title: Parents’ and caregivers’ perceptions of the school climate: development and validation of the Parent and Caregiver Survey (PaCS)

authors: Aldridge, Jill M.

abstract: School climates are known to be associated with a range of student outcomes (including academic, social, behavioural and affective), and much work to date has focused on gathering students’ perceptions of their school climate to inform ongoing improvement efforts. However, parents and caregivers, as well as students, are also influenced by the psychosocial school climate. Although less attention has been given to capturing parents’ and caregivers’ perceptions, the way parents and caregivers feel about a school can affect their children’s attitudes towards the school as well as the parents’ and caregivers’ engagement with the school. Therefore, the perceptions of parents and caregivers with respect to the school climate offer critical information about both strengths and areas for improvement in terms of ensuring that schools are places that foster students’ wellbeing and achievement. In this article, we report the development and validation of the Parent and Caregiver Survey (PaCS) for gathering parents’ and caregivers’ perceptions of the socioemotional school climate. The PaCS is underpinned by strength-based and culturally-responsive perspectives on parent and caregiver engagement, as well as a socioecological perspective of child and adolescent development. Responses to the PaCS from 1276 parents and caregivers at 23 Australian schools confirmed the validity and reliability of the instrument. Given its theoretical underpinnings and successful validation, the PaCS could be useful for researchers and practitioners seeking to support parent engagement and school improvement.

text: Parents’ and caregivers’ perceptions of the school climate: development and validation of the Parent and Caregiver Survey (PaCS) School climates are known to be associated with a range of student outcomes (including academic, social, behavioural and affective), and much work to date has focused on gathering students’ perceptions of their school climate to inform ongoing improvement efforts. However, parents and caregivers, as well as students, are also influenced by the psychosocial school climate. Although less attention has been given to capturing parents’ and caregivers’ perceptions, the way parents and caregivers feel about a school can affect their children’s attitudes towards the school as well as the parents’ and caregivers’ engagement with the school. Therefore, the perceptions of parents and caregivers with respect to the school climate offer critical information about both strengths and areas for improvement in terms of ensuring that schools are places that foster students’ wellbeing and achievement. In this article, we report the development and validation of the Parent and Caregiver Survey (PaCS) for gathering parents’ and caregivers’ perceptions of the socioemotional school climate. The PaCS is underpinned by strength-based and culturally-responsive perspectives on parent and caregiver engagement, as well as a socioecological perspective of child and adolescent development. Responses to the PaCS from 1276 parents and caregivers at 23 Australian schools confirmed the validity and reliability of the instrument. Given its theoretical underpinnings and successful validation, the PaCS could be useful for researchers and practitioners seeking to support parent engagement and school improvement.

year: 2020

title: Challenges in cross-cultural/multilingual music information seeking

authors: Lee, Jin Ha

subjects: user behaviors

abstract: Understanding and meeting the needs of a broad range of music users across different cultures and languages are central in designing a global music digital library. This exploratory study examines cross-cultural/multilingual music information seeking behaviors and reveals
some important characteristics of these behaviors by analyzing 107 authentic music information queries from a Korean knowledge search portal Naver (knowledge) iN and 150 queries from Google Answers website. We conclude that new sets of access points must be developed to accommodate music queries that cross cultural or language boundaries.

text: Challenges in cross-cultural/multilingual music information seeking Understanding and meeting the needs of a broad range of music users across different cultures and languages are central in designing a global music digital library. This exploratory study examines cross-cultural/multilingual music information seeking behaviors and reveals
some important characteristics of these behaviors by analyzing 107 authentic music information queries from a Korean knowledge search portal Naver (knowledge) iN and 150 queries from Google Answers website. We conclude that new sets of access points must be developed to accommodate music queries that cross cultural or language boundaries.

year: 2005-09-01

title: The use of functionalised biochar to enhance phosphorus removal in woodchip bioreactors. The integration of mātauranga Māori to enhance the cultural aspects of woodchip bioreactors.

authors: Taoho, Brandon

subjects: Woodchip bioreactor

abstract: Nutrient pollution, resulting from excessive releases of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) into waterways, poses a significant threat to aquatic ecosystems worldwide. Elevated nutrient levels can result in eutrophication, which can have detrimental effects on the health of waterbodies and their biota. Woodchip bioreactors are effective, edge-of-field technologies that can help mitigate nutrient pollution by lowering nutrient concentrations in agricultural drainage systems known to carry leached N and P into waterways. However, one limitation to their design is their ineffectiveness at removing P. The inclusion of functionalised biochar is one potential solution to enhance P removal in woodchip bioreactors. There is a growing need to mitigate nutrient pollution in New Zealand that does not depend on a western-centric perspective only. Integration of mātauranga Māori and western science into the design and operations of a woodchip bioreactor is one approach to incorporate both knowledge systems to the goal of mitigating nutrient pollution. In this dissertation, a column experiment was used to compare the P removal efficiencies of two treatments of functionalised biochar, and one treatment of woodchips when subjected to stream water spiked with P. Subsequently, a single phosphate extraction was done to determine the phosphate absorption capacities of each treatment. The results showed that the two functionalised biochar treatments had the highest efficacy in reducing P concentrations in the P-spiked stream water compared to the woodchip-only treatment. Both treatments also showed higher P absorption, evidenced from the Fe-P/Feox ratio, within the phosphate extraction experiment. A wānanga was organised at Matahuru Marae, Lake Waikare, to share mātauranga Māori on how to culturally enhance woodchip bioreactors from a Te Ao Māori perspective. Participants recommended that native woodchips be incorporated into woodchip bioreactors because of their inherent association to the land and people. Overall, the results implied that functionalised biochar is an effective solution to enhance P removal in woodchip bioreactors due to their biophysical properties to absorb and retain P. Secondly, incorporating native woodchips into woodchip bioreactors systems potentially offers a sustainable and culturally respected alternative to conventional wood chips, aligning with Māori values and tikanga

text: The use of functionalised biochar to enhance phosphorus removal in woodchip bioreactors. The integration of mātauranga Māori to enhance the cultural aspects of woodchip bioreactors. Nutrient pollution, resulting from excessive releases of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) into waterways, poses a significant threat to aquatic ecosystems worldwide. Elevated nutrient levels can result in eutrophication, which can have detrimental effects on the health of waterbodies and their biota. Woodchip bioreactors are effective, edge-of-field technologies that can help mitigate nutrient pollution by lowering nutrient concentrations in agricultural drainage systems known to carry leached N and P into waterways. However, one limitation to their design is their ineffectiveness at removing P. The inclusion of functionalised biochar is one potential solution to enhance P removal in woodchip bioreactors. There is a growing need to mitigate nutrient pollution in New Zealand that does not depend on a western-centric perspective only. Integration of mātauranga Māori and western science into the design and operations of a woodchip bioreactor is one approach to incorporate both knowledge systems to the goal of mitigating nutrient pollution. In this dissertation, a column experiment was used to compare the P removal efficiencies of two treatments of functionalised biochar, and one treatment of woodchips when subjected to stream water spiked with P. Subsequently, a single phosphate extraction was done to determine the phosphate absorption capacities of each treatment. The results showed that the two functionalised biochar treatments had the highest efficacy in reducing P concentrations in the P-spiked stream water compared to the woodchip-only treatment. Both treatments also showed higher P absorption, evidenced from the Fe-P/Feox ratio, within the phosphate extraction experiment. A wānanga was organised at Matahuru Marae, Lake Waikare, to share mātauranga Māori on how to culturally enhance woodchip bioreactors from a Te Ao Māori perspective. Participants recommended that native woodchips be incorporated into woodchip bioreactors because of their inherent association to the land and people. Overall, the results implied that functionalised biochar is an effective solution to enhance P removal in woodchip bioreactors due to their biophysical properties to absorb and retain P. Secondly, incorporating native woodchips into woodchip bioreactors systems potentially offers a sustainable and culturally respected alternative to conventional wood chips, aligning with Māori values and tikanga

year: 2023