title: Putting Sylvia in her place: history, geographical theory and the “New” Education

authors: Middleton, Sue

subjects: Sylvia Ashton-Warner

abstract: New Zealander Sylvia Ashton-Warner, a teacher in remote rural Mori schools in the 1940s-1950s, became internationally renowned as a novelist and educational theorist. Earlier commentators portrayed her educational theory as in conflict with those of her time and place, but recent studies conceptualise them as enabled by it. While space/place has often been considered the preserve of the geographer and time that of the historian, Henri Lefebvre and others suggest that: “these issues need to be thought together rather than separately” and that macro-, meso- and micro-levels of analysis be engaged simultaneously. The author traces how conceptual, linguistic, sensory and intellectual resources of the global “New Education” movement extended into the tiny bush-encircled Mori communities in which Sylvia taught and wrote in the 1940s-1950s and surfaced in her writing. The article zooms in and out between the “the immensity of the global” (the New Education, the Second World War) and “the intimately tiny” (her classroom and home). The “data” include Sylvia's non-fiction education texts and official documents of her time: school curricula, education policy documents, Ministerial and Inspectors' reports. What Lefebvre terms a “Rhythm analysis” of Ashton-Warner's educational writing shows intermingled pulses of domestic life, routines of educational bureaucracy, cycles of nature, and cataclysms of world events. It is important for historians to study “the where rather than just the when with location and landscape central parts of the analysis”.

text: Putting Sylvia in her place: history, geographical theory and the “New” Education New Zealander Sylvia Ashton-Warner, a teacher in remote rural Mori schools in the 1940s-1950s, became internationally renowned as a novelist and educational theorist. Earlier commentators portrayed her educational theory as in conflict with those of her time and place, but recent studies conceptualise them as enabled by it. While space/place has often been considered the preserve of the geographer and time that of the historian, Henri Lefebvre and others suggest that: “these issues need to be thought together rather than separately” and that macro-, meso- and micro-levels of analysis be engaged simultaneously. The author traces how conceptual, linguistic, sensory and intellectual resources of the global “New Education” movement extended into the tiny bush-encircled Mori communities in which Sylvia taught and wrote in the 1940s-1950s and surfaced in her writing. The article zooms in and out between the “the immensity of the global” (the New Education, the Second World War) and “the intimately tiny” (her classroom and home). The “data” include Sylvia's non-fiction education texts and official documents of her time: school curricula, education policy documents, Ministerial and Inspectors' reports. What Lefebvre terms a “Rhythm analysis” of Ashton-Warner's educational writing shows intermingled pulses of domestic life, routines of educational bureaucracy, cycles of nature, and cataclysms of world events. It is important for historians to study “the where rather than just the when with location and landscape central parts of the analysis”.

year: 2011

title: Applying Kaupapa Māori Processes to Documentary Film.

authors: Waititi, Kahurangi Rora

subjects: Maori documentary

abstract: This thesis explores the application of Kaupapa Māori processes to documentary filmmaking through practiced-led research. The need for this research came to light through the experience of witnessing unacceptable behaviour shown by film crews towards kaumātua who were attending the 2006 28th Māori Battalion Reunion. In reflecting on this experience and considering my own filming experience as a person with a Te Ao Māori background, the basis for this argument was conceived. This thesis argues that there are alternative ways in which filming can be conducted by considering processes that already exist within Māori practices and philosophies.          

This Thesis, therefore, investigates alternative processes of filming that have developed from a Kaupapa Māori perspective through practical filming experience.  An historical overview of the relationship between Māori, media and filming practices have been provided to give context to this discussion.  The application of Kaupapa Māori processes to film was considered through the use of Marae protocol and philosophies. The application of these concepts was supported by the creative research which was utilised by referencing specific examples. The reader is, therefore, instructed to refer to the DVD in the front of the thesis as referenced in the written text.

text: Applying Kaupapa Māori Processes to Documentary Film. This thesis explores the application of Kaupapa Māori processes to documentary filmmaking through practiced-led research. The need for this research came to light through the experience of witnessing unacceptable behaviour shown by film crews towards kaumātua who were attending the 2006 28th Māori Battalion Reunion. In reflecting on this experience and considering my own filming experience as a person with a Te Ao Māori background, the basis for this argument was conceived. This thesis argues that there are alternative ways in which filming can be conducted by considering processes that already exist within Māori practices and philosophies.          

This Thesis, therefore, investigates alternative processes of filming that have developed from a Kaupapa Māori perspective through practical filming experience.  An historical overview of the relationship between Māori, media and filming practices have been provided to give context to this discussion.  The application of Kaupapa Māori processes to film was considered through the use of Marae protocol and philosophies. The application of these concepts was supported by the creative research which was utilised by referencing specific examples. The reader is, therefore, instructed to refer to the DVD in the front of the thesis as referenced in the written text.

year: 2007

title: Driving while conversing: Cell phones that distract and passengers who react

authors: Charlton, Samuel G.

subjects: cell phone

abstract: The research systematically compared the driving performance and conversational patterns of drivers speaking with in-car passengers, hands-free cell phones, and remote passengers who could see the driver's current driving situation (via a window into a driving simulator). Driving performance suffered during cell phone and remote passenger conversations as compared with in-car passenger conversations and no-conversation controls in terms of their approach speeds, reaction times, and avoidance of road and traffic hazards. Of particular interest was the phenomenon of conversation suppression, the tendency for passengers to slow their rates of conversation as the driver approached a hazard. On some occasions these passengers also offered alerting comments, warning the driver of an approaching hazard. Neither conversation suppression nor alerting comments were present during cell phone conversations. Remote passengers displayed low levels of alerting comments and conversation suppression, but not enough to avoid negative effects on driving performance. The data suggested that conversation modulation was a key factor in maintaining driving performance and that seeing the road and traffic was not sufficient to produce it. A second experiment investigated whether a cell phone modified to emit warning tones could alleviate some of the adverse effects typically associated with cell phone conversations. The modified cell phone produced discourse patterns that were similar to passenger conversations and driving performance nearly as good as that of drivers who were not conversing. This latter finding supported the argument that conversation modulation is a key ingredient in avoiding adverse effects of conversations with drivers, rather than the physical presence of an in-car passenger.

text: Driving while conversing: Cell phones that distract and passengers who react The research systematically compared the driving performance and conversational patterns of drivers speaking with in-car passengers, hands-free cell phones, and remote passengers who could see the driver's current driving situation (via a window into a driving simulator). Driving performance suffered during cell phone and remote passenger conversations as compared with in-car passenger conversations and no-conversation controls in terms of their approach speeds, reaction times, and avoidance of road and traffic hazards. Of particular interest was the phenomenon of conversation suppression, the tendency for passengers to slow their rates of conversation as the driver approached a hazard. On some occasions these passengers also offered alerting comments, warning the driver of an approaching hazard. Neither conversation suppression nor alerting comments were present during cell phone conversations. Remote passengers displayed low levels of alerting comments and conversation suppression, but not enough to avoid negative effects on driving performance. The data suggested that conversation modulation was a key factor in maintaining driving performance and that seeing the road and traffic was not sufficient to produce it. A second experiment investigated whether a cell phone modified to emit warning tones could alleviate some of the adverse effects typically associated with cell phone conversations. The modified cell phone produced discourse patterns that were similar to passenger conversations and driving performance nearly as good as that of drivers who were not conversing. This latter finding supported the argument that conversation modulation is a key ingredient in avoiding adverse effects of conversations with drivers, rather than the physical presence of an in-car passenger.

year: 2009