What's your dissertation about?

[Slick]

I did do a dissertation as part of my PGCE to qualify to be a teacher

It was about the use of Interactive whiteboards as part of teaching - as they were new to school at the time and most were stuck in a corner and not used
I thought they could be a very useful tools for teaching in many subjects - which I went on to prove by doing just that a year or so later

Never been quite sure if it was really a dissertation or just a long essay with the word dissertation nailed to it for marketing purposes!!

Problem with the subjects I have some expertise in is that they move forward fast!

Is an interactive white board just the same as a smart board?

If it is, I couldn't believe how cool they were for teaching purposes and like you, I pushed on trying and make full use of them whilst others ignored them. Even drawing a straight line was a revelation as my straight lines were anything but, then with one tap I was producing really clear professional looking instructions for learners.

 

[Jasonbikenoob25]

I’d probably go with “Inflation since 1824 - how much was a pound worth compared with 2024?” I’m really interested in how the value of money changes over time and how that reflects bigger economic and historical shifts. It’d be cool to dig into how inflation has impacted purchasing power and to see the long-term trends. Plus, it feels like a topic that could give some practical insights into how our current economy fits into the bigger picture.

 

[HMS_Dave]

Mine would be on whether @Accy cyclist can ever escape his neighbour torment or whether he carefully plans out his sting operations to intentionally lower the value of homes in his area to eventually own it all and become Sir Lord Earl Monocle of Accrington.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Is an interactive white board just the same as a smart board?

If it is, I couldn't believe how cool they were for teaching purposes and like you, I pushed on trying and make full use of them whilst others ignored them. Even drawing a straight line was a revelation as my straight lines were anything but, then with one tap I was producing really clear professional looking instructions for learners.

Yeah - I was teaching ICT
funnily enough the main use for them was in other subjects
for us it was mainly a big monitor with an interactive screen (sort of it was actually a projected image in those days)

but it was very useful

but I went into the pros and cons of it all - quite interesting to do

 

[iandg]

I remember writing something about the impact of CJD on the Transfusion services. Now I don't know a thing about mad cow disease because I'm a duck.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I remember writing something about the impact of CJD on the Transfusion services. Now I think I'm a duck

Maybe you are just going quackers?

That will save you the money for a diagnosis - you don;t want to get sent a bill!

 

[Mike Ayling]

Did that higher education enable you to earn more than a plumber or sparky during your working life?
Or ladies hair dresser?

 

[DCLane]

I've done three and I don't intend to do another one anytime soon.

Same here.

 

[Reynard]

I've done three.

Batchelor - stress analysis of the fibre-matrix interface in a unidirectional carbon fibre composite under tensile and compressive stresses using ANSYS software

Masters - development of a chassis / monocoque and front suspension model of a ChampCar in ANSYS and investigating the effects of different kinds of torsional loading applied through the suspension wishbones. This was very much a "see if it can be done" study, as full chassis computer modelling for racing cars was still very much in its infancy at the time.

PhD - developing a small scale version of one of the FIA side impact tests carried out on F1 cars, so that the preliminary investigation of different types of composite structures can be carried out in-house using an Instron machine that's pretty well much standard equipment in most materials testing labs. And then of course investigating how those small-scale results tally up to the full sized version of the tests that have to be carried out at FIA-certified laboratories.

If I was to do one now...

Well earlier this year I spent four months identifying and cataloguing a load of stuff from the old Thompson & Taylor drawing offices at Brooklands. And when you're handling that much raw data, you start to see discrepancies between the accepted literature and that date, so much so, that a good bit of stuff actually needs to be re-written. Particularly when it comes to the history and provenance of the Napier Lion engines that were used for various forms of racing.

 

[cookiemonster]

I've done three and I don't intend to do another one anytime soon.

Same here.

One BSc (about butterflies), an MSc (about bioluminescence) and a PGDE.

That's enough.

 

[Grant Fondo]

1. Parker & Unwin and the Garden City Movement.
2. A comparison of early social housing UK/USA
3. Pros and cons of overcladding 60s residential tower blocks.
(that one was 1993 and would definitely need a postscript)

 

[DCBassman]

The Political Inclinations of Marmite Crisps Eaters

Oi, leave us alone, we don't do politicking...

 

[Baldy]

Did that higher education enable you to earn more than a plumber or sparky during your working life?
Or ladies hair dresser?

No, I've been a miner, soldier and a truck driver. Started an OU degree at 40, it took me 6 years. It didn't lead to any better paid work, but at least it kept me sane.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Did that higher education enable you to earn more than a plumber or sparky during your working life?
Or ladies hair dresser?

Did in my case
the company only recruited people with a Science degree as trainee programmers
Exact subject wasn;t relevant - computer science as a degree was so rare that it was almost unknown
they just regarded it as a certificate of ability and intelligence
although this was in the 1980s - things have changed since

Second time I was at University it was to train as a teacher - again degree needed to do the course

and - talking to other people who work in schools - school pay teachers reasonably (but that has dropped dramatically in real terms but lets not get banished to "the other place") but pay "other people" quite badly
for example IT Technicians and Network Managers (of whom I know a lot) can often get a massive pay rise by moving out of education support

so - in my case - a degree was a major asset

My wife is the same - but she, and her department, had to argue a lot with HR to be classified at a higher rate in the NHS and the requirement to have a degree was the thing that pushed them up teh pay grades


It does seem to vary based on teh subject - some subjects come with a professional qualification - or entry to a route to get one
others are less specific and valued in the outside world

 

[grldtnr]

That's a good one. What is the difference between stout and porter?

Porters tend to use malted roasted barley , Stouts un malted ,porters can also be classed as old strong beers blended, traditionally drunk by market porters, hence the name, Stouts are characteristically darker, have a heavier body to them and bitter, think of 'Guinness,'Oatmeal stouts are different again with the addition of oatmeal.
Don't ask me to expound any further as I am busy in me cups, and likely not to be coherent In my theories ,