For my blog today, I'm playing with the movable participle. Here are some changes:

OLD
Researchers have studied ballads and haint tales, poetry and belief statements to find conventions and trends which lead to better understandings of Appalachian culture.

NEW
Through studying haint tales and belief statements, researchers have developed better understandings of Appalachian culture.

OLD
The ways such narratives take shape in Appalachia is as diverse as its geography and its people.

NEW
Shaping Appalachia are its narratives, which are as diverse as its geography and its people.

I'm playing particular attention to how the NEW sentences change the focus/attention of the line. Although they seem less natural (maybe because they are new to me, or maybe because they defy traditional structure), moving the participle does seem to allow you to re-focus your reader's attention.