The thesis is off my desk for now (thankfully) and will hopefully require only minor revisions when it returns from re-examination. I do not really care anymore, done as much as I can on that.

Currently trying to write my way through a block. An attempt to write an introduction has failed to

This has in turn freed me up to do some writing on something else. Attempted to write a paper drawing on findings from thesis, but decided that this would probably finish me off and have two papers being published this year that draw on some of the same material. So, have decided to revisit a paper that has been hanging around since the latter part of 2007 (based on research in Hungary during May and June of that year). Presented at a conference in 2007, submitted for review in July last year (rejected) and again in February this year (editors suggested revisions). After the latest feedback I promised to provide a revised version for review by July, which is feasible.

This leads me to where I currently am. The fact that the paper has been kicking around for a little while makes it less palatable than the last few papers I wrote which emerged in a short period and then had a (long) list of specific changes to be made before publication. To deal with the aversion this entails and construct something stronger and more rigorous I have scrapped the previous version and am planning to build it from scratch. The problem right now is wading through the initial application (and feedback) to determine what the unique and novel aspect of the research is that I am trying to get across. What is the research question?

It is a daunting position to be in, holding a bunch of empirical (interview) material and not knowing exactly how to approach it and the theoretical model to adopt. The editors were able to provide some useful suggestions that will help pull together the paper. The problem is that I will need to stray into an area with which I am not very familiar (organisation studies). Past experience of wading through the literature on political leadership tells me that this is not a light undertaking, at least with the leadership literature there were a few core authors with whom one could comfortably start. Finding the start is always the most challenging part, once a path is defined it is a matter of moving in that direction and trusting that the referees will be open-minded enough to accept draft work and identify more specific branches.

So, now I am sitting here staring at a screen wondering how to progress. Would like to get the paper finished and eventually published, it has merit and could make a useful contribution to the literature. It is an organisation that holds an important and unique position within Europe and potentially may be a model for other organisations to follow in the future.

The problem right now is that in going back to basics I need to do some writing, but before I can get to that point I need to do a lot of reading to get my head around the broader context. Must find motivation to push on through…