title: Internationalising a spreadsheet for Pacific Basin languages

authors: Barbour, Robert H.

subjects: internationalisation

abstract: As people trade and engage in commerce, an economically dominant culture tends to migrate language into other recently contacted cultures. Information technology (IT) can accelerate enculturation and promote the expansion of western hegemony in IT. Equally, IT can present a culturally appropriate interface to the user that promotes the preservation of culture and language with very little additional effort. In this paper a spreadsheet is internationalised to accept languages from the Latin-1 character set such as English, Maori and Bahasa Melayu (Malaysia’s national language). A technique that allows a non-programmer to add a new language to the spreadsheet is described. The technique could also be used to internationalise other software at the point of design by following the steps we outline.

text: Internationalising a spreadsheet for Pacific Basin languages As people trade and engage in commerce, an economically dominant culture tends to migrate language into other recently contacted cultures. Information technology (IT) can accelerate enculturation and promote the expansion of western hegemony in IT. Equally, IT can present a culturally appropriate interface to the user that promotes the preservation of culture and language with very little additional effort. In this paper a spreadsheet is internationalised to accept languages from the Latin-1 character set such as English, Maori and Bahasa Melayu (Malaysia’s national language). A technique that allows a non-programmer to add a new language to the spreadsheet is described. The technique could also be used to internationalise other software at the point of design by following the steps we outline.

year: 1997-07

title: Influence of chain length on mono- versus di-alkylation in the reactivity of [Pt₂(μ-S)₂(PPh₃)₄] towards α,ω-dihalo-n-alkanes; a synthetic route to platinum(II) ω-haloalkylthiolate complexes

authors: Devoy, Sarah M.

subjects: platinum complexes

abstract: The reactions of [Pt₂(μ-S)₂(PPh₃)₄] with a,x-dibromoalkanes Br(CH₂)nBr (n = 4, 5, 6, 8, 12) gave monoalkylated [Pt₂(μ-S){μ-S(CH₂)nBr}(PPh₃)₄]⁺ and/or di-alkylated [Pt₂(μ-S(CH₂)nS}(PPh₃)₄]²⁺ products, depending on the alkyl chain length and the reaction conditions. With longer chains (n = 8, 12), intramolecular di-alkylation does not proceed in refluxing methanol, with the mono-alkylated products [Pt₂ (μ-S){μ-S(CH₂)nBr}(PPh₃)₄]⁺ being the dominant products when excess alkylating agent is used. The bridged complex [{Pt₂(μ-S)₂(PPh₃)₄}₂{μ-(CH₂)12}]²⁺ was accessible from the reaction of [Pt₂ (μ-S)₂(PPh₃)₄] with 0.5 mol equivalents of Br(CH₂)12Br. [Pt₂(μ-S){μ-S(CH₂)₄Br}(PPh₃)₄]⁺ can be cleanly isolated as its BPh₄⁻ salt, but undergoes facile intramolecular di-alkylation at -18 degree C, giving the known species [Pt₂(μ-S(CH₂)₄S}(PPh₃)₄]²⁺. The reaction of I(CH₂)₆I with [Pt₂(μ-S)₂(PPh₃)₄] similarly gives [Pt₂ (μ-S){μ-S(CH₂)₆I}(PPh₃)₄]⁺, which is fairly stable towards intramolecular di-alkylation once isolated. These reactions provide a facile route to x-haloalkylthiolate complexes which are poorly defined in the literature. X-ray crystal structures of [Pt₂(μ-S){μ-S(CH₂)₅Br}(PPh₃)₄]BPh₄ and [Pt₂(μ-S(CH₂)₅S} (PPh₃)₄](BPh₄)₂ are reported, together with a study of these complexes by electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry. All complexes fragment by dissociation of PPh₃ ligands, and the bromoalkylthiolate complexes show additional fragment ions [Pt₂(μ-S){μ-S(CH₂)n_2CH=CH₂}(PPh₃)m]⁺ (m = 2 or 3; m – 4), most significant for n = 4, formed by elimination of HBr.

text: Influence of chain length on mono- versus di-alkylation in the reactivity of [Pt₂(μ-S)₂(PPh₃)₄] towards α,ω-dihalo-n-alkanes; a synthetic route to platinum(II) ω-haloalkylthiolate complexes The reactions of [Pt₂(μ-S)₂(PPh₃)₄] with a,x-dibromoalkanes Br(CH₂)nBr (n = 4, 5, 6, 8, 12) gave monoalkylated [Pt₂(μ-S){μ-S(CH₂)nBr}(PPh₃)₄]⁺ and/or di-alkylated [Pt₂(μ-S(CH₂)nS}(PPh₃)₄]²⁺ products, depending on the alkyl chain length and the reaction conditions. With longer chains (n = 8, 12), intramolecular di-alkylation does not proceed in refluxing methanol, with the mono-alkylated products [Pt₂ (μ-S){μ-S(CH₂)nBr}(PPh₃)₄]⁺ being the dominant products when excess alkylating agent is used. The bridged complex [{Pt₂(μ-S)₂(PPh₃)₄}₂{μ-(CH₂)12}]²⁺ was accessible from the reaction of [Pt₂ (μ-S)₂(PPh₃)₄] with 0.5 mol equivalents of Br(CH₂)12Br. [Pt₂(μ-S){μ-S(CH₂)₄Br}(PPh₃)₄]⁺ can be cleanly isolated as its BPh₄⁻ salt, but undergoes facile intramolecular di-alkylation at -18 degree C, giving the known species [Pt₂(μ-S(CH₂)₄S}(PPh₃)₄]²⁺. The reaction of I(CH₂)₆I with [Pt₂(μ-S)₂(PPh₃)₄] similarly gives [Pt₂ (μ-S){μ-S(CH₂)₆I}(PPh₃)₄]⁺, which is fairly stable towards intramolecular di-alkylation once isolated. These reactions provide a facile route to x-haloalkylthiolate complexes which are poorly defined in the literature. X-ray crystal structures of [Pt₂(μ-S){μ-S(CH₂)₅Br}(PPh₃)₄]BPh₄ and [Pt₂(μ-S(CH₂)₅S} (PPh₃)₄](BPh₄)₂ are reported, together with a study of these complexes by electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry. All complexes fragment by dissociation of PPh₃ ligands, and the bromoalkylthiolate complexes show additional fragment ions [Pt₂(μ-S){μ-S(CH₂)n_2CH=CH₂}(PPh₃)m]⁺ (m = 2 or 3; m – 4), most significant for n = 4, formed by elimination of HBr.

year: 2010

title: Student voice and agency for Indigenous Maori students in higher education transitions

authors: Amundsen, Diana Leigh

subjects: Social Sciences

abstract: This article reveals the complexities of Indigenous students navigating the neoliberal model of education through an examination of Māori transitions into higher education contexts in Aotearoa New Zealand. In a recently completed doctoral study, the lived transition experiences of Indigenous Māori higher education students were critically investigated from a student voice perspective. Data were collected and analysed through repeated semi-structured interviews, focus groups and visual stories in a semi-longitudinal study with 20 Māori students enrolled in a wānanga, a polytechnic and a university. Using a Bourdieuan theoretical framework for analysis, findings revealed that participants experienced their transition as a journey. Students perpetually evolved their identities and agency in relation to the tertiary education environments and social structures they encountered which supported or constrained transition experiences. Within wānanga, participants felt their Māori cultural identity was highly valued; within polytechnics, there was a sense that Māori culture is included but more could be done; within universities, a need for more inclusive practices to support Māori learner requirements was identified. This empirical research outlines learning for Māori students in higher education, and is a timely addition to knowledge revealing the complexities of teaching in the neoliberal model of higher education with Indigenous people.

text: Student voice and agency for Indigenous Maori students in higher education transitions This article reveals the complexities of Indigenous students navigating the neoliberal model of education through an examination of Māori transitions into higher education contexts in Aotearoa New Zealand. In a recently completed doctoral study, the lived transition experiences of Indigenous Māori higher education students were critically investigated from a student voice perspective. Data were collected and analysed through repeated semi-structured interviews, focus groups and visual stories in a semi-longitudinal study with 20 Māori students enrolled in a wānanga, a polytechnic and a university. Using a Bourdieuan theoretical framework for analysis, findings revealed that participants experienced their transition as a journey. Students perpetually evolved their identities and agency in relation to the tertiary education environments and social structures they encountered which supported or constrained transition experiences. Within wānanga, participants felt their Māori cultural identity was highly valued; within polytechnics, there was a sense that Māori culture is included but more could be done; within universities, a need for more inclusive practices to support Māori learner requirements was identified. This empirical research outlines learning for Māori students in higher education, and is a timely addition to knowledge revealing the complexities of teaching in the neoliberal model of higher education with Indigenous people.

year: 2019