title: Developing digitally: A secondary school’s progress to BYOD

authors: Wright, Noeline

abstract: In order to work out how to become a BYOD school, at least one New Zealand secondary school has developed a BYOD implementation plan in order to trial a variety of tools and technologies to discover what works and what doesn’t to suit its educational context. In a fast-changing educational digital landscape, schools increasingly grapple with what it means to learn and teach in a digital context, and the eLearning group in this school decided to experiment with a small group of staff. The subject contexts consisted of foreign languages, sciences, music, mathematics, and Art. A key aspect of the trial was working with an external researcher to support the investigation. The project was in its third year in 2015. During the third year, volunteer teachers incorporated Chromebooks or iPads and had free rein on how these devices were used with students. Experiments included Google Classroom, Edmodo, online interactive physics simulations, music Apps on iPads, or combinations of Apps and web-based tools.
This presentation focuses on this third year of the project and fits with the conference theme of Rings around Practice in that it centres on a school wanting to close the gaps between the goal of BYOD and and its implementation. Key findings broadly include: greater confidence in using unfamiliar tools, greater student concentration, greater collaboration among students, and faster learning particularly in the physics classroom and music. Students expressed greater confidence in learning content when learning occurred with these technologies, and teachers felt a guarded sense of satisfaction.

text: Developing digitally: A secondary school’s progress to BYOD In order to work out how to become a BYOD school, at least one New Zealand secondary school has developed a BYOD implementation plan in order to trial a variety of tools and technologies to discover what works and what doesn’t to suit its educational context. In a fast-changing educational digital landscape, schools increasingly grapple with what it means to learn and teach in a digital context, and the eLearning group in this school decided to experiment with a small group of staff. The subject contexts consisted of foreign languages, sciences, music, mathematics, and Art. A key aspect of the trial was working with an external researcher to support the investigation. The project was in its third year in 2015. During the third year, volunteer teachers incorporated Chromebooks or iPads and had free rein on how these devices were used with students. Experiments included Google Classroom, Edmodo, online interactive physics simulations, music Apps on iPads, or combinations of Apps and web-based tools.
This presentation focuses on this third year of the project and fits with the conference theme of Rings around Practice in that it centres on a school wanting to close the gaps between the goal of BYOD and and its implementation. Key findings broadly include: greater confidence in using unfamiliar tools, greater student concentration, greater collaboration among students, and faster learning particularly in the physics classroom and music. Students expressed greater confidence in learning content when learning occurred with these technologies, and teachers felt a guarded sense of satisfaction.

year: 2016

title: Representations and Manifestations of Madness in Victorian Fiction

authors: Bennett, Susanna

subjects: Victorian

abstract: This thesis explores the complex ways in which mental illness was portrayed in Victorian fiction. It situates the literature within historical contexts, but primarily focuses on fictional representations of madness. At times the fiction studied replicates the dominant attitudes towards mental illness in the period. On other occasions the literature forms a dialogue with the historical record, challenging Victorian attitudes and assumptions. 
These texts form the core of my discussion: Jane Eyre, Far From the Madding Crowd, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and He Knew He Was Right. Some of these are best described as sensation and Gothic fiction, the authors dawn to the sensational and dramatic narrative opportunities provided by madness. Other authors depict madness in a more understated way in keeping with their social realist mode. Thus a range of perspectives on and attitudes towards madness are discussed.
The analysis focuses on three distinct, but at times interconnected, themes. In the first chapter issues of gender and madness in Victorian literature are addressed, the analysis highlighting the particular association between women and madness but also considering depictions of male madness. Next, the thesis turns to questions of race and class, exploring the relationship between racial and socio-economic identity and madness. Here, the multiple fictional examples of professional, middle and upper-class men who are afflicted with madness forms a counter narrative to the historical coupling of madness with racial and class otherness. Finally, the thesis turns to the behaviour of fictional characters described as being mad. Madness frequently manifests in violent and destructive ways in Victorian fiction and thus the connection between madness and criminality is a necessary avenue of analysis.

text: Representations and Manifestations of Madness in Victorian Fiction This thesis explores the complex ways in which mental illness was portrayed in Victorian fiction. It situates the literature within historical contexts, but primarily focuses on fictional representations of madness. At times the fiction studied replicates the dominant attitudes towards mental illness in the period. On other occasions the literature forms a dialogue with the historical record, challenging Victorian attitudes and assumptions. 
These texts form the core of my discussion: Jane Eyre, Far From the Madding Crowd, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and He Knew He Was Right. Some of these are best described as sensation and Gothic fiction, the authors dawn to the sensational and dramatic narrative opportunities provided by madness. Other authors depict madness in a more understated way in keeping with their social realist mode. Thus a range of perspectives on and attitudes towards madness are discussed.
The analysis focuses on three distinct, but at times interconnected, themes. In the first chapter issues of gender and madness in Victorian literature are addressed, the analysis highlighting the particular association between women and madness but also considering depictions of male madness. Next, the thesis turns to questions of race and class, exploring the relationship between racial and socio-economic identity and madness. Here, the multiple fictional examples of professional, middle and upper-class men who are afflicted with madness forms a counter narrative to the historical coupling of madness with racial and class otherness. Finally, the thesis turns to the behaviour of fictional characters described as being mad. Madness frequently manifests in violent and destructive ways in Victorian fiction and thus the connection between madness and criminality is a necessary avenue of analysis.

year: 2015

title: The Effects of Contaminated Rena Sediments on Juvenile Paua (Haliotis iris)

authors: McSweeney, Caleb S.

subjects: contamiant

abstract: The grounding of the MV Rena on Otaiti resulted in the release of heavy fuel oil and container debris contaminants into the surrounding environments including the rocky shores of the adjacent Mōtītī Island. This is the habitat where significant populations of benthic paua reside. Paua (Haliotis iris) are a staple and consistent food source for Mōtītī Island. Being an offshore island with no amenities, Mōtītī Island residents are reliant on the ocean as a pataka kai (food cupboard) and are therefore acutely aware of environmental influences to the harvest of kaimoana.
This thesis aimed to address concerns relating to the effects of contaminated boundary layer water emanating from contaminated ‘Rena’ sediment on juvenile paua. Research was focused in two areas: 1) the sublethal behavioural effects of contaminated Rena sediment to Paua and 2) the accumulation of trace metals in the edible tissue and viscera mass. The experiments were carried out with the use of a close circuit aquaria in a laboratory environment, followed by a field experiment.
In all experiments, paua in control treatments were healthy by comparison to paua exposed to treatments with Rena contaminated sediments and copper as judged by survivorship and behaviour. The most likely cause of of behavioural aberrations and mortality observed was deemed to be copper as demonstrated by Diffusive Gradient in thin film (DGT) and ambient water analyses in both experiments. Copper that is bioavailable can increase quickly in the edible tissue and viscera mass as was identified as the visceral mass of Rena and copper exposed paua had a higher mean concentration of this and other trace metals.
On Otaiti, the effects to paua from the Rena ship wreck and lost container contents, know to include a medly of metals and other contaminants, is not likely to be limited to copper alone. Results demosntrate the relevance of examining the effects of water borne contaminated plumes emanating from complex mixtures of contaminants. This is rarely done in ecotoxicological studies which tend to focus on individual contaminant compounds.

text: The Effects of Contaminated Rena Sediments on Juvenile Paua (Haliotis iris) The grounding of the MV Rena on Otaiti resulted in the release of heavy fuel oil and container debris contaminants into the surrounding environments including the rocky shores of the adjacent Mōtītī Island. This is the habitat where significant populations of benthic paua reside. Paua (Haliotis iris) are a staple and consistent food source for Mōtītī Island. Being an offshore island with no amenities, Mōtītī Island residents are reliant on the ocean as a pataka kai (food cupboard) and are therefore acutely aware of environmental influences to the harvest of kaimoana.
This thesis aimed to address concerns relating to the effects of contaminated boundary layer water emanating from contaminated ‘Rena’ sediment on juvenile paua. Research was focused in two areas: 1) the sublethal behavioural effects of contaminated Rena sediment to Paua and 2) the accumulation of trace metals in the edible tissue and viscera mass. The experiments were carried out with the use of a close circuit aquaria in a laboratory environment, followed by a field experiment.
In all experiments, paua in control treatments were healthy by comparison to paua exposed to treatments with Rena contaminated sediments and copper as judged by survivorship and behaviour. The most likely cause of of behavioural aberrations and mortality observed was deemed to be copper as demonstrated by Diffusive Gradient in thin film (DGT) and ambient water analyses in both experiments. Copper that is bioavailable can increase quickly in the edible tissue and viscera mass as was identified as the visceral mass of Rena and copper exposed paua had a higher mean concentration of this and other trace metals.
On Otaiti, the effects to paua from the Rena ship wreck and lost container contents, know to include a medly of metals and other contaminants, is not likely to be limited to copper alone. Results demosntrate the relevance of examining the effects of water borne contaminated plumes emanating from complex mixtures of contaminants. This is rarely done in ecotoxicological studies which tend to focus on individual contaminant compounds.

year: 2015