May 2013 – Ara Library Blog

Samoan language week 26 May – 1 June 2013

Fafaga fanau i upu ma tala. Tautala i lau gagana − Feed the children with words and stories. Speak your language is the 2013 theme for Samoan Language Week. The Samoan language is the third most commonly spoken language in New Zealand. CMPA have organised a week of awesome Samoan activities to help us all celebrate.

On Monday 27th enjoy the opening ceremony between 10 and 10.45 am with Samoan performances by various groups and a few words from our CEO Kay Giles.

On Tuesday 28th look out for the Ula lole, a necklace made of lollies. Speak to someone in Samoan who is wearing this and the Ula Lole will be passed on to you. At the end of the day the person with the Ula Lole gets to collect a prize from the CMPA.

Here are some simple greetings you can use to get the Ula lole :

Talofa lava Hello (formal)

Talofa Hello

Malo Hello

Or you can visit the Manuatele website for handy phrases with audio clips for correct pronunciation.

To learn some more Samoan words and phrases you can visit Te Puna Wānaka from 12 to 12.45 on Wednesday 29th for a lunchtime language learning session.

Alternatively you can read some simple titles in our Pasifika Collection. (Hint: Look for the Palm tree symbol on the ground floor)

Some simple Samoan titles include:

Muller, K (2012) How do you say thank you – a bilingual reader in Samoan and English.

and

Kahukura, A (2010) In the kitchen in Samoan and English

On Thursday 30th from 12-1pm you can experience traditional Samoan cooking of taro, pork, chicken and palusami on heated rocks in an umu – Find this opposite the front entrance to the Food and Hospitality department.

On Friday 31st from 6.30- 8pm is a night of fun and Samoan singing in the Pese Mai Choir competition featuring a first prize of $500. This event will be held in Te Puna Wānaka.

Enjoy your week everyone.

Ia soifua ma ia manuia (Be well and prosper)

My Kitchen Rules my study skills

I am not proud of myself for watching My Kitchen Rules. My housemate watches it, and it’s a way for us to hang out and talk, or at least that’s how I explain it to myself in the long dark night of the soul. Nonetheless, I have more than passing familiarity with the show, in which contestants compete against each other to eventually win some kind of fabulous prize. Each time they cook, the teams are given a time limit, perhaps an hour, to complete their dish- a time limit that frequently leads to disqualification as they fail to bring it together in time. Because of these dire consequences, it would be unthinkable if some groups of contestants were arbitrarily given much more time than others to create their meals. Recently, in dealing with a stressed-out student, I drew a parallel that I hadn’t picked up on before, between this kind of show and the process of writing an assignment or preparing for an exam.

The student in question had prepared thoroughly, but had made a minor but fundamental mistake in preparing, and had to start over, with only a day or two until submission. From our conversation, it was clear that some busier or less diligent coursemates had not even begun to do the research at that point, and it got me thinking.

The analogy is this: When you put off starting work on an assignment, you are essentially giving your coursemates the same advantage as the game show competitors would enjoy if they had a day to prepare their food, rather than an hour.

Tutors expect reading and research from you as part of the assessment process, to enable you to develop your subject knowledge. By failing to make a start on this before the last minute, you are allowing those who do make an early start to get streets ahead in their understanding of your subject, but more importantly (since you don’t compete directly with them) you are denying yourself that advantage.

The version of yourself who started early, even at a stately pace, would be streets ahead of you in compehension. They would find assessments easier, because there would be ample time. They would graduate with much greater knowledge of their subject, and a correspondingly greater chance of success beyond CPIT.

You owe it to yourself to master the time management skills to get a fair shake at each assignment, in the same way as the contestants of this show owe it to themselves to plan their meals to be complete with the time frame available to them. Otherwise, you are setting yourself up for, if not failure, then a lesser success, and a loss of your potential. The library has stacks of books (that’s a little library humour. I won’t be giving up my day job.) on the subject, but if you recognise yourself in what I’ve written above, why not have a chat to the good people of Learning Services? They have the training (and the bedside manner that books commonly lack) to help you make the most of your time at CPIT.

How do I print my pdf or word document as a booklet?

This is a fairly common question which I was asked again this week.

So here are the steps:

1. Click on File / Print in Word or the print icon if a PDF e.g.

2. Select Printer properties (Word ) or Properties (PDF)

3. Select Layout

4. Select Booklet from the Print type dropdown.

5. Then select OK and Print.

Your booklet should now magically appear in the printer you sent your work to.

To print an A3 size booklet

1. On the first printer properties screen place a dot next to “fit”

Select “Properties”

Select A3 in Original size and Paper size

3. On the “Layout” tab select “booklet” under “Print type”

Microsoft word 2010 introductory course

For more tips and tricks Microsoft have a short 10-15 minute course if you are new to using Microsoft Word 2010 or just want to use it more effectively.

Some ebooks in our library collection

Use your CPIT username and password to access these if off campus.

Huddlestone, T (2011) Using Microsoft Word 2010

Gunter, S.K (2010) Easy Microsoft Word 2010

Wempen, F (2010) Microsoft word 2010 in depth

We also have print books including

New perspectives on Microsoft word 2010 : Introductory

New Zealand Sign Language Week : 13 – 19 May 2013

In recognition of NZSL week why not sign “Good morning, how are you” to someone today. Here’s how.

To find out more about NZ sign language see the Deaf Aotearoa New Zealand website.

Here are some video series from Deaf Aotearoa New Zealand for 25 signs you can use at home, work and play.

Learn more terms using the Online Dictionary of NZ Sign language and find a PDF for the alphabet here.

Te Kete Ipurangi has a range of introductory resources on their Thumbs up website.

You can also find in our Library A concise dictionary of New Zealand sign language and The NZSL handbook: a selection of 480 basic signs

Are you going to give it a go? Yes! Good on you, that’s awesome!

It’s not rocket science. But also, it is.

We liaison librarians are always on the lookout for things we can add to the library to help our students develop autonomously within their subject: readings and projects that might help to develop your love of your subject while providing a bit of hands-on experience.

As the liaison for the School of Engineering, I think I’ve hit on a book for all you mechanical engineers who can’t wait for a phone call from NASA to start work on your rocket. And with Kickstarter projects like ArduSat aiming to democratise space experimentation, there’s never been a better time to get your feet wet.

With that in mind, I recently purchased I still have all my fingers by Dan Pollino, shelved at TL844POL. It’s a very simple book that gives detailed, step-by-step instructions on how to build a simple, reusable rocket, from scratch, that can, according to the blurb on the back, reach almost 2km into the air at speeds of over 600km/h. Rather than write about it, I thought I’d let the author make the sales pitch for me. So take a look:

I can vouch for the simplicity of the instructions- I’m pretty tempted to give it a go myself. But if you fancy reaching for the skies in a literal sense, why not assemble your own A-team, and unleash your inner rocket scientist.

(As an aside, We have a bunch of books and ebooks on Primo to help you learn Arduino, if you have a mind to make something to run on ArduSat. Just search for Arduino.)

NZ Music Month

To celebrate song and as part of NZ Music Month, Dave Dobbyn will be performing in Christchurch on Saturday 11 May at The Bedford at CPSA

For this show Dave has invited an array of established and emerging songwriters to join him onstage to perform their favourite Dave Dobbyn songs. In return he performs with his guests on their own songs, which should produce some interesting collaborations and interpretations. These guests include Adam McGrath, Scribe, Marlon Williams, Aaron Tokona, Paul Urbana Jones, Terrible Sons and the Lapelles.

Christchurch City Libraries also have a programme of events.

At CPIT library there is a good selection of New Zealand and other music CDs which can be borrowed at no cost. These can be found in the music room on the ground floor. Find a CD of your favourite singer using our Primo Library Search. Remember to look for the audio symbol at the left of a title to identify CDs on your topic e.g.