title: Assessment of dendrocalamus asper (Schult and schult f.) (Poaceae) bamboo treated with tannin-boron preservatives

authors: Gauss, Christian

subjects: Science & Technology

abstract: Tannin-boron based preservative solutions were used for the treatment of D. asper bamboo by vacuum/pressure impregnation. Samples treated with tannin/hexamine-based solutions presented low weight losses after decay tests with P. sanguineus and G. trabeum decay fungi, and were classified as resistant and highly resistant, respectively, even after leaching. However, a high boron loss after severe leaching cycles was observed. Samples treated with tannin/hexamine/boron had superior mechanical properties and increased thermal stability. The use of tannin-based solutions in combination with boron compounds showed promising results in terms of mechanical properties improvement and increased fungal decay resistance, bringing new possibilities for bamboo preservation.

text: Assessment of dendrocalamus asper (Schult and schult f.) (Poaceae) bamboo treated with tannin-boron preservatives Tannin-boron based preservative solutions were used for the treatment of D. asper bamboo by vacuum/pressure impregnation. Samples treated with tannin/hexamine-based solutions presented low weight losses after decay tests with P. sanguineus and G. trabeum decay fungi, and were classified as resistant and highly resistant, respectively, even after leaching. However, a high boron loss after severe leaching cycles was observed. Samples treated with tannin/hexamine/boron had superior mechanical properties and increased thermal stability. The use of tannin-based solutions in combination with boron compounds showed promising results in terms of mechanical properties improvement and increased fungal decay resistance, bringing new possibilities for bamboo preservation.

year: 2021

title: The ‘frontal lobe’ project: A double-blind, randomized controlled study of the effectiveness of higher level driving skills training to improve frontal lobe (executive) function related driving performance in young drivers

authors: Isler, Robert B.

subjects: psychology

abstract: The current study was undertaken in order to evaluate the effectiveness of higher level skills training on safe driving behaviour of 36 teenage drivers. The participants, who attended the Driver Training Research camp in Taupo (NZ) over a two week period, were 16 to 17 years old and had a valid restricted driver licence. The study focused on four main aims. Firstly, the behavioural characteristics of the sample and their attitudes to risk taking and driving were examined. Results showed that speeding was the most anticipated driving violation, and high levels of confidence were associated with a higher number of crashes and a greater propensity for risk taking. Many, often male participants, also rated their driving skills as superior to others and thought they would be less likely than others to be involved in an accident. Secondly, the relationship between driving performance and executive functioning, general ability and sustained attention was evaluated. Overall, better driving performance and more accurate self-evaluation of driving performance was related to higher levels of executive functions, in particular, working memory, and
cognitive switching. In addition, higher general ability and greater ability to sustain attention were also linked to better performance on the driving related assessments.  The third focus of this study was to compare the effects of both, higher level and vehicle handling skills training on driving performance, confidence levels and
attitudes to risk. While both types of training improved direction control, speed
choice and visual search, along with number of hazards detected and actions in relation to hazards, statistically significant improvement on visual search was seen only after higher level skills training. Vehicle handling skills training significantly improved direction control and speed choice. In addition, confidence levels in their driving skills were significantly lowered and attitudes to speeding, overtaking and
close following had improved significantly in the participants after the higher level
driving skills training. The final aspect to this study was to examine the effects of the
training over the following 6 month period based on self-reported driving behaviour.
The response rate of participants however, was not sufficient to reach any meaningful conclusion on any long-term training effects. A pilot study using GPSbased data trackers to assess post-training driving behaviour revealed some promising results for future driver training evaluation studies. The overall implications of the results are discussed in relation to improving the safety of young 
drivers in New Zealand.

text: The ‘frontal lobe’ project: A double-blind, randomized controlled study of the effectiveness of higher level driving skills training to improve frontal lobe (executive) function related driving performance in young drivers The current study was undertaken in order to evaluate the effectiveness of higher level skills training on safe driving behaviour of 36 teenage drivers. The participants, who attended the Driver Training Research camp in Taupo (NZ) over a two week period, were 16 to 17 years old and had a valid restricted driver licence. The study focused on four main aims. Firstly, the behavioural characteristics of the sample and their attitudes to risk taking and driving were examined. Results showed that speeding was the most anticipated driving violation, and high levels of confidence were associated with a higher number of crashes and a greater propensity for risk taking. Many, often male participants, also rated their driving skills as superior to others and thought they would be less likely than others to be involved in an accident. Secondly, the relationship between driving performance and executive functioning, general ability and sustained attention was evaluated. Overall, better driving performance and more accurate self-evaluation of driving performance was related to higher levels of executive functions, in particular, working memory, and
cognitive switching. In addition, higher general ability and greater ability to sustain attention were also linked to better performance on the driving related assessments.  The third focus of this study was to compare the effects of both, higher level and vehicle handling skills training on driving performance, confidence levels and
attitudes to risk. While both types of training improved direction control, speed
choice and visual search, along with number of hazards detected and actions in relation to hazards, statistically significant improvement on visual search was seen only after higher level skills training. Vehicle handling skills training significantly improved direction control and speed choice. In addition, confidence levels in their driving skills were significantly lowered and attitudes to speeding, overtaking and
close following had improved significantly in the participants after the higher level
driving skills training. The final aspect to this study was to examine the effects of the
training over the following 6 month period based on self-reported driving behaviour.
The response rate of participants however, was not sufficient to reach any meaningful conclusion on any long-term training effects. A pilot study using GPSbased data trackers to assess post-training driving behaviour revealed some promising results for future driver training evaluation studies. The overall implications of the results are discussed in relation to improving the safety of young 
drivers in New Zealand.

year: 2008-06

title: Accommodating multiculturalism and biculturalism in Aotearoa New Zealand: implication for language education.

authors: May, Stephen

subjects: bilingual education

abstract: The field of language education in Aotearoa New Zealand, as elsewhere, has developed significantly since its early and almost exclusive focus on the acquisition of English literacy in schools. As the field has expanded, so too has the range of language education sectors addressed and the theoretical approaches and understandings employed in relation to language and literacy education. Both developments have resulted in a more coordinated literacy education policy - exemplified to date most clearly in the New Zealand Literacy Taskforce - and a more situated, less monolithic understanding of the widely different literacies available to learners. Despite these developments, however, one area still remains noticeably under-theorised and marginalized in relation to the ongoing development of language and literacy education policy in Aotearoa New Zealand - the place of second language learners within it. This paper explores this lacuna and the potential policy implications of addressing and integrating first and second language educational concerns within an evolving national literacy education policy. This has particular implications for the further development of bilingual education - both for Maori and, possibly, other minority groups - and for the related possibilities of multicultural education. It also requires a wider and clearer recognition of minority language education rights, as developed within both international law and political theory, in order to apply these rights appropriately to an Aotearoa New Zealand context which is currently witnessing rapid and extensive demographic (and linguistic) change.

text: Accommodating multiculturalism and biculturalism in Aotearoa New Zealand: implication for language education. The field of language education in Aotearoa New Zealand, as elsewhere, has developed significantly since its early and almost exclusive focus on the acquisition of English literacy in schools. As the field has expanded, so too has the range of language education sectors addressed and the theoretical approaches and understandings employed in relation to language and literacy education. Both developments have resulted in a more coordinated literacy education policy - exemplified to date most clearly in the New Zealand Literacy Taskforce - and a more situated, less monolithic understanding of the widely different literacies available to learners. Despite these developments, however, one area still remains noticeably under-theorised and marginalized in relation to the ongoing development of language and literacy education policy in Aotearoa New Zealand - the place of second language learners within it. This paper explores this lacuna and the potential policy implications of addressing and integrating first and second language educational concerns within an evolving national literacy education policy. This has particular implications for the further development of bilingual education - both for Maori and, possibly, other minority groups - and for the related possibilities of multicultural education. It also requires a wider and clearer recognition of minority language education rights, as developed within both international law and political theory, in order to apply these rights appropriately to an Aotearoa New Zealand context which is currently witnessing rapid and extensive demographic (and linguistic) change.

year: 2002