bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Who Uses Mental Health Services in Australia? An Analysis of Data from the National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing
Authors: Parslow Ruth A. , Jorm Anthony F. 
Published: June 2007

Objective: This study sought to identify sociodemographic and psychological measures associated with utilisation of mental health services in Australia, using information collected through the 1997 National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing. Method: Twenty-one potential predictor variables were selected from the National Survey. Predisposing and enabling factors included age, sex, marital status, labour force status, geographical location and level of education. Predictor variables measuring need for services included the General Health Questionnaire score, a neuroticism scale, diagnoses of affective, anxiety and substance-abuse disorders from the Composite International Diagnostic Interview, and self-identified depression, anxiety and substance abuse. Simple and multiple logistic regressions were undertaken to identify predictor variables associated with use of mental health services from general practitioners, psychiatrists, psychologists and other health professionals. Results: General practitioners were the most commonly reported providers of mental health services with 76% of those receiving any mental health care reporting using this type of service. Using multiple logistic regression, the predictor variables most associated with use of mental health services were measures of the need for such services, such as psychological distress and mental disorder. After controlling for need variables, the sociodemographic variables associated with using services provided by any health professional were being female, level of education and being separated. Living in a remote area was associated with lower use of specialist services, but not with general practitioner services. Older age was associated with less use of psychologists and other health professionals. Income and having a usual language other than English did not affect service use. Conclusions: The factors most strongly related to Australians' use of mental health services are their having a diagnosed affective, anxiety or substance-abuse disorder and their self-identifying as having depression or anxiety. Although there are regional inequalities in levels of utilisation of mental health services, these are seen more with specialist services than with those provided by general practitioners.
Pathways and Outcomes of Psychiatric Care: Does it Depend on who you are, or what you've Got?
Authors: Kisely Steve , Preston Neil , Rooney Mark 
Published: June 2007

Objectives: To investigate predictors of outcome and cost for patients treated by Mental Health Services in the south metropolitan area of Perth using logistic regression to control for potential confounding factors. Method: Data were collected over a 3-month period on 2691 subjects (47% male, 53% female) as part of the Mental Health Classification and Services Cost Project. Results: The average age of subjects was 44.3 years. Nearly 80% of care occurred in community settings and virtually all inpatient care was for acute emergencies. The most common diagnosis was schizophrenia (33%) followed by mood disorders (30%). Within the study period, 88% of patients had only one episode of care (n = 2361) and a further 8% two (n = 223). Patients with schizophrenia were one-third as likely to be discharged from care (95% CI = 0.2–0.4) and 30% as likely to have longer episodes of care (95% CI = 1.1–1.6). Patients with personality, substance or adjustment disorders spent less time in treatment, and those with personality or substance disorders were more likely to be discharged from psychiatric care. A past history of inpatient care was associated with a worse outcome in terms of length of care, or not being successfully discharged. Severity of illness as determined by involuntary treatment or elevated Health of the Nation Outcome Scales and Life Skills Profile (LSP) scores was associated with increased costs. Greater disability on the LSP was also associated with increased length of care. Sociodemographic factors were as least as important as diagnosis in predicting the cost and outcome of treatment. Conclusions: Demographic factors may better predict increased health service use than diagnostic casemix. Since sociodemographic variables contribute as much to outcome as diagnosis, comparing results between units is likely to be misleading unless adjusted for these factors.
Do Older People Receive Equitable Private Psychiatric Service Provision Under Medicare?
Authors: Draper Brian M , Koschera Annette 
Published: June 2007

Objective: The objective of this study is to determine the 1998 rates, types, regional variation and Medicare expenditure of private psychiatry services for older people in Australia, as compared with younger adults and with 1985–1986 data. Method: Medicare Benefits Schedule Item Statistics for the psychiatric item numbers 300–352 and item 14224 were obtained from the Health Insurance Commission for each State and Territory. The items were examined in the age groups 15–64 years, 65 years and over and 75 years and over. Main outcome measures were per capita service provision by age group, State and Territory and Medicare expenditure by age group. Results: During 1998, 6.4% (5765.6 per 100 000) of private psychiatric services were to patients aged > 64 years. Patients aged 15–64 received 2.7 times the number of psychiatric services per capita than patients > 64 and 3.6 times that of patients aged > 74 years. Patients aged > 64 received more hospital and nursing home consultations, home visits and electroconvulsive therapy per capita, while younger adults used more office-based consultations, longer consultations, and group therapy. Victoria had the highest per capita rate (7659.2 per 100 000) and the Northern Territory the lowest (540.4 per 100 000), although the highest proportion of services to older patients was in Western Australia. Per capita the proportion of Medicare expenditure allocated to adults aged less than 65 years was 4.1 times that for adults over 64 years. Conclusions: Private psychiatric service provision to older people is inequitable when compared with younger adults. The proportion of Medicare private psychiatry expenditure on older adults has declined since 1985–1986.
Research on Teacher Effectiveness in British Secondary Schools
Authors: Kyriacou Chris 
Published: June 2007

AbstractStudies of teacher effectiveness based in British secondary schools can be divided into four main categories: studies based on teachers' opinions regarding effective teaching, studies based on the relationship between rated teaching ability and other variables, studies based on observations of teaching and studies based on pupils' opinions regarding effective teaching. As a result of considering studies falling within these four categories, it is concluded that future research could most usefully concentrate on using rating scales based on observations of lessons within a design which looked at a particular subject area and allowed for differences in pupil age and ability.
The Responsiveness of Students to Pictorial Depth Cues and the Understanding of Diagrams of Three‐dimensional Structures
Authors: Seddon G. M. , Adeola A. , Elfarra A. O. K. , Oyediji S. I. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractTwo experiments were carried out to investigate how remedial instruction may be given to students who have difficulties in understanding the three‐dimensional spatial relationships portrayed in diagrams of three‐dimensional structures. Both experiments are based on a model which describes this kind of understanding in terms of the ability to respond correctly to each of four depth cues in the diagrams, and the ability to combine these depth cues correctly.Experiment I shows that remedial instruction in responding to only one of the cues, brings about a significant increase in overall understanding. Experiment II shows that overall understanding is significantly enhanced by giving remedial instruction on two cues as opposed to one cue, and that teaching students to combine the cues improves on the effects of teaching students to respond correctly to just one depth cue. It is concluded that all the results are consistent with predictions made from the underlying theoretical model.
Criterion‐referenced Testing: pedagogical implications
Authors: Horne Stuart 
Published: June 2007

AbstractIt is suggested that past and current testing systems in education fail to provide pedagogically valuable information. The more potentially valuable approach to educational testing, criterion‐referenced measurement, is considered in detail. Although it should, theoretically, provide pedagogically useful information it is hampered by practical problems. These problems involve alternative interpretations of criterion‐referenced measurement; the setting of cutting scores; validity and reliability. Domain content and domain order determination also present difficulties.It is concluded that the psychometric approach to criterion‐referenced measurement masks the quality of response by relying on the quantity of correct responses. The alternative is to redirect criterion‐referenced measurement principles to a learning theory base and a consideration of the quality of pupil errors.
The Effects of Colour in Teaching the Visualisation of Rotations in Diagrams of Three‐dimensional Structures
Authors: Seddon G. M. , Shubber K. E. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractTwo different experiments were carried out to compare the effectiveness of instructional programmes containing different degrees of colouring in diagrams. In Experiment I, the programmes were administered to students at different ages over the range 13‐17 years. In Experiment II, where the programmes also varied in terms of the numbers of diagrams used, they were administered only to 17‐year olds. In both experiments, the effectiveness of the programmes was found to vary with the degree of colouring in an inverted‐U relationship. There were also significant interactions for degree of colouring with chronological age, and with the number of diagrams used.
Perceived Saliency of Classroom Misconducts
Authors: Geva Nehemia , Smilansky Jonathan 
Published: June 2007

AbstractIn order to investigate the saliency of disruptive activities relative to other lesson occurences, high school students were asked to recall a script describing the activities of a regular class period. The findings revealed a relative high retention rate of disruptive activities performed by students, as well as increased recall of teacher reactions to these activities in comparison with lesson related behaviors. The degree of retention of a statement within the script was positively correlated with the pre‐judged severity of the described behavior. The data highlight the feasibility of utilizing an information processing approach and its methodology to the investigation of classroom disruptions.
The Influence of Depth of Field and Colour Identification on Children's Perceptions of Danger Points in a Picture
Authors: Reid David , Broadbridge Jane 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThe study examines the effect of depth of field (perspective) and colour on the ability of 192 secondary school children to observe danger points in a typical kitchen scene. It is found that more able children perform significantly better than their peers, and that, whilst the type of colour employed contributes significantly to scores, the sex of the children does not. Most of the variance, however, is contributed by the zonal distribution of the items within the picture, those in the foreground being observed first in order of sequence and frequency, and those in the background last. A few of the items are viewed ‘out of sequence’, suggesting that the ‘depth of field’ parameter is itself composed of a number of subsets of which colour is one. The possibility that depth of field affects the ‘at a glance’ extraction of semantic information is discussed in terms of the ‘top‐down’ model of picture perception.
The Power of Silence: an enquiry through fictional writing
Authors: Rowland Stephen 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThe paper represents an attempt to open up a new field of practitioner enquiry through the use of fictional writing. It explores the power relationships between the tutor and participants on an in‐service course and how these develop as the tutor attempts to shift responsibility away from himself as ‘teacher’ and towards the ‘learners’. Episodes of silence during the reflective discussions of the group are seen as being of particular significance in its dynamic and in the changing awareness of both tutor and participants. In order to investigate the quality and significance of these silences, a fictional form of enquiry is employed. The case for using this form, together with its chief characteristics, are outlined in the first part of the paper. The major part of the paper then consists of a fictional account which explores and illuminates these issues of power in teaching and learning relationships.
Student Perspectives on Curriculum Innovation and Change in an English Secondary School: an empirical study
Authors: Ghaill Mairtin Mac An 
Published: June 2007

AbstractIn recent years we have witnessed unprecedented rapid and substantial curriculum change in state schools. This paper provides a case‐study of how this is being mediated through a secondary school. A student perspective is presented. The focus is on how central government policy initiatives and internal institutional curriculum restructuring have served to disrupt, albeit unintendedly, the conditions for students' learning. They point to the general impact of the current changes and how they are differentially structured, experienced and responded to by different social groups. What emerges is the limitation of quantitative‐based curriculum innovation. It fails to acknowledge the cultural specificity of pedagogic social relations that are essentially experienced as a human social activity.
Contexts of Assessment in a Primary Classroom
Authors: Filer Ann 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThis paper consists of an examination of data relating to the National Curriculum attainment target of ‘writing’. The contexts in which assessments are made in an infant classroom are examined in terms of Bernstein's theory of the framing of educational knowledge. The paper shows that assessments for the subject are made within contexts which are circumscribed by the strong framing which prevails in the classroom under study. It concludes that this and some other areas of the curriculum are particularly problematic in that assessment of the skills and processes involved in them may be subject to a ‘hidden agenda’ whereby children's engagement with a particular knowledge content becomes an unacknowledged element of the assessment process. The paper also concludes that due to the diversity of frame strength inherent in different pedagogies, comparability of context of assessment between classes and schools cannot be achieved.
Pupil Identity and Differentiation in British Public Schools
Authors: Tovey Philip 
Published: June 2007

AbstractA considerable amount of social research has addressed the issue of ‘working class’ pupil sub‐cultures. This paper shifts the focus to consider the nature and significance of patterns of differentiation within contemporary public schools. The analysis draws on the life‐histories of a number of people who attended a range of public schools in the 1980s. A context specific understanding of the concept ‘sub‐culture’ is shown to provide a means of reaching beyond the impression of a homogeneous entity to reveal the importance of group distinction and closure. Membership of, or exclusion from, sub‐groups is seen to be bound up with background and cultural priorities. It is argued that an awareness of internal differentiation and its social origins offers a route to understanding the varying experiences and (social and occupational) consequences of public school attendance.
Towards a Notion of Home Culture: science education in the home
Authors: Solomon Joan 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThis paper begins by picking out from the literature on home influence on education some of the unexplained effects, such as ‘parental aspiration’ and some of the unexplored notions such as ‘home school partnership’. The bulk of the paper makes reference to a project in which very simple science activities were given out by the teacher at school to be performed at home by the primary pupils with their families. Data were obtained by visiting homes where the activities were carried out, both while they were going on and at the end of the year. Recordings from these showed that the activities, the conceptualisations of science and of education, were different in every home, yet linked to a web of meanings and intentions already existent in the home. Discussion on this general conclusion is related both to the concept of local culture, and to the possibility of an underlying theory of interaction between home and school strong enough to explain and predict possible outcomes of home/school links.
What is behind Saturn's Rings?: methodological problems in the investigation of gender and race in the academic profession
Authors: Heward Christine , Taylor Paul , Vickers Rhiannon 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThis paper assesses a small‐scale study designed to illuminate the hitherto hidden processes underlying the underrepresentation of women and members of minority ethnic groups in the academic profession. Previous studies of the academic profession point to the importance of academic power and the significance of ‘gatekeepers’ controlling the careers of aspirants in particular subject communities. These studies have begun to acknowledge gender issues while race continues to be ignored. The purposes of the study were firstly to elucidate possible directions for further investigation and secondly to develop and test conceptual and methodological tools. The investigation concentrated on routes to power in the academic profession, especially the informal and hidden processes of racial and gender differentiation. Power in the academic profession is the ability to judge the academic merit of intellectual output of aspirants and thereby control their careers. The study documented the importance of subject communities and their implicit values and assumptions—Bourdieu ‘s notion of the habitus. It showed the importance of judgements of academic merit at the very earliest stages of careers for racial and gender differentiation within the profession. Members of minority ethnic groups remained invisible to this investigation. Explicating the processes by which they are eliminated from the profession remains a most important and intractable problem in need of urgent theorising and investigation. The peculiarly gendered characteristics of the ‘habitus’ in science and the differences between the new and the old universities also remain invisible, hidden by Saturn's rings.
‘In my agency it's very clear – but I can't tell you what it is’: Work settings and ethical challenges
Authors: Brown Alison P. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThis study aims to increase our understanding of how counsellors experience ethical and legal challenges in their work. Counsellors (n=20) from a variety of backgrounds and working in a range of settings, took part in the study. Interviews focused on the experience of risks of harm, requests for information, record keeping; and the sources of knowledge and expertise on which practitioners drew. The study found that in responding to ethical and legal challenges, practitioners are engaged in a process of negotiation between the inner and outer worlds of the client, the agency, society and themselves. Regardless of theoretical orientation, those in private practice have greater freedom from the constraints of the outer worlds than those in agencies. Areas of particular concern included child protection, multi‐agency working, and relationships with other practitioners.
The Political Construction of the ‘Whole Curriculum’
Authors: Crawford Keith 
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACTThis article focuses upon the conflicts which emerged between powerful interest groups in determining the shape of the curriculum during 1988 and 1989. It explores the ideological and political processes of developing what became known as the ‘whole curriculum’, that is, the ‘basic curriculum’ of the National Curriculum and religious education, and the cross‐curricular themes, skills and dimensions. Specifically, it explores the micro‐political educational and bureaucratic tensions between politicians, Department of Education and Science civil servants and National Curriculum Council professional officers within what have been called the ‘context to influence’ and the ‘context of text production’.
Drug use functions predict cocaine‐related problems in young people
Authors: BOYS ANNABEL , MARSDEN JOHN , GRIFFITHS PAUL , STRANG JOHN 
Published: June 2007

AbstractOver the last decade, concern about young people and stimulant drugs has primarily focused on the use of amphetamines and ecstasy. In the United Kingdom, this concern has recently expanded to include the use of cocaine hydrochloride (powder cocaine). This study examined patterns of illicit substance use, with a particular focus on cocaine consumption, among a sample of 364 young drug users aged between 16 and 22 years. The sample was recruited using snowballing methods and respondents were interviewed in informal settings by peer interviewers. Over half the sample reported lifetime use of powder cocaine and just over 40% of these had used crack cocaine. A seven‐item scale was used to measure cocaine‐related problems. The three most common problems endorsed by the cocaine users were impaired control, ‘prioritizing spending money on cocaine over other things’ and being pre‐occupied with using. In a multiple regression analysis, 50% of the variance in cocaine‐related problem scores was predicted by the perceived functions for cocaine use, the number of times of lifetime cocaine use and the total number of days of recent stimulant use. Use of cocaine to alleviate depressed state or negative mood was the most powerful predictor of cocaine problems. The inclusion of a functional appraisal component could be usefully incorporated in further research studies and in service assessment protocols for young people.