Bicultural perspectives on Māori legal research

Increasingly, legal research projects undertaken at law school or in practice will involve Māori custom law and/or tikanga Māori.' The role of both Māori custom law and tikanga Māori is most evident in the work of the Māori Land Court in the interpretation and application of legislation relating to Māori land. Increasingly, general statutes incorporate Māori principles and values, such as those to be found in the Resource Management Act 1991, or make explicit reference to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. The statutory interpretation function of the Courts in relation to these, and less obvious examples, requires knowledge of tikanga Māori and/or Māori custom law. For any analysis of the work of the Courts or of the legislature, knowledge of tikanga Māori and/or custom law is required. Both Māori custom law and tikanga Māori are preserved by and accessed through the oral tradition. In addition to its role in the Courts and in relation to legislation, the most significant role played by the oral tradition is in the work of the Waitangi Tribunal. The oral tradition also plays an increasingly important part in other areas requiring research. What follows is an introduction to the oral tradition and its role in the legal system of Aotearoa/New Zealand. An understanding of the oral tradition is essential to the construction of a research path that is both ethical and effective

Dismissal protections in a global market: Lessons to be learned from Serco Ltd v Lawson

The rise of labour as a transnational phenomenon is an aspect of globalisation. New Zealand law relating to protection from dismissal without cause (unjustifiable dismissal) is failing employers and employees whose employment agreements have international elements. In New Zealand, protection from dismissal without cause is contained in the Employment Relations Act 2000 (ERA 2000) (NZ). However, the Act is not an ‘overriding statute’. Cases where the facts show the operation of global employment markets are decided according to conflict of laws rules relating to contracts. The operation of these rules can result in employees being inappropriately excluded from New Zealand dismissal protections. The complexity of the rules makes them inappropriate for the resolution of employment relationship problems, to the detriment of both employers and employees

Students' perceptions of a virtual team assessment item (VTAI): An Australian case study

In today's global business environment, business graduates are often required to work as members of virtual teams. This paper presents the findings of an electronic survey of distance education students' perceptions concerning a virtual team assessment item (VTAI) using asynchronous discussion. The VTAI was set for an undergraduate marketing course at an Australian university. The findings revealed that while the distance education students did not necessarily enjoy the VTAI and found the assessment task to be both frustrating and time-consuming, they agreed that the task was beneficial to their learning and should be included in future course offerings

Moving an Australian dual mode university to the online environment: a case study

This paper discusses an educational initiative, USQ Online which has enabled the University of Southern Queensland (USQ), Australia, to deliver multiple courses via the Internet to students worldwide. The paper briefly outlines the underlying structure and philosophy of distance education at USQ and then describes how the online initiative has evolved from this existing distance education infrastructure. The paper reflects on the conceptualisation and initiation of the USQ Online project and the consequences of an apparent shift in the pattern of teaching and learning in a higher education institution following the introduction of online teaching. An interim evaluation conducted by the authors makes the following recommendations: open communication, consultation and collaboration should form the basis of such a major institutional initiative; roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders should be clearly defined; synergies and alliances with strong partners are essential; and there should be sound technological support at all levels

Synergistic literacies: Fostering critical and technological literacies in teaching legal research methods at the University of Waikato

Nowadays, new law courses are not approved unless both the "needs analysis" is convincing and the "consumer demand" is certain. Needs and demands today are driven by new pressures for technological literacy accelerated by globalisation and the current revolution in information and communication technologies (ICTs). The popular logic is that new global "knowledge economies" need "knowledge workers" or "wired workers" to labour in the new e-markets for goods and services and to use the burgeoning number and high quality of electronic information databases now essential to legal research. Students are acutely aware of these developments as well as of the highly competitive nature of the contemporary labour market for law graduates. Consequently, students are demanding more "how to" research skills training. This article puts in context the reasons why, at the University of Waikato, we regard creating synergy between critical and technological literacy as essential for teaching and learning law-in-context research methods, and then describes the curriculum we designed for a legal research methods course in order to trial this approach. From the start we have been clear that the new course was not just to be a "how to" course, and that we would be concentrating on critical literacy as much as technological literacy. For us, critical literacy is fundamental because it relates to the way in which one analyses the world, a process described as "becoming aware of the underlying structure of conceptions".1 This awareness includes the politics in the architectures that constitute the Internet and the assembly of information accessible on it. We designed our curriculum for critical literacy around five types of analysis. Our shorthand for this is to call these "the five 'Cs'". Our five interrelated categories for analysis focus on: Change - in society, economy and culture Concepts - legal and sociological concepts and analytical frameworks Critique (and standpoint or perspective) Comparisons (and Contrasts) Contexts. We argue that, at a minimum, these are the conceptual tools necessary to critique and engage the operation of the law in the context of society, noting especially inequalities and injustices. Throughout the course students are encouraged to harness technological literacy to each dimension of their analysis. This article consists of two main parts. The first part ("Context and Assumptions") explores in some depth the reasons for the need to teach critical literacy alongside technological literacy. The second part ("The Legal Research Methods Course") describes our efforts to promote the synergy between critical and technological literacies in the context of a fourth year optional course, Legal Research Methods 2000, at the University of Waikato School of Law

Online pedagogy as a challenge to the traditional distance education paradigm

This paper briefly discusses the educational context at The University of Southern Queensland (USQ), Australia where many courses are delivered solely online. It provides a comparison between online and traditional distance education and reflects on how online pedagogy challenges traditional distance education pedagogy. The pedagogy of print-based distance learning materials has tended to incorporate instructional design strategies aimed at providing an independent learning experience. Internet technology has created opportunities for interactive and collaborative learning which represent an alternative to traditional, autonomous approaches to the delivery of academic content

New models for learning flexibility: negotiated choices for both academics and students

‘Flexible learning’ represents a need associated with ‘lifelong learning’ and the equipping of graduates to actively engage in a ‘knowledge society’. While the precise meaning of each of these terms is not easy to discern, notions of flexible learning have progressed an evolutionary path that concentrates on students as though they are the only stakeholder group in the higher education environment that would benefit from choice. Academic discourse also presumes that all cultural groups making up the increasingly diverse student population aspire to engage in student-centred learning as a precursor to involvement in a knowledge economy. In this environment academics have been encouraged to embrace on-line teaching and promote a more student-centred learning approach when the natural inclination and talent of many academics may make this style of pedagogy so challenging that learning outcomes are compromised. We question this ‘one size fits all’ mentality and suggest a model that empowers both the students and academics by allowing them the ability to choose the approach that suits their educational philosophy and preferred learning/teaching approach. The model represents an innovation in flexibility that recognises initial embedded learning foundation abilities and reaches both teachers and learners by utilizing their own frames of reference

A presently available energy supply for high temperature environment (550-1000 deg F)

Sodium-sulfur cells attractive electric energy storage device for long service, are discussed. The state of art is given. More than 200 Wh/kg cells were tested. The known range of working temperature is 550 to 750 F. Self-discharge is quite nonexistent for months in operation. The technical basis for expecting an operating range up to 1,000 F under a high pressure atmosphere is given. Possibilities to adapt size and characteristics to particular interplanetary missions are discussed