title: Risky Opportunities: Developing Children’s Resilience through Digital Literacy in Thailand

authors: Kaewseenual, Sujittra

subjects: Digital Literacy

abstract: This project develops a case for defining appropriate concepts of risk and opportunity in the digital domain for children in Thailand; it explores what the consequent balance is between, regulation/policing of this domain on the one hand, and active user empowerment on the other. It defines “digital literacy”, in a way that is appropriate for Thai society, while bearing in mind international good practice. This is achieved on the basis of detailed, in-depth fieldwork in Thai schools, using an Action Research methodology. The Participatory Action Research framework for this study positions children as subjects who have their own power and competence to influence the study, and ultimately the development of digital literacy education. By using three schools, in two stages of fieldwork, the theorization of digital literacy is thoroughly grounded in a comparative study of different practices. At the centre of this method is the development of a classroom “module” – a set of learning activities designed as both a research tool and a practical intervention in the pedagogical process. My study argues that the contest around the notion of the ‘good child’ has shaped children’s experiences of online use, in Thai society. In the offline world, the digital literacy classroom practice has been dominated by singular ideologies (a restricted code) around both the seniority value embedded in Thai society and neo-liberal prescriptions for developing ‘citizens for the 21st century’. So the piloted digital literacy module was neither successful nor unsuccessful, in itself, for “promoting” an enhancement of digital literacy because, in the end, it exposed a flaw in this way of thinking about education. In such complex situations, no set of teaching and learning tools can be separated from the codes and hidden curricula that determine their effectiveness.  In the online world, many Thai children regularly take responsible risks, and build resilience for themselves. Digital literacy education needs to be transformed to liberate children from overly rigid, and risk-adverse, classroom practice, thus contributing to the development of ‘grown-up-ness’ in Biesta’s term (2013) which, in turn, contributes to the ‘formation’ of the person. Therefore, the desirability of building digital resiliency has emerged from this project as a better way of thinking, where resiliency is a complex capacity to respond openly, within situations where risks and opportunities may be interwoven, and these situations may include the classroom itself, as well as personal, familial, and other social spaces and situations.

text: Risky Opportunities: Developing Children’s Resilience through Digital Literacy in Thailand This project develops a case for defining appropriate concepts of risk and opportunity in the digital domain for children in Thailand; it explores what the consequent balance is between, regulation/policing of this domain on the one hand, and active user empowerment on the other. It defines “digital literacy”, in a way that is appropriate for Thai society, while bearing in mind international good practice. This is achieved on the basis of detailed, in-depth fieldwork in Thai schools, using an Action Research methodology. The Participatory Action Research framework for this study positions children as subjects who have their own power and competence to influence the study, and ultimately the development of digital literacy education. By using three schools, in two stages of fieldwork, the theorization of digital literacy is thoroughly grounded in a comparative study of different practices. At the centre of this method is the development of a classroom “module” – a set of learning activities designed as both a research tool and a practical intervention in the pedagogical process. My study argues that the contest around the notion of the ‘good child’ has shaped children’s experiences of online use, in Thai society. In the offline world, the digital literacy classroom practice has been dominated by singular ideologies (a restricted code) around both the seniority value embedded in Thai society and neo-liberal prescriptions for developing ‘citizens for the 21st century’. So the piloted digital literacy module was neither successful nor unsuccessful, in itself, for “promoting” an enhancement of digital literacy because, in the end, it exposed a flaw in this way of thinking about education. In such complex situations, no set of teaching and learning tools can be separated from the codes and hidden curricula that determine their effectiveness.  In the online world, many Thai children regularly take responsible risks, and build resilience for themselves. Digital literacy education needs to be transformed to liberate children from overly rigid, and risk-adverse, classroom practice, thus contributing to the development of ‘grown-up-ness’ in Biesta’s term (2013) which, in turn, contributes to the ‘formation’ of the person. Therefore, the desirability of building digital resiliency has emerged from this project as a better way of thinking, where resiliency is a complex capacity to respond openly, within situations where risks and opportunities may be interwoven, and these situations may include the classroom itself, as well as personal, familial, and other social spaces and situations.

year: 2018

title: Ageing, Motion Perception and the Compensation for Eye Movements

authors: Rawley, Kirstyn Michelle

subjects: ageing

abstract: Smooth pursuit over a textured background introduces full-field motion to the retinal image in the direction opposing the eye movement. If this motion is not correctly attributed to the eye movement, it can be falsely perceived as motion in the world (Haarmeier, Thier, Repnow & Petersen, 1997). In order to correctly attribute retinal motion, the visual system must compensate for the effects of eye movements on the retinal image in motion perception. Visual motion perception is important for safely navigating the environment and has been linked to difficulties experienced by older adults while driving (Conlon & Herkes, 2008; Raghuram & Lakshminarayanan, 2006) and walking (Cavanaugh, 2002). The experiments reported in this thesis were devised in order to examine the effects of ageing on the perception of illusory motion during eye movements and therefore on the ability to compensate for eye movements in motion perception. The perception of motion during smooth pursuit eye movements was assessed in adults ranging in age from 17 to 79 years. The computer based task required participants to respond to the speed and direction of motion of a large-field random dot pattern while following a moving target dot with the eyes. For this task, a magnitude estimation tool was especially designed based on the direction response method of Bennett, Sekuler and Sekuler (2007). During the experimental session an eye tracker recorded the participant's eye movements. For the purposes of analysis, four groups were defined by age. It was found that the smooth pursuit of adults from ~40 years of age was slower than that of the younger age groups. With stationary eyes, the oldest age group ranging in age from 60 to 79 years tended to overestimate the speed of the dot pattern as compared to younger observers. This tendency decreased at higher background speeds. Eye movements appeared to affect the perception of the dot field's motion more in the group of participants ranging in age from 40 to 54 years than in the younger age groups. This also seemed to be the case for participants aged over 60 when viewing horizontal motion but not vertical motion. The results of this study suggest that older observers may be less able to compensate for the effects of eye movements on the retinal image. This could potentially affect their ability to safely and confidently navigate the environment.

text: Ageing, Motion Perception and the Compensation for Eye Movements Smooth pursuit over a textured background introduces full-field motion to the retinal image in the direction opposing the eye movement. If this motion is not correctly attributed to the eye movement, it can be falsely perceived as motion in the world (Haarmeier, Thier, Repnow & Petersen, 1997). In order to correctly attribute retinal motion, the visual system must compensate for the effects of eye movements on the retinal image in motion perception. Visual motion perception is important for safely navigating the environment and has been linked to difficulties experienced by older adults while driving (Conlon & Herkes, 2008; Raghuram & Lakshminarayanan, 2006) and walking (Cavanaugh, 2002). The experiments reported in this thesis were devised in order to examine the effects of ageing on the perception of illusory motion during eye movements and therefore on the ability to compensate for eye movements in motion perception. The perception of motion during smooth pursuit eye movements was assessed in adults ranging in age from 17 to 79 years. The computer based task required participants to respond to the speed and direction of motion of a large-field random dot pattern while following a moving target dot with the eyes. For this task, a magnitude estimation tool was especially designed based on the direction response method of Bennett, Sekuler and Sekuler (2007). During the experimental session an eye tracker recorded the participant's eye movements. For the purposes of analysis, four groups were defined by age. It was found that the smooth pursuit of adults from ~40 years of age was slower than that of the younger age groups. With stationary eyes, the oldest age group ranging in age from 60 to 79 years tended to overestimate the speed of the dot pattern as compared to younger observers. This tendency decreased at higher background speeds. Eye movements appeared to affect the perception of the dot field's motion more in the group of participants ranging in age from 40 to 54 years than in the younger age groups. This also seemed to be the case for participants aged over 60 when viewing horizontal motion but not vertical motion. The results of this study suggest that older observers may be less able to compensate for the effects of eye movements on the retinal image. This could potentially affect their ability to safely and confidently navigate the environment.

year: 2010

title: Disrupted spaces: Racism and the lived experience of Maori identity formation

authors: Te Hiwi, Erika

subjects: Maori

abstract: In 2004, when Don Brash –then leader of the National Party, hit the headlines with his controversial ‘Orewa’ speech, so-called ‘mainstream’ New Zealanders, felt that at last they had their hero. Brash articulated what this group felt was the source of trouble in contemporary Aotearoa society – brown privilege. Letters to the editor and talkback lines ran hot with many applauding Brash’s calls for an end to the treaty gravy train and ‘race-based’ funding in health; anecdotes abounded of Māori students up and down the country getting a ‘free-ride’ through education and taking prized positions in training programmes from better qualified Pākehā. It was, according to the writers and callers, an oppressive Apartheid-style system favouring Māori that had to end.

text: Disrupted spaces: Racism and the lived experience of Maori identity formation In 2004, when Don Brash –then leader of the National Party, hit the headlines with his controversial ‘Orewa’ speech, so-called ‘mainstream’ New Zealanders, felt that at last they had their hero. Brash articulated what this group felt was the source of trouble in contemporary Aotearoa society – brown privilege. Letters to the editor and talkback lines ran hot with many applauding Brash’s calls for an end to the treaty gravy train and ‘race-based’ funding in health; anecdotes abounded of Māori students up and down the country getting a ‘free-ride’ through education and taking prized positions in training programmes from better qualified Pākehā. It was, according to the writers and callers, an oppressive Apartheid-style system favouring Māori that had to end.

year: 2008