Beyond ethics to morality: Choices and relationships in bicultural research settings

Knowledge of ourselves as cultural beings, of the values and beliefs of those with whom we work, and of the history of relations among those in our work settings are essential for community and applied social psychologists. In New Zealand, research by non-Maori involving Maori has often mirrored the harmful colonising practices of the nation’s wider history. In response, several frameworks have been developed setting out conditions and guidelines in which non-Maori might conduct research in Maori settings responsibly and usefully. Nevertheless, views differ on the ways, and extent to which, non-Maori might be involved. Most guidelines do not provide answers to ethical nuances that may arise. This article discusses the experiences of a non-Maori community psychologist engaging in research with Maori participants in a bicultural, but predominantly Maori, school-based community education setting. Insight is provided into how kaupapa Maori approaches were applied in research that was valuable to the community

What (actually) matters in literacy education: Contributions from community psychology

This paper describes the critical role community psychology theories played in reframing literacy research involving mainly Māori and Pacific peoples’ extended families and communities. Within a critical social constructionist paradigm, ecological systems theory and holistic, integrative theories of wellbeing brought much-needed new thinking to how family-focused adult literacy education might be theorised and practiced. This reframing marks a challenge to and movement away from still-dominant Western individualistic, behavioural orientated, skills-based and formal economy-focused ways of thinking about people’s literacy abilities. It highlights the important role of community psychology in developing theory, informing policy and enhancing practices in culturally diverse education settings to achieve both educational and quality of life aims. Improving quality of life is not possible through literacy education in and of itself, but rather through the inculcation in programme design and delivery of those things which are fundamental and critical to the participants’ overall wellbeing and welfare

Māori women and intimate partner violence: Some sociocultural influences

Intimate partner violence (IPV) has recently been acknowledged as a worldwide phenomenon, with approximately one in four intimate relationships containing some form of violence. This study explores the interaction between relationship dynamics, IPV and whānau and community influences. We completed narrative interviews with two Māori women in December 2010. Our findings confirm the results of earlier studies which have found that childhood experiences of violence, actual or witnessed, have a powerful effect that reverberate within adult lives and into the formation of intimate relationships. Our interviews show that Māori whānau and women are textured by the same patriarchal expectations that privilege men in the Pākehā world. We also found that seeking help from whānau to escape a violent relationship may not be the most welcomed course of action. We conclude with a discussion of future research directions

Wellbeing effects from family literacy education: An ecelogical study

This paper describes a study that used community psychology theories to investigate family-focused literacy education programmes, evaluations of which usually focus solely on skills gains and their economic advantage. Specifically, the study drew on an ecological systems-based, culturally adaptive framework for personal, relational and collective wellbeing bringing much-needed new thinking to how family-focused adult literacy education might be theorised and practiced. The study traced the experiences of 19 adult participants in four family-focused literacy programmes in different communities in New Zealand over 18 months. Participant accounts from 79 key informant interviews, 12 classroom observations and programme documentation were scrutinized using latent theoretical thematic analysis which drew on broad perspectives of literacy, ecological systems theory, network theory and integrative theories of wellbeing. The study found that the programmes shared common principles and practices that prioritised holistic wellbeing whilst valuing literacy enhancement. It showed that participants experienced positive literacy, social and wellbeing-related outcomes. Programme effects were found to be interconnected and to flow on to other parts of participants’ lives and to their families and communities. We demonstrate community psychology’s critical contribution to a fuller understanding of family-focused literacy education

Academic achievement at ages 11 and 16 in children born with congenital anomalies in England: A multi‐registry linked cohort study

Background: Children born with major congenital anomalies (CAs) have lower academic achievement compared with their peers, but the existing evidence is restricted to a number of specific CAs. Objectives: To investigate academic outcomes at ages 11 and 16 years in children with major isolated structural CAs and children with Down or Turner syndromes.Methods: This population-based cohort study linked data on approximately 11,000 school-aged children born with major CAs in 1994-2004 registered by four regional CA registries in England with education data from the National Pupil Database (NPD). The comparison group was a random sample of children without major CAs from the background population recorded in the NPD that were frequency matched (5:1) to children with CAs by birth year, sex and geographical area.Results: Overall, 71.9%, 73.0% and 80.9% of children with isolated structural CAs achieved the expected attainment level at age 11 compared to 78.3%, 80.6% and 86.7% of the comparison group in English language, mathematics and science respectively. Children with nervous system CAs as a whole had the lowest proportion who achieved the expected attainment at age 11. At age 16, 46.9% of children with CAs achieved the expected level compared to 52.5% of their peers. Major CAs were associated with being up to 9% (95% CI 8%, 11%) and 12% (95% CI 9%, 14%) less likely to achieve expected levels at ages 11 and 16 respectively, after adjustment for socioeconomic deprivation.Conclusions: Although many children with isolated CAs achieved the expected academic level at age 11 and 16 years, they were at higher risk of underachievement compared to their peers. These stark yet cautiously encouraging results are important for counselling parents of children with specific CAs and also highlight the possible need for special education support to reduce potential academic difficulties.<br/

Emissions Reduction Targets and the Great Barrier Reef

“Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global average sea level.” Scientific research from multiple independent sources indicates that the emission of greenhouse gases by human activities is the primary cause of the observed global average warming of 0.7oC over the past century1. Australia’s land and sea temperatures are currently warming at the global average rate. Furthermore, emissions over the past century have already committed us to a future increase in global average temperature of at least 1oC 1. The most recent evidence shows that the climate is changing more rapidly than earlier thought likely2. This underscores the need for immediate action to both reduce greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activities that are responsible for climate change, and to adapt to the changes we cannot prevent

Using a Human-Centered, Mixed Methods Approach to Understand the Patient Waiting Experience and its Impact on Medically Underserved Populations

Purpose: To use a mixed methods approach to investigate the patient waiting experience for a medically underserved population at an outpatient surgical clinic. Methods: We used lean methodology to perform 96 time-tracked observations of the patient journey in clinic, documenting the duration of activities from arrival to departure. We also used human-centered design (HCD) to perform and analyze 43 semi-structured interviews to understand patients’ unmet needs. Results: Patients spent an average of 68.5% of their total clinic visit waiting to be seen. While the average visit was 95.8minutes, over a quarter of visits (27%) were over 2hours. Patients waited an average of 24.4minutes in the waiting room and 41.2minutes in the exam room; and only spent 19.7% of their visit with an attending provider and 11.8% with a medical assistant. Interviews revealed that patients arrive to their visit already frustrated due to difculties related to scheduling and attending their appointment. This is exacerbated during the visit due to long wait times, perceived information opacity, and an uncomfortable waiting room, resulting in frustration and anxiety. Conclusions: While time tracking demonstrated that patients spend a majority of their visit waiting to be seen, HCD revealed that patient frustrations span the waiting experience from accessing the appointment to visit completion. These combined fndings are crucial for intervention design and implementation for medically underserved populations to improve the quality and experience with healthcare and also address system inefciencies such as long wait times

Rare sugars: metabolic impacts and mechanisms of action: a scoping review

Food manufacturers are under increasing pressure to limit the amount of free sugars in their products. Many have reformulated products to replace sucrose, glucose and fructose with alternative sweeteners, but some of these have been associated with additional health concerns. Rare sugars are "monosaccharides and their derivatives that hardly exist in nature", and there is increasing evidence that they could have health benefits. This review aimed to scope the existing literature in order to identify the most commonly researched rare sugars, to ascertain their proposed health benefits, mechanisms of action and potential uses, and to highlight knowledge gaps. A process of iterative database searching identified 55 relevant articles. The reported effects of rare sugars were noted, along with details of the research methodologies conducted. Our results indicated that the most common rare sugars investigated are D-psicose and D-tagatose, with the potential health benefits divided into three topics: glycaemic control, body composition and cardiovascular disease. All the rare sugars investigated have the potential to suppress postprandial elevation of blood glucose and improve glycaemic control in both human and animal models. Some animal studies have suggested that certain rare sugars may also improve lipid profiles, alter the gut microbiome and reduce pro-inflammatory cytokine expression. The present review demonstrates that rare sugars could play a role in reducing the development of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and/or cardiovascular disease. However, understanding of the mechanisms by which rare sugars may exert their effects is limited, and their effectiveness when used in reformulated products is unknown