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Measuring Experienced Wellbeing: Two Methods for Smartphone-based Ecological Momentary Assessment
No full textSince 2010 the widespread availability of smartphones has lowered barriers to collecting experienced wellbeing (EWB) data through ecological momentary assessment (EMA). This paper reports on two New Zealand studies that explore the impact of social context, activity, and the diurnal cycle on the EWB of social housing tenants. The two studies adopt different approaches to implementing EMA via a smartphone. The first uses a smartphone app to collect information on EWB, while the second adopts an instant messaging approach.
Despite differences in the EMA approach used and sample characteristics, both studies produce very similar results. Social contact is associated with higher experienced wellbeing, as is travelling when compared to other activities. Both studies also effectively replicate findings from the wider literature on the relationship between the diurnal cycle and experienced happiness.
Because the studies both took place in New Zealand in the second half of 2023 and focus on similar target populations, a comparison between them has useful lessons for the impact of the different approaches to EMA on data collection. We find that the instant messaging approach achieved better compliance with the EMA protocol, suggesting that the familiarity of instant messaging may be beneficial for data quality for some respondents. However, the instant messaging approach requires more researcher time per interview and cannot collect GPS information on the respondent’s location, sacrificing a major strength of EMA measures.</jats:p
Optimising High-Intensity Interval Training to Enhance V̇O₂max in Endurance Trained Adults: A Systematic Review and Bayesian Network Meta-Analysis of Randomised Trials
No full textIntroduction: Maximal oxygen uptake (V̇O₂max) is a key determinant of endurance performance. Numerous training strategies have been explored to enhance V̇O₂max, with high-intensity interval training (HIIT) demonstrating greater effectiveness than moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT). Despite its advantages, HIIT encompasses a wide range of work-rest combinations, intensities and durations, and the specific protocol(s) that yields the greatest improvement in V̇O₂max remains unclear.
Aims: To compare and probabilistically rank distinct HIIT protocols by how effective they were at enhancing V̇O₂max in endurance-trained adults.
Methods: A systematic review and Bayesian random-effects network meta-analysis (NMA) of randomised controlled trials was conducted. Eligible studies included endurance-trained adults and prescribed 2–3 training sessions per week for 4–12 weeks. Interventions were grouped into network nodes by intensity domain/work-to-rest ratio, work-interval duration, and total accumulated work-interval duration. The primary outcome was mean difference in ΔV̇O₂max (mL/kg/min) from pre to post-intervention versus each study’s pre-specified baseline comparator (typically MICT). Surface Under the Cumulative Ranking (SUCRA) values were used to rank protocols.
Results: Nineteen randomised trials comprising 42 study arms and 410 participants met the eligibility criteria and were synthesised in the NMA. Across the network, the majority of HIIT protocols elicited larger gains in ΔV̇O₂max than MICT. The highest ranking intervention consisted of very-short work intervals (<60 s) performed at the severe–extreme boundary with work:rest ≥1:1 and a moderate total accumulated work-interval duration (10–20 min). This ranking was robust to meta-regressions on baseline V̇O₂max, training frequency, and study duration. However, three protocols formed a high-ranking cluster with clear effects versus MICT: very-short severe-extreme intervals, long severe intervals, and medium severe intervals — all with work:rest ≥1:1.
Conclusion: In endurance-trained adults, HIIT resulted in greater improvements in V̇O₂max than MICT. While very-short intervals at the severe–extreme boundary ranked highest, three protocols formed a high-ranking cluster — suggesting multiple HIIT configurations can effectively enhance V̇O₂max when work:rest ratios are ≥1:1 and sufficient work is accumulated within the severe domain
Waikare: The Dying Lake and the Embodied Artist
No full textThis practice-led doctoral thesis considers the nature of embodied engagement with a polluted, localised environment (Lake Waikare). Accordingly, the research asks: How might lens-based recording serve in expressing an embodied connection to land? Situated in the context of the Anthropocene, the study frames cognition as situated, embodied, and inseparable from the environment. As such, it offers a shift in focus from global, political mobilisation to embodied relationality (Ingold, 2021). Through repeated site visits to the lake, lens-based recording, and synthesis of moving image sequences, the research considers the nature of duration (Bergson, 1957) and the agency of stillness in fostering an intimate connection with a specific geographical site. Methodologically, the thesis adopts a heuristic, reflective mode of inquiry that foregrounds subjective iterative experimentation. The significance of the project lies in its contribution to ways in which embodied experiences of land, mediated through multi modal image practice, can integrate considerations of closeness, viscerality, spirituality, and poetic resonance
Coordinating Response During Disaster: The 2023 Cyclone Gabrielle in the Hawke’s Bay Region as Case Study
No full textCyclone Gabrielle struck Aotearoa New Zealand in February 2023 and was one of the most devastating disaster events in the country’s recent history. Response efforts involved a wide range of stakeholders and exposed critical coordination challenges. This study examined the effectiveness of these responses through 15 semi-structured interviews with representatives from national and local emergency management agencies, non-government organisations and community groups, as well as marae [meeting place] leaders involved in the response. It focused on the coordination among these different actors to identify strengths, gaps and challenges, and to understand the implications for disaster resilience. Findings reveal systemic issues in communication and coordination that hindered timely and equitable response, particularly in reaching people in rural areas, collaborating with Māori communities and engaging volunteers. Cultural disconnects, under-utilisation of local networks and training gaps for surge staff and emergency personnel also limited response effectiveness. The study highlights the need to strengthen pre-disaster relationships with iwi [tribes], marae and community-based groups to enhance workforce preparedness and embed culturally responsive practices.</jats:p
Divided Control by Past Behavior, Present Stimuli, and Future Outcome Value in a Concurrent-Chains Procedure
No full textWhen multiple stimuli appear to signal behavior–reinforcer contingencies, control may be divided between those stimuli. Such divided stimulus control depends in part on the value of the outcome to the organism, with stimuli signaling more valuable outcomes exerting stronger control. The present experiment investigated how divided control by past and present stimuli interacts with outcome value. Pigeons responded in a concurrent-chains procedure in which one terminal link ended with two food deliveries after 8 s and the other link ended with six food deliveries after 48 s. Outcomes were signaled by the response producing terminal-link entry (past behavior) as well as keylight stimuli during initial links (past signals) and terminal links (present signals). When these sources of stimulus control conflicted, past behavior exerted strong control over terminal-link responding, overshadowing control by past signals. Some control by present signals was also evident, particularly at later times in terminal links. Additionally, stimuli signaling pigeons' more preferred outcome (smaller-sooner reinforcer) exerted stronger control than stimuli signaling the less preferred (larger-later) outcome. These findings highlight the importance of subjective outcome value in stimulus control and demonstrate that egocentric stimuli can exert enduring behavioral control even when other less transient discriminative stimuli occurred in the recent past or present
SIFT-SNN for Traffic-Flow Infrastructure Safety: A Real-Time Context-Aware Anomaly Detection Framework
No full textAutomated anomaly detection in transportation infrastructure is essential for enhancing safety and reducing the operational costs associated with manual inspection protocols. This study presents an improved neuromorphic vision system, which extends the prior SIFT-SNN (scale-invariant feature transform–spiking neural network) proof-of-concept by incorporating temporal feature aggregation for context-aware and sequence-stable detection. Analysis of classical stitching-based pipelines exposed sensitivity to motion and lighting variations, motivating the proposed temporally smoothed neuromorphic design. SIFT keypoints are encoded into latency-based spike trains and classified using a leaky integrate-and-fire (LIF) spiking neural network implemented in PyTorch. Evaluated across three hardware configurations—an NVIDIA RTX 4060 GPU, an Intel i7 CPU, and a simulated Jetson Nano—the system achieved 92.3% accuracy and a macro F1 score of 91.0% under five-fold cross-validation. Inference latencies were measured at 9.5 ms, 26.1 ms, and ~48.3 ms per frame, respectively. Memory footprints were under 290 MB, and power consumption was estimated to be between 5 and 65 W. The classifier distinguishes between safe, partially dislodged, and fully dislodged barrier pins, which are critical failure modes for the Auckland Harbour Bridge’s Movable Concrete Barrier (MCB) system. Temporal smoothing further improves recall for ambiguous cases. By achieving a compact model size (2.9 MB), low-latency inference, and minimal power demands, the proposed framework offers a deployable, interpretable, and energy-efficient alternative to conventional CNN-based inspection tools. Future work will focus on exploring the generalisability and transferability of the work presented, additional input sources, and human–computer interaction paradigms for various deployment infrastructures and advancements.</jats:p
The Mindful Marketplace: Ideological Repackaging in Influencer Marketing
No full textAmid the broader cultural rise of contemplative traditions, social media influencers, particularly those promoting mindfulness, blend commercial self-promotion with the ideological commitments of this philosophy. This study examines how they navigate authenticity and commerciality by repackaging mindfulness into marketable products. Using a qualitative analysis of 16 mindfulness influencers on Instagram, we identify two strategies, discourse and practice, that enable them to maintain authenticity while commercializing a belief system. Our findings challenge the assumption that authenticity and commerciality are inherently oppositional. This study demonstrates how these dynamics can coexist, while raising ethical concerns around authenticity inflation, informal expertise, and the monetization of belief systems
Effects of Litter Inputs on Soil Aggregate C Turnover and Flow Differ Among Three Natural Forest Ecosystems Along a Climate Gradient in China
No full textBackground: Plant litter input plays an important role in controlling soil organic carbon (SOC) turnover and the flow of carbon (C) among different pools. However, the relative effects of aboveground and belowground root litter on soil aggregate C dynamics across different forest types and along climate gradients remain poorly understood. In this study, we examined changes in soil aggregate mass proportion, litter-derived and native C contents of macro-aggregate, micro-aggregate and silt + clay fractions, and C flow among these fractions during 2 years of litter input, using 13C isotope tracing technique in tropical, temperate and boreal forests along a climate gradient in China. Results: The results showed that belowground root litter input enhanced soil aggregation across all three forests, but aboveground litter input had no significant effect. Belowground root litter input increased total and litter-derived C content across aggregate fractions compared to aboveground litter input in the tropical forest, while it decreased native C content in the same forest. However, the effects of litter input on total and litter-derived C contents were minimal in the boreal and temperate forests. In addition, patterns of soil C flow among aggregates varied depending on both litter input type and forest type. Conclusions: Our results imply that belowground root litter enhances soil aggregation and aggregate C turnover compared to aboveground litter input. Moreover, the effects of root litter input on soil aggregate C turnover and C flow depend on forest types along the climatic gradient
A Symptom Network Approach to Schizophrenia in the CATIE Study: Processing Speed as the Central Cognitive Impairment
No full textBACKGROUND: People diagnosed with schizophrenia can have functional impairments in multiple domains. Cognitive impairment is central to schizophrenia and has substantial prognostic value compared with other symptoms of schizophrenia. However, no study has previously investigated directed relationships in a complex system of cognitive, sociodemographic, clinical and quality of life (QOL) variables in people diagnosed with schizophrenia. AIMS: To identify the complex relationships of components of cognition with other cognitive components, as well as with clinical and QOL variables. METHOD: This study included data from 1450 participants in the Clinical Antipsychotic Trials of Intervention Effectiveness (CATIE) study. The present study reconstructed a Bayesian network from this data using cognition, clinical, sociodemographic and QOL variables. RESULTS: Processing speed was centrally associated with all other cognitive domains. Cognitive domains were conditionally independent of positive symptoms but moderately associated with negative symptoms (β = -0.25; P < 0.001). The positive symptoms subscale was independent of QOL, conditioning on third variables. Negative symptoms were moderately associated with QOL (β = -0.33; P < 0.001), and processing speed had a weak association with QOL (β = -0.12; P < 0.001). Processing speed was a central variable in the network. CONCLUSIONS: Intervening with respect to processing speed may be the most beneficial way of improving other cognitive functions. More research is needed on directed networks that include social cognition and global levels of functioning
Digital Transformation in the Public Sector: A Systematic Mapping Study From an Agile Perspective
No full textThis chapter presents the results of a systematic mapping study that analysed existing research to provide an overview of the current research landscape regarding implementing digital transformation (DT) in the public sector from an agile perspective.
We reviewed 22 papers published between January 2014 and April 2024. Our findings indicate that DT studies in the public sector primarily focus on developing new organisational capabilities and routines. Most publications originate from Europe and the USA, while Asia has contributed the least. The reported benefits of integrating agile practices into DT include improved efficiency, transparency, and adaptability. The main challenges include stakeholder engagement and collaboration issues, bureaucratic and cultural barriers, difficulties with adaptability and change management, and challenges related to policies and regulations