title: The Phoenix Prophecy

authors: Williams, Julia

subjects: Young Adult

abstract: When Soraya Merridan wakes from a recurring nightmare, she finds herself drawn to a box of her mother’s belongings. After discovering an antique necklace with a strange stone, Sora accidentally triggers a prophecy and finds herself stranded in Aurelia, a new realm unlike anything she has ever seen. 
Upon her arrival, she meets a young prince and discovers a plague of hellish creatures that threaten the lives of everyone in this strange new world. Torn between Earth and Aurelia, Sora finds herself in the unlikely companionship of the prince and his guard. Together, they must journey to the hidden Temple of Arkosia in search of an ancient being capable of stopping the rising darkness and the threat of the Lord Ruler that comes with it. But things aren’t always what they seem, and when a dark-haired stranger keeps appearing with a message not to trust the prince, Sora is torn as to what to believe. With the fate of an entire world at stake, Sora is determined to make the right choice. 
But is she willing to pay the price?

The Phoenix Prophecy features a strong female character overcoming challenges and internal struggles while simultaneously uncovering her own strengths as she navigates this new world. It takes us on a journey where classic fantasy elements interweave with new ones to create an adventure for both the main character and the reader to enjoy, a world to lose yourself in while not straying entirely from our own. In this novel, I explore aspects of politics and social roles which are often built on real-world elements while presenting them in a world that shows a different view of familiar topics. 
I wanted to write about a heroine who isn’t afraid to dive right into the magic and fight for themselves no matter where it takes them. A strong female character who isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. In Aurelia the rules are unexpected, it’s a place where readers can feel connected to the main character while also enjoying a little spice of magic.

text: The Phoenix Prophecy When Soraya Merridan wakes from a recurring nightmare, she finds herself drawn to a box of her mother’s belongings. After discovering an antique necklace with a strange stone, Sora accidentally triggers a prophecy and finds herself stranded in Aurelia, a new realm unlike anything she has ever seen. 
Upon her arrival, she meets a young prince and discovers a plague of hellish creatures that threaten the lives of everyone in this strange new world. Torn between Earth and Aurelia, Sora finds herself in the unlikely companionship of the prince and his guard. Together, they must journey to the hidden Temple of Arkosia in search of an ancient being capable of stopping the rising darkness and the threat of the Lord Ruler that comes with it. But things aren’t always what they seem, and when a dark-haired stranger keeps appearing with a message not to trust the prince, Sora is torn as to what to believe. With the fate of an entire world at stake, Sora is determined to make the right choice. 
But is she willing to pay the price?

The Phoenix Prophecy features a strong female character overcoming challenges and internal struggles while simultaneously uncovering her own strengths as she navigates this new world. It takes us on a journey where classic fantasy elements interweave with new ones to create an adventure for both the main character and the reader to enjoy, a world to lose yourself in while not straying entirely from our own. In this novel, I explore aspects of politics and social roles which are often built on real-world elements while presenting them in a world that shows a different view of familiar topics. 
I wanted to write about a heroine who isn’t afraid to dive right into the magic and fight for themselves no matter where it takes them. A strong female character who isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. In Aurelia the rules are unexpected, it’s a place where readers can feel connected to the main character while also enjoying a little spice of magic.

year: 2022

title: Expanding financial communication: Investor relations, crowdfunding, and democracy in the time of fintech

authors: Doan, Mai Anh

subjects: financial communication

abstract: This thesis studied financial communication in the context of a globalised, technologized, and financialised world. It arose from two seemingly opposite trends in practice and in academia. In practice, not only are technology and finance becoming more pervasive on their own, they are also merging as fintech, which is further disrupting financial and social practices. In academia, financial communication, more commonly, if incorrectly, known as investor relations, does not connect with these realities. While the trends in practice hold the promise of making profound impacts in democratising finance and promoting egalitarianism, their neglect in academia not only does a disservice to the practice but also threatens to further segregate and lower the poor reputation of public relations, which is the umbrella discipline that contains financial communication.
Accordingly, the thesis attempted to bring financial communication closer to practice and to make an original contribution to knowledge by examining financial communication in the context of fintech. Specifically, it sought answers to the following two research questions: (1) What is the current state of academic research on investor relations and financial communication? and (2) In what ways could investor relations and financial communication integrate crowdfunding to their practice and research to further democratise finance and contribute to a fully functioning society?
The thesis with publication includes four publications – three published journal articles and one book chapter (in press) – and each arose from a research project relevant to the overall theme. These projects identified how financial communication continues to be academically insular and disconnected from technology. Their findings also suggested how individually and in concert, by incorporating fintech and crowdfunding, financial communication can open up ways that benefit both practice and research. 
The thesis also found evidence that crowdfunding has the potential to improve financial democracy across the globe. For it to harness that potential, however, the thesis proposes that financial communicators become advocates for increasing financial literacy and inclusiveness for individuals and for the greater good of the society. The function should not only provide tangible results for businesses but also expand and re-focus on building communities and on re-balancing power. The thesis argues that the online environment of crowdfunding and fintech with new players and rules needs researchers to change. 
The change means researchers need to re-examine the nature, characteristics, scope and impact of communication, to look outside of their own discipline to add resources, to diversify their approaches, and to go beyond the traditional organisation-centric orientation of investor relations and public relations. In so doing so, financial communication will also be advancing the movement for improving the academic and social reputation of public relations. The thesis concludes that what financial communication has not been able to accomplish today can also serve as a fertile ground for future research directions.

text: Expanding financial communication: Investor relations, crowdfunding, and democracy in the time of fintech This thesis studied financial communication in the context of a globalised, technologized, and financialised world. It arose from two seemingly opposite trends in practice and in academia. In practice, not only are technology and finance becoming more pervasive on their own, they are also merging as fintech, which is further disrupting financial and social practices. In academia, financial communication, more commonly, if incorrectly, known as investor relations, does not connect with these realities. While the trends in practice hold the promise of making profound impacts in democratising finance and promoting egalitarianism, their neglect in academia not only does a disservice to the practice but also threatens to further segregate and lower the poor reputation of public relations, which is the umbrella discipline that contains financial communication.
Accordingly, the thesis attempted to bring financial communication closer to practice and to make an original contribution to knowledge by examining financial communication in the context of fintech. Specifically, it sought answers to the following two research questions: (1) What is the current state of academic research on investor relations and financial communication? and (2) In what ways could investor relations and financial communication integrate crowdfunding to their practice and research to further democratise finance and contribute to a fully functioning society?
The thesis with publication includes four publications – three published journal articles and one book chapter (in press) – and each arose from a research project relevant to the overall theme. These projects identified how financial communication continues to be academically insular and disconnected from technology. Their findings also suggested how individually and in concert, by incorporating fintech and crowdfunding, financial communication can open up ways that benefit both practice and research. 
The thesis also found evidence that crowdfunding has the potential to improve financial democracy across the globe. For it to harness that potential, however, the thesis proposes that financial communicators become advocates for increasing financial literacy and inclusiveness for individuals and for the greater good of the society. The function should not only provide tangible results for businesses but also expand and re-focus on building communities and on re-balancing power. The thesis argues that the online environment of crowdfunding and fintech with new players and rules needs researchers to change. 
The change means researchers need to re-examine the nature, characteristics, scope and impact of communication, to look outside of their own discipline to add resources, to diversify their approaches, and to go beyond the traditional organisation-centric orientation of investor relations and public relations. In so doing so, financial communication will also be advancing the movement for improving the academic and social reputation of public relations. The thesis concludes that what financial communication has not been able to accomplish today can also serve as a fertile ground for future research directions.

year: 2018

title: Science-practice roadshow 1: Summary perspectives from centralised entities and agencies

authors: Serrao-Neumann, Silvia

abstract: Flooding is Aotearoa-New Zealand’s most frequent natural hazard, regularly damaging buildings and infrastructure networks, and causing months of disruption to communities and businesses (Hutchings et al. 2019). Also, floods have indirect, cascading, and more intangible impacts (Lawrence, Blackett, and Cradock-Henry 2020), such as the withdrawal of future investment or the emotional stress of recovery. flood risk is predicted to rise quickly due to the combination of climate change and rapid urban intensification (Ministry for the Environment and The Flood Risk Management and River Control Review Steering Group 2008). 

Currently, there is no consistent approach to accurately determine flood risk on a national scale, nor how this may be changing as the climate warms. Instead, flooding risk assessments are done for individual catchments or locations, with the goal of managing and mitigating on the local scale. Local and regional governments vary widely in their capability and capacity to undertake this work (Ford, Berrang-Ford, and Berrang Ford 2011) and, thus, significant differences in data availability and modelling approaches mean that integration of results to gain a pan-region or nationwide picture has not been possible. 

The ‘Mā te haumaru ō nga puna wai ō Rākaihautū ka ora mo ake tonu: Increasing flood resilience across Aotearoa’ research develop a detailed nationwide model that could inform strategic and co-ordinated nationwide decision-making and regulations to support improved resilience to flood risk across the country. Utilising new methods and advances in computer processing and automation, the programme is developing a dynamic risk modelling framework that will assess flood hazard for every catchment in the country and under differing climate scenarios. The model will account for the risks to both built infrastructure and communities so that a fuller understanding of societal costs and impacts can be established. The model’s utility for supporting decision-making will be investigated using an initial set of scenarios for environmental planning, policy settings and infrastructure investment options. Two overarching themes across all of the research - Mtauranga Mori and Uncertainty – are designed to utilise the diverse knowledge systems available to develop tools that are relevant for communities throughout Aotearoa-New Zealand, and to take into account and communicate more clearly flood risks. 

Improved resilience to flooding across Aotearoa-New Zealand is a key outcome sought by the research programme, however it cannot be achieved by research alone. Instead, knowledge and information developed within the programme must be utilised by practitioners in their work to assist communities to plan for, manage, mitigate and avoid flood risks. New knowledge from the programme must be incorporated by practitioners into further tools, policy and decision-making frameworks. This knowledge translation however is not a straight forward process (Dilling and Lemos 2011). Cultural, behavioural and cognitive differences between those who produce and those who utilise knowledge mean that research outputs may not fit the requirements of their intended users, and thus, uptake of research outputs may be compromised. Conversely, strong engagement of knowledge users in the knowledge production process is known to increase the likelihood, and impact, of knowledge implementation. 

Stakeholders are key members of the programme’s research team, representing views across central and local government, engineering, planning consultancies, emergency management, insurance and banking industries, and Te Rūnanga o Wairewa (Banks Peninsula). To broaden the range of stakeholder perspectives, and to facilitate relationships across the programme, we have established a boundary organisation – Te W Te W . Boundary organisations (Guston 2001; Kirchhoff, Esselman, and Brown 2015) are forums that bridge between the two relatively different social worlds of knowledge producers (researchers/scientists) and users (practitioners/policy makers). These forums create and sustain legitimate space and collaboration for knowledge/information to be co-designed, co-produced and co-disseminated (Serrao-Neumann, Di Giulio, and Low Choy 2020). Within our programme, Te W Te W is responsible for organising and facilitating communication and collaboration activities – events (Science-Practice oadshows), communications channels such as an electronic newsletter and website, and learning opportunities. Through this organisation, we are fostering trust, legitimacy and capacity for information use so that our research results will be usable, useful, and used. 

This report summarises the discussion and perspectives shared at the first Science-Practice Roadshow held in October 2021.

text: Science-practice roadshow 1: Summary perspectives from centralised entities and agencies Flooding is Aotearoa-New Zealand’s most frequent natural hazard, regularly damaging buildings and infrastructure networks, and causing months of disruption to communities and businesses (Hutchings et al. 2019). Also, floods have indirect, cascading, and more intangible impacts (Lawrence, Blackett, and Cradock-Henry 2020), such as the withdrawal of future investment or the emotional stress of recovery. flood risk is predicted to rise quickly due to the combination of climate change and rapid urban intensification (Ministry for the Environment and The Flood Risk Management and River Control Review Steering Group 2008). 

Currently, there is no consistent approach to accurately determine flood risk on a national scale, nor how this may be changing as the climate warms. Instead, flooding risk assessments are done for individual catchments or locations, with the goal of managing and mitigating on the local scale. Local and regional governments vary widely in their capability and capacity to undertake this work (Ford, Berrang-Ford, and Berrang Ford 2011) and, thus, significant differences in data availability and modelling approaches mean that integration of results to gain a pan-region or nationwide picture has not been possible. 

The ‘Mā te haumaru ō nga puna wai ō Rākaihautū ka ora mo ake tonu: Increasing flood resilience across Aotearoa’ research develop a detailed nationwide model that could inform strategic and co-ordinated nationwide decision-making and regulations to support improved resilience to flood risk across the country. Utilising new methods and advances in computer processing and automation, the programme is developing a dynamic risk modelling framework that will assess flood hazard for every catchment in the country and under differing climate scenarios. The model will account for the risks to both built infrastructure and communities so that a fuller understanding of societal costs and impacts can be established. The model’s utility for supporting decision-making will be investigated using an initial set of scenarios for environmental planning, policy settings and infrastructure investment options. Two overarching themes across all of the research - Mtauranga Mori and Uncertainty – are designed to utilise the diverse knowledge systems available to develop tools that are relevant for communities throughout Aotearoa-New Zealand, and to take into account and communicate more clearly flood risks. 

Improved resilience to flooding across Aotearoa-New Zealand is a key outcome sought by the research programme, however it cannot be achieved by research alone. Instead, knowledge and information developed within the programme must be utilised by practitioners in their work to assist communities to plan for, manage, mitigate and avoid flood risks. New knowledge from the programme must be incorporated by practitioners into further tools, policy and decision-making frameworks. This knowledge translation however is not a straight forward process (Dilling and Lemos 2011). Cultural, behavioural and cognitive differences between those who produce and those who utilise knowledge mean that research outputs may not fit the requirements of their intended users, and thus, uptake of research outputs may be compromised. Conversely, strong engagement of knowledge users in the knowledge production process is known to increase the likelihood, and impact, of knowledge implementation. 

Stakeholders are key members of the programme’s research team, representing views across central and local government, engineering, planning consultancies, emergency management, insurance and banking industries, and Te Rūnanga o Wairewa (Banks Peninsula). To broaden the range of stakeholder perspectives, and to facilitate relationships across the programme, we have established a boundary organisation – Te W Te W . Boundary organisations (Guston 2001; Kirchhoff, Esselman, and Brown 2015) are forums that bridge between the two relatively different social worlds of knowledge producers (researchers/scientists) and users (practitioners/policy makers). These forums create and sustain legitimate space and collaboration for knowledge/information to be co-designed, co-produced and co-disseminated (Serrao-Neumann, Di Giulio, and Low Choy 2020). Within our programme, Te W Te W is responsible for organising and facilitating communication and collaboration activities – events (Science-Practice oadshows), communications channels such as an electronic newsletter and website, and learning opportunities. Through this organisation, we are fostering trust, legitimacy and capacity for information use so that our research results will be usable, useful, and used. 

This report summarises the discussion and perspectives shared at the first Science-Practice Roadshow held in October 2021.

year: 2022-02