Education Commons^™

Big City Gaybourhoods: Where They Come From And Why They Still Matter, Scott J. Mckinnon

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

In London, there is Soho; in New York, Chelsea and Greenwich Village; and in San Francisco, there is the Castro. In Sydney, there is Darlinghurst and, more specifically, Oxford Street. These are neighbourhoods of large cities that have, since at least the 1950s and often earlier, developed a reputation as queer spaces. In more recent years, those reputations have begun to fade and the enduring meanings of the "gaybourhood" have come into question. But what each of these places represents is the centrality of urban space to the emergence of visible, "out and proud" lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer …

Overdiagnosis, Ethics, And Trolley Problems: Why Factors Other Than Outcomes Matter-An Essay, Stacy M. Carter

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

In February 2014, the non-governmental Swiss Medical Board recommended that mammography programmes in Switzerland may eventually be closed down because they might not deliver more benefits than harms. In the resulting uproar the board was accused of being "unethical." Controversy about mammography has persisted in the UK, US, Canada, and elsewhere, and disputes about overdiagnosis exist in prostate cancer, chronic kidney disease, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and many other conditions. People concerned about overdiagnosis are compelled by evidence of harms outweighing benefits. But not everyone is equally compelled. This may be because of disagreements over the evidence, conflicts of interest, or …

Rediscovering Why I Do What I Do: The Benefits Of Explaining Ergonomics To Researchers From Different Disciplines - A Personal Reflection On A Phd Journey, Alison F. Bell

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Abstract presented at the HFESA 52nd Annual Conference, 26-29 November 2017, Wollongong, Australia

What Is Overdiagnosis And Why Should We Take It Seriously In Cancer Screening?, Stacy M. Carter, Alexandra Barratt

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Overdiagnosis occurs in a population when conditions are diagnosed correctly but the diagnosis produces an unfavourable balance between benefits and harms. In cancer screening, overdiagnosed cancers are those that did not need to be found because they would not have produced symptoms or led to premature death. These overdiagnosed cancers can be distinguished from false positives, which occur when an initial screening test suggests that a person is at high risk but follow-up testing shows them to be at normal risk. The cancers most likely to be overdiagnosed through screening are those of the prostate, thyroid, breast and lung. Overdiagnosis …

Why Is Pain Still Under-Treated In The Emergency Department? Two New Hypotheses, Drew Carter, Paul Sendzuik, Jaklin Eliott, Annette J. Braunack-Mayer

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Across the world, pain is under‐treated in emergency departments (EDs). We canvass the literature testifying to this problem, the reasons why this problem is so important, and then some of the main hypotheses that have been advanced in explanation of the problem. We then argue for the plausibility of two new hypotheses: pain's under‐treatment in the ED is due partly to (1) an epistemic preference for signs over symptoms on the part of some practitioners, and (2) some ED practices that themselves worsen pain by increasing patients' anxiety and fear. Our argument includes the following logic. Some ED practitioners depart …

Why Are We Still Scared Of Seeing Two Men Kissing?, Scott J. Mckinnon

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Although details remain uncertain, the father of Omar Mateen has claimed that his son's murderous acts in Orlando's Pulse nightclub last Saturday may have been inspired by the sight of two men kissing. In response, a twitter campaign with the hashtag #TwoMenKissing has encouraged men to tweet photographs of themselves kissing another man. This is an act of pride and defiance in the face of violent oppression. It also reveals the ongoing politics of men kissing in public.

More Shark Nets For Nsw: Why Haven't We Learned From Wa's Cull?, Leah Maree Gibbs

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

New South Wales Premier Mike Baird has this week announced a plan for a six-month trial of shark nets off the beaches of northern NSW. This would extend the state's shark net program from the 51 beaches currently netted between Wollongong and Newcastle. The announcement was triggered by Wednesday's shark accident, in which a surfer received minor injuries from a shark bite at Sharpes Beach, Ballina. The decision marks a turn-around in Premier Baird's position on sharks. For over a year he has acknowledged the importance of addressing the issue, and has adopted a measured, long-term, non-lethal approach to managing …

Why Do Smokers Try To Quit Without Medication Or Counselling? A Qualitative Study With Ex-Smokers, Andrea L. Smith, Stacy M. Carter, Simon Chapman, Sally M. Dunlop, Becky Freeman

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objective When tobacco smokers quit, between half and two-thirds quit unassisted: that is, they do not consult their general practitioner (GP), use pharmacotherapy (nicotine-replacement therapy, bupropion or varenicline), or phone a quitline. We sought to understand why smokers quit unassisted. Design Qualitative grounded theory study (in-depth interviews, theoretical sampling, concurrent data collection and data analysis). Participants 21 Australian adult ex-smokers (aged 28-68 years; 9 males and 12 females) who quit unassisted within the past 6 months to 2 years. 12 participants had previous experience of using assistance to quit; 9 had never previously used assistance. Setting Community, Australia. Results Along …

Which Public And Why Deliberate? - A Scoping Review Of Public Deliberation In Public Health And Health Policy Research, Christopher J. Degeling, Stacy M. Carter, Lucie Rychetnik

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Deliberative methods are of increasing interest to public health researchers and policymakers. We systematically searched the peer-reviewed literature to identify public health and health policy research involving deliberative methods and report how deliberative methods have been used. We applied a taxonomy developed with reference to health policy and science and technology studies literatures to distinguish how deliberative methods engage different publics: citizens (ordinary people who are unfamiliar with the issues), consumers (those with relevant personal experience e.g. of illness) and advocates (those with technical expertise or partisan interests). We searched four databases for empirical studies in English published 1996-2013. This …

Why Screen Time Before Bed Is Bad For Children, Sarah P. Loughran

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Sleep is an essential part of our development and wellbeing. It is important for learning and memory, emotions and behaviours, and our health more generally. Yet the total amount of sleep that children and adolescents are getting is continuing to decrease. Why? Although there are potentially many reasons behind this trend, it is emerging that screen time - by way of watching television or using computers, mobile phones and other electronic mobile devices - may be having a large and negative impact on children's sleep.

Why First-In-Family Uni Students Should Receive More Support, Sarah Elizabeth O'Shea

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Many university students fall into one of the six “equity groups” that receive targeted funding. However, there is one group that has for too long been ignored as a group that needs extra assistance in making it through university.

The six targeted equity groups include those:

• from lower socioeconomic backgrounds: currently measured by permanent home postcode

• from rural and isolated areas: measured by permanent postcode, population density data and proximity to cities

• with a disability (self-identified on enrolment)

• from a non-English-speaking background (those born overseas and who speak a language other than English)

• women in non-traditional areas of study; and …

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Why Are Young Australian Unis Punching Above Their Weight?, Christopher R. Gibson

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The latest Times Higher Education rankings of universities under 50 years old paints a positive picture for the Australian higher education sector. Of the Top 100 Under 50, Australia has more high-ranking universities (16) than any other country. What is it about the Australian higher education system that allows new universities to flourish more so than in the US or UK? What does the THE Top 100 Under 50 result say about our "need" for reform in the higher education sector? To put this result into perspective, the UK, with nearly triple our population (64 million) and well over triple …

Properties Under Fire: Why So Many Australians Are Inadequately Insured Against Disaster, Kate Booth, Bruce Tranter, Christine Eriksen

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The fire season has started early. Homes were destroyed last month in bushfires near Lancefield, Victoria, while buildings and lives have been lost as fires continue to sweep through southern Western Australia. Alongside the devastating loss of life and properties, many properties potentially in the path of Australian bushfires are inadequately insured. While we have known about high rates of non-insurance and under-insurance across Australia for some time, there is surprisingly little solid data on the issue. We recently set out to address this gap at both the national and regional level. Early findings from a national survey (which we …

Why Experts Can Do What They Do: The Effects Of Exogenous Resources On The Domain Impact Level Of Activities (Dila), Tobias Debatin, Manuel Hopp, Wilma Vialle, Albert Ziegler

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

In many domains, it is estimated that approximately 10,000 hours of planned learning activities are required to reach an expert level of performance. However, this poses a challenge for learners to balance such extensive learning times with the demands of everyday life. In our study we focused on activities in the domain of chess. We hypothesized that chess-related activities could be better integrated in an individual's life if exogenous resources - specified in the educational capital approach (Ziegler & Baker, 2013) - are sufficiently available. In order to test this hypothesis we introduced the concept of the Domain Impact Level …

Studies Consistently Find No Academic Gains From Private Schooling, But Don't Explain Why, Ian M. Brown

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

I have a vivid primary school memory of playing with another child of similar age who cautioned, "Sister told us not to play with the publics." The public-private divide still exists today with ongoing debates about funding struggles, comparisons of the quality of infrastructure, values, standards and discipline being discussed and compared. There is a perception among parents that they will help their children do better academically if they send them to a non-government school. Lately, a new debate has surged with the comparison of educational outcomes questioning which system produces the better student. When weighing up such serious financial …

Why Do People Access News With Mobile Devices? Exploring The Role Of Suitability Perception And Motives On Mobile News Use, Hongjin Shim, Kyung Han You, Jeong Kyu Lee, Eun Go

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Using self-reported survey data (N = 281), the present study explores the structural relationships among mobile users' perceptions of the suitability of two types of mobile news (political feature news and entertainment news), users' motivations for mobile news usage, and their behavioral patterns. Our findings show that two types of perceived suitability for mobile news, particularly for political feature news, are strongly associated with all dimensions of motivations for mobile news usage. Furthermore, as predicted, our findings show that the information-seeking motive is the very factor that determines mobile news usage. The results also reveal that the accessibility motive mediates …

Looking Beyond Installation: Why Households Struggle To Make The Most Of Solar Hot Water Systems, Nicholas J. Gill, Peter Osman, Lesley M. Head, Michelle Voyer, Theresa Harada, Gordon R. Waitt, Christopher R. Gibson

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This paper examines household responses to sustainability issues and adoption of energy saving technologies. Our example of solar hot water systems highlights the complexity and variability of responses to low-carbon technologies. While SHW systems have the potential to provide the majority of household hot water and to lower carbon emissions, little research has been done to investigate how SHW systems are integrated into everyday life. We draw on cultural understandings of the household to identify passive and active users of SHW systems and utilize a model that illustrates how technology use is dependent on inter-relations between cultural norms, systems of …

The Nuremberg Music-Ecological Approach: Why Are Some Musicians Internationally Successful And Others Not?, Albert Ziegler, Sabrina Straber, Wolfgang Pfeiffer, Catherine M. Wormald

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Success in music depends on a number of crucial factors with musical talent figuring prominently in gifted research. However, in the Nuremberg Music-Ecological Approach presented in this paper a different view is taken. Instead of talents and factors, the concept of available resources in an individual´s actiotope (Ziegler, 2005) is put in the center of our analysis. Educational Capital refers to exogenous resources and comprises five different forms of resources: Economic Educational Capital, Cultural Educational Capital, Social Educational Capital, Infrastructural Educational Capital and Didactic Educational Capital. Learning Capital refers to endogenous resources and also comprises five different forms of resources: …

'He Gave Him The Booze Because ...' Using A Projective Method To Explore Why Parents Provide Alcohol To Teenagers, Sandra C. Jones, Christopher Magee, Kelly Lee Andrews

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Abstract presented at the Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs Conference 2014, 9-12 November 2014, Adelaide, Australia

Why Social Marketing? Because Knowledge Is Not Enough To Deter Secondary Supply Of Alcohol To Minors, Sandra C. Jones, Lance Barrie

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Australian teenagers are increasingly drinking at risky levels, defined as consuming seven or more alcohol drinks on a single day for males, and five or more for females (White and Smith, 2012). Alcohol consumption by adolescents presents serious health and social problems unique to their age group (Lubman, Yucel and Hall, 2007; National Centre on Addiction and Substance Abuse, 2002). A significant factor contributing to underage drinking is the 'secondary supply' of alcohol to minors (i.e. the supply of alcohol to minors by persons other than licensees/staff employed by licensed premises, such as parents, siblings and older peers). In a …

The "Ebm Movement": Where Did It Come From, Where Is It Going, And Why Does It Matter?, Wendy Lipworth, Stacy M. Carter, Ian Kerridge

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Evidence‐Based Medicine (EBM) has now been part of the dominant medical paradigm for 15 years, and has been frequently debated and progressively modified. One question about EBM that has not yet been considered systematically, and is now particularly timely, is the question of the novelty, or otherwise, of the principles and practices of EBM. We argue that answering this question, and the related question of whether EBM‐type principles and practices are unique to medicine, sheds new light on EBM and has practical implications for those involved in all EBM. This is because one's answer to the question (whether explicit or …