Changing Power Relations in Education: Kaupapa Ma ¥ ori messages for 'mainstream' education in Aotearoa/New Zealand [1]

Drawing on the example of indigenous Ma ¥ ori pedagogical and research principles in Aotearoa/New Zealand, this paper explores how still widely held 'deficit' notions of Ma ¥ ori students can be addressed and replaced by an alternative model that emphasises empowerment, co-construction and the critical importance of cultural recognition. This model constitutes the classroom as a place where young people's sense-making processes (cultures) are incorporated and enhanced, where the existing knowledges of young people--particularly Ma ¥ ori--are seen as 'acceptable' and 'official', and where the teacher interacts with students in such a way that new knowledge is co-created. Such a classroom will generate very different interaction and participation patterns and educational outcomes from a classroom where knowledge is seen as something that the teacher makes sense of and then passes onto students.     

A SCALE FOR THE MEASUREMENT OF LATERAL DOMINANCE

A 36 item performance test which assesses the degree of lateral dominance in each of four individual modes is described.     

Body sway,aim point fluctuation and performance in rifle shooters: inter- and intra-individual analysis

In this study, we examined the relationships between body sway, aim point fluctuation and performance in rifle shooting on an inter- and intra-individual basis. Six elite shooters performed 20 shots under competition conditions. For each shot, body sway parameters and four aim point fluctuation parameters were quantified for the time periods 5 s to shot, 3 s to shot and 1 s to shot. Three parameters were used to indicate performance. An AMTI LG6-4 force plate was used to measure body sway parameters, while a SCATT shooting analysis system was used to measure aim point fluctuation and shooting performance. Multiple regression analysis indicated that body sway was related to performance for four shooters. Also, body sway was related to aim point fluctuation for all shooters. These relationships were specific to the individual, with the strength of association, parameters of importance and time period of importance different for different shooters. Correlation analysis of significant regressions indicated that, as body sway increased, performance decreased and aim point fluctuation increased for most relationships. We conclude that body sway and aim point fluctuation are important in elite rifle shooting and performance errors are highly individual-specific at this standard. Individual analysis should be a priority when examining elite sports performance.     

Social media use in the research workflow

The paper reports on a major international survey, covering 2,000 researchers, which investigated the use of social media in the research workflow. The topic is the second to emerge from the Charleston Observatory, the research adjunct of the popular annual Charleston Conference ( http://www.katina.info/conference/ ). The study shows that social media have found serious application at all points of the research lifecycle, from identifying research opportunities to disseminating findings at the end. The three most popular social media tools in a research setting were those for collaborative authoring, conferencing, and scheduling meetings. The most popular brands used tend to be mainstream anchor technologies or ‘household brands‘, such as Twitter. Age is a poor predictor of social media use in a research context, and humanities and social science scholars avail themselves most of social media. Journals, conference proceedings, and edited books remain the core traditional means of disseminating research, with institutional repositories highly valued as well, but social media have become important complementary channels for disseminating and discovering research.     

Social Equity and Prosperity: Thailand Information Technology Policy into the 21st Century

This forum presents Thailand's National Information Technology (IT) Plan and comments on the plan by three international experts: Seymour Goodman, Heinrich Reinermann, and G. Russell Pipe. The plan, which was prepared for Thailand's National IT Committee by the National Electronics and Computer Technology Center, is striking for its explicit consideration of social as well as economic goals in its specific objectives and implementation proposals. Agenda item 1 of the plan is to ''Invest in an Equitable Information Infrastructure: To Enhance Human Ability and Enhance Life Quality.'' Implementation of the plan is proceeding well, although somewhat more slowly than anticipated, and support for the original goals and objectives remains strong.