scholarly journals Stargazers' Anonymous: an Examination of Amateur Astronomy in New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Brian Howe
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Public Education ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Social Transformation ◽  
Leisure Activity ◽  
Scientific Discourse ◽  
Serious Leisure ◽  
Moral Regulation

<p>In this examination of amateur astronomy in New Zealand, I suggest that astronomical science can be a medium through which adherents attempt to enact social transformation. Contemporary studies of leisure often emphasise the individualistic nature of leisure activity, with social interaction framed as a means to support the intrinsic and extrinsic motivations of participants. However, while amateur astronomers do engage in 'serious leisure' (Stebbins, 1979, 1992), I suggest their extended roles as educators and liaisons for professional counterparts push their endeavour beyond mere participation and into wider territories of public engagement and scientific discourse. Following analysis by Ruonavaara (1997), Rojek (1985, 2000), MacCannell (1976), Urry (1990) and Turner (1969), I argue that the New Zealand astronomical community's' proclivity for education operates as a forum for constructing recursive and normative action, in which ideologies congruent with scientific rationalism are disseminated through a form of moral regulation. Commencing with a discussion of the structure of New Zealand's astronomical community, I examine how informants' narratives and attitudes to contributive participation manifest in demonstrative actions that provide idealised templates for behaviour. Secondly, I discuss astronomy and public education, and how astronomical society volunteers utilise visitors' expectations of authenticity and perceptions of nature to formulate strategies for social change. Finally, I investigate the role and purpose of other astronomyrelated ventures, including Carterton's Stonehenge Aotearoa, culminating in a discussion concerning issues of knowledge, science and postmodernist deconstructionism.</p>

scholarly journals Stargazers' Anonymous: an Examination of Amateur Astronomy in New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Brian Howe
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Public Education ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Social Transformation ◽  
Leisure Activity ◽  
Scientific Discourse ◽  
Serious Leisure ◽  
Moral Regulation

<p>In this examination of amateur astronomy in New Zealand, I suggest that astronomical science can be a medium through which adherents attempt to enact social transformation. Contemporary studies of leisure often emphasise the individualistic nature of leisure activity, with social interaction framed as a means to support the intrinsic and extrinsic motivations of participants. However, while amateur astronomers do engage in 'serious leisure' (Stebbins, 1979, 1992), I suggest their extended roles as educators and liaisons for professional counterparts push their endeavour beyond mere participation and into wider territories of public engagement and scientific discourse. Following analysis by Ruonavaara (1997), Rojek (1985, 2000), MacCannell (1976), Urry (1990) and Turner (1969), I argue that the New Zealand astronomical community's' proclivity for education operates as a forum for constructing recursive and normative action, in which ideologies congruent with scientific rationalism are disseminated through a form of moral regulation. Commencing with a discussion of the structure of New Zealand's astronomical community, I examine how informants' narratives and attitudes to contributive participation manifest in demonstrative actions that provide idealised templates for behaviour. Secondly, I discuss astronomy and public education, and how astronomical society volunteers utilise visitors' expectations of authenticity and perceptions of nature to formulate strategies for social change. Finally, I investigate the role and purpose of other astronomyrelated ventures, including Carterton's Stonehenge Aotearoa, culminating in a discussion concerning issues of knowledge, science and postmodernist deconstructionism.</p>

scholarly journals Emotions in Aotearoa New Zealand: Reflexive emotionalisation in a colonised context

2021 ◽  
pp. 026858092199530
Author(s):  
Mary Holmes
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
State Formation ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Emotional Experiences ◽  
Ongoing Process ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
Novel Concept ◽  
Feeling Rules

Reflexive emotionalisation means increased thinking about and acting on emotional experiences in response to major changes to social life, such as those accompanying colonisation. This article explains and develops this novel concept, assessing its usefulness through an exploratory assessment of reflexive emotionalisation in the formation of Aotearoa New Zealand as a colonised settler state. It is argued that as cultures met and sought to coexist, emotions were vital. Focusing on reflexive emotionalisation in Aotearoa reveals how differences in feeling rules were navigated, sometimes in violent ways, as power shifted towards the colonisers. Feelings of belonging are important in that ongoing process of reflexive emotionalisation, the elucidation of which provides a new understanding of social change and settler state formation that avoids casting colonised peoples as passive objects of ‘progress’ brought by colonisers.

scholarly journals Can Watching Online Videos Be Addictive? A Qualitative Exploration of Online Video Watching among Chinese Young Adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (14) ◽  
pp. 7247
Author(s):  
Zeyang Yang ◽  
Mark Griffiths ◽  
Zhihao Yan ◽  
Wenting Xu
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Short Form ◽  
Leisure Activity ◽  
Online Video ◽  
Video Content ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Online Videos ◽  
Chinese Young Adults ◽  
Qualitative Exploration

Watching online videos (including short-form videos) has become the most popular leisure activity in China. However, a few studies have reported the potential negative effects of online video watching behaviors (including the potential for ‘addiction’) among a minority of individuals. The present study investigated online video watching behaviors, motivational factors for watching online videos, and potentially addictive indicators of watching online videos. Semi-structured interviews were conducted among 20 young Chinese adults. Qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Eight themes were identified comprising: (i) content is key; (ii) types of online video watching; (iii) platform function hooks; (iv) personal interests; (v) watching becoming habitual; (vi) social interaction needs; (vii) reassurance needs; and (viii) addiction-like symptoms. Specific video content (e.g., mukbang, pornography), platform-driven continuous watching, and short-form videos were perceived by some participants as being potentially addictive. Specific features or content on Chinese online video platforms (e.g., ‘Danmu’ scrolling comments) need further investigation. Future studies should explore users’ addictive-like behaviors in relation to specific types of online video content and their social interaction on these platforms.

scholarly journals Producing deflective online strategies: Lessons from New Zealand women’s management of social media engagement

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Sarah Hendrica Bickerton ◽  
Karl Löfgren
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Analytical Approach ◽  
Gender Effect ◽  
Social Location ◽  
Strategic Approach ◽  
Online Strategies ◽  
Twitter Users ◽  
Different Levels

Public engagement is a gendered experience, whether offline or online, something which is reflected in women’s experiences of social media. In this article, we seek to systematically explore the experiences from politically engaged women twitter users in New Zealand in order to draw some lessons, through a thematic and interpretative analytical approach, at four different strategic levels on how to deflect intimidating and aggressive behaviour. We conclude that understanding strategically how structural social locations like gender effect the ability to contribute to political participation and engagement, if addressed, can produce more inclusive and productive online political and policy spaces. Further, this strategic approach involves connecting together different levels of response to online negativity such as platform tools, space-curation, and monitoring, having these made coherent with each other, as well as with this strategic understanding of how structural social location plays into access and use of online political and policy spaces.

The Archaeology of Vanuatu

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart Bedford ◽  
Matthew Spriggs
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
Far East ◽  
Cultural Transformation ◽  
Initial Settlement ◽  
Colonization Patterns ◽  
Human Colonization ◽  
Resident Populations

The more than 1,000-kilometer stretch of eighty-two inhabited islands comprising the Vanuatu archipelago is centrally situated in the southwest Pacific. These islands were first settled in the late Holocene by Lapita colonists as part of a rapid migratory event that travelled as far east as Tonga. Over three millennia Vanuatu has transformed into an extraordinarily diverse country both linguistically and culturally. The challenge to archaeology is to explain how such diversity has arisen. This chapter addresses a range of themes that are central to the definition and understanding of the timing and nature of initial settlement, levels of interconnectedness, cultural transformation and diversification, human impact on pristine environments, and impacts of natural hazards on resident populations. Vanuatu research contributes to regional debates on human colonization, patterns of social interaction, and the drivers of social change in island contexts.

scholarly journals Design as an agent of change: Practice-oriented initiatives on Design Teaching

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Najla Mouchrek ◽  
Lia Krucken
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Social Transformation ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Human Values ◽  
Design Approach ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
Research And Teaching ◽  
Strategies For Change ◽  
Agent Of Change

The paper analyzes the role of Design as an agent of social transformation in face of complex challenges. Intentionally embracing reality’s complexity and centering on human values, the Design approach is suited to develop alternative perspectives and radically different strategies for change. The paper explores Design teaching focusing on social change and transition to sustainability, presenting three initiatives and reflecting about methods and impacts of the application of Design for transition. The analysis points to the need of a critical vision in Design research and teaching and the importance to systematize and teach methods and tools to support the interplay among diverse social actors.

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