title: Gird-i Rostam 2018: preliminary report on the first season of excavations by the joint Kurdish-German-American team

authors: Potts, DT

abstract: The first season of excavations at Gird-i Rostam has revealed its potential as an important archaeological site. The findings indicate that the site was occupied during different periods, including the Sasanian and Late Chalcolithic periods, as well as the Bronze Age and the Neo-Assyrian era. This suggests a connection to the Assyrian empire and highlights the significance of the Penjwin region in eastern Kurdistan. The excavations have raised several goals for future seasons, including uncovering the site's Neolithic and Early/Middle Chalcolithic occupation, refining the chronology of the Late Chalcolithic in northern Mesopotamia, investigating the Assyrian impact on eastern Kurdistan, and exploring the link between Gird-i Rostam and the Nestorian ecclesiastical province of Beth Garmai. The findings at Gird-i Rostam have the potential to contribute to a better understanding of the Zagros region's development over time and its local and external relations.

text: Gird-i Rostam 2018: preliminary report on the first season of excavations by the joint Kurdish-German-American team The first season of excavations at Gird-i Rostam has revealed its potential as an important archaeological site. The findings indicate that the site was occupied during different periods, including the Sasanian and Late Chalcolithic periods, as well as the Bronze Age and the Neo-Assyrian era. This suggests a connection to the Assyrian empire and highlights the significance of the Penjwin region in eastern Kurdistan. The excavations have raised several goals for future seasons, including uncovering the site's Neolithic and Early/Middle Chalcolithic occupation, refining the chronology of the Late Chalcolithic in northern Mesopotamia, investigating the Assyrian impact on eastern Kurdistan, and exploring the link between Gird-i Rostam and the Nestorian ecclesiastical province of Beth Garmai. The findings at Gird-i Rostam have the potential to contribute to a better understanding of the Zagros region's development over time and its local and external relations.

year: 2019

title: How school leaders address violence against girls/women in schools and its significance for the implementation of universal basic education policy in Papua New Guinea

authors: Wilson Kend, Pes

subjects: violence against girls/women

abstract: The goal of Universal Basic Education (UBE), as agreed to in the formulation of the Education For All Goals in 1990 and later the development of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the United Nations (UN) in 2000, is achieving universal primary and secondary education by 2015. However, one of the impediments to the successful attainment of the UBE in Papua New Guinea (PNG) is the issue of violence against girls and women (VAG/W) in schools. Addressing violence and gender issues has a significant impact on the ultimate progress and outcome on the goal of UBE because, in practice, PNG is not free from violence and its related issues of gender inequality. Therefore, this study sought to understand, ‘How School Leaders Address Violence Against Girls/Women in Schools and its Significance for the Implementation of Universal Basic Education Policy in PNG’. Its prime focus was to assess the effectiveness of school leadership in handling VAG/W in PNG schools. 
Some schools and their leaders in PNG have been recognised as working effectively in tackling VAG/W in schools. A secondary intention of this study was to investigate those effective practices and recommend them to other schools and for further improvements. Using interviews with adult school leaders (4) and surveys with student leaders and students (101) the research was carried out in two contextually very different schools in PNG, located in the NCD and Central provinces. Descriptive statistics, thematic analysis and content analysis was used to analyse the data. The study concluded that school leaders at the two schools were attending to issues of VAG/W in their schools and, to some extent, were effective within their specific context. Yet there were still many challenges identified that need on-going attention for achieving universal primary and secondary education and addressing VAG/W. As a result of the study I have proposed several recommendations for the schools, for education in PNG more generally and for those engaging in similar research associated with VAG/W in PNG.

text: How school leaders address violence against girls/women in schools and its significance for the implementation of universal basic education policy in Papua New Guinea The goal of Universal Basic Education (UBE), as agreed to in the formulation of the Education For All Goals in 1990 and later the development of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the United Nations (UN) in 2000, is achieving universal primary and secondary education by 2015. However, one of the impediments to the successful attainment of the UBE in Papua New Guinea (PNG) is the issue of violence against girls and women (VAG/W) in schools. Addressing violence and gender issues has a significant impact on the ultimate progress and outcome on the goal of UBE because, in practice, PNG is not free from violence and its related issues of gender inequality. Therefore, this study sought to understand, ‘How School Leaders Address Violence Against Girls/Women in Schools and its Significance for the Implementation of Universal Basic Education Policy in PNG’. Its prime focus was to assess the effectiveness of school leadership in handling VAG/W in PNG schools. 
Some schools and their leaders in PNG have been recognised as working effectively in tackling VAG/W in schools. A secondary intention of this study was to investigate those effective practices and recommend them to other schools and for further improvements. Using interviews with adult school leaders (4) and surveys with student leaders and students (101) the research was carried out in two contextually very different schools in PNG, located in the NCD and Central provinces. Descriptive statistics, thematic analysis and content analysis was used to analyse the data. The study concluded that school leaders at the two schools were attending to issues of VAG/W in their schools and, to some extent, were effective within their specific context. Yet there were still many challenges identified that need on-going attention for achieving universal primary and secondary education and addressing VAG/W. As a result of the study I have proposed several recommendations for the schools, for education in PNG more generally and for those engaging in similar research associated with VAG/W in PNG.

year: 2013

title: “Literacy is not a Māori thing": Debunking the deficit discourse

authors: Derby, Melissa

abstract: Literacy has been entrenched in Māori society for more than 200 years, meeting needs that range from serving a political purpose to reading purely for pleasure. Literacy is not solely a Western competency, and Māoristriving for excellence in literacy is not an act of modern-day colonisation. Instead, what the evidence shows is that literacy is a skill at which Māori have excelled, and can excel, without compromising their identity asMāori. I challenge us to be conscious of the discourses underpinning statements related to Māori learners, however well-meaning those statements might be, and reiterate that literacy is indeed “a Māori thing” – both historically and in contemporary times.

text: “Literacy is not a Māori thing": Debunking the deficit discourse Literacy has been entrenched in Māori society for more than 200 years, meeting needs that range from serving a political purpose to reading purely for pleasure. Literacy is not solely a Western competency, and Māoristriving for excellence in literacy is not an act of modern-day colonisation. Instead, what the evidence shows is that literacy is a skill at which Māori have excelled, and can excel, without compromising their identity asMāori. I challenge us to be conscious of the discourses underpinning statements related to Māori learners, however well-meaning those statements might be, and reiterate that literacy is indeed “a Māori thing” – both historically and in contemporary times.

year: 2022-03-22