Rangahau Aranga: AUT Graduate Review
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Reading the Esther Narrative seMadzimai: An African Womanist Exploration
Get PDFWhile there have been numerous studies on various aspects of the Esther narrative, scholars such as Anne-Mareike Wetter (2016) readily acknowledge that there has not been consensus on its meaning. Even though investigations on the book of Esther, and indeed on other ancient biblical texts, have employed various methodologies, for centuries these studies have largely been from Western perspectives. As such, there have been requests by scholars mainly from the global south for more studies presenting other cultural perspectives. In this research I seek, in my identification as a Zimbabwean woman and scholar of the Bible, to employ womanist perspectives in analysing the experiences of female characters in the book of Esther. The aim of the study is to establish points of intersection between the images of women in the patriarchal ancient Persian context in the text of Esther with those of women of patriarchal modern Zimbabwe. Womanism is a general term encompassing a variety of strands of literature focusing on issues concerning the experiences, perspectives, and interests of women of African descent. African female scholars recognize that, in addition to some biblical texts, “African cultures remain vibrant and authoritative texts in the lives of women…” (Dube, 2001, p1). Hence, they call for approaches and reinterpretations that are liberating for women and their communities. This oral presentation is an overview of my literature review of Esther studies from various African contexts. Crucial to this outline will be the establishment of hermeneutical approaches employed as well as the addressed key themes. It concludes with a proposal of seMadzimai, a womanist and Zimbabwean interpretive approach to reading the Bible which I am currently formulating. SeMadzimai in the Shona language means 'as/like/with women'. Once formulated, seMadzimai will be employed to interpret the Esther narrative while drawing from the Zimbabwean cultural context. 
Improving public health using contactless ECG electrodes for long-term monitoring of arrhythmia
Get PDFCardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death and disability worldwide, resulting in 17.3 million deaths annually. Thus, any CVD symptoms should be immediately diagnosed for effective treatments [1]. In this case, Electrocardiography (ECG) is widely considered for monitoring and diagnosing heart symptoms. The traditional wet Ag/AgCl electrodes can acquire high-quality ECG signals. However, they cause skin irritation and require careful skin preparation by a specialist. Therefore, they are not practical for efficient long-term ECG monitoring. To overcome these limitations, contactless capacitive electrodes are introduced as an alternative. But these electrodes suffer various shortfalls in collecting high-quality and clinically acceptable signals. As a coupling capacitor between the body and electrode is formed in these sensors and this capacitor changes due to the subject’s physiological or body movements leading to Motion Artifacts (MAs). In addition, the variable skin potential across the capacitor forms an additive voltage that may distort the ECG signal adversely. This presentation aims to illustrate a comprehensive literature review and methodology used in my study. Regarding the methodology, I intend to simulate the equivalent model of the measurement system and implement it in the real world. Moreover, two issues will be addressed in my research questions. Firstly, I will extract the variable impedance between the sensor and the subject’s skin, which has the highest correlation with MAs according to literature, by injecting a voltage with a known frequency into the circuit. Unlike many previous methods, the ECG signal, and impedance signal will be measured simultaneously. I will address the optimal frequency and impedance signal with maximum correlation with MAs, which are the gaps in previous works. Secondly, in past studies, the effects of skin potential on MAs have not been sufficiently investigated, which is aimed to be analyzed, estimated, and subtracted from the polluted ECG noise signal
Short-term response of vegetation to fire in grasslands is predictable despite long-term community change, Lake Ōhau
Get PDFWildfire activity is increasing globally due to effects of climate change, including in ecosystems where fires were previously rare. Ecological and evolutionary dynamics of many ecosystems are influenced/shaped by wildfires, including changes in plant community structure (species diversity, composition, and traits) (Avolio et al., 2015; Shinneman et al., 2021). Therefore, it is crucial to understand plant community responses to wildfire disturbance. In this study, I aimed to investigate plant community resilience to fire in tussock grasslands in the South Island, Aotearoa New Zealand, in terms of ability to recover to pre-wildfire community structure. I used a data set of regularly measured permanent vegetation transects at Lake Ōhau (n = 3, est. 1983) burned in October 2020 and three times re-measured data after fire (1, 5, and 15 months). I compared plant community structure (composition, relative abundance, richness, gains, and losses), including species’ traits (community flammability weighted mean) across time to determine long-term dynamics and short-term responses to wildfire. Results showed that, although these grassland communities are relatively dynamic on decadal timescales, changes in community structure caused by wildfire were significant. Vegetation recovered to pre-fire community structure over a relatively short timescale (15 months). Native plant species were more diverse than exotics and had a relatively stronger negative response to fire. Community flammability, (from individual shoot-level estimates), was strongly related to species’ morphological traits and changed significantly over time, where flammability increased immediately after fire and then decreased over time. Exotic species in these tussock grasslands appear to be more resilient than native species to wildfire disturbance. My study suggests that plant communities in these tussock grasslands are relatively resilient and able to recover rapidly. However, increased fire activity may lead to increases in exotic species because of their high resilience; which may negatively impact tussock grasslands
Efficacy of nGVS to improve postural stability in people with Bilateral Vestibulopathy
Get PDFBilateral vestibulopathy occurs when the neural signals from the balance organs (vestibular apparatus) to the brain are weak. This leads to imbalance and blurry vision during head movements (Fujimoto et al., 2019). To date, there are few successful treatment options once damage has occurred (Hain et al., 2018). Noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation (nGVS) is a non-invasive electrical stimulation, delivered at a low level to the vestibular system. When used to boost the weak physiological signal from the vestibular system nGVS has the potential to restore absent vestibular information and improve balance (Dlugaiczyk et al., 2019). This presentation will include the results of my systematic literature review and meta-analysis, examining the evidence for the use of nGVS as a means of improving postural control in people with bilateral vestibulopathy and discussing how these results will inform my research. A comprehensive systematic search of five databases up to July 2022 was performed. The search identified studies applying nGVS to people with bilateral vestibulopathy, with the aim of improving their postural control. Two independent reviewers screened and identified eligible studies, completed a Cochrane risk of bias evaluation, and extracted relevant data. Seven studies met the eligibility criteria with 5 studies being suitable for meta-analysis. The standardized mean difference (SMD) based on Hedges’ g was calculated as a measure of effect size, for the primary outcome measure that best identified postural control, and a forest plot generated. Meta-analysis found that nGVS improved postural control during standing and walking (pooled SMD = 0.47 95% CI, [0.25, 0.7]). nGVS-mediated improvements in postural control were most evident standing on a firm surface with eyes closed, and in measures of lateral stability during gait. Identifying that nGVS is effective in people with bilateral vestibulopathy, and that the efficacy is context-specific, will help inform the development of treatments for people with bilateral vestibulopathy
Making connections: vloggers in the age of social media
Get PDFSocial media has significantly changed our life and the increasing number of vlog sharing websites allow people to produce and share content. This research explores the question: ‘How do vloggers use content creation strategies to engage their audiences?’ Its purpose is to address the gap in the literature and explore the content creation strategies used in vlogs by examining PhD vlogs and interviewing PhD vloggers via three Chinese video-sharing platforms: Bilibili, Douyin and Ixigua. The study uses an interpretive framework and qualitative exploration to investigate social media content strategies. The researcher employs a qualitative content analysis to analyse 20 video samples of online PhD vlogs, and semi-structured in-depth interviews with 20 PhD vloggers about their vlogging experience. With the 20 video samples, the researcher used critical incident technique to select from a large data set, and videos were analysed using multimodal analysis. The subject in the thesis is Chinese PhD vloggers. They are not limited to students who are studying in China, but use their Chinese citizenship and native Mandarin language to express themselves in the platforms. This oral presentation focuses on the how Chinese PhD vloggers make connections through vlogs and build networks in the virtual community. Emotional change and interpersonal communication are important for vloggers. The results will contribute to further understanding of social media content strategies, visual and digital communication, user-generated online content and the relationship between content creators and followers
Advancing Leader-Member Exchange utilising the 4Cs relationship model
Get PDFThe leader-staff member relationship in a workplace setting is fundamental to optimising organisational performance, reducing turnover intentions and increasing both parties' satisfaction, motivation and psychological well-being (Martin et al., 2010). The conceptualisation of the Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory and associated self-reporting tools represent the most prevalent approach to understanding leadermember relationships; yet has attracted much scrutiny regarding theory content (Gottfredson et al., 2020). Although researchers have suggested a multitude of constructs, many believe the leader-member relationship consists of Mutual Liking, Trust, Respect and Obligation. This study draws upon the perspective of ten participants from an organisational workplace to explore the structure and content that underpin LMX Theory in the twenty-first century, in order to better understand interpersonal relationships between leaders and members and offer an alternative approach to redefining the theoretical content of the concept. This qualitative study utilised semi-structured interviews adopting deductive and inductive content analysis to augment pre-existing theory and extend current knowledge. Analysis revealed that the 4Cs relationship model consisting of the emotions of Closeness, the thoughts of Commitment, Complementarity behaviours and Co-orientation more appropriately captures the social exchanges' reciprocal nature between a leader and a member. The 4Cs relationship model is a highly validated and reliable relationship model designed for the coach-athlete relationship in a sports context. Mutual Liking and Obligation may no longer be appropriate to considering leader-member relationships, and 24 dimensions, including Trust, Respect, Integrity, Honesty, Openness, and Leading/ Following by Example, can be considered essential elements of the relationship. The findings suggest that the LMX structure is limited and may not be suitable in the modern workplace. The findings demonstrate that the nature of the dyadic relationship between a leader and a member can be more effectively observed using a modified 4Cs model to capture a greater breadth and depth of social exchanges
Breaking Calabashes: Rediscovering the Potential of Wāhine Kaiwhakairo
Get PDFWairaka chanted, ‘Kia Whakatāne au i ahau - Let me act like a man!’ as she picked up the hoe (paddle), saving the Mātaatua waka. It has been written that wāhine (woman) were not permitted to handle the hoe. However, Wairaka gained the courage and determination to save the lives of the Mātaatua waka. ‘Kia whakamataora ahau i ahau anō’ like Wairaka, many wāhine Māori have gained the courage to pick up the whao (chisel) determined to reclaim and reimagine the potential of wāhine carvers. This research explores wāhine kaiwhakairo - the pursuit of knowledge from an archetypal approach called ‘He wāhine wāwāhi tahā – a woman who breaks calabashes.’ I was led to believe that the art of whakairo (carving) is the domain of men. However, further research indicates that some Atua wāhine (female gods) and wāhine Māori either played a significant role in whakairo or carved. Wāhine Māori, who showed creative attributes and talent early, may not have had the opportunity to nurture that talent in whakairo. Colonial power imbalances and belief systems in Māori gender roles and society have disadvantaged some wāhine Māori from acquiring the knowledge of whakairo. There is a critical disparity in literature and low visibility of whakairo artworks by wāhine Māori within contemporary art spaces. The practice-led research seeks to activate discussion and reflection around the perspectives and experiences of wāhine carvers, despite the disparity within literature and gallery spaces. Wāhine carvers have started to deconstruct and critique the colonial lens that disadvantages them by breaking down barriers and claiming space to enhance the potential and increase the visibility of wāhine kaiwhakairo
Distributional issues in well-being: a case study of New Zealand
Get PDFWell-being is now widely accepted as being multidimensional (OECD, 2017). New Zealand (NZ) Treasury mimics this notion and suggests that well-being indicates ‘quality of life’ and ways of facilitating individuals and society achieving a better life (McLeod, 2018). To achieve the goal of a ‘better life for all’, the NZ government has launched the first Well-being Budget worldwide in 2019 (Government of New Zealand, 2019). Still, there are some limitations in their framework. My research aims to address one of them; namely well-being inequality. By constructing a composite well-being index for a country that runs a Well-being Budget, this answers the following questions: i) which domains of well-being are most unequally distributed in NZ? ii) what are the determinants of well-being inequality? and iii) how does well-being inequality compare across gender, ethnicity, age, and geography in NZ? In this presentation, I will explain how Categorial Principal Component Analysis was used to construct NZ’s first multidimensional well-being index. Additionally, I will discuss the current well-being distribution findings. The data used comes from NZ's General Social Survey spanning the period 2014 to 2018 which includes 24,618 individuals across NZ. Both ordinal and nominal variables are included in the well-being index. To measure the inequality in well-being we deconstruct the multidimensional well-being index for various groups to determine the well-being distribution pattern in NZ. The preliminary results indicate that civic engagement and governance, and income explained the most variance; whereas cultural identity and social connection explained the least variance. In addition, females, Māori, immigrants, and those outside of the Auckland region experience greater well-being inequality than their counterparts. These results suggest that policymakers should focus on policies that could increase public trust in the government and institutions, increase employment opportunities, and provide social support for those unable to enter the employment sector as full-time employees. 
Measuring the performance of New Zealand universities
Get PDFEducation plays a crucial role in every country and contributes to economic productivity growth. The performance of public NZ universities is of broader interest, and the teaching and research labour productivity vary across NZ universities. This study is built on the work of Gemmell et al. (2017), who established quality-adjusted productivity indices for the tertiary education sector. In this presentation, I will introduce the productivity estimates across NZ universities over 2008-18 by using a range of teaching and research quality indexes to adjust both output and input amounts, as well as present a summary for alternative weights to adjust these measures. I used partial labour productivity (methodology) for this study, a ratio of a university's outputs to labour input. Valid productivity measures account for changes in the quality-adjusted teaching and research outputs, such as the use of qualification completions weighted by credit or/and income weights and citation weights from bibliometric databases. The preliminary data analysis aims to determine whether adding a quality adjustment impacts the university's labour productivity and how the impacts vary between different quality adjustments. Providing such an empirical base is crucial as a platform for further analysis that would lead to meaningful policy advice to increase university productivity. My results suggest that quality adjustments might significantly affect conclusions about labour productivity comparison. For teaching labour productivity, the University of Waikato, the University of Otago and Lincoln University all show positive annual average growth rates when qualification completions are adjusted for credit or/and income weights. Instead, Victoria University of Wellington and the University of Canterbury experienced negative annual growth in labour productivity. For research, research outputs weighted for citation rates increase labour productivity growth for all NZ universities while decelerating labour productivity growth by introducing PBRF-ranked adjusted research staff, except for Massey University
Water flossing for the management of gum disease
Get PDFPeriodontitis (gum disease) affects half of the worldwide adult population (Petersen & Ogawa, 2012) and is caused by an exaggerated inflammatory response to dental plaque. Therefore, providing patients with effective tools to maintain good oral hygiene is vital. Toothbrushing, the most common method of oral home care, cannot clean deep under the gumline or reach areas between the teeth. Other tools, such as dental floss and interdental brushes, are commonly used. However, these tools cannot go deeper than 2.5 mm under the gumline and may be challenging for patients to use. In contrast, water flossers can reach areas between the teeth and penetrate, on average, as far as 68% of the depth of periodontal pockets over 7 mm (Eakle et al., 1986). Some studies show that oral irrigators reduce inflammation by changing the amount and microbial composition of dental plaque (Chaves et al., 1994), but the evidence has been inconclusive. This presentation will discuss a research project examining the effects of water flossing on gum health and the microbial composition of dental plaque and saliva. This will be a randomised controlled clinical trial investigating 141 patients with periodontitis. The participants will use different oral hygiene regimens for six months. Clinical signs of inflammation in the gums will be recorded at the baseline, three and six months of the study. The microbiologic changes in the dental plaque and saliva will be assessed using next-generation sequencing and real-time polymerase chain reaction techniques. The study results will contribute to the existing body of knowledge on the pathogenesis of periodontitis and the mechanisms of action of water flossers, as well as guide the future directions in technology development and support practitioners in the advice they provide to their clients