title: "We're like the sex CPR dummies": Negotiating (hetero)sex in a university residential setting

authors: Brown, Juliana

subjects: sex(uality)

abstract: Moving from high school and the family home to living in a communal university residence can be a significant transition, especially in regard to sexual activity and knowledge. The influence of variable sexuality education programmes, family context, and personal experiences, means that young students come to university with a wide range of sexual knowledge and experiences. The purpose of this
thesis is to represent the current narratives about sexuality and heterosex that are both prevalent and important for university students living in the residential community setting.
This research utilised a qualitative approach, with participants who were living in a University of Waikato Halls of Residence taking part in a men-only, or a women-only, focus group. Semi-structured group interviews were also conducted with key informants who work and live in residential halls. Multiple themes were explicated from the focus groups and group interviews, with some discourses overlapping groups (e.g. all groups discussed contraception) and some discourses being distinct to particular groups (e.g. women talked about sexual coercion).
One key finding was the dominant narratives that impact young women’s sexual pleasure. Following on from this were the ramifications of the sexual double standard for young women when living in a community setting. An additional key point of attention was the prominence of problematic sexual narratives when transitioning to the ‘adulthood’ of living in university halls. While participants were primarily happy with residential halls, information was shared regarding
how residential staff can impact on student living and contentment. Above all, it seemed that the year in residential halls appeared to be a year of liminality, or transition between ‘youth’ and ‘adult’. The findings from this research suggest a need for further investigation into sexuality discourses that profoundly impact young women and men, as well as the novel experiences of residential living.

text: "We're like the sex CPR dummies": Negotiating (hetero)sex in a university residential setting Moving from high school and the family home to living in a communal university residence can be a significant transition, especially in regard to sexual activity and knowledge. The influence of variable sexuality education programmes, family context, and personal experiences, means that young students come to university with a wide range of sexual knowledge and experiences. The purpose of this
thesis is to represent the current narratives about sexuality and heterosex that are both prevalent and important for university students living in the residential community setting.
This research utilised a qualitative approach, with participants who were living in a University of Waikato Halls of Residence taking part in a men-only, or a women-only, focus group. Semi-structured group interviews were also conducted with key informants who work and live in residential halls. Multiple themes were explicated from the focus groups and group interviews, with some discourses overlapping groups (e.g. all groups discussed contraception) and some discourses being distinct to particular groups (e.g. women talked about sexual coercion).
One key finding was the dominant narratives that impact young women’s sexual pleasure. Following on from this were the ramifications of the sexual double standard for young women when living in a community setting. An additional key point of attention was the prominence of problematic sexual narratives when transitioning to the ‘adulthood’ of living in university halls. While participants were primarily happy with residential halls, information was shared regarding
how residential staff can impact on student living and contentment. Above all, it seemed that the year in residential halls appeared to be a year of liminality, or transition between ‘youth’ and ‘adult’. The findings from this research suggest a need for further investigation into sexuality discourses that profoundly impact young women and men, as well as the novel experiences of residential living.

year: 2016

title: Abandonment and rapid infilling of a tide-dominated distributary channel at 0.7 ka in the Mekong River Delta

authors: Gugliotta, Marcello

abstract: The Ba Lai distributary channel of the Mekong River Delta was abandoned and infilled with sediment during the Late Holocene, providing a unique opportunity to investigate the sediment fill, timing and mechanisms of channel abandonment in tide-dominated deltaic systems. Based on analysis and age dating of four sediment cores, we show that the channel was active since 2.6 ka and was abandoned at 0.7 ka as marked by the abrupt disappearance of the sand fraction and increase in organic matter and sediment accumulation rate. We estimate that the channel might have been filled in a time range of 45–263 years after detachment from the deltaic network, with sediment accumulation rates of centimetres to decimetres per year, rapidly storing approximately 600 Mt of organic-rich mud. We suggest that the channel was abandoned due to a sediment buildup favoured by an increase in regional sediment supply to the delta. This study highlights that mechanisms for abandonment and infilling of tide-dominated deltaic channels do not entirely fit widely used models developed for fluvial-dominated environments. Their abandonment might be driven by autogenic factors related to the river-tidal and deltaic dynamics and favoured by allogenic factors (e.g., human impact and/or climate change).</jats:p>

text: Abandonment and rapid infilling of a tide-dominated distributary channel at 0.7 ka in the Mekong River Delta The Ba Lai distributary channel of the Mekong River Delta was abandoned and infilled with sediment during the Late Holocene, providing a unique opportunity to investigate the sediment fill, timing and mechanisms of channel abandonment in tide-dominated deltaic systems. Based on analysis and age dating of four sediment cores, we show that the channel was active since 2.6 ka and was abandoned at 0.7 ka as marked by the abrupt disappearance of the sand fraction and increase in organic matter and sediment accumulation rate. We estimate that the channel might have been filled in a time range of 45–263 years after detachment from the deltaic network, with sediment accumulation rates of centimetres to decimetres per year, rapidly storing approximately 600 Mt of organic-rich mud. We suggest that the channel was abandoned due to a sediment buildup favoured by an increase in regional sediment supply to the delta. This study highlights that mechanisms for abandonment and infilling of tide-dominated deltaic channels do not entirely fit widely used models developed for fluvial-dominated environments. Their abandonment might be driven by autogenic factors related to the river-tidal and deltaic dynamics and favoured by allogenic factors (e.g., human impact and/or climate change).</jats:p>

year: 2021

title: Weaving the mat of Māori and Pacific learner success

authors: Tiakiwai, Sarah-Jane

subjects: Supporting learners, Pacific learner success, Māori learner success, higher education

abstract: The mat we are trying to weave at the University of Waikato to address educational outcomes, disparities and inequities in education for Māori and Pacific learners will weave rich data, stories and experience. Our goal is to use data to be better informed about what works for Māori and Pacific learners and what does not. Data is useful in building a more complete picture of what is happening to students, but student voice and previous research that has already captured the voices of Māori and Pacific experts, educators, students, families and communities can tell us more about why we are getting these outcomes. As we harness data to improve our knowledge, we must not forget the stories already in the mat and the stories being woven in the mat, for the stories are the gold.

This report details our work on this data-informed rather than data-driven project. It discusses how improved data and data analytic capability enhanced our understanding of the literature on Māori and Pacific learner success and the experience of Māori and Pacific learners at UoW. Our research and the report, however, also unapologetically privilege case studies through literature and Māori and Pacific student voices. We lay out the various materials – data, literature and voice – that will form our mat with this in mind, weaving them together in order to achieve better outcomes for Māori and Pacific learners at our university. These learners are the why of this mahi. Their success will create a beautiful pattern in the
weave.

text: Weaving the mat of Māori and Pacific learner success The mat we are trying to weave at the University of Waikato to address educational outcomes, disparities and inequities in education for Māori and Pacific learners will weave rich data, stories and experience. Our goal is to use data to be better informed about what works for Māori and Pacific learners and what does not. Data is useful in building a more complete picture of what is happening to students, but student voice and previous research that has already captured the voices of Māori and Pacific experts, educators, students, families and communities can tell us more about why we are getting these outcomes. As we harness data to improve our knowledge, we must not forget the stories already in the mat and the stories being woven in the mat, for the stories are the gold.

This report details our work on this data-informed rather than data-driven project. It discusses how improved data and data analytic capability enhanced our understanding of the literature on Māori and Pacific learner success and the experience of Māori and Pacific learners at UoW. Our research and the report, however, also unapologetically privilege case studies through literature and Māori and Pacific student voices. We lay out the various materials – data, literature and voice – that will form our mat with this in mind, weaving them together in order to achieve better outcomes for Māori and Pacific learners at our university. These learners are the why of this mahi. Their success will create a beautiful pattern in the
weave.

year: 2022-06