Monday 24 April 2017

Professional Artefact planning...

So today... taking a break away from critical review editing and writing today I have fully focused on my Professional Artefact reading the module 3 handbook and reader 7 handbook throughly in order to get an idea as to what area of presentation values to consider.

My professional practice is that of "The Importance of Nutrition in a career in the Performing Arts".

After mind mapping all the nitty gritty information it is now my plan of action to go through the thought process of presenting my Artefact. The Artefact is an important process of communicating my inquiry differently to not only an academic audience, but also a professional audience.

Firstly: Displaying the development of professional skills of inquiry tools and ability to communicate using "language" that's meaningful to me and my professional "performing arts" community..... using new technologies or social media.

Secondly: Aware of whats going on in the professional field in theories and demonstrate and understanding of these bodies of knowledge when communicating inquiry.

Thirdly: - demonstrate a better understanding of my learning throughout the inquiry and identity new insights about practice that benefit or have implications for professional community of practice.


MIND MAP ANALYSIS

  • Show Professional Community how QUESTIONS and THEMES have developed throughout the module. 
- These Questions and Themes consist of...
1. How does food impact health? - this has been a main topic throughout my inquiry, questioning the basics of nutrition and then further enhancing a view on nutrition and how it can affect health for better and worse and furthermore how food has impacted my health.
2. Education in Nutrition. - when first exploring the topic of nutrition I found education continuously being a recurring theme. The increase in obesity in children in the UK and chef's such as Jamie Oliver  doing their upmost to reduce this statistic and improve education of nutrition in schools in the UK.
3. This further starts to cover the topic of education in dance institutions and ensuring performers are being educated enough in the importance of nutrition in their day to day routines and furthermore the impact of a good and and education can cause impacting the health of certain individuals sometimes leading to eating disorders which are very common in the performing arts community.

  • Clear in communicating information GAINED and ACHIEVED throughout my inquiry.
- Throughout my inquiry I feel I have gained a lot of information and insight on further expanding my knowledge of nutrition and relating it to my passion in life, the performing arts. I feel I have achieved extensive knowledge on nutrition and further than that learnt a lot about myself and my diet 

  • How is it going to be presented in a book form , or "audio visual" elements designed to communicate your audience at a distance. 
- Thinking about the presentation of my inquiry, and my inquiry being based about nutrition I would like to base ideas of my artefact around a Recipe book, easily relatable to the performer and myself making the artefact more of a visual presentation in stead of all in a written format. 

  • What are the BOUNDARIES of my inquiry? And how have my community or practice influenced the size and scope of my inquiry. 
-  In terms of boundaries in my inquiry i think this is mainly built around the topic of eating disorder's and handling the issue as sensitively as possible and ensuring the most important information is portrayed to my professional audience. 

  • Take into consideration ethical practice and for presentation remain confidentiality and anonymity of individuals mentioned throughout my presentation. 
- Within my inquiry I selected 5 food bloggers/nutritionists/ performer's to interview for information regarding their point of view on information I required to impact my inquiry. Unfortunately throughout my selection process only one of my interviewee's provided the feedback for my inquiry. She is a performer and a food blogger venturing into a self employed business regarding fitness training, auditioning and creating recipes and educating the performing arts community into nutrition and general well being of fitness and lifestyle for the life of a performer. Throughout my inquiry 

  • The Professional Inquiry may not have given a "successful" outcome - i.e. questions not answered - HOW has my practice changed / benefited from my inquiry using new understanding. 
- As stated previously when asking for feedback from individuals regarding my inquiry I contacted 5 people and only got feedback from one individual regarding my inquiry which consequently impacted the process of my inquiry in presenting my data.

  • The Artefact should be created with a professional audience in mind but also an academic audience - my approach may need to be explained e.g. "create a booklet /poster" relating to findings and used as evidence in portfolio. 
- As explained in previous point - presenting my artefact to a professional and academic audience I am contemplating presenting my artefact in the format of a "Recipe Book/ online blog" to display information regarding my inquiry to the larger professional community within the performing arts in the importance of nutrition in a career within our professional field. 



Friday 14 April 2017

Letter of permission and questions

Dear...

At present I am studying for a BA Hons in Professional Practice (Arts) from Middlesex University.  After Graduating Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts with a Level 6 Diploma in Professional Musical Theatre, I have decided to continue my studies in order to achieve a degree in the Performing Arts. Throughout my time studying at University I have taken a keen interest in Nutrition for the life of the performer which I have decided to focus my dissertation on now I am in my final module of my course. I myself have suffered from many health issues including blood disorders and vitamin deficiencies which along with medication I have always been advised to take further care with my diet in order to improve my health which has further developed my interest in nutrition particularly in that of the performing arts, my professional field. 

Below are three questions which I have composed and I would greatly appreciate your answers to these questions in order to further develop my inquiry. Your answers can be anonymous if you wish and in addition you can refuse to answer all or any of the questions if you wish to do so. 
If you do require any further information from myself please do not hesitate to contact me. 

I thoroughly appreciate your cooperation to help me further my studies in this sector. 

1. What do you as an expert advise about nutrition in the performing arts industry?
2. Do you believe current trends such as "clean eating", the "veganary" campaign and trends through social media have influenced the performing arts community today to take more interest in nutrition?
3. How does nutrition affect you in your life as a performer?


Many Thanks 
Victoria

Sunday 5 March 2017

Module 3

So here it is module 3.

Since receiving my feedback from Module 2 I have decided to change my title of my inquiry from
"The Importance of Food and Diet in the Performing Arts" to "The Importance of Nutrition in the performing arts". Through my inquiry I want to learn about the importance of nutrition in the everyday lives of a performer but I think it is also important to discuss the results of a performer with a strong awareness of nutrition but also what a lack of education in nutrition can cause.

At Present I am currently researching literature for my literature review. I am looking for 4 or 5 pieces of literature to take further into my inquiry. I also after reading module 3 handbook and reader 7 found a link to the reading university website as a guide to writing a literature review which I found incredibly helpful allowing me a format of a ways of planning my literature review and the appropriate stages of collating the information.

"STEP 1: DEFINE THE PROBLEM - WHAT IS MY TOPIC OF STUDY.
STEP 2: FIND THE RESEARCH AND READ CRITICALLY.
STEP 3 ORGANISE AND THEME
STEP 4 STRUCTURE
STEP 5 WRITE IT UP
- INTRODUCTION
- MAIN BODY
- CONCLUSION

http://www.reading.ac.uk/library/study-advice/lib-sa-guides.aspx

I have also been in touch via email with a nutrition/food/lifestyle blogger who has agreed to answer questions regarding my inquiry which I hope will provide me with another opinion to counteract my research.

Module 3 coming along smoothly, this week is fully dedicated to lots of reading and research to get my literature review completed and working further on my inquiry.