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A pedagogical framework for embedding computational thinking in authentic technology practice
(Japan Society of Technology Education (JSTE), 2025) Fox-Turnbull, Wendy; Wu, Shaoqun
Computational thinking is an aspect of digital technologies in the New Zealand Curriculum that teaches children to approach problems systematically, using logical and analytical reasoning. This paper presents a study undertaken in a small-town primary school in New Zealand with a high population of Māori students. The study drew on four aspects from Kotsopoulos et al.’s framework of pedagogical experiences: unplugged, tinkering, making, remixing to investigate pedagogical strategies that facilitate the successful embedding of computational thinking within authentic technological practice. The research aimed to identify learning pedagogies that support young learners in their understanding of computational thinking through designing and developing digital technologies. The qualitative methodologies were informed by the three pedagogical principles from Bishop and Berryman to guide the research design and frame learning support for students. Key themes that emerged from the data included the values of local context, self-autonomy, classroom organisation, use of physical and digital manipulatives. Finally, the paper presents a model for the pedagogical delivery of computational thinking when embedded in technological practice in primary schools, drawing from and adding to Kotsopoulos and colleague’s pedagogical framework. The most significant modification situates the existing model within authentic technology practice, providing context for learning. The model shows an adjustment from ‘Making’ to ‘Designing and Making’, thus strengthening the position of digital technologies within the Technology learning area. The model also signals that authentic technological within a primary classroom practice is heavily impacted by ‘the pragmatics of delivery’ through a range of pedagogical and organisational strategies developed to ensure the needs of all students are met and to support them through their learning journey in computational thinking. The last significant modification of Kotsopoulos and colleagues’ model is the removal of ‘remixing’ because the primary aged students in this study did not reach the level of sophistication required for remixing. The aim of the framework is to assist teachers and teacher educators to design and develop successful teaching and learning strategies for implementing computational thinking into authentic technology practice in primary schools.
Reproductive biology and spawning substrate preferences of European Perch (Perca fluviatilis) from two New Zealand lakes
(The University of Waikato, 2025-11) Whitaker-White, Hannah; Ling, Nick
European perch (Perca fluviatilis) has dominated freshwater systems in New Zealand since its introduction in 1868. This introduced species has established itself by outcompeting native species and altering the physicochemical properties of habitats. Eradication and control efforts in New Zealand seldom focus on initiating management at spawning, with little attention to their reproductive biology and plasticity. Despite many studies across the world focusing on these aspects, most are in the context of population protection within their native territories or in fisheries. Lake Rototoa and the Hamilton Lake (also known as Lake Rotoroa) are two lakes within the North Island of New Zealand that vary considerably in size and quality, and host populations of European perch that have dominated both systems. Sampling from both lakes occurred over a 12-month period, where measurements of body size, gonad development, fecundity and condition were collected to provide insight into each population’s health and reproductive biology. An artificial spawning substrate experiment over six weeks consisted of three different substrates at five sites in both lakes and in laboratory tanks to investigate the potential for spawning substrate preferences. A total of 159 perch were caught and dissected from the Hamilton Lake, and 126 were caught and dissected from Lake Rototoa. Spawning appeared to be asynchronous at Lake Rototoa from condition and GSI results, and synchronous at the Hamilton Lake. Size and condition indices were higher at the Hamilton Lake and displayed some seasonal patterns. Fecundity at the Hamilton Lake ranged from 71,202 to 80,400.96 compared to 40,844 to 73,232.21 eggs per female at Lake Rototoa during the spawning season. Oocyte diameters were slightly larger at the Hamilton Lake, with a range of 0.836 mm and 2.019 mm compared to 0.839 mm and 1.886 mm at Lake Rototoa. Perch did not use any artificial spawning substrates at all three sites. Results suggested a more stunted population at Lake Rototoa, likely due to different water qualities and resource availability. These results provide a solid foundation for control methods targeting spawning strategies in European perch. However, improved techniques for artificial spawning substrates are necessary, particularly focusing on the location and timing of where and when they are deployed.
Liberalism in 19th Century Europe: To what extent did liberalism influence the Concert of Europe?
(The University of Waikato, 2025) Heron, Quinn; Steff, Reuben
The Concert of Europe (the Concert), that lasted from 1814 to 1914, was a system of international relations that was, in many respects, illiberal. Much of the scholarship of the Concert has accepted that realist concerns, such as the balance of power, played a dominant role in shaping the Concert. It might seem strange then to ask what role liberal ideas and principles played in a system so widely regarded as realist. Yet, that is the goal of this thesis; to ask the question ‘to what extent did liberalism influence the Concert of Europe?’ Traversing the fields of History and International Relations, this thesis utilizes both disciplines, combined with qualitative analysis, to identify liberalism within Concert rhetoric and the Concert’s actors while challenging the prominence of realist explanations. The Concert displayed prominent liberal characteristics in both the rhetoric used during several crises and the actions and beliefs of the actors within it. This thesis concludes that liberal ideas and principles influenced the Concert to a significant, and often overlooked extent, and draws lessons from its operation for understanding the emerging 21st century multipolar system.
Quantum-resistant timestamping for open science: A non-technical guide
(Taylor & Francis, 2026) Krägeloh, Christian U.; Bartholomew, Emerson J.; Medvedev, Oleg N.
Psychology faces a dual challenge from artificial intelligence (AI): While AI offers powerful research tools, it simultaneously threatens the discipline’s methodological foundations through deepfakes and synthetic data generation. The ability to prove when psychological data, preregistrations, and research protocols genuinely existed has become critical for maintaining scientific integrity, particularly as AI can now fabricate convincing retroactive evidence. These concerns are compounded by the vulnerability of existing open-science platforms to cyberattacks, data loss, or service unavailability, raising broader questions about the reliability and security of current research infrastructure. Together, these threats make robust, independent verification of research records increasingly urgent, especially in the context of psychology’s ongoing replication crisis and open-science reforms. This method article presents a quantum-resistant blockchain timestamping solution for researchers with no technical blockchain knowledge. Using the example of the Algorand blockchain’s Falcon cryptographic signatures – which are understood as being able to withstand both current AI threats and future quantum-computing attacks – we are demonstrating how researchers can create immutable proof that their hypotheses, data collection protocols, and datasets existed at specific times at the cost of a fraction of cent. Through step-by-step instructions, this article enables researchers to implement quantum-resistant timestamping regardless of their technical background. By removing barriers to blockchain-based verification, this method aims to make such protection as routine as current preregistration practices, ultimately establishing a new standard for safeguarding research integrity in the age of AI.
On a Neural Phonon Model of EEG Brain Dynamics
(Springer, 2026-03-16) Head, Mitchell; Batterton, Christopher; Owen, Mahonri; Konig, Jemma; Ensing, Simeon; Shepherd, Craig
Neuronal oscillations are a ubiquitous feature of brain activity, indexing functions from sensory selection to memory formation. Yet a unified framework that (i) accommodates the nonlinear, noise-driven nature of cortical dynamics and (ii) explains standard empirical measures—power, spectral entropy, coherence, Phase-Locking Value (PLV), Phase-Amplitude Coupling (PAC), and envelope correlations—remains elusive. A natural candidate is the noisy Stuart–Landau (SL) oscillator, whose deterministic form models cortical rhythms as limit cycles, while additive noise induces stochastic phase and amplitude fluctuations. Prior work has shown that networks of SL oscillators can replicate burst statistics, multistability, and cross-frequency modulation in electroencephalography/magnetoencephalography (EEG/MEG). However, an analytical framework linking these models directly to observed connectivity metrics has been lacking. Here we derive such a framework by mapping the Fokker–Planck equation (FPE) of each SL oscillator to an imaginary-time Schrödinger operator via a classical similarity transform. A second-order expansion around the limit-cycle amplitude yields a quadratic Hamiltonian whose ladder operators describe quantised fluctuations—neural phonons—in oscillatory power. Bilinear coupling terms inherited from diffusion give rise to analytically diagonalisable bosonic interactions. This construction yields closed-form expressions for spectral observables and their dynamics, including Green-function-derived coherence and PLV, perturbative PAC, and a five-parameter “personality map” linking microscopic physics to macroscopic brain states. By unifying noisy limit-cycle theory with operator methods from statistical physics, we introduce a tractable, interpretable formalism for understanding neural coherence as the dynamics of quantised phonons.