title: National Kava Forum Report : Moving kava forward in Australia

authors: Manikis, Nic

abstract: The National Kava Forum held on 18 June 2021 was organised by an enthusiastic team from Fair Canberra Inc as the first in a series of forums planned for 2021 on topics of interest to members of our organisation.
Fair Canberra Inc is a not-for-profit community Association incorporated in August 2017 with the objective to advocate for issues of interest and concern to Canberra’s multicultural community groups.
A significant number of members of Fair Canberra Inc have a Pacific Island background and each hold a deep cultural interest in the topic of kava.
Pacific Islander members of Fair Canberra Inc have made it clear that kava has a deep cultural, social and economic significance across the region. They have stressed that kava is not alcohol and does not have hallucinogenic properties nor does it inhibit reasoning or affect driving in the same manner as alcohol or cannabis. Members have further pointed out that scientific evidence shows that kava usage does not cause any serious, long-term health issues.
The National Kava Forum was organised at the request of members of Fair Canberra Inc as they were keen to learn about the Australian Government’s plans for kava importation and wanted their voices heard by those responsible for decision making on the issue.
The National Kava Forum produced valuable feedback from both community representatives and from experts relying on science about the way kava is perceived in Australia.
This report outlines what changes need to be made and how those changes would be best implemented.
This report contains recommendations and insights which I am confident decision makers who are responsible for implementing Government policy on kava related matters would find useful.

text: National Kava Forum Report : Moving kava forward in Australia The National Kava Forum held on 18 June 2021 was organised by an enthusiastic team from Fair Canberra Inc as the first in a series of forums planned for 2021 on topics of interest to members of our organisation.
Fair Canberra Inc is a not-for-profit community Association incorporated in August 2017 with the objective to advocate for issues of interest and concern to Canberra’s multicultural community groups.
A significant number of members of Fair Canberra Inc have a Pacific Island background and each hold a deep cultural interest in the topic of kava.
Pacific Islander members of Fair Canberra Inc have made it clear that kava has a deep cultural, social and economic significance across the region. They have stressed that kava is not alcohol and does not have hallucinogenic properties nor does it inhibit reasoning or affect driving in the same manner as alcohol or cannabis. Members have further pointed out that scientific evidence shows that kava usage does not cause any serious, long-term health issues.
The National Kava Forum was organised at the request of members of Fair Canberra Inc as they were keen to learn about the Australian Government’s plans for kava importation and wanted their voices heard by those responsible for decision making on the issue.
The National Kava Forum produced valuable feedback from both community representatives and from experts relying on science about the way kava is perceived in Australia.
This report outlines what changes need to be made and how those changes would be best implemented.
This report contains recommendations and insights which I am confident decision makers who are responsible for implementing Government policy on kava related matters would find useful.

year: 2021

title: Social media and the evolution of vaccine preferences during the COVID-19 pandemic: Discrete choice experiment

authors: Maris, R

subjects: COVID-19

abstract: Vaccine information and misinformation are spread through social media in ways that may vary by platform. Understanding the role social media plays in shaping vaccine preferences is crucial for policymakers and researchers.


          
          
            Objective


            This study aims to test whether social media use is associated with changes in vaccine preferences during the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand, and whether trust in sources of information has a moderating role.


          
          
            Methods


            Our data consist of a balanced panel of 257 web-based respondents in New Zealand in August 2020, October-November 2020, and March-April 2021. We use a novel approach with stated choice panel data to study transitions between different vaccine preference groups. We analyze the associations between these transitions and social media use. We classify respondents as resistant (never chose a vaccine), hesitant (chose a vaccine between 1 and 5 times), and provaccine (chose a vaccine 6 out of 6 times) in each wave of data.


          
          
            Results


            We found a positive or neutral association between social media use and vaccine uptake. Facebook, Twitter (pre-2022), and TikTok users who are provaccine are less likely to become hesitant or resistant. Facebook and Instagram users who are hesitant are more likely to become pro. Some social media platforms may have a more positive association with vaccine uptake preferences for those who do not trust the government.


          
          
            Conclusions


            The paper contributes to the wider literature, which shows social media can be associated with reinforcing both pro and antivaccination sentiment, and these results depend on where individuals get their information from and their trust in such sources.

text: Social media and the evolution of vaccine preferences during the COVID-19 pandemic: Discrete choice experiment Vaccine information and misinformation are spread through social media in ways that may vary by platform. Understanding the role social media plays in shaping vaccine preferences is crucial for policymakers and researchers.


          
          
            Objective


            This study aims to test whether social media use is associated with changes in vaccine preferences during the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand, and whether trust in sources of information has a moderating role.


          
          
            Methods


            Our data consist of a balanced panel of 257 web-based respondents in New Zealand in August 2020, October-November 2020, and March-April 2021. We use a novel approach with stated choice panel data to study transitions between different vaccine preference groups. We analyze the associations between these transitions and social media use. We classify respondents as resistant (never chose a vaccine), hesitant (chose a vaccine between 1 and 5 times), and provaccine (chose a vaccine 6 out of 6 times) in each wave of data.


          
          
            Results


            We found a positive or neutral association between social media use and vaccine uptake. Facebook, Twitter (pre-2022), and TikTok users who are provaccine are less likely to become hesitant or resistant. Facebook and Instagram users who are hesitant are more likely to become pro. Some social media platforms may have a more positive association with vaccine uptake preferences for those who do not trust the government.


          
          
            Conclusions


            The paper contributes to the wider literature, which shows social media can be associated with reinforcing both pro and antivaccination sentiment, and these results depend on where individuals get their information from and their trust in such sources.

year: 2025

title: The Effects of a Shared Reading Intervention on the English Reading Skills of Year One Students in a Level Two Māori-medium Educational Context

authors: Te Arihi, Kylie

subjects: English Reading Skills

abstract: One of the biggest challenges confronting literacy education in Aotearoa  New Zealand is accommodating the differences in English reading-related variables at school entry to produce equitable outcomes in later reading achievement (Wilkinson, Freebody, & Elkins, 2000).  English-medium schools in Aotearoa struggle to negotiate effective literacy practices that validate and cater for the cognitive, cultural, and linguistic differences children bring to the process of learning to read in English.  Whereas, the role of English reading instruction in Māori-medium schools has been an under-researched and controversial issue.  How to accommodate for these differences to achieve equitable English reading outcomes in a year 1 level 2 Māori-medium context is the theme that this research seeks to explore.
	This Masters thesis reports on a shared reading intervention that explicitly teaches phonological awareness and alphabet knowledge to examine its effects on the English reading skills of year 1 students in a level 2 Māori-medium setting.  The research implemented a Kaupapa Māori framework and used interviews, surveys, reliable literacy measures, and research-based literacy instruction to explore reading acquisition for this particular cohort.  Thus, the purposes of the study were (a) to glean an in-depth understanding of the literacy and language practices that potentially shaped the participants English reading–related variables, (b) to examine the range of English reading-related skills for this cohort, and (c) to determine the effects of the intervention on their English reading skills.
	Eight students were divided and matched with a pair according to their reported pre-test phonemic awareness and alphabet knowledge scores, and then randomly assigned to either an intervention (n = 4) or treatment control (n = 4) group.  The intervention programme was carried out over a six week period and comprised 12, 30 minute lessons that integrated phonological and alphabetic based decoding skills within the shared reading approach.  The duration of the treatment control programme was also carried out over a six week period and comprised 12, 30 minutes lessons that integrated semantic, syntactic, and visual graphophonic sources of information to recognise words.  The results indicated the breadth and depth of English reading skills in year 1 level 2 Māori-medium contexts are diverse and the children had a positive attitude and sense of efficacy towards reading.  A comparison of the test results between the intervention and treatment control group demonstrated that a shared reading intervention that focused explicitly on phonological awareness and alphabet knowledge is effective in raising letter-naming knowledge, pseudoword decoding, phonemic awareness, and invented spelling.  The results are discussed in light of theoretical assumptions about reading acquisition that underlie word-base and text-base approaches to word recognition.
	Overall, this study supports the development and reform of training and professional development opportunities in phonological awareness and alphabet knowledge to better support, inform, and educate Aotearoa reading teachers.  This study contributes to the knowledge of English reading acquisition that validate the depth and breadth of early cognitive and linguistic differences to increase equitable English reading outcomes in level 2 Māori-medium contexts.

text: The Effects of a Shared Reading Intervention on the English Reading Skills of Year One Students in a Level Two Māori-medium Educational Context One of the biggest challenges confronting literacy education in Aotearoa  New Zealand is accommodating the differences in English reading-related variables at school entry to produce equitable outcomes in later reading achievement (Wilkinson, Freebody, & Elkins, 2000).  English-medium schools in Aotearoa struggle to negotiate effective literacy practices that validate and cater for the cognitive, cultural, and linguistic differences children bring to the process of learning to read in English.  Whereas, the role of English reading instruction in Māori-medium schools has been an under-researched and controversial issue.  How to accommodate for these differences to achieve equitable English reading outcomes in a year 1 level 2 Māori-medium context is the theme that this research seeks to explore.
	This Masters thesis reports on a shared reading intervention that explicitly teaches phonological awareness and alphabet knowledge to examine its effects on the English reading skills of year 1 students in a level 2 Māori-medium setting.  The research implemented a Kaupapa Māori framework and used interviews, surveys, reliable literacy measures, and research-based literacy instruction to explore reading acquisition for this particular cohort.  Thus, the purposes of the study were (a) to glean an in-depth understanding of the literacy and language practices that potentially shaped the participants English reading–related variables, (b) to examine the range of English reading-related skills for this cohort, and (c) to determine the effects of the intervention on their English reading skills.
	Eight students were divided and matched with a pair according to their reported pre-test phonemic awareness and alphabet knowledge scores, and then randomly assigned to either an intervention (n = 4) or treatment control (n = 4) group.  The intervention programme was carried out over a six week period and comprised 12, 30 minute lessons that integrated phonological and alphabetic based decoding skills within the shared reading approach.  The duration of the treatment control programme was also carried out over a six week period and comprised 12, 30 minutes lessons that integrated semantic, syntactic, and visual graphophonic sources of information to recognise words.  The results indicated the breadth and depth of English reading skills in year 1 level 2 Māori-medium contexts are diverse and the children had a positive attitude and sense of efficacy towards reading.  A comparison of the test results between the intervention and treatment control group demonstrated that a shared reading intervention that focused explicitly on phonological awareness and alphabet knowledge is effective in raising letter-naming knowledge, pseudoword decoding, phonemic awareness, and invented spelling.  The results are discussed in light of theoretical assumptions about reading acquisition that underlie word-base and text-base approaches to word recognition.
	Overall, this study supports the development and reform of training and professional development opportunities in phonological awareness and alphabet knowledge to better support, inform, and educate Aotearoa reading teachers.  This study contributes to the knowledge of English reading acquisition that validate the depth and breadth of early cognitive and linguistic differences to increase equitable English reading outcomes in level 2 Māori-medium contexts.

year: 2014