Performance psychology applied to dance

The recent interest in the area of performance psychology has included a focus on applied practice within the performing arts. The use of psychology within this field has been occurring for many years, although practice has been observed to originate primarily from within clinical psychology in dealing with ‘problems’ (e.g. eating disorders). During the past 15 years, increased interest and focus has come from the field of sport psychology and its application to fields such as dance. Experience with the application of sport psychology in the dance profession has shown that dancers identify primarily with the concept of performance psychology. The focus of applied performance psychology practice with dancers has been observed to incorporate principles from across sport, clinical and organisational psychology, yet packaged together in such a way that the focus is on performance enhancement – whether that be in terms of dance technique, artistry, creativity, or personal skill development both on and off the stage. This paper focuses upon sharing the practitioner’s experience of the delivery of performance psychology to dancers (both professionals and dancers-in-training), and discussion of the considerations related to this undertaking within this unique population.

Learnings from the implementation of performance psychology as a subject within a university dance program

Similar to the focus on training in the technical, physical and artistic areas of dance, dance professionals, students and educators alike appear to be developing an increased awareness of how important training in psychology is to their success within dance. Over the past 4 years, lectures in performance psychology have been incorporated as part of a compulsory professional skills subject for second and third year students within a University dance program. The following presentation aims to share practitioner experience and learnings regarding the implementation of this subject within this context, its perceived effectiveness, and recommendations for future use.

The art of the positive pas de deux : putting positive psychology into dance!

Performance psychology has more recently included a focus on applied practice within the performing arts, and specifically the dance industry. Whilst the use of psychology within this field has been occurring for a number of years, it has primarily taken its cues from the area of sport psychology or clinical psychology when dealing with ‘problems’ (e.g. eating disorders). What has been evident with the more recent introduction of positive psychology concepts with this population is the observed responsiveness from dancers towards a strengths-based approach. The aim of the inclusion of these frameworks has been to assist in increasing the empowerment, personal responsibility and effectiveness of the dancers’ psychological preparation and skills in the area of performance – whether on stage or off.

The urgent need for career preview: Student expectations and graduate realities in music and dance

Unlike the work available in many creative disciplines, musicians and dancers have the possibility of full-time, company-based employment; however, participants far outweigh the number of available positions. As a result, many graduates become ‘enforced entrepreneurs’ as they shape their work to meet personal and professional needs. This paper first explores the career projections of 58 music and dance students who were surveyed in their first week of post-secondary study. It then contrasts these findings with the reality of graduate careers as reported by five of that cohort four years later. In contrast with the students’ overwhelming focus on performance roles, the graduate cohort reported a prevalence of portfolio careers incorporating both creative and non-creative roles. The paper characterises the notion of a performing arts ‘career’ as a messy concept fraught with misunderstanding. Implications include the need to heighten students’ career awareness and position intrinsic satisfaction as a valued career concept.

Statutory occupational health and safety workplace arrangements for the modern labour market

Over the past 20 years there has been a significant refashioning of the labour market within Australia and other industrialised countries. This paper examines the implications of the growth of more flexible work arrangements for mechanisms designed to facilitate worker involvement in occupational health and safety at the workplace—a pivotal feature of post-Robens OHS legislation in Australia. It is argued that the growth of subcontracting, casual and home-based work has undermined both coverage and the effectiveness of these provisions, especially in a context where union membership and influence has also been declining. Looking at international experience, the paper examines a number of ways of remedying these deficiencies.

eHealth and the modern society

The integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) into healthcare processes “eHealth” is driving enormous change in healthcare delivery and productivity. The transformations empower patients and present opportunities for new synergies between healthcare professionals, clinical decision makers, policy makers and educators. Technologies that are directly driving changes include Tele-medicine, Electronic health records (EHR), Standards to ensure computer systems inter-operate, Decision support systems, Data mining and easy access to medical information. This workshop provides an introduction to key informatics initiatives in eHealth using real examples and suggests how applications can be applied to modern society.

How Modern Governments Made Prostitution a Social Problem: Creating a Responsible Prostitute Population

Table of Contents Acknowledgments Preface by Dr. Pat Carlen Introduction 1. Political Languages of Prostitution 2. Genealogical Analysis: Documenting The Disorder of Things 3. From Death Rituals to Health Practices 4. Policing Female Prostitutes 5. Private Remedies for Public Concerns 6. The Emergence of the Male Prostitute 7. From Procreation to Pleasure 8. HIV/AIDS and Prostitution Conclusion Bibliography Index

Entrepreneurship Programs and the Modern University

Entrepreneurship Programs and the Modern University is an excellent resource for those who intend to set up an entrepreneurship program or centre, and arguably even more so for those who wish to coordinate or expand such activities into an effective "entrepreneurship eco-system" across the university and its external stakeholders. Morris, Kuratko, and Cornwall's intention in writing this book is to "advocate a more strategic and integrative framework for building the curricular, co-curricular, research, community engagement, and infrastructure components of a program" (p. xii).

A framework for sustainable energy reduction in modern breweries

This thesis examines the existing frameworks for energy management in the brewing industry and details the design, development and implementation of a new framework at a modern brewery. The aim of the research was to develop an energy management framework to identify opportunities in a systematic manner using Systems Engineering concepts and principles. This work led to a Sustainable Energy Management Framework, SEMF. Using the SEMF approach, one of Australia's largest breweries has achieved number 1 ranking in the world for water use for the production of beer and has also improved KPI's and sustained the energy management improvements that have been implemented during the past 15 years. The framework can be adapted to other manufacturing industries in the Australian context and is considered to be a new concept and a potentially important tool for energy management.

The ethical intricacies of injury rehabilitation within a dance training context

Exploring the ethical issues present in professional practice within the field of sport, exercise and performance psychology, this case study outlines challenges that may be encountered, ways to address issues should they arise, and the overall ethical considerations of supporting injury rehabilitation within a dance training context.

Investigating pedestrian injury crashes on modern roundabouts in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Pedestrian crashes are one of the major road safety problems in developing countries representing about 40% of total fatal crashes in low income countries. Despite the fact that many pedestrian crashes in these countries occur at unsignalized intersections such as roundabouts, studies focussing on this issue are limited—thus representing a critical research gap. The objective of this study is to develop safety performance functions for pedestrian crashes at modern roundabouts to identify significant roadway geometric, traffic and land use characteristics related to pedestrian safety. To establish the relationship between pedestrian crashes and various causal factors, detailed data including various forms of exposure, geometric and traffic characteristics, and spatial factors such as proximity to schools and proximity to drinking establishments were collected from a sample of 22 modern roundabouts in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, representing about 56% of such roundabouts in Addis Ababa. To account for spatial correlation resulting from multiple observations at a roundabout, both the random effect Poisson (REP) and random effect Negative Binomial (RENB) regression models were estimated and compared. Model goodness of fit statistics reveal a marginally superior fit of the REP model compared to the RENB model of pedestrian crashes at roundabouts. Pedestrian crossing volume and the product of traffic volumes along major and minor road had significant and positive associations with pedestrian crashes at roundabouts. The presence of a public transport (bus/taxi) terminal beside a roundabout is associated with increased pedestrian crashes. While the maximum gradient of an approach road is negatively associated with pedestrian safety, the provision of a raised median along an approach appears to increase pedestrian safety at roundabouts. Remedial measures are identified for combating pedestrian safety problems at roundabouts in the context of a developing country.