Background/aim
The introduction of sensory rooms within acute psychiatric settings provides a therapeutic space that promotes emotional self‐regulation and reduces distress and disruptive behaviours. ...The current research investigated the clinical benefit of a sensory room within an adolescent psychiatric unit. It examined whether guided sensory room use can reduce distress for adolescents and identified characteristics of sensory room users. Seclusion rates 12 months pre‐ and post‐sensory room introduction were compared.
Methods
The matched sample comprised 56 sensory room users and 56 sensory room non‐users, aged 12–18 years (M = 15.35, SD = 1.35). Sensory room users were administered a pre‐ and post‐measure of distress. Further demographic and clinical data were collected from hospital files and results analysed.
Results
Adolescents’ distress was reduced following sensory room use. The greatest reduction of distress was predicted by a history of aggression. Female gender was associated with sensory room use, as was the presence of an anxiety disorder. There was no significant difference in seclusion rates after introducing the sensory room.
Conclusions
Sensory rooms could provide occupational therapists with a valuable tool for reducing distress for adolescents in psychiatric units, especially for those with a history of aggression. Results suggested that female adolescents or adolescents with anxiety disorders may be particularly receptive to using the sensory room. This research provides evidence that can inform occupational therapists when tailoring therapeutic treatment strategies and guide the development of prevention and management of emotional dysregulation and aggression within adolescent psychiatric settings.
This thesis reports on the development of an Australian Government English as a Second Language test for health professionals, the Occupational English Test (OET) , and its validation using Rasch ...Item Response Theory models.
The test contains sub-tests of the four macroskills, each based on workplace communication tasks. The thesis reports on the creation of test specifications, the trial ling of test materials and the analysis of data from full test sessions.
The main research issues dealt with are as follows:
1. The nature of the constructs involved in communicative language testing. The term proficiency is analysed, and its relationship to a number of models of communicative competence examined. The difficulty of incorporating into these models factors underlying test performance is identified.
2. The nature of performance tests. A distinction is introduced between strong and weak senses of the term performance test, and related to the discussion in 1 above.
3. The content validity of the OET. This is established on the basis of a questionnaire survey, interviews, examination of relevant literature, workplace observation and test data.
4. The role of classical and Rasch IRT analysis in establishing the qualities of the test. Classical and Rasch IRT analyses are used to establish the basic reliability of the OET sub-tests. The Writing sub-test is shown to be somewhat problematic for raters because of the nature of the writing task involved. Analysis of data from the Reading subtest demonstrates the superiority of the Rasch analysis in the creation of short tests with a specific screening function.
5. The role of Rasch IRT analysis in investigating the construct and content validity of the test and hence of communicatively-oriented tests in general. Rasch analysis reveals that the sub-tests are satisfactory operationalizations of the constructs 'ESL listening/ speaking/ reading/ writing ability in health professional contexts. For the Speaking and Writing sub-tests, the analysis reveals that responses of raters in categories associated with perceptions of grammatical accuracy have a more important role in the determination of the candidate's total score than was anticipated in the design of the test. This finding has implications for the validity of communicatively oriented tests in general, and illustrates the potential of IRT analysis for the investigation of the construct validity of tests.
6. The appropriateness of the use of Rasch IRT in the analysis of language tests. The nature of the debate about 'unidimensionality' in Rasch analysis is reviewed. It is argued that the issue has been substantialy misunderstood. Data from the two parts of the Listening sub-test are analysed, and statistical tests are used to confirm the unidimensionality of the data set. It is concluded that Rasch analysis is appropriate for a language test of this type.
7. The behaviour of raters in the rating of oral and written production in a second language. The findings reported in 5 above suggest that the behaviour of raters is crucial to understanding what is being measured in a communicative test of the productive language skills.
The research demonstrates the value of Rasch IRT analysis in the empirical validation of communicatively oriented language tests, and the potential of large-scale test development projects for theoretical work on language testing.
Studies from organizational development and sociology suggest that whistle-blowers' motivation to expose perceived wrongdoing typically stems from moral or ethical concerns. However, most of these ...studies have shown significant methodological limitations, and the cumulative fruits of this research are meager. Furthermore, psychologists have not contributed directly to this research. The present study was initiated in order to gain a clearer understanding of the social dynamics and the psychological influences which motivate whistle-blowers who act out of conscience. Interviews were conducted with six whistle-blowers who had encountered wrongdoing in private industry, academic research, medical care, education, or state or federal government. Each of the subjects had reported the observed wrongdoing to parties outside their respective organizations. Whistle-blowers whose stories suggested self-interest as a primary motivation were not included. Although situational determinants were explored, the central focus of this study was on identifying the personal determinants of whistle-blowing. The results include a narrative description of each of the six whistle-blowers and a thematic analysis of the interview transcripts. Four themes emerged from the interviews: (1) Each of these subjects was a responsible citizen who took action to correct wrongdoing out of legitimate moral or ethical concerns. (2) Five of the six subjects showed strong traits of self-confidence/independence. (3) Each subject recalled the transmission of strong moral values in his or her childhood. (4) Each subject revealed early experiences which seemed to contribute to identification with victims of injustice. In addition to the thematic analysis, relevant data regarding preestablished categories of situational and personal variables are presented. The findings of this study are discussed in relation to: (1) previous studies of whistle-blowers, (2) established research in social psychology, and (3) theoretical constructs which may contribute to an understanding of each subject's whistle-blowing as an act of conscience.
The potential of social identity theory for explaining lang attitudes & lang maintenance & shift in an immigrant group is explored, based on an interview survey of Israeli native speakers of Hebrew & ...their children in Melbourne, Australia (N = 60 Rs). Investigated are the Israelis' perceptions of the new intergroup setting in which as immigrants they find themselves & the social categories salient within it. As yordim (a Hebrew word with negative connotations referring to Israelis living permanently abroad), the Ss report that they are stigmatized by Israelis remaining in Israel & by the wider Jewish community in Melbourne; this stigma is to some extent internalized. With reference to the Gentile community, Ss are stigmatized both as immigrants & more particularly as Jews, an experience that the intergroup situation in Israel precludes. The multiple group membership of Ss (yordim, Jews, immigrants) is a key to understanding the intergroup relations involved. The data confirm that the transformation of the social identity of the Ss is accompanied by lang attitudes favoring Eng over Hebrew among the immigrants & a rapid shift to Eng among their children. 23 References. HA
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