Local solutions for local problems: Addressing teacher supply in rural communities

Teacher shortage in rural localities is a long-standing issue in New Zealand. This paper reports on an attempt to reduce the impact of shortages by redesigning the way pre- service teacher education was delivered. Called the Mixed Media Programme (MMP), this is a primary (elementary) teacher education program that was established in 1997 in New Zealand by the University of Waikato. It was initially introduced to rural areas of the North Island of New Zealand. It continues now as a viable and accessible flexible option for teacher education and is a significant means of ensuring better teacher supply in numerous rural areas. The program uses a combination of face-to-face teaching; school based learning activities and electronic communication. There is an annual intake of about 60 student teachers, most of who study at home in their local area. Now in its tenth year, the program has produced more than 400 graduates, many of whom are still teaching in schools throughout New Zealand. This paper reports on a small-scale study, which sought to examine the way that student teachers, teachers and school principals from two communities perceive the program and its effects on these communities. School principals, teachers, graduates and current student teachers were asked about the way that the program has enabled people from local communities to firstly study to become teachers in these communities and then to teach in them. Their views show that student teachers have found this approach to teacher education very beneficial to local communities for a number of reasons, including stable staffing for schools, commitment to teacher education programs, confidence about the quality of the graduates they employed. The student teachers reported that they were able to become teachers without having to leave their local communities, were exposed to university education as mature student teachers and that their study has had a range of effects on them and their families. It can be concluded from the evidence that the Mixed Media Programme has had important positive effects upon the two small communities of the study, at individual, school and wider community level

Some classical solutions of yang-mills equations

In this thesis some solutions to classical. Euclidean Yang-Mills theory are considered and presented with emphasis on self-dual SU(2) solutions. Chapter one is a brief introduction to the subject. In chapter two the possibility of solution via inversion of the dynamic equation to obtain in terms or Fuv and then imposing a self-consistency requirement is considered. Chapter three deals with the extension of Witten's method of solution through cylindrically symmetric ansatze to self- dual SU(3) theories. In Chapter four the invariances and Backlund-type transformations inherent in a self-dual SU(n) theory are investigated and these methods are used in Chapter five to present an analytic method for constructing all self-dual SU(2) solutions

An Analysis Of The Effectiveness Of Podcasting As A Supplemental Instructional Tool: A Pilot Study

Podcasting is the creation of audio or video files for use on iPods and other MP3 players. It allows the user to view or listen to downloadable files wherever or whenever desired. In higher education, podcasting is experiencing extraordinary growth. While a significant volume of literature exists both lauding and lamenting the incorporation of podcasts into university curricula, the authors were unable to find any empirical studies in either the academic or popular press evaluating any benefits or detriments attributable to educational applications of podcasting.  This paper presents the pilot for an empirical study of the effectiveness of podcasting as a course supplement

Podcasting In Higher Education: Does It Make A Difference?

Podcasting is a growing trend in higher education. Major software companies, such as Apple, have dedicated entire websites to podcasting. These podcasts are available to college students to be used as supplemental material for specific coursework at their particular college or university. Unfortunately, due to the new and progressive nature of the technology, empirical studies of the effectiveness of this pedagogical device are rare. This paper presents an empirical study of the effectiveness of podcasting when incorporated as supplemental course material in a university course

Beyond peer observation of teaching

OBJECTIVE To summarize the evidence on effectiveness of translational diabetes prevention programs, based on promoting lifestyle change to prevent type 2 diabetes in real-world settings and to examine whether adherence to international guideline recommendations is associated with effectiveness. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Bibliographic databases were searched up to July 2012. Included studies had a follow-up of ≥12 months and outcomes comparing change in body composition, glycemic control, or progression to diabetes. Lifestyle interventions aimed to translate evidence from previous efficacy trials of diabetes prevention into real-world intervention programs. Data were combined using random-effects meta-analysis and meta-regression considering the relationship between intervention effectiveness and adherence to guidelines. RESULTS Twenty-five studies met the inclusion criteria. The primary meta-analysis included 22 studies (24 study groups) with outcome data for weight loss at 12 months. The pooled result of the direct pairwise meta-analysis shows that lifestyle interventions resulted in a mean weight loss of 2.12 kg (95% CI -2.61 to -1.63; I(2) = 91.4%). Adherence to guidelines was significantly associated with a greater weight loss (an increase of 0.3 kg per point increase on a 12-point guideline-adherence scale). CONCLUSIONS Evidence suggests that pragmatic diabetes prevention programs are effective. Effectiveness varies substantially between programs but can be improved by maximizing guideline adherence. However, more research is needed to establish optimal strategies for maximizing both cost-effectiveness and longer-term maintenance of weight loss and diabetes prevention effects

Probing the Evolution of the Galaxy Interaction/Merger Rate Using Collisional Ring Galaxies

We present the results from our program to determine the evolution of the galaxy interaction/merger rate with redshift using the unique star-forming characteristics of collisional ring galaxies. We have identified 25 distant collisional ring galaxy candidates (CRGCs) in a total of 162 deep Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field/Planetary Camera-2 images obtained from the HST Archives. Based on measured and estimated redshifts, these 25 CRGCs all lie in the redshift interval of 0.1 < z < 1. Using the local collisional ring galaxy volume density and the new ``standard'' cosmology, we find that in order to account for the number of identified CRGCs in our surveyed fields, the galaxy interaction/merger rate, parameterized as (1 + z)^m, must increase steeply with redshift.We determine a minimum value of m = 5.2 $\pm$ 0.7, though m could be as high as 7 or 8. We can rule out a non-evolving (m = 0) and weakly evolving (m = 1-2) galaxy interaction/merger rate at greater than the 4 sigma level of confidence.Comment: Accepted in the Astrophysical Journal (11 pages, 4 figures). Higher resolution version of the figures is available at http://www.astro.cornell.edu/~vassilis/papers

3D MHD models of the centrifugal magnetosphere from a massive star with an oblique dipole field

This work is supported in part by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under Grant No. 80NSSC22K0628 issued through the Astrophysics Theory Program. AuD and MRG acknowledge support by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration through Chandra Award Numbers TM-22001 and GO223003X, issued by the Chandra X-ray Center, which is operated by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory for and on behalf of the National Aeronautics Space Administration under contract NAS8-03060. This work used the Bridges2 cluster at the Pittsburgh Supercomputer Center through allocation AST200002 from the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE), which was supported by National Science Foundation grant number 1548562.We present results from new self-consistent 3D MHD simulations of the magnetospheres from massive stars with a dipole magnetic axis that has a non-zero obliquity angle (β) to the star’s rotation axis. As an initial direct application, we compare the global structure of co-rotating disks for nearly aligned (β = 5o) versus half-oblique (β = 45o) models, both with moderately rapid rotation (∼ 0.5 critical). We find that accumulation surfaces broadly resemble the forms predicted by the analytic Rigidly Rotating Magnetosphere (RRM) model, but the mass buildup to near the critical level for centrifugal breakout against magnetic confinement distorts the field from the imposed initial dipole. This leads to an associated warping of the accumulation surface toward the rotational equator, with the highest density concentrated in wings centered on the intersection between the magnetic and rotational equators. These MHD models can be used to synthesize rotational modulation of photometric absorption and Hα emission for a direct comparison with observations.PostprintPeer reviewe

Making a "net" for the net

The rapid development of open learning has seen a major change in the traditional tertiary student profile. Many new students have come to tertiary education with varying backgrounds that are often limited to less than three years of secondary schooling There has been a major change in the age and background profile of the New Zealand tertiary student population. Open learning has been an influential part of this change by offering the chance for tertiary study to students who not always have gained access in the past. Students whose secondary schooling was limited need strong support if they are to bridge into university study. A programme of teacher education called the Mixed Media Programme (MMP) at the University of Waikato has been delivered successfully for three years. The need to provide strong student support has been an integral part of a programme. It has contributed to a high success rate. This paper discusses the way in which support structures have been devised and implemented. It refers to the support provided by the University as an institution, support from tutors and the way in which students have been encouraged to support themselves

Curriculum implementation exploratory studies: Final report

Throughout the history of schooling in New Zealand the national curriculum has been revised at fairly regular intervals. Consequently, schools are periodically faced with having to accommodate to new curriculum. In between major changes other specifically-focused changes may arise; for example, the increased recent emphasis upon numeracy and literacy

Deriving Multiple Benefits from Carbon Market-Based Savanna Fire Management: An Australian Example

Carbon markets afford potentially useful opportunities for supporting socially and environmentally sustainable land management programs but, to date, have been little applied in globally significant fire-prone savanna settings. While fire is intrinsic to regulating the composition, structure and dynamics of savanna systems, in north Australian savannas frequent and extensive late dry season wildfires incur significant environmental, production and social impacts. Here we assess the potential of market-based savanna burning greenhouse gas emissions abatement and allied carbon biosequestration projects to deliver compatible environmental and broader socio-economic benefits in a highly biodiverse north Australian setting.Drawing on extensive regional ecological knowledge of fire regime effects on fire-vulnerable taxa and communities, we compare three fire regime metrics (seasonal fire frequency, proportion of long-unburnt vegetation, fire patch-size distribution) over a 15-year period for three national parks with an indigenously (Aboriginal) owned and managed market-based emissions abatement enterprise. Our assessment indicates improved fire management outcomes under the emissions abatement program, and mostly little change or declining outcomes on the parks. We attribute improved outcomes and putative biodiversity benefits under the abatement program to enhanced strategic management made possible by the market-based mitigation arrangement.For these same sites we estimate quanta of carbon credits that could be delivered under realistic enhanced fire management practice, using currently available and developing accredited Australian savanna burning accounting methods. We conclude that, in appropriate situations, market-based savanna burning activities can provide transformative climate change mitigation, ecosystem health, and community benefits in northern Australia, and, despite significant challenges, potentially in other fire-prone savanna settings