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Languages ontologies in higher education: The world-making practices of language teachers
No full textIn this paper, we engage the frame of language ontologies to explore what language is or might be, vis-à-vis empirical data from practicing language teachers and researchers. We conducted semi-structured interviews with fourteen participants to explore their accounts and self-reported practices of language(s)/languaging. We present five ontological accounts of language(s)/languaging as shared by the participants during the interviews: language as a tool for communication, language as thought, language as culture, language as system, and languaging as practice. We discuss the implications of these five ontological accounts for teaching, learning, and understanding language as a multiplicity
Indicators for quantifying post-disaster functionality: A neighbourhood scale
No full textNatural disasters, such as earthquakes and cyclones, affect people physically and mentally. They can be destructive to the built environment, hindering infrastructure, lifelines, buildings and homes, which all support the daily functioning of society. The impacts from natural disasters are commonly disproportionate to communities with vulnerabilities in their built environment or lower socio-economic attributes. Weak spots within a community can be disguised at larger spatial scales such as city, regional, or national levels. Narrowing in on smaller community units, such as neighbourhoods, will help differentiate vulnerable areas and specific sources of risk. Identifying these weak spots in a community can help focus efforts to improve community resilience. Therefore, this research aims to identify appropriate indicators to quantify functionality at a neighbourhood scale and then obtain community feedback on the relevance of these indicators in a New Zealand context. Examining 11 existing international frameworks on community resilience identified 48 potential indicators across six different dimensions, namely: 1) the physical and built environment, 2) human and health, 3) economics, 4) environmental, 5) social, and 6) governance
Applying Rasch Methodology to Examine and Enhance Precision of the Baby Care Questionnaire
Get PDFThe Baby Care Questionnaire (BCQ) is an established ordinal measure of parenting beliefs about infant care, which includes structure and attunement scales. Rasch analysis is a powerful method to examine and improve psychometric properties of ordinal scales. This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties and improve precision of the structure and attunement scales of the BCQ using Rasch methodology. A Partial Credit Rasch model was applied to a sample of 450 mothers from the United Kingdom (n = 225) and New Zealand (n = 225) who completed the BCQ. Initial analyses indicated acceptable reliability of the structure and attunement scales of the BCQ, but some items showed misfit to the Rasch model associated with local dependency issues in both scales. After combining locally dependent items into testlets, both scales of the BCQ met expectations of the unidimensional Rasch model and demonstrated adequate and strong reliability and invariance across countries and person factors such as participants’ age and their baby’s sex. This permitted the generation of conversion algorithms to transform ordinal scores into interval data to enhance the precision of both scales of the BCQ. In conclusion, using Rasch methodology, this study demonstrated robust psychometric properties of the structure and attunement scales of the BCQ after minor modifications. The ordinal-to-interval conversion tables published here can be used to further enhance the precision of the structure and attunement scales of the BCQ without changing their original response format. These findings contribute to the enhancement of precision in measuring parenting beliefs about infant care
“Being treated as an equal is how I feel supported”: Expanding conceptualisations of “normal” to include gender, sex characteristic, and sexuality diversity on the university campus
Get PDFInternational research has a plethora of findings which show that gender, sex characteristic, and sexuality diverse (GSSD) staff and students are discriminated against and treated as ‘unwelcome’ on tertiary campuses at higher rates than their cisgender, endosex, and heterosexual (cis-endo-hetero) counterparts. Further research has demonstrated that GSSD people have greater potential to thrive academically (specific to students) and personally when universities foster campus climates that are inclusive of their identities. In Aotearoa New Zealand, there is a dearth of literature about the experiences of GSSD people on university campuses. This thesis research was conducted to help address the knowledge gap.
A community psychology and mixed methods approach was used in this study to understand GSSD staff and student perceptions of the campus climate at the University of Waikato, as well as to determine how to best achieve improvement, if needed. The first research stage included seven focus groups with GSSD staff and students, with initial analysis of the qualitative data collected from these focus groups being used to inform Stage Two: a campus climate survey. The survey was conducted with the intention to gain a broad range of views from university staff and students who identified as GSSD and as cis-endo-hetero (N = 343).
GSSD participants largely described The University of Waikato as a heteronormative, endonormative, and cisnormative environment. Further analysis also brought to light the mononormativity experienced by GSSD people who are non-monogamous. Full analysis of Stage One data resulted in the finding of ‘the (in)visible self’, which refers to the ways in which participants made their GSSD identities visible or invisible in the campus space at different times for varying reasons, including for the sake of their wellbeing. Participants in the focus groups also expressed the need for the university to actively include and educate about GSSD identities on campus so that GSSD people can more safely be ‘visible’ as themselves. These Stage One findings were supported by the qualitative data generated from the Stage Two survey; however, GSSD people in the survey expressed an additional desire for their identities to not just be included and educated about, but to also be considered ‘normal’ at university. Of particular interest is that this notion of ‘normal’ did not incorporate homonormative or transnormative rhetoric.
Overall, this research expands on the limited existing literature in Aotearoa New Zealand to demonstrate there is a local need for universities to critically re-examine their practices, policies, and educational content in relation to gender, sex characteristics, and sexuality, with this thesis identifying the most promising intervention options, according to participants. People with a range of GSSD voices should be included in any intervention efforts (rather than GSSD people being treated like a homogenous group). Having GSSD voices included in any interventions is also important given my thesis research found that cis- endo-hetero people overestimated the acceptance of some GSSD groups on campus (e.g., non-binary people, bisexual and pansexual people) compared to the perceptions of GSSD participants themselves. The thorough disruption of heteronormative, endonormative, and cisnormative discourses on campus would create a climate in which being GSSD is considered normal (i.e., not remarkable, or forcibly [in]visible) and cisgender, endosex, and heterosexual identities are not normative (i.e., perceived as what should be normal) in university policy, educational content, and everyday interactions
Site-specific performance rituals in the Anthropocene
No full textIn this creative practice PhD, I investigated site-specific performance rituals in the Anthropocene. Driven by the urge to respond to the challenges of the current time, I examined how different seasonal rituals might be expressed in specific sites in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Furthermore, including participants from diverse cultural backgrounds, and carrying an awareness of the complexities of colonialism, I analysed insights from key ritual experts to enhance my understanding of ritual practices within the specific socio-cultural and environmental context of Aotearoa. Inspired by critical posthumanist philosophies, I viewed ritual practices through a lens that considered the interconnectedness of technology, culture, and nature, moving beyond essentialist and dualistic tendencies. Inspired by (Haraway, 2007) and Braidotti (2019), I embraced a perspective of ‘staying with the trouble’ and ‘radical hope’ as a strategy to inspire commitments to safeguarding life on Earth amid increasing societal divisions, and environmental disasters.
Working at the intersection of various disciplines, I crafted a qualitative research design that embraced multiple ways of knowing through creative practice research. I gathered insights from four ritual experts grounded in mātauranga Māori or neo-Paganism through in-depth interviews, to comprehend multifaceted and culturally sensitive approaches to ritual practices in Aotearoa. Moreover, the creative investigation of four seasonal performance rituals served as the primary mode of inquiry (Niedderer & Roworth-Stokes, 2007; Skains, 2018). The methods used for these rituals included contemporary performance practices, eco-somatic movement, improvisation, site-specific dance, audience participation, and others.
The rich knowledge gained throughout these investigations is conveyed through the documentation of four seasonal rituals, presented in video works alongside this thesis. The findings are articulated in two empirical chapters, one focusing on the findings and analysis of the expert interviews and the other on the findings and analysis of four performance rituals, revealing nuanced and complex insights into the creation of site-specific performance rituals in the Anthropocene. Navigating site-specific performance practices as an immigrant necessitated continuous critical self-reflection on biases and assumptions, leading to intricate explorations of embodiment, identity, culture, nature, and the more-than-human world within a posthuman context. Operating in the liminal space of this tension alongside performer participants, ritual experts, and audience members yielded the articulation of my findings: a ritual score capable of accommodating the complexities of the Anthropocene
Investigating teachers’ lived experiences in teaching Literature in English in Ghana
Get PDFThis thesis investigates the professional experiences of a group of Literature in English secondary school teachers in Ghanaian schools. At the secondary level, LiE is an elective (optional) subject, and so we could expect that those choosing it would probably do well. However, this thesis investigation arose from a concern about the persistent lack of quality of student achievement in this subject, as noted in the annual Chief Examiner’ Literature in English report. These reports outlined challenges students face in responding to West African Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) Literature in English questions. I was curious about understanding what might be behind this persistent issue.
Though English is the official language and medium of instruction from the upper primary to the tertiary level in Ghana, English is a second language. This is important when considering the nature of texts mandated by the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) Ghana every five years.
In order to investigate this Literature in English phenomenon, I recruited volunteer teachers from Ashanti Mampong Municipal, using phenomenology as the methodological framework. As part of the investigation, I reviewed teachers’ perspectives about their professional lives through the lens of PCK, since teachers’ knowledge is an important element in teaching specific subjects. I also sought to know more about their professional teaching conditions - both barriers and enablers.
The findings revealed teachers’ great passion for the subject and what they thought it could provide for students’ learning in terms of reading, critical thinking and writing skills. However, major barriers interfered with their good intentions:
- the unreliability of having mandated texts available in a timely manner
- the cost of texts to students and teachers, who must purchase them
- the language complexity and cultural, social and historical contexts of some set texts
- class sizes.
The findings implied that if texts were supplied in a timely manner, and offered for students and teachers to borrow rather than purchase outright, then teachers would not need to find their own workarounds to manage the lack of texts. Also if the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) chose more contemporary and local texts, students might be more familiar with the language and contexts of the literature, and thus be more able to offer original perspectives. Teachers also had to manage large classes, making it difficult to meet students’ specific learning needs. Such barriers are likely to mitigate against teachers using the kinds of co-constructive, student-centred pedagogical practices known to enhance learning and leverage teachers’ PCK. Instead, they resorted to a range of teacher-centred pedagogies, especially when neither students nor teachers could access copies of the set texts.
Revealing these barriers to learning can inform WAEC as it makes the next set of mandated literature choices for the next five year term. Should the government also review the status of the subject and how learning materials are provided in a timely manner, this might also benefit both learners and teachers.
For participant teachers themselves, knowing their experiences - both positive and negative - are shared, may help them develop networks of professional support to mitigate the effects of access, class size, and text difficulty. In the end, these relatively small changes may be significant in positively altering the experiences of students and teachers in classes of Literature in English
Joint effect of β-eutectoid content and heat treatment on the properties of binary Ti-Cu and Ti-Mn alloys
Get PDFThe use of cheap alloying elements and alternative manufacturing techniques are two strategies that can be used to reduce the high cost of Ti alloys. Furthermore, heat treatments are an easy and cost effective method to tailor the mechanical behaviour by means of the modification of the microstructure. For that, this work analysed the quenching and aging heat treatment of binary Ti-Cu and Ti-Mn alloys manufactured via powder metallurgy. It is found that the post-processing solution treatment does not significantly affect the physical properties and residual porosity remains unchanged within the microstructure; however, the heat treatment changes the microconstituents. Serrated martensitic transformed β is formed in quenched Ti-Cu alloys and it is converted into a coarse lamellar or a hypoeutectoid structure as the Cu content increases with the subsequent aging treatment. Aging of the Ti-Mn alloys slightly coarsen the microstructural features where martensite or equiaxed metastable β grains are obtained after quenching. Enhancing of the mechanical behaviour is generally achieved and the solution treatment switches from improving the ductility to increasing the strength and the hardness as the amount of the alloying element increases
When bike lanes are not enough: An exploration of the level of traffic stress framework in Aotearoa New Zealand
No full textThe Level of Traffic Stress (LTS) Framework is a recently developed bicycle infrastructure classification scheme that is growing in popularity in the field of transportation planning due to its relatively simple data requirements, its intuitive description of cycling networks, and its potential to increase the uptake of cycling through application in policy and planning. However, there are a dearth of studies that aim to empirically validate the LTS Framework and its use. This thesis aims to empirically validate the LTS Framework in the context of Aotearoa New Zealand, asking: To what extent does the provision of low stress cycling infrastructure relate to cycling uptake in major cities in Aotearoa New Zealand? The Level of Traffic Stress framework is applied to seven cities across Aotearoa New Zealand that vary in population, topography, and commitment to cycling as an everyday traffic mode which results in roads being designated as either low stress or high stress. Measures of the networks formed when only considering low stress roads are tested against levels of cycling commuting across different neighbourhoods. It is found that for six of the seven studied cities, the majority of the roads are low stress, and in all seven cities, the low stress roads are poorly connected. However, there is a link between greater provision of low stress cycling infrastructure and the number of people cycling to work. The percentage of low stress infrastructure at both the city and the neighbourhood level is the only significant variable for increasing bicycle commuting levels. Further, this variable is expressed stronger at the city level than the neighbourhood level, indicating that new low stress infrastructure is likely to increase cycling uptake regardless of where it is located. Policy makers and planners can have confidence that the provision of low stress infrastructure is correlated to increased cycling uptake in Aotearoa New Zealand and beyond
Teacher identity, activism, and empowerment: Entanglements with climate in Aotearoa, New Zealand
No full textPropelled by energy from fossil fuels, human population and agency have grown exponentially over the last century, resulting in rapidly increasing and potentially catastrophic anthropogenic impacts on the coupled systems of climate, ocean chemistry, ecology, and society. Education could bring about the fundamental change in human behaviour required to avert the potential dystopian futures predicted by climate scientists.
By applying a DeleuzoGuattarian analytical and methodological framework, this thesis researched the perceptions and desires of seventeen climate activist secondary school teachers in Aotearoa, New Zealand, as they try to make sense of the diffractions between their ambition to be changemakers for a sustainable future and the milieu of territorialising institutional, social, and economic assemblages resisting this change. The analysis of the participant narratives generated specific insights into opportunities to deterritorialise and decode educational institutions in order to promote a meaningful engagement with the fundamental questions of human relations with the more-than-human world.
This thesis promotes a critical-realist ontology for education to navigate the complex entanglements between social and material assemblages. The theoretical preparations for this research included a critical discussion of the epistemic relativism in constructivist philosophy and a critique of the ontological indeterminism in quantum mechanics-inspired agential realism
Envisioning VR theatre: Virtual reality as an assistive technology in theatre performance
No full textThis research project focuses on exploring the potential artistic advancements provided by the inclusion and incorporation of Virtual Reality (VR) within theatre. The incorporation of VR technology into theatre performance ultimately aims to alter a theatre experience by adding spatial presence for audiences and adding new production considerations for theatre practitioners. This project investigated the conceptual nature and practical aspects of using 360-degree cameras placed on stage to enable virtual teleportation onto the stage from the audience or remote viewing.
This thesis constitutes a PhD ‘with publication’ and includes reprints of quality assured peer reviewed scholarly articles produced at different stages on the project. The first study examines the early development and use of three-dimensional theatre prototyping to identify the technical requirements for VR theatre. A digital theatrical prototype was designed, along with mathematical calculations to determine the optimal placement of 360-degree cameras on stage. The study reveals multiple camera angles that can be utilized to capture a 360-degree/VR theatre experience.
Building upon the findings of the first study, the second study focuses on practical and technical factors such as visibility, sound, lighting, and visual intensity to enhance audience access and proximity to live performances. Different camera positions were found to be suitable for different theatre styles. The study suggests that the application of VR technology in theatre stages can yield highly satisfying results, as reported by participating actors.
Following initial prototyping and planning, the PhD then experienced the impact of COVID-19 that prevented planned collaboration with local theatre practitioners that would have enabled a substantive practical application of VR, technical refinements and, user and audience testing. However, in response to the impact of COVID-19 on the theatre industry, the third study investigated the use of virtually designed spaces and the inclusion of 3D avatars/characters or real actors in performances. It explores the creation of photorealistic virtual worlds that mimic real-world environments and examines audience perceptions of virtual theatre experiences. The study presents a modernization of theatre performance by incorporating 3D virtual spaces, akin to VR games, but with limited interactive freedom for the audience.
The fourth and final study involved the development of a post-pandemic experimental theatre performance based on the insights and data collected from the previous studies. It focuses on the virtual teleportation of an audience onto the stage during a performance, facilitated by VR headsets and a 360-degree camera mounted on the actor. Within the experiment participants experienced the performance through VR headsets. The audience and theatre practitioners were then invited to participate in a post interview session, to note their feedback and comments regarding the experience. Despite the limited number of participants due to COVID-19 restrictions, the study highlighted the positive nature of the VR experience pointing to the possibilities for increased virtual access to live theatre beyond this research.
Overall, the results of these studies shed light on key practical considerations involved in the integration of VR into theatre performances. The approaches taken in each study support and guide best practice but also opens up VR-assisted theatre to grass roots level community and local theatre so that VR can become a common consideration and tool for all forms of theatre