Melbourne Conservatorium of Music - Research Publications
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ItemNo Preview AvailableRespiratory muscle training for cervical spinal cord injury (Review)(Cochrane Collaboration, 2013-01-01)BACKGROUND: Cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) severely comprises respiratory function due to paralysis and impairment of the respiratory muscles. Various types of respiratory muscle training (RMT) to improve respiratory function for people with cervical SCI have been described in the literature. A systematic review of this literature is needed to determine the effectiveness of RMT (either inspiratory or expiratory muscle training) on pulmonary function, dyspnoea, respiratory complications, respiratory muscle strength, and quality of life for people with cervical SCI. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the efficacy of RMT versus standard care or sham treatments in people with cervical SCI. SEARCH METHODS: We searched the Cochrane Injuries and Cochrane Neuromuscular Disease Groups' Specialised Register, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (2012, Issue 1), MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, ISI Web of Science, PubMed, and clinical trials registries (Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ClinicalTrials, Controlled Trials metaRegister) on 5 to 8 March 2013. We handsearched reference lists of relevant papers and literature reviews. We applied no date, language, or publication restrictions. SELECTION CRITERIA: All randomised controlled trials that involved an intervention described as RMT versus a control group using an alternative intervention, placebo, usual care, or no intervention for people with cervical SCI were considered for inclusion. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors independently selected articles for inclusion, evaluated the methodological quality of the studies, and extracted data. We sought additional information from the trial authors when necessary. We presented results using mean differences (MD) (using post-test scores) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for outcomes measured using the same scale or standardised mean differences (SMD) and 95% CI for outcomes measured using different scales. MAIN RESULTS: We included 11 studies with 212 participants with cervical SCI. The meta-analysis revealed a statistically significant effect of RMT for three outcomes: vital capacity (MD mean end point 0.4 L, 95% CI 0.12 to 0.69), maximal inspiratory pressure (MD mean end point 10.50 cm/H2O, 95% CI 3.42 to 17.57), and maximal expiratory pressure (MD mean end point 10.31 cm/H2O, 95% CI 2.80 to 17.82). There was no effect on forced expiratory volume in one second or dyspnoea. We could not combine the results from quality of life assessment tools from three studies for meta-analysis. Respiratory complication outcomes were infrequently reported and thus we could not include them in the meta-analysis. Instead, we described the results narratively. We identified no adverse effects as a result of RMT in cervical SCI. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: In spite of the relatively small number of studies included in this review, meta-analysis of the pooled data indicates that RMT is effective for increasing respiratory muscle strength and perhaps also lung volumes for people with cervical SCI. Further research is needed on functional outcomes following RMT, such as dyspnoea, cough efficacy, respiratory complications, hospital admissions, and quality of life. In addition, longer-term studies are needed to ascertain optimal dosage and determine any carryover effects of RMT on respiratory function, quality of life, respiratory morbidity, and mortality.
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ItemEmotion, Embodied Mind and the Therapeutic Aspects of Musical Experience in Everyday Life(Greek Association of Primary Music Education Teachers, 2013)The capacity for music to function as a force for bio-cognitive organisation is considered in clinical and everyday contexts. Given the deeply embodied nature of such therapeutic responses to music, it isargued that cognitivist approaches may be insufficient to fully explain music’s affective power. Following this, an embodied approach isconsidered, where the emotional-affective responseto music is discussed in terms of primary bodily systems and the innate cross-modal perceptivecapacities of the embodied human mind. It is suggested that such an approach may extend thelargely cognitivist view taken by much of contemporary music psychology and philosophy of music by pointing the way towards a conception of musical meaning that begins with our most primordial interactions with the world.
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ItemHow musical engagement promotes well-being in education contexts: The case of a young man with profound and multiple disabilities(TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2013)Students with profound intellectual disabilities disorders (IDDs) have the right to participate in educational opportunities that recognize their unique resources and needs, as do all children. Because of their specific communication challenges, positive relationships with attentive communication partners are critical for success. In fact, the power of positive relationships in schools is recognized to be connected to student well-being more broadly. This article examines the case of one young man with profound IDD and his relationship with his music therapist using a duo-ethnographic informed paradigmatic case study. Video analysis based on multi-voice perspectives is used to generate hermeneutic phenomenological findings to closely examine the relationship between a young man with profound IDD and a music therapist. The voices of four allied health researchers were also gathered to inform the authors' construction of an informed commentary on the phenomenon. The results suggest that the essence lay in a combination of attentive, responsive and creative being with the other person over time. Four principles of musical engagement were identified in the video footage as critical to the meaningful relationships through music: the music therapist listens; the music therapist takes responsibility for structure; spontaneous initiation is sought from the young person; and the relationship is built over time. These concepts are contextualized within a discussion of student well-being that is underpinned by positive relationships and leads to students achieving their full potential within diverse school contexts.
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ItemThe Free Improvisation Game: Performing John Zorn’s Cobra(Virginia Tech Libraries, 2013)The use of improvisation is wide spread in musical practice around the world. Nevertheless, Western academic circles tend to ignore this ubiquitous activity and have maintained a focus on composition and interpretation. This is beginning to change, however, and the role of improvisation in performance and music education is receiving an increasing amount of attention. This paper contributes to this project by examining the practice of ‘free improvisation’ in a large ensemble context. A rehearsal and performance of John Zorn’s Cobra––a ‘game’ piece for improvisers––is analyzed from a first--‐person perspective; relevant research in music psychology is considered; and suggestions are made with regard to how we may better understand the nature of musical communication in improvised contexts. Pedagogical applications are also considered.
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ItemA Java-based Remote Live Coding System for Controlling Multiple Raspberry PI Units(International Computer Music Association, 2013)Cheap embedded devices create new opportunities for networked, distributed, generative or remote-controlled music. In this paper we present a simple audio programming environment designed to run realtime, remote live-coded audio on a low-cost completely wireless hardware setup consisting of a Raspberry PI, a WiFi dongle, a speaker and a battery pack. Audio is processed in realtime using the Beads library for realtime audio in Java, running on Oracle’s distribution of Java for embedded devices. Code is remotely injected in realtime by sending Java class files over a socket connection to a dynamic class loader, which instantiates and runs the classes. We describe the system and its capabilities, and give an example of a performance that utilises this system. This paper is accompanied by a musical performance at ICMC 2013.
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ItemmyTunes: Digital music library users and their self-images(SAGE Publications, 2013)This investigation explored the relationships between individuals’ self-images and their interactions with their digital music collections via the commercially predominant program iTunes. Sixty-nine university students completed an internet-based Musical Self-Images Questionnaire (MSIQ) along with a series of questions concerning their iTunes collections. The majority of participants were highly engaged with music, regardless of their varied musical backgrounds. Factor analysis of the MSIQ data revealed two distinct self-image groups, which we label as ‘musical practitioner’ (linking ‘overall musician’, ‘performer’, ‘composer’, ‘teacher’, and ‘listener’) and ‘music consumer’ (linking ‘listener’, ‘fan’, and ‘technology user’). Participants used an average of seven attributes to categorize their music, and most consistently used one in particular to sort their collections. Those who rated themselves as higher level performers and fans used the playlist function (which involves compiling sequences of selected tracks) more often than those with lower self-ratings on those scales.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableDemonstrating Sustainability in the Practices of Music Therapists: Reflections from Bangladesh(Universtity of Bergen Library, 2013)Sustainability is a concept that has been implied but not overtly discussed in the music therapy literature. Nonetheless, the literature does describe projects that work towards self-supporting music projects and capacity building. In this article, a music therapist's contribution to an international development project in rural Bangladesh is used to illustrate how music therapists can embed sustainability principles into their practice. We propose that a commitment to sustainability involve time, collaboration and realistic expectations and that these are relevant throughout the planning and process of programs that work towards the achievement of independent music outcomes. It is our contention that principles of sustainability are essential to contemporary music therapists' practice and warrant further explicit discussion.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableTopics of Spanishness in Tango Scenes. A Postcolonial Reading of Mainstream Film(Center for Iberian and Latin American Music, 2013)
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ItemThéophile Gautier's Complex Engagement with Spain(Institute of Mediaeval Music, 2013)
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ItemINTERCULTURAL EXCHANGE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA: HISTORY AND SOCIETY IN THE EARLY MODERN WORLD(I.B.Tauris, 2013-01-01)Here, Tara Alberts and D.R.M. Irving draw together accounts of early modern religious conversions, diplomatic history and scientific explorations across the regions many societies, along with histories of slavery and urban development.