title: Video support for shared work-space interaction – an empirical study

authors: Masoodian, Masood

abstract: A study has been carried out to identify the effects of different human-to-human communication modes on dyadic computer supported group work. A pilot study evaluated an available shared work-space software system, supplemented by face-to-face, telephone-based, and text-based communication modes between two users. The findings from this study were then used to design an extensive experiment to explore the relative impact of face-to-face, full motion video, slow motion video, and audio only communication modes when used in conjunction with the type of CSCW system. This paper describes the experiments, and examines the findings of this empirical study with the aim of establishing the importance of co-presence in CSCW, and the effectiveness of these various communication modes in achieving it.

text: Video support for shared work-space interaction – an empirical study A study has been carried out to identify the effects of different human-to-human communication modes on dyadic computer supported group work. A pilot study evaluated an available shared work-space software system, supplemented by face-to-face, telephone-based, and text-based communication modes between two users. The findings from this study were then used to design an extensive experiment to explore the relative impact of face-to-face, full motion video, slow motion video, and audio only communication modes when used in conjunction with the type of CSCW system. This paper describes the experiments, and examines the findings of this empirical study with the aim of establishing the importance of co-presence in CSCW, and the effectiveness of these various communication modes in achieving it.

year: 1995

title: Priority species to support the functional integrity of coral reefs

authors: Wolfe, Kennedy

abstract: Ecosystem-based management on coral reefs has historically focussed on biodiversity conservation through the establishment of marine reserves, but it is increasingly recognised that a subset of species can be key to the maintenance of ecosystem processes and functioning. Specific provisions for these key taxa are essential to biodiversity conservation and resilience-based adaptive management. While a wealth of literature addresses ecosystem functioning on coral reefs, available information covers only a subset of specific taxa, ecological processes and environmental stressors. What is lacking is a comparative assessment across the diverse range of coral reef species to synthesise available knowledge to inform science and management. Here we employed expert elicitation coupled with a literature review to generate the first comprehensive assessment of 70 taxonomically diverse and functionally distinct coral reef species from microbes to top predators to summarise reef functioning. Although our synthesis is largely through the lens of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, a particularly data-rich system, it is relevant to coral reefs in general. We use this assessment to evaluate which taxa drive processes that maintain a healthy reef and whether management of these taxa is considered a priority (i.e. are they vulnerable?) or is feasible (i.e. can they be managed?). Scientific certainty was scored to weight our recommendations, particularly when certainty was low. We use five case studies to highlight critical gaps in knowledge that limit our understanding of ecosystem functioning. To inform the development of novel management strategies and research objectives, we identify taxa that support positive interactions and enhance ecosystem performance, including those where these roles are currently underappreciated. We conclude that current initiatives effectively capture many priority taxa but that there is significant room to increase opportunities for underappreciated taxa in both science and management to maximally safeguard coral reef functioning.

text: Priority species to support the functional integrity of coral reefs Ecosystem-based management on coral reefs has historically focussed on biodiversity conservation through the establishment of marine reserves, but it is increasingly recognised that a subset of species can be key to the maintenance of ecosystem processes and functioning. Specific provisions for these key taxa are essential to biodiversity conservation and resilience-based adaptive management. While a wealth of literature addresses ecosystem functioning on coral reefs, available information covers only a subset of specific taxa, ecological processes and environmental stressors. What is lacking is a comparative assessment across the diverse range of coral reef species to synthesise available knowledge to inform science and management. Here we employed expert elicitation coupled with a literature review to generate the first comprehensive assessment of 70 taxonomically diverse and functionally distinct coral reef species from microbes to top predators to summarise reef functioning. Although our synthesis is largely through the lens of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, a particularly data-rich system, it is relevant to coral reefs in general. We use this assessment to evaluate which taxa drive processes that maintain a healthy reef and whether management of these taxa is considered a priority (i.e. are they vulnerable?) or is feasible (i.e. can they be managed?). Scientific certainty was scored to weight our recommendations, particularly when certainty was low. We use five case studies to highlight critical gaps in knowledge that limit our understanding of ecosystem functioning. To inform the development of novel management strategies and research objectives, we identify taxa that support positive interactions and enhance ecosystem performance, including those where these roles are currently underappreciated. We conclude that current initiatives effectively capture many priority taxa but that there is significant room to increase opportunities for underappreciated taxa in both science and management to maximally safeguard coral reef functioning.

year: 2020-01-01

title: Colonial versus ancestral legacy: The assertion of culture and identity through public arts in Kirikiriroa/Hamilton

authors: Kiff, Shirin

subjects: Ethnography

abstract: This thesis is an ethnography of Hamilton. It focuses on the role of public arts as a cultural regeneration tool and their function in shaping the community(s) in Kirikiriroa/Hamilton through building a sense of place and identity. As a qualitative study, I conducted nine semi- structured interviews with public art artists, art advocates and residents to explore the relational context within which the development and transmission of meaning takes place, a process which is central to culture and identity. The primary purpose of the research interviews was to gain insight into the factors that motivate arts organisers and planners to direct valuable limited resources into public art projects and its observable outcomes. The second purpose of the interviews, conducted while walking to public artworks in the city centre with six participants, was to examine the effect of public art on the public.
My methods also include tracking press reviews, monitoring comments and posts on social media and institutional debates involving residents, artists, and public authorities concerning public arts. I also recorded data by taking photographs and recording field notes of my observations during and after the fieldwork process. Data gathering was also enhanced by the large-scale collection of written materials and resources, including public art publications and HCC policy documents. Taken together, these research methods allowed me to investigate whether Hamilton had achieved its goals in its cultural regeneration efforts. In my analysis, I discuss the role of public art and its association with place and consider how artworks may antagonise Māori-Pākehā relationships or otherwise emphasis residents’ sense of place.
Biculturalism and monoculturalism narratives appear to dominate public arts with the purpose of invoking either a colonial legacy or ancestral legacy while the politics of multiculturalism continue to jockey for place. Colonial legacy refers to the glorifying of colonial achievements while ancestral legacy in this context refers to Māori assertion of history, culture and identity. Particularly, in this research, ancestral legacy belonging to local hapū, Ngāti Wairere. Participants’ narratives reveal four overarching themes, 1) the publics’ resistance to the making of colonial places through public art, 2) Ngāti Wairere struggles to assert ancestral legacy through public arts, 3) the need for ethnically diverse artworks to create and maintain ethnically diverse places, and 4) a yearning for a collective identity represented through public arts. Hamilton’s public artworks are variously perceived as a superficial representation of Māori culture, identity and history, a reminder of a colonial binary discourse, the colonised versus the coloniser, an assertion of either a Māori ancestral legacy or a colonial legacy or, minimally, a nod to multiculturalism. Nevertheless, my research shows that participants engagement with these artworks reveal a yearning for a local collective identity that is still a work in progress.

text: Colonial versus ancestral legacy: The assertion of culture and identity through public arts in Kirikiriroa/Hamilton This thesis is an ethnography of Hamilton. It focuses on the role of public arts as a cultural regeneration tool and their function in shaping the community(s) in Kirikiriroa/Hamilton through building a sense of place and identity. As a qualitative study, I conducted nine semi- structured interviews with public art artists, art advocates and residents to explore the relational context within which the development and transmission of meaning takes place, a process which is central to culture and identity. The primary purpose of the research interviews was to gain insight into the factors that motivate arts organisers and planners to direct valuable limited resources into public art projects and its observable outcomes. The second purpose of the interviews, conducted while walking to public artworks in the city centre with six participants, was to examine the effect of public art on the public.
My methods also include tracking press reviews, monitoring comments and posts on social media and institutional debates involving residents, artists, and public authorities concerning public arts. I also recorded data by taking photographs and recording field notes of my observations during and after the fieldwork process. Data gathering was also enhanced by the large-scale collection of written materials and resources, including public art publications and HCC policy documents. Taken together, these research methods allowed me to investigate whether Hamilton had achieved its goals in its cultural regeneration efforts. In my analysis, I discuss the role of public art and its association with place and consider how artworks may antagonise Māori-Pākehā relationships or otherwise emphasis residents’ sense of place.
Biculturalism and monoculturalism narratives appear to dominate public arts with the purpose of invoking either a colonial legacy or ancestral legacy while the politics of multiculturalism continue to jockey for place. Colonial legacy refers to the glorifying of colonial achievements while ancestral legacy in this context refers to Māori assertion of history, culture and identity. Particularly, in this research, ancestral legacy belonging to local hapū, Ngāti Wairere. Participants’ narratives reveal four overarching themes, 1) the publics’ resistance to the making of colonial places through public art, 2) Ngāti Wairere struggles to assert ancestral legacy through public arts, 3) the need for ethnically diverse artworks to create and maintain ethnically diverse places, and 4) a yearning for a collective identity represented through public arts. Hamilton’s public artworks are variously perceived as a superficial representation of Māori culture, identity and history, a reminder of a colonial binary discourse, the colonised versus the coloniser, an assertion of either a Māori ancestral legacy or a colonial legacy or, minimally, a nod to multiculturalism. Nevertheless, my research shows that participants engagement with these artworks reveal a yearning for a local collective identity that is still a work in progress.

year: 2021