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This paper discusses the significance of model-based teaching on the topic of ionic and metallic bonding in Year 12 Chemistry in a New Zealand secondary school. Based on the conceptualization of the sub-macro level understanding of the bonding structure and properties of ionic and metallic compounds, models and drawings were used as an effective visual aid tool to support students' learning. Based on performances during four sequential classes and the results obtained from a pre-test and post-test, a vast improvement was seen in students' understanding of the concepts of ionic and metallic bonding. The results in the post-test also show that the concept of ionic bonding was easier to grasp compared to metallic bonding. This is attributed to the misconceptions developed by the students while learning metallic bonding without the use of visual strategies. This paper argues that teaching Chemistry concepts, such as metallic and ionic bonding, without the use of visual strategies results in students' inability to clearly grasp the topic. The research demonstrates that models and drawings have many advantages while teaching such abstract concepts in Year 12 Chemistry. The students in this research were non-native speakers of English, therefore, this may have further impacted upon their inability to grasp the concepts when taught without concrete visual strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New Zealand was the first country in Oceania and the fifteenth in the world to allow same-sex marriage. This research explores whether the visual re-presentations of same-sex marriage in newspaper coverage surrounding the Parliamentary vote coalesced to form a heteronormative or homonormative 'image' of gay marriage through an examination of 654 articles about gay marriage in the mainstream, New Zealand Herald, and the alternative publication, GayNZ. This research asks whether there was a difference in that re-presentation across 'alternative' and 'mainstream'news media outlets given that visual codes of reference have been suggested to shift within an alternative communicative space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article builds on a previously published article in this journal that analysed the first twenty episodes of a photo caption competition running in a very popular New Zealand magazine. Visible hand gestures and embodied expressions were central in the photos that entrants completed by submitting a caption. These provide a readily understandable and economic platform for directing competitors in the task of making humour. Returning to the competition over two years later, embodiment is still central, but another interesting feature of the competition is discovered. Using a fuller set of 132 episodes, and on the basis of readily available categorizations of the people shown in the photos, we see an interesting breakdown in the types of people shown in the photos: politicians are most frequently shown, but the British Royal Family are also high up in the appearance stakes. The strong royal presence deserves analysis, and to help in this task Davies' work on Jokes and Targets (2011), and varied work from celebrity studies, is employed. Such work can only partly explain the complexity of such visual humour, as each photo has its own particularities that help channel humour construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photo caption competitions have existed for about 100 years and are well embedded in popular culture. Adopting a very fine grained examination, this article looks at a new caption competition running in a very popular New Zealand magazine. An overall description of the first twenty episodes is provided, discussion then focuses on a key feature of the photos that form the first part of the competition. They feature very visible hand gestures and embodied expressions, which seem to appeal to the competition's organizers because they provide a readily understandable and economic platform for directing competitors in their caption-construction. By close attention to several examples, the discussion shows how indeed these hand gestures and embodied expressions are an excellent resource for the typical use of incongruity in accomplishing humour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Landscape classification is fundamental to landscape management and research because it provides a frame of reference for communication. This paper describes a method for classifying visual landscape character in New Zealand and builds on a previously developed method using Geographical Information Systems. Theoretical issues associated with classifying landscapes are discussed and incorporated into the method. The main components of the classification are landform, landcover, water, infrastructure, dominant landcover and water view. The resulting classification is hierarchical, with six levels of generalisation. A naturalness score is also built into the classification. Applications of the classification are briefly described. These included query and identification of similar landscapes, description and landscape inventory of regions, identifying rare and unique landscapes, and combining with visibility analysis to describe landscape experience on walking tracks. The New Zealand Landscape Classification is designed to complement other landscape information such as the location of historical, spiritual, cultural, and geological landscape features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) is demanding on the musculoskeletal and visual systems. Prevalence, severity and association of neck/shoulder problems and visual symptoms were examined among MIS surgeons. The associations of workplace and individual factors with these symptoms independently and combined were also examined., Methods: MIS surgeons completed a comprehensive online survey inclusive of 52 questions about individual and workplace physical factors, neck/shoulder problems and visual symptoms. Binary logistic regression models were conducted to determine the associations of the neck/shoulder problems, visual symptoms and combined symptoms with workplace and individual factors., Results: 290 surgeons completed the survey. Neck/shoulder problems and visual symptoms were reported by 31.0% and 29.0%, respectively, 15.5% reported both problems. The prevalence and severity of neck/shoulder problems and visual symptoms were significantly associated (p < 0.001). Several workplace and individual factors were associated with these symptoms (p ≤ 0.05)., Conclusions: Several factors in the workplace environment (temperature, asymmetrical weight bearing and forward head movement) and individual (being female and wearing vision correction glasses) were significantly associated with neck/shoulder problems and visual symptoms. Evaluation of different strategies to minimise the strain on the neck/shoulder region and the visual system is required.