JCU Library - Faculty of Arts, Education & Social Sciences Blog

Feature website: Schizophrenia Library

noreply@blogger.com (Claire Ovaska) — Thu, 17 Oct 2013 22:00:00 +0000

Schizophrenia Library is a website which brings together relevant schizophrenia and psychosis- related research findings, and stores theses findings in a searchable database.

The Library aims to serve as a resource for scientists, clinicians, government, consumer and carer groups, and the general public, and aims to help to inform policy and clinical guideline development.

The Library covers more than 400 topics related to schizophrenia, each of which falls within nine basic categories:

Treatment
Diagnosis
Signs and symptoms
Risk factors
Course and outcomes of the illness
Physical factors
Co-morbid conditions
Population perspectives
Information on families.

Feature streaming video: Attachment (theory)

noreply@blogger.com (Claire Ovaska) — Thu, 12 Sep 2013 05:41:00 +0000

JCU Library has just obtained a new streaming video - Attachment. It includes both historical and current research methods and models of attachment behaviour, and runs for 26min. This program explores Bowlby’s ’44 juvenile thieves’ study and the effects of separation, patterns of attachment, behaviourism, nurturance as well as security, and insecure-resistant and insecure avoidant children. It is an excellent resource for studies in both academic and applied psychology.

Watch the video online.

Feature database: Sage research methods online

noreply@blogger.com (Claire Ovaska) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 03:13:00 +0000

Getting started with your research?

Do you know which method you want to use to answer your research question?

Try using SAGE Research Methods Online (SRMO) to work out which research method is best for you. SRMO is an online resource for users in the social and health sciences. SRMO helps researchers obtain reliable information about research methods, including the theory behind various methods and examples of how they have been applied in research settings.

SRMO is available from the Databases link on the Library and Computing Services home page.

Psychology via Facebook

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret M) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 05:09:00 +0000

APA Monitor reports that 'Like' it, or not some Psychology professors are making their courses a feature of their students' Facebook feeds in an effort to enliven class and enhance learning.
To find out whether the Facebook content affected his students' learning, Gurung surveyed them at the semester's end. He found that those who had joined the class's Facebook discussion (65 percent of the class "liked" his page) had developed a deeper appreciation for psychology as a science compared with those who had never joined. Even when he controlled his findings for grade point average to make sure high performers weren't the same ones embracing the Facebook page, he found that all levels of students were reaping its benefits. "We weren't getting just the slackers or just the smart students" on the Facebook page, he says.
His class surveys echo recent findings that show that reinforcing course content via social media can boost learning. In one 2012 study, published in Teaching of Psychology, Stephen Blessing, PhD, and colleagues at the University of Tampa found that using Twitter to reinforce concepts introduced in class via daily tweets helped students remember information better on a test than those who didn't get the tweets.

APA's Tobacco Health Disparities Meeting

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret M) — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 04:56:00 +0000

Curbing tobacco use — especially among vulnerable populations — requires targeting anti-smoking messages just as effectively as tobacco companies hawk cigarettes, said attendees at APA’s Tobacco Health Disparities meeting.
Tobacco companies target the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, low-income people and many other marginalized groups, said Katherine Pruitt, of the American Lung Association, at APA's Strengthening Psychology's Role in Reducing Tobacco Health Disparities meeting, Dec. 11–12 in Washington, D.C.
"The tobacco industry has very astute marketers," Pruitt said. "We, too, need deep reach into priority communities so that we can move the needle on health disparities." Smoking rates remain high in many of the groups targeted by tobacco manufacturers, though tobacco use is declining in the overall population. For instance, members of the LGBT community smoke at about double the rate of the U.S. general population, according to the American Lung Association. Low-income people, those with mental illness and rural populations also have high levels of tobacco use, said keynote speaker H. Westley Clark, MD, JD, the director of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Overall, blacks and Hispanics smoke less than the general population, but they are disproportionally affected by related diseases, Clark noted.

The Dramatic Differences Among People With Schizophrenia May Be Explained By A Single Gene

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret M) — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 04:47:00 +0000

Some of the dramatic differences seen among patients with schizophrenia may be explained by a single gene that regulates a group of other schizophrenia risk genes. These findings appear in a new imaging-genetics study from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).

The study revealed that people with schizophrenia who had a particular version of the microRNA-137 gene (or MIR137), tended to develop the illness at a younger age and had distinct brain features - both associated with poorer outcomes - compared to patients who did not have this version. This work, led by Drs. Aristotle Voineskos and James Kennedy, appears in the latest issue of Molecular Psychiatry.

Yes Prime Minister

noreply@blogger.com (Claire Ovaska) — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 01:24:00 +0000

Sir Humphrey Appleby, Jim Hacker and Bernard Wooley
Image source: Yes Minister, BBC Comedy

JCU Library has obtained a streaming video subscription to series 1 of the popular and critically acclaimed television series Yes Prime Minster.

Series description:
After coming to power, new Prime Minister Jim Hacker is swiftly up against bigger problems than before. He deals with cabinet reshuffles, trying to stop small wars and just maybe rescuing a sheepdog from Salisbury Plain. Sir Humphrey Appleby, now Cabinet Secretary, is even more determined than ever to prevent Hacker doing anything new. Sir Humphrey blocks, delays, defers and undermines every new policy Hacker suggests that might possibly get in the way of Whitehall's tradition of 'masterly inactivity'. The relationships between Jim, Sir Humphrey, and Bernard elegantly reflects the weaknesses of both politicians and bureaucrats.

Click here to view this series via JCU Library.

Tornado Survivors Become More Confident, Study Says

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret M) — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 04:36:00 +0000

How do people get on with their lives after a harrowing experience? Suls, a University of Iowa psychologist, began a research project to answer his question as reported in ABC News.
And the answer, according to his study published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, is that after they survive a brush with death, they think a tornado is not likely to hurt them in the future. In fact, they think they have a much better chance of surviving a tornado than most other people who have been through less.

That unbridled optimism in the face of grave danger probably helps them get on with their lives, Suls said in a telephone interview. Other research by a co-author of the study, Paul D. Windschitl, shows that optimism keeps people motivated and allows them to go about their business and do the things they need to do

Life expectancy around world shows dramatic rise, but mental health issues increase

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret M) — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 04:59:00 +0000

Life expectancy around the world has risen dramatically, by 11 years for men and 12 years for women over the last four decades, but we are paying the price in more mental and physical health problems, according to the biggest-ever study of the global burden of disease. GBD 2010 consists of seven Articles, each containing a wealth of data on different aspects of the study (including data for different countries and world regions, men and women, and different age groups), with accompanying Comments.

High Short-Term Risk of Attempted Suicide in Teenagers Following Parents' Suicide Attempt

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret M) — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 04:53:00 +0000

The risk that young people attempt to commit suicide is highest within two years after a parent has received inpatient care due to a mental disorder or suicide attempt, according to a study of over 15,000 teenagers and young adults. Daughters in particular also ran a high risk of attempted suicide relatively soon after the mother's admission to a psychiatric hospital. The risk is much higher for teenagers than for young adults.

The Internationalization of Women's Issues

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret M) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 05:26:00 +0000

An article in the New York Times, states at the dawn of this new year, a note of cautious optimism is rising from female leaders, activists and advocates who are anticipating major new strides as “women issues” go global. “Women issues are world issues,” Michelle Bachelet, the executive director of U.N. Women and former president of Chile, said recently. With the globalization of women’s issues, world organizations are drumming up the support of activists the world over, of marquee names and celebrities.

JoVE: Journal of visualized experiments

noreply@blogger.com (Claire Ovaska) — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 00:41:00 +0000

JCU Library has subscribed to JoVE - a new resource that is a cross between a journal and a video streaming service. JoVE is a peer reviewed, PubMed indexed journal devoted to the publication of biological, medical, chemical and physical research in a video format.

JoVE uses video technology to capture the intricacies of life science research. Visualization greatly facilitates the understanding and efficient reproduction of both basic and complex experimental techniques, and so addresses two of the biggest challenges faced by today's life science research community:
i) low transparency and poor reproducibility of biological experiments, and
ii) time and labor-intensive nature of learning new experimental techniques.

JoVE can be accessed via the JCU Library catalogue.

Check out the short video to find out more about JoVE.

Sibling squabbles may not be harmless

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret M) — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 04:46:00 +0000

A study, published in the journal Child Development found correlations between the arguments and teens' self-reports of depressed mood, anxiety and self-esteem after one year, topics related to fairness and equality and invasion of personal domain were most common. Not all sibling conflicts are equal, and not all "influence adolescent adjustment in the same way," says Nicole Campione-Barr, assistant professor of psychological sciences at the University of Missour.

OECD lanches new gender equality website

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret M) — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 05:19:00 +0000

The OECD Gender Data Portal includes 40 selected indicators shedding light on gender inequalities in education, employment and entrepreneurship -- the focus areas of the OECD Gender Initiative. Data and metadata for all the indicators are easily and freely accessible and displayed through interactive visualizations. Over the next year, OECD plans to expand the country coverage and add new indicators, notably on time use and entrepreneurship.

MDMA could be effective in treating post-traumatic stress disorder – study

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret M) — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 04:32:00 +0000

A new paper, published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, has followed up all but one of the original participants, up to six years after they were treated with MDMA. The researchers found that their PTSD symptoms remained reduced, they didn't go on to abuse drugs, and there was no harm to memory and concentration after the treatment.

Greed, Not Generosity, More Likely To Be 'Paid Forward'

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret M) — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 04:28:00 +0000

A study, published online in APA's Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, is the first systematic investigation of paying forward generosity, equality or greed. It confirmed the researchers' hypothesis that greed would prevail because negative stimuli have more powerful effects on thoughts and actions than positive stimuli reports MNT.

New title by JCU authors

noreply@blogger.com (Claire Ovaska) — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 23:27:00 +0000

Dr Nerina Caltabiano, Dr Marie Caltabiano, and Dr Agnes Au
Learning strategies, performance indicators and university student satisfaction: What can psychosocial variables tell us?

The research papers collected in this book are pioneering contributions to understanding what leads to student satisfaction in a university setting. The papers provide insights into:

Why students persevere with their studies,
Self-efficacy and coping styles that students engage in,
The role that locus of control, self-efficacy and trait hope play in student satisfaction,
Time management issues,
Study and employment management.

These investigations result in significant research findings and highlight some of the issues that confront students and what areas could be a focus to improve student satisfaction during their time at tertiary institutions.

This book is available at JCU Library on Townsville and Cairns campuses.

Motivation, Study Habits -- Not IQ -- Determine Growth In Math Achievement

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret M) — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 04:23:00 +0000

A new study that appears in the journal Child Development, found that motivation and study skills turned out to be more important factors in terms of students' growth (their learning curve or ability to learn) in math. Students who felt competent; were intrinsically motivated; used skills like summarizing, explaining, and making connections to other materials; and avoided rote learning showed more growth in math achievement than those who didn't. In contrast, students' intelligence had no relation to growth in math achievement.

Expectant dads' mental health linked to kids' behavior

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret M) — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 04:18:00 +0000

The study of nearly 32,000 children in Norway, reported in Pediatrics and discussed in USA Today found that children whose fathers scored highly for psychological distress, depression and anxiety at week 17 or 18 of the baby's gestation had higher levels of emotional and behavioral difficulties at age 3, including disruptive behavior, anxiety and problems getting along with other children.

New title by JCU author

noreply@blogger.com (Claire Ovaska) — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 22:00:00 +0000

Dr Marie Caltabiano
Applied Topics in Health Psychology

This selection of in-depth, critical and comprehensive chapters on topical issues in applied health psychology features the work of key researchers and practitioners in the Australasian health system and deals with both theoretical and methodological aspects of the subject.

This book is held in the Library in both hard copy and eBook formats.

Database update: Counseling and therapy in video, volume II

noreply@blogger.com (Claire Ovaska) — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 01:31:00 +0000

Counseling and Therapy in Video: Volume II has added 186 new videos to its suite of offerings, and now comprises of 356 videos which run for 312 hours. This update contains titles from Sushi Productions (Australia), which includes the following titles:

Exploring choice: Alcohol and drug counselling skills
Exploring roadblocks and effective counselling: Basic counselling skills
Counselling Aboriginal clients and their families: Alcohol and drug counselling skills
Mental health and drug problems: Working with adults
Mental health and drug problems: Working with young adults and adolescents
Counselling family members: Alcohol and drug counselling skills
Marital counselling
Alcohol counselling skills: Working with binge drinking.
Working with complex clients, unraveling the chaos.

JCU Library also subscribes to other great video and transcript psychology and counselling databases:

Check them out.

Reading help - self-study worksheets from Macmillan

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon B) — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 06:42:00 +0000

Here's one for Education students tackling Upper Primary or Middle School/High School English:

Macmillan Publishers are one of several publishing companies that put out series of graded readers for use with teaching reading in a classroom setting (or supporting a reading programme through a school library). As well as the books themselves, the publishers also have a number of resources on their website to assist learners and teachers.

One of the resources they offer is a series of self-study worksheets that can be used with any book.

These are black-line masters that can be copied and distributed as much as you like (as long as you leave their copyright notice down the bottom of the page). The pages could easily work with any student from Grade 4 to Grade 12, and all work around the concepts of reflection and description.

Now, I did say the worksheets could be used with "any book", but there are questions on the sheets that pertain specifically to graded readers. If you are working with a reading programme, that will be a bonus as re-using the sheets at different levels will help the students see how they have progressed.

If you are not using programmed reading, however, you can still use the sheets - you will simply need to remind the students to ignore those sections.

I particularly like the way the first worksheet asks learners to nominate seven new words found in the book and to name some reading strategies/activities they might have used.

Even if the sheets are not quite what you need for your class, they might give you some ideas for your own activity sheets, so they are well worth a look.

Smoking Abstinence Tough for Teens, Too

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret M) — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 02:25:00 +0000

A new study published in Nicotine and Tobacco Research, finds that relatively early into tobacco addiction, teens experience many of the same negative psychological effects during abstinence as adults do, with a couple exceptions. The data can inform efforts to improve the efficacy of quitting and withdrawal treatment programs. The aim of the study was to evaluate abstinence effects in adolescent daily smokers by examining the effects of experimentally manipulated acute smoking abstinence on measures including: (a) withdrawal symptoms, (b) reactive irritability,
(c) smoking urges, (d) affect, and (e) responses to smoking cues.

More Than Good Vibes: Researchers Propose the Science Behind Mindfulness

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret M) — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 00:26:00 +0000

Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) have proposed a new model that shifts how we think about mindfulness. Rather than describing mindfulness as a single dimension of cognition, the researchers demonstrate that mindfulness actually involves a broad framework of complex mechanisms in the brain.

In essence, they have laid out the science behind mindfulness. This new model of mindfulness is published in the October 25, 2012 issue of Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. The researchers identified several cognitive functions that are active in the brain during mindfulness practice. These cognitive functions help a person develop self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART) which make up the transformative framework for the mindfulness process.

Area of the Brain That Processes Empathy Identified

noreply@blogger.com (Margaret M) — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 00:20:00 +0000

An international team led by researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York has for the first time shown that one area of the brain, called the anterior insular cortex, is the activity center of human empathy, whereas other areas of the brain are not. The study is published in the September 2012 issue of the journal Brain.

Empathy, the ability to perceive and share another person's emotional state, has been described by philosophers and psychologists for centuries. In the past decade, however, scientists have used powerful functional MRI imaging to identify several regions in the brain that are associated with empathy for pain. This most recent study, however, firmly establishes that the anterior insular cortex is where the feeling of empathy originates.