Disciplines Of Arts Research Articles

Speaking in Tongues: The Uncommon Ground of Arts-Based Research

In this article, we explore whether or not arts-based research engages different ideas and processes—different nouns and verbs—when the art form is understood as design, craft, or “fine” art. We propose that the fine, craft, and design arts each provide opportunities for conducting research, that their identities are built upon mutual support and willful self-separation—“I am a crafts artist not a designer;” that the distinctions mark the boundaries of our research but aren’t fixed; and, that they provide a framework for a comprehensive art education program in which the disjunctions among the three disciplines provide opportunities for critical discourse. The disorder, the complexity, and the contradiction that the three disciplines of craft, design, and fine arts bring to one another is further complicated by art educators’ and their students’ knowledge, primarily the memories and cultural histories that they bring to their craft, design, and fine art making practices and research. In doing so, the discourse about craft, design, and fine art making is forever unfinished in the classroom. This article is the authors’ attempt at introducing a writing style that best exemplifies the ambiguities and incompleteness of arts-based research. We have chosen aphoristic writing to provide art educators opportunities to enter the fray, to intervene in the openings between our writing by reading between the aphorisms that follow.

Factors of Development of Far Eastern Martial Arts in Central Europe

Factors of Development of Far Eastern Martial Arts in Central Europe The aim of the research was to indicate the main factors of development declared by the practitioners of the different disciplines of martial arts and combat sports in selected countries of Central Europe. In particular, such variables as training location and type of martial arts/combat sports have been taken into consideration. Five research questions have been established which should be answered in order to find the solution to the posed problem. The theoretical perspective for analyses presented here consists of sociology of sport and humanist theory of martial arts. This approach results in the need for quantitative and qualitative analysis of the answers to questions about the barriers of development according to the variables of the practiced variety (a martial art, a combat sport) and the place of training. The method of diagnostic survey has been used. The research was conducted on a group of 500 subjects from south-eastern Poland, Slovakia, Germany and additionally (for comparison) from England, of which 489 were accepted for the study. This number includes 137 representatives of kyokushin karate from Poland, 143 Polish karatekas of non-contact varieties, 18 representatives of jujitsu and karate from Germany, 37 aikidokas from Poland (a martial art without sportive rivalry), 107 judokas from Poland and 24 judokas from Slovakia, with an additional 23 British rugby players. The selection of the group was deliberate and complete, taking into account the representatives of various martial arts and combat sports, with rugby used for comparative purposes. Practicing martial arts oriented to self-realization, determines the motivation for their practice, which differs from the motivation in sport (combat sports). It influences the dominating choices of values-goals and popularity, thus the development of given varieties. Both martial arts and combat sports of Asian origin (aikido, judo, jujitsu, karate) attract practitioners, mainly due to their usefulness in self-defense. The values connected with training and sportive rivalry (combat sports, rugby) are also noticed. The variable of place (country) is connected with the dominating forms in promoting a given martial art or combat sport.

Motivational Systems Theory And The Academic Performance Of College Students

This study explored the validity of the Motivational Systems Theory (MST) as a measure of performance of college students pursuing business degrees and the level of academic performance attained across gender and race lines. This goal is achieved by investigating the relationships between motivational strategies, biological factors, responsive environment factors, skill/prior ability, and academic performance of these college students and the impact on the level of academic performance by the college students’ gender and race. The unit of analysis used in this study was 259 college students pursuing business degrees in an institution of higher learning in the south-eastern region of the United States. The instrument of choice was the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) which was used in prior studies to survey the relationship between motivation and learning strategies and performance of students in the disciplines of arts and sciences, philosophy, psychology and natural sciences. The MSLQ will be used to obtain students responses to 50 questions pertaining to their college experience as relates to their motivation and application of learning strategies. The results indicated that the motivational systems theory is a valid predictor of performance. The female students’ levels of academic performance were higher than their male counterparts irrespective of race. The biological trait, test anxiety, impacted Caucasian females more than the other gender or race groups. ANOVA confirmed that statistically significant relationships existed between academic performance and demographic variables gender and race. MANOVA confirmed that the differences in performance levels across gender and race lines were statistically significant. The results strongly supported the premise that the levels of academic performance are impacted significantly across gender and race lines for college students pursuing degrees in accredited business programs.

How art, media and design students conceive of the relation between the dissertation and practice

This study examined students' conceptions of the relationship between aspects of theory and practice in art, media and design undergraduate education. This was considered specifically in relation to the dissertation which most final-year arts practice undergraduates undertake. The study was based on interviews conducted within one institution where theory and practice is normally delivered, supported and assessed by the tutors who teach the student both theory and practice. These practice/theory tutors also supervise and assess the dissertation. An analysis of interviews of a varied sample of 24 students from the disciplines of fashion design, animation and photographic arts yield four qualitatively different ways of conceiving the relations between dissertation and practice. The semi-structured interviews looked at all facets of the students' experience of how a dissertation may have an impact upon them, from considerations on how they perceived the notion of having to complete a written paper to how a dissertation may support their practice and to the simple practicalities of how they might achieve this piece of work. The categories range from the conception that the dissertation and practice are inseparable, through to a conception that the dissertation is not necessary. These different conceptions appeared to be related to variations of students' views of the role they had undertaken in relation to their own involvement in preparing and writing the dissertation. The implications of this study are discussed in terms of the relations between student conceptions of the rationale for the dissertation, and their understanding of the academic task at hand. The outcomes also suggest further avenues for research and exploration in relation to the key issues raised.

Concordia University

At Concordia University, Montréal, matters from the period called the Middle Ages are investigated and taught through a variety of disciplines. A Concordia B.A. thus provides excellent preparation for a student interested in medieval matters. There are large and viable programs in Classical Greek and Latin and in modern languages. Engaged researchers regularly offer courses on medieval subjects within programs that give training in the disciplines of theology, religious studies, philosophy, history, political thought, literary interpretation, fine arts, and art history. These disciplines permit familiarity with the questions and discourses of research that will open out new approaches to old materials, such as we have seen with enquiries of gender theory, methods of interpretation, memorialisation, or representation. Within some disciplines, then, it is possible to pursue advanced studies, with a possible thesis option for an M.A., and with a Ph.D. in History or an individual interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Humanities.

Soundoff: Four Teacher-Friendly Postulates for Thriving in a Sea of Change

Many of us chose mathematics teaching because it was always so neat and clean. We felt an affinity toward teaching and learning mathematics because it was orderly and logical. Almost always, we arrived at only one numerical answer by using one right procedure that could be easily graded either right or wrong. We knew that with our beloved mathematics, we suffered none of the gray areas that plague the disciplines of language arts and social studies. And we knew that we would be rewarded for teaching mathematics the way we ourselves were taught. But, oh, how things have changed!