title: The philosophical use and misuse of science

authors: Kingsbury, Justine

subjects: cherry-picking, empirical philosophy, interdisciplinarity, philosophi-cal methodology, philosophy, science, misuse of science.

abstract: Science is our best way of finding out about the natural world, and philosophers who write about that world ought to be sensitive to the claims of our best science. There are obstacles, however, to outsiders using science well. We think philosophers are prone to misuse science: to give undue weight to results that are untested; to highlight favorable and ignore unfavorable data; to give illegitimate weight to the authority of science; to leap from scientific premises to philosophical conclusions without spelling out their relevance; to treat mere resonance between a scientific theory and a philosophical view as empirical evidence for the philosophical view. This article identifies and illustrates some of the ways in which philosophers misuse science, explains why these pitfalls are easy to fall into, and concludes with suggestions for avoiding them.

text: The philosophical use and misuse of science Science is our best way of finding out about the natural world, and philosophers who write about that world ought to be sensitive to the claims of our best science. There are obstacles, however, to outsiders using science well. We think philosophers are prone to misuse science: to give undue weight to results that are untested; to highlight favorable and ignore unfavorable data; to give illegitimate weight to the authority of science; to leap from scientific premises to philosophical conclusions without spelling out their relevance; to treat mere resonance between a scientific theory and a philosophical view as empirical evidence for the philosophical view. This article identifies and illustrates some of the ways in which philosophers misuse science, explains why these pitfalls are easy to fall into, and concludes with suggestions for avoiding them.

year: 2017

title: Stratigraphy and sedimentology of Pliocene limestones in northern Hawke's Bay: The Opoiti, Whakapunake and Tahaenui Limestones

authors: Drinnan, Michele Maree

subjects: limestone

abstract: The Opoiti, Whakapunake and Tahaenui Limestone formations (Opoitian to Waipipian; Pliocene) crop out extensively in northern Hawke’s Bay between Wairoa and Mahia Peninsula where they are encased within mudstone dominated Wairoa Formation. The limestones are shallow cool-water carbonates that formed about tectonically active antiform structures inboard from the convergent subduction plate margin along eastern North Island. Their coarse skeletal fraction is dominated by barnacle plates with common brachiopod, pectinid and oyster remains. The carbonate factory for prolific skeletal production was likely sited in shoal water (30-60 m deep), high energy conditions atop the antiforms, with deposition from carbonate shedding down the flanks of the antiforms and even into the bounding synforms.

The individual limestone units are laterally discontinuous and perceived as large lenses (up to c.3-4 km long by c.2 km wide). The enclosing thick mud-rich (M1-M4) to locally sandy (S1-S4) lithofacies, along with occasional volcaniclastic beds (V1), are here informally recorded as Wairoa Formation A, B, C or D, depending on their stratigraphic position with respect to the three limestone units.

Stratigraphic logging of sections at Nuhaka (Tahaenui/Clonkeen), Mt Moumoukai and on Mahia Peninsula established 12 sedimentary lithofacies based on field texture and composition, namely limestones (L1-L3), sandstones (S1-S4), mudstones (M1-M4), and a volcaniclastite (V1). The lithofacies discriminate well on triangular plots involving carbonate content and insoluble sand, silt and clay grain sizes and typically show vertical similarities between field sites for each limestone, suggestive of similar depositional patterns and controls operating at the different localities.

Opoiti Limestone occurs on Mahia Peninsula and Mt Moumoukai as a bedded, c.30 m thick, moderately dipping (25° W), siliciclastic sand-rich unit with common brachiopods and mudstone clasts (L1, L2, L3) that unconformably overlies late Miocene mudstone (M1). Petrography ranges from a sandy biomicrite to a variably sandy, poorly washed rounded biosparite or bioclastic arenite in which interskeletal space is occupied mainly by microbioclastic micrite with some isopachous sparite. Carbonate content is up to c.75%; siliciclastic grains range from very fine to fine sand size. The Opoiti Limestone is likely a transgressive event deposit (TST), fining upwards into sandstone and mudstone (HST) of Wairoa Formation B, and largely under tectonic control.

Whakapunake Limestone within the field area is restricted to the west coast of Mahia Peninsula where it is c.40 m thick and comprises limestone (L3) units (10- 100 cm thick) interbedded with unique mudclast-bearing shelly sandstone (S4) units (20-100 cm thick). These couplets may be related to storm emplacements although their origin, and that of the mudclasts, remains problematic. The elongated mudclasts possibly mark the positions of original Skolithos/Ophiomorpha-like burrows that have been later modified by seismic shaking. No lower contact was observed. Upwards, the limestone grades via interbeds into shelly sandstone (S2) and mudstone (M1). Petrography ranges from packed biomicrites to poorly washed biosparites, while the sandstone interbeds are typically muddy bioclastic arenites. Cements are isopachous sparite rims and microbioclastic micrite with common siliciclasts. Carbonate contents range up to c.70% with the siliciclastic grains being of medium silt and fine sand size. The Whakapunake Limestone is likely a transgressive deposit (TST) fining upwards into shelly sandstone (TST/HST) of Wairoa Formation C, again overall tectonically driven but with possible superimposed eustatic sea level changes.

Tahaenui Limestone (L1, L3) occurs in discrete outcrops (10-30 m thick) across the full area. At Nuhaka, it unconformably overlies late Miocene mudstone (M1), while the upper contact grades into shelly sandstone (S2). At Moumoukai, it unconformably onlaps the Opoiti Limestone. It is dominated by coarse barnacle plates with interparticle isopachous sparite rims and microbioclastic micrite. Petrographically the limestone ranges from rounded biosparite to packed biomicrite. Carbonate content is up to 90%, with the siliciclastic grains being of fine-medium silt and fine sand size. The Tahaenui Limestone is overall a transgressive deposit (TST) fining upwards into shelly sandstone and mudstone (HST) of Wairoa Formation D, largely under tectonic control.

The Pliocene limestones are economically important as potential subsurface petroleum reservoirs, as a lime resource for agricultural use and as a hard stone source for aggregate. Recommendations of the immediate economic potential for development include local aggregate and fertiliser sources from the Tahaenui Limestone at Nuhaka and Mahia.

text: Stratigraphy and sedimentology of Pliocene limestones in northern Hawke's Bay: The Opoiti, Whakapunake and Tahaenui Limestones The Opoiti, Whakapunake and Tahaenui Limestone formations (Opoitian to Waipipian; Pliocene) crop out extensively in northern Hawke’s Bay between Wairoa and Mahia Peninsula where they are encased within mudstone dominated Wairoa Formation. The limestones are shallow cool-water carbonates that formed about tectonically active antiform structures inboard from the convergent subduction plate margin along eastern North Island. Their coarse skeletal fraction is dominated by barnacle plates with common brachiopod, pectinid and oyster remains. The carbonate factory for prolific skeletal production was likely sited in shoal water (30-60 m deep), high energy conditions atop the antiforms, with deposition from carbonate shedding down the flanks of the antiforms and even into the bounding synforms.

The individual limestone units are laterally discontinuous and perceived as large lenses (up to c.3-4 km long by c.2 km wide). The enclosing thick mud-rich (M1-M4) to locally sandy (S1-S4) lithofacies, along with occasional volcaniclastic beds (V1), are here informally recorded as Wairoa Formation A, B, C or D, depending on their stratigraphic position with respect to the three limestone units.

Stratigraphic logging of sections at Nuhaka (Tahaenui/Clonkeen), Mt Moumoukai and on Mahia Peninsula established 12 sedimentary lithofacies based on field texture and composition, namely limestones (L1-L3), sandstones (S1-S4), mudstones (M1-M4), and a volcaniclastite (V1). The lithofacies discriminate well on triangular plots involving carbonate content and insoluble sand, silt and clay grain sizes and typically show vertical similarities between field sites for each limestone, suggestive of similar depositional patterns and controls operating at the different localities.

Opoiti Limestone occurs on Mahia Peninsula and Mt Moumoukai as a bedded, c.30 m thick, moderately dipping (25° W), siliciclastic sand-rich unit with common brachiopods and mudstone clasts (L1, L2, L3) that unconformably overlies late Miocene mudstone (M1). Petrography ranges from a sandy biomicrite to a variably sandy, poorly washed rounded biosparite or bioclastic arenite in which interskeletal space is occupied mainly by microbioclastic micrite with some isopachous sparite. Carbonate content is up to c.75%; siliciclastic grains range from very fine to fine sand size. The Opoiti Limestone is likely a transgressive event deposit (TST), fining upwards into sandstone and mudstone (HST) of Wairoa Formation B, and largely under tectonic control.

Whakapunake Limestone within the field area is restricted to the west coast of Mahia Peninsula where it is c.40 m thick and comprises limestone (L3) units (10- 100 cm thick) interbedded with unique mudclast-bearing shelly sandstone (S4) units (20-100 cm thick). These couplets may be related to storm emplacements although their origin, and that of the mudclasts, remains problematic. The elongated mudclasts possibly mark the positions of original Skolithos/Ophiomorpha-like burrows that have been later modified by seismic shaking. No lower contact was observed. Upwards, the limestone grades via interbeds into shelly sandstone (S2) and mudstone (M1). Petrography ranges from packed biomicrites to poorly washed biosparites, while the sandstone interbeds are typically muddy bioclastic arenites. Cements are isopachous sparite rims and microbioclastic micrite with common siliciclasts. Carbonate contents range up to c.70% with the siliciclastic grains being of medium silt and fine sand size. The Whakapunake Limestone is likely a transgressive deposit (TST) fining upwards into shelly sandstone (TST/HST) of Wairoa Formation C, again overall tectonically driven but with possible superimposed eustatic sea level changes.

Tahaenui Limestone (L1, L3) occurs in discrete outcrops (10-30 m thick) across the full area. At Nuhaka, it unconformably overlies late Miocene mudstone (M1), while the upper contact grades into shelly sandstone (S2). At Moumoukai, it unconformably onlaps the Opoiti Limestone. It is dominated by coarse barnacle plates with interparticle isopachous sparite rims and microbioclastic micrite. Petrographically the limestone ranges from rounded biosparite to packed biomicrite. Carbonate content is up to 90%, with the siliciclastic grains being of fine-medium silt and fine sand size. The Tahaenui Limestone is overall a transgressive deposit (TST) fining upwards into shelly sandstone and mudstone (HST) of Wairoa Formation D, largely under tectonic control.

The Pliocene limestones are economically important as potential subsurface petroleum reservoirs, as a lime resource for agricultural use and as a hard stone source for aggregate. Recommendations of the immediate economic potential for development include local aggregate and fertiliser sources from the Tahaenui Limestone at Nuhaka and Mahia.

year: 2011

title: Youth Development Circles: A Report on a School Trial

authors: Hannah, Belinda Anne

subjects: Youth Development Circles

abstract: This research traces the development and trial of the Youth Development Circle (YDC) process in a low decile secondary school in a rural community in Aotearoa New Zealand. Youth Development Circles are an intervention based on restorative justice principles initially proposed by Braithwaite (2004). They were originally suggested as a strategy for use in an alternative education centre or “activity centre”.  Increasing use of restorative approaches has enabled many schools to make significant progress in reducing suspensions, but there remains a concern for students whose behaviour is at the more serious end of the spectrum - who are at risk of suspension, or exclusion, after multiple stand-downs from school.  The possibilities for the use of YDC were proposed to the school by the researcher, who is a Deputy Principal responsible for behaviour management and pastoral care.  This proposal was supported fully by the school’s staff and Board of Trustees.  The YDC process documented in this study was developed by the researcher, informed by a range of sources including Youth Development Circles, Judge McElrea’s proposed School Community Conference (1996), and Hui Whakatika, developed at the University of Waikato (2003).  Participation in the circles was a condition for the student to remain at the school. The school is a state school, with a roll of approximately 800. The ethnic breakdown of the students is 56% Māori and 39% NZ European with 5% of Pasifika, Asian and other.  

The YDC is a deliberate and careful process which aims to bring increased focus on the individual student and their educational outcomes, through engaging a community of care in supporting them. There were many anticipated benefits of the YDC for the student. Such benefits included an opportunity to establish and maintain healthy relationships of trust (within which negative experiences can be learned from), a re-establishment of trust, improved self-confidence and improved educational outcomes. The circles included members of the student’s whānau/family, a kaumātua/elder who cared about them, and representatives from local Police, Social Welfare, and the school.  The circles were studied over a period of one year.  Circles met regularly throughout this time, at increasing intervals.

A mixed method case study approach was used for this research which includes the collection of both quantitative and qualitative data. The study evaluated the effectiveness of the YDCs by analysing student behaviour, attendance and achievement KAMAR data, minutes of each circle meeting, and interviews with circle participants.


Three student case studies are presented.  The stories have had details altered and pseudonyms used to protect the persons involved. All the students completed the academic year without receiving a further stand down or suspension.  The data showed an improvement in student attendance, achievement and engagement in all three case studies.  Other outcomes include reflections on the process used, strategies for implementation in the school, and factors that either hindered or supported student, family or community involvement in YDCs. 

This exploratory study suggests that the Youth Development Circle could offer a unique possibility for inter-sectorial collaboration in the field of restorative justice.

text: Youth Development Circles: A Report on a School Trial This research traces the development and trial of the Youth Development Circle (YDC) process in a low decile secondary school in a rural community in Aotearoa New Zealand. Youth Development Circles are an intervention based on restorative justice principles initially proposed by Braithwaite (2004). They were originally suggested as a strategy for use in an alternative education centre or “activity centre”.  Increasing use of restorative approaches has enabled many schools to make significant progress in reducing suspensions, but there remains a concern for students whose behaviour is at the more serious end of the spectrum - who are at risk of suspension, or exclusion, after multiple stand-downs from school.  The possibilities for the use of YDC were proposed to the school by the researcher, who is a Deputy Principal responsible for behaviour management and pastoral care.  This proposal was supported fully by the school’s staff and Board of Trustees.  The YDC process documented in this study was developed by the researcher, informed by a range of sources including Youth Development Circles, Judge McElrea’s proposed School Community Conference (1996), and Hui Whakatika, developed at the University of Waikato (2003).  Participation in the circles was a condition for the student to remain at the school. The school is a state school, with a roll of approximately 800. The ethnic breakdown of the students is 56% Māori and 39% NZ European with 5% of Pasifika, Asian and other.  

The YDC is a deliberate and careful process which aims to bring increased focus on the individual student and their educational outcomes, through engaging a community of care in supporting them. There were many anticipated benefits of the YDC for the student. Such benefits included an opportunity to establish and maintain healthy relationships of trust (within which negative experiences can be learned from), a re-establishment of trust, improved self-confidence and improved educational outcomes. The circles included members of the student’s whānau/family, a kaumātua/elder who cared about them, and representatives from local Police, Social Welfare, and the school.  The circles were studied over a period of one year.  Circles met regularly throughout this time, at increasing intervals.

A mixed method case study approach was used for this research which includes the collection of both quantitative and qualitative data. The study evaluated the effectiveness of the YDCs by analysing student behaviour, attendance and achievement KAMAR data, minutes of each circle meeting, and interviews with circle participants.


Three student case studies are presented.  The stories have had details altered and pseudonyms used to protect the persons involved. All the students completed the academic year without receiving a further stand down or suspension.  The data showed an improvement in student attendance, achievement and engagement in all three case studies.  Other outcomes include reflections on the process used, strategies for implementation in the school, and factors that either hindered or supported student, family or community involvement in YDCs. 

This exploratory study suggests that the Youth Development Circle could offer a unique possibility for inter-sectorial collaboration in the field of restorative justice.

year: 2015