| POSSIBLE DIRECTIONS FOR RESEARCH So many ideas, so little time No copyright or any kind of limitation placed on these, and I would ask that anyone using them leave them similarly open with the sole specific exception of one's own published research (since I recognise that there is significant income potential in some of these). I might be researching some of them, but if you want to use any of these ideas for your own research directions, go right ahead. You don't even have to tell me � although I would be curious to read the papers as published or in draught. I won't ever have time to get to most of the possibilities anyway. For editing or major troubleshooting requests, I regret that I will have to charge a fee: see Professional Services or e-mail me directly. How To Think About Your Research Paper A useful introduction to research methodology |
| Correlation between types and subjects of popular films and other forms of mass entertainment and: a) then-current events? b) national "mood"/concerns? (ie. 'we caused the disaster' films in times of great pessimism) c) possible conic predictive function? (ie. do films anticipate their correlate; are they responsive to their correlate; or is there some other external quantifiable factor) "What I've noticed over the years is that there is a direct correlation between the political climate of the time and the product." - Robert Redford Autism: a) does the current increase in autistic spectrum syndromes correlate with specific chemical environmental factors possibly more prevalent within western society? (eg. oxytocin / hospital childbirth) b) does the current increase correlate with the increase in social relevant of the computer and/or the Internet? c) does the current increase correlate with a possible parallel increase in societal drug abuse (including alcoholism)? d) does the current increase correlate with a possible parallel increase or decrease in specific subjects and/or genres of films? (eg. film noir, escapism, maverick heroism, romantic comedies) e) can a retrospective analysis identify a possible causal element? f) is there an �invisible� increase in previously undiagnosed mild autistic spectrum syndromes and/or a previously unrecognised autistic spectrum syndrome correlating to a possible general social decrease in (average) social and empathic skills? g) do previously undiagnosed mild autistic spectrum syndromes in parents increase its probability and degree in their children? Note: Most of the above questions assume, based on my own non-quantified observations during the past several decades, that at least part of the observed increase in autistic spectrum syndromes is independent of improved diagnostic tools. (Autism is currently the only developmental diagnostic category which seems to be increasing in frequency.) Recent research into the first and fifth questions (including a consideration of possible genetic factors) has just begun at the University of California subsequent to a nearly threefold increase in diagnosed autism cases from 1987 to 1998. The Paranoid State Is there a correlation between societal drive to societally-sanctioned paranoia and: a) societal nihilism? b) increases in either nationalism, nationally "sanctioned" organised religion, or both? c) the duty-to-the-state-of-the-individual / duty-of-the-individual-to-the-state polarity? d) emphasis on rugged individualism? Chocolate, sex? a) is there a correlation between degree of attraction to chocolate and degree of libedo? b) does the degree of attraction to chocolate change from initial acquiring of the taste through puberty through later in life? c) is there a predictive element between the two? Alternatives to economic-based theory: At the present, the large majority of major governmental systems have defined their focus of government based on economic polarities (with a secondary and tertiary social justice and totalitarian axes). Current trends make complete sense when interpreted within existing (especially non-Keynesian) economic models (particulary within the context of short-term [10-20 year = single generational] net monetary profit). Current trends make absolutely no sense when interpreted against the potential desirability of long-term species survival. What alternative systems are possible? Application of social psychology theory to political models: a) do countries (or any political group, so long as its members share a common identity) react to other countries or political groups in (possibly predictive) ways parallelling existing models of group theory? b) possible �united field theory� of social sciences rooted in similar cross-applications of individual psychological models? Examining extremes of climate: It has been argued that global warming can be identified more by growth in the number of extreme weather events than by any measurable local rise (or fall) in temperature. This would suggest that serious climactic alterations could be identified by measuring the numbers of extreme weather events and temperature records. In the absence of other acting phenomena, these numbers should be generally assymptotic toward an upper limit. Anything other than an asymptotic curve might suggest an active alteration of climate. Representative goverment democracy as non long-term sustainable: a) does representative government beyond a total size of "friend knows a friend" (roughly 10,000) invariably lead to identification of and subsequent schism by disenfranchised minorities? b) is the long-term viability of the democratic model inversely proportional to societal emphasis on determined individualism? More ideas to come as I remember them or as they come to me � |