The construction of September 11th and the New Zealand response : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Politics at Massey University

"In defending democracy, we must not forget the need to observe the values that make democracy worth defending".1 Britain's Lord Chief Justice Woolf, cited in the Dominion Post, 2 November 2002. On 11 September 2001, four hijacked passenger planes crashed in the United States. Two of the planes were deliberately piloted into highly populated buildings in New York City, one hit the American Defence Department (the Pentagon) in Washington D.C., and the fourth crashed near the small town of Shanksville, Somerset County, Pennsylvania. This thesis will examine how these events were constructed in mainstream Western discourse, and how these constructions helped shape the environment in which subsequent world affairs emerged. A principal focus of the study is the largely unquestioned resort to violent, military action in the wake of 11 September 2001, and it will be shown how the key constructions worked in conjunction with each other to support this development. The second central issue examined is the response of the New Zealand government. What would be the position of New Zealand's Labour-led government, with its tradition of an independent, moral foreign policy and a commitment to a rules-based international order in the wake of the events? My choice of this topic, and this particular approach, stems from my witnessing the extreme convergence of opinion that followed these events, both in the mainstream media and in general conversations with fellow New Zealanders. The clearly developing plans for aggressive retaliation, along with claims that 'the world had changed', led me to be concerned about the implications for human rights

Developing a self-report measure to assess disclosure strategies in adult male prisoners and its association with personality

Purpose – The current study aims to report on the development of a self-report measure of disclosure strategies in adult male prisoners (violent and acquisitive offences) and its association with personality and self-esteem. Design/methodology/approach – The study employed an adapted version of the Delphi technique to develop initial items for inclusion in the new disclosure measure (Disclosure Management Questionnaire: DMQ). This element of the study utilised an “expert sample” of forensic psychologists. A total of 94 prisoners then completed the developed measure. Factor analysis was utilised to explore the structure of the measure, which subsequently allowed associations between disclosure strategies, personality and self-esteem to be identified. Findings – Analysis revealed a measure of disclosure (the DMQ) comprising four subscales: Exploratory Engagement, Placatory/Evasive Engagement, Passive Resistance and Active Resistance. Significant correlations were identified between the personality trait Neuroticism and higher levels of Placatory/Evasive Engagement and Active Resistance of forensic clients during the disclosure process. Self-esteem was also found to correlate with disclosure, in that high trait self-esteem was found to be associated with higher exploratory engagement, whereas low trait self-esteem was associated with higher levels of active resistance of the disclosure process. Originality/value – Developing an understanding of the nature and function of disclosure and how these relate to individual factors such as personality (including trait self-esteem) provides valuable knowledge and alternative ways of supporting forensic clients in discussing difficult issues related to their offending

From Snow to Flow: Exploring Relationships Between SNOTEL Ablation Curves and Peak Streamflow Timing

Predictions of peak streamflow timing in snow-dominated river systems are essential for proper water management and recreational availability. This study evaluates historic snow and streamflow data from 14 river basins throughout Idaho to investigate the relationship between snowmelt timing at SNOw TELemetry (SNOTEL) sites and peak streamflow within each basin. The goal is to provide a simple operational tool that estimates the probability of peak streamflow occurring within a certain number of days as ablation progresses from 0 to 100% melted. For individual basins we evaluate meltout levels in increments of 10% from each SNOTEL site and use a probabilistic modeling approach to create cumulative distribution function (CDF) curves which illustrate the probability of peak streamflow occurring within a given number of days from the date at which the SNOTEL site reaches each meltout percentage. Results from the CDF probability model graphs also provide basic information about basin specific anecdotal indices or “rules of thumb” for when peak streamflow will occur based on the average percent meltout at the time of peak streamflow. Compiled historical datasets with summary statistics for 54 SNOTEL-streamgage pairs of multiple snowmelt and streamflow metrics add to the body of knowledge of hydrologic processes for basins throughout Idaho. In addition, our analysis reveals how melt timing has a greater influence on the timing of peak streamflow than does the timing or magnitude of maximum accumulation (max SWE) and how the larger snowpack (magnitude of max SWE) often have few lag days between each meltout percentage and peak streamflow

Comprehending counterfactuals

Counterfactual reasoning, an understanding of events that are counter to reality, or false, is an essential ingredient of our everyday cognition. Counterfactual situations are frequently depicted through language, yet surprisingly little is known of how they are processed during reading or listening. This is remarkable given the social importance of understanding counterfactuals and the wealth of psychological research that has focused on the production of counterfactual statements. In this thesis, I present eight experiments that investigate how a counterfactual discourse can disrupt or facilitate processing of some subsequent linguistic input and address related comprehension issues involving negation and theory of mind. The main findings suggest that a counterfactual scenario (e.g. ‘If cats were vegetarians’) leads the comprehender to rapidly update their processing model to incorporate a counterfactual continuation. However, a secondary process briefly interferes at the point of ambiguity resolution in cases where world knowledge has been violated (e.g. ‘Families could feed their cat a bowl of fish/ carrots’). The effects are compared across the different experimental paradigms used, including eye- tracking, event- related brain potentials and the visual world paradigm, which reveal distinct integration, neural and anticipatory processes. Finally, these findings are discussed in relation to existing research on counterfactuals and the processing relationships between counterfactuals, negation and theory of mind reasoning

Applying university strategic objectives at the school level

University Teachers at the School of Interdisciplinary Studies are working together on the Teaching, Learning and Participation Project. This project encompasses three strands: widening participation, student experience, and innovative learning and teaching; all key aspects of the University’s strategic objectives. The widening participation strand has focused primarily on partnership with local schools. This includes Campus Days whereby pupils who have the ability, but perhaps not the confidence, to enter higher education come to the University's two campuses and experience a day as a student. Additionally this strand is seeking to conduct a comparative study of assessment and feedback processes in secondary and higher education. The student experience strand has concentrated on employability and internationalisation. Examples include working with the local education authority to extend student learning and provide staff CPD opportunities via the establishment of an annual education lecture, and developing opportunities for internships overseas. Finally, the innovative learning and teaching strand has sought to review current teaching practices within the School, and to identify and trial innovative methodologies in an effort to engage learners more fully and thereby to enhance both the student and staff learning experiences

Working Towards Diversity III: A Progress Report on Strategies for Inclusiveness Among Minnesota Grantmakers

"Working Towards Diversity III" reports incremental improvements in applying strategies for inclusiveness among Minnesota grantmakers. It is the third five-year benchmark report on diversity, following two earlier diversity surveys of Council members on the same topic reported in 1995 and 2000. The current survey shows that the discourse on diversity and inclusiveness practices within the Minnesota philanthropic community has been elevated to a higher level. More foundations and corporate giving programs have formal, written statements on diversity and inclusiveness than five years ago and the impetus for change is coming from the foundations' most senior-level policymaker

African American Literature: Books to Stoke Dreams

In addition to market forces, unconsciously damaging trends in many textbooks for teacher education have resulted in classroom trade book collections that represent children who are primarily white and middle class. While all children—whether from Argentina, Afghanistan, or Algeria—deserve to see themselves and their families in books, the focus of this article is on new publications that depict African Americans. Teachers who are committed to learning all they can about multicultural literature and culturally and gender relevant pedagogy become agents of change. Includes significant bibliography of Resources and list of Children’s Literature That Picture Children of African Descent