title: Spraying as a solution

authors: Hofstra, Deborah

abstract: When invasive aquatic weeds establish in a lake, they usually result in detrimental effects on native biodiversity, amenity and utility values. Once a weed species or weed issue has been recognised control options are often sought to protect amenity and utility functions of aquatic systems. There is also a growing desire to control invasive plants to support the restoration of lakes, improving biodiversity and habitat values. The tools or methods that can be utilised for the control of invasive aquatic plants can be broadly described by the following categories; habitat manipulation; biological, chemical, mechanical and manual, and integrated weed control. The selection of which tool to use is primarily determined by the target weed, characteristics of the lake or waterbody and the management goals or desired outcome. Herbicides can be used to provide effective, selective and targeted weed control. This paper describes the products available, how they work and the environmental benefits that can be achieved with their use.

text: Spraying as a solution When invasive aquatic weeds establish in a lake, they usually result in detrimental effects on native biodiversity, amenity and utility values. Once a weed species or weed issue has been recognised control options are often sought to protect amenity and utility functions of aquatic systems. There is also a growing desire to control invasive plants to support the restoration of lakes, improving biodiversity and habitat values. The tools or methods that can be utilised for the control of invasive aquatic plants can be broadly described by the following categories; habitat manipulation; biological, chemical, mechanical and manual, and integrated weed control. The selection of which tool to use is primarily determined by the target weed, characteristics of the lake or waterbody and the management goals or desired outcome. Herbicides can be used to provide effective, selective and targeted weed control. This paper describes the products available, how they work and the environmental benefits that can be achieved with their use.

year: 2015

title: The Effect of Low Dose Alcohol on Simulated Driving and Cognitive Performance

authors: Beard, Paula Joanne

subjects: Alcohol

abstract: The current study investigated the effect of alcohol on simulated driving and cognitive performance across multiple blood alcohol levels (0.00, 0.02, 0.05 & 0.08%).  The main objective was examine if the effect of alcohol was dose and task dependent and whether there was a mismatch in the development of acute tolerance across subjective and objective measures.  Thirty participants (male & female) completed a simulated drive that comprised a rural highway which was divided into low and high traffic segments.  In the driving scenario, a range of measures including speed maintenance, sign detection and hazard reaction were collected.  Participants also completed a computer administered continuous performance test, a subjective measure of intoxication and had their breath alcohol level recorded.  The experiment included a pre-alcohol, intoxicated and two post alcohol recovery conditions in which the measures were repeated at the same time intervals.  Results showed no significant impairments in accelerator or brake reaction time but there was a significant increase in the number of crashes which increased in a dose dependent manner.  There were no significant impairments in the sign detection task but traffic density was found to impair driving performance particularly in the heavy traffic segments.   A significant Group*Density*Road interaction was also found, where the 0.05% group had a higher maximum speed on Road 4 than on Road 3 in the heavy traffic (70km/h) zone.  There were no significant findings for the development of acute tolerance.

text: The Effect of Low Dose Alcohol on Simulated Driving and Cognitive Performance The current study investigated the effect of alcohol on simulated driving and cognitive performance across multiple blood alcohol levels (0.00, 0.02, 0.05 & 0.08%).  The main objective was examine if the effect of alcohol was dose and task dependent and whether there was a mismatch in the development of acute tolerance across subjective and objective measures.  Thirty participants (male & female) completed a simulated drive that comprised a rural highway which was divided into low and high traffic segments.  In the driving scenario, a range of measures including speed maintenance, sign detection and hazard reaction were collected.  Participants also completed a computer administered continuous performance test, a subjective measure of intoxication and had their breath alcohol level recorded.  The experiment included a pre-alcohol, intoxicated and two post alcohol recovery conditions in which the measures were repeated at the same time intervals.  Results showed no significant impairments in accelerator or brake reaction time but there was a significant increase in the number of crashes which increased in a dose dependent manner.  There were no significant impairments in the sign detection task but traffic density was found to impair driving performance particularly in the heavy traffic segments.   A significant Group*Density*Road interaction was also found, where the 0.05% group had a higher maximum speed on Road 4 than on Road 3 in the heavy traffic (70km/h) zone.  There were no significant findings for the development of acute tolerance.

year: 2012

title: Indigenous knowledges in health policy in Aotearoa New Zealand and Saskatchewan Canada: A comparative study

authors: Green, Jane Alison

subjects: Indigenous

abstract: For more than two decades, components of Māori knowledges in the form of Māori words and concepts have been part of health policy in Aotearoa New Zealand. Health policy that engages Māori words and concepts resonates with Māori community values and aspirations and is thought to contribute to the revitalisation of Māori knowledges. Absent from the literature is an examination of this phenomenon; specifically, the socio-political factors that facilitate and limit the engagement of Māori knowledges with health policy. Of the four settler states, only in Aotearoa New Zealand are the knowledges of the Indigenous peoples engaged with health policy. In Saskatchewan, Canada, the First Nations and Métis peoples have engaged their knowledges with federal and provincially funded health programmes and services but not health policy. This study adopts a two-country comparative policy framework to investigate and theorise the historical and contemporary socio-political factors associated with the engagement of Indigenous knowledges in health policy in Aotearoa New Zealand and Saskatchewan, Canada. An adaption is made to the Kaupapa Māori approach so that the complexities of a two-country case study approach are addressed and engagement in health policy as a strategy for knowledge revitalisation is theorised. The study also takes a path less travelled which is to investigate the impact that engagement with health policy has upon the intangible or the ontological aspects of Māori knowledges. Māori describe their knowledges as comprised of tangible and intangible elements, both of which are important. Another adaption is made to the Kaupapa Māori theoretical approach which is to add speculative inquiry. The study argues that speculative inquiry in the form of contemplative, analytical, relational and viscerally aware practices are commonplace in Māori communities. Adding speculative inquiry to an already rich theoretical body that is Kaupapa Māori research provides an opening for other Kaupapa Māori researchers to expand non-empirical inquiry. The study concludes that government policies have had a decimating effect upon Māori, First Nations and Métis knowledges. Moreover, recent reports from commissions and inquiries indicate these knowledges and associated languages continue to decline for a number of reasons, including the impact of contemporary government policies. Health policy, this study asserts, is an uncertain site from which to revitalise Māori, First Nations and Métis knowledges.

text: Indigenous knowledges in health policy in Aotearoa New Zealand and Saskatchewan Canada: A comparative study For more than two decades, components of Māori knowledges in the form of Māori words and concepts have been part of health policy in Aotearoa New Zealand. Health policy that engages Māori words and concepts resonates with Māori community values and aspirations and is thought to contribute to the revitalisation of Māori knowledges. Absent from the literature is an examination of this phenomenon; specifically, the socio-political factors that facilitate and limit the engagement of Māori knowledges with health policy. Of the four settler states, only in Aotearoa New Zealand are the knowledges of the Indigenous peoples engaged with health policy. In Saskatchewan, Canada, the First Nations and Métis peoples have engaged their knowledges with federal and provincially funded health programmes and services but not health policy. This study adopts a two-country comparative policy framework to investigate and theorise the historical and contemporary socio-political factors associated with the engagement of Indigenous knowledges in health policy in Aotearoa New Zealand and Saskatchewan, Canada. An adaption is made to the Kaupapa Māori approach so that the complexities of a two-country case study approach are addressed and engagement in health policy as a strategy for knowledge revitalisation is theorised. The study also takes a path less travelled which is to investigate the impact that engagement with health policy has upon the intangible or the ontological aspects of Māori knowledges. Māori describe their knowledges as comprised of tangible and intangible elements, both of which are important. Another adaption is made to the Kaupapa Māori theoretical approach which is to add speculative inquiry. The study argues that speculative inquiry in the form of contemplative, analytical, relational and viscerally aware practices are commonplace in Māori communities. Adding speculative inquiry to an already rich theoretical body that is Kaupapa Māori research provides an opening for other Kaupapa Māori researchers to expand non-empirical inquiry. The study concludes that government policies have had a decimating effect upon Māori, First Nations and Métis knowledges. Moreover, recent reports from commissions and inquiries indicate these knowledges and associated languages continue to decline for a number of reasons, including the impact of contemporary government policies. Health policy, this study asserts, is an uncertain site from which to revitalise Māori, First Nations and Métis knowledges.

year: 2018