Cognitive Science Plan

Courses required:

PSYC 6216 Introduction to Cognitive Science (3).
This course presents multiple perspectives on the study of intelligent systems. Broad coverage of such topics as philosophy of mind; human memory processes; reasoning and problem solving; artificial intelligence; language processing (human and machine); neural structures and processes; and vision.   Also included is participation in the cognitive science seminar (Same as ITCS 6216, and ITIS 6216) (Fall Semester).

Courses selected as part of the core:

ITCS 6150. Intelligent Systems. (3)
Prerequisites: full graduate standing or consent of the department. To introduce core ideas in AI. Heuristic versus algorithmic methods; problem solving; game playing and decision making; automatic theorem proving; pattern recognition; adaptive learning; projects to illustrate theoretical concepts. (Fall) (Evenings)

PHIL 6630 – Philosophy of Mind (3).
This course addresses questions concerning the relationship between body and mind, the existence of other minds, the nature of consciousness, and the architecture of cognition.  Approaches to these questions include traditional philosophical sources (emphasizing metaphysics and epistemology) and more recent developments in cognitive science (including the computational model of mind, mental representation, connectionist systems, and artificial intelligence).  Also addressed are ethical and social issues involved in the design and implementation of intelligent systems.  Inquiries bear on issue such as free will and determinism, emotion and reasoning, and the nature of rationality.  (Regularly)

Courses selected from “topics” selection:

ITCS 6156. Machine Learning. (3)
Prerequisite: ITCS 6150 or consent of the department. Machine learning methods and techniques including: acquisition of declarative knowledge; organization of knowledge into new, more effective representations; development of new skills through instruction and practice; and discovery of new facts and theories through observation and experimentation. (On demand)

ITCS 6170. Logic for Artificial Intelligence. (3)
Prerequisite: ITCS 6150 or consent of the department. Introduction to basic concepts of logic for artificial intelligence, including declarative knowledge, inference, resolution, non-monotonic reasoning, induction, reasoning with uncertain beliefs, distributed information systems, intelligent information systems, planning and intelligent-agent architecture. (On demand)

Capstone Course:

PHIL 6920 Thesis.  (3)  Appropriate research and written exposition of that research is required.   (Upon Approval of Department Graduate Committee).

Spare Courses of Interest:

ECGR 5196. Introduction To Robotics. (3)
Prerequisites: ECGR 2103 or MEGR 2101 and senior standing. Modeling of industrial robots including homogeneous transformations, kinematics, velocities, static forces, dynamics, computer animation of dynamic models, motion trajectory planning, and introduction to vision, sensors and actuators (dual-listed with MEGR 4127).

PSYC 6116  Cognition (3).
Concerned with how humans acquire information, retain  information in memory, and use this information to reason and solve problems.  Current emphases include memory, category learning, planning, concept formation,  problem solving, mental models, and knowledge representation. (Alternate Years)

ITCS 6153. Neural Networks. (3)
Prerequisites: ITCS 6114. Topics include: Basic notions and models of artificial neural nets; single layer neural classifiers; multilayer one-way neural nets; single layer feedback networks; neural models of associative memory; self organizing neural nets; translation between neural networks and knowledge bases; applications of neural networks. (Even, Fall) (Evenings)

Rethinking “Instructor Hold”

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Ever since I met Sarah Scott at UNC-Charlotte, I have had to consider the option of a situation where an assignment entered into GITI might not work out exactly as planned, and then the “Instructor Hold” status was born. Internally the status was originally called “scott” (valid codes were “yes”, “no”, “drop”, “inc” and “scott”). Originally the code had to be implemented in short order, due to the time constraints of being in the middle of the semester when realizing that sometimes assignments would end up in an unknown state because of instructor error or oversight. Most often the hold occurs when an assignment comes to its due date and either a rubric has not been issued or there is some other limitation to completing the assignment. In these cases the instructor is the only one who can really provide a resolution (either by giving a new date, or my dropping the assignment). The way that statuses are implemented is a really bad hold-over from GITI v1. First of all, the field is really called “complete”. I suppose originally it was a binary field that expected to know if the assignment had been finished. Over time it grew to have other meanings, including to accept the idea of dropping assignments from grade calculation. The second issue is simply the fact that “hold” and “drop” do not effectively relate the status of the assignment, they are supplemental information not related to the completeness of the assignment. Also, GITI does not presently recognize the idea of an assignment in-progress (something as a grad student I will likely appreciate).

I am considering reworking the entire assignment-control system and making it better at handling a student’s needs. I will correct the issues stated above, including adding the ability to enter an assignment, have it marked as “complete”, but also allow it to be dropped from the grade matrix. I will also implement the “Instructor Hold” properly, including prompting the student for the reason for the hold. Finally, the system was NEVER designed for the types of assignments thrown at it. It was originally designed for “homework” (as its table name in the database proclaims), so short-term assignments. The idea was to enter assignments from school and have the electronic record at home. To greater support other assignment types I intend to add the ability to set up time requirements on the items. Assignments that might not be due for another week, but have a greater time requirement (papers, projects, study for tests), would appear before assignments that are due on the same day, or perhaps even earlier, in the list. This would allow for the budgeting of time for the assignments until such time as a GITI’s schedule utility can be fully integrated to with other modules to assist in scheduling discreet blocks of time to work on the assignments.

As I approach the end of GITI’s useful life for me (for education anyway), I am seeing a lot of things that need to be done to make it useful for other people who may use it in the future. I used to spend my summers and breaks working on code for GITI, making it better for the future semester, but that hasn’t happened in the last year and I fear that the overall success of GITI is in jeopardy because of it (for GITI, success = being able to be used by someone other than the creator). 

Chain of Possibilities

I’m a little nervous about getting into graduate school, so I have a chain of possibilities that I am planning to use.

In order of priority, my options are:

  1. Master of Arts in Clinical/Community Psychology (UNC-Charlotte)
    limitations: only 5 students accepted
  2. Master of Arts in Psychology – Academic Concentration (East Carolina University)
  3. Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (UNC-Greensboro)
    note: will likely attempt to enroll for summer
  4. Bachelor of Arts in Culinary Arts (Johnson and Wales University)
    note: post-bac degree
  5. Bachelor of Arts in Sociology (Fayetteville State University)
    note: post-bac degree

I would obviously very much like to get into the Master of Arts in Clinical/Community Psychology, but since there are only 5 seats in the program for each entering class, my chances of getting into the program are quite low. The program is described as being “very competitive”. If this option falls through, I intend to utilize my 2nd option, the Master of Arts in Psychology with a concentration in Academic Psychology. If I am able to get into that program, I will likely reapply to the MA Clinical/Community program next year in hopes of getting in. I will have to be careful with what I select to take though, because if not, I will end up with 12 to 18 hours that I can’t use for anything. I already know that anything beyond 6 hours will be lost anyway, but if its what it takes to impress a graduate school admissions panel, then I have to do it. The Master of Arts in Liberal Studies I can’t really say much about, as it isn’t really in my field of interest, but it would offer me the ability to explore numerous academic options including computer science, philosophy and psychology. Again, only 6 hours could transfer, but if I can improve my record to become more appealing to the admissions committee, then it is worth it.  The two bachelor options listed are absolute last-resort fall back options. There is no benefit to joining those programs when it comes to getting into the Master of Arts in Clinical/Community Psyc program. The Culinary Arts degree is really more of a fantasy that would be put into motion if I have to resort to that option. Still, there is the requirement of being accepted. As a final option, there is the B.A. in Sociology which would be interesting, but still not put me any closer to the degree that I need, but unlike the Culinary Arts degree, it would put me on a track in which I would be destined to return to the social sciences. In some ways, that is less desirable than an excuse to activate the fantasy option, hence why it is at the bottom of the list. If I complete the Culinary Arts degree my path will change and I will not be in a position to return to Psyc (a very unpleasant thought).

Ultimately my plan is to complete the MA degree (any of the three, but with priority given as listed above), and then apply to the Ph.D. in Health Psychology (Clinical or Community option) for Fall 2013. The MA in Clinical/Community Psyc places me in the most direct path to enter the doctoral program of my choice. 

Semester Projects

Art History 1 (ART 114) – “Write a paper on the development of the human figure in Greek art.”

Art History I (ART 114) – “Write your paper on the contributions of the Romans to modern Architecture and Engineering.”

Sex and Gender (PSYC 430) – “Sex Differences in Domestic Violence Initiation”

Crime and Delinquency (SOCI 340) – Applying Criminological Theory – topic not yet selected

History of Sociological Thought (SOCI 350) – Group Project: Harriet Mantineau

Sociology of Deviant Behavior (SOCI 360) – Routine Activities Theory

Race and Ethnic Relations (SOCI 412) – Linguistic Assimilation in a Cross-cultural Situation

Too early to consider a graduate certificate?

Well, on the topic of adding stuff to a graduate program of study, I’m about to contradict myself. You CAN add stuff to a graduate degree program, primarily through the use of a graduate certificate to take up any elective spots, and if correctly placed they can enrich the overall program. I am seriously considering adding Cognitive Science as a graduate certificate if I am admitted to the Clinical & Community Psyc program at UNC-Charlotte.

Cognitive Science Program: http://cognisci.uncc.edu/content/view/3/2/

100 Days

There are now 100 days remaining of my undergraduate career. About 92 of those days are active academic days, the remainder are the “rest period” between final exams and commencement. The rest period allows for final grading as well as allowing the registrar to finish “checking out” the degrees so that the diplomas may be issued.

I would love to say that I am not nervous and that this is just another semester on the records, as that would make it easy for me to mentally dismiss, but unfortunately this is not just an ordinary semester. I am nervous about everything this semester. I have to do everything right to keep my GPA high, there are no do-overs available to me, I can’t withdraw from a class because there is not another chance to take them (not that I have ever been big on withdrawal).  The thing that is especially difficult for me is the fact that after the ceremony, my ties with the institution, its staff, its process, its unique personality is severed and I will have to face that this aspect of my life has concluded. On the positive side, after commencement when I enroll in a graduate school program, the GPA slate is wiped clean and I get to start fresh on a new academic career. Graduate school will be more challenging and I have to be more certain of things. There isn’t exactly a grad school option to decide at the last minute “oh, I want to add a minor/concentration to that”. I have to know what I want to do going into it.  I don’t love the idea of moving on because I feel like while I’m at a school I have the opportunity to make a long-lasting impression on the school, even if its just a small thing.

On the bright side of things, in 100 days I move on to a new level of academic existence. There will no longer be freshmen (not that there have been many for the last 2 years) in my classes, and everyone will be closer to my level of seriousness about academics. Still, even that brings up new concerns, such as students being TOO serious about academics and not being able to think about anything else.

I think overall I am excited about graduation and I am looking forward to new opportunities. I believe that I have achieved as much as I can as an undergraduate and am looking forward to new challenges and ways to actually begin participating in academic life.

http://www.cmkularski.net/acad/count.html

Sex and Gender Discussion Question

Would you yourself be willing to be a participating subject in a research project that investigated your sexual attitudes and your sexual behaviors? Why, or why not? Be thorough in your explanation.

This week’s discussion. My post has been constructed and posted. What would your response be?

Deletion of LIVECURT.NET

I have decided that after 4 years of barely using LIVECURT.NET that I am going to decommission it on its anniversary date this year. The domain expires on October 3rd, and I intend to let it drop. I have not really used the domain and it has since been succeeded by other domains that are more relevant. Services on LIVECURT.NET relating to blogs, media and such will be moved to the ICURTIS.ME domain. The auxiliary blogs (such as they are) and other special purposes of LIVECURT.NET, including hopefully a new status board, will be moved to the CMKULARSKI.NET domain.

Over the next few weeks the transition will occur and my content will be moved around.

“Shank”

This evening I watched a movie, “Shank” (2009), that had an usually emotional impact on me. I am in general not a fan of violent movies, as usually I am bored by them, but in this case, the violence was  a bit disturbing. The movie centered on a homosexual “scally” gang member. The movie involves his struggle between his gang lifestyle and his sexual feelings. There is a lot of drug use and violence, but the movie’s plot reveals a lot of depth to at least a few of the characters. There are some scenes, especially toward the end of the film that are a bit hard to watch, but for the sake of anyone who is considering watching it, I will not mention them here.

Another aspect I found difficult in the movie was the relationship that occurs. I have no problem with a relationship between men, but I never seen a relationship between such a “rough” type of guy and a more sensitive guy shown to be so tender. It makes me think about the type of relationship that I would like to be involved in and factors that prevent me from being able to have that type of relationship. I have concerns involving public opinion of such a relationship, specifically in the form of informal negative sanctions. In some ways I think it also involves my external image of myself and how all “parts” of me fit together from a social perspective. My own interpretations of what a relationship is supposed to be also come into play, but mostly just from the sexual aspect.  I am not a huge believer in an intimate relationship requiring overt sexual acts to ensure its stability, and especially not its initiation (as is portrayed in the movie).

In general I feel positive about the movie in terms of realistic portrayals and the artistic influence for its construction. I’m not so positive about how it made me feel in the end, but I intend to watch the movie again (with Chris) to see if I can resolve some of those feelings.

NetFlix: http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Shank/70123469

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1288571/