Individual difference correlates of continuing versus ceasing musical participation

While researchers have begun to examine how social and emotional investment in music is related to psychological well‐being, very little research has considered how best to promote life-long participation in music across the lifespan. One particular gap in the existing literature concerns how and why individuals continue to participate or, instead, cease their participation in musical activities. The current research adopted a social psychological approach to quantitatively examine the differences between 383 Australian residents who have ceased (44.40%) or currently participate in musical activity (55.60%). Responses to an online questionnaire indicated that current participation in music was associated positively with a preference for reflective and complex music and the WHO‐Bref’s psychological quality of life dimension; and that current participation in music was associated negatively with peer musical engagement when growing up. Moreover, gender, age, and measures of musical background and experience were not significantly associated with continuing to participate in musical activities. These findings have clear implications for educators’ attempts foster continued musical participation

A risk society? Environmental hazards, risk and resilience in the later Middle Ages in Europe

Modern society is said to have restructured in reaction to contemporary hazards with the aim of improving its management of risk. This implies that pre-industrial societies were somehow fundamentally different. In this paper, we challenge that hypothesis by examining the ways in which risks associated with environmental hazards were managed and mitigated during the Middle Ages (defined here as the period from 1000 to 1550 AD). Beginning with a review of the many case studies of rapid onset disasters across Europe, we draw upon both historical and archaeological evidence and architectural assessments of structural damage for what is a pre-instrumental period. Building upon this, the second part of the paper explores individual outlooks on risk, emphasising the diversity of popular belief and the central importance of Christianity in framing attitudes. Despite their religious perspectives, we find that medieval communities were not helpless in the face of serious environmental hazards. We argue instead that the response of society to these threats was frequently complex, considered and, at times, surprisingly modern