Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Connection, Challenge, And Change: The Narratives Of University Students Mentoring Young Indigenous Australians, Sarah O'Shea, Valerie Harwood, Lisa Kervin, Nici Humphry

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

In this article, we highlighted the stories of university student mentors who are involved in the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME). The AIME program works with young Indigenous school students, at primary and secondary school levels, to encourage continued participation in education and to consider university as a viable life goal. The AIME program is explored from the perspective of the university students who are selected to mentor young Australian Indigenous school students. Adopting a narrative inquiry approach, the article presents richly descriptive insight into the motivations of these mentors and highlights how this experience has impacted upon them. While …

Aim(E) For Completing School And University: Analysing The Strength Of The Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience, Gawaian Bodkin-Andrews, Valerie Harwood, Samantha Mcmahon, Amy Priestly

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Purpose: Generally, theory and research investigating the effectiveness of mentoring has offered little resounding evidence to attest to mentoring programmes being a strategic initiative that make a real difference in reducing the educational inequities many minority students endure. In contrast to this existing research base, the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME) has often been cited as one of the most successful mentoring initiatives within Australia. It is the purpose of this chapter to examine how AIME may impact on the educational aspirations and school self-concept of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. Methodology: A series of multi-group analyses were centred …

Even With Cruise Control You Still Have To Steer: Defining Trolling To Get Things Done, Andrew M. Whelan

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

'Trolling' is not a pre-given aspect of a discursive environment, which we enter into and then identify as such. This paper demonstrates that trolling is contextually mobilised as an occasioned aspect of interaction through an example: a news segment aired on the Australian network television news program Seven News in 2012. This segment is interpreted initially with reference to existing frameworks, so as to make a case about how trolling is conventionally understood, and this interpretation is then respecified through a membership categorisation analysis of the segment in question. By attending to the methods with which trolls are produced and …

Short-Term Training In The Go/Nogo Task: Behavioural And Neural Changes Depend On Task Demands, Nicholas Benikos, Stuart J. Johnstone, Steven J. Roodenrys

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Neural activity underlying executive functions is subject to modulation as a result of increasing cognitive demands and practice. In the present study, we examined these modulatory effects by varying task difficulty, as manipulated by reaction time deadline (RTD), on inhibitory control during a single Go/Nogo training session (8 blocks; 70% Go). Sixty adults were randomly assigned to one of three task difficulty conditions: High (n = 20), Medium (n = 20) and Low (n = 20), with RTDs of 300, 500 or 1000 ms, respectively. Task performance, Event-related potentials (ERPs) and task-related arousal (indexed by skin conductance level) were examined …

Views Of Children And Parents On Limiting Unhealthy Food, Drink And Alcohol Sponsorship Of Elite And Children's Sports, Bridget Kelly, Louise Baur, Adrian Bauman, Lesley King, Kathy Chapman, Ben Smith

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objective To determine parents' and children's attitudes towards food, beverage and alcohol sponsorship of elite and children's sports and the acceptability of policies and alternative funding models to limit this sponsorship. Design Telephone surveys were conducted with parents in February-May 2011. One child from each household was invited to complete an online survey. Surveys assessed parents' perceptions about the influence of sponsorship on children and support for limiting sponsorship, and children's awareness of and attitudes towards sponsors. Setting Randomly sampled households in New South Wales, Australia. Subjects Parents (n 825) and children aged 10-16 years (n 243). Results Three-quarters of …

Vegetables Containing Phytochemicals With Potential Anti-Obesity Properties: A Review, David J. Williams, David Edwards, Ingrid Hamernig, Le Jian, Anthony P. James, Stuart Keith Dr Stuart Keith Johnson, Linda Tapsell

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The incidence of obesity is rising worldwide at an alarming rate and is becoming a major public health concern with incalculable social and economic costs. Studies have exposed the relationship between the adiposity, inflammation and the development of other metabolic disorders, so dietary factors that influence some or all of these are of interest. Dietary phytochemicals appear to be able to target different stages of the adipocyte (fat cell) lifecycle. For example, several classes of polyphenols have been implicated in suppressing the growth of adipose tissue through modifying the adipocyte lifecycle. Many dietary phytochemicals also have strong anti-inflammatory activity, but …

A Comparison Of The Cost Of Generic And Branded Food Products In Australian Supermarkets, Kathy Chapman, Christine Innes-Hughes, David Goldsbury, Bridget Kelly, Adrian Bauman, Margaret Allman-Farinelli

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objective Food cost is an important factor influencing the consumption of nutritious foods and subsequent chronic disease risk. The present study compared the cost of branded food products with their generic equivalents across a range of food categories. Setting The survey was conducted within two major supermarket chains across six locations in Sydney, Australia (n 12). Design Price differences were calculated for 'core' (nutrient dense and low in energy) and 'extra' (high in undesirable nutrients and/or energy) packaged foods (n 22) between generic and branded items. Results A cost saving of 44 % was found by purchasing generic over branded …

Cnv Resolution Does Not Cause Nogo Anteriorisation Of The P3: A Failure To Replicate Simson Et Al., Janette Smith, Robert Barry, Genevieve Steiner

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

For 35 years, some researchers have argued that CNV resolution may affect or even produce the increased P3 for NoGo compared to Go trials, and thus that no 'inhibitory' NoGo P3 exists. This is based on the work of Simson et al. (1977b), the scalp topography of potentials in auditory and visual Go/NoGo tasks. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 43, 864-875, which compared Go and NoGo topography after CNV was subtracted from NoGo trials only. Specifically, the NoGo P3 topography showed the distinctive frontocentral maximum, which is often linked to motor inhibition, when referenced to a pre-target baseline. This NoGo topography …

A Preliminary Exploration Of The Working Allliance And 'Real Relationship' In Two Coaching Approaches With Mental Health Workers, Belinda J. Sun, Frank Deane, Trevor Crowe, Retta Andresen, Lindsay G. Oades, Joseph Ciarrochi

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objectives: The coaching relationship has been described as the catalyst for change. This study explores the coaching relationship by comparing the working alliance and the 'real relationship'- the undistorted and authentic experience of the other- in participants in skills coaching and transformational coaching. Design: A 2 (coaching condition) x 2 (time) factorial design was used. Method: Staff from community psychiatric recovery services were trained in a new service delivery approach (Collaborative Recovery Model), followed by coaching from intemal coaches once per month to enhance implimentation of the training. All trained staff were invited to participate in the research. Forty coachees …

A Qualitative Exploration Of The "Critical Window": Factors Affecting Australian Children's After-School Physical Activity, Rebecca M. Stanley, Kobie Boshoff, James Dollman

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background: The after-school period is potentially a "critical window" for promoting physical activity in children. The purpose of this study was to qualitatively explore children's perceptions of the factors influencing their engagement in physical activity during the after-school period as the first phase in the development of a questionnaire. Methods: Fifty-four South Australian children age 10-13 years participated in same gender focus groups. Transcripts, field notes, and activity documents were analyzed using content analysis. Through an inductive thematic approach, data were coded and categorized into perceived barriers and facilitators according to a social ecological model. Results: Children identified a number …

Advergames Play With Nutrition By Making Fast Food Rewarding, Sandra C. Jones, Jeffrey A. Thom

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Advergaming is a relatively recent approach to advertising that overcomes many of the limitations of traditional advertising. But advergames are increasingly being used by fast food companies to target children by rewarding play with unhealthy food products.

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 …

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, …

Building Solutions To Protect Children From Unhealthy Food And Drink Sport Sponsorship, Bridget Kelly, Kathy Chapman, Louise A. Baur, Adrian E. Bauman, Lesley King, Ben J. Smith

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

In Australia, and indeed across the world, the proportion of children who are overweight or obese is increasing. Almost one-quarter of school-aged children are now overweight or obese. While the causes of obesity are complex and many, children's exposure to high levels of unhealthy food marketing is one factor that affects the food and drinks that children like, ask for, buy and consume. Extensive research evidence has found that, in general, children are exposed to high levels of food marketing, most of which is for unhealthy or high fat, sugar and/or salt food and drinks. The most commonly advertised foods …

Smoking Mull: A Grounded Theory Model On The Dynamics Of Combined Tobacco And Cannabis Use Among Men, A Banbury, Avigdor Zask, Stacy M. Carter, Eric Van Beurden, R Tokley, Megan Passey, Jan Copeland

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Issue addressed Australians' use of cannabis has been increasing. Over a third of Australians (35.4%) have used cannabis at some time in their lives and 10.3% are recent users. Almost two‐thirds of cannabis users combine cannabis with tobacco. The aim of this study was to understand the process of mulling - smoking tobacco and cannabis together - using a grounded theory approach. Methods Twenty‐one in‐depth semistructured interviews were conducted with men aged 25-34 and living on the North Coast of New South Wales. Interviews explored participants' smoking practices, histories and cessation attempts. Results A model describing mulling behaviour and the …

Understanding The School Community's Response To School Closures During The H1n1 2009 Influenza, Annette J. Braunack-Mayer, Rebecca Tooher, Joanne Collins, Jackie M. Street, Helen S. Marshall

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background

During the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, Australian public health officials closed schools as a strategy to mitigate the spread of the infection. This article examines school communities’ understanding of, and participation in, school closures and the beliefs and values which underpinned school responses to the closures.

Methods

We interviewed four school principals, 25 staff, 14 parents and 13 students in five schools in one Australian city which were either fully or partially closed during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic.

Results

Drawing on Thompson et al’s ethical framework for pandemic planning, we show that considerable variation existed between and within schools …

Identifying The Quality Of Life Effects Of Urinary Incontinence With Depression In An Australian Population, Jodie C. Avery, Nigel P. Stocks, Paul Duggan, Annette J. Braunack-Mayer, Anne Taylor, Robert Goldney, Alastair Maclennan

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background

To explore the additive effect of urinary incontinence, in people with comorbid depression, on health related quality of life.

Methods

Males and females, 15 to 95 years (n = 3010, response rate 70.2%) were interviewed face to face in the 1998 Autumn South Australian Health Omnibus Survey.

Results

Self-reported urinary incontinence was found in 20.3% (n=610), and depression as defined by the PRIME-MD in 15.2% (n=459) of the survey population. Urinary incontinence with comorbid depression was found in 4.3% of the overall population. Univariate analysis showed that respondents with urinary incontinence and comorbid depression were more likely to be …

Social Mix And The Problematisation Of Social Housing, Rupert H. Doney, Pauline M. Mcguirk, Kathleen Mee

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Social housing in Australia is at a significant juncture. High levels of housing stress, increasing levels of socio-spatial polarisation and reduced government funding are posing complex policy challenges. Social mix policies are one response to these challenges, arising from the problematisation of social housing estates as socially excluded. This problematisation is examined through case studies of two Sydney social housing renewal projects: Telopea and Riverwood North. Drawing on interviews with government, private-sector and not-for-profit housing practitioners, the paper identifies two distinct discourses of social exclusion within this problematisation-culture of poverty discourse and equity discourse-that shape the implementation of social mix. …

The Cool, Creative Mapping Lounge, Christopher R. Gibson, Christopher R. Brennan-Horley

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This case study outlines a methodology that combines vox pop style interviews, hand-drawn maps and specialised computer mapping techniques to produce a threedimensional representation of a city's cultural vitality - as judged by its residents. In 2009, CAMRA researchers conducted a 'mapping lounge' at Wollongong's largest annual festival, gathering stories and maps that identified over 2300 cool and creative places, spread across the city. The data revealed the localised nature of 'creativity', and the value of small-scale, decentralised cultural infrastructure.

Disability In Zimbabwe Under The New Constitution: Demands And Gains Of People With Disabilities, Jacob Mugumbate, Chamunogwa Nyoni

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

People with disabilities looked at the constitution making process as their biggest opportunity to have their dreams realised. They had numerous expectations including increased opportunities in health, education, social protection, habitation, participation and employment. Although they were excluded from the first stages of the process, they were later actively involved. The outcome of their involvement has been several provisions in the constitution addressing disability concerns. The extent to which these provisions are adequate or inadequate has been a subject of contention. This article looks at the provisions in the final version of the constitution that received presidential assent on 22 …

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 …

Eye Tracking Infants: Investigating The Role Of Attention During Learning On Recognition Memory, Gemma Taylor, Jane S. Herbert

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

In the present study, eye tracker methodology was used to explore whether there were age-related changes in the focus of infant attention during a learning event and subsequent recognition memory for event features. Six- and 9-month old infants watched a video of an adult demonstrating a sequence of actions with an object while visual attention was recorded using an eye tracker. At both ages, attention was focused primarily on the object and person, with the background attended to for approximately 12% of their viewing time. Recognition memory for the person, object and background from the video was assessed immediately using …

Infant Interest In Their Mother's Face Is Associated With Maternal Psychological Health, Rebecca Jones, Pauline Slade, Olivier Pascalis, Jane S. Herbert

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Early experience can alter infants' interest in faces in their environment. This study investigated the relationship between maternal psychological health, mother-infant bonding, and infant face interest in a community sample. A visual habituation paradigm was used to independently assess 3.5-month old infants' attention to a photograph of their mother's face and a stranger's face. In this sample of 54 healthy mother-infant pairs, 57% of mothers (N=31) reported symptoms of at least one of stress response to trauma, anxiety, or depression. Interest in the mother-face, but not stranger-face, was positively associated with the mother's psychological health. In regression analyses, anxiety and …

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 …

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 …

The Pattern Of Complaints About Australian Wind Farms Does Not Match The Establishment And Distribution Of Turbines: Support For The Psychogenic, 'Communicated Disease' Hypothesis, Simon Chapman, Alexis B. St George, Karen Waller, Vince Cakic

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background and Objectives With often florid allegations about health problems arising from wind turbine exposure now widespread, nocebo effects potentially confound any future investigation of turbine health impact. Historical audits of health complaints are therefore important. We test 4 hypotheses relevant to psychogenic explanations of the variable timing and distribution of health and noise complaints about wind farms in Australia. Setting All Australian wind farms (51 with 1634 turbines) operating 1993-2012. Methods Records of complaints about noise or health from residents living near 51 Australian wind farms were obtained from all wind farm companies, and corroborated with complaints in submissions …

Treated Differently? Evidence Of Racism And Discrimination From A Local Perspective, Patricia Kennedy

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

One of the key findings of this study is that as many as 80% of those who experienced racism or discrimination do not report it. The report shows that racism and discrimination are happening in Limerick but victims and witnesses are reluctant to turn to the authorities for assistance. While this particular study documents local manifestations of racism and discrimination, the issues are of global, national and regional significance.

The Effect Of School Recess Interventions On Physical Activity : A Systematic Review, Anne-Maree Parrish, Anthony D. Okely, Rebecca M. Stanley, Nicola D. Ridgers

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background The benefits of physical activity to maintain optimal health and well-being in children and adolescents are undisputed. The school environment offers opportuni- ties for children to be physically active. Objective The aim of this review is to systematically examine the effects of recess-based interventions on the physical activity (PA) levels of school-aged children and adolescents. Data Sources A systematic literature search was con- ducted to identify papers reporting interventions to pro- mote PA during school recess and/or lunchtime periods. The search was conducted in six databases (PubMed, SPORTDiscusTM, Web of Science, Proquest, Cochrane and Scopus) for papers published between …

Identification Of Distinct Body Mass Index Trajectories In Australian Children, C A. Magee, P Caputi, Donald C. Iverson

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background A limited number of studies have demonstrated that there may be distinct developmental trajectories of obesity during childhood. Objective To identify distinct trajectories of body mass index (BMI) in a large sample of Australian children. Methods Participants included 4601 children aged 45 years at baseline, who were followed up at ages 67 years, 89 years and 1011 years. Height and weight were measured at each of these time points, and used to calculate BMI. Growth Mixture Modelling was used to identify the presence of distinct BMI trajectories. Results Four distinct trajectories were identified (i) High Risk Overweight; (ii) Early …