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Timothy James Pasch, Ph.D.

tpasch@u.washington.edu
2603 Boylston Av E #2
Seattle, WA 98102-3236
206-391-0890

A Summary of Recent and Ongoing Research

International Communication: Arctic Internet and Social Networking in the North

I am currently working on preparing segments of my dissertation for publication based on


the data collected while living in the Canadian Arctic. Elements of focus are Cybersecurity in the
North, Social Networking in the Arctic, and the development of tools enhancing native-language use
online. is work extends into the International Circumpolar through the development of portals
linking the Ainu in Japan with Inuit in both Nunavik and in Greenland. Two papers are initially
planned, the first in collaboration with Barbara Endicott-Popovsky, director of the Center for
Information Assurance and Cybersecurity at the University of Washington, and the second paper
works with Seattle and Montreal-based software developers and focuses on language preservation
technologies enabling streaming video within Bebo and Facebook pages.

Digital Media and Distance Learning Design

My current position at the University of Washington is funded by a federal grant and


involves designing New Media content for education and communication curriculum. Specifically, I
am creating immersive content by embedding flash video into PDF and Powerpoint files. is media
format is designed to target multiple learning styles during distance learning.
e development of these projects is achieved through software workflow that I developed
integrating Windows, Macintosh and Linux operating systems and multiple software packages. e
results are professional, exceedingly user friendly and very effective at transmitting a maximum of
information in a format engaging to the user. I am very interested in the synergy between media
formats on the web, specifically combining streaming media, immersive distance learning, and
interactivity online, and am writing a paper on this workflow for submission to the Journal of
Computer Mediated Communication. I anticipate that my academic and media production tutorials
and papers will be a consistent and fertile source of publications in the future. Examples of my work
can be seen on the website I coded at www.timpasch.com.

Critical eory of New Media, Cybersecurity and Constructing Online Identity

A research project in progress investigates the illusory nature of perfect privacy online
through a detailed exploration of personal information that search engines currently archive. is
work continues through proposing that a conscious creation of online identity is a more appropriate
and indeed, constructive option than the quest for total privacy. A detailed series of specific steps
involved in working with search engines towards constructing a positive online identity ensues,
designed to create an effective online profile that will emerge when the user’s name is searched.
My background in interdisciplinary critical theory serves as a conceptual framework for an
exploration of identity online, seen through the lens of race and virtual environments. Foucault,
Gramsci and Nakamura, along with Deleuze, Guattari and the works of William Gibson and Neil
Gaiman among others merge in my research during the search for identity and meaning in the
virtual. Moving from the rubric of theory into the latest developments in software and hardware
interfaces, this aspect of my research looks at issues of identity and race representation online,
language use in social networking, privacy and cybersecurity, web censorship, audio and video
production, and hacking the digital divide through the creation of open-source software solutions.

Qualitative/Quantitative Communication Mixed Methods Research

In my consulting and research work at the University of Washington, I have developed


ability with a workflow combining SPSS and Nvivo, permitting qualitative data analysis of meaning
within online text followed by quantitative statistical analysis of the results. I am working on
analyzing web-based content, with the goal of finding statistical significance in word choice, word
usage, and hits on various websites. A current project involves analyzing data concerning online
mentions of rights to the Northwest Passage and Arctic Sovereignty issues. A paper based on
preliminary results was presented at the Western Social Science Association and is currently being
developed into its final form. rough the use of the word/number synergy, I anticipate completing a
series of projects based on qualitative content analysis of the written web, and statistical analysis of
the results using SPSS. I additionally look forward to teaching these Communication software
research methods.

Synergies Among Research Topics

rough a combination of my research interests, I situate my work at the intersections of


International Communication, Distance Learning, Web Design, New Media Analysis, and Audio
and Video production. ese elements work together as I position myself as a Communication/New
Media scholar working on combining elements of New Media and delivering them online and in the
classroom in new and effective ways. I am specifically seeking a post that will allow and encourage
the development of my distance learning and content creation acumen, and will permit the research
of new and innovative content delivery methods. My goal is to publish broadly both on the
techniques of creation themselves, and the mixed-methods data generated through the
implementation of these communication strategies. e larger goal of such distance learning and
new content creation is to empower all learners, regardless of race, social standing, physical location
or economic status. For a university environment, distance learning is an effective and financially
efficient manner of creating new courses and broadening the student body to regions that would
previously be inaccessible. For minority groups, aboriginal learners, and economically
inconvenienced students, distance learning is a superlative means of achieving a University-level
education without the need for relocation. I am confident that this burgeoning field will undergo
rapid expansion and I plan to position myself at the forefront of such Communication technology;
in research, practice, publication and instruction.

Seattle, 11/09/08.

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