I finally finished my dissertation proposal, and I'm quite excited about it!
When I leave university I would like to train as an art therapist. I like the thought of helping people express themselves and problem solve through making art. I have an understanding of the therapeutic nature of drawing and making. It has always calmed me down and been a good release of emotional stress for me. I would like to see how this method is used to target specific problems and illnesses which would typically be solved through medication and other forms of therapy. Can making art really help with diagnosed psychological problems?
I did some research into this form of therapy and found it had many uses. Art therapy’s role in helping with dementia patients and people with memory loss was instantly appealing to me. My grandmother has developed problems with her memory over the past few years and as it has gotten worse I have seen the impact it has on the person themselves and the people closest to them. Although there are different kinds and levels of memory loss the immediate problem seems to be forgetting everyday things and needing help with tasks that were not considered a problem at all before. Psychologically I would think that this would be extremely difficult for someone to come to terms with, especially when the person was perfectly independent before. Medication may therefore be a difficult method of help. People with memory loss may often forget to take their medication or feel they do not need or want to take it. Perhaps therapy is a gentler, more acceptable method of intervention.
I feel it would be beneficial to thoroughly research illnesses which cause memory loss. I am aware that this is a huge area to cover, but I think a summary of the causes, physical symptoms and emotional effects of memory loss is essential to understand why methods such as therapy are needed. I feel a general study of treatment is also required, what has worked in the past and how many different methods of treatment are available today. Although I have my own experience of the effects of memory loss I do not know much about different types. I would like to understand what dementia is, for instance, and why this is different to what my grandmother is experiencing.
I will then research art therapy itself, its uses and why it is effective. I would like to try and find case studies of successful and unsuccessful therapies, to asses which aspects of therapy are effective. I would like to see if it is possible to compare therapy users with people who rely on medication, do people only rely on one or the other or is it a combination of both?
The next important question is what does art therapy mentally do for people with memory loss? I would like to find out what it actually does; does it bring back memories? Does it improve future memory loss issues? Does it make someone who may feel a huge range of emotions from depression and frustration to loneliness feel less isolated?
I would like to then look into the practical techniques used by art therapists and possibly try some of these out with my grandmother to see some results first hand. I would like to try and set up a placement with an art therapist to observe and take part in the therapy process; however from my own research I have read that this is a difficult thing to do as it is such a personal experience.
In conclusion of what I propose to investigate for my dissertation, I aim to have a clear understanding of memory loss, art therapy and how they go together. I would like to gain some experience of the practical uses of art therapy and experiment with them myself and with my family to understand if art therapy is an effective way of dealing with memory loss.
Sunday 13 March 2011
Thursday 3 March 2011
Roots
Our group has now changed it's business completely! We have decided to create a mobile application, 'Roots'. It will allow users to collect vouchers using a point system depending on how much exercise they do. This application will cost £3/£5 a month and the vouchers will be able to be used in local shops, pubs and leisure centers. Perfect for the post-consumer lifestyle!
We have now made a business plan, company profile, financial forecast and now just need to sort out our presentation. We will be millionaires in no time.
We have now made a business plan, company profile, financial forecast and now just need to sort out our presentation. We will be millionaires in no time.
Friday 4 February 2011
Eco Jim!!
For part of our design studies assignment my group had to think up a business proposal.We came up with several ideas including:
A textile company that re-invents your clothing or shows you how to.
An online forum for post consumerist lifestyle.
A neighbourhood allotment.
But decided on 'make your own energy'!
The initial concept for 'make your own energy' involves building a gym where the amount of energy you generate through exercise is taken off your energy bills. This would lower energy consumption and help with health matters!
Introducing our mascot: Eco Jim!
Friday 21 January 2011
Each member of our team has done the 'Learning Styles' survey. My results were:
Activist - very strong
Reflector - very low
Theorist - low
Pragmatist - moderate
At first, I pretty much agreed with this test, which surprised me as I usually say these type of tests are a waste of time. I think I fit into the 'activist' mode; I find it difficult to absorb information through listening in lectures or from instructions and I love problem solving and team work.
However, after looking at my results for the other categories I have a problem with this test. I think different learning skills are required for different situations; with studio work I like to get things done without over thinking research, but with Design Studies work I enjoy reading and researching.
Discussing the test in the meeting did not bring very satisfying results. Since we hardly know each other it was hard to analyse each others learning style. However we did make a chart with our results to find out what we were like as a group, and if we work together well.
As a group we have quite a wide variety of learning styles. A few of us tend to lead the discussion, others listen well. Altogether though I think we work fairly well.
To improve my learning style I need to consider different ideas before jumping excitedly into a project.
Activist - very strong
Reflector - very low
Theorist - low
Pragmatist - moderate
At first, I pretty much agreed with this test, which surprised me as I usually say these type of tests are a waste of time. I think I fit into the 'activist' mode; I find it difficult to absorb information through listening in lectures or from instructions and I love problem solving and team work.
However, after looking at my results for the other categories I have a problem with this test. I think different learning skills are required for different situations; with studio work I like to get things done without over thinking research, but with Design Studies work I enjoy reading and researching.
Discussing the test in the meeting did not bring very satisfying results. Since we hardly know each other it was hard to analyse each others learning style. However we did make a chart with our results to find out what we were like as a group, and if we work together well.
As a group we have quite a wide variety of learning styles. A few of us tend to lead the discussion, others listen well. Altogether though I think we work fairly well.
To improve my learning style I need to consider different ideas before jumping excitedly into a project.
Wednesday 17 November 2010
Eco Chic & War on Want
I have chosen 'Eco Chic', which was probably the best resource for me in writing my Wiki essay and 'Fashion Victims' by War on Want, which is fantastic for statistics and research in factories overseas to analyse for my dissertation research so far.
Eco Chic – Matilda Lee analysis
The main purpose of the book ‘Eco Chic’ by Matilda Lee is to inform consumers about the real price of their clothing by researching labour standards for popular brands, looking into our current ‘consumer culture’, damage to the environment from this culture and from the process of making clothing.
The key question addressed for my topic is how ethical our fashion is:
“How could there ever be a place for ethics in an industry dominated by aesthetics” – Matilda Lee
The most helpful information provided in this book for me is the specific examples of poor labour standards in clothing factories. Lee talks about how factories have moved their production abroad to increase profit and gives many examples of companies which have done this and the effect this has had on many workers lives. This is all taken from research done in other countries which provide our clothing and this helps to support the idea that our fashion and consumer culture is only possible at the cost of poor living standards for workers overseas.
The author has looked at Multi Stakeholder Initiatives (MSI) as part of her research to see what these organisations are doing when working with companies to improve the situation. This information shows what companies are trying to do to improve their labour sources. She has also looked at many books and articles to support her arguments; each piece of information is backed up well with research.
The main conclusions that the book comes to are that we all need to try to change the consumer culture that we currently have. We should practice ‘smart shopping’ by looking for fair-trade, refashioned or second hand clothes. Ultimately we need to stop buying so much and instead looking for quality clothing that will last and is ethically sourced.
The key concepts we need to understand in this book are about eco fashion, ethical fashion and ethical labour. The author thoroughly explores different areas of ethical fashion and also gives the reader ideas for becoming more eco friendly and thoughtful about where their clothing is sourced.
If we took everything in the book seriously and everyone acted on it we would start to get a more ethical and sustainable fashion industry. This would mean changing the way that we shop, what we buy and how often we throw away clothes. It would therefore be far better for the government to take action, to set in place labour standard laws or make corporations commit to a MSI to improve working conditions and to improve the quality of our clothing in order to make it last longer and do less damage to our environment..
If, however, nothing is done about the problem, workers overseas will continue to suffer from low wages and bad working conditions and there will be serious implications for the environment. The authors main point of view is that we cannot continue with our consumerism and must work together to become more ethical and eco-friendly.
War on Want - Khorshed Alam – Fashion Victims (2006) analysis
The main purpose of the article is to inform fashion consumers about the implications of their budget clothing bought from the big clothing companies Asda, Tesco and Primark, to give information about Multi Stakeholder Initiatives (MSI) and how effective they are in maintaining good living standards for overseas workers by giving a set of fair labour principles, to try to send a message to these three companies and also to the UK government to try and improve the current situation.
These corporations have agreed to stick to a set of principles which should provide good working conditions and a living wage for garment workers. War on Want asks why, then, they are not being held accountable for the terrible working conditions and shockingly low pay rates, which still exist in their factories in other countries.
In the article there is a huge amount of research and evidence about poor labour standards overseas. This information is extremely useful in seeing what the current situation is like in other countries, especially as it is quite a recent research article.
War on Want work closely with the National Garment Workers Federation as well as many other ethical labour organisations. This article is based on primary research carried out by War on Want in six factories in Bangladesh where interviews were set up with sixty workers to find out about their working hours, breaks, pay rates and general treatment from management.
This article is meant to evoke change. The conclusions in the article are that the labour standards are shockingly bad and change is needed to improve the lives of these workers. It gives us examples of what action is required at the end; Consumers need to start shopping for ethical clothing and avoid the places mentioned as much as possible, and the government needs to lay down strict regulations concerning working conditions.
The key concept is about why the government is not doing anything about bad labour standards. War on Want is campaigning all the time to get labour laws changed and for these companies to stick to their promises of fair pay and labour.
If this article was taken seriously by governments War on Want might get what they have been campaigning for; companies would have to change their sourcing policies, workers would be paid properly and working conditions would improve for overseas garment workers.
The main points of view are that our clothes are far too cheap at the cost of poor living standards for workers overseas, that big companies get away with this unfair treatment but still claim to be sticking to a set of principles about fair labour, that our government is not setting strict regulations about treatment of workers and that our consumer culture cannot be sustained. War on Want is campaigning to change all of these things and has been for years. Following this report another was carried out in 2009 which found that nothing had changed in three years.
Eco Chic – Matilda Lee analysis
The main purpose of the book ‘Eco Chic’ by Matilda Lee is to inform consumers about the real price of their clothing by researching labour standards for popular brands, looking into our current ‘consumer culture’, damage to the environment from this culture and from the process of making clothing.
The key question addressed for my topic is how ethical our fashion is:
“How could there ever be a place for ethics in an industry dominated by aesthetics” – Matilda Lee
The most helpful information provided in this book for me is the specific examples of poor labour standards in clothing factories. Lee talks about how factories have moved their production abroad to increase profit and gives many examples of companies which have done this and the effect this has had on many workers lives. This is all taken from research done in other countries which provide our clothing and this helps to support the idea that our fashion and consumer culture is only possible at the cost of poor living standards for workers overseas.
The author has looked at Multi Stakeholder Initiatives (MSI) as part of her research to see what these organisations are doing when working with companies to improve the situation. This information shows what companies are trying to do to improve their labour sources. She has also looked at many books and articles to support her arguments; each piece of information is backed up well with research.
The main conclusions that the book comes to are that we all need to try to change the consumer culture that we currently have. We should practice ‘smart shopping’ by looking for fair-trade, refashioned or second hand clothes. Ultimately we need to stop buying so much and instead looking for quality clothing that will last and is ethically sourced.
The key concepts we need to understand in this book are about eco fashion, ethical fashion and ethical labour. The author thoroughly explores different areas of ethical fashion and also gives the reader ideas for becoming more eco friendly and thoughtful about where their clothing is sourced.
If we took everything in the book seriously and everyone acted on it we would start to get a more ethical and sustainable fashion industry. This would mean changing the way that we shop, what we buy and how often we throw away clothes. It would therefore be far better for the government to take action, to set in place labour standard laws or make corporations commit to a MSI to improve working conditions and to improve the quality of our clothing in order to make it last longer and do less damage to our environment..
If, however, nothing is done about the problem, workers overseas will continue to suffer from low wages and bad working conditions and there will be serious implications for the environment. The authors main point of view is that we cannot continue with our consumerism and must work together to become more ethical and eco-friendly.
War on Want - Khorshed Alam – Fashion Victims (2006) analysis
The main purpose of the article is to inform fashion consumers about the implications of their budget clothing bought from the big clothing companies Asda, Tesco and Primark, to give information about Multi Stakeholder Initiatives (MSI) and how effective they are in maintaining good living standards for overseas workers by giving a set of fair labour principles, to try to send a message to these three companies and also to the UK government to try and improve the current situation.
These corporations have agreed to stick to a set of principles which should provide good working conditions and a living wage for garment workers. War on Want asks why, then, they are not being held accountable for the terrible working conditions and shockingly low pay rates, which still exist in their factories in other countries.
In the article there is a huge amount of research and evidence about poor labour standards overseas. This information is extremely useful in seeing what the current situation is like in other countries, especially as it is quite a recent research article.
War on Want work closely with the National Garment Workers Federation as well as many other ethical labour organisations. This article is based on primary research carried out by War on Want in six factories in Bangladesh where interviews were set up with sixty workers to find out about their working hours, breaks, pay rates and general treatment from management.
This article is meant to evoke change. The conclusions in the article are that the labour standards are shockingly bad and change is needed to improve the lives of these workers. It gives us examples of what action is required at the end; Consumers need to start shopping for ethical clothing and avoid the places mentioned as much as possible, and the government needs to lay down strict regulations concerning working conditions.
The key concept is about why the government is not doing anything about bad labour standards. War on Want is campaigning all the time to get labour laws changed and for these companies to stick to their promises of fair pay and labour.
If this article was taken seriously by governments War on Want might get what they have been campaigning for; companies would have to change their sourcing policies, workers would be paid properly and working conditions would improve for overseas garment workers.
The main points of view are that our clothes are far too cheap at the cost of poor living standards for workers overseas, that big companies get away with this unfair treatment but still claim to be sticking to a set of principles about fair labour, that our government is not setting strict regulations about treatment of workers and that our consumer culture cannot be sustained. War on Want is campaigning to change all of these things and has been for years. Following this report another was carried out in 2009 which found that nothing had changed in three years.
Tuesday 2 November 2010
The Art and Science of Believable Facial Animation
I have just been to a great talk by Robert Sloan at the McManus Galleries. I decided to start having a look at different fields in art and I have always been interested in animation so this was very interesting.
The speaker talked about the 'uncanny valley', which I had never heard of. It is interesting that the more life like characters are the less viewers like them, and actually the less human they look. In a clip with James May he showed that life like robots are actually pretty horrific. Learning about this ruined 'The Polar Express' for me anyway, I hadn't noticed how creepy the characters actually are until this was pointed out. It was interesting to learn that viewers relate better to characters in 'Toy Story 3' to photographs of real people!
The speaker talked about the 'uncanny valley', which I had never heard of. It is interesting that the more life like characters are the less viewers like them, and actually the less human they look. In a clip with James May he showed that life like robots are actually pretty horrific. Learning about this ruined 'The Polar Express' for me anyway, I hadn't noticed how creepy the characters actually are until this was pointed out. It was interesting to learn that viewers relate better to characters in 'Toy Story 3' to photographs of real people!
Sunday 24 October 2010
Reading week!
Over reading week my group met up to discuss our dissertation topics. Initially I had decided to choose a different topic to our last assignment but after discussing ethical labour I have changed my mind and am going to stick with it. We started a mind map each which I have developed a bit further:
I have also been developing my studio work and am finally catching up I think! My sketchbook is filling up and I have the challenge of trying printing this week since I switched from knit, not a clue what I am doing!
I have also been developing my studio work and am finally catching up I think! My sketchbook is filling up and I have the challenge of trying printing this week since I switched from knit, not a clue what I am doing!
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