bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Musical hybridity through Greek diaspora: in the case of Calliope Tsoupaki and Yannis Kyriakides
Authors:   , Dalabakis Elyse
Published: December 2021

This research explores the influence of Greek history and diaspora and its impact on Greece and the progression of Greek popular musical styles – traditional, folk, and rebetika music. This research examines the question: How have Greek music and musical styles impacted Greek composers now residing outside Greece? Through the lens of two case studies, this exegesis examines the effect of Greek history, diaspora, and the ever-transforming national and popular musical styles on two living Greek composers – Calliope Tsoupaki and Yannis Kyriakides, who both now teach at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague in Den Haag, Netherlands. Though these cases are similar, this is not a comparative study nor a conclusive study to be applied to a collective Greek experience; but rather an examination of the results of Greek diaspora in the twentieth century on not only Greece‘s musical styles but also the contemporary art music that is being created today by two Greek people residing outside Greece.  This exegesis examines concepts of imagined communities (Anderson 2006), nationalism (as discussed by Taruskin, Curtis 2008), nationalism and music (Bohlmann 2011, Curtis 2008), diaspora (Clifford 1994, Safran 1991, Clogg 1999), traditional vs modern (Cassia 2000), social vs national memory (Pennanen 2004), and hybridity and popular music in regards to rebetika (Holst-Warhaft 2003). Through applying these concepts towards the case studies in chapter three, this exegesis examines the results of the birth of the Modern Greek nation, Greek diaspora, progressive musical style, and the impact of musical styles on two living Greek composers who now reside outside Greece; furthermore, it explores what this means for their sense of Greek identity and hybrid identity.  By applying the Greek history from 1832 and the progression of its popular musical style discussed in chapters one and two to Kyriakides‘ and Tsoupaki‘s experiences, the third chapter of this research shows two real-world experiences concerning diaspora and migration and examines the discovery of their hybrid identities through culture and their compositions, as well examining my own position as a performer who identifies as a hybrid of nationalities through the final section of this exegesis - ―In the case of a performer.‖ The importance of these case studies is to explore the impact the nineteenth and twentieth century Greek diaspora had on the musical styles of Greece which has further influenced Kyriakides and Tsoupaki on their personal and musical journey as Greek people residing outside Greece.
File-to-Factory: Transferring Design Intent to Manufacture
Authors:   , Robinson Maya
Published: December 2021

Digital fabrication has become a common way of producing and constructing designs more efficiently, challenging the traditional methods of construction, and the way we design. Despite the new technologies used to enhance the design process, there is still a disconnect between design and construction. Building Information Modelling (BIM) has been a step towards creating a more fluid workflow. However, it is not currently being fully utilised within New Zealand. Along with a lack of interoperability, this has contributed to the limited productivity of the construction industry. The ability to take a BIM model direct to manufacture is critical to leverage the information of the model and reduce expensive remodelling. The use of BIM tools not only aims to maximise efficiency when delivering a project but also provides a new way of working and a solution to improve file-to-factory production.   Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA), although relatively new to the architecture and building industry, could have substantial benefits for the way architecture projects are designed and constructed. This process consists of a set of guidelines that take into consideration the manufacturability and assembly of the design from the very beginning. Qualitative and experimental methods have been used for initial and developed testing drawn from case studies, a review of the literature, and data from interviews with industry professionals. Five interviews were conducted with industry professionals across the design to manufacturing spectrum. The interviews identified current issues within the architecture and building industry directly related to file-to-factory.   A new file-to-factory workflow has been developed utilising BIM tools and DfMA principles to explore the impact this process could have on the buildings we design and construct in New Zealand. The workflow does not consist of new processes or tools but instead couples the two together. By utilising the existing BIM technology and implementing DfMA, this means the designer can consider both the requirements of the design and how the design will be manufactured and assembled. The collaborative workflow can eliminate the need for remodelling, and reduce errors, cost, and time. This is significant to the industry because it begins to streamline the design-to-construction process and allow for the industry to grow, advance, and increase productivity.
The Grand Central Markets; Heritage-led Regeneration through adaptive reuse
Authors:   , Fraser Sarah
Published: December 2021

There is growing acceptance that heritage buildings are an important element of New Zealand’s social capital and that heritage conservation provides economic, cultural and social benefits to urban communities. The role of building conservation has changed from preservation to being part of a broader strategy for urban regeneration and sustainability. Heritage-led regeneration through reuse presents an opportunity to encourage the enhancement and protection of both existing built heritage and New Zealand’s historic building stock. 

Over the years, there has been significant loss of historic heritage in the Auckland city centre, and a number of heritage buildings continue to suffer from neglect, decay, under-use or insensitive new design. There is a need to properly integrate these heritage assets into New Zealand’s future planning strategies. This thesis investigates strategic planning schemes and visions for a mixed-use development to support urban regeneration in Auckland’s City Centre.

Imposing a design-led approach, this research will begin by a broad critique of building preservation, adaptive reuse and placemaking theories. In conjunction with this, internationally recognised adaptive reuse, mixed-use and urban regeneration projects will be reviewed. Utilising international literature and precedents, an adaptive research approach is applied to the former Auckland Railway Station in order to demonstrate its potential to be revitalised into a contemporary mixed-use development that reflects Auckland’s diverse cultural mix. The objective of this research investigation is to form a critical design approach to allow the former Auckland Railway Station to become the heart and soul of the community whilst establishing an ecologically sound future. The process will involve a layered response; respecting and conserving the existing fabric, harnessing the ‘sense of place’ and applying interventions that promotes occupation and community engagement.
Selective Metal Coordination in Antifouling Coatings
Authors:   , Robinson Hannah
Published: December 2021

Marine biofouling is the accumulation of biological material (e.g. microorganisms, soft- and hard-fouling organisms) on the surface of an object submerged in seawater, and it remains a worldwide problem for shipping industries. The fouling of ship hulls results in a reduction of speed and manoeuvrability due to frictional drag, as well as increased fuel consumption and accelerated corrosion, and the exorbitant expenses and losses of efficiency attributed to biofouling have prompted the development of antifouling coatings. Current antifouling paints use copper as a biocidal agent, but copper-based paints are increasingly being banned due to environmental concerns about the non-target effects of leached copper. This project aims to circumvent these concerns and tightening regulations via a revolutionary concept: the development of marine antifouling paints that incorporate Cu(II)-selective ligands to draw the biocidal ingredient (i.e. Cu(II)) from seawater. A multistage strategy emerged for the development of this technology. First, criteria were established for the project’s ideal ligand, and ligands were synthesised or selected based on these criteria. Second, the ligands were incorporated in coatings through covalent modification of the paint binder or additives. Third, methodology was developed and implemented to test each coating’s ability to coordinate and retain Cu(II), as well as its subsequent ability to prevent microfouling by marine bacteria.   The suitability of two ligand classes was assessed: acylhydrazones and tetraaza macrocycles, specifically cyclen. Unlike the acylhydrazones, cyclen met the established criteria and was initially evaluated as a curing agent and/or surface-modifier in a two-pack epoxy system with resin Epikote™ 235. However, the Cu(II)-loading by these coatings was relatively low, being at most ~0.05% w/w, and the modification of silica, a common paint additive, with cyclen was explored as an alternative formulation route. The method for the functionalisation of silica with cyclen was optimised, and the maximum Cu(II)-loading achieved by the product was 2.60% w/w. The cyclen-functionalised silica was incorporated on the surface of an epoxy coating, and a bacterial adherence assay was developed to assess the cellular attachment of marine bacterium Vibrio harveyi to this coating, which was found to be undeterred. Yet, the development of the strategy and testing methodology by which the project’s goals may be achieved provides a solid foundation for future work.
From Back-yards to Stacked-yards: An Alternative High-Rise Housing Model
Authors:   , Lum Isabella
Published: December 2021

Current intensified housing is not perceived by New Zealanders as desirable... Critiques are extensive and the loss of quality, private, outdoor space is decidedly felt. Densification is one of the solutions to our housing shortage and the needs of our increasingly diverse population. Densification has already been set in motion by local councils, but consumer uptake is too slow. Public perception is tarnished by stigma which is reinforced by the repeated failures of the developer-driven apartment market. This calls for new typologies of high-density housing to increase diversity and compatibility. Back-yards to Stack-yards investigates how to improve the design of dense, urban housing typologies for the New Zealand context. This thesis aims to address the most common local critique of apartment living: the lack the failure to provide and support an inviting sense of the outdoors. Outdoor space of all ownership types contributes positively to the dwelling environment. The backyard is identified as a benchmark for enriching the dwelling, providing an array of beneficial affordances. Key are the notions of the quiet sanctuary and the outdoor room that can be completely personalised. This thesis primarily follows a design-led, research method where major learnings are extracted through critical reflections. A strong understanding of resident experience is required and is deduced through an ongoing, in-depth literature review and critical case study analyses. Understanding the resident experience provides key insights into what is lacking from common apartments at a human scale, as well as strategies for improvement. The focus is on the relations, effects and affordances of the amenities and spaces, rather than the typical, simplistic itemisation, allowing for a better breakdown and reconfiguration of factors. Possible solutions and strategies were tested on a central-city fringe site in Wellington. This is a zone where dense, residential development and re-development is already taking place due to population growth. The design outcome is a high-rise multi-unit development. It demonstrates the rich possibilities of a high-rise design with a range of outdoor and shared spaces as well as improved opportunities for personalisation and flexibility.
Parametric modelling & digital manufacturing for better bra fit
Authors:   , Amoozegar-Montero Ariya
Published: December 2021

This research focuses on developing an overall system for a more accurate bra design and fit. The bra, consequently, becomes part of a life-long service system that is able to adapt to both physical and personal desires of different types of bra wearers. Due to the symbiotic relationship between bra fit and bra design, a parametric system has also been designed in order to digitize the measuring process. This process explores the possibility of bringing the bra into a product-service- system framework. Individuality will not only be in the form of taste, preference, attitude, and aesthetics, but also through one’s inherent breast shape, structure, contours, and asymmetry.  Under this paradigm, the designed bra system should not operate independently of its intended users and must always connect back to individual needs at every stage. For instance, to understand what makes a good fit cannot merely rely on the knowledge gained from literature or industry standards. To understand what makes a good fit, bra wearers themselves must be invited to offer their input. Therefore, this research could also be considered part of a human-centered design methodology. As such, this work was conducted as a mixed-methods approach with a combination of qualitative and quantitative processes. Unlike traditional bra fitting methods, this system utilizes advanced technologies and digital manufacturing techniques. Using technologies such as 3D scanning, to consider additional factors that are not currently considered, such as breast outline, shape, and asymmetry. This research also investigated the role of 3D knitting to fill the gap of customization and individualization at a mass production level, as well as serving as an innovative approach to respond to bra fitting and design issues. The data accumulated helped influence unique bra designs in order to ensure better individual bra fit, whilst also acting as a medium to give the bra wearer a better understanding of their breast measurements, and how the bra fits on them.  Finally, the thesis compares, contrasts and identifies gaps within current methods for bra fitting and bra design, a parametric modelled measuring system, and final designed bra prototypes. Overall, it resulted in an effective parametric measuring system, which is able to adapt to individual 3D scans. Additionally, it was suggested that the 3D knitted prototype bra provided improved alternatives to a traditional bra, such as a seamless knitted underwire, which provides a more comfortable and flexible fit. Furthermore, our hope is to increase consumer engagement and awareness about their own breasts and individual bra fit. After all, if the necessary information can be provided to the consumer regarding how to achieve a good bra fit, then this could help the consumer’s ability for self-selecting better bra fit and enhance the satisfaction they receive from all bras. Therefore, the research might have a broad positive impact on a large size of the population.
Tempting the Chinese Dragon: Political Economy of Chinese Tourism to New Zealand
Authors:   , Gaspar Elizabeth
Published: December 2021

This thesis explores the international political economy (IPE) of outbound Chinese tourism within the context of New Zealand. New Zealand as a case study shows the impact of tourism changes on a nation reliant on tourism. It demonstrates the growing impact of China as an international economic and political power. It utilizes a mixed method approach to conduct a document-based and literature-based investigation and concludes Chinese tourism is reshaping the New Zealand political economy. New Zealand marketing strategies have shifted to cater to the Chinese market but could expand to meet these different interests, including culturescapes and collectivism. The economic impact of Chinese tourism has been broadly positive for New Zealand but far more could be done to leverage tourism. New Zealand is an expensive destination and could target high value tourists. This would require more quality offerings and making full use of the linkages between tourism and trade. More can be done to maximise the value added by e-commerce post visitation. The growth of Chinese tourism has uncovered deficiencies in New Zealand and stimulated debates around how to ensure the New Zealand tourism industry is sustainable. New Zealand policymakers and commentators are debating how to shift tourists to the shoulder seasons and the regions and how to maintain sustainable tourism numbers. The rise of Chinese inbound tourism to New Zealand has also uncovered an infrastructure deficit. By examining the overall state of Chinese tourism to New Zealand, this thesis creates a comprehensive assessment of how Chinese outbound tourism is shaping New Zealand’s political economy.
Reverse Engineering of an Obfuscated Binary
Authors:   , Yang Kaishuo
Published: December 2021

Reverse engineering is an important process employed by both attackers seeking to gain entry to a system as well as the security engineers that protect it. While there are numerous tools developed for this purpose, they often can be tedious to use and rely on prior obtained domain knowledge. After examining a number of contemporary tools, we design and implement a de-noising tool that reduces the human effort needed to perform reverse engineering. The tool takes snapshots of a target program's memory as the user consistently interacts with it. By comparing changes across multiple sets of snapshots, consistent changes in memory that could be attributed to the user action are identified. We go on to demonstrate its use on three Windows applications: Minesweeper, Solitaire and Notepad++. Through assistance from the de-noising tool, we were able to discover information such as the location of mines and values of cards in these two games before they are revealed, and the data structure used for input to Notepad++.
William H. Whyte Jr.: How the creator of 'groupthink' was forgotten, and why it matters
Authors:   , Pol Oliver
Published: December 2021

This thesis examines the presentation of management theories in textbooks, focusing on groupthink as an indicative case. The groupthink theory warns that positive consensus leads to the exclusion of other ideas, with potentially disastrous results. It is credited to the psychologist Irving Janis, but William H. Whyte Jr. used the phrase groupthink in 1952, nineteen years before Janis’ first usage. I ask how this happened - why do most textbooks credit Janis if he did not create the term? To answer this, the study takes a critical view of management’s dissemination of knowledge. A critical study acknowledges that all knowledge is subjective, and no interpretation can precisely represent the past. The primary method was the collection historical data primarily composed of textbooks, academic studies, and journal articles. This data represents the primary work of Whyte and Janis regarding groupthink, and their representation elsewhere. This allows for the construction of a ‘counter-history’ to the accepted version of history where Janis is groupthink’s creator. My findings demonstrate a clear shift within management history, discovering early evidence of Whyte’s groupthink being embraced by prominent writers, followed by a gradual marginalisation of Whyte’s contribution. This was due in part to Janis’ sudden popularity but it is evident that management studies deliberately moved away from questions of conformity asked by Whyte and peers in the 1950s. I also found that Whyte himself moved away from the groupthink terminology, rebadging the same concept as ‘the organization man’. These findings contribute a new case study to the field of management literature calling for the importance of directly embracing history. It also makes a case for textbooks as a study’s primary form of data. Future research can further explore the extent of the continued relevance of William H. Whyte’s ideas in a modern context.
‘A Construction in the Void’, Formal Architecture in the Novels of Edith Wharton
Authors:   , Parker Isabel
Published: December 2021

Edith Wharton has been persistently framed as an author detached from the ‘modern’ twentieth century literary world she inhabited. Intellectually compromised by critical conceptions of her as the “last Victorian”, and Henry James’s “heiress”, Wharton’s attentiveness to modernism’s fractured worldview and her original employment of literary form to redress this perspective have been largely overlooked. This thesis seeks to re-evaluate Wharton’s ‘old-fashioned’ authorial persona. Instead of reading her commitment to a past perspective as evidence of her literary obsolescence, this thesis argues that her adherence to a bygone worldview serves as a means of managing the disorientation and disorder of the modern, incomprehensible present. Following Wharton’s evolving conception of stylised aesthetic form across pre-war and post-war worlds, I suggest that Wharton’s literature evidences a tension between two opposing literary aspirations. On the one hand, her texts reveal a desire to abandon aesthetic enclosures and realise an unbounded, authentic interior reality. Yet on the other hand, Wharton’s works underscore the poignant sense of fulfillment acquired within a life bound by such aesthetic architecture. Chapter One outlines Wharton’s critical stance in relation to both realism and modernism. It discusses the way in which the outbreak of the Great War motivated Wharton’s implementation of a critical ‘interior architecture’, in which a modernist interiority is held in play alongside an encompassing realist reality. Chapter Two assesses the stunted nature of stylised aesthetic forms in the pre-war world as evinced in The House of Mirth (1905). There, Wharton demonstrates how a lack of grounding in reality renders such aesthetics devoid of an internal anchorage that clarifies their purposeful relation to the world around them. Vacant of real-world relation, such forms abstract, disintegrating into formlessness. In Chapter Three, I reveal how Wharton moves from scorning to celebrating the artificial nature of aesthetic form in the wake of the Great War. In The Age of Innocence (1920), aesthetic forms deemed arbitrary and artificial in The House of Mirth are reevaluated and revealed as possessing an invisible, intrinsic real-world purpose. From denying realism, stylised aesthetics are redeemed in their attempt to frame individuals in relation to a formless world. Though such forms are inherently fictitious, Wharton asserts that their provision of an illusion of structure aids in the preservation of interpersonal and intergenerational connection. These forms thus cultivate an interior architecture within which society can shelter against an intrinsically unstable reality.
Paradoxical Desire in the Poetry of Sidney, Spenser, Donne, and Herbert
Authors:   , He Qiwei
Published: December 2021

Inspired by conventional Petrarchism, early modern English poets adopted the concept and rhetoric of paradox in their articulations of desire while revealing significant progression and innovation. Desires expressed by the poet-lovers in the poems of Philip Sidney, Edmund Spenser, John Donne, and George Herbert are the culmination of attempts to coordinate incongruent and contrasting extremes. This thesis examines how desire operates as paradox in Philip Sidney’s Astrophil and Stella, Philip and Mary Sidney’s Psalms, Spenser’s Amoretti and Epithalamion, Donne’s amorous and religious poems, and Herbert’s poems.   Chapter One discusses Astrophil’s desire in Astrophil and Stella as demonstrating the Petrarchan lover enfolded in Neoplatonism. It also explores Donne’s amorous poems, which apply religious vocabularies to communicate sexual love, filling the gap between the distant extremes, establishing a paradoxical unity. In Chapter Two, the thesis compares Spenser’s speakers in Amoretti and Epithalamion and the Sidneys’ Psalmist as Neoplatonic lovers, both of whom search within the physical realms—nature and the body—to express the desire for their divine beloved. In Chapter Three, I compare Donne’s religious poems and selected lyrics from George Herbert’s The Temple. I argue that in Donne’s religious poems, spiritual love is mediated through fleshly desire in a sacramental poetics. The relationship between physical desire and spiritual love is comprehended through sacramental analogy. Comparably, in Herbert’s The Temple, the internal and external components of religious desire reflect the Sacramental theories in which Eucharistic elements communicate their divine referents. The effective way to express love for God, paradoxically, is to establish a spiritual justification for an affirmative embrace of sexuality, making fleshly desire serve as a vehicle of Divine grace.   As Donne asserts in his Paradoxes and Problems, “by Discord things increase”. The poet-lovers in the works this thesis explores constantly yearn to imitate and represent their beloved by means of “Discord” and the performance of paradoxical unity. Accordingly, paradoxical desire becomes the inevitable consequence of the poet-lover as a desiring subject who approaches a supposedly insuperable obstacle when he correlates with the beloved obj
Duncan Winder: architectural photographer
Authors:   , Clarke Sebastian
Published: December 2021

In 1960s New Zealand, Duncan Winder (1919-1970) transitioned from architect to architectural photographer. With his architectural eye, Winder produced distinctive and seminal images of New Zealand post-war architecture and these images have an enduring relevance today. Despite this significant contribution to local architectural culture, contemporary knowledge of Winder’s legacy and output has remained limited.   This research sought to raise awareness of his life and work. To contextualise Winder’s work, a framework for image analysis was developed which drew on the visual languages of two architectural movements which were prominent during Winder’s period of practice, Townscape and New Brutalism. In addition, a visual survey of New Zealand architectural photography from 1930 to 1970 was undertaken. This enabled contextualisation of Winder’s photography with the work of other local photographers operating at the time. From the analysis, it is clear that Winder’s photography shows aspects of both Townscape and New Brutalism, in terms of its compositional approach. This is not only interesting for the fact that these movements have historically been seen as oppositional, but because it exposes some of the ways in which their visual languages were related. The analysis also highlighted the 1960s as a particularly healthy decade for the production of New Zealand architectural photography. This was demonstrated through the progressive improvement in the quality of published architectural photography and the increase in number of architectural photographers practicing locally.   It is positive that in recent years Winder’s archive of photographs has been digitised and made publicly accessible, and that digitisation has enabled this research to provide original and thorough commentary on Winder’s photography. The research has identified distinctive and memorable qualities of Winder’s style, including his compositional use of thirds, his off-centre perspectives, and his attentiveness to tone and materiality. In this way, the research has provided appropriate ways to understand and value Winder’s photography, and appreciate his significant contribution to New Zealand’s architectural culture and history.
AIDŌS did not prevent her: An intertextual approach to Komnene's depictions of women in positions of power
Authors:   , Jardine Claudia
Published: December 2021

Anna Komnene depicts several women in positions of power in the Alexiad, the earliest extant historiographical text written by a woman from the Byzantine period. The intertextual qualities of these depictions of women, however, have not received much attention and indeed the impact of the gender of the author on the text is a topic which skews much of the scholarship. This thesis aims to show that several signposted quotations of earlier source texts reveal an author in the act of contemplating the expectations of gendered behaviour for her narrative subjects, including her own authorial persona. The chapters in this thesis focus on the depictions of four women and the roles they play in the Alexiad: Anna Dalassene, Gaita of Salerno, Emma of Hauteville and Anna Komnene. First, the construction of one or more of these characters is broken down and the evidence in the text concerning the positions of power held by the woman is analysed. Second, an intertextual reading of a passage related to the characterisation of each woman is posed in order to discuss what is similar or different concerning the source text or texts and the target text. The rhetorical goals behind the depictions of the women are also considered, and their actions in relation to the societal expectations of appropriate gendered behaviour for women and men during the Byzantine Empire. The four case studies demonstrate that Komnene depicted these women using their power in the service of the family unit while showing due deference to their fathers, husbands or adult sons. Furthermore, the “double consciousness” of Komnene, as revealed in these depictions, shows her commitment to the contemplation of the power of women and the ways in which women could utilise their self-control to manipulate expectations of gendered behaviour and thus protect their family units, and therefore the means by which they came to hold power. The outcome of this research contributes to efforts to better understand representations of gender in the literature of the Byzantine empire, deepens the discussions of Komnene’s use of source texts and expands on the insights of earlier scholarship.
How was a family-whānau centred music therapy approach, demonstrated within a student music therapist’s clinical placement, at a rehabilitation clinic for adults with an acquired brain injury?
Authors:   , van Dam Retts
Published: December 2021

Abstract  This project explores how the family-whānau centred music therapy approach was demonstrated, by a student music therapist on clinical placement, within a rehabilitation centre for adults with traumatic brain injuries. Parallel links between the Samoan fale tele metaphor of health and family-whānau centred approaches within music therapy perspectives - were enabled in this mahi, due to the work of Carolyn Kenny. Having developed an INDIGENOUS theory in music therapy, Carolyn Kenny emphasises the role of connectedness of each aspect and idea of sacred “space” and “place” within the music therapy session, (Kenny, (1989, 2006), Music and Life - In The Field of Play).  My own personal identity as a respectful PASIFIKA woman, and child migrant who learnt Te Reo Māori, history of Tāngata Whenua, Māoritanga, and kapa hāka on Whaiora Marāe, Otara South Auckland, 1970s - enabled the incorporation of the framework of the fale tele metaphor to represent the “personhood of the Client” and their relationships with aiga/family-whānau, medical teams/staff, community workers, as well as myself - in order to illustrate my findings. These showed that clients invariably somehow communicated and expressed a yearning for their home, had strong emotions of displacement away from home; seemed highly motivated to participate and “join in” musicking sessions due to the presence of their kin; or because they had a clear personal goal during sessions to reach a recovery stage that would facilitate their return as soon as possible to a spouse, parent, siblings, children, or to the space and place that represented “home.”  Data was collected from clinical notes, assessment reviews, client reports, reflective journal. Deductive secondary analysis was used for coding from which five key themes emerged as being important in the FWCMT, and are further described in the music therapy methods, strategies and activities in a clinical vignette.  Of the eight clients, the 167 music therapy sessions which I facilitated, only 43 sessions included the physical presence of family-whānau.  Findings are listed as:  (1) The spiritual, psychotherapeutic, physiological health and well-being of the client;  (2) The internal space – of the participant;  (3) Maintaining the dignity of all – participants, family-whānau;  (4) Boundaries: The collaborative external space – visiting family-whānau, the interdisciplinary teams and staff carers who became the ‘institutional family-whānau,’ or extended whānau of the client;  (5) The rhythmic foundation of the client – innate musical self, external structures, influences and rhythm found in whenua and cosmos which supports the rhythmical structures of the musical, cultural self.
Architecture Without Expectation: Designing a third place for mental wellbeing in the community
Authors:   , Fairbrother Kezia
Published: December 2021

In 2018, the government published the report of its inquiry into mental health and addiction in Aotearoa New Zealand, which called for a ‘paradigm shift’ in the country’s approach to mental wellbeing. This research portfolio explores the role architecture has to play in this shift, acknowledging the problematic historical associations of architecture and mental health. In doing so, the work aims to establish principles for a new architectural typology of mental health care, outside of conventional institutions. It explores contemporary approaches to wellness, and integrates research from several bodies of theoretical and evidence-based research into a new creative practice within architecture. Specifically, the research draws on theory around nonrepresentational therapeutic landscapes, third place and evidence based design. These inform creative explorations of the therapeutically affective qualities of naturally-sourced materials. The findings of this explorations are transferred to spatial design using a ‘multiplicity’ approach based on nonrepresentational theory and Māori health models, which is then applied to a specific site in Wellington, New Zealand. Finally, architectural applications for this research are proposed in the form of a community-based third place to support mental health and wellbeing.
Saliency in Context: The Effect of Context on the Diagnosticity of Facial Features
Authors:   , Reedy Morgan
Published: December 2021

How might faces we have learned be represented in our memory? Researchers believe that our memory for faces is based on building a robust averaged representation comprised of the stable aspects of the face (i.e., eyes, nose, mouth). However, anecdotal evidence suggests this one size fits all approach to face representations may not be correct. A new theory suggests our representation for faces is instead based on a dynamic weighting, wherein what is seen as most diagnostic during learning will be encoded to a greater extent than other features in the face. One factor that may be especially important for a weighted representation is the context in which a face is initially viewed. Dependent on the context of learning, certain features may appear more distinctive than others and therefore be deemed diagnostic and receive representational weight. The current study had participants learn four faces with one manipulated to appear distinctive in the experimental context by having a unique hair colour (Experiment 1), or eye colour (Experiment 2) compared to the other faces. Participants then completed a recognition task where the feature of interest (i.e., hair or eye colour) was either available or unavailable (i.e., bald and eye closed conditions) for recognition. Findings suggested recognition was disrupted when the diagnostic feature was unavailable compared to when that feature was available, across both distinctive and typical faces. Interestingly, Experiment 2 showed a distinctiveness performance advantage compared to Experiment 1, most likely because neighbouring features may be more diagnostic than others during recognition. In addition, further exploratory analysis showed the order of the test could further affect what was encoded.
Dimitris Dragatakis (1914-2001): Advancing his legacy and Concerto for Viola using twenty-first-century digital tools
Authors:   , Dalabakis Elyse
Published: December 2021

This project focuses on Dimitris Dragatakis (1914–2001), his legacy, and Concerto for Viola in the twenty-first century. The research examines the following overarching questions within interlaced scholarly and creative components of the dissertation:   How can we use twenty-first-century digital tools to promote Dimitris Dragatakis, one of Greece’s most important modern composers, to advance his legacy including, importantly, his Concerto for Viola, and to assist future scholars and performers in accessing information about his life and music?  This dissertation discusses the digital tools and processes used to advance the legacy of Dimitris Dragatakis and to promote his Concerto for Viola. These tools and processes include creating and publishing the Dragatakis Archive Digital Database website, recording interviews with the Dragatakis family and leading Dragatakis scholar, and using his Concerto for Viola (1992) as a digital case study. The digital case study demonstrates how twenty-first-century performers, scholars, and archivists might approach advancing the works of lesser-known composers through digital media. In this case study, a new viola and piano performance edition and percussion chamber music performance edition are offered, a new digital orchestra score along with complete orchestral parts is made available, interview material with the violist who premiered the work has been recorded, and the recently unearthed premiere performance recording of the work from the Dragatakis archive has been included in an interactive video created by the researcher. This project also aims to provide a model for future performers and scholars to use to assist future projects beyond this topic.
Questions from a Contraceptive Pill Junkie: Applying Human Psychometrics to Investigate Gender Bias in Machine Learning
Authors:   , Darney Hazel
Published: December 2021

With the rapid uptake of machine learning artificial intelligence in our daily lives, we are beginning to realise the risks involved in implementing this technology in high-stakes decision making. This risk is due to machine learning decisions being based in human-curated datasets, meaning these decisions are not bias-free. Machine learning datasets put women at a disadvantage due to factors including (but not limited to) historical exclusion of women in data collection, research, and design; as well as the low participation of women in artificial intelligence fields. These factors mean that applications of machine learning may fail to treat the needs and experiences of women as equal to those of men.    Research into understanding gender biases in machine learning frequently occurs within the computer science field. This has frequently resulted in research where bias is inconsistently defined, and proposed techniques do not engage with relevant literature outside of the artificial intelligence field. This research proposes a novel, interdisciplinary approach to the measurement and validation of gender biases in machine learning. This approach translates methods of human-based gender bias measurement in psychology, forming a gender bias questionnaire for use on a machine rather than a human.   The final output system of this research as a proof of concept demonstrates the potential for a new approach to gender bias investigation. This system takes advantage of the qualitative nature of language to provide a new way of understanding gender data biases by outputting both quantitative and qualitative results. These results can then be meaningfully translated into their real-world implications.
Examining the Xayabouly dam: Impacts of hydropower dam construction on downstream communities
Authors:   , Yang Yia
Published: December 2021

Hydropower power dam development is a booming industry in Laos and it has the potential to tackle poverty in an environmentally sustainable way. However, currently there is a lack of research that thoroughly analyses the negative impacts of a hydropower dam’s construction phase. This research explores some of these negative impacts of hydropower dam construction on downstream villagers by using the Xayabouly hydropower dam on the Mekong River as a case study. Understanding the impacts of the construction phase is vital in forming policy and developing effective strategies to mitigate future negative impacts from dam construction.   This thesis employs a qualitative approach and semi-structured interviews were conducted with downstream villagers about these negative impacts. This research is based on a pragmatist epistemology and employs the matrix conceptual framework to guide this thesis. The results from this study show that the Xayabouly hydropower dam’s construction phase has many negative impacts on downstream villagers’ daily lives. For example, the construction phase has caused irregular flooding, which has destroyed downstream villagers’ agricultural gardens and riverbank erosion has also occurred. Moreover, the results from this thesis show that the construction phase of this dam significantly reduced villagers’ income and nutrition consumption. The construction phase also created significant problems with regards to daily commuting and damaged fishing gear. These results offer important recommendations and implications, which have the potential to inform government policy in the future and to help develop strategies to mitigate the social and economic impacts from future hydropower dam construction in Laos.
Natural Products Analysis of South Pacific Marine Sponges
Authors:   , Taufa Taitusi
Published: December 2021

This thesis describes the isolation and structure elucidation of 15 new secondary metabolites from Tongan and New Zealand marine sponges. A total of 18 sponge specimens were subjected to an NMR-based screening method, of which four were analysed in detail. Examination of a two-sponge association, Stelletta crater and Desmacella dendyi from New Zealand, resulted in the isolation of two new 4-methylenesterols, craterols A (94) and B (95). To the best of the author’s knowledge, compounds 94 and 95 represent the first secondary metabolites to be reported from either species. Both 94 and 95 possess a double bond between C-5 and C-6, a feature that is unprecedented in this subgroup of marine natural products. An investigation of a Tongan sponge Zyzzya fuliginosa afforded two new pyrroloquinoline alkaloids, 6-bromodamirone B (182) and makaluvamine W (183). Makaluvamine W (183) contains an oxazole moiety, which is uncommon in this group of natural products. Both 182 and 183 lacked activity against the human promyelocytic leukemia cells (HL-60). Five new compounds were isolated from a Tongan sponge of the genus Leucetta, including two glycerol lipids (238 and 239), three glycerol ethers (244–246) and an imidazole alkaloid (243). Naamidine K (243) is a new addition to the naamidine family, while the glycerol metabolites are non-imidazole alkaloid additions to the group of compounds reported from this genus. A spectroscopic investigation into the Tongan sponge Cacospongia mycofijiensis yielded four new zampanolide analogues (282–285) and a new oxygenated sesquiterpene, isodictyodendrillin A (280). The isolation of the zampanolide analogues gives insight into the structure-activity relationship (SAR) in this family of compounds. Zampanolides B–D (282–284) displayed potent antiproliferative activity towards HL-60 cell lines in the low nanomolar range (3–5 nM), while zampanolide E (285) was significantly less potent with an IC50 value of 306 nM. In addition, the re-isolation of dactylolide (281) and zampanolide A (278) from this sponge, established a firm conclusion regarding the controversial configuration of dactylolide (281), which possesses the same absolute configuration as (–)-zampanolide A (278) and has a levorotatory optical rotation.
Solo Motherhood and the State: Precarity, Agency, and Post-Development Discourse in Aotearoa New Zealand
Authors:   , Simpson Lizzy
Published: December 2021

The rise of the ‘precariat’ under neoliberalism has garnered the attention of development studies scholars. Drawing on and contributing to this literature, in this thesis I explore the lived experiences of solo mothers in Aotearoa New Zealand and their own precarity in relation to a neoliberal State. Through interviewing seven self-identified solo mothers in the Greater Wellington region, in this thesis I explore solo mothers negotiations with the State through the following areas: state welfare, child support, employment, and housing. I outline how the State often exacerbates the precarity of the research participants, but also highlight the different tactics the participants employ to enact their agency and push back against the State. Shifting the discursive focus of Development Studies from the ‘Global South’ to the ‘Global North’, the experiences of the participants highlight the very real issues of inequality manifesting in the ‘developed’ setting. Informed by the visions of the participants and the wider literature, this research contributes to scholarship in gender post-development studies, illustrating the need for a comprehensive, socialistic welfare state, and to methodologically see value in localising development research in a way that accounts for local complexities. In opposition to neoliberal discourse, this thesis calls for the valorisation of care work, to better account for the competing responsibilities of solo mothers and to lessen the precarity they experience in their everyday lives.
Meat and Dairy Consumption Drivers: Exploring the Values and Ethics that Define People’s Attitudes in Wellington
Authors:   , Alzaabi Mariam
Published: December 2021

Over the past few decades, rising meat and dairy consumption has had increased environmental implications, ranging from soaring greenhouse gas emissions to river pollution in Aotearoa New Zealand. Recent studies suggest the importance of altering meat and dairy consumption attitudes to reduce environmental damage, and researching people’s meat and dairy consumption drivers plays a crucial role in understanding behavioural change and encouraging alteration in meat and dairy consumption attitudes. Changing people’s attitudes around meat and dairy consumption is vital to reducing environmental degradation. Furthermore, moving towards a less meat- and dairy-intensive diet can be beneficial not only for the environment but also to personal values and ethics. This research aims to understand how some people in New Zealand society perceive their attitudes around meat and dairy consumption and its implications for the environment, as well as contribute to behavioural change. Qualitative research methodology was applied to understand four drivers that define people’s attitudes towards meat and dairy consumption. These drivers stem from domain-specific value- and ethics-based attitudes. Face-to-face interviews were conducted to collect in-depth data on how individuals perceive the environmental implications of meat and dairy consumption from faith-based, health-based, environmental ethics and animal welfare viewpoints. Implications of these drivers and their combinations to inform behavioural change are discussed, as well as how findings from this research can inform behavioural change. Further, this research aims to contribute to future educational campaigns that encourage sustainable choices for individuals whose values and ethics drive their attitudes around meat and dairy consumption.