Description:
Murat Yucel has received funding from Monash University , and Australian Government funding bodies such as the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC; including Fellowship #APP1117188 ), the Australian Research Council (ARC), and the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science. He has also received philanthropic donations from the David Winston Turner Endowment Fund, Wilson Foundation, as well as payment from law firms in relation to court and/or expert witness reports. The funding sources had no role in the design, management, data analysis, presentation, or interpretation and write-up of the data.
Description:
The Personality Inventory for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. Brief Form (PID-5-BF), is a 25-item self-report questionnaire that measures the severity of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition-proposed personality pathology constructs of negative affectivity, detachment. antagonism, disinhibition, and psychoticism. The current study used exploratory factor analysis, exploratory structural equation modeling, and confirmatory factor analysis to examine the support for the theoretically proposed 5-factor model. In total, 502 adults (male = 182, female = 320, age = 18-67 years [M = 28.93, SD = 10.95]) provided ratings for the PID-5-BF. For the theorized 5-factor model, there was support for its factor structure, internal consistency reliabilities (Cronbach's. ordinal alpha, and omega) of the factors, and coefficient of congruence of the factors considering a previous Danish study. The findings also supported a strong general factor for a bifactor model involving a general factor alongside the 5 group factors. Together, the findings support the use of the 5 personality pathology constructs and the total PID-5-BF scores in clinical and research settings.
Description:
Since the 1960s, concerns for beginning teachers have attracted extensive attention. High attrition rates among beginning teachers have been an international challenge, which is costly for a nation's budget. To improve the retention of new teachers, it is imperative to understand what beginning teachers have experienced in their professional practice. This qualitative research examined the career development trajectories of beginning kindergarten teachers in China. The experiences of 23 kindergarten teachers from Nanjing were investigated through semi-structured interviews. Using grounded theory, this research identified four main themes and four career development trajectories. Themes include orientation, mastery, re-examination and self-validation, while career development trajectories reveal that teacher career development is not unilinear, but diverse. These findings are crucial in raising the awareness of researchers and practitioners about the diversities and possibilities of teacher career development trajectories. Further implications for researchers, teacher educators and kindergarten teachers are discussed.
Description:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This study was funded by MOE (Ministry of Education in China) Project of Humanities and Social Sciences (Grant Number: 17YJA880025), The 13th Five-year Plan for Educational Science in Jiangsu Province (Grant Number: B-a/2016/01/34), and Excellent Preschool Teacher Preparation Program of MOE.
Description:
While increasing numbers of young high school students engage in part-time work, there is no consensus about its impact on educational outcomes. Indeed, this field has had a dearth of research. This paper presents a review of recent research, primarily from Australia and the United States, although it is acknowledged that there are considerable contextual differences. Suggestions for school counsellors to harness students' experiences to assist in educational and career decision-making are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Australian Journal of Guidance & Counselling is the property of Australian Academic Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Description:
Fighting wildland fire is a physically demanding occupation. Wildland firefighters need to be physically fit to work safely and productively. To determine whether personnel are fit for duty, many firefighting agencies employ physical competency tests, such as the pack hike test (PHT). The PHT involves a 4.83-km hike over level terrain carrying a 20.4-kg pack within a 45-min period. The PHT was devised to test the job readiness of US wildland firefighters but is also currently used by some fire agencies in Australia and Canada. This review discusses the history and development of the PHT with emphasis on the process of test validation. Research-based training advice for the PHT is given, as well as discussion of the risks associated with completing the PHT. Different versions and modifications to the PHT have emerged in recent years and these are discussed with regard to their validity. Finally, this review addresses the relevance and validity of the PHT for Australian and Canadian wildland firefighters. Statement of Relevance: This paper reviews the history, development and validity of the PHT, an internationally recognised and utilised wildland firefighter work capacity test. It is concluded that while the PHT has general content validity for US wildland firefighters, verification of its reliability, criterion and construct validity is still needed.
Description:
A high sense of belonging to the community and physical activity are associated with improved mental health in older people. The present study tested a model incorporating physical activities performed alone and with others as predictors of sense of belonging, depression and suicide ideation. One hundred and ninety four retired adults (87 males, 107 females, mean age 68 years) completed the Yale Physical Activity Survey, the Sense of Belonging Instrument, the Suicide Subscale of the General Health Questionnaire and the Zung Depression Inventory. Within the context of the model, neither participating in physical activities alone, nor with at least one other person, predicted sense of belonging, depression or suicide ideation. Having the abilities and motivation to belong was a predictor of participating in physical activities with others and actual feelings of belonging and contributed to predicting mental health in retirees. It was concluded that simply performing activities with others was not associated with a sense of belonging or mental health. Rather, sense of belonging may need to be facilitated in order for mental health to be enhanced.
Description:
Confirmatory factor analysis was used to model a multitrait (ADHD-inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity) by multi-source (teachers and parents) design across a 3-month interval in a sample of 360 Australian elementary school children. The purpose was to evaluate the convergent and discriminant validity of the ADHD-inattention (IN) and hyperactivity/ impulsivity (H/I) measures. Although similar traits and similar sources showed stronger correlations across time than dissimilar traits and dissimilar sources, the amount of source variance in the ADHD-IN and ADHD-H/I measures was substantial and consistent across the interval (M = 59%; range = 35-84%). This large amount of source variance raises the possibility that the correlations of the IN and H/I rating scales with other constructs (e.g., social competence, conduct problems) represent mostly source rather than trait effects. Multitrait by multisource analyses provide a means to answer this question and further advance understanding of ADHD.
Description:
This study examined how different modes of acculturation and perceived social support are related to adolescent refugee psychosocial adjustment, as measured by global self-worth and peer social acceptance. The 83 participants, aged between 12 and 19 and now resident in Australia, were from the former Republic of Yugoslavia. Those who had the most positive attitudes toward both cultures obtained the highest ratings of self-worth and peer social acceptance. In contrast, those who had negative attitudes toward both cultures had the lowest scores on these measures of psychosocial adjustment. Results were consistent with the proposition that the effects of acculturation on adjustment are mediated by peer social support.
Description:
This study examined how different modes of acculturation and perceived social support are related to adolescent refugee psychosocial adjustment, as measured by global self-worth and peer social acceptance. The 83 participants, aged between 12 and 19 and now resident in Australia, were from the former Republic of Yugoslavia. Those who had the most positive attitudes toward both cultures obtained the highest ratings of self-worth and peer social acceptance. In contrast, those who had negative attitudes toward both cultures had the lowest scores on these measures of psychosocial adjustment. Results were consistent with the proposition that the effects of acculturation on adjustment are mediated by peer social support.
Description:
This study describes an internet-based intervention for people with panic disorder that consisted of a 5-module program. Participants accessed the program for 5-8 weeks and were then re-assessed 3 months later. Use of the program was associated with reductions in severity of panic disorder and in catastrophic misinterpretation of ambiguous panic body sensations in 9 people with this anxiety disorder. There were also non-significant trends for body vigilance to decrease over the course of the study. Further investigations of the efficacy of this medium for the treatment of panic disorder and the associated mechanisms of change are warranted.
Description:
The invisibility of older gay men from any readily identifiable sampling frame has contributed to a paucity of research about this population. A number of methodological challenges must be overcome to reach these older gay men and research their experiences. Factors thought to contribute to this invisibility include the abscence of older gay men who are more likely to live in surburban and regional areas. Research efforts to recruit these men have traditionally been resource in small sample sizes. Alternative recruitment methods are discussed including the use of Internet, email, newsgroups and snowball sampling.
Description:
The invisibility of older gay men from any readily identifiable sampling frame has contributed to a paucity of research about this population. A number of methodological challenges must be overcome to reach these older gay men and research their experiences. Factors thought to contribute to this invisibility include the abscence of older gay men who are more likely to live in surburban and regional areas. Research efforts to recruit these men have traditionally been resource in small sample sizes. Alternative recruitment methods are discussed including the use of Internet, email, newsgroups and snowball sampling.
Description:
The principal purpose of this study was to identify those developmental factors most predictive of adult perceptual and decision-making skill. Qualitative data on developmental experiences and social support were collected from semi-structured interviews of 29 elite Australian Football League (AFL) players, 16 of whom were independently classified by a panel of coaches as expert decision-makers and 13 as less-skilled decision-makers. While high levels of parental support and a fierce desire to win, established from an early age, were evident for all players in the elite sample, the expert decision-makers were more likely to have bad (i) extensive experience of invasion games during their development, (ii) early experience of playing against adults or older children, (iii) playing experience in related sports (especially basketball), and (iv) their father as a coach at some stage during their junior years. The developmental characteristics observed for the expert decision-mak! ers extend quantitative findings on the practice hours of The same cohort (Berry et al., 2008) and indicate that observable differences in decision-making skills amongst adult players, even at an elite level, may be directly linked to each players particular developmental and practice experiences.