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Measuring the distance to cash access points in Australia
No full textAccess to cash remains an important aspect of the Australian payment system, despite the increasing adoption of electronic payment methods. This study uses geographic data on national road networks to estimate the driving distance from residential locations across Australia to the nearest cash access points. First, I document the aggregate decline of cash access points, including bank branches, ATMs, and Bank@Post services. Second, using the geodesic distance as a measure of proximity to cash access points, I find that the distance has generally increased over time due to the decline in cash access points. Finally, I incorporate data on national road networks to compute the actual driving distance to the nearest cash access points, and demonstrate that driving distances can be longer than geodesic distances by a significant margin
Using PlayWorld to promote narrative development:evidence from a double-blind control experiment
No full textBackground. Recent data indicate an increase in speech difficulties and a decline in narrative competence among today’s preschool children. Therefore, identifying effective methods to support the development of narrative competence is a pressing and relevant challenge. Objective. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of using PlayWorld1 interventions in fostering narrative competence in preschool children. Design. The study involved 90 children aged 5–6 years and compared: (1) PlayWorld — a form of joint child-adult pretend play based on a fairy tale plot, (2) free pretend play, and (3) a control group. The research employed a randomised controlled trial design. Children’s narratives were assessed using the “MAIN: Multilingual Assessment Instrument for Narratives”, focusing on word count, speech rate, and both macrostructure (semantic level) and microstructure (lexical-grammatical level) of narrative production. Results. The results revealed that children receiving PlayWorld interventions significantly improved their macro- and microstructure of narratives, whereas in free pretend play children improved only the macrostructure of narratives. Children in the control group showed significant decline of scores for the macrostructure of narratives. Conclusion. The findings revealed that PlayWorld interventios are an effective approach for developing narrative competence. The use of cultural texts and adult involvement in pretend play are important complementary factors that enhance the developmental impact of pretend play. The findings contribute to a more precise understanding of how pretend play supports narrative development and may have both theoretical and practical implications for future research and educational practice.</p
Rethinking assistive technologies through hybrid manufacturing: a case study on designing for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
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Need support and need thwarting:a meta-analysis of autonomy, competence, and relatedness supportive and thwarting behaviors in student populations
No full textIn this meta-analysis, we review the nomological networks of six need-supportive and need-thwarting categories, as defined by self-determination theory (SDT), and as they apply to students in educational contexts. We conducted a synthesis of 8693 correlations from 637 samples (N = 388,912). A total of 72 covariates were examined, resulting in 183 meta-analytic effects reported. Results indicate that teachers and parents who experience psychological need satisfaction and well-being are seen as more supportive. Supportive teacher behaviors correlated positively with a range of desired student outcomes, including performance, engagement, and well-being. Thwarting behaviors tended to display the opposite pattern. Our results are consistent with the theoretical expectations of SDT, yet questions remain concerning the incremental validity of these constructs. We highlight the need for further research on (a) factors that cause teachers to provide support and (b) the specific behaviors within each category to distinguish these categories and increase practical utility.</p
A positive behaviour support practice framework for disability and community services in Australia that prioritises human rights and evidence-based practices
No full textPurpose: This paper introduces a practice framework for individualised positive behaviour support (PBS). The framework incorporates existing function-based PBS principles and integrates contemporary research and Australian legislation to frame practice elements through a human rights lens. It is designed to support people with disability of varied aetiologies across the lifespan in various settings (e.g. home, schools, and aged care). Methods: Existing research and literature have been reviewed, including key theories and current formulations to inform a new practice framework that reflects recommendations for applications in community settings. Results: The PBS Pathway (PBS-P) framework promotes culturally sensitive and socially valid strategies for empowering the person and their supporters via a clear practice framework. It emphasises evidence-based practices while acknowledging the need for flexibility to meet individual needs. Conclusions: The PBS-P framework offers a pragmatic approach and focused lens for critical thinking and reflective applications within PBS. It promotes a universal approach across the lifespan and service settings, contributing to a shared understanding of PBS as a rights-based practice. The framework’s alignment with current legislation supports adoption within existing systems; however, successful implementation requires skilled practitioners, adequate funding, and policies to support knowledge translation.</p
How the political elite make decisions
No full textThe political elite make policy decisions in noisy environments and under time pressure, and so are prone to using heuristics. There are conflicting schools of thought as to whether it is appropriate for them to do so. Experienced decision-makers are thought to be more effective at using heuristics, so it is possible that for the political elite with experience in a particular context, heuristic decision-making is appropriate. Yet, many politicians are asked to make decisions on matters about which they are not experts. To add to the debate, we facilitated a discussion with a highly experienced cohort of 21 current and former senior politicians, former advisers, and current and former senior bureaucrats. When presented with a carefully considered and innovative new transport network pricing policy, we sought to identify whether and, if so, how they used heuristics to make a decision. We found that they used heuristics (1) to decide whether to engage with the issue at all and (2) how to act, having made the decision to engage. We describe how these heuristics were used and discuss the implications for theory and public administration practice. Points for practitioners: There is a growing body of evidence that the political elite use heuristics for decision-making and that the use of heuristics is influenced by seven factors. We gained rare access to the political elite deciding on a politically risky issue and observed not only which heuristics they used, but how they used them. We observed a three-step decision tree, incorporating the ‘wait-and-see’ heuristic being used to decide whether to act, and political empathy, or intuiting voter heuristics to help decide how to act. We outline five options for public administrators who think that the political elite are using heuristics inappropriately for decision-making.</p
Ethical challenges in conducting research in low and middle income setting during public health emergencies:a qualitative evidence of a COVID-19 pandemic: the experience of Iran
No full textBackground: Every minute during an epidemic is important and research in such conditions is for the benefit of the society. Considering that identifying experiences is a way to prevent repeated mistakes and prepare people to face crisis situations, this study aimed to explain participants’ experiences of ethical challenges encountered in conducting research related to Covid-19 in Iran. Method: This qualitative study was carried out using conventional content analysis for 2 years from March 2020 to March 2022 in Tehran, Iran. A number of 30 people were selected in a purposeful method and information was obtained through semi-structured interviews. The participants in the study were people with positions including members of institutional and national research ethics committees, researchers, clinicians, university hospitals managers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The method of data analysis in this study was conventional content analysis using the Graneheim and Lundman method. Results: Participants’ experiences on ethical challenges were explained through three themes: “substantive ethical values principles”, “the Research Environment”, “Research Governance and Management”. Conclusion: This study examines ethical challenges in COVID-19 research across three domains: values, environment, and research governance. The results suggest the need to develop crisis-specific ethical frameworks, strengthen research ethics infrastructure and training, and establish more transparent standards and oversight systems. These findings could be useful in refining ethical policies and managing future crises.</p
A decision-making framework for supporting an equitable global vaccine distribution under humanitarian perspectives
No full textThis paper is motivated by the occurrence of vaccine nationalism in the setting of pandemics. Certain high-income countries (HICs) aggressively accumulated vaccinations while showing little concern for the vaccination challenges faced by low- and middle- income countries. This disparity fosters the proliferation and mutation of viruses, thus risking the global population's health and welfare. Hence, we create a data-driven framework to tackle this humanitarian problem by facilitating the provision of vaccines. The framework comprises of two models: a network model named multi-strain Susceptible–Vaccinated–Infected–Removed–Susceptible and a vaccine distribution model with equitable constraints. The latter also encompasses the diverse uncertainty associated with vaccination hesitancy in different countries, in order to avoid potential wastage of resources. The vaccine distribution from our framework is based on greedy thought, thus enabling decision-makers to actively engage in the real-time vaccine allocation process. When the suggested framework is applied to the scenario of the COVID-19 pandemic, the simulation results indicate that fair distributions could accelerate the end of the pandemic. Additional scenarios, such as equitable levels and traveling intensity, are also examined in the sensitivity analysis. The progression of the epidemic under vaccine nationalism is moreover simulated to highlight its harmfulness and validate the efficacy of our framework. We demonstrate that the inequitable advantage experienced by HICs is temporary, as HICs are bound to suffer from virus variants in due course when vaccinations become less efficacious against them.</p
Experienced meditators show greater forward traveling cortical alpha wave strengths
No full textMindfulness meditation involves training attention, commonly toward sensory experiences, with nonjudgmental awareness. Theoretical perspectives propose that meditation increases the precision of sensory processing and reduces the generation/elaboration of top-down expectations. Research suggests forward traveling cortical alpha waves may reflect bottom-up inhibition to enhance signal-to-noise ratios of sensory processing, while backward traveling alpha waves may reflect top-down inhibition based on expectations. We used electroencephalography to test whether the strength of forward and backward traveling cortical alpha waves differed between meditators and a matched sample of nonmeditators during eyes-closed resting (N = 97) and during a visual cognitive (Go/No-go) task (N = 126). Our results showed meditators produced stronger forward traveling waves compared to nonmeditators while resting with their eyes closed and during task performance. Meditators also exhibited weaker backward traveling waves while resting with their eyes closed. These results may indicate a neural mechanism underpinning enhanced attention associated with meditation, as well as a potential neural marker of reductions in mind-wandering, suggested to be associated with meditation. The results also support models of brain function that suggest attention modification is achievable through mental training to increase sensory awareness, which might be indexed by the greater strength of forward traveling cortical waves.</p