Current Project and the Dissertation.

I am finding the dissertation difficult to get into. I love writing, and I can easily form opinions on most subjects, and get very verbal about things I am passionate about. I loved the essay projects for the last two years, and am really looking forward to writing the dissertation. MY problem is that I have been doing so much theoretical research, and am feeling so involved with my interaction project, that all research I do in prep for my dissertation ends up becoming research for the interactive project. In a way this is fine, I can use it for both subjects, howevcer this leaves me feeling like my dissertation is created from crumbs and leftovers of thoughts regarding my interaction project, which is bad. It needs it's own 'spirit' I suppose, to inspire me.

With that in mind, there are a couple of links to recent news that I have been considering in relation to interaction, and skirting around in the ideas of my dissertation:

1. BERMA -

It recently came to my attention that Burma is a country that does not have free internet access. The authorities there have put impossible resrictions on it's use, because it sees the internet as a weapon. It does not want it's inhabitents to educate themselves on the ways of Westurn free will and democracy, because it wants to keep control over the population. I thought this interesting in terms of our class debate on free will on the internet, because this is an exampe not of manipulation and false ideas of free will through site design, but of actual eradicated free will regarding the internet. Further research led me to discover that in total, 45 countries have similar restrictions on it's use. I think this is a subject that could easily be give alot of consideratin for this project, and gives alot more food for thought on the ideas of how the internet is perceived from other cultures aside from our own perspective.

Twenty Enemies
Internet Filtering


2.

Someone recently infromed me that the Popes Christmas message was about how he wants to start training up a team of excorsists to get rid of evil spirits that were being encouraged by rock music and the internet, which gives people to much oppurtunity to think for themselves.

This angered me greatly, I think the internet is an amazingly powerful tool, that can do as much if not more good than it does bad. ( See post on control/freedom ) However, I did some research and discovered this information was not entirely true in the way it was presented. I have not found any evidence of him saying that we should not think for ourselves, and I am not going to research the subject further because it would be too off subject for the project in the limited time left, I need to focus on production and directly relvent research now, however below is the actual quote from the paper:

"The Vatican is particularly concerned that young people are being exposed to the influence of Satanic sects through rock music and the Internet. Quote taken from the Daily Mail