title: Local Cryo-history: Redefining the creation, transformation and circulation of Aotearoa’s nineteenth century glacier knowledge

authors: Annandale, Claudi - Ann

abstract: The creation, transformation and dissemination of knowledge constantly shapes the narrative of glacier history. However, the intersecting layers that human encounters with the frozen environment, Indigenous knowledge, and popular thought add to glacier histories is often overlooked. By analysing the trends and intellectual traditions that emerged in nineteenth century New Zealand, a period defined as glaciology's 'classical' era of study, this thesis aims to broaden the Southern Alps’ local science-focused glacier discourse.   

Māori, for example, possessed unique mātauranga (knowledge) that was documented through Europeans employing local guides to accompany them across the Southern Alps. This mātauranga shaped some encounters nineteenth-century scientists, surveyors, and travellers had with Kā Tiritiri o te Moana’s glacier environment. New Zealand scholars like Julius von Haast and James Hector, on the other hand, further refined their understanding of New Zealand glaciers through the transnational exchange of knowledge and intellectual debates. A combination of Enlightenment rationalism and Romantic aesthetic also influenced popular glacier narratives that emerged during the nineteenth century. For example, the imagination of journalists, mountaineers and travellers reflected the broader cultural trends that circulated from Europe to New Zealand before their knowledge was disseminated to the public.  

By interrogating mātauranga Māori, formal scientific study, and popular settler imagination about glaciers, this thesis redefines New Zealand’s nineteenth-century glacier history as inherently multilayered through the circulation, creation, transformation and dissemination of glacier knowledge. In doing so, it highlights glaciers not only as physical entities defined by scientific study but as ideas shaped by diverse knowledge systems, cultural perceptions, and historical contingencies.

text: Local Cryo-history: Redefining the creation, transformation and circulation of Aotearoa’s nineteenth century glacier knowledge The creation, transformation and dissemination of knowledge constantly shapes the narrative of glacier history. However, the intersecting layers that human encounters with the frozen environment, Indigenous knowledge, and popular thought add to glacier histories is often overlooked. By analysing the trends and intellectual traditions that emerged in nineteenth century New Zealand, a period defined as glaciology's 'classical' era of study, this thesis aims to broaden the Southern Alps’ local science-focused glacier discourse.   

Māori, for example, possessed unique mātauranga (knowledge) that was documented through Europeans employing local guides to accompany them across the Southern Alps. This mātauranga shaped some encounters nineteenth-century scientists, surveyors, and travellers had with Kā Tiritiri o te Moana’s glacier environment. New Zealand scholars like Julius von Haast and James Hector, on the other hand, further refined their understanding of New Zealand glaciers through the transnational exchange of knowledge and intellectual debates. A combination of Enlightenment rationalism and Romantic aesthetic also influenced popular glacier narratives that emerged during the nineteenth century. For example, the imagination of journalists, mountaineers and travellers reflected the broader cultural trends that circulated from Europe to New Zealand before their knowledge was disseminated to the public.  

By interrogating mātauranga Māori, formal scientific study, and popular settler imagination about glaciers, this thesis redefines New Zealand’s nineteenth-century glacier history as inherently multilayered through the circulation, creation, transformation and dissemination of glacier knowledge. In doing so, it highlights glaciers not only as physical entities defined by scientific study but as ideas shaped by diverse knowledge systems, cultural perceptions, and historical contingencies.

year: 2025

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

title: An evaluation of passage-level indexing strategies for a technical report archive

authors: Williams, Michael

subjects: computer science

abstract: Past research has shown that using evidence from document passages rather than complete documents is an effective way of improving the precision of full-text database searches. However, passage-level indexing has yet to be widely adopted for commercial or online databases. 
This paper reports on experiments designed to test the efficacy of passage-level indexing with a particular collection of a full-text online database, the New Zealand Digital Library. Discourse passages and word-window passages are used for the indexing process. Both ranked and Boolean searching are used to test the resulting indexes.
Overlapping window passages are shown to offer the best retrieval performance with both ranked and Boolean queries. Modifications may be necessary to the term weighting methodology in order to ensure optimal ranked query performance.

text: An evaluation of passage-level indexing strategies for a technical report archive Past research has shown that using evidence from document passages rather than complete documents is an effective way of improving the precision of full-text database searches. However, passage-level indexing has yet to be widely adopted for commercial or online databases. 
This paper reports on experiments designed to test the efficacy of passage-level indexing with a particular collection of a full-text online database, the New Zealand Digital Library. Discourse passages and word-window passages are used for the indexing process. Both ranked and Boolean searching are used to test the resulting indexes.
Overlapping window passages are shown to offer the best retrieval performance with both ranked and Boolean queries. Modifications may be necessary to the term weighting methodology in order to ensure optimal ranked query performance.

year: 1998-04