The UK perspective: a review of research on organisational stress management interventions

There are an increasing number of studies that have monitored the impact of Stress Management Interventions (SMls) and the results of these studies can play a vital role in informing the development of more effective, evidenced-based SMIs. In this paper, the authors have undertaken a review of United Kingdom (UK)-based research that has tested the impact of SMIs. Sixteen studies were examined and the results revealed that the vast majority of interventions were targeted at the individual employee, although there was a tendency for more recent research to focus on organisational level interventions. While all intervention levels were found to have some human and/or organisational benefits, strategies aimed at the individual level were less likely to result in longer-term benefits. An examination of the research methods used in the 16 studies indicated that UK-based researchers are beginning to adopt more rigorous research methods. However, there was a tendency for researchers to evaluate interventions over a relatively short time-frame. The implications of these findings for future research are discussed.

Sociocultural research on mathematics education : an international perspective

This volume--the first to bring together research on sociocultural aspects of mathematics education--presents contemporary and international perspectives on social justice and equity issues that impact mathematics education. In particular, it highlights the importance of three interacting and powerful factors--gender, social, and cultural dimensions. Sociocultural Research on Mathematics Education: An International Perspective is distinguished in several ways:

* It is research based. Chapters report on significant research projects; present a comprehensive and critical summary of the research findings; and offer a critical discussion of research methods and theoretical perspectives undertaken in the area.
* It is future oriented, presenting recommendations for practice and policy and identifying areas for further research.
* It deals with all aspects of formal and informal mathematics education and applications and all levels of formal schooling.

As the context of mathematics education rapidly changes-- with an increased demand for mathematically literate citizenship; an increased awareness of issues of equity, inclusivity, and accountability; and increased efforts for globalization of curriculum development and research-- questions are being raised more than ever before about the problems of teaching and learning mathematics from a non-cognitive science perspective. This book contributes significantly to addressing such issues and answering such questions. It is especially relevant for researchers, graduate students, and policymakers in the field of mathematics education.

Communication outside the humanities in media 'effect' research

This paper draws on the case study of a recent review of research literature on the influences (harms and benefits) on children and families of electronic media content and usage, undertaken on behalf of a Federal regulatory body (Australian Communications and Media Authority) by a multidisciplinary research team. Recent critiques of psychological studies of children and media have challenged the positivist social sciences to look outside of their own disciplinary warrants and to fully answer cultural studies critiques of ‘media effects’ research. Making connections outside the humanities in this case study involved making the rationales of communications and cultural studies methodologies available to those policy makers who normally may not consider such findings to be evidence-based or policy relevant. But it also involved providing a historical and institutional contextualization of positivist social and medical science findings, a contextualization not enabled by the underlying warrants and discourses of these disciplines. This paper focuses on those sections of the case study project concerned with psychological research on the effects of violent media and epidemiological and public health research on childhood obesity.

Building research capacity in General Practice : Incorporating research as a component of GP vocational training

Aims & rationale/Objectives : Australian research shows that most GP registrar supervisors lack confidence to support registrar research projects and themselves have little or no research experience. Assisting registrars to develop critical thinking skills and an understanding of research methods sufficient to enable active use of these tools in general practice is one of the curriculum statements in the RACGP Training Program Curriculum. A University Department of Rural Health (UDRH) and a General Practice Education and Training (GPET) organisation formed a partnership to: Engage basic term registrars in group research and concurrent research skills training program; Improve research skills, confidence, and knowledge; and Contribute research findings relevant to general practice.

Methods : Registrars' initial research knowledge and confidence was measured by a questionnaire. In addition to a final focus group, feedback via evaluation forms was sought from the 11 registrars and two GPET supervisors at the conclusion of each research training session.

Principal findings : Approaches

Implications : Research skills development training and involvement in research can be successfully integrated into a GP vocational training program.

Healthy minds : methods of investigation

We'll start this chapter by looking at emthods used to assess mental disorders, using depression an an example. We will then look at ways of evaluating psychological interventions.  Finally we will outline ways that healthy minds have been investigated, drawing particularly on research methods that study happiness, personal strengths and spirituality.

Exploring the types of SMEs which could use blogs as a marketing tool : a proposed future research agenda

Blogs appear to be gaining momentum as a marketing tool which can be used by organisations for such strategies and processes as branding, managing reputation, developing customer trust and loyalty, niche marketing, gathering marketing intelligence and promoting their online presence. There has been limited academic research in this area, and most significantly concerning the types of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) for which blogs might have potential as a marketing tool. In an attempt to address the knowledge gap, this paper presents a future research agenda (in the form of research questions) which can guide the eBusiness research community in conducting much needed studies in this area. This paper is particularly novel in that it aims to demonstrate how the heterogeneity of SMEs and their specific business uses of eBusiness technology such as blogs can form the central plank of a future research agenda. This is important because the existing eBusiness literature tends to treat eBusiness collectively rather than focusing on the specific business uses of different eBusiness technologies, and to treat SMEs as a homogeneous group. The paper concludes with a discussion of how this research agenda can form the basis of studies which use a range of different research methods, and how this "big picture" agenda approach might help the eBusiness research community build theory which better explains SME adoption and use of eBusiness.

The emerging importance of feminist research paradigms in built environment research

Purpose – This paper seeks to establish and demonstrate the relevance of feminist research methods within built environment research. While no one definition of feminist research exists, many feminist researchers identify characteristics which distinguish it from traditional social science research; it is research that studies women, or that focuses on gender.
Design/methodology/approach – There is a growing body of research into women and the built environment adopting feminist paradigms. This paper explains the dynamic, evolving philosophical basis of feminist research methods drawing comparisons to traditional positivist methodologies and demonstrates that feminist research has characteristics that can be imported into other research paradigms.
Findings – The paper shows that there is much to be learned from an understanding of feminist research for all researchers in the built environment and that by adopting different approaches to research, researchers may find new and original ways of examining complex issues.
Research limitations/implications – The implications are that all researchers in the built environment should consider the benefits of adopting a feminist approach in their research especially where the researcher is seeking to gain a deeper understanding of peoples' experiences.
Originality/value – This paper seeks to raise awareness of the benefits of adopting feminist research methods in a discipline dominated by traditional approaches to research.

Understanding research : methodology and terminology

Aims of this Chapter: 
• To examine the role of research in public relations campaigns.
• To evaluate the different types of research methods and their use in campaigns.

Disciplinary differences in Australian PhD theses 1987-2006 and the implications for future research capacity

The paper, which draws on data previously presented at the 2010 World Universities Forum in Davos, Switzerland (Evans & Macauley, 2010), presents and tabulates a variety of trends from the Database of Australian Doctorates, in particular, those relating to the ebb and flow of PhDs in particular selected ‘academic’ and ‘professional’ disciplines in Australia. The paper commences with an overview of the research methods and outcomes. Four academic disciplines (astronomy, chemistry, cultural studies and demography) and four professional disciplines (architecture and building, education, librarianship and nursing) are selected for analysis of their 1987–2006 PhD thesis records. These selections were made to reflect a range of academic and professional disciplines in Australia and to illustrate the changes that have occurred over the past two decades. The period 1987-2006 covers several major changes in Australian university education and PhD education.

Research capacity implications for government, universities and disciplines from research into Australian PhD theses and their graduates’ scholarly, professional and community impacts

The authors (with colleagues) have conducted research into Australian doctoral education for over a decade. Two recent projects have produced as part of their outcomes: a database coded by discipline of all Australian PhD theses (dissertations) from 1987–2006. This paper commences with an overview of this work in terms of its purposes, research methods and outcomes. It is contextualized in terms of the current Australian and international debates about the nature, substance and impact of doctoral education on nations, societies, communities and economies. The paper presents some analyses of trends in the 1987–2006 Australian PhD theses. The period 1987-2006 covers several major changes in university education in Australia from the impact of the establishment of the Unified National System in the early 1990s, through the implementation of the Research Training Scheme (RTS) from 2001, the deliberations and demise of the Research Quality Framework (RQF), the rise of Excellence in Research Australia (ERA), through to the review of research training and the research workforce in Australian universities by the House of Representatives. The paper presents and tabulates a variety of trends from the bibliometric and bibliographic data, in particular those relating to the ebb and flow of PhDs in particular disciplines. The implications for national, institutional and disciplinary planners and policymakers with interests in the development and sustainability of research capacity are discussed.

Australian PhD theses in selected professional and academic disciplines 1987–2006 and the implications for future research capacity

This commences with an overview the research methods and outcomes. It is contextualised in terms of the current Australian and international debates about the nature, substance and impact of doctoral education on nations, societies, communities and economies. Four professional disciplines (architecture and building, education, librarianship and nursing) and four academic disciplines (astronomy, chemistry, cultural studies and demography) are selected for analysis of their 1987–2006 PhD thesis records. These selections were made to reflect a range of professional and academic disciplines in Australia and to illustrate the changes that have occurred over the past two decades. The period 1987-2006 covers several major changes in Australian university education and PhD education in particular.

The alignment of market research with business strategy and CRM

This study investigated the alignment between market research, business strategy and customer relationship management (CRM). With the introduction of advanced IT systems which collect and model internal customer data (CRM), marketing managers face new choices when seeking information to facilitate their particular business strategy. A survey of market research (MR) and CRMusage was conducted among 207 marketing managers. The findings showed the Miles and Snow Prospector strategists placed greater reliance on both MR and internal CRM data systems than did Defenders. This applied in their tasks of developing new strategies and in enlisting senior management support for their actions. As Prospectors were the most reliant on both traditional market research and CRM systems, they need to be skilled in using CRM in conjunction with traditional research methods. Marketing managers who use CRM will need to foster functional relationships with the technical specialists who run CRM systems.

Using the Internet to research hidden populations of illicit drug users : a review

Aims To review the current research of hidden populations of illicit drugs users using web-based methods and discuss major advantages and disadvantages.

Methods Systematic review of 16 databases, including PubMed, PsycINFO (EBSCOhost), CSA Sociological Abstracts, Expanded Academic ASAP and Google Scholar.

Findings Substances researched were most commonly ‘party/club drugs’ (such as ecstasy) and cannabis. All of the studies reviewed concluded that the internet is a useful tool for reaching hidden populations, but is likely to impose some bias in samples. Advantages include: access to previously under-researched target groups; speed; international applications; increased ease of data entry; and improved confidentiality for respondents. The major disadvantage is a lack of representativeness of samples.

Conclusions Internet research is successful at accessing hidden populations of illicit drugs users, when appropriately targeted and provides unprecedented opportunities for research across a wide range of topics within the addictions field. Findings are unlikely to be generalisable to the general public, but appropriate for describing target populations.

Fire management for biodiversity conservation : key research questions and our capacity to answer them

Knowing how species respond to fire regimes is essential for ecologically sustainable management. This axiom raises two important questions: (1) what knowledge is the most important to develop and (2) to what extent can current research methods deliver that knowledge? We identify three areas of required knowledge: (i) a mechanistic understanding of species’ responses to fire regimes; (ii) knowledge of how the spatial and temporal arrangement of fires influences the biota; and (iii) an understanding of interactions of fire regimes with other processes. We review the capacity of empirical research to address these knowledge gaps, and reveal many limitations. Manipulative experiments are limited by the number and scope of treatments that can be applied, natural experiments are limited by treatment availability and confounding factors, and longitudinal studies are difficult to maintain, particularly due to unplanned disturbance events. Simulation modelling is limited by the quality of the underlying empirical data and by uncertainty in how well model structure represents reality. Due to the constraints on large-scale, long-term research, the potential for management experiments to inform adaptive management is limited. Rather than simply recommending adaptive management, we define a research agenda to maximise the rate of learning in this difficult field. This includes measuring responses at a species level, building capacity to implement natural experiments, undertaking simulation modelling, and judicious application of experimental approaches. Developing ecologically sustainable fire management practices will require sustained research effort and a sophisticated research agenda based on carefully targeting appropriate methods to address critical management questions.