UC Research Repository
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The UC Research Repository collects, stores and makes available original research from postgraduate students, researchers and academics based at the University of Canterbury.
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Literacy lead teachers’ experiences of a transition to a structured approach to literacy in primary schools across New Zealand
(2024) Collier, Lisa Anne
This qualitative research investigated the transition to a structured approach to literacy at primary schools in New Zealand. Six participants took part in semi-structured interviews answering questions around the process, barriers, facilitators and outcomes. The interview transcripts were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Six themes were established, with sub themes also detailed. The themes were: Systems failure in literacy | “I’ve ditched the guilt and I’ve handed it over to the government”; Educator driven transformation | “...I’ve gone in, and really gone down the rabbit hole…”; Supporting the transition | “... it’s about influencing”; Workload issues | ‘Juggling all of the plates’ is challenging; Collegial support | “...we’ve fed off each other.”; and Learner success | ‘Empowering’. Participants overwhelmingly spoke about the benefits of implementing this approach, despite experiencing a journey that was challenging at times. The themes were discussed in relation to implementation science frameworks. Practical implications were then listed, to support schools in their journey of transitioning to a structured approach to literacy.
The impact and management of visitor noise on zoo-housed black-capped capuchins (Cebus apella)
(2024) Herrmann, Kelly
Zoos provide an opportunity to educate visitors about species and conservation, raise awareness and funding for animals, and facilitate research opportunities. However, the constant presence of visitors at zoos can have a wide range of effects on animal behaviour, which may be used to assess individual welfare. Specifically, zoo visitor noise and activity have been shown to alter animal behaviour negatively. However, few options have been explored to mitigate these effects.
Here, I investigated the efficacy of quiet signs at zoos on reducing visitor sound and activity levels at four primate enclosures at Willowbank Wildlife Reserve in Ōtautahi/Christchurch, New Zealand. I found that visitor sound was significantly reduced at three of the four enclosures, and visitor activity level was only reduced at one enclosure.
I then measured black-capped capuchin (Cebus apella) behaviour and enclosure use in relation to visitor variables such as noise and activity over time. Ōur results suggest that black-capped capuchin behaviour is highly variable, with alertness, allogrooming, and feeding/foraging/drinking being affected most strongly by visitor characteristics (p-values < 0.05). Autogrooming, locomotion, playing, and resting were not significantly affected by visitors or ecological variables such as weather. We also found variation in behavioural changes between individuals. Although it was not significant, our data showed that the capuchins reduced their distance from the visitor viewing area when there were more visitors (Chapter 3). We found no effect of visitor sound or activity levels on capuchin space use.
These findings suggest that visitor sound and activity levels can be reduced using signs to minimise the effect of visitors on capuchin behaviour. When assessing the impact of visitors on zoo-housed animals in the future, more detailed visitor characteristics, such as sound and activity, should be included. More research is needed on the efficacy of quiet signs in zoos and how to maximise their effectiveness.
Exploring treatment change in a mixed-risk community treatment programme for harmful sexual behaviour: contamination or focusing on a positive future?
(2024) Allen, Angela
Treatment for harmful sexual behaviour has been shown to be effective when it adheres to the Risk, Need, Responsivity (RNR) framework of rehabilitation. As per the Risk principle, iatrogenic findings for low-risk offenders who have completed intensive interventions have, in part, been explained by a ‘contamination’ effect, whereby higher risk individuals are thought to have negatively influenced lower risk individuals, leading to increased recidivism rates. This hypothesised ‘contamination’ effect has driven the international practice of separating individuals by risk category for intervention purposes, although little evidence exists supporting the existence of ‘contamination’ in community-based treatment programmes. As such, this study investigated whether delivering treatment in a community- based, mixed-risk group format was effective in reducing risk and increasing protective factors for participants, and/or whether there were indications of ‘contamination’ effects for lower risk participants. Seven participants completed the programme during the study period. The Clinically Significant and Reliable Change method was used to measure individual treatment change for these participants from pre- to post-treatment on the Violence Risk Scale – Sexual Offense Version (VRS-SO) and the Structured Assessment of Protective Factors against Sexual Offending (SAPROF-SO). Results demonstrated that 57.1% of participants made reliable change to decrease their risk factors and 85.7% of participants made reliable change to increase their protective factors following treatment. No participants showed signs of antisocial change in risk or protection, therefore no ‘contamination’ was evident within this study’s participants. This study provides important preliminary evidence suggesting that iatrogenic findings for low-risk individuals may not be the result of ‘contamination’ within treatment groups. Further research with larger samples is invited to add to findings relevant to ‘contamination’ within community-based treatment programmes.
The recording and normalisation of the UC-4AFC monosyllabic word list
(2024) Anderson, G.L.
Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) is characterised by challenges with understanding speech despite normal peripheral hearing thresholds. Individuals with APD may face difficulties understanding speech in the presence of background noise, or when parts of the speech signal are missing or distorted. The University of Canterbury Adaptive Speech Test- Filtered Words (UCAST-FW) is a low-pass filtered speech test that may be used as part of a diagnostic assessment battery for APD. Although the UCAST-FW has shown promise in its ability to discriminate between children with and without APD, there were concerns about its applicability to New Zealand (NZ) listeners, as it initially used an Australian recording of American test materials. To make the test more appropriate for a NZ audience, Murray (2012) developed the UC-4AFC monosyllabic word list, designed to be used in a four-alternative forced choice picture-pointing procedure. Prior to the current study the UC-4AFC existed only on paper. The present study aimed to record an audio version of the UC-4AFC word list in a typical New Zealand English accent, and to use Gibbins’ (2017) normalisation technique to ensure homogeneity across test items. Additionally, new images were required to accompany each of the test items so that it could be used with children who are pre-literate. This study involved 35 English-speaking adults with normal hearing, assessing their ability to discriminate speech items before normalisation. Psychometric functions, depicting percentage correct versus low-pass filter (LPF) frequency, were established for each word. However, due to unexpected challenges in data gathering and time constraints, the
normalisation of the word lists could not be completed. Nonetheless, the study identified 50 words that performed well enough for inclusion in the UCAST-FW open-set paradigm. Further evaluation is needed for the closed-set words in future studies, as well as the completion of the normalisation process.