Decision style, ability and the effectiveness of a careers intervention : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of a career decision-making exercise on decision-making skills in groups with different academic ability and career decision style. The study was conducted in a single sex female school using four classes (90 students in total) of Fourth Formers. Three separate phases were carried out within a two week period as part of the careers program. Phase one involved pretesting students using measures of knowledge of sources of careers information and actions to be used when making a careers decision. Career decision style, logical reasoning and demographic details were also obtained at this stage. During phase two students were either taught a specific decision-making exercise (Experimental intervention) or an exercise on women in the workforce (Placebo intervention). The final phase involved a post test and follow up career exercises. Results were analysed using 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 (type of intervention, career decision style, academic ability and pre/post test) way ANOVAs for each dependent measure. The group exposed to the career decision-making exercise did not show the predicted improved performance over those exposed to the placebo intervention. Gains were evident in the knowledge of career information sources but this was the same for both interventions. Academic ability and career decision style did influence the intervention outcomes but not in the predicted directions. Results are discussed in terms of the adequacy of the measures of career decision-making skills and the unexpected impact of the placebo activity. The importance of taking into account decision style and academic ability in designing careers interventions is high-lighted

Te tuangi (the clam): A metaphor for teaching, learning and the key competencies

This article explores the shift from “essential skills” to “key competencies” in the school curriculum. Drawing on information gathered from teacher interviews and observations at a New Zealand primary school, this article suggests that culture and context strongly shape and influence the interpretation of key competencies. The authors develop a metaphor—te tuangi—to theorise the relationship between a learner (akonga) and a teacher (kaiako) in a cultural and social context

Comment on: The Vitamin D⁻Folate Hypothesis as an Evolutionary Model for Skin Pigmentation: An Update and Integration of Current Ideas, Nutrients 2018, 10, 554.

In response to a recent article by Jones et al. (Nutrients 10: 554⁻568, 2018) [1], we agree that three distinctive features evolved in Homo erectus prior to the emergence of modern humans.[...]

An axiomatic developement of the ideas underlying Darwinian natural selection

Imperial Users onl

Advances In Fire Debris Analysis

Fire incidents are a major contributor to the number of deaths and property losses within the United States each year. Fire investigations determine the cause of the fire resulting in an assignment of responsibility. Current methods of fire debris analysis are reviewed including the preservation, extraction, detection and characterization of ignitable liquids from fire debris. Leak rates were calculated for the three most common types of fire debris evidence containers. The consequences of leaking containers on the recovery and characterization of ignitable liquids were demonstrated. The interactions of hydrocarbons with activated carbon during the extraction of ignitable liquids from the fire debris were studied. An estimation of available adsorption sites on the activated carbon surface area was calculated based on the number of moles of each hydrocarbon onto the activated carbon. Upon saturation of the surface area, hydrocarbons with weaker interactions with the activated carbon were displaced by more strongly interacting hydrocarbons thus resulting in distortion of the chromatographic profiles used in the interpretation of the GC/MS data. The incorporation of an additional sub-sampling step in the separation of ignitable liquids by passive headspace sampling reduces the concentration of ignitable liquid accessible for adsorption on the activated carbon thus avoiding saturation of the activated carbon. A statistical method of covariance mapping with a coincident measurement to compare GC/MS data sets of two ignitable liquids was able to distinguish ignitable liquids of different classes, sub-classes and states of evaporation. In addition, the method was able to distinguish 10 gasoline samples as having originated from different sources with a known statistical certainty. In a blind test, an unknown gasoline sample was correctly identified from the set of 10 gasoline samples without making a Type II error