scholarly journals Renwicktown : a study of a rural community considered as a background to problems of education

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Patricia Mary Godsiff

<div>"With due regard to realism and administration practicability discuss the need for child guidance clinics in New Zealand, and the more important problems involved in organising them."</div><div>This quotation resembles a stone thrown into a pool from which a number of ripples radiate all having the same centre. It raises related questions in every field of education, some of which must be solved before the central question can be answered with any finality. In the mind of a student living in Renwicktown, a small rural community in the Province of Marlborough, it could not fail to raise the questions: "How does this affect the country child? How great is the need for guidance in the small community? And most important: " Would parents and teachers avail themselves of clinical services if they were provided?" Three questions require to be answered by the persons concerned.</div>

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Patricia Mary Godsiff

<div>"With due regard to realism and administration practicability discuss the need for child guidance clinics in New Zealand, and the more important problems involved in organising them."</div><div>This quotation resembles a stone thrown into a pool from which a number of ripples radiate all having the same centre. It raises related questions in every field of education, some of which must be solved before the central question can be answered with any finality. In the mind of a student living in Renwicktown, a small rural community in the Province of Marlborough, it could not fail to raise the questions: "How does this affect the country child? How great is the need for guidance in the small community? And most important: " Would parents and teachers avail themselves of clinical services if they were provided?" Three questions require to be answered by the persons concerned.</div>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Julia Hasse

<p>Abstract Tourism research is increasingly focusing on community participation and stakeholder collaboration in tourism planning. It is argued that sustainable development outcomes require the integration of community perspectives into the planning processes, and that the views of different stakeholders must be communicated effectively to interested parties. These core issues are explored in this thesis. I draw upon advances made in participatory research in development studies and introduce these to tourism planning. The thesis also introduces participatory approaches and GIS (PAGIS) as a tool that can be blended into a framework that facilitates a better understanding of stakeholders' perceptions towards tourism, and therefore has the potential to improve community participation and stakeholder interaction in tourism planning. The case study used in this thesis is Marahau, a small community in New Zealand located at the gateway to an icon of New Zealand's tourism industry, the Abel Tasman National Park. The community has undergone rapid transformation from an agriculture-based economy to an expanding tourism destination. The recent increase in visitor numbers, tourism businesses, and permanent residents in the community have resulted in major management and planning issues concerning the future of Marahau. This research highlights the changes that tourism development has brought to the community and presents the various perceptions of stakeholders in this particular setting. The research shows that to plan for more sustainable forms of tourism development the subjective perspectives and the roles of all stakeholders need to be understood and integrated into a responsive planning framework. PAGIS can increase the number and diversity of people able to participate in decision-making. PAGIS integrates 'expert' and 'local' knowledge that can result in more responsive planning procedures to enhance tourism's potential to act as a force for more sustainable development.</p>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
German Molina

<p><b>The fact that comfort is a subjective state of the mind is widely accepted by engineers, architects and building scientists. Despite this, capturing all the complexity, subjectivity and richness of this construct in models that are useful in building science contexts is far from straightforward. By prioritizing usability, building science has produced models of comfort (e.g., acoustic, visual and thermal) that overly simplify this concept to something nearly objective that can be directly associated with people’s physiology and measurable and quantifiable environmental factors. This is a contradiction because, even if comfort is supposed to be subjective, most of the complexity of “the subject” is avoided by focusing on physiology; and, even if comfort is supposed to reside in the mind, the cognitive processes that characterize the mind are disregarded. This research partially mitigates this contradiction by exploring people’s non-physical personal factors and cognition within the context of their comfort and by proposing a way in which they can be incorporated into building science research and practice. This research refers to these elements together—i.e., people’s non-physical personal factors and cognition—as “the mind”.</b></p> <p>This research proposes a new qualitative model of the Feeling of Comfort that embraces “the mind”. This model was developed from the results of a first study in which 18 people—from Chile and New Zealand—were asked to describe “a home with good daylight” and “a warm home” in their own words. These results were then replicated in a second study in which another group of 24 people—also from Chile and New Zealand—described “a home with good acoustic performance”, “a home with good air quality” and “a pleasantly cool home”. The Feeling of Comfort model not only was capable of making sense of the new data (gathered in this second study) but also proved to be simple enough to be useful in the context of comfort research and practice. For instance, it guided the development of a quantitative Feeling of Comfort model and also of a prototype building simulation tool that embraces “the mind” and thus can potentially estimate people’s Feeling of Comfort.</p> <p>This research concludes that embracing “the mind” is not only possible but necessary. The reason for this is that “the mind” plays a significant role in the development of people’s comfort. Thus, theories and models of comfort that ignore it fail to represent properly the concept of comfort held by the people for whom buildings are designed. However, incorporating “the mind” into building science’s research and practice implies embracing tools, research methods and conceptual frameworks that have historically not been used by such a discipline. Specifically, it concludes that building science should normalize a more holistic view of comfort and perform more exploratory and qualitative research.</p>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Christian Jacob Squire

<p>Reports throughout New Zealand have highlighted a chronic and growing problem in our urban centres – the effects of alcohol abuse and binge drinking leave our youth vulnerable and unprotected. The results can sometimes be catastrophic. Makeshift paramedic tents have recently been erected in Wellington to provide aid and retreat, but these are temporary structures and only available two nights per week. The vulnerability of New Zealand’s youth occurs not only on nights with too much alcohol, but also in response to the daily stresses brought on by contemporary urban life. New Zealand youth suicide rates are the highest out of 30 OECD nations and more than twice the OECD average (Chapman). Likewise the secularization of contemporary urban society has resulted in the loss of spiritual retreats previously found within churches and religious centres. This thesis examines the need for a permanent urban retreat for all those who are temporarily vulnerable. The thesis investigates how architectural form can provide a new approach to urban retreat by critically engaging analogous theories found in the writings of Plato and Louis Kahn. Both Plato’s theory of Forms (discussed in Plato’s “Dialogues”) and Louis Kahn’s 1961 essay “Form and Design” are centred on the idea of achieving an enlightened state of mind, freeing the mind from the physical realm. Plato’s theory of Forms posits that the universe is separated into two realms: an intelligible realm and a sensible realm. All objects that exist in the sensible realm – perceivable to us by our senses – are merely imperfect shadows of their essences or Forms. By understanding this, we can free our minds from the distractions of life which so often lead to stress and despair. Plato’s theory of Forms has many parallels with the architectural theory of Louis Kahn, as evidenced in Kahn’s “Form and Design”. Kahn describes the ‘measurable’ and ‘immeasurable’ realms, which are analogous to Plato’s sensible and intelligible realms. This thesis critically engages these analogous theories of Plato and Kahn – achieving an enlightened state of mind, freeing the mind from the physical realm – to establish how architectural form can provide urban retreat for those who are temporarily vulnerable. The site for the design research investigation is the nameless alleyway in the Courtenay Place precinct which separates Wellington’s historic St James Theatre from The Mermaid bar and brothel – a site which symbolizes the conflicting stimuli to which our urban residents are now continually exposed.</p>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
German Molina

<p><b>The fact that comfort is a subjective state of the mind is widely accepted by engineers, architects and building scientists. Despite this, capturing all the complexity, subjectivity and richness of this construct in models that are useful in building science contexts is far from straightforward. By prioritizing usability, building science has produced models of comfort (e.g., acoustic, visual and thermal) that overly simplify this concept to something nearly objective that can be directly associated with people’s physiology and measurable and quantifiable environmental factors. This is a contradiction because, even if comfort is supposed to be subjective, most of the complexity of “the subject” is avoided by focusing on physiology; and, even if comfort is supposed to reside in the mind, the cognitive processes that characterize the mind are disregarded. This research partially mitigates this contradiction by exploring people’s non-physical personal factors and cognition within the context of their comfort and by proposing a way in which they can be incorporated into building science research and practice. This research refers to these elements together—i.e., people’s non-physical personal factors and cognition—as “the mind”.</b></p> <p>This research proposes a new qualitative model of the Feeling of Comfort that embraces “the mind”. This model was developed from the results of a first study in which 18 people—from Chile and New Zealand—were asked to describe “a home with good daylight” and “a warm home” in their own words. These results were then replicated in a second study in which another group of 24 people—also from Chile and New Zealand—described “a home with good acoustic performance”, “a home with good air quality” and “a pleasantly cool home”. The Feeling of Comfort model not only was capable of making sense of the new data (gathered in this second study) but also proved to be simple enough to be useful in the context of comfort research and practice. For instance, it guided the development of a quantitative Feeling of Comfort model and also of a prototype building simulation tool that embraces “the mind” and thus can potentially estimate people’s Feeling of Comfort.</p> <p>This research concludes that embracing “the mind” is not only possible but necessary. The reason for this is that “the mind” plays a significant role in the development of people’s comfort. Thus, theories and models of comfort that ignore it fail to represent properly the concept of comfort held by the people for whom buildings are designed. However, incorporating “the mind” into building science’s research and practice implies embracing tools, research methods and conceptual frameworks that have historically not been used by such a discipline. Specifically, it concludes that building science should normalize a more holistic view of comfort and perform more exploratory and qualitative research.</p>


2014 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 57-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Leviten-Reid ◽  
Pamela Johnson ◽  
Michael Miller

We explore the effects of supported housing on the quality of life and recovery of consumers in a rural community, and also explore how this housing approach could be improved. Data were collected from 16 tenants involved in Supported Housing for Individuals with Mental Illness (SHIMI), located in Nova Scotia. The following themes were identified in the analysis: support, security, normalcy and integration, stability and control, and recovery. Suggestions for improvement include fostering a stronger system of supports, coordinating initiatives to reduce the living costs and build the assets of tenants, and having greater consumer involvement in the initiative.


2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Penny R. Payne ◽  
William H. Kaye-Blake ◽  
Amy Kelsey ◽  
Margaret Brown ◽  
Meredith T. Niles

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isobel Ferguson ◽  
Stephanie Moor ◽  
Chris Frampton ◽  
Steve Withington

ABSTRACT IntroductionDespite growing awareness of increasing rates of youth suicide and self-harm in New Zealand, there is still little known about self-harm among rural youth. AimThis study compared: (1) rates of youth self-harm presentations between a rural emergency department (ED) and nationally available rates; and (2) local and national youth suicide rates over the decade from January 2008 to December 2017. MethodsData were requested on all presentations to Ashburton Hospital ED coded for ‘self-harm’ for patients aged 15–24 years. Comparative data were obtained from the coroner, Ministry of Health and the 2013 census. Analyses were conducted of the effects of age, time, repetition, method, ethnicity and contact with mental health services on corresponding suicide rates. ResultsSelf-harm rates in Ashburton rose in the post-earthquake period (2013–17). During the peri-earthquake period (2008–12), non-Māori rates of self-harm were higher than for Māori (527 vs 116 per 100000 youth respectively), reflecting the national trend. In the post-earthquake period, although non-Māori rates of self-harm stayed stable (595 per 100000), there was a significant increase in Māori rates of self-harm to 1106 per 100000 (Chi-squared = 14.0, P &lt; 0.001). Youth living within the Ashburton township showed higher rates than youth living more rurally. DiscussionYouth self-harm behaviours, especially self-poisoning, have increased since the Canterbury earthquakes in the Ashburton rural community. Of most concern was the almost ninefold increase in Māori self-harm presentations in recent years, along with the increasing prevalence among teenagers and females. Possible explanations and further exploratory investigation strategies are discussed.


2000 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 255
Author(s):  
Daniel Kalderimis

In April 1998 the New Zealand Government announced a reform package for the electricity industry. This package was designed to create the competition promised since deregulation first began in 1987. The 1998 reforms had two main aspects: first, the split of the Electricity Corporation of New Zealand (ECNZ), New Zealand's dominant state-owned enterprise (SOE) generator, into three competitive units; second, a rule business (the ownership split) that local power companies could not own both a lines business (the local distribution wires) and a generation or retail.The ownership split caused a revolution in the industry. Effectively, small community-owned companies were forced to sell their retail and generation businesses to larger companies or to the State, in the form of the ECNZ "babies". The Government believed that the ownership split would facilitate retail competition and deliver lower domestic power prices. This article asks whether the Government was right – whether the ownership split was necessary, or able, to reduce domestic power prices. It concludes that the ownership split was a staggering mistake. The Government's reasoning was based on inconclusive evidence, inadequate research, and contained major logical flaws. The Government rejected unanimous policy advice warning against the split. Since the split, average domestic power prices have risen by almost four per cent. A major factor is the demise of community-owned supply companies which had offered unique advantages to consumers.The root of this disaster was ideological bias. The Government did not understand the electricity industry but treated it as an abstract economic construct. This article documents the way in which ideology led the Government to wreak havoc on an industry in order to cure problems which did not exist.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document