Music Education: A site for collaborative creativity - Editorial Introduction

Abstract not available

Musical collaboration outside school: Processes of negotiation in band rehearsals

This paper presents a study of a series of band rehearsals run by five young people as they practised for a gig together: preparing new songs as well as developing their existing sets. The analysis specifically explores the ways in which the band members collectively develop and evaluate their musical ‘works in progress’. Their interactions were distinctive: with evidence of emotive, highly critical and sometimes conflictual dynamics in places. Within and through such processes the band members constructed a musical ‘shared knowledge’ which resourced the negotiation of their emergent band identity

Issues and techniques for collaborative music making on multi-touch surfaces

A range of systems exist for collaborative music making on multi-touch surfaces. Some of them have been highly successful, but currently there is no systematic way of designing them, to maximise collaboration for a particular user group. We are particularly interested in systems that will engage novices and experts. We designed a simple application in an initial attempt to clearly analyse some of the issues. Our application allows groups of users to express themselves in collaborative music making using pre-composed materials. User studies were video recorded and analysed using two techniques derived from Grounded Theory and Content Analysis. A questionnaire was also conducted and evaluated. Findings suggest that the application affords engaging interaction. Enhancements for collaborative music making on multi-touch surfaces are discussed. Finally, future work on the prototype is proposed to maximise engagement

Status and Mating Success Amongst Visual Artists

Geoffrey Miller has hypothesized that producing artwork functions as a mating display. Here we investigate the relationship between mating success and artistic success in a sample of 236 visual artists. Initially, we derived a measure of artistic success that covered a broad range of artistic behaviors and beliefs. As predicted by Miller’s evolutionary theory, more successful male artists had more sexual partners than less successful artists but this did not hold for female artists. Also, male artists with greater artistic success had a mating strategy based on longer term relationships. Overall the results provide partial support for the sexual selection hypothesis for the function of visual art

Introduction to the special issue: 'Collaborative creativity: Socio-cultural perspectives'

Abstract not available

The discourse of collaborative creative writing: Peer collaboration as a context for mutual inspiration

Drawing on socio-cultural theory, this paper focuses on children's classroom-based collaborative creative writing. The central aim of the reported research was to contribute to our understanding of young children's creativity, and describe ways in which peer collaboration can resource, stimulate and enhance classroom-based creative writing activities. The study drew on longitudinal observations of ongoing activities in Year 3 and Year 4 classrooms (children aged 7–9) in England. Selected pairs’ collaborative creative writing activities were observed and recorded using video and audio equipment in the literacy classroom and in the ICT suite (13 pairs, about 2–4 occasions each). The research built on the contextualised, qualitative analysis of the social and cognitive processes connected to shared creative text composition. Using an analytic tool developed specifically for creative writing tasks, we linked collaborative and discursive features to cognitive processes associated with writing (‘engagement’ and ‘reflection’). The research has identified discourse patterns and collaborative strategies which facilitate ‘sharedness’ and thus support joint creative writing activities. The paper discusses two significant aspects of the observed paired creative writing discourse. It reports the significance of emotions throughout the shared creative writing episodes, including joint reviewing. Also, it shows children's reliance on collaborative floor (Coates, 1996), with discourse building on interruptions and overlaps. We argue that such use of collaborative floor was indicative of joint focus and intense sharing, thus facilitating mutual inspiration in the content generation phases of the children's writing activities. These findings have implications for both educational research and practice, contributing to our understanding of how peer interaction can be used to resource school-based creative activities

Characterisation of CenH3 nucleosomes

As a centromere-specific protein complex in direct contact with the DNA, CenH3-containing nucleosomes are generally thought to act as the distinguishing epigenetic mark of active centromere location. Confusingly, seemingly disparate models have been proposed for the structure of CenH3 nucleosomes. The most widely supported model is an octameric structure that, like histone H3 nucleosomes, contains two subunits of each histone. Another more contentious, yet persistent model is the hemisome model proposed for fly and human CenH3 nucleosomes. In this case it is suggested that CenH3 nucleosomes contain only single subunit of each histone. One reason for this lack of consensus is that seemingly contradicting models are often proposed, even with material from the same organism, with little overlap in experimental approaches. For example, the proposed hemisome model for fly and human CenH3 nucleosomes is predominantly based on atomic force microscopy (AFM) imaging where the height of nucleosomes on a surface is measured. These AFM measurements are the main data used by protagonists for the hemisome model. However, data supporting an octameric model for human, and other, CenH3 nucleosomes is largely based on biochemical analysis of nucleosomes prepared in vitro, with little cross-over in the methodology used to generate data to support either model. In order to reach a consensus the same analyses needs to be applied to CenH3 nucleosomes assembled in vitro or extracted from cells. Here, recombinant Schizosaccharomyces pombe CENP-ACnp1 and H3 histones expressed and purified from E. coli have been assembled into nucleosomes. To our knowledge this is the first time that recombinant S. pombe nucleosomes have been produced, allowing the stoichiometry and composition of these nucleosomes to be examined in detail by a variety of biochemical and biophysical assays. The application of AFM has enabled the height of these recombinant nucleosomes to be measured and tests the ability of AFM to infer stoichiometry using defined material. The intriguing conclusion is that octameric CenH3 nucleosomes uniquely behave as tetrameric “hemisomes” as defined by AFM. In recent years the contribution of DNA sequence to directing H3 nucleosome location has received a great deal of interest. Since CENP-ACnp1 nucleosomes wrap DNA differently to H3 nucleosomes their preference for sequences that produce a stable nucleosome is expected to be altered. The development of protocols to assemble recombinant CENP-ACnp1 nucleosomes in vitro has also been used here to assess the contribution of primary DNA sequence to CENP-ACnp1 nucleosome positioning. CENP-ACnp1 and H3 nucleosomes were reconstituted on genomic DNA at low density and the resulting nucleosomal DNA from CENP-ACnp1 and H3 particles compared by Illumina sequencing. The stability of CENP-ACnp1 and H3 nucleosomes on specific ‘H3’ and ‘CENP-ACnp1’ sequences was cross-checked. Comparing these data with in vivo CENP-ACnp1 nucleosome positions has allowed the contribution of primary DNA sequence to CENP-ACnp1 nucleosome positioning to be explored

What are the barriers and enablers to trauma-informed emergency departments? A scoping review protocol

Introduction There is a high prevalence of psychological trauma among the population. Such people are more likely to have poorer health outcomes and these factors may contribute to increased use of the emergency department. There has been some attempt to implement a trauma-informed approach across public services, especially in health and social care. However, it is unclear how this concept applies to the challenging and high-demand emergency department context. The review aims to locate, examine and describe the literature on trauma-informed care in the unique and challenging healthcare delivery context that is the emergency department. The review aims to identify the barriers and enablers that may facilitate trauma-informed care in the emergency department context. Methods and analysis This scoping review will use the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews. Systematic searches of relevant databases (CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, EMBASE, Knowledge Network and Web of Science) will be conducted. Empirical studies of any methodological approach, published in English between January 2001 and September 2023 will be included. The 'grey' literature will also be accessed. Two reviewers will independently screen all studies. Data will be extracted, collated and charted to summarise all the relevant methods, outcomes and key findings in the articles. Ethics and dissemination Formal ethical approval is not required. The findings of this study will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations and condensed summaries for key stakeholders in the field. The data generated will be used to inform a programme of work related to trauma-informed care.</p

Children's creative collaboration during a computer-based music task

The purpose of this study was to identify and analyse specific instances of transactive communication as children engaged in a paired melody writing task using a computer-based composing environment. Transactive communication has been identified as one of the features of general collaborative engagement that is most helpful in an educational sense, and which makes collaborative learning an important tool for learning and teaching. The paper reports the results of an empirical study in which a group of 10 and 11 year olds worked in pairs to compose short melodies using computers. Analysis of between-pupil dialogue suggested that levels of transactive communication varied between pairs, and also within pairs as pupils took on different roles at the computer. Factors of individual difference, such as musical expertise or whether the pair were friends, did not appear to have a significant influence on the extent of, or nature or, transactive communication