A "God-forsaken" wilderness? : the effects of isolation on the development of rural religion in the Wanganui hinterland, 1880-c1920 : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Religious Studies at Massey University

Government policy after 1880 was to open up the Wanganui hinterland for settlement. Building of the Main Trunk railway greatly facilitated this. New villages sprang up along the route. Settlement was encouraged and yeomon farmers moved into the interior as land was allocated. Churches followed settlement. Most came from the Wanganui lowland area where "Wakefield" antecedents had bequeathed Anglican conservatism. Nevertheless, revivalist influence, and replication of English working-class chapel religion, ensured that hinterland townships gained strongly pro-active non-conformist churches. In reply to Government secular education, most churches operated Sabbath schools. Only the Catholics built their own primary schools. Inter-denominational competition for membership and competitive church-building created financial stress, with consequently poor remuneration for hard-worked pastors. There was little time to carry the Gospel out into the back-blocks. Primitive roading and scattered population were combined handicaps. Inability of churches to take advantage of the "Nelson System" and take the Bible into country schools, also meant that back-country children grew up without religious input from clergy or Sunday schools. Indications are that by the mid-1920's the churches had mostly lost the allegiance of a back-country generation. Improved communications had not improved congregations. Although the line was being held in the villages, the legendary, 'God-fearing pioneer' seems a rather chimerical figure. Whatever their beliefs, the back-blocks dwellers had reason to feel somewhat forsaken by their churches

Non-signalling energy use in the brain.

Energy use limits the information processing power of the brain. However, apart from the ATP used to power electrical signalling, a significant fraction of the brain's energy consumption is not directly related to information processing. The brain spends just under half of its energy on non-signalling processes, but it remains poorly understood which tasks are so energetically costly for the brain. We review existing experimental data on subcellular processes that may contribute to this non-signalling energy use, and provide modelling estimates, to try to assess the magnitude of their ATP consumption and consider how their changes in pathology may compromise neuronal function. As a main result, surprisingly little consensus exists on the energetic cost of actin treadmilling, with estimates ranging from < 1% of the brain's global energy budget up to one-half of neuronal energy use. Microtubule treadmilling and protein synthesis have been estimated to account for very small fractions of the brain's energy budget, whereas there is stronger evidence that lipid synthesis and mitochondrial proton leak are energetically expensive. Substantial further research is necessary to close these gaps in knowledge about the brain's energy-expensive non-signalling tasks

Pedagogic approaches to using technology for learning: literature review

This literature review is intended to address and support teaching qualifications and CPD through identifying new and emerging pedagogies; "determining what constitutes effective use of technology in teaching and learning; looking at new developments in teacher training qualifications to ensure that they are at the cutting edge of learning theory and classroom practice and making suggestions as to how teachers can continually update their skills." - Page 4

Integrating personal learning and working environments

This review paper part of a series of papers commissioned by the Institute for Employment Research at the University of Warwick under the title of 'Beyond Current Horizons – Working and Employment Challenge'. In turn, in forms part of a larger programme of work under the banner of Beyond Current Horizons that is being managed by FutureLab on behalf of the UK Department for Schools, Children and Families. The brief was to cover: - The main trends and issues in the area concerned; - Any possible discontinuities looking forward to 2025 and beyond; - Uncertainties and any big tensions; - Conclusions on what the key issues will be in the future and initial reflections on any general implications for education. Given the wide ranging nature of the brief, this paper largely confines itself to trends and issues in the UK, although where appropriate examples from other countries in Europe are introduced. We realise that in an age of growing globalisation the future of work and learning in the UK cannot be separated from developments elsewhere and that developments in other parts of the world may present a different momentum and trajectory from that in the UK. Thus, when reading this report, please bear in mind the limitations in our approach

Cartoon planet : micro-reflection through digital cartoons – a case study on teaching and learning with young people

Young learners of today tend to show little enthusiasm for formal schooling. This does not necessarily mean pupils are not interested in learning or developing new skills and competences. In fact, the opposite often happens in the informal settings they belong to. Finding ways of transferring pupil’s informal learning into the school setting is therefore important. This paper gives a brief overview on the development of informal learning activities to encourage young people’s active reflection on their informally acquired competencies through the use of web technologies. The researchers also explore the role of the teacher, and the need of a participatory learning environment in a less formal classroom. Reflections on the experiences and recommendations are also provided

Temporal properties of cerebellar-dependent memory consolidation

Classical conditioning of the nictitating membrane response in rabbits is a well defined model of cerebellar-dependent motor memory. This memory undergoes a period of consolidation after the training session, when it is sensitive to reversible inactivations of the cerebellar cortex, but not of the cerebellar nuclei, with the GABA(A) receptor agonist muscimol. Here, the temporal properties of this cerebellar cortex-dependent consolidation were examined using delayed infusions of muscimol in cortical lobule HVI. Cortical infusions delayed by 5 or 45 min after a conditioning session produced significant and very similar impairments of consolidation, but infusions delayed by 90 min produced little or no impairment. Behavioral measures indicate that the muscimol infusions produced significant effects after similar to30 min and they lasted for a few hours. So, over a time window beginning similar to1 hr after the end of the training session and closing 1 hr after that, intracortical activity is critical for consolidation of this motor memory

Pericyte-mediated regulation of capillary diameter: a component of neurovascular coupling in health and disease

Because regional blood flow increases in association with the increased metabolic demand generated by localised increases in neural activity, functional imaging researchers often assume that changes in blood flow are an accurate read-out of changes in underlying neural activity. An understanding of the mechanisms that link changes in neural activity to changes in blood flow is crucial for assessing the validity of this assumption, and for understanding the processes that can go wrong during disease states such as ischaemic stroke. Many studies have investigated the mechanisms of neurovascular regulation in arterioles but other evidence suggests that blood flow regulation can also occur in capillaries, because of the presence of contractile cells, pericytes, on the capillary wall. Here we review the evidence that pericytes can modulate capillary diameter in response to neuronal activity and assess the likely importance of neurovascular regulation at the capillary level for functional imaging experiments. We also discuss evidence suggesting that pericytes are particularly sensitive to damage during pathological insults such as ischaemia, Alzheimer’s disease and diabetic retinopathy, and consider the potential impact that pericyte dysfunction might have on the development of therapeutic interventions and on the interpretation of functional imaging data in these disorders

Cartoon planet: Micro-reflection through digital cartoons - a case study on teaching and learning with young people

The young learners of today tend to show little enthusiasm for formal schooling. This does not necessarily mean pupils are not interested in learning or developing new skills and competences. In fact, the opposite often happens in the informal settings they belong to. Finding ways of transferring pupil’s informal learning to the school setting is therefore important. This paper gives a brief overview on the development of informal learning activities to encourage young people’s active reflection on their informally acquired competencies through the use of web technologies. The researchers also explore the role of the teacher, and the need of a participatory learning environment in a less formal classroom. Reflections on the experiences and recommendations are also provided

Case Study Of Multiculturalism And Diversity In Art And Design Teaching And Learning In Selected Secondary Schools In Bulawayo

A ZBTE qualitative research into how Arts & Design as a subject is being handled in Zimbabwean schools.This ethnographic study was instituted to investigate how Art and Design teachers conceptualized and implemented the constructs of multiculturalism and diversity in art teaching. It also sought to explore how the constructs impacted on students' practice in studio art. Two art classes deemed multicultural in attributes such as gender, disability, ability, ethnicity, and social status of students, were purposively sampled and investigated. Data were collected qualitatively using in-depth interviews, document analyses arid participant observations. The study revealed that teachers are conscious of the multicultural nature of the student body and made deliberate efforts to be sensitive and responsive to this diversity. It emerged that the mentally handicapped students are potentially creative. Observations also pointed out that cultural backgrounds of students, gender, student abilities, and social backgrounds of students had the most significant influence on choice of curriculum content and methodology by teachers. The study recommended that individual teachers develop their own re-conceptualized theoretical models of multiculturalism and diversity in art teaching and learning that would help guide their classroom operations. Teachers also need to be fluent in a number of discrete cultures so as to address the needs of students from diverse cultures with diverse artistic experiences

Deconstructing Visual Imagery by the Mentally Retarded: Implications for Methodology Theory

A ZJER study on the developmental processes of mentally challenged children and the recommendations made to the Zimbabwe Educational System to develop and implement a learning curriculum that suits the children's mental abilities.This paper presents a deconstructive analysis of drawings by the mentally retarded children. It analyses the visual images for their symbolic meanings and significance to the young artists. Data were collected qualitatively using document analysis, observations and informal conversational interviews. The study revealed that the mentally retarded are potentially creative and go through the same universal developmental stages as their normal counterparts. Their configurations and symbol systems are perceptually diverse and individual. The study recommends use of instructional strategies tailored to suit the intellectual levels of the learners as well as other disabilities that normally characterize the mentally retarded. Implications for curriculum change are also suggested