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In order to compensate for a demise in New Zealand's pre-service teacher training, particularly in health and physical education (HPE), a work-integrated learning (WIL) course was added to a Bachelor of Sport and Exercise curriculum. This exploratory research provides insights into the outcomes of twenty-nine final year undergraduate PE students' involvement in teaching, coaching and management of school sports events and activities. The impact of initiatives resulted in enhanced participation, opportunities and engagement in physical education and sport activity for a range of children. Themes emerged from content analysis of student perceptions of individual's learning outcomes. WIL opportunities enabled students to build self-efficacy and career capability despite the COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns. Findings indicated that from the students' perspectives, school-based initiatives enriched career capability, whilst also requiring adaptability, flexibility and resilience. The WIL experience enabled development of transferable skills and attributes in preparation for pre-service teacher training.

Universities globally have continued to strategically increase work-integrated learning (WIL) opportunities for students to enhance graduate employability. However, meeting the needs of the increasing number of placements in industry settings places challenges on employers and academic programme coordinators. This paper examines an innovative teaching and learning initiative demonstrating non-placement WIL practice on-campus and online through an exercise prescription clinic (EPC). The benefits provided by these opportunities have not only been for student learning, but for clients, in particular those impacted by neurological and/or muscular skeletal problems. The development of the on-campus EPC has focused on key elements of good practice in WIL highlighted by Agnew, Pill and Orrell (2017). The recent Covid-19 pandemic and the related government restrictions have resulted in the on-campus EPC being flipped online, requiring adaptability and flexibility of both students and clients. This paper reinforces the importance of developing WIL experiences that enhance the learning outcomes for both the student and the client. It also highlights the transferability of authentic industry non-placement WIL clinical experiences for future health professionals to both on-campus and online settings, which enable students the opportunity to engage with a range of clients in a safe environment, enhancing both personal and professional learning outcomes.

The purpose of this study was to identify students' perspectives of the role of healthy behaviours in their well-being and school success. Since a number of studies focused on establishing the link between healthy behaviours and learning have relied on quantitative measures, it was deemed important to provide a different perspective on the topic and give students a voice. Participants were 50 Aotearoa/New Zealand nine- and 10-year-old students of various ethnic backgrounds from two elementary schools. Using situated learning theory to determine the impact a school environment that promotes physical activity has on students' perspectives, four categories were drawn from student focus-group interviews: (1) opportunities to be active, (2) roles of physical activity, (3) students' misconceptions of health concepts, and (4) students' support for health education and physical education at their schools. Students in this study were afforded multiple opportunities to be physically active and acknowledged the benefits these bouts of activities gave them while differentiating the types of opportunities and value they gained from them. Within their community of practice, students were sometimes "full" participants as their knowledge was fully constructed, and sometimes "peripheral" participants, needing more time, active engagement and content knowledge to better grasp some concepts. Little health education content knowledge was provided to classroom teachers, which might have caused some of the misconceptions held by students related to the impact of physical activity and nutrition on their brain function.

Employers (154 of 1,303 responded) rated 25 entry-worker competencies and new graduates' performance. Eight of the top 10 were "soft" skills; ability and willingness to learn ranked highest. Graduates' performance was satisfactory only in 3 that were not in the top 10. Most employers (79%) felt that prior work experience was important for new business graduates. (Contains 45 references.) (SK)

New Zealand business students and graduates made similar rankings of the five most important workplace competencies: computer literacy, customer service orientation, teamwork and cooperation, self-confidence, and willingness to learn. Graduates placed greater importance on most of the 24 competencies, resulting in a statistically significant difference between the graduates and students' ranking of both hard and soft skills. (Contains 22 references.) (SK)

Background: Although many people with chronic low back pain (LBP) improve following conservative treatment, one in five will experience worsening symptoms after discharge from treatment and seek health care again. The current LBP clinical care pathway in many health services lacks a well-integrated, systematic approach to support patients to remain physically active and self-manage their symptoms following discharge from treatment. Health coaching can support people to improve physical activity levels and may potentially reduce health care utilisation for LBP. The primary aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of introducing a coordinated support system (linking hospital outpatient physiotherapy services to a public health coaching service) at discharge from LBP treatment, on the future use of hospital, medical, and health services for LBP, compared with usual care provided at discharge.Methods: Three hundred and seventy-four adults with chronic non-specific LBP will be recruited from the outpatient physiotherapy departments of public hospitals in New South Wales, Australia. Participants will be individually randomised to a support system (n = 187) or usual care group (n = 187). All participants will receive usual care provided at discharge from treatment. Participants allocated to the support system will also receive up to 10 telephone-based health coaching sessions, delivered by the Get Healthy Service®, over a 6-month period. Health coaches will monitor and support participants to improve physical activity levels and achieve personal health-related goals. The primary outcome is the total number of encounters with hospital, medical, and health services for LBP, at 12 months from baseline. A within-trial economic evaluation will quantify the incremental costs and benefits of the support system from a health system perspective, to support reimbursement decision making.Discussion: This study will establish the effect of a coordinated support system, introduced at discharge from treatment, on the future use of hospital, medical, and health services for LBP and various health outcomes.Conclusion: Innovative community-driven solutions to support people with chronic LBP after discharge from treatment are urgently needed. Study findings will help inform health care policy and clinical practice in Australia.Trial Registration: Prospectively registered on the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ( ACTRN12620000889954 ) on 10/09/2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditionally work-integrated learning (WIL) programs document tripartite outcomes for students, workplace organisations and universities. This qualitative research study considers a fourth stakeholder, the client. It examines clients' (n=40) perceptions of the benefits of being part of an on-campus Exercise Prescription Clinic (EPC), and students' (n=22) perceptions of their learning outcomes from participation in a New Zealand university's WIL program within a Bachelor of Sport and Exercise. The clinic provides opportunities for clients to undertake physical activity, training and rehabilitation programs in a social, supervised and safe environment, and is accessible to anyone who wants to improve their fitness for sport or health. The findings reinforce the importance of developing WIL experiences that enrich both benefits for the clients and enhance the learning outcomes for students. Designing authentic industry WIL clinical experiences for future health professionals should also enable students the opportunity to engage with a range of clients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Clinical guidelines recommend exercise as a core treatment for individuals with knee osteoarthritis (OA). However, the best type of exercise for clinical benefits is not clear, particularly in different OA subgroups. Obesity is a common co-morbidity in people with knee OA. There is some evidence suggesting that non-weight bearing exercise may be more effective than weight bearing exercise in patients with medial knee OA and obesity.Methods: To compare the efficacy of two different exercise programs (weight bearing functional exercise and non-weight bearing quadriceps strengthening) on pain and physical function for people ≥50 years with painful medial knee OA and obesity (body mass index ≥30 kg/m2) 128 people in Melbourne, Australia will be recruited for a two group parallel-design, assessor- and participant-blinded randomised controlled trial. Participants will be randomly allocated to undertake a program of either weight bearing functional exercise or non-weight bearing quadriceps strengthening exercise. Both groups will attend five individual sessions with a physiotherapist who will teach, monitor and progress the exercise program. Participants will be asked to perform the exercises at home four times per week for 12 weeks. Outcomes will be measured at baseline and 12 weeks. Primary outcomes are self-reported knee pain and physical function. Secondary outcomes include other measures of knee pain, physical function, quality-of-life, participant-perceived global change, physical performance, and lower limb muscle strength.Discussion: This study will compare the efficacy of two different 12-week physiotherapist-prescribed, home-based exercise programs for people with medial knee OA and obesity. Findings will provide valuable information to help inform exercise prescription in this common OA patient subgroup.Trial Registration: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry reference: ACTRN12617001013358 , 14/7/2017. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The New Zealand dairy sector relies on robust biosecurity measures to control and mitigate a wide range of threats to the industry. To optimize the prioritization of organisms and manage the risk they pose to the sector in a transparent and credible way, the Dairy Biosecurity Risk Evaluation Framework (D‐BRiEF) was developed. This comprehensive framework was specifically designed for decision support, using a standardized approach to address the full spectrum of biosecurity threats to the sector, including exotic and endemic animal disease organisms, pest plants and insects. D‐BRiEF is underpinned by three main processes, namely (i) hazard identification; (ii) multicriteria risk assessment; and (iii) communication for risk management. Expert knowledge and empirical data, including associated uncertainty, are harnessed in a standardized format. Results feed into a probability‐impact model that was developed in close collaboration with dairy sector economists to provide overall comparative 10‐year quantitative economic impact estimates for each assessed risk organism. A description of the overarching framework, which applies to diverse organism groups, is presented with detailed methodology on both endemic and exotic animal disease risk organisms. Examples of visual outputs are included, although actual ranking results are not reported due to industry confidentiality. D‐BRiEF can provide a decision advantage to DairyNZ biosecurity risk managers and sector stakeholders by creating a transparent process that can be interrogated and updated at multiple levels to fully understand the layers of risk posed by different organisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Maternal ethnicity is a recognized risk factor for stillbirth, such that South Asian women have higher rates than their Caucasian counterparts. However, whether maternal ethnicity is a risk factor for intrapartum outcomes is less clear. The aim of this study is to explore associations between maternal country of birth, operative vaginal delivery and emergency cesarean section, and to identify possible mechanisms underlying any such associations.Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of singleton term births among South Asian, South East/East Asian and Australian/New Zealand born women at an Australian tertiary hospital in 2009-2013. The association between maternal country of birth, operative vaginal birth and emergency cesarean was assessed using multivariate logistic regression.Results: Of the 31,932 births, 54% (17,149) were to Australian/New Zealand-born women, 25% (7874) to South Asian, and 22% (6879) to South East/East Asian born women. Compared to Australian/New Zealand women, South Asian and South East/East Asian women had an increased rate of both operative vaginal birth (OR 1.43 [1.30-1.57] and 1.22 [1.11-1.35] respectively, p < 0.001 for both) and emergency cesarean section (OR 1.67 [1.53-1.82] and 1.16 [1.04-1.26] respectively, p < 0.001 and p = 0.007 respectively). While prolonged labor was the predominant reason for cesarean section among Australian/New Zealand and South East/East Asian women, fetal compromise accounted for the majority of operative births in South Asian women.Conclusion: South Asian and South East/East Asian women experience higher rates of both operative vaginal birth and cesarean section in comparison to Australian/New Zealand women, independent of other risk factors for intrapartum interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the purported purpose of in-service teacher observations as being developmental, they are often used as tools for evaluating teacher performance. We suggest an alternative approach which brings the tangible benefits of professional development to the very start of the process, thereby flipping the traditional observation procedure. This process is called CORE: Collaboration, Observation, Reflection and Extension. It is this first Collaborative step that brings development to the fore. This collaboration is also an opportunity to 'get inside' the teacher's thinking and explore their tacit and explicit understandings and potentially to negotiate interpretations. We outline the CORE procedure, and explain what each step entails. We also present our findings of adopting this approach at an English language school in New Zealand. Narrative inquiry data is triangulated by collecting data from the observers, the teachers being observed and the manager. This observation framework has applications in a variety of educational contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to describe some of the distinctive cultural practices evident in Niuean men's drinking behaviours. The paper is also intended to illustrate that alcohol is an integral aspect of the Niuean culture and part of the system of cultural exchange. Alcohol has become an integral component of Niuean cultural rituals to the extent that celebrations and festivals are thought to be incomplete if alcohol is not present. Alcohol is used as a tool for expressing cultural values such as fakaalofa (gifting), generosity, respect, status and host obligations. Finally, alcohol is used as a symbol of ‘being Niuean’ and being a ‘real’ Niuean man. This paper will describe how practices specific to Niuean men such as drinking the ‘Niuean way’ and kalaga are symbols that help to reinforce men's cultural identity, enhancing their feeling of communal identity. It is important to emphasize that it is difficult to divorce the ‘cultural’ components of Niuean men's drinking styles from their drinking and behaviour more generally. Culture shapes people's values and behaviours. Although this paper points to some of the specific and distinctively ‘cultural’ aspects of Niuean drinking, we must recognize that all of the participants’ drinking behaviours and attitudes are likely to have been shaped by their cultural and social context. Furthermore, this paper provides only a brief snapshot of how culture and alcohol are intertwined for Niuean men. Educational programmes and host responsibility guidelines need to be culturally appropriate to suit the needs of the Niuean community. Further work is needed to elucidate this complex topic. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The role of ecosystem engineers (EE) in the formation of ombrotrophic mires (bogs) from fens, called the fen-bog transition (FBT), can be best understood through categorization of the autogenic and allogenic processes causing bog initiation. Here we review these pathways, discuss the drivers of change in both cases, and tabulate an approach for distinguishing between them. We then compare the engineering ability of acknowledged and putative engineers against a number of characters which plants require to cross the FBT, and to stabilize occupancy on the bog side. While some Sphagnum spp. are accepted as the EE of the fen-bog transition in northern hemisphere bogs, they appear unimportant in New Zealand. Instead their role appears to be occupied by a restiad, Empodisma minus, a plant with leafless, wiry stems and capillaroid roots. Empodisma minus appears capable of engineering autogenic transitions from fen to bog across New Zealand, even more efficiently than Sphagnum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iron oxide sheaths and filaments are commonly found in hydrothermal environments and have been shown to have a biogenic origin. These structures were seen in the flocculent material associated with two submarine volcanoes along the Kermadec Arc north of New Zealand. Molecular characterization of the bacterial communities associated with the flocculent samples indicated that no known Fe-oxidizing bacteria dominated the recovered clone libraries. However, clones related to the recently described Fe-oxidizing bacterium Mariprofundus ferrooxydans were obtained from both the iron-containing flocculent (Fe-floc) and sediment samples, and peaks corresponding to Mariprofundus ferrooxydans, as well as the related clones, were observed in several of our terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism profiles. A large group of epsilonproteobacterial sequences, for which there is no cultured representative, dominated clones from the Fe-floc libraries and were less prevalent in the sediment sample. Phylogenetic analyses indicated that several operational taxonomic units appeared to be site specific, and statistical analyses of the clone libraries found that all samples were significantly different from each other. Thus, the bacterial communities in the Fe-floc samples were not more closely related to each other than to the sediment communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes a three-sector, national research project that investigated the integration aspect of work-integrated learning (WIL). The context for this study is three sectors of New Zealand higher education: business and management, sport, and science and engineering, and a cohort of higher educational institutions that offer WIL/cooperative education in variety of ways. The aims of this study were to investigate the pedagogical approaches in WIL programs that are currently used by WIL practitioners in terms of learning, and the integration of academic-workplace learning. The research constituted a series of collective case studies, and there were two main data sources -- interviews with three stakeholder groups (namely employers, students, and co-op practitioners), and analyses of relevant documentation (e.g., course/paper outlines, assignments on reflective practice, portfolio of learning, etc.). The research findings suggest that there is no consistent mechanism by which placement coordinators, off-campus supervisors, or mentors seek to employ or develop pedagogies to foster learning and the integration of knowledge. Learning, it seems, occurs by means of legitimate peripheral participation with off-campus learning occurring as a result of students working alongside professionals in their area via an apprenticeship model of learning. There is no evidence of explicit attempts to integrate on- and off-campus learning, although all parties felt this would and should occur. However, integration is implicitly or indirectly fostered by a variety of means such as the use of reflective journals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The present study has identified in the marine mollusc, Perna canaliculus, an homologous series of novel omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω-3 PUFA) with significant anti-inflammatory (AI) activity. The free fatty acid (FFA) class was isolated from a supercritical-CO2 lipid extract of the tartaric acid-stabilised freeze-dried mussel powder by normal phase chromatography, followed by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP–HPLC). The RP–HPLC involved separation based on carbon numbers, followed by argentation–HPLC (Ag–HPLC) of the methyl esters based on degree of unsaturation. Identification of the FFA components was performed using gas chromatography (GC) with flame ionisation detection, and individual structures were assigned by GC-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). Inhibition of leukotriene production by stimulated human neutrophils was used as an in vitro screening method to test the AI activity of the purified PUFAs. A structurally related family of ω-3 PUFAs was identified in the most bioactive fractions, which included C18:4, C19:4, C20:4, and C21:5 PUFA. The C20:4 was the predominant PUFA in the extract, and was a structural isomer of arachidonic acid (AA). The novel compounds may be biologically significant as AI agents, as a result of their in vitro inhibition of lipoxygenase products of the AA pathway. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study identifies the level of importance given by relevant New Zealand stakeholders to the workplace competencies required of business graduates. The study builds on previous work undertaken in this area, both from the authors' prior research and of similar studies elsewhere. While the findings confirm the importance placed on graduates' personal competencies, they also identify some key differences in perspectives between education and employer stakeholders. The findings also lend further support to cooperative education programs and the opportunity they provide for the development of these essential graduate competencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Describes an alternative assessment method for a work-based cooperative education course that forms part of a Bachelor of Business Studies degree program at UNITEC Institute of Technology in Auckland, New Zealand. Joint assessment of the student's one-site project work by the student, employer and academic supervisor; Course implementation feedback.

Background: The internet is used for information related to health conditions, including low back pain (LBP), but most LBP websites provide inaccurate information. Few studies have investigated the effectiveness of internet resources in changing health literacy or treatment choices.Objective: This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the MyBackPain website compared with unguided internet use on health literacy, choice of treatments, and clinical outcomes in people with LBP.Methods: This was a pragmatic, web-based, participant- and assessor-blinded randomized trial of individuals with LBP stratified by duration. Participants were randomly allocated to have access to the evidence-based MyBackPain website, which was designed with input from consumers and expert consensus or unguided internet use. The coprimary outcomes were two dimensions of the Health Literacy Questionnaire (dimension 2: "having sufficient information to manage my health;" dimension 3: "actively managing my health;" converted to scores 1-100) at 3 months. Secondary outcomes included additional Health Literacy Questionnaire dimensions, quality of treatment choices, and clinical outcomes.Results: A total of 453 participants were recruited, and 321 (70.9%) completed the primary outcomes. Access to MyBackPain was not superior to unguided internet use on primary outcomes (dimension 2: mean difference -0.87 units, 95% CI -3.56 to 1.82; dimension 3: mean difference -0.41 units, 95% CI -2.78 to 1.96). Between-group differences in other secondary outcomes had inconsistent directions and were unlikely to be clinically important, although a small improvement of unclear importance in the quality of stated treatment choices at 1 month was found (mean difference 0.93 units, 95% CI 0.03 to 1.84).Conclusions: MyBackPain was not superior to unguided internet use for health literacy, but data suggest some short-term improvement in treatment choices. Future research should investigate if greater interactivity and engagement with the website may enhance its impact.Trial Registration: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) ACTRN12617001292369; https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=372926.International Registered Report Identifier (irrid): RR2-10.1136/bmjopen-2018-027516. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on a survey in New Zealand regarding the competencies that business enterprises are seeking from college graduates. Number of businesses surveyed; Top personal characteristics businesses are seeking from graduates; Ranking of computer literacy as a competency of graduates.