Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0347784
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$130,000.00
Summary
MOVEMENT & COMMUNICATION ANALYSIS LAB & PORTABLE AUDIENCE RESPONSE FACILITY. The equipment establishes an integrated movement analysis laboratory and audience response facility to support and extend ongoing collaborative research projects that investigate human visual and auditory communication through gestures of voice and body. This laboratory will allow recording and analysis of fine and gross motor activity in: caregiver-infant and therapist-client interaction; auditory-visual speech percept ....MOVEMENT & COMMUNICATION ANALYSIS LAB & PORTABLE AUDIENCE RESPONSE FACILITY. The equipment establishes an integrated movement analysis laboratory and audience response facility to support and extend ongoing collaborative research projects that investigate human visual and auditory communication through gestures of voice and body. This laboratory will allow recording and analysis of fine and gross motor activity in: caregiver-infant and therapist-client interaction; auditory-visual speech perception; audience reactions to gesture and dance. The audience response facility, a portable system of small keypads programmed to record discrete and continuous responses, brings precision to recording psychological responses in a naturalistic setting. The combined equipment allows concerted investigation of human communicative gesture.Read moreRead less
Intention and Serendipity: Investigating Improvisation, Symbolism and Memory in Creating Australian Contemporary Dance. Contemporary dance is one of the major vehicles through which Australian stories and cultural diversity are communicated. Little is known about the processes that underpin creation and performance of communicative dance works, and less still about processes and stylistic traditions unique to the Australian form. We will investigate cognitive and kinaesthetic processes involve ....Intention and Serendipity: Investigating Improvisation, Symbolism and Memory in Creating Australian Contemporary Dance. Contemporary dance is one of the major vehicles through which Australian stories and cultural diversity are communicated. Little is known about the processes that underpin creation and performance of communicative dance works, and less still about processes and stylistic traditions unique to the Australian form. We will investigate cognitive and kinaesthetic processes involved in creating, refining, performing significant works. Combining experimental and practice-based research we examine psychological mechanisms engaged by elite choreographers, and experienced and emerging dancers, and analyse the unique Australian heritage and embodied knowledge evident in leading dancers and choreographers influenced by Gertrud Bodenwieser.Read moreRead less
Expecting the Unexpected: Learning Complex Temporal and Rhythmic Relations. Music is one of the most accessible routes to experience, and to learn about, cultures other than our own. A new implicit method for learning complex rhythm and underlying metre promotes inter-group understanding and communication. We hypothesize that implicit learning (IL) of unfamiliar complex metres through music generalizes to spoken language built on similar metres; IL facilitates segmentation of previously unfamili ....Expecting the Unexpected: Learning Complex Temporal and Rhythmic Relations. Music is one of the most accessible routes to experience, and to learn about, cultures other than our own. A new implicit method for learning complex rhythm and underlying metre promotes inter-group understanding and communication. We hypothesize that implicit learning (IL) of unfamiliar complex metres through music generalizes to spoken language built on similar metres; IL facilitates segmentation of previously unfamiliar spoken language and enhances recognition of English spoken with the stress pattern of a 'foreign' metre. Future intervention programs based on implicit learning of temporal relations will benefit people with reading difficulties or timing problems characteristic of cerebellar and basal ganglia patients.Read moreRead less
Using musical training to examine brain plasticity and cognitive skill development. Until recently, the brain was likened to a computer - hard-wired with minimal response to injury. Exciting new research is altering this view, showing that the brain can change in response to the environment. This study will use sophisticated brain scanning techniques with musicians who have rare, absolute pitch ability. This ability develops with exposure to early training during a critical time period. We will ....Using musical training to examine brain plasticity and cognitive skill development. Until recently, the brain was likened to a computer - hard-wired with minimal response to injury. Exciting new research is altering this view, showing that the brain can change in response to the environment. This study will use sophisticated brain scanning techniques with musicians who have rare, absolute pitch ability. This ability develops with exposure to early training during a critical time period. We will test the relationship between this exposure and changes in brain shape and function. The results will tell us about the interaction between genes and environment, and the way normal development can be enhanced by early experiences.Read moreRead less
From child learner to adult musician: Factors leading to success and ongoing participation in music. Building on recommendations from the Commonwealth Government's National Review of School Music Education (2005), this project seeks to clarify the factors that facilitate engagement in music. Building on data collected 10 years ago, the proposed follow up study will enable us to trace how Australian education in the form of school instrumental programs influence musical development, interest and ....From child learner to adult musician: Factors leading to success and ongoing participation in music. Building on recommendations from the Commonwealth Government's National Review of School Music Education (2005), this project seeks to clarify the factors that facilitate engagement in music. Building on data collected 10 years ago, the proposed follow up study will enable us to trace how Australian education in the form of school instrumental programs influence musical development, interest and attainment from childhood through to early adulthood. With this information, the study will enable us to identify how Australian education can be developed to facilitate the life-long enjoyment that artistic appreciation and participation can offer as a result of school music. Read moreRead less
Using musical training to examine brain plasticity and cognitive skill development. Until recently, the brain was likened to a computer - hard-wired with minimal response to injury. Research is beginning to alter this view, suggesting that the brain can change its structure and functioning in response to the environment. To explore this new and exciting issue, this study will use sophisticated brain scanning techniques with musicians who have been exposed to early training during a critical peri ....Using musical training to examine brain plasticity and cognitive skill development. Until recently, the brain was likened to a computer - hard-wired with minimal response to injury. Research is beginning to alter this view, suggesting that the brain can change its structure and functioning in response to the environment. To explore this new and exciting issue, this study will use sophisticated brain scanning techniques with musicians who have been exposed to early training during a critical period of development. It will examine the relationship between this exposure and changes in brain size and function thought to underlie a specialised ability, known as perfect pitch. The findings will have important implications about the way normal development can be enhanced by early experience and practice.Read moreRead less
The Disproportionate Impact of Negative Contact on Category Salience and Prejudice: Explaining Why Intergroup Interactions Can Be Harmful. The social psychological literature suggests that face-to-face interactions between people of rival groups will reduce mutual prejudice and discrimination. The present research tests the novel prediction that negative face-to-face interactions have a greater probability of worsening broad intergroup relations than positive face-to-face interactions have of im ....The Disproportionate Impact of Negative Contact on Category Salience and Prejudice: Explaining Why Intergroup Interactions Can Be Harmful. The social psychological literature suggests that face-to-face interactions between people of rival groups will reduce mutual prejudice and discrimination. The present research tests the novel prediction that negative face-to-face interactions have a greater probability of worsening broad intergroup relations than positive face-to-face interactions have of improving them. The research will benefit Australia by (a) explaining why intergroup conflict continues to be a key social issue in multicultural Australia despite increased intergroup interactions and by (b) informing policy makers about the social conditions that result in more conflicting intergroup relations as well as the social conditions that result in more harmonious relations.Read moreRead less
Parenting in an unsteady world across nations. Overinvolved and overcontrolling parenting seems to be on the rise as families are confronted with an unsteady world. This project aims to investigate how overparenting affects youth's achievements and well-being as they transition out of secondary school, and will isolate societal and cultural determinants of overparenting. This project will generate new knowledge on family influences on youth's progress, and will substantially contribute to an exi ....Parenting in an unsteady world across nations. Overinvolved and overcontrolling parenting seems to be on the rise as families are confronted with an unsteady world. This project aims to investigate how overparenting affects youth's achievements and well-being as they transition out of secondary school, and will isolate societal and cultural determinants of overparenting. This project will generate new knowledge on family influences on youth's progress, and will substantially contribute to an existing multinational study to identify macro social-cultural determinants of overcontrolling parenting. Expected outcomes are the generation of new knowledge relevant to family policy and practice within Australia, growth in cross-national collaborations, and new theories and methods.Read moreRead less
Evaluation of the relative efficacy and mechanisms of a couple-based intervention for Premenstrual Syndrome through a randomised control trial using mixed methods. Of 9,689 Australian women recently surveyed nationally, 33% reported moderate or severe premenstrual symptoms (PMS). Whilst relationships have been identified as a significant factor in the experience of premenstrual distress, to date there has been no systematic description or evaluation of couple-based PMS interventions. This resear ....Evaluation of the relative efficacy and mechanisms of a couple-based intervention for Premenstrual Syndrome through a randomised control trial using mixed methods. Of 9,689 Australian women recently surveyed nationally, 33% reported moderate or severe premenstrual symptoms (PMS). Whilst relationships have been identified as a significant factor in the experience of premenstrual distress, to date there has been no systematic description or evaluation of couple-based PMS interventions. This research study will do this, helping health-care providers understand the experience and treatment of PMS in the context of family relationships, thereby reducing PMS, and the physical and psychological distress associated with it. This will lead to improved psychological wellbeing and quality of life for women and their families.Read moreRead less
New Partnerships: Promoting development in outback towns through voluntary programs for Grey Nomads. Older retired Australians who undertake extensive independent travel through outback regions of Australia may potentially bring economic, human and social capital to areas of extreme isolation and disadvantage by engaging in volunteer programs of short to medium duration. Such programs would enable the sharing of information, and skills between locals and visitors and enable the development of lo ....New Partnerships: Promoting development in outback towns through voluntary programs for Grey Nomads. Older retired Australians who undertake extensive independent travel through outback regions of Australia may potentially bring economic, human and social capital to areas of extreme isolation and disadvantage by engaging in volunteer programs of short to medium duration. Such programs would enable the sharing of information, and skills between locals and visitors and enable the development of local facilities and services. Engagement in such programs may also potentially enhance the grey nomad experience, contributing to a healthy productive ageing lifestyle. Read moreRead less