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Those who are interested in the public mood, including politicians and economists, comment that the public are becoming ever more sceptical about many things, but health risk information should not be one of them. If health risk information is perceived by the public as ‘just another scary story’, or ‘more of the same we heard last month’, then the ability of risk messages to convey... [Thesis or Dissertation]

To date, very few studies have been conducted focusing on ratings of music and music listening experience of hearing aid (HA) users. This study aimed to collect more detailed and descriptive information via a questionnaire, on the music listening experience and ratings of musical sounds from postlingually deafened adults. The following hypotheses were posed: (i) ratings for music from HA users... [Thesis or Dissertation]

It's quiet, then sounds on a Baby Monitor...

Images and detailed descriptions of the postnatal maternal body have become more common in popular women's magazines than they have in the past. Although researchers generally accept that popular media's representations of the female body contribute to body image concerns among some women, there has been little research that has focused on the recent media constructions of the...

The relationship between journalism and the academy is historically fraught. Any mention of the word ‘theory’ is only likely to exacerbate these tensions, since it perhaps signifies, most clearly, the division between both identities. Drawing on the social theory of Pierre Bourdieu, this paper considers, with particular empirical reference to the New Zealand context, the often antagonistic... [Journal Article]

This article outlines the process undertaken to design the Dunedin Botanic Garden entranceway by an artist-led team. The development of the entranceway as a sculptural piece has provided an enduring cultural statement, a rigorous process and a strong precedent for the future involvement of artists in public places. [Journal Article]

The focus of this paper is to argue the case for embodied ways of knowing in arts research. Recognition of embodied ways of knowing and embodied research has been relatively recent. For too long, arts research had been marginalized in academia, particularly performing arts, due in part to the somatophobia of Western academic cultures. While grounded in dance research myself, I argue that... [Journal Article]

The focus of this paper is to argue the case for embodied ways of knowing in arts research. Recognition of embodied ways of knowing and embodied research has been relatively recent. For too long, arts research had been marginalized in academia, particularly performing arts, due in part to the somatophobia of Western academic cultures. While grounded in dance research myself, I argue that... [Journal Article]

In the sixteenth century the vocal music of Josquin des Prez (ca. 1450-1521) was frequently intabulated for the lute. This study focuses on the surviving such arrangements published in eight different sources by the Netherlandish printer, Pierre Phalèse (ca. 1510-1576), between 1547 and 1574. These comprise 15 lute intabulations of nine different works, including mass movements, motets, and... [Thesis or Dissertation]

This thesis is the result of working with nine students and one teacher aide in group music therapy in special education. Through opportunities to learn about music and sound, the students were invited to use descriptive language to express emotions and thoughts about their music therapy experience. This research used a qualitative research design, where the purpose was to learn about the... [Thesis or Dissertation]

Music is important in most people''s lives independent of their cultural origin. Music can foster bonds between people and communicate values and identity. This thesis examined the social psychological functions of music across cultures. It investigated two social functions in detail: music preferences as expressions of personal and cultural values, and the social bonding function of...

This dissertation is the first study devoted solely to the history of an orchestral tradition in Christchurch. Within a timeframe stretching from the beginning of the local settlement to the establishment of the first “national” orchestra in 1939, it provides detailed portrayals of all facets of amateur and professional orchestral activity. This includes the histories of all orchestral... [Thesis or Dissertation]

This study involves the research, analysis, and performance of existing arrangements of songs that have been played and recorded by jazz musicians, and are identifiable as pop songs of the last thirty years. This project will discuss the development of these songs as new repertoire in the jazz idiom. In particular it will examine transcriptions of arrangements by Herbie Hancock, Dianne Reeves,...

Composers, musicians and computer scientists have begun to use software-based agents to create music and sound art in both linear and non-linear (non-predetermined form and/or content) idioms, with some robust approaches now drawing on various disciplines. This paper surveys recent work: agent technology is first introduced, a theoretical framework for its use in creating music/sound art works... [Journal Article]

This research content analyzed the news photographs of a major US daily newspaper to examine the emotional portrayals of individuals in different gender, age and ethnic subgroups. A multi-dimensional measure of emotion (pleasure, arousal, dominance) was used. A total of 1,595 individuals were coded. The results demonstrate that emotionality was stereotyped to some degree, particularly in... [Journal Article]

I changed my surname from "Kensicki" to "Kenix." This article was published prior to my name change. [Journal Article]

I changed my surname from "Kensicki" to "Kenix." This article was published prior to my name change. [Journal Article]

This research examines how nonprofit organizations perceive and utilize the internet through the framework of Habermas’s theory of the public sphere. In seven focus groups across the country, 52 people responsible for creating internet strategy and/or web content for nonprofit organizations participated. Claims of sweeping improvements in democratic participation through the internet were not... [Journal Article]

I changed my surname from "Kensicki" to "Kenix." This article was published prior to my name change.Most environmental issues are particularly suited for examining the effect media can have on the public precisely because the majority of people do not have direct contact (or do not know they are in direct contact) with widespread environmental problems. Thus, the public turns to media for information about environmental issues. Indeed, environmentalism has been on the public’s mind fairly... [Journal Article]

This research explores the practical application of a widely held, utopian belief that the Internet remains a strong democratizing tool because of its inherent interactive capabilities. Through an analysis of 70 non-profit web pages, this study examines how these organizations utilize the Internet as a deliberative public sphere; an opportunity for activism; an avenue for advertising and... [Journal Article]

This research evaluates websites from 200 ‘non-deviant’ and 200 ‘deviant’ non-profit organizations to better understand the relationship between the type of advocacy group and the visual imagery used for self-representation. Seventeen of 21 variables measured for this study found no difference between non-deviant and deviant non-profit organizations’ visual representations on the... [Journal Article]

This research explored how newspapers in New Zealand and the United States utilised four news frames (conflict, human interest, morality and responsibility) about same-sex rights to construct a cultural reality during a critical three-year period of crisis for the gay and lesbian community in both countries. Through the examination of 277 newspaper articles, this research found striking... [Journal Article]

The public learns about climate change through the media. While mainstream media have been found to inadequately report on this issue in the United States, little research has examined how alternative media frame climate change, or how the mainstream press in other countries, are dealing with this important issue. In 2007, Professor Tim O’Riordan, the British Sustainability Commissioner and... [Journal Article]

My surname changed from "Kensicki" to "Kenix". This article was published prior to my name change.Newspaper coverage of the political movement, Deaf President Now! (DPN), was evaluated for evidence of positive or negative framing in both photographic and written content. This research found that DPN enjoyed four exclusively positive frames in the media. The results of this study suggest that the coverage was due to several factors: the intended availability of protest sources, a lack of... [Journal Article]

My surname changed from "Kensicki" to "Kenix". This article was published prior to my name change.Newspaper coverage of the political movement, Deaf President Now! (DPN), was evaluated for evidence of positive or negative framing in both photographic and written content. This research found that DPN enjoyed four exclusively positive frames in the media. The results of this study suggest that the coverage was due to several factors: the intended availability of protest sources, a lack of... [Journal Article]