When does it get any easier?: Beginning teachers' experiences during their first year of teaching.

Studies of beginning teachers' readiness to teach indicate a range of areas in which these teachers feel nervous about teaching, prior to beginning their first teaching position. Studies of the first year of teaching demonstrate that the reality shock of teaching is something that affects beginning teachers in a variety of ways. The literature on the stages of teacher development tells us that the "survival" stage in teaching can last throughout the whole first year of teaching. This New Zealand study follows seven beginning teachers through their first year of teaching and identifies the points at which the teachers began to say, "I'm getting on top of it now"

Pedagogy! iPadology! Netbookology! Learning with mobile devices

This paper explores two different schools’ approaches to implementing an iPad program and a Netbook program to a year level of students. The aim of the study was to determine how these mobile devices were being used in the classroom and whether they enhanced teaching and learning. The experiences of students and parents were obtained through questionnaires and the teacher’s reflections were obtained through interviews. The data were triangulated to determine how iPads and Netbooks were utilised in the classroom, and if there were any concerns about the use of each device. The research findings are presented in a thematic style, and provide an insight into how each device is used in a variety of subjects and at home. The paper concludes with some recommendations to inform school principals and leaders about the effectiveness of these devices as an educational tool. Authors:  Therese Keane(Swinburne University of Technology) Catherine Lang(Swinburne University of Technology) Chris Pilgrim(Swinburne University of Technology) &nbsp

Effective Pākehā teachers of Māori Students

To teach in primary schools in Aotearoa-New Zealand means to encounter students from diverse backgrounds. A significant proportion of those students are Māori and a significant proportion of Māori students are not achieving to their potential in school. There are several reasons for this under-achievement, which this thesis explores, and there is substantial research evidence as to what will turn this situation around, which is also explored. Some argue that the answer is for Māori learners to be taught by Māori teachers, and in Māori medium contexts. This approach has achieved considerable success for a small number of Māori learners; however, the demographic data tell us that for now, the significant majority of Māori learners are in English language medium classrooms, taught by non-Māori teachers. At present, there are not enough Māori teachers to teach all Māori learners. The New Zealand Ministry of Education has goals for improving the achievement of Māori learners through providing “high-quality, culturally responsive education that incorporates the identity, language and culture of Māori students, and engages their parents, families and whānau” (Ministry of Education, 2008). The Ministry and the New Zealand Teachers Council expect all teachers to be ‘culturally competent’, that is, to teach in culturally responsive ways. The Ministry of Education’s research and development project, Te Kōtahitanga, continues to provide evidence of ‘what works’ for Māori learners in New Zealand secondary schools. The effective teaching profile that was developed as part of this project informs this thesis. The thesis describes qualitative, social justice-based, case study research undertaken between late 2004 and 2006 with four effective Pākehā primary teachers of Māori children, and with children from those classes and their parents/whānau. The study sought to glean insights about what characterises effective Pākehā primary teachers of Māori students

Establishing an Extendable Benchmarking Framework for E-Fulfillment

The growth in attended home deliveries motivates research in prescriptive analytics for e-fulfillment. Introducing new analytics solutions, for instance, for vehicle routing or revenue management, requires simulation-based benchmarking and analyses on relevant problem scenarios. Unfortunately, creating the required systems induces high overhead for analytics researchers. This paper introduces the simulation-based benchmarking framework SiLFul, which aims to support scientific rigor and practical relevance of research by reducing this overhead. It provides a toolbox of approaches, a modular and extendable architecture, and a comprehensive, application-related data model. Thereby, it facilitates controllable analyses and transparent and replicable research. Moreover, we propose a research process that leverages the framework for evaluating analytics and allows continuous development of the framework as a community effort

Designing the eatwell week: the application of eatwell plate advice to weekly food intake

<p>To develop a menu and resource to illustrate to consumers and health professionals what a healthy balanced diet looks like over the course of a week.</p> <p>Development and analysis of an illustrative 7 d ‘eatwell week’ menu to meet current UK recommendations for nutrients with a Dietary Reference Value, with a daily energy base of 8368 kJ (2000 kcal). Foods were selected using market research data on meals and snacks commonly consumed by UK adults. Analysis used the food composition data set from year 1 (2008) of the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey rolling programme. The eatwell week menu was developed using an iterative process of nutritional analysis with adjustments made to portion sizes and the inclusion/exclusion of foods in order to achieve the target macronutrient composition.</p> <p>Three main meals and two snacks were presented as interchangeable within the weekdays and two weekend days to achieve adult food and nutrient recommendations. Main meals were based on potatoes, rice or pasta with fish (two meals; one oily), red meat (two meals), poultry or vegetarian accompaniments. The 5-a-day target for fruit and vegetables (range 5–6·7 portions) was achieved daily. Mean salt content was below recommended maximum levels (<6 g/d). All key macro- and micronutrient values were achieved.</p> <p>Affordable foods, and those widely consumed by British adults, can be incorporated within a 7 d healthy balanced menu. Future research should investigate the effect of using the eatwell week on adults’ dietary habits and health-related outcomes.</p&gt

Women in the IT workplace : learnings for managers

This paper discusses the experiences of women working in the Australian IT workforce. With increasing demand for information technology professionals, organisations need to both attract the best qualified people as well as keep those they already have. In western developed countries in recent years we have seen a decline in women's participation in the IT workforce. Exacerbating the problem is the fact that most IT workplaces are male dominated which many women find less comfortable than more gender balanced workplaces. Based on survey responses and interviews with Australian women working in IT, our research explored women's lived experiences. We found that women continue to find the environment of their workplaces challenging yet report that they enjoy working as IT professionals. Further we identified what would make a difference to women's working lives to ensure they stay and advance in the IT profession. If we are to keep women in the IT workforce we need to be aware of the challenges women face and begin to address these challenges by providing mechanisms to better support women

Upper-limb activity in adults: Referent values using accelerometry

The goal of physical rehabilitation following upper extremity (UE) impairment is functional restoration of the UE for use in daily activities. Because capacity for UE function may not translate into real-world activity, it is important that assessment of real-world UE activity be used in conjunction with clinical measures of capacity. Accelerometry can be used to quantify duration of UE activity outside of the clinic. The purpose of this study was to characterize hours of UE activity and potential modifying factors of UE activity (sedentary activity, cognitive impairment, depressive symptomatology, additive effects of comorbidities, cohabitation status, and age). Seventy-four community dwelling adults wore accelerometers on bilateral wrists for 25 hours and provided information on modifying factors. Mean hours of dominant UE activity was 9.1 ± 1.9 hours and the ratio of activity between the non-dominant and dominant UEs was 0.95 ± 0.06. Decreased hours of dominant UE activity was associated with increased time spent in sedentary activity. No other factors were associated with hours of dominant UE activity. These data can be used to help clinicians establish outcome goals for patients, given pre-impairment level of sedentary activity, and to track progress during rehabilitation of the UEs