title: The Aroha gold mining company, formed to work the prospectors’ claim at Te Aroha

authors: Hart, Philip

abstract: Because of high expectations for the Prospectors’ Claim, high prices for shares were paid even before the company was established on 22 November 1880 on terms very favourable for the vendors. Some observers felt it should not have been formed so soon, as the property was yet to be tested adequately. Whenever any promising stone was found the prices surged.
A wide range of people acquired shares, and for a while share trading was profitable for the sellers, but the failure to find a reef of any sort, let alone one containing good ore, meant that the company quickly collapsed, with those who had retained their interests losing their money.

text: The Aroha gold mining company, formed to work the prospectors’ claim at Te Aroha Because of high expectations for the Prospectors’ Claim, high prices for shares were paid even before the company was established on 22 November 1880 on terms very favourable for the vendors. Some observers felt it should not have been formed so soon, as the property was yet to be tested adequately. Whenever any promising stone was found the prices surged.
A wide range of people acquired shares, and for a while share trading was profitable for the sellers, but the failure to find a reef of any sort, let alone one containing good ore, meant that the company quickly collapsed, with those who had retained their interests losing their money.

year: 2016

title: Using a permutation test for attribute selection in decision trees

authors: Frank, Eibe

subjects: computer science

abstract: Most techniques for attribute selection in decision trees are biased towards attributes with many values, and several ad hoc solutions to this problem have appeared in the machine learning literature. Statistical tests for the existence of an association with a prespecified significance level provide a well-founded basis for addressing the problem. However, many statistical tests are computed from a chi-squared distribution, which is only a valid approximation to the actural distribution in the large-sample case-and this patently does not hold near the leaves of a decision tree. An exception is the class of permutation tests. We describe how permutation tests can be applied to this problem. We choose one such test for further exploration, and give a novel two-stage method for applying it to select attributes in a decision tree. Results on practical datasets compare favourably with other methods that also adopt a pre-pruning strategy.

text: Using a permutation test for attribute selection in decision trees Most techniques for attribute selection in decision trees are biased towards attributes with many values, and several ad hoc solutions to this problem have appeared in the machine learning literature. Statistical tests for the existence of an association with a prespecified significance level provide a well-founded basis for addressing the problem. However, many statistical tests are computed from a chi-squared distribution, which is only a valid approximation to the actural distribution in the large-sample case-and this patently does not hold near the leaves of a decision tree. An exception is the class of permutation tests. We describe how permutation tests can be applied to this problem. We choose one such test for further exploration, and give a novel two-stage method for applying it to select attributes in a decision tree. Results on practical datasets compare favourably with other methods that also adopt a pre-pruning strategy.

year: 1998

title: Māori and kava: New drug fashion or re-engagement with 'kawa'?

authors: Aporosa, S. 'Apo'

subjects: kava

abstract: The Pacific “cultural keystone species” (Garibaldi & Turner, 2004, pp.1,5) kava is uniquely linked with notions of mana (spiritual power) and used to infuse efficacy into celebrations and life events. The drink, made from this potent icon of identity, brings on feelings of relaxation without marked euphoria, aiding clear-minded talanoa (discussion) to facilitate important and/or contentious dialogue. The sharing and drinking of kava as part of host/guest formalities is used in bringing about mutuality and unity (Aporosa, 2019). It is estimated there are more than 20,000 kava users in Aotearoa/New Zealand on an average Friday or Saturday night, with increasing interest and uptake of this indigenous drink by Māori. Crowley (1994) reports that the Māori word ‘kawa’, literally meaning ‘marae protocol’, has its linguistic foundations in ‘kava’ and the practices associated with this cultural keystone species. This paper explores that linguistic union to ask whether increased kava use by Māori has greater significance than simply a new interaction with a foreign drug substance. Further, due to the use of kava in facilitating talanoa (discussion), the possibility of kava playing a similar role for Māori is considered, one linked to ancestral Pacific connections aimed at assisting kōrero (talanoa), cultural connectedness and practice.

text: Māori and kava: New drug fashion or re-engagement with 'kawa'? The Pacific “cultural keystone species” (Garibaldi & Turner, 2004, pp.1,5) kava is uniquely linked with notions of mana (spiritual power) and used to infuse efficacy into celebrations and life events. The drink, made from this potent icon of identity, brings on feelings of relaxation without marked euphoria, aiding clear-minded talanoa (discussion) to facilitate important and/or contentious dialogue. The sharing and drinking of kava as part of host/guest formalities is used in bringing about mutuality and unity (Aporosa, 2019). It is estimated there are more than 20,000 kava users in Aotearoa/New Zealand on an average Friday or Saturday night, with increasing interest and uptake of this indigenous drink by Māori. Crowley (1994) reports that the Māori word ‘kawa’, literally meaning ‘marae protocol’, has its linguistic foundations in ‘kava’ and the practices associated with this cultural keystone species. This paper explores that linguistic union to ask whether increased kava use by Māori has greater significance than simply a new interaction with a foreign drug substance. Further, due to the use of kava in facilitating talanoa (discussion), the possibility of kava playing a similar role for Māori is considered, one linked to ancestral Pacific connections aimed at assisting kōrero (talanoa), cultural connectedness and practice.

year: 2019