Day 43-46: Taking Off

Egret DSC_3720
Originally uploaded by Sridhar Parthasarathy.

Well, not exactly. Not after a few days of not being able to blog due to my illness.

It's more of a relief and the much-needed rejuvenated feeling. My mind feel clearer and sort of more liberated. Perhaps with more inspiration? That's why I feel like I'm taking off like this beautiful crane that looks so divine it's more like a painting than a snapshot of the real thing! It is simply breath-taking, don't you think? It is a photo like this that inspires poems, etc.

And perhaps it is inspiring my dissertation, too, heh-heh! :-P

Well, I went to see Than Wor Vajiramedhi, a highly respected monk, today to give some donation of several things and also to discuss Dhamma and catch up with him in general. I ended up getting more projects from him!

But this doesn't deter my spirit at all. Instead, I feel refreshed and excited, looking forward to the things I would be doing for Buddhism, and hoping that I could carry that momentum into my slow-moving dissertation! heh-heh

I'd better stop now. So many things to do. So little time! Oh, I did make some decent progress on that quali book I like so much. I have made up my mind already that I should finish most of the book before I rewrite Chapter 1 again.

Originally I plan to finish Chapter 1 within next week. But this book is so cool it helps me with the questions that has always bogged me down for 3 years. And that is how to ask a good research questions!

So, I believe that if I spend more time getting the preliminaries right, the rest would follow smoothly. I saw my past struggle as having to rewrite again and again because I couldn't get my thinking and reasoning straight. Something has always been missing. Now I hope this book would be a good step-by-step guide. I'm gonna trust my hunch this time!

Day 41-42: Lantern - - A Great Concept to Explain Quali Research

Orange Juice
Originally uploaded by Hadjek.

I've not been well for these past few days, so I'm combining the 2 days' worth of blogging together.

And because I'm not feeling well, I feel I need some huge injection of Vitamin C. And look what kind of photo I found! Don't you just love Flickr? This photo is so amazing! It literally made me thirsty! heh-heh

Now, back to business. I just wanna continue on Shank's book. I really like how he differentiate among the 3 types of "seeing." The "mirror" way to see things is more of a speculative style while the window type is more scientific. Neither of which is going to be my focus.

Lantern, however, is what qualitative research is all about. On page 11 of his book, I found what I need to use to defend my decision to go for qualitative in my ph.d. study despite the "norm" in my school to go quantitative. I would probably be the first, or second, to have this so-called "deviant behavior!" hee hee hee

Here is some excerpt from p.11:

• "...When we look at qualitative researchers over the decades as they have struggled to craft conceptual tools for their trade, we find an implicit reaching for illuminative concepts. We see them use such words as "illumination" and "insight" and "understanding."

• "...We see researchers going to faraway places and to ordinary settings, seeking to make the strange familiar and the familiar strange. We find researchers struggling to see the world through the eyes of others, to understand acts in terms of strange motives, and to fathom cultures in terms of strange presuppositions..."
  

• "...We find other qualitative researchers using interpretative tools and techniques to decipher cultural codes and social mores ranging from marriage rituals to dealing with uncommunicative students..."

• "...Therefore, the goals of qualitative research are insight, enlightenment, and illumination. We are neither contemplative mirror researchers nor unbiased window researchers. We are searchers and discoverers and reconcilers of meaning where no meaning has been clearly understood before, and we do not feel that our understanding of meaning is complete until we discover and understand its role in practice and experience...."
  

Wow, I'm literally moved by his words. Thank you, Professor Shank! You have made me feel good about my determination to do what I'm doing! Gee, it is really uplifting reading your book! It's not just a "how to do a qualitative research" book, if you ask me. It helps give the readers more the "sense of purpose." And that's why I like it so much!

(p.s. I already gave it a 5-star and positive comment on Amazon.com!)

Day 40: Mirror, Window & Lantern

Japanese Garden
Originally uploaded by NatashaP.

Almost finished reading that chapter on Interpretation.

Yes, it seems to drag on forever! I spent most of today recuperating from yesterday, and editing my grandma's funeral book.

I love this photo, though. First of all, it brings back those nostalgic moments I have with Japan. You could even call it "homesick" in a way. Japan is calling me again!

Secondly, it has something to do with what I read today! Towards the end of the chapter I'm struggling with (Intepretation in Quali Research), the author makes a reference back to the very first chapter when he talks about the three types of "seeing" things: Mirror, Window and Lantern.

Since I skipped every chapter to come directly to this very chapter I'm now reading, I had to skip back to first chapter again! Duh!

Anyway, it's almost 3 now. So I'd better go to bed. Tomorrow they're coming to deliver more bookshelves here! Kids, if you're going to do Ph.D., you need a lot of bookshelves at home! :-P

Oh, how I wish I could hop right into the park, right next to this pond, to meditate!

Day 39: More Progress on the Priliminaries

Early morning in Visegrad
Originally uploaded by -=Ninja=-.

Day 39 has been pretty slow. I had so many other deadlines!

Yes, when you see a photo of natural landscape, especially cool-atmosphere, majestic mountain to calm your soul down again, it is a sure sign I haven't made much literal progress on my dissertation! :-P

Anyway, I was glad I forced myself to do something on it to keep myself on a daily progress. And I did write more on the prelimiaries, which are the Hypothesis, the limitations, etc.

I hope to get it over with the intro chapter this week. And let's hope there will be no more mountain photos again for a while! :-P

Day 38: Saussure or Peirce?

• Not that I have to make a choice, but it seems these two "fathers" of semiotics do differ a lot in their approach to this exciting science of meaning-making.

• As I slowly made progress on my literature review today, I carefully took notes of how these two contempraries differ. One was a prominent linguist, the other was a philosopher whose interest was primarily logic.
  

--------------------------------

Ferdinand de Saussure

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_de_Saussure

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semiotics

1857–1913), the "father" of modern linguistics, proposed a dualistic notion of signs, relating the signifier as the form of the word or phrase uttered, and to the signified as the mental concept. It is important to note that, according to Saussure, the sign is completely arbitrary, i.e. there was no necessary connection between the sign and its meaning. This sets him apart from previous philosophers such as Plato or the Scholastics, who thought that there must be some connection between a signifier and the object it signifies. In his Course in General Linguistics, Saussure himself credits the American linguist William Dwight Whitney (1827-1894) with insisting on the arbitrary nature of the sign. Saussure's insistence on the arbitrariness of the sign has also greatly influenced later philosophers, especially postmodern theorists such as Jacques Derrida, Roland Barthes, and Jean Baudrillard. Ferdinand de Saussure coined the term semiologie while teaching his landmark "Course on General Linguistics" at the University of Geneva from 1906–11. Saussure posited that no word is inherently meaningful. Rather a word is only a "signifier," i.e. the representation of something, and it must be combined in the brain with the "signified," or the thing itself, in order to form a meaning-imbued "sign." Saussure believed that dismantling signs was a real science, for in doing so we come to an empirical understanding of how humans synthesize physical stimuli into words and other abstract concepts.

Charles Peirce

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Sanders_Peirce

Western Philosophy 19th/20th century philosophy

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semiotics

Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914), the founder of the philosophical doctrine known as pragmaticism (not pragmatism, which was founded by WIlliam James and others) preferred the terms "semiotic" and "semeiotic." He defined semiosis as "...action, or influence, which is, or involves, a cooperation of three subjects, such as a sign, its object, and its interpretant, this tri-relative influence not being in any way resolvable into actions between pairs." ("Pragmatism", Essential Peirce 2: 411; written 1907). His notion of semiosis evolved throughout his career, beginning with the triadic relation just described, and ending with a system consisting of 59,049 (= 3¹⁰, or 3 to the 10th power) possible elements and relations. One reason for this high number is that he allowed each interpretant to act as a sign, thereby creating a new signifying relation. Peirce was also a notable logician, and he considered semiotics and logic as facets of a wider theory. For a summary of Peirce's contributions to semiotics, see Liszka (1996).

Day 37: More on Interpretation

"You'll blink before I do"
Originally uploaded by BrianScott.

For some reason, this cute little owl reminds myself of two things: Harry Potter's Owl and myself!

Well, the reason for the latter is because I've been to that Enneagram training and discovered that I'm Type 5 person, the Observer. And, boy, does this owl observe!

I wonder what's on the owl's mind at this particular moment? Well, may be it is trying to make sense at what it is seeing. If that is the case, then this photo fits well with what I'm trying to blog about today, which is my progress on my dissertation. I'm now reading about interpretation techniques for qualitative research.

In my favorite quali research book blogged earlier on Day 28, they neatly put three techniques together: Grounded theory, phenomenology and semiotics. Technique-wise, they put semiotics in the middle between the other two. (p. 82)

Today I've made it half way through semiotics. I am not too excited about grounded theory. I don't think it fits my need here that well. And although phenomenology sounds exactly like vipassana meditation, the best it could do in this case is to offer a complementary role when I cite my mindfulness experience in analyzing things.

The more I read it, the more I'm confident it must be semiotics. I'll be back with more on it later.

On another note, I just got my hands on the Japanese language version of the Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi a few days ago, and I am suitably excited. Well, to think that it has been more than 400 years since it was first written!

However, I'm more eagerly looking forward to read Budo Shoshinshu and Hagakure! Too bad my friend couldn't locate it in any book stores in Japan when she was there for a holiday. Hope to be able to order it through a Japanese book store on the web soon. Those two would be the center piece of my dissertation!

Well, that's about all. Now, this owl must go to bed! :-)

Day 35-36: Hermeneutics

I found a new approach I'd like to look at again in my Dictionary of Sociology. Hermeneutics sounds in many way like semiotics. It is about how to interpret a text by trying to understand what could have influenced the author's mind, social context included.

Source: Hermeneutics. (2007, April 29). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
Retrieved 18:57, May 10, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hermeneutics&oldid=126832920

Hermeneutics

Hermeneutics may be described as the development and study of theories of the interpretation and understanding of texts. In contemporary usage in religious studies, hermeneutics often refers to study of the interpretation of Biblical texts. It is more broadly used in contemporary philosophy to denote the study of theories and methods of the interpretation of all texts and systems of meaning. The concept of "text" is here extended beyond written documents to any number of objects subject to interpretation, such as experiences. A hermeneutic is defined as a specific system or method for interpretation, or a specific theory of interpretation. However, the contemporary philosopher Hans-Georg Gadamer has said that hermeneutics is an approach rather than a method and, further, that the Hermeneutic circle is the central problem of interpretation.

Essentially, hermeneutics involves cultivating the ability to understand things from somebody else's point of view, and to appreciate the cultural and social forces that may have influenced their outlook. Hermeneutics is the process of applying this understanding to interpreting the meaning of written texts and symbolic artifacts (such as art or sculpture or architecture), which may be either historic or contemporary.

In the last two centuries, the scope of hermeneutics has expanded to include the investigation and interpretation not only of textual and artistic works, but of human behaviour generally, including language and patterns of speech, social institutions, and ritual behaviours (such as religious ceremonies, political rallies, football matches, rock concerts, etc.). Hermeneutics interprets or inquires into the meaning and import of these phenomena, through understanding the point of view and 'inner life' (Dilthey) of an insider, or the first-person perspective of an engaged participant in these phenomena.

Day 34: Sociology of Knowledge

In my Dictionary of Sociology (Penguin, 2000), there was no mentioning about Sociology of Literature, per se. But I accidentally found it casually mentioned under Sociology of Knowledge. According to the Dictionary, Soc of Lit typically asks how social institutions influence particular literary forms or novelists.

However, when I tried to look up Soc of Knowledge in Wiki, hoping to find some reference to Soc of Lit, I couldn't find any. Wiki's entry for Soc of Knowledge is as follows.

------------------------------------------------

Sociology of knowledge. (2007, April 1). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 17:54, May 8, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sociology_of_knowledge&oldid=119560664

Sociology of knowledge

The sociology of knowledge is the study of the relationship between human thought and the social context within which it arise, and of the effects prevailing ideas have on societies. (Compare history of ideas.)

The term first came into widespread use in the 1920s, when a number of German-speaking sociologists wrote extensively on it, notably Max Scheler, and Karl Mannheim with Ideology and Utopia. With the dominance of functionalism through the middle years of the 20th century, the sociology of knowledge tended to remain on the periphery of mainstream sociological thought. It was largely reinvented and applied much more closely to everyday life in the 1960s, particularly by Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann in The Social Construction of Reality (1966) and is still central for methods dealing with qualitative understanding of human society (compare socially constructed reality).

Although very influential within modern sociology, the sociology of knowledge can claim its most significant impact on science more generally through its contribution to debate and understanding of the nature of science itself, most notably through the work of Thomas Kuhn in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (see also: paradigm).

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It seems, for many people, when they think about knowledge, they seem to think mostly of science. That's why there was no mention of other branches of Soc of Knowledge here, which is too bad.

Within this week, I plan to finish the first chapter of my proposal and make an appointment with my adviser to see him some time next week to discuss my progress.

From last meeting with him, I have shifted my attention to semiotics and was able to tighten up my objectives. Let's see what he thinks.

Day 30: Preparing for Weekend Workshop

golden pavillion IR
Originally uploaded by atrei.

Two days in a row with ice-blue, cool-tone photo posting from Flickr, this is a sure sign that I haven't made much progress dissertation-wise!

Yes, I tend to look for some photos for inspiration of something to write about, when in fact I do not have much to write about.

Today I was asked to write for my late grandmother's memorial book, and also for my alma mater's 80th anniversary book, and also had to follow up on a few errands, not to mention to prepare for this weekend's workshop.

I did, though, flip through my most favorite book, Semiotics: The Basics by Professor Daniel Chandler. I'm still on the first chapter, Models of the Sign.

A quote from the first chapter: "We seem as a species to be driven by a desire to make meanings: above all, we are surely homo significans -- meaning makers."

Wow, that's something! I'll leave you all to ponder this deep thought over the weekend. What is it in your life that you as a person are driven to make meaning of?

Day 29: Fine-Tuning Objectives

Cool Blue
Originally uploaded by champy1013.

I don't know why I am attracted to photos of majestic mountains, preferably with some snow, with a big lake or body of water in the foreground. The bluer, the better. I want to feel the cool, crisp air coming out from the photo. A few sprouts of Pine of Cedar tree are definitely a boost.

As I am browsing through Flickr again, trying to find some inpiration, I came across this one. Again, I ask myself: why?

Feng Shui-wise, big mountains are not a good sign in front of you, because it means obstacles. Huge ones! I guess it speaks the condition from my subconscious mind! This dissertation is the size of Mt. Everest, if you ask me! And then some!

But there must always be the presence of water. This is the special part. I find it very soothing in real life to always be near water. I mean, who wouldn't? And some evergreen trees.

I am still trying to think where I used to see my most favorite photo on the web of something that looks similar to this. I think it is a shot from a remote area along the silk route. It is beyond words. It's just like you're stepping into another world of its own altogether. May be that's how they got the word Shangri-la from.

Now, I'm really beating around the bushes. Well, not exactly. Day 29 has not been that productive, dissertation-wise. (Hence, the mountain photo.) First, I got a severe cramp attack that made me consider going to hospital because I thought it may have something to do with doc's reducing my prescription since last hospital visit. Then, I had to go teaching martial arts, then studying Japanese.

But since I made a resolution to make some progress on my dissertation everyday, I somehow made it. I opened a mindmap software and worked on the few maps I have there again. It was amazing to find out how much I could change the maps I drafted up as the outline for the first chapter, using the new information of what I have been reading during the past week alone.

If there is any students who want to do Ph.D. passing by this blog, may be there is one advice I could give you here, spend a lot of time on your dissertation objectives. I believe it holds the key. Well, once you have the passion of what you want to do, perhaps you want to do a lot of things on it.

But the truth is, you have to look at things in perspective. You have to be brave enough to say no even to your many burning desires. You will have many. You have to be wise enough to learn what you can move on with, and what you can not.

Simply put, it is when you are fine-tuning the objectives right at the beginning of your dissertation writing that you are actually making the Final-Cut.

Well, am I done with mine yet? Gee, I don't know. I think I am. And what they are? hee hee hee I won't tell you yet. Let me show them to my advisors first, and let's see what they think about it. And let's see if I have to post more photos of mountains on my blog again! :-p

Day 28: An Ecclectic Mix of New Learning

• Today I feel like a child in a candy store. Well, literally and figuratively. Yes, I over-consumed (again) on the sweets and chocolate. But, I'll continue to use stress as my convenient excuse for the time being!

• Now, the figurative part, the windfall benefit of tidying up my bookshelf the other day means I ran into old textbooks that I found most useful at this time! One that is worth mentioned here is "Qualitative Research: A Personal Skills Approach" by Professor Gary D. Shank of Duquesne University.

• It was written in a pleasant-to-read, natural way. It is as if he were standing in front of you, telling the stories of his experience. His approach to effective quali research really rang a bell: he bases it on our sensory awareness! This is exactly what I have been doing while I was working in advertising! More importantly, what the book says is exactly what I have been telling people what vipassana or mindfulness meditation is all about!

• This means I've been on the right track all along! Cool! This book gives me more confidence! Moreover, I was pleasantly surprised to find it discusses, among others, semiotics as well. It was grouped together with Grounded Theory and Phenomenology under the Chapter on "Interpreting" your qualitative research.

• The book began with teaching the observing and listening skills, both skills required in a good quali researcher. The more I look back, the more I see the similarities between vipassana meditation and quali research!

• In essence, Lord Buddha has shown the world how to conduct an effective qualitative research: observing without judgement! He did it so well, observing what goes on with his own body and mind until he got Enlightenment!

• If we only apply this same mechanism to whatever we observe, we would then be likely to get Enlightened, too, so to speak! But first, we must build the "Baramee" or the charisma and all the charactertistics fit for a Buddha first! The first thing that came to my mind is "Kanti Baramee!" A good researcher needs to be patient, believe me! That's the thing you'll need the most!

• And while performing some search on the net today, I came across several terms relating to semiotics that I would also like to pursue also as a reference to my Literature Review Chapter of my dissertation. And that is about Morphology, Lexicon, and Philology.

• First, I must say that I want to use these approach to explain my discovery about the word "Nen" in Japanese. I won't divulge in details here. But let's just say I plan to explain it in light of the following studies.

Morphology (linguistics) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morphology_(linguistics)

Note created May 3, 2007

Lexical morphology

Lexical morphology is the branch of morphology that deals with the lexicon, which, morphologically conceived, is the collection of lexemes in a language. As such, it concerns itself primarily with word-formation: derivation and compounding.

---------------------------------

Etymology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etymology

Note created May 3, 2007

Etymology is the study of the history of words - when they entered a language, from what source, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.

In languages with a long written history, etymology makes use of philology, the study of how words change from culture to culture over time. However, etymologists also apply the methods of comparative linguistics to reconstruct information about languages that are too old for any direct information (such as writing) to be known. By analyzing related languages with a technique known as the comparative method, linguists can make inferences about their shared parent language and its vocabulary.

• Basically, this is it for today. I'm going to read the rest of the chapter of that book by Professor Gary Shank now. Good night! :-)

Day 27: Reading Up Semiotics

Today I was out most of the day so I didn't spend as much time as I want to read to my heart's content on Semiotics. I brought the book with me everywhere I went, though, and tried to sneak a page here, a paragraph there anywhere I could. I managed 21 pages today. But it was a full, delibrated 21 pages with lots of highlights and stuff. I didn't want to miss a thing!

Upon returning home, I also tidied hp my room a bit coz the books are piling up again! But I managed to throw away a lot of junks also. So, I'm happy!

I am thinking of re-writing my dissertation strategy again. There are simply too many things I wanted to do or plan to do, and I start to feel lost (again!) I need a fresh eye to help me organize, I guess!

Better go to bed now. Ciao!

Day 26: Semiotics: The Book

Semiotics: The Basics
Originally uploaded by nashara.

I am over the moon today when I found out that the very book I'd like to order most at this moment from Amazon.co.uk is available in town! This is the only copy they ordered in at Chula Bookstore and it has just arrived and now I'm the proud owner! Does this mean I'm the only one in Thailand with this book? Whoaaaaaa....amazing!

Semiotics is not for the fainted heart if you want to take it from just a textual analyis to sociological or even philosophical level. It is quite easy to get lost when you are mid-way and the thing is you don't even know why you're there!

And that's exactly why I fell in love (at first sight) with Professor Chandler's web site not so long ago. If you look back in this blog, perhaps you'll even see the date I first started babbling about this new field of study that I discovered. His writing was so such a pleasure to read and he has a way to present his case in such a way that he made me go back to his site over and over again.

And then there is this generosity. I really respect the Professor for being so kind to put this enormous effort intended for his fortunate class on the web for the world to see. His hypertext article is the most fascinating read for both an absolute beginner like me and for advanced readers alike.

Clearly he has put a lot of time developing and refining his material. The fact that he is sport enough to share his knowledge with the world really makes me admire him. And that's why i wanted to support his good effort by buying his book(s)!

It's late now and I'd better go to bed. Got early morning appointment at the hospital tomorrow for my regular checkup. I started reading the book already and it's really worth it!

So, thank you very much Professor Chandler, for your decision to write on this otherwise difficult-to-grasp idea and make it fun and friendly to all.

Respectfully,

nash

Day 25: More Bookmark Updates

Climb every Mountain
Originally uploaded by cowgirlrightup.

Climb every mountain,
search high and low
follow every byway,
every path you know.
Climb every mountain,
ford every stream,
follow every rainbow, 'til you find your dream!



A dream that will need
all the love you can give,
Every day of your life
for as long as you live.


~sound of music~

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Today I was not that productive, except for some updates on my del.icio.us bookmark and some reading. It is so hard to stay focused and write or do mindmap!


So, today I came to Flickr again to try to find some inspiration. And, true enough, I found one!


I like this song from The Sound of Music very much. In fact, I like most of the songs from The Sound of Music. Don't think I have any songs I don't like, actually!


Well, I'd better go to bed now. Have appointment with mom tomorrow!

Day 24: Del.icio.us Lit Review

Today I spent the evening with mom and dad. We had a great Indian dinner at Rang Mahal. It has been a long time since I went out with both of them so by the time I came back home it was midnight!

So, I gladly use this as an excuse not to make that much progress today!

However, what I consider progress relating to my dissertation today is I have reviewed and updated my Bookmarks stored on del.icio.us. I quite like this service because I could write notes on it easily and do cross-check. But the coolest feature of it all is the fact that I could check which links I have are also saved by how many people. Also the recommended link function has proved to be very useful to my research needs.

I also like the idea of del.icio.us because it is all about sharing what you have on your bookmarks with the world. By sharing it with the world, I feel that I have done some public service. I sincerely do hope that there will be some person someday come to use my links posted there! Anyway, I'm still not even half way through the links I want to save on my computer to del.iciou.us. It is a long way to go (more than a thousand links!) and there are more links to go everyday!

That's all for now. Good nigdt!

Days 21-23: Importance of Issue, Objectives

My grandma passed away on April 25, 2007. Therefore, Days 21-23 have been pretty hectic for me.

Nevertheless, I managed to bring along a book to read whenever I could and made some progress, although I didn't blog about it.

Most of what I have been reading these past few days was on semiotics. I found this very helpful in trying to help me with my introduction chapter. I rewrote (again!), part of the intro and also made some changes in my objectives.

I plan to get the mindmap look right before I delve into the details in actual writing than just bolstering ahead wildly like I did last time. I told myself I already have most of the materials I need for the intro chapter anyway. The most important thing is I need to get my foundation right.

Because if my research questions or my objectives are not clear, that would result in a lot of wasted time ahead down the road. So I keep tell myself to be patient.

Here is the latest revised version of my mindmaps. It has grown bigger from the previous version, so I have to split the map again.

(Click to see bigger map)

Day 20: New Mindmap (Again!)

Ah, well, without much further fanfare, here it is!

I realize I have to get some more books on semiotics, because I got stuck already at the theoretical level! :-P


I have to keep reminding myself that I'm looking for hidden connotation, and nothing else!


Well, Ciao for now!

Day 19: New Mindmap for Intro Chapter

I don't know how many times I have written and re-written my introduction chapter! The thing is, if I have been working on the same file and on the same computer and with the same software, it wouldn't be too difficult to track.

But my working habit is as erratic as my thought and wild imagination would take me! So, that's too bad indeed. Because I think I may have made a new world record already for the most-rewritten opening chapter dissertation in history! hee hee hee

Well, but this time, I do have a lot of confidence! That's the big difference! I made very little change to my latest installment. And I sort of have pretty clear idea where I am heading to. I'm far from finishing the first intimidating chapter, but at least I don't get stuck at the first two headings anymore (background and importance of issues).

Now, for the first time, I think I am quite articulate about it. At least I am quite firm on my standpoint and know from what angle I'm going to look at Bushido.


Therefore, without any further explanation, let's take a look at my latest installment:

(Click on graphics to see bigger-sized photo)

Today I also discovered in my private collection at home a textbook I bought when I first started this Ph.D. program that I never got around to read yet titled, "Mass Communication Theory." At that time I bought that book out of sheer "hunch" because I felt that since I'm a graduate of School of Communication Arts, I'd better know a thing or two about such theories.


Well, in fact we all have to take those courses as an undergrad. And, I'm so embarrassed to admit to the whole world, I got an A in it. How, I really had no idea! The thing is, after 20 years of not using it at all, consciously, that is, in my line of work, it is really difficult to try to recall any of those theories.


So, you could say that I bought that book that was written by one of the faculty of my School, Faculty of Communication Arts at Chulalongkorn University, out of sheer sense of insecurity! I simply need something to fall back on in case somebody ask me one day!


And, would you believe it, approximately 3 years after I bought that book (without much chance to really read it except for flipping through the first few chapters), I picked it up again today and delved right in enthusiastically with so much hunger. Why? Because now the focus on my dissertation has become chrystalized and I realized that that book was sent to me somehow with a definite purpose! I am going to do a Content Analysis for my Dissertation! And it is described in minute details in the very last chapter of the fateful book!


As I read more and more, I realized that I have been doing content analysis all along without realizing it! Even in my line of work when I was in the private sector. It has become my second nature. We just did not call it that way, that's all. And when you are in the setting of a private sector, the word "theory" did not come up that much. You just work on your own experience and more of a guts feeling or tried and true approach of the information you have from the field.


Needless to say, this boosts up another confidence for me, which I have to watch it carefully, otherwise I would get too carried away and it could get too dangerous now that I am trying to do things in the academic field. I could not operate like a 007 I used to anymore! I need a backup team, so to speak. And my backup team presents itself as all kind of references, and theory!


I start to understand now, how some people, once their engine has started, could continue to work around the clock, especially young people! Although I'm not that young anymore (unless "young-at-heart" also counts!,) I feel that I could go on and on non-stop on my project. I have to remind myself all the time to take a break to eat, exercise, sleep, and do other things that human beings do!


And this reminds me that I should have gone down to exercise long time ago already! Gee, I think I have spent too much time polishing my ideas on my mindmap! Never mind, I know that the clearer I could get my ideas upfront, the easier my work would be later. I don't want to rewrite my intro chapter and in essence rewrite the world record again, that is!

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**N.B.** Just realize I should change my objective a bit from looking for "Mindfulness Theme" to "Mindfulness Motif." I think this is called Mindlessness! :-p

Day 18: Learning from Sensei

These past few days, I’ve had several chances to spend time with sensei and learned many valuable things from him. In fact, I am so very tempted to blog all about it in My Japan Study Blog, but I have to force myself to stay focused on my goal, which is to keep other writings to the minimum, and try to dedicate all my time, energy, and creativity on one project alone—my dissertation!

Bit by bit, I start to realize how easily I could get distracted to write on other things, thinking it is related to my study. Well, it is related to my study! In fact, it will help me in the long term. But, at the moment, if I do not concentrate all my time and energy on this one project alone, I will never make progress according to the time line I wish to make.

So, reluctantly, all I’m gonna do now is just going to list just the topics of what I want to blog about and hope that one day I would be able to come back and expand on that in details, perhaps completed with the reference and further research into the issue, making it into several articles ready for publication!

One of the things that first came to mind when I thought of what I wanted to write is the differnces between Tameshigiri and Suemonogiri. Now, if you don’t practice Koryu Budo, especially the sword discipline, you won’t be familiar with these two terms. Let’s just say both are techniques of “cutting” the rolled up, soaked tatami mats with real samurai sword!

I am fortunate enough to be able to experience both techniques, both here in Thailand and Japan. And learning I got today is very enriching.

The second thing I want to write about is how resourceful and creative I found sensei is when he was teaching the kids. I don’t want to delve into details at this particular moment yet (otherwise it’ll be a spoiler!), but let’s just say that I really admire him for his intuition and creativity to find some relevance or usefulness for the “inner-strength training” of the samurai in the past for the people living in the contemporary world! He got them (and their mothers) fully engaged in the lesson that they could take out from the Dojo and makes real use of it in the everyday’s outside world! If people think ancient samurai inner-strength (กำลังภายใน) skills are irrelevant for today’s hustles-bustles, well, I’ve got a real surprise for them!

Third is what I like to call the “mind” element I notice more and more in each and every class I have with sensei. In Zen they have a word for it, “Isshin Denshin,” or the ability for the master to communicate with the disciple(s) with the mind and not using words and I think I used to blog about it already earlier in one of my blogs somewhere.

When I first read about it, the idea sounded very appealing, with a hint of romance, even, because it sounded as the sentence was taken right out of a novel or something. But to read about it and to actually experience it yourself is totally different issues here. In an attempt to be a good researcher, I tried to observe the non-verbal communication between sensei and other disciples also. It is the same. It is truly amazing how sensei could manage to actually “read” our mind and make himself understood without the use of words.

Well, there is much more I wanna blog about, but I’m a bit tired today. It has been a very long and productive day, I really appreicate the fact that he accepted me as one of his disciples. One guy in our group, a medical doctor from the Royal Navy (he’s still very young), said that he used to take many kind of martial arts before, but it is not very often to run into a master that could produce such inner power/strength like him! Most other peole only focuses on the technique, I think, while sensei focuses only on the development of the mind!

I guess this is it! The Development of the Mind! Sounds exactly like the name of the retreat I always go to Chiang Mai for - - - “The Development of the Mind for Knowledge and Peace & Wisdom!

Day 17: Interview w/ Sensei

Today I brought my list of Bushido Literature from Tokugawa era to my samurai sword class. (How appropriate!)

After class, I asked sensei to look in my list and make some comments. But, first, I asked about Bushido literature from that period in general first. If there are any other more than my list.

Sensei said actually there are a lot more, but only in old book form (he means actual old manuscripts!) that is available for research only in library. And then there are some historical documents at castles and home of samurai. I think he means those that have been turned into museum. But if talking about those that could be obtained from bookstore, he said I have pretty much covered it. This delighted me a bit. At least I felt I have done my homework well!

Then, I told him my problem and at the same time used it to ask him a question. I told him that these books that I have listed, I already have them in English. There are plenty of the English version, some of them have been translated many times, even, by different translators!

The problem is, when I tried to look for the original Japanese version, I found that it is out of print! Why is that, I asked sensei. Or is it because every Japanese household already has one copy (from, say, Tokugawa period), so they do not need to buy a new copy, hence no need for the new reprint of the Japanese version?

I think my logical reasoning didn't work that well, because sensei did not look that convince. He only told me briefly that, if I ask any Japanese, they would know each book I mention by the name. They would know that it is about Bushido. But they would not know what is it that the book is teaching. Then I asked sensei why.

He did not answer me directly, but he answered me in such a way that made me think. Sensei always does this. He always made me think. He only replied briefly that, Thailand also has this similar problem, doesn't she? hmm.... (Deep!)

Then, I told sensei that, although I could not read Japanese yet (I mean, still very pathetic at around may be grade 2's capability), but I feel that I would like to read the original Japanese version also, in addition to the English and Thai one. Perhaps I could detect something similar in Japanese and Thai that the English version might have missed. Because I already noticed a few things in Japanese Buddhism terms and samurai sword training that my Buddhist mindfulness meditation training in Thailand has enabled me to understand.

To this point, sensei totally agreed and gave me full blessings, because he said he believes there are something missing in the English translation (sensei's English reading skill is very good) and that the Thai and Japanese have so much more in common, not only in culture and history, but also in the trianing of the mind.

Upon hearing this, I felt a surge of hope and courage in my heart. Bit by bit, one tiny step after another, I know I am on the right track. It may not be the world's major discovery or a major breakthrough like a cancer's medicine that can save lives, but I just hope it would be useful enough for people's mind to start them on the path out of suffering. All I need is to make people curious and want to try mindfulness themselves, believing that this could be the tool that helps them deal most effectively with their own suffering.

Sounds like the job of an advertiser. But, hey, that's what I've been doing most of my professional life. And this time it should be much easier even, because all I have to do is to tell the truth. I just have to put it together interestingly, that's all. Sounds just like a slogan of my former agency - - Truth Well Told! :)

Day 16: Another Shocking Sign of Time

I used to write in my other Thai blog awhile ago about the demise of Buddhism in Japan and its implication on mindfulness practice and teaching.

This news, however, reminds me again how true Lord Buddha's prediction is of the direction of Buddhism as a religion, not to mention the truth about the Law of Impermanence.

I could perhaps include this in my dissertation when I discuss about Mindfulness in Japan.

Here's the news.

The End of a 1,400-Year-Old Business: "The End of a 1,400-Year-Old Business
What entrepreneurs starting family businesses can learn from the demise of Japanese temple builder Kongo Gumi"

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On another issue, also related to my dissertation, I managed to do a literature review of some sort while having my haircut today! Well, that was after I decided to download Opera Mini Browser on my phone to try and found that my phone's existing browser is actually already better! Anyway, I decided to make some use on its welcome page so I searched for "Literature" on Wikipedia.

And I was happy that I did, because I learned things that I think I could use for my dissertation as follows.

Literature - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LiteraTure • Note created April 21, 2007

Different historical periods have emphasized various characteristics of literature. Early works often had an overt or covert religious or didactic purpose. Moralizing or prescriptive literature stems from such sources. The exotic nature of romance flourished from the Middle Ages onwards, whereas the Age of Reason manufactured nationalistic epics and philosophical tracts.

Interestingly, the authors of Bushido literature I want to study also lived during what was called the Age of Reason in Europe. And they seem to have the same concern of the moral condition of the society and wrote on the same theme!

Now, as to what "genre" they were writing.

Essays

An essay consists of a discussion of a topic from an author's personal point of view, exemplified by works by Francis Bacon or by Charles Lamb.

'Essay' in English derives from the French 'essai', meaning 'attempt'. Thus one can find open-ended, provocative and/or inconclusive essays. The term "essays" first applied to the self-reflective musings of Michel de Montaigne, and even today he has a reputation as the father of this literary form.

Genres related to the essay may include:

• the memoir, telling the story of an author's life from the author's personal point of view
• the epistle: usually a formal, didactic, or elegant letter.

Also interestingly, most, if not all of the Bushido literature I plan to study happens to fall in the same genre also! Yes! I have a feeling I'm on the right track! At first I thought it was an essay. But when I read on, it dawned upon me that ALL of them were written in a memoir style, with a tendency towards being an epistle even! It seems the educated Tokugawa samurai are very sophisticated writer! Their style are very elegant and their choice of words really shows they actually lived up to the standard of Bun and Bu at that time!


At first, I was thinking of "decoding" the mindfulness element as a "theme," in the Bushido literature when I saw what "theme" is being described as.

Themes in literature

Main article: Theme (literature)

Theme is a broad idea in a story, or a message conveyed by a work. This message is usually about life, society or human nature. Themes are usually implied rather than explicitly stated. Deep thematic content is not required in literature; however, some readers would say that all stories inherently project some kind of outlook on life that can be taken as a theme, regardless of whether or not this is the intent of the author. Analysis of changes in dynamic characters can provide insight into a particular theme.

But when I continued to read on the links, I discovered yet something new again!

Motif (literature) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motif_%28literature%29 • Note created April 21, 2007

Motif (literature)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

For other uses, see Motive.

In literature, a motif or motive is a recurring element that has symbolic significance in the story. Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes. The motif can be an idea, an object, a place, or a statement. The green light in The Great Gatsby and the repeated statement, "My father said that the reason for living is getting ready to stay dead," in William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying are examples of motifs. A motif can be something that recurs to develop the theme in a novel: In the beginning of To Kill a Mockingbird the children are told never to shoot a mockingbird because mockingbirds do nothing in their life but sing for people. At the end of the novel the theme of senseless killing is re-visited when Mr. Underwood talks of Tom's death.

A motif differs from a theme in that a theme is an idea set forth by a text, where a motif is a recurring element which symbolizes that idea. The motif can also be more like the central idea behind the theme, such as courage or loyalty.

Also known (redundantly) as a recurrent motif.

I guess this is how the word "hidden motif" was derived from?


Well, from what I found out today so far, looks like I have to set a hypothesis that I believe that

• Mindfulness is one of the key motifs in Tokugawa Bushido literature, whether or not it is the intention of the author.
  

I also read some more interesting entries in Wiki on Literary Criticism and Literary Theory. In the latter entry, I discover semiotics, semiology and semiotic literary criticism. The first two reminded me of that professor in The Da Vinci Code, actually, because it is more of a study of signs, symbols and meaning. The latter, however, is more related to the meaning in literature.

Semiotic literary criticism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semiotic_literary_criticism • Note created April 21, 2007

Semiotic literary criticism

Semiotic literary criticism, also called literary semiotics, is the approach to literary criticism informed by the theory of signs or semiotics. Semiotics, tied closely to the structuralism pioneered by Ferdinand de Saussure, was extremely influential in the development of literary theory out of the formalist approaches of the early twentieth century.

The early forms of literary semiotics grew out of formalist approaches to literature, especially Russian formalism, and structuralist linguistics, especially the Prague school. Notable early semiotic authors included Vladimir Propp, Algirdas Julius Greimas, and Viktor Shklovsky. These critics were concerned with a formal analysis of narrative forms which would resemble a literary mathematics, or at least a literary syntax, as far as possible. They proposed various formal notations for narrative components and transformations and attempted a descriptive taxonomy of existing stories along these lines.

Propp's Morphology of the Folktale (orig. Russian pub. 1928; English trans. 1958) provides an example of the formal and systematic approach. In successive chapters, Propp analyzes the characters, plot events, and other elements of traditional folktales (primarily from Russia and Eastern Europe). For each of these key components he provides a letter designation (with superscripts to designate specific subtypes). He proceeds to analyze individual tales by transposing them into this notation and then to generalize about their structure. For example:

Analysis of a simple, single-move tale of class H-I, of the type: kidnapping of a person.

131. A tsar, three daughters (α). The daughters go walking (β³), overstay in the garden (δ¹). A dragon kidnaps them (A¹). A call for aid (B¹). Quest of three heroes (C↑). Three battles with the dragon (H¹–I¹), rescue of the maidens (K⁴). Return (↓), reward (w°). (Propp 128)

He then gives the complete structure of this story in one line of notation, the analysis complete and ready to be compared systematically with other tales:

αβ³δ¹A¹B¹C↑H¹–I¹K⁴↓w°

Later semiotic approaches to literature have often been less systematic (or, in some special cases such as Roland Barthes's S/Z, they have been so specifically and exhaustively systematic as to render the possibility of a complete literary semiotics doubtful). As structuralist linguistics gave way to a post-structuralist philosophy of language which denied the scientific ambitions of the general theory of signs, semiotic literary criticism became more playful and less systematic in its ambitions. Still, some authors harbor more scientific ambition for their literary schemata than others. Later authors in the semiotic tradition of literary criticism include Tzvetan Todorov, Mikhail Bakhtin, Roland Barthes, Julia Kristeva, Michael Riffaterre, and Umberto Eco.

Mathematic formula! Just what I need for my Bushido Literature's dissertation! Could somebody help me please!!!!???? :-) hee hee hee I just like to make a lot of noise and a big fuzz every time I have to face with anything quantitative, that's all. In fact, I have to admit that the equation looks very sexy to me! If I could only prove that there is that certain hidden "mindfulness motif" that is so consistent one could write formula like that out of those 5-6 books I plan to do content analysis on, I would not hesitate to just go ahead and try to prove that!

Well, I should have gone to bed long time ago because I have two sword classes tomorrow! Therefore, pray for me, World!

Day 15: Why Bushido is Still Relevant

Today I didn't have much time to do research or write because I had to teach spochan to the kids and also take Japanese class myself. (Taihen da!)


But since I made a resolution to myself to make some progress on my dissertation everyday, I managed to put my thoughts together on a mindmap, and also make a mental note of which books I would use as reference to my point. In fact, I used to write some articles about it already in Thai. So, when it's time for me to put it together in my dissertation, it's easier for my to put them all together when I look at it from my mindmap.



Without much further fanfare, here it is:

(Click to see a larger mindmap)

I also did some more speed-reading on a Thai textbook in Thai titled, "Japan Built Its Nation with Patriotism and Loyalty," by Ajarn Yupa Klangsuwan and still could not make up my mind which part(s) of the book would be most useful to me for more in-depth reading and quoting in my dissertation.

In this book (p.115, as footnote 13), Bushido was referred to as a "Law" developed since the Kamakura era (1100s) for the "higher-class" samurai to teach responsibility and preach ideology and was later adopted in mid 19 century as the ethical code of conduct to help build the nation with patriotism and loyalty by focusing on selfless sacrifice.

Although according to this book Bushido was said to have had an influence from Zen, it was labelled as a "Confucius' Thoughts and Way of Life."

Ok, not bad for a busy day like this, ne? :-)

Day 14: Research, Research & Research

Not that I am too lazy to come up with a more appropriate title for today's entry, but this is really what I have been doing all day! I was going full speed and so immersed in doing one research and reading after another that I forgot to eat on time, postponing my excercise, and even skipped my Japanese class!

At the end, my back hurt so much from sitting too many hours today, so I had to go down to excercise anyway.

Among other things that I need to find soonest is how or where I could get the Japanese version of the book titles that I plan to use for my content analysis. But as I continue to comb the web, more questions came up in my mind. It was more as a self-doubt: am I really sure these would be the books I will use? Have I really explored enough? Should I tried investigate Tokugawa's other literature some more?

I finally ended up did more research on Tokugawa society, religion, and thoughts. I also did look up more Bushido resources from that era. I did make many clips and put it on my Google Notebook for future reference. I also spent some time skimming through my saved bookmark in Yahoo My Web and told myself may be I should start first from there because I have at least 50 fine Bushido resources there in store.

Tomorrow I may not have that much time to work on my dissertation because I have my sword class. But at least I think today I did cover a lot of ground.

I will give the list of literature I plan to cover to my sensei this weekend and hear what he thinks. May be he can even lend me his own copy, if he has some! Being a samurai sword teacher, I see no reason why he wouldn't have ALL of them! hee hee hee

They are (in no particular order):

1. Budo Shoshinshu
2. Hagakure
3. The Unfettered Mind
4. The Live-Giving Sword,
5. The Book of Five Rings

Well, actually I have some more in mind. But at least these 5 would be my basic starting point!

Can't wait to roll up my sleeves and delve right into this project!

Oh, my eyes are so tired. I'd better try to get some sleep. Didn't have enough sleep for many days now. My brain just refuses to rest. I will need all the rest I could get for my sword practice tomorrow!

Day 13: Met w/ Advisor, Got New Direction

Is it a co-incident that I happened to have an appointment with my chief advisor on Day 13?

Well, depends how you look at it. There are both good news and bad news.

Bad news first. After an hour of a very fruitful discussion, he gave me a new direction again! In other words, I would not be doing what I have been painstakingly putting together during these past few weeks anymore. But that's normal for Ph.D. students. We do change our topics or directions for thousands of times before it sort of comes together.

But it was not so bad as Apollo 13! What I mean is that, my proposal was not completely shot down. We did not really take it apart. My advisor quite liked it, actually. And he also believed and said, perhaps for the first time, that looks like I'm going to make it this time (!). He told me to keep the Bushido part (which is exactly what I had in mind!), and ditch the Budo practice. That could take the role of background support info.

Now comes the big announcement. He wants me to take the SOCIOLOGY OF LITERATURE's approach! Basically, I'm going to do a content analysis of Bushido literature from Tokugawa period! And may be some other literature by samurais during that time. I have the list of books I want to do already! It is in the Table of Content of the Introduction Chapter I gave him today. But may be I have to do some more research on Japanese literature, just in case that question comes up during my defense...

In fact, it's back to square one. Because this is what I originally proposed to JSPS and got my research grant for: looking for mindfulness elements in Bushido literature from Tokugawa period and analyze it in the social context of Tokugawa society in order to understand it better!

So, I think my advisor purposedly let me trying to find my way around for 3 years, reading everything I could relating to sociology, only to find out that my initial hunch was right in the first place! Gosh, what a clever way to teach! He has been very patient for 3 years, watching me growing up academically. Or have I? hmmm...May be not, because I guess I have forgotten what I read in the first year already! Darned!

Anyway, his approach is similar to my sword sensei, though. He waits until he sees that I'm ready. Then he told me what to do next. Sort of. He did not really tell me what to do, just give me more list of books to read (as usual) and told me to write. However, this time I really have to catch up fast with the reading list which I normally was too lazy to do. Big mistake! The list piles up fast, man! And before you know it, you feel you are never going to make it!

So, the first thing I did after coming back home after seeing him was Googling "Sociology of Literature." I groaned soon after the result came up? Why? First, the field was not covered in Wiki. And for me, if it is not in Wiki, then, something must be really, really wrong!

And, boy, was I right! Gosh, how come my advisor always send me on to the most difficult path? Why is that? Consider this:

The sociological interpretation Of literature is not a favorite son of organized social science. Since the emancipation of the study of literature from the rigid research dicta and historically cogent laws of philology, almost everybody with a fair access to reading and writing feels entitled to offer historical, aesthetic, and sociological criticism and generalization. The academic disciplines which have been traditionally charged with the history and analysis of literature have been caught unaware by the impact of mass literature, the best seller, the popular magazine, the comics and the like, and they have maintained an attitude of haughty indifference to the lower depths of imagination in print. A field and a challenge have thus been left open and the sociologist will have to do something about them.

Frankfurt School: On Sociology of Literature by Leo Lowenthal 1948

http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/lowenthal/1948/literature.htm

If I have more time and energy, I'll update some more about my revised proposal. But I have to do the actual revision first!

Like John Lennon once said, you win some, you lose some. You can't really have it all, I guess. But if you ask me how I felt after my first meeting with my chief advisor for the first time in what seems like aeons, I guess it's pretty ok. At least I got the answers I wanted for today. And I could work with more focus, although it seems I'm going to have even more work load than ever before with the new area I have to cover (soc of lit) and also some other books he mentioned today.

Again, the takeaway from this meeting is

• Keep Bushido, drop Budo.

• Drop Leadership Theory, develop own Operational Term for "Mindfulness" to use in Content Analysis.

• Methodology = Content Analysis.

• Content to be Analyzed = Bushido Literature from Tokugawa Period.

• Analytical Framework to make it Soc of Lit instead of just literature review = "Social Millieux" (or should it be Millieure?)

He also mentioned about Great Tradition and Little Tradition. Oh, there are still many more to read and understand. He emphasized the use of language and its symbolic interpretation. He also listened with interest and expressed agreement when I explained the changing meaning of the word "Nen" in Japanese to him. He said I could include that in my dissertation also.

So, what theories are we looking for now? Social exchange theory? Symbolic theory? Gee, I start to sound more and more like the professor in the Davinci Code who interprets the meaning of stuff in history. But that's what I'm about to set to do, to "decode" Bushido, the code of conduct for the legendary Tokugawa Samurai.

There you go, another title for my dissertation. I should start keeping tab of the ever-changing title of my dissertation, actually. May be that would be the last finishing touch of the whole work even! Don't you think?

Ok, as of today, let it be recorded as:

"Bushido Decoded: Unlocking the Mindfulness Elements in
Tokugawa Samurai's Code of Conduct"

Hmm...I like it. Sounds like "Matrix Reloaded" and "Da Vinci Code" reel into one! hee hee hee Well, we'll see if I could really reload it from the past decode it and deliver what this title promises!