title: Perceptions of technology and existing technological capability of Tongan secondary school students

authors: Mone, Fisi'ihoi

abstract: Many countries have now recognized Technology Education as a new subject in the school curriculum. It has been accepted internationally as a distinct area of education (McCormick, 1993; Layton, 1994; Lewis, 1996; and Jones, 1996). However, this worldwide trend has not yet reached most of the Pacific Island countries. These islands are unaware of the trend of transforming traditional technical subjects like Industrial Arts, with their focus on craft and technical skills, into Technology Education, which compounds more learning areas and emphasises technological literacy. Tonga, which is one of these islands, may benefit from this new development, in terms of teaching the more important aspects of technology, by developing a new curriculum in Technology Education.

There is evidence to suggest that the current Technical Education Curriculum in Tongan secondary schools is ineffective in teaching the higher-level skills in technology. A new and better curriculum should therefore be developed to enhance students’ learning of concepts and processes in technology. This study argues that the best way of developing a new technology education curriculum for Tonga is to start by identifying the students’ perceptions of technology and their existing technological capability. The curriculum should then build on this information, so that effective teaching and learning in technology may take place. This approach is guided by the socio-cultural view of learning. This learning theory recognises the impact of social, cultural, institutional and historical contexts on students’ learning. It suggests that learning is a situated social process and knowledge is situated within particular historical, cultural, institutional and physical settings (Brown, Collins and Duguid, 1989; Wertsch, 1991; Resnick, 1991; Lave, 1991; Johnson, 1997).

This study was designed to identify Tongan students’ perceptions of technology and existing technological capability. Data collection in this study was twofold. First it used modified versions of three instruments developed by Rennie and Jarvis (1995), to explore Tongan secondary school students’ perceptions of technology. The second phase of data collection followed methods employed by Jones and Carr (1993b) on the second phase of Learning in Technology Education Project, to analyse Tongan secondary students’ existing technological capability. This study was intended to show the perceptions of technology and the level of technological capability that the present technical curriculum in Tonga is enabling students to achieve. These results may be used later to inform the development of a suitable Technology Education Curriculum for Tonga.

The research methodology adopted in this study belongs to the umbrella term of Postpositivist Paradigms and takes the stance of interpretive paradigm (Lather, 1992; Cohen, Manion and Morrison, 2000). Understanding and interpreting students’ perceptions of technology and their existing technological capability were considered to be the dominant feature of this study. The research method employed is a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods of research.

The results of this study have shown that Tongan secondary school students have a poor perception of technology. Interest in technology was high among the students although many had limited ideas about the effect of technology on society. The overall performance of the students in the technological capability task was poor. They performed worst in searching for the best solution for the identified needs and opportunities and performed best in the production of the solution. Most of the students concentrated mainly on building the products and were not able to link the parts of the task together. One of the major factors that influenced the ability of the students to link the components of the task together was task affordance. Task affordance category challenge influenced the problem solving pathway that the students followed in the task. 

The component of the task that contributed most to the quality of the students’ final products was the production of the solution. The contributions that the other components could make towards the quality of the final products were minimal in the performances of the students in this study. No relationship was found in this study between the performances of the students in the three instruments that assessed their perceptions of technology and their performances in the technological capability task.

text: Perceptions of technology and existing technological capability of Tongan secondary school students Many countries have now recognized Technology Education as a new subject in the school curriculum. It has been accepted internationally as a distinct area of education (McCormick, 1993; Layton, 1994; Lewis, 1996; and Jones, 1996). However, this worldwide trend has not yet reached most of the Pacific Island countries. These islands are unaware of the trend of transforming traditional technical subjects like Industrial Arts, with their focus on craft and technical skills, into Technology Education, which compounds more learning areas and emphasises technological literacy. Tonga, which is one of these islands, may benefit from this new development, in terms of teaching the more important aspects of technology, by developing a new curriculum in Technology Education.

There is evidence to suggest that the current Technical Education Curriculum in Tongan secondary schools is ineffective in teaching the higher-level skills in technology. A new and better curriculum should therefore be developed to enhance students’ learning of concepts and processes in technology. This study argues that the best way of developing a new technology education curriculum for Tonga is to start by identifying the students’ perceptions of technology and their existing technological capability. The curriculum should then build on this information, so that effective teaching and learning in technology may take place. This approach is guided by the socio-cultural view of learning. This learning theory recognises the impact of social, cultural, institutional and historical contexts on students’ learning. It suggests that learning is a situated social process and knowledge is situated within particular historical, cultural, institutional and physical settings (Brown, Collins and Duguid, 1989; Wertsch, 1991; Resnick, 1991; Lave, 1991; Johnson, 1997).

This study was designed to identify Tongan students’ perceptions of technology and existing technological capability. Data collection in this study was twofold. First it used modified versions of three instruments developed by Rennie and Jarvis (1995), to explore Tongan secondary school students’ perceptions of technology. The second phase of data collection followed methods employed by Jones and Carr (1993b) on the second phase of Learning in Technology Education Project, to analyse Tongan secondary students’ existing technological capability. This study was intended to show the perceptions of technology and the level of technological capability that the present technical curriculum in Tonga is enabling students to achieve. These results may be used later to inform the development of a suitable Technology Education Curriculum for Tonga.

The research methodology adopted in this study belongs to the umbrella term of Postpositivist Paradigms and takes the stance of interpretive paradigm (Lather, 1992; Cohen, Manion and Morrison, 2000). Understanding and interpreting students’ perceptions of technology and their existing technological capability were considered to be the dominant feature of this study. The research method employed is a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods of research.

The results of this study have shown that Tongan secondary school students have a poor perception of technology. Interest in technology was high among the students although many had limited ideas about the effect of technology on society. The overall performance of the students in the technological capability task was poor. They performed worst in searching for the best solution for the identified needs and opportunities and performed best in the production of the solution. Most of the students concentrated mainly on building the products and were not able to link the parts of the task together. One of the major factors that influenced the ability of the students to link the components of the task together was task affordance. Task affordance category challenge influenced the problem solving pathway that the students followed in the task. 

The component of the task that contributed most to the quality of the students’ final products was the production of the solution. The contributions that the other components could make towards the quality of the final products were minimal in the performances of the students in this study. No relationship was found in this study between the performances of the students in the three instruments that assessed their perceptions of technology and their performances in the technological capability task.

year: 2003

title: Remote sensing of wetlands in the Lake Whangape catchment, Waikato, New Zealand.

authors: Pathayala Ralalage, Sumedha Kusum Amarasena

subjects: Wetlands

abstract: Wetlands are among the world's most valuable ecosystems. They provide numerous ecological and socio-economic benefits. However, wetlands continue to disappear due to the increasing demand for wetland resources. In New Zealand, more than 90% of the original extent of wetlands has been lost since the mid-eighteenth century. Therefore, legislation has been identified for the protection of wetlands as a matter of national importance.

Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) techniques have proven helpful for mapping and monitoring wetland resources. This study aims to understand how RStechniques can classify wetlands in the Lake Whangape catchment, Waikato. The parameters that can be extracted from available data and their effectiveness in the classification process are also studied. 

Four types of input data are collectively employed in the study. The data types are optical RS data, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data, a Digital Elevation Model (DEM), and wetland polygons provided by the Waikato Regional Council (WRC). All the steps including, accessing satellite scenes and data processing were performed within Google Earth Engine (GEE) computing platform using JavaScript language. The classification process for this study includes feature extraction, feature selection, model training, classification, and validation. Finally, the accuracy of the classification results is checked visually and statistically. 

The classification was carried out in two stages. In Stage one, open water, wetland, and non-wetland areas are classified (simple classification). The combined wetlands class is separated into marsh and swamp in the second stage (detailed classification). Based on the results, the Topographic Position Index (TPI) is the most influential parameter in identifying wetlands, while the Modified Normalized Water Index (MNDWI) successfully identifies open water. The overall accuracy reached 91% at the simple classification stage. However, the detailed classification results received comparatively low classification accuracies (the overall accuracy is 76%).

text: Remote sensing of wetlands in the Lake Whangape catchment, Waikato, New Zealand. Wetlands are among the world's most valuable ecosystems. They provide numerous ecological and socio-economic benefits. However, wetlands continue to disappear due to the increasing demand for wetland resources. In New Zealand, more than 90% of the original extent of wetlands has been lost since the mid-eighteenth century. Therefore, legislation has been identified for the protection of wetlands as a matter of national importance.

Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) techniques have proven helpful for mapping and monitoring wetland resources. This study aims to understand how RStechniques can classify wetlands in the Lake Whangape catchment, Waikato. The parameters that can be extracted from available data and their effectiveness in the classification process are also studied. 

Four types of input data are collectively employed in the study. The data types are optical RS data, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data, a Digital Elevation Model (DEM), and wetland polygons provided by the Waikato Regional Council (WRC). All the steps including, accessing satellite scenes and data processing were performed within Google Earth Engine (GEE) computing platform using JavaScript language. The classification process for this study includes feature extraction, feature selection, model training, classification, and validation. Finally, the accuracy of the classification results is checked visually and statistically. 

The classification was carried out in two stages. In Stage one, open water, wetland, and non-wetland areas are classified (simple classification). The combined wetlands class is separated into marsh and swamp in the second stage (detailed classification). Based on the results, the Topographic Position Index (TPI) is the most influential parameter in identifying wetlands, while the Modified Normalized Water Index (MNDWI) successfully identifies open water. The overall accuracy reached 91% at the simple classification stage. However, the detailed classification results received comparatively low classification accuracies (the overall accuracy is 76%).

year: 2021

title: The reform of Maori land tenure and the quest for sustainability in New Zealand

authors: Jay, Grace Mairi M.

subjects: geography

abstract: Many of the countries of the Pacific region (including Australia and New Zealand) have a British colonial legacy. This history has had wide implications for the development of the region: economically, politically and socially. The cadastral (property based) systems in these countries have been influenced by British land conveyance and registration practices, and by colonial history. To date, Australia and new Zealand are still trying to resolve land tenure and information problems which are steeped in historical and ethnic dimensions. Land is the single most important factor for Maori development in New Zealand, and has great implications for the development of this country.

text: The reform of Maori land tenure and the quest for sustainability in New Zealand Many of the countries of the Pacific region (including Australia and New Zealand) have a British colonial legacy. This history has had wide implications for the development of the region: economically, politically and socially. The cadastral (property based) systems in these countries have been influenced by British land conveyance and registration practices, and by colonial history. To date, Australia and new Zealand are still trying to resolve land tenure and information problems which are steeped in historical and ethnic dimensions. Land is the single most important factor for Maori development in New Zealand, and has great implications for the development of this country.

year: 1997