title: 'He is a gentleman. I am a gentleman’s daughter. So far we are equal’: Gender performance in twenty-first century adaptations of Jane Austen’s Emma and Pride and prejudice

authors: Hodgson, Laura

abstract: The core focus of this thesis is gender performance in two of Jane Austen’s novels, Pride and Prejudice and Emma, and twenty-first-century adaptations of these novels. The thesis revolves around six key texts: Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice, its 2005 film adaptation of the same name directed by Joe Wright, and the transmedia modernisation, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries; as well as Austen’s novel Emma, its 2020 film adaptation of the same name directed by Autumn de Wilde, and the transmedia web series, Emma Approved. There have undoubtedly been shifts in gender performance over the two hundred years since Austen published her novels, but these are not always reflected in the adaptations. In part this is due to the surprisingly progressive nature of some of Austen’s meditations on gender, with Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice presenting as a pre-feminist and George Knightley from Emma performing as a pre-feminist man. These aspects of gender performance are extended by Keira Knightley’s portrayal of Elizabeth Bennet in Wright’s film, which reframes the character as a Romantic feminist, and Johnny Flynn’s performance of Mr. Knightley as a hero positioned under the female gaze in de Wilde’s film. 

Yet, the thesis also reveals that Austen’s feminist precursors are not always developed in contemporary adaptations. Indeed, Lizzie Bennet in The Lizzie Bennet Diaries is a postfeminist who is far from being an autonomous twenty-first century woman and is dependent on family and male suitors to provide her with opportunities. Likewise, the opportunity to reimagine Austen’s characters in a twenty-first-century gender context is also ignored in some adaptations, particularly the transmedia web series, with Emma in Emma Approved continuing to endorse patriarchal structures in the same way that she does in Austen’s original novel. The dandyism of Frank Churchill in Austen’s Emma is also undercut in Emma Approved through a performance of heteronormativity that sidelines the queer potential initiated by previous adaptations, such as the 1995 film Clueless. Most striking is the stagnant gender performance of Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice who remains the embodiment of hegemonic gentry masculinity in both the film and the web series. This thesis reveals that the lack of change in gender performance in some contemporary Austen adaptations demonstrates the persistence of hegemonic masculinity in the twenty-first century, while postfeminist performances of gender at times seem regressive.

text: 'He is a gentleman. I am a gentleman’s daughter. So far we are equal’: Gender performance in twenty-first century adaptations of Jane Austen’s Emma and Pride and prejudice The core focus of this thesis is gender performance in two of Jane Austen’s novels, Pride and Prejudice and Emma, and twenty-first-century adaptations of these novels. The thesis revolves around six key texts: Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice, its 2005 film adaptation of the same name directed by Joe Wright, and the transmedia modernisation, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries; as well as Austen’s novel Emma, its 2020 film adaptation of the same name directed by Autumn de Wilde, and the transmedia web series, Emma Approved. There have undoubtedly been shifts in gender performance over the two hundred years since Austen published her novels, but these are not always reflected in the adaptations. In part this is due to the surprisingly progressive nature of some of Austen’s meditations on gender, with Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice presenting as a pre-feminist and George Knightley from Emma performing as a pre-feminist man. These aspects of gender performance are extended by Keira Knightley’s portrayal of Elizabeth Bennet in Wright’s film, which reframes the character as a Romantic feminist, and Johnny Flynn’s performance of Mr. Knightley as a hero positioned under the female gaze in de Wilde’s film. 

Yet, the thesis also reveals that Austen’s feminist precursors are not always developed in contemporary adaptations. Indeed, Lizzie Bennet in The Lizzie Bennet Diaries is a postfeminist who is far from being an autonomous twenty-first century woman and is dependent on family and male suitors to provide her with opportunities. Likewise, the opportunity to reimagine Austen’s characters in a twenty-first-century gender context is also ignored in some adaptations, particularly the transmedia web series, with Emma in Emma Approved continuing to endorse patriarchal structures in the same way that she does in Austen’s original novel. The dandyism of Frank Churchill in Austen’s Emma is also undercut in Emma Approved through a performance of heteronormativity that sidelines the queer potential initiated by previous adaptations, such as the 1995 film Clueless. Most striking is the stagnant gender performance of Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice who remains the embodiment of hegemonic gentry masculinity in both the film and the web series. This thesis reveals that the lack of change in gender performance in some contemporary Austen adaptations demonstrates the persistence of hegemonic masculinity in the twenty-first century, while postfeminist performances of gender at times seem regressive.

year: 2023

title: Cost-effective mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions from different dairy systems in the Waikato region of New Zealand

authors: Adler, Alfredo A.

subjects: dairy production

abstract: The New Zealand dairy industry produces approximately 17% of this country's total greenhouse gas emissions (GHG-e) and it is also this nation's largest export industry. The industry needs to reduce GHG-e under proposed policy directives and for ongoing market security. Given these pressures, there is the need to identify cost-effective management strategies to reduce on-farm GHG-e. The objective of this study was to investigate how the management of dairy farms in the Waikato region of New Zealand could change to minimise the abatement costs associated with GHG-e mitigation. Three typical farm systems importing low (less than 10%), medium (10–20%), and high (more than 20%) amounts of supplement are modelled using a non-linear optimisation model.

A reduction in nitrogen fertiliser application was the production factor that changed the most to achieve the cap in all of the simulated systems, followed by a reduction in stocking rate. With the prices used in this study, decreasing farming intensity by reducing nitrogen fertiliser by 21–42% and stocking rate by 8–10% represented a cost of $68–$119/ha and a production reduction of 54–117 kg MS/ha for the three systems studied. Improving reproductive performance proved to be effective in reducing GHG-e, allowing for fewer replacement cows to be supported. However, it did not have a significant effect on profit when emissions were unconstrained. Nitrification inhibitors and stand-off pads were not identified as useful mitigation options, given their high cost relative to de-intensification.

text: Cost-effective mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions from different dairy systems in the Waikato region of New Zealand The New Zealand dairy industry produces approximately 17% of this country's total greenhouse gas emissions (GHG-e) and it is also this nation's largest export industry. The industry needs to reduce GHG-e under proposed policy directives and for ongoing market security. Given these pressures, there is the need to identify cost-effective management strategies to reduce on-farm GHG-e. The objective of this study was to investigate how the management of dairy farms in the Waikato region of New Zealand could change to minimise the abatement costs associated with GHG-e mitigation. Three typical farm systems importing low (less than 10%), medium (10–20%), and high (more than 20%) amounts of supplement are modelled using a non-linear optimisation model.

A reduction in nitrogen fertiliser application was the production factor that changed the most to achieve the cap in all of the simulated systems, followed by a reduction in stocking rate. With the prices used in this study, decreasing farming intensity by reducing nitrogen fertiliser by 21–42% and stocking rate by 8–10% represented a cost of $68–$119/ha and a production reduction of 54–117 kg MS/ha for the three systems studied. Improving reproductive performance proved to be effective in reducing GHG-e, allowing for fewer replacement cows to be supported. However, it did not have a significant effect on profit when emissions were unconstrained. Nitrification inhibitors and stand-off pads were not identified as useful mitigation options, given their high cost relative to de-intensification.

year: 2013

title: Inclusion of indigenous peoples in CONFINTEA VI and follow-up processes

authors: Morrison, Sandra L.

subjects: indigenous people and CONFINTEA VI

abstract: This paper discusses key issues raised by indigenous peoples during CONFINTEA VI and proposes strategies to enable them to participate in ongoing processes. Indigenous peoples are not involved in the design, implementation and monitoring of adult education programmes, and this often results in a “one-size-fits-all” model. This article takes the position that indigenous people must have full and effective participation in all matters which concern them and that well-meaning policy statements are only as effective as the display of real effort to make them work. One example of an indigenous community taking initiative in order to free itself of overwhelming deficit positioning by mainstream educational and other systems is the Māori community of Aotearoa/New Zealand. The paper argues that through CONFINTEA VI, there is still space for the voice of indigenous peoples to be heard.

text: Inclusion of indigenous peoples in CONFINTEA VI and follow-up processes This paper discusses key issues raised by indigenous peoples during CONFINTEA VI and proposes strategies to enable them to participate in ongoing processes. Indigenous peoples are not involved in the design, implementation and monitoring of adult education programmes, and this often results in a “one-size-fits-all” model. This article takes the position that indigenous people must have full and effective participation in all matters which concern them and that well-meaning policy statements are only as effective as the display of real effort to make them work. One example of an indigenous community taking initiative in order to free itself of overwhelming deficit positioning by mainstream educational and other systems is the Māori community of Aotearoa/New Zealand. The paper argues that through CONFINTEA VI, there is still space for the voice of indigenous peoples to be heard.

year: 2011