title: International tephra conference “Crossing New Frontiers: Tephra Hunt in Transylvania”, 24 June - 1 July, 2018, Moieciu de Sus, Romania.

authors: Lowe, David J.

abstract: The International Focus Group on Tephrochronology and Volcanism (INTAV) held an international tephra conference, “Crossing New Frontiers: Tephra Hunt in Transylvania”, at the spectacular mountain resort ‘Cheile Gradistei’ Fundata near Moieciu de Sus (Fig. 1), about 30 km southwest of the regional city of Braşov, in the southern Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania, Romania, from 24 June to 1 July, 2018. INTAV (which has operated previously under various names including COT, SCOTAV, and ICCT) is a global tephra research group active within the Stratigraphy and Chronology Commission (SACCOM) of INQUA since its initiation in 1961 (Kobayshi, 1965; Westgate and Gold, 1974; Lowe et al., 2011). It organises specialist tephra meetings every four years or so on average, although the most recent meeting (before this one in Romania) was held in 2010 in Kirishima, Japan (Holt and Lowe, 2010). The Romanian tephra meeting was convened by Daniel Veres (Romania) and Ulrich Hambach (Germany), together with support from the INTAV executive committee of Britta Jensen (Canada), Peter Abbott (UK/Switzerland), Takehiko Suzuki (Japan), Siwan Davies (UK), and David Lowe (New Zealand).

text: International tephra conference “Crossing New Frontiers: Tephra Hunt in Transylvania”, 24 June - 1 July, 2018, Moieciu de Sus, Romania. The International Focus Group on Tephrochronology and Volcanism (INTAV) held an international tephra conference, “Crossing New Frontiers: Tephra Hunt in Transylvania”, at the spectacular mountain resort ‘Cheile Gradistei’ Fundata near Moieciu de Sus (Fig. 1), about 30 km southwest of the regional city of Braşov, in the southern Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania, Romania, from 24 June to 1 July, 2018. INTAV (which has operated previously under various names including COT, SCOTAV, and ICCT) is a global tephra research group active within the Stratigraphy and Chronology Commission (SACCOM) of INQUA since its initiation in 1961 (Kobayshi, 1965; Westgate and Gold, 1974; Lowe et al., 2011). It organises specialist tephra meetings every four years or so on average, although the most recent meeting (before this one in Romania) was held in 2010 in Kirishima, Japan (Holt and Lowe, 2010). The Romanian tephra meeting was convened by Daniel Veres (Romania) and Ulrich Hambach (Germany), together with support from the INTAV executive committee of Britta Jensen (Canada), Peter Abbott (UK/Switzerland), Takehiko Suzuki (Japan), Siwan Davies (UK), and David Lowe (New Zealand).

year: 2018

title: "More Societal than Generational": Examining the Construction and Resistance of Generational Messages in the Workplace

authors: Hitchcock, Steven David

subjects: Millennials

abstract: The Millennial generation, those born between 1980-2000, have drawn vast, sometimes fanatical, criticism in popular media. Slated as narcissistic praise hounds, they are cast as demanding graduate divas who are about to attack the workplace and everything ‘you hold sacred’ (Clark, 2008; Safer, 2007). The abundance of such messages about this generation in formats ‘tailored, targeted, and consumed’ by the public is problematic given that generational constructs are by many perceived as sacrosanct (Myers et al, 2010). 

The proliferation of such criticism is by no means innocuous given the very likely impact that they will have on Millennial work opportunities. For many scholars the field of Millennial research suffers from a lack of empirical and cross sectional data to establish more calculated and careful generational constructs, – instead relying on or reacting to popular negative stereotypes. While some Millennial scholarship has begun to move beyond criticisms of popular media, Millennial research is by many considered contradictory at best and confusing at worst (Kowske et al, 2010). Additional difficulties arise when the scramble to publish more research-based work has led to methodologies which are inherently flawed because they reinforce the very same monolithic generational categories they are supposed to assess.

This study, undertaken in New Zealand, explores critical approaches as a means of examining the construction of generational messages and the establishment of generational difference. As a starting point, this small-scale examination analyses the very way in which generational messages are constructed and resisted within the workplace through an analysis of interviews undertaken with 26 employees of a Small to Medium Enterprise (SME) in the information technology sector.

Unlike many generational studies, this project did not seek to draw conclusions by framing differences and measuring responses across generational lines, but rather took a bottom-up approach to understand how participants themselves constructed and resisted messages about generational difference. The project asked two research questions: First, how are generational messages constructed in the context of the workplace? And second, how are generational messages resisted in the workplace? Through axial coding this research categorized five themes under which participants constructed generational difference. These five themes are Technology, Voice, Fairness, Informality, and Stimulus. Broadly speaking, these themes were underpinned by a belief that Millennials have a great demand for respect, democratic process, and the reduction of power distances.

Given the critical approach, the study also observed resistance as a component of the discursive process. As such this research outlines the partiality of resistance and outlines strategies of resistance employed by employees. In line with the idea that construction and resistance are mutually implicated as negotiation, participants were frequently observed simultaneously constructing and resisting generational difference, both synchronically and diachronically. Through axial coding this study also categorized three strategies of resistance. These three strategies are established as Dismissal, the Third Person Effect, and the Decline Metaphor.

This research highlights the usefulness of adopting critical approaches by illustrating the way in which generational meaning is perpetually produced, reproduced, negotiated, and resisted by participants (Murphy, 1998). While there are several factors which are indicative of the Millennial generation, this thesis establishes the hegemonic character of most constructions of generational difference. Given the fragmented and complex state of society, this thesis posits that the usefulness of the monolithic birth-cohort generation has long since passed and we should instead look to understanding generations in terms of their consumption of similar cultural capital.

text: "More Societal than Generational": Examining the Construction and Resistance of Generational Messages in the Workplace The Millennial generation, those born between 1980-2000, have drawn vast, sometimes fanatical, criticism in popular media. Slated as narcissistic praise hounds, they are cast as demanding graduate divas who are about to attack the workplace and everything ‘you hold sacred’ (Clark, 2008; Safer, 2007). The abundance of such messages about this generation in formats ‘tailored, targeted, and consumed’ by the public is problematic given that generational constructs are by many perceived as sacrosanct (Myers et al, 2010). 

The proliferation of such criticism is by no means innocuous given the very likely impact that they will have on Millennial work opportunities. For many scholars the field of Millennial research suffers from a lack of empirical and cross sectional data to establish more calculated and careful generational constructs, – instead relying on or reacting to popular negative stereotypes. While some Millennial scholarship has begun to move beyond criticisms of popular media, Millennial research is by many considered contradictory at best and confusing at worst (Kowske et al, 2010). Additional difficulties arise when the scramble to publish more research-based work has led to methodologies which are inherently flawed because they reinforce the very same monolithic generational categories they are supposed to assess.

This study, undertaken in New Zealand, explores critical approaches as a means of examining the construction of generational messages and the establishment of generational difference. As a starting point, this small-scale examination analyses the very way in which generational messages are constructed and resisted within the workplace through an analysis of interviews undertaken with 26 employees of a Small to Medium Enterprise (SME) in the information technology sector.

Unlike many generational studies, this project did not seek to draw conclusions by framing differences and measuring responses across generational lines, but rather took a bottom-up approach to understand how participants themselves constructed and resisted messages about generational difference. The project asked two research questions: First, how are generational messages constructed in the context of the workplace? And second, how are generational messages resisted in the workplace? Through axial coding this research categorized five themes under which participants constructed generational difference. These five themes are Technology, Voice, Fairness, Informality, and Stimulus. Broadly speaking, these themes were underpinned by a belief that Millennials have a great demand for respect, democratic process, and the reduction of power distances.

Given the critical approach, the study also observed resistance as a component of the discursive process. As such this research outlines the partiality of resistance and outlines strategies of resistance employed by employees. In line with the idea that construction and resistance are mutually implicated as negotiation, participants were frequently observed simultaneously constructing and resisting generational difference, both synchronically and diachronically. Through axial coding this study also categorized three strategies of resistance. These three strategies are established as Dismissal, the Third Person Effect, and the Decline Metaphor.

This research highlights the usefulness of adopting critical approaches by illustrating the way in which generational meaning is perpetually produced, reproduced, negotiated, and resisted by participants (Murphy, 1998). While there are several factors which are indicative of the Millennial generation, this thesis establishes the hegemonic character of most constructions of generational difference. Given the fragmented and complex state of society, this thesis posits that the usefulness of the monolithic birth-cohort generation has long since passed and we should instead look to understanding generations in terms of their consumption of similar cultural capital.

year: 2011

title: A community psychology-based evaluation of the you good? You Good! program delivered by Jade speaks up educational trust in Aotearoa. Empowering tamariki emotional literacy, supporting mental health and encouraging well-being.

authors: Webbon, Abigail

abstract: This evaluation was completed for Jade Speaks Up (JSU) Educational Trust to provide feedback from school teachers and whānau who were involved in the You Good? You Good! (YG?YG!) program, delivered by JSU Educational Trust to schools across Aotearoa. The evaluation goal was to collate the narratives of participating school staff, whānau, and JSU Educational Trust trainers, contrasting experiences and perspectives to determine program effectiveness.
This program is for schools, management, and teachers who work with tamariki, to help teachers and students understand anxiety and develop skills and strategies to have self-agency. JSU Educational Trust developed YG?YG! in 2021, and in 2022 the YG?YG! pilot program was implemented.
This evaluation had three research objectives: 1) Identify and collate the experiences of school staff and other key stakeholders when implementing the YG?YG!, 2) Identify the strengths and barriers to inclusion for tamariki in schools where the program was delivered, and 3) Draw on the stakeholder narratives to assess the program's ability to achieve its goal: enable tamariki to be more agentic in responding to early signs of anxiety in themselves and others.
Information for this evaluation was collected from four sources: 1) Focus groups with JSU trainers, 2) Interviews with school staff, 3) Online surveys with school staff, 4) Archival supervision, and 5) Literature review. Data collected was interpreted through the use of thematic analysis, informed by Community Psychology principles, and the “Six C” framework, guided by He Awa Whiria.
Thematic analysis was completed by coding themes and categories from data sources. The findings from this empirical research engagement informed the analysis and discussion on program effectiveness. 
The findings and analysis found that forming a program design and approach informed with respect for the community’s needs and world-views can enable recognition, awareness and inclusion. A way for the program to begin to do so is to collaborate with communities.
Including researchers from a local community can enable empowerment, build social power, and create responses that promote the needs of the involved communities. The program can champion the field and those they work with by being accountable and enabling transparency.
The program can take an inclusive approach to sustaining its relationships, content relevance, and development for tamariki emotional well-being. The program can work on cultivating and empowering participants to be active partners, enabling the program to be shaped with equity in mind.
Key to program efficacy is acknowledging change and encompassing adaptation. The way to do this is to consider local health issues driven by who experience them, elevating the voice of the community.
Change and need cannot be determined without considering the voice of involved communities. By taking participants feedback, the program can create change for tamariki mental health, whilst acknowledging system and structural barriers, striving for community competence.
Importance lies within the work the program does to enable and support those affected by external factors. The program can acknowledge these challenges, and provide hope that community competence can be achieved.
To conclude, recommendations are presented for JSU Educational Trust to consider.

text: A community psychology-based evaluation of the you good? You Good! program delivered by Jade speaks up educational trust in Aotearoa. Empowering tamariki emotional literacy, supporting mental health and encouraging well-being. This evaluation was completed for Jade Speaks Up (JSU) Educational Trust to provide feedback from school teachers and whānau who were involved in the You Good? You Good! (YG?YG!) program, delivered by JSU Educational Trust to schools across Aotearoa. The evaluation goal was to collate the narratives of participating school staff, whānau, and JSU Educational Trust trainers, contrasting experiences and perspectives to determine program effectiveness.
This program is for schools, management, and teachers who work with tamariki, to help teachers and students understand anxiety and develop skills and strategies to have self-agency. JSU Educational Trust developed YG?YG! in 2021, and in 2022 the YG?YG! pilot program was implemented.
This evaluation had three research objectives: 1) Identify and collate the experiences of school staff and other key stakeholders when implementing the YG?YG!, 2) Identify the strengths and barriers to inclusion for tamariki in schools where the program was delivered, and 3) Draw on the stakeholder narratives to assess the program's ability to achieve its goal: enable tamariki to be more agentic in responding to early signs of anxiety in themselves and others.
Information for this evaluation was collected from four sources: 1) Focus groups with JSU trainers, 2) Interviews with school staff, 3) Online surveys with school staff, 4) Archival supervision, and 5) Literature review. Data collected was interpreted through the use of thematic analysis, informed by Community Psychology principles, and the “Six C” framework, guided by He Awa Whiria.
Thematic analysis was completed by coding themes and categories from data sources. The findings from this empirical research engagement informed the analysis and discussion on program effectiveness. 
The findings and analysis found that forming a program design and approach informed with respect for the community’s needs and world-views can enable recognition, awareness and inclusion. A way for the program to begin to do so is to collaborate with communities.
Including researchers from a local community can enable empowerment, build social power, and create responses that promote the needs of the involved communities. The program can champion the field and those they work with by being accountable and enabling transparency.
The program can take an inclusive approach to sustaining its relationships, content relevance, and development for tamariki emotional well-being. The program can work on cultivating and empowering participants to be active partners, enabling the program to be shaped with equity in mind.
Key to program efficacy is acknowledging change and encompassing adaptation. The way to do this is to consider local health issues driven by who experience them, elevating the voice of the community.
Change and need cannot be determined without considering the voice of involved communities. By taking participants feedback, the program can create change for tamariki mental health, whilst acknowledging system and structural barriers, striving for community competence.
Importance lies within the work the program does to enable and support those affected by external factors. The program can acknowledge these challenges, and provide hope that community competence can be achieved.
To conclude, recommendations are presented for JSU Educational Trust to consider.

year: 2024-11-14