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Community Mapping and Participation Processes in Aotearoa New Zealand
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The Puzzle of Hinduism: Understanding How Hinduism Boosts the Evolutionary Fitness of Different Linguistic Communities in India
No full textTheories in the evolution of religion have illuminated multiple pathways by which belief systems can sustain large-scale cooperation, ranging from divine punishment and supernatural monitoring (e.g., “Big Gods theory”) to costly signalling, reputation management, and ritual commitment. Each framework highlights important aspects of why religions persist, yet none fully account for the enduring case of Hinduism, particularly the role of Hindu deities, while other polytheistic traditions have declined in popularity. Hindu deities are not typically portrayed as moralising or punitive in the “Big God” sense, nor do they consistently demand the costly ritual investments emphasised in signalling theory. Instead, they are often depicted with human-like flaws, desires, and vulnerabilities. As a result, existing accounts of Hinduism’s endurance often emphasise Karma, a moral force that delivers morally-congruent consequences to human actions. While valuable, these explanations remain incomplete because they overlook the valuable role Hindu gods themselves may be playing in sustaining the lasting and growing presence of Hinduism.We hypothesise that Hinduism persists through its ability to adapt to smaller group needs, hence supporting the socio-economic niches of different Hindu-Indian linguistic communities. Instead of punishing norm violators, each God models different normative behaviours targeted to solve specific socio-ecological challenges within a community. Karma then reinforces the normative standard set by Hindu Gods in each community. We examine two Indian-linguistic communities with naturally occurring differences in religious practices, who are opposites in their risk-taking and enterprising abilities: Gujaratis and Maharashtrians. Gujaratis are a dominant business-oriented community known for their risk-taking abilities. Conversely, Maharashtrians are characteristically risk-averse and mostly occupy salaried positions in urban areas.The first study used qualitative methods to explore worship practices in Gujarat (Baroda, N = 36) and Maharashtra (Kolhapur, N = 39). The study found that although different gods were worshipped in each community, their moral concerns were highly similar. However, participants insisted that each god embodied distinct values, leading us to argue that Hindu deities foster cooperation not through norm-enforcement but through religious internalisation, which shapes the normative decisions of their communities. In addition, we introduced a caste-sensitive method for data collection, using triangulation to classify caste based on self-report, others' perceptions, and profession (described more fully in Chapter 3).The second study employed an experimental design involving vignettes depicting human decision-making that aligned with either the financially risk-prone norms associated with Krishna (Gujarati) or the financially risk-averse norms modelled after Ganesha (Maharashtrian). The results revealed that the responses of the participants (N = 320) were consistent with the values of their dominant deity, even without direct reference to God. Interestingly, Gujarati women, unlike men, tended to favour risk-averse decisions, aligning more with the Maharashtrians. This suggested that Hindu gods play a role in shaping gender norms that support the ecological niches of their communities.In the third study, secondary data from the Pew Research Center (N = 20,503) was used to test the relationship between Krishna worship and patriarchal values. We hypothesized that Krishna, associated with traditional gender norms in mythological stories, would correlate with more patriarchal values in Gujarati community. The results confirmed this, showing that Gujaratis who felt close to Krishna held more patriarchal values, a pattern also observed in Maharashtra and other Indian states. This points to a potentially cyclical relationship between god worshipped and the perpetuation of patriarchal norms.In the general discussion, we bring these strands together, showing how existing theories each explain part of the puzzle but fail to capture Hinduism’s endurance in full. We propose that the missing piece lies in the ‘role model hypothesis’. In this chapter we also argue that the enduring relevance of Hinduism can be understood through its alignment with human cognitive tendencies, such as the formation of in-groups and the anthropomorphizing of deities. We suggest that had the psychological study of religion started from the Hindu context, the concepts emphasized would likely differ from those shaped by Abrahamic traditions.</p
Collaborative teaching as Critical Transnational Pedagogy: opportunities for a globalised media and communication education
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Theorizing a decade of Pacific rethinking: A realist view of the emerging Pacific research
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Les relations entre l’école et la communauté aux Îles Salomon : le point de vue des responsables éducatifs
No full textCet article décrit les activités de négociation des responsables d’école dans l’archipel des Îles Salomon. En Mélanésie, les domaines de la kastom, de l’Église et des institutions rivalisent d’influence. Étant positionnés au cœur des communautés locales, les chefs d’établissement doivent négocier avec les responsables de la kastom et de l’Église dans l’intérêt de leur école. Des relations étroites entre l’école et la communauté sont vitales pour l’épanouissement de toutes les personnes concernées. La kastom constitue ainsi un socle sur lequel bâtir et entretenir des relations. L’urbanisation et la mondialisation peuvent cependant avoir pour effet de saper l’harmonie entre l’école et la communauté. L’article analyse le rôle des responsables d’école, au prisme du leadership dans un contexte de turbulences. Il met en évidence leur esprit de collaboration et leur sens de la collectivité, deux facteurs primordiaux pour une éducation durable et résiliente
Evaluating the Role of the Kappa Opioid Receptor Nalfurafine in Preclinical Models of Demyelination
No full textMultiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurodegenerative autoimmune disease affecting the central nervous system (CNS), impacting more than 2.9 million people worldwide with increasing prevalence. Characterised by inflammatory demyelination, MS involves immune-mediated destruction of the myelin sheath surrounding axons, disrupting saltatory conduction and ultimately leading to axonal degeneration. A critical factor in MS progression is the failure of remyelination, primarily due to the inability of oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) to effectively differentiate into mature myelinating oligodendrocytes (OLs). Current treatments primarily target inflammation but fail to promote repair, underscoring the urgent need for therapies that enhance remyelination.The kappa opioid receptor (KOR) has been established as a promising target for promoting CNS remyelination. Traditional KOR agonists like U50,488 have shown preclinical remyelination efficacy, however their clinical use is limited by adverse effects such as sedation, aversion, and dysphoria. Nalfurafine, a selective KOR agonist, already approved for clinical use in Japan, has emerged as a promising alternative with an established safety profile. Nalfurafine has demonstrated remyelinating capabilities, yet the exact mechanisms and how these effects develop across different regions of the CNS and the timing of this remain to be fully characterised. This thesis investigates KOR expression in OL lineage cells and evaluates nalfurafine's potential as a remyelinating agent in preclinical models of demyelination mimicking MS.To examine KOR expression in OL lineage cells, we employed RNAScope® in situ hybridisation combined with immunohistochemistry in PdgfRα-H2B-eGFP transgenic mice. Our results demonstrated approximately 56% of OPCs and 36% of mature OLs express Oprk1 mRNA (encoding KOR), indicating potential downregulation during OL maturation. Anatomical mapping revealed high Oprk1 expression in specific brain regions, including the claustrum, major island of Calleja, and endopiriform nucleus, providing valuable insights into potential region-specific therapeutic responses.We subsequently evaluated nalfurafine's therapeutic efficacy in the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) model, which mimics immune driven demyelination. Treatment with nalfurafine (0.01 mg/kg) significantly reduced paralysis disease scores compared to vehicle controls and enhanced the differentiation of OL lineage cells into mature OLs. Specifically, nalfurafine increased the numbers of immature OPCs (Mash1+/PdgfRαeGFP+) and mature OLs (GSTπ+), resulting in elevated myelin levels in the ventral spinal cord. These findings support the role of nalfurafine in promoting remyelination through enhancing OPC differentiation.To further elucidate the mechanisms underlying nalfurafine's remyelinating effects, we employed the cuprizone model of toxin-induced demyelination. This model, with limited peripheral immune involvement, provided a clearer window into the direct effects of nalfurafine on OL biology. Our results confirmed nalfurafine primarily enhanced the differentiation of OPCs into mature OLs rather than stimulating proliferation, with effects most pronounced in the lateral aspect of the corpus callosum and progressively developing over time. The absence of significant BrdU incorporation following nalfurafine treatment supports that KOR agonism primarily promotes differentiation rather than proliferation of OL lineage cells.Collectively, these findings establish KOR as a therapeutic target for enhancing remyelination through promoting OPC differentiation. The consistent efficacy of nalfurafine across distinct experimental models of demyelination, coupled with its existing clinical approval, positions KOR agonism as a viable approach for translation into the clinic. This work provides a strong foundation for advancing KOR-targeted interventions toward clinical application, potentially offering new hope for MS patients suffering from progressive disability due to impaired remyelination.</p
Priorities, concerns, and potential compromises amongst urban forest stakeholders: international lessons from Aotearoa New Zealand
No full textAbstract
Urban forests provide numerous benefits including habitat for wildlife, improving human health, purifying air and water, and preventing and mitigating the effects of climate change. The need to protect and improve our urban forests will only increase as populations increase and cities densify and expand over time. However, urban forest establishment and maintenance is challenging due to a lack of effective policies, delays, lack of communication, inappropriate targets, and lack of recognition, disunity, or resourcing amongst stakeholders. Here we present the results from a joint urban forest symposium-workshop that sought to determine the priorities and challenges of different stakeholder groups in New Zealand, including arborists, ecologists, non-ecologist researchers, indigenous peoples, and planners. We synthesise these lessons as recommendations to improve urban forest planning, design, establishment, and minimise conflicts between stakeholder groups. While the highest priorities of each stakeholder group are fairly distinct, there are high levels of overlap in the general priorities and challenges they face in working towards advancing those priorities. We suggest a 3-phase framework to deliver progress that broadly considers (1) data collection, (2) policy development, and (3) resource development. We suggest this framework should be supported by continual monitoring and data sharing, an increased investment in green employment and education, and further recognition of urban foresters, indigenous communities, and ecologists. We suggest that an inclusive approach based on a shared understanding of forest values and removing barriers is most likely to result in long-term success
Engaging the disgust system in virtual reality: First steps and recommendations in using virtual reality as an induction tool for the cognitive-affective toolbox
No full textAs an emotional system, disgust biases adaptive changes across behaviour, cognition, physiology, and subjective experience to protect the self from contamination. Traditional laboratory methods may fail to full activate this system, necessitating innovative induction methods that balance ecological validity and experimental control. This thesis assesses the early-stage viability of using multi-sensory virtual reality to induce and study the disgust system, asking: (1) Can the disgust system be engaged in a novel multi-sensory virtual reality (VR) environment?; and, if so, (2) Can this VR induction be used to investigate attentional and physiological correlates of disgust? A novel VR environment was designed featuring a contaminated bathroom. Two experiments were conducted exposing participants to the VR scenario: Experiment 1 (n = 12) for development and piloting, and Experiment 2 (n = 72) to evaluate both research questions empirically. Findings from Experiment 2 supported engagement of the disgust system, in line with the primary research question. Participants in the disgust condition reported significantly higher subjective disgust and displayed greater behavioural avoidance compared to controls, with large effect sizes. Informal observations across Experiment 1 and Experiment 2 further corroborated both specificity of disgust induction and complexity of responses evoked. Emergence of mixed states of amusement-disgust and fear-disgust were explored. Attentional and physiological correlates were then investigated. A flanker task was successfully integrated into the scene, and results suggested disgust did not impact selective attention. However, concerns with construct validity and participants’ reception to the task, as well as low-level visual confounds led to suggestions that innovative imbedded attentional measures may offer stronger alternatives for future work. Skin conductance level was significantly lower in disgust participants, however, varying possible contributing factors and measurement limitations were identified, complicating interpretation. No other physiological measures differed by disgust condition. The discussion highlights limitations and outlines actionable recommendations when developing VR affective inductions for cognitive research. These include emphasis on the importance of narrative coherence and self-relevance, 3D spatial integration and capture, high technical fidelity, and careful domain selection when crafting cognitive questions to answer with such a tool. Thus, while early-stage work, this thesis identifies potential in VR to elicit rich, diverse, and embodied disgust responses and offers insights for refining such VR tools for cognitive work and advancing the study of disgust.</p
Updating the Wellington Basin Model: Seismic and Gravity Surveys in Wellington City
No full textMultichannel active-source seismic surveys image Wellington Basin at two sites using P-, SV-, and SH-waves. Sky Stadium is near where gravity studies suggest the basin is deepest; and Waitangi Park straddles the recently discovered active Aotea Fault. A sledgehammer plate source and arrays of single-component geophones were used to generate and record polarised seismic waves. We conclude that for hammer and plate methods, P-waves are optimal for anticipated sediment thicknesses >350 m depth, SV-waves can image up to 400 m depth, and SH-waves provide enhanced imaging of shallow sediments at 100% (+200 m), and drawing attention to the possible significance of the Lambton Fault. A steeper basin edge may imply stronger basin-edge ground motion amplification in Thorndon and Pipitea. The thicker sedimentary sequence implies resonance at lower frequencies, that likely will result in greater duration of shaking, and may produce focussing effects. A 50 m wide active Aotea Fault zone mapped at Waitangi Park has implications for local zoning and avoidance of a broad surface rupture hazard in eastern Te Aro.</p
Behavioral Insights for Policy Design: Experimental and Empirical Evidence
No full textThis thesis comprises three essays that aim to investigate different behavioral aspects through people’s decision making across both experimental settings and real-life scenarios. The findings contribute to existing literature on how behavioral insights might inform policy design and delivery in organizations. The first essay uses a variant of the dictator game in an online experiment to analyze how people behave when they can choose between own decisions and delegating the decisions that increase their own payoff by taking advantage of others. The data suggest a dominance of “illusion of control”, a behavioral preference that would potentially hinder streamlining of process in organizational governance policy in practice. The second essay uses a behavioral game-theoretic model, with a real-life insurance context embedded in the experimental setting. The paper finds evidence that insurance policy holders who invest in prevention might be inclined to engage in loss inflation due to “moral licensing”, although this effect might be countervailed by social preferences. Such findings might be useful for decision makers in the insurance sector to consider for identifying insurance fraud. The third essay examines the ex-post behavior of stakeholders in light of a new regulation, in a particular case of the media industry in Australia following the introduction of the News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code in 2021. Using Event Study Methodology, the study shows a collectively positive stock market reaction in the news media industry to the introduction of the Code, although different patterns amongst individual firms and groups by size to the different stages of the Code’s development. Such findings inform the considerations in the policy design process relating to the overall societal impact of a regulation versus sectoral impact on different groups of stakeholders.</p
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