Beware The Cog

[ image:leighblackall ]

As always, life has it's challenges forcing re-consideration, growth and re-timetabling.

This week has been one of extremes... from family pressures, travel, expectation and research. On the research front nothing has been so cataclysmic than deeper thinking around where my own research is heading......with reference to where Leigh Blackall's is heading also.

Meetings with my Supervisor/s have left me with greater clarity and resolve around structures, timetabling, direction and the usual inclusions / exclusions. 

For those interested and part of the  Reference Group I've had an opportunity to order things a little with room to shift but it's a start:

• Chapter 1 - Introduction - a chapter devoted to the state of art, the position, the defining moments which have arrived to inform the inception of the work - possibly begins with the application I wrote to enter the discussion with......
• Chapter 2 - Literature Review - a comprehensive assay of why I am doing this PhD., comments on what exists and that which does not yet exist......a determinant in whats been done and what is yet to be done
• Chapter Three - Methodology - defining the manner in which I'm approaching the PhD. and what will take place within the case studies
• Chapter Four - Case Studies - At this point there is proposed to be three in total - one in the area of Cybercrimes, one in the area of Creative Arts and the other in Industry ( TAFE VET).....lots of work to do to get this all past Ethics.
• Chapter Five - Reflection - a compilation of data analysis, associations and dependencies that have gone into undertaking all aspects of the case studies and perhaps even holistically the PhD. process inclusive....
• Chapter Six - Implications - perhaps the most important chapter in the whole PhD.
• Chapter Seven - Conclusion - self evident
• Bibliography - extensive

Some of the things that were raised in our discussions which I'm now chasing up are:

• readings around technology by McLuhan and Jacque Ellul
• literature investigations with the Frankfurt School
• readings around philosophy and the realm of technologies, sciences and humanity by Habermas and Marcuse
• some awareness reading on TIA ( total information awareness), Google & the CIA (predictive analysis), Biometrics and commercialisation of information by Suprema and InQtel.

I'm at the point where structures around tagging and chapter shapes are important and it's time to write on this regularly and invite others into comment.

Likewise it's time contemplate:

• time management - life / family mix
• focus - answer the main question
• build a network - join those interested in
• connect - find ways to improve the relationship between surfing, browsing, reading and synthesis

....and now for connecting all that so our working domain benefits from all this too.