PROPOSAL FORM.

This week we had a meeting with Mr Omar Caruana regarding the thesis, explaining about a form that we must complete by the 31st of May 2017.  Mr Cuarana also explained that instead of coming up with the title next year, we will be doing it this year.   This will allow us more time to research and design.

We have already had some lessons guiding us as to what topic we would like to continue with. Some students have kept the same topic because they felt that it’s an interesting subject while others have changed it completely because they didn’t find enough resources or the topic didn’t interest them.

My title of my dissertation is
“The impact of interior design on the emotional wellbeing of children as applied to local orphanages.”
I have kept this title because the topic interests me and I feel that in Malta there are many orphanages that need to be improved upon for the health and wellbeing of these children.  Although while I was interviewing and seeing local orphanages there are many things that are being done due to more resources, however there is always room for improvement. 

While I was visiting these homes, the person caring for these orphanages offered me a job as a career.  This will assist me greatly with my thesis.  What could be better than getting directly involved in what would be needed to create a better environment.  Observing from the outside would be impossible.  Strangers would not be allowed to observe or take part in any proposed changes to ensure the security of the children.

Mr Caruana told us that we should be familiar with the subject we are choosing.  Although I am not familiar with orphan’s issues, I am passionate about this topic.   I have discussed this topic with my lecturer, asking for her guidance and she agrees that it is an interesting topic to continue on.

As my lecturer, I have chosen Vanessa Pace O’Shea. I chose her because I enjoy working with her. She makes me feel comfortable and confident.  Possibly because I have had many assignments with her and I know how she works.  

I have not yet completed the form as I’m still concern about the title. Although I know that it’s a topic I will enjoy doing.

Eurovision

 Blog by Adrián Valiente (Spain) on December 29, 2016. esc-plus, MFCC Ta Qali.

This weekend, as everybody knows, the Malta Eurovision song contest was held. For me, the most important thing of The Eurovision is the voice, song and performance. It’s not about fashion, hair stylist or make up artist.
Another important thing for the viewer watching is the show. This consists of the stage, lighting, projection and obviously the singer.

As this semester we have a unit about stage design, my observation was enlightened while watching the Eurovision.

 Tvm site, Eurovision song contact 2017 MFCC Ta Qali

It appears that Malta is improving every year in the world of design. This year there were four thousand people that attended the Eurovision in the MFCC Ta Qali. Four thousand people for one show.  Quite a lot, especially for Malta, so the organisers had to keep the stage design aesthetically pleasing and use all the available space.

The shape of the stage was a diamond shape.  It created more connection with the audience… how? The diamond shaped stage has four flat sides, so the audience was placed on the left and the right sides of the stage. Because  of this the audience where really close to the singers, which created a better atmosphere. It even allowed for more audience space.

 Screenshots from Youtube, MESC 2017 - Opening (30 year Anniversary), Mfcc Ta Qali,eurovisionfest, Published on Feb 18, 2017

Screenshots from Youtube, MESC 2017 - Opening (30 year Anniversary), Mfcc Ta Qali,eurovisionfest, Published on Feb 18, 2017

The back of the diamond shape had two triangular black screens for projection. Six long triangular strips where added to the design to help reflect the spot lights on the stage. 

Screenshots from Youtube, MESC 2017 - Opening (30 year Anniversary), Mfcc Ta Qali,eurovisionfest, Published on Feb 18, 2017

 Screenshots from Youtube, MESC 2017 - Opening (30 year Anniversary), Mfcc Ta Qali,eurovisionfest, Published on Feb 18, 2017

The singers and dancers were entering on stage from the middle. So I assumed the entrance was from behind the black screen to the middle of the stage.
Looking from the top view, I realised that there were two ramps on both sides of the stage. This was so that when the winner was called to join the presenters on stage to sing the winning song from the green room, entrance to the stage was via the ramps, also the other singers could join the winner.

Screenshots from Youtube, MESC 2017 - Opening (30 year Anniversary), Mfcc Ta Qali,eurovisionfest, Published on Feb 18, 2017

Screenshots from Youtube, MESC 2017 - Opening (30 year Anniversary), eurovisionfest, Published on Feb 18, 2017

Screenshots from Youtube, MESC 2017 - Opening (30 year Anniversary), Mfcc Ta Qali,eurovisionfest, Published on Feb 18, 2017

Photo: Mark Zammit Cordina, MFCC Ta Qali, Eurovision song contest 2017.

Lights play an important role in the stage design industry. Lighting creates a certain atmosphere or mood. 

Every year there is something different in the Eurovision show. Because the technology is constantly changing they must keep up to date with this change to allow for a better performance.

Screenshots from Youtube, MESC 2017 - Opening (30 year Anniversary), Mfcc Ta Qali,eurovisionfest, Published on Feb 18, 2017

These observations was made from looking at videos and from the watching the live performance on TV.   Therefore some things that were mentioned are my opinions from what I viewed.

Reference:

Eurovisionfest, 2017. MESC 2017 - Opening (30 year Anniversary). [video online] Available at: < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8i8Y6LbGZj8> [Accessed 19, February 2017].

Adrián Valiente (Spain) , esc-plus, 2016. Malta: PBS CEO John Bundy confirms winning song will not be changed, Available at: < http://www.esc-plus.com/malta-pbs-ceo-john-bundy-confirms-winning-song-will-not-changed/> [Accessed 19, February 2017].

timesofmalta, Mark Zammit Cordina, 2017. Malta selects its Eurovision song tonight Winner to be decided through a 100% televote, Available at: < http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20170218/local/malta-votes-for-its-eurovision-song-tonight.639952 [Accessed 19, February 2017].

Rating myself

From the beginning of the blogs till now I feel that I improved my English writing. I had problems forming sentence, spelling and use technique words. This is the nineteen blog that I am writing and while I am writing it, it feels more confident and flowing. To connect one sentence with another I learned to use conjunctions Like however. Although it’s a basic thing but it helps me further my information while I’m writing. On the other hand, I know that I should work more on my spelling. Well the Microsoft word has an advantage and disadvantage side. While I’m writing, it will automatically select the spelling mistakes. For me I feel that when I write something wrong, I don’t try to think if the word is written right or wrong and try to find how to write the word on a dictionary, I will select and correct it without even looking at the word. This will not help me improve my spelling.

In these blogs, I worked on using some technique words that will make my English writing more formal and interesting to read. although there is a whole lot of room for improvement. I felt this when I was writing my literature review.

While I was writing, my literature review it was hard to put all that information into a small amount of words. Although this was, sort of a trial literature review. For the final it consists of more words although it included to find more research so it’s going to be the same thing. 

Schön’s Reflective Model

Donald Schon is a professor and philosopher who developed the concept of “The reflective practitioner.” Schon’s theory (1983) introduced a new reflective practise that is reflective in action and reflective on action. This is created by people’s life’s experiences by reflecting action is done after and experience.

Reflection in action is when the event is happening. Everything you are experiencing at that time.  So one should think immediately.

While reflection on action is thinking after the action has been done. This is when you reflect on the action completed and think about what could have been done differently.

My personal opinion is that these refections  help us learn more about life’s decisions by using the same situation and knowing how to handle the situation better next time.

Based on Kurt Lewin's work. David Kolb - Experiential Learning.http://www.bradford.ac.uk/wimba-files/skill-space/Reflective_Writing_HTML/images/pic003.gif

This image is a great example of reflective practise.

 Lessons.

I realised that during lecturers I would get distracted easily. During the lecture,  I would  try to stay focused and look only at the lecturer. Although I try to stay focused on the lecture, I realised I sometimes get sleepy or my mind will wonder and  think about other things and so  I lose all my concentration. The most embarrassing thing is that the lecturer asks me a question and I wouldn’t be able to respond because I don’t know what she/he was talking about.

I couldn’t keep going like this because I was missing out on a lot of tutorials that are useful to me. These tutorials were going to help me during my assignment and with future employment. So, I researched  the web to see if I could find why this was happening to me. As Remez Sasson on the website success consciousness called  “Does your mind wander when you need to focus it?” said that losing attention with your mind wandering on other things that are completely different to what you were doing is quite normal.

Remez Sasson said that this happens when you are doing something you don’t like or  tired. Let’s face it when we are doing tutorials it’s not fun at all, even if the subject its interesting. So, I started thinking how can I turn something boring into something fun and interesting. Something similar use to happen to me when I was studying. When reading, I use to get tired or I wouldn’t understand what I’m reading, so I would write some important points down and that would keep my mind alert about everything I’m reading. So, I decided to use the same method for the tutorials. Write important points down on what the teacher is saying.

Another thing I thought of doing is that when I start getting distracted I ask the teacher for a bathroom break knowing that by taking a break, on my return I would  be able to concentrate more.  Also when I am tired I pick up a coffee.

When the next lesson came along I would be all prepared, pen, paper and coffee. So far this still works for me and my concentration is hanging in there.

This was Schön’s Reflective Model

Reference:

Success consciousness, 2011.  Does Your Mind Wander when You Need to Focus It? [online] Available at: < http://www.successconsciousness.com/wandering-mind.html> [Accessed 5 February 2017].

University of Bradford, N.D. Reflection models and frameworks. [online] Available at: < http://www.bradford.ac.uk/wimba-files/skill-space/Reflective_Writing_HTML/page_04.htm> [Accessed 5 February 2017].

Theresa Felicia, 2015. Reflective Frameworks. [video online] Available at: < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_m92KKgQPA> [Accessed 5 February 2017]

Vicky Tsiantis, 2016. Reflective Practice. [video online] Available at: < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubWGxjM80Us> [Accessed 5 February 2017]

Bowlby's Attachment Theory.

For my literature review I read Bowlby’s Attachment Theory. This information was useful for me because it helped me understand more about the orphans and their needs.  This would help me develop my design in a way to accommodate their psychological needs.

Attachment

Attachment is a bond. In this case, a bond formed between a child and their parent or caregiver.

Summary of Bowlby’s Attachment Theory.

John Bowlby (1907, 1990.)  He was a psychoanalyst who believes that mental health and behavioural issues begin at a small age. 

He talks about the attachment that a baby automatically has with their mother at birth. When the baby feels this closeness, the attachment is immediately activated.

Social Releasers.

Bowlby mentions “Social Releasers.” This is a behaviour that babies are born with which helps them become closer with their mother such as crying, smiling crawling etc., as feeding is not the only thing that determines attachment.

Bowlby mentioned that in the first two years of life, babies are in a critical period of their development, and this bond should be formed with the mother during this period.  If for some reason this attachment is delayed or not formed, this could lead to the child suffering long term consequences such as aggressive behaviour, depression, lack of affection, limited or reduced intelligence or delinquency.  There are several reasons why the mother does not give this maternal care, such as death, marriage separation or lack of funds to support raising the child. This risk continues until the child is five.

Whilst researching Bowlby’s theory, I found information on an experiment that was conducted by Harlow and Zimmerman in 1959. This experiment proves that developing a close relationship with the caregiver is not only derived from or related to food.

The experiment involved a baby monkey and two artificial mothers, one made from cloth and the other made from metal wire which had a milk bottle attached to it. The experiment shows that the monkey was more attracted to the cloth mother, because it made it feel comfort and security. The monkey went to the wire monkey only to drink, but as soon as it was ready he went back to his original mother being the tower cloth mother. This shows that warmth and comfort is a big part of a baby’s development period.

This is part of my research about Bowlby’s Attachment theory. Next blog I will continue discussing this theory.

Reference

simply psychology, 2007. Bowlby's Attachment Theory. [online] Available at: <http://www.simplypsychology.org/bowlby.html> [Accessed 14, January 2017].

Psychology concepts, 2011-2013. Harlow’s Studies on Attachment. [online] Available at: < http://www.psychologyconcepts.com/harlows-studies-on-attachment/> [Accessed 29, January, 2017].

Slide share, 2013. Bowlby's theory of attachment. [online] Available at: < http://www.slideshare.net/preethibalan9/bowlbys-theory-of-attachment> [Accessed 29, January, 2017].

This week.

This week was my last week to work on my dateline. I hate this type of weeks. Practically these last three weeks I haven't seen outside accept to go to school. The ironic thing is that you work and work and you're never ready. I always have something to arrange or to do. Every year in the first day when I enter school, after the summer holidays, I'll say this year I'm not going to leave for the last week to finish all the assignment, this is another year and the same thing happened.

Although this year was different. I worked hard on every assignments but because this year was all about team work we had to rely on one another. So when you do your part you are free, however I'm not like that when I finish my part I'll talk to my team and tell them who needs help. I was all about finishing earlier. Although we have a lot of work and it's a little bit impossible.

I liked working with my team. I had three group for three assignments. We worked all together  and that what makes our team strong. Two tips of group where the same people and the other one that involve sustainable design we where different people accept one. That one person that she is my friend and we always work together. We like to work together because we understand each other and we help each other. Sometimes we fight or a much technical word is argue because maybe we don't agree on something but that's normal. 

To add to last weeks blog.

On revisiting my blog on Monday, I  realised that I wrote a lot of data without sufficient information.  I am therefore elaborating on some of the previous factors in more detail.

 Malta- Gozo Proposed Tunnel/Bridge (adding information)

“First question is about how we are going to fund the studies that cost millions.”
Said the Prime Minister Joseph Muscat in The Times of Malta

The Prime Minister, Mr Joseph Muscat said that the Chinese Government are going to supply the funds for the feasibility studies of the possibility of building a bridge.

The initial proposal of The Gozo Bridge was conducted by the Economic Planning Division in 1969 and by the Japanese Government’s Overseas Technical Cooperation Agency in 1972.

 Why should we build a bridge or tunnel?

Dr Muscat Mentioned, also in The Times of Malta, there was a requirement for a bridge or tunnel to assist the Gozitans travelling to Malta from work or school, thus not having to stay for long periods in Malta.  

The prime minister agreed with Dr Simon Busuttil that an underground system is a better option.

Then Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil said that the negative effect arising from the tunnel is the increasing of traffic to the small quiet island of Gozo. The tunnel was first proposed by the previous government.

The Prime Minister Joseph Muscat talked with The Times of Malta about the possibility of improving the ferry service.  This might solve the problem of building the tunnel or bridge and is a consideration to lower cost fee of the ferry.

 The End

There is other information that I didn’t go into detail here but I mentioned in my earlier blog.  This was a blog that I leand from the previous blog.

Reference:
times of malta, 2016. Tunnel linking Malta to Gozo most viable option – Muscat; 'Queue' of consortia interested in project. [online] Available at: < http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20160416/local/tunnel-linking-malta-to-gozo-most-viable-option-muscat.609005> [Accessed 8 January 2017].

times of malta, 2015. Gozo: bridge plan shelved, focus will be on tunnel. [online] Available at: < http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20151012/local/gozo-bridge-plan-shelved-focus-will-be-on-tunnel.587961> [Accessed 8 January 2017].

in dependent, 2016. Government intends moving forward with Malta-Gozo link, but all options open - PM[online] Available at: < http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2016-04-16/local-news/Tunnel-linking-Malta-and-Gozo-needs-national-consensus-Simon-Busuttil-6736156405> [Accessed 8 January 2017].

independent, 2014. Gozo: A bridge too far?. [online] Available at: < http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/europe/gozo-a-bridge-too-far-9583643.html> [Accessed 12 January 2017].

independent, 2013. Mixed reactions to Gozo bridge concept. [online] Available at: < http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2013-06-16/news/mixed-reactions-to-gozo-bridge-concept-1834549250/> [Accessed 12 January 2017].

maltatoday, 2014. Chinese landscapes: From bridge to breakwater?. [online] Available at: < http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/41171/chinese_landscapes_from_bridge_to_breakwater#.WHedGPkrJPY> [Accessed 12 January 2017].