Dads: Delights, desires and difficulties: A discussion of changes over the last 40 years in fathers' roles, attitudes and practices

In this paper I discuss changes over the last forty years in fathers' roles, attitudes and practices. In general, fathers are more positive about their role and spend more time with their infants and four year olds. They now talk more with their mates about being a father, and are more likely to give equal importance to their partner's job. However, job pressures mean that they have difficulty balancing their priorities between work and home. Clearly, fathering is being taken seriously by the nineties fathers who feel a conflict between earning a living and spending more time with their children

Parents: Discipline, punishment and child abuse. A four decade study of child rearing attitudes and practices

Child abuse has been very much in the news recently. Each time a child dies because of it, there is much publicity, much media soul-searching, numerous pronouncements from spokespeople but there is little change. Parental use of physical punishment and child abuse are inextricably linked, and the only sure and certain way to save children from abuse is to prevent parents from striking their children (Straus 2000)

Commentary: Women’s violence to children

Feminists often feel uncomfortable about talking about, or even acknowledging, women's violence, whether it be women's violence to men, women's violence to other women, or women's violence to children. It is now generally recognised that women can be violent to their male partners, but that women's violence is often in self-defence, and does not usually result in the same degree of hurt and injury as does men's violence to women. As someone who, for many years, has been concerned about parental use of physical punishment, I have long been aware that women can also be violent towards their children

New Zealand families: Child-rearing practices and attitudes

Traditionally, the study of families has been the domain of sociology rather than of psychology. For sociologists the family is an important ‘institution’ because it is a key social structure that shapes the way society is organised. More recently psychology has been developing an interest in families

An exploratory study of the sexual health knowledge and attitudes of Asian male student sojourners in New Zealand

This study looked into the sexual and general health attitudes of Asian male student sojourners in New Zealand. The following issues on sexual and general health were probed: level of awareness, views and perceptions, levels of knowledge, main sources of information, and cultural factors in seeking health information. An Internet-mediated survey was employed to gather data on this sensitive topic. Sixty-six participants from Waikato, Massey, Canterbury, and Otago Universities answered the questionnaire. In addition, key-informant interviews with health providers were conducted to provide additional data. Data from the survey indicated a high level of health awareness concerning both general and sexual health maintenance, but there was cultural reluctance to discuss health issues, especially sexual health. General and sexual health matters were regarded as highly personal and sensitive, which they discussed with close associates. Findings from the study suggest the need for culturally appropriate approaches to improve Asian male students' access to health services

Maori children and death: Views from parents

Research about Maori children's experiences and perceptions of death and tangi (Maori death rituals) is sparse. What is available tends to be generalised and stems from Western paradigms of knowledge. In this study we explore Maori children's experiences of death and tangi through the eyes of Maori parents. Through semi-structured interviews with 17 Maori parents, five areas were explored: a) the childhood experiences of parents and how they learned about death and an afterlife; b) what their adult beliefs about these matters are; c) how they have communicated the death concept to their children; and d) whether their children are likely to do the same in the future. From this study we learn that death was not hidden from children, that parents talked with their children in very open and age relevant ways, and considered their children's participation in tangi an important way to grieve and ensure continuity with kinship networks and support. This study suggests that the challenge now is to ensure that these practices continue to persist between parents and their children, and future generations

Field and experimental studies of pyroclastic density currents and their associated deposits

A thesis submitted to the University of Luton, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.The transport and emplacement mechanisms of the highly energetic pyroclastic density current (PDC) generated in the blast style eruption of Soufriere Hills Volcano, Montserrat, on 26 December 1997 are examined through detailed lithological mapping and sedimentological analysis of the deposits. The PDC formed deposits which range in grain size from coarse breccias to fine ash, with distinctive bipartite layering and well-developed grading and stratification. On a large scale the PDC was highly erosive, sculpting large bedforms and depositing relatively thin deposits. However, locally, centimetre scale topographic protuberances were responsible for significant variations in deposit thickness, grain size, and the development of dune bedforms. The strong lateral and vertical lithofacies variations are attributed to well-developed density stratification, which formed during explosive expansion of the dome prior to PDC formation. Experimental modelling of stratified inertial gravity currents was carried out to investigate the effects of density stratification prior to release of the current. The degree of stratification governs the rate of mixing in the current, which in turn influences the velocity. Well·stratified currents initially move faster than homogenous currents but are slower in the latter stages of current propagation. The results have important implications for deposition from particle-laden flows, which may become stratified with coarser material concentrated at the base of the current. The role of PDCs jn the formation of unit US2-B, emplaced during the Upper Scoriae 2 eruption (79± 8 ka) on Santorini, Greece, was investigated through sedimentological analysis and mapping. Proximally, the unit exhibits features characteristic of emplacement from a flow, such as thickening into palaeochannels and erosive basal contacts. Distally, the unit is of uniform thickness and grain size parameters suggest the deposit is more characteristic of exnplacement from a fallout mechanism. Discrete lenses of fine-grained material within US2-B, and a gradational upper contact with PDC deposits suggest that there may have been contemporaneous deposition resulting the development of a hybrid deposit

The effectiveness of Design Thinking techniques to enhance undergraduate student learning

Students have access to an ever-increasing quantity and diversity of information, presented to them in multiple formats; the challenge for them is to identify and use this data effectively. Many undergraduate students experience difficulties in managing the knowledge that they gather, in recognising the quality and authenticity of this information, and in assessing the importance and priority of data. This therefore requires the development of strategies to support their learning

Partner abuse and its association with emotional distress: A study exploring LGBTI relationships

This study examines partner abuse in LBGTI relationships, with focus on the associations with emotional distress and protective factors. Two hundred and eighty-seven participants took part. Partner abuse (victimisation) comprised three factors; conflict orientated aggression; hostile ignorance and control of communication; and social control and possessiveness (including threats to possessions). Perpetration factors were similar. Significant differences across sexuality or gender were limited to the perpetration of abuse relating to suspicion and possessiveness, where men were more likely to report this than the other gender groups, and women were less likely to report this. Of those reporting abuse in their current relationship, over half reported experiencing abuse in a primary relationship previously, with 60 per cent reporting exposure to abuse as a child. Partner abuse in their current relationship predicted current levels of increased emotional distress, with reduced satisfaction with the current relationship having an indirect impact on this association. Resilience traits were not a predictor or mediator. The results demonstrate the similarity in abuse across LGB communities despite the diversity of genders, sexualities and experiences within these groups. The results are discussed with regards to directions for future research and implications for practic