title: Development of an online metric rugby analysis tool

authors: Smith, Tiaki Brett

abstract: Optimising conditioning of team sport players such as rugby union requires effective assessment, planning, implementation and monitoring. While there are few problems with the first three of these stages, the common Super 15 rugby strategy of conditioning games makes effective monitoring difficult. That is, instead of conditioning drills involving a series of defined movements over set distances, the players are involved in games to develop both conditioning and specific technical and/or tactical skills. The result is often highly individualised movement patterns, which has made monitoring distance and speed throughout the session problematic. The recent invention of small rugged portable global positioning system (GPS) units that integrate triaxial accelerometers and heart rate monitors, should provide a useful monitoring tool. In order for these units to be useful monitoring tools, the relevant metrics must be determined and their accuracy defined. The metrics must also be reported in a manner that is meaningful for trainers, coaches and support staff. This presentation will focus on the work of the authors with Statsports ltd (Dundalk, Ireland) who have developed GPS units for rugby union. This work involves identifying a set of metrics for monitoring the Chiefs super 15 rugby team during training and games. An online analysis package created by the authors will be demonstrated and opportunities for collaboration on further developments will be discussed.

text: Development of an online metric rugby analysis tool Optimising conditioning of team sport players such as rugby union requires effective assessment, planning, implementation and monitoring. While there are few problems with the first three of these stages, the common Super 15 rugby strategy of conditioning games makes effective monitoring difficult. That is, instead of conditioning drills involving a series of defined movements over set distances, the players are involved in games to develop both conditioning and specific technical and/or tactical skills. The result is often highly individualised movement patterns, which has made monitoring distance and speed throughout the session problematic. The recent invention of small rugged portable global positioning system (GPS) units that integrate triaxial accelerometers and heart rate monitors, should provide a useful monitoring tool. In order for these units to be useful monitoring tools, the relevant metrics must be determined and their accuracy defined. The metrics must also be reported in a manner that is meaningful for trainers, coaches and support staff. This presentation will focus on the work of the authors with Statsports ltd (Dundalk, Ireland) who have developed GPS units for rugby union. This work involves identifying a set of metrics for monitoring the Chiefs super 15 rugby team during training and games. An online analysis package created by the authors will be demonstrated and opportunities for collaboration on further developments will be discussed.

year: 2013

title: An investigation of koi carp (Cyprinus carpio) movement in the Waikato region using laser ablation otolith microchemistry

authors: Blair, Jennifer Marie

subjects: Carp

abstract: The koi carp Cyprinus carpio is an invasive fish that has reached high numbers and biomass in the North Island of New Zealand, particularly in the Waikato region. This species has a variety of negative effects on aquatic ecosystems, increasing turbidity, uprooting aquatic macrophytes, and affecting water column
nutrient levels. Recent research in Australia and New Zealand has shown that adult carp, though largely restricted to small scale movements, are capable of moving long distances. Movement in adult carp may be underestimated by these studies, and comparatively little is known about the movement of smaller carp. This study examined the feasibility of using laser ablation otolith microchemistry to track koi carp movement and identify spawning areas.

Water samples from six locations (Lake Waahi, Lake Whangape, Lake Waikare, the Whangamarino River, and the Waikato River at Aka Aka and Rangiriri) were analysed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).
Significant differences between sites were found in the water concentrations of many elements. Koi carp were collected from the above locations, as well as from Opuatia Stream, Pungarehu Stream, the Maramarua River and Lake Hakanoa. The elemental concentrations in the asteriscus otoliths were analysed using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA‐ICP-MS). Elemental concentrations in the edges and nuclei of adult koi carp and the edges
of young-of-the-year (YOY) koi carp were significantly different between capture sites. No significant differences were found in elemental concentrations between sites in the nuclei of YOY koi carp.

A discriminant function analysis (DFA) was carried out using the otolith edge
elemental signatures of koi carp. The model used Ba, Sr, Mg, Rb and Zn concentrations to differentiate between four capture locations: the Waikato River, Pungarehu Stream, Lake Waahi, and Lake Waikare and Pungarehu Stream. The DFA was able to correctly predict the capture location of 82% of koi carp using their otolith edge elemental signatures. 

The classification functions created using koi carp otolith edge signatures were then used as a training set to classify otolith nucleus signatures. The otolith nuclei of 80% of YOY koi carp were classified to their site of capture, suggesting they had not moved between locations. The majority of adult koi carp caught at Lake Waikare, Whangamarino River, Pungarehu Stream and Opuatia Stream had nucleus signatures matching their capture sites, indicating that these fish
originated from their capture location. Koi carp from other sites likely moved there from another location. The majority of adult koi carp (88%) caught at the Waikato River at Rangiriri had otolith nucleus signatures matching Lake Waikare
and Pungarehu Stream. Adult koi carp caught at Lake Waahi and the Waikato River at Aka Aka had otolith signatures corresponding to a range of locations. While some areas (Lake Waikare, Pungarehu Stream) appear to have resident koi
carp populations that likely originated there, others (Lake Waahi, the Waikato River) appear to have koi carp populations of mixed origin. These results indicate that Lake Waikare, Pungarehu Stream and the Whangamarino River may be
important sources of koi carp recruits in the lower Waikato region.

text: An investigation of koi carp (Cyprinus carpio) movement in the Waikato region using laser ablation otolith microchemistry The koi carp Cyprinus carpio is an invasive fish that has reached high numbers and biomass in the North Island of New Zealand, particularly in the Waikato region. This species has a variety of negative effects on aquatic ecosystems, increasing turbidity, uprooting aquatic macrophytes, and affecting water column
nutrient levels. Recent research in Australia and New Zealand has shown that adult carp, though largely restricted to small scale movements, are capable of moving long distances. Movement in adult carp may be underestimated by these studies, and comparatively little is known about the movement of smaller carp. This study examined the feasibility of using laser ablation otolith microchemistry to track koi carp movement and identify spawning areas.

Water samples from six locations (Lake Waahi, Lake Whangape, Lake Waikare, the Whangamarino River, and the Waikato River at Aka Aka and Rangiriri) were analysed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).
Significant differences between sites were found in the water concentrations of many elements. Koi carp were collected from the above locations, as well as from Opuatia Stream, Pungarehu Stream, the Maramarua River and Lake Hakanoa. The elemental concentrations in the asteriscus otoliths were analysed using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA‐ICP-MS). Elemental concentrations in the edges and nuclei of adult koi carp and the edges
of young-of-the-year (YOY) koi carp were significantly different between capture sites. No significant differences were found in elemental concentrations between sites in the nuclei of YOY koi carp.

A discriminant function analysis (DFA) was carried out using the otolith edge
elemental signatures of koi carp. The model used Ba, Sr, Mg, Rb and Zn concentrations to differentiate between four capture locations: the Waikato River, Pungarehu Stream, Lake Waahi, and Lake Waikare and Pungarehu Stream. The DFA was able to correctly predict the capture location of 82% of koi carp using their otolith edge elemental signatures. 

The classification functions created using koi carp otolith edge signatures were then used as a training set to classify otolith nucleus signatures. The otolith nuclei of 80% of YOY koi carp were classified to their site of capture, suggesting they had not moved between locations. The majority of adult koi carp caught at Lake Waikare, Whangamarino River, Pungarehu Stream and Opuatia Stream had nucleus signatures matching their capture sites, indicating that these fish
originated from their capture location. Koi carp from other sites likely moved there from another location. The majority of adult koi carp (88%) caught at the Waikato River at Rangiriri had otolith nucleus signatures matching Lake Waikare
and Pungarehu Stream. Adult koi carp caught at Lake Waahi and the Waikato River at Aka Aka had otolith signatures corresponding to a range of locations. While some areas (Lake Waikare, Pungarehu Stream) appear to have resident koi
carp populations that likely originated there, others (Lake Waahi, the Waikato River) appear to have koi carp populations of mixed origin. These results indicate that Lake Waikare, Pungarehu Stream and the Whangamarino River may be
important sources of koi carp recruits in the lower Waikato region.

year: 2008

title: Tīhei Mauri Ora: Negotiating primary school teachers' personal and professional identities as Māori

authors: Gilgen, Renée

subjects: Professional Learning and Development for teachers

abstract: Colonial attitudes that positioned Māori language, knowledge and pedagogy as inferior and deficient continue to impact on 21st century primary school contexts in Aotearoa/New Zealand. They continue to impact particularly on the personal and professional identities and experiences of Māori teachers in contemporary English-medium schools. Just as, historically, Māori students were expected to leave their language and culture at the 19th century colonial school gates, so too are many contemporary Māori teachers in mainstream schools expected to set aside their language and culture and engage with the curriculum and pedagogy of the school where they work. Ironically, at the same time, these teachers are often expected to guide and assist their school to meet its requirements under Te Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi to ensure that its Māori students will succeed as Māori.

This thesis sought to understand how a small cohort of experienced Māori teachers, positioned within 21st century English-medium primary schools, perceived and negotiated the challenges to their personal and professional identities as Māori, and as Māori teachers. The thesis employed a qualitative participant narrative methodology, framed with kaupapa Māori theory. The teachers participated in individual interviews and in a series of hui kōrero (focused conversations) that assisted them to reflect critically on sociohistorical and educational factors that influenced the formation and maintenance of their identities as Māori.

The teachers’ narratives that emerged from individual and collaborative hui kōrero revealed that (1) being raised within urban environments and being themselves educated in monocultural schools during the 1960s and 1970s strongly impacted on how their Māori identities were shaped and, (2) their teaching experiences within English-medium primary schools and classrooms were culturally isolating and destructive, and largely unsupportive of the diverse realities that exists for some Māori teachers.

I offer two key strategic responses to these findings. Firstly, I offer a self-identity continuum that seeks to respect and affirm Māori identity by taking into account the different levels and contexts of experience some Māori teachers may have with Māori cultural concepts and practices. Secondly, I assert the need for a culturally located and relational space within English-medium school contexts for Māori teachers to engage with, and draw on the support of other Māori teachers in order to affirm their varying personal and professional identities as Māori. Meeting this need is understood as a Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty-honouring response, required of all schools.

text: Tīhei Mauri Ora: Negotiating primary school teachers' personal and professional identities as Māori Colonial attitudes that positioned Māori language, knowledge and pedagogy as inferior and deficient continue to impact on 21st century primary school contexts in Aotearoa/New Zealand. They continue to impact particularly on the personal and professional identities and experiences of Māori teachers in contemporary English-medium schools. Just as, historically, Māori students were expected to leave their language and culture at the 19th century colonial school gates, so too are many contemporary Māori teachers in mainstream schools expected to set aside their language and culture and engage with the curriculum and pedagogy of the school where they work. Ironically, at the same time, these teachers are often expected to guide and assist their school to meet its requirements under Te Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi to ensure that its Māori students will succeed as Māori.

This thesis sought to understand how a small cohort of experienced Māori teachers, positioned within 21st century English-medium primary schools, perceived and negotiated the challenges to their personal and professional identities as Māori, and as Māori teachers. The thesis employed a qualitative participant narrative methodology, framed with kaupapa Māori theory. The teachers participated in individual interviews and in a series of hui kōrero (focused conversations) that assisted them to reflect critically on sociohistorical and educational factors that influenced the formation and maintenance of their identities as Māori.

The teachers’ narratives that emerged from individual and collaborative hui kōrero revealed that (1) being raised within urban environments and being themselves educated in monocultural schools during the 1960s and 1970s strongly impacted on how their Māori identities were shaped and, (2) their teaching experiences within English-medium primary schools and classrooms were culturally isolating and destructive, and largely unsupportive of the diverse realities that exists for some Māori teachers.

I offer two key strategic responses to these findings. Firstly, I offer a self-identity continuum that seeks to respect and affirm Māori identity by taking into account the different levels and contexts of experience some Māori teachers may have with Māori cultural concepts and practices. Secondly, I assert the need for a culturally located and relational space within English-medium school contexts for Māori teachers to engage with, and draw on the support of other Māori teachers in order to affirm their varying personal and professional identities as Māori. Meeting this need is understood as a Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty-honouring response, required of all schools.

year: 2016