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Videoconferencing is an emerging medium through which psychological therapy, including relationship interventions for couples, can be delivered. Understanding clients’ expectations and experiences of receiving therapy through this medium is important for optimizing future delivery. This study used a qualitative methodology to explore the expectations and experiences of couples throughout the process of the Couple CARE program, which was delivered through videoconferencing. Fifteen couples participated in semi-structured interviews during the first and last sessions of the intervention. The interviews were conducted using the iChat program, with the therapist conducting the first interview and an external interviewer conducting the second. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes from the interview transcripts. Five themes were identified from the pre-therapy interviews, reflecting couples’ initial impressions and expectations: new experience, comparison, practical aspects, connection and dynamics, and distance and space. Couples’ experiences were explored in the eight themes from the post-therapy interviews: technicalities, the idea of “distance,” satisfaction and comfort, confidentiality, comparisons, new experience, expectations change, and working alliance. Overall, the present study found that couples experienced a positive shift in expectations. Despite some initial concerns regarding the therapist’s ability to empathize over a screen and the potential for the technology to break down, many clients noted that videoconferencing allowed them to become fully immersed in the therapeutic process. In fact, many couples felt that videoconferencing created an element of ‘distance’ from the therapist that allowed them to feel a greater sense of control and comfort. Couples consistently described being able to effectively connect with the therapist, and that the video actually enhanced the therapeutic alliance, due to a greater perceived focus on therapy processes. Overall, despite some initial concerns, the majority of couples found the videoconferencing experience to be beneficial and positive.

Recent research has shown that many Australians see pro-environmental behaviour as desirable and identify as being green. However when compared to other countries, Australians score poorly on pro-environmental behaviour measures, engaging mostly in tokenistic pro-environmental actions, and demonstrate low levels of concern for the environment. In this article, we examine this tension through exploring the meaning of the term sustainability to Australian participants who self-identify as pro-environmental. Twenty-six interviews were conducted and analysed using a causal layered analysis. Through the examination of participants’ environmental discourse and practices, some of the deeper socio-psychological processes influencing pro-environmental behaviour are revealed. While participants aspired to be green, their actions were bound by cultural traditions and world views that perpetuate environmental degradation. Participants struggled to define the term sustainability and held self-enhancing motives...

How do you reconcile tensions between ethical research practice, personal values, and disciplinary values? This article focuses on an ethical challenge involving the engagement of rural Indigenous community members that emerged during my PhD fieldwork. The narrative illustrates the necessity to engage in critical reflexive research practice, a process which saw me respond to my own feelings of "wrong" and "right," contemplate a distinction between procedural ethics and virtue ethics in community-based research, explore colonizing research practices, and endeavor to reconcile an instance where the values of community psychology appeared in contest. The "voice" in this narrative is that of the first author; the dual authorship reflects the ongoing collaboration between both authors. When this ethical issue came about, our relationship was one of "student" and "supervisor"; we are now colleagues and friends.

The development of a scalable asymmetric route to a new calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonist is described. The synthesis of the two key fragments was redefined, and the intermediates were accessed through novel chemistry. Chiral lactam 2 was prepared by an enzyme mediated dynamic kinetic transamination which simultaneously set two stereocenters. Enzyme evolution resulted in an optimized transaminase providing the desired configuration in >60:1 syn/anti. The final chiral center was set via a crystallization induced diastereomeric transformation. The asymmetric spirocyclization to form the second fragment, chiral spiro acid intermediate 3, was catalyzed by a novel doubly quaternized phase transfer catalyst and provided optically pure material on isolation. With the two fragments in hand, development of their final union by amide bond formation and subsequent direct isolation is described. The described chemistry has been used to deliver over 100 kg of our desired target, ubrogepant.

The complex nature of colonisation presents with the potential for paradoxes in decolonising approaches, hence, fixed conventions and methods are discouraged. In this way, decolonising methodologies concerns interrogating dominant conventions in research that have typically excluded alternative ways of knowing from academia. This raises concern about the issue of breaking conventions, when it is potentially difficult to realise that one is depending upon them. An incremental approach to the research process and subsequent knowledge generated provides opportunity to challenge the conventions that typically dictate research praxis. In addition, fostering epistemological transformation and pluralism presents a solution to problems derived from dominant cultural assumptions and practices. My aim for this article is to extend upon the literature pertaining to decolonising methodologies, with this contribution of focusing on the research process as a means to avoid paradox in the decolonial intention. Accordingly, a process imperative that focuses on how researchers do research, over the tendency to focus on outcomes, emerges as a strategy to identify and contend with paradoxes within decolonial work. A questioning convention is posited as a means for mining the assumptions and biases of the dominant culture that would otherwise ensnare ones thinking. Consequently, research may be better liberated from oppressive colonising practices that are tacit within research and academic conventions. Narratives are provided throughout for illustrative example, and to better explore the concepts named.

The Innovative Medicines Initiative-funded COMBACTE consortium fosters academic-industry partnership in pioneering studies to combat serious bacterial infections. We describe how this partnership is advancing the development of 2 monoclonal antibodies, MEDI4893 and MEDI3902, for the prevention of nosocomial pneumonia.

Background Reflexivity is fundamental to developing methodologically and ethically sound research and is particularly important for researchers exploring experiences of oppression.Method We offer reflections on the process of engaging in participatory research with people with an intellectual disability (ID). A reflexive journal was maintained throughout the duration of a research project that used photovoice and conversational interviewing to explore the identities and social roles of 18 members of an advocacy agency for people with ID.Results Challenges and tensions arose throughout the research process, including difficulties reproducing “ideal” participatory research, issues of informed consent, and tensions surrounding the beneficiaries of the research. Broader social processes were mirrored in interactions with the members, and damaging stereotyped identities were unknowingly imposed.Conclusions Self-awareness and critical reflection is necessary to ensure that the existing power relations i...

Metagenomic sequencing of pooled nasal swabs from pigs with unexplained respiratory disease identified a large number of reads mapping to a previously uncharacterized porcine polyomavirus. Sus scrofa polyomavirus 2 was most closely related to betapolyomaviruses frequently detected in mammalian respiratory samples.

Early hydrologic and hydraulic numerical modeling of urban drainage systems focused on the minor system (i.e. storm sewer only). Over the past three decades th…

Intellectual disability is commonly conceptualised as stigmatised identity with which one has to live. However, within the literature the notion of a damaged identity is contested. The aim of this research was to explore the social construction of intellectual disability, with an emphasis on the identities and social roles of people with an intellectual disability. Informed by a contextualist perspective, this research was conducted within a participatory framework. The co-researchers involved in this research were 18 members of an advocacy agency. Photovoice and conversational interviewing were used to collect data and causal layered analysis was used to deconstruct the data. Analysis of the interactions that emerged across the causal layers revealed a complex dynamic of worldviews which served to construct people with an intellectual disability as incompetent, inherently different and not quite human. For genuine, transformative change to occur, developing an awareness and understanding of social proces...

Western Australia (WA) is experiencing severe water shortages associated with a drying climate. Suburban gardens in and around WA's capital city of Perth however, continue to be dominated by water dependent European style gardens featuring green lawns and introduced species. One area in metropolitan Perth going against this norm is the local government district of Fremantle. Residents within this city council have shown widespread adoption of native gardens: a seemingly obvious means of reducing water use and increasing local biodiversity. In an endeavour to understand the differences in garden design preferences, the aim of this research was to explore cultural and psychological drivers of native gardening within the city of Fremantle. Twelve in-depth, face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with Fremantle homeowners. Participants had converted their garden from a traditional European design in favour of an aesthetic based on native species. Drivers such as knowledge, functionality, and social norms emerged, and interestingly resembled the same sorts of drivers previously identified as driving European style gardening practices in Australia. We account for the tension of same drivers yet different design due to differences in social and cultural values. Specifically, the dominant worldview in Fremantle is pro-environmental and this driver appears to shape the social context in which gardening decisions are made, making for a more accepting setting for residents to adopt alternative garden designs. Findings from this research are of value to water and environmental policy makers, urban local governments, and environmental educators.

Previous studies have shown that zinc deficiency leads to apoptosis of neuronal precursor cells in vivo and in vitro. In addition to the role of p53 as a nuclear transcription factor in zinc deficient cultured human neuronal precursors (NT-2), we have now identified the translocation of phosphorylated p53 to the mitochondria and p53-dependent increases in the pro-apoptotic mitochondrial protein BAX leading to a loss of mitochondrial membrane potential as demonstrated by a 25% decrease in JC-1 red:green fluorescence ratio. Disruption of mitochondrial membrane integrity was accompanied by efflux of the apoptosis inducing factor (AIF) from the mitochondria and translocation to the nucleus with a significant increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) after 24 h of zinc deficiency. Measurement of caspase cleavage, mRNA, and treatment with caspase inhibitors revealed the involvement of caspases 2, 3, 6, and 7 in zinc deficiency-mediated apoptosis. Down-stream targets of caspase activation, including the nuclear structure protein lamin and polyADP ribose polymerase (PARP), which participates in DNA repair, were also cleaved. Transfection with a dominant-negative p53 construct and use of the p53 inhibitor, pifithrin-μ, established that these alterations were largely dependent on p53. Together these data identify a cascade of events involving mitochondrial p53 as well as p53-dependent caspase-mediated mechanisms leading to apoptosis during zinc deficiency.

Mechanisms underlying sound source distance localization are not well understood. Here we tested the hypothesis that a novel mechanism can create monaural distance sensitivity: a combination of auditory midbrain neurons' sensitivity to amplitude modulation (AM) depth and distance-dependent loss of AM in reverberation. We used virtual auditory space (VAS) methods for sounds at various distances in anechoic and reverberant environments. Stimulus level was constant across distance. With increasing modulation depth, some rabbit inferior colliculus neurons increased firing rates whereas others decreased. These neurons exhibited monotonic relationships between firing rates and distance for monaurally presented noise when two conditions were met: (1) the sound had AM, and (2) the environment was reverberant. The firing rates as a function of distance remained approximately constant without AM in either environment and, in an anechoic condition, even with AM. We corroborated this finding by reproducing the distance sensitivity using a neural model. We also conducted a human psychophysical study using similar methods. Normal-hearing listeners reported perceived distance in response to monaural 1 octave 4 kHz noise source sounds presented at distances of 35–200 cm. We found parallels between the rabbit neural and human responses. In both, sound distance could be discriminated only if the monaural sound in reverberation had AM. These observations support the hypothesis. When other cues are available (e.g., in binaural hearing), how much the auditory system actually uses the AM as a distance cue remains to be determined.

Intellectual disability is commonly conceptualised as stigmatised identity; however, within the literature, the notion of a damaged identity is contested. The aim of this research was to explore the social construction of intellectual disability from the perspective of staff who work closely with people with intellectual disabilities. Informed by a contextualist perspective, this research was based on interviews with five staff members of an advocacy agency in a regional area of Australia. Causal layered analysis was used to deconstruct the interview data. Analysis of the interactions that emerged across the causal layers revealed a complex dynamic of world views, which served to dehumanise people with intellectual disabilities and blame them for their own fate (victim blaming). For transformative change to occur, understandings of the ‘problems’ of intellectual disability must be reformulated and those social structures and processes that support the relationship between the powerful and the powerless must be challenged.

Recognition and localization of a sound are the major functions of the auditory system. In real situations, the listener and different degrees of reverberation transform the signal between the source and the ears. The present study was designed to provide these transformations and examine their influence on neural responses. Using the virtual auditory space (VAS) method to create anechoic and moderately and highly reverberant environments, we found the following: 1) In reverberation, azimuth tuning was somewhat degraded with distance whereas the direction of azimuth tuning remained unchanged. These features remained unchanged in the anechoic condition. 2) In reverberation, azimuth tuning and envelope synchrony were degraded most for neurons with low best frequencies and least for neurons with high best frequencies. 3) More neurons showed envelope synchrony to binaural than to monaural stimulation in both anechoic and reverberant environments. 4) The percentage of envelope-coding neurons and their synchrony decreased in reverberation with distance, whereas it remained constant in the anechoic condition. 5) At far distances, for both binaural and monaural stimulation, the neural gain in reverberation could be as high as 30 dB and as much as 10 dB higher than those in the anechoic condition. 6) The majority of neurons were able to code both envelope and azimuth in all of the environments. This study provides a foundation for understanding the neural coding of azimuth and envelope synchrony at different distances in reverberant and anechoic environments. This is necessary to understand how the auditory system processes “where” and “what” information in real environments.

Negative climate change imagery is often criticised on the grounds that it provokes and promotes disempowering responses and psychological distancing. We investigated people's associations with climate change, and their affective content on multiple dimensions, through two studies. In Study 1, we administered an image-elicitation task to 2502 people across Australia to examine the mental images most commonly associated with climate change. We used these common responses from the image-elicitation task to compile 82 actual images. In Study 2, these images were presented to participants at a series of four workshops (N = 52). Participants selected the images they most closely associated with climate change, rated them for affective content on an emotion circumplex, and later discussed evocative images in small groups. The findings suggest (i) a significant proportion of people struggle to form concrete associations; (ii) common associations are typically psychologically distant and iconographic, but some national-level impacts are also salient; and (iii) associations with climate change impacts differ in their affective content: Specifically, associations related to drought and denuded landscapes provoke lower arousal, whereas associations related to disasters and extremes provoke higher arousal. The importance of considering motivated reasoning and multi-dimensional affect in the psychological distancing of climate change is discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Photovoice is part of the growing use of participatory research approaches with people with intellectual disabilities. In this paper we explore the process, opportunities and challenges associated with the use of photovoice with people with intellectual disabilities, illustrated through a research project entitled ‘This Is Me’. Photovoice requires researchers to share power and control in the research process and to tolerate uncertainty. Large investments in time and money are also required. These challenges, however, are outweighed by the benefits of the use of photovoice with people with intellectual disabilities. Photovoice creates a space where people with intellectual disabilities can meaningfully participate and exert control in the research process, and as such is an empowering experience. As a participatory research approach, photovoice is accessible and offers the opportunity for people with intellectual disabilities to develop new skills, confidence and experience inclusiveness in their own terms.

There are a limited number of dominant discourses available to frame drug use within Australia. These dominant discourses play an important role in policy debate and development, and also drug use behaviour. We describe the development of a psychometric instrument that is hypothesised to measure the degree to which individuals internalise dominant drug discourses. Sixty items were developed to reflect six dominant discourses of drug use. A substantive validity analysis was conducted. The highest loading items were included in a 27-item measure that was administered to 370 people seeking substance use treatment in Perth, Western Australia. In addition, participants completed the Locus of Control of Behaviour Scale. Confirmatory Factor Analysis tested the fit of a predicted six factor model, in addition to three other plausible models. The best fitting model was the predicted model. Internal locus of control was correlated with medical and legal discourse. The Dominant Drug Discourses Scale appears to measu...

Causal layered analysis (CLA) is an emerging qualitative methodology adopted in the discipline of planning as an approach to deconstruct complex social issues. With psychologists increasingly confronted with complex, and "wicked" social and community issues, we argue that the discipline of psychology would benefit from adopting CLA as an analytical method. Until now, the application of CLA for data interpretation has generally been poorly defined and overwhelming for the novice. In this paper we propose an approach to CLA that provides a method for the deconstruction and analysis of complex social psychological issues. We introduce CLA as a qualitative methodology well suited for psychology, introduce the epistemological foundations of CLA, define a space for it adoption within the discipline, and, outline the steps for conducting a CLA using an applied example.

With evidence suggesting conservation attitudes and moral norms lack discriminant validity, the study's aim was to test if this could be established for recycling, as well as how moral norms can extend the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). A sample of 271 participants that consisted predominantly of students was obtained for this correlational study (117 males and 154 females, M age = 24 years). Since confirmatory factor analysis indicated convergent validity (r = .69, p

Despite a paucity of studies evaluating the psychometric properties of the Locus of Control of Behaviour Scale (LCBS), it continues to be widely used in behavioural research. The present study sought to redress this gap in the literature. The 17-item LCBS was administered to 373 Australians attending Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) treatment agencies in the northern metropolitan region of Perth. Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted in order to determine which of several plausible measurement models provided the best fit for the data. A unidimensional model, recommended by the authors of the LCBS, and a two-dimensional (Internal Locus of Control vs External Locus of Control) model provided poor fits. Other multidimensional models, differing only in the dimensionality of the externality factor, were also tested. A multidimensional model consisting of an Internal Locus of Control factor and four component External Locus of Control factors provided the best fit; however, the fit is probably best described as “reasonable” rather than “good.” A subsequent exploratory factor analysis using parallel analysis indicated a cohesive internality factor; however, the externality factor showed a tendency to fragment into smaller components. Results were discussed in terms of the problematic externality factor.

Background Having first appeared in Europe, synthetic cannabis emerged as a drug of concern in Australia during 2011. Kronic is the most well-known brand of synthetic cannabis in Australia and received significant media attention. Policy responses were reactive and piecemeal between state and federal governments. In this paper we explore the relationship between media reports, policy responses, and drug-related harm. Methods Google search engine applications were used to produce time–trend graphs detailing the volume of media stories being published online about synthetic cannabis and Kronic, and also the amount of traffic searching for these terms. A discursive analysis was then conducted on those media reports that were identified by Google as ‘key stories'. The timing of related media stories was also compared with self-reported awareness and month of first use, using previously unpublished data from a purposive sample of Australian synthetic cannabis users. Results Between April and June 2011, mentions of Kronic in the media increased. The number of media stories published online connected strongly with Google searches for the term Kronic. These stories were necessarily framed within dominant discourses that served to construct synthetic cannabis as pathogenic and created a ‘moral panic'. Australian state and federal governments reacted to this moral panic by banning individual synthetic cannabinoid agonists. Manufacturers subsequently released new synthetic blends that they claimed contained new unscheduled chemicals. Conclusion Policies implemented within in the context of ‘moral panic', while well-intended, can result in increased awareness of the banned product and the use of new yet-to-be-scheduled drugs with unknown potential for harm. Consideration of regulatory models should be based on careful examination of the likely intended and unintended consequences. Such deliberation might be limited by the discursive landscape.

Insertion sequence (IS) elements are important mediators of genome plasticity and can lead to phenotypic changes with evolutionary significance. In multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella pneumoniae, IS elements have contributed significantly to the mobilization of genes that encode resistance to antimicrobial drugs. A systematic analysis of IS elements is needed for a more comprehensive understanding of their evolutionary impact. We developed a computational approach (ISseeker) to annotate IS elements in draft genome assemblies and applied the method to analysis of IS elements in all publicly available A. baumannii(>1000) and K. pneumoniae(>800) genome sequences, in a phylogenetic context. Most IS elements in A. baumanniigenomes are species-specific ISAba elements, whereas K. pneumoniaegenomes contain significant numbers of both ISKpn elements and elements that are found throughout the Enterobacteriaceae. A. baumanniigenomes have a higher density of IS elements than K. pneumoniae, averaging ~33 vs ~27 copies per genome. In K. pneumoniae, several insertion sites are shared by most genomes in the ST258 clade, whereas in A. baumannii, different IS elements are abundant in different phylogenetic groups, even among closely related Global Clone 2 strains. IS elements differ in the distribution of insertion locations relative to genes, with some more likely to disrupt genes and others predominantly in intergenic regions. Several genes and intergenic regions had multiple independent insertion events, suggesting that those events may confer a selective advantage. Genome- and taxon-wide characterization of insertion locations revealed that IS elements have been active contributors to genome diversity in both species.

Australians have strong attachments to the coast. The impact of climate change brings to the fore deep-seated socio-cultural values, which add to the already complex and uncertain biophysical changes that challenge our preparations for future climate change. Our research aims to examine the role of worldviews and deep seated values in decision-making in response to climate change. The objective is to show how a multi-layered discourse analysis using causal layered analysis (CLA) can provide a powerful means of revealing the underlying social and cultural influences on decision-making and provide more insight into potential pathways for more effective responses to complex phenomena such as climate change. A case study of coastal governance in the south west of Western Australia, which is highly vulnerable to sea-level rise, provides the context of the research. We have found that CLA as a critical research tool has proven to be a useful method in uncovering the dominance of the administrative rationalist worldview on coastal governance. In our view, future coastal governance would benefit from a shift towards greater participatory governance and the incorporation of more reflexive practice so that the deeper emotional and relational aspects of decision-making balance out the dominant problem-solving discourse.

Despite decades of research devoted to the study of inferior colliculus (IC) neurons' tuning to sound-source azimuth, there remain many unanswered questions because no previous study has examined azimuth tuning over a full range of 360° azimuths at a wide range of stimulus levels in an unanesthetized preparation. Furthermore, a comparison of azimuth tuning to binaural and contralateral ear stimulation over ranges of full azimuths and widely varying stimulus levels has not previously been reported. To fill this void, we have conducted a study of azimuth tuning in the IC of the unanesthetized rabbit over a 300° range of azimuths at stimulus levels of 10–50 dB above neural threshold to both binaural and contralateral ear stimulation using virtual auditory space stimuli. This study provides systematic evidence for neural coding of azimuth. We found the following: 1) level-tolerant azimuth tuning was observed in the top 35% regarding vector strength and in the top 15% regarding vector angle of IC neurons; 2) preserved azimuth tuning to binaural stimulation at high stimulus levels was created as a consequence of binaural facilitation in the contralateral sound field and binaural suppression in the ipsilateral sound field; 3) the direction of azimuth tuning to binaural stimulation was primarily in the contralateral sound field, and its center shifted laterally toward −90° with increasing stimulus level; 4) at 10 dB, azimuth tuning to binaural and contralateral stimulation was similar, indicating that it was mediated by monaural mechanisms; and 5) at higher stimulus levels, azimuth tuning to contralateral ear stimulation was severely degraded. These findings form a foundation for understanding neural mechanisms of localizing sound-source azimuth.

The reliability of end-user developed spreadsheets is poor. Research studies find that 94% of ‘real-world’ spreadsheets contain errors. Although some research has been conducted in the area of spreadsheet testing, little is known about the behaviour or processes of individuals during the debugging task. In this paper, the authors investigate the performance and behaviour of expert and novice end-users in the debugging of an experimental spreadsheet. To achieve this aim, a spreadsheet debugging experiment was conducted, with professional and student participants requested to debug a spreadsheet seeded with errors. The work utilises a novel approach for acquiring experimental data through the unobtrusive recording of participants’ actions using a custom built VBA tool. Based on findings from the experiment, a debugging tool is developed, and its effects on debugging performance are investigated.

A randomised controlled trial evaluated the Aussie Optimism Program in preventing anxiety and depression. Grade 7 students (n = 496) from disadvantaged government schools in Perth Western Australia, participated. Six schools were randomly assigned to Aussie Optimism and six schools received their usual health education lessons. Students completed questionnaires on depression, anxiety, attribution style, and social skills. Parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist. No significant group effects were found for student-reported data. Parents of intervention group only students reported reductions in internalizing problems at post-test. No follow-up group effects were significant. Students and teachers found the program acceptable.

The need for a model that can portray dynamic processes of change in mutual help groups for mental health (MHGMHs) is emphasized. A dynamic process model has the potential to capture a more comprehensive understanding of how MHGMHs may assist their members. An investigation into GROW, a mutual help organization for mental health, employed ethnographic, phenomenological and collaborative research methods. The study examined how GROW impacts on psychological well being. Study outcomes aligned with the social ecological paradigm (Maton in Understanding the self-help organization: frameworks and findings. Sage, Thousand Oaks 1994) indicating multifactorial processes of change at and across three levels of analysis: group level, GROW program/community level and individual level. Outcome themes related to life skills acquisition and a change in self-perception in terms of belonging within community and an increased sense of personal value. The GROW findings are used to assist development of a dynamic multi-dimensional process model to explain how MHGMHs may promote positive change.

Discourses are conceptualised as context-specific frameworks that constrain what can be presented as rational when considering psychoactive substances. Given the implications of this for Australian...

Community psychology in Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand reflect interesting parallels and convergences. While both have a strong educational basis influenced by North American publications, they have developed foci and forms of practice reflecting the cultural, political, and historic underpinnings of these two countries. In New Zealand, community psychology developed from academic researchers and teachers moulding and adapting approaches to suit the needs of their local communities. In Australia, two processes of practitioners establishing a professional home and academics developing a field of education have come together to form the basis of the field. At the core of community psychology in both countries is the place of social justice—with a strong emphasis on the position and plight of the Indigenous peoples.

Although the formal history of community psychology in both Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand has clear links with its history elsewhere, particularly in the United States, the subdiscipline has developed localised foci and forms of practice reflecting the cultural, political and historical underpinnings of these two countries. The climates within which community psychology emerged in the 1970s were distinctly local, resonating with debates around decolonisation and political realignment within the Asia Pacific region. The purpose of the present paper is to explore the separate developments of community psychology in Australia and New Zealand, and identify some shared concerns and achievements. At the core of community psychology in both countries are the emphasis on contextualised understandings of human behaviour and the primacy of social justice. In the future it seems likely that community psychology will develop close links with other emerging social science disciplines that espouse similar values and world views, and that community psychologists will consolidate networks with colleagues in Africa and the Asia Pacific, enabling a wider exchange of ideas and an expansion in the shared understandings of what characterises community psychology in the southern hemisphere.

The use of air medical transport evolved from military experience, initially using fixed wing transport in the Second World War, with the widening use of helicopters initiated in the Korean conflic...

The objective of the research is to investigate the epistemological and methodological discrepancies involved in the cross-cultural study of unipolar depression. These discrepancies include the methodological design and measurement of depression and culture, and the epistemological variation in researchers as to whether depression is a universal or socially constructed phenomenon. A Delphi procedure was utilised which enabled a group of eleven culture/depression experts from around the globe to respond to an open-ended questionnaire related to the methodological and epistemological problems confronting the understanding of depression across cultures. Endorsement of these issues and consensus between the Delphi participants to these issues was then assessed by two subsequent questionnaires. The results indicated that when studying depression across cultures, both universal and social constructionist approaches to depression need to be considered. Quantitative measures of depression should include only the universal aspects of depression so meaningful comparisons can be made across cultures. Quantitative information should be supplemented with qualitative descriptions from research collaborators who can provide an emic perspective of depression. Measuring culture should move beyond the scope of using Hofstede's dimensions which, although measuring some aspects of culture, do not encompass the complexity of cultures. The impact of globalisation means that our knowledge of cultures needs to be regularly reviewed. Cross-cultural, comparative research of depression is much needed but there are many methodological and epistemological issues that need to be addressed.