cher's canvas

The Problem

Jul 032014

The Problem is ‘the problem’.

What is the problem space of my research? More concretely, what exactly is my research question?

I started pondering this question back in early January 2014 and now it is early July 2014.
What is my problem in getting to my research question?

Well, for the past 2 months I got interrupted and distracted (yet again!) by having to find new supervisors. My Cass supervisor left Cass Business School, and my main supervisor in Computer Science department in the School of Mathematics, Computer Science and Engineering (newly combined school) left City at the end of June. It has been quite a frustrating experience in many ways. I now know why students move with their supervisors, if they have the choice. I don’t have the choice (I am funded by the Computer Science department) so it boils down to finding supervisors that want to supervisor me, and also interested in my topic of interests.

Hopefully I don’t have to go through another drama involving change of supervisors, as I don’t want to have to change my research topic and interests. My problem space involves not just finding my research question but how to remain in the research space I want to work on. Doing a PhD research is dealing and coping with change, nothing new or profound. The biggest problem is I am losing time, and this is probably my biggest challenge as I can’t turn back the clock.

Back to now…

What is my research question?

I am aware that a thesis or research outcome has to have ‘depth and substance’. I started off early this year planning on doing a multidisciplinary research. Now I am struggling to find a way to do this, partly because of the change of supervisors, and mostly because multidisciplinary research across schools just don’t work. The University just don’t have the structure to facilitate or encourage multidisciplinary research. Having gone through the process of finding supervisors from different schools highlighted the sad state of affairs. So, I have no choice but to change focus by removing aspects of my research interests.

I am still particularly drawn to social technical issues, issues involving technology and law especially matters with data protection and privacy in the context of organisation business environment. For my research space, technology falls into my solution space not in my problem space.

My problem space is organisations in cyberspace and their relationships in cyberspace and the issues with data loss and data breach.

Surveillance

US Law No Responses »

Jan 122014

I just posted a ‘surveillance related’ blog at my edisclosure blog that links to a US-centric law blog post.

I am not researching on ‘surveillance’ but it is worth noting that technology alone is not changing the way justice is being challenged and conducted.

From the blog post, the US legal watch words are ‘investigate, surveil, disclose’. Will information security and/or information assurance also include ‘surveillance’ or ‘surveil’ into their glossary?

My smartmobile

Extracts, Month-by-month No Responses »

Jan 112014

Just before Christmas 2013 I cancelled my TV licence. I had it because I was on Virgin Media ‘bundle services’ for internet broadband, telephone landline and TV. Back in 2011, buying internet broadband was like grocery shopping i.e. buy-two-get-one-free special deals. So I was sold ‘buy broadband and telephone and get TV free’ deal. I took this as a sign of the end of my analogue TV, and the start of digital convergence into my lounge space. The ‘bundles’ deal turned out to be non economical as I had to buy a new TV and the licence and also pay for the landline calls and subscription. Somehow the death of analogue TV has not killed off the TV licence. Also, it turns out that folks just turn to mobile rather than use the landline.

Then in early 2013 mobile companies were offering ‘unlimited or eat as much as you want’ internet. Within less than 3 years, internet broadband shopping turns from grocery shopping to buffet-style eatery i.e. eat however much you want!

Now I only have one device i.e. a smartmobile for mobile and internet, and one bill and one company to deal with. Instead of paying for a TV licence I am paying for a mobile insurance. Heh! I don’t even have a health or life insurance and yet I am paying for a mobile insurance. Just goes to show how dependent I am on my smartphone or more precisely how technology, especially the internet has changed and is changing my life-style whether I like it or not.

The term internet itself is following a new style or trend. It seems that it is ‘stylish’ to use the term ‘cyberspace’ these days. I use the term ‘stylish’ as it’s a matter of taste or preference, depending on who you are or where you are coming from, and also what you are used to. So far I have the ‘internet or www or the net or cyberspace’ for this ‘interconnected technology’.
Perhaps this description, extracted from govinfosecurity.comcovers it all ;

“The Internet is part town square (where people engage in politics and speech), part Main Street (where people shop), part dark alleys (where crime occurs), part secret corridors (where spies engage in economic and military espionage) and part battlefield.”

On rating or ranking

Misc No Responses »

Dec 292013

I will remember 2013 as a year of ‘white-goods’ purchases. ‘White-goods’ meaning fridge-freezer, an oven-grill and washing machine. Yup! My trusted over ten years old machines all had to be replaced. Ten years ago I relied mostly on my kitchen fitter and orders from John Lewis. This year I resorted to trusting ‘Googling’ and the use of comparison sites with the rankings or/and ratings. One would have thought that with standardised measurements/fixtures for kitchen, it should be relatively easy to buy appliances especially with comparison sites that offer rankings and/or ratings and filtering options. Yes! Easy to buy (or click) once I get to find the machine that meets my full specification. None of the sites are designed to serve me as a customer searching for a particular machine instead they all list specifications from brands, with filtering mostly on price bands and brands i.e. focused on the seller rather than the consumer.
The consumer has their say in the rating or ranking provided by the sites. These are usually feedbacks or comments (after customer’s purchase!), which I do not find useful to help me find the item or make the final selection decision. So after hours browsing, I still have to call the stores to check the specifications and availability etc. Am I missing out the logic behind online shopping?

Perhaps in ten years time, I will be chatting online with a ‘buyer-helper’ (or interactive-agent) who will find & sell me what I am looking for. There’re sites offering online chat but they’re for after sale customer support. (i.e. again not focusing on customer but the seller).

Besides, I doubt that my new machines will have the same life span as my previous machines. The new machines are far too complicated with more features that I’ll ever need (or want), and all with digital (software parts) wizardry built in. Surely my kitchen machine needs have not changed over the pass ten years? These machines just need to be functional, reliable and safe to use, right? Well now there are environmental (e.g. energy efficiency, disposal law) aspects that manufacturers have to comply with, and they did these using software to make the machine smarter. Does this justify using digital display to tell me the status of the machine?

Also, 2013 will remind me of the year I make a bad choice in following the ratings and commentaries on Tablets. Yup! I opted for the Kindle Fire HDX (for my Christmas present from my kids), as I wanted a Tablet (that is cheaper than the iPad). What I failed to check out was whether the Kindle would enable me to read eBooks (not just Kindle books). I assumed that being a Kindle, reading online books would be a supported feature. Not so! Bad assumption and also not picking up the ‘technical’ commentaries, instead I read only the Amazon product site commentaries. I guess Amazon wants folks to buy eBooks irrespective of whether you have full access to Digital Rights protected materials (e.g. student access provided by Library/Online portals). I suspect one can do a technical break-in (e.g. via root access) but this mean I will have to break the product warranty license. So, the Kindle is on its way back to Amazon. (A nuisance for my daughter who has to deal with return/refund).

So it’s back to ‘trusted’ John Lewis, and today I’ve clicked on an iPad Mini. This time, I’ve tested out my daughter’s iPad Mini (her Xmas gift) instead of relying on ratings or rankings.

My recent experience with online shopping for ‘white goods’ (now computerised goods) and Tablet (mini-hand-held computer) highlighted just how much I am ‘dependent’ on computer or computerisation. If any of the software components in my washing machine and oven-grill were to malfunction, will the machines be ‘dead’ i.e. no sound, no light? There are no operating manual/ guidelines on ‘how to detect when machine fail or malfunction’. I guess it’s assumed to be ‘common sense’ or ‘prior experience of machine usage’ or ‘don’t need to know’ – treat it as a ‘black box’. So, I don’t need to know whether it’s malfunction of the software components and/or a physical mechanical failure. I guess I’ll stick with the version of ‘machine not working’ call engineer/company.

On further reflection, rating or ranking will certainly be useful if folks describe what the features provide or not provide (the good, ugly, bad features etc.) AND ALSO on how they deal with or detect machine breakdown or malfunction and their stories on dealing with suppliers/engineers. These are probably more painful to deal with and to describe, and make worst as we’re expected to treat such machines as ‘black boxes’. Mmm… wonder what googling on ‘rating or ranking of machine failures/malfunction’ will display…

Extract 2

Extracts, Questions No Responses »

Dec 212013

It’s a wet and windy day today, a day for staying in.

Will aim to finish reading online the book ‘The craft of research’ as mentioned in Extract 1.

Here’s 2nd extract :-

Regularly test your progress by asking a roommate, relative, or friend to force you to flesh out those three steps. Even if you can’t take them all confidently, you’ll know where you are and where you still have to go.
To summarize: Your aim is to explain
1. what you are writing about— I am working on the topic of . . .
2. what you don’t know about it— because I want to find out . . .
3. why you want your reader to know and care about it— in order to help my reader understand better . . .

Extract 1

Extracts, Questions No Responses »

Dec 202013

Moving from ‘timelessness’ to getting on with my research activities…

I call this post ‘Extract 1′ as I will post snippet of extracts from books/journals that I want reminding on. Please note that these extracts are for educational research purposes only, and in full compliance with all manner of intellectual property rights. I have no intention to violate any such rules or regulations.

First extract is from ‘The craft of research’ by Booth, Wayne C. (Wayne Clayson); Colomb, Gregory G; Williams, Joseph M, 2008 (online book) :-

Resolve to do lots of writing along the way. Much of it will be
routine note taking, … explain why you disagree with a source; draw diagrams to connect disparate facts; summarize sources, positions,..; record even random thoughts. You might not include much of this writing-to-discover-and-understand in your final draft. But when you write as you go,every day, you encourage your own best critical thinking, understand your sources better, and, when the time comes, draft more productively.

So I resolve to write (whenever!) as ‘writing is thinking’.
Mmm… I tend to doodle more, so will also doodle along the way.

On timelessness

Questions No Responses »

Dec 202013

I was at the ISACA (Information Systems Audit and Control Association) London chapter event yesterday evening. It was my first attendance and most likely my last too. Nothing wrong with their events and activities. Folks there seem friendly and chatting. There are tons of information on ISACA site.

What took me there was the topic ‘Locking Down the Cloud, and Change…as a constant in today’s world. The ISACA vision’. The speakers were lively but I still managed to dose off towards the 2nd half of the seminar. Must be the wine! So..I didn’t get to ‘hear’ what ‘Change…as a constant in today’s world’..

This morning my head is spinning and looks like another day of no literature review reading. Off to London again this evening to see ‘The Commitments’ (my daughters’ pick!) with my girls as it’s my eldest daughter’s birthday tomorrow, yup! a special mid-winter day.

For sure, same time next year I won’t be sitting here blogging about this same theme of the day ‘On timelessness’ and/or my whereabout. Is my prior statement a result of a ‘change as a constant’ thinking ?

I rather not view ‘change as a constant’ instead look for ‘timelessness’. Timelessness as in timeless movies, books, buildings and recipes etc.. Timelessness in that it stood the test of time in quality/value/tastefulness/usage or just plain untested/unbeaten/uncontested since it’s existence.

Do we have the same concept of timelessness for a piece of software or hardware or code or process?
Well..can we say COBIT (now version 5) is timeless?

If I’m invited to give a talk (was invited to talk at BCS IRMA for February 2014 but turned it down!) timelessness sounds interesting to explore.

social science research

How To No Responses »

Dec 172013

I was looking for ‘whacky’ research perspectives for a diversion (or distraction) from the ‘hard-core’ computer scientists review or write-up on research methodologies and came across Nick Hopwood’s blog.

Heh! He introduced ‘beauty’ in education research in ‘Quality, parsimony and beauty in educational research’

Also, he did a podcast which is worth listening to, even if you’re not a social science researcher.
I’ve extracted his podcast – why-i-like-the-hammersley-framework-as-a-basis-for-critical-appraisal-of-social – and included it below;

Research Question

How To No Responses »

Dec 102013

I wonder whether nobel prize winners or nobel laureates got to the podium (or the awards) by asking or framing research questions for their proposals/submissions/ideas/inventions etc.
Perhaps they do in their own unique unconscious ways, and not in any research-based fashion or following conventional thoughts or methods. The million $/£ question can’t possibly start with research question(s). Could it?

It seems to me the more I read (journals/literature off course!) the more I get into a state of oblivion.

So, what questions constitute (excellent) research questions?

I will have to learn to dream that million $/£ research question

Not sure how I will use the ‘tons’ of information packed into this 65 pages of slides on Research Models and Methodologies. Posting it here just in case I need it.

Data Data Data December

Month-by-month No Responses »

Dec 102013

or Information Information Information… overload!

With one ear plugged to the British Library’s live webinar on EThOS (will post the slides) and writing on the fly…
Plagarism and embargoes are mentioned under ‘Future publication concerns’.

Right now I’m facing information overload, and maybe by the end of this month (December) with all the ‘partying’ seasonal events (a good old excuse to chill out )out of the way, I’ll get to do some serious work.

Is PhD research a ‘serious piece’ of work? mmm… I guess it all depends on what are my motives for embarking on this journey.

Oh! I will continue to use my blogging site at http://jollyvip.com/edisclosure/ for blogging to the public sphere.

This research site is not fully open to the public as some pages will be protected.

Have a Merry Christmas!
P.S. Took me far too long to do this xmas2013 slideshows today (13 Dec 2013). Had to use iPhoto and iMovie. Since my pics (scenes from window shopping in London) were in my Samsung mobile I had to use special software to download these into my Mac and then had to play a bit with iPhoto and iMovie before I got a nippy slideshows. Next year will do a real movie if I get inspired by the window displays in the streets of London. This year I only strolled along Regents and Oxford streets (i.e. Liberty & Selfridges) with my twins.

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