title: Responding to the message: Responsive written feedback in a Maori to English transition context

authors: Glynn, Ted

subjects: New Zealand

abstract: This paper reports on the writing component of a community and
school Maori to English literacy transition programme implemented in a kura
kaupapa Maori (Maori language immersion school. 21 Year 6, 7 and 8
students received responsive written feedback for their writing in English,
over a ten-week period, during their weekly independent writing time.
Students’ stories were mailed to a young Maori woman (the third author) in a
provincial city 100 kilometres from the kura . She was not known to any of the
students prior to the study, but she acted as an interested audience, and
responded in writing by focussing on the content or messages in students’
stories. She did not provide any corrective feedback on students’ writing.
The study employed an intra-subject multiple-baseline research design across
four school terms, with the responsive written feedback being introduced
sequentially to each of three student Year groups. Measures were taken of
total words written, adventurous words written, as well as holistic ratings of
audience impact and language quality. Data demonstrate positive gains in
both the quantity and quality of students’ writing, as well as maintenance of
high levels of writing accuracy for all Year groups.

text: Responding to the message: Responsive written feedback in a Maori to English transition context This paper reports on the writing component of a community and
school Maori to English literacy transition programme implemented in a kura
kaupapa Maori (Maori language immersion school. 21 Year 6, 7 and 8
students received responsive written feedback for their writing in English,
over a ten-week period, during their weekly independent writing time.
Students’ stories were mailed to a young Maori woman (the third author) in a
provincial city 100 kilometres from the kura . She was not known to any of the
students prior to the study, but she acted as an interested audience, and
responded in writing by focussing on the content or messages in students’
stories. She did not provide any corrective feedback on students’ writing.
The study employed an intra-subject multiple-baseline research design across
four school terms, with the responsive written feedback being introduced
sequentially to each of three student Year groups. Measures were taken of
total words written, adventurous words written, as well as holistic ratings of
audience impact and language quality. Data demonstrate positive gains in
both the quantity and quality of students’ writing, as well as maintenance of
high levels of writing accuracy for all Year groups.

year: 2005

title: Different coloured tears: Dual cultural identity and Tangihanga – A directed study

authors: Edge, Kiri

subjects: bereavement

abstract: Although whānau/family that are configured by both Pākehā and Māori identities number significantly within New Zealand, there has been little or no attention paid to the ways in which these identities influence the bereavement processes that will inevitably impact upon the lives of these whānau/family. The present study explored the experiences of an individual, whose whānau/family included two life ways; Māori and Pākehā. Of specific focus was the ways in which these identities influenced his bereavement subsequent to the death of his beloved wife, who was of Māori descent. One elderly male Pākehā participant was interviewed, using an open-ended narrative approach. The interview was semi structured around five broad themes, but the focus was upon the participant’s experiences and his preference in expressing these. The data analysis utilised a thematic process, which allowed the participant’s experiences to determine the emergent themes. The results depicted the diversity of issues that may be raised for dual cultural whānau/family within bereavement processes. Two central themes are discussed in relation to intercultural conflict and the eventual resolution that was created. Decision making processes, cultural and language differences played significant roles within the conflict and exclusion experienced by the participant. Communication and compromise provided resolution to the prior conflicts experienced. This created positive and unexpected outcomes which resulted in increased understandings and the strengthening of links between the participant, his whānau/family and his wife’s marae.

text: Different coloured tears: Dual cultural identity and Tangihanga – A directed study Although whānau/family that are configured by both Pākehā and Māori identities number significantly within New Zealand, there has been little or no attention paid to the ways in which these identities influence the bereavement processes that will inevitably impact upon the lives of these whānau/family. The present study explored the experiences of an individual, whose whānau/family included two life ways; Māori and Pākehā. Of specific focus was the ways in which these identities influenced his bereavement subsequent to the death of his beloved wife, who was of Māori descent. One elderly male Pākehā participant was interviewed, using an open-ended narrative approach. The interview was semi structured around five broad themes, but the focus was upon the participant’s experiences and his preference in expressing these. The data analysis utilised a thematic process, which allowed the participant’s experiences to determine the emergent themes. The results depicted the diversity of issues that may be raised for dual cultural whānau/family within bereavement processes. Two central themes are discussed in relation to intercultural conflict and the eventual resolution that was created. Decision making processes, cultural and language differences played significant roles within the conflict and exclusion experienced by the participant. Communication and compromise provided resolution to the prior conflicts experienced. This created positive and unexpected outcomes which resulted in increased understandings and the strengthening of links between the participant, his whānau/family and his wife’s marae.

year: 2010-01

title: Functional ecology of an Antarctic Dry Valley

authors: Chan, Yuki

abstract: The McMurdo Dry Valleys are the largest ice-free region in Antarctica and are critically at risk from climate change. The terrestrial landscape is dominated by oligotrophic mineral soils and extensive exposed rocky surfaces where biota are largely restricted to microbial communities, although their ability to perform the majority of geobiological processes has remained largely uncharacterized. Here, we identified functional traits that drive microbial survival and community assembly, using a metagenomic approach with GeoChip-based functional gene arrays to establish metabolic capabilities in communities inhabiting soil and rock surface niches in McKelvey Valley. Major pathways in primary metabolism were identified, indicating significant plasticity in autotrophic, heterotrophic, and diazotrophic strategies supporting microbial communities. This represents a major advance beyond biodiversity surveys in that we have now identified how putative functional ecology drives microbial community assembly. Significant differences were apparent between open soil, hypolithic, chasmoendolithic, and cryptoendolithic communities. A suite of previously unappreciated Antarctic microbial stress response pathways, thermal, osmotic, and nutrient limitation responses were identified and related to environmental stressors, offering tangible clues to the mechanisms behind the enduring success of microorganisms in this seemingly inhospitable terrain. Rocky substrates exposed to larger fluctuations in environmental stress supported greater functional diversity in stress-response pathways than soils. Soils comprised a unique reservoir of genes involved in transformation of organic hydrocarbons and lignin-like degradative pathways. This has major implications for the evolutionary origin of the organisms, turnover of recalcitrant substrates in Antarctic soils, and predicting future responses to anthropogenic pollution.

text: Functional ecology of an Antarctic Dry Valley The McMurdo Dry Valleys are the largest ice-free region in Antarctica and are critically at risk from climate change. The terrestrial landscape is dominated by oligotrophic mineral soils and extensive exposed rocky surfaces where biota are largely restricted to microbial communities, although their ability to perform the majority of geobiological processes has remained largely uncharacterized. Here, we identified functional traits that drive microbial survival and community assembly, using a metagenomic approach with GeoChip-based functional gene arrays to establish metabolic capabilities in communities inhabiting soil and rock surface niches in McKelvey Valley. Major pathways in primary metabolism were identified, indicating significant plasticity in autotrophic, heterotrophic, and diazotrophic strategies supporting microbial communities. This represents a major advance beyond biodiversity surveys in that we have now identified how putative functional ecology drives microbial community assembly. Significant differences were apparent between open soil, hypolithic, chasmoendolithic, and cryptoendolithic communities. A suite of previously unappreciated Antarctic microbial stress response pathways, thermal, osmotic, and nutrient limitation responses were identified and related to environmental stressors, offering tangible clues to the mechanisms behind the enduring success of microorganisms in this seemingly inhospitable terrain. Rocky substrates exposed to larger fluctuations in environmental stress supported greater functional diversity in stress-response pathways than soils. Soils comprised a unique reservoir of genes involved in transformation of organic hydrocarbons and lignin-like degradative pathways. This has major implications for the evolutionary origin of the organisms, turnover of recalcitrant substrates in Antarctic soils, and predicting future responses to anthropogenic pollution.

year: 2013