title: The Professional Practice of Teaching in New Zealand (6th Edition), edited by Mary F. Hill & Martin Thrupp [BOOK REVIEW]

authors: Wright, Noeline

subjects: teaching practice

abstract: The Sixth Edition of The Professional Practice of Teaching in New Zealand (Eds Mary F. Hill and Martin Thrupp) updates this long standing initial teacher education (ITE) text. It has a new look and the chapters convey a contemporary, inviting impression.

text: The Professional Practice of Teaching in New Zealand (6th Edition), edited by Mary F. Hill & Martin Thrupp [BOOK REVIEW] The Sixth Edition of The Professional Practice of Teaching in New Zealand (Eds Mary F. Hill and Martin Thrupp) updates this long standing initial teacher education (ITE) text. It has a new look and the chapters convey a contemporary, inviting impression.

year: 2020

title: Density and habitat dependent effects of crab burrows on sediment erodibility

authors: Needham, Hazel Rosemary

subjects: Annular flume

abstract: Despite biological interactions being highlighted as a key process in determining particle fluxes, relatively few studies have attempted to establish the links between burrow building bioturbators and sediment stability. The mud crab Austrohelice crassa, is a key burrowing species in New Zealand estuaries that has shown context-specific interactions with its environment. Here we use annular flumes to test if sediment stability and erodibility were altered as a function of A. crassa burrow density in two contrasting sediment types: a cohesive sandy-mud and a non-cohesive sand. Three burrow density treatments (n=3) reflecting the natural density range in each sediment type (sand; 0-100m-2, sandy-mud; 0-400m-2), were collected from the field and subjected to sequential increases in water flow velocity. Flow profiles were measured and bed shear stresses were calculated for each treatment. Increasing burrow density reduced the mass of sediment eroded at 0.35ms-1(ME-35, gm-2) in cohesive sandy-mud, while in non-cohesive sand a unimodal pattern was observed, whereby erosion rates were greatest at the lowest burrow density (19m-2). In the cohesive sediment, the linear decrease in erodibility with increasing burrow density was likely affected by the sluicing of fine particulates (silt-clay) from burrows when the tide was out creating both a smoothing and consolidating effect on the sediment surface. A reduction in flow velocity due to the increased presence of surficial pellets and greater trapping of bedload transported material was attributed to the reduction in the mass of sediment eroded in sand at high burrow densities. This study demonstrates that burrow builders influence sediment transport by more than just vertical particle mixing and highlights some of the complexities of small-scale sediment processes. Knowledge of different organism-sediment interactions among sediment types and spatial scales will enhance the accuracy of sediment transport models

text: Density and habitat dependent effects of crab burrows on sediment erodibility Despite biological interactions being highlighted as a key process in determining particle fluxes, relatively few studies have attempted to establish the links between burrow building bioturbators and sediment stability. The mud crab Austrohelice crassa, is a key burrowing species in New Zealand estuaries that has shown context-specific interactions with its environment. Here we use annular flumes to test if sediment stability and erodibility were altered as a function of A. crassa burrow density in two contrasting sediment types: a cohesive sandy-mud and a non-cohesive sand. Three burrow density treatments (n=3) reflecting the natural density range in each sediment type (sand; 0-100m-2, sandy-mud; 0-400m-2), were collected from the field and subjected to sequential increases in water flow velocity. Flow profiles were measured and bed shear stresses were calculated for each treatment. Increasing burrow density reduced the mass of sediment eroded at 0.35ms-1(ME-35, gm-2) in cohesive sandy-mud, while in non-cohesive sand a unimodal pattern was observed, whereby erosion rates were greatest at the lowest burrow density (19m-2). In the cohesive sediment, the linear decrease in erodibility with increasing burrow density was likely affected by the sluicing of fine particulates (silt-clay) from burrows when the tide was out creating both a smoothing and consolidating effect on the sediment surface. A reduction in flow velocity due to the increased presence of surficial pellets and greater trapping of bedload transported material was attributed to the reduction in the mass of sediment eroded in sand at high burrow densities. This study demonstrates that burrow builders influence sediment transport by more than just vertical particle mixing and highlights some of the complexities of small-scale sediment processes. Knowledge of different organism-sediment interactions among sediment types and spatial scales will enhance the accuracy of sediment transport models

year: 2013

title: Volunteering at the edge of chaos: A case study on the self-organising of younger volunteers during the Rena oil spill crisis

authors: Lockwood, Sarah Jane

subjects: volunteer

abstract: This thesis investigates the self-organising of younger volunteers during the 2011 Rena oil spill crisis in Aotearoa/New Zealand. It builds on emerging research that considers the relationships between volunteering and activism and focuses on the ways in which younger volunteers carved out a ‘volunteer-activist’ space for themselves on the edge of the formal crisis responses.  
The research adopts a case study approach and uses an interpretive lens to investigate three research questions: (1) How was volunteering conceptualised by younger volunteers involved in the Rena crisis?; (2) How did the generational dynamics of younger volunteers affect the various organising responses to the Rena event?; and, (3) How was self-organising conceptualised by younger volunteers involved in the Rena crisis?
The data comprised interviews with 53 participants, 38 of whom were classified as younger volunteers (16-29 years of age) and 15 who held positions of authority in the Rena crisis response and who had high levels of engagement with the younger volunteers. By examining the intersections and overlaps of self-organising, younger generations of volunteers, and crisis events through a social constructionist methodology combined with an interpretive lens and reflexive position, the thesis makes several theoretical and practical contributions.
At a theoretical level, the thesis challenges traditional crisis management approaches dominated by command and control, formal, or top down organisational structures and arrangements. The thesis demonstrates how, as active members of society, younger volunteers developed alternate forms of participation to strengthen crisis response. 
Power tensions between younger volunteers and crisis officials were grounded in a deep sense of frustration resulting from negative societal views toward younger generational cohorts and the structural workings of a risk society. By reconciling social and institutional grievances through self-organising, younger volunteers could take advantage of their marginalised position and enact self-reflexive responses in ways that were not readily available to them in everyday life. This sense of empowerment helped younger volunteers navigate the structural uncertainties they faced as they transitioned towards a competitive labour market and also to take greater control of their lives during a crisis.
From an Aotearoa/New Zealand, perspective, the thesis also provides insights into how younger Māori participants made sense of and enacted their ‘volunteer’ experience and how this experience was influenced by culturally embedded principles. Importantly, there appeared to be no generational differences between how younger and older Māori participants made sense of their ‘volunteer’ experience. Both groups were driven by collectivist orientations, which highlights the importance of contextualising culture in volunteer sector research. 
The social constructedness of the media technologies used by participants exposed broader power structures that existed within their generation-specific social worlds. To this end, media multiplexity showed how use of different communication technologies (1) supported the maintenance of relationships between participants and (2) was fundamental to the meaning participants attached to the different forms of technologies. These findings indicate the need to move away from the current literature’s focus on the tools of communication technologies used by younger people during crisis events, towards the meanings that exist behind the use of such technologies as well as the digital relationships fostered among volunteers. 
This thesis contributes to the scholarship on volunteering and activism by showing how self-organising emerged as an alternative form of activist—or activator—approach to volunteer participation within a crisis response. This approach enabled young volunteer-activators to move beyond their perceived sense of marginalisation and avoid those formal organisational forces that limit their sense of freedom and personal development. The result was an alternative crisis response of self-organised volunteering on the edge of chaos.

text: Volunteering at the edge of chaos: A case study on the self-organising of younger volunteers during the Rena oil spill crisis This thesis investigates the self-organising of younger volunteers during the 2011 Rena oil spill crisis in Aotearoa/New Zealand. It builds on emerging research that considers the relationships between volunteering and activism and focuses on the ways in which younger volunteers carved out a ‘volunteer-activist’ space for themselves on the edge of the formal crisis responses.  
The research adopts a case study approach and uses an interpretive lens to investigate three research questions: (1) How was volunteering conceptualised by younger volunteers involved in the Rena crisis?; (2) How did the generational dynamics of younger volunteers affect the various organising responses to the Rena event?; and, (3) How was self-organising conceptualised by younger volunteers involved in the Rena crisis?
The data comprised interviews with 53 participants, 38 of whom were classified as younger volunteers (16-29 years of age) and 15 who held positions of authority in the Rena crisis response and who had high levels of engagement with the younger volunteers. By examining the intersections and overlaps of self-organising, younger generations of volunteers, and crisis events through a social constructionist methodology combined with an interpretive lens and reflexive position, the thesis makes several theoretical and practical contributions.
At a theoretical level, the thesis challenges traditional crisis management approaches dominated by command and control, formal, or top down organisational structures and arrangements. The thesis demonstrates how, as active members of society, younger volunteers developed alternate forms of participation to strengthen crisis response. 
Power tensions between younger volunteers and crisis officials were grounded in a deep sense of frustration resulting from negative societal views toward younger generational cohorts and the structural workings of a risk society. By reconciling social and institutional grievances through self-organising, younger volunteers could take advantage of their marginalised position and enact self-reflexive responses in ways that were not readily available to them in everyday life. This sense of empowerment helped younger volunteers navigate the structural uncertainties they faced as they transitioned towards a competitive labour market and also to take greater control of their lives during a crisis.
From an Aotearoa/New Zealand, perspective, the thesis also provides insights into how younger Māori participants made sense of and enacted their ‘volunteer’ experience and how this experience was influenced by culturally embedded principles. Importantly, there appeared to be no generational differences between how younger and older Māori participants made sense of their ‘volunteer’ experience. Both groups were driven by collectivist orientations, which highlights the importance of contextualising culture in volunteer sector research. 
The social constructedness of the media technologies used by participants exposed broader power structures that existed within their generation-specific social worlds. To this end, media multiplexity showed how use of different communication technologies (1) supported the maintenance of relationships between participants and (2) was fundamental to the meaning participants attached to the different forms of technologies. These findings indicate the need to move away from the current literature’s focus on the tools of communication technologies used by younger people during crisis events, towards the meanings that exist behind the use of such technologies as well as the digital relationships fostered among volunteers. 
This thesis contributes to the scholarship on volunteering and activism by showing how self-organising emerged as an alternative form of activist—or activator—approach to volunteer participation within a crisis response. This approach enabled young volunteer-activators to move beyond their perceived sense of marginalisation and avoid those formal organisational forces that limit their sense of freedom and personal development. The result was an alternative crisis response of self-organised volunteering on the edge of chaos.

year: 2019