flo’s pg cert blog

What does supporting ‘sustainable practice in costume production’ in a HE context mean?

Reading Thinking through making: What kinds of learning take place when HE students engage with creative arts technicians? (Cleary, 2024) and Thinking with costume and materials: a critical approach to (new) costume ecologies (Pantouvaki, Fossheim and Suurla, 2021)

Pantouvalki, Fosseim and Suurla (2021) propose costume as extra-material, and take an ecosomatic approach to the medium to it’s design and production. Their paper explores the idea of costume thinking and the use of bio-based materials. This material thinking informed approach highlights the link between the ideality and materiality of costume. The design and realisation of a costume has a cultural, ecological, and human impact.

“…it is imperative that we connect the thinking with the making in costume to move towards new costume ecologies and acknowledge that costume thinking entails thinking with materials…” (pg. 203)

An enactment between maker and material, this article suggests to me that our approach as technicians must be one that allows for and encourages critical reflection and connection through the use of costume making materials and processes. Within the remit of technician, this cannot be taught explicitly, but as described by Verity Cleary (2024) critical thinking (and therefore critical costume and material thinking) can be and is supported within this role.

Reading The ethical turn in sustainable technical theatre production pedagogy (Garrett, 2021)

Garret uses the United Nations definition of sustainability to describe what he means when he discusses it – “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the abilty of future generations to met their own needs”

He goes on to explain his own journey in recognising the need for the development of a sustainable curriculum that moved beyond metrics, and towards “qualitative and ethical” approaches which focus on social responsibility.

Reading Sustainability in technical theatre pedagogy and practice (Zezulka, 2024)

The author discusses ways of embedding sustainability in design and production.

One example used is a task in which students were asked to look at the portfolio of professional designers in their field of interest, and consider and reflect on what it shows about the ethics of the practitioner. This was deliberately done at the end of the second year, ahead of a final third year, in which they would ready themselves to present their own work and portfolio to industry.

This modelling could be applied to costume production processes, in the form of sharing of project plans/costume bibles, or of costume portfolios.

The paper discusses the idea that ‘industry practice is not always best practice” (pg 442) and that this should be discussed with students.

Human sustainability

The discussion about sustainable working practices and time management and workload is very interesting. The discussion here centres around the power that education can play in resetting acceptable working hours in theatre, which currently, are still untenable and intense.

The tension lies between needing to prepare students for industry, by mirroring its practices, and challenging the productivity and ethics of this. In this paper, a project is referenced in which a more limited time during a production period required students to be more efficient when they were in tech.

There is more to be looked at here in relation to my own context. This academic year, students can no longer stay late in the costume studio. This is of interest because that means that they cannot stay, unsupervised for the additional 3 – 4 hours per day they used to. This limitation may prove to be very beneficial for these reasons. However, this then means that planning time properly is integral.

Material sustainability

This talks about the creation of a circular economy, and how ideally everything in a sustainable show has had a previous life. This is something we already do to a huge extent within the costume department, largely due to cost limitations.

We have not only preserved the costume store this year (after taking data on the cost implication to students if they do not use the costume store, but hire elsewhere) but also continue to collect, store, and distribute materials which are collected from productions that have leftover fabrics and materials. Verity began this initiative in order to allow students who are unable to afford to purchase their own materials to have costume realisation materials available to them. Over time, this has built up into a large collection, which we can also draw upon as a team for the delivery of workshops, with very little budget available to us for this.

There is also a scrap recycling system, whereby no fabric is every thrown away unless it is very small and unusable – in which case it is taken to a textile recycling scheme nearby.

The theatre green book

The theatre green book is a guide for more sustainable practices in theatre production. This is something which could be proposed to the head of technical, or the head of production at CSM.

Home

Reading Putting The Theatre Green Book into practice (Downton, 2024)

This paper looks at barriers and motivators for educators to utilise the Theatre Green Book in pedagogic settings, through analysis of three semi-structured interviews. Key themes emerged.

Working collaboratively

This paper suggests holding meetings with a cross section of relevant staff, including senior management as well as technical staff on the groud, in order to ascertain principles and goals collectively, and join up thinking.

Storage

Similarly to one example presented in this paper, there are obvious benefits to storing materials and costumes for future use – but the issue is always one of contention, in the bid for space across the institution. Keeping the costume store, and having its value recognised has been an ongoing project for my colleagues, and myself when I began my role as a costume technician. Perhaps it is worth asking students about how they use the costume store, and whether they think it should be expanded. Perhaps another intervention could be in addressing the contents and storage of the costume store, and finding ways to fit more into the space, while maintaining it’s usability.

Time

“In the deadline-based world of theatre, time is always a precious commodity” (pg 434). This paper also addresses the issue fo industry standards, being unsustainable from a human perspective. One interviewee lamented how the short production process means that it is impossible to maintain sustainable practices, which invariably require more time.

This speaks to the issue I have encountered, in which students only have a very short amount of time to work on their costumes, and end up buying things new from amazon when the costume store isn’t open.

The theatre green book asks predictions to build in time for the exploration of more sustainable practices and materials, as well as a ‘green card meeting’, in which these options are discussed. Perhaps I could offer to hold sustainability meetings/consultancy as part of the costume realisation process (as well as suggesting green card meetings to management).

Creative Phase and Senior Leadership

Here, the politics of decision making power is discussed. This links up with the themes of de-prioritisation which I have been exploring in relation to costume being seen through a patriarchal, colonial lense.

One interviewee discusses being at the mercy of the head of production, and what they value. The paper discusses the issue that then ay still occur, even if those in charge do decide to prioritise sustainability in curriculums and project briefs. The design of the process must allow time, space, and budget for sustainable practices, and often there is a disconnect from this.

One interviewee lauded the benefits of offering carbon literacy training to students. This is something I could investigate at CSM, and advocate for, but that could not be actioned and reflected on within the scope of this project.

Student influence

This paper discusses the influence of having green captains, and that hunger for these things from students can affect real change in course delivery. However, the transience of students does preset an issue. This could perhaps be soemthing which is technician led, but would need to be integrated into curricular activity in collaboration with academic staff.

Money

This paper discusses how difficult it is to be firm about not allowing things to happen unsustainably because budget wont allow. Really, this is about expectation and prioritisation, as discussed by Beer (2021) and Pantouvaki et al (2021).

References

Cleary, V (2024) Thinking through making: What kinds of learning take place when HE students engage with creative arts technicians?’ in Art, Design and Communication in Higher Education. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1386/adch_00087_1 (Accessed on: 22 October 2024)

Katy Downton (2024) Putting the Theatre Green Book into practice: sustainability, pedagogy and the conservatoire, Theatre, Dance and Performance Training, 15:3, 429-444, DOI: 10.1080/19443927.2024.2380840

Zezulka, K. (2024) ‘Sustainability in technical theatre pedagogy and practice’, Theatre, Dance and Performance Training, 15(3), pp. 415–428. doi: 10.1080/19443927.2024.2369633.

Garrett, Ian. “The Ethical Turn in Sustainable Technical Theatre Production Pedagogy.” Theatre Topics 31, no. 2 (2021): 179-186. https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/tt.2021.0034. Project MUSE – The Ethical Turn in Sustainable Technical Theatre Production Pedagogy

Pantouvaki, S., Fossheim, I. and Suurla, S., 2021. Thinking with costume and material: A critical approach to (new) costume ecologies. Theatre and performance design, 7 (3-4), pp.199-219.

Beer, T (2021) Ecoscenography : An Introduction to Ecological Design for Performance, Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. Available from: ProQuest Ebook Central. [24 October 2024].

“the student participants are intended to be the main beneficiaries, whilst their professional practices, communities and wider society are the secondary beneficiaries” – UAL Code of Practice on Educational Ethics.

Time Plan

Monday 4th Nov – Friday 8th November

• Finalising of interview questions and focus group questions

• Planning and contacting interviewees and focus group participants

• Reading around confirmed subjects and methodologies

• Creation of initial design proposals for interventions: workshops, suppliers map, planning tools, visual poster displays

Monday 11th – Friday 15th November

• Interview with staff member (tbc costume technician – could be scheduled later on in research depending on availability and used in a reflective capacity)

• Focus group with performance students (tbc three performance students)

Monday 18th – Friday 22nd November

• Reflection on interviews and focus groups, initial data analysis and synthesis

Monday 25th – Friday 28th November

• Adaptation of resources and micro interventions for use in practice
• Writing of questionnaire and or/other data collection for workshops and resources distributed

Monday 2nd – Friday 6th December

• Tbc Distribution of resources micro interventions (and data collection)
• Tbc Clothes swap/ mending workshop (and data collection)
• Tbc Observation of resources in the space (and data collection)

Monday 9th – Friday 13th December

• Tbc Clothes swap/ mending workshop and questionnaire about both the workshop and the resources
• Interview with staff member (tbc costume technician)

Monday 16th – Friday 20th December

• Synthesis of data overall, evaluation, interpretation, and reflections

(Above: Image of mind map created before and after tutorial with Catherine)

After Catherine put us in touch, I arranged a meeting to informally discuss research with Saffie Pluck, Lecturer in Product Design – Studio Tutor at CSM, on 28th October 2024.

• Saffie’s research is primarily concerned with “stuck-ness”. She began with the work “procrastination”, which was initially where my research began. However, following my tutorial with Catherine, I have shifted my own focus to “sustainable practices”. We agreed that the word “procrastination” is quite loaded and can sound accusatory and negative.
• Saffie and I spoke about research methods more than research subject. I found Saffie’s approach to her work very relevant and interesting – by finding student co-creators, or collaborators to work with. I asked Saffie what motivated the the co-creators to work with her on this project, and to give up so much of their time. She told me that the selection process of students to approach was very considered, specific and directed. Rather than sending a round robin email to all students asking for volunteers, she thought about students she already knew, and asked colleagues for suggestions of candidates who might be interested. They were chosen in order to create a diverse team both in terms of identity, and therefore perspective, as well as the skills they brought to the table. This made for a dedicated team of collaborators, who all felt valued, autonomous, and empowered.
• All prospective collaborators agreed to work with Saffie, which is testament to this method of participant/collaborator/co-creator selection.
• Saffie found that asking the students what they wanted, rather than speculating, was far more effective and productive in developing her research. This really affected the type of solution and support she eventually co-designed.
• We also discussed the way in which these creative processes are hard to ‘measure’, and that actually this smore about critical thinking and reflection, than hard facts and numbers – experience and tacit knowledge over outcomes.
• This conversation made me re-consider the way sin which I am planning to approach students and staff for research participation. Rather than sending a round robin survey, or posting something up in a participatory way, perhaps it would be better to have more meaningful, specific interactions with less students?

What does ‘sustainability’ mean?

Oxford dictionary:

1. The quality of being sustainable by argument; the capacity to be upheld or defended as valid, correct, or true.
2. a. The quality of being sustainable at a certain rate or level. b. spec. The property of being environmentally sustainable; the degree to which a process or enterprise is able to be maintained or continued while avoiding the long-term depletion of natural resources.

I am interested in the second oxford dictionary meaning of the word, and could include this in my pre-amble in interviews and focus groups – or alternatively, I could leave this deliberately un-specified, and utilise the data from a question like ‘what does sustainable practice mean to you’ to gain insight into perceptions, and therefore behaviours.

What does ‘sustainable practice in costume’ mean?

This subject is something I already have some foundational knowledge in as a practitioner, but I have not applied it specifically to the context of higher education before. Sustainable practices are notoriously difficult to measure and asses. However, as discussed with Saffie, this is about working towards sustainable practices, rather than expecting to be able to achieve quantitative data proving a specific level or quantity of sustainable practice. It about attitudes, philosophies and experience, rather than numerical measurements. This is partly why I am planning to collect qualitative data.

Reading EcoScenography (Beer, 2021)

Beer discusses the need for a philosophically ecological approach to theatre/costume thinking and practice, which breaks down pre-existing hierarchies, and presents performance design as an opportunity for “ecological, holistic, interconnected and symbiotic processes”.

She suggests a need to move beyond the vital but basic concepts of eco-efficiency, describing these as privileged, white, western ideas about doing ‘less harm’.

“Eco-efficiency has traditionally been focused on a quantitative approach to measurement and procurement (mechanistic worldview) without activating social, cultural and environmental potential (ecological worldview). A holistic socio-ecological approach to sustainability cannot be achieved if we continue to relate to natural systems with overly simplistic terms of ‘impact reduction’ or ‘limiting the damage’ (Eisenberg and Reed 2003, 6). Similarly, the emphasis on quantification produces an emphasis on predicting and assessing negative impacts, rather than aspiring to strategies that can create positive impacts long term (Birkeland 2012, 80). Mechanistic thinking, focused on technological, industrial and economic systems, undermines the development of more innovative possibilities in sustainable practices (Eisenberg and Reed 2003, 1). It ignores the cultural, social and economic complexity that underpins our environmental issues and undervalues our creative and contributive capacity as humans.” (pg 66)

In practice, this is complex and multifaceted. It includes ecological thinking combined with creativity, taking an ecological worldview, a widening of concepts of identity, an expansion of aesthetics, and new approached to design (biophillic design, circular design, upcycling, bio-inspired and regenerative design). As an educator, encouraging sustainability may require a broader, more holistic, collaborative approach, involving curriculum design, senior management, and institutional policies.

Another major issue raised by Beer is the existing hierarchies within the industry.

“…scenographers— including myself— have been trained to work towards Opening Night. How we ‘get there’ or what happens to our sets and costumes after the production ends has been neither a priority nor a consideration. Our focus as designers has typically been to create ‘experiences of impermanence’—often extravagant spectacles with little regard for the prevailing permanence of unwanted remains. This emphasis on the new and disposable in theatre practice has largely mirrored the consumptive habits of the modern era.” (pg 3)

It would be interesting to ask students about both their ideologies, and their behaviours, and staff about what behaviours they observe (and therefore values and ideologies they deduce) in working with students within my research, in order to better understand how these complex concepts can be understood and encouraged in the students and their work.

Fast Fashion and Costume

The easy with which cheap, low quality garments can be procured by our students often leads to them using this as an alternative to making their own costumes, particularly when they find themselves close to a deadline, without the skills and experience to create their designs in time for the production.

This could be resolved through the shifting of hierarchies within theatre production, and allowing students to develop more technical costume making skills, in order to better equip them to plan and realise their ideas. The impact of this might also be lessened through prioritisation and planning, and supporting students through this in a more direct capacity than we already do.

Social Justice in Costume

As prevoiusly touched on in an earlier blogpost (Exploring Action Research Ethics) I described some of the intersectional issues at play in sustainable practices. Garment production, and its western association with women, and the domestic sphere is known to cause the undervaluing of the time and skill required to realise a costume. This issue is apparent in the cultural attitude found in the costume industry (lack of appreciation, renumeration, and respect), as reported by industry professionals.

“For costume designers, it has not been a coincidence that their field, traditionally dominated by women, has also been underappreciated, undercompensated, and, with imprudent disregard, labeled as “women’s work”. Even the costume designer’s tools—cloth and the needle— are those traditionally ascribed to women’s domestic labor” ( Banks, 2009).

This leads to a further, compounded issue when looked at in conjunction with the accessibility of cheaply available, quickly delivered garments. Not only does this affect women disproportionately, it affects the global south disproportionately.

“The systemic issues in the garment industry, such as weak labor regulations and lack of enforcement, have only worsened these conditions, allowing brands to continue exploiting vulnerable workers without consequence. This exploitation disproportionately impacts women, who make up approximately 80% of garment workers, primarily aged 18 to 35. When it comes to garment manufacturing in the global south, the clothes we wear often come at the cost of women’s dignity and safety. Gender discrimination is pervasive in all countries where garments are produced. Women are frequently subjected to verbal and physical abuse, as well as sexual harassment, often in unregulated factories where workplace violence goes unchecked. ” (Helm, 2024)

The disregard for these issues, could be interpreted as patriarchal, racist, and colonial.

References

Banks M.J. (2009) ‘Gender Below-the-line: Defining feminist production studies’ in Banks M.J., Caldwell J.T. and Mayer V. (eds.) Production Studies: Cultural studies of media industries. New York: Routledge pp. 87-98.

Helm, M (2024) Fashion for the Earth: Beneath the Seams: The Human Toll of Fast Fashion. Available at: https://www.earthday.org/beneath-the-seams-the-human-toll-of-fast-fashion/ (Accessed 20 October 2024)

Beer, T (2021) Ecoscenography : An Introduction to Ecological Design for Performance, Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. Available from: ProQuest Ebook Central. [24 October 2024].

“Sustainability, N.” Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford UP, July 2023, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/1046043524. (Available at: https://www.oed.com/dictionary/sustainability_n?tab=meaning_and_use), Accessed 4 November 2024

Reading Jean’s The Tools at Hand (2011) , Irvine, Drew, and Sainsbury’s ‘Am I not answering your questions properly?’ Clarification, adequacy and responsiveness in semi-structured telephone and face-to-face interviews (2013) and Taherdoost’s How to Conduct an Effective Interview (2022), I reflected on Alvesson’s Views on Interviews: A Skeptical Review (2011).

Interview, Focus Group, Survey, or Questionnaire?

“Surveys and focus groups are the interview’s close cousins. In comparison to focus groups, interviews can be easier to manage, as the interviewer can focus on one person and will not have to contend with group dynamics. This also potentially allows for easier rapport-building, so the participant may be more willing to discuss personal material, and there is more time to pursue interesting areas (without other participants interrupting). Building rapport is discussed in detail in the next chapter.” (Curtis and Curtis, pp.32) “

“In-depth interviews allow for ‘rich’ or ‘thick’ data to be gathered with detailed descriptions.” (Curtis and Curtis, pp.32) “

“As discussed elsewhere, in comparison to questionnaires, it is possible to gather rich information – to follow-up on interesting points, to include material that the participant brings up that you may not have anticipated, to go into greater detail. Questions, themes or topics can be added or adapted as you progress through a series of interviews – or in the course of a single interview.” (Curtis and Curtis, pp. 33)

“Interviews are a case-centric approach. This means that the primary concern is recruiting a suitable number of appropriate cases – participants. The variables – questions – can be modified to suit each case.” (Curtis and Curtis, pp.35)

Purpose

Jean (2011) recommends having a very clear purpose in asking questions. In staff interviews, this feels very clear. I would like to understand the observations, thoughts and reflections of my colleagues on this topic, (who work closely with the same students, but have different experiences to my own) and to receive feedback on my initial and developing ideas from these experts. However, I must ensure that in writing the questions, I have this in mind, and the type of data I need in mind.

Form

According to Irvine et al’s research (2011), a face-to-face interview (or by extension, focus group) is preferable, in order to gain richer, deeper insights in which interviewee and interviewer have a smoother interaction which is less formal – this fits in with my plans to interview in a more romantic, localist style. However, this study compares face-to-face interviews to telephone interviews – wheras my ‘back-up’ option for interviews and focus groups would be a video interview.

“It is worth making a distinction here between the participants in in-depth interviews (and other case-centric approaches), the respondents in surveys and the subjects in experiments. These distinctions can be linked to the prevailing epistemology of the approach, particularly in regards to views of collaboration between the researcher and the researched.” (pp.35 Curtis and Curtis, 2011)

Knowledge of preceding work

Jean (2011) also suggests the the designer of a survey, interview, focus group, or questionnaire, must also have good knowledge of the work that proceeded it. At the time of writing, I feel as though I need to read around the subject of further. However, in action research, I can do this concurrently – at this stage I am not looking to find perfect solutions, but to begin research and gain meaning feedback as part of a cyclical process.

Ideas about what light it will shed

I hope that the interview and focus group will shed light on existing barriers and for students, and provide me with meaningful feedback, that I can put into action. It is at this point that I wonder whether my interviewees and/or focus group should be co-creators, or at least framed in some other way than subjects. It would be unethical to interview them to pull ideas and solutions from them, only to not credit them. This is perhaps a project which if I had more time, could be undertaken as a collaborative project? This may be something to bring to my next tutorial. Alternatively, I could design some initial ideas, and ask for feedback.

Pretesting

This may be more appropriate to build into the research itself e.g. using staff interviews as a place to pretest focus group and questionnaire ideas as well as the intervention ideas themselves. Or, the questionnaire for the workshop could be pre-tested with pg cert colleagues a little later on. Because of the short timescale of this research project, a pretesting stage may not be possible.

Composition

It is easy to accidentally illicit or direct the interviewee with one’s own bias – this is particularly true of semi-structured interviews. I should take time to consider the order, composition and use of language in interviewing staff, in order to avoid this.

Influenced by my conversation with Saffie (see later in blog) and partly because my question is so context specific, and the people I am interviewing are insiders (Alvesson, 2011) who I work closely with, it would make sense to interview in a partly romantic, partly localist style (Alvesson, 2011). This allows me to acknowledge and utilise my familiarity with the interviewees to gain more context specific, meaningful information. I must take this into account in the synthesis and interpretation of the results.

Answerability

I should consider how easy or difficult it would be to answer some questions, and possibly lead into certain, more difficult questions (Jean, 2011). How possible it would be to answer these questions (this is perhaps where a less conventional approach, more art-based approach may be more appropriate?) – for example, in gauging how stressful a pre-deadline period was, or how much waste someone produced during costume production, neither of which can be numerically or easily answered.

Jargon and language

Again, thinking back to Alvesson’s writing on interviews (2011), and taking a slight step back, I need to consider whether the language I am using will mean the same thing to me as it does to the interviewee. It would be wise to clarify, simplify, and define wherever possible. I think this is particularly true in the use of the word ‘sustainable’ – this could perhaps be defined in the preamble, or perhaps it could be asked as part of the interview, to allow the interviewee to define it themselves? For the student focus group this will certainly be necessary, as part of understanding how to support them should encompass understanding what they think sustainable practice is. Following this line of thought, and considering the very visually and technically literate technicians I work with (Cleary, 2024) I should consider integrating visual and practical elements where possible. This also sits within considerations of communication differences within neuro-diversity.

Within this, Irvine et al’s (2013) small scale study into semi-structured interviews suggests that face-to-face interviews may be more inclusive and produce higher quality data than telephone interviews (and by extension, but to a lesser extent, video interviews), because it allows for nuanced understanding of the language being used between interviewer and interviewee.

Avoiding participant boredom or fatigue

This follows well from the previous considerations. Using visuals and physical objects would create variety – but I would like these to be tools for generating conversation rather than just practical binary tasks. This is something I could incorporate into both the focus groups, and the interviews.

As mentioned before, I will also start with more closed, shorter, easy to understand questions, and develop them into open questions as the interviewee begins to formulate ideas that may become more complex. I will also make sure, as suggested, that I make sure all interviews are short, with time built in for digressions, to avoid fatigue and boredom (Jean, 2011).

Ethical Considerations

My main ethical concern here is to do with the intellectual property, and respect for the interviewee’s. It might be worth looking into my use of language, and the framing of questions. Where solutions are offered, credit must be properly given and acknowledged throughout the research process.

References

Curtis, B. and Curtis, C. (2011) In-Depth Interviewing – the Interactive Base. In: Social Research: A Practical Introduction. 55 City Road, London: SAGE Publications, Inc. pp. 27-54 Available at: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526435415 [Accessed 06 December 2024]

Irvine, A., Drew, P., & Sainsbury, R. (2013). ‘Am I not answering your questions properly?’ Clarification, adequacy and responsiveness in semi-structured telephone and face-to-face interviews. Qualitative Research, 13(1), 87-106

The Tools at Hand In: Survey Questions By: Jean M. Converse & Stanley Presser Pub. Date: 2011 Access Date: September 16, 2021 Publishing Company: SAGE Publications, Inc. City: Thousand Oaks Print ISBN: 9780803927438 Online ISBN: 9781412986045 DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412986045 Print pages: 48-75 © 1986 SAGE Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Unspecified (2024) ‘Research participant information and consent’ [City University of London] Available at: https://www.city.ac.uk/research/support/integrity-and-ethics/guidance-and-resources/participants#:~:text=The%20consent%20form%20should%20include%20the%20following%20statements%3A&text=I%20understand%20that%20my%20participation,take%20part%20in%20this%20study. (Accessed 24 October 2024)

Alvesson, M. 2011. Views on Interviews: A Skeptical Review. In: Interpreting Interviews. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. pp. 9-42 Available at: <https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446268353> [Accessed 6 Oct 2024].

Taherdoost, Hamed, How to Conduct an Effective Interview; A Guide to Interview Design in Research Study (August 1, 2022). International Journal of Academic Research in Management, 11(1):39-51, 2022 https://elvedit.com/journals/IJARM/wp-content/uploads/How-to-Conduct-an-Effective-Interview-A-Guide-to-Interview-Design, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4178687 Accessed 4 November 2024

Peer tutorial with Catherine – 06/11/2024

Following the tutorial with Catherine and my peers, and some time spent considering the scope and timescale, I have decided to shift my research question, and therefore re-draft my ethical action plan. Although the research methods and much of the subject area will remain the same, I have redrafted my Ethical Action Plan accordingly. Despite shifting the focus and subject area, interestingly, much of the form below is the same as the first draft.

In taking a step back and asking a more open question, the subject areas I will need to make sure I have read around have narrowed to the costume industry and sustainability, and costume/performance pedagogy and sustainability.

Catherine’s Feedback: 21/11/24

Flo – thanks for submitting this. We discussed this together in the first tutorial but I acknowledge that your thinking may have superceded the ideas here. Apologies for the delay in getting this written feedback back to you.

You have written a really great rationale for your project here. For your presentation it will be important to augment this thinking with a couple of references that define procrastination, both in a general sense (perhaps something as simple as a dictionary definition?), and also in terms of university learning. Can you find any research that has been done into student procrastination? I did a 30 second search and found this which looks at least to have useful references within it: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.783570/full

You have a long list of things you want to read about, and possibly this is too long a list to get through by the new year. So my advice would be to focus onto empirical studies that look at what works to combat procrastination. 

And yes, read into how to conduct interviews! Svend and Brinkmann are good on this (books in library plus lots of articles online). 

Your plan to devise a range of micro-interventions is great. How are you going to document them?

Make sure you do this in a way that is visible or easy to copy onto your blog.

When you say arts-based action research methods, which methods exactly do you mean? Let’s discuss in tutorial this week.

Good that you are checking in with the tutors. Have you also checked in with the course leader that you are doing this? Would be wise.

Have you located and tailored the consent form for your project? Do make sure you ask them to sign it.

Well done for thinking through the ethical parameters of your work so carefully. I look forward to seeing what comes of it over the rest of the term.

Notes on the changes I made/ action points

• Change of question from procrastination to sustainable practices – a question that does not make assumptions about the reasons behind the behaviour, but in seeks to support changing it/ supporting a shift towards more sustainable practices.
• My rationale, and the issues being addressed are very similar, but focussed in on a different subject, and therefore line of enquiry.
• I will continue to read further into research methods. I have taken arts based action research out of the equation, as I had no specific rationale for using it.
• I located the UAL research consent form, using this instead of the one that was later shared on the Moodle page.
• I have narrowed my subject area, and research methods, as advised by Catherine.
• I emailed the course leader of BA (Hons) Performance: Design Practice, and head of performance programmes for their permission to undertake this research. They both consented by email.

ARP 2024-5

Ethical Action Plan 2

Name of practitioner researcher: Florence Meredith

Research Question: How can we support (CSM performance program) students towards more sustainable costume practices?

What is your project focus?   Within my role as a specialist costume technician, I encounter the same issue again and again. Students often leave the realisation of their costumes until the last moment, even if it is a key part of their curricular outcome, coming to myself and my colleagues in a panic a day or two before a show deadline. This not only compromises the quality of the outcome, but often also leads to the last minute purchase of garments from amazon, or the wasting of materials that are bought in large quantities but not tested ahead of time, and therefore go to waste.  This issue within the learning environment mirrors and feeds into the existing issues within the wider industry of costume, in which hierarchies that do not prioritise costume dictate the last minute changing/purchasing of low- cost fast delivery items and garments. This also leads to underdeveloped/unfinished work, stress, the students missing out on practical creative processes in which quality critical thinking could be taking place, which all feed into existing inequalities in the attainment gap within UAL.   This not only makes it a climate justice issue, but a feminist issue, and a de-colonial issue. Costume practice is often undervalued, seen as insignificant, and possible to do with little or no skill, an attitude stemming from the western European, colonial, patriarchal undervaluing of the the skills required in garment production (and therefore costume), and the modern disassociation of this with real peoples time, skills, and hands in part due to the excessive availability of clothing at low cost.   I would like to initially investigate ways of encouraging and enabling students towards more sustainable costume thinking and doing – this includes encouraging them to use the space, receive technical support, and use the resources we create and provide. I would like to do this by investigating ways of improving access, and removing barriers.

What are you going to read about? Research methods:   Interviews Focus Groups Surveys or questionnaires Workshops Subjects:   The costume and performance industry and sustainable practices Costume pedagogy and sustainable practices

What action are you going to take in your teaching practice?   Several small interventions, which I would like to review in their design stages through a student focus group and a staff interview, before taking some forwards (then testing and reviewing those). My initial action ideas include (subject to change, dependant on subject reading): – Holding open, costume related workshops or activities which are accessible, (e.g. a clothes swap). Something which invites students into the space, but isn’t attached to a curricular activity. – Creating a charity shop/ sustainable suppliers map – digital or physical, more accessible than our current suppliers lists format (a grid list). – Producing accessible time-planning templates and creative time planning tools. – Communicating mini-deadline reminders, through email or visual display in the costume studio. – Highlighting sustainable practices through email or visual display in the costume studio.

Who will be involved and how?   I would like to interview or hold a focus group with UAL BA performance students (stages 2 and 3 only). I would like to engage UAL BA performance programme students in survey and/or other forms of feedback/data collection in attending a workshop, or interacting with a new resource. I would like to interview one or two UAL BA performance staff (technical, costume).

What are the health & safety concerns, and how will you prepare for them?   Potential health and safety risks in holding workshops in the costume studio – only those who have had a health and safety induction would be able to participate.

How will you protect the data of those involved?   Anonymisation of participants (particularly necessary if this is online) Only collecting necessary personal data Disposing of data as soon as it is not required Storing data in a secure format (locked in a physical drawer, or within a secure, private, password protected digital folder)   Making any relevant passages in the blog password protected

How will you work with your participants in an ethical way? Making sure participants are fully informed of what their participation will mean, and the scope of the project. This may include verbal clarification, and/or interview and focus group pre-amble. Transparency of my own positionality, values, attitudes, motives Voluntary involvement throughout, which can be can be withdrawn at any stage – making this very clear and communicating it regularly Asking for specific consent to use of photographs, names, and/or artworks produced Safe storage and archiving of consent forms and data until it is no longer needed and can be disposed of safely Working with students who are not my tutee’s so that they are not influenced by this, or feel obliged to take part     Obtaining consent from course leader and program director of student participants

Reading about Ethics and Action Research

I am aware that by the very nature of action research, and of my topic, I will need to re-evaluate my research project from an ethical standpoint throughout the process, particularly if my plans change and shift. As the project progresses, changes and shifts may occur (Kara, H, 2015) which creates new considerations beyond the ones I initially plan for.

Gender, Racism, Colonialism

From a feminist research standpoint, it may be useful to consider how gender and race may intersectionally effect my research, and its dissemination. This is perhaps most relevant when discussing the subject matter itself and the wider attitudes to the costume industry. Costume has historically been perceived as feminine, and is consequentially undervalued (not dissimilarly to craft, about which there is lots of literature, and the treatment of those who work in the garment industry).

The throwaway attitudes I have observed in students in their purchasing of fast fashion garments at the last moment, and the lack of appreciation for the time and skill needed to produce a costume, can also be connected to racist and colonial attitudes. Much of the garment industry is made up of women from the global south (Helm, 2024). As a white, European, middle class person, working with a student population that is largely white, European and middle class, this disassociation could be regarded as racist, and colonial.

As part of my ethical consideration, reading around costume, feminism, racism and colonialism will be pertinent. It may be interesting to interrogate these links, and use case studies to look at the individual attitudes of students with different intersectional identities, and the “implications for power relations” (Kara, 2015). However, this may not be possible to do as fully as would be ideal to within the scope and timeframe I have for this project, this being a vast and complex combination of factors. Furthermore, it may not be ethical for me to carry out a research project which interrogates and seeks to find ‘solutions’ to racism and colonialism, as a white European woman (Kara, 2015).

Another element to consider here is language, English being an additional language for many of the students and colleagues I work with;

“…non-English speakers may be seen by researchers and research ethics committees as vulnerable or incompetent participants, when in fact they may be entirely able to participate in research if the research is conducted in their native language or a translator is provided (Perry 2011: 906–7).” (Kara, 2015)”

Although I do not have budget for a translator, and the level of English spoken by all UAL students is to a high standard, in order to improve communication, and avoid missing out on rich data, I could, for example, allowing focus group students time to read through the questions ahead of time, conducting interview in-person, and using visuals to describe in intervention designs.

Regardless of these small adjustments, I must still be aware that I am conducting my research through an English speaking, colonial, academic lense.

Power Imbalance

Within the HE system, I am in a position of power. Particularly as I am now, recently, engaged as an academic tutor. This power imbalance with my students is clear, at a heightened level for those who are my tutees, who may feel compelled to participate, and/or provide data which they may deem to be beneficial to their grade or my favour (and therefore their grade). I would like to avoid inviting my tutees to participate n the focus group for this reason (and because they are first year students, who are less likely to have as much experience to draw upon in the costume studio at this stage of their academic journey at CSM.)

I plan to interview my direct colleagues for similar reasons. Not only are they my equal at UAL and with the department in status and job title, so there are no ulterior motives at play. However, the six of the department means that their identities are difficult to protect, and therefore I will need to make sure they understand this, and are fully aware of their right to withdraw from my research.

Data Protection

The above feeds into issues around data protection. Because of the issues I am focussing on, I will not collect any unnecessary personal data. The student data I collect will be anonymised, and the staff data will not contain any unnecessary personal data. I will securely lock away hard copies of the consent forms, and I will keep all other files pertaining to personal or identifiable data on UAL systems exclusively.

References

Kara, H (2015) Creative Research Methods in the Social Sciences : A Practical Guide, Policy Press, Bristol. Available from: ProQuest Ebook Central. [18 September 2023]. Created from ual on 2023-09-18 13:44:06.

Helm, M (2024) Fashion for the Earth: Beneath the Seams: The Human Toll of Fast Fashion. Available at: https://www.earthday.org/beneath-the-seams-the-human-toll-of-fast-fashion/ (Accessed 20 October 2024)

In a group tutorial led by Catherine, Navin, Oliver, and myself talked through our ideas for our ARP’s.

I was particularly taken with Navin’s ideas, around de-colonising, or cross-pollinating technical practise, initially through the deconstruction of notions of ‘classic’ garments (e.g. the ‘shirt’) which are of the western European tradition.

In explaining my interests, Catherine suggested speaking to Saffie, who has similar research interests. However, in describing the issue these research ideas come from, Catherine suggested taking a few steps back, and looking initially at why students might not come into the space sooner – i.e. investigate what the access barriers are, in order to then address them, rather than making assumptions that this is down to procrastination. This was towards the end of the tutorial so we did not get into the discussion around how I would do this.

I then spoke to my colleague Verity Cleary, who has worked in the same role as myself for around 15 years, and consequently is very experienced in supporting these students. She mentioned that she has had interactions in which students have expressed feeling intimidated by the space, and as though they do not ‘belong’. This reminded me that I had had a similar conversations with another academic member of staff several months ago, who suggested the same thing. This reminded me of an in-passing interaction I had with a neurodiverse student last year, who told me they find the space too overwhelming and overstimulating to use.

This tutorial and interaction has made me consider re-drafting my research question to something which is more ‘open’, and shifting my methods to something which allows me to collect data on studnet interaction with the space, as a starting point.

ARP 2024-5

Ethical Action Plan

Name of practitioner-researcher: Florence Meredith

What is your project focus?   Understanding why students procrastinate in starting practical work, or projects with physical outcomes, and developing ways to support them in avoiding needless stress, unfinished work, missed deadlines, disappointment, and material waste, towards more sustainable and fulfilling working practices.   Within my role as a specialist costume technician, I encounter the same issue again and again. Students often leave the realisation of their costumes until the last moment, even if it is a key part of their curricular outcome, coming to myself and my colleagues in a panic a day or two before a show deadline. This leads to underdeveloped/unfinished work, stress, the students missing out on practical creative processes in which quality critical thinking could be taking place, which all feed into existing inequalities in the attainment gap within UAL.   This not only compromises the quality of the outcome, but often also leads to the last minute purchase of garments from amazon, or the wasting of materials that are bought in large quantities but not tested ahead of time, and therefore go to waste. This issue within the learning environment mirrors and feeds into the existing issues within the wider industry of costume, in which hierarchies that do not prioritise costume dictate the last minute changing/purchasing of low- cost fast delivery items and garments. This not only makes it a climate justice issue, but a feminist issue, and a decolonial issue. Costume practice is often undervalued, seen as insignificant, and possible to do with little or no skill, an attitude stemming from the western European, colonial, patriarchal undervaluing of the the skills required in garment production (and therefore costume), and the modern disassociation of this with real peoples time, skills, and hands in part due to the excessive availability of clothing at low cost.

What are you going to read about? Research methods:   Interviews, art-based action research Subject:   Creativity and procrastination, understanding and trusting a creative process, tools for moving through stuck-ness and procrastination, time-planning/ project planning, costume industry sustainable practices, making the space, and technical staff, approachable, how hierarchies and lack of appreciation affect the costume industry sustainable costume working practices and timeframes (environmental). Post covid effect on procrastination – social media, attention etc? ADHD, dyslexia, how neurodiversity affects planning, how this can be supported better, creative research/ action research and ethics.

What action are you going to take in your teaching practice?   Making small interventions, or providing tools to help students through a project in real time, as part of the action research cycle.  This might include: The production of accessible time-planning templates and creative time planning  approaches Communicating mini-deadline reminders Taking action to improve self-confidence (both in the space, with the technical staff, and in their own abilities) Challenging perfectionist tendencies through short activities (modelling creative processes/sharing examples of trial and error in a materialisation process)

Who will be involved and how?   Myself, as an observer and participant through art- based action research methods. A small group of BA (Hons) P:DP students who volunteer to be interviewed, provided with these tools, and with the collection of data through art based action research methods A wider cohort could be observed, without interview, depending on the intervention design.

What are the health & safety concerns, and how will you prepare for them? The potential additional stress caused to the students involved. I will make sure they are fully informed of the whole process and the time commitment involved. I will make it very clear that participation is voluntary, and remind them of this regularly.  I will also make it clear that they may withdraw consent and participation at any time.

How will you protect the data of those involved?   Anonymisation of participants Only collecting necessary personal data Disposing of data as soon as it is not required Storing data in a secure format (locked in a physical drawer, or within a secure, private, password protected digital folder)

How will you work with your participants in an ethical way?   Transparency of my own positionality, values, attitudes, motives Voluntary involvement throughout, which can be can be withdrawn at any stage  making this very clear and communicating it regularly Asking for consent to use of photographs, names, and/or artworks produced Safe storage and archiving of consent forms and data until it is no longer needed and can be disposed of safely Working with students who are not my tutee’s so that they are not influenced by this, or feel obliged to take partInforming their tutor of their participation (if the student agrees)

Reading ‘Understanding the Psychology of Procrastination: Causes and Solutions‘

This article identifies some key reasons that people procrastinate, including:

-Fear of failure (low expectations of own capabilities, or high expectations from others)

-Perfectionism

-Lack of motivation

-Poor time management (stemming from a lack of clear goals, an inability to break down tasks into manageable components – it is not specified in this article, but this can of course also stem from neurodiversity)

-Avoidance of discomfort

It goes on to suggest ways strategies to overcome these issues, including:

1. Breaking tasks into manageable steps

2. Setting realistic goals

3. Challenging perfectionist tendencies

4. Cultivating intrinsic motivation

5. Developing effective time management skills

6. Practicing self-compassion

“Understanding these underlying causes is crucial for developing effective strategies to combat procrastination. Cognitive elements such as fear of failure, perfectionism, and poor time management skills often play significant roles. Emotionally, procrastination can be linked to anxiety, low self-esteem, and a lack of motivation. Environmental factors, including task complexity and distractions, also contribute to this behavior.” (pg.19).

References

Shreya Rathi and Dr. Vishva Chaudhary (2024) “UNDERSTANDING THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PROCRASTINATION: CAUSES AND SOLUTIONS”, International Journal of Linguistics Applied Psychology and Technology (IJLAPT) , 1(2(June), pp. 1–24. Available at: http://ijlapt.strjournals.com/index.php/ijlapt/article/view/45 (Accessed: 8 October 2024).