A life of a PhD researcher

SCOR is compulsory!

2009-02-10T16:24:00.002Z

We have been summoned by our dean to register for Student Conference in OR (SCOR) and guess what, we have to submit our abstracts too, meaning we have to present during the conference. I thought I could escape as I have presented at conference before :-)

The deadline for the submission is on Feb 13, 2009 and they want it in Latex. I have never used Latex before and at this point of time I'm installing one. It's a good opportunity to practise using Latex; luckily the abstract is only 250 words. Otherwise, it's going to take ages!

Enjoying the snow?

2009-02-05T14:49:00.004Z

The peak of snowing so far, is today, forcing the kids' school to close. The kids were so excited this morning playing with snow, built lots of snowman, took pictures, snowball fights...Well, here I'm, in the office, struggling to submit an abstract to a conference. It is almost ready and hopefully it will get accepted.

Following revisions after revisions, my supervisor thought that I should start writing my LR. I'm now holding tightly the book on How to write a thesis by Rowena Murray. Chapter 8 reads, it is never too late to start. So here I am, on step 1 of the chapter - take stock. I actually have written a few pages of the thesis but they are all jumpy. As a start, I'm going to list whatever I already have and proceed from there. My supervisor is a perfectionist; I'm sure once I start submitting the draft, there will be series of corrections as he reads everything as fresh; even if we have corrected the sentence earlier, he will change it to perfection. Is it good? Yes it sure is, but it's a hell of a tedious job!

So now, I would have to carefully plan and divide my time to handle programming, write papers, and start writing my LR. No more course for me except NATCOR...

Invigilating Exam

2009-01-14T14:46:00.002Z

This week and next week are exam weeks for the undergraduates; I'm taking the opportunity to invigilate exams as I certainly need the money to pay for the increased utility bills during winter. I don't know whether I'd receive the allowance in GBP for the next three months. I hope I would. If not, I might pack my bags and leave when the kids are done with their school this summer. With the kids' treatment being put off because of the recession (I guess), there is no reason to stay. Besides, Aina is in Malaysia preparing for her SPM.

As at now, I'm quite busy to meet the deadlines of the conferences; there are papers to write, as well as experiments to perform. Well, I guess I need to take it one at a time yea...

Celebrating 2009 in Eskisehir

2009-01-02T20:28:00.002Z

Since the guest house was closed during new year, I stayed with Mujgan & her parents for two days. Initially, we were not planning to go out as it was really cold but when the clock turned midnight which was the beginning of 2009, we decided to go out to look around. The intention was to just drive around and stay in the car, but we managed to go out and snap some pictures. Here are some of the photos during night time in Eskisehir. Pictures below were taken during the day. We went out by tram to the city center and managed to get some souvenirs from Eskisehir. It was really cold; this morning the temperature went down to minus 10 C! I've never experience this cold condition before; the nose became red, the fingers almost numb. I managed to get a pair of leather socks (khuf) which is really comfortable.
At the point of writing, it's snowing outside. It was blacked out a while ago; luckily the notebook is on! The road lights also went off for a while. Just to keep safe, I'd let the notebook on tonight in case it blacks out again...

Have been here for one week already...

2008-12-30T16:36:00.000Z

I have been here for one week already and the outcome? Well, one paper is out and sent to my supervisor for comment, presentation at seminar is also done, and it's time to concentrate on the model for MISTA.

We would still try to solve it using mathematical software although there is no possibility that we can get the result. I'm now looking into Hamiez and Hao paper which is very much relevant to what I'm doing at this moment. I need to understand further of how the problem is formulated and then start to program it using JAVA. Hopefully we could at least produce an extended abstract from it with full paper on the way...

Well, few more days to go. I'm hoping that the weather will be fine on Sunday so that the flights won't get delayed. I miss my family...

The sun is shining...

2008-12-29T06:49:00.001Z

The sun is out and will surely melt the snow but with the current temperature of -6 C, it surely will take some time. It's a nice scenery still, but everywhere people are shovelling the snow and this is the dreading time as it's wet and murky.

The one good thing that I can educate people about my coming here is that Turkey really has snow. Most of them thought that Turkey is a mediterranean country and the weather should be mild and around teen degree celcius. But it's not. Over here in Eskisehir, the forecast minimum temperature is -13C! The lowest that I have been into was -8 C in McMinnville, Oregon.

When it's snowing, it certainly portrays a nice feeling but the side effect of it, is not that pleasing. Mujgan's car broke down yesterday while travelling to the meeting place and today, Tuba is supposed to pick me up for the office. The road condition is slippery during this time and drivers would really need to be very careful as the car can easily get skidded.

About work, something struck into my mind when I woke up this morning and I now have an idea on how to use the tuple for my heuristics attempt! Thank God for this...

It's snowing here...

2008-12-28T11:55:00.000Z

It's snowing from the morning and if it goes on and on, it might reach one foot! I managed to go out and snap some pictures on the way to the cafetaria. It really feels nice to do my work while it is snowing outside. This will be the paper to remember as I write it while it's snowing.

A friend commented that I should stick to heuristics as it's what our ASAP group is concentrating on. Should I waste my time doing something mathematical? Well, my view is that my research is about problem solving. I presume, problems can be solved using whatever methods available. It is a research anyway, and I think it's good to explore whatever methods there are. I may get solution or I may not get solution using mathematical software. Whether I get the solution or not, I may try heuristics too and I can make comparisons on both methods. As long as it adds to the body of knowledge, I certainly make a contribution and this is all PhD is all about - contribution to the body of knowledge. Well, I might get views from Mujgan and my supervisor too... In the meantime, let's enjoy the opportunity that I have at this moment, and hopefully the outcome in terms of papers that I produce from this visit will be accepted. Who knows I might write from Dublin and Netherland soon...

Update from Eskisehir, Turkey

2008-12-27T07:35:00.000Z

Surprisingly, I can get internet connection from the guest house this morning and this will certainly save the trouble of going to the office at the Industrial Engineering. They have just moved to a new building which is at the other end of the University. With the minus 4 celcuis temperature outside, I'd rather stay here as it's close to where I can get my food supplies. I don't intend to go out yet as I still have cornflakes and bread for my breakfast. I miss my morning coffee though as the kitchen here is not that equipped with kettle and so on.

We are making some progress; we already have the weights for the criterias needed to determine the level of importance. I still need to send out questionaires to get more judgements on the weights. I will email to my fellow NMCs hopefully they could spare some time to respond to our questionaire.

The plan is to produce two abstracts for MISTA and IMASPORTS and to work on the full paper for journal. It really is tough to develop the model, even Mujgan agreed on it too. The problem is NP-hard and it's not possible to get optimal solution. I might have to struggle on my heuristics to get the solution.

I have lots of things to work on; this coming Tuesday, I have to present at the seminar for the post-graduate and I need to prepare the slides too. I don't know how much they can get from me; lectures are delivered in Turkish. According to them, they tried to include like 30% in English but it didn't work. I wonder if they could understand what I'll be talking about...even if I speak in Malay, they would not be able to distinguish it :-)

Apart from a little hiccups while travelling here, I'm glad that I came as I met lots of good people here especially Mujgan...

Top 10 university...

2008-12-19T14:47:00.000Z

The RAE 2008 report is out and confirmed that our University is ranked seven in terms of research. A really world-class university don't you think? And how proud I am to be in one!

We had an email from our new Head of school congratulating everyone for the success. An excerpt of the email :

Our overall profile, across a combination of outputs, environment and esteem is:
30% of our activity graded 4* (world class) 50% of our activity graded 3* (internationally leading) 20% of our activity graded 2* (internationally recognised) 0% of our activity graded 1* (nationally recognised) 0% of our activity graded 0* (unclassified). This profile ranks us 8th among all UK Computer Science schools (both if you compute a grade point average and also if you rank profiles using pic medal table style). This is a fantastic achievement for the School and places us in the top 10% of UK CS schools.

Come to think of it, I wonder when this success will happen to our faculty or our university back home. They want to be world class but they don't want to me to study in a world class university. Part of their remarks when I try to apply for conversion from split to fulltime, if I have problem with my kids' medical, might as well I study in my home country...Can you believe that! They certainly don't know how to maximise opportunities...

On my way to Eskisehir, Turkey...

2008-12-04T23:11:00.000Z

Turkey, here I come...tentatively 15 - 31 December, 2008. I'm not going there for fun, but to do a lot of work. My supervisor is expecting two full papers for MISTA! If not, abstracts that will surely be turned into full paper. Tough job eh...

On another note, I checked on KPT's website just now and found that they have already paid the school fees in a mission to take advantage of the declining GPB. Guess what, we save around RM10K. I don't see any reason why they would not convert my scholarship to fulltime. The reason being, the same amount (RM) that KPT used to pay last time, is more than enough to pay for the fulltime fees now as for split program, the fee is 87% from fulltime amount.

It's already December!

2008-12-01T11:39:00.000Z

Time flies and it's already December! It's time to put on the turbo engine. No choice, I'd have to force myself and concentrate on my research. My other half has come back here and I wouldn't have to worry about managing the kids anymore. Even if it's cold and dark, I need to stay in the office at least till 5.00 pm.

The research writing course that I attended is almost complete with another session tomorrow. My mission to write a page a day is not accomplished :-) Oh well, I guess I would have to start writing bit by bit starting from now.

Call for paper for MISTA is already out and I would have to think of what I would submit to the conference. Probably we would properly assign weights using ANP/AHP to the current project that I'm working on. And to do that, I would have to make a trip to Eskisehir, Turkey to see Mujgan. Hopefully my supervisor will approve on the idea...

It's too cold in here!

2008-10-29T15:00:00.000Z

This few days, the temperature goes down real bad; lowest being -2 degree celcius. It really is cold here in the office and I'm wearing my jacket in the office! I really don't understand the system here; I heard that the building is a smart building - by right if it's cold, the heater must turn on by itself. But according to them, they heat up the building at night as during night time the electricity is cheaper than during the day. The heat is supposed to stay during the day but it didn't. When I got here this morning, the radiator felt warm but now it's icy cold...

I'm wearing my full thermal, a thick jeans, a long-sleeve t-shirt, a sweater, double socks but it didn't help. Maybe I should bring along my sleeping bag to the office tomorrow!

Catching up time...

2008-10-22T20:57:00.000+01:00

Fasting month is done, raya is done, it's time to catch up! I join the Research Writing class, organised by CELE. It's a 9 week course, meeting once a week. Hopefully it will motivate me to start writing. I'm being very ambitious - hoping to write a page a day and by the time the course ends, I'd have 56 pages of the LR! Let's see if it happens :-)

I'm reverting to the original plan of experimenting using heuristics. My supervisor did not like the idea of doing exact algo as it is difficult to get the optimal solution. For small instances, probably we can opt for IP or CP but for my case, it's gonna be tough. Probably when I'm done with my PhD, I'd give it a try.

I'm currently looking into tabu search. I found a book chapter which the authors experimented using tabu. Hopefully it will help.

It's almost end of October and the due date for the annals of PATAT is coming closer. Oh well, I'll have to send it to other journal then...

Yesterday I received an email from the coordinator of ASAP seminar. I'd have to present my work on Dec 11, 2008. Hopefully by then I'd have something to show.

The course is over already...

2008-09-19T13:35:00.000+01:00

Glad it's Friday already...and the course ended at 12.30 pm and we are currently waiting for our private hire to go back to Nottingham. Since the ID is still working, I'm taking the opportunity to write something in this blog.

What did I gain from this course? Well, I gained a lot on the methods frequently being used to tackle combinatorial problems. The recent one being branch-and-price. He was comparing it against branch-and-cut. The difference is that branch-and-price is adding variables while branch-and-cut is adding constraints. Whatever it is, I don't think I'll be using the methods as we are more on heuristics and certainly I'll be using the metaheuristics methods to tackle my problem.

I'm still worried about being able to produce my full paper which will be due on Nov 1st, 2008. I'm planning to do the experiment using ILOG OPL and hopefully I'll get a reasonable result to be included in the full paper that will be due sooooooonnnnn....

The cab is almost here already...

Away from the office again...

2008-09-16T10:53:00.000+01:00

This week, I'm at the University of Southampton for NATCOR course on Combinatorial Optimisation. The course is very relevant to what I'm currently researching on. So far the course it ok but I must note a very unusual thing that really exist here - they still have the black/green board and believe it or not, they really use the chalk and duster that our school teacher used when I was in primary school!

I haven't got to visit the city just as yet. But I heard it's beautiful during night time. Probably we will explore some area tonight.

Water rafting at Rapides de Lechine in Montreal

2008-09-05T13:24:00.000+01:00

It has been quite a while since the last post. Well, I just got the pictures on rafting that I'd like to post in this blog...

10 of us in a boat, plus the guard of course...It was really scary in the beginning but I enjoyed it. So happen that I was seated on the left side, easy for me to paddle as I'm a left handed...

It looks easy isn't it...you can see a smile on my face :-)

Looks like I'm the only one with the yellow helmet... Actually there are sizes for the helmet; I guess yellow one are meant for small heads!

Opps, can't see me...

These pictures are courtesy of Paula, the last two from behind (right side). It costs CAN 7 per picture sent through email.

Ready to check out...

2008-08-23T14:49:00.000+01:00

Glad that it's Saturday and it's time to go home! I have already packed my bag, stopped by at this business center to do online check in and print my boarding pass for my flight tonight. I had a good rest last night; that water rafting really used up my energy that I didn't have left to go for shopping as I dozed off from 5.30 pm, got up at 8.15 pm for prayer and dozed off again...

Yesterday was really a fun experience. I had the chance to do water rafting at the rapids nearby. There were 10 in a boat, and we rafted, went through the rapids and at the last one, the Big John, we were supposed to jump but instead I fall off inside the boat, and didn't get to jump into the rapids. A few of our friends jumped and it was then time to rescue them!

I'd have to go as somebody needs to use this pc...Will post some pictures when I get back home...

What a relief!

2008-08-20T23:01:00.001+01:00

I'm done with the presentatation and what a relief! My supervisor said, good job! and thumbs up too from Jay who happened to sit in my session. I had 3 or 4 good questions and the fact that my supervisor is around to back me up, is certainly a relief.

There were around 30 people attending the breakup sessions; so happen that the second speaker was also talking about match importance and it made my life easy as I can easily referred to his talk especially on the related work done on the subject matter. All in all, it was a worthwhile experience; getting to know people in the subject area is certainly an added advantage. I get to meet the authors that have been an inspiration to what I'm researching and hopefully one of the would be external examiner for my viva...

Live and kicking!

2008-08-20T13:49:00.000+01:00

The conference is so casual; people came in jeans and even shorts! It really is different from the conference held in Malaysia with so much protocols and so on. The break up sessions are chaired by the last speaker for the session. I happen to be the last speaker for my session, but luckily somebody volunteered to be the chairperson and I'd be able to concentrate on my presentation which will be this afternoon at three. Am I scared? Of course there are butterflies in my stomach! Like it or not, it has to be done and considering lots of international people around, I think my English is quite ok...

Safe and sound in Canada!

2008-08-18T14:13:00.000+01:00

Got here safely although our flight was delayed for 1.5 hrs because of faulty emergency lights at the isle. Reached Montreal at around 2 am UK time. It was really tiring but was really relief when I checked in the hotel. The room is so huge with double bed, a study table, TV and so on. How I wish my hubby were here; a perfect place for a second honeymoon...

The weather is fine, just like in Nottingham. I'm planning on a sightseeing of Montreal this morning. I wanted to go to downtown yesterday but have no idea on how to get there. There is a train service named Metro, but I have no idea on how to get the ticket and how much does it cost as the info was written in French! Montreal is the second largest french speaking town. I really feel like I'm in France seeing the word like sortie, bienvenue, bientot etc...

I had a few stroll nearby the area yesterday but I must admit that I'm quite scared as there are people like drug addicts hanging around and asking for money! In the end, I got back to the hotel and did what I have to do - study...

One thing I dread about if of course food...Luckily I brought instant noodles, biscuits and chocolates! You could imagine how slim I would be when I get back home...

What a relief...

2008-08-12T17:12:00.000+01:00

The mock presentation was ok, slides are ok, pace and timing are also ok, and basically it's ready to be presented at the conference. I'd just do a few more runs infront of the mirror by myself prior to the actual one. I'll just pray that I'd get a humble crowd and will not post difficult questions.

I also bumped into colleague that will drive us to the airport on Saturday. Probably we'll leave at around 10.30 am so that we'll have ample time before the departure. That reminds me, I need to request for halal food from British Airways.

I'm very fortunate to have been given the opportunity to attend the conference. Apart from presenting the paper, I really hope that I could gain a lot of things from the conference itself. Whatever information that I have at this moment are like pieces of puzzles. I really hope that I can put some of the pieces together and start writing my thesis. I also hope that I'd meet other people of the same interest and start comparing notes towards solving my research problem...

Olympics fever...!

2008-08-11T15:23:00.000+01:00

I have supervisory meeting tomorrow whereby I'd have to do a mock presentation for PATAT08 conference. Powerpoints slides are ready, but still, I need to rehearse it infront of the mirror for quite some times. But the Olympics fever is on and I found myself hard to concentrate! Adding up to it, this morning Rebecca Adlington from Mansfield won the gold medal in women's 400m freestyle. It's a glory day for people in Nottingham, and of course I'm also excited about it as swimming is my favourite pastime. Back home I used to do it as the university has a good indoor swimming pool and before going home after work, I'd certainly dive in when I have free time.

Back to Rebecca, she deserves the gold as the preparation for it was so intense. She practised 30 hours per week and even swam since early in the morning at 5 am when lots of people are in the comfort of their own beds.

The moral of the story, when we really work hard, the success is in our hands. I wish I had her courage and gain the gold medal; not in the olympics but my PhD of course...

08-08-08 Olympics Opening - Spectacular !

2008-08-08T15:21:00.000+01:00

It's the opening event of the Olympics today, this very 'Ong' day 08-08-08! I've been watching it live, at http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics/ . The internet connection is superb here in the office and TV streaming is a noooo problem.

Since I'm researching on Sports Scheduling, there is no reason why I shouldn't watch this spectacular event. It was really a grand presentation and I've never seen such event before! Bravo China... 15,000 participated in the presentation and they have prepared for it since last year. No wonder the coodination was so perfect. I bet people here in the UK might be cracking their heads really bad to think of the presentation for 2012 Olympics that will be held in London.

At the point of writing, the atheletes are marching in. Malaysian contingent is one of them! My kids spotted someone in blonde! I wonder who she is...

Come to think of it, it's good for me to watch this event as there are many countries that I've never heard of like Kiribati. Ever heard of it?

Algorithm & Pseudocode - are they the same?

2008-07-30T05:57:00.000+01:00

I always thought that the word 'algorithm' is the same as 'pseudocode'. Having attended Tim's class yesterday, I noticed the difference. Well actually the course is on JAVA; at the last two sessions of the course, he wanted to instill in our mind the software design is very important - never start coding before you really plan what you are going to do.

Design should be done with pencil and paper. At the initial state, we need to really define the problem or whatever we want to solve. Test it and clarify it with other people; in our case, it would be our supervisor. Once clarified, we can create the algorithm which is the solution to the problem. Since there are many algorithms that are published before, try looking at one to see if it suits our needs. There is no point in reinventing the wheel, isn't it :-)

After successive refinement, pseudocode comes into picture. It is actually the detailed description of a programming in a plain english. If we want to code it in Object Oriented (OO), we should design it as such. When the pseudocode is complete, test it by desk tracing with pen or pencil, following loops and so on. Once satisfied, the pseudocode can be transfered into any programming language that we like and we just have to deal with coding errors. It saves the trouble of rectifying thousands of errors!

RM900 allowance per month - hardly enough to pay for utility bills!

2008-07-29T14:13:00.000+01:00

From this month on, I'd be getting my allowance in RM. As the title reads, RM900 per month staying in the UK; hardly enough to pay for my utility bills, let alone the monthly rental of £300+ per month. With the recent increase of oil price, the utilities have increased by 20%. Where would I be getting the ££ to pay for all these...

I have sent out an appeal letter to convert for fulltime but then again, it has to go through so many levels before it reaches the final destination. Off record information, the qouta for 2008 has already been used up, implying that I need not appeal for conversion. Come to think of it, MNDP/split program fees are 87% from the total payment for fulltime student. They just need to add in 13% more for me to stay on fulltime.

Well, let's see how it goes. After all, the success of a PhD is not solely on the studies but how well one manages his or her study, family and whatever related to the PhD processes.

Love what you are doing...

2008-07-18T17:38:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I went to my kids' school as they are celebrating the head teacher's retirement. Guess what, the guy has worked there for 26 years! He has been the head teacher for 11 years. What's his formula for staying there for too long? He loves what he is doing, he loves kids, and he enjoys working with his staff.

Moral of the story, we must enjoy what we are doing. I enjoy reading, I enjoy programming, I enjoy writing, I'm enjoying my PhD...:-)

What's the difference between metaheuristics and hyperheuristics?

2008-07-09T17:11:00.000+01:00

A friend who just joined was asking about the difference between heuristics, metaheuristics and hyperheuristics. I have posted the meaning of heuristics before and would now like to compare it against meta and hyperheuristics. Metaheuristics is a collection of heuristics including simulated annealing, tabu search, genetic algorithm, ant colony, swarm and so on. Metaheuristics explore a search spaces of solution to a given problem.

As meta means beyond, and expected to be better than heuristics itself, hyperheuristics is supposed to be better than metaheuristics. Hyperheuristics means heuristics that choose heuristics. The main difference between metaheuristics and hyperheuristics is that hyperheuristics operates on the search space of heuristics. Think of a hyperactive kids; hyperactive kids tend to be more rowdy, excited and energetic. I'll think of a better analogy to describe the hyperheuristics and will post it here once I got one.

Problem formulation

2008-07-07T16:59:00.000+01:00

I'm doing a problem-solving research which is dealing with a real world situation. In dealing with a real world situation, initially the process is the collection of problems or so-called mess. The problem is then analysed. We then need to come out with the mathematical representation (model) of the perceived problem. And in the end, we need to find the solution to the model. Once solution is found, we need to verify it with the users, see whether they agree with our solution.

The hardest part is the formulation of the problem. This is the step where I'm currently at now. Typical of OR problem, we need to maximise or minimise, subject to the constraints. Saying it is easy, but to do it -- it is a hell of a job! Come to think of it, we need to recall what has been done 20 or 30 years back whereby subjects like Calculus, linear algebra came into mind...

There is a saying by Krishnamurti (The Penguin Krishnamurti Reader) as such :

"If we can really understand the problem, the answer will come out of it, because the answer is not separate from the problem"

In my case now, I do understand the problem, but the step towards getting the answer is the challenging part...

Time flies....

2008-06-26T16:20:00.000+01:00

Almost one year already since the last update...Don't know where to start. As for study, how if I just cut and paste the report progress to the International Office, written by my supervisor recently...

Yati has made excellent progress. We have decided on a subject of study(/Scheduling of Malaysian Football/ in order to increase the interest inindividual fixtures).Yati visited the Malaysian Football League in order to collect detailsabout the problem, as well as some data. This followed an initial meeting I had with them the last time I visited Malaysia.The current focus of her PhD study is to develop a model that captures match importance that we will optimise over. Yati is also considering which search methodologies she will utilise. The modelling/solution methodology is a critical part of the research and will have a large effect on the rest of her studies. An abstract has been accepted at an international conference which describes the initial work in this research. We will develop this paper into a journal paper for a special issue of a journal associated with the conference. Of course, the literature review will continue and Yati will write thisup over the coming months and this will be followed by the mid-term review.

I'm now learning C++

2007-08-17T17:02:00.000+01:00

A friend suggested that I do programming in C++ instead of JAVA as for optimization, C++ is better than JAVA. Since he has been in the arena for quite sometime, why not follow an expert's advice huh. At least it would save me some time later, had I encounter problem with JAVA in the future. Moreover, my supervisor is well verse in C++ and he has been doing lots of programming in C++. I can surely count on him later.

As for reading, I'm currently on a thick 1080 pages of book on 'Artificial Intelligence a Modern Approach by Stuart Russell and Peter Norvig. I think it's a good book as it has been referenced in most of the papers that I read. I'm still on the topic of uninformed Search. What is uninformed search? As the name suggests, there is no information about the states beyond that provided in the problem definition (no information from the current state to the goal) Other name for it - blind search. In malay, 'cari buta tuli la ni'... Some methods for uninformed search include breadth-first search, depth-first search, depth-limited search and so on. Usually, uniformed search takes longer time to find especially if the data is so big. Well, I don't know how far it's true as I have not tested it yet. I have yet to find algorithm for Simulated Annealing which is an informed search. I found a java applet that is looking into the Travelling Salesman Problem. Informed search is supposed to be a smart search as it has some knowledge about the goal. Opps, can understand or not on what I'm talking about? Well, this is part of a life of a researcher. As I dig and dig, I found something new. Dig and dig, reminds me of the Utah miners. Don't know whether they are already dead or not, but 3 of the rescue workers are confirmed dead already while trying to rescue them! What a pity...

What is heuristics?

2007-08-15T07:03:00.000+01:00

Before I got here, I friend was asking me about this question when he saw the title of a work that I planned to carry on for my PhD. I can't give him an answer at that time as the topic is quite alien to me too. But now, after three months reading on the topic, here is what I can say about heuristics.

Heuristic comes from a greek word meaning 'to find'. What to find? Well, anything you would like to find, and it is common to the search activity in the optimization process. A simple analogy that I came across recently, you can think of heuristics (the word can be used with or without 's' like physics) as a tour guide. A tour guide is good at showing you the great place where you can visit but he might miss some of the interesting places to visit. Same with heuristics, it can provide you with the solutions but the solution might not necessarily be the best solution.

Adding the word meta to it, it becomes metaheuristics. Metaheuristics are targetted at combinatorial problems; applied maths and computer science. Sounds tough huh? Well, it's what I'm researching on at this moment. My supervisor suggested that I look into the Simulated Annealing method. Once I got through with that, it would be easy to understand other methods like tabu search, hill climbing and so on.

I came across a thesis that apply Simulated Annealing in Sports Scheduling. The thesis was submitted in May for his PhD in the US. I sure respect him for getting his PhD in the States as I heard getting a PhD over there is tougher than here as they have got to go through examination before they can actually carry on with their research work. I am currently reading the thesis and I must admit that I don't understand or have yet to understand the content of the thesis. I guess I'd have to do further research, to read and read until I understand what he is talking about. After all, it's what research is all about. GALI LAGI...!

Meeting supervisor this Friday...

2007-08-08T16:02:00.000+01:00

I'll be meeting my supervisor this Friday, what to report? Ehmm, I admit that I'm a bit disturbed over this allowance payment. I've sent the letter back home together with supporting letter from my supervisor. Just pray that they will approve and the allowance payment problem will be resolved.

Well, life must go on. While I'm feeling down, I came across this website this morning - all-but-dissertation survival guide. The editor mentioned that studying for PhD is like playing football (American Football eh). Quote from the editor of the site, "If you don't think you have much in common with football players, let me count the ways:
1) You are both struggling toward the goal, and there are numerous obstacles blocking your advance.
2) Sometimes you get tackled along the way by unavoidable circumstances, and your progress is temporarily thwarted.
3) When things seem to be going well again, you may unexpectedly fumble, producing a setback of your own making. Equally inimical to your progress is interference.
4) Just as you recover a fumble and resume your momentum, your committee may deliver a blitz, spoiling your game plan despite your best defense.
5) You may have to punt (i.e., give up an unsuccessful effort) and try again, with renewed spirit and unwavering determination, at the next opportunity.
6) As pressure mounts, you may decide on a time out to consult with a coach.
7) Whatever happens, you keep focused on completing your drive toward the goal, and you never give up.
See what I mean? You do have a lot in common with this weekend's Super Bowl contenders. However, one major difference is that unlike quarterbacks Peyton and Rex, an ABD cannot pass the ball to anyone else. It's all yours. But at the end of the game, the hard-won trophy will be all yours as well. Never doubt the final outcome. You have demonstrated your ability and your mettle in the past (reality check!), so you know you have the skills and determination to move ahead. This is your season! You're going, going, going all the way….Touchdown! "

I'm moving ahead! My compiler problem has been resolved yesterday and I've been testing a few java programs. (Test run only :-)) Not programming yet... I'm currently looking for sample programs available on the topic of Simulated Annealing. But before that, I need to understand the concept of SA first. So, what to do? Of course, keep reading. Like Ogee said to the AF5 students last time, GALI LAGI! Nak gali la ni... Jangan gila, sudah...

What is Split program?

2007-08-02T06:19:00.000+01:00

Split program is actually a program whereby one spend half of the time at the host University and the other half in the local university. One of the reason is to save cost; rather than spending on one person, they can send 4 people to study abroad. An analogy for this, a big piece of cake, being shared by lots of people. Why I opt for this Split program? Simply because I don't want to 'salam agong' for my PhD. Well, in actual fact, I've had my degree from US, my masters from the UK and why not Phd also from UK eh?

As a promotional activity, this is what I comment on a recent interview with the International Office here.
Programme of Study: PhD Information Technology
Entry Date: 4 May, 2007
Expected Completion Date: May 2010
Previous School/University:
Linfield College, McMinnville, Oregon, USA (for first degree), Staffordshire University (for Masters)
Why did you choose to study at Nottingham?
When I applied online, the feedback was so fast; it really was a smooth application process. The staff were very helpful and I have no problem in applying to the university.
What do you like most about the University?
The campuses look beautiful, the environment is warm and friendly, the weather is not so extreme, the library facilities are great and most importantly the supervisor is very helpful and understanding.
What do you enjoy about your course?
I enjoy discovering what I have learned in my school days being put into practice, for example, in the old days, the purpose of the mathematical calculation is simply to get the solution and to score well in the exam. I now discover the actual application of what I have learned.
Outside of your studies, what else have you been involved in at the University?
Not much involvement in the University, but I observe the education system here in the UK as I have three kids who are schooling here at the moment.
What tips would you give to other students looking to study at Nottingham/What advice would you offer to prospective (MNDP) students?
Tips for prospective students, in the plan of studies, since the government sponsors 18 months of stay here in Nottingham (with 3 times flight to and fro), spend at least the first full year here because the initial set up cost was quite high. For those with growing up kids, let them experience the education system here. Hopefully they could gain the fundamental of English and be able to survive in school in Malaysia as the government recently change the policy of teaching math and science in English.

My personal view of split program, it's a program to split your family apart. I'm with my 3 younger kids here in the UK, and my husband is in Malaysia with my 2 elder kids who will be taking their UPSR and PMR this year. They will be joining us in end of October. For that, I salute my husband for his sacrifice of taking no pay leave to be with us here. In the meantime, thanks to the technology, with the Yahoo messenger, we are able to communicate and see each other through webcam.

Split program for PhD anyone?

2007-07-30T14:09:00.000+01:00

If you are a Malaysian and currently looking for ways and means to do your PhD, take a look at part of the letter to KPT below to help you decide whether to go for it or not.

"Before I got here, the circular about the split program was not out yet. KPT's scholarship people requested that I submit the plan of studies and I submitted my plan to be here for the first 12 months, 3 months in 2009, and the last 3 months in 2010. At that moment, I only knew that under splitprogram, we can be here in the UK for 18 months and with 3 times flighttickets. I did not know about the maximum number of 9 months stay at onetime, until I received an email from Miss K recently. When I received the first payment of RM15,940.28, I assumed that the plan of studies was approved as there was no letter accompanying the check, and as well as no detail on what the payment is for. I have made the necessary plans (including scheduled courses) with my supervisor here and have resumbitted the plan of studies to be here until June 30, 2008 (14 months), 2 months in 2009, and the final 2 months in 2010(to save on the high initial set-up cost here).

As at to date, I have not received my next 3 months allowance. My August rent is due soon and I wrote to Mr H recently. I'm really frustrated on his reply that I'm not entitled to the living allowance and since they have initially paid the allowance in advanced, they cut my next monthly allowance. And what amazed me is that the other researchers under split program recieved their living allowance as well as their monthly allowance. Why is it that some people can get and some people cannot get what they are entitled for? I'm desperate for my allowance to cover my cost here. Since you are lookinginto the quality aspect in KPT, could you please look into this matter? I'm sure you still have a soft spot on the U. You want the U to be a world class with world class lecturers and I happened to be the only split program candidate from my faculty as the other 6 offered, opt for local (they either cannot get in as the IELTS requirement are high, or not ready to spend $). How can the university be a world class if the thinking of people is not world class? It's damn expensive here and I'm sure you understand it as you have seen it through your last visit.

You mentioned that the reason why the U is offering split is to share the piece of cake with many people. Since I'm the only survivor of split from my faculty, rather than the cake got wasted, can I have a bigger piece by converting my scholarship into fulltime PhD? This will resolve the allowance problem and I can fully concentrate on my research. I'm a very determined person, once I decide to go for the PhD, I will go for it and with my determination and perserverance, I'm sure I will get it, with God'swilling, of course."

Names and university? Secret ahh...