title: ‘Home is where the heart is broken?’: Examining the impact of intimate relationship challenges on meanings of home

authors: Smith, Paula Ngaire

subjects: home

abstract: This thesis makes an original contribution to emotional and material geographies by addressing the ways in which mutually constituted meanings of home and identity change in the wake of intimate, coupled relationship disruption. It examines practices of home making, unmaking and remaking of ten (nine women and one man) heterosexual individuals who have experienced relationship challenges and have homes the Waikato region of Aotearoa New Zealand. Three methods of data collection - semi-structured interviews; home visits; and, solicited and unsolicited diaries - were used to access the emotional and spatial experiences of this group of people.
Feminist, queer and poststructuralist geographical theories are used to analyse the connection between relationships, emotions and materialities of home spaces. My findings are organised into two related themes: materialities and emotions. The first theme - materialities – foregrounds the role of objects for making, unmaking and remaking home and heterosexual couples. Following objects in and out of couple’s homes highlights gendered power relations and the importance of intergenerational relationships. Individual power, as well as the power of objects, is examined, with attention paid to how power and coupledom can be subverted or queered. The second theme – emotions – allows for an understanding of care, love, guilt and shame across the scales of bodies, objects, and homes. Emotions and affect are ‘sticky’ in that they attach to objects and pass between bodies and homes. Physical violence enacted on the home, as well as emotional or financial abusive behaviour within the home, are considered. I also discuss home as a place of healing and recovery. 
It is hoped that this examination of heterosexual couple relationship breakdown and home disruptions will encourage more critical understandings of geographies of identities, home, materialities and emotions.

text: ‘Home is where the heart is broken?’: Examining the impact of intimate relationship challenges on meanings of home This thesis makes an original contribution to emotional and material geographies by addressing the ways in which mutually constituted meanings of home and identity change in the wake of intimate, coupled relationship disruption. It examines practices of home making, unmaking and remaking of ten (nine women and one man) heterosexual individuals who have experienced relationship challenges and have homes the Waikato region of Aotearoa New Zealand. Three methods of data collection - semi-structured interviews; home visits; and, solicited and unsolicited diaries - were used to access the emotional and spatial experiences of this group of people.
Feminist, queer and poststructuralist geographical theories are used to analyse the connection between relationships, emotions and materialities of home spaces. My findings are organised into two related themes: materialities and emotions. The first theme - materialities – foregrounds the role of objects for making, unmaking and remaking home and heterosexual couples. Following objects in and out of couple’s homes highlights gendered power relations and the importance of intergenerational relationships. Individual power, as well as the power of objects, is examined, with attention paid to how power and coupledom can be subverted or queered. The second theme – emotions – allows for an understanding of care, love, guilt and shame across the scales of bodies, objects, and homes. Emotions and affect are ‘sticky’ in that they attach to objects and pass between bodies and homes. Physical violence enacted on the home, as well as emotional or financial abusive behaviour within the home, are considered. I also discuss home as a place of healing and recovery. 
It is hoped that this examination of heterosexual couple relationship breakdown and home disruptions will encourage more critical understandings of geographies of identities, home, materialities and emotions.

year: 2017

title: Efficacy of Dog Training With and Without Remote Electronic Collars vs. a Focus on Positive Reinforcement by China, L., Mills, D. S., and Cooper, J. J. [Book Review]

authors: Sargisson, Rebecca J.

abstract: In an experimental analysis of the effectiveness of e-collars, China et al. (1) concluded that “there is no evidence to indicate that E-collar training is necessary” (p. 1). The paper contributes to a wider body of research on the use of e-collars for dog training, much of which is referenced in the paper. In this commentary, we focus on whether the methods and analysis support the findings, point to methodological inconsistencies between this and a companion paper (2), describe concerns with the statistical analysis, and suggest that the conclusions go well beyond the results.

E-collars are commonly used to reduce or prevent canine predation or aggression. With reference to welfare concerns, the justification is that predation behavior is life-threatening for both dog and attacked animal. An example is e-collar training to prevent hunting dogs from attacking kiwi [in New Zealand; (3)]. An intense electric shock is paired with a target stimulus (a stuffed kiwi) to produce a classically conditioned aversive response. The shock is delivered only once or twice, establishing a response that produces reliable avoidance of the target stimulus for up to 3 years (4).

China et al.'s (1) stated aim is to assess “the efficacy of the use of electronic collars to improve recall … and general obedience in dogs compared to training without E-collars” (p. 2). China et al. (1) do not claim to assess the efficacy of e-collars for the prevention of canine attacks. However, the paper may be used by governments to support a ban of e-collars for all training purposes, including the prevention of aggression (5).

text: Efficacy of Dog Training With and Without Remote Electronic Collars vs. a Focus on Positive Reinforcement by China, L., Mills, D. S., and Cooper, J. J. [Book Review] In an experimental analysis of the effectiveness of e-collars, China et al. (1) concluded that “there is no evidence to indicate that E-collar training is necessary” (p. 1). The paper contributes to a wider body of research on the use of e-collars for dog training, much of which is referenced in the paper. In this commentary, we focus on whether the methods and analysis support the findings, point to methodological inconsistencies between this and a companion paper (2), describe concerns with the statistical analysis, and suggest that the conclusions go well beyond the results.

E-collars are commonly used to reduce or prevent canine predation or aggression. With reference to welfare concerns, the justification is that predation behavior is life-threatening for both dog and attacked animal. An example is e-collar training to prevent hunting dogs from attacking kiwi [in New Zealand; (3)]. An intense electric shock is paired with a target stimulus (a stuffed kiwi) to produce a classically conditioned aversive response. The shock is delivered only once or twice, establishing a response that produces reliable avoidance of the target stimulus for up to 3 years (4).

China et al.'s (1) stated aim is to assess “the efficacy of the use of electronic collars to improve recall … and general obedience in dogs compared to training without E-collars” (p. 2). China et al. (1) do not claim to assess the efficacy of e-collars for the prevention of canine attacks. However, the paper may be used by governments to support a ban of e-collars for all training purposes, including the prevention of aggression (5).

year: 2021

title: RE-AUTHORISING BICULTURAL EXPERIENCES: Listening to previously silenced voices

authors: Stubbings, Mary Ann

subjects: Education

abstract: "Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence."
Leonardo de Vinci

The principles of the Doctrine of Discovery, conceived 500 years ago, advocated absolute power and authority for European invaders to conquer and claim indigenous land. This shaped the converging of Māori/Settler relationships and validated the colonisation of Aotearoa New Zealand. 

This thesis contends that the historic and taken for granted power and privilege that has benefitted Pākehā, transpired through a reimagined, fabricated version of our separate and combined past. The study unearths ingrained Pākehā perspectives and stereotypes about Māori, and a rejection of their disparate culture and identity. It highlights the role of schooling in Aotearoa New Zealand as a tool of colonisation to erase the culture and identity of Māori and to maintain a world view that authorised power and privilege for the Settlers. 

The study challenges Pākehā to 'step up' by shattering the sphere of silence around our combined historical narratives. It urges us [Pākehā] to develop critical consciousness so we may reflect on the world, and our position within it.

Inherent in this research is the premise that for Aotearoa, New Zealand to devise a future based on respectful and equitable sharing of social, financial, cultural, spiritual, and physical resources and opportunities, our silenced history, authorised by the State through the procedures of colonisation, must be acknowledged.

text: RE-AUTHORISING BICULTURAL EXPERIENCES: Listening to previously silenced voices "Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence."
Leonardo de Vinci

The principles of the Doctrine of Discovery, conceived 500 years ago, advocated absolute power and authority for European invaders to conquer and claim indigenous land. This shaped the converging of Māori/Settler relationships and validated the colonisation of Aotearoa New Zealand. 

This thesis contends that the historic and taken for granted power and privilege that has benefitted Pākehā, transpired through a reimagined, fabricated version of our separate and combined past. The study unearths ingrained Pākehā perspectives and stereotypes about Māori, and a rejection of their disparate culture and identity. It highlights the role of schooling in Aotearoa New Zealand as a tool of colonisation to erase the culture and identity of Māori and to maintain a world view that authorised power and privilege for the Settlers. 

The study challenges Pākehā to 'step up' by shattering the sphere of silence around our combined historical narratives. It urges us [Pākehā] to develop critical consciousness so we may reflect on the world, and our position within it.

Inherent in this research is the premise that for Aotearoa, New Zealand to devise a future based on respectful and equitable sharing of social, financial, cultural, spiritual, and physical resources and opportunities, our silenced history, authorised by the State through the procedures of colonisation, must be acknowledged.

year: 2023