Progress Report 6-5-2008

Date: June 5, 2008

To: Professor Holmevik

From: Virginia D. Baird

Introduction

This proposal will develop a course to teach technical and rhetorical skills needed to write research proposals to graduate Ph.D. students and faculty in the field of Landscape Architecture in the focus area of health and design.

Work Completed

Based on the Next Steps section of my May 29th progress report I've had some discussion with Landscape Architecture on the form my project should take. I have determined that projects for the MLA do not yet have a determined format. I will use the MAPC format for my proposal and then work with the Chair of my committee to make adjustments before I present it to my committee.

This week I learned to use Mindmap and how to convert it to an outline, a somewhat time consuming learning curve. But I feel in the future I will find many uses for this new found program. I first used the Mindmap to look at where I want to go with this project and why. Then I pulled out a section to set up my current situation.

I flushed out the current situation and after class discussion found a number of places where I have "not" need to know information. As I prepare my first full draft for next Monday, I'll re-write the current situation using feed back from my classmates. I will also go back to the chapter 4, Describing the Current Situation, and tighten up this section to be certain I lead into it and the conclusion leads out of it well. These are pieces I didn't dwell on for the first draft.

I looked in the Cooper Library for articles in my area, defining it as skills for writing and submitting research grant proposals. I found limited material and spoke with a reference librarian who suggested I use my professional association's material to find articles in this area and then use the references cited there to connect to others. I looked in the Architecture library for information on research in the area of the built environment and design but found primarily only information on projects with City and County governments and contract proposals rather than research proposals. The lack of research articles substantiates my point that there has been little research done on how we change the built environment affects health. I will need to continue the search for articles in the area of built environment and design.

Next, I developed the project plan again using mindmap. Following the Chapter 5, Developing a Project Plan, I mapped out a solution limiting my steps to 5 major areas and then adding a couple of minor ones to each major. I continued to flush this out and again have feedback from my classmates and will continue to develop this area.

I also developed a timeline for completing my thesis project over the next two years. As a full-time employee of Clemson and a part-time student and with 93 hours of classwork required for a MLA, I have 30 hours remaining. It will take me two more years to complete the classwork. I plan to have my committee set up shortly and hope to have them accept my project proposal during Fall of 2008.

We discussed qualifications today in class and determined that "what makes you different, makes you interesting". Normal is one thing I have always aspired, not to be, so I feel comfortable with this concept. I have added a profile to my blog but found it difficult to keep it to 250 words. Again, I will ask my classmates to help me view it from the outside and decide what pieces are most important.

Next Steps

I will need to concentrate on my first complete draft of the proposal checking to be certain that it flows well from one section to the next and that I have answered all the how and why questions. Again, I will need my classmates to look at it from an outside viewpoint for feedback.
I will contact my Chair by email. She is traveling but I need to talk about the MAPC requirements for projects and whether this will fit MLA. I also need to narrow down my list of possible committee members, ask those I choose and get started with the process.