title: Isolation and characterisation of a novel, low-temperature-1 active alkaliphilic esterase from an Antarctic desert soil metagenome

authors: Health, Caroline

subjects: Antarctic desert

abstract: A novel esterase was identified through functional screening of an Antarctic desert soil metagenomic library in E. coli. The 297-amino acid sequence had only low (< 29 %) similarity to a putative esterase from Burkholderia xenovorans. The enzyme was active over a temperature range of 7-54 °C and at alkaline pH levels, and is a potential candidate for industrial application.

text: Isolation and characterisation of a novel, low-temperature-1 active alkaliphilic esterase from an Antarctic desert soil metagenome A novel esterase was identified through functional screening of an Antarctic desert soil metagenomic library in E. coli. The 297-amino acid sequence had only low (< 29 %) similarity to a putative esterase from Burkholderia xenovorans. The enzyme was active over a temperature range of 7-54 °C and at alkaline pH levels, and is a potential candidate for industrial application.

year: 2009

title: Automated retrofit of heat exchanger networks

authors: Lal, Nathan S.

subjects: Heat recovery

abstract: In a large industrial processing plant, a significant amount of process heat is generated using fossil fuels, contributing to New Zealand’s overall greenhouse gas emissions. While New Zealand’s renewable energy sources present potential alternatives to fossil fuels, reducing the process heat demand of industrial processing plants is another critical step for emissions reduction, with multiple long-term economic and environmental benefits. Reducing process heat demand often centres on retrofitting the heat exchanger network to improve heat recovery and lower the hot utility consumption. 
This thesis presents a comprehensive automated retrofit design method for heat exchanger networks, fulfilling several gaps in current knowledge. The novel contributions are presented and discussed in four main chapters: (1) two retrofit tools are developed that enable visualisation of the problem – the Modified Energy Transfer Diagram and the Heat Surplus-Deficit Table, (2) an algorithm called Automated Retrofit Targeting that searches for all possible retrofit modifications of the heat exchanger network that unlocks energy savings, (3) a comprehensive energy retrofit planning tool that uses a multi-stage retrofit analysis to provide strategic long-term and cost-effective retrofit plans, and (4) an heat exchanger network simulation method, incorporating using Monte Carlo Simulation, to quantify the effect of variable process flows and temperatures on flexibility and steady state performance. 
The developed methods are illustrated using a simple four-stream network and then applied to two industrial case studies that are representative of some of the large industrial energy-users in New Zealand: a paper mill at a Kraft pulp and paper mill cluster and a petrochemical complex. In both case studies, numerous potential retrofit designs have been identified. These options are reduced to those that ranked as the most cost-effective, using thermodynamic and economic constraints with Pareto front analysis. By successive application of the retrofit method, long-term retrofit plans have been proposed, enabling strategic sequencing of modifications and minimising process heat demand. For the petrochemical complex, the hot utility consumption could decrease by 9.58 MW (63% of the total possible savings) using four separate stages of retrofits. The total retrofit profit would reach 1.5 million Euros per year with a simple payback of 1.7 years. The paper mill could achieve its process heat demand reduction target using four retrofit stages, achieving a total retrofit profit of 0.78 million NZD per year. These modifications resulted in an inflexibility of 51.3% (probability of the heat exchanger network failing to meet all target temperatures), but this could be reduced to 4.1% using bypass control. 
This thesis provides a novel retrofit method, which uses graphical and numerical tools, in combination with automated analysis, generating and evaluating cost-effective retrofit designs. The retrofit design method has been implemented in Microsoft ExcelTM as a critical and functional output that can be rapidly applied to complex industrial heat exchanger networks.

text: Automated retrofit of heat exchanger networks In a large industrial processing plant, a significant amount of process heat is generated using fossil fuels, contributing to New Zealand’s overall greenhouse gas emissions. While New Zealand’s renewable energy sources present potential alternatives to fossil fuels, reducing the process heat demand of industrial processing plants is another critical step for emissions reduction, with multiple long-term economic and environmental benefits. Reducing process heat demand often centres on retrofitting the heat exchanger network to improve heat recovery and lower the hot utility consumption. 
This thesis presents a comprehensive automated retrofit design method for heat exchanger networks, fulfilling several gaps in current knowledge. The novel contributions are presented and discussed in four main chapters: (1) two retrofit tools are developed that enable visualisation of the problem – the Modified Energy Transfer Diagram and the Heat Surplus-Deficit Table, (2) an algorithm called Automated Retrofit Targeting that searches for all possible retrofit modifications of the heat exchanger network that unlocks energy savings, (3) a comprehensive energy retrofit planning tool that uses a multi-stage retrofit analysis to provide strategic long-term and cost-effective retrofit plans, and (4) an heat exchanger network simulation method, incorporating using Monte Carlo Simulation, to quantify the effect of variable process flows and temperatures on flexibility and steady state performance. 
The developed methods are illustrated using a simple four-stream network and then applied to two industrial case studies that are representative of some of the large industrial energy-users in New Zealand: a paper mill at a Kraft pulp and paper mill cluster and a petrochemical complex. In both case studies, numerous potential retrofit designs have been identified. These options are reduced to those that ranked as the most cost-effective, using thermodynamic and economic constraints with Pareto front analysis. By successive application of the retrofit method, long-term retrofit plans have been proposed, enabling strategic sequencing of modifications and minimising process heat demand. For the petrochemical complex, the hot utility consumption could decrease by 9.58 MW (63% of the total possible savings) using four separate stages of retrofits. The total retrofit profit would reach 1.5 million Euros per year with a simple payback of 1.7 years. The paper mill could achieve its process heat demand reduction target using four retrofit stages, achieving a total retrofit profit of 0.78 million NZD per year. These modifications resulted in an inflexibility of 51.3% (probability of the heat exchanger network failing to meet all target temperatures), but this could be reduced to 4.1% using bypass control. 
This thesis provides a novel retrofit method, which uses graphical and numerical tools, in combination with automated analysis, generating and evaluating cost-effective retrofit designs. The retrofit design method has been implemented in Microsoft ExcelTM as a critical and functional output that can be rapidly applied to complex industrial heat exchanger networks.

year: 2020

title: Te whakaako i te reo Māori i te kura auraki tuarua i Aotearoa nei: Kei tua o te awe māpere. The teaching of te reo Māori in English-medium secondary schools in New Zealand: Beyond the mask.

authors: Nock, Sophie

subjects: language curricula

abstract: He taonga te reo Māori nō tuawhakarere, nō tuauriuri, whāioio, nā te atua i homai kia poipoia e te iwi Māori hei reo kōrero mō te hunga kaingākau, mō te hunga kāore anō kia whānau noa.  Ahakoa ia he toimaha tonu te hauora o te reo Māori, nā te mahi tūkino (a ētahi).  I roto i ngā tau whā tekau kua ara ake ngā momo rongoā hei whakahauora, hei whakatairanga i te reo Māori, nā, ko Te Kōhanga Reo tērā, ko te Kura Kaupapa Māori tērā, ko Te Wharekura tērā, aha atu, aha atu.  Ka mutu, i te tau 1987 i whakamanahia ai te reo Māori hei reo tūturu o tēnei whenua.  Ahakoa he aha e mea ana te Tāhūhū o te Mātauranga ehara i te mea me whai wāhi te reo Māori hei reo ako i roto i ngā kura tuarua puta noa i te motu.  Engari, ko te raruraru kua whai wāhi kē ētahi atu reo o te ao, kaua ko te reo Māori.  Kāti, i te tau 2009 i tatū ai Te Aho Arataki Marau mō te Ako i Te Reo Māori, ā, ki reira whai wāhi ai te reo Māori.  Nā, ko tā te kura tuarua mahi he tautoko mārika i te reo Māori, mā te whakaako i te reo Māori, e tika ana me pērā, nā te mea, ko te nuinga o ngā tamariki Māori e haere ana ki a ia ako ai.  Mōhio pai i whakapeto ngoi ngā kaiwhakaako reo Māori me te matatau anō o ētahi ki te reo hoki, engari, ki tā te pūrongo rangahau a Te Tari Arotake Mātauranga kīhai i tino eke panuku ngā mahi whakaako.  Ko ngā tino take, ko te whakangungu kaiwhakaako, ko te tautoko me te whakahaere a te kura hoki.

Nō reira, ko te whāinga matua o tēnei rangahau kia tirohia me pēhea e whakaako ai te reo Māori ki te kura tuarua, (kaua i ngā wharekura) i Aotearoa.  Mai i te rau tau tekau mā waru ka tātaria ētahi o ngā kōrero whanake e hāngai pū ana ki te whakaako me te ako i (t)ētahi atu reo, ko ia te wāhanga tuarua.  Whai muri mai i tērā (kei te wāhanga tuatoru) ko ngā patapatai me ngā uiuitanga, ā, ko tā te patapatai he kukume mai i ngā whakapono, i ngā whakaaro, i ngā waiaro o te hunga kaiwhakaako, ko tā te uiuitanga e whakatātūtū i te rētotanga o te kaupapa.  Ka mutu, i whārikihia ngā whakakitenga, ngā whakahoki kōrero ki taua wāhanga.  I te mutunga iho i whakapau kaha ngā kaiwhakaako ki te whakatutuki i ngā mahi, ahakoa ngā piki me ngā heke.  Kei ngā wāhanga e rua (4 & 5) ngā kōrero mō ngā tūmomo rauemi e whakamahia ana e ngā kaiwhakaako, arā, ko ngā momo pukapuka (4) me ngā tūmomo rauemi o te ipurangi nā Te Tāhūhū o te Mātauranga i whakarato (5).  E kī ana ngā whakaputanga, tuatahi, kīhai aua rauemi i tino whakaatu mai i ngā momo whanaketanga i roto i ngā tau whā tekau neke atu mō te whakaako i te reo tuarua, hou rānei, tuarua, kāhore hoki i tino hāngai pū ēnei rauemi ki te Marau mō te Ako i Te Reo Māori i te kura tuarua me te hāngai anō hoki ki te āhua o te whakaako i te reo mā te ‘Communicative Language Teaching’.  Hei whaiwhai ake i ngā rauemi i tātaria ētahi o ngā karaehe reo (te wāhanga 6) mā ngā wehewehetanga matua o te whakaako reo.  Mai i taua tātaritanga i kitea mai ētahi raruraru, tuatahi, kāhore ngā tauira/akonga i whai wāhi ki te kōrero (i roto tonu i te karaehe), tuarua, kāhore e taea te whakawhitiwhiti kōrero ki a rātou anō, tuatoru, kāhore rātou i te mahi tahi anō hoki.  Hei whakakapi ake i tēnei rangahau, kei te wāhanga whakamutunga (7) te whakakaokao mai o ngā whakakitenga katoa, me te whakatakoto o ngā tūtohutanga kia anga whakamua ai. 

It has been acknowledged that te reo Māori is a taonga and, as such, is subject to the protections guaranteed under the terms of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.  Since 1987, it has been an official language of Aotearoa.  Its future is, however, very far from secure and instructed language learning continues to play a significant part in the revitalisation agenda.  Even so, although schools are now required to offer a language other than the language of instruction to pupils in Years 7 to 10, and although over two thirds of Māori students currently attend schools in which English is the main language of instruction, schools are not required to include te reo Māori in their language offering.  In addition, although curriculum guidelines documents for a number of foreign languages have been available for many years, it was not until 2009 that the final version of a curriculum guidelines document for the teaching and learning of te reo Māori in English-medium schools became available.  Furthermore, while there clearly are some extremely competent teachers of the language, Education Review Office (ERO) reports indicate that all is not well so far as the teaching and learning of te reo Māori in English-medium secondary schools is concerned.  The problems identified relate not to teachers' proficiency in the language but to their limited pedagogical knowledge.  As ERO has indicated, this raises questions about the initial training of teachers of te reo Māori and the ways in which all schools manage and support them. 

The overall aim of the research reported here is to investigate the teaching of te reo Māori in English-medium secondary schools in Aotearoa.  Following a critical review of selected literature on developments in the teaching and learning of additional languages since the end of the 18th Century (Chapter 2), there is a report on a survey (involving questionnaire responses and semi-structured interviews) of a sample of teachers of te reo Māori in English-medium secondary schools.  That survey focuses on their educational and linguistic backgrounds and their attitudes and approaches to a range of issues associated with the teaching and learning of the language in school settings (Chapter 3).  Overall, the findings indicate that while these teachers are doing their best to provide a high quality educational experience for their students, they are doing so in the face of a number of significant barriers relating, in particular, to the limited nature of the pre-service training they have received, and the range of additional duties they are expected to perform.  In addition, the survey revealed some concerns about the impact of national assessment on teaching and learning and about the teaching materials and resources that are available.  The next two chapters report on the analysis of a sample of textbooks which are widely used in secondary schools (Chapter 4) and a sample of resources made available by the Ministry of Education (Chapter 5), the main findings being that these are, in the main, (a) inconsistent with both research-based developments in the teaching of additional languages and the expectations relating to communicative language teaching as outlined in the curriculum guidelines, and (b) that these resources do not align with the new curriculum.  The analysis of a sample of lessons taught in secondary schools follows (Chapter 6).  That analysis, conducted in relation to a number of focus points, reveals some significant problems, including the fact that the students were provided with few opportunities to contribute, to interact with one another, and to engage in genuinely communicative activities.  The final chapter (Chapter 7) provides an overview of the findings and includes some suggestions about a possible way forward.

text: Te whakaako i te reo Māori i te kura auraki tuarua i Aotearoa nei: Kei tua o te awe māpere. The teaching of te reo Māori in English-medium secondary schools in New Zealand: Beyond the mask. He taonga te reo Māori nō tuawhakarere, nō tuauriuri, whāioio, nā te atua i homai kia poipoia e te iwi Māori hei reo kōrero mō te hunga kaingākau, mō te hunga kāore anō kia whānau noa.  Ahakoa ia he toimaha tonu te hauora o te reo Māori, nā te mahi tūkino (a ētahi).  I roto i ngā tau whā tekau kua ara ake ngā momo rongoā hei whakahauora, hei whakatairanga i te reo Māori, nā, ko Te Kōhanga Reo tērā, ko te Kura Kaupapa Māori tērā, ko Te Wharekura tērā, aha atu, aha atu.  Ka mutu, i te tau 1987 i whakamanahia ai te reo Māori hei reo tūturu o tēnei whenua.  Ahakoa he aha e mea ana te Tāhūhū o te Mātauranga ehara i te mea me whai wāhi te reo Māori hei reo ako i roto i ngā kura tuarua puta noa i te motu.  Engari, ko te raruraru kua whai wāhi kē ētahi atu reo o te ao, kaua ko te reo Māori.  Kāti, i te tau 2009 i tatū ai Te Aho Arataki Marau mō te Ako i Te Reo Māori, ā, ki reira whai wāhi ai te reo Māori.  Nā, ko tā te kura tuarua mahi he tautoko mārika i te reo Māori, mā te whakaako i te reo Māori, e tika ana me pērā, nā te mea, ko te nuinga o ngā tamariki Māori e haere ana ki a ia ako ai.  Mōhio pai i whakapeto ngoi ngā kaiwhakaako reo Māori me te matatau anō o ētahi ki te reo hoki, engari, ki tā te pūrongo rangahau a Te Tari Arotake Mātauranga kīhai i tino eke panuku ngā mahi whakaako.  Ko ngā tino take, ko te whakangungu kaiwhakaako, ko te tautoko me te whakahaere a te kura hoki.

Nō reira, ko te whāinga matua o tēnei rangahau kia tirohia me pēhea e whakaako ai te reo Māori ki te kura tuarua, (kaua i ngā wharekura) i Aotearoa.  Mai i te rau tau tekau mā waru ka tātaria ētahi o ngā kōrero whanake e hāngai pū ana ki te whakaako me te ako i (t)ētahi atu reo, ko ia te wāhanga tuarua.  Whai muri mai i tērā (kei te wāhanga tuatoru) ko ngā patapatai me ngā uiuitanga, ā, ko tā te patapatai he kukume mai i ngā whakapono, i ngā whakaaro, i ngā waiaro o te hunga kaiwhakaako, ko tā te uiuitanga e whakatātūtū i te rētotanga o te kaupapa.  Ka mutu, i whārikihia ngā whakakitenga, ngā whakahoki kōrero ki taua wāhanga.  I te mutunga iho i whakapau kaha ngā kaiwhakaako ki te whakatutuki i ngā mahi, ahakoa ngā piki me ngā heke.  Kei ngā wāhanga e rua (4 & 5) ngā kōrero mō ngā tūmomo rauemi e whakamahia ana e ngā kaiwhakaako, arā, ko ngā momo pukapuka (4) me ngā tūmomo rauemi o te ipurangi nā Te Tāhūhū o te Mātauranga i whakarato (5).  E kī ana ngā whakaputanga, tuatahi, kīhai aua rauemi i tino whakaatu mai i ngā momo whanaketanga i roto i ngā tau whā tekau neke atu mō te whakaako i te reo tuarua, hou rānei, tuarua, kāhore hoki i tino hāngai pū ēnei rauemi ki te Marau mō te Ako i Te Reo Māori i te kura tuarua me te hāngai anō hoki ki te āhua o te whakaako i te reo mā te ‘Communicative Language Teaching’.  Hei whaiwhai ake i ngā rauemi i tātaria ētahi o ngā karaehe reo (te wāhanga 6) mā ngā wehewehetanga matua o te whakaako reo.  Mai i taua tātaritanga i kitea mai ētahi raruraru, tuatahi, kāhore ngā tauira/akonga i whai wāhi ki te kōrero (i roto tonu i te karaehe), tuarua, kāhore e taea te whakawhitiwhiti kōrero ki a rātou anō, tuatoru, kāhore rātou i te mahi tahi anō hoki.  Hei whakakapi ake i tēnei rangahau, kei te wāhanga whakamutunga (7) te whakakaokao mai o ngā whakakitenga katoa, me te whakatakoto o ngā tūtohutanga kia anga whakamua ai. 

It has been acknowledged that te reo Māori is a taonga and, as such, is subject to the protections guaranteed under the terms of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.  Since 1987, it has been an official language of Aotearoa.  Its future is, however, very far from secure and instructed language learning continues to play a significant part in the revitalisation agenda.  Even so, although schools are now required to offer a language other than the language of instruction to pupils in Years 7 to 10, and although over two thirds of Māori students currently attend schools in which English is the main language of instruction, schools are not required to include te reo Māori in their language offering.  In addition, although curriculum guidelines documents for a number of foreign languages have been available for many years, it was not until 2009 that the final version of a curriculum guidelines document for the teaching and learning of te reo Māori in English-medium schools became available.  Furthermore, while there clearly are some extremely competent teachers of the language, Education Review Office (ERO) reports indicate that all is not well so far as the teaching and learning of te reo Māori in English-medium secondary schools is concerned.  The problems identified relate not to teachers' proficiency in the language but to their limited pedagogical knowledge.  As ERO has indicated, this raises questions about the initial training of teachers of te reo Māori and the ways in which all schools manage and support them. 

The overall aim of the research reported here is to investigate the teaching of te reo Māori in English-medium secondary schools in Aotearoa.  Following a critical review of selected literature on developments in the teaching and learning of additional languages since the end of the 18th Century (Chapter 2), there is a report on a survey (involving questionnaire responses and semi-structured interviews) of a sample of teachers of te reo Māori in English-medium secondary schools.  That survey focuses on their educational and linguistic backgrounds and their attitudes and approaches to a range of issues associated with the teaching and learning of the language in school settings (Chapter 3).  Overall, the findings indicate that while these teachers are doing their best to provide a high quality educational experience for their students, they are doing so in the face of a number of significant barriers relating, in particular, to the limited nature of the pre-service training they have received, and the range of additional duties they are expected to perform.  In addition, the survey revealed some concerns about the impact of national assessment on teaching and learning and about the teaching materials and resources that are available.  The next two chapters report on the analysis of a sample of textbooks which are widely used in secondary schools (Chapter 4) and a sample of resources made available by the Ministry of Education (Chapter 5), the main findings being that these are, in the main, (a) inconsistent with both research-based developments in the teaching of additional languages and the expectations relating to communicative language teaching as outlined in the curriculum guidelines, and (b) that these resources do not align with the new curriculum.  The analysis of a sample of lessons taught in secondary schools follows (Chapter 6).  That analysis, conducted in relation to a number of focus points, reveals some significant problems, including the fact that the students were provided with few opportunities to contribute, to interact with one another, and to engage in genuinely communicative activities.  The final chapter (Chapter 7) provides an overview of the findings and includes some suggestions about a possible way forward.

year: 2014