title: Introduction

authors: Roche, Maree A.

abstract: Tena koutou and welcome to the NZ Journal of Human Resource Management’s special issue on Positive Psychology at Work. Positive Psychology at work is the applied study of human flourishing and optimal functioning. It is grounded in the belief that people want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best within them and to enhance their experiences of work. One of the principal aims has been to redress the imbalance of research from the deficit or illness approach, towards harnessing the benefits of flourishing and positivity at work. In 2001 Fred Luthans led the organisational and applied focus of positive psychology into the workplace, setting standards of research and expectations, and the area has continued to surge. Last year, Donaldson, Dollwet and Rao conducted a systematic review and identified 1336 articles published between 1999 and 2013 in the area. The findings demonstrate that positive psychology is a growing and vibrant area, committed to using the same rigorous scientific methods as other academic disciplines, and dedicated to the pursuit of understanding well-being, excellence and optimal human functioning at work. This special issue contributes to improving our understanding of positive psychology in the New Zealand workplace and publishes a range of perspectives in the area.

text: Introduction Tena koutou and welcome to the NZ Journal of Human Resource Management’s special issue on Positive Psychology at Work. Positive Psychology at work is the applied study of human flourishing and optimal functioning. It is grounded in the belief that people want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best within them and to enhance their experiences of work. One of the principal aims has been to redress the imbalance of research from the deficit or illness approach, towards harnessing the benefits of flourishing and positivity at work. In 2001 Fred Luthans led the organisational and applied focus of positive psychology into the workplace, setting standards of research and expectations, and the area has continued to surge. Last year, Donaldson, Dollwet and Rao conducted a systematic review and identified 1336 articles published between 1999 and 2013 in the area. The findings demonstrate that positive psychology is a growing and vibrant area, committed to using the same rigorous scientific methods as other academic disciplines, and dedicated to the pursuit of understanding well-being, excellence and optimal human functioning at work. This special issue contributes to improving our understanding of positive psychology in the New Zealand workplace and publishes a range of perspectives in the area.

year: 2015

title: A community-based framework for aquatic ecosystem models

authors: Trolle, Dennis

subjects: Ecological modelling

abstract: Here, we communicate a point of departure in the development of aquatic ecosystem models, namely a new community-based framework, which supports an enhanced and transparent union between the collective expertise that exists in the communities of traditional ecologists and model developers. Through a literature survey, we document the growing importance of numerical aquatic ecosystem models while also noting the difficulties, up until now, of the aquatic scientific community to make significant advances in these models during the past two decades. Through a common forum for aquatic ecosystem modellers we aim to (i) advance collaboration within the aquatic ecosystem modelling community, (ii) enable increased use of models for research, policy and ecosystem-based management, (iii) facilitate a collective framework using common (standardised) code to ensure that model development is incremental, (iv) increase the transparency of model structure, assumptions and techniques, (v) achieve a greater understanding of aquatic ecosystem functioning, (vi) increase the reliability of predictions by aquatic ecosystem models, (vii) stimulate model inter-comparisons including differing model approaches, and (viii) avoid ‘re-inventing the wheel’, thus accelerating improvements to aquatic ecosystem models. We intend to achieve this as a community that fosters interactions amongst ecologists and model developers. Further, we outline scientific topics recently articulated by the scientific community, which lend themselves well to being addressed by integrative modelling approaches and serve to motivate the progress and implementation of an open source model framework.

text: A community-based framework for aquatic ecosystem models Here, we communicate a point of departure in the development of aquatic ecosystem models, namely a new community-based framework, which supports an enhanced and transparent union between the collective expertise that exists in the communities of traditional ecologists and model developers. Through a literature survey, we document the growing importance of numerical aquatic ecosystem models while also noting the difficulties, up until now, of the aquatic scientific community to make significant advances in these models during the past two decades. Through a common forum for aquatic ecosystem modellers we aim to (i) advance collaboration within the aquatic ecosystem modelling community, (ii) enable increased use of models for research, policy and ecosystem-based management, (iii) facilitate a collective framework using common (standardised) code to ensure that model development is incremental, (iv) increase the transparency of model structure, assumptions and techniques, (v) achieve a greater understanding of aquatic ecosystem functioning, (vi) increase the reliability of predictions by aquatic ecosystem models, (vii) stimulate model inter-comparisons including differing model approaches, and (viii) avoid ‘re-inventing the wheel’, thus accelerating improvements to aquatic ecosystem models. We intend to achieve this as a community that fosters interactions amongst ecologists and model developers. Further, we outline scientific topics recently articulated by the scientific community, which lend themselves well to being addressed by integrative modelling approaches and serve to motivate the progress and implementation of an open source model framework.

year: 2011

title: "Everything has shaped you": Contributors to young Māori university students' ability to flourish

authors: Major, Darcie Ngahuia

subjects: Maori

abstract: There are many disparities when considering the health and wellbeing of Māori in Aotearoa today, and the education sector is no different, with Māori less likely to leave school with level 2 certificate or higher compared with non-Māori.  In response to the deficit orientated research on Māori and education, my thesis explores those factors contributing to young Māori tertiary students flourishing. My research includes five students from the University of Waikato who were between the ages of 17-24 years. A multi-method qualitative approach was utilised while engaging a Kaupapa Māori research framework. Participants were found to have a range of interconnected factors which contribute to their ability to flourish both inside and outside of the university.  Of particular importance to my participants was relational connectedness or whanaungatanga within and outside of the tertiary environment, landscapes which offered multiple forms of care, and notions of both collective and individual motivation. Some of the challenges experienced by my participants included a sense of socio-cultural isolation, the minimal inclusion of Māori worldviews and perspectives within the general curriculum, and the personal stress of responding to negative stereotypes of Maori as generally unproductive members of society. Flourishing for my participants is therefore multi-layered, and recognises the interconnected nature of health and wellbeing.

text: "Everything has shaped you": Contributors to young Māori university students' ability to flourish There are many disparities when considering the health and wellbeing of Māori in Aotearoa today, and the education sector is no different, with Māori less likely to leave school with level 2 certificate or higher compared with non-Māori.  In response to the deficit orientated research on Māori and education, my thesis explores those factors contributing to young Māori tertiary students flourishing. My research includes five students from the University of Waikato who were between the ages of 17-24 years. A multi-method qualitative approach was utilised while engaging a Kaupapa Māori research framework. Participants were found to have a range of interconnected factors which contribute to their ability to flourish both inside and outside of the university.  Of particular importance to my participants was relational connectedness or whanaungatanga within and outside of the tertiary environment, landscapes which offered multiple forms of care, and notions of both collective and individual motivation. Some of the challenges experienced by my participants included a sense of socio-cultural isolation, the minimal inclusion of Māori worldviews and perspectives within the general curriculum, and the personal stress of responding to negative stereotypes of Maori as generally unproductive members of society. Flourishing for my participants is therefore multi-layered, and recognises the interconnected nature of health and wellbeing.

year: 2017