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Recent Submissions
- ItemWater Supply and Ancient Society in the Lake Balkhash Basin: Runoff Variability along the Historical Silk Road(Springer Nature Switzerland AG, 2019-08-15) Panyushkina IP; Macklin MG; Toonen WHJ; Meko DM; Yang LE; Bork H-R; Fang X; Mischke SExpansion of agricultural practices from the Fertile Crescent to China during the mid and late Holocene are believed to have shaped the early network of Silk Road routes and possibly regulated the dynamics of trade and exchange in the urban oases along the Silk Road throughout its existence. While the impacts of climate change on the Silk Road are more or less documented for the medieval period, they remain poorly understood for early history of the Silk Road, especially in Central Asia. We analyze hydroclimatic proxies derived from fluvial stratigraphy, geochronology, and tree-ring records that acted on various time scales in the Lake Balkhash Basin to learn how changes in water supply could have influenced the early farmers in the Semirechye region of southern Kazakhstan. Our approach aims to identify short-term and long-term variability of regional runoff and to compare the hydrological data with cultural dynamics coupled with the archaeological settlement pattern and agricultural production. The reconstructed runoff variability underscore the contribution of winter precipitation driven by the interaction between the Arctic oscillation and the Siberian High-Pressure System, to Central Asian river discharge. We show that Saka people of the Iron Age employed extensive ravine agriculture on the alluvial fans of the Tian Shan piedmont, where floodwater farming peaked between 400 BC and 200 BC. The early Silk Road farmers on the alluvial fans favored periods of reduced flood flows, river stability and glacier retreat in the Tian Shan Mountains. Moreover, they were able to apply simple flow control structures to lead water across the fan surface. It is very unlikely that changes in water supply ever significantly constricted agricultural expansion in this region.
- Item"Feeding people's beliefs": Mass media representations of Māori and criminality(Routledge, 2023-07-03) Barnes AM; McCreanor T; Cunneen C; Deckert A; Porter A; Tauri J; Webb RThis chapter examines media constructions of crime and criminalization, and the associated social harms. With a focus on Māori, it explores links between media narratives and how the other is socially constructed as criminal, promoting an entire ethnic group as suspect, to be feared and in need of surveillance. Media are a key pathway through which regimes of representation are enacted and society is polarized such that one group (law-abiding, deserving) requires protection from the criminal violent other. Racism and colonial practices surface, and the ‘threatened’ dominant group enacts a range of measures, including policies of crime control that can be violent in nature. We argue that, in pursuit of equity, justice, and sustainable social relations, media narratives must be challenged and transformed.
- ItemThe Role of Science, Technology, and Innovation for Transforming Food Systems in Asia(Springer Nature Switzerland AG, 2023-01-02) Moughan PJ; Chamovitz DA; Ayyappan S; Tanticharoen M; Lal K; Kim YH; von Braun J; Afsana K; Fresco LO; Hassan MHAThis chapter focusses on the role of science, technology and innovation (STI) in transforming the food systems of Asia and the Pacific to achieve long-term environmentally sustainable food and nutritional security (FNS). A “whole of systems” approach is required to address the issues, and that work is urgently needed to define ‘healthy’ diets for different regions, societies and cultures. Emphasis should shift from the provision of calories to the supply of balanced patterns of all essential nutrients, and the ‘holistic’ properties of foods should be recognised. The chapter identifies countries and regions, within Asia, considered to be at particularly high risk for future food insecurity. Systems analysis should be applied across the agricultural and food sectors of these countries to identify the actual technical and other impediments to FNS. It is envisaged that the results from such an analysis would be used to formulate a ‘blueprint’ for agricultural and food STI in Asia. Overarching recommendations are the establishment of a trans-national funding mechanism for the entire region, focussing on targeted interdisciplinary STI, and the establishment of regional centres of excellence for research, education and extension, focussing on the identified key areas of opportunity. It was concluded that there is an urgent need for investment and action.
- ItemThe potential of gender (and intersectional) equality indices: the case of Aotearoa New Zealand’s public service(Edward Elgar Publishing Limited in association with the International Labour Office, 2024-06-07) Parker J; Donnelly N; Sayers J; Loga P; Paea S; Rönnmar M; Hayter SThe COVID-19 pandemic has impacted in a multi-faceted and gendered manner on the labour market in most countries. In Aotearoa New Zealand, high-level gender indices (GIs) have broadly captured this impact, helping to inform sectoral policy reform. However, these indices seldom capture more qualitative, nuanced and connected aspects of (in)equity despite increasing labour market and workplace diversification, and more scholarly attention on how these inequities are created, perpetuated or nuanced. The need for finer-grain analysis of women’s diversity encouraged a transdisciplinary study of working women in several public service agencies in New Zealand. Experts, employees and managers in the sector participated in in-depth interviews to help generate institution-specific gender indices which can be used alongside ‘conventional’ quantitative measures to closely assess workplace (in)equities. This study thus extends the conceptual parameters of GIs applied at national levels; provides a framework of equity considerations and (emergent) indicators for inclusion in organizational-level equity policy development; and briefly assesses meso-level equity indices with respect to the gender-responsive/accommodating/transformative or ‘gender-inclusive’ framework used throughout this volume.
- Item“The Times They Are A-Changin’" but “The Song Remains the Same”: Climate Change Narratives from the Coromandel Peninsula, Aotearoa New Zealand(Berghahn Books, 2022-02-11) Schneider P; Glavovic B; Hoffman SM; Eriksen TH; Mendes P
- ItemContexts, Forms and Outcomes of Mathematics Teacher Collaboration(Springer, 2024) Esteley C; Huang R; Mellone M; Soto G; Eden R; Coles A; Borko H; Potari DThis open access book is the product of an international study which offers a state-of-the-art summary of mathematics teacher collaboration with respect to theory, research, practice, and policy.
- ItemOpen, Distance, and Digital Education (ODDE): An Equity View(Springer, Singapore, 2023-01-01) Czerniewicz L; Carvalho L; Zawacki-Richter O; Jung IUnderstanding how equity manifests in open, distance, and digital education (ODDE) requires us to grapple with several coexisting trends, including the changing forms of teaching and learning provision, the advent of a post-digital society and education, the datafication of education, inequality in society at large, and digital inequities. Most of these trends are social in nature, yet they shape, and are shaped by, the educational sector. It is at the intersection of these coexisting trends that equity issues in ODDE are raised and become apparent, reinforced by the uneven distribution of technology in society, and with deep roots in economic and social inequities. Current scholarship foregrounds these nested relationships and entanglements, as well as their intersection with power relations and contestations which play out across ODDE at macro, meso, and micro levels.
- ItemDyslexia in Aotearoa New Zealand: An issue both old and new(Taylor & Francis, 2022-07-20) Everatt, J; Arrow, A; Denston, A; Sleeman, M; Elbeheri, G; Lee, SConcluding Remarks This short chapter aimed to summarise some major strides in work on dyslexia that have occurred in Aotearoa New Zealand over the last decade. This has included the continued development of perspectives on dyslexia and ...
- ItemAI in education: Co-designing for learning in a world with AI(2024) Carvalho L; Faul MV
- ItemThe impact of ChatGPT on teaching and learning in higher education: Challenges, opportunities, and future scope(IGI Global, 2024-04-01) Li M; Khosrow-Pour MDBAThe integration of OpenAI's ChatGPT is reshaping higher education by transforming teaching and learning dynamics. This article delves into ChatGPT's impact, exploring opportunities, challenges, and future potential. ChatGPT's deployment in higher education offers interactive and adaptive classrooms, enabling personalized learning experiences. Educators use ChatGPT to enhance engagement, critical thinking, and tailor content, fostering innovative teaching. However, integrating ChatGPT also introduces challenges, including plagiarism detection concerns due to AI-generated assignments and potential impacts on writing skills and independent thinking. Addressing misinformation risks from AI content requires responsible usage guidelines. Looking forward, ChatGPT holds promise in higher education, as AI-enhanced collaborative classrooms redefine teaching. The symbiosis of ChatGPT with human instructors enhances effectiveness, providing real-time insights and boosting student engagement.
