title: Systematic review of metal-based alloys with autogenous antibacterial capability

authors: Alshammari, Y

abstract: Pathogenic bacterial infection, especially in surgical and nosocomial settings, is an outstanding and long-lasting challenge due to the ability of microorganisms to evolve and develop mechanisms to become drug-resistant (i.e., superbugs). Considerable efforts have been made in recent years to develop metal-based alloys with autogenous antibacterial capability and to comprehend their mechanism of action, which are systematically reviewed in this work. To comprehensively understand current developments, antibacterial mechanisms (e.g., cell wall/membrane disruption), resistance mechanisms (e.g., permeability barrier), and the primary standardized techniques used to assess the antibacterial response (e.g., plate-count method) are initially introduced. Subsequently, metallic elements with intrinsic antibacterial response are presented alongside a brief discussion of the effects that manufacturing methods have on the ability to achieve metal-based alloys with autogenous antibacterial properties. The several antibacterial metal-based alloys currently being developed, which include Co-, Fe-, Mg-, Ti-, and Zn-based alloys, and some few other metal-based alloy systems, were analyzed in detail, and an effort to comparatively evaluate the antibacterial and mechanical response of the different alloys developed so far was made. Generally, the incorporation of Cu or Ag, which are well-known antibacterial metallic elements, shows remarkable effectiveness against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Additionally, some few other elements like Ca, Ce, and rare earths have been investigated, and some of them show antibacterial capability. The work is complemented with some challenges to be addressed and opportunities to be taken.

text: Systematic review of metal-based alloys with autogenous antibacterial capability Pathogenic bacterial infection, especially in surgical and nosocomial settings, is an outstanding and long-lasting challenge due to the ability of microorganisms to evolve and develop mechanisms to become drug-resistant (i.e., superbugs). Considerable efforts have been made in recent years to develop metal-based alloys with autogenous antibacterial capability and to comprehend their mechanism of action, which are systematically reviewed in this work. To comprehensively understand current developments, antibacterial mechanisms (e.g., cell wall/membrane disruption), resistance mechanisms (e.g., permeability barrier), and the primary standardized techniques used to assess the antibacterial response (e.g., plate-count method) are initially introduced. Subsequently, metallic elements with intrinsic antibacterial response are presented alongside a brief discussion of the effects that manufacturing methods have on the ability to achieve metal-based alloys with autogenous antibacterial properties. The several antibacterial metal-based alloys currently being developed, which include Co-, Fe-, Mg-, Ti-, and Zn-based alloys, and some few other metal-based alloy systems, were analyzed in detail, and an effort to comparatively evaluate the antibacterial and mechanical response of the different alloys developed so far was made. Generally, the incorporation of Cu or Ag, which are well-known antibacterial metallic elements, shows remarkable effectiveness against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Additionally, some few other elements like Ca, Ce, and rare earths have been investigated, and some of them show antibacterial capability. The work is complemented with some challenges to be addressed and opportunities to be taken.

year: 2025-04-07

title: Place-responsive Education: Student perspectives

authors: Taylor, Chris

subjects: Place-responsive education

abstract: The importance of student perspectives in curriculum innovations is well established. Until recently accounts of adolescent male experiences during a place-responsive education (PRE) programme have not been extensively researched within outdoor education literature.  This research aims to address this gap in our knowledge by investigating the following two questions:
•	What are student perspectives of a PRE approach to an outdoor education trip? 
•	Is a PRE approach an appropriate pedagogy for senior level outdoor education in Secondary Schools in New Zealand? 
A group of Year 12 and 13 (16 to 18 years old) male students, enrolled in a senior level outdoor education programme, were asked to give their perspectives on a PRE trip. This thesis utilised photo-elicitation interviews as a means to gain students’ perspectives on their experiences. Students were provided with cameras and asked to take photographs to demonstrate what the trip was like for them. After the trip interviews were conducted with four participants. The interviews revealed seven themes which support PRE as a possible alternative to traditional pursuit-driven approach utilised in my school’s existing programmes.
PRE is multi-disciplinary approach focusing on exploring local places to establish a connection for students, this connection is then available to encourage and engage students. The findings of this study showed students engaged and connected with local places in a meaningful way which increased motivation, personal and social development, and positive agency within the community of those on the trip. The students’ interview comments supported the use of less risky activities, slow travel methods and the use of sensory exploration encouraged by PRE allowing them to learn from the situations in which they found themselves. 
The use of photo-elicitation interviews as a research method for research with young males is discussed. Providing students with cameras proved to be an engaging and effective way for students to be a part of academic research. 
This study contributes to the emerging literature on PRE within senior level outdoor education in New Zealand secondary schools, as well as to the role of student perspectives within research on curriculum innovation.

text: Place-responsive Education: Student perspectives The importance of student perspectives in curriculum innovations is well established. Until recently accounts of adolescent male experiences during a place-responsive education (PRE) programme have not been extensively researched within outdoor education literature.  This research aims to address this gap in our knowledge by investigating the following two questions:
•	What are student perspectives of a PRE approach to an outdoor education trip? 
•	Is a PRE approach an appropriate pedagogy for senior level outdoor education in Secondary Schools in New Zealand? 
A group of Year 12 and 13 (16 to 18 years old) male students, enrolled in a senior level outdoor education programme, were asked to give their perspectives on a PRE trip. This thesis utilised photo-elicitation interviews as a means to gain students’ perspectives on their experiences. Students were provided with cameras and asked to take photographs to demonstrate what the trip was like for them. After the trip interviews were conducted with four participants. The interviews revealed seven themes which support PRE as a possible alternative to traditional pursuit-driven approach utilised in my school’s existing programmes.
PRE is multi-disciplinary approach focusing on exploring local places to establish a connection for students, this connection is then available to encourage and engage students. The findings of this study showed students engaged and connected with local places in a meaningful way which increased motivation, personal and social development, and positive agency within the community of those on the trip. The students’ interview comments supported the use of less risky activities, slow travel methods and the use of sensory exploration encouraged by PRE allowing them to learn from the situations in which they found themselves. 
The use of photo-elicitation interviews as a research method for research with young males is discussed. Providing students with cameras proved to be an engaging and effective way for students to be a part of academic research. 
This study contributes to the emerging literature on PRE within senior level outdoor education in New Zealand secondary schools, as well as to the role of student perspectives within research on curriculum innovation.

year: 2014

title: Pākehā counsellors consider their positioning: Towards postcolonial praxis

authors: Crocket, Alastair Robert

subjects: Counselling

abstract: The challenges of achieving the potential, which the Treaty of Waitangi offers for a postcolonial present and future, have shaped life in Aotearoa New Zealand over the last four decades. This thesis draws on this history and challenge to consider the practice possibilities for Pākehā counsellors when they work with clients and colleagues of other cultures. It is strongly influenced by the Treaty of Waitangi but seeks not to be limited to a Māori/Pākehā binary. It has been undertaken in the hopes of informing developments in the practice of students seeking to qualify to work as counsellors and more experienced practitioners. The first theoretical foundation for this study is poststructuralism which is considered as a braided stream of theorizing where braids divide and unite. A Foucauldian social constructionism underlies this project, which extends to a consideration of subjectification, agency and positioning theory. This study is also intentionally postcolonial drawing on Said’s seminal works, Orientalism (1979) and Culture and Imperialism (1993) and North American and European writing about identity politics and intersectionality. It views the centring of the Treaty of Waitangi in this land as postcolonial work. These two emphases, poststructuralism and postcolonialism, provide the theoretical base for an exploration of the context of professional counselling practice in Aotearoa New Zealand. Five experienced counsellors constituted a research group who firstly discussed practising as a Pākehā counsellor and then acknowledged their hopes and fears for their practice with clients of other cultures. In later stages of the data generation the participants were invited to join in processes of discourse analysis and deconstruction which produced shifts in practice and practice identity. This study identifies two forms of praxis that might inform a counselling practice which seeks to achieve a postcolonial purpose: these are named as critical discursive praxis and critical Pākehā praxis.

text: Pākehā counsellors consider their positioning: Towards postcolonial praxis The challenges of achieving the potential, which the Treaty of Waitangi offers for a postcolonial present and future, have shaped life in Aotearoa New Zealand over the last four decades. This thesis draws on this history and challenge to consider the practice possibilities for Pākehā counsellors when they work with clients and colleagues of other cultures. It is strongly influenced by the Treaty of Waitangi but seeks not to be limited to a Māori/Pākehā binary. It has been undertaken in the hopes of informing developments in the practice of students seeking to qualify to work as counsellors and more experienced practitioners. The first theoretical foundation for this study is poststructuralism which is considered as a braided stream of theorizing where braids divide and unite. A Foucauldian social constructionism underlies this project, which extends to a consideration of subjectification, agency and positioning theory. This study is also intentionally postcolonial drawing on Said’s seminal works, Orientalism (1979) and Culture and Imperialism (1993) and North American and European writing about identity politics and intersectionality. It views the centring of the Treaty of Waitangi in this land as postcolonial work. These two emphases, poststructuralism and postcolonialism, provide the theoretical base for an exploration of the context of professional counselling practice in Aotearoa New Zealand. Five experienced counsellors constituted a research group who firstly discussed practising as a Pākehā counsellor and then acknowledged their hopes and fears for their practice with clients of other cultures. In later stages of the data generation the participants were invited to join in processes of discourse analysis and deconstruction which produced shifts in practice and practice identity. This study identifies two forms of praxis that might inform a counselling practice which seeks to achieve a postcolonial purpose: these are named as critical discursive praxis and critical Pākehā praxis.

year: 2010