title: The crisis in food price data

authors: Gibson, John

subjects: price

abstract: Many studies estimate impacts of higher food prices on consumer welfare. Yet reliable data on real welfare levels in poor countries are rare since surveys prioritize collecting nominal living standards data over price data. Narrower questions about the impacts of prices on food quantity consumed and on the availability of nutrients are poorly answered. Most studies ignore coping responses that involve downgrading food quality to maintain quantity and therefore overstate nutritionally harmful effects of rising prices. A full accounting for the impacts of food prices on food security requires spatially detailed food price data and household survey data on both the quantity and the quality of foods. Surprisingly few developing countries have these required data.

text: The crisis in food price data Many studies estimate impacts of higher food prices on consumer welfare. Yet reliable data on real welfare levels in poor countries are rare since surveys prioritize collecting nominal living standards data over price data. Narrower questions about the impacts of prices on food quantity consumed and on the availability of nutrients are poorly answered. Most studies ignore coping responses that involve downgrading food quality to maintain quantity and therefore overstate nutritionally harmful effects of rising prices. A full accounting for the impacts of food prices on food security requires spatially detailed food price data and household survey data on both the quantity and the quality of foods. Surprisingly few developing countries have these required data.

year: 2013

title: Submarine channelforms and fans in the Miocene Moki and Mount Messenger formations, Taranaki Basin, New Zealand

authors: Kamaruzaman, Erman

abstract: Taranaki Basin (New Zealand) contains a Late Cretaceous – Cenozoic sedimentary succession up to 9 kilometres thick. Neogene strata are volumetrically a significant part of the basin fill. During the late-Middle Miocene a new sediment source, arising from the onset of uplift and erosion of the Southern Alps mountain belt, supplied the basin with copious sediment, continuing to the Recent. This resulted in the development of a northwestward prograding shelf-slope wedge within the basin. The Moki and Mount Messenger formations accumulated as sandstone strata within mudstone (Manganui Formation) and display obvious sediment conduits (i.e. canyons, channels and gullies) in seismic reflection profiles. Past studies considered that these conduits pass through submarine fans, while in reality fans occur basinward of the mouths of the sediment conduits. This thesis study leverages seismic reflection data and applies seismic stratigraphy and seismic geomorphology, integrated with analysis of wireline logs, core, and outcrops, to better understand the occurrence of sediment conduits and fans within the Moki and Mount Messenger formations. Results show that in southern Taranaki Basin, increased sediment influx resulted in steepening of the continental slope, changing the morphometrics of sediment conduits. Critical analysis of data generated here forced the dismissal of all published fans associated with these sandstone formations. Rather, two new Late Miocene submarine fans have been mapped in deep-water western Taranaki Basin towards the head of the New Caledonia Basin. New paleogeographic maps for the Middle and Late Miocene have been drawn that display the sediment conduits and new fans.

text: Submarine channelforms and fans in the Miocene Moki and Mount Messenger formations, Taranaki Basin, New Zealand Taranaki Basin (New Zealand) contains a Late Cretaceous – Cenozoic sedimentary succession up to 9 kilometres thick. Neogene strata are volumetrically a significant part of the basin fill. During the late-Middle Miocene a new sediment source, arising from the onset of uplift and erosion of the Southern Alps mountain belt, supplied the basin with copious sediment, continuing to the Recent. This resulted in the development of a northwestward prograding shelf-slope wedge within the basin. The Moki and Mount Messenger formations accumulated as sandstone strata within mudstone (Manganui Formation) and display obvious sediment conduits (i.e. canyons, channels and gullies) in seismic reflection profiles. Past studies considered that these conduits pass through submarine fans, while in reality fans occur basinward of the mouths of the sediment conduits. This thesis study leverages seismic reflection data and applies seismic stratigraphy and seismic geomorphology, integrated with analysis of wireline logs, core, and outcrops, to better understand the occurrence of sediment conduits and fans within the Moki and Mount Messenger formations. Results show that in southern Taranaki Basin, increased sediment influx resulted in steepening of the continental slope, changing the morphometrics of sediment conduits. Critical analysis of data generated here forced the dismissal of all published fans associated with these sandstone formations. Rather, two new Late Miocene submarine fans have been mapped in deep-water western Taranaki Basin towards the head of the New Caledonia Basin. New paleogeographic maps for the Middle and Late Miocene have been drawn that display the sediment conduits and new fans.

year: 2024-05-31

title: “She didn’t ask me about my grandma”. Using process drama to explore issues of cultural exclusion and educational leadership.

authors: Kana, Pare

subjects: dramatization

abstract: Purpose – This purpose of this paper is to describe a collaborative project from the University of Waikato, Hamilton New Zealand, in which the authors used process drama to engage final year teaching students with complex issues of cultural diversity, enabling them to “grow into” different kinds of leadership positions in an imagined educational setting. The paper describes the project and makes a case for process drama as a means of providing opportunities for leadership and as a potent tool for learning about issues of social justice. Design/methodology/approach – The drama was based on a fictional scenario described by Hall and Bishop, where a beginner teacher (of European descent) unwittingly diminishes the experiences of Maori and other non-European children in her class. Using a three-phase process planning model and with facilitators in role alongside the students, the drama explored the scenario from all points of view. Students were encouraged to build empathy for the beginner teacher and for the children and also to explore the dilemma faced by the teacher's tutor in deciding whether, and how, to confront the teacher on the issue. Findings – Through the drama, students built a sense of empathy for all sides of the issue and engaged in deep thinking about the experience of cultural exclusion. The safety and distance provided by the drama “frame” spurred students to take leadership roles and “stand up” for issues of social justice. The authors suggest that through such dramas students gain skills and perspectives that they may carry into their professional lives. Research limitations/implications – The paper describes a small project, over one lesson with a specific group of students. More research is needed into the effectiveness of process drama as a sustained strategy for teacher education. Originality/value – This scenario explored in the drama has currency in Aotearoa New Zealand, where the population is increasingly culturally diverse, where underachievement of Maori students continues to be of concern, and where research has shown the centrality of teacher-student relations in raising educational achievement for Maori. The authors believe this paper makes a compelling case for the value of drama as a tool for student teachers to encounter social justice issues in a meaningful way, and suggest that the paper is a valuable contribution to more than one discipline, as it straddles the fields of professional practice and drama as pedagogy.

text: “She didn’t ask me about my grandma”. Using process drama to explore issues of cultural exclusion and educational leadership. Purpose – This purpose of this paper is to describe a collaborative project from the University of Waikato, Hamilton New Zealand, in which the authors used process drama to engage final year teaching students with complex issues of cultural diversity, enabling them to “grow into” different kinds of leadership positions in an imagined educational setting. The paper describes the project and makes a case for process drama as a means of providing opportunities for leadership and as a potent tool for learning about issues of social justice. Design/methodology/approach – The drama was based on a fictional scenario described by Hall and Bishop, where a beginner teacher (of European descent) unwittingly diminishes the experiences of Maori and other non-European children in her class. Using a three-phase process planning model and with facilitators in role alongside the students, the drama explored the scenario from all points of view. Students were encouraged to build empathy for the beginner teacher and for the children and also to explore the dilemma faced by the teacher's tutor in deciding whether, and how, to confront the teacher on the issue. Findings – Through the drama, students built a sense of empathy for all sides of the issue and engaged in deep thinking about the experience of cultural exclusion. The safety and distance provided by the drama “frame” spurred students to take leadership roles and “stand up” for issues of social justice. The authors suggest that through such dramas students gain skills and perspectives that they may carry into their professional lives. Research limitations/implications – The paper describes a small project, over one lesson with a specific group of students. More research is needed into the effectiveness of process drama as a sustained strategy for teacher education. Originality/value – This scenario explored in the drama has currency in Aotearoa New Zealand, where the population is increasingly culturally diverse, where underachievement of Maori students continues to be of concern, and where research has shown the centrality of teacher-student relations in raising educational achievement for Maori. The authors believe this paper makes a compelling case for the value of drama as a tool for student teachers to encounter social justice issues in a meaningful way, and suggest that the paper is a valuable contribution to more than one discipline, as it straddles the fields of professional practice and drama as pedagogy.

year: 2007