Exploring caucusing as a teaching methodology

Effective teaching about Te Tiriti/Treaty of Waitangi and the colonial history of Aotearoa/NZ to adult social work and counselling students is a challenge in many training programmes in Aotearoa/NZ. The goal of education in this area, promoted by the authors of this study, is to go beyond an intellectual fact gathering exercise to a deeper understanding about the nature of the relationship that exists today, between the peoples that represent the partners who signed the Tiriti/Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. The authors describe the use of caucusing as a teaching method, to provide students with an opportunity to understand that their learning does not occur in a vacuum. They contend that a transfer of learning is possible since the relationships that they have within the classroom, between representatives of the signatories to te Tiriti o Waitangi, in important ways, mirror the relationships they are learning about. In the study it is found that there are some distinct differences between maaori and pakeha students reported experience of caucusing. Explanations for these differences are provided by the literature on white dominance. Comments from students highlight the shifts in understanding about the classroom relationships as the caucusing experience proceeds. The intense reactions that occur when the hidden dynamics of power and domination are revealed is also provided with explanation from the literature

How to improve the research process for the Department of Motor Vehicles Titles and Registration Office

The goal of this project is to empower the employees in the Titles and Registration Office, at South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles, with the necessary tools and skills to be effective as well as efficient in performing the tasks that are before them daily

Henry Channing Rivers Correspondence

Entries include an eccentric and humorous typed letter from Rivers presented with his typed biography

Our responsibilities in shaping our counselling curriculum: What do we teach counselling students in Aotearoa New Zealand and why do we teach in these ways?

In the field of counselling and other therapeutic practice, practitioners and teachers have begun to question the uncritical modernist approach in which it is acceptable to teach and use ‘universal’ models for practice. In our work, we have begun to take a critical approach to the view of New Zealand as a ‘child’ country (Te Wiata, 2006) where we teach derivative Western psychological therapeutic approaches. In these approaches, difference is often treated as ‘deficit’ or ‘dysfunctional’. Instead, we are developing models of teaching in which we acknowledge the influence on non-Maori by Te Ao Maori and kaupapa Maori practice, just as Maori continue to be influenced by Pakeha world views. We will describe our current teaching model, in which we use specific local metaphors that allow non-Maori counselling students to consider their relationship with Aotearoa, tangata whenua, and each other. We will detail our emphasis on identity, community, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the impact of colonization, and how we encourage our counselling students and their shaping of counselling in Aotearoa today and in the future

Anion gap, anion gap corrected for albumin, base deficit and unmeasured anions in critically ill patients: implications on the assessment of metabolic acidosis and the diagnosis of hyperlactatemia

Abstract Background Base deficit (BD), anion gap (AG), and albumin corrected anion gap (ACAG) are used by clinicians to assess the presence or absence of hyperlactatemia (HL). We set out to determine if these tools can diagnose the presence of HL using cotemporaneous samples. Methods We conducted a chart review of ICU patients who had cotemporaneous arterial blood gas, serum chemistry, serum albumin (Alb) and lactate(Lac) levels measured from the same sample. We assessed the capacity of AG, BD, and ACAG to diagnose HL and severe hyperlactatemia (SHL). HL was defined as Lac > 2.5 mmol/L. SHL was defined as a Lac of > 4.0 mmol/L. Results From 143 patients we identified 497 series of lab values that met our study criteria. Mean age was 62.2 ± 15.7 years. Mean Lac was 2.11 ± 2.6 mmol/L, mean AG was 9.0 ± 5.1, mean ACAG was 14.1 ± 3.8, mean BD was 1.50 ± 5.4. The area under the curve for the ROC for BD, AG, and ACAG to diagnose HL were 0.79, 0.70, and 0.72, respectively. Conclusion AG and BD failed to reliably detect the presence of clinically significant hyperlactatemia. Under idealized conditions, ACAG has the capacity to rule out the presence of hyperlactatemia. Lac levels should be obtained routinely in all patients admitted to the ICU in whom the possibility of shock/hypoperfusion is being considered. If an AG assessment is required in the ICU, it must be corrected for albumin for there to be sufficient diagnostic utility.</p

The Youngest Victims: Children and Youth Affected by War

In 1989, the United Nation Convention on the Rights of the Child declared, “[state parties] shall take all feasible measures to ensure protection and care of children who are affected by an armed conflict.” In addition to attempting to secure the welfare of children in armed conflict, the Convention went on to ban the recruitment and deployment of children during armed conflict. Despite the vast majority of sovereign nations signing and ratifying this agreement, this treaty, unfortunately, has not prevented children and youth from witnessing, becoming victims of, or participating in political, ethnic, religious, and cultural violence across the past three decades. This chapter offers an “ecological perspective” on the psychosocial consequences of exposure to the trauma of war-related violence and social disruption

Caucusing: Creating a space to confront our fears

Effective teaching about Te Tiriti/Treaty of Waitangi and the colonial history of Aotearoa/NZ to adult social work and counselling students is a challenge for many training programmes in Aotearoa/NZ. The goal of education in this area, promoted by the authors of this study, is to go beyond an intellectual fact gathering exercise to a deeper understanding about the nature of the relationship that exists today, between the peoples that represent the partners who signed the Tiriti/Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. The authors of this paper have conducted research into the use of caucusing as a method in teaching some aspects of Te Tiriti o Waitangi to degree level students of social work and counselling studying in the School of Social Development at Wintec in Hamilton. The authors will present material from their research including relevant literature and propose to engage with conference participants in discussion around the findings. The authors contend that through caucusing a transfer of learning is possible since the relationships that exist within the classroom, between representatives of the signatories to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, in important ways, mirror the relationships the students are learning about. The point is made that learning does not occur in a vacuum and an opportunity exists because of this. In the research it is found that there are some distinct differences between maori and pakeha students reported experience of caucusing. Explanations for these differences are provided to some extent by the literature on white dominance. Comments from students highlight the shifts in understanding about the classroom relationships as the caucusing experience proceeds. The intense reactions that occur when the hidden dynamics of power and domination are revealed is also provided with explanation from the literature

Where have all the flowers gone? Kua ngaro ngā putiputi ki whea? A paucity of indigenous early childhood student teachers in mainstream education?

In Aotearoa New Zealand there are several choices available for parents in the area of Early Childhood Education which include; kindergarten, care and education, playcentre – all mainstream options and Kohanga Reo - total immersion Māori Language option. The majority of Māori children attend mainstream services which are predominantly staffed by non-Māori who are responsible for implementing a bicultural environment as set out in the ‘Te Whariki’ guidelines. I am currently one of two Māori staff members in a team of ???? teaching on the Diploma of Teaching (Early Childhood) at the Waikato Institute of Technology (Wintec) in Hamilton. The majority of students on the programme are non-Māori therefore emphasising the importance of exploring what support systems are need for the few Māori students enrolled on the programme to enhance their success. This is the focus of my current research project, to identify what are the factors that influence the success of Māori students enrolled in the Diploma of Teaching Early Childhood programme. Narratives are being gathered from current and past students with the purpose of identifying common themes that influence / motivated their successful completion of the programme. It is important to understand how the dominant ideology has influenced the learning environment of the Māori students and their ability to access cultural vehicles of sustenance in order to successfully participate in both worlds

Weaving indigenous Tangata Whenua and western counselling theory and practice in Aotearoa New Zealand

This workshop describes some of the preliminary research findings of the first year curriculum development in the Bachelor of Social Science (Counselling) endorsement. Students' learning is scaffolded to produce a professional practice unique to Aotearoa New Zealand. As counsellor educators informed by social constructionism we detail our intention to teach in ways that produces parity between indigenous models of practice, and selected western theory and practice. We provide a description of the re-shaping of our first year ‘core’ counselling curriculum evoking the metaphor of ‘weaving’ to describe our process. We outline our rationale for re-shaping the first year ‘core’ counselling modules; some of the taken-for-granted assumptions in the curriculum; and some of the challenges

Caucusing: Creating space to confront fears

Effective teaching about Te Tiriti/Treaty of Waitangi and the colonial history of Aotearoa/NZ to adult social work and counselling students is a challenge for many training programmes in Aotearoa/NZ. The goal of education in this area, promoted by the authors of this study, is to go beyond an intellectual fact gathering exercise to a deeper understanding about the nature of the relationship that exists today, between the peoples that represent the partners who signed the Tiriti/Treaty of Waitangi in 1840