The 'Insider Guides to Success in Academia' offers support and practical advice to doctoral students and early-career researchers. Covering the topics that really matter, but which often get overlooked, this indispensable series provides practical and realistic guidance to address many of the needs and challenges of trying to operate, and remain, in academia. These neat pocket guides fill specific and significant gaps in current literature. Each book offers insider perspectives on the often implicit rules of the game -- the things you need to know but usually aren't told by institutional postgraduate support, researcher development units, or supervisors -- and will address a practical topic that is key to career progression. They are essential reading for doctoral students, early-career researchers, supervisors, mentors, or anyone looking to launch or maintain their career in academia. This book is a toolbox for PhD students to plan and prepare for the PhD defence regardless of their scientific discipline or location. The authors discuss various defence formats that are used internationally and identify the main differences and similarities. With international examples, practical strategies, and tips from former PhD students and supervisors, this book unpacks the principles and unwritten rules underpinning the defence. Addressing planning and preparing for the doctoral defence, and what to do afterwards, this book covers topics such as: understanding your defence format preparing for committee questions preparing mentally and dealing with anxiety dealing with corrections, finalizing your graduation requirements and marking the end of your PhD trajectory. This book is crucial reading for students across the world looking to defend their PhD thesis, and also for their supervisors and examiners.

The 'Insider Guides to Success in Academia' offers support and practical advice to doctoral students and early-career researchers. Covering the topics that really matter, but which often get overlooked, this indispensable series provides practical and realistic guidance to address many of the needs and challenges of trying to operate, and remain, in academia. These neat pocket guides fill specific and significant gaps in current literature. Each book offers insider perspectives on the often implicit rules of the game -- the things you need to know but usually aren't told by institutional postgraduate support, researcher development units, or supervisors -- and will address a practical topic that is key to career progression. They are essential reading for doctoral students, early-career researchers, supervisors, mentors, or anyone looking to launch or maintain their career in academia. This book is a toolbox for PhD students to plan and prepare for the PhD defence regardless of their scientific discipline or location. The authors discuss various defence formats that are used internationally and identify the main differences and similarities. With international examples, practical strategies, and tips from former PhD students and supervisors, this book unpacks the principles and unwritten rules underpinning the defence. Addressing planning and preparing for the doctoral defence, and what to do afterwards, this book covers topics such as: understanding your defence format preparing for committee questions preparing mentally and dealing with anxiety dealing with corrections, finalizing your graduation requirements and marking the end of your PhD trajectory. This book is crucial reading for students across the world looking to defend their PhD thesis, and also for their supervisors and examiners.

Load Testing of Bridges, featuring contributions from almost fifty authors from around the world across two interrelated volumes, deals with the practical aspects, the scientific developments, and the international views on the topic of load testing of bridges. Volume 12, Load Testing of Bridges: Current practice and Diagnostic Load Testing, starts with a background to bridge load testing, including the historical perspectives and evolutions, and the current codes and guidelines that are governing in countries around the world. The second part of the book deals with preparation, execution, and post-processing of load tests on bridges. The third part focuses on diagnostic load testing of bridges. This work will be of interest to researchers and academics in the field of civil/structural engineering, practicing engineers and road authorities worldwide.

This textbook is a guide to success during the PhD trajectory. The first part of this book takes the reader through all steps of the PhD trajectory, and the second part contains a unique glossary of terms and explanation relevant for PhD candidates. Written in the accessible language of the PhD Talk blogs, the book contains a great deal of practical advice for carrying out research, and presenting one's work. It includes tips and advice from current and former PhD candidates, thus representing a broad range of opinions. The book includes exercises that help PhD candidates get their work kick-started. It covers all steps of a doctoral journey in STEM: getting started in a program, planning the work, the literature review, the research question, experimental work, writing, presenting, online tools, presenting at one's first conference, writing the first journal paper, writing and defending the thesis, and the career after the PhD. Since a PhD trajectory is a deeply personal journey, this book suggests methods PhD candidates can try out, and teaches them how to figure out for themselves which proposed methods work for them, and how to find their own way of doing things.