limit this discourse to mostly Nigerians.  I will not discuss
>the situation as it obtains in Nigeria (most of us know it), but rather as I
>find among Nigerians abroad.
>
>Have you ever wondered why that classmate whom you used to beat or used to
>beat you all the time in both secondary and the undergraduate level fails to
>complete his or her postgraduate studies, either at all or on time?  While
>there are ample reasons to suggest that finishing a postgraduate course on
>time and at all can be correlated with ones ability in the subject area,
>there is growing statistics pointing to the fact that other strong reasons
>impact upon the completion of one's postgraduate course.  I will not spend
>time analysing issues related to ability, but rather those involving
>relationships within the university, with one's supervisors and with fellow
>students.
>
>
>ACADEMIC PROBLEMS OR RELATIONSHIP PROBLEMS?
>A few years ago, a friend of mine went to the UK for his PhD course, through
>the commonwealth  scholarship, a job was waiting for him at home paying
>something to his account every month.  Many of his friends wished they were
>in his shoes.  Years past and stories started to emerge that he would not be
>finishing his course after all.  He was disagreing heavily with his
>supervisor and petitions were flying back and forth in his campus.  While he
>accused his supervisor of racism, he accused him of incompetence and
>insorbordinatiion.  In situations like this, something must give and someone
>will lose out.  My friend did and returned home without a certificate, and
>also lost his job as a lecturer in Nigeria.  Of course the British
>supervisor may have had his reputation dented, but kept his job.  Questions
>were asked without answers.  Why would a person who is racist agree to
>supervise a black student?  To fail him and to make him appear incomptent?
>Why were other black students doing well under him?
>
>Eight years ago, a Ugandan student in an Australian campus was having
>problems with his supervisor. He started out as a Master's student and
>upgraded to PhD.  Being a social science course, he was required to collect
>data using a series of questionaires, which he did.  He wrote the draft for
>his PhD thesis and everytime he submited a draft, it came back with red inks
>everywhere and new requests for re-writing.  Eventully, the flip flop effect
>took two years off his time, the supervisor informed him, he would only
>submit the thesis for an MSc degree, not a PHD!  The University sent a
>notice of "Explain why your candidature should not be discontinued".  He
>tried and gave reasons why his supervisor was the problem.  He accepted
>advice to desist from accusing or being confrontational with the supervisor
>and to allow someone else read along and edit the thesis with him.
>Eventually another African student agreed to read the draft for him and to
>help re-write it.  It turned out he actually had real problems.  The data
>collected were inadequate.  He was obviously verbose in the thesis, which
>means, the thesis was at least 700 pages long.  While he thought the number
>of pages is evidence of productivity, the supervisor correctly thought it
>was weakness in English and writing. In many places he was repetitive.  It
>took another 6 months to re-write the thesis, a suspension of his
>scholarship, high blood pressure and a wife who also was threatening to
>leave him or start her own studies.  She had waited too long for him to
>finish for her to start hers!  He eventually got the thesis submitted for a
>Phd and passed after 7 years of full time PhD studies!
>
>"My supervisor is sexist, hates women and above all me, because I would not
>...." Miss X complained to a fellow Nigerian.  "My supervisor is punishing
>me because he comes from tribe B and I from tribe A", moaned a Nigerian male
>postgraduate student in a foreign country to another Nigerian. Apparently,
>the Nigerian lecturer felt he had a duty to supervise another Nigerian and
>to see him finish on time. The student wanted to report him to the
>University authorities because "he is punishing me for the problems his
>tribe has with mine at home"!  Luckily for him, the Nigerian he complained
>to advised him not to be confrontational with his supervisor but to discuss
>the issues involved face to face with the supervisor.  At the same time the
>supervisor was also having problems with his undergraduate students, which
>means the issues involved are not really because both of them come from two
>different tribes.  Eventually the problems got to the chair of the
>department who had a lengthy discussion with the lecturer.  Their
>relationship improved and he latter confirmed that the supervisor had
>improved.  It did turn out that the supervisor also thought the student was
>incompetent and not progressing well, and he wanted to ditch him.
>
>Student Y was ditched by his supervisor because, he wanted to send an
>abstract for a conference and the supersivor thought it better to write the
>paper for a journal.  The student thought it was his right to publish his
>work with or without the supervisor's consent.  He sent the abstract for the
>conference with the name of the supervisor as a co-author.  The abstract was
>accepted and he rushed with joy to let the supervisor know that the abstract
>went through.  The supervisor was red-faced and ordered the student to do
>three things: first to remove his name as a co-author should the student
>insist on publishing it, secondly to remove the name of the university as
>the source of the paper and thirdly to withdraw the paper if the student
>wants him to continue to be his supervisor!  As usual the student complained
>and accused the supervisor of intimidation and not being a good supervisor.
>For some students, the saving grace is always close by.  For this student,
>the saving grace came from a Nigerian lecturer in the University who advised
>him to do what the supervisor said.  He obeyed and eventually got the paper
>published in a journal as the supervisor initially advised.  Most
>supervisors are genuine in their intentions towards their students.  Many
>want to see their students do well.  The success of a student isthe success
>of the supervisor, advancement of his career and the image of the
>university.  Why would a person agreee to supervise you only to record in
>his resume that the students he had supervised failed?  No one wants to do that.
>
>Relationships between supervisors and students determine to some extent why
>some so-called 'not good students' finish their PhDs and your friend who
>bagged a first class could not.  A good supervisor is a peer, someone to
>look up to.  Someone who wants to transfer knowledge and build his or her
>own carbon copy in this student.  Many supervisors are concerned and worried
>when their students do not have funds to live on, and most would find the
>means to provide the funds for the students.  Others go a long way to not
>only guide but tutor the student towards achieving the objective.  In all
>cases, the PhD is yours.  The MSc research is yours.  The supervisor is
>there to guide, and mould the individual and to act in an official capacity
>on behalf of the university.  Most supervisors that I know outside Nigeria,
>go beyond those requirements.  As a private student, my supervisor gave me
>jobs within the department to help me raise money for my fees.  I know many
>other students whose supervisors did more than this for them.  Some kept
>their PhD graduates as Research Fellows.  Others gave them teaching
>positions and build lasting relationships with their graduates.
>
>In every situation in life, there are obvioulsy the odd ones out. A Ghanian
>student was offered a university scholarship with a Nigerian which convered
>stipend only.  They were the only recipient of the scholarship from Africa
>for that year. The Ghanian student was obviously lucky that the Ghanian
>government supplemented his scholarship to cover fees which then stood at
>$7000 (Australian dollars annually) but later grew to $9000 by the time they
>finished.  He reported three weeks before the Nigerian student started his
>own PhD on the limited scholarship.  Because he was an older and more
>experienced student, the department offered him a limited teaching position,
>which earned him more money.  In terms of money, there was no reason to
>worry, so it seemed.  Unfortunately, the money from three sources meant he
>had lots to spare to spend on booze and women in the student union bar and
>in the city.  Because he was drinking heavily, the department stopped him
>from teaching after a year. The drinking problem caused him to borrow money
>rampantly.  The university scholarship ran out after 4 years.  After 6
>years, the Ghanian government also stopped their scholarship, and he was
>left on his own. The Nigerian student on a limited scholarship combined his
>studies with working in a factory.  This hard labour spured him to work
>harder to finish on time. He finished within three years and secured a
>permanent job.  During that period he brought his family to be with him.
>Six years after they started their studies, the university discontinued the
>candidature of the Ghanian student, his visa was cancelled and he hasd to go
>home without submitting a thesis.  In this case, the student is his personal
>problem as well as too much money to study with.
>
>There are many reasons why good students fail to finish their postgraduate
>studies.  It is not good enough to be 'good' in one's field to finish a PhD.
>Social issues impact upon academic performance, and I think, in many cases,
>social issues are responsible for failures.  Many failures are
>self-inflicted and also academic. Have you ever disagreed with your
>supervisor on a theory, a method and or a new idea which stands to disprove
>past results?  I know two Nigerian students who went through such
>experiences.  While Doctor Z understood the problem and worked through it,
>Mr W forgot his objectives and destroyed his studies, or helped to destroy
>it.  Dr Z did a PhD in biotechnology and came up with a method which refined
>a well established theory.  Right from the beginning of his course, he
>merticulously kept research notes and informed his supervisor on his
>results.  Because his method and results differed from the established norm,
>his supervisor refused to accept his 'thesis' of 'extra information',
>hitherto ignored it as the reason for his better and more effective results.
>Luckily and unluckily for this student, a Japanese visiting-professor came
>to his department and his supervisor made him discuss the method with the
>visiting professor in details.  The Japanese reproduced the new method and
>the new results.  This is where the story took a new turn.  The visiting
>professor wrote a journal paper with the new method and results and put the
>Nigerian's name as the second author.  He protested to his supervisor who
>refused to do nothing, but rather to 'let sleeping dogs lie'. Because this
>student kept a good research notebook, it confirmed he is the author of the
>method, which meant he could write his thesis based on the method.  He did
>and passed, but refused to include the paper which the Japanese put his name
>as a co-author in his thesis.  Eventually he did, but his records saved his
>degree.  Mr W on the other hand who was doing a PhD in electrical
>engineering had the same level of disagreement with his supervisor.  Because
>he believed his method disproves the supervisor's theory which for years has
>been the industry standard in that area, he went ahead to publish it without
>the consent of his supervisor.  That is where his PhD degree vanished.  Up
>till today, his thesis has not been accepted by the examiners selected by
>the univerisity to examine the thesis.  There are lessons to learn from Dr Z
>and Mr W.
>
>What did Mr W do wrong?  By publishing the results without the consent of
>his supervisor and without the knowledge of his Chair of department, he left
>himself without protection.  He could have first held seminars in the
>departmnent, inform the Chair of the department and if necessary, use the
>official university channels of resolving such issues first.
>
>By all means, keep a good research notebook.  Have your theories and results
>written down and dated.  Try to have your supervisor counter-sign them.  If
>he or she would not let you publish them, try to open up an avenue within
>the department to hold seminars on your methods and results - ie, publish
>them locally within the department before an informed audience of lecturers
>and students. Does this sound unimportant to you?  It is a hard lesson to
>learn that someone has published the core of your thesis.  This happened to
>two of my friends, one from the Netherlands and the second a white
>Zimbabwean. They were doing PhD courses under a young lecturer who also was
>looking for avenues for promotion to higher positions.  They discussed their
>results with the lecturer, but had no written notes or seminar materials to
>support their claim on the methods and results.  The young lecturer knew
>this and published them in a journal paper.  Needless to say, this ended
>their studies in that department. The young lecturer is still there!
>
>
>REDUCING TEARS
>I have watched good students waste away because of small issues and mistakes
>which they could have
>handled right from the beginning well.  Maintain a good relationship with
>your supervisor.  It pays.
>I am writing from experience.  I had my thesis kept unread for 12 months.
>After it was read, it
>remained unmarked for another 13 months because one of the examiners did not
>read it!  While this happened it gave me time to write more papers on the
>thesis and got them published and at the same time, I was looking for jobs!
>But, but, the supervisor was good enough to realise that the fault was not
>mine and gave me jobs within the department waiting for the thesis!
>Normally the long wait will end. Remember what Nnamdi Azikiwe said: "No
>condition is permanent".  What is required is patience.  As a result of my
>experience, I have changed most of my attitudes towards reviewing of papers
>for journals, and examining of thesis. I have rather adopted the method of
>trying to experience delay from the point of view of the student. Delays in
>examining thesis, reviewing papers and not being available to see a student
>when you need to impacts on careers, the living standards of family members,
>and above all on health, because most students are normally worried about
>studies.
>
>Beware.  A supervisor, young in his or her career is likely to be the one to
>seek to publish your work as his or her own.  A chair of a department is
>unlikely to have enough time to supervise you well.  But if you are the type
>that needs very little help to do your research and studies, he is going to
>turn out to be the best supervisor for you.  You will get to know more
>professors in the area, probably find jobs more easily when you finish under
>him and above all, it is likely that your thesis will pass through the
>system much more quickly because he wants the results as records for his
>department, himself and he is not going to allow things to dent his
>reputation that easily.  However, if you have problems with such a person,
>you could find it harder to solve.  You will find good supervisors among
>lecturers who have strong records through personal publications, or have
>brought in a lot of research grants to the university.  Such lecturers will
>look for results and have money and time to support postgraduate students.
>They are likely to have time to supervise and give employment after you
>finish. They are also less likely to steal your results, but rather will
>demand royalties from any inventions go to the research lab.  It is a give
>and take.  Older professors, the emeritus types are likely to be fatherly
>and guide the student, but are also likely to be dogmatic on their theories
>not being challenged by younger researchers.
>
>
>
>FINAL WORDS
>Getting a job after you finish and obtain that 'money making paper' does now
>depend on experience which universities, research laboratories and industry
>count in terms of:
>
>a) Number of papers (journal, conferences, research file notes and reports)
>within the last couple of months. Academic and research jobs require
>publications! "Publish or perish" they normally say, but for a lecturing
>job, one might equally say, "publish or go without the job".
>
>b) Industries require hands on experience.  This requires conducting your
>experiments yourself.  Write your computer programs yourself.  In many
>cases, there is need for you to do so.  While it is easy to use someone's
>software for experiments, when you graduate, industries will be looking for
>those with the core experience in not only using but also writing. Do not
>let someone take the experiences from you.  Experience is technology
>transfer!  It is know how.  It helps in becoming an expert gradually.  Do
>not short change yourself.
>
>c) Now industries ask for 'Demos'.  It is becoming 'Demonstrate or perish'
>in research institutes.
>
>d) If you are in the information technology area, there is absolutely no
>reason why you should not he learning at home new internet languages (html,
>java-script, java, visual C++, pel etc).  Learn them on your own.  They
>could be the difference between your getting that job and losing it to
>someone else.
>
>e) Attend that conference if the chance is created.  Even if you have no
>paper to present, attend if someone is paying for it.  You will come back
>with fresh ideas for your work.
>
>f)  Attend that course when it is available to you even if you do not need
>the material now.  I did just that about 18 months ago attending courses on
>Internet languages, object-oriented-programming, java and more.  It did turn
>out six months latter that I need them for my projects!
>
>g) One thing internet is teaching all its users is how to 'type' with a
>keyboard. Formalise the training.  Extend the typing to more than two
>fingers.  Learn to use all the 10 fingers and your
>work will not only become easier, you could earn something too with that
>self training.  For students, the result is instant.  You get to type your
>thesis, reports, papers and by learning to use word processors as well, you
>have acquired a skill needed everywhere.  Let us turn our attention from
>replying many internet mails, but rather filtering out the good things in
>internet and use them.
>
>I do not have any answers to the academic and social problems facing
>students, but I have seen too many students in tears to know what causes
>them.  I wish I had someone telling me these things ten years or more ago.
>If you find these hints useful, share them.  May be someday, somewhere, you
>will reap the reward.
>
>
>johnson.i.agbinya
>j.i.a
>
>NB:  You will find mistakes in the above write-up.  I have not taken time to
>study english at the degree level!
>
>****************************************************************************
>*       "Tomorrow, Today is History.  Create The History Before It Creates
>*        Itself" Johnson I Agbinya (Ph.D)
>*       Image and Signal Processing
>*       CSIRO Telecommunications and Industrial Physics,Vimiera/
>*       Pembroke Rds,   P O Box 76, Epping, New South Wales 2121, Australia
>*       Internet: http://www.tip.csiro.au/~jagbinya/
>*       Ph: +61 2 (9829 4682h or 9372 4366w).
>*
>****************************************************************************
>
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