John Haw

The Temporal Sequencing of Problem Gambling and Comorbid Disorders

Two qualitative studies were undertaken to identify the prevalent comorbid mental disorders in treatment seeking problem gamblers and to also identify the temporal sequencing of the disorders. A forum with problem gambling counsellors and interviews with 24 mental health experts were undertaken. There was general agreement that the most commonly occurring disorders were depression, anxiety disorders, substance disorders (nicotine dependence, alcohol and other drug abuse/dependence) and personality disorders. While some participants gave definite opinions as to the temporal sequencing of disorders, the overall consensus was that it was largely dependent upon the individual. These results concur with other findings in the literature and also the Blaszczynski and Nower (2002) pathways model of problem gambling.

Service Quality Improves Students’ Evaluation of Good Teaching

ABSTRACT Personalization has been used in service operations as a mean to improve perceptions of service quality. The current study applied personalization principles to assignment feedback to examine its effect on student perceptions of teaching quality. The first study utilized 63 undergraduate students who randomly received a hypothetical feedback scenario that included either personalization or no personalization. Personalization involved the use of a greeting, valediction, and names and no significant differences were found between the two groups across four items from the Good Teaching Scale. The second study randomly allocated 91 student assignments to receive either personalized or non-personalized feedback. Students rated the amount of time and the helpfulness of the feedback significantly greater for the personalized group compared to the non-personalized group. However, personalization did not affect other measures of good teaching. These results are discussed in terms of blending pedagogy with service principles to maximize the student experience.