Co-constructing early adolescent education through image-based research : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education at Massey University, Palmerston North

Professional literature reporting the needs and characteristics, both educational and developmental of early adolescents presents a compelling case that students of this age group are distinct and require the development of a unique educational approach to best support their needs as learners and young people. Although much has been written about these students, little has been written with them, and even fewer studies have involved students themselves as co-researchers to investigate their own experience and understandings. The research reported in the thesis describes the implementation into practice of an image-based research methodology with early adolescent students themselves constructing and articulating their voice as the core focus of the research. The research was predicated on the belief that 'student voice' is the element vital in an educational approach developmentally responsive to students of this age group, and an element all too often missing. Extended Visual Dialogue, the methodological approach devised to implement the research, was employed to conduct exploratory voice research with 38 early adolescent students in Years 7 and 8, across three participating schools in 2004. The approach combined elements from the research genres of voice research, participatory action research and image-based research and the students used a combination of auto-photography (participant-generated photography) and photo elicitation interviews to investigate how they perceive school and learning, perceive their identity as young persons and learners, and perceive the world in which they live. Through the processes of the research progressively, the students shared their perspectives with the adult researcher and brought themselves, and the researcher, to a deeper understanding of their unique point of view as learners in our schools, and as young persons in their own right. The findings of the research revealed the sound understanding the students have about their educational and personal needs, preferences, and agendas, and organised these into a framework representing the perspective of the students, accessible to their teachers as key stimulus for their development as distinctly middle level practitioners and their schools as authentic middle level education providers

Excerpts from Freshman Themes

Themes Include: Night Scene by, Maxine Peters; Beware of the Bovines! by, Maxine Peters; On Being Nineteen by, Betty Davenport; Smart Fish by, Nelson Collins; and Artistic Indianapolis by, Jane Colsher

Responding to the Leadership Challenge: Findings of a CEO Survey On Global Corporate Citizenship

The Leadership Challenge is a joint statement of World Economic Forum members that board leaders can refer to in steering their companies' corporate citizenship policies and their relationships with stakeholders. The report profiles practical examples, from an international survey, of different types of leadership addressing corporate citizenship actions

Assessment of selected soil parameters in a long-term Western Canadian organic field experiment

A long-term field study was used to compare soil nitrogen and phosphorous status, and soil aggregate stability in organic and conventional cropping systems. Two rotations were tested: a grain only and a grain-alfalfa hay rotation. The organic systems had a lower nitrate leaching potential than the same rotations under conventional management. After 13 years, one organic system (the grain-alfalfa; no manure return) is suffering serious soil P depletion. However, the grain only and the grain-alfalfa with manure return to land systems had soil P levels similar to the prairie grass control treatment and showed no signs of P deficiency. Despite having lower levels of organic carbon, the organic soils had higher levels of wet aggregate stability than conventionally managed soils

Thermoelectric Processes and Materials

Contains reports on two research projects.Office of Naval Research (Contract Nonr-1841(51

Pressure relieving support surfaces (PRESSURE) trial : cost effectiveness analysis

Objective To assess tire cost effectiveness of alternating pressure mattresses compared with alternating pressure overlays for the prevention of pressure ulcers in patients admitted to hospital. Design Cost effectiveness analysis carried out alongside the pressure relieving support surfaces (PRESSURE) trial; a multicentre UK based pragmatic randomised controlled trial. Setting 11 hospitals in six UK NHS trusts. Participants Intention to treat population comprising 1971 participants. Main outcome measures Kaplan Meier estimates of restricted mean time to development of pressure ulcers and total costs for treatment in hospital. Results Alternating pressure mattresses were associated with lower overall costs (283.6 pound per patient on average, 95% confidence interval -377.59 pound to. 976.79) pound mainly due to reduced length of stay in hospital, and greater benefits (a delay in time to ulceration of 10.64 days on average, - 24.40 to 3.09). The differences in health benefits and total costs for hospital stay between alternating pressure mattresses and alternating pressure overlays were not statistically significant; however, a cost effectiveness acceptability curve indicated that on average alternating pressure mattresses compared with alternating pressure overlays were associated with air 80% probability of being cost saving. Conclusion Alternating pressure mattresses for the prevention of pressure ulcers are more likely to be cost effective and are more acceptable to patients than alternating pressure overlays

Making safeguarding personal temperature check

Adult safeguarding has been the recipient of much criticism regarding policy, process and practice, brought to widespread public attention following media exposure and which subsequent initiatives have sought to address. The Care Act 2014 gave a statutory basis to safeguarding reforms and brought together the concepts of personalisation and wellbeing, whereby all safeguarding adults work is to be person-led, outcome-focused, engage with the person and enhance their involvement, choice and control, intending to improving quality of life, wellbeing and safety. This approach and inherent values are operationalised in the initiative Making Safeguarding Personal (MSP). The research reported sought to explore managerial understanding and the current level of implementation of MSP within statutory and private service providers in one area in the north of England. The data collection adopted a constructivist epistemological perspective and undertook semi-structured interviews with middle managers in 17 organisations in one safeguarding board area. These included local authority adult services, police, fire service, housing and private care providers amongst others. The data was subject to framework analysis. A key finding is that policies and procedures may be in place across organisations but the extent to which they are implemented depends on the organisational culture and whether value change as well as policy change has occurred. The report concludes by identifying a typology of organisational implementation which agencies and service providers can use to understand their journey in the implementation of Making Safeguarding Personal in practice

Thermoelectric Processes and Materials

Contains research objectives and reports on two research projects.U. S. Navy (Office of Naval Research) under Contract Nonr-1841(51