Adolescents' willingness to seek psychological help: Promoting and preventing factors

Although a relatively high percentage of Australian adolescents experience mental health problems, many disturbed adolescents do not receive the help they require, and only a small proportion of adolescents seek professional psychological help. The present study examined adolescents' willingness to seek help and investigated factors that promote and prevent adolescents from seeking help for a mental illness from both formal and informal sources. Secondary school students (254 in number) from schools in Brisbane, Australia completed a questionnaire that examined the relationship between demographic and psychological variables, attitudes toward mental illness, and willingness to seek help for a mental illness. Results suggest that adolescents with greater adaptive functioning, fewer perceived barriers to help seeking, and higher psychological distress were more willing to seek help from formal and informal sources for a mental illness. Greater social support also predicted willingness to seek help from informal sources. Although attitudes toward mental illness did not influence willingness to seek help, less stigmatising attitudes were related to higher knowledge of mental illness, being female, and higher levels of social support. Implications for the present study focus on enhancing the ability of mental health interventions to increase adolescents' willingness to seek psychological help.

The effect of life expectancy on fertility, saving, schooling and economic growth: theory and evidence

We construct a simple growth model where agents with uncertain survival choose schooling time, life-cycle consumption and the number of children. We show that rising longevity reduces fertility but raises saving, schooling time and the growth rate at a diminishing rate. Cross-section analyses using data from 76 countries support these propositions: life expectancy has a significant positive effect on the saving rate, secondary school enrollment and growth but a significant negative effect on fertility. Through sensitivity analyses, the effect on the saving rate is inconclusive, while the effects on the other variables are robust and consistent. These estimated effects are decreasing in life expectancy. Copyright The editors of the Scandinavian Journal of Economics 2005.

Course of substance misuse and daily tobacco use in first-episode psychosis

Background: Study of the course of substance misuse and daily tobacco use in first-episode psychosis may enhance detection and treatment of these substance-related problems. Methods: This 15-month follow-up study examined the course of substance misuse and daily tobacco use in 103 individuals treated for first-episode psychosis. Results: Three-quarters (72.6%) of patients with lifetime substance misuse, or half (51.5%) of all patients, continued substance misuse (primarily cannabis) during the 15-month follow-up period. There was a significant reduction in the rate of any substance misuse (70.9% versus 53.4%) but not daily tobacco use (76.7% versus 75.7%) between baseline and 15-month follow-up. Patients who continued substance misuse showed a significant reduction in the severity and frequency of substance use between baseline and follow-up. Patients who continued substance misuse were more likely to be younger, male and single, less likely to have completed secondary school, and more likely to have had more severe cannabis use prior to entry to treatment compared to patients who ceased substance misuse. Discussion: A significant proportion of young patients treated for first-episode psychosis are at risk of mental and physical health problems associated with substance misuse and/or regular tobacco use. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

'Please Mr Hay, what are my poss(abilities)?': Legitimation of ability through physical education practices

This paper provides two vignettes that draw on data from projects that interrogate how a student can be positioned by practices within physical education (PE) and directed by the PE teacher in relation to their valued or legitimated ability. Through the use of Pierre Bourdieu's conceptual tools of field, habitus and capital we investigate the complex legitimation processes that shape student poss(abilities) and that are situated in the space of the PE class. The first vignette is from the perspective of a student and draws on data from interviews, a journal, questionnaires and photos of her PE experiences in upper primary and lower secondary school. The second vignette focuses on teacher practices and his constitution of the field of a PE class highlighting the significance of teacher perspectives of 'ability' in informing assessment in senior secondary PE. Using these examples we discuss the symbolic violence that works against each student by positioning them as 'less able' or 'unable' despite their participation in a learning context. We argue that by not attending to the possible abilities of students that could have been recognized, developed and legitimated, and through the misuse of capital assignment by teachers, PE may well be counterproductive to students' ongoing engagement with the subject area and the espoused potential upon which such a subject area justifies itself.

Prevalence of injecting drug use and associated risk behavior among regular ecstasy users in Australia

Background: The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence of injecting drug use and associated risk behaviour among a sentinel sample of ecstasy users. Methods: Cross-sectional surveys were conducted with regular ecstasy users as part of an annual monitoring study of ecstasy and related drug markets in all Australian capital cities. Results: Twenty-three percent of the sample reported having ever injected a drug and 15% reported injecting in the 6 months preceding interview. Independent predictors of lifetime injection were older age, unemployment and having ever been in prison. Completion of secondary school and identifying as heterosexual was associated with a lower likelihood of having ever injected. Participants who had recently injected typically did so infrequently; only 9% reported daily injecting. Methamphetamine was the most commonly injected drug. Prevalence of needle sharing was low (6%), although half (47%) reported sharing other injecting equipment in the preceding 6 months. Conclusions: Ecstasy users who report having injected a drug at some time appear to be demographically different to ecstasy users who have not injected although neither are they typical of other drug injectors. The current investigation suggests that ongoing monitoring of injecting among regular ecstasy users is warranted. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Physical activity patterns of Singaporean adolescents

The purpose of this study was to document the level of physical activity and sedentary behavior in a representative sample of Singaporean adolescents. A random sample of 1,827 secondary school students from six secondary schools (929 boys, 898 girls, mean age 14.9 +/- 1.2 yr) completed the Three-Day Physical Activity Recall (3DPAR) self-report instrument. Approximately 63% of Singaporean high school students met current guidelines requiring 60 min of moderate to vigorous physical activity daily. Just over half (51.6%) met the guideline calling for regular vigorous physical activity. Across all grade levels, boys were consistently more active than girls. More than 70% of Singaporean high school students exceeded the recommended 2 hours per day of electronic media use. Collectively, these findings suggest that a significant proportion of Singaporean adolescents are not sufficiently active and are in need of programs to promote physical activity and decrease sedentary behavior.

The effect of music therapy services on classroom behaviours of newly arrived refugee students in Australia

This pilot study examined the effects of a short-term music therapy program on the classroom behaviours of newly arrived refugee students who were attending an intensive 'English as a Second Language' secondary school. A cross-over design with two five-week intervention periods was employed with group music therapy sessions conducted one or two times per week. Data from the Behaviour Assessment Scale for Children were used to evaluate a range of positive and negative school behaviours. A significant decrease in externalising behaviours was found with particular reference to hyperactivity and aggression. No significant differences were found in other behaviours. Explanations and implications of these findings are discussed.

The changing nature and role of the head of department

There is little doubt that devolution of responsibility to schools and the growth of school-based management have impacted upon the role and workload of school leaders. Not only Principals have been affected by these changes as Welch (1996) argues that Principals of public secondary schools have passed responsibility down to Deputy-principals and to Heads of Department. As such, the Head of Department role, like other school administration positions, has undergone significant change. Of interest to this paper is the changing role of Heads of Department in secondary schools. This study reports on the findings of semi-structured interviews with eight Heads of Department from four public secondary schools and Principals from each of these schools in South East Queensland. Four years after the first set of interviews, two heads of department were reinterviewed. Both sets of interviews focused upon the role, change, and the importance of leadership. The research generated eight specific themes each of which was considered consistent with the nature of the role in a period of significant cultural change. These were the difference in perceptions regarding the Head of Department role, held by Principals and Heads of Department; Head of Department leadership in terms of a curriculum framed department or whole school leadership; how individuals perceived leadership, and how they learned of leadership; the impact of the changing culture upon the individual Head of Department; the growing influence of situational factors upon the role; the impact of managerialism; the changing nature of a secondary school department; and a growing and more complex workload, and the need for different skills. Furthermore, the findings pointed towards the need for effective change processes and a reconceptualized head of department role. The paper concludes with some implications for the ongoing professional development needs of Heads of Department.

A sociocultural analysis of learning to teach

This paper addresses the question of how teachers learn from experience during their pre-service course and early years of teaching. It outlines a theoretical framework that may help us better understand how teachers' professional identities emerge in practice. The framework adapts Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development, and Valsiner's Zone of Free Movement and Zone of Promoted Action, to the field of teacher education. The framework is used to analyse the pre-service and initial professional experiences of a novice secondary mathematics teacher in integrating computer and graphics calculator technologies into his classroom practice. (Contains 1 figure.) [For complete proceedings, see ED496848.]

Building learning communities to support beginning teachers use of technology

This paper reports on the early stages of a three year study that is investigating the impact of a technology-enriched teacher education program on beginning teachers' integration of computers, graphics calculators, and the internet into secondary school mathematics classrooms. Whereas much of the existing research on the role of technology in mathematics learning has been concerned with effects on curriculum content or student learning, less attention has been given to the relationship between technology use and issues of pedagogy, in particular the impact on teachers' professional learning in the context of specific classroom and school environments. Our research applies sociocultural theories of learning to consider how beginning teachers are initiated into a collaborative professional community featuring both web-based and face to face interaction, and how participation in such a community shapes their pedagogical beliefs and practices. The aim of this paper is to analyse processes through which the emerging community was established and sustained during the first year of the study. We examine features of this community in terms of identity formation, shifts in values and beliefs, and interaction patterns revealed in bulletin board discussion between students and lecturers.

AS RELAÇÕES ENTRE SATISFAÇÃO NO TRABALHO, COMPROMETIMENTO ORGANIZACIONAL AFETIVO E INTENÇÃO DE ROTATIVIDADE: UM ESTUDO EM UMA MINERADORA DE DIAMANTES EM ANGOLA

Muito se tem investigado sobre os antecedentes de intenção de rotatividade. Dentre as possíveis variáveis com capacidade de se relacionar aos planos dos trabalhadores deixarem a organização destacam-se: satisfação no trabalho e comprometimento organizacional afetivo. O presente estudo teve como objetivo geral analisar as relações entre estas três variáveis; satisfação no trabalho, comprometimento organizacional afetivo e intenção de rotatividade. Ligando-se aos objetivos através dos seus estímulos internos ou externos, desvendados no estudo em uma mineradora de diamantes em Angola onde foram analisadas as relações entre as três variáveis. Participaram na pesquisa 151 trabalhadores, todos de nacionalidade angolana selecionados aleatoriamente em diferentes áreas da mesma empresa. Após aplicação do questionários com três medidas validadas e precisas, o tratamento dos dados, todos de natureza numérica, foi processado pelo software estatístico Statistical Package for the Social Science SPSS, versão 19.0 para Windows. Apurou-se que a idade media dos participantes era de 38,34 (DP = 8,42) anos, sendo a maioria do sexo masculino, solteira, com o nível médio completo, não exercendo cargo de chefia, pertencendo ao grupo (GP - III) um total de 89 (58,9 %), realizando grande parte do seu trabalho com outra pessoa ou em grupo, com tempo de trabalho variando entre 1 (um) e 16 anos. Os resultados descritivos indicam que os trabalhadores detêm um quadro de satisfação no trabalho, com satisfações maiores proporcionadas pelo número de vezes e oportunidades de serem promovidos, com a capacidade profissional de seus chefes, no entendimento encontrado entre si e na maneira como são tratados pelos seus chefes; e menores com o tipo de amizade, confiança e espírito de colaboração demonstrada pelos seus colegas de trabalho, assim como com a capacidade absorvida e o salário se comparado com o quanto trabalha. O quadro do comprometimento organizacional afetivo demonstra maior afeto as questões relacionadas a empresa em fazer o empregado sentir-se orgulhoso e contente com ela. Análises de correlação pelo r de Pearson informaram índices negativos e significativos entre as duas variáveis e intenção de rotatividade. Tais resultados informam que o plano de deixar a empresa onde trabalham é cada vez menor à medida que se elevam os níveis de satisfação no trabalho e comprometimento organizacional afetivo.

PROJETOS EDUCATIVOS COMO FACILITADORES DO ENSINO-APRENDIZAGEM

A experiência tem demonstrado que projetos educativos facilitam o processo de ensino-aprendizagem. Por isso, esta pesquisa teve como objetivo verificar as possibilidades, os limites e os obstáculos enfrentados pelo professor ao trabalhar com projetos educativos. Para tanto, foi feito um estudo de caso em uma escola do município de São Paulo em que os professores possuem como prática o desenvolvimento de projetos. Foram selecionados cinco deles: Ler e Escrever , Xadrez na Escola , Nas Ondas do Rádio pertencentes ao programa da Secretaria Municipal de Educação de São Paulo, e que constam nos projetos político-pedagógicos das escolas da rede desde 2006 e A Caixa de Pandora e Azulejos no Metrô , que aconteceram no ano de 2010. Estes dois últimos não pertencem ao projeto político-pedagógico da escola, mas foram selecionados para este estudo pelo grande número de alunos que envolvem e por terem ultrapassado os muros da instituição. Com base na teoria de vários autores, principalmente Fernando Hernández, que traz a proposta de organização do currículo integrado por meio de projetos de trabalho, e Ulisses F. Araújo, que trata da construção de valores e da influência da afetividade na formação do aluno, e considerando a prática docente e o papel importante do educador, refletiu-se sobre como os projetos educativos contribuem para o aumento do rendimento escolar. De cunho qualitativo, a pesquisa foi desenvolvida tendo como principais técnicas a leitura e a análise de documentos, fotos e vídeos, bem como entrevistas e questionários para professores e alunos. Os resultados apontam para a estratégia de projetos desenvolvida na escola objeto de estudo ela incorpora alguns elementos relativos às teorias utilizadas e para o fato de que a prática docente pode contribuir para a implantação de ações pedagógicas que auxiliam na aquisição do conhecimento e no desenvolvimento de valores, ações que caminham em direção das ideias de interdisciplinaridade e transversalidade.

O PROFESSOR DO ENSINO MÉDIO E AS TRANSFORMAÇÕES NO MUNDO DO TRABALHO

O estudo objetivou entender como as mudanças que ocorrem na organização do trabalho interferem na maneira de o professor do ensino médio pensar e organizar o seu próprio trabalho. Trata-se de uma pesquisa de campo realizada com professores do Ensino Médio de uma escola estadual localizada num bairro da periferia do município de São Vicente, Estado de São Paulo. Contou-se com os estudos realizados por Harvey (2000), Castel (1998) e Sennett (2004) para entender como as transformações estão se processando no mundo do trabalho e como elas interferem nas condições de trabalho e vida do trabalhador. A organização da escola foi estudada a partir de Ferretti e Silva Júnior (2004) e a profissão docente, a partir das contribuições de Adorno (2003), Oliveira (2003, 2004) e Fanfani (2005). A metodologia adotada insere-se no contexto de uma pesquisa empírica, qualitativa do tipo etnográfico, de acordo com as definições de André (1995), e a coleta de dados foi realizada a partir de observação participante, questionários e entrevistas. Envolveu também estudo de documentos elaborados pela escola e referentes às legislações aplicadas ao ensino médio. Chegou-se à conclusão de que as conseqüências das transformações que ocorrem no mundo do trabalho chegam até a escola por vias diversas e acabam afetando a forma de esta organizar o seu trabalho. Ao chegarem até os professores elas são reinterpretadas e re-adaptadas. As representações que esses profissionais possuem acerca do trabalho e que são construídas ao longo de suas trajetórias de vida acabam interferindo nas interpretações que eles fazem sobre as transformações do mundo do trabalho, bem como na construção da identidade da própria profissão docente. No atual contexto de transformação do trabalho, muito há que se considerar nos caminhos que hoje se colocam como opção para a formação do professor. Esta pesquisa contou com o apoio da CAPES.(AU)

Time and professional work in public sector organisations: an examination of four occupational groups in education and medicine

The aim of this thesis is to examine the experience of time of four professional occupational groups working in public sector organisations and the factors affecting this experience. The literature on time and work is examined to delineate the key parameters of research in this area. A broad organisation behaviour approach to the experience of time and work is developed in which individual, occupational, organisational and socio-political factors are inter-related. The experience of secondary school teachers, further education lecturers, general medical practitioners and hosoital consultants is then examined. Multiple methods of data collection are used: open-ended interviews, a questionnaire survey and the analysis of key documents relating to the institutional settings in which the four groups work. The research aims to develop our knowledge of working time by considering the dimensions of the experience of time at work, the contexts in wlhich this experience is generated and the constraints these contexts give rIse to. By developing our understanding of time as a key feature of work experience we also extend our knowledge of organisation behaviour in general. In conclusion a model of the factors relating the experience of time to the negotiation of time at work is presented.