Digital Commons Network^™

Better Health Choices: Feasability And Preliminary Effectiveness Of A Peer Delivered Healthy Lifestyle Intervention In A Community Mental Health Setting, Peter James Kelly, Amanda Baker, Naomi Fagan, Alyna Turner, Frank P. Deane, Rebecca Mcketin, Robin Callister, Clare Collins, Isabella Ingram, Keren Wolstencroft, Camilla Townsend, Briony Osborne, Adam Zimmermann

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

2019 Elsevier Ltd Background: To reduce smoking and improve other health behaviours of people living with severe mental illness, healthy lifestyle interventions have been recommended. One approach to improving the availability of these types of interventions is to utilise the mental health peer workforce. The current study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of peer-workers facilitating a telephone delivered healthy lifestyle intervention within community based mental health settings. The study also examined preliminary outcomes of the intervention. Methods: The study was conducted as a randomised controlled feasibility trial. In addition to treatment as usual, participants randomised to the Treatment Condition were …

Self-Regulation And Executive Function Longitudinally Predict Advanced Learning In Preschool, Steven J. Howard, Elena Vasseleu

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

While the early years are often regarded as a critical period for establishing and supporting the developmental trajectories of delayed and typically developing children, they also represent a critical time for advanced learners. Yet to support advanced learners, a better understanding of sources and mechanisms of precocious early learning is needed. While there is ample research separately indicating importance of executive functions (EFs) and self-regulation for learning more broadly, it remains unclear whether, which, and to what extent EFs and/or self-regulation might account for the incidence of advanced learning in the prior-to-school years. The current study sought to investigate the …

The Perceptions And Usage Of Alcohol And Other Drugs In Middle Eastern And Burmese Refugee Communities Across The Illawarra And Shoalhaven Region, Jioji Ravulo, Dianne Woods, Lance R. Barrie, Joseph Abdo

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

People from a refugee background experience intersecting challenges which predisposes them to a heightened risk of alcohol and other drugs (AOD) related harms. Despite AOD service staff being conscious of increased risks regarding substance usage, there remains pivotal inextricable differences amongst the way cultures and subcultures conceptualise and relate to substance usage. This may be evident for refugee populations that have to navigate through the experiences of displacement, resettlement, and the acculturation process. Despite refugee populations being at risk for AOD harm, the services available for support remain under utilised. As a result, this can highlight discrepancies within the knowledge(s) …

‘Don’T Let Anyone Bring Me Down Again’: Applying ‘Possible Selves’ To Understanding Persistence Of Mature-Age First-In-Family Students, Janine Delahunty, Sarah Elizabeth O'Shea

Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) - Papers

This article applies the framework of possible selves to the motivation and persistence behaviours of one group of university students. We draw on possible selves to consider how particular goal-focused actions and life experiences may significantly shape movements towards imagined futures. Utilising a narrative approach from longitudinal data, this article considers the ways in which possible selves were articulated by five first-in-family students, all of whom were mature-aged women returning to formal learning. A series of vignettes enabled us to explore how students themselves conceived of this movement into university, and how hoped-for selves were considered and enacted (or not). …

Older, Online And First: Recommendations For Retention And Success, Cathy Stone, Sarah Elizabeth O'Shea

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The university student population in Australia contains increasing numbers of older students returning to learning after a significant gap in their educational journey. Many are choosing to enrol online to combine their studies with other time-consuming responsibilities. This article examines the nature of this online student experience with a focus on those aged 25 and over who are the first in their families to embark on university studies. Drawing on interviews conducted with both staff and students operating in this virtual space, as well as other related research and literature, this article offers recommendations to higher education institutions and educators …

Water, Skin And Touch: Migrant Bathing Assemblages, Gordon R. Waitt, Louisa Welland

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This paper offers a contribution to cultures of urban water research through household ethnographies conducted with 16 participants who migrated from Burma to Sydney, Australia. We draw on a strand of corporeal feminism and offer the concept of bathing assemblages to interpret how watery skin encounters provide clues to how participants washed themselves in their 'home' country may persist, transform or stop. Our analysis maps how dimensions of the self (ethical, gender, class, ethnic, national faith and others) are constituted by, and generative of, the felt intensities of watery encounters through different bathing assemblages. This paper illustrates how bathing practices …

Association Between Breaks In Sitting Time And Adiposity In Australian Toddlers: Results From The Get-Up! Study, Eduarda Manuela De Sousa Rodrigues De Sa, Joao Rafael Rodrigues Pereira, Zhiguang Zhang, Sanne L.C Veldman, Anthony D. Okely, Rute Santos

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background: In youth, research on the health benefits of breaking up sitting time is inconsistent. Our aim was to explore the association between the number of breaks in sitting time and adiposity in Australian toddlers. Methods: This study comprised 266 toddlers (52% boys), aged 19.6 ± 4.2 months from the GET-UP! Study, Australia. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated and z-scores by age and sex were computed for waist circumference (WC). Participants were classified as overweight according to the WHO criteria for BMI. For WC, participants with a z-score≥1SD were considered overweight. Sitting time was assessed with activPALs during childcare …

Utilising The Social Return On Investment (Sroi) Framework To Gauge Social Value In The Fast Forward Program, Jioji Ravulo, Shannon Said, Jim Micsko, Gayl Purchase

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

A market paradigm shift towards a 'knowledge-based economy' means Australia is moving towards a major skills crisis whereby the workforce will lack skills attainable from higher education. Moreover, those from low socio-economic backgrounds, and who are confronted with disadvantage, still face challenges in gaining entry to university. The Fast Forward Program (FFP) aims to increase attainment of higher education for greater western Sydney high school students in years 9-12, with a focus on dismantling the social barriers preventing attainment. To achieve this aim, the program hosts a range of student and parent in-school workshops and on-campus visits. To capture the …

Own A Bike You Never Ride? We Need To Learn How To Fail Better At Active Transport, Glen Fuller, Gordon R. Waitt, Ian M. Buchanan, Tess Lea, Theresa Harada

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Once upon a time when something was simple to do we said: "It's as easy as riding a bike." But switching from driving a car to riding a bike as one's main means of transport is anything but easy. The well-documented obstacles holding people back from cycling include a lack of proper bike lanes, secure parking arrangements, end-of-trip facilities and bike-friendly public transport, as well as lack of convenient storage space. Despite these obstacles, people continue to try to make cycling a central part of their lives, with varying degrees of success. While we know broadly what the impediments are, …

People From Refugee And Asylum Seeking Backgrounds: An Open Access Annotated Bibliography (2nd Edition), Sally Baker, Georgina Ramsay, Megan Rose, Anja Wendt, Prasheela Karan, Priyanka Bose, Neriman Coskun, Skye Playsted, Simon Williams, Anna Xavier, Angela Yang

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This open access annotated bibliography has been curated by a collective of scholars who share an interest in the impacts of forced migration on people from refugee, asylum seeking and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) migrant backgrounds. These resources are intended to be shared with the international community of researchers, students, educators and practitioners who work with, or are interested in, forced migration, education, employment and resettlement.

Maths Anxious Pre-Service Teachers' Perspectives Of "Doing" Mathematics In A Whiteboard Room, Sarah Sanders, Wendy S. Nielsen, Carolyn Mcphail, Patricia A. Forrester

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Mathematics anxiety is common among pre-service primary teachers and many experience higher levels of maths anxiety than other university students. This study asks: What are maths anxious pre-service teachers' perspectives of "doing" mathematics in a whiteboard room? The Abbreviated Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale (A-MARS) was used to identify high, medium and low levels of maths anxiety in a cohort of first-year pre-service teachers (n=196). Semi-structured interviews (n=6) explored perspectives that were analysed through Vygotsky's sociocultural dimensions of the intrapersonal and the interpersonal, as well as the physical environment of the whiteboard room. Results show that doing maths in a whiteboard …

My Children... Think It's Cool That Mum Is A Uni Student: Women With Caring Responsibilities Studying Online, Cathy Stone, Sarah Elizabeth O'Shea

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Much has been written about the growing influence and reach of online learning in higher education, including the opportunities that this can offer for improving student equity and widening participation. One area of student equity in which online learning has an influence is that of gender equity, particularly for mature-age students. This article explicitly explores how the dual identities of student and family carer are managed by women studying online. It highlights the largely invisible yet emotional and time-consuming additional load that many women are carrying and discusses the importance of this being recognised and accommodated at an institutional level. …

"A Passion And Enthusiasm To Bring Out The Best In All": Regional Candidate Teacher Motivations, Lynn D. Sheridan

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

In this study the career motivations and values of regional candidate teachers are investigated using a mixed methodology. Expectancy-value theory (Wigfield & Eccles, 2000) supports the understanding of motivations through the use of four key value categories: interest, utility, attainment and cost. A total of 135 pre-service teachers were surveyed using a modified survey instrument. This study addresses a gap in career motivational literature by exploring the motivations of regional teacher candidates. Current research indicates that quality staffing in Australian regional schools remains a significant concern. Findings indicated that candidates' motivations tended to be aspirational, yet there also exist strong …

Cruel Optimism? Socially Critical Perspectives On The Obesity Assemblage, Lisette Burrows, Deana Leahy, Jan Wright

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Socially critical scholars in Health and Physical Education (HPE) have been raising questions about the ethical, moral and social consequences of charging schools with the burden of ameliorating an ‘obesity’ problem for years, yet there is little sign of any substantial shift in the thinking that drives obesity strategies and policies in and around schools. Drawing on exemplars from our own and others’ practice, we interrogate the extent to which socially critical obesity work, and post-structural work, in particular, can contribute to new understandings of the ‘obesity assemblage’. Can our own repetitive aspirations to disrupt dominant discourses be regarded as …

#Metoo Has Changed The Media Landscape, But In Australia There Is Still Much To Be Done, Bianca Fileborn, Rachel E. Loney-Howes, Sophie Hindes

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Emerging in October 2017 in response to allegations of sexual assault perpetrated by Hollywood movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, #MeToo highlighted the potential for traditional and social media to work together to generate global interest in gender-based violence. Within 24 hours, survivors around the world had used the hashtag 12 million times.

Environmental Values, Knowledge And Behaviour: Contributions Of An Emergent Literature On The Role Of Ethnicity And Migration, Lesley M. Head, Natascha Klocker, Ikerne Aguirre-Bielschowsky

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Amidst calls for paradigm shifts in environmental scholarship, we track an emergent literature on how environmental values, knowledge and behaviour (EVKB) change (or not) with the migration process. We focus on the role of Majority World migrants to the Minority World. Large-scale survey research into EVKB is beginning to consider both ethnicity and migration history as important variables, but tends to leave the concepts of environment and environmental behaviour unexamined. Western EVKB indicators thus tend to be universalized rather than understood as themselves culturally specific. An emergent literature attempts to improve both quantitative and qualitative research on EVKB by broadening …

Mental Health Presentations To Acute Psychiatric Services: 3-Year Study Of Prevalence And Readmission Risk For Personality Disorders Compared With Psychotic, Affective, Substance Or Other Disorders, Kate L. Lewis, Mahnaz Fanaian, Beth Kotze, Brin F. S Grenyer

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background The relative burden and risk of readmission for people with personality disorders in hospital settings is unknown. Aims To compare hospital use of people with personality disorder with that of people with other mental health diagnoses, such as psychoses and affective disorders. Method Naturalistic study of hospital presentations for mental health in a large community catchment. Mixed-effects Cox regression and survival curves were generated to examine risk of readmission for each group. Results Of 2894 people presenting to hospital, patients with personality disorder represented 20.5% of emergency and 26.6% of in-patients. Patients with personality disorder or psychoses were 2.3 …

Caffeine Affects Children's Erps And Performance In An Equiprobable Go/No-Go Task: Testing A Processing Schema, Robert J. Barry, Frances M. De Blasio, Jack Fogarty

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Caffeine's stimulant properties were used to test a proposed processing schema for children's processing stages in the equiprobable auditory go/no-go task. Active control-related ERP components were hypothesized to be differentially enhanced by caffeine. Caffeine (80 mg) was administered in a counterbalanced, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study of 24 children, aged 8-12 years. Four blocks of an equiprobable auditory go/no-go task were completed on each of two occasions, while on or off caffeine. ERP data sets from each condition (caffeine/go, placebo/go, caffeine/no-go, placebo/no-go) were subjected to separate temporal PCAs with extraction and varimax rotation of all components. Caffeine significantly reduced reaction …

Parental Involvement In Decision-Making About Their Child's Health Care At The Hospital, Antje Aarthun, Knut Oymar, Kristin Akerjordet

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Aim: To explore parents' experiences on parental involvement in decision-making about their child's health care at the hospital and to identify how health professionals can improve parental involvement. Design: An explorative descriptive qualitative study within a constructivist research paradigm. Methods: Individual semistructured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 12 parents. Qualitative content analysis was performed. Results: This study gives unique insight into how parental involvement in children's healthcare decisions influence parents' ability to cope with the parental role at the hospital. The results showed that parents' competence and perceived influence and control over their child's health care appeared …

Pharmacists And Patients Sharing Decisions About Medicines: Development And Feasibility Of A Conversation Guide, Kristie Weir, Carissa Bonner, Kirsten Mccaffery, Vasi Naganathan, Stacy M. Carter, Debbie Rigby, Lyndal Trevena, Andrew J. Mclachlan, Jesse Jansen

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background: In Australia, the Home Medicines Review (HMR) is a nationally-funded program, led by pharmacists to optimize medication use for older people. A Medicines Conversation Guide was developed for pharmacists to use in the context of a HMR. The Guide aims to increase patient involvement and support discussions about: general health understanding, decision-making and information preferences, health priorities related to medicines, patient goals and fears, views on important activities and trade-offs.

Objective: This study describes the development and feasibility testing of a Medicines Conversation Guide in HMRs with pharmacists and older patients.

Methods: The Guide was developed using a systematic …

Sms Sos: A Randomized Controlled Trial To Reduce Self-Harm And Suicide Attempts Using Sms Text Messaging, Garry J. Stevens, Trent Hammond, Suzanne Brownhill, Manish Anand, Anabel De La Riva, Jean Hawkins, Tristan Chapman, Richard Baldacchino, Jo Micallef, Jagadeesh Andepalli, Anita Kotak, Naren Gunja, Andrew Page, Grahame V. Gould, Christopher Ryan, Ian Whyte, Gregory L. Carter, Alison L. Jones

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background: Hospital-treated deliberate self-harm (DSH) is common, costly and has high repetition rates. Since brief contact interventions (BCIs) may reduce the risk of DSH repetition, we aim to evaluate whether a SMS (Short Message Service) text message Intervention plus Treatment As Usual (TAU) compared to TAU alone will reduce hospital DSH re-presentation rates in Western Sydney public hospitals in Australia. Methods/design: Our study is a 24-month randomized controlled trial (RCT). Adult patients who present with DSH to hospital emergency, psychiatric, and mental health triage and assessment departments will be randomly assigned to an Intervention condition plus TAU receiving nine SMS …

A Protocol For A Discrete Choice Experiment: Understanding Patient Medicine Preferences For Managing Chronic Non-Cancer Pain, Marian D. Shanahan, Briony K. Larance, Suzanne Nielsen, Milton Cohen, Maria Schaffer, Gabrielle Campbell

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Introduction: High rates of chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP), concerns about adverse effects including dependence among those prescribed potent pain medicines, the recent evidence supporting active rather than passive management strategies and a lack of funding for holistic programme have resulted in challenges around decision making for treatment among clinicians and their patients. Discrete choice experiments (DCEs) are one way of assessing and valuing treatment preferences. Here, we outline a protocol for a study that assesses patient preferences for CNCP treatment.

Methods and analysis: A final list of attributes (and their levels) for the DCE was generated using a detailed iterative …

Single Portion Packaging And The Use Of User Test Protocols To Determine Patient Accessibility, Alaster Yoxall, Alison F. Bell, K Gee, Caroline Lecko

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

In 2015, the UK National Health Service (NHS) established a taskforce to review single portion food and beverage packaging, which has been identified as a potential challenge to users in hospitals. Hence, a study was undertaken to determine the suitability and accessibility of the current single portion packs. The packaging was assessed using ISO 17480 (Guidelines for Accessible Packaging), Annex D. The standard determines a pass or fail of packaging opening asking a panel 20 older adults to open a pack. A pack is recorded as a failure if within the 20 people cohort, there is an example of pack …

Engaging With Bourdieu's Theory Of Practice: An Empirical Tool For Exploring School Students' Technology Practice, Tiffani L. Apps, Karley A. Beckman, Sue Bennett

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This article presents Bourdieu's theory of practice as a tool for exploring school students' technology practice in empirical research. The authors provide educational technology researchers with an accessible introduction to the theory of practice. They then detail the conceptual, methodological and analytic application of the theory of practice in two educational technology studies. The application of the theory in the two studies highlights the potential of the sociological framing for informing a robust critical research agenda and understanding the circumstances that can contribute to digital inequalities. Practically, knowledge gained through theoretically informed research is critical for researchers, governments, schools and …

'Learning To Leave' Or 'Striving To Stay': Considering The Desires And Decisions Of Rural Young People In Relation To Post-Schooling Futures, Sarah Elizabeth O'Shea, Erica Southgate, Ann Jardine, Janine Delahunty

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This article presents an examination of how rural young people contemplate their post-schooling futures and how understandings of mobility inform this decision making. While the 'push' and 'pull' of rural living has been documented in the literature, rarely has this drawn on the combined perspectives of rural high school students and teachers. Drawing upon interviews and video transcripts created with rural young people and combined with teacher focus groups, this article provides nuanced insight into the complex and negotiated nature of decisions, desires and dreams about life after school. The data has been drawn from a research project that worked …

Grounded Theory And Empirical Ethics, Stacy M. Carter

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Building on the success of the bestselling The SAGE Handbook of Grounded Theory (2007), this title provides a much-needed and up-to-date overview, integrating some revised and updated chapters with new ones exploring recent developments in grounded theory and research methods in general. The highly acclaimed editors have once again brought together a team of key academics from a wide range of disciplines, perspectives and countries. This is a method-defining resource for advanced students and researchers across the social sciences. Chapters are arranged around the following parts: Part One: The Grounded Theory Method: 50 Years On; Part Two: Theories and Theorizing …

'Those Are The Things That We Need To Be Talking About': The Impact Of Learning About The History Of Racial Oppression During Ghana Study Abroad, Katarzyna J. Olcon, Rose Pulliam, Dorie Gilbert

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This article examined what U.S. college students who participated in a Ghana study abroad program learned about the history of racial oppression and the meaning-making that resulted from that knowledge. Based on inductive thematic analysis of a variety of qualitative data sources, four themes were identified: (1) the suffering and resilience of African and African descent people; (2) 'it's still happening today'; (3) 'you don't learn about that in school'; and (4) remembrance, equity, and healing. Students expressed frustration with the U.S. education system which 'breezes through' the topics of slavery and colonialism. As connections between the past and present …

Supporting Self-Regulated Learning In Online Learning Environments And Moocs: A Systematic Review, Jacqueline Wong, Martine Baars, Dan Davis, Tim Van Der Zee, Geert-Jan Houben, Fred Paas

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) allow learning to take place anytime and anywhere with little external monitoring by teachers. Characteristically, highly diverse groups of learners enrolled in MOOCs are required to make decisions related to their own learning activities to achieve academic success. Therefore, it is considered important to support self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies and adapt to relevant human factors (e.g., gender, cognitive abilities, prior knowledge). SRL supports have been widely investigated in traditional classroom settings, but little is known about how SRL can be supported in MOOCs. Very few experimental studies have been conducted in MOOCs at present. To …

Learning To 'Be' A University Student: First In Family Students Negotiating Membership Of The University Community, Olivia Groves, Sarah Elizabeth O'Shea

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

An integral part of the higher education (HE) journey is the act of 'becoming' a student, however students who are first in their families (FiF) to attend university have had limited exposure to the HE environment. Innovatively for research with this cohort, this paper draws on situated learning theory to examine how learning to become a university student occurs through participation within the university community of practice. Drawing upon in-depth interviews with FiF learners at the end of their degrees, i.e. successful students, the analysis describes students' movement from initial participation at the periphery of the university community to fuller …

Effects Of Steering Locomotion And Teleporting On Cybersickness And Presence In Hmd-Based Virtual Reality, Jeremy Clifton, Stephen Palmisano

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

While head-mounted display-based virtual reality (VR) can produce compelling feelings of presence (or "being there") in its users, it also often induces motion sickness. This study compared the presence, cybersickness and perceptions of self-motion (or "vection") induced when using two common methods of virtual locomotion: steering locomotion and teleporting. In four trials, conducted over two separate days, 25 participants repeatedly explored the "Red Fall" virtual environment in the game Nature Treks VR for 16 min at a time. Although steering locomotion was found to be more sickening on average than teleporting, 9 participants reported more severe sickness while teleporting. On …