Education Commons^™

Australia’S Rich Talk About Saving The Environment; The Poor Bear The Burden Of Doing It, Lesley Head

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Public housing tenants struggling with their bills will well understand NSW Community Services Minister Goward’s concern over the rising costs of nails and pots of paint. According to the minister, the carbon tax will push the price of household maintenance up; this is the reasoning behind an increase in public housing rents. But what’s fair about the state government passing its own carbon tax costs on to those least able to afford it?

How To Think About Health Promotion Ethics, Stacy M. Carter, Alan Cribb, John P. Allegrante

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Health promotion ethics is moral deliberation about health promotion and its practice. Although academics and practitioners have been writing about ethics, and especially values, in health promotion for decades, health promotion ethics is now regaining attention within the broader literature on public health ethics. Health promotion is difficult to define, and this has implications for health promotion ethics. Health promotion can be approached in two complementary ways: as a normative ideal, and as a practice. We consider the normative ideal of health promotion to be that aspect of public health practice that is particularly concerned with the equity of social …

What Do Australian Consumers Think About Current Advertising Standards?, Sandra Carol Jones, Katherine Eagleton

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The concept of community standards is the cornerstone of advertising self-regulation in Australia. However, there is a dearth of research on current attitudes towards advertising and a virtual absence of such data in an Australian context. A questionnaire was developed to assess consumer attitudes towards advertising; respondents were 872 adults residing in New South Wales. We found high levels of concern regarding advertising standards in general and a consistent perception that advertising should not, for example, use coarse language or violent images, portray women or men as sex objects or show nudity, stereotype or make fun of groups of people, …

Knowledge About Language In The Australian Curriculum: English, Beverly Derewianka

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Somewhat surprisingly, an explicit knowledge about language has been often absent from English curricula. The new Australian Curriculum: English (ACARA, 2012) has taken a fairly radical step in placing knowledge about language at the core of classroom practice, thereby raising the issue of an appropriate model of language to inform the Language Strand of the Curriculum. This paper will outline the rationale behind the Language Strand, and will then make explicit its underlying model of language. The paper thus provides a context for the ensuing articles in this Special Focus Issue of AJLL, which take up various concerns in relation …

Scaremongering On Today Tonight: The Truth About Wireless Radiation Risks, Rodney J. Croft

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

In a recent episode of Channel Seven’s current affairs program Today Tonight, it was claimed that wireless devices in the home – such as cordless phones and routers – can cause a range of negative health effects, including: insomnia, depression, migraines and even cancer. These claims don’t bear scrutiny.

Understanding The Behaviour Of The Target Market: What Do Adolescents Think About When Asked Questions About Their Behaviour In The Sun?, Melinda Williams, Sandra C. Jones, Peter Caputi, Donald C. Iverson

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

We undertook a project to develop a psychometrically sound instrument measuring adolescent sun-related behavior for use in the evaluation of a social marketing program. During the preliminary stages, we conducted a pilot study to test the face validity of the instrument with adolescents. Think-aloud sessions were completed with 24 adolescents. Results identified gaps in our understanding of adolescent sun-related behavior. Adolescents interpreted 'tanning' as specifically lying at the beach in the sun, however also reported behaviours to 'get a bit of sun', suggesting adolescents and researchers have different interpretations of key terms. The study highlights that use of the think-aloud …

Combining The Health Belief Model And Social Marketing To Develop A Community-Level Campaign About Asthma For Older Adults, Uwana Evers, Sandra C. Jones, Peter Caputi, Donald C. Iverson

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This conceptual paper provides a rationale for combining health behaviour theory with a social marketing framework in order to develop a community-level asthma campaign for adults aged 55 years and older. The prevalence of asthma in older adults in Australia is approximately 10%, higher than in many other countries, and asthma mortality increases with age. In addition, older adults' perceptions of asthma causes and treatments are often inaccurate. Many older adults believe that asthma is a childhood disease and that the effects of the condition are relatively minor and would not impact on daily life. In order to address these …

Animated Storytelling About "My Special Place" To Represent Non-Aboriginal Preservice Teachers' Awareness Of "Relatedness To Country", Anthony D. Mcknight, Garry Hoban, Wendy Nielsen

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

In this study, a group (N=15) of final year non-Aboriginal preservice teachers participated in an elective subject that aimed to raise their awareness about Aboriginal ways of knowing. A vital aspect of the course was developing the preservice teachers‘ awareness of "relatedness to country" which is a key belief for Aboriginal people. The non-Aboriginal preservice teachers selected their own special place and then experienced Aboriginal ways of knowing throughout the course and visited local Aboriginal sites to hear and listen to stories shared by an Aboriginal Elder. At the end of the subject, the preservice teachers created their own animated …

Beyond Rhetoric In Debates About The Ethics Of Marketing Prescription Medicines To Consumers: The Importance Of Vulnerability In People, Situations And Relationships, Stacy M. Carter, Gabrielle N. Samuel, Ian Kerridge, Richard Day, Rachel A. Ankeny, Christopher F. Jordens, Paul Komesaroff

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This article examines community responses to the marketing of prescription medicines. Historically, debates about such marketing have focused on alleged unscrupulousness of pharmaceutical companies and on the quality of information provided. Six focus groups were conducted in Sydney, Australia, three with older and three with younger community members. Analysis examined interactions between group members, the positions participants took up, conflicting arguments, and explanations for variation. Participants argued specifically rather than generally about consumer marketing of medicines. Neither the moral purpose of corporations nor the quality of information in advertisements was particularly important. Instead, pharmaceutical marketing was assessed in relation to …

"The Solution Needs To Be Complex." Obese Adults' Attitudes About The Effectiveness Of Individual And Population Based Interventions For Obesity, Samantha L. Thomas, Sophie Lewis, Jim Hyde, David Castle, Paul Komesaroff

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background: Previous studies of public perceptions of obesity interventions have been quantitative and based on general population surveys. This study aims to explore the opinions and attitudes of obese individuals towards population and individual interventions for obesity in Australia.

Methods: Qualitative methods using in-depth semi-structured telephone interviews with a community sample of obese adults (Body Mass Index ≥30). Theoretical, purposive and strategic recruitment techniques were used to ensure a broad sample of obese individuals with different types of experiences with their obesity. Participants were asked about their attitudes towards three population based interventions (regulation, media campaigns, and public …

This Is Me! Empowering Children To Talk About Their Learning Through Digital Story, Jessica Mantei, Lisa K. Kervin

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

The transition from pre-school to Kindergarten is an important part of a child’s learning journey. In the early childhood setting children develop interests, knowledge and learning preferences that often remain unknown in the early days of Kindergarten. We argue that from this young age children can identify and articulate learning preferences as they use their literate practices to communicate their preferences, aspirations and reflections. Digital Stories are short, personal, multimedia presentations created through image (from still and/or video cameras), which are then edited on a computer with video editing software to include a spoken narrative. In this paper we share …

How We Make Knowledge About Climate Change, Noel Castree

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Book review - A VAST MACHINE: Computer Models, Climate Data, and the Politics of Global Warming. Paul N. Edwards. xxviii + 518 pp. The MIT Press, 2010. $32.95.

"I Don't Eat A Hamburger And Large Chips Every Day!" A Qualitative Study Of The Impact Of Public Health Messages About Obesity On Obese Adults, Sophie Lewis, Samantha L. Thomas, Jim Hyde, David Castle, R. Warwick Blood, Paul A. Komesaroff

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background We are a society that is fixated on the health consequences of 'being fat'. Public health agencies play an important role in 'alerting' people about the risks that obesity poses both to individuals and to the broader society. Quantitative studies suggest people comprehend the physical health risks involved but underestimate their own risk because they do not recognise that they are obese. Methods This qualitative study seeks to expand on existing research by exploring obese individuals' perceptions of public health messages about risk, how they apply these messages to themselves and how their personal and social contexts and experiences …

Communicating About Screening, Vikki A. Entwistle, Stacy Carter, Lyndal Trevena, Kathy Flitcroft, Les Irwig, Kirsten Mccaffery, Glenn P. Salkeld

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Informed choice is important for screening, but not everyone wants or is able to analyse research data. Vikki Entwistle and colleagues propose a new approach to communication.

Talking About Food And Nutrition: Australian Women's Magazines, Danielle Mcvie, Heather Yeatman, Sandra C. Jones

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Abstract presented at the Cultivating Appetites for Knowledge International Food Conference, May 30 - Jun 3 2007, Victoria, Canada

What Do We Know About Men's Help-Seeking And Health Service Use?, James A. Smith, Annette J. Braunack-Mayer, Gary Wittert

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

• Men seek help and use health services less frequently than women do.

• Men’s help-seeking practices and health service use are complex issues involving biological, psychological and sociological considerations.

• Most discussion on men’s help-seeking positions them as reluctant consumers or “behaving badly” with respect to their health.

• Few studies have explored whether health service providers are equipped to deal with men’s health issues appropriately.

• The current health system appears not to be tailored to meet the health needs of men.

• Better collaboration is required across disciplines, to further investigate men’s health using both qualitative and quantitative research methods.

Students Talking About Home-School Communication: Can Technology Support This Process?, Lisa K. Kervin

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

This paper explores the use of technology to support communication about student learning and classroom experiences between home and school contexts. An examination of literature addressing home-school partnerships along with current thinking about the integration of this with Learning Technologies is presented. Research centred on the use of a mobile telephone as a tool to facilitate this process will be discussed. The power this ‘new’ technology brings to the students is discussed with reference to subsequent constraints. However, it is argued that students overwhelmingly perceive this tool as a valuable resource in stimulating and encouraging dialogue between the contexts and …

Don't Just Listen- Do Something! Lessons Learned About Governance From The Growing Up In Cities Project, Louise Chawla, Natasha Blanchet-Cohen, Nilda Corsco, David Driskell, Jill Kruger, Karen A. Malone, Robin Moore, Barry Percy-Smith

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Eight practitioners in the Growing Up in Cities project of UNESCO reflect on what they have learned in terms of how to move government officials and leaders of civil society to view children and youth as partners in creating livable cities. They describe their experience in participatory action research with children and youth, how they achieved successful outcomes, what they learned from mistakes, and strategies that they would apply if they were beginning a new initiative to ensure that city officials, community leaders and donors integrate young people into decision-making. The conclusion summarizes the group’s shared wisdom regarding how to …

Doctors' Views About The Importance Of Shared Values In Hiv Positive Patient Care: A Qualitative Study, A Lawlor, Annette J. Braunack-Mayer

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Robert Veatch has proposed a model of the doctor-patient relationship that has as its foundation the sharing of values between the doctor and the patient. This paper uses qualitative research conducted with six doctors involved in the long term, specialised care of HIV positive patients in South Australia to explore the practical application of Veatch's value sharing model in that setting. The research found that the doctors in this study linked "values" with sexual identity such that they defined value sharing, in part, as a shared set of values and beliefs about sexual identity and practices. They voluntarily identified themselves …

Knowledge About Typical Source Output Influences Perceived Auditory Distance, John W. Philbeck, Donald H. Mershon

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Vocal effort is known to influence the judged distance of speechsound sources. The present research examined whether this influence is due to long-term experience gained prior to the experiment versus short-term experience gained from exposure to speech stimuli earlier in the same experiment. Speech recordings were presented to 192 blindfolded listeners at three levels of vocal output. Even upon the first presentation, shouting voices were reported as appearing farthest, whispered voices closest. This suggests that auditory distance perception can be affected by past experience in a way that does not require explicit comparisons between individual stimuli.