title: Improvements to the UMF assay

authors: Molan, Peter C.

subjects: biology

abstract: With the increasing price of manuka honey there are increasing calls for a more precise measurement of UMF activity.  Two years ago i gave to the AMHA executive a written report on some work they had commissioned me to do investigating variation in the results in the essay. In this report I made some recommendations for improvements, but these were never adopted. Instead their approach has been to seek an alternative method, firstly assay by MIC, and then assay MGO content, despite my explaining why these methods would not be more accurate.

text: Improvements to the UMF assay With the increasing price of manuka honey there are increasing calls for a more precise measurement of UMF activity.  Two years ago i gave to the AMHA executive a written report on some work they had commissioned me to do investigating variation in the results in the essay. In this report I made some recommendations for improvements, but these were never adopted. Instead their approach has been to seek an alternative method, firstly assay by MIC, and then assay MGO content, despite my explaining why these methods would not be more accurate.

year: 2008

title: Software literacy as a framework for tertiary educators

authors: Khoo, Elaine G.L.

abstract: Software permeates and impact almost every aspect of our lives today. However not much is understood in terms of how software shapes the teaching and learning of disciplinary knowledge in formal learning contexts. This paper reports on the findings from a two-year funded longitudinal study examining how the notion of software literacy is understood, developed and applied in tertiary teaching-learning contexts. We explore the relationship between student success in acquiring software literacy and their broader engagement and understanding of knowledge across different disciplines. A qualitative interpretive methodology framed the study involving two case studies of media studies and engineering students’ learning to use discipline-specific software. Student data were collected through class observations, online surveys and focus group interviews. Findings indicate that a majority of students consider themselves as early adopters of technology, knowledgeable in the affordances and constraints of their disciplinary software, and preferred informal learning strategies to supplement their formal learning of disciplinary software. There was, however, a lack of student critical awareness of the role of software in shaping their learning of disciplinary knowledge. The findings provide insights into practices relating to tertiary teaching and learning involving software and highlight the significance which programming code may have in the shaping and application of disciplinary knowledge in educational contexts. Implications are offered in terms of tertiary educators’ practice and the provision of student learning support.

text: Software literacy as a framework for tertiary educators Software permeates and impact almost every aspect of our lives today. However not much is understood in terms of how software shapes the teaching and learning of disciplinary knowledge in formal learning contexts. This paper reports on the findings from a two-year funded longitudinal study examining how the notion of software literacy is understood, developed and applied in tertiary teaching-learning contexts. We explore the relationship between student success in acquiring software literacy and their broader engagement and understanding of knowledge across different disciplines. A qualitative interpretive methodology framed the study involving two case studies of media studies and engineering students’ learning to use discipline-specific software. Student data were collected through class observations, online surveys and focus group interviews. Findings indicate that a majority of students consider themselves as early adopters of technology, knowledgeable in the affordances and constraints of their disciplinary software, and preferred informal learning strategies to supplement their formal learning of disciplinary software. There was, however, a lack of student critical awareness of the role of software in shaping their learning of disciplinary knowledge. The findings provide insights into practices relating to tertiary teaching and learning involving software and highlight the significance which programming code may have in the shaping and application of disciplinary knowledge in educational contexts. Implications are offered in terms of tertiary educators’ practice and the provision of student learning support.

year: 2018

title: Diversity in Aotearoa New Zealand picturebooks published between 2021 and 2022

authors: Daly, Nicola

subjects: Design

abstract: It is widely accepted that diversity in the literature read by and with children is of great importance, both for ensuring all children see themselves in the stories they share and in ensuring children are aware of lives and experiences outside their own. There is a growing body of international literature critically exploring the diversity present in English-language children’s literature, but to date very little analysing diversity in Aotearoa New Zealand. This study examines 90 picturebooks published between 2021 and 2022 in terms of representations of ethnicity, skin colour, gender, disability, family structures, and language use. Findings indicate similar representations of gender, disability, and family structure to those found internationally but higher representation in relation to the ethnicity and skin colour of primary and secondary characters. New findings in relation to language use are presented. Future research concerning the details of representation in picturebooks and other formats of children’s literature in Aotearoa New Zealand is called for.

text: Diversity in Aotearoa New Zealand picturebooks published between 2021 and 2022 It is widely accepted that diversity in the literature read by and with children is of great importance, both for ensuring all children see themselves in the stories they share and in ensuring children are aware of lives and experiences outside their own. There is a growing body of international literature critically exploring the diversity present in English-language children’s literature, but to date very little analysing diversity in Aotearoa New Zealand. This study examines 90 picturebooks published between 2021 and 2022 in terms of representations of ethnicity, skin colour, gender, disability, family structures, and language use. Findings indicate similar representations of gender, disability, and family structure to those found internationally but higher representation in relation to the ethnicity and skin colour of primary and secondary characters. New findings in relation to language use are presented. Future research concerning the details of representation in picturebooks and other formats of children’s literature in Aotearoa New Zealand is called for.

year: 2025