Motivation in children with intellectual disabilities

This article addresses the questions of whether there are motivational deficits in children with intellectual disabilities, whether those with Down syndrome are more likely to display motivational deficits, and how motivation might be supported. The available literature that has examined motivation in children with intellectual disabilities was considered and integrated to address the questions outlined above. There is little published research on this vital topic. Reports on motivational problems differ depending upon the method of data collection. Observational studies using structured tasks generally reveal no differences between children with intellectual disabilities and typically developing children matched for mental age. When reports of parents or teachers are used, children with intellectual disabilities appear to have deficits in motivation. No evidence was found for a particular deficit in children with Down syndrome. The results of this review challenge the perception that children with intellectual disabilities will generally have motivational problems, although it is clear that motivation is a complex construct, not easily examined in those with intellectual disabilities. Strategies for addressing problems and for maintaining motivation, based on theory and evidence, are provided. These strategies are applicable across a range of settings including the home, school, and more adult-oriented services.

Effects of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation on user-generated content

User-generated content where content is created and shared among consumers is of key importance to marketers. This study investigates consumer intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to understand why people create user-generated branded video content. Specifically, we examine the role of altruism (individual difference – intrinsic motivation), social benefits (extrinsic reward), and economic incentives (extrinsic reward) on intentions to create user-generated content. Results show that extrinsic rewards (economic incentives) result in more positive intentions to create user-generated content than intrinsic motivations. However, an effect for altruism is also evident revealing that high altruism consumers are more likely to create positive user-generated content. The implication of these findings is that marketers wanting to encourage user-generated content about their brands should target high altruism consumers and offer economic incentives for content creation.

Do children and adolescents with Down syndrome have deficits in motivation?

There appears to be a general acceptance that individuals with intellectual disability (ID) have deficits in motivation. Yet research with infants and young children has usually identified few differences in motivation for children with ID compared with those of the same mental age who are developing typically. Studies of motivation in children with ID in the middle years of childhood or adolescence are almost non-existent. However, research conducted more than 30 years ago (Harter & Zigler, 1974) continues to be cited as evidence of motivational deficits in those with ID even though the life experiences of people with ID have changed dramatically since that time.

The sideways hourglass : establishing the lemniscate as a narrative structure for writing and reading non-linear stories

This thesis is a study in narratology that examines the pre-theoretical ideas that underlie the study of narrative and time. The thesis explores how the lemniscate can be transported from geometry to narrative in order to structure a non-linear story that breaks the rules of causality and chronology by coupling physical movement through space with the backward pull of memory. The findings offer new possibilities for understanding the nexus between shape and story and for recording non-linear narratives that are marked by simultaneity, counterpoint, and reversal.

Reading words into statutes : when Homer nods

The grammatical meaning of a statutory provision may not always gel with the purpose of the statute. The court may strive to give the provision an interpretation at odds with its ordinary and natural meaning to meet the purpose of the legislation. On occasion, this may involve notionally adding words to, or substituting words in, a statutory provision. This process of “reading in” words demands that close attention be paid to the boundary between statutory construction and judicial legislation, particularly where a court is invited to carve out an exception from grammatically clear words. In Jones v Wrotham Park Settled Estates [1980] AC 74, Lord Diplock identified three pre-conditions to reading words into a statute. This article analyses the utility of those conditions within the context of the modern purposive approach to statutory interpretation and evaluates whether they remain sufficient guideposts for identifying the boundary between interpretation and legislation.

Continuing to drive while sleepy : the influence of sleepiness countermeasures, motivation for driving sleepy, and risk perception

Driver sleepiness is a major contributor to road crashes. The current study sought to examine the association between perceptions of effectiveness of six sleepiness countermeasures and their relationship with self-reports of continuing to drive while sleepy among 309 drivers after controlling for the influence of age, sex, motivation for driving sleepy, and risk perception of sleepy driving. The results demonstrate that the variables of age, sex, motivation, and risk perception were significantly associated with self-reports of continuing to drive while sleepy and only one countermeasure was associated with self-reports of continuing to drive while sleepy. Further, it was found that age differences in self-reports of continuing to drive while sleepy was mediated by participants’ motivation and risk perception. These findings highlight modifiable factors that could be focused on with interventions that seek to modify drivers’ attitudes and behaviours of driving while sleepy.

Simulated hyperopic anisometropia and reading, visual information processing, and reading-related eye movement performance in children

Purpose: This study investigated the impact of simulated hyperopic anisometropia and sustained near work on performance of academic-related measures in children. Methods: Participants included 16 children (mean age: 11.1 ± 0.8 years) with minimal refractive error. Academic-related outcome measures included a reading test (Neale Analysis of Reading Ability), visual information processing tests (Coding and Symbol Search subtests from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children) and a reading-related eye movement test (Developmental Eye Movement test). Performance was assessed with and without 0.75 D of imposed monocular hyperopic defocus (administered in a randomised order), before and after 20 minutes of sustained near work. Unilateral hyperopic defocus was systematically assigned to either the dominant or non-dominant sighting eye to evaluate the impact of ocular dominance on any performance decrements. Results: Simulated hyperopic anisometropia and sustained near work both independently reduced performance on all of the outcome measures (p<0.001). A significant interaction was also observed between simulated anisometropia and near work (p<0.05), with the greatest decrement in performance observed during simulated anisometropia in combination with sustained near work. Laterality of the refractive error simulation (ocular dominance) did not significantly influence the outcome measures (p>0.05). A reduction of up to 12% in performance was observed across the range of academic-related measures following sustained near work undertaken during the anisometropic simulation. Conclusion: Simulated hyperopic anisometropia significantly impaired academic–related performance, particularly in combination with sustained near work. The impact of uncorrected habitual anisometropia on academic-related performance in children requires further investigation.

Self-reflection as an intervention to influence achievement goal orientations and intrinsic motivation

In the context of physical activity, intrinsic motivation refers to the inherent satisfaction associated with participation in the activity. Interest-enjoyment, perceived competence, and effort have been identified as three underlying components of intrinsic motivation. Achievement goal theory stipulates that achievement goals guide our beliefs and behavior. The two main achievement goal orientations identified in the sport and physical activity literature are task and ego orientations. A person with a strong task orientation defines success in self-referenced terms, as improving one’s own performance or mastering new skills. Someone with a strong ego orientation defines success normatively, as being better than others. The majority of research suggests that having a strong task orientation is a good thing, whether with regard to motivationally adaptive responses, sources of sport confidence, students’ satisfaction with learning, or the use of cognitive and self-regulatory strategies. Although the literature supporting the potential benefits of having a strong task orientation is vast, considerably less research has tested interventions designed to strengthen task orientations and intrinsic motivation. A climate that emphasises individual mastery has resulted in increased interest-enjoyment and perceived competence, whereas an emphasis on competition and comparison with others has resulted in a decrease in interest-enjoyment and an increase in tension-pressure. One possible intervention is the use of structured self-reflection. Using self-reflection sheets that cause respondents to focus on specific elements of technique or skills, and rate one’s own performance, should theoretically promote a task focus. Hanrahan suggested that engaging in self-reflection may enhance intrinsic motivation. Perceived competence could be positively affected, as self-analysis and self-monitoring have been found to positively influence the acquisition of physical skills. The purpose of this study was to determine if the use of structured self-reflection in community dance classes would influence achievement goal orientations or levels of intrinsic motivation.

Older academics : motivation to keep working

This is an interpretive – descriptive analysis of responses to 41 open ended questionnaires returned by cademicsworking beyond normal retirement age. The sample consisted mainly of academics from the United Kingdom,Australia, and New Zealand. The research addressed the question of what motivates some academics to continueworking beyond the ‘usual’ retirement age. The main motivation for continuing was strong interest and commitment,particularly to research and writing. Some also gave social, financial, and other reasons for continuing. Those not infull time employment described barriers, including finance and facilities and the support that they needed to maintaintheir activities. In most countries institutional and government policies made it possible for them to stay involvedacademically even if it meant making a personal effort. Most of them would have liked better support or recognitionfrom their universities. The results suggest that universities should more actively support older academics incontinuing activity.

The impact of socialisation on graduates’ public service motivation : a mixed method study

The need to attract and retain a high calibre cadre of public servants today has resulted in a renaissance of interest in public service motivation (PSM) within public management literature. This article outlines a study of PSM with graduate employees within an Australian public sector. The study extends our understanding of PSM by adopting a longitudinal, mixed method design, including surveys and individual interviews, to consider the effects of socialisation on levels of PSM. Results show an organisation's mission and values do not affect individual PSM while work type and communication style is vital and organisational socialisation can provide a negative influence.

The scholarship of Jonathan Silin: a reading through the lens of sexuality

While Jonathan Silin's ideas have challenged early childhood educators to think seriously about the relationship between developmentalism and revisioning early education, they have done much more than this. They also challenge us to know who we are and how our identities might be enacted in our teacher-selves, whether in the classroom with young children, teacher education students or engaging professionally with teachers. In doing so he shows how to resist injustice and unmasks ways in which institutions function in society to marginalise and exclude.

Reading Australia Essay: "Romulus, My Father" by Raimond Gaita

This is an introductory essay about the memoir "Romulus, My Father" by Raimond Gaita. The essay was published as part of the Copyright Agency's "Reading Australia" initiative. "In a critical moment of reflection and pause, Romulus, My Father offers the reader a key to its interpretation. The author – philosopher Raimond Gaita – tells us that ‘Plato said that those who love and seek wisdom are clinging in recollection to things they once saw’. This reference to the Greek philosopher’s work Phaedrus occurs when the boy Raimond is about eight years old. He seems already to understand much about his father, in particular his father’s goodness, which he finds expressed in his workmanship, his honesty, and his commitment to friends. And yet, as Plato forewarns us, a search for the ultimate wisdom of such things must come later – several decades on, when Gaita is faced with the task of writing his father’s eulogy. It is then that a sense of his father’s character is joined to his own search for wisdom, a combination of biography and reflection that marks the memoir form at its best, and shapes the ultimate impact of Romulus, My Father...."--publisher website