title: Teacher Development for English Language Teaching in China: Based on English Language Teachers' Beliefs and Practices in New Zealand

authors: Gao, Suxia

subjects: teacher development

abstract: This study inquired into English language teachers’ beliefs and practices in China and in New Zealand, and explored the process of using New Zealand English language teachers’ beliefs and practices as a stimulus in promoting and developing Chinese English language teachers’ understanding of English language teaching and their practices in the classroom. Interviews and questionnaires were conducted respectively in both China and New Zealand from May, 2007 to November, 2007. An action research was conducted in China, which lasted about four months with three cycles from March to July in 2008. Two English language teachers with the students in their class participated in the action research. The goal of the study was to identify the role that New Zealand English language teachers’ beliefs and practices played in helping Chinese English language teachers develop their teaching beliefs and practices so as to promote their students’ communication competence in the target language. On investigation, it was found that New Zealand English language teachers’ beliefs and practices played a positive role in helping Chinese English language teacher participants develop their teaching beliefs and practices. They provided Chinese teacher participants with new angles to think and reflect their own teaching beliefs and practices, and provide teacher participants with implications to be creative in the construction and reconstruction of new beliefs and practices. However, it was also found that in learning and using New Zealand teachers’ beliefs and practices, Chinese teacher participants had to consider the contexts within which their teaching occurred. It was proposed by this research that during the cross-cultural transplantation of teaching beliefs and practices, cultural congruence and pedagogical reconciliation had to be achieved. Without regard to the Chinese educational culture, values, expectations, and Chinese teachers’ expertise, the change would be superficial. This study embraced a positive attitude toward using beliefs and practices from other culture(s) in Chinese English language teacher development and proposed it as an effective teacher development mode for China’s English language teacher education programme.

text: Teacher Development for English Language Teaching in China: Based on English Language Teachers' Beliefs and Practices in New Zealand This study inquired into English language teachers’ beliefs and practices in China and in New Zealand, and explored the process of using New Zealand English language teachers’ beliefs and practices as a stimulus in promoting and developing Chinese English language teachers’ understanding of English language teaching and their practices in the classroom. Interviews and questionnaires were conducted respectively in both China and New Zealand from May, 2007 to November, 2007. An action research was conducted in China, which lasted about four months with three cycles from March to July in 2008. Two English language teachers with the students in their class participated in the action research. The goal of the study was to identify the role that New Zealand English language teachers’ beliefs and practices played in helping Chinese English language teachers develop their teaching beliefs and practices so as to promote their students’ communication competence in the target language. On investigation, it was found that New Zealand English language teachers’ beliefs and practices played a positive role in helping Chinese English language teacher participants develop their teaching beliefs and practices. They provided Chinese teacher participants with new angles to think and reflect their own teaching beliefs and practices, and provide teacher participants with implications to be creative in the construction and reconstruction of new beliefs and practices. However, it was also found that in learning and using New Zealand teachers’ beliefs and practices, Chinese teacher participants had to consider the contexts within which their teaching occurred. It was proposed by this research that during the cross-cultural transplantation of teaching beliefs and practices, cultural congruence and pedagogical reconciliation had to be achieved. Without regard to the Chinese educational culture, values, expectations, and Chinese teachers’ expertise, the change would be superficial. This study embraced a positive attitude toward using beliefs and practices from other culture(s) in Chinese English language teacher development and proposed it as an effective teacher development mode for China’s English language teacher education programme.

year: 2011

title: Hierarchical document clustering using automatically extracted keyphrases

authors: Jones, Steve

subjects: computer science

abstract: In this paper we present a technique for automatically generating hierarchical clusters of documents. Our technique exploits document keyphrases as features of the document space to support clustering. In fact, we cluster keyphrases rather than documents themselves and then associate documents with keyphrase clusters. We discuss alternative measures of similarity between ‘soft-clusters’ which seed Ward’s hierarchical clustering algorithm, and present the resulting cluster hierarchies that we have produced for a large collection of scientific technical reports. We analyse the effect of the alternative similarity measures and suggest improvement to our technique.

text: Hierarchical document clustering using automatically extracted keyphrases In this paper we present a technique for automatically generating hierarchical clusters of documents. Our technique exploits document keyphrases as features of the document space to support clustering. In fact, we cluster keyphrases rather than documents themselves and then associate documents with keyphrase clusters. We discuss alternative measures of similarity between ‘soft-clusters’ which seed Ward’s hierarchical clustering algorithm, and present the resulting cluster hierarchies that we have produced for a large collection of scientific technical reports. We analyse the effect of the alternative similarity measures and suggest improvement to our technique.

year: 2000-10

title: Intellectual Property, Mātauranga Māori

authors: Sterling, Rogena

abstract: This literature review has been conducted to consider the various national legislation and international agreements that comprise New Zealand’s Intellectual Property Rights (IP) regime. It will evaluate if and how such legislation and agreements protect and enable Māori IP rights and interests with respect to Māori data, genomic data and mātauranga Māori. The review also identifies some mechanisms that might also enhance Māori control of these types of data. The Westminster approach of legislation in New Zealand and its approach to IP protection based on Copyrights, Patents and Trade Marks are juxtaposed against traditional Maori approaches of communally held ancestral knowledge (mātauranga) passed down through generations (whanaungatanga) based on guardianship and protection (kaitiakitanga) and the self-determination of use of such knowledge (rangatiratanga). Attempting to align tikanga concepts to the Westmionster model of law is challenging as the two share completely different notions of ownership and responsibility. Expectations of protection, to prevent misappropriation and commercialisation by non- Māori of mātauranga Māori and Māori data, extend beyond the parameters of existing IP law, creates a similar disjunct. Genomic Research generates data, some of which can be protected by IP, however researchers working with genetic/genomic data from taonga species have often failed to acknowledge the non-IP interests of Maori. As a result, Maori have taken it upon themselves to advocate for their rights to data through Māori data sovereignty discourse as well as create guidelines for culturally appropriate genomic research with explicit references to data security and management (e.g. Te Mata Ira, Te Nohonga Kaitiaki). Other extra-legal options, such as Biocultural Labelling to alert users where particular data has Māori rights and/or interests, are emerging to maintain create durable provenance data and connect next users of data with the responsible Indigenous communities. Though the intellectual property regime in New Zealand may provide some protections, there are still significant areas where the legal system does not provide sufficient protections for Māori data, taonga species and mātauranga. The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples provides a framework of international support for Indigenous rights, but local government and other home-grown mechanisms are important to enable Māori governance of data. Local approaches Māori Data Sovereignty and Māori Data Governance afford Maori the opportunity to be directly involved as kaitiaki of their mātauranga and assert rangatiratanga over data and its use.

text: Intellectual Property, Mātauranga Māori This literature review has been conducted to consider the various national legislation and international agreements that comprise New Zealand’s Intellectual Property Rights (IP) regime. It will evaluate if and how such legislation and agreements protect and enable Māori IP rights and interests with respect to Māori data, genomic data and mātauranga Māori. The review also identifies some mechanisms that might also enhance Māori control of these types of data. The Westminster approach of legislation in New Zealand and its approach to IP protection based on Copyrights, Patents and Trade Marks are juxtaposed against traditional Maori approaches of communally held ancestral knowledge (mātauranga) passed down through generations (whanaungatanga) based on guardianship and protection (kaitiakitanga) and the self-determination of use of such knowledge (rangatiratanga). Attempting to align tikanga concepts to the Westmionster model of law is challenging as the two share completely different notions of ownership and responsibility. Expectations of protection, to prevent misappropriation and commercialisation by non- Māori of mātauranga Māori and Māori data, extend beyond the parameters of existing IP law, creates a similar disjunct. Genomic Research generates data, some of which can be protected by IP, however researchers working with genetic/genomic data from taonga species have often failed to acknowledge the non-IP interests of Maori. As a result, Maori have taken it upon themselves to advocate for their rights to data through Māori data sovereignty discourse as well as create guidelines for culturally appropriate genomic research with explicit references to data security and management (e.g. Te Mata Ira, Te Nohonga Kaitiaki). Other extra-legal options, such as Biocultural Labelling to alert users where particular data has Māori rights and/or interests, are emerging to maintain create durable provenance data and connect next users of data with the responsible Indigenous communities. Though the intellectual property regime in New Zealand may provide some protections, there are still significant areas where the legal system does not provide sufficient protections for Māori data, taonga species and mātauranga. The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples provides a framework of international support for Indigenous rights, but local government and other home-grown mechanisms are important to enable Māori governance of data. Local approaches Māori Data Sovereignty and Māori Data Governance afford Maori the opportunity to be directly involved as kaitiaki of their mātauranga and assert rangatiratanga over data and its use.

year: 2021