The value of a justice reinvestment approach to criminal justice in Australia: Senate Submission, 12.3.13

SUMMARY OF SUBMISSION AND AVAILABILITY FOR THE COMMITTEE Thank you for the opportunity to make a submission to the Senate for this most valuable line of enquiry. In relation to the various categories, we have chosen 4 areas in which to make comment and share as enclosures research and summaries of research we have done that speak to these areas. The emphasis in this submission is on prevention of criminality through working with young people and their families. In having worked in this area for over 25 years, I (KRR) am quite motivated to come to Canberra and make myself available to provide evidence to the Committee in relation to my submission if invited

Self-handicapping, perfectionism, locus of control and self-efficacy: a path model

Self-handicapping is a performance-debilitating characteristic, which in student populations has been consistently associated with negative outcomes such as academic underachievement and poor psychological adjustment. Perfectionism, locus of control, and self-efficacy have been linked with self-handicapping but have not been previously examined within one cohesive framework. This study, therefore, examined a model linking maladaptive perfectionism and external locus of control to self-handicapping, both directly and indirectly through their mediated effect on self-efficacy. Participants were 79 university students who completed an online survey comprising measures of perfectionism, locus of control, general self-efficacy, and self-handicapping. It was found that perfectionism and locus of control predicted self-handicapping; and perfectionism, but not external locus of control, predicted low self-efficacy. The mediation analyses found no support for self-efficacy as a mediator of the relationship between perfectionism, locus of control and self-handicapping. These findings suggest that the interaction of maladaptive social cognitive constructs associated with self-handicapping requires further investigation

Thirty years and counting

Editorial for 30 Year Anniversary Special Issue of Australasian Journal on Agein

Teaching parents key to managing young offenders

Op-ed piece in The Australia

Risk reduction gulf: the two sides of earthquake disasters

With the tragedy that played out after Nepal’s earthquakes this year, there were stories of heroism. There were also stories of people who could have taken proper precautions to save themselves and their loved ones. A larger story is a tale of two realities in relation to earthquakes and loss of life

Interview : Australia's grey nomads

This is an on-line interview done for Aging Horizons Bulletin Canada

'This is a forever project' : supporting lifestyle changes in a regional Queensland community-based cardiac rehabilitation program

Cardiac rehabilitation programs throughout the world have struggled for several years to attract more participants and facilitate behaviour changes in these clients. Over the past few years, there has been an increased level of attention in the role that self-efficacy and social support may play in this respect. The main aim of this study was to explore self-efficacy and social support within a regional, community-based cardiac rehabilitation program that does not adhere to traditional cardiac rehabilitation structures. Twelve participants were interviewed and two major themes emerged from the thematic analysis of the interview transcripts: making personal lifestyle changes; and supportive environment for lifestyle changes. Although this study is exploratory in nature, it has highlighted the significance of social support from within a program as opposed to participants’ friends and family, the subject of most social-support research. It also contributes to the challenges others are starting to make regarding the limited timeframes associated with traditional cardiac rehabilitation programs, suggesting more time may be needed to build firmer psychosocial foundations for behaviour change after cardiac events

Perceptions of Travel and Risk in Journeys Around Australia

The research formed part of a larger project on survival escapist travel and the concept of tours of non-arrival. This paper explores one of the main themes from the larger research project and presents findings on the category of risk and personal danger. One of the factors that characterises independent and budget travel as a distinctive phase is the extent of risk encountered or perceived. Perceived personal ‘risk’ and dangerous travel experiences around Australia were undertaken by the travellers in the research as a result of a catalyst or life-changing event that forced each of them onto the road. Travelling with little money, travelling under dangerous conditions and in dangerous situations, and being oblivious to other personal dangers all formed part of each traveller’s journey. The travellers in this research provided an extension of Veblen’s (1899 [1934]) notions of emulation and status seeking or honorific behaviour. They had, in all their individual journeys, achieved a high status or level of ‘honour’ in long-term independent travel circles. It was not until they had the chance to re-live and recount their travel activities that their status became apparent to each of them and to others

The Dark Triad and animal cruelty: Dark personalities, dark attitudes, and dark behaviors

Research examining the interpersonal interactions of those high on the Dark Triad has proliferated in recent years. Extant research, however, has not examined other types of relationships such as attitudes and behaviors towards animals. Further, there has been limited research examining the associations between personality and attitudes and behaviors towards animals generally. In this study, participants (N = 227) completed an online survey measuring the Dark Triad, attitudes towards animals, and acts of animal cruelty. The results revealed that individuals with higher levels of the Dark Triad demonstrated less positive attitudes towards animals and reported engaging in more acts of animal cruelty. Age and sex were found to be significant predictors of less positive attitudes and behaviors towards animals, independent of the Dark Triad. These results suggest that those callous and manipulative behaviors and attitudes that have come to be associated with the Dark Triad are not just limited to human-to-human interactions, but are also consistent across other interactions

Do personally tailored videos in a web-based physical activity intervention lead to higher attention and recall?: an eye-tracking study

Over half of the Australian population does not meet physical activity guidelines and has an increased risk of chronic disease. Web-based physical activity interventions have the potential to reach large numbers of the population at low-cost, however issues have been identified with usage and participant retention. Personalized (computer-tailored) physical activity advice delivered through video has the potential to address low engagement, however it is unclear whether it is more effective in engaging participants when compared to text-delivered personalized advice. This study compared the attention and recall outcomes of tailored physical activity advice in video- vs. text-format. Participants (n D41) were randomly assigned to receive either video- or text-tailored feedback with identical content. Outcome measures included attention to the feedback, measured through advanced eye-tracking technology (TobiiX 120), and recall of the advice, measured through a post intervention interview. Between group ANOVA’s, Mann–Whitney U tests and chi square analyses were applied. Participants in the video-group displayed greater attention to the physical activity feedback in terms of gaze-duration on the feedback (7.7 vs. 3.6 min, p <001), total fixation-duration on the feedback (6.0 vs. 3.3 min, p <001), and focusing on feedback (6.8 vs. 3.5 min, p <001). Despite both groups having the same ability to navigate through the feedback, the video-group completed a significantly (p <0.001) higher percentage of feedback sections (95%) compared to the text-group (66%). The main messages were recalled in both groups, but many details were forgotten. No significant between group differences were found for message recall.These results suggest that video-tailored feedback leads to greater attention compared to text-tailored feedback. More research is needed to determine how message recall can be improved, and whether video-tailored advice can lead to greater health behavior change