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NZDE national exams : a nightmare and a limiting barrier
Get PDFThe pass rate in NZDE first-year modules with national exams is lower than the other courses in the programme
In this presentation:
The reasons why students struggle in the national exams are briefly discussed
The issues arising for the providers and the programme are highlighted
A new model for the national assessment is introduced to overcome the issues while the quality of the programme is assured and all parties are also satisfie
SITJAR Special Edition: Master of Applied Management
No full textThis publication highlights the work of five student projects undertaken while studying for their Master of Applied Management qualification. These projects were then reworked, submitted and peer-reviewed into the research articles that appear in this Special Edition
Communicating ethical messages in motion graphic design to Generation Z
No full textRESEARCH QUESTION:
How can motion graphic design communicate ethical messages to raise the awareness of plastic waste pollution among Generation Z in Vietnam?
ABSTRACT:
Motion Graphic practice has since the early 1970’s been harnessed to relate pressing and complex environmental issues to regional populations to effect positive change within communities. Since then, as the need for this type of visual communication is ongoing, motion graphics has been increasing in the acceleration of understanding of humancentered environmental impacts. However, recently the impact of mass communication has become less predictable as the mechanisms of Motion Graphic broadcast have shifted away from large screens and synchronous consumption. The need for new ways to engage with younger audiences is clear and potential is evident in the recent implementation of viewer-as-broadcaster as enabled by web 2.0 and social media mechanisms in general. These formats are seen as the new wave of mass communication as these mechanisms have established a new definition of the term ‘viral’ and created significant and disruptive communication impacts with the introduction of the concept of the influencer as a (comparatively) new market-to and communicationfor connoisseur. What ethical motion design now requires is to understand, harness, and apply these social media-centric mechanisms to enable an aspect of social innovation to further social action for the environmental common good. This reserach project focuses on how Motion graphics’ in creative practice can produce “viral” motion videos to deliver an ethical message to the young generation
Patients’ understanding of their presenting conditions following a consultation with a student osteopath
No full textINTRODUCTION
Research indicates that when health practitioners communicate well, patients’ understanding of their presenting conditions may improve, enhancing healthcare outcomes. Despite the significance of effective communication within a health professional-patient relationship, there is little research exploring this phenomenon within osteopathy.
AIMS AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS
This study explored patients’ understanding of their presenting conditions following a consultation with a student osteopath in a New Zealand student osteopathic clinic. Research questions were: What themes exist within patients’ description of their conditions/s following an osteopathic consultation? What relationship exists between student-practitioners’ communication and the patient’s understanding of their conditions?
METHODS
Interpretive Description (ID) was the qualitative methodological approach adopted for the study. This approach was chosen because it has been utilised successfully by researchers investigating a range of clinical phenomena. Key data for analyses included the audio recordings of consultations between the student-participants (n = 11; fifth-year Master of Osteopathy students) and patient-participants (n = 20; patients of the student-participants) and short interviews with patients following consultations. The data were triangulated and analysed thematically.
FINDINGS
Three main themes were identified: a) it’s a process, b) building trust, and c) focussing on communicating and understanding. The first theme highlighted patients acknowledging that processes played a part in various aspects of their conditions, such as the development of and what would be required to improve their conditions. The second theme illustrated student-practitioner communication building patient trust. Trust seemed to be supported by patients’ confidence in student-practitioner’s abilities, training, and knowledge. The final theme showed student-participants focused on delivering effective and understandable communication. By customising messages, student-practitioners helped make the language used more understandable for patients. As patients started making sense of what was occurring with their bodies, they could link how various elements (such as habits and parts of the body) might be interconnected. The student-practitioner and patient relationship seemed to be underpinned by trust and confidence.
CONCLUSION
The findings highlighted communication strategies that might help patients’ health outcomes within an osteopathic setting. Student-practitioners ensured their communication was clear and accessible to patients, which supported the therapeutic relationship and helped deliver person-centred care
Suburban styles: Housing design at higher densities in Aotearoa New Zealand
No full textSuburban housing design in Aotearoa New Zealand’s cities evolved through the twentieth century with adaptable styles to suit changing fashions and various forms of external expression. Designers followed a path that saw a gradual simplification of decorative detail and material diversity, while continuing to rely on, with rare exceptions, the single paradigm of a one-level timber-framed detached structure. By 1990 style preferences in new subdivisions had settled on an unostentatious modernist architecture that suited low neighbourhood densities seldom exceeding nine dwellings per hectare. Architects had little to do with the mass of suburban housing.
The focus on the environmental and economic imperatives of urban sustainability after the publication of the United Nation’s Brundtland Report in 1988 coincided in Aotearoa New Zealand with significant political, economic, demographic and social change. In response to these conditions, and under the recently adopted Resource Management Act of 1992 (RMA), the Territorial Authorities re-set planning policies to inhibit sprawl, and to encourage housing intensification in the cities. The ideologies underlying neoliberal economics now passed design controls over to the housing industry, emphasising the use of the word ‘management’ in the new, radical planning legislation.
Architects working for the first time in the field of higher density housing began designing with multi-unit typologies that were outside their practice experience, and that were also unfamiliar products in the speculative housing markets. In the absence of design controls, extraordinarily inventive styles emerged in the ‘first generation’ after 1995. Some were competitively styled to attract sales, or to distract attention from other characteristics of higher density. They became a refreshingly different presence in many of Aotearoa New Zealand’s inner suburbs, marking the arrival of another form of housing. This paper considers styles of architecture that emerged between 1995 and 2006 in the first phase of post- RMA market housing, with a focus on Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland’s intensification programme and its outcomes
Deep correlation learning for urban air quality: Analysis and prediction in New Zealand
No full textRESEARCH QUESTIONS:
• RQ1: Can we relate all the variables involved in air-quality monitoring to establish which ones have dependencies on the others?
• RQ2: Can we further model this inter-relationship and automate this by using the available data?
• RQ3: Can we use this inter-relationship to increase further the accuracy of air quality prediction for PM2:5?
• RQ4: In the event that RQ3 is successful, can we apply the deep correlation architecture to urban air quality monitoring?
ABSTRACT:
Air pollution and air quality are undoubtedly a very high priority for governments, organisations and people of all countries, with developing countries such as India, China and Brazil being especially affected by a high level of pollutants. There are a large number of studies which have shown that the quality of air has a direct impact on public health and preventable diseases. For example, particulate matter in the air (microscopic particles that a diameter of less than 2.5μm) is able to be inhaled into the lungs, increasing risk of respiratory and general health disorders. High levels of this increase a person’s risk of developing a number of serious long-term disorders and ultimately fatal diseases.
There are many ways in which air quality has been predicted over the years, with methods falling into the two categories of statistical models and computational models. With technology advances being able to measure more, create data on more and process more, we are now in the era where Artificial Intelligence has become the gold-standard for generating efficient and accurate predictions. For these predictions to be accurate, we require not only accurate data but the correct data to be in used in the first place. Many methods have been devised and used in environmental studies to discover the associations and correlations between the different types of variables that can be found.
Correlation analysis is the focus of our research so we may study the influential factors involved in air quality movements, use the ones which have an impact and ignore the ones that do not. This is hypothesised to increase not only the accuracy, but also the efficiency we can now deal with computing air quality. We choose to use Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA) due to it’s relative obscurity in environmental scientific studies, but increasingly common usage in other fields such as biological sciences and social sciences such as psychology.
The most central statistic in a CCA is the canonical correlation between the two synthetic variables, and this statistic is, in effect, a Pearson r. The computations involved in a CCA are done with the goal of maximising this simple and common correlation [Sherry and Henson, 2005].
The solution in this research was implemented in Python using minor alterations of an established and published deep-learning-based in-depth canonical correlation analysis solution [Andrew et al., 2013] to good effect, with the best correlations defined as > +0.50 or > -0.50 which reduced the dataset of 73 variables, spread over 12 monitoring regions to more manageable level which were indicative of changes really occurring in the air mixture.
Using the commonly used performance measures - MSE, RMSE, MAE and R2 - the new correlative findings were run using five multi-layer neural networks of different sizes, linear regression, XGBoost, AdaBoost, SVM and kNN to understand whether this results in an accuracy that is better or worse than using all 73 variables in the original dataset. In almost all instances, the performance is considerably better. Using the MAE as the indicator here, it appears that an AdaBoost algorithm is best in accuracy, with a 97.142% decrease over the original followed by an MLP neural network using 1024,1024,1024 hidden layers. The time taken for learning is considerable on very high-end computing hardware, and use against a baseline of quite a low-level of sophistication may explain this type of increase.
To this end, Deep Canonical Correlation Analysis (DCCA) can be seen to increase both the efficiency and accuracy of existing air quality prediction activities under most use-case
Challenges faced by Arab families with autism spectrum disorder children in New Zealand
No full textKEY QUESTIONS:
1. What were the family's expectations around autistic spectrum disorder prior to and immediately after their child was diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder and currently?
2. What has been the family’s ongoing experience of living with a child with autistic spectrum disorder in New Zealand?
3. What has been the quality, from the families’ perspective, of support services for autistic spectrum disorder?
4. What needs to happen, from the families’ perspective, to better support Arab families caring for a child with autistic spectrum disorder?
ABSTRACT:
Recent figures show an increase in the proportion of children with autism spectrum disorder globally, which affects parents and the family in many ways. In this research, a case study methodology was used for a group of four Arab immigrant families who had a child with autism spectrum disorder in New Zealand. Three were refugee background families and the fourth was a migrant family. The research aimed to identify the most important difficulties that Arab immigrants in New Zealand face with ASD children. Several themes were analysed such as the stress of migration as a cause of autism and developmental delay; the stress of raising a child with autism; managing the mental and physical challenges of family members other than the focus child; autism in relation to culture, gender and language; the impact autism on marital relationships; autism in relation to isolation and stigma, early intervention programmes and accessing services; and finally, lack of family support and counselling. The stresses experienced by all four families included managing more than one child with a disability.
The findings of the study revealed that immigration and language stressors were hugely impactful on all participating families. The quality of services provided in New Zealand was acknowledged, but the absence of support from their extended families in their mother country and isolation from the local Arab community (disability stigma) and the New Zealand community (discrimination) left all parents in a depressed state. It is suggested that migration stress may have contributed to maternal distress as a cause of ASD. Lack of fluency in the English language formed a great barrier for families. There was a major need for parents to gain an initial understanding of ASD and be trained in living with ASD in their own language. Even once parents have become informed and aware of the services available, because of language and cultural difficulties, they need greater access to interpreters, Arabic speaking staff, counselling services, home support (particularly for the mothers), and support from the Arab community to be more accepted in community and religious activities
Factors influencing adult learners’ satisfaction and retention
No full textRESEARCH QUESTIONS:
1) Do family responsibilities, and satisfaction influence adult learners’ retention in higher education?
2) Does satisfaction of academic student support services influence adult learners’ retention in higher education?
3) Do financial issues, and satisfaction influence adult learners’ retention in higher education?
4) Does satisfaction influence adult learners retention in higher education?
ABSTRACT:
Internal and external environmental factors impact adult learners’ satisfaction and how this may influence their desire and ability to remain in higher education. Adult learners’ attrition in higher education impacts both the learner and academic institution. The study investigated the influence of family responsibilities, financial issues, and academic student support services on adult learners’ satisfaction and retention in tertiary education. Prior studies have suggested that each factor can be either a benefit or impediment to adult learners’ retention in higher education. This study explains the reason(s) for adult learners’ satisfaction and withdrawal from higher education and suggests how this phenomenon can be addressed.
Research participants were recruited from adult learners who are currently enrolled in tertiary education to complete a survey/questionnaire. Findings from this study showed that adult learners’ satisfaction and retention can be influenced by internal and external factors. The analysis showed that family responsibilities had a detrimental impact on adult learner’s satisfaction and retention. Whereas, financial issues had a positive influence on adult learners’ satisfaction; however, financial issues had a negative influence on retention. Also, academic student support services had a positive influence on adult learners’ satisfaction. Finally, satisfaction has a positive influence on adult learners’ decision to remain in higher education. However, the findings show that satisfaction is not the sole defining factor, as family responsibilities and financial issues can negatively impact on the ability of adult learners to complete their qualification
Spatial distribution of lichens in Metrosideros excelsa in northern New Zealand urban forests
No full textThe spatial distribution of corticolous lichens on the iconic New Zealand pohutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa) tree was investigated from a survey of urban parks and forests across the city of Auckland in the North Island of New Zealand. Lichens were identified from ten randomly selected trees at 20 sampling sites, with 10 sites classified as coastal and another 10 as inland sites. Lichen data were correlated with distance from sea, distance from major roads, distance from native forests, mean tree DBH (diameter at breast height) and the seven-year average of measured NO2 over the area. A total of 33 lichen species were found with coastal sites harboring significantly higher average lichen species per tree as well as higher site species richness. We found mild hotspots in two sites for average lichen species per tree and another two separate sites for species richness, with all hotspots at the coast. A positive correlation between lichen species richness and DBH was found. Sites in coastal locations were more similar to each other in terms of lichen community composition than they were to adjacent inland sites and some species were only found at coastal sites. The average number of lichen species per tree was negatively correlated with distance from the coast, suggesting that the characteristic lichen flora found on pohutukawa may be reliant on coastal microclimates. There were no correlations with distance from major roads, and a slight positive correlation between NO2 levels and average lichen species per tree
O le fogavaʻa e tasi - one family : Contemporary Samoan elderly village
No full textRESEARCH QUESTION
How can understanding key faʻasamoa principles and ageing concepts inform a contemporary architectural response to provide an alternative living environment for the dependent Samoan elderly of Tāmaki Makaurau?
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this research project is to respond to how the built environment of Aotearoa impacts our elderly and their experience in various forms of inadequate care. Not only is the national population increasing, there is an abundant shift In the demographic groups present, favouring an ageing population, while also becoming more ethnically diverse. Therefore, there is a demand for healthcare services to broadly consider the needs of the several ethnic groups comprising this diverse nation. When elders become more dependent on healthcare or that living with loved ones is becoming less supportive, the search for a care facility takes place, looking for an alternative environment where elders may experience a better lifestyle through receiving more consistent and appropriate forms of physical, psychological, social and medical support. Considering the medical realities associated with the ageing process, it is crucial to establish design and programmatic solutions that avoid any forms of deterioration on well-being, and instead allow the wellness of the elderly residents to flourish.
This research project proposes to investigate the facets of ageing and the impact it has stimulated upon the ageing population of Samoans in Aotearoa. Through various details of Samoan Culture and modern ageing concepts, this project conducts such strategies to help determine a contemporary Samoan residential care facility in Tāmaki Makaurau. The research explores the rich heritage and traditions of Samoan culture, and is investigated as a mechanism to delve into deeper meanings that characterise Samoan individuals, their lifestyle, and their perception on well-being.
Everyone is unique in their own way and interpret things differently on an individual basis, therefore it can be challenging to create a 'one size fits all' model that fits the needs of every individual ; however this project looks to optimise solutions that will expectantly cater to the clear majority of Samoan elderly. Overall the project's proposition offers an example for future residential care developments and acts for a major stepping stone to the lack of culturally appropriate care facilities for the whole of Aotearoa.
SITE: Kiwi Esplanade, Māngere Bridge, Auckland, N.Z