Naturalistic Artistic Decision-making and Metacognition in the Music Studio

Professional artistic contexts, such as studio-based music production, are rarely investigated in naturalistic decision-making (NDM) research, though creative work is characterised by uncertainty, risk, a lack of clearly definable goals, and in the case of music production, a complex socio-technical working environment that brings together a diverse group of specialized collaborators. This study investigates NDM in the music production studio. In music production, there is a professional role explicitly tasked with taking decisions—the (record) producer. The producer, as a creative collaborator, is differentiated as a problem-solver, solution creator and goal setter. This investigation looks at the producer’s metacognitive abilities for reflecting on the nature of problems and decisions. An important challenge for this study is to develop methods for observing decision-making without unrealistically reducing the amount of uncertainty around outcomes or creative intention within a studio production. In the face of that, a method is proposed that combines socio-cultural musicology and cognitive approaches and uses ethnographic data. Preliminary findings shed light on how the producer in this study self-manages his decisions and his interactions with, and in response to, the production environment; how decisions and actions sustain collaboration; how experience is utilized to identify scenarios and choose actions; and the kinds of strategies employed and their expected outcomes. Findings provide evidence that exercising producing skills and performing production tasks involve metacognitive reflection

Digiwall - an audio mostly game

Presented at the 12th International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD), London, UK, June 20-23, 2006.DigiWall is a hybrid between a climbing wall and a computer game. The climbing grips are equipped with touch sensors and lights. The interface has no computer screen. Instead sound and music are principle drivers of DigiWall interaction models. The gaming experience combines sound and music with physical movement and the sparse visuals of the climbing grips. The DigiWall soundscape carries both verbal and nonverbal information. Verbal information includes instructions on how to play a game, scores, level numbers etc. Non-verbal information is about speed, position, direction, events etc. Many different types of interaction models are possible: competitions, collaboration exercises and aesthetic experiences

What the Masters Teach Us: Multitrack Recordings In Research and Education

This workshop will focus on how multitrack audio archives of commercial music are used at post-secondary institutions like The University of Victoria and Drexel University, and more generally, how multitrack recordings are utilized as objects of study and as stimuli in student research. The panelists will address the advantages, challenges and opportunities of including multitrack recordings into the teaching and research within higher education programs

The effect of emotion on interpretation and logic in a conditional reasoning task

The effect of emotional content on logical reasoning is explored in three experiments. The participants completed a conditional reasoning task (If p, then q) with emotional and neutral contents. In Experiment 1, existing emotional and neutral words were used. The emotional value of initially neutral words was experimentally manipulated in Experiments 1B and 2, using classical conditioning. In all experiments, participants were less likely to provide normatively correct answers when reasoning about emotional stimuli, compared with neutral stimuli. This was true for both negative (Experiments 1B & 2) and positive contents (Experiment 2). The participants' interpretations of the conditional statements were also measured (perceived sufficiency, necessity, causality, and plausibility). The results showed the expected relationship between interpretation and reasoning. However, emotion did not affect interpretation. Emotional and neutral conditional statements were interpreted similarly. The results are discussed in light of current models of emotion and reasoning. Copyright 2006 Psychonomic Society, Inc

"We were treated like adults"--development of a pre-medicine summer school for 16 year olds from deprived socioeconomic backgrounds: action research study.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a one week widening access summer school for 16 year old pupils from non-traditional backgrounds who are considering applying to medical school, and to identify its short term impact and key success factors. DESIGN: Action research with partnership schools in deprived inner city areas in five overlapping phases: schools liaison, recruitment of pupils and assessment of needs, programme design, programme delivery, and evaluation. The design phase incorporated findings from one to one interviews with every pupil, and workshops and focus groups for pupils, parents, teachers, medical student assistants, NHS staff, and other stakeholders. An in-depth process evaluation of the summer school was undertaken from the perspective of multiple stakeholders using questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, and observation. PARTICIPANTS: 40 pupils aged 16 years from socioeconomically deprived and under-represented ethnic minority groups. RESULTS: The summer school was popular with pupils, parents, teachers, and staff. It substantially raised pupils' confidence and motivation to apply to medical school. Critical success factors were identified as an atmosphere of "respect"; a focus on hands-on work in small groups; the input of medical students as role models; and vision and leadership from senior staff. A particularly popular and effective aspect of the course was a grand round held on the last day, in which pupils gave group presentations of real cases. CONCLUSION: An action research format allowed us to draw the different stakeholders into a collaborative endeavour characterised by enthusiasm, interpersonal support, and mutual respect. The input from pupils to the programme design ensured high engagement and low dropout rates. Hands-on activities in small groups and social drama of preparing and giving a grand round presentation were particularly important

"We were treated like adults"--development of a pre-medicine summer school for 16 year olds from deprived socioeconomic backgrounds: action research study.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a one week widening access summer school for 16 year old pupils from non-traditional backgrounds who are considering applying to medical school, and to identify its short term impact and key success factors. DESIGN: Action research with partnership schools in deprived inner city areas in five overlapping phases: schools liaison, recruitment of pupils and assessment of needs, programme design, programme delivery, and evaluation. The design phase incorporated findings from one to one interviews with every pupil, and workshops and focus groups for pupils, parents, teachers, medical student assistants, NHS staff, and other stakeholders. An in-depth process evaluation of the summer school was undertaken from the perspective of multiple stakeholders using questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, and observation. PARTICIPANTS: 40 pupils aged 16 years from socioeconomically deprived and under-represented ethnic minority groups. RESULTS: The summer school was popular with pupils, parents, teachers, and staff. It substantially raised pupils' confidence and motivation to apply to medical school. Critical success factors were identified as an atmosphere of "respect"; a focus on hands-on work in small groups; the input of medical students as role models; and vision and leadership from senior staff. A particularly popular and effective aspect of the course was a grand round held on the last day, in which pupils gave group presentations of real cases. CONCLUSION: An action research format allowed us to draw the different stakeholders into a collaborative endeavour characterised by enthusiasm, interpersonal support, and mutual respect. The input from pupils to the programme design ensured high engagement and low dropout rates. Hands-on activities in small groups and social drama of preparing and giving a grand round presentation were particularly important