My "re-conceptualisation" paper has been accepted for ICMLG

Great news—in the form of two emails—awaited my arrival at the desk this morning.

The first was from the organisers of the 2nd International Conference on Management, Leadership and Governance, to be held at Babson University, Mass, USA, in March 2014, advising that my paper entitled Towards a re-conceptualisation of governance, via strategic decision-making and performance has been accepted onto the conference programme. That this paper has been accepted is a significant milestone on my doctoral journey, for it signals that the ideas and conclusions that are starting to emerge from my work are of interest to others.

The second was from the family that I lived with during my AFS student exchange to northern Minnesota in 1979–80. Somewhat presumptuously, to wrote to them last week to mention the possibility of the conference, and to ask whether I could visit if the trip went ahead. My host parents are now well into their 80s, and I have not seen them since 1990, so I was hoping they'd be agreeable. The reply was amazing, for not only are they happy for me to visit, but they have already organised a function, and arranged for my host siblings to travel from various points on the compass to be there as well.

News like this really lift one's spirit and makes the long—and at times arduous—doctoral journey so very worthwhile.