Introductory programming at Lincoln: attributes of successful students

In 1994, the introductory programming class at Lincoln University, New Zealand was surveyed, and logistic and ordinal regression models were used to determine the student attributes associated with achievement. Students who intended to major in computing were more likely to achieve than those with other intentions, and older students were more likely to achieve than younger students. Other factors such as gender, previous exposure to computing at a tertiary level, previous tuition in English, experience in programming and experience with computers in general, all had no apparent association with achievement. Female students had a lower pass rate than males but this was because a smaller proportion of females intended to major in computing

Основы творческой деятельности веб-журналиста. Учебная программа учреждения высшего образования по учебной дисциплине для специальности: 1-23 01 08 Журналистика (по направлениям) направления специальности 1-23 01 08-03 Журналистика (веб-журналистика)

Wildfires pose a serious threat to life in many countries. For police, fire and emergency services authorities in most jurisdictions in North America and Australia evacuation is now the option that is preferred overwhelmingly. Wildfire evacuation modeling can assist authorities in planning evacuation responses to future threats. Understanding residents' behavior under wildfire threat may assist in wildfire evacuation modeling. This paper reviews North American and Australian research into wildfire evacuation behavior published between January 2005 and June 2017. Wildfire evacuation policies differ across the two regions: in North America mandatory evacuations are favored, in Australia most are advisory. Research from both regions indicates that following a wildfire evacuation warning some threatened residents will wish to remain on their property in order to protect it, many will delay evacuating, and some residents who are not on their property when an evacuation warning is issued may seek to return. Mandatory evacuation is likely to result in greater compliance, enforcement policies are also likely to be influential. Self-delayed evacuation is likely if warnings are not sufficiently informative: residents are likely to engage in information search rather than initiating evacuation actions. The wildfire warning and threat histories of a location may influence residents' decisions and actions. The complexities of behavioral factors influencing residents' actions following an evacuation warning pose challenges for wildfire evacuation modeling. Suggestions are offered for ways in which authorities might reduce the numbers of residents who delay evacuating following a wildfire warning. © 2018 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Natur

Initial results from the InSight mission on Mars

NASA’s InSight (Interior exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) mission landed in Elysium Planitia on Mars on 26 November 2018. It aims to determine the interior structure, composition and thermal state of Mars, as well as constrain present-day seismicity and impact cratering rates. Such information is key to understanding the differentiation and subsequent thermal evolution of Mars, and thus the forces that shape the planet’s surface geology and volatile processes. Here we report an overview of the first ten months of geophysical observations by InSight. As of 30 September 2019, 174 seismic events have been recorded by the lander’s seismometer, including over 20 events of moment magnitude Mw = 3–4. The detections thus far are consistent with tectonic origins, with no impact-induced seismicity yet observed, and indi- cate a seismically active planet. An assessment of these detections suggests that the frequency of global seismic events below approximately Mw = 3 is similar to that of terrestrial intraplate seismic activity, but there are fewer larger quakes; no quakes exceeding Mw = 4 have been observed. The lander’s other instruments—two cameras, atmospheric pressure, temperature and wind sensors, a magnetometer and a radiometer—have yielded much more than the intended supporting data for seismometer noise characterization: magnetic field measurements indicate a local magnetic field that is ten-times stronger than orbital estimates and meteorological measurements reveal a more dynamic atmosphere than expected, hosting baroclinic and gravity waves and convective vortices. With the mission due to last for an entire Martian year or longer, these results will be built on by further measurements by the InSight lander

Improving our understanding of therapeutic failure: a review

This paper argues the need to consider carefully the phenomenon of therapeutic failure in counselling and psychotherapy. The scant literature on therapeutic failure is reviewed, this literature suggests that there are large individual differences in therapists' overall effectiveness. A conceptual model of therapeutic failure is proposed, organized around the assumption that failure results from a therapist's inability to meet the needs of a particular client. Suggestions aimed at reducing the likelihood of therapeutic failure are offered

Conceptualizing and measuring global interpersonal mistrust-trust

Global interpersonal mistrust is conceptualized as a general mistrust of the motives of others in situations related to one's well-being: a general tendency to view others as mean, selfish, malevolent, or unreliable people who are, thus, not to be depended on to treat one well. The authors developed an 18-item unidimensional self-report inventory measuring interpersonal mistrust as a negative cognitive orientation toward others. The measure comprises items describing perceptions of specific hypothetical interpersonal situations rather than items asking respondents to describe their own general behavior. The measure was reliable and evidenced construct validity in a heterogeneous sample of Australians

Becoming a psychologist with a particular theoretical orientation to counselling practice

One hundred and three Melbourne psychologists were interviewed about factors associated with their choice of a theoretical orientation to counselling practice. There were four theoretical orientations: cognitive-behavioural, psychodynamic, family-systemic, and experiential. Each of these was found to be associated with a different cluster of personal characteristics. University training in psychology appeared to be an important influence on choice of theoretical orientation for cognitive-behavioural psychologists, but not for the other orientations. Differences observed among psychologists making up the four different theoretical orientation groups suggest some challenges for psychologists working as counselling educators

Measuring counsellor theoretical orientation

Previous studies of counsellors' and psychotherapists' theoretical orientations have suggested the importance of two superordinate dimensions of beliefs about therapeutic practice: an analytical-experiential dimension and an objective-subjective dimension. A 40-item measure was developed which tapped both these. A study involving 132 counsellors found evidence that the Counsellor Theoretical Position Scale is a reliable and valid measure of important aspects of theoretical orientation to counselling practice

Balance between volunteer work and family roles:testing a theoretical model of work-family conflict in the volunteer emergency services

Trends indicate overall declines in numbers of volunteer emergency service workers and suggest negative organisational factors impacting adversely on volunteers and organisations. Conflict between emergency service work and family is implicated in falling volunteer numbers, and there is thus a need for research on difficulties experienced in balancing volunteer work and family. The current study tested an adaptation of the work-family conflict (WFC) model originally proposed by Frone, Russell, and Cooper, in a sample of 102 couples in which one partner was an Australian emergency service volunteer. Results supported a model in which volunteer work-related antecedents, including time invested in on-call emergency activities and post-traumatic stress symptoms, had indirect links with outcomes, including volunteer burnout and their partners' support for the volunteer work role, through the effects of WFC. These results add to research using theoretical models of paid work processes to better understand the problems faced by volunteer workers, and identify specific antecedents and outcomes of WFC in the volunteer emergency services. Implications for future research and organisations reliant on volunteer workers are discussed

Families of rural volunteer firefighters

The protection of Australian rural communities from fire and other emergencies is provided mostly by volunteers. However, many fire agencies are facing concerns over falling volunteer numbers and are increasingly looking at factors potentially impacting on volunteering. Evidence suggests that family issues play a role in many volunteer resignations and could be contributing to declining volunteer numbers. Despite this, there is little research available on the families of rural volunteer firefighters and agencies have little evidence to inform strategies for supporting the families of their volunteers. In a preliminary effort to address this lack of knowledge, this review summarises the small amount of research available on rural families in general, and then volunteer firefighter families in particular. It then introduces a potentially useful model of Work-Family Conflict, which suggests that time- and strain-based pressures may be important sources of difficulty for spouses and partners balancing volunteer firefighter and family roles. This review concludes by summarising directions for future research that are important, if volunteer-based rural fire agencies are to develop policies to better support the families of their volunteers