title: Talking About Teaching: A professional development group for preservice secondary teachers

authors: Gesner, Emily K

subjects: initial teacher education

abstract: As teaching is a highly complex activity, so too is learning to teach. One pedagogy which has been shown to promote teacher learning is the use of small group discussion. This thesis examines the experiences of seven preservice secondary teachers at a New Zealand university who met weekly during their second practicum to discuss their experiences at their placement schools. Individual interviews conducted with five of the participants revealed that students felt positively about the weekly meetings. The preservice teachers appreciated 1) being able to hear about the experiences of other preservice teachers 2) tell others about their teaching 3) being able to seek advice and potential solutions to problems 4) the sense of personal connection and emotional support they gained during the weekly sessions. The students reported that the weekly meetings allowed them to think about their teaching from the perspective of others, and gave them time to reflect about their experiences while on practicum. This study situates these findings within the literature on initial teacher education and offers suggestions for future research using this pedagogy.

text: Talking About Teaching: A professional development group for preservice secondary teachers As teaching is a highly complex activity, so too is learning to teach. One pedagogy which has been shown to promote teacher learning is the use of small group discussion. This thesis examines the experiences of seven preservice secondary teachers at a New Zealand university who met weekly during their second practicum to discuss their experiences at their placement schools. Individual interviews conducted with five of the participants revealed that students felt positively about the weekly meetings. The preservice teachers appreciated 1) being able to hear about the experiences of other preservice teachers 2) tell others about their teaching 3) being able to seek advice and potential solutions to problems 4) the sense of personal connection and emotional support they gained during the weekly sessions. The students reported that the weekly meetings allowed them to think about their teaching from the perspective of others, and gave them time to reflect about their experiences while on practicum. This study situates these findings within the literature on initial teacher education and offers suggestions for future research using this pedagogy.

year: 2009

title: Reservoir Life Expectancy in Relation to Climate and Land-Use Changes: Case Study of the Mangla Reservoir in Pakistan

authors: Sarwar, Saleem

abstract: The dams and reservoirs are one of the largest sources to store surface water. The escalating water crisis in the new millennium has made it very important to preserve available water and in turn to preserve the storage capacity of dams and reservoirs. Dams and reservoirs lose their capacity due to sedimentation. Climate change and land-use changes have the potential to generate more sediment load hence accelerating this depleting process. An example is the Mangla Dam in Pakistan - the second largest dam in the country. Agriculture in the Punjab province, with almost 65% of the country’s population, is dependent on this dam. Due to sedimentation, the Mangla Reservoir has already lost 20% of its original storage capacity and an accelerated capacity loss is expected due to climate and land-use changes in the future.

The dams and reservoirs are one of the largest sources to store surface water. The escalating water crisis in the new millennium has made it very important to preserve available water and in turn to preserve the storage capacity of dams and reservoirs. Dams and reservoirs lose their capacity due to sedimentation. Climate change and land-use changes have the potential to generate more sediment load hence accelerating this depleting process. An example is the Mangla Dam in Pakistan - the second largest dam in the country. Agriculture in the Punjab province, with almost 65% of the country’s population, is dependent on this dam. Due to sedimentation, the Mangla Reservoir has already lost 20% of its original storage capacity and an accelerated capacity loss is expected due to climate and land-use changes in the future time will have compound effects on reservoir life. In addition to mean climate factors, climate change will have a more profound impact on climate variability, which will likely lead to a more intensified and frequent extreme rainfall events than is currently experienced. Rainfall is the main driving factor of river sediment load, especially extreme rainfall events, which can cause exceptionally high sediment load compared to normal rainfall events. Therefore impacts of climate change was investigated by transient climate change scenarios from 1980 to 2098 constructed through bias correction of General Circulation Models (GCM) daily simulation outputs for the observed weather stations in the catchment. Land-use change scenarios were generated for two broad conditions based on socio-economic data and physical factors influencing the land-use: (i) pro-agriculture scenario and (ii) pro-industrialization scenario.

The impact of climate and land-use changes on the reservoir life was then investigated by using various combinations of climate change scenarios and land-use change scenarios. The results show that both climate and land-use changes can have significant impacts on the Mangla basin sediment transported by the river to the dam reservoir; climate change has a large impact on the annual sediment load, monthly variation in the sediment load, and in turn the reservoir life. The superimposed effects of land-use on climate change can exacerbate or reduce such impacts. Land-use change has the potential to effectively reduce climate change impacts. Therefore various land-use management measures were further evaluated based on economic analysis as adaptation options to mitigate the climate change impacts.

text: Reservoir Life Expectancy in Relation to Climate and Land-Use Changes: Case Study of the Mangla Reservoir in Pakistan The dams and reservoirs are one of the largest sources to store surface water. The escalating water crisis in the new millennium has made it very important to preserve available water and in turn to preserve the storage capacity of dams and reservoirs. Dams and reservoirs lose their capacity due to sedimentation. Climate change and land-use changes have the potential to generate more sediment load hence accelerating this depleting process. An example is the Mangla Dam in Pakistan - the second largest dam in the country. Agriculture in the Punjab province, with almost 65% of the country’s population, is dependent on this dam. Due to sedimentation, the Mangla Reservoir has already lost 20% of its original storage capacity and an accelerated capacity loss is expected due to climate and land-use changes in the future.

The dams and reservoirs are one of the largest sources to store surface water. The escalating water crisis in the new millennium has made it very important to preserve available water and in turn to preserve the storage capacity of dams and reservoirs. Dams and reservoirs lose their capacity due to sedimentation. Climate change and land-use changes have the potential to generate more sediment load hence accelerating this depleting process. An example is the Mangla Dam in Pakistan - the second largest dam in the country. Agriculture in the Punjab province, with almost 65% of the country’s population, is dependent on this dam. Due to sedimentation, the Mangla Reservoir has already lost 20% of its original storage capacity and an accelerated capacity loss is expected due to climate and land-use changes in the future time will have compound effects on reservoir life. In addition to mean climate factors, climate change will have a more profound impact on climate variability, which will likely lead to a more intensified and frequent extreme rainfall events than is currently experienced. Rainfall is the main driving factor of river sediment load, especially extreme rainfall events, which can cause exceptionally high sediment load compared to normal rainfall events. Therefore impacts of climate change was investigated by transient climate change scenarios from 1980 to 2098 constructed through bias correction of General Circulation Models (GCM) daily simulation outputs for the observed weather stations in the catchment. Land-use change scenarios were generated for two broad conditions based on socio-economic data and physical factors influencing the land-use: (i) pro-agriculture scenario and (ii) pro-industrialization scenario.

The impact of climate and land-use changes on the reservoir life was then investigated by using various combinations of climate change scenarios and land-use change scenarios. The results show that both climate and land-use changes can have significant impacts on the Mangla basin sediment transported by the river to the dam reservoir; climate change has a large impact on the annual sediment load, monthly variation in the sediment load, and in turn the reservoir life. The superimposed effects of land-use on climate change can exacerbate or reduce such impacts. Land-use change has the potential to effectively reduce climate change impacts. Therefore various land-use management measures were further evaluated based on economic analysis as adaptation options to mitigate the climate change impacts.

year: 2013

title: Maori seeking self-determination or Tino Rangatiratanga? A note

authors: Toki, Valmaine

abstract: Dr Nin Tomas wrote a considered and substantial piece entitled “Indigenous Peoples and the Māori: The Right to Self-Determination in International Law - From Woe to Go” for the New Zealand Law Review published in 2008.² In her conclusion she notes two ways in which self-determination has been implemented by the state: first, by “greater tolerance and benevolence along a series of principled guidelines”,³ and, second, as a “peoples-centred, enabling principle that allows Indigenous peoples to re-establish their social, economic and political institutions”.⁴
In 2010, New Zealand reversed its position and supported the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (the Declaration).5 With this in mind, this short piece revisits the notion of self-determination by examining the differing dynamics of concepts of external and internal self-determination before a short discussion on pluralism and the relationship between tino rangatiratanga and self-determination. In conclusion some thoughts are offered on a potential form of self-determination that could be consistent with the exercise of tino rangatiratanga.

text: Maori seeking self-determination or Tino Rangatiratanga? A note Dr Nin Tomas wrote a considered and substantial piece entitled “Indigenous Peoples and the Māori: The Right to Self-Determination in International Law - From Woe to Go” for the New Zealand Law Review published in 2008.² In her conclusion she notes two ways in which self-determination has been implemented by the state: first, by “greater tolerance and benevolence along a series of principled guidelines”,³ and, second, as a “peoples-centred, enabling principle that allows Indigenous peoples to re-establish their social, economic and political institutions”.⁴
In 2010, New Zealand reversed its position and supported the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (the Declaration).5 With this in mind, this short piece revisits the notion of self-determination by examining the differing dynamics of concepts of external and internal self-determination before a short discussion on pluralism and the relationship between tino rangatiratanga and self-determination. In conclusion some thoughts are offered on a potential form of self-determination that could be consistent with the exercise of tino rangatiratanga.

year: 2017