Musicians in the digital age : how digitalization changed how music is made

The changes caused by digitalization have had many impacts in how we live our lives, and this study looked at the impacts of digitalization on the music industry. This study analyzed how digitalization has changed how artists make music and how they define themselves, as well as the broader implications of digitalization on the music industry ideology. As discussed in the literature of the field of music ideology, artists had at one point depended on record labels to make music and define themselves. But this same literature stated that digitalization had little impacts on artists and that any technological changes only further served the ideology. This study entered into this discussion by conducting semi-structured interviews with artists. These interviews gained a view of how digitalization changed how artists go about making music and defining themselves, as well as testing if these align with the ideals of the music ideology. This study found that artists are dependent on digital alternatives in pursuit of making music. How they defined themselves has also become more digital, seeing the use of social media as a necessity, and invoking digitally bound ideas of authenticity and legitimacy. The artists did indicate that record labels do still contain some power, but it is often in specific parts of the industry rather than the total control of the past. Signing to a label were often seen as a means to an end, not as the sole arbiter of success that was put forward by the literature. This study also points to an emerging ideology, one that could be based on the power and control that can be exerted on musicians and other content creators through social media. This study calls for further research, as it raises questions on the effects that digitalization has had on other media industries. The possibility of an emerging ideology is also an idea that asks to be further researched, especially as digitalization continues to affect our world

Development of the Signposting Questionnaire for Autism (SQ-A): measurement comparison with the 10-item Autism Spectrum Quotient-Child and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in the UK and Latvia

BACKGROUND: Recognising the signs of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be a challenge for frontline professionals. The use of brief parent-completed questionnaires for recording the signs of ASD in school-aged children may be an important and efficient contributor to professional insight. However, to date, such questionnaires have not been designed to be used in coordination with current standardised Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) diagnostic tools. Furthermore, the measurement characteristics of such questionnaires have been unexplored across countries that differ in levels of national autism service provision and cultural interpretation of the signs of ASD. METHODS: A new 14-item questionnaire (Signposting Questionnaire for Autism (SQ-A)) was developed using published DSM-5 items from a clinical interview, the Diagnostic Interview for Social Communication Disorders (DISCO). Measurement comparison was tested with the Short Autism Spectrum Quotient-Child (AQ-10) and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Parents of 4-11-year-old children in the UK (N = 200) and Latvia (N = 104) completed all three questionnaires. Information on clinical diagnosis provided by parents led to classification into three groups: ASD diagnosis, other conditions and no conditions. In the UK, a subsample of teachers also provided cross-informant reliability. RESULTS: In both countries, there was evidence of acceptable to good internal consistency for the SQ-A, with significantly higher scores for the ASD group and evidence of convergent and discriminant validity. There was also good parent-teacher reliability for the three measures. Notably, the questionnaires designed specifically to measure autism (SQ-A, AQ-10) performed more similarly to one another compared to the broader SDQ, with differences found for the ASD group. The overall pattern of responding to the three questionnaires was highly similar between countries. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate the potential of the 14-item SQ-A to guide frontline professionals in the recognition of the signs of autism in children, facilitating the provision of appropriate support