title: Testing the infrequent purchases model using direct measurement of hidden consumption from food stocks

authors: Gibson, John

subjects: food consumption

abstract: Survey reports of zero expenditure result from either genuine non-consumption, or purchases undertaken too infrequently to observe during a survey, with hidden consumption from stocks. Infrequent purchase models rely on untested hypotheses to distinguish these types of zeros. We test such models with data from an unusual survey where food stocks are measured at the start and end of the survey reference period. Parameter estimates using these direct measures of hidden consumption out of stocks are compared with estimates from infrequent purchase models that attempt to recover this hidden consumption. The results suggest considerable bias when using the infrequent purchase models.

text: Testing the infrequent purchases model using direct measurement of hidden consumption from food stocks Survey reports of zero expenditure result from either genuine non-consumption, or purchases undertaken too infrequently to observe during a survey, with hidden consumption from stocks. Infrequent purchase models rely on untested hypotheses to distinguish these types of zeros. We test such models with data from an unusual survey where food stocks are measured at the start and end of the survey reference period. Parameter estimates using these direct measures of hidden consumption out of stocks are compared with estimates from infrequent purchase models that attempt to recover this hidden consumption. The results suggest considerable bias when using the infrequent purchase models.

year: 2012

title: Effects of the safe and sound protocol on wellbeing and auditory sensitivities among adults with auditory hypersensitivities.

authors: Khatri, Praveen

abstract: The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP), an auditory intervention involving specifically filtered music, based on polyvagal theory, is marketed as a listening therapy that regulates the nervous system and is therefore recommended for a range of problems including trauma, anxiety and sensory sensitivities. There is limited research on the effectiveness of this intervention so far. Most studies have been focused on children and adults with autism and therefore, the effectiveness of SSP across different populations remains unclear. Using a single-subject, within-subject multiple baseline experimental design, this study evaluated the effectiveness of the SSP on well-being and auditory sensitivities among people with self-reported auditory hypersensitivities. Eight participants were randomly assigned to filtered (SSP) or non-filtered music conditions. Participants who received unfiltered music intervention were offered the filtered music intervention later. Three out of four chose to receive filtered music intervention.  Psychological distress, positive and negative affect, psychological safety, and auditory sensitivity were measured before and after the intervention and were analysed using reliable change. The daily well-being ratings were taken throughout the study and were analysed using the percentage exceeding the median method. This study did not find any consistent evidence that the SSP reduces auditory hypersensitivity or improves well-being in these participants. Further research is necessary, employing both qualitative and RCT methodologies, to clarify the effects of SSP.

text: Effects of the safe and sound protocol on wellbeing and auditory sensitivities among adults with auditory hypersensitivities. The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP), an auditory intervention involving specifically filtered music, based on polyvagal theory, is marketed as a listening therapy that regulates the nervous system and is therefore recommended for a range of problems including trauma, anxiety and sensory sensitivities. There is limited research on the effectiveness of this intervention so far. Most studies have been focused on children and adults with autism and therefore, the effectiveness of SSP across different populations remains unclear. Using a single-subject, within-subject multiple baseline experimental design, this study evaluated the effectiveness of the SSP on well-being and auditory sensitivities among people with self-reported auditory hypersensitivities. Eight participants were randomly assigned to filtered (SSP) or non-filtered music conditions. Participants who received unfiltered music intervention were offered the filtered music intervention later. Three out of four chose to receive filtered music intervention.  Psychological distress, positive and negative affect, psychological safety, and auditory sensitivity were measured before and after the intervention and were analysed using reliable change. The daily well-being ratings were taken throughout the study and were analysed using the percentage exceeding the median method. This study did not find any consistent evidence that the SSP reduces auditory hypersensitivity or improves well-being in these participants. Further research is necessary, employing both qualitative and RCT methodologies, to clarify the effects of SSP.

year: 2025

title: Virtual hākari:  Sharing Māori culinary traditions in online communities

authors: Muru-Lanning, Charlotte

subjects: Kai Māori

abstract: For Māori, kai is a vital expression of identity, community, place and whakapapa. Traditionally, knowledge about kai is transmitted through customary community groupings and culturally embedded practices. However, with the rise of digital platforms, new spaces have emerged for Māori to gather and to share kai in virtual forms. 
This thesis observes how two Facebook groups – Kai Maori and KAI Basket NZ – operate as contemporary spaces for the transmission of Māori culinary knowledge and cultural identity. Kai Māori is considered alongside global studies of culinary traditions and understood through the notion of kai as whakapapa. The thesis addresses two core research questions: 1) How do Facebook groups contribute to an evolving concept of kai Māori? and 2) What kinds of relationships define these online kai communities? 
Guided by Māori data sovereignty (MDSov) principles, I observed interactions on both Facebook pages in two phases – one involving selective data collection over a twelve-month period from January to December 2024 the other involving systematic data collection over a four-week period from 10 December 2024 to 10 January 2025. The observation periods yielded 115 and 1293 posts respectively. A covert digital approach of ‘lurking’ was adopted as seeking prior consent may have affected the quality of the data and disrupted group dynamics. Lurking, as a method, sits uneasily alongside MDSov principles, particularly the principle of manaakitanga, requiring free, prior and informed consent. To address this I safeguarded the confidentiality of community members by seeking consent before reproducing content, removing group members’ names and excluding sensitive information. To analyse posts I used Ethnographic Content Analysis which allowed me to conduct a reflexive, iterative analysis of the posts in a way that was sensitive to the context in which the content was created.
These digital observations show that these groups serve as platforms for the transmission and innovation of kai Māori, encompassing edible components as well as the values enmeshed within these culinary traditions. Despite the mediated nature of these exchanges – where food is virtually consumed rather than physically shared, separate from traditional notions of community – these groups nurture meaningful connections among members, including those physically distant from their whenua. Through recipes, photos, stories, and commentary, the members of Kai Maori and KAI Basket NZ cultivate community identity and belonging via common cultural understandings, sharing of knowledge, a general spirit of sociality – and, importantly, a mutual love of kai.
I conceptualise these online spaces as virtual hākari, where the act of sharing virtual kai becomes an affirmation of identity and a form of cultural resistance. While online sharing may risk distancing kai practices and knowledge from traditional sites of transmission, the data suggests that these platforms may serve as conduits that encourage deeper cultural engagement offline. This thesis highlights the centrality of food in Māori cultural survival, sovereignty and resistance. In these digital spaces, kai Māori is not only celebrated but continually reimagined – reinforcing that to prepare, share and celebrate kai as Māori is to actively participate in the continuity of cultural identity.

text: Virtual hākari:  Sharing Māori culinary traditions in online communities For Māori, kai is a vital expression of identity, community, place and whakapapa. Traditionally, knowledge about kai is transmitted through customary community groupings and culturally embedded practices. However, with the rise of digital platforms, new spaces have emerged for Māori to gather and to share kai in virtual forms. 
This thesis observes how two Facebook groups – Kai Maori and KAI Basket NZ – operate as contemporary spaces for the transmission of Māori culinary knowledge and cultural identity. Kai Māori is considered alongside global studies of culinary traditions and understood through the notion of kai as whakapapa. The thesis addresses two core research questions: 1) How do Facebook groups contribute to an evolving concept of kai Māori? and 2) What kinds of relationships define these online kai communities? 
Guided by Māori data sovereignty (MDSov) principles, I observed interactions on both Facebook pages in two phases – one involving selective data collection over a twelve-month period from January to December 2024 the other involving systematic data collection over a four-week period from 10 December 2024 to 10 January 2025. The observation periods yielded 115 and 1293 posts respectively. A covert digital approach of ‘lurking’ was adopted as seeking prior consent may have affected the quality of the data and disrupted group dynamics. Lurking, as a method, sits uneasily alongside MDSov principles, particularly the principle of manaakitanga, requiring free, prior and informed consent. To address this I safeguarded the confidentiality of community members by seeking consent before reproducing content, removing group members’ names and excluding sensitive information. To analyse posts I used Ethnographic Content Analysis which allowed me to conduct a reflexive, iterative analysis of the posts in a way that was sensitive to the context in which the content was created.
These digital observations show that these groups serve as platforms for the transmission and innovation of kai Māori, encompassing edible components as well as the values enmeshed within these culinary traditions. Despite the mediated nature of these exchanges – where food is virtually consumed rather than physically shared, separate from traditional notions of community – these groups nurture meaningful connections among members, including those physically distant from their whenua. Through recipes, photos, stories, and commentary, the members of Kai Maori and KAI Basket NZ cultivate community identity and belonging via common cultural understandings, sharing of knowledge, a general spirit of sociality – and, importantly, a mutual love of kai.
I conceptualise these online spaces as virtual hākari, where the act of sharing virtual kai becomes an affirmation of identity and a form of cultural resistance. While online sharing may risk distancing kai practices and knowledge from traditional sites of transmission, the data suggests that these platforms may serve as conduits that encourage deeper cultural engagement offline. This thesis highlights the centrality of food in Māori cultural survival, sovereignty and resistance. In these digital spaces, kai Māori is not only celebrated but continually reimagined – reinforcing that to prepare, share and celebrate kai as Māori is to actively participate in the continuity of cultural identity.

year: 2025