title: Average score per metric: an alternative metric aggregation method for assessing wadeable stream health

authors: Collier, Kevin J.

subjects: macroinvertebrate

abstract: Integrating multiple metrics derived from stream macroinvertebrate communities into single scores that reflect ecological condition can bridge the needs of multiple groups using biomonitoring data. Macroinvertebrate metrics from 511 Waikato, New Zealand, stream samples were standardised by their maximum observed value. Metric redundancy and optimisation processes identified three standardised metrics from an initial set of 17 that provided greatest discrimination between reference sites and those influenced by urbanisation or high levels of pastoral development: the richness of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera excluding Hydroptilidae (EPT*), % EPT* and the macroinvertebrate community index (MCI). The mean of these standardised metrics was used to calculate the average score per metric (ASPM). Narrative condition bands were developed based on the lower SD of individual metrics for reference samples to distinguish “very high” values, and metric quartiles between this point and a hypothetical worst-case community were used to define “high”, “moderate”, “low”, and “very low” bands. When compared with its component metrics, the ASPM distinguished reference conditions and low–moderate levels of catchment modification and local habitat degradation more accurately than EPT* richness or MCI, and displayed lower temporal variability within reference sites than either EPT* metric. The ASPM was calculated for an independent test data set of urban and reference sites which, respectively, were allocated to low–very low and high–very high narrative condition bands. This analysis suggests that prudent application of the ASPM can provide a parsimonious and effective screening tool for assessing the condition of wadeable streams where more complex methods are not practical.

text: Average score per metric: an alternative metric aggregation method for assessing wadeable stream health Integrating multiple metrics derived from stream macroinvertebrate communities into single scores that reflect ecological condition can bridge the needs of multiple groups using biomonitoring data. Macroinvertebrate metrics from 511 Waikato, New Zealand, stream samples were standardised by their maximum observed value. Metric redundancy and optimisation processes identified three standardised metrics from an initial set of 17 that provided greatest discrimination between reference sites and those influenced by urbanisation or high levels of pastoral development: the richness of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera excluding Hydroptilidae (EPT*), % EPT* and the macroinvertebrate community index (MCI). The mean of these standardised metrics was used to calculate the average score per metric (ASPM). Narrative condition bands were developed based on the lower SD of individual metrics for reference samples to distinguish “very high” values, and metric quartiles between this point and a hypothetical worst-case community were used to define “high”, “moderate”, “low”, and “very low” bands. When compared with its component metrics, the ASPM distinguished reference conditions and low–moderate levels of catchment modification and local habitat degradation more accurately than EPT* richness or MCI, and displayed lower temporal variability within reference sites than either EPT* metric. The ASPM was calculated for an independent test data set of urban and reference sites which, respectively, were allocated to low–very low and high–very high narrative condition bands. This analysis suggests that prudent application of the ASPM can provide a parsimonious and effective screening tool for assessing the condition of wadeable streams where more complex methods are not practical.

year: 2008

title: Tuned in and hands on: Sound designers beyond technical expertise

authors: Delmotte, Isabelle A.

abstract: The term sound designer is a relatively new addition to the professional roles in a film sound crew. Its use can be traced to the 1970s when the dismantlement of some major Hollywood studios gave space for more experimental approaches to film making. A study on acoustic ecologies and cinema sound allowed for creative and altruistic collaborations with some Australian cinema professionals. Subsequent face-to-face interviews and correspondence with the participants to the study pointed to the humanity and concerns at play behind the screen. It is apparent that the capacity of sound designer cannot be pigeonholed: it oscillates according to the demands of a film production and depends on its director’s and financial backers' sonic awareness. Amongst professional sound makers themselves exists a lack of consensus on the role and importance of the position of sound designer. The author proposes a way to lessen professional ambiguity and increase public recognition of atmospheric cinema sound. Invoking atmospheric sound at the inception of an audio-visual narrative could reward its makers and audiences in unsuspected ways. To acknowledge sound designers as architects of sensations and, by the same token, include viscerality and affect as creative elements of film production, could lead to a different appreciation of our lives in sound.

text: Tuned in and hands on: Sound designers beyond technical expertise The term sound designer is a relatively new addition to the professional roles in a film sound crew. Its use can be traced to the 1970s when the dismantlement of some major Hollywood studios gave space for more experimental approaches to film making. A study on acoustic ecologies and cinema sound allowed for creative and altruistic collaborations with some Australian cinema professionals. Subsequent face-to-face interviews and correspondence with the participants to the study pointed to the humanity and concerns at play behind the screen. It is apparent that the capacity of sound designer cannot be pigeonholed: it oscillates according to the demands of a film production and depends on its director’s and financial backers' sonic awareness. Amongst professional sound makers themselves exists a lack of consensus on the role and importance of the position of sound designer. The author proposes a way to lessen professional ambiguity and increase public recognition of atmospheric cinema sound. Invoking atmospheric sound at the inception of an audio-visual narrative could reward its makers and audiences in unsuspected ways. To acknowledge sound designers as architects of sensations and, by the same token, include viscerality and affect as creative elements of film production, could lead to a different appreciation of our lives in sound.

year: 2014

title: Ngōku whakaaro – hei maumaharatanga. Maori women facial adornment: A mark of remembrance

authors: Nikora, Linda Waimarie

abstract: To honour the life and memory of the late Te Arikinui Te Atairangikaahu, and the elevation of her son King Tuheitia, a group of women from Tainui iwi under took the process of taking moko kauae - of colouring their chins with traditional patterns. The adornment process took place at Turangawaewae marae with family, friends, elders, and grandchildren. In this presentation we will talk about the journey of these women to prepare themselves for their transformations, the process they went through, and their lives since. We will also consider how their decision also meant exposure to outside opinion, the associated risks of objectification, “image-snatching”, and cultural and intellectual property issues.

text: Ngōku whakaaro – hei maumaharatanga. Maori women facial adornment: A mark of remembrance To honour the life and memory of the late Te Arikinui Te Atairangikaahu, and the elevation of her son King Tuheitia, a group of women from Tainui iwi under took the process of taking moko kauae - of colouring their chins with traditional patterns. The adornment process took place at Turangawaewae marae with family, friends, elders, and grandchildren. In this presentation we will talk about the journey of these women to prepare themselves for their transformations, the process they went through, and their lives since. We will also consider how their decision also meant exposure to outside opinion, the associated risks of objectification, “image-snatching”, and cultural and intellectual property issues.

year: 2008