in the midst of a fishful existence

now. 2012

2012-02-09T00:05:00.000-08:00

So another year has come. I am more than a month late in blogging about it here. It's just that I have been deep into project and research work since I returned from UoS. With travels for project meetings and for field research with stakeholders.

I have been busy working on the research protocols for action research specifically on the impact of posters and the off-flavour of tilapia.

For the poster impact, the posters had been pre-tested, revised and distributed to relevant stakeholders. Distribution is on-going for the shrimp value chain poster and some initial feedback on immediate impact have been collected during the Shrimp fair in Chanthaburi. This coming weekend we are going down to Surat Thani for a similar activity. Other stakeholders not reached during these events will be contacted face to face or by post to send the posters and obtain feedback.

As for the tilapia value chain poster, I am still planning the schedule to coincide with the team's field work so I can join them.

For the off-flavour tilapia, I and the team have visited one of the main sites for the field trials, i.e. Namsai Farm in Prachinburi. I have to come up with the research design in discussion with action research manager based at KU (Doug Waley) and also with the rest of the team and UoS supervisors.

Of course, in addition to all these, I have also been involved with the running of the project itself. We are recruiting more staff to assist us specifically in field surveys for livelihood and chemical use in farms, LCA through the value chains, ethical framework workshop, and other relevant field work.

Shrimp feed of various sizes

Grill your own shrimp at the fair

i am back ...

2011-12-16T00:50:00.000-08:00

I arrived back from the UK last Sunday. It was a hectic week there before I left, as there were so many things to do, both on the academic side as well as personal aspects. My data analysis seemed to be ok according to my supervisor, esp the stats and we discussed how they can be better presented in a paper. As well, there were other things to wrap up with the team related to the project for eg the submitted reports, posters, database, papers 1 & 2 drafts. On the personal side, I had ~~some~~ lots of packing to do. And some shopping, even to the last day as I had no time during the other days. I had to schedule my packing as a friend was coming to visit me on my last day there. So I told myself everything should be clear before she came! And I was able to accomplish it. Packing my stuff both in the office and in the flat was tiring and made me sweat, which was also ok considering that the weather was so cold, and getting colder. In fact there was a storm (strong winds and rain) as well as snow during the last few days!

Burning the midnight oil ...

I had to leave some stuff with the uni.

During my stay there, from August to early December, I was able to complete the following: scoping and state of the system workshop reports, first paper draft on “A systems overview of four commercially important farmed seafoodspecies with an export focus in Thailand” to be submitted to Reviews inAquaculture Journal, information posters on “Sustaining the Shrimp andTilapia Value Chains in Thailand”, analysis of data from scoping,integrated survey and SOS workshop related to sustainability issues, and, secondpaper draft with a working title of “Shrimp and tilapia value chain actorsin Thailand: their perceptions on sustainability”. During this period I wasalso able to discuss with the rest of the SEAT project team in Stirlingregarding the action research (WP9) deliverable protocols for Thailand, andspecifically for my own PhD field research on sustainability factors identifiedfrom our field research. In addition, I continued to provide management andtechnical inputs to the Thai team for work related to other WPs. Now I am backin Thailand, with several work responsibilities both in project management andin the planning and implementation of action research work related to my PhD,such as: the impact of posters on various stakeholders, the causes anddetection of, and means to reduce or eliminate off-flavour in tilapia, and developingapproaches in integrating gender aspects in aquaculture research.

It's surely good to be back, with the warm and sunny weather (no more layers of clothing and jackets), and delicious Thai food, among other reasons!

things to do

2011-12-01T14:38:00.001-08:00

what i need to do tonight, as tomorrow will be friday already!

1. work on the comments on the scoping report, including data formatting
2. data analysis re: statistical analysis of generational and sustainability perceptions data
3. complete the list of potential contacts for EU innovation newsletter for WL
4. draft a research protocol for action research on poster effectiveness for WP9
5. write more content based on data analysis and some discussion on draft of paper2

but my mind is now on preparing for my packing as i will be leaving next saturday!

messy work table at the flat!

have been doing lots of these!

... and this...

...and this!

one more month ...

2011-11-11T03:56:00.001-08:00

a month more to be here ... now i am mentally organizing my activities as the count down starts. one of these days i really have to sit down and put the planning on paper as time will really be tight. another writing workshop coming up end of this month, and assessment of what i have achieved during my stay here - there are at least 6 expected outputs during the 4 months of stay. (status message, FB, 8 nov 2011)

Writing Workshop 2

2011-11-11T03:49:00.001-08:00

Last 31 October to 3 November, we again spent isolated days in Thornhill for the 2nd writing workshop, for our paper 2. It was a bit different from the first one in terms of activities. We did not only read and write but also had sessions on database management and analysis. So during the four days, nearly 50% was spent on data analysis. On the first day our team had a meeting on the structure and contents of paper 2. This meeting was a continuation of previous meetings at the uni on this topic. We finally agreed on what research questions and framework we should follow in writing up the 2nd paper. We also had individual meetings and consultations regarding data analysis esp on the access database from integrated surveys and SOS workshops. It was tough for me coz I have just arrived on 30 Oct from a long trip across the Atlantic. So I was sleepy and sleepy ... I had to drink lots of coffee which I did not like at all. Our upstairs room was a tropical zone and the warmth and quiet were so conducive for sleeping! Somebody did make use of the sofa at the end of the room. I tried sitting there as well with a paper to read, and I dozed off a bit, the 7-minute power nap! It was quite effective.

Setting up our work stations

In action ... except the pet on the stairs...

Writing Workshop 1

2011-09-17T13:09:00.000-07:00

During 6-9 September our supervisors organised a writing workshop for our team. The venue was in one of the farms in Thornhill, Stirling called West Moss-Side. It is about a half-hour drive from the university, and a very good place for writing as it is remote and so the atmosphere is really conducive for writing. There were no distractions such as the internet and noise from others. There was a designated room just for talking/discussion. We consulted with our supervisors individually to discuss about our papers.

We had a certain routine while there. We would start at 9am, then break for coffee/tea at 11am, lunch at 1pm, coffee/tea at 3pm, then at 5pm we wrap-up. I think we have been quite productive and hope we can follow the same routine even at the uni.

There will be two more writing workshops during our stay here and I hope that we can have quality output for our papers before we go back to our respective research sites.

A view from the loft where we were working (conference room).

Each of us had a desk to work on ... no talking, please.

My desk ...

The view from where I was sitting ... during the first day it rained heavily.

Working ...

A nap on the nice sofa was also good ...

Various art pieces are on display in many parts of the house.

The yurts (tents) are for overnight guests ...

The farm grows cattle for meat. Organic only.

The farm house converted into a gallery and meeting venue.

August in Stirling

2011-08-26T08:28:00.000-07:00

It was a hectic time getting prepared to return to U of Stirling for the period August to December 2011. I have documented some of my activities earlier in my other blogs, and even in my FB status messages.

I arrived here in the afternoon of 8th August. What remained of the afternoon was spent settling down in my rented room, which is one of 4 rooms in a flat managed by the university. That included setting up my internet connection in my room, grocery shopping, buying a pay-as-you-go sim card with internet, and obtaining bus schedules. The following day, Tuesday, was scheduled for a meeting with my supervisor, as well as with two other PhD students in the same project, who are from China and Vietnam. That meeting went ok, we agreed to have a weekly 1-hour progress meeting every Monday. There were some soft and hard targets set as well.

The main purpose to be here for four months is to finalise my first two papers which are outputs of the first two years of research. These papers should be in a format which could be submitted to a journal. So with all the field data collected during scoping and integrated surveys, as well as the nth drafts of my first and second papers, I have to condition myself to be a research student again, a learner in a university setting. The more than 1 year in the field out there in Thailand doing both field research and project management has somehow eclipsed my being a student. Of course, we keep learning, wherever we are.

So the days are filled with searching for published papers and reading them, updating the Mendeley reference database, exchanging information and ideas with project team mates and other students, and writing as well. But I still can't get away with being involved in the work back in the field. I still have to help out at least in terms of facilitating more of the field work that is still to be done.

It's great that the university has very good library and information facilities. They are really supportive of research being done and giving assistance to researchers. So we can find lots of new publications, and if can not be found, we can request from the Library through their Document Delivery Service. They will procure the papers for us, from the British Library.

In addition, the housework, the marketing, the cooking. Important about the meals. Keep planning for a variety of meals so food does not get boring. And that takes a lot of time. I've never cooked this much back home. This is part of student life here. The supermarket is one of the main features of student life in this university town. The other is the bus. Another is adjusting to the weather. I will talk about these later.

Now it is Friday, the end of the working week for most, but for us students I guess there are really no weekends. Just keep working, reading, writing. But don't forget the laundry...

end of July

2011-07-31T06:26:00.000-07:00

31st July, last day of the month. Tomorrow starts a new month. And the countdown seriously begins for me as I have to leave on the 7th. There are still lots to do but I can only do as much. That is the pitfall with working on your degree while also running a project, i.e. working and studying. So since a few weeks ago already our team had been working on the planning of work in the next few months when I am not here. Delegate, delegate ... provided one has good staff. Which I think we have. A few people but they can do the job. With the right motivation, good direction, clear instruction, and enough resources.

I have so far completed nearly all the work I was doing except for the SOS posters. Still working on the English version, which I plan to finish this coming week. And the Thai version will come later.

The field work has already been assigned and delegated so that gives me peace of mind. But of course I could not really be totally cut from all the action. I will still be in touch with the team, that's just part project management.

So now I have started packing, trying to fit in all the stuff I have to bring. This is a dilemma as I am going to UK which has a totally different climate as here, different food and lifestyle. So whatever I bring has to support that difference. So hope that I can finish my packing by Sat so I do not have to rush and do last minute packing before I leave on Sun night.

I have my books to pack as well, and now I am thinking where can I put them them.

Will surely miss it here!

Team meeting to discuss work to be done in the coming months. I took this photo.

signs of the times

2011-07-05T09:07:00.000-07:00

Busy times the past months, weeks and days ... thus blogging here has been irregular. I also maintain other blogs so my time is divided.

So now it is July 2011. Many things have been happening ... project-wise. Aside from my research work in the project, I have been busy putting together documents for visa application to the UK. I will be at my university there from Aug till Dec for consultation with my supervisors, data analysis, and writing up. And I am leaving in August, nearly a month from now. And there are still so many things to do.

In May we had a workshop with stakeholders, and I am still in the process of preparing the report, working on the comments of the first drat. Unfortunately, the worst thing happened. My notebook computer crashed. I lost a weekend's worth of work, as I was not able to save my file the night before. I was sooooo sleepy. The following day, my computer would not open. So until now it is a useless piece of machine. I hope I can go to the shop tomorrow to have it solved.

AFAF conference

2011-05-09T21:58:00.000-07:00

Key & I were in China for the Asian Fisheries and Aquaculture Forum held at the Shanghai Ocean University (new campus) during 20-24 April 2011. I presented our paper related to sustainability indicators which is part of my PhD research. I was not well during that time due to colds and allergy which manifested themselves as coughing bouts. My voice also changed. It started with exposure to cold weather and smoke and dust. I was praying that during my 20 minute presentation my voice will hold and the itchiness in my throat will not attack me while standing in front of an audience. My prayer was answered but it was mighty difficult coz my throat was strained as I talked for the whole period. It was difficult altogether during that week because there were a number of friends who also came whom I have not met for quite some time, for many years in fact. So it would have been nice to chitchat more with them. Besides the weather in Shanghai was too cold for me. So I think I remember that most of the time I was shivering and trying to protect myself from feeling cold. Even with a jacket and all gear I still felt cold because I came from a place which was sweltering hot (near 40s) and then in Shanghai the temperature was less than 20, plus the wind chill factor.

Before I left for the conference I bought a small laser pointer which cost 20 baht only, from one of the side stalls in a department store in Bangkok. Cheaper than buying it retail in China (50 baht +). It was useful for me while presenting. I just hope I did not make people dizzy by always flashing the red laser light and moving it around the screen :) Maybe it kept them awake as the presentation was in the afternoon!

As a member of the Asian Fisheries Society, I also attended the AFS General Assembly. It was held in the evening after all the sessions were done for that day. Before the meeting started, everybody had a moment of silence to remember Prof Yang Yi who was the former AFS President as well as one of the active fisheries professionals in the region. He passed away in 2009 and it was a great loss to the fisheries academic/scientific community. After that the Society officers presented their reports on activities as well as finances. Then we had to vote for new councilors to replace those whose terms are finished. There were some cocktails and snacks after but it was a pity coz the time was not coordinated well with the shuttle buses so we had to hurry to leave the meeting venue to catch our shuttle bus back to the hotel. It would have been great to mingle and get to know the other members more, for renewing old contacts, making new ones and networking.

There were just so many main and side events and sessions during the conference. Time was a constraint, added to that are side meetings with our own project team. Some other sessions I attended were the tilapia symposium, gender in fisheries and aquaculture symposium, and the ASEM-SEAT joint meeting.

After the Shanghai meeting, the project team proceeded to Zhanjiang to attend the State of the System Workshop organised by SEAT-SOU China and the Univ of Stirling.

SEAT-KU project website

2011-02-18T02:50:00.000-08:00

Just did the website (Eng/Thai) for the project this afternoon. Check it out at http://seatku9.blogspot.com.

Status so far

2011-02-15T07:55:00.000-08:00

The field surveys are still on-going in Thailand. We are now on the 2nd to the last week and we will finish by the end of February. Simultaneous data entry is being done from filled-in questionnaires, and is a tedious process. No one is full time in doing it but come March it should really be done full-time. Of course by the local team who will be back from the field. However not all will be involved with database entry as some will be working on metadata of contacts, while others will be doing field work with others. The methodology of this research as a whole is proving to be a bit on the difficult side, for various reasons. Especially dealing not only with the technical and pedagogical aspects but also with personalities and differences in ways of doing things from various perspectives. These are issues which we have to face due to the nature of this project - interdisciplinary, multi-cultural, multi-level, and all other multi's one can think of. In the meantime, work has to be done, no matter what. I was hoping that somehow things could ease up once the field surveys are done, but there will be no chance of that. At this time, I have already started to plan ahead for the next activities. However based on experience, sometimes even the best laid plans fail. Especially if work has to be coordinated and integrated with other activities and with other people who have their own limitations, preoccupations, priorities and VIs (---censored text---). So that is project management. The key is how to keep one's head above it all, to survive being trampled upon (di gid magpalupu), to still be sane at the end of the day, and to still appreciate each day as it comes.

Stressed!!!

2011-02-09T07:25:00.000-08:00

Since the last KII post

2011-01-24T22:53:00.000-08:00

So between then and now we have had a few more KIIs to verify sample frame lists and revise them accordingly. The detailed sample designs for shrimp and tilapia have been uploaded to the KU-SEAT wiki page. The designs were revised based on the results of the KIIs.

And finally we were ready to start the baseline surveys in mid Dec 2010. We were 1 1/2 months behind schedule. There were so many reasons behind this but the main one was that the survey instruments were not ready way back in November. The process was such that it became a never-ending activity of commenting and revising and especially harmonising an instrument among 4 country sites as well as various work packages and interests and disciplines. But this is part of a process which had to be undergone in order to come up with an output wherein we could all say that all efforts had been done to make it as intersdisciplinary as possible, with just enough depth and breadth for a baseline survey. People had to be reminded time and again that there will be a more detailed survey following this one.

The team finished 2 provinces (5 clusters) for shrimp and 1 province (3 clusters) for tilapia before the year 2010 ended. When 2011 came, it was on to the remaining clusters (3 for shrimp in 1 province and 7 for tilapia in 2 provinces). We hope to finish the baseline survey by the end of February. We have to go back to the other previously surveyed provinces to complete the number of respondents as per sample design. The respondents were randomly chosen but some of them were not available to meet us when we called earlier. So there is a need to make a return visit and if they were indeed not available at all, we have to move down the randomised list to complete the numbers. The target is to interview 200 each for shrimp and tilapia producers.

As of 23 January 2011 we have already interviewed about 148 shrimp and 62 tilapia producers.

In the meantime that data is being gathered in the field, the Access database is being refined and after the first week of January we had the top copy of the country-specific database. So we started to input the data from the first batch of questionnaires. We were able to input 63 entries so far and at least 3 of us in the team are now familiar with it. However, as usual, changes have to be incorporated as the database needs to be harmonised among 4 country sites. So then the formatting and all others need to be revised and updated. So what do we do with the Thai database with the already 63 entries?

Right now I am in Fort Kochi with the other project counterparts from China (Wenbo),Vietnam (Lam) and Bangladesh (Ripon), and led by the Project Coordinator (Francis) from Stirling. We are having our PhD Research Retreat, with at least 4 outputs. So we are working on this database and any revisions to be made on the Thai one I have to do so that everything is in place before additional entries will be made. I just hope it's not too much revisions and work. It should be in place now before we continue with all the other remaining entries. I think that there should not be any more changes and additions after this week. Any changes each country wants to make should be added as country-specific codes or put in the comments section.

The other day each one presented the status of survey work in each country. Thailand is the slowest due to the delays and many other reasons. We hope to speed up the work but we are also dependent on potential respondents' availability mainly. But we will try. I think we have a good team, and we hope to get more local staff to double the time (if we can get them).

The reformatted database has just been given to me by Francis and now I must look at each table and check them and do the needed adjustments.

After the first KI

2010-12-06T09:59:00.000-08:00

After the KIIs in Chachoengsao, we thought that we could already start the surveys over there by 1 Dec. However we could not get confirmations with farmers and the questionnaires and notes had to be checked again with the just received final draft, i.e. with the last item allowed to be changed/added. As these documents need to be in Thai so they can be used in the field, it was necessary to really check them that what is meant in English is captured when translated into Thai. There are many things to be considered when trying to do this, and our team had gone through a process of translating it into Thai, then translating what was translated back into English, asking what they meant, how the RAs would ask the question, how the farmers would perceive them, what terms would a lay person use so questions could be easily understood, even going to search for popular terms being used by farmers and the media today.

Thus we had to follow all the time whenever there are changes in the English draft. The corresponding translation into Thai have to be done. We also showed these drafts to the social science, gender and economics experts in our team so they could also contribute and help out especially with the translation and the use of better terminologies.

So I think until last week there were still trickles of changes and additions to the questionnaire and the corresponding notes. So this week we are ready to print them out. We might need to add more sets to the picture cards if more teams will be formed. We are running out of time but what can we do? With all the delays, the earliest start of the survey is 11 Dec. That's almost 1 1/2 months late from the original target start date of 1 Nov. Having more people in the team may or may not help, because it all depends on farmer availability. We have the randomised list of respondents and we could not just interview anyone we meet along the way who has a farm. We are following the statistically derived list to maintain randomness and avoid biases. Although the other way could have made our lives easier. But we are researchers and our work should be robust statistically and based on the agreed methodology of the project.

As key informant interviews are an important part of the research process we are also spending considerable time on them. Next up will be the KI visits to Chantaburi, Nakhon Pathom, Suphanburi and Petchburi. We had done preliminary contacts with them by phone. For Surat Thani, due to distance and time constraint, we have conducted the KIIs by phone and email.

Key informant interviews

2010-11-27T09:06:00.000-08:00

Bangpakong River

Last 25-26 November our team went to Chachoengsao to conduct key information interviews in the three subdistricts which were randomly chosen as clusters for our survey. The objectives of the KIIs were:

1. to obtain information on the shrimp farming profile of the area, esp according to the scales drawn up by SEAT (business ownership, labour relations, management, no. of ponds)
2. to match the randomly selected farms (which only have the following info: location at subdistrict level, no. of ponds, total area and the like) with the existing farms in the area (to know farmer names and contact info)
3. to obtain names and contact info of shrimp farmers in the area if they could not be matched with the list in #2

There were 9 of us and we divided ourselves into 3 teams. Each team was assigned a subdistrict to visit. A couple of days before going the field, we contacted the KIs especially the fisheries officers and the heads of the subdistricts to make appointments with them. Thus on Thursday, we went to our respective subdistricts to meet with the KIs.

With the kamnan of the subdistrict

Our team went to the Provincial Fisheries Office but unfortunately they could not give us the list of farmer names as per regulation regarding confidentiality. The KI there gave us several pointers on what to consider when conducting a survey. He then directed us to the District Fisheries Office (next door), but he was also not sure if we can get information from there. The DFO was in a meeting but fortunately the meeting was over when we passed by the city hall and so we were able to meet him, and obtained some valuable information. He was also so kind to drive us to our next appointment (with the Subdistrict Office staff), which was in the subdistrict itself, about 15 km from the city center. We appreciated his kindness as there were no public transport available going to that place.

With the subdistrict office staff

The Subdistrict Office staff was so helpful as well. We spent the whole afternoon in her office. For the subdistrict, we were able to match the randomised list with farmer names available in the office. However according to the KI, those selected under medium scale are not hiring any labour so we have to consider them now as small scale. We then asked the KI to tell us which of the farms in the area are hiring labour and she came up with 19 farms. She said farms with more than 10 ponds will usually hire workers, while those with less than 10 ponds can manage the farm by themselves. We will randomize the new lists to come up with names to be interviewed.

After the visit, we were wondering how we could get back to town. Fortunately another staff was driving to town to pick up his daughter from school which is near our hotel. So we hitched a ride with him and he dropped us off our hotel. We are thankful to the kindness of strangers.

The other two teams were not able to match their lists so they asked the KIs and went to the village heads to ask about the farms and move around the villages to come up with new lists. These will be subjected again to randomization to come up with the list of farmers to be interviewed.

While in town, we also were able to look around for another hotel where we would stay during the survey itself. We also asked around for information on local transport to be used during the survey, which we target to start on 1 Dec.

update 6-21 nov 2010

2010-11-22T05:22:00.000-08:00

Our team had been busy with the survey preparation and instruments, specifically on:

1. understanding the questions more
2. deliberating on the correct terms from English to Thai as well as the approaches in asking questions so that they will be understood by our respondents; one of the experts commented that it seems the survey is for foreign farmers not Thai farmers with the questions being asked
3. going through the survey notes, again and again and ... also translating the codes esp.
4. refining sample design and randomization of samples from tambon to farms
5. conducting key informant interviews on the selected tambons to get an overview of the area in relation to our survey (esp regarding farm scales as per SEAT definition)
6. generating randomized farmer lists for shrimp and referring them to respective KIs
7. meetings (face to face, virtual by skype)
8. continuous training of field staff, soon and very soon they will be masters of this (hope hope)
9. we have also been busy getting confused with some issues related to the above
10. still waiting for the ACCESS database file so concerned staff can start getting familiar with it
11. this am finally received the final draft of the questionnaire and notes ... ooooppppss hold it ... tonight when I opened my email, some additional stuff on the final draft due to comments from another country team...so when is the final final really? will there be more once the other teams get to read the final draft?(how can it be final when it is still a draft?)

I think this me blog here will suffice for updates about our work here.

SEAT-KU this week

2010-11-05T08:17:00.000-07:00

I missed to blog about SEAT-KU activities in October. It just shows that we have been so busy working on project activities including staff recruitment, which took a lot of our time. Now it is November. And this week, 1-5 Nov have also been hectic. In fact the week is not finished yet because we are still gonna work tomorrow, Saturday. And Sunday even if there are still things we need to do. This week the team from U of Stirling and the WP8 Coordinator from U of Bergen are here with us. We are still at the stage of preparing for the baseline survey which should have started on 3rd Nov. However since the survey instruments were not finalised yet, we could not start the survey. The schedule for this week looked like this:

1 Nov - meeting at KU-Fish among UoS (Francis, Lynn, Lynne, Richard), UiB (Matthias) and KU teams regarding latest draft of questionnaire and survey notes, introduction of team members, preparation of picture cards on values and of common tilapia and shrimp diseases in Thailand. Before the European team arrived in the morning, the Thai team had a meeting together with our faculty experts in Social Science, Gender and Economics. The major thing we talked about was the type of pictures to use for the values question. The experts helped a lot in giving inputs and ideas so the staff can work on them as we only had 1 day to prepare. Two staff were assigned to work on them and show the results in the afternoon. Also we discussed about the diseases picture cards. Again another 2 staff were assigned to work on them, summarizing the info and scanning the pictures from posters and books, to be presented in the afternoon.

It was a heavy day of discussions about the survey, questionnaire and codings. The meeting finished late and we still had to rush for the printing of materials. It is good that we know of a big printing shop at Future Park which closes at 9pm. So it was nearly 630 pm when we finally had all the files to be printed - draft 6 of questionnaires and survey notes, and the powerpoint files of the pictures. These materials would be used for the following day's piloting work among tilapia farmers. There were 14 of us for piloting so we made 14 sets of questionnaires and survey notes. For the pictures, 4 sets of coloured pictures were printed to be used by 4 teams. So one can imagine how much paper was used to print them all, and to think they are just drafts. Well as a consolation we can use the back side for another printing. We reached the shop at around 730pm and thankfully we were able to print them all ...

2 Nov - we went to Chachoengsao to pilot test the questionnaire among tilapia farmers. Three farmers were interviewed. One group took a long time to finish and by the time we left the area it was already past 4pm. We arrived back to KU at nearly 7pm.

3 Nov - at the office to discuss piloting results, observations and suggestions to improve the questionnaire and notes. Another long day of meetings. Added more pictures for the production system question. Again we had to wait for the revised survey draft and the production system questions to be finished, and as the other day, rushed down to the mall to print a new set of revised questionnaires and the pictures to be used the following day for piloting of shrimp farms.

4 Nov - we went to Chachoengsao to pilot test the questionnaire among shrimp farmers. Four farmers were interviewed. This time we were better at time management. We left earlier than the other day and arrived back at KU at around 6pm. Jesper from UCPH and Dr Kulapa from Fac of Econ-KU joined today.

5 Nov - at the office to discuss piloting results and more suggestions to improve the questionnaire and notes, and additional codings. As well, we talked about the Access database which is being developed by UoS team. We will use this to enter all the data collected from the field.

Sample frame, design, sizes and related topics will be discussed tomorrow, Saturday, including the codes/notes and finalisation of questionnaire (hope hope hope!). We hope to be able to finalise this part so we can start to verify our information and know who to interview during the actual surveys. As it stands, our survey schedule has been pushed to 2 weeks later. Maybe more if more things need to be done prior to survey.

LCA Training & Research Workshop

2010-09-15T02:04:00.000-07:00

I was in Pattaya during the last 10 days to attend a 5-day training on Life Cycle Assessment and another 5 days before and after the training for a research workshop with the SEAT research project team.

LCA is one of the work packages in our interdisciplinary research project. The training was given by the LCA experts from CML, University of Leiden, who are one of our project partners. There were about 30 participants from project partner organisations, namely Bangladesh Agricultural University, University of Bergen-Belgium, Shanghai Ocean University-China, University of Copenhagen-Denmark, WorldFish Center-Malaysia, Wageningen University-Netherlands, Kasetsart University-Thailand, University of Stirling-Scotland UK, and Cantho University-Vietnam.

The research workshop before the training was more on the refining of our first paper as part of the requirements for the PhD programme at U of Stirling, and thinking of the second paper, as well as the framework of our research for the coming years. During the training period itself I was spending 4-5 hours/night to also work on this, especially on the comments of my supervisors for paper revision. And I am still working on it. I just got too tired and too sleepy at the end of the week that I had to really get some sleep or else I would have collapsed. Thank God for His strength and provision of Bio C and Intra!

The other research workshop after the training was more on the baseline survey which the whole project would be conducting in each country (Bangladesh, China, Thailand, Vietnam) on October to November. There are still many issues related to the joint questionnaire, as all the work packages had to incorporate their questions, thus there is a need to go through the questions to make sure they are relevant, sensible, realistic, and of good quality. We had exercises on translating them into the local languages, then translating them back into English, to ensure understanding. We also practiced working on the Access database to familiarise ourselves with data handling once survey work has started.

All in all, it was a very interesting time for me, I hope for everyone as well, learning new things from both the training and the workshop. It was also a challenging time, trying to think of how the tools learned can be integrated with my background in aquaculture, at the same time how I can specifically incorporate the tools learned in my own research.

Some members of the SEAT Research Team (Photo: by Pich)

Paper1 draft submitted

2010-08-25T07:46:00.000-07:00

Whewww! What a relief! I thank God that today I finally submitted the first draft (actually 5th draft for me but 1st for my supervisors) of my first paper. I had to really isolate myself just so I could concentrate. I had all the papers spread around me as I review and refer to them. The first draft was the first cut. Once my supervisors are through reading it, I know more work is required. So I have to prepare myself. Tonight I did not bring my work home. I also left my work computer in the office as I plan to just relax. Now I am using my pinky netbook to check emails, write this blog and surf a bit before going to bed. I did bring a print out of my draft just in case I feel like I want to read it.

Starting tomorrow it's for other things to do such as the technical and financial report of my project, preparing poster for a conference next month, and more data analysis and reading. It never stops.

Paper deadline

2010-08-22T08:36:00.000-07:00

Last post was in June...so obviously this means that I have been busy. Sort of. I just did not have time to post here ... what with my other blogs + FB + work ... and writing up. So now I have a deadline for my first paper. I was supposed to finish it earlier but since the deadline was moved to a later date, well I had more time to work on it - analysing, reading, writing, thinking. Also have other stuff to think about so that takes a lot of my time too. It's good to be communicating with others who are in the same boat as I am so we can share and encourage one another.

I have yet to decide which journal I should submit my paper to. So gotta start looking at them. One of the things to look at will be the impact factor of the journal. The higher the impact factor the more preferred. But maybe it is more difficult to get accepted there? Well, that depends on the quality of the paper submitted. So I hope and pray I can write a really good paper so it gets accepted easily by very good journals.

My wishlist:
1. To finish my paper and have it approved by supervisor
2. My paper to be accepted by a journal with high impact factor

Hands together in prayer ...

So wazzup?

2010-06-19T08:47:00.000-07:00

Typical ... as a graduate research student there are times (oh just so many!) that I can say I am PHD (Piled Higher and Deeper). So this blog has not been updated for months! Lots have happened since the last post. I had done my initial field work...going to a number of provinces and meeting different stakeholders. It was a scoping exercise so there was no massive surveys. I just had a checklist of questions so the information I collected was not that massive. The detailed surveys will be done in the next phase, towards the end of the year. I am analysing the information I collected, and for the site visits I am also writing them up in report format. So far I had submitted 2 abstracts from these data, to be presented as posters in 2 conferences. I am also drafting my first paper to be submitted for publication by August. There are so many things to do, varied things, so life is never boring. And with the World Cup 2010 going on, there is a need to balance my time. I watch the matches as well especially if my favorite teams are playing. Even at 130 am here, finishing at 330 am. This also adds excitement to life here.

Blog back log

2010-02-06T22:35:00.000-08:00

More than 3 months of back log to be blogged. But where is the time to do it? This is probably one of the things PhD students face. How to manage the time efficiently so that all things in the to do list could be ticked as done. So far in my list there are some items that have not been ticked yet, i.e. not yet done. One of them is to update my fishful existence blog. Since I came back from Stirling last mid- Dec I have been swamped with lots of work to be done. The major one in relation to my project was the preparation for the Inception Workshop in January. A 4 day workshop which entailed months of preparation ... finally it's over! But the work has just begun. Right after, trips to farms and the like. And the preparation sampling frame, timetable, contacting people, etc. Attending meetings as well where most of the stakeholders for my project were present. For the past weeks I've been listening about and looking at shrimps, tilapia, prawns, striped catfish, ponds, cages, exports, etc. Gathering information along the way. Trying to make sense of these information, in a way that they could be written later. Hmm not really later later, I know gotta write them soon. I promised my supervisors to send them regular reports of my field activities. I still have my research notebook to be filled in with my notes. I have a smaller notepad to bring to the field, and then the notes will be written on this huge research notebook. Getting into the habit of recording everything. Yes, that's right, writing by hand and not typing them into the computer.

These are tilapia swim-up fry ready to be transferred from trays (in the hatchery) to hapas in pond for the sex-reversal process. They are nursed in the hapas for 21 days, after which they reach 2-3 cm and ready to be sold to grow-out farmers.

Red tilapia grown in hapas in pond. They will be ready to be processed into fillets in a few weeks' time. Tilapia fillets are mainly exported, although some are also sold locally. I like red tilapia (pla taptim) deep fried!

Pacific white shrimp grown extensively in ponds where the cages containing tilapia are set-up. White shrimp can be grown in polyculture with river prawns in this kind of system. Feed is given to the tilapia in hapas while the shrimps and prawns in the pond survive on natural food.

Induction Day

2009-11-06T12:37:00.000-08:00

The day after I arrived, I went to the University to attend the Induction Day, on 8 Oct. This was the reason why I really aimed to leave Bangkok not later than 6 Oct. Thank God that my visa was released on 2 Oct after submitting it on 28 Sept.

The Induction Day was for new PhD students, or postgraduate researchers in this university. It is similar to an orientation session, organized by the Stirling Graduate Research School (SGRS). There were several speakers during the whole day event, each with a different topic related to being at the university as doctoral/postgrad researchers.

I took some notes but we were also given lots of handouts such as the Postgraduate Research Student Handbook and some useful materials from vitae. Most of the talks were summaries of the topics in the handbook. So our first assignment was to read this HB. Even though we finished reading this now I know that as time goes by we will be consulting this HB once in a while whenever we need some guidelines on doing some things. The HB contains information to guide and assist us during our time as a research student at the University of Stirling, thereby enabling us to experience a smooth process of completing our degrees (hope and pray!).

During the ID coffee/tea and lunch were provided. It gave us the opportunity to talk with others. But at the start when I first arrived, nobody really talked to me. But that did not bother me much. I just told myself that I had as much right as they have to be there. Most of the back seats were taken so I had to go choose the seat on the second row from the front. Fine with me coz I prefer sitting in front anyway. I put my bags down and then went to the back to get my hot drink. I had to walk from my building to get to this venue and I was feeling a bit cold. And that time I was just recovering from my colds. So I really needed a hot drink. There were some cookies too, which was nice; some with chocolate coating and that was even nicer!

During the first coffee break the ice had somehow been broken and we started talking with each other. Eventually most of us would meet again several times in other seminar sessions we would be attending as part of our skills training as post-grad researchers. What we talked about was mostly on where we come from, what department we belong to, and what would we research on. Actually during one of the sessions, we had a brief practice of talking with our seatmate re: our research topic in a couple of sentences only.

The programme for that day was like this:

Registration; tea & coffee
Welcome to the University
Introduction to the SGRS
What is a Research Degree?
Break
Library Advice Session
Research Ethics
Lunch
Student Development & Support Services
Introduction to the generic skills development programme
Planning your Research
Break
Stirling U Student Association
Postgraduate Society
Sports Facilities

There were no questions asked of the speakers at the start. Probably we were all still tongue-tied or in awe with the information given, or things were clear enough there was no need to ask. Anyway during the Research Ethics session, I asked a question regarding conducting research abroad, in my case in Thailand. And it was because of this that during the break one student came to talk to me and introduced herself, because she would also be conducting research on the same project with me.

Later in the afternoon, during the remaining sessions, only a few of us were there. After this there was still some time before the close of office hours so I went to the Students Matriculation and Records Office to submit my photo for my ID card. There were lots of info during this day and it would take some time to digest them. But I think that I benefited from this session and I was sure glad that I was able to make it for the Induction Day! It was also one of the first opportunities here for me to really stop and think and tell myself of my new status: as a research student. This is quite a change from being employed, with different targets, time frame, pressure, challenges, and the like. So it was good to immerse myself right from day one with the knowledge that this is what I have to be and do for the next four years.

What, another blog again?

2009-10-29T14:52:00.000-07:00

Yes, I just can't help myself! It took me quite sometime to launch this. Finally today I made up my mind to start a new one. This is due to the fact of my new status as a PhD student. So you have an idea already what types of stuff will be posted here. It will all be about what I am doing in relation to my research. Other life issues and all that will still be in my sweetcarnation blog.

During our induction day last 8 October the main thing most of the speakers emphasized was to WRITE. Start writing about anything day by day. To get into the habit of writing thoughts and insights as well as activities and what happened during the day and night. Of course the 'writing' they have in mind is the actual writing, using a pen and a notepad. So all of us have these notebooks and university diary to record things.

But for me since I am used to typing my thoughts and it is faster to 'write' my thoughts through typing, I think I will opt for an electronic diary instead. But I just have to make sure to back them all up just in case something happens. But of course my notepad remains as my able companion and I will continue to note things down there.

So I think this is enough for a first post. By this time you might be wondering about the title of my blog. Well I hope to write about it in the next post. In the meantime, gotta park now as I have a meeting with my supervisor/advisor tomorrow so I think I need to do some readings and organizing my thoughts.