AUT University Research Articles

Perspectives of mobile technologies

Reducing stroke risk behaviors is associated with reduced stroke incidence. The free Stroke Riskometer™ mobile phone App (“App”) developed by AUT University (New Zealand) is a novel tool for primary stroke prevention. The App is being used in 78 countries and translated into 19 languages covering 70% of the world population (5.3 billion people).

Tika Tonu AD2020: creating a virtual exhibition of Design artwork in response to the COVID-19

The year 2020 was marked by the economic and social challenges originating from the COVID-19 pandemic; measures were introduced to enforce social distancing in a battle against community transmission. Places like universities have been profoundly affected, forcing the adoption of new forms of delivery, where human contact was replaced with online classes on Blackboard. The industry was particularly affected, and many small offices and companies were forced to shut down, reducing the already-scarce professional work experience for students in the creative field. This industry component is part of the brief for Design students, and an essential part of the degree, offering opportunities for students to apply their learning in an authentic context.
 This project emerged, firstly, from a scenario without abundant opportunities for students to complete their 60 hours of professional experience, a year-3 component of the Bachelor of Communication Design. Secondly, the project functions as a contextual response to the current context of uncertainty attached to the year of 2020.
 In this sense, the main task for the research team was naturally decided to be the creation of a virtual exhibition, maintaining the tradition to have an annual graduation exhibition for the Communication Design cohort from AUT University. The goal of the project was to create an experience to satisfy the students’ need to exhibit their work in a world that has been transformed by restrictions due to the pandemic, added by the uncertainty produced by constant change in alert levels. The initial hypothesis is that the combination of a Human-Centred Design approach, Mixed Methods and Agile Prototyping could create the ideal environment for collaborative models that can be applied to complex problem-solving models in a rapidly changing world.
 The paradigm selected by the researchers determines the methodology, and this project connects to post-positivist paradigm, where the inquiry is concerned with the subjectivity of reality and moves away from the purely objective stance adopted by the logical positivists. The great challenge was to organise a collaborative model for tasks which overlap multiple roles and actors to create a technology product. This process is followed by a thorough review of the contextual knowledge, providing insights about strategies that informed the development of the virtual exhibition, including case- studies of previous examples in the field. Agile sessions were conducted to explore Mind Mapping, Canvas and Prototyping (analogue and digital) techniques. Project planning was presented and implemented while usability tests and surveys were conducted to verify if the goals were achieved. The (exhibition name – blind review) exhibition facilitated the option for users to engage in a virtual tour of the design work, which may be experienced beyond the launch date. The researches process was documented in the form of an exegesis and an oral presentation in the international conference.

Prática de Ensaio como Pesquisa

Este artigo explora caminhos que os artistas trabalham com as pessoas em performances ou práticas artísticas sociais. Abordando diretamente e organizando pessoas envolve uma ética de atenção, incluindo modos de ouvir, que desdobram-se em variados resultados de pesquisa. Nesse contexto, o livro de Lisbeth Lipari de 2014 Ouvir, Pensar, Ser: No Sentido de uma Sintonia Ética discute a noção do filósofo Emmanuel Levinas do encontro cara a cara com o outro como um união que deve abranger a diferença. Práticas de audição e afinação tem papel crítico no projeto de PhD de Olivia Webb da Universidade AUT onde a prática de sua arte engaja participantes e diversas comunidades de música e canto. Para esses projetos Webb usa sua experiência como treinadora de coral e artista performática e questiona como a audição é traduzível entre diferentes grupos culturais. Essas metodologias práticas, baseadas na ideia de participação, ativamente alteram e redirecionam seus projetos.

“Context matters”: The challenges and opportunities of designing tertiary public and environmental health education in South Auckland

This article outlines a study protocol, detailing the proposed methodology and findings of our preliminary literature review, for co-design of future NZ public and environmental health education for the South Auckland campus of AUT University. This research project aims to contribute to healthy communities and city, embrace emerging technologies, maximize youth employability, and develop an outstanding 21st Century tertiary environment. The proposed project will contribute to a significant re-conceptualization of curriculum; student learning and voice; and partnerships with communities and a fast-changing industry. Using a design based research approach to curriculum development, the research practitioners in this project will immerse themselves in the context of the project, be guided by emerging theory in developing design principles, construct features of an intervention and evaluate the impact on teaching and learning. Situated in Kaupapa Māori and Pacific epistemologies and utilising collaborative design principles, the study will explore the diverse and complex context in which public and environmental health will be provided at AUT South. Of particular relevance will be an examination of the following drivers of tertiary, and public and environmental health, education in the 21st century: the unique South Auckland context, the need to embrace evolving concepts of public health, rapid technological change, and changing education paradigms. Our ultimate goal is to develop co-designed interventions that accommodate the unique cultural and ethnic makeup of the South Auckland context with the opportunity for transferability across the tertiary sector, situated within a social constructivist philosophy appropriate for our new digital economy and environmental challenges.

Mobile Social Media and the News: Where Heutagogy Enables Journalism Education

Journalism schools are under pressure to look beyond traditional teaching methods to prepare students for the post-Internet, rapidly evolving news landscape. Heutagogy is a net-centric teaching method in which learners are highly autonomous and self-determined. In this article, Participatory Action Research theory was applied within a heutagogical framework to the redevelopment of a social media course for journalism students at AUT University, New Zealand. The findings form the basis of recommendations across the wider journalism curriculum, and there are also implications for other areas of communication studies, public relations, and online or broadcast media.

2017 2nd Asia Conference on Power and Electrical Engineering (ACPEE 2017)

2017 Second Asia Conference on Power and Electrical Engineering (ACPEE 2017) was held in Shanghai, China during March 24-26, 2017. ACPEE 2017 was organized by Hong Kong Society of Mechanical Engineers, supported by other organizations. The conference provides a useful and wide platform both for display the latest research and for exchange of research results and thoughts in broad Power and Electrical Engineering, Renewable Energy and Smart Grid. The participants of the conference were from almost every part of the world, with background of either academia or industry, even well-known enterprise. The success and prosperity of the conference is reflected high level of the papers received.The proceedings are a compilation of the accepted papers and represent an interesting outcome of the conference. This book covers 4 chapters: Renewable Energy & Smart Grids; Power and Electrical Engineering; Energy utilization and management; Power electronics.We would like to acknowledge all of those who supported ACPEE 2017. Each individual and institutional help were very important for the success of this conference. Especially we would like to thank the organizing committee for their valuable advices in the organization and helpful peer review of the papers.We sincerely hope that ACPEE 2017 will be a forum for excellent discussions that will put forward new ideas and promote collaborative researches. We are sure that the proceedings will serve as an important research source of references and the knowledge, which will lead to not only scientific and engineering progress but also other new products and processes.Prof. Tek-Tjing Lie, AUT University, Auckland, New ZealandProf. Moustafa Eissa, Helwan university, EgyptProf. Emanuele Calabrò, Institute of Industrial Technology, Italy

Conference Committee

Conference ChairProf. Hyo Choi, Gangneung-Wonju National University, South KoreaProf. Ngai Weng Chan, School of Humanities, Universiti Sains Malaysia, MalaysiaProf. Solomon W. Leung, Idaho State University, USAProgram ChairProf. Chan Jin Park, Incheon National University, South KoreaProf. Jun Yao, China University of Geosciences Beijing, ChinaPublication ChairDr. Wu Jin, Beijing Jiaotong University, ChinaGuest EditorProf. Kevin Fong-Rey Liu, Department of Safety, Health and Environmental Engineering, Ming Chi University of Technology, TaiwanProf. Teresa Albuquerque, Instituto Politecnico de Castelo Branco, PortugalProf. Eric James Strauss, Michigan State University, East Lansing, USATechnical CommitteeProf. Il-kyu Kim, Pukyong National University, South KoreaProf. Eric James Strauss, Michigan State University, East Lansing, USAProf. Ahmed Jalal Khan Chowdhury, Kulliyyah (Faculty) of Science International Islamic University MalaysiaProf. Mohd Elmuntasir Ebrahim Ahmed, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, KuwaitProf. Abbyssinia Mushunje, University of Fort Hare, South AfricaProf. Kevin Fong-Rey Liu, Ming Chi University of Technology, TaiwanProf. Kei Eguchi, Fukuoka Institute of Technology, JapanProf. Teresa Albuquerque, Instituto Politecnico de Castelo Branco, PortugalProf. Ahmad Zuhairi Abdullah, School of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, MalaysiaProf. M Ramachandra Mohan, Bangalore University, IndiaProf. TALEB Mohammed Sghir, Institut Scientifique, Mohammed 5 University in Rabat, MoroccoProf. Nour Mohammad, Premier University, Chittagong, BangladeshProf. J. Helan Chandra, Jeppiaar Engineering College, Chennai, IndiaProf. Qiuyan Yuan, University of Manitoba, CanadaProf. Jabbar Hammood Al-Baidhani, Babylon University,College of Engineering, IraqProf. Piyush Malaviya, Department of Environmental Science, University of Jammu, IndiaProf. S S Singh, Guru Ghasidas Central University, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, IndiaAssoc. Prof. M. Azizul Moqsud, Yamaguchi University, ThailandAssoc. Prof. Haliza Abdul Rahman, Universiti Putra Malaysia, MalaysiaAssoc. Prof. Xiang Li, National University Chiba University, JapanAssoc. Prof. Hae Keun Yun, Department of Horticulture & Life Science, Yeungnam University, South KoreaAssoc. Prof. Amir Shafeeq, Institute of Chemical Engg. & Tech. University of the Punjab, PakistanAssoc. Prof. Muhammad Ali Zulfikar, Institut Teknologi Bandung, IndonesiaAssoc.Prof. Bello Olugbenga Solomon, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Oyo State, NigeriaAssoc. Prof. Mamta Sharma, Govt. Raj Rishi College, Raj Rishi Bhartrihari Matsya University, IndiaDr. Dorota Kulikowska, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, PolandDr. Muhammad Naufal Bin Mansor, Department of Electrical, Kampus Uniciti Alam, Universiti MalaysiaDr. Intareeya Sutthivanich,Suranaree University of Technology, ThailandDr. Nrashant Singh, Amity University Dubai, DIAC, DubaiDr. Abolfazl Naji, Faculty of Marine Science and Technology, University of Hormozgan, Bandar Abbas, IranDr. Oana Adriana Cuzman, Institute for the Conservation and Valorization of Cultural Heritage, ItalyDr. Amon Taruvinga, Agriculture & Environmental Economics, University of Fort Hare, South AfricaDr. Ali Ghaffarianhoseini, Aut university, Auckland, New ZealandDr. Intareeya Sutthivanich, Suranaree University of Technology, Nakhon Ratchasima, ThailandDr. Alemayehu Adugna, Wolaita Sodo University, EthiopiaDr. Himanshu Patel, Indira Gandhi National Open University, IndiaDr. Yun Zhang, Lanzhou University, China

Embryo donation and counselling for the welfare of donors, recipients, their families and children.

How do counsellors facilitating known 'open' embryo donation (ED) experience their roles and responsibilities? Counsellors regard counselling for ED as entailing significant responsibility to ensure that the longer-term implications of the practice are understood and that positive relationships are established that will promote the well-being of donors, recipients, their families and the children involved. While counselling is frequently recommended in third-party assisted reproduction, there has been little research into the experiences of counsellors and their perceptions of their roles and responsibilities. Fertility counsellors were interviewed between March and October 2012 as to their experiences and perceptions of their roles and responsibilities. Fertility counsellors were recruited from across New Zealand and interviews were conducted with all nine counsellors involved in ED counselling. Interview data were analysed thematically to identify main themes. Counsellors regard ED as a complex practice with enduring implications arising from the genetic link between donors and offspring, which is seen to bestow immutable social ties. They see their role as the provision of implications counselling and the facilitation of ongoing positive relationships between donors and recipients in an 'open' context. Counsellors express concern about their responsibility for promoting the welfare of all parties--including that of the child--the limitations of counselling, and the conflation of assessment and counselling roles. Experiences of counselling for ED may change over time as longer-term outcomes become more apparent. Further consideration needs to be given as to how the welfare principle may best be operationalised in counselling practice, particularly in contexts of 'open' donation. This study was funded by an AUT University Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences research grant. The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Midwifery practice arrangements which sustain caseloading Lead Maternity Carer midwives in New Zealand.

A Corresponding Author: andrea. gilkison@aut.nz B School of Midwifery, AUT University, New Zealand INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND Implementing caseload, continuity of care, midwifery models improves outcomes and has significant benefits for the woman and baby (National Health Service, 2014; Sandall, Devane, Soltani, Hatem, & Gates, 2010; Sandall, Soltani, Gates, Shennan, & Devane, 2013), and enhances women’s and midwives’ satisfaction (Collins, Fereday, Pincombe, Oster, & Turnbull, 2010; Ministry of Health, 2011). The New Zealand Nurses Amendment Act (1990) provided New Zealand midwives with the legal ability to practise as autonomous health professionals. Midwives in New Zealand are funded by the government to provide midwifery care throughout pregnancy, labour, birth and the postpartum period up to six weeks, for women who have chosen to book with them (Ministry of Health, 2007). To support this continuity of care for women, New Zealand midwives are able to work as a Lead Maternity Carer (LMC) and provide care to a caseload of women. The predominant choice as LMC is a midwife (Ministry of Health, 2012), however, a general practitioner or an obstetrician can fulfil this role; it is the woman who determines who her LMC will be. Providing LMC care to a caseload of women often means that the midwife needs to be available to her caseload at any time of the day or night – to provide care during labour or for any urgent or emergency issues (Ministry of Health, 2007). For some midwives this requirement is unsustainable and it has been argued may potentially increase burnout (Young, 2011), whilst for others it is enjoyable and satisfying (McAra-Couper et al., 2014). Our wider study aimed to explore what it is about working as a LMC midwife, providing continuity of care, which sustains midwives and supports them to continue to work in this role. A previous paper has described this study and the main themes summing up what sustained them in practice were identified as: the joy of working in partnership with women; having good collegial relationships with practice partners who are philosophically aligned; managing the unpredictability of being on-call; having clear boundaries; having good relationships with colleagues in maternity units; having supportive families and friends; and the way the practice was organised (McAra-Couper et al., 2014). This paper reviews the specifics of practice arrangements which contributed to sustainable midwifery practice for our participants. In 2013, 38.1% (1,118 midwives) of the New Zealand midwifery workforce reported caseloading as their main work situation, 86% of the caseloading midwives worked as self-employed LMCs (Midwifery Council of New Zealand, 2013). Midwives who work Background: The New Zealand Lead Maternity Carer (LMC) midwifery model has benefits for women and babies and is a satisfying way to work for midwives. Due to the need to be on-call for long periods of time, there have been questions raised about the sustainability of the model for midwives and the potential for burnout. Objective: This qualitative descriptive study explored what sustains on-call, caseloading Lead Maternity Carer (LMC) midwives in New Zealand. Methods: Eleven midwives with 12 to 20 years in practice were interviewed and thematic analysis used to identify themes which sustained these LMC midwives in practice. Findings: Overall, the study found that it was the joy of midwifery practice, managing the unpredictability of being on-call, having clear boundaries, having good relationships with colleagues, having supportive families and friends, and workable practice arrangements which sustain them in practice. This paper presents the findings from the theme: workable practice arrangements. The midwives interviewed explained that having regular time off, a manageable caseload size, working together as a practice, the financial arrangements, and the sharing of arrangements with women created a sustainable way to practice. Conclusion: This paper has identified aspects of sustainable practice which are congruent with the international research but also very specific to the New Zealand model of midwifery.

Building extended families through embryo donation: the experiences of donors and recipients.

How do embryo donors and recipients understand and experience embryo donation (ED)? Donors and recipients regard the genetic link between donors and donor-conceived child as significant, and draw on metaphors of ED as adoption and as building extended family networks in order to manage the complex interplay of genetic, gestational and social aspects of reproduction and family-building. The uptake of embryo donation internationally is relatively low and there has been little research into the outcomes and experiences of ED for donor and recipient families. Embryo donors and recipients in New Zealand were interviewed between March and October 2012 as to their understandings and experiences of embryo donation. Participants were recruited from across New Zealand and interviews were conducted with 22 donors (10 couples, 2 individuals) and 15 recipients (5 couples, 5 individuals). Interview data were analysed thematically to identify factors that influenced their perspectives and affected their experiences. The genetic link between donors and offspring is regarded as bestowing immutable social ties by both donors and recipients. This makes ED a difficult choice for both donors, who experience a sense of ongoing responsibility for offspring welfare, and for recipients, who may have concerns about the donor-offspring bond. Disclosure of genetic background is regarded as critical for the welfare of both the donor-conceived child as well as siblings in the donor family. Both donors and recipients draw parallels between ED and open adoption practices, and draw on extended family constructs in order to describe their relationship to each other. Donors and recipients were interviewed at various stages of the ED process, and experiences may change over time. The comparison of ED with open adoption practice and the metaphor of extended family-building both help make sense of and complicate the ED experience. These concepts help to structure expectations for the assessment for ED, the disclosure of donor conception, and the nature of relationships, information-exchange and contact. This study was funded by an AUT University Faculty of Health Environmental Sciences research grant.

The Offerings of Fringe Figures and Migrants

‘The Western tradition’, as passe-partout, includes fringe figures, émigrés and migrants. Rather than looking to resources at the core of the Western tradition to overcome its own blindnesses, I am more interested in its gaps and peripheries, where other thoughts and renegade knowledges take hold. It is in the contact zones with strangers that glimpses of any culture’s philosophical blindness become possible and changes towards a different understanding of knowledge can begin. In the context of education, I am above all interested in PhD candidates who wish to draw on the bodies and modes of knowledge they bring with them to the university. Some are not well represented: Indigenous and other non-Western traditions, non-English languages, and the renegade knowledges of marginalised groups. My context is that of creative practice-led PhD theses at AUT University, Auckland (Aotearoa/New Zealand) which have made me aware of the importance of cosmopolitics to understand education in the context of entangled histories of colonisation and domination; border-crossing interdependencies; new types of conflict and new ways of building communities. My study thus explores aspects of transculturation—involving not only ethnic cultures (often the default understanding of culture) but also different disciplinary knowledge cultures. The place that no-one owns in Western tradition, the place of fringe figures, émigrés and migrants, may offer a point from which non-traditional candidates’ thoughts can lever off to build connections with their own stores of knowledge. (Non-traditional candidates belong to minorities in Western universities until about thirty years ago when traditional candidates were ‘male, from high-status social-economic backgrounds, members of majority ethnic and/or racial groups, and without disability’.) This usually means for Western supervisors that they need to recognise their ignorance towards parts of their own traditions, as well as those of their candidates. The proposition I will explore is that the emergent research of non-traditional candidates can thrive on gaps and on the fringes—provided that both candidates and supervisors are able to be porous to the unknown and ‘troubled by the presumption of equality’. The potential of the gap, the unknown, which simultaneously separates and connects candidates and supervisors, can be the beginning of generating a thing in common. This is a rich and creative place for new thought, which may open the academy to transcultural knowledge.

Event-related-potentials reveal an age-related decline in inhibition during a working memory task.

Event Abstract Back to Event Event-related-potentials reveal an age-related decline in inhibition during a working memory task. Helen Gaeta1, 2* and David Friedman3 1 AUT University, School of Interprofessional Health Studies, New Zealand 2 New York State Psychiatric Institute, United States 3 New York State Psychiatric Hospital, United States Reduced efficacy of neural inhibition is considered a major factor contributing to age-related cognitive decline, possibly by impairing working memory. Top-down modulation is proposed to be the neural process that underpins our ability to focus attention on relevant events and limit interference by irrelevant ones. A visually elicited event-related-potential, the N160, increases in amplitude when attention is directed at the eliciting stimulus, suggesting it can index top-down processes. This property of the N160 is utilised here during the encoding phase of a working memory task to examine the efficacy of inhibition with ageing. If efficacy of neural inhibition is compromised with ageing, then unnecessary attention should be captured by task-irrelevant stimuli, degrading performance and eliciting similar N160 amplitudes for task-relevant and -irrelevant stimuli. To assess this hypothesis, performance measures and event related potentials (ERPs) were recorded from 12 younger and 12 older adults. Digits were presented visually in strings from 4-11 numbers. An asterisk signalled the end of a digit-string. In one task, participants were instructed to match the first four digits of a string to a subsequent 4-digit number (delayed-matching-to-sample task, DMST). In the other task, they were instructed to match the last four digits of a string to a subsequent 4-digit number (Updating Task, UT). Thus, for the DMST only the first four digits of a series were task-relevant. By contrast, in the UT all digits in a series required attention during encoding. Performance for both age groups was better for the DMST than for the UT, but younger adults performed better than older adults on the UT. Amplitudes for N160, elicited by task-irrelevant digits in the DMST, were greater for older than younger adults. The combined behavioural and N160 data lend support to the view that age-related inhibitory decline impairs working memory, and may contribute to age-related cognitive decline. Keywords: Attention, Neural Inhibition, working memory, ERPs, cognitive ageing Conference: XII International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON-XII), Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 27 Jul - 31 Jul, 2014. Presentation Type: Poster Topic: Memory and Learning Citation: Gaeta H and Friedman D (2015). Event-related-potentials reveal an age-related decline in inhibition during a working memory task.. Conference Abstract: XII International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON-XII). doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2015.217.00116 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 19 Feb 2015; Published Online: 24 Apr 2015. * Correspondence: Dr. Helen Gaeta, AUT University, School of Interprofessional Health Studies, Auckland, New Zealand, helen.gaeta@aut.ac.nz Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Helen Gaeta David Friedman Google Helen Gaeta David Friedman Google Scholar Helen Gaeta David Friedman PubMed Helen Gaeta David Friedman Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.

A Badge of Honour

AUT University is developing a certification checklist and support materials to encourage and acknowledge ‘green teaching’. Green teaching includes using less resources (e.g., paper, energy, transport, etc.), making more use of online tools and activities, and including conservation and sustainability concepts in course content. Lecturers can earn a green teaching label for their course, which is displayed in the University’s Learning Management System. This is designed to support a global sustainability imperative, and to align with a key strand in the University’s strategic themes. As a part of this project we have also developed an understanding of ‘open badges’, allowing our users to earn a verified award that can be displayed in a variety of other online systems.

The Authored Voice: Emerging approaches to exegesis design in creative practice PhDs

In 2004, Robert Nelson noted in creative, practice-led research degrees that the exegesis had been reconceptualised as a cultural contribution to scholarship. He suggested that the challenge this posed was the need for writing to interface effectively with the nature and calibre of the creative work. A decade on from his observation, this article employs a case study to discuss emerging approaches to the exegesis in the work of graphic design doctoral candidates at AUT University in New Zealand. Accepting the multi-perspectival and multi-voiced nature of the practice-led exegesis writer, it discusses approaches to both structure and presentation. In so doing, it also considers specific issues, including negotiated relationships between the role and the nature of the designer’s voice, systems of narration, and issues impacting upon both digital and print formats.

Free Roast Pig at Open Day: All you can eat will not attract South Auckland Pacific Islanders to University


 I kid you not. This is a time in Pacific regional history where as a middle-aged Tongan woman with European, Maori, and Samoan ancestries who was born and raised in New Zealand, I teach students taking my undergraduate papers how not to go about making stereotypical assumptions. The students in my classes are mostly Maori and Pakeha (white, European) New Zealanders. They learn to interrogate typecasts produced by state policy, media, and academia classifying the suburbs of South Auckland as overcrowded with brown people, meaning Pacific Islanders; overburdened by non-communicable diseases, like obesity and diabetes; and overdone in dismal youth statistics for crime and high school drop-outs. And then some well-meaning but incredibly uninformed staff members at the university where I am a senior lecturer have a bright idea to give away portions of roast pig on a spit to Pacific Islanders at the South Auckland campus open day.
 Who asked the university to give us free roast pig? Who asked us if this is what we want from a university that was planted out South in 2010 to sell degrees to a South Auckland market predicted to grow to half a million people, largely young people, in the next two decades? (AUT University, 2014). Who makes decisions about what gets dished up to Pacific Islanders in South Auckland, compared to what their hopes might be for university education prospects? To rephrase Julie Landsman’s essay, how about “confronting the racism of low expectations” that frames and bounds Pacific Islanders in South Auckland when a New Zealand university of predominantly Palangi (white, European) lecturers and researchers on academic staff contemplate “closing achievement gaps?” (Landsman, 2004).
 Tackling “the soft bigotry of low expectations” set upon Pacific Islanders getting into and through the university system has prompted discussion around introducing two sets of ideas at Auckland University of Technology (The Patriot Post, 2014). First, a summer school foundation course for literacy and numeracy on the South campus, recruiting Pacific Islander school leavers wanting to go on to study Bachelor’s degrees. Previously, the University of Auckland had provided bridging paths designed for young Pacific peoples to step up to degree programmes (Anae et al, 2002). 
 Second, the possibility of performing arts undergraduate papers recognising a diverse and youthful ethnoscape party to an Auckland context of theatre, drama, dance, music, Maori and Pacific cultural performance, storytelling, and slam poetry (Appadurai, 1996). Although this discussion is in its infancy and has not been feasibility scoped or formally initiated in the university system, it is a suggestion worth considering here.
 My inquiry is frank: Why conflate performance and South Auckland Pacific Islanders? Does this not lend to a clichéd mould that supposes young Pacific Islanders growing up in the ill-famed suburbs of the poor South are naturally gifted at singing, dancing, and performing theatrics? This is a characterisation fitted to inner-city Black American youth that has gone global and is wielded to tag, label, and brand urban Pacific Islanders of South Auckland. Therefore, how are the aspirational interests of this niche market reflected in the content and context of initiatives with South Auckland Pacific Islander communities in mind?

Press freedom, social media and the citizen

On 3 May, 2013, AUT University’s Pacific Media Centre marked the 20th anniversary of the UNESCO World Press Freedom Day with the inaugural event in New Zealand. The event was initiated by UNESCO’s Programme for Freedom of Expression, Democracy and Peace with the first seminar on ‘Promoting an Independent and Pluralistic African Media’ in Windhoek, Namibia, on 3 May, 1993. The journalists participating in that event drew up the Windhoek Declaration which highlighted that press freedom should be understood as a media system that is free, pluralistic and independent. They insisted that that this dispensation was essential for democracy and development. The Declaration became a landmark document in the fight for press freedom around the world. This address argues that new ethical codes of practice are now needed that are inclusive of serious bloggers and citizen journalists. The author of this address states: ‘The printing press spawned free expression’s offspring—the right of “press freedom”—as pamphleteers fought censorship by governments in the ensuing centuries. Events are unfolding much more quickly now. It would be an historic irony and a monumental shame if press freedom met its demise through the sheer pace of irresponsible truth-seeking and truth-telling today’.

The Frequency and Function of Just in British and New Zealand Engineering Lectures

Research problem: This corpus comparison study examines the occurrences of <formula formulatype="inline" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex Notation="TeX">$\,\font \frog = w52tim\hbox{\frog just}$</tex></formula> as used in British and New Zealand engineering lectures in order to discover its frequency and functions and to consider its role in professional communication. Research questions: Is <formula formulatype="inline" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex Notation="TeX">$\,\font \frog = w52tim\hbox{\frog just}$</tex></formula> as frequent in the academic genre of university lectures as in other genres of spoken English? (1) Does <formula formulatype="inline" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex Notation="TeX">$\,\font \frog = w52tim\hbox{\frog just}$</tex></formula> have the same functions in British and New Zealand engineering lectures as found in a previous study at an American university? (2) Does a better understanding of the different ways that <formula formulatype="inline" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex Notation="TeX">$\,\font \frog = w52tim\hbox{\frog just}$</tex></formula> is used in lectures have pedagogical implications for professional communication, especially for English as an additional language learners? Literature review: Previous studies show <formula formulatype="inline" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex Notation="TeX">$\,\font \frog = w52tim\hbox{\frog just}$</tex></formula> mainly functions as a ‘”minimizer’” (merely, only, simply) in university lectures in America, and functions the same in British and New Zealand university lectures on engineering. <formula formulatype="inline" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex Notation="TeX">$\,\font \frog = w52tim\hbox{\frog Just}$</tex></formula> also functions as part of a metadiscursive frame (let me <formula formulatype="inline" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex Notation="TeX">$\,\font \frog = w52tim\hbox{\frog just}$</tex></formula> explain), and stance (the speaker's attitude toward the content communicated: don't <formula formulatype="inline" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex Notation="TeX">$\,\font \frog = w52tim\hbox{\frog just}$</tex></formula> copy down what I've done). In response, English as an additional language learners can learn to recognize and distinguish the different functions of <formula formulatype="inline" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex Notation="TeX">$\,\font \frog = w52tim\hbox{\frog just}$</tex></formula> and use them appropriately. Methodology: The researcher used a corpus linguistics methodology to determine the frequency of <formula formulatype="inline" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex Notation="TeX">$\,\font \frog = w52tim\hbox{\frog just}$</tex></formula> and a discourse analysis method to see if the functions of <formula formulatype="inline" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex Notation="TeX">$\,\font \frog = w52tim\hbox{\frog just}$</tex></formula> identified in a previous study of the Michigan Corpus of Academic Spoken English applied to the corpus of British and New Zealand engineering lectures. These lectures are all part of the Engineering Lecture Corpus, which was started at Coventry University and includes AUT University in New Zealand. Results and discussion: The frequency of <formula formulatype="inline" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex Notation="TeX">$\,\font \frog = w52tim\hbox{\frog just}$</tex></formula> in British and New Zealand engineering lectures was high: it occurred in the top 50 words in the wordlists of both sets of lectures. <formula formulatype="inline" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex Notation="TeX">$\,\font \frog = w52tim\hbox{\frog Just}$</tex></formula> was used in British and New Zealand engineering lectures the same way as in the American university, functioning mostly as a “minimizer,” often to reduce the imposition of what was being said or asked. It occurred much more frequently in the British engineering lectures than the New Zealand ones, often in short stretches of discourse. Its “locative” meaning, used when indicating a precise location, occurred more often in the New Zealand Electrical Engineering lectures and in the British Civil Engineering lectures. A study of the different ways that <formula formulatype="inline" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex Notation="TeX">$\,\font \frog = w52tim\hbox{\frog just}$</tex></formula> functions, and the frequency with which it is used in spoken academic English should lead to a better understanding of its function in professional communication. The limitation of the study was the sample size, and the fact that it was an opportunistic sample taken from a limited number of lecturers in a limited number of universities. While adopting the functions used in the American study was a limitation, the additional category of <formula formulatype="inline" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex Notation="TeX">$\,\font \frog = w52tim\hbox{\frog just}$</tex></formula> used in multiword units was uncovered. Limitations of the unavailablilty of recordings to determine pronunciation differences was also noted, with examples provided to show possible misunderstandings. Future research would examine an expanded data sample, providing better representation of the language of lectures in the UK and New Zealand within and outside the subdisciplines of engineering, and investigating the ways that the pronunciation of <formula formulatype="inline" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex Notation="TeX">$\,\font \frog = w52tim\hbox{\frog just}$</tex></formula> affects its meaning. Other spoken academic and general corpora, such as the British Academic Spoken English corpus and the spoken components of the British National Corpus and the Corpus of Contemporary American English could be studied for comparison purposes of the frequency and functions of <formula formulatype="inline" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex Notation="TeX">$\,\font \frog = w52tim\hbox{\frog just}$</tex></formula> .

EDITORIAL: Captive to a political elite

This edition of Pacific Journalism Review is themed on the Media and Democracy in the South Pacific symposium held in Suva in September 2012. Hosted by the University of the South Pacific, the conference has provided most of the core papers for this issue, marking close to two decades of an independent research role in the region by this journal. The 2012 symposium followed two previous conferences held at AUT University in Auckland and USP in Suva in December 2010, covering topics ranging from investigative journalism and technology, peace journalism, democracy, social cohesion and various related themes.

Narcissus and the muse: supervisory implications of autobiographical, practice-led PhD design theses

This article draws on case studies undertaken in doctoral research at AUT University. It seeks to address a number of issues impacting supervisors and graphic design research candidates who employ autobiographic approaches when developing practice-led theses. When employed as a framework, autobiographic inquiries offer a rewarding yet challenging system for connecting investigation with the researcher’s personal experience. This article provides a discussion of the nature, advantages and challenges of autobiographic research in relation to two recent Doctor of Philosophy theses in graphic design. Through this, it seeks to provide a useful reflection on cautions and opportunities inherent in the methodology.

Written Corrective Feedback for L2 Development: Current Knowledge and Future Research

TESOL QuarterlyVolume 46, Issue 4 p. 855-860 TEACHING ISSUES Written Corrective Feedback for L2 Development: Current Knowledge and Future Research John Bitchener, John Bitchener AUT University, Auckland, New ZealandSearch for more papers by this author John Bitchener, John Bitchener AUT University, Auckland, New ZealandSearch for more papers by this author First published: 15 November 2012 https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.62Citations: 22 TESOL Quarterly publishes brief commentaries on aspects of English language teaching. Edited by Dana Ferris University of California, Davis Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Citing Literature Volume46, Issue4December 2012Pages 855-860 RelatedInformation