16168 research outputs found
Sort by
Examining the mid to long‐term variability in saturated hydraulic conductivity of sandy soils and its influencing factors under constant head test in the laboratory
No full textSaturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) is a crucial parameter that influences water flow in saturated soils, with applications in various fields such as surface water runoff, soil erosion, drainage, and solute transport. However, accurate determination of Ks is challenging due to temporal and spatial uncertainties. This study addresses the knowledge gap regarding the long‐term behavior of Ks in sandy soils with less than 10% fine particles. The research investigates the changes in Ks over a long period of constant head tests and examines the factors influencing its variation. Two sandy samples were tested using a hydraulic conductivity cell, and the hydraulic head and discharge were recorded for over 50 days. The results show a general decline in Ks throughout the test, except for brief periods of increase. At the end of both tests, there are noticeable reductions in the saturated hydraulic conductivities of the samples, with one sample being 96% and the other sample 91% less than the maximum recorded saturated hydraulic conductivity during the tests. Furthermore, the relationship between flow rate and hydraulic head gradient does not follow the expected linear correlation from Darcy's law, highlighting the complex nature of sandy soil saturated hydraulic conductivity. The investigation of soil properties in three different sections of the samples before and after the tests revealed a decrease in the percentage of fine particles and a shift in specific gravity from the bottom to the top of the sample, suggesting particle migration along the flow direction. Factors such as clogging by fine particles and pore pressure variation contribute to the changes in Ks. The findings of this research show the importance of considering changes of saturated hydraulic conductivity during constant‐head laboratory tests. Therefore, this study provides evidence for the requirement to further assess the laboratory methods for measurement of the saturated hydraulic conductivity in sandy soil mixtures
A generalisability theory approach to quantifying changes in psychopathology among ultra-high-risk individuals for psychosis
No full textDistinguishing stable and fluctuating psychopathological features in young individuals at Ultra High Risk (UHR) for psychosis is challenging, but critical for building robust, accurate, early clinical detection and prevention capabilities. Over a 24-month period, 159 UHR individuals were assessed using the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS). Generalisability Theory was used to validate the PANSS with this population and to investigate stable and fluctuating features, by estimating the reliability and generalisability of three factor (Positive, Negative, and General) and five factor (Positive, Negative, Cognitive, Depression, and Hostility) symptom models. Acceptable reliability and generalisability of scores across occasions and sample population were demonstrated by the total PANSS scale (Gr = 0.85). Fluctuating symptoms (delusions, hallucinatory behaviour, lack of spontaneity, flow in conversation, emotional withdrawal, and somatic concern) showed high variability over time, with 50–68% of the variance explained by individual transient states. In contrast, more stable symptoms included excitement, poor rapport, anxiety, guilt feeling, uncooperativeness, and poor impulse control. The 3-factor model of PANSS and its subscales showed robust reliability and generalisability of their assessment scores across the UHR population and evaluation periods (G = 0.77–0.93), offering a suitable means to assess psychosis risk. Certain subscales within the 5-factor PANSS model showed comparatively lower reliability and generalisability (G = 0.33–0.66). The identified and investigated fluctuating symptoms in UHR individuals are more amendable by means of intervention, which could have significant implications for preventing and addressing psychosis. Prioritising the treatment of fluctuating symptoms could enhance intervention efficacy, offering a sharper focus in clinical trials. At the same time, using more reliable total scale and 3 subscales can contribute to more accurate assessment of enduring psychosis patterns in clinical and experimental settings
An investigation of stalking in intimate partner violence cases in Aotearoa New Zealand
No full textPartner stalking is often assumed to be a dangerous problem that is distinct from intimate partner violence (IPV) overall, or from other types of IPV (e.g., physical, sexual, and psychological violence). Such assumptions imply that partner stalking requires identification, assessment, and response processes distinct from other types of harm within both intact and separated intimate relationships. However, considerable confusion—about how best to (a) define partner stalking and (b) distinguish partner stalking from other harm types—seems to persist among researchers and practitioners alike. Accordingly, this thesis contains three empirical studies that investigate these assumptions (and the corresponding confusion) by focusing on partner stalking definitions and identification, as well as partner stalking-related risk prediction. The first study examined police-recorded partner stalking in episode reports across 1,150 IPV cases. Few police officers explicitly used the label ‘stalking’, but we found evidence of partner stalking within one in every seven IPV cases reported to New Zealand Police. The second study was a qualitative analysis of practice-based definitions of partner stalking, based on interviews with 14 specialist IPV practitioners. Rather than providing a summary definition of partner stalking, practitioners defined partner stalking as a list of behaviours. There was also considerable heterogeneity in whether—and, if so, how—practitioners distinguished partner stalking from other types of IPV harm. Finally, the third study examined whether partner stalking predicted subsequent IPV outcomes reported to police across a 12-month follow up in 1,126 cases. Partner stalking was a weak predictor of any IPV recurrence (in univariate analysis only) and did not predict physical IPV recurrence (in univariate or multivariate analyses). Taken together, and broadly mirroring the previous research literature, the findings in this thesis suggest that police and specialist IPV practitioners lack a shared understanding of partner stalking; in turn, hindering their ability to clearly define and identify this phenomenon, especially in relation to other types of IPV. And within this current practice context, partner stalking may not warrant special consideration for risk prediction, given that (with one exception) partner stalking did not predict subsequent IPV outcomes reported to police. Overall, these findings challenge assumptions that partner stalking—at least based on current research- and practice-based conceptualisations of the construct—is meaningfully understood as a distinct concern from other types of harm within abusive relationships. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of this conclusion, while considering recommendations for ongoing research and theory development
Systemic racism and oppression in psychology: Voices from psychologists, academic staff, and students
No full textPsychology must reassess its training approach, as the current monocultural paradigm not only causes harm, but also fails to equip psychologists with the knowledge needed to provide culturally appropriate care for Māori, Pacific, Asian, and other minoritised groups. Findings from this report contribute to the growing evidence of the urgent need to address barriers preventing Māori, Pacific, Asian, and other minoritised groups from participating effectively in professional psychology programmes. This
report calls for action for everyone in psychology to embrace the changes needed to improve the cultural safety of the discipline and hold ourselves accountable for supporting the development of Te Tiriti-aligned psychology
The perspective of youth leadership through the insight of current Māori leaders
No full textWithin Te Ao Māori, leadership qualities are central to Māori cultural norms and societal structures. In particular, a rich legacy of supporting intergenerational leadership exists, wherein following generations are endorsed into these leadership roles. Yet, little is documented in academic literature regarding first-hand experiences of the relationship between current Māori leader’s opinions, experiences, and perceptions for supporting the development of future and upcoming rangatahi into leadership roles. Therefore, this research project seeks to explore how leadership and the value of intergenerational indigenous wisdom can contribute to the supporting and flourishing of rangatahi into leadership roles and responsibilities in their communities to support intergenerational leadership development.
A Kaupapa Māori approach was used for the framework to centre Indigenous ways of being and knowing. Eight semi-structured, conversational interviews were conducted with current Māori leaders to understand their perceptions, experiences, and opinions on leadership. These were then analysed using thematic analysis. Three major themes were identified; Mental strategies, Understanding the complexity of Māori leadership, and Intergenerational development. This research affirms the importance of leadership for Māori communities, and in particular, the role of intergenerational knowledge-sharing as key for supporting rangatahi to be well
Contextualizing Indigenous people and the state of exception: New Zealand's Waikeria Prison protest
No full textOn Tuesday, December 29, 2020, 16 protesters at Waikeria Prison, one of New Zealand's largest male prisons, engaged in a six-day standoff with prison guards to protest inhumane prison conditions. The Department of Corrections framed the event as an aimless riot, delegitimizing the intentional demonstration of resistance against state violence. Imprisoned intellectuals, specifically Imprisoned Black Radical tradition, have long examined and centered the prison as the harshest instrument of the state linked to the struggles of the collective. However, voices from imprisoned intellectuals are rarely considered in academic scholarship despite acute analysis of the state and liberation. This article employs the state of exception to contextualize the Waikeria protest. Particular attention is devoted to the ‘state of continuity,’ which allows for a broader understanding of a permanent state of racialized oppression and marginalization faced by Indigenous and Black communities in racialized-settler-colonial contexts. Populations designated as the exception are thus framed as a threat targeted for militaristic police intervention. This article concludes by extending the discussion of the state of continuity to include how expressions of rage and dissent by Indigenous and Black people are viewed as a direct threat to the sovereign order but are necessary for revolutionary change
Removing the human from trademark law
No full textThis paper envisions a future in which humans begin to entrust interconnected and intelligent devices and machines with the power to make purchasing decisions on their behalf. Artificial Intelligence (AI), together with the Internet of Things (IoT) and blockchain technology, will likely make this possible. What might be the role of trademarks and the law governing their protection in such a future? This paper responds to this question by considering how the use of AI, IoT, and blockchain technology in the retail space will impact the foundational concepts underpinning trademark law. The discussion highlights the difficulty of shifting trademark law away from its human-centric focus, where core doctrines and principles revolve around human interaction and perceptions, towards a system capable of adapting to a future where devices and machines interact with trademarks. Perhaps the time is ripe for legislative innovation in the field of trademarks
Narcissists don’t care about approval: The role of narcissism and status motives in explaining the relationship between self-objectification and approval motivation
No full textPrior research has established that women who self-objectify seek approval from others more strongly than women who self-objectify less. Yet the boundary conditions of this link remain largely unexamined. Building on hierometer theory, which postulates that narcissism tracks social status and motivates status-optimizing behaviour, we tested whether the desire for social status (e.g., among narcissists) severed the association between self-objectification and approval seeking. Two cross-sectional studies (NS1 = 200; NS2 = 201) using moderated mediation models found support for this proposition. The moderated mediation model shows that the link between self-objectification and approval seeking was attenuated among narcissists, as narcissists seek higher social status, instead of favour and approval from others. Together, the studies suggest that self-objectification no longer predicts approval seeking among individuals who prioritise status over inclusion. The findings help further connect the self-objectification literature to research on social status and self-regard. Practical implications and extensions are discussed
Reduced global processing bias in people with a history of mild traumatic brain injury: Grass everywhere and not a field in sight
No full textMild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is increasingly recognized as a disconnection syndrome, due to the prevalence of disrupted long-range connections. Long-range connections refer to neural pathways that span across brain regions, allowing communication and synchronization between different brain areas. Disruption of these connections is associated with the inability to efficiently integrate local information (i.e., multiple visual attributes) into the percept of a single global shape. The aim of this thesis was to investigate whether people with a history of mTBI exhibit a reduced ability to integrate local information into meaningful context.
Chapter 2 investigated whether visual integration was impaired in people with a history of mTBI, using visual illusions. Susceptibility to visual illusions demonstrates effective integration of visual information to provide a global picture, with surrounding elements automatically integrated into the perception of local elements. Results from Chapter 2 revealed that people with a history of mTBI exhibited decreased susceptibility to visual illusions, suggesting diminished automatic integration of visual information in a global manner; rather, these individuals appeared to prioritize analysis of local details within a visual stimulus. To further investigate this assumption, we employed the Navon task in Chapter 3 to assess whether people with a history of mTBI demonstrated a tendency to prioritize the processing of local details over global information when presented with multiple objects. This task was chosen as it provides a reliable measure of the extent to which individuals engage in global or local processing. The results revealed that people with a recent history of mTBI (within 12 months) had a reduced bias towards processing global elements of a figure (i.e., attending to the overall configuration of the object), indicating a reduced automatic tendency to process visual information as a coherent global percept. In contrast, individuals who sustained their most recent mTBI more than one year earlier displayed the same global processing bias as control participants (i.e., they attended to the overall structure of the visual stimulus first).
Following this observation, it was speculated that people with a history of mTBI may also apply a de-automatized processing style to their movements. It has been argued that individuals with a high propensity to consciously process their movements are more likely to display de-automaticity (inefficient or disrupted movement); therefore, in Chapter 4 we assessed the propensity of people with a history of mTBI to consciously monitor and control their movements, using the Movement Specific Reinvestment Scale (MSRS). The results showed that people with a history of mTBI had a higher propensity for MSRS than controls. In addition, we found that time since most recent mTBI was negatively associated with the conscious motor processing subscale of the MSRS.
Chapter 5 builds upon the findings presented in Chapters 2 and 3, delving into the potential implications for real-world behaviours like visual anticipation. Specifically, this chapter investigated the impact of mTBI on individuals' ability to anticipate both deceptive and non-deceptive movements. The results demonstrate that people with a history of mTBI display significantly better anticipation of both deceptive and non-deceptive movements compared to control. Additionally, it was observed that people with a history of mTBI took longer to respond compared to controls.
The findings of this thesis suggest that there is an increased tendency to deconstruct visual and movement information following mTBI, highlighting a need for further research to better understand the effects of mTBI on information processing and to develop effective diagnostic and treatment strategies
The use of functionalised biochar to enhance phosphorus removal in woodchip bioreactors. The integration of mātauranga Māori to enhance the cultural aspects of woodchip bioreactors.
No full textNutrient pollution, resulting from excessive releases of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) into waterways, poses a significant threat to aquatic ecosystems worldwide. Elevated nutrient levels can result in eutrophication, which can have detrimental effects on the health of waterbodies and their biota. Woodchip bioreactors are effective, edge-of-field technologies that can help mitigate nutrient pollution by lowering nutrient concentrations in agricultural drainage systems known to carry leached N and P into waterways. However, one limitation to their design is their ineffectiveness at removing P. The inclusion of functionalised biochar is one potential solution to enhance P removal in woodchip bioreactors. There is a growing need to mitigate nutrient pollution in New Zealand that does not depend on a western-centric perspective only. Integration of mātauranga Māori and western science into the design and operations of a woodchip bioreactor is one approach to incorporate both knowledge systems to the goal of mitigating nutrient pollution. In this dissertation, a column experiment was used to compare the P removal efficiencies of two treatments of functionalised biochar, and one treatment of woodchips when subjected to stream water spiked with P. Subsequently, a single phosphate extraction was done to determine the phosphate absorption capacities of each treatment. The results showed that the two functionalised biochar treatments had the highest efficacy in reducing P concentrations in the P-spiked stream water compared to the woodchip-only treatment. Both treatments also showed higher P absorption, evidenced from the Fe-P/Feox ratio, within the phosphate extraction experiment. A wānanga was organised at Matahuru Marae, Lake Waikare, to share mātauranga Māori on how to culturally enhance woodchip bioreactors from a Te Ao Māori perspective. Participants recommended that native woodchips be incorporated into woodchip bioreactors because of their inherent association to the land and people. Overall, the results implied that functionalised biochar is an effective solution to enhance P removal in woodchip bioreactors due to their biophysical properties to absorb and retain P. Secondly, incorporating native woodchips into woodchip bioreactors systems potentially offers a sustainable and culturally respected alternative to conventional wood chips, aligning with Māori values and tikang