title: Examining Professional Identity: The Views of New Zealand Chartered Accountants

authors: Blake, Emma

subjects: New Zealand Chartered Accountants

abstract: The purpose of this thesis was to examine the professional identity of New Zealand chartered accountants. A perusal of prior literature indicated that professional identity is integral to a profession, yet the concept has not been well defined. This study attempts to gain a greater understanding of this term. 
Specifically, semi structured interviews were conducted with 60 New Zealand chartered accountants. These participants were categorised by both their areas of employment and level of experience. The areas of employment included: top tier, midtier, rural, industrial, and academic categories, while their level of experience was segmented into 0-2, 3-5, 6-10 and 10+ years of experience. These interviews were transcribed and run through Leximancer 4.0, a computer textual analysis program. This software produced conceptual maps, key themes, and concepts which were used in the data analysis process.
The findings of this thesis were specific to the New Zealand accounting body: NZICA. Consistent with prior studies, this paper found that the term “professional identity” was not well understood. Indeed, terms such as stereotypes, traits, characteristics, attributes, and branding were used interchangeably for the term. Furthermore, there was a misalignment between the professional identity portrayed by NZICA and the interpretation of its members. Members identified a weak relationship between themselves and their institute. This was a consistent finding across the entirety of the sampled population. 
This study has practical implications for future research. NZICA passed a vote as recently as October 2013 to become “One New Institute”, thus it is currently undertaking a rebranding process. This study identifies weaknesses in current branding that may, in future, be able to be remedied. Furthermore, this study is replicable and can provide other institutes with an opportunity to gain insight into their respective organisations.
As no prior accounting literature has undertaken to define professional identity, this investigation also provides an insight into the term. As a result, this insight can be applied to wider academic literature.

text: Examining Professional Identity: The Views of New Zealand Chartered Accountants The purpose of this thesis was to examine the professional identity of New Zealand chartered accountants. A perusal of prior literature indicated that professional identity is integral to a profession, yet the concept has not been well defined. This study attempts to gain a greater understanding of this term. 
Specifically, semi structured interviews were conducted with 60 New Zealand chartered accountants. These participants were categorised by both their areas of employment and level of experience. The areas of employment included: top tier, midtier, rural, industrial, and academic categories, while their level of experience was segmented into 0-2, 3-5, 6-10 and 10+ years of experience. These interviews were transcribed and run through Leximancer 4.0, a computer textual analysis program. This software produced conceptual maps, key themes, and concepts which were used in the data analysis process.
The findings of this thesis were specific to the New Zealand accounting body: NZICA. Consistent with prior studies, this paper found that the term “professional identity” was not well understood. Indeed, terms such as stereotypes, traits, characteristics, attributes, and branding were used interchangeably for the term. Furthermore, there was a misalignment between the professional identity portrayed by NZICA and the interpretation of its members. Members identified a weak relationship between themselves and their institute. This was a consistent finding across the entirety of the sampled population. 
This study has practical implications for future research. NZICA passed a vote as recently as October 2013 to become “One New Institute”, thus it is currently undertaking a rebranding process. This study identifies weaknesses in current branding that may, in future, be able to be remedied. Furthermore, this study is replicable and can provide other institutes with an opportunity to gain insight into their respective organisations.
As no prior accounting literature has undertaken to define professional identity, this investigation also provides an insight into the term. As a result, this insight can be applied to wider academic literature.

year: 2014

title: Molecular adaptations to psychrophily: the impact of ‘omic’ technologies

authors: Casanueva, Ana

subjects: molecular adaptations

abstract: The ability of cold-adapted microorganisms (generally referred to as psychrophiles) to survive is the result of molecular evolution and adaptations which, together, counteract the potentially deleterious effects of low kinetic energy environments and the freezing of water. These physiological adaptations are seen at many levels. Against a background of detailed comparative protein structural analyses, the recent surge of psychrophile proteome, genome, metagenome and transcriptome sequence data has triggered a series of sophisticated analyses of changes in global protein composition. These studies have revealed consistent and statistically robust changes in amino acid composition, interpreted as evolutionary mechanisms designed to destabilise protein structures, as well as identifying the presence of novel genes involved in cold adaptation.

text: Molecular adaptations to psychrophily: the impact of ‘omic’ technologies The ability of cold-adapted microorganisms (generally referred to as psychrophiles) to survive is the result of molecular evolution and adaptations which, together, counteract the potentially deleterious effects of low kinetic energy environments and the freezing of water. These physiological adaptations are seen at many levels. Against a background of detailed comparative protein structural analyses, the recent surge of psychrophile proteome, genome, metagenome and transcriptome sequence data has triggered a series of sophisticated analyses of changes in global protein composition. These studies have revealed consistent and statistically robust changes in amino acid composition, interpreted as evolutionary mechanisms designed to destabilise protein structures, as well as identifying the presence of novel genes involved in cold adaptation.

year: 2010

title: Hōmai te Waiora ki Ahau: te ara whakamua - towards the establishment of construct validity

authors: Palmer, Stephanie

abstract: Hōmai te Waiora ki Ahau: te ara
whakamua, is about the development of a
tool to measure psychological wellbeing
among Māori. Why is it relevant? Because
a quick look at the June 2002 edition of
New Zealand’s Journal of Psychology will
show you that the wellbeing measures
being used in this country are not responsive to the needs of
Māori, are not based on Māori concepts or
Constructs, do not facilitate Māori participation in
te ao Māori and do not provide pathways through
which Māori can develop a positive Māori
identity.
It is highly unlikely that the tools
which psychologists use to measure
wellbeing among Māori will help Māori to
experience whānau ora and that, as we all
know, is the paramount health objective for
Māori (Ministry of Health, 2002). In this
regard, it would seem that the powers that
be in psychology are failing to meet their
Treaty obligations to Māori. Therefore,
Hōmai te Waiora ki Ahau simply aims to assist change. This presentation will briefly
describe the context of the development of
this measure, the methodologies used to
develop this tool, the outcomes of a small
pilot-study, and current challenges and
future directions for Hōmai te Waiora ki
Ahau.

text: Hōmai te Waiora ki Ahau: te ara whakamua - towards the establishment of construct validity Hōmai te Waiora ki Ahau: te ara
whakamua, is about the development of a
tool to measure psychological wellbeing
among Māori. Why is it relevant? Because
a quick look at the June 2002 edition of
New Zealand’s Journal of Psychology will
show you that the wellbeing measures
being used in this country are not responsive to the needs of
Māori, are not based on Māori concepts or
Constructs, do not facilitate Māori participation in
te ao Māori and do not provide pathways through
which Māori can develop a positive Māori
identity.
It is highly unlikely that the tools
which psychologists use to measure
wellbeing among Māori will help Māori to
experience whānau ora and that, as we all
know, is the paramount health objective for
Māori (Ministry of Health, 2002). In this
regard, it would seem that the powers that
be in psychology are failing to meet their
Treaty obligations to Māori. Therefore,
Hōmai te Waiora ki Ahau simply aims to assist change. This presentation will briefly
describe the context of the development of
this measure, the methodologies used to
develop this tool, the outcomes of a small
pilot-study, and current challenges and
future directions for Hōmai te Waiora ki
Ahau.

year: 2003