Things Will Never Be the Same – Probably
Whateley, West and Chanda (2022) produced their latest book in March 2022 – Things will never be the same – or will they? Smart Questions, ISBN 978-1-907453-34-2 and only recently (Singapore, July 2022) formally launched the book by means of a focused international symposium and featured theatre based event.
The process began with three key stimulus papers –
Whateley - Things will never be the same – or will they?
West - COVID19 – The accelerator that evenly distributed the future
Chanda - Delivering Change When Things are Constantly Changing
The key issues highlighted being managing change in an environment where change has been accelerated.
A further 19 authors responded to the stimulus papers creating a very readable and broad ranging discussion on the issue of change and whether things will return to the way they were pre COVID-19.
10 of the authors made appearances at the July 2022 Singapore symposium/launch sharing their thoughts on the topic –
Shawn Kok related the issues and pressures in teaching pop music to students in China via a necessary virtual environment - Up Against “Methodolatry”: An Autoethnography of the Pedagogical Issues in Teaching Pop Music to China Students in a Virtual Environment
Tom O’Connor explored the immediate and longer term similarities that COVID-19 has had highlighting some rather perturbing historical overtones - Things More Things Change
Greg Whateley and Dimitri Kopanakis explored the renewed necessity of continuing professional development in order to keep up with rapid change with particular reference to the world of pharmacy - Using continuing professional development to get ahead of the game – or at least keep up with
Art Phillips explored the impact of the pandemic on a music business that required considerable innovation and flexibility – not to mention ‘thinking outside the box’ to survive and grow - Waves from the Effects of COVID-19 on a Music Business
Eugene Seow explored the focus on live streamed concerts as an example of ‘embracing the new normal’ - Music on screen – reflections on livestreamed concerts
Fabian Lim considered the issues associated with being a musician in this time of change – and the significance of the meta-verse - Musings on Music, Musicians, and the Metaverse
Ian Bofinger likened the ongoing disruptions in Higher Education to what he refers to as ‘Groundhog Year’ - Is 2022 going to be another ‘Groundhog’ Year?
Tom O’Connor also used the example of a ‘timetable’ as evidence that certain things will stay the same - Some Things Stay the Same
Andy Wong reflected on the need to manage the ‘speed of change’ as we navigate our way through the post pandemic period - Competing in the post COVID-19 world - Would it be different from where we were? Or just faster than before?
And
Jamie Rigg and Ian Bofinger provided a framework for a decimated live music industry to find a road to discovery - The Recovery of the Live Music Industry – An imperative to the Future of Tertiary Music institutions in Australia
The presentations were informed, detailed and thought provoking throughout the week – and really challenged participants to consider whether or not the so called ‘new normal’ will in fact ever go back to the way things were – or in fact take a new, and possibly exciting, direction.
Emeritus Professor Greg Whateley is the Deputy Vice Chancellor and Vice President (Academic) at Group Colleges Australia. He is also a Fellow of the UBSS Centre for Scholarship and Research.
