Professional science knowledge and its impact on confidence in the teaching of earth science : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

This study focused on the nature and parameters of the relationships between the professional science knowledge of primary and intermediate teachers and their confidence in teaching in the Making Sense of Planet Earth and Beyond strand of Science in the New Zealand Curriculum (earth science). The study was divided into two phases of data collection. The first phase used a questionnaire survey of 18 teachers from the Taranaki, Wanganui, Manawatu, Palmerston North and Horowhenua districts of the western and central North Island of New Zealand. The survey identified the influence of the relationships between the participants' backgrounds in earth science, their professional knowledge frameworks and their efficacy to teach earth science. The second phase of data collection builds on the trends and common themes identified in phase one. Data were collected in the second phase through interviews of four teachers selected from phase one participants. Analyses of the data collected revealed the importance of maintaining a well-developed understanding of the subject matter when teaching earth science. Subject matter knowledge has a notable impact in teachers' efficacy beliefs and ability to translate content into teachable material. Findings support pervious researchers' conclusion that teachers with high self-efficacy have had a long interest in science and a relatively strong background of formal science studies with opportunities for exploring science in informal settings. Results indicate that effective earth science teachers possess a genuine interest and enthusiasm for earth science. Conversely, teachers with relatively little earth science background display less developed knowledge frameworks and weaker efficacy beliefs. Common indicators of these weaknesses include avoidance of earth science topics in general or use of 'shallow' teaching strategies such as transmission approaches or 'resource based' units. In some cases it appears that teachers' confidence in their ability to teach earth science may be misplaced. Results indicate that in some cases, teachers can use their considerable classroom skills to avoid confronting earth science concepts where their knowledge is inadequate. The implications for these findings are considered

Once more, with feeling : an enquiry into The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa's exhibition Gallipoli: the scale of our war : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in Museum Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.

This thesis examines The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa’s exhibition Gallipoli: The scale of our war. Conceived in partnership with Weta Workshop and formulated during a period of institutional uncertainty, Gallipoli was ostensibly created to commemorate the centenary of the First World War. This research investigates what this exhibition and the methodologies and practices deployed in its development reveals about how Te Papa interprets its public service role, and concludes that Gallipoli signals an intensification of its hegemonic function. Marked by a discursive engagement with critical museology and theoretical perspectives pertaining to the ethics of memorialisation and practices of governmentality, in this thesis a transdisciplinary approach is adopted. Employing a qualitative and grounded theory methodology and inductive processes, anchoring the research are interviews with Te Papa staff and Gallipoli visitors, documentary evidence, exhibition ‘text’ analysis and autoethnographic reflections. This thesis suggests that Gallipoli is characterised by a distinctive ‘affective public pedagogy’. Further to this, it is argued that Gallipoli not only has significant implications for Te Papa’s pedagogical functions, but also for conceptions of subjectivity, citizenship and nationhood in New Zealand in the twenty-first century. It is contended that recent developments at Te Papa have further problematized its exogenous and endogenous relations of power, and that the ritualised practices of affect afforded by Gallipoli are ideologically prescribed. It is also determined that Te Papa’s legislative responsibility to be a ‘forum for the nation’ requires reconsidering

An Iterated Forcing Extension In Which All Aleph-1 Dense Sets of Reals Are Isomorphic

If κ is an infinite cardinal, then a subset X of the reals R is called κ-dense if between any a \u3c b, both in R, there are exactly κ elements of X. In these terms, a famous result of Cantor says that in every model of set theory all aleph-0-dense sets of reals are isomorphic (to the rationals, Q). This result cannot be directly extended, however, since for κ =aleph-1 there exist models of set theory in which not all aleph-1-dense sets are isomorphic. On the other hand, Baumgartner has shown by the method of iterated forcing that assuming the consistency of set theory, there does exist at least one model of set theory in which all aleph-1-dense subsets are isomorphic. We present here a detailed, yet expository, account of Baumgartner\u27s result and discuss its relevance to the Proper Forcing Axiom of contemporary set theory

Experiences of relating with the self and others amidst living with fibromyalgia

There is a paucity of research that explores how people with Fibromyalgia (FMS) relate to themselves and others, with a particular focus on childhood experiences, mentalization and attachment theory. Ten people with FMS participated in semi-structured interviews, which explored the following areas: Important current relationships, experiences with others and childhood experiences of relationships. Stress and coping were also explored. Interview transcriptions were investigated using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (Smith & Osborn, 2003). The following three superordinate themes were identified: “The power of painful childhood experiences”, “the connection between stress and relating to others” and “interpersonal stress is wedded to illness”. Among the participants, childhood was characterised by abuse, illness, bereavement or parental discord. These early events related to various adult consequences in terms of how others and the self were related to. Mirroring childhood experiences, adult relations were often described as destructive. Interpersonal stress was wedded to illness in that others were perceived as invalidating or as ignorant of the suffering experienced. Illness tended to be described as leading to isolation and increased vulnerability to abuse. Literature pertaining to FMS, attachment and mentalization theory was useful in informing the interpretation. Limitations, clinical implications and directions for future research are discussed

Letters to the editor

No Abstract.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/50165/1/880191103_ftp.pd

Electron traps in thin-film transistors

Imperial Users onl

“Waves of Edema” seem implausible

No abstract available