Ämnet för studien var improvisation och improvisationsundervisning i relation till begreppet Music Performance Anxiety (MPA) samt tänkbara kopplingar däremellan. MPA beskrivs enklast som ångestkänslor i samband med musikutövande. Syftet med studien var att utforska Music Performance Anxiety utifrån en jazzmusikers perspektiv. Är det möjligt att känna prestationsångest i en kontext där det egentligen inte går att ”spela fel”? Jämförelser med konstmusiken blir därför relevant. Ett vidare syfte var att finna verktyg för att kunna uppmärksamma och hjälpa elever med MPA inom ensembleundervisning med fokus på improvisation. Vilka metoder och material använder pedagogerna? I studien valdes en kvalitativ metod, baserat på forskningsintervjuer med tre olika musiker och pedagoger inom improvisation. Det kompletterades genom att utforska befintlig litteratur inom improvisation och MPA. Studiens resultat påvisar att samtliga informanter hade stora erfarenheter och personliga upplevelser av både improvisation och MPA samt kopplingar däremellan och att MPA är ett förekommande fenomen inte bara inom konstmusik utan även bland jazzmusiker. Resultaten påvisar även att MPA framställs som något mindre vanligt bland jazzmusiker än hos klassiska musiker. Det finns inom jazzkulturen en reservation mot att visa tecken på svagheter som nervositet och prestationsångest. Förhoppningvis kan studien bidra till att lyfta ämnet MPA inom jazz och populärmusik, då det tidigare inte varit så beforskat inom dessa genrer. En vidare aspiration är att uppmärksamma musikpedagoger på hur de kan hjälpa elever som upplever svårigheter i improvisationsundervisning. / The subject of the study was improvisation and improvisational teaching in relation to the concept of Music Performance Anxiety (MPA) and possible connections between them. MPA is most easily described as feelings of anxiety in connection with playing music. The purpose of the study was to explore Music Performance Anxiety from a jazz musician's perspective. Is it possible to feel performance anxiety in a context where it is not really possible to "play wrong"? Comparisons with classical music therefore become relevant. A further purpose was to find tools to be able to draw attention to and help students with MPA in ensemble teaching with a focus on improvisation. What methods and materials do the educators use? In the study, a qualitative method was chosen, based on research interviews with three different musicians and educators in improvisation. It was supplemented by exploring existing literature in improvisation and MPA. The results of the study show that all informants had great experiences and personal experiences of both improvisation and MPA as well as connections between them and that MPA is a common phenomenon not only in art music but also among jazz musicians. The results also show that MPA is presented as somewhat less common among jazz musicians than among classical musicians. There is a reservation in jazz culture against showing signs of weaknesses such as nervousness and performance anxiety. Hopefully, the study can help to raise the topic of MPA in jazz and popular music, as it has not previously been so researched in these genres. A further aspiration is to draw the attention of music educators to how they can help students who experience difficulties in improvisational teaching.

<p>Opponent: Anthony Allen Öhnström</p>

Située au carrefour de la didactique des langues et cultures et de la sociologie de l’éducation, cette thèse porte sur la gestion simultanée, par le professeur, des besoins et intérêts de chacun des apprenants ; à partir de l’observation de la réception enseignante des interventions négociatrices d’apprenants, on s’attache à définir les contours d’une « disposition » (propension) enseignante à satisfaire à la fois les besoins de l’individu qui parle et ceux de ses pairs. A ce titre, le présent travail propose d’apporter une contribution tant aux recherches portant sur les pratiques professionnelles enseignantes qu’aux études concernant l’acquisition des langues en apprentissage collectif. Le dialogisme bakhtinien, le socioconstructivisme vygotskien, le paradigme dispositionnaliste de Lahire, les théories de l’action conjointe développées par Filliettaz, et l’approche connexionniste de la pensée enseignante proposée par Tochon se trouvent entre autres utilisés tant au niveau théorique que méthodologique. A partir de l’analyse d’un corpus recueilli par vidéo au sein d’une classe de FLE pour migrants, en Greta, on observe la manière dont une enseignante s’affilie et se désaffilie des négociations individuelles d’apprenants qui surviennent en activité de « conversation didactique ». A l’aide des outils offerts par l’analyse des conversations, la microsociologie, la linguistique de l’interaction, la pragmatique psychosociale et l’analyse du discours, on décrit finement la régulation de la parole apprenante par l’enseignante (actes de valorisation de l’apprenant, d’encouragement à sa prise de parole ou de désengagement). Ces observations sont enrichies des commentaires que cette même enseignante effectue sur son propre agir, à travers des entretiens d’auto-confrontation et d’explicitation ; les verbalisations recueillies, porte d’accès à la fabrique de l’action enseignante, permettent de définir « la disposition à un agir collectif » comme un puissant critère d’affiliation ou de désaffiliation enseignante : les négociations individuelles d’apprenants sont évaluées par le professeur à la lumière de leur intérêt didactique et pédagogique pour le groupe. Cette disposition, qui amène l’enseignante à établir un lien transversal entre les propos des uns et le fil thématique en cours de co-construction, agit finalement en tant que « connexion fonctionnelle » sur laquelle repose en partie le fonctionnement improvisationnel des enseignants. / The following study discusses the ability of teachers to simultaneously deal with the needs and interests of every learner in the classroom. Through the observation of a teacher’s feedback moves to students’negotiations of meaning, we conducted an exploration of his or her disposition (tendency) to meet both the negotiator and his or her peers’ needs. As such, this study aims at contributing to the field of teaching professional practices and of second language acquisition. The theoretical framework of this study relies on the Bakhtinian dialogism, Vygoskian socioconstructivism, the paradigm of “dispositions” developed by Lahire, the theory of joint action developed by Filliettaz and the connectionist approach to teacher decisionmaking, which has been developed by Tochon. Through the analysis of video recorded data that have been collected during conversational activities in a French classroom for adult migrants, we provide an in-depth investigation of the teacher’s moves of affiliation and disaffiliation from learners’ individual negotiations. Conversation analysis, microsociology, linguistic interactionism, psychosocial pragmatics, and discourse analysis are integrated in the research methodology in order to provide an accurate description of a teacher’s regulation of learners talk (elicitation, incitation or disaffiliation). Stimulated recall methodology has also been used to complete the interaction analysis. The results demonstrate that the teacher’s affiliations to individual negotiations are made in the light of their pedagogical utility for the peers. It is therefore argued that the teacher’s tendency to link each learner’ needs and interests to his or her peers’serves as a powerful functional connection on which the teachers’ improvisational decision-making process during classroom interactions is mostly based.

Utilizing drama has long been an innovative and dynamic concept as a part of a communicative approach in English classrooms around the world. Teaching languages through drama offers many beneficial opportunities for learners. Nevertheless, traditional methods are still the widely held teaching structures across the globe, which results in an increase in the number of demotivated learners who often hate and fear to practice one of the challenging skills when learning a foreign language- speaking- as it is a productive language skill. Not only do the traditional methods bring negative emotional and psychological outcomes, but it also causes a gradual slowdown in the language acquisition process. The aim of this study was to exclude these problems and to provide a learner–centered atmosphere. This study is intended to gain insights, analyze and better understand the use of script-based and improvisational drama to develop oral proficiency by taking student motivation and attitudes into consideration. The study addressed the following questions: 1) What are learners’ motivations and attitudes toward developing speaking skills before the intervention and after the intervention?; 2) What unique roles do the script-based versus improvisational drama play in fostering learners’ development of oral proficiency?; 3) What are the participants’ reactions to script-based and improvisational drama instructional techniques before and after the intervention?; and 4) How do they make sense of their oral proficiency gains as they reflect on the experience of participating in the creative dramatic activity? In order to investigate these questions, 2 sessions of script-based and 2 sessions of improvisational drama, total of 4 sessions of drama intervention were offered to learners, and the researcher conducted interviews, video recordings, and field observations and notes throughout the intervention. Findings indicated that script-based and improvisational drama helped learners improve their oral proficiency, decrease their negative motivations, reduce their stress, anxiety and shyness levels, and increase their positive motivations. This study contributes to our understanding of the role of script-based and improvisational drama in language learning process.

Taikant improvizacijos būdus solfedžio pamokoje svarbu parinkti tokias užduotis, kurios atitiktų mokinių gabumų ir gebėjimų lygį. Improvizacijos užduočių panaudojimas reikšmingas ne tik solfedžio, bet ir kitose mokinių ugdymo bei gyvenimo sferose. Improvizacija suteikia galimybę tinkamai save realizuoti, laisvai reikšti mintis ir idėjas, giliau įsisavinti improvizuojamą medžiagą. Dėl unikalių solfedžio ugdymo ypatybių, ši pamoka muzikos mokyklose dažnai įgauna neigiamą atspalvį. Sustiprintose ir specializuotose muzikos mokyklose solfedžio gana stipriai susijęs su ugdymo procesu: mokiniams tai tampa tiesiog savaimine ugdymo priemone. Didžiajai daugumai ugdytinių pasidaro visai nesvarbi solfedžio mokymo eiga. Improvizacija – aktualus muzikavimo būdas. Ji turi būti tobulinama remiantis visomis muzikinės veiklos formomis, taip pat ir solfedžio pamokose. Todėl improvizacijos būdų taikymas yra aktuali pedagoginė problema. Tyrimo objektas – improvizacijos būdų taikymas solfedžio pamokoje. Tyrimo tikslas - atskleisti improvizacijos būdų taikymo galimybes solfedžio pamokoje. Tyrimo hipotezė – solfedžio pamokoje skatinama ugdytinių mokymosi kokybė, plėtojama jų saviraiška, jeigu taikomi mokinio muzikinę patirtį atitinkantys improvizacijos būdai. Tyrimo uždaviniai: 1) remiantis literatūros sistemine analize atskleisti solfedžio problematiką skirtingoms mokinių amžiaus grupėms, improvizacijos sampratą bei jos reikšmę ugdymo procese; 2) nustatyti mokinių... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The application of improvisation at the sol-fa lessons requires selection of such tasks that would accord with the levels of students’ capabilities and abilities. The improvisation tasks are significant not only for the sol-fa lessons but in other spheres of students’ education and life, too. Improvisation provides a possibility to properly materialize oneself, to freely express one’s thoughts and ideas and to realize the improvised material more deeply. The unique educational characteristics of the sol-fa lessons often cast a negative shade on them at music schools. Specialised music schools strongly tie the sol-fa subject with the entire educational process: the students treat it as a means of self-education. Most of the students stop thinking about the course of the sol-fa training. That is why indifference to the sol-fa lessons could be described as the main educational problem among the students. Subject of the research – possibilities to apply improvisation at the sol-fa lesson. Objectives of the research – to disclose the possibilities of application of improvisation at the sol-fa lesson. Hypothesis of the research – application of various types of improvisation at the sol-fa lesson improves the studying quality of the students, holds their interest and enhances their creative self-expression. Goals of the research: 1) to display, based on the literature systematic analysis, the aggregate of problems related with the sol-fa training in... [to full text]

Haig Utidjian - Abstract In this thesis we attempt to establish, in as concrete and tangible a manner as possible, the procedures used by Ełia Tntesean (1834-1881) in compiling and redacting his version of the melodies of the Armenian Hymnal, and to place his own endeavour in the context of other attempts to record the melodies of Armenian hymns using the Limōnčean system of musical notation in nineteenth-century Constantinople - at a time when the mediaeval neumatic notation had already become largely intractable. Our approach entails the juxtaposition of Tntesean's musicological articles and paedagogical publications with his transcriptions in Western notation and with his mature realisations of the hymnal melodies in the Limōnčean system, published posthumously in 1934 - treating these sources as a coherent corpus, of which the diverse components are allowed to shed light on each other. Comparison with other hymnals from the same period, the investigation of parallels with the neighbouring practice of Ottoman makams, fieldwork with surviving remnants of the oral tradition, and a critical examination of Tntesean's writings and transcriptions enable us to elucidate aspects of notation and performance practice, and to expose a subtle evolution in aesthetic. Furthermore, a detailed analysis of the Tntesean...

The context for this study is a community based organization known as the National Youth Development Outreach (YDO) in Eersterust, Pretoria. This organization caters primarily for adolescents who are in conflict with the law who have been referred to YDO by the courts. YDO offers what is known as the Adolescent Development Programme as a means of social rehabilitation. This programme is based on what is known as the Circle of Courage which has its origins in the Native American approach to child rearing. This Circle of Courage has four components, namely, Belonging, Mastery, Independence and Generosity. Music therapy was introduced at the National Youth development Outreach in January 2003. My interest in the work of music therapy within this context gave rise to this dissertation. My aim in this study is to explore how music therapy can contribute to the Adolescent Development Programme and, in particular, how the Circle of Courage can inform the goals and practice of music therapy. In addition I wish to explore how music therapy practice needs to adapt in order to be relevant within such a context. The study is conducted within the qualitative research paradigm and thus seeks not to prove one single truth. This explorative study is conducted in a naturalistic setting. Data collection is in the form of a semi structured interview with 3 personnel members from the organization, clinical session notes and video recorded excerpts from two music therapy sessions. The clinical session notes form the basis of a description of the music therapy process at YDO from January to June 2003 and work with an individual client. These descriptions serve to contextualize the semi structured interview and video excerpts. The data are coded categorized and organized into themes. These themes highlight the social context in which YDO is situated which includes the individual, the organization and the community. The data highlights the primacy of the Circle of Courage within this specific context. Music as a tool for communication as well as a barometer of relationship is also discussed. This forms the basis for addressing the two research questions. This discussion focuses on the role of the Circle of Courage in informing the goals of music therapy through considering this at a conceptual level as well as viewing clinical improvisation through the lens of the Circle of Courage. The response to the second research question is from the premise of community therapy and considers the possibility of a wider application of music therapy in such a context. Music therapy is in its infancy in South Africa, especially with this client group. I am unaware of any published literature of music therapy work with adolescents in conflict with the law. Whilst this study has focused on a very small part of the whole, my hope is that it will stimulate further thinking and research about music therapy with this client group and will contribute to a broader body of knowledge. / Dissertation (MMus (Music Therapy))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Music / unrestricted

ICT development and deployment and supporting policies take place within a fiercely contested globalised political economy. For organisations there is a pervasiveness of change processes, often externally imposed, which are rising with these globalising effects. This not only implies that the context in which organisations are situated is continuously changing, but also that the nature of the organisation itself is subject to change (Van Tonder, 2004). However, the external influences imposed on an organisation are often heterogeneous and make the management of adapting to the external environment extremely complex. This thesis explores such an externally imposed change on an organisation around the implementation of a contentious national policy. This entails not only dealing with the more usual dimensions of change in an organisation, but also the implications of the national debate and contentions around the national policy playing out in the local setting of the organisation. In this thesis the change explored is within a government department from a proprietary Enterprise Content Management (ECM) system to an open source ECM system. An interpretative approach was followed, using a longitudinal case study. Two main aspects of this change process are explored. The first is the impact of the national open source policy on government departments - an externally imposed change of mission, vision and values. The second is how internally the government department changed its internal work processes and information systems to comply with that policy. These two aspects are intertwined. Alignment of the organisation mission, values and objectives, with the proposed technological innovation and change management models emerges as a necessary condition for managing change. However, what emerged as a more challenging issue was whether internal organisational changes can be aligned with contentious national policy imperatives. Three theoretical lenses are used to explore this contentious issue: the HEM model of Du Plooy’s (1998); the improvisational change management model of Orlikowski and Hofman (1997); and institutional theory as it applies to Information Systems. The improvisational change model of Orlikowski and Hofman (1997) in combination with Du Plooy’s (1998) HEM model, was used to understand the change process unfolding in the implementation of an OS ECM system in a Government department in SA. The result of this application is some practical recommendations for government officials on future OS implementations, as well as a theoretical add-on to extend the change management model applied. The researcher found that models can increase our understanding and reveal how one can ‘cultivate’ the human environment within which technology is to be implemented. However, the process of developing an understanding of how national policy was developed and the rationale for it was also found to be important, as is developing an understanding of the rationale of this particular department for choosing to implement the OS ECM system. By adding to, or expanding on Orlikowski and Hoffman’s (1997) model to include a fourth element, indicating the external forces in the environment, such as government regulations; government policy; and the debate on global and national FOSS versus PS, highlights the need for this external alignment as well as prevents the focus on internal alignment only. Institutional theory was consequently applied in an attempt to unpack the organisational and change management dimensions of the change model, aiming at understanding the institutional forces which legitimates or contradicts the technical/rational ideas and actions of the change. The findings were threefold. Firstly, the role played by IS as an institutional process in and of itself and the way in which this could have affected the implementation of the new OS ECM system was discussed, pointing to the possibility that the new system was not necessarily being implemented to streamline the work practices, but rather due to its institutional status of being a ‘rational myth’; something which had to be done as ‘it’s just the right thing to do.” Secondly, OSS and PS were argued to be different ‘types’ of institutions. Using the institutional pillars it was argued that OSS and PS were driven by different institutional forces, with PS leaning towards the regulative pillar and OSS being more in line with the normative pillar. These two institutions were found to mainly differ with regard to their basis of compliance and the logic behind them. The insights offered by this argument revealed that when changing from OSS to PS, it would be very valuable to recognise that OSS and PS are two different ‘types’ of institutions, and to not only understand that the new system could therefore change the organisational processes when it is implemented, but to also acknowledge the change which will take place within the IS/IT institution itself – moving from the regulative to the normative. The change should thus be understood both within the two different IS innovations themselves, and in how these two innovations interact. Lastly, the research in this thesis went beyond the technical/rational actions of the stakeholders, and included an in depth analysis of the institutional forces at play in the broader social context of the Government department. It explained the institutions which were at play on the international, national and organisational levels, pointing out which of these forces worked in favour of or against the technical/rational actions, and in the process contributed to the unexpected outcome of the new OS ECM implementation process. / Thesis (PhD-- University of Pretoria, 2014 / Informatics / unrestricted

This paper presents a comparative study on two Tabletop Roleplaying Games, Dungeons &amp; Dragons and Blades in the Dark. This paper takes a look at the narrative differences within the two systems. More specifically investigate if Blades in the Dark is more playerdriven than Dungeons &amp; Dragons. The two tested as closely as possible and will be compared with each other. This is a close reading on the rules and player agency rather than a one-on-one comparison. The comparisons were made regarding the mechanics and narrative differences within the systems rather than quality of the story. This study was conducted by running two sessions, one for each system, played by separate groups with the same game scenario and premise. Meaning that the background for both games, character and plot for the session were the same. Comparisons were made by observing player decisions, situations that arose and the influence that the gamemasters had on the game. It was found that there is a clear difference between the two systems, this difference regarding whether the players were reacting to the gamemaster, or the other way round. In Dungeons &amp; Dragons, it was observed that the players reacted and acted according to what the gamemaster explained and played out, whereas in Blades in the Dark it appeared to be the opposite. Here we found that it was the Gamemaster who was reactive to the players instead. The paper concluded that Blades in the Dark is the more player-driven system. This short study could later be built upon and used by game developers to keep in mind and plan their future game systems around. Taking these observations on emergent narrative in Tabletop Role-playing Games into account can be used to create more player-centric and player-driven games. Meaning that the players are more in influence and decisions to make in the story and game. / I detta papper presenteras en jämförande undersökning av två rollspelssystem, Dungeons &amp; Dragons och Blades in the Dark. Det här papperet kollar på skillnaderna när det kommer till spelar-drivet berättande inom de två spelen. Mer specifikt så utreds om Blades in the Dark är mer spelar-drivet än Dungeons &amp; Dragons. De två kommer att testas så likt som möjligt och jämföras med varandra. Detta är en noggrann läsning av reglerna och spelarnas påverkan på spelets berättande, där vad som undersöks är spelets funktioner och skillnader i hur de berättas och presenteras, snarare än kvalitén på spelen eller berättelserna. Denna studie genomfördes genom att hålla två sessioner, en för varje system, spelad av separata grupper men med samma scenario och förutsättningar. Jämförelser gjordes genom att observera spelarbeslut, situationer som uppstod, samt det inflytande som spelmästare hade på spelet. En tydlig skillnad blev synlig mellan de två systemen var gällande huruvida spelarna reagerade på spelmästaren eller tvärtom. I Dungeons &amp; Dragons observerades att spelarna reagerade och agerade enligt vad spelmästaren förklarade och spelade ut. I Blades in the Dark studerades en motsatt effekt, här upptäcktes att det var spelmästaren som reagerade på spelarna istället. Med denna undersökning kom vi fram till att Blades in the Dark är det mer spelar-drivna systemet. Den här studien kan i framtiden användas och byggas på av spelutvecklare för att göra nya spelsystem, med dessa observationer som framkom, kan komma till användning för att göra fler spel med mer spelar-drivet fokus. Vilket innebär att spelaren har mer inflytande på historiens som berättas och spelet i sig.

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