Making sense of business intelligence : proposing a socio-technical framework for improved decision making in not-for-profit organisations

The authors of this paper argue that human intuition alone cannot be relied upon for strategic decision making in today’s business environment and that quality data intelligence is an imperative. The proposed project described in this paper is research-in-progress, action design research (ADR), to implement an appropriate information systems (IS) enabling enhanced organisational decision making. ADR is a new research method that draws on action research and design research in an organisational setting. In phase 1 of the project, a sociotechnical ‘sense-making’ approach is used to gather and analyse information and decision needs in a not-for-profit (NFP) association, Connections ACT. In phase 2, requirements are designed and modelled to build a conceptual framework that guides NFPs in improving business performance and reporting capability. Phase 3 is the evaluative stage when the framework is reflected upon and refined, with intervention in the organisation’s processes as a promising outcome.

The impact of self-efficacy and perceived system efficacy on effectiveness of virtual training systems

This study developed and tested a research model which examined the impact of user perceptions of self-efficacy (SE) and virtual environment (VE) efficacy on the effectiveness of VE training systems. The model distinguishes between the perceptions of one’s own capability to perform trained tasks effectively and the perceptions of system performance, regarding the established parameters from literature. Specifically, the model posits that user perceptions will have positive effects on task performance and memory. Seventy-six adults participated in a VE in a controlled experiment, designed to empirically test the model. Each participant performed a series of object assembly tasks. The task involved selecting, rotating, releasing, inserting and manipulating 3D objects. Initially, the results of factor analysis demonstrated dimensionality of two user perception measures and produced a set of empirical validated factors underlining the VE efficacy. The results of regression analysis revealed that SE had a significant positive effect on perceived VE efficacy. No significant effects were found of perceptions on performance and memory. Furthermore, the study provided insights into the relationships between the perception measures and performance measures for assessing the efficacy of VE training systems. The study also addressed how well users learn, perform, adapt to and perceive the VE training, which provides valuable insight into the system efficacy.
Research and practical implications are presented at the end of the paper.

People with disabilities, their rights and sense of citizenship in post-war Iraq

A one day videoconference comprising live interviews

The reading stakes - making sense of early literacy

Dr. Sarah Ohi was interviewed by Emma Reeves from the Australian Family Magazine and asked to share her views on the importance of children's early literacy development.

The notion of self in the journey back from addiction

In this study we explored how those recovering from addiction negotiated self, and the role supported accommodation played in the journey back from addiction. Transcripts from 11 in-depth interviews were analyzed by 2 coders who identified the most salient themes relevant to the self in recovery within the personal contexts of participants. The participants noted that reclaiming the self that had been lost to addiction was of primary importance to them. The recovery journey exposed a self that had reached the lowest point in life; one that was hardly recognizable; one that was undesirable. Engaging with supported accommodation provided participants with a sanctuary within which to reclaim the self, and was seen as central to their recovery.

The natural history of self-harm from adolescence to young adulthood : a population-based cohort study

Background Knowledge about the natural history of self-harm is scarce, especially during the transition from adolescence to young adulthood, a period characterised by a sharp rise in self-inflicted deaths. From a repeated measures cohort of a representative sample, we describe the course of self-harm from middle adolescence to young adulthood.

Methods A stratified, random sample of 1943 adolescents was recruited from 44 schools across the state of Victoria, Australia, between August, 1992, and January, 2008. We obtained data pertaining to self-harm from questionnaires and telephone interviews at seven waves of follow-up, commencing at mean age 15·9 years (SD 0·49) and ending at mean age 29·0 years (SD 0·59). Summary adolescent measures (waves three to six) were obtained for cannabis use, cigarette smoking, high-risk alcohol use, depression and anxiety, antisocial behaviour and parental separation or divorce.

Findings 1802 participants responded in the adolescent phase, with 149 (8%) reporting self-harm, More girls (95/947 [10%]) than boys (54/855 [6%]) reported self-harm (risk ratio 1·6, 95% CI 1·2–2·2). We recorded a substantial reduction in the frequency of self-harm during late adolescence. 122 of 1652 (7%) participants who reported self-harm during adolescence reported no further self-harm in young adulthood, with a stronger continuity in girls (13/888) than boys (1/764). During adolescence, incident self-harm was independently associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety (HR 3·7, 95% CI 2·4–5·9), antisocial behaviour (1·9, 1·1–3·4), high-risk alcohol use (2·1, 1·2–3·7), cannabis use (2·4, 1·4–4·4), and cigarette smoking (1·8, 1·0–3·1). Adolescent symptoms of depression and anxiety were clearly associated with incident self-harm in young adulthood (5·9, 2·2–16).

Interpretation Most self-harming behaviour in adolescents resolves spontaneously. The early detection and treatment of common mental disorders during adolescence might constitute an important and hitherto unrecognised component of suicide prevention in young adults.

Funding National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia, and operational infrastructure support programme, Government of Victoria, Australia.

Assessment of proximal outcomes of self-management programs : translation and psychometric evaluation of a German version of the Health Education Impact Questionnaire (heiQtm)

Purpose This paper describes the translation, cultural adaption, and psychometric evaluation of a German version of the Health Education Impact Questionnaire (heiQ™), a widely used generic instrument assessing a wide range of proximal outcomes of self-management programs.

Methods The translation was carried out according to international standards and included forward and backward translations. Comprehensibility and content validity were tested using cognitive interviews with 10 rehabilitation inpatients. Psychometric properties were examined in rehabilitation inpatients (n = 1,202) with a range of chronic conditions. Factorial validity was assessed using confirmatory factor analysis; concurrent validity was explored by correlations with comparator scales.

Results The items of the German heiQ™ were well understood by rehabilitation inpatients. The structure of the eight heiQ™ scales was replicated after minor adjustment. heiQ™ scales had higher correlations with comparator scales with similar constructs, particularly mental health concepts than with physical health. Moreover, all heiQ™ scales differentiated between individuals across different levels of depression.

Conclusion The German heiQ™ is comprehensible for German-speaking patients suffering from different types of chronic conditions; it assesses relevant outcomes of self-management programs in a reliable and valid manner. Further studies involving its practical application are warranted.

Myths, mysteries and mates : the experiences of culturally diverse early childhood student teachers.

An initial finding of a PhD study to explore the experiences of culturally diverse early childhood student teachers was that participants found the first year of study the hardest, with peer friendships being critical to success. Through narrative interviews, recent early childhood teacher education graduates reported that making friends proved to be an important survival strategy, restoring a positive sense of self. Vartuli (2005) highlighted the importance of positive self-perception in student teachers, linking this to ongoing teaching practice. This paper discusses the importance of student friendships in relation to successfully completing the first year of teacher education.

Sense of place in urban natural landscapes

Landscape perception from the cultural ecology perspective can help us understand what urban natural landscapes mean to people from different cultures, and how they make sense of place through landscape experience. While there are key anthropological studies on culture and environment, there is not extensive literature about how post-war and more recent immigrants appropriate, use and perceive natural environments? And do migrants' culture and experience of nature in their previous places of dwelling affect their perception and experience in a new landscape? In a global world conditioned by mobility, it may be important to understand the factors that affect immigrants' perception of place and the phenomenon of the sense of belonging as mediated by their approach to nature. This paper explores the experience of migration in relation to urban natural landscapes, and studies the role of natural environments in their place making and identity.

The sense and non-sense of Rudolf Steiner's architecture

According to Rudolf Steiner, within the sensory world there exists a spiritual world that remains concealed from our consciousness to the extent that our perception is limited to our senses and sense bound thinking. He argued that ignorance of this supersensible realm was the result of a limited understanding of the senses. Rather than the usual five senses, Steiner differentiated twelve sense functions through which, he believed, human beings were capable of perceiving subtle dimensions of life beyond the immediately apparent physical realm of being. His theory of the senses elucidated the potentiality for an understanding of the way the spiritual world creates its image in the physical world and he saw artistic activity as a means of making this hidden union manifest. As such, Steiner advocated a multi-sensory architecture that articulated its spiritual presence experientially through an active engagement with its forms, colours, textures, light and sound. However, due to the esoteric overtones of Steiner's writing, his theory of the senses has received very little scholarly attention, particularly in relation to its relevance to architectural creation. This paper aims to peel back the layers of jargon and mysticism that Steiner employed in order to reveal how his unique insights into the nature of the senses informed his architectural products. Such an approach will provide a more comprehensive understanding of Steiner's distinctive architectural forms as well as the significant philosophical ideas that inform them.

We do not see things as they are, we see them as we are : a multidimensional worldview model of obsessive-compulsive disorder

Cognitive-behavioral models of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) assign a central role to specific beliefs and coping strategies in the development, maintenance and exacerbation of obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms. These models also implicate perceptions of self and the world in the development and maintenance of OC phenomena (e.g., overestimation of threat, sociotropy, ambivalent or sensitive sense of self, looming vulnerability), although such self and world domains have not always been emphasized in recent research. Following recent recommendations (Doron & Kyrios, 2005), the present study undertook a multifaceted investigation of self and world perceptions in a nonclinical sample, using a coherent worldview framework (Janoff-Bulman, 1989, 1991). Beliefs regarding the self and the world were found to predict OC symptom severity over and above beliefs outlined in traditional cognitive-behavioral models of OCD. Self and world beliefs were also related to other OC-relevant beliefs. Implications of these findings for theory and treatment of OCD are discussed.