title: New Zealand’s National Standards policy: How should we view it a decade on?

authors: Thrupp, Martin

abstract: In this short article, I consider how teachers might judge the National Standards system these days and also how the policy might be understood more generally. These are important questions coming up to the 2017 election because the National Standards system has been such a central feature of the current Government’s approach to education. Teachers will be aware of teacher and principal colleagues who are supportive of National Standards while others are much less so. Conflicting views amongst teachers and principals about the value of the National Standards is also apparent from a recent New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER) national survey (Bonne, 2016). School websites indicate diverse views as well. There are some primary school websites that reflect enthusiasm about National Standards and some that barely mention them.

text: New Zealand’s National Standards policy: How should we view it a decade on? In this short article, I consider how teachers might judge the National Standards system these days and also how the policy might be understood more generally. These are important questions coming up to the 2017 election because the National Standards system has been such a central feature of the current Government’s approach to education. Teachers will be aware of teacher and principal colleagues who are supportive of National Standards while others are much less so. Conflicting views amongst teachers and principals about the value of the National Standards is also apparent from a recent New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER) national survey (Bonne, 2016). School websites indicate diverse views as well. There are some primary school websites that reflect enthusiasm about National Standards and some that barely mention them.

year: 2017

title: Experiences with a weighted decision tree learner

authors: Cleary, John G.

subjects: computer science

abstract: Machine learning algorithms for inferring decision trees typically choose a single “best” tree to describe the training data. Recent research has shown that classification performance can be significantly improved by voting predictions of multiple, independently produced decision trees. This paper describes an algorithm, OB1, that makes a weighted sum over many possible models. We describe one instance of OB1, that includes all possible decision trees as well as naïve Bayesian models. OB1 is compared with a number of other decision tree and instance based learning algorithms on some of the data sets from the UCI repository. Both an information gain and an accuracy measure are used for the comparison. On the information gain measure OB1 performs significantly better than all the other algorithms. On the accuracy measure it is significantly better than all the algorithms except naïve Bayes which performs comparably to OB1.

text: Experiences with a weighted decision tree learner Machine learning algorithms for inferring decision trees typically choose a single “best” tree to describe the training data. Recent research has shown that classification performance can be significantly improved by voting predictions of multiple, independently produced decision trees. This paper describes an algorithm, OB1, that makes a weighted sum over many possible models. We describe one instance of OB1, that includes all possible decision trees as well as naïve Bayesian models. OB1 is compared with a number of other decision tree and instance based learning algorithms on some of the data sets from the UCI repository. Both an information gain and an accuracy measure are used for the comparison. On the information gain measure OB1 performs significantly better than all the other algorithms. On the accuracy measure it is significantly better than all the algorithms except naïve Bayes which performs comparably to OB1.

year: 1998-05

title: Disabled Māori and disability support options

authors: Nikora, Linda Waimarie

subjects: Maori

abstract: The goal of this research project was to provide information to enhance the development and implementation of an effective model of disability support service provision to Maori with disabilities. This was done by identifying and documenting the needs expressed by disabled Maori and their carers living in the Midland area, and by considering the experiences and observations of a key informant group. From our reading of the literature and the feedback we received from participants, a proposed model of disability support service provision has been proposed.

In five sections, this report begins by defining disability, and also by defining the act of caring for the disabled. Focussing on the Maori experience, obstacles, access to existing support services, cultural barriers, and health policies are discussed. In the second chapter, the research methodology is described, along with how the information was gathered. Following this is the third section which presents the opinions and reflections of Maori with disabilities. It concludes strategically with a view of the ideal community, suggesting possible resolutions, by exposing current flaws and inadequacies. Chapter four records the views and perspectives of key informant/whanau carers who participated in the project. They offer an insightful account of the often unrecognised side of the disability experience. Considering the preceding discussions, the final section develops a model of service provision for Maori with disabilities, and proposes this for effective service delivery.

text: Disabled Māori and disability support options The goal of this research project was to provide information to enhance the development and implementation of an effective model of disability support service provision to Maori with disabilities. This was done by identifying and documenting the needs expressed by disabled Maori and their carers living in the Midland area, and by considering the experiences and observations of a key informant group. From our reading of the literature and the feedback we received from participants, a proposed model of disability support service provision has been proposed.

In five sections, this report begins by defining disability, and also by defining the act of caring for the disabled. Focussing on the Maori experience, obstacles, access to existing support services, cultural barriers, and health policies are discussed. In the second chapter, the research methodology is described, along with how the information was gathered. Following this is the third section which presents the opinions and reflections of Maori with disabilities. It concludes strategically with a view of the ideal community, suggesting possible resolutions, by exposing current flaws and inadequacies. Chapter four records the views and perspectives of key informant/whanau carers who participated in the project. They offer an insightful account of the often unrecognised side of the disability experience. Considering the preceding discussions, the final section develops a model of service provision for Maori with disabilities, and proposes this for effective service delivery.

year: 2004-01-01