title: Editorial: Work Family & Gender

authors: Haar, Jarrod M.

subjects: work family

abstract: Welcome to the third issue in our set of Special Editions of the New Zealand Journal of Human Resource Management (NZJHRM). As mentioned previously (Issues 1 and 2), the current set of Special Issue’s seeks to promote emerging research and researchers from New Zealand and Australasia undertaking research of interest to Human Resource Management professionals, academics, and researchers. As with the two previous issues, a number of these papers were presented at the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management (ANZAM) Conference in Auckland 2008. Let me reiterate my thanks to those reviewers for their initial work with the conference. This Special Issue focuses on work-family and gender, and I have combined these due to their complimentary nature, rather than suggesting they are inexorably linked together. As a work-family researcher myself, I believe work-family issues are important and relevant to all employees, not just females. However, I combined papers into this stream because clearly there are issues and theoretical underpinnings that make these streams of HRM research sufficiently close to relate.

text: Editorial: Work Family & Gender Welcome to the third issue in our set of Special Editions of the New Zealand Journal of Human Resource Management (NZJHRM). As mentioned previously (Issues 1 and 2), the current set of Special Issue’s seeks to promote emerging research and researchers from New Zealand and Australasia undertaking research of interest to Human Resource Management professionals, academics, and researchers. As with the two previous issues, a number of these papers were presented at the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management (ANZAM) Conference in Auckland 2008. Let me reiterate my thanks to those reviewers for their initial work with the conference. This Special Issue focuses on work-family and gender, and I have combined these due to their complimentary nature, rather than suggesting they are inexorably linked together. As a work-family researcher myself, I believe work-family issues are important and relevant to all employees, not just females. However, I combined papers into this stream because clearly there are issues and theoretical underpinnings that make these streams of HRM research sufficiently close to relate.

year: 2009

title: Investigation into strain propagation to determine preserve regions for compliant mechanisms

authors: Venter, Christoff

subjects: compliant mechanisms

abstract: This thesis aims to improve the theoretical modelling of compliant mechanisms. The
conclusions drawn from this work will help designers understand sources of error associated
with strain propagation when designing with lumped compliance. Compliant mechanisms
have increased in popularity as they allow for designs that feature lower part counts,
increased precision and reduced manufacturing costs. Although using theoretical models
to design compliant mechanisms is a useful tool, there is an assumption that only the
nodes in a compliant mechanism undergo strain. This is not the case. There is strain
occurring outside of the node in a region called the preserve region. The preserve region’s
impact on the theory is greatly under-explored in the literature.
The preserve region’s size, shape, and impact were found and quantified for a range
of critical node types. This was done through the use of FEA software by altering the
model of a simple, compliant mechanism. The size of the preserve region changed based
on the thickness and the fillet used, with an increase of thickness from 4mm to 8mm,
causing the radius of the arc that encompasses the preserve region to grow from 8.5mm to
13mm. The shape was also found to be an ellipse, irrespective of the node’s geometry. The
preserve region’s impact on the theoretical models was also quantified. It was found that
the thickness has the most drastic effect on the compliance values of the node, increasing
the error from 20.53% to 102.18% when the thickness was increased from 4mm to 8mm.
This work shows the importance of considering the preserve region when creating
theoretical models of compliant mechanisms. When properly considered, this research
shows that the error between the theoretical and the FEA values can be greatly reduced.

text: Investigation into strain propagation to determine preserve regions for compliant mechanisms This thesis aims to improve the theoretical modelling of compliant mechanisms. The
conclusions drawn from this work will help designers understand sources of error associated
with strain propagation when designing with lumped compliance. Compliant mechanisms
have increased in popularity as they allow for designs that feature lower part counts,
increased precision and reduced manufacturing costs. Although using theoretical models
to design compliant mechanisms is a useful tool, there is an assumption that only the
nodes in a compliant mechanism undergo strain. This is not the case. There is strain
occurring outside of the node in a region called the preserve region. The preserve region’s
impact on the theory is greatly under-explored in the literature.
The preserve region’s size, shape, and impact were found and quantified for a range
of critical node types. This was done through the use of FEA software by altering the
model of a simple, compliant mechanism. The size of the preserve region changed based
on the thickness and the fillet used, with an increase of thickness from 4mm to 8mm,
causing the radius of the arc that encompasses the preserve region to grow from 8.5mm to
13mm. The shape was also found to be an ellipse, irrespective of the node’s geometry. The
preserve region’s impact on the theoretical models was also quantified. It was found that
the thickness has the most drastic effect on the compliance values of the node, increasing
the error from 20.53% to 102.18% when the thickness was increased from 4mm to 8mm.
This work shows the importance of considering the preserve region when creating
theoretical models of compliant mechanisms. When properly considered, this research
shows that the error between the theoretical and the FEA values can be greatly reduced.

year: 2024

title: The Te Kotahitanga observation tool: Development, use, reliability and validity

authors: Berryman, Mere

subjects: School reform

abstract: Te Kotahitanga is a New Zealand school reform project aimed at improving the pedagogical contexts in mainstream classrooms in which the indigenous Māori students have traditionally been marginalised. It does this by assisting teachers to implement an Effective Teaching Profile. Part of this process uses an observation tool to monitor the degree to which participating teachers are incorporating the interactions and relationships described in the Effective Teaching Profile into their day-to-day teaching. Given the central importance of these tasks, the Te Kotahitanga team undertook to test the observation tool for measurement reliability and validity. In order to undertake this study, the team conducted synchronous observations amongst trainers (the Professional Development Coordinator and Regional Coordinators) to ascertain their level of consistency when using the tool. The team then conducted synchronous observations between trainers and 38 in-school facilitators in the 12 schools involved in Phase 3 of the project. In total 41 teachers were observed and over 200 Māori students were involved in these observations. This study suggests that the tool can produce consistent and reliable results when observers have been effectively trained.

text: The Te Kotahitanga observation tool: Development, use, reliability and validity Te Kotahitanga is a New Zealand school reform project aimed at improving the pedagogical contexts in mainstream classrooms in which the indigenous Māori students have traditionally been marginalised. It does this by assisting teachers to implement an Effective Teaching Profile. Part of this process uses an observation tool to monitor the degree to which participating teachers are incorporating the interactions and relationships described in the Effective Teaching Profile into their day-to-day teaching. Given the central importance of these tasks, the Te Kotahitanga team undertook to test the observation tool for measurement reliability and validity. In order to undertake this study, the team conducted synchronous observations amongst trainers (the Professional Development Coordinator and Regional Coordinators) to ascertain their level of consistency when using the tool. The team then conducted synchronous observations between trainers and 38 in-school facilitators in the 12 schools involved in Phase 3 of the project. In total 41 teachers were observed and over 200 Māori students were involved in these observations. This study suggests that the tool can produce consistent and reliable results when observers have been effectively trained.

year: 2015