Monday, September 24, 2007

Creativity in Education

"Creativity is a central source of meaning in our lives. Improvisation, invention and innovation reveal much about us that is both interesting and very human. Engaging in acts of creativity enables us to engage our life world more fully. The excitement of generating ideas, experimenting and becoming vulnerable makes for a passionate world that runs across disciplines and all walks of life. Our predominant learning culture of measurement and standardization is contrasted against a learning culture of creativity. How can these cultures co-exist? What enables individual creativity? What enables creativity within educational systems? What holds us back? "

Robert W. Kelly, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
University of Calgary, Faculty of Fine Art
Curriculum Theory and Design
Creativity and Art Process
Organizational Structures


Faculty of Fine Arts http://www.finearts.ucalgary.ca/

Robert Kelly Ph.D. is also an Advisory Board member for CCAHTE
The Canadian Creative Arts in Health, Training and Education Journal
http://www.cmclean.com/

More on Robert Kelly and his work at: http://ccahtecrossingborders.blogspot.com/2007/05/creativity-in-education-generating.html


Sunday, September 23, 2007

Creative Responses to Death and Bereavement, University of Western Ontario, Continuing Studies

Creative Arts Methodologies in Death and Bereavement Programming at University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario 2008
Cheryl McLean

Plans are currently underway to offer the University of Western Ontario course "Creative Responses to Death and Bereavement" on line by May 08 through The University of Western Ontario, Continuing Studies Dept. I will be working with UWO helping to adapt new programming and materials for the on line WEB CT OWL version of the program so that the course can be widely accessible and interactive for registrants who frequently include nurse educators, teachers, social workers, caregivers and others working in bereavement counselling and education.

For up-to-date information about this course and contact information:
http://ccahtecrossingborders.blogspot.com/2007/12/creative-responses-to-death-and.html

CCAHTE Student Submission Publisher's Support Program Announcement

CCAHTE Journal Business

CCAHTE Journal Announces Selected Papers for Student Submission Publisher's Support Program

CCAHTE , The Canadian Creative Arts in Health, Training and Education Journal, is pleased and proud to announce the following two papers selected for the "CCAHTE Journal Student Submission Publisher's Support Program." Both papers will be published in the upcoming fall '07 issue of CCAHTE Journal.

Nicole Koziel, MD (in progress) University of Toronto

Research paper/study
"Quality of Life Study and Mental Health Outcomes, Workman Arts"

"Workman Arts (WA) Company provides artistic opportunities to individuals who have received treatment for mental illness or addiction and attempts to combat social exclusion through the arts. The study (paper) explores quality of life and mental health outcomes."

Jadranka Novosel, MA Education (in progress) University of British Columbia

Personal Story
A Case study/monologue

"The Death of My Young Husband From Cancer- A Love Story"

"This paper recounts Jadranka Novosel's experiences as a graduate student and partner of a terminally ill cancer patient. It spans a five year period from her husband's first major hospitalization to the time of his passing and is the story of her ephemeral search for healing and the profound poetic and humbling circumstance of one man's passing."


To be advised when these articles and our complete free fall 07 CCAHTE issue is accessible at http://www.cmclean.com and to register free for a CCAHTE Journal subscription send an email to ccahte@cmclean.com "please register"

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Arts and Health BLOG "Crossing Borders" brings visitors topical news about creative arts in research, action and practice

"Crossing Borders" Links Section Makes BLOG Search Easy

"Crossing Borders" is the companion blog for the CCAHTE Journal
http://www.cmclean.com the Canadian based, international and interdisciplinary
journal of the creative arts in health, training and education.

For new visitors to our blog you'll find close to 150 articles archived, free and available by clicking on our "labels" section at the bottom of our
blog. Feel free to check out the articles and news related to the creative arts in health, training and education.

A few highlights:


  • aging and mental health
  • applied drama research
  • arts informed research
  • arts in nutritional sciences
  • calls for papers
  • workshops and conferences
  • communication and medicine
  • disability culture
  • film
  • medical humanities
  • employment/faculty jobs
  • narrative medicine
  • performance in health
  • photovoice
  • poetry in health and medicine
  • palliative care
  • visual arts in health

New news and links added almost daily as we work to bring you topical stories about the creative arts in research, action and practice as well as the most recent updates about news, research, events and conferences. CM.

Friday, September 21, 2007

Mental Health Featured in London Ontario Film Series

London Central Library

"Windows into the Mind" Film Series
Location: London (Ontario) Central Library

7 pm - 9 pm,

(First Thursday, Second Thursday, Third Thursday, Fourth Thursday of the month October 4 - October 26)

A series aimed at exploring lives touched by mental illness as portrayed in film.


October 4th
Out of the Shadow, 67 min, 2006 documentary
Susan Smiley turns the camera on her own family and the story of her family's secret struggle to deal with her mother's schizophrenia within the confines of the public health system. This film is a story of madness and dignity, shame and love, illuminating the issues through one compelling story.

October 11th
Cracking Up, 45 min, 2007 Documentary
This is a life-affirming documentary about people with mental illness who embark on a quirky quest to become stand up comics. The film follows eleven courageous people who suffer from schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder and manic depression as they embark on a year of stand-up comedy. The course is the brainchild of counsellor and comedian David Granirer.

October 18th
Cinemania, 83min, 2002 Documentary
This documentary about culture of intense cinephilia in New York City reveals the impassioned world of five obsessed movie buffs. Interviews tell the story of each individual. These human encyclopedias of film see two to five films a day, and from 600 to 2000 films per year. This is the story of their lives, their memories, their unbending habits and the films they love.

October 25th,
Everything's Jake, 95min, 2000 Comedy/Drama
Jake is a homeless man living in New York City and a survivor who finds out that even an optimistic attitude won't always protect him from life's little surprises.

Speakers: Representatives of London Homeless Coalition

Cost: Free
From the Central Library, London, website at
http://www.londonpubliclibrary.ca/programs/index.php?action=Display&category_uid=*&clientgroup_uid=13&defaultbranch=4&template=Generic

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Workman Arts Challenges Myths, Showcases Talent, Celebrates Creativity and Mental Health

Rendezvous with Madness Film Festival
Exploring the facts and mythologies of mental illness and addiction as presented through film.
Busk a Move Music Festival

Showcasing live performances throughout Toronto.
Being Scene Art Exhibition

Exhibiting works by artists who have received services from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).
Madness and Arts World Festival
Celebrating the world's first arts festival devoted to creativity and mental health.



A standing ovation for Workman Arts!


Workman Arts (WA) Company provides artistic opportunities to individuals who have received treatment for mental illness or addiction and attempts to combat social exclusion through the arts. Since its inception, WA has produced sixteen original plays, toured over thirty theatres, and played to more than 125,000 people. The organization hosts an annual film festival and art exhibit, supports an in-residence visual art studio, and was founder and host of the first ever Madness and Arts World Festival.


Check out the WA site at: http://www.workmantheatre.com/

Monday, September 17, 2007

Creative Responses in Hospice and Palliative Care, Refresher Day London and Middlesex


A Refresher Day in Hospice Palliative Care for London, Middlesex
The London Palliative Care Committee
of special interest to family physicians, registered nurses, personal support workers, social workers, spiritual care providers, nurse practitioners, case managers, therapists, pharmacists, health care students



"Awakening the Senses...a Creative Response"



Wednesday, October 17, 2007



8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

to be held at

Stoneridge Inn, London, Ontario
Presenters:

"Living Stories of Hope and Change"

Cheryl McLean is Founder and Publisher of CCAHTE Journal, the Canadian based international and interdisciplinary peer reviewed open access journal of The Creative Arts in Health, Training and Education, accessible to subscribers worldwide and leading universities, medical schools and health organizations. She is a frequent lecturer and presenter at universities and health conferences speaking about progressive developments in the creative arts in research, action and practice in health, training and education and teaches the course "Creative Responses to Death and Bereavement" at The University of Western Ontario.


"Your Tree, My Tree..a Way of Being Together"

Wanda Sawicki

Wanda has a passion for spirit-filled living which expresses itself in art making, storytelling, writing and walking pilgrimage. A visual artist, she has a Canadian exhibition record dating from 1977. As an Art Therapist, with thirteen years experience, Wanda enjoys facilitating creative therapeutic expression in individuals and groups. She specializes in areas of acculturation, life losses and change and spirituality.


"People and Plants: Engaging the Mind"

Marilyn Cox

Marilyn is a horticulturist with an appreciation for the social, spiritual, physical and emotional aspects of gardening. She trained as a horticultural technician then pursued a degree in Sociology accompanied by certificates in Thanatology and Horticultural Therapy. She operates a nursery north of London and is an assistant for the Bereavement Ontario Network.

As a volunteer with hospice and by working with bereavement groups she has witnessed first hand the healing capacity of nature and gardening projects. Marilyn is involved with a network of horticultural therapists and bereavement professionals and is continually learning about the successes and pitfalls of incorporating horticultural therapy into programs for the dying and bereaved.
Information and inquiries about this event contact:
Ann Sabine
519-668-2997 Ext. 1453




Wednesday, September 12, 2007

CIHR Supports Open Access to Funded Research with New Policy

Open Access News
CIHR Press Release Sept. 07

Ottawa (September 4, 2007) - ....the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) unveiled a new policy to promote public access to the results of research it has funded. CIHR will require its researchers to ensure that their original research articles are freely available online within six months of publication.

"Timely and unrestricted access to research findings is a defining feature of science, and is essential for advancing knowledge and accelerating our understanding of human health and disease," stated Dr. Alan Bernstein, President of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. "With the development of the internet it is now feasible to disseminate globally and easily the results of research that we fund. As a publicly-funded organization, we have a responsibility to ensure that new advances in health research are available to those who need it and can use it - researchers world-wide, the public and policy makers."

In developing its policy, CIHR struck a broadly representative national task force of leading researchers, chaired by Dr. James Till of the Princess Margaret Hospital. CIHR consulted widely with Canadian researchers and stakeholders in government, research, publishing and the library communities. CIHR also looked to the experiences of funding agencies in other countries who have established similar policies. The consultation process was thorough and carefully planned in order to preserve academic freedom while promoting the value of public access.

"This open access policy will serve as a model for other funding agencies," said Dr. James E. Till of the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto. "The policy will leverage taxpayers' investment by accelerating research and by fostering its broader application."

Under this new Policy, which will apply to all grants awarded after January 1, 2008 that receive funding in whole or in part from CIHR, grant recipients must make every effort to ensure that their peer-reviewed research articles are freely available as soon as possible after publication.

This can be achieved by depositing the article in an archive, such as PubMed Central or an institutional repository, and/or by publishing results in an open access journal. A growing number of journals already meet these requirements and CIHR-funded researchers are encouraged to consider publishing in these journals. Additionally, grant recipients are now required to deposit bioinformatics, atomic, and molecular coordinate data, as already required by most journals, into the appropriate public database immediately upon publication of research results.

This policy builds on other important initiatives to promote openness and transparency of CIHR-funded research such as the registration of clinical trials and randomized controlled trials.

More info. at http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/34851.html



Introduction to Open Access http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/brief.htm

CCAHTE Journal is a Canadian based international and interdisciplinary open access and peer reviewed journal of the creative arts in health, training and education accessible worldwide.

CCAHTE Journal Advisory Board http://ccahtecrossingborders.blogspot.com/2007/06/ccahte-journal-advisory-board-welcomes.html

Monday, September 10, 2007

College of Physicians of Philadelphia, Medicine and Arts to present music film followed by discussion of role of music in listening to patients






The College of Physicians of Philadelphia Section on Medicine and the Arts
Presents:
A Wayfarer's Journey: Listening to Mahler
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
6:00 p.m., Reception 6:30 p.m.
Screening 8:00 p.m.


Please join us for the screening of the documentary, " A Wayfarer's Journey:Listening to Mahler" by Ruth Yorkin Drazen, followed by a post-film discussion about the role of music in listening to the patient in self-reflection and in healing. The film, which explores the life and music of Gustav Mahler, features Christoph Eschenbach, Music Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra and students from the Curtis Institute of Music. Free and open to the public.

Info: The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, 19 South 22nd Street, Philadelphia. To register call 215.563.3737, ext. 304 or email: lectures@collphyphil.org. Visit the College's website at http://www.collphyphil.org/ for a complete listing of programs.

Friday, September 7, 2007

Luciano Pavarotti October 12, 1935 - September 6, 2007 video Nesun Dorma


The world mourns the death of Luciano Pavarotti.

I share with you in memory of Pavarotti this Youtube video of "Nesun Dorma." For me this voice, the sheer powerful, vulnerable, beauty of this voice, was the pure soul of man made manifest,
with respect,
CM


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VATmgtmR5o4

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Research Study Proves Arts Have Positive Impact on Children's Therapeutic Wellbeing

Today I had an opportunity to speak with Lindy LeDuc-Wilson, Coordinator of the Healing Arts Program at The Windsor Regional Children's Centre about new research into arts
approaches and children's mental health and wellbeing. CM


An excerpt below from the website at:
http://www.wrchildrenscentre.org/HEALARTS/Healin~1.htm

"The Windsor Regional Children’s Centre falls under the umbrella of the Windsor Regional Hospital, and has a mandate to provide mental health services to emotionally, behaviourally and socially troubled children/youth ages 6 through 18, and to their parents/families. The Centre offers programs and services delivered by interdisciplinary teams that provide specific goal-oriented programs including in-school, in-home and on site services. In conjunction with using the “traditional” methods of treatment (i.e. family therapy; individual, parental and group therapy; psychiatric and psychological assessments, etc.), the Windsor Regional Children’s Centre established the Healing Arts Program. The Healing Arts Program makes use of music, art (drawing and painting), drama, dance and creative movement and reflects a partnership between mental health services for children and youth and the Windsor area arts community. In 2005, the Centre conducted a Research Study for the Ministry of Culture via Children’s Mental Health Ontario. The project demonstrated the effectiveness of children’s mental health intervention that made use of the arts (music, painting, and dance.) It concluded that the arts did have a positive impact on children who were in treatment. The study demonstrated that the art classes had a significant positive impact on children’s therapeutic well-being.