Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

It's A Dog's Life When Man's Best Friend Becomes His Fattest, Christopher J. Degeling

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

A study published this morning in Nature offers further insight into how dogs became domesticated. The comparative analysis of human, canine and wolf genomes suggests that humans and dogs have evolved in parallel as a response to the increasingly starchy diets on offer after the agricultural revolution. Such a wholesale change in diet has not necessarily been benign for either species.

Healthcare Reform: Implications For Knowledge Translation In Primary Care, Ann Dadich, Hassan Hosseinzadeh

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background The primary care sector represents the linchpin of many health systems. However, the translation of evidence-based practices into patient care can be difficult, particularly during healthcare reform. This can have significant implications for patients, their communities, and the public purse. This is aptly demonstrated in the area of sexual health. The aim of this paper is to determine what works to facilitate evidence-based sexual healthcare within the primary care sector. Methods 431 clinicians (214 general practitioners and 217 practice nurses) in New South Wales, Australia, were surveyed about their awareness, their use, the perceived impact, and the factors that …

Shepherds In The Gym: Employing A Pastoral Power Analytic On Caring Teaching In Hpe, Louise Mccuaig, Marie Ohman, Jan Wright

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Drawing on research conducted in Australian Health' and Physical Education (HPE) and Swedish Physical Education and Health (PEH), this paper demonstrates the analytic possibilities of Foucault's notion of pastoral power to reveal the moral and ethical work conducted by HPE/PEH teachers in producing healthy active citizens. We use the pastoral power analytic to make visible the consequences of caring HPE/PEH teaching practices which appear unassailable as producing a general 'good' for all students. In so doing we undertake the challenge posed by Nealon to be attuned to those social practices that appear beyond reproach as 'power becomes more effective while …

Towards Generic Online Multicriteria Decision Support In Patient-Centred Health Care, Jack Dowie, Mette Kjer Kaltoft, Glenn P. Salkeld, Michelle Cunich

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objective To introduce a new online generic decision support system based on multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA), implemented in practical and user-friendly software (Annalisa). Background All parties in health care lack a simple and generic way to picture and process the decisions to be made in pursuit of improved decision making and more informed choice within an overall philosophy of person- and patient-centred care. Methods The MCDA-based system generates patient-specific clinical guidance in the form of an opinion as to the merits of the alternative options in a decision, which are all scored and ranked. The scores for each option combine, …

Rethinking The Literacy Capabilities Of Pre-Service Primary Teachers In Testing Times, Eileen Honan, Beryl Exley, Lisa Kervin, Alyson Simpson, Muriel Wells

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This paper demonstrates how teacher accreditation requirements can be responsibly aligned with a scholarly impetus to incorporate digital literacies to prepare pre-service teachers to meet changing educational needs and practices. The assessment initiatives introduced in the newly constructed four year undergraduate Bachelor of Education program at one Australian university are described and analysed in light of the debates surrounding pre-service primary teachers' literacy capabilities. The findings and subsequent discussion have implications for all literacy teacher educators concerned about the impact of standardised assessment practices on the professional future of teachers.

Exploring African Philosophy: The Value Of Ubuntu In Social Work, Jacob Mugumbate, Andrew Nyanguru

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This paper looks at the concept of ubuntu, how it has been applied in different fields and lessons that can be drawn for the social work profession. Ubuntu can best be described as an African philosophy that places emphasis on 'being self through others'. It is a form of humanism which can be expressed in the phrases 'I am because of who we all are' and ubuntu ngumuntu ngabantu in Zulu language. So far, it has been successfully applied in theology, management and computer science. This paper concludes that its utilisation in these disciplines makes it suitable for application in …

Time, Money, Leisure And Guilt - The Gendered Challenges Of Higher Education For Mature-Age Students, Catherine Stone, Sarah Elizabeth O'Shea

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Two qualitative research projects examined the impact of university study on two cohorts of mature-age students at a regional university in Australia. All the students interviewed had entered university via non-traditional pathways and had faced significant hurdles in gaining university entrance and continuing with their studies. The influence of gender on their experiences of managing home, family and work responsibilities in combination with their responsibilities as students is examined. Issues such as lack of time and money, self-sacrifice and guilt emerged strongly from the stories of these students as they struggled to manage their multiple responsibilities. The gendered nature of …

Improved Prognosis For Borderline Personality Disorder: New Treatment Guidelines Outline Specific Communication Strategies That Work, Brin F. S Grenyer

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Until recently, borderline personality disorder (BPD) was considered to be a chronic ongoing condition with a poor prognosis and no effective treatment. However, the tide of research and clinical opinion has turned, and the prognosis for this disorder is now considered improved for most patients if one of a number of effective evidence-based treatments is implemented.

Trainee Teachers' Attitudes Towards Students With Specific Learning Disabilities, Stuart Woodcock

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Policies on the inclusion of students with special educational needs in mainstream classrooms have focused attention on how general education teachers perceive these students. Furthermore with specific learning disabilities forming a large group of diverse students, and teachers' attitudes often not changing over the career span, preparing teachers for inclusive education is vitally important. This study aimed to identify the attitudes of trainee1 teachers towards students with specific learning disabilities and differentiation of the curriculum. Significant differences were found between the attitudes of primary and secondary school trainee teachers, and the influence of training. There were no differences in attitudes …

The Actiotope Model Of Giftedness: A Short Introduction To Some Central Theoretical Assumptions, Albert Ziegler, Wilma Vialle, Bastian Wimmer

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Scenario 1: Favela Rocinha in the south of Rio de Janeiro. Little Carlos is sitting on three piled-up tyres. The four chairs around the only table in the wooden hut are occupied by his oldest brother and his friend playing cards together. Scenario 2: 155th street, Holocombe Rucker Playground, in the middle of a neighborhood in the poorest part of Harlem. Mike, aged eight, is dreaming of doing one 'slam dunk' after another some day during the 'Rucker', the world's most famous street basketball tournament. Scenario 3: The room of Lian, a third-grade pupil. She's going to do a mathematics …

Acteurs, Usagers Et Evaluation Des Dispositifs De Prevention Precoce: L'Example Des Programmes Eppe Et Sure Start Au Royaume-Uni, Edward Melhuish

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

No abstract provided.

Berry School Book Club: Engaging Readers And Writers, Jan Turbill

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This article describes one school's approach to establishing a Book Club where children learn to 'read like writers'. It offers insights into the practicalities of the project and its successes.

Authentic Education: Lessons From An Online Finnish Teacher Development Program For 21st Century Faculty, Mark Curcher, Hanna M. Teras

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The Finnish education system has received a lot of media attention due the results of PISA examinations. Many countries have considered ways to implement the 'Finnish model' into their own context. This paper examines the experience gained from the first graduating cohort of a fully online Finnish teacher development program in a Middle Eastern country with diverse, multicultural faculty participants. It examines the challenges of implementation and reflects upon the successes and participant experience. The paper describes how the principles of authentic e-learning (Herrington, Reeves and Oliver, 2010) were used to design the program and whether it was possible to …

A Slow-Motion Genocide: Indonesian Rule In West Papua, Jim Elmslie, Camellia B. Webb-Gannon

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This paper examines and extends the debate on genocide in West Papua. Referring to the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention, examples of genocidal acts are listed: killings, causing serious bodily and mental harm, the deliberate infliction of conditions of life calculated to cause the destruction of a group, and the forcible removal of children to another group. Whereas previous examinations of the issue have failed to prove intent on the part of the Indonesian Government - a necessary pre-requisite under the Convention - this article finds that such intent exists. The authors show that West Papua has suffered a military …

Enhancing Citizen Engagement In Cancer Screening Through Deliberative Democracy, Lucie Rychetnik, Stacy Carter, Julia Abelson, Hazel Thornton, Alexandra Barratt, Vikki A. Entwistle, Geraldine Mackenzie, Glenn P. Salkeld, Paul Glasziou

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Cancer screening is widely practiced and participation is promoted by various social, technical, and commercial drivers, but there are growing concerns about the emerging harms, risks, and costs of cancer screening. Deliberative democracy methods engage citizens in dialogue on substantial and complex problems: especially when evidence and values are important and people need time to understand and consider the relevant issues. Information derived from such deliberations can provide important guidance to cancer screening policies: citizens' values are made explicit, revealing what really matters to people and why. Policy makers can see what informed, rather than uninformed, citizens would decide on …

Sociodemographic And Health-Related Predictors Of Self-Reported Mammogram, Faecal Occult Blood Test And Prostate Specific Antigen Test Use In A Large Australian Study, Marianne Weber, Michelle Cunich, David Smith, Glenn P. Salkeld, Freddy Sitas, Dianne O'Connell

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background: While several studies have examined factors that influence the use of breast screening mammography, faecal occult blood tests (FOBT) for bowel cancer screening and prostate specific antigen (PSA) tests for prostate disease in Australia, research directly comparing the use of these tests is sparse. We examined sociodemographic and health-related factors associated with the use of these tests in the previous two years either alone or in combination. Methods. Cross-sectional analysis of self-reported questionnaire data from 96,711 women and 82,648 men aged 50 or over in The 45 and Up Study in NSW (2006-2010). Results: 5.9% of men had a …

Estimates And Determinants Of Economic Impacts From Influenza-Like Illnesses Caused By Respiratory Viruses In Australian Children Attending Childcare: A Cohort Study, Jiehui Yin, Glenn P. Salkeld, Stephen Lambert, Alexa Dierig, Leon Heron, Julie Leask, Maria Yui, Robert Booy

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background

Influenza and other respiratory infections cause excess winter morbidity in children. This study assessed the economic impact of influenza-like illness (ILI) on families with children attending childcare using a societal perspective.

Methods

We conducted a prospective cohort study in 90 childcare centres and one general practitioner clinics in Sydney, Australia, during 2010. Healthy children aged ≥6 months to <3 years were enrolled. Economic impacts of ILI (temperature ≥37·8°C or parental report of fever, plus ≥1 respiratory symptoms) were collected at 2 and 4 weeks after ILI onset by telephone interview. Parent-collected respiratory specimens were tested for respiratory viruses using real-time PCR (RT-PCR). Costs associated with healthcare visits, medication usage, carer time lost (work or recreation) and home care and/or additional childcare were collected. Influenza-like illness costs were described and further analysed using a Tobit model. Zero-inflated Poisson regression was employed to compare the numbers of healthcare visits for each ILI.

Results

Of 381 children enrolled and analysed, 105 developed 124 ILIs. Specimens were available for 117 ILIs: five were positive by RT-PCR for A(H1N1)pdm09, 39 for adenovirus, 39 for rhinovirus, 15 for a coronavirus and 27 for a polyomavirus. The mean …

Using Hpv Vaccination For Promotion Of An Adolescent Package Of Care: Opportunity And Perspectives, Catherine L. Mac Phail, Emilie Venables, Helen Rees, Sinead Delany-Moretlwe

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background: Adolescents are a difficult population to access for preventive health care, particularly in less resourced countries. Evidence from developed countries indicates that the HPV vaccine schedule may be a useful platform from which to deliver other adolescent health care services. We conducted a qualitative cross sectional study to assess the potential for using the HPV vaccine in the South African public health care system as an opportunity for integrated health care services for adolescents. Methods: Parents, young adolescents, community members and key informants participated in interviews and focus group discussions about feasibility and acceptability, particularly the use of the …

Acceptability And Feasibility Of Cash Transfers For Hiv Prevention Among Adolescent South African Women, Catherine L. Mac Phail, Michelle Adato, Kathleen Kahn, Amanda Selin, Rhian Twine, Samson Khoza, Molly Rosenberg, Nadia Nguyen, Elizabeth Becker, Audrey Pettifor

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Women are at increased risk of HIV infection in much of sub-Saharan Africa. Longitudinal and cross-sectional studies have found an association between school attendance and reduced HIV risk. We report feasibility and acceptability results from a pilot of a cash transfer intervention conditional on school attendance paid to young women and their families in rural Mpumalanga, South Africa for the prevention of HIV infection. Twenty-nine young women were randomised to intervention or control and a cash payment based on school attendance made over a 2-month period. Quantitative (survey) and qualitative (focus group and interview) data collection was undertaken with young …

Cognitive Mapping: Using Local Knowledge For Planning Health Research, Jonathan Stadler, Charles Dugmore, Emilie Venables, Catherine L. Mac Phail, Sinead Delany-Moretlwe

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background: Cognitive mapping is a participatory research methodology that documents, in visual form, a construct of the local environment in which people live and work. We adapted this method to provide detailed data about study locales to inform recruitment and retention strategies for HIV prevention community based clinical trials. Methods: Four cognitive mapping studies were undertaken between 2005 and 2010, in and around Johannesburg in Orange Farm, and Hillbrow. Participants included members of clinical trial Community Advisory Boards (CAB), young people recruited from schools in Hillbrow and an organization for out of school youth, and men recruited from a database …

Conceptualizing Community Mobilization For Hiv Prevention: Implications For Hiv Prevention Programming In The African Context, Sheri Lippman, Suzanne Maman, Catherine L. Mac Phail, Rhian Twine, Dean Peacock, Kathleen Kahn, Audrey Pettifor

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Introduction: Community mobilizing strategies are essential to health promotion and uptake of HIV prevention. However, there has been little conceptual work conducted to establish the core components of community mobilization, which are needed to guide HIV prevention programming and evaluation. Objectives: We aimed to identify the key domains of community mobilization (CM) essential to change health outcomes or behaviors, and to determine whether these hypothesized CM domains were relevant to a rural South African setting.Method:We studied social movements and community capacity, empowerment and development literatures, assessing common elements needed to operationalize HIV programs at a community level. After synthesizing these …

How Much Demand For New Hiv Prevention Technologies Can We Really Expect? Results From A Discrete Choice Experiment In South Africa, Fern Terris-Prestholt, Kara Hanson, Catherine L. Mac Phail, Peter Vickerman, Helen Rees, Charlotte Watts

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background: For the first time in the history of HIV, new bio-medical interventions have been shown to be effective in preventing HIV transmission. For these new HIV prevention technologies (NPTs) to have an impact on the epidemic, they must be widely used. This study uses a discrete choice experiment (DCE) to: understand the relative strength of women's preferences for product characteristics, understand the implications for substitution away from male condoms, and inform realistic modelling of their potential impact and cost-effectiveness. Methods: A DCE was conducted among 1017 women in urban South Africa. Women were presented with choices between potential women's …

Mapping Face Recognition Information Use Across Cultures, Sebastien R. Miellet, Luca Vizioli, Lingnan He, Xinyue Zhou, Roberto Caldara

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Face recognition is not rooted in a universal eye movement information-gathering strategy. Western observers favor a local facial feature sampling strategy, whereas Eastern observers prefer sampling face information from a global, central fixation strategy.Yet, the precise qualitative (the diagnostic) and quantitative (the amount) information underlying these cultural perceptual biases in face recognition remains undetermined.To this end, we monitored the eye movements of Western and Eastern observers during a face recognition task, with a novel gaze-contingent technique: the Expanding Spotlight.

Environmental Issues And Household Sustainability In Australia, Lesley M. Head, Carol Farbotko, Christopher R. Gibson, Nicholas J. Gill, Gordon R. Waitt

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The complex and variable structure of households makes it difficult to design policies to help them behave in a greener way. Cultural research methods, particularly ethnography, provide survey research with the necessary extra depth. These perspectives illustrate pathways towards sustainable results and the problems of achieving more sustainable outcomes.

Regaining Their "Cool": Can The Big Three Surf Brands Recover?, Andrew T. Warren

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Australia's "big three" surf brands have found themselves in choppy financial waters.

Last week, Billabong, one of Australia's most iconic surf brands confirmed a $386 million refinancing agreement with US consortium Centerbridge-Oaktree Capital Management acquiring a 40% share, guaranteeing the struggling brand's short-term future after it posted an $859 million loss last financial year.

Like Billabong, public surf company Quiksilver has reported declining revenues, asset write-downs and growing losses, recently announcing third-quarterly earnings had declined 84%. Privately-owned Rip Curl has also been in profit free-fall. In mid-2012 Rip Curl founders Brian Singer and Doug Warbrick engaged Bank of America Merrill …

Practice Nurses And Sexual Health Care: Enhancing Team Care Within General Practice, Penny Abbott, Ann Dadich, Hassan Hosseinzadeh, Melissa Kang, Wendy Hu, Chris Bourne, Carolyn Murray, Jenny Reath

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background: Collaboration between general practitioners (GPs) and practice nurses (PNs) can enhance health care delivery. However, despite evidenced shortfalls in general practice-based sexual health care, the PN role in sexual health appears underdeveloped. Evaluation of New South Wales Sexually Transmissible Infections Programs Unit GP Project provided an opportunity to canvass views of GPs and PNs regarding PNs and sexual health care. Methods: A purposively sampled group of 10 PNs and nine GPs were interviewed. Interviews were transcribed and analysed thematically. Results: The extent and nature of PN-GP teamwork in sexual health care was variable, influenced largely by GP recognition and …

Practice Nurses And Sexual Health Care - Enhancing Team Care Within General Practice, Penny Abbott, Ann Dadich, Hassan Hosseinzadeh, Melissa Kang, Wendy Hu, Chris Bourne, Carolyn Murray, Jenny Reath

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Aims & rationale/Objectives Despite a high prevalence of sexually transmissible infections (STIs) and evidenced shortfalls in Australian general practice STI screening, practice nurse (PN) roles in sexual healthcare appear underdeveloped. The evaluation of the NSW STI Programs Unit (STIPU) GP Project provided opportunity to canvass the views of general practitioners (GPs) and PNs regarding PN roles in sexual healthcare. Methods As part of a broader evaluation of resources developed through the STIPU GP project, survey respondents were invited to participate in interviews exploring their views on how to support and increase the delivery of sexual health care in general practice. …

Diagnosis Of Copd In The Face Of Multimorbidity, Patients' Perspectives, Sameera Ansari, Hassan Hosseinzadeh, Sarah Dennis, Nicholas Arnold Zwar

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Abstract presented at the 18th Congress of the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology, 11-14 November 2013, Yokohama, Japan.

Help-Negation Among Telephone Crisis Support Workers: Impact On Personal Wellbeing And Worker Performance, Taneile Kitchingman, Coralie J. Wilson, Peter Caputi, Alan Woodward

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Paper presented at the National Suicide Prevention Conference, 24-26 July 2013, Melbourne, Australia.

Telephone counsellors (TCs) provide front line mental health support to callers in crisis. TCs often support callers with suicidal thoughts, depression and anxiety, and the caller's experience of the call will influence whether they will seek help from a helpline in the future. Despite their important role, little information on TCs' mental health and help-seeking behaviours exists - a structured literature search returned 2 papers. This paper presents the results of a study that answered three research questions: 1. Do telephone counsellors experience symptoms of suicidal ideation, …

A New Beginning: Resolving Conflict Peacefully - Pilot Program Evaluation, Natalia K. Hanley, Tallace Bissett

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This report details key research literature about the interactions between young people from new and emerging migrant and refugee communities and Victoria police. It also presents evaluation findings from the pilot conflict resolution training program - A new beginning: resolving conflict peacefully.