Inuit of Canada and Maoris

Ever since the evolution of life and Homo sapiens as a race of humans, there have been small groups and communities which have developed with even a small population living in a particular region. It leads to culture and own customs which may or may not be similar to other communities or groups. These old groups in the modern society and world are commonly known as the indigenous people.  These people lived in their own community until researchers and travelers went of their lands and learnt about their way of living. Inuit are the indigenous population of Canada while Maoris are the indigenous for New Zealand.

Technology in both the countries is on the rise. According to (Adams, 2013) article, there have been such technical advancements and developments that companies in New Zealand are ready to take on some of the US based companies. This projects the level of technical education and use of the latest gadgets in the country which help in the development of the country and the increase in its GDP. (Industry Canada, 2013) has also shown that most of the investments made by the Canadian Government have been fruitful and their science and technology is fully funded for the overall development of the country in the 21^st century.

There is no doubt that the technology in both these countries has influenced their indigenous people. The policies of the democratic set up are very good and the employers and educational institutions give equal opportunity for the people to develop their skills, use them and may be make a living from it. I have found a couple of videos which will explain the situation in the country one by one with respect to their indigenous people. I will start with Canada first. The video link is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rT4xklcc9TA/

The girl explains in the video that she is an Inuit and goes onto explain the various kinds of food they what, clothing and explains the traditions that they follow. The different screen displays in the video shows different intuits who use their old traditional ways for catching fish, seal. The child birth explanation shows somewhat similarity to other indigenous cultures which shows that there might be some significance to this and a link which has not yet been explored by the researchers. Although the Canadian Intuits, according to (Centre de santé Inuulitisivik, 2011) are numbered and they mainly live in different upper regions of Canada, there are many who also live in the city or are born with Inuit heritage. The girl in the video speaks language of her ancestors and also explains that she would like to be addressed as an Inuit. At the same time, it can be deduced from her English and clothing that she has adopted the way of lie brought in by the European settlers. The technology has been accepted and there are technical gadgets which are used in the production of the video. Moreover, efforts are made in order to presser their heritage hence, they are making efforts to bring it to the knowledge of others. Therefore, we see that the technology has changed their roles and lives bringing forth a society in an evolved way for the benefit of the country.

The next video is on Maoris and their adoption of technology. The link is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NyZLzy385k/

The video is Maori television. It clearly shows discussions and opinions of people. The main concept of developing the television station on latest technology was the spreading of the Maori language and its development. This has been made possible through the voicing o the opinions of people. The video presenter is Maori and the video is similar in style to the one included in this portfolio. It also portrays the need of the preservation of the indigenous society which is only possible through technology and that it reaches the masses so they can also appreciate the beautiful culture that indigenous people have. It adds to the heritage of the country. 

Therefore, both the indigenous people can have the influence of the technology on them as a part of their eco system that is where they grow up and live, or as a part of the promotion of the heritage so as to preserve it and enlighten people about what the heritage of the country is about. Either way, technology has a part to play in influencing the daily lives of the people in New Zealand and Canada and it is difficult to avoid it as most of the things like mobiles and television have become a part of our daily lives. (ITK, 2013) has also shown that Intuits were happy to have the Antennas and dish TV in their homes and accepted the concept thinking of it as a way into the future and survival of the community in modern Canada.

The advancement in technology has spread its wings to all the sections of the society in both he countries. It is evident that with spreading of technology awareness, the future generations will benefit. The change and transformation will take place and the community will develop making it a conducive environment for living and the future growth of their children and the coming generations. Technology effects on Canada and New Zealand are almost the same and the arte which they are developing and making efforts, the future is bright for them and the indigenous people will come forth and work towards for the integrity and dignity of their respective nations.

References

Adams, C. (2013). Kiwi internet firm targets US.Retrieved November 6, 2013 from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/technology/news/headlines.cfm?c_id=5

Centre de santé Inuulitisivik. (2011).Who are the Inuits? Retrieved November 6, 2013 from http://www.inuulitsivik.ca/northern-life-and-inuit-culture/who-are-the-inuits

Industry Canada.(2013).Mobilizing Science and Technology to Canada's Advantage—2007.Retrieved November 6, 2013 from  http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/icgc.nsf/eng/00871.html

ITK.(2013). Inuit Regions of Canada. Retrieved November 6, 2013 from https://www.itk.ca/about-inuit/inuit-regions-canada

New Zealand in history. (2013). The Maori: The brief pre-history.Retrieved November 6, 2013 fromhttp://history-nz.org/maori.html

Big data from cheap phones

Big data from cheap phones

Mobile phone technology was an emerging technology of the late 20^th century. It led to the development of the device which helped in connecting people through different means such as voice communication and text messages. In this we look at the same the technology but with more technical detail to see what the technology has offered us and things that exist as technical information which can be used to help the society. One of the emerging technologies which are based on mobile phones is ‘The Big data from cheap phones’.

A mobile device, whether a smart phone based on latest Android or a simple mobile phone like the Nokia 3310, are all the end user devices which are capable of handling the services provided by the service provider. The real work is done the information center and the data center of the cellular phone companies. Their technologies of back end centers are one of the emerging technologies which can help gather data for social welfare and security purposes.

According to (Talbot, 2013), even simple cellular phones can give insight into the various customer behavior or activities which can help in understanding important social issues. This has certainly impacted the society in a big way as the information received can be used to handle things which are harmful to our society. Moreover, the useful information, that is positive impacts, can be maximized for even better results. (Talbot, 2013), shows the use of such information in Africa to handle Malaria problems which have resulted in number of deaths and has impaired the growth of the nation. The strength of the technology lies in the advanced technologies used behind the scenes rather than the handheld devices, which is used by the natives of the epidemic region. Expensive and smart application phones can perform these functions too and send back information to the data center for processing. The positive point about the technology is being independent of the handheld device and focus on the data center equipment which can gather process and analyze data.

Here is a video which is shown to depict the various uses of data mining and how it is done.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-sGvh6tI04

The lecturer shows the understanding and the misunderstanding behind the data mining concept. The speaker has clearly shown that the economy these days is knowledge and data based and everything we do leads to data analysis for better behavior understanding. It is for the first time that the concept is being applied to Mobile Phone Company and focus is on the technologies and services provided as part of package that comes from the service provider irrespective of what brand the hand set is, as long as it can receive the signals.

According to (Talbot, 2013), Kenya cellular servicescould track the coming and going of the people around the main impacted areas and find the root cause of the problem which was Lake Victoria. Therefore, it is clear that the cell region gives the location and helps identify the foot fall in a particular region which is otherwise an extremely difficult task based on surveys or asking questions to locals on the physical level. The feedback might not be accurate as it would be difficult to handle a large population.

According to (Measuring Usability, 2013), there are many statistical tools which can be deployed in the analysis of the data which is collected from various sources based on surveys. These can be subjected to Cluster sampling as mentioned by (Crossman, 2013), in his article showing how a chosen cluster can represent the thinking of entire population and is sufficient enough to be used. Still, there is no comparison between a surveyed data and one collected based on true digital values. Hence, on the other hand, the technologies deployed at the data center can easily find the exact cellular number coming and going based on the frequency of the cell region. Every text message and voice message can be retrieved and analyzed. Computerized programs can be installed on machines to notify the cellular phone owners through text messages about potential dangers when they enter a particular region.

(Crossman, 2013), cluster sampling techniques is just the beginning as there are more widely used sampling methods like quota. Based on the person registered with the number, the behavioral patterns can be studied as it is being done in Kenya. (Measuring Usability, 2013), have also shown correlation and regression methods which can be used with help of computer software and data mining can be done easily and efficiently.

The emerging techniques are helping eradicate malaria in the region of Kenya where it is affected the most. It can also be used for other purposes such as security and welfare of people and warn them about the impending dangers and timely reminders based on how the customers behave and have different lifestyles. It can lead to a trend which can help in analyzing data even from simple devices sitting from the data center and observing the cell movements or information collected from the user. This should be used for the welfare of people.

The emerging technology can be seen as a great strength of the cellular services which have given various technologies to society. The concept of mobile phones and cellular services were based on dividing the region into cells where the device is roaming. This particular conpcet has become the strength of the data mining and collecting big data from even a simple handset.The data centers can gather the big data and analyze it quickly. The future is based on data mining and what services it can provide to the people of the region and what other investigative data can be obtained at the back end of the cellular operations based on data mining, for the welfare of the society.Various software upgrades can be made in order to improve the services in the future.

References

Crossman, A. (2013). Cluster sampling.Retrieved October 18, 2013 from http://sociology.about.com/od/Types-of-Samples/a/Cluster-Sample.htm

Measuring Usability. (2013). Fundamentals of Statistics 1: Basic Concepts Tutorial. Retrieved October 18, 32013 from http://www.usablestats.com/tutorials/basicStats

Talbot, D. (2013). 10 breakthrough technologies of 2013: Bid data from cheap phones. Retrieved October 18, 2013 from http://www.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/513721/big-data-from-cheap-phones/

Solar Energy

Introduction

Solar energy is one of the largest renewable sources of energy which is available on our planet. In the last century, there were ground breaking innovations and inventions made using solar energy to find different sources of energy and alternative sources of fuel in some regions. The result is the creation of instruments and equipment such as photovoltaic cell and solar panels. It is very important to understand the need to harness this source of energy as part of our ethics and responsibilities towards our planet. Research and development can provide our society with the right opportunity to harness the largest source of energy on our planet.

Solar energy is a renewable source of energy which must be harnessed to help in energy consumption and promote ethical use of the natural resource and also help the economy grow on basis of this.

Discussion

Our society in New Zealand is a prosperous society with economical slowly and surely stabilizing and many new innovative things are introduced in our market. The trends and products as well as new concepts are modern. It does not always necessarily mean that they are ethical in nature. Some companies may introduce a product to make profits and establish themselves.

The discussion for ethics can be introduced from the main article on it from (BBC, 2013), which clearly states that ethics are a system of moral principles. It directly correlates to the lives of people and its quality. All efforts make to improve this and so something for the society, economy and the environment leads to sustainable development and can be considered as an ethical act. The website also shows the different division of ethics which overall establish the good and the bad for the society.

We see in our daily lives that our needs are increasing. One such need is energy in one form or other. Mostly it is the electric power. Hence, it is ethical as seen from the above discussion that it is important to focus on the needs of people yet also make sure that it brings benefits for all and especially to the environment. Solar power and solar technology as per (SEIA, 2013), has shown that solar energy can be harnessed and equipment can be produced for it to be used and transformed into electric power to meet the needs. This is further supported by (Renewable World Energy, 2013), which shows how the energy is harnessed and converted to various different kinds of devices.

There is another worry with respect to economy as to how these products may affect its functioning. The present energy sources cannot be completely replaced by the solar energies. The process can have unpredictable results. Some sectors have seen the solar energy panels as a successful inclusion in their system. Right now the solar energy seems to play the supporting role and the additional facility which can slowly become the primary sources considering the fact that solar energy is available in abundance on our planet.

One of the best solutions which seems viable for the mutual benefit of the society and is ethical in nature is the slow introduction and awareness of the technology which can help in the development of the economic market and acceptance in a country like New Zealand.

Moreover, the benefits are numerous and it may lead to researchers creating new prototypes which will help in creating new economic factors such as supply and demand providing new opportunities for work and income for many new people. New skilled labor can also be injected intothe economy which can help in the development of the economy after providing such an ethical solution in for of non-polluting renewable source of energy. One of the drawbacks with solar energy is the absence of sunlight. Scientists are researching on this according to (Renewable World Energy, 2013), about increasing the storage capacity of the solar cells so that it gives a streamlined and continuous flow of energy. This can be improved in the future with new models and prototypes coming in which can help achieve this.

Solar panels according to (Solar Technologies, 2013), have been developed with a lot of research and have proved to be a great utility for different aspects of society which needs large amounts of energy. The present sources are useful but not economically viable and hence, the solution of solar energy is promising as energy sources as well as for the economy. This situation brings in a dual benefit for the society and the economy and can be considered a viable solution for long term benefits.

Therefore, the investments made in this field can bear rich dividends. There are many companies working on research and development of the solar energy, coming few years can see further development and enhancement of the present technology which may open new markets for the products and the economic benefits can also be gained from them.

Conclusion

We can say in the end, that the solar energy has laid a new platform for the researchers and scientists to lead way into a solution for energy requirements which have a win-win situation for the society. It is also ethical as the obligations and the framework for the scientific logic also prompts the use of such technology. The only thing which needs to be worried about is the impact it may have on the economy. This is also easily resolved through the use of good marketing and creating new market for the new product.

Overall, the technology is a very good research area which is ethical in nature and provides a good window of opportunity to meet the economic needs and solve energy purposes.

References

BBC. (2013). Introduction to Ethics. Retrieved October 8, 2013 from http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/introduction/

Renewable World Energy. (2013). The World's #1 Renewable Energy Network for News & Information. Retrieved October 8, 2013 from http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/tech/solar-energy

SEIA. (2013). Solar Technology.Retrieved October 8, 2013 from http://www.seia.org/policy/solar-technology

Solar Technologies. (2013). How does solar power work? Retrieved October 8, 2013 from http://www.solartechnologies.com/cm/About-Solar-Power/how-does-solar-power-work.html

Cyber bullying

     Cyber bullying

    Today’s new generation of teenagers are doing plenty use of technology. The high speed internet facilities are commonly available is every home of middle class and higher class family and teenagers are often found busy on internet. Many of them using the instant messengers, social networking sites for interacting with their friends also spends hours in text-messaging with friends on mobile phone. Technology is always being seen in the form of new benefits like easy access to the information and benefit the teenager in studies but many of the teenagers are using internet to commit crimes, exploit innocent and creating negative scenes in life of many of the directly connected people. This technology has allowed some teens to take the bullying that thrives in school hallways into cyberspace.

Cyber bullying is using the Internet, cell phones, video game systems, or other technology to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person. Cyber bullies victimize teens in a variety of ways ( Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, 2006):

v  Nearly 20 percent of teens had a cyber bully pretend to be someone else in order to trick them online, getting them to reveal personal information.

v  Seventeen percent of teens were victimized by someone lying about them online.

v  Thirteen percent of teens learned that a cyber bully was pretending to be them while communicating with someone else.

v  Ten percent of teens were victimized because someone posted unflattering pictures of them online, without permission.

     According to the American National law against cyber bulling in 2006 around 13 million children and teenagers with a age range of 6-17 were reported as a victim of cyber bullying. (McQuade & Sampat, 2008) states that there is a significant rise in the number of kids being harassed by someone through internet or mobile phones. The cyber bullying is of different types as follows:-

v  Doing fights online using e-mails or chat rooms in angry manner and using vulgar text.

v  Sending dangerous, panic creating and abusing messages to victim repeatedly.

v  Creating rumors and fake news about the victim which can damage his/her social image

v  Hacking victims e-mail and sending vulgar mails to others through it.

v  Talking with victim on chat or instant messenger and creating trust to get sensitive information and then making the information publically available.

v  Purposeful elimination of victim from the common group to keep him alone and unconnected with the friends.  (Willard, 2007a).

      As compare to the face to face bullying which kids normally do with their friends the cyber bullying is more dangerous in many aspects. Firstly it is difficult to track the person who is bullying the victim as the identity of the person is hidden due to use of some fake e-mail ids to post or mail the text against the victim. Second the people involved in the bullying process can increase due to circulation of the material and lot many people may stand against a single alone victim ( Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, 2006). In face to face bullying the person who is initiating the process may realize after some time that it is actually hurting the victim and can think of stopping the bullying but due to use of technology now the victim is far away from the person initiating the bullying hence due to unawareness of the side effect of the bullying on the victim the person might will continue the process , (McQuade & Sampat, 2008). Finally, the face to face bullying may get caught due to observation of teachers or parents but the cyber bullying is often difficult to track and it is always found that the parents are unaware and unprepared of keeping watch on the cyber activities of teenagers.

The lifetime cyber bullying offending rates from 2004 to 2010 are as follows:-

                                Fig-Lifetime cyber bullying offending rates (2004-2010). (McQuade & Sampat, 2008).

Impact of Cyber bullying

     There is a significant emotional impact of cyber bullying on the victim. The victim often feel depressed, it has been observed a drastic drop in the school performance of the victim facing the cyber bullying, in many cases the victim just start hating the school and avoid going school. In cyber bullying cases it’s always difficult to remove the online posted messages hence the impact of the cyber bullying is long term in nature. The victim many times starts believing the wrong thing which has been posted against him or her which may result into physiological illness or multiple personality disorders. Sometimes the victim becomes violent against the person who has initiated the cyber bullying and tries to physically hurt the person or many time attempts to murder the person, (McQuade & Sampat, 2008). Drugs and alcohol addiction in teenage is the another link to the cyber bullying, the victim end up in the bar or a habit of smoking in order to handle the stress created due to cyber bullying. The victim may enter in the criminal areas to avoid the people who are aware of the wrong thing which has been posted or just to get rid from the regular irritation. The emotional pressure and the loneliness may drag the victim to the step of suicide.

According to the impact of the cyber bullying on the life of the victim as well as an initiator it is a topic on fire. Many families have lost there children due to the side effects of the cyber bullying (Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, 2006). The cyber bullying is also one of the important aspects now days behind the increase in school drop out ratio. Many bright children in studies have lost their track towards their careers just because they become the victim of cyber bullying. It has a huge social impact on each and every member of the families where the teenagers are using the technology in a wrong way and the victim is facing the unreasonable treatment. The prevention of the cyber bullying is very important in terms of offering a secure future to the teenagers and children’s of the world. Many countries have reinforced the law against the cyber bullying. The main steps that society should take against the cyber bullying is that the teachers and parents should keep track of the cyber activities of the children’s and get updated about the advance technology, where as the educator can create the awareness among the student from 6-17 age about the ill effect of cyber bullying and motivate them to avoid such behavior, (STOP Cyberbullying, 2008).

References

1. Fight Crime: Invest in Kids. (2006). Cyber Bully Teen. Report prepared by Opinion Research Corporation. Retrieved from:  http://www.fightcrime.org/cyberbullying/cyberbullyingteen.pdf
2. McQuade III, S. C., & Sampat, N. (2008). Survey of internet and at-risk behaviors. Report of the Rochester Institute of Technology. Rochester, NY: Rochester.
3. STOP Cyberbullying (2008). What methods work with the different kinds of cyberbullies? Wired Kids,Inc. Retrieved from : http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/parents/howdoyouhandleacyberbully.html
4. Willard, N. (2007a). Educator’s guide to cyberbullying and cyberthreats. Eugene, OR: Center for Safe and Responsible Internet. Retrieved from : http://www.cyberbully.org/cyberbully/docs/cbcteducator.pdf
5. Willard, N. (2007b). Cyberbullying and cyberthreats: Responding to the challenge of online social aggression, threats, and distress. Champaign, IL: Research Press.

Trains and Rail in New Zealand

1.            History

The origins of trains and the rail system in New Zealand trace back to individual efforts made by certain provinces of the country and entrepreneurs from the 1860s onwards. (Brief Rail History, 2013) Then, thanks to special importance placed by Prime Minister Julius Vogel, the development of the use of trains and rail became a major item of his programme. As a result not only the use of this technology flourished by means of the expansion of the rail system but also the country’s growth thrived as well. From the 1870s railway lines opened up areas of New Zealand for settlement. Railways connected farms, forests and mines to markets and ports, and fostered the growth of towns. (Atkinson, 2012)

New Zealand’s first steam-powered public railway was a 7-kilometre line from Christchurch to Ferrymead, which opened in 1863. Built by the Canterbury provincial government, this line used tiny British-built tank engines and a broad 5-foot 3-inch (1,600-millimetre) “Irish” gauge track. (Atkinson, 2012)

The image on the left is a painting by W.W. Stewart that portrays New Zealand’s first railway in Christchurch, 1863. The depictedscene corresponds to the first ever trip made by the locomotive “Pilgrim”, of the Canterbury provincial railway.(New Zealand’s first railway, 2013)

In terms of the sources of energy on which trains operated, the railways were mostly steam-powered until the 1950s. The last scheduled steam service was in 1971. Today, people enjoy special outings on old-fashioned steam trains. There were some electric-powered trains from the 1920s and 1930s, and from 1949 there were diesel engines.(Atkinson, 2012)

The image on the right is an invitation to the opening of the first electric multiple-unit service in New Zealand, on the Wellington–Johnsonville line in 1938.

As to a comparison between these different energy sources, the advantages of diesel and electric engines over steam locomotives are described in a 1956 film clip that can be accessed through the following link: http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/video/21394/changing-engines

By 1953 the rail network reached its peak in terms of network reach - 5,689 kilometres. But advances in air and road transport began to cut into its competitive advantage. (Brief Rail History, 2013) Despite the construction of several new forestry lines in the Bay of Plenty in the 1950s (and numerous deviations and improvements elsewhere), New Zealand’s great rail-building days were over. Waves of branch-line closures, beginning in the late 1950s, reduced the national network to 3,898 kilometres in the early 2000s.(Atkinson, 2012)

Electrification of North Island main trunk started in 1984 and was completed in 1988 at a cost of $250 million. (Brief Rail History, 2013)

In 2007 the New Zealand government announced another major electrification project, with the conversion of the Auckland suburban network (currently served by diesel-hauled trains and diesel multiple units) due to be completed by 2013.(Atkinson, 2012)

1.            Social Impacts

Once the implementation of this technology began in New Zealand it was very significant in terms of changing how things were being done in the country. Most of New Zealand’s early colonial settlements were built on the coast. European settlers, like Māori before them, relied on sea and river transport to link their isolated communities. Overland travel was often extremely difficult, especially in heavily forested, swampy or mountainous areas. (Atkinson, 2012)As we can see, due to this technology and the way the rail system spread throughout New Zealand, it was a very significant factor in terms of modelling and shaping how communities were settled throughout the country, on both the North and South Islands.

In terms of industry development and employment, railroad construction has had important effects on the industry of engineering as well as on industries related with certain materials such as timber and iron used for the rail tracks. Railways opened up thousands of opportunities for work.With almost 20,000 employees in 1930 and 27,000 in 1950, the Railways Department was for many years New Zealand’s largest employer. The “railway people” had a strong sense of identity and their own distinctive culture, reinforced by family and social networks, departmental housing, trade unions, bands, clubs, sports teams and picnics.(Atkinson, 2012)

Nevertheless, at times due to restructuring and financial constraints, it also has had great impacts on the rates of unemployment in New Zealand. For instance, over the years there was a significant reduction in the number of employees, from 21,000 in 1982 to 3,757 in 2002. (Brief Rail History, 2013) From the 1950s the railways declined. Many branch lines and stations closed, and people lost their jobs. In 1993 the railway system was sold to a private buyer – but in the 2000s the government bought the railways back. There is renewed interest in using rail to transport goods and people. (Atkinson, 2012)

As it also occurred around the globe, with the expansion of the rail system, the transport of people was changed allowing better connectionsbetween different areas of the country. Trains linked the nation, carrying people, raw materials, and spread ideas for new ways of cultivating agriculture. Speed and ability to travel regardless of the weather conditions made rail travel attractive to travellers and businesses. (Trains and the world) This improved communications since the transport of mail and parcels began to be carried out using this means of transport. In 1878 the first railway travelling post office was established between Christchurch and Dunedin. They were soon attached to most express trains, the mail sorters working to the train’s rocking, swaying motion. People could post letters through slots on the side, and guards’ vans also routinely carried mail. Road and air competition undermined rail’s mail business from the 1930s, and the last railway travelling post office was withdrawn in 1971.(Atkinson, 2012)

In contrast to the more passenger-oriented rail networks of Europe, New Zealand’s system has always been primarily a freight railway.For almost a century, the state used New Zealand Railways as a developmental agency to foster domestic agriculture, mining, forestry and manufacturing. Mining and timber companies were major rail users from the 1870s, and New Zealand Railways itself was a voracious consumer of coal and timber until well after the Second World War. (Atkinson, 2012)

In particular, trains and the rail system gained special importance for the transport of farm freight. Farmers were important rail customers until the 1960s. Canterbury’s extensive network facilitated that region’s grain boom in the late 19th century, and from the 1880s railways played a vital role in the development of the lucrative export trade in refrigerated meat. Livestock transport was the lifeblood of many rural branch lines in the first half of the 20th century. Successive governments bowed to pressure from the farming lobby by cutting rail-freight rates on butter, cheese, wool, fruit and other products, delivering lime for free, and subsidising transport to and from agricultural and pastoral shows. (Atkinson, 2012) Despite the closures, in the 2000s New Zealand’s rail system carried more tonnes of freight than at any other time in its history. Many products and freight-handling practices had changed; most rail freight was carried in bulk or in containers, over longer distances and in fewer but far bigger trains, with minimal wagon shunting en route. While coal and timber products remained important, new customers like the major dairy company Fonterra had become increasingly valuable. (Atkinson, 2012)

References

1.                  Atkinson, Neill. Railways - Building the rail network, TeAra - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 13 July 2012. Retrieved on 23-26 August 2013 from: http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/railways/

2.                  Brief Rail History. Retrieved on 23-26 August 2013 from:http://www.kiwirail.co.nz/about-us/history-of-kiwirail.html

3.                  National Rail Strategy to 2015, New Zealand Ministry of Transport, May 2005. Retrieved on 23-26 August 2013 from:

http://www.transport.govt.nz/about/publications/Documents/nationalrailstrategy.pdf

4.                  New Zealand’s first railway, Christchurch, 1863. Retrieved on 23-26 August 2013 from: http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/media/photo/painting-pilgrim-train-1863

5.                  Trains and the world. Retrieved on 23-26 August 2013 from:http://traingogo.weebly.com/social-impact.html