Analysis of the stages of change model of drug and alcohol treatment readiness among prisoners

A classification and regression tree (CART) analysis was applied to data for 237 male participants (M = 31.93 years, SD = 7.64) in a prison-based substance abuse treatment program to study the integrity of the Stages of Change model of treatment readiness. Using the Stages of Change Questionnaire (STOCQ), participants were assigned to Contemplation (102), Action (118), or Maintenance (17) groups. A CART analysis then examined differences in the overall group profiles on the basis of scores on the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking, the Situational Confidence Questionnaire, and the Carlson Psychological Survey. The assumption of discrete stages of change was not supported. Alternative models are suggested: one based on states of change and one on personality characteristics. A focus on equal attention to both cognitive and behavioral aspects of substance abuse treatment readiness is suggested.

`Zealotry or nostalgic regret`? women leaders in technical and further education in Australia : agents of change, entrepreneurial educators or corporate citizens?

Education has been restructured in many Western post-industrial nation states during the 1990s. The Australian Technical and Further Education sector (TAFE) has been particularly susceptible to discourses of responsiveness to the market and the new entrepreneuralism. This article explores how women have been repositioned in contradictory and ambiguous ways as the new entrepreneurial middle managers by existing and emergent discourses that circulated in and through TAFE organizations. In turn, it points to how discourses of change management and client responsiveness took on particular readings within specific institutional and professional cultures of the eight Technical and Further Education institutions (TAFEs). At the same time, the restructuring that arose from the corporatization of TAFE, in a highly gendered process, through the twin strategies of marketization and the new managerialism produced new possibilities for individual women educators who moved up into middle management. Yet these individual women were positioned within highly masculinist 'neo-corporate bureaucratic cultures' that co-opted their passion for the capacity of education to make a difference and incorporated these new entrepeneurial work identities.

State police in a state of change : remaking the entrepreneurial officer

Questions concerning how to govern police practice have never been more pressing or more fluid. This study locates contemporary developments in police accountability techniques within a broader analysis of the historical circumstances shaping the changing techniques for governing police. The recent pluralisation of police accountability pr.ocesses and structures is examined through the application of governmentality studies. Drawing on a comparative analysis of two Australian States the book provides a detailed account of the development of governmental techniques for 'making up' the entrepreneurial officer. While such a governmental project is not implemented unproblematically the book concludes that the attempt to shape the development of the entrepreneurial officer through the managerialisation of governing presents distinct possibilities for a new 'politics of policing' that fosters deliberative and reflective police practice.

State police in a state of change: remaking the entrepreneurial officer

We are currently at a point in time in Australia where questions concerning how to govern police have never been more pressing or more fluid. Systemic corruption has been identified in several states; a range of new accountability mechanisms have been established internal and external to police and in Victoria police corruption has been linked with a violent 'gangland war'. This thesis locates these contemporary developments within a broader analysis of the historical circumstances shaping the changing techniques for governing state police. More specifically, this thesis engages in a detailed comparative study of the changing techniques of governing police in Queensland and Victoria. The theoretical tools to conduct this analysis are drawn from 'governmentality studies'. This refers to a broad grouping of theoretical scholarship concerned with the changing ideas - or 'political rationalities' - on how to govern some thing or some activity, and the underlying reasoning, justifications and ambitions contained within the practical tools or 'techniques' used to govern. Central to the thesis is an argument that a new politics of policing has emerged recently, one that extends the dyad of the old accountability - 'police powers' and 'external accountability' - to a pluralisation of accountability processes and structures. The thesis argues that governmentality studies offer new insights into ways of analysing the techniques for governing state police, increasingly shaped by the managerialisation of governing and embodying efforts to make police innovative, risk-taking problems-solvers. This is what I refer to as an open-ended normative project for re-making the entrepreneurial officer. However, a detailed examination of the development of governmental techniques for 'making up' the entrepreneurial officer indicates that such a governmental project is not implemented unproblematically. Nonetheless, the thesis concludes that the attempts to remake the entrepreneurial officer through the managerialisation of governing presents distinct possibilities for a new 'politics of policing' that fosters deliberative, reflective police practice within a new framework of police accountabilities

Improving primary science: schools experience of change

Provides insights into the experiences of school officials in improving their method of teaching science within the School Innovation in Science (SIS) initiative. Involvement of all science teachers on the project; Management of educators and the analysis of existing teaching practices; Evidence of change in teaching methods and discussion of the stage process.

The assessment of motivation for behaviour change among sex offenders against children: an investigation of the utility of the Stages of Change Questionnaire

A better understanding of motivation for behaviour change among sex offenders against children would improve treatment programmes designed to modify sexual offending behaviour. However, investigation of this issue is limited by lack of theoretically and empirically sound measures of motivation for behaviour change among sex offenders. This paper reports on two studies that were conducted to investigate the psychometric properties (validity, reliability, and social desirability) of the Stages of Change Questionnaire, adapted to measure motivation for behaviour change among sex offenders against children. In Study 1, the psychometric properties of the questionnaire were assessed for sex offenders against children (n=36) who were on a treatment waiting list. In Study 2, the psychometric properties of the questionnaire were assessed for sex offenders against children (n=47) at pre-treatment, mid-treatment, and post-treatment. Both studies supported the validity and reliability of the adapted Stages of Change Questionnaire, and the influence of social desirability upon responding was less than expected. The results of this investigation supported the potential utility of the Stages of Change Questionnaire as a measure of motivation for behaviour change for sex offenders against children.

Individual, social and home environment determinants of change in children's television viewing: the Switch-Play intervention

Understanding potential determinants of change in television (TV) viewing among children may enhance the effectiveness of programs targeting this behaviour. This study aimed to investigate the contribution of individual, social and home environment factors among 10-year-old Australian children to change in TV viewing over a 21-month period. A total of 164 children (49% boys) completed a 19-lesson (9-month) intervention program to reduce TV viewing time. Children completed self-administered surveys four times over 21 months (pre- and post-intervention, 6- and 12-month follow-up). Baseline factors associated with change in TV viewing during the intervention and follow-up periods were: ‘asking parents ≥once/week to switch off the TV and play with them’ (21.6 min/day more than those reporting <once/week, p = 0.007); being able to ‘watch just 1 h of TV per day’ (26.1 min/day less than those who could not, p = 0.010); ‘watching TV no matter what was on’ (36.6 min/day more than those who did not, p < 0.001); and ‘continuing to watch TV after their program was over’ (33.0 min/day more than those who did not, p = 0.006). With every unit increase in baseline frequency of TV viewing with family and friends, children spent on average 4.0 min/day more watching TV over the 21-month period (p = 0.047). Baseline number and placement of TVs at home did not predict change in children's TV viewing over the 21 months. Greater understanding of the family dynamics and circumstances, as well as the individual and social determinants of TV viewing, will be required if we are to develop effective strategies for reducing TV viewing in children.

Reliability of moderate-intensity and vigorous physical activity stage of change measures for young adults.

Background
The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability of stage of change (SOC) measures for moderate-intensity and vigorous physical activity in two separate samples of young adults. Staging measures have focused on vigorous exercise, but current public health guidelines emphasize moderate-intensity activity.
Method
For college students in the USA (n = 105) and in Australia (n = 123), SOC was assessed separately on two occasions for moderate-intensity activity and for vigorous activity. Test–retest repeatability was determined, using Cohen’s kappa coefficient.
Results
In both samples, the reliability scores for the moderate-intensity physical activity staging measure were lower than the scores for the vigorous exercise staging measure. Weighted kappa values for the moderate-intensity staging measure were in the “fair to good” range for both studies (0.50 and 0.45); for the vigorous staging measure kappa values were “excellent” and “fair to good” (0.76 and 0.72).
Conclusions
There is a need to standardize and improve methods for staging moderate-intensity activity, given that such measures are used in public health interventions targeting HEPA (health-enhancing physical activity).

The impact of change on employees : what do annual reports say?

As part of the accountability process public companies are required to report annually to stakeholders. Given the substantial investment in human capital, the disclosure of employment related policies, and the impact of changing policies and practices on employees, could be expected. Over the last few decades the UK banking sector has experienced major change. Increased competition, technology, regulation and deregulation have all contributed to changing practices, which have had a significant impact on employees. This paper examines changes in the banking sector, and the employee information reported in the annual reports of a large UK bank, over the period 1980 to 1995. The purpose of this paper is to examine how the changes, and the effects of the changes on employees, were reported in the annual reports.

Rethinking causality: pattern as the science of change

In this book, Linda Glassop describes an integrative framework referred to as the SOP model of change. The SOP model is derived from the notion that structures (S) are organised (O) by processes (P). The concept of SOP is relevant to any real thing, at any level of analysis

Community reintegration of ex-prisoners : type and degree of change in variables influencing successful reintegration

Community reintegration of ex-prisoners is an important issue in efforts to reduce recidivism. The present study examined the multiple, complex, and dynamic nature of variables influencing successful reintegration by assessing the type and degree of change in reintegration variables over time. Participants were 79 adult prisoners (54 male, 25 female) who completed a prerelease questionnaire 1 month before their release, which focused on prison-related variables, participant background, and anticipated conditions upon release. A postrelease questionnaire was administered to the same participants at 1-4 weeks and 3-4 months postrelease, focusing on the quality of life conditions experienced following release. Results indicate that current health ratings and several indicators of drug use were significantly different over the three measurement phases. Ratings of employment and housing stability, finance, and social support were unchanged over the postrelease period. Theoretical implications of the present investigation for reintegration theory are discussed, together with practical applications.