Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Garden-Related Environmental Behavior And Weed Management: An Australian Case Study, Ren Hu, Nicholas J. Gill

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This study aims to identify the key drivers of two garden-related environmental behaviors (GEBs): plant choice and bush-friendly behavior. This is important for biodiversity conservation threatened by weed invasion from domestic gardens. The effects of self-control, time pressure, and knowledge of weed-control initiatives were examined. A mail survey was sent to suburban residents living adjacent to native bushland in Wollongong, New South Wales. Regression analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used. The path models for SEM were based on the theory of reasoned action. The results indicate that attitude, perceived harm, and knowledge of weed-control initiatives exert an effect …

Protocol For A Systematic Review Of Evaluation Research For Adults Who Have Participated In The 'Smart Recovery' Mutual Support Programme, Alison K. Beck, Amanda Baker, Peter James Kelly, Frank P. Deane, Anthony Shakeshaft, David Hunt, Erin Forbes, John F. Kelly

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Introduction Self-Management and Recovery Training (SMART Recovery) offers an alternative to predominant 12-step approaches to mutual aid (eg, alcoholics anonymous). Although the principles (eg, self-efficacy) and therapeutic approaches (eg, motivational interviewing and cognitive behavioural therapy) of SMART Recovery are evidence based, further clarity regarding the direct evidence of its effectiveness as a mutual aid package is needed. Relative to methodologically rigorous reviews supporting the efficacy of 12-step approaches, to date, reviews of SMART Recovery have been descriptive. We aim to address this gap by providing a comprehensive overview of the evidence for SMART Recovery in adults with problematic alcohol, substance …

The Role Of Personalised Choice In Decision Support: A Randomized Controlled Trial Of An Online Decision Aid For Prostate Cancer Screening, Glenn P. Salkeld, Michelle Cunich, Jack Dowie, Kirsten Howard, Manish I. Patel, Graham Mann, Wendy Lipworth

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Importance Decision support tools can assist people to apply population-based evidence on benefits and harms to individual health decisions. A key question is whether "personalising" choice within decisions aids leads to better decision quality. Objective To assess the effect of personalising the content of a decision aid for prostate cancer screening using the Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test. Design Randomized controlled trial. Setting Australia. Participants 1,970 men aged 40-69 years were approached to participate in the trial. Intervention 1,447 men were randomly allocated to either a standard decision aid with a fixed set of five attributes or a personalised decision …

A Nutrient Profiling Assessment Of Packaged Foods Using Two Star-Based Front-Of-Pack Labels, Amy Carrad, Jimmy Chun Yu Louie, Heather Yeatman, Elizabeth K. Dunford, Bruce Neal, Victoria M. Flood

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objective: To compare two front-of-pack nutrition labelling systems for the assessment of packaged foods and drinks with Australian Dietary Guidelines. Design: A cross-sectional nutrient profiling assessment. Food and drink products (n 20 225) were categorised into scoring levels using criteria for the Institute of Medicine (IOM) three-star system and the five-star Australian Health Star Rating (HSR). The effectiveness of these systems to categorise foods in accordance with Australian Dietary Guidelines was explored. Setting: The study was conducted in Australia, using a comprehensive food database. Subjects: Packaged food and drink products (n 20 225) available in Australia. Results: Using the IOM …

Length Of Stay As A Predictor Of Reliable Change In Psychological Recovery And Well Being Following Residential Substance Abuse Treatment, Brie Turner, Frank P. Deane

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Purpose Longer length of stay (LOS) in residential drug and alcohol treatment has been associated with more favourable outcomes, but the optimal duration has yet to be determined for reliable change indices. Optimal durations are likely a function of participant and problem characteristics. The current study aims to determine whether LOS in a residential therapeutic drug and alcohol treatment community independently predicts reliable change across a range of psychological recovery and well being measures.. Design/methodology/approach Three hundred and eighty clients from Australian Salvation Army residential drug and alcohol treatment facilities were assessed at intake and three months post-discharge using the …

Gesturing During Mental Problem Solving Reduces Eye Movements, Especially For Individuals With Lower Visual Working Memory Capacity, Wim T. Pouw, Myrto F. Mavilidi, Tamara Van Gog, Fred Paas

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Non-communicative hand gestures have been found to benefit problem-solving performance. These gestures seem to compensate for limited internal cognitive capacities, such as visual working memory capacity. Yet, it is not clear how gestures might perform this cognitive function. One hypothesis is that gesturing is a means to spatially index mental simulations, thereby reducing the need for visually projecting the mental simulation onto the visual presentation of the task. If that hypothesis is correct, less eye movements should be made when participants gesture during problem solving than when they do not gesture. We therefore used mobile eye tracking to investigate the …

Dynamic Facial Expressions Are Processed Holistically, But Not More Holistically Than Static Facial Expressions, Alanna Tobin, Simone K. Favelle, Romina Palermo

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

There is evidence that facial expressions are perceived holistically and featurally. The composite task is a direct measure of holistic processing (although the absence of a composite effect implies the use of other types of processing). Most composite task studies have used static images, despite the fact that movement is an important aspect of facial expressions and there is some evidence that movement may facilitate recognition. We created static and dynamic composites, in which emotions were reliably identified from each half of the face. The magnitude of the composite effect was similar for static and dynamic expressions identified from the …

An Integrated Model Of Staff Education And Service Support To Strengthen The Efficacy Of Technology-Based Crisis Services, Taneile Kitchingman, Peter Caputi, Ian G. Wilson, Alan Woodward

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Paper presented at the National Suicide Prevention Conference, 24-27 July 2016, Canberra, Australia.

Within Australia, non-clinical telephone and online crisis support services provide readily accessible support without the requirement of referral. Research shows that up to one third of callers to crisis lines and half of all visitors to crisis chat services may be suicidal at the time of contact. Research also shows that contact with these services reduces caller suicidality and facilitates engagement with necessary intervention. The number of contacts to crisis support services in Australia is increasing. An increase in contacts to technology-based crisis services highlights the need …

Navigating The Knowledge Sets Of Older Learners: Exploring The Concept Of Experiential Capital Amongst First-In-Family Mature Age Students, Sarah Elizabeth O'Shea

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This paper is based upon research with university students who were first in their family to come to university. The studies sought to explore how attending university impacted upon both the learners and their families, particularly the intergenerational implications of this attendance. Drawing on in-depth interviews conducted with older university students, this paper will focus on how this mature cohort articulated the ways in which they drew upon life and work experiences in their transition to university. The research indicates that these learners had access to additional capitals in the higher education environment including what has been termed as 'experiential …

Children Talking About Writing: Investigating Metalinguistic Understanding, Honglin Chen, Debra Myhill

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Much of the literature on explicit teaching about language has suggested that equipping students with metalinguistic knowledge is as an important means of enhancing students' participation in learning. Yet in the context of international jurisdictions which are placing a renewed emphasis on knowledge about language, there is a notable lack of research into the nature of learners' metalinguistic understanding about writing, as evident in their ability to reflect on written language. Using an analytical framework shaped by Vygotsky's and Hallidayan theories of concept formation and language learning, this paper provides insights into the nature of metalinguistic understanding as manifested in …

Electrophysiology Of Memory-Updating Differs With Age, Genevieve Z. Steiner, Craig J. Gonsalvez, Frances M. De Blasio, Robert J. Barry

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

In oddball tasks, the P3 component of the event-related potential systematically varies with the time between target stimuli-the target-to-target interval (TTI). Longer TTIs result in larger P3 amplitudes and shorter latencies, and this pattern of results has been linked with working memory-updating processes. Given that working memory and the P3 have both been shown to diminish with age, the current study aimed to determine whether the linear relationship between P3 and TTI is compromised in healthy aging by comparing TTI effects on P3 amplitudes and latencies, and reaction time (RT), in young and older adults. Older adults were found to …

The Nature And Timing Of Tele-Pseudoscopic Experiences, Stephen Palmisano, Harold C. Hill, Robert S. Allison

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Interchanging the left and right eye views of a scene (pseudoscopic viewing) has been reported to produce vivid stereoscopic effects under certain conditions. In two separate field studies, we examined the experiences of 124 observers (76 in Study 1 and 48 in Study 2) while pseudoscopically viewing a distant natural outdoor scene. We found large individual differences in both the nature and the timing of their pseudoscopic experiences. While some observers failed to notice anything unusual about the pseudoscopic scene, most experienced multiple pseudoscopic phenomena, including apparent scene depth reversals, apparent object shape reversals, apparent size and flatness changes, apparent …

Loneliness And Schizotypy Are Distinct Constructs, Separate From General Psychopathology, Johanna C. Badcock, Emma Barkus, Alex S. Cohen, Romola Bucks, David R. Badcock

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Loneliness is common in youth and associated with a significantly increased risk of psychological disorders. Although loneliness is strongly associated with psychosis, its relationship with psychosis proneness is unclear. Our aim in this paper was to test the hypothesis that loneliness and schizotypal traits, conveying risk for schizophrenia spectrum disorders, are similar but separate constructs. Pooling data from two non-clinical student samples (N = 551) we modeled the structure of the relationship between loneliness and trait schizotypy. Loneliness was assessed with the University of California, Los Angeles Loneliness Scale (UCLA-3), whilst negative (Social Anhedonia) and positive (Perceptual Aberrations) schizotypal traits …

Anthropocene, Noel Castree

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Coined by two environmental scientists, the term "Anthropocene" is currently a buzzword in sections of the earth and environmental science community, as well as in the social sciences and humanities. It may in time assume the status of a "keyword" and become an established part of the academic lexicon. It describes human-induced changes to the earth's biophysical and chemical environment of such scope, scale, and magnitude as to mark the end of the Holocene (i.e., the roughly 11,700 years prior to the 21st century). The Anthropocene is thus an epochal term: it proposes that modern humans possess powers equivalent to …

Principals As Literacy Leaders With Indigenous Communities (Pallic) Building Relationships: One School's Quest To Raise Indigenous Learners' Literacy, Tasha Riley, Amanda A. Webster

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

In 2011 to 2012, 48 schools in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Queensland participated in the Principals as Literacy Leaders with Indigenous Communities (PALLIC) project. Central to this project was the establishment of positive working relationships between school principals and Indigenous community leaders in order to improve Indigenous literacy rates. Professional development in leadership skills and effective literacy instruction was provided through five professional learning modules. Participants worked together to create an action plan to support the literacy achievement of Indigenous students in their schools and communities. This article presents a case study of one participating school in Northern …

Identifying Objective Eeg Based Markers Of Linear Vection In Depth, Stephen Palmisano, Robert J. Barry, Frances M. De Blasio, Jack Fogarty

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This proof-of-concept study investigated whether a time-frequency EEG approach could be used to examine vection (i.e., illusions of self-motion). In the main experiment, we compared the event-related spectral perturbation (ERSP) data of 10 observers during and directly after repeated exposures to two different types of optic flow display (each was 35° wide by 29° high and provided 20 s of motion stimulation). Displays consisted of either a vection display (which simulated constant velocity forward self-motion in depth) or a control display (a spatially scrambled version of the vection display). ERSP data were decomposed using time-frequency Principal Components Analysis (t-f PCA). …

A School-Based Intervention Incorporating Smartphone Technology To Improve Health-Related Fitness Among Adolescents: Rationale And Study Protocol For The Neat And Atlas 2.0 Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial And Dissemination Study, David R. Lubans, Jordan J. Smith, Louisa Peralta, Ronald Plotnikoff, Anthony D. Okely, Jo Salmon, Narelle Eather, Deborah Dewar, Sarah G. Kennedy, Chris Lonsdale, Toni A. Hilland, Paul Estabrooks, Tara Finn, Emma Pollock, Philip J. Morgan

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Introduction Physical inactivity has been described as a global pandemic. Interventions aimed at developing skills in lifelong physical activities may provide the foundation for an active lifestyle into adulthood. In general, school-based physical activity interventions targeting adolescents have produced modest results and few have been designed to be 'scaled-up' and disseminated. This study aims to: (1) assess the effectiveness of two physical activity promotion programmes (ie, NEAT and ATLAS) that have been modified for scalability; and (2) evaluate the dissemination of these programmes throughout government funded secondary schools. Methods and analysis The study will be conducted in two phases. In …

Test-Retest Reliability Of A Single-Channel, Wireless Eeg System, Jeffrey M. Rogers, Stuart J. Johnstone, Anna Aminov, James Donnelly, Peter H. Wilson

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Recording systems to acquire electroencephalogram (EEG) data are traditionally lab-based. However, there are shortcomings to this method, and the ease of use and portability of emerging wireless EEG technologies offer a promising alternative. A previous validity study demonstrated data derived from a single-channel, wireless system (NeuroSky ThinkGear, San Jose, California) is comparable to EEG recorded from conventional lab-based equipment. The current study evaluated the reliability of this portable system using test-retest and reliable change analyses. Relative power (RP) of delta, theta, alpha, and beta frequency bands was derived from EEG data obtained from a single electrode over FP1 in 19 …

Evaluation Of A Broadly-Based Control Model Of Fascioliasis (Liver Fluke) In Central Vietnam, T M. Quy, Heather Yeatman

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Fascioliasis (liver fluke) has raised significant public health concerns in the 15 regional provinces of Central Vietnam. However, comprehensive strategies for fascioliasis control are not in place with reliance on chemotherapy as the main control measure. This study implemented a broadly-based control model comprising of five main components: vector control, health education, improvement of local health systems, involvement of concerned bodies, and chemotherapy. Following the intervention, significant reductions in seroprevalence (4.2% vs. 8.8%, p<0.05) was found in the Intervention 1 commune (broadly-based model), but not in the Intervention 2 commune (model comprising of human chemotherapy and animal chemoprevention) or the Control commune (Control commune, human chemotherapy only). Improvements in knowledge and practice of fascioliasis control were found in the intervention communes 1 and 2, although there remained significant differences in the levels of awareness in these two cohorts (80.2% vs. 37.5% respectively, p <0.017). Considerable changes in practices were found in the Intervention 1 commune with all poor practice items reduced significantly in comparison with the baseline level (p<0.017). Findings in this study also supported the effectiveness of the recommended chemotherapy (triclabendazole 250mg, 10mg/kg body weight) for selective treatment of fascioliasis. Having established the effectiveness of the broadly-based control model, it is important to explore the factors that enable, or act to impede, the implementation of a broadly based control model.

Psychological States Underlying Excellent Performance In Professional Golfers: "Letting It Happen" Vs. "Making It Happen", Christian F. Swann, Richard J. Keegan, Lee Crust, David Piggott

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objectives: In this study we aimed to better understand the occurrence and experience of flow in elite golf. As flow is more likely to occur during peak performances, and for elite athletes, our objectives were to: (i) identify golfers who achieved exceptional performances (e.g., winning a professional tournament), and (ii) explore if and how they experienced flow within that performance. Design: Mixed-method multiple case study. Method: Participants were 10 professional golfers (M age = 30; SD = 9.9). Performance data and participant observations informed semi-structured interviews which took place as soon as possible after an excellent performance (M = 4 …

The Bioeffects Resulting From Prokaryotic Cells And Yeast Being Exposed To An 18 Ghz Electromagnetic Field, The Hong Phong Nguyen, Vy T. Pham, Song H. Nguyen, Vladimir Baulin, Rodney J. Croft, Brian Phillips, Russell Crawford, Elena Ivanova

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The mechanisms by which various biological effects are triggered by exposure to an electromagnetic field are not fully understood and have been the subject of debate. Here, the effects of exposing typical representatives of the major microbial taxa to an 18 GHz microwave electromagnetic field (EMF)were studied. It appeared that the EMF exposure induced cell permeabilisation in all of the bacteria and yeast studied, while the cells remained viable (94% throughout the exposure), independent of the differences in cell membrane fatty acid and phospholipid composition. The resulting cell permeabilisation was confirmed by detection of the uptake of propidium iodine and …

Are Respiratory Protection Standards Protecting Worker Health Against Ultrafine Diesel Particulate Matter Emissions? An Australian Perspective, Kerrie Burton, Jane L. Whitelaw, Alison L. Jones, Brian Davies

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Poster presentation made at the 20th ETH-Conference on Combustion Generated Nanoparticles, 13-16 June 2016, Zurich, Switzerland.

Aim: Ultrafine diesel engine emissions are known to cause adverse health impacts including lung cancer, cardiovascular and irritant effects (World Health Organisation 2012). Respiratory protective devices are commonly used to mitigate worker exposure to many hazardous contaminants, especially in heavy industry such as mining and refining. Current standards to evaluate penetration through respirator filter media may not consider ultrafine particles due to the diameter of the challenge aerosol and the detection limit of the instrument (Eninger et al. 2008). Nor do they test penetration …

Exploring Australian Women's Level Of Nutrition Knowledge During Pregnancy: A Cross-Sectional Study, Khlood Bookari, Heather Yeatman, Moira J. Williamson

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background: The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating (AGHE) for pregnancy provides a number of food- and nutrition-related recommendations to assist pregnant women in optimizing their dietary behavior. However, there are limited data demonstrating pregnant women’s knowledge of the AGHE recommendations. This study investigated Australian pregnant women’s knowledge of the AGHE and related dietary recommendations for maintaining a healthy pregnancy. The variations in nutrition knowledge were compared with demographic characteristics. Methods: A cross-sectional study assessed eight different nutrition knowledge domains and the demographic characteristics of pregnant women. Four hundred women across Australia completed a multidimensional online survey based on validated and …

Listening To Children And Young People And Empowering Them - Some New Techniques Using Philosophical And Spiritual Listening. An Educational Psychologist's Story, Irvine Gersch

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This article outlines one area of research which I, as an educational and child psychologist, have been involved in for more than 30 years. The area is 'listening to children and young people (CYP): helping to empower them through giving them a voice'. The work has involved the development of various materials, including the Student Report and a version for students excluded from school, to the more recent spiritual listening tools, inviting children and young people to discuss their views about the big questions of life; namely, life's purpose and meaning. Fundamentally, such aspects are felt to be keys to …

In The Mind Of An Elite Athlete: What Do Sportspeople Think When They Excel?, Christian F. Swann

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Most of us are fascinated by the achievements and successes of elite athletes, who train for years to have the opportunity to reach their goals on the world stage.

These sportspeople show us what's possible for the human body - how fast we can move, how far and high we can jump, how strong or graceful we can be. But what goes on in the mind of an elite athlete performing at their peak?

Athletes' psychological states - the temporary, brief, subjective experiences that happen during exceptional performance - are often collectively described as "the zone". A recent example was …

Unhealthy Sport Sponsorship Continues To Target Kids, Kathy Chapman, Bridget Kelly

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

In the final month of the countdown to the Olympic Games, our sports stars are probably not eating and drinking the Games sponsors' foods. Again, as in previous Olympics, the Olympic Games sponsors are Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Cadburys, whose foods and drinks are not good choices for athletes due to their lack of nutrition and high levels of salt, sugar and saturated fats.

Noel Castree (University Of Wollongong) On Christophe Bonneuil And Jean-Baptiste Fressoz's The Shock Of The Anthropocene: The Earth, History, And Us, Noel Castree

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Book review of: Christophe Bonneuil and Jean-Baptiste Fressoz, The Shock of the Anthropocene: The Earth, History, and Us (translated by David Fernbach), New York: Verso, 2016. ISBN: 9781784780791 (cloth); ISBN: 9781784780814 (ebook).

Reinstating The Novelty P3, Robert J. Barry, Genevieve Z. Steiner, Frances M. De Blasio

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

P300 (or P3) is a major positive complex in the human event-related potential, occurring some 300 ms after stimulus onset, and long thought to be the cortical correlate of the Orienting Reflex, our automatic attention-grabbing response to a novel stimulus. The Novelty P3 was the third P3 subcomponent discovered (after P3a and P3b) and appeared promising in its sensitivity to stimulus novelty, the defining characteristic of the Orienting Reflex. But some 15 years later it was claimed to be indistinguishable from the previously-discovered P3a. This led to a decline in interest in the field and confused nomenclature, with some studies …

Surviving The 2015 Mount Everest Disaster: A Phenomenological Exploration Into Lived Experience And The Role Of Mental Toughness, Christian F. Swann, Lee Crust, Jacquelyn Allen-Collinson

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objectives The 2015 Nepal earthquake and subsequent avalanche at Mount Everest Base Camp is the deadliest mountaineering disaster to date. This study is novel in exploring the lived experiences of survivors and the role of mental toughness in their psychological responses to the disaster. Design Phenomenological study. Method Ten mountaineers, who were on expeditions during the earthquake, participated in phenomenological interviews. Data were analysed inductively and thematically, while strategies to enhance trustworthiness were also employed. Results Seven dimensions emerged from the data, which captured climbers' psychological responses to the disaster, ranging from the moments the earthquake hit to reflections on …

Exploring The Qualitative Research On Diabetes Self-Management In Middle-Aged Population Of Rural Area Of Pakistan, Rashid M. Ansari, Hassan Hosseinzadeh, Nicholas Arnold Zwar

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This review article aimed at exploring the qualitative health research in self-management of type 2 diabetes and patient's perceptions and experiences of undertaking physical activity and eating behaviour as part of their diabetes self-management. In addition, the study analyzed how the health issue related to diabetes is viewed and addressed in the community of Pakistan and used the concepts of socio-ecological approach to self-management of type 2 diabetes and explored the factors affecting the self-management practices in that country. The other objective of this review was to examine the role of physical inactivity and obesity in the development of type …