Emotional intelligence and teacher self efficacy : the contribution of teacher status and length of experience

Practicing teachers and principals in selected Government schools in Victoria provided data on their levels of emotional intelligence and teacher efficacy beliefs. The data supported the theoretical expectation of a linkage between emotional intelligence and teacher self efficacy. Regression analyses showed that neither gender nor age moderated this relationship. However length of teaching experience and current status add significant direct effects on predicting teacher self efficacy but did not moderate the relationship between emotional intelligence and teacher self efficacy. These findings are significant as this now demonstrates a relationship between levels of emotional intelligence in teachers, their self efficacy beliefs and teacher effectiveness.

Urban area disadvantage and physical activity: a multilevel study in Melbourne, Australia

Objective: To estimate variation between small areas in the levels of walking, cycling, jogging, and swimming and overall physical activity and the importance of area level socioeconomic disadvantage in predicting physical activity participation.

Methods: All census collector districts (CCDs) in the 20 innermost local government areas in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia, were identified and ranked by the percentage of low income households (<$400/week) living in the CCD. Fifty CCDs were randomly selected from the least, middle, and most disadvantaged septiles of the ranked CCDs and 2349 residents (58.7% participation rate) participated in a cross sectional postal survey about physical activity. Multilevel logistic regression (adjusted for extrabinomial variation) was used to estimate area level variation in walking, cycling, jogging, and swimming and in overall physical activity participation, and the importance of area level socioeconomic disadvantage in predicting physical activity participation.

Results: There were significant variations between CCDs in all activities and in overall physical participation in age and sex adjusted models; however, after adjustment for individual SES (income, occupation, education) and area level socioeconomic disadvantage, significant differences remained only for walking (p = 0.004), cycling (p = 0.003), and swimming (p = 0.024). Living in the most socioeconomically disadvantaged areas was associated with a decreased likelihood of jogging and of having overall physical activity levels that were sufficiently active for health; these effects remained after adjustment for individual socioeconomic status (sufficiently active: OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.55 to 0.90 and jogging: OR = 0.69, 95% CI 0.51 to 0.94).

Conclusion: These research findings support the need to focus on improving local environments to increase physical activity participation.

Abbreviations: SES, socioeconomic status; CCD, census collector district

Weight and place: a multilevel cross-sectional survey of area-level social disadvantage and overweight/obesity in Australia

Objective: To estimate variation between small areas in adult body mass index (BMI), and assess the importance of area level socioeconomic disadvantage in predicting BMI.

Methods: We identified all census collector districts (CCDs) in the 20 innermost Local Government Areas in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia, and ranked them by the percentage of low income households (<$400/week). In all, 50 CCDs were randomly selected from the least, middle and most disadvantaged septiles of the ranked list and 4913 residents (61.4% participation rate) completed one of two surveys. Multilevel linear regression was used to estimate area level variance in BMI and the importance of area level socioeconomic disadvantage in predicting BMI.

Results: There were significant variations in BMI between CCDs for women, even after adjustment for individual and area SES (P=0.012); significant area variation was not found for men. Living in the most versus least disadvantaged areas was associated with an average difference in BMI of 1.08 kg/m² (95% CI: 0.48–1.68 kg/m²) for women, and of 0.93 kg/m² (95% CI: 0.32–1.55 kg/m²) for men. Living in the mid versus least disadvantaged areas were associated with an average difference in BMI of 0.67 kg/m² (95% CI: 0.09–1.26 kg/m²) for women, and 0.43 kg/m² for men (95% CI: -0.16–1.01).

Conclusion: These findings suggest that area disadvantage is an important predictor of adult BMI, and support the need to focus on improving local environments to reduce socioeconomic inequalities in overweight and obesity.

Marketing for participation, managing for success: the Louisville Racquet Club

Examines two different perspectives concerning the success of a tennis club. Case of the Louisville Racquet Club; Role of the coaching professional in the club; Elaboration on the equally valid perspective of the club owner; Analysis on data collected at the club.

Trial by fire

Victoria is facing its driest summer for nearly one hundred years, with conditions worse than in 1983 when the state was swept by the devastating Ash Wednesday bushfires. The fires were particularly fierce in Mount Macedon in central Victoria, and the Woodend Fire Brigade is in the front line of the struggle to avoid a repeat of Ash Wednesday. Trial by Fire follows this brigade as they do all that they can to keep their community safe from the devastation of the fires.

The struggle for the body, mind and soul of AFL footballers

"The book discusses the profound, often troubling, always complex struggles for the body, mind and soul of elite performers in contemporary sports entertainment environments. This struggle is shaped by two powerful processes. On the one hand we witness the translation and application of a range of rationalities and knowledges from fields such as psychology, sport science and medicine, dietetics, education and management. All of which have the consequence of subjecting elite performers to often intrusive regimes of measurement, testing, medical intervention, surveillance, education and regulation in the pursuit of performance and success. At the same time we can identify ways in which the commodification of sports/games, the drive to develop and grow as a sports entertainment business and the pursuit and maintenance of a media presence and profile on which brand relationships can be established and grown has the consequence of transforming elite performers into highly paid sports celebrities whose image, persona and brand is positioned in a crowded, highly competitive marketplace to be scrutinised, judged and consumed.
[The] struggle that takes on new dimensions in the evolution of sports/games into global sports entertainment industries and businesses....The book reveals new insights into the tensions that emerge between different levels of the AFL sports entertainment industry about what it means to be a professional footballer at the start of the 21st century. The book analyses aspects of this struggle for the body, mind and soul at different stages in a playing career."--Media release.

A systematic policy approach to changing the food system and physical activity environments to prevent obesity

As obesity prevention becomes an increasing health priority in many countries, including Australia
and New Zealand, the challenge that governments are now facing is how to adopt a systematic
policy approach to increase healthy eating and regular physical activity. This article sets out a
structure for systematically identifying areas for obesity prevention policy action across the food
system and full range of physical activity environments. Areas amenable to policy intervention can
be systematically identified by considering policy opportunities for each level of governance (local,
state, national, international and organisational) in each sector of the food system (primary
production, food processing, distribution, marketing, retail, catering and food service) and each
sector that influences physical activity environments (infrastructure and planning, education,
employment, transport, sport and recreation). Analysis grids are used to illustrate, in a structured
fashion, the broad array of areas amenable to legal and regulatory intervention across all levels of
governance and all relevant sectors. In the Australian context, potential regulatory policy
intervention areas are widespread throughout the food system, e.g., land-use zoning (primary
production within local government), food safety (food processing within state government), food
labelling (retail within national government). Policy areas for influencing physical activity are
predominantly local and state government responsibilities including, for example, walking and
cycling environments (infrastructure and planning sector) and physical activity education in schools
(education sector). The analysis structure presented in this article provides a tool to systematically
identify policy gaps, barriers and opportunities for obesity prevention, as part of the process of
developing and implementing a comprehensive obesity prevention strategy. It also serves to
highlight the need for a coordinated approach to policy development and implementation across
all levels of government in order to ensure complementary policy action.

Marketing the Great South Coast : a regional approach to attracting population in Australia

In Australia, as in many other developed countries, regional and rural areas are suffering from an overall decline in population with a specific loss of young adults (16-30 year olds). A decline in population, linked with the Australia-wide problems of ageing populations and diminishing birth rates, is leading to a social and economic decline in many regional cities and towns that threaten their long-term sustainability due to the lack of skilled workers and professionals. Although the loss of population from regional and rural areas has the potential to affect the national economy, it has mainly fallen to local government to combat the problem. Local government is beginning to use place marketing to attract and retain residents in addition to its traditional use of place marketing to attract industry and investment. This paper examines the concept of “place” marketing as means of arresting or reversing the decline, and examines as a case study the approach of a group of adjoining local government areas in Australia who have developed a regional and collaborative approach to place marketing.

Convergent interviewing : a qualitative diagnostic technique for researchers

Purpose – This paper aims to widen knowledge of and explore how convergent interviewing can be used to identify key issues within an organization.
Design/methodology/approach – This paper introduces the convergent interviewing technique and describes the method of selecting the interview subjects. The construction of a round of interviews is explained. The content of the interviews is described and the particular probing nature of the questions demanded by the convergent interview process is explained. The ways to analyze the full set of interviews for groupings or categories is also described. The case study example of a broad research question about influences on work behaviors in a local government council is used to illustrate the convergent interviewing technique.
Findings – The key issues revealed by using the technique can be subsequently used for a variety of research and consulting purposes and settings. Convergent interviewing is an effective research method, which conserves resources.
Originality/value – Convergent interviewing enables researchers to determine the most important and/or key issues within a population rather than a full list of issues in an organization or barriers to change in a particular organizational context.