A strength-based approach to develop Pāsifika students' cultural identites and mathematical dispositions : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Educational Psychology at Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand

This study examines cultural identity and mathematical disposition development of Pāsifika students aged 11-13 years from a strengths-based perspective. It builds on previous work that advocates for culturally responsive mathematics teaching in collaborative learning environments built around Pāsifika values. Current research also urges pedagogical actions of promoting students’ use of home languages and connecting students’ “lived” lives to the mathematics classroom. These teaching practices have been described to affirm student identities as well as foster stronger relationships with mathematics. A case study approach utilizing qualitative design from a socio-cultural perspective was implemented. Data was collected through group interviews with students and individual interviews with students and teachers. The Year 8 students and their teachers within the study were from two urban Auckland schools that have participated in professional development and learning opportunities focused on culturally responsive inquiry classrooms. Coded analysis of interview transcripts was used to uncover the perspectives of students and teachers and formulated the findings of this research. Findings revealed that home language use, connecting cultural contexts to the mathematics class, drawing on Pāsifika values to promote mathematical practices and social norms, and the role of the responsive and caring teacher validated students’ cultural identities and supported the development of positive mathematical dispositions. The findings provide insights into how culturally responsive mathematics teaching can draw upon the cultural languages and values of Pāsifika students to affirm their identities and mathematical dispositions

Mobilizing The Open University: case studies in strategic mobile development

This paper presents an overview of many activities undertaken in the Mobile Learner Support project area in The Open University (OU). Please note that while many of the project strands involve strategic development that is embedded in the OU’s institution-wide teaching and learning systems, some of the data and findings we hope will be of use to others undertaking work in related areas. In addition to the core work in implementing a Mobile VLE and associated resources, an overview of related mobile audio eAssessment and eBook format development project strands are given, leading to development of a blend of web application software and native or client applications. The OU delivers significant proportions of online content and collaboration as part of its supported open learning distance education model to over 200,000 part-time students at any given time. In particular, over the past 4 years, adapting open source technologies for around 600 course websites has delivered the requirement to support course activities for up to 4,700 students per course cohort with a corresponding 250 variations of a single course to provide online tutorial spaces. The OU has also throughout its history adapted to increasingly flexible and personalised modes of delivering and interacting with multimedia and audiovisual content as part of a blended approach, most recently aiming to disaggregate content and allow remixing through its open educational resources initiative. For updates on the Mobile Learner Support project, please visit http://www.open.ac.uk/blogs/mLear

Assessing the UK experience functional separation in fixed telecommunications markets

This paper focuses on functional separation. After reviewing the literature on separation in its various guises and describing the circumstances that culminated in the creation of Openreach in the UK, the paper focuses on the implementation of the undertakings. It is shown that difficulties have been encountered in the implementation of the undertakings, and that while the relationship between BT and other service providers may have improved, tensions remain

Is functional separation BT-style the answer?

This paper focuses on functional separation. After recounting the circumstances that culminated in the imposition of functional separation within the UK, the paper highlights the difficulties that have been encountered subsequent to the creation of Openreach. Functional separation developments outside the UK are then described and doubts raised as to whether the Openreach model is appropriate for other markets

Recent mobile telecommunications alliance formation

During the year to end-January 2005, the resurgence of takeover activity in the mobile telecommunications industry 1 has attracted media attention. However, by focusing on takeovers, the willingness of companies in the sector to collaborate through alliance and joint venture formation is in danger of being overlooked. These alliances, none of which are more than two years old, can be variously interpreted. They could signify a return to expansionary behaviour by operators motivated by the desire to capture lucrative roaming traffic or retain key customers. Alternatively the alliances may be motivated by the desire to compete more effectively with Vodafone, which is arguably the only mobile operator with a global footprint. This paper is structured as follows. In the initial section, the six alliances that have been formed are described. Particular attention is paid to the membership and resulting scale of these alliances, as well as to the motives for their formation. The first sub-section focuses on those alliances that are largely scale orientated in motivation, while the second concentrates on those that are more technologically orientated. These alliances are then discussed in detail and conclusions are drawn

Measuring internationalisation in the mobile telecommunications industry

The telecommunications industry is often described as being a global industry. However, the fact that it exists throughout the globe does not necessarily imply that its constituent companies are individually global in their operations. So far, little interest has been expressed in determining whether they are or are not in practice, but to do so requires that one first determine how this is to be measured. This article focuses on the measurement of internationalisation within the mobile telecommunications industry where the phenomenon can be most clearly identified. Drawing on the literature, four dimensions of internationalisation are initially identified and a database is constructed for the year ending 31 December 2005 that provides hard evidence in relation to these dimensions. Analysis of the results reveals that just a handful of the companies in the sample can be considered to be meaningfully international when all four criteria are taken into account, and that Vodafone among them is best placed to describe itself as a global mobile operator although there are too many reservations for the term global to be seen as an appropriate label. The results highlight the complexity of internationalisation, with operators tending to do well on some of the criteria but not on others, and the paper illustrates how data availability influences the choice of criteria. Data availability also necessitates a trade-off between sample comprehensiveness and detail

Is Functional Separation BT-Style the Answer?

This paper focuses on functional separation. After recounting the circumstances that culminated in the imposition of functional separation within the UK, the paper highlights the difficulties that have been encountered subsequent to the creation of Openreach. Functional separation developments outside the UK are then described and doubts raised as to whether the Openreach model is appropriate for other markets.Openreach, functional separation, UK.

Third time lucky? An exploration of Hutchison Whampoa's involvement in the mobile telecommunications industry

Each year the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development produces a report on foreign direct investment (FDI). This report highlights trends on FDI, and identifies the world's largest transnational corporation (TNC). Prominent among the largest TNS are telecommunication companies such as Vodafone and Telefónica. Less obvious due to its diversified description is Hutchison Whampoa, a large conglomerate with a long history of an active presence in the telecommunications industry. This paper charts the history of this involvement before focusing on whether its recent investment in third-generation (3G) licences will be as successful as previous its ones. Through analysing the 3G investments that it has made, this paper argues that Hutchison Whampoa is unlikely to enjoy the same success with these 3G investments as it has in the past with Orange and its Indian operations. --Hutchison Whampoa,3 Group,operational performance,telecommunications