Research empowerment

GERN has supported the recording of Unfettered and Alive, an album of newly commissioned music for solo guitar that explores identity and subjectivity in musical performance.

Collaborating with local music industry, Libby Myer's project aims to answer questions of 'Who am I' and 'What do I sound like?' using music as a multidimensional tool for representing social-artistic research as well as a means of obtaining new insights.

"Traditionally, studies of western classical music centre on compositions and composers as objects of analysis, while relatively little light is shone on the creative processes of the performer," Libby says.

"In the 'virtuoso' tradition, excellence is characterised by masculine images of power, strength and objectivity. Meanwhile, women’s narratives have often been rendered inaudible, leaving them to navigate their work in an uncomfortable bind—socially conditioned to objectively view both their subjective musical 'voices', as well as their physical bodies as they negotiate gendered differences among their peers."

Flipping this narrative, Libby collaborated with five composers from a variety of genres write to new music in response to my own intimate personal testimony and storytelling.

"GERN funding has supported me in this significant artistic and professional endeavour as I collaborate with local music industry to record and produce the album forming part of my doctoral thesis and released to wider audience," Libby says.

Unfettered and Alive will be released via Made Now Music in March 2022.

Chief investigator: Dr Indigo Willing

Co-investigators: Professor Molly Dragiewicz and Dr Adele Pavlidis

Research Fellow: Dr Justine Hottem

Red Flags, Banter and Blurred Lines: Exploring Consent in Sport is an interdisciplinary, in-depth qualitative exploration of how sports leaders perceive, evaluate and champion efforts to prevent gendered violence and promote consent ‘on and off the field’.

The study is an important step in understanding how consent is interpreted and defined by leaders in sports that have been traditionally dominated by men, and what efforts have been made to overcome gender barriers and sexual violence.

This study also extends knowledge on violence prevention and consent in mainstream sports such as rugby, AFL , cricket, equestrian sports, college sport environments and also addresses a critical lack of research on increasingly popular ‘alternative’ sports.

This includes skateboarding, which has transformed from a youth culture to an Olympic sport.

The project will generate a deeper understanding of the solutions but also struggles by those in power who have a responsibility to promote safety and consent through policy, action plans, campaigns and other organisational processes.

Outcome Report

Oral health service provision for refugees has been identified as a priority area in Queensland.

Queensland’s astronomical dental waitlist has contributed to the delays for eligible people to receive adequate dental care, especially for the refugee community.

It is the experience of refugee health service providers that oral health needs for people from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds is a high priority, with dental pain a key factor.

On refugees' arrival, there is exposure to western diets including sugary drinks and processed foods, health-seeking behaviours due to cultural sensitivity, and language barriers. Commonly understood barriers may include cost, appropriateness of service delivery and lower levels of health literacy.

However, there is a limited understanding of practices of oral service delivery for refugee communities and appropriateness of services among refugee communities.