title: Re-Imaging the 'Kiwi Bloke': Low Places and Anxious Spaces in Aotearoa New Zealand

authors: Keppel, Jessica Jean

subjects: Masculinities

abstract: This thesis extends mental health geographies by examining how and in what ways emotions are performed and negotiated in place by men who experience anxiety and depression. The research seeks to explain men’s responses to, and lived experiences of, contemporary mental health campaigns and discourses in Aotearoa New Zealand. The research has two main questions. First, how do men respond to gendered mental health discourses in New Zealand media? Second, how do men, with anxiety and depression, emotionally experience and negotiate different spaces? The thesis aims to promote greater awareness of men’s mental health in Aotearoa New Zealand, and broaden critical geographical literature, by offering a new geography of hope.
New Zealand masculinity has been historically shaped alongside working-class culture, rugby union and ‘hard man’ stereotypes. These discourses marginalise men who experience emotional and mental ill-health. The research seeks to re-image the ‘kiwi bloke’ and make space for alternative health stories to be heard. The research is framed within health geography literature and feminist poststructuralist theories. I maintain that mental and emotional ill-health are affected through biopsychosocial relations and a myriad of spaces and places. I conducted critical discourse analysis on contemporary mental health campaigns. Nine men, who identify with or live in New Zealand, participated in semi-structured interviews, solicited diaries and follow-up questionnaires. The methodology is theoretically and empirically innovative, and seeks to find more appropriate interfaces for conducting critical gender and mental health research. 
My findings are organised around two spatial scales: the discursive space of mental health promotion and hegemonic New Zealand masculinity; and, the everyday emotional spatialities of men who experience anxiety and depression. I maintain that there is a ‘new national imaginary’ around men’s mental health promotion which influences a more intimate geography of hope. I assert social spaces prescribe men’s bodies with performances of hegemonic masculinity and that spatial power relations position men as object to marginalization in ‘peopled places’. I discuss how the men find ways to create meaningful healthy spaces in order to avoid the pressure felt in social spaces. Some men find wellbeing through embodying their home spaces, while others seek attachment to place, outside of their residential dwellings. Ultimately, this thesis provides a geography of hope by illustrating how some men elicit power, domination and control and resist mental illness stigma through their embodied spaces.

text: Re-Imaging the 'Kiwi Bloke': Low Places and Anxious Spaces in Aotearoa New Zealand This thesis extends mental health geographies by examining how and in what ways emotions are performed and negotiated in place by men who experience anxiety and depression. The research seeks to explain men’s responses to, and lived experiences of, contemporary mental health campaigns and discourses in Aotearoa New Zealand. The research has two main questions. First, how do men respond to gendered mental health discourses in New Zealand media? Second, how do men, with anxiety and depression, emotionally experience and negotiate different spaces? The thesis aims to promote greater awareness of men’s mental health in Aotearoa New Zealand, and broaden critical geographical literature, by offering a new geography of hope.
New Zealand masculinity has been historically shaped alongside working-class culture, rugby union and ‘hard man’ stereotypes. These discourses marginalise men who experience emotional and mental ill-health. The research seeks to re-image the ‘kiwi bloke’ and make space for alternative health stories to be heard. The research is framed within health geography literature and feminist poststructuralist theories. I maintain that mental and emotional ill-health are affected through biopsychosocial relations and a myriad of spaces and places. I conducted critical discourse analysis on contemporary mental health campaigns. Nine men, who identify with or live in New Zealand, participated in semi-structured interviews, solicited diaries and follow-up questionnaires. The methodology is theoretically and empirically innovative, and seeks to find more appropriate interfaces for conducting critical gender and mental health research. 
My findings are organised around two spatial scales: the discursive space of mental health promotion and hegemonic New Zealand masculinity; and, the everyday emotional spatialities of men who experience anxiety and depression. I maintain that there is a ‘new national imaginary’ around men’s mental health promotion which influences a more intimate geography of hope. I assert social spaces prescribe men’s bodies with performances of hegemonic masculinity and that spatial power relations position men as object to marginalization in ‘peopled places’. I discuss how the men find ways to create meaningful healthy spaces in order to avoid the pressure felt in social spaces. Some men find wellbeing through embodying their home spaces, while others seek attachment to place, outside of their residential dwellings. Ultimately, this thesis provides a geography of hope by illustrating how some men elicit power, domination and control and resist mental illness stigma through their embodied spaces.

year: 2012

title: Recurrent concept drifts on data streams

authors: Gunasekara, N

subjects: computer science

abstract: In an era where machine learning permeates every facet of human existence, and data evolves incessantly, the application of machine learning models transcends mere data processing. It involves navigating constant changes exemplified by the phenomenon of concept drift, which often affects model performance. These drifts can be recurrent due to the cyclic nature of the underlying data generation processes, which could be influenced by recurrent phenomena such as weather and time of the day. Stream Learning on data streams with recurrent concept drifts attempts to learn from such streams of data. The survey underscores the significance of the field and its practical applications, delving into nuanced definitions of machine learning for data streams afflicted by recurrent concept drifts. It explores diverse methodological approaches, elucidating their key design components. Additionally, it examines various evaluation techniques, benchmark datasets, and available software tailored for simulating and analysing data streams with recurrent concept drifts. Concluding, the survey offers insights into potential avenues for future research in the field.

text: Recurrent concept drifts on data streams In an era where machine learning permeates every facet of human existence, and data evolves incessantly, the application of machine learning models transcends mere data processing. It involves navigating constant changes exemplified by the phenomenon of concept drift, which often affects model performance. These drifts can be recurrent due to the cyclic nature of the underlying data generation processes, which could be influenced by recurrent phenomena such as weather and time of the day. Stream Learning on data streams with recurrent concept drifts attempts to learn from such streams of data. The survey underscores the significance of the field and its practical applications, delving into nuanced definitions of machine learning for data streams afflicted by recurrent concept drifts. It explores diverse methodological approaches, elucidating their key design components. Additionally, it examines various evaluation techniques, benchmark datasets, and available software tailored for simulating and analysing data streams with recurrent concept drifts. Concluding, the survey offers insights into potential avenues for future research in the field.

year: 2024

title: Conclusion: Relationships of interdependence—Making the difference together

authors: Berryman, Mere

abstract: This chapter begins by taking a brief look at New Zealand history. It then presents two different Māori whakataukī as metaphors, both to reconnect to the beginning of the book and also to make connections throughout the book as a whole. These metaphors are used to bring the chapters together and to consider how inclusion, a term that is often highly contested and poorly understood (Wearmouth, 2009), might begin to be better understood and applied when working with Māori children and young people with disabilities, or special education needs, or both, and with their families.

text: Conclusion: Relationships of interdependence—Making the difference together This chapter begins by taking a brief look at New Zealand history. It then presents two different Māori whakataukī as metaphors, both to reconnect to the beginning of the book and also to make connections throughout the book as a whole. These metaphors are used to bring the chapters together and to consider how inclusion, a term that is often highly contested and poorly understood (Wearmouth, 2009), might begin to be better understood and applied when working with Māori children and young people with disabilities, or special education needs, or both, and with their families.

year: 2015