Humid Wednesday

I have done a great job of procrastinating today. I've been finding it quite hard to concentrate. Having read a number of journal articles and some books I decided to go no further without doing summaries of each one. A good idea too because as I started to do this I discovered that I had already forgotten important chunks of some of the readings. Somehow this task has proved harder than any of the others to date. I talked to my sister this morning and we came to the conclusion that perhaps it is the difference between absorbing information and processing it. I've also been trying to note down how some of the ideas in the readings may apply to my own project. This too has proved quite challenging and I find my brain muscles sort of yawning with the effort of it all - always a good sign that the old muscle is being exercised!

Yesterday I went in to Uni (going in every Tuesday and Thursday now as part of my weekly plan). I ordered Filemaker Pro V7.0 because the number of Word documents I have with various bits of information on it seems to be proliferating. A simple database will be an effective container for all these bits I think, particularly since most of them relate to each other in some way. This in itself could be a helpful process as the design of the database will require thinking about and understanding how they relate. Mmmm.

Tomorrow there is a welcome for all the new PHD students in the centre. I'm keen to meet the other PHD students starting this year. I'd almost forgotten there are to be others.

Week in review

It's been a bit of a frustrating week on the study front with all the work being done on the house. Finally, the plasterer is done and we have the rest of the house back, including my study. The dust has been persistent and completely unmanageable. Every day we have cleaned after the plasterer left and put the barest minimum of furniture back to be able to sit down. The rest of the time we've been camping in the kitchen and sleeping on the floor in the lounge room. Our vacuum cleaner kicked the bucket the day before the sanding and in protest of the tons of dust we made it suck up over a week, decided to pump dust out instead of suck dust in. The motor must have been shot 'cause it sounded like a 767's taking off in the lounge room and it shook and spat clouds of talcum powder-like dust into the surrounding air. Yesterday we bought a new vacuum cleaner and went nuts cleaning. We mopped and vacuumed three times in a row and booked the cleaner to come after that. This morning my body has stiffened and I feel really sore all over.

Nevertheless, I have done some work this week. I went in to Uni twice, attended a really useless training session in the library on online research and typed up the minutes from the panel meeting. I read a couple more interesting journal articles and have been thinking about writing an article, perhaps a popular article, on the emergence of technology before its time as per my discussion with my supervisor last week on the same topic.

Still a bit tired

After a very eventful weekend I am still a bit fragile and tired today. I have a niece and am now an Aunt. I attended the birth and was one of my sisters support persons throughout her labour. It was an awesome and life affirming experience. The sheer physicality of it is something to behold. My niece is beautiful. It feels like a whole new era.

This week has started topsy turvy. We are getting some work done on the house and it is very messy. The chasing of the electricals into the walls has resulted in vast plumes of ancient rendering and plaster dust to drift effortlessly onto every surface and into every nook and cranny. I have retreated to the kitchen behind a drop sheet to act as a barrier against the penetrating dust and it is still encroaching...

Between phone calls and dust attacks I have been re-reading my Honours thesis from years ago. It has been very interesting and I feel that I have been able to approach it with almost fresh eyes. There are some potentially useful concepts in it to follow up for my thesis. I think Kristeva's interpreation of 'chora' deserves another look in and some theories on play and gaming.

Potentiality

What a great meeting this morning. I met with my panel of supervisors and I feel really inspired and excited. OK a little daunted maybe but not in a bad way. They have so many great ideas and know so much of the literature. I felt all the little electrons in my mind dancing around in a sort of whirling dervish. Some of the topics we discussed stood out, like the role of technology-play in the workplace, the concept of emotions as a bridge to understanding the connection between perception and an analysis of material culture. I am interested in exploring how to consider emotions with theories of phenomenology and to apply this to the entire assemblage of relations that a work place represents as a technological site or sites. The sense that it is a collective perceptual shift that takes place is an interesting idea to look into. I really liked the comment that one of my supervisors made about how our literacy of film and television informs computer literacy. This also has some very interesting connections to perception. The research side was really interesting too. I will give some thought to this. Oh geez I drank way too much coffee.

First Panel Meeting

Quite a few firsts lately. Tomorrow is another first. It's my first panel meeting with the full contingent of my supervisors (all three) who will remain nameless with respect to their privacy.

I've done a little preparation, reading the Measures of Achievement on the University web site. I've also collected some bits and pieces together which represent notes and references from my research and reading to date. I have read some great stuff this week. I'm feeling very inspired.

Oh my but I almost forgot to mention it, one of the platties had a baby. I was conducting my daily scan of the tank to see if I could spot any newbies. We have a couple of generations of platties so I'm always on the look out. There it was, darting across the tank, a little flash of orange. I have separated it into a small tank. Why? I have heard that the big platties will eat the baby plattie. Is this a myth? Anyone know?

Dog with spots

My darling dog
Originally uploaded by msmalapropa.

First day at Uni

Today is the first day I'm going out to the Uni to do some research at the centre. So far I've studied from home. I think I'll drive out and aim to get there at about 10am. What will I work on today? I think I'd like to finish reading Information Ecologies and making notes in my issues paper. Then I'd like to do some journal searches on the online library system. I will do some preparation for my first meeting with the full panel of supervisors coming up.

Reading on Information Ecologies

I've been reading a very interesting book called "Information Ecologies" by Bonnie A. Nardi and Vicki O'Day. So far it has introduced the idea that there is a need to take positions on technology that do not involve extremes of dystopian versus utopian views but instead allow for a range of debates that broaden human involvement and understanding of technology. It works towards creating a discursive space for these discussions by challenging some of the tradional language and grammar applied to technology. Some new concepts are introduced such as the 'information ecology' and the 'know-why' questions. It has given me some ideas for following up on some other theorists such as Bruno Latour and James Gibson.

First week

I have not drawn up my weekly plan yet. Oh the guilt! Perhaps there was a part of me that knew this week would be a bit topsy turvy but I do feel bad that my first milestone is still to be reached. On the other hand, I did attend some training yesterday on some bibliographic referencing software at the Uni and have downloaded the program on to my computer to practice. I also activated my university email account. I have almost finished reading my first selected text and I have started an issues/questions document to keep a record of the ideas and questions that come up as I am reading. I have thought alot about process and structure. I have talked to other people about their experiences doing a PHD. If you wish to share yours then I would be very interested.

Starting to study

Well I have decided that Monday will be my official first day of starting my PHD daily routine. I guess this is an artificial construct in the sense that I have three years to complete it and the first day could just as well be today or yesterday or in three weeks time. But I feel ready to start the project, in fact itching to start it. My first task is to come up with a sort of rough daily plan to structure my study week, then I think I might work on a general plan to give me direction on where I am going.

Where is that plumber?

I'm waiting for the plumber to arrive. We're getting the old toilet removed from the laundry so that we can finally move the bikes from the study. Doing stuff to the house is a tricky business. As soon as you start thinking about one thing that needs to be done, other things emerge needing attention, especially when the house is over a hundred years old.

Wednesday Sunday

It really feels like Sunday. Having a public holiday in the middle of the week is weird. I'm not sure about you lot but I have always thought of the week as a bit of a slide downwards towards the weekend. You sort of build up a bit of necessary momentum, then there is hump day (Wed) and by Thursday you know that there is only one day to go before the weekend and Friday is the delicious bit at the end of the slide where it all goes a bit faster and suddenly you're off the edge, into the great unknown. There used to be a bit of comfort gained in the routine inevitability of the rhythm of the week, only to be interrupted by the occasional public holiday (thank goodness). But now that I am a student again, my week metaphor is all up the spout. Maybe it's time for a new one.

Well my meeting went really well. I was very nervous. My supervisor gave me some great ideas and tools to get me started. It feels so much like the start up process of my old business - very organic and individual. OK so there are structures and processes that can be adopted, but essentially it is a creative act. I'd sort of forgotten all this or didn't really consider it when I applied but perhaps unconsciously this is one of the aspects of the PHD that I am attracted to. Making something out of nothing. Cool.

First meeting with supervisor

Tomorrow I'm meeting my supervisor as part of my official PHD program for the first time. I have done a little bit of preparation but don't really know what to expect. I think approaching it with an open mind is the way to go.

Perception

I got inspired this morning thinking about the idea that perception evolves through an interaction between people and things around them. Maybe perception can be viewed as an outcome of the invention of technology and its application by humans and in this way is all about the relationships formed between our selves and our environment. It is a generative process, forming new configurations of space and time and constantly changing through every day practice.

Reading about computational models of how the mind works it seems apparent that the representations of the mind that come about are inherent to the technology that is used to define them. But there is another process at work too - the way in which these models are then applied back to human thinking. For example, to train the mind to work in a particular way. This is not just technological determism. This is a conscious and social effort to re-train and re-fashion thought. The Israeli program Intelligym is an interesting example of this used in the training of air force pilots, as is the ANU Moodgym project to teach users with anxiety and depression cognitive exercises that will assist them to challenge ideas about themselves. Here is the emergence of a type of perception formed and delivered by technology in order to shape and/or train the perception of its user.

Fish out of water

I didn't think that platties could fly but they can. Last night the biggest of the platties was found on the floor of the study about a metre away from the fish tank. It was mighty lucky that it hadn't been trodden on because we were both in the study and our feet were dangerously close. The dog was the one who discovered it. I noticed her nosing something and became curious myself and looked down. I'm so glad she didn't eat it.

I thought it was dead. Its eye looked unseeing and cold. But have you noticed that fish eyes look like this whether dead or alive? I cupped my hands to lift it and it leapt up falling hard and with a bit of a splat a few centimetres away. I managed to contain it in my palms and released it back into its natural environment. The fishy is OK today. I was a little worried about its chances of survival but its still swimming around.

Quote from Yalom

"I believe that the sense of potency that flows from understanding occurs even in the matter of our basic existential situation: each of us feels less futile, less helpless, and less alone, even when, ironically, what we come to understand is the fact that each of us is basically helpless and alone in the face of cosmic indifference."

(p250 The Yalom Reader, Irvin D Yalom, 1998)

Wow it works

It's not that I didn't expect it to but it's clean, simple and easy to use. I guess I thought it would be convoluted. Now I just have to decide how to do this thing. I mean how much do I say, when and do I feel up to others maybe reading my thoughts. What do you think puss, my feline muse?

First post

It's 8:30am and my gf has just left for work. My first post. I've been wanting to do this for a while and today is a good day to start. We've just had four weeks on holiday. I have until the end of January before I commence my new life...holidays aaahhh