Concepts of context in music therapy

In contemporary music therapy as well as in related interdisciplinary fields, the importance of context in relation to theory, research, and practice has been emphasized. However, the word context seems to be used in several different ways and conceptualizations of contextual approaches vary too. The objective of this theoretical article is to clarify traditions of language use in relation to context in music therapy. In reviewing and discussing the literature, we focus on the field of mental health care. When discussing issues related to context, this literature partly focuses on the surroundings of music therapy practice, partly on the ecology of reciprocal influences within and between situations or systems. On this basis, three types of context awareness in music therapy are identified: music therapy in context; music therapy as context; and music therapy as interacting contexts. The identified types of context awareness are exemplified through references to music therapy literature and then discussed in relation to two very different metaphors, namely context as frame and context as link. Implications for practice, research, and theory development in music therapy are suggested.publishedVersio

The Church of St. Mary in Oslo – Overview and Revision of the Building History

The now ruined Church of St. Mary was once a royal chapel and collegiate church situated on the sandy tongue of land that made up the southern end of Oslo. Its building history, from a small wooden church to a Gothic structure with a monumental façade, reflects key architectural developments in the span of Nor-way’s Medieval Period (AD 1050–1537). Several excavations have shed light on this evolution, in which the question of form and dating has played a leading role. Central to the discussion are the excavations of Nicolay Nicolaysen (1868), Gerhard Fischer (1935) and Håkon Christie (1961–1963; 1969; 1971). This paper aims to examine the ruin and the many works dealing with St. Mary’s in Oslo, in order to present an overview of the scholarly discussion. We also revise some issues concerning building history, dating and architectural forms of the building. We suggest a new basis for a hypothetical reconstruction of the church as it may have looked at the death of Håkon V Magnusson in 1319

Musical pathways to the peer community: A collective case study of refugee children’s use of music therapy

Introduction: The quality of refugee children’s social life in the host country is essential to their health and development. Both practice and research indicate the relevance of music therapy in this respect, but our understanding of how music therapy can contribute to refugee children’s social wellbeing is still limited. This article explores how participation in music therapy in a public primary school can nurture refugee children’s readiness to collaborate with peers. Method: The study is situated within a hermeneutic research tradition and is designed as a single-site, collective case study consisting of four cases. Empirical material consists of logs and audio-recordings from music therapy sessions. Results: Results are presented as four case narratives that describe processes related to collaboration with peers. Discussion: Based on abductive analysis, this article discusses the practice of music therapy in terms of the processes of regulating, negotiating, and building a sharable repertoire. The article suggests that music therapy nurtures the child’s capacity to regulate emotions and engage in social participation: an ongoing negotiation of interpersonal relationships is combined with the cultivation of a shared repertoire that creates bridges to other practices and larger social configurations.publishedVersio

Finding One’s Footing When Everyone Has an Opinion. Negotiating an Acceptable Identity After Sexual

Identities used to describe oneself after trauma may influence recovery, and searches for acceptable identities after sexual assault can be challenging. Fifteen Norwegian female survivors of sexual assault were recruited at a clinical center, and were individually interviewed about post-assault discussions with others. Our focus was on the experiences of non-blaming and believing interactions with others, and how these interactions can be understood as a process of searching for acceptable identities after sexual assault. A reflexive thematic analysis resulted in four themes: navigating between other people's stories and one's own; realizing the seriousness of the assault without drowning in the upset of others; finding a place between too much closeness and too much distance; and being more than a victim. We discuss the importance of participants retaining agency in post-assault interactions. We suggest that being a survivor of sexual assault increases the probability, even in believing and non-blaming interactions, of being cast in a subject–object relationship with less freedom and agency than before. Navigating toward acceptable identities may mean working one's way back to being a subject in a subject–subject relationship again.publishedVersio

Norske gravminner fra høymiddelalderen som kilde til kjønnsidentitet

This study uses funerary monuments as a source of gender identity in mediaeval Norway. The gender of the deceased is identified in 67 of the few hundred mediaeval grave memorials (mostly from c. 1250–1350) preserved in Norway. Of these 28 per cent commemorate women while 67 per cent of the deceased are male, the rest being double graves. – The assumption behind the study is that the content and form of the grave memorial reflect the social position and individual identity of the deceased. Further it is presumed that a memorial with an emphasis on the character of the deceased in its motive or inscription can be interpreted as a sign of high self-esteem and a strong perception of oneself as an individual. – A representation of the deceased was found in 12 out of 19 female grave monuments while only 21 of the 45 male grave monuments had such depictions. The great majority of the male grave monu-ments commemorate clerics, knights or noblemen and depict them explicitly in their social role. The women are portrayed in a less uniform manner than the men, thus giving the impression of greater individuality. On the one hand it could be argued that this is hardly the case: the women were probably as fixed in their roles as the men. On the other hand, the type and quality of the female funerary monuments indicate a stronger social position than might be expected

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and User Experience (UX) design: A systematic literature review and future research agenda

PurposeThe aim of this article is to map the use of AI in the user experience (UX) design process. Disrupting the UX process by introducing novel digital tools such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to improve efficiency and accuracy, while creating more innovative and creative solutions. Thus, understanding how AI can be leveraged for UX has important research and practical implications.Design/Methodology/ApproachThis article builds on a systematic literature review approach and aims to understand how AI is used in UX design today, as well as uncover some prominent themes for future research. Through a process of selection and filtering, 46 research articles are analysed, with findings synthesized based on a user-centred design and development process.FindingsOur analysis shows how AI is leveraged in the UX design process at different key areas. Namely, these include understanding the context of use, uncovering user requirements, aiding solution design, and evaluating design, and for assisting development of solutions. We also highlight the ways in which AI is changing the UX design process through illustrative examples.Originality/valueWhile there is increased interest in the use of AI in organizations, there is still limited work on how AI can be introduced into processes that depend heavily on human creativity and input. Thus, we show the ways in which AI can enhance such activities and assume tasks that have been typically performed by humans

Do we understand children’s restlessness? Constructing ecologically valid understandings through reflexive cooperation

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most widely used children’s mental health diagnosis today, but the validity of the diagnosis is controversial, for instance, because it might conceal relational and ecological dimensions of restlessness. We invited parents and professionals from one local community in western Norway to participate in cooperative group discussions on how to conceptualize and understand children’s restlessness. We carried out a thematic and reflexive analysis of the cooperative group discussions on ADHD and children’s restlessness, and present findings related to three ecological levels inspired by Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems model. At the level of the individual, restlessness was discussed as individual trait, as the expectation to be seen and heard, and as a result of traumatization. At the level of dyad, group or family, restlessness was discussed as a relational phenomenon and as parents’ problems. At the level of community, restlessness was discussed as lack of cooperation and lack of structures or resources. Our findings show how contextualized and cooperative reflexivity can contribute to more valid understandings of children’s restlessness, and how cooperative inquiry can stimulate reflections about solidarity and sustainability in relation to adult’s actions.publishedVersio

Non-Verbal Interactions Between Music Therapists and Persons with Dementia. A Qualitative Phenomenological and Arts-Based Inquiry

When music therapists are supervising caregivers in how to apply music in their interactions with persons with dementia, we may term this as indirect music therapy practice. Musical interactions are mostly happening through nonverbal, implicit, and embodied knowledge, and, therefore, there is a need for exploring and verbalizing such interactions for music therapists to be able to disseminate to caregivers and other professionals. In this qualitative study, we examine how 6 music therapists with clinical experience in dementia care experience nonverbal interaction with persons with severe dementia living in nursing homes. Explorative focus groups were conducted to study the music therapists’ lived-experience descriptions about their nonverbal interactions with persons with dementia. Focus group transcripts were analyzed by a phenomenological approach, and the findings elaborated and peer validated by the use of musical improvisation as an arts-based analytic approach. The findings included five themes: vitality, disciplined subjectivity, attunement, therapeutic presence, and validation. The music therapists were guided by the vitality of the person with dementia, were aware of their own reactions, and sensed the needs of the person through disciplined subjectivity. They attuned to the person’s nonverbal musical parameters (e.g., tempo pitch and volume) and cocreated an open and mutual field through therapeutic presence and validation. The findings are relevant for future development of direct and indirect music therapy practice but contain limitations due to a homogenous and small group of participants. This study highlights the challenges of exploring nonverbal and musical interactions with the use of language-based methods of inquiry.publishedVersio