title: Retaining students as employees: Owner operated small hospitality businesses in a university town in New Zealand

authors: Choudhury, Neekita

subjects: employee retention

abstract: This study provides insight into employee retention issues in owner-operated small hospitality businesses in a university town. The study found that even though employee retention represents a managerial issue for the small hospitality businesses, it is not of significant importance to them. The restaurant managers/owners did employ various retention strategies for providing a good organizational culture but still accepted the transient nature of the student workforce. The findings suggest employee retention strategies to keep student employees while they study in the town's university. The paper also recommends the need for small hospitality businesses to work closely with hospitality education institutions to form a closer link between study and part-time employment, for example through internship, to alleviate the inherent problems of the transient nature of the student workforce. The paper provides the first major study in the New Zealand context, providing new insights into understanding employee retention among student workers in small hospitality businesses.

text: Retaining students as employees: Owner operated small hospitality businesses in a university town in New Zealand This study provides insight into employee retention issues in owner-operated small hospitality businesses in a university town. The study found that even though employee retention represents a managerial issue for the small hospitality businesses, it is not of significant importance to them. The restaurant managers/owners did employ various retention strategies for providing a good organizational culture but still accepted the transient nature of the student workforce. The findings suggest employee retention strategies to keep student employees while they study in the town's university. The paper also recommends the need for small hospitality businesses to work closely with hospitality education institutions to form a closer link between study and part-time employment, for example through internship, to alleviate the inherent problems of the transient nature of the student workforce. The paper provides the first major study in the New Zealand context, providing new insights into understanding employee retention among student workers in small hospitality businesses.

year: 2013

title: An Investigation of beliefs and attitudes of high school students in the Solomon Islands towards learning mathematics

authors: Kele, Andriane

subjects: beliefs

abstract: Mathematics is omnipresent in all walks of life in our society. For instance, every day, citizens all over the world are faced with a complex array of mathematics–from mathematics of business and employment to risks of household accidents. A knowledge of mathematics is needed to solve problems that are encountered in our everyday life. However, in reality, most people in general, and students in particular, dislike mathematics. Researchers had revealed that the majority of secondary school students in western countries find mathematics difficult because of their negative beliefs and attitudes. Research is needed that gives specific attention to beliefs and attitudes in the Pacific Islands. 
My study investigated the beliefs and attitudes of high school students in the Solomon Islands towards learning mathematics. Students from two year-12 senior national high schools were selected for the study. Two overarching paradigms that set the conceptual framework for this study were positivism and interpretivism. Research data were obtained through a mixed-method approach. A survey instrument was designed to explore students’ beliefs and attitudes towards learning mathematics. Focus group interviews were conducted with some students to solicit factors that impacted on their beliefs and attitudes. To explore factors students thought had affected their mathematics achievement, semi-structured interviews were conducted. Frequency percentage and thematic analysis were used to analyse data. 
Findings from the written survey revealed that students were very positive about learning mathematics. They seemed to believe that knowing and doing mathematics required logical thinking and applying mathematics procedures. They highly regarded the utility of mathematics in school and the practicality of it in everyday life. They were very optimistic about their self-efficacy in mathematics learning; for instance, 96% of the students thought they were confident in learning mathematics. 
Students’ attitudes toward mathematics were both positive and negative. Students who demonstrated positive attitudes tended to enjoy and learn effectively when they clearly understood mathematics well. Conversely, students with negative attitudes usually put less effort into their learning process. Most students disliked learning mathematics because it was difficult. Mathematics anxiety was ascertained as contributing negative beliefs and attitudes towards students’ mathematics learning.
Interesting findings were revealed in semi-structured and focus group interviews. Data from semi-structured interviews revealed that students’ beliefs about the nature of mathematics reflected on the aspects of mathematical content, mathematical processes, cognitive processes and the utility of mathematics. Furthermore, a major contributing factor that affected students’ mathematics achievement was the teacher. Additionally, students’ poor mathematical background was an area of concern that affected mathematics achievement. Focus group data revealed three key factors that impacted on students’ beliefs and attitudes. These are students themselves, teachers and peer groups. 
Considering the findings of this study, there is a need to advocate students’ affective domain in teaching and learning of mathematics. It is recommended to put more attention on students’ mathematics learning to provide an avenue by which teachers might better support them in nurturing their beliefs and attitudes and, in turn, enhance their mathematics achievement.

text: An Investigation of beliefs and attitudes of high school students in the Solomon Islands towards learning mathematics Mathematics is omnipresent in all walks of life in our society. For instance, every day, citizens all over the world are faced with a complex array of mathematics–from mathematics of business and employment to risks of household accidents. A knowledge of mathematics is needed to solve problems that are encountered in our everyday life. However, in reality, most people in general, and students in particular, dislike mathematics. Researchers had revealed that the majority of secondary school students in western countries find mathematics difficult because of their negative beliefs and attitudes. Research is needed that gives specific attention to beliefs and attitudes in the Pacific Islands. 
My study investigated the beliefs and attitudes of high school students in the Solomon Islands towards learning mathematics. Students from two year-12 senior national high schools were selected for the study. Two overarching paradigms that set the conceptual framework for this study were positivism and interpretivism. Research data were obtained through a mixed-method approach. A survey instrument was designed to explore students’ beliefs and attitudes towards learning mathematics. Focus group interviews were conducted with some students to solicit factors that impacted on their beliefs and attitudes. To explore factors students thought had affected their mathematics achievement, semi-structured interviews were conducted. Frequency percentage and thematic analysis were used to analyse data. 
Findings from the written survey revealed that students were very positive about learning mathematics. They seemed to believe that knowing and doing mathematics required logical thinking and applying mathematics procedures. They highly regarded the utility of mathematics in school and the practicality of it in everyday life. They were very optimistic about their self-efficacy in mathematics learning; for instance, 96% of the students thought they were confident in learning mathematics. 
Students’ attitudes toward mathematics were both positive and negative. Students who demonstrated positive attitudes tended to enjoy and learn effectively when they clearly understood mathematics well. Conversely, students with negative attitudes usually put less effort into their learning process. Most students disliked learning mathematics because it was difficult. Mathematics anxiety was ascertained as contributing negative beliefs and attitudes towards students’ mathematics learning.
Interesting findings were revealed in semi-structured and focus group interviews. Data from semi-structured interviews revealed that students’ beliefs about the nature of mathematics reflected on the aspects of mathematical content, mathematical processes, cognitive processes and the utility of mathematics. Furthermore, a major contributing factor that affected students’ mathematics achievement was the teacher. Additionally, students’ poor mathematical background was an area of concern that affected mathematics achievement. Focus group data revealed three key factors that impacted on students’ beliefs and attitudes. These are students themselves, teachers and peer groups. 
Considering the findings of this study, there is a need to advocate students’ affective domain in teaching and learning of mathematics. It is recommended to put more attention on students’ mathematics learning to provide an avenue by which teachers might better support them in nurturing their beliefs and attitudes and, in turn, enhance their mathematics achievement.

year: 2014

title: Audiences, referees, and landscapes: Understanding the use of Māori and English in New Zealand dual language picturebooks through a sociolinguistic lens

authors: Daly, Nicola

abstract: When non-dominant perspectives are represented in children's literature, it is labelled multicultural, and this form of literature has much potential for altering existing power structures in society. Bishop (1990) first introduced the metaphor of multicultural children's literature offering the possibility of windows - an opportunity to see into others' worlds; mirrors - an opportunity to see your own world being reflected back; and glass sliding doors - an opportunity to step into a world through a book. However, to date, any exploration of the extent to which language diversity contributes to the representation of non-dominant perspectives in multicultural children's literature has been limited, and the use of sociolinguistic theories to frame and theorise such explorations almost non-existent.

text: Audiences, referees, and landscapes: Understanding the use of Māori and English in New Zealand dual language picturebooks through a sociolinguistic lens When non-dominant perspectives are represented in children's literature, it is labelled multicultural, and this form of literature has much potential for altering existing power structures in society. Bishop (1990) first introduced the metaphor of multicultural children's literature offering the possibility of windows - an opportunity to see into others' worlds; mirrors - an opportunity to see your own world being reflected back; and glass sliding doors - an opportunity to step into a world through a book. However, to date, any exploration of the extent to which language diversity contributes to the representation of non-dominant perspectives in multicultural children's literature has been limited, and the use of sociolinguistic theories to frame and theorise such explorations almost non-existent.

year: 2017