John Finney – författare

Water dominates the surface of Earth and is vital to life on our planet. It is a remarkable liquid which shows anomalous behaviour. In this Very Short Introduction John Finney introduces the science of water, and explores how the structure of water molecules gives rise to its physical and chemical properties. Considering water in all three of its states as ice and steam as well as liquid, Finney explains the great importance of an understanding of its structure and behaviour to a range of fields including chemistry, astrophysics, and earth and environmental sciences. Finney describes the role of water in biology, and ends with a discussion of the outstanding controversies concerning water, and some of the 'magical' properties which have been claimed for it.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

This imaginative and thought-provoking study by one of the church's most experienced and respected evangelical leaders suggests that many contemporary evangelical initiatives - and even respected and successful courses such as Alpha and Emmaus - risk diminishing the breadth and power of the gospel into a formula limited to sin and forgiveness. Emerging Evangelism accepts the reality of the decline of the churches and yet finds hope in new forms of church and monastic community life which are beginning to appear in western Europe.

Creative and Critical Projects in Classroom Music is both a celebration and extension of John Paynter and Peter Aston’s groundbreaking work on creative classroom music, Sound and Silence, first published in 1970.Building on the central themes of the original work – the child as artist, the role of musical imagination and creativity, and the process of making music – the authors and contributors provide a contemporary response to the spirit and style of Sound and Silence. They offer reflections on the ideas and convictions underpinning Paynter and Aston’s work in light of scholarship developed during the intervening years. This critical work is accompanied by 16 creative classroom projects designed and enacted by contemporary practitioners, raising questions about the nature and function of music in education and society. In summary, this book aims to: Celebrate seminal work on musical creativity in the classroom. Promote the integration of practical, critical and analytical writing and thinking around this key theme for music education. Contribute to initiating the next 50 years of thought in relation to music creativity in the classroom. Offering a unique combination of critical scholarship and practical application, and published on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Sound and Silence, themes from Paynter and Aston’s work are here given fresh context that aims to inspire a new generation of innovative classroom practice and to challenge current ways of thinking about the music classroom.

Creative and Critical Projects in Classroom Music is both a celebration and extension of John Paynter and Peter Aston’s groundbreaking work on creative classroom music, Sound and Silence, first published in 1970.Building on the central themes of the original work – the child as artist, the role of musical imagination and creativity, and the process of making music – the authors and contributors provide a contemporary response to the spirit and style of Sound and Silence. They offer reflections on the ideas and convictions underpinning Paynter and Aston’s work in light of scholarship developed during the intervening years. This critical work is accompanied by 16 creative classroom projects designed and enacted by contemporary practitioners, raising questions about the nature and function of music in education and society. In summary, this book aims to: Celebrate seminal work on musical creativity in the classroom. Promote the integration of practical, critical and analytical writing and thinking around this key theme for music education. Contribute to initiating the next 50 years of thought in relation to music creativity in the classroom. Offering a unique combination of critical scholarship and practical application, and published on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Sound and Silence, themes from Paynter and Aston’s work are here given fresh context that aims to inspire a new generation of innovative classroom practice and to challenge current ways of thinking about the music classroom.

This book is focused on and recognises the valuable and varied roles and interactions with ICT, as a source and resource for teaching, learning and research in music and music making in the secondary school. This book draws together a range of innovative practices underpinned by theoretical insight that helps to clarify musical practices of relevance to the changing nature of schooling and the transformation of music education. In this way, it addresses a pressing need to provide new ways of thinking about the application of music and technology in schools. More specifically it covers a diverse and wide range of technology, environments and contexts on topics that demonstrate and recognize new possibilities for innovative work in music in education. It deals with teaching strategies and approaches that stimulate different forms of musical experience, meaningful engagement, musical learning, creativity and teacher-learner interactions, responses, monitoring and assessment.It investigates how teachers and pupils voice and value their experiences in particular contexts and environments with specific software, hardware and forms of technology.It explores the professional development aspects involved in teachers and learners utilising and interacting with technology and the secondary music curriculum. It introduces reflective practices and research methodologies of great interest and relevance to music teachers, teacher-trainers, community artists and for researchers and professional practitioners alike. This series takes a scholarly look at the significant impact digital technology has had on teaching. Each book takes a different subject and discusses the specific implications the increased used of digital technology as a tool for learning has on their particular topic.

This book draws together a range of innovative practices underpinned by theoretical insight that helps to clarify musical practices of relevance to the changing nature of schooling and the transformation of music education. In this way, it addresses a pressing need to provide new ways of thinking about the application of music and technology in schools.More specifically it: covers a diverse and wide range of technology, environments and contexts on topics that demonstrate and recognize new possibilities for innovative work in music in education; deals with teaching strategies and approaches that stimulate different forms of musical experience, meaningful engagement, musical learning, creativity and teacher-learner interactions, responses, monitoring and assessment; investigates how teachers and pupils voice and value their experiences in particular contexts and environments with specific software, hardware and forms of technology; explores the professional development aspects involved in teachers and learners utilising and interacting with technology and the secondary music curriculum; and, introduces reflective practices and research methodologies of great interest and relevance to music teachers, teacher-trainers, community artists and for researchers and professional practitioners alike.

John Finney examines the child-centred progressive tradition to create a fresh way of evaluating ideas and practices that have evolved since 1950, that have shaped the lives of music teachers and their pupils, and that have now become disfigured, residual and altogether lost in the light of social, cultural and political change. The book is a critique of the present situation with an intention to expose the dangers in our current pursuit of future gains that are thought to serve the making and sustaining of the social order. The project draws in major debates of the period, along with their protagonists, counter-pointed by the voices of teachers and pupils. At the same time, the structuring voices of policy and governance become ever louder as we reach the present time. Finney presents a compelling, analytical account through a series of six episodes, each seeking to capture the spirit and fervour characteristic of a particular phase within the period studied. In the concluding chapter the narrative developed is reviewed. From this the idea of music education as an ethical pursuit is proposed. Finney argues that classroom relationships can be thought of as playfully dialogic, where teacher and pupil remain curious, and where there is serious attention to what is to be taught and why. This will always need to be negotiated, with the expressed and inferred needs of children working together to find a critical approach to what is being learnt. Finney's book provides fresh inspiration for practitioners and new challenges for researchers, and as such is a landmark in the field of arts and music education.

John Finney examines the child-centred progressive tradition to create a fresh way of evaluating ideas and practices that have evolved since 1950, that have shaped the lives of music teachers and their pupils, and that have now become disfigured, residual and altogether lost in the light of social, cultural and political change. The book is a critique of the present situation with an intention to expose the dangers in our current pursuit of future gains that are thought to serve the making and sustaining of the social order. The project draws in major debates of the period, along with their protagonists, counter-pointed by the voices of teachers and pupils. At the same time, the structuring voices of policy and governance become ever louder as we reach the present time. Finney presents a compelling, analytical account through a series of six episodes, each seeking to capture the spirit and fervour characteristic of a particular phase within the period studied. In the concluding chapter the narrative developed is reviewed. From this the idea of music education as an ethical pursuit is proposed. Finney argues that classroom relationships can be thought of as playfully dialogic, where teacher and pupil remain curious, and where there is serious attention to what is to be taught and why. This will always need to be negotiated, with the expressed and inferred needs of children working together to find a critical approach to what is being learnt. Finney's book provides fresh inspiration for practitioners and new challenges for researchers, and as such is a landmark in the field of arts and music education.

MasterClass in Music Education provides vivid, topical, reflective and above all ‘real’ accounts from existing teachers researching in the field, together with theoretical insights and a guided view of the relevant existing literature.Students embarking upon research will gain a many-faceted understanding of the possibilities for using action research and other research methods to explore the interesting and challenging issues confronting music education. At the same time, they will be able to develop an understanding of how to carry out research from the real life case study accounts written by their peers. John Finney and Felicity Laurence provide overarching support, drawing on their own experiences as supervisors of MA Music Education students to frame the debates and reflections which arise.