title: Book review essay: Perspectives on environmental ethics

authors: Gunn, Alastair S.

subjects: environmental ethics

abstract: Most introductory texts in environmental ethics (and philosophy in general) are anthologies, and there are advantages to this approach. No philosopher is an expert on all aspects of the field, especially if practical concerns such as climate change, population, biodiversity and globalization are addressed. Moreover, if a course is taught by a single professor, an anthology exposes students to different positions on controversial topics written by their advocates, not merely mediated through the professor’s worldview. Another advantage is that students have to grapple with challenging material that was written for professionals and academics, not just students.

text: Book review essay: Perspectives on environmental ethics Most introductory texts in environmental ethics (and philosophy in general) are anthologies, and there are advantages to this approach. No philosopher is an expert on all aspects of the field, especially if practical concerns such as climate change, population, biodiversity and globalization are addressed. Moreover, if a course is taught by a single professor, an anthology exposes students to different positions on controversial topics written by their advocates, not merely mediated through the professor’s worldview. Another advantage is that students have to grapple with challenging material that was written for professionals and academics, not just students.

year: 2009

title: An ecological perspective on ‘undisturbed’ lake catchments in the Rotorua District

authors: Shaw, William

abstract: There is currently concern about trends in water quality in some lakes in largely natural catchments. Various potential contributing causes are under consideration, including pest animals, such as wallabies, and pest plants. This presentation provides an overview of aspects of ecological history and processes at work in the catchments of selected lakes. By necessity, this is largely an historical analysis, but this provides important background for current trends, and also to understand landscape-level processes. The effects of potentially threatening influences, such as pest plants and animals, need to be evaluated within various contexts, including landscape history, ongoing geomorphological change, human disturbance, vegetation dynamics, and the relative contributions of natural and human-induced changes.

text: An ecological perspective on ‘undisturbed’ lake catchments in the Rotorua District There is currently concern about trends in water quality in some lakes in largely natural catchments. Various potential contributing causes are under consideration, including pest animals, such as wallabies, and pest plants. This presentation provides an overview of aspects of ecological history and processes at work in the catchments of selected lakes. By necessity, this is largely an historical analysis, but this provides important background for current trends, and also to understand landscape-level processes. The effects of potentially threatening influences, such as pest plants and animals, need to be evaluated within various contexts, including landscape history, ongoing geomorphological change, human disturbance, vegetation dynamics, and the relative contributions of natural and human-induced changes.

year: 2015

title: Understanding the use of Māori and English in dual language picturebooks through a sociolinguistic lens

authors: Daly, Nicola

abstract: In this presentation I will explore the use of te reo Māori in English text in dual language picturebooks published in Aotearoa/New Zealand. A series of studies examining the frequency of Māori loanwords in children’s picturebooks (Daly 2007; Daly 2008; Macdonald & Daly, 2013) are presented showing that when books came out of a publishing company with a commitment to publishing Māori and Pasifika stories, the frequency of loanwords was much higher than in other contexts; but even when a survey of all picturebooks published in New Zealand between 1995 and 2005 was conducted, the frequency of loanwords was much higher than in previous studies of comparable literature, such as the New Zealand school journal (Macalister, 1999). Very few dual language picturebooks featuring Māori and English are produced in New Zealand (Daly 2016a; Daly 2016b). The synchronous or sequential format of having separate books for each language seems to be favoured. But it is in the parallel dual language format (where both languages are present in a single book) that the relative status of the two languages is evident. In the second part of the presentation the layout and comparative presentation of the two languages are explored in terms of size of font and order of languages, using a Linguistic Landscape framework (Landry & Bourhis, 1997). These uses of two languages within New Zealand children’s literature (both interlingual and dual language) are examined and considered in terms of Bell’s (1984) theory of Audience Design, considering whether writers and publishers of such literature are now catering for a wider and more bilingual audience and whether publishing such linguistically diverse material such linguistically diverse picturebooks may be contributing to the creation of a more bilingual society.

text: Understanding the use of Māori and English in dual language picturebooks through a sociolinguistic lens In this presentation I will explore the use of te reo Māori in English text in dual language picturebooks published in Aotearoa/New Zealand. A series of studies examining the frequency of Māori loanwords in children’s picturebooks (Daly 2007; Daly 2008; Macdonald & Daly, 2013) are presented showing that when books came out of a publishing company with a commitment to publishing Māori and Pasifika stories, the frequency of loanwords was much higher than in other contexts; but even when a survey of all picturebooks published in New Zealand between 1995 and 2005 was conducted, the frequency of loanwords was much higher than in previous studies of comparable literature, such as the New Zealand school journal (Macalister, 1999). Very few dual language picturebooks featuring Māori and English are produced in New Zealand (Daly 2016a; Daly 2016b). The synchronous or sequential format of having separate books for each language seems to be favoured. But it is in the parallel dual language format (where both languages are present in a single book) that the relative status of the two languages is evident. In the second part of the presentation the layout and comparative presentation of the two languages are explored in terms of size of font and order of languages, using a Linguistic Landscape framework (Landry & Bourhis, 1997). These uses of two languages within New Zealand children’s literature (both interlingual and dual language) are examined and considered in terms of Bell’s (1984) theory of Audience Design, considering whether writers and publishers of such literature are now catering for a wider and more bilingual audience and whether publishing such linguistically diverse material such linguistically diverse picturebooks may be contributing to the creation of a more bilingual society.

year: 2018