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Listening beyond participation practitioners’ perspectives on listening to children in Aotearoa, New Zealand.
No full textExisting research shows that Aotearoa New Zealand values the child’s voice,
adopts a rights-based approach to child inclusion and is internationally recognized
for child wellbeing research. However, Aotearoa New Zealand was ranked 35 out of
41 developed nations for child wellbeing in 2017, with advocates urging the country
to place more emphasis on including children’s perspectives in the development
of wellbeing strategies. In seeking to contribute to work on this challenge, I explore
how practitioners listen to children’s perspectives. This thesis aims to recognize
and unpack the tensions, challenges and possibilities of listening to children within
organizations and institutions, to enact better processes of listening.
Using an inductive approach through a constructionist lens, this research
involved interviewing twenty practitioners in the child wellbeing sector in Aotearoa
New Zealand. While practitioners could identify the value, challenges and potential
of listening, they struggled to clearly articulate processes of this practice. In
describing their experiences of listening to children, they often referenced child
inclusion frameworks and participation initiatives as indicators of good listening
practices. In doing so, they reinforced the conflation of listening with participation
that is present within child inclusion guidance and surrounding scholarship.
However, by discussing wider challenges and possibilities of listening to children
within organizations and institutions, practitioners revealed more intrinsic and
speculative understandings of listening.
This thesis challenges established listening literature by shifting discussion
from why listening is important to how practitioners may achieve more considered
listening. I contend that the absence of explicit conceptualization of listening within
child inclusion processes has displaced this deeper appreciation of listening and
its relationship to participation. I argue that conceptual clarification of this practice
could help to balance historic tensions in listening to children. Drawing on the
practitioners’ perspectives, I offer a listening guide to support practitioners in
evaluating their approaches to listening to children. This guide complements
existing child participation frameworks, helping to address systemic beliefs and
values around listening to children in Aotearoa New Zealand and to strengthen
child inclusion
Impacts of turbidity, sediments and modifying stressors on rocky intertidal communities.
No full textSediments are stressing coastal ecosystems worldwide and in New Zealand (Aotearoa), because of accelerated coastal erosion, increased storminess, and altered land-based activities that increase river inputs and runoff. Impacts from sediments are likely to be severe on rocky reefs found scattered around New Zealand’s 15,000 km coastline. Rocky reefs support highly diverse and productive marine communities where many native seaweeds and invertebrates find living space, shelter and food. However, sediments can smother, scour, and abrade reef organisms and clog the filtering apparatus of sessile invertebrates. Furthermore, sediment-associated turbidity in the water column reduces water clarity and limits light penetration, which is critical for photosynthetic seaweeds. Many studies have documented that turbidity affects the diversity and productivity of subtidal rocky reefs, particularly by decreasing the photic zone and, thereby the depth limits of seaweeds, like the iconic kelp forests. By contrast, few studies have examined how sediments and turbidity affect community structures and functional groups on rocky intertidal reefs, where light limitations should be less problematic. Here, I addressed this research gap by quantifying community structures of seaweeds and macroinvertebrates along a sediments and turbidity gradient in Lyttelton Harbour (Whakaraupō) on the South Island of New Zealand – and if impacts are context-dependent by changing along spatiotemporal conditions, including wave-exposure, reef-aspect, intertidal elevation levels, seasons and shorter intra-seasonal time scales. First, I tested for potential effects of sediment and turbidity across elevations and reef aspects in a survey of 24 reefs positioned along the gradient from inner turbid to outer clearer harbour sites. Second, I tested for possible effects of sediment and turbidity across elevations, wave exposure, seasons, and intra-seasons, between inner turbid and outer clearer harbour sites in a detailed survey on four reefs. Finally, I tested how the growth of the 12 canopy-forming brown seaweeds (kelps and fucoids) that are found within the harbour was affected by lowered light levels (c. 125 vs 270 PAR, mimicking turbidity), and across different temperatures (18 vs. 23°C, mimicking seasonality) and water motions (low vs. high air bubbling, mimicking wave exposure), in a laboratory experiment over 10-14 days (depending on species). In the harbour-wide survey, I found highly diverse communities in the lower intertidal zone, which were dominated by many different canopy-forming brown and encrusting coralline red seaweeds. Importantly, communities differed between harbour sections, where outer clearer reefs were inhabited by more diverse canopy-forming seaweeds, and had more abundant Hormosira banksii, Cystophora scalaris and Chaetomorpha coliformis. By contrast, the inner turbid reefs were more dominated by the large stress-resistant fucoid Carpophyllum maschalocarpum and filter-feeding Pomatoceros caeruleus (sessile polychaete) and Xenostrobus pulex (black mussels). The richness of sessile taxa was generally higher in the low intertidal zone. However, this result depended on the reef aspect, where inner reefs had similar richness at north- and south-facing reefs. In contrast, outer reefs only had high richness on the north-facing reefs. Furthermore, canopy-forming kelp and fucoids dominated the low intertidal zone on outer and north-facing reefs. Finally, both the richness and abundance of filter feeders were higher in the inner harbour, particularly on the south-facing reefs. In the more detailed seasonal survey, I found, again, different communities between inner and outer harbour reefs and elevations, but also between wave exposure, seasons and intra-seasons – where community differences were strongest in the low zone (and less clear in the high and mid zones). C. maschalocarpum, Chamaesipho spp., and Gelidium caulacantheum were relatively more common at Cass Bay and exposed reefs, while H. banksii and P. caeruleus were more common at sheltered reefs and mid-intertidal zones. Similarly, H. banksii and Chamaesipho spp. were relatively more common in summer, whereas Carpophyllum maschalocarpum, Cystophora scalaris and Undaria pinnatifida (invasive Japanese kelp) were more dominant in winter. Finally, the main taxa causing dissimilarities between elevations were Chamaesipho spp. in the high zone vs. C. maschalocarpum in the low zone. The richness of the ecologically important canopy-forming kelps and fucoids differed between wave exposures, elevations, and harbour sites, being higher in the mid-intertidal zone, at outer Pile Bay, and at exposed reefs (by contrast, sheltered reefs had higher richness in the low zone). Furthermore, kelps and fucoids were more abundant in the low intertidal zone at exposed reefs and at the outer Pile Bay. By contrast, the richness and abundance of mobile macroinvertebrates were highest in the high intertidal zone and at the inner, more turbid Cass Bay site. Functional group analyses showed that filter feeder richness was generally highest at inner Cass Bay, on exposed reefs, in winter, and in the low zone. Their abundances were also highest at Cass Bay, on exposed reefs and in winter, but they were more abundant in the high barnacle-dominated zone. Richness and abundance of grazers were higher at inner Cass Bay reefs in the high zone, and at outer Pile Bay in the low and mid zones. Furthermore, the richness of grazers was also higher in summer and on sheltered reefs. Scavengers were generally uncommon and highly variable across test factors, whereas predator richness was higher at Pile Bay, in the low intertidal zone, at the sheltered reef, and their abundance was higher at Cass Bay in the high intertidal zone. Finally, in the laboratory experiment, I found that all species generally increased their biomass but had weak treatment effects (five species showed virtually no responses to test factors). Interestingly, water motion was generally the strongest driver for most species, often increasing growth, perhaps by increasing nutrient uptakes. In contrast, temperature and shading had no or weaker effects. Overall, my research suggests that sediment and turbidity, as demonstrated for subtidal reefs, affect intertidal reef communities. However, effects are complex, context-dependent, and differ between taxa and functional groups. I also conclude that some ecologically important kelps and fucoids on intertidal reefs appear to be, like better studied subtidal forests, vulnerable to turbidity and sediments. These taxa could, therefore, be useful in monitoring reef health in New Zealand. Future studies should repeat my sampling and analysis in other bioregions but also include targeted manipulative experiments to disentangle reef-smothering from water-column turbidity effects, differential effects between recruits and adults, and if and how effects from sediment and turbidity will change in a future warmer world
Roles, strategies and experiences of communication partners of people with Parkinson’s disease as they support and facilitate communication with disease progression : a scoping review.
No full textCommunication difficulties associated with Parkinsons disease (PD) significantly affect both the person with Parkinson’s disease (PwPD) and their communication partners (CP). As the disease progresses, reduced speech clarity, cognitive changes and emotional strain can disrupt communication, impacting relationships and quality of life (Baylor et al., 2024; Johansson et al., 2020). Research increasingly highlights the need for caregiver-specific interventions to support CPs in their evolving roles (Baylor et al., 2024; Johansson et al., 2020; Wylie et al., 2022). Family members frequently express a strong desire for practical guidance on managing communication breakdowns and the emotional demands of caregiving (Mach et al., 2021). This scoping review aimed to explore: (1) What is known about the communication support needs and experiences of CPs of PwPD; (2) How speech language therapists (SLTs) support long term communication between PwPD and their CPs as perceived by SLTs in clinical practice; and (3) Which research methods have been used to investigate these areas. Thirteen qualitative studies met the study criteria, with six broad areas of support needs identified: Communicative and cognitive changes, relationship and family dynamics, CP health and well-being, social interaction, self-determined communication strategies, and support and education. From the SLTs perspective, two primary areas of support they offer to CPs are: Communication partner training and CP education and resources. Findings from this thesis further emphasize the importance of involving CPs as key partners in PD care, providing them with tailored support throughout disease progression
A New Zealand perspective on Asprey - similarities with McCaw?
No full textThe Taxation Review Committee, Full Report (Asprey) delivered in 1975, has been argued to be the most comprehensive review of Australia’s Commonwealth tax system although the uptake on its recommendations have been limited and slow. Fifty years later it is opportune to reflect upon its significance and impact. Writing as an ‘outsider’ in another jurisdiction, this paper sets out to provide a conceptual policy perspective informed by a similarly focussed (later) review in New Zealand, the Report of the Task Force on Tax Reform (McCaw) Report, in 1982. Specifically this paper explores the similarities in scope, the potential influence Asprey had on McCaw, and the relatively little take up by the respective governments. This collectively points to a major challenge (and flaw) with commissioning such reviews where the recommendations do not align politically, suggesting that there may need to be a different approach, such as through a semi-independent review committee (such as a Crown entity or equivalent) or formal review by an established semi-independent body such as the Law Commission (or its equivalent)
Oceanic diplomacy: Reasserting indigenous pathways through the contemporary Pacific
No full textWhen practitioners and scholars think of Pacific diplomacy, they
usually have in mind a form of diplomacy built on Western practices and
protocols, and focused on the engagement between modern sovereign
Pacific Island states and their accredited ambassadors. Seen through
this lens, Pacific diplomacy is assumed to begin in the late 1960s with
the beginning of decolonisation and the creation of the postcolonial
state. What is overlooked in this conventional narrative is that prior to
the emergence of Western-style diplomacy there were hundreds, even
thousands, of years in which the political communities of Oceania
practised diplomacy between themselves. In this book, we refer to
these longstanding practices and principles as Oceanic diplomacy to
emphasise that what we are seeking to bring into the light are forms of
diplomatic knowledge, and forms of diplomatic practice, that spring
from the history and cultures – and even from the winds and currents –
of Oceania itself
Analysis of segmentation performance in AI-denoised propagation-based X-ray phase-contrast computed tomography of the breast.
No full textIntroduction: Breast cancer remains the most prevalent cancer in women worldwide and a leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women in both developing and developed countries, according to the World Health Organization. Early and accurate diagnosis of breast cancer is imperative for improving survival rates. Two-dimensional digital X-ray mammography (DM) is currently the most widely utilised method in breast cancer screening. However, it has well-documented limitations, including poor soft tissue contrast, poor visibility of lesions due to overlapping tissue structures and painful breast compression. Alternatives to two-dimensional DM, such as phase-contrast X-ray imaging (PCI), have shown potential improvements in enhancing the diagnostic accuracy by utilising not just the attenuation of X-rays but also the phase shift that occurs as X-rays propagate through tissues. This dual information enhances soft tissue contrast, especially in areas where conventional imaging struggles, making it a promising modality for breast imaging in cancer detection. Propagation-based X-ray phase-contrast computed tomography (PB-CT), a type of PCI, detects X-ray phase shifts by utilising free space propagation effects between the object and detector, and requires optimal source coherence and detector resolution. Though PB-CT can generate less noisy images at similar radiation doses compared to conventional modalities, image quality can still be affected by noise, especially in low-dose acquisitions. This research evaluates the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) denoising on the segmentation of breast tissues in PB-CT images of mastectomy samples.
Method: PB-CT scans of six fresh mastectomy samples were acquired at 4 mGy and 24 mGy mean glandular doses at the Imaging and Medical Beamline (IMBL) of the Australian Synchrotron. AI has been employed in two distinct stages: for image denoising and segmentation. A U-Net based AI model was trained to denoise the 4 mGy images, resulting in AI-denoised images. Thus, each mastectomy sample yielded three volumes: 4 mGy original, 4 mGy AI-denoised and 24 mGy ones. Manual segmentations of ten representative slices per each original 4 mGy volume were carried out using 3D Slicer software and used to train an nnU-Net, a widely adopted AI model for medical image segmentation. The evaluation of the accuracy of segmentation produced by the trained AI model was performed on manually annotated slices which were not used during the model’s training, ensuring unbiased results.
Results: Segmentation accuracy was assessed using the Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC), which quantified the overlap between AI model and manual reference segmentations, where a higher DSC indicates better performance. For the non-denoised 4 mGy data, the average combined DSC score across the segmentation labels was 0.928 and it increased to 0.963 after AI denoising, showing an improvement in segmentation accuracy. Furthermore, for glandular tissue, the average sensitivity improved from 85.7% (non-denoised) to 91.5% (AI-denoised), while specificity gained from 98.5% to 99.4% respectively. For adipose tissue, the average sensitivity improved from 95.8% (non-denoised) to 98.2% (AI-denoised), with specificity rising from 95.4% to 97.4% respectively. These outcomes confirm the enhanced reliability of segmentation following AI denoising.
Conclusion: The quantitative and qualitative outcomes demonstrate that AI denoising enhances segmentation accuracy in PB-CT imaging of the breast, leading to better delineation of different tissues, even at a low radiation dose of 4 mGy, which is suitable for clinical imaging. From a clinical perspective, this approach enables accurate dosimetry simulations and breast density estimation. Improved segmentation also supports earlier breast cancer detection through enhanced tissue characterisation in subtle and low-contrast regions
A Proof-of-Concept Solution for Co-locating 2D Histology Images in 3D for Histology-to-CT and MR Image Registration: Closing the Loop for Bone Sarcoma Treatment Planning
No full textThis work presents a proof-of-concept solution designed to facilitate more accurate radiographic feature characterisation in
pre-surgical CT/MR volumes. The solution involves 3D co-location of 2D digital histology slides within ex-vivo, tumour
tissue CT volumes. Initially, laboratory dissection measurements seed the placement of histology slices in corresponding CT
volumes, followed by in-plane point-based registration of bone in histology images to the bone in CT. Validation using six
bisected canine humerus ex-vivo CT datasets indicated a plane misalignment of 0.19 ± 1.8 mm. User input sensitivity was
assessed at 0.08 ± 0.2 mm for plane translation and 0–1.6° deviation. These results show a similar magnitude of error to
related prostate histology co-location work. Although demonstrated with a femoral canine sarcoma tumour, this solution can
be generalised to various orthopaedic geometries and sites. It supports high-fidelity histology image co-location to improve
understanding of tissue characterisation accuracy in clinical radiology. This solution requires only minimal adjustment to
routine workflows. By integrating histology insights earlier in the presentation-diagnosis-planning-surgery-recovery loop,
this solution guides data co-location to support the continued evaluation of safe pre-surgical margins
Defining equivalent fire severity for structural applications.
No full textEnsuring the safety of a building’s structure during a fire event is a critical part of a building’s engineering design. When exposed to fire, structural elements can weaken, resulting in the failure of fire compartmentation, property damage or even total collapse. Predicting how a structure will behave under fire conditions is a complex task, and requires specific understanding of both fire and structural behaviour to undertake the relevant analysis. To simplify this process, engineers can use ‘time-equivalence’ methods, which estimate how long an exposure to a standardised furnace test results in the same result as if the same structural element was exposed to a real fire. However, existing time-equivalence methods are often limited by a narrow range of applicability, overly conservative assumptions, and/or insufficient consideration of structural response. This thesis introduces a new method to determine the Equivalent Structural Fire Severity (ESFS), offering an equivalence framework based on engineering first principals. This framework is theoretically suitable for use with any fire scenario and structural material, but a calibrated model was developed for use with unprotected steel beams exposed to natural compartment fires.
A comprehensive review of 18 time-equivalence methods developed over the last century revealed that every method had limitations in their ability to predict the ESFS accurately across a range of fire scenarios and/or structural systems. However, it was observed that the methods which determined the ESFS on the basis of the energy in both fire scenarios being equal, the so called ‘Equal Energy’ concept, showed results which were reasonably consistent with a set of benchmark scenarios. Leveraging this knowledge, a new general framework is proposed to determine the ESFS using the cumulative incident radiation (CIR) emitted from the fires to predict equivalence on the basis of the energy absorbed by the structural element being equal for both fires at the point of equivalence.
Initial numerical analysis focused on unprotected steel beams, and highlighted the strong correlation between the ESFS and the CIR emitted from fires. To validate the use of the proposed ESFS framework, the Eurocode parametric fire model and the Eurocode steel thermal response equations were used to develop a calibrated time-equivalence model for unprotected steel beams with both uniform and non-uniform temperature profiles. This model allows the prediction of the CIR emitted from the Standard Fire as a function of the CIR emitted from a natural compartment fire and the Eurocode parametric fire time-scaling term (Γ), with a final calibration factor to the ESFS value to ensure its suitability for design purposes.
This research marks a significant advancement in structural fire engineering by offering a simplified, generalised framework for the prediction of the ESFS. The framework allows for the assessment of a range of potential fires – including complex scenarios, such as localised or travelling fires – and the assessment of any construction materials
PENGARUH FINANCIAL LITERACY, PEER INFLUENCE, DAN FINTECH PAYMENT TERHADAP FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT BEHAVIOR PADA MAHASISWA PRODI PENDIDIKAN EKONOMI IKIP PGRI BOJONEGORO
No full textThe research investigates the impact of fiscal acumen, collegial persuasion, and financial technology disbursement on monetary administration conduct among tertiary learners. It addresses the imbalance between the widespread use of financial technology and inadequate financial literacy, along with peer pressure influences. Using an elucidatory methodology with a quantitative paradigm, 73 respondents were selected from a pool of 268 scholars through judgmental sampling. Data were collected via Google Forms and analyzed using multivariate linear regression with SPSS 27, including validity, reliability, classical assumptions, T-tests, F-tests, and determination analyses. Findings indicate that fiscal acumen and financial technology disbursement significantly influenced financial behavior, while collegial persuasion did not. However, all three variables together had a substantial positive impact