Oral Presentations

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/7660

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Start date: 2020

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Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
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    Hearing from the experts – Parents’ knowledge of what works for their children
    (22/07/2015) Dharan V
    Given that children and young persons with ASD require support both at home and school, one of the fundamental factors for the success of all types of supports, services and interventions is the effective collaboration and open communication between families, schools, other professionals and organisations. This inextricable nature of partnership has its own complexities, and if interventions and supports are to be successful, there needs to be a better understanding of ways in which the supports are perceived to be usefuland effective by families. This presentation is drawn from a small researchproject undertaken for the first time in New Zealand in the form of a nationalsurvey to understand parents’/caregivers’ of children and young persons with ASD aged 0-21 of what works for their children and whānau. Particularly the research focused on the supports at home, out of home/after school carearrangements and educational settings. Data was gathered using an e-survey sent to parents using the Autism NZ database, followed by a small number of families participating in Focus Groups and five case studies. This presentation will report on the e-survey findings of 335 families who participated in the survey that was distributed through Autism NZ database. Broadly, themes that emerged from parent responses to key questionsindicate that parents were accessing a range of services for supporting the communication, behaviour and social difficulties of their children with ASD. These supports were provided either by individuals or organisations, but often their access was dictated by what was available than what is needed.. While specific therapy needs were identified by some, there was an overarching desire for their children to be in educational settings alongside their peers supported by adequate and appropriate resources. More training and support for classroom teachers as well as parents was emphasised strongly. This presentation will share these findings and more. The topic of presentation aligns well with the conference themes and will be of interest to all those who work with and support families, children and young persons.
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    Plastic Pollution Prevention in Pacific Large Ocean Island Developing States (LOSIDS)
    (UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Regional Office for the Pacific and UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights, 4/02/2021) Farrelly T; Borrelle SB; Fuller S
    The rate of plastic pollution entering the environment is accelerating with plastic productionpredicted to increase by 40% over the next decade. Plastic pollution transcends territorial boundarieson ocean and air currents. Large Ocean Small Island Developing States (LOSIDS) are on the frontlineof the plastics crisis and associated climate change impacts. This desktop gap analysis identifiedpotential strengths and weaknesses in national policy frameworks in 52 key documents relevantto plastic pollution in ten Pacific LOSIDS. The study found considerable gaps in the vertical andhorizontal integration of plastic pollution-related policy, and a lack of access to current science-basedevidence on plastic pollution including evidence related to human health impacts and microplastics.The study concludes that, even if Pacific LOSIDS were to include best practice management of plasticpollution across all policy frameworks, they could not prevent plastic pollution, and that a plasticpollution convention is needed
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    Degree apprenticeships: Is this the future for employer-led partnerships in New Zealand?
    (26/10/2017) Poskitt JM
    Work-ready graduates with practical skills and theoretical knowledge in engineering is essential. Traditionally, potential employees arrive with either theoretical knowledge from University study, or with practical skills learnt ‘on the job’. Yet employers need personnel with theoretical and practical competencies from the outset to undertake project work. To address this, the Tertiary Education Commission initiated a pilot study of Degree Apprenticeships, aimed at investigating how a qualification comprising a nexus of practical and theoretical work could be integrated into the students’ work environment. A number of conditions needed consideration. Only if it was employer-led, endorsed by them and addressed their requirements could the innovation be successful. But given the multiple demands on employer time; different constraints according to the nature of their enterprise; urban-rural location, political and financial complexities; coordinating the innovation could be challenging. This was a four month study with a limited budget. A university-polytechnic team collaborated to facilitate the process. Engineering staff in the Polytechnic sector were invited to provide additional input and contributed pivotal knowledge of tertiary qualification standards to underpin the innovation. The presentation reports the collaborative and facilitative process undertaken. Research interviews were conducted with a small range of employers in purposively sampled urban, regional and rural locations in the North Island. Analysis of the interview data informed the initial draft standard, to which participants were invited to critically discuss and subsequently refine at two collaborative workshops. Balancing academic process and deadlines with the need to be responsive to employer realities created dilemmas, along with the need to manage power differentials in knowledge, experience and political influence. Employer-led learning partnerships are are seen as best practice in developing apprenticeship qualifications, providing there is a spirit of mutual respect, inter-dependence and collaboration across employer, student and tertiary providers.
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    Plastic Pollution Prevention in Pacific Islands Countries
    (2/12/2020) Farrelly T
    Key findings from research conducted with ten Pacific Island waste management leaders. After identifying key policy gaps and the unique challenges facing each country, the participants and the research team offer recommendations to strengthen plastic pollution policy frameworks across the region.
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    What Works to Improve Staff Compliance With Multi-Drug-Resistant Organism (MDRO) Screening
    (Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, 22/06/2017) Hernandez MA
    What Works to Improve Staff Compliance with Multi-drug Resistant Organism (MDRO) Screening Monina H. Gesmundo, MN (Honours), PGDip HSc (Merit), PGCert Tertiary Teaching, BSN, RN, RM, CNS School of Nursing, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand Purpose of the presentation: To present the evaluation of the effect of multi-modal interventions on the staff MDRO admission screening compliance rate in various departments of a tertiary public hospital in New Zealand Target Audience: The target audience of this presentation are staff nurses, nurse educators, nurse managers, quality improvement advisers and infection control practitioners who are keen to identify interventions that work in improving staff compliance to MDRO admission screening Objective: To evaluate the effect of multi-modal interventions on the staff MDRO admission screening compliance rate in various departments of a tertiary public hospital Research question: What is the effect of multi-modal infection prevention and control interventions on the staff MDRO admission screening compliance rate in various departments of a tertiary public hospital? Design: A retrospective review of monthly MDRO admission screening audits was done to compare the compliance rate before and after multi-modal interventions were implemented. The audit was conducted in the care of older people and elective surgical department of a public tertiary hospital in Auckland, New Zealand from December 2010 to November 2014. Setting: Two departments of a public tertiary hospital in Auckland, New Zealand Methods: Monthly MDRO admission screen audits were done in a representative ward of each department for the purpose of quality improvement. Audits were conducted by generating a monthly list of patients who were eligible to be screened for MDRO on admission to the ward. Twenty patients were randomly selected from the monhtly list for a specified period of time to evaluate whether nurses screened them for MDRO within 24 hours of admission. Eligibility to be screened is based on the criteria published in the organisational policy for MDRO management. Nursing staff compliance rate with the MDRO admission screen policy was computed using frequency and percentage. Multi-modal interventions focusing on the nursing staff were implemented by the infection control practitioner. Interventions include: monthly MDRO admission screen compliance audits, regular reporting of audit result, feedback with regard to missed screens, regular education sessions with the nursing staff and staff encouragement from both the infection control practitioner and nurse manager. Compliance rates were reported to the charge nurse managers on a monthly basis through an e-mail. Compliance rates of greater than 90% were celebrated and reinforced, whereas a drop in the compliance rate or a compliance rate of < 90% was followed up with the nurse manager. Regular 10-15 minute-education sessions during staff handovers were done by the infection control practitioner to present the audit results, to provide input, to answer queries and to encourage the staff to do better. Nurse managers also encourage staff to improve screening compliance rate. Data analysis utilized Microsoft Excel Software in quantitative data collation and encoding. MDRO admission screen audits were presented using descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, mean, median and mode. Standard deviation was used to show data variability. T-test was utilized to test for a significant difference in the overall compliance rate before and after the multi-modal interventions were introduced. T-test is a parametric procedure of testing the difference in group means. The level of significance was set at P < 0.05 to identify a significant difference in the compliance rate. Results: Results show that the MDRO admission screen compliance rate in the two departments were variable. The average compliance rate from October, 2012 to November, 2014 in the elective surgical department is 85.75% compared to 75.91% from December, 2010 to September, 2012 (Table 1). Table 1.MDRO admission screen compliance at the elective surgical department Surgical Department Before* After** Mean 75.90909091 Mean 85.75 Number of patient records audited 1670 Number of patient records audited 2058 Number of monthly audits completed 22 Number of monthly audits completed 24 *Period coverage is from December, 2010 to September, 2012 **Period coverage is from October, 2012 to November, 2014 In the care of older people department, results show that the MDRO admission screen compliance was also variable. The average MDRO admission screen compliance rate from August, 2013 to October, 2014 is 96.80% compared to 83.84% from December, 2010 to July 2013 (Table 2). Variability in the compliance may be due to patient acuity, staff mix, thorough history-taking of the patient, review of previous admissions, completeness of handover, staff knowledge of the organisational policy, staff motivation to adhere to organisational policy and availability of staff support. Table 2.MDRO admission screen compliance at the health of older people department Health of Older People Before*** After**** Mean 83.83870968 Mean 96.8 Number of patient records audited 2599 Number of patient records audited 1452 Number of monthly audits completed 31 Number of monthly audits completed 15 *** Period coverage is from December, 2010 to July 2013 ****Period coverage is from August, 2013 to October, 2014 Statistical analysis of the overall MDRO admission screening compliance rate before and after the interventions showed a significant difference (P < 0.05) in the compliance rate in both departments. A two-sample T-test with unequal variance was utilized in the statistical analysis given the variability in the screening rate and count. Table 3 provides a summary of the statistical testing done. The last column shows that there is a significant difference in the compliance rate in the surgical department (P < 0.009) and the care of older people department (P < 0.00003) Table 3.Descriptive summary of statistical testing of the MDRO admission screen compliance rate before and after the interventions Departments Before After T-Test (P < 0.05) Number of Audits Mean Compliance Rate Number of Audits Mean Compliance Rate Surgical Department 22 75.91 24 85.75 0.009324379 Care of Older People 31 83.84 15 96.80 0.000036141 Conclusion: The multi-modal interventions addressed to nurses had a significant impact on the MDRO admission screening compliance rate in various departments of a tertiary public hospital. While various factors may affect the staff MDRO admission screening compliance rate, the rate could be kept at a high level through regular audits, regular reporting of audit result, regular education sessions and consistent staff encouragement.
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    Learning from moderation of OTJs: The political balancing act.
    (21/11/2016) Poskitt JM
    Internationally, attention to educational accountability sharpened during the Global Financial Crisis period, with a political need for student achievement data. International achievement testing strongly influenced educational policy globally (Volante, 2016) and in New Zealand (Poskitt, 2016a). “Advocates of standards-based reform argue that large-scale assessment programs provide valuable and necessary information to assist in the revision of national evaluation systems, curriculum standards, and performance targets” (Volante, 2016, p.3). Worldwide testing programs provide international and intra-national comparative data on student achievement at particular student ages, but they do not capture achievement across all year levels of compulsory schooling. Limited sampling size and the need for international comparability in content means the tests have reduced validity for local contextual purposes. To address the need for localised student achievement data across the primary school years, New Zealand implemented National Standards (NS) in 2010. The intention of NS was also to avoid risks of narrowing the curriculum and ‘teaching to the test’ by developing NS that were broad in description, linked to New Zealand Curriculum levels and utilized teachers’ professional judgments (Poskitt, 2016b). At the heart of the NS policy are overall teacher judgments (OTJs). Primary teachers are required to make standards judgments for each of their students in reading, writing and mathematics based on a range of achievement information. Schools vary in the ‘evidence’ they use and their interpretations of it. Social moderation is intended to assist the dependability of the OTJs. “This practice involves teachers expressing their interpretations of assessment criteria and standards with the aim of reaching agreement on the award of a standard” (Klenowski & Wyatt-Smith, 2014, p.74), and thereby increase the validity and reliability of teachers’ subsequent judgements. Little is known about the moderation processes used by New Zealand teachers. In what ways do teachers express their interpretations of assessment criteria and standards? What influences their judgments in moderation meetings? This paper examines the moderation conversations of teachers involved in a school cluster professional development initiative on student writing. Political influences are evident in relation to the power of: teacher knowledge and expectations, seniority (by age and designation), reference points used and limited resourcing. Unless resources are invested in ongoing professional learning for moderation, dependability of OTJs will be undermined. The resultant risk is political influences will usurp teacher involvement in assessment and rely primarily on international achievement tests for monitoring the health of NZ’s education system.