title: William Godwin’s religious sense

authors: Weston, Rowland

subjects: Godwin

abstract: The anarchist philosopher, novelist and historian William Godwin (1756-1836) began life in a devout Dissenting or nonconformist family. As a young man he trained for the ministry, before losing his faith and turning atheist in 1792. Over the subsequent years of his long life Godwin continued to ponder the moral value of religious belief in general and of Christianity in particular. In his later religious writings Godwin insists that myth, superstition and religious belief are not intrinsically defective but are problematic only to the extent to which they undermine personal integrity and social solidarity.

text: William Godwin’s religious sense The anarchist philosopher, novelist and historian William Godwin (1756-1836) began life in a devout Dissenting or nonconformist family. As a young man he trained for the ministry, before losing his faith and turning atheist in 1792. Over the subsequent years of his long life Godwin continued to ponder the moral value of religious belief in general and of Christianity in particular. In his later religious writings Godwin insists that myth, superstition and religious belief are not intrinsically defective but are problematic only to the extent to which they undermine personal integrity and social solidarity.

year: 2009

title: Teacher Development for English Language Teaching in China: Based on English Language Teachers' Beliefs and Practices in New Zealand

authors: Gao, Suxia

subjects: teacher development

abstract: This study inquired into English language teachers’ beliefs and practices in China and in New Zealand, and explored the process of using New Zealand English language teachers’ beliefs and practices as a stimulus in promoting and developing Chinese English language teachers’ understanding of English language teaching and their practices in the classroom. Interviews and questionnaires were conducted respectively in both China and New Zealand from May, 2007 to November, 2007. An action research was conducted in China, which lasted about four months with three cycles from March to July in 2008. Two English language teachers with the students in their class participated in the action research. The goal of the study was to identify the role that New Zealand English language teachers’ beliefs and practices played in helping Chinese English language teachers develop their teaching beliefs and practices so as to promote their students’ communication competence in the target language. On investigation, it was found that New Zealand English language teachers’ beliefs and practices played a positive role in helping Chinese English language teacher participants develop their teaching beliefs and practices. They provided Chinese teacher participants with new angles to think and reflect their own teaching beliefs and practices, and provide teacher participants with implications to be creative in the construction and reconstruction of new beliefs and practices. However, it was also found that in learning and using New Zealand teachers’ beliefs and practices, Chinese teacher participants had to consider the contexts within which their teaching occurred. It was proposed by this research that during the cross-cultural transplantation of teaching beliefs and practices, cultural congruence and pedagogical reconciliation had to be achieved. Without regard to the Chinese educational culture, values, expectations, and Chinese teachers’ expertise, the change would be superficial. This study embraced a positive attitude toward using beliefs and practices from other culture(s) in Chinese English language teacher development and proposed it as an effective teacher development mode for China’s English language teacher education programme.

text: Teacher Development for English Language Teaching in China: Based on English Language Teachers' Beliefs and Practices in New Zealand This study inquired into English language teachers’ beliefs and practices in China and in New Zealand, and explored the process of using New Zealand English language teachers’ beliefs and practices as a stimulus in promoting and developing Chinese English language teachers’ understanding of English language teaching and their practices in the classroom. Interviews and questionnaires were conducted respectively in both China and New Zealand from May, 2007 to November, 2007. An action research was conducted in China, which lasted about four months with three cycles from March to July in 2008. Two English language teachers with the students in their class participated in the action research. The goal of the study was to identify the role that New Zealand English language teachers’ beliefs and practices played in helping Chinese English language teachers develop their teaching beliefs and practices so as to promote their students’ communication competence in the target language. On investigation, it was found that New Zealand English language teachers’ beliefs and practices played a positive role in helping Chinese English language teacher participants develop their teaching beliefs and practices. They provided Chinese teacher participants with new angles to think and reflect their own teaching beliefs and practices, and provide teacher participants with implications to be creative in the construction and reconstruction of new beliefs and practices. However, it was also found that in learning and using New Zealand teachers’ beliefs and practices, Chinese teacher participants had to consider the contexts within which their teaching occurred. It was proposed by this research that during the cross-cultural transplantation of teaching beliefs and practices, cultural congruence and pedagogical reconciliation had to be achieved. Without regard to the Chinese educational culture, values, expectations, and Chinese teachers’ expertise, the change would be superficial. This study embraced a positive attitude toward using beliefs and practices from other culture(s) in Chinese English language teacher development and proposed it as an effective teacher development mode for China’s English language teacher education programme.

year: 2011

title: Using gamification to support positive health behaviour change: A kaupapa Māori approach

authors: Jefferies, Dannette (Dannie) Louise

subjects: Gamification

abstract: As our lives become increasingly technology-dependent, healthcare practitioners and researchers recognise the opportunities to deliver effective digital healthcare initiatives to improve patient outcomes. Gamification is one such technological approach to consider. While some important work has been done in gamification, to date, there have been few gamified healthy lifestyle intervention studies undertaken within an Indigenous or minority population. Therefore, this research extends the current knowledge of gamification with a focus on an Indigenous population.
Māori are the Indigenous People of New Zealand, and as in many other colonised countries, Māori are over-represented in obesity statistics; a factor which contributes to significant health inequities, such as a higher incidence of chronic illness among Māori people. Gamification may be an effective means of supporting positive lifestyle choices (e.g., increased physical activity) to reduce the prevalence of chronic illness. This research takes a Kaupapa Māori approach to address the research question: How can gamification support positive health behaviour change? Kaupapa Māori is a philosophical Māori-centric approach that ensures tino rangatiratanga (the right to self-determination). The research approach follows Māori tikanga (customary practices) and recognises the importance of Te Reo Māori (Māori language) and Te Ao Māori (a Māori worldview).
This research followed a design science research (DSR) process and consisted of two phases: Phase One was a prototype design phase, and Phase Two evaluated the prototype. Phase One involved a series of co-design hui (focus groups) to explore the social context and health aspirations of Māori and to ideate potential solutions. Phase One found that normative beliefs strongly influence effective gamification design preference for Māori and that culturally-tailored design is effective for Māori; a notion that contradicts previous Western-oriented gamification implementations. Phase Two consisted of a cross-sectional survey and regression analysis to evaluate the prototype designed during Phase One. Major findings from Phase Two show that three critical factors predict whether Māori users would use the gamified intervention: Perceived Ease-of-Use; Māori-Centric Design; and the use of Whakataetae (competitive) persuasive design strategies.  
This research contributes to gamification literature by identifying the gamification elements that most significantly impact behavioural intention toward gamified health applications for Māori; knowledge that may be transferable to other Indigenous populations. The importance of implementing a competitive strategy contradicts previous literature on collectivist cultures and guides the development of future gamified interventions. This research also contributes to theoretical and practical knowledge by demonstrating that effective persuasive strategies are not universal; Māori-centric design is a self-determined approach that keeps the needs of the target audience central to the design of a solution. This research provides theory-driven practical guidelines for design processes and design decisions that are driven by the needs and aspirations of Māori.

text: Using gamification to support positive health behaviour change: A kaupapa Māori approach As our lives become increasingly technology-dependent, healthcare practitioners and researchers recognise the opportunities to deliver effective digital healthcare initiatives to improve patient outcomes. Gamification is one such technological approach to consider. While some important work has been done in gamification, to date, there have been few gamified healthy lifestyle intervention studies undertaken within an Indigenous or minority population. Therefore, this research extends the current knowledge of gamification with a focus on an Indigenous population.
Māori are the Indigenous People of New Zealand, and as in many other colonised countries, Māori are over-represented in obesity statistics; a factor which contributes to significant health inequities, such as a higher incidence of chronic illness among Māori people. Gamification may be an effective means of supporting positive lifestyle choices (e.g., increased physical activity) to reduce the prevalence of chronic illness. This research takes a Kaupapa Māori approach to address the research question: How can gamification support positive health behaviour change? Kaupapa Māori is a philosophical Māori-centric approach that ensures tino rangatiratanga (the right to self-determination). The research approach follows Māori tikanga (customary practices) and recognises the importance of Te Reo Māori (Māori language) and Te Ao Māori (a Māori worldview).
This research followed a design science research (DSR) process and consisted of two phases: Phase One was a prototype design phase, and Phase Two evaluated the prototype. Phase One involved a series of co-design hui (focus groups) to explore the social context and health aspirations of Māori and to ideate potential solutions. Phase One found that normative beliefs strongly influence effective gamification design preference for Māori and that culturally-tailored design is effective for Māori; a notion that contradicts previous Western-oriented gamification implementations. Phase Two consisted of a cross-sectional survey and regression analysis to evaluate the prototype designed during Phase One. Major findings from Phase Two show that three critical factors predict whether Māori users would use the gamified intervention: Perceived Ease-of-Use; Māori-Centric Design; and the use of Whakataetae (competitive) persuasive design strategies.  
This research contributes to gamification literature by identifying the gamification elements that most significantly impact behavioural intention toward gamified health applications for Māori; knowledge that may be transferable to other Indigenous populations. The importance of implementing a competitive strategy contradicts previous literature on collectivist cultures and guides the development of future gamified interventions. This research also contributes to theoretical and practical knowledge by demonstrating that effective persuasive strategies are not universal; Māori-centric design is a self-determined approach that keeps the needs of the target audience central to the design of a solution. This research provides theory-driven practical guidelines for design processes and design decisions that are driven by the needs and aspirations of Māori.

year: 2023