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Indigenous children’s literature in Canada: Ethical teaching, research, and librarianship
(2026-02-03) Harde, Roxanne
In the introduction to his edition of Indigenous writing from the decades between 1890 and 1930, Frederick Hoxie argues that by “talking back to those who considered themselves superior,” these authors “rejected the self-serving nationalism they heard from missionaries and bureaucrats [and] made it clear that they refused to accept the definitions others had of them⎯savage, backward, doomed” (8). In her studies of earlier Indigenous writers, Abenaki historian Lisa Brooks delineates the myriad ways in which Indigenous peoples have always talked back to colonialism. This history of talking back to the dominant discourse necessarily involves writing for children, these days as part of the project of decolonisation as Indigenous writers offer children counterstories that work to champion their own narratives, often through stories about residential schools in North America. The systematic and purposeful governmental removal of Inuit, Métis, and First Nations children and incarceration in the schools became a major focus of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s hearings and recommendations, and this removal and its consequences are the subject of several children’s books written by Indigenous authors. This presentation outlines how those books come into being, then draws on theorists including Brooks, Daniel Justice (Cherokee), Robin Kimmerer (Potawatomi), and Leanne Simpson (Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg) to demonstrate how, by offering representations of removal from healthy families and child resistance to residential schools, these books talk back to dominant interpretations of Indigenous peoples and colonial history.
Strengthening of cold-formed steel channels using different reinforcing options and innovative connections
(The University of Waikato, 2026-03-18) Wang, Wei; Roy, Krishanu; Lim, James B.P; Fang, Arthur
Cold-formed steel (CFS) has become an essential material in modern construction due to its lightweight, cost-effectiveness, and versatility. This study primarily investigated the web crippling capacity of channels with elongated edge-stiffened web holes. Compared to traditional circular edge-stiffened web holes, these elongated holes accommodate larger electrical conduits and water supply systems. The new Direct Strength Method (DSM) was developed to accurately predict their web crippling strength. In addition, this research explored key advancements in CFS systems, including built-up box sections and trusses equipped with advanced Howick Rivet Connectors (HRCs). These high-performance connectors have demonstrated superior performance, providing greater connection strength than traditional self-drilling screws and better ductility than bolted connections. In this study, HRCs were utilized in truss systems and built-up box sections, offering critical data to support their practical application in engineering projects. Furthermore, axial tests on telescopic studs and swaged sections were conducted to address installation challenges commonly encountered in real-world scenarios. Through experimental studies, numerical simulations, and parametric analyses, this research enhances the understanding of these systems, paving the way for more reliable and efficient applications in structural engineering. The findings are synthesized to highlight their implications and provide recommendations for integrating these insights into international design standards. By bridging critical knowledge gaps, this thesis contributes to the broader adoption of advanced CFS systems in construction, fostering innovation, sustainability, and efficiency in structural design.
The impact of remittances on the monetary transmission mechanism in low-income countries
(The University of Waikato, 2026) Abdul Raheem, Jahan; Holmes, Mark J.; Ryan, Michael; Hassan, Gazi M.
This thesis consists of three studies investigating the impact of remittances on monetary transmission mechanisms. The prime objective of this research is to explore how the inflow of remittances affects the different monetary transmission channels in remittance-receiving economies and what other factors influence remittances in altering their effects on monetary transmission mechanisms. The first two studies were undertaken using a panel of 51 remittance-receiving countries, while the third study used Sri Lanka as the location. The first study investigates the effects of remittances on bank credit and exchange rate channels, using a panel Structural Vector Autoregression (SVAR) to investigate how remittances affect these intermediate monetary transmission channels. The estimated impulse responses (IRs) of bank credit and exchange rates to a shock in remittances show a significant variation between countries in responding to a shock in remittances. In the second stage, we regress the IRs of selected horizons on selected economically significant variables to find out what other factors contribute to this variation. The cross-sectional regression suggests that the magnitude of remittances in terms of the remittances-to-GDP ratio affects the exchange rates channel significantly. However, the effect of remittances on bank credit is determined by the level of remittance inflow and the savings-to-GDP ratio. More precisely, remittances significantly affect the bank credit channel in countries where the remittances-to-GDP ratio is higher than five percent of GDP. The overall findings of this study suggest that policymakers, especially in higher remittance-receiving countries, have to pay attention to the role remittances play in weakening the monetary transmission mechanism (MTM). The second study investigates how institutions play a role in altering the effects of remittances on the bank credit channel. There are arguments about whether remittances contribute to the expansion of credit in remittance-receiving countries. In this study, we use a panel SVAR model to estimate the IRs of bank credit to a shock in remittances and regress these IRs on a set of institutional and other economically significant variables. The regression results indicate that stronger corruption control and regulatory quality, along with savings-to-GDP and remittances-to-GDP ratios, are associated with credit expansion in response to remittances. This empirical finding indicates that monetary policy measures may have difficulty in achieving their objectives through bank credit in higher remittance-receiving countries, which have a strong corruption control and regulatory quality environment. The third study analyses how the effects of remittances vary with regard to bank credit, exchange rates, and asset price channels in the conflict and post-conflict periods in the Sri Lankan economy. We apply a country-specific SVAR model by using the monthly data from 1996 to 2019. The empirical analysis suggests that remittances significantly affect these monetary transmission channels in the post-conflict period, and their effects on bank credit and asset prices are relatively stronger than the exchange rate channel in this period.
A natural behavior planner for multi-personal human-robot interaction within the simulated environment
(Elsevier BV, 2026-03) Chen, Yue; Zheng, Pai; Zhou, Zhiyuan; Soo, Chin-En Keith; Wang, Haining; Yu, Chunyang
In recent years, diffusion models have made remarkable success in generating realistic human motions. However, existing robot pose-learning approaches are largely focused on single-task and one-to-one scenarios, failing to account for multi-person social interactions. This limitation leads to rigid, context-insensitive behaviors that are ill-suited for real-world service scenarios. Consequently, current systems often produce robotic behaviors incapable of the fluidity and responsiveness expected in human-centered environments, a shortcoming underscored by affordance theory in robotics. To address this issue, we propose RoboActor, an innovative human-robot interaction behavior planner that draws inspiration from theatrical acting to orchestrate both deliberate and automatic actions. Our framework leverages large language models (LLMs) to disentangle primary command-driven tasks from secondary, context-induced subtasks. By this means, RoboActor generates lifelike and socially appropriate behaviors in multi-person settings, significantly enhancing the naturalness, engagement, and realism of service robots in everyday social applications.
Parasthetica: Artworks for GA2025
(Domus Argenia Publisher, 2025-12) Soo, Chin-En Keith; Simmons, Rowan; Soddu, Celestino; Colabella, Enrica
Parasthetica transforms eBooks into abstract visual artworks through a character-matching system that maps literary text into chromatic geometric forms. The program positions itself at the crossroads of digital humanities, generative art, and data visualisation. Each text becomes a living artwork, where words are translated into dynamic, colour-based grids that reveal hidden linguistic and structural patterns. Rather than statistical summaries, the visualisations offer immersive aesthetic experiences that mirror the rhythm, genre, and emotional intensity of the source material.