Christian Education Research Centre
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Item A Comparison of Generic Skills and Emotional Intelligence in Accounting Education(2012-08-01) Daff, LynEmbedding generic skills such as communication and teamwork in the accounting curriculum to attract attention from stakeholders. In parallel, the business world and more recently some faculty, have recognized and explored the need to incorporate emotional intelligence (EI) in the curriculum. EI is viewed as a desirable quality as it allows accountants to excel in strategic decision making, teamwork, leadership, and client relations. We contend that in the quest to find the best employees, employers have focused on EI, whereas accounting faculty have placed less emphasis on EI skill development and a greater emphasis on generic skills. This paper addresses the need for accountants to have a combination of EI and generic skills framework are identified when the two are juxtaposed. This provides guidance for faculty seeking to develop highly skilled graduates via the development of a range of curriculum resources designed to enhance EI. [from the publisher's website].
Item A Logistics Support Framework: A Systems-Based Approach to Logistics Planning for Development Projects(2015-08-12) Ormsby, Gail; Keeffe, TimothyLogistics support plays a critical role in the delivery of quality health care services, particularly in developing countries. This study utilised systems methodology and Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) analysis to develop a Support Framework for a Vision Centre in rural Vietnam. The methodology employs elements of both ‘soft’ (in particular Checkland’s Soft Systems Management approach) and ‘hard’ systems practices to develop an accessible and robust logistics planning tool.
Item A Multimodal Intervention for Improving the Mental Health and Emotional Well-being of College Students(2020-03-01) Przybylko, Geraldine; Renfrew, Melanie; Beamish, Peter; Kent, Lillian; Herman, Wendi; Craig, Bevan; Hinze, Jason; Morton, DarrenThis study examined the effectiveness of a 10-week multimodal intervention for improving the mental health and emotional well-being of college students when included as a mandatory component of the students’ course of study. A total of 67 students (20.9 ± 5.4 years, 30 male/37 female) participated in the intervention that introduced a variety of evidence-based strategies for improving mental health and emotional well-being from the Lifestyle Medicine and Positive Psychology literature. Significant reductions were recorded in symptoms of depression (−28%, P < .05), anxiety (−31%, P < .05), and stress (−28%, P < .01), whereas significant improvements were observed in mental health (18%, P < .01), vitality (14%, P < .01) and overall life satisfaction (8%, P < .05). Effect sizes were larger than those reported by studies that have examined the individual effectiveness of the strategies incorporated into the intervention, suggesting a compounding effect. Stratified analyses indicated that participants with the lowest measures of mental health and emotional well-being at baseline experienced the greatest benefits. The findings of the study suggest that meaningful improvements in the mental health and emotional well-being of college students can be achieved, and potentially magnified, by utilizing a multidisciplinary approach involving evidence-based strategies from Lifestyle Medicine and Positive Psychology.
Item A Positive Association Between Cryptosporidiosis Notifications and Ambient Temperature, Victoria, Australia, 2001-2009(2015-12-01) Higgins, Nasra; McPherson, Michelle; Kent, LillianIncreased temperatures provide optimal conditions for pathogen survival, virulence and replication as well as increased opportunities for human-pathogen interaction. This paper examined the relationship between notifications of cryptosporidiosis and temperature in metropolitan and rural areas of Victoria, Australia between 2001-2009. A negative binomial regression model was used to analyse monthly average maximum and minimum temperatures, rainfall and the monthly count of cryptosporidiosis notifications. In the metropolitan area, a 1°C increase in monthly average minimum temperature of the current month was associated with a 22% increase in cryptosporidiosis notifications (IRR 1.22; 95% CI 1.13 – 1.31). In the rural area, a 1°C increase in monthly average minimum temperature, lagged by 3 months, was associated with a 9% decrease in cryptosporidiosis notifications (IRR 0.91; 95% CI 0.86 – 0.97). Rainfall was not associated with notifications in either area. These relationships should be considered when planning public health response to ecological risks as well as when developing policies involving climate change. Rising ambient temperature may be an early warning signal for intensifying prevention efforts, including appropriate education for pool users about cryptosporidiosis infection and management, which might become more important as temperatures are projected to increase as a result of climate change.
Item A Professional Learning Program for Novice Online Teachers Using Threshold Concepts(2019-12-01) McLoughlin, Catherine E.; Reynaud, Daniel; Kilgour, Peter W.; Gosselin, Kevin P.; Northcote, Maria T.The professional development of online teachers is now commonplace in higher education. Alongside the relatively straightforward decision to provide professional learning support for novice and experienced online educators within universities, decisions about the nature and content of such support are not always as clear cut. The study aimed to gather evidence about the online teaching and learning experiences and views of current students and staff which, in turn, informed a set of pedagogical guidelines that could be used as the basis of professional learning programs for novice online teachers. Using a mixed methods research design, data were gathered using questionnaires, reflective journals, and focus groups to determine the threshold concepts about online teaching and perceptions of ideal online learning environments. As well as identifying threshold concepts about online teaching and perceptions of teachers’ and students’ ideal views of online learning contexts (reported elsewhere), the study produced curricular guidelines to inform the design of professional development outputs for online teachers in higher education. This article reports on an example of how these professional development guidelines, based on identified threshold concepts of online pedagogy, were implemented at one higher education institution to provide wide-scale implementation of a professional development program for academic staff engaged in online teaching.
Item A Qualitative Analysis of Discipleship in the Seventh-day Adventist Church: Responses to a Global and Regional Survey(2016-09-01) de Waal, Kayle; Heise, Julie-Anne; Petrie, Kevin; Ferret, Rick; Morton, Lindsay; Hattingh, Sherry J.In 2014 the South Pacific Division1 (SPD) of the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church commissioned a research team from Avondale College of Higher Education to investigate the nature of discipleship. The aim of the research project was twofold: to provide an objective description of a Seventh-day Adventist disciple of Jesus, and to provide a criterion/criteria by which the attainment of discipleship may be measured and shared in the context of the Adventist Church’s mission. This paper reports on stage one of the project in which international and national church leaders were interviewed regarding their understanding of discipleship as articulated and applied at division, union, conference, and local levels. This qualitative data was then analyzed for common themes, areas for development, and contributions towards a description of a Seventh-day Adventist disciple. Five key findings emerged from stage one and are reported below, highlighting both strengths and weaknesses in the Church’s understandings of and approaches to discipleship.
Item A Review of Literature: What is an Ideal Internationalised School?(2016-07-02) Hattingh, Sherry J.This article presents the findings of a literature review conducted from 2005 to 2013 on the elements involved when a school internationalises. In the past there has been predominant focus on the teachers or the international students at schools with little emphasis on a whole school approach to internationalisation. This review considers the body of literature on internationalisation and synthesises the findings using a stage play metaphor to construct the ideal performance of a school-wide approach to internationalising. The first act by the school leadership is that of organising and managing the school, the second act involves the international student and their experience, and the third and final act is that of the teachers and their pedagogy. This literature review presents all the elements through the acts, key roles and essential scenes for the best performance of a school for internationalisation.
Item A Web- and Mobile App–Based Mental Health Promotion Intervention Comparing Email, Short Message Service, and Videoconferencing Support for a Healthy Cohort: Randomized Comparative Study(2020-01-06) Craig, Bevan; Przybylko, Geraldine; Beamish, Peter; Hinze, Jason; Morton, Jason K.; Morton, Darren; Renfrew, MelanieBackground: The rapid increase in mental health disorders has prompted a call for greater focus on mental health promotion and primary prevention. Web- and mobile app–based interventions present a scalable opportunity. Little is known about the influence of human support on the outcomes of these interventions.
Objective: This study aimed to compare the influence of 3 modes of human support on the outcomes (ie, mental health, vitality, depression, anxiety, stress, life satisfaction, and flourishing) of a 10-week, Web- and mobile app–based, lifestyle-focused mental health promotion intervention among a healthy adult cohort.
Methods: Participants were recruited voluntarily using a combination of online and offline advertising. They were randomized, unblinded into 3 groups differentiated by human support mode: Group 1 (n=201): standard—fully automated emails (S); Group 2 (n=202): standard plus personalized SMS (S+pSMS); and Group 3 (n=202): standard plus weekly videoconferencing support (S+VCS), hosted by 1 trained facilitator. Participants accessed the intervention, including the questionnaire, on a Web-based learning management system or through a mobile app. The questionnaire, administered at pre- and postintervention, contained self-reported measures of mental well-being, including the “mental health” and “vitality” subscales from the Short Form Health Survey-36, Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21, Diener Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS), and Diener Flourishing Scale.
Results: Of 605 potential participants, 458 (S: n=157, S+pSMS: n=163, and S+VCS: n=138) entered the study by completing registration and the preintervention questionnaire. At post intervention, 320 out of 458 participants (69.9%; S: n=103, S+pSMS: n=114, and S+VCS: n=103) completed the questionnaire. Significant within-group improvements were recorded from pre- to postintervention in all groups and in every outcome measure (P≤.001). No significant between-group differences were observed for outcomes in any measure: mental health (P=.77), vitality (P=.65), depression (P=.93), anxiety (P=.25), stress (P.57), SWLS (P=.65), and Flourishing Scale (P=.99). Adherence was not significantly different between groups for mean videos watched (P=.42) and practical activity engagement (P=.71). Participation in videoconference support sessions (VCSSs) was low; 37 out of 103 (35.9%) participants did not attend any VCSSs, and only 19 out of 103 (18.4%) attended 7 or more out of 10 sessions. Stratification within the S+VCS group revealed that those who attended 7 or more VCSSs experienced significantly greater improvements in the domains of mental health (P=.006; d=0.71), vitality (P=.005; d=0.73), depression (P=.04; d=0.54), and life satisfaction (P=.046; d=0.50) compared with participants who attended less than 7.
Conclusions: A Web- and mobile app–based mental health promotion intervention enhanced domains of mental well-being among a healthy cohort, irrespective of human support. Low attendance at VCSSs hindered the ability to make meaningful between-group comparisons. Supplementing the intervention with VCSSs might improve outcomes when attendance is optimized.
Item Acquisition of Cultural Awareness in Pre-Service Teachers(2013-11-30) Kilgour, Peter W.It is the desire of teacher educators in Australia that their mandated unit of study on multiculturalism and indigenous studies produces a cultural awareness in future teachers of the issues faced by multicultural and indigenous students. This paper reports a study where one cohort of 119 pre-service teachers was surveyed in the first and last lectures of the unit on what they believed would be the factors affecting their teaching in multicultural and indigenous classrooms. A significant perception change (p=0.05) of the students was measured between the first lecture and the last lecture. Students moved from a perception that physical, religious and language factors would be the main issues to their belief that prejudice, stereotyping, sensitivity and ethnocentrism would be the factor they would need to work with.
Item Addressing Disability in the Health System at CARITAS Takeo Eye Hospital(2013-05-21) Lewis, David; Bonn, Te Serey; Ormsby, Gail; Mörchen, ManfredThe article describes how the CARITAS Takeo Eye Hospital (CTEH) in Cambodia has worked hard to be more inclusive of people with disabilities. It mentions that the process to address the disability at the CTEH began in 2008 with the construction of new premises with universal design which reduced the physical barriers for everybody. The CTEH staff was trained on inclusion by CBM Australia and the Nossal Institute for Global Health; disability-inclusive practices reported a positive outcome.
Item Age-Appropriate Experiences and Rituals That Help Students Encounter God, Part I(2020-01-01) Fisher, Barbara J.This article explores age-appropriate experiences and rituals for children to build a relationship with God.
Item Age-appropriate Experiences and Rituals That Help Students Encounter God, Part II(2020-06-01) Fisher, Barbara J.This article further explores age-appropriate experiences and rituals for children to build a relationship with God.
Item Approaching a Study of the Periodic Table from a Nature of Science Perspective(2003-04-01) de Berg, Kevin C.This article uses the strategy of a historical essay with the periodic table as its theme to engender in tertiary-level students a sense of the progress of chemistry as a human endeavour. This has great value in helping students address issues related to the nature of science. The author's objective is to overcome the expressed view that technical jargon not rooted in experience and factual overload makes it difficult to gain a sense of how concepts and theories originate, how they come to be validated and accepted, and how they connect with experience and reveal relations among seemingly disparate phenomena. A key feature of the nature of science particularly applicable to the Periodic Law is outlined and discussed with reference to the work of Dobereiner, Newlands, Mendeleeff, and recent observations by Scerri. The paper includes discussion of the fallibility of any basis for periodic organisation of the elements, and the idea that a better organising principle might be a non-visualisable property of atoms such as total energy. A teaching/learning strategy used by the author with a first year tertiary chemistry class is outlined. [Author abstract, ed]
Item Are Christian Schools Really Christian? Perceptions of Final-year Pre-service Teachers in Australia(2017-01-01) Beamish, Peter; Christian, BeverlyItem Assessing Culturally-Bound Beliefs Related to Diarrheal Diseases among Rural Women, Chipata District, Zambia: Health Education Implications of a Pilot Study(2002-10-01) Cordero-MacIntyre, Zaida; Njoloma, Elizabeth; Waife, Ruth; Loh, Cindy; Ormsby, GailThis study of rural mothers and health workers in Eastern Zambia illustrates the use of traditional medicines in the treatment of common illnesses, and the seeking of services from traditional healers. It provides a better understanding of knowledge, beliefs, and practices in the field of traditional medicine, and explores the relationship of common cultural-bound beliefs (Thola, Chibele, Chibambala, Chisi, and Njisi) with feeding practices during pregnancy and early childhood related to diarrheal diseases. In addition, it identifies factors that influence a mother's choice about the use or avoidance of certain foods. This qualitative research process encourages a culturally sensitive community-based approach to creating appropriate health promotion messages and program activities.
Item Assessment of Work-Integrated Learning: Comparison of the Usage of a Grading Rubric by Supervising Radiographers and Teachers(2014-03-01) Christian, Beverly J.; Gerzina, Tania; Kilgour, Peter W.; Kilgour, AndrewIntroduction
Professional work-integrated learning (WIL) that integrates the academic experience with off-campus professional experience placements is an integral part of many tertiary courses. Issues with the reliability and validity of assessment grades in these placements suggest that there is a need to strengthen the level of academic rigour of placements in these programmes. This study aims to compare the attitudes to the usage of assessment rubrics of radiographers supervising medical imaging students and teachers supervising pre-service teachers.
Methods
WIL placement assessment practices in two programmes, pre-service teacher training (Avondale College of Higher Education, NSW) and medical diagnostic radiography (Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, NSW), were compared with a view to comparing assessment strategies across these two different educational domains. Educators (course coordinators) responsible for teaching professional development placements of teacher trainees and diagnostic radiography students developed a standards-based grading rubric designed to guide assessment of students’ work during WIL placement by assessors. After ~12 months of implementation of the rubrics, assessors’ reaction to the effectiveness and usefulness of the grading rubric was determined using a specially created survey form. Data were collected over the period from March to June 2011. Quantitative and qualitative data found that assessors in both programmes considered the grading rubric to be a vital tool in the assessment process, though teacher supervisors were more positive about the benefits of its use than the radiographer supervisors.
Results
Benefits of the grading rubric included accuracy and consistency of grading, ability to identify specific areas of desired development and facilitation of the provision of supervisor feedback. The use of assessment grading rubrics is of benefit to assessors in WIL placements from two very different teaching programmes.
Conclusion
Radiographers appear to need more training in the rubric's use, whereas teachers are found to generally use it appropriately. There are implications drawn from this finding that are applicable to health science and medical education in general.
Item Attachment, Nature, and the Young Child’s Felt Sense of God(2020-03-30) Christian, BeverlyIt is proposed that young children may develop a felt sense of God through an attachment to nature that parallels their attachment to significant people in their lives. Children learn through their senses and young children experience a sense of awe and wonder when immersed in nature. Research supports the argument that children who are exposed to nature develop personal attributes that help them flourish. This article argues for a nexus between young children’s sensory experiences in nature and their felt sense of God.
Item Attitudes and Perceptions of Eye Care Workers and Health Administrators Regarding Task Sharing in Screening and Detection for Management of Diabetic Retinopathy in Pakistan(2018-03-04) Keeffe, Jill E.; Amirul Islam, Fakir; Harper, C Alex; Chakrabarti, Rahul; Ormsby, Gail; Noor, Ayesha; Shah, MufarriqPurpose: The shortage of ophthalmologists in many countries is a major barrier to timely provision of eye care. A team work approach to screen, detect and manage diabetic retinopathy (DR) could achieve greater screening coverage of people with diabetes to prevent vision loss. This study aimed to assess the attitudes and perceptions of eye care workers and health administrators regarding task sharing for management of DR.
Methods: Using purposive sampling, 121 eye and health care workers in five selected hospitals in two provinces in Pakistan were recruited. A cross-sectional survey explored the possibility for involvement of optometrists and mid-level eye care workers to share tasks with ophthalmologists for DR management and the potential outcomes of task sharing, through multiple choice and open-ended questions.
Results: Ninety-six (79%) participants–doctors (n = 56), optometrists (n = 29) and mid-level eye care workers (n = 11) responded to the survey. All participants supported task sharing in screening and detection for management of DR. There was no significant difference among the groups with respect to their positive attitude towards task sharing (p = 0.22). The majority in each group believed that the task sharing would not degrade the quality of care (p = 0.48). Two potential major outcomes of task sharing in the eye care system included the benefits for people with diabetes and potential DR and the strengthening of the health care system.
Conclusion: Task sharing among various cadres of eye care workers has the potential to improve screening coverage of people with diabetes to prevent visual loss from DR.
Item Australian Government Funding of Adventist Schools A history of the introduction of and reactions to government funding of Adventist schools in Australia(2017-01-01) Williams, Anthony P.; Kilgour, Peter W.Item Barriers to the Uptake of Cataract Surgery and Eye Care After Community Outreach Screening in Takeo Province, Cambodia(2017-05-01) Keeffe, Jill E.; Chim, Channeang; Grant-Skiba, Dawn; Fotis, Kathy; Mörchen, Manfred; Ormsby, Gail M.Purpose:
To assess the barriers influencing eye healthcare seeking be-havior after community outreach screening.
Design:
A concurrent mixed methods study.
Methods:
A total of 469 patients screened during the previous 12 months were followed up, of which 354 (75%) from 5 districts were in-terviewed in person, using a semi-structured questionnaire, in-depth in-terviews (n = 11), and 16 focus groups (n = 71). SPSS and NVivo were used to analyze response frequency and identify themes.
Results:
Of the respondents, 98% (350/354) reported they were told they had an eye problem, with 295 individuals (83%) told to attend CARITAS Takeo Eye Hospital (CTEH) and 55 to have their eyes checked at Kiri Vong Vision Centre. Of those 68.9% (244/354) who reported seeking treatment, only 7.4% (18/244) reported they attended CTEH, 54% (n = 132) attended a “local pharmacy,” 31.6% (n = 77) “self-treated at home,” 11% (n = 27) reported “using steam from boiling rice,” and 10.7% (n = 26) attended a “traditional healer.” Of those who reported reasons for “not attending,” responses included “no time” (47.8%, 86/180), “no one to accompany” (21.7%, n = 39), “fear of losing sight” (17.8%, n = 32), “cannot afford to travel” (16.1%, n = 29), and “eye problem is not serious enough” (15.6%, n = 28). Follow-up of patient records identified that 128 individuals (79 females) attended eye care services.
Conclusions:
Socioeconomic factors, personal concerns, and the use of local cultural remedies were reasons for not seeking eye hospital treatment. An integrated community approach to improve awareness and uptake of appropriate treatment is recommended.