Researchista

(22) Magic element: ACADEMIA

“The Story of the Magic 3 and the Earth” is prepared to introduce you to more types of Researchers, because Researchers are not only in academic circles (namely, at the university). There are many Researchers in business for example, and in all sorts of organisations (e.g. lobbying organisations, think tanks, international organisations), as well as in different fields (e.g. electricity, food industry). So, we are many and we are different and I would like to invite you further to get to know us better

In this post, I will briefly describe how Research works in: Academia (the birthplace of all PhDs).

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Research in academia stands for Research done at the university and has a long history. Briefly, it has been formally introduced in Germany as university’s main activity, apart from teaching. In a nutshell, Research in academia is advancing based on: 1) research itself – on knowledge creation, finding the unknown, proving old theories in a new perspective, improving existing knowledge, etc.; 2) publication of the research outcomes.

Once the knowledge has been revealed/improved/discovered, it is laid carefully in the form of an academic paper or scientific article. An academic paper does not simply gets to be written, the word about its existence needs to be spread (otherwise, how would other Researchers/scientists will ever find out what their peers in the area are doing) and so it goes into the publishing funnel, called a scientific journal. Figure 1. Scientific publishing cycle. Academic Research is happening most of the time within a Research position, someone’s got to do the job 😉 This can be a Research assistant, a doctorate/PhD student, a Post-doctorate Researcher or a Professor.

Here, we have: an Early-Stage Researcher (a PhD)

13461010_10157139483410637_2143691935_o — Ibrahima Sory Kaba, PhD fellow, UNU-MERIT & School of Governance, Maastricht University Photo credit: http://www.manorlux.com

Antoine P. Simons, Maastricht University Photo credit: http://www.manorlux.com

and an Experienced Researcher (a Post-Doc).

They are both doing academic Research. Except that Ibrahima for now is a PhD student or fellow and writes his first academic papers, whereas Antoine has already finished his PhD and therefore already wrote many academic papers that later on where published in academic journals. [*Both, myself (Irina Burlacu, graduated ’14, aka Researchista) and Ibrahima are proud fellow students of School of Governance of the United Nations University-MERIT, Maastricht University. A glimpse of our school in the words of Ibrahima can be found here].

There could be many obstacles that Researchers could deal with when it comes to publishing their Research outcomes. One example that might be interesting for everyone is that mass-media does not always put an academic study in its relevant context, nicely explained in this video. Ideally, this is definitely not the intention of Researchers, but sometimes Researchers could fall into this trap. Figure 2. Publication trap. Above all, Research in academia is probably the most ‘innocent’ and impartial type of Research that exists out there, because it does not (with exceptions) defend the interests of corporations or of political parties, because it is there to serve the interest of the people for the sake of helping humanity to progress, to change people’s behaviour and advance the knowledge. This is why… when you have to vote for someone for example, and you are not certain for whom (e.g. should you vote for leaving the EU or not?) or you have to approve some crazy decision that will affect the lives of other people than yourself and your family, always wonder: what would a Researcher say or do? Or, even better, talk to someone at the university. They might not have all the answers, but they will always be there, offering their time and intellectual advice, for free, in the most humble and humane manner (from my experience). They take a lot of time to think on topics that are of your concern, that not any other industry or form, might do…

In my story, Academia is associated with air, because it is everywhere… and it is abstract, yet so necessary. Unlike water (policy) and fire (business) it is there laying for all us for ‘free’ (relatively), innocently and apolitically, at least, that’s how I prefer to think about.

With love for Research,

(21) Magic element: BUSINESS.

“The Story of the Magic 3 and the Earth” is prepared to introduce you to more types of Researchers, because Researchers are not only in academic circles (namely, the university). There are many Researchers in business and in all sorts of organisations (e.g. lobbying organisations, think tanks, international organisations) and in many different fields (e.g. electricity, food industry). So, we are many and we are different and I would like to invite you further to get to know us better

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In this post, I will briefly remind/introduce you about Research and the Magic element, called: Business. This neat scheme, presented by a consultancy company here, is well illustrating the phases at which Research in Business is applied. It describes few general phases of how a business is organized and at which phases Research is needed. Moreover, what Research instruments (methods) someone needs to apply to find out for example how to promote their business on the market .

As you can see, Research is needed at many phases of a business setup, varying from methods that find the demands for a certain product (customers’ opinion); to what marketing strategy is best to apply when promoting a certain product (marketing research); what are the strengthens and weakness of that product or business compared to other competitors (SWOT Analysis), etc.

Figure 1. Business Research methods and phases.

Business Research is indispensable to business development. Without it, it would be very difficult to know who are the best fitted customers/users and how to please and maintain them for the growth of a startup, company, business strategy of an organisation.

Now, let us listen from first-hand professional about how Research works in business practice. This is Researchista’s invitee, Mr. Mark Lewis, who works as a Business Analyst at APG, Netherlands (one of the largest pension funds in the world): “I think Research is really important for business”. Listen below to what Mark has to share with us about the role of Research in his area.

Photo Mark — Photo credit: http://www.manorlux.com

In my story, Business is associated with fire, because it requires immediate solution and attention, unlike policy (air) it does not necessary involve much bureaucracy, instead requires speedy reactions {all is relative, of course…}.

With love for Research,

(20) Magic element: POLICY.

“The Story of the Magic 3 and the Earth” is prepared to introduce you to more types of Researchers, because Researchers are not only in academic circles (namely, the university). There are so many Researchers in business or in all sorts of organisations (e.g. lobbying organisations, think tanks, international aid organisations) and in all sorts of fields (e.g. electricity, food industry). *They are all coming from the university benches, but let us come back to this topic another time. So, we are many and we are different, read further to get to know us better 🙂

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The story is about the importance of cooperation between policy-academia-business and the overall society when a change needs to take place in society, in a certain area of life. To better remember each party, I associate an element of nature to each of them (just like in “Sailor Moon” 🙂 ). In this post, I will briefly remind/introduce you to the Magic element, called: Policy.

Figure 1. Public policy cycle (how a policy ideally works in practice).

So, this is how it approximately and usually works. It can go in many directions and some stages can be skipped by policy makers, but these are roughly the phases through which a policy goes through: first, there is a problem in a certain area of life: for example, no energy supply for an area of a city due to the lack of funding.

The inhabitants of that district will then write complains to human rights organisations or other parties to solve this problem (or one or more organisations will notice and the initiative will come from them). Those organisation discuss further with the authorities in charge of electricity supply, who then discuss with specialized authorities who decide to provide with funding for buying all the electricity supplies. It is then when the problem arrives on the agenda of policy makers (authorities in charge).

If approved to be important enough, the policy is then developed step-by-step from who, when, what, when the electricity in that area is going to be installed. After which, it is then decided who and when will actually do the work (implementation). After the district has been provided with electricity, the policy is evaluated to see how good or bad what was decided by authorities was applied in practice. Now, let us have a look at the following Researcher involved in policy Research to better understand what one might do in this area:

Photo-4 — photo credit: http://www.manorlux.com

Olga J. Skriabikova-Coenen, works for local public authorities in the Netherlands. She is Researcher at the Regional government of Limburg, South of the Netherlands [doctorate graduate 2014 at Maastricht University]: “I have a PhD in Economics and since two years I work at Limburg regional government. In my role as Strategy research and evaluation advisor I provide critical reflection on proposed research questions, methods and design. The main difference between fundamental research and policy-oriented, or in other terms, applied research is that policy research should ideally provide directly applicable results which can be used to address urgent policy matters. Formulating research questions in such a way that policy-makers receive information that they can use is therefore crucial. Another issue related to applicability is timeliness, since policy-makers need to be able to react quickly and cannot afford waiting for a year or more to plan a policy action. The other side of the coin is that policy research cannot provide the depth, precision and generality of conclusions of fundamental research. Nonetheless, high quality policy research is crucial for adequate planning, design, implementation and evaluation of policies.”

In my story, Policy is associated with water, because hypothetically speaking, it touches upon all areas of public life and unlike fire (business), it might take a lot of time until it is going to be implemented (since it can involve a lot of bureaucracy, for e.g., approval from many authorities).

With love for Research,

(19) Magic 3: Policy – Academia – Business

When I was small, “Sailor Moon” was one of my favourite cartoons, especially when she and her girlfriends gathered in a circle and took out their magic sticks with magic powers from the nature: fire, air, water and earth – to unite their powers and fight the evil… When these elements are apart they have one power, but when combined, they can create effects that could never happen independently. Just like in life, Research is useful, but if not discussed and transmitted further into policy or business, it might just stay there for years, without serving it’s purpose.

Please welcome the Magic 3 (fire, air and water) and the earth (you and me and everyone).

To avoid confusion, policy is not politics, nor police ;). Policy (or public policy or a policy in an area) is a governmental programme addressed to solve or to take care of a specific sector of public life; for example, energy. In the energy sector, there are people who install the electricity in your building and there are people who pay these people to do this work and there are people who decide how much will the electricity cost this month for all the citizens of a country (and by body, I mean, of course a group of people with a specific role, not the actual human bodies 😉 ). Although it might seem as if they do not talk between them, they all function according to a plan. So, that plan – is a policy – created by the government with budget and right structure to make sure that area of public life will work.

So, here we are… a bunch of Researcher, each of us representing one of the Magic 3 elements (we are 5, since in Academia we are 2 types of Researchers and 1 is myself (how could I leave my humble self out of the photo-shoot). Am I missing a type of Research? What type? Who?

Academia: Experienced Researcher and Early-Stage Researcher
Policy
50/50 academia-policy and of course,
Business Researcher

So, let us start in order of the order with a small description about each beautiful and precious human you see in this picture:

Magic 1: Academic Researcher (Experienced Researcher, according to European Commission)

Please welcome the most stylish, elegant, classy man of Maastricht (according to me. I know such labeling is dangerous, but I simply can not help it, this gentleman does not stop being elegant probably every day of the year ).

Antoine P. Simons, doctorate graduate 2010 at Maastricht University: “As a clinical specialist in the cardiovascular field, working both efficiently and effectively demands up-to-date knowledge that can be derived either from basic research or from clinical trials. Without science, health care could never have reached the level it has today, and which I use to save lives. I either use the knowledge gathered by others, accessible via peer-reviewed publications and at scientific meetings, or by simply investigating myself. Setting up my own research helps me to become a better team member, colleague, teacher, supervisor and clinician in order to help those in need: patients I like to become healthy again!”

Magic 1: Academic Researcher (Early-Stage Researcher, according to European Commission)

Representing probably the closest to Researchista’s heart group of Researcher – PhD fellows, otherwise called, Early-stage Researchers. Say hi to one of the most engaging story-teller I know:

Ibrahima Sory Kaba, PhD fellow at the United Nations University – MERIT, Maastricht University: “Academic research is to economics what stretchers and legs are to a chair. It helps the discipline to stand on solid and firm grounds. As a Ph.D student in macroeconomics of development, the bulk of my work consists of controlling for potential causalities or building mathematical models, all rooted in a strong body of theory, with the main objective of guiding policy-making. Currently I am halfway of completing my Ph.D before moving on to new challenges. But as of now I am simply enjoying myself with collaborative academic research, weekly seminars and eye-opening teaching experiences.”

Magic 3: Policy Researcher.

As a former PhD at Maastricht University, she never ceased to impress with her talents:

Olga J. Skriabikova-Coenen, Researcher at the Regional government of Limburg, South of the Netherlands [doctorate graduate 2014 at Maastricht University]: “I have a PhD in Economics and since two years I work at Limburg regional government. In my role as Strategy research and evaluation advisor I provide critical reflection on proposed research questions, methods and design. The main difference between fundamental research and policy-oriented, or in other terms, applied research is that policy research should ideally provide directly applicable results which can be used to address urgent policy matters. Formulating research questions in such a way that policy-makers receive information that they can use is therefore crucial. Another issue related to applicability is timeliness, since policy-makers need to be able to react quickly and cannot afford waiting for a year or more to plan a policy action. The other side of the coin is that policy research cannot provide the depth, precision and generality of conclusions of fundamental research. Nonetheless, high quality policy research is crucial for adequate planning, design, implementation and evaluation of policies.”

Magic 3: Business Researcher.

Maastricht is simply lucky to have Mark Lewis as it’s inhabitant, a genuine promoter and simply a model to follow when it comes to social equity and solidarity. I am honoured and privileged to be his friend.

Mark Lewis, Business Analyst at APG, Netherlands (one of the largest pension funds in the world): “I think Research is really important for business: ..” Listen here to what Mark has to share with us about the role of Research in his area.

Magic 1 & 2: Academia & Policy Researcher.

Welcome to your humble partner in crime for Research, Irina Burlacu aka Researchista.

Irina Burlacu, Lecturer at the Center for European Studies at Maastricht University and Researcher (in both academia & policy sector: 50%-50%). She believes in the strong (not yet valorified at its fullest) potential of Research in current societies and economies and wishes to promote this vision at more levels. Read more about it here.

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At the end of every movie, the producers always remain with the pieces that are not included in the movie (the extras). Our producer, the professional photographer Manor Lux, whom I would like to thank very much for his patience and this very beautiful pictures, also had some extras, I believe this is one of it 🙂 The location is the good old “Cafe Zondag“, who let us feel like on a shooting platform (the location was chosen for you, my friends, who left Maastricht long ago).

With love for Research,

p.s. A special Magic 3 type of event takes place yearly in Maastricht. If you are part of one of the 3 elements, subscribe on their web-page or require information from the organizing group, as the following step is to create an app in the area of circular economy that would match partners from business-academia-policy, powerful….

p.s.2. You understand that most probably I am missing something in this diagram and that the truth is relative (for example, I did not include the international organisation or local communities and non-governmental organisations), but let us assume for now that it is like that.

(18) Researchista: first 3 months.

Dear Researchista friends,

Our group is increasing and maybe is a good idea to summarise what Researchista is about and what have I been up to since the web-site was launched.

So, first things first. Researchista is about bringing Research in the mainstream. This is because at the moment, Research is probably not often seen as very hype or trendy, but without it would be no technological, medical or other type of progress. To pay a tribute to that, Research & Researchers on my web-site start with Capital letters 😉

What is Researchista doing? How is it organised?

1. My Facebook page is the dynamic display of Researchista. It’s updated almost everyday of the week and it’s organised in 4 parts:

[BLOG] section is transmitting the same post that is coming out on this web-site every Monday of the week. Also, from time to time, Researchista is inviting and hosting a Special Guest, who knows a lot about a certain topic and can hopefully help in one way or the other. In this sense, I had the privilege to host till now: Dr. Jimmie Leppink on improving writing performance, particularly for PhD students (see: My first paper, Tips on improving your writing, Writing and Research design, Guest writer preview) and the Health Coach and expert, PhD Danielle Branje on anxiety in professional life (see: “Trust more, stress less“, “Prevention is the key“, “Tips to trick anxiety in your professional life” ).

One day, I hope to introduce you to my PhD supervisor, whose guidance was so valuable and inspiring, and that I hope you will also have the privilege to share some of it as well. But till then: in July, I would like to introduce you to a more laid-back, yet very topical topic, such as: the importance of fashion in our life. Our Special guests, Hasmik Matevosyan , who wrote the book “Paradigm in Fashion”, based on her previous Research, will share her unique model to deal with clothes mass-production and other-related topics. Attention: photos on the streets of beautiful Maastricht are included!

[PAPER OF THE WEEK] section is coming out every Wednesday (hopefully) and tries to encourage everyone to read academic papers, without fear 🙂

[BOOK OF THE MONTH] is coming out every 1st day of a month and is a recommendation of a book written by Researchers.

[WEEKEND] section is inspired by PhDs life style, who usually work so hard and do not always have a weekend. It tried suggests different ‘feel-good’ ideas, for example:

2. Www.Researchista.com is a web-site that puts you in closer touch with Researchers’ life. Here, you can find out who can be qualified as a Researchers, how many are we in the world, what types of Researchers exist, these sort of more conceptual questions for you to familiarize better with who we are. On another hand, this blog is addressing various PhD related issues and questions, including: writing performance tips, health, life style, etc. Most importantly, it has the goal to put on the table for discussion.

3. My Twitter is another useful source that summarises fast and painless what Researchista is up to weekly.

Voila, this is me and all I had to say this time. Enjoy June, they say – the month of new beginnings! 😉

With love for Research,

(17) Anxiety during PhD (3): trust more, stress less.

As symptoms of anxiety can hold you back enormously in your career, it is essential to open up the discussion about this topic and to share knowledge and tools that help you manage and prevent anxiety. This blog/video is made with the goal to help you as a Researcher to feel good and achieve great results in your career. This is not in any way a replacement of medical care and if you experience severe anxiety symptoms, make sure to contact a medical professional.

In the previous video “How to make sure that anxiety is not holding you back” I shared with you the difference between anxiety and fear and you learned that people with anxiety are often living with their mind in the future.

In this video I am going to share with you two simple (and free) exercises that will help you to calm down your mind, to stop living in the future and start living more in the present moment. These exercises will help you to trust more and feel less stress.

I wish you an inspired and ambitious career without sacrificing your mind, body and soul.

By Daniëlle Branje,

Health Researcher & Trainer/Coach
Sign up and receive my feel good emails: http://www.daniellebranje.com

(16) Anxiety during PhD (2): prevention is the key.

As symptoms of anxiety can hold you back enormously in your career, it is essential to open up the discussion about this topic and to share knowledge and tools that help you manage and prevent anxiety. This blog/video is made with the goal to help you as a researcher to feel good and achieve great results in your career. This is not in any way a replacement of medical care and if you experience severe anxiety symptoms, make sure to contact a medical professional.

As a Researcher you might worry about your future, about your next paper and whether or not you will make the deadline. You are constantly envisioning what could potentially go wrong… As a result, the body and mind starts to respond as if there is a real threat.

Your body is actually preparing you to run away as quickly as possible. After a while you might start to experience anxiety symptoms such as :

Panic attacks
Racing heart
Quick breathing
Excessive worrying

Combined with other circumstances, such as not enough sleep, unhealthy food and products such as coffee and sugar, it not so surprising that you are experiencing these symptoms. That is why prevention is key!

Symptoms of anxiety are completely normal. They can happen to everyone, at any time. It doesn’t mean you are weak or not strong enough. First of all I would advise you to not focus too much on anxiety. Where attention goes, energy flows. So if you focus a lot on the symptoms, you are directing your attentions towards it.

You can learn to direct your attention as much as possible to feelings of trust and feeling good, while at the same time managing the symptoms of anxiety you are experiencing.

In this video I am going to give you a number of easy lifestyle tips to prevent anxiety. Then I am also going to tell you more about a method that can be very beneficial to stop your worrying mind – and prevent anxiety on the long run.

By Daniëlle Branje,

Health Researcher & Trainer/Coach

Sign up and receive a feel good email: http://www.daniellebranje.com

(15) Anxiety during PhD (1): an introduction.

This introduction probably summarizes it best: “I want to tell you right away that you will not find an answer to the question above in this short blog piece, but I am sure most of those involved in PhD studies asked that question at least once. We all think we are so strong, tough, resilient, and adaptable, but somehow PhD gets under our skin, penetrates our brain and produces irreversible changes (and often not good ones) on physical, emotional and mental level” (Dr. Aksana Chizjevskaia). Another PhD says: “we want to come across as super heros, but we are humans as well”.

By raising this topic, Researchista hopes to not fall in the ‘victim trap’, but to present some facts that makes one wonder why is this the case. Studies show that in the Netherlands at least 36.5 % of PhD students suffer medical depression. The situation in the UK does not seem to be brighter, 64% of PhD students (aged between 18-34 years) are feeling in isolation (more statistics here). What are the statistics in your country?

It was by chance that I found out that some PhD students do actually take anti-depressants. It is one thing when people randomly say they are ‘depressed’ because of heavy work loads, but when you friend tells you she takes anti-depressants to cope with her PhD, it might shake your world.

The special Guest Blogger of this month is Danielle Branje, she supports young professionals and business owners to create a meaningful and inspired career & life without sacrificing their body, mind and soul. She will try facilitate the work process of those who struggle with anxiety at the moment.

This month is entirely dedicated to health issues that Researchers might face. On Researchista, Facebook & Twitter we try take some actions, join us by sharing the posts with those who might struggle.

With love for Researchers,

(14) Writing & no RSI.

Intellectual work demands a lot of energy and effort. Apart from eating a lot of nuts and chocolate for brain, one also needs to be fit to be able to stay long hours in front of the computer. Someone told me once, a PhD student with no particular health problems was so exhausted from writing (typing) that was not able to hold a cup of tea anymore. He had R S I… find out here what that is. RSI happened to me also, for a while I had no power in my arms/hands at all. I learned later that one of my colleagues even had surgery to both of her wrists and that RSI stays for life.

So, what to do if you have RSI? Do not avoid to ask for help from friends/family at times like this, you might make it worse by forcing your arms and do everything yourself.

Adjust your work station to your body parameters. Every modern institution/company is equipped with ergonomic chairs, etc. By the way, if you work at Maastricht University an entire department is dedicated to such questions. It works a bit like an ambulance, upon request they will visit your station (asap) and explain everything, maybe give you an ergonomic mouse or keyboard. Here is how you can contact them, fast and painless.

Reducing-the-Risk-of-Repetitive-Strain-I_D8BE_clip_image003_b87b497b-1a92-452a-aff6-4e9e3fc28e742 — photo credit: internet.

Visit a physio-therapist… First thing I did was to go see a physio-therapist who could unblock the pain in my arms and shoulders. There are so many services in Maastricht, I went to Jasper’s Physio Therapy and found a really nice doctor, who said smiling that she was having an entire PhD crowd enrolling to her sessions, especially the last year ones.

When you are back on track, join Researchista and Backforward to strengthen those muscles, do sports – the best proven remedy against RSI. One full-year discount voucher to all Researchers in Maastricht and neighbouring areas is offered to you as of today! 😀 Download it here and present it at your first session.

Certainly “the evil is not so black as it seems”, keep calm and carry on. RSI compared to other issues is probably minuscule, yet is good to know about it and prevent on time, so that you can hold strongly that cup of tea and make that lemonade out of those lemons! 🙂

Stay RSI-free!

With love for Researchers, R.

(13) Writing and RSI (my story)

Ah, PhD life… So, that’s me and another PhD going to Spain, Palma-de-Majorca. Tasty food, beautiful beach, warm sand and refreshing breeze from the sea.

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This is me and my sister going few months later to Japan, in Tokyo & Yokohama, where I attended a world congress; thousands of researchers gathered there.

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Not too bad.. indeed, I could not complain. The only difficult thing to show in these pictures is that I was not able to do much with my hands. My arms were just hanging attached to my shoulders, but were not very helpful.

It was my last year of PhD. I was so exhausted that I had to take this trip to Spain if I wanted to finish my PhD thesis. My friend was helping me out so that all I had to do, was to relax and restore. Whereas in Japan, I planned to go months beforehand, it was a World Congress which I simply could not miss. Maybe I would have met my future employers there, such events are valuable for future perspectives. My sister was my personal little helper and tourist guide, has been a long trip.

I was fortunate to be able to get away and get better, but there are many PhD students who are not that fortunate, also they or/and are not aware that they struggle with RSI. A PhD, a Post-doc or a Researcher in general is doing a lot of writing (and editing, editing, editing, editing) which in its turn could cause…

Repetitive strain injury – an injury caused by repetitive tasks, forceful exertions, vibrations, mechanical compression, or sustained or awkward positions.

Repetitive Strain Injury

What happened next? What is all the fuss about it?… to be continued next Monday!

p.s. Big thanks to all my friends and family who were there for me when needed.