title: Politics of Kindness: Exploring the political discourse of Kindness articulated by Ardern in New Zealand

authors: Elliott, Peniel

subjects: politics of kindness

abstract: Values underpin much of how politics is done. Jacinda Ardern has been re-elected for a second term as New Zealand’s Prime Minister after kick-starting her role as a world leader by articulating the goal of bringing ethical values of kindness and compassion into politics and government. Amidst a background of socio-political upheaval in many parts of the world, her approach has gained widespread attention. Therefore, this study explores the potential of Kindness as a political value by analysing the political discourse of Kindness articulated by Ardern (Kindness here is used with a capital K and it includes the ethical values kindness, empathy, compassion, manaakitanga and aroha).
Drawing on the field of Critical Discourse Studies, the research applies macro context theory to identify global topics in relevance to the political discourse of Kindness. The analysis highlights how Kindness, as a political value, has the radical potential to transform political conduct and address the problems of economism, nationalism, and racism. Topics, disclaimers, and metaphors are used in an axiological analysis to see what global actions were legitimised using Kindness as a political value. Kindness as a political value was used for actions such as: promoting a socio-political vision, framing problems and proposing solutions, legitimising policy, persuading leaders, and managing crisis and conflict. Kindness as a political value is then proposed as a well-rounded solution to change how politics is enacted at three levels: leadership, societal, and policy settings.
The analysis further revealed how the political discourse of Kindness articulated by Ardern was used to i) legitimise and promote the wellbeing framework that has informed the Ardern-led government’s budgeting process; ii) challenge nationalism, isolationism, and protectionism and choose compassionate domestic policies; iii) promote a vision of safe and resilient societies where governments address racist histories and build societies to navigate differences and diversity; iv) manage a national crisis following the Christchurch terror attack and lead the nation's response, and v) identify political conduct as the underlying problem addressed using the discourse of Kindness.
The discussion also reveals that the ‘Politics of Kindness’ can address socio-political upheaval through challenging domination, inspiring hope, and leading with resonance.

text: Politics of Kindness: Exploring the political discourse of Kindness articulated by Ardern in New Zealand Values underpin much of how politics is done. Jacinda Ardern has been re-elected for a second term as New Zealand’s Prime Minister after kick-starting her role as a world leader by articulating the goal of bringing ethical values of kindness and compassion into politics and government. Amidst a background of socio-political upheaval in many parts of the world, her approach has gained widespread attention. Therefore, this study explores the potential of Kindness as a political value by analysing the political discourse of Kindness articulated by Ardern (Kindness here is used with a capital K and it includes the ethical values kindness, empathy, compassion, manaakitanga and aroha).
Drawing on the field of Critical Discourse Studies, the research applies macro context theory to identify global topics in relevance to the political discourse of Kindness. The analysis highlights how Kindness, as a political value, has the radical potential to transform political conduct and address the problems of economism, nationalism, and racism. Topics, disclaimers, and metaphors are used in an axiological analysis to see what global actions were legitimised using Kindness as a political value. Kindness as a political value was used for actions such as: promoting a socio-political vision, framing problems and proposing solutions, legitimising policy, persuading leaders, and managing crisis and conflict. Kindness as a political value is then proposed as a well-rounded solution to change how politics is enacted at three levels: leadership, societal, and policy settings.
The analysis further revealed how the political discourse of Kindness articulated by Ardern was used to i) legitimise and promote the wellbeing framework that has informed the Ardern-led government’s budgeting process; ii) challenge nationalism, isolationism, and protectionism and choose compassionate domestic policies; iii) promote a vision of safe and resilient societies where governments address racist histories and build societies to navigate differences and diversity; iv) manage a national crisis following the Christchurch terror attack and lead the nation's response, and v) identify political conduct as the underlying problem addressed using the discourse of Kindness.
The discussion also reveals that the ‘Politics of Kindness’ can address socio-political upheaval through challenging domination, inspiring hope, and leading with resonance.

year: 2020

title: Analysis of adaptive reactive control systems for autonomous mobile robots

authors: Brightwell, Gary

abstract: This thesis presents techniques developed for the robust reactive control of autonomous mobile robots navigating in complex environments. Traditional approaches have adopted a top-down perspective by focusing on the reasoning part of path-planning. In contrast, this thesis tackles planning from a bottom-up perspective which is characterised by a tight coupling between perception and action.

With this view in mind, control systems ranging from pure reactive controllers to controllers that can construct spatial representations of the environment are investigated. Hand-designed techniques as well as evolutionary approaches are developed and analysed. Quantitative simulation experiments measuring the performance of each control system are presented along with a new algorithm for developing topological maps of the environment from laser range-finder sensory information.

text: Analysis of adaptive reactive control systems for autonomous mobile robots This thesis presents techniques developed for the robust reactive control of autonomous mobile robots navigating in complex environments. Traditional approaches have adopted a top-down perspective by focusing on the reasoning part of path-planning. In contrast, this thesis tackles planning from a bottom-up perspective which is characterised by a tight coupling between perception and action.

With this view in mind, control systems ranging from pure reactive controllers to controllers that can construct spatial representations of the environment are investigated. Hand-designed techniques as well as evolutionary approaches are developed and analysed. Quantitative simulation experiments measuring the performance of each control system are presented along with a new algorithm for developing topological maps of the environment from laser range-finder sensory information.

year: 1999

title: An external evaluation of Phat Pak process and structure: Volume 1: Evaluation report

authors: Masters-Awatere, Bridgette

subjects: psychology

abstract: An evaluation was conducted by the 510 Evaluation Research Group 2007 after receiving a request from the Phat Pak Governance Group (PPGG). The evaluation focused on four areas identified in the Phat Pak service specification plan attached to it’s Ministry of Health contract (Youth participation, Communication Strategies, Decision making Processes and Skills Development). Our intention of evaluating the Phat Pak Programme has been to, through feedback from a range of participants, gauge the extent that the programme objectives (such as those highlighted in the contract are being met. More specifically, the function of the evaluation has been to help identify specific areas that are working well and those areas that need further development. It is our intention that the evaluation will provide both short and long-term direction with added insight towards increasing participation and enhancing health outcomes for youth and the wider community of the Waikato region.

text: An external evaluation of Phat Pak process and structure: Volume 1: Evaluation report An evaluation was conducted by the 510 Evaluation Research Group 2007 after receiving a request from the Phat Pak Governance Group (PPGG). The evaluation focused on four areas identified in the Phat Pak service specification plan attached to it’s Ministry of Health contract (Youth participation, Communication Strategies, Decision making Processes and Skills Development). Our intention of evaluating the Phat Pak Programme has been to, through feedback from a range of participants, gauge the extent that the programme objectives (such as those highlighted in the contract are being met. More specifically, the function of the evaluation has been to help identify specific areas that are working well and those areas that need further development. It is our intention that the evaluation will provide both short and long-term direction with added insight towards increasing participation and enhancing health outcomes for youth and the wider community of the Waikato region.

year: 2007-12