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).
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.
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.
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!
Spring 2013 is my second semester as a Masters student and my third semester as a graduate student. I am presently enrolled in four graduate programs: Master of Science in Information Technology, Master of Arts in Sociology, Graduate Certificate in Cognitive Science and Graduate Certificate in Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies. I have been told that I am crazy for having this number of programs, but to me it all seems very reasonable and logical. Each certificate is an integral part of one of the master’s programs as far as I am concerned. I cannot perform sociological thought without the consideration of gender, and I cannot consider information systems without cognition or cognitive thought. It all just fits for me.
This semester has been very hard for me to establish in terms of scheduling. There were many interesting courses on the schedule for the semester and I found myself having to determine what my goals are before I could develop my own final schedule.
One of my goals for this semester is to complete my WGST graduate certificate. There are several reasons for this. The most important reason I want to finish is this semester is that I feel that I have mentally “completed” the certificate. In May I will have been with the program for two academic years, long enough to have gotten a Masters in the topic. While I have not taken all of my courses in that program, I do feel like I have gotten almost a Master’s level of understanding from the program. As I work toward completing Theoretical Approaches to Gender this semester I will be working toward my 18th credit hour in the area of study (only 12 are required). Only 15 of the hours are recognized as being “in the program”, but my tutorial in sociology on the subject of the sociology of masculinity was certainly a good introduction to the “other side” of feminist thought. I am ready to put this program behind me and treat it as a building block for future work I may do in the social sciences. The next priority for finishing this semester is doing so will alleviate a problem with my academic record that has resulted in my cognitive science certificate not being on my electronic student record. Graduating the one certificate will allow me to have space for the other certificate. Finally, now is the right time to finish the certificate because the stability of the schedule for future classes being offered to complete the program is in question. Also, the next course offered that I could use to finish off the program will be taught in the same semester in which I am due to complete my thesis, so my scheduling options would be very tight.
Another goal I have where my schedule is concerned is to take a class in the Information Technology program. I am taking Complex Adaptive Systems to accomplish that goal, but ironically it also has potential use as a method of sociological examination. Once again all of my departments overlap and align themselves to fit what I need. Complex Adaptive Systems also applies to the cognitive science certificate, so I will be taking out multiple goals with this course.
I initially wanted to take both of the remaining “required” courses in SOCY, but I considered that perhaps that would be too much. I am instead taking one of the course, “Issues in Social Research”, or as it is called in the department “Research Methods” and I am also taking a research-oriented course that is specialized. It is a one-time-only “field experience” course that involves an active research project that the faculty are working on. Research methods will likely be interesting just because of the breadth of material that we cover. I am looking forward to the field experience most though because it is actually an opportunity to be involved intimately in the department.
A non-class related goal I had for the semester was to get a graduate assistantship (GA) on campus. I wanted to find a way to become professionally involved in academics, and that is certainly a way to enter at the base level. That particular goal seems to now be completed since this morning I accepted a research position with the J. Murrey Atkins Library on campus. It is only for one semester, but I think it will be an interesting introduction to academic work.
Finally, I have two goals related to my academic programs that don’t directly involve coursework. I hope to establish my thesis topic for sociology generally this semester, and also hopefully my specific research question. I also wish to write the concentration proposal for the Information Technology degree.
So far things are shaping up to be the start of a very interesting semester. I hope things remain as calm and rational as they are right now, but I know they won’t.
I haven’t posted a lot in the past month, I suppose I’ve been trying to relax and enjoy my weeks off before returning to academics in January. I also believe I may be lacking in anything profound to post for now. That in itself may be a major change for me in 2012. I am less interested in frivolous posts and deeply personal posts. I’m not closing the walls to my emotions or anything, but I now have surrounded myself with people who I feel I can discuss those things with personally and not necessarily need a public venue for them. This is still a personal venue for me, I’m not making it professional, that’s going to be CMKULARSKI.NET, if I ever get myself to a position where I feel I have a handle on what that website it supposed to be.
This year has in some ways been a very productive year for me and in other ways has simply been a continuance of the status quo.
In January there was a bit of activity regarding my graduate student status. I found out that I was eliminated early in the review process for the M.A. in Counseling degree, but I completed by application for the MA-SOCY degree. By March I was notified that I had been waitlisted for the MA-SOCY degree and I therefore took that as a sign that my chances of admission had dropped and as such I would need to continue my education through an alternative route. I designed a plan to work toward a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies utilizing a program of my own construction. It would have been quite interesting I thought, but later in April I was formally accepted to the MA-SOCY program and things began to line up for me. I must admit, I do have some regrets over withdrawing my application and cancelling my plans for the MALS degree because it would have been a very interesting and unique experience. The sociology program has given me several new perspectives on the social world though. It is less through the academics so far, but more through the interactions with the people in my department. Each of my fellow graduate students and each member of the faculty has some different background they bring to sociology and as far as I can tell each of them sees sociology differently, in some ways it gives me hope of finding my own niche in the field. Things have turned out quite differently this year than I originally had planned or what I had hoped for, but I have very few regrets about the way that things have turned out.
Outside of academics I feel like not much has changed for me, except for an attempt to re-enter some of my artistic hobbies such as photography and ceramics. I have done only enough ceramics to ensure that my skill has not dulled, but my photographic interests continue to expand. I am finding the film medium to be more appealing to me now that ever before. As I find myself immersed in a technological way of doing most things and beginning a time of deeper social exploration in a society that seems to be in a rush to dispose of traditional ways of doing things I feel that sticking to film is important for me. It is ironic really that I do everything in very technical and efficient ways except for my artistic expression which uses two mediums that are often seen as “old”. This is the year in which I find myself understanding the importance of distancing oneself from a subject through the use of a less realistic medium for the purpose of drawing more attention to the subject and allowing the medium to fall away.
Most of 2012 has been spent on academic pursuits. I am deeply involved in the academy and in my life as a graduate student.
My papers for the Fall 2012 semester have now been turned in and as such I am releasing them for public view.
All Fall 2012 Papers: http://papers.cmkularski.net/search.php?onProperty=Semester&value=Fall 2012
Or you may click on individual papers listed below:
Listed by objective.
| Completion of WGST, plus work on ITIS and work on GCOG: | ITIS 6500: Complex Adaptive Systems SOCY 6090: Qualitative Research (STEM Project) SOCY 6651: Social Theory* WGST 6602: Theoretical Approached to Gender |
| Completion of WGST, most work toward SOCY, no work on ITIS: | SOCY 6090: Qualitative Research (STEM Project) SOCY 6651: Social Theory* SOCY 6652: Issues in Social Research* WGST 6602: Theoretical Approached to Gender |
| Maximum work to SOCY, plus work on ITIS | ITIS 6112: Software System Design and Implementation SOCY 6090: Qualitative Research (STEM Project) SOCY 6651: Social Theory* SOCY 6652: Issues in Social Research* |
The top configuration is currently my working schedule for the semester. The only problem is that is doesn’t include SOCY 6652, a “strongly suggested” course for my primary program (Sociology). I absolutely am taking SOCY 6090 because it is a hands-on research project that I am very excited about. ITIS 6500 dual counts for ITIS and GCOG. I have a lot to consider before determining my final schedule for spring, perhaps I should even consult one of my selected advisors… assuming that Vaugh, Celine and Dr. Stephenson don’t give me 3 distinct answers.
GCOG : Graduate Certificate in Cognitive Science
ITIS : Master of Science in Information Technology
SOCY : Master of Arts in Sociology
WGST : Graduate Certificate in Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies
Very soon it will be time for me to form my thesis committee. In some ways the process has already started by me selecting Vaughn as my thesis chair, faculty mentor and academic advisor. As I get closer to my final topic I must work to form my committee. I am having trouble deciding how I will select faculty for the remaining 2 positions on the committee. Oddly the members of my committee will help shape my topic and my topic will help me select members. I have several people in mind for the two positions that are open. The biggest problem I’m having is that I have 4 people in mind for my open interdisciplinary seat, but I have no one in mind for the sociology seat. I’m really not sure what that means, if it means I’m really in the wrong department or if it means that I just have not spent enough time getting to know faculty in my department. The committee will steer my thesis and help me decide how to execute it. I have three options for completing my thesis: qualitative, quantitative or theoretical. I want to ensure that none of my faculty will attempt to close any doors on me. I want the option of having a theoretical thesis and all of the challenge that comes with that, and I want faculty that will not try very hard to pressure me into some sort of quantitative data gathering mission. I am not a believer in the importance of qualitative data.
Due to my recent admission to the Master of Arts in information technology I am very much leaning toward sociology of culture as my primary area and digital communities as the broad topic area I would like to use for my thesis. There is so much that I feel like I can do with the topic at this point. I know that there is a lot of active research, but it is all from a mainstream perspective and through an outside view. I feel like I have a little advantage in that I am familiar with some of the technical background and have a knowledge of the history of many of the technologies used in forming and maintaining digital communities.
I don’t know where things will end up with my thesis or my program, but at the very least I want to make sure I get the right people in the right positions to make things work out the best that thy possibly can.
I spent some time working on ExIf 35 today. I got a large amount done regarding the implementation of auto-complete fields in both the main interface as well as in the add exposure window. This is only the third new build that I have produced since I stopped production of new builds in June 2010. I am slowly working back into working on ExIf35. I have lost sight of my goals with the application, but am gradually relearning how to use it for my own purposes. My work from today is reflected in my release notes file, copied below.
The build can be downloaded from: http://exif35.pcfire.net/downloads.php
The updated XMP specification: http://exif35.pcfire.net/docs.php?doc=xmpSpec
The updated fields list: http://exif35.pcfire.net/docs.php?doc=fields
ExIf 35 0.2.20121117 November 17, 2012 -------------------- Release Information: *Released as Windows Executable *Released as Windows Installer System Requirements (PC): *Must be running Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 *Supports Windows 2000 and higher *Software is developed and tested on Windows 7 Changes: *Change in functionality for roll number *New roll number now calculated as maximum observed + 1 *Development temperature added to Additional Roll Information *Autocomplete added to: aperture, shutter speed, focal length *Autocomplete added to: ISO *Adaptive autocomplete added to: Auxilary Lens/Filter *Adaptive autocomplete added to: Developer Solution, Film Type Notes: *Development temperature is accepted in C or F, but will be stored and recorded to ExIf as C. Appropriate conversion will be made. *This build updates the XMP specification file and the fields documentation. Support: *Email EXIF35@PCFIRE.NET *Website: http://exif35.pcfire.net *SourceForge: http://sf.exif35.pcfire.net Developed By: *Curtis M. Kularski