Documentary practice in a participatory culture

Debates concerning the veracity, ethics and politics of the documentary form circle endlessly around the function of those who participate in it, and the meaning attributed to their participation. Great significance is attached to the way that documentary filmmakers do or do not participate in the world they seek to represent, just as great significance is attached to those subjects whose participation extends beyond playing the part of eyewitness or expert, such that they become part of the very filmmaking process itself. This Ph.D. explores the interface between documentary practice and participatory culture by looking at how their practices, discursive fields and histories intersect, but also by looking at how participating in one might mean participating in the other. In short, the research is an examination of participatory culture through the lens of documentary practice and documentary criticism. In the process, however, this examination of participatory culture will in turn shed light on documentary thinking, especially the meaning and function of ‘the participant’ in contemporary documentary practice. A number of ways of conceiving of participation in documentary practice are discussed in this research, but one of the ideas that gives purpose to that investigation is the notion that the participant in contemporary documentary practice is someone who belongs to a participatory culture in particular. Not only does this mean that those subjects who play a part in a documentary are already informed by their engagement with a range of everyday media practices before the documentary apparatus arrives, the audience for such films are similarly informed and engaged. This audience have their own expectations about how they should be addressed by media producers in general, a fact that feeds back into their expectations about participatory approaches to documentary practice too. It is the ambition of this research to get closer to understanding the relationship between participants in the audience, in documentary and ancillary media texts, as well as behind the camera, and to think about how these relationships constitute a context for the production and reception of documentary films, but also how this context might provide a model for thinking about participatory culture itself. One way that documentary practice and participatory culture converge in this research is in the kind of participatory documentary that I call the ‘Camera Movie’, a narrow mode of documentary filmmaking that appeals directly to contemporary audiences’ desires for innovation and participation, something that is achieved in this case by giving documentary subjects control of the camera. If there is a certain inevitability about this research having to contend with the notion of the ‘participatory documentary’, the ‘participatory camera’ also emerges strongly in this context, especially as a conduit between producer and consumer. Making up the creative component of this research are two documentaries about the reality television event Band In A Bubble, and participatory media practices more broadly. The single-screen film, Hubbub , gives form to the collective intelligence and polyphonous voice of contemporary audiences who must be addressed and solicited in increasingly innovative ways. One More Like That is a split-screen, DVD-Video with alternate audio channels selected by a user who thereby chooses who listens and who speaks in the ongoing conversation between media producers and media consumers. It should be clear from the description above that my own practice does not extend to highly interactive, multi-authored or web-enabled practices, nor the distributed practices one might associate with social media and online collaboration. Mine is fundamentally a single authored, documentary video practice that seeks to analyse and represent participatory culture on screen, and for this reason the Ph.D. refrains from a sustained discussion of the kinds of collaborative practices listed above. This is not to say that such practices don’t also represent an important intersection of documentary practice and participatory culture, they simply represent a different point of intersection. Being practice-led, this research takes its procedural cues from the nature of the practice itself, and sketches parameters that are most enabling of the idea that the practice sets the terms of its own investigation.

A collaborative model for learning and assessment of legal placements

This paper will report on the evaluation of a new undergraduate legal workplace unit, LWB421 Learning in Professional Practice. LWB421 was developed in response to the QUT’s strategic planning and a growing view that work experience is essential to developing the skills that law graduates need in order to be effective legal practitioners (Stuckey, 2007). Work integrated learning provides a context for students to develop their skills, to see the link between theory and practice and support students in making the transition from university to practice (Shirley, 2006). The literature in Australian legal education has given little consideration to the design of legal internship subjects (as distinct from legal clinic programs). Accordingly the design of placement subjects needs to be carefully considered to ensure alignment of learning objectives, learning tasks and assessment. Legal placements offer students the opportunity to develop their professional skills in practice, reflect on their own learning and job performance and take responsibility for their career development and planning. This paper will examine the literature relating to the design of placement subjects, particularly in a legal context. It will propose a collaborative model to facilitate learning and assessment of legal work placement subjects. The basis of the model is a negotiated learning contract between the student, workplace supervisor and academic supervisor. Finally the paper will evaluate the model in the context of LWB421. The evaluation will be based on data from surveys of students and supervisors and focus group sessions.

Studying collaborative design in high bandwidth virtual environments

In today’s global design world, architectural and other related design firms design across time zones and geographically distant locations. High bandwidth virtual environments have the potential to make a major impact on these global design teams. However, there is insufficient evidence about the way designers collaborate in their normal working environments using traditional and/or digital media. This paper presents a method to study the impact of communication and information technologies on collaborative design practice by comparing design tasks done in a normal working environment with design tasks done in a virtual environment. Before introducing high bandwidth collaboration technology to the work environment, a baseline study is conducted to observe and analyze the existing collaborative process. Designers currently rely on phone, fax, email, and image files for communication and collaboration. Describing the current context is important for comparison with the following phases. We developed the coding scheme that will be used in analyzing three stages of the collaborative design activity. The results will establish the basis for measures of collaborative design activity when a new technology is introduced later to the same work environment – for example, designers using electronic whiteboards, 3D virtual worlds, webcams, and internet phone. The results of this work will form the basis of guidelines for the introduction of technology into global design offices

Collaborative recovery: An integrative model for working with individuals that experience chronic or recurring mental illness.

Objectives: Recovery is an emerging movement in mental health. Evidence for recovery-based approaches is not well developed and approaches to implement recovery-oriented services are not well articulated. The collaborative recovery model (CRM) is presented as a model that assists clinicians to use evidence-based skills with consumers, in a manner consistent with the recovery movement. A current 5 year multisite Australian study to evaluate the effectiveness of CRM is briefly described. Conclusion: The collaborative recovery model puts into practice several aspects of policy regarding recovery-oriented services, using evidence-based practices to assist individuals who have chronic or recurring mental disorders (CRMD). It is argued that this model provides an integrative framework combining (i) evidence-based practice; (ii) manageable and modularized competencies relevant to case management and psychosocial rehabilitation contexts; and (iii) recognition of the subjective experiences of consumers.

The importance of a new kind of learning in collaborative networks

There is wide agreement that in order to manage the increasingly complex and uncertain tasks of business, government and community, organizations can no longer operate in supreme isolation, but must develop a more networked approach. Networks are not ‘business as usual’. Of particular note is what has been referred to as collaborative networks. Collaborative networks now constitute a significant part of our institutional infrastructure. A key driver for the proliferation of these multiorganizational arrangements is their ability to facilitate the learning and knowledge necessary to survive or to respond to increasingly complex social issues In this regard the emphasis is on the importance of learning in networks. Learning applies to networks in two different ways. These refer to the kinds of learning that occur as part of the interactive processes of networks. This paper looks at the importance of these two kinds of learning in collaborative networks. The first kind of learning relates to networks as learning networks or communities of practice. In learning networks people exchange ideas with each other and bring back this new knowledge for use in their own organizations. The second type of learning is referred to as network learning. Network learning refers to how people in collaborative networks learn new ways of communicating and behaving with each other. Network learning has been described as transformational in terms of leading to major systems changes and innovation. In order to be effective, all networks need to be involved as learning networks; however, collaborative networks must also be involved in network learning to be effective. In addition to these two kinds of learning in collaborative networks this paper also focuses on the importance of how we learn about collaborative networks. Maximizing the benefits of working through collaborative networks is dependent on understanding their unique characteristics and how this impacts on their operation. This requires a new look at how we specifically teach about collaborative networks and how this is similar to and/or different from how we currently teach about interorgnizational relations.

The 10% rule. Maximising learning through collaborative game design

This paper presents a retrospective view of a game design practice that recently switched from the development of complex learning games to the development of simple authoring tools for students to design their own learning games for each other. We introduce how our ‘10% Rule’, a premise that only 10% of what is learnt during a game design process is ultimately appreciated by the player, became a major contributor to the evolving practice. We use this rule primarily as an analytical and illustrative tool to discuss the learning involved in designing and playing learning games rather than as a scientifically and empirically proven rule. The 10% rule was promoted by our experience as designers and allows us to explore the often overlooked and valuable learning processes involved in designing learning games and mobile games in particular. This discussion highlights that in designing mobile learning games, students are not only reflecting on their own learning processes through setting up structures for others to enquire and investigate, they are also engaging in high-levels of independent inquiry and critical analysis in authentic learning settings. We conclude the paper with a discussion of the importance of these types of learning processes and skills of enquiry in 21st Century learning.

Validation of the impact of Health Information Technology (I-HIT) scale : an international collaborative

In 2005, the Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Nursing Informatics Community developed a survey to measure the impact of health information technology (HIT), the IHIT Scale, on the role of nurses and interdisciplinary communication in hospital settings. In 2007, nursing informatics colleagues from Australia, England, Finland, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland and the United States formed a research collaborative to validate the IHIT across countries. All teams have completed construct and face validation in their countries. Five out of six teams have initiated reliability testing by practicing nurses. This paper reports the international collaborative’s validation of the IHIT Scale completed to date.

Sounds from the empty city : a practice-led case study in the confluence of music, narrative and emotion

The creative practice: the adaptation of picture book The Empty City (Megarrity/Oxlade, Hachette 2007) into an innovative, interdisciplinary performance for children which combines live performance, music, projected animation and performing objects. The researcher, in the combined roles of writer/composer proposes deliberate experiments in music, narrative and emotion in the various drafts of the adaptation, and tests them in process and performance product. A particular method of composing music for live performance is tested in against the emergent needs of a collaborative, intermedial process. The unpredictable site of research means that this project is both looking to address both pre-determined and emerging points of inquiry. This analysis (directed by audience reception) finds that critical incidents of intermediality between music, narrative, action and emotion translate directly into highlights of the performance.

COLLABORATORY : characteristics of collaborative creativity

Teaching and learning in working groups is a challenge to both teacher and student. Collaboration is an elusive concept, difficult to teach, impossible to enforce, yet the ability to work in this way is an essential characteristic of any Creative Industries professional. In 2006, a group of creative industries students were charged with the task of collaboratively creating a performance as part of their coursework. This research project closely followed their development as agents of collaborative creativity using an innovative methodology which combined performance and documentary making. The result is COLLABORATORY - a DVD documentary isolating key behaviours and features of collaborative learning: Convergence and divergence of ideas, Characters and behaviours in collaboration, Leadership and facilitation, Motivation and Intersubjectivity. An engaging presentation of theory and practice capturing what Meill and Littleton (2004) call “the emotional dance of collaboration”.

The social role of design on collaborative destination branding : creating a new journey, a new story for the Waterfall Way, New South Wales, Australia.

This paper suggests that collaborative design can be an effective tool to promote social change. A co-design methodology and the results of its application in branding the Waterfall Way (New South Wales, Australia) as an eco- and nature-based tourism destination are presented as an example. The co-design exercise actively involved stakeholders in all stages of the design process, harnessing local tacit knowledge in relation to communication design, stimulating reflection upon what is special about the places, and consequently reinforcing a sense of belonging and the environmental and cultural conservation of place. The achieved results reflect the involvement and ownership of the community towards the design process. However, the application of a collaborative brand design methodology produced more than just a destination brand that is attractive to visitors, in line with local values, ways of living and the environment. It helped to catalyse a social network around tourism, triggering self-organising activity amongst stakeholders, who started to liaise with each other around the emergent regional identity - represented by the new brand they created together. The Waterfall Way branding process is a good example of social construction of shared understanding in and through design, showing that design exercises can have a significant social impact not only on the final product, but also on the realities of people involved in the process.

ICTs for creative practice in drama : creating cyberdrama with young people in school contexts

This study explores young people's creative practice through using Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) - in one particular learning area - Drama. The study focuses on school-based contexts and the impact of ICT-based interventions within two drama education case studies. The first pilot study involved the use of online spaces to complement a co-curricula performance project. The second focus case was a curriculum-based project with online spaces and digital technologies being used to create a cyberdrama. Each case documents the activity systems, participant experiences and meaning making in specific institutional and technological contexts. The nature of creative practice and learning are analysed, using frameworks drawn from Vygotsky's socio-historical theory (including his work on creativity) and from activity theory. Case study analysis revealed the nature of contradictions encountered and these required an analysis of institutional constraints and the dynamics of power. Cyberdrama offers young people opportunities to explore drama through new modes and the use of ICTs can be seen as contributing different tools, spaces and communities for creative activity. To be able to engage in creative practice using ICTs requires a focus on a range of cultural tools and social practices beyond those of the purely technological. Cybernetic creative practice requires flexibility in the negotiation of tool use and subjects and a system that responds to feedback and can adapt. Classroom-based dramatic practice may allow for the negotiation of power and tool use in the development of collaborative works of the imagination. However, creative practice using ICTs in schools is typically restricted by authoritative power structures and access issues. The research identified participant engagement and meaning making emerging from different factors, with some students showing preferences for embodied creative practice in Drama that did not involve ICTs. The findings of the study suggest ICT-based interventions need to focus on different applications for the technology but also on embodied experience, the negotiation of power, identity and human interactions.

Transforming educational practice : teachers' perceptions of embedding academic litaracy support within a B.Ed twinning program

An academic literacies approach frames students as active participants in their own learning as they develop their voice and identity. This paper describes teachers’ perceptions of developing and delivering an academic literacies program to TESOL pre-service teachers in a B.Ed twinning program. Data indicates that an academic literacies program is a dynamic process that is ever evolving in order to meet students’ needs. A cornerstone of the program was the continual and open communication between teachers to ensure that students’ needs were met. Additionally, a collaborative approach between twinning partners needs to occur in order for the benefits of the academic literacies program to continue for students.

Research adventures in Web 2.0 : encouraging collaborative local content creation through edgeX

The intersection of current arguments about the role of creative industries in economic development, online user-generated content, and the uptake of broadband in economically disadvantaged communities provides the content for this article. From 2006 to 2008 the authors carried out a research project in Ipswich, Queensland involving local creative practitioners and community groups in their development of edgeX, a Web-based platform for content uploads and social networking. The project aimed to explore issues of local identity and community building through online networking, as well as the possibilities for creating pathways from amateur to professional practice in the creative industries through the auspices of the Website. Set against the backdrop of a rapidly changing technological environment that has problematic implications for research projects aiming to build new online platforms, we present several case studies from the project to illustrate the challenges to participation experienced by people with limited access to, and literacy with, the Internet.

aa-cell in practice : an approach to musical live coding

Live coding performances provide a context with particular demands and limitations for music making. In this paper we discuss how as the live coding duo aa-cell we have responded to these challenges, and what this experience has revealed about the computational representation of music and approaches to interactive computer music performance. In particular we have identified several effective and efficient processes that underpin our practice including probability, linearity, periodicity, set theory, and recursion and describe how these are applied and combined to build sophisticated musical structures. In addition, we outline aspects of our performance practice that respond to the improvisational, collaborative and communicative requirements of musical live coding.