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Therefore, I am: Sculptural mementos to be worn for women: new narratives from the Middle East
No full textRESEARCH OBJECTIVE
To understand the Feminist artist’s challenges specific to the Middle East region through a contemporary art practice in making memorial and wearable sculptures.
ABSTRACT
My creative practice-based research in wearable sculpture is a personal exploration of feminist concepts specific to the Middle East. As a Middle Eastern artist who has lived closely with the struggles and concerns of women in my region, I’m driven to explore how these feminist ideas can be expressed and reimagined in my work. This project merges Middle Eastern women's complex stories with traditional and contemporary sculptural methods, creating a body of work that speaks to our unique experiences in the 21st century.
Growing up in the Middle East, I witnessed firsthand the challenges women face, deeply rooted in our histories, social structures, and cultural perspectives. This practice-based research bridges these lived experiences with broader feminist discourse, using art to reflect these stories in non-verbal ways. Informed by feminist theory, including perspectives from Islamic feminism, my work reimagines and contributes to the ongoing dialogue about gender equality and identity in contemporary art practices.
Central to my practice is creating wearable sculptures that honour the resilience of Middle Eastern women who have faced tremendous oppression yet continue to fight for their rights. To craft these wearable pieces, I use the ancient Mesopotamian technique of lost-wax casting, an innovation of Middle Eastern artisans. This technique allows for intricate, expressive designs that connect the traditional craftsmanship of my cultural heritage with contemporary artistic expressions.
By working with bronze, a material with a warm, earthy hue that recalls the vitality and spirit of these women, I aim to create pieces that bear the tangible weight of their struggles and aspirations. The durability of bronze stands as a symbol of their strength and endurance, serving as a lasting tribute to their resilience and determination.
My work reflects a commitment to bringing the stories of Middle Eastern women to light, celebrating their legacy, and sharing their voices with the world. It is a dialogue between the past and the present, between what was and what can be, representing those whose stories have not been heard
Skateboarding provision in Aotearoa/New Zealand: A case of providing for oneself
No full textBackground
Method
Literature
Findings
Conclusio
The new stories of Chang'e: Chinese Moon Goddess
No full textRESEARCH QUESTION
How can a traditional Chinese female character be re-presented in a contemporary publishing context?
ABSTRACT
The New Story of Chang‘e explores the character and stories that represent the voices of contemporary women through illustration practice, character development, and storytelling.
The series of illustrations that have been developed to tell the story of Chang’e takes form as a graphic novel that advocates for female experience and power. The series of stories inspire women's self-awareness and emotional engagement through re-framing traditional Chinese character images. This creative research project explores the impact of illustration in two ways: as inspiring women on their own journey and building empathy in a feminist community. The research investigates how character-based illustration can help represent women authentically.
In terms of authenticity in the feminist world, feminist illustration can create an emotional connection among female readers by showcasing women's experiences, daily life stories, and real figures. Social media and online platforms in this age provide a wide range of spaces for audiences to communicate and share. Emotional empathy stimulates positive feelings and experiences, which in turn leads women to share on social media actively (Moriuchi, 2016). Female readers are able to find emotional resonance and identification in illustrations and feel important and understood. This emotional engagement leads women to choose content that match their values and identit
Ultrafast UV luminescence of ZnO Films: Sub‐30 ps decay time with suppressed visible component
No full textUltrafast sub-100 picosecond luminescence is vital in many applications involving ultrafast events and time-of-flight systems. Materials exhibiting fast luminescence, such as barium fluoride (BaF2) and zinc oxide (ZnO), also suffer from an intrinsically slow nanosecond (ns) to microsecond (µs) luminescence. Here, 2.2 micrometer (µm)- to 5.7 µm-thick undoped ZnO films on soda-lime glass (SLG) substrates without a buffer layer by a hybrid pulsed reactive magnetron sputtering operating in the medium-frequency range (MF magnetron) assisted by an electron cyclotron wave resonance (ECWR) plasma is deposited. The undoped ZnO films exhibited superior optical properties characterized by intense ultraviolet (UV) luminescence, unprecedented ultrafast decay times, and for the case of MF+ECWR-deposited films, suppressed defect-related visible luminescence. The 2.2 µm-thick MF-deposited film exhibited the fastest 9-ps decay time at room temperature. The impressive properties of the films are attributed to the use of advanced deposition technology with properly tuned plasma parameters, especially a high degree of dissociation of molecular oxygen together with an increased proportion of activated zinc particles, leading to a higher deposition rate, better crystallinity, fewer defects, and a lower proportion of oxygen vacancies. These films will pave the way toward the development of time-of-flight detectors, high-resolution nuclear imaging cameras, and high-rate ultrafast timing devices
Exploring the experiences of reflective practice by Samoan social workers in Aotearoa New Zealand
No full textRESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. What are the key high points and challenging situations Samoan social workers face in their practice with Samoan clients?
2. What are examples and outcomes of reflective practice used by Samoan social workers in practice and in supervision?
3. To what extent are the outcomes of Samoan social workers influenced by reflective practice?
4. To what extent do the outcomes of reflective practice result in changes to practice that improve the quality of social work outcomes for Samoan clients?
5. How can models and reflective practice be developed to ensure better outcomes for Samoan social work service clients?
ABSTRACT
There is a growing literature on reflective practice and its significance to social workers. Increasing interest in this area is primarily due to the power of reflection as a tool for learning. The function of learning plays an essential role in the ability of social workers to evaluate and change the way they practice to be competent practitioners. Yet, perceptions of what defines a “competent worker” can vary amongst practitioners, particularly across different services and within various organisational hierarchies. The social work profession strongly emphasises the power of reflection, which is highlighted in the social work competency standards. However, there is a lack of literature about reflective practice from a cultural lens, including a Samoan perspective. As a result, this thesis aims to explore a Samoan understanding of reflective practice and its application in their work. Tafatolu, a qualitative methodological framework, and narrative inquiry were employed to capture the voices and experiences of Samoan social workers. Purposeful sampling was used to ensure the voices across levels of organisational hierarchy, including NZ-born and Samoan-born practitioners, are represented. The findings show a strong association between cultural knowledge and understanding reflection for Samoan practitioners. Relationships are a crucial driver for Samoan practitioners to employ reflective practice. Further, reflection helps Samoan social workers better understand their practice perspective and adjust their strategies for clients of all cultures. This study highlights the importance of indigenous cultural knowledge in reflection in social work and advocates for more systemic integration of reflective practice into social work training, curricula and ongoing professional development. By bridging theory with lived experiences, this study offers a comprehensive perspective on the evolving landscape of Samoan social work, stressing the need for reflection to improve culturally responsive and aware services
Tales of the unexpected: The embodied carbon of building services systems in housing
No full textRESEARCH DRIVERS
Paris Agreement - 2015
Climate Change (Zero Carbon) Response Amendment Act - 2019
The Building for Climate Change programme - 2021
CONTEXT
Proposals to incorporate embodied carbon in consent applications in 2025
In current MBIE methodologies Building Services are optional inclusions
Need to reduce new housing carbon footprint by 72% (Chandrakumar 2020)
An absence of previous work on building services in houses
[...]
FINDINGS
That MBIE include building services in their methodology for houses
That New Zealand manufacturers and suppliers are incentivised to calculate embodied carbon data for their products
That a detailed methodology be developed for use in Verification Methods for demonstrating building code compliance that includes
Agreed Declared Units for each of the building services systems be agreed
A set of standardised embodied carbon data for components and systems
That calculations are completed on a range of housing typologies to develop a set of representative figures that could be used in Acceptable Solutions to demonstrate complianc
Becoming Tangata Tiriti
No full textDecolonisation is critical to addressing socio-ecological crises driven by colonial beliefs of supremacy and exploitation. The visionary intent of Te Tiriti o Waitangi (1840) created a Relational Edge between Māori and non-Māori where interests converge, governance necessarily overlaps, and the potential for mutually beneficial exchanges lie. The historical dishonouring of Te Tiriti by non-Māori has led to widespread Māori land dispossession, cultural erasure and structural violence in the Relational Edge. This thesis seeks to understand how becoming tangata tiriti is an essential decolonising process which may enable and empower non-Māori to show up equitably within vibrant Te Tiriti partnerships that can ensure our collective descendants inherit a world of vitality.
The decolonisation of non-Māori and becoming tangata tiriti remain relatively unclear and undiscussed. While many non-Māori remain resistant and largely disengaged, Māori are leading conversations about decolonisation in Aotearoa New Zealand which rightfully focus on Māori reclamation, revitalisation and realisation of rangatiratanga, mana motuhake and mātauranga Māori. Simultaneously Māori are leading shifts at the level of State decolonisation and constitutional transformation. There are robust conversations about ethical engagement of non-Māori in kaupapa Māori spaces and Indigenous-led research, however, there is little discussion about non-Māori ethical practice on a day-to-day basis outside of research. This thesis looks to Māori and Indigenous leadership for guidance to stimulate widespread equitable engagement from non-Māori in the work of decolonisation at the personal and community level. As non-Māori recognise, understand and address their Te Tiriti complicity in coloniality, there is an increasing drive for non-Māori decolonisation with little supporting literature, research or practice frameworks.
As a non-Māori Edgewalking practitioner who intentionally works in the complex and unsettled Relational Edge, I have been learning from kaupapa Māori and Indigenous ethical research approaches and transferring them into applied ethical practice. I use autoethnographic storywork to share insights emergent from my lived experience applying ethical practice approaches. Simultaneously I use Critical Settler Family History to understand my positionality and to unpack the relationship between colonisation and socio-ecological degeneration. Intertwined with academic discourse to create a bricolage, this storywork demonstrates tangata tiriti resistance scholarship that leverages my colonially inherited privilege to challenge epistemic dominance, deconstruct colonial norms and disrupt the status quo.
Through applied ethical practice in the Relational Edge, I have developed He Ripo: a professional practice framework that enables me in becoming tangata tiriti. This ethical framework intends to both provoke and support non-Māori to decolonise themselves, to reorient as manuhiri, and contribute equitably to vibrant Te Tiriti relationships
Enhancing radiographic anatomy education: Integrating higher-order questioning in anatomy assessment
No full textINTRODUCTION
Traditional anatomy assessments often emphasize knowledge recall through lower-order questioning, which may not adequately prepare students for clinical practice. Higher-order questioning involves deeper cognitive processes, requiring students to apply, analyse, and evaluate anatomical concepts.
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to evaluate the impact of higher-order questioning in anatomy assessments for Year 2 medical imaging students over four years, compared to traditional lower-order questioning.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The study analysed assessment results from 160 Year 2 medical imaging students over four academic years. Each year, 40 students were assessed using higher-order questioning techniques, including case-based scenarios and critical thinking prompts. Their performance was compared to previous cohorts who had been assessed with lower-order questions focused on structure identification. Data on student performance, engagement, and feedback were collected and analysed to assess cognitive development and alignment with clinical practice needs.
RESULTS
Students assessed with higher-order questions consistently showed improved cognitive abilities, demonstrating better application of theoretical knowledge to clinical scenarios. These students exhibited higher engagement and confidence in translating anatomy knowledge into practice. The results aligned with learning outcomes, demonstrating the effectiveness of higher-order questioning in bridging the gap between theory and clinical practice. Conclusion: Higher-order questioning enhances cognitive development and prepares students more effectively for clinical practice. This approach supports learning outcomes and promotes its broader adoption in medical imaging education
Assessing herpetofauna biodiversity and conservation on Motiti Island
No full textNew Zealand is home to 137 Indigenous herpetofauna species, with more than 80% threatened with extinction under the New Zealand Threat Classification System. Due to the introduction of invasive species and habitat loss, 37% of herpetofauna species in New Zealand are now restricted to islands However, we still know very little about many of these island populations due to a lack of effective monitoring techniques for certain species, ineffective pest control and severe funding limitations. Motiti Island, located 10km off the coast of Papamoa Beach in the Bay of Plenty, falls into this category. Locals report up to seven species of native lizards on the island, but what these species are is unclear, and to date, no measures have been put in place to protect the island's herpetofauna. I aim to determine the biodiversity of herpetofauna and assess habitat availability and potential mammalian threats to their conservation management. Eight transects will be set up across the island in four habitat types (avocado orchards, pasture, coastal forest, and beach). Each transect will comprise ten monitoring stations, including a pitfall trap, funnel trap and artificial cover object to survey for reptiles and amphibians and, a tracking tunnel, and a chew card for mammalian pests. Visual searches (spotlighting for geckos) and vegetation surveys (cylinder intercept method) will also be conducted along each transect. Results from the surveys will be used as baseline information to make recommendations for the conservation of the herpetofauna of Motiti Island.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1 What herpetofauna previously existed and currently exists on Motiti Island?
2. What can be done to conserve and protect the herpetofauna on Motiti Island
Basics of interstitial lung disease: with HRCT
No full textBasics of interstitial lung disease
HRCT lung anatomy
Overview of interstitial lung disease
Common interstitial lung pathologies- underlying pathologic changes & imaging features
• Sarcoidosis
• Usual Interstitial Pneumonitis (UIP)/Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis/asbestosis
• Subacute hypersensitive pneumonitis
• Lymphangitic carcinomatosis
• Nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP