University of South Australia

About: University of South Australia is a education organization based out in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 10086 authors who have published 32587 publications receiving 913683 citations. The organization is also known as: The University of South Australia & UniSA.

Job demands, work‐family conflict, and emotional exhaustion in police officers: A longitudinal test of competing theories

Abstract: We propose and test a comprehensive theory designed to explain seemingly contradictory relations between job demands, emotional exhaustion, and work-family conflict (WFC) reported in the literature. Using job demands-resources theory, effort-recovery theory, and personal resources theory we hypothesized that job demands would spillover to emotional exhaustion as mediated by WFC (causality model), and alternatively that job demands would also spillover to WFC as mediated by emotional exhaustion (reverse causal model). Further, we also hypothesized using loss spiral theory that a more comprehensive model representing reciprocal and cross-linked effects (causal and reverse causal simultaneously) would best fit the data. The hypotheses were tested in a longitudinal study of 257 Australian (Victorian) frontline police officers at two time points approximately 12 months apart. We used structural equation modelling and found in support of the simultaneous reciprocal effects hypothesis, that the more comprehensive model fitted the data better than either the causality or the reverse causal model. Future research should more comprehensively model the important relationships between job demands, emotional exhaustion, and WFC to reflect their complex interplay. Interventions to reduce work demands arising from work pressure and emotional demands are indicated to prevent conflict at home and emotional exhaustion in police officers.

A Little More Than Chalk and Talk: Results from a Third National Survey of Teaching Methods in Undergraduate Economics Courses

Abstract: In 1995, 2000, and 2005, the authors surveyed U.S. academic economists to investigate how economics is taught in four different types of undergraduate courses at postsecondary institutions. They especially looked for any changes in teaching methods that occurred over this decade, when there were several prominent calls for economists and postsecondary instructors in other fields to devote more attention and effort to teaching and to make greater use of active, student-centered learning methods, with less use of direct instruction (chalk and talk). By 2005, although standard lectures and chalkboard presentations were still dominant, there was evidence of slow growth in the use of other teaching methods, including classroom discussions (especially teacher-directed discussions), computer-generated displays (such as PowerPoint), providing students with prepared sets of class notes, and computer lab assignments in econometrics and statistics courses. Internet database searches were used by a small but growing ...

The COVID-19 pandemic: considerations for the waste and wastewater services sector

Abstract: This article discusses the potential ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic on waste and wastewater services, focusing on critical points where alternative operating procedures or additional mitigation measures may be advisable. Key concerns are (i) the long half-life of the virus on materials such as waste containers, bags, and in wastewater, and (ii) possible transmission via contaminated waste surfaces and aerosols from wastewater systems. There are opportunities to further the science of wastewater-based epidemiology by monitoring viral RNA in wastewater to assess disease prevalence and spread in defined populations, which may prove beneficial for informing COVID-19 related public health policy.

Precursor films in wetting phenomena

Abstract: The spontaneous spreading of non-volatile liquid droplets on solid substrates poses a classic problem in the context of wetting phenomena. It is well known that the spreading of a macroscopic droplet is in many cases accompanied by a thin film of macroscopic lateral extent, the so-called precursor film, which emanates from the three-phase contact line region and spreads ahead of the latter with a much higher speed. Such films have been usually associated with liquid-on-solid systems, but in the last decade similar films have been reported to occur in solid-on-solid systems. While the situations in which the thickness of such films is of mesoscopic size are fairly well understood, an intriguing and yet to be fully understood aspect is the spreading of microscopic, i.e. molecularly thin, films. Here we review the available experimental observations of such films in various liquid-on-solid and solid-on-solid systems, as well as the corresponding theoretical models and studies aimed at understanding their formation and spreading dynamics. Recent developments and perspectives for future research are discussed.

Still Fighting the “War for Talent”? Bridging the Science Versus Practice Gap

Abstract: The purpose of this article is to identify some the most critical outstanding issues faced by practitioners in undertaking effective talent management. In spite of the global financial crisis, talent management will continue being one of the most important challenges faced by organizations in the coming decade. Workforce demographics and skills shortages are likely to make the “war for talent” fiercer than ever before making effective talent management a competitive necessity. While talent management is rapidly developing as a research field, there are many areas and questions that need to be explored. These questions are likely to have a particularly important applied benefit as they represent some of the key challenges organizations are grappling with in effectively managing their talent. The article asks researchers in the field to consider the questions proposed in developing future research agendas.