For my Position paper I have chosen to do: Question 1. Action must be taken to improve New Zealand’s immunisation rates.

The improvement of immunisation rates is a topic that interests me greatly, because even though there is so much evidence showing how effective and safe immunisation has been and still the immunisation rates are lower than optimal. Why is this? Although the position paper asks about New Zealand rates of immunisation this is, in my opinion, a worldwide problem. What is really interesting that some of the trends I have seen from the New Zealand research can be seen across the world in general.

Baseline information on New Zealand rates of immunisation at varying ages has been extracted from the Ministry of Health website. The comparison of these statistics with levels of immunisation from the World Health Organisation (WHO) gave a more comprehensive view with which I was able to use to commence a research review in the university library.

There is no substitute for a painstaking literature search in the university library.  It does get easier and faster the more I use it.  I remember back to my first assignment search - what a nightmare! I had no idea what I was doing. Thankfully, the library provided instructions which were helpful, but there is no real substitute for just getting right into the library and using it. One of the problems is the ease with which I can get side-tracked by all sorts of interesting information and it is all too easy to find oneself absorbed in material quite unrelated to the original search!  I think the first requirement for literature review is self-discipline, followed closely by determination and stick-at-ability.

This time I picked my keywords and searched. When over a 1500 headings are listed it is time to start modifying the search. I first chose only peer-reviewed and still there were 1140 results. Now it was time to start playing with the dates. For New Zealand immunisation the library has peer-reviewed information from 1904 to 2014. Even limiting the search to just a six year period yielded 496 articles. This was going to be a long job.

When researching for an assignment I outline of the points I would like to cover before starting. I have learned the error of going into the library blind and hoping beyond hope that I find something useful. Going in blind to the library wastes too much time and energy. I also often go back to the library or the internet while I am writing to check that I have the support for my points and that I am heading in the right direction.

Searching for reference material is so very time consuming. In fact, way more than I ever thought. I always imagined it was the writing that takes the time, yet I was wrong. With research it is not just the time reading the papers that is so time-consuming. Searching the data bases and finding enough material to support your arguments can be difficult, yet worth it. So often I have learnt so much relevant information which sparks new lines of enquiry. For example, why are there different levels of concern regarding immunisation within different communities in New Zealand? Perhaps due to not having children or living in New Zealand for some time, I had forgotten how much disparity still exists between social and ethnic groups in New Zealand. I always hoped these differences were getting less, yet with my initial research this is not the case and action must be taken to avoid the risks of preventable illness within these group.  

Introduction for Communication in the sciences.

My name is Cameron Lamont and I am living in Germany. I am an extramural student at Massey University, studying Sport and Exercise. I would like to have studied more in the sport science programme, yet as an extramural this was not possible.

I am currently coaching Triathlon and the individual sports that are involved in triathlon. I am also a personal trainer. I am passionate about sport and ensuring athletes perform better, whether that is feeling better in their everyday lives, walking 5 km, or racing an Ironman or Ultra Marathon.

The decision for me to start studying again was a long process. I have always been an active person involved in sport. There were many changes in my life, and one of these was moving to Germany. Being here really started to show me that there is so much I can do in my chosen field. However, it became apparent that although I had, over the past twenty years, accumulated the practical knowledge and experience to work in the sports field, I didn't have the qualifications to back that knowledge up. At this point I put my time and energy to gain the qualifications to do the work I wanted. Part of this process was wanting to achieve a degree in Sport Science. This was not possible with distance learning which almost brought study to a halt. Discovering the Sport and Exercise programme opened the way to studying some sport science within that degree. Sport and Exercise has a strong focus on coaching and developing athletes which is what I am passionate about.

My ambition is to work my way to a place where I can influence as many athletes as possible in positive ways, seeing them as more than just muscles and results and helping them become better and more rounded people. Just where this will ultimately be I am still working on. I currently work as a coach and personal trainer for individual athletes as well as working with two triathlon clubs in Germany. I am currently waiting for my working visa for Switzerland to be finalised as I have been offered the head coaching position for a large Swiss triathlon club and team. I believe that my future lies in this direction.

My reason for taking this course is clear to me. I believe that the message of science is not working as well as it should, and misinformation abounds. I am a sceptic and am amazed about the speed with which misinformation and pseudo-science is spread compared with how slowly scientific information is spread. I am in awe of the work of people like Steve Novella from the Skeptics Guide to the Universe and Mark Crislip from Society for Science-based Medicine, who I believe are fantastic science communicators. I would like to learn to add my voice to theirs in my field of expertise, Sport. It is important to me to communicate knowledge of what science in sport really is, the bias endemic in science and advertising emanating from companies who produce sports products, and how that can affect the results. I believe the true results of sound, replicable science need to be seen and understood.

I believe I am developing a deeper understanding of the science behind sport, and also the ability to find, read and understand current sport science. I am able to look though the dubious claims of products and find the truth or lack of it.

My greatest weakness has been my literary skills. I should have worked on my writing ability a lot earlier in my life rather than when I returned to university. Added to this that I now work mainly in German and I must also work on my quality of spoken and written German. Working on these language factors will make me a better and more effective communicator in the sciences.

Regards,

Cameron.