title: Harming oneself and harming others: Young people’s experiences coping with difficult emotions

authors: McIntyre, Olivia Taylor

abstract: It is well established that a key function of self-injury is managing difficult or uncomfortable
emotions. Interestingly, emotion regulation is also a key function of aggression. Despite this
and other apparent similarities in risk and protective factors, these behaviours have never
been compared at length. The current research aimed to fill this gap by exploring to what
extent self-injury and outward-directed-injury were ways of dealing with the same issues,
especially managing negative emotions. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted
with participants aged between 18 and 35 years old. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to
analyse the data and develop seven themes. Although this research initially set out to explore
injury specifically, many of the experiences described by participants did not involve
physical injury but were still harmful to themself or others. Accordingly, the findings of this
study focus more broadly on harm. The themes outline the self-harm and outward-directedharm
engaged in by the participants, as well as shared risk and protective factors. Factors that
influenced participants’ engagement in self-harm and outward-directed-harm included
adverse life challenges such as mental illness, trauma, low self-worth or nonconformity to
social norms; their friends and family; a difficulty in differentiating emotions; an indifference
for personal safety; and a lack of support services and mental health education in New
Zealand. This exploratory study gives insight into twelve young people’s experiences using
self-harm and outward-directed-harm to cope with their difficult emotions. These insights
contribute to an area of research that is lacking whilst also highlighting the need for further
research comparing these distinct but related behaviours.

text: Harming oneself and harming others: Young people’s experiences coping with difficult emotions It is well established that a key function of self-injury is managing difficult or uncomfortable
emotions. Interestingly, emotion regulation is also a key function of aggression. Despite this
and other apparent similarities in risk and protective factors, these behaviours have never
been compared at length. The current research aimed to fill this gap by exploring to what
extent self-injury and outward-directed-injury were ways of dealing with the same issues,
especially managing negative emotions. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted
with participants aged between 18 and 35 years old. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to
analyse the data and develop seven themes. Although this research initially set out to explore
injury specifically, many of the experiences described by participants did not involve
physical injury but were still harmful to themself or others. Accordingly, the findings of this
study focus more broadly on harm. The themes outline the self-harm and outward-directedharm
engaged in by the participants, as well as shared risk and protective factors. Factors that
influenced participants’ engagement in self-harm and outward-directed-harm included
adverse life challenges such as mental illness, trauma, low self-worth or nonconformity to
social norms; their friends and family; a difficulty in differentiating emotions; an indifference
for personal safety; and a lack of support services and mental health education in New
Zealand. This exploratory study gives insight into twelve young people’s experiences using
self-harm and outward-directed-harm to cope with their difficult emotions. These insights
contribute to an area of research that is lacking whilst also highlighting the need for further
research comparing these distinct but related behaviours.

year: 2024

title: A stress-test for democracy: Analysing the New Zealand government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic from a constitutional perspective

authors: Williamson, Myra Elsie Jane Bell

subjects: COVID-19 coronavirus, New Zealand’s constitutional arrangements, freedom of expression and COVID-19, the role of the media and COVID-19, national state of emergency and COVID-19, the Epidemic Response Committee, parliamentary oversight of the executive, COVID-19 investigatory body

abstract: This article explores the New Zealand Government’s response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic through a legal and constitutional lens. It adopts an essentially doctrinal analysis in describing the response but intertwines a comparative law thread, to draw selected comparisons with how other governments have responded. It offers some political, demographical and historical insights to provide background information for non-New Zealand readers. The article aims to provide a comprehensive view of New Zealand’s constitutional arrangements and how they have impacted on the Government’s response to COVID-19 as well as a critical analysis of that response by assessing the effectiveness of various measures adopted by the New Zealand Government. The article consists of six sections. Section one provides an introduction to New Zealand’s constitutional framework including some demographic information for non-New Zealand readers. Section two describes the New Zealand Government’s overall response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Section three discusses the declaration of a national state of emergency. Section four examines the Parliamentary oversight mechanism known as the “Epidemic Response Committee”. Section five explores the role of the media and the importance of upholding the right to freedom of expression when responding to the pandemic. Finally, section six draws out some overall recommendations for New Zealand and other countries to consider when moving forward and preparing for the next pandemic

text: A stress-test for democracy: Analysing the New Zealand government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic from a constitutional perspective This article explores the New Zealand Government’s response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic through a legal and constitutional lens. It adopts an essentially doctrinal analysis in describing the response but intertwines a comparative law thread, to draw selected comparisons with how other governments have responded. It offers some political, demographical and historical insights to provide background information for non-New Zealand readers. The article aims to provide a comprehensive view of New Zealand’s constitutional arrangements and how they have impacted on the Government’s response to COVID-19 as well as a critical analysis of that response by assessing the effectiveness of various measures adopted by the New Zealand Government. The article consists of six sections. Section one provides an introduction to New Zealand’s constitutional framework including some demographic information for non-New Zealand readers. Section two describes the New Zealand Government’s overall response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Section three discusses the declaration of a national state of emergency. Section four examines the Parliamentary oversight mechanism known as the “Epidemic Response Committee”. Section five explores the role of the media and the importance of upholding the right to freedom of expression when responding to the pandemic. Finally, section six draws out some overall recommendations for New Zealand and other countries to consider when moving forward and preparing for the next pandemic

year: 2020

title: Keynote address: Is there a distinctive Māori psychology?

authors: Durie, Mason

subjects: Maori

abstract: Many of the theoretical paradigms that underpin the study of psychology pay marginal attention to culture as a determinant of psychology.
While there are some aspects of human experience that are universal, patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving are by no means divorced from specific cultural influence. A challenge for Māori psychologists is to re-examine psychological theory from a Māori perspective. In attempting to identify the psychological distinctiveness underlying a Māori perspective, this paper has introduced marae encounters as a rich source of information within which distinctive psychological characteristics can be identified.

text: Keynote address: Is there a distinctive Māori psychology? Many of the theoretical paradigms that underpin the study of psychology pay marginal attention to culture as a determinant of psychology.
While there are some aspects of human experience that are universal, patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving are by no means divorced from specific cultural influence. A challenge for Māori psychologists is to re-examine psychological theory from a Māori perspective. In attempting to identify the psychological distinctiveness underlying a Māori perspective, this paper has introduced marae encounters as a rich source of information within which distinctive psychological characteristics can be identified.

year: 2003