59974 research outputs found
Sort by
Bridging the gap: Comparative Analysis of Academic Support and Teacher-student Relationships in Faith-based Schools Across Regional and Urban Contexts
Full text linkThis article investigates the association between teachers providing academic support to their students and student's perceptions of their relationships with their teachers, with a focus on the role of geographical location. Utilising the Revised School Climate Measure, this pilot study surveyed 522 students across four Australian faith-based schools—two urban, and two regional schools. The data were analysed using a combination of correlations, one-way MANOVA and binomial regression. The results indicate that academic support is a contributing factor to students in regional schools reporting stronger relationships with their teachers compared to their urban peers. This study provides a foundation for future research and could be replicated on a larger scale. The implications offer school leaders and policymakers additional information to help address areas of disadvantage within regional Australian schools, while also highlighting the need for further investigation in this area
How does dimensionality influence outlier detection effectiveness in multivariate geochemical data? insights from LOF and IF methods
No full textThis paper examines the impact of the curse of dimensionality on the performance of isolation forest (IF) and local outlier factor (LOF) in detecting mineralization-related geochemical anomalies from a high-dimensional geochemical dataset. Using subsets selected through random and supervised methods with varying dimensions, IF and LOF were tested against known mineral deposit locations to assess their effectiveness. This study evaluates the percentage of mineral occurrences classified as anomalies and the area under the ROC curve across different dimensionalities. Furthermore, the influence of dimension reduction techniques such as PCA and ISOMAP on IF and LOF performance is explored. IF demonstrates consistent performance, proving robust across various dimensions and particularly suited to high-dimensional datasets. In contrast, LOF displays sensitivity to dimensionality, with optimal performance in lower dimensions (5 to 10 variables) but diminishing effectiveness beyond this range. This sensitivity highlights the importance of judicious input variable selection for LOF to achieve effective anomaly detection in geochemical datasets. Additionally, this study reveals that the performance of IF remains stable with both PCA and ISOMAP, whereas LOF benefits more from PCA, where its variance-maximizing feature may retain sufficient structural integrity for effective anomaly detection. Conversely, the performance of LOF declines with ISOMAP due to its more significant impact on local density changes. This variation underscores the need for a careful selection of dimension reduction methods and the number of components used as input for outlier detection methods
Creating a dot-counting single-subject design tutorial
Full text linkSingle-subjects design has the advantage of providing detailed, individualized analyses of intervention. However, creating a tutorial for single-subject subject (SSD) is challenging, and an effective version for online delivery is currently unavailable. Here, we developed an experiential SSD tutorial designed for online delivery and evaluated its pedagogical effectiveness. Fifty-nine undergraduate students participated by completing a three-item online questionnaire, and their free-text responses were analyzed using summative content analysis. The quantitative results indicated that most students found the tutorial highly beneficial. Qualitative findings revealed four key learning points: the SSD design process, types of intervention, the concept of SSD, and behavioral changes. Additionally, two main features - experiential learning and the ability to interpret personal data - facilitated student engagement. We also explore ways to further enhance the teaching of SSD, highlighting the tutorial as a versatile tool for online education that offers students a practical and realistic introduction to single-subject designs
Aphasia
No full text[Extract] Worldwide, one in four people over the age of25 will have a stroke (World Stroke Organization, 2020). Following stroke, up to 40% of people will experience aphasia (Engelter et al., 2006; Flowers et al., 2016). Aphasia is an acquired language impairment, most commonly caused by left-hemisphere stroke, resulting from damage to the language circuitry of the brain. For approximately 60% of stroke survivors, aphasia becomes a chronic condition (Pedersen et al., 2004). Aphasia can potentially impact all aspects of communication including understanding spoken and written language, as well as speaking and writing (Papathanasiou et al., 2017). These communication changes and challenges can have significant negative consequences on the lives of people with aphasia and their communication partners, including affecting quality oflife and mental health. People with aphasia have reported challenges to engaging in social activities, maintaining friendships and relationships, resuming work, and accessing education (Code, 2003; Dalemans et al., 2010; Hilari & Byng, 2009; Pike et al., 2017)
Counselling in Asian Schools: A Decade Reviewed through an Ecological Lens
No full textInformation technology, clinical focus, and social changes are some of the key developments impacting the practice of counselling in Asian schools today. Using an ecological framework, this chapter reviews each of these areas to make sense of developments in Asian school counselling in the last decade, with a particular emphasis on Southeast Asia. The framework, comprised of four domains including Internal, External, Systems, and Personal, will be introduced at the beginning of the chapter. It provides the basis for the mapping and analysis of challenges and solutions within school counselling. This is followed by a brief review of how school counselling in Asia has been responding to changes in the information, communication, and technology arena. Trauma-informed care, bullying, mental health, and family counselling are selected for deeper analysis. Social changes, the movement of populations, sexual minorities, and social inequalities across the region are also discussed. This chapter makes a case for the importance of understanding the interactions between the domains in the framework. The appreciation of the dynamics between domains and careful examinations of school ecology generate insights that can inform counselling practice, policy changes, and service development in schools
Tolerance mechanisms in polysaccharide biosynthesis: Implications for undecaprenol phosphate recycling in Escherichia coli and Shigella flexneri
Full text linkBacterial polysaccharide synthesis is catalysed on the universal lipid carrier, undecaprenol phosphate (UndP). The cellular UndP pool is shared by different polysaccharide synthesis pathways including peptidoglycan biogenesis. Disruptions in cytosolic polysaccharide synthesis steps are detrimental to bacterial survival due to effects on UndP recycling. In contrast, bacteria can survive disruptions in the periplasmic steps, suggesting a tolerance mechanism to mitigate UndP sequestration. Here we investigated tolerance mechanisms to disruptions of polymerases that are involved in UndP-releasing steps in two related polysaccharide synthesis pathways: that for enterobacterial common antigen (ECA) and that for O antigen (OAg), in Escherichia coli and Shigella flexneri. Our study reveals that polysaccharide polymerisation is crucial for efficient UndP recycling. In E. coli K-12, cell survival upon disruptions in OAg polymerase is dependent on a functional ECA synthesis pathway and vice versa. This is because disruptions in OAg synthesis lead to the redirection of the shared lipid-linked sugar substrate UndPP-GlcNAc towards increased ECA production. Conversely, in S. flexneri, the OAg polymerase is essential due to its limited ECA production, which inadequately redirects UndP flow to support cell survival. We propose a model whereby sharing the initial sugar intermediate UndPP-GlcNAc between the ECA and OAg synthesis pathways allows UndP to be redirected towards ECA production, mitigating sequestration issues caused by disruptions in the OAg pathway. These findings suggest an evolutionary buffering mechanism that enhances bacterial survival when UndP sequestration occurs due to stalled polysaccharide biosynthesis, which may allow polysaccharide diversity in the species to increase over time
Cross-cultural Validation of the Arizona Sexual Experience Scale (ASEX) in 42 Countries and 26 Languages
Full text linkIntroduction:
The Arizona Sexual Experiences Scale (ASEX) is a brief questionnaire that evaluates five major aspects of sexual function: sex drive, arousal, erectile function/vaginal lubrication, ability to reach orgasm, and satisfaction with orgasm. An advantage of the ASEX is its simplicity and brevity (five items), making it suitable for the screening of sexual function problems in healthcare contexts and large-scale studies. The main objective of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the ASEX in a multi-national sample, as well as to explore sexual function according to countries, genders, and sexual orientations.
Methods:
The psychometric examination of the ASEX was conducted with a sample of 82,243 participants (women = 57.02%; men = 39.59%; gender-diverse = 3.38%; Mage = 32.39 years; SD = 12.52) from 42 different countries speaking 26 languages.
Results:
The CFA supported a one-factor solution. Multigroup CFAs supported configural, metric, partial scalar, and residual invariance across countries, languages, genders, and sexual orientations. Furthermore, the ASEX showed good internal consistency (ω = .85) and convergent validity (e.g., significant negative associations with masturbation and sexual intercourse frequency). Finally, individuals in Eastern countries, women, and asexual participants reported higher levels of sexual function issues.
Conclusions and Policy Implications:
The findings supported the use of the ASEX as a tool to screen for sexual function problems across diverse populations in multi-cultural settings. This scale may be used to improve our knowledge on the cross-cultural differences on the expression of sexual function, serving as the basis for the development of culturally tailored interventions for the improvement of this basic aspect of well-being
The Impact of COVID-19 on the Perceived Value of Music Listening
Full text linkThis study considers if, and how, the value people place in music listening changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, by comparing findings with pre-COVID data. A sample of 296 Australian university students (Mage = 19.32) completed an online survey in which they provided a short response to an open-ended question, “has the value you place in music listening changed during the pandemic? If so, how?” Of the 67.20% of respondents who indicated that their perceived value of music listening had changed, 99.50% expressed that the value had increased. A thematic analysis resulted in seven themes characterizing how people's value in listening had increased: emotion regulation, exploration, social connection, uses, listening more, self-connection, and reliance. Relative to pre-COVID value themes, emotion regulation remained the most frequently endorsed value. In the COVID context, many more people highlighted music's ability to combat loneliness, promote social connection, and provide solace, comfort, and companionship during difficult times. Our findings highlight that people's perception of the value of music is malleable and influenced by context. Future research will reveal whether the increased value of music listening seen in the present study is long-lasting
Prevalence and Correlates of (Internet) Gaming Disorder among Young Adults in Singapore
Full text linkThere is a lack of estimates of prevalence rates of Internet gaming disorder (IGD) and gaming disorder (GD) among young adults in Singapore. Consequently, the current study aimed to examine the prevalence rates of IGD and GD, and their relationships with known correlates. Participants were a representative sample of 1008 young adults in Singapore. They completed instruments that assess IGD, GD, gaming motivations, negative emotional states, and sleep quality. The results showed a prevalence rate of 10.3% for IGD and 5.0% for GD. Males had a higher IGD and GD prevalence rate (14.6% and 7.2%) than females (6.2% and 2.8%). Furthermore, participants with IGD or GD reported higher gaming time, and higher scores on gaming motivations, negative emotional states, and sleep quality than their counterparts with no IGD or GD. The higher prevalence rates in this study compared to other global studies suggest that problematic gaming is a social issue in Singapore. Known correlates relating to gender, gaming time, motivations, and emotions were confirmed in the current study. The finding that participants with IGD or GD had better sleep quality was inconsistent with previous studies and could be due to the use of a single item to assess sleep quality. Limitations include the use of a cross-sectional correlational design. Future research could develop and evaluate prevention programs or intervention programs to alleviate the symptoms and negative consequences of problematic gaming
Expressing Sexuality in Silent and Weep: Experience of Chinese People With Intellectual Disabilities and Parents
Full text linkBackground:
Sexual well-being significantly impacts the overall quality of life for individuals with and without intellectual disabilities. Notably, parents play a pivotal role in influencing their children's sexual development, and their attitudes towards this topic are shaped by Chinese sociocultural values.
Methods:
This study employed Interpretative phenomenological analysis to explore the experiences and attitudes of five individuals with intellectual disabilities and seven parents/caregivers regarding the sexual needs of their adult offspring with intellectual disabilities.
Results:
The findings revealed participants' experiences and concerns, often navigating the challenges posed by traditional Chinese cultural restrictions through responses characterised as ‘Silent’ (avoidance of discussion) and ‘Weep’ (deep-seated psycho-emotional burden).
Conclusions:
This research emphasises the importance of a pluralistic society and advocates for promoting sexual autonomy among individuals with intellectual disabilities. The findings have implications for future practises and highlight the need for a more inclusive and compassionate approach to their sexual well-being