title: Large-scale attribute selection using wrappers

authors: Gutlein, Martin

subjects: computer science

abstract: Scheme-specific attribute selection with the wrapper and variants of forward selection is a popular attribute selection technique for classification that yields good results. However, it can run the risk of overfitting because of the extent of the search and the extensive use of internal cross-validation. Moreover, although wrapper evaluators tend to achieve superior accuracy compared to filters, they face a high computational cost. The problems of overfitting and high runtime occur in particular on high-dimensional datasets, like microarray data.
We investigate Linear Forward Selection, a technique to reduce the number of attributes expansions in each forward selection step. Our experiments demonstrate that this approach is faster, finds smaller subsets and can even increase the accuracy compared to standard forward selection. We also investigate a variant that applies explicit subset size determination in forward selection to combat overfitting, where the search is forced to stop at a precomputed “optimal” subset size. We show that this technique reduces subset size while maintaining comparable accuracy.

text: Large-scale attribute selection using wrappers Scheme-specific attribute selection with the wrapper and variants of forward selection is a popular attribute selection technique for classification that yields good results. However, it can run the risk of overfitting because of the extent of the search and the extensive use of internal cross-validation. Moreover, although wrapper evaluators tend to achieve superior accuracy compared to filters, they face a high computational cost. The problems of overfitting and high runtime occur in particular on high-dimensional datasets, like microarray data.
We investigate Linear Forward Selection, a technique to reduce the number of attributes expansions in each forward selection step. Our experiments demonstrate that this approach is faster, finds smaller subsets and can even increase the accuracy compared to standard forward selection. We also investigate a variant that applies explicit subset size determination in forward selection to combat overfitting, where the search is forced to stop at a precomputed “optimal” subset size. We show that this technique reduces subset size while maintaining comparable accuracy.

year: 2009

title: Feelings of home and belonging amongst Bhutanese women and girls with refugee backgrounds who live in New Zealand

authors: Basnet, Sunita

subjects: New Zealand

abstract: This thesis focuses on the everyday home geographies of Bhutanese women and girls with refugee backgrounds in Aotearoa New Zealand. It examines feelings of being at home and belonging for 37 resettled Bhutanese women and girls, and eight men, aged between 12 and 85 years, all living under the third-country resettlement programme in Auckland, Christchurch, Nelson and Palmerston North. Three key informants, who assist with resettlement, are also included in this research. It is argued that everyday experiences of home and belonging are embodied, emotional, and contradictory for Bhutanese women and girls.

Feminist scholarship on gendered feelings of belonging and home informs the framework of the research. Qualitative performative methods are used, comprising 40 semi-structured in-depth interviews; five photo-elicitations; and seven cooking sessions with Bhutanese women. A focus group of five girls aged from 12 to 16 years was also involved in the study. In addition, I adopted a new approach called ‘accidental ethnography’, which comprised stayovers, participant sensing, and cooking sessions in the field. The data gathered was analysed using thematic and discourse analytical approaches. 

My findings are organised into three central themes that relate to belonging and home: bodies; households; and communities. First, I pay attention to the corporeal practices of resettled Bhutanese women and girls in everyday life. Clothing, jewellery, norms, values, language and traditions can enable belonging and feeling at home but they can also generate feelings of discomfort, segregation and being outsiders when two extreme cultures confront each other. Second, I focus on day-to-day activities within households. Creating a familiar environment within households, including being with family, having backyard gardens, consuming culturally appropriate food, maintaining one’s religion and having a sturdy house with meaningful material objects, enable resettled Bhutanese to accept their new country as home. Third, my study shows that a sense of community can enable or hinder participants’ feelings of belonging in New Zealand. Living in smaller cities, being able to exercise and observe Bhutanese traditions, living longer in New Zealand, developing satisfaction with the neighbourhood and feeling safe are all factors that play an important role in forming feelings of community for resettled Bhutanese women and girls.

Feelings of belonging and a sense of being at home are about maintaining, reinforcing and negotiating cultural and gendered identities in New Zealand. This study responds to the lack of critical attention paid to the relationship between home and belonging for resettled Bhutanese women and girls. Considering everyday practices encourages a more critical understanding of belonging and home for women and girls with refugee backgrounds.

text: Feelings of home and belonging amongst Bhutanese women and girls with refugee backgrounds who live in New Zealand This thesis focuses on the everyday home geographies of Bhutanese women and girls with refugee backgrounds in Aotearoa New Zealand. It examines feelings of being at home and belonging for 37 resettled Bhutanese women and girls, and eight men, aged between 12 and 85 years, all living under the third-country resettlement programme in Auckland, Christchurch, Nelson and Palmerston North. Three key informants, who assist with resettlement, are also included in this research. It is argued that everyday experiences of home and belonging are embodied, emotional, and contradictory for Bhutanese women and girls.

Feminist scholarship on gendered feelings of belonging and home informs the framework of the research. Qualitative performative methods are used, comprising 40 semi-structured in-depth interviews; five photo-elicitations; and seven cooking sessions with Bhutanese women. A focus group of five girls aged from 12 to 16 years was also involved in the study. In addition, I adopted a new approach called ‘accidental ethnography’, which comprised stayovers, participant sensing, and cooking sessions in the field. The data gathered was analysed using thematic and discourse analytical approaches. 

My findings are organised into three central themes that relate to belonging and home: bodies; households; and communities. First, I pay attention to the corporeal practices of resettled Bhutanese women and girls in everyday life. Clothing, jewellery, norms, values, language and traditions can enable belonging and feeling at home but they can also generate feelings of discomfort, segregation and being outsiders when two extreme cultures confront each other. Second, I focus on day-to-day activities within households. Creating a familiar environment within households, including being with family, having backyard gardens, consuming culturally appropriate food, maintaining one’s religion and having a sturdy house with meaningful material objects, enable resettled Bhutanese to accept their new country as home. Third, my study shows that a sense of community can enable or hinder participants’ feelings of belonging in New Zealand. Living in smaller cities, being able to exercise and observe Bhutanese traditions, living longer in New Zealand, developing satisfaction with the neighbourhood and feeling safe are all factors that play an important role in forming feelings of community for resettled Bhutanese women and girls.

Feelings of belonging and a sense of being at home are about maintaining, reinforcing and negotiating cultural and gendered identities in New Zealand. This study responds to the lack of critical attention paid to the relationship between home and belonging for resettled Bhutanese women and girls. Considering everyday practices encourages a more critical understanding of belonging and home for women and girls with refugee backgrounds.

year: 2018

title: Te Mana Motuhake o Ngāi Tamarāwaho and the challenges of education. Whakapūmautia te tangata i tōna ake mana

authors: Woller, Paul Robert

subjects: Ngāi Tamarāwaho

abstract: Throughout history, colonisation has deliberately suppressed and subordinated the knowledge, languages and identities of indigenous peoples. Colonial education policies were designed, at best, to domesticate indigenous children to create subjugated and compliant labouring classes.  These historical policies have intentionally consigned successive generations of indigenous families and communities to the socio-economic margins of the societies created by colonisation (Shields, Bishop & Masawi, 2005).
This thesis explores the intergenerational educational experiences of Ngāi Tamarāwaho, an indigenous Māori community in New Zealand, their relationship with Pākehā (colonial settlers of European descent) and their place, as Māori, in the society created by colonialism.  At the heart of this story is the inter-generational societal abuse of a small indigenous community and the active resistance of that community to colonisation. To survive as a people, Ngāi Tamarāwaho created a space at the intercultural interface between Māori and Pākehā by maintaining and revitalising their cultural identity and language. The intergenerational struggles of the whānau (families) of Ngāi Tamarāwaho, to engage with an imposed system of western education, are related through the narratives of hapū whānau (sub-tribal families) and from archival records. These stories demonstrate that educational failure was not because of the limitations of hapū whānau, but rather a result of the limiting conditions imposed on them. 
Despite these limitations, over the past 180 years, hapū leadership has focussed on maintaining the independent identity of the hapū and their mana motuhake, i.e. their right to be self-determining; seen as critical for whānau and hapū development and successful participation in wider society. To enable the success of future generations, Ngāi Tamarāwaho have accommodated new ideas and learning into their existing cultural framework by weaving together elements of learning from both Māori and Pākehā funds of knowledge. This hapū story has implications for current education settings intended to engage indigenous and minority students in learning and improve academic achievement. Strong cultural identities, and the ability to be self-determining, promote indigenous students’ self-esteem and the confidence to accommodate new learning into their existing cultural frameworks, thereby providing a platform for education success.

text: Te Mana Motuhake o Ngāi Tamarāwaho and the challenges of education. Whakapūmautia te tangata i tōna ake mana Throughout history, colonisation has deliberately suppressed and subordinated the knowledge, languages and identities of indigenous peoples. Colonial education policies were designed, at best, to domesticate indigenous children to create subjugated and compliant labouring classes.  These historical policies have intentionally consigned successive generations of indigenous families and communities to the socio-economic margins of the societies created by colonisation (Shields, Bishop & Masawi, 2005).
This thesis explores the intergenerational educational experiences of Ngāi Tamarāwaho, an indigenous Māori community in New Zealand, their relationship with Pākehā (colonial settlers of European descent) and their place, as Māori, in the society created by colonialism.  At the heart of this story is the inter-generational societal abuse of a small indigenous community and the active resistance of that community to colonisation. To survive as a people, Ngāi Tamarāwaho created a space at the intercultural interface between Māori and Pākehā by maintaining and revitalising their cultural identity and language. The intergenerational struggles of the whānau (families) of Ngāi Tamarāwaho, to engage with an imposed system of western education, are related through the narratives of hapū whānau (sub-tribal families) and from archival records. These stories demonstrate that educational failure was not because of the limitations of hapū whānau, but rather a result of the limiting conditions imposed on them. 
Despite these limitations, over the past 180 years, hapū leadership has focussed on maintaining the independent identity of the hapū and their mana motuhake, i.e. their right to be self-determining; seen as critical for whānau and hapū development and successful participation in wider society. To enable the success of future generations, Ngāi Tamarāwaho have accommodated new ideas and learning into their existing cultural framework by weaving together elements of learning from both Māori and Pākehā funds of knowledge. This hapū story has implications for current education settings intended to engage indigenous and minority students in learning and improve academic achievement. Strong cultural identities, and the ability to be self-determining, promote indigenous students’ self-esteem and the confidence to accommodate new learning into their existing cultural frameworks, thereby providing a platform for education success.

year: 2016