GITI: Analyzing Old UI

This morning I decided that today is the day to begin working in GITI again, primarily adding functionality that I feel will be crucial to the structure of graduate school work. The feature I intend to add is assignment dependency, which essentially means that major assignments could be broken down into smaller assignments that could have independent due dates and assignment information. 

The first thing I decided was that for initial UI I would use only existing GITI pages, and not create a new workflow of any type, given the impending implementation of v3’s framework. The existing pages in GITI that would be used are the basic assignment edit and assignment view pages. The pages would simply receive new queries to handle the change. Starting this process I discovered something I had forgotten… the edit page is absolute crap. The edit page received no major help after being moved to v2, it still retains a lot of v1’s style, especially the gross overuse of the plain text field…. even though those fields now get translated before going to the database. One of the least sensible things about the form itself is the way that files are handled. The field implies it takes multiple files… it doesn’t, but the overall file record system does, so its one of those things where the user interface is awful for a feature that isn’t so bad (it tracks filenames for assignments, increasing the efficiency of organization).

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Surprisingly, that complicated input comes with a pretty clean-looking output:

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In this particular example, the fields that aren’t used are simply not displayed, but for the edit form, that simplistic approach doesn’t work, since GITI isn’t psychic and does not know what the user needs.

I am going to have to clean things up if they are going to make any sense to the overall workflow of an assignment in GITI.

Gender as a role?

Gender is typically treated as  “role” in society. Unlike other roles, such as “student” or “postal carrier”, the role of gender is present in all aspects of life. Why is this the case? If gender is truly limited to a social role, shouldn’t it be something that only applies in certain locations and certain situations?

Last Minute Change

In a crazy decision regarding what would be best for my academic career, I have decided to make an adjustment to my Summer 2011 semester at Fayetteville. The semester starts on Monday morning, and something about my schedule was bothering me. I have decided on a variety of factors to drop “Urban Sociology” and instead add “Advanced Composition”.

I have only a minimal interest in Urban Sociology, and cannot at this time convince myself to dedicate my energy for summer to such a course. I do not particularly get along with the instructor, do not think I will be that interested in the course material and even if I were to complete the BA in Sociology program, the course would only count as an elective. Advanced Composition on the other hand, I have no knowledge of the instructor, except for a few emails that she and I have exchanged in the past, in which she seemed very pleasant. The course has no relevance to the degree program at all, but I do believe it will be useful in my upcoming graduate program, as well as in future academic pathways that I may find myself in. Perhaps this will also help me resolve my recent difficulties in expressing myself as clearly as I want in written form.

I cannot recall a time in the past when I have made such a dramatic schedule change this close to the beginning of a semester.

 

Advanced Composition [ENGL341]
Trela N. Anderson
A study of rhetorical strategies, sentence combining, editing, logic and persuasion, diction, usage, and research methods. — 3 hours

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Posted from Charlotte, North Carolina, United States.

Joyful Rejoicing

I have received notification from the Gender Studies department at UNC-Charlotte that I have been recommended for admission to the graduate program. This does not mean that I am fully admitted, but the last step, the approval of the graduate school is purely a formality. I am told by Dr. Stephenson that I should have official notification from the graduate school after about 2 weeks of bureaucracy. Once I receive the official “offer”, I will be permitted to accept and fully enroll in the program.

At the moment I am very excited, and somewhat relieved. After being denied admission to Cognitive Science I became extreamly nervous about this application. I am still a bit surprised that I have been recommended for the program, and am not sure I will fully believe that i’m in until I get the admissions letter.

I feel more like I can plan for my future now that I have been recommended for the program, and now I feel like I can plan for additional programs to complete in parallel. I guess I was right about all signs pointing to this being the right program for me. I’m looking forward to exploring the dynamics of masculinity during the fall semester.

Summer 2011 Course Descriptions

Sociology of Gender Roles [SOCI400]
Heather Griffiths
A course examining the social determinants of gender role identity, with emphasis on the relationship between gender role identity and personality, personal and professional relationships, work, religion, and general culture, particularly the culture of the United States. — 3 hours

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Urban Sociology [SOCI442]
Jilly M. Ngwainmbi
A study of urbanism as a way of life; the growth and development of urban areas; urban social organization; change and problems of contemporary urban life; ecological patterning; urban planning; and problems of control. — 3 hours

Registered

History and Culture of the Ancient Greeks [LBST2101]
Dale Grote
The History and Culture of the Ancient Greeks. This section focuses on the cultural achievements and historical experience of the ancient Greeks and their legacy to the West. The course is divided into four units: (1) Homer’s Iliad, (2) The Persian Threat, (3) Material Culture, and (4) Greek Philosophies. — 3 hours

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Posted from Charlotte, North Carolina, United States.

Disconnected from the blog

In recent weeks I have become increasingly more disconnected from this blog. This blog (in its original form) was started on August 23, 2004, my first day as a university student. Now I find new topics and new thoughts hard to bring to this blog. Perhaps it is the uncertainty of the future that creates this distance, however, I began this blog as a Management Information Systems student, and ended up graduating as a psychology major. Obviously when I started this blog I had no clue what was going to happen, and now is no different. The logic prevails, but still I do not feel like I can make the transition. Journaling is critical to some of my thought processes, so I must find a way past this “difficulty”.

I have concerns about this blog because it has majority been related to my undergraduate coursework, but at the same time it has been very personal. Now I have to decide what I want this blog to be. Is it a vault to be sealed? Is it just a personal journal? Could it be something that I utilize during my graduate studies as a serious academic blog? I feel like I would love to keep this blog as a continuing journal that could encompass both my undergraduate and graduate careers as well as general life events, but I feel as though it links me too much to my past. I can not refuse my own personal history, but this is also a time of renewal for me. My undergraduate career and my personal life during that time was not an exceptional time of my life. It was not until some time last year that I feel that I reached a level of academic and personal stability. I have spent a great amount of time struggling with “who do I want to be?” and it slowed me down and confused me for far too long.

There is actually another blog that has been prepared since about March for the purpose of having another blog just for academic pursuits. Temporarily the blog is placed at acad.cmkularski.net, but that will likely change to something more unique if I decide that I actually wish to use it.

May 12, 2011

I haven’t made an actual post since graduation, actually, I haven’t made a real post since April 4th, which is a long time between substantial posts for me.

First of all, graduation went well on Saturday. I now hold the degree of Bachelor of Science in Psychology, Cum Laude. While my courses at Fayetteville all ended on April 30th, my final exam for Art History (at Gaston) was not posted until Monday, and I completed it that evening. My semester is now complete.

I’ve been asked several times if I feel different now that I have the degree. The simple answer is “no”, but yet there is a difference in the amount of pressure I feel. I don’t feel instantly more intelligent because I have the degree, but I no longer feel a pressure to get the “first” degree out of the way. I really don’t know why people think of it as my first degree though, since I do hold dual Associates degrees, and now a Bachelors, so this is really my third degree, but for some reason people like to see Associates degrees as not holding any value.

At this point, it is a relief to be done with graduation. All of the effort toward getting cleared for graduation was stressful and because everything was in motion I felt the pressure to ensure that everything went smoothly. Before this semester I took my undergraduate education at a very leisurely pace, and preparing to graduate upset that pace. I suppose I am still a little in disbelief at the fact that it is done. All of the papers, exams and everything to get here just sort of suddenly ended last week and then in less than 6 days I was being conferred a degree. I’m very glad for those 6 days though, otherwise, I do not think that I would have been able to handle the ceremony and certainly would not be able to convince myself that I was really finished.

I am still no more certain of what is coming up in the fall for me than I was a few weeks ago, but I am hopeful and ambitious. I know for certain that I want to remain in the social and behavioral sciences, but I’m not sure what paths are actually available to me. I have an open application for a program in Gender Studies and I have been told that my application for the Master of Arts in Sociology would be welcomed at Fayetteville, but I’m really not too enthusiastic about continuing on the distance ed path, especially not for graduate school. I have admitted to myself that the Clinical/Community Psychology degree program is not likely to happen for me, and besides that, I am not liking the overall attitude to the program, so I am instead leaning toward the Master of Arts in Counseling, which seems more accessible, as well as is more in line with my actual interests. I also leave open the option of a Master of Arts in Sociology at UNC Charlotte, beginning in spring, if I am admitted to the Gender Studies certificate program this fall.

I am told that the future likely holds a lot of great things for me, I just don’t yet know what any of them are.

Spring 2011 Papers

Spring 2011 papers are now released.

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ART 114 – Art History I
Nude Form in Greek Art
ART 114 – Art History I
Roman Architectural Influences
   
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PSYC 430 – Sex and Gender
Gender Differences in Domestic Violence Initiation		 SOCI 340 – Crime and Delinquency
Jesse James Hollywood Analysis
   
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SOCI 350 – History of Sociological Thought
Harriet Martineau (group project)
SOCI 360 – Sociology of Deviant Behavior
Routine Activity Theory
   
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SOCI 412 – Race and Ethnic Relations
Linguistic Assimilation