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2015 exhibition: Table talk: Volume 2 [zine]
No full textExhibition of self-published zine "Table Talk" Volume 2 at the Hamilton Zinefest, 2015
Bergson's theory of memory and musical participation
Get PDF“They’re playing our tune”: Bergson’s theory of memory and musical participation.
In Matter and Memory, Henri Bergson sets out a radical theory of memory, which has influenced contemporary thought from Deleuze to Extended Mind Theory. Combining scientific studies of memory malfunction with a deconstruction of the mind/body and subject/object dualisms that have dogged philosophical and scientific discourse, Bergson’s central thesis is that “the memory of a living being appears…. to measure its power of action upon things" (Bergson 1911, 303). That is, memory is not a storehouse of representations, synthesised by and kept in the brain, but is more like a faculty that adds layers of duration, or time, to a plane of immanence made up of energy and movement and thereby provides living bodies with a degree of choice about their actions or movements. The past has not ceased to be – it has only ceased to be active, but living bodies and minds can re-activate the past by allying memory to action. Bergson was also the first to distinguish between habit memory and “pure” memory or recollection, but his point about both was the same – that they are always allied to gestures or actions, in fact Bergson argues that perceptions are actions, calling into question the traditional priority of mind over matter, and seeing rather the two connected in a circuit, with neither taking priority. “The attitude of consciousness is mainly the consciousness of an attitude” (Bergson 1911, 121). Actions, gestures, perception and recognition all take place on the same plane - thus overcoming the traditional philosophical dualism that places images “inside” the brain and movements “outside” the mind. But memory introduces the additional dimension of time, or duration, which characterises life - hence Bergson argues that the subject/object distinction should be rethought in terms of time, rather than space.
One possible forum for testing Bergson’s theory could be in the field of musical therapy with patients of dementia. Research has detailed how patients participating in musical activities can acquire new memories and reconnect old ones, such as remembering song lyrics, something hard to explain if memories are simply stored in the brain and destroyed by organ atrophy. Bergson argues that memory loss is not about the destruction of memories but about the loss of connection between memories and the actions or gestures they are employed in. It follows that reinvigorating modes of action and gesture in meaningful activities or expressive behaviours such as musical participation can reconnect memories and assist in the formation of new ones.
Bergson, H. Matter and Memory, London: Swan Sonnenschein, 1911
Gritten, A. and King, E. (eds.) Music and Gesture, Aldershot: Ashgate, 200
Tertiary students learning to write assignments: Student and staff reflections on what is helpful and unhelpful to students.
Get PDFThis presentation is based on my doctoral research. The aim of my doctoral thesis is to inform teaching and learning practices of academic writing. My research explored tertiary student and staff understandings of academic literacy and what students and staff identified as helpful and unhelpful for students with their academic writing. This presentation reports on what students and staff identified as helpful and unhelpful. Staff and students identified a range of practices and also resources at the level of the institution (such as the library), at the level of the course (writing instruction given in tutorials) and at the level of students (students initiated assistance from family and friends). It was found that the divergences between what students and staff considered helpful was greater in the first than the second year. The reason could be that students appeared to have a shift in understanding from their first to second year of study
Collaboration in students' simulated clinical practice
Get PDFCollaboration in Student’s Simulated Clinical Practice
Presentation Objectives:
Share strategies for collaborative education of students in health Industries.
Reinforce the concept and value of experiential learning in education.
Highlight ways of including Inter-professional collaboration in simulation.
Abstract:
Background /Rationale:
For many undergraduate students in the health industry, limited numbers of quality clinical placements and variable placement experiences limit learning opportunities. In order to introduce students to the collaborative care and develop communication skills, social work, occupational therapy and nursing students in undergraduate health programmes at Wintec in New Zealand took part in a simulated Inter-professional meeting which was part of a simulated nursing practice programme.
Method/Methodology:
Self-selecting participants completed a questionnaire answering five open ended questions and responded to an opportunity to take part in a focus group. Research findings were analysed through a process of thematic analysis whereby each sentence of data was analysed in the first instance and categorised. Categories were then analysed and merged where appropriate to form the overall themes.
Kolb’s (1984) Experiential Learning Theory provided a theoretical framework to guide this study.
Results:
Of the 72 participants, (54 nursing students, 8 occupational therapy students and 10 social work students) (n=48) responded to the questionnaire. Nine of these students also took part in the focus group. Themes identified from overall participant responses were: professional role clarification and awareness, preparedness, safety and realism.
Conclusions:
Results in this study suggest that the simulated collaborative meeting overall provided a valuable learning experience for students. The study also highlighted the need to ensure that all students involved, receive the same information and are well prepared for the simulated meeting. Further research is required within the professional group to establish the value of including this type of experiential learning into undergraduate health and social practice programme
Assessment of English language learners in New Zealand primary schools: Purposes, principles and practices.
Get PDFAs of March 2015, it is mandatory for all New Zealand primary and secondary schools with English language learners (ELLs) to use the stages of the English language learning progressions (ELLP)(Ministry of Education, 2008) to determine learners’ eligibility for Ministry funding for resourcing of ESOL programmes. This represents a significant change from the previous cohort-based system of determining funding eligibility. Teachers with ELLs in their classrooms are now expected to “use a wide range of assessment tasks, activities and observations to make an OTJ (overall teacher judgment) with reference to the various descriptors on the ELLP matrices” (Ministry of Education, 2013). The guidelines provided to teachers regarding the new assessment process are fairly brief, and the Ministry advises that the assessment used to arrive at an OTJ should not be additional to the school’s “usual age-appropriate assessment tools, activities and observations”. This paper provides the background to the current assessment situation, which is located in the wider context of a move to standards-based assessment. It then examines three key considerations for teachers relating to aspects of the new assessment process. Firstly, how should teachers view the purpose of the assessment activities for determining funding eligibility – achievement, proficiency, diagnosis, or a combination of these? Secondly, what principles should guide teachers as they make assessment choices and decisions for ELL funding eligibility, including considerations such as validity, reliability, fairness, practicality and authenticity? Finally, what assessment practices are currently being chosen by teachers – how many assessment activities are used, how are they implemented, and what use is made of the results?
Little is known regarding current practices in regard to the assessment of ELLs using the new guidelines, and this paper includes a pilot study of a small number of teachers regarding this. Suggestions are also made for ongoing research in this area
The Development of the ‘Epic’ Queen Sound
No full textOne of the defining features of Queen’s output in the 1970s was the group’s signature ‘sound’. This paper documents four studio-related techniques that contributed to the ‘Queen sound’, with a particular focus on how these traits conveyed a sense of ‘epic’ size in the group’s songs. The second section of this paper examines the ‘Queen sound’ from a diachronic perspective, demonstrating how the group’s changing studio practices between 1974 and 1975 resulted in the complete realisation of the ‘Queen sound’
External Reviewer for HRC Proposal
No full textExternal Reviewer. HRC research proposal. HRC Reference 15/644. Investigator: Dr Tanya Allport. Topic: A Retrospective study of West Auckland Whanau. May 11 201
L.O.Q.Shun - WUFF 2016
No full text2015 | 04:00 | HD Video | 16:9 | Stereo | Director: Dan Inglis | Music: Jeremy Mayall | Soprano: Julia Booth
An experimental digital collage film exploring ideas of communication and comprehension.
Based around text from a nineteenth century elocution manual by A. M. Bell. With music by Jeremy Mayall and soprano Julia Booth