I, Curtis

Category: Academic

  • Why I will never write for iOS

    Mobile application development is becoming a big deal in computer programming lately. I am very late to this particular game.  I have considered writing mobile software since the initial releases of ExIf35, when people asked for a version that would work on iPhone. Unfortunately, I have decided that I will never write for iOS as long as Apple maintains its present developer-hostile atmosphere to application development.

    Here is a short list of reasons why I will never write for iOS:

    • Fees: It costs $99 per year to write for iOS. This is not a lot of money for a developer who will profit from their applications, but it is a deterrent for a hobbyist or anyone who doesn’t plan to profit from their software. It can be a fun activity, it doesn’t have to become a profit-seeking enterprise.
    • Platform dependence: While it is technically possible to write for iOS on any platform, Apple has certainly made it simpler to write for iOS on their own OS.
    • Gatekeepers: Apple must verify and certify every application in the App Store. While this may seem like a good idea for the protection of the end users, it hinders the type of applications that can exist in the marketplace. Anything that competes with their own offerings are quashed and anything that may be for an adult audience runs the risk of not being approved at all. Also, while Apple will defend their own apps from being duplicated, there are many applications that seem almost like duplicates in the marketplace. Try looking for a flashlight app for iOS, there are several hundred of them.
    • Hardware Limitations: iOS applications can run only on iOS, same can be said for all platforms (kind of a duh I guess), but iOS only runs on Apple hardware, narrowing the scope of what can be done. Other platforms that are more open run on a variety of hardware, while this in itself can be a challenge, it opens up the possibilities for what can exist.

     

    At this time I am planning to begin trying to write mobile applications over the summer, at least in a limited capacity and as a learning experience. I will be developing for Android only. I have more iOS devices than Android devices, but I think that ultimately the Android development will be more fruitful and useful.

  • MA Sociology Degree Plan

    http://ss.cuku.us/awFI2C.png

    I have entered my full course plan into GITI through next spring, and as such I can now view what my final degree arrangement for sociology might look like. Each course represented in the chart is 3 credit hours, except the thesis which is 6 and the second tutorial which is currently entered as 2. This chart is not inclusive of other courses, such as Theoretical Approaches to Gender, which are primary courses in my other programs and function as electives in sociology. Looking at this chart I see no reason why I can’t manage to finish this degree and do so in the normal time scale. Even if I do have difficulty with my department I have to remind myself that the thesis is just a 6 credit hour project that I must push through as a example of what I have learned in my time in the program. My present thesis ideas center around acquisition of knowledge and considering the way that the Internet impacts the perception and understanding of social information instead of more progressive ideas which are more in line with my personal research ideas. I guess it just means that this comic is true: http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1436

  • Out of Place in Sociology

    As I prepare to close out another semester in two weeks I find myself considering my place in the academic structure, and eventually in the academic cannon. One thing I have become increasingly convinced of is that I do not belong in sociology, or at least not the version of sociology that is practiced at UNC Charlotte. My thoughts regarding what sociology is have been repeatedly dismissed in favor of what the faculty perceives sociology to be. I suppose this is a problem faced in every graduate academic department as each embraces its own unique epistemology. Unfortunately I thought I was more compatible with my department than I now find myself.

    I am about three courses and a thesis from being done with the program, so I am not all that concerned with changing programs at this point, but I am concerned about how I am going to finish the program. If there is one thing that I have learned from the Issues in Social Research course that I’m taking this semester it is that there are many ways to conduct social research and many ways to “do sociology”. That idea alone gives me hope regarding my ability to complete a thesis that is meaningful to me as well as is acceptable to my faculty.

    I feel as though my background in critical theory, post-modernism and cultural analysis has contaminated me in such a way that prevents me from being able to embrace more empirical methods of doing social science.

  • Spring 2013 Paper Topics

    Normally by this point in a semester I have all but posted abstracts for my papers that I will be completing. This semester things have felt more in flux and I have been lax at discussing my academic work. Also I have been less certain of my topics this semester. Even at this point there is one that is still up in the air.

    Theoretical Approaches to Gender: for this course my final paper will be a discussion of the cultural elements of masculinity and how they are presented and fetishized in sadomasochism, especially for gay men. Unlike my previous papers regarding alternative sexualities this one will be somewhat narrow. My first paper in alternative sexualities discussed BDSM, fetishism and other paraphilia collectively. In this paper I am going so far as to break up BDSM into its component parts. I am primarily interested in sadism and masochism (as well as the combined form of sadomasochism), with fetish as a supporting element for the implementation of SM. I do expect that when the paper is completed bondage will make an appearance as well, but dominance/submission themes will likely be completely absent. The key point of the paper will be establishing a framework for considering sadomasochism as a masculinizing sexuality for gay men. There will likely be some discussion of the origins of leather culture and the quest to “butch-up” gay culture.

    Issues in Social Research: this course has a paper in a required format of a thesis research proposal. I will be proposing a research project that will seek to find information regarding the perceptions of members of the BDSM community about the stigma that surrounds their community and the activities that the members participate in. The design I am using for this paper is a content-analysis of existing blogs.

    Complex Adaptive Systems: this project is not really fully fleshed out yet, but will likely take the form of a literature-review style paper covering the use of CAS in social science and perhaps discussing the arguments for and against the use of CAS modeling in policy issues compared with more traditional methods.

  • Fall 2013 Registration

    As a component of the progression of my graduate degrees I registered for classes this morning. At this point I can consider my schedule tentative at best. My department really is not offering any courses that interest me, or that apply to me. There are only 2 actual classes (not thesis hours or tutorial) which I haven’t taken yet.

    My schedule, such as it is:

    ANTH 5122 Ethnographic Methods SOCY (Research Methods)
    ITCS 6150 Intelligent Systems CogSci (Elective), ITIS (Elective)
    ITIS 6112 Software System Design & Implementation ITIS (Core)
    SOCY 6090 Topics: Religion & Social Theory SOCY (Elective)

  • Psychopathic Sadomasochism

    “Psychopathic personality disorder and sexual
    sadism share several common characteristics, such as
    emotional detachment from the suffering of others or the
    preparedness to inflict pain or injuries.” Mokros et al. 2011

    Under most circumstances I am proud of the progression of work in the academy. The above quote from the abstract of a 2011 paper in the journal of Law and Human Behavior, published by the American Psychological Association is a circumstance where that is not true. The article has major issues in its construction because it is not measuring what it claims to measure. The article defines an unusual concept of “severe sexual sadomasochism”, which is absent of any concept of consent. In the majority of research into sadomasochism consent is a required qualifier before the behavior can be considered sadomasochistic. This is primarily based on the qualifiers that are used in the BDSM community to self-identify. People who “play outside the rules” of SM are considered deviations from the community and the identity, not a “severe” form of it. I believe the authors of the article attempted to describe and interact with a type of sexuality that they were unfamiliar with. The forms of BDSM that are described in the article do not even qualify as “edgeplay” in SM circles, they are considered to be completely outside the sphere of SM.

    My biggest concern with the article is the use of the phrase “emotional detachment from the suffering of others”. I would describe participants of BDSM as many things, but emotionally detached would not be something I could ever agree to applying to the SM community in a general way. My experience and observation would have me to believe that emotional engagement is a key component of the experience. The authors of the article focus on the psychological/psychopathological of sadist desire only, ignoring the masochist aspects. A lot of people involved in SM have strong leanings toward either sadism or masochism, but have desire in both areas at least to a minor level. Sadomasochism is commonly written together as a single word and not as “sadism & masochism” because of the tight interconnection between the two and the requirements of a parallel desire and not simply a desire to do harm.

    Another critique I have of the article is the use of narcissism and violence as components of sexual desire for sadist individuals. This I find to be an overgeneralization. While there are some narcissistic sadists, many are reserved and as concerned with those around them as their own interests. There are of course some that are overly confident and lack an understanding of what it is to be concerned about the emotional wellbeing of others (although I have not yet met one who disregards physical safety). Violence is a fuzzy thing when it comes to sadism. The actions themselves can be interpreted as violent, just as boxing or soccer can be seen as being violent. The difference between the violence of sport and sadomasochism is that in sadomasochism there are not opponents, only partners, and generally at the conclusion of a sadomasochistic “scene” there is either affectionate or friendly interaction.

    From an academic perspective I just must simply ask what the authors were thinking when they decided to compare something as benign as sexual sadomasochism with mentally/emotionally unstable serial killers and then conflated sexually frustrated murders with sane people who engage in a consensual activity that is no more harmful than most sports?

     

    Mokros, Andreas, Michael Osterheider, Stephen J. Hucker, and Joachim Nitschke. 2011. “Psychopathy and Sexual Sadism.” Law and Human Behavior 35:188-199.

  • BFGq55PCQAAdtaQlarge

    I picked up my regalia and graduation tickets today. I still wouldn’t say that I’m excited, but it will feel good to have this one program finished and behind me, allowing me to concentrate on more broad areas of sociology (and information technology, if I so choose).

  • Formulating a Thesis Topic

    Last semester there was a faculty member who strongly suggested that I avoid using anything involving sadomasochism or fetishism as a thesis topic. As a result I began secondary topic searches on the topics of the digital divide and gaps in digital literacy. While the topic interested me some, it was not as interesting or as personal as my work on paraphilia communities.

    I presented my interest areas to my actual thesis advisor as well as my research methods professor and they both seem very receptive and willing to help me transform my interest areas into a workable thesis idea. Somehow just having their support in this area has resolved my concerns about feeling like there is no point in me being a part of the sociology program. I feel as enthusiastic now about sociology as I did when I first applied.

    My current thoughts toward a thesis topic involve seeking to what extent people with paraphiliac sexualities will hide their sexuality from others around them and also compare that with the opinions of “normative” individuals regarding paraphiliac sexual identities to see if there is a correlation or if there are other explanations for the levels of secrecy and presentation of a differently constructed “public self”. I have already given some thought to some research designs that will allow me to accomplish this particular project.

    As it stands, I will likely be going with my “deviant” topic for my thesis.

  • Social Implications of Space Travel

    Recently there has been a bit of activity in news and media regarding the likelihood of Earth-size (correct gravity) planets in habitable zones (correct temperature) of their home star [see one here].  This means that the planet could potentially host human life.

    When considering that possibility I begin thinking about what would happen to the state of global society if those options were to be explored and colonies were to be established. At present the estimates are that the closest planet would be 13 light years away. We do not yet have propulsion methods that will allow us to make the trip in a human lifespan. Crafts that were launch in the 1970s recently left the solar system, which is only about 25 light hours in width. Assuming we could establish faster methods, Einstein’s theories tell us that in the context of this dimension of the universe we can not exceed the speed of light. So at a minimum it would be a 13 year trip to the destination, using normal space. Even if we were to utilize some theoretical propulsion mechanisms, it does not resolve the problem that all existing communication mechanisms function at about the speed of light. As a result of this delay, any such colony would be essentially cut off from Earth and would experience a separate cultural evolution.

    The current state of global culture is one that is very connected. People develop very complex social networks that span large geographic spaces. The current state of technology makes this possible and has created a social structure where no one ever has to really let go of people who were at one point geographically close to them if they move. To embark on a colonizing mission to another planet, no matter how close it may be by astronomical standards, reverts the social connectedness of the colony to a state that may resemble something from 1492. The colony would be small, insular and removed from its source culture.

    Perhaps there are people who would enjoy such an opportunity, but for me it seems like something that would be very difficult and would potentially require quite a bit of preparation. 

  • The Uneventful Graduation

    I have been graduated in the form of being conferred an academic credential a total of 4 times in my life so far. High school, two associates (AA, AGE) and my Bachelor of Science in Psychology. High school was a big deal in terms of a recognition of a terminal point being reached and a certain linear trajectory and certain social setting coming to a close. My associates degrees were earned by accident. I took courses and eventually had the right number of hours in the right subjects, so it took me one semester to finish the two degrees once I recognized the requirements were lined up to complete. My B.S. did not feel like a huge accomplishment to me because I took a long meandering journey toward completing it. It was planned, and so I was excited to finish it, but it wasn’t as direct or timely as I would have liked.

    I am due to graduate with my graduate certificate in gender, sexuality and women’s studies in May 2013. I am not as excited about this particular graduation as I could be because I do not see my work as being concluded. While it is true that I have completed the coursework (or actually 6 hours beyond minimum), I still feel as though I still have a lot of work left to do in gender studies. In fact, it is likely that concluding the certificate will not be the end of work in gender for me at all, as there will likely be ongoing work in the topic under the banner of the master of arts in sociology. Regardless of my feelings about the finality or not of this particular curriculum I intend to go through with the ceremony.

    Why go through the trouble of the ceremony when I feel like I do? For myself the reason is to force myself to occasionally acknowledge that I do accomplish things and that everything in my life is not simply a work in progress. I can and do complete things. The other reason is family. I may not like most of my family most of the time, but they have shown themselves to be somewhat interested in my life and therefore, after events surrounding the conferral of my two associates degrees I feel like I should perhaps go through the ceremony for their benefit. If for no other reason, I get a reason to drag a few key people in my family that I do like, to my campus to show them around.

    I want to be excited about graduation, but at this point I am too involved in other things going on in my academic career.

    462 Days Until Thesis Defense!