Evaluation of the whanau carers training programme delivered by LIFE Unlimited

In response to the needs of Maori informal carers, a training programme was developed for whanau carers in the Waikato region. It was delivered by LIFE Unlimited. It is a unique training programme in that it is community driven and focuses on informal caregivers who are Maori. The overarching aim of the whanau carers training programme is to provide increased training and support of informal carers. This report aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the whanau carers training programme, including: the unique nature of the programme, the critical success factors, the barriers to success if any, and suggested improvements. The report concludes the programme has had a positive and definite impact upon the whanau carers. The evaluation team observed that the overall programme works very well and fulfils its stated obligations to the Ministry of Health. The programmes are delivered well, and are well received by the client group

Synthesis of the Beryllium 3131A Spectral Region

The Beryllium spectral region of the Sun, Procyon and 4 stars in the open cluster NGC6633 up to Teff = 7500K have been synthesised using ATLAS9 model atmospheres and the MOOG spectral synthesis program. The line list used for these syntheses has been modified from the ATLAS9 line list to improve the quality of the fits in light of the improved opacities in the new version of the MOOG code. Significant changes have been made to the Mn I line at ATLAS9 wavelength 3131.037A and an OH line has been added at 3131.358A. In addition there are a number of minor changes to gf-values throughout the synthesised region thus improving the fit for the spectra across the temperature range considerably.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. To appear in the proceedings of the Workshop "ATLAS 12 and related codes", Trieste, July 11-15, 200

Te Kaahu Atawhai - Developing a framework to support Māori achievement within the Centre for Health and Social Practice at Wintec

Inequities between Māori and non-Māori are the most consistent and compelling health inequities in Aotearoa. Current evidence supports the notion that increasing Māori workforce in nursing may lead to improved health outcomes for Māori communities, primarily through greater access to care and increased interactions between whānau and practitioners. If we are to achieve greater alignment between workforce and iwi demographics and subsequently improve health outcomes for Māori, more resourcing is needed in Hauora Māori workforce development, and specifically in the advancing of Māori student recruitment and achievement in undergraduate nursing qualifications. Informed and underpinned by the narratives of Māori nursing students and those working at the front line within Māori communities, Te Kaahu Atawhai draws attention to several separate, yet interwoven areas of significance that shape educational outcomes for Māori undergraduate students studying within the Centre for Health and Social Practice at Wintec

Education programme management and transformation: The influence of education for sustainability

No Abstrac

The Army National Guard: Recruitment, retention, and the balance of life

The National Guard is an institution with a history older than the United States. Members are drawn to Guard service for a variety of reasons, and they face a range of difficulties as they manage their experiences in the Guard and in their civilian lives. This project offers a small case study, based on semi-structured, in-depth interviews, with six current or former Guard members. Findings highlight that these members experienced a range of frustrations that clustered around issues of recruitment, retention, and the balance of life. The purpose of this study was to gain a better idea of what are the motivating factors as to why individuals join the National Guard, reenlist in the Guard, and why some choose to leave the National Guard after some time. The result was more than expected with soldiers being very open about the incentives and drawbacks of being members of the National Guard

Rhino War: A general’s bold strategy in the Kruger National Park

No abstrac

Fiber-optic chemical sensing with Langmuir-Blodgett overlay waveguides

Fiber-optic chemical sensing has been demonstrated with a side-polished single- mode optical fiber, evanescently coupled to chemically sensitive Langmuir- Blodgett (LB) overlay waveguides. The sensors exhibit a channel-dropping response centered on a wavelength that is dependent on the thickness and the refractive index of the overlay waveguide. It has been shown that pH-sensitive organic dyes proved to be suitable materials fur the formation of an overlay waveguide whereas LB deposition provides the required thickness control. A theoretical model of the sensor response, based on the Kramers-Kronig relations and phase matching of the guided modes within the optical fiber and overlay waveguide, shows good agreement with experimental results

Identitiy and Belonging: Urban Nature and adolescent development in the City of Cape Town

This study was undertaken in response to two concerns: firstly, that the notion of nature and experiential, aesthetic ways of engaging with nature had declined markedly in environmental education research and practice in South Africa. Secondly, I was concerned that relatively few environmental education centres in Cape Town offered programmes for teenagers. I therefore decided to enquire into the value of nature-based education and awareness programmes to adolescents in Cape Town, particularly in relation to: their understanding of and sense of belonging to the natural order, and the process of identity development. The study drew on Eriksonâs (1968) theory of psycho-social development, and Archerâs (2000, 2003) critical realist theory of identity development as an embodied process of reflexivity. The phenomenology of Merleau-Ponty (1962, 1968) provided an alternative to dualistic views of the human-nature relationship. Authors who have worked with Merleau-Pontyâs theories helped me clarify my understanding of the need to retrieve nature and embodied practices in education. The study used mixed methods, integrating multiple case studies of nature-based programmes, and surveys of teenagers in Cape Town. Numerical data were displayed graphically, and narrative data were presented as quotations or compiled into poems. A matrix was developed that mapped the various nature-based programmes according to the two main concerns of the study: namely how programmes represented the human-nature relationship, and how they supported the process of youth identity development. I applied Archerâs notion of embodied reflexivity and Merleau-Pontyâs ideas of inter-subjectivity methodologically, undertaking a series of short hikes during which I reflected upon the literature and research findings, and drew on insights from my surroundings to compile the final discussion and conclusion of this dissertation. This study demonstrated that assumptions that teenagers in Cape Town are generally alienated from nature are unfounded; in fact the great majority of youth from all socio-economic groups related positively to nature. It found that nature provides teenagers with a positive context in which to reflexively develop their identities. The conservation community could do much to support adolescents but many education officers felt ill equipped to engage with the senior science curriculum. A variety of alternative approaches to working with youth are therefore suggested