title: Assessment in senior secondary physical education. Questions of judgement

authors: Penney, Dawn

subjects: physical education

abstract: The ways in which various aspects of senior physical education courses should be assessed and whether some can, or indeed should be incorporated in external examinations, are matters of longstanding professional debate across Australia and internationally. Differences in current practice across Australasia reflect an ongoing lack of consensus about how assessment requirements and arrangements and particularly, examinations in senior physical education, can best address concerns to ensure validity, reliability, equity and feasibility. An issue never far from such debates is that of ‘professional judgement’ and more specifically, whether and how professional judgement does and/or should ‘come into play’ in assessment. This paper reports on research that has explored new approaches to examination assessment and marking in senior physical education, using digital technologies. It focuses specifically on the ways in which ‘professional judgement’ can be deemed to be inherent to two contrasting methods of assessment used in the project: ‘analytical standardsbased’ assessment and ‘comparative pairs’ assessment. Details of each method of assessment are presented. Data arising directly from assessors’ comments and from analysis which explored intermarker reliability for each method of assessment and compared results generated by internal teacher assessment, standards-based and comparative pairs assessment, is reported. Discussion explores whether the data arising can be seen as lending weight to arguments for (i) more faith to be placed in professional judgement and (ii) for the comparative pairs methods to be more widely employed in examination assessment in senior physical education.

text: Assessment in senior secondary physical education. Questions of judgement The ways in which various aspects of senior physical education courses should be assessed and whether some can, or indeed should be incorporated in external examinations, are matters of longstanding professional debate across Australia and internationally. Differences in current practice across Australasia reflect an ongoing lack of consensus about how assessment requirements and arrangements and particularly, examinations in senior physical education, can best address concerns to ensure validity, reliability, equity and feasibility. An issue never far from such debates is that of ‘professional judgement’ and more specifically, whether and how professional judgement does and/or should ‘come into play’ in assessment. This paper reports on research that has explored new approaches to examination assessment and marking in senior physical education, using digital technologies. It focuses specifically on the ways in which ‘professional judgement’ can be deemed to be inherent to two contrasting methods of assessment used in the project: ‘analytical standardsbased’ assessment and ‘comparative pairs’ assessment. Details of each method of assessment are presented. Data arising directly from assessors’ comments and from analysis which explored intermarker reliability for each method of assessment and compared results generated by internal teacher assessment, standards-based and comparative pairs assessment, is reported. Discussion explores whether the data arising can be seen as lending weight to arguments for (i) more faith to be placed in professional judgement and (ii) for the comparative pairs methods to be more widely employed in examination assessment in senior physical education.

year: 2011

title: Network analysis of mindfulness and mental health symptoms among firefighters: A transdiagnostic lens

authors: Yan, Vivienne Yu-X.

abstract: Objectives: Previous research has established the protective role of mindfulness against various psychological disorders and maladaptive behaviours. However, the associations between specific facets of mindfulness and diverse mental health and behavioural outcomes have not been thoroughly investigated in populations with risky occupations. The aim of this study was to examine the direct and indirect associations between the five facets of mindfulness and prevalent mental health and behavioural outcomes among firefighters, including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anger, suicide risk, sleep quality, and alcohol use. Method: The assessment scores of 685 career firefighters (Mage = 38.40, SD = 8.64; 93.6% males; 77.7% White) including 154 (22.5%) military veterans, who completed measures of mindfulness, depression, PTSD, anger, suicide risk, sleep quality, and alcohol use, were investigated using both directional and non-directional network analysis. Results: Directional network analysis indicated the primary role of anger in triggering PTSD and impacting mindfulness, leading to alcohol use, suicidal ideation, impaired sleep quality, and depression as an outcome. Mindfulness facets of Non-reactivity, Non-judging, and Describing were negatively associated with depression, while the Acting with awareness facet was inversely linked to anger. Conclusion: This study emphasizes the clinical significance of targeting specific mindfulness facets in interventions for high-risk occupations, such as firefighters. Focusing on Non-reactivity, Non-judging, Describing, and Acting with awareness may help mitigate anger, depression, and other negative outcomes. Addressing anger management could be especially important in preventing or reducing PTSD, alcohol use, suicidal ideation, sleep disturbances, and depression, ultimately enhancing psychological well-being and quality of life.

text: Network analysis of mindfulness and mental health symptoms among firefighters: A transdiagnostic lens Objectives: Previous research has established the protective role of mindfulness against various psychological disorders and maladaptive behaviours. However, the associations between specific facets of mindfulness and diverse mental health and behavioural outcomes have not been thoroughly investigated in populations with risky occupations. The aim of this study was to examine the direct and indirect associations between the five facets of mindfulness and prevalent mental health and behavioural outcomes among firefighters, including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anger, suicide risk, sleep quality, and alcohol use. Method: The assessment scores of 685 career firefighters (Mage = 38.40, SD = 8.64; 93.6% males; 77.7% White) including 154 (22.5%) military veterans, who completed measures of mindfulness, depression, PTSD, anger, suicide risk, sleep quality, and alcohol use, were investigated using both directional and non-directional network analysis. Results: Directional network analysis indicated the primary role of anger in triggering PTSD and impacting mindfulness, leading to alcohol use, suicidal ideation, impaired sleep quality, and depression as an outcome. Mindfulness facets of Non-reactivity, Non-judging, and Describing were negatively associated with depression, while the Acting with awareness facet was inversely linked to anger. Conclusion: This study emphasizes the clinical significance of targeting specific mindfulness facets in interventions for high-risk occupations, such as firefighters. Focusing on Non-reactivity, Non-judging, Describing, and Acting with awareness may help mitigate anger, depression, and other negative outcomes. Addressing anger management could be especially important in preventing or reducing PTSD, alcohol use, suicidal ideation, sleep disturbances, and depression, ultimately enhancing psychological well-being and quality of life.

year: 2024-05-20

title: Linking land, river and moana: Collaborative research between Te Whakatōhea and Lincoln University within the coastal rohe

authors: Morris, Richard

abstract: In the eastern Bay of Plenty, where the land yields to the Pacific and the Waioeka and Ōtara Rivers meet Te Moana aToi (the Bay of Plenty), a research partnership is flourishing between Te Whakatōhea iwi, Lincoln University Centre of Excellence Designing Future Productive Landscape (DFPL), and Waikato University. This collaboration has grown over several years into a suite of multidisciplinary research projects focused on agricultural systems design, urban planning, and climate resilience. While distinct in their objectives, these research threads are united by a deeper, unavoidable theme: the interconnection between whenua (land), awa (river), and moana (sea). For Te Whakatōhea, these are not separate domains but a continuous space of identity, sustenance, and economy, an ethos that sits well with DFPL.

text: Linking land, river and moana: Collaborative research between Te Whakatōhea and Lincoln University within the coastal rohe In the eastern Bay of Plenty, where the land yields to the Pacific and the Waioeka and Ōtara Rivers meet Te Moana aToi (the Bay of Plenty), a research partnership is flourishing between Te Whakatōhea iwi, Lincoln University Centre of Excellence Designing Future Productive Landscape (DFPL), and Waikato University. This collaboration has grown over several years into a suite of multidisciplinary research projects focused on agricultural systems design, urban planning, and climate resilience. While distinct in their objectives, these research threads are united by a deeper, unavoidable theme: the interconnection between whenua (land), awa (river), and moana (sea). For Te Whakatōhea, these are not separate domains but a continuous space of identity, sustenance, and economy, an ethos that sits well with DFPL.

year: 2025-11