title: Composition Portfolio

authors: McKinnon, Peter Jonathan

subjects: orchestral

abstract: This portfolio of original compositions is made up of six works, two electroacoustic and four acoustic. Firstly a Piano suite for solo piano, composed of four different short works, exploring different themes and modes based on eight synthetic scales. Cello and cello is a work for two cellos, exploring the sometimes-dual nature of the mind and yourself. Composed in two movements and with the intention of having a slight theatrical aspect to it. An electroacoustic work, Kaffeine is a composition based around the process of coffee making and the effects it has on people who drink it. Made purely from samples collected from a home coffee machine using a digital recorder. Piaonics is another electroacoustic piece, this one focusing on subtle aspects of the pianos timbre. Two sets of synthetic scales where made, each of the notes in the synthetic scale where sampled on a grand piano to get the best quality samples. Pleonasm is an exploratory work for Viola, clarinet and cello. The work has aleotoric aspects to it, wherein parts don’t always start or finish together and sometimes have different tempo markings. The final work in the portfolio is the classical symphony in E minor, written as an exercise to competently write in the style of a traditional classical symphony. The work is in four movements, fast, slow, fast, fast and takes inspiration from Haydn, Prokofiev and Mahler.

text: Composition Portfolio This portfolio of original compositions is made up of six works, two electroacoustic and four acoustic. Firstly a Piano suite for solo piano, composed of four different short works, exploring different themes and modes based on eight synthetic scales. Cello and cello is a work for two cellos, exploring the sometimes-dual nature of the mind and yourself. Composed in two movements and with the intention of having a slight theatrical aspect to it. An electroacoustic work, Kaffeine is a composition based around the process of coffee making and the effects it has on people who drink it. Made purely from samples collected from a home coffee machine using a digital recorder. Piaonics is another electroacoustic piece, this one focusing on subtle aspects of the pianos timbre. Two sets of synthetic scales where made, each of the notes in the synthetic scale where sampled on a grand piano to get the best quality samples. Pleonasm is an exploratory work for Viola, clarinet and cello. The work has aleotoric aspects to it, wherein parts don’t always start or finish together and sometimes have different tempo markings. The final work in the portfolio is the classical symphony in E minor, written as an exercise to competently write in the style of a traditional classical symphony. The work is in four movements, fast, slow, fast, fast and takes inspiration from Haydn, Prokofiev and Mahler.

year: 2011

title: a Bakhtinian homecoming: operationalizing dialogism in the context of an early childhood education centre in Wellington, New Zealand

authors: White, Elizabeth Jayne

subjects: assessment

abstract: Dialogic research, building on the dialogic philosophy of Mikhail Bakhtin, is fundamentally concerned with the social, discursive nature of language. This article describes an application of dialogic research methods in a pilot study conducted in an Education and Care setting in Wellington, New Zealand focusing on an 18-month-old toddler and his teacher. The purpose of this exploratory study was to ‘operationalize’ dialogic research within this early childhood education context, in preparation for a larger investigation. Approaching the field through this dialogic research method offered an alternative means of investigating the acts of a toddler through genre (as the framework of analysis) and utterance (as the unit of analysis). This article argues for dialogic research as a method which enables toddler and teacher ‘voices’ to authentically inter-animate and contribute accordingly to the research process, thus promoting hermeneutic complexity rather than scientific truth.

text: a Bakhtinian homecoming: operationalizing dialogism in the context of an early childhood education centre in Wellington, New Zealand Dialogic research, building on the dialogic philosophy of Mikhail Bakhtin, is fundamentally concerned with the social, discursive nature of language. This article describes an application of dialogic research methods in a pilot study conducted in an Education and Care setting in Wellington, New Zealand focusing on an 18-month-old toddler and his teacher. The purpose of this exploratory study was to ‘operationalize’ dialogic research within this early childhood education context, in preparation for a larger investigation. Approaching the field through this dialogic research method offered an alternative means of investigating the acts of a toddler through genre (as the framework of analysis) and utterance (as the unit of analysis). This article argues for dialogic research as a method which enables toddler and teacher ‘voices’ to authentically inter-animate and contribute accordingly to the research process, thus promoting hermeneutic complexity rather than scientific truth.

year: 2009-10

title: Housing, mental health, and homelessness: Exploring lived experiences of homelessness to identify barriers to sustainable housing for vulnerable populations

authors: Cresswell, Caitlin Grace

subjects: Homelessness

abstract: Homelessness has become a much talked about topic in Aotearoa New Zealand in 2018 and the preceding years. This thesis explores the experiences of five people who have mental illness and have lived experience of homelessness in Aotearoa New Zealand, and two staff members who work closely with people who experience both mental illness and homelessness. The theoretical frameworks that inform this thesis are narrative research, social constructionism and humanistic psychology. Particular attention was paid to using theoretical frameworks and interview methods that suited Māori (the indigenous population of Aotearoa New Zealand) due to the inequities experienced by Māori in mental health and homelessness, and the majority of participants identifying as New Zealand Māori. Participants’ narratives were gathered using semi- structured interviews. This study argues the importance of a humanistic perspective being used for research on homelessness. In contrast to traditional psychology, humanistic psychology emphasises respecting individual participants’ voice and narratives about their personal experiences of homelessness while considering the environment that influence these narratives. The participants’ narratives reflected their desire to be viewed as more than their life circumstances and illness through the sharing of their life stories. While there has been growing public awareness about mental illness, stigma still exists about mental illness which influences social narratives and how people who have mental illness understand their experiences. I argue that people who are vulnerable to homelessness, like those who experience mental illness, should have better protection from homelessness. To achieve this, I argue that structural barriers to finding, gaining and sustaining housing need to be addressed,
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including the design of welfare and housing services. Additionally, there needs to be recognition that the solutions to homelessness are complex and require a whole of system approach to effectively address and prevent homelessness. Recognising the complex nature of homelessness and it’s solutions will help bring a focus to establishing predominantly preventative solutions while also providing emergency housing for people in need.

text: Housing, mental health, and homelessness: Exploring lived experiences of homelessness to identify barriers to sustainable housing for vulnerable populations Homelessness has become a much talked about topic in Aotearoa New Zealand in 2018 and the preceding years. This thesis explores the experiences of five people who have mental illness and have lived experience of homelessness in Aotearoa New Zealand, and two staff members who work closely with people who experience both mental illness and homelessness. The theoretical frameworks that inform this thesis are narrative research, social constructionism and humanistic psychology. Particular attention was paid to using theoretical frameworks and interview methods that suited Māori (the indigenous population of Aotearoa New Zealand) due to the inequities experienced by Māori in mental health and homelessness, and the majority of participants identifying as New Zealand Māori. Participants’ narratives were gathered using semi- structured interviews. This study argues the importance of a humanistic perspective being used for research on homelessness. In contrast to traditional psychology, humanistic psychology emphasises respecting individual participants’ voice and narratives about their personal experiences of homelessness while considering the environment that influence these narratives. The participants’ narratives reflected their desire to be viewed as more than their life circumstances and illness through the sharing of their life stories. While there has been growing public awareness about mental illness, stigma still exists about mental illness which influences social narratives and how people who have mental illness understand their experiences. I argue that people who are vulnerable to homelessness, like those who experience mental illness, should have better protection from homelessness. To achieve this, I argue that structural barriers to finding, gaining and sustaining housing need to be addressed,
iii
including the design of welfare and housing services. Additionally, there needs to be recognition that the solutions to homelessness are complex and require a whole of system approach to effectively address and prevent homelessness. Recognising the complex nature of homelessness and it’s solutions will help bring a focus to establishing predominantly preventative solutions while also providing emergency housing for people in need.

year: 2018