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tndy4010 | weblog comment | Nov 1, 2006 - 7:43am
The Visual Artist Michael Brewster’s “Acoustic Sculpture” was very interesting. His work was involved sound’s spatial effects in the light and Space movement. “Clicker Drawing” was a moving and listening approach to walking our ears instead of moving our eyes throughout the elaborated spaces of the room, “Concrete two-tone”  instead of walking around a sculptural object, the experience of his work required us to move through the sound as a sculptural material (we can hear audible tones and musical rhythms), Walking and stopping would make melodic passages, ''Echocentric'' was a sonic drawing which repeated sound in the dark, reminds of the smoke-detecting alarm system. His work established a unique dynamic between viewer and artwork. As Michael Brewster’s unique work which emphasizes and depicts  the effect of light on the eye rather than in the realistic picture (Sculpture) of objects, Visual music moves in the same way. The composers wish to add the colour of light to their compositions. The hard edges of rhythm and structure are removed or blurred, and the resulting music is vague, dreamy and shimmering. The style is referring to scenes of nature as impressionism (like visual painting). The music emphasizes  shifting tone color and useing sensitive musical language with delicate emotional expression.  The themes are shortened and rhythmically sharpened in the instrumental treatment. The role of individual solo passages is enhanced and the dynamic range made more subtle. The Emphasis on shifting tone color, penetrates the secret of the laws which rule the inner movements of the human ear will be transformed from ordinary image makers into soul.

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tomb | weblog comment | Oct 29, 2006 - 2:45pm
I agree that this was a nice change of pace from marketing articles with too many statistics.  However, I agree that some would have been nice.  I would have liked to see a brief financial statement of the costs and LOSs before intervention1, costs, LOSs, and savings in between the two interventions, and at various points during the 10 years of intervention 2.  It also might have been interesting to see if in general physicians trust I T to have a say-so in medical decisions more than they used to.  Also, case-mix indexes could have been used to determine if the patients were in general equally sick each time period.  I was also wondering if this study really could be applied to other scenarios besides doctors, because most other fields have an employer-employee relationship of some kind.

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tndy4010 | weblog comment | Oct 25, 2006 - 5:33pm

With regards to the work of group 4, that is to say, the in-depth profiling of CGU professors, I believe that we will certainly need to use a biographical approach. The biographical approach will allow us to explore different aspects of these professors' lives and their experiences. The biographical approach will make the profiling more vibrant than mere curriculum vitae listing of their educational background, work experiences, publications and research interests etc, since it will emphasize these professors' personalities, ideas and all the personal factors that affect the way they undertake research and make valuable contributions to academia. 

It appears to me that the overall objective of the project, in terms of describing and analyzing how CGU professors attain research insights, bestows upon it the case study genre. The fact tha we are researching a particular empirical phenomenon within a specific context makes it a case study.

I also wanted to note some skepticism I have with regards to Creswell's designation of case studies as a qualitative research tradition. First of all, case studies can be based on both qualitiative and quantitiative research techniques. For example, in undertaking a case study of politics in Iraq after the Saddam regime, I am referring to a specific phenomenon within a specific context, hence it's a case study. However, my research may include analysis of quantitative data such as the number of casualities, or the amount of popular participation in elections, so it's not just qualitative in orientation. Secondly, I also think that other qualitiative research methods such as biographies and ethnographies, for example, may also qualify as case studies. If I am profiling the life of Albert Einstein, for example, wouldn't this also qualify as a case study?


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nbpham | weblog comment | Oct 22, 2006 - 3:14pm

I agree 100% with you ask about the future of some WordPerfect, and I also ask, would have occurred with FoxPro if Microsoft not to have bought "FoxSoftware".


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death2 | weblog comment | Oct 20, 2006 - 9:38pm
I remember last week we also spoke about why we eulogize a person. Is it for us or truly to remember them. Which takes us into the whole 'who are we remembering?' deal. What's the function of making them a "better" person? What reason do we have for this?

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tndy4010 | weblog comment | Oct 18, 2006 - 8:21pm
Since I did not make the cut for the coveted group 2 ;) - I am more than happy to help with the technology portion of the project as a part of Group 6. I agree with comments above that Groups 5 and 6 should be closely related. My question for the project and more narrowly for Group 6 is: What other technology  are we thinking about using beyond the Elgg system? Does anyone have an idea?

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tndy4010 | weblog comment | Oct 18, 2006 - 6:34pm
  • I was quite interested in how the nine elements were introduced, by saying “how it feels when and experience is enjoyable.”  I found myself thinking that enjoyment and creativity are linked, but that they are not the same thing.  Perhaps they have a high correlation, or are present at the same time, but is it the creativity that causes the enjoyment, or the flow which makes the creativity possible? 
  • I like the idea of “flow” since to me it seems to take some of the pressure off the need to be “creative” and speaks of it as something that has an existence of itself.  In this sense “When the muse speaks you need to listen, but when the muse is silent…” there often seems little that one can do.  As the famous quote from Seneca says "the fates lead those who will...those who don't they drag."  We see artists struggling who are in a “dry” period of creativity, thus the term flow becomes a better analogy with “flow” vs. “dry.”  The use of the term “flow” is perhaps a metaphor (a comparison made by referring to one thing as another) or might be a metonymy (reference to something by naming one of its attributes) and speaks to the complexity of the creative process. 
  • One of the elements was that “there are clear goals every step of the way” which seems more challenging due to the increased complexity of our modern world.  What if the creativity involves using some aspect of technology that is not quite user friendly?  Although, this might be the example of the second element “there is no immediate feedback to one’s actions.”  I am concerned for children growing up now so quickly where they have to take actions to avoid failure (and are worried about failure) – even the most intelligent students.  In a book I read recently “School of Dreams: Making the Grade at a Top American High School” by Edward Humes, it was tragic to see students staying away from the interesting classes to avoid classes that could ruin their “perfect” GPA.
  • I was surprised that optimism or confidence in the muse was not a common element – in some sense of the transcendent nature of creativity.  The distractions being excluded from consciousness has been my own personal experience.  I wondered how much of the confirmation of these concepts came from me and others reading it and then comparing it with out own subjective experience.  Is it true or does it just agree with my own experience. 
  • Another concept that I was surprised that was missing was that of thrill of taking risks.  There seems to be a sense where the only direction that you can go is “up” and therefore able to relax and enjoy the process of creativity.  I believe that risk taking is underrated in the process of creativity, since often the experience is much more important that the reward.  In this sense it corresponds with the activity becoming autotelic.

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tndy4010 | weblog comment | Oct 18, 2006 - 4:16pm
The reason I chose team 1 is that the team deals with theories, concepts, and literature reviews. It is the most similar to my research activity in my major, Economics. Frankly speaking, I have no idea what I should do for the research. I think groups are well selected because several kinds of academic fields consists each group. I need far more discussion should be in class. After that, I will mention more opinion and comments about final project. And, if I found something more interesting, I always welcome to choose other groups too. I have one more question. The number of group means the phase process of the research? I think it looks like the phase process for research.

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tndy4010 | weblog comment | Oct 18, 2006 - 3:03pm
What is your overall reaction to the “flow” concept, especially any of the 9 elements listed?
I want to say first of all that this is probably the first book that we have read so far that I feel I could actually relate to my own work.  I especially enjoyed all of the interviews in this book.  I found myself surprised, for example, when reading a scientist describe the process of how she does her work, that I could say that that is pretty much how it works in my field as well.
 
I find Mihaly Csikszensktmihalyi's concept of "flow" an intriguing one and it is one that I relate to my own experience with writing.  I find writing to be a very involved and sometimes excrutiating process.  There is nothing worse than facing a blank page or trying to squeeze words out that just won't come.  But writing can also be a wonderfully exhilerating and rewarding experience.  Every so often I find that I just get into the flow: I am able to think of the words and phrase that precisely capture the meaning I am trying to convey.  I loose track of time and I am able to pump out many pages at a time.  Action and awareness seem to merge and I am able to set aside any distractions.  But I think the most important part of this process is that there is no fear of failure.  When I get in the zone, I am able to turn off the self-censoring instinct that causes me to get hung up on the details, and let my thoughts just flow unto the page.  (There is always time for correction and revision later, but the point is to get as much out as possible while the creative juices are flowing).  It is in these moments that writing becomes for me autotelic, to use Csikszensktmihalyi's word--it is a process that is intrinsically enjoyable.  It is these moments that make what can sometimes be drudgery all worthwhile. 

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tndy4010 | weblog comment | Oct 18, 2006 - 12:46pm

Hey All,

I believe this final project will be quite a challenge for such a large group. As mentioned in a number of comments already, the key will be to establish clear subgroup objectives. However, these objectives will need to be communicated amongst other groups so integration will actually work.

It was in Matthew Chapter 6, verse 3 that states, ‘let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth,” but when has the Bible ever solved any ‘real world’ problems. The key to project success will be communication and feedback from other groups. For example, I am on the group for individual profiles, but I would also like to comment on and provide input (where I can) in the other areas of our project. Cause if I don’t, I’ll be very sad.

Nevertheless, this approach assures that each individual is afforded the opportunity to interview a person in his or her department for insight into how that person gains insight (if at all). But this project is also has a chance to give back to the CGU community what we have taken in this past semester. And in the end, the project has the opportunity to shed light on insight around CGU. This is something I do not believe has happened in T-courses of the past.

 


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