title: Connecting with tephras: principles, functioning, and applications of tephrochronology in Quaternary science

authors: Lowe, David J.

abstract: Tephrochronology is a unique method for linking and dating geological, palaeoecological, palaeoclimatic, or archaeological sequences or events. The method relies firstly on stratigraphy and the law of superposition, which apply in any study that connects or correlates deposits from one place to another. Secondly, it relies on characterising and hence identifying or ‘fingerprinting’ tephra layers using either physical properties evident in the field or those obtained from laboratory analysis, including mineralogical examination by optical microscopy or geochemical analysis of glass shards or crystals (e.g., Fe-Ti oxides, ferromagnesian minerals) using the electron microprobe and other tools. Thirdly, the method is enhanced when a numerical age is obtained for a tephra layer by (1) radiometric methods such as radiocarbon, fission-track, U-series, or Ar/Ar dating, (2) incremental dating methods including dendrochronology or varved sediments or layering in ice cores, or (3) age-equivalent methods such as palaeomagnetism or correlation with marine oxygen isotope stages or palynostratigraphy. Once known, that age can be transferred from one site to the next using stratigraphic methods and by matching compositional characteristics, i.e., comparing ‘fingerprints’ from each layer. Used this way, tephrochronology is an age-equivalent dating method.

text: Connecting with tephras: principles, functioning, and applications of tephrochronology in Quaternary science Tephrochronology is a unique method for linking and dating geological, palaeoecological, palaeoclimatic, or archaeological sequences or events. The method relies firstly on stratigraphy and the law of superposition, which apply in any study that connects or correlates deposits from one place to another. Secondly, it relies on characterising and hence identifying or ‘fingerprinting’ tephra layers using either physical properties evident in the field or those obtained from laboratory analysis, including mineralogical examination by optical microscopy or geochemical analysis of glass shards or crystals (e.g., Fe-Ti oxides, ferromagnesian minerals) using the electron microprobe and other tools. Thirdly, the method is enhanced when a numerical age is obtained for a tephra layer by (1) radiometric methods such as radiocarbon, fission-track, U-series, or Ar/Ar dating, (2) incremental dating methods including dendrochronology or varved sediments or layering in ice cores, or (3) age-equivalent methods such as palaeomagnetism or correlation with marine oxygen isotope stages or palynostratigraphy. Once known, that age can be transferred from one site to the next using stratigraphic methods and by matching compositional characteristics, i.e., comparing ‘fingerprints’ from each layer. Used this way, tephrochronology is an age-equivalent dating method.

year: 2013

title: Using Scratch to facilitate mathematical thinking

authors: Calder, Nigel Stuart

abstract: This article reports on a research project that examined the ways that 10-year-old students, who were using Scratch for coding, engaged with mathematical ideas. Interactive software is emerging that has cross-curricula implications and facilitates thinking in rich, problem-solving environments. Scratch, a free-to-use graphical programming environment provides opportunities for creative problem solving. When students process mathematics through digital technologies, the digital pedagogical media influences the learning process and students’ understanding emerges in distinctive ways. The children used Scratch to create mathematical digital learning objects, including games. An interpretive approach was undertaken, with the data collected over a two-week research period. The students wrote daily blogs articulating their progress and reflections. Students and the teacher were interviewed, and classroom observations (both written and photographic) were recorded. The findings suggest that mathematical thinking, including geometry and problem-solving processes, was facilitated through this process. Together, these findings indicate that teachers should not only use Scratch in primary school classroom programmes to develop coding skills but also be aware of its potential to facilitate thinking in other related areas.

text: Using Scratch to facilitate mathematical thinking This article reports on a research project that examined the ways that 10-year-old students, who were using Scratch for coding, engaged with mathematical ideas. Interactive software is emerging that has cross-curricula implications and facilitates thinking in rich, problem-solving environments. Scratch, a free-to-use graphical programming environment provides opportunities for creative problem solving. When students process mathematics through digital technologies, the digital pedagogical media influences the learning process and students’ understanding emerges in distinctive ways. The children used Scratch to create mathematical digital learning objects, including games. An interpretive approach was undertaken, with the data collected over a two-week research period. The students wrote daily blogs articulating their progress and reflections. Students and the teacher were interviewed, and classroom observations (both written and photographic) were recorded. The findings suggest that mathematical thinking, including geometry and problem-solving processes, was facilitated through this process. Together, these findings indicate that teachers should not only use Scratch in primary school classroom programmes to develop coding skills but also be aware of its potential to facilitate thinking in other related areas.

year: 2018

title: Māori Waiata: Discourse structuring, sub-genres and aesthetics

authors: Roa, Raukura

subjects: Te reo Māori

abstract: With particular reference to a discourse-based analysis of five waiata tangi from Ngāti Hauā, it is argued here that different types of Māori waiata (songs and chants) may be characterised by different types of overall discourse structuring. It is also suggested that discourse structuring may be a significant aspect of the aesthetics of Māori waiata.

text: Māori Waiata: Discourse structuring, sub-genres and aesthetics With particular reference to a discourse-based analysis of five waiata tangi from Ngāti Hauā, it is argued here that different types of Māori waiata (songs and chants) may be characterised by different types of overall discourse structuring. It is also suggested that discourse structuring may be a significant aspect of the aesthetics of Māori waiata.

year: 2004-02