bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Preference, Passing and Fresh Perspectives: Text Selection by Secondary School English Teachers in Aotearoa New Zealand
Authors:   , Hughson Taylor 
Published: December 2021

<p>The New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) and the national secondary school qualification, the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA), afford teachers an enormous degree of autonomy over what they teach in their classrooms. This is in line with international trends in curriculum design which shape curricula around generic, open-ended learning outcomes rather than specific content. However, as of yet there is very little research either in New Zealand or internationally into the ways teachers make decisions about what to teach within an environment of great curricular freedom. Accordingly, this thesis investigates how high school English teachers in Aotearoa New Zealand make decisions about which written texts to teach within the context of current curriculum and assessment frameworks. It conducts this investigation from what will be called a modified social realist perspective. This theoretical perspective adapts the classic social realism promoted in the work of Michael Young and others, in order to develop a version of social realism which has explanatory power for humanities subjects, and subject English in particular. The thesis moves through three main sections: context, theory and findings. The first section details the context in which this study is located, with a focus on how the New Zealand Curriculum and NCEA are clear examples of what will be called the New Curriculum: a movement in curricular reform which advocates for the removal prescribed content and positions the teacher as a curriculum maker, rather than a curriculum implementer. This section also includes a literature review. The second section outlines the theoretical position of this thesis. It shows how classic social realism struggles to account for both the non-abstract and subjective nature of literary experience, and moves from this to advance a ‘modified social realism’ which incorporates these features of literary experience into its model. The methodology of the study is also included here. Finally, the third section outlines the study’s findings. It is shown that given the freedom to choose their own texts, teachers make decisions based on, in order of importance, students’ interests, the likelihood of a text succeeding in NCEA assessments, and whether the text will expose students to important perspectives and ideas. This thesis argues that such priorities are problematic, as, from a modified social realist perspective, focusing on student interests and assessment success can limit opportunities for students to be exposed to truly transformative literature. This thesis therefore ends by suggesting three potential reforms which would allow students to encounter such literature more frequently, including enhanced professional development, and a curriculum document with clearer guidelines around the types of texts that students should encounter.</p>
New Zealand Young Adult Fiction: National Myths, Identity and Coming-of-age
Authors:   , Manker Tina 
Published: December 2021

<p>Tara, the 17-year-old narrator of Dear Vincent by Mandy Hager, struggles in the relationship with her mother and learns about her family’s past on a trip to Ireland. She must decide whether she follows in the footsteps of her sister who died by suicide or whether she chooses life for herself and what her life will look like. Whiti Hereaka’s Bugs follows the development of Bugs, who turns 17 about half-way through the novel. She faces low expectations and institutional discrimination at school and must make decisions about her future. While Bugs chooses to stay; her personal growth is like that of Tara who leaves. In Kate De Goldi’s The 10PM Question, we engage with 12-year-old Frankie, who struggles with anxiety and a permanently house-bound mother. Like the protagonists of the other novels, Frankie must determine who he is by forming his first strong friendship with a teenager of the opposite sex and by questioning the adults around him. He, too, must make decisions which contradict the actions of his family. All three, Tara, Bugs and Frankie, are supported in this process by friends and extended family, and, as we will see, these characters come to play crucial roles in each protagonist’s identity formation. What this thesis shows is that their stories are both universal and local. All three novels include common elements of Young Adult fiction about identity formation and coming-of-age and they are firmly located in New Zealand by way of incorporating uniquely New Zealand national myths. These myths shape our collective identities and adolescence is a time when teenagers form theirs. It is during this time that they explicitly notice and, at times, question the myths that they have been raised to believe in. This thesis is concerned with Overseas Experience (OE) as a way to develop one’s sense of self and broadening one’s horizons, the egalitarian myth or the belief that ‘we are all equal here’, and the ‘she’ll be right’ myth, the assumption that things will somehow right themselves. It seeks to explore what these novels suggest about the three different national myths of New Zealand and their role in identity formation. It will also discuss whether different views are presented.</p>
The effect of episodic future thinking on delay discounting
Authors:   , Olsen Rebecca 
Published: December 2021

<p>Delay discounting refers to the fact that rewards lose their value if they are delayed. Excessive delay discounting is associated with various health-related problems such as over-eating and substance abuse. One phenomenon shown to reduce delay discounting is Episodic Future Thinking (EFT; imagining personal future events). Across multiple experiments and a meta-analysis, the current thesis examined the reliability of the effect of EFT on delay discounting and also sought to clarify the components of EFT that are necessary to reduce delay discounting. Experiment 1 replicated the EFT effect using a common titrating-amount procedure, and the meta-analysis based on 40 independent studies confirmed that EFT has a reliable, medium-sized effect on delay discounting. The meta-analysis also assessed the robustness of the EFT effect across various methodological features and participant characteristics. A multiple meta-regression revealed that the between-study variability in the size of the EFT effect was accounted for by study design and type of discounting measure. Within-subjects design studies had significantly smaller effect sizes than between-subjects design studies. Studies that used k as a discounting rate measure had significantly smaller effect sizes than studies that used area under the discounting curve or other atheoretical discounting measures. The size of the EFT effect was robust across different participant characteristics and ages, suggesting that EFT may be utilized as an effective intervention for a variety of age groups and impulsive behaviors. Experiments 2A, 2B and 2C assessed the suitability of an alternative and briefer delay discounting procedure (in which participants simply report their indifference points) for subsequent EFT experiments. The report indifference points procedure produced a high percentage of invalid data, a finding that was replicated across all three experiments. We therefore continued to use the well-established titrating-amount procedure in subsequent studies. Experiment 3A found that episodic past thinking (imagining personal past events) and semantic future thinking (estimating what a person could buy with the larger, delayed amount) had no effect on discounting, indicating that both episodic thinking and future thinking are necessary components of the EFT effect. Experiment 3A results also indicated that financial relevance alone is not sufficient to reducing discounting. Experiment 3B found that the future events also need to be personally relevant to reduce discounting, and that participants perceived EFT to reduce their discounting by primarily making the larger, delayed reward more valuable. We also showed that demand characteristics, where participants change their behavior to conform to the researcher’s expectations, are an unlikely explanation for the EFT effects found in Experiments 3A and 3B. Further research is warranted to form a better understanding of the mechanism(s) through which EFT reduces delay discounting.</p>
The Effects of Cultural Competence Feedback on Intercultural Anxiety, Attitudes toward, and Willingness to Engage with International Students
Authors:   , Zenoni Natalia 
Published: December 2021

<p>The study examined the effects of cultural competency feedback on domestic and international students’ intercultural anxiety, attitudes toward, and willingness to engage with international students. One hundred and sixty-one students (96 domestic, 65 internationals) completed a test of cultural competency and were randomly assigned to receive positive (top 25%) or negative (bottom 25%) fictitious feedback on their performance. Participants then completed measures of intercultural anxiety, attitudes toward international students, and self-reported willingness to engage with international students. Finally, students accepted or declined an invitation to learn more about participating in a buddy programme for international students at Victoria University of Wellington. It was hypothesized that those receiving negative performance feedback would have higher levels of intercultural anxiety and that this anxiety would partially mediate the effects of performance feedback on attitudes toward and willingness to engage with international students. It was also hypothesized that the effects of intercultural anxiety on attitudes and willingness to engage would be stronger for domestic, compared to international students. Preliminary analyses indicated that the performance feedback did not affect intercultural anxiety; although the manipulation checks showed that the participants could accurately describe their performance feedback, overall, students did not find the feedback credible. Controlling for age, gender, and previous intercultural contact, hierarchical regression analyses were performed to predict attitudes toward international students and willingness to engage (both self-reported and behavioural measures). The results revealed that beyond the control variables, intercultural anxiety was the only significant predictor of self-reported willingness to engage with international students. Performance feedback, student status (domestic/international), intercultural anxiety, and the interaction between student status and intercultural anxiety failed to predict attitudes toward international students and agreement to be contacted about the buddy programme. The implications of the presented findings are discussed, as well as limitations and future research directions advised. Keywords: Cultural Competence, Intercultural Anxiety, Education, International Students</p>
Commitment Without Consequences. A Carnapian Approach to Fictional Objects and Negative Existence Statements
Authors:   , Gilchrist Michael 
Published: December 2021

<p>The overall aim of this thesis is to present a fresh perspective on three closely related areas of enquiry: Descriptivist theories of reference, Direct Reference theories and the Carnapian approach to questions of existence and identity. This perspective is developed and tested by a critical analysis of the work of a leading Carnapian theorist, Amie Thomasson, and by looking at some of the central problems associated with our talk of fictional objects. It concludes in an account of negative existence statements and fictional objects as possibly existing objects. In Chapter one I set out the key elements of Carnap’s approach, as that approach was developed over time and in dialogue with his colleague Quine. In Chapter two I explore the relation between the previously mentioned three areas of enquiry through an examination of Amie Thomasson’s brand of Carnapian meta-ontology. In Chapters four and five I develop the view that fictional objects are objects that meet the criteria of existence and identity of at least one linguistic framework but fail to meet the criteria of another, preferred framework. This provides the basis for a neo-Carnapian account of fictional objects in terms of the relations between linguistic frameworks, a novel approach to the questions surrounding such objects. In chapter five, the concluding chapter of the thesis, I further develop my explanation of how there can be truths about fictional and non-existent objects by giving an ontological version of John MacFarlane’s relativity principle. This paves the way for a neo-Carnapian analysis of true negative existence statements. Here I integrate the story I have told about fictional objects and the relations between linguistic frameworks with theories of reference and meaning. In particular, I incorporate a satisfactory concept of the rigid designation of ordinary proper names (and, potentially, of natural and artefactual kind terms). This then leads on to an explanation of how fictional objects, contra Kripke and many others, may reasonably said to be possible objects that, though they don’t exist, might exist under different circumstances.</p>
Motivations for Pursuing Radical Life Extension
Authors:   , Campbell Lucinda April 
Published: December 2021

<p>In bio-ethics, the potential practical and ethical implications of radical life extension are being seriously debated. However, the role of motivation in relation to dramatically increasing the human life span has been largely overlooked. I propose that motivation is a crucial aspect to consider within the radical life extension discourse by conjecturing about why it might appeal and the possible ways it could impact outcomes where it is successfully developed and implemented. I do not thereby present an argument that supports or opposes radical life extension technology. This is ultimately a speculative piece. In exploring the relationship between motivation and radical life extension, I present a conceptual framework called the Thanatophobic and Romantic Motivational Spectrum (TRM Spectrum) designed to assist deeper examination on the subject. It captures what I suggest are two key motivators related to life and death, that is, the fear of death (Thanatophobia) and the “love” of life (Romanticism). The motivational spectrum is then applied to the death penalty versus life imprisonment, and euthanasia and suicide debates to demonstrate how it can be used for analysis of ethical issues in relation to the potential introduction of radical life extension technology.</p>
Harnessing the Potential of MAIT Cells as Cellular Adjuvants in Mucosal Vaccines
Authors:   , Buick Kaitlin 
Published: December 2021

<p>The development of vaccines is considered one of the most successful medical interventions to date, preventing millions of deaths every year. However, the majority of vaccines are administered peritoneally, despite the vast majority of pathogens invade the human host at mucosal sites. By vaccinating at distal sites, little to no protection is developed at the mucosa where the initial invasion occurs. There are however, a handful of licenced mucosally administered vaccines against infections such as poliovirus, influenza and Salmonella Typhi that are able to induce both a systemic and mucosal protective immune response. All but one of the current licenced mucosal vaccines are live attenuated due in part to the difficulty of developing new mucosal adjuvants. Recombinant cholera toxin subunit B is the only adjuvant used in the current licenced mucosal vaccines. While inactivated and subunit vaccines are considered safer as they are unable to revert back to virulent pathogens, adjuvants are required to boost their immunogenicity. This thesis therefore explores whether mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells which are found in mucosal tissues, are invariant in nature and have rapid activation, could be exploited as cellular adjuvants in mucosal vaccines. This thesis was able to show that intranasally administered MAIT cell agonist components, 5-A-RU and methylglyoxal (MG), are able to induce both MAIT cell and conventional dendritic cell (cDC) activation in the lung tissue and mediastinal lymph node (mLN). In this model CD40L and RANKL co-stimulatory interactions are involved in ICOSL expression on cDCs in the lung and associated with cDC activation. The MAIT cells within this model also maintained a RORyT and GATA3 phenotype after both one and three doses of the 5-A-RU + MG vaccine. Furthermore, a prime-boost intranasal vaccine scheme of 5-A-RU + MG and the model antigen OVA, was able to induce MR1-dependent accumulation of TFH cells and antigen-specific germinal center B cells in the mLN along with systemic antigen-specific IgG antibody production. This humoral response was also dependent on the presence of both cDC1 and cDC2 populations. Together, this thesis suggests MAIT cells have the potential to be utilised as cellular adjuvants in mucosal vaccines.</p>
Unseen - Digital interactions for low vision spatial engagement
Authors:   , Cooper Zachary 
Published: December 2021

<p>Visually impaired persons possess a specific set of functional and sensory requirements for their successful existence in architectural environments. Unfortunately, a majority of our existing built infrastructure is ill-equipped to address these requirements. Both existing forms of solution for this issues, technological and architectural, are incapable of compensating for the inadequately considered design of public spaces and are subject to widespread general criticisms from the vision loss and architectural community (Human Rights Commission, 2012; Pawluk et al., 2015). This thesis recruits the native capabilities of emerging consumer-level digital technologies in order to explore new solutions to this complex problem. This research saw the proposition tested through the development of a digital platform which blended the design strategies of universal design and assistive technologies with a wide range of theoretical perspectives drawn from medical, psychological, sociological, and geolocational literature. The resulting integration generated unique forms of architectural engagement which improve the spatial comprehension abilities of the visually impaired. The early design outcomes focus on two distinct modes of engagement with a virtual, augmented environment. The first is direct bodily interaction, in which the human-scale perception of the user is bolstered through an object-detection system, which provides users with sensory cues to identify objects in their direct vicinity. The second was the development of various methods for distance-based spatial engagements. Engagement with an environment from a distance significantly expands the scale of potential spatial understanding. These methods allow users to explore spaces in a myriad of different ways, with each mechanic providing different environmental information through diverse sensory outputs. The later design work reflects on these creations and through a process of redevelopment and evaluation draws larger observations regarding the development of the tools and what they offer in terms of spatial understanding. Final conclusions from the thesis provide a framework for research which would allow for the digital adaptation of our currently unsuitable infrastructure.</p>
Perceptions of authenticity towards Māori Branding: Congruence as determinator?
Authors:   , Baltus Brittany 
Published: December 2021

<p>Increasingly, both local and global organisations are implementing indigenous branding in their market offerings, regardless of whether they have ancestral connections to indigenous culture. However, numerous criticisms and claims of cultural appropriation have been raised in response to organisations’ commercialisation and commodification of indigenous culture through indigenous branding. This raises questions about the authentic and appropriate use of indigenous culture, language and iconography in commerce, particularly with regards to consumers perceptions of authenticity towards this use. As such, the purpose of this study was to understand consumers’ perceptions of authenticity in the context of indigenous (Māori) branding and organisational values. In this study, a 2x2x2 between-subjects experimental design was conducted using an online questionnaire. Subjects in the study were presented with a scenario communicating information about a brands values (either conventional or tikanga Māori), and their proposed brand concept (either orthodox or Māori branding). As the purpose of the study was to investigate both Māori and non-Māori perspectives, the sample was comprised of 570 adult Māori and non-Māori consumers currently living in New Zealand. These subjects were randomly distributed to one of the eight experimental conditions. Data from the questionnaire was analysed using a factorial ANOVA. The findings indicate that congruence among branding, organisational values and consumers’’ ethnic identification exerts the most leverage on consumers’ authenticity perceptions. Although, Māori consumers also perceived congruent (conventional) organisational values and (orthodox) branding as highly authentic. Interestingly, consumers, in general, found incongruent Māori branding and conventional values to be the least authentic, a finding attributed to issues of cultural appropriation. The results of the analyses contribute to the current understanding of perceived authenticity and indigenous brands. Moreover, this indigenous branding congruence effect extends social identity theory as it illuminates the fluidity of indigenous consumers social experiences and understandings. Managerially, marketers should be cognizant of the effects of congruence among branding, values and their target market, and make efforts to achieve congruence among these factors. If congruence cannot be achieved, then marketers should make efforts to be perceived as congruent through only communicating those factors which are congruent.</p>
Ecology and Development in an Island Population of Wellington Tree Weta (Hemideina crassidens).
Authors:   , Dixson Alexander 
Published: December 2021

<p>Sexual selection and the mating system of the Wellington tree weta has been extensively studied during the last 15 years. In the past 10 years, nutritional ecology and factors affecting the distribution of species in the genus Hemideina have also been examined in great detail. This recent work and the extensive studies of New Zealand tree weta species that preceded it provide much context and comparison for this thesis, which examines the ecology of a population of tree weta living on Matiu/Somes Island. Less is known about factors affecting the development of the exaggerated male weaponry that is characteristic of much of the genus Hemideina. This thesis firstly presents a mark-recapture study conducted over 42 months on Matiu/Somes Island to obtain ecological information about the population. Secondly, this thesis presents an experiment on the effects of protein supplement on growth and weaponry in male Wellington tree weta derived from the Matiu/Somes Island population. The results of the field study indicate that male tree weta live longer than females on Matiu/Somes Island and weapon size is positively related to adult longevity of males. Seasonal patterns shown in the population on Matiu/Somes Island and inferences about aspects of their life cycle are discussed. Female tree weta on Matiu/Somes Island formed harems throughout each year and there was a positive relationship between males weapon size and the number of females in a harem. Results do not indicate seasonal differences in harem-forming behaviours of females. The results of the captive rearing study include a shorter development time and larger weaponry as adults in males raised on a protein supplemented diet, compared to individuals raised on an entirely herbivorous diet. Details of differences in the course of development are also discussed for the two diet treatment groups.</p>