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Players’ perspectives: How do New Zealand professional rugby players view personal development?
Get PDFThe New Zealand Rugby Players’ Association (NZRPA) offers a Personal Development Programme (PDP) which equips, empowers, and supports rugby players by providing them with opportunities to explore, learn and develop off-field skills and knowledge.
This research project was born from curiosity, and a desire to hear how New Zealand professional rugby players view personal development (PD), specifically their thoughts on the importance of PD, their involvement in PD, their motivation for PD, their perceptions of the benefits of PD, their preferences for PD, and their beliefs about the effect of PD on their rugby performance. The focus of this project also grew from a desire to inform and improve PD and career development practices, as well as invigorate and challenge the design and delivery of the current NZRPA PDP as it is evaluated against research findings.
Two hundred and thirty-nine professional rugby players (70 New-Zealand-based players (NZBPs) and 169 overseas-based players (OBPs)) completed a questionnaire. Quantitative analysis produced key descriptive statistics, while qualitative analysis provided key themes.
The results showed that most players were involved in PD and agreed it was important. There was widespread belief that PD helped players during their rugby careers, and even more so after their rugby careers. Players indicated that involvement in PD had many benefits, including helping them feel more confident about life out of rugby, giving them a mental break from thinking about rugby, and providing them with enjoyable new learning experiences. Five key themes relating to involvement in PD and motivation for PD were identified. These were: direction (players knowing their PD interests); navigation (players understanding how they can ‘plot their own PD course’); interests and enjoyment (players having the autonomy to do what they find interesting and enjoyable); accessibility (PD options, resources, and accessible support); and time and planning (players having allocated PD time, and players being planned and organised for PD). Regarding the impact of PD on sporting performance, most players believed PD had a positive effect, or no detrimental effect, on their performance. Furthermore, the findings revealed that the NZRPA PDP should continue the work and sharpen the focus on providing PD support in the areas of finance and money, business, career development and education, and more generally in creating meaningful new learning opportunities.
Thus, the results inform priorities for improvement, resource development and strategic partnerships. This project contributes to the body of research relating to both player engagement with PD, and career development
Unboxing literacies of young children
No full textShow & Tell
One item to share:
•an object, a quote, a poem, an illustration or whatever
•needs only to be meaningful to the teller and carry a story the teller wants to tell
The cheese hous
Analysis and practice of organic forms in ceramic arts
No full textThroughout history, organic forms can be found in various social contexts such as community rituals. Gradually, with the development and maturation of modern science, organic forms started to be employed in a more conceptually informed manner. In the mid-20th century, with the development of contemporary art, ceramics re-emerged as a medium for artistic creation and captured people's attention once again. This material complements the organic forms derived from nature, establishing a harmonious connection.
In this research, organic form refers to refined and newly created artificial forms that combine morphological characteristics and colours derived from life forms in nature. From a visual standpoint, the vital force of an organism emanating is considered a significant organic characteristic that people strive to attain. This organic form, derived from life, possesses evident randomness, irregularity, and inherent sense of motion. The diversity of nature offers an infinite number of inspiring forms, providing an astonishing array of creative possibilities through the potential of limitless transformation. Symbolism and abstraction are commonly observed traits of expression in creative works that utilize organic forms. Artists conceptually extract form features, enabling them to find a foothold for emotion and thought and to make deliberate choices and combinations to clarify the purpose of their works. In my artistic work, the intensity of natural objects being extracted and transformed into organic forms gradually increases, transitioning from simple modifications and reassembling to abstraction and simplification. I conducted numerous experiments and creations, documenting my understanding of the chosen subject matter. Through the exhibition, I aimed to raise awareness of these relationships of transformation and to stimulate aesthetic contemplation. By showcasing the diverse and vibrant organic forms found in nature, I hoped viewers would have a deeper appreciation of the beauty of the natural world and a stronger sense of responsibility to protect it
Evaluation of a server under DDOS cyber attack
No full textPrinciple HTTP DDOS
Statistics
Impact
Testbed settings
Monitoring - Wireshark
Performance metrics
Result - TPS (Transactions per second)
Result - response time
Reference
Nurturing young children to be guardians of nature using picturebooks.
No full text‘Kaitiakitanga’ an indigenous concept about respecting and appreciating the natural environment is emphasised in Te Whāriki, the Aotearoa New Zealand early childhood education curriculum (Ministry of Education, 2017). Teachers are expected to encourage children to be ‘kaitiaki’ (guardians) through “...regular opportunities to connect with the wider natural environment and with materials drawn from nature” (p.50). These early learning experiences in nature can be supported and reinforced using picturebooks which can act as mirrors and windows on the world. As mirrors they can reflect children’s own lives, and as windows they can give children a chance to learn about the lives of others including non-human others. The illustrations in quality children’s picturebooks can be mirrors and windows showing that art can be used as a dialogue. Chedly’s postgraduate research that Janette supervised focused on analysing recently published picturebooks that promote sustainability and kaitiakitanga, and surveying teachers about their responses to the selected books
Taking student research to international seas: kaiako and student reflections on their digital journey
No full textThe past year has seen changes in our Applied Business Research paper as we offered a platform for ākonga to share research ideas through showcasing events at Toi Ohomai | Te Pūkenga. But what happens when the opportunity presents itself for students to share their research at an international research conference? As the digital age makes it all the more possible to share research across the seas, an intrepid pair of ākonga and kaiako went on a research journey that turned out to be a rewarding and fulfilling experience for both. For the ākonga, participating in the conference meant being immersed in a novel research experience where feedback from experts sharpened her focus on a topic that she is passionate about - exploring communication barriers in the primary healthcare sector. For the kaiako, this collaboration brought home the realisation of how partnerships with students result in meaningful learning that goes beyond the classroom experience. This presentation is a sharing of kaiako and ākonga reflections from their post-conference hui. Using the “What? So what? Now what?” reflective model from Rolfe et al. (2001), the presenters will share their experience, the challenges and rewards of participating in the event, and plans for moving forward with their research. The presenters hope that sharing their reflections will encourage symposium participants to consider the value of undertaking research in partnership with ākonga and mutually embarking on the wonders of the research journey
Where is it now? Assessing the presence of the granulate ambrosia beetle at a property in Kumeū, Auckland, New Zealand.
No full textINTRODUCTION
A native to tropical and subtropical east Asia, the granulate ambrosia beetle ( Xylosandrus crassiusculus ))(Fig 1 a small (up to 3 mm) polyphagous multivoltine invasive ambrosia beetle, has invaded numerous regions and countries including North, Central and South America, Europe, some Pacific Islands and Australia 1 2 This species poses a significant threat to New Zealand, due to its large host range 200 tree and shrub species over 60 families) and the potential significant impacts of physical damage as a boring insect and/or the pathogenic effects of its associated fungus 3 First detected in Kumeū Auckland in 2019 other locations were identified in Blockhouse Bay, Riverhead and Titirangi The evidence of beetle activity at the single Kumeū property had previously been attributed to the death of several trees including a red oak Quercus sp a gingko (Gingko biloba) and a horoeka/lancewood Pseudopanax crassifoliu
How prepared are our students? : directing our efforts to support students’ tertiary education.
No full textIn 2022, after gaining ethics approval (TRC 2021.108, Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology, 24 November 2021), the Learning Support and Engagement team (part of Student Support Services) undertook a qualitative study with a selection of teaching staff (N=16) across all Toi Ohomai campuses in the Bay of Plenty region. The represented teaching staff taught on the following programmes:
• Master of Teaching Early Childhood Education
• Bachelor of Social Work
• Bachelor of Nursing
• New Zealand Diploma in Business
• Introduction to New Zealand Forestry Sector (Level 5)
• New Zealand Certificate in Tourism and Travel
• New Zealand Certificate in Real Estate
• New Zealand Certificate in Health and Wellbeing (Level 4)
• New Zealand Certificate in Health and Wellbeing (Level 3)
• Sport and Recreation (Levels 3–5)
• Te Kura Māori, Te Reo Māori (Level 2)
• New Zealand Certificate in Foundation Skills (Level 2)
• Student Transition Program – Automotive and Construction Trades (Levels 1–3).
The study consisted of semi-structured interviews, in person or online, to elicit teaching staff feedback on how the Learning Support and Engagement team work in partnership to support student learning and engagement (Brons & Granger, 2022). The raw data of the transcripts were further analysed to understand better the issues faced by teaching staff when students transition to a tertiary education environment. From this data, three specific themes that impacted on student success and retention were identified by the teaching staff: digital literacy, literacy and numeracy, and academic skills and writing. The rationale was to identify, through teaching staff feedback, the preparedness of students when they begin their studies and how we as learning facilitators might support both teaching staff and students
Exploring a new urban design model to help the community build resilience to flooding: A case study between Unitec students and the Mangere community, Auckland
No full textThe recent terrible flooding has caused severe damage to people’s lives and housing in Tamaki Makaurau and across Aotearoa, New Zealand, particularly those in flood-prone areas. These events make it evident that without careful thought, the provision of housing, especially in denser typologies, could exacerbate the environmental effects of climate change. To address these two intertwined problems, floods and housing development, this paper proposes an urban design approach acknowledging the underlying landscape and the consequence of climate change within the contemporary city. In contrast to the conventional design approach, this innovative method uses catchment mapping and GIS analysis to ensure the planning of safe housing. The approach was tested in a design studio, a collaboration between Mangere community groups and Unitec landscape and architecture students, on a project around Te Ara Rata Stream in Mangere West. Students explored ways to reduce the future flooding in the catchment through the placement of housing and food remediation methods, including building wetlands in parks, using leftover land around the motorway, and expanding the banks of the Te Ara Rata stream. The community and professionals have recognised the outcome of this studio as an effective way to design resilient urban models for climate change, particularly flooding
Field study of summer indoor thermal environment of school buildings with different building envelopes, structures and partitions
No full textThe redevelopment of Avondale College from 2010 to 2014 (design by Jasmax ) represented one of the biggest school rebuilding programs in New Zealand’s history. The project provides the school’s 2750 students with 92 new and refurbished teaching and resource spaces. It is the first time that Thermomass precast concrete insulated panels (thermal mass) have been used as the main structure and building envelope of a new two storey school building.
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With Unitec internal research funding and Jasmax’s support, the previous field study of winter indoor thermal environment related to students’ thermal comfort and health was carried out during 2013 2014. After the previous winter field study was published in the journals [ 1,2 ], this field study of summer indoor thermal environment related to students’ thermal comfort was funded by Jasmax ,Nauhria and New Zealand Ministry of Education