Re: Beyond academia
Hi, Birger,
Thanks. I did look at the site -- that’s why I asked the questions I asked.
The site is visually attractive, and quite impressive at the top level, but there seems to be little available content other than titles, descriptions, and abstracts. The list of publication titles – conference papers, articles, book chapters, exhibitions, theses, – is long, and the listing seems to be purely chronological with no way to search or organize by type of publication. By scrolling item-by-item, I eventually found the titles of completed thesis projects, but there are no links on the AHO web site to read the actual theses. Instead, you get links to author pages and thesis titles. Some authors make the thesis available if you drill down five levels to an external link, but many don’t. To read these, people must order paper copies (!) from AHO.
In the 1970s, I did some massive studies on the comprehensive database of North American PhD thesis project comparing abstracts to the actual content of theses. I was doing some consulting to University Microfilms International, now ProQuest, the central database where PhD graduates from all North American universities file a copy of their PhD thesis and the abstract. One could rarely tell from the abstract whether the thesis was significant or useful. A thesis might demonstrate the level of skills needed to earn a PhD, but nevertheless have little to say. This is related to the long-standing fact that 25% of all PhD graduates never publish after completing the PhD, while 50% of all PhD graduates publish once and once only after completing the PhD.
I am not agreeing or disagreeing with your comments on the AHO doctoral program.
I am saying that the AHO web site does not give enough well organized information to allow anyone to reach a conclusion without visiting AHO or ordering paper copies of doctoral theses.
Yours,
Ken
Ken Friedman, PhD, DSc (hc), FDRS | University Distinguished Professor | Swinburne University of Technology | Melbourne, Australia | [log in to unmask] | Mobile +61 404 830 462 | Home Page http://www.swinburne.edu.au/design/people/Professor-Ken-Friedman-ID22.html Academia Page http://swinburne.academia.edu/KenFriedman About Me Page http://about.me/ken_friedman
Guest Professor | College of Design and Innovation | Tongji University | Shanghai, China
Birger Sevaldson wrote:
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Meanwhile the link I gave and AHOs website has info on program research and published theses.
—snip—
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