title: Fear and uncertainty: The surrogacy triad’s experience of social workers’ role ambiguity

authors: Walker, Ruth

abstract: In New Zealand, as in the UK, the surrogate is the legal mother of the child until parentage is transferred by the court to the intended parents. Social workers are responsible for assessing the intended parents’ suitability to parent and scrutinising the arrangement. However, courts almost invariably transfer parentage, regardless of their recommendations, with the result that social workers experience a significant amount of role ambiguity. We conducted semi-structured interviews with surrogates and intended parents about their experience of surrogacy in New Zealand, focussing on the changes they would like to see in the regulatory framework, particularly with regards to legal parentage and the involvement of social workers in assessing intending parents’ suitability to parent. Thematic analysis of interview transcripts showed that role ambiguity and role conflict experienced by social workers have their corollary in the experience of intended parents and surrogates, where it manifests as either fear that the adoption could be declined or uncertainty about the purpose of the social worker’s involvement. Although participants recommended that their role be eliminated—along with the adoption process itself—we argue that there is a valuable role for social workers at the beginning of the process.

text: Fear and uncertainty: The surrogacy triad’s experience of social workers’ role ambiguity In New Zealand, as in the UK, the surrogate is the legal mother of the child until parentage is transferred by the court to the intended parents. Social workers are responsible for assessing the intended parents’ suitability to parent and scrutinising the arrangement. However, courts almost invariably transfer parentage, regardless of their recommendations, with the result that social workers experience a significant amount of role ambiguity. We conducted semi-structured interviews with surrogates and intended parents about their experience of surrogacy in New Zealand, focussing on the changes they would like to see in the regulatory framework, particularly with regards to legal parentage and the involvement of social workers in assessing intending parents’ suitability to parent. Thematic analysis of interview transcripts showed that role ambiguity and role conflict experienced by social workers have their corollary in the experience of intended parents and surrogates, where it manifests as either fear that the adoption could be declined or uncertainty about the purpose of the social worker’s involvement. Although participants recommended that their role be eliminated—along with the adoption process itself—we argue that there is a valuable role for social workers at the beginning of the process.

year: 2020

title: Effect of amending cattle urine with dicyandiamide on soil nitrogen dynamics and leaching of urinary-nitrogen

authors: Welten, Brendon Grant

subjects: 15N isotope

abstract: Oral administration of dicyandiamide (DCD) to grazing ruminants for excretion in urine represents an alternative delivery technique to conventional broadcast application of DCD to reduce urinary nitrogen (N) losses from grazed pastures. A field lysimeter trial and an allied plot mowing trial were conducted to examine the effects of intermixing DCD in cattle urine on soil and pasture N dynamics and leaching losses in a free-draining pumice soil. DCD was either intermixed with urine to achieve equivalent application rates of 10, 30 or 60 kg DCD haˉ¹, or surface broadcasted as a spray solution (10 or 30 kg DCD haˉ¹) onto the soil surface following urine application and compared to controls (urine and nil-controls without DCD). A single application of  ¹⁵N-labelled artificial cattle urine (equivalent to 600 kg N haˉ¹) and corresponding DCD treatments were applied in late autumn and monitored over the following 300 days. DCD altered the partitioning of the applied urine-¹⁵N by increasing plant uptake of urinary-N by 32–60% and decreasing urine-¹⁵N in leachate, which was primarily influenced by the amount of DCD applied. The method of DCD application had no significant effect on leaching of any N constituent, except for ammonium-N, which was higher in the intermixed relative to the spray DCD treatments (26 vs. 18 kg N haˉ¹, respectively; P < 0.05). The total amount of nitrate-N leached was reduced from 217 kg N haˉ¹in the urine-control to 143, 80 and 61 kg N haˉ¹ (P < 0.05) with increasing rates of DCD application of 10, 30 and 60 kg haˉ¹, respectively. Application of DCD also significantly (P < 0.05) decreased the total amounts of ammonium-N and dissolved organic-N (DON) leached, but led to leaching losses of DCD-N. Rapid and large leaching losses of DCD down the soil profile led to spatial separation from the ammonium-N retained in the surface layer. Leaching of DCD (below 600 mm) at 55–69% of that applied represented an important leachable organic-N source (equivalent to 4–27 kg N haˉ¹), and reduced the overall efficacy of DCD in decreasing total N leaching losses. The total N leaching losses from all measured N fractions were 332 kg N haˉ¹ in the urine-control compared to 236, 157 and 154 kg N haˉ¹ at DCD application rates of 10, 30 and 60 kg haˉ¹, respectively. This study highlights the potential benefit from delivering DCD in cattle urine to reduce urinary-N leaching losses, with the most effective targeted single application rate being 30 kg haˉ¹ under the experimental conditions of this study.

text: Effect of amending cattle urine with dicyandiamide on soil nitrogen dynamics and leaching of urinary-nitrogen Oral administration of dicyandiamide (DCD) to grazing ruminants for excretion in urine represents an alternative delivery technique to conventional broadcast application of DCD to reduce urinary nitrogen (N) losses from grazed pastures. A field lysimeter trial and an allied plot mowing trial were conducted to examine the effects of intermixing DCD in cattle urine on soil and pasture N dynamics and leaching losses in a free-draining pumice soil. DCD was either intermixed with urine to achieve equivalent application rates of 10, 30 or 60 kg DCD haˉ¹, or surface broadcasted as a spray solution (10 or 30 kg DCD haˉ¹) onto the soil surface following urine application and compared to controls (urine and nil-controls without DCD). A single application of  ¹⁵N-labelled artificial cattle urine (equivalent to 600 kg N haˉ¹) and corresponding DCD treatments were applied in late autumn and monitored over the following 300 days. DCD altered the partitioning of the applied urine-¹⁵N by increasing plant uptake of urinary-N by 32–60% and decreasing urine-¹⁵N in leachate, which was primarily influenced by the amount of DCD applied. The method of DCD application had no significant effect on leaching of any N constituent, except for ammonium-N, which was higher in the intermixed relative to the spray DCD treatments (26 vs. 18 kg N haˉ¹, respectively; P < 0.05). The total amount of nitrate-N leached was reduced from 217 kg N haˉ¹in the urine-control to 143, 80 and 61 kg N haˉ¹ (P < 0.05) with increasing rates of DCD application of 10, 30 and 60 kg haˉ¹, respectively. Application of DCD also significantly (P < 0.05) decreased the total amounts of ammonium-N and dissolved organic-N (DON) leached, but led to leaching losses of DCD-N. Rapid and large leaching losses of DCD down the soil profile led to spatial separation from the ammonium-N retained in the surface layer. Leaching of DCD (below 600 mm) at 55–69% of that applied represented an important leachable organic-N source (equivalent to 4–27 kg N haˉ¹), and reduced the overall efficacy of DCD in decreasing total N leaching losses. The total N leaching losses from all measured N fractions were 332 kg N haˉ¹ in the urine-control compared to 236, 157 and 154 kg N haˉ¹ at DCD application rates of 10, 30 and 60 kg haˉ¹, respectively. This study highlights the potential benefit from delivering DCD in cattle urine to reduce urinary-N leaching losses, with the most effective targeted single application rate being 30 kg haˉ¹ under the experimental conditions of this study.

year: 2013

title: Maori thinking with a dead white male: Philosophizing in the realm of Novalis

authors: Mika, Carl Te Hira

subjects: Novalis

abstract: In this paper I shall discuss my experiences of referring to Novalis in the context of Maori postcolonialism and metaphysical philosophy. As with other methods of research, from a Maori perspective one always alights on and then carries the effects of the philosopher that stands behind the method, whether the philosopher is silent or explicit. This important onto-epistemological interaction, in a general sense, acknowledges for the indigenous person that one is always ‘within’ the world and not detached from it. The maligned dead white male hence unavoidably becomes the highly constructive, living impulse behind what is to become fresh and innovative indigenous thinking.

text: Maori thinking with a dead white male: Philosophizing in the realm of Novalis In this paper I shall discuss my experiences of referring to Novalis in the context of Maori postcolonialism and metaphysical philosophy. As with other methods of research, from a Maori perspective one always alights on and then carries the effects of the philosopher that stands behind the method, whether the philosopher is silent or explicit. This important onto-epistemological interaction, in a general sense, acknowledges for the indigenous person that one is always ‘within’ the world and not detached from it. The maligned dead white male hence unavoidably becomes the highly constructive, living impulse behind what is to become fresh and innovative indigenous thinking.

year: 2014