Critical literacy as an approach to literary study in the multicultural, high-school classroom

As an approach to literary study, critical literacy is not a widespread practice in New Zealand secondary schools. This article draws on a major project on teaching literature in the multicultural classroom that take place over two years in 2008-2009. In it we report on a case study where a Year 13 English teacher designed and tested a novel English programme with a reputedly less able and culturally diverse group of final-year students entitled “13 English – Popular Culture”. In it, she guided her students through a range of reading tasks aimed at developing in her students an awareness of ways in which texts position readers to take up certain meanings and not others through the language used. Over the course of the programme, students moved from compliant readers to readers who were sensitized to the manipulative power of texts. They enjoyed being exposed to a variety of theme-related texts, especially when these empowered them by enabling them to deploy their own cultural resources in responding to and challenging the texts they encountered. Students needed careful scaffolding in respect of metalinguistic understanding in order to be able to discuss the specific ways in which language constructs meaning. Indeed, these students struggled with this aspect of a critical literacy approach. However, despite the fact that these students were engaged in high-stakes assessment at a higher level than in the previous year, all gained more NCEA credits than they had in Year 12

Keeping up with the 'digital natives': Integrating Web 2.0 technologies into classroom practice.

This report describes a self-study using an action research spiral of problem analysis, intervention design, trial, reflection and analysis. The main purpose of the study was to investigate and evaluate whether Web 2.0 technologies and, in particular, social software could be effectively integrated into a senior secondary English classroom. The methodology used in the study, while mainly qualitative, did include a degree of quantitative data-gathering. The study took place over two terms of the 2007 school year in a semi-rural school south of Auckland. My Year 12 English class of twenty-four students were participants in the study and I was the teacher-researcher. As part of the study the students responded to my 'blog' and created and maintained their own 'blogs'. These 'voices' are important threads in this narrative. Two of my colleagues acted as 'critical friends' in this process. During the study my own beliefs regarding new technology and the descriptor 'digital natives' were challenged. While the data collected and the interpretative analysis of it created further questions that need to be addressed, the findings indicate that there is a place for Web 2.0 technology and social software in English classrooms. The findings also show that in order for these applications to be integrated effectively, a number of issues need to be addressed. My recommendations as teacher-researcher at the 'chalk-face' attempting to keep up with the rapidly changing lives of our students concludes this report

Integrated optical technologies for analytical sensing

Recent diversification of the telecommunications industry has resulted in the adaptation of optical materials and their associated fabrication technologies for use in the bioanalytical sensor industry. Flame hydrolysis deposited (FHD) planar silica is one such material. Capable of producing high quality films for optical waveguides, the chemical inertness of the deposited silica makes it an ideal substrate from which to fabricate a biological fluorescence sensor. The aim of the work contained in this thesis was to utilise the FHD silica in optical - fluorescence sensors suitable for use at visible and in particular red wavelengths where several fluorophores can be excited, and background fluorescence from the silica is small. New technologies for producing waveguides have been evaluated in the context of their usefulness in optical sensors, with the intention of producing devices with as few fabrication steps as possible to reduce fabrication time and cost. The design, fabrication and testing of a number of sensor configurations is described, in which optical waveguides were interfaced with microfluidic chambers to provide excitation of a fiuorophore in solution. New waveguide fabrication technologies were used for the first time in sensor systems with integrated microfluidic circuits. Waveguides, written by electron beam densification were evaluated in terms of their performance in splitting an excitation signal into several different components, as would be appropriate for excitation of multiple microfluidic chambers - an 'array sensor'. Both Y-branch waveguides and multimode interference (MMI) splitters were successfully used to split the excitation signal. In addition to electron beam densification, UV irradiation at a wavelength of 157 nm was used to write waveguides in FHD silica. The application of a metal surface mask to define the waveguide structures is described. To allow sensitive detection and identification of fluorophores from FHD silica sensor chips, a single chamber device was successfully interfaced to a system to make time resolved fluorescence measurements, a technique known as time correlated single photon counting (TCSPC). The use of TCSPC allowed measurement of the decay time of the fluorescent dye, by which different fluorescent molecules could be identified, as well as the possibility of low concentration measurements. The research has allowed new technologies for creating waveguides in FHD silica to be adapted for sensing purposes, leading to a platform for creating devices in a number of different configurations

Winter distribution and size structure of Antarctic krill \u3cem\u3eEuphausia superba\u3c/em\u3e populations in-shore along the West Antarctic Peninsula

Antarctic krill Euphausia superba are a key component of food webs in the maritime West Antarctic Peninsula, and their life history is tied to the seasonal cycles of sea ice and primary production in the region. Previous work has shown a general in-shore migration of krill in winter in this region; however, the very near-shore has not often been sampled as part of these surveys. We investigated distribution, abundance, and size structure of krill in 3 fjordic bays along the peninsula, and in the adjacent Gerlache Strait area using vertically stratified MOCNESS net tows and ADCP acoustic biomass estimates. Krill abundance was high within bays, with net estimated densities exceeding 60 krill m-3, while acoustic estimates were an order of magnitude higher. Krill within bays were larger than krill in the Gerlache Strait. Within bays, krill aggregations were observed near the seafloor during the day with aggregations extending to the sediment interface, and exhibited diel vertical migration higher into the water column at night. We suggest these high winter krill abundances within fjords are indicative of an active seasonal migration by krill in the peninsula region. Potential drivers for such a migration include reduced advective losses and costs, and availability of sediment food resources within fjords. Seasonally near-shore krill may also affect stock and recruitment assessments and may have implications for managing the krill fishery in this area

Assessing the trophic ecology of Southern Ocean Myctophidae: the added value of DNA metabarcoding

Lanternfishes (Myctophidae) are key components of mesopelagic fish communities globally. In the Southern Ocean, incomplete information on myctophid diets limits our understanding of their energetics, interactions and wider ecosystem impact. Traditional microscopic methods of diet analysis have relatively coarse prey resolution and possible taxonomic and observer biases. DNA metabarcode sequencing promises higher taxonomic and temporal resolution, but uncertainty remains in comparing this is with microscopy-based analyses. Here, we applied 18S DNA metabarcode sequencing to stomach contents from twenty Electrona antarctica individuals which had previously been examined via microscopic analysis. Across all fish, crustacean and gastropod taxa dominated the prey identified via both methods, with broad agreement between methods on the relative abundance of different prey items. DNA metabarcode sequencing recovered greater taxonomic diversity and resolution, particularly for soft-bodied prey items and small crustaceans. DNA sequencing results also more clearly differentiated diet between individuals collected from different environments. Overall, our findings illustrate how DNA based methods are complementary to, and consistent with, traditional methods and can provide additional, high-resolution data on a range of trophic interactions

Applying hyperspectral imaging to continuous processing of pharmaceuticals

Introduction and objectives: In moving from batch to continuous manufacturing of pharmaceutical products, knowledge of all experimental variables is required to help control and achieve a stable system that yields a consistent product with the desired attributes. Spectroscopic tools are often used to provide point measurements at key points in the process. Here we demonstrate the applicability of Hyperspectral Imaging (HSI) to continuous nuclaetion processes. The objective of the work described here was to show how HSI can be used to monitor mixing processes by providing spatially discriminated near-infrared spectra, yielding vital process information that has only previously been estimated using simulation techniques such as computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Methods: Water (antisolvent) and an IPA/water mixture (solvent) containing dissolved paracetamol seed crystals were mixed in a tube by introducing the antisolvent jet at different flow rates, and the resulting mixing in the tube was imaged with an InnoSpec RedEye camera in the spectral range 950 to 1700 nm. Microscope images of the resultant crystals from each different flow rate were taken to confirm that differences in the final crystal product were observed. Machine learning techniques in the form of Support Vector Machine (SVM) analysis were used to analyse and automatically separate the spectral data of the solvent/antisolvent mix into the different components. Results: The antisolvent jet, which resulted in nucleation near the point of injection, could clearly be identified and therefore monitored after application of the SVM. Differences between different flow rates and concentrations were observed from the hyperspectral images obtained, and these differences carried through to the shape and size of the final crystals obtained. Conclusions: We have demonstrated the applicability of HSI and advanced data processing techniques to the monitoring of mixing dynamics, in particular those used in continuous pharmaceutical processing such as solvent/antisolvent crystallisation

Image-based monitoring for early detection of fouling in crystallisation processes

Fouling or encrustation is a significant problem in continuous crystallisation processes where crystal deposits at surfaces impede heat transfer, increase flow resistance and reduce product quality. This paper proposes an automatic algorithm to detect early stages of fouling using images of vessel surfaces from commodity cameras. Statistical analysis of the pixel intensity variation offers the ability to distinguish appearance of crystals in the bulk solution and on the crystalliser walls. This information is used to develop a fouling metric indicator and determine separately induction times for appearance of first crystals at the surfaces and in the bulk. A method to detect process state changes using Bayesian online change point detection is also proposed, where the first change point is used to determine induction time either at the surface or in the bulk, based on real-time online measurements without using any predetermined threshold which usually varies between experiments and depends on data acquisition equipment. This approach can be used for in situ monitoring of early signs of encrustation to allow early warning for corrective actions to be taken when operating continuous crystallisation processes