title: Ngā Whanaketanga: Minimising contradictions and maximising opportunities for teacher learning.

authors: Hohepa, Margie Kahukura

subjects: Māori medium teacher professional development

abstract: In 2010 the assessment of student progress and achievement against National Standards became mandatory in English medium schooling in Aotearoa New Zealand. In that same year information gathering and revision work was carried out on the then draft Whanaketanga, developed in 2009. The Whanaketanga are deemed to be the equivalent to National Standards for classrooms implementing Te Marautanga o Aotearoa, the curriculum for immersion Māori medium settings. The information gathering and revision work was carried out in readiness for mandatory implementation of the Whanaketanga in 2011. The work also provided important opportunities for Māori medium teacher professional learning and development. The introduction of National Standards has been controversial. The development of Whanaketanga has also been controversial and challenging in nature. The first half of this paper provides an overview of Whanaketanga development and the challenges its developers worked hard to address. The second part discusses implications for Māori medium teacher professional learning and development, drawn from findings from research case studies of the information gathering and revision work.

text: Ngā Whanaketanga: Minimising contradictions and maximising opportunities for teacher learning. In 2010 the assessment of student progress and achievement against National Standards became mandatory in English medium schooling in Aotearoa New Zealand. In that same year information gathering and revision work was carried out on the then draft Whanaketanga, developed in 2009. The Whanaketanga are deemed to be the equivalent to National Standards for classrooms implementing Te Marautanga o Aotearoa, the curriculum for immersion Māori medium settings. The information gathering and revision work was carried out in readiness for mandatory implementation of the Whanaketanga in 2011. The work also provided important opportunities for Māori medium teacher professional learning and development. The introduction of National Standards has been controversial. The development of Whanaketanga has also been controversial and challenging in nature. The first half of this paper provides an overview of Whanaketanga development and the challenges its developers worked hard to address. The second part discusses implications for Māori medium teacher professional learning and development, drawn from findings from research case studies of the information gathering and revision work.

year: 2012

title: How differing methods of ascribing ethnicity and socio-economic status affect risk estimates for hospitalisation with infectious disease

authors: Hobbs, Mark R.

subjects: Ethnicity/race

abstract: Significant ethnic and socio-economic disparities exist in infectious diseases (IDs) rates in New Zealand, so accurate measures of these characteristics are required. This study compared methods of ascribing ethnicity and socio-economic status. Children in the Growing Up in New Zealand longitudinal cohort were ascribed to self-prioritised, total response and single-combined ethnic groups. Socio-economic status was measured using household income, and both census-derived and survey-derived deprivation indices. Rates of ID hospitalisation were compared using linked administrative data. Self-prioritised ethnicity was simplest to use. Total response accounted for mixed ethnicity and allowed overlap between groups. Single combined ethnicity required aggregation of small groups to maintain power but offered greater detail. Regardless of the method used, Māori and Pacific children, and children in the most socio-economically deprived households had a greater risk of ID hospitalisation. Risk differences between self-prioritised and total response methods were not significant for Māori and Pacific children but single-combined ethnicity revealed a diversity of risk within these groups. Household income was affected by non-random missing data. The census derived deprivation index offered a high level of completeness with some risk of multicollinearity and concerns regarding the ecological fallacy. The survey-derived index required extra questions but was acceptable to participants and provided individualised data. Based on these results, the use of single-combined ethnicity and an individualised survey-derived index of deprivation are recommended where sample size and data structure allow it.

text: How differing methods of ascribing ethnicity and socio-economic status affect risk estimates for hospitalisation with infectious disease Significant ethnic and socio-economic disparities exist in infectious diseases (IDs) rates in New Zealand, so accurate measures of these characteristics are required. This study compared methods of ascribing ethnicity and socio-economic status. Children in the Growing Up in New Zealand longitudinal cohort were ascribed to self-prioritised, total response and single-combined ethnic groups. Socio-economic status was measured using household income, and both census-derived and survey-derived deprivation indices. Rates of ID hospitalisation were compared using linked administrative data. Self-prioritised ethnicity was simplest to use. Total response accounted for mixed ethnicity and allowed overlap between groups. Single combined ethnicity required aggregation of small groups to maintain power but offered greater detail. Regardless of the method used, Māori and Pacific children, and children in the most socio-economically deprived households had a greater risk of ID hospitalisation. Risk differences between self-prioritised and total response methods were not significant for Māori and Pacific children but single-combined ethnicity revealed a diversity of risk within these groups. Household income was affected by non-random missing data. The census derived deprivation index offered a high level of completeness with some risk of multicollinearity and concerns regarding the ecological fallacy. The survey-derived index required extra questions but was acceptable to participants and provided individualised data. Based on these results, the use of single-combined ethnicity and an individualised survey-derived index of deprivation are recommended where sample size and data structure allow it.

year: 2019

title: A Distant Star: Creative writing thesis: speculative science fiction

authors: Childs, Rachel Jade

subjects: Creative writing

abstract: When Humanity left a ruined Earth, they vowed to leave behind everything that brought them to that bleak choice. It was the end of the world; if they could not change, they weren’t worthy of a second chance on another planet. Tearing down unliveable cities, they built kilometres-long space-ships, able to support generations of travellers on their Migration to the most likely habitable exoplanets. A Distant Star opens at the end of the city-ship La Sesa’s journey, as it comes into orbit around their new homeworld. 
However, the planet is already inhabited by a native sapient species. Acknowledging that Humanity doesn’t have a great track record with such situations, La Sesa sends a historian, Lirit Sanget, and her team – medic Anahera and comm-tech Hikoa – to open communication with the local peoples. 
Lirit has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a connective tissue disorder and the common comorbid condition Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome. Her limitations change the way she navigates a dangerous environment, but she forges her own path on an uncharted world. 
Lirit, Ana, and Hikoa are pulled into a parallel world even less familiar than their new home. In this polarized reality, they find two species in a generational war. The three realize that their own biases affect their perception of the conflict: whose side they believe, which species they relate to, how they interact with warriors when all they know of war is a historical footnote. As the three piece the two species’ stories together, they struggle with the realization that they have to watch their ancestors’ mistakes play out all over again, and they cannot step in to stop it. They can only see their own choices in new light and find a way to change the trajectory of their future. 

Positive, forward-looking, scientifically sound speculative science fiction is crucial right now. The trends in our modern-cycle news, media, fiction reflect the bleak dystopia of our global reality. We need stories that show us ways of pulling us out of the hell we’re heading for, of fixing what is broken, of reaching Humanity’s potential. Sci-Fi is so much more than escapist popular drivel or cool futuristic aesthetic; sci-fi is, and always has been, a way to tell such stories. 
I was largely inspired to write this book by reading the Wayfarers Trilogy by Becky Chambers, especially the last book in the trilogy, Record of a Spaceborn Few. It was the first time I had a clear example of how a “post-inequity” society could function, what issues might arise in that society, and how to address those issues. It gave a tangible goal for activist work, and it gave me hope in our future. With this thesis, I aim to illustrate an equitable society; to use my lived experience to increase accurate, meaningful representation of people with disabilities in fiction; and redefine who can be considered a “science fiction action hero”. Writing this manuscript is a way I can help others the same way stories like the Wayfarers have helped me.

text: A Distant Star: Creative writing thesis: speculative science fiction When Humanity left a ruined Earth, they vowed to leave behind everything that brought them to that bleak choice. It was the end of the world; if they could not change, they weren’t worthy of a second chance on another planet. Tearing down unliveable cities, they built kilometres-long space-ships, able to support generations of travellers on their Migration to the most likely habitable exoplanets. A Distant Star opens at the end of the city-ship La Sesa’s journey, as it comes into orbit around their new homeworld. 
However, the planet is already inhabited by a native sapient species. Acknowledging that Humanity doesn’t have a great track record with such situations, La Sesa sends a historian, Lirit Sanget, and her team – medic Anahera and comm-tech Hikoa – to open communication with the local peoples. 
Lirit has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a connective tissue disorder and the common comorbid condition Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome. Her limitations change the way she navigates a dangerous environment, but she forges her own path on an uncharted world. 
Lirit, Ana, and Hikoa are pulled into a parallel world even less familiar than their new home. In this polarized reality, they find two species in a generational war. The three realize that their own biases affect their perception of the conflict: whose side they believe, which species they relate to, how they interact with warriors when all they know of war is a historical footnote. As the three piece the two species’ stories together, they struggle with the realization that they have to watch their ancestors’ mistakes play out all over again, and they cannot step in to stop it. They can only see their own choices in new light and find a way to change the trajectory of their future. 

Positive, forward-looking, scientifically sound speculative science fiction is crucial right now. The trends in our modern-cycle news, media, fiction reflect the bleak dystopia of our global reality. We need stories that show us ways of pulling us out of the hell we’re heading for, of fixing what is broken, of reaching Humanity’s potential. Sci-Fi is so much more than escapist popular drivel or cool futuristic aesthetic; sci-fi is, and always has been, a way to tell such stories. 
I was largely inspired to write this book by reading the Wayfarers Trilogy by Becky Chambers, especially the last book in the trilogy, Record of a Spaceborn Few. It was the first time I had a clear example of how a “post-inequity” society could function, what issues might arise in that society, and how to address those issues. It gave a tangible goal for activist work, and it gave me hope in our future. With this thesis, I aim to illustrate an equitable society; to use my lived experience to increase accurate, meaningful representation of people with disabilities in fiction; and redefine who can be considered a “science fiction action hero”. Writing this manuscript is a way I can help others the same way stories like the Wayfarers have helped me.

year: 2022