Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

What I Say Isn't Always What I Do: Investigating Differences In Children's Reported And Actual Snack Food Preferences, Sandra C. Jones, Lisa Kervin, Samantha Reis, Parri Gregory

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The current study sought to explore discrepancies between children's stated snack food motivations and actual food choices, using the Implicit Association Test (IAT) as a measure of implicit attitudes towards 'healthy' and 'unhealthy' foods. Participants were children aged 6-12 years (n=118), from two primary schools on the South Coast of NSW, Australia - a public school in a semi-rural suburb south of a sea-side city and a public school in a largely residential northern suburb of the same city. The children completed a questionnaire about motivations for snack choices, participated in an activity, completed two further questionnaires, selected snack foods …

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 …

How To Do A Grounded Theory Study: A Worked Example Of A Study Of Dental Practices, Alexandra Sbaraini, Stacy M. Carter, R Wendell Evans, Anthony Blinkhorn

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Qualitative methodologies are increasingly popular in medical research. Grounded theory is the methodology most-often cited by authors of qualitative studies in medicine, but it has been suggested that many 'grounded theory' studies are not concordant with the methodology. In this paper we provide a worked example of a grounded theory project. Our aim is to provide a model for practice, to connect medical researchers with a useful methodology, and to increase the quality of 'grounded theory' research published in the medical literature.

Do Health Beliefs And Behaviors Differ According To Severity Of Obesity? A Qualitative Study Of Australian Adults, Sophie Lewis, Samantha L. Thomas, R. Warwick Blood, Jim Hyde, David J. Castle, Paul A. Komesaroff

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Public responses to obesity have focused on providing standardized messages and supports to all obese individuals, but there is limited understanding of the impact of these messages on obese adults. This descriptive qualitative study using in-depth interviews and a thematic method of analysis, compares the health beliefs and behaviors of 141 Australian adults with mild to moderate (BMI 30−39.9) and severe (BMI ≥ 40) obesity. Mildly obese individuals felt little need to change their health behaviors or to lose weight for health reasons. Most believed they could “lose weight” if they needed to, distanced themselves from the word obesity, and …

What Do Publics Want From The Planning System?, Kevin M. Dunn, Pauline M. Mcguirk, Awais Piracha, Danielle A. Pelleri, Paul J. Maginn, Michael W. Buxton, Peter J. Phibbs

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Reforms to planning processes in Australia have been prefaced by assertions about what 'the public' wants from a planning system. The reforms involve a familiar mix of streamlining privatism centralisation and curtailed public consultation. Despite a demonstrable lack of local government or public consultation on the reforms in New South Wales they were justified by the then Planning Minister Frank Sartor as enacting the broader community's desires about how the planning system should be reformed. In this paper claims about public opinion collected from media releases forums discussion papers ministerial documents and legislation are analysed. Seven sets of planning principles …

You Have To Make Something Of All That Rubbish, Do You? An Empirical Investigation Of The Social Process Of Qualitative Research, Stacy M. Carter, Christopher F. Jordens, Catherine Mcgrath, Miles Little

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

In this article, we examine participants' talk about qualitative research. We provide empirical support for post-structural theorizations of the interview and propose three distinct but related dimensions of qualitative research: emotional, purposive/relational, and epistemic/ontological. In this study, participants often became upset but constructed participation as enjoyable and cathartic. The purpose of participation was to assist the communities to which one belonged. Participation was an active, reflexive practice that reconstructed the self and changed knowledge about one's self. This latter epistemic/ontological dimension of participation appeared to be the most compelling for participants, but it is also the hardest to observe, with …

Do Children's Food Preferences Align With Dietary Recommendations?, C G. Russell, Anthony Worsley

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objectives To examine how Australian children's reported everyday food preferences reflect dietary recommendations, and the impact of sociodemographic factors on these associations.

Design Cross-sectional survey.

Setting/subjects Three hundred and seventy-one parents of children aged 2–5 years, recruited from three socio-economic groups in two Australian cities, completed a survey on their child's liking for 176 foods and drinks on a 5-point Likert scale in addition to demographic descriptors. Preferences were compared with the recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents in Australia and the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating.

Results Foods in the Extra Foods (non-nutritious foods) and …

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.

"The Real Work Is What They Do Together": Peer Support And Birth Parent Change, Laura Frame, Amy Conley Wright, Jill Duerr Berrick

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This article examines a peer support intervention with birth parents in the child welfare system. Literature on the emotional change process for child welfare-involved parents, peer-support intervention-outcome studies in child welfare, and findings on peer support in related fields is reviewed. The Mendocino County Family Services Center (MCFSC) model is described, and findings from an exploratory study are presented and discussed. This model engages parents in a sequence of services based on developmental stages. The study used focus groups, interviews, and observation to understand the key components of the MCFSC peer support intervention, and the experience of birth-parent participants with …

What Do I Do With The Rest Of The Class? The Nature Of Teaching Learning Activities, Brian L. Cambourne

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Cambourne discusses using teaching-learning activities that revolve around the use of small groups. He relates how teachers can keep the rest of their class productively engaged in learning as the teacher works with individuals or small groups.

Evaluating Hiv/Std Interventions In Developing Countries: Do Current Indicators Do Justice To Advances In Intervention Approaches?, Catherine L. Mac Phail, Catherine Campbell

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

HIV continues to spread unabated in many developing countries. Here we consider the interventions that are currently in place and critically discuss the methods that are being used to evaluate them as reported in the published literature. In recent years there has been a move away from highly individual-oriented interventions towards more participatory approaches that emphasise techniques such as community-led peer education and group discussions. However, this move towards more community orientated intervention techniques has not been matched by the development of evaluation methods with which to capture and explain the community and social changes which are often necessary preconditions …

Performance Indicators: Just How Do You Weight Them?, John Hattie, Jim S. Tognolini

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The development and use of performance indicators in higher education has become a major topic for research and discussion throughout the world. Research efforts and resources are being channeled into improving their use. These efforts include extending the range (including developing indicators of quality) and objectivity of indicators; improving the procedures for measuring weighting and combining performance indicators; and refining procedures for linking funding and resource allocation to performance indicators. This paper uses a questionnaire and a sample of responses to demonstrate a methodology for making explicit the weightings experts ascribe to individual performance indicators used in the process of …