Wednesday 28 April 2010

Rationale for award title

BA (Hons) Professional Practice (Dance & Arts Management)

I have taken many things into account when considering my award title. My previous professional training at Performers College and the qualifications I achieved there including A Trinity national diploma in Professional dance and a Imperial Society Of Teachers of Dancing teaching qualification in Modern theatre dance are the first things I considered. Since achieving these qualifications and graduating in 2005, I have been in continuous employment as a professional dancer. During this time I have gained extensive knowledge in the field of dance and reached a high level as a practitioner.
I believe my prior training and qualifications combined with my experience and continuing involvement in the industry are sufficient to allow me to include “Dance” in the title of my award.

I undertook the BA (Hons) Professional Practice with the intention of looking forward to the future and my life after professional dancing.
As with most practitioners of the arts I have become totally submerged in the arts world and have realized over time that I wish my future career to be within the arts.
I hope to utilize my experience within the industry and I would eventually like to progress into a management role within the arts.
It is with this in mind and the opportunity to answer a question I have had a nagging curiosity about that the title of my research project will be “To produce a business plan for a production in the style of cabaret in the UK.” This will require me to carry out extensive research and I will gain an in-depth knowledge from doing so.
I will become familiar, from adopting a case study approach, with the various roles and procedures included in bringing a production to the audience. With the production of a business plan I will become familiar with many business practices, and also with legal issues surrounding the arts, including writing a contract and investigating necessary legal requirements and regulations. I will also need to consult industry unions and organizations. These are all activities consistent with “arts management”. “Students of arts management learn how to use business skills to manage arts organizations” (www.collegeboard.com).
My career aspirations and the subject and nature of my final project lead me to believe that “Arts Management” is a suitable title for my award.

Taking my Prior learning, qualifications and professional experience into account and considering my final research project “To produce a business plan for a production in the style of cabaret in the UK” along with my future career aspirations the title of the award I wish to achieve is “BA (Hons) Professional Practice (Dance and Arts Management).”





References

http://www.collegeboard.com/csearch/majors_careers/profiles/majors/50.0704.html

critical commentary

Since embarking on the course back in September I have been impressed and surprised by the amount I have learnt, not just in the way of information about research methodologies and Kolb’s learning cycle etc but about myself as a person, my approach to things and the way I learn.

When I first received the module handbook I remember the panic that went through my mind, in my first learning diary of this module (3835) comments about the handbook such as “The handbook for me was inefficient. I need to be told what I need to do and I will do it.” And “I swiftly began reading through it (the handbook) and it wasn’t long before my mind had wondered and negative thoughts of how overwhelming everything was and how I had no idea of what was being asked of me.” This was just a few months ago before we began working on the module and in my last learning diary my attitude to the handbook has changed completely “so again I turned to the trusty handbook”. To me this is conformation I am panic merchant, and get overwhelmed by things at first sight. As I also said in my first learning diary “Things take a few days to really sink in after my initial panic of “I have no idea what I’m doing”…. After a few days of digesting information I am fine.” I have learnt I don’t like to not understand things, but from doing this course I have also learnt that if I give myself a chance and take the time to stay calm I can learn a lot. I also feel I have become more tolerant, instead of initially jumping to my own conclusion about others opinions and ways of doing things I often find my self taking the time to consider why they do/think that. I suppose you could say I have become more open minded which can only ever be a good thing!

Another thing that has altered my way of thinking and affected me in a big way is the use of the blogs. At first I have to confess I was a little dubious, probably because as I’ve realized I don’t initially like things I don’t understand.
There is no way I could of completed either module without the help and support of the BAPP online network, I have turned to this time and time again when I have needed help or am unsure about something and as yet I have never not found the information I was looking for. At one point in the module when I was very busy at work and not able to do as much work as I would of liked I even found too much information, and felt so far behind “At times when I check the blog and see how far along some people are in the module and the detailed work they are producing I have simple felt completely out of my depth.” (Learning diary 4). This was just a moment of panic as although I am very far away from everybody else it is very comforting to have this support. Working as a professional dancer for the past five years I have been in an environment where everyone is usually out to look after number one, although this is not my nature you get so used to doing everything for yourself and not being able to readily ask people for help or offer constructive criticism that I just found myself conforming to this way. To have the help and support of everyone else on the course has been like a breath of fresh air, and also in task E of the last module I found myself really wanting to help others improve their work too. This makes me happy and I have tried to carry this way of thinking through to my professional practise, in December I worked a short contract in Holland, one of the dancers did not have much experience and so when she turned up to the dress rehearsal her hair was not done correctly and she didn’t have any false eyelashes on, I knew she would be in trouble so I warned her in advance and taught her the correct way, at first she seemed a bit defensive and some of the others in the group questioned why I still helped her but later when we were alone she thanked me and said she was just a bit embarrassed as some others had seen her and not said anything. I have come to the conclusion that people see asking for help as a weakness. I am happy to help people and have people help me, and this course has definitely as I said earlier shown me a new way of thinking and made me accepting of others opinions.

One hugely positive outcome to this course has been the confidence I have gained using computers. I had always thought I was terrible and lacked confidence, I always had a niggling concern in my head that I wouldn’t be able to manage doing everything on the computer but I have to say doing this course has made me learn little by little and I have really surprised myself. I now think I could apply for a job that requires good computer skills where as before I wouldn’t of had the confidence in my ability to do so.

During this module (3835) I have been introduced to many research methodologies and digested more information about research than I thought I was capable of. It has opened me up to a new way of thinking especially about ethical issues; I had always been familiar with the word “ethics” but never really considered how many things there were to consider. I am pleased we have completed this module as I now feel I have, or have access to the sufficient information I need to conduct my final project in an effective and structured way. It has helped me to focus my ideas and definitely improved my chances of carrying out a successful project.

Saturday 24 April 2010

Learning diary 5

The last two weeks have defiantly been a lot harder than I imagined. At times I have felt completely lost. When I first sat down to write my project proposal I felt pretty overwhelmed like I had a huge task ahead and little idea of the best direction to take so again I turned to the trusty handbook and followed the “12 point format guide” on page 12. As I worked through the points I was forced to think hard about certain things. I realized its all very well having a general idea in your head and thinking you’ll do this, that and the other but when you have to put these ideas on paper and convince someone else that this is a worthwhile project and you know the best way to go about it you defiantly can’t get carried away with your creativity and think everything will come together at the end! So putting that idea (and the easy option) out of my head I have had to really focus my thoughts and reflect honestly on my knowledge, position as a work-based researcher and what resources I will have available to me.
The aim of my project has always been clear in my mind, It’s a question that has for a number of years played on my mind so I know it’s a worthwhile project for me to undertake.

What was not so easy was deciding on a research methodology, even though throughout the whole module this is was we have been researching and what I have been writing these diaries about I realized I had some huge gaps in my knowledge and so needed to take a day to re-read and clarify what exactly was included in each in research methodology, whilst doing this I performed a mental check list in my head to see if each approach would be suitable for my project.

Another thing I took extra time to research was ethics; at first I thought there were not many ethical considerations to take into account affecting my project as I am not working with minors and will not be working in an organisation where I could reveal someone’s identity leaving them in a vulnerable position. So I spent some time researching ethics online and found it interesting how many factors I just didn’t think about.

Although my project proposal came along slowly in the beginning, things soon began to flow better and once my proposal was finished I felt a huge weight had been lifted and feel I am making headway through the rest of the activities. I still need to
*Complete my glossary
*Fill in the various forms
*Write my critical commentary
*Write the rationale for my award title
*Make some alterations to my first draft of the project proposal.

I will take some time to think about the title of my degree, as this will have a big influence on my employ-ability and career progression.

Sunday 18 April 2010

Learning diary 4

This week I have been thinking about completing activity 7, which is to design a research tool. Peter’s blog on creating a survey shows there are many things to think about when writing the survey….
Including; what questions should be asked? How should the question be phrased?
How to ask good questions? What is the best sequence?
It is also important to consider clarity, make sure each respondent answers the questions in the same way.
Keep the language simple and keep the questions clear and easy to understand and don’t get caught up in jargon or complexity if possible.
Make your choices more concrete.
I designed my survey named “Attending a cabaret performance” and have really enjoyed looking at people’s response. Although this is only a pilot survey it has given me a good starting ground and many things to consider when I do start my project.

Although the blogs have again been a tremendous help as I am unable to attend any of the campus sessions I have found the past weeks a little stressful. At times when I check the blog and see how far along some people are in the module and the detailed work they are producing I have simple felt completely out of my depth. I have begun to work through the activities, only then to question if I am on the right lines and feel frustrated that in my moment of panic I am not producing my best work. I suppose that’s a performers trait that we are never satisfied and always aiming to do it better.

As the time has passed I have always had the theme of my project floating around in my head but I have been forced to whittle it down and have come up with the working title “To produce a business plan for a performance in the style of cabaret in the UK”. I am quite excited by my research, it is a vast topic but I hope to learn a lot.
Planning my research proposal has made me realize just how much there is to consider.

Another major consideration is ethics, which was covered largely at the campus session along with a few other things.

Rosemary’s slide “ ethical issues in research” was very helpful.

Ethical issues

“You must always drive on the left hand side of the road in England.”
This is legislation- a rule which is cohered to in order to prevent accidents. This is pragmatic ethics.

“Adults must not have sexual relations minors.”
This is called moral ethics.

Moral ethics can be defined as those principles on which our moral decisions are based.
Ethics are the sense of right and wrong, good and evil. Values and responsibility.
Ethical considerations

*Be ethical in the questions you set. Don’t show bias.
*Be aware of deliberate fraud to produce desired results.
*Do not lie.
*You must state how you define confidentiality and anonymity to avoid misconceptions.
* Carefully consider what you are promising to participants particularly when considering the previous point.
*Consider any risks to humans when conducting an experiment-if in doubt would you be prepared to do it yourself?
*Be aware of potentially sensitive subject matters- e.g eating disorders. Don’t push for answers people don’t want to give.
*Don’t lie, never turn data into “deliberate fraud” in order to get the desired out come.
* It is important to obtain consent from participants in your research, this is usually a signed consent form that provides sufficient background info of your proposal.
*Minors need careful consideration.
*As you participants are voluntarily partaking in your research, it is important to advise that they have the right to withdraw any comments at any time- even after the data has been gathered.
*As a researcher I must carefully consider confidentiality and respect of participants privacy. How will I avoid identifying individuals, for example in a small organization be aware of using easily identifiable titles such as head teacher, manager ect.
*How will I store any data I gather? In a locked draw? On a computer? With a password?
*What will I do with the data after I have finished with it? I must do what I promised to do with it eg: shred/ delete/ wipe off of dictaphone.

I must now complete my project proposal and send it to my tutor for feedback. I will also complete the required activities once I am a hundred percent clear what I am supposed to be doing.

Thursday 15 April 2010

Just a random observation about myself.

I have learned today that I must write things on paper first.
I have been staring unproductively at my computer for many hours trying to write my project proposal and was really struggling. When i write on pen and paper things come much more easily.
I was trying to save time by typing straight away but think in the end I will have spent longer, oh well you live and learn!

Tuesday 13 April 2010

Survey

Please take a few minutes to complete my survey on attending a cabaret performance,Click here to take survey I would be really grateful.
Thanks,
Tara.

Monday 12 April 2010

Activity 2. Influences on the worker-researcher

It is my opinion that the relationship the worker has formed with their colleagues could cause a problem. Many friendships are formed in the workplace and it is from this that trust is built. It may be necessary as a worker- research to carry out research in an observational way without informing people you are working with. Depending on what you are researching and your findings you may find yourself in an awkward position.
Your findings may expose a colleague in a bad light and they may feel you have breached their trust initially by conducting the research and secondly by documenting the findings and exposing a friend.

Saturday 10 April 2010

Learning diary 3

As I am working abroad on a new project I have become completely reliant on the blogs of the tutors and of fellow students. I have found them an absolute godsend! As I am unable to attend the sessions at the university campus I have spent time this week reading and highlighting crucial phrases and sentences of the handbook, which I am pleased to say is finally making sense to me. Thinking back to when I first received it and how overwhelming it seemed I can see how much I am actually learning.

I have been reading up on various research families including;
Qualative research- the purpose of qualative research is to gain insights from participants about their feelings and motivations. This form of data results from an attempt to specify the quality of the relationship between two or more things.
Key words- emotions, attitudes, reactions and beliefs.

Quantative research- involves interviewing a large number of people in an attempt to quantify the relationship between two or more things.
Key words- numerical measurements, percentages, proportions, graphs, charts and statistics.

Exploratory research- helps the researcher develop an understanding of the problem. It is often used in the initial stages of the research. Exploratory research can be used to;
-Develop a focus and direction for conclusive research.
-Uncover problems and identify variables that need to be measured.
-Help formulate a hypothesis or educated guess about the outcome of a test.
-Designed to answer a research question.
-Provide detail to evaluate alternative courses of action.
-Test hypotheses and examine relationships between variables.

Descriptive research- describes the behaviour of phenomena in a research problem, student competence, satisfaction, likes and dislikes and improvement.
- Generally answers the questions who, what, when, where and how?
- Has a clear statement of the research problem and details exactly what is to be measured.

Casual research- describes the relationship between two or more variables.
-It gathers evidence regarding cause and effect relationships. For example, studies on the effectiveness of advertising might look at how changes in attitudes of consumers affect sales.
-Answers the question why?

I also thought about what kind of research tools I will use for my project?
Surveys, interviews, questionnaires and/or focus groups? I have to decide the aim of my project, which data is most appropriate? What is the most effective way to gather this information? Another thing to ask yourself when it comes to your research participants is why they would want to help with your research project? Treat participants professionally, be on time and engaging.

Observation is one research tool; observations provide data from a visual source.
The data collected in this way is normally qualative, however at times it can be quantative observing people in their natural surroundings.

Participant observation is when the researcher enters the group they are observing. The researcher must gain trust and respect from the group in order for them to act naturally.
The researcher can observe from a very intimate angle using this approach.

Non participant observation is when a researcher observes from a distance and does not immerse himself in the group.

Interviews
are another research tool; Interviews are a qualative method of gaining data from your interviewee (your sample) in order to gain evidence. It allows you to dig deeper asking the questions why?
It should be noted however that it is not a conversation and interviews should follow some sort of structure and you must be able to retain this data in order for it to benefit your research project.

Interviews can be conducted in different ways,
Structured- The interview has a strong structure to it, where the interviewer knows what questions need to be asked in order to gain the data he/she wants to complete the research.

Semi structured- The interviewer knows what questions to ask but will allow for some flexibility.

Open- where the discussion is around a topic but the participant can direct the interview in which way he/she wants to.

I think the best way for me to progress now with the module is to complete activity 7 and try to fix my project topic. I now know about the types of research and what tools but in order to plan which ones I will use I need to be more clear about my final project.