Exploring the role of personality and resilience in the stress response: a comparison of military and civilian samples

In the context of emergency services and first responders (i.e. military), the ability to select personnel who have the innate ability to work well in highly charged environments would be advantageous. While there have been some efforts to explore the relationship between personality traits and physiological reactivity in the context of the emergency services, differences in stress responses between civilians and military personnel have not yet been investigated. Therefore the aim of the current study was to examine the relationship between personality, resilience and physiological stress responses. Fifteen civilians and 16 military personnel completed online personality (IPIP) and resilience (CD-RISC) inventories prior to commencing the experimental component of the study. The Mannheim Multi-component Stress Test (MMST) which utilises cognitive, audio, visual and motivational components was employed to elicit an acute stress response. Measures of correct responses and reaction time were sampled during the MMST. Prior to and following exposure to the MMST, positive and negative affect were measured (PANAS), and heart rate was sampled continuously across the study period. Results indicated that Military participants rated significantly lower than civilians on neuroticism; however there were no differences between groups for resilience or any of the other personality traits. Military participants displayed less emotional reactivity and less negative affect following the MMST testing period, and appeared to perform better on the MMST when compared to the civilian sample. However, there was no significant difference in heart rate measures between groups. Collectively, these results provide support for the broaden and buildhypothesis and the transactional stress theory. The results also build on previous empirical stress literature and support the effectiveness of the MMST in laboratory induced stress. Suggestions for future research in the area of resiliency and stress will be discussed. From an applied context, further research in this area may assist in military recruitment processes to place individuals in roles to which they are most suited within the Defence Force.

The use of Integral Theory to evaluate architectural sustainability - a case study

DeKay’s concept of Integral Sustainable Design (ISD) is based on Integral Theory, a framework proposed by the American philosopher, Ken Wilber. It offers four simultaneous perspectives (represented by quadrants) which each take a different view of the problem. The ‘experiences’ quadrant focuses on individual human experiences. The ‘behaviours’ quadrant looks at environmental performance. The ‘cultures’ perspective focuses on the collective interpretation of meaning, symbolism and worldviews and the ‘systems’ quadrant investigates the response and interaction with context. Integral Theory can act as a reminder for architects of the different perspectives that a sustainable building should address. In order to evaluate ISD, the Waterfront Campus Building of Deakin University has been used as a case study. The building, its performance, impact and perception, has been evaluated using both quantitative and qualitative data. Two surveys have been conducted to gather qualitative data to: (i) determine the experience of building users (staff and students) and (ii) the perception of non-users (Geelong residents and tourists). Data from building services and a site analysis has enabled quantitative assessments to be made. These inputs have been analysed, guided by ISD, to evaluate the usefulness of ISD as a sustainability assessment tool.

Theory of mind in major depressive disorder: a meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE: Social cognitive deficits can contribute to risk for depression and to psychosocial impairment during depression. However, available evidence suggests that emotion recognition is only marginally impaired in major depressive disorder (MDD). Recent studies have investigated theory of mind (ToM) abilities, a cognitively more demanding aspect of social cognition. METHODS: We conducted a meta-analysis of studies comparing ToM abilities in MDD and healthy controls. 18 studies comparing 613 patients with MDD and 529 healthy controls were included. RESULTS: MDD patients significantly underperformed healthy controls in ToM (d=0.51-0.58). ToM impairment in MDD was evident in response to different types of ToM tasks (verbal/visual and cognitive/affective and reasoning/decoding). ToM impairment was significantly related to severity of depressive symptoms. CONCLUSION: Theory of mind abilities are impaired during depression and can potentially contribute to psychosocial difficulties during depression. There is a need to investigate ToM abilities in different subtypes and stages of depression, especially in remitted patients.

A succession of theories : purging redundancy from disturbance theory

The topics of succession and post-disturbance ecosystem recovery have a long and convoluted history. There is extensive redundancy within this body of theory, which has resulted in confusion, and the links among theories have not been adequately drawn. This review aims to distil the unique ideas from the array of theory related to ecosystem change in response to disturbance. This will help to reduce redundancy, and improve communication and understanding between researchers. We first outline the broad range of concepts that have developed over the past century to describe community change in response to disturbance. The body of work spans overlapping succession concepts presented by Clements in 1916, Egler in 1954, and Connell and Slatyer in 1977. Other theories describing community change include state and transition models, biological legacy theory, and the application of functional traits to predict responses to disturbance. Second, we identify areas of overlap of these theories, in addition to highlighting the conceptual and taxonomic limitations of each. In aligning each of these theories with one another, the limited scope and relative inflexibility of some theories becomes apparent, and redundancy becomes explicit. We identify a set of unique concepts to describe the range of mechanisms driving ecosystem responses to disturbance. We present a schematic model of our proposed synthesis which brings together the range of unique mechanisms that were identified in our review. The model describes five main mechanisms of transition away from a post-disturbance community: (i) pulse events with rapid state shifts; (ii) stochastic community drift; (iii) facilitation; (iv) competition; and (v) the influence of the initial composition of a post-disturbance community. In addition, stabilising processes such as biological legacies, inhibition or continuing disturbance may prevent a transition between community types. Integrating these six mechanisms with the functional trait approach is likely to improve the predictive capacity of disturbance theory. Finally, we complement our discussion of theory with a case study which emphasises that many post-disturbance theories apply simultaneously to the same ecosystem. Using the well-studied mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans) forests of south-eastern Australia, we illustrate phenomena that align with six of the theories described in our model of rationalised disturbance theory. We encourage further work to improve our schematic model, increase coverage of disturbance-related theory, and to show how the model may link to, or integrate with, other domains of ecological theory.

A realist case study of a regional hospital's response to improve emergency department access in the context of Australian healthcare reforms

Introduction: Major health-care reforms have extended across all Australian public hospitals in recent years. Improving emergency department (ED) access has been a focus of these reforms.

Objective: This study evaluates how the national reforms have led to improvement in ED access in a regional hospital in remote Australia.Methods: Assessing a complex scenario such as national reforms and the challenges faced by the regional hospital to implement these reforms requires in-depth analysis. A realist evaluation theory-based approach was employed, allowing investigation of what, how, why, and for whom change occurred. A case study mixed methods design was adopted within the realist framework to answer these questions about change.

Results and Conclusion: The study identified moderate improvement in ED access as a result of the reforms (investment in infrastructure and workforce and the introduction of ED targets). Clinical leadership and support from management were essential for the improvement. Without ongoing investment and clinical redesign activities, however, sustainability of the improvement may prove difficult.

Enhancing collaboration in BIM-based construction networks through organisational discontinuity theory: a case study of the new Royal Adelaide Hospital

This paper discusses a case study of Australia’s most technologically advanced health facility to address an identified gap in the body of the knowledge. That is, no comprehensive study has hitherto attempted to draw upon virtual team working theories to enhance collaboration in BIM-based construction networks (BbCNs). In response to this, the present study seeks to raise awareness of organisational discontinuity theory (ODT) as a recent theory for virtual teams, which enables BbCNs to embrace collaboration. To this end, the major challenges encountered and corresponding solutions adopted on a mega-project have been closely monitored and investigated. The study contributes to the field through the conceptualisation of typical barriers to collaboration in BbCNs from the perspective of ODT. Additionally, the discussions presented outline practical implications by demonstrating how the identified issues of collaboration in BbCNs could be effectively dealt with.

Taking off with theory

The brief for this lecture involved covering a range of theoretical literary perspectives in response to the new Victorian Certificate of Education Literature study design and advice to teachers, which requires students to consider how interpretations of texts contribute to understanding.