Policing New Zealand : perspectives of rural and urban police officers : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Psychology at Massey University

This thesis presents an exploration into rural and urban police officers' perceptions and experiences of their work in Northland, New Zealand. Although international research has already investigated police officers' rural and urban experiences, there is a lack of similar literature in New Zealand. The only studies conducted within the New Zealand Police (NZP) have resulted in contradictory data, creating a debate about whether there is a difference in policing rural and urban areas. A study by Winfree and Taylor (2004) into whether the perceptions of NZP staff differed in rural, small town or metropolitan areas found little difference between either the NZP personnel themselves, or their perceptions of policing. This contrasts with research by Jaeger (2002) and Goddard and Jaeger (2005), who explored not only policing but also the strategies utilised within the roles. Goddard and Jaeger proposed that there are significant differences between officers in rural and urban areas. The current research attempts to resolve this debate, exploring both rural and urban perspectives through the use of Grounded Theory. Interviews with 16 police officers based in the Northland District were conducted to capture the essence of their experiences. Seven key categories emerged: community, job role, management, safety, the judicial system, police culture, and family and personal life. These were placed under the core category of 'Boundaries'. It emerged that rural officers found it difficult to implement boundaries due to their isolation and need for a working relationship with the community. Urban officers, however, described how the implementation of boundaries enabled them to work effectively in their environment. Consequently, this research found that there is a difference in the rural and urban policing experience, supporting the findings of Goddard and Jaeger (2005). It is hoped that the individual themes and overall findings from this research will stimulate further investigation into the experience of policing. While it only explored one New Zealand Police District, the information contributes to a deeper understanding of police perspectives and experiences

The Congruence-Based Zero-Divisor Graph

Let R be a commutative ring with nonzero identity and ~ a multiplicative congruence relation on R. Then, R/~ is a semigroup with multiplication [x][y] = [xy], where [x] is the congruence class of an element x of R. We define the congruence-based zero-divisor graph of R ito be the simple graph with vertices the nonzero zero-divisors of R/~ and with an edge between distinct vertices [x] and [y] if and only if [x][y] = [0]. Examples include the usual zero-divisor graph of R, compressed zero-divisor graph of R, and ideal-based zero-divisor graph of R. We study relationships among congruence-based zero-divisor graphs for various congruence relations on R. In particular, we study connections between ring-theoretic properties of R and graph-theoretic properties of congruence-based zero-divisor graphs for various congruence relations on R

Development of a Dysphagia Management Protocol for Older Residents in a Care Home Setting. (abstract only)

Purpose: The aim of this study is to develop a co-designed dysphagia management protocol for older residents living in a care home setting. Method: A qualitative study is being conducted within four care homes in a region in the North of England; these were purposively selected to ensure representation of a range of care models across the care home sector. A literature search was conducted to establish good practice in the management of dysphagia in care homes. The findings from the literature review informed the development of semi-structured interview/focus group guides. Eight focus groups have been conducted with 40 members of the nursing and care assistant team and semi-structured interviews conducted with four nursing home managers. These have explored the assessment and management of dysphagia and the barriers and opportunities for improvement in dysphagia management. Interviews will also be conducted with residents (n=16) and nominated relatives, and quality managers (n=4). The interview and focus group data are being analyzed using the Framework Approach. Results: The literature review and preliminary data analysis suggest the following emerging themes: Lack of integrated approaches to education and training; Enablers and barriers to effective dysphagia management; Impact of relationship with other health care professionals on dysphagia management. Conclusion: These findings will lead to the co-design of a protocol for optimizing nutrition and hydration which is based on evidence and best practice principles and which can be adopted in the care home setting. This protocol will be produced by January 2018. The study has been funded by the Abbeyfield Foundation

Thérapie cognitive béhaviorale des psychoses

Bien que la médication neuroleptique ait démontré son efficacité pour le traitement des psychoses, les interventions psychologiques auprès des personnes qui en souffrent ont encore un rôle important à jouer. Les chiffres varient mais on estime qu'entre le quart et la moitié des personnes avec un diagnostic de schizophrénie souffrent de symptômes persistants, comme les délires et les hallucinations, qui provoquent de la détresse et interfèrent dans leur fonctionnement malgré la prise de médicaments (Fowler et al., 1995). Les rechutes se produisent souvent même chez les patients qui se conforment au régime de médication et plusieurs personnes sont réticentes à une médication suivie sur une longue période à cause de ses effets secondaires déplaisants et même débilitants. Ces dernières années, le développement de la thérapie cognitive béhaviorale (TCB) a connu un intérêt croissant pour les personnes atteintes de psychoses qui continuent d'éprouver des symptômes psychotiques malgré un traitement continu de médication anti-psychotique. La TCB des psychoses tente d'aborder directement ces structures de comportements, de pensées et de réactions émotionnelles qui sous-tendent et maintiennent les délires et les hallucinations graves et persistants.Although neuroleptic medication is clearly effective, there is still an important role for psychological interventions for people with psychosis. Figures vary, but it can be estimated that between one quarter and one half of people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia experience persistent symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations, which cause distress and interference with functioning, despite taking medication (Fowler et al. 1995). Relapse occurs commonly even amongst patients who do adhere to medication regimes, and many people are reluctant to take long-term medication, because of its unpleasant and even disabling side-effects. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in developing cognitive behavioural therapy for those people with psychosis who continue to experience psychotic symptoms despite ongoing treatment with anti-psychotic medication. Cognitive behaviour therapy for psychosis seeks to address directly those patterns of behaviour, thinking and emotional response which underpin and maintain severe and chronic delusions and hallucinations.Aunque los medicamentos neurolépticos hayan demostrado su efi-cacia en el tratamiento de las psicosis, las intervenciones psicologicas con las personas que los sufren, juegan todavia un papel importante. Las estadisticas varian, pero se estima que entre el cuarto y la mitad de las personas con un diagnôstico de esquizofrenia, sufren de sintomas per-sistentes como los delirios y las alucinaciones que provocan angustia e interfieren en su funcionamiento diario, a pesar de la toma de medicamentos (Fowler y al., 1995). Frecuentemente, las recaidas se producen en los mismos pacientes que se conforman al régimen de la medicacion y varias personas son réticentes a la medicacion tomada sobre un largo perîodo, a causa de sus efectos secundarios desagradables y hasta débilitantes. Estos ûltimos anos, el desarrollo de la terapia cognoscitiva be-haviorala (TCB) ha conocido un interés creciente para las personas afectadas por psicosis y que siguen padeciendo los sintomas psicôticos a pesar de un tratamiento continuo de medicamentos anti-psicoticos. La TCB de la psicosis intenta abordar directamente esos patterns (es-quemas) de comportamientos, de pensamientos y de reacciones emocio-nales qu apuntalan y mantien los delirios y las alucinaciones graves y persitentes

Asphalt Specifications for Local Paving Projects

The Asphalt Pavement Association of Indiana (APAI) has put together an asphalt specification guide to assist counties, cities, and towns with their road projects for Community Crossings. This guidance document aligns with current INDOT specifications and stresses the most important design and construction best practices that lead to high-performing, durable asphalt pavements. Come hear the current asphalt buzzwords and how you can make sure you’re getting quality asphalt pavement for your local project

Men?s preferences for treatment of early stage prostate cancer: Results from a discrete choice experiment, CHERE Working Paper 2006/14

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in Australia; each year over 10,000 Australians are diagnosed with this disease. There are a number of treatment options for early stage prostate cancer (ESPC); radical prostatectomy, external beam radiotherapy, brachytherapy, hormonal therapy and combined therapy. Treatment can cause serious side-effects, including severe sexual and urinary dysfunction, bowel symptoms and fatigue. Furthermore, there is no evidence as yet to demonstrate that any of these treatments confers a survival gain over active surveillance (watchful waiting). While patient preferences should be important determinants in the type of treatment offered, little is known about patients? views of the relative tolerability of side effects and of the survival gains needed to justify these. To investigate this, a discrete choice experiment (DCE) was conducted in a sample of 357 men who had been treated for ESPC and 65 age-matched controls. The sample was stratified by treatment, with approximately equal numbers in each treatment group. The DCE included nine attributes: seven side-effects and two survival attributes (duration and uncertainty). An orthogonal fractional set of 108 scenarios from the full factorial was used to generate three versions of the questionnaire, with 18 scenarios per respondent. Multinomial logit (MNL) and mixed logit (MXL) models were estimated. A random intercept MXL model provided a significantly better fit to the data than the simple MNL model, and adding random coefficients for all attributes dramatically improved model fit. Each side-effect had a statistically significant mean effect on choice, as did survival duration. Most attributes had significant variance parameters, suggesting considerable heterogeneity among respondents in their preferences. To model this heterogeneity, we included men?s health-related quality of life scores following treatment as covariates to see whether their preferences were influenced by their previous treatment experience. This study demonstrate how DCEs can be used to quantify the trade-offs patients make between side-effects and survival gains. The results provide useful insights for clinicians who manage patients with ESPC, highlighting the importance of patient preferences in treatment decisions.Prostate cancer, discrete choice experiment, preferences, quality of life

Evolving library marketing & communications strategies with intention

Over the past decade, the UNH Library outreach efforts have evolved from a workplace add-on to a department headed by an experienced marketing and communications professional. Budget and staffing concerns precipitated by the global pandemic as well as a new organizational structure provided opportunities for the library to reassess their approach to communications, marketing, and outreach. By prioritizing these efforts, the UNH Library used strategic planning to re-envision our engagement with our campus community. This panel will provide insights from four participants who were instrumental in shifting the library\u27s approach to a more centralized and intentional practice, which produced a more engaging strategy. Panel highlights will include developing the library\u27s first marketing plan, launching new initiatives including library tours and orientation sessions, hiring brand ambassadors, including communications duties into existing position descriptions, standardizing practices for outreach and assessment, developing a social media strategy and hiring two newly created positions. Panelists will share individual and organizational strategies for this work that may be replicated or reframed for attendees to take back to their institutions. Conversation will include proactive next steps and areas for further growth, including measuring impact and developing programming, to continue engaging positively with our community. Key takeaways for the attendees include learning concrete, easy to implement approaches for developing and assessment of marketing, communications, and outreach initiatives that lean on utilizing in-house talent as well as approaching this work through a growth mindset. Participants can engage in the topic from a variety of distinct perspectives from panelists who work in areas of user engagement, library administration, communications & outreach, and information literacy

Aviation English Assessment and Training

Due to a significant global increase in demand for air travel, there has been a corresponding increase in demand for ab initio flight training. Thousands of international flight students seek admission to collegiate aviation programs in the United States and Canada every year. These international flight students come to the United States and Canada because flight training is nonexistent in their native countries. In fact, flight training in most of these countries is impossible due to airspace restrictions and onerous regulations. If there is flight training available in these countries, the cost is usually prohibitive compared to the cost in the United States and Canada. The requirements and recommendations for international aeronautical communications is described in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Annex 10, Volume II which establishes the English language as the de facto language of international aviation. The majority of these international flight students are non-native English speakers (NNES) which can make it difficult for them to succeed in an already challenging academic environment. Inadequate English language proficiency is also a significant safety issue. Unfortunately, there are very few aviation English assessment programs available to evaluate NNES flight students for aviation English proficiency. There are also very few aviation English training programs available for those who are unable to demonstrate proficiency. This research seeks to answer two questions: Does inadequate aviation English proficiency continue to be a flight safety issue? Has compliance with the ICAO Language Proficiency Requirements (LPRs) helped, or has it contributed to this problem