Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Cities Of Australia And The Pacific Islands, Robyn Dowling, Pauline M. Mcguirk

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The Pacific region is a constellation of islands of varying sizes. Australia (the island continent) and Aotearoa/New Zealand (now carrying both Maori and Pakeha, or settler, names) dominate the region geographically and economically. However, many smaller islands are found in those vast realms of the Pacific Ocean known as Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Socially, politically, economically, and biophysically, this is a diverse region with diverse cities. In this part of the world, it is easiest to understand cities as forming two main groups: those of Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand, and those of the Pacific Islands.

Demonstrating Retrofitting: Perspectives From Australian Local Government, Robyn Dowling, Pauline M. Mcguirk, Harriet Bulkeley

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Cities are critical to transitions to low carbon futures, not only because of the large and growing global urban population but also because global resource consumption is concentrated in cities (Gossop, 2011:208; Hodson, Marvin, Robinson, & Swilling, 2012; Monstadt, 2007). Ensuring that new urban spaces, such as new housing or new city precincts, are low or zero carbon is central to these transitions (Hodson & Marvin, 2010). Yet, equally important to reducing urban carbon consumption is the retrofitting of existing urban planning frameworks and imaginaries, infrastructure, built form and patterns of daily life (Eames et.al., 2013; Pincetl, 2012). Retrofitting involves …

Gendered Dynamics Of Wildland Firefighting In Australia, Christine Eriksen, Gordon R. Waitt, Carrie Wilkinson

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This article examines the gendered dynamics of wildland firefighting through analysis of employment statistics and in-depth interviews with employees of the National Parks and Wildlife Service in New South Wales, Australia. The statistics suggest increased gender equality for women following the affirmative gender politics of the 1990s in a previously male-dominated workplace. However, we argue these statistics mask how some patterns of practice surrounding fire management continue to reproduce a gendered workplace. Turning to the concept of hegemonic masculinity, we explore the ongoing gendered assumptions of this workplace and identify those that prove most resistant to change around bodies, masculinity, …

Clustering Of Cardiovascular Behavioral Risk Factors And Blood Pressure Among People Diagnosed With Hypertension: A Nationally Representative Survey In China, Yichong Li, Xiaoqi Feng, Mei Zhang, Maigeng Zhou, Ning Wang, Limin Wang

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This study aimed to examine association between the number of behavioral risk factors and blood pressure (BP) level among a nationally representative sample of Chinese people diagnosed with hypertension. A total of 31,694 respondents aged 18+ years with diagnosed hypertension were extracted from the 2013-2014 China Chronic Disease and Risk Factor Surveillance. BP of each respondent was classified into six levels according to criteria in 2007 Guidelines for the Management of Arterial Hypertension. Information for smoking, alcohol drinking, fruit and vegetables consumption, physical inactivity, and overweight and obesity were obtained. The average number of risk factors was determined by BP …

Sequential Processing And The Matching-Stimulus Interval Effect In Erp Components: An Exploration Of The Mechanism Using Multiple Regression, Genevieve Z. Steiner, Robert J. Barry, Craig J. Gonsalvez

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

In oddball tasks, increasing the time between stimuli within a particular condition (target-to-target interval, TTI; nontarget-to-nontarget interval, NNI) systematically enhances N1, P2, and P300 event-related potential (ERP) component amplitudes. This study examined the mechanism underpinning these effects in ERP components recorded from 28 adults who completed a conventional three-tone oddball task. Bivariate correlations, partial correlations and multiple regression explored component changes due to preceding ERP component amplitudes and intervals found within the stimulus series, rather than constraining the task with experimentally constructed intervals, which has been adequately explored in prior studies. Multiple regression showed that for targets, N1 and TTI …

Material Inheritances: How Place, Materiality, And Labor Process Underpin The Path-Dependent Evolution Of Contemporary Craft Production, Christopher R. Gibson

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This article explores the historic-geographic evolution of contemporary craft production, with sensitivity to materiality of labor process, product design, and accompanying place mythologies. Craft production-increasingly interpolated as a form of creative work-is shaped by concerns about retrieving archaic tools and ways of making things, celebrating provenance and the haptic skills of makers, and delivering (and marketing) manual labor process. In contrast to evolutionary economic geography's seeming immateriality and abstraction, attention is drawn to material aspects of place and path dependence that undergird geographies of new craft industries: how labor process evolves, in iteration with technical lock-ins that stem from production …

An Official Welcome To The Anthropocene Epoch - But Who Gets To Decide It's Here?, Noel Castree

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

It's literally epoch-defining news. A group of experts tasked with considering the question of whether we have officially entered the Anthropocene - the geological age characterised by humans' influence on the planet - has delivered its answer: yes.

The British-led Working Group on the Anthropocene (WGA) told a geology conference in Cape Town that, in its considered opinion, the Anthropocene epoch began in 1950 - the start of the era of nuclear bomb tests, disposable plastics and the human population boom.

The Anthropocene has fast become an academic buzzword and has achieved a degree of public visibility in recent years. …

Primary Healthcare System Of Pakistan: Challenges To Self-Management Of Type 2 Diabetes, Rashid M. Ansari, Hassan Hosseinzadeh, Nicholas Arnold Zwar

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This review article is aimed at describing the primary healthcare system of Pakistan and its challenges in the face of epidemic of type 2 diabetes, focusing particularly on the middle-aged population of rural area of Pakistan. The main concern in Pakistan is that its middle-aged population is facing the onslaught of obesity and overweight due to lack of physical activity. In addition unhealthy eating habits making it more difficult for this population to control their weight. All these factors are contributing to a high risk of type 2 diabetes for the population of Pakistan. This article provides insight into the …

Towards Integrating The Principlist And Casuist Approaches To Ethical Decisions Via Multi-Criterial Support, Mette Kjer Kaltoft, Jesper Bo Nielsen, Glenn P. Salkeld, Jack Dowie

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

An interactive decision support tool based on Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) can help health professionals integrate the principlist (principle-based) and casuist (case-based) approaches to ethical decision making in both their training and practice. MCDA can incorporate generic ethical principles as criteria; then draw on case-based reasoning as the basis for specifying, in the individual case, the available options, the ratings of each option on each criterion, and the relative weighting of the criteria. This produces a personalised, transparent and decomposable opinion on the merits of each option, as a contribution to enhanced deliberation. As proof of concept and method an …

Stereoscopic Advantages For Vection Induced By Radial, Circular, And Spiral Optic Flows, Stephen Palmisano, Stephanie Summersby, Rodney G. Davies, Juno Kim

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Although observer motions project different patterns of optic flow to our left and right eyes, there has been surprisingly little research into potential stereoscopic contributions to self-motion perception. This study investigated whether visually induced illusory self-motion (i.e., vection) is influenced by the addition of consistent stereoscopic information to radial, circular, and spiral (i.e., combined radial + circular) patterns of optic flow. Stereoscopic vection advantages were found for radial and spiral (but not circular) flows when monocular motion signals were strong. Under these conditions, stereoscopic benefits were greater for spiral flow than for radial flow. These effects can be explained by …

Confusions And Conundrums During Final Practicum: A Study Of Preservice Teachers' Knowledge Of Challenging Behaviour, Samantha Mcmahon, Valerie Harwood

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This chapter describes the psy-knowledges central to preservice teachers' understandings of challenging behaviour. Particularly, it pays attention to the unexpectedly dangerous questions generated when working towards a practical and integrated understanding of how biological, psychological, and ecological factors interact. This chapter deploys Foucauldian discourse analysis to problematize the preservice teachers' shifting and changeable awareness of these causal attributions of behaviour and how this impacts their pedagogy.

Transplanting, Plotting, Fencing: Relational Property Practices In Community Gardens, Eleonora Van Holstein

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Community gardening is an increasingly popular phenomenon. Local governments wishing to 'green' the city and make the urban environment more 'inclusive' sometimes promote community gardening as a means to meet policy goals. Scholars from various fields have been keen to focus on these positive promises of community gardening. However, community gardens are not inherently different from their surroundings or good in themselves as they are connected to wider urban landscapes and routines through practice. Building on empirical research that I conducted at three community gardens in Sydney, Australia, I reveal how property is practised in three gardens with different property …

Consistency Of Supervisor And Peer Ratings Of Assessment Interviews Conducted By Psychology Trainees, Craig J. Gonsalvez, Frank P. Deane, Peter Caputi

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Observation of counsellor skills through a one-way mirror, video or audio recording followed by supervisors and peers feedback is common in counsellor training. The nature and extent of agreement between supervisor-peer dyads is unclear. Using a standard scale, supervisors and peers rated 32 interviews by psychology trainees observed through a one-way mirror. Results indicated that peers and supervisors used similar dimensions to cluster the various competencies. Peers rated counsellor performance more positively for general counselling skills but not for specialised techniques. Analyses revealed good supervisor-peer agreement for some items and poor agreement on others, with some differences being unacceptably large. …

Pulse Modulated Radiofrequency Exposure Influences Cognitive Performance, Adam Verrender, Sarah P. Loughran, Anna Dalecki, Raymond J. Mckenzie, Rodney J. Croft

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Purpose: To investigate whether exposure to pulse modulated radiofrequency (PM RF) influences human cognitive performance, and whether it does so in a dose-dependent manner. Materials and methods: Thirty-six healthy adults participated in a randomized, double-blind, counterbalanced provocation study. Cognitive performance was assessed using a visual discrimination task and a modified Sternberg working memory task, which were calibrated to individual performance levels in a preliminary testing session. An sXh920 planar exposure system was used to generate a 920 MHz GSM-like signal, providing three conditions (peak-spatial SAR averaged over 10 g) of 0 W/kg (sham), 1 W/kg (low RF) and …

Correlates Of Gross Motor Competence In Children And Adolescents: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Lisa M. Barnett, Samuel Lai, Sanne Veldman, Louise L. Hardy, Dylan P. Cliff, Philip J. Morgan, Avigdor Zask, David R. Lubans, Sarah Shultz, Nicola D. Ridgers, Elaine Rush, Helen Brown, Anthony D. Okely

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background Gross motor competence confers health benefits, but levels in children and adolescents are low. While interventions can improve gross motor competence, it remains unclear which correlates should be targeted to ensure interventions are most effective, and for whom targeted and tailored interventions should be developed. Objective The aim of this systematic review was to identify the potential correlates of gross motor competence in typically developing children and adolescents (aged 3–18 years) using an ecological approach. Methods Motor competence was defined as gross motor skill competency, encompassing fundamental movement skills and motor coordination, but excluding motor fitness. Studies needed to …

The Impact Of Marketing And Advertising On Food Behaviours: Evaluating The Evidence For A Causal Relationship, Jennifer A. Norman, Bridget Kelly, Emma J. Boyland, Anne T. Mcmahon

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The prevention of overweight in childhood is paramount to long-term heart health. Food marketing predominately promotes unhealthy products which, if over-consumed, will lead to overweight. International health expert calls for further restriction of children¿s exposure to food marketing remain relatively unheeded, with a lack of evidence showing a causal link between food marketing and children¿s dietary behaviours and obesity an oft-cited reason for this policy inertia. This direct link is difficult to measure and quantify with a multiplicity of determinants contributing to dietary intake and the development of overweight. The Bradford Hill Criteria provide a credible framework by which epidemiological …

The Paradox Of Engagement: Land Stewardship And Invasive Weeds In Amenity Landscapes, Peter Klepeis, Nicholas J. Gill

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

In New South Wales, Australia, rural landscapes are undergoing profound change as a result of exurbanization. Newcomers-amenity migrants-are drawn to the scenic beaches, forests, and open landscape character of this part of Australia near Sydney and they join existing communities of long-term residents, notably ranchers involved in dairy, beef, and other types of primary agricultural production. The rural to exurban transition is stimulating both intended and unintended socio-ecological changes, especially the proliferation of invasive weeds, which are considered to be a top national priority as they threaten Australia's agricultural economy. Drawing on interview and survey research from three case studies …

A Licence To Print: How Real Is The Risk Posed By 3d Printed Guns?, Thomas Birtchnell

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

3D printed guns are back in the news after Queensland Police reported last week that they had discovered a 3D printer in a raid on what appeared to be a "large-scale" weapons production facility as a part of Operation Oscar Quantum. According to police, the raid uncovered homemade weapons and ammunition in a workshop manufacturing facility "containing equipment used in the production of fully automatic machine guns, including a 3D printer, lathes, drill presses and other tools". The Gold Coast Bulletin reported that Detective Superintendent Jon Wacker, of the Drug and Serious Crime Group, said the "Uzi"-style guns, thought to …

A Systematic Review Of The Relationship Between Psychological Disorders Or Substance Use And Self-Reported Cognitive Failures, Nicole Carrigan, Emma Barkus

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Cognitive failures are errors in normal everyday functioning. Individuals with psychological disorders may possess heightened vulnerability. We sought to review the literature on cognitive failures in psychological disorders to determine the nature of this association, and whether failures relate to neuropsychological performance. We also examine the relationship between cognitive failures and substance use since it is relevant to everyday cognition and co-occurs in many psychological disorders. Methods: We conducted a systematic review of self-reported cognitive failures in psychological disorders and substance use, identifying 21 papers in total. Results: Papers identified studied trauma, mood, and anxiety disorders, and schizophrenia. Substance use …

Social Practices Of 3d Printing: Decentralising Control And Reconfiguring Regulation, Luke Heemsbergen, Robbie Fordyce, Bjorn Nansen, Thomas Apperley, Michael Arnold, Thomas Birtchnell

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This paper considers the social practices of 3D printing by comparing consumer perspectives and practices with legal scholarship on intellectual property regimes. The paper draws on data gained through a mixed-methods approach involving participant observation, focus groups, and social network analysis of 3D printing file-sharing practices. It finds that while consumers display a level of naivety about their 3D printing rights and responsibilities, they possess a latent understanding about broader digital economies that guide their practices. We suggest that the social practices associated with 3D printing function through communication networks to decentralise manufacture and reconfigure legal capacities for regulation. The …

Preparing To Cross The Research Proposal Threshold: A Case Study Of Two International Doctoral Students, Meeta Chatterjee, Wendy S. Nielsen

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This paper presents a study of two international doctoral students' perspectives on preparing to formally present the thesis proposal, which we conceptualise as a threshold in the PhD journey. They participated in a thesis writing group (TWG) that aimed to support international doctoral students to develop aspects of their scholarship in the early stages of their candidature. The case students reported feeling 'stuck' before joining the TWG run by the authors. After the writing group experience, they reported that they had gained confidence and developed the skills and knowledge required to prepare for their proposal presentation. Their perspectives were gathered …

Nutrition Education In Australian Midwifery Programmes: A Mixed-Methods Study, Jamila Arrish, Heather Yeatman, Moira J. Williamson

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Little research has explored how nutrition content in midwifery education prepares midwives to provide prenatal nutrition advice. This study examined the nature and extent of nutrition education provided in Australian midwifery programmes. A mixed-methods approach was used, incorporating an online survey and telephone interviews. The survey analysis included 23 course coordinators representing 24 of 50 accredited midwifery programmes in 2012. Overall, the coordinators considered nutrition in midwifery curricula and the midwife's role as important. All programmes included nutrition content; however, eleven had only 5 to nutrition, while two had a designated unit. Various topics were covered. Dietitians/other nutrition experts were …

Mobilities And The Multinatural: A Test Case In India, Thomas Birtchnell

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This article examines whether the mobilities paradigm could be more sensitive to recent debates about the more-than-human (animals, plants, and insects) and indeed the inhuman (geological, planetary, and biophysical). Many possible examples spring to mind: the forced movement of people due to "natural" catastrophes, the annual migrations of birds across vast distances, the accidental and intentional spread of invasive weeds. "Multinatural mobilities" are at present both inside and outside of the paradigm's core themes. Can mobilities go beyond transportation, migration, urban development, the hypermobility of the few, and the comparative immobility of the world's majority of people to encompass everything …

Gifted Education In Modern Asia: Analyses From A Systemic Perspective, Wilma Vialle, Albert Ziegler

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

When we were invited to comment on chapters describing gifted educa· tion in Asian countries, we were reminded of Mikhail Gorbachev's famous dictum "Life punishes those who delay." Asian countries entered gifted education and research on excellence relatively late compared to many Western nations (e.g., Stern, 1914). Nevertheless, there are examples that suggest the opposite may be true, that is, latecomers might also have some advantage. A famous example for the latter claim is the case of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge. Both are suspension bridges linking the U.S. city of San Francisco to Marin County …

Examining Changes In Pre-Service Teachers' Beliefs Of Pedagogy, Lynn D. Sheridan

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Pre-service teachers enter teacher education with beliefs about teaching and ideas on pedagogical approaches. This research focuses on monitoring the pedagogical beliefs of a cohort of pre-service teachers'; pre-existing pedagogical beliefs on important/relevant pedagogy for secondary teaching and how these beliefs changed over the course of their degree. Data were collected from a cohort via a survey at the beginning and end of the year of the study. The cohort comprised pre-service teachers from each year of the four-year degree. This research found that pedagogical beliefs changed over the duration of the course. This finding indicates that there are educational …

A Cluster-Randomised Controlled Trial Of Values-Based Training To Promote Autonomously Held Recovery Values In Mental Health Workers, Virginia Williams, Frank P. Deane, Lindsay G. Oades, Trevor P. Crowe, Joseph Ciarrochi, Retta Andresen

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Background The implementation and use of evidence-based practices is a key priority for recovery-oriented mental health service provision. Training and development programmes for employees continue to be a key method of knowledge and skill development, despite acknowledged difficulties with uptake and maintenance of behaviour change. Self-determination theory suggests that autonomy, or a sense that behaviour is self-generated, is a key motivator to sustained behaviour change, in this case practices in mental health services. This study examined the utility of values-focused staff intervention as a specific, reproducible method of autonomy support. Methods Mental health workers (n = 146) were assigned via …

Large-Scale Investment In Green Space As An Intervention For Physical Activity, Mental And Cardiometabolic Health: Study Protocol For A Quasi-Experimental Evaluation Of A Natural Experiment, Thomas E. Astell-Burt, Xiaoqi Feng, Gregory Kolt

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Introduction 'Green spaces' such as public parks are regarded as determinants of health, but evidence from tends to be based on cross-sectional designs. This protocol describes a study that will evaluate a large-scale investment in approximately 5280 hectares of green space stretching 27 km north to south in Western Sydney, Australia. Methods and analysis A Geographic Information System was used to identify 7272 participants in the 45 and Up Study baseline data (2006-2008) living within 5 km of the Western Sydney Parklands and some of the features that have been constructed since 2009, such as public access points, advertising billboards, …

A Personal Constructivist Approach For Investigating The Patterns Of Dependency Of Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Case Study Of Two Families, Elizabeth Kate Cridland, Peter Caputi, Beverly M. Walker, Sandra C. Jones, Christopher A. Magee

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This research investigated the utility and practicality of dependency grids for capturing and presenting the dependency distribution patterns of three adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. The investigation also involved family members to explore their level of awareness of the adolescents' dependency preferences. The grids were analyzed using a range of measures, including the uncertainty index and partial order scalogram analysis. Findings indicate the adolescents had various ways of dispersing their dependencies among their resources and differed in the types of support most used. Additionally, family members differed in their awareness of the adolescents' preferences. The benefits and drawbacks of the …

Into The Firing Line: Civilian Ingress During The 2013 "Red October" Bushfires, Australia, Carrie Wilkinson, Christine Eriksen, Trent D. Penman

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

A major issue for bushfire management arises when residents decide to leave a safe area and enter the fire zone to rescue or defend their property, pets, loved ones or other assets. Here, we use statistical and narrative analyses of data from an online survey and semi-structured interviews with residents affected by the 2013 "Red October" bushfires in New South Wales, Australia. The survey results revealed that of the 58 % of respondents who were not at home at the time the threat became apparent, 65 % indicated that they attempted to get home prior to the arrival of the …

Identity Formation Of Lbote Preservice Teachers During The Practicum: A Case Study In Australia In An Urban High School, Hoa Thi Mai Nguyen, Lynn D. Sheridan

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The article presents a case study of a growing number of English language background other than English (LBOTE) students in teacher education in Australia. Topics discussed include the impact of teaching practice in the identity formation of preservice teachers, the work experience of teachers in Australian schools, and the teacher identity.