title: Methodology to survey and monitor New Zealand mudfish species

authors: Ling, Nicholas

subjects: Galaxiidae

abstract: Standard methods to survey and monitor NZ mudfish species involve Gee minnow traps for adults and hand nets for earlier life stages, although a range of methods have been used. A basic assessment of fish abundance can be gained from one night of trapping, however, estimates of fish density and sub-population size require repeated identical sampling events. In developing a study the objective neds to be well considered in order that the information collected addresses the particular research question. Study design and sampling effort are usually individualised to the type of habitat being sampled and resources available. Catching fish and measuring their length and weight is straightforward and uses relatively simple equipment. More detailed examination and marking of fish may be required in some studies. From information collected in the field a range of further calculations and analyses are usually done to assess the state of health of the sub-population. Capture data should be submitted to the NZ freshwater Fish Database and habitat assessed using the Handbook for Monitoring Wetland Condition. The Department of Conservation Mudfish Recovery Group plans to regularly collate survey and monitoring information.

text: Methodology to survey and monitor New Zealand mudfish species Standard methods to survey and monitor NZ mudfish species involve Gee minnow traps for adults and hand nets for earlier life stages, although a range of methods have been used. A basic assessment of fish abundance can be gained from one night of trapping, however, estimates of fish density and sub-population size require repeated identical sampling events. In developing a study the objective neds to be well considered in order that the information collected addresses the particular research question. Study design and sampling effort are usually individualised to the type of habitat being sampled and resources available. Catching fish and measuring their length and weight is straightforward and uses relatively simple equipment. More detailed examination and marking of fish may be required in some studies. From information collected in the field a range of further calculations and analyses are usually done to assess the state of health of the sub-population. Capture data should be submitted to the NZ freshwater Fish Database and habitat assessed using the Handbook for Monitoring Wetland Condition. The Department of Conservation Mudfish Recovery Group plans to regularly collate survey and monitoring information.

year: 2009

title: Do we expect too much? Reflection on chemistry content in higher education

authors: Coll, Richard K.

subjects: chemistry

abstract: Education research in the 1970s, like other related areas, was dominated by quantitative work¹ during an era for which social sciences sought to draw upon the successful scientific approach typically used in the physical sciences (in particular) to investigate teaching and learning.¹’² So if we felt a cohort of students did not understand some con¬cept, we tried to find out whether or not a different teach¬ing approach could fix their misconceptions.³ But how to do this? Well, drawing on a scientific approach, we would divide the class or classes up, teach one cohort the same way we always had, and the other cohort in our new way, and evaluate any differences in conceptual understanding using, e.g. a standardized topic test. Differences would be examined for statistical significance of evidence that our new approach to teaching had worked. And this is the way much research was done at the time. Control of variables, randomized sampling, and so on, were all embedded in such an approach to educational research.

text: Do we expect too much? Reflection on chemistry content in higher education Education research in the 1970s, like other related areas, was dominated by quantitative work¹ during an era for which social sciences sought to draw upon the successful scientific approach typically used in the physical sciences (in particular) to investigate teaching and learning.¹’² So if we felt a cohort of students did not understand some con¬cept, we tried to find out whether or not a different teach¬ing approach could fix their misconceptions.³ But how to do this? Well, drawing on a scientific approach, we would divide the class or classes up, teach one cohort the same way we always had, and the other cohort in our new way, and evaluate any differences in conceptual understanding using, e.g. a standardized topic test. Differences would be examined for statistical significance of evidence that our new approach to teaching had worked. And this is the way much research was done at the time. Control of variables, randomized sampling, and so on, were all embedded in such an approach to educational research.

year: 2008

title: Intra-propositional relations and their signalling: An investigation of authentic Māori texts

authors: Whaanga, Hēmi

subjects: Language & education

abstract: I report here on one part of a research project that involved the investigation of a range of authentic Māori texts in terms of two types of meaning relation – those that operate within propositions (‘intra-propositional relations’) and those that link propositions or groups of propositions (‘inter-propositional relations’). The focus here is on intra-propositional relations (relationships within propositions). On the basis of the comparison of a number of intra-propositional relational models, a new model which draws inspiration from the work of Crombie is proposed and applied to a corpus of texts written in Māori, the emphasis being on the ways in which these relations are signalled in Māori.

text: Intra-propositional relations and their signalling: An investigation of authentic Māori texts I report here on one part of a research project that involved the investigation of a range of authentic Māori texts in terms of two types of meaning relation – those that operate within propositions (‘intra-propositional relations’) and those that link propositions or groups of propositions (‘inter-propositional relations’). The focus here is on intra-propositional relations (relationships within propositions). On the basis of the comparison of a number of intra-propositional relational models, a new model which draws inspiration from the work of Crombie is proposed and applied to a corpus of texts written in Māori, the emphasis being on the ways in which these relations are signalled in Māori.

year: 2010