Spawning, egg development and recruitment of diadromous galaxiids in Taranaki, New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Ecology at Massey University

Spawning biology of Galaxias postvectis Clarke (shortjaw kokopu) was investigated in streams in northwest Taranaki, New Zealand. Most G. postvectis were found to spawn near their adult habitat on the river bank during spate flows between May 9 and 17, 2001. Other galaxiids captured appeared to begin spawning earlier in late April. Sixteen galaxiid nests were discovered amongst flooded areas, lying on or amongst the substrate, vegetation and debris on the banks of the Katikara Stream. Mitochondrial (mt) DNA sequences were used to identify these morphologically similar eggs, with 12 being identified as G. postvectis and four as G. fasciatus Gray (banded kokopu). Galaxias fasciatus nest sites had more vegetation and debris than G. postvectis nests. The presence of a backwater or pool, cover and gravel were found to be important characteristics associated with both species nests. Egg development took around three to four weeks on the Katikara Stream margins. Under experimental conditions, most G. postvectis and G. fasciatus eggs were found to hatch within the first hour of re-immersion in water, and more hatching occurred in moving than still water at warmer temperatures. In the Katikara Stream, eggs hatched and moved downstream only at times of increased water levels. MtDNA sequences were used to identify G. fasciatus, G. postvectis and G. brevipinnis Günther (koaro) larvae caught drifting downstream in May and June, 2001. From reproductive assessment of adults captured, developmental stage of eggs in nests found, and timing of emigrating larvae, G. fasciatus appeared to spawn earlier than G. brevipinnis, and both species spawned earlier than G. postvectis. Whitebait migrations were examined within the tidal influence and c. 40 km inland in two rivers in south Taranaki, one with a dam and one without. Whitebait catches were dominated by G. maculatus (Jenyns) (inanga) and catches appeared to be similar in both rivers. Large schools of whitebait were however seen below the Patea Dam from October onwards in the Patea River. No whitebait were found to surmount the dam using the elver pass. So the presence of a dam does not appear to affect whitebait recruitment within the tidal influence, however it does block whitebait migrating further upstream to adult habitat

Load stress; carrier strain: implications for military and receational backpacking

This paper reviews a growing literature on the stress of backpacking, particularly in military situations. Conceptual issues are raised and the implications for recreational backpackers are addressed. Under moderate to fairly heavy loading the energy cost, per kg total load carried, per hour, relates almost linearly to walking speed. Empirical data from studies in this unit are presented as benchmark indicators for use by recreational backpackers

Agency as dynamic and rhizomatic: An exploration of learner identities in two secondary classrooms

This thesis is premised on “a politics of becoming” (Gowlett, 2013, p. 149), a Deleuzo-Guattarian notion which speaks to social justice research. Rather than a focus on reductionist reformist politics, I explore moments of possibility as lines of flight that disrupt dominant discourses. As outlined in the New Zealand Curriculum, New Zealand schools are charged with the task of strengthening students’ key competencies (Ministry of Education, 2007a) to lay a foundation for lifelong learning. Learner agency is embedded in a dispositional view of these competencies but there is a paucity of research from a poststructural perspective in this area from New Zealand. Agency is also fundamental to a sociocultural conception of assessment for learning (AfL) where learners initiate, participate and contribute to learning in their classroom communities. Positioned in theoretical landscapes of socioculturalism and feminist poststructuralism, this study investigates agency through a rhizo-textual analysis in two year nine classrooms. The dynamic poststructural view of agency theorised in this thesis is derived from Judith Butler’s (1993) notion of performativity which precludes any prediscursive autonomous subject. Using data from episodes in two year nine classrooms I explore: how students engage as authoritative, active participants, authoring and directing their own actions in social activity within multiple discourses; how students move themselves from one set of culturally and socially structured subjectivities to another; and how agency can look, sound and feel in the discursive space of the classroom. In keeping with a rhizoanalytic approach, I construct plateaus of discourse based on episodes of classroom activity. These three short episodes of classroom discourse serve to illuminate the subjectivities in play. There are two forms of analysis used to construct these plateaus. Firstly, I conduct a discourse analysis of identity affordances and discourses to examine the nature of learner positioning. I then use rhizo-textual analysis (Honan & Sellers, 2006) to map the students’ and teachers’ moves in discourse and shifting subjectivities. The findings highlight how agency can appear as a rapid series of rhizomatic discourse moves that take place as students and teachers deterritorialize and reterritorialize discourses as they enact specific identities. They resonate with Davies’ (2000) observation that learners can accept, resist, subvert and change or ignore a range of discourse positions. The study also illustrates that what can appear to be ‘off-task’ behaviour can be also read as highly agentic. The dynamic and rhizomatic theory of agency proposed illustrates that learners can inhabit multiple subject positions across discourses as they respond to the interpellations of their teachers and peers. Rather than a performance where individuals act out roles as pre-discursive identities, students exercise performativity within and across classroom discourses as they are constituted agentically through their lines of flight. The research makes a methodological contribution through combining sociocultural and poststructural theories to explore the discursively constructed social and cultural environments of two classrooms. This is a deterritorializing move away from conventional sociocultural learning theory to incorporate an ecological (Boylan, 2010), rhizomatic view of classroom participation. This research has implications for how educators conceptualise learners’ identities and provide affordances for learners to initiate learning and take up agentic positions in classroom discourse. It also has implications for the ways in which the key competencies can be interpreted and strengthened in classrooms. Rather than ‘having’ agency to transfer competencies from one situation to the next, competencies are produced and enacted as learners shift subjectivities within and across discourses. The findings also offer students, teachers and policy makers insight into the learning dynamics of classrooms which embody the ‘spirit’ of AfL (Marshall & Drummond, 2006) where students can be afforded opportunities for lines of flight to initiate learning. Through being aware of learners’ rhizomatic moves, teachers may be able to notice, recognise and respond to learner initiatives more readily, and assist them to develop their capacity to be agentic learners

Sun, sea and sexual deviance: the British noir thriller of the long 1930s

My thanks to the Leverhulme Trust, with whose support this research was undertaken.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Wiley via http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/criq.1221

A phase III, multi-centre, double-masked randomised controlled trial of adjunctive intraocular and peri-ocular steroid (triamcinolone acetonide) versus standard treatment in eyes undergoing vitreoretinal surgery for open globe trauma (ASCOT): statistical analysis plan.

BACKGROUND: Open globe ocular trauma complicated by intraocular scarring (proliferative vitreoretinopathy) is a relatively rare, blinding, but potentially treatable condition for which, at present, surgery is often unsatisfactory and visual results frequently poor. To date, no pharmacological adjuncts to surgery have been proven to be effective. The aim of the Adjunctive Steroid Combination in Ocular Trauma (ASCOT) randomised controlled trial is to determine whether adjunctive steroid (triamcinolone acetonide), given at the time of surgery, can improve the outcome of vitreoretinal surgery in patients with open globe ocular trauma. This article presents the statistical analysis plan for the main publication as approved and signed off by the Trial Steering Committee prior to the first data extraction for the Data Monitoring Committee meeting report. METHODS/DESIGN: ASCOT is a pragmatic, multi-centre, parallel-group, double-masked randomised controlled trial. The aim of the study is to recruit from 20-25 centres in the United Kingdom and randomise 300 eyes (from 300 patients) into two treatment arms. Both groups will receive standard surgical treatment and care; the intervention arm will additionally receive a pre-operative steroid combination (triamcinolone acetonide) into the vitreous cavity consisting of 4 mg/0.1 ml and 40 mg/1 ml sub-Tenon's. Participants will be followed for 6 months post-surgery. The primary outcome is the proportion of patients achieving a clinically meaning improvement in visual acuity in the study eye at 6 months after initial surgery, defined as a 10 letter score improvement in the ETDRS (the standard scale to test visual acuity). TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN30012492 . Registered on 5 September 2014. EudraCT2014-002193-37 . Registered on 5 September 2014

Professional Learning on Steroids”: Implications for Teacher Learning Through Spatialised Practice in New Generation Learning Environments.

There is growing interest in innovative educational space design and the relationality of spatialised teaching practices. This paper addresses the characteristics of spatialised professional learning in newly redesigned or purpose built new generation learning environments (NGLE). The case study is situated within Aotearoa/New Zealand context, a country where there has been considerable policy focus and investment in NGLE. Data from principals who have established NGLE in their schooling settings is analysed, with consideration given to the preparation of teachers to take up spatialised practices. The study highlights key characteristics of spatialised PLD practice – fostering spatial literacy; professional cross-pollination; co-teaching and peer coaching; deprivatisation and bespoke professional learning design. The value of this research lies in its contribution to researchers and practitioners in the schooling sector as they consider approaches to professional learning in NGLE

Dimensions of Agency in New Generation Learning Spaces: Developing Assessment Capability

In new generation schooling contexts, the interaction of human activity, space, and objects, co- produce spatialised practices. There is the fluid use and continuous re-design of learning spaces, where dynamic socio-material practices support the ongoing and negotiated development of curriculum, pedagogy and assessment. Links are forged in this article between spatialised practice and student agency. In Aotearoa/New Zealand there is a national policy impetus for all schools to move towards re-designed learning spaces. School leaders are challenged with a mandate to lead pedagogic change to develop assessment capability, in alignment with the redesign of education facilities. Informed by theories of space, the case study research investigates how school leaders conceptualise student agency within flexible learning spaces. School leader interview data are used to generate dimensions of socio-material agency with consideration given to practice. Assessment practices in flexible learning spaces can enable ‘dialogic’, ‘curriculum’, and ‘spatial’ dimensions of agency. Pedagogical practices that support agency in flexible learning spaces are a focal area for ongoing investigation

\u27Nobody is Watching but Everything I do is Measured\u27: Teacher Accountability, Learner Agency and the Crisis of Control.

It is widely acknowledged that there is systemic pressure on teachers to enact assessment practices that raise student achievement. In this article assessment related discourses that influence teacher and student classroom practices are examined in relation to initial teacher education. In Australia, preservice teachers (PSTs) are required to demonstrate assessment capability, promote student agency and monitor their practice impact on student learning whilst working in schooling ecologies that are marked by high stakes accountability measures. Processes that bridge university and in-school PST teacher preparation are an important consideration in developing assessment capability. It is argued that there are tensions in the current policy environment associated with distributed classroom power relations that are emblematic of student agency in practice. The socially constituted nature of ecological agency that underpins generative assessment for learning practices is an important consideration for judgement about initial teacher assessment capability and associated graduate impact on student learning