title: Discourse, Narrative and Agency: A Contribution of Local Stories to Disability Theory, Research and Professional Practice

authors: Arkwright, James

subjects: Disability

abstract: The impetus for this study arose from a realisation that the post-structural concept of agency was relevant to disability studies. In locating this study as a contribution to the knowledge of disability and disablement, the initial chapters explore the theoretical genealogy of disability studies and the methodology for the study. In broad terms this has been a discursive and narrative research project, which sought to explore how discourse constituted the lives of six people with impairments and/or illness. Within this examination, specific attention was paid to those occasions in which the participants were able to take up alternative and preferred subject positions when they had been positioned in ways that removed or reduced their agency on account of their having an impairment and/or illness. The six people who participated in the study are introduced at the end of Chapter Four and the next three chapters provide an account of their accounts. Overall, the participants’ accounts of their experiences told how medical discourse positioned them in ways that removed their agency but not exclusively so. In contrast to medical discourse, disability rights discourses offered alternative subject positions because disablement is not constructed as an inevitable consequence of having an impairment and/or illness. In regard to the benefit of disability rights discourses for disabled people, two of the participants had been advantaged by the career opportunities available to them within the disability sector that arguably had been created by disability rights discourses. However, generally speaking, the participants’ accounts of their experiences showed that disability rights discourses were not the only discursive option for them. On those occasions in which the participants took up subject positions that afforded them agency, they were often calling on more than one discursive idea or practice, typically beyond both medical or disability rights discourse. The participants’ lives were more diverse and complex than the reproduction of any one singular discourse. Hence, even between just six people’s accounts, there was significant difference between how each person called on and negotiated discourse so as to take up subject positions that offered them agency. In considering the participants’ accounts, a number of generic storylines have been generated from the research process. In particular, these were: the negative impact of deficit discourse on disabled people’s lives, the advantages and limitations of disability rights discourses, the complex and person-specific processes of taking up subject positions that afford agency for the person, and the experience of silenced, subjugated and contradictory subject positions. These quite specific understandings about the processes of disablement for people who have impairments and/or illnesses, and their corresponding actions of agency, are discussed in more detail in the concluding chapter in regards to implications for future research, theory and professional practice.

text: Discourse, Narrative and Agency: A Contribution of Local Stories to Disability Theory, Research and Professional Practice The impetus for this study arose from a realisation that the post-structural concept of agency was relevant to disability studies. In locating this study as a contribution to the knowledge of disability and disablement, the initial chapters explore the theoretical genealogy of disability studies and the methodology for the study. In broad terms this has been a discursive and narrative research project, which sought to explore how discourse constituted the lives of six people with impairments and/or illness. Within this examination, specific attention was paid to those occasions in which the participants were able to take up alternative and preferred subject positions when they had been positioned in ways that removed or reduced their agency on account of their having an impairment and/or illness. The six people who participated in the study are introduced at the end of Chapter Four and the next three chapters provide an account of their accounts. Overall, the participants’ accounts of their experiences told how medical discourse positioned them in ways that removed their agency but not exclusively so. In contrast to medical discourse, disability rights discourses offered alternative subject positions because disablement is not constructed as an inevitable consequence of having an impairment and/or illness. In regard to the benefit of disability rights discourses for disabled people, two of the participants had been advantaged by the career opportunities available to them within the disability sector that arguably had been created by disability rights discourses. However, generally speaking, the participants’ accounts of their experiences showed that disability rights discourses were not the only discursive option for them. On those occasions in which the participants took up subject positions that afforded them agency, they were often calling on more than one discursive idea or practice, typically beyond both medical or disability rights discourse. The participants’ lives were more diverse and complex than the reproduction of any one singular discourse. Hence, even between just six people’s accounts, there was significant difference between how each person called on and negotiated discourse so as to take up subject positions that offered them agency. In considering the participants’ accounts, a number of generic storylines have been generated from the research process. In particular, these were: the negative impact of deficit discourse on disabled people’s lives, the advantages and limitations of disability rights discourses, the complex and person-specific processes of taking up subject positions that afford agency for the person, and the experience of silenced, subjugated and contradictory subject positions. These quite specific understandings about the processes of disablement for people who have impairments and/or illnesses, and their corresponding actions of agency, are discussed in more detail in the concluding chapter in regards to implications for future research, theory and professional practice.

year: 2011

title: Evaluation of New Zealand estuarine water properties using remote sensing

authors: Shao, Zhanchao

subjects: esutaries

abstract: Estuaries and shallow lagoons are the most productive marine systems in the world and contribute to the maintenance of coastal biodiversity by providing various unique habitats for aquatic species. However, due to the inputs of nutrients, sediments and pollutants from the surrounding landscape, light availability and primary productivity can be strongly restricted, which may trigger rapid ecological change over time and cause substantial loss of coastal flora and fauna. This thesis explores the use of Sentinel-2 remote sensing imagery to monitor water properties of shallow intertidal tidal estuaries, for the purposes of managing the estuaries of New Zealand. 
The first goal (Chapter 2) was to develop a method to remove the influence of water bottom substrate reflectance in order to detect the true water colour (represented by dominant wavelength) and diffuse attenuation coefficients from Sentinel-2 imagery, in the case study estuary of Tauranga Harbour. The new methodology used direct measurement of bottom reflectance of intertidal areas while exposed, and used a regression estimator to derive subtidal bottom reflectance from particle size (developed using the intertidal properties). The method required the water depth to be known (from LiDAR) and reflectance observations from multiple water depths (either extracted along transects or at the same location at different tides). The method was applied to all available Sentinel-2 images and showed seasonal fluctuations and strong correlations with chlorophyll-a, suspended sediments and coloured metal ions collected by the regional council monitoring programme. This methodology was then applied to 12 estuaries and the results were interpreted in terms of ecological changes (Chapter 5).
The second goal (Chapter 3) was to detect the distribution or density of seagrass/sandflats (where microphytobenthos (MPB) thrive) and use this as a basis to estimate their gross primary productivity (GPP). The new methodology combined Sentinel-2 imagery, machine learning and literature-derived photosynthesis-irradiance (P – I) curves. The machine-learning model included (1) supervised classification with random forest to delineate seagrass and sandflat areas (2) and three machine learning regressions (artificial neural network (ANN), support vector machine (SVM) and random forest regression (RFR)) to predict the density of seagrass. The result showed ANN was the optimal algorithm to predict seagrass coverage. By adjusting the input water depth and light intensity, the methodology could be further developed to predict the response of seagrass and MPB to sea level rise.  To counteract the negative impact of increased turbidity caused by coastal erosion and sediment resuspension due to sea level rise and climate change, controlling sediment loading in coastal waters could be an effective solution for maintaining current productivity throughout the entire harbour.
Considering monitoring suspended sediment concentration (SSC) is essential for understanding the resilience of coastal wetlands, a prediction model in Chapter 4 consisting of satellite imagery, numerical simulation and machine learning was developed to enable continuous estimation of SSC. The prediction model included two steps: (1) comparing the Delft3D-derived SSC with corrected satellite data and using K-means classification to categorise the differences into classes; (2) developing a random forest regression model for each class to predict the satellite-derived SSC using Delft3D-derived SSC and other physical parameters. Comparison of the prediction model with in situ measurement showed high accuracy, and the model provided the basis for estimating the accumulated sediment in wetlands. The results showed strong sensitivity to different ways of accounting for incoming SSC supply coastal wetlands. Therefore, employing a model based on real-time observations, like the one developed here, would substantially improve sediment budget estimates in coastal wetlands.
Dominant wavelength and diffuse attenuation coefficients (Kd) can form the basis of ecologically relevant indicators. Therefore, in Chapter 5, classification based on these two indicators was developed to cluster New Zealand estuaries with similar states into groups as a basis for management. The dominant wavelength and Kd were derived from the Sentinel-2 images using the seabed correction model developed in Chapter 2. Three groups, including less impacted, moderately impacted and highly impacted, were created which were in broad agreement with other in situ measurements and indicator models such as those focused on light availability and benthic health. Therefore, satellite-derived dominant wavelength and Kd can be two good indicators to reflect estuarine water properties for management.

text: Evaluation of New Zealand estuarine water properties using remote sensing Estuaries and shallow lagoons are the most productive marine systems in the world and contribute to the maintenance of coastal biodiversity by providing various unique habitats for aquatic species. However, due to the inputs of nutrients, sediments and pollutants from the surrounding landscape, light availability and primary productivity can be strongly restricted, which may trigger rapid ecological change over time and cause substantial loss of coastal flora and fauna. This thesis explores the use of Sentinel-2 remote sensing imagery to monitor water properties of shallow intertidal tidal estuaries, for the purposes of managing the estuaries of New Zealand. 
The first goal (Chapter 2) was to develop a method to remove the influence of water bottom substrate reflectance in order to detect the true water colour (represented by dominant wavelength) and diffuse attenuation coefficients from Sentinel-2 imagery, in the case study estuary of Tauranga Harbour. The new methodology used direct measurement of bottom reflectance of intertidal areas while exposed, and used a regression estimator to derive subtidal bottom reflectance from particle size (developed using the intertidal properties). The method required the water depth to be known (from LiDAR) and reflectance observations from multiple water depths (either extracted along transects or at the same location at different tides). The method was applied to all available Sentinel-2 images and showed seasonal fluctuations and strong correlations with chlorophyll-a, suspended sediments and coloured metal ions collected by the regional council monitoring programme. This methodology was then applied to 12 estuaries and the results were interpreted in terms of ecological changes (Chapter 5).
The second goal (Chapter 3) was to detect the distribution or density of seagrass/sandflats (where microphytobenthos (MPB) thrive) and use this as a basis to estimate their gross primary productivity (GPP). The new methodology combined Sentinel-2 imagery, machine learning and literature-derived photosynthesis-irradiance (P – I) curves. The machine-learning model included (1) supervised classification with random forest to delineate seagrass and sandflat areas (2) and three machine learning regressions (artificial neural network (ANN), support vector machine (SVM) and random forest regression (RFR)) to predict the density of seagrass. The result showed ANN was the optimal algorithm to predict seagrass coverage. By adjusting the input water depth and light intensity, the methodology could be further developed to predict the response of seagrass and MPB to sea level rise.  To counteract the negative impact of increased turbidity caused by coastal erosion and sediment resuspension due to sea level rise and climate change, controlling sediment loading in coastal waters could be an effective solution for maintaining current productivity throughout the entire harbour.
Considering monitoring suspended sediment concentration (SSC) is essential for understanding the resilience of coastal wetlands, a prediction model in Chapter 4 consisting of satellite imagery, numerical simulation and machine learning was developed to enable continuous estimation of SSC. The prediction model included two steps: (1) comparing the Delft3D-derived SSC with corrected satellite data and using K-means classification to categorise the differences into classes; (2) developing a random forest regression model for each class to predict the satellite-derived SSC using Delft3D-derived SSC and other physical parameters. Comparison of the prediction model with in situ measurement showed high accuracy, and the model provided the basis for estimating the accumulated sediment in wetlands. The results showed strong sensitivity to different ways of accounting for incoming SSC supply coastal wetlands. Therefore, employing a model based on real-time observations, like the one developed here, would substantially improve sediment budget estimates in coastal wetlands.
Dominant wavelength and diffuse attenuation coefficients (Kd) can form the basis of ecologically relevant indicators. Therefore, in Chapter 5, classification based on these two indicators was developed to cluster New Zealand estuaries with similar states into groups as a basis for management. The dominant wavelength and Kd were derived from the Sentinel-2 images using the seabed correction model developed in Chapter 2. Three groups, including less impacted, moderately impacted and highly impacted, were created which were in broad agreement with other in situ measurements and indicator models such as those focused on light availability and benthic health. Therefore, satellite-derived dominant wavelength and Kd can be two good indicators to reflect estuarine water properties for management.

year: 2024-07

title: The Buried Village, New Zealand - an example of dark tourism?

authors: Ryan, Chris

subjects: dark tourism

abstract: In 1886, the explosion of Mount Tarawera resulted in the loss of 150 lives and the burial of the village of Te Wairoa, the base from which tourists had visited the Pink and White Terraces, a silicone-stained natural formation then advertised as one of the natural wonders of the world. Since 1931, the buried site has itself been a tourist attraction and Smith and Croy have argued that it serves as an example of “dark tourism”. This paper uses a different methodology to argue that Lennon and Foley's original definition of dark tourism is precise, that the buried village of Te Wairoa does not meet that specification, but does support the model suggested by Sharpley, that the site's characteristics are those of grey tourism supply. However, the findings derived from a sample of over 600 respondents indicate that sites are complex packages of potential experiences, and are potentially multi-faceted in terms of the experiences they offer. It is also suggested that cultural components might play a role in the experience of what is “dark” about a site.

text: The Buried Village, New Zealand - an example of dark tourism? In 1886, the explosion of Mount Tarawera resulted in the loss of 150 lives and the burial of the village of Te Wairoa, the base from which tourists had visited the Pink and White Terraces, a silicone-stained natural formation then advertised as one of the natural wonders of the world. Since 1931, the buried site has itself been a tourist attraction and Smith and Croy have argued that it serves as an example of “dark tourism”. This paper uses a different methodology to argue that Lennon and Foley's original definition of dark tourism is precise, that the buried village of Te Wairoa does not meet that specification, but does support the model suggested by Sharpley, that the site's characteristics are those of grey tourism supply. However, the findings derived from a sample of over 600 respondents indicate that sites are complex packages of potential experiences, and are potentially multi-faceted in terms of the experiences they offer. It is also suggested that cultural components might play a role in the experience of what is “dark” about a site.

year: 2006