title: Teaching physics concepts without much mathematics: ensuring physics is available to students of all backgrounds

authors: Wilson, Marcus T.

abstract: Recently, the University of Waikato introduced a first-year physics course requiring no specific physics or mathematics background, to support degrees in other subjects and allowing maximum diversity in student intake. This course uses the Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE) approach in which students develop their own experiments to tackle scientific questions. ISLE has proved successful with mathematically able classes; we have adapted it for a less capable cohort in a regional New Zealand context. We have assessed our approach for 2018 using: pre- and post-course concept tests; performance in exams; a student focus group; analysis of laboratory notebooks and marksheets; interviews with teaching staff; and student comments from the university’s course evaluations. Concept tests showed a mean normalised gain of 0.61. Students did well in the exam. Many students were initially unfamiliar with practical scientific investigation and record keeping but laboratory notebooks showed desired learning outcomes were achieved by the end. Students and staff engaged well with this course. Students’ final grades were not significantly different between genders and between under-represented minority and non-minority students. We cannot yet say whether this approach provides a sufficient platform for progress in engineering but students have learned fundamental practical physical concepts.

text: Teaching physics concepts without much mathematics: ensuring physics is available to students of all backgrounds Recently, the University of Waikato introduced a first-year physics course requiring no specific physics or mathematics background, to support degrees in other subjects and allowing maximum diversity in student intake. This course uses the Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE) approach in which students develop their own experiments to tackle scientific questions. ISLE has proved successful with mathematically able classes; we have adapted it for a less capable cohort in a regional New Zealand context. We have assessed our approach for 2018 using: pre- and post-course concept tests; performance in exams; a student focus group; analysis of laboratory notebooks and marksheets; interviews with teaching staff; and student comments from the university’s course evaluations. Concept tests showed a mean normalised gain of 0.61. Students did well in the exam. Many students were initially unfamiliar with practical scientific investigation and record keeping but laboratory notebooks showed desired learning outcomes were achieved by the end. Students and staff engaged well with this course. Students’ final grades were not significantly different between genders and between under-represented minority and non-minority students. We cannot yet say whether this approach provides a sufficient platform for progress in engineering but students have learned fundamental practical physical concepts.

year: 2020

title: Comparative tolerances of non-indigenous bridled goby and native exquisite goby to salintiy, temperature and sediment

authors: Theobald, Kylie

subjects: non-indigenous

abstract: The Australian bridled goby (Arenigobius bifrenatus) has been in New Zealand since 1996, and has subsequently spread to thirteen estuaries and the coastal Otara Lake. The native exquisite goby (Favonigobius exquisitus) may be displaced or threatened by the bridled goby as they share estuarine habitat. The ecophysiological tolerances and sediment preferences for both goby species were examined to determine the potential for niche overlap and habitat selection. 

The results of acute salinity and temperature tolerance tests supported the hypotheses that bridled gobies are more tolerant than exquisite gobies to extremes of salinity and temperature. The incipient ten day LT50 values were 6.7 C and 11.8 C for bridled and exquisite gobies, respectively, however, both tolerated temperatures up to 35 C. Both species showed some mortality at low salinities, but mortality did not exceed 50% for either species at the lowest salinity tested (2.2 ppt) after 96 h. Bridled gobies displayed a strong preference for fine sediment (less than 63 um), whereas exquisite gobies were less selective, accepting a broad range of sediment grain sizes (63-250 um).

Bridled gobies have successfully established and dispersed in New Zealand, and their ecophysiological adaptations that allowed them to survive harsh conditions in ballast water, their presumed introduction vector, will likely aid their future spread throughout New Zealand. Their increasing abundance is likely to see them encounter and possibly encroach on the habitat of exquisite gobies. Bridled gobies may displace the smaller exquisite gobies from optimal habitats, as exquisite gobies are unlikely to survive competition from and predation by bridled gobies. However, exquisite gobies should be able to relocate to adjacent habitat with coarse sediment that is unsuitable for burrow construction by bridled gobies. Additionally, acclimatisation to local environmental conditions may extend the tolerance limits determined in this thesis, and may allow bridled gobies to spread to upstream zones in estuaries and occupy freshwater.

New Zealand presently has eight recognised gobiid species of which one is endemic, two are native, two are not recorded in mainland waters and three are proposed as non-indigenous. Additionally, several tropical and subtropical gobies exist in the aquarium trade. Similar ecophysiological tests of tolerance and preference may determine the possibility that these species could establish in the wild following accidental release.

text: Comparative tolerances of non-indigenous bridled goby and native exquisite goby to salintiy, temperature and sediment The Australian bridled goby (Arenigobius bifrenatus) has been in New Zealand since 1996, and has subsequently spread to thirteen estuaries and the coastal Otara Lake. The native exquisite goby (Favonigobius exquisitus) may be displaced or threatened by the bridled goby as they share estuarine habitat. The ecophysiological tolerances and sediment preferences for both goby species were examined to determine the potential for niche overlap and habitat selection. 

The results of acute salinity and temperature tolerance tests supported the hypotheses that bridled gobies are more tolerant than exquisite gobies to extremes of salinity and temperature. The incipient ten day LT50 values were 6.7 C and 11.8 C for bridled and exquisite gobies, respectively, however, both tolerated temperatures up to 35 C. Both species showed some mortality at low salinities, but mortality did not exceed 50% for either species at the lowest salinity tested (2.2 ppt) after 96 h. Bridled gobies displayed a strong preference for fine sediment (less than 63 um), whereas exquisite gobies were less selective, accepting a broad range of sediment grain sizes (63-250 um).

Bridled gobies have successfully established and dispersed in New Zealand, and their ecophysiological adaptations that allowed them to survive harsh conditions in ballast water, their presumed introduction vector, will likely aid their future spread throughout New Zealand. Their increasing abundance is likely to see them encounter and possibly encroach on the habitat of exquisite gobies. Bridled gobies may displace the smaller exquisite gobies from optimal habitats, as exquisite gobies are unlikely to survive competition from and predation by bridled gobies. However, exquisite gobies should be able to relocate to adjacent habitat with coarse sediment that is unsuitable for burrow construction by bridled gobies. Additionally, acclimatisation to local environmental conditions may extend the tolerance limits determined in this thesis, and may allow bridled gobies to spread to upstream zones in estuaries and occupy freshwater.

New Zealand presently has eight recognised gobiid species of which one is endemic, two are native, two are not recorded in mainland waters and three are proposed as non-indigenous. Additionally, several tropical and subtropical gobies exist in the aquarium trade. Similar ecophysiological tests of tolerance and preference may determine the possibility that these species could establish in the wild following accidental release.

year: 2007

title: Ngā tai e rere nei i waho o Mauao

authors: Ngahuia, Dixon

subjects: Waiata Māori

abstract: "I te ao o ngā tūpuna he maha ngā kaupapa o taua wā i mau ki rō waiata, e whakaata mai ana i ngā kōrero-ā-iwi, ngā taukumekume i waenganui Māori, Pākehā, i waenganui hoki i ngā Māori anō. Nā wai hoki ka puta mai ngā herenga ki waenganui i tēnā iwi, i tēnā hapū, ka whakahoahoa tēnā iwi ki tēnā, te mutunga mai ka whānau ake ngā rōpū hou hei wānanga i ngā kaupapa i manawapātia. I pērā anō hoki ngā iwi o Tauranga Moana, ka huri atu ki tēnei iwi, ki tēnā hei huarahi tautoko āwhina mai i aua kaupapa nei. Ko ngā pupurihanga o ēnei taonga tuku iho e whakaahua mai ana i ngā kaupapa i waenganui i te ao Māori i aua wā, mō te iwi, mō te tangata kotahi rānei. Mā ēnei hoki kitea atu ai tā rātou titiro ki te ao i aua wā. 

He whiringa kōrero tēnei pepa mō tētehi waiata a Ngāi-TeRangi e whakamōhio ake ana i tētehi taukumekume i waenganui i a rāua ko Ngāti Kahungunu. Ka kitea i roto i ngā kōrero ka puta ngā huarahi whakapā atu ai ki tēnā iwi, hapū i waenganui, i waho atu rānei o Ngāi-TeRangi hei āwhina mai i te pupuri mana. Arā anō hoki te whakanui i ēnei momo waiata, ōna mana me te mātauranga Māori e pupū ake ana i konei. 

The waiata of our tūpuna Māori (Māori ancestors) capture in verse many issues and topics that were of significance at the time they were composed. They provide us with snapshots of iwi histories, including accounts of battles between Māori and Pākehā and between Māori and Māori. They tell us of alliances formed and reformed between tribes and hapū and of the reasons for these alliances. We see how the alignment and realignment of kin loyalties related to the issues of the day. Tauranga Moana iwi were not immune to such activities: tribal loyalties were chameleon-like, many alliances being pursued in relation to common interests. The ‘oral mapping’ of these local narratives that we find in waiata provides an illustration of topics relevant to individuals and to iwi: personal and collective statements about the ‘order’ of their day. They provide us with an insight into our ancestors’ ‘ways of seeing the world’. Above all, they are fundamental to the illustration and preservation of Māori knowledge. 
 
This paper presents an analysis of a Ngāi-TeRangi waiata tangi (lament) which relates to activities linking the iwi in a political stance against Ngāti Kahungunu. What is demonstrated is the intricate network of iwi and hapū involvement, within and without Ngāi-TeRangi, in the quest for honour. What is also demonstrated is the importance of waiata as significant literary achievements, as oral treasures."

text: Ngā tai e rere nei i waho o Mauao "I te ao o ngā tūpuna he maha ngā kaupapa o taua wā i mau ki rō waiata, e whakaata mai ana i ngā kōrero-ā-iwi, ngā taukumekume i waenganui Māori, Pākehā, i waenganui hoki i ngā Māori anō. Nā wai hoki ka puta mai ngā herenga ki waenganui i tēnā iwi, i tēnā hapū, ka whakahoahoa tēnā iwi ki tēnā, te mutunga mai ka whānau ake ngā rōpū hou hei wānanga i ngā kaupapa i manawapātia. I pērā anō hoki ngā iwi o Tauranga Moana, ka huri atu ki tēnei iwi, ki tēnā hei huarahi tautoko āwhina mai i aua kaupapa nei. Ko ngā pupurihanga o ēnei taonga tuku iho e whakaahua mai ana i ngā kaupapa i waenganui i te ao Māori i aua wā, mō te iwi, mō te tangata kotahi rānei. Mā ēnei hoki kitea atu ai tā rātou titiro ki te ao i aua wā. 

He whiringa kōrero tēnei pepa mō tētehi waiata a Ngāi-TeRangi e whakamōhio ake ana i tētehi taukumekume i waenganui i a rāua ko Ngāti Kahungunu. Ka kitea i roto i ngā kōrero ka puta ngā huarahi whakapā atu ai ki tēnā iwi, hapū i waenganui, i waho atu rānei o Ngāi-TeRangi hei āwhina mai i te pupuri mana. Arā anō hoki te whakanui i ēnei momo waiata, ōna mana me te mātauranga Māori e pupū ake ana i konei. 

The waiata of our tūpuna Māori (Māori ancestors) capture in verse many issues and topics that were of significance at the time they were composed. They provide us with snapshots of iwi histories, including accounts of battles between Māori and Pākehā and between Māori and Māori. They tell us of alliances formed and reformed between tribes and hapū and of the reasons for these alliances. We see how the alignment and realignment of kin loyalties related to the issues of the day. Tauranga Moana iwi were not immune to such activities: tribal loyalties were chameleon-like, many alliances being pursued in relation to common interests. The ‘oral mapping’ of these local narratives that we find in waiata provides an illustration of topics relevant to individuals and to iwi: personal and collective statements about the ‘order’ of their day. They provide us with an insight into our ancestors’ ‘ways of seeing the world’. Above all, they are fundamental to the illustration and preservation of Māori knowledge. 
 
This paper presents an analysis of a Ngāi-TeRangi waiata tangi (lament) which relates to activities linking the iwi in a political stance against Ngāti Kahungunu. What is demonstrated is the intricate network of iwi and hapū involvement, within and without Ngāi-TeRangi, in the quest for honour. What is also demonstrated is the importance of waiata as significant literary achievements, as oral treasures."

year: 2002-09