title: Best practice toolbox for whole of lake weed strategies

authors: Champion, Paul

abstract: l will talk about work I have been doing on the Regional Council’s best practice toolboxes to provide management for a whole of lake weed strategy. It is a two year MBIE Envirolink funded project initiated in October 2016. The purpose is to gather together information held within regional councils and other organisations that manage aquatic weeds. It is endorsed by the Bio managers and the Surface Water Integrated Management Groups in regional councils.

text: Best practice toolbox for whole of lake weed strategies l will talk about work I have been doing on the Regional Council’s best practice toolboxes to provide management for a whole of lake weed strategy. It is a two year MBIE Envirolink funded project initiated in October 2016. The purpose is to gather together information held within regional councils and other organisations that manage aquatic weeds. It is endorsed by the Bio managers and the Surface Water Integrated Management Groups in regional councils.

year: 2017

title: The effect of type 1 diabetes on executive function in young adults

authors: Reid, Matthew Devon

subjects: executive function

abstract: Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is a chronic and potentially life-threatening condition affecting the production of insulin, with rapidly increasing incidence worldwide. The disease impacts on nearly all domains of life, including the physical, social, neurological and psychological. Adequate management of the disease requires careful monitoring and self-care to maintain glycaemic control. Executive function (EF) refers to a cluster of top-down cognitive processes engaged in the planning and completion of goal-directed behaviour allowing an individual to plan their actions, contemplate novel challenges, resist temptation and focus attention while avoiding distracting stimuli. Young adulthood represents an important developmental stage during which robust EF is essential. Previously limited research has explored the impact of T1DM on EF specifically within a young adult population. The current study recruited a sample of young adults between the ages of 16 and 24 withT1DM (n=14) and an age and gender matched control group (n=14) of non-diabetic individuals. Groups were assessed on measures of EF while maintaining blood glucose levels within a euglycaemic range. The central aims of the study were to compare and contrast the diabetic and control group EF performance, and to explore the relationship between diabetic related variables and measures of EF. It was found that the diabetic group committed significantly more errors than the control group on a test of set-shifting ability. It was also found that the relationship between performance-based tests of EF and a rating scale measure of EF was unique to each group. HbA1c, a measure of longer term glycaemic control, was found to be significantly related to a rating scale measure of EF but not performance-based measures. It was also found that mean blood glucose level during assessment was significantly related to performance on measures of working memory. Despite a limited sample size, the findings suggest that in a young adult population there is some evidence that T1DM is related to impairments in certain areas of EF — including set-shifting, inhibition and the higher-level construct of problem-solving ability. Future research could extend these findings by specifically exploring the relationship between trail-making tasks and rating scales of EF, examining the role of hot EF in diabetes self-care, and determining the sensitivity of specific EF to subtle changes in blood glucose within a euglycaemic range.

text: The effect of type 1 diabetes on executive function in young adults Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is a chronic and potentially life-threatening condition affecting the production of insulin, with rapidly increasing incidence worldwide. The disease impacts on nearly all domains of life, including the physical, social, neurological and psychological. Adequate management of the disease requires careful monitoring and self-care to maintain glycaemic control. Executive function (EF) refers to a cluster of top-down cognitive processes engaged in the planning and completion of goal-directed behaviour allowing an individual to plan their actions, contemplate novel challenges, resist temptation and focus attention while avoiding distracting stimuli. Young adulthood represents an important developmental stage during which robust EF is essential. Previously limited research has explored the impact of T1DM on EF specifically within a young adult population. The current study recruited a sample of young adults between the ages of 16 and 24 withT1DM (n=14) and an age and gender matched control group (n=14) of non-diabetic individuals. Groups were assessed on measures of EF while maintaining blood glucose levels within a euglycaemic range. The central aims of the study were to compare and contrast the diabetic and control group EF performance, and to explore the relationship between diabetic related variables and measures of EF. It was found that the diabetic group committed significantly more errors than the control group on a test of set-shifting ability. It was also found that the relationship between performance-based tests of EF and a rating scale measure of EF was unique to each group. HbA1c, a measure of longer term glycaemic control, was found to be significantly related to a rating scale measure of EF but not performance-based measures. It was also found that mean blood glucose level during assessment was significantly related to performance on measures of working memory. Despite a limited sample size, the findings suggest that in a young adult population there is some evidence that T1DM is related to impairments in certain areas of EF — including set-shifting, inhibition and the higher-level construct of problem-solving ability. Future research could extend these findings by specifically exploring the relationship between trail-making tasks and rating scales of EF, examining the role of hot EF in diabetes self-care, and determining the sensitivity of specific EF to subtle changes in blood glucose within a euglycaemic range.

year: 2017

title: The teaching and learning of te reo Māori in a higher education context: Intensive fast track immersion versus gradual progressive language exposure

authors: Nock, Sophie

subjects: grading of students

abstract: I report here on a comparison of the course grades of Bachelors degree students who are following two different pathways towards a major in te reo Māori - a traditional pathway in which language courses at different levels are spread over three or four years, and an intensive, fast-track, language immersion pathway in which courses in te reo Māori are concentrated into the first year of the degree programme. My findings are that, overall, in terms of course grades at level three, students following the intensive, fast-track, language-immersion pathway out-perform other students in te reo Māori course assessments. Thus, so far as course grades are concerned, many students appear to benefit from the fast track pathway. Whether course grades can be related to proficiency achievements and whether immediate gains are reflected in long-term gains is something that remains to be investigated.

text: The teaching and learning of te reo Māori in a higher education context: Intensive fast track immersion versus gradual progressive language exposure I report here on a comparison of the course grades of Bachelors degree students who are following two different pathways towards a major in te reo Māori - a traditional pathway in which language courses at different levels are spread over three or four years, and an intensive, fast-track, language immersion pathway in which courses in te reo Māori are concentrated into the first year of the degree programme. My findings are that, overall, in terms of course grades at level three, students following the intensive, fast-track, language-immersion pathway out-perform other students in te reo Māori course assessments. Thus, so far as course grades are concerned, many students appear to benefit from the fast track pathway. Whether course grades can be related to proficiency achievements and whether immediate gains are reflected in long-term gains is something that remains to be investigated.

year: 2006