PALATINE BRIEFING: June 2008
Image: BA (Hons) Dance Practice with Digital Performance at University Centre Doncaster.
Our thanks to colleagues at UCD.
Contents:
QAA report on grading, assessment and external examining
Following on from the recent media focus on the QAA’s view of the UK grading system and other things, colleagues may like to look at the recent report from the QAA on which much of it is based:
Outcomes from Institutional Audit - Assessment of students; External examiners and their reports; Arrangements for international students
The QAA are by no means the first to question the honours grading system. The Burgess Group (chaired by Bob Burgess, VC at Leicester and also chair of the Higher Education Academy) produced the major report: ‘Beyond the honours degree classification’, in October 2007.
download PDF: http://bookshop.universitiesuk.ac.uk/downloads/Burgess_final.pdf
On COPYRIGHT, BORROWING and PLAGIARISM
EU extends copyright to 95years
The EU Commission has proposed extending the copyright term on sound recordings to 95 years, the result of which will have a drastic impact on access to early recordings. This has happened already in the US since the term was extended there. A group of academics working in areas from musicology to intellectual property law has issued an evidence-based statement addressing the various arguments put forward by the Commission. You can find a copy of the statement, together with a letter to the President of the Commission, at http://www.cippm.org.uk/publications/index.html
Borrowing in Music
A colleague recently came across a long but fascinating article in the North Carolina Law Review (Vol 84, 2006) titled 'From J.C. Bach to Hip Hop: Musical Borrowing, Copyright and Cultural Context' by Olufunmilayo B. Arewa.
http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=o_arewa
The article abstract is as follows:
"Musical borrowing is a pervasive aspect of musical creation in all
genres and all periods. Copyright doctrine does not adequately reflect
the reality of such borrowing. Instead, copyright doctrine incorporates
notions of Romantic authorship that assume independent and
autonomous authorship and even genius in the creation of original
musical works. This individualistic and autonomous vision of musical
authorship, which is central to copyright law, has deemphasized the
importance and continuity of musical borrowing practices generally.
The tension between conceptions of musical production and actual
music practice is particularly highlighted in the case of hip hop music,
which is now the second most popular type of music in the United
States and an important musical and cultural force globally. The
advent of hip hop has raised serious copyright law concern as a result
of sampling, which is a form of musical borrowing that involves the
use of pieces of pre-existing recorded music within hip hop works.
Courts have held sampling to constitute copyright infringement. The
pervasive nature of borrowing in music suggests that more careful
consideration needs to be given to the extent to which copying and
borrowing have been, and can be, a source of innovation within music.
Existing copyright frameworks need to recognize and incorporate
musical borrowing by developing commercial practices and liability
rule-based legal structures for music that uses existing works in its
creation." (Arewa, 2006:547)
Plagiarism matters
As it's the end of the academic year, and in view of the recent media focus on plagiarism, our attention was drawn to Claire Armitstead's blog on The Guardian online and the many postings on her blog - some funny, some serious, some cynical - following her article 'Plagiarism is nothing new in academia':
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/06/the_admission_of_the_leading.html
The JISC Plagiarism Advisory Service has produced an interesting 3 page FAQ on plagiarism that has the advantage of being very useful but also brief.
http://www.jiscpas.ac.uk/documents/FAQs.pdf
FINAL CALL: A PALATINE POST-GRADUATE SEMINAR
Assessing Doctorates: The Student Perspective
Monday 7 July 2008, Lancaster University
Are you an MPhil/PhD student in dance, drama or music?
If so, would you like an opportunity to meet postgraduate researchers from different institutions working in similar fields? As part of the Assessing Doctorates project, PALATINE is organising an event on 7 July to enable research students to meet and discuss their experiences of doing an MPhil/PhD in dance, drama or music.
We hope that the workshop will be a positive and inspiring day for those attending. It will also provide PALATINE with a sense of the current concerns of doctoral students in our disciplines and types of research being prepared for submission.
There is no charge for the event and lunch and refreshments will be provided. PALATINE will also re-imburse reasonable travel expenses for all attendees.
Please note that numbers are strictly limited and that if demand for places outstrips the number of places available, PALATINE may allocate places to represent as wide a range of institutions and/or types of research as possible.
For further information, or to book a place, please contact Miriam Murtin or David Pearson, indicating the topic and/or working title of your MPhil/PhD.
Further information http://www.palatine.ac.uk/scprojects/AssessingDocs7July /
CONGRATULATIONS!
Congratulations to the three of our colleagues who have been awarded National Teaching Fellowships.
Deborah Mawer Lancaster University (Music)
Michael Russ University of Huddersfield (Music)
Loykie Lomine University of Winchester (Creative Industries)
All three have close associations with PALATINE, particularly Deborah Mawer who is not only a Lancaster colleague but also our Senior Academic Adviser for Music.
PALATINE EVENTS
- in the pipeline
for 2008-9
We are currently considering ideas and proposals for the following topics for the next academic year:
- Assessing Playwriting (Jan 09)
- Exploring Collaborative Practice (TBC)
- Practice as Research (TBC)
- Spirituality in Dance (TBC)
- Teaching Contemporary Theatre Practice (TBC)
- Teaching Community Music in HE (Sept 09)
- Teaching Musical Theatre in HE (March/April 09)
We are also looking to continue our 'Starting Out' series of events for new and early career lecturers. We have now run three events - Drama (x2) and Assessing Performance - with a fourth 'Starting Out in Music' (see below) running next month. We are interested in organisng a similar event for colleagues in dance.
We always welcome proposals for workshops, seminars, etc. on topics of interest and concern to our communities of practice in relation to any aspect of learning, teaching and assessment in dance, drama and music.
To propose an event or discuss an idea, please contact Ralph Brown our Projects Officer.
FINAL CALL.....
STARTING OUT in MUSIC, LANCASTER, 21-22 July
This is the Final Call for the remaining few places at this PALATINE event next month for new and early career lecturers.
Starting Out in Music is a two day event for new and early career lecturers in music (appointed since September 2005) exploring the issues, questions and concerns that surround being a university teacher in the field of music (all subjects).
The deadline for bookings is 4th July 2008.
There is NO CHARGE for colleagues in higher education attending this event (this includes overnight accommodation and meals, but excludes travel to and from Lancaster), however there is a refundable booking fee of £30.00 payable on confirmation of the booking. We ask that colleagues wishing to attend this event provide a note or letter of support from their Head of Department (or equivalent).
Full details, including booking details, travel information and accommodation for delegates attending this event are available on the following web page:
http://www.palatine.ac.uk/events/view/13 19/
PALATINE Development Awards
PALATINE Development Awards enable colleagues to explore, develop and produce ideas and outcomes that will enhance learning and teaching in HE dance, drama or music. Applications are peer-reviewed by external specialists to ensure that each funded project will be a useful and high-quality contribution to the subject area. All awarded applications have shown how projects will be useful beyond the award holders' departments and institutions.
Full details of the scheme (including how to apply, criteria for assessing proposals, and details of existing projects) are on the PALATINE website:
http://www.palatine.ac.uk/palatine-projects/introduction/
To discuss an idea or proposal, contact David Pearson davidpearson@lancaster. ac.uk tel 01524 593579.
New Development Award
Enhancing Employability in Music: An Ethnographic Study into Students' Work-Based Learning Experiences
http://www.palatine.ac.uk/development-awa rds/1353/
Full list of PALATINE Development Awards
http://www.palatine.ac.uk/development-awards/
Full lists of Development Award outcomes
http://www.palatine.ac.uk/palatine-projects/da-reports/ (text-based outcomes)
http://www.palatine.ac.uk/development-awards/publications/ (audio-visual outcomes)
FUNDING OPPORTUNITY
JISC Higher Education Assistive Technology Scheme (HEAT)
Please note the short timescale with this project. Bids for the funding must be received by 12 noon on Tuesday 15 July.
The JISC TechDis Service is pleased to announce a third round of the HEAT (Higher Education Assistive Technology) scheme. The aim of this scheme is to provide staff working in HE or HE in FE in England, Wales and Northern Ireland with technology (including hardware and software, mainstream and specialist) with which to develop or uncover an aspect of good inclusive practice. This may be specific to the teaching of a particular discipline, supporting a specific role area, or may have more generic applicability across the sector.
The maximum amount of funding for each bid is £2150 (incl. VAT), which can only be used for the purchase of technology. Staff time is not funded. Technologies will be supplied by September 2008 and final case study reports must be submitted by May 2009, with interim reports required in January 2009. Successful bidders will also be invited to participate in a Networking Workshop in January 2009.
We welcome bids from all areas. If oversubscribed and bids are of similar quality priority will be given to the following areas:
- HE in FE
- Libraries
- Discipline areas under-represented in previous rounds (see scheme web page for details)
Bids will be evaluated by a team comprising members of the JISC TechDis team and volunteers from the Higher Education Academy Subject Centre Network and JISC Regional Support Centres.
For examples of projects undertaken in previous rounds, and further details of how to submit a bid under HEAT3 by noon on Tuesday 15 July 2008, please go to
www.techdis.ac.uk/getheatscheme
Please note that due to specific restrictions attached to this funding this scheme is only available to staff in HE institutions and FE institutions with over 400 FTEs in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
CETL NEWS
CEPA (Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning in Performing Arts)
CALL FOR PAPERS
Congress on Research in Dance: Special Conference
Global perspectives on dance pedagogy - research and practice
26 - 27 June 2009
CEPA, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK
The Conference Programme Committee invites proposals for individual papers, panels, lecture-demonstrations and workshops on dance pedagogy. We warmly welcome contributions from researchers, scholars, teachers, dancers, writers and all who are interested in dance from around the world. Please join us to discuss and debate global perspectives in the research and practice of dance pedagogy.
For full information about the Call for Papers and the conference visit the conference website at:
http://www.dmu.ac.uk/faculties/humanities/cepa/cord/index.jsp
Download the call for papers as a Word doc or pdf
Download the submission form as a Word doc
All the news about the Collaboration for Creativity CETL at York St. John University can be found in their newsletters or via C4C's homepage.
http://www.artsworkbathspa.com/
Discover the latest Artswork projects including
Video project by Mimi Thebo (April 2008)
http://www.artsworkbathspa.com/discover/index.php
The Creative Enterprise Project Module is a safe, supportive environment where third year students are asked to undertake a project in a wider world context. It uses student-negotiated tutorial time and student-negotiated assessment items and assessment criteria to provide a challenging learning environment which is exactly tailored for the individual learner.
http://www.rncm.ac.uk/content/view/231/135/
For more information about the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at RNCM and its activities, please contact Linda Merrick linda.merrick@rncm.ac.uk
Home page http://www.cetl4musicne.ac.uk/
CREATIVITY CONFERENCE DVD NOW AVAILABLE
Following the Creativity or Conformity conference (2007), a set of 3 DVDs has been produced of the entire conference - keynote speakers, papers and sketches. It provides a very comprehensive account of the Conference, and could be a useful resource in teaching and debating the value of creativity in HE.
If you would like to buy one, please place your order with:
Angela Dutton, Cardiff School of Art & Design
adutton@uwic.ac.uk or phone 0292 041 6628
The set of 3 DVDs costs £10 plus p&p, payable to UWIC.
Please provide the full name and address of where you want the invoice and DVDs to be sent.
The Conference website address has changed to www.creativityconference07.org should you wish to consult it before ordering.
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/sociology/rsw/undergrad/cetl/ejournal
This is a note by the Journal Manager.
"I wanted to write now that we have published the second issue of Reinvention: a Journal of Undergraduate Research to give you an update on our progress and to ask if you would circulate the attached call for papers for our next issue.
Volume 1 Issue 1 of the journal has proved to be a big success. We have had nearly 600 readers of Vol 1 Issue 1 in the first two months alone, and our site has now had 25,000 hits and around three and a half thousand individual visitors. We are now undertaking research to discover how the publishing experience has affected students, including how students' understanding of their area of interest might have been altered. We are also developing training opportunities for students who want to get involved with peer review or want to submit a paper for publication.
Building on our success we are now opening the journal up to submissions from all undergraduate students, rather than just those based at Warwick and Oxford Brookes. This will be an exciting development and any ideas you might have on how we can spread the word of the journal to institutions around the UK and internationally will be gratefully received. Opening up to all students has meant that we have already experienced an increase in submissions for our October 2008 issue - it seems there is a real demand for a publication such as ours and undergraduates are extremely keen to develop their work for publication.
Published by PALATINE 2008