Principles for Starting a Song-Writing Ministry

With the approval of Dr. Keith Currie and Dr. David Schmal, I have chosen to complete the Music & Worship Ministry Project as the Final Thesis for the Masters of Art in Music and Worship. The objective of the project is to produce an Extended Play Record (EP) that contains five original worship songs written specifically for this EP. The components of this project include: songwriting, arranging, performing, recording, and producing. This project will achieve two purposes: first, the songs in this EP are meant to be sung in my local church – Koinonia Evangelical Church (KEC); second, this project is the medium through which I complete my research on building a songwriting ministry in KEC. It answers the question: what are some foundational philosophies to starting a local church songwriting ministry? By working through the different stages of producing this record, I was able to identify seven guiding principles on which KEC will build its songwriting ministry. 1. Words Over Music 2. Songs for the Congregation, Not the Performer 3. Feedback is Our Friend 4. Pursue Excellence, Not Perfection 5. A One-Man Band Can Never Grow Bigger Than One Man 6. Inner Worship to Outer Worship 7. Singing is Not the Goal, Discipleship is the Goa

Reading "all about" computerization: five common genres of social analysis

This paper examines unstated, but critical, social assumptions which underlie analyses of computerization. It focuses on the popular, professional and scholarly literature which claims to describe the actual nature of computerization, the character of computer use, and the social choices and changes that result from computerization. This literature can be usefully segmented five ideal type genres: utopian, anti-utopian, social realism, social theory, and analytical reduction. Each genre is characterized and illustrated. The strengths and weaknesses of each genre are described. In the 1990s, there will be a large market for social analyses of computerization. Utopian analyses are most likely to domínate the popular and professional discourse. The empirically oriented accounts of social realism, social theory and analytical reduction, are likely to be much less common and also less commonly seen and read by computer professionals and policymakers. These genres are relatively subtle, portray a more ambiguous world, and have less rhetorical power to capture the imagination of readers. Even though they are more scientific, these empirically anchored genres don't seem to appeal to many scientists and engineers. It is ironic that computing -- often portrayed as an instrument of knowledge -- is primarily the subject of discourses whose knowledge claims are most suspect. Conversely, the discourses whose claims as valid knowledge are strongest seems to have much less appeal in the mass media and technological communities

Entrepreneurship in American Higher Education

Presents recommendations by the Kauffman Panel on Entrepreneurship Curriculum in Higher Education on making entrepreneurship a key element in the curriculum, co-curriculum activities, and university management. Includes profiles of innovative programs

LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY: The Use of Digital Story-Telling in Teaching Narrative Texts at One of the Senior High Schools in Garut

The preliminary observation showed that senior high school students struggle when they are required to create narrative texts on their own. The study seeks to investigate the effect of digital storytelling on the senior high school student's ability in writing narrative text. This study which was conducted using a quasi-experimental design involved 18 first-grade students who were assigned to join two different groups (i.e. experimental and control groups). The experimental group received the treatment by using digital storytelling, while the control group used conventional instruction. The sample was asked to take part in both the pre-test and post-tests before and after the instruction. The data were analyzed by using statistical procedures using SPSS 20. The findings showed a difference between the experimental group and the control group in writing a narrative text, where the experimental group had an increase in writing ability. The effect may stem from the features of the digital storytelling which are in the form of videos, which makes learning to produce narrative texts easier for pupils. Further research investigating the same topic in schools with complete facilities and a larger number of participants is highly recommended

Integrating biodiversity in modern agricultural practice

Cultural landscapes-areas that have been modified to varying degrees by human activity, now dominate most of the earth's land surface, and surprisingly high levels of biodiversity are often found in areas devoted to crop production and livestock raising, particularly in "traditional" farming areas. Some of that biodiversity is directly useful to improving agricultural productivity, such as traditional varieties of crops with disease resistance genes and wild or weedy populations of crops that are tapped by breeders for other useful traits. In order to improve agricultural productivity and raise rural incomes, biodiversity must therefore be better managed in transformed habitats. This paper not only outlines measures that can be adopted to reduce off-site impacts of agriculture on biodiversity but also pinpoints policy options to help conserve and better utilize agro-biodiversity-plant and animals, including beneficial insects and other organisms, that are essential for agriculture. In this study will be highlight how best practices are being applied in many different situations and how such practices can alter the agrobiodiversity picture at farm and landscape level

Programmed \u27Treasuries of Eloquence’: A Rhetorical Take on Productivity Aids in Audio Engineering Software

This project examines the influence of productivity aids in digital audio production software on matters of professional expertise, user experience, and workflow. The research is based on both the public reflections of 25 leading audio engineers about the state of the craft and the field as well as close content analyses of the most widely used software solutions for music mixing. Using the practical tenets of the fourth canon of rhetoric, memory, as a heuristic lens and emphasizing its role as an arbiter of professional expertise, this study contextualizes memory as both recollection strategy and programmed practice. It examines the extent to which embedded productivity aids take over the work of audio engineers and what effects this has on the craft and its community of practitioners. The study culminates in a larger argument about the potentially detrimental effects of automation on creative practice and promotes an appreciation of memory and recollection strategies that inform a pedagogy of critical reflection and active engagement— especially in view of higher education where students prepare for their careers post-graduation

A Proposal for the Development of Fort Hays State University Service Learning Program

Service Learning is quickly becoming a style of education that is recognized for its\u27 effectiveness and practical benefits. Linking class curriculum with hands-on applications is often referred to as experiential education . Service Learning is a form of experiential education identified by an equal emphasis on academic learning and service to others. The combination of focusing on meeting community needs, identifying learning objectives, and intentionally reflecting on what is being learned makes service learning different from plain volunteerism or community service

Creativity and dysfunction in strategic processes : the case of scenario planning

This paper attempts to open up a new line of enquiry into the dysfunctions of creativity within strategic processes. Generally, the impact and results of introducing creativity (and innovation) into organisational life are perceived to be wholesome and beneficial. But recent research in the area of organisational psychology has documented a ‘dark’ side to its introduction, e.g., low employee morale, stress, theft, sabotage, destructive conflict. Learning from this work and shifting the domain to strategic management, this paper focuses on scenario planning—a strategy process widely regarded by participants and facilitators as creative and innovative in structure, content and output. First, the creative credentials of the process are established with reference to the literature and definitions from the creative and cultural industries. Second, the process is deconstructed into activities and each is examined for the extent of its embedded creativity. Third, informed by case evidence, four dysfunctions of the scenario planning process are conjectured: creativity layered on fantasy; heightened expectations and confusion; pride and passion; and creativity leading to excess. The paper concludes by suggesting four options for handling these potential dysfunctional effects and, in the light of the dialogue presented, re-interprets the definition of scenario planning presented earlier in the text