Impact of change on Attitudes, Skills and Professional Learning Requirements: Survey of secondary teachers of Craft, Design, Engineering and Graphics

This is an independent report based on a national survey. It forms part of a funded project with Education Scotland. It is designed to capture the attitudes and thoughts of teachers currently involved in the implementation of the new curriculum arrangements and the teaching, learning and assessment inherent in delivery. The purpose of this report is to guide and inform future support, advice and guidance for professional learning and further research enquiry. Critically, it offers an overview of current thoughts, as a snap shot of time, set in the context of the roll out of the senior phase of DET

The Lasting Impact of Trauma

Childhood trauma has been shown to have a lasting impact on mental and physical health in adulthood. Children exhibit signs of trauma, through delinquent behavior and forms of acting out. Parents of traumatized children who engage in education about trauma may see improvements in their child’s behavior. Early identification of trauma and appropriate intervention can positively impact a child’s future. An education program offered to parents of traumatized youth can improve the child’s quality of life in the future. Without treatment, traumatized children may continue on a life-long path of delinquent behavior. This proposal examines the adverse childhood experiences that high-risk youth may experience and education for the parents and caregivers of those children. After identifying high-risk youth, parents and caregivers will be guided by an educational program focused on trauma informed care. The literature review suggests that by providing trauma informed care for high risk youth, outcomes are improved as evidenced by a reduced risk to their mental and physical health later in life. Future implications include implementing practices on a wider scale to improve outcomes for more high-risk youth and their families

Coastal Storm Activity along the Eastern North Island of New Zealand - East Cape to Wellington

Coastal storm activity for the eastern North Island, between East Cape and Wellington, has been quantified from a meteorological perspective through the use of cyclone tracks and extreme winds and from an oceanographic perspective by using hindcast wave information. It has culminated in the production of a high quality, digital coastal storm database for the eastern North Island. Together, this information provides a new understanding of coastal storm behaviour for the eastern North Island. A regional database of historical coastal storms along the eastern North Island between 1930 and 2005 (75 years) is now available in digital format. Coastal storms were identified as bouts of strong winds (greater than or equal to 10.5 m/s) from long-term local wind records from 1962 to 2005, and prior to this period, coastal storms were qualitatively recognised as any event leading to coastal shipping disruptions/delays, large wave conditions along the coast, episodes of coastal erosion and strong onshore wind periods. This digital database consists of five informative components that include storm meteorology, storm oceanography, impacts and damages, storm photo’s and images, and data sources. It has identified a set of five storm types for the eastern North Island consisting of Trough/Ridges, East Coast Lows, Subtropical Lows, Tasman Sea Lows, and Cyclone-Anticyclone pair. The two dominant types are Trough/Ridge and East Coast Low, with the Trough pattern involving weather systems primarily from the southern ocean, whilst East Coast Lows involve large cyclones off the coast that can be distantly generated (from the Tasman Sea or subtropics) or locally generated around NZ from southern ocean troughs. The most intense coastal storms off the eastern North Island are East Coast Lows involving cyclones from the subtropics. These storm events reveal blocking-type anticyclones east of the Chatham Islands play a vital role in coastal storm activity by steering cyclones southward towards NZ and then blocking any eastward movements so that cyclones become slow-moving off the east coast. These factors increase the intensity of pressure gradients directly over eastern NZ. The Gisborne region, for the 1962-1991 period (30 years), had an annual average of three coastal storms and displays peak activity in September. These storms are overwhelming from the south and southeast. A longer dataset of local winds at Wellington, spanning 1962-2005 (44 years), produced an annual average frequency of 9 coastal storms per year. The monthly distribution revealed peak storm activity in June and heightened activity between May and August. Both short-lived, high intensity storms (winds greater than or equal to 14.5 m/s for at least 12 hours) and long-lived, lower intensity storms (winds greater than or equal to 10.5m/s for at least 24 hours) were identified for the Wellington region. Approximately 70% of these coastal storms persisted for up to two days duration and are predominately from the south and southwest. Furthermore, the more exposed nature and steep terrain surrounding Wellington means a greater likelihood of higher intensity coastal storms compared to the Gisborne region. Strong cyclonic systems in the southwest Pacific cluster in the central Tasman Sea and east of the Chatham Islands in all seasons and are most frequent in winter. It is during winter that a clear frequency maximum is spotted over North Cape and appears to be related to the presence of slow-moving cyclones rather than high counts of discrete systems. Strong cyclones tend to form in the western Tasman Sea, in the subtropics near 22-23S, and near North Cape. This local formation off North Cape could be related to the Tasman front and North Cape eddy which create warm sea surface temperature anomalies. The complete life cycle of all strong cyclones shows formation, intensification and maturity in the western-central Tasman Sea, and therefore, a large proportion of these cyclones approaching NZ are weakening systems. However, local generation and intensification near North Cape and the Chatham Islands ensures strong cyclones continue to influence eastern NZ, and further indicates weakened Tasman Sea cyclones can drive coastal storm events through interactions with ridges and high pressure systems. Strong cyclones are most frequent around NZ in August when an average of 4-5 systems per month occurs. Extreme onshore winds off the eastern coast of NZ consist principally of winds from the southwest and south with a single high latitude frequency maximum near the dateline. These winds are generated from southern ocean cyclonic activity and their northward-extending troughs that pass over NZ, and their spread onto eastern NZ means they likely represent intense coastal storm events. Southeast, east and northeast winds rarely reach up to and beyond 20 m.s-1 over the seas to the east of NZ and generally cluster north of 40-45S indicating both subtropical and higher midlatitude source mechanisms. Extreme southeast winds are generated by the eastern flanks of large anticyclones that occupy the western Tasman Sea or large anticyclones south of the Chatham Islands. The principal frequency maximum of east and northeast winds is remote from NZ appearing near 165°W, and represent distant generation areas for large swell events (rather than coastal storm activity). These winds that occur over northern NZ are associated with a Tasman Sea or subtropical cyclone off North Cape in combination with a large anticyclone or ridge over/or east of the South Island. In contrast, the distant core for eastward of NZ are generated off the backs of large anticyclones with a trough or cyclone on its northern flank. The deep-water wave climate off the eastern North Island is dominated by waves from the south. Between 9 and 13 large wave events occur each year between East Cape and Wellington and are most likely in the months of May, June and July. In contrast, large storm waves from the southeast, east and northeast have annual average frequencies of 1-3 events. The Gisborne coast was found to be the most exposed with large deep-water waves (greater than or equal to 3m) coming from the northeast through to the southwest. However, waves from the south and southwest are the largest and most persistent. The meteorology creating these waves are southern ocean troughs whilst the less frequent waves from the easterly quarter involve low pressure systems east or northeast of NZ. The different proxies for studying coastal storms all have shortfalls and arrive at different levels of coastal storm activity. It is suggested here that an optimal mix of these proxies can be used to identify damaging coastal storms along the eastern North Island

Virtual Pilgrimage in a Time of Pandemic: Lessons from the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham

The COVID-19 pandemic has already cost billions to those in the tourist industry. According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), this pandemic is ‘by far the worst crisis that international tourism has faced since records began’ in 1950. People who rely on the pilgrim trade are similarly suffering. In this short exploration, I argue that the success of virtual pilgrimage and the history of pilgrimage’s adaptability suggest that people’s appetite for pilgrimage will experience a resurgence once local and national governments lift travel restrictions. In order to assess the future of pilgrimage, I will consider the popularity of virtual pilgrimage (including participation in virtual walks and viewing of religious rituals online). I will use history as evidence, arguing that pilgrimage has shown a remarkable ability to adapt to changing circumstances including plague and war, and that virtual pilgrimage is not a new concept. I will focus in particular on the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, arguing that, if virtual interest in the Shrine gives us any indication, pilgrimage will recover despite the strains placed on it by the pandemic. More importantly, however, the experience of virtual pilgrimage might actually add a new and exciting component of inclusion to traditional pilgrimage

Impact of change on Attitudes, Skills and Professional Learning Requirements: Survey of secondary teachers of Craft, Design, Engineering and Graphics

This is an independent report based on a national survey. It forms part of a funded project with Education Scotland. It is designed to capture the attitudes and thoughts of teachers currently involved in the implementation of the new curriculum arrangements and the teaching, learning and assessment inherent in delivery. The purpose of this report is to guide and inform future support, advice and guidance for professional learning and further research enquiry. Critically, it offers an overview of current thoughts, as a snap shot of time, set in the context of the roll out of the senior phase of DET

Science on a Shoestring: Building Nursing Knowledge With Limited Funding

Building the science for nursing practice has never been more important. However, shrunken federal and state research budgets mean that investigators must find alternative sources of financial support and develop projects that are less costly to carry out. New investigators often build beginning programs of research with limited funding. This article provides an overview of some cost-effective research approaches and gives suggestions for finding other sources of funding. Examples of more cost-effective research approaches include adding complementary questions to existing funded research projects; conducting primary analysis of electronic patient records and social media content; conducting secondary analysis of data from completed studies; reviewing and synthesizing previously completed research; implementing community-based participatory research; participating in collaborative research efforts such as inter-campus team research, practice-based research networks (PBRNs), and involving undergraduate and doctoral students in research efforts. Instead of relying on funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other government agencies, nurse researchers may be able to find support for research from local sources such as businesses, organizations, or clinical agencies. Investigators will increasingly have to rely on these and other creative approaches to fund and implement their research programs if granting agency budgets do not significantly expand

What plus-size means for plus-size women: A mixed-methods approach

Western fashion is constantly evolving and in order to obtain notoriety, brands need to positively connect with consumers. Individuals who wear plus-sizes are acutely aware of their reduced clothing choices and rely on language cues to find clothing. Unfortunately, the categorisation of plus-size consumers is fraught with discord and frustration. Fashion communication should consider consumer needs and preferences. However, the language used to classify plus-size consumers has yet to be examined. Plus-size women were recruited online to rate twelve terms associated with plus-size women’s clothing. The survey collected a total of 324 responses of age, height, weight and ratings of terms used to classify plus-size apparel, such as Women’s, Curvy. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and analysis of variance to compare differences considering age and body mass. This study revealed 96% of the sample ranked the classification Women’s higher than Plus-Size. The study offers insights into how plus-size consumers view sizing communications. It also offers a useful ranking of terms that fashion companies can adopt to ensure they are communicating in language that the intended consumer prefers. This study contributes to research on social identity of clothing size, plus-size consumer experiences, and further validates the multidimensional challenges faced by plus-size consumers

A Model for Internalized Stigma in Children and Adolescents with Epilepsy

Objective Perceptions of stigma in children and adolescents with epilepsy are associated with higher rates of mental health problems. The purpose of this study was to test relationships in a model that identified variables most strongly associated with perceptions of stigma in children and adolescents with epilepsy. Our ultimate goal is to develop a theoretical foundation for future intervention research by identifying variables associated with perceptions of stigma that are potentially amenable to psychosocial interventions. Methods Participants were 173 children and adolescents with epilepsy who were between 9 and 14 years of age. Data were collected in telephone interviews. Stigma was measured using a self-report scale. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results Greater need for information and support, more fear and worry related to having epilepsy, greater seizure severity, and younger age were significantly associated with greater perceptions of stigma. Female gender, greater need for information and support, having at least one seizure in the past year, and lower self-efficacy for seizure management were significantly associated with more fear and worry related to having epilepsy. Conclusions Findings suggest that perceptions of stigma are associated with two variables that are amenable to psychosocial interventions: fear and worry about having epilepsy and need for information and support. Future research should test the efficacy of interventions that reduce fear and worry, provide information about epilepsy, and reduce need for support

Dog Ownership and Dog Walking: The Relationship with Exercise, Depression and Hopelessness in Patients with Ischemic Heart Disease

Background: Dog ownership has been associated with increased physical activity in the general adult population. Objective: The objective of this study was to examine dog ownership and dog walking and their relationship with home-based and Phase II cardiac rehabilitation exercise, depression, and hopelessness in patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD). Methods: A total of 122 IHD patients were included in this prospective observational study. Patients completed dog ownership/walking questions during their hospitalization. The Cardiac Rehabilitation Exercise Participation Tool, Patient Health Questionaire-9 (PHQ-9), and State-Trait Hopelessness Scale were completed by mail at 3, 8, or 12 months later. Regression modeling was used to evaluate the significance of dog ownership/walking on exercise, depression and hopelessness. Results: The sample was 34.4% female and had a mean age of 64.7±9.1 years. Forty-two patients (34.4%) reported owning a dog. Patients who owned, but did not walk their dog, reported significantly lower levels of home exercise compared to patients who walked their dogs at least 1 day/week (non-dog walkers: 36.8% vs. dog walkers: 73.9%, p=0.019). The odds of participating in home exercise were significantly higher for dog walkers compared to non-dog walkers (OR 8.1 [1.7, 38.5] vs. 1.0). There were no differences in Phase II cardiac rehabilitation exercise, depression or hopelessness between dog owners and non-dog owners or between dog walkers and non-dog walkers. Conclusions: These findings show a beneficial effect on home-based exercise for those who dog-walk at least 1 day/week. Health care professionals should encourage dog walking to increase dog owners’ physical activity levels