Peta Callaghan

Navigating the internet can be a multifaceted experience for LGBTQ+ individuals, with the potential to support or harm wellbeing. Online spaces offer access to supportive communities, which can provide a variety of benefits. However, online spaces can also expose LGBTQ+ internet users to anti-LGBTQ+ hate and harassment, in addition to exclusion and discrimination from LGBTQ+ communities themselves. However, the nuances of online dynamics and their effects on wellbeing remain underexplored, particularly through the lens of Social Identity Theory (SIT). The present study addresses the research gap through exploring the online experiences of LGBTQ+ adults, focusing on social interactions and group dynamics. Results from a qualitative survey of 136 participants identified complex inclusionary and exclusionary dynamics, strongly affecting participants' appraisal of their own identity, feelings toward LGBTQ+ others, and their sense of belonging both online and offline. While SIT offers considerable explanatory power for online experiences, the study identifies limitations in its overall applicability. The study's findings highlight the internet's dual role in nurturing and harming LGBTQ+ wellbeing and inclusion.

To determine if best practice guidelines exist for assessment methods throughout the undergraduate psychology program, and whether there are recommendations on how to scaffold these methods effectively and appropriately over the three-year degree. A comprehensive database search and review of journal articles, books, and grey literature relevant to higher education assessment and evaluation, and their focus on psychology, was conducted. From this, six articles, eight books, and one report were deemed relevant to the current research, with all but one published in the United States. Four common themes arose from the findings: 1) assessments should be based on learning outcomes, 2) there are many considerations when creating assessments at a course and program level, 3) best practice assessment method: authentic assessment, and 4) recommendations for scaffolding assessment methods across the three-year program. Recommendations for scaffolding assessment methods related to the areas of scientific inquiry, psychological literacy, critical thinking, and problem-based learning. This review highlights that much more work is needed to identify the assessment methods that are best suited to each level in the undergraduate psychology program, and how to effectively scaffold and evaluate these methods over the three-year degree.

Objective: The objective of this review is to explore the perceptions and experiences of military and emergency personnel who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersex, asexual, or other (LGBTQIA+), and the perceptions and experiences of their families. Introduction: LGBTQIA+ military and emergency first response personnel report disproportionately poorer career and personal outcomes than their cisgender and heterosexual counterparts. Research examining the underlying lived experiences and perceptions of people serving who are LGBTQIA+, particularly those of their family members, is sparse. Hence, the aim of this review is to identify, aggregate, and synthesize relevant qualitative research findings. Inclusion criteria: This review will consider studies of LGBTQIA+ military or emergency first response personnel and their families that include qualitative data capturing their experiences and perceptions of navigating industrial institutions and service communities. Military personnel include those employed in any role within any military organization; emergency first response personnel will include ambulance workers, paramedics, police, firefighters, and other public safety roles. Families will be limited to any configuration of immediate family members of active or retired LGBTQIA+ service personnel. No limits will be applied to the age of service personnel or their family members, nor to duration or chronology of service. Methods: Databases searched will include PsycINFO, PubMed Central, ProQuest Central, Scopus, MEDLINE, Embase, and PTSDpubs. Domain-specific journals will be manually searched, and gray literature and unpublished studies will be searched via ProQuest Central. Study screening and selection against inclusion criteria will be performed in Covidence. Data extraction and critical appraisal will be performed using the standardized JBI templates and checklists for qualitative research. All stages will be performed by 2 independent reviewers, with conflicts resolved by a third reviewer. Review registration: PROSPERO CRD42022323913

Investigating patients’ reports on the quality and consistency of melanoma follow-up care in Australia would assist in evaluating if this care is effective and meeting patients’ needs. The objective of this study was to obtain and explore the patients’ account of the technical and interpersonal aspects of melanoma follow-up care received. An online survey was conducted to acquire details of patients’ experience. Participants were patients treated in Australia for primary melanoma. Qualitative and quantitative data about patient perceptions of the nature and quality of their follow-up care were collected, including provision of melanoma specific information, psychosocial support, and imaging tests received. Inconsistencies were reported in the provision and quality of care received. Patient satisfaction was generally low and provision of reassurance from health professionals was construed as an essential element of quality of care. “Gaps” in follow-up care for melanoma patients were identified, particularly provision of adequate psychosocial support and patient education. Focus on strategies for greater consistency in the provision of support, information, and investigations received, may generate a cost dividend which could be reinvested in preventive and supportive care and benefit patient well-being.

Water shortages in Australia have highlighted an urgent need for alternative water sources, and technologically, water recycling is argued to offer the most cost‐effective, environmentally sustainable solution to these shortages. Yet public support for its implementation is low even in the drought‐stricken areas of Australia. Drawing from the theory of social representations, this study addressed community perceptions of water recycling. Three interrelated methodologies were employed in a self‐report questionnaire. Individual difference scaling/multidimensional scaling analyses of three word association tasks revealed that the emergent social representation of water recycling was contradictory in affect. Normative responses indicated an awareness of the need to use recycled water whereas the functional responses were associated with a fear of contamination. An analysis of differential use scales further revealed that the perception of contagion was specific to when recycled water had contact with the body. The discursive analysis of respondents' comments expanded on both these findings. The study identified the themata of purity/impurity as underpinning the social understanding of water recycling. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.