Stakeholder perspectives of play-based learning in the first year of primary school : a case study in Aotearoa New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Educational Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand

This qualitative research study explored key stakeholders’ perspectives of a play-based learning (Pb-L) approach in the first year of primary school. A case-study design was used to gather information about the perceived value, challenges, and characteristics of a Pb-L environment in an Auckland-based primary school. The children’s perspectives of the role of play were explored in six focus group interviews, while an online survey was used to collect parent or caregiver’s experiences of the current Pb-L approach. Lastly, two separate interviews were conducted with a classroom teacher and school leader to capture their experiences of implementing a play-based approach. The findings of the study indicated that children perceived self-initiated, hands-on exploration that was based on their interests, and social interaction with peers, as important in their play and learning activities. Overall, the parents, teacher, and school leader demonstrated a shared understanding of the value of a Pb-L approach, particularly in relation to the importance of child well-being and children’s social and emotional development. The study outlines the adults’ perspectives of the benefits and challenges of a play pedagogy and highlights the implications for schools/teaching practice, including potential opportunities for future research. It is proposed that a Pb-L pedagogy provides an approach to development and learning that embraces the natural playfulness with which children enter school to support meaningful early learning experiences that promote lifelong learning

Relative phases in Dalitz plot amplitudes for D0→KSπ+π−D^0 \to K_S \pi^+ \pi^- and D0→π0K+K−D^0 \to \pi^0 K^+ K^-

Relative phases of amplitudes for $D$ meson decays to a light pseudoscalar meson $P$ and a light vector meson $V$ decaying to two pseudoscalar mesons will lead to characteristic interferences on the three-body Dalitz plot. These phases may be compared with predictions of a flavor-symmetric treatment which extracts contributing amplitudes and their relative phases from a fit to $D \to PV$ decay rates. Good agreement was found previously for the cases of $D^0 \to K^- \pi^+ \pi^0$ and $D^0 \to \pi^+ \pi^- \pi^0$. The present work is devoted to the decays $D^0 \to K_S \pi^+ \pi^-$ and $D^0 \to \pi^0 K^+ K^-$, for which agreement is not found. Several suggestions are offered for this discrepancy.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev. D. Additonal figure, text, and references; minor correction

Epidemiology and management of Pantoea stewartii in the Stewart\u27s disease of corn/corn flea beetle pathosystem

Stewart\u27s disease of corn, caused by Pantoea stewartii, is an economically important disease in the U.S. Corn Belt. To quantify the effect of the duration of the acquisition access period on the acquisition of Pantoea stewartii by the corn flea beetles (CFBs), CFBs were allowed to feed on corn seedlings inoculated with a rifampicin-nalidixic acid resistant strain of P. stewartii (Rif-9A). Acquisition of P. stewartii by CFBs occurred within 6 hours and the average time for 50 % acquisition was 38 ± 10.1 hours. The Gompertz model best explained the change in percentage acquisition of P. stewartii by CFBs with respect to duration of the acquisition access period. To quantify the effect of the duration of the transmission period by P. stewartii-infested CFBs, infested CFBs were allowed to feed on healthy corn seedlings for transmission periods of 3, 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, and 72 hrs. P. stewartii-infested CFBs were found to transmit P. stewartii to healthy plants within three hours, and the average time for 50 % transmission by CFBs was 28.3 ± 5.4 hours. The increase in percentage transmission of P. stewartii by CFBs with respect to increasing transmission period was best described by the monomolecular model. Two insecticide seed treatments (Gaucho[superscript registered trademark symbol] and Cruiser[superscript registered trademark symbol]), used alone or in combination with the foliar insecticide Warrior[superscript registered trademark symbol], were used to determine the efficacy of combining seed and foliar insecticides to control CFBs and Stewart\u27s disease of corn. Either seed treatment used alone, or in combination with foliar applications of Warrior[superscript registered trademark symbol], reduced final Stewart\u27s disease incidence in both 2001 and 2002, compared to the nontreated control. These reductions, however, were not significantly different than Gaucho[superscript registered trademark symbol] or Cruiser[superscript registered trademark symbol] used alone (P[less than or equal to]0.05). The logistic model best explained the change in disease incidence with respect to time. To quantify the effect of date of planting on the incidence of Stewart\u27s disease of corn, five sequential planting dates were sown at weekly intervals at Boone and Crawfordsville, IA. For both locations, the incidence of Stewart\u27s disease decreased as date of planting was delayed. The logistic model best explained the change in disease incidence with respect to time

Development of a long life thermal cell Final report

Development of long life thermal cells, environmental and electrochemical performance tests to evaluate their capability and reproductibilit

Synthesis of calcium superoxide

Efforts to prepare Ca(O2) sub 2 from reactions of calcium compounds with 100% O3 and with O(D-1) atoms generated by photolysis of O3 at 2537 A are described. Samples of Ca(OH) sub 2, CaO, CaO2, Ca metal, and mixtures containing suspected impurities to promote reaction have been treated with excess O3 under static and flow conditions in the presence and absence of UV irradiation. Studies with KO2 suggest that the superoxide anion is stable to radiation at 2537 A but reacts with oxygen atoms generated by the photolysis of O3 to form KO3. Calcium superoxide is expected to behave in an analogous