bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Discourse of Partnership and the Reality of Reform: Interrogating the Recent Reform Agenda at Initial Teacher Education and Induction Levels in Ireland
Authors: Harford Judith , O'Doherty Teresa
Published: November 2021

Over the last decade, teacher education in Ireland has experienced radical reconceptualization and restructuring at both initial teacher education [ITE] and induction levels, with reform of continuous professional development now in the planning phase. The establishment of the Teaching Council (2006) as a statutory, regulatory body, with a role in the review and accreditation of teacher education, increased the visibility of and policy focus on teacher education. Significant reform of initial teacher education was announced in 2011 that included both an extension of the duration of programmes and, most notably, the period the student teachers were to be engaged in school-based professional development. This increased period has been accompanied by a shift in the understanding of what is involved in practicum and implies a redefinition of the respective roles of the university and the school, and the development of a new form of partnership between both agencies. The period of induction and probation has also become an area of reform with an emphasis on school-based coaching and the evaluation of newly qualified teachers, which devolves decisions on teachers’ full recognition and membership of the profession, to principals and colleagues.This shift, which changes the established approach to induction for primary level teachers, has resulted in the withdrawal of cooperation with this policy by the main teacher union and to the implementation process being stymied. Both policy developments bring the concept of partnership within Irish education into sharp focus: a partnership between schools and universities in ITE, but also partnership in policy development and implementation in the case of induction.
Pre-service Home Economics Teachers’ Attitudes on Selected Aspects of Practical Teaching
Authors: Lovšin Kozina Francka
Published: November 2021

This paper presents the results of a study conducted among pre-service home economics teachers from the Faculty of Education of the University of Ljubljana with different levels of practical experience in teaching. The pre-service Home Economics teachers in the 3rd year of their studies had just completed their first class of teaching experience in contrast to thepre-service teachers from the 4th year of their faculty studies, who had conducted more teaching lessons. The results showed that the 4th-year pre-service teachers had fewer doubts and problems concerning the planning and conducting of a lesson. They also statistically significantly agreed that they are sufficiently prepared to teach than the 3rd-year pre-serviceteachers are. The results showed that the majority of the pre-service teachers agreed that the feedback from their colleagues was helpful for their professional development. The results suggest the importance of practical teaching experience in the context of professional development and the intention to continue a career in education. However, the results alsorevealed some critical points in the teacher’s development of competency. The results suggest problems related to the application of theoretical knowledge on the children’s development in practice and problems related to classroom management in specific situations.
An Analysis of Critical Issues in Korean Teacher Evaluation Systems
Authors: Jun Choi Hee , Park Ji-Hye
Published: November 2021

Korea has used three different teacher evaluation systems since the 1960s: teacher performance rating, teacher performance-based pay and teacher evaluation for professional development. A number of studies have focused on an analysis of each evaluation system in terms of its advent, development, advantages and disadvantages, but these studies have beencritically limited in that they have focused only on the partial integration of the three current teacher evaluation systems, without addressing the problems embedded in each of them. The present study provides a systematic analysis of the three current Korean teacher evaluation systems based on a sound analytical framework and proposes appropriate directions for designing an effective and efficient system. It is found that the three systems share commonalities in terms of stakeholders, evaluators, scope, criteria and methods, further supporting the rationale for developing a single comprehensive teacher evaluation system in Korea. Finally, several steps to establish a comprehensive teacher evaluation system based on the analysis results are suggested.
In foro solitudo: Roman Elections and the Time of Cinna
Authors:   , Smith Timothy
Published: November 2021

The aim of this thesis is to provide a constitutional history of the mysterious years in the 80s B.C. when L. Cornelius Cinna was re-elected to the consulship on four consecutive occasions. Further irregularities abounded in this period, raising the question of how Rome’s annual elections were conducted in this period. A large amount of the surviving literature is either biased or uninformed on such matters. As a direct result, few have attempted to interpret the role of Rome’s comitia, its voting assemblies, in this period in any sufficient detail. This survey aims to fill this lacuna.  From close inspection of the scattered evidence, it may be argued that Rome’s comitia did indeed play a role in the so-called Cinnae dominatio, despite the hoarding of high magistracy by just a handful of individuals. There were laws designed to prevent this domination: men were theoretically allowed to hold the consulship once (at least within a ten-year period); continuatio was forbidden. This study sets out to investigate how Cinna’s continuatio came to be tolerated. Some scholars have attempted to explain away this irregularity as a simple product of the turbulent times. After all, electoral irregularities did indeed increase in frequency during times of existential crisis. But Cinna’s elections do not adequately harmonize with any precedent in Rome’s history.  This study begins with a survey of the Roman constitution in the years leading up to the Cinnae dominatio. The years 91 to 87 were marred by almost continuous warfare in Italy and abroad. However, despite attempts at attaining the consulship by a couple of theoretically ineligible candidates, Rome’s electoral restrictions remained robustly in place. All of this changed in late 87 when Cinna marched on Rome with a large army: many political opponents were murdered or exiled; Cinna assumed the consulship soon after. The process by which he became consul has been the subject of great controversy. Although it would seem that comitia were called, the process was irregular. These irregularities would continue even after Cinna died in 84, coming to an end in the years following Sulla’s restoration of the traditional republic after 81.
A Critique of Marriage Within China Through The Lens of Feminism
Authors:   , Chen Xiaoxue
Published: November 2021

Within the traditional patriarchal ideology in China, feminism is gradually being accepted by the Chinese, especially Chinese women, and has brought benefits to women’s liberation today. However, inequality between men and women still exists. There is growing popularity among Chinese women artists to use their artistic status as their weapon to actively and effectively communicate the ideologies of feminism. However, their expression of feminism still mostly manifests through traditional artistic mediums. My research focuses on how wearable technology can depict and criticize gender inequality in Chinese marriage, and promote feminism. The garment design development is based on the results of a study I conducted about the perception of marriage equality in China, which revealed several areas of inequality in marriage. The final garment is designed for presentation, where movement and audience interaction are considered to enhance the opportunities of wearable technology to best communicate aspects of marriage inequality in China. My design research realises how ideologies of feminism, specifically marriage equality in China, might be advocated for through the design of contemporary garments and wearable technology.
(Re)covered Memory: Memorialisation, Race, and Architecture
Authors:   , Wiles Max
Published: November 2021

The tendency to record only built memory and significant events in architectural practice means that less tangible cultural memory is prone to erasure. This is prevalent in the memories of the other which often diverge from the majority, and so are not considered for preservation. In this context, cultural memory refers to the intangible qualities and experiences which define place, associated with a particular group. While initiatives such as heritage listings can preserve the physical history of place, little is done to preserve intangible history which has been lost through development and gentrification.  To investigate strategies for reasserting cultural memory in urban space, Haining Street in Wellington is engaged as a site. From approximately 1890 to 1960, Haining Street was Wellington’s Chinatown and home to the largest Chinese population in New Zealand. Despite a long, and often controversial history, this legacy has virtually been erased from the contemporary streetscape, creating an area of note only for a vanished past. This thesis proposes that the memory of Haining Street’s Chinese past can be reasserted through an artist in residence scheme, consisting of a gallery, workshop and accommodation.  Architectural intervention within spaces where history has been erased can reassert memory of the other, creating an identifiable place by: memorialising the intangible qualities of place, engaging with the legacy of race in the built environment, and creating a sensual experience of place. This research suggests that architecture has the potential to reconcile conflicted recollections of the past through an active engagement with the memory of place.
Gappy Propositions and the Nature of Rigidity
Authors:   , Skrzynski Jordan
Published: November 2021

During the 1980s, there was much debate as to whether the potential rigidity of names allowed for such terms to refer to their objects in worlds where that object did not exist. Those who supported this idea supported an obstinate account of rigidity, and those who rejected the idea supported an account of persistent rigidity. No clear conclusion was ever reached between the two sides. In this thesis, I will raise a novel argument in support of persistent rigidity using a modern theory about singular propositions known as the gappy proposition view. My conclusion is that such a view can help resolve the earlier debate about the nature of rigidity by showing how gappy propositions may be utilised to undermine the strongest arguments once raised by the obstinate rigidity theorists.
After the Fall
Authors:   , Duncan William
Published: November 2021

Since 2011, the Syrian Civil War has been causing devastation to ancient historic sites and forcing Syrians out of their ancestral homes. These people have the ability to flee from their country to temporary safe havens while the war continues - the ancient ruins however do not have the ability to avoid the war. This design-led thesis looks at innovative ways to create a new symbol of hope in the form of a museum acting as a memorial to the horrific disaster. It looks at a how new architecture may preserve fragments from not only the war but all historical periods as an allegorical time line. In doing so, the outcome hopes to allow the returning people to recognise the building as a reminder to the war in a sensitive way which then holds key fragments to a time which is now part of the history of Syria.  The ancient city of Bosra al-Sham is the site for this thesis as it (along with many others) has sustained considerable destruction due to the ongoing war. Bosra has obtained significant loss to not only contemporary homes, but also to its ancient ruins, which represents Bosra’s cultural heritage to Syria. This research project looks at speculative ideas of how to best preserve both contemporary and historic artefacts which have sustained damaged from the war in a museum context - in turn creating a memorial through the experience and journey of each space.
Designed Deposition - Freeform 3D Printing for Digitally Crafted Artefacts
Authors:   , Molloy Isabella
Published: November 2021

Through the exploitation of new additive manufacturing (AM) processes, this research seeks to reinvent the designer as an informed mediator between the digitally defined and the physically expressed.  Current 3D printing techniques generally construct an object layer by layer, building vertically in the z-axis. Recently developed, ‘freeform 3D printing’ is an AM method which builds through the deposition of material that solidifies upon extrusion. The result is free-standing material forms with diminished need for support material.  Building in this spatial manner means that AM is no longer reliant on layer based techniques that are built from ground-up. Instead, motions can move simultaneously in the x, y and z axes. This increased freedom of motion allows the designer to disregard the requisite that solid forms need to be delineated prior to considering material deposition. Considering this in relationship to the design of artefacts, specific approaches that consider both form and material deposition concurrently allow the authorship of the method of making to be reclaimed.  Bespoke computational processes work to encode material deposition with qualities that are tactile, visual and expressive of its making method. Considerations to structural, performative and aesthetic implications are assimilated from the onset rather than post-rationalised. Material deposition is crafted to become three-dimensionally informed and considerate of the integral nature of its making method and its output, exposing new design opportunities.  Among other things, the research-through-design process suggests how parametric modelling could be used for mass-customisation and suggests a possible path for AM beyond prototyping, towards the manufacturing of bespoke products through an industrial design perspective.  Through iterative abstract and application based experiments, Designed Deposition pursues an increasingly integrated process between the user, the designer, the digital and the physical, towards the creation of digitally crafted artefacts.
Toward the Synthesis of the Fungal Metabolite (-)-TAN-2483B
Authors:   , Phipps Daniel
Published: November 2021

In the search of chemical species with potential therapeutic biological activity, synthetic chemists have looked to nature for inspiration. Molecules built by biological machinery often have structures predisposed for biological interaction.  (-)-TAN-2483B and the related compounds (-)-TAN-2483A, and waol A are fungal metabolites that display biological activity in kinase inhibition and parathyroid-induced bone resorption. Though total syntheses of (-)-TAN-2483A and waol A have been achieved, the established methodology does not afford access to (-)-TAN-2483B owing to the unique relative configuration about the ring system.  Derivatives of D-galactal have been synthesised, and functionalised at the C-1 and C-2 positions, laying the groundwork for a route to (-)-TAN-2483B and analogues. Using D-galactal derivatives is advantageous as it circumvents some difficult transformations in the existing method for analogue synthesis.  The functionalities installed were halide and formyl groups at the C-2 position, and acetylenes at the C-1 position. The synthesis of 2-haloglycals from tri-O-acetyl-D-galactal using N-halosuccinimides was achieved in 32% and <37% for the bromo- and iodo- variants respectively. Vilsmeier-Haack formylation was explored using per-benzylated and per-acetylated galactals as substrates. Formylation of the per-benzylated species was achieved in 78% yield in accordance with literature values. Vilsmeier-Haack formylation on the per-acetylated galactal has not been reported and the glycal was found to be a poor substrate for the formylation. Theories regarding the incompatibility of the per-acetylated species with Vilsmeier-Haack conditions were developed.  Ferrier-type alkynylation of the 2-halo/formylglycals was explored, with yields up to 17% and 13% for the bromo- and iodo- species (unoptimised), and 7% for 2-formylglycal (after optimisation studies). The resulting 1-ethynyl-2-formyl/halo-2,3-unsaturated pyrans could be potential intermediates en route to the furanone ring of the target compound.
A Future Framework: Virtual Reality as an Architectural Instrument
Authors:   , Holth James
Published: November 2021

Architects work within the medium of digital space on a day-to-day basis, yet never truly get to experience the spaces they are creating until after they’re built. This creates a disconnect in the design process that can lead to unexpected and unwanted results. Human perception is a powerful instrument and Virtual Reality (VR) technologies, coupled with more complex digital environments, could enable designers to take advantage of this. Through virtually inhabiting the space they are creating while they are creating it, designers can pre-visualise spatial qualities. These digital tools are experiencing a shift from technology still in development to a fully-fledged research instrument. With a growing level of technical literacy within the architectural discipline they could have the same revolutionary impact that the introduction of computers had in the late-twentieth century.  This thesis explores the potential of VR technology for processes of architectural design by assessing their combined ability to analyse a user’s perception of spatial qualities; in particular the sensation of people density within the work environment. Starting with a review of current literature in architecture and perception based science. A framework is proposed by which to assess the impacts of spatial characteristics within an Immersive Virtual Environment (IVE). This is followed by a design-led series of iterative framework developments centred on increasing user immersion within digital space. Through this methodology a greater understanding is obtained of users perceptions of spatial characteristics and of the process required to design iteratively within an IVE framework.
Circling Communities
Authors:   , Barr Philippa
Published: November 2021

There are works of architecture that are concerned with the user and others that are heavily concerned with form. Although the best buildings are concerned with both, it is often that one is compromised for the other.  The site for this thesis is contested by four diverse communities; a surf club, a recreational park, a holiday park, and the surrounding houses. In developing a proposal for the site, the aim of this thesis is to explore design processes and formal strategies that will create an architecture concerned with both.  Throughout this thesis there are a series of design experiments which view the building from different directions according to the design medium. When using diagrams and mass models I have viewed the building from above (plan). When using a refined drawing technique I have viewed the building from the side (section). I have then used both physical and digital models as a way of translating the two-dimensional views into a three-dimensional building.  This shift in design media has revealed that the plan and section can have opposing formal qualities. These qualities, simplicity in plan and complexity in section, have allowed me to address both the social and formal concerns of designing on a site like this.
Constructing Contrast: Juxtaposition as a tool for formal construction in my own creative practice, explored through the music of Stravinsky and Donatoni
Authors:   , Downie Glen
Published: November 2021

Juxtaposition and Superimposition are two techniques that I have adopted as a core feature of my creative practice. This exegesis examines the origins of these techniques through the analysis of two 20th century works, Igor Stravinsky’s Symphonies of Wind Instruments (1920/1947) and Franco Donatoni’s Tema (1981), examining how the role all musical parameters, including timbre, pitch, rhythm and gesture, combine to create unique and perceptible shapes which can be purposefully juxtaposed, recombined and shuffled to create musical form. The influence and effect of these compositions is then discussed in relation to an analysis of the major work of my accompanying portfolio: Hot Coals for orchestra (2016/2017), demonstrating how ideas taken from the preceding analyses are developed further, and influence not just the resulting aesthetic, but also the construction and process of composition itself.
Identity through foreign policy: Russia and China in the Middle East
Authors:   , Slocombe Alexander
Published: November 2021

Understanding national identity through foreign policy provides a strong means of ascertaining the prevailing social constructions within a great power nation state. There is a growing need to understand the national identities of Russia and China without pre-theorising or depending on asymmetric comparative studies with regional states. China and Russia are frequently compared to their regional neighbours which undermines understanding their unique identities. There are also frequent misunderstandings of contemporary Chinese and Russian national motives, often likening the modern Russian state to the Soviet Union, or attempting to understand China as a challenger to US unipolarity. Both great powers exhibit common characteristics of authoritarianism, both have recently endured massive social and national changes, and both have global interests that manifest in the Middle East such as securing vital geostrategic resources, both states are conscious of their native Muslim populations and to be recognised as a great power identity both must demonstrate influence in the Middle East. Yet, there have been significant differences in agendas and outcomes of their foreign policy decisions. This thesis seeks to use a constructivist framework to discern Russian and Chinese identity through comparison of their respective foreign policy. Contrary to “neo-realist” and “neo-liberal” arguments that accept state interests as rational, determined by the international system, and not determined by identity, this thesis seeks not to pre-theorise but to identify how their respective actions towards three key case studies in the Middle East; the Syrian Civil Conflict, the Iranian Nuclear Framework, and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, indicate their prevailing social constructions. This thesis compares Russian and Chinese attitudes and actions towards these cases. Despite their similar disposition and principles towards international relations these two nations had significant points of difference. Drawing upon foreign policy analysis and a comparative model this thesis finds that despite the commonalities between the Russian and Chinese nations, Russian identity as great power, unique Eurasian power, and an alternative to the West, ensures a defiance of its relatively weak economic position to engage in positions of leadership in the Middle East, whilst China’s identity constructions that are common with Russia, its great power, civilisational, and alternative to the West constructions manifest despite an increasingly influential and material position in the world order, has provided little incentive to engage in meaningful ways throughout the Middle East’s recent conflicts.
National Identity and New Zealand’s Actions on the United Nations Security Council: 1993-94 and 2015-16
Authors:   , Breach Kate
Published: November 2021

To win its seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in both 1993-94 and 2015-16, New Zealand campaigned using the same prime pillar; its ability to act independently on the world’s prime authority for maintenance of international peace and security. With the substantial change in New Zealand’s international relationships between the two UNSC tenures, most particularly with the United States of America and China, many commentators have questioned whether New Zealand still acts independently in international affairs. Employing analytic eclecticism, this thesis applied a combined analytical framework to assess the drive behind New Zealand’s actions during both its 1993-94 and 2015-16 UNSC tenures, allowing both traditional international relations theories of neo-realism and neo-liberalism and the constructivist lens of national identity to be combined for greater explanatory power for the state’s actions in the contemporary era of complex international interdependencies. This research determined that most of New Zealand’s actions aligned with pursuit of its interests, as a small state, as ensured through multilateralism under the lens of institutional neo-liberalism. However, a number of actions taken, and strong positions held, by New Zealand on the UNSC in both periods did not align with the state’s pursuit of material interests under traditional international relations theories. By first establishing the popularly internalised national identity characteristics (or content) during each UNSC tenure period, defined as residing in public opinion, this thesis argues that a ‘win-set’ of national identity content relative prioritisation during each period enabled, and arguably drove, New Zealand’s political elite to take actions or hold positions not aligned with those of powerful states on which the small country’s material interests depended. It is argued that New Zealand’s actions on the UNSC in 2015-16 reinforced the social construction of New Zealand’s internationally regarded national identity content as an independent advocate for the global good, which was strongly established during its 1993-94 tenure.
The Colonial Reinvention of the Hei Tiki: Pounamu, Knowledge and Empire, 1860s-1940s
Authors:   , Street Kathryn
Published: November 2021

This thesis examines the reinvention of pounamu hei tiki between the 1860s and 1940s. It asks how colonial culture was shaped by engagement with pounamu and its analogous forms greenstone, nephrite, bowenite and jade.   The study begins with the exploitation of Ngāi Tahu’s pounamu resource during the West Coast gold rush and concludes with post-World War II measures to prohibit greenstone exports. It establishes that industrially mass-produced pounamu hei tiki were available in New Zealand by 1901 and in Britain by 1903. It sheds new light on the little-known German influence on the commercial greenstone industry. The research demonstrates how Māori leaders maintained a degree of authority in the new Pākehā-dominated industry through patron-client relationships where they exercised creative control.   The history also tells a deeper story of the making of colonial culture. The transformation of the greenstone industry created a cultural legacy greater than just the tangible objects of trade. Intangible meanings are also part of the heritage. The acts of making, selling, wearing, admiring, gifting, describing and imagining pieces of greenstone pounamu were expressions of culture in practice. Everyday objects can tell some of these stories and provide accounts of relationships and ways of knowing the world.   The pounamu hei tiki speaks to this history because more than merely stone, it is a cultural object and idea. In this study, it stands for the dynamic processes of change, the colonial realities of Māori resistance and participation and Pākehā experiences of dislocation and attachment.   The research sits at an intersection of new imperial histories and studies of material culture. The power of pounamu to carry multiple meanings and to be continually reinterpreted represents the circulation of colonial knowledge, and is a central contention of the thesis.
Collaborating with the Guitar: The exploration of collaborative practices between three non-guitarist composers and a guitarist performer in the creation of new works for the classical guitar
Authors:   , Church Jake
Published: November 2021

Cross-disciplinary in its approach, through the internal frameworks of collaboration, this exegesis explores a series of case studies with non-guitarist composers, documenting the why and how aspects of collaboration in the context of creating new music. The primary focus is on how to translate non-guitarist composers’ ideas effectively onto the guitar: to create music for the guitar which is idiomatic while maintaining compositional integrity.
Aura of the Past: The Rehabilitation of ‘Puhipuhi Mercury Mine’
Authors:   , Jackson Nicola
Published: November 2021

Through the development of the case site ‘Puhipuhi Mercury Mines’ this design led thesis presents the fusion of ruins with new design, aiming to rehabilitate the site and its history.  The delicate nature of the site’s past and its remaining relics present the potential to curate a history. The method of integrating old and new design to reestablish value is explored.  Puhipuhi mine has a negative reputation today. Documented memories focus on the mine's industrial downfall and remaining areas of contamination. This has dampened its prospects.  The case site has remained dormant since its closure in 1945 (Butcher). With political controversy surrounding the site, and with natural growth dominating the remains, it has become virtually inaccessible. The challenge presented by the characteristics of the site poses the following research question:  ‘How can the fusion of old and new architecture add value to a forgotten and contaminated historic site as a means to preserve its history and rehabilitate it for current day use?’  Abandoned elements which lay dormant in our landscape have the opportunity to be valued as iconic elements in New Zealand's history, yet we are hesitant to seek appreciation for the narratives of their past and as a result we are presented with the possibility of historic loss.  The site's processing plant presents a need to preserve its architectural heritage and document its history as a means to re mediate the damage of contamination and the devalue that has generated since the closure of the program. Attention is needed to establish it as the beautiful landscape, intriguing remains and educational opportunity that it has the potential to become.  Through the establishment of age, historic and use values, new programmes are constructed: a toxicity museum and laboratory.
Goodput Modelling and Optimisation of Channel Assignment For Planning IEEE 802.11Wireless Backhaul Networks
Authors:   , Qu Ying
Published: November 2021

IEEE 802.11Wireless backhaul networks (WBNs) provide scalable and cost-effective solutions for interconnecting small-cell networks and backbone networks or Internet. With newer and farther reaching applications being developed in IEEE 802.11 WBNs, such as smart grids and intelligent transportation systems, users expect high goodput and better fairness. However, some performance issues in IEEE 802.11 protocols such as border effect, exposed nodes and hidden nodes are exacerbated as network densification occurs, leading to goodput degradation and severe unfairness such as flow starvation (extreme low goodput). These issues may cause an IEEE 802.11 WBN to form a bottleneck and impact the overall network performance. Therefore, in-depth study is required in order to improve the IEEE 802.11 WBN planning to achieve better goodput and fairness.  This research aims to improve IEEE 802.11 WBN planning through goodput modelling and optimising channel assignment. A novel simple goodput distribution model is proposed to predict goodput and fairness in IEEE 802.11 WBNs. Simulation results show that the proposed goodput model accurately predicts goodput with consideration of carrier sensing effect and traffic demands. Based on this goodput model, a new interference model is proposed to more realistically reflect both local and global interference in IEEE 802.11 WBNs. With the proposed interference model, two anti-starvation channel assignments have been developed to prevent flow starvation. Simulation validations show that the new anti-starvation channel assignments effectively prevent flow starvation and improve network fairness in IEEE 802.11 WBNs.  This research also optimises channel assignment to achieve desired fairness and goodput. A multi-objective optimisation problem is formulated and a new fitness function is designed to evaluate a channel allocation with accurate prediction of goodput and fairness. Utilising the new fitness function, two multi-objective channel assignments have been developed to achieve both fairness and goodput. Compared with existing channel assignments through simulation, the proposed multi-objective channel assignments provide a set of feasible solutions that meet desired fairness and goodput.  This research helps network planners or service providers to improve the IEEE 802.11 WBN planning from predicting network performance to optimising goodput and fairness. The proposed goodput model, interference model, and fitness function are also useful for node placement, and optimising routing and scheduling in IEEE 802.11 WBNs.
Does rumination function as a longitudinal mediator between mindfulness and depressive symptoms?
Authors:   , Jury Tasmin
Published: November 2021

The present study was designed to longitudinally examine the relationships among dispositional mindfulness, rumination, and depressive symptoms in adults and determine whether rumination mediated the expected negative association between mindfulness and depressive symptoms across time. A community sample of 483 New Zealand adults completed self-report measures of mindfulness, rumination and depressive symptoms initially and again after three months and a third time a further three months later. The predicted cross-lag associations were found, and in consequence, the predicted longitudinal mediation was supported in the data as well. That is, rumination mediated the negative association between mindfulness and depressive symptoms. In addition, three of the five facets of mindfulness (acting with awareness, non-judging, and non-reacting) exhibited the longitudinal mediation through rumination to depressive symptoms. The findings of this research suggest that certain aspects of mindfulness function to reduce rumination, which then serve to diminish depressive symptoms.
Supporting Well-being at a Community Day Care Centre for Adults with Other Abilities Using Music Therapy
Authors:   , Thomson Hafren
Published: November 2021

This qualitative research investigates the music therapy approaches taken in order to support well-being at a day centre for adults with disabilities. Music therapy at the day centre involved individual and group sessions, engaging in music with the wider community, developing trust and supporting each other. The research centred on secondary analysis of music therapy practice text, collected during a five-month period at the day centre. Literature about music / music therapy being able to support well-being in community settings, especially in relation to the practice of community music therapy, was reviewed. The research question 'How did I support well-being at a community day centre for adults with other abilities using music therapy?' was established. Secondary analysis was the methodology used for this study, involving no disruption to regular practice as a student therapist and being low-risk for music therapy participants. A thematic analysis of texts was undertaken and this was developed from; research text, supervision text and a reflective journal of my practice. Analysis involved coding and sorting text and developing meaningful themes. The findings of the analysis demonstrated three core themes which involved supporting well-being: encouraging a sense of fun, promoting a sense of purpose and developing togetherness.
Tūmanako: Kaupapa Māori informed action research with young mothers
Authors:   , Pihema Catherine
Published: November 2021

This research is kaupapa Māori informed action research that was carried out in collaboration with a rōpū of young mothers and a local Wellington based film company. Originally intended as an action research project in collaboration with a group of young people to produce a mental health-themed resource, during a series of hui around experiences of the rōpū it became apparent that this project would be devoted to the creation of a short film. Specifically, an inspirational resource for other young mothers. The film was intended to promote hope for other young mothers who are going through the challenges of young parenthood, and offer advice around supports they can access to help them get through such times. This thesis documents how kaupapa Māori principles influenced the development of this resource, and also highlights common experiences, challenges, coping mechanisms and support accessed by the rōpū. Among other themes, it became clear that teen parenthood was not the ‘cause’ of challenges experienced by this rōpū, but a source of motivation and hope for the future.
Shale Oil/Gas: A New Opportunity for New Zealand?
Authors:   , Correa Rechden Filho Raul
Published: November 2021

Within New Zealand the East Coast Basin encompasses the primary shale oil and gás (unconventional) play areas in which both the Waipawa and Whangai formations are widespread. These formations are oil and gas prone and prevalent throughout a large area of the East Coast Basin. To characterise these two formations and evaluate their shale oil and gas potential, existing analytical results were supplemented by a set of new sample analyses of organic and inorganic geochemistry, and rock properties. Thus, some 242 samples from the Whangai Formation have organic geochemical analyses and 40 have inorganic geochemical analyses; for the Waipawa Formation there are 149 organic and 9 inorganic geochemical analyses. In addition, downhole logs from three exploration wells have been used to calculate the brittleness index of the Whangai Formation. All these data have been grouped by structural block and used to determine where the sweet spots are in each formation. Both basic and more robust statistical analysis (machine-learning) is applied to identify the best prospective area. The Rakauroa Member (Whangai Formation) and the Waipawa Formation have the best rock characteristics as unconventional reservoirs, based on quantity and quality. Maturation appears to be an issue for these formations, although there are some localised areas where the Whangai Formation has better maturity. The brittleness index is calculated only for the Rakauroa Member, given the lack of data available for other members of the Whangai Formation and the Waipawa Formation, and yielded promising results. The Motu block appears to be the best area in which to explore for unconventional oil and gas. The prospective resource volumes for the best case scenario for the Whangai (Rakauroa Member) and Waipawa formations combined in the Motu Block are 17% higher (713MMbbl) than the 2P (proved + probable) reserves of New Zealand for oil and condensate (588MMbbl) and 26% (2.1TCF) of the 2P (proved + probable) reserves of natural gas (7.8 TCF). Economic analysis shows feasibility to explore these unconventional reservoirs for both shale oil or shale gas with an oil price of US$60 for both methodologies tested. However, the methodology applied using standard shale oil and gas assessments shows feasibility only for shale oil. Shale gas would not be economic, unless a higher oil prices, lower costs or a technology was developed to improve the recovery factor of these reservoirs. These results indicate a minimum economic field size of 4.5 km² for this area.
Facial expression processing in developmental prosopagnosia
Authors:   , Bell Lauren Clare
Published: November 2021

Individuals with developmental prosopagnosia experience lifelong deficits recognising facial identity, but whether their ability to process facial expression is also impaired is unclear. Addressing this issue is key for understanding the core deficit in developmental prosopagnosia, and for advancing knowledge about the mechanisms and development of normal face processing. In this thesis, I report two online studies on facial expression processing with large samples of prosopagnosics. In Study 1, I compared facial expression and facial identity perception in 124 prosopagnosics and 133 controls. I used three perceptual tasks including simultaneous matching, sequential matching, and sorting. I also measured inversion effects to examine whether prosopagnosics rely on typical face mechanisms. Prosopagnosics showed subtle deficits with facial expression, but they performed worse with facial identity. Prosopagnosics also showed reduced inversion effects for facial identity but normal inversion effects for facial expression, suggesting they use atypical mechanisms for facial identity but normal mechanisms for facial expression. In Study 2, I extended the findings of Study 1 by assessing facial expression recognition in 78 prosopagnosics and 138 controls. I used four labelling tasks that varied on whether the facial expressions were basic (e.g., happy) or complex (e.g., elated), and whether they were displayed via static (i.e., images) or dynamic (i.e., video clips) stimuli. Prosopagnosics showed subtle deficits with basic expressions but performed normally with complex expressions. Further, prosopagnosics did not show reduced inversion effects for both types of expressions, suggesting they use similar recognition mechanisms as controls. Critically, the subtle expression deficits that prosopagnosics showed in both studies can be accounted for by autism traits, suggesting that expression deficits are not a feature of prosopagnosia per se. I also provide estimates of the prevalence of deficits in facial expression perception (7.70%) and recognition (2.56% - 5.13%) in prosopagnosia, both of which suggest that facial expression processing is normal in the majority of prosopagnosics. Overall, my thesis demonstrates that facial expression processing is not impaired in developmental prosopagnosia, and suggests that facial expression and facial identity processing rely on separate mechanisms that dissociate in development.
Environmental counter-narratives of Mapuche and Māori primary school children
Authors:   , Guiloff Titiun Katia
Published: November 2021

Scholars working from decolonial perspectives examine how processes of colonisation have marginalised local and contextualised knowledges in favour of dominant, usually Western, monological claims to ‘Truth'. These monological truths are characterised by binaries of separation such as nature/culture, adult/child and human/environment which subjugate non-binary ways of knowing. Around the world, children’s, and particularly indigenous children’s, environmental knowledges are rendered incomplete and non-scientific within processes of State-sanctioned monocultural formal education. Decolonial scholars argue that this subjugation lies at the heart of humans’ destructive ecological practices and the current crisis of sustainability.  In this thesis I explore the environmental narratives of two groups of indigenous primary school children in Chile and Aotearoa New Zealand in an effort to contribute to decolonial research and explore counter-narratives. I use a Critical Pedagogies of Place analytical lens to understand how concepts of cultural decolonisation and ecological reinhabitation were represented within the children’s audio-visual environmental narratives and consider how these counter-narratives may help us to practice more creative and inclusive 'border thinking' to address environmental problems.
Transition to Non-Offender Self-Narratives: The Emotional Closure Model of Desistance
Authors:   , Littlejohns Lydia
Published: November 2021

Although studies have shown that a transition from an ‘offender’ to a ‘non-offender’ self-narrative appears to be associated with desistance, the psychological mechanisms involved in this transition phase have not been explored adequately. This may be because desistance research has primarily been conducted from a criminological perspective, thus social factors (e.g., employment or relationships) have been the focus of enquiry. What little psychologically focused forensic literature there is, is held back by the dominance of the cognitive perspective. Because of this, the role that emotions may play in psychological changes that must take place in order for a person to successfully transition to a non-offender is overlooked. Advances in clinical neuroscience research are increasingly highlighting the significance of emotional processes in psychological functioning. In this thesis I introduce a psychological model of self-narrative by Peter Goldie, who incorporates emotions into his description of the psychological processes that constitute self-narratives. Importantly, Goldie also describes a mechanism of transition from a maladaptive (non-agentic) to an adaptive (agentic) self-narrative. Application of Goldie’s conceptualisation may help to understand how a person who commits offences due to a lack of agency could increase their personal agency and desist. However, as I discuss in chapter one, some persons who commit offences act in a goal-directed manner and thus not due to a lack of personal agency. I will extend Goldie’s conceptualisation of this transition mechanism in order to apply it to the self-narratives of offenders. The adaptation I make to the conceptualisation, which I term, the Emotional Closure Model (ECM), crucially, may explain the transition from offender to non-offender self-narratives for those who both lack agency as well as those who lack motivation to desist. Improved understanding of the psychological mechanisms involved in the transition phase to non-offender self-narratives will have far reaching implications for psychological treatment programmes.
Te Atiawa Paake: Reflections on the playgrounds of my life
Authors:   , Taylor Kura Marie Teira
Published: November 2021

This thesis is about constructing an indigenous autobiographical narrative of my life as an Aotearoa/New Zealand Te Atiawa Iwi Paake, adult, Maori woman teacher, claiming Maori/Pakeha identity.  Three Maori theoretical approaches underpin the thesis: Kaupapa Maori; Mana Wahine, Maori Feminism; and Aitanga. Kaupapa Maori takes for granted being Maori; Maori language, te reo Maori; and tikanga, Maori cultural practices. Whakapapa, Maori descent lines and Pakeha genealogy connect with Maori/Pakeha identity. Mana Wahine, Maori Feminism, is about how Maori women live their lives and view their worlds. Aitanga relates to the distribution of power and Maori as active participants in social relationships.  Eight decades of problematic, complex, multi-layered, multi-sited, multi-faceted life experiences of one Maori woman teacher are explored. Memories and events are presented through a metaphor of ‘play’ in a socially constructed milieu of power relationships, language and dialogic encounters reflected upon and analysed. Three main recurring themes of Whakapapa and Identity, Cultural Navigation and Cultural Flexibility, Resilience and Endurance, are woven into the thesis fabric.