State of the Artist: Challenges to the New York State Arts & Entertainment Industry and its Workforce

[Excerpt] In 2009, with support from Empire State Development (ESD), the Cornell University ILR School published its first report on the state of the New York arts and entertainment (A&E) workforce, Empire State’s Cultural Capital at Risk? Assessing Challenges to the Workforce and the Educational Infrastructure for New York State’s Arts and Entertainment Industry. The report analyzed a number of key characteristics of the A&E workforce across electronic media, live performing, and visual arts, identifying the most pressing issues for New York A&E workers and the support structures in place to protect their interests. The report concluded by proposing a number of questions to policymakers to be considered in future legislation. State of the Artist both updates this analysis of the State A&E workforce and analyzes trends in recent years based on comparable data presented in the 2009 report. The current report draws from government surveys, industry reports, and interviews with key stakeholders to assess the condition of the NYS A&E industry and its workforce, identifying key issues faced by workers in each sector of the industry. In addition to an extensive review of current literature, data from primary and secondary sources was analyzed to assess the state of the industry and major trends by sector. Survey data from the US Census Bureau and Department of Labor, notably from the American Community Survey (ACS), were retrieved to isolate trends in A&E workforce employment patterns, demographics, and income by occupational group. This analysis, including a conference attended by industry leaders and representatives to assess reactions to preliminary findings, served to identify current challenges facing this vital workforce to the state economy. Often left out of discussions about precarious workers, many working within the A&E industry continue to face high rates of contingent and project-based employment, low average income, and inadequate employment protections—all of which are explored here. State of the Artist concludes with a summary of public policies currently in place as well as those under consideration, providing an updated set of questions for New York policymakers

The Oral Transmission of Mātauranga Māori in regard to Traditional Hokianga Stories and the Revitalization of Significant Place Names.

This thesis researched the oral transmission of mātauranga Māori from one generation to another with a particular focus on the significance of place names in the Hokianga area from Waimamaku through to Opononi. It also sought to understand the stories and history that accompany this area. Our oral traditions are critical in helping to define our identity as Māori, and our relationship with the land. This thesis begins by looking at the ways in which we as Māori are connected to the land and some of our traditional values regarding cultural practices and the way our tūpuna lived. It also shares an example of the way in which our oral traditions and histories were preserved and taught. There is then a detailed section regarding the significance of Hokianga place names within the Waimamaku, Omapere and Opononi area of Hokianga. This information has been provided orally from the generosity of kaumātua of our area. Following this I have concluded by providing an overall statement about the significance of findings and outcomes of my research. This kaupapa is important as more and more of these place names and their histories will continue to be lost if records are not kept and shared with future generations. I also understand the importance of protecting this knowledge. Through colonisation and over time the use of our traditional educational practices and our place names and their histories have been forgotten, watered down, and sometimes lost. Our learning methods, histories and whakapapa constitute important elements of who we are as Māori. They recognise the past, help us to understand today and guide us into the future. The research strategy used in my thesis is collaborative storying co-constructed between myself the researcher and local kaumātua deemed to hold traditional knowledge of our area. This has provided the opportunity to find out significant place names and our local histories. Prior to working on this thesis only a few names were known and understood. However in the end we are able to get a more detailed picture of our history. There are still plenty more place names to be found and understood. We live and come from a beautiful place

Disruptive Changing Higher Education Ecosystems: Have University Academics Been Gazumped?

Continual reforms in the Australian Higher Education Sector result in ongoing significant changes to the experiences of the Australian academic. As a result, massification, internationalisation and corporatization form the landscape of academia in Australia. The Australian University Accounting Academic (AUAA) faces ongoing challenges and opportunities within this dynamic academic environment, and this study explores these challenges in relation to teaching themed issues that confront the AUAA. By using a questionnaire and interviews with AUAAs, three themes emerged, being curriculum, teaching workload, and the impact of online teaching. The “ASSET” support framework is developed from these conversations with the AUAA’s to help them become an “asset” to the university during these times of disruptive change instead of allowing the system to “gazump” them

What if you could see yourself with my eyes? – A pilot study of the impact of a Virtual Reality-environment on relational responding to self

People's sense of self plays an important role in psychological wellbeing and it is often targeted by perspective taking interventions in psychological treatments. The present study investigated if seeing oneself from the outside perspective in a virtual reality (VR) environment could be used to influence the patterns of relational responding that constitutes the sense of self. Changes in participants' (N= 9) patterns of relating themselves vs. others with positive attributes and negative attributes were investigated using an Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) that was delivered before and after the one session perspective-taking intervention in VR. In addition, participants' self-ratings about their experience of the VR intervention were investigated immediately after and one month after the VR-intervention. The results showed changes specifically in seeing oneself more positively, reflected by the increase in the Me - positive trial type in the IRAP. No systematic changes were seen in participants' relational responding to themselves as being "negative " (i.e. bad, unloved, incompetent) or in patterns of relational responding considering others. In addition, participants experienced moderate positive emotions during the VR-intervention and evaluated the experience as meaningful based on their self-ratings. Together these results suggest that seeing oneself in the VR promoted positive experiences relating to oneself

Supporting students in the transition to postgraduate taught study in STEM subjects

While there has been a wide range of studies examining the transition of undergraduate and postgraduate research students, there are few which concentrate on the experiences of postgraduate taught (PGT) students. This is unfortunate, because PGT students have pressing needs for support: since taught masters courses last for usually one academic year, postgraduate students are asked to adapt and succeed at a far faster rate than undergraduates, who take four years in Scotland to complete an honours degree. PGT students are a minority group amongst the university population, with e.g. more than three times as many undergraduates enrolled at the University of Glasgow than postgraduates. Furthermore, international students represent a high proportion of PGT students. To better understand the needs of PGT students and therefore improve the quality of their education, we need to understand their experiences and challenges as they transition through their course. This paper presents a study focused on PGT students in STEM subjects at the University of Glasgow. Feedback from students in the College of Science and Engineering was gathered using a multi-methodological approach. Surveys, one-to-one interviews and a workshop were utilised to investigate students’ perceptions of support received from staff and services. This data was linked to student academic confidence, social confidence, and overall satisfaction with their experience at the university. Data were gathered at three points in the year to evaluate whether perceptions change as students progress through their course. This data from surveys and interviews was used to direct a workshop, which discussed potential solutions to issues raised. Better online resources were identified as key to feeling prepared before the commencement of a PGT course, and better communication with lecturers and peers was important to the success and satisfaction of students, particularly after beginning PGT study

The Disruptive Changing Accounting University Environment: How Accounting Academics Have Been Gazumped

Continual reforms in the Australian Higher Education Sector result in ongoing significant changes to the experiences of the Australian academic. As a result, massification, internationalisation and corporatization form the landscape of academia in Australia. The Australian University Accounting Academic (AUAA) faces ongoing challenges and opportunities within this dynamic academic environment, and this study explores these challenges in relation to teaching themed issues that confront the AUAA. By using a questionnaire and interviews with AUAAs, three themes emerged, being curriculum, teaching workload, and the impact of online teaching. The “ASSET” support framework is developed from these conversations with the AUAA’s to help them become an “asset” to the university during these times of disruptive change instead of allowing the system to “gazump” them

Accounting Academic Workloads in the Higher Education Sector: Balancing Workload Creep to Avoid Depreciation

Accounting Academics according to the literature are subject to external influences such as preparing graduates for future workplaces, bridging the gap between industry and academia and development of pathways to becoming professional accountants for their student cohort. Add to this the internal influences of delivery methods for student engagement, work integrated learning and casualization of the workforce, the accounting academic is at capacity in terms of how these influences impact on workload. Using the “lived experience”, this research delves further into the academic themselves to find that they categorise their workload into four themes of Teaching, Research, Accounting academic administration and development of Curricula, deemed the TRAC Framework for this study. Using this workload TRAC framework, accounting academics identified five factors they believe will influence their future roles. These include growth in international students, that student success will be a shared responsibility, that student engagement will be critical, that curricula design will involve stakeholder input and that expectations around research will change. These additional impact factors when added to the already at capacity workload model for accounting academics, will create a type of workload creep. The workload impact factor (WIF) model is created for this research to demonstrate just how these additional factors will be absorbed by accounting academics, ballooning their workload. This workload creep can be described as an increase in academic wear and tear, almost like depreciation on capital assets, a recognition of a diminution in economic benefit or value. Accounting academics must be careful to balance their future workload so as to not become commercially obsolete

The Challenges of Being an Accounting Academic: What we Can Learn from the Literature Bricolage

This study specifically targets research done in the area of the Accounting Academic. A search of the literature has shown that there are many challenges faced by Accounting Academics in this environment of change. These challenges have been narrowed down into the top four most discussed themes of teaching, research, workload and curricula design. The University Accounting Academic environment is not unlike an ecosystem of interacting organisms or stakeholders which impacts in a variety of ways. These create pressure points that Accounting Academics experience and which they value, are challenged by, or affects their outlook. Accounting Academics are frequently not fully informed about these changes, and may not fully understand them and, as a consequence of not having the power to hold back these changes, Accounting Academics have little option other than to adapt. These changes challenge the traditional perception of a university accounting academic, which can cause role conflict. The traditional accounting academic role then may not align with the expectations of the role held by other parties such as university administrators, accrediting bodies or students. A review of the literature suggests that Accounting Academics are under much pressure from stakeholders to produce quality research, teach larger classes with up to date curriculum all the while trying to balance workload. The challenge ahead is how Universities will manage these workloads of Accounting Academics in the University of the future

Accounting Academic Workloads: Balancing Workload Creep to Avoid Depreciation in the Higher Education Sector

Accounting academics are subject to external influences such as preparing graduates for future workplaces, bridging the gap between industry and academia and development of pathways to becoming professional accountants. Add to this the internal influences of delivery methods for student engagement, work integrated learning and casualisation of the workforce, the accounting academic is at capacity in terms of how these influences impact on workload. Using the “lived experience”, this research delves into the academic themselves to find that they categorize their workload into four themes of Teaching, Research, Accounting academic workload and development of Curricula, deemed the TRAC Framework for this study. Using this workload TRAC framework, accounting academics identified five factors they believe will influence their future roles. These include growth in international students that student success will be a shared responsibility that student engagement will be critical, that curricula design will involve stakeholder input and that expectations around research will change. These additional impact factors when added to the already at capacity workload model for accounting academics, will create a type of workload creep. This workload creep can be described as an increase in academic wear and tear, almost like depreciation on capital assets

Are They Ready? Accounting Academics\u27 Perspectives of the Preparedness of New Student Cohorts

The research reported here has as its central question of how do Australian accounting academics perceive the preparedness of students to study accounting at university. The research looks at how well prepared new cohorts of accountancy students are to engage. The research found that accounting academics identified four success factors required for students to study accounting at first year university level, identifying those needing to be addressed prior to beginning study, and others within the course of study itself. These four success factors included the ability to participate in the course with an apropos level of English language proficiency, to commence with a certain level of assumed knowledge which is then further extended, to develop and utilise higher order thinking skills, and finally to effectively communicate thoughts and ideas through written and verbal means. The findings, of the study reported here, provide insight into what students need as preparation to study accounting at university, using the Success Factor Timeline (SFT). The SFT bring together disparate concepts into one framework for consideration of student selection procedures and course design. It also provides appropriate scaffolding for first year students to better enable them for success, based on attributes they need to possess before commencing university studies, and attributes they can learn whilst at university