title: Wellbeing effects from family literacy education: An ecelogical study

authors: Furness, Jane Amanda

abstract: This paper describes a study that used community psychology theories to investigate family-focused literacy education programmes, evaluations of which usually focus solely on skills gains and their economic advantage. Specifically, the study drew on an ecological systems-based, culturally adaptive framework for personal, relational and collective wellbeing bringing much-needed new thinking to how family-focused adult literacy education might be theorised and practiced. The study traced the experiences of 19 adult participants in four family-focused literacy programmes in different communities in New Zealand over 18 months. Participant accounts from 79 key informant interviews, 12 classroom observations and programme documentation were scrutinized using latent theoretical thematic analysis which drew on broad perspectives of literacy, ecological systems theory, network theory and integrative theories of wellbeing. The study found that the programmes shared common principles and practices that prioritised holistic wellbeing whilst valuing literacy enhancement. It showed that participants experienced positive literacy, social and wellbeing-related outcomes. Programme effects were found to be interconnected and to flow on to other parts of participants’ lives and to their families and communities. We demonstrate community psychology’s critical contribution to a fuller understanding of family-focused literacy education.

text: Wellbeing effects from family literacy education: An ecelogical study This paper describes a study that used community psychology theories to investigate family-focused literacy education programmes, evaluations of which usually focus solely on skills gains and their economic advantage. Specifically, the study drew on an ecological systems-based, culturally adaptive framework for personal, relational and collective wellbeing bringing much-needed new thinking to how family-focused adult literacy education might be theorised and practiced. The study traced the experiences of 19 adult participants in four family-focused literacy programmes in different communities in New Zealand over 18 months. Participant accounts from 79 key informant interviews, 12 classroom observations and programme documentation were scrutinized using latent theoretical thematic analysis which drew on broad perspectives of literacy, ecological systems theory, network theory and integrative theories of wellbeing. The study found that the programmes shared common principles and practices that prioritised holistic wellbeing whilst valuing literacy enhancement. It showed that participants experienced positive literacy, social and wellbeing-related outcomes. Programme effects were found to be interconnected and to flow on to other parts of participants’ lives and to their families and communities. We demonstrate community psychology’s critical contribution to a fuller understanding of family-focused literacy education.

year: 2017

title: Cost-effective regulation of nonpoint emissions from pastoral agriculture: a stochastic analysis

authors: Doole, Graeme J.

subjects: agricultural policy

abstract: Nutrient emissions from pastoral agriculture are a global cause of declining water quality. Their management is complicated through variability arising from climate and soil influences. This paper compares the implications of input-based policies and direct restrictions on leaching to achieve 10 and 20 per cent reductions in nitrogen (N) load, in the context of pasture-based New Zealand dairy farms. The most important mitigation practices on these farms are de-intensification (involving reductions in N fertiliser application and stocking rate) and the application of nitrification inhibitors. A stylised conceptual model, incorporating both sources of variability, is used to identify the implications of alternative policies. Direct restriction of estimated N leaching is the most cost-effective policy to reduce N leaching by 10 and 20 per cent. These results indicate the general insufficiency of input-based mechanisms for water quality improvement, given the low correlation between input use and leaching, possible substitution with unrestricted inputs and their failure to motivate the use of mitigation strategies. Additionally, model output indicates that inherent variability in water quality, mainly due to climate influences, can dominate the benefits of regulatory action in any given year.

text: Cost-effective regulation of nonpoint emissions from pastoral agriculture: a stochastic analysis Nutrient emissions from pastoral agriculture are a global cause of declining water quality. Their management is complicated through variability arising from climate and soil influences. This paper compares the implications of input-based policies and direct restrictions on leaching to achieve 10 and 20 per cent reductions in nitrogen (N) load, in the context of pasture-based New Zealand dairy farms. The most important mitigation practices on these farms are de-intensification (involving reductions in N fertiliser application and stocking rate) and the application of nitrification inhibitors. A stylised conceptual model, incorporating both sources of variability, is used to identify the implications of alternative policies. Direct restriction of estimated N leaching is the most cost-effective policy to reduce N leaching by 10 and 20 per cent. These results indicate the general insufficiency of input-based mechanisms for water quality improvement, given the low correlation between input use and leaching, possible substitution with unrestricted inputs and their failure to motivate the use of mitigation strategies. Additionally, model output indicates that inherent variability in water quality, mainly due to climate influences, can dominate the benefits of regulatory action in any given year.

year: 2013

title: The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary: Terraqueous Territorialization and Māori Marine Environments

authors: McCormack, Fiona

abstract: This paper interprets the disrupted establishment of the Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary, a 620,000 square kilometre marine protection area, as a crucial moment in Pacific frontier making. The development of large-scale protected marine areas is a politically charged frontier tool, in which states garner international recognition and environmental renown by setting aside large swathes of their exclusive economic zones. In the Kermadec Sanctuary, this enclosure hit against an assemblage of Indigenous histories, ecologies, repatriated fishing rights, and privatized fishing quota challenging the oftmarginalized agency of Indigenous people in frontier narratives. This paper argues that three factors are fundamental to untangling this conflict: first, the historical trajectory of terraqueous territorialization in the Kermadec region, second, the post-Treaty of Waitangi settlement dynamics of Maori marine environments, and third, the common ecosystem services model underlying conservation and extraction.

text: The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary: Terraqueous Territorialization and Māori Marine Environments This paper interprets the disrupted establishment of the Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary, a 620,000 square kilometre marine protection area, as a crucial moment in Pacific frontier making. The development of large-scale protected marine areas is a politically charged frontier tool, in which states garner international recognition and environmental renown by setting aside large swathes of their exclusive economic zones. In the Kermadec Sanctuary, this enclosure hit against an assemblage of Indigenous histories, ecologies, repatriated fishing rights, and privatized fishing quota challenging the oftmarginalized agency of Indigenous people in frontier narratives. This paper argues that three factors are fundamental to untangling this conflict: first, the historical trajectory of terraqueous territorialization in the Kermadec region, second, the post-Treaty of Waitangi settlement dynamics of Maori marine environments, and third, the common ecosystem services model underlying conservation and extraction.

year: 2021