title: Reading the feral woman: Female werewolves and liminality in fantasy fiction

authors: Dewhurst, Hannah Leigh

subjects: fantasy

abstract: Previously representing the threat of infection, invasion and the possibility of an internal Other, the werewolf, traditionally male, has recently been joined by a subgroup of wolf-women in fantasy literature. I intend to examine the female werewolf as a ‘new’ archetype, tracking her presence in the overlapping genres of Gothic fiction and contemporary paranormal romance. I want to understand how the female werewolf engages with, and dramatizes, the portrayal of gender and binary issues such as nature/culture and male/female. This thesis follows the shift from the familiar ‘morality tale’ structure, and examines the possibility of wolf-women as marginalised or deviant figures empowered, their liminality drawing attention to the permeable and ultimately arbitrary nature of the boundaries they cross. Chapters begin with a discussion of the literary and cultural history of the werewolf, moving into short stories and novels by Alice Borchardt, Gail Carriger, Angela Carter, Clemence Housman, Aino Kallas, Tanith Lee and Stephenie Meyer. Texts are analysed with insights drawn from feminist theorists of gender and fantasy, including Judith Butler, Barbara Creed, Julia Kristeva and Marina Warner, to consider the wolf-women as deviants both desired and desiring. The female werewolf brings to the forefront contemporary anxieties around body image, the monstrous feminine and gender performance, and draws uncomfortable attention to the problematic binaries presented in both fantasy and reality.

text: Reading the feral woman: Female werewolves and liminality in fantasy fiction Previously representing the threat of infection, invasion and the possibility of an internal Other, the werewolf, traditionally male, has recently been joined by a subgroup of wolf-women in fantasy literature. I intend to examine the female werewolf as a ‘new’ archetype, tracking her presence in the overlapping genres of Gothic fiction and contemporary paranormal romance. I want to understand how the female werewolf engages with, and dramatizes, the portrayal of gender and binary issues such as nature/culture and male/female. This thesis follows the shift from the familiar ‘morality tale’ structure, and examines the possibility of wolf-women as marginalised or deviant figures empowered, their liminality drawing attention to the permeable and ultimately arbitrary nature of the boundaries they cross. Chapters begin with a discussion of the literary and cultural history of the werewolf, moving into short stories and novels by Alice Borchardt, Gail Carriger, Angela Carter, Clemence Housman, Aino Kallas, Tanith Lee and Stephenie Meyer. Texts are analysed with insights drawn from feminist theorists of gender and fantasy, including Judith Butler, Barbara Creed, Julia Kristeva and Marina Warner, to consider the wolf-women as deviants both desired and desiring. The female werewolf brings to the forefront contemporary anxieties around body image, the monstrous feminine and gender performance, and draws uncomfortable attention to the problematic binaries presented in both fantasy and reality.

year: 2018

title: Applying generalizability theory to examine assessments of subjective cognitive complaints: whose reports should we rely on - participant versus informant?

authors: Truong, Quoc Cuong

subjects: Aging

abstract: OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to apply the generalizability theory (G-theory) to investigate dynamic and enduring patterns of subjective cognitive complaints (SCC), and reliability of two widely used SCC assessment tools. DESIGN: G-theory was applied to assessment scales using longitudinal measurement design with five assessments spanning 10 years of follow-up. SETTING: Community-dwelling older adults aged 70-90 years and their informants, living in Sydney, Australia, participated in the longitudinal Sydney Memory and Ageing Study. PARTICIPANTS: The sample included 232 participants aged 70 years and older, and 232 associated informants. Participants were predominantly White Europeans (97.8%). The sample of informants included 76 males (32.8%), 153 females (65.9%), and their age ranged from 27 to 86 years, with a mean age of 61.3 years (SD = 14.38). MEASUREMENTS: The Memory Complaint Questionnaire (MAC-Q) and the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE). RESULTS: The IQCODE demonstrated strong reliability in measuring enduring patterns of SCC with G = 0.86. Marginally acceptable reliability of the 6-item MAC-Q (G = 0.77-0.80) was optimized by removing one item resulting in G = 0.80-0.81. Most items of both assessments were measuring enduring SCC with exception of one dynamic MAC-Q item. The IQCODE significantly predicted global cognition scores and risk of dementia incident across all occasions, while MAC-Q scores were only significant predictors on some occasions. CONCLUSIONS: While both informants' (IQCODE) and self-reported (MAC-Q) SCC scores were generalizable across sample population and occasions, self-reported (MAC-Q) scores may be less accurate in predicting cognitive ability and diagnosis of each individual.

text: Applying generalizability theory to examine assessments of subjective cognitive complaints: whose reports should we rely on - participant versus informant? OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to apply the generalizability theory (G-theory) to investigate dynamic and enduring patterns of subjective cognitive complaints (SCC), and reliability of two widely used SCC assessment tools. DESIGN: G-theory was applied to assessment scales using longitudinal measurement design with five assessments spanning 10 years of follow-up. SETTING: Community-dwelling older adults aged 70-90 years and their informants, living in Sydney, Australia, participated in the longitudinal Sydney Memory and Ageing Study. PARTICIPANTS: The sample included 232 participants aged 70 years and older, and 232 associated informants. Participants were predominantly White Europeans (97.8%). The sample of informants included 76 males (32.8%), 153 females (65.9%), and their age ranged from 27 to 86 years, with a mean age of 61.3 years (SD = 14.38). MEASUREMENTS: The Memory Complaint Questionnaire (MAC-Q) and the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE). RESULTS: The IQCODE demonstrated strong reliability in measuring enduring patterns of SCC with G = 0.86. Marginally acceptable reliability of the 6-item MAC-Q (G = 0.77-0.80) was optimized by removing one item resulting in G = 0.80-0.81. Most items of both assessments were measuring enduring SCC with exception of one dynamic MAC-Q item. The IQCODE significantly predicted global cognition scores and risk of dementia incident across all occasions, while MAC-Q scores were only significant predictors on some occasions. CONCLUSIONS: While both informants' (IQCODE) and self-reported (MAC-Q) SCC scores were generalizable across sample population and occasions, self-reported (MAC-Q) scores may be less accurate in predicting cognitive ability and diagnosis of each individual.

year: 2021

title: Analysis of multibeam sonar data for benthic habitat characterization of the Port of Tauranga, New Zealand.

authors: Boulay, Sebastien O. C.

subjects: Tauranga

abstract: Tauranga Harbour is a mesotidal lagoon located within the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, and is subject to an ongoing maintenance dredging program to remove mud deposits coming from various sources in the catchment. At the southern end of the commercial port, the Tauranga Bridge Marina was built adjacent to the bridge causeway, with 500 floating concrete berths, enclosed by concrete floating breakwaters. It is proposed to convert these floating breakwaters into solid ones to stop waves entering the marina. This is expected to influence tidal circulation around the Tauranga bridge causeway, and potentially affect sedimentation and marine habitats. The region is an important source of "kai moana" (seafood) for local iwi, and is a source of juvenile shellfish for the large beds located on the flood tidal delta and surrounding channels.

This study investigates the impact of the successive harbour constructions on the local sedimentology. The overall goal of the mapping part of this project is to identify and locate the different seabed facies and features within the study site, which may be affected by the sediment transport potentially resulting from the past and future harbour developments. 

To investigate the impacts of the harbour modifications, a habitat-mapping survey using acoustic mapping techniques was undertaken in July and August 2011. The hydrographic survey was simultaneously performed using a multibeam echosounder (Kongsberg-Simrad EM3000) and a Starfish 452F sidescan sonar. The backscatter/imagery data from both systems was then used for habitat mapping, using a combination of Angular Response Analysis and image-based segmentation. An underwater camera survey and seabed sampling were also performed to ground-truth the morphologies identified from the acoustic backscatter analysis. The most recent habitat map was then compared to the previous studies to identify changes in response to the different modifications of the estuary.

text: Analysis of multibeam sonar data for benthic habitat characterization of the Port of Tauranga, New Zealand. Tauranga Harbour is a mesotidal lagoon located within the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, and is subject to an ongoing maintenance dredging program to remove mud deposits coming from various sources in the catchment. At the southern end of the commercial port, the Tauranga Bridge Marina was built adjacent to the bridge causeway, with 500 floating concrete berths, enclosed by concrete floating breakwaters. It is proposed to convert these floating breakwaters into solid ones to stop waves entering the marina. This is expected to influence tidal circulation around the Tauranga bridge causeway, and potentially affect sedimentation and marine habitats. The region is an important source of "kai moana" (seafood) for local iwi, and is a source of juvenile shellfish for the large beds located on the flood tidal delta and surrounding channels.

This study investigates the impact of the successive harbour constructions on the local sedimentology. The overall goal of the mapping part of this project is to identify and locate the different seabed facies and features within the study site, which may be affected by the sediment transport potentially resulting from the past and future harbour developments. 

To investigate the impacts of the harbour modifications, a habitat-mapping survey using acoustic mapping techniques was undertaken in July and August 2011. The hydrographic survey was simultaneously performed using a multibeam echosounder (Kongsberg-Simrad EM3000) and a Starfish 452F sidescan sonar. The backscatter/imagery data from both systems was then used for habitat mapping, using a combination of Angular Response Analysis and image-based segmentation. An underwater camera survey and seabed sampling were also performed to ground-truth the morphologies identified from the acoustic backscatter analysis. The most recent habitat map was then compared to the previous studies to identify changes in response to the different modifications of the estuary.

year: 2012