title: Mindfulness-Based Attention Training in the Navy: A Feasibility Study

authors: Roemer, Anja

subjects: military training

abstract: Mind wandering is common during daily activities and is even more prevalent under stressful conditions, which could lead to lapses in attention and poor performance. Newly recruited military personnel who undergo demanding training often experience high levels of stress. It is therefore imperative to find ways to foster mental health and avoid performance deterioration related to mind wandering in times of intense military training. This feasibility study investigated the effectiveness of an established low-dose mindfulness-based intervention (MBI), called Mindfulness-based Attention Training (MBAT), on mind wandering, attentional performance, and well-being, delivered by a facilitator who was taught how to deliver MBAT. A sample of newly recruited Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) Junior Officers (n = 17) undergoing demanding training participated in the 8-week long MBI with one weekly contact session. Measures of well-being and the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) were completed 4 weeks prior to the MBAT, at the start of the MBAT, at the end of the MBAT and 4 weeks after completion of the MBAT. Results suggest that MBAT might protect from performance decline during intense training and enhance levels of well-being at follow-up. These findings highlight the valuable role of mindfulness as a component in military training.

text: Mindfulness-Based Attention Training in the Navy: A Feasibility Study Mind wandering is common during daily activities and is even more prevalent under stressful conditions, which could lead to lapses in attention and poor performance. Newly recruited military personnel who undergo demanding training often experience high levels of stress. It is therefore imperative to find ways to foster mental health and avoid performance deterioration related to mind wandering in times of intense military training. This feasibility study investigated the effectiveness of an established low-dose mindfulness-based intervention (MBI), called Mindfulness-based Attention Training (MBAT), on mind wandering, attentional performance, and well-being, delivered by a facilitator who was taught how to deliver MBAT. A sample of newly recruited Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) Junior Officers (n = 17) undergoing demanding training participated in the 8-week long MBI with one weekly contact session. Measures of well-being and the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) were completed 4 weeks prior to the MBAT, at the start of the MBAT, at the end of the MBAT and 4 weeks after completion of the MBAT. Results suggest that MBAT might protect from performance decline during intense training and enhance levels of well-being at follow-up. These findings highlight the valuable role of mindfulness as a component in military training.

year: 2023-02-01

title: The Role of Viral Systems in Nutrient Cycling

authors: Dennis, Marie Ann

subjects: viral-like particles

abstract: The Te Arawa/Rotorua lakes located in the central North Island of New Zealand have significant cultural, historic, social and economic value. Anthropogenic changes in land use have led to a decline in water quality in some lakes. A number of lakes have accelerated eutrophication with recurring cyanobacterial blooms and periods of bottom-water anoxia. Whilst there has been extensive research undertaken on phytoplankton dynamics in freshwater lakes there is little information on the abundance and activity of viral-like particles (VLPs) and bacteria. VLPs are the most abundant biological entities in aquatic environments and play an important role in carbon and nutrient cycling, reproducing either by cell lysis or replication in the host cell. Bacterial community structure is thought to be closely linked to the viral community and bacterial taxa have a key role in biochemical cycling in freshwater systems.
Two Te Arawa/Rotorua monomictic lakes differing in their trophic status; oligotrophic Lake Tikitapu and eutrophic Lake Okaro, were sampled over a 12-month period at the surface (epilimnion) and bottom (hypolimnion) and through a discrete layer of the thermocline during stratification. The thermocline is a region where there may be steep clines in physiochemical parameters (e.g., dissolved oxygen) which may strongly affect the distribution of, and environmental factors that influence, prokaryotes, protozoa and viruses. Physiochemical variables, nutrients, microbiological and molecular analyses were undertaken on samples in order to compare and contrast changes occurring within and between the two lakes.
Both lakes were strongly stratified for c. 8 months from September 2009 to June 2010 as indicated by Schmidt stability values > 1, which contributed to well-lit but nutrient-limited surface waters for phytoplankton productivity. With increasing duration of stratification a deep chlorophyll maximum formed in both lakes with Chlorophyta and Euglenophyta the dominant phytoplankton.
Viral-like particle abundance in both lakes exceeded bacterial abundance by a factor of c. 100, with maximum VLP and bacterial abundances in both lakes c. 10⁸ cells mL-¹ and 10⁶ cells mL-¹, respectively. Bacterial abundance in both lakes was similar in the epilimnion and hypolimnion during stratification with the exception of a peak (2 x 10⁷ cells mL-¹) in the epilimnion of Lake Okaro in February 2010 (and in the hypolimnion (9.74 x 10⁶ cells mL-¹) in March 2010 of in Lake Tikitapu. Viral-like particle abundance was variable but the epilimnion and hypolimnion tracked in both lakes between August 2009 and January 2010 after which Lake Okaro epilimnion and hypolimnion remained steady with Lake Tikitapu hypolimnion showing considerably higher VLP abundance than the epilimnion before tracking together in June 2010.
The abundance of the following bacterial functional genes was monitored through the study; nifH (encoding the nitrogenase reductase protein), dsrA (encoding the sulphate reductase protein), mcrA (encoding the methyl coenzyme M reductase protein), amoA (encoding the ammonium oxidising protein and nosZ (encoding for the nitrous oxide reductase protein). The occurrence of the nifH gene correlated with increased abundance of cyanobacteria capable of fixing nitrogen in the epilimnion of both lakes while the dsrA gene was more abundant in Lake Okaro, likely due to higher organic matter concentrations and greater duration and spatial extent of reducing conditions in that lake. Abundance of mcrA was expected to be high in the anoxic waters of the nutrient rich sediment of Lake Okaro but there was very low abundance. The amoA genes were detected when concentrations of ammonium were elevated in the bottom waters of both lakes. Both lakes showed the presence nosZ genes with high abundance occurring in Lake Okaro in December 2009 through all levels and also in December 2009 in Lake Tikitapu in the epilimnion and hypolimnion. With denitrification reliant on the availability of nitrate (NO3-N) and dissolved organic carbon levels and performed by obligate and facultative anaerobes, conditions need to be precise for the process to occur.

text: The Role of Viral Systems in Nutrient Cycling The Te Arawa/Rotorua lakes located in the central North Island of New Zealand have significant cultural, historic, social and economic value. Anthropogenic changes in land use have led to a decline in water quality in some lakes. A number of lakes have accelerated eutrophication with recurring cyanobacterial blooms and periods of bottom-water anoxia. Whilst there has been extensive research undertaken on phytoplankton dynamics in freshwater lakes there is little information on the abundance and activity of viral-like particles (VLPs) and bacteria. VLPs are the most abundant biological entities in aquatic environments and play an important role in carbon and nutrient cycling, reproducing either by cell lysis or replication in the host cell. Bacterial community structure is thought to be closely linked to the viral community and bacterial taxa have a key role in biochemical cycling in freshwater systems.
Two Te Arawa/Rotorua monomictic lakes differing in their trophic status; oligotrophic Lake Tikitapu and eutrophic Lake Okaro, were sampled over a 12-month period at the surface (epilimnion) and bottom (hypolimnion) and through a discrete layer of the thermocline during stratification. The thermocline is a region where there may be steep clines in physiochemical parameters (e.g., dissolved oxygen) which may strongly affect the distribution of, and environmental factors that influence, prokaryotes, protozoa and viruses. Physiochemical variables, nutrients, microbiological and molecular analyses were undertaken on samples in order to compare and contrast changes occurring within and between the two lakes.
Both lakes were strongly stratified for c. 8 months from September 2009 to June 2010 as indicated by Schmidt stability values > 1, which contributed to well-lit but nutrient-limited surface waters for phytoplankton productivity. With increasing duration of stratification a deep chlorophyll maximum formed in both lakes with Chlorophyta and Euglenophyta the dominant phytoplankton.
Viral-like particle abundance in both lakes exceeded bacterial abundance by a factor of c. 100, with maximum VLP and bacterial abundances in both lakes c. 10⁸ cells mL-¹ and 10⁶ cells mL-¹, respectively. Bacterial abundance in both lakes was similar in the epilimnion and hypolimnion during stratification with the exception of a peak (2 x 10⁷ cells mL-¹) in the epilimnion of Lake Okaro in February 2010 (and in the hypolimnion (9.74 x 10⁶ cells mL-¹) in March 2010 of in Lake Tikitapu. Viral-like particle abundance was variable but the epilimnion and hypolimnion tracked in both lakes between August 2009 and January 2010 after which Lake Okaro epilimnion and hypolimnion remained steady with Lake Tikitapu hypolimnion showing considerably higher VLP abundance than the epilimnion before tracking together in June 2010.
The abundance of the following bacterial functional genes was monitored through the study; nifH (encoding the nitrogenase reductase protein), dsrA (encoding the sulphate reductase protein), mcrA (encoding the methyl coenzyme M reductase protein), amoA (encoding the ammonium oxidising protein and nosZ (encoding for the nitrous oxide reductase protein). The occurrence of the nifH gene correlated with increased abundance of cyanobacteria capable of fixing nitrogen in the epilimnion of both lakes while the dsrA gene was more abundant in Lake Okaro, likely due to higher organic matter concentrations and greater duration and spatial extent of reducing conditions in that lake. Abundance of mcrA was expected to be high in the anoxic waters of the nutrient rich sediment of Lake Okaro but there was very low abundance. The amoA genes were detected when concentrations of ammonium were elevated in the bottom waters of both lakes. Both lakes showed the presence nosZ genes with high abundance occurring in Lake Okaro in December 2009 through all levels and also in December 2009 in Lake Tikitapu in the epilimnion and hypolimnion. With denitrification reliant on the availability of nitrate (NO3-N) and dissolved organic carbon levels and performed by obligate and facultative anaerobes, conditions need to be precise for the process to occur.

year: 2011

title: Youth Development Circles: A Report on a School Trial

authors: Hannah, Belinda Anne

subjects: Youth Development Circles

abstract: This research traces the development and trial of the Youth Development Circle (YDC) process in a low decile secondary school in a rural community in Aotearoa New Zealand. Youth Development Circles are an intervention based on restorative justice principles initially proposed by Braithwaite (2004). They were originally suggested as a strategy for use in an alternative education centre or “activity centre”.  Increasing use of restorative approaches has enabled many schools to make significant progress in reducing suspensions, but there remains a concern for students whose behaviour is at the more serious end of the spectrum - who are at risk of suspension, or exclusion, after multiple stand-downs from school.  The possibilities for the use of YDC were proposed to the school by the researcher, who is a Deputy Principal responsible for behaviour management and pastoral care.  This proposal was supported fully by the school’s staff and Board of Trustees.  The YDC process documented in this study was developed by the researcher, informed by a range of sources including Youth Development Circles, Judge McElrea’s proposed School Community Conference (1996), and Hui Whakatika, developed at the University of Waikato (2003).  Participation in the circles was a condition for the student to remain at the school. The school is a state school, with a roll of approximately 800. The ethnic breakdown of the students is 56% Māori and 39% NZ European with 5% of Pasifika, Asian and other.  

The YDC is a deliberate and careful process which aims to bring increased focus on the individual student and their educational outcomes, through engaging a community of care in supporting them. There were many anticipated benefits of the YDC for the student. Such benefits included an opportunity to establish and maintain healthy relationships of trust (within which negative experiences can be learned from), a re-establishment of trust, improved self-confidence and improved educational outcomes. The circles included members of the student’s whānau/family, a kaumātua/elder who cared about them, and representatives from local Police, Social Welfare, and the school.  The circles were studied over a period of one year.  Circles met regularly throughout this time, at increasing intervals.

A mixed method case study approach was used for this research which includes the collection of both quantitative and qualitative data. The study evaluated the effectiveness of the YDCs by analysing student behaviour, attendance and achievement KAMAR data, minutes of each circle meeting, and interviews with circle participants.


Three student case studies are presented.  The stories have had details altered and pseudonyms used to protect the persons involved. All the students completed the academic year without receiving a further stand down or suspension.  The data showed an improvement in student attendance, achievement and engagement in all three case studies.  Other outcomes include reflections on the process used, strategies for implementation in the school, and factors that either hindered or supported student, family or community involvement in YDCs. 

This exploratory study suggests that the Youth Development Circle could offer a unique possibility for inter-sectorial collaboration in the field of restorative justice.

text: Youth Development Circles: A Report on a School Trial This research traces the development and trial of the Youth Development Circle (YDC) process in a low decile secondary school in a rural community in Aotearoa New Zealand. Youth Development Circles are an intervention based on restorative justice principles initially proposed by Braithwaite (2004). They were originally suggested as a strategy for use in an alternative education centre or “activity centre”.  Increasing use of restorative approaches has enabled many schools to make significant progress in reducing suspensions, but there remains a concern for students whose behaviour is at the more serious end of the spectrum - who are at risk of suspension, or exclusion, after multiple stand-downs from school.  The possibilities for the use of YDC were proposed to the school by the researcher, who is a Deputy Principal responsible for behaviour management and pastoral care.  This proposal was supported fully by the school’s staff and Board of Trustees.  The YDC process documented in this study was developed by the researcher, informed by a range of sources including Youth Development Circles, Judge McElrea’s proposed School Community Conference (1996), and Hui Whakatika, developed at the University of Waikato (2003).  Participation in the circles was a condition for the student to remain at the school. The school is a state school, with a roll of approximately 800. The ethnic breakdown of the students is 56% Māori and 39% NZ European with 5% of Pasifika, Asian and other.  

The YDC is a deliberate and careful process which aims to bring increased focus on the individual student and their educational outcomes, through engaging a community of care in supporting them. There were many anticipated benefits of the YDC for the student. Such benefits included an opportunity to establish and maintain healthy relationships of trust (within which negative experiences can be learned from), a re-establishment of trust, improved self-confidence and improved educational outcomes. The circles included members of the student’s whānau/family, a kaumātua/elder who cared about them, and representatives from local Police, Social Welfare, and the school.  The circles were studied over a period of one year.  Circles met regularly throughout this time, at increasing intervals.

A mixed method case study approach was used for this research which includes the collection of both quantitative and qualitative data. The study evaluated the effectiveness of the YDCs by analysing student behaviour, attendance and achievement KAMAR data, minutes of each circle meeting, and interviews with circle participants.


Three student case studies are presented.  The stories have had details altered and pseudonyms used to protect the persons involved. All the students completed the academic year without receiving a further stand down or suspension.  The data showed an improvement in student attendance, achievement and engagement in all three case studies.  Other outcomes include reflections on the process used, strategies for implementation in the school, and factors that either hindered or supported student, family or community involvement in YDCs. 

This exploratory study suggests that the Youth Development Circle could offer a unique possibility for inter-sectorial collaboration in the field of restorative justice.

year: 2015