title: Health and wellbeing among lesbians, bisexual, and sexually diverse women in Aotearoa New Zealand: An exploratory study

authors: Ellis, Sonja J.

subjects: Lesbian

abstract: Introduction
Compared to other western, English-speaking, nations there is limited research on health outcomes in LGBTQ + people in New Zealand; particularly among women. This study set out to explore health and wellbeing in sexual minority women with particular reference to differences between subgroups (i.e., lesbians; bisexual women; sexually diverse women).

Methods
This study utilizes data from an online survey of participants recruited in NZ in 2022 as part of the Global Pride Project. The analysis reported here is based on the responses of 67 sexual minority women on measures of health and wellbeing (e.g., general health, depressive symptomatology, quality of life, social support, community engagement).

Results
A primary finding of the study was that while sexual identity was a significant predictor of general health it was not a predictor of other study outcomes. Community engagement and social support were found to be significant associations of depressive symptomatology. Social support was also found to be a significant predictor of quality of life. Age was also a predictor of quality of life, with younger sexual minority women reporting lower quality of life.

Conclusion
The findings suggest that community engagement and social support play an important role in wellbeing; especially for specific subgroups of sexual minority women, which may be potential targets to improve sexual minority women’s health and well-being. Additional research with larger sample sizes is needed.

Social policy implications
The findings of this study underscore the need for sexual minority women to be specifically included in research, interventions and social policy aimed at ensuring health equity.

text: Health and wellbeing among lesbians, bisexual, and sexually diverse women in Aotearoa New Zealand: An exploratory study Introduction
Compared to other western, English-speaking, nations there is limited research on health outcomes in LGBTQ + people in New Zealand; particularly among women. This study set out to explore health and wellbeing in sexual minority women with particular reference to differences between subgroups (i.e., lesbians; bisexual women; sexually diverse women).

Methods
This study utilizes data from an online survey of participants recruited in NZ in 2022 as part of the Global Pride Project. The analysis reported here is based on the responses of 67 sexual minority women on measures of health and wellbeing (e.g., general health, depressive symptomatology, quality of life, social support, community engagement).

Results
A primary finding of the study was that while sexual identity was a significant predictor of general health it was not a predictor of other study outcomes. Community engagement and social support were found to be significant associations of depressive symptomatology. Social support was also found to be a significant predictor of quality of life. Age was also a predictor of quality of life, with younger sexual minority women reporting lower quality of life.

Conclusion
The findings suggest that community engagement and social support play an important role in wellbeing; especially for specific subgroups of sexual minority women, which may be potential targets to improve sexual minority women’s health and well-being. Additional research with larger sample sizes is needed.

Social policy implications
The findings of this study underscore the need for sexual minority women to be specifically included in research, interventions and social policy aimed at ensuring health equity.

year: 2026

title: School-based assessment of practical work in science education in Solomon Islands

authors: Kakai, Lionel Cliff

subjects: science education

abstract: This study explored and documented the views of one science curriculum development officer and seven science teachers about science practical work and its assessment in the School-Based Assessment (SBA) for the Solomon Islands School Certificate (SISC). Science SBA is compulsory for all Form 4 (year 10) and 5 (year 11) students in Solomon Islands to undertake as internal assessment towards the SISC. The motivation behind the research questions for this study arose from literature discussions and my personal experiences associated with practical work, teaching, learning and assessment in science education. 
Based on the interpretive paradigm, qualitative data was generated using a semi-structured interview technique, conducted on an individual basis with prior consent. The interviews were conducted in May 2009. Audio tape recording was used to record exactly what was said by the participants in the Pidgin and later translated, transcribed and verified in English. The analysis of the data was recursive with a rigorous thematic approach.
The findings indicated that participants' beliefs and views about the aims of science teaching and the roles of practical work were mainly related to the notion of science literacy, which is the main aim in the Solomon Islands science curriculum for Forms 4 and 5. However, the participants' views about the nature of science and assessment of practical work in the context of SBA were narrowly expressed. The findings indicated that the issues of reliability, validity and use of formative and summative assessments in relation to the theories of learning and the standardization of assessments for high stakes reporting are worth considering for a revision of the science SBA. 
As such, this study suggested that coherence in the aims of science teaching, the roles of practical work and the design and implementation of the SBA is necessary.  Also, the notion of science pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) is recommended, especially with regards to its inclusion in pre-service teacher education and ongoing professional development. This study was qualitative with a small sample limited to only eight educator participants. Hence, further research is recommended. This should specifically investigate students' perceptions in order to understand their standpoints on issues related to the science school-based assessment (SBA) for the Solomon Islands School Certificate (SISC).

text: School-based assessment of practical work in science education in Solomon Islands This study explored and documented the views of one science curriculum development officer and seven science teachers about science practical work and its assessment in the School-Based Assessment (SBA) for the Solomon Islands School Certificate (SISC). Science SBA is compulsory for all Form 4 (year 10) and 5 (year 11) students in Solomon Islands to undertake as internal assessment towards the SISC. The motivation behind the research questions for this study arose from literature discussions and my personal experiences associated with practical work, teaching, learning and assessment in science education. 
Based on the interpretive paradigm, qualitative data was generated using a semi-structured interview technique, conducted on an individual basis with prior consent. The interviews were conducted in May 2009. Audio tape recording was used to record exactly what was said by the participants in the Pidgin and later translated, transcribed and verified in English. The analysis of the data was recursive with a rigorous thematic approach.
The findings indicated that participants' beliefs and views about the aims of science teaching and the roles of practical work were mainly related to the notion of science literacy, which is the main aim in the Solomon Islands science curriculum for Forms 4 and 5. However, the participants' views about the nature of science and assessment of practical work in the context of SBA were narrowly expressed. The findings indicated that the issues of reliability, validity and use of formative and summative assessments in relation to the theories of learning and the standardization of assessments for high stakes reporting are worth considering for a revision of the science SBA. 
As such, this study suggested that coherence in the aims of science teaching, the roles of practical work and the design and implementation of the SBA is necessary.  Also, the notion of science pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) is recommended, especially with regards to its inclusion in pre-service teacher education and ongoing professional development. This study was qualitative with a small sample limited to only eight educator participants. Hence, further research is recommended. This should specifically investigate students' perceptions in order to understand their standpoints on issues related to the science school-based assessment (SBA) for the Solomon Islands School Certificate (SISC).

year: 2010

title: When your maunga is a mountain but your moana is not a sea; Insights from the perception of synonymy of te reo Māori loanwords and New Zealand English lexical equivalents

authors: Pohl, Alexander

abstract: Languages and their speakers are in ongoing contact with one another, which inevitably leads to a flow of words being borrowed from one language into another (Haspelmath 2009; Winford 2010). One perspective that has comparatively seen less attention in language contact research concerns how loanword relate to existing lexical alternatives. In recent years, language contact research has thus seen a paradigm shift towards an onomasiological perspective (see Anderson et al. 2017; Crombez et al. 2022; Zenner et al. 2023). Within this shift, most studies looking at lexical variation between loanwords and their near synonyms equivalents employ corpus linguistics methods (e.g. Onysko & WinterFroemel 2011; Soares da Silva 2013). 

This project presents a large-scale experimental approach from a case-study involving Māori loanwords borrowed into New Zealand English (NZE). Māori loanwords are ubiquitous, salient and probably still increasing within the NZE lexicon (Macalister 2007; Trye et al. 2019). Regarding onomasiology, Māori loanwords have been glossed and explained in different ways, and to date, there has been to our knowledge almost no research focused specifically on the relationship between loanwords and their near synonyms. 

Here, we report on a Qualtrics experiment devised to probe the perceived relationship between 60 Māori loanwords (spanning established semantic categories: flora and fauna, material culture, and social culture) and their NZE equivalents, as ascertained from published sources. The synonymy judgments were elicited for pairs (e.g. whānau – family), using an analogue slider (ranging from 0 = non-synonymous to 100 = fully synonymous; see Figure 1). Because synonymy judgements are subjective, we also included ten fillers, to help us calibrate and interpret participant judgements. The 60 words were divided into two-word lists in order avoid fatigue, resulting in a within participant design. The target demographic for our population of interest consisted of young adults (18-24 years). 

Following cleaning and exclusions (e.g. participants who ignored filler items), the final dataset contained 260 participants. Inspecting the dataset showed a skew towards female participants, and for this reason, we focus our statistical analysis on this core sample, while keeping an eye on the full dataset containing all participants. Preliminary findings suggest that young adults think Māori loanwords are (highly) synonymous with NZE lexical alternatives. These findings will be further scrutinised with regression techniques and qualitative analyses of the comments provided in an open answer section of the questionnaire.

text: When your maunga is a mountain but your moana is not a sea; Insights from the perception of synonymy of te reo Māori loanwords and New Zealand English lexical equivalents Languages and their speakers are in ongoing contact with one another, which inevitably leads to a flow of words being borrowed from one language into another (Haspelmath 2009; Winford 2010). One perspective that has comparatively seen less attention in language contact research concerns how loanword relate to existing lexical alternatives. In recent years, language contact research has thus seen a paradigm shift towards an onomasiological perspective (see Anderson et al. 2017; Crombez et al. 2022; Zenner et al. 2023). Within this shift, most studies looking at lexical variation between loanwords and their near synonyms equivalents employ corpus linguistics methods (e.g. Onysko & WinterFroemel 2011; Soares da Silva 2013). 

This project presents a large-scale experimental approach from a case-study involving Māori loanwords borrowed into New Zealand English (NZE). Māori loanwords are ubiquitous, salient and probably still increasing within the NZE lexicon (Macalister 2007; Trye et al. 2019). Regarding onomasiology, Māori loanwords have been glossed and explained in different ways, and to date, there has been to our knowledge almost no research focused specifically on the relationship between loanwords and their near synonyms. 

Here, we report on a Qualtrics experiment devised to probe the perceived relationship between 60 Māori loanwords (spanning established semantic categories: flora and fauna, material culture, and social culture) and their NZE equivalents, as ascertained from published sources. The synonymy judgments were elicited for pairs (e.g. whānau – family), using an analogue slider (ranging from 0 = non-synonymous to 100 = fully synonymous; see Figure 1). Because synonymy judgements are subjective, we also included ten fillers, to help us calibrate and interpret participant judgements. The 60 words were divided into two-word lists in order avoid fatigue, resulting in a within participant design. The target demographic for our population of interest consisted of young adults (18-24 years). 

Following cleaning and exclusions (e.g. participants who ignored filler items), the final dataset contained 260 participants. Inspecting the dataset showed a skew towards female participants, and for this reason, we focus our statistical analysis on this core sample, while keeping an eye on the full dataset containing all participants. Preliminary findings suggest that young adults think Māori loanwords are (highly) synonymous with NZE lexical alternatives. These findings will be further scrutinised with regression techniques and qualitative analyses of the comments provided in an open answer section of the questionnaire.

year: 2024