bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Diagnostic Markers for Schistosome-Mediated Liver Disease
Authors:   , Manivannan Bhagyashree
Published: November 2021

Chronic schistosomiasis presents with either a moderate or a severe form, termed intestinal (INT) or hepatosplenic (HS) schistosomiasis, respectively. The Schistosoma mansoni-associated hepatomegaly is estimated in 8.5 million people and ultimately results from liver granulomas induced by trapped parasitic eggs. The CBA/J mouse model replicates these two human disease forms and was used to understand the progressive pathology that leads to HS and to identify potential biomarkers. In this model 20% of infected mice spontaneously develop hypersplenomegaly syndrome (HSS) by 20 weeks of infection while the remaining 80% develop moderate splenomegaly syndrome (MSS). Using this model, we compared the liver protein patterns of control mice and mice infected for 6, 8, 12, or 20 (MSS and HSS) weeks. Two-dimensional differential in gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE) was used to identify protein pattern variations and protein spots were identified using matrix adsorption laser desorption ionisation-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry. In the first experiment, we found 124 protein spot unique changes for MSS and HSS compared to control mice of which 80 were identified and 35 changes were specific for HSS. In the second experiment, comparison between various time points with control mice revealed 76 significant protein spot changes of which 44 were identified using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Importantly, we found that the abundance of liver keratin D, transferrin isoforms, collagen isoforms, hydroxyproline and Schistosoma mansoni-phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase increased while epoxide hydrolase isoforms, peroxiredoxin 6 and major urinary protein (MUP) isoforms decreased significantly with infection. To verify the changes in the liver 2D-DIGE analysis, candidate liver protein markers were measured in mouse serum using targeted biochemical assays. The mouse serum analysis showed MUP levels were decreased, while transferrin, connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), keratin D, hydroxyproline were increased in HSS mice compared to control mice or MSS mice supporting the liver 2D-DIGE analysis. Using targeted assays, serum samples from INT and HS patients were tested for the candidate liver protein markers: keratin D, CTGF, hydroxyproline and transferrin. The human serum analysis showed keratin D levels increased for HS compared to INT and normal sera. The CTGF levels were high in INT compared to HS and normal sera, while transferrin remained unchanged in INT and HS similar to normal sera. Additionally, in severe HS disease, serum hydroxyproline emerged as a strong indicator of fibrosis. We believe that these findings will have direct value in the development of diagnostic tools for early detection of hepatosplenic schistosomiasis in humans.
"Shaping and Cutting and Improving and Adding": Acknowledged and Hidden Influences in Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series and Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials
Authors:   , Ross Isabel Walker
Published: November 2021

This thesis aims to identify and analyse the most prominent influences on Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series and Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. It looks particularly at the difference between the authors' attitude towards influences they happily acknowledge and those influences which they attempt to conceal because they cause them anxiety (in the case of Westerfeld) or embarrassment (in the case of Pullman). This focus, combined with the speculative analysis of His Dark Materials' influence on Extras, the fourth book of the Uglies series, is intended to show the variability of literary influence. Comparative close readings throughout the thesis display the variety of ways influences are used within the texts, and illustrate the factors on which their use is dependent: the compatibility of the latecomer text with its precursor, the author's opinion of the earlier work, and the reading the author makes of the precursor text. Pullman's acknowledgement of influences is dependent on whether he considers them worthy precursors (in the case of Heinrich von Kleist, William Blake, and John Milton) or an embarrassing ancestor (in the case of C. S. Lewis). Westerfeld's is dependent on how similar his precursor works are to his own texts, as he does not acknowledge the obvious influence of Aldous Huxley, but happily names Ray Bradbury, John Christopher, Ted Chiang, and Charles Beaumont as influences. The thesis shows that the use of literary influences is not straightforward as one author may, as Westerfeld and Pullman do, display different attitudes to and appropriate precursor texts in differing ways within one work.
Broadcasting Policy Advice 1986-88: a Critical Evaluation of New Zealand's Broadcasting Policy Framework
Authors:   , Hay David Robert
Published: November 2021

In August 1988, the Labour Government announced its policy to deregulate the broadcasting industry. The policy was comprised two of major initiatives; 1. Commercialising the Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand, and 2. Creating property rights out of the right to broadcast and establishing a market mechanism to allocate these. The policy was based on an economic analysis of "the Economics of Broadcasting and Government Intervention" presented to the Royal Commission on Broadcasting and Related Telecommunications in a submission devised and presented independently of any political authority or mandate by the New Zealand Treasury. This thesis is presented as a piece of "public" policy analysis, in the sense that it seeks to explain, to a non-expert audience, the strengths, weaknesses and ethical implications of Treasury's analysis as well as the outcomes or effects that deregulation has had for New Zealand society. In doing this, it seeks also to explain to the community of policy analysts and advisors - using, as much as possible, the language of modern public administration and economics - the limitations of applying 'orthodox' economic theory to the role the media plays in mediating the relationship among audiences, the state, the market and society.
The Euclidean Steiner Tree Problem: Simulated Annealing and Other Heuristics
Authors:   , Grimwood Geoffrey Ross
Published: November 2021

In this thesis the Euclidean Steiner tree problem and the optimisation technique called simulated annealing are studied. In particular, there is an investigation of whether simulated annealing is a viable solution method for the problem. The Euclidean Steiner tree problem is a topological network design problem and is relevant to the design of communication, transportation and distribution networks. The problem is to find the shortest connection of a set of points in the Euclidean plane. Simulated annealing is a generally applicable method of finding solutions of combinatorial optimisation problems. The results of the investigation are very satisfactory. The quality of simulated annealing solutions compare favourably with those of the best known tailored heuristic method for the Euclidean Steiner tree problem
The Wellington Waterfront and Tourism Development: Planning Process and Legislative Framework
Authors:   , Nguyen Thi Hong Hanh
Published: November 2021

Over the last two decades, the redevelopment of the Wellington waterfront has become one of the most contested urban development projects in New Zealand, with the involvement of many varied interests. There have been a number of changes in planning, development concepts, rules, and regulations in order to manage its ongoing redevelopment. However, many development projects on the waterfront have been delayed and cancelled. It might be argued that regulatory and plan changes may be influencing the progress of this redevelopment. However, to date, no one has explored this relationship. Therefore, this study is aimed at filling this gap by using the Wellington waterfront as a case study and focusing on tourism development, the planning process, and the legislative framework surrounding this redevelopment. Its objectives were: (1) to explore the role of tourism in the redevelopment of the Wellington waterfront; (2) to identify the key players involved in the waterfront redevelopment, and specify their involvement and influence on planning and decision-making processes; and (3) to define the existing legislative framework for this redevelopment and examine the way in which it impacts tourism development in this area. This study adopted a qualitative research method. Data in this study was collected from a wide range of documents relevant to the Wellington waterfront and through face-to-face and semi-structured in-depth interviews. 18 representatives from local authorities, waterfront organisations, tourism entities, as well as urban planners, developers, community groups, and property owners were interviewed. Data triangulation was used in data analysis to validate and deepen the findings. The study found that tourism was not recognised as one of the key driving forces of the redevelopment of Wellington waterfront as a whole, although within specific development proposals tourism has been used as a rationale to support these developments. This suggested that to a certain extent tourism was considered in this redevelopment. In this research, while Wellington City Council (WCC) and its controlled entities were identified as the key players influencing the planning and decision making process, the involvement of the public may also play an important role in slowing down this redevelopment. There was firm agreement among participants about the impact of legislative framework on this redevelopment. This study found that there is a legislative framework within which the waterfront redevelopment works. However, the legislative framework tends to impact specific developments rather the waterfront redevelopment as a whole. Several implications and recommendations arise from this study, including the need of continuing research on impact of legislative framework on tourism from a legal perspective. Additionally, it is recommended that the extent to which legislative framework accommodates tourism should be emphasised in understanding its impact.
The Evolution of Moral Cognition
Authors:   , Scott Tony James
Published: November 2021

Many modern approaches to the evolution of mind have claimed that the fundamental drivers of our cognitive capacities and cultures are genetically specified psychological adaptations, which evolved in response to evolutionary pressures deep within our lineage's history. Many of our cognitive capacities are innate. Recent approaches to moral cognition have similarly argued that moral cognition is innate. In this thesis, I argue that even though our capacity for moral cognising is an adaptation, it is a learned adaptation. Moral cognition is not innate. In arguing this thesis I will question many of the assumptions of traditional cognitive science and evolutionary approaches to the mind. By incorporating theory and evidence from cognitive science and the philosophy of mind, I apply the explanatory frameworks of embodied and extended cognition to the domain of morality: moral cognition is both embodied and extended cognition. This places particular importance on the role of our bodies and world in the fundamental structuring and scaffolding of the development and execution of moral cognition. Putting this in an evolutionary framework, I develop a dual inheritance model of the non-nativist evolution of moral cognition focusing on the roles of niche construction, biased learning and active learning in the transfer of moral phenotypes between generations. Morality is a learned adaptation that evolved through the dynamic and reciprocal interaction between genes and culture.
How Does Professional Development Impact on Teachers' Use of an Interactive Whiteboard in New Zealand Primary Classrooms?
Authors:   , Grover Robyn
Published: November 2021

My research examined how professional development impacts on teachers' use of an interactive whiteboard in New Zealand primary classrooms. The research, in the form of a survey and qualitative case study, specifically looked at the professional development experienced by teachers with an IWB and contextual factors that enhance and constrain the introduction of an IWB for teachers learning to use it in their class programme. It also explored how an IWB is used in the classroom programme. Sociocultural theory provided the theoretical framework to analyse the data. The findings of the research showed that professional development featured as both an enhancing and constraining factor. This was determined by the content of the activity. Sustained professional development appeared to have the most impact on teachers' IWB use. The data examined how and why teachers like to use an IWB, and the impact of the unique and multi-media features of the IWB had on teacher pedagogy and students. Recommendations are made for effective professional development for IWB users and areas for further research are discussed.
Words and Faces on Left and Right: Perceptual Asymmetries as a Marker for SSRI Responsiveness
Authors:   , Walsh Amy
Published: November 2021

Vulnerability to depression has been associated with greater relative right hemisphere frontal activity, as measured by EEG recordings of alpha activity. However, there is much heterogeneity in the patterns of hemispheric asymmetries in people at risk for depression. These different patterns of hemispheric asymmetries may be related to whether an individual responds to Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) medication. Response to SSRIs is associated with a pattern of overall relative LH activity, whereas non-response to SSRIs is associated with a pattern of overall relative RH activity. Very little is known about how these asymmetries in neural activity relate to asymmetries in cognition. The current study investigated hemispheric differences in the processing of emotional faces and words, in individuals not vulnerable to depression (a Never Depressed group) and in individuals vulnerable to depression (a Previously Depressed group). In the chimeric faces task, the Previously Depressed group had a significantly larger left hemispatial bias compared to the Never Depressed group. This may reflect relatively greater posterior RH activity/arousal in the Previously Depressed group. No differences were found between SSRI Responders and Non-responders in the chimeric faces task. In the divided visual field task, hemispheric differences in the processing of emotional words were found between the SSRI Responders and SSRI Non-responders. In contrast to SSRI Responders and Never Depressed controls, SSRI Non-responders showed a relative advantage for negative over positive words when they were presented to their LVF/RH; and an advantage for negative words presented to their LVF/RH compared to their RVF/LH. Additionally, they were more sensitive to perceiving the valence of a word that was presented to their LVF/RH. This suggests that their RH semantic systems may differ from that of SSRI Responders and Never Depressed controls. Genetic, hormonal and cognitive factors are discussed in relation to these patterns of hemispheric asymmetries and responsiveness to SSRI medication.
Technology Translation and Synthesis: A Conceptual Framework for Critiquing Determinism in the Development Project
Authors:   , Paxton Rebecca
Published: November 2021

This thesis constructs a theoretical framework which critiques the legitimacy of technology transfer for the purposes of development. Under the auspices of the development project, technology transfer has involved the introduction of technology into so-called developing societies in the hope of leapfrogging them toward modernity. This process embodies a deterministic definition of technology that sees it as an inherently objective and rational process, mapping the ideas of Western science. Hence, all technological and social change is expected to follow a linear progression from pre-modern to modern, and developing to developed, respectively. In contrast, philosophers of technology have argued that technology has a cultural dimension which permits multiple avenues of change. This definition incorporates a dialogue between technology and society, whereby technologies are reinterpreted and imbued with culturally specific meanings by the adopting societies. The culturally contingent nature of these meanings entails that they are not necessarily transferable between cultures. Rather, technology must be translated. Conceptually, technology translation requires that aspects of the donor and recipient cultures are intertwined, producing a novel set of hybridised meanings. I argue that this process occurs primarily through the mode of synthesis - an emergent process whose outcomes are not predictable based solely on a priori knowledge of the interacting cultures. These ideas are tested in case studies arising from Indian agriculture. Indian agriculture has a long history of external agricultural influence in the shape of European colonialism, the Green Revolution and the more recent Gene Revolution. The results support the idea that both technology transfer and synthesis have occurred in Indian agriculture following the adoption of new technologies. Development agencies must revise their simplistic notion of technology by acknowledging the centrality of culture as part of technology, therefore, if they wish to ensure greater success in the future.
Kia Maia ki te Kanga o Ta Koutou Ahi: Keeping the Home Fires Burning
Authors:   , Kumar Te Atawhai Praneeta Devi
Published: November 2021

This thesis articulates physical activities of tangata whenua occupation and use as being central to the operations of ahi ka and fundamental to the demonstration of mana whenua and mana moana. The focus on use and occupation of land expresses ahi ka as a practical tool, but more importantly, as a catalyst of Maori tribal identity and cultural permanency. The customary framework of Nga Tatai Ahi Ka is applied to demonstrate intricacies, flexibility and fragility of ahi ka as a holistic tool, symbolic of identity, permanency and well-being. A richer understanding of ahi ka shows that its practical functions exceeds mere occupation and use by contributing to the socio-political, cultural, spiritual and intellectual landscape of Maori tribal peoples. The visioning of ahi ka casts the indigenous net wider by examining the local context of Mer Islands located in the Torres Strait Archipelago. Meriam customs and practices reveal the Malo ra Gelar framework as a holistic law of organisation, akin to ahi ka . Together, the Nga Ta tai Ahi Ka and Malo ra Gelar frameworks illustrate two complex and pragmatic knowledge systems as an assertion of two indigenous peoples' holistic relationships to their surrounding landscape. The usefulness of this research serves to open up new spaces of inquiry into ahi ka and Malo ra Gelar as holistic applications of self-determination, self-identification, and sovereignty of our future landscape, destinies and realities. Furthermore, its application could extend towards other indigenous nations to continuously challenge their colonial landscapes by privileging their holistic approaches as assertions of autonomy over people and place.
From Women in Development to Gender and Development? A case study of a women's organisation: (AMA) Asociacion de Mujeres de Acosta, San Ignacio de Acosta, Costa Rica
Authors:   , Hegarty Matilda
Published: November 2021

This dissertation documents research conducted with the 'Asociacion de Mujeres de Acosta'  (AMA), in a mountainous rural region of Costa Rica, in Central America. AMA was originally set up to counter some negative effects of Costa Rican society, such as 'machismo'  and the rural depopulation of women to the capital San Jose. The association implemented a Women In Development (WID) approach, which enabled women to gather and generate an income. The aim of my research is to examine the evolution of AMA since its inception, and to assess its current status in light of international shifts in development policy from WID to Gender And Development (GAD). It provides a rare opportunity to assess an organisation's evolution and its impact on women over a 30-year period. It also enables me to build on Kindon and Odell's earlier research with the organisation in 1990. The research uses qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews, participant observation, a focus group, a questionnaire and field notes, from five months of fieldwork in the community with members of AMA. The key findings show that AMA membership has decreased since its inception in 1980. Compared with results from previous research with AMA in 1990, my findings reveal that AMA has been slow to embrace international policy agendas and continues to adopt a WID approach. AMA does not yet reflect international and national development trends associated with gender and development, particularly in light of some similar organisations in Central and South America. While benefits have accrued to some of AMA members, they do not yet earn a decent wage to satisfy their needs. There are major intergenerational and interscalar issues, which are similar to those identified in 1990. These concerns are associated with power imbalances inside and outside of the association, traditional attitudes towards women due to the culture of 'machismo', and lack of appropriate information and funding sources. These issues appear to be stifling change and raise serious questions about the future sustainability of the association, as well as the relevance of international development policy changes for rural women in associations like AMA. Women of AMA are now looking for new projects and beginning to think about including men in the association. These slow changes, if enacted, may enable the organisation to survive another 30 years.
Beginning Teachers, Schools and Diversity
Authors:   , Muralidharan Vijaya
Published: November 2021

As the field of education world-wide is explicitly striving to make schools and education available to all children and young persons, classrooms are becoming increasingly diverse in terms of language, culture, religion, gender, abilities, socioeconomic status and geographic setting. This rapidly growing phenomenon has educators trying to grapple with ways to prepare and support teachers to be responsive to the diverse needs of students in their classrooms. In New Zealand, cultural diversity is also growing rapidly. By the middle of this century nearly half the student population will be of Pasifika origin. Those opting into the teaching profession must be equipped to confront this reality. While initial teacher education can provide opportunities for student teachers to critically examine their own beliefs and orientation towards diversity, and also provide a snapshot of the reality of classrooms through practicum, it is when they begin actual teaching in schools that the "rubber hits the road". This ethnographic study explores the beliefs and attitudes of beginning teachers about student diversity and possible influences of the primary school culture on their perceptions and practice. Seven beginning teachers were involved in the study over a period of 6-18 months. Multiple data sources were used and data was thematically analysed across the settings using a grounded theory approach.
Visual Signalling in Plant-Animal Interactions
Authors:   , N Rosely Nik Fadzly
Published: November 2021

The process of visual signalling between plant and animals is often a combination of exciting discoveries and more often than not; highly controversial hypotheses. Plants and animals interact mutualistically and antagonistically creating a complex network of species relations to some extent suggesting a co evolutionary network. In this study, I investigate two basic research questions: the first is how plants utilize aposematic and cryptic colours? The second is how animals are affected by the colour signals broadcasted by plants? By using the avian eye model, I discover how visual signals/colours from plants are actually perceived, and the effects of these signals on birds (not human) perception. Aposematism and crypsis are common strategies utilized by animals, yet little evidence is known of such occurrences in plants. Aposematic and cryptic colours were evaluated by studying different colouration strategy through the ontogeny of two native heteroblastic New Zealand plants: Pseudopanax crassifolius and Elaeocarpus hookerianus. To determine the potential effect of colour signals on animals, I investigated an evolutionary theory of leaf colours constraining the conspicuousness of their fruit colour counterparts. Based on the available data, I also conducted a community level analysis about the effects of fruit colours and specific avian frugivores that might be attracted to them. Finally, I examined the fruit colour selection by a frugivorous seed dispersing insect; the Wellington Tree Weta (Hemideina crassidens). My result shows that aposematic and cryptic colours are successfully applied by plants to either warn or remain inconspicuous from browsing herbivores. The evidence I presented lends support to the Moa browsing hypothesis in relation to constraining the conspicuousness of their fruit colour counterparts. Based on the cryptic plant colourations. However, the same level of selective interaction could not be inferred for frugivore fruit colour selection based on avian vision. I demonstrated that leaf reflectance does not constrain/influence the conspicuousness of fruit colours. There was also no fruit colour diversity based on geographical location. Fruit colour alone is not sufficient to influence a specific frugivore assemblage. Other environmental factors and species interaction must be taken into account. Weta proved to possess colour vision capable of colour perception even in low light conditions. Weta also consistently selected naturally blue streaked and manipulated blue coloured fruits of Coprosma acerosa in a binary test. This supports the idea of weta co- evolving with fruit colours of certain divaricating plants in New Zealand. I suggest that the fruit colours of New Zealand are shaped by the combined selection pressure from birds, lizards/geckos and weta.
Properties of Single Walled Carbon Nanotube Films
Authors:   , Ravi Shrividya
Published: November 2021

The preparation and physical properties of transparent, single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) networks fabricated from a novel, organic dispersion are described here for the first time. Characterisation of SWNT dispersions uncovered shifts in the radial breathing modes as a function of aggregation. These modes were redshifted in centrifuged butylamine dispersions by ~3cm -1. SWNT films cast using a simple, drop-deposition technique were annealed at 300'C after fabrication to remove solvent and surfactant residue. Annealed films with a sheet resistance of magnitude ~10 4 kOhms/square and transparency of ~85 % were fabricated in this study. The optoelectronic properties showed some inconsistency due to varying levels of oxygen doping and film thickness. Thin films annealed at 500'C were found to be preferentially depleted of nanotubes with high chiral angle and small diameter. Oxidative effects were also observed upon annealing at temperatures as low as 300'C. However, the reasons for this premature combustion are as yet uncertain. Temperature-dependent conduction studies revealed that the removal of adsorbed surfactant considerably reduced tunnelling barriers in annealed films. The dominant conduction mechanism in both unannealed and annealed films was found to be 3D variable range hopping. In the annealed films, a high temperature activation regime (with activation energy of 220 meV) was observed above 225 K. This regime is due to thermal activation over Schottky barriers within the nanotube network or electron activation over the pseudogap in armchair tubes.
Science Investigation in New Zealand Secondary Schools: Exploring the Links between Learning, Motivation and Internal Assessment in Year 11
Authors:   , Moeed Humaira
Published: November 2021

Science investigation is one of the three aspects of science learning, along with scientific knowledge and an understanding of the nature of science, within the constructivist science curriculum statement of the New Zealand Curriculum Framework. Year 11 students in New Zealand secondary schools who learn to investigate in science are assessed internally for National Certificate of Educational Achievement credits and grades. The purpose of this research was to gain an understanding of the phenomenon of student learning and motivation to learn in year 11 science investigation and how the recent systemic change to formal assessment in New Zealand secondary education is related to teaching and learning of science investigation in year 11. This research, which adopted a case study approach, investigated the phenomenon of science investigation at a regional level through a survey of all year 11 science teachers in the Wellington region and an in-depth study of science investigation in one coeducational, medium size, state, secondary school and one year 11 science class in that school. The data were collected through surveys, classroom observations, teacher and student interviews and document analysis. Findings suggest that the introduction of internal assessment of science investigation led to change in teacher practice. The narrow fair testing type of investigation required for internal assessment and experienced by the students encouraged a surface approach to learning rather than deep learning for understanding. Students set performance goals and were motivated to achieve credits and grades in the assessment.
A Night at the (Imaginary) Opera: The Visual Dimension in Hector Berlioz's Lelio, Romeo et Juliette and La Damnation de Faust
Authors:   , Moore Frances Claire
Published: November 2021

In keeping with the spirit of Romanticism, Hector Berlioz has always been something of a rogue figure. Works like Lelio, Romeo et Juliette and La damnation de Faust, which Daniel Albright refers to as 'semi-operas', occupy an uncomfortable place within the concert hall. The intersections between song, symphony, opera and the spoken word that form these works immediately pose questions concerning musical unity, narrative interpretation, issues of genre, and performance style. While the musical and literary aspects of the three compositions have been the subject of scholarly attention, this study turns its gaze onto the various visual dimensions that are present within Lelio, Romeo et Juliette and La damnation de Faust. By emphasising the presence of spectacle in Berlioz's compositions, questions soon arise concerning the implications of these visual elements for performance. Berlioz's relatively early work, Lelio, illustrates the extent to which the composer is already concerned with how the visual suppression of performing bodies can create and change narrative meanings. Romeo et Juliette raises the curtains that hide Lelio's musical forces. Rather than simply distilling Shakespeare's drama into music, Berlioz relies instead on a visual memory of Romeo and Juliet to replace the absence of physical characters within his 'symphonie dramatique', thus creating an aural rendition of a past theatrical event. Through an exploration of the spectacle within Lelio and Romeo et Juliette, we see how Berlioz has constructed a visually detailed imaginary theatre that resides within the score. An understanding of this imaginary theatre is integral in the subsequent analysis of Berlioz's controversial and wonderfully diabolical La damnation de Faust. This work is performed as often in the opera house as it is in the concert hall. However, an in-depth analysis of the libretto and score reveals curious and occasionally contradictory visual implications. The impact that these contradictions have on the visual dimension in the performance of La damnation de Faust will be explored through a reading of two ground-breaking productions: Raoul Gunsbourg's La damnation de Faust from 1893 - the first production to treat Berlioz's score as an opera; and Robert Lepage's mixed-media production of La damnation. The work of these two directors serves to highlight, perhaps inadvertently, the problematic effects of Berlioz's imaginary theatre on the necessarily more concrete realisations of La damnation when confined within the opera house. However, the cinematic approach of Lepage suggests another avenue of performance that has the potential to reveal new dimensions of Berlioz's unique dramatic-symphonic works. Ultimately, it may be that the supreme technicolour nature of Berlioz's music always functions to transport us beyond our own mundane experiences and forever challenges us to seek something beyond the limits of the possible, however much those limits might change.
Coca, Bolivia, and the War on Drugs: the Tension between Freedom from Fear and Freedom from Want
Authors:   , Yap Renee
Published: November 2021

This thesis aims to demonstrate the tension between human security's core categories of freedom from fear and freedom from want. The two core categories of human security are often held to be complementary to each other. However, by applying a human security analysis to the War on Drugs in Bolivia, particularly with reference to the ideas of freedom from fear and freedom from want, it can be seen that the War on Drugs in Bolivia typifies a freedom from fear approach. This is illustrated through the War on Drugs focus on protecting individuals from physical violence and human rights abuses relating to situations of conflict, as well as its use of coercion strategies, such as sanctions or non-unilateral force; all of these of which are usual to a freedom from fear approach. An examination of how the War on Drugs has impacted upon the individuals of Bolivia reveals that despite the desired outcome of protecting individual safety and well-being, the War on Drugs has actually compromised the safety and well-being of Bolivians. In addition, in typifying freedom from fear, the War on Drugs in Bolivia has also challenged freedom from want by marginalising or threatening economic, community, food and health security, and thus defying claims that freedom from fear and freedom from want are complementary. This thesis concludes that by pursuing political and personal security, freedom from fear marginalises and even contests food, health, environmental and most especially economic and community security - the focal points of freedom from want. Security policies adopted to address transnational threats in developing countries must ensure that they not only account for the freedom from fear and freedom from want components of human security, but that they also account for, and manage, the potential for freedom from fear to undermine the wider goals of freedom from want.
Modelling Wireless Robots for Urban Search and Rescue in Artificial Rubble
Authors:   , Tsui Tik Wa Charles
Published: November 2021

Using robots to assist rescue personnel in USAR (Urban Search and Rescue) missions is an active area of research. Researchers are developing robots to penetrate into rubble to gather information about the environment and to search for victims. The School of Engineering and Computer Science of Victoria University of Wellington is developing a team of robots, the "robot family" to help at disasters. The robot family is a three-tier system. The first tier the "grandmother" which carries second tier "mother robots" to the rubble. The mother robot each launches a group of the third tier "daughter robots" that will penetrate the rubble surface. The daughter robots will burrow deep into the disaster site. They will be equipped with sensors to search for and locate trapped persons. They are designed to be small, battery operated, low cost and disposable. The team of robots is hierarchically structured and to be remotely monitored by rescue personnel at a safe distance from the rubble via a wireless communication link. This thesis describes the successful implementation of a wireless communication platform for the team of robots. This was verified using a simulated rubble site. A suitable ZigBee wireless module was selected by comparing a list of target brands to form the wireless network. A group of simulated wireless daughter robot models were developed by attaching wireless modules to microcontrollers. An automatic routing wireless network was implemented between the robots. They were deployed into artificial rubble and the communication system was characterised. Proof of concept experiments were carried out and demonstrated that rescue personnel using a computer at a safe distance outside the rubble could successfully establish reliable communication to monitor or control all robots inside the artificial rubble environment.
The Educational Needs of Home-Based Stroke Patients and Family Caregivers in Malaysia
Authors:   , Mohamed Che Rabiaah
Published: November 2021

Many research studies have been done in relation to the educational needs of patients and families post-stroke based in Western countries but limited studies have been conducted in non-Western countries. This study explored the educational needs of home-based stroke patients (HBSP) and family caregivers in the Kelantan state located at the northern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The other areas of focus were to identify the resources available for HBSP and their families, the practice of health professionals in relation to the provision of information and education and the early rehabilitation needs for HBSP and family caregivers. A further aim was to develop education strategies that will help patients and their families to minimise risk of complication post-stroke and support the advancement of their quality of life. This study used a qualitative approach guided by a theoretical framework "Stroke Care Community Model (SCCM)" developed for this research. This study was in two phases. Phase 1 involved semi-structured interviews with three kinds of participants: stroke patients (n=5), family caregivers (n= 5) and key members from health professional groups (n=12). Phase 1 established the educational activities currently received and needed by patients and families. Phase 2 involved presenting the findings from Phase 1 to the previously interviewed health professionals through focus groups and individual interviews with the aim of establishing priorities and processes to develop education strategies for HBSP and their families. The findings revealed that the provision of information and education does not meet the needs of many patients and families. There is no national or local programme provided to address patients' and families' needs. The educational needs are on a wide range of topics including the nature and the impacts of stroke, how and why stroke happens, how to prevent stroke recurring, prevention of complications and promoting faster recovery. The need for skills on managing patients at home include positioning, strengthening, mobilisation, prevention of complications, feeding, swallowing, managing co-morbid conditions, basic exercise and safety. The findings also revealed some needs are religiously and culturally bound around prayer and traditional healthcare practice such as urutan tradisional (traditional massage). Prayer and reciting Holy Qur'an are part of cognitive training, coping strategies, rehabilitation therapy and a source of psychological support. Therefore, there is a need to take the knowledge of what makes a difference to health outcomes of patients and families in a western context and work with this, utilising what is important in the culture of people at a local level. The next step to progress addressing educational needs requires a structured approach involving the formation of a multi-disciplinary stroke team that incorporates cultural and religious practice.
The Mechanics of Order: An Inquiry into the Utopian Possibilities of the Free and Open Source Ecology
Authors:   , Hodgson Torrance
Published: November 2021

This is a study that concerns itself with two questions: how is order produced? and, is this order desirable? Contrary to many utopian methodologies that seek to elaborate 'what is not' but which 'ought to be', this is a study that seeks to contribute to a utopian mechanics by way of studying extant subterranean practices or ' minor traditions,' by studying elements of 'what is' that may also form something of what 'ought to be.'  This study takes as its principal task to understand the production of order within a small free and open source project known as Compiz. It borrows from Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari to formulate the related concepts of the machine and the abstract machine in order to account for the ongoing production of order. These two concepts, following the lead of Bruno Latour, adhere to a 'flat social' ontology and bring forth the world of objects and space as being indispensible, alongside the members of Compiz, in accounting for the project's ordering. The study poses three primary machines of order: the Passport, the Exodus and the Module. The Passport regulates access within the virtual spaces of Compiz and produces a role known as the 'gatekeeper,' one who may exercise a power both vicarious and precarious. The machine of the Exodus makes the threat of desertion a real and ongoing possibility and in this establishes an 'imaginary counter' within the group, undermining the power of the gatekeeper and recasting him as a steward of the code, as 'maintainer.' The third machine, known as the Module, is designed to minimise the complexity of the project by way of the spatialisation and organisation of the code, but subsequently effects a concomitant spatialisation and organisation of developers and projects, coming in the end to shape the large scale order amongst free and open source projects. The study concludes by suggesting a 'present tense' and 'open ended' conception of utopia, in which both the machines of the Exodus and the Module - but not the Passport- would find themselves well placed.
Water in Pinus Radiata Wood Secondary Cell Walls: An Investigation Using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Synchrotron X-Ray Diffraction
Authors:   , Hill Stefan James
Published: November 2021

The mechanical properties of wood allow it to be used for numerous purposes. For most purposes, drying of the wood material from the green state, sawn from the log, is first required. This drying step significantly improves the strength properties of wood. It is therefore clear that moisture in wood plays an important role in determining the bulk mechanical properties. Over the last century, many studies have been carried out to investigate the way in which the water content wood affects the bulk mechanical properties. More recent studies have focused to the individual chemical components that make up wood to understand the observed changes in bulk mechanical properties. Models of the nanostructure of wood contained; cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, and the arrangement and location of these components in terms of their mechanical properties was interpreted through what was described as the 'slip-stick' mechanism, by which wood, in its green state, maintained its molecular and mechanical properties under external stresses. This model, while insightful, failed to account for the presence and the role of water in the nanostructure of wood. In this work, synchrotron based X-ray diffraction and NMR studies, have been used to develop a new model, in which water plays a vital role in the determination of the mechanical properties of wood in its green, part-dried, and rewet states. X-ray diffraction showed that changes occur to the molecular packing of cellulose crystallites with change in moisture content, and that these changes begin to occur under mild drying conditions, i.e. drying in air at ambient temperatures. These changes depend on the severity of drying, whether ambient or forced oven drying, and are to some extent reversible. A spin-diffusion model was constructed using dimensions obtained from Xray diffraction, comparisons between predictions and experimental data from an NMR study showed that the location of water was dependent on the moisture history of wood. In the green state, at least some of the water in the wood cell wall forms a layer, between the cellulose crystals and the hemicellulose and lignin matrix. If dried and then rewet, this water associated with the cellulose crystals was not present to the same degree as in the green state, allowing a closer association of the hemicellulose with the cellulose. The effect of this change in water distribution in the wood cell wall on the bulk mechanical wood properties was shown in mechanical testing. The nanostructure of the wood cell wall therefore should be considered to contain cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin and water, where each component contributes, according to its molecular properties, dynamic mechanical properties which are reflected in the bulk material properties.
Reading Rape in Livy's History of Rome, Shakespeare's The Rape of Lucrece and J.M. Coetzee's In the Heart of the Country
Authors:   , Scudder Erin
Published: November 2021

Mieke Bal argues that rape "takes place inside. In this sense, rape is by definition imagined; it can exist only as experience and as memory, as image translated into signs, never adequately 'objectifiable'" (100). In this thesis, by critically examining some ways in which rape has been made to seem objectifiable in literature, I argue that rape cannot simply be 'seen' from a "point-of-viewless" (Rooney 89) perspective. My argument supports Catharine A. MacKinnon's call for a rethinking of rape-related "legal process as one involving a choice between incommensurate meanings rather than one of uncovering a (temporarily hidden) fact, the Truth" (Rooney 90). I argue that, in Livy's History of Rome and Shakespeare's The Rape of Lucrece, rape is portrayed as an objectifiably visible spectacle; the rape victim's description of rape functions in a capacity analogous to testimony, supporting "rape law's assumption that a single, objective state of affairs existed" (MacKinnon 654); and the rape victim's post-rape, self-inflicted violence functions as a form of self-punishment which references historically specific correlations between female unchastity and socio-political calamity. In contrast, I argue that, in J.M. Coetzee's novel In the Heart of the Country, the narration discourages readers from accepting the objectifiability of the rape which it relates; the narrator's "meditations" (Gallagher 82) deviate from the conventions of testimony, expressing instead the "incommensurate meanings" (Rooney 90) that rape holds for the victim herself; and the descriptions of violence, abuse, and victim response present the chance for readers to interpret the aftermath of rape in a manner other than that which "conveys the idea that the victim is responsible for her own destruction" (Bal 100).