1,720,964 research outputs found
Physical aggression among high school students in New Zealand
No full textRecent New Zealand (NZ) research found rates of physical fighting and weapon carrying among high school students in Dunedin were equal to that of rates for the United States (US). The NZ Government has identified violence as a priority health issue. However, NZ is lacking information on the prevalence of the problem, and the identification of factors which may provide clues for prevention. The current understanding of the social context in which physical aggression takes place, has focused on risk factors that are present in the adolescents' ecological frame. Emerging protective factors are increasingly being recognised as major determinants that can moderate the adverse effects of risk factors. However, little research into protective factors has been conducted in NZ.
The aim of this thesis was to investigate physical aggression among adolescents in NZ. This was explored through four in-depth studies: i) a national survey of secondary school principals and counsellors ii) focus groups with students in Otago; iii) an online survey with students in Otago and iv) a survey with teachers in Otago.
The national survey of secondary school principals and counsellors points to a degree of concern about physical violence in NZ. One in ten reported fights occurred frequently, and over a quarter of principals and over one third of counsellors reported that at least one student at their school had been caught carrying a weapon.
Focus groups with Otago adolescents indicated that fights often began as verbal disagreements escalating to physical fights, that a fight should be defined as serious as opposed to a play fight; and differences were also found between fighting at school and outside of school. Participants suggested that items may be reported as weapons, even though they are not being carried for such purposes. Previous estimates of aggressive behaviours may have been unjustifiably high and possibly hid signifcant differences in the nature of the aggression being reported.
A quantitative cross-sectional online survey was undertaken with Otago secondary school students, and confirmed that physical aggression among NZ adolescents is a significant problem. Mutivariate analyses identified the school as an important factor in the social system of adolescents; in particular feeling safe, not feeling alienated and being treated fairly. The results highlighted the need to concentrate on strategies that improve students' positive engagement with school as a means to reduce physical aggression.
The final study of Otago secondary school teachers showed that while teachers did not consider physical aggression as a major problem in their schools, they did report frequent occurrences of physical fighting. Respondents also reported some teachers experienced significant physical aggression from students.
Physical aggression among NZ adolescents is a significant public health problem that needs addressing. This behaviour impacts directly on the education offered to students, the safety of the environment in which learning takes place, and the stress of the work place for teachers. This thesis has identified school engagement as the most promising protective factors for young people against involvement in physical aggression
Investigating and enhancing rural communities’ existing mental health service networks.
Full text linkMental illness is a growing concern throughout the world. The burden of mental illness is increasing globally, currently representing 7.4% of the total years of life either lost due to premature mortality or lived with disability.
In New Zealand, the estimated life-time risk of meeting the criteria for one or more mental illnesses is 46.6%. It is therefore essential to have a secure and effective mental healthcare system throughout the country. This can be particularly challenging to deliver in rural communities due to the unique circumstances that they face.
Previous studies have found that rural residents have decreased access to mental health specialist services, and increased exposure to mental health risk factors. However, there is ongoing dispute as to rurality’s overall effects on mental health status. Further research is required.
Despite the urgent need to better understand the interactions between rurality and mental health, there is a severe paucity of research in the area on a national and global scale. This action research project helped investigate the impact of rurality on mental health within New Zealand by interviewing mental health and wellbeing service providers operating in Wanaka and Balclutha.
The information gathered from these rural providers included their difficulties with interagency collaboration, the effects caused by rural providers working beyond their role descriptions, rural community characteristics that impact on service access, and service deficits within rural communities.
This data was used in conjunction with established literature in order to help understand several of the issues that are important to mental healthcare in rural New Zealand communities. From this background, attempts were made to help improve Balclutha’s existing mental health service network. These attempts included facilitating networking between services, creating a community-specific service information package, and encouraging the use of minimal-contact guided self-help therapies in a community-appropriate manner.
By investigating issues that are pertinent to rural mental health in New Zealand, this project helps address a major gap in current knowledge. The feasibility testing and process evaluation of enhancing an existing mental health service network will also serve to greatly benefit ongoing research and action in rural New Zealand
Physical aggression among high school students in New Zealand
No full textRecent New Zealand (NZ) research found rates of physical fighting and weapon carrying among high school students in Dunedin were equal to that of rates for the United States (US). The NZ Government has identified violence as a priority health issue. However, NZ is lacking information on the prevalence of the problem, and the identification of factors which may provide clues for prevention. The current understanding of the social context in which physical aggression takes place, has focused on risk factors that are present in the adolescents' ecological frame. Emerging protective factors are increasingly being recognised as major determinants that can moderate the adverse effects of risk factors. However, little research into protective factors has been conducted in NZ.
The aim of this thesis was to investigate physical aggression among adolescents in NZ. This was explored through four in-depth studies: i) a national survey of secondary school principals and counsellors ii) focus groups with students in Otago; iii) an online survey with students in Otago and iv) a survey with teachers in Otago.
The national survey of secondary school principals and counsellors points to a degree of concern about physical violence in NZ. One in ten reported fights occurred frequently, and over a quarter of principals and over one third of counsellors reported that at least one student at their school had been caught carrying a weapon.
Focus groups with Otago adolescents indicated that fights often began as verbal disagreements escalating to physical fights, that a fight should be defined as serious as opposed to a play fight; and differences were also found between fighting at school and outside of school. Participants suggested that items may be reported as weapons, even though they are not being carried for such purposes. Previous estimates of aggressive behaviours may have been unjustifiably high and possibly hid signifcant differences in the nature of the aggression being reported.
A quantitative cross-sectional online survey was undertaken with Otago secondary school students, and confirmed that physical aggression among NZ adolescents is a significant problem. Mutivariate analyses identified the school as an important factor in the social system of adolescents; in particular feeling safe, not feeling alienated and being treated fairly. The results highlighted the need to concentrate on strategies that improve students' positive engagement with school as a means to reduce physical aggression.
The final study of Otago secondary school teachers showed that while teachers did not consider physical aggression as a major problem in their schools, they did report frequent occurrences of physical fighting. Respondents also reported some teachers experienced significant physical aggression from students.
Physical aggression among NZ adolescents is a significant public health problem that needs addressing. This behaviour impacts directly on the education offered to students, the safety of the environment in which learning takes place, and the stress of the work place for teachers. This thesis has identified school engagement as the most promising protective factors for young people against involvement in physical aggression
Data Collected about Intentional Self-poisoning in New Zealand Emergency Departments and the Implications of Data Limitations for Prevention Planning
Full text linkBackground
Intentional self-poisoning (ISP; taking a purposeful overdose) results in significant morbidity and is a burden on population health. In order to reduce ISP by, for example, restricting inappropriate access to substances, information is required about which specific substances are commonly used.
Aims
I. What information about ISP can be obtained from Ministry of Health (MOH) datasets to plan poisoning prevention initiatives? What are the gaps in these data, and how could these be addressed?
II. How do emergency medicine professionals identify poisonings and investigate intent behind them, and how does that information become national hospital presentation data?
III. Which specific substances do people use in episodes of intentional self-poisoning, and where do they obtain these substances?
Methods
The MOH Mortality data and National Minimum Dataset (NMDS) public hospital presentation cases of intentional and undetermined intent self-poisoning were analysed to investigate demographic characteristics of people who present with ISP, and to investigate limitations of the current data. Poisonings of undetermined intent were included as they may be poorly identified cases of ISP.
Specific poisoning data collected at one Emergency Department (ED; Wellington) were analysed to provide more information about specific substances used in ISP, and to investigate feasibility of clinicians recording these data.
The process of identifying poisoning and intentionality in patients presenting to an ED, which is then recorded in NMDS data, was investigated through interviews with clinicians and clinical coders.
Cross-sectional data were collected prospectively from three EDs. This included data on specific substances and sources to these substances.
Results
Females were at higher risk of hospital presentations for ISP, and males were at higher risk of death. Young people, Māori, New Zealand Europeans and people from deprived areas were most at risk. There are few details about specific substances in existing MOH data. The data recorded by clinicians in Wellington ED provided more detail about substances but coding was less systematic. A range of information along the care pathway is used to determine whether a poisoning has occurred and whether it is intentional. Intent can be complex to determine as it may change over time from the substance exposure to the time of treatment at the ED, particularly in cases of alcohol/recreational drug co-intoxication. We found that clinical coders do send data on specific substances to the MOH although these do not appear in the MOH datasets. The five most frequent substances used by people in the prospective study were paracetamol, ethanol, ibuprofen, quetiapine, and venlafaxine. Most people used their own prescription drugs.
Conclusions
Current national MOH datasets describing ISP are not detailed enough to identify specific substances of concern. The study shows that it is feasible to collect this data, but attention needs to be paid to standardisation. This data could inform measures to prevent ISP
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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