Can't believe it's the last week of term already

Can't believe it's the last week of term already.  Still lots to try to get finished. Some recent highlights:

Been marking student assignments on the module I run on our MSc Health Psychology programme. Students have to write a case study of a hypothetical person who has a chronic health condition, describe the psychosocial issues they face, then choose and justify a self management intervention that will help them with these issues. Students can choose any condition they wish. Diabetes, HIV and arthritis proved the most popular choices this year.

I've also been writing new modules for the degree restructuring that's currently taking place for next academic year, including: clinical and counselling psychology, applied social psychology and professional skills for psychology graduates. I'm particularly keen on the last of these but finding an assessment strategy that will work for such a large group of students (its a mandatory module) will be a bit of a challenge.

In the last week I've drafted ethics submissions for projects with external collaborators, on the experience of volunteering and of monitoring one's fertility. I'm hoping that dissertation students and/or placement students will work on these in the next six months to a year.

I've also just submitted a research paper on PCOS to a journal - please please PLEASE don't let it be rejected... and have decided to write a blog entry as an excuse to digress from the very long NHS form I have been struggling with...

Snag after snag

Past week has been a further series of technical difficulties - and not just with IT. That's my excuse anyway for lack of posts.

While something nasty has been growing under our stealthily leaking bathroom at home (actual mushroom-shaped mushrooms! urgh) I have also been:

• Writing a draft of a research paper on PCOS and healthcare experiences.
• Biting my nails in dread of getting a rejection letter relating to the last paper I submitted to a journal.
• Setting up a SharePoint group and blog for the interns working on the Disaster Management project.
• Checking for consistency the answers prospective interns gave to the online coding quality/consistency test they have to pass in order to move onto data coding in earnest.
• Updating my knowledge in motivational interviewing to make sure that I am prepared for a particular group of delegates attending our motivational interviewing course tomorrow - some are forensic psychologists and some health psychology researchers working with young children.
• Setting up a programme of work and online materials for a student who failed a module last year, who is entitled to retake it, even though the programme no longer exists.
• And sundry other bits of admin, marketing, etc.

The prospect of my sabbatical ending at the end of December and my having to be back on campus more is a little daunting, but I am looking forward to attending the research seminars we have on Wednesdays.  here are some of the forthcoming talks for the new year:

12th January
Simon Goodman
Coventry University
How race and racism are removed from anti-asylum arguments

26th January
Christine Grant
Coventry University
The development of actionable work life balance measures in the context of e-working an their relationship to well being and job effectiveness’

2nd February
Carol Percy and Stacey Harris
Coventry University
Learning and leisure aspiration of people with physical disabilities: A placement research project with Ryder Cheshire Volunteers

9th February
Leigh Harkins
University of Birmingham
The Impact of Denial in Sex Offenders

2nd March

Karen Littleton
Open University
Educational Dialogues: Understanding and promoting productive interaction

9th March
Sarah Butterworth
Coventry University
Male experience of breast cancer

16th March
Claire Taylor
ARC/HLI
Enhancing and assessing fidelity of delivery of health behaviour change interventions in Primary Care’

23rd March
Ben Roberts
Coventry University
Extra-Sensory Perception: Fact or Science Fiction? Experimental and Qualitative Studies of Psi Phenomena

30th March
Steph Waldron, Sophie Bowry, and Gemma Gray
Coventry University
Context dependent memory; Gum chewing and stress

Lots to say - and do

Had a good meeting today with PhD student and another member of the supervisory team.  Delighted with progress to date and planning a couple of preliminary empirical studies.  Felicity is on course to have lots to say at her end of year Progress Review Panel, which is due early 2011.

Had a brief chat with my co-author about the PCOS paper that's nearly ready  to submit.  We also discussed a bit of research assistant work that's coming up - one related to Felicity's assistance dogs research and the other to ongoing work with Ryder Cheshire Volunteers.

Have also been looking at some data collected from our level two undergraduates, about their vocational identities and career aspirations. 

And now it's ever so dark and I'm glad to be indoors...