The roles of object-image relative motion and static depth information in the perception of heading

Investigates visual information that enables human to effectively guide their movement through the environment. This problem is fundamental to the study of human behaviour, since survival is contingent upon the acquisition of resources that lie in different locations throughout the environment.

Effects of parental perception of neighbourhood deprivation and family environment characteristics on pro-social behaviours among 4-12 year old children

Objective : To assess the effect family environment stressors (e.g. poor family functioning and parental psychological distress) and neighbourhood environment on child prosocial behaviour (CPB) and child difficulty behaviour (CDB) among 4-to-12 year old children.

Methods : Analysis of the 2006 Victorian Child Health and Wellbeing Survey (VCHWS) dataset derived from a statewide cross-sectional telephone survey, with a final total sample of 3,370 children.

Results : Only family functioning, parental psychological distress, child gender, and age were associated with CPB, explaining a total of 8% of the variance. Children from healthily functioning families and of parents without any psychological distress exhibited greater prosocial behaviours than those from poorly functioning families and of parents with mental health problems. Neighbourhood environment was not found to contribute to CPB. A total of eight variables were found to predict CDB, explaining a total of 16% of the variance. Poor family and parental psychological functioning as well as poor access to public facilities in the neighbourhood were associated with conduct problems in children.

Conclusion : Our results point to the importance of the family environment in providing a context that fosters the development of empathic, caring and responsible children; and in buffering children in exhibiting behaviour difficulties during the formative years of life. Programs aimed at promoting prosocial behaviours in children need to target stressors on the family environment.

Student perception of learning approach and teamwork benefits in accounting : a qualitative study

Accounting academics have heeded the call to incorporate team learning activities into the curricula, yet little is known of student perception of teamwork and whether they view it as beneficial to them. This study addresses the gap by utilising qualitative techniques to examine student perception of the benefits of teamwork and what aspects of the teamwork will contribute to their future professional work. Results indicate that students perceive teamwork enables the use of deep learning and, further, that teamwork at the undergraduate level contributes to their future abilities in the profession. The paper ends by presenting implications for accounting educators.

Invasive plants – Do they devastate or diversify rural livelihoods? Rural farmers' perception of three invasive plants in Nepal

In this paper, we examine how rural people in the buffer zone of Chitwan National Park in Nepal perceive the effects of accidently transported invasive plant species, such as Mikania micrantha, Lantana camara and Chromolaena odorata, on their livelihoods. We found that their perception of the impact of each species on their livelihood varies with factors such as the duration of the presence of invasive plants in the landscape, and household characteristics. Results of a household survey indicate that farm households close to the forests have responded to the invasive species both as a victim and a beneficiary. Farm households are likely to adapt to the invaded environment as they have a history of interacting with invasive plants and can commoditise them through appropriate intervention. Additionally, the findings indicate that rural people are willing to invest in the control and management of invasive plants if appropriate technical assistance is available. Without assistance, they consider mitigating the infestation an unattainable mission and consider acceptance of the invasive species as a part of the rural ecosystem an inevitable outcome.

Community perception of mobile payment in e-Government services

Mobile payment and e-Government are emerging topics in the research area of Information Systems. This research addresses the preferred e-Government services for mobile payment, the suitable payment methods of mobile payment, and adoption factors of e-Government services. The research derives the notion of technology adoption and related constructs, however, as no particular Information Systems adoption theory was adequate to study emerging systems of electronic payment, the research did not utilise any specific theory. Rather, the research uses the characteristics of mobile payment as revealed in the contemporary research to develop an adoption model based on user perceptions regarding mobile payments in the context of e-Government services. A survey study on the use of mobile devices to pay for e-Government services was conducted in Western Australia. The findings of this research contribute conceptually and practically by recommending suitable services and mobile payment methods. This paper also addresses the positive and negative factors impacting the adoption of mobile payment for e-Government services.