Seismotectonic, structural, volcanologic, and geomorphic study of New Zealand; indigenous forest assessment in New Zealand; mapping, land use, and environmental studies in New Zealand, volume 2

The author has identified the following significant results. Ship detection via LANDSAT MSS data was demonstrated. In addition, information on ship size, orientation, and movement was obtained. Band 7 was used for the initial detection followed by confirmation on other MSS bands. Under low turbidity, as experienced in open seas, the detection of ships 100 m long was verified and detection of ships down to 30 m length theorized. High turbidity and sea state inhibit ship detection by decreasing S/N ratios. The radiance effect from snow of local slope angles and orientation was also studied. Higher radiance values and even overloading in three bands were recorded for the sun-facing slope. Local hot spots from solar reflection appear at several locations along transect D-C in Six Mile Creek Basin during September 1976

Development of remote sensing technology in New Zealand, part 1. Mapping land use and environmental studies in New Zealand, part 2. Indigenous forest assessment, part 3. Seismotectonic, structural, volcanologic and geomorphic study of New Zealand, part 4

The author has identified the following significant results. As part of the tape reformatting process, a simple coded picture output program was developed. This represents Pixel's radiance level by one of a 47 character set on a nonoverprinting line printer. It not only has aided in locating areas for the reformatting process, but has also formed the foundation for a supervised clustering package. This in turn has led to a simplistic but effective thematic mapping package

Development of remote sensing technology in New Zealand, part 1. Seismotectonic, structural, volcanologic and geomorphic study of New Zealand, part 2. Indigenous forest assessment, part 3. Mapping land use and environmental studies in New Zealand, part 4. New Zealand forest service LANDSAT projects, part 5. Vegetation map and landform map of Aupouri Peninsula, Northland, part 6. Geographical applications of LANDSAT mapping, part 7

The author has identified the following significant results. Inspection of pixels obtained from LANDSAT of New Zealand revealed that not only can ships and their wakes be detected, but that information on the size, state of motion, and direction of movement was inferred by calculating the total number of pixels occupied by the vessel and wake, the orientation of these pixels, and the sum of their radiance values above the background level. Computer enhanced images showing the Waimihia State Forest and much of Kaingaroa State Forest on 22 December 1975 were examined. Most major forest categories were distinguished on LANDSAT imagery. However, the LANDSAT imagery seemed to be most useful for updating and checking existing forest maps, rather than making new maps with many forest categories. Snow studies were performed using two basins: Six Mile Creek and Mt. Robert. The differences in radiance levels indicated that a greater areal snow cover in Six Mile Creek Basin with the effect of lower radiance values from vegetation/snow regions. A comparison of the two visible bands (MSS 4 and 5) demonstrate this difference for the two basins

Seismotectonic, structural, volcanologic, and geomorphic study of New Zealand; indigenous forest assessment in New Zealand; mapping, land use, and environmental studies in New Zealand, volume 1

The author has identified the following significant results. Results of the atmospheric extinction measurements show clearly the greater opacity of the atmosphere in MSS band 4 which is due to Rayleigh scattering. Atmospheric water vapor absorbs strongly in a wide region between 900 nm and 1000 nm, and this results in a consistently higher extinction coefficient than would otherwise be expected in MSS band 7. The short term fluctuations tend to be greater in band 7 than in the other bands, and this effect is probably due to variations of water vapor concentration in the instrument line of sight. These high extinction coefficients and short term fluctuations in band 7 were observed at Menindee which is in a semi-desert region in western New South Wales

Possible Jurassic age for part of Rakaia Terrane: implications for tectonic development of the Torlesse accretionary prism

Greywacke sandstone and argillite beds comprising Rakaia Terrane (Torlesse Complex) in mid Canterbury, South Island, New Zealand, are widely regarded as Late Triassic (Norian) in age based on the occurrence of Torlessia trace fossils, Monotis, and other taxa. This paleontological age assignment is tested using published 40Ar/39Ar mica and U-Pb zircon ages for these rocks and published and new zircon fission track (FT) ages. The youngest U-Pb zircon ages in the Rakaia Terrane rocks in mid Canterbury are Norian, whereas 10-20% of the 40Ar/39Ar muscovite ages are younger than Norian. Numerical modelling of these mica ages shows that they cannot have originated from partial thermal overprinting in the Torlesse prism if the thermal maximum was short-lived and early in the prism history (210-190 Ma), as commonly inferred for these rocks. The young component of mica ages could, however, be explained by extended residence (200-100 Ma) at 265-290deg.C in the prism. Early Jurassic (c. 189 Ma) zircon FT ages for sandstone beds from Arthur's Pass, the Rakaia valley, and the Hermitage (Mt Cook) are interpreted not to have experienced maximum temperatures above 210deg.C, and therefore cannot have been reduced as a result of partial annealing in the Torlesse prism. This is based on identification of a fossil Cretaceous, zircon FT, partial annealing zone in low-grade schists to the west, and the characteristics of the age data. The Early Jurassic zircon FT ages and the young component of 40Ar/39Ar mica ages are regarded therefore as detrital ages reflecting cooling in the source area, and constrain the maximum depositional age of parts of the Rakaia Terrane in mid Canterbury. The zircon FT data also show the initiation (c. 100 Ma) of marked and widespread Late Cretaceous cooling of Rakaia Terrane throughout Canterbury, which is attributed to uplift and erosion of inboard parts of the Torlesse prism due to continuing subduction accretion at its toe. The critical wedge concept is proposed as a new framework for investigating the development of the Torlesse Complex. The Rakaia Terrane may have formed the core of an accretionary wedge imbricated against the New Zealand margin during the Middle or Late Jurassic. Late Jurassic nonmarine sediments (e.g., Clent Hills Formation) accumulated upon the inner parts of the prism as it enlarged, emerged, and continued to be imbricated. Exhumation of Otago Schist from c. 135 Ma may mark the development of a balance (steady state) between sediments entering the prism at the toe and material exiting at the inboard margin. The enlargement of the area of exhumation to all of Canterbury from c. 100 Ma may reflect a dynamic response to widening of the prism through the accretion of Cretaceous sediments. The model of a dynamic critical wedge may help to explain the various expressions of the Rangitata Orogeny

Fine Motor Skills and Lexical Processing in Children and Adults

Children’s fine motor skills (FMS) link to cognitive development, however, research on their involvement in language processing, also with adults, is scarce. Lexical items are processed differently depending on the degree of sensorimotor information inherent in the words’ meanings, such as whether these imply a body-object interaction (BOI) or a body-part association (i.e., hand, arm, mouth, foot). Accordingly, three studies examined whether lexical processing was affected by FMS, BOIness, and body-part associations in children (study 1, n = 77) and adults (study 2, n = 80; study 3, n = 71). Analyses showed a differential link between FMS and lexical processing as a function of age. Whereas response latencies indicated that children’s FMS were associated with “hand” words, adults’ FMS linked to the broader concept of BOI. Findings have implications for shared activation theories positing that FMS support lexical processing

The effect of fine motor skills, handwriting, and typing on reading development

Discussions on the contribution of motor skills and processes to learning to read has a long history. Previous work is essentially divided into two separate strands, namely the contributions of fine motor skills (FMS) to reading and the influence of writing versus typing. In the current 2 2 3 mixed, single-blind, and randomly assigned experiment, we tested both strands together. A total of 87 children learned to decode pseudowords in either typing or writing conditions in which their FMS were either impaired or not. Decoding gains were measured at pretest, posttest, and followup, with FMS and working memory included as participant variable predictors. Findings indicated that FMS and working memory predicted decoding gains. Importantly, children performed best when typing if in the impaired FMS condition. Results have implications for motor representation theories of writing and for instruction of children with FMS impairments

The prospective kindergarten and elementary school teachers’ understanding of the ratio concept

Este artigo centra-se na compreensão que futuros educadores e professores dos primeiros anos de escolaridade evidenciam do conceito de razão. No estudo participaram 81 estudantes do 2º ano da Licenciatura em Educação Básica, de uma universidade portuguesa, aos quais foi aplicado um questionário, incidindo em quatro dimensões: significado de razão; usos do conceito de razão; representação simbólica de razão; e representações para explicação do conceito de razão. Em termos de resultados, as maiores frequências foram obtidas para a: ideia de razão como comparação/relação entre grandezas; crença em que o conceito de razão pode ser usado em contextos diversificados; crença em que pode ser representado através de operações envolvendo letras, números ou apenas os sinais das operações, quando é pedida a sua representação simbólica, e através de diagramas e representações gráficas, quando é solicitada a descrição da sua explicação. Estes resultados revelam fragilidades no conhecimento matemático dos estudantes, sobretudo no que se refere à definição do conceito de razão e às suas representações.This paper focuses on the prospective kindergarten and elementary school teachers’ understanding of the ratio concept. Eighty-one undergraduates preparing to become kindergarten and primary school teachers, in a Portuguese university, participated in the study. They answered to a questionnaire aiming at evaluating their understanding of the ratio concept based on four dimensions: meaning of ratio; use of the ratio concept; symbolic representations of ratio; and representations for explaining the ratio concept. As far as results are concerned, the highest frequencies were obtained for: the idea of ratio as a comparison/relationship between two magnitudes; the belief that this concept is used in several contexts; the belief that it can be represented through operations with letters, figures or operation signals, as in symbolic representations; and through diagrams and graphical representations, as in representations for explaining the ratio concept. The results show weaknesses in prospective teachers’ mathematical knowledge of ratio, namely with regard to its definition and representations.Este trabalho contou com o apoio de Fundos Nacionais através da FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia no âmbito do projecto PEst-OE/CED/UI1661/2014 do CIEd-UM.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio