Music, International Scholarship and Showing Your Work
In Lofi we trust...
Hey everyone!
A week of big changes across our community. We’ve finally finished our Discord server revamp and now you can travel through our community village. We’ve opened department & faculty forums to capture a wider range of interests, we’ve opened new channels for watch parties and community games and we’ve also expanded our resource hubs. Come check out what else is new.
Articles of the Week
So many of us across the PGRH use Lofi/Chillhop beats for background noise when studying and working. This isn’t just something going on in the PGRH but is commonly used by school/college students, postgrad, artists, scholars, readers - anyone engaged in mind work or looking for some relaxation time. What is it about Lofi that drives our productivity or work pleasure? Winston & Saywood (2019) have some things to say about it.
Sticking with the pleasant working vibes, can we talk about writing in coffee shops? An activity endorsed by writers, scholars and other creatives across the world, ain’t no word count like a coffee shop word count! Coffee shop waiting in a networked age by Faris (2014) talks about how sites of writing can be sites of pleasure.
Finally, if you’ve been following the Women’s World Cup you’ll know that there’s a lot to talk about in this tournament. It’s so interesting to see how the coverage (broadcast and news) of the women’s game has changed and developed. Here’s an analysis of the media coverage on the England women’s team from the 2015 World Cup by Petty & Pope (2018). Though this article is only a few years old, it still feels like a world away from where we are now.
Community Spotlight
This week we shine our community spotlight on Stephanie Paoli (She/Her)!
Steph is a Canadian-born researcher currently living in Trondheim, Norway. She is interested in all things neuroscience and science communication. Outside of academia, she likes hiking, rowing, painting, and visiting the animals at the farm close to her house. She wants to visit every continent someday (4 down, 3 to go!)
This week we wanted to highlight our community member Steph! Steph joined us a while back and since then has been active in a huge number of our channels, particularly our coworking and community engagement sections. Steph has always welcomed new members with a friendly face and often offers really valuable insights on studying as an international student. Steph can often be found making the rest of the PGRH members jealous with her beautiful study backgrounds and gorgeous journalling techniques. Thanks for being with us, Steph!
Q.1 What part of your academic journey are you at?
I graduated with my MSc in Neuroscience in 2021 (Should have been in 2020, but… you know.) Since then, I have been working as a staff researcher at NTNU (The Norwegian University of Science and Technology) and the Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience. It has been a goal of mine to get a PhD for a while now, but I didn’t want to start a PhD project just because “it’s what people do”--so, I’m waiting for the right opportunity. Hoping to be Dr. Paoli someday 🤞
Q.2 What made you join the PGRH and what do you get the most from the community?
I was invited by Kayla from another server and I’m so glad I joined! Since finishing my MSc, some of my friends have moved away from Trondheim and—as much as I love Norway—being an expat can be lonely sometimes. I love the international community of PGRH and love that there is almost always someone online to work with. The PGRH community is super supportive; whether it’s posting relatable memes, sharing research tools, or just listening to a rant.
Q.3 What, for you, is the most rewarding part of research?
I love talking about research with other curious people. When I am in lab meetings and the ideas are flowing it feels so good to know that I am a part of a team that is working towards the same goal and problem-solving together. That’s actually another great thing about PGRH, there are so people with different academic backgrounds it can help you see your own research from a different angle. That said, there is something oddly soothing about working in the lab alone at night.
Q4. Do you have a favourite playlist for getting work done?
I have a rotation of LoFi and “cafe ambience” videos on YouTube that are almost always playing in the background, but when I really need to Get Shit Done™, I listen to Intro by The XX. There used to be an 8-hour loop of it on YouTube—I swear it puts me into some kind of productivity trance. If you added up all the hours I’ve spent listening to that song I swear it would be weeks if not months. I also make playlists on Spotify for different moods and activities. “Benchtop” for when I’m pipetting and taking care of cell cultures, “Pulse” for working out, “Girl Power” for fighting the patriarchy, etc.
You can find and connect with Steph on Discord (stephpaoli) or on Instagram.
Latest from our Community
Here are some brief updates from across the PGRH network 👩💻
Gamer’s Garden 🎮
We’ve had so many people across our network wanting to connect for multiplayer games so we’ve created a Gamer’s Garden section! Currently, there are people organising a Discworld-themed role-playing game! If this is your thing you can drop by the #role-playing-games channel and see what’s happening!
We’re open to creating and facilitating other multiplayer group games so don’t be afraid to hit one of us up with your suggestions.
World Cup Watch Parties ⚽️
We’re throwing some watch parties for the remainder of the Women’s World Cup! If you’re following the tournament you’re probably aware of just how entertaining the competition is and how much there is to talk about (on and off the pitch!)
Come check out our #Womens-World-Cup channel on Discord to find events.
Coworking Events 💻
Our two weekly coworking sessions will run as usual this week. Join us on Thursday (tomorrow) at 10 am GMT for people in timezone (A) or 3 pm GMT for people in timezone (B).
Don’t worry ff you can’t make either of these sessions, our coworking room is always open and you can drop by anytime!
If you’re not a member of our Discord server, you can sign up here.
Research Resource
Follow your favourite websites, topics and creators specific to your research interests all in one place. Checking multiple websites every day for the latest updates in our fields can be *exhausting* but also, I will almost always get distracted by something else. Ino Reader makes it easy to stay focused on what you’re looking for and it’s free 🤟
Bonus Bits
Lofi for Ghosts: Obviously given the focus on Lofi music in this issue, we have to include a Lofi playlist. This is a favourite, enjoy!
Show Your Work: Many of us enjoy Austen Kleon’s creative work. He’s a writer who draws but his work can be highly applicable to research in terms of science communication, dissemination and extending your reach. Have a snoop around his website, his book Show Your Work is an excellent call to action for anyone creating anything!
See You Next Week
If you like this newsletter, or you’ve gotten some value here - please consider sharing us with a friend or colleague. Drink water, see you next Wednesday!
