title: Thawing permafrost alters nematode populations and soil habitat characteristics in an Antarctic polar desert ecosystem

authors: Smith, T. E.

subjects: cold desert

abstract: Spatial distribution of soil nematode populations in Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems is tightly controlled by environmental factors and thus highly sensitive to changes in soil properties. Increases in the magnitude and frequency of episodic warming events as well as eventual warming trends are likely to result in increased water availability due to glacial melting and permafrost thaw, and may also incite changes in soil physical and chemical characteristics that determine nematode habitat suitability. We hypothesized that climate warming would result in new suitable soil habitats leading to heightened diversity and activity in nematode communities. In order to test this hypothesis, we compared nematode populations in patches of soil wetted by naturally enhanced permafrost thaw versus adjacent soils unaffected by thaw. We found that thaw sites had significantly lower nematode abundances and living to dead ratios, contradicting our hypothesis. We also observed significantly altered soil texture (finer particle size), lower pH and higher salinity in permafrost seeps. These observations suggest that current and future changes in climate may alter soil properties and result in significant changes in nematode population structure, distribution and function.

text: Thawing permafrost alters nematode populations and soil habitat characteristics in an Antarctic polar desert ecosystem Spatial distribution of soil nematode populations in Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems is tightly controlled by environmental factors and thus highly sensitive to changes in soil properties. Increases in the magnitude and frequency of episodic warming events as well as eventual warming trends are likely to result in increased water availability due to glacial melting and permafrost thaw, and may also incite changes in soil physical and chemical characteristics that determine nematode habitat suitability. We hypothesized that climate warming would result in new suitable soil habitats leading to heightened diversity and activity in nematode communities. In order to test this hypothesis, we compared nematode populations in patches of soil wetted by naturally enhanced permafrost thaw versus adjacent soils unaffected by thaw. We found that thaw sites had significantly lower nematode abundances and living to dead ratios, contradicting our hypothesis. We also observed significantly altered soil texture (finer particle size), lower pH and higher salinity in permafrost seeps. These observations suggest that current and future changes in climate may alter soil properties and result in significant changes in nematode population structure, distribution and function.

year: 2012

title: The use of self in adolescent sexual offending therapy: A autoethnographic case study

authors: Tootell, Andrew

subjects: adolescent sexual offending therapy

abstract: This thesis is a single case study of my work as therapist with four different participants from a community-based treatment programme for adolescents who have sexually offended. Using an autoethnographic approach, the study seeks to contribute to understanding of how the therapeutic use of self can work to enhance the effectiveness of the treatment process. Central to this argument is the principle of optimal responsiveness, developed by Howard Bacal (1985). Optimal responsiveness is founded in specificity theory, which argues that we cannot predict in advance what intervention is going to be effective, because of the uniqueness of each therapeutic encounter: hence the importance of the individual practitioner‟s clinical judgment. I locate the theoretical understanding of the therapeutic use of self in the tradition of judgment-based practice (Polkinghorne, 2004). The research explores two questions: How might the therapist use their experience of self (their subjective and intersubjective experience) to guide their sense of being optimally responsive? How might research into the therapist‟s experience of their use of self in therapy contribute to the integration of the personal and professional self of the therapist? The findings are expressed in the form of four autobiographic stories and four therapy stories. The autobiographic stories show how the personal life experience of the therapist is integrated with the process of clinical judgment. The findings are analysed from the perspectives of systemic-narrative therapy and relational psychoanalytic therapy. I identify a number of examples of how the use of self mediated a variety of intentional therapeutic interactions such as reflexive questions, interpretations and self-disclosures and spontaneous interactions such as playful improvisations and the experience of intimacy. I argue that self reflexivity is at the heart of these processes. The thesis shows the relevance of autoethnographic case study research to the practice of therapy in general and it shows how case study research can complement experimental research. This research also has a number of important implications for professionals working as therapists in the sexual offending fields. I argue that the risk-need-responsivity rehabilitation model will be strengthened by giving closer attention to the neglected principle of professional discretion; and that the effective implementation of evidence-based procedures is dependent upon the practical wisdom of practitioners. The research alerts therapists to the importance of paying attention to integrating their professional and personal selves as part of their ongoing professional development. The research highlights the relevance of the subjective experience of cultural discourse, in particular the social construction of masculinities, an area that often goes under-represented in the delivery of adolescent sexual offending programmes. The findings also support the argument that the experience of caring for and being cared for is central to treatment, and that self reflexivity can be both a process and an outcome goal for all therapy participants, both client and therapist. Finally, my research also demonstrates how the practice of honest introspection by the therapist can mitigate against the temptation (which is always there) to get caught up in viewing the person who committed an offence as the “other”.

text: The use of self in adolescent sexual offending therapy: A autoethnographic case study This thesis is a single case study of my work as therapist with four different participants from a community-based treatment programme for adolescents who have sexually offended. Using an autoethnographic approach, the study seeks to contribute to understanding of how the therapeutic use of self can work to enhance the effectiveness of the treatment process. Central to this argument is the principle of optimal responsiveness, developed by Howard Bacal (1985). Optimal responsiveness is founded in specificity theory, which argues that we cannot predict in advance what intervention is going to be effective, because of the uniqueness of each therapeutic encounter: hence the importance of the individual practitioner‟s clinical judgment. I locate the theoretical understanding of the therapeutic use of self in the tradition of judgment-based practice (Polkinghorne, 2004). The research explores two questions: How might the therapist use their experience of self (their subjective and intersubjective experience) to guide their sense of being optimally responsive? How might research into the therapist‟s experience of their use of self in therapy contribute to the integration of the personal and professional self of the therapist? The findings are expressed in the form of four autobiographic stories and four therapy stories. The autobiographic stories show how the personal life experience of the therapist is integrated with the process of clinical judgment. The findings are analysed from the perspectives of systemic-narrative therapy and relational psychoanalytic therapy. I identify a number of examples of how the use of self mediated a variety of intentional therapeutic interactions such as reflexive questions, interpretations and self-disclosures and spontaneous interactions such as playful improvisations and the experience of intimacy. I argue that self reflexivity is at the heart of these processes. The thesis shows the relevance of autoethnographic case study research to the practice of therapy in general and it shows how case study research can complement experimental research. This research also has a number of important implications for professionals working as therapists in the sexual offending fields. I argue that the risk-need-responsivity rehabilitation model will be strengthened by giving closer attention to the neglected principle of professional discretion; and that the effective implementation of evidence-based procedures is dependent upon the practical wisdom of practitioners. The research alerts therapists to the importance of paying attention to integrating their professional and personal selves as part of their ongoing professional development. The research highlights the relevance of the subjective experience of cultural discourse, in particular the social construction of masculinities, an area that often goes under-represented in the delivery of adolescent sexual offending programmes. The findings also support the argument that the experience of caring for and being cared for is central to treatment, and that self reflexivity can be both a process and an outcome goal for all therapy participants, both client and therapist. Finally, my research also demonstrates how the practice of honest introspection by the therapist can mitigate against the temptation (which is always there) to get caught up in viewing the person who committed an offence as the “other”.

year: 2010

title: Māori child rearing and infant sleep practices

authors: Jones, Horiana Majorie

abstract: Sleep is important to a healthy lifestyle for parents and children, and having effective ways of putting a child to sleep contributes significantly to mental and physical wellbeing. Cultural groups around the world have developed a variety of approaches to this task, for example, rocking, co-sleeping, bed-sharing, breastfeeding to sleep, and encouraging infants to self soothe through various methods of infant sleep training. In New Zealand the continuation of traditional Māori approaches to infant sleep, e.g. co-sleeping, bed-sharing, responsivity to infant cues have been over-shadowed by its negative association with sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and dependence on parent interaction when initiating infant sleep. In this study, we were interested in the approaches Māori parents used to put their pēpi (child, 2 months-2 years of age) to sleep and the various factors that have influenced these approaches. Data were collected through online surveys (n =58) and face-to-face interviews (n =10) with Māori parents. Survey results indicated that being held and breast or bottle fed to sleep were the most practiced techniques by Māori parents. Parent assisted approaches, e.g., rocking, feeding, lying with baby until they go to sleep, were the most practiced. Many parents planned for their babies to sleep separately but very few actually persisted with self-soothing approaches due to a number of factors, such as discomfort with listening to their babies cry, culture, whānau (extended families) influences safety, and convenience. The majority of participants expressed a desire for separate sleep; however, few within the interview group actually successfully practiced separate sleep regularly.

text: Māori child rearing and infant sleep practices Sleep is important to a healthy lifestyle for parents and children, and having effective ways of putting a child to sleep contributes significantly to mental and physical wellbeing. Cultural groups around the world have developed a variety of approaches to this task, for example, rocking, co-sleeping, bed-sharing, breastfeeding to sleep, and encouraging infants to self soothe through various methods of infant sleep training. In New Zealand the continuation of traditional Māori approaches to infant sleep, e.g. co-sleeping, bed-sharing, responsivity to infant cues have been over-shadowed by its negative association with sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and dependence on parent interaction when initiating infant sleep. In this study, we were interested in the approaches Māori parents used to put their pēpi (child, 2 months-2 years of age) to sleep and the various factors that have influenced these approaches. Data were collected through online surveys (n =58) and face-to-face interviews (n =10) with Māori parents. Survey results indicated that being held and breast or bottle fed to sleep were the most practiced techniques by Māori parents. Parent assisted approaches, e.g., rocking, feeding, lying with baby until they go to sleep, were the most practiced. Many parents planned for their babies to sleep separately but very few actually persisted with self-soothing approaches due to a number of factors, such as discomfort with listening to their babies cry, culture, whānau (extended families) influences safety, and convenience. The majority of participants expressed a desire for separate sleep; however, few within the interview group actually successfully practiced separate sleep regularly.

year: 2017