Search

Urban planning education must address the Modifiable Areal Unit Problem (MAUP) to comprehend the critical impact of urban density on sustainable city development. Quantitative studies using administrative area units face indefinite aggregate level biases. This paper introduces an efficient block-searching method to calculate property densities around residences of various boundary scales and empirically examines their relationship with housing prices in Auckland, New Zealand. Results reveal negative associations between housing prices and densities within neighbourhoods, emphasising the limitations of administrative boundaries. These findings underscore the necessity for planning education to navigate MAUP's complexities in shaping urban development policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global and national policy frameworks emphasize the importance of people's participation and volunteers' role in disaster risk reduction. While research has extensively focused on volunteers in disaster response and recovery, less attention has been paid on how organizations involved in disaster risk management can support volunteers in leading and coordinating community-based disaster risk reduction. In 2019, the New Zealand Red Cross piloted the Good and Ready initiative in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand, with the objective to empower local people in resilience building with a focus on volunteers and community participation. This research examined the positive and negative outcomes of Good and Ready and investigated volunteers' experiences in the disaster resilience initiative. It involved the codesign of a questionnaire-based survey using participatory methods with Good and Ready volunteers, the dissemination of the survey to gather volunteers' viewpoints, and a focus group discussion with participatory activities with Red Cross volunteers. The findings highlight that a key challenge lies in finding a balance between a program that provides flexibility to address contextual issues and fosters communities' ownership, versus a prescriptive and standardized approach that leaves little room for creativity and self-initiative. It pinpoints that supporting volunteers with technical training is critical but that soft skills training such as coordinating, communicating, or facilitating activities at the local level are needed. It concludes that the sustainability of Good and Ready requires understanding and meeting volunteers' motivations and expectations and that enhancing partnerships with local emergency management agencies would strengthen the program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2020 I was promoted to Professor at Waipapa Taumata Rau the University of Auckland (UoA), joining the small circle of women (now three, the others being Kathleen Campbell and Philippa Black, also from UoA) who had achieved promotion to Professor in Geology in Aotearoa New Zealand, and the first ever in the field of volcanology. This promotion was a gratifying and somewhat unexpected achievement for me considering that I had started out studying languages and linguistics! In this contribution, which is based on my "inaugural" lecture as Professor in 2021, I provide an overview of my journey, framed primarily through the work of my doctoral students. I pay particular focus on the Andes where I worked on large silicic caldera systems, the Lesser Antilles, characterised by andesite and dacitic dome complexes and stratovolcanoes, and the distributed basaltic volcanism in Auckland and Saudia Arabia. I share some insights gained along the way and describe how these have influenced a shift in my research from more fundamental petrology to more applied volcanology over the course of my career. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Concerns about adolescent screen use are often expressed but poorly understood, particularly in terms of how parents are supposed to respond in ways that balance safety, care and developing independence and autonomy. This qualitative study investigated parental perceptions and concerns about screen use of adolescents aged 13 to 17. Current strategies to manage screen use and barriers to doing so were explored, and parents were asked to outline recommended interventions for better outcomes. Methods: Interviews and focus groups were held with 33 adults in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand (mean age 48 years) who were parenting adolescents (mean age 14 years). Interviews were transcribed verbatim, then inductive analysis and interpretation by the research team distilled the key ideas and illustrative quotes. A table of recommendations for a practical 'toolbox' was developed from these in-depth conversations. Results: Parents reported extensive use of screens by their adolescents, constantly throughout the day (and night, instead of sleeping). Four areas of specific concern included: (1) addict-like behavior, (2) exposure to harmful (and inane) content, (3) living in a virtual world, and (4) negative impacts on physical, mental, and cognitive wellbeing. To manage adolescent screen use, family rules and restrictions (on time and place) were common. Some used technical control via software or accessing the adolescent's devices and/or accounts to check for inappropriate content (such as pornography). Communication about device use and self-regulation were important. Barriers to managing screen use included trying to avoid conflict with their child; difficulties with consistency or follow-through on rules; lack of technical knowledge; parental screen use that set a bad example; and device use needed for school or other purposes. Recommendations from parents are presented in a toolbox of tips and techniques they shared, and their 'wish list' for better access to practical, local, scientific information, examples of techniques that have worked for other families, tools for problematic behavior and risk (including how to begin conversations with adolescents about their concerns), and having schools and young people involved in developing interventions to build digital citizenship. Conclusions: Rich, nuanced accounts from parents about adolescent screen use in their families and communities underpinned their practical ideas for more skillful responses to young people grappling with an addictive digital existence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]