Fine Arts and Music Collected Works - Research Publications
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ItemStilled Tongues: Performance Protests Silence Surrounding Ghana’s anti-LGBTQ+ Bill(IATC, 2023)Review: "Mis-sing Reality—The Beast unleashed" by Va-Bene Elikem Fiatsi (aka crazinisT artisT). A performance intervention at the Closing Ceremony of the International Federation of Theatre Research, 28 July 2023, The Great Hall, University of Accra, Ghana.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableThe Heart: Automated Intuition Not Artificial Intelligence.(Victorian College of the Arts, 2023)The more I discovered about the machine learning algorithms we were deploying to process the thousands of sensor readings from across the building moment to moment, the more I appreciated that The Heart and its processes would be less about Artificial Intelligence and more precisely what I call Automated Intuition. The Manifold Learning and GAN algorithms produce a residue on a par with habit, similar to how organisms become accustomed to their senses stimulated by their experiences moment to moment, day after day. While the same algorithms are often used to produce so-called ‘artificially intelligent’ results in other applications, I see the automated sifting and sedimentation of live data into persistent shapes and structures formed over long durations more like accruing the circumstances for an immanent intuition. This intuition enables the ability to understand sensations (inputs) instinctively, without the need for conscious reasoning, and is therefore more akin to the secrets of the heart than the head. Indeed, as I considered other, more commonly encountered AI applications manipulating text and images, I began to appreciate them as productive forms of automated intuition, not artificial intelligence.
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ItemPush and Pull: Creative Practice and Creating Technologies(Birmingham Centre for Media and Cultural Research, 2020)The lures of technologically enhanced performance are numerous but present challenges. This paper discusses the interplay of creative practice and embodied technology design as I experienced it through the co-development and construction of a set of data-gloves for use in performance. The project grew from the desire to engage with technology in an intuitive and visually exciting way. Using an embodied technology to interact with the voice radically changed my experience when performing. It led to feeling immersed in the sound and performance in contrast to disconcerted (with sampling) or nonplussed (with effects pedals). The gloves encouraged specificity in performance techniques and the use of movement cues. Audio manipulation via embodied interactive technology was startlingly empowering. The gloves connected to Ableton via MAX/MSP. MAX/MSP monitored the movement of flex sensors and buttons and communicated this by Musical Interface Digital Instrument (MIDI) to Ableton. Data triggered samples and audio effects in Ableton that affected the audio output of two microphones. Making, evaluating, troubleshooting, and curating sonic effects led to the creation of the piece, Tāwhirimātea (Rose 2018a), the adaptation of Te Karanga (Rose 2018b), and use in These Would Be Other (Burke & Mann 2019). This is an ongoing project, which will build upon the initial iteration discussed in this paper, to explore using embodied interactive technology to manipulate, alter and spatialise sound in surround sound and Ambisonic environments. There is further work to be explored within the design and technical capabilities of these gloves, including how it changes the user experience and what effects the types of interactions have on composition and performative outcomes.
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ItemOde to My Frayed Nerves: Exploring Physical Trauma through Gestural Control(ACMA, 2023-05-18)Ode to My Frayed Nerves is a composition for technology, extended vocal techniques such as overtone singing and growling, and gesture. The work sonically explores the sensations that occur in my left hand due to a physical trauma. This paper discusses how these sensations are realised sonically, implementation of the MiMu system (MI.MU Gloves Ltd, 2010) and accompanying performance gestures, and how it has shaped the creative output and immersion in the activity and sound environment. The piece explores how a physical trauma may be expressed through an immersive sound performance. The exploration is grounded in embodiment studies, which discuss the intertwining perceptions of the brain, body, and objects in actions, and performative autoethnography to document the interactions. Preliminary conclusions yield that the glove-based gestural sound manipulation of voice can encourage or enable an embodied experience, but it can be fleeting due to sensor drift, rigorous preparation demands, and performance variabilities. However, the ability to paint and malleate a sound environment without physically touching a computer is powerful and absorbing activity.
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ItemStrengthening Peer Mentoring Relationships for New Mothers: A Qualitative Analysis(MDPI, 2022-10)(1) Background: The transition to motherhood can be challenging, especially for first-time mothers, and can accompany maternal distress. Social support-such as that offered by peers-can be important in assisting mothers to manage such distress. Although primiparous mothers often seek out and value peer support programs, few researchers have investigated factors that may influence the strength of relationships in non-professional maternal peer support programs. Insight into these factors can be key to enhancing the success of future peer support interventions. (2) Methods: Reflexive thematic analysis was applied to data gathered from 36 semi-structured interviews conducted with 14 primiparous mothers and 17 peer mentors in a peer support program. (3) Results: Four themes related to successful mentorship were identified: expectations of peer relationship, independence of peer mentor, contact, and similarities. (4) Conclusions: For primiparous mothers who are developing their support network, these factors appear important for promoting close and effective peer support relationships. Interventions that harness the dynamics between these factors may contribute to more successful peer support relationships and mental health outcomes for participants.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableExploring Shared Musical Experiences in Dementia Care: A Worked Example of a Qualitative Systematic Review and Thematic Synthesis(SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC, 2022-09)Qualitative systematic reviews, or qualitative evidence syntheses (QES), are increasingly used in health settings to guide the development of practice and policy. Thematic synthesis is one of the most well-developed approaches used for QES, however there are limited worked examples describing how to apply the steps of analysis in the literature. This paper describes the processes and decisions undertaken in a qualitative systematic review and thematic synthesis from the perspective of a novice researcher. The described review aimed to explore the shared musical experiences of people living with dementia and their family care partners across a range of settings. We found that shared musical activities fostered experiences of connection and wellbeing for people living with dementia and their family care partners. This was demonstrated with moderate-high confidence through six themes, and our findings informed the development of the Contextual Connection Model of Health Musicking. In presenting a worked example of our review, this paper introduces a systematic approach to coding and discusses the complexities of developing and reporting on analytical themes. We identify the need for a specific thematic synthesis reporting tool, and the need to embed reflexive practices into QES tools more broadly.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableDemographic and clinical profile of residents living with dementia and depressive symptoms in Australian private residential aged care: Data from the Music Interventions for Dementia and Depression in ELderly care (MIDDEL) cluster-randomised controlled trial(WILEY, 2022-12)OBJECTIVES: 1) To describe the demographic and clinical characteristics of residents with dementia and depressive symptoms in the Australian private residential aged care (RAC) context; and 2) to investigate the association between neuropsychiatric symptoms, depression and quality of life and their interactions with dementia severity. METHODS: This study examined the baseline demographic and clinical data from the Australian arm of the Music Interventions for Dementia and Depression in ELderly care (MIDDEL) study, a multinational, cluster-randomised controlled trial. Demographic characteristics, neuropsychiatric symptoms, depression, quality of life and dementia severity were collected in 330 residents of 12 private RAC facilities across Melbourne, Australia. Descriptive statistics, the Kruskal-Wallis test and the Pearson Χ2 test were used to describe and compare the demographic and clinical characteristics according to dementia severity. The association between clinical characteristics and dementia severity was examined using linear regression analyses. RESULTS: Residents' mean age was 86.5 years, 69% were female, and 44.2% had severe dementia. There were no significant differences between the dementia severity groups on age, sex and education. Residents with severe dementia were more likely to have a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (40.3%) and be born overseas (46.8%). Higher levels of neuropsychiatric symptoms, distress and depressive symptoms, and lower quality of life were associated with more severe dementia. CONCLUSIONS: The findings from our study highlight the diverse and complex care needs of people living with dementia in the Australian private RAC setting, which can be used to inform targeted, person-centred dementia care planning, staff training and allocation of resources.
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ItemExploring the Self through Songwriting: An Analysis of Songs Composed by People with Acquired Neurodisability in an Inpatient Rehabilitation Program(Oxford University Press, 2017-03-01)Background: Neurological trauma is associated with significant damage to people’s pre-injury self-concept. Therapeutic songwriting has been linked with changes in self-concept and improved psychological well-being. Objective: This study analyzed the lyrics of songs composed by inpatients with neurological injuries who participated in a targeted songwriting program. The aim of this study was to understand which of the subdomains of the self-concept were the most frequently expressed in songs. Methods: An independent, deductive content analysis of 36 songs composed by 12 adults with spinal cord injury or brain injury (11 males, mean age 41 years +/– 13) were undertaken by authors 1 and 2. Results: Deductive analysis indicated that when writing about the past self, people created songs that reflected a strong focus on family and descriptions of their personality. In contrast, there is a clear preoccupation with the physical self, on the personal self, and a tendency for spiritual and moral reflections to emerge during the active phase of rehabilitation (song about the present self). Statistical analyses confirmed a significant self-concept subdomain by song interaction, F(10, 110) = 5.98, p < .001, ηp2 = .35), which was primarily due to an increased focus on physical self-concept and a reduced focus on family self-concept in the present song, more than in either past or future songs. Conclusions: The analysis process confirmed that songwriting is a vehicle that allows for exploration of self-concept in individuals with neurological impairments. Songwriting may serve as a therapeutic tool to target the most prevalent areas of self-concept challenges for clients undergoing inpatient neurological rehabilitation programs.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableA therapeutic songwriting intervention to promote reconstruction of self-concept and enhance well-being following brain or spinal cord injury: pilot randomized controlled trial(SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD, 2019-06)OBJECTIVE: To determine the size of the effects and feasibility (recruitment and retention rates) of a therapeutic songwriting protocol for in-patients and community-dwelling people with acquired brain injury or spinal cord injury. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial with songwriting intervention and care-as-usual control groups, in a mixed measures design assessed at three time points. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 47 participants (3 in-patients with acquired brain injury, 20 community participants with acquired brain injury, 12 in-patients with spinal cord injury, and 12 community participants with spinal cord injury: 23 1208 days post injury). INTERVENTIONS: The intervention group received a 12-session identity-targeted songwriting programme, where participants created three songs reflecting on perceptions of past, present, and future self. Control participants received care as usual. MEASURES: Baseline, postintervention, and follow-up measures comprised the Head Injury Semantic Differential Scale (primary outcome measure), Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, and Satisfaction with Life Scale. RESULTS: No significant between group pre-post intervention differences were found on the primary self-concept measure, the Head Injury Semantic Differential Scale ( p = 0.38, d = 0.44). Significant and large effect sizes from baseline to post between groups in favour of the songwriting group for Satisfaction with Life ( p = 0.04, n2 p = 0.14). There were no significant between group pre-post interaction effects for the Emotion Regulation Suppression subscale ( p = 0.12, n2 p = -0.08) although scores decreased in the songwriting group over time while increasing for the standard care group. There were no significant differences in baseline to follow-up between groups in any other outcome measures. Recruitment was challenging due to the small number of people eligible to participate combined with poor uptake by eligible participants, particularly the in-patient group. Retention rates were higher for the community-dwelling cohorts. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the challenges in recruitment and retention of participants invited to participate in a music therapy study. Findings suggest this identity-focused therapeutic songwriting protocols may be more beneficial for people who have transitioned from in-patient to community-contexts given the greater proportion of participants who consent and complete the intervention. Preliminary effects in favour of the intervention group were detected in a range of well-being measures suggesting that a larger study is warranted.
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ItemThe HOMESIDE Music Intervention: A Training Protocol for Family Carers of People Living with Dementia(MDPI, 2022-12)Background: The number of people living with dementia (PwD) worldwide is expected to double every 20 years. Many continue living at home, receiving support from family caregivers who may experience significant stress, simultaneously to that of the PwD. Meaningful and effective home-based interventions to support PwD and their caregivers are needed. The development of a theory- and practice-driven online home-based music intervention (MI) is delivered by credentialed music therapists, nested within the HOMESIDE RCT trial. Methods: Dyads including the PwD and their family carer are randomised to MI, reading (RI) or standard care (SC). MI aims to support health wellbeing and quality of life by training caregivers to intentionally use music (singing, instrument playing, movement/dancing, and music listening) with their family member (PwD) in daily routines. MI is underpinned by cognitive, relational, social, and psychological theories of mechanisms of change. Results: Preliminary sub-cohort results analyses show MI can be delivered and is accepted well by participants and music-therapist interventionists across five countries. Conclusions: The specialist skills of a music therapist through MI enable carers to access music when music therapists are not present, to meet carer and PwD needs. Music therapists embrace this changing professional role, observing therapeutic change for members of the dyads.
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