1. My Interests
1.1. Film Production
1.1.1. Film Production Process
1.1.1.1. Far too broad, difficult to find anyone to interview.
1.1.2. Famous Directors/Producers in Australia
1.1.2.1. Not useful, Not interesting
1.1.3. Career Pathways to the Film Industry
1.1.3.1. Difficult to research, I did some initial research on this and it was hard to find information other than available courses. Also, I would have difficulty finding anyone to research.
1.2. Volunteering
1.2.1. Volunteering Opportunities in Australia
1.2.1.1. Not of sufficient interest
1.3. Police/Guide Horses
1.3.1. History of Police/Guide Horses
1.3.1.1. Not broad enough, Not interesting, Not useful
1.3.2. Training/Handling of Police/Guide Horses
1.3.2.1. Difficult to find detailed information and primary sources, this is still a very small field in Australia. However, if I did choose to do this topic I have met a semi-retired police horse trainer in the adelaide hills who may be willing to do an interview.
1.3.3. Becoming a Trainer
1.3.3.1. Even more specific than above and therefore more difficult to research.
1.4. Police/Guide/Search and Rescue Dogs
1.4.1. Training/Handling of Dogs
1.4.1.1. Difficult to find primary sources and therefore to achieve anything new by my research
1.4.2. Becoming a Dog Handler
1.4.2.1. As above.
2. My Hobbies
2.1. Digital Art
2.1.1. Research Digital Art Tools, Software and Techniques
2.1.1.1. May be expensive to research (I can't buy any of the technology I would need to analyse) or not interesting enough.
2.1.2. Produce an Artwork
2.1.2.1. Will not produce something useful. A usable outcome is important to me, as I will know I am adding something to my chosen area of research. Also, I would not want to choose this topic because I have already done a full year of art so much of the information I would 'discover' would actually be old news to me.
2.2. Traditional Art
2.2.1. Produce an Artwork
2.2.1.1. As Above
2.2.2. Research an Australian Artist/Art Style
2.2.2.1. Not interesting, Not useful
2.3. Horse Riding
2.3.1. Training a Barrel Racing Horse
2.3.1.1. Would be very interesting. I don't think it would be suitable for a research project however. I don't know any barrel horse racers or trainers to interview and it could be both impractical and dangerous for me to attempt this on my own horse.
2.4. Novel Writing
2.4.1. Writing a Novel
2.4.1.1. Difficult topic to tackle. According to W. Somerset Maugham: 'There are three rules for writing the novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.' -http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/26789.html I have found this to be very true. Also, I have done significant research on this topic in the past, including a six-month TAFE course, so it would hardly be called researching if I undertook this.
2.4.2. Research the strengths/weaknesses of Traditional Publishing vs Self Publishing
2.4.2.1. A fascinating topic and an outcome on this could be very useful to a lot of people. However, everyone seems to have their own opinion on this subject and I am not sure I would be able to separate fact from fiction.
2.5. Researching
2.6. Reading
2.6.1. Read and do an in-depth study on the work and style of a famous author.
2.6.1.1. A nice idea, but I think many of my others are more interesting and therefore are higher priorities.
3. Possible Careers
3.1. Paramedic
3.1.1. Produce an introductory guide for students interested in the field of Paramedics 'Becoming a Paramedic'
3.1.1.1. This topic would be fairly interesting and useful. I also know a few paramedics who I could interview to supplement my other sources.
3.1.1.1.1. As I continue further with my research, I'm seeing that it is a good thing I did not choose this topic. It is far to broad to cover adequately in only 1500 words.
3.1.2. Research emotional/mental effects of trauma. I've always been interested in psychology, especially as it relates to an individuals ability to cope and recover from major traumatic occurrences.
3.1.2.1. Research the effects of emotional/psychological trauma on emergency service workers in the SAAS, MFS, CFS and SES. This would be challenging as a separate topic, I could incorporate in a practical way into the topic 'Becoming a Paramedic' but this would leave me very little room to explore the topic in-depth.
3.1.2.1.1. This topic is a sensitive one. Although mental health is an important issue in our society today, I have noticed that many people, myself included, feel uncomfortable when talking about their mental well being. But the affects of trauma is an important issue and needs a greater level of awareness and understanding in our society. Choosing to study the topic of trauma would not only increase this level of awareness, but it would also stretch me personally and develop my own understanding of what trauma is and how it effects those who suffer because of it.
3.1.2.2. Research post-combat trauma and its causes and effects.
3.1.2.2.1. As interviewees I would need: A war veteran, a psychologist who has studied post-war trauma or an army chaplain. All of which are not easy to find in Bordertown. Also, I would feel bad if I caused someone to dredge up painful memories for the sake of my research.
3.2. Graphic Designer
3.2.1. Research opportunities and career pathways to Graphic Design.
3.2.1.1. Interesting and Useful. But a fairly easy and possibly narrow topic. I would prefer to study something more adventurous.
3.2.2. Research the design process
3.2.2.1. As above
3.3. Riding Instuctor
3.3.1. Pathways to becoming a riding instructor
3.3.1.1. As Above
3.3.2. Instructing low-confidence children
3.3.2.1. This topic would be difficult to find information on and it would be hard to research without simply compiling the findings of other researchers, which I certainly do not want to do.