title: Freemasonry and charity

authors: Chevalier-Watts, Juliet

abstract: Although the exact origins of Freemasonry are long since lost, its history can be traced back to as early as the Middle Ages and to highly skilled stonemasons who formed themselves into lodges to protect their skills and secrets and to pass on this valuable knowledge onto selected apprentices. Freemasonry is considered to be one of the world’s largest and oldest fraternal organisations, whose principles of integrity, goodwill and charity form the foundation for an individual’s way of living. Freemasonry is renowned for its key support of charitable activities and community services. Freemasonry in New Zealand is divided into three Masonic Divisions, each of which is divided in to a number of Districts, and each District has a number of Lodges. The Grand Lodge of New Zealand, based in Wellington, oversees all of these.

text: Freemasonry and charity Although the exact origins of Freemasonry are long since lost, its history can be traced back to as early as the Middle Ages and to highly skilled stonemasons who formed themselves into lodges to protect their skills and secrets and to pass on this valuable knowledge onto selected apprentices. Freemasonry is considered to be one of the world’s largest and oldest fraternal organisations, whose principles of integrity, goodwill and charity form the foundation for an individual’s way of living. Freemasonry is renowned for its key support of charitable activities and community services. Freemasonry in New Zealand is divided into three Masonic Divisions, each of which is divided in to a number of Districts, and each District has a number of Lodges. The Grand Lodge of New Zealand, based in Wellington, oversees all of these.

year: 2011

title: Exploring pre-service teachers' understanding of statistical variation: Implications for teaching and research

authors: Sharma, Sashi

subjects: statistics education

abstract: Concerns about the importance of variation in statistics education and a lack of research in this topic led to a preliminary study which explored pre-service teachers’ ideas in this area. The teachers completed a written questionnaire about variation in sampling and distribution contexts. Responses were categorised in relation to a framework that identified levels of statistical thinking. The results suggest that while many of the students appeared to acknowledge variation, they were not able to provide adequate explanations. Although the pre-service teachers have had more real-life experiences involving statistics and have been involved in the study of statistical concepts at secondary school level, they still demonstrated the same misconceptions as those of younger students reported in research literature. While more students showed competence on the sampling question, they were less competent on the distribution task. This could be due to task format or contextual issues. The paper concludes by suggesting some implications for further research and teaching.

text: Exploring pre-service teachers' understanding of statistical variation: Implications for teaching and research Concerns about the importance of variation in statistics education and a lack of research in this topic led to a preliminary study which explored pre-service teachers’ ideas in this area. The teachers completed a written questionnaire about variation in sampling and distribution contexts. Responses were categorised in relation to a framework that identified levels of statistical thinking. The results suggest that while many of the students appeared to acknowledge variation, they were not able to provide adequate explanations. Although the pre-service teachers have had more real-life experiences involving statistics and have been involved in the study of statistical concepts at secondary school level, they still demonstrated the same misconceptions as those of younger students reported in research literature. While more students showed competence on the sampling question, they were less competent on the distribution task. This could be due to task format or contextual issues. The paper concludes by suggesting some implications for further research and teaching.

year: 2007

title: Our Place in New Zealand Culture: How the Museum of New Zealand Constructs Biculturalism

authors: Goldsmith, Michael

subjects: museum

abstract: The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa opened in 1998 amidst controversy but has been a huge popular success and has become an icon of national identity. The controversy was confined to elite circles and stemmed from criticisms of the contrasting ways in which Maori and Pakeha (European) cultural items were displayed — the former in a reverential manner and the latter as a kind of 'amusement arcade' of supposedly incoherent, temporary and mocking exhibits. Through an analysis of these displays and of the representations surrounding them, this paper argues that the sacred/profane dichotomy promulgated by the Museum may be open to argument but is probably an inescapable feature of the official policy of biculturalism in a postcolonial setting.

text: Our Place in New Zealand Culture: How the Museum of New Zealand Constructs Biculturalism The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa opened in 1998 amidst controversy but has been a huge popular success and has become an icon of national identity. The controversy was confined to elite circles and stemmed from criticisms of the contrasting ways in which Maori and Pakeha (European) cultural items were displayed — the former in a reverential manner and the latter as a kind of 'amusement arcade' of supposedly incoherent, temporary and mocking exhibits. Through an analysis of these displays and of the representations surrounding them, this paper argues that the sacred/profane dichotomy promulgated by the Museum may be open to argument but is probably an inescapable feature of the official policy of biculturalism in a postcolonial setting.

year: 2003