3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item Exploring the experience of delirium in hospital, and how music might expand our insight into this phenomenon(2017) Hume, Victoria JaneThis dissertation synthesises the fields of narrative medicine and music composition to address the experience of delirium, and to learn whether music has a role to play in understanding and communicating its nature. My submission takes the form of a written dissertation accompanied by a new musical composition, Delirium Part II. Both written and composed texts are based on interviews and small discussion groups with people who have experienced delirium, their families, and healthcare professionals who are familiar with delirium in people under their care – as well as observation and recording from a hospital intensive care unit (ICU). The composition incorporates both interviews and ambient hospital sounds as audio components, and was performed first on 2 March 2017 at the Music Room, University Corner, University of the Witwatersrand. The study addresses significant gaps in our understanding of delirium, from its definition to the qualities of the experience for all those affected by it. Violence is shown to be inherent to the experience, driven by a cycle that imposes it by turns on HCPs and patients. Delirium is, moreover, characterised by losses of numerous kinds: orientation, dignity, control, and ultimately personhood. This study suggests, however, that it is within our grasp to limit significantly the impacts of these losses through re-evaluating our interactions with patients and families and challenging the dehumanising aspects of care. The music of Delirium Part II, moreover, is shown to have the capacity to contribute to this re-evaluation. There are clear indications here of the potential for music and the arts more broadly to convey complex health experiences, and to be of use in training and education. Music contributes centrally to the development of this research, as a tool both for data analysis and for provoking discussion of a complex, emotive topic. The possibilities for creative practice in narrative medicine are illuminated by this cross-disciplinary study, which demonstrates both that narrative-based musical composition can teach us much about delirium; and that delirium can teach us much about care.Item Music behind bars: exploring the role of music as a tool for rehabilitation and empowerment of offenders at Mthatha Medium Correctional Centre.(2012-04-10) Twani, ZoliswaMy interest in conducting this empirical research exploring music as a tool for rehabilitation and empowerment of prison offenders was sparked by my observation in 2002 of the problematic use of music at Mthatha Medium Correctional Centre (MMCC). Music activities were simply a microcosm of music activities outside prison, and despite the existence of the National Offenders Choir Competitions (NOCC) since 1997, neither offenders nor Department of Correctional Services (DCS) Officials seemed to regard participation in such activities as music education, let alone rehabilitative or empowering. In 2007 I conducted a one-year Participatory Action Research project of four cycles or stages, in the prison, intended to work towards developing and improving musical, self-reflexive, and other life skills. I then used Michel Foucault’s notion of ‘panopticism’ (1978) and Paulo Freire’s theory of ‘conscientização’ (1970) to intepret the music styles, practices, and performances developed during the project and their impact on those involved. Two central questions underpinning this study are, ‘To what extent do music activities subvert the watchfulness of the prison system and environment?’ and ‘How does music encourage offenders to transcend their prisoner status and reinvent their lives as musicians ‘behind bars’, better able to reintegrate into society as rehabilitated citizens?’ Through narrative enquiry and thematic content analysis I examine how the participants’ critical consciousness about music and about themselves was raised and the way in which the praxis (reflection and action) method had changed their lives. In the light of the results from this approach and context, I devised a set of recommendations for a music education curriculum for implementation in South African prisons,