title: Mysteries of English Grammar. A guide to complexities of the English language

authors: Calude, Andreea S.

abstract: Despite a history of hundreds of years of research analysing aspects of English grammar, there are still open problems which continue to baffle language researchers today. Such ‘grammar mysteries’ arise for a number of reasons: because the language is changing; because different speakers of the language adhere to distinct norms and thus introduce and maintain variation in the system; because there are differences between the grammar of spoken and written English. This book illuminates some of the complexities of the subject, the areas where new discoveries await and why it matters.

Through a series of accessible and engaging case studies on various aspects of grammar, from multiple negation to possession, the authors present grammar as an intellectual challenge. This book brings out into the open questions about language usage to which we still do not have good answers in a bid to make variation overt and to revel in the mystery of the English language.

Both aimed at the interested general reader and the beginning student of English language and linguistics, this is a fresh take on grammar.

text: Mysteries of English Grammar. A guide to complexities of the English language Despite a history of hundreds of years of research analysing aspects of English grammar, there are still open problems which continue to baffle language researchers today. Such ‘grammar mysteries’ arise for a number of reasons: because the language is changing; because different speakers of the language adhere to distinct norms and thus introduce and maintain variation in the system; because there are differences between the grammar of spoken and written English. This book illuminates some of the complexities of the subject, the areas where new discoveries await and why it matters.

Through a series of accessible and engaging case studies on various aspects of grammar, from multiple negation to possession, the authors present grammar as an intellectual challenge. This book brings out into the open questions about language usage to which we still do not have good answers in a bid to make variation overt and to revel in the mystery of the English language.

Both aimed at the interested general reader and the beginning student of English language and linguistics, this is a fresh take on grammar.

year: 2021

title: Comparison of the efficiency of three methods of isolating fish DNA from environmental samples

authors: Banks, Jonathan C.

abstract: The Lake Ecosystem Restoration New Zealand (LERNZ) project was initiated to restore indigenous biodiversity in lakes in part by developing new pest fish management and control technologies. One objective of the management of pest fish was to develop genetic based assays to detect pest fish from environmental samples such as water, and to assess the feasibility of using these methods in the field.
This report compares three methods (the Piscitron II, Piscitron III and a pH adjusted method) of isolating DNA for two species of exotic fish from water samples. We compared DNA isolation efficiency using newly developed qPCR assays for koi carp, Cyprinus carpio and goldfish, Carassius auratus , and present the primer and hydrolysis probe sequences for the assays, and assay thermal conditions. Minimum levels of detectable fish biomass are reported for koi carp water collected from a 6800 L tank at ambient temperature containing a 1.6 kg koi carp. The koi carp and goldfish assays were also tested on Waikato River water collected next to Hammond Park, Hamilton, New Zealand, an area of river known to contain koi carp and goldfish.
We found that the Piscitron II and Piscitron III methods, which filtered water through glass fibre filters or glass wool aquarium filters, respectively, performed equally well in terms of DNA extraction but considerably better than the pH adjusted method. Minimum detectable amounts of koi carp DNA were calculated by producing serial dilutions of the tank water containing 2.35* 10⁻⁴ kg of koi carp/L. Because fish densities tend to be reported as kg/m² of lake surface, we converted our minimum detectable amount from a weight per volume to a weight per area by assuming an average lake depth of 1.5 m (a typical Waikato lake depth) which resulted in a minimum detectable amount of 0.35 kg carp/m² of water surface area. We also produced serial dilutions of DNA extracted from the koi carp tank and the minimum detectable amount of koi carp biomass was much lower at 0.0035 kg/m² which is less than the range of carp densities (0.005-0.0768 kg/m²) reported for Waikato lakes and rivers.

text: Comparison of the efficiency of three methods of isolating fish DNA from environmental samples The Lake Ecosystem Restoration New Zealand (LERNZ) project was initiated to restore indigenous biodiversity in lakes in part by developing new pest fish management and control technologies. One objective of the management of pest fish was to develop genetic based assays to detect pest fish from environmental samples such as water, and to assess the feasibility of using these methods in the field.
This report compares three methods (the Piscitron II, Piscitron III and a pH adjusted method) of isolating DNA for two species of exotic fish from water samples. We compared DNA isolation efficiency using newly developed qPCR assays for koi carp, Cyprinus carpio and goldfish, Carassius auratus , and present the primer and hydrolysis probe sequences for the assays, and assay thermal conditions. Minimum levels of detectable fish biomass are reported for koi carp water collected from a 6800 L tank at ambient temperature containing a 1.6 kg koi carp. The koi carp and goldfish assays were also tested on Waikato River water collected next to Hammond Park, Hamilton, New Zealand, an area of river known to contain koi carp and goldfish.
We found that the Piscitron II and Piscitron III methods, which filtered water through glass fibre filters or glass wool aquarium filters, respectively, performed equally well in terms of DNA extraction but considerably better than the pH adjusted method. Minimum detectable amounts of koi carp DNA were calculated by producing serial dilutions of the tank water containing 2.35* 10⁻⁴ kg of koi carp/L. Because fish densities tend to be reported as kg/m² of lake surface, we converted our minimum detectable amount from a weight per volume to a weight per area by assuming an average lake depth of 1.5 m (a typical Waikato lake depth) which resulted in a minimum detectable amount of 0.35 kg carp/m² of water surface area. We also produced serial dilutions of DNA extracted from the koi carp tank and the minimum detectable amount of koi carp biomass was much lower at 0.0035 kg/m² which is less than the range of carp densities (0.005-0.0768 kg/m²) reported for Waikato lakes and rivers.

year: 2014

title: Who owns native nature? Discourses of rights to land, culture, and knowledge in New Zealand

authors: Goldsmith, Michael

subjects: indigenous cultures

abstract: Michael Brown famously asked ‘Who owns native culture?’ This paper revisits that question by analyzing what happens to culture when the culturally defined boundary between it and nature becomes salient in the context of disputes between indigenous and settler populations. My case study is the dispute between the New Zealand government and Maori tribal groupings concerning ownership of the foreshore and seabed. Having been granted the right to test their claims in court in 2003, Maori groups were enraged when the government legislated the right out of existence in 2004. Though the reasons for doing so were clearly political, contrasting cultural assumptions appeared to set Maori and Pakeha (New Zealanders of European origin) at odds. While couching ownership of part of nature as an IPR issue may seem counter-intuitive, I argue that as soon as a property claim destabilizes the nature/culture boundary, IPR discourse becomes pertinent.

text: Who owns native nature? Discourses of rights to land, culture, and knowledge in New Zealand Michael Brown famously asked ‘Who owns native culture?’ This paper revisits that question by analyzing what happens to culture when the culturally defined boundary between it and nature becomes salient in the context of disputes between indigenous and settler populations. My case study is the dispute between the New Zealand government and Maori tribal groupings concerning ownership of the foreshore and seabed. Having been granted the right to test their claims in court in 2003, Maori groups were enraged when the government legislated the right out of existence in 2004. Though the reasons for doing so were clearly political, contrasting cultural assumptions appeared to set Maori and Pakeha (New Zealanders of European origin) at odds. While couching ownership of part of nature as an IPR issue may seem counter-intuitive, I argue that as soon as a property claim destabilizes the nature/culture boundary, IPR discourse becomes pertinent.

year: 2009