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Item GADAG: A genetic algorithm for learning directed acyclic graphs(2017-04-11) Champion M; Picheny V; Vignes MSparse large Directed Acyclic Graphs learning with a combination of a convex program and a tailored genetic algorithm.Item Advocacy outcomes : professional advocacy in the lives of disabled people : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Social Work at Massey University(Massey University, 2003) Ussher, SusanAfter working alongside disabled individuals in a casework capacity as a full time, paid advocacy worker for some time, I became increasingly interested in the evaluation of the outcomes of advocacy. This interest began with my own practice and developed into an analysis of the usefulness of advocacy as a professional tool in bringing about change in individuals' lives. Specifically I was interested in the analyses of the people who have had the experience of being advocated for. Subsequently, this project enabled me to explore the relevant literature regarding advocacy and to engage with individuals who access or have accessed advocacy services in order to identify these outcomes. This thesis predominantly documents the investigation of the outcomes and the process of professional advocacy practice as experienced, understood and interpreted from the point of view of three disabled people who have accessed advocacy within the London Borough of Southwark in the United Kingdom. The research provided the opportunity to firstly determine whether professional advocacy supported individuals to represent their needs clearly so that they gained access to appropriate services. Secondly, it examined whether any outcomes were a direct response to the advocacy interaction or were they attributed to various other factors such as social, economic and political change in the context in question. The former is evident and accordingly the key findings of the research have highlighted that professional advocacy practice can support individuals to represent their needs clearly and accurately and ensure that they gain access to appropriate services. Professional advocacy is particularly effective in the areas of community care and housing. Moreover, the research has identified the process of advocacy as empowering if transference of skills occurs between professional advocate and individual thus challenging the current culture of learnt and maintained dependence. Through this, professional advocacy can contribute to and support self-advocacy of disabled people and the essential continued promotion of the Social Model of disability within our communities.Item Maverick politicians : their beliefs and actions : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Social Policy at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand(Massey University, 1999) Boyd, Hilary ChristineThrough interviews with maverick politicians and political commentators, this research explores the beliefs and actions of maverick politicians, a sub-group of actors within the policy-making process. It builds on previous research which focused primarily on the characteristics and beliefs of maverick politicians. This research was undertaken to ascertain the process by which the politicians attain the maverick label; explore the environment within which these politicians operate; examine the methods maverick politicians use to achieve change in policy, parliamentary practices and the political landscape; and determine their effectiveness in implementing change. Attaining the maverick status involved politicians undergoing a process of alienation from their party. They struggled to implement policy initiatives and adopted an oppositional approach as they battled with an antidemocratic policy-making process. Often unable to effect significant policy changes maverick politicians attempted reformation of the parliamentary practices and the political landscape. However, these attempts merely entrenched existing undemocratic processes. The research findings suggest that because of their underlying beliefs of how Parliament should operate maverick politicians choose to give priority to their constituents rather than to their party and support a notion of democracy that is participatory rather than representative. These choices contribute towards their maverick behaviour; result in alienation from their party; and limit their long-term effectiveness as policy-makers by leading them to focus on reformation. It is likely that, unless changes which accommodate politicians with differing views of representation and democracy occur within the parliamentary and party systems, there will continue to be disillusioned MPs who become alienated from their political parties and follow the maverick path.Item How Is Latin America Fighting Neoliberalism?(https://www.thebigq.org/, 2017) Vilanova Miranda De Oliveira G; Lehman K; Pino-Ojeda WItem Authoritarian Rule Shedding its Populist Skin in Cambodia(TransNational Institute, 2018-03-15) Beban, A; Schoenberger, L; Lamb, VItem Assessment of the local tchebichef moments method for texture classification by fine tuning extraction parameters(arXiv, 2019-06-01) Barczak A; Reyes N; Susnjak TItem With climate change likely to sharpen conflict, NZ balances pacifist traditions with defence spending(The Conversation, 2019-06-17) Belgrave DItem Huawei or the highway? The rising costs of New Zealand’s relationship with China(The Conversation, 2019-02-20) Belgrave DItem They've always been here but we could not hear them. We could not see them(2019-09-01) Nicholas S; Crocombe M; Dixon R; Early R; Fimone W; Fiu R; Gragg J; Ioane T; Jione M; Johansson-Fua SU; Lisimoni-Togahai B; Lolohea A; Naisau SA; Papatua V; Rafai R; Taleo H; Taumoefolau M; Thompson T; Veikune AH; Willans FIn 2019, the international year of indigenous languages, and the year after the University of the South Pacific’s 50th anniversary, we are celebrating an achievement that we had never thought possible: the introduction of degree programmes in Cook Islands Māori, Rotuman, Tongan and Niuafo‘ou, Vagahau Niue, and Vanuatu Language Studies, alongside Fijian, the only indigenous language that had had a place in our curriculum until 2018. These programmes are aimed at fluent speakers of the languages of study, and they use these languages as medium of teaching and assessment. For the first time, English is therefore being challenged as the only language through which high-level concepts can be discussed, and through which academic research can be conducted. For the first time, Pacific languages will be taught in schools by teachers who are qualified to do so, rather than by fluent speakers who have been trained to teach other subjects. For the first time, our students can gain credit for delivering oral presentations, written essays and creative pieces in their dominant language. Even for the students who do not choose to take up this option, or who do not yet have a language programme open to them, the possibility of studying a Pacific language at our university is becoming normalised. Our aim in coming together to share our story is to lay out its complexity. If we are serious about the sustainability of these programmes, we need to engage with this complexity, and we need to keep talking about why all this matters. We need our leaders and our allies to understand that the actions we take at our university will impact the way the indigenous languages and cultures of this region are valued, used and transmitted to the next generations.Item This isn’t the first time New Zealand has denied a citizen their passport(The Spinoff, 2018-03-24) Belgrave DEarlier this month the government cancelled the New Zealand passport of a woman living in Australia, citing classified security concerns. Stripping a NZ citizen of their passport might seem unprecedented – but it's happened before, writes David Belgrave.
