title: Education for Authentic Democracy: Capatilism, Oppression, and Freire's Critical Pedagogy for Liberation

authors: Walker, Talia Laureen

subjects: education

abstract: Within the parameters of western ideology the concept of democracy is frequently upheld as a corner stone to which our moral, social, political and educational practices are anchored. The term has become a powerful instrument of persuasion in the public forums as the innate goodness of democracy has become more unquestionably ingrained in the historical imaginations of its citizens. As the logic surrounding the value placed on democracy is entwined with the virtues of freedom and self-determination for all, this is hardly surprising. What remains often unexplored in these public forums, however, is whether this logic is in fact justified. To situate the investigation into the current political arena is to acknowledge the dichotomy by which the philosophies of democracy and capitalism are publicly claimed to exist side by side. Such an acknowledgement forcefully yields one to the questions of to what extent our current ideologies of democracy, and the perpetuation of this dogma through our education system, can successfully result in producing an authentic democratic society within capitalist constructs.

This thesis has been written in an attempt to expose the contradiction present between our current political claims of democracy and our capitalist directed practices of education through the critical philosophy of Paulo Freire. Freire has firmly established himself as a respected democratic educator, however, my intention has not been to reduce his educational pedagogy by adapting it to attempt to improve the current system of schooling, as I argue is frequently found within educational literature, but rather to differentiate his democratic philosophy of education as the practice of freedom from the capitalist concept of education as a tool of domination and domestication.

I argue that the logic of transnational capitalism, which dictates the policies and practices of our education system, is detrimental to the development of the peoples' critical thinking facilities and thus negates their individual and collective empowerment. Such a system of banking education actively denies people the right to participate in history as subjects and inhibits the possibility of an authentic democracy. In this way the capitalist education system is in fact a system of oppression. Through Freire's critical pedagogy I argue that the transference ofknowledge through an authoritarian system does not constitute as education but is instead a training ground for workers set up in the interests of capitalist employers. Social class divisions are maintained and enforced by means of a paternalistic apparatus of hierarchy.

In supporting Freire's philosophy, and acknowledging the entirely political nature of education, I argue that an education system that would support an authentic democracy would have to practice authentic democracy. Through the concepts of 'promblematization', dialogue, critical transitivity and praxis I have attempted to refute the fatalistic assumptions that such an education system is unconceivable or unexplainable. Indeed, I argue that if our goal is to live in a democracy then such concepts are unavoidable.

The historical case study from the history of the New Zealand education system is included to illustrate the theory in practice. Here I argue that the intentions, practices and policies of the legislators were anti-democratic and anti-educational in that they constructed a compulsory system that is detrimental to the development of critical thought, self determination and dialogical knowing that is necessary to allow each member of society to be part of the governing system. By examining the consequences and legacy of this system it is possible to expose its influences in the larger educational realm in society. It is not my intention to simply present New Zealand education as an isolated case which requires examination but rather as a prominent example of how Freire's philosophy applies to traditional education in the west.

This thesis is therefore aimed at re-defining the concepts of democracy and education through critically examining the socio-economic conditions necessary for effective and equal participation in democratic forums. By critiquing the current system via the vehicle of Freire's philosophy, a prominent democratic educator, the divide between democracy as an illusion and as a reality becomes clearer.

text: Education for Authentic Democracy: Capatilism, Oppression, and Freire's Critical Pedagogy for Liberation Within the parameters of western ideology the concept of democracy is frequently upheld as a corner stone to which our moral, social, political and educational practices are anchored. The term has become a powerful instrument of persuasion in the public forums as the innate goodness of democracy has become more unquestionably ingrained in the historical imaginations of its citizens. As the logic surrounding the value placed on democracy is entwined with the virtues of freedom and self-determination for all, this is hardly surprising. What remains often unexplored in these public forums, however, is whether this logic is in fact justified. To situate the investigation into the current political arena is to acknowledge the dichotomy by which the philosophies of democracy and capitalism are publicly claimed to exist side by side. Such an acknowledgement forcefully yields one to the questions of to what extent our current ideologies of democracy, and the perpetuation of this dogma through our education system, can successfully result in producing an authentic democratic society within capitalist constructs.

This thesis has been written in an attempt to expose the contradiction present between our current political claims of democracy and our capitalist directed practices of education through the critical philosophy of Paulo Freire. Freire has firmly established himself as a respected democratic educator, however, my intention has not been to reduce his educational pedagogy by adapting it to attempt to improve the current system of schooling, as I argue is frequently found within educational literature, but rather to differentiate his democratic philosophy of education as the practice of freedom from the capitalist concept of education as a tool of domination and domestication.

I argue that the logic of transnational capitalism, which dictates the policies and practices of our education system, is detrimental to the development of the peoples' critical thinking facilities and thus negates their individual and collective empowerment. Such a system of banking education actively denies people the right to participate in history as subjects and inhibits the possibility of an authentic democracy. In this way the capitalist education system is in fact a system of oppression. Through Freire's critical pedagogy I argue that the transference ofknowledge through an authoritarian system does not constitute as education but is instead a training ground for workers set up in the interests of capitalist employers. Social class divisions are maintained and enforced by means of a paternalistic apparatus of hierarchy.

In supporting Freire's philosophy, and acknowledging the entirely political nature of education, I argue that an education system that would support an authentic democracy would have to practice authentic democracy. Through the concepts of 'promblematization', dialogue, critical transitivity and praxis I have attempted to refute the fatalistic assumptions that such an education system is unconceivable or unexplainable. Indeed, I argue that if our goal is to live in a democracy then such concepts are unavoidable.

The historical case study from the history of the New Zealand education system is included to illustrate the theory in practice. Here I argue that the intentions, practices and policies of the legislators were anti-democratic and anti-educational in that they constructed a compulsory system that is detrimental to the development of critical thought, self determination and dialogical knowing that is necessary to allow each member of society to be part of the governing system. By examining the consequences and legacy of this system it is possible to expose its influences in the larger educational realm in society. It is not my intention to simply present New Zealand education as an isolated case which requires examination but rather as a prominent example of how Freire's philosophy applies to traditional education in the west.

This thesis is therefore aimed at re-defining the concepts of democracy and education through critically examining the socio-economic conditions necessary for effective and equal participation in democratic forums. By critiquing the current system via the vehicle of Freire's philosophy, a prominent democratic educator, the divide between democracy as an illusion and as a reality becomes clearer.

year: 2008

title: Phosphofructokinases from extremely thermophilic microorganisms

authors: Ding, Yan-Huai R.

abstract: The distribution of phosphofructokinase (PFK) phosphoryl donor subtypes [ATP-, ADP- and pyrophosphate (PPᵢ)] in the deeply rooted phylogenetic lineages of thermophiles is of interest with respect to the evolution of PFK activity and of the Embden-Meyerhof (EM) pathway. To gain additional insight into the understanding of this key enzyme in the central metabolism within the three domains of life, PFKs with different phosphoryl donor specificities were studied from some extremely thermophilic bacteria, archaea and non-thermophilic bacteria.

Results from a survey of species from the order Spirochaetales showed that all of the tested species of Spirochaeta, both thermophilic and mesophilic species/strains, possessed a PPᵢ-dependent PFK (PPᵢ-PFK) activity. However, ATP dependent-PFK activities were found to be predominant in some strains of Leptospira and Treponema. Overall, the results suggest that the presence of a PPᵢ-PFK might be a reliable phenotypic marker for the genus Spirochaeta and that there are some potentially interesting differences in how the catabolism of saccharides is controlled among members of genera within the Spirochaetales.

The PPᵢ-PFK from an extremely thermophilic bacterium Dictyoglomus thermophilum Rt46 B.1 has been purified and characterised. Biochemical studies with the Dictyoglomus native enzyme showed that this enzyme possesses some properties that are similar to other bacterial PPᵢ-PFKs. The enzyme is homodimeric, non-allosteric and possesses an acidic pH optimum for the forward reaction and a neutral to slightly alkaline optimum for the reverse reaction. The enzyme requires Mg²⁺ for optimal activity and has significant activity with tripolyphosphate (PPPᵢ) and polyphosphate (polyP, n=15±3). The Dictyoglomus enzyme is extremely sensitive to Cu²⁺.

The Dictyoglomus PPᵢ-PFK-encoding gene (pfp) was also sequenced, cloned and the enzyme expressed in Escherichia coli. The full-length sequence of the pfp gene was obtained using degenerate PCR and inverse-PCR. Sequence analysis and a phylogenetic comparison suggest that the Dictyoglomus PPᵢ-PFK represents an ancient lineage and is closely related to those PPᵢPFKѕ from the archaeal Thermoproteus tenax, bacterial Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Amycolatopsis methanolica, and the ATP-PFK from Streptomyces coelicolor, all of which belong to group III PFKѕ.

A biochemical comparison between the Dictyoglomus native and recombinant enzymes demonstrated that they possessed a high degree of similarity in most of properties examined, e.g. the optimal pH values and Mg²⁺ concentration for activity, lack of allosteric response to metabolites, thermostability, most kinetic parameters and extreme sensitivity to Cu²⁺.

An ATP-PFK from the hyperthermophilic crenarchaeon Desulfurococcus amylolyticus was also purified to homogeneity and characterised. The enzyme was confirmed as an ATP-dependent enzyme possessing no activity with either ADP or PPᵢ. The Desulfarococcus enzyme was not significantly affected by traditional allosteric modulators, e.g. phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP), citrate, succinate or fructose- 2,6-bisphosphate (F-2,6-P₂). This enzyme similar to what was found for the Dictyoglomus PFK is also extremely sensitive to Cu²⁺.
 
Two genes from the hyperthermophilic bacterium Thermotoga maritima, one encoding a PPᵢ- PFK and the other an ATP-PFK, were cloned, expressed and characterised. Both enzymes were shown to be extremely thermostable, activated by KC1 and strongly inhibited by Cu²⁺ and Zn²⁺. The PPᵢ-PFK enzyme is indicated to be a non-allosteric homodimer which catalyses a near-reversible reaction. Significantly, the apparent Kₘ values for the phosphoryl donors PPᵢ, PPPᵢ and polyP (n=15±3) for the forward reaction were 67 μM, 10 μM and 3.8 μM respectively, and thus the enzyme might operate in vivo as a polyP-dependent PFK. The ATP-PFK exhibited significant activity with other nucleotide triphosphates, GTP (42% of control activity with ATP), UTP (14%), CTP (13%) and TTP (10%), but its activity was not significantly affected by common allosteric effectors, i.e. PEP, although it was partially inhibited by citrate. Surprisingly, the ATP-PFK was strongly inhibited by PPᵢ, PPPᵢ and polyP. The inhibition by PPᵢ could be partially relieved by nucleotide diphosphates including ADP, GDP, TDP and UDP. The T. maritima ATP-PFK is thus likely to be modulated by PPᵢ and/or polyP which would represent a novel mechanism for controlling glycolytic flux.

Taken together, the data suggests that the distribution, subtypes and regulatory mechanisms of PFK in the control of the EM pathway in extremely thermophilic organisms are much more complex than we expected. As originally intended, the results from this work has provided additional insights into the understanding of the evolution of this key enzyme in glycolysis.

text: Phosphofructokinases from extremely thermophilic microorganisms The distribution of phosphofructokinase (PFK) phosphoryl donor subtypes [ATP-, ADP- and pyrophosphate (PPᵢ)] in the deeply rooted phylogenetic lineages of thermophiles is of interest with respect to the evolution of PFK activity and of the Embden-Meyerhof (EM) pathway. To gain additional insight into the understanding of this key enzyme in the central metabolism within the three domains of life, PFKs with different phosphoryl donor specificities were studied from some extremely thermophilic bacteria, archaea and non-thermophilic bacteria.

Results from a survey of species from the order Spirochaetales showed that all of the tested species of Spirochaeta, both thermophilic and mesophilic species/strains, possessed a PPᵢ-dependent PFK (PPᵢ-PFK) activity. However, ATP dependent-PFK activities were found to be predominant in some strains of Leptospira and Treponema. Overall, the results suggest that the presence of a PPᵢ-PFK might be a reliable phenotypic marker for the genus Spirochaeta and that there are some potentially interesting differences in how the catabolism of saccharides is controlled among members of genera within the Spirochaetales.

The PPᵢ-PFK from an extremely thermophilic bacterium Dictyoglomus thermophilum Rt46 B.1 has been purified and characterised. Biochemical studies with the Dictyoglomus native enzyme showed that this enzyme possesses some properties that are similar to other bacterial PPᵢ-PFKs. The enzyme is homodimeric, non-allosteric and possesses an acidic pH optimum for the forward reaction and a neutral to slightly alkaline optimum for the reverse reaction. The enzyme requires Mg²⁺ for optimal activity and has significant activity with tripolyphosphate (PPPᵢ) and polyphosphate (polyP, n=15±3). The Dictyoglomus enzyme is extremely sensitive to Cu²⁺.

The Dictyoglomus PPᵢ-PFK-encoding gene (pfp) was also sequenced, cloned and the enzyme expressed in Escherichia coli. The full-length sequence of the pfp gene was obtained using degenerate PCR and inverse-PCR. Sequence analysis and a phylogenetic comparison suggest that the Dictyoglomus PPᵢ-PFK represents an ancient lineage and is closely related to those PPᵢPFKѕ from the archaeal Thermoproteus tenax, bacterial Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Amycolatopsis methanolica, and the ATP-PFK from Streptomyces coelicolor, all of which belong to group III PFKѕ.

A biochemical comparison between the Dictyoglomus native and recombinant enzymes demonstrated that they possessed a high degree of similarity in most of properties examined, e.g. the optimal pH values and Mg²⁺ concentration for activity, lack of allosteric response to metabolites, thermostability, most kinetic parameters and extreme sensitivity to Cu²⁺.

An ATP-PFK from the hyperthermophilic crenarchaeon Desulfurococcus amylolyticus was also purified to homogeneity and characterised. The enzyme was confirmed as an ATP-dependent enzyme possessing no activity with either ADP or PPᵢ. The Desulfarococcus enzyme was not significantly affected by traditional allosteric modulators, e.g. phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP), citrate, succinate or fructose- 2,6-bisphosphate (F-2,6-P₂). This enzyme similar to what was found for the Dictyoglomus PFK is also extremely sensitive to Cu²⁺.
 
Two genes from the hyperthermophilic bacterium Thermotoga maritima, one encoding a PPᵢ- PFK and the other an ATP-PFK, were cloned, expressed and characterised. Both enzymes were shown to be extremely thermostable, activated by KC1 and strongly inhibited by Cu²⁺ and Zn²⁺. The PPᵢ-PFK enzyme is indicated to be a non-allosteric homodimer which catalyses a near-reversible reaction. Significantly, the apparent Kₘ values for the phosphoryl donors PPᵢ, PPPᵢ and polyP (n=15±3) for the forward reaction were 67 μM, 10 μM and 3.8 μM respectively, and thus the enzyme might operate in vivo as a polyP-dependent PFK. The ATP-PFK exhibited significant activity with other nucleotide triphosphates, GTP (42% of control activity with ATP), UTP (14%), CTP (13%) and TTP (10%), but its activity was not significantly affected by common allosteric effectors, i.e. PEP, although it was partially inhibited by citrate. Surprisingly, the ATP-PFK was strongly inhibited by PPᵢ, PPPᵢ and polyP. The inhibition by PPᵢ could be partially relieved by nucleotide diphosphates including ADP, GDP, TDP and UDP. The T. maritima ATP-PFK is thus likely to be modulated by PPᵢ and/or polyP which would represent a novel mechanism for controlling glycolytic flux.

Taken together, the data suggests that the distribution, subtypes and regulatory mechanisms of PFK in the control of the EM pathway in extremely thermophilic organisms are much more complex than we expected. As originally intended, the results from this work has provided additional insights into the understanding of the evolution of this key enzyme in glycolysis.

year: 2000

title: Ohaaki: A power station on Maori land

authors: Stokes, Evelyn

subjects: Ohaaki Geothermal Power Station

abstract: This paper is about a geothermal power station called Ohaaki, constructed over the period 1982-1989 on Maori land close by Te Ohaaki Marae and the ancestral papakainga of Ngati Tahu. This is a personal account of the impact of this project on Ngati Tahu rather than a history of the construction of the power station.

text: Ohaaki: A power station on Maori land This paper is about a geothermal power station called Ohaaki, constructed over the period 1982-1989 on Maori land close by Te Ohaaki Marae and the ancestral papakainga of Ngati Tahu. This is a personal account of the impact of this project on Ngati Tahu rather than a history of the construction of the power station.

year: 2003