Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Australian attitudes'
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1
Baldock, Penny Jean. "Australian attitudes to foreign aid /." Title page, contents and abstract only, 1997. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09AR/09arb178.pdf.
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Sapinski, Tania H. "Language use and language attitudes in a rural South Australian community /." Title page, table of contents and abstract only, 1998. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09ARM/09arms241.pdf.
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Chau, Dung. "Attitudes toward educational achievement among parents and students from Anglo-Australian and Vietnamese-Australian backgrounds /." Title page, contents and abstract only, 1999. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09SPS/09spsd916.pdf.
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Falconer, Boyd Travis School of Aviation UNSW. "Attitudes to safety and organisational culture in Australian military aviation." Awarded by:University of New South Wales. School of Aviation, 2006. http://handle.unsw.edu.au/1959.4/25751.
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This thesis describes original research that examines the extent to which organisational culture, and psychosocial aspects specifically, relate to individuals??? ???normal??? performance within Australian Defence Force (ADF) aviation. The primary rationale for the research relates to the ???safety record??? of ADF aviation, whereby more than fifty ???peace time??? fatalities have occurred in ADF aviation accidents since 1990 and many of these have links to organisational culture attributes. The secondary rationale relates to a more general perspective: previous research identifies human functioning in military aviation ??? more than any other aviation domain ??? as being dependent upon psychosocial attributes including interpersonal collaboration, communication and coordination. However, the depth to which such qualities impact the safety of a sociotechnical system remains substantially uncharted. This thesis firstly examines both scientific and Australian military literature on organisational behaviour, culture and human factors. Subsequently, it describes the design and implementation of a new 45-item questionnaire ??? the Australian Defence Force Aviation Questionnaire (ADFAQ). More than four hundred ADF aircrew and engineers completed the ADFAQ. The data analysis involved quantitative and qualitative consideration of survey responses and comparisons between numerous demographic criteria. Following this, the thesis describes the design and implementation of an interview study that was designed to both cross-examine key ADFAQ results and explore more deeply other issues that were only superficially identified by the (largely psychometric) composition of the ADFAQ. The research results offer three main contributions to scientific knowledge. These relate to: (1) the efficacy of triangulated and contextualised methodology in building an understanding of organisational culture; (2) the nature of the safety culture concept and its relationship with organisational culture; and (3) rank-based homogeneity of attitudes. This research shows that survey methodologies are not a panacea, but they can illuminate the nature of attitudes to safety and provide empirical guidance for other methods to explore more deeply the cultural roots of such attitudes and associated behaviours.
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Cuevas, Marianela. "Perceptions of elder abuse among Australian elderly individuals and general practitioners." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 1998. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/994.
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Research available on elder abuse is limited. There continues to be a lack of uniformity in how to define and identify the problem, as well as how to intervene. One group which continues to be excluded from the process of gaining knowledge on the issue of elder abuse is the elderly themselves. As general practitioners are the primary source of health care for older people, their perspectives on elder mistreatment should be explored as well. The first objective of this study was to examine whether differences existed in the perceived severity of potentially abusive situations between three groups of older people and general practitioners. The second objective was to determine if gender differences existed in perceptions of severity of abuse. The sample consisted of 48 general practitioners, 40 independent elderly, 38 elderly caregivers and 36 elderly care-receivers. The participants' perceptions of elder abuse were assessed using a modified version of a questionnaire developed by Moon and Williams (1993). The questionnaire described 10 potential elder abuse scenarios which covered five categories of abuse: physical, psychological, sexual, financial and neglect. Participants were asked to indicate whether or not they perceived each situation to represent an example of elder abuse and, if they answered affirmatively, to rate the severity of the abusive behaviour and identify which aspect of the scenario they considered abusive. Data were analysed using split-plot analysis of variance, as well as contingency tables. The results suggested that significant differences existed in the perceptions of severity of elder abuse scenarios across groups and gender. General practitioners tended to view the scenarios as less severe examples of elder abuse than the older-aged groups. There were similarities within the elderly groups in that all groups perceived the sexual abuse scenarios as examples of more severe forms of abuse than the financial abuse scenarios. Within the elderly groups, caregivers generally perceived the scenarios as less abusive. With regard to gender differences, females generally perceived the sexual abuse scenarios as more severe than males. This was particularly so for female independent elders and female care-receivers. Both the symbolic interaction theory and social exchange theory were adopted to explain why there were differences in the perceived severity of the scenarios. It was argued that how the participants viewed the interactions between the characters in the scenarios, and whether they perceived the interactions as being rewarding or unrewarding for particular characters, would affect participants' perceptions of severity. To conclude, with such differences in views found, the development of effective assessment and intervention strategies will be difficult. However, both the public and professionals alike need to increase their understanding on the topic of elder abuse, lest the abuse continues.
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Blackmore, Ernie. "Speakin' out blak an examination of finding an "urban" Indigenous "voice" through contemporary Australian theatre /." Click here for electronic access to document: http://www.library.uow.edu.au/adt-NWU/public/adt-NWU20080111.121828/index.html, 2007. http://www.library.uow.edu.au/adt-NWU/public/adt-NWU20080111.121828/index.html.
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Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Wollongong, 2007."Including the plays Positive expectations and Waiting for ships." Title from web document (viewed 7/4/08). Includes bibliographical references: leaf 249-267.
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Lammervo, Tiina. "Language and culture contact and attitudes among first generation Australian Finns /." [St. Lucia, Qld.], 2005. http://www.library.uq.edu.au/pdfserve.php?image=thesisabs/absthe.pdf.
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Palmer, Jocelyn Anne, and n/a. "Attitudes of Australian sports administrators to unions, awards and enterprise bargaining." University of Canberra. Human & Biomedical Sciences, 2000. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20061027.144327.
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Sport, once an amateur pursuit has evolved in to a lucrative industry. The most
recent development in the evolution of Australian sport has been the emergence of
industrial regulation. Unlike other Australian labour markets, the sports administrators
labour market was entirely market regulated until 1994. Over the last five years the sports
administrators labour market has transformed into a centralised award based system. On
the surface it appears that there is no obvious explanation for the dramatic re-regulation of
this labour market. In order to determine the factors behind the re-regulation, this thesis
investigated Australian sports administrators attitudes to unionism, awards and enterprise
bargaining, including their preferences to awards and enterprise bargaining agreements.
The attitudes of 229 Australian sports administrators were surveyed. The response rate was
67.25%. Findings from the survey indicated a number of points: (1) union membership
predicted 8% of their attitude to unionism, (2) non union members were more likely to have
positive and accepting attitudes to unions, (3) sports administrators working under
Enterprise Bargaining agreements had more positive and accepting attitudes of unions, (4)
Enterprise Bargaining was considered to be more beneficial than not in sport, (5) Enterprise
Bargaining had more than double the support of Award regulation, and (6)Award
regulation had almost equal amounts of rejection and support.
Other results indicated that the sports administrators labour market remained market
regulated until 1994 because a majority of sports administrators belonged to demographic
groups which were less inclined to become union members. Factors behind the reregulation
were determined to be: strong support for targeted services within workplaces
rather than generic services across an industry, and strong support for increased union
interaction when negotiating terms and conditions of employment which effects sports
administrators' attitudes to unionism. It was evident that the re-regulation was not caused
by a large shift in the attitudes of sports administrators or a result of problems stemming
from the market being entirely by market regulation. It is more than likely that the sudden
re-regulation of the sports administrators labour market was the sports industry's first step
towards industrial maturity.
9
Chan, Cheuk Bun. "Nurses’ attitudes toward family witnessed resuscitation in Western Australian emergency departments." Thesis, Curtin University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/1162.
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Since 1982, healthcare institutions and professionals have been questioning whether family members should be allowed to enter resuscitation rooms during such critical period of treatment. A self-administered questionnaire is used in this research to investigate Western Australian emergency nurses’ attitudes towards family witnessed resuscitation and to explore possible factors influencing their attitudes.The findings of this work suggest that nurses, assuming a betwixt-between position, evaluate the costs and benefits of allowing family presence in the resuscitation room from patients, families and healthcare professionals’ perspectives. Nurses have an overwhelming agreement on the beneficial aspects of the practice, while also share concerns commonly reported in previous studies with an emphasis on a family member’s capability to cope with and comprehend the resuscitation procedures and a healthcare professional’s ability to handling pressure.Overall, the research suggests nurses are ambivalent in their attitude. Despite the nurses’ awareness of some family members’ desire to witness resuscitation and their reported benefits, in doing so, they are reluctant to initiate or formally incorporate this practice as a standard procedure. There is also a lack of consensus on the management of families’ presence, however, nurses agree on the need for preresuscitation assessment, support staff during resuscitation and post-resuscitation debriefing. Institutional factor is identified as a significant influence on nurses’ attitudes. This work will provide useful input in the future development of guidelines and will help stimulate discussion on this topic in Western Australia.
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Truscott, Keith. "Research problem: What are the differences between Wadjela and Nyungar criteria when assessing organisational effectiveness of non-government human service organisations?" Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2000. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1368.
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Wadjela and Nyungar experts (of managerial, administrative, service staff), from the same South-West city location in Western Australia were randomly chosen from the non-government human service field for separate workshops and asked the question “what makes a non-government human service organisation effective?" The purpose was to compare the group consensus answer between the two separate workshop groups. The Nyungars are the Indigenous people in the South-West of Western Australia and the Wadjelas are the Non-Indigenous people living in the same area. The results listed five criteria, in order of priority that made non-government human service organisations effective. For the Wadjela community these were: I. A clear and shared vision of its task 2. Clear organisational structure which promotes strategic thinking and practice 3. Experienced and dedicated staff 4. Clear and client-based focus and strategies 5, Clarity of and relevant mission or goals. For the Nyungar community the results were: 1. A vision shared of Aboriginal culture and values 2. Appropriate management and finance incorporating Aboriginal culture and values 3. Recognition and identification of need 4. Diverse representation on Committee 5. Community involvement. Analysis and discussion of the findings were attempted from an Australian Indigenous perspective of people, place and parable. The conclusion is that the difference between Wadjela and Nyungar criteria in assessing organisational effectiveness in non-government organisations is that the former utilise a mechanical efficiency model and the latter a commitment to the whole community model. These differences were seen to be a contest between two world-views, that of a continuity of pragmatic relationships versus that of continuity of stewardship relationships.
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Atsalos, Christine, University of Western Sydney, College of Social and Health Sciences, and of Nursing Family and Community Health School. "Nursing leadership and clinical development units : unravelling the myth." THESIS_CSHS_NFC_Atsalos_C.xml, 2004. http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/559.
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Australian Clinical Development Units (Nursing) (CDUs(N)) take their name from the British Nursing Development Unit (NDU) movement, which has been widely credited with introducing innovative approaches to developing nurses and nursing. A network of nine CDUs(N) was set up in an urban area health service in Australia in 1997. The aim of this project was to develop existing wards or units into centres of excellence by disseminating a new vision for Australian nurses, based on the pioneering work of the British NDU (Nursing Development Unit) movement. This research study set out to develop an understanding of the phenomena of CDU(N) leadership by interviewing these new CDU(N) leaders over time. Principles of Heideggerian hermeneutic phenomenology provided a framework for the study. Despite attempts to implement a variety of measures to nurture these CDUs(N) until they had become well established, the participants were unable to maintain the CDU(N) vision with which they had been entrusted. This thesis discusses their immediate reactions to the problems they faced, the new understandings they developed over time and the regrets and disillusionment many of them retained. The recommendations made for future projects are discussed in the light of the experiences of these participants and the current Australian health care climate.Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
12
Blackmore, Malin. "Corny or Cool. Swedish Teenagers' Attitudes towards Australian and British English Accents." Thesis, University of Gävle, Department of Humanities, 2010. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-6756.
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This essay investigated Swedish teenagers' attitudes towards Australian and British English accents. The respondents were exposed to four different accents as part of a modified version of the Matched Guise Technique. They were then asked to fill out a questionnaire assessing the accents in terms of psychological qualities, social evaluation, job suitability and likability. The results show that previous research on attitudes to accents in other countries is applicable on Swedish teenagers' and that stereotyping is an influence as well.
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Edries, Ahdielah. "Student and teacher-identified attitudes and needs at the Australian Islamic College." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2009. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1903.
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The Australian Islamic College is a co-educational Islamic Independent school with three campuses in Metropolitan Perth which cater for migrant students from war-torn countries and others with culturally and linguistically, diverse backgrounds. The purpose of this study was to identify the strengths and interests of Islamic students, across eight of Gardner’s intelligence domains, as perceived by the students, and to explore student and teacher attitudes and perceptions of current school practices, so that the College could better meet the needs of these students. This study is important for the Islamic Colleges because it is hoped that the study will lead to the provision of opportunities for students to increase their confidence, self-esteem and motivation, and to achieve better in academic and non-academic areas.
Data relating to the research questions were collected from three sources: (1) a survey on Student Self-Views (eight scales) (N=321); (2) Teacher Guttman Scaling questionnaires (three scales) and open-ended responses (N=32); and (3) student Focus Group Interviews (N=4X=32). The student survey data were analysed using the Rasch Unidimensional Measurement Model computer program (RUMM 2020) to create eight linear, unidimensional scales measuring Student Self-Views for the Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, English, Mathematics, Art, Music, Sport and Drama domains. The Teacher Guttman scales measured perceptions of: (1) Priority Activities Providing Links to the Western Culture; (2) General Types of Resources Needed; and (3) School Needs for Professional Areas.
The following valid inferences were drawn from the linear scales: (i) female students do not have statistically significantly higher mean measures for Interpersonal and Intrapersonal Self-Views than male students, (ii) males have statistically significantly higher Mathematical and Sports Self-Views than females; and (iii) females have significantly higher English, Art, Music, and Drama Self- Concept than males. Findings from the student interviews and teacher surveys have direct implications for staff; that is, teachers need to adapt their pedagogy to suit the multiple student needs in their classrooms, and take on a more active role in their students’ emotional well-being by enhancing the current pastoral care to include positive relations with the students’ parents. Staff should have consistent positive reinforcement and behaviour management strategies in their classrooms, collaborative learning needs to be introduced in subjects that are content-laden, and practical, ‘hands-on’ activities need to be increased in their classrooms.
The findings from the interviews and open-ended responses suggest that there is a need for the Principal to foster inclusion of shared philosophies across the entire school community (parents, teachers, students and Islamic leaders), and to review
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Slater, John Gilmour. "Pictorial images of urban Australia 1919-1945 : attitudes and functions." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.364430.
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Kitchener, Betty Ann, and n/a. "Nurses' attitudes towards active voluntary euthanasia : a survey in the Australian Capital Territory." University of Canberra. Nursing, 1998. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060814.145314.
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In a country such as Australia which claims adherence to democratic values, it would
appear important that policies and laws on such a controversial and value laden issue
as active voluntary euthanasia (AVE), need to have at least some basis in public
opinion and in that of relevant professional groups. It has been argued that public
opinion may be of limited value due to the public's lack of experience and exposure to
this issue. The opinions of people with more exposure to and reflection on the ethical
issues surrounding euthanasia need to be ascertained. Nurses are one group who
have prolonged involvement with the care of dying or suffering people and their
families. Nurses in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) could be a particularly well
informed group because of the ongoing open debate resulting from four proposed
laws on AVE in this Territory since 1993. The overall purpose of this thesis was to
identify the attitudes of nurses in the ACT towards AVE.
This thesis was supported by a study which provided information on four aspects of
nurses' attitudes towards AVE. Firstly, the attitudes of registered nurses in the ACT
were compared to those of other nurses, medical practitioners and members of the
general public in Australia. Secondly, the associations between characteristics of the
nurses and their attitudes were investigated. Thirdly, the legal conditions which
nurses believe should be in a law allowing active voluntary euthanasia were identified.
Finally, the arguments nurses put forward to support their attitudes towards AVE
were analysed This thesis does not attempt to evaluate the ethical arguments
proposed, merely to reflect the views put forward.
A postal survey was carried out in late 1996 of 2000 randomly selected registered
nurses from the Australian Capital Territory. Responses were received from 1218
nurses (61%).
Attitudes of Nurses:
A majority of nurses who responded, supported AVE as "sometimes right", be it
homicide by request (72%) or physician assisted suicide (71%). A slightly smaller
majority of nurses believed the law should be changed to allow homicide by request
(69%) and physician assisted suicide (67%) under certain conditions. If AVE were
legal, 66% of the nurses indicated they were willing to be involved in the procedure.
Only 30% were willing to assist patients to give themselves the lethal dose, while 14%
were willing to administer the lethal dose to the patient. Comparing these results with
previous surveys, it appears that nurses are less in favour of AVE than the general
public but more in favour than medical practitioners.
Associations between Characteristics of Nurses and Attitudes:
Those nurses who were more likely to agree that the law should allow AVE, were
under the age of 40 years, agnostic, atheist or of the Anglican religion, to have less
contact with terminally ill patients, to work in the area of critical care or mental health,
and to take less interest in the issue of AVE. Palliative care nurses were the only
subgroup without a majority in favour (33%). There is other evidence in the
euthanasia literature indicating that nurses and doctors are less in favour of AVE than
the general public. Taken together with the present findings, it may be concluded that
attitudes towards AVE are more favourable in people who have less contact with the
terminally ill.
Legal Conditions in an AVE Law:
The conditions most strongly supported in any future AVE law were "second
doctor's opinion" (85%), "cooling off period" (81%), "patient must have unbearable
protracted suffering" (80%), "doctor must inform patient about illness and treatment"
(78%) and "patient must be terminally ill" (63%). There was only minority support
for "patient not suffering from treatable depression" (42%), "patient administers or
assists to administer, the fatal dose themselves" (32%) and "patient over a certain
age" (7%). Support for a change in the law to allow AVE was 38% for a young man
with AIDS, 39% for an elderly man with early stage Alzheimer's disease, 44% for a
young woman who had become quadriplegic and 71 % for a middle aged woman with
metastases from breast cancer.
Arguments Supporting AVE Attitudes:
The most common argument in support of AVE was that people should have the right
to control their own lives and thus be able to decide for themselves when and how
they wanted to die. The most common argument against AVE was that of the slippery
slope in which it is feared that the boundaries which society puts on killing will be
extended.
Conclusions:
This inquiry pinpoints the discordance between attitudes towards AVE and the legal
status of AVE. Parliamentary representatives need to consider the current attitudes of
their constituents, and especially those of relevant health care professionals towards
AVE. It is important that a nursing perspective is represented in any law legalising
AVE and that the role of the nurse is clearly described in relevant legal acts. Future
research would also be beneficial to investigate further the association between the
experience of nurses working in a palliative care setting and AVE attitudes. There
needs to be further debate about the legal conditions required in any future AVE bills.
given the lack of support from nurses for some conditions which have been included
in proposed AVE laws. Furthermore, it would be valuable to carry out surveys of the
opinions of other health practitioners in order to inform legislators. These results
form a baseline to examine the changes in attitudes towards AVE over time and
change in the legal status of AVE.
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Owen, Karen. "The Sexual Beliefs, Attitudes And Script Of Men Convicted Of Sexual Offences Against Children: An Empirical Investigation." University of Ballarat, 2007. http://archimedes.ballarat.edu.au:8080/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/12775.
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Community concern about sexual offending places continued pressure on correctional services to refine treatment and reduce re-offending. While cognitive processes have been identified as a key element in the development and maintenance of sexual offending, more research on the precise nature of these processes is required. The current study, based on Ward and Siegert’s Pathways Model, involved 100 male offenders of various types: 25 intra – familial sex offenders against children, 25 extra-familial sex offenders against children, 25 sex offenders who chose adult victims, and 25 convicted of non-sexual offences. There was also a control group of 25 non-offenders. The quantitative data, derived from a series of questionnaires concerning childhood and sexual experiences, provided evidence that the two types of child sex offender differed from the other groups with respect to their expectations of sexual behaviour among children, their experience of sexual abuse and neglect as children themselves, and, paradoxically, their current high self-esteem. In addition, scripts relating to hypothetical consenting adult sexual relations and sexual contact with a child were collected from the 50 sex offenders against children. The script content suggested that, compared with intra - familial offenders, extra-familial offenders had notably unrealistic, naïve and romanticised scripts for adult relationships and more sophisticated scripts for offences against children. The latter suggested that scripts might serve as a mediating function in offending behaviour and that offenders acquired a degree of task domain expertise. Despite some inherent problems undertaking research with the sex-offender population, the findings confirmed that sex-offenders do not constitute a homogenous group and that the pathways model offers a unique perspective on how males become and develop their capacity as sex-offenders, how they sustain a positive view of themselves, and how they continue to commit offences. Finally, the model was considered in terms of its capacity to suggest ways to better target treatment efforts to specific groups of sexual offenders to further reduce their rate of recidivismDoctor of Psychology (Clinical)
17
Sendziuk, Paul 1974. "Learning to trust : a history of Australian responses to AIDS." Monash University, School of Historical Studies, 2001. http://arrow.monash.edu.au/hdl/1959.1/9264.
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Ashcroft, Miles Robert. "'Good and bad communists' : Australian attitudes and policies towards the Soviet Union 1939-49." Thesis, University of London, 1994. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.298303.
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Gill, Judith. "Differences in the making : the construction of gender in Australian schooling /." Title page, table of contents and abstract only, 1991. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09PH/09phg4753.pdf.
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Nickerson, Angela. "Us and them: the role of personality, identity and norms in Australian attitudes to asylum-seekers /." [St. Lucia, Qld.], 2004. http://www.library.uq.edu.au/pdfserve.php?image=thesisabs/absthe19254.pdf.
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Menzies, Allan R., and n/a. "Attitudes to euthanasia amongst health care professionals in the Australian Capital Territory : issues towards a policy." University of Canberra. Administrative Studies, 1991. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20061017.152535.
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Three groups of health care professionals were canvassed for
their views on euthanasia - student nurses, practising
nurses and doctors. The aim of the research was to make a
possible contribution to a formalised health policy on this
issue for the ACT.
The following forms of euthanasia were covered by the
research:
(i) voluntary active euthanasia:
(ii) voluntary passive euthanasia:
(iii) involuntary active euthanasia:
(iv) involuntary passive euthanasia.
Passive forms of euthanasia were found to be the most
acceptable.
Voluntary forms of euthanasia were not found, in general, to
be more approved of than involuntary forms of euthanasia.
However, active forms of euthanasia were much less
acceptable than passive forms.
In order to adapt the research findings to a methodology for
policy use. Allison's models (1971) of public policy
development were modified into a single model. This provided
an application of the research results in such a way as to
allow for the development of a possible formalised policy on
euthanasia, and practical applications.
The conclusions drawn from the research findings and the
subsequent recommendations are supportive of law reform and
the implementation of a new policy on the issue of
euthanasia.
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Hendriks, Jacqueline. "Are attitudes and intentions towards sex associated with risky sexual behaviour in urban Western Australian adolescents?" Thesis, Curtin University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/1198.
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A survey dataset of 1616 heterosexual West Australian adolescents was used to create three psychometric scales, through application of the Rasch Unidimensional Measurement Model. Attitudes towards abortion, adolescent parenthood and contraception were each associated with sexual behaviours linked to an increased risk of unwanted pregnancy or sexually transmissible infection. The relative importance of various biopsychosocial factors in relation to attitude formation was established. Overall findings support interventions focusing on the formation of positive contraceptive attitudes.
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Montana, Nino Silvia Ximena. "The metrification of legacy news: An analysis of the attitudes and practices at three Australian outlets." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2020. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/202918/1/Silvia%20Ximena_Montana%20Nino_Thesis.pdf.
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This thesis examines the impact of web and social media analytics on news content production in three Australian legacy outlets (ABC News, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian). It proposes the idea of 'identity news' under an evolving quantification ethos in newsrooms shaped by the institutionalisation of news metrification practices. Identity news refers to the process of selection, design, crafting and news distribution according to the multiple demographics and inferred identities revealed by two basic measurement approaches in the field (the platform engagement regime on social media and the retention regime in websites).
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Galitis, Ingrid. "A case study of gifted education in an Australian primary school : teacher attitudes, professional discourses and gender /." Connect to thesis, 2009. http://repository.unimelb.edu.au/10187/5260.
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This thesis investigates the professional knowledge and views about gifted education held by teachers working in a suburban primary school in Melbourne, Australia. Examining discourses of giftedness and intelligence, it adopts a case study approach to explore teachers’ gendered understanding of these concepts four years after they undertook a program of professional development in gifted education during the late 1990s. The analysis of the case study is located in relation to historical as well as current policy and professional debates regarding the education of gifted children, and the context of broader contemporary educational reforms. During the 1990s, much educational reform in Australia, as elsewhere, was characterised by neo-liberal practices of devolution, and a greater emphasis on individual accountability that altered school management structures and directed curriculum practices towards a focus on outcomes-based education. The increasing scrutiny of teaching and learning became normalised as both teachers and students were regularly monitored and measured. Within the prevailing political and educational landscape, Victoria’s first gifted education policy was introduced in May 1995.The study examined how teachers negotiated educational reforms and policy initiatives during a time of significant change and translated them into their own professional common sense and working knowledge. A qualitative methodology is adopted, and the research design encompasses close analysis of teachers’ narratives and content analysis of school policies and programs as well as informal and formal documentation and reports. Examination of the case study material is informed by a feminist approach and concern with practices of gender differentiation and inequality in education; the analysis is also influenced by key poststructuralist concepts of “discourses”, “regimes of truth” and “normalisation” drawn from the work of the French philosopher Michel Foucault.
Three main lines of analysis are developed. First, I examine current meanings of, and discourses on, gifted education and their historical antecedents. I argue that gifted education practices emanate from modernist practices and that the constructs of intelligence and giftedness were enthusiastically adopted as technological tools to regulate and classify populations. I further argue that understanding these earlier views on intelligence and the “gifted child” remains important as these continue, often unwittingly, to infiltrate and shape teachers’ attitudes and knowledge, as well as the “regimes of truth” expressed in policy and professional discourses. Second, I propose that a deeply entrenched Australian egalitarian ethos has affected teachers’ views and practices, influencing how they navigate the field of gifted education, typically characterised as an elite form of educational provision. In some cases, this produces ambivalence about the value of gifted education, leading to educational practices that are at odds with gifted educational practices recommended by research. I argue that the program of gifted professional development did not alter deeply entrenched beliefs about gifted education, with teachers claiming personal experience and working knowledge as the crux to recognising and catering for difference. Third, I examine the socially gendered dimensions of these entrenched views and their impact on highly able girls. I argue that for teachers, the norm of the gifted child is gendered. Whilst girls can be bright or clever or smart, the idealised gifted child is more likely to be male.
This thesis offers an in-depth examination of the micro-practices of one school as it strives for excellence. It contributes insights into the impact of “topdown” policy and professional development on teachers’ working knowledge and professional practice. This study shows that while the imposed educational policies and gifted education programs provided information for teachers, they did not alter teachers’ fundamental belief systems, professional knowledge or gender differentiating teaching practices.
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Welch, Ian, and iwe97581@bigpond net au. "Alien Son : The life and times of Cheok Hong Cheong, (Zhang Zhuoxiong) 1851-1928." The Australian National University. Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, 2003. http://thesis.anu.edu.au./public/adt-ANU20051108.111252.
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This thesis contributes to the ongoing discussion of modern Chinese identity by pro-viding a case study of Cheok Hong CHEONG. It necessarily considers Australian atti-tudes towards the Chinese during the 19th century, not least the White Australia Pol-icy. The emergence of that discriminatory immigration policy over the second half of the 19th century until its national implementation in 1901 provides the background to the thesis. Cheong was the leading figure among Chinese-Australian Christians and a prominent figure in the Australian Chinese community and the thesis seeks to iden-tify a man whose contribution has largely been shadowy in other studies or, more commonly, overlooked by the parochialism of colony/state emphasis in many histo-ries of Australia. His role in the Christian church fills a space in Victorian religious history.
Although Cheong accumulated great wealth he was not part of the Chinese mer-chant class of the huagong/huaquiao traditions of the overseas Chinese diaspora of the 19th and 20th centuries. His wealth was accumulated through property investments following the spectacular collapse of the Victorian banking system during the 1890s. His community leadership role arose through his position in the Christian Church rather than, as was generally the case, through business. His English language skills, resulting from his church association, were the key to his role as a Chinese community spokesman.¶
Cheok Hong Cheong left an archive of some 800 documents in the English lan-guage covering the major people, incidents and concerns of his life and times. His Let-terbooks, together with the archives of the various Christian missions to the Chinese in Australia in the 19th and early 20th centuries, shed light on one person’s life and more broadly, through his involvements on the complex relationships of Chinese emigrants, with the often unsympathetic majority of Australians.¶
This is a case study of a Chinese identity formed outside China and influenced by a wider set of cultural influences than any other Chinese-Australian of his time —an identity that justifies the description of him as an ‘Alien Son’. Cheong’s story is a con-tribution to the urban and family history of an important ethnic sub-group within the wider immigrant history of Australia.¶
While Cheong remained a Chinese subject his identification with Australia cannot be questioned. All his children were born in Australia and he left just twice after his arrival in 1863. He visited England in 1891-2 and in 1906 he briefly visited China. Identity and culture issues are growing in importance as part of the revived relation-ship between the Chinese of the diaspora and the economic renewal of the People’s Republic of China and this thesis is offers a contribution to that discussion.
26
Yu, Xin 1956. "Conceptualising and assessing intercultural competence of tour guides : an analysis of Australian guides of Chinese tour groups." Monash University, Dept. of Management, 2003. http://arrow.monash.edu.au/hdl/1959.1/5637.
Full text
27
Payne, Cara. "Education for sustainability: An ethnographic study of 15 year-2/3 rural Western Australian children’s attitudes on sustainability." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2015. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1630.
Full textAbstract:
The study occurred in rural Western Australia in 2011, during UNESCO‟s Decade of Education for Sustainability Development, when sustainability became one of three cross-curriculum priorities of the Australian Curriculum. The study involved the development and implementation of a sustainability focused science program embedded in a class of 15 Year-2/3primary participants. The study emphasised a qualitative approach, but also included embedded quantitative data analysis. The aim of the science program focussed on the enhancement of the children‟s attitudes towards sustainability, to equip them with the skills needed to change their behaviours in relation to practicing the principles of sustainability. The children‟s attitudes towards sustainability were assessed before and after engaging in the program. A range of observation techniques identified changes in attitudes and behaviours, including children‟s work samples, teacher reflections, interviews and vignettes constructed from the synthesis of this data. In addition, both pre and post program questionnaires were administered to further assess attitudinal changes. The research offers an insight into children‟s attitudes to sustainability, as well as junior primary science learning and teaching practices that encourage decision making for sustainable development.
28
Lunay, Ralph G. "A study of feelings of alienation among relief teachers servicing Western Australian government metropolitan primary schools." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2005. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/659.
Full textAbstract:
It is perhaps fair to say that the relief (substitute) teacher should be viewed as an extremely important educational resource, Reviewed literature spanning the better part of twenty years indicates that in parts of Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, many students spend as much as one full year (or more) of their K-12 education having curriculum delivered to them by these individuals. Unfortunately, the literature also indicates that many relief teachers are still viewed by many as less than "real" teachers in terms of perceived competence, skill and capability. In addition to this, the existence of a number of pervasive, enduring systemic problems have been identified as being present in the educational systems of the abovementioned regions, which have been seen to impact negatively on the relief teacher, making the difficult job they do, even more arduous. There is reason to hypothesise that as a result of exposure to these problems, relief teachers could be expected to suffer from feelings of alienation and further "disconnection" from tenured (or contracted) colleagues, and that this may further marginalise them from the rest of the greater educational community. The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether feelings of alienation were present in relief teachers servicing Western Australian government metropolitan primary schools, and if so, what they identified as contributing to those feelings. Additionally the research attempted to ascertain what (if any) support strategies for relief teachers were actually offered by the schools that had been serviced by the subject population. The research itself was qualitative in nature, using semi-structured interviews as the main data gathering tool, with twenty "currently serving" relief teachers being interviewed. The current study established strong positive links between feelings of alienation in the subject population and exposure to a number of major systemic problems, which currently exist within the educational "system" of this state. The present research also identified a number of support strategies offered by some schools, which indicates some cognisance of the problems faced by relief teachers during the course of their work. " As a result of the research findings, several recommendations for further action emerged. Implementation of these should, logically, go some considerable way toward reducing feelings of alienation and disconnection among relief teachers, and more importantly augmenting their effectiveness as an arguably increasingly important educational resource.
29
Wheeler, Jenny, and n/a. "An Australian experience of modern racism: the nature, expression and measurement of racial prejudice, discrimination and stereotypes." University of Canberra. Human & Biomedical Sciences, 2001. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060427.134111.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis aimed to investigate the changing nature, expression and
measurement of contemporary racist attitudes, discriminatory behaviours and racial
stereotypes in an Australian context. The first principal aim of this thesis was to
further establish the psychometric properties of the Symbolic Racism Extended Scale
(Fraser & Islam, 1997b). Study 1 revealed good psychometric properties for the
Symbolic Racism Extended Scale as a measure of symbolic (modern) racist attitudes
in Australian populations. The study also found support for incorporating modern
racism items within a 'social issues' questionnaire format to reduce reactivity
concerns associated with self-report measures.
The second principal aim of this thesis (Studies 2 and 3) was to explore the
nature, prevalence and potential sources of contemporary racist attitudes, and
associated discriminatory behaviours, in an Australian context. Study 2 detected a
sizeable proportion of modern racist attitudes in both the University and ACT
Secondary College student samples. The nature of modern racist attitudes in the
population samples maintained clear consistencies with key tenets of contemporary
theories of racial prejudice. Overall the study provided further empirical evidence of
the nature, tenets and potential socio-demographic sources of modern racist attitudes
in Australian populations.
Study 3 explored modern racists' discriminatory behaviours in conditions of
low racial salience. In an employment-hiring task, high and low prejudiced
participants (university undergraduates) revealed significantly different employment
hiring preferences for an Aboriginal applicant. In providing Australian empirical
evidence of modern racists' discriminatory behaviours, the study also discussed
methodological implications for future Australian research investigating the
discriminatory behaviours of modern racists.
The third principal aim of this thesis was to provide further analysis of the
measurement of contemporary racist attitudes, specifically to examine concerns
pertaining to the measurement of racial attitudes through implicit techniques. Implicit
free-response measurement of Australian racial stereotypes in Study 4 revealed that
high and low prejudiced participants (as measured by the SR-E) were equally
knowledgable of the cultural stereotypes of Aboriginals, Asians and immigrants.
Cultural knowledge of the implicit stereotypes was found to be predominantly
independent of prejudicial beliefs, lending support to concerns (Devine, 1989; Devine
& Elliot, 1995) that implicit measures of racial prejudice may actually be measuring
an individual's cultural knowledge of the primed racial group, rather than his or her
prejudicial beliefs.
The fourth principal aim of this thesis was to investigate the content of
Australian racial stereotypes. Study 4 revealed the implicit content of the cultural
stereotypes of Aborigines, Asians and immigrants to be predominantly negative in
nature. In response to the predominantly negative content of the Aboriginal cultural
stereotype, Study 5 investigated whether the recategorising of ingroup boundaries and
disconfirming information, relating to Aboriginal Australians, observed in the recent
Sydney Olympic Games would result in changes to the content of the cultural
stereotype. The study found significant decreases and increases in the negative and
positive traits respectively reported as being part of the cultural stereotype of
Aborigines, two weeks following the Sydney Olympic Games.
Together, the five studies contributed to empirical research on the changing
nature, expression and measurement of contemporary racist attitudes, discriminatory
behaviours and racial stereotypes in Australian populations. A number of theoretical
and practical implications of the present findings for Australian prejudice research are
addressed and discussed. Furthermore, a number of practical recommendations for
future research are identified to further investigate the modern nature of racist attitudes in Australian populations.
30
Rule, Ann. "Keeping the money under the soap : constructions of the English and English migrants in Australian nationalist texts." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2004. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/836.
Full textAbstract:
Where does an Englishman hide his money?' 'I don't know. Where does an Englishman hide his money?' 'Under the soap'. This thesis interrogates representations of ‘Englishness’and by extension, English migrants, in a variety of Australian cultural texts, including film, television, newspapers and academic publications. Underlying this investigation are two major research questions: What are the factors informing the ambivalent place accorded 'Englishness' in Australian cultural texts? and What can this form of investigation tell us about Australian culture and associated national myths? I have attempted to reinterpret these national myths through the texts/ narratives of Englishness and class. One of my aims was to force the violence of politics and ideology back into the seemingly natural binary opposition of Australia / England (otherwise known as the Aussies and the poms), exploring the ramifications upon Australian nationalist myths. Due to my emphasis here on discourse itself, how it constructs and shapes national identities for example, I have elected to incorporate textual devices designed to disrupt and interrupt the text. These interruptions include passages from English migrant interviews and song lyrics for example. It is anticipated that these disruptions constantly remind, to paraphrase Fredric Jameson, that history is always perforated: 'History with holes' (1990, 130). I argue that it is through these cracks in the screen that the conservative underbelly of Australian nationalist narratives becomes increasingly visible. I have endeavoured to reveal to what extent 'Englishness' continues to function as an empty signifier, where often opposing stereotypes flourish. For example, while Englishness in Australian cultural forms was at times linked with servility, deference and a rigid class system, it was also linked with militancy and political activism in the form of the troublesome pommie shop steward. In chapter one I suggest where these un-deconstructed ‘types’ emanated from, contextualising my theory through the languages of class, going on to suggest why and how these stereotypes have remained so cogent. The cogency of these representations is revealed through the chapters on film, television, newspapers and academic publications. Finally, I argue for a complete reassessment of how the signifier ‘Englishness’ is functioning, both ideologically and politically, in Australian nationalist narratives.
31
Aly, Anne M. "Audience responses to the Australian media discourse on terrorism and the 'other' : the fear of terrorism between and among Australian Muslims and the broader community." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2008. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/176.
Full textAbstract:
The terrorist attcks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon on 11 September 2001 heralded an era of unprecedented media and public attention on the global phenomenon of terrorism. Implicit in the Australian media's discourse on terrorism that evolved out of the events of 11 September is a construction of the Western world (and specifically Australia) as perpetually at threat of terrorism.
32
au, psnider@central murdoch edu, and Paul Dabney Snider. "Exploring the Relationships between Individualism and Collectivism and Attitudes towards Counselling among Ethnic Chinese, Australian, and American University Students." Murdoch University, 2003. http://wwwlib.murdoch.edu.au/adt/browse/view/adt-MU20040430.140708.
Full textAbstract:
Exploring the Relationships Between Individualism and Collectivism and Attitudes Towards Counselling Among Ethnic Chinese, Australian, and American University Students Compensating for reduced public funding, Australian and American universities actively recruit full-fee paying East Asian international students. University staff, aware of international students having difficulties coping with cultural and emotional issues, often encourage them to seek university counselling services. However, East Asian international students under-utilise Western universities counselling services.
It has been argued that the Western concept of counselling reflects Western cultural values, in particular individualism. Thus the reluctance of international students from more collectivistic cultures to seek counselling services may in part be due to a clash of cultural values. Over a decade ago, Draguns hypothesised the existence of a relationship between Hofstedes cultural dimensions of individualism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity, and their influence on individuals attitudes towards psychopathology and treatment modalities. The current study sought to offer empirical support for Draguns hypothesis as it related to individualism and power distance, and to attitudes towards counselling. In place of Hofstedes cultural dimensions, this study used the Triandis cultural concepts of vertical and horizontal individualism and collectivism.
Using the Triandis Individualism Collectivism Scale (ICS) and the Tinsley Expectations about Counseling-Brief Form (EAC-B)questionnaire, the current study explores the relationship between levels of vertical and horizontal individualism and collectivism, and attitudes towards the roles of counsellors, the roles of clients, and the process and goals of counselling. The research is based on data collected from three cultural groups: ethnic Chinese international students attending Australian universities, and Australian and American university students enrolled in their home countries.
This study is unusual in cross-cultural research owing to its use of the Rasch extended logistic model of modern item response theory (IRT) as a means of validating the data prior to standard statistical analysis. Whereas classical test theory emphasises the model fitting the data, the Rasch model of IRT requires that the data fit the model to be considered valid. Psychometric analysis of the ICS found its four scales separately fit the Rasch model quite well, as did three modified scales of the EAC-B.
The IRT analysis also provided a means of identifying differential item functioning (DIF), that is, items functioning differently (demonstrating bias) among
the three cultural groups.
Using the EAC-B to collect pre and post-intervention data, the current study assessed the effectiveness of a videotape intervention as a means of changing within and between-group attitudes towards counselling. It was anticipated that ethnic Chinese participants, representing the group with the least familiarity with counselling, would show the greatest change in counselling attitudes as a result of the intervention. Americans were expected to show the least change, and Australian participants to be in the middle position. Based on the findings, the intervention did not significantly alter the participants attitudes towards counselling regardless of their cultural background. Overall, the intervention served to strengthen existing attitudes.
Lastly as a means of gaining a deeper understanding of the quantitative findings, the study collected qualitative data from the participants and from university counsellors. These findings indicated that there was a general lack of knowledge about university counselling services even among those participants who were familiar with counselling as a concept. Participants, in general, expressed reservations about seeking counselling due to concerns of being seen by friends. This was particularly true for the Chinese. Chinese participants also expressed scepticism towards a non-Chinese counsellors ability to understand their problems.
In reference to Draguns hypothesis, overall the findings from this study supported his model. The findings indicated that individuals endorsing collectivistic attitudes expressed a strong preference for counsellors who were direct, expert-like, and helped clients seek concrete solutions to their problems. The study also found that an individuals expressions of cultural dimensions, such as vertical collectivism, were better predictors of counsellor preference than an individuals cultural background.
These findings have implications for university policy makers who are responsible for ensuring the existence of an infrastructure capable of meeting the needs of the international students they so actively recruit. This would include appropriate funding for an adequate and diverse counselling staff extending itself to the university community. There are also implications for counsellor education programs in recognising the link between cultural variables and client expectations.
33
Snider, Paul D. "Exploring the relationships between individualism and collectivism and attitudes towards counselling among ethnic Chinese, Australian, and American university students /." Access via Murdoch University Digital Theses Project, 2003. http://wwwlib.murdoch.edu.au/adt/browse/view/adt-MU20040430.140708.
Full text
34
Snider, Paul Dabney. "Exploring the relationships between individualism and collectivism and attitudes towards counselling among ethnic Chinese, Australian, and American university students." Thesis, Snider, Paul Dabney (2003) Exploring the relationships between individualism and collectivism and attitudes towards counselling among ethnic Chinese, Australian, and American university students. PhD thesis, Murdoch University, 2003. https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/319/.
Full textAbstract:
Compensating for reduced public funding, Australian and American universities actively recruit full-fee paying East Asian international students. University staff, aware of international students having difficulties coping with cultural and emotional issues, often encourage them to seek university counselling services. However, East Asian international students under-utilise Western universities? counselling services.
It has been argued that the Western concept of counselling reflects Western cultural values, in particular individualism. Thus the reluctance of international students from more collectivistic cultures to seek counselling services may in part be due to a clash of cultural values. Over a decade ago, Draguns hypothesised the existence of a relationship between Hofstede's cultural dimensions of individualism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity, and their influence on individuals' attitudes towards psychopathology and treatment modalities. The current study sought to offer empirical support for Draguns' hypothesis as it related to individualism and power distance, and to attitudes towards counselling. In place of Hofstede's cultural dimensions, this study used the Triandis cultural concepts of vertical and horizontal individualism and collectivism.
Using the Triandis Individualism Collectivism Scale (ICS) and the Tinsley Expectations about Counseling-Brief Form (EAC-B)questionnaire, the current study explores the relationship between levels of vertical and horizontal individualism and collectivism, and attitudes towards the roles of counsellors, the roles of clients, and the process and goals of counselling. The research is based on data collected from three cultural groups: ethnic Chinese international students attending Australian universities, and Australian and American university students enrolled in their home countries.
This study is unusual in cross-cultural research owing to its use of the Rasch extended logistic model of modern item response theory (IRT) as a means of validating the data prior to standard statistical analysis. Whereas classical test theory emphasises the model fitting the data, the Rasch model of IRT requires that the data fit the model to be considered valid. Psychometric analysis of the ICS found its four scales separately fit the Rasch model quite well, as did three modified scales of the EAC-B.
The IRT analysis also provided a means of identifying differential item functioning (DIF), that is, items functioning differently (demonstrating bias) among the three cultural groups.
Using the EAC-B to collect pre and post-intervention data, the current study assessed the effectiveness of a videotape intervention as a means of changing within and between-group attitudes towards counselling. It was anticipated that ethnic Chinese participants, representing the group with the least familiarity with counselling, would show the greatest change in counselling attitudes as a result of the intervention. Americans were expected to show the least change, and Australian participants to be in the middle position. Based on the findings, the intervention did not significantly alter the participants' attitudes towards counselling regardless of their cultural background. Overall, the intervention served to strengthen existing attitudes.
Lastly as a means of gaining a deeper understanding of the quantitative findings, the study collected qualitative data from the participants and from university counsellors. These findings indicated that there was a general lack of knowledge about university counselling services even among those participants who were familiar with counselling as a concept. Participants, in general, expressed reservations about seeking counselling due to concerns of being seen by friends. This was particularly true for the Chinese. Chinese participants also expressed scepticism towards a non-Chinese counsellor's ability to understand their problems.
In reference to Draguns' hypothesis, overall the findings from this study supported his model. The findings indicated that individuals endorsing collectivistic attitudes expressed a strong preference for counsellors who were direct, expert-like, and helped clients seek concrete solutions to their problems. The study also found that an individual's expressions of cultural dimensions, such as vertical collectivism, were better predictors of counsellor preference than an individual's cultural background.
These findings have implications for university policy makers who are responsible for ensuring the existence of an infrastructure capable of meeting the needs of the international students they so actively recruit. This would include appropriate funding for an adequate and diverse counselling staff extending itself to the university community. There are also implications for counsellor education programs in recognising the link between cultural variables and client expectations.
35
Snider, Paul Dabney. "Exploring the relationships between individualism and collectivism and attitudes towards counselling among ethnic Chinese, Australian, and American university students." Snider, Paul Dabney (2003) Exploring the relationships between individualism and collectivism and attitudes towards counselling among ethnic Chinese, Australian, and American university students. PhD thesis, Murdoch University, 2003. http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/319/.
Full textAbstract:
Compensating for reduced public funding, Australian and American universities actively recruit full-fee paying East Asian international students. University staff, aware of international students having difficulties coping with cultural and emotional issues, often encourage them to seek university counselling services. However, East Asian international students under-utilise Western universities? counselling services.
It has been argued that the Western concept of counselling reflects Western cultural values, in particular individualism. Thus the reluctance of international students from more collectivistic cultures to seek counselling services may in part be due to a clash of cultural values. Over a decade ago, Draguns hypothesised the existence of a relationship between Hofstede's cultural dimensions of individualism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity, and their influence on individuals' attitudes towards psychopathology and treatment modalities. The current study sought to offer empirical support for Draguns' hypothesis as it related to individualism and power distance, and to attitudes towards counselling. In place of Hofstede's cultural dimensions, this study used the Triandis cultural concepts of vertical and horizontal individualism and collectivism.
Using the Triandis Individualism Collectivism Scale (ICS) and the Tinsley Expectations about Counseling-Brief Form (EAC-B)questionnaire, the current study explores the relationship between levels of vertical and horizontal individualism and collectivism, and attitudes towards the roles of counsellors, the roles of clients, and the process and goals of counselling. The research is based on data collected from three cultural groups: ethnic Chinese international students attending Australian universities, and Australian and American university students enrolled in their home countries.
This study is unusual in cross-cultural research owing to its use of the Rasch extended logistic model of modern item response theory (IRT) as a means of validating the data prior to standard statistical analysis. Whereas classical test theory emphasises the model fitting the data, the Rasch model of IRT requires that the data fit the model to be considered valid. Psychometric analysis of the ICS found its four scales separately fit the Rasch model quite well, as did three modified scales of the EAC-B.
The IRT analysis also provided a means of identifying differential item functioning (DIF), that is, items functioning differently (demonstrating bias) among the three cultural groups.
Using the EAC-B to collect pre and post-intervention data, the current study assessed the effectiveness of a videotape intervention as a means of changing within and between-group attitudes towards counselling. It was anticipated that ethnic Chinese participants, representing the group with the least familiarity with counselling, would show the greatest change in counselling attitudes as a result of the intervention. Americans were expected to show the least change, and Australian participants to be in the middle position. Based on the findings, the intervention did not significantly alter the participants' attitudes towards counselling regardless of their cultural background. Overall, the intervention served to strengthen existing attitudes.
Lastly as a means of gaining a deeper understanding of the quantitative findings, the study collected qualitative data from the participants and from university counsellors. These findings indicated that there was a general lack of knowledge about university counselling services even among those participants who were familiar with counselling as a concept. Participants, in general, expressed reservations about seeking counselling due to concerns of being seen by friends. This was particularly true for the Chinese. Chinese participants also expressed scepticism towards a non-Chinese counsellor's ability to understand their problems.
In reference to Draguns' hypothesis, overall the findings from this study supported his model. The findings indicated that individuals endorsing collectivistic attitudes expressed a strong preference for counsellors who were direct, expert-like, and helped clients seek concrete solutions to their problems. The study also found that an individual's expressions of cultural dimensions, such as vertical collectivism, were better predictors of counsellor preference than an individual's cultural background.
These findings have implications for university policy makers who are responsible for ensuring the existence of an infrastructure capable of meeting the needs of the international students they so actively recruit. This would include appropriate funding for an adequate and diverse counselling staff extending itself to the university community. There are also implications for counsellor education programs in recognising the link between cultural variables and client expectations.
36
Mulraney, Rosemary Anne, and n/a. "Community and teacher attitudes toward special educational provisions for gifted students in A.C.T. primary schools." University of Canberra. Education, 1986. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20061026.130846.
Full textAbstract:
This decade has seen an increasing awareness by
the Commonwealth Schools Commission, the ACT Schools
Authority, educators and members of the community of
students who are gifted in a diversity of areas.
A number of programs designed to meet the special
needs of gifted students have been developed in some
primary schools in the A.C.T. and it is timely that
the attitudes of principals, teachers and parents were
assessed.
To assess the attitudes of the three populations
(principals, teachers and parents) toward general
attitudes about gifted students, key aspects of planning
and organisation of gifted programs, classroom teachers
and their knowledge and need of assistance in gifted
education; and to explore whether the three populations
held different attitudes toward gifted students and the
provision of specific programs to meet their special
needs, the Field Study candidate developed and
administered a questionnaire to members of the A.C.T.
Association for Gifted and Talented Children, together
with principals, teachers and parents in nineprimary
schools in the A.C.T.
The results of the questionnaire indicated that
all three groups agreed with the proposition that every
child was entitled to an educational program that would
assist the child to develop to his / her fullest
potential. Appropriate extension programs should be run
for gifted students in the local primary school, with the
involvement of the resource teacher and the assistance
of personnel and locations outside of the local school
when it was appropriate.
Some reservations were expressed toward the level
of parent participation in the identification procedure,
program planning and program evaluation, and classroom
teachers were seen to require assistance in the areas
of identification, program planning and the evaluation
of programs designed to meet the special needs of
gifted students.
The Field Study concludes that local A.C.T.
primary schools could meet the special needs of gifted
students. This could be achieved by principals, teachers
and members of the School Board developing and
implementing special educational programs by utilising
Special Project funding, additional staff and
professional development opportunities which are
currently available in limited amounts through the
ACT Schools Authority and the Commonwealth Schools
Commission.
37
Haines, Helen. "‘No worries’ : A longitudinal study of fear, attitudes and beliefs about childbirth from a cohort of Australian and Swedish women." Doctoral thesis, Uppsala universitet, Obstetrik & gynekologi, 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-185081.
Full textAbstract:
Much is known about childbirth fear in Sweden including its relationship to caesarean birth. Less is understood about this in Australia. Sweden has half the rate of caesarean birth compared to Australia. Little has been reported about women’s beliefs and attitudes to birth in either country. The contribution of psychosocial factors such as fear, attitudes and beliefs about childbirth to the global escalation of caesarean birth in high-income countries is an important topic of debate. The overall aim of this thesis is to investigate the prevalence and impact of fear on birthing outcomes in two cohorts of pregnant women from Australia and Sweden and to explore the birth attitudes and beliefs of these women. A prospective longitudinal cohort study from two towns in Australia and Sweden (N=509) was undertaken in the years 2007-2009. Pregnant women completed self-report questionnaires at mid-pregnancy, late pregnancy and two months after birth. Fear of birth was measured in mid-pregnancy with a tool developed in this study: the Fear of Birth Scale (FOBS). The FOBS showed promise as a clinically practical way to identify women with significant fear. A similar prevalence of fear of birth (30 percent) was found in the Australian and Swedish cohorts (Paper I). The Swedish women had attitudes indicating a greater concern for the personal impacts of birth and a belief system that situated birth as a natural event when compared to the Australian women (Paper II). Finally, when women’s attitudes and levels of fear were combined, three profiles were identified: Self determiners, Take it as it comes and Fearful (Paper III). Belonging to the Fearful profile had the most negative outcomes for women including higher rates of elective caesarean, more negative feelings in pregnancy and post birth and poorer perceptions of the quality of their antenatal and intra-partum care (Paper IV).
38
Geyer, Tracy Colleen. "The occupational aspirations and gender stereotypes of South African and Australian senior primary school learners." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1239.
Full textAbstract:
Increasingly, developmental psychology has emphasized that childhood career development should be viewed as holistic and comprise all aspects of a child’s maturation. This would include an emphasis on the career development of children which is considered vital to the complete education of the child (Brown, 2002). Career development refers to the process of developing beliefs, values, skills, aptitudes, interests, personality characteristics and knowledge of work (Zunker, 2006). Research has indicated that early societal factors and personal preferences associated with gender influence the child’s later occupational aspirations (Stockard & McGee, 1990). There are many ways in which individuals learn about gender roles and acquire “gender-appropriate” behaviour during childhood, some of which manifest in the occupational aspirations of children. As children grow up they learn, through reinforcement and modeling, that society has different expectations and standards for the behaviour of males and females. While family and friends are often the most important agents of socialization in young children, television and other popular media have also played a vital role in gender stereotyping, resulting in children forming perceptions regarding which occupations “belong” to which gender (Taylor, Peplau, & Sears, 2006). The present research aims to explore, describe and compare the occupational aspirations and the occupational gender stereotyping of male and female South African and Australian senior primary school learners. The research approach for the study was descriptive and exploratory in nature and was conducted within a quantitative framework. A survey-type questionnaire, the Career Awareness Survey xiii (McMahon & Watson, 2001), was used as the data collection measure as part of a larger international study. The sample comprised of 511 South African and 372 Australian participants from Grades 6 and 7. Responses to the occupational aspirations questions were coded according to Holland’s (1985) interest typology and status level coding for occupations. For descriptive purposes, frequency counts were computed for the coded typology, status level and occupational gender stereotyping data. The z-test and chi-square test for independence were computed in order to test whether gender groups differed in terms of their occupational aspirations and occupational stereotyping. The chi-square test was also used to compare the occupational aspirations and gender stereotyping of South African and Australian senior primary school learners. The results of the present research indicate that male and female South African and Australian female children tend to aspire towards more Investigative and Social type occupations in the high status level category. The Australian male children, however, tend to aspire towards more Social and Realistic type occupations in the high status level category. Across nation and gender, the majority of the children believed that both males and females could perform certain occupations, with senior primary school children tending to limit the range of occupations which they believe to be predominantly suited to either male or female. Cross-national comparative results yielded interesting findings with few significant differences emerging on occupational aspiration typology, status level and the occupational gender stereotyping of occupations. The results of the present research emphasise the need for further cross-national comparative studies on the occupational aspirations and occupational gender stereotyping of senior primary school children.
39
Barnes, Alison Kate School of Industrial Relations & Organisational Behaviour UNSW. "'The centre cannot hold': resistance, accommodation and control in three Australian call centres." Awarded by:University of New South Wales. School of Industrial Relations and Organisational Behaviour, 2005. http://handle.unsw.edu.au/1959.4/22026.
Full textAbstract:
Drawing upon case studies of three organisations operating six call centres in Australia, this thesis explores the manifestations and interplay of employee resistance and accommodation in response to five facets of employer control: electronic monitoring; repetitious work; emotional control; the built environment; and workplace flexibility. Accommodation refers to the ways workers protect themselves from and adapt to the pressures that make up their day-to-day experiences of work. Accommodation, unlike resistance, which implies opposition to control, may superficially resemble consent to control. I argue that resistance and accommodation are not polar opposites; rather they are both reflections of the conflict and tensions that lie at the heart of the employment relationship. At the study sites, employees utilised resistance and accommodation both separately and concurrently. An explanation of these seemingly contradictory responses and of the links among accommodation individual resistance and collective resistance lies in the concept of ???self???. In this thesis, ???self??? refers to workers??? perceptions of fairness, dignity and autonomy. I examine how these notions frame worker discontent and promote employee solidarity. ???Everyday resistance???, a concept first developed by Scott (1985) in relation to peasant struggles, is employed to highlight the existence of subterranean struggles in workplaces that otherwise appear to be harmonious. At the study sites, everyday resistance was a multi-faceted, widely employed strategy whose strength lay primarily in its immediate impact. There was, however, no necessary sequential development from accommodation, through everyday resistance to overt, formal forms of conflict. What was evident was that multiple responses to employer control could co-exist and inhibit or promote one another. But it was through organised collective resistance that more formalised gains were made and widely held grievances addressed. I suggest that, although everyday resistance may lay the groundwork for more formal struggles, one should not conclude that traditional collective resistance is ???genuine??? resistance and everyday resistance is simply a second-best prelude to it. Although conflict is always present, its intensity differs. If we are to understand the complexity of worker responses to managerial control, we need to expand the theoretical frameworks within which we analyse and interpret conflict.
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Muldoon, Paul (Paul Alexander) 1966. "Under the eye of the master : the colonisation of aboriginality, 1770-1870." Monash University, Dept. of Politics, 1998. http://arrow.monash.edu.au/hdl/1959.1/8552.
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McNair, Lyndsey Alexandra. "Scottish substance misuse service providers' and service users' attitudes on contingency management : a comparison with United States and Australian service providers." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/29270.
Full textAbstract:
Background: Substance misuse in Scotland is increasing and with the price of illicit drugs decreasing, this makes experimentation more attractive and affordable. This has led to a need for services to expand approaches designed to tackle substance misuse. Psychosocial interventions, particularly those based on behavioural approaches, are thought to be a useful adjunct to pharmacological approaches. One intervention, with a strong evidence base is Contingency Management (CM) however it is poorly implemented in services. Research in the United States and Australia indicate that one of the main barriers to implementation is the beliefs and views of service providers on the principles and practices of CM. Aims: To explore the views of service providers in the statutory and voluntary/community sectors on CM and to gain an insight into service users' views of CM. The study looked at comparing Scottish service providers' views of CM against those of the American (Kirby et al., 2006) and Australian (Ritter and Cameron, 2007) samples. Design and Method: The study adopted both a quantitative and qualitative approach. Service providers' views on CM were gathered using the Provider Survey of Incentives (PS1) questionnaire and service users' views on CM were gathered via a qualitative focus group and analysed through a General Inductive Approach. PSI questionnaires were sent out to statutory (n=48) and voluntary/community agencies (n=22) working with individuals, currently or previously using substances. The focus group comprised members of a service-user involvement group from the Scottish Drug's Forum (SDF). Participants were both male (n=7) and female (n=2) and at varying stages of abstinence. The process of analysis involved generating codes from the thematic content of the data, to produce overall themes that arose from the group. Results & Conclusions: Quantitative analysis involved carrying out mixed model ANOVAs to determine if there were differences between statutory and voluntary responses to unique tangible and social items and overall tangible and social incentives. In keeping with the analysis of the comparison papers, frequency results are reported for responses to the parallel tangible and social items and compared against responses from published data from the United States and Australia. The qualitative process of analysis involved generating codes from the thematic content of the data, to produce overall themes that arose from the focus group. Overall, the Scottish sample showed less concern regarding CM approaches than the Australian sample, but more concern than the American sample. The main concern in the Scottish, American and Australian samples was that incentive programmes do not address the underlying causes of addiction. This was also highlighted by service users, who felt that incentive programmes do not address the other needs of the individual. It was also found that issues service providers felt were not problematic were raised as particular concerns by service users, such as the artificial nature of social praise and the potential for tangible incentives to be sold. It was concluded that it would be beneficial for service providers to collect the views of service users, should they wish to implement CM approaches.
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Barnes, Helen, and n/a. "The work attitudes and job perceptions of Commonwealth Government Libraians : with descriptive data on Commonwealth Government librarianship as an occupation." University of Canberra. School of Information, Language and Culture Studies, 1987. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060607.154822.
Full textAbstract:
This study has three major purposes: to describe systematically the practice of
librarianship in Australian Commonwealth Government departments and agencies
from the perspective of librarians employed in that environment; to relate the
characteristics of government librarianship to librarians' perceptions of and
attitudes to their work; and to assess the extent to which the work of Commonwealth
Government librarians needs to be redesigned to improve the level of job satisfaction
they experience. A subsidiary purpose is to test the job characteristics theory of
work motivation on a population of librarians.
Information was gathered by a survey questionnaire on a range of variables relating
to librarians and their perceptions of different aspects of their jobs. The primary
instrument for gathering data on perceptions was the complete form of the Job
Diagnostic Survey.
The population under investigation comprised those Commonwealth Government
department and agency librarians employed on a full-time, permanent basis under
the Public Service Act 1922. and located in Canberra. Because the population was
small but diverse, it was decided to survey the total population rather than a random
or stratified sample. One hundred and eight usable responses were received which
represented a response rate of 83 percent.
The results of the survey were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social
Sciences. Frequency distributions and Pearson's Product-Moment Correlations were
calculated to determine the percentage of respondents who selected each option and the
strength of relationships between pairs of variables.
The study found that Commonwealth Government department and agency librarians in
Australia are highly satisfied with their work generally, and with the environment
in which it is performed. None of the null hypotheses relating to Commonwealth
Government librarians and job satisfaction were rejected. All but one of the null
hypotheses retating to the application of the job characteristics model to
Commonwealth Government librarians are rejected.
The study concludes by identifying issues and areas for further research in public
sector librarianship.
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White, Mathew A. "An Australian co-educational boarding school as a crucible for life : a humanistic sociological study of students' attitudes from their own memoirs /." Title page, table of contents and abstract only, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/2440/37957.
Full textAbstract:
The aims of this study were to define an Australian boarding school, provide a summary of international and Australian boarding school literature, and complete a small-scale qualitative investigation of students' views in a co-educational boarding school. At first glance, it appeared that contemporary Australian boarding schools were a reproduction of the influential public boys' schools of Great Britain. Although there have been a number of histories of Australian independent schools, the boarding element has often been portrayed as Dickensian and remains an overlooked area of educational research. In particular, the literature available about Australian residential schooling over the past 20 years has been limited to a handful of significant studies by Cree and Trimingham Jack. In this study 45 Australian and overseas students were asked to write memoirs of 4-5,000 words about their boarding experience emphasising their thoughts, feelings and aspirations. The limitation was that all respondents were full-time boarders for at least one year when the questionnaire-survey was completed. The memoir-based humanistic approach of the Polish- American sociologist Florian Znaniecki, as developed for the analysis of personal and group social systems in the culturally diverse context of Australia by J. J. Smolicz, was employed to interpret the memoir data. The memoir method has been well documented in Australia, as a means of collecting and analysing concrete and cultural facts, mainly in relation to the study of minority ethnic groups and their cultural actions. The humanistic approach emphasized that the researcher must accept cultural phenomena from the viewpoint of its participants and not from that of an outside observer. In the present study, this approach permitted the researcher to understand the experiences and attitudes of individual students towards an Australian co-educational boarding education through their own eyes. The memoirs analysed were generated from 26 concrete questions, which revealed place-of-birth, ethnic identity, and languages spoken at home. This provided the researcher with verifiable information about the everyday lives of the respondents. The second half of the memoirs required response to 23 questions - these yielded cultural data. These questions required students to reflect on their situation, attitudes and experiences of boarding as a system of education. This information could only have been provided by the participants themselves and gave the researcher direct access to the memoir writers' individual and group consciousness. The study discovered that a number of the students were in the process of re-evaluating and re-interpreting the advantages and disadvantages of boarding school as a social system transmitted to them by parents, friends, family, and teachers. The respondent's personal statements revealed that the relationships among students and among students and staff in the boarding House tended to be primary in nature, in that they were personal, informal, and involved the entire human personality. From these data, it appeared that the success of a boarding school was determined by the personal atmosphere, support, and comfort of the boarding House. Consideration of the empirical data found that 43 of the 45 respondents' memoirs believed that their overall experiences at the research boarding school were positive. Negative observations stressed the pressures of homesickness, tedium of school life and a lack of freedom thereby supporting Goffman's view of a "total institution". The majority of students' memoirs were ambivalent towards religion at the research school. Nevertheless, 11 stressed its significant implication in their day-to-day lives. The memoirs suggested that an education at the research boarding school was a crucible that forged students through a variety of experiences, positive and negative, individual and collective, for life. Overall, the memoirs support the observation that boarding school acts as a social system for the acceptance of new cultural values, such as the cultural diversity respondents' experienced in their lives at boarding school. The study revealed an attitudinal shift in the group that welcomed the cultural pluralism of the school and recognised the cultural monism of the home. These memoirs revealed that boarding school was a significant factor in fostering independence and embracing cultural diversity as experienced in the crucible of the boarding school. These findings challenged the popular maxim that an Australian residential education was an anachronistic, inflexible, colonial-British model and suggested that it has the potential to act as a system of education that prepares its students for the challenges of life.Thesis (Ph.D.)--School of Education, 2004.
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Armstrong, Michael. "A novel - The dues of St Fitticks: and essay - Paying your dues in the lucky country: Anglo-Celtic Australian attitudes to migrants." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2010. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1815.
Full textAbstract:
Through the medium of the novel and an accompanying essay, this project explores the relationship, particularly since the end of World War II, between the dominant (Anglo-Celtic) and non-dominant Australian cultural groups. I argue that upholding the dominance of Anglo-Celtic culture, particularly as a centre or “core” of Australian identity, is discriminatory and detrimental to the development of Australian society in general and the goal of multiculturalism in particular. Moreover, I question the thesis that Australia can have a “core” culture without marginalising the groups that do not reside within it. Instead of projecting Anglo-Celtic culture as the archetypal Australian identity and thereby reinforcing its hegemony, I argue that we should allow migrant cultures to impart their influence on Australian culture and identity. Only then can we facilitate a national identity representative of all Australians—a bone fide multiculturalism.
Anglo-Celtic Australia has a history of discriminating against non-Anglo-Celtic Australians and my novel, while focusing on the post-war migrant boom, attempts to articulate this antipathy as a continuum that stretches from white settlement to the present. The characters in my novel are symbols of my interpretation of the Australian cultural milieu and they express my main concern with race as a marker for national identity. I illuminate the irony inherent in the Australian ideals of tolerance and egalitarianism by juxtaposing these national myths with the treatment of, and antipathy toward, migrants and Australia’s indigenous.
Although my novel might be considered social realist, I was influenced by a range of authors and philosophers and I do not attempt to subvert the socio-economic hierarchy, as is the intent of many social realist novels. Indeed, I resist any categorisation of my novel as such, by, at times, questioning both poles of the political spectrum.
The theoretical bases that drove the narrative in my novel were influenced by the theses of sociologists, academicians and political and social philosophers that speak, directly or indirectly, to my interest in race, identity and the Australian cultural dynamic. I do not, however, attempt to provide an antidote to the cultural antipathy I chart. I seek merely to uncover and question it.
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Applebee, Andrelyn C., and n/a. "Attitudes toward computers in the 1990s: a look at gender, age and previous computer experience on computer anxiety, confidence, liking and indifference." University of Canberra. Education, 1994. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060206.123119.
Full textAbstract:
The purpose of this study was to investigate the
relationship between computer attitudes held by tertiary
students and the selected variables of gender, age and
previous computer experience. It was hypothesized that no
statistically significant differences would be found within
the relationships tested. A questionnaire comprising the
Computer Attitude Scale (CAS), demographic and other
questions was administered to the population enrolled in an
introductory computer unit at the University of Canberra,
Australian Capital Territory in Semester 1, 1992. The
results were subjected to t-test and one-way analysis of
variance testing.
Statistically significant findings were noted between both
gender and computer anxiety, and gender and computer
confidence, with female students being more anxious and
male students being more confident. Students with previous
computer experience were found to be significantly less
anxious and more confident with computers.
More research on possible causes of these relationships and
ways of overcoming computer anxiety is needed before the
findings can be fully implemented.
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Sullivan, Paul John. "Australian attitudes towards computer crime." Thesis, 1995. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/15266/.
Full textAbstract:
This investigation compares the responses of university
staff and students of a Faculty of Business with those of
the staff and students at the New South Wales Police
Academy, in Goulburn. The research tested the attitudes of
the respondents to computer fraud, credit card fraud,
copying software and hacking into computer systems. The
research found, from questionnaire responses, that computer
crimes are considered to be insignificant compared with
other crimes which have far less impact on society in
financial terms. Hacking, in particular, which costs
Australian society an increasing amount each year, was ranked at a very low level of significance. Further, the research found a significant difference between the university and police responses to whether or not hacking and copying software are considered to be criminal activities.
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Sapinski, Tania Helen. "Language use and language attitudes in a rural South Australian community / presented by Tania H. Sapinski." Thesis, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/2440/108270.
Full textAbstract:
Argues the importance of considering non-linguistic factors in understanding the community situation, the most important of these non-linguistic factors being the role of peoples attitudes. Outlines the situation in the target community. Discusses language attitude research and compares attitudes to language varieties around the world. Illustrates Australian Governmental attitudes through their past and present policies in dealing with Indigenous Australians.Thesis (M.A.) -- University of Adelaide, Dept. of European Studies, 1999?
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Byng, Karen T. G. "Beyond the boundaries of polling : Australian attitudes to aboriginal issues." Master's thesis, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/150336.
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Aslin, Heather Jean. "Speaking of the wild: Australian attitudes to wildlife." Phd thesis, 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/7512.
Full textAbstract:
This enquiry examines the attitudes and values of Australians towards their country’s wildlife, and addresses a primary research aim of constructing or identifying a conceptual framework for these attitudes and values. Its secondary research aims are to identify the range of attitudes and values towards wildlife among Australians, how they can be described and values identified in eco-philosophical, sociological and psychological literature. I examine conceptual and empirical bases for distinguishing different types; and methodological approaches used by researchers investigating their distribution in western societies. In considering ways to answer the research questions suggested by this literature and differing approaches to social enquiry, I argue for a methodological stance incorporating structural and interpretive/phenomenological approaches, and addressing cultural, social and individual levels.
In the structural approach I describe and categorise some current wildlife interest groups and organisations at eight sites (Sydney, Canberra, Cairns, Melbourne, Alice Springs, Adelaide, Echuca and Cobar); and use similar categories to examine relevant articles published over a period of a year in the national newspaper, The Australian.
In the interpretive/phenomenological approach I use theoretical or purposive sampling techniques to identify and interview 51 Australians with specialised interests in wildlife, living mainly in and around Sydney, Canberra, Cairns, Melbourne and Adelaide. They include staff of relevant government agencies; non-government conservation, environment, industry and hunting organisations; voluntary wildlife carers and rehabilitators; veterinarians; educators; and self-employed farmers, nature writers and wildlife artists. I also conduct seven group discussions with people from the general community, incorporating approximately equal numbers of men and women, and covering major occupational sectors, differently-sized population centres, and age ranges among the adult Australian population. These group discussions are held in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Echuca and Cobar, and involve 54 people. Interviews and group discussion are semi-structured and I ask participants mainly open-ended questions covering wildlife perceptions/definitions, attitudes/values, behaviour/experiences, social issues/goals, and demographic characteristics.
I use mainly qualitative techniques to analyse responses, taking respondents’ own words as primary data. I develop response categories for the various questions, summarise responses by categories, and make comparisons within and between the different date sets. Through this analysis I identify emergent themes and concepts giving insight into answers to the research questions.
My findings provide evidence of a range of strongly-held views about wildlife. These views relate to interviewees’ and group members’ situations, particularly social situations, and to learning experiences in these situations. The most significant of these learning experiences are ones associated socialisation into major life situations and social roles – family/childhood situations, gender roles and occupational/interest group roles. So these emerge as major influences shaping attitudes and values.
I identify an explanatory conceptual framework based in experiential learning theory (Kolb, 1984). This draws connections between the range of occupations in western societies, cognitive styles, and bodies of social knowledge. This implies that people learn different cognitive styles, and bodies of social knowledge. It implies that people learn different cognitive styles through being socialised into occupational roles, and by extension, other roles such as gender and interest group roles. These differences are in a sense entrenched n the structure of western societies. People’s current situations, and the attitudes corresponding with these situations, represent a compromise between socially-structured role constraints and individual preferences, aptitudes or abilities. I relate this to interviewees’ and group members’ situations, explain how this approach satisfies the research aims, and show how it is consistent with other researchers’ findings about wildlife attitudes.
In discussing the social conflict theme emerging from interviews and group discussions, I draw upon Serpell (1986), who identifies the role learnt psychological distancing mechanisms play in helping people engaged in occupations re recreational pursuits which require killing animals, to avoid emotional conflicts. These distancing mechanisms help these people to see individual animals in objectified and mechanistic ways conflicting with the personalised ways they may be seen by social groups. The contact theme I identify points to the importance of personal experiences with wildlife in influencing attitudes, and suggests Australians need to be encouraged to integrate wildlife into their everyday lives if conservation goals are to be achieved.
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Malinowska-Tabaka, Elzbieta. "Self-image, work commitment and attitudes among Australian professionals." Phd thesis, 1987. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/131323.
Full textAbstract:
In 1965 a longitudinal study, "Professions in Australia", commenced
for students enrolled in law and engineering and in 1967 for students of
medicine and teaching. This study was continued over twenty years,
providing an immense source of information on the way in which students
acquire the attitudes and values of their profession, and how they
function as "mature professionals".
A large number of studies have originated from the longitidinal
data, including this dissertion.
This thesis examines the professions in comparative perspective.
Assuming that professions are affected by economic and political
developments which may lead towards more uniform behavioural patterns,
the main aim of this thesis is to examine homogeneity of professional
groups in regard to their occupational commitment. Another related
problem is that there is developing a set of common interests among the
different professions.