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Investigating state and trait aspects of resilience using Generalizability theory
Get PDFChallenges of modern living such as burden of disease, a global COVID-19 pandemic and workplace stress leading to anxiety and depression raise the importance of psychological resilience. Psychological interventions should increase trait resilience that involves reinforcing state resilience and requires a clear distinction between state and trait aspects of the construct. Generalizability theory is the appropriate method increasingly used to distinguish between state and trait and to establish reliability of psychological assessment. G-theory was applied to examine five major resilience scales completed at 3 time-points by the sample (n = 94) that possess adequate statistical power for such analyses. All five resilience scales demonstrated strong reliability and generalizability of scores across occasions and sample population as expected for a valid trait measure (G > 0.90). However, eight state aspects of resilience were identified from all five resilience scales including adaptation to change; perseverance; self-confidence while facing adversity; self-efficacy; trust in instincts; ability to follow plans; non-reactivity; and ability to plan. State aspects of resilience appear to show more variability and, pending further research, could potentially be a target for resilience-building interventions. All five measures of resilience are useful to assess long-lasting changes in resilience. Development of a state resilience scale is warranted
The Effect of Gender on Identification and Interpretation of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury.
No full textINTRODUCTION: Reported rates of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) differ by gender but may be under-reported and under-recognised in men. People engaging in NSSI rarely seek professional help without encouragement, so others play a key role in its identification and potential intervention. The current research investigated others' interpretations of NSSI, examining whether gender affects the likelihood of NSSI identification and views of how common and acceptable NSSI is. METHOD: Participants (N = 429; 74.1% female, 23.3% male; please see below for further demographic information) responded to two vignettes describing a person self-injuring by punching a wall or by cutting themselves. The person's gender in each vignette was manipulated. Following each vignette, the participants rated the level to which they agreed the behaviour was common for the gender of the person described, as well as the level to which they agreed the behaviour was acceptable for the gender of the person described, on a 5-point Likert scale. Following both vignettes, participants were presented with a definition of NSSI and rated the level to which they agreed cutting and wall-punching were forms of NSSI on 5-point Likert scales. Independent-samples t tests and goodness of fit χ2 tests were conducted as appropriate. RESULTS: Participants were more likely to identify wall-punching as common for men and cutting as common for women. However, there was no significant difference in whether wall-punching was identified as NSSI or considered to be an acceptable behaviour, regardless of the gender of the person engaging in it. That is, although research suggests that men are far more likely to engage in wall-punching as a form of NSSI than women, participants did not recognise this. Overall, the results indicated a gender-dependent difference in how acceptable and common NSSI is thought to be, but no noticeable difference in identification of a behaviour as NSSI. Wall-punching, typically a form of NSSI engaged in by males, tended not to be identified as such. CONCLUSION: There is an effect of gender on how NSSI is interpreted, and it seems that men's NSSI is, and will continue to be, under-recognised. This has important implications for the treatment of men's NSSI, which is more likely to be seen as aggression and therefore deserving of punishment than an attempt at emotion regulation
Carbon capture and storage: taking action under the present law
Get PDFThe report investigates the legal regime for carbon capture and storage as a method of reducing net emissions of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. The report is specially focused on options to move forward with limited numbers of changes to statutes, regulations, and policy instruments, rather than waiting for an all-encompassing new Act of Parliament. It identifies points where the existing legal and regulatory regime could be used, but perhaps only with difficulty for being ill-suited to CCS. The report concentrates on identifying those points rather than making any elaborate evaluation of the arguments for and against managing CCS under the existing arrangements
Pacific peoples, New Zealand housing-related political rhetoric and epistemic violence
Get PDFIn the nearly 50 years since the Dawn Raids, Pacific peoples have continuously faced a housing crisis defined by precarious dwellings. This article employs content analysis to examine the political framing of Pacific peoples in housing-related political rhetoric from 2007 to 2021. The analysis reveals that Pacific peoples almost exclusively featured only in discussions led by Pacific and Māori politicians who sought to add their communities’ perspectives into debates where most politicians either ignored them or made uninformed comments. The findings reveal levels of epistemic violence, meaning Pacific peoples are placed in positions where they have to prove their experiences are real within power structures that render institutional constraints invisible. Limited attention towards the specificity of what this article refers to as the “Pacific housing crisis” illustrates an active ignorance employed to uphold the dominant epistemic order. Just like the Dawn Raids, which fell into national amnesia and were erased from public memory for decades, the Pacific housing crisis follows the same trend.
Critically assessing energy hardship in Aotearoa New Zealand for strategising its eradication
Get PDFEnergy hardship is a condition relating to the lack of energy access and affordability, with the latter being the most relevant aspect to New Zealand. It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of Kiwis are struggling with the condition, causing financial and health issues.
This doctoral thesis, with publications, uses transition management as the framework to guide the study towards answering the main research question: What are the best interventions needed to eradicate energy hardship in Aotearoa? The first step, (known as the strategic one, according to the transition management framework) was a systematic literature review conducted to understand the recent and relevant international literature on fuel poverty, energy poverty, and energy hardship, all terms that get used in the literature Additionally, semi-structured interviews were carried out with five energy experts in New Zealand to find patterns in their perspectives on the meaning of fuel poverty and energy hardship.
For the second step, tactical, sixteen people employed by sixteen organisations in Aotearoa participated in semi-structured interviews about their current interventions against energy hardship. The themes found in their responses were compared to the energy hardship framework proposed by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) in 2021 to see if the interventions from the interviewed organisations were effective.
In the operational step, a quantitative study was divided into two parts: one survey with 773 customers from a low-cost electricity retailer (OurPower) in the Waikato region and another survey with 505 respondents in a nationally representative sample. Seventeen energy hardship indicators proposed by MBIE were used and correlated to household and dwelling characteristics and energy behaviours to understand better the causes and consequences of energy hardship in Aotearoa.
In the last step, reflexive, three follow-up surveys were conducted: one with organisations seeking feedback from their operations and plans, another with the nationally representative sample and the OurPower customers, which sought their opinions on survey rewards and other energy interventions they engaged in recently. All the follow-up surveys asked respondents about the role of each type of organisation (such as local government, national government, non-governmental organisations, and energy sector) in reducing energy hardship.
It was found that the best practices mostly related to reducing the energy bills of households. When linking the respondents’ suggestions to the concept of energy democracy, it became clear that more democratic and decentralised decision-making in the energy sector (e.g. community-owned infrastructure) can reduce energy costs, which is a priority for households. Increasing dwelling standards for insulation and overall energy efficiency and ensuring construction companies and landlords follow them is also of essential need. For Aotearoa to achieve energy wellbeing, we need to focus more on collaboration at the community level, not only the household level
Stratigraphy and sedimentology of Pliocene strata in the forearc basin (Waikoau and Waikari River catchments), northern Hawke's Bay
No full textAn area of over 250 km² in northern Hawke's Bay has been geologically mapped at a scale of 1:50 000, and over 1350 m of Pliocene sedimentary section described and interpreted in the Waikoau and Waikari River catchments. Two new formations and 13 members have been defined, and two formations redefined. The strata show little structural deformation
and form a shallow to moderately dipping (5°- 25°) succession on the uplifted limb of the Hawke's Bay Monocline. The rocks are of Pliocene age, ranging from Opoitian to Nukumaruan. The formations show rapid changes in thickness and lithology along strike from the southwest to the northeast, which is oblique to the depositional paleoslope.
Coarse-grained lithologies such as conglomerates and limestones typically become finergrained, less continuous and thinner towards the northeast.
In ascending order the new formations ( except where redefined) are: Titiokura Formation, Rangiora Formation, Matahorua Formation (redefined) and Waipunga Formation
(redefined). Titiokura Formation is dominated by calcareous siliciclastic sandstone and sandy limestone. The Rangiora Formation and Waipunga Formations are siliciclastic
sandstone and siltstone dominated. Matahorua Formation is dominated by siliciclastic sandstone and greywacke conglomerate.
Lithofacies analysis has been applied to the strata to establish the deposition paleoenvironments. Four lithofacies associations (siltstone, sandstone, conglomerate and
limestone) and 13 lithofacies have been identified. Interpreted bathymetric ranges for the siltstone association ranges from inner to outer shelf. The sandstone association is
characterised by massive to tabular cross-bedded sandstone interpreted to have been deposited on a shoreface to innershelf setting; storm current and tidally emplaced
tempestites and tidalities were deposited on the lower-shoreface to mid shelf; massive to horizontally bedded sandstone and silty beds were deposited on the inner-mid shelf.
Conglomerate associations are characterised by non-marine greywacke conglomerates deposited on a broad braidplain. Sandstone, siltstone and pumice conglomerate all within a
calcareous sandy matrix, are interpreted to have been deposited in tidal channels or on a beachface. The limestone association is characterised thick successions (10 - 50 m) of
sandy coquina that probably formed on the inner shelf possibly on a structural high as carbonate source areas. Thinner correlative units (50 cm - 6 m) of trough cross-bedded
sandy coquina accumulated in inner-mid shelf environments, having been reworked across the shelf from the carbonate source areas.
The successions in the four stratigraphic formations have been interpreted within a sequence stratigraphic framework and 25 sequences have been identified. Interpretation of
sequence boundaries is based on observed unconformities between lithologies, inferred unconformities between lithologies of differing paleoenvironments, and correlative
conformities.
Four typical sequence stratigraphic motifs have been interpreted from these formations. Each motif comprises three or four systems tracts: trangressive (TST), highstand (HST),
regressive (RST) and lowstand system tracts (LST). Motif 1 is representative of the Titiokura Formation, and consists of sandstone and mud drapes (TST and HST), with
sandstone grading up into limestone (RST) having unconformable tops. Motif 2 is represent by the Rangiora Formation. This formation is comprised of thick successions
(100 m +) of interbedded sandstone and siltstone (TST), siltstone (HST), and siltstone coarsening up into sandstone (RST). The boundary on top of the RST sandstone is typically
unconformable. Motif 3 occurs in the Matahorua Formation. Siltstone or sandstone (TST), sandstone (HST), and interbedded siltstone and sandstone (RST) coarsen up into
greywacke conglomerate (LST). The sequence boundary usually lies within the top of the conglomerate between the coarse massive part and finer bedded conglomerate commonly having a heterogeneous silty-sand matrix; rarely the sequence boundary is at the vert top of the conglomerate unit. Motif 4 is represented by the Waipunga Formation. It is characterized by thin successions (10 m) of interbedded siltstone and sandstone (TST, HST) coarsening upward into sandstone (HST).
The stratigraphic evolution of each of these motifs has been interpreted within the context of an across shelf profile. Evolution of the motifs during a sea-level transgression, is
generally one of limestone deposition near the highstand shoreline. Thinly bedded tidalities, parasequences and massive sandstone with a weak backlap shellbed occur basinward in the TST. Limestone deposition near the highstand shoreline, and siltstone and thickly bedded tidalities basinward, characterise deposition during a sea-level highstand. Erosion and reworking of sediments basinwards during falling sea level conditions result in the formation of erosional sequence boundaries and the accumulation of a regressive sediment
wedge (RST). Sea-level lowstands are characterised by the deposition by greywacke conglomerate on a non-marine braidplain.
The Pliocene sedimentary succession on the western limb of the Hawke's Bay Monocline is interpreted as having been deposited in a steadily subsiding seaway (forearc basin) with uplift on its western margin. Strong storm and tidal currents reworked sediment from shallow into deeper water across a shelf. The siliciclastic sediment was sourced from
erosion in the hinterland. The compressive component within the plate boundary zone in North Island, increased around 2-3 Ma, resulting in uplift of the Axial Ranges, which
became a major sediment source. Sea-level fluctuations throughout the deposition of the sedimentary succession in the study area resulted in the development of cyclothems. The
periodicity of the cycles appears to increase from the Opoitian to the Nukumaruan, for which 6th order (41 ka) cyclicity is inferred. The bathymetric range of the cyclothems also
appears to increase from the Opoitian to Nukumaruan
‘No one would give me that job in Australia’: When professional identities intersect with how teachers look, speak, and where they come from
Get PDFThis article investigates how non-native English-speaking teachers’ (NNESTs) professional identities can be affected by their employment experiences in Australia. Hermeneutic phenomenological narrative analyses of the written narratives of lived experiences of a group of NNESTs demonstrate how their professional identities were negatively affected by hiring discrimination, which also had psycho-emotional impacts on their professional selves. Socio-cultural representations of race, language, and other cultural attributes convergingly contributed to their unemployment despite meeting country-specific eligibility criteria to be English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers. The interplay between their professional identities and socio-cultural constructs took shape in modes of power relations enmeshed in the historic processes: economic, political, and cultural, which included discourses of native-speakerism, neo-racism, post-colonialism, neoliberalism, and multiculturalism. Despite these modalities, the NNESTs furthered their hybrid professional actions, recognising the value in the global community of multiple and diverse professional experiences
Measures of Dosage for Spinal-Cord Electrical Stimulation: Review and Proposal
Get PDFThis manuscript proposes an electrical definition of therapeutic dose for spinal cord systems used for the treatment of chronic pain, analogous to the pharmacological definition. Dose-response relationships are fundamental to pharmacology, radiotherapy, and other treatments, but have never been properly established for neuromodulation. This manuscript offers a robust measure of dose, pre-requisite to establishing a reliable and repeatable dose-response relationship. The new definition, enabled by the system transresistance obtained from measurement of evoked action potentials, recognizes the mechanism of action of spinal cord stimulation (SCS), and should improve acceptance of the therapy as compared to pharmacological treatments which are currently used more frequently for the treatment of chronic pain. The new definition suggests methods for personalization and standardization of the dose in SCS, and is potentially generalizable to all neuromodulation therapies in which nervous tissue is excited including sacral nerve stimulation (SNS), vagal nerve stimulation (VNS), and deep-brain stimulation (DBS). Formulas are provided, and applied using patient data. Powerful conclusions are drawn from application of the new measure
Using acoustic backscatter data to provide estimates of profiles of suspended sediment concentrations for cohesive particles in the field
No full textMany estuaries and rivers in New Zealand and other locations worldwide are stressed by the input of fine (muddy) sediments. Suspended sediment concentrations (SSC) are often used as a key indicator of water quality and are a critical variable in management practices to aid in the health of estuarine habitats. However, robust measurements of SSC are difficult to obtain, owing in part to large gradients in conditions, and the process of ‘flocculation’ or aggregation of fine particles. Amongst the range of measurement tools available, acoustic backscatter (ABS) sensors offer significant potential to provide temporally and spatially well resolved profiles of SSC from the field. The process of ‘inversion’ or converting the acoustic backscatter signal into SSC is effective when all terms are known within the theoretical context. However, the challenge facing the use of ABS technology in the field, is the scattering properties, the form function f∞ and the total scattering cross-section Σₛ, of cohesive particles typical in estuarine environments, are unknown.
For this study, a unique laboratory calibration combined with ABS field data from a mudflat, were used to investigate if a pair of f∞ and Σₛ values could be evaluated for finer grain, mud material as opposed to sand particles. The derived f∞ and Σₛ values appeared to be influenced by other physical controls from the field environment and were sensitive to several assumptions made in the inversion equation. Nonetheless, the acoustic data yielded reasonable estimates of SSC in a field setting, when compared to discrete single-point measurements of SSC obtained from a calibrated optical backscatter sensor. However, there were also times when the inversion methodology did not work well (particularly for acoustic transducers with lower frequencies). Moreover, inversion results were better when using time-varying values for f∞ and Σₛ, the inversion procedure implemented with a universal set parameters did not perform as well. These results imply more research is needed in gathering better descriptions of the f∞ and Σₛ values from multiple ABS frequencies, to improve inversion SSC results from the field
The eco-physiology of New Zealand forest lichens with special reference to carbon dioxide exchange
Get PDFThis study of lichen ecological physiology was carried out in four parts:
(i) The growth rates of specimens of Pseudocyphellaria homoeophylla and Sticta caperata growing in the Urewera National Park (New Zealand) were measured photographically. The mean radial increase of P. homoeophylla was related to thallus diameter and rates as high 27 mm yr⁻¹ (32 cm diameter) were recorded. The growth of S. caperata was not influenced by thallus size and the mean radial increase was 7.0 mm yr⁻¹.
(ii) The intraspecific morphological variations of Pseudocyphellaria dissimilis populations are assessed and are related to the nitrogenase activity and water relations of each population. The effect of thallus water content on CO₂ exchange in eight lichen and one bryophyte species was studied using an infrared gas analyser operating as a discrete sample analyser. Species from moist habitats showed a net loss of CO₂ at low thallus water contents whilst some other species showed a depression of net photosynthesis (NP) at high thallus water contents. In Sticta latifrons this depression was less apparent when the lower surface was dried. Experiments with a split chamber demonstrated that virtually all CO₂ uptake occurs through the lower, cyphellate surface. These results suggest that the cyphellae of S. latifrons act as air pores and that blockage of these pores with water results in a depression of NP.
(iii) Low oxygen concentrations (1% v/v) were shown to increase NP in S. latifrons, P. homoeophylla and P. billardierii by up to 55%. This stimulation was considered to result from the repression of photorespiration. The oxygen effect was separated into two components; (a) the sensitivity of the carboxylation system and (b), the rate of CO₂ evolution in the light at zero CO₂. Of the lichen species studied all but P. billardierii had a carboxylation sensitivity typical of the values expected in C3 plants. P. billardierii had an unusually low carboxylation sensitivity. The rate of CO₂ evolution in the light showed large inter and intraspecific variations. Low rates of CO₂ evolution were often associated with a high CO₂ refixation ability.
(iv) Total CO₂ diffusion resistance - water content curves for six lichen species are presented. All species show increased resistances at low thallus water contents and some also show high resistances at high thallus water contents. The total CO₂ resistances of S. latifrons and P. amphisticta are separated into transport and carboxylation components. Cyphella, pseudocyphella, and medulla resistances are calculated from morphological data. Although transport resistances are often larger than carboxylation resistances the results suggest that at ambient CO₂ levels carboxylation processes limit photosynthesis. The relationship between resistance to water vapour loss and resistance to CO₂ uptake in P. homoeophylla and S. latifrons is established and the ecological implications are discussed.
In a general summary, the size of the internal and external water holding capacities of several lichen species is estimated. The effectiveness of these reserves in maintaining lichens in a moist condition in the field is calculated and the results are related to the ecology of the species. Morphological adaptations of Stictaceae lichens which maximise water holding capacity yet minimise CO₂ diffusion resistances are considered. It is suggested that lichen water contents should be related to thallus area, rather than thallus weight, as the former parameter appears to be of greater physiological significance.
The relevance of this work to that of previous authors is discussed, particularly in regard to photorespiration, CO₂ uptake, and thallus water content in lichens