title: The crisis in food price data

authors: Gibson, John

subjects: price

abstract: Many studies estimate impacts of higher food prices on consumer welfare. Yet reliable data on real welfare levels in poor countries are rare since surveys prioritize collecting nominal living standards data over price data. Narrower questions about the impacts of prices on food quantity consumed and on the availability of nutrients are poorly answered. Most studies ignore coping responses that involve downgrading food quality to maintain quantity and therefore overstate nutritionally harmful effects of rising prices. A full accounting for the impacts of food prices on food security requires spatially detailed food price data and household survey data on both the quantity and the quality of foods. Surprisingly few developing countries have these required data.

text: The crisis in food price data Many studies estimate impacts of higher food prices on consumer welfare. Yet reliable data on real welfare levels in poor countries are rare since surveys prioritize collecting nominal living standards data over price data. Narrower questions about the impacts of prices on food quantity consumed and on the availability of nutrients are poorly answered. Most studies ignore coping responses that involve downgrading food quality to maintain quantity and therefore overstate nutritionally harmful effects of rising prices. A full accounting for the impacts of food prices on food security requires spatially detailed food price data and household survey data on both the quantity and the quality of foods. Surprisingly few developing countries have these required data.

year: 2013

title: Improving mental wellbeing among university students via a smartphone application based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

authors: Li, Fengshan

abstract: The number of university students experiencing mental disturbances is increasing. Due to the impact it has on students’ academic life, there is a need for an efficient, convenient, and cost- effective intervention which can be widely applied to university populations. Acceptance and
Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an effective behavioural treatment for a range of psychological disorders. ACT has a transdiagnostic feature, as it focus on educating individuals to be aware of their internal experiences, such as thoughts and feelings and to accept them, instead of suppressing or avoiding them. The fundamental goal of ACT is to promote individuals’ psychological flexibility when faced with challenging events by addressing their valued life goals. ACT CompanionTM app is an ACT-based smartphone app which incorporates exercises to assist users achieve their treatment goals. I used a single- subject design to examine the efficacy of the ACT CompanionTM app in reducing measures of stress, anxiety, depression, and psychological flexibility for 9 university participants. Graphs showed that app use lowered daily stress levels for all participants. At a group level, there was a significant decrease in anxiety, stress, depressive symptoms, and negative emotions. However, no significant effect of app use on mindfulness and psychological flexibility. Overall, the results suggest that the ACT CompanionTM app is a promising approach for improving mental wellbeing among university students.

text: Improving mental wellbeing among university students via a smartphone application based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy The number of university students experiencing mental disturbances is increasing. Due to the impact it has on students’ academic life, there is a need for an efficient, convenient, and cost- effective intervention which can be widely applied to university populations. Acceptance and
Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an effective behavioural treatment for a range of psychological disorders. ACT has a transdiagnostic feature, as it focus on educating individuals to be aware of their internal experiences, such as thoughts and feelings and to accept them, instead of suppressing or avoiding them. The fundamental goal of ACT is to promote individuals’ psychological flexibility when faced with challenging events by addressing their valued life goals. ACT CompanionTM app is an ACT-based smartphone app which incorporates exercises to assist users achieve their treatment goals. I used a single- subject design to examine the efficacy of the ACT CompanionTM app in reducing measures of stress, anxiety, depression, and psychological flexibility for 9 university participants. Graphs showed that app use lowered daily stress levels for all participants. At a group level, there was a significant decrease in anxiety, stress, depressive symptoms, and negative emotions. However, no significant effect of app use on mindfulness and psychological flexibility. Overall, the results suggest that the ACT CompanionTM app is a promising approach for improving mental wellbeing among university students.

year: 2018

title: Looking for the Tikanga in technology education

authors: Knoef, Bernard John

subjects: Maori

abstract: This dissertation is dedicated to understanding how it would feel to be disconnected from their own past and devalued as a race by colonialism; that is, how would it feel to be Māori in my class?
This dissertation aims to support New Zealand teachers of Technology to better understand how they can create a curriculum for Technology that is more connected to aspects of Māori culture and in doing so improve learning outcomes for Māori. At the same time it explores how Pākehā students could gain a better understanding of the tikanga that guides the essence of what it means to be Māori and what it means to be an honourable Treaty partner with Māori. The 1840 Treaty of Waitangi laid the foundation for a formal respectful relationship between Māori and the British and for the introduction of British rule of law. Despite the intentions of the Treaty being one of equal partnerships between the British and Māori, the Treaty did not eventuate to be the equal nor mutually beneficial agreement that was anticipated by Māori.
Today visible disparities, that exist for Māori across society, are evident in Māori learning outcomes in Aotearoa New Zealand secondary schools. This research explores my own praxis in secondary technology education in collaborating with Māori to incorporate tikanga Māori (Māori customary values and practices) into the classroom. A focus on tikanga and Technology provides opportunities to develop improved understandings of more inclusive learning contexts. This dissertation histories the identity evolution of me, the researcher. The process I utilised is a method of self-examination and identity construction for other technology teachers who want to improve their practices in teaching students who are Māori. This study describes a repositioning process of how I took ownership for self-improvement. To enable an emphasis for this, there is a particular focus on the Nature of Technology strand of the New Zealand Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 2007, 2017). Pacey (2001) discusses the possibilities of a more people-centred technology with a participatory, ethical experience of technology that values people as well as their environment. In Aotearoa New Zealand, a teacher is encouraged to take personal responsibility for their engagement with an official curriculum (MOE, 2007).
My students and I have embarked on a number of projects that are localised both within our community and in wider society. These projects required us to have an understanding of tikanga. Mead (2016) requires that for educators and leaders to be more effective in what they do, they need to know the protocols that are drawn from the basket of knowledge called tikanga. My research explores ways to aid teachers develop understandings of Te Ao Māori (The Māori world) and the cultural world of Māori learners, with a view to promoting teaching that engages respectfully with, the knowledge of tikanga Māori in New Zealand Technology classrooms.
I have completed many years of teaching, much of which has been in the curriculum area of Technology. I have managed this with only a limited amount of supporting knowledge and understanding of how tikanga Māori could be appropriately and meaningfully, woven into my practice and the practice of my fellow Technology teachers as a result of my leadership. I am non-Māori and have practised as a teacher in New Zealand secondary schools for 29 years. Together with my students, we recently completed a number of Technology projects that involved learning about significant aspects of Māori culture including tikanga Māori. One whole school technology project was to build Te Whare Iti o Te Ako (The Small House of Learning) for our local early childhood centre. Because of this project and other related experiences, I have had the chance to reflect at a very personal level. I have had the opportunity to identify the gaps in my understanding of indigenous knowledge, but also through students participating in these projects, I have witnessed a tremendous engagement of curiosity for learning from both Māori and non- Māori about tikanga Māori. Accordingly, this research study seeks to answer the following questions and supports my intention to become more effective in what I do and how I practise as a non-Māori teacher with both Māori and non-Māori learners.
● As a non-Māori teacher, what did I learn about and from, including tikanga Māori into my pedagogical praxis as a teacher of technology?
o Who did I learn this from and how did I learn this?
o In what ways did these experiences contribute to my understandings of Te Ao Māori?
o How might my experiences support other teachers of technology?
I use Autoethnography to undertake this research which allows me to produce meaningful, accessible and evocative research that is grounded in personal experience (Ellis, Adams & Bochner 2011).

text: Looking for the Tikanga in technology education This dissertation is dedicated to understanding how it would feel to be disconnected from their own past and devalued as a race by colonialism; that is, how would it feel to be Māori in my class?
This dissertation aims to support New Zealand teachers of Technology to better understand how they can create a curriculum for Technology that is more connected to aspects of Māori culture and in doing so improve learning outcomes for Māori. At the same time it explores how Pākehā students could gain a better understanding of the tikanga that guides the essence of what it means to be Māori and what it means to be an honourable Treaty partner with Māori. The 1840 Treaty of Waitangi laid the foundation for a formal respectful relationship between Māori and the British and for the introduction of British rule of law. Despite the intentions of the Treaty being one of equal partnerships between the British and Māori, the Treaty did not eventuate to be the equal nor mutually beneficial agreement that was anticipated by Māori.
Today visible disparities, that exist for Māori across society, are evident in Māori learning outcomes in Aotearoa New Zealand secondary schools. This research explores my own praxis in secondary technology education in collaborating with Māori to incorporate tikanga Māori (Māori customary values and practices) into the classroom. A focus on tikanga and Technology provides opportunities to develop improved understandings of more inclusive learning contexts. This dissertation histories the identity evolution of me, the researcher. The process I utilised is a method of self-examination and identity construction for other technology teachers who want to improve their practices in teaching students who are Māori. This study describes a repositioning process of how I took ownership for self-improvement. To enable an emphasis for this, there is a particular focus on the Nature of Technology strand of the New Zealand Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 2007, 2017). Pacey (2001) discusses the possibilities of a more people-centred technology with a participatory, ethical experience of technology that values people as well as their environment. In Aotearoa New Zealand, a teacher is encouraged to take personal responsibility for their engagement with an official curriculum (MOE, 2007).
My students and I have embarked on a number of projects that are localised both within our community and in wider society. These projects required us to have an understanding of tikanga. Mead (2016) requires that for educators and leaders to be more effective in what they do, they need to know the protocols that are drawn from the basket of knowledge called tikanga. My research explores ways to aid teachers develop understandings of Te Ao Māori (The Māori world) and the cultural world of Māori learners, with a view to promoting teaching that engages respectfully with, the knowledge of tikanga Māori in New Zealand Technology classrooms.
I have completed many years of teaching, much of which has been in the curriculum area of Technology. I have managed this with only a limited amount of supporting knowledge and understanding of how tikanga Māori could be appropriately and meaningfully, woven into my practice and the practice of my fellow Technology teachers as a result of my leadership. I am non-Māori and have practised as a teacher in New Zealand secondary schools for 29 years. Together with my students, we recently completed a number of Technology projects that involved learning about significant aspects of Māori culture including tikanga Māori. One whole school technology project was to build Te Whare Iti o Te Ako (The Small House of Learning) for our local early childhood centre. Because of this project and other related experiences, I have had the chance to reflect at a very personal level. I have had the opportunity to identify the gaps in my understanding of indigenous knowledge, but also through students participating in these projects, I have witnessed a tremendous engagement of curiosity for learning from both Māori and non- Māori about tikanga Māori. Accordingly, this research study seeks to answer the following questions and supports my intention to become more effective in what I do and how I practise as a non-Māori teacher with both Māori and non-Māori learners.
● As a non-Māori teacher, what did I learn about and from, including tikanga Māori into my pedagogical praxis as a teacher of technology?
o Who did I learn this from and how did I learn this?
o In what ways did these experiences contribute to my understandings of Te Ao Māori?
o How might my experiences support other teachers of technology?
I use Autoethnography to undertake this research which allows me to produce meaningful, accessible and evocative research that is grounded in personal experience (Ellis, Adams & Bochner 2011).

year: 2019