After two campus sessions, lot of lists,"researching" and little typing..+Professional Artefact clarification

Trent Park, Mansion, Posh room... 5th October 2011.
It was great to find a room full of people with the same worried looks on their face...
We did a few group exercises discussing our inquiry title, aims/objectives,ethical issues,our literature and data collecting tools. Vocally expressing the project helped many of us clarify issues that we were subconsciously ignoring..
Paula Nottingham re-inforced the importance of clearly planning out what, how and when we were going to complete the work on our inquiry in time spam we have.
I left the campus session feeling ready to finish my introduction as I had a better understanding on the consistency of our critical reviews.
In the two weeks I had before the next session I..

• Printed out a calender and worked out exactly when I was going to do what.. with lots of colours to keep me entertained!
• Booked and carried out all of my interviews with a variety of participants.
• Read my literature and wrote down lots of reviewing notations...

Trent park,Mansion, Cold room...19th October 2011
Feeling a little bit more on top of things but still full of queries..
We sat with Adesola in a circle to discuss the 'Professional Artefact' Part of our final dissertation. Here are some points I made during the seminar.

• It's about finding the best way to explain what we found out.
• An embodiment of our questions, follow the thread to NATURAL CONCLUSION.
• It's not an add on its part of the whole process
• There are different types of formats to present findings. Like,documents in the style of eg. Doing if  your inquiry was about young education you could present your findings in a children's picture book.

Where as when spoke about the word formatted critical review.. it is the reportative form.

• It combines our experience with wisdom presenting cohesive arguments, critical thinking, comparing opinions and authorities.

What Next??!?!?

One of my main discussions with my advisor was how I couldn't really see the difference between the two segments of my critical review(evaluation of process and analysis of findings) it sounds obvious but! I was finding it hard to not write about my finding when evaluating my interviews etc. It turns out I had the wrong meaning of the word findings, the findings aren't just the data collected e.g my interviewees outcomes or literature reviews, because I found gaps in the knowledge from both sources. My analysis is why the gaps have occurred and how I can fill them.

Therefore before worrying about typing out my evaluation of my inquiry process I need to compare and contrast my findings in detail and take a critical approach to be clear of what I have discovered and learnt from the process.

Here I go.....

Hope this post has helped some people that couldn't make the campus sessions!?x

Hair up, Jumper on and FOCUS!

After what only felt like a couple of weeks that was infact over 3 months break from blog writing and focused study, I finally decided it was time to read the final Module Reader and Handbook. This was a success and easier than anticipated as it instantly inspired me to carry out the exciting challenge of writing more words than ever accomplished by me before, on a topic that genuinely interests me and will benefit not only me but hopefully many others in my current workplace and forever growing and excelling Professional Practice!
The reader has reminded me the importance of the modules we have already studied and how I can apply all that I've learnt so far to make it a success. I have kept up my journal over summer to ensure I remained a reflective practitioner and to enhance my thought process and planning for this module.
The first thing on my pre-dissertation to do list was to read through my Inquiry plan with a tooth pick or a pack of highlighters and clarify,pick out exactly what the aim is, how I am going to get it all done in the time we have also what I need to take into account and adjust. This reminded me of how much work I've given myself and how litlle time I have.
Another tickbox was to review on my Inquiry Plan feedback, this helped me focus on things to improve on for example having a more clear plan on my inquiry tool of interviews and their structure. Will semi structured interviews with a question guideline to stick to be too time consuming? How important is it for me to gather qualitative data? These are only a couple of the queries I need to solve before carrying out my research.
Over the summer I have reflected on how I am going to present my findings. In my plan I mention my predetermined timeline that I will constantly scrutinise, update and develop. Although I aim to fill the gaps of the timelines that have already been produced by clarifying, defining and integrating cultural, historical and musical basis I wish to develop this further by maybe making an audio timeline, with narration and music clips as I feel the clearest way to define and depict the musical differences is to hear them.. This is just an idea that has comeup in my journal over summer that I will see how possible it will be carry out!?

Critical Reflection and Summary: Digital Portfolio

Critical Reflection and Summary: Digital Portfolio

What do you need to know to be a professional practitioner? This is a question I was asked in the first lecture of Module 2(3835) this seemed an easy, self explanatory sort of question to ask, but 12 weeks down the line I’m still constantly adding to my originally seemingly small, narrow minded list. “It’s about finding our speciality within our sphere of Profession. I now realise I have much more to learn about the meaning of Knowledge by itself as well as how I need to look at my own knowledge and categorize it in more detail”  This is a snippet from my blogpost reviewing the campus session. Through reflection I realised my knowledge is Tran disciplinary because I carry the knowledge I’ve gained from my musical theatre training across to my solo Jazz singing therefore I am using specific knowledge for personal experiences.

To clarify and condense the reader I put Scholarly Research into simple steps, guidelines. This is one of the technical research structures I will be using in my Inquiry so it’ll prove useful. Throughout the first part of the module we discussed big questions and the purpose of our inquiry topic. Judging from reoccurring traits in my reflective poems my interests were veering to such questions as-How much and when do I listen to music? What effect does it have on my mood?

For the first task of the module I thought up some sub-questions but realised that my original ones could be answered already, which is uninspiring. Therefore I wanted to broaden from just the ‘I’ questions to a larger scale, as singing effects so many more people than just me, this led to my new Inquiry proposal of Why is singing such an important use of communication? On that note I set up my facebook thread to get my S.I.Gs started which has worked as a great way to communicate regularly with course associates. This resulted in ideas and helpful resources being developed. I’ve reviewed these in one of my Blog posts back in February.

Our Introduction to professional ethics at this campus session really inspired me to dig my teeth into the course reader, I can now define the difference between personal values and virtues which helps me when analysing ethical issues that occur in my professional practice. I put together a code of conduct, this ethical stance clarified the moral implications that were naturally in place within my professional environment.

After discovering that every practice has an ethical dimension I decided to find a relative to my profession I looked into specific moral dilemmas we encounter in music today I proposed normative questions to analyse the situation and looked at moral axiology using the applied and comparative ethics to analyse the different perspectives. Throughout this module I have kept track of my references and recently experimented with sharing these on a great bookmark and tagging site delicious.

To practice data collecting tools I composed a pilot survey and Interview. After deciding that singing as a communication was still too broad of a topic to base my inquiry on I realised that I was heavily interested in the effect that music has on both the singer and listeners, therefore I would focus on; does singing affect your health and wellbeing? I gained both qualitative and quantitative information from a variety of people as I used a representative sample of participants allowing me to analyse a reliable amount of data.

During this process I realised there were far too many sub topics and questions I wanted to answer in terms of my inquiry. In the midst of this confusion I met with my advisor who asked me; “In your profession what do people expect you to know?” I thought about the process of walking into a recording studio and getting to know the producer/song writer I’m working with and making them familiar with the music I want to make and why.  In order to be more specific, make more links and to generally sound more intellectual on the background and traits of the genres I want to infuse; I need to Learn, clarify and relate everything I should and need to know about the material I sing. Therefore I decided to base my inquiry on- What are the Links between Jazz, Pop, Soul and R’n’B and how have they changed over time? I can use all the information and data I’ve gathered over the past twelve weeks as resources for when I encounter the emotional links between these genres. After writing my plan I’m now looking forward to implementing the tools and techniques I have learnt during this module to my Inquiry.

6d for Delicious!

http://www.delicious.com/gunnelljoanna

I've posted a mixed sample of the academic and professional resources I use, some have been once and some are everyday. Take a look, any recommended literature would be higly appreciated!
Delicious is great! I have found so many data resources that'll I'll be using for my Inquiry.
The minute you tag a bookmark you get hundreds of recommended tags to look into that lead you to some great, very useful sites!
I'd highly recommend everyone to have a try if you haven't already,

6b...Inquiry Clarification

My Pilot Research Tools.

My pilot interviews were extremely beneficially as I gathered many perspectives on music and singing as a use of communication. My interviews were semi-structured which included a set of questions and themes with flexibilty of following interesting or useful emerging issues. The interviews were a useful tool to use because I could collect alot of valuable data about attitudes and expectations creating motives which is information that is less excessible without this personal approach.However it was extremely time consuming and analysing the data has proven complex. I decided to use 'Thematic categories' to interpret the meaning of the evidence presented. If I decide to use interviews as one of my research tools for my inquiry I would use a more structured interview method to stop me from threading of the subject too much and would have a time limit.

The 21 responses I received from my pilot survey have provided me with a good variety of Information to analyse and relate to my Inquiry. Howerver taking other peoples surveys made me realise I hadn't used the opportunity to its maximum benefits. For example Nikki-Louise McGowans Survey covered many different areas of her future inquiry with detail. Therefore If I decide to use this tool again for my Inquiry I will include more questions that'll provide me with more Qualitative outcomes.

Survey Results.

Using just the highest percentage, more people that completed my survey sang as part of their professional practice, the last time they sang was 'today' and hearing familiar music sparks thier singing.They think singing improves their health and well-being sometimes and can feel a difference in their mood after or during they're singing.

The one open response Question I put was- Why do you think people pay alot of money to go and watch people sing?

This question provided me with alot of great opinions on live singing and the effect it has on the audience.

One answer I particurly liked and will use a source of inspiration behind my inquiry was-

"Because it is a form of art that many appreciate, even people non able to sing well...it's a form of speaking with a soundtrack behind...very poetic!" (Unknown survey participant).

After a meeting with my advisor(Adesola) last week I have decided to steer away from the broad question of Whats the benefits of singing? to something that'll be more useful in my current and future Professional Practice and relates to the qualifications I already have. What are the links between the genres I sing? Jazz, Soul, R'n'B and Pop.

The research and work I  have already done can still be linked to my Plan and can works as part of my learning Journey.

Any suggested sources of information or Literature for my new Inquiry aim would be hugely appriciated!?

Rationale

After looking deeper into how we use singing/music as a form of communication I decided  it was too broad of a subject to focus my inquiry on as it lead to too many sub focuses which are very widely spread., Therefore something that particularly caught my interest was the effect the primary source (being the singers)and the secondary source (listeners) has on their health and wellbeing.
When looking into how singing is used within cultures and customs I realised the strength of the lyrics and the amount of positive outcomes from singing, I've decided to now focus my attention onto the effectsand specifics-
Does singing improve your health and wellbeing?
-I've decided to use a representative sample for a Quantative survey to provide me with a range of opinions on how and if singing effects their moods, health and wellbeing.

Singing survey.. PLEASE click on the link!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6CNY8SB

Professional Ethics (5c)

Looking at the sources helped me think of ethic dilemmas that occur in  my own professional practice, for example Case study 2:Ethics in photography about Kevin Carter.

With the objective to capture a rare moment on film the documentary photographer let a impoverished girl die when he knew he could of prevented it.

There are always two sides of every story so I decided to take a theoretical approach; Consequentialist, weighing up whether the outcome of the photo winning a Pulitzer Prize or him committing suicide for extreme guilt justifies/Balances out for the Sudanese girls life?

Everyone has their own opinion, from my perspective it is Morally wrong therefore I am taking a deontologist approach right or WRONG?

Where as if I were to think about Virtue ethics; the character of the moral agent and the given circumstances of his project. The photographers were instructed no to touch anyone for fear of epidemics.Therefore some could take that into consideration, however looking at his moral behaviour wouldn't your instincts be to save the child!?

 Reading the Professional ethics has made me find many hidden ethical dilemmas in our profession, relating to my recent inquiry of singing as a communication, that I hadn't previously thought of. We all listen to the radio often which has a high percentage of its broadcasting time playing music worldwide. An ethical dilemma within this area of communication is whether the material being broadcasted is always appreciate.

For example the shocking stories in the news about Chris Brown being accused of domestically violating Rihanna in February 2009. This public leak has had an affect on his music career but is the extent of it enough. His music is now played on the popular radio stations and soon enough he'll be touring again gaining a huge fan base. What kind of example is that setting for these fans?
I find this ethical dilemma causes many normative questions...
Taking the process of applied ethics; Does the sentence he received of 180 days of labor service in Virginia, five years of probation and was ordered to attend a domestic-abuse program for a year. Justify him being allowed to remain a hit making music star? Is this an acceptable resolution of the moral problem?
Moral axiology-Is what he was accused of classed as EVIL? against the GOOD consequences and what are they?
Is the growth of Rihannas fan base and success of her recent music due to this trauma?
Everyone should have the right to practice their art but is it right for him to gain such extreme success?
Analysing ethical problems and Using the moral theories I've learnt about in this reader result in more and more normative questions in everyday moral dilemmas.

References-
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://dailybabel.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Kevin-Carter.png&imgrefurl=http://dailybabel.com/2009/10/16/united-nations-food-programme-world-food-day-billion-hungry/&h=288&w=457&sz=700&tbnid=EWYGv403iKETTM:&tbnh=81&tbnw=128&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dkevin%2Bcarter%2Bphotos&zoom=1&q=kevin+carter+photos&usg=__ohlENFqf3hwR0p5J1CMENa4gGjI=&sa=X&ei=CLFzTdrlDcPPhAew6JRJ&ved=0CB0Q9QEwAg
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1614470/legal-expert-talks-chris-brown-sentence.jhtml

5B

As I don't currently have a "work place" I thought I'd look into the Code of Conduct/Rules and regulations in potential future work places.

Choir Singers should:

• be committed, reliable and punctual, always informing the choir trainer before being absent from rehearsals or services/concerts.
• be an outstanding member of the choir, setting an excellent example to other singers through attendance, behaviour, commitment, and musical standards.
• understand the delicate balance between giving a strong musical lead and blending with other singers.
• understand that the choir is a team and that the practicalities of running the team are imporant, e.g. setting up rehearsal rooms, collecting music, etc.
• take responsibility for the less experienced singers.

Here's a section out of Perry Road Recording Studio's Terms and Condition which most related to our kind of Code of Conduct. 

7.             Hirer's Compliance
7.1          The Hirer undertakes that it shall not bring into the Studio any alcohol, drugs, any illegal substance or any other substance for abuse, or any material which are of a dangerous nature, or an explosive nature or any materials whose possession storage or use might contravene any statute local regulations or bye-laws or constitute a nuisance to third parties.  The Company shall be entitled to immediately remove any such materials or substances described above.
7.2          The Hirer shall observe perform and comply with all applicable statues rules regulations and orders relating to its activities on the Company’s premises including without limitation the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and all associated regulations and approved codes of practice and the Hirer undertakes to ensure so far as reasonably possible the health safety and welfare at work of all employees of the Hirer and persons providing services for the benefit of the Hirer.
7.3        The Hirer confirms that the Company and any inspector appointed by the Health and Safety Executive, any fire officer or officer of any other regulatory body having authority over the Studio shall have the right to inspect without prior notice at any reasonable time the Equipment and the Studio for the purpose of complying with such inspector or officers duties or for the purpose of ensuring compliance by the Hirer of its obligations.
7.4        The Hirer shall arrive and leave the Studio in a considerate manner without causing any nuisance undue noise or disruption to others and shall comply with all access exit and parking requirements stipulated by the Company.
7.5        In the event of the Hirer’s failure to comply with any of these terms and conditions the Company shall be entitled to immediately terminate the period for hire and to retain all payments made by the Hirer. For avoidance of doubt the Hirer shall be liable in any event to pay for the full period of Studio hire booked.

Buskers may not:

• Cause or promote a public disturbance
• Block pathways, fire exits or impede traffic
• Play louder than the volume limit set by the local authority
• Hinder or prevent the passage of any emergency service or personnell
• Actively request money by asking for a donation or by shaking a collection box (unless they are collecting on behalf of a charitable cause in which case permission to collect must be sought from the local authority)

All of the behaviour guidelines, rules and regulations are very site specific, the standard traits are on respect for others, the premises and the audience which is included in the code of conduct I put together for a solo singer.

 References-
http://www.vocalist.org.uk/busking.html
http://www.perryroadstudios.co.uk/rates/7
http://www.stmaryshemel.org.uk/choircodeofconduct.htm

CODE of CONDUCT, campus session and 5a.

Thinking up a code of conduct is extremely challenging considering at least 70% of my professional practice is Solo based.My main work place is my home, then rehearsal space, various gig spots and rarely the Theatre space.
Analysing the ethics on the Musical Theatre side within my professional community is much easier as there's generally contracts to abide to and people to work under. At the campus session on Monday (21st) we got into groups to put together a code of conduct, our group specialised in the performance/Musical Theatre side. Here's what we came up with-

The Performers Code Of Conduct

• A performer must have consideration and Respect for who they're working for, or with.
• A performer must have dedication to the preparation needed for the product.
• It is acceptable for a Performer to have a conscientious use of sheet music, music and choreography within a teaching and auditioning environment.
• A performer must fulfill contract obligations.
• A performer holds the responsibility for the safety of you and others around you.
• A performer must avoid deliberately endangering their health.

These are the ethics that I aim to follow whilst working on Musical Theatre projects/ contracts however, many of these 'rules' wouldn't apply to my current professional practice of purely singing, therefore I have racked my brain to come up with personal regulations.

A Singers Code of Conduct

• A singer must have consideration and respect for musicians or collaborative singers.
• A singer holds responsibility for their vocal health.
• A singer should strive to sustain and increase singing ability.
• A singer must be dedicated to rehearsal time.
• A singer has the responsibility for the material they wish to share.

Thinking about whether one of the regulations in first set applies to me-

• It is acceptable for a Performer to have a conscientious use of sheet music, music and choreography within a teaching and auditioning environment.

!!?!!?!! I use songs, sheet music and music for performance purposes as well as in auditions and so do many, but it is not our original material. Is it legally correct or is it a comparative ethic? Ethical Dilemma?!

Also in the campus session we discussed Virtues, which I think of, as individual values or qualities.

Which Virtues do I have on a personal basis..

Confident

Generous

Positive

Which Virtues do I need for my profession..

Confidence

Reliability

Persistence

Obviously there's many more but I think it's important to analyse the virtues we have, need and maybe need to develop to create a good working Ethos within my Profession Practice.

Thinking about my award title.

"The award I seek as a result of doing this programme is a BA(Hons) Professional Practice (Communication through the Arts)"

How does that sound?
Originally I wrote.."through singing", but I felt it was restricting?
Is it too broad? as at the moment I am only looking into how we communicate through singing.

I thought of using the word communication as alot of the course so far and my Inquiry so far has been learning about how, when and where we communicate, network with others?!
Hmmm...

Outcomes so far.. 4b

I have set up a discussion thread on our facebook page called Singing as a use of communication which is already proving useful and is helping me to expand off on other tangents to do with my inquiry. Being involved in other discussions is also causing me to recall knowledge to share with others and learn from their interesting points. So far the SIGs are extremely handy and seem to be getting frequent updates which sparks the thought that we check our facebooks more than our blogs!?
 Whilst researching I found an interesting site which could help people who's inquiry somehow revolves round childrens education like Joanna and Natalie.
http://www.singup.org/magazine/magazine-article/view/32-singing-for-special-needs/

I found this article that talks about singing helping children with special needs or learning difficulties; "Its common to hear words sung by a child who would be unable to speak the same words" This particularly stood out to me as it's another positive way of using singing to communicate to add to my list, helping my inquiry questions.

Other points that  have arised that Im going to follow  up, from professional associates, SIG members and other BAPP  people are-

• The contrast between plays and Musicals as they reach out  to people differently as plays don't use singing to communicate the story.
• The difference between Musical Theatre singing and other genres also how and why people relate to the different stlyes.
• Is it the melody, Lyrics, Production or voice that reaches out to people?

I am currently in the process of asking other profesional employees, associates and friends, so any thoughts or opinions would help me greatly to find some of my own evidence to work from.

?-??

Looking back on when I first started thinking about my Inquiry-http://jcgunnell.blogspot.com/2010/11/inquiry.html I realised that the answers wouldn't take long to find, resulting in dead ends, which I find uninspiring!
I want to infuse my current professional practice and interests with areas I would like to work in, in the future, therefore, keeping in mind my interest in the affect music has on our moods etc I broadened my horizons, looked at the bigger picture.
A question I came up with when asked for a big question during the last campus session was-
How can I reach out to others with my singing voice?
Again I feel this question has its restrictions, I'm not only interested in my voice, singing as a whole is such a universal use of communication. Singing reaches out to so many people, what is the attraction?
These thoughts lead to my current Big Question.
Why is singing such an important way of communicating?


Taking into account the 2d task on inquiry we did last term and the 4a task for this module; I came up with some sub-questions to help me along the way and perhaps open up some links for people to help create our SIGS.

• In which scenarios do we use singing to communicate?

          And why?

• What are the benefits of using singing as communication?
• Is it always used as a positive way of communication?
• Are humans the only species that use singing to communicate?

Hopefully this is a good starting point, to take it further and gather other associates points.

Any comments would be highly appreciated!

Practictioner Research helpful steps..

Investigating abstract ideas will lead to our Inquiry research.
 To clarify and condense the reader I put Scholarly Research (a way of posing and expanding questions; a way of expressing and communicating) into simple steps, guidelines that I aim to stick to during my researching process.

Study, Examination, Gather facts

~

Scrutinize and Asses findings

~

Seek relationships, find connections

~

Discover Themes,  Emerge Ideas, Personal Interpretation

~

New Theories, Significance of discoveries.

These stages should help me to fully understand the topic I choose to research as the questions will lead to Problems which shall hopefully create opportunities!

Now for the Questions.....

Knowledge, My Knowledge?

Whilst the reader on Developing lines of professional Inquiry cleared up some of my confusions about knowledge it also resulted in a query on the different types..
Is my working situation Transdisciplinary or?
I work in many different areas of Musical Theatre, currently focusing on my singing and carrying the knowledge I've gathered in the past, through to my Solo Jazz side of my career; does that make my knowledge transdisciplinary as it is specific for that area of my profession and has been gained through personal experience to get me to where I am?
I wouldn't say much of the knowledge I need for my area of professional practice is Inter-disciplinary, as the core of my work at the moment is Performing or auditioning, rehearsing and preparing to perform. Unlike a singing teacher who would need to have the same knowledge and skills as me but also Need to know and manage the practice of education. However I feel there's a dosage of Propositional knowledge (practice based) Personal and Process Knowledge(tasks>expertise) using Information, planning and communication in all the aspects of my Professional Practice.

Term Two, Campus session and Thoughts.

I'm sure a few of us felt it took us a while to truly get into the last module, my main aim this term is to keep up, not get behind and stay focused and interested on the Tasks.
Tuesdays campus session was a great kick start to '3835' Rosemarys first question to us as Individuals was on Knowledge.
 "What do you need to know to be a professional practitioner?"
This set the cogs turning, we were asked to mould our answers into graphic visions, designs to express the things we need to know and how general the information is.
Straight away I related it to the layout of a theatre, the stalls being the closest to the stage (my profession)  represented the information and skills I need for my profession theses being-
Stalls-Techniques eg.singing, Methods eg.acting, Musicality eg. theory behind it...
The next section represented by the dress circle would be things that many of us need but the specifics would be different;
Dress Circle-How to express myself, reach out to the right audiences, Attract Audience( marketing),  Knowing the key Players for us to Network and Research,
The upper circle would represent the Generic Information/ Tools we would all use in our professions but differently.
Upper Circle-Communication, Time managing and Use of modern Technologies to benefit us.

After getting into small groups to mould ideas together all the ideas were presented to the group, other great visuals came up looking at different professions.
Other ideas included-
"The teachers" Used a Diamond Drawing to show the different segments of skills and information needed including the Transdisciplinary skills.
 The Audio and Graphic designer Portrayed the creative production through a Ladder Drawing with each step representing the stages of their creative Journey.
 Our group Including Mark, Nick and Nicole used Nicks idea of Building blocks to represent the groups of information- Generic, Adaptable and Specialized these levels Building the Foundation of our Professional Practice.

This exersize particularly helped me to understand that the knowledge we have acquired might be different, but the way in which knowledge is used in different professions might be similar to our own. Also that it's about finding our speciality within our sphere of Profession. I now realise I have much more to learn about the meaning of Knowledge by itself as well as look at my own and categorize it in more detail! Not just looking at the That but That- how- Who.