(under)scoring the commons; Troubling the acoustics of urban renewal

Since the 1990s, working-class regions in Australia’s major cities have undergone urban and socioeconomic development in the form of gentrifying processes that have induced negative social implications such as housing scarcity, rising living costs, and the displacement of low-socioeconomic residents. Informed by broader artistic, activist, and research practices concerned with the sonics of gentrification, ‘(under)scoring the commons’ is a creative research project I established in 2020 that aims to poetically and aurally understand how the changing soundscapes of urban environments, associated with working-class histories and memories, can index shifting social attitudes, perspectives and socialities. UTC’s main output comprises a sonic counter-archive informed by a socially-engaged compositional approach predicated on conversation and collaboration with community-ensembles and residents – alongside adequately contextualised field-recordings. With a focus on a recent iteration entitled UTC:2250 (concerned with Gosford, a low-socioeconomic area in NSW) this paper will discuss the ethical implications and creative outcomes of ‘working’ with sound in a socially situated way - framed by a critical reading of acoustic ecology

Advancing the Vincentian Tradition through Strategic Service and Research

This article reveals how St. John’s University implemented mission-focused programs to advance its unique Catholic perspective, that of the Vincentian tradition to serve the poor and remedy social inequities. Heeding the 1986 call of Pope John Paul II to Vincentian institutions, all levels of the university from incoming freshmen to the board of trustees have embraced the Pope’s message to serve the poor and needy. Major program initiatives have included an expanded and enriched academic service-learning (ASL) program with a Discover New York service component for all incoming freshmen; the creation of a Vincentian Institute for Social Action to coordinate student and faculty service and research efforts with community partners; the establishment of a 4-year undergraduate Ozanam Scholar Program to engage students in extensive service and research under faculty mentorship; sustainable collaborations with community partners whose mission focus is compatible with the Vincentian perspective; and a dedicated effort to measure program impact through outcomes-based quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. Religiously affiliated institutions may find program components and organizational strategies to be beneficial in their own work in serving the poor, needy, and disenfranchised

An Assessment of Engagement, Self-Pacing and Learning in a Flipped Marketing Classroom: An Exploratory Study

This study examines the possible impact of engagement and self-pacing on student learning in a flipped classroom environment. Survey responses from 33 students were used in this exploratory study. Results indicate that engagement and self-pacing showed significance, impacting self-reported learning. This preliminary study suggests a flipped classroom improves student learning in marketing. It is expected that a larger sample size with improved measures will uncover other relationships within the flipped classroom model