The gown and the korowai: Maori doctoral students and the spatial organization of academic knowledge

This paper draws on 38 student interviews carried out in the course of the team research project Teaching and Learning in the Supervision of Māori Doctoral Students. Māori doctoral thesis work takes place in the intersections between the Māori (tribal) world of identifications and obligations, the organisational and epistemological configurations of academia, and the bureaucratic requirements of funding or employing bureaucracies. To explore how students accommodate cultural, academic and bureaucratic demands, we develop analytical tools combining three intellectual traditions: Māori educational theory, Bernstein’s sociology of the academy, and Lefebvre’s conceptual trilogy of perceived, conceived, and lived space

Supervision of Maori doctoral students: A descriptive report

This report follows up a previous paper that outlined the goals and plans of a research project that focused on both theoretical and cultural questions regarding the supervisory process for Māori doctoral students (McKinley, Grant, Middleton, Irwin, & Williams, 2007). The major goal of the project is to enhance understanding of the teaching and learning process of supervision for students and supervisors, particularly around issues of culture that arise in research methodologies and practices. This paper reports on the completed project by providing further operational background, design features, the nature of the student and supervisor samples and a summary of interview findings. The results show that there are indeed distinctive issues arising within the supervision of Māori doctoral students. Some of these are to do with both pleasures and challenges found in the supervision relationship, while others relate to the kinds of projects the students undertake. Many projects for example, push at the disciplinary boundaries of Western knowledge and are often rooted in a political desire to enhance the everyday lives of Māori. Yet others are connected to identity formation processes that concern many Māori during their years as doctoral students. A central message for supervisors from this work is that the supervision of Māori doctoral students may require unfamiliar forms of engagement but that these are likely to be deeply rewarding in many different ways

Multi-scale Investigation of Adhesive Bond Durability

Moisture durability is essential for wood composites, especially those used in building construction, where products are prone to weathering. The primary focus of this research was to determine if adhesive penetration into the cell wall has a positive influence on adhesive bond durability. To fully understand the measureable effects of adhesive penetration on moisture resistance, a multi-scale investigation was conducted. The study used bonded Douglas-fir lap-shear test specimens (6mm x 14 mm x 64 mm), varying in bonded surface cell type (earlywood vs. latewood) and adhesive type. The adhesives of interest were a low and high molecular weight phenol-formaldehyde (PF), a low molecular weight PF with added filler and extender, and a methylene diphenylene diisocyanate (MDI). Half of each group of test specimens was subjected to accelerated weathering and the rest remained dry. All samples were mechanically tested in lap-shear. During the test, Digital Image Correlation (DIC) was used to track displacements across the surface of the sample. The failure load, effective shear modulus, energy to failure, percent wood failure, failure mode, and DIC shear strain maps were used to evaluate the mechanical performance of the dry and weathered specimens. Smaller samples (2 mm x 2 mm x 10 mm) were cut from the previously tested lap-shear samples and scanned at the Advanced Photon Source (APS), Argonne National Laboratory, using micro-X-ray Computed Tomography (XCT). All adhesive types were previously tagged with iodine to increase contrast during the XCT scans. This technique gave high resolution (1.3 µm³/voxel), 3D images for which adhesive penetration was analyzed. Further, additional samples were cut from the previously scanned micro-XCT samples for nano-XCT scanning at the APS. The nano-XCT data gave a resolution of 60 nm³/voxel, allowing for detection of adhesive penetration into the cell substance and sub-micron cell features. Complementary analyses using Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray Fluorescence Microscopy (XFM) were used to confirm the presence of iodine in areas containing adhesive, and to further observe adhesive penetration into the cell substance. Statistical analysis showed two of the adhesive formulations had significant differences in mechanical properties after weathering. Weathering had a negative effect on the mechanical properties. DIC shear strain maps revealed that the same two adhesive formulations had more strain around the bonded interphase at the same applied load. Adhesive penetration into the cell substance was observed, but cannot be quantitatively compared between the four adhesives, due to inadequate image quality from nano-XCT and the low number of specimen replications. Overall, there was more effective adhesive penetration in the lower molecular weight adhesive and less shear strain calculated from the DIC macroweathered analysis. This indicated that adhesive penetration could have a positive influence on moisture durability, although the variability is too high to make a definite conclusion and there were not enough replicates to compare the amount of adhesive penetration into the cell wall.Keywords: adhesive, moisture, DIC, XC

Competitive champions versus cooperative advocates: Understanding advocates for evaluation

Abstract Background: Evaluation offers non-profit organizations an opportunity to improve their services, demonstrate achievements, and be accountable. The extant literature identifies individuals who can enhance the uptake of evaluation as evaluation champions. However, a paucity of detail is available regarding how to identify them and the support they require. Purpose: This research investigated the characteristics and motivations of evaluation champions and examined how they promoted and embedded evaluation in an organizational system. Setting: Australian human and social service non-profit organizations. Research design: Drawing upon the literature and social interdependence theory, the research took an interpretivist perspective to collaboratively generate knowledge about evaluation champions. The aim was to understand and develop a reconstruction of the characteristics of individuals. This article constitutes a component of a larger research project. Data Collection and Analysis: This research used purposive sampling to recruit champions working in Australian non-profit organizations, who were identified via descriptive criteria gleaned from a literature review. The research involved interviewing 17 champions, four of whom also participated in organizational case studies. Analysis of the semi-structured interviews and case studies generated information about the activities, strategies, motivations, and attributes of individuals who championed and advocated for evaluation. Findings: This article argues that evaluation advocates is a preferable descriptor when attempting to embed evaluation by cultivating mutually beneficial interactions and cooperative working relationships. This research defines evaluation advocates as individuals who motivate others and provide energy, interest, and enthusiasm by connecting evaluation with colleagues’ personal aspirations and the organizational goals to make judgements about effectiveness. This article includes a field guide to facilitate evaluation advocates’ identification, recruitment, support, and development

MICRO X-RAY COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY OF ADHESIVE BONDS IN WOOD

Micro X-ray computed tomography (XCT) is an emerging technology that has found many applications in biology and the study of materials. Synchrotron-based micro computed tomography has been adopted for the study of adhesive bonding in wood. This paper reviews recent developments of an integrated project that uses micro XCT to assist with modeling of adhesive bonds and to assess the role of cell wall penetration on moisture resistance.  The research includes study of: anatomical features of several commercially important wood species, penetration of three adhesive types into wood, moisture effects on bonding, and mechanical performance of bonds during XCT scanning

Emergency Items of the Governor: An Analysis of the 86th Legislature

The 2019 Capstone Scholars analyzed emergency items presented by Governor Greg Abbott at the start of the 86th legislative session. These emergency items include school finance reform and pay raises for teachers, property tax reform, mental health reform, school safety, and disaster relief. These emergency items are considered the most important to the legislature and to the state and are required to be addressed in the legislative session. Some of these emergency items are more controversial than others—disaster relief legislation followed a politically-smooth process while school finance and property tax reform remained in the spotlight throughout the session

Aplicación de programación de sensor de color con LEGO-Mindstorms NXT 2.0 para recrear un escenario simplista de detección de plaga

A hands-on assignment framed under the learning by project approach was assigned trying to offer an engaging theme for students from different Engineering undergraduate programs. Many concepts in Mechatronics were integrated in a very friendly way with LEGO-Mindstorms hardware. A vehicle concept to assist the plague detection in agriculture that was raised after project completion is proposed.Una tarea práctica diseñada bajo el enfoque de aprendizaje por proyecto tratando de ofrecer un tema motivador para estudiantes de diversos programas de pregrado de Ingeniería es profundizada. Diferentes conceptos de Mecatrónica se integraron se integraron de una manera muy amigable usando el equipo LEGO-Mindstorms. Como resultado del desarrollo de proyecto, se propone el concepto de un vehículo para ayudar en la detección de plaga en agricultura

Aplicación de programación de sensor de color con LEGO-Mindstorms NXT 2.0 para recrear un escenario simplista de detección de plaga

A hands-on assignment framed under the learning by project approach was assigned trying to offer an engaging theme for students from different Engineering undergraduate programs. Many concepts in Mechatronics were integrated in a very friendly way with LEGO-Mindstorms hardware. A vehicle concept to assist the plague detection in agriculture that was raised after project completion is proposed.Una tarea práctica diseñada bajo el enfoque de aprendizaje por proyecto tratando de ofrecer un tema motivador para estudiantes de diversos programas de pregrado de Ingeniería es profundizada. Diferentes conceptos de Mecatrónica se integraron se integraron de una manera muy amigable usando el equipo LEGO-Mindstorms. Como resultado del desarrollo de proyecto, se propone el concepto de un vehículo para ayudar en la detección de plaga en agricultura