title: There must be a better way - The case against the New Zealand Literacy Strategy and some examples of how we can help students who fall by the wayside

authors: Dymock, Susan

abstract: Literate cultural capital is a phrase used to describe the literacy knowledge and skills children have on school entry (Prochnow, Tunmer & Arrow, 2015; Tunmer & Nicholson, 2011). Literacy knowledge and skills include oral language, vocabulary, an awareness of how books operate, letter name knowledge, letter sound knowledge, phonological awareness, and invented spelling (Prochnow, Tunmer & Arrow, 2015). Children who commence school with a good level of literate cultural capital are advantaged and are more likely to develop age-appropriate reading skills as they progress through school compared to children who commence school with little literate cultural capital.

text: There must be a better way - The case against the New Zealand Literacy Strategy and some examples of how we can help students who fall by the wayside Literate cultural capital is a phrase used to describe the literacy knowledge and skills children have on school entry (Prochnow, Tunmer & Arrow, 2015; Tunmer & Nicholson, 2011). Literacy knowledge and skills include oral language, vocabulary, an awareness of how books operate, letter name knowledge, letter sound knowledge, phonological awareness, and invented spelling (Prochnow, Tunmer & Arrow, 2015). Children who commence school with a good level of literate cultural capital are advantaged and are more likely to develop age-appropriate reading skills as they progress through school compared to children who commence school with little literate cultural capital.

year: 2017

title: Determining Canopy Vigour in G3 Kiwifruit using Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems

authors: Hull, Graham George

subjects: GIS

abstract: Consumers are increasingly demanding that food producers justify their use of water, fertiliser and agrichemicals. Placing the right inputs, in the right place, at the right time, is sometimes called “Precision Agriculture”. However, the adoption of Precision Agriculture by New Zealand kiwifruit growers, has been constrained in part, by the cost and complexity of monitoring seasonal growth. Therefore, any new technology, that can simply and cost effectively measure canopy vigour in a timely way and relate that to fruit quality and production inputs, will ultimately help improve orchard gate returns and keep consumers happy. Using a multispectral camera and UAV (drone), this study monitored two, G3 kiwifruit orchards over three months. Canopy Chlorophyll Content, was found to be the best proxy for canopy vigour. The vegetation index, EVI2 on its own, explained 67% of the variability in canopy vigour. Adding orchard topography measures, extracted from LIDAR data using GIS software, increased the explanatory power of the best model to 85%. In many respects, remote sensing was found to be superior to historical measurement methods. However, uptake by the kiwifruit industry is likely to be conditional on a better understanding of the relationship between canopy vigour, fruit quality and orchard gate returns. The significant correlations observed between orchard topography and canopy vigour, signal a need for closer integration of Geography and Agricultural Science disciplines, in future kiwifruit research.

text: Determining Canopy Vigour in G3 Kiwifruit using Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems Consumers are increasingly demanding that food producers justify their use of water, fertiliser and agrichemicals. Placing the right inputs, in the right place, at the right time, is sometimes called “Precision Agriculture”. However, the adoption of Precision Agriculture by New Zealand kiwifruit growers, has been constrained in part, by the cost and complexity of monitoring seasonal growth. Therefore, any new technology, that can simply and cost effectively measure canopy vigour in a timely way and relate that to fruit quality and production inputs, will ultimately help improve orchard gate returns and keep consumers happy. Using a multispectral camera and UAV (drone), this study monitored two, G3 kiwifruit orchards over three months. Canopy Chlorophyll Content, was found to be the best proxy for canopy vigour. The vegetation index, EVI2 on its own, explained 67% of the variability in canopy vigour. Adding orchard topography measures, extracted from LIDAR data using GIS software, increased the explanatory power of the best model to 85%. In many respects, remote sensing was found to be superior to historical measurement methods. However, uptake by the kiwifruit industry is likely to be conditional on a better understanding of the relationship between canopy vigour, fruit quality and orchard gate returns. The significant correlations observed between orchard topography and canopy vigour, signal a need for closer integration of Geography and Agricultural Science disciplines, in future kiwifruit research.

year: 2017

title: Te Nahi o Te Taniwha: Teeth of the Taniwha

authors: Rout, Matthew

abstract: This report outlines the scope of the project He oranga whānau: mahi ngātahi Whānau livelihoods within the context of work and Māori economies of wellbeing, which has been funded by Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga—the New Zealand Māori Centre of Research Excellence. Its purpose is to set the direction and design for the research project. To say the creation of such economies will be a complex task is an understatement. Three factors make this task a ‘wicked problem’.

text: Te Nahi o Te Taniwha: Teeth of the Taniwha This report outlines the scope of the project He oranga whānau: mahi ngātahi Whānau livelihoods within the context of work and Māori economies of wellbeing, which has been funded by Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga—the New Zealand Māori Centre of Research Excellence. Its purpose is to set the direction and design for the research project. To say the creation of such economies will be a complex task is an understatement. Three factors make this task a ‘wicked problem’.

year: 2022