Thinking aloud: exploring assumptions about Mātauranga Māori.

This research project calls on King Tāwhiao’s miro analogy involving pango (black), mā (white) and whero (red) and where ideas are woven together to form a whāriki (flax mat) of teaching and learning concerns for pouako (teachers) and tauira (students). I have woven the stories of myself (pango), a Pākēhā colleague (mā), and our joint conversations (whero) into a discussion about current education. The project also reviews literature about Mātauranga Māori¹ in schools. This research addresses questions about key principles that makes Mātauranga Māori effective in the classrooms, the effectiveness of the teaching systems, and the factors that effect the achievement (and under-achievement) of Māori tauira. I followed Coates’ (1991) example and wrote an autobiography that explored my early learning and my life as a scholar and as an educator. I shared my autobiographical writing with a Pākēhā pouako colleague who has had her own personal experiences in education and an upbringing in an environment which is totally different to mine. I report on some important discussions that arose when we shared our experiences with one another and talked about our views on teaching and learning systems. This research suggests that when Mātauranga Māori is effective, it has a positive impact on the engagement of all Māori and Pākēhā tauira. Schools implementing a Mātauranga Māori approach need to examine the quality of the teaching systems and relationships within their schools and also with their whānau and hāpori (community) as these will have an important impact on the tauira, involving their experiences of whanāūngatanga² (belonging). The school’s principles, values and knowledge involving personnel and student relationships will shape the kind of environment where achievement can eventually grow. According to McAdam & Lang (2003), “The school is at the heart of the future of the community. It is the schools where tauira grow in knowledge, morality, their abilities to relate to others, their concepts of community and the ability to live life to the full. It is in the schools that the future of our societies gains formation and direction” (p. 50), and it is schools that are the core of this research study. But schools are also about people, primarily tauira, pouako, and those who carry out professional roles to assist with the dynamic functions of schools. This study considers two such professionals whose cultures are different, but whose philosophies about knowledge generally and Mātauranga Māori, are compatible. FOOTNOTES: Throughout this writing I have chosen to include footnotes that explain my understanding of the terms and stories I use. This strategy allows me to ‘turn up the volume’ (see p. 18 below) of my voice. I have also used italics to identify Maori words. ¹Mātauranga Māori: Māori education programmes happening (and also not happening) especially in mainstream schools. For Mātauranga Māori to succeed in schools, there must be good understanding and commitment by everyone involved in the education process – pouako, management, governance, parents, communities and government bureaucrats. ² Whānāūngatanga system: It indicates a sense of belonging and relating to others within a context of collective identity and responsibility. It is a living entity reaching across all contexts of Māoridom (Macfarlane et al, 2007)

The SARS-coronavirus-host interactome

Coronaviruses (CoVs) are important human and animal pathogens that induce fatal respiratory, gastrointestinal and neurological disease. The outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2002/2003 has demonstrated human vulnerability to (Coronavirus) CoV epidemics. Neither vaccines nor therapeutics are available against human and animal CoVs. Knowledge of host cell proteins that take part in pivotal virus-host interactions could define broad-spectrum antiviral targets. In this study, we used a systems biology approach employing a genome-wide yeast-two hybrid interaction screen to identify immunopilins (PPIA, PPIB, PPIH, PPIG, FKBP1A, FKBP1B) as interaction partners of the CoV non-structural protein 1 (Nsp1). These molecules modulate the Calcineurin/NFAT pathway that plays an important role in immune cell activation. Overexpression of NSP1 and infection with live SARS-CoV strongly increased signalling through the Calcineurin/NFAT pathway and enhanced the induction of interleukin 2, compatible with late-stage immunopathogenicity and long-term cytokine dysregulation as observed in severe SARS cases. Conversely, inhibition of cyclophilins by cyclosporine A (CspA) blocked the replication of CoVs of all genera, including SARS-CoV, human CoV-229E and -NL-63, feline CoV, as well as avian infectious bronchitis virus. Non-immunosuppressive derivatives of CspA might serve as broad-range CoV inhibitors applicable against emerging CoVs as well as ubiquitous pathogens of humans and livestock

The Soft X-ray Imager (SXI) on the SMILE Mission

The Soft X-ray Imager (SXI) is part of the scientific payload of the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) mission. SMILE is a joint science mission between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and is due for launch in 2025. SXI is a compact X-ray telescope with a wide field-of-view (FOV) capable of encompassing large portions of Earth’s magnetosphere from the vantage point of the SMILE orbit. SXI is sensitive to the soft X-rays produced by the Solar Wind Charge eXchange (SWCX) process produced when heavy ions of solar wind origin interact with neutral particles in Earth’s exosphere. SWCX provides a mechanism for boundary detection within the magnetosphere, such as the position of Earth’s magnetopause, because the solar wind heavy ions have a very low density in regions of closed magnetic field lines. The sensitivity of the SXI is such that it can potentially track movements of the magnetopause on timescales of a few minutes and the orbit of SMILE will enable such movements to be tracked for segments lasting many hours. SXI is led by the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom (UK) with collaborating organisations on hardware, software and science support within the UK, Europe, China and the United States

The Soft X-ray Imager (SXI) on the SMILE Mission

The Soft X-ray Imager (SXI) is part of the scientific payload of the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) mission. SMILE is a joint science mission between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and is due for launch in 2025. SXI is a compact X-ray telescope with a wide field-of-view (FOV) capable of encompassing large portions of Earth’s magnetosphere from the vantage point of the SMILE orbit. SXI is sensitive to the soft X-rays produced by the Solar Wind Charge eXchange (SWCX) process produced when heavy ions of solar wind origin interact with neutral particles in Earth’s exosphere. SWCX provides a mechanism for boundary detection within the magnetosphere, such as the position of Earth’s magnetopause, because the solar wind heavy ions have a very low density in regions of closed magnetic field lines. The sensitivity of the SXI is such that it can potentially track movements of the magnetopause on timescales of a few minutes and the orbit of SMILE will enable such movements to be tracked for segments lasting many hours. SXI is led by the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom (UK) with collaborating organisations on hardware, software and science support within the UK, Europe, China and the United States