Transfer of practice strategies: From primary to secondary instrument

This study explored the transfer of strategic thinking and self-regulated learning in practice with musicians by observing seven undergraduate music students in practice sessions on both a newly learned instrument and their primary instruments. Students chose how to structure the sessions and they were presented with the music, a pencil, and a piano. The timed, recorded practice sessions included a scale and a short, unseen melodic extract. Questionnaire results showed there to be no differences in self-reported goal-orientation, self-satisfaction, global efficacy, or self-efficacy for the two instruments. Although highly individual, both positive and negative observed behaviours such as verbalization, the approach to the material, and even avoidance of certain elements were consistent in both contexts, supporting the transfer of strategies across instruments. This suggests an opportunity for enhancement and acceleration of progress with carefully directed education and conscious application of self-regulation

The use of social media in marketing within the health and fitness gym wear industry, focusing on the utilisation of Instagram to shape and preserve consumer relationships.

As a result of the growth of social media and the development of high specification technology, in particular smartphones, companies are presented with new opportunities to shape and preserve relationships with consumers. Consumers of the present day utilise social media platforms to share their experiences with companies and their products through content that has the potential to be seen by thousands of other individuals. Thus, it is of great significance for these companies that they have a presence across social media platforms, so they are able to monitor and contribute to these discussions. The current thesis focuses on the social media platform Instagram, specifically looking at how four leading brands in the health and fitness gym wear industry utilise this platform from a marketing and personal relations standpoint, and how their content impacts the user’s levels of engagement. In order to accumulate the data for the current thesis a mixed methods approach was utilised. The first method was content analysis, the four companies 200 most recent posts of the time of the analysis (10th January 2018) were studied. The second method was a survey, with the objective of exploring users of Instagram motivations for following brands, to identify why they engage with the application and if marketing on the medium influences their purchasing behaviours. The data collected has been researched through an overall perspective of marketing and public relations. The results identified that user’s levels of interaction are strongly impacted by the type of content that brands were posting. It can be seen through the findings that companies across Instagram utilse the platform to predominantly to share information with regards to upcoming events and to market their products and/or services. The current thesis acknowledges how in general the studied companies adapt their content appropriately for the medium, however it can be suggested that they do not utilse all of the fundamental tools, some of which if utilised correctly could greatly benefit the companies

The retention of Implicit-Analogy Instruction versus Explicit Instruction and the effects on performance in primary aged children

The present study focuses on investigating the differential effects of analogy and explicit instructions on children’s motor learning and performance in a swimming based forward somersault. It also focuses on investigating the retention of instruction following differential instructional types. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three independent groups: explicit instruction; implicit analogy instruction or control group (demonstrations). During the two week learning phase all participants were taught a forward somersault in water following the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) guidelines, using the instructions for their respective conditions. Participants’ were assessed by two separate assessors, giving an average performance score at three stages: before the learning phase (pre-instruction); immediately after learning (post-instruction) and 3 weeks after (giving a retention score). Observations were also conducted by the assessors. Field notes were taken, recording instructions participants could verbally recall at various time points. Performance scores revealed no significant difference for the interaction effect, and the main effect of group. However, significant findings were found for the main effect of time. Following the observation, slight differences were found in the number of instructions verbally recalled in each groups, with participants recalling two more instructions in the implicit analogy group compared to the explicit group. The findings from this investigation suggest that the instructional method used when teaching a fundamental swimming skill has no effect on children. The results also propose neither instructional method is better than the other when retaining instruction for children. Conclusions could be made that differential instructional methods only have significant different effects on adults, or that further research needs to be conducted with an improved experimental design for conclusive results on children

Sensuous Geographies: An interactive installation

Blurring the boundaries between dance, installation and music, new technology combines with chance and ritual to produce an intriguing, disquieting and yet hugely accessible work. The actions of the audience generate and influence musical layers and projected imagery in an interactive/reactive environment. The soundscape created by these visitors, who can chose either to 'observe' or participate as 'players', shifts in quality and texture to produce a mood and atmosphere that is unique to each session