FINALLY FINISHED... the proposal form.

After copious amounts of tea, fueling healthy food and well maybe some chocolate (plus some very important encouragement from my library buddy Josh) I finally finished my proposal form! My plan of action has now been set. The books have been decided. I get my supervisor soon. The timetable has been printed off. The hard work begins now! Proposal is also below. Not going to lie, after 18 hours of hard work I was pleased with the quality of my work. I feel like I, now, have a strong foundation and outline to follow for the rest of the project! A time management scale at this point would be useful as my brain seems to have an unfortunate habit of racing through thoughts so my work seems like a never ending sludge of information. To try and reconcile this I have bought a folder to keep myself organised; I am aware, that for me, this will make or break my PRP. May the luck be forever in your favor!


PRP -  RESEARCH  PROPOSAL 2015-16    

This information will be used to help assign your supervisor for the year - so it is important you fill this in as much detail as possible & meet the submission date.

Student: Katie Larvin

(Group Members): Solo Performance

Email: k.l.larvin@edu.salford.ac.uk

Aim/s:

What are you setting out to explore, analyse or investigate through your project?

I am setting out to explore how radio drama could be used, practically, as a tool to help utilize and improve empathy between patients suffering from an invisible illness and their caregivers.

Objectives:

What concrete activities and research are you going to undertake to achieve this aim/these aims?

The concrete activities and research I am going to undertake to achieve these aims will involve reading documents, books, articles and will also involve interviews with practicing professionals, charities such as ‘Mind’ and ‘AYME’ and patients themselves suffering with an invisible illness. I will need to have a solid understanding of the importance and role empathy plays when a patient is receiving support with an invisible illness. It will also require me to delve into why I have chosen utilize radio drama and why it would be the most effective and accessible art form to use; some of these reasons include its ease in dissemination and that it is the simplest way to reach a lot of people from varying backgrounds. This means it is the most straightforward way for me explore my aim of improving empathy for those with a hidden disability, practically.

Your investigative approaches, both practical and research-base

What ways are you going to set about exploring your areas of interest in a way that is most appropriate for you, your project and your intended audience? Why do you think they are appropriate?

What is your organisational plan that uses the resources and time available effectively?

To set about exploring my ideas of interest, I am firstly going to gather together documentation and research that has already been carried regarding the importance of empathy. This is mainly within the health care system but also looking at wider political debates surrounding the theories and benefits empathy has. I do suffer with an invisible illness myself, but I feel it is important for me to gauge as much information as possible from people with varying conditions and backgrounds by undertaking research and conducting a survey and interviews. To gain the most accurate results, I will research into the best and most effective ways to conduct a survey that I can then use solidify this into results and then use to explore practically. It means I can gain a deeper understanding of how empathy affects the way patients feel about caregivers support and treatment; do people feel listened to?

The next step will be to expand my knowledge into radio drama and what constitutes to good a piece. This will include me listening to and analysing other people’s work within this field but also by me reading books that aid in the writing of radio drama’s and what constitutes to a successful piece. I also feel it will be beneficial for me to research into the impact radio has had on social issues and how it can be used to shift attitudes.

Overall, this PRP will require a lot of leg work before I can get to the process of writing and producing my radio drama. It will be important that my piece explores empathy in a neutral manner to show that maybe people do not need to speak louder, it’s just that others need to listen.

Context

How does your project fit into wider cultural debates and previous experimentation in your areas of study or performance?

Empathy is, at current, a hot topic politically and is used within many areas of society from teaching to counselling to parliament debates. My project will also look at previous research into radio drama and how it is has been shown to be one of the more cost effective art forms that can easily be reached by a lot of different people. Unlike a performance on stage, radio drama has the ability to be replayed as much as a listener likes and involves full audio concentration. My project also currently fits well within wider cultural debates, as it will be promoting the idea that it is possible to give people a voice by teaching others to listen.

Reading List/Stimulus List

Current sources supporting/ stimulating your research…?

·         Batt-Rawden, et al. 2013. Teaching Empathy to Medical Students: An Updated, Systematic Review. Academic Medicine [online]. 88(8),pp.1171-1177. Available from: http://journals.lww.com/academicmedicine/Abstract/2013/08000/Mastery_Learning_for_Health_Professionals_Using.37.aspx [Accessed February 1, 2016].

·         Glover, F. 2015. Cathryn and Francesca - Living With Invisible Illness. The Listening Project [online]. Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b064z756 [Accessed February 9, 2016].

·         Crook, T. 1999. International radio drama. London: Routledge.

·         Hickman, K. 2015. Illness: Psychosomatic and Physical. Start the Week [online]. Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05xd449 [Accessed June 8, 2015].

·         Howe, D. 2013. Empathy: what it is and why it matters. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.

·         Jaganath, D. et al. 2013. This is My Story: participatory performance for HIV and AIDS education at the University of Malawi. Health Education Research [online]. 29(4),pp.554-565. Available from: http://her.oxfordjournals.org/content/29/4/554.full.pdf+html [Accessed February 6, 2016].

·         McCormack, B. and Hill, E. 1997. Conducting a survey. London: International Thomson Business Press.

·         Richards, K. 1991. Writing radio drama. Sydney: Currency Press.

·         Schechner, R. 2002. Performance Studies: An introduction 3rd ed. Oxon: Routledge.

·         Slote, M. 2007. The ethics of care and empathy. London: Routledge.

Submission Date/Time:

9/2/16 The Research Proposal – (2 copies -  1 submitted in hard copy to the school office; 1 electronic copy to Mark Creamer m.creamer@salford.ac.uk).

Submitting this on time and with care contributes to the practical criteria relating to: Evidence of appropriate professional attitude with the technician team and supervisor...

Research Proposal – What should you include?

·         The aims and objectives of the project - What are you setting out to explore, analyse or investigate through your project?

·         The historical /social/aesthetic/ theoretical context of the project - How does your project fit into wider cultural debates and previous experimentation in your areas of study or performance?

·         Your investigative approaches, both practical and research-based - How are you going to set about exploring your areas of interest in a way that is most appropriate for you, your project and your intended audience? What existing research and creative process may be useful to you?

·         A basic, provisional schedule – taking account of time and resources

·         An initial reading list of texts, and stimuli…that are informing the investigation and the creative process.