title: Inferentials in spoken English

authors: Calude, Andreea S.

subjects: inferential

abstract: Although there is a growing body of research on inferential sentences (Declerck 1992, Delahunty 1990, 1995, 2001, Koops 2007, Pusch 2006), most of this research has been on their forms and functions in written discourse. This has left a gap with regards to their range of structural properties and allowed disagreement over their analysis to linger without a conclusive resolution. Most accounts regard the inferential as a type of it-cleft (Declerck 1992, Delahunty 2001, Huddleston and Pullum 2002, Lambrecht 2001), while a few view it as an instance of extraposition (Collins 1991, Schmid 2009). More recently, Pusch's work in Romance languages proposes the inferential is used as a discourse marker (2006, forthcoming). Based on a corpus study of examples from spoken New Zealand English, the current paper provides a detailed analysis of the formal and discoursal properties of several sub-types of inferentials (positive, negative, as if and like inferentials). We show that despite their apparent formal differences from the prototypical cleft, inferentials are nevertheless best analysed as a type of cleft, though this requires a minor reinterpretation of “cleft construction.” We show how similar the contextualized interpretations of clefts and inferentials are and how these are a function of their lexis and syntax.

text: Inferentials in spoken English Although there is a growing body of research on inferential sentences (Declerck 1992, Delahunty 1990, 1995, 2001, Koops 2007, Pusch 2006), most of this research has been on their forms and functions in written discourse. This has left a gap with regards to their range of structural properties and allowed disagreement over their analysis to linger without a conclusive resolution. Most accounts regard the inferential as a type of it-cleft (Declerck 1992, Delahunty 2001, Huddleston and Pullum 2002, Lambrecht 2001), while a few view it as an instance of extraposition (Collins 1991, Schmid 2009). More recently, Pusch's work in Romance languages proposes the inferential is used as a discourse marker (2006, forthcoming). Based on a corpus study of examples from spoken New Zealand English, the current paper provides a detailed analysis of the formal and discoursal properties of several sub-types of inferentials (positive, negative, as if and like inferentials). We show that despite their apparent formal differences from the prototypical cleft, inferentials are nevertheless best analysed as a type of cleft, though this requires a minor reinterpretation of “cleft construction.” We show how similar the contextualized interpretations of clefts and inferentials are and how these are a function of their lexis and syntax.

year: 2011

title: Clinical Governance, Performance Appraisal and Interactional and Procedural Fairness at a New Zealand Public Hospital

authors: Clarke, Carol

subjects: clinical governance

abstract: This paper explores the conduct of performance appraisals of nurses in a New Zealand hospital, and how fairness is perceived in such appraisals. In the health sector, performance appraisals of medical staff play a key role in implementing clinical governance, which, in turn, is critical to containing health care costs and ensuring quality patient care. Effective appraisals depend on employees perceiving their own appraisals to be fair both in terms of procedure and interaction with their respective appraiser. We examine qualitative data from interviews and focus groups, involving 22 nurses in a single department, to determine whether perceived injustices impact on the effective implementation of the appraisal system. Our results suggest that particular issues had been causing some sense of injustice, and most of these were procedural. Potential solutions focus on greater formalisation of the performance appraisal process, and more training for appraisers and appraisees.

text: Clinical Governance, Performance Appraisal and Interactional and Procedural Fairness at a New Zealand Public Hospital This paper explores the conduct of performance appraisals of nurses in a New Zealand hospital, and how fairness is perceived in such appraisals. In the health sector, performance appraisals of medical staff play a key role in implementing clinical governance, which, in turn, is critical to containing health care costs and ensuring quality patient care. Effective appraisals depend on employees perceiving their own appraisals to be fair both in terms of procedure and interaction with their respective appraiser. We examine qualitative data from interviews and focus groups, involving 22 nurses in a single department, to determine whether perceived injustices impact on the effective implementation of the appraisal system. Our results suggest that particular issues had been causing some sense of injustice, and most of these were procedural. Potential solutions focus on greater formalisation of the performance appraisal process, and more training for appraisers and appraisees.

year: 2012

title: Succeeding as Māori: Māori students’ views on our Stepping Up to the Ka Hikitia Challenge

authors: Berryman, Mere

subjects: Ka Hikitia

abstract: This paper examines the vision and intent of New Zealand’s Māori education policy, Ka Hikitia, and its implications on the daily lives of Māori students in New Zealand’s education system. Extensive information on the secondary school experiences of rangatahi Māori (youth) have been gathered—originally in 2001 and at the end of 2015, through Kia Eke Panuku: Building on Success (Kia Eke Panuku: Building on Success is a secondary school reform initiative that is fully funded by the Ministry of Education, however, this paper represents the view of the authors and is not necessarily the view of the Ministry). Based on the messages from these two points in time, the paper concludes that the promises of Ka Hikitia are yet to be fully realised. If we, as educators, are to leave a legacy of more Māori students fashioning and leading our future, the need for the system to step up still remains.

text: Succeeding as Māori: Māori students’ views on our Stepping Up to the Ka Hikitia Challenge This paper examines the vision and intent of New Zealand’s Māori education policy, Ka Hikitia, and its implications on the daily lives of Māori students in New Zealand’s education system. Extensive information on the secondary school experiences of rangatahi Māori (youth) have been gathered—originally in 2001 and at the end of 2015, through Kia Eke Panuku: Building on Success (Kia Eke Panuku: Building on Success is a secondary school reform initiative that is fully funded by the Ministry of Education, however, this paper represents the view of the authors and is not necessarily the view of the Ministry). Based on the messages from these two points in time, the paper concludes that the promises of Ka Hikitia are yet to be fully realised. If we, as educators, are to leave a legacy of more Māori students fashioning and leading our future, the need for the system to step up still remains.

year: 2017