Enhancing seismic regulatory compliance practices for non-structural elements in New Zealand

Most non-structural elements (NSEs) including ceilings, piping, services equipment and cladding systems, etc., are typically prone to failure in the event of relatively low to medium earthquake shakings. The poor performance of NSEs demonstrated in recent earthquake events in New Zealand has revealed a gap in NSE design and construction practices, especially regarding compliance with the NSE performance standard (NZS 4219:2009). This study sought to examine the NZ 4219:2009 and compliance in New Zealand’s construction industry, towards improving the performance of NSEs during earthquakes.Using a face-to-face interview enquiry technique, findings from this study revealed that although majority of the participants consider the NZS 4219:2009 to be very important in improving the performance of NSEs during earthquakes, some shortcomings were also identified: (i) non-compliance with the NZ 4219:2009 by construction professionals; (ii) exclusion of guidelines for specific NSEs from the scope of the NZS 4219:2009; (iii) poor ease of use of the NZS 4219:2009 and other relevant excluded NSE guidelines; and (iv) lack of clarity in the NZS 4219:2009 regarding attribution of ultimate design responsibility for NSE seismic coordination. As a recommendation, the establishment of a robust, simple-to-use seismic specification document that will provide one-stop specifications for the design and installation of NSEs could be a possible solution to promoting strong compliance practices within the New Zealand construction industry, towards achieving improved performance of NSEs during earthquakes.

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Experience, riding practices and training methods of Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI: 80-160 km) level endurance horse rider-owner-trainers in New Zealand

Comparative Exercise Physiology ◽

10.3920/cep180059 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 15 (2) ◽

pp. 137-145 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

H.J. Webb ◽

J.F. Weston ◽

E.J. Norman ◽

N.D. Cogger ◽

C.W. Rogers

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Support Services ◽

Time Trial ◽

Poor Performance ◽

Descriptive Statistics ◽

Training Methods ◽

Improve Performance ◽

Face To Face ◽

Fitness Training ◽

And Training

Riders and training have been implicated as contributing to poor performance and adverse horse welfare outcomes in endurance competitions (‘rides’). This study described the experience, riding practices and training methods of a cohort of 21 Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI: 80-160 km) level endurance rider-owner-trainers in New Zealand. Data were collected via face-to-face survey and descriptive statistics calculated. Respondents had a median 13 (interquartile range [IQR] 9-15) years’ experience in domestic competition and 7 (IQR 4-10) years in FEI competition. Respondents were mostly amateur (67%, 14/21), >40 years of age (86%, 18/21), female (76%, 16/21), riders (95%, 20/21), owners (91%, 19/21) and trainers (95%, 20/21) with ≤2 FEI level horses (53%, 11/21). Over half (62%, 13/21) intended to prepare horses for a 160 km competition over a 26-41 week season. Respondents reported using additional fitness training (86%, 18/21) and athlete support services such as chiropractic (29%, 6/21), massage (29%, 6/21) or physiotherapy (19%, 4/21) so they could ride better. Most (86%, 18/21) respondents reported they employed schooling using equitation techniques to develop riding skills and supple, sound, rideable horses. Ridden aerobic distance training was complemented with a median 6 (IQR 5-8) other training methods for convenience, enabling amateur respondents to schedule training around employment. Furthermore, respondents intended to use a series of 40-80 km rides for training purposes for most (94%, 34/36) horses instead of time-trial type training sessions reported in other countries. This cohort of experienced amateur semi-elite to competitive elite rider-owner-trainers in New Zealand appear to self-coach, taking responsibility for the development of their horses, and working pro-actively to improve aspects of their riding practices and training that might improve performance. These findings can inform further exploration of how rider characteristics inform and influence training and competition practice and outcomes.

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Assessment of Electronic Procurement Practices on Project Delivery, Case Study of Selected Construction Companies in Oyo State

International Journal of Scientific Research in Science Engineering and Technology ◽

10.32628/ijsrset21841115 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 257-266

Keyword(s):

Construction Industry ◽

Information Exchange ◽

Ease Of Use ◽

Project Delivery ◽

Development Programs ◽

Construction Firms ◽

Construction Companies ◽

Electronic Procurement ◽

Ict Infrastructure ◽

E Mail

This study investigated the use of e-Procurement in selected construction firms in Oyo state, Nigeria. The data were derived using a well-structured questionnaire survey involving 104 respondents. Descriptive statistical and correlation analyses were used to analyze the data. Findings show that the use of electronic procurement in the selected construction firms for carrying out procurement function is high with majority of the professionals affirming the use of the system, the four categories of e-Procurement used were e-mail, static websites, web.2.0 technologies and portals that have capabilities of supporting the execution of functions limited to intra and inter firm communication and exchange of project information and data. Consequently, between 84 percent and 76 percent of the respondents used these e-Procurement technologies for communication of information, exchange of bill of quantities, project reports, CAD drawings and project specifications. Consequently, factors with the highest positive impacts on the use of these technologies in the firms were the speed of transactions, lower transaction cost and ease of use. The study implies that the selected construction firms in Oyo state Nigeria predominantly use e-mails and websites to support the execution of pre-award phase of construction procurement. Finding also shows that there is positive relationship between e-Procurement (e-Notifying, e-Exchange, and e-Submission of bid) and Project delivery. The study suggests that to accelerate the rate of uptake of e-Procurement and maximize its benefits in the Nigerian construction industry, there is a need to improve the quality and quantity of ICT infrastructure across the country; and to embark on aggressive enlightenment campaigns, training and skill development programs in the use of e-Procurement in the construction industry in this country.

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Prescription in Locker Box (PILBOX): Remodeling of the Medication Collection Process (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.23266 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Lim Jit Fan Christina ◽

Goh Boon Kwang ◽

Chee Wing Ling Vivian ◽

Tang Woh Peng ◽

Goh Qiuling Bandy

Keyword(s):

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Ease Of Use ◽

Prescription Medications ◽

Pharmacy Staff ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Team Members ◽

Face To Face ◽

Ranking Score ◽

Study Team ◽

Willingness To Use

BACKGROUND Traditionally, patients wishing to obtain their prescription medications have had to present themselves physically at pharmacy counters and collect their medications via face-to-face interactions with pharmacy staff. Prescription in Locker Box (PILBOX) is a new innovation which allows patients and their caregivers to collect their medication asynchronously, 24/7 at their convenience, from medication lockers instead of from pharmacy staff and at any time convenient to them instead of being restricted to pharmacy operating hours. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to determine the willingness by patients/caregivers to use this new innovation and factors that affect their willingness. METHODS This prospective cross-sectional study was conducted over 2 months at 2 public primary healthcare centres in Singapore. Patients or caregivers who were at least 21 yo and turned up at the pharmacies to collect medications were administered a self-developed 3-part questionnaire face-to-face by trained study team members, if they gave their consent to participate in the study. RESULTS A total of 222 participants completed the study. About 40% of them participants were willing to use the PILBOX to collect their medications. Amongst the participants who were keen to use the PILBOX service, slightly more than half (i.e. 52.8%) of them were willing to pay for the PILBOX service. The participants felt that the ease of use (3.46±1.21 i.e. mean of ranking score ± standard deviation) of the PILBOX was the most important factor that would affect their willingness to use the medication pick up service. This was followed by “waiting time” (3.37±1.33), cost of using the medication pick up service (2.96±1.44) and 24/7 accessibility (2.62±1.35). This study also found that age (p=0.006), language literacy (p=0.000), education level (p=0.000), working status (p=0.011) and personal monthly income (p=0.009) were factors that affected the willingness of the patients or caregivers to use the PILBOX. CONCLUSIONS Patients and caregivers are keen to use PILBOX to collect their medications for its convenience and the opportunity to save time, if it is easy to use and not costly.

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The Importance of Role-Specific Performance and Sociopolitical Factors for Chief Financial Officer Employment Outcomes

Accounting Horizons ◽

10.2308/acch-52251 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 33 (1) ◽

pp. 61-81 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Ellen Engel ◽

Feng Gao ◽

Xue Wang

Keyword(s):

Performance Measures ◽

Financial Reporting ◽

Significant Role ◽

Economic Performance ◽

Career Paths ◽

Poor Performance ◽

Regulatory Compliance ◽

Chief Financial Officer ◽

Direct Influence ◽

Specific Performance

SYNOPSIS This paper investigates the importance of role-specific performance measures and sociopolitical factors in the career paths of CFOs. We find that forced CFO turnover is associated with poor performance in functions over which they have more direct influence, including financial reporting, financing, and regulatory compliance. We also find that CFOs are less likely to be dismissed when they have greater connectedness with the CEO and have stronger influence within the firm. Interestingly, sociopolitical factors are linked with promotion outcomes, but economic performance does not appear to play a significant role. The collective evidence indicates that both economic and sociopolitical factors have an important role in influencing CFO career paths.

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Zero Carbon Building Practices in Aotearoa New Zealand

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14154455 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (15) ◽

pp. 4455

Author(s):

Thao Thi Phuong Bui ◽

Suzanne Wilkinson ◽

Niluka Domingo ◽

Casimir MacGregor

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

New Zealand ◽

Construction Industry ◽

Local Governments ◽

Early Stage ◽

Policy Implications ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Building Projects ◽

Aotearoa New Zealand ◽

Zero Carbon

In the light of climate change, the drive for zero carbon buildings is known as one response to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Within New Zealand, research on climate change mitigation and environmental impacts of buildings has received renewed attention. However, there has been no detailed investigation of zero carbon building practices. This paper undertakes an exploratory study through the use of semi-structured interviews with government representatives and construction industry experts to examine how the New Zealand construction industry plans and implements zero carbon buildings. The results show that New Zealand’s construction industry is in the early stage of transiting to a net-zero carbon built environment. Key actions to date are focused on devising a way for the industry to develop and deliver zero carbon building projects. Central and local governments play a leading role in driving zero carbon initiatives. Leading construction firms intend to maximise the carbon reduction in building projects by developing a roadmap to achieve the carbon target by 2050 and rethinking the way of designing and constructing buildings. The research results provide an insight into the initial practices and policy implications for the uptake of zero carbon buildings in Aotearoa New Zealand.

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The Impact of Culture on the Indian Construction Industry

Journal for the Advancement of Performance Information and Value ◽

10.37265/japiv.v5i2.80 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 153

Author(s):

Syed Nihas ◽

Kristen Barlish ◽

Jacob Kashiwagi ◽

Dean Kashiwagi

Keyword(s):

Construction Industry ◽

Poor Performance ◽

Industry Structure ◽

Cultural Issues ◽

Major Research ◽

Indian Culture ◽

Cost Overruns ◽

Deductive Logic ◽

Potential Impact ◽

The Impact

The Indian construction industry has been characterized by poor performance. This paper analyzes the potential impact of the Indian culture on the poor performance. If the culture is a major cause in the construction industry subpar performance, can the cultural influence be overridden to minimize construction project delays and cost overruns. The authors propose to identify the unique cultural issues, identify using the Construction Industry Structure (CIS) model the impact of the cultural issues on the construction industry, and identify a potential solution to the problem. The paper proposes to test the solution in actual tests with industry participants. What makes this research unique is the approach of using deductive logic to create a simple solution, and then convincing a major research client to test the proposal.

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Teaching Midwifery Face-to-Face or Via the Screen: The Impact of Flexible Delivery of Teaching on Student Engagement

10.26686/wgtn.17003221 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Tania Dawn Milne

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Student Engagement ◽

Video Conferencing ◽

Face To Face ◽

New Curriculum ◽

On Line ◽

Flexible Delivery ◽

Institute Of Technology ◽

Quality Learning ◽

The Impact

<p>The aim of this research was to describe how undergraduate midwifery students’ engagement with learning is impacted when they have teaching delivered by different methods of instruction. It asks the question: does flexible delivery of teaching impact on their ability to engage in their learning? This research describes the impact of different modes of flexible delivery of teaching within a new curriculum on students in a pre-registration midwifery undergraduate programme at Waikato Institute of Technology (Wintec), New Zealand. This new curriculum commenced in 2010 as a response to legislative and industry driven changes to midwifery education in New Zealand. The research used an on-line survey to ask students enrolled in years one and two of the programme and those who had exited the programme during the same timeframe, A range of questions about their learning experiences. Surveys were sent to 104 enrolled students and 15 students that had exited the BMid programme. Fifty two (50%) responses were received from the enrolled students and three (20%) from those that had exited the programme. There were three key findings of this research. Firstly the participants identified differences with their sense of belonging amongst their peers, tutors and the administration team outside of their regional learning hubs. The second key and unsurprising finding was that respondents across the board preferred face-to-face sessions to video conferencing sessions and thirdly that the demographic profile of the respondents from the regional learning hubs was different to those attending from the Hamilton city hub. The implications of these key findings are; · For tertiary institutions to acknowledge and consider the links between high quality learning, student engagement and outcomes. · To support the need for continuing training and education for both faculty and students with regards to flexible delivery of teaching and to provide professional development and relevant technology to support more interactive forms of learning if delivered via video conferencing or by online activities. · To further research the needs of Māori students and those who have exited the programme in order to discover what would need to change in order for them to continue with their studies.</p>

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Negotiating Gender and Police Culture: Exploring the Barriers to Retention and Progression of Female Police Officers in New Zealand

10.26686/wgtn.17005618.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Shannon M. Chan

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Predominantly White ◽

Police Officers ◽

Working Environment ◽

Police Culture ◽

Women Officers ◽

Face To Face ◽

New Rhetoric ◽

Women's Narratives ◽

Female Police Officers

<p>Women officers represent a minority within the New Zealand Police (Police) particularly within the senior ranks. In recent years, Police have made concerted efforts to increase women’s representation as well as improve the working environment. However, recent reviews of the 2007 Commission of Inquiry into Police Conduct have reported that women continue to face barriers to full integration and furthermore, that the changes to the police culture have reached a plateau. New Zealand and international research have established that police culture continues to pose a barrier to women’s full acceptance within policing. This culture is characterised by predominantly white, heterosexual males, who form what has been described as a “cult of masculinity”. Therefore, women find they must adopt the culture in order to “fit in” and be accepted as “one of the boys”. Adopting a qualitative framework, this research involved semi-structured face-to-face interviews with sworn female police officers. Exploring female police officers’ experiences identified five pertinent barriers to women’s retention and progression. These were the emphasis on physical skills and excitement, the police camaraderie and the cult of masculinity, sexual harassment within the workplace, women’s minority status, and balancing motherhood with policing. It was found that the persistence of these barriers came back to core features of police culture. Due to the strong allegiance to the positive aspects of the police culture, such as the camaraderie, negative features such as sexual banter and harassment were subsumed within the wider culture. Negative features were tolerated and accepted as part and parcel of working in the Police. Women’s narratives demonstrated that they adhered to core police culture features and thus contributed to the sustenance of the culture. Furthermore, how women articulated their experiences and perceptions of barriers was complex and nuanced. Many held the belief that there were no longer any barriers for women in the Police, yet such positive views were in contradiction with their own experiences. The tension between “perceptions” and “reality” creates a situation where the Police currently sit at a crossroads between the “old” culture and the new rhetoric of “change”.</p>

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An Australian and New Zealand scoping study on the use of 3D immersive virtual worlds in higher education

Australasian Journal of Educational Technology ◽

10.14742/ajet.978 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 27 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Barney Dalgarno ◽

Mark J.W. Lee ◽

Lauren Carlson ◽

Sue Gregory ◽

Belinda Tynan

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

New Zealand ◽

Virtual Worlds ◽

Academic Disciplines ◽

Teaching Staff ◽

Scoping Study ◽

Face To Face ◽

International Trends ◽

Online Distance ◽

Insight Into

<blockquote>This article describes the research design of, and reports selected findings from, a scoping study aimed at examining current and planned applications of 3D immersive virtual worlds at higher education institutions across Australia and New Zealand. The scoping study is the first of its kind in the region, intended to parallel and complement a number of studies conducted in other parts of the world. Results from a sector-wide questionnaire administered as part of the scoping study, portions of which are presented in this article, appear consistent with international trends, especially in terms of the platforms chosen and the dramatic increase in usage seen in recent years. Higher education teaching staff in Australia and New Zealand are using 3D immersive virtual worlds with their students in a variety of ways, for both assessable and non-assessable tasks and in face to face, fully online/distance as well as blended-mode subjects, although use in face to face and blended contexts appears to be most common. The results also provide some insight into the demographics (e.g. age) of staff who have adopted 3D immersive virtual worlds in their teaching, as well as into the academic disciplines in which the technology is being employed.</blockquote>

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Avaliação de um Ambiente Virtual de Aprendizagem de Imunologia

EAD em FOCO ◽

10.18264/eadf.v6i2.381 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Adriano Theodoro ◽

Gerlinde Agate Platais Brasil Teixeira ◽

Claudia Marcia Borges Barreto

Keyword(s):

Learning Environment ◽

Undergraduate Students ◽

Learning Experience ◽

Virtual Learning ◽

Virtual Learning Environment ◽

Ease Of Use ◽

Classroom Teaching ◽

First Year ◽

Face To Face ◽

Teaching Concept

Descrevemos o processo de criação colaborativa de um ambiente virtual de aprendizagem (AVA) de acordo com os princípios das metodologias ativas de ensino e a sua avaliação. O ambiente virtual foi usado no apoio ao ensino presencial. Participaram dessa experiência híbrida de aprendizagem estudantes da disciplina Imunobiologia, oferecida no primeiro ano de um curso tradicional de graduação em Medicina. Ao término da disciplina, foi aplicado um questionário para avaliar a facilidade de uso e a percepção dos estudantes sobre a qualidade do aprendizado adquirido. A maioria dos estudantes que avaliaram a intervenção pedagógica afirmou que o ambiente foi fácil de usar, atendeu às expectativas de apoio ao ensino presencial e as atividades didáticas foram importantes para o aprendizado de habilidades como reflexão, pesquisa e discussão. Portanto, o ambiente virtual desenvolvido foi bem-sucedido e bem-aceito pelos estudantes.Palavras-chave: Educação a distância, Moodle; Ensino de Imunologia, Mapa conceitual.? Evaluation of a Virtual Learning Environment of ImmunologyAbstractWe herein describe the process of collaborative creation and evaluation of a Virtual Learning Environment of Immunology according to the principles of active learning. The Web-based platform was used in support of face to face classroom teaching. First year Medicine undergraduate students attending Immunobiology? course participated in this blended learning experience. At the end of the course, a questionnaire was applied to evaluate the ease of use and the students' perception of the quality of the acquired learning. Most students assessed the educational intervention said that the environment was easy to use, supports the classroom teaching and the educational activities were important for learning skills such as reflection, research and discussion. Therefore, the developed virtual environment was successful and well accepted by the students. Keywords: Distance learning, Moodle, Immunology teaching, Concept map.

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