Digital Commons Network^™

Young Lions : The Changing Face Of South African Youth Politics 1944-1994, Jubalane Matsebula

Theses : Honours

The changing face of South African youth politics and the construction of youth identities in official discourse has always been an area of interest. During the struggle against apartheid, the youth category was contested by two diametrically opposed sets of discourse: the liberatory and the conservative. This study is about Black youth politics from 1944 to 1994 with especial reference to the changes in discourses of liberation and the construction of youth within these discourses. It explores the role of young people in the liberation struggle, how they were constituted by others and how they constituted themselves. This study posits …

Developmental Aspects : Metacognition And Problem Solving, Roseanne Gibson

Theses : Honours

Mathematical problem solving has been the focus of recent curriculum reform. Researchers have investigated factors that appear to influence mathematical problem solving: one of these factors is metacognition. This study identified metacognitive aspects and investigated the relationship of metacognition and age in the context of mathematical problem solving. Twenty four children were randomly chosen: eight children from years two. four and six. The children were given the same non-routine problem to solve. A semi-structured interview and observation protocol were developed and used to determine students' metacognitive aspects. There was an extensive descriptive analysis of metacognitive aspects and a systematic quantification …

Nonresidential Father Perception Of Father-Child Relationships: An Exploratory Analysis Of Family Functioning, Wendy J. Nicholls

Theses : Honours

Nonresidential father experiences of family life with their children lack attention in the literature. Nonresidential fathers often suffer considerably, as they attempt to continue their parenting role with limited access lime. Consequently, their relationships with their children may suffer, sometimes resulting in visitation ceasing altogether. Father contact is important to the developmental and psychological well-being of children, yet is often hindered by restricted access, distance, parental conflict and the father's emotional state. Nonresidential father perspectives of family life with their children are explored in this study, to gain insight into nonresidential father experiences. This study replicated a study conducted by …

The Effects Of A Sense Of Humour On Empathic-Responses : Testing Positive And Negative Affect As Mediating Variables, Michael Francis Sheehan

Theses : Honours

Research investigating individual differences in empathy-related responding has shown sympathy (an other oriented response involving concern) and perspective taking (the psychological adoption of another's point of view) to be related to emotional regulation and more positive affect, and personal distress (an egoistic reaction to another's distress) to be associated with overarousal and more negative affect Separate research investigating the stress-moderating effects of humour has linked coping humour to reduced negative affect and the maintenance of positive affect. The present study tested a model that hypothesised that coping humour would have an indirect affect on each empathy-related variable through positive and …

Someone's Calling Your Swatch: Youth, Technology And Power, Su-Lyn Tan

Theses : Honours

Common assumptions about youth and youth culture exist in academic, as well as other adult cultures. These assumptions underlie policy decisions, programming choices, and even the way we (as adults) treat youth. This study proposes to examine Singaporean youth and their use of pagers, in terms of Foucauldian theories of power; in an attempt to draw critical attention to these common assumptions. The intention is to explore the ambiguities of such common assumptions as sites of power relations; relations that are inherent to all societies in one way or another. The pager is not a conventional focus for communication research. …

Reading Dolly : The Reading Practices Of Adolescent Girls, Suzanne Fleming

Theses : Honours

In recent years the representation and participation of women in the media has received a great deal of attention. So too, has the area of language and gender. Research and discussions around these two fields intersect to provide a context for this research project. Unlike any study located to date, this study provides a theoretical exploration of practices girls employ when reading Dolly, an Australian teen magazine aimed at adolescent females. The project involves 11 year-eight girls from two metropolitan schools and aims to answer questions regarding the reading practices they employ when reading Dolly, the meanings they make with …

The Development Of Drink Driving Policy In Western Australia, 1990-1996, Evanya Cameron

Theses : Honours

In the last two decades, road safety has emerged as a significant issue in public policy, not only in Australia but internationally. In particular, measures to reduce the increasing number of drink drivers has been of top priority. Despite this importance, Western Australia has lagged considerably behind other Australian states, and especially New South Wales and Victoria in all areas of drink driving policy development and implementation. This study investigates the reasons for the slow development of drink driving policy from 1990-1996, by examining the Western Australian policy making process. The roles of each of the crucial policy actors, the …

Bullying In Schools : An Extension And Replication Of Schoolchildren's Attitudes And Helping Behaviour Toward Victims Of Bullying, Kathy Elliott

Theses : Honours

A replication and extension of Rigby and Slee's (1991) study, was conducted in rural Western Australia to investigate age and gender differences in schoolchildren's attitudes and behaviour toward victims of bullying. One hundred and seventy two students (93 Females, 79 males) participated in the study, comprising of, Year 3, Year 7, Year 8, and Year 12 students. Three written, anonymous questionnaires were used: (i) The Peer Relations Questionnaire (Rigby & Slee, 1994) and (ii) the Pro-Victim Scale (Rigby & Slee, 1991) examined students peer interactions and attitudes toward victims; and a self-developed questionnaire, (iii) the Victim Questionnaire, was ased to …

The Causes And Consequences Of Interactions Between Aboriginal And Non-Aboriginal Primary School Children From The Perspective Of Their Parents, Catherine M. Brennan

Theses : Honours

Racism is found in all societies but is a particular problem in post-colonial immigrant majority societies where the indigenous population have been dispossessed of their land and experience social injustices. Aboriginal people are the most disadvantaged group in Australian society and despite the current policies of self-determination and cultural pluralism they remain at the bottom of all social indicators. The aim of this study is to examine the causes and consequences of racism against Aboriginal children from the perspective of their parents. To do this a case-study of seven Aboriginal parents with primary school aged children was undertaken to see …

Intergenerational Contact And Children's Perceptions Of Seniors, Jacqueline L. Carmichael

Theses : Honours

The exploration of issues relating to intergenerational contact and children's perceptions of seniors has received little attention in the area of gerontology. This study employed a survey research approach, utilising a questionnaire to explore this topic. This survey was given to a group of one hundred and six students in Year Six and Seven in a metropolitan Western Australian primary school. The aim of this research is to explore the relationship between intergenerational contact and the perceptions held by primary school aged children about seniors. Previous findings demonstrate that there was either no relationship between the variables or only a …

An Investigation Of Agency In Children's Own Narrative Writing Before And After Exposure To Counter-Sexist Texts, Jane Nolan

Theses : Honours

This research focuses on the issue of gender in education. It looks at the role counter-sexist texts play in the formation, consolidation and interruption of children's gender ideology. It initially investigates whether or not counter-sexist texts can change agency in children's writing by analysing children's own narrative writing. Then it seeks to shed light on the ways that children respond to these types of texts by using transcripts from discussion sessions.

The sample consisted of 20 students from a Western Australian state primary school. These students were randomly distributed into a control and experimental group. Each week, for a period …

Individual Differences In Word Association And Inference Generation From Brief Discourse, Alison L. Clark

Theses : Honours

When people read a short discourse, both more and less skilled readers make word associations. However, it has also been found that, whereas more skilled readers generate inferences from the text, less skilled readers do not (Long, Oppy, & Seely, 1994). The present study partially replicates and extends the study of Long et al. (1994) by investigating the pattern of word associations and whether less skilled readers may be able to generate inferences if given more time to process the discourse. In particular, the study investigates whether word association are made and inferences are drawn as part of an automatic …

The Impact On Juries Of Pre-Recording Children's Evidence, Josephine Hubble

Theses : Honours

The impact on juries of pre-recording children's evidence was investigated. University undergraduate students (N = 123; 91 females, 32 males) volunteered to participate in the study as mock jurors. Participants either watched a videotape or read a transcript of a simulated trial involving a child sexual abuse case. Participants who watched the videotape saw the child give evidence either by closed circuit television or by a pre-re-cording. Participants who read the transcript were advised the child's evidence had been given via closed circuit television or had been pre-recorded. After viewing the videotape or reading the transcript, participants completed a questionnaire …

Patterns Of Anger, Attribution, And Appraisal, Andrew J. Ellis

Theses : Honours

A single study investigates two cognitive theories of anger arousal, and the hostile attribution bias (HAB) phenomenon from the aggression literature. It was argued that the role of B. Weiner’s (1985, 1986) casual attribution dimension of intentionality has been underestimated in anger arousal; and it was hypothesised that when attributions of intentionality increase anger arousal increases. R. S. Lazarus and K. A. Smith's ( 1988) appraisal theory holds that emotions arc aroused in response to personally relevant events, and without this appraisal process causal attibutions are insufficient to evoke emotions. Based on this it was hypothesised that appraisal components are …

Attributions Of Negative Partner Behaviour By Men Who Physically Abuse Their Partners, Santina Tonizzo

Theses : Honours

Conflict in close relationships is associated with specific patterns of attributions (Bradbury & Fincham 1990). The objective of this study was to investigate If violence would be associated with particular type of attributions made for negative partner behaviours. Three groups of men were classified using the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS; Straus, 1979) as physically violent (in Domestic Violence Intervention Progams), (n = 19), non-physically violent in (counselling), ( n = 17), and non-physically violent in the (community), (n = 31 ). The Relationship Attribution Measure (RAM) by Fincham & Bradbury, ( 1992) was used to assess the attributional dependent variables …

An Examination Of The Influence Of Court Interpreters Upon Attributions Of Defendant And Plaintiff Culpability, Grace Frances

Theses : Honours

An expressed reluctance of the courts to employ interpreters has been challenged on the basis that a failure to provide such assistance to the Non-English Speaking (NES) witness contravenes the principles of natural justice. Further, NES defendants risk being misunderstood and incapacitated in their ability to effectively communicate the intended meaning of the evidence they are giving. In order to determine whether the presence of an interpreter exerts influence upon attributions of culpability given to a NES defendant, it was .important to identify whether evaluations were based on the interpreter's presence or on the defendant's ethnicity. Therefore, three trial conditions …

The Role Of Social Support Networks In The Independent Functioning Of Elderly Persons, Maree Gabbedy

Theses : Honours

There is conclusive evidence which highlights the importance of physical and mental health in the ability of elderly persons to function within society, and elderly persons who require services to maintain their independence, are assumed to have lower levels of functioning than persons who do not apply for, or require assistance. Individuals, however, are rarely totally independent, as most people are involved in social networks, where the reciprocal exchange of money, emotional support, goods and services are exchanged with friends family and neighbours. This study, examined the role of social support networks in the independent functioning of the elderly, in …

Self-Concept Differences Between Bullied And Non-Bullied Children, Wendy Forrest

Theses : Honours

The purpose of this study was to compare bullied and non-bullied children in order to ascc1tain whether the two groups varied on specific self-concept factors. The theoretical position was that low self-concept was related to bullying and as such, bullied children would score lower on a stipulated self-concept test. The sample comprised fifty-three bullied and fifty-three non-bullied children from grades six to nine, selected from three large state city schools and six large state country schools with similar socio-economic status. The students were allocated to the "bullied" and "non-bullied" groups by class teachers using specified criteria. All fifty-three bullied children …