Effective emergency messaging during natural disasters: An application of message compliance theories

Study/Objective This research examines the types of emergency messages used in Australia during the response and early recovery phases of a natural disaster. The aim of the research is to develop theory-driven emergency messages that increase individual behavioural compliance during a disaster. Background There is growing evidence of non-compliant behaviour in Australia, such as refusing to evacuate and travelling through hazardous areas. This can result in personal injury, loss of life, and damage to (or loss of) property. Moreover, non-compliance can place emergency services personnel in life-threatening situations when trying to save non-compliant individuals. Drawing on message compliance research in psychology and sociology, a taxonomy of message types was developed to ascertain how emergency messaging can be improved to produce compliant behaviour. Method A review of message compliance literature was conducted to develop the taxonomy of message types previously found to achieve compliance. Seven categories were identified: direct-rational, manipulation, negative phrasing, positive phrasing, exchange appeals, normative appeals, and appeals to self. A content analysis was then conducted to assess the emergency messages evident in the Australian emergency management context. The existing messages were aligned with the literature to identify opportunities to improve emergency messaging. Results & Conclusion The results suggest there is an opportunity to improve the effectiveness of emergency messaging to increase compliance during the response and early recovery phases of a natural disaster. While some message types cannot legally or ethically be used in emergency communication (e.g. manipulative messaging), there is an opportunity to create more persuasive messages (e.g. appeals to self) that personalise the individual’s perception of risk, triggering them to comply with the message.

A developmental cascade model of behavioral sleep problems and emotional and attentional self-regulation across early childhood

This paper documents the longitudinal and reciprocal relations among behavioral sleep problems, emotional and attentional self-regulation in a population sample of 4109 children participating in the Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) – Infant Cohort. Maternal reports of children’s sleep problems and self-regulation were collected at five time points from infancy to 8-9 years of age. Longitudinal structural equation modeling supported a developmental cascade model in which sleep problems have a persistent negative effect on emotional regulation, which in turn contributes to ongoing sleep problems and poorer attentional regulation in children over time. Findings suggest that sleep behaviors are a key target for interventions that aim to improve children’s self-regulatory capacities.

Sex differences in the human connectome: 4-Tesla high angular resolution diffusion imaging (HARDI) tractography in 234 young adult twins

Cortical connectivity is associated with cognitive and behavioral traits that are thought to vary between sexes. Using high-angular resolution diffusion imaging at 4 Tesla, we scanned 234 young adult twins and siblings (mean age: 23.4 2.0 SD years) with 94 diffusion-encoding directions. We applied a novel Hough transform method to extract fiber tracts throughout the entire brain, based on fields of constant solid angle orientation distribution functions (ODFs). Cortical surfaces were generated from each subject's 3D T1-weighted structural MRI scan, and tracts were aligned to the anatomy. Network analysis revealed the proportions of fibers interconnecting 5 key subregions of the frontal cortex, including connections between hemispheres. We found significant sex differences (147 women/87 men) in the proportions of fibers connecting contralateral superior frontal cortices. Interhemispheric connectivity was greater in women, in line with long-standing theories of hemispheric specialization. These findings may be relevant for ongoing studies of the human connectome.

Responses to an in-basket activity: The role of work stress, behavioral control, and informational control

This study was undertaken to examine the main and interactive effects of work stress and work control on levels of adjustment. Work stress, behavioral control, and informational control were manipulated in an experimental setting in which participants (N = 192) completed an in-basket activity. Although minimal support was found for the main and interactive effects of objective work stress, behavioral control, and informational control on adjustment, analyses involving the subjective measures of these variables revealed strong support for the proposal that work stress, behavioral control, and informational control would exert main effects on adjustment. There was also evidence that subjective levels of behavioral control buffered the negative effects of subjective work stress on positive mood, subjective task performance, and task satisfaction.

Environmental dynamism as a moderator of the relationship between bricolage and firm performance

Many firms initially face significant resource constraints during attempts to develop and grow (Shepherd et al., 2000). One promising theory that explicitly links to ways entrepreneurial firms respond to resource constraints is bricolage (Lévi-Strauss, 1966). Bricolage is defined as “making do by applying combinations of the resources at hand to new problems and opportunities” (Baker & Nelson, 2005, p. 333). Bricolage aligns with notions of resourcefulness: using what’s on hand, through making do, and recombining resources for new or novel purposes. Through a bias for action and a refusal to enact limitations on the resources that are available to create solutions, bricoleurs can tackle unexpected complex challenges, take advantage of opportunities, and go where most other firms won’t, in their attempts at firm development. Bricolage studies have previously not empirically examined the impact of bricolage on firm performance. Our work contributes to the emerging behavioral theory of bricolage by offering the first empirical test evaluating the impact of bricolage on early stage firm performance (i.e. venture emergence in nascent firms and sales in young firms). Using new product development (NPD) theories of speed of development, co-creation and innovativeness, we theorise that bricolage has a positive effect on early stage firm performance. We then introduce environmental dynamism as a moderator which influences this relationship.

An integrated framework for theories of individual attitudes toward technology

Theories of individual attitudes toward IT include task technology fit (TTF), technology acceptance model (TAM), unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT), cognitive fit, expectation disconfirmation, and computer self-efficacy. Examination of these theories reveals three main concerns. First, the theories mostly ‘‘black box’’ (or omit) the IT artifact. Second, appropriate mid-range theory is not developed to contribute to disciplinary progress and to serve the needs of our practitioner community. Third, theories are overlapping but incommensurable. We propose a theoretical framework that harmonizes these attitudinal theories and shows how they can be specialized to include relevant IS phenomenon.

Using environmental criminology theories to compare ‘youth misuse of fire’ across age groups in New South Wales

Youth misuse of fire is a substantive community concern. Despite evidence which indicates youths account for a significant proportion of all deliberately lit fires within Australia, an absence of up-to-date, contextually specific research means the exact scope and magnitude of youth misuse of fire within Australia remains unknown. Despite research suggesting com- monalities exist between youth misuse of fire and juvenile offending more broadly, misuse of fire is rarely explained using criminological theory. In light of this gap, a descriptive analysis of youth misuse of fire within New South Wales was performed. Routine Activity Theory and Crime Pattern Theory were tested to explain differences in misuse of fire across age groups. Results suggest these environmental theories offer useful frameworks for explaining youth misuse of fire in New South Wales. It is argued that the Routine Activity Theory and Crime Pattern Theory can be employed to better inform youth misuse of fire policy and prevention efforts.

Researching Theories of Modernity & the Subject-Critique of contemporary architecture under ideological capitalism-and Fascism & Modern Architecture

In this symposium I will discuss my work on three parallel projects I have been working on since 2010: Theories of Modernity & the Subject-Critique of contemporary architecture under ideological capitalism-and Fascism & Modern Architecture

Predictors of condom use behaviour among male street labourers in urban Vietnam using a modified Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills (IMB) model

HIV risk in vulnerable groups such as itinerant male street labourers is often examined via a focus on individual determinants. This study provides a test of a modified Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills (IMB) model to predict condom use behaviour among male street workers in urban Vietnam. In a cross-sectional survey using a social mapping technique, 450 male street labourers from 13 districts of Hanoi, Vietnam were recruited and interviewed. Collected data were first examined for completeness; structural equation modelling was then employed to test the model fit. Condoms were used inconsistently by many of these men, and usage varied in relation to a number of factors. A modified IMB model had a better fit than the original IMB model in predicting condom use behaviour. This modified model accounted for 49% of the variance, versus 10% by the original version. In the modified model, the influence of psychosocial factors was moderately high, whilst the influence of HIV prevention information, motivation and perceived behavioural skills was moderately low, explaining in part the limited level of condom use behaviour. This study provides insights into social factors that should be taken into account in public health planning to promote safer sexual behaviour among Asian male street labourers.

Adolescent sexual behavioral intentions measurement: A gender approach in the Colombian Caribbean region [Medición de la Intención en la Actividad Sexual en Adolescentes: una Aproximación de Acuerdo al Género del Caribe Colombiano]

The study of 1777 male and female adolescent students of 11-19 years in the Colombian Caribbean had two objectives: development and validation of two reproductive health intention scales and analyze gender differences. The pilot of the scale consisted of 8 items and was reduced to 6, to check the reliability and validity using factor analysis and principal components with VARIMAX rotation yielded two factors: Intention and Intention Risk Protection, explained between 69.4% and 70% respectively. In the male Protection Intent (M = 3.87 and SD = 1.29) and risk (M = 2.56 and SD = 1.18) obtained an alpha between 0.74 and 0.86, and in Protection of Intent to female (M = 3.49 and SD = 1.35) and risk (M = 1.50 and SD = 0.89) ranged between 0.78 and 086. In conclusion, the reliability and structural stability are adequate and there are gender differences in the scales.

In Perpetual Motion: Theories of Power, Educational History, and the Child

"In Perpetual Motion is an "historical choreography" of power, pedagogy, and the child from the 1600s to the early 1900s. It breaks new ground by historicizing the analytics of power and motion that have interpenetrated renditions of the young. Through a detailed examination of the works of John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Johann Herbart, and G. Stanley Hall, this book maps the discursive shifts through which the child was given a unique nature, inscribed in relation to reason, imbued with an effectible interiority, and subjected to theories of power and motion. The book illustrates how developmentalist visions took hold in U.S. public school debates. It documents how particular theories of power became submerged and taken for granted as essences inside the human subject. In Perpetual Motion studiously challenges views of power as in or of the gaze, tracing how different analytics of power have been used to theorize what gazing could notice."--BOOK JACKET.

The treatment of recurrent abdominal pain in children : a controlled comparison of cognitive-behavioral family intervention and standard pediatric care

This study describes the results of a controlled clinical trial involving 44 7- to 14-year-old children with recurrent abdominal pain who were randomly allocated to either cognitive-behavioral family intervention (CBFI) or standard pediatric care (SPC). Both treatment conditions resulted in significant improvements on measures of pain intensity and pain behavior. However, the children receiving CBFI had a higher rate of complete elimination of pain, lower levels of relapse at 6- and 12-month follow-up, and lower levels of interference with their activities as a result of pain and parents reported a higher level of satisfaction with the treatment than children receiving SPC. After controlling for pretreatment levels of pain, children's active self-coping and mothers' caregiving strategies were significant independent predictors of pain behavior at posttreatment.

An analysis of theories of search and search behavior

Theories of search and search behavior can be used to glean insights and generate hypotheses about how people interact with retrieval systems. This paper examines three such theories, the long standing Information Foraging Theory, along with the more recently proposed Search Economic Theory and the Interactive Probability Ranking Principle. Our goal is to develop a model for ad-hoc topic retrieval using each approach, all within a common framework, in order to (1) determine what predictions each approach makes about search behavior, and (2) show the relationships, equivalences and differences between the approaches. While each approach takes a different perspective on modeling searcher interactions, we show that under certain assumptions, they lead to similar hypotheses regarding search behavior. Moreover, we show that the models are complementary to each other, but operate at different levels (i.e., sessions, patches and situations). We further show how the differences between the approaches lead to new insights into the theories and new models. This contribution will not only lead to further theoretical developments, but also enables practitioners to employ one of the three equivalent models depending on the data available.

National media regulations in an age of convergent media: Beyond globalisation, neo-liberalism and internet freedom theories

There is a widely held view that the nation-state has become less central to media and communications policy over the last two decades. As Jan van Cuilenberg and Denis McQuail (2003, p. 181) observed in their overview of trends in communications policy-making, 'the old normative media policies have been challenged and policy-makers are searching for a new communications policy paradigm'. There are characteristically five factors put forward as to why the nation-state has become less central to media in the twenty-first century

Theories of moral education and implementation in Indonesia: Re-energizing cultural identity and addressing future challenges

School is regarded as a site of moral training for the younger generation to encounter nation’s future challenges as well as to re-energize nation’s cultural identity. The more competitive global society led by free market trade in terms of ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), requires the school to adapt and change its curriculum more frequently. Like many other countries, Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture has introduced and nurtured universal values and traditional values respectively through school curriculum reforms to develop students’ ability to participating in global society. This paper will describe classical and contemporary theories related to moral education that have been implemented in Indonesia’s school curriculum and school activities. The theories developed by Durkheim, Alastair MacIntyre, and Basil Bernstein will be discussed. This includes explaining how far the theories have been adopted in Indonesia and how the approaches are currently being used in Indonesian schooling. This paper suggests despite the implementation of those theories in Indonesian schools, the government needs to optimise the operation of those theories to gain significant outcomes.