Campaign Mode: Does the cultural line do anything?

I am playing through the campaign mode to get a feel for the game. I realized early on that the entire tech tree wasn't in the campaign. However, there are some technologies still present that don't seem to deliver on what they are supposed to do. In particular, I have a question regarding the cultural line (i.e. cultural domination, etc). These techs are supposed to grant modules for starbases to increase cultural influence. After researching these, these modules do not seem to be available.

Please tell me if I am missing something, or if this tech line acts differently in the campaign.

Thanks!