Identifying and enhancing risk thresholds in the detection of elder financial abuse: A signal detection analysis of professionals' decision making

Background: Financial abuse of elders is an under acknowledged problem and professionals' judgements contribute to both the prevalence of abuse and the ability to prevent and intervene. In the absence of a definitive "gold standard" for the judgement, it is desirable to try and bring novice professionals' judgemental risk thresholds to the level of competent professionals as quickly and effectively as possible. This study aimed to test if a training intervention was able to bring novices' risk thresholds for financial abuse in line with expert opinion. Methods: A signal detection analysis, within a randomised controlled trial of an educational intervention, was undertaken to examine the effect on the ability of novices to efficiently detect financial abuse. Novices (n = 154) and experts (n = 33) judged "certainty of risk" across 43 scenarios; whether a scenario constituted a case of financial abuse or not was a function of expert opinion. Novices (n = 154) were randomised to receive either an on-line educational intervention to improve financial abuse detection (n = 78) or a control group (no on-line educational intervention, n = 76). Both groups examined 28 scenarios of abuse (11 "signal" scenarios of risk and 17 "noise" scenarios of no risk). After the intervention group had received the on-line training, both groups then examined 15 further scenarios (5 "signal" and 10 "noise" scenarios). Results: Experts were more certain than the novices, pre (Mean 70.61 vs. 58.04) and post intervention (Mean 70.84 vs. 63.04); and more consistent. The intervention group (mean 64.64) were more certain of abuse post-intervention than the control group (mean 61.41, p = 0.02). Signal detection analysis of sensitivity (Á) and bias (C) revealed that this was due to the intervention shifting the novices' tendency towards saying "at risk" (C post intervention -.34) and away from their pre intervention levels of bias (C-.12). Receiver operating curves revealed more efficient judgments in the intervention group. Conclusion: An educational intervention can improve judgements of financial abuse amongst novice professionals.

Teachers' legitimacy: Effects of justice perception and social comparison processes

Background. Teachers’ legitimacy is central to school functioning. Teachers’ justice, whether distributive or procedural, predicts teachers’ legitimacy. Aims. What is still do be found, and constitutes the goal of this paper, is whether unjust treatment by a teacher affects the legitimacy of the teacher differently when the student knows that the teacher was fair to a peer (comparative judgement) or when the student does not have that information (autonomous judgement). Samples. A total of 79 high school students participated in Study 1; 75 high school students participated in Study 2. Methods. Two experimental studies with a 2 justice valence (just, unjust) 9 2 social comparison processes (autonomous judgements, comparative judgements) betweenparticipants design were conducted. Study 1 addressed distributive justice and Study 2 addressed procedural justice. The dependent variable was teachers’ legitimacy. Results. In both studies, situations perceived as just led to higher teachers’ legitimacy than situations perceived as unjust. For the distributive injustice conditions, teachers’ legitimacy was equally lower for autonomous judgement and comparative judgement conditions. For procedural injustice, teachers’ legitimacy was lower when the peer was treated justly and the participant was treated unfairly, compared with the condition when the participants did not know how the teacher treated the peer. Conclusions. We conclude that teachers’ injustice affects teachers’ legitimacy, but it does it differently according to the social comparisons involved and the type of justice involved. Moreover, these results highlight that social comparisons are an important psychological process and, therefore, they should be taken into account in models of justice.

Rompendo com o fascínio pelo conceito abstrato : alguns motivos práticos e teóricos na elaboração da dialética especulativa

Este artigo pretende reconstruir alguns dos motivos práticos e teóricos da dialética hegeliana. Uma introdução geral deve servir ao propósito de delinear os contornos gerais do ponto de vista da dialética especulativa, o que será tentado a partir da apropriação crítica feita por Hegel do conceito kantiano de juízo reflexionante (1). A partir disso, pretendo apresentar a versão hegeliana do projeto da “filosofia da unificação” enquanto crítica da moral kantiana (2). Em seguida, o objetivo é mostrar como Hegel antecipa, nos escritos de juventude, uma compreensão da constituição orgânica e intersubjetiva da comunidade (3). Em terceiro lugar, indicaremos como Hegel vincula a elaboração de sua noção de dialética nas linhas gerais de um diagnóstico das dificuldades de integração social na modernidade política, a serem neutralizadas pelo pensamento de uma articulação imanente entre universal e particular (4). Finalmente, pretendo concluir com uma discussão de elementos da filosofia da religião no jovem Hegel como preâmbulo da crítica à filosofia da reflexão e do nascedouro do ponto de vista dialético-especulativo (5). ______________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT

O mandado de injunção e a abstrativização do exercício da jurisdição constitucional

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Direito, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Direito, Estado e Constituição, 2016.

Dançando às avessas: relatos de um processo de criação

The term body without organs is present in a poem by the french writer, actor and director Antonin Artaud, written in 1947 and titled: To Have Done with the Judgement of God. I aim, in this work, from what we call investigative scenic writing, to problematize this term and its possible relations with the theater and also with some aspects of the Hindu myths. I unite the idea of the body without organs with the body in trance present in the stories of an Indian master named Caitanya Mahaprabhu. These ideas, along with the development of practices that come from some principles of Theatre Anthropology, are incentives for a creation process that highlights the work of preparation and creation of corporeal work of the actor. The relationship between the concepts and the practice raise discussions about where I stand as an actor-researcher in process

Uma análise da influência do viés de otimismo no julgamento de probabilidades de ativos e passivos contingentes

Tese (doutorado)—Universidade de Brasília, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Programa Multi-Institucional e Inter-Regional de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Contábeis, 2016.

Quantifying changes in building footprint in the historic coastal town of Queenscliff

The sea change phenomenon has attracted new residents to Australian coastal towns and brought with it expectations of residential housing formed in metropolitan settings. Consequently, the traditional ‘identifying’ neighbourhood character of these towns is changing. Much larger houses are now being built and site coverage has increased. To date, changes in character have been measured using data based on the subjective judgement of residents through surveys and interviews. More objective information would be beneficial in understanding change. This paper describes a methodology that has been developed to quantify the change in the building footprint in the historic coastal town of Queenscliff in Victoria. Using selected aerial photographs, the building footprint of the town's residential buildings has been estimated at four intervals from 1957 until 2006. This footprint has been compared to the block size at each interval so that changes in house-to-block ratio may be compared. Over 20% of the residential homes were assessed. Building footprint has risen from 30% to over 38% in the documented 50 years. The method developed here is a low-cost method of tracking footprint change over an extended period and informing local planners and residents of when and where the changes have occurred.

An analysis of nursing students' decision-making in teams during simulations of acute patient deterioration

AIM: The aim of this study was to examine the decision-making of nursing students during team based simulations on patient deterioration to determine the sources of information, the types of decisions made and the influences underpinning their decisions.

BACKGROUND: Missed, misinterpreted or mismanaged physiological signs of deterioration in hospitalized patients lead to costly serious adverse events. Not surprisingly, an increased focus on clinical education and graduate nurse work readiness has resulted.

DESIGN: A descriptive exploratory design.

METHODS: Clinical simulation laboratories in three Australian universities were used to run team based simulations with a patient actor. A convenience sample of 97 final-year nursing students completed simulations, with three students forming a team. Four teams from each university were randomly selected for detailed analysis. Cued recall during video review of team based simulation exercises to elicit descriptions of individual and team based decision-making and reflections on performance were audio-recorded post simulation (2012) and transcribed.

RESULTS: Students recalled 11 types of decisions, including: information seeking; patient assessment; diagnostic; intervention/treatment; evaluation; escalation; prediction; planning; collaboration; communication and reflective. Patient distress, uncertainty and a lack of knowledge were frequently recalled influences on decisions.

CONCLUSIONS: Incomplete information, premature diagnosis and a failure to consider alternatives when caring for patients is likely to lead to poor quality decisions. All health professionals have a responsibility in recognizing and responding to clinical deterioration within their scope of practice. A typology of nursing students' decision-making in teams, in this context, highlights the importance of individual knowledge, leadership and communication.

Single-room usage patterns and allocation decision-making in an Australian public hospital: a sequential exploratory study

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The aims are to (1) measure occupancy rates of single and shared rooms; (2) compare single room usage patterns and (3) explore the practice, rationale and decision-making processes associated with single rooms; across one Australian public health service.

BACKGROUND: There is a tendency in Australia and internationally to increase the proportion of single patient rooms in hospitals. To date there have been no Australian studies that investigate the use of single rooms in clinical practice.

DESIGN: This study used a sequential exploratory design with data collected in 2014.

METHODS: A descriptive survey was used to measure the use of single rooms across a two-week time frame. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with occupancy decision-makers to explore the practices, rationale decision-making process associated with single-room allocation.

RESULTS: Total bed occupancy did not fall below 99·4% during the period of data collection. Infection control was the primary reason for patients to be allocated to a single room, however, the patterns varied according to ward type and single-room availability. For occupancy decision-makers, decisions about patient allocation was a complex and challenging process, influenced and complicated by numerous factors including occupancy rates, the infection status of the patient/s, funding and patient/family preference. Bed moves were common resulting from frequent re-evaluation of need.

CONCLUSION: Apart from infection control mandates, there was little tangible evidence to guide decision-making about single-room allocation. Further work is necessary to assist nurses in their decision-making.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: There is a trend towards increasing the proportion of single rooms in new hospital builds. Coupled with the competing clinical demands for single room care, this study highlights the complexity of nursing decision-making about patient allocation to single rooms, an issue urgently requiring further attention.

Social inclusion and the fatosphere: the role of an online weblogging community in fostering social inclusion

Overweight and obesity are one of the most salient issues within society today, and the stigmatisation of overweight individuals is prevalent and widespread. Utilising interviews with 44 individuals who blog within an online fat acceptance community known as the Fatosphere, participants' perceptions of inclusion and exclusion were examined within their offline and online environments. Additionally, the effect this had on their offline lives was examined. Participants described a profound sense of exclusion within their offline lives through three agencies: the medicalisation of 'fatness', the weight loss industry and the media, which echoed descriptions of moral judgement. Furthermore, a sense of inclusion was described within the Fatosphere through the protection and support that they found within this 'safe space'. The effects of the Fatosphere influenced their lives in both negative and positive ways, allowing them to better deal with stigma and discrimination, but sometimes effecting their offline relationships in a negative manner. The Fatosphere provides a unique opportunity for corpulent individuals to engage in a community that is removed from the prominent weight-related discourse within modern society.

Características da supervisão existencial

Dissertação de Mestrado apresentada no ISPA - Instituto Universitário

Transition: improved literacy outcomes research study

This paper reports on the Transition: Improved Literacy Outcomes Research Study established by the Department of Education and Training (DET). The purpose of the study was to identify the most useful and usable data for educators to access in order to ensure that student literacy learning is maximised during the transition from Primary to Secondary school.1. The research followed a mixed-methods approach, combining a statistically defensible sample of schools selected to represent school types (primary, secondary, combined), locations (rural, regional, urban) and all regions with a survey and follow- up interviews.2. The results are presented as a mixture of statistics, case studies and discussion. The case studies were developed from both survey data and interview data.3. Leaders and teachers overwhelmingly valued teacher judgement (through AusVELS) as the most useful data in understanding students’ strengths and weaknesses, followed by On-Demand testing.4. NAPLAN results were frequently transferred between schools, but were found to be less useful than other data by teachers.5. School leaders and teachers are currently using data for ability streaming, or for tailoring curriculum for individual student needs. A number of schools use the Literacy data for achieving a balance of student abilities within classes.6. Support for access to, and use of, data is mainly manual, with some use of spreadsheets.7. As the number of feeder Primary schools to a single Secondary school increases, data management becomes a much larger burden on the Secondary staff concerned.8. In Secondary schools, there was a clear demand for Literacy data, but these data were not always those that were being provided by their feeder Priamary schools. This mis-match appears to lead to some frustration among Literacy transition staff at both levels of schooling.9. A gap that needs filling is around the nature of the pedagogies at the two school levels. Not knowing, or misunderstanding, the approaches and needs of each level of schooling leads to the passing on of irrelevant Literacy data in some instances.10. The need for a common template for transition data was expressed by many Transition staff, both Primary and Secondary. In some instances the secondary school had set up a local template for this11. It would be advantageous for data to be directly up-loaded or transferred into a system via electronic tools already in use, such as an Excel spreadsheet.12. We would recommend that the capacity to provide some visualisation of data, and the compilation of internal Literacy data such as teacher judgements and AusVELS levels, or additional testing carried out by the school.13. Student background data was seen by many Secondary transition staff as being equally as valuable as more formal Literacy data for determining student needs.

Gilles Deleuze and early cinema: The modernity of the emancipated time

Although the transition from the movement-image to the time-image is among the most commented-upon Deleuzian problems, Gilles Deleuze neglected the previous transition from ‘images in movement’ to the first regime of the movement-images. As my approach will be transhistorical, focusing especially on early silent movies and recently expanded cinema through early moving images (Lumière Brothers) and 1970s structural films (Malcolm Le Grice), I will reflect on how we can think time and moving images outside of this closed Deleuzian movement-image/time-image conceptual framework. In other words, we can ask: how can we expand this conceptual framework? Drawing on David Martin-Jones’ ‘attraction-image’, my aim is to explore the role of early cinema and the reasons for Gilles Deleuze’s own historical and technical (mis)judgement of early silent cinema. In this sense, the emergent studies on the history of early silent movies, and the growing field of Deleuzian studies on film, together have an important role on the philosophical and historiographical analysis of film’s expression of time and modernity.

The long game: five years of simulating the Middle East

Scholarly literature attesting to the benefits of role play in teaching international relations or political science subjects is abundant and universally positive. However, despite many case studies presenting snapshots of single examples, long term data concerning a role play exercise is difficult to find. This study presents student feedback data gathered from 10 iterations of the Middle East politics simulation carried out over 5 years from 2011-15. The data obtained from over 600 respondents establishes very clear trends in terms of satisfaction, engagement, and workload. The findings demonstrate that students can be significantly engaged in the subject matter through role plays and that they value these opportunities and the learning that ensues, even though it may represent more work than they are used to allotting to traditional assignments. The results show that year after year, successive student cohorts have made a clear judgement that extra work is worthwhile when it pays off against their perceived learning. The inference can also be drawn that they do not see this same pay off when completing essay type assignments.

A study on truss bolt mechanism in controlling stability of underground excavation and cutter roof failure

The truss bolt reinforcement system has been used in controlling the stability of underground excavations in severe ground conditions and cutter roof failure in layered rocks especially in coal mines. In spite of good application reports, working mechanism of this system is largely unknown and truss bolts are predominantly designed based on past experience and engineering judgement. In this study, the reinforcing effect of the truss bolt system on an underground excavation in layered rock is studied using non-linear finite element analysis. Different indicators are defined to evaluate the reinforcing effects of the truss bolt system. Using these indicators one can evaluate the effects of a reinforcing system on the deformation, loosened area, failure prevention, horizontal movement of the immediate layer, shear crack propagation and cutter roof failure of underground excavations. Effects of truss bolt on these indicators reveal the working mechanism of the truss bolt system. To illustrate the application of these indicators, a comparative study is conducted between three different truss bolt designs. It is shown that the design parameters of truss bolt systems, including tie-rod span, length, and angle of the bolts can have significant effects on the reinforcing capability of the system.