Otago University Research Archive
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Monitoring surveying students’ environmental attitudes as they experience higher education in New Zealand
No full textWe investigate the environmental attitudes (EA) of New Zealand’s land surveying students and how they change during a four-year programme. We implemented a multi-cohort survey and developed a longitudinal statistical model of change. Findings suggest that although the EA scores of groups of students vary at different times within and between cohorts, there are no significant general trends when genders are combined. But females tend to start their studies with higher mean EA scores than males and this difference declines overtime. This occurs consistently across the four cohorts studied. This is discussed in relation to women’s role within the profession
Teacher cognition in EFL teaching: A study of non-native English- speaking teachers of English for Arabic-speaking students in Egypt with a particular focus on vocabulary
No full textStarting in the 1990s (Borg, 2003; Burns et al., 2015), studies on language teacher cognition and its role in language teaching and learning drew more on the cognitivist paradigm to investigate teachers’ mental processes and actions while paying less attention to the role of affect and sociocultural factors and their influence on cognition (Burns et al., 2015; Li, 2020). Besides, studies attempting to investigate the influence of social contexts focused more on the school or the classroom context rather than the wider sociocultural/sociohistorical milieus. There is also paucity in LTC research regarding NNESTs. This study implemented and integrated the concepts of language-game (Wittgenstein, 1953), perezhivanie (Vygotsky, 1994/1935) and habitus (Bourdieu, 1977) to explore NNESTs’ cognitions in teaching EFL in general and English vocabulary in particular while focusing on their past and present as both EFL learners and teachers.
The study participants were in-service EFL teachers in public schools in Egypt. The data were collected in four phases using questionnaires (including open and closed questions), Q sorts, semi-structured interviews, and classroom observations. Quantitative data were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics (including exploratory factor analysis), and data from Q sorts were analysed using Q factor analysis. Qualitative data from the questionnaire were analysed using content analysis, while interview and observation data were analysed using thematic analysis.
The findings revealed the role of language-games (or socially regulated use of language) in framing teachers’ concepts and convictions regarding several aspects of learning and teaching. They also revealed how lived experiences (perezhivaniya) and socially constructed emotions form an integral part of teachers’ cognitions, and how, together with socially structured dispositions (habitus), they influence their perceptions and practices as NNESTs. The findings also suggested how teachers’ cognitions about power relations based on sociocultural and sociohistorical factors are in interplay with their practices in language teaching.
Whether in teaching English or its vocabulary, the findings showed that the teachers’ prior learning experiences with their sociohistorical dimensions along with current multi-layered contextual factors influenced teachers’ cognitions in several ways that would defy simplistic comparisons looking for alignment between their cognitions and their practices
The sphere of between: Online dialogic encounters for positive peace
No full textWithin the field of peacebuilding, the practice of dialogue in face-to-face settings has become widely utilized by practitioners and studied by Peace and Conflict scholars. However, while an argument has been made, within both the practice and study of peacebuilding, to examine and integrate technologies that serve the aims and goals of peace practice, the area of online dialogue in peacebuilding is under-researched. This qualitative thesis addresses this gap by exploring individuals’ experiences within an intentional and sustained online dialogue program to address the research question: can engaging other through dialogic encounters within an online environment enable conditions for positive peace?
The theoretical framework of this thesis draws key concepts from a holistic, tripartite notion of positive peace alongside the dialogue theories of Martin Buber and Paulo Freire. This research utilizes online ethnography as the methodological means for inquiry, drawing primarily from observations and interviews with 24 individuals involved in a sustained online dialogue program, of whom 11 were participants and 13 were facilitators. In alignment with reflexive ethnographic practices, the researcher’s voice and positionality statements are woven into the thesis in the form of cogitatio passages.
Key findings of this research revealed the connection between online dialogue and positive peace, presented in this thesis as humanization and transformation. Humanization is articulated as shifts in perceptions of other and reduction in stereotypes within sustained online dialogue encounters. Transformation is understood as conscientization and discussed as two elements: emergence and intervention. Emergence is evidenced as the articulation of previously unseen social realities, while intervention is recognized as deliberate and intentional shifts in behaviour and actions. This study contributes unique and valuable insight into the micro-level of dialogue encounters in an online context and demonstrates the relationship between positive peace and online dialogue practice for peacebuilding
Research on the relationship between organizational transformation and employee perception and commitment - A case example on the overseas education college of Shanghai Jiaotong University
No full textThe vigorous development of China's education industry under the transition system has brought many opportunities and challenges to Chinese education organizations. Organizational change and transformation have become an important issue, and are rich in theoretical and practical value. However, the existing research on organizational change and transformation lacks top-down systematic thinking on the two levels of organization and employees, and lacks attention to the human factor in organizational change. Moreover, the research on employees' perception and response in organizational change is inadequate, and at the same time, the research objects of the organization are mostly concentrated in commercial organizations, and the attention to Chinese educational organizations is insufficient. Due to the fragmented characteristics of the research on organizational change, there is a disconnection between the theoretical research of organizational change and management practice. Management practitioners lack a systematic knowledge system about organizational change learning and the multiple dynamics of contextualized factors, which leads to a low success rate of organizational change practice.
The main purpose of the thesis is to study the motivation of organizational change of educational organizations in China and what impact it will have on the organization. What are the factors in the implementation of organizational change and how do they affect employees' awareness and commitment to change events? The author combines the experience of organizational change initiated and participated by himself, takes all the organizational reform events of the Chinese educational organisation and the employees of the changing organization as the research object, adopts in-depth case study method and questionnaire survey method to review the previous organizational change events in the Chinese educational organization, elaborates on the four major organizational change events in the past five years, analyzes the types, causes, and effects of organizational change events, and explores and explains the motivations, reasons and influences for the transformation of Chinese education organizations. On this basis, combined with the microscopic research results of event theory and organizational change theory, the author, using nested data and cross-layer analysis, explored and empirically tested the relationship between characteristics of organizational change events and employees' perception of change and the relationship between employees' perception and commitment to change in the context of organizational change, and the boundary conditions of the relationship between the two are verified based on the three perspectives of leadership style, employee individual characteristics and change communication. The research findings in this thesis provide some inspiration for the initiation and implementation of the next organizational change of the Chinese educational organization and the reform of the Chinese educational organization. Specifically, it includes the following:
First, factors such as institutional changes, market drivers, and technological innovations may prompt organizations to initiate changes. In the face of China’s institutional transition, compared with commercial organizations, Chinese education organizations can be affected by more institutional changes, and the organizational changes caused by this are also more significant in scope and effect. Both the current and future development of the Chinese educational organisations should focus on the changes in the above three factors to achieve organizational sustainable development through organizational change.
Second, the initiation and implementation of organizational changes may have multi-faceted impact on the organization's governance structure, organizational structure, and business processes. To ensure the smooth implementation of organizational changes, it is not only necessary to conduct planning and analysis on change motivation, duration, sphere of influence and manifestation based on the organizational level, pay attention to the employees' perception and feelings of change events in the organization, as well as focus on the important role played by employees' direct leaders and the individual differences of employees. The Chinese educational organisations must not only pay attention to the reasons for the change, but also the process of the change in the organizational change, and not only the impact of the change on the organization, but also the impact of the change on the employees.
Third, in the implementation of organizational change, change communication plays an important role and directly affects employees' willingness to invest in change. Therefore, in the process of completing the top-level design of organizational change, attention also needs to be paid to the importance of communication. Communication about organizational change should not be limited to the senior management team and middle managers. It is necessary to emphasize that the change communication between middle managers and their subordinates can help improve employees' level of commitment to change. Before the organizational change is initiated, training on transformational leadership styles for middle- and high level leaders will help increase employees' recognition and investment in organizational change, and facilitate the implementation of the change
The stress of food allergy issues in daily life
No full textFood allergies are a growing health concern, but their implications for daily psychological functioning are unknown. This micro-longitudinal study investigated the daily frequency of food allergy issues and how this related to experiences of stress, mood and physical energy. One hundred and eight adults with physician-diagnosed food allergies completed an initial Internet survey followed by a 2-week Internet daily diary survey. The initial survey collected socio-demographic and food allergy information. The daily survey collected information about the participants’ experiences of stress, mood, physical energy and food allergy issues during that day. Commonly experienced allergy issues included negative physical symptoms, higher food prices, anxiety about safety of food, trouble maintaining a healthy diet and anxiety/stress at social occasions. Furthermore, multilevel modelling analyses showed that stress and negative mood were significantly higher on days with more allergy issues. Older adults experienced lower positive mood and physical energy on days with more issues. This is the first study to incorporate near to real-time tracking to examine the frequency of food allergy issues and the implications for daily psychological functioning. Targeting the issues we identified could reduce stress in patients with food allergies and improve their overall quality of life
Maternal High Fat Diet and Myelination within the Basolateral Amygdala and Hippocampus
No full textMaternal obesity has significant effects on the neurodevelopmental outcomes of the offspring, increasing their propensity to neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) such as Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). ASDs emerge from disturbances in the developing ‘social brain’. This includes the amygdala (BLA) and hippocampus (HP) which contribute to the regulation of emotions, social behaviours, and memories.
Disturbances to myelination of these regions during development are thought to be central to the origins of ASDs. Oligodendrocytes (OLs) are responsible for myelination within the central nervous system, providing means to regulate the timings of signals propagating throughout the brain. This is essential during neurodevelopment, through mechanisms of spike timing dependent plasticity. If these mechanisms were undermined and the ability to regulate the temporal propagation of information lessened, such as by myelinogenic disturbances, circuits would have a greater propensity to develop improperly.
Disturbances in the timing of myelination during development may be one of the mechanisms linking maternal obesity to the offspring’s increased risk to ASDs. It was hypothesised that OL development may be disrupted in the BLA and HP, in the offspring of obese mothers. To investigate this, OLs were analysed in offspring of control and maternal high fat diet (mHFD) fed dams, as a mouse model of maternal obesity. At postnatal day 16 (P16), the BLA and HP were labelled for Olig2, a pan OL marker, and MBP, a mature OL marker. At P30, the HP was labelled for Olig2 and MBP. The number and density of Olig2-immunoreactive (IR) cells were calculated, reflecting the size of the total OL lineage. MBP-IR integrated pixel densities (IntDen) were calculated, as a proxy measure for levels of myelination. The number and density of mature OLs, identified through the colocalization of Olig2 and MBP, were also calculated at P16.
The number of OLs within the BLA was unchanged between the control and mHFD offspring at P16. Likewise, MBP-IR IntDen, a measure of myelination, was unchanged between the maternal diet groups. Thus, the OL lineage in the BLA appears unaffected by maternal nutritional adversity in utero. By contrast, MBP-IR IntDen was significantly reduced within the HP of the mHFD offspring at P16. While the total number of OLs was unchanged, there were fewer mature OLs in the HP of the mHFD offspring. Myelination however appeared to normalize with age, as no differences in the number of OLs or MBP-IR IntDen were observed in the HP between the control and mHFD offspring at P30. Thus, myelination of the HP is delayed in the mHFD offspring, likely due to maturational impediments, but normalizes to reach completion.
These data provide insight into the regional effects of maternal obesity on myelination in the offspring. Disturbances during hippocampal myelination may contribute to neural circuit dysfunctions that are seen at an increased incidence in the offspring of obese mothers. Further work is necessary to gain understanding of the mechanisms underpinning these changes in development, and the predisposition to poor health and NDDs, in the offspring of obese mothers
Sun protection for adolescents at school in Aotearoa/New Zealand
No full textSkin cancer is a substantial public health issue in New Zealand (NZ) with exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) being the major modifiable risk. Excessive UVR during adolescence can have a lasting effect on long-term cancer risk. Additionally, risky behaviours can continue to adulthood. The aspirational-shared aim of the series of studies included in this thesis is to identify and assess processes and actions to help to reduce excessive exposure of UVR during adolescence for young people, thereby potentially contributing to reducing the burden of skin cancer. There were four studies undertaken as part of this PhD, chosen specifically to address knowledge gaps with respect to this cohort in NZ and internationally.
The first study was a systematic review using Effective Public Health Practice Project guidelines to review the quality of interventions targeting adolescents and delivered in secondary schools. In total 13 interventions were identified and received quality ratings of ‘strong’ (n=0), ‘moderate’ (5) or weak (8). Most interventions were health-based, emphasising the association between UVR exposure and skin cancer. These have limited success in changing behaviour. Two promising interventions were identified as potentially relevant. Both moved beyond presenting didactic education in the classroom. The first was an appearance-based intervention using facial ageing technology. The second was an environmental intervention with the provision of a real time ultraviolet index (UVI) display meter in the playground. Subsequently, the second and third studies assessed the feasibility and/or piloting of two separate interventions based on those identified in the review. The first was a classroom-based appearance intervention using ultraviolet filtering photographic technology, and the second a UVI display meter in a school sports setting. The classroom-based intervention was well accepted by students, however, it was resource intensive and so in its current format would not be practical for a population-based intervention. Unfortunately, ethical issues surrounding research with adolescents impeded the second study. In combination with the potential expense of repeated calibration of the UVI display meter, there was insufficient support to pursue a full Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) in the current format.
As National Sporting Organisations (NSO) are the governing organisations for many school sports, the fourth study was an audit, using both desk top review and semi-structured interviews, of NSO sun protection policies. Only two NSOs in NZ have a sun protection policy.
Schools are the obvious choice for addressing sun protection in adolescents. Furthermore, the school setting for this thesis is wider than the ‘in school’ environment, specifically with respect to participating in schools sports. There is no ‘one size fits all’ solution to sun protection for adolescents. It is not always feasible to provide a sun protective environment, so often there is no choice but for young people to engage in personal sun protection practices. Healthy policies and environments that either mandate or encourage young people to use appropriate sun protection are essential. Even this will not be entirely effective, and young people themselves need to be convinced that sun protection is important and necessary for them to engage in
Is Goal-Conflict Specific Rhythmicity a Clinically Valid Biomarker for an Anxiety Syndrome?
No full textAnxiety disorders are the most common group of mental disorders in Aotearoa New Zealand. Despite the high disease burden associated with anxiety disorders, there are currently no objective biomarkers that can aid their diagnosis. Goal-conflict specific rhythmicity (GCSR) is proposed to be the first electroencephalographic (EEG) biomarker for a neural process contributing to clinical anxiety. Previous studies have shown GCSR to be anxiolytic sensitive and increased in clinically diagnosed patients, but no one has compared GCSR between patients and age-matched controls. The aim of the current thesis was to investigate the clinical validity of GCSR within patients diagnosed with DSM-IV-TR anxiety disorder diagnoses. We hypothesised that clinically diagnosed patients would show stronger GCSR than controls; high anxiety, indexed by Spielberger’s State-Trait Anxiety Inventory – Trait (STAI-T) items, would be linked to increased GCSR; and no specific DSM-IV-TR anxiety disorder diagnosis would show stronger GCSR than other diagnoses. Goal-conflict specific rhythmicity of 79 participants recruited from Student Job Search (SJS), 53 untreated patients from the community, and 35 healthy controls from the community were recorded at F8. The first analysis compared GCSR between SJS participants with high, medium, and low STAI-T scores. Participants with high STAI-T scores produced moderately stronger GCSR than the other two groups; the difference was statistically significant between the high STAI-T and medium STAI-T groups. In the second analysis, GCSR was compared between patients with DSM-IV-TR anxiety disorder diagnoses and healthy controls. Patients diagnosed with DSM-IV-TR anxiety disorder diagnoses showed stronger GCSR than the control group; however, no significant differences in GCSR were found between patients with different STAI-T scores. To investigate whether the lack of difference between the two patient groups was due to STAI-T not being a pure measure of anxiety, multiple regression analyses were carried out using the Anxiety and Depressivity scores from the Personality Inventory of DSM-IV-TR (PID-5) and the Neuroticism score from the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised (EPQ-R) to predict STAI-T scores. In line with my prediction, Neuroticism, PID-Anxiety, and PID-Depressivity scores were found to be significant predictors of STAI-T. In the final analysis, GCSR was compared between patients with different primary DSM-IV-TR anxiety disorder diagnosis: pure generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety disorder (SAD), comorbid GAD and major depressive disorder (MDD), and a group of pooled other diagnoses (e.g., panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder). Contrary to my expectations, patients diagnosed with comorbid GAD and MDD had significantly higher GCSR, different from the other diagnosis groups. Although this thesis is not without limitations, it is among the first to directly compare GCSR between DSM-IV-TR anxiety disorder diagnosed patients and controls. These results provide evidence that GCSR is a human biomarker for a process related to clinical anxiety
Revealing barriers to healthier fast food consumption choices
No full textIn light of growing concerns around obesity, the present work investigates why consumers continue to choose traditional unhealthy fast food options over newly offered healthier fast food alternatives. A total of 24 value laddering interviews were conducted with people who had just purchased an item from the traditional menu at McDonalds. Individual reasoning for not selecting a healthier Weight Watchers' approved alternative was aggregated across the respondent set to form a summary map which pictorially displays barriers to healthier fast food choices. Consumers' choices not to purchase healthier fast food options were dominated by Self Direction type values and are heavily influenced by engrained perceptions that fast food is junk food. For the fast food industry, this research highlights that to help shift consumers' choices toward healthier alternatives, they need to reposition themselves as quick service restaurants that offer good tasting food that is both convenient and healthy. For public policy makers, this research suggests a need to address the perceptions of personal relevance of obesity and diet related health issues. The valuable in-depth information collected via the value laddering process offers substantial insights into the unexplored area of barriers to healthier fast food consumption
Seeking learning outcomes appropriate for ‘education for sustainable development’ and for higher education
No full textThis article shares and extends research-based developments at the University of Otago, New Zealand, that seek to explore how students’ worldviews change as they experience higher education with us. We emphasise that sustainability attributes may be described in terms of knowledge, skills and competencies but that these are underpinned by affective attributes such as values, attitudes and dispositions; so that ‘education for sustainable development’ is substantially a quest for affective change. We describe approaches to categorise affective outcomes and conclude that ‘education for sustainable development’ objectives comprise higher order affective outcomes (leading to behavioural change) that are challenging for higher education to address. Our own work emphasises the need for student anonymity as these higher order outcomes are assessed, evaluated, monitored, researched or otherwise measured using research instruments that focus on worldview. A longitudinal mixed-effects repeat-measures statistical model is described that enables higher education institutions to answer the question of whether or not ‘education for sustainable development’ objectives are being achieved. Discussion links affect to critical reasoning and addresses the possibility of documenting and assessing the development of lower and mid-order affective outcomes. We conclude that ‘education for sustainable development’ objectives need to be clearly articulated if higher education is to be able to assess, or evaluate, their achievement