title: Ko wai tēnei e tū ake nei? Activating collectivity and accountability through grounded positioning

authors: Rata, Arama

abstract: Building on conference conversations about positionality—about who we are and how our identities shape our views of the world, about the connections and disconnections experienced between us, and about our proximities to place, power, and privilege—this piece brings together four conference participants to continue to reflect on what positionality means, on why it is important, and on how to practice it in non-performative, well-developed, and mutually nourishing ways. Their dialogue reflects active and critical positioning in process and practice, creating opportunities for acknowledging our relationships and activating both collectivity and accountability in the various spaces where we live, work, create, and hope.

text: Ko wai tēnei e tū ake nei? Activating collectivity and accountability through grounded positioning Building on conference conversations about positionality—about who we are and how our identities shape our views of the world, about the connections and disconnections experienced between us, and about our proximities to place, power, and privilege—this piece brings together four conference participants to continue to reflect on what positionality means, on why it is important, and on how to practice it in non-performative, well-developed, and mutually nourishing ways. Their dialogue reflects active and critical positioning in process and practice, creating opportunities for acknowledging our relationships and activating both collectivity and accountability in the various spaces where we live, work, create, and hope.

year: 2021-12

title: Too many Māori and Asian people are drowning – can better cultural understanding reverse the trend?

authors: Wheaton, Belinda

abstract: The article discusses the high rate of drownings in New Zealand, particularly among Māori and Asian communities. It highlights the need for culturally specific water safety education to address this issue. The Asian community, in particular, includes many first-generation migrants who may lack water skills due to their upbringing and fear of water. Overprotectiveness towards children around water is also common among Asian parents. The article emphasizes the importance of providing support and learning opportunities to help Asian migrants develop water skills and feel more comfortable in outdoor activities. Additionally, it mentions the declining water skills among New Zealand children in general and the need for better resourcing of school programs and community initiatives like ActivAsian. Culturally relevant knowledge and education are deemed crucial in changing attitudes and behaviors towards water safety. The article stresses that making New Zealand's beaches and waterways safe for all residents, including migrants, requires targeted funding and a collaborative effort to prevent tragic drowning incidents.

text: Too many Māori and Asian people are drowning – can better cultural understanding reverse the trend? The article discusses the high rate of drownings in New Zealand, particularly among Māori and Asian communities. It highlights the need for culturally specific water safety education to address this issue. The Asian community, in particular, includes many first-generation migrants who may lack water skills due to their upbringing and fear of water. Overprotectiveness towards children around water is also common among Asian parents. The article emphasizes the importance of providing support and learning opportunities to help Asian migrants develop water skills and feel more comfortable in outdoor activities. Additionally, it mentions the declining water skills among New Zealand children in general and the need for better resourcing of school programs and community initiatives like ActivAsian. Culturally relevant knowledge and education are deemed crucial in changing attitudes and behaviors towards water safety. The article stresses that making New Zealand's beaches and waterways safe for all residents, including migrants, requires targeted funding and a collaborative effort to prevent tragic drowning incidents.

year: 2022-12-20

title: Implantable electrode structures and their RF effects in MRI machines

authors: McCabe, Steven Owen

subjects: Deep Brain Stimulator (DBS)

abstract: Medical implants incorporating long insulated conductors can generate a serious heating hazard to a patient undergoing a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan. Under the high-power RF field from an MRI machine, the conductors can behave as antennas and concentrate energy into small regions of body tissue, leading to excessive joule heating. Neurostimulator implants that employ long electrode leads such as those for Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) and Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS), are highly susceptible to this RF hazard. Patients with these implants are generally contraindicated from MRI.

This thesis examines the heating phenomenon and identifies a variety of methods to mitigate the hazard and gain implant leads MRI safety. Techniques such as thin insulation, surface roughening, and auxiliary decoy filars are explored, with the latter shown to be especially effective at providing safety. Designs are first modelled with electromagnetic simulation software then experimentally proven inside of a gelled saline phantom within a 3T MRI machine. A lab-based measurement method is also established to enable rapid low-cost testing of prototype lead designs.

text: Implantable electrode structures and their RF effects in MRI machines Medical implants incorporating long insulated conductors can generate a serious heating hazard to a patient undergoing a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan. Under the high-power RF field from an MRI machine, the conductors can behave as antennas and concentrate energy into small regions of body tissue, leading to excessive joule heating. Neurostimulator implants that employ long electrode leads such as those for Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) and Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS), are highly susceptible to this RF hazard. Patients with these implants are generally contraindicated from MRI.

This thesis examines the heating phenomenon and identifies a variety of methods to mitigate the hazard and gain implant leads MRI safety. Techniques such as thin insulation, surface roughening, and auxiliary decoy filars are explored, with the latter shown to be especially effective at providing safety. Designs are first modelled with electromagnetic simulation software then experimentally proven inside of a gelled saline phantom within a 3T MRI machine. A lab-based measurement method is also established to enable rapid low-cost testing of prototype lead designs.

year: 2019