title: Examining processes in the relationship between narrative identity  and psychological functioning

authors: Corbett, Monique

subjects: narrative identity

abstract: Theoretical perspectives and empirical evidence support a link between narrative identity and psychological functioning. When examining this relationship, psychological functioning has typically been conceptualised in terms of diagnostic symptoms. As a result, the transdiagnostic psychological processes underpinning the relationship remain largely unexplored. Additionally, recent research proposes that the relationship between narrative identity and psychological functioning may be reciprocal, but research has primarily utilised cross-sectional data or considered characteristics of narrative identity as predisposing factors. The work in this thesis addresses these gaps in the field by examining potential underlying psychological processes and exploring potential reciprocal associations in a sample of young adults. In the first study, a systematic review was conducted to identify transdiagnostic factors either associated with narrative identity or that mediated or moderated its relationship with psychological functioning. The review comprised 11 studies and revealed mixed findings for the support of rumination, overgeneral memory (OGM), emotion dysregulation, and attachment state of mind as transdiagnostic factors that may be uniquely associated with narrative identity or mediate or moderate the relationship between narrative identity and psychological functioning. In the second study, 245 university students were recruited to investigate the mediating and moderating effects of the identified transdiagnostic factors. Findings revealed that rumination and emotion dysregulation, but not OGM, mediated the relationship between lower causal coherence and psychological functioning. Surprisingly, neither attachment state of mind nor memory tone moderated any relationships between narrative identity and psychological functioning. The third study examined associations between narrative identity as measured by causal coherence and psychological processes utilising the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) systems, using the same sample of 245 participants at Time 1 and a returning 88 participants at Time 2 (6 months later). Structural equation modelling revealed concurrent and longitudinal negative associations between difficulties in the negative valence system and causal coherence. Furthermore, lower causal coherence predicted later difficulties in the arousal/regulatory system. However, difficulties in the social processes system showed no such associations. The final study investigated the relationship between identification with psychopathology in turning point narratives and psychopathology symptoms. This study utilised the 245 community young adults from studies two and three, as well as 30 in-patient clinical young adults. A novel coding scheme was developed to tap identification with psychopathology within turning point narratives. Findings revealed that higher identification with psychopathology was associated with higher symptoms of depression, anxiety, BPD, rumination and emotion dysregulation. Multinomial regression analysis revealed that identification with psychopathology predicted an individual belonging to the symptoms or diagnosis group above and beyond measures of psychopathology. Moderation analyses revealed that the interaction between identification with psychopathology and belonging to the community group predicted depression, but not for the symptoms or diagnosis nor the clinical group. Overall, this thesis provides crucial insights into the dynamic relationship between narrative identity and psychological functioning, emphasising the significance of cognitive and emotional processes such as rumination and emotion dysregulation. Furthermore, this thesis introduces identification with psychopathology as a potentially important aspect of narrative identity. Understanding these complex relationships can lead to the development of personalised and targeted interventions with greater responsivity. Future longitudinal research that incorporates a range of narrative identity, transdiagnostic, and psychological functioning variables is recommended.

text: Examining processes in the relationship between narrative identity  and psychological functioning Theoretical perspectives and empirical evidence support a link between narrative identity and psychological functioning. When examining this relationship, psychological functioning has typically been conceptualised in terms of diagnostic symptoms. As a result, the transdiagnostic psychological processes underpinning the relationship remain largely unexplored. Additionally, recent research proposes that the relationship between narrative identity and psychological functioning may be reciprocal, but research has primarily utilised cross-sectional data or considered characteristics of narrative identity as predisposing factors. The work in this thesis addresses these gaps in the field by examining potential underlying psychological processes and exploring potential reciprocal associations in a sample of young adults. In the first study, a systematic review was conducted to identify transdiagnostic factors either associated with narrative identity or that mediated or moderated its relationship with psychological functioning. The review comprised 11 studies and revealed mixed findings for the support of rumination, overgeneral memory (OGM), emotion dysregulation, and attachment state of mind as transdiagnostic factors that may be uniquely associated with narrative identity or mediate or moderate the relationship between narrative identity and psychological functioning. In the second study, 245 university students were recruited to investigate the mediating and moderating effects of the identified transdiagnostic factors. Findings revealed that rumination and emotion dysregulation, but not OGM, mediated the relationship between lower causal coherence and psychological functioning. Surprisingly, neither attachment state of mind nor memory tone moderated any relationships between narrative identity and psychological functioning. The third study examined associations between narrative identity as measured by causal coherence and psychological processes utilising the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) systems, using the same sample of 245 participants at Time 1 and a returning 88 participants at Time 2 (6 months later). Structural equation modelling revealed concurrent and longitudinal negative associations between difficulties in the negative valence system and causal coherence. Furthermore, lower causal coherence predicted later difficulties in the arousal/regulatory system. However, difficulties in the social processes system showed no such associations. The final study investigated the relationship between identification with psychopathology in turning point narratives and psychopathology symptoms. This study utilised the 245 community young adults from studies two and three, as well as 30 in-patient clinical young adults. A novel coding scheme was developed to tap identification with psychopathology within turning point narratives. Findings revealed that higher identification with psychopathology was associated with higher symptoms of depression, anxiety, BPD, rumination and emotion dysregulation. Multinomial regression analysis revealed that identification with psychopathology predicted an individual belonging to the symptoms or diagnosis group above and beyond measures of psychopathology. Moderation analyses revealed that the interaction between identification with psychopathology and belonging to the community group predicted depression, but not for the symptoms or diagnosis nor the clinical group. Overall, this thesis provides crucial insights into the dynamic relationship between narrative identity and psychological functioning, emphasising the significance of cognitive and emotional processes such as rumination and emotion dysregulation. Furthermore, this thesis introduces identification with psychopathology as a potentially important aspect of narrative identity. Understanding these complex relationships can lead to the development of personalised and targeted interventions with greater responsivity. Future longitudinal research that incorporates a range of narrative identity, transdiagnostic, and psychological functioning variables is recommended.

year: 2024-09-09

title: Seasonal prediction of lake inflows and rainfall in a hydro-electricity catchment, Waitaki river, New Zealand

authors: Purdie, Jennifer Margaret

subjects: New Zealand

abstract: The Waitaki River is located in the centre of the South Island of New Zealand, and hydro-electricity generated on the river accounts for 35-40% of New Zealand's electricity. Low inflows in 1992 and 2001 resulted in the threat of power blackouts. Improved seasonal rainfall and inflow forecasts will result in the better management of the water used in hydro-generation on a seasonal basis.
Researchers have stated that two key directions in the fields of seasonal rainfall and streamflow forecasting are to a) decrease the spatial scale of forecast products, and b) tailor forecast products to end-user needs, so as to provide more relevant and targeted forecasts.
Several season-ahead lake inflow and rainfall forecast models were calibrated for the Waitaki river catchment using statistical techniques to quantify relationships between land-ocean-atmosphere state variables and seasonally lagged inflows and rainfall. Techniques included principal components analysis and multiple linear regression, with cross-validation techniques applied to estimate model error and randomization techniques used to establish the significance of the skill of the models.
Many of the models calibrated predict rainfall and inflows better than random chance and better than the long-term mean as a predictor. When compared to the range of all probable inflow seasonal totals (based on the 80-year recorded history in the catchment), 95% confidence limits around most model predictions offer significant skill. These models explain up to 19% of the variance in season-ahead rainfall and inflows in this catchment.
Seasonal rainfall and inflow forecasting on a single catchment scale and focussed to end-user needs is possible with some skill in the South Island of New Zealand.

text: Seasonal prediction of lake inflows and rainfall in a hydro-electricity catchment, Waitaki river, New Zealand The Waitaki River is located in the centre of the South Island of New Zealand, and hydro-electricity generated on the river accounts for 35-40% of New Zealand's electricity. Low inflows in 1992 and 2001 resulted in the threat of power blackouts. Improved seasonal rainfall and inflow forecasts will result in the better management of the water used in hydro-generation on a seasonal basis.
Researchers have stated that two key directions in the fields of seasonal rainfall and streamflow forecasting are to a) decrease the spatial scale of forecast products, and b) tailor forecast products to end-user needs, so as to provide more relevant and targeted forecasts.
Several season-ahead lake inflow and rainfall forecast models were calibrated for the Waitaki river catchment using statistical techniques to quantify relationships between land-ocean-atmosphere state variables and seasonally lagged inflows and rainfall. Techniques included principal components analysis and multiple linear regression, with cross-validation techniques applied to estimate model error and randomization techniques used to establish the significance of the skill of the models.
Many of the models calibrated predict rainfall and inflows better than random chance and better than the long-term mean as a predictor. When compared to the range of all probable inflow seasonal totals (based on the 80-year recorded history in the catchment), 95% confidence limits around most model predictions offer significant skill. These models explain up to 19% of the variance in season-ahead rainfall and inflows in this catchment.
Seasonal rainfall and inflow forecasting on a single catchment scale and focussed to end-user needs is possible with some skill in the South Island of New Zealand.

year: 2010

title: Decolonising Pākehā ways of being: Revealing third space Pākehā experiences

authors: Brown, Micheal William

subjects: Pakeha

abstract: This thesis asks two central questions. First, what kinds of experiences occur when Pākehā become interested and involved in te ao Māori (the Māori world)? Second, how might sharing of these experiences help other Pākehā better understand their relationship with Māori? The account is grounded in concepts of colonisation and the coloniser/colonised relation, Othering, Whiteness, hybridity and the third space, biculturalism, theories of movement between groups, and decolonisation. It particularly drew on Homi Bhabha’s notions of the third space to theorise and explain the process of change that occurred for 13 Pākehā involved in te ao Māori. Utilising a qualitative design based on grounded theory and in-depth interviewing the research investigated their “lived” experiences and their choice to encounter then engage with te ao Māori. It is their experiences that I interpret in this thesis as “third space Pākehā experiences”. Through my employment of grounded theory methodology to analyse the korero (stories) I collected, I argue that a transformative process of change occurred for the 13 participants because they became interested and engaged more in ongoing experiences of te ao Māori. I interpreted this process as “Pākehā decolonisation”. In my analysis I found that at the individual level decolonisation helped these Pākehā bridge gaps that emerged as “differences” between te ao Māori and te ao Pākehā which led them to develop a new and enriched understanding of themselves. Their engagement with te ao Māori produced exciting and rewarding experiences, the richness of these is revealed in the storylines. Also, their ongoing experiences moved towards effective strategies to engage in discussions with other Pākehā about te ao Māori, which were respectful to both Māori and Pākehā cultures. I interpreted this development as the “Pākehā educating Pākehā” strategy. My analysis also suggested that five key thematic elements - or what I call five “occurrences” of Pākehā decolonisation, existed within each participant’s third space experiences. They were: 1) all participants chose to engage in many diverse encounters with te ao Māori, 2) this led the individual to their discovery of ngā wairua o te ao Māori (values of the Māori world), 3) as well as to experiencing Othering experiences from Pākehā, 4) the ongoing choice to engage with te ao Māori developed into awareness and experience of sites/locations where equality between Māori and Pākehā existed and, 5) and it was through confrontational experiences that these Pākehā began to learn successful Pākehā educating Pākehā strategies which they employed when engaging with other Pākehā about te ao Māori. These five occurrences happened frequently and infrequently across participants and they occurred in multiple settings as well as during different decades of their lives. Nonetheless, the choice to enter into these experience(s), whether at the time of occurrence - or on reflection at a later stage - emerged as a defining of their “journey” into te ao Māori; a journey of enriched, insightful and meaningful experiences that helped these Pākehā develop a more sophisticated understanding of te ao Māori and their relationship to Māori within that world. Thus, these Pākehā discovered that exploration into te ao Māori was a benefit to themselves as individual Pākehā. This thesis is an applied research study that draws from Homi Bhabha’s (1994) theory/concept of hybridity and movement between groups. I employed this approach because I was concerned with movement by a group member (Pākehā) toward another group (Māori). The research conceptualises Bhabha’s (1994) “third space” as an “experience” rather than a permanent positioning and explores ways in which change occurs for non hybrid group members who engage in the third space experience and, that a third space vocabulary exists for talking about shared experiences that does not put one’s own identity at risk. The main contributions of this research are threefold. Firstly, when Pākehā enter into te ao Māori they encounter third space experiences that reveal new and enriched ways to experience te ao Māori, and they develop a more sophisticated view of the Māori and Pākehā coloniser/colonial relation, its history, as well as present relations and pathways for future equal engagement. Secondly, third space experiences offer a “way forward” for Māori and Pākehā relationships that suggests an alternative to contestation and confrontation. Third, third space experiences provide a pathway toward a Pākehā educating Pākehā strategy; an accessible and practical outcome of a positive and rewarding alternative decolonisation process which helps other Pākehā discover a deeper understanding of their place in New Zealand. I argue that decolonisation and the Pākehā educating Pākehā strategy helps Pākehā learn from their lived experiences of “being Pākehā” - a phrase coined by historian Michael King (1985, 1999b).

text: Decolonising Pākehā ways of being: Revealing third space Pākehā experiences This thesis asks two central questions. First, what kinds of experiences occur when Pākehā become interested and involved in te ao Māori (the Māori world)? Second, how might sharing of these experiences help other Pākehā better understand their relationship with Māori? The account is grounded in concepts of colonisation and the coloniser/colonised relation, Othering, Whiteness, hybridity and the third space, biculturalism, theories of movement between groups, and decolonisation. It particularly drew on Homi Bhabha’s notions of the third space to theorise and explain the process of change that occurred for 13 Pākehā involved in te ao Māori. Utilising a qualitative design based on grounded theory and in-depth interviewing the research investigated their “lived” experiences and their choice to encounter then engage with te ao Māori. It is their experiences that I interpret in this thesis as “third space Pākehā experiences”. Through my employment of grounded theory methodology to analyse the korero (stories) I collected, I argue that a transformative process of change occurred for the 13 participants because they became interested and engaged more in ongoing experiences of te ao Māori. I interpreted this process as “Pākehā decolonisation”. In my analysis I found that at the individual level decolonisation helped these Pākehā bridge gaps that emerged as “differences” between te ao Māori and te ao Pākehā which led them to develop a new and enriched understanding of themselves. Their engagement with te ao Māori produced exciting and rewarding experiences, the richness of these is revealed in the storylines. Also, their ongoing experiences moved towards effective strategies to engage in discussions with other Pākehā about te ao Māori, which were respectful to both Māori and Pākehā cultures. I interpreted this development as the “Pākehā educating Pākehā” strategy. My analysis also suggested that five key thematic elements - or what I call five “occurrences” of Pākehā decolonisation, existed within each participant’s third space experiences. They were: 1) all participants chose to engage in many diverse encounters with te ao Māori, 2) this led the individual to their discovery of ngā wairua o te ao Māori (values of the Māori world), 3) as well as to experiencing Othering experiences from Pākehā, 4) the ongoing choice to engage with te ao Māori developed into awareness and experience of sites/locations where equality between Māori and Pākehā existed and, 5) and it was through confrontational experiences that these Pākehā began to learn successful Pākehā educating Pākehā strategies which they employed when engaging with other Pākehā about te ao Māori. These five occurrences happened frequently and infrequently across participants and they occurred in multiple settings as well as during different decades of their lives. Nonetheless, the choice to enter into these experience(s), whether at the time of occurrence - or on reflection at a later stage - emerged as a defining of their “journey” into te ao Māori; a journey of enriched, insightful and meaningful experiences that helped these Pākehā develop a more sophisticated understanding of te ao Māori and their relationship to Māori within that world. Thus, these Pākehā discovered that exploration into te ao Māori was a benefit to themselves as individual Pākehā. This thesis is an applied research study that draws from Homi Bhabha’s (1994) theory/concept of hybridity and movement between groups. I employed this approach because I was concerned with movement by a group member (Pākehā) toward another group (Māori). The research conceptualises Bhabha’s (1994) “third space” as an “experience” rather than a permanent positioning and explores ways in which change occurs for non hybrid group members who engage in the third space experience and, that a third space vocabulary exists for talking about shared experiences that does not put one’s own identity at risk. The main contributions of this research are threefold. Firstly, when Pākehā enter into te ao Māori they encounter third space experiences that reveal new and enriched ways to experience te ao Māori, and they develop a more sophisticated view of the Māori and Pākehā coloniser/colonial relation, its history, as well as present relations and pathways for future equal engagement. Secondly, third space experiences offer a “way forward” for Māori and Pākehā relationships that suggests an alternative to contestation and confrontation. Third, third space experiences provide a pathway toward a Pākehā educating Pākehā strategy; an accessible and practical outcome of a positive and rewarding alternative decolonisation process which helps other Pākehā discover a deeper understanding of their place in New Zealand. I argue that decolonisation and the Pākehā educating Pākehā strategy helps Pākehā learn from their lived experiences of “being Pākehā” - a phrase coined by historian Michael King (1985, 1999b).

year: 2011