title: The merits of using citation‐based journal weighting schemes to measure research performance in economics: The case of New Zealand

authors: Anderson, David L.

subjects: Economics Departments

abstract: In this study we test various citation‐based journal weighting schemes, especially those based on the Liebowitz and Palmer methodology, as to their suitability for use in a nationwide research funding model. Using data generated by New Zealand’s academic economists, we compare the performance of departments, and individuals, under each of our selected schemes; and we then proceed to contrast these results with those generated by direct citation counts. Our findings suggest that if all citations are deemed to be of equal value, then schemes based on the Liebowitz and Palmer methodology yield problematic outcomes. We also demonstrate that even between weighting schemes based on a common methodology, major differences are found to exist in departmental and individual outcomes.

text: The merits of using citation‐based journal weighting schemes to measure research performance in economics: The case of New Zealand In this study we test various citation‐based journal weighting schemes, especially those based on the Liebowitz and Palmer methodology, as to their suitability for use in a nationwide research funding model. Using data generated by New Zealand’s academic economists, we compare the performance of departments, and individuals, under each of our selected schemes; and we then proceed to contrast these results with those generated by direct citation counts. Our findings suggest that if all citations are deemed to be of equal value, then schemes based on the Liebowitz and Palmer methodology yield problematic outcomes. We also demonstrate that even between weighting schemes based on a common methodology, major differences are found to exist in departmental and individual outcomes.

year: 2010-05

title: “She Watches Over Her Household”: Wellbeing of mothers and children in motherled households

authors: Hunter, Rachel Lamdin

subjects: Wellbeing

abstract: Wellbeing is a term used in everyday conversation, and by health professionals, policy writers and analysts, economists and others, to sum up one’s ability to flourish and live a rewarding, fruitful life. Family is deemed a significant source and determinant of wellbeing. Here, people may expect to receive the love, nurturance, and belonging all humans need to thrive, as well as the most basic needs for food, shelter and warmth. The many forms of family in societies such asNew Zealand are of interest to those who posit that the conduct and wellbeing of mothers in families, is central to the flourishing of all within.
Some families are believed to hold better promise of wellbeing than others. Families with mothers at the helm, motherled households, are constructed in research and public discourse, and enacted in policy, as sites of social and economic peril. Studies abound in which women and children in motherled households are depicted as suffering social isolation, lacking moral support, and experiencing material poverty.
In this study I explore wellbeing in motherled households. My lived experience as nurse specialising in maternal, child and family health, and as a single mother for some time, is pertinent. Using Judi Marshall’s (1999) notion of life lived as the basis for inquiry, I grounded my study in a subjective, storied frame in which I troubled notions of wellbeing in families – notions which I had read in research, enacted in policy and practice, and questioned.
Berger and Luckmann (1966) theorised that what is understood as true or real, is a result of socially-fabricated claims to truth; that is, they posit the social construction of reality. I explore the conditions under which truths about families and motherhood are constructed, bolstered by research, enacted in and enacting institutionalised policy.
Institutionalised constructions of wellbeing and families constitute narratives writ large in research, policy and everyday conversation. I posit these as an example of the petrified grand narratives brought to my attention in the work of Boje (2008a). I read them now as monolithic, simplified and ultimately limited (and limiting) accounts of our humanity. The generation of living stories and their attendant many-voiced ante-narratives are seen as “bets on the future” (Boje, 2001), stories along the way to narrative. Antenarratives may interrupt or endorse a grand narrative. My thesis is a quest to story a version of those in motherled households which is rich and hopeful.
My noticing of contradictions in these grand narratives led me to seek conversations with mothers, and to share their stories in a reconstructed conversation. These mothers understood wellbeing in their motherled household as a deeply entwined and connected process. Women storied wellbeing in unique, individual, and evolving ways. These women valued their families as sites of purpose, wellbeing and intentionality, a version of family and wellbeing not told elsewhere.
Storytelling contributes to versions of mothering in which women and children flourish, foregrounding activist hopes for research about families. Reflexive storytelling approaches challenge those concerned with making a difference through research and policy formation, through individual practices and everyday conversation.

text: “She Watches Over Her Household”: Wellbeing of mothers and children in motherled households Wellbeing is a term used in everyday conversation, and by health professionals, policy writers and analysts, economists and others, to sum up one’s ability to flourish and live a rewarding, fruitful life. Family is deemed a significant source and determinant of wellbeing. Here, people may expect to receive the love, nurturance, and belonging all humans need to thrive, as well as the most basic needs for food, shelter and warmth. The many forms of family in societies such asNew Zealand are of interest to those who posit that the conduct and wellbeing of mothers in families, is central to the flourishing of all within.
Some families are believed to hold better promise of wellbeing than others. Families with mothers at the helm, motherled households, are constructed in research and public discourse, and enacted in policy, as sites of social and economic peril. Studies abound in which women and children in motherled households are depicted as suffering social isolation, lacking moral support, and experiencing material poverty.
In this study I explore wellbeing in motherled households. My lived experience as nurse specialising in maternal, child and family health, and as a single mother for some time, is pertinent. Using Judi Marshall’s (1999) notion of life lived as the basis for inquiry, I grounded my study in a subjective, storied frame in which I troubled notions of wellbeing in families – notions which I had read in research, enacted in policy and practice, and questioned.
Berger and Luckmann (1966) theorised that what is understood as true or real, is a result of socially-fabricated claims to truth; that is, they posit the social construction of reality. I explore the conditions under which truths about families and motherhood are constructed, bolstered by research, enacted in and enacting institutionalised policy.
Institutionalised constructions of wellbeing and families constitute narratives writ large in research, policy and everyday conversation. I posit these as an example of the petrified grand narratives brought to my attention in the work of Boje (2008a). I read them now as monolithic, simplified and ultimately limited (and limiting) accounts of our humanity. The generation of living stories and their attendant many-voiced ante-narratives are seen as “bets on the future” (Boje, 2001), stories along the way to narrative. Antenarratives may interrupt or endorse a grand narrative. My thesis is a quest to story a version of those in motherled households which is rich and hopeful.
My noticing of contradictions in these grand narratives led me to seek conversations with mothers, and to share their stories in a reconstructed conversation. These mothers understood wellbeing in their motherled household as a deeply entwined and connected process. Women storied wellbeing in unique, individual, and evolving ways. These women valued their families as sites of purpose, wellbeing and intentionality, a version of family and wellbeing not told elsewhere.
Storytelling contributes to versions of mothering in which women and children flourish, foregrounding activist hopes for research about families. Reflexive storytelling approaches challenge those concerned with making a difference through research and policy formation, through individual practices and everyday conversation.

year: 2017

title: Young Maori males experiences in a secondary school context as sporting, academic and cultural identities.

authors: Porteous, Erin

subjects: Male Maori

abstract: This research focused on the journey of male Māori through secondary school and the effect on their identities in terms of sport, culture and academia. The two key areas of focus were how the culture of the school, including cultural stereotypes, impacts on male Māori learner self-concept, and whether the effect of creating an all Māori boys form class has resulted in an increased sense of belonging and engagement. 
The research was conducted as a case study underpinned by an interpretive methodology, using a focus group interview. The group was made up of five boys, chosen from a newly formed all boys’ Year 11 Māori form class. The boys were selected in conjunction with their form teacher and the schools Kaitiaki, in order to reflect a range of sporting, academic and cultural levels. 
The research findings found that although the boys view of their experiences in school seemed positive overall, they described common incidences and reactions to racial discrimination. The exposure to embedded racial stereotypes and behaviours caused them to create their own solutions, often through threatening violence or aggressive reactions. It appears that when young male Māori are more closely connected to Māori culture, they are more likely they are to create these responses. 
Teachers remain integral to the engagement and belonging of a young male Māori in secondary school. In support of the findings from Kia Eke Panuku (2013), this study found that male Māori require positive relationships with their teachers to engage in the subject and school in a general sense. Relationships based on ako and manaakitanga are key to these students viewing their experiences in school as successful.
Another finding showed the importance of sport and physical activity to young male Māori, though success in this area has been a limiting factor in contributing to overall success in secondary school. The placing of male Māori as a ‘physical being’ (Hokowhitu, 2003a; Hokowhitu, 2003b; Hokowhitu, 2004) creates spaces where Māori can be successful, such as practical based subjects like physical education. This success is perceived as acceptable yet often isolates them away from success in other areas (Erueti & Palmer, 2014), feeding into the stereotype itself.
The success of the all boys’ Māori form class was scrutinised by this study, and found the intended outcomes had not necessarily been met. The overall impact was that the boys had been grouped with a Māori form teacher and the intentions of additional support had been overlooked due to time pressures and deficit thinking in terms of capabilities of the class members.  For the Māori boys in this study, the challenges of overcome historical cultural stereotypes added to the challenge of succeeding at secondary school. The expectation that they walk successfully between the realms of Māori and pākehā to achieve in the current education system coupled with the feeling they needed to act ‘pākehā’ in order to achieve is particularly disturbing. The inequity for them in denying part of their identity seems a hefty price to pay for educational success.
This study highlights the need for schools, communities and individual teachers to recognise these racial and systemic inequities and work tirelessly to develop strategies to eliminate them, in order to create to take a giant step towards equity for all New Zealanders within education.

text: Young Maori males experiences in a secondary school context as sporting, academic and cultural identities. This research focused on the journey of male Māori through secondary school and the effect on their identities in terms of sport, culture and academia. The two key areas of focus were how the culture of the school, including cultural stereotypes, impacts on male Māori learner self-concept, and whether the effect of creating an all Māori boys form class has resulted in an increased sense of belonging and engagement. 
The research was conducted as a case study underpinned by an interpretive methodology, using a focus group interview. The group was made up of five boys, chosen from a newly formed all boys’ Year 11 Māori form class. The boys were selected in conjunction with their form teacher and the schools Kaitiaki, in order to reflect a range of sporting, academic and cultural levels. 
The research findings found that although the boys view of their experiences in school seemed positive overall, they described common incidences and reactions to racial discrimination. The exposure to embedded racial stereotypes and behaviours caused them to create their own solutions, often through threatening violence or aggressive reactions. It appears that when young male Māori are more closely connected to Māori culture, they are more likely they are to create these responses. 
Teachers remain integral to the engagement and belonging of a young male Māori in secondary school. In support of the findings from Kia Eke Panuku (2013), this study found that male Māori require positive relationships with their teachers to engage in the subject and school in a general sense. Relationships based on ako and manaakitanga are key to these students viewing their experiences in school as successful.
Another finding showed the importance of sport and physical activity to young male Māori, though success in this area has been a limiting factor in contributing to overall success in secondary school. The placing of male Māori as a ‘physical being’ (Hokowhitu, 2003a; Hokowhitu, 2003b; Hokowhitu, 2004) creates spaces where Māori can be successful, such as practical based subjects like physical education. This success is perceived as acceptable yet often isolates them away from success in other areas (Erueti & Palmer, 2014), feeding into the stereotype itself.
The success of the all boys’ Māori form class was scrutinised by this study, and found the intended outcomes had not necessarily been met. The overall impact was that the boys had been grouped with a Māori form teacher and the intentions of additional support had been overlooked due to time pressures and deficit thinking in terms of capabilities of the class members.  For the Māori boys in this study, the challenges of overcome historical cultural stereotypes added to the challenge of succeeding at secondary school. The expectation that they walk successfully between the realms of Māori and pākehā to achieve in the current education system coupled with the feeling they needed to act ‘pākehā’ in order to achieve is particularly disturbing. The inequity for them in denying part of their identity seems a hefty price to pay for educational success.
This study highlights the need for schools, communities and individual teachers to recognise these racial and systemic inequities and work tirelessly to develop strategies to eliminate them, in order to create to take a giant step towards equity for all New Zealanders within education.

year: 2016