title: Measuring distress in older population: Rasch analysis of the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale

authors: Calkin, Cailen J.

abstract: Objectives: The 10-item Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K-10) is a widely applied distress measure; however, its psychometric properties were not established with older populations using advanced methodology. The aim of this study was to examine psychometric properties of the K-10 through application of Rasch methodology and if possible, develop an ordinal-to-interval conversion to improve its reliability in older populations.  Method: The Partial Credit Rasch Model was applied to analyse K-10 scores of the sample including 490 participants (56.3% females) aged 70 to 90 years and without dementia from the Sydney Memory and Aging Study (MAS).  Results: The initial analysis of the K-10 showed poor reliability and significant deviation from the expectations of the Rasch model. The best model fit was evident after correcting disordered thresholds and creating two testlet models to address local dependency between items (χ2(35)=29.87, p=0.71). The modified K-10 demonstrated strict unidimensionality, enhanced reliability and scale invariance across personal factors, such as sex, age, and education and permitted development of ordinal-to-interval transformation algorithms. Limitations: Ordinal-to-interval conversion can only be applied for older adults with complete data. Conclusions: The K-10 satisfied principles of fundamental measurement defined by Rasch model after minor modifications. Clinicians and researchers can transform K-10 raw scores into interval-level data using converging algorithms published here without altering the original scale response format, which increases reliability of the K-10.

text: Measuring distress in older population: Rasch analysis of the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale Objectives: The 10-item Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K-10) is a widely applied distress measure; however, its psychometric properties were not established with older populations using advanced methodology. The aim of this study was to examine psychometric properties of the K-10 through application of Rasch methodology and if possible, develop an ordinal-to-interval conversion to improve its reliability in older populations.  Method: The Partial Credit Rasch Model was applied to analyse K-10 scores of the sample including 490 participants (56.3% females) aged 70 to 90 years and without dementia from the Sydney Memory and Aging Study (MAS).  Results: The initial analysis of the K-10 showed poor reliability and significant deviation from the expectations of the Rasch model. The best model fit was evident after correcting disordered thresholds and creating two testlet models to address local dependency between items (χ2(35)=29.87, p=0.71). The modified K-10 demonstrated strict unidimensionality, enhanced reliability and scale invariance across personal factors, such as sex, age, and education and permitted development of ordinal-to-interval transformation algorithms. Limitations: Ordinal-to-interval conversion can only be applied for older adults with complete data. Conclusions: The K-10 satisfied principles of fundamental measurement defined by Rasch model after minor modifications. Clinicians and researchers can transform K-10 raw scores into interval-level data using converging algorithms published here without altering the original scale response format, which increases reliability of the K-10.

year: 2023-03

title: The impact of styling on a woman’s perceived competency, warmth and likelihood of gaining leadership

authors: Watt, Marika

subjects: Organisational Psychology

abstract: Women make up almost half of the workforce and are gaining more and higher qualifications than men yet are still vastly underrepresented at higher levels of management. Constitutional and multidimensional frameworks of gender stereotyping, such as the think-manager-think-male phenomenon suggest that leadership is associated with masculine rather than feminine attributes. If women behave and present themselves in masculine way they run the risk of being disliked and harshly judged for not conforming to their gendered expectations. Women have to walk a fine line between behaving and appearing somewhat masculine but not too masculine and somewhat feminine but not too feminine. 
What women wear and how they present themselves can and will impact how they are perceived. Previous research has found that masculine styling can have a positive impact on perceived leadership abilities for women. There is still limited research around the effects of single, isolated styling elements. Therefore, this study aims to build upon Klatt, Eimler & Kramer’s research regarding the influence of styling elements and the evaluations on a woman's competence, warmth and likelihood of getting hired for a leadership position. In a 2x2x2x2 between-subject design, the effects of the styling elements pants/skirt, hair up/hair down, flats/heels, visible tattoo/no tattoo on leadership perceptions were tested. 
One hundred thirty-nine first-year psychology students completed an online survey evaluating a woman in a photograph. Participants were presented with one of the 16 possible photographs that exhibited the different styling combinations. Participants were asked to rate the woman in the picture with regards to their perceptions of that person's competence, warmth and likelihood they would hire them for a leadership position. Perceptions of masculinity and femininity were also recorded.
A multivariate analysis revealed that women who wear their hair down or have a visible tattoo were rated the highest in warmth. While the combinations of wearing pants and having hair tied up increased the perceiver's ratings of competence. None of the styling elements influenced the person's likelihood of getting hired for a leadership position. Unexpectedly, photographs of the stimuli wearing pants were rated more feminine, and skirts were rated more masculine. These results contradict findings from previous research. A possible cause of these peculiar results could be due to the lack of diversity and the young age of participants within the sample population. 
This research highlights the need for further exploration to clarify the impacts that individual styling elements can have on women's perceived leadership ability. Outcomes from further research could provide a more definitive guideline for women to refer to when they are looking to attain a leadership role.

text: The impact of styling on a woman’s perceived competency, warmth and likelihood of gaining leadership Women make up almost half of the workforce and are gaining more and higher qualifications than men yet are still vastly underrepresented at higher levels of management. Constitutional and multidimensional frameworks of gender stereotyping, such as the think-manager-think-male phenomenon suggest that leadership is associated with masculine rather than feminine attributes. If women behave and present themselves in masculine way they run the risk of being disliked and harshly judged for not conforming to their gendered expectations. Women have to walk a fine line between behaving and appearing somewhat masculine but not too masculine and somewhat feminine but not too feminine. 
What women wear and how they present themselves can and will impact how they are perceived. Previous research has found that masculine styling can have a positive impact on perceived leadership abilities for women. There is still limited research around the effects of single, isolated styling elements. Therefore, this study aims to build upon Klatt, Eimler & Kramer’s research regarding the influence of styling elements and the evaluations on a woman's competence, warmth and likelihood of getting hired for a leadership position. In a 2x2x2x2 between-subject design, the effects of the styling elements pants/skirt, hair up/hair down, flats/heels, visible tattoo/no tattoo on leadership perceptions were tested. 
One hundred thirty-nine first-year psychology students completed an online survey evaluating a woman in a photograph. Participants were presented with one of the 16 possible photographs that exhibited the different styling combinations. Participants were asked to rate the woman in the picture with regards to their perceptions of that person's competence, warmth and likelihood they would hire them for a leadership position. Perceptions of masculinity and femininity were also recorded.
A multivariate analysis revealed that women who wear their hair down or have a visible tattoo were rated the highest in warmth. While the combinations of wearing pants and having hair tied up increased the perceiver's ratings of competence. None of the styling elements influenced the person's likelihood of getting hired for a leadership position. Unexpectedly, photographs of the stimuli wearing pants were rated more feminine, and skirts were rated more masculine. These results contradict findings from previous research. A possible cause of these peculiar results could be due to the lack of diversity and the young age of participants within the sample population. 
This research highlights the need for further exploration to clarify the impacts that individual styling elements can have on women's perceived leadership ability. Outcomes from further research could provide a more definitive guideline for women to refer to when they are looking to attain a leadership role.

year: 2020

title: Intellectual Property, Mātauranga Māori

authors: Sterling, Rogena

abstract: This literature review has been conducted to consider the various national legislation and international agreements that comprise New Zealand’s Intellectual Property Rights (IP) regime. It will evaluate if and how such legislation and agreements protect and enable Māori IP rights and interests with respect to Māori data, genomic data and mātauranga Māori. The review also identifies some mechanisms that might also enhance Māori control of these types of data. The Westminster approach of legislation in New Zealand and its approach to IP protection based on Copyrights, Patents and Trade Marks are juxtaposed against traditional Maori approaches of communally held ancestral knowledge (mātauranga) passed down through generations (whanaungatanga) based on guardianship and protection (kaitiakitanga) and the self-determination of use of such knowledge (rangatiratanga). Attempting to align tikanga concepts to the Westmionster model of law is challenging as the two share completely different notions of ownership and responsibility. Expectations of protection, to prevent misappropriation and commercialisation by non- Māori of mātauranga Māori and Māori data, extend beyond the parameters of existing IP law, creates a similar disjunct. Genomic Research generates data, some of which can be protected by IP, however researchers working with genetic/genomic data from taonga species have often failed to acknowledge the non-IP interests of Maori. As a result, Maori have taken it upon themselves to advocate for their rights to data through Māori data sovereignty discourse as well as create guidelines for culturally appropriate genomic research with explicit references to data security and management (e.g. Te Mata Ira, Te Nohonga Kaitiaki). Other extra-legal options, such as Biocultural Labelling to alert users where particular data has Māori rights and/or interests, are emerging to maintain create durable provenance data and connect next users of data with the responsible Indigenous communities. Though the intellectual property regime in New Zealand may provide some protections, there are still significant areas where the legal system does not provide sufficient protections for Māori data, taonga species and mātauranga. The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples provides a framework of international support for Indigenous rights, but local government and other home-grown mechanisms are important to enable Māori governance of data. Local approaches Māori Data Sovereignty and Māori Data Governance afford Maori the opportunity to be directly involved as kaitiaki of their mātauranga and assert rangatiratanga over data and its use.

text: Intellectual Property, Mātauranga Māori This literature review has been conducted to consider the various national legislation and international agreements that comprise New Zealand’s Intellectual Property Rights (IP) regime. It will evaluate if and how such legislation and agreements protect and enable Māori IP rights and interests with respect to Māori data, genomic data and mātauranga Māori. The review also identifies some mechanisms that might also enhance Māori control of these types of data. The Westminster approach of legislation in New Zealand and its approach to IP protection based on Copyrights, Patents and Trade Marks are juxtaposed against traditional Maori approaches of communally held ancestral knowledge (mātauranga) passed down through generations (whanaungatanga) based on guardianship and protection (kaitiakitanga) and the self-determination of use of such knowledge (rangatiratanga). Attempting to align tikanga concepts to the Westmionster model of law is challenging as the two share completely different notions of ownership and responsibility. Expectations of protection, to prevent misappropriation and commercialisation by non- Māori of mātauranga Māori and Māori data, extend beyond the parameters of existing IP law, creates a similar disjunct. Genomic Research generates data, some of which can be protected by IP, however researchers working with genetic/genomic data from taonga species have often failed to acknowledge the non-IP interests of Maori. As a result, Maori have taken it upon themselves to advocate for their rights to data through Māori data sovereignty discourse as well as create guidelines for culturally appropriate genomic research with explicit references to data security and management (e.g. Te Mata Ira, Te Nohonga Kaitiaki). Other extra-legal options, such as Biocultural Labelling to alert users where particular data has Māori rights and/or interests, are emerging to maintain create durable provenance data and connect next users of data with the responsible Indigenous communities. Though the intellectual property regime in New Zealand may provide some protections, there are still significant areas where the legal system does not provide sufficient protections for Māori data, taonga species and mātauranga. The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples provides a framework of international support for Indigenous rights, but local government and other home-grown mechanisms are important to enable Māori governance of data. Local approaches Māori Data Sovereignty and Māori Data Governance afford Maori the opportunity to be directly involved as kaitiaki of their mātauranga and assert rangatiratanga over data and its use.

year: 2021