This dissertation takes the form of an inter-subjective investigation into the ritual of performance, considering its function in terms of community engagement and its place in contemporary society. Ritual is placed in a secular context in which music is performed through the development of individual artistic expression, yet presented in a way that engages the audience as active participants. In this way audience and performer are united in experiencing the affect of music upon the emotions and the mind. / The views of art theorists, historians and critics, anthropologists, musicologists and arts practitioners, are held in the light of the author’s creative output through which a range of questions emerge regarding the cultivation of artistic identity, the artist’s role in the refinement of cultural expression, the relevance of live performance in the digital age, the transformational qualities of artistic practice upon the social and intellectual evolution of humanity, and the value of new musical language. / Chapter One examines the relationship between audience and musician from a performer’s perspective, in relation to Milton Babbitt’s article, Who Cares if You Listen? The connection between music performance and ritual practice and the possibility that artistic expression can actively engage audience receptivity is discussed in Chapter Two. Chapter Three contemplates the philosophical stance of the Art for Art’s Sake movement, that art exists in its own right without reference to the emotive experiences of humanity. Topics such as formal structure, the absence or presence of ethical content, the concept of aesthetic emotion and self objectivity, are examined alongside discussions of perception and consciousness. Chapter Four argues that performance, as ritual ceremony, becomes a porous boundary between lived and dream-like experience, through which the audience may pass to experience art on a profound level. The shared gesture of performer and audience becomes a life-enriching act that in turn nourishes all of society.

This dissertation takes the form of an inter-subjective investigation into the ritual of performance, considering its function in terms of community engagement and its place in contemporary society. Ritual is placed in a secular context in which music is performed through the development of individual artistic expression, yet presented in a way that engages the audience as active participants. In this way audience and performer are united in experiencing the affect of music upon the emotions and the mind. / The views of art theorists, historians and critics, anthropologists, musicologists and arts practitioners, are held in the light of the author’s creative output through which a range of questions emerge regarding the cultivation of artistic identity, the artist’s role in the refinement of cultural expression, the relevance of live performance in the digital age, the transformational qualities of artistic practice upon the social and intellectual evolution of humanity, and the value of new musical language. / Chapter One examines the relationship between audience and musician from a performer’s perspective, in relation to Milton Babbitt’s article, Who Cares if You Listen? The connection between music performance and ritual practice and the possibility that artistic expression can actively engage audience receptivity is discussed in Chapter Two. Chapter Three contemplates the philosophical stance of the Art for Art’s Sake movement, that art exists in its own right without reference to the emotive experiences of humanity. Topics such as formal structure, the absence or presence of ethical content, the concept of aesthetic emotion and self objectivity, are examined alongside discussions of perception and consciousness. Chapter Four argues that performance, as ritual ceremony, becomes a porous boundary between lived and dream-like experience, through which the audience may pass to experience art on a profound level. The shared gesture of performer and audience becomes a life-enriching act that in turn nourishes all of society.

This dissertation takes the form of an inter-subjective investigation into the ritual of performance, considering its function in terms of community engagement and its place in contemporary society. Ritual is placed in a secular context in which music is performed through the development of individual artistic expression, yet presented in a way that engages the audience as active participants. In this way audience and performer are united in experiencing the affect of music upon the emotions and the mind. / The views of art theorists, historians and critics, anthropologists, musicologists and arts practitioners, are held in the light of the author’s creative output through which a range of questions emerge regarding the cultivation of artistic identity, the artist’s role in the refinement of cultural expression, the relevance of live performance in the digital age, the transformational qualities of artistic practice upon the social and intellectual evolution of humanity, and the value of new musical language. / Chapter One examines the relationship between audience and musician from a performer’s perspective, in relation to Milton Babbitt’s article, Who Cares if You Listen? The connection between music performance and ritual practice and the possibility that artistic expression can actively engage audience receptivity is discussed in Chapter Two. Chapter Three contemplates the philosophical stance of the Art for Art’s Sake movement, that art exists in its own right without reference to the emotive experiences of humanity. Topics such as formal structure, the absence or presence of ethical content, the concept of aesthetic emotion and self objectivity, are examined alongside discussions of perception and consciousness. Chapter Four argues that performance, as ritual ceremony, becomes a porous boundary between lived and dream-like experience, through which the audience may pass to experience art on a profound level. The shared gesture of performer and audience becomes a life-enriching act that in turn nourishes all of society.

This thesis undertakes a description and analysis of the way in which Australian higher education students perform roles through the use of online role-play systems at the University of Melbourne. It includes a description of two case studies: DRALE Online, developed in 1997, and The Campaign, developed in 2003. The research undertakes a detailed study of The Campaign, using empirical data derived from classroom observations, online communications, and semi-structured interviews. It undertakes a qualitative analysis of these data using an interpretive approach informed by models drawn from social theory and sociotechnical theory. Educational authors argue that online educational role-plays engage students in authentic learning, and represent an improvement over didactic teaching strategies. According to this literature, online role-play systems afford students the opportunity of acting and doing instead of only reading and listening. Literature in social theory and social studies of technology takes a different view of certain concepts such as performance, identity and reality. Models such as actor-network theory ask us to consider all actors in the sociotechnical network in order to understand how society and technology are related. This thesis examines these concepts by addressing a series of research questions, such as how students become engaged with identities, how identities are mediated, and the extent to which roles in these role-plays are shaped by the system, the scenario, and the agency of the actors themselves.