title: The impact on language teachers of trends in the literature on language teaching and learning: A questionnaire-based study involving teachers of English as an additional language

authors: Fester, Anthea

subjects: Language teachers

abstract: The article reports about the research on teachers of English language as an Additional Language in five countries. As mentioned, a questionnaire including questions about genre, cohesion and coherence of teaching was prepared, it revealed that the language had less impact on beliefs and practices of these language teachers, and that too only a superficial one. Several illustrative diagrams are in the article, and it's concluded that teaching English has less impact on teaching of other languages.

text: The impact on language teachers of trends in the literature on language teaching and learning: A questionnaire-based study involving teachers of English as an additional language The article reports about the research on teachers of English language as an Additional Language in five countries. As mentioned, a questionnaire including questions about genre, cohesion and coherence of teaching was prepared, it revealed that the language had less impact on beliefs and practices of these language teachers, and that too only a superficial one. Several illustrative diagrams are in the article, and it's concluded that teaching English has less impact on teaching of other languages.

year: 2010-09

title: The tension of national allegory: the search for Chinese identity and modernity – an analysis of Chinese literature in the post-Mao era in the context of globalization

authors: Nie, Mao

abstract: This dissertation focuses on an analysis of Chinese literature in the post-Mao era in the context of globalization. It utilizes Fredric Jameson's third-world cultural theory, particularly his ideas relating to national allegory, and applies theoretical constructs, such as postmodernism (e.g the theories of Jean-Francois Lyotard), postcolonial theory (e.g Edward Said’s Orientalism), Julia Kristeva’s intertextuality, the carnival theory and the idea of polyphony put forward by M. M. Bakhin, the theories of Michel Foucault, Wilhelm Reich’s character analysis, and Sigmund Freud’s theories of psychoanalysis. The dissertation provides a focused textual analysis of a number of literary trends that emerged in contemporary China, namely, Scar literature, Misty poetry, Root-Seeking literature, Avant-garde literature and New Realism literature. It decodes a selection of representative works from each of these literary schools, and interprets the characteristics of the key literary groups of each period. By doing so, it attempts to enrich and develop the established western theories referred to above by means of an analytical rereading of the selected texts.

The first aim of my analysis is to attain a measure of “historical depth”. For this purpose, as one example, Scar by Lu Xinhua (published in 1978) is reread intertextually with Benediction by Lu Xun (published in 1928), and with The Song of Youth by Yang Mo (published in 1958). The critical perspective adopted develops further both Julia Kristeva’s theory of intertextuality and M.M. Bakhin’s carnival configuration, as well as providing new insights into the “national allegory” theory of Fredric Jameson.

Second, my analysis aims to achieve a “synchronal broadness”, as can be evidenced in the examination of Root-Seeking literature where an analogy is drawn between Bababa and Nununu by Han Shaogong. The analysis not only employs Fredric Jameson’s theories as reference, it also applies Kristeva’s feminism, theories from Michel Foucault and Wilhelm Reich, as well as relevant theories from post-modernism and post-colonialism. By means of a thorough decoding of these two texts with a similar motif, but different story lines, written by the same author, we find that they display the textual elements of a strong rational design, reflecting an imagined utopian order that is characteristic of all Root-seeking literature.

Furthermore, the methodology intends to create a “three-dimensional solidness,” as is shown in the supra-spatiotemporal and multi-dimensional psychoanalysis of the poetry by Yi Lei of the Misty Poetry school. It is sometimes believed that modern “Han poetry” separated itself from ancient classical literature, deviating from Chinese cultural tradition. This rebellion against tradition and the succumbing to Western literature, it is posited, have deprived modern Chinese poetry of its Chineseness and generated a double crisis - a “temporal crisis,” which means lagging behind the West, and a “normative crisis,” which means always being inferior to the Western original. This has resulted in calls for the development of a style of poetry that can be regarded as truly original. The analysis in this dissertation of the Misty poetry school provides an answer to the intrinsic relationship between '”Chineseness” and “global universality”, the individual “small I” and the national “big I”.

As another example, the works of the two writers Ma Yuan and Yu Hua, whose aesthetic tendencies are diametrically opposite, are examined, followed by a review of the avant-garde work The Little House on the Hill by Can Xue. In addition, a number of interpretations of The Landscape by Fang Fang are analyzed from different perspectives.

In conclusion, the Chinese literature of the post-Mao era has its own unique literary features and textual messages. Influences, both traditional and contemporary, local and international, have imbued it with elements that belong, variously, to the categories of “pre-modern”, “modern” and “postmodern”. It reveals that in contemporary China “an intrinsic mode” or “cultural order” exists of subversion and rehabilitation, disintegration and reconstruction, deviation and normalization, edge and center, ruler and ruled, underground and open, undercurrent and mainstream, the elite and the populace, official and non-governmental, commerce and politics, mass media and power. This is the complexity of the culture that explains how the ever-developing Chinese literature of the post-Mao era has at once its own intrinsic “boundaries” as well as “limitless” space for creative invention.

Thus, the most important feature or contribution of this dissertation is that through a critical dissection of a selection of key, representative works, new insights can be gleaned into the layers of rich textual meaning underlying each narrative, thereby enabling a deeper and a more comprehensive appreciation of the significance of contemporary Chinese literature within a global context.

text: The tension of national allegory: the search for Chinese identity and modernity – an analysis of Chinese literature in the post-Mao era in the context of globalization This dissertation focuses on an analysis of Chinese literature in the post-Mao era in the context of globalization. It utilizes Fredric Jameson's third-world cultural theory, particularly his ideas relating to national allegory, and applies theoretical constructs, such as postmodernism (e.g the theories of Jean-Francois Lyotard), postcolonial theory (e.g Edward Said’s Orientalism), Julia Kristeva’s intertextuality, the carnival theory and the idea of polyphony put forward by M. M. Bakhin, the theories of Michel Foucault, Wilhelm Reich’s character analysis, and Sigmund Freud’s theories of psychoanalysis. The dissertation provides a focused textual analysis of a number of literary trends that emerged in contemporary China, namely, Scar literature, Misty poetry, Root-Seeking literature, Avant-garde literature and New Realism literature. It decodes a selection of representative works from each of these literary schools, and interprets the characteristics of the key literary groups of each period. By doing so, it attempts to enrich and develop the established western theories referred to above by means of an analytical rereading of the selected texts.

The first aim of my analysis is to attain a measure of “historical depth”. For this purpose, as one example, Scar by Lu Xinhua (published in 1978) is reread intertextually with Benediction by Lu Xun (published in 1928), and with The Song of Youth by Yang Mo (published in 1958). The critical perspective adopted develops further both Julia Kristeva’s theory of intertextuality and M.M. Bakhin’s carnival configuration, as well as providing new insights into the “national allegory” theory of Fredric Jameson.

Second, my analysis aims to achieve a “synchronal broadness”, as can be evidenced in the examination of Root-Seeking literature where an analogy is drawn between Bababa and Nununu by Han Shaogong. The analysis not only employs Fredric Jameson’s theories as reference, it also applies Kristeva’s feminism, theories from Michel Foucault and Wilhelm Reich, as well as relevant theories from post-modernism and post-colonialism. By means of a thorough decoding of these two texts with a similar motif, but different story lines, written by the same author, we find that they display the textual elements of a strong rational design, reflecting an imagined utopian order that is characteristic of all Root-seeking literature.

Furthermore, the methodology intends to create a “three-dimensional solidness,” as is shown in the supra-spatiotemporal and multi-dimensional psychoanalysis of the poetry by Yi Lei of the Misty Poetry school. It is sometimes believed that modern “Han poetry” separated itself from ancient classical literature, deviating from Chinese cultural tradition. This rebellion against tradition and the succumbing to Western literature, it is posited, have deprived modern Chinese poetry of its Chineseness and generated a double crisis - a “temporal crisis,” which means lagging behind the West, and a “normative crisis,” which means always being inferior to the Western original. This has resulted in calls for the development of a style of poetry that can be regarded as truly original. The analysis in this dissertation of the Misty poetry school provides an answer to the intrinsic relationship between '”Chineseness” and “global universality”, the individual “small I” and the national “big I”.

As another example, the works of the two writers Ma Yuan and Yu Hua, whose aesthetic tendencies are diametrically opposite, are examined, followed by a review of the avant-garde work The Little House on the Hill by Can Xue. In addition, a number of interpretations of The Landscape by Fang Fang are analyzed from different perspectives.

In conclusion, the Chinese literature of the post-Mao era has its own unique literary features and textual messages. Influences, both traditional and contemporary, local and international, have imbued it with elements that belong, variously, to the categories of “pre-modern”, “modern” and “postmodern”. It reveals that in contemporary China “an intrinsic mode” or “cultural order” exists of subversion and rehabilitation, disintegration and reconstruction, deviation and normalization, edge and center, ruler and ruled, underground and open, undercurrent and mainstream, the elite and the populace, official and non-governmental, commerce and politics, mass media and power. This is the complexity of the culture that explains how the ever-developing Chinese literature of the post-Mao era has at once its own intrinsic “boundaries” as well as “limitless” space for creative invention.

Thus, the most important feature or contribution of this dissertation is that through a critical dissection of a selection of key, representative works, new insights can be gleaned into the layers of rich textual meaning underlying each narrative, thereby enabling a deeper and a more comprehensive appreciation of the significance of contemporary Chinese literature within a global context.

year: 2003

title: He Piko, He Repo: Environmental DNA as a biomonitoring tool for wetland restoration

authors: Bird, Starsha

subjects: colonisation

abstract: Wetlands are biodiversity hotspots, harbouring distinctive species while providing numerous ecosystem services. Unfortunately, throughout human civilisation, they have been systematically degraded, resulting in a dramatic global loss in wetland extent, the establishment of invasive species and the extinction of many natives and, in Aotearoa New Zealand, impediment of the special connection Māori share with their repo (wetlands). Monitoring wetland biodiversity to take appropriate restorative action and minimise further degradation is imperative, particularly in the face of climate change. Environmental DNA (eDNA; genetic material released by organisms into the environment) is an increasingly popular non-invasive biomonitoring method that provides information about the presence or potential absence of species inhabiting a given ecosystem, but has yet to be optimised for wetland environments. My thesis aimed to address the consequences of colonisation on the relationship between Māori and their wetlands, and to explore the value eDNA holds for wetland biomonitoring. The first analysis (Chapter 2) delved into the past (post-European settlement; 1840s), the present (2023), and the future (2073) of Opuatia Wetland (Waikato, Aotearoa New Zealand) through a series of interviews with three individuals who whakapapa to (are connected with) Opuatia Wetland and its surroundings. I found that Opuatia Wetland once flourished with native biodiversity, and kai (food) was readily available. However, land confiscation by European settlers marked the downfall of this once productive and connected catchment such that it is presently in a fairly degraded state, dominated by exotic species, with Māori feeling disconnected from their whenua (land). Considering the future, the interviewees envisioned a revived abundance of native species and desire for restoration efforts to be facilitated by both mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) and science. The second analysis (Chapter 3) examined a publicly available eDNA database to retrieve data from 26 wetland sites across Aotearoa New Zealand to understand taxonomic diversity patterns. Here, I showed that DNA sequence composition varied across the motu (country), illustrating that varying environmental conditions among wetland types influences biodiversity. Notably, most sites were dominated by >50% exotic species. These findings highlight the value of publicly shared data for generating new insights, and the need for resource allocations to tackle the persistence of exotic species in wetland ecosystems. The third analysis (Chapter 4) focused on analysing biodiversity dynamics at a single wetland and tested various eDNA sampling techniques. I sampled four spatially distant sites across Opuatia Wetland at three time points during an austral spring and simultaneously obtained data from conventional taxonomic surveys, tested three different filter sizes, and assessed DNA degradation rates using foreign DNA. I found significant differences in biodiversity across time and space, and when using different eDNA collection filters. Foreign DNA persisted for up to one week post-release within a 10 m radius, and combining conventional and eDNA methods provided a more comprehensive overview of biodiversity patterns. These findings collectively showcased key changes in biodiversity, even over short spatial and temporal scales, and identified parameters to consider for wetland biodiversity monitoring and associated data interpretation. It is only a matter of time until the impacts of climate change and invasive species take firmer hold of Aotearoa New Zealand's distinctive and fragile environment. Undoubtedly, eDNA can be part of the solution to mitigate these challenges, owing to its versatility across ecosystem types, capacity to extend to various substrates, and accessibility for researchers and citizen scientists alike. As eDNA methods continue to improve and become integrated into ongoing biomonitoring schemes, building equitable and empowering relationships between Māori and researchers/government bodies will best ensure that Aotearoa New Zealand repo and other environments are maintained and conserved for future generations.

text: He Piko, He Repo: Environmental DNA as a biomonitoring tool for wetland restoration Wetlands are biodiversity hotspots, harbouring distinctive species while providing numerous ecosystem services. Unfortunately, throughout human civilisation, they have been systematically degraded, resulting in a dramatic global loss in wetland extent, the establishment of invasive species and the extinction of many natives and, in Aotearoa New Zealand, impediment of the special connection Māori share with their repo (wetlands). Monitoring wetland biodiversity to take appropriate restorative action and minimise further degradation is imperative, particularly in the face of climate change. Environmental DNA (eDNA; genetic material released by organisms into the environment) is an increasingly popular non-invasive biomonitoring method that provides information about the presence or potential absence of species inhabiting a given ecosystem, but has yet to be optimised for wetland environments. My thesis aimed to address the consequences of colonisation on the relationship between Māori and their wetlands, and to explore the value eDNA holds for wetland biomonitoring. The first analysis (Chapter 2) delved into the past (post-European settlement; 1840s), the present (2023), and the future (2073) of Opuatia Wetland (Waikato, Aotearoa New Zealand) through a series of interviews with three individuals who whakapapa to (are connected with) Opuatia Wetland and its surroundings. I found that Opuatia Wetland once flourished with native biodiversity, and kai (food) was readily available. However, land confiscation by European settlers marked the downfall of this once productive and connected catchment such that it is presently in a fairly degraded state, dominated by exotic species, with Māori feeling disconnected from their whenua (land). Considering the future, the interviewees envisioned a revived abundance of native species and desire for restoration efforts to be facilitated by both mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) and science. The second analysis (Chapter 3) examined a publicly available eDNA database to retrieve data from 26 wetland sites across Aotearoa New Zealand to understand taxonomic diversity patterns. Here, I showed that DNA sequence composition varied across the motu (country), illustrating that varying environmental conditions among wetland types influences biodiversity. Notably, most sites were dominated by >50% exotic species. These findings highlight the value of publicly shared data for generating new insights, and the need for resource allocations to tackle the persistence of exotic species in wetland ecosystems. The third analysis (Chapter 4) focused on analysing biodiversity dynamics at a single wetland and tested various eDNA sampling techniques. I sampled four spatially distant sites across Opuatia Wetland at three time points during an austral spring and simultaneously obtained data from conventional taxonomic surveys, tested three different filter sizes, and assessed DNA degradation rates using foreign DNA. I found significant differences in biodiversity across time and space, and when using different eDNA collection filters. Foreign DNA persisted for up to one week post-release within a 10 m radius, and combining conventional and eDNA methods provided a more comprehensive overview of biodiversity patterns. These findings collectively showcased key changes in biodiversity, even over short spatial and temporal scales, and identified parameters to consider for wetland biodiversity monitoring and associated data interpretation. It is only a matter of time until the impacts of climate change and invasive species take firmer hold of Aotearoa New Zealand's distinctive and fragile environment. Undoubtedly, eDNA can be part of the solution to mitigate these challenges, owing to its versatility across ecosystem types, capacity to extend to various substrates, and accessibility for researchers and citizen scientists alike. As eDNA methods continue to improve and become integrated into ongoing biomonitoring schemes, building equitable and empowering relationships between Māori and researchers/government bodies will best ensure that Aotearoa New Zealand repo and other environments are maintained and conserved for future generations.

year: 2023