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Using the Living Standards Framework to Analyse the Drivers of Social Resilience in a Disaster Management Context
No full textResilience concepts now underpin the global strategic approach to risk mitigation. However, operational challenges have emerged which stem from problems with measurement. Many key drivers of social resilience are intangible and difficult to measure, which can result in their exclusion from consideration in institutional decisionmaking structures. Drawing upon a case study – the Hurunui district – which recently experienced multiple adverse events, we argue two points. First, disaster management outcomes can be improved by better accounting for intangible factors in decision making processes. Second, the Living Standards Framework, and the capital concepts embedded within it, provide a solid foundation for systematically categorising intangible factors and rendering them visible to policymakers
From Collapse Theorems to Proof-Theoretic Arguments
Get PDFOn some views, we can be sure that parties to a dispute over the logic of `exists' are not talking past each other if they can characterise `exists' as the only monadic predicate up to logical equivalence obeying a certain set of rules of inference. Otherwise, we ought to be suspicious about the reality of their disagreement. This is what we call a proof-theoretic argument. Pace some critics, who have tried to use proof-theoretic arguments to cast doubts about the reality of disagreements about the logic of `exists', we argue that proof-theoretic arguments can be deployed to establish the reality of several such disagreements. Along the way, we will also utilise this technique to establish similar results about some disagreements over the logic of identity
Empire City: Wellington becomes the capital of New Zealand
Get PDFIt is one of those quirks of historiographical fate that while Wellington was chosen as the site of the New Zealand Company’s ‘first and principal settlement’, becoming the colony’s capital and seat of government within 25 years, it has fared relatively poorly at the hands of professional historians. Despite a plethora of publications on particular suburbs, families, businesses and social institutions, soundly-researched overviews of the evolution of the city and its hinterlands have been at a premium
What we can do to realise our excellence and equity goals in literacy
Get PDFThe research, practice and policy communities in Aotearoa New Zealand know a lot about literacy; the what and how of development, and what works for whom, under what conditions. But two issues stand in the way of better meeting the national excellence and equity goals. One is solving system challenges of variability, scalability, sustainability and capability. Solving this requires taking a life course approach to the evidence, including what optimises enjoyment and criticality from early learning through schooling; and guaranteeing collective clarity and accountability for effective practices. Solving the second, too much selective and limited reasoning about what is needed, requires better understanding our histories of practice and outcomes, and the evidence about these; taking seriously the collective need for evidence-based reasoning; better understanding the nature of the sciences involved; and careful and collective reasoning to understand what is robust evidence and what is inaccurate and misleading. Both issues have implications for capability building through resourcing, initial teacher education, and professional learning and development
The Insanity Defence: Is It Still Fit for Purpose?
Get PDFThe M'Naghten Rules formulated in 1843 have provided the basis for the insanity defence in many Western countries, including New Zealand. Although many candidates for the insanity defence experience psychosis, the principal determining factor is whether they knew their criminal act was morally wrong, a difficult metaethical judgement. In New Zealand the advent of methamphetamine abuse has created a significant challenge for forensic assessors in differentiating between mental disease and chronic intoxication, raising the question of whether the insanity defence as currently formulated is fit for purpose in assessing criminal culpability in such cases. The article explores this problem through an examination of a number of leading cases, noting the variable character of expert testimony on insanity where methamphetamine is involved. The article then examines the question of whether evidence of mental states falling short of insanity may be utilised to support a palliative claim reducing murder to manslaughter. A tentative new approach invites consideration of allowing investigation of insanity in cases involving meth-induced paranoia, whether or not the threshold of disease of the mind is met. In the concluding sections the article examines the impact of developments in cognitive neuroscience and asks whether neuroscience can help in determining criminal responsibility and whether it supports a "control limb" in a reformulated insanity defence. The article concludes with a brief discussion of mental disorder and impulsive aggression
The Growing Complexity of a Human Right to Assemble and Protest Peacefully in the United Kingdom
Get PDFPolicing demonstrations is difficult, and prosecuting people for public order offences arising from protests may risk closing down some channels for democratic engagement. In the United Kingdom, delicate judgements by police, prosecutors and courts have become still more complex as a result of the domestic application, under the Human Rights Act 1998 (UK), of the rights to freedom of expression and of peaceful assembly under the European Convention on Human Rights. When is it permissible to interfere with those rights in order to protect other interests and rights? When is it necessary to strike a balance between them, and who is responsible for doing so? What are the limits of the responsibilities of the police, prosecutors and judges or juries respectively to make judgements about the appropriate balance, and when may a defendant be allowed to say, in answer to a criminal charge, that criminal legislation should be read and given effect in such a way as to respect the defendant's right to freedom of expression or peaceful assembly so as to entitle the defendant to be acquitted? This article examines developments in policing and prosecutorial practice and in case law responding to those issues
Cyber Adventure - An Education 2D RPG Game to teach Cybersecurity Concepts
Get PDFIn today's digital age, there exists a pressing need to educate students about cybersecurity principles. However, traditional teaching methods can often be inaccessible or tedious. Recognizing this gap, this project, proposes a novel approach to addressing this educational challenge. It introduces a 2D RPG web-based game which is designed to create an engaging learning environment for students. Beyond just mere entertainment, this game integrates interactive mini-games and puzzles tailored to convey core cybersecurity concepts. These puzzles are carefully crafted to provide players with hands-on experience to face real-world scenarios and challenges in a fun, virtual environment. The aim of the project is not just to educate but to captivate beginners, especially those with minimal prior knowledge in cybersecurity. By transforming passive learning into an active discovery process, this approach has the ability to ignite a passion for cybersecurity in students. Initial user feedback and surveys suggest a promising trend: participants consistently report heightened interest and retention of the subject matter.
In conclusion, the project offers a novel solution to a contemporary educational challenge, presenting an instructive tool that makes learning cybersecurity both enjoyable and effective, paving the way for innovative teaching methods in the digital era
Improving TCP CUBIC Congestion Control with Machine Learning
Get PDFTransmission Control Protocol (TCP) is commonly used for reliable internet data transfers. However, TCP can experience packet loss due to network congestion. Packet loss happens when data doesn't reach its destination for various reasons. In recent years, there has been a growing inclination towards adopting novel, clean-slate learning-based designs as alternatives to traditional congestion control mechanisms for the Internet. However, it is posited that integrating machine learning techniques with the current congestion control schemes can achieve comparable, if not superior outcomes. This project endeavoured to address this gap and implement a system that can utilised with TCP CUBIC. The proposed method looked to enhance the efficiency of the TCP CUBIC congestion control by incorporating machine learning techniques. TCP CUBIC, the default congestion control variant in the current Linux Kernel, modifies the congestion window size based on a loss-based algorithm, thereby influencing the rate of data transmission. TCP CUBIC uses a parameter, beta, to modify the rate at which the congestion window grows. The approach involves employing a model-free reinforcement learning algorithm, specifically a Q-learning algorithm to optimize the TCP CUBIC beta parameter, targeting an increase in throughput for TCP CUBIC connections. Through extensive testing performed in various simulated network conditions demonstrates the performance and adaptability of the Q-Learning algorithm. Furthermore, this report details the various development decisions undertaken and their driving influences. It also provides an insight into the project's results, expanding on the existing system design, and elaborates on the potential for future work in this area
“This is an appeal to you”: land and identity at the Taieri Native Reserve
Get PDFIn December 1892, thirteen residents of the Taieri Native Reserve in Otago signed and sent a letter, comprised of just a few lines, to the Native Minister, Alfred Jerome Cadman. Sadly, the original letter in te reo Māori has been lost, with only the English translation now held at Wellington’s Archives New Zealand office.
 
No Other Place to Stand: An Anthology of Climate Change Poetry from Aotearoa New Zealand
Get PDF‘All I can do is write’: The second poem of this landmark collection, contributed by Dinah Hawken, includes toward its close this short, innocuous-seeming line. It is in many ways a small thing to write, the poet suggests
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