title: The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on higher education students in New Zealand

authors: Cameron, Michael Patrick

subjects: COVID-19; lockdown; higher education; disruption; New Zealand

abstract: The coronavirus pandemic and associated move to online learning for students in higher education has been disruptive and challenging. We report on the New Zealand arm of an international survey of higher education students (n = 147). Using quantitative and qualitative data from the survey, we find that students coped reasonably well with the disruption to their studies and were generally satisfied with how their lecturers and institutions responded to unanticipated lockdowns. In comparison with the global sample, New Zealand students demonstrated a higher level of satisfaction. New Zealand students reported the highest satisfaction with recorded video lectures, whereas the global sample preferred real-time teaching. Many New Zealand students felt that their studies were negatively affected, and vulnerable groups such as students with low financial resources were the most severely affected. Moreover, students reported a range of negative emotions during lockdown that suggest mental health impacts may be a concern. Our results indicatethat clear communication from authorities, reducing the uncertainty for students, and ensuring that vulnerable groups are appropriately supported, may be the best avenues to reduce negative impacts on students during future significant disruptions to study, whether pandemic-related or otherwise

text: The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on higher education students in New Zealand The coronavirus pandemic and associated move to online learning for students in higher education has been disruptive and challenging. We report on the New Zealand arm of an international survey of higher education students (n = 147). Using quantitative and qualitative data from the survey, we find that students coped reasonably well with the disruption to their studies and were generally satisfied with how their lecturers and institutions responded to unanticipated lockdowns. In comparison with the global sample, New Zealand students demonstrated a higher level of satisfaction. New Zealand students reported the highest satisfaction with recorded video lectures, whereas the global sample preferred real-time teaching. Many New Zealand students felt that their studies were negatively affected, and vulnerable groups such as students with low financial resources were the most severely affected. Moreover, students reported a range of negative emotions during lockdown that suggest mental health impacts may be a concern. Our results indicatethat clear communication from authorities, reducing the uncertainty for students, and ensuring that vulnerable groups are appropriately supported, may be the best avenues to reduce negative impacts on students during future significant disruptions to study, whether pandemic-related or otherwise

year: 2022

title: A proper understanding of Millikan

authors: Kingsbury, Justine

subjects: Millikan

abstract: Ruth Millikan’s teleological theory of mental content is complex and often misunderstood. This paper motivates and clarifies some of the complexities of the theory, and shows that paying careful attention to its details yields answers to a number of common objections to teleological theories, in particular, the problem of novel mental states, the problem of functionally false beliefs, and problems about indeterminacy or multiplicity of function.

text: A proper understanding of Millikan Ruth Millikan’s teleological theory of mental content is complex and often misunderstood. This paper motivates and clarifies some of the complexities of the theory, and shows that paying careful attention to its details yields answers to a number of common objections to teleological theories, in particular, the problem of novel mental states, the problem of functionally false beliefs, and problems about indeterminacy or multiplicity of function.

year: 2006

title: What Do Secondary School Rugby Players Think About Concussion?

authors: Murphy, Karen Jane

subjects: rugby

abstract: Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a dominant and growing public health concern globally. Sport is an arena in which people are at high risk of TBI. In New Zealand the popular sport of rugby is played by many, particularly during school years. These school aged players are at particular risk of TBI because of the contact nature of the sport and the maturational stage of the brain which is still developing during the teenage years.  Moves to increase safety depend on an awareness of what these players know about TBI and their attitude towards TBI.
A sample of 456 secondary school rugby players in New Zealand were surveyed to gather information about their knowledge of, and attitude towards concussion. Rugby union and rugby league playing participants were mainly recruited through direct contact with schools. Participants were invited to access the survey online or could complete a paper copy. The survey was made up of items which had already been used in previous studies and this allowed for a comparison of findings with previous research. Some items related to knowledge of concussion while others related to attitude towards concussion, in particular attitudes to returning to play following concussion.
	Participants had good knowledge of symptoms, and almost all participants knew there was a risk to long term health and a risk of death if a second concussion was sustained before a first concussion had healed. However, there were some gaps in knowledge about treatment and recovery time.
Participants self-reported attitudes to concussion were consistently and significantly safer than the attitudes they predicted ‘most players’ would hold.
More than half of the participants had a relatively safe attitude to all but one of the items relating to concussion attitude. The least safe attitudes were around who should make a decision to returning to play after concussion and the safety of attitudes declined as the importance of a rugby match increased. 
Ethnicity consistently influenced knowledge and attitude on all the measures used within the survey. Those identifying as Māori ethnicity scored lower on all knowledge and attitude scales than those identifying as Pakeha ethnicity. Self-rated knowledge of concussion and the number of concussions experienced also had a positive effect on knowledge of concussion. 
There are several educational tools and regulatory documents aimed at minimising the incidence, severity and outcome of concussion in rugby but there is little research guiding how these resources are tailored to their intended audience in the secondary school population. Also, little is known about the gaps in knowledge and understanding of concussion in this population. It is tentatively stated that the findings from this study could be used to inform strategies which are aimed at increasing knowledge and making attitudes safer in secondary school rugby players in New Zealand.

text: What Do Secondary School Rugby Players Think About Concussion? Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a dominant and growing public health concern globally. Sport is an arena in which people are at high risk of TBI. In New Zealand the popular sport of rugby is played by many, particularly during school years. These school aged players are at particular risk of TBI because of the contact nature of the sport and the maturational stage of the brain which is still developing during the teenage years.  Moves to increase safety depend on an awareness of what these players know about TBI and their attitude towards TBI.
A sample of 456 secondary school rugby players in New Zealand were surveyed to gather information about their knowledge of, and attitude towards concussion. Rugby union and rugby league playing participants were mainly recruited through direct contact with schools. Participants were invited to access the survey online or could complete a paper copy. The survey was made up of items which had already been used in previous studies and this allowed for a comparison of findings with previous research. Some items related to knowledge of concussion while others related to attitude towards concussion, in particular attitudes to returning to play following concussion.
	Participants had good knowledge of symptoms, and almost all participants knew there was a risk to long term health and a risk of death if a second concussion was sustained before a first concussion had healed. However, there were some gaps in knowledge about treatment and recovery time.
Participants self-reported attitudes to concussion were consistently and significantly safer than the attitudes they predicted ‘most players’ would hold.
More than half of the participants had a relatively safe attitude to all but one of the items relating to concussion attitude. The least safe attitudes were around who should make a decision to returning to play after concussion and the safety of attitudes declined as the importance of a rugby match increased. 
Ethnicity consistently influenced knowledge and attitude on all the measures used within the survey. Those identifying as Māori ethnicity scored lower on all knowledge and attitude scales than those identifying as Pakeha ethnicity. Self-rated knowledge of concussion and the number of concussions experienced also had a positive effect on knowledge of concussion. 
There are several educational tools and regulatory documents aimed at minimising the incidence, severity and outcome of concussion in rugby but there is little research guiding how these resources are tailored to their intended audience in the secondary school population. Also, little is known about the gaps in knowledge and understanding of concussion in this population. It is tentatively stated that the findings from this study could be used to inform strategies which are aimed at increasing knowledge and making attitudes safer in secondary school rugby players in New Zealand.

year: 2015