title: Evaluating the effectiveness of an education group intervention on the  psychological wellbeing of breast cancer patients

authors: Ryan, Brittany

abstract: Breast cancer (BC) is a significant health problem for New Zealand (NZ) women, with approximately 3,300 women diagnosed every year. Psychosocial distress is commonly associated with a BC diagnosis; 20-50% of women with BC will suffer from psychological distress within the first year after diagnosis. Distress is associated with less adherence to treatment; exacerbated preexisting psychological and psychiatric conditions; slower recovery from surgery and other treatment; and poor Quality of Life (QOL) and well-being. To treat distress, the Cancer Society of New Zealand, a local organisation that helps cancer patients, delivers a psychoeducational intervention called the Living Well (LW) programme. This programme deals with emotions, relaxation, perceptions, coping, self-care, and informs patients about their cancer, treatment and what to expect. Very little research has been done in NZ to assess the effectiveness of such programmes. To evaluate the effectiveness of the LW programme for individual BC patients, a repeated measures design was used to investigate the effect of the programme as measured by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), a screening tool commonly used to identify anxiety and depression in BC patients.
Stage I-II BC patients referred to the Cancer Society and enrolled in the LW programme were recruited for the study. HADS scores were collected and analysed weekly using a repeated measures design prior to, during and after the intervention (LW programme). 
Analysis shows that the participants reacted similarly to the LW programme, as demonstrated by their HADS scores. Across all phases of the study (baseline, intervention and post-intervention) mean depression scores were lower than anxiety scores. During baseline mean anxiety scores were slightly higher, on average, than the intervention and post-intervention phases. 
While no consistent systematic effect on well-being from attending the LW programme was found, psychosocial distress in the breast cancer patients recruited for the study was evident. Therefore, there is value and benefit to provide interventions, to aid women by providing information so that they are better informed, can develop improved coping strategies, and develop new avenues for social support.

text: Evaluating the effectiveness of an education group intervention on the  psychological wellbeing of breast cancer patients Breast cancer (BC) is a significant health problem for New Zealand (NZ) women, with approximately 3,300 women diagnosed every year. Psychosocial distress is commonly associated with a BC diagnosis; 20-50% of women with BC will suffer from psychological distress within the first year after diagnosis. Distress is associated with less adherence to treatment; exacerbated preexisting psychological and psychiatric conditions; slower recovery from surgery and other treatment; and poor Quality of Life (QOL) and well-being. To treat distress, the Cancer Society of New Zealand, a local organisation that helps cancer patients, delivers a psychoeducational intervention called the Living Well (LW) programme. This programme deals with emotions, relaxation, perceptions, coping, self-care, and informs patients about their cancer, treatment and what to expect. Very little research has been done in NZ to assess the effectiveness of such programmes. To evaluate the effectiveness of the LW programme for individual BC patients, a repeated measures design was used to investigate the effect of the programme as measured by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), a screening tool commonly used to identify anxiety and depression in BC patients.
Stage I-II BC patients referred to the Cancer Society and enrolled in the LW programme were recruited for the study. HADS scores were collected and analysed weekly using a repeated measures design prior to, during and after the intervention (LW programme). 
Analysis shows that the participants reacted similarly to the LW programme, as demonstrated by their HADS scores. Across all phases of the study (baseline, intervention and post-intervention) mean depression scores were lower than anxiety scores. During baseline mean anxiety scores were slightly higher, on average, than the intervention and post-intervention phases. 
While no consistent systematic effect on well-being from attending the LW programme was found, psychosocial distress in the breast cancer patients recruited for the study was evident. Therefore, there is value and benefit to provide interventions, to aid women by providing information so that they are better informed, can develop improved coping strategies, and develop new avenues for social support.

year: 2020

title: An examination of the managerial decision-making processes of experts from a behavioural perspective

authors: Gilmour, Peter John

abstract: The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of the interaction between expertise, managerial role, and subjective behavioural characteristics. The research seeks answers to the question: What shapes the managerial decision-making processes of an expert? 

Four case studies examined the decision-making processes of four domain experts who have taken on managerial roles. The studies follow a triangulated approach using interviews, observations and psychological evaluations to discover the dominant decision making processes of the experts in their managerial roles. This study includes interviews with each of the four experts, interviews with people associated with them in their work environment, the researcher’s observations, and three psychological evaluations. 
The research indicates that the subjective characteristics of the experts studied may determine the domain in which they became expert, and consequently the managerial role that they chose and also the managerial decision-making processes that they follow. The experts’ decision-making processes seem to be shaped initially by their subjective characteristics, second by their expertise and last by their managerial role. There was however, an indication that these experts dichotomise their managerial decision-making processes to distinguish between decisions that directly involve people and other decisions. Managerial requirements create situations that require the use of the experts’ subjective characteristics that are not otherwise used. It is therefore concluded that the subjective characteristics of the experts studied have shaped their managerial decision-making processes. 

The outcome from a study of four experts is not expected to be valid for all experts, however it may add weight to an argument that more consideration needs to be made of the two-way interaction between expert and domain.

text: An examination of the managerial decision-making processes of experts from a behavioural perspective The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of the interaction between expertise, managerial role, and subjective behavioural characteristics. The research seeks answers to the question: What shapes the managerial decision-making processes of an expert? 

Four case studies examined the decision-making processes of four domain experts who have taken on managerial roles. The studies follow a triangulated approach using interviews, observations and psychological evaluations to discover the dominant decision making processes of the experts in their managerial roles. This study includes interviews with each of the four experts, interviews with people associated with them in their work environment, the researcher’s observations, and three psychological evaluations. 
The research indicates that the subjective characteristics of the experts studied may determine the domain in which they became expert, and consequently the managerial role that they chose and also the managerial decision-making processes that they follow. The experts’ decision-making processes seem to be shaped initially by their subjective characteristics, second by their expertise and last by their managerial role. There was however, an indication that these experts dichotomise their managerial decision-making processes to distinguish between decisions that directly involve people and other decisions. Managerial requirements create situations that require the use of the experts’ subjective characteristics that are not otherwise used. It is therefore concluded that the subjective characteristics of the experts studied have shaped their managerial decision-making processes. 

The outcome from a study of four experts is not expected to be valid for all experts, however it may add weight to an argument that more consideration needs to be made of the two-way interaction between expert and domain.

year: 2001

title: Talking together: The effects of traditional Māori Pedagogy on children’s early literacy development

authors: Derby, Melissa

abstract: This article presents findings from a project that sought to determine the effects of a home-based literacy intervention on bilingual (English and Te Reo Māori) preschool children’s early literacy skills. The culturally responsive intervention, which was adapted from Tender Shoots, incorporated traditional Māori teaching and learning approaches, such as the use of storytelling, songs, games, and reminiscing about the past, as practices for supporting key cognitive skills crucial to foundational literacy, specifically phonological awareness and vocabulary knowledge. Over a 12-week period, during which the intervention was conducted, data were gathered from eight Māori preschool children and their families. The study utilised a crossover design. Four children and their families participated in the Rich Reading and Reminiscing (RRR) component of the intervention, which ran for six weeks, followed by the Strengthening Sound Sensitivity (SSS) portion of the intervention. The remaining four children completed the intervention in the reverse order of delivery. The crossover approach established a control in the study and allowed the effects of each part of the intervention on the aforementioned cognitive skills to be more clearly revealed. Overall, the data indicate that traditional Māori pedagogical practices helped to strengthen the early literacy skills of the children participating in the study.

text: Talking together: The effects of traditional Māori Pedagogy on children’s early literacy development This article presents findings from a project that sought to determine the effects of a home-based literacy intervention on bilingual (English and Te Reo Māori) preschool children’s early literacy skills. The culturally responsive intervention, which was adapted from Tender Shoots, incorporated traditional Māori teaching and learning approaches, such as the use of storytelling, songs, games, and reminiscing about the past, as practices for supporting key cognitive skills crucial to foundational literacy, specifically phonological awareness and vocabulary knowledge. Over a 12-week period, during which the intervention was conducted, data were gathered from eight Māori preschool children and their families. The study utilised a crossover design. Four children and their families participated in the Rich Reading and Reminiscing (RRR) component of the intervention, which ran for six weeks, followed by the Strengthening Sound Sensitivity (SSS) portion of the intervention. The remaining four children completed the intervention in the reverse order of delivery. The crossover approach established a control in the study and allowed the effects of each part of the intervention on the aforementioned cognitive skills to be more clearly revealed. Overall, the data indicate that traditional Māori pedagogical practices helped to strengthen the early literacy skills of the children participating in the study.

year: 2023-02