Primary classroom teachers' use of social and emotional wellbeing programs and the factors influencing program use

There has been a rapid escalation in the development and evaluation of social and emotional well-being (SEW) programs in primary schools over the last few decades. Despite the plethora of programs available, primary teachers’ use of SEW programs is not well documented in Australian schools, with even less consideration of the factors influencing program use. A cross-sectional survey was undertaken with primary classroom teachers across twelve schools in the Brisbane and Sunshine Coast Education Districts in Queensland, Australia, during 2005. A checklist of SEW programs and an audit of SEW practices in schools were employed to investigate the number, range and types of SEW programs used by primary classroom teachers and the contextual factors influencing program use. Whilst the majority of implementation studies have been conducted under intervention conditions, this study was designed to capture primary classroom teachers’ day-to-day use of SEW programs and the factors influencing program use under real-world conditions. The findings of this research indicate that almost three quarters of the primary classroom teachers involved in the study reported using at least one SEW program during 2005. Wide variation in the number and range of programs used was evident, suggesting that teachers are autonomous in their use of SEW programs. Evidence-based SEW programs were used by a similar proportion of teachers to non-evidence-based programs. However, irrespective of the type of program used, primary teachers overwhelmingly reported using part of a SEW program rather than the whole program. This raises some issues about the quality of teachers’ program implementation in real-world practice, especially with respect to programs that are evidence-based. A content analysis revealed that a wide range of factors have been examined as potential influences on teachers’ implementation of health promotion programs in schools, including SEW programs, despite the limited number of studies undertaken to date. However, variation in the factors examined and study designs employed both within and across health promotion fields limited the extent to which studies could be compared. A methodological and statistical review also revealed substantial variation in the quality of reporting of studies. A variety of factors were examined as potential influences on primary classroom teachers’ use of SEW programs across multiple social-ecological levels of influence (ranging from community to school and individual levels). In this study, parent or caregiver involvement in class activities and the availability of wellbeing-related policies in primary schools were found to be influential in primary classroom teachers’ use of SEW programs. Teachers who often or always involve parents or caregivers in class activities were at a higher odds of program use relative to teachers who never or rarely involved parents or caregivers in class activities. However, teachers employed in schools with the highest number of wellbeing-related policies available were at a lower odds of program use relative to teachers employed in schools with fewer wellbeing-related policies available. Future research should investigate primary classroom teachers’ autonomy and motivations for using SEW programs and the reasons behind the selection and use of particular types of programs. A larger emphasis should also be placed upon teachers not using SEW programs to identify valid reasons for non-use. This would provide another step towards bridging the gap between the expectations of program developers and the needs of teachers who implement programs in practice. Additionally, the availability of wellbeing-related school policies and the types of activities that parents and caregivers are involved with in the classroom warrant more in-depth investigation. This will help to ascertain how and why these factors influence primary classroom teachers’ use of SEW programs on a day-to-day basis in schools.

Jean Baptiste Francois Pompallier, Thomas Arnold and Julian Edmund Tenison Woods and their contribution to the formation and development of Catholic schooling in Australasia

Histories of Catholic education have received little attention by Church historians and are usually written by members of the Catholic clergy, with a strong emphasis placed on the spiritual and building accomplishments of the bishops. This thesis examines the provision of Catholic Education in Australasia, with a focus on the contribution of three men, Jean Baptiste Francois Pompallier, Thomas Arnold and Julian Edmund Tenison Woods. These men received support from the female religious orders in the regions where they worked, frequently with little recognition or praise by Catholic Church authorities. The tenets of their faith gave Pompallier and Woods strength and reinforced their determination to succeed. Arnold, however, possessed a strong desire to change society. All three believed in the desirability of providing Catholic schooling for the poor, with the curriculum facilitating the acquisition of socially desirable values and traits, including obedience, honesty, moral respectability and a strong adherence to Catholic religious values. The beneficiaries included society, future employers, the Church, the children and their parents. With the exception of promoting distinctly Catholic religious values, Roman Catholic schools and National schools in Australasia shared identical objectives. Historians have neglected the contributions of these men.

Taxonomy and redescription of the Fawn Antechinus, Antechinus bellus (Thomas) (Marsupialia: Dasyuridae)

We provide a taxonomic redescription of the Fawn Antechinus, Antechinus bellus (Thomas). A. bellus is the only member of its genus to occur in Australia’s Northern Territory, where it can be found in savannah woodlands of the Top End. It is perhaps the most distinctive antechinus, and clearly distinguishable from the other 10 extant species of antechinus found in Australia: externally, A. bellus has pale body fur, white feet and large ears; A. bellus skulls have large auditory bullae and narrow interorbital width, while broadening abruptly at the molar row; mitochondrial and nuclear genes clearly dis-tinguish A. bellus from all congeners, phylogenetically positioning the Fawn Antechinus as sister to Queensland’s A. leo Van Dyck, 1980, with which it shares a curled supratragus of the external ear and a similar tropical latitudinal range.

Taxonomy and redescription of the Atherton Antechinus, Antechinus godmani (Thomas) (Marsupialia: Dasyuridae)

We provide a taxonomic redescription of the dasyurid marsupial Atherton Antechinus, Antechinus godmani (Thomas). A. godmani is only rarely encountered and limited to wet tropical rainforests of north-east Queensland, Australia, between the towns of Cardwell and Cairns (a distribution spanning 135 kilometres from north to south). The distinctive species occurs at altitudes of over 600 meters asl, in all major rainforest types, and can be found with both the northern subspecies of the Yellow-footed Antechinus, A. flavipes rubeculus Van Dyck and the Rusty Antechinus, A. adustus (Thomas). A. god-mani is clearly separated from all congeners on the basis of both morphometrics and genetics. A. godmani can be distin-guished from all extant congeners based on external morphology by a combination of large size, naked-looking tail and reddish fur on the face and head. A. godmani skulls are characteristically large, with a suite of long features: basicranium, palate, upper premolar tooth row, inter-palatal vacuity distance and dentary. Phylogenies generated from mt- and nDNA data position Antechinus godmani as monophyletic with respect to other members of the genus; A. godmani is strongly supported as the sister-group to a clade containing all other antechinus, but excluding the south-east Australian Dusky An-techinus, A. swainsonii (Waterhouse) and Swamp Antechinus, A. minimus (Geoffroy). Antechinus godmani are genetically very divergent compared to all congeners (mtDNA: range 12.9–16.3%).

Book review: 'The Cornea' edited by H.E. Kaufman, B.A. Baron, M.B. McDonald and S.R. Waltman.

Parsons' Diseases of the Eye, first published in 1907, is one of the foundation texts of modern ophthalmology. It has seen a new edition at approximately 5-year intervals throughout the century. This latest edition incorporates developments that have taken place within the specialty since the 1984 impression, but remains in a virtually unchanged format...

Mapping journalism cultures across nations : a comparative study of 18 countries

This article reports key findings from a comparative survey of the role perceptions, epistemological orientations and ethical views of 1800 journalists from 18 countries. The results show that detachment, non-involvement, providing political information and monitoring the government are considered essential journalistic functions around the globe. Impartiality, the reliability and factualness of information, as well as adherence to universal ethical principles are also valued worldwide, though their perceived importance varies across countries. Various aspects of interventionism, objectivism and the importance of separating facts from opinion, on the other hand, seem to play out differently around the globe. Western journalists are generally less supportive of any active promotion of particular values, ideas and social change, and they adhere more to universal principles in their ethical decisions. Journalists from non-western contexts, on the other hand, tend to be more interventionist in their role perceptions and more flexible in their ethical views.

An integrative framework of supervisor responses to workgroup conflict

It is well-established that prolonged exposure to workplace conflict, as a work stressor, is linked to physical illness and psychological dysfunction in employees (see Spector and Jex, 1998; Romanov, Appelberg, Honkasalo, and Koskenvuo, 1996; Skogstad, Einarsen, Torsheim, Aasland, and Hetland, 2007). In addition to the negative implications for physiological and psychological health, workplace conflict has been shown to influence employee behaviors that have consequences for organizational effectiveness (e.g., turnover and impaired performance; see Bowling and Beehr, 2006; De Dreu and Weingart, 2003). Further, research suggests that managers spend approximately 20 percent of their time managing conflict (Thomas, 1992; Baron, 1989). There also are substantial financial implications associated with workplace conflict. For example, in the United Kingdom, costs at the national level for sickness absence and replacement costs has been estimated to be close to £2 billion per annum (Hoel, Sparks, and Cooper, 2001).

Conservation genetics of the water mouse, Xeromys myoides Thomas, 1889

The water mouse, Xeromys myoides, is currently recognised as a vulnerable species in Australia, inhabiting a small number of distinct and isolated coastal regions of Queensland and the Northern Territory. An examination of the evolutionary history and contemporary influences shaping the genetic structure of this species is required to make informed conservation management decisions. Here, we report the first analysis undertaken on the phylogeography and population genetics of the water mouse across its mainland Australian distribution. Genetic diversity was assessed at two mitochondrial DNA (Cytochrome b, 1000 bp; D-loop, 400 bp) and eight microsatellite DNA loci. Very low genetic diversity was found, indicating that water mice underwent a recent expansion throughout their Australian range and constitute a single evolutionarily significant unit. Microsatellite analyses revealed that the highest genetic diversity was found in the Mackay region of central Queensland; population substructure was also identified, suggesting that local populations may be isolated in this region. Conversely, genetic diversity in the Coomera region of south-east Queensland was very low and the population in this region has experienced a significant genetic bottleneck. These results have significant implications for future management, particularly in terms of augmenting populations through translocations or reintroducing water mice in areas where they have gone extinct.

Émile Durkheim and Thomas Luckmann: Religion, spirituality and mental health

This chapter examines connections between religion, spirituality and mental health. Religion and spirituality influence the way people conceive themselves, others and the world around them, as well as how they behave – and are strongly associated with numerous mental health outcomes. Religion and spirituality therefore demand the attention of those who seek a comprehensive understanding of the factors that affect mental health. Mental health professionals are increasingly being asked to consider their clients’ religious and/or spiritual beliefs when devising their treatment plans, making the study of religion and spirituality an essential area of learning for those working in the mental health field. Initial discussion in this chapter will focus on the different approaches taken by sociologists in studying mental health. Emile Durkheim, one of the founders of sociology, proposed that religion was fundamental to societal wellbeing and was the first to demonstrate a link between religion and mental health at a population level in the late 19th century. Durkheim’s classic theory of religion, together with the work of Thomas Luckmann and other contemporary social theorists who have sought to explain widespread religious change in Western countries since World War II will be examined. Two key changes during this period are the shift away from mainstream Christian religions and the widespread embracing of ‘spirituality’ as an alternative form of religious expression. In combination, the theories of Durkheim, Luckmann and other sociologists provide a platform from which to consider reasons for variations in rates of mental health problems observed in contemporary Western societies according to people’s religious/spiritual orientation. This analysis demonstrates the relevance of both classic and contemporary sociological theories to issues confronting societies in the present day.

A taxonomic assessment of the Australian Dusky Antechinus Complex: A new species, the Tasman Peninsula Dusky Antechinus (Antechinus vandycki sp. nov.) and an elevation to species of the Mainland Dusky Antechinus (Antechinus swainsonii mimetes (Thomas))

In 2014, the northern outlying population of carnivorous marsupial Dusky Antechinus (Antechinus swainsonii) was nominated a new species, A. arktos. Here, we describe a further new species in the dasyurid A. swainsonii complex, which now contains five taxa. We recognise two distinct species from Tasmania, formerly represented by A. swainsonii swainsonii (Waterhouse); one species (and 2 subspecies) from mainland south-eastern Australia, formerly known as A. swainsonii mimetes (Thomas) and A. swainsonii insulanus Davison; and one species from the Tweed Caldera in mid-eastern Australia, formerly known as A. s. mimetes but recently described as A. arktos Baker, Mutton, Hines and Van Dyck. Primacy of discovery dictates the Tasmanian Dusky Antechinus A. swainsonii (Waterhouse) is nominate; the Mainland Dusky Antechinus taxa, one raised from subspecies within A. swainsonii mimetes (Thomas) is elevated to species (now A. mimetes mimetes) and the other, A. swainsonii insulanus Davison is transferred as a subspecies of A. mimetes (now A. mimetes insulanus); a species from Tasmania, the Tasman Peninsula Dusky Antechinus, is named A. vandycki sp. nov. These taxa are strongly differentiated: geographically (in allopatry), morphologically (in coat colour and craniodental features) and genetically (in mtDNA, 7.5-12.5% between species pairs).