title: How mature adults view the effects of participation in a community visual arts class on their daily lives

authors: English, Helen

subjects: visual arts

abstract: The global population is ageing, due to a reduction in birth rate and increasing life expectancy.  As a country, New Zealand statistics predict that these changes will impact in the near future, and there is increasing pressure on the need for a functioning older population.  The social and educational wellbeing of mature adults is an vital area of research to identify solutions, thus reducing the impact on the generations which support the economy.    

Research has linked visual art participation to enhanced curriculum learning as well as benefits to social, mental and physical health.  Reported learning outcomes include skills, such as memory, imagination and fine motor skills, however research beyond the curriculum largely centres on wellbeing aspects.  Whilst this still has relevance in education, this study’s primary focus is the educational effects of visual art participation.

Specifically, the aims of this study are to explore mature adult’s perceptions of the changes which are created by learning in visual art, and the effects of these changes on their everyday lives.  This research investigates whether active participation in visual art classes may be of value to the mature population through the development of skills and social benefits.

The research question investigated in this thesis is:
How do mature adult participants view the effects of a visual arts class in a community setting on their daily lives?

Participants, who classified themselves as beginners in visual art, attended six weekly two-hour classes, which included drawing, design, printing and painting sessions.  They were encouraged to develop drawing skills, and given the choice of completing either a self-portrait or a portrait of someone close to them.  They then designed and made relief printing blocks to represent aspects of the person they had drawn, and used these to create a background for their portrait.  The end result, for the participants, was a complete artwork which demonstrated their progress in learning specific visual art skills.

I used qualitative methodology, including an open-ended questionnaire prior to the first of the visual art classes, a reflective journal to record my thoughts of the art classes and their flow (reflecting on how this relates to the planning) and semi-structured interviews with each participant following the completion of the six visual art classes.

The findings indicate that participation in a visual art class in a community setting effects a perceived increase in the visual and creative skills of participants, as well as their problem-solving and listening skills.  In addition to this, participants described growth in social bonds, both within and outside of the class, and self-concept.  Growth of skill and self-belief were key outcomes of this learning and appeared to improve through positive social interaction.  To use visual art participation as a tool in the wider community may benefit older members of the population and, in turn, benefit us all.

text: How mature adults view the effects of participation in a community visual arts class on their daily lives The global population is ageing, due to a reduction in birth rate and increasing life expectancy.  As a country, New Zealand statistics predict that these changes will impact in the near future, and there is increasing pressure on the need for a functioning older population.  The social and educational wellbeing of mature adults is an vital area of research to identify solutions, thus reducing the impact on the generations which support the economy.    

Research has linked visual art participation to enhanced curriculum learning as well as benefits to social, mental and physical health.  Reported learning outcomes include skills, such as memory, imagination and fine motor skills, however research beyond the curriculum largely centres on wellbeing aspects.  Whilst this still has relevance in education, this study’s primary focus is the educational effects of visual art participation.

Specifically, the aims of this study are to explore mature adult’s perceptions of the changes which are created by learning in visual art, and the effects of these changes on their everyday lives.  This research investigates whether active participation in visual art classes may be of value to the mature population through the development of skills and social benefits.

The research question investigated in this thesis is:
How do mature adult participants view the effects of a visual arts class in a community setting on their daily lives?

Participants, who classified themselves as beginners in visual art, attended six weekly two-hour classes, which included drawing, design, printing and painting sessions.  They were encouraged to develop drawing skills, and given the choice of completing either a self-portrait or a portrait of someone close to them.  They then designed and made relief printing blocks to represent aspects of the person they had drawn, and used these to create a background for their portrait.  The end result, for the participants, was a complete artwork which demonstrated their progress in learning specific visual art skills.

I used qualitative methodology, including an open-ended questionnaire prior to the first of the visual art classes, a reflective journal to record my thoughts of the art classes and their flow (reflecting on how this relates to the planning) and semi-structured interviews with each participant following the completion of the six visual art classes.

The findings indicate that participation in a visual art class in a community setting effects a perceived increase in the visual and creative skills of participants, as well as their problem-solving and listening skills.  In addition to this, participants described growth in social bonds, both within and outside of the class, and self-concept.  Growth of skill and self-belief were key outcomes of this learning and appeared to improve through positive social interaction.  To use visual art participation as a tool in the wider community may benefit older members of the population and, in turn, benefit us all.

year: 2019

title: An investigation into the factors affecting the perception of a train's travelling speed

authors: Clark, Helen Elizabeth

subjects: train

abstract: Collisions between cars and trains at railway level crossing junctions continue to occur worldwide, despite efforts to reduce their frequency with educational and practical measures.  Many of these collisions occur with car drivers attempting to cross the track in front of an approaching train. The size-speed illusion, first reported by Leibowitz (1985) is a phenomenon whereby larger vehicles appear to move slower than smaller vehicles travelling at the same speed.  Clark et al (2013) tested the illusion using laboratory-based experiments, and found that observers routinely underestimated the relative speed of a train, when compared with a smaller vehicle (car).  No specific reason for the occurrence of the size-speed illusion has been postulated, but Leibowitz suggested that observer eye movement patterns could be an underlying cause of the illusion.
The aim of this thesis was to investigate how observer eye movement patterns influence the size-speed illusion, and consequently the underestimation of a large vehicle’s speed.  Experiment 1 tested observers’ perceived judgement of simulated trains and cars approaching in depth in a controlled laboratory setting, with eye movements recorded by an eye tracker. Results confirmed the size-speed illusion and eye movement data showed that patterns of saccades, fixations and smooth pursuit behaviours differed in the case of the longer train, with initial saccades being made to a region further from the front of the train.
Experiment 2 and 3 isolated the main types of eye movement patterns that our observers displayed and sought to test whether manipulation of these had an effect on the illusion.  Experiment 2 found that manipulating smooth pursuit patterns by placing a target on the front of a long moving object eliminated the illusion.  Experiment 3 found that manipulation of fixation and saccadic behaviours with stationary foreground stimuli also reduced the magnitude of the illusion but did not eliminate it entirely.
The final experiment trialled three countermeasures designed to replicate the effects of manipulating eye movement patterns as shown in Experiments 2 and 3.  Results showed that the intervention based on manipulation of smooth pursuit (alternating flashing lights on the front of a train) was the most effective in reducing the effects of the size-speed illusion.
Our results indicate that the use of countermeasures which have the effect of changing eye movement behaviour is most effective in reducing underestimations of a train’s perceived speed, which, hopefully in future, help reduce level crossing collisions.

text: An investigation into the factors affecting the perception of a train's travelling speed Collisions between cars and trains at railway level crossing junctions continue to occur worldwide, despite efforts to reduce their frequency with educational and practical measures.  Many of these collisions occur with car drivers attempting to cross the track in front of an approaching train. The size-speed illusion, first reported by Leibowitz (1985) is a phenomenon whereby larger vehicles appear to move slower than smaller vehicles travelling at the same speed.  Clark et al (2013) tested the illusion using laboratory-based experiments, and found that observers routinely underestimated the relative speed of a train, when compared with a smaller vehicle (car).  No specific reason for the occurrence of the size-speed illusion has been postulated, but Leibowitz suggested that observer eye movement patterns could be an underlying cause of the illusion.
The aim of this thesis was to investigate how observer eye movement patterns influence the size-speed illusion, and consequently the underestimation of a large vehicle’s speed.  Experiment 1 tested observers’ perceived judgement of simulated trains and cars approaching in depth in a controlled laboratory setting, with eye movements recorded by an eye tracker. Results confirmed the size-speed illusion and eye movement data showed that patterns of saccades, fixations and smooth pursuit behaviours differed in the case of the longer train, with initial saccades being made to a region further from the front of the train.
Experiment 2 and 3 isolated the main types of eye movement patterns that our observers displayed and sought to test whether manipulation of these had an effect on the illusion.  Experiment 2 found that manipulating smooth pursuit patterns by placing a target on the front of a long moving object eliminated the illusion.  Experiment 3 found that manipulation of fixation and saccadic behaviours with stationary foreground stimuli also reduced the magnitude of the illusion but did not eliminate it entirely.
The final experiment trialled three countermeasures designed to replicate the effects of manipulating eye movement patterns as shown in Experiments 2 and 3.  Results showed that the intervention based on manipulation of smooth pursuit (alternating flashing lights on the front of a train) was the most effective in reducing the effects of the size-speed illusion.
Our results indicate that the use of countermeasures which have the effect of changing eye movement behaviour is most effective in reducing underestimations of a train’s perceived speed, which, hopefully in future, help reduce level crossing collisions.

year: 2017

title: Understanding student learning in environmental education in Aotearoa New Zealand

authors: Eames, Chris W.

subjects: environmental education

abstract: This paper seeks to provide a perspective on environmental education in Aotearoa New Zealand. To contextualise this perspective, it illustrates how environmental, socio-cultural and political imperatives have shaped the development of environmental education in this land. These imperatives illuminate the natural history of the country, the connectedness within the worldviews of the indigenous Maori people, the pioneering views of some enlightened European settlers, and tensions between development and conservation. We connect this context with an overview of research in Aotearoa New Zealand into one aspect of environmental education - student learning in schools. Examples from recent research in this area are provided to show how these approaches are contributing to the Aotearoa New Zealand-ness of environmental education.

text: Understanding student learning in environmental education in Aotearoa New Zealand This paper seeks to provide a perspective on environmental education in Aotearoa New Zealand. To contextualise this perspective, it illustrates how environmental, socio-cultural and political imperatives have shaped the development of environmental education in this land. These imperatives illuminate the natural history of the country, the connectedness within the worldviews of the indigenous Maori people, the pioneering views of some enlightened European settlers, and tensions between development and conservation. We connect this context with an overview of research in Aotearoa New Zealand into one aspect of environmental education - student learning in schools. Examples from recent research in this area are provided to show how these approaches are contributing to the Aotearoa New Zealand-ness of environmental education.

year: 2011