title: Mo(ve)ments in the academic supervision relationship: Ethics in practice

authors: Kotzé, Elmarie

subjects: academic supervision

abstract: The context of the article is a supervisory relationship between an academic supervisor and a student-researcher and an ethic of risk within the research and supervision. Focus: The challenges for supervisor and student, and thus the supervisory relationship, and the strategies to move beyond the ethical dilemmas encountered in the research project, within an ethic of risk, form the focus of the article. Discussion: This article highlights the moments when a student counsellor/ researcher came to an impasse in transcribing and analysing data generated in an auto-ethnography, and the author, the academic supervisor's responses to these difficulties. The use of specific knowledge, skills and strategies in the supervisory relationship opened space for agency and movement within these moments of impasse. Text work and researcher identity work was facilitated through the use of particular listening skills and narrative therapy informed questions.

text: Mo(ve)ments in the academic supervision relationship: Ethics in practice The context of the article is a supervisory relationship between an academic supervisor and a student-researcher and an ethic of risk within the research and supervision. Focus: The challenges for supervisor and student, and thus the supervisory relationship, and the strategies to move beyond the ethical dilemmas encountered in the research project, within an ethic of risk, form the focus of the article. Discussion: This article highlights the moments when a student counsellor/ researcher came to an impasse in transcribing and analysing data generated in an auto-ethnography, and the author, the academic supervisor's responses to these difficulties. The use of specific knowledge, skills and strategies in the supervisory relationship opened space for agency and movement within these moments of impasse. Text work and researcher identity work was facilitated through the use of particular listening skills and narrative therapy informed questions.

year: 2013

title: Field data collection for implementation of Supercapacitor Assisted LED Lighting (SCALED)

authors: Norbu, Tenzin

subjects: Renewable energy

abstract: With the increasing impact of global warming, climate change is becoming the biggest threat for all life on our planet. The conventional way of generating electricity from the burning of fossil fuels releases significant amounts of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, which contributes to the rise in the earth’s temperature. Moreover, fossil fuels are being consumed very rapidly and we now have limited resources, which need to be monitored to face future energy demands. The development of renewable energy sources, such as solar power, is a rapidly growing technology. With the extensive research and investment in this industry at present, in the near future solar power will be one of our leading renewable energy sources. Furthermore, as solar panels directly produce direct current (DC), they can be directly tied to a DC microgrid without requiring any power converter, thereby minimizing losses and increasing efficiency.
The supercapacitor assisted light emitting diode (SCALED) converter is one of the new circuit techniques under development for low voltage light emitting diode (LED) systems at the University of Waikato. In this circuit, an LED is connected in series with the supercapacitor bank forming part of a resistor-capacitor (RC) charging loop. This is to avoid energy losses in the RC charging loop, which can create, in the worst case, a 50% loss. As the commonly used 12 V LEDs are internally DC operated devices, SCALED will be applicable in DC microgrids, which are the emerging technology in low voltage distribution systems.
The groundwork for this project requires various solar-related field data collection and simulations for the successful implementation of this innovative technique. Unlike a conventional power supply, solar power output directly depends on the solar irradiance level, which is very unpredictable. Given the unique behaviour of solar panel output, starting with a near constant current behaviour and changing over to a practical voltage source with an approximately constant array resistance, combining a supercapacitor bank and an LED lamp will be a challenge in developing the SCALED topology. In addition, proper field measurements and analysis of these characteristics are essential to develop more efficient and reliable SCALED circuits for DC microgrid applications.

text: Field data collection for implementation of Supercapacitor Assisted LED Lighting (SCALED) With the increasing impact of global warming, climate change is becoming the biggest threat for all life on our planet. The conventional way of generating electricity from the burning of fossil fuels releases significant amounts of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, which contributes to the rise in the earth’s temperature. Moreover, fossil fuels are being consumed very rapidly and we now have limited resources, which need to be monitored to face future energy demands. The development of renewable energy sources, such as solar power, is a rapidly growing technology. With the extensive research and investment in this industry at present, in the near future solar power will be one of our leading renewable energy sources. Furthermore, as solar panels directly produce direct current (DC), they can be directly tied to a DC microgrid without requiring any power converter, thereby minimizing losses and increasing efficiency.
The supercapacitor assisted light emitting diode (SCALED) converter is one of the new circuit techniques under development for low voltage light emitting diode (LED) systems at the University of Waikato. In this circuit, an LED is connected in series with the supercapacitor bank forming part of a resistor-capacitor (RC) charging loop. This is to avoid energy losses in the RC charging loop, which can create, in the worst case, a 50% loss. As the commonly used 12 V LEDs are internally DC operated devices, SCALED will be applicable in DC microgrids, which are the emerging technology in low voltage distribution systems.
The groundwork for this project requires various solar-related field data collection and simulations for the successful implementation of this innovative technique. Unlike a conventional power supply, solar power output directly depends on the solar irradiance level, which is very unpredictable. Given the unique behaviour of solar panel output, starting with a near constant current behaviour and changing over to a practical voltage source with an approximately constant array resistance, combining a supercapacitor bank and an LED lamp will be a challenge in developing the SCALED topology. In addition, proper field measurements and analysis of these characteristics are essential to develop more efficient and reliable SCALED circuits for DC microgrid applications.

year: 2018

title: Māori men's positive and interconnected sense of self, being and place

authors: Rua, Mohi

subjects: Maori men, interconnected self, pluralistic identities, relational health

abstract: Māori  men are on the wrong side of the ledger when it comes to illness and crime rates. Correspondingly, there is a significant amount of research into issues such as abuse and premature death involving Māori men, who are also often characterised in public discourse as inarticulate, deviant and incapable of maintaining positive relationships. There is very little research on positive practices among Māori men who are caring and expressive, and who do not harm their partners, families, and communities. This thesis explores how Māori men negotiate a positive sense of self, relationships and a place in our society, which is awash with negative characterisations of Māori men. I document how Māori men's identities are pluralistic and on-going projects. These identities are negotiated within the settler society through interactions with other people and media characterisations. These identities are also negotiated within the Māori world through interactions with whānau (immediate and extended family) and participation in cultural rituals, including tangihanga (traditional Māori death ritual/funeral process). This research involves two separate, yet interrelated studies, and is guided by kaupapa Māori research, Māori cultural concepts, Māori relational understandings of being and health, and relevant social science theory and research. Study one explores Māori men’s relationships with other men, their families and media depictions of men in the settler society. The participants from study one are working class men who were also part-time members of a Territorial Army unit within which Māori and Pākehā  men come together through mutual interests and negotiate meaningful relationships, and various cultural similarities and differences. Study one drew upon an ethnographic orientation that included direct observations, narrative interviews, media diaries and photo elicitation projects to understand the everyday lived realities of participants’ in settler society. Study two explores the constructive engagement of working class ex-Army Māori men back in their communities of origin in order to investigate key aspects of their identities and relationships as men within the Māori world. An ethnographic approach was also used in study two and involved direct observations, participation in shared practices and narrative interviews. Overall, findings from these studies demonstrate how Māori men construct a positive sense of self that extends beyond the deficit-orientated characterisations offered by academic research and mainstream media depictions. In constructing understandings of themselves and their place in the world, my participants emphasise their meaningful relationships with partners, children, colleagues, friends and communities. These men invoke a positive sense of self through accounts of belonging, reciprocity, dialogue, intimacy, and care for themselves, their whānau, and traditions. Participants’ positive Māori self-constructions are fundamentally interconnected with other people, cultural traditions, physical and symbolic places, and shared practices. My research sheds light on Māori men’s ways of belonging and being that span, but manifest in unique ways within, the settler society and the Māori world. This research also contributes to scholarship on men that takes a strengths-based approach by considering the valuable everyday functions men serve within their families and communities.

text: Māori men's positive and interconnected sense of self, being and place Māori  men are on the wrong side of the ledger when it comes to illness and crime rates. Correspondingly, there is a significant amount of research into issues such as abuse and premature death involving Māori men, who are also often characterised in public discourse as inarticulate, deviant and incapable of maintaining positive relationships. There is very little research on positive practices among Māori men who are caring and expressive, and who do not harm their partners, families, and communities. This thesis explores how Māori men negotiate a positive sense of self, relationships and a place in our society, which is awash with negative characterisations of Māori men. I document how Māori men's identities are pluralistic and on-going projects. These identities are negotiated within the settler society through interactions with other people and media characterisations. These identities are also negotiated within the Māori world through interactions with whānau (immediate and extended family) and participation in cultural rituals, including tangihanga (traditional Māori death ritual/funeral process). This research involves two separate, yet interrelated studies, and is guided by kaupapa Māori research, Māori cultural concepts, Māori relational understandings of being and health, and relevant social science theory and research. Study one explores Māori men’s relationships with other men, their families and media depictions of men in the settler society. The participants from study one are working class men who were also part-time members of a Territorial Army unit within which Māori and Pākehā  men come together through mutual interests and negotiate meaningful relationships, and various cultural similarities and differences. Study one drew upon an ethnographic orientation that included direct observations, narrative interviews, media diaries and photo elicitation projects to understand the everyday lived realities of participants’ in settler society. Study two explores the constructive engagement of working class ex-Army Māori men back in their communities of origin in order to investigate key aspects of their identities and relationships as men within the Māori world. An ethnographic approach was also used in study two and involved direct observations, participation in shared practices and narrative interviews. Overall, findings from these studies demonstrate how Māori men construct a positive sense of self that extends beyond the deficit-orientated characterisations offered by academic research and mainstream media depictions. In constructing understandings of themselves and their place in the world, my participants emphasise their meaningful relationships with partners, children, colleagues, friends and communities. These men invoke a positive sense of self through accounts of belonging, reciprocity, dialogue, intimacy, and care for themselves, their whānau, and traditions. Participants’ positive Māori self-constructions are fundamentally interconnected with other people, cultural traditions, physical and symbolic places, and shared practices. My research sheds light on Māori men’s ways of belonging and being that span, but manifest in unique ways within, the settler society and the Māori world. This research also contributes to scholarship on men that takes a strengths-based approach by considering the valuable everyday functions men serve within their families and communities.

year: 2015