Ohio University: In the belief that articles were increasingly the currency of the trade in his area of scholarship, communication PhD student Stanley Deetz asked his committee to allow him to write his thesis as five essays rather than a book-length argument (as was the norm).  In order to get his committee to agree, he made a bargain with them that he would not defend the thesis until three of the five chapters were accepted for publication.  At the time it was rare for graduate students in communication to publish, but three chapters were quickly accepted in prominent journals.