
Mr Nathan Scott
Lecturer - Music
School of Creative Industries (Music)
- Email:nathan.scott@newcastle.edu.au
- Phone:(02) 4921 8922
Using digital technology to improve health and wellbeing
Nathan Scott’s research hopes to make rehabilitation more accessible for stroke survivors, allowing services normally conducted face-to-face to be delivered using mobile devices.
Nathan Scott’s research and use of digital technology aims to make rehabilitation quicker and easier for stroke survivors. In Australia, stroke is one of the biggest killers and a leading cause of disability with 38% of survivors suffering Aphasia, a communication disability caused by damage to the language centres of the brain. It has significant implications for an individual’s functioning and quality of life however it is often treatable through rehabilitation. Nathan is working on a project that is bringing rehab services to patients in their own homes.
“We are experimenting with mobile digital technology to provide a rehabilitation service that people can undertake at their own pace without having to travel. Small amounts of regular rehab may often be more effective than undertaking it once off for a longer duration, so if people can work on it more frequently at home, we believe they will achieve greater improvements in their speech,” Nathan said.
Nathan is a sound technologist, musician and developer and is using these skills to produce online rehabilitation material that is self-paced and can be watched on the patient’s mobile device. He is also working on research that aims to use mobile devices to enhance the monitoring and feedback of improvements to patient’s speech.
“We are looking at using mobile phones to track a patient’s face as they talk and sing. This data can be analysed and also sent to a speech pathologist to monitor changes in their facial movements and speech patterns over time,” Nathan commented.
Nathan also uses electroencephalogram headsets to measure brainwaves while people engage in music-making.
“It’s an area I find fascinating,” Nathan said. “I’m working with neurotechnology to gather and process brain data then represent it in a meaningful and artistic visualisation.”
Singing for stroke recovery
Nathan works with the team that facilitates Newcastle’s BrainWaves Choir, a choir for people who have survived a stroke.
“We’ve seen evidence of people’s speech returning after stroke and words spoken after singing. The choir has also improved people’s social connection and we’ve seen great demand for it, a trend that is echoed around the world as choirs for wellbeing gain popularity due to their inherent medical benefits,” Nathan said.
“The rehabilitation videos we aim to produce can supplement the physical face to face interactions stroke survivors have at the choir and with their speech pathologists,” he said.
“The brain has neuroplasticity and can form new neural connections throughout a person’s life. We want to provide ways to help the brain adapt following a stroke. I’m looking at how we can take this into the digital domain and innovate to support stroke survivors.”
“Stroke is a leading cause of disability in Australia. This work aims to help people improve stroke survivors’ quality of life.”
Bringing international musicians together through digital technology
Nathan has always been passionate about music and digital technology since working with Atari computers in the 1990’s. He studied sound production in Sydney before completing a Masters degree looking at the Information and Communication Technology literacy of music educators.
At UON he has specialised in sound and video engagement through digital networks and was telematic manager for the 2012 International Space Time Concerto Competition. Partnering with AARNet and Polycom, the event created audio and visual hubs across five countries to create an online streaming network.
“The aim of the event was to push the boundaries of music performance through a global real-time collaboration. It drew on high-speed research networks while celebrating historical and emerging musical styles. Engaging musicians and audiences in five locations was a challenge, particularly with the issue of latency over such large distances” Nathan said.
“It was a really interesting project to work on and highlighted what can occur when a creative research team is put together.”
Using digital technology to improve health and wellbeing
Nathan Scott’s research hopes to make rehabilitation more accessible for stroke survivors, allowing services normally conducted face-to-face to be delivered using mobile devices.
Career Summary
Biography
Nathan Scott is a lecturer in the School of Creative Industries at the University of Newcastle. He has interdisciplinary research interests that span the creative arts, technology, science, health and education.
Nathan has presented and performed internationally and has published in the areas of music, technology, education, gaming and the human voice. In 2012 Nathan was the telematic manager for the International Space Time Concerto Competition. He has presented workshops in regional NSW for the NSW Department of Education and Training (2003) and developed an online international postgraduate program supporting the use of technology in music contexts. He was selected as an early-career researcher to participate in the CHASS Expanding Horizons forum in Canberra (2006) and undertook a work integrated learning sub-project as part of an ALTC National Teaching Fellowship (2010).
Research Expertise
Nathan’s background provides scope for creative cross-disciplinary synergies. These include collaboration with historians, educators, engineers and medical researchers. His core areas of expertise (music/sound, electronics and technology) have multiple facets that also embrace healthcare, digital networks and gaming.
His more recent research activities include examining the benefits of digital communication technologies and choral singing in the context of stroke rehabilitation. He has discussed this preliminary research at a number of forums including Music and the Mind (March 2018) and Spotlight on Stroke (May 2018). Other areas of enquiry include examining brain activity (using EEG) during music-making activities and developing new forms of interfaces for human expression.
Teaching Expertise
Nathan currently supervises HDR students from a variety of discipline areas and supervises Honours projects. He founded the music production discipline at the University of Newcastle and created one of the world's first online postgraduate coursework programs in music technology (Master of Music Technology). Nathan has taught tertiary students online from throughout Australia and around the world. He currently teaches into the Bachelor of Music and Master of Creative Industries programs.
Administrative Expertise
Nathan has experience as both a program convenor and course coordinator and has been involved in the review of undergraduate programs. He was member of a DET accreditation panel for a private education provider and has developed MOU's with partner organisations. He is currently a member of the Faculty of Education and Arts Teaching and Learning Committee and is the School of Creative Industries Student Academic Conduct Officer (SACO).
Collaboration
Nathan has collaborated with public broadcasters including the ABC and BBC. He has produced content for radio programs, facilitated live radio (and online) broadcasts and has worked with creative artists in numerous recording sessions over 20 years. He has collaborated with institutions in China, Singapore, Austria and New Zealand for the International Space Time Concerto Competition. Nathan presented a session about video collaboration at the 2011 QUESTnet conference (Brisbane) and continues to be involved with the streaming of content to NSW secondary schools.
Qualifications
- Master of Arts (Music), University of Newcastle
- Certificate IV in Audio Engineering, SAE International Technology College - Sydney
- Bachelor of Music, University of Newcastle
- Graduate Certificate Practice of Tertiary Teaching, University of Newcastle
- Professional Ceritifcate in University Assessment, University of Newcastle
Keywords
- Digital music production
- Health, well-being and creativity
- ICT literacy in music education
- Music composition and performance
- Music-based stroke recovery
- Network music collaboration
- Rehabilitation technology
- Sound and music for games
Fields of Research
Code | Description | Percentage |
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190408 | Music Therapy | 50 |
190406 | Music Composition | 30 |
190407 | Music Performance | 20 |
Professional Experience
UON Appointment
Title | Organisation / Department |
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Lecturer - Music | University of Newcastle School of Creative Industries Australia |
Lecturer - Music | University of Newcastle School of Creative Arts Australia |
Publications
For publications that are currently unpublished or in-press, details are shown in italics.
Chapter (1 outputs)
Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | |||||
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2018 |
Cushing N, Kilmister M, Scott N, 'No Vacancy: History and meaning of contemporary ruins in a regional Australian city', Ruin Porn and the Obsession with Decay, Palgrave Macmillan (Springer International Publishing AG), Cham, Switzerland 155-179 (2018) [B1]
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Journal article (2 outputs)
Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | |||||
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2020 |
Studley T, Drummond J, Scott N, Nesbitt K, 'Evaluating Digital Games for Competitive Music Composition', Organised Sound, 25 75-88 (2020) [C1]
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2017 |
Van Gend M, Matthias P, Scott NB, Allan C, 'Adolescent Girls Changing Voices: Re-thinking Classification', Australian Voice, 18 1-13 (2017) [C1]
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Conference (19 outputs)
Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | |||||
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2020 |
Stickland S, Scott N, Athauda R, 'Towards a Vision for a Virtual DAW Collaboration Studio for Professional Post-Production Music Projects', Australian National University, Canberra (Online) (2020)
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2019 |
Studley T, Drummond J, Scott N, 'Exploring Competitive Musical Creativity in Digital Composition Games', Proceedings of the 7th International Workshop on Musical Metacreation (MUME 2019), University of North Carolina, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA (2019) [E1]
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2019 |
Matthias P, Cornforth D, Scott N, 'Creating Digitally-Enhanced Acoustic Performance Spaces for Pipe Organ and Choir', CreateWorld 2018: Creativity in Progress. Conference Proceedings, Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, Brisbane (2019) [E1]
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2019 |
Stickland S, Athauda R, Scott N, 'Design of a real-time multiparty DAW collaboration application using Web MIDI and WebRTC APIs', Web Audio Conference WAC-2019, Trondheim, Norway (2019) [E1]
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2018 |
Studley T, Drummond J, Scott NB, Nesbitt K, 'Designing for Stochastic Game-Based Composition with Max and Unity', Reflecting Worlds: The Promise and Limitations of Mimesis in Electronic Music. Proceedings of the Australasian Computer Music Conference 2018, Perth, Australia (2018) [E1]
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2018 |
Stickland S, Scott N, Athauda R, 'A Framework for Real-Time Online Collaboration in Music Production', Reflecting Worlds: The Promise and Limitations of Mimesis in Electronic Music. Proceedings of the Australasian Computer Music Conference 2018, Perth, Australia (2018) [E1]
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2018 |
Studley T, Vella R, Scott NB, Nesbitt K, 'A Definition of Creative-Based Music Games', ACSW '18 Proceedings of the Australasian Computer Science Week Multiconference, Brisbane, QLD, Australia (2018) [E1]
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2017 |
Van Gend M, Matthias P, Allan C, Scott NB, 'Australian Adolescent Voices: Rethinking the Choir', ASME XXI National Conference Proceedings, RMIT Melbourne (2017) [E1]
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2015 |
Vella R, Scott NB, 'Making Music Beyond Their Time: Training Musicians for a Future Workforce', ASME XXth National Conference Proceedings, Adelaide (2015) [E1]
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2014 |
Scott NB, 'Music to Middleware: The Growing Challenges of the Game Music Composer', Proceedings of the 2014 Conference on Interactive Entertainment, Newcastle, NSW, Australia (2014) [E1]
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2013 | Scott NB, 'ICT and Music Education: A Study Examining the Digital Literacy of Secondary School Music Teachers', Redefining the musical landscape: Inspired learning and innovation in music education - XIX National Conference Proceedings, Canberra (2013) [E1] | |||||||
2013 |
Vella RJ, Walsh L, Scott NB, Redhead T, 'A Report on Collaborative Music Making at the University of Newcastle Conservatorium of Music', Redefining the musical landscape: Inspired learning and innovation in music education - XIX National Conference Proceedings, Canberra (2013) [E1]
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Show 16 more conferences |
Creative Work (10 outputs)
Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||||
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2020 |
Kenke R, Anelli L, Wright R, Minichiello M, Drummond J, O'Donnell L, et al., The House We Build, Newcastle, NSW (2020) [J1]
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2017 |
Matthias P, Scott NB, Guy P, Lambert B, The Colours of French Choral Music, Harold Lobb Concert Hall (2017) [J1]
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2015 |
Matthias PV, Scott N, Pati D, Echology Celebration, Newcastle Conservatorium Concert Hall, Christ Church Cathedral Newcastle, Temple Church London, St Paul's Cathedral London, Liverpool, Oxford, Cambridge, Shanghai, Manchester, Newcastle NSW (2015) [J1]
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2015 | Scott NB, Illumine - Poem of Sound and Light, Harold Lobb Concert Hall, Newcastle, Australia (2015) [J2] | ||||||
2014 |
Matthias P, Scott N, A Christmas Carol Celebration, Sacred Heart Cathedral, Harold Lobb Concert Hall, The University of Newcastle Great Hall (2014) [J1]
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2013 |
Scott NB, Matthias PV, Gallus J, Haec Est Dies (arranged for three telematically-linked pipe organs), The Harold Lobb Concert Hall, Newcastle, NSW, Australia (2013) [J2]
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2012 |
Vella RJ, Gabrielli G, Scott N, Redhead T, In Ecclesiis - a global performance, Harold Lobb Concert Hall, University of Newcastle & Deep Space, Ars Electronica, Linz, Australia (2012) [J1]
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Show 7 more creative works |
Report (1 outputs)
Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link |
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2013 | Scott NB, 'Report on the International Space Time Concerto Competition prepared for the World Opera International Workshop on High Quality Dynamic cross-continental Networked Artistic interaction', The International World Opera Association, - (2013) |
Thesis / Dissertation (1 outputs)
Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link |
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2013 | Scott NB, A Study Examining the ICT Literacy Levels of Music Educators in the New South Wales Department of Education & Training, The University of Newcastle (2013) |
Grants and Funding
Summary
Number of grants | 6 |
---|---|
Total funding | $21,536 |
Click on a grant title below to expand the full details for that specific grant.
20201 grants / $2,036
2020 FEDUA 'Finish that Output' scheme funding$2,036
Funding body: Faculty of Education and Arts, University of Newcastle
Funding body | Faculty of Education and Arts, University of Newcastle |
---|---|
Project Team | N Scott (Lead); R Athauda (UoN); S Stickland (UoN). |
Scheme | FEDUA 'Finish that Output' scheme |
Role | Lead |
Funding Start | 2020 |
Funding Finish | 2020 |
GNo | |
Type Of Funding | Internal |
Category | INTE |
UON | N |
20181 grants / $5,000
Choral Rehearsal through Mobile Devices - Proof of Concept$5,000
Funding body: School of Creative Industries
Funding body | School of Creative Industries |
---|---|
Project Team | Nathan Scott, Bernadette Matthias, Michael Cuneo |
Scheme | Internal Grants |
Role | Lead |
Funding Start | 2018 |
Funding Finish | 2019 |
GNo | |
Type Of Funding | Internal |
Category | INTE |
UON | N |
20151 grants / $4,000
SOCA Creative Arts Projects Scheme$4,000
Funding body: The University of Newcastle
Funding body | The University of Newcastle |
---|---|
Project Team | Nathan Scott |
Scheme | SOCA Creative Arts Projects Scheme |
Role | Lead |
Funding Start | 2015 |
Funding Finish | 2015 |
GNo | |
Type Of Funding | Internal |
Category | INTE |
UON | N |
20131 grants / $3,000
The World Opera Symposium Travel Grant$3,000
Funding body: The World Opera Association
Funding body | The World Opera Association |
---|---|
Project Team | Professor Niels Windfeld Lund |
Scheme | The World Opera Symposium Travel Grant |
Role | Investigator |
Funding Start | 2013 |
Funding Finish | 2013 |
GNo | |
Type Of Funding | External |
Category | EXTE |
UON | N |
20101 grants / $3,000
ALTC National Teaching Fellowship Sub Project$3,000
Funding body: Australian Learning & Teaching Council
Funding body | Australian Learning & Teaching Council |
---|---|
Project Team | Professor Stephen Billett |
Scheme | National Teaching Fellowship |
Role | Investigator |
Funding Start | 2010 |
Funding Finish | 2010 |
GNo | |
Type Of Funding | External |
Category | EXTE |
UON | N |
20081 grants / $4,500
Online Course Development Fund$4,500
Funding body: The University of Newcastle
Funding body | The University of Newcastle |
---|---|
Project Team | Nathan Scott |
Scheme | DVC Online Course Development Fund |
Role | Lead |
Funding Start | 2008 |
Funding Finish | 2008 |
GNo | |
Type Of Funding | Internal |
Category | INTE |
UON | N |
Research Supervision
Number of supervisions
Past Supervision
Year | Level of Study | Research Title | Program | Supervisor Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | Honours | Innovation and Creativity in Rock Music | Music, The University of Newcastle, Australia | Sole Supervisor |
2017 | Honours | An Evaluation of Music and Sound Implementation Within Competitive Video Games | Music, Faculty of Education and Arts, University of Newcastle | Sole Supervisor |
2017 | Honours | Composing Chamber Works that Utilise Live Electronic Sounds | Music, Faculty of Education and Arts, University of Newcastle | Co-Supervisor |
2017 | Honours | Predictable and Surprising Pop: Applying a Systems Model to Experimental Popular Music | Music, Faculty of Education and Arts, University of Newcastle | Co-Supervisor |
2017 | Honours | Enhancing Video Game Soundtrack’s Contribution to Spatial Presence | Music, Faculty of Education and Arts, University of Newcastle | Sole Supervisor |
2016 | Honours | Creating Alternatives for Conflict Music in Video Games | Music, The University of Newcastle | Co-Supervisor |
Mr Nathan Scott
Position
Lecturer - Music
School of Creative Industries
School of Creative Industries
Faculty of Education and Arts
Focus area
Music
Contact Details
nathan.scott@newcastle.edu.au | |
Phone | (02) 4921 8922 |
Fax | (02) 4921 8958 |
Link | Research Networks |
Office
Room | X-439 |
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Building | NUspace |
Location | City Campus , |