Showing papers by "Australian Catholic University published in 2007"
TL;DR: This intervention did not result in a sustained BMI reduction, despite the improvement in parent-reported nutrition, suggesting brief individualized solution-focused approaches may not be an effective approach to childhood overweight.
Abstract: To reduce gain in body mass index (BMI) in overweight/mildly obese children in the primary care setting. Randomized controlled trial (RCT) nested within a baseline cross-sectional BMI survey. Twenty nine general practices, Melbourne, Australia. (1) BMI survey: 2112 children visiting their general practitioner (GP) April–December 2002; (2) RCT: individually randomized overweight/mildly obese (BMI z-score <3.0) children aged 5 years 0 months–9 years 11 months (82 intervention, 81 control). Four standard GP consultations over 12 weeks, targeting change in nutrition, physical activity and sedentary behaviour, supported by purpose-designed family materials. Primary: BMI at 9 and 15 months post-randomization. Secondary: Parent-reported child nutrition, physical activity and health status; child-reported health status, body satisfaction and appearance/self-worth. Attrition was 10%. The adjusted mean difference (intervention–control) in BMI was −0.2 kg/m2 (95% CI: −0.6 to 0.1; P=0.25) at 9 months and −0.0 kg/m2 (95% CI: −0.5 to 0.5; P=1.00) at 15 months. There was a relative improvement in nutrition scores in the intervention arm at both 9 and 15 months. There was weak evidence of an increase in daily physical activity in the intervention arm. Health status and body image were similar in the trial arms. This intervention did not result in a sustained BMI reduction, despite the improvement in parent-reported nutrition. Brief individualized solution-focused approaches may not be an effective approach to childhood overweight. Alternatively, this intervention may not have been intensive enough or the GP training may have been insufficient; however, increasing either would have significant cost and resource implications at a population level.
205 citations
TL;DR: A meta-analysis of studies comparing pregnant and/or postpartum women with healthy matched controls on behavioral measures of memory indicated that pregnant women are significantly impaired on some, but not all, measures of remember, and memory measures that place relatively high demands on executive cognitive control may be selectively disrupted.
Abstract: Although until recently much of the evidence for pregnancy-related deficits in memory was anecdotal or based on self-report, a number of studies have now been conducted that have tested whether these subjective appraisals of memory difficulties reflect objective impairment However, these studies have failed to yield consistent results A meta-analysis of the 14 studies that have been conducted over the past 17 years comparing pregnant and/or postpartum women with healthy matched controls on behavioral measures of memory was conducted The results indicate that pregnant women are significantly impaired on some, but not all, measures of memory, and, specifically, memory measures that place relatively high demands on executive cognitive control may be selectively disrupted The same specific deficits associated with pregnancy are also observed postpartum These findings highlight the need for exploration of the etiologies and functional consequences of pregnancy-related memory difficulties and may help to guide the interpretation of neuropsychological data for the purpose of determining cognitive status in individuals who are pregnant or postpartum
190 citations
TL;DR: Children in the experimental group reported significantly lower state anxiety scores in pre- and postoperative periods and exhibited fewer negative emotions at induction of anesthesia than children in the control group.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of therapeutic play on outcomes of children undergoing day surgery. Two hundred and three children admitted for day surgery were invited to participate in a randomized controlled trial. The experimental group received therapeutic play; the control group received routine information preparation. Children in the experimental group reported significantly lower state anxiety scores in pre- and postoperative periods and exhibited fewer negative emotions at induction of anesthesia than children in the control group. No significant differences were found between the two groups in postoperative pain. The study provides some evidence that therapeutic play is effective in pre- as opposed to postsurgical management of children.
135 citations
TL;DR: The notion of social justice has fascinated many thinkers around the world, including Pla? to (427-347 BC), who argued that an ideal state would rest on the following four virtues: wisdom, justice, courage, and moderation as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Social justice has fascinated many thinkers around the world, including Pla? to (427-347 BC). In The Republic he argued that an ideal state would rest on the following four virtues: wisdom, justice, courage, and moderation. When Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), influenced by Aristotle, wrote that "justice is a certain rectitude of mind whereby a man does what he ought to do in the circumstances confronting him" (quoted in Kirk 1993), he believed that justice was a form of natural duty owed by one person to another. Sim? ilarly, Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) maintained that actions are morally right if they are motivated by duty without regard to any personal motive, or self interest. Kant's theory of social justice is based on the concept of selflessness and moral duty. His moral theory based on duty is also known as deontol? ogy. In his view, the only relevant feature of moral law is its universalisability, and any rational being understands the categorical imperative, namely: "Act only on that maxim which you can at the same time will to become a uni? versal law" (Flew 1979 191; Johnson 2004). The term "social justice" was first used in 1840 by a Sicilian priest, Luigi Taparelli d'Azeglio, and given exposure by Antonio Rosmini-Serbati (1848) in La Costitutione Civile Secondo la Giustizia Sociale (Novak 2000). Subse? quently, John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) gave this anthropomorphic approach to social justice almost omnipotent status in his book Utilitarianism, Liberty and Representative Government (I960: 57-58):
118 citations
TL;DR: A range of family, service and systems level issues that impede young carers' access to services are focused on.
Abstract: Although recent initiatives in Australia have attempted to respond to the needs of children and young people with care responsibilities, many continue to be unable to access responsive supports. A qualitative, exploratory study was conducted to identify the current needs and barriers to services for young carers and their families in Canberra, Australia. This paper focuses on a range of family, service and systems level issues that impede young carers' access to services. The findings are based on semistructured, face-to-face interviews conducted with 50 children and young people with care responsibilities. Purposive and snowballing sampling were used to recruit the sample. Peer researchers were involved in the development of the research parameters and conducted and analysed interviews. Young carers in this sample reported high levels of need but low levels of support provided formally and informally by their extended families and the service sector. Major barriers to support included reluctance within families to seek assistance for fear of child removal, negative intervention and increased scrutiny; the families' lack of awareness of available services; a lack of flexibility and responsiveness to the holistic needs of families; and a lack of service collaboration. The importance of recognising the specific needs of each member within the family unit was particularly highlighted as was the need for responsive and co-ordinated service supports.
114 citations
Book•
22 Jan 2007TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a practical framework for analysing ethical tensions and presenting, explaining, and applying ethical concepts and theories to real-life situations in practitioner language, and present guidelines for ethical decision making.
Abstract: Educational Leadership is a major research book on contemporary leadership challenges for educational leaders. In this groundbreaking new work, educational leaders in schools, including teachers, are provided with ways of analysing and resolving common but complex leadership challenges. Ethical tensions inherent in these challenges are identified; tools for their analysis presented and explained; and clear and practitioner-focused guidelines for ethical decision making, in the form of ten practical steps, recommended. Included in this discussion is a jargon-free description and explanation of ethical theories and principles. Written by a leading researcher in the field, and recipient of the Australian Council for Educational Leadership Gold Medal for excellence, Educational Leadership: Key Challenges and Ethical Tensions is an important book that provides a practical framework for analysing ethical tensions and presenting, explaining, and applying ethical concepts and theories to real-life situations in practitioner language.
109 citations
TL;DR: A significant negative relationship between maternal anxiety and feelings of control during labour was shown and the need to evaluate the content of childbirth education in order to empower women's control during childbirth was suggested.
109 citations
TL;DR: Results supported the hypothesis that model-of-self and cognitive distortion are related constructs and influenced the expression of symptoms in adults reporting a history of childhood trauma.
Abstract: This study examined whether adult attachment and cognitive distortion mediate the relationship between childhood trauma and psychological adjustment. The participants were 219 students (40 men and 117 women) enrolled in a university degree. Participants completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, which assessed retrospective accounts of childhood trauma; the Relationships Scales Questionnaire, which measured two dimensions of adult attachment (model-of-self and model-of-other); the Cognitive Distortions Scale, which measured internal attributions and perceptions of controllability; and the Trauma Symptom Inventory, which assessed posttraumatic symptoms and was used in this study to measure psychological adjustment. Results supported the hypothesis that model-of-self and cognitive distortion are related constructs. The influence of model-of-self on psychological adjustment however was only via its effect on cognitive processes. In other words, a negative model-of-self influenced cognitive distortion, which in turn influenced the expression of symptoms in adults reporting a history of childhood trauma. The implications for therapy were considered.
106 citations
TL;DR: The results suggest that individuals with schizophrenia experience generalized difficulties with prospective memory, and that whilst other cognitive deficits contribute to these difficulties, there is something unique to prospective remembering that is additionally disrupted in schizophrenia.
100 citations
TL;DR: Variability in task outcome measures was considerably lower than that observed in joint rotation velocities and consistent generation of high horizontal velocity out of the blocks led to more stable and faster starting strides.
Abstract: In the current study, we quantified biological movement variability on the start and early acceleration phase of sprinting. Ten male athletes aged 17-23 years (100-m personal best: 10.87 +/- 0.36s) performed four 10-m sprints. Two 250-Hz cameras recorded the sagittal plane action to obtain the two-dimensional kinematics of the block start and initial strides from subsequent manually digitized APAS motion analysis. Infra-red timing lights (80Hz) were used to measure the 10-m sprinting times. The coefficient of variation (CV%) calculation was adjusted to separate biological movement variability (BCV%) from estimates of variability induced by technological error (SEM%) for each individual sprinter and measure. Pearson's product-moment correlation and linear regression analysis were used to establish relationships between measures of BCV% and 10-m sprint start performance (best 10-m time) or 10-m sprint start performance consistency (10-m time BCV%) using SPSS version 12.0. Measurement error markedly inflated traditional measures of movement variability (CV%) by up to 72%. Variability in task outcome measures was considerably lower than that observed in joint rotation velocities. Consistent generation of high horizontal velocity out of the blocks led to more stable and faster starting strides.
Journal Article•
TL;DR: There is a paucity of evidence about the demographics of the future Australian nursing workforce, attrition within undergraduate nursing programs and graduate outcomes, so there is a need to systematically track undergraduates and new graduates to quantify student attrition, graduate retention and career plans and build this evidence-base.
Abstract: Objective: To gather data from ten universities across two Australian states in order to: provide a descriptive demographic profile of undergraduate Australian nursing students; provide baseline data for a prospective analysis of attrition within undergraduate nursing programs; and to facilitate student recruitment into a prospective cohort study to examine graduate outcomes. Methods: Approval was sought from each Head of School to enable recruitment of undergraduate nursing students as a sub-sample of an ongoing large scale longitudinal e-cohort study involving Australian, New Zealand and United Kingdom nurses and midwives (http://www.e-cohort.net). Each nursing school nominated a contact person to become part of the research team; provide aggregate data on the quantity and demographic profile of currently enrolled undergraduate nursing students; and to facilitate recruitment of students into the cohort study. Results: Two of the ten universities could not supply any demographics of their undergraduate nursing student body and one university could not provide data on year levels. The remaining data revealed an interesting demographic profile in the following areas: the age range of students across both states was 17 to 68 years, with just under half the population of students aged over 25 years. Some universities had a younger cohort of students in comparison to others and this was potentially associated with universities which only offered their program in full-time mode. The high proportion of students choosing to enrol in their undergraduate program part-time in South Australia (22.5%) as well as the large number of international students at one Queensland university (28% in year one) may impact on the future graduate nursing workforce supply. Retrospective analysis of the average attrition rate in Queensland universities was estimated at 24.5% which is consistent with the findings of a recent systematic review of published primary studies. Conclusion: Whilst this preliminary data reveals some interesting issues, in general, there is a paucity of evidence about the demographics of the future Australian nursing workforce, attrition within undergraduate nursing programs and graduate outcomes. Clearly there is a need to systematically track undergraduates and new graduates to quantify student attrition, graduate retention and career plans and begin to build this evidence-base. A minimum demographic dataset of all undergraduate nursing students in Australia should be established to track trends over time that will inform future workforce planning.
TL;DR: Prospective memory performance is sensitive to regular and even moderate ecstasy use, and ecstasy users experience generalized difficulties with prospective memory, suggesting that these deficits are likely to have important implications for day-to-day functioning.
Abstract: Rationale
Considerable research indicates that “ecstasy” users perceive their memory for future intentions (prospective memory) to be impaired. However, only one empirical study to date has directly tested how this capacity is affected by ecstasy use, and this study provided relatively limited information regarding the extent, scope, or implications of problems experienced.
TL;DR: In this paper, the Chaos Theory of Careers is presented with particular reference to the concepts of "attraction" and "attractors" and applied to major barriers in career development and life transition by a consideration of closed and open systems thinking.
TL;DR: This paper presents the European federation of Critical Care Nursing associations, the European society of Paediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care, and the European Society of Cardiology Council on Cardiovascular Nursing and Allied Professions Joint Position Statement on The Presence of Family Members During Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation.
Abstract: This paper presents the European federation of Critical Care Nursing associations, the European Society of Paediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care, and the European Society of Cardiology Council on Cardiovascular Nursing and Allied Professions Joint Position Statement on The Presence of Family Members During Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation.
TL;DR: The results indicate that individuals with MS may experience general difficulties with prospective memory, and suggest that the degree and nature of the impairment remains to be clarified.
Abstract: There is considerable evidence that multiple sclerosis (MS) is associated with impaired retrospective memory. However, although preliminary evidence suggests that prospective memory is also affected by the disorder, the degree and nature of the impairment remains to be clarified. Twenty participants with MS were compared with 20 matched controls on Virtual Week, a measure of prospective memory that closely represents the types of prospective memory tasks that actually occur in everyday life, and provides an opportunity to investigate the different sorts of prospective memory failures that occur. The results indicated that irrespective of the specific prospective memory task demands, MS participants' performance was significantly impaired relative to controls. MS deficits could not be attributed to problems with retrospective memory because MS participants in the present study did not differ significantly from controls on measures of long- and short-term memory, and significant impairment was observed on a prospective memory task, which imposed only minimal demands on retrospective memory. These results therefore suggest that individuals with MS may experience general difficulties with prospective memory. The practical and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.
TL;DR: Two experiments examined the puzzling variation in the age-related patterns for event-based prospective memory tasks involving a famous faces ongoing task with a feature of the famous face as the target for the prospective memory task.
Abstract: Two experiments examined the puzzling variation in the age-related patterns for event-based prospective memory tasks. Both experiments involved a famous faces ongoing task with a feature of the famous face as the target for the prospective memory task. In Experiment 1, a substantial age deficit was found on the prospective memory task when the cue was nonfocal (wearing glasses) to the ongoing task, replicating previous research, but this deficit was significantly reduced with a focal cue (first name John). In Experiment 2, the prospective memory cue (wearing glasses) was held constant and the demands of the ongoing task of naming faces were varied. The substantial age differences found with a nonfocal cue were eliminated when the ongoing task was made less challenging. The findings help reconcile the divergent age-related findings reported in the literature.
TL;DR: Increasing dietary calcium seems to be important for optimizing the osteogenic effects of exercise in pre‐ and early‐pubertal boys.
Abstract: We examined the combined effects of exercise and calcium on BMC accrual in pre- and early-pubertal boys. Exercise and calcium together resulted in a 2% greater increase in femur BMC than either factor alone and a 3% greater increase in BMC at the tibia–fibula compared with the placebo group. Increasing dietary calcium seems to be important for optimizing the osteogenic effects of exercise. Introduction: Understanding the relationship between exercise and calcium during growth is important given that the greatest benefits derived from these factors are achieved during the first two decades of life. We conducted a blinded randomized-controlled exercise–calcium intervention in pre- and early-pubertal boys to test the following hypotheses. (1) At the loaded sites (femur and tibia–fibula), exercise and calcium will produce greater skeletal benefits than either exercise or calcium alone. (2) At nonloaded sites (humerus and radius–ulna), there will be an effect of calcium supplementation. Materials and Methods: Eighty-eight pre- and early-pubertal boys were randomly assigned to one of four study groups: moderate impact exercise with or without calcium (Ca) (Ex + Ca and Ex + placebo, respectively) or low impact exercise with or without Ca (No-Ex + Ca and No-Ex + Placebo, respectively). The intervention involved 20 minutes of either moderate- or low-impact exercise performed three times a week and/or the addition of Ca-fortified foods using milk minerals (392 ± 29 mg/day) or nonfortified foods over 8.5 months. Analysis of covariance was used to determine the main and combined effects of exercise and calcium on BMC after adjusting for baseline BMC. Results: At baseline, no differences were reported between the groups for height, weight, BMC, or bone length. The increase in femur BMC in the Ex + Ca group was 2% greater than the increase in the Ex + placebo, No-Ex + Ca, or No-Ex + Placebo groups (all p Conclusions: In this group of normally active boys with adequate calcium intakes, additional exercise and calcium supplementation resulted in a 2–3% greater increase in BMC than controls at the loaded sites. These findings strengthen the evidence base for public health campaigns to address both exercise and dietary changes in children for optimizing the attainment of peak BMC.
TL;DR: Compared with previous studies relating to adult cardiopulmonary resuscitation, paediatric nurses experience family member presence more frequently than adult critical care nurses and appear to be more supportive of relatives' presence.
TL;DR: The findings suggest that when an intensive care unit is supported by a nutritional support team it is more likely that a nutritional score will be used and nutritional assessments will be made daily.
Abstract: Aims. The aim of this survey was to gain an overview of enteral nutrition practices and procedures of European adult intensive care units and to describe current trends.
Background. Currently, little is known about nutritional practices in European intensive care units and whether they match existing guidelines.
Design. Survey.
Methods. A 51-item questionnaire about nutritional assessment and enteral feeding was distributed to 383 intensive care units in 20 countries.
Results. A total of 380 (99·2%) questionnaires were returned. Most intensive care units (86·5%, n = 320/370) did not use a nutritional risk score and 35·8% (n = 133/371) conducted daily assessments of nutritional status; body weight and serum albumin were the commonest measures. Checking the position of the feeding tube using auscultation of injected air was widespread (72·6%, n = 275/373). Most units used a clinical protocol and under half were supported by a nutritional support team.
Conclusion. There are some variations in enteral nutrition practices across European intensive care units. Involvement of nurses in performing nutritional assessments or developing clinical protocols was minimal. The use of outdated procedures for checking feeding tube placement is a concern. There is scope for further development of nutrition guidelines in European units.
Relevance to clinical practice. This study is relevant to all nurses working in critical care areas. The findings suggest that when an intensive care unit is supported by a nutritional support team it is more likely that a nutritional score will be used and nutritional assessments will be made daily. Many intensive care practices do not conform to international guidelines for enteral feeding. Nutritional assessment and the use of nutritional risk scores are areas that would benefit from further application in intensive care. This study may provide an impetus for intensive care units to review their nutrition assessment practices and to advance evidence-based guidelines, developed by multi-professional teams, which ensure the safe and effective management of patients receiving enteral nutrition.
TL;DR: The results provided some insights into the Hong Kong Chinese patients' recovery from CABG surgery that would guide the development of culturally appropriate pre-operative and discharge teaching for this group of patients.
25 Jun 2007
TL;DR: Pedagogical applications that enable active learning through audio learning are discussed, with an emphasis on the use of the technology to facilitate the creation of learner-generated content that supports self-directed learning.
Abstract: Among the raft of social software tools that accompany the Web 2.0 revolution, podcasting technology has the potential to support learning in a range of settings and across multiple disciplines. This paper outlines innovative uses and applications of podcasting, with a particular focus on the higher education sector. In particular, the paper focuses on enhancing learning by using the technology not to merely deliver lecture content to learners, but to enable greater learner self-regulation. Examples are provided where learners have both control and agency in creating and distributing audio content of their own. Pedagogical applications that enable active learning through audio learning are discussed, with an emphasis on the use of the technology to facilitate the creation of learner-generated content that supports self-directed learning.
TL;DR: The Zar cult and related practices focusing on belief in the evil eye, magic, and evil possession will be explored and has the potential of helping nurses to gain a deeper understanding of cultures that differ from theirs and to provide care to clients and their families based on respect for the others' beliefs, values, and practices.
Abstract: People from Egypt have cultural belief systems about mental illness and its causes that are at variance from Anglo-Saxon-derived understandings that predominate in Australian psychiatry. These differences in understanding can affect how mental health services are experienced and accepted by this cultural group. This paper is a review of the literature on Egyptians' beliefs about mental illness and how families in Egypt cope with a relative with mental illness. Because of limited literature on Egyptians' experience with mental illness in Australia, this paper will be used to shed some light on the way in which people experience mental illness and communicate this suffering in the Australian context, based on what has been known to occur in Egypt. The Zar cult and related practices focusing on belief in the evil eye, magic, and evil possession will be explored. Historical and contemporary mental health care systems in Egypt, and the influence of education and religion are discussed. In order to provide culturally sensitive care, nurses need to be aware of possible influences on belief systems about mental illness. This paper has the potential of helping nurses to gain a deeper understanding of cultures that differ from theirs and to provide care to clients and their families based on respect for the others' beliefs, values, and practices.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined whether the degree of impact of overconfidence is different between an electronic trading market and an open outcry environment (as in a futures market) and found that traders who choose to trade in an open- outcry environment are generally more overconfident than those who trade in a more isolated setting.
Abstract: This article extends previous research on how overconfidence affects trading performance in two ways. First, we examine whether the degree of impact is different between an electronic trading market (as in a stock market) and an open outcry environment (as in a futures market). Second, we examine the impact of overconfidence from the perspective of miscalibration, market confidence, the better than average effect, and risk attitudes. The significant findings (5%) indicate that higher overconfidence leads to poorer trading performance generally. However, the degree of impact is higher in an open outcry environment, where there are visual, verbal, and emotional interactions between traders, than in an electronic trading environment, where a trader operates primarily in an isolated setting. Likewise, the traders who choose to trade in an open outcry environment are generally more overconfident than those who trade in a more isolated setting. The contribution of our study is therefore to highlight the importa...
TL;DR: In this paper, a longitudinal study explores the relationship between career decision status and work outcomes (i.e., job satisfaction, organizational commitment and performance) in a group of newly appointed graduates.
01 Jan 2007
TL;DR: This article investigated the relationships between specific gender combinations of mentor-mentee and distinct mentoring functions and found that female mentors provided personal and emotional guidance to a greater extent than male mentors; female mentees provided career development facilitation to a higher degree than male mentees; also female mentee were provided with role modelling, whereas male mentors provided no significant differences in the functions provided to female and male mentors.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between specific gender combinations of mentor-mentee and distinct mentoring functions.
Design/methodology/approach – Of the 500 participants, 272 were mentees and 228 were mentors from public- and private-sector organisations, representing all four gender combinations of mentor-mentee. Participants completed a 36-item measure of mentoring functions.
Findings – Hierarchical regression analyses revealed few significant relationships between gender and mentoring functions. As far as mentees were concerned, female mentors provided personal and emotional guidance to a greater extent than male mentors; female mentors provided career development facilitation to a greater extent than male mentors and female mentees were provided with career development facilitation to a greater extent than male mentees; also female mentees were provided with role modelling to a greater extent than male mentees. As far as mentors were concerned, there were no significant differences in the functions provided to female and male mentees.
Research limitations/implications – The study emphasized the need to use measurement tools that examine distinct, rather than categories of, mentoring functions. The findings also suggest that gender may not be as influential, with regard to mentoring functions, as has previously been proffered. Knowledge about the relationships between gender and particular mentoring functions may be beneficial for potential and actual mentees and mentors as they make decisions about becoming involved in mentoring relationships, engage in contracting processes, and monitor and review their relationships.
Originality/value – The study was the first to explore the perceptions of both mentees and mentors on gender differences in mentoring functions provided, using an adequate sample and a mentoring instrument designed on a gender representative sample.
TL;DR: The Spirit of Generation Y survey as discussed by the authors revealed three main strands in the spirituality of young Australians: traditional, alternative and humanist, and although some adopted alternative spiritualities, the stronger trends were toward indifference or humanism.
Abstract: A research project conducted in 2003–2006, the Spirit of Generation Y, using both extended interviews and a nationwide survey, revealed three main strands in the spirituality of young Australians: traditional, alternative and humanist. Their involvement in traditional religions was declining, like that of their parents, and although some adopted alternative spiritualities, the stronger trends were toward indifference or humanism. Eclecticism in worldviews and cautiously relativistic values seem to be responses to an uncertain world, in which isolated individuals have only fragile support structures for their identity.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigate the relationships between specific gender combinations of mentor-mentee and distinct mentoring functions and find that female mentors provided personal and emotional guidance to a greater extent than male mentors.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between specific gender combinations of mentor‐mentee and distinct mentoring functions.Design/methodology/approach – Of the 500 participants, 272 were mentees and 228 were mentors from public‐ and private‐sector organisations, representing all four gender combinations of mentor‐mentee. Participants completed a 36‐item measure of mentoring functions.Findings – Hierarchical regression analyses revealed few significant relationships between gender and mentoring functions. As far as mentees were concerned, female mentors provided personal and emotional guidance to a greater extent than male mentors; female mentors provided career development facilitation to a greater extent than male mentors and female mentees were provided with career development facilitation to a greater extent than male mentees; also female mentees were provided with role modelling to a greater extent than male mentees. As far as mentors were concerned, there were no s...
TL;DR: The authors examined the new content of post-Soviet history textbooks used in Russian secondary schools that represent various transformations from communism to a western-style democracy and discussed the resultant issues of searching for a new national identity and citizenship during the present transitional period.
Abstract: This article examines the ideologically‐articulated shifts, and the images of transformation, and nation‐building process presented in the new generation of school history textbooks in Russia. The article analyses the new content of post‐Soviet history textbooks used in Russian secondary schools that represent various transformations from communism to a western‐style democracy. It discusses the resultant issues of searching for a new national identity and citizenship during the present transitional period. It critiques the new versions of Russia's post‐Soviet history taught in schools, and evaluates their officially defined status as instruments in the Russian process of ideological transformation and nation‐building, currently closely monitored by the State. In other countries, including Australia, these processes are still present but in less formal and more ad hoc ways.
TL;DR: The authors examined the kinds of justifications children and adolescents used to support tolerant and intolerant judgements about human diversity and found that the most commonly used combination of beliefs was fairness/empathy, linking tolerance to moral reasoning, rules and values.
Abstract: This study examined the kinds of justifications children and adolescents used to support tolerant and intolerant judgements about human diversity. For the tolerant responses, three main belief categories emerged, based on the beliefs that others should be treated fairly (fairness), empathetically (empathy) and that reason/logic ought to govern judgements (reasonableness). Fairness emerged as the most used belief to support tolerant judgements and the most commonly used combination of beliefs was found to be fairness/empathy, linking tolerance to moral reasoning, rules and values. Specifically noticeable was that 6–7‐year‐olds appealed to fairness more often in comparison to the 11–12 and 15–16‐year‐olds. Older students used a larger repertoire of beliefs to support tolerance, indicating developing cognitive maturity. There was also a tendency for females to appeal to fairness/empathy more often than males. The major constraint to positive tolerance was not prejudice toward the target groups but the adoles...