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Embedding digital technology into contemporary Māori and Pasifika architectural practise
No full textThe research paper will review how designers and architects can utilise digital technology to produce culturally respectful Māori and Pasifika architectural outputs within a contemporary landscape. The purpose of the research is to determine how digital fabrication technology can embody the same mana found within traditional design thinking and making process. The research will firstly aim to understand what social customs must be retained to ensure the design outcome are culturally appropriate. The second aim of the research is to determine what traditional building and artisan crafts must be employed in the fabrication process. The method will predominantly a review of various forms of literature, recorded interviews and case studies where possible. Three generations of Māori and Pasifika architectural practice having been selected for this review to ensure a large and diverse cultural representation are analysed. The research findings have indicated there are a large number of approaches to producing contemporary digital architecture. While some approaches ensure traditional craftsman are involved throughout the design and fabrication process, other designers opt to engage with modern craftsman with the blessing of the community. The value of this research is important, as it will serve as a mechanism to understand the conflicts between tradition and technological progress. Although it is essential to preserve cultural skill, expertise and craft, it is equally crucial to innovate technologically. The research goal is to enable digital architecture that can spiritually resonate mana and respect to ancestors of Māori and Pasifika culture
Ecological communities of tree species threatened by myrtle rust (Austropuccinia psidii (G. Winter) Beenken) : the lichenised mycobiota of pōhutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa Sol. ex Gaertn., Myrtaceae
No full textMyrtle rust (Austropuccinia psidii) poses a serious threat to the New Zealand Myrtaceae. While the threat to the host tree is reasonably well-known, the threat myrtle rust poses to the associated biota is poorly understood. As a contribution to our knowledge of this, a preliminary list of the lichenised mycobiota that utilise pōhutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa) as a phorophyte is presented, based on a survey of the specimens in two herbaria with extensive collections from the natural range of this endemic tree species. We report 187 lichen species (and lower ranks) from 76 genera and 32 families
Do analytical capabilities among HR professionals lead to enhanced performance?
No full textThe evolving role of HR today
What factors are driving change for HR professionals?
What are the most important capabilities for future success?
Where are HR professionals currently strong?
Workforce analytics defined
Research purpose - Investigate whether analytical capabilities among NZ HR professionals lead to enhanced performance
Improving drug dose calculation and mathematical skills
No full textBACKGROUND
Drug dosage and mathematical skills for nursing students is a global concern for lecturers and RN preceptors. There is consensus in the literature that medication errors are linked to calculation and basic understanding of maths; and that both student nurses and teachers can often experience maths anxiety. Locally, at Unitec, over a 5-year period, statistics within the second-year exam indicate consistent high failure rates, poor competence, lack of understanding around not just maths, but conceptual skills, information and tasks within questions and inability to apply skills clinically. The problem is incredibly complex, and reasons for such results multifactorial and concerning as patient safety is at risk and our reputation as a training institution
Face to face delivery this week; on-line the next
No full textPURPOSE OF REFLECTION
Reflects on the effects of on student engagement from shifting from face-to-face to online learning during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Unitec accounting lecturers’ observations and experiences of student engagement in online learning from teaching post graduate and undergraduate accounting courses
Insurgent planning and collective action against the commodification of the city: the experience of the Movimento Ocupe Estelita, Brazil
No full textRESUMO:
O trabalho propõe uma reflexão sobre a influência de arenas participativas autônomas enquanto expressões de grupos e movimentos contra-hegemônicos que buscam influenciar o planejamento e a produção do território. O planejamento insurgente é usado para embasar a análise da atuação do Movimento Ocupe Estelita (MOE) cujas ações exprimem emergências de uma atitude política que fortalece ações colaborativas em prol de espaços da cidade. Utilizando espaços inventados, arte, lúdico, resgate da memória e práticas criativas, o MOE ampliou o debate sobre processos urbanos contemporâneos, expressando disputas pelo territórios e propondo alternativas que fortalessem a ação coletiva e colaborativa. O estudo dessas práticas coletivas emergentes evidencia o potencial de criação de espaços em que os cidadãos se tornam participantes mais ativos no desenho da cidade, resistindo à mercantilização do urbano e reivindicando, de forma tangível, o direito de fazer parte da cidade e das decisões sobre seu planejamento.
ABSTRACT:
This paper explores the influence of autonomous participatory arenas as expressions of counter-hegemonic groups and movements that seek to influence the planning and the production of the territory. Insurgent planning is used to support the analysis of the Movimento Ocupe Estelita (MOE) whose actions exemplify a political attitude which strengthens collaborative networks to safeguard urban spaces. Using invented spaces, art, playfulness, memory retrieval and creative practices, the MOE broadened the debate on contemporary urban processes, expressing dispute over territories and proposing alternatives strengthening collective and collaborative action. The study of these emerging collective practices shows the potential of creating spaces in which citizens become more active participants in the design of the city, resisting the commercialization of the urban and claiming, in a tangible way, the right to be part of the city and the decisions about your planning
Use of online on-demand microcredentials to provide an alternative learning pathway for an engineering diploma programme
No full textThis paper sets out the methodology and results of a feasibility study and the following pilot project which were implemented to investigate the use of microcredentials as an alternative learning pathway for the civil option of the New Zealand Diploma of Engineering (NZDE) programme.
The NZDE is designed “to provide skilled and competent engineering technicians specialised in Civil, Electrical, Electronic, Mechanical or Fire Engineering for the New Zealand engineering sector” (NZBED, 2017). The NZDE (Civil) graduates fill a number of roles in the civil engineering industry including civil construction site engineers, infrastructure and structural designers and draftspeople, engineering surveyors and project managers for civil engineering projects (Wilson, 2014).
There is a need for more civil engineering diploma graduates if New Zealand is to continue to develop at its current rate (IPENZ, 2010) but current graduate numbers are decreasing (Engineering E2E, 2017). One possible approach to increase graduate numbers is to make the programme more accessible and attractive to working people.
Microcredentials are recognitions of small packages of learning. The learning and assessment resources required to undertake these small packages of learning may be presented on an online platform that allows learning to be undertaken at any time (i.e. on demand learning). Mischewski (2017) suggests that this approach could provide a more flexible approach to learning which may allow easier access to education for working people. They may also provide a low-stakes entry for people who have been away from formal learning for significant periods of time
Fostering group autonomy through collaborative learning in an online environment
No full textLearner autonomy is recognised as being associated with effective and successful learning. Whilst significant scholarship has focused on individual learner autonomy, a review of the literature indicates that the interdependence and social dimension of learner autonomy are largely under-researched. The primary objective of this study is to examine how learners engaged in a collaborative inquiry outside the classroom utilising an asynchronous online discussion forum and to what extent the collaborative task fostered group autonomy. Employing thematic analysis, postings of 20 students in a peer-moderated online discussion forum were analysed. The results revealed that the process of knowledge co-construction advanced and deepened the learners’ understanding of the subject matter. Furthermore, the collaborative inquiry helped establish a community of learning whereby students supported each other emotionally and cognitively, and they wanted to achieve well collectively. The study concluded that a well-designed collaborative task is key to fostering the social and interdependent dimension of learner autonomy
Low carbon rules : an interdisciplinary approach to writing standards for earth and straw construction in Aotearoa New Zealand
No full textIn order to realise a future where a variety of low carbon building options is readily available, their consenting needs to be supported by relevant standards to assist their path through the regulatory process. The recently published suite of revised and expanded Earth Building Standards, NZS 4297-99: 2020, does just that. The product of a collaboration between a team of architects, engineers, builders, consenting officers, and academics, the standards provide normative and informative guidance for using a wide range of earth and straw building techniques. A key aspect of the interdisciplinary collaboration involved testing of both materials and testing methods included in the revised standards. These standards enable a 'low-tech' approach, making self-help methods available to owner builders, including simplified material testing with low cost equipment. This paper reviews the standards development including testing of materials, verification of low-tech material testing. Given the challenges associated with the changing roles of government and other stakeholders, the problems that arise when the maintenance and development of building standards relies heavily on industry funding, an international collaboration is proposed with lobbying for national government support for on-going development