Task 3d: Critical Questions and Issues That Emerge

In turning to Reflection after completing task 3, I hope that it will further enable me to digest emerging thoughts about what I have learnt, both in terms of what I have been doing in my professional practice but also what others are doing. 

One very specific idea that has emerged and has become more apparent to me as the tasks have gone on is the importance to me and my career of being affiliated in a number of different networks but also the relevance they have in today’s society where technology is capable of massive impact. More than ever before, I am seeing examples of self-promotion, aided by Web 2.0 tools such as YouTube that had not been possible for practitioners who had reached the heights of their careers decades ago. Back then it was about being in the right place at the right time. Essentially it is still like that now, but networking and the internet are providing an alternative platform to being seen. Alongside attending classes and auditions, your material has the opportunity to be searched for and viewed on the internet, making employment more attainable for a certain few. In short, the ease and variety with which people network and source their information is aided by the use and correct application of Web tools which affect my professional practice and working life working in the age that I do.

O’Connor & Rosenblood’s (1996) theory of privacy regulation and how we can control our level of involvement to what we want it to be allows a professional to be able to manage their contact with their professional circles. I personally have noticed what I deem to be a healthy balance between my virtual networks and my actual ones with a mixture of on-line and real-life connections. Regular engagement within a network is conducive to the success and development not only of the network, but also of my career. The majority of learning I do in my daily practice currently comes not from a singular source but a shared network of collective intelligence and in order to get the most out of these relationships, I must engage more fully than I have perhaps been doing to date. I think in order to improve my engagement and nurture these relationships that I have formed, I should focus more on ‘giving back.’ So far, my involvement could be described as fairly limited and sporadic. I believe I would do well to get into a more regular routine of interacting across my networks throughout the week. Also the theory of ‘Game Theory’ states that if I ‘co-operate’ and give more back to the group, this in turn should mean my co-operation is reciprocated. I could learn of an upcoming audition or an idea to be tried and tested in one of my lessons that could prove invaluable. 

I believe that most of the successful practitioners currently have realised and mastered the importance of networking as another means of self-promotion. Followers and subscribers to blogs are met with information regarding their latest production or something they may be working towards which is up and coming. In addition, blogs that I have looked at from other students further on in their course than me have also shared the idea that the internet is now one of the more invaluable sources of information. Through reading these blogs, I also read about sites I was previously unaware of in terms of audition information, and to contribute to this network and ‘co-operate’ I also mentioned and contributed my own (see task 3c.) Having the ability to share ideas and communicate emerging ideas with others is so beneficial to me in terms of ensuring my thinking is well-balanced. That was certainly one thing that struck me about my Skype session with Adesola, how an outside view is determinate to the health of my thinking. Is it all one-sided? Have I looked at things from a different perspective? Not only that, but established practitioners that I admire who choose to share information in networks also dramatically shift my thinking patterns. 

Yes, I am most certainly left thinking differently prior to looking more deeply into networks and their importance. If I hadn’t thought of it as an imperative skill before, the positive impact that professional networking can have on a career is inescapable, and just as important as performing well in auditions or when the time calls for it, networking is a skill that is just as important in putting yourself out there. Whether you agree with the notion that we all have an innate need to affiliate with others or not, it is something that all professionals should be partaking in order to establish a healthy career with longer life expectancy. 

(With the upcoming Critical Reflection in mind, I tried to consciously be aware of the word count of this particular blog; in terms of what I had to day and in how many words. Definitely harder than first thought! I predict many more drafts and reworking before the hand in!)

Task 3c: Sources of Information

The wide range of methods by which I use as well as other professionals to gather and organise our information is now more varied than ever, mainly due to the evolution of web-based technologies and resources. Five of the main sources I use to gather information come from the internet alone, but I have tried to include some alternate methods alongside them. They are as follows:

THE INTERNET

namely

Sources I use to search for jobs. The Stage (http://www.thestage.co.uk/recruitment/) is a written and online publication that I use as a means of searching for upcoming auditions and vacancies within the entertainment industry. According to figures I found online, over 300,000 people view the webpage monthly, so it is clearly a very well-known and popular way of doing so. There are a number of auditions that I have attended/applied for after seeing them online, some of which I was successful, others not so. There is also a Facebook group called FiveSixSevenEight that is a private group that a member has to invite you into (for anyone reading this who thinks they may benefit from being a part of it, I am more than happy to add you into it!) “Fivesixseveneight is a SECRET group, dedicated to sharing and caring with only the best of the best on the London scene, be it dancers, models, actors. ONLY PAID JOBS. Share the wealth and share the info. Together we are stronger.” Spotlight and CastingCallPro are also websites that keep be in the loop. It is important for me to realise how heavily I rely on the information that can be gained from this website, as without continue contracts of employment, I would not be able to inform my practice in this field.

BOOKS. As a part-time dram teacher at a stage school, I am constantly trying to find new and exciting materials to cover with my classes. Whilst the internet is also a great source for me to be able to do this, I am also a member of the library which has been of huge help in the past in terms of lesson preparation. I can walk into the library and browse to my heart’s content or head straight to a recommended text. I am then able to borrow anything I feel will be of value to me or my lessons and scan any pages I’d like to look at further. To a great extent I rely on being able to always find new subject information to help me in my code of practice. Yes the internet is also able to help me do this, but it is nice to have an alternative plan. The library is to the internet what actual networks are to virtual ones; it’s much nicer to meet people in person and have a chat!

…speaking of which! MEETING WITH OTHER PROFESSIONALS/colleagues on a regular basis is also a method that is invaluable to me in terms of informing my practice and what it is that I do. Whether these are people who I trained with at college, people I meet at auditions/on contracts of employment or teachers who I work with weekly, they are all relevant to the different types of work that I do. As ‘handy’ as the internet is to access, it is always preferable to me to be able to maintain my actual networks as well as giving attention to my virtual ones. ‘Scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours’ is a mantra that I think sums up these types of relationships; we look out for one another. I inform my friends of any upcoming work that they may be interested in and in turn, they do the same for me. It works both ways.

My AGENT is another source of information that is helpful in the search and gaining of employment. As a performer, work can often be scarce and the contracts short-lived. It is therefore important to be able to utilise another tool in the search for work. It is the job of my agent to search for work and submit their clients for work they would likely be interested in. In return, they charge me a fee for their services and for representing me, but I think this is a fair amount and a worthwhile expenditure in being able to keep one step ahead in terms of looking for work in comparison to those who maybe do not have representation.

Finally, I extract information and gather experience from going to WATCH PERFORMANCES myself. Going to watch different types and levels of performance benefits not one but two areas of my current professional practice. Going to watch high quality and professional pieces of theatre inspire me as an actress and provide me with inspiration when performing myself. But on the other hand, going to watch productions that feature younger performers makes me aware of the standard of choreography out there, and what children of a similar age to those I teach have been able to work towards.

The wide variety of ways to source the vast amounts of information means that professionals including myself need to be able to find ways of organising the result of their research. I personally feel that I currently manage my sources of information quite well, so that I am able to return to them in the future if needs be. For example, I keep all correspondence I receive via email in separate folders for separate networks. All of the emails I receive from my agent go into a separate folder which makes it easier to check audition time/information on my phone when I am on the go, but also I can quickly access invoices when I am completing my online tax self-assessment. Regarding the extracts I find in books e.g. print-outs or scans, I file them all in a ring binder according to theme and which age group they may be appropriate to. This helps me if I were ever to be called on to cover a class. I believe I could improve my use of the above sources further by establishing a regular routine of checking various sites for auditions so that I miss fewer postings. A good time to do this would be to check each evening before going to bed, different evenings for different sites. This is something that I could work on.

In terms of copyright issues or confidentiality problems, the reality is that most internet sources have issues when it comes to confidentiality as I must always remain aware about posting any information that is personal to me, especially on public forums discussing auditions. Regarding the work I print out and source for my lessons, I avoid copyright issues by following a few simple steps; I never choose to work on a whole section of work with my students, but rather shorter extracts. They are never used for any profitable gain in performances or showcases, only as classroom activities and exercises and I ensure that I collect in all papers afterwards to be destroyed, aside from the one master copy I keep in my folder as a reference. At this point in the term, very few students, if any, have posted blogs for task 3C, so looking at the posts was fairly limited. I did however, take a look at individuals who were further along with the course than myself, e.g. Modules 2/3 to see what they had posted in the past. On the whole, their top 5 sources of information were very similar to myself as they seem to be the current and popular sources for young people in my profession.

Skype Session with Adesola

This morning I found myself (finally!!) being able to take part in a Skype session with Adesola, the first session that I have been able to arrange since starting out on BAPP. Due to either heavy work commitments or an awful internet connection, this simply hasn't been an option for me until now. Luckily for me, I seemed to be the only person that was available for the morning call which allowed me in essence a 50 minute one-to-one with my personal advisor-something which I was very grateful for having not been able to make any of the campus sessions either. What particularly struck me was the importance in having the outside view of someone else. Reflection has been a key tool thus far on this course but in looking back on journals/previous work etc it is still your own, very one-sided view on things. Talking with Adesola was extremely beneficial in that she helped me to look at things from an outsiders perspective. "If you met yourself walking down the street, the version of you that never started out on BAPP, what would you tell her about what you know now?" I am also feeling slightly more confident about beginning work on my final hand-in for May. Overall it was nice to be able to be reassured from somebody in person that yes I may be on the right track in what I have learnt, but helped me look from a different perspective about how this new knowledge is helping and shaping my professional practice. 

Task 3b: Theories Relating to Networking Continued...

These are also a number of other theories that, upon reading about them and rewording them in my own definitions, have helped me to understand the idea of Professional Networks more successfully, which in turn will hopefully help me to make more effective use of them in the future.

1.    Social Constructionism 

Social Constructionism refers to some of our larger social processes e.g. professional networks and our networking within them. Humans are very well aware that the world and other people are ‘out there’ but we all come to understand that in our own unique way. We form meanings of the world through our different methods of social interaction. When we become part of a new network, its meaning for us is not set in stone. It is through using these networks and interacting through them that we decide for ourselves; the values of these networks to us, our preferred ways of engaging in them and to what extent we are wanting to commit to these networks. In summary; meaning cannot be discovered, it is ‘constructed’ – we do not create meaning, we build our own. ‘Meaning emerges when consciousness engages with them.’ (Merleau-Ponty)

2.     Connectivism

Technology is altering how we think more and more. Connectivism opposes other theories that developed when technology did not have an effect on our learning and takes the view that learning theories should reflect our current social environment. The old idea of teaching whereby knowledge is passed from teacher to student needs to be changed according to connectivist theorists. The professional networks of which I am a part of are systems that I have to interact with in order to learn. ‘Formal Learning’ no longer makes up the majority of how we learn. It now happens in communities such as professional networks which is why Connectivism has evolved as a theory. It is important to be able to draw links between important and non-important information that we are gaining. My professional networks are groups of connected people that can nurture and preserve knowledge ‘flow.’ Dependence on each other in the community results in better knowledge flow.

and 3. Communities of practice 

Communities of Practice can be seen and noticed in many different types of professional contexts. All of the communities that an individual may be engaged in will change over time, but this theory states that it is a person’s sustained involvement in a group that is key to our learning. Members of these communities come together because they may share a mutual interest in something/s and together, they generate a collection of shared experiences. These communities however only function through ‘mutual engagement.’ They rely on the community sharing their knowledge with each other, not one or two individuals in a hierarchy. Trends common in communities of practice is that they are all social, often informal and are self-organising groups of a specific social mix of people. Knowledge is not gained though instruction, but participation.

Of the above theories, the one that I have been able to draw the most comparison from to my current professional practice is the theory of communities of practice; the more involved I become in a network the more I have to gain and benefit, although I am now able to see elements from all three of them that feature in my practice of professional networking as a means of furthering my career. The constructionism view that meaning is not created but instead built by our own views seems likely. It makes sense that the differences in individuals would lead to differences in establishing own understanding and that can be seen in my work as a T.I.E actor and workshop leader. As a requirement of the schools taking part in the project, the students are asked that they fill out an evaluation after the performance so that we may see what it is they have learnt and taken from the performance. Not only does this highlight the difference in responses, but in reading them myself and being a part of this briefly-brought together community, my view on characters and themes changes as a direct result of the impact from others. The technology element of the Connectivism theory is in direct correlation to the network that I am establishing for myself with other BAPP students. These are connections that I have with people that are virtual ones, maintained only by the possibility of evolving technologies. I am able to see here how the old notion of ‘teaching’ is not so prominent here, in that the majority of learning does not come from a single source/individual, but rather from a shared network of sources and in order that I should reap the maximum benefits from being a part of these groups, it requires ‘mutual engagement’ from all.

Task 3b: Theories Relating To Networking

The exploration of the below established ideas and concepts regarding professional networking may add value to my understanding, not of ‘how’ to network, but rather how my networking could be developed in the future.

Cooperation 

Game Theory is a set of ideas developed initially by Mathematicians to tackle problems in a range of areas. Its background originates from games where one player is successful at another's expense, ‘when should someone be selfish and when should they co-operate in an ongoing interaction with another?’ (Axelrod 1984) Therefore this theory can be used as a way of predicting how people would respond to a specific event. Robert Axelrod identified the importance in the theory of cooperation and the benefits of cooperating fully with others until a maximum point of benefit is reached.

In ‘Prisoner’s Dilemma,’ the two players in the game can only choose between two moves, ‘cooperate’ or ‘compete.’ If both players choose to cooperate, they will both gain, but if only one of them cooperates, the one who competes with gain more. If both compete, both lose but not as much as the co-operator whose cooperation is not returned. The problem with this is that each player has a choice two options, but is unable to make a good decision beneficial to them without knowing what the other one will do. A real life example that I have come up with to which Game Theory can be applied to is as follows. Two shoppers reach the checkout at a supermarket to find all stations busy aside from one. If both decide to co-operate, then they will each choose to join one of the loner queues as they do not wish to seem pushy. If one individual decides to compete, then they will not have to wait as long to pay for their trolley and the co-operator must join the longer queue line. If both decide to compete however, the Prisoners Dilemma model states that neither will gain as much as both cooperating, but not lose as much as the individual who tries to co-operate with the competitor. A possible outcome here would be that both individuals are directed to a slightly shorter queue line and must wait, although not for as long.

Ultimately then, Game Theory looks at peoples decisions to cooperate, or not. This means that in order for cooperation across a network, each individual must have a clear understanding of the benefits and drawbacks decided either by an authority e.g. an employer or in my case, my choices in deciding what is good/bad for me personally. Axelrod argues that the ‘tit for tat’ method sees more effective results whereby players stared with co-operation and then copied the other player’s choice from there on out. When I applied this strategy on the online version of the game, I found that both myself and the other player saw the benefits of co-operation and we ended the game on the same number of gold coins. The seemingly harsh notion of ‘co-operate until you have reached maximum benefit and then leave’ is suggestive of regular patterns of human behaviour. But can this be seen in professional networking?

My initial impression of this concept was that it seemed a very base and corrupt view of human behaviour; that we are willing to co-operate until we have seen the benefits but no further. How could this theory, developed by a mathematician and based on prisoner’s compliance, be in any way related not only to my use of professional networks but also a range of problems in different areas? It seemed too simple an idea to be used to explain complex human behaviour. However with time and more understanding, I have seen how it can in fact directly relate to me. There are many theories that seem simple enough that I have accepted in the past without question, e.g. Darwin so why did I have so much trouble accepting this one? I think it may be due in part to my unwillingness to accept that I have applied this strategy, probably on regular occasion in the past. It makes perfect sense now, that an individual would be no longer willing to co-operate once they have realised there is no more to gain, especially within a group of people they are not closely tied to. An individual not returning to a revision session once their grades have improved enough etc, we see it everywhere. This concept is useful to me now that I understand it and can apply it to examples I see in society as it will help me to get more value out of my professional networking by co-operating with a given group of people to help me further and better my career. When and if the time comes whereby I am no longer benefitting from a network, this can continue to help other members once I have left. It certainly makes me think differently about myself and other people’s reasons for co-operating but also makes me think differently about the networks I am a part of and the balance of co-operation versus competition amongst a group of like-minded individuals. This concept has made me more aware of my involvement in certain networks and in how in the future I need to perhaps contribute more to them instead merely taking the knowledge and not giving back. For example if I provide an individual in a network with details of an upcoming audition, co-operating, this theory states I am far more likely to receive co-operation from them, perhaps audition information I was not aware of. Being aware of this concept, I believe, will allow me to get more out of my networking in the future.

Affiliation 

Social psychologists have looked at how humans have benefitted from affiliations or connections with other people, why they might enjoy it as much as they do and the reasons why we form relationships. As social beings, much of our time is spent in the company of other people; Larson, Csikszentmihalyi & Graef (1982) found that as much as 75% of a teenagers time is spent interacting with others. They were happier and more excitable than when left alone, comparable with children raised in an orphanage and limited social interaction (Gunnar 2000.)

Altman (1975) described his theory of ‘privacy regulation’ whereby the desired levels of privacy can change in a matter of hours. ‘Optimization principle’ is where we try to match our desired level of interaction with what we are actually experiencing. Too little interaction and we may feel isolated, too much and a person can feel crowded. Homeostasis (O’Connor & Rosenblood, 1996) is a term I was familiar with from studying Science at school, whereby variables of the body are regulated so that conditions inside remain stable. So in relation to the field of social psychology; we have the ability to control our level of contact to keep it stable as close as possible to level we actually want it. Both ‘privacy regulation’ and ‘optimization principle’ both assume that there is no difference in people in their need for affiliation/social interaction. However, different types of people have different needs. An introvert has a higher arousal levels than an extrovert so thy may avoid social situations to avoid high arousal levels in their nervous systems. Extroverts on the other hand will deliberately look for interaction in order to get their desired arousal levels.

Social interaction could be determined not only by our own preferred levels of involvement, but also cultural differences (Hofstede 1980). He found that in cultures that are very ‘individualistic’ seeing independence as more important than with a group mentality. Their relationships are many and varied but tend to be shallower, viewing personal goals above that of the group. The UK is seen as a highly individualistic country. Cultures that have more of a ‘collectivist’ outlook tend to have fewer but deeper and more meaningful relationships that are longer lasting e.g. tribal cultures.

The perspective of affiliation has been described as an evolutionary concept and inherited trait that helps us to survive and reproduce. On a social level the benefits can be seen in the enjoyment we receive from spending time with others but from a psychological point of view, how we internally manage this involvement. Prior to starting this task, I would have said that professional networking and the ability to do so effectively is conducive to having a successful career, but after task 3b and my further reading, it appears that this concept of ‘Affiliation’ is implying that all of us possess an instinctive need to network, not only in our working lives but also in our personal ones and that my taking part and engaging in professional networking takes place due to a psychological need inside of me to do so. The variation in individual personalities and cultures sees no difference in our need to associate with others according to this theory. Reader 3 suggests that a well-established practitioner and an individual new to the field will have the same need to affiliate and after my reading on the subject, I have to agree. The individual trying to establish and begin a career will have to and want to work hard in their networking to see benefit, but the professional will do well to remember the importance of affiliation and the connection between maintaining certain close affiliations and success.

Of the two, I have enjoyed the study of this theory more as I initially believed that it could help me more personally by what I can take from it and transfer into my own networking. The notion of ‘privacy regulation’ whereby too little interaction can induce feelings of isolation and too much interaction leaving a person feeling crowded seems to have been solved in my case as I have types of professional networking. The physical connections I have with people in my network that are maintained by teaching and meeting with them on a regular basis can be juxtaposed with the online networking that I seek in terms of Facebook and/or Twitter. If, according to this concept, we have our individual and preferred levels of affiliation and privacy, it might mean that a person needs to find balance and variety not only in the types of professional networking but also the regularity of their involvement in them. But is professional networking an extension of our innate need to affiliate with others? It has been established and upon further reflection I agree that an individual’s career can be aided greatly by the use of networking, but do not agree that this is instinctive. A person will naturally affiliate with others socially and form a relationship with different groups of people, but networking on a professional network is something that has to be recognised as a tool to be used and harnessed. It could be that I am basing this judgement on looking inward at myself. I consciously have to remain in contact and keep myself up-to-date with my working networks. It is because of this that I am of the belief that professional networking is not a mere extension of our innate need to affiliate with others, but more so a decision to further develop our careers. The concept of affiliation as a need has made me think differently about myself but not about my professional networks. Yes, I see them in new light and have broadened my knowledge with the understanding of this theory, but do not think that professional networking is a natural, instinctive process. Rather it is a skill that has to be mastered and if done so correctly is invaluable to an individual’s progression in their chosen field.