Monday, October 7

Dad's Support

My dad needs to replicate himself so more people can have a dad like him.  All these thoughtful comments while he is on a cruise ship and should be having tons of fun rather than reading my thesis.

Exhibit A:


Hi Tonia, 

I’ve read your thesis over more than once and I find it fascinating.  

Knowing that you have given all that you have to writing the thesis and yet have it still not considered finished is more than discouraging.  After all the sweat, blood and tears you have put in, you are right to ask, “What else do I have to do?” 

It is tough to meld academic rigour with heartfelt comments that bubble up from a subject in response to one of your questions.  Cold hard dispassionate quantifiable logic is hard to apply to human actions regardless what a researcher is trying to uncover much less the motivation of people who write selflessly about their own travel experiences to help others. 

The summary of all that has been done to add to our knowledge about the topic (your thesis) needs to reflect the amount of work it took to gain that knowledge, which it does, but written in a way that meets the precision and clarity of thought demanded of the academic environment, while at the same time retaining the human touch.  A bit of creative tension, to say the least. 

It may be one of those times when you have to scream, “I’m tough and I am going to nail this thing!” After all, you are not going through all this to satisfy someone’s notion of scholarly prose, but to communicate to fellow researchers, the subjects you studied, and the wider community of the intellectually curious how the paradigm shift brought on by new technologies has affected a global industry, travel and tourism. 

I’m reviewing the thesis starting with Chapter IV and will pass on my comments in the next e-mail. Stay tuned. 

Love,
Dad 

No comments:

Post a Comment