Open Journal Systems at the Victoria University of Wellington Library
Not a member yet
6045 research outputs found
Sort by
A note on formalizing discussive logic
Get PDFDiscussive logic was introduced by Jaskowski as a logic of discussion. In this note we show that some natural translation-based formalizations of discussive logic in modal logic do not yield a paraconsistent logic but rather classical logic. Some alternative modal formalizations of discussive logic that avoid the collapse into classical logic are put forward
Six Legged Ghosts: The Insects of Aotearoa.
Get PDFSix Legged Ghosts is Lily Duval’s love letter to what many might regard as the most unlovable creatures of all – insects. Duval does not write as someone with a lifelong passion for these animals. Instead, her passion is that of the convert, someone who has come to see the light about the inherent worth of the small and beautiful. As a former arachnophobe turned arachnologist, I recognize the signs
He Awa Whiria: Braiding the Knowledge Streams in Research, Policy and Practice
Get PDFThe metaphor He Awa Whiria in the title, clearly signals that this is a book about bringing different perspectives together into new, stronger and mutually interconnected wholes. Reflecting on the life work of the lead editor Professor Angus Macfarlane the idea of bringing together, often complex ideas into new coherent wholes has been a hallmark of his stellar career in psychology, education and research
Citizenship In Transnational Perspective: Australia, Canada and Aotearoa New Zealand
Get PDFIn this time of dramatic political, social, and economic upheaval, issues of citizenship have become ever-more salient. Questions around who is included in or excluded from a community, what rights and responsibilities should be associated with membership, and when, or if, it is appropriate to revoke membership, are at the centre of many heated debates
Finding Fudduni: Sicilian intangible cultural heritage as a floating signifier
Get PDFThis paper examines the memory, identity, and contemporary significance of Petru Fudduni, a semi-legendary Sicilian folk poet of the 17th century, among local people in Palermo. Building upon archival and field research we conducted in January-February 2025, we argue that Fudduni is a ‘floating signifier’ that acquires different meanings depending on the socio-cultural values of the people who remember him and his stories. Ultimately, his legacy sheds light on the different ways local people view Sicilian culture and identity, reflecting at once the different souls and characteristics of Palermo: working class and aristocracy; the sacred and the profane; low culture and high art
Embodied Pregnancy and Biomedical Support: Experiences of Middle-Class Women in Bangladesh
Get PDFThis article examines how middle-class women in Bangladesh experience health-seeking support within biomedicalised maternity care, highlighting tensions between women’s embodied knowledge and technology-driven medical authority. Based on twelve months of ethnographic fieldwork in Dhaka, including interviews with thirty women who delivered via caesarean section and observations in private and public hospitals, the study explores doctor–patient interactions and the structural factors shaping pregnancy care. I show that biomedical practice prioritises technological assessments and clinical categorisation over women’s lived experiences. Women with ‘high-risk’ pregnancies received attentive care and empathetic guidance, enabling them to manage physical and emotional challenges successfully. In contrast, women with ‘low-risk’ pregnancies often had their distress minimised or dismissed, as their symptoms did not fit established clinical parameters. The findings demonstrate that medical acknowledgement depends on diagnostic validation rather than the severity of embodied suffering. The article contributes to debates on medicalisation, reproductive governance, and the social construction of pregnancy
New Zealand Superannuation as a Basic Income
Get PDFChanging New Zealand Superannuation into a genuine basic income is a 21st-century idea that would allow a simple but effective clawback mechanism to operate through the tax system, generating useful revenue to help meet current and future government expenditure pressures in aged care, pensions, education, poverty reduction and climate change. In this article, various special tax schedules for superannuitants are modelled for 2025/26 for those who opt onto the basic income, called here the New Zealand Superannuation Grant. Significant savings are possible and could be further enhanced by alignment of the various rates of New Zealand Superannuation as set out in detail in St John (2025)
The Dunny Comes in from the Cold
Get PDFBy the late nineteenth century, action was taken by local authorities in several major New Zealand cities and towns to instigate measures to improve sanitation to reduce or eliminate the spread of noxious diseases. Wellington led the way in 1898 by completing a citywide drainage system, to collect human waste from households and carry it to the sea at Moa Point on the south coast. The water closet was a necessary integral part of this system, with the attendant piping for odour dissemination. It was soon realised that the isolated external toilet or dunny situated well away from the main house, and a feature of the garden, was no longer necessary; instead, homeowners could have a special small room indoors to accommodate the toilet with its plumbing; hence the origin of "the smallest room in the house." An interim stage of house planning was to locate the toilet beneath a verandah overhang, possibly with an adjacent wash house or coal store. Or there might be a small add-on wing to the house with the same functions. Some toilets were in the same internal room as the bath, but this was generally uncommon. In this paper we look briefly at key features of the Wellington sanitation scheme, then analyse the number and locations of internal toilets using building permit plans for new houses.
The changeover to internal toilets took many years, even decades in some areas, as they were difficult and costly to retrofit in older villas and some bungalows which had only recently got used to having piped water. Thus, the night cart system for collection and disposal of human waste from earth closets also had to continue - in some instances until the 1960s. Although the dunny was eventually replaced in towns and cities, it still lives on near huts in parks and reserves - but progress has generally led to better overall sanitation, and garden landscape design benefited accordingly
Impact of climate change on solar and wind electricity generation in Aotearoa New Zealand
Get PDFClimate change is driving the energy sector with significant impacts on renewable electricity generation systems. The purpose of this study is to analyse the impact of climate change on solar and wind electricity generation in Aotearoa New Zealand projected to 2050. To have realistic and tangible results and reduce the uncertainties, climate change is modelled with three climate and economic scenarios. The annual electricity generation projected for 2050 is estimated through simulations conducted with SAM (System Advisor Model), using data provided by NIWA. The projected energy output in 2050 is compared with the electricity production of two solar farms and five wind farms in 2024. The results show that solar electricity generation will be similar to the data that the Electricity Authority captured for 2024, with some slight seasonal variations. Wind-generated electricity is likely to be more affectedby climate change, with a substantial increase in average wind speed in winter and spring, especially on the southern island. A decrease in wind in summer and autumn reduces wind-generated electricity. The risks to the reliability and stability of solar and wind power generation systems are particularly amplified by the increase in extreme weather events, such as intensified storms, atmospheric rivers, and floods. This study highlights the vulnerability of Aotearoa New Zealand’s energy sector to climate change, and the need for adaptation strategies. The recommendations include flexibility of power grid management with alternative sustainable electricity generation solutions and storage strategies and strengthening solar and wind farm infrastructure to make them more resilient and durable against extreme weather events
Access Repository Dashboard
Do you manage Open Journal Systems at the Victoria University of Wellington Library? Access insider analytics, issue reports and manage access to outputs from your repository in the CORE Repository Dashboard!