title: Comparing the psychological well-being of working and non-working mothers

authors: Mir, Ayesha

subjects: well-being

abstract: The well-being of parents is essential for the health and development of both their families and themselves. Both parents contribute greatly to their children’s development and growth. In contrast to fathers, however, mothers have higher responsibilities in handling household chores and children, along with their professional obligations. Indeed, the employment status of mothers is a crucial determinant of their life satisfaction and happiness. Due to a lack of comprehensive cross-cultural studies that examine the psychological well-being among working and non-working mothers, the present pre-registered study was designed to explore the difference in psychological well-being measured as happiness and life satisfaction among working and non-working mothers in New Zealand and Pakistan. The study utilized the data from the World Value Survey Wave 7 and employed a quantitative cross-sectional research design to investigate the psychological well-being of 252 working and 206 non-working New Zealand mothers, and 78 working and 78 non-working Pakistani mothers. The findings demonstrated that non-working mothers in New Zealand experienced higher life satisfaction compared to working mothers, whereas in Pakistan, working mothers reported greater life satisfaction than non-working mothers. The result emphasizes the influence of culture, employment status, and social support systems in shaping the well-being of mothers. Recommendations are made for culturally relevant interventions that tackle the challenges faced by mothers in developing and developed countries. Future research can explore socioeconomic status, and ethnicities as additional factors that might influence the well-being of mothers.

text: Comparing the psychological well-being of working and non-working mothers The well-being of parents is essential for the health and development of both their families and themselves. Both parents contribute greatly to their children’s development and growth. In contrast to fathers, however, mothers have higher responsibilities in handling household chores and children, along with their professional obligations. Indeed, the employment status of mothers is a crucial determinant of their life satisfaction and happiness. Due to a lack of comprehensive cross-cultural studies that examine the psychological well-being among working and non-working mothers, the present pre-registered study was designed to explore the difference in psychological well-being measured as happiness and life satisfaction among working and non-working mothers in New Zealand and Pakistan. The study utilized the data from the World Value Survey Wave 7 and employed a quantitative cross-sectional research design to investigate the psychological well-being of 252 working and 206 non-working New Zealand mothers, and 78 working and 78 non-working Pakistani mothers. The findings demonstrated that non-working mothers in New Zealand experienced higher life satisfaction compared to working mothers, whereas in Pakistan, working mothers reported greater life satisfaction than non-working mothers. The result emphasizes the influence of culture, employment status, and social support systems in shaping the well-being of mothers. Recommendations are made for culturally relevant interventions that tackle the challenges faced by mothers in developing and developed countries. Future research can explore socioeconomic status, and ethnicities as additional factors that might influence the well-being of mothers.

year: 2025

title: Optimising industrial hemp fibre for composites

authors: Pickering, Kim L.

abstract: The optimisation of New Zealand grown hemp fibre for inclusion in composites has been investigated. The optimum growing period was found to be 114 days, producing fibres with an average tensile strength of 857 MPa and a Young’s modulus of 58 GPa. An alkali treatment with 10wt% NaOH solution at a maximum processing temperature of 160o C with a hold time of 45 minutes was found to produce strong fibres with a low lignin content and good fibre separation. Although a good fit with the Weibull distribution function was obtained for single fibre strength, this did not allow for accurate scaling to strengths at different lengths. Alkali treated fibres, polypropylene and a maleated polypropylene (MAPP) coupling agent were compounded in a twin-screw extruder, and injection moulded into composite tensile test specimens. The strongest composite consisted of polypropylene with 40wt% fibre and 3wt% MAPP, and had a tensile strength of 47.2 MPa, and a Young’s modulus of 4.88 GPa.

text: Optimising industrial hemp fibre for composites The optimisation of New Zealand grown hemp fibre for inclusion in composites has been investigated. The optimum growing period was found to be 114 days, producing fibres with an average tensile strength of 857 MPa and a Young’s modulus of 58 GPa. An alkali treatment with 10wt% NaOH solution at a maximum processing temperature of 160o C with a hold time of 45 minutes was found to produce strong fibres with a low lignin content and good fibre separation. Although a good fit with the Weibull distribution function was obtained for single fibre strength, this did not allow for accurate scaling to strengths at different lengths. Alkali treated fibres, polypropylene and a maleated polypropylene (MAPP) coupling agent were compounded in a twin-screw extruder, and injection moulded into composite tensile test specimens. The strongest composite consisted of polypropylene with 40wt% fibre and 3wt% MAPP, and had a tensile strength of 47.2 MPa, and a Young’s modulus of 4.88 GPa.

year: 2007

title: Dreaming Ourselves and Aspirations into Places of Higher Education

authors: Nikora, Linda Waimarie

subjects: Maori

abstract: Dreams and aspirations are at the core of what higher education is about.  Students and scholars alike, the world over, are engaged in the realization of dreams that bring forth new opportunities, new ways of seeing and being and of changing the world. Many Maori students dream of making a difference and see the pursuit of higher education as a way to bring their dreams into reality. Often their dreams reflect family and community aspirations bringing with it a significant burden of responsibility and obligation.  And for Maori academics and researchers like me, my dreams are not too different to those of my own students except that where students pursue a pathway towards becoming relevant, academics are challenged to remain so. In this chapter, I will share some of my/our hopes and experiences and how Maori went about dreaming ourselves into the staff make up, curriculum and research activities in the School of Psychology at the University of Waikato.

text: Dreaming Ourselves and Aspirations into Places of Higher Education Dreams and aspirations are at the core of what higher education is about.  Students and scholars alike, the world over, are engaged in the realization of dreams that bring forth new opportunities, new ways of seeing and being and of changing the world. Many Maori students dream of making a difference and see the pursuit of higher education as a way to bring their dreams into reality. Often their dreams reflect family and community aspirations bringing with it a significant burden of responsibility and obligation.  And for Maori academics and researchers like me, my dreams are not too different to those of my own students except that where students pursue a pathway towards becoming relevant, academics are challenged to remain so. In this chapter, I will share some of my/our hopes and experiences and how Maori went about dreaming ourselves into the staff make up, curriculum and research activities in the School of Psychology at the University of Waikato.

year: 2013