title: Ethical leadership: A multi-study Eastern perspective

authors: Dodamgoda, Nadeeja

abstract: Leadership ethics, shaped by diverse cultures, religious beliefs, and philosophical perspectives, exhibit nuanced differences between Western and Eastern perspectives. Despite these differences, ethical leadership scales predominantly adhere to Western conceptualisations, overlooking the unique cultural nuances of the East. The cultural traditions, philosophical views, and religious beliefs in the Eastern world imply culturally specific ethical leadership characteristics that may not align with Western-centric measures. This underscores the need for a comprehensive conceptualisation and scale development for Eastern Ethical Leadership (EEL) that captures the underlying values specific to the East. Drawing on the culturally implicit leadership theory, this thesis aims to address the following research questions, with an overarching focus on conceptualising and developing a scale for EEL:
(1) What is the current state of ethical leadership literature as it pertains to Eastern countries?
(2) What are the dimensions and measures of ethical leadership which are applicable to Eastern
 countries?
(3) What is the validity of these measures across Eastern countries?
To address these research questions, three major studies were conducted. Initially, a systematic review of literature on EEL was performed, revealing the distinct characteristics of EEL and the cultural and philosophical perspectives that distinguish it from the West. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) framework, the review identified relevant articles from four academic databases, revealing unique dimensions of EEL. These dimensions include leaders' responsibility and concern for long-term sustainability, aspects often overlooked in existing measures. Notably, while some virtues and values align between Eastern and Western philosophical views, past studies predominantly relied on Western theoretical perspectives to interpret ethical leadership. This underscores the need for measures that authentically capture Eastern cultural distinctions, essential for advancing ethical leadership research amidst the East's growing global influence.
The second study reports a qualitative investigation based on interviews with 21 academics across 15 Asian countries to deepen our understanding of EEL characteristics. Thematic analysis of the interview data unveiled culturally specific elements contributing to the conceptualisation of ethical leadership in the East. The findings highlighted the significance of characteristics identified by interviewees, shaped by the societal context of Asian countries. For example, caring for individuals emerges as a crucial characteristic in collectivist societies, along with demonstrating concern for the welfare of the broader community, particularly in regions facing widespread poverty. Furthermore, the perspectives shared by interviewees offer valuable insights that challenge prevalent Western-dominated views on ethical leadership. 
Thirdly, a robust measure for EEL was developed and validated through a rigorous process. This study encompassed item generation based on literature and qualitative interviews, scale purification, cross-cultural validity testing, and an assessment of the psychometric properties of the scale. The developed scale was then applied to examine its impact on employee voice behaviour, serving as a crucial step in testing its nomological validity and providing valuable insights into the practical implications of EEL. The dimensions of EEL identified, including concern for people and concern for wider views, exclusively reflect the cultural nuances of the East and challenge the broad applicability of Western-centric ethical leadership measures, advocating for a more culturally nuanced understanding.
The thesis challenges the prevailing bias in ethical leadership literature towards the West, offering a culturally grounded measure for EEL that enhances conceptual development. The theoretical and practical implications of the scale are discussed, highlighting its potential to bridge the cultural gap in leadership ethics and contribute to the development of a more inclusive and culturally resonant leadership paradigm. Three separate research articles, derived from the systematic review, qualitative study, and scale development, have been submitted to peer-reviewed journals, reflecting the comprehensive approach taken in this endeavour. The outcomes of this research contribute not only to the academic discourse on ethical leadership but also offer practical insights for organisations operating in culturally diverse contexts.

text: Ethical leadership: A multi-study Eastern perspective Leadership ethics, shaped by diverse cultures, religious beliefs, and philosophical perspectives, exhibit nuanced differences between Western and Eastern perspectives. Despite these differences, ethical leadership scales predominantly adhere to Western conceptualisations, overlooking the unique cultural nuances of the East. The cultural traditions, philosophical views, and religious beliefs in the Eastern world imply culturally specific ethical leadership characteristics that may not align with Western-centric measures. This underscores the need for a comprehensive conceptualisation and scale development for Eastern Ethical Leadership (EEL) that captures the underlying values specific to the East. Drawing on the culturally implicit leadership theory, this thesis aims to address the following research questions, with an overarching focus on conceptualising and developing a scale for EEL:
(1) What is the current state of ethical leadership literature as it pertains to Eastern countries?
(2) What are the dimensions and measures of ethical leadership which are applicable to Eastern
 countries?
(3) What is the validity of these measures across Eastern countries?
To address these research questions, three major studies were conducted. Initially, a systematic review of literature on EEL was performed, revealing the distinct characteristics of EEL and the cultural and philosophical perspectives that distinguish it from the West. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) framework, the review identified relevant articles from four academic databases, revealing unique dimensions of EEL. These dimensions include leaders' responsibility and concern for long-term sustainability, aspects often overlooked in existing measures. Notably, while some virtues and values align between Eastern and Western philosophical views, past studies predominantly relied on Western theoretical perspectives to interpret ethical leadership. This underscores the need for measures that authentically capture Eastern cultural distinctions, essential for advancing ethical leadership research amidst the East's growing global influence.
The second study reports a qualitative investigation based on interviews with 21 academics across 15 Asian countries to deepen our understanding of EEL characteristics. Thematic analysis of the interview data unveiled culturally specific elements contributing to the conceptualisation of ethical leadership in the East. The findings highlighted the significance of characteristics identified by interviewees, shaped by the societal context of Asian countries. For example, caring for individuals emerges as a crucial characteristic in collectivist societies, along with demonstrating concern for the welfare of the broader community, particularly in regions facing widespread poverty. Furthermore, the perspectives shared by interviewees offer valuable insights that challenge prevalent Western-dominated views on ethical leadership. 
Thirdly, a robust measure for EEL was developed and validated through a rigorous process. This study encompassed item generation based on literature and qualitative interviews, scale purification, cross-cultural validity testing, and an assessment of the psychometric properties of the scale. The developed scale was then applied to examine its impact on employee voice behaviour, serving as a crucial step in testing its nomological validity and providing valuable insights into the practical implications of EEL. The dimensions of EEL identified, including concern for people and concern for wider views, exclusively reflect the cultural nuances of the East and challenge the broad applicability of Western-centric ethical leadership measures, advocating for a more culturally nuanced understanding.
The thesis challenges the prevailing bias in ethical leadership literature towards the West, offering a culturally grounded measure for EEL that enhances conceptual development. The theoretical and practical implications of the scale are discussed, highlighting its potential to bridge the cultural gap in leadership ethics and contribute to the development of a more inclusive and culturally resonant leadership paradigm. Three separate research articles, derived from the systematic review, qualitative study, and scale development, have been submitted to peer-reviewed journals, reflecting the comprehensive approach taken in this endeavour. The outcomes of this research contribute not only to the academic discourse on ethical leadership but also offer practical insights for organisations operating in culturally diverse contexts.

year: 2024-10-15

title: Microstructural controls on the geomechanics of coarse grained soft rocks; Waitemata Group, Auckland

authors: de la Mare, Graham Norman

abstract: The geomechanical behaviour of a variety of soft rocks from the Waitemata Group, Auckland, is characterised, and the influence of microstructure in determining the geomechanics examined. Field geotechnical measurements of joint spacing and Schmidt Hammer rebound are related to geomechanical properties to determine controls on joint development and applicability of field index tests for soft materials. Samples studied are dominantly sandstones, with one conglomerate; all of which have a significant component of swelling clay minerals. Low bulk densities, high porosities and large void ratios are characteristic of the samples.

They vary from extremely weak, very low durability rocks to moderately: strong and durable materials. Extremely weak sandstones are highly deformable and undergo plastic deformation when loaded in compression. The stronger samples undergo strain softening and respond elastically to applied stresses prior to brittle failure. High softening factors indicate that compressive and tensile strengths are greatly reduced upon saturation.

All the study rocks have high proportions of sand and silt size material (≤ 95 %), and up to 10 % of < 2 μ m proportions; significant gravel size material only occurs in the conglomerate. Volcanic and detrital rock fragments are the dominant constituents in all samples, with abundant quartz, minor calcic plagioclase, and a variety of accessory minerals. The dominant clay is smectite with lesser amounts of illite, kaolinite, and mixed-layer clays.

Individual sand and silt grains are dominantly subrounded to subangular quartz, regular bricks of feldspar, and rods of rutile, and are often clay coated. Microaggregates and grains are combined into aggregates and assemblages, and in some cases macroassemblages, to form granular arrangements, which produce a network of interconnecting pores. The fabric of the rocks is characterised by discontinuous matrices. Fabric types range from skeletal to turbostratic, and arrangements range from tightly interlocking grains to loose granular structures. Clay micro aggregates are either flocculated or form welded FF honeycomb arrangements.

Strength and durability are not influenced by quantity, size, or type of clasts or minerals present; rather, it is the arrangement of individual components (and associated pore spaces) in the rock fabric which directly determines the geomechanical behaviour. Strong, durable samples have an abundance of clean grain to grain contacts, and few large clay aggregates. Clay microaggregates are arranged in welded FF arrangements, and pore space is restricted to micropores which resist water infiltration. Progressively weaker rocks are characterised by an increase in clay coated grains, clay aggregates, and clay connectors (which form weak links for stress transmission), and interconnecting pores at all levels in the fabric. In the weakest rock macroassemblages of clay coated grains, and open flocculated smectitic aggregates connected by point contacts, produce a network of macropores, allowing easy access of water which flocculates clays into weaker states by reducing bonding and cohesion.

Schmidt rebound values in the field do not provide a useful indication of either compressive or tensile strength of these rocks. The rebound values do, however, correlate well with laboratory determined dynamic elasticity values, suggesting that the instrument should be used in the field to predict rock elasticity and not strength.

Joint spacing within the rock units is related to elasticity with units capable of storing stress through plastic deformation having reasonably wide, uniformly spaced joints. Units which release stress through brittle fracture have closely spaced, and more complex joint systems.

text: Microstructural controls on the geomechanics of coarse grained soft rocks; Waitemata Group, Auckland The geomechanical behaviour of a variety of soft rocks from the Waitemata Group, Auckland, is characterised, and the influence of microstructure in determining the geomechanics examined. Field geotechnical measurements of joint spacing and Schmidt Hammer rebound are related to geomechanical properties to determine controls on joint development and applicability of field index tests for soft materials. Samples studied are dominantly sandstones, with one conglomerate; all of which have a significant component of swelling clay minerals. Low bulk densities, high porosities and large void ratios are characteristic of the samples.

They vary from extremely weak, very low durability rocks to moderately: strong and durable materials. Extremely weak sandstones are highly deformable and undergo plastic deformation when loaded in compression. The stronger samples undergo strain softening and respond elastically to applied stresses prior to brittle failure. High softening factors indicate that compressive and tensile strengths are greatly reduced upon saturation.

All the study rocks have high proportions of sand and silt size material (≤ 95 %), and up to 10 % of < 2 μ m proportions; significant gravel size material only occurs in the conglomerate. Volcanic and detrital rock fragments are the dominant constituents in all samples, with abundant quartz, minor calcic plagioclase, and a variety of accessory minerals. The dominant clay is smectite with lesser amounts of illite, kaolinite, and mixed-layer clays.

Individual sand and silt grains are dominantly subrounded to subangular quartz, regular bricks of feldspar, and rods of rutile, and are often clay coated. Microaggregates and grains are combined into aggregates and assemblages, and in some cases macroassemblages, to form granular arrangements, which produce a network of interconnecting pores. The fabric of the rocks is characterised by discontinuous matrices. Fabric types range from skeletal to turbostratic, and arrangements range from tightly interlocking grains to loose granular structures. Clay micro aggregates are either flocculated or form welded FF honeycomb arrangements.

Strength and durability are not influenced by quantity, size, or type of clasts or minerals present; rather, it is the arrangement of individual components (and associated pore spaces) in the rock fabric which directly determines the geomechanical behaviour. Strong, durable samples have an abundance of clean grain to grain contacts, and few large clay aggregates. Clay microaggregates are arranged in welded FF arrangements, and pore space is restricted to micropores which resist water infiltration. Progressively weaker rocks are characterised by an increase in clay coated grains, clay aggregates, and clay connectors (which form weak links for stress transmission), and interconnecting pores at all levels in the fabric. In the weakest rock macroassemblages of clay coated grains, and open flocculated smectitic aggregates connected by point contacts, produce a network of macropores, allowing easy access of water which flocculates clays into weaker states by reducing bonding and cohesion.

Schmidt rebound values in the field do not provide a useful indication of either compressive or tensile strength of these rocks. The rebound values do, however, correlate well with laboratory determined dynamic elasticity values, suggesting that the instrument should be used in the field to predict rock elasticity and not strength.

Joint spacing within the rock units is related to elasticity with units capable of storing stress through plastic deformation having reasonably wide, uniformly spaced joints. Units which release stress through brittle fracture have closely spaced, and more complex joint systems.

year: 1992

title: The Research Data Landscape in Aotearoa New Zealand: A report undertaken in partnership with the Aotearoa New Zealand Committee on Data in Research (CoDiR)

authors: Sterling, Rogena

abstract: Data and datasets are often described as a core strategic asset for Aotearoa New Zealand (Aotearoa) and indispensable for the government’s ambition of being a small nation with an advanced, adaptive, and inclusive economy. In the context of our research, science and innovation (RSI) ecosystem, the value of data cannot be overstated. 
The purpose of this report is to provide a review (the Review) of Aotearoa’s research data landscape. Research data are data that are used as primary sources to support technical or scientific enquiry, research, or artistic activity; as evidence in the research process; and/or are commonly accepted in the
research community as necessary to provide a foundation for, or validate research findings and results. The Review covers four core areas:

• Te Tiriti o Waitangi and data sovereignty
• research data ecosystems
• research data infrastructure
• research data cultures.

Although informed by international data landscape reviews, this Review emphasises the unique considerations and structural features of the Aotearoa data landscape. Based on our analysis and observations from a series of targeted workshops, we provide a set of recommendations on how to strengthen the system and advance shared aspirations for better outcomes. The recommendations are organised under the five headings from Nosek’s Pyramid of Social Change, setting out a phased strategy for culture and behaviour change. In implementing these recommendations, we recognise that the articles of Te Tiriti should be embedded throughout, consistent with sector requirements (MBIE, 2023d).

text: The Research Data Landscape in Aotearoa New Zealand: A report undertaken in partnership with the Aotearoa New Zealand Committee on Data in Research (CoDiR) Data and datasets are often described as a core strategic asset for Aotearoa New Zealand (Aotearoa) and indispensable for the government’s ambition of being a small nation with an advanced, adaptive, and inclusive economy. In the context of our research, science and innovation (RSI) ecosystem, the value of data cannot be overstated. 
The purpose of this report is to provide a review (the Review) of Aotearoa’s research data landscape. Research data are data that are used as primary sources to support technical or scientific enquiry, research, or artistic activity; as evidence in the research process; and/or are commonly accepted in the
research community as necessary to provide a foundation for, or validate research findings and results. The Review covers four core areas:

• Te Tiriti o Waitangi and data sovereignty
• research data ecosystems
• research data infrastructure
• research data cultures.

Although informed by international data landscape reviews, this Review emphasises the unique considerations and structural features of the Aotearoa data landscape. Based on our analysis and observations from a series of targeted workshops, we provide a set of recommendations on how to strengthen the system and advance shared aspirations for better outcomes. The recommendations are organised under the five headings from Nosek’s Pyramid of Social Change, setting out a phased strategy for culture and behaviour change. In implementing these recommendations, we recognise that the articles of Te Tiriti should be embedded throughout, consistent with sector requirements (MBIE, 2023d).

year: 2023