'A work related community held together by either close working affiliation or more distant but common work interests or needs' is our given definition of a professional network. However, researching the term online I found that many organisations and websites define the term as an activity to further relationships to achieve professional goals. Upon understanding further the concepts on networking, it is apparent to me that this is not the determining factor defining networking. Networking is more importantly an acknowledged tool for learning. Learning as a professional depends on networking to learn from collective experience and knowledge; accepting that all knowledge is not held in the mind of one person and harnessing collective intelligence.
A significant theory is the idea of Connectivism. The sense that the 'know-how and know-what is substituted by know-where' (Driscoll, 2000). Learning environments are realised as changing. Aside from learning by being told, it is apparent it is just as important to understand more the pathway to find knowledge. George Siemens (2004) explains there is a 'half-life of knowledge' , as universal knowledge is ever expanding and therefore has a 'shelf-life' shorter than ever before. A change in knowledge creates a ripple across a network. I enjoy the thought of a dancer or choreographer who could be distantly apart from me discovering something new and this expanding our network's intelligence.
Reading about Affiliation struck a cord with me on a professional and personal level. It was interesting to read the study into the importance of affiliation in teenagers and children and the negative impact of not enough social contact when children are developing
(Crisp, Richard J. and Turner, 2007). This is a strong argument for the importance of dance and physical education in schools.
I am currently abroad to teach and help produce a show in Dubai and I have found that although the work is demanding and interesting I have been quite lonely as a newcomer in the workplace and to the country. Therefore my desired level of 'homeostatis' is not fulfilled. It prompted me to look at happiness in the workplace and weigh up whether fulfilment in a job is enough if the social life is effected. I think that ultimately on a short term basis it is ok but that ultimately if I am not content in my personal life this would affect my working environment. Overall lack of affiliation would have a negative impact on creativity.
Thinking of myself in Dubai, I would describe my situation here as being in an 'individualistic' culture
'...in individualistic cultures people develop social relationships in many and varied settings, but these relationships tend not to be particularly close. In collectivist cultures, on the other hand, people develop relatively few, but deep and long-lasting, relationships.' (Hofstede, 1980). I am meeting many people and learning a lot, but I sense that my Dubai network is filled with many people that I have a passing affiliation with and who will be there for the length of the project and perhaps not for the longevity of a career. I think this could be another way to define different networks. There are professionals with whom you have a lasting relationship and learn a lot from. There are also others here you have been a part of their network in a strategic sense to get a job done but who pass in and out of contact.
These ideas have made me think of my work, my creativity and how I learn. I think many people have the opinion that if you have a creative or arts based job, that you are creative and everything you do comes from you. This idea of 'tacit' knowledge talked about in professional reflection. This is unrealistic, I constantly learn and get ideas from other people in my networks. I am always looking for new choreographies and ideas for themes and pieces from people I admire or know personally. I am passionate about dance and choreography, but my knowledge comes from experience and learning from people who have done the same before me. When I was training one of my teachers said that the best dancers are not always the most talented but those who are hungry to keep learning, I think this echoes the importance of networking.
A significant theory is the idea of Connectivism. The sense that the 'know-how and know-what is substituted by know-where' (Driscoll, 2000). Learning environments are realised as changing. Aside from learning by being told, it is apparent it is just as important to understand more the pathway to find knowledge. George Siemens (2004) explains there is a 'half-life of knowledge' , as universal knowledge is ever expanding and therefore has a 'shelf-life' shorter than ever before. A change in knowledge creates a ripple across a network. I enjoy the thought of a dancer or choreographer who could be distantly apart from me discovering something new and this expanding our network's intelligence.
Reading about Affiliation struck a cord with me on a professional and personal level. It was interesting to read the study into the importance of affiliation in teenagers and children and the negative impact of not enough social contact when children are developing
(Crisp, Richard J. and Turner, 2007). This is a strong argument for the importance of dance and physical education in schools.
I am currently abroad to teach and help produce a show in Dubai and I have found that although the work is demanding and interesting I have been quite lonely as a newcomer in the workplace and to the country. Therefore my desired level of 'homeostatis' is not fulfilled. It prompted me to look at happiness in the workplace and weigh up whether fulfilment in a job is enough if the social life is effected. I think that ultimately on a short term basis it is ok but that ultimately if I am not content in my personal life this would affect my working environment. Overall lack of affiliation would have a negative impact on creativity.
Thinking of myself in Dubai, I would describe my situation here as being in an 'individualistic' culture
'...in individualistic cultures people develop social relationships in many and varied settings, but these relationships tend not to be particularly close. In collectivist cultures, on the other hand, people develop relatively few, but deep and long-lasting, relationships.' (Hofstede, 1980). I am meeting many people and learning a lot, but I sense that my Dubai network is filled with many people that I have a passing affiliation with and who will be there for the length of the project and perhaps not for the longevity of a career. I think this could be another way to define different networks. There are professionals with whom you have a lasting relationship and learn a lot from. There are also others here you have been a part of their network in a strategic sense to get a job done but who pass in and out of contact.
This thought links to the idea of situated learning. 'Participation in the cultural practice in which any knowledge exists is an epistemological principle of learning' (Lave and Wenger, 1991). As we are experiencing in the BA PP Arts course, learning is being acknowledged more so now than ever as coming from participation in a professional body / network. Furthermore, learning within our networks leads to ethical appreciations such as changes in codes of conduct. This is an area I am interested in thinking further into in terms of dance. Dancers as a professional body I think lack a professional code of conduct and clear guidelines on some pressing ethical issues. Perhaps if we communicated within our circles we could understand and overcome some of the difficulties dancers are faced with today.
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