title: Systematics of New Zealand Pimelea (Thymelaeaceae)

authors: Squire, Talissa Suellen

subjects: Pimelea

abstract: Pimelea Banks and Sol. ex Gaertn. is a genus of shrubs, sub-shrubs and herbs belonging to the eudicot family Thymelaeaceae. First described 1769, the genus initially contained four species but has since grown to contain 126 species which are distributed around Australia, New Zealand and Lord Howe Island. New Zealand has 35 endemic Pimelea species, and numerous subspecies bringing the total to 51 taxa which are distributed across the North and South Islands, as well as offshore.
The most recent revision of the genus Pimelea was conducted by Colin Burrows throughout a series of five papers published from 2008 to 2011. Burrows (2011), as well as Motsi (2010), theorized that New Zealand’s Pimelea initially originated from Australia. Motsi (2010) went on to hypothesise that these species were monophyletic and that the diversity present occurred via speciation and radiation. The conclusions drawn by these two papers, however, have their limitations. Burrows (2011) based his solely on the morphology of species across New Zealand Pimelea, while Motsi (2010) only studied the molecular sequences of four New Zealand Pimelea species. Burrows, throughout a number of his papers, also studied the molecular systematics of Pimelea and attempted to organize its taxonomy but similarly only based his findings on morphological traits.
This project has four key aims, the first is to assemble and review the literature currently available about Pimelea and in particular, the New Zealand Pimelea. Due to the absence of previous research which considers both morphology and molecular phylogenetics of Pimelea, this project will include all New Zealand Pimelea taxa and will use both morphological traits and molecular analysis of the DNA sequence variation off the nuclear ribosomal inter transcriber spacer regions (ITS). Using these, this research intends to 1) test the classification of the genus sensu Burrows, 2) infer biogeographic relationships between Pimelea species within New Zealand and 3) infer the number of colonization events of Pimelea in New Zealand and hence test its monophyly.

text: Systematics of New Zealand Pimelea (Thymelaeaceae) Pimelea Banks and Sol. ex Gaertn. is a genus of shrubs, sub-shrubs and herbs belonging to the eudicot family Thymelaeaceae. First described 1769, the genus initially contained four species but has since grown to contain 126 species which are distributed around Australia, New Zealand and Lord Howe Island. New Zealand has 35 endemic Pimelea species, and numerous subspecies bringing the total to 51 taxa which are distributed across the North and South Islands, as well as offshore.
The most recent revision of the genus Pimelea was conducted by Colin Burrows throughout a series of five papers published from 2008 to 2011. Burrows (2011), as well as Motsi (2010), theorized that New Zealand’s Pimelea initially originated from Australia. Motsi (2010) went on to hypothesise that these species were monophyletic and that the diversity present occurred via speciation and radiation. The conclusions drawn by these two papers, however, have their limitations. Burrows (2011) based his solely on the morphology of species across New Zealand Pimelea, while Motsi (2010) only studied the molecular sequences of four New Zealand Pimelea species. Burrows, throughout a number of his papers, also studied the molecular systematics of Pimelea and attempted to organize its taxonomy but similarly only based his findings on morphological traits.
This project has four key aims, the first is to assemble and review the literature currently available about Pimelea and in particular, the New Zealand Pimelea. Due to the absence of previous research which considers both morphology and molecular phylogenetics of Pimelea, this project will include all New Zealand Pimelea taxa and will use both morphological traits and molecular analysis of the DNA sequence variation off the nuclear ribosomal inter transcriber spacer regions (ITS). Using these, this research intends to 1) test the classification of the genus sensu Burrows, 2) infer biogeographic relationships between Pimelea species within New Zealand and 3) infer the number of colonization events of Pimelea in New Zealand and hence test its monophyly.

year: 2016

title: ‘Economics with training wheels’: Using blogs in teaching and assessing introductory economics

authors: Cameron, Michael Patrick

subjects: assessment

abstract: Blogs provide a dynamic interactive medium for online discussion, consistent with communal constructivist pedagogy. The author of this article describes and evaluates a blog assignment used in the teaching and assessment of a small (40-60 students) introductory economics course. Using qualitative and quantitative data collected across four semesters, students participation in the blog assignment is found to be associated with student ability, gender, and student perceptions of the blog. Importantly, students with past economics experience do not appear to crowd out novice economics students. Student performance is positively associated with the quality of their blog participation after controlling for student ability, suggesting that a focus on quality of student engagement could further improve learning outcomes. Students generally report overall positive experiences with the blog assignment.

text: ‘Economics with training wheels’: Using blogs in teaching and assessing introductory economics Blogs provide a dynamic interactive medium for online discussion, consistent with communal constructivist pedagogy. The author of this article describes and evaluates a blog assignment used in the teaching and assessment of a small (40-60 students) introductory economics course. Using qualitative and quantitative data collected across four semesters, students participation in the blog assignment is found to be associated with student ability, gender, and student perceptions of the blog. Importantly, students with past economics experience do not appear to crowd out novice economics students. Student performance is positively associated with the quality of their blog participation after controlling for student ability, suggesting that a focus on quality of student engagement could further improve learning outcomes. Students generally report overall positive experiences with the blog assignment.

year: 2012

title: Pōwhiri process in mental health research

authors: McClintock, Kahu

subjects: indigenous mental health research

abstract: Within the health research context, indigenous people globally have a commitment to provide their own solutions. Māori, the indigenous people of Aotearoa (New Zealand) value the traditional Pōwhiri process of engagement and participation in mental health research. The practices and protocols within the Pōwhiri process (use in the Doctorate of Philosophy (2010) and Auckland University) are premised on the notion of respect and positive relationships between the tangata whenua (hosts or research participants) and manuwhiri (guests or researchers). This paper briefly describes the Pōwhiri process, which may be a model applicable to research with other indigenous cultures.

text: Pōwhiri process in mental health research Within the health research context, indigenous people globally have a commitment to provide their own solutions. Māori, the indigenous people of Aotearoa (New Zealand) value the traditional Pōwhiri process of engagement and participation in mental health research. The practices and protocols within the Pōwhiri process (use in the Doctorate of Philosophy (2010) and Auckland University) are premised on the notion of respect and positive relationships between the tangata whenua (hosts or research participants) and manuwhiri (guests or researchers). This paper briefly describes the Pōwhiri process, which may be a model applicable to research with other indigenous cultures.

year: 2010