title: The sustainable global energy economy: Hydrogen or silicon?

authors: Bardsley, W. Earl

subjects: solar power

abstract: A sustainable global silicon energy economy is proposed as a potential alternative to the
hydrogen economy. This first visualisation of a silicon energy economy is based on largescale
and carbon-neutral metallic silicon production from major smelters in North Africa
and elsewhere, supplied by desert silica sand and electricity from extensive solar
generating systems. The resulting “fuel silicon” is shipped around the world to emission-free
silicon power stations for either immediate electricity generation or stockpiling. The
high energy density of silicon and its stable storage make it an ideal material for
maintaining national economic functioning through security of base load power supply
from a renewable source. This contrasts with the present situation of fossil fuel usage
with its associated global warming and geopolitical supply uncertainties. Critical
technological requirements for the silicon economy are carbon-neutral silicon production
and the development of efficient silicon-fired power stations capable of high-temperature
rapid oxidation of fuel silicon. A call is made for the development of research effort into
these specific engineering issues, and also with respect to large-scale economical solar
power generation.

text: The sustainable global energy economy: Hydrogen or silicon? A sustainable global silicon energy economy is proposed as a potential alternative to the
hydrogen economy. This first visualisation of a silicon energy economy is based on largescale
and carbon-neutral metallic silicon production from major smelters in North Africa
and elsewhere, supplied by desert silica sand and electricity from extensive solar
generating systems. The resulting “fuel silicon” is shipped around the world to emission-free
silicon power stations for either immediate electricity generation or stockpiling. The
high energy density of silicon and its stable storage make it an ideal material for
maintaining national economic functioning through security of base load power supply
from a renewable source. This contrasts with the present situation of fossil fuel usage
with its associated global warming and geopolitical supply uncertainties. Critical
technological requirements for the silicon economy are carbon-neutral silicon production
and the development of efficient silicon-fired power stations capable of high-temperature
rapid oxidation of fuel silicon. A call is made for the development of research effort into
these specific engineering issues, and also with respect to large-scale economical solar
power generation.

year: 2008

title: Repositioning teachers and learners in senior science for 21st century learning

authors: Trask, Suzanne Adele

subjects: assessment

abstract: This thesis explores how the turn towards ‘21st century learning’ might influence senior secondary science education in the context of high stakes summative assessment in Aotearoa New Zealand. Significant in the set of assumptions and ideals associated with 21st century learning is the expectation that learning is more personalised to address and allow for diverse student needs and interests. However, in the reality of classroom life, a question remains as to if and how 21st century ideals might translate into practice.
A social constructionist theoretical orientation directed attention to the way 21st century learning as a discourse constructs certain conditions of possibility for teaching and learning. In turn, these conditions were viewed as shaping different possibilities for teacher and student positions and identities. 
Four macro-level elements of curriculum, assessment, physical spaces, and digital technologies were used to frame an examination of the ways in which the discourse of 21st century learning might play out in senior secondary science. Interpretations of science as a key learning area in the New Zealand curriculum (NZC) and the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) as the New Zealand secondary school exit qualification provided the contexts for elements of curriculum and assessment. Research was conducted in schools designed as open, shared, flexible learning spaces (FLS), incorporating wired and wireless technologies. This provided the context for the elements of physical space and digital technologies. 
The research was designed in two phases. In phase one, three case studies were undertaken to ask: What does senior secondary science learning look like in FLS schools when teachers and students are focussed on NCEA assessment? In phase two, three cycles of collaborative action research were undertaken over eight months with one teacher and her year 12 science class to explore: What could senior science learning look like? Qualitative data generated from interview and participant observation in both phases was analysed using thematic analysis to understand what science learning looked like or could look like. Social constructionist ideas of discourse, positioning, and identity were used to theorise and explore the overarching research question of how the discourse of 21st century learning might influence notions of senior secondary science to reposition teachers and learners of science.
Findings show how the multifaceted identities taken up by teachers and students were shaped by the pedagogical possibilities created and available within the dynamic interplay between the four elements. Teachers and students could be seen to be positioned by and to position themselves within discourses of 21st century learning as personalisation and choice, and traditional science schooling, in action and tension. Some aspects of NCEA assessment acted to strengthen the traditional science schooling discourse which foregrounds science as knowledge-based and supports identities of teacher-expert as transmitters of knowledge. Other aspects of NCEA provided openings in line with science as inquiry as advocated in the NZC. Some aspects of FLS environments did not support some teachers’ view of traditionally effective approaches to science teaching and practical work. However, the affordances of digital technologies and the fluidity and social flow of flexible spaces enhanced possibilities for many forms of learning choices. Flexible spaces supported team teaching of larger groups and collaboration of teachers across science disciplines. 
Teachers responded to these openings by scaffolding different types of learning choices for diverse senior students in what, why, where, how, and with whom to learn, at different levels of openness in science inquiry. However, some students did not take up the full scope of the opportunities offered, especially where these were in tension with students’ ideas of how best to be successful in terms of achieving credits in NCEA. Findings reinforce the importance of the teacher’s role in scaffolding student autonomy to make choices and to achieve in student-directed inquiries. Overall, and in spite of the challenges and tensions that teachers and students faced, this research identifies opportunities for broadening the definition of ‘good’ science teacher and learner to include the offering and uptake of a range of learning choices in senior science inquiry as part of high stakes assessment. 
This research contributes insights in the form of situated stories of the struggles and achievements of teachers and students: what was happening and what did happen as they were positioned and as they acted to reposition themselves to take on different science teacher and learner identities in contexts of high stakes NCEA assessment in 21st century FLS environments. A range of implications for learning space design, curriculum and assessment policy, and directions for further research into science inquiry and digital pedagogies are outlined.

text: Repositioning teachers and learners in senior science for 21st century learning This thesis explores how the turn towards ‘21st century learning’ might influence senior secondary science education in the context of high stakes summative assessment in Aotearoa New Zealand. Significant in the set of assumptions and ideals associated with 21st century learning is the expectation that learning is more personalised to address and allow for diverse student needs and interests. However, in the reality of classroom life, a question remains as to if and how 21st century ideals might translate into practice.
A social constructionist theoretical orientation directed attention to the way 21st century learning as a discourse constructs certain conditions of possibility for teaching and learning. In turn, these conditions were viewed as shaping different possibilities for teacher and student positions and identities. 
Four macro-level elements of curriculum, assessment, physical spaces, and digital technologies were used to frame an examination of the ways in which the discourse of 21st century learning might play out in senior secondary science. Interpretations of science as a key learning area in the New Zealand curriculum (NZC) and the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) as the New Zealand secondary school exit qualification provided the contexts for elements of curriculum and assessment. Research was conducted in schools designed as open, shared, flexible learning spaces (FLS), incorporating wired and wireless technologies. This provided the context for the elements of physical space and digital technologies. 
The research was designed in two phases. In phase one, three case studies were undertaken to ask: What does senior secondary science learning look like in FLS schools when teachers and students are focussed on NCEA assessment? In phase two, three cycles of collaborative action research were undertaken over eight months with one teacher and her year 12 science class to explore: What could senior science learning look like? Qualitative data generated from interview and participant observation in both phases was analysed using thematic analysis to understand what science learning looked like or could look like. Social constructionist ideas of discourse, positioning, and identity were used to theorise and explore the overarching research question of how the discourse of 21st century learning might influence notions of senior secondary science to reposition teachers and learners of science.
Findings show how the multifaceted identities taken up by teachers and students were shaped by the pedagogical possibilities created and available within the dynamic interplay between the four elements. Teachers and students could be seen to be positioned by and to position themselves within discourses of 21st century learning as personalisation and choice, and traditional science schooling, in action and tension. Some aspects of NCEA assessment acted to strengthen the traditional science schooling discourse which foregrounds science as knowledge-based and supports identities of teacher-expert as transmitters of knowledge. Other aspects of NCEA provided openings in line with science as inquiry as advocated in the NZC. Some aspects of FLS environments did not support some teachers’ view of traditionally effective approaches to science teaching and practical work. However, the affordances of digital technologies and the fluidity and social flow of flexible spaces enhanced possibilities for many forms of learning choices. Flexible spaces supported team teaching of larger groups and collaboration of teachers across science disciplines. 
Teachers responded to these openings by scaffolding different types of learning choices for diverse senior students in what, why, where, how, and with whom to learn, at different levels of openness in science inquiry. However, some students did not take up the full scope of the opportunities offered, especially where these were in tension with students’ ideas of how best to be successful in terms of achieving credits in NCEA. Findings reinforce the importance of the teacher’s role in scaffolding student autonomy to make choices and to achieve in student-directed inquiries. Overall, and in spite of the challenges and tensions that teachers and students faced, this research identifies opportunities for broadening the definition of ‘good’ science teacher and learner to include the offering and uptake of a range of learning choices in senior science inquiry as part of high stakes assessment. 
This research contributes insights in the form of situated stories of the struggles and achievements of teachers and students: what was happening and what did happen as they were positioned and as they acted to reposition themselves to take on different science teacher and learner identities in contexts of high stakes NCEA assessment in 21st century FLS environments. A range of implications for learning space design, curriculum and assessment policy, and directions for further research into science inquiry and digital pedagogies are outlined.

year: 2019

title: Āta whakarongo: Understanding whānau experiences of audiology early intervention

authors: Dargaville, Cynthia Michelle

subjects: Māori

abstract: For tamariki with hearing loss, early intervention is of critical importance in maximising speech and language, socio-emotional and academic development outcomes. Better hearing outcomes can be achieved by minimising diagnosis delays and initiating intervention treatment as soon as possible. Preliminary data from Waikato District Health Board indicated an equity gap at the point of diagnosis with persisting inequities for tamariki Māori during the delivery of early intervention services. High rates of appointment non-attendance within this group (27% Māori vs. 8% for non-Māori) are a cause for concern when approximately 50% of total appointments are for tamariki Māori. This research seeks to understand the experiences of Māori whānau accessing Waikato’s Audiology Early Intervention Service in order to identify changes the service can make to improve Māori engagement in the future. This study uses qualitative methodologies within a kaupapa Māori framework to investigate the access experiences of Māori whānau of tamariki identified with hearing loss. Interviews with six whānau from Hamilton city and rural Waikato provided rich narratives to inform changes to the Audiology Service to improve the hearing outcomes of tamariki Māori. Whānau shared systems and practical barriers that contributed to challenges with attending appointments including the location, appointment timing, travel and parking. From entering an unwelcoming waiting area, whānau described the added stress experienced to the depth of their emotional response to the hearing loss diagnosis. All shared positive interactions with staff and detailed what could have made their health experience better. After leaning into the kōrero and connecting to the whānau experience, a Manaaki-based pathway is proposed to support Māori ways of being, to ease whānau through the barriers and to combat the alienating experiences of engaging with the health system.

text: Āta whakarongo: Understanding whānau experiences of audiology early intervention For tamariki with hearing loss, early intervention is of critical importance in maximising speech and language, socio-emotional and academic development outcomes. Better hearing outcomes can be achieved by minimising diagnosis delays and initiating intervention treatment as soon as possible. Preliminary data from Waikato District Health Board indicated an equity gap at the point of diagnosis with persisting inequities for tamariki Māori during the delivery of early intervention services. High rates of appointment non-attendance within this group (27% Māori vs. 8% for non-Māori) are a cause for concern when approximately 50% of total appointments are for tamariki Māori. This research seeks to understand the experiences of Māori whānau accessing Waikato’s Audiology Early Intervention Service in order to identify changes the service can make to improve Māori engagement in the future. This study uses qualitative methodologies within a kaupapa Māori framework to investigate the access experiences of Māori whānau of tamariki identified with hearing loss. Interviews with six whānau from Hamilton city and rural Waikato provided rich narratives to inform changes to the Audiology Service to improve the hearing outcomes of tamariki Māori. Whānau shared systems and practical barriers that contributed to challenges with attending appointments including the location, appointment timing, travel and parking. From entering an unwelcoming waiting area, whānau described the added stress experienced to the depth of their emotional response to the hearing loss diagnosis. All shared positive interactions with staff and detailed what could have made their health experience better. After leaning into the kōrero and connecting to the whānau experience, a Manaaki-based pathway is proposed to support Māori ways of being, to ease whānau through the barriers and to combat the alienating experiences of engaging with the health system.

year: 2023