Scott David Harrison

A randomized controlled trial exploring the effect of music on agitated behaviours and anxiety in older people with dementia

Objectives: This study, as part of a larger programme of research, sought to investigate the effect that participation in a 40-min live group music programme, involving facilitated engagement with song-singing and listening, three times a week for eight weeks, had on agitation and anxiety in older people with dementia. Methods: A randomized cross-over design, with music and reading control groups, was employed. Forty-seven participants with mild – moderate dementia, from two aged care facilities in Queensland, Australia, were recruited. Participants were assessed three times on the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory – Short Form (CMAI-SF) and the Rating Anxiety in Dementia Scale (RAID). Results: A sub-analysis of 24 participants attending ≥50% of music sessions found a significant increase in the frequency of verbal aggression over time, regardless of group (F(2,46) = 3.534, p < 0.05). A series of multiple regressions found cognitive impairment, length of time living in the facility and gender to be predictors of agitation overall and by subtype. Conclusion: Participation in the music programme did not significantly affect agitation and anxiety in older people with dementia. Both the music and reading group activities, however, gave some participants a ‘voice’ and increased their verbalization behaviour. Agitation was found to be predicted by a number of background factors (namely level of cognitive impairment, length of time in the facility and gender). Future studies would benefit more from in-depth participant assessment prior to study commencement, helping to moderate the influence of low scores, and by undertaking interventions at times when assessed symptoms are most prevalent.

A Randomized Controlled Trial Exploring the Effect of Music on Quality of Life and Depression in Older People with Dementia

This randomized controlled trial investigated the effect of live music on quality of life and depression in 47 older people with dementia using the Dementia Quality of Life and Geriatric Depression Scale. The control/reading group reported higher mid-point feelings of belonging than the music group (F(1, 45) = 6.672, p < .05). Sub-analyses of ≥ 50 per cent music session attendance found improvements in self-esteem over time (F(2, 46) = 4.471, p < .05). Participants with scores that were suggestive of increased depressive symptoms had fewer depressive symptoms over time (F(2, 22) = 8.129, p < .01). Findings suggest music and reading activities can improve self-esteem, belonging and depression in some older people with dementia.

A perennial problem in gendered participation in music: what's happening to the boys?

Despite three decades of research, gendered participation in music continues to be problematic. While many aspects of Western society maintain a patriarchal stance in the workplace, it is apparent that girls have made some significant changes in their musical choices. Males, it seems, are maintaining the same preferences for instruments as they did 100 years ago, avoiding ‘gentler pursuits’ like singing and playing the flute. This paper seeks to investigate the continued existence of stereotyping of musical participation and to discover some of the underlying reasons for this in the musical choices for boys through the literature. Furthermore, themes arising from existing research are investigated through fieldwork recently conducted in Australia. Preamble Despite significant research into the field of sex stereotyping of musical instruments, familiar trends recur in the music classroom: almost no boys singing in a co-educational environment; small numbers of boys playing flute and other so-called ‘feminine’ instruments. Similarly, girls’ lack of participation in lower brass and percussion and in popular music is evident in schools and professional environments. These issues confront practising educators every day. This research therefore reviews recent literature in the field in an attempt to establish the continued existence of stereotypes and, through more recent fieldwork, offers a fresh perspective on what the causal factors might be. Underpinning the study is an acknowledgement that gender is a fluid entity with situational, definitional and cultural factors. As a result of these interweaving elements, the study of gender is a complex combination of separate, but interconnected issues. Recent investigations in this field have created the distinct categories of sex (as a biologically determined entity), sex roles (the performance of roles typically associated with biological sex), sexuality (the preference for male and/or female partners and the performance of the acts associated with those preferences) and gender (the societal expectations associated with a biologically determined entity). Gender fluidity acknowledges that there is little foundation in the erroneous association of biological sex with the societal functions one performs. Yet, as Taylor (2007) notes succinctly:

On building a community of practice: reflective narratives of academic learning and growth

This paper traces the evolution of an academic community of practice and identifies the individual and collective outcomes of participation for the members. The impetus for the community was the joint development of a learning and teaching project grant application that aimed to improve teacher education in music curriculum, and the subsequent implementation of that project. The paper draws on a range of data sources including individual reflective journals, audio‐records and transcriptions of meetings, email archives and discussion board posts of the project team members. The purpose of the paper is to illuminate and interrogate the processes and enabling conditions that supported the development of this academic community of practice, and consider the implications for academics.

Conducting randomized controlled trials with older people with dementia in long-term care: Challenges and lessons learnt.

Murfield J, Cooke M, Moyle W, Shum D, Harrison S. International Journal of Nursing Practice 2011; 17: 52–59 Conducting randomized controlled trials with older people with dementia in long-term care: Challenges and lessons learnt The characteristics of older people with dementia and the long-term care environment can make conducting research a challenge and, as such, this population and setting are often understudied, particularly in terms of clinical or randomized controlled trials. This paper provides a critical discussion of some of the difficulties faced whilst implementing a randomized controlled trial exploring the effect of a live music programme on the behaviour of older people with dementia in long-term care. A discussion of how these challenges were addressed is presented to aid investigators planning the design of similar research and help encourage a proactive approach in dealing with research-related challenges right from project conception. The article is structured according to the three principles of a randomized controlled trial in order to keep experimental rigour at the forefront of this research area.

Perspectives on Males and Singing

Over the centuries, there has been reluctance among boys and men to become involved in some forms of singing. Perspectives on Males and Singing tackles this conundrum head-on as the first academic volume to bring together leading thinkers and practitioners who share their insights on the involvement of males in singing. The authors share research that analyzes the axiomatic male disinclination to sing, and give strategies designed to engage males more successfully in performing vocal music emphasizing the many positive effects it can have on their lives. Inspired by a meeting at the Australian symposium ‘Boys and Voices’, which focused on the engagement of boys in singing, the volume includes contributions from leading authorities in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States and Europe.

‘Letting go’: An auto-ethnography of higher degree supervision in music

This paper examines my role as supervisor of research higher degree music students. Within this dyad, the pedagogical design has centred on conventional delivery, conceptualized in terms of the time-honoured top–down, supervisor–candidate interaction rather than exploration of a co-mentoring collaboration. Many doctoral candidates in music perceive this merely as an extension of the one-to-one instrumental or vocal tuition from their pre-tertiary and undergraduate learning experiences. This can serve to perpetuate over-reliance on the supervisor as master to provide the student as apprentice with technical work (researching and writing skills); repertoire (literature); and stylistic input (writing genre). Compared with undergraduate approaches, these aspects of learning may be often cobbled together in a haphazard fashion where an understanding of the overall project is somewhat fragmented. Consequently, the particular nature of pedagogy in research higher degrees in music remains under-developed and in need of reconceptualization or the development of an enlightened eye. This paper will review and explore this pedagogy, drawing on narratives presented from my perspectives as supervisor. My role is explored through an autoethnographic account of my experiences as a teacher of groups and individuals, and this is interwoven with references to the projects of candidates at various stages in their programme. In my self-study, I will consider some of my emerging themes, including confidence, project design and management, academic writing, teaching preparation and multi-exegetical formats.

Exploring of new models of research pedagogy: time to let go of master-apprentice style supervision?

While the time-honoured one-to-one supervisory model of higher research degree training has its advantages, recent research suggests that the model also has significant drawbacks, including its hierarchical nature. Nevertheless, this pedagogical model remains the default for higher research pedagogy. Using the discipline of music as a case study, where growing interest in practice-based research has lately demanded considerable fluidity in supervisory practices, this research explores the benefits and challenges of one-to-one models of supervision. Drawing on semi-structured interviews, dialogue forums, survey data, the extant literature and observations of practices at selected higher music education institutions in Australia, the UK, Belgium and the Netherlands, it recommends and suggests ways to implement more ‘horizontal’ approaches to research pedagogy. The findings of this research may improve teaching and learning experiences and outcomes in higher research degrees in music and the creative arts, and stimulate a reflection of supervisory approaches more generally across the sector.

Through the Eye of a Needle: The Emergence of a Practice-Led Research Doctorate in Music.

This paper explores recent developments in relation to doctoral research training in music. Drawing on the findings of a case-study of a recently established practice-led doctorate at an Australian conservatoire, we offer insights into the attributes of its expanding cohort. We interrogate a blended research training structure of academic supervision, coursework, web-based tools and administrative resources in order to reveal the obstacles to, and opportunities for improvement. The paper concludes by arguing programme design refinements which contribute to a deeper understanding of practice-led doctorates in music while inviting readers to similarly consider their own experiences.

Making music or gaining grades? Assessment practices in tertiary music ensembles

Participation in an ensemble is a significant aspect of tertiary music experience. Learning and assessment practices within ensembles have rarely been investigated in Australia and the perceptions of staff and students as to how they learn and are assessed within ensembles remain largely unexplored. This paper reports on part of a larger project that investigated learning and assessment practices within ensembles at an Australian Conservatorium of Music. Ensembles contribute to approximately 25% of student work in each semester, and the assessment contributes to a final grade for the semester. Using a case study methodology, four music ensembles were studied. The data generated were coded into themes including assessment practices and processes; collaborative learning practices; the development of the professional musician; and communication and transparency between participants and the institution. Findings revealed that both staff and student participants in this study perceived ensemble participation to be valuable to the development of a professional musician, but that assessment procedures did not always support this goal. Institutional demands were found to be an inhibiting factor in the assessment of ensembles, and both students and teachers had problems with current assessment procedures, resulting in confusion and lack of transparency about how ensembles are assessed. Approaches to the development of the professional musician became a dominant discussion point and a substantial finding of the research. By examining dominant and subjugated knowledge in this domain, institutional power relations were interrogated, existing practices were challenged, and assessment practices rethought.