Academia Ghetto Thread

[LMNO]

Wow.  Good read, Cain.  Thanks for sharing!

[Cain]

Thanks.

Had to complete my paper a day early...due date is tomorrow noon, but I'm travelling all day because I have an interview in central London.  Another private school...3 days on duty, 3 days off duty rotation.  Which would be ideal for me.  I don't mind being on duty ALL DAY EVERY DAY for only three days.  One day to chill, and another to study, with one to do something else with. 

If I get it, of course.  We shall see.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Good luck!

[Cain]

Thanks.  No idea how many people are applying.  It's a mid-year appointment, so competition will either be fierce or nonexistant.

And then, when I get back, I can make a start on my counter-terrorism essay. Which will be marked by an actual former counter-terrorism officer who (allegedly) blew up a shop while undercover.  Oh boy...

[Demolition Squid]

Thanks for that reading, Cain!

And good luck you guys! I do not miss writing essays or sitting exams in the least.

[Junkenstein]

Hey Cain, when did you write that up? Just curious because of:

Collier and Hoeffler's research shows that rebellion and civil war is far more likely when specific segments of society are excluded from power-sharing arrangements, whereas a coup is more likely where grievances are specific to the security services.

And now recent the events they were considering were.

Good luck to all. I've no idea how you have the patience for it all.

[Cain]

I wrote that...last May?

The research itself was from the mid-2000s, I think.  Either that or the 1960s.  When I said the literature on coups was poor, I was not understating the problem.

[LMNO]

Seriously?  A 40-year gap?  Weren't there, like, dozens of coups in the 70s and 80s or something?

[Cain]

There's probably some other papers out there.  Individual case studies and things, no doubt.  But on coups as a phenomena, you have a couple of papers from the 1960s, the Art of Coup d'Etat, one book on sociology from the 1980s and a couple of papers in the 2000s.

It is quite possible in addition to case studies, particular or general cases have been subsumed by studies of revolutions or civil war.

[Cain]

Also pretty much everything worth saying on the topic was already said by Edward Luttwak in Art of Coup d'Etat...while slim, it's nevertheless quite a comprehensive book.  Like Machiavelli's The Prince, only for disgruntled military officers and their ilk.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

There's probably some other papers out there.  Individual case studies and things, no doubt.  But on coups as a phenomena, you have a couple of papers from the 1960s, the Art of Coup d'Etat, one book on sociology from the 1980s and a couple of papers in the 2000s.

It is quite possible in addition to case studies, particular or general cases have been subsumed by studies of revolutions or civil war.

I feel like you might have quite some potential for a nice dissertation, there. Who better?

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

So over the course of this Systems Science class I've been unable to help noticing that Systems Science dovetails rather beautifully with much Discordian philosophy, to the extent that it might not be wholly inaccurate to say that Systems Science is a Discordian discipline, or perhaps that Discordianism is a systems-science-based philosophy.

In fact, given that Discordianism and Systems Science emerged at roughly the same time, I think it is perfectly reasonable to speculate that Systems Science is essentially the academic branch of Discordianism.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Whoa, while doing a search I encountered this: http://www.academia.edu/

[LMNO]

So over the course of this Systems Science class I've been unable to help noticing that Systems Science dovetails rather beautifully with much Discordian philosophy, to the extent that it might not be wholly inaccurate to say that Systems Science is a Discordian discipline, or perhaps that Discordianism is a systems-science-based philosophy.

In fact, given that Discordianism and Systems Science emerged at roughly the same time, I think it is perfectly reasonable to speculate that Systems Science is essentially the academic branch of Discordianism.

I have an overwhelming urge to get my Masters degree at this point.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

So over the course of this Systems Science class I've been unable to help noticing that Systems Science dovetails rather beautifully with much Discordian philosophy, to the extent that it might not be wholly inaccurate to say that Systems Science is a Discordian discipline, or perhaps that Discordianism is a systems-science-based philosophy.

In fact, given that Discordianism and Systems Science emerged at roughly the same time, I think it is perfectly reasonable to speculate that Systems Science is essentially the academic branch of Discordianism.

I have an overwhelming urge to get my Masters degree at this point.

I seriously think you would LOVE Systems Science. Plus you would be able to put "holistic problem solving" on your resume.

If you want to read more, I recommend these books to start with:
http://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Systems-Donella-H-Meadows/dp/1603580557/
http://www.amazon.com/Leadership-New-Science-Discovering-Chaotic/dp/1576753441/