title: The structure of a New Zealand community: An essay in the sociology of place

authors: Oppenheim, Roger Stanley

abstract: The study is concerned with the development of a sociology of place arising from observations made in 1969 - 71 in a small town (pop. 1759) in the Auckland region. The ecological approach used by Roger G. Barker and his associates (see for example, Barker, R.G., 1968, Ecological Psychology, Stanford) is used as the starting point for a sociological analysis of the ways in which meaning is embodied in the physical environment and the ways in which these meanings affect social life. 

Part I of the thesis, Preliminary Considerations, deals in three chapters with the problems of a phenomenological analysis of the community. Barker’s approach is critically reviewed and the main analytical concepts, “place” and “milieux” (its concrete isolates) are examined. 

In Part II, Place as a Social Fact, the discussion proceeds by applying and refining the ideas developed in Part I, with particular relationship to the analysis of the Harbourtown milieu inventory. The problems of milieu analysis including those of ecological relationship, of time, and of symbolism are examined in detail. 

Part III returns to a more theoretical consideration and sets out the main structure, problems and applications of the sociology of place. Community is seen as an intersection of time, place and social structure, and this triangle is transposed to deal with other problems. The application of the principles of the sociology of place to problems of planning is discussed. In the final chapter the problem of the relationship between place and community is reformulated as one of aesthetics; it is concluded that community is not compassed in an understanding of its functional or moral aspects out is the object of feeling as an ideal cultural form.

text: The structure of a New Zealand community: An essay in the sociology of place The study is concerned with the development of a sociology of place arising from observations made in 1969 - 71 in a small town (pop. 1759) in the Auckland region. The ecological approach used by Roger G. Barker and his associates (see for example, Barker, R.G., 1968, Ecological Psychology, Stanford) is used as the starting point for a sociological analysis of the ways in which meaning is embodied in the physical environment and the ways in which these meanings affect social life. 

Part I of the thesis, Preliminary Considerations, deals in three chapters with the problems of a phenomenological analysis of the community. Barker’s approach is critically reviewed and the main analytical concepts, “place” and “milieux” (its concrete isolates) are examined. 

In Part II, Place as a Social Fact, the discussion proceeds by applying and refining the ideas developed in Part I, with particular relationship to the analysis of the Harbourtown milieu inventory. The problems of milieu analysis including those of ecological relationship, of time, and of symbolism are examined in detail. 

Part III returns to a more theoretical consideration and sets out the main structure, problems and applications of the sociology of place. Community is seen as an intersection of time, place and social structure, and this triangle is transposed to deal with other problems. The application of the principles of the sociology of place to problems of planning is discussed. In the final chapter the problem of the relationship between place and community is reformulated as one of aesthetics; it is concluded that community is not compassed in an understanding of its functional or moral aspects out is the object of feeling as an ideal cultural form.

year: 1976

title: Matching-to-sample and stimulus-pairing-observation procedures in stimulus equivalence: The effects of number of trials and stimulus arrangement

authors: Kinloch, Jennifer May

subjects: stimulus equivalence

abstract: Studies comparing the effectiveness of the stimulus-pairing-observation and matching-to-sample procedures in facilitating equivalence relations have reported conflicting findings. This study compared the effectiveness of these procedures and examined the effect of stimulus arrangement and the number of training trials completed prior to each exposure to tests for symmetry and equivalence. Overall, the matching-to-sample procedure resulted in a greater percentage of participants demonstrating equivalence, and with fewer training trials, than did the stimulus-pairing-observation procedure. The one-to-many stimulus arrangement was more effective than the many-to-one and linear arrangements, overall. However, there was an interaction between the type of training procedure and stimulus arrangement. Participants who completed 120 training trials prior to each test were more likely to demonstrate equivalence than participants who completed 60 trials. This appeared to be the result of completing a greater number of trials prior to each test rather than of the number of training trials completed overall.

text: Matching-to-sample and stimulus-pairing-observation procedures in stimulus equivalence: The effects of number of trials and stimulus arrangement Studies comparing the effectiveness of the stimulus-pairing-observation and matching-to-sample procedures in facilitating equivalence relations have reported conflicting findings. This study compared the effectiveness of these procedures and examined the effect of stimulus arrangement and the number of training trials completed prior to each exposure to tests for symmetry and equivalence. Overall, the matching-to-sample procedure resulted in a greater percentage of participants demonstrating equivalence, and with fewer training trials, than did the stimulus-pairing-observation procedure. The one-to-many stimulus arrangement was more effective than the many-to-one and linear arrangements, overall. However, there was an interaction between the type of training procedure and stimulus arrangement. Participants who completed 120 training trials prior to each test were more likely to demonstrate equivalence than participants who completed 60 trials. This appeared to be the result of completing a greater number of trials prior to each test rather than of the number of training trials completed overall.

year: 2013

title: The centrality of relationships for pedagogy: The Whanaungatanga Thesis

authors: Bishop, Russell

subjects: addressing educational disparities

abstract: Te Kotahitanga is a research and professional development project that seeks to reduce educational disparities between indigenous Māori students and their non-Māori peers in New Zealand secondary schools. While evidence of the impact of the project on teachers’ practice and the associated gains made by Māori students has been published previously, in order for the work of Te Kotahitanga to contribute to the broader educational research community, its pedagogical premises require empirical verification. To do so, we must first establish the validity of the pedagogical data by addressing two questions: (a) To what degree can the data gathered in the collaborative processes of Te Kotahitanga be used as a measure of pedagogical quality? and (b) Do these data support the foundational hypothesis of the project, that “extended family” relationships, as understood by Māori people when using the Māori term, whanaungatanga, are a central necessary component of overall pedagogical quality? This article provides an account of the context of this work then presents an analysis directed to these questions in turn. First, our analysis of the observational data gathered during the Te Kotahitanga professional development process is presented, followed by the measures that were developed for each of the main dimensions of pedagogy addressed in this work. Second, using these measures we present our analysis of the inter-relation among these dimensions of pedagogy to test the Whanaungatanga pedagogical thesis.

text: The centrality of relationships for pedagogy: The Whanaungatanga Thesis Te Kotahitanga is a research and professional development project that seeks to reduce educational disparities between indigenous Māori students and their non-Māori peers in New Zealand secondary schools. While evidence of the impact of the project on teachers’ practice and the associated gains made by Māori students has been published previously, in order for the work of Te Kotahitanga to contribute to the broader educational research community, its pedagogical premises require empirical verification. To do so, we must first establish the validity of the pedagogical data by addressing two questions: (a) To what degree can the data gathered in the collaborative processes of Te Kotahitanga be used as a measure of pedagogical quality? and (b) Do these data support the foundational hypothesis of the project, that “extended family” relationships, as understood by Māori people when using the Māori term, whanaungatanga, are a central necessary component of overall pedagogical quality? This article provides an account of the context of this work then presents an analysis directed to these questions in turn. First, our analysis of the observational data gathered during the Te Kotahitanga professional development process is presented, followed by the measures that were developed for each of the main dimensions of pedagogy addressed in this work. Second, using these measures we present our analysis of the inter-relation among these dimensions of pedagogy to test the Whanaungatanga pedagogical thesis.

year: 2013