title: Catering for cultural and linguistic diversity: using teacher created information texts

authors: Carss, Wendy Diane

abstract: Teachers in the Pacific region have often signalled the need for more locally produced information texts in both the vernacular and English, to engage their readers with local content and to support literacy development across the curriculum. The Information Text Awareness Project (ITAP), initially informed by the work of Nea Stewart-Dore, has provided a means to address this need through supporting local teachers to write their own information texts. This article reports on the impact of an ITAP workshop carried out in Nadi, Fiji, in 2012. Nine teacher volunteers from the project trialled the use of the texts in their classrooms with positive results in relation to student learning and belief in themselves as writers.

text: Catering for cultural and linguistic diversity: using teacher created information texts Teachers in the Pacific region have often signalled the need for more locally produced information texts in both the vernacular and English, to engage their readers with local content and to support literacy development across the curriculum. The Information Text Awareness Project (ITAP), initially informed by the work of Nea Stewart-Dore, has provided a means to address this need through supporting local teachers to write their own information texts. This article reports on the impact of an ITAP workshop carried out in Nadi, Fiji, in 2012. Nine teacher volunteers from the project trialled the use of the texts in their classrooms with positive results in relation to student learning and belief in themselves as writers.

year: 2015

title: Natural and Experimental Admixture of Invasive Blowflies in New Zealand and Australia

authors: Croft, Lillian

abstract: Across the globe, native species are being outcompeted and often reach extinction due to introduced species becoming invasive. Previously confined to their native areas due to geographical, ecological, or environmental barriers that have prevented them from expanding, human impacts have resulted in a significant increase in the number of introduced species. Such species become invasive when they begin to expand their range demographically and typically cause negative impacts in the new environment. There is no current model that allows us to predict and prevent future biological invasions, though next generation sequencing, population genomics analysis, and experimental laboratory manipulations are helping to fill critical gaps in our understanding of the invasion process. 
My first analysis (Chapter 2) explored the ability of population genetics analyses of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data to identify hybridisation levels and the rate of admixture occurring in wild populations of Calliphora hilli and Calliphora stygia – two invasive blowflies found in New Zealand and originally from Australia. I analysed samples from various locations and found patterns of population genetic connectivity and structure that supported Australia as the source of the New Zealand invasion for both species. This research provided highly valuable new insights into the population structure of these two species, with hybridisation and gene flow playing a key role in their respective biological invasions. 
My second analysis (Chapter 3) first explored the population structure of the highly invasive blowfly species, Callipohra vicina, using SNP data to analyse population genomic patterns, such as genetic diversity and admixture. Following this, low genetic diversity colonies were generated from isofemale lines to simulate an invasive population that had undergone a genetic bottleneck. These low diversity lines were compared to relatively high diversity lines for a number of traits, including fecundity, body size, developmental rate, and lifespan to determine the effects of genetic diversity on population fitness. We found genetic differentiation between North and South Island New Zealand populations in the wild, while high diversity lines outcompeted low diversity lines for all measured traits in the laboratory. These results demonstrated the importance of genetic bottlenecks on invasion scenarios and suggested interesting new ideas for follow-up research.
Predicting and preventing future invasions is a significant current gap in invasion biology. Population genomic and ecological assays can together help to fill this gap to help us identify the mechanisms underlying invasive success.

text: Natural and Experimental Admixture of Invasive Blowflies in New Zealand and Australia Across the globe, native species are being outcompeted and often reach extinction due to introduced species becoming invasive. Previously confined to their native areas due to geographical, ecological, or environmental barriers that have prevented them from expanding, human impacts have resulted in a significant increase in the number of introduced species. Such species become invasive when they begin to expand their range demographically and typically cause negative impacts in the new environment. There is no current model that allows us to predict and prevent future biological invasions, though next generation sequencing, population genomics analysis, and experimental laboratory manipulations are helping to fill critical gaps in our understanding of the invasion process. 
My first analysis (Chapter 2) explored the ability of population genetics analyses of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data to identify hybridisation levels and the rate of admixture occurring in wild populations of Calliphora hilli and Calliphora stygia – two invasive blowflies found in New Zealand and originally from Australia. I analysed samples from various locations and found patterns of population genetic connectivity and structure that supported Australia as the source of the New Zealand invasion for both species. This research provided highly valuable new insights into the population structure of these two species, with hybridisation and gene flow playing a key role in their respective biological invasions. 
My second analysis (Chapter 3) first explored the population structure of the highly invasive blowfly species, Callipohra vicina, using SNP data to analyse population genomic patterns, such as genetic diversity and admixture. Following this, low genetic diversity colonies were generated from isofemale lines to simulate an invasive population that had undergone a genetic bottleneck. These low diversity lines were compared to relatively high diversity lines for a number of traits, including fecundity, body size, developmental rate, and lifespan to determine the effects of genetic diversity on population fitness. We found genetic differentiation between North and South Island New Zealand populations in the wild, while high diversity lines outcompeted low diversity lines for all measured traits in the laboratory. These results demonstrated the importance of genetic bottlenecks on invasion scenarios and suggested interesting new ideas for follow-up research.
Predicting and preventing future invasions is a significant current gap in invasion biology. Population genomic and ecological assays can together help to fill this gap to help us identify the mechanisms underlying invasive success.

year: 2024

title: Ora Kainga Rua: Experiences of Kura Kaupapa Māori Graduates

authors: Waller, Arianna Leigh Mana

subjects: indigenous auto ethnography

abstract: There is a wealth of indigenous scholarship examining the impacts of imperialist policies and ideologies on the learning identities of indigenous students. However, within the New Zealand context, there is a lack of literature which focuses solely on the experiences and aspirations of total immersion students to tertiary education settings. 
Using Kaupapa Māori and auto ethnography this thesis privileges the student voice by investigating the transitional experiences of four female kura Kaupapa Māori graduates into mainstream settings particularly their transition to the University of Waikato. 
The thesis argues that there are two main spaces of synergy between an indigenous research paradigm and auto ethnography. The first is the criticality of the “self” in the work, without a sharp separation between the researcher and the subject (dual meaning intended). The second is the shared modality and intentional use of storytelling as a method. By combining insights from in-depth interviews with the researcher’s life story, the thesis identified the coping mechanisms the participants employed and the services The University of Waikato provides that were utilised to help them transition into a new educational setting. 
The participants’ experiences demonstrate that the unique cultural educational experiences of kura Kaupapa Māori differ significantly from the educational and environmental experiences offered at University. The participants’ narratives demonstrated that the clear sense of identity gained from the kura Kaupapa Māori context gave them the inner strength to cope with these differences. In addition to their strong sense of Māori identity, the main coping mechanisms that the students drew on, was the wealth of institutional knowledge that family members and role models provided of the university context as past students and current staff members. The benefits that these students experienced can be strengthened by building stronger relationships between Māori total immersion schools, the wider Māori community and universities ensuring that Māori total immersion students are able to access the academic and institutional knowledge they need to succeed. 
Furthermore, the thesis argues that the kura Kaupapa Māori movement can deliver more for their students if they do not shut out the Pākehā world but rather teach their students to walk between and within the two worlds. In order to better understand this balancing act, the lived experiences of immersion students requires more research, particularly as more and more kura graduates transition into Aotearoa New Zealand tertiary settings.

text: Ora Kainga Rua: Experiences of Kura Kaupapa Māori Graduates There is a wealth of indigenous scholarship examining the impacts of imperialist policies and ideologies on the learning identities of indigenous students. However, within the New Zealand context, there is a lack of literature which focuses solely on the experiences and aspirations of total immersion students to tertiary education settings. 
Using Kaupapa Māori and auto ethnography this thesis privileges the student voice by investigating the transitional experiences of four female kura Kaupapa Māori graduates into mainstream settings particularly their transition to the University of Waikato. 
The thesis argues that there are two main spaces of synergy between an indigenous research paradigm and auto ethnography. The first is the criticality of the “self” in the work, without a sharp separation between the researcher and the subject (dual meaning intended). The second is the shared modality and intentional use of storytelling as a method. By combining insights from in-depth interviews with the researcher’s life story, the thesis identified the coping mechanisms the participants employed and the services The University of Waikato provides that were utilised to help them transition into a new educational setting. 
The participants’ experiences demonstrate that the unique cultural educational experiences of kura Kaupapa Māori differ significantly from the educational and environmental experiences offered at University. The participants’ narratives demonstrated that the clear sense of identity gained from the kura Kaupapa Māori context gave them the inner strength to cope with these differences. In addition to their strong sense of Māori identity, the main coping mechanisms that the students drew on, was the wealth of institutional knowledge that family members and role models provided of the university context as past students and current staff members. The benefits that these students experienced can be strengthened by building stronger relationships between Māori total immersion schools, the wider Māori community and universities ensuring that Māori total immersion students are able to access the academic and institutional knowledge they need to succeed. 
Furthermore, the thesis argues that the kura Kaupapa Māori movement can deliver more for their students if they do not shut out the Pākehā world but rather teach their students to walk between and within the two worlds. In order to better understand this balancing act, the lived experiences of immersion students requires more research, particularly as more and more kura graduates transition into Aotearoa New Zealand tertiary settings.

year: 2016