Comparison of ocular modulation transfer function determined by a ray-tracing aberrometer and a double-pass system in early cataract patients

BACKGROUND: The evaluation of retinal image quality in cataract eyes has gained importance and the clinical modulation transfer functions (MTF) can obtained by aberrometer and double pass (DP) system. This study aimed to compare MTF derived from a ray tracing aberrometer and a DP system in early cataractous and normal eyes. METHODS: There were 128 subjects with 61 control eyes and 67 eyes with early cataract defined according to the Lens Opacities Classification System III. A laser ray-tracing wavefront aberrometer (iTrace) and a double pass (DP) system (OQAS) assessed ocular MTF for 6.0 mm pupil diameters following dilation. Areas under the MTF (AUMTF) and their correlations were analyzed. Stepwise multiple regression analysis assessed factors affecting the differences between iTrace- and OQAS-derived AUMTF for the early cataract group. RESULTS: For both early cataract and control groups, iTrace-derived MTFs were higher than OQAS-derived MTFs across a range of spatial frequencies (P < 0.01). No significant difference between the two groups occurred for iTrace-derived AUMTF, but the early cataract group had significantly smaller OQAS-derived AUMTF than did the control group (P < 0.01). AUMTF determined from both the techniques demonstrated significant correlations with nuclear opacities, higher-order aberrations (HOAs), visual acuity, and contrast sensitivity functions, while the OQAS-derived AUMTF also demonstrated significant correlations with age and cortical opacity grade. The factors significantly affecting the difference between iTrace and OQAS AUMTF were root-mean-squared HOAs (standardized beta coefficient = -0.63, P < 0.01) and age (standardized beta coefficient = 0.26, P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: MTFs determined from a iTrace and a DP system (OQAS) differ significantly in early cataractous and normal subjects. Correlations with visual performance were higher for the DP system. OQAS-derived MTF may be useful as an indicator of visual performance in early cataract eyes.

Interactive music formats : will audiences interact?

The purpose of this research was to conduct a pilot study of a prototype interactive music release format which sought to investigate the readiness of audiences to interact with an interactive alternative to a fixed recorded work. A prototype music interface was created for testing. The prototype was then tested on a sample of users to understand what factors might be critical to audience engagement. The research further investigated the potential implications of the interactive release format on musicians' creative process.

The impact of relaxing music on insomnia-related thoughts and behaviours

Insomnia is a pervasive problem involving poor sleep quality and quantity. Previous research has suggested that music listening can help alleviate insomnia, but exactly how music helps sleep problems has not been determined. A greater understanding of these processes could help practitioners to design more effective music-based insomnia treatments. This randomised controlled trial was designed to assess the influences of nightly music listening on the sleep-related thoughts and behaviours described in Harvey’s (2002) cognitive model of insomnia maintenance. University students, including a range of good and poor sleepers, were randomly assigned to a music listening group or a control group and were assessed before and after a two-week music listening intervention. Measures included a range of self-report scales, each assessing an element of Harvey’s cognitive model. During the intervention, the music listening group was asked to listen to provided music for at least 20 minutes each night. The control group was asked to maintain their regular nightly routines. Results indicated that the music listening group significantly improved on most of the factors theorised to influence sleep quality, although their actual sleep quality did not significantly improve. The control group did not change significantly on any measures. The results of this study suggest that music listening can have positive impacts on a range of factors theorised to influence sleep quality. However, as the music was not shown to actually improve sleep quality, Harvey’s cognitive model explanation of music’s effect on sleep quality may require further investigation.

Associations between early shared music activities in the home and later child outcomes : findings from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children

The benefits of early shared book reading between parents and children have long been established,yet the same cannot be said for early shared music activities in the home. This study investigated the parent–child home music activities in a sample of 3031 Australian children participating in Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) study. Frequency of shared home music activities was reported by parents when children were 2–3 years and a range of social, emotional,and cognitive outcomes were measured by parent and teacher report and direct testing two years later when children were 4–5 years old. A series of regression analyses (controlling for a set of important socio-demographic variables) found frequency of shared home music activities to have a small significant partial association with measures of children’s vocabulary, numeracy, attentional and emotional regulation, and prosocial skills. We then included both book reading and shared home music activities in the same models and found that frequency of shared home music activities maintained small partial associations with measures of prosocial skills, attentional regulation, and numeracy. Our findings suggest there may be a role for parent-child home music activities in supporting children’s development.

From music student to industry professional: An entrepreneurial learning design

This design-based research project addresses the gap between formal music education curricula and the knowledge and skills necessary to enter the professional music industry. It analyses the work of a teacher/researcher who invited her high school students to start their own business venture, Youth Music Industries (YMI). YMI also functioned as a learning environment informed by the theoretical concepts of communities of practice and social capital. The students staged cycles of events of various scales over a three-year period, as platforms for young artists to engage and develop new, young audiences across Queensland, Australia. The study found that students developed an entrepreneurial mindset through acquisition of specific skills and knowledge. Their learning was captured and distilled into a set of design principles, a pedagogical approach transferrable across the creative industries more broadly.

Book Review: "Metal Rules the Globe: Heavy Metal Music around the World". Durham, NC: Duke University Press.

It is rare to find an anthology that realizes the possibilities of the form. We tend to regard our edited collections as lesser siblings, and forget their special value. But at times, a subject seems to require an edited collection much more than it does a classic monograph. So it is with the subject showcased here, which concerns the global circulation, performance and consumption of heavy metal. This is a relatively new and emerging body of work, hitherto scattered disparately in the broader popular music studies, but quickly gaining status as a “studies” with the establishment of a global conference, a journal, and publication of this anthology, all in recent years. Metal Rules the Globe took the editors’ a decade to compile. That they have thought deeply about how they want the collection to speak shows through in the book’s thoughtful arrangement and design, and in the way in which they draw on the contributions herein to develop for the field a research agenda that will take it forward...

Self-regulation support through music

A critical dimension of early learning competence in the year prior to school is self-regulation. Self-regulation enables children to manage their emotions and direct their attention, thinking, and actions to meet adaptive goals. These skills enhance young children's readiness to learn.

Cosmopatriatism in Indonesian pop music imagings

In this article, cosmopatriotism is seen to describe an effect of transnational capitalism’s need to “settle down” in particular localities. The self-imaging of female singer Krisdayanti and punk band Superman is Dead serve as agentive forces in the working out of novel, post-New Order modernities. The body, in particular, is an important site to inscribe a sense of authenticity and social mobility, as well as to work out a sense of post-Suharto Indonesian-ness.

Young people's uses of music for well-being

The period between 15 and 25 years is characterised by much personal change and is the peak age of onset of mental health problems. This prompts an interest in everyday strategies that young people might use to support their well-being. Music use is the preferred leisure activity among young people yet little is known about how music is linked to well-being in this population. This study aimed to develop and test a model of the relationships between young people’s use of music and their well-being, drawing on theories from the music psychology and clinical psychology fields. A qualitative analysis of transcripts from focus groups with 11 participants aged 15–25 years revealed four ways in which music listening links with well-being: relationship building, modifying emotions, modifying cognitions and emotional immersion. These linking variables were operationalised using questionnaire scores and tested on a new sample of 107 young people. Results of a multiple mediation analysis revealed that music listening was significantly related to all four linking variables, but not directly related to well-being as measured by the Mental Health Continuum. Nevertheless, the four linking variables indirectly mediated the effect of music listening on social wellbeing. The findings are consistent with earlier research on the role of music in emotion regulation and social connection although there are clearly other factors involved in determining young peoples’ well-being. These findings will help inform music-based interventions for young people.

Music in the prevention and treatment of substance misuse

Issues Research shows that young people at risk of developing a substance use disorder often use substances to deal with problems, particularly relationship problems and emotional problems. Music listening is a widely available and engaging activity that may help young people address these problem areas. This study was part of a larger project to develop a phone app for young people in which they use music for emotional wellbeing. Approach Three focus groups with young people aged 15–25 years were conducted and the transcripts were analysed by three of the authors using a thematic analysis procedure (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Key Findings: Young people used music in four main ways to achieve wellbeing: relationship building through sharing music; cre- ating an ambience using music; using music to experience an emotion more fully; and using music to modify an emotion. Several mecha- nisms by which music achieved these functions were identified. Par- ticipants also articulated specific times when they would not use music and why. Discussion and Conclusions The information from these focus groups provides many avenues for the development of the app and for understanding how music listening helps young people to achieve wellbeing. These ideas can readily be used with young people at risk of developing substance use problems as it gives them an engaging and low cost alternative for managing their emotions and building relationships.

A Deweyan experience economy for higher education : The case of the Australian Indie 100 Music Event

In this essay we argue that a Deweyan experience economy will best support the higher education (HE) sector in the future, and we draw a contrast between that economy and the sector’s current focus on informational concerns, as expressed by the recent rush to Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and other mass online informational offerings. We base our argument on current developments in music education and music technology that we see as being preemptive of wider trends. We use examples from a three-year study of online and offline music pedagogies and outline a four-year experiment in developing a pedagogical experience economy to illustrate a theoretical position informed by John Dewey’s theory of experience,Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of habitus and capital, and recent work in economic geography on epistemic communities. We argue further that the future of the HE sector is local rather than global, experiential rather than informational, and that therefore a continued informational approach to the future of HE risks undermining the sector.

Maintaining our rage: Inside Australia's longest-running music video program

This research presents an insider's account of rage, Australia's longest-running music video program. The research's significance is that there has been scarce scholarly analysis of this idiosyncratic ABC program, despite its longevity and uniqueness. The thesis takes a reflective and reflexive narrative journey across rage's decades, presenting the accounts of the program makers, aided by the perspective of an embedded researcher, the program's former Series Producer. This work addresses the rage research gap and contributes to the scholarly discussion on music video and its contexts, the ABC, public service broadcasting, creative labour, and the cultural sense-making of television producers.

Blurred Lines may be the biggest music copyright case of 2015

The year is still young, but this week a judgement was handed down in what may well be the biggest music case of 2015. Marvin Gaye’s children have won a copyright law suit against Robin Thicke (no stranger to controversy) and Pharrell Williams for the song Blurred Lines. The 2013 hit was found to have infringed Gaye’s musical copyright in Got To Give It Up. A jury in the US awarded damages of nearly US$7.4 million – nearly half of the song’s US$16.6 million takings to date.