What constitutes globalised evidence? Cultural tensions and critical reflections of the evidence-based movement in New Zealand

The evidence-based movement (EBM) is grounded in a well-intentioned desire to ensure resources are invested in high quality initiatives that generate the intended impact. Nevertheless, recent critiques contest the appropriateness of translating an approach rooted in a medical model to socially complex initiatives. Globalised notions of evidence can also be damaging for programs operating in small, culturally diverse countries with limited resources. Given these polemic views, our aim was to examine local perceptions of the EBM in New Zealand, a small, vibrant, bicultural society with a mix of homegrown and imported programs. Using a snowball sampling approach, 79 professionals working in the education and social sectors completed an anonymous online survey that contained a series of closed and open-ended questions. The results show that although participants positively endorsed a variety of quality evidence markers, traditionally positivist methodological leanings received lower and more varied endorsements compared to more inclusive and pluralistic approaches. Many also expressed concern that the EBM emphasises a narrow and colonised view of evidence that does not align with Māori and Pacific worldviews, and undermines innovation. We discuss the implications as an avenue for advancing intervention and social programming research in an increasingly multicultural and globalised world.     

A developmental study of destereotyping and androgynous activity preferences of tomboys,nontomboys, and males

A study of 210 fourth, sixth, eighth, and tenth graders and adults was conducted to determine developmental trends in both destereotyping of traditionally gender-typed activities and preferences for those activities, and to compare activity preferences of tomboys with other females and with males at different ages. Tenth graders destereotyped less than the other age levels. Additionally, female subjects destereotyped traditionally boys' activities more than girls' activities and more than male subjects. Although nontomboys and boys showed a preference for gender-traditional activities, tomboys preferred traditional girls' and boys' activities equally. Self-defined tomboys do not reject traditionally female activities; instead, they expand their repertoire of activities to include both gender-traditional and nontraditional activities. It is suggested that girls who are able to transcend gender-role behavior in childhood may be the ones who will grow into androgynous adult women.     

Social factors influence solo and rat dyads exploration of an unfamiliar open field

Animal Cognition - Exploring new and unfamiliar environments is critical for survival, providing information on food, shelter, mates, and sources of danger. The open field paradigm is commonly used...     

Predictors of COVID-19 precautionary behaviors to protect people with disabilities

Disability is conceptualized using one of two major frameworks: the medical and the social model of disability. The medical model of disability describes disability as an individual issue in which the appropriate intervention is to remove the disability. The social model of disability describes disability as a social construction in which the appropriate intervention is societal change to increase accessibility. This study drew on models of disability to understand predictors of engagement in COVID-precautionary behavior prior to the vaccine to protect people with disabilities (PWD) from contracting COVID-19. Participants (n = 720) with and without disabilities (n = 77 and n = 633, respectively) completed an online questionnaire measuring disability beliefs, attitudes toward PWD, concerns about PWD contracting COVID-19, and engagement in behavior protecting PWD from contracting COVID-19. Medical model beliefs were negatively associated with behavior. In addition, negative attitudes toward PWD and low concern about PWD contracting COVID-19 fully accounted for the relationship. Social model beliefs were positively associated with behavior. In addition, positive attitudes toward PWD and greater concern about PWD contracting COVID-19 partially explained the relationship. These findings suggest that framing disability as a social construction rather than a medical issue could promote greater public health behavior to protect PWD from contracting COVID.     

Evaluating a computational model of perceptual grouping by proximity

A formal approach to the phenomenon of perceptual grouping by proximity was investigated. Grouping judgments of random dot patterns were made by the CODE algorithm (van Oeffelen & Vos, 1982) and several related algorithms, and these judgments were compared with subjects’ grouping judgments for the same stimuli. Each algorithm predicted significantly more subject judgments than would be expected by chance. The more subjects agreed on how a given dot pattern should be grouped, the more successful was the algorithms’ ability to match the judgments for that pattern. CODE predicted significantly fewer subject judgments than did some of the other algorithms, largely because of its overemphasis on the extent of interactivity among dots as they are being grouped.     

Are hyperactive children deficient in attentional capacity?

A dual task was used to study attentional capcity in three groups: in 6- to 12- year- old boys with attention deficit disorder plus hyperactivity (ADDH) or with ADDH and conduct disorder, and in normal children. Subjects performed a primary-choice reaction-time task first without and then with a secondary task that also required a response. Our prediction that the reaction time of ADDH subjects to the secondary task would increase more with increasing temporal overlap of the primary and secondary stimuli, if they were deficient in capacity, was not supported. However, the performance of ADDH subjects on the primary task deteriorated more than that of control subjects with the introduction of the secondary task, indicating a greater concurrence cost or a different allocation policy. Moreover, ADDH subjects had longer reaction times to the secondary task, indicating greater refractory effects or difficulty shifting capacity from primary- to secondary-task processes.The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the Ontario Mental Health Foundation and the assistance of Diane Chajczyk. This paper was prepared with the assistance of Medical Publications, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario.