Communication

In this session Merryl will describe how she evaded the KGB during the Cold War with a secret musical code and how that code, and indeed music are key to core principles of cybersecurity.  Merryl is working with CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency) to examine the preparation of cybersecurity professionals specifically how the arts matter in the field.

Numeracy deficits in childhood have a negative impact on socioeconomic status and academic performance achieved in adulthood. We designed the NMT (Numeracy Musical Training) and carried out a study with preschool children to investigate its potential to stimulate early numerical cognition. Then, we applied the NMT in 3rd and 4th graders with low achievement in mathematics to test its effects on remediation. Contrasting pre- and post-test assessments, results from both studies indicated improvements in specific components of numerical cognition in comparison to the control group.

This presentation starts with the premise that, outside of this particular conference, many STEM instructors and administrators think that using music in the classroom is silly, superficial, ineffective, etc. To combat this pervasive view, we music-using instructors should aim to be rigorous and clear regarding the specific purpose and usage of each song we incorporate into our curricula. The speaker's past blunders will be highlighted as cautionary counterexamples.

This presentation starts with the premise that, outside of this particular conference, many STEM instructors and administrators think that using music in the classroom is silly, superficial, ineffective, etc. To combat this pervasive view, we music-using instructors should aim to be rigorous and clear regarding the specific purpose and usage of each song we incorporate into our curricula. The speaker's past blunders will be highlighted as cautionary counterexamples.

Understanding water problems as problems of justice, requires the process of politicization around the proposal for solutions. However, the water domain is often ruled by engineers and experts who claims that water problems are merely technical, and therefore politics should be kept aside. I have made a song to challenge this mainstream discourse. Reference: Zwarteveen, M. Z., & Boelens, R. (2014). Defining, researching and struggling for water justice: some conceptual building blocks for research and action. Water International, 39(2), 143-158. doi:10.1080/02508060.2014.891168

Panel Discussion: Working in Harmony

Sara Niksic a.k.a. Inner Child is a bioacoustician and musician. She is doing a PhD on humpback whale song ontogeny, evolution and vocal learning. Sara is also developing innovative approaches to science communication, with art as her main tool. Lately she has been focusing on music as a way of grabbing people’s attention and interest in her bioacoustics research. In collaboration with several electronic music producers, she released a compilation album that explains the basics of what we know about humpback whale song.