A genealogical examination of curriculum-assessment as governmentality in Aotearoa New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education at Massey University, Manawatū Campus New Zealand

This doctoral thesis with four publications examines the implementation of curriculum and assessment, as globally-driven standards-based reform (SBR) in Aotearoa New Zealand (ANZ). Drawing on Michel Foucault’s ‘toolbox’ and his genealogical methodology, it traces and contextualises the discursive basis of curriculum-assessment as neoliberal governmentality policies. From 1989, a policy chronology spanning three governments, analyses how governmentality inserts economics into the management of people, society and governance. As a rationalisation regime, curriculum-assessment facilitated economic efficiencies and the achievement of official objectives by enabling ‘things’, people and the future to be steered in certain ways. Governmentality policies also nurture the making of particular kinds of people who will to support official objectives. Comprising four key chapters, the thesis details the discursive ‘beginnings’ and emergence of an assessment-driven curriculum intended to boost ANZ’s global competitiveness. The failure of teacher-implemented national standards to produce reliable measurement by 1999, enabled the implementation of highly interventionist policies during the 2000s. A standardised curriculum and data-driven teaching strengthened schools as centres of calculation. The genealogy then examines two curriculum programmes designed to increase achievement and make people more self-governing and responsible. A school-parent literacy partnership (2004) taught parent-teachers to boost children’s learning through home activities. Similarly, assessment change through National Standards (2011) nurtured responsible, future-focused and calculative learners and parents. Increasing the educational outcomes of the population was part of increasing its overall health, welfare and productivity. The study illustrates how personal responsibility is now the main technique for developing more enterprising, self-governing and calculative individuals under governmentality. These biopolitical programmes, nurture desire in people to ‘freely’ re-make their bodies, skills, aspirations, emotions and living practices aligned to preferred models of the individual, culture and social relations. This involves re-moralising one’s inner life, and changing relationships with selves, families and the state. The study maps how governmentality commodifies and economises bodies and minds in the service of economic government. It confirms the usefulness of genealogically examining governmentality through this deeper, multidimensional lens and its ‘interpretative analytics’. This approach enables the uncovering of the politico-economic and cultural-socio purposes of education policy under neoliberalism

Evaluating technology for elders : towards a measure of attitudes

Technology is ubiquitous in modern day society and has the potential to enhance one's quality of life. Numerous innovative assistive technologies are designed to aid elderly people in every day activities and enable them to maintain a measure of independence longer. One such assistive technology was the PAM-AID walking aid: a robotic walking aid designed to provide frail, visually impaired elders with the physical support of a rollator, coupled with the navigational assistance necessary for safe, independent mobility. A user-centred design approach was integral to the design and development of PAM-AID and the first part of this thesis, details the research undertaken to ensure that, as far as possible, PAM-AID met the needs of potential users. Studies were conducted with carers and elders to establish elders' requirements for PAM-AID. The results of these studies directly influenced the functional specification of the first PAM-AID prototype. Following an iterative design life cycle, further studies were conducted to evaluate the usability of the first and second prototypes and the results of these studies enabled informed design decisions could be made. Therefore, elders were involved at every stage of the design process, to ensure that PAM-AID was an efficient and acceptable technology to this user group. However, throughout this preliminary work, an interesting discrepancy in elders' attitudes began to emerge. It became evident that although elders thought that PAM-AID was a useful walking aid for other frail elderly people, they did not think that PAM-AID was beneficial for them personally. In other words, elders' attitudes indicated that they might not use or accept PAM-AID, even though they would clearly benefit from this innovative technology. Indeed, other research has shown that many assistive technologies are often under utilised or discarded by elders, even when the potential benefits of the technology are clearly evident. This was a pivotal point in the research programme, as it highlighted the importance of monitoring elders' attitudes to predict future use of and acceptance of assistive technology. Since no applicable tool exists for measuring individuals' attitudes to technologies such as PAM-AID, the main empirical work of this research programme involved the development of a psychometric scale: the Attitudes to Technology Scale (ATS). The inductive approach to development of this scale involved: the generation of items, the reduction of the items into meaningful subscales, as well as the demonstration of the scale's reliability and validity. Throughout its development, the scale was applied to a number of different types of technology such as ATMs, computers, microwaves, mobile phones, VCRs and the Internet. The scale has been used to investigate the effect of age and sex differences in terms of attitudes to technology. Thus, the ATS is unique in that it has been developed for use with ID1 types of technology and with individuals of ~ ages. The limitations of the scale have been noted and further work is needed to address these limitations. It is hoped that this scale will have both academic and commercial research applications, but above all, the ATS could be applied to continually monitor users' attitudes during the design and development of new technologies. It is proposed that the measurement of users' attitudes should be an integral part of the design life cycle, resulting in more useable and acceptable technology

The impact of fatty acid desaturase genotype on fatty acid status and cardiovascular health in adults

The aim of this review was to determine the impact of the fatty acid desaturase (FADS) genotype on plasma and tissue concentrations of the long-chain (LC) n-3 PUFA, including EPA and DHA, which are associated with the risk of several diet-related chronic diseases, including CVD. In addition to dietary intakes, which are low for many individuals, tissue EPA and DHA are also influenced by the rate of bioconversion from α-linolenic acid (αLNA). Δ-5 and Δ-6 desaturase enzymes, encoded for by FADS1 and FADS2 genes, are key desaturation enzymes involved in the bioconversion of essential fatty acids (αLNA and linoleic acid (LA)) to longer chained PUFA. In general, carriers of FADS minor alleles tend to have higher habitual plasma and tissue levels of LA and αLNA, and lower levels of arachidonic acid, EPA and also to a lesser extent DHA. In conclusion, available research findings suggest that FADS minor alleles are also associated with reduced inflammation and CVD risk, and that dietary total fat and fatty acid intake have the potential to modify relationships between FADS gene variants and circulating fatty acid levels. However to date, neither the size-effects of FADS variants on fatty acid status, nor the functional SNP in FADS1 and 2 have been identified. Such information could contribute to the refinement and targeting of EPA and DHA recommendations, whereby additional LC n-3 PUFA intakes could be recommended for those carrying FADS minor alleles

Pure iterative reconstruction improves image quality in computed tomography of the abdomen and pelvis acquired at substantially reduced radiation doses in patients with active Crohn disease

Objective: We assessed diagnostic accuracy and image quality of modified protocol (MP) computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen and pelvis reconstructed using pure iterative reconstruction (IR) in patients with Crohn disease (CD). Methods: Thirty-four consecutive patients with CD were referred with suspected extramural complications. Two contemporaneous CT datasets were acquired in all patients: standard protocol (SP) and MP. The MP and SP protocols were designed to impart radiation exposures of 10% to 20% and 80% to 90% of routine abdominopelvic CT, respectively. The MP images were reconstructed with model-based IR (MBIR) and adaptive statistical IR (ASIR). Results: The MP-CT and SP-CT dose length product were 88 (58) mGy.cm (1.27 [0.87] mSv) and 303 [204] mGy.cm (4.8 [2.99] mSv), respectively (P < 0.001). Median diagnostic acceptability, spatial resolution, and contrast resolution were significantly higher and subjective noise scores were significantly lower on SP-ASIR 40 compared with all MP datasets. There was perfect clinical agreement between MP-MBIR and SP-ASIR 40 images for detection of extramural complications. Conclusions: Modified protocol CT using pure IR is feasible for assessment of active CD

Trans-Pacific Transport of Saharan Dust to Western North America: A Case Study

The first documented case of long range transport of Saharan dust over a pathway spanning Asia and the Pacific to Western North America is described. Crustal material generated by North African dust storms during the period 28 February - 3 March 2005 reached western Canada on 13-14 March 2005 and was observed by lidar and sunphotometer in the Vancouver region and by high altitude aerosol instrumentation at Whistler Peak. Global chemical models (GEOS-CHEM and NRL NAAPS) confirm the transport pathway and suggest source attribution was simplified in this case by the distinct, and somewhat unusual, lack of dust activity over Eurasia (Gobi and Takla Makan deserts) at this time. Over western North America, the dust layer, although subsiding close to the boundary layer, did not appear to contribute to boundary layer particulate matter concentrations. Furthermore, sunphotometer observations (and associated inversion products) suggest that the dust layer had only subtle optical impact (Aerosol Optical Thickness (Tau(sub a500)) and Angstrom exponent (Alpha(sub 440-870) were 0.1 and 1.2 respectively) and was dominated by fine particulate matter (modes in aerodynamic diameter at 0.3 and 2.5microns). High Altitude observations at Whistler BC, confirm the crustal origin of the layer (rich in Ca(++) ions) and the bi-modal size distribution. Although a weak event compared to the Asian Trans-Pacific dust events of 1998 and 2001, this novel case highlights the possibility that Saharan sources may contribute episodically to the aerosol burden in western North America

Development of low-dose protocols for thin-section CT assessment of cystic fibrosis in pediatric patients.

Purpose: To develop low-dose thin-section computed tomographic (CT) protocols for assessment of cystic fibrosis (CF) in pediatric patients and determine the clinical usefulness thereof compared with chest radiography. Materials and Methods: After institutional review board approval and informed consent from patients or guardians were obtained, 14 patients with CF and 11 patients without CF (16 male, nine female; mean age, 12.6 years ± 5.4 [standard deviation]; range, 3.5–25 years) who underwent imaging for clinical reasons underwent low-dose thin-section CT. Sections 1 mm thick (protocol A) were used in 10 patients, and sections 0.5 mm thick (protocol B) were used in 15 patients at six levels at 120 kVp and 30–50 mA. Image quality and diagnostic acceptability were scored qualitatively and quantitatively by two radiologists who also quantified disease severity at thin-section CT and chest radiography. Effective doses were calculated by using a CT dosimetry calculator. Results: Low-dose thin-section CT was performed with mean effective doses of 0.19 mSv ± 0.03 for protocol A and 0.14 mSv ± 0.04 for protocol B (P < .005). Diagnostic acceptability and depiction of bronchovascular structures at lung window settings were graded as almost excellent for both protocols, but protocol B was inferior to protocol A for mediastinal assessment (P < .02). Patients with CF had moderate lung disease with a mean Bhalla score of 9.2 ± 5.3 (range, 0–19), compared with that of patients without CF (1.1 ± 1.4; P < .001). There was excellent correlation between thin-section CT and chest radiography (r = 0.88–0.92; P < .001). Conclusion: Low-dose thin-section CT can be performed at lower effective doses than can standard CT, approaching those of chest radiography. Low-dose thin-section CT could be appropriate for evaluating bronchiectasis in pediatric patients, yielding appropriate information about lung parenchyma and bronchovascular structures

Mediterranean-style diet improves systolic blood pressure and arterial stiffness in older adults: Results of a 1-year European multi-center trial

We aimed to determine the effect of a Mediterranean-style diet, tailored to meet dietary recommendations for older adults, on blood pressure and arterial stiffness. In 12 months, randomized controlled trial (NU-AGE [New Dietary Strategies Addressing the Specific Needs of Elderly Population for Healthy Aging in Europe]), blood pressure was measured in 1294 healthy participants, aged 65 to 79 years, recruited from 5 European centers, and arterial stiffness in a subset of 225 participants. The intervention group received individually tailored standardized dietary advice and commercially available foods to increase adherence to a Mediterranean diet. The control group continued on their habitual diet and was provided with current national dietary guidance. In the 1142 participants who completed the trial (88.2%), after 1 year the intervention resulted in a significant reduction in systolic blood pressure (−5.5 mm Hg; 95% CI, −10.7 to −0.4; P=0.03), which was evident in males (−9.2 mm Hg, P=0.02) but not females (−3.1 mm Hg, P=0.37). The −1.7 mm Hg (95% CI, −4.3 to 0.9) decrease in diastolic pressure after intervention did not reach statistical significance. In a subset (n=225), augmentation index, a measure of arterial stiffness, was improved following intervention (−12.4; 95% CI, −24.4 to −0.5; P=0.04) with no change in pulse wave velocity. The intervention also resulted in an increase in 24-hour urinary potassium (8.8 mmol/L; 95% CI, 0.7–16.9; P=0.03) and in male participants (52%) a reduction in pulse pressure (−6.1 mm Hg; 95% CI, −12.0 to −0.2; P=0.04) and 24-hour urinary sodium (−27.1 mmol/L; 95% CI, −53.3 to −1.0; P=0.04). In conclusion, a Mediterranean-style diet is effective in improving cardiovascular health with clinically relevant reductions in blood pressure and arterial stiffness