Monthly Archives: April 2016

Back from the future

Education, Interdisciplinary practice

In the moment of swinging open the door to the CEMUS library in the middle of the night I stumbled upon the last fragments of stirrings from the Alumni meeting earlier. I had totally forgotten! There in the sofa sat the last souls from the evening´s activities, battling the sweet seduction from a shared wine bottle.

I took the opportunity to cross-examine them as they were about where their education had taken them. It was a little different; some were idling since a year or so; others worked as advisors; while some had jobs in the work sector. It was not that straight forward for interdisciplinary gifted persons to use their competence genuinely. Most laid back at their former educations and used this Master as added value.

There were although promises about a brighter future when companies had better grasped these more dynamic competences from experiences so far. Just as I thought it will be up to me to communicate my skills until companies and institutions has adapted.

The case study goes on. The group has agreed to dive into property issues for Controlled Environment Agriculture in dense built city areas as an example of urban agriculture. Some are more optimistic than others about the explosion of this hype. We are to begin with interviewing stakeholders about their willingness to rent properties for such use.

Next week we are about to visit the hydroponic cultivation project in Högdalen in Stockholm as a part of the study. Meantime we are presented the individual task for the course built on earlier course material. I have no real idea yet about the essence of it. I can only try to get as much out of the way as possible during the two days of the task.

The last CEMUS course runs its little course as we use to say in Swedish. There´s going to be a lot of small evaluating exercises done in groups. If things go as I hope it feels rather straight forward. Still I´ve to do the evil math exam but I hope the theory will be easier than the computing. So one feels quite busy with the last tasks of the first year.

/All the best

Nearing the end

Education

Another weak has past and soon May is upon us. The Slow violence task is done. Quite fun to merge scientific writing with fiction. I took the opportunity to write about that our high sea fleets are the driving factor for laying the rail for even more trade and consumption affecting the poor. That was one of my versions of Slow violence.

This CEMUS course has been the most interactive. Next book is the What about me? by Paul Verhaeghe.  A real heavyweighter if you ask me. A book of our time where humans give each other a hard time. It opened with a case of a fellow employee being strapped in front of a car while driving around with the poor thing. Not even 20 pages and the uneasy feeling begins. An adult version of Lord of the flies.

Tomorrow we’ll visit Lake Tämnaren outside Uppsala. It has been subjected a long time for social and environmental discussions between different interests. Depending on how the visit is conducted it could be very interesting and fit well in an interdisciplinary approach. I look forward to something more delighting than the last field trip^^

I´m trying to search more internship but to be honest I´m quite exhausted. The evil math after a psychologically exhausting case study took its toll. No Christmas brake^^ I urge next year’s students to make that brake!

A little more than a month left at the program now. I know some are leaving, conducting their thesis right now. A few of those will return to work, others were disappointed.  Others are leaving too but will do their second year at home with their internship and thesis.

/That´s all for now

Progression

Education

Spring has finally begun to secure its position in the long struggle against winter´s presence. I´ve spent the last week reading the Slow Violence book that left me quite exhausted. That´s the reason for the delay of this next blog post.

I begin to realize I actually survived the hardships with the evil math alongside three other courses. While bribing one of the leading engineers with 1000 SEK in the class to take me through this awful course I heard from him that many in the class had thrown in the towel. The evil math course had eventually teased more people than me to their limits.

With only the exam left on the analysis course I can also happily announce I passed the environmental assessment course. It feels good to be able to tap myself on the shoulder knowing I found a way through it all. The math has always had a way to force me down on my knees. A tip would be for those having problems in the subject to choose another course if possible.

The Interdisciplinary practice course goes on. After presenting various approaches and models of focus the course now have ordered us in groups, developing the last parts of our problem statements for the year´s second big case study. Once again teachers are experiencing how the interdisciplinary approach can wake to worst in group members. This time the phenomenon affected other groups than mine. At least something.

I have been contacted a couple of times now by organizations interested of recommending me as intern for their clients. Feels good to imagine a semester away from class rooms and the disgusting laser pointers that sometimes teachers cling on to as it were their teddy bear or something. Yes, I´m having some problems with the subject. I don´t think these toys have anything to do inside classrooms, especially by so called grownups.

Now I´m about to begin the Slow Violence assignment in the Discourses course. Things are going forward and doing my best to complete what’s left of this school year.

/Until next time

Classes

Laser injury issues in society

While number of courses have declined I´m having more time to other pressing issues. One of the most troublesome is the incredibly vague and sloppy attitude in which eye doctors and agencies manage laser issues. This social sustainability problem is of very high concern. Many people don´t believe their ears when I tell horrific stories about how suffering people with laser induced eye problems are met by eye doctors.

Many have their lives destroyed. Some have waited many years for help while eye doctors continue making fun of them, leaving them to their fate, unable to use their eyes owed to e.g. extreme light hypersensitivity. Still when I´m contacting eye doctors they cannot follow scientific discussions connected to the matter, leaving the question: how can this be allowed in a country such as Sweden, having the best eye hospital in Europe?

I´ve spent last days calling leading authorities in Sweden. Just like last time doctors are trying to solve world’s problems on their own, disregarding their obligation to include other scientists clinical results, avoiding to check those even in regard to their profession. Now it also becomes an scientific ethical question linked to eye doctors.

Socially oriented scientists would surely raise great amounts of critic if this vane attitude would be manifested within their ranks, disregarding or denying important discourses.

One of the greatest debates I´m having is low effect lasers since those who ought to know better relentlessly renders class 2 as completely safe. If laser issues takes time to engage in, then class 2 takes the price because one needs to know the history of the classes. When they were developed scientists during the 60s and 70s did [not] render class 2 as safe. Far from it. Still that groundbreaking In Vivo research is actively neglected without reason.Laser safety class 2.

Still I´m having these debates with eye doctors every time in contact  with them. Always the same vane answer: “I don´t care what you say, I will not listen to you and I will not do any reading”. Meanwhile people are suffering.

Anyone having doubts about cl. 2 laser safety? Take a look at the link for cl. 2 warning labels.

/Sincerely