bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Quality of Education offered to Children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) in the era of Free Primary Education (FPE) in Rural Kenya: Perspectives of Educationists, Teachers and Parents
Authors:   , Omoke Charles Makori
Published: November 2021

The education of children with special educational needs (SEN) has been a focus of international inquiry. There is a strong advocacy for the inclusion of children with SEN in regular schools although this remains contentious and challenging. Despite an emphasis by the Kenyan government that children with SEN should be included in regular schooling, there has not been substantial investigation especially in rural settings on how these children can receive quality education. This thesis seeks to address this issue by exploring the perspectives of educationists, teachers and parents on the quality of education offered to children with SEN in the era of free primary education in a rural setting. A qualitative interpretive approach to research was used to generate data through interviews with government officials, teachers and parents, focus group discussions with regular teachers and observations in three schools spread over three rural districts. Thematic analysis was employed in analysing the data. A critical theory approach focussing on social justice and rights of children as enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) was used as a lens. The findings revealed that despite policy articulation, children with SEN occupied the role of “others” in schools and the society and were described in negative terms. Participants, especially regular staff and parents were emphatic that children with SEN required “experts” and “special” resources both of which were not available in regular schools. The participants felt that the available curriculum was relevant for “normal” children and therefore could not meet the educational needs of children with SEN. The broad conclusion drawn from this study is that there is need to distinctly define the terms inclusive education, special education and mainstream education in a way that the core stakeholders can understand, interpret and implement within their contexts. Designing a means of progress monitoring other than national examinations may help motivate both regular teachers and parents to see the need to have children with SEN in regular schools. There is need for further investigation on how regular teachers can be persuaded from existing beliefs that they are not qualified to teach children with SEN and how to convince parents that their children are worthy of an education.
Workplace Meetings: Following the Action in Making Organisation Around the Table
Authors:   , Simpson Tamika
Published: November 2021

This dissertation looks at meeting talk as organisational action, asking how meetings partly constitute “organisation”. It considers how meeting members use the phrase “out there” in their work. I conducted observation research, attending the fortnightly staff meetings of an office-based organisation for six months, audio-recording, taking notes and transcribing tapes shortly afterwards. I watched conversations, and following the methodological principles of actor-network theory (ANT), tried to avoid making prior assumptions about how this action was ordered. The phrase "out there" was used by meeting members in each of the workplace meetings attended. I have analysed what members were attending to each time the phrase was used. In three chapters, conversation analysis (CA) is used to carefully examine three uses of the phrase. I use the involvement of the phrase in the meetings to consider members' attempts to make organisational actions and realities. Is the use of the phrase part of the procedures enabling actors able to build shared worlds? I argue that "out there" refers to places and situations that exist precisely in what is made of them in these particular settings. Further, I suggest that we need to ask just where the effects of this making occur. Such effects occur not ”out there” or elsewhere, but here. More specifically, the dissertation considers how meeting members come to be allowed to undertake, and do undertake, the action in the meetings of proposing future actions, and being able to propose future actions forcefully and normatively. I suggest that first-hand experience is a valuable resource for suggesting and defending what the organisation should do next. The intention of this dissertation is to contribute to studies of talk in action and research in workplaces that attempts to understand organisational members' world-building activities.
Essays on the Interaction Between Risk and Market Structure in Electricity Markets
Authors:   , Fiuza de Braganca Gabriel Godofredo
Published: November 2021

This thesis proposes a new framework to jointly analyze electricity spot market and hedging decisions in an oligopolistic setup. Firstly, we find that, when exogenous, both quantity of electricity hedged by contract and vertical integration decrease the equilibrium spot price. Secondly, we use a hybrid approach and show that market structure can affect a generator’s decision to vertically integrate under uncertain demand. Thirdly, we consider uncertainty in costs and demand and show that concentration in the spot market, for a given hedge quantum, can increase forward prices and affect the slope of the forward curve. Our empirical results indicate that the model fits the New Zealand electricity market well. This evidence that market structure and hedging decisions are closely connected is further explored in a three period equilibrium model for the spot and forward markets, where hedging occurs prior to the submission of supply curves. Taking into account demand-side and supply-side uncertainties, we find that when hedging is endogenous, hedging quantities are affected by spot market parameters, but market power is itself mitigated in the conscious hedging choice of generators. We also show that forward markets can coexist with highly vertically integrated markets. The importance of our results is general. Our models can be used by policy makers to analyze investment and forward price implications of changes in the spot market structure. Our results also indicate that electricity generators, in equilibrium, face a trade-off between market power and hedging. Given that it is socially beneficial to manage risk, the equilibrium impact of their choices on welfare should not be considered in isolation by competition authorities.
The Application of Stakeholder Networking Theory for Strategic Planning in the New Zealand Public Sector
Authors:   , Proctor Louise Anne
Published: November 2021

The New Zealand public sector is facing an increasingly pluralistic stakeholder landscape due to a range of political, economic, social, and technological factors, all of which require public sector organisations to develop new ways of understanding and responding to diverse and complex stakeholder needs. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate whether the theory of stakeholder networking can contribute to strategic planning in the public sector, to assist organisations in planning to meet strategic goals and ultimately move toward their strategic direction. A qualitative research approach, known as participatory action research, was adopted. This required strong involvement with the two sample organisations, contributing to the development and application of the stakeholder networking process and also to the findings. Information gathering occurred through a variety of methods including focus groups, team meetings, interviews, document analysis and workshops. A Stakeholder Networking Framework is proposed as an approach for public sector organisations to apply stakeholder networking theory in practice, which takes into account the key issues participants raised during application. Three primary uses of stakeholder networking theory for strategic planning were found, including a means for providing greater clarity to the stakeholder context surrounding strategic issues, identification of potential relationship strategies to meet strategic goals, and assisting with the prioritisation of stakeholders. The Stakeholder Networking Framework has purposefully been developed in a way that is non-prescriptive and flexible, enabling it to be adapted by managers to suit the context specific needs of their organisation during application. Managers can then use the stakeholder network maps as outputs of the process to inform relationship management activities and strategic decision making. This thesis fills a gap in the literature that provides practical research to public sector organisations and managers on how to integrate a stakeholder networking perspective into their strategic planning processes. It addresses common concerns that arise when trying to deliver such objectives in practice, drawing on the practical considerations of organisations' day-to-day realities.
“To Leaven the Lump”: A Critical History of the Anglican Pacifist Fellowship in New Zealand
Authors:   , Mather Zane
Published: November 2021

This thesis is an interpretation of the history and character of the Anglican Pacifist Fellowship in New Zealand (NZAPF). It focuses on accounting for the limited growth and influence of the Fellowship upon New Zealand’s largest Christian denomination, and on the continuing marginality of the pacifist position. Throughout its history, the organisation has sought to convince others within the Anglican Church that an absolutist, politically engaged and non-anarchistic pacifism is the truest Christian response to the problem of modern warfare. This has been attempted primarily through efforts at education aimed at both clergy and laity. The thesis argues that the NZAPF has been characterised by a commitment to absolute doctrinaire pacifism, despite ongoing tensions between this position and more pragmatic considerations. Overall, the NZAPF attracted only a small group of members throughout its history, and it exerted a limited demonstrable influence on the Anglican Church. This thesis analyses the reasons for this, focusing especially on those factors which arose from the nature of the NZAPF itself, the character of its pacifism, and the relationship between the NZAPF and its primary target audience, the Anglican Church in New Zealand. The research is based on literature and correspondence from the NZAPF as well as personal communication with extant members, where this was feasible. It additionally draws on a range of relevant secondary literature on Christian pacifism, and the history of the Anglican Church and the peace movement in New Zealand.
Ki te Taumata: a Personal Journey into the Multiple Identities of Academically High Achieving Māori Girls
Authors:   , MacDonald Liana
Published: November 2021

This thesis investigates the multiple identities of four academically high achieving, Māori girls negotiated in one English Medium mainstream schooling environment. The study sought to determine how these young women have grown to define and develop diverse understandings of what it means to “be Māori” and “high achieving” within this context. The metaphor of plotting a path from the foothills to the peak of a mountain is used to describe the journey that the participants of this study, and I as a researcher, undertook during this process. Participating in this journey were 13 travellers; four academically high achieving Māori girls, four caregivers and four of the girls’ friends. I also identify myself as a Māori female researcher as a traveller since I tell a story that has attempted to be transparent and personal. This case study was guided by Kaupapa Māori research protocols (Smith, 1999; Bishop & Glynn, 2003) and Personal Experience methodology (Clandinin & Connelly, 1994). Such protocols were useful in enabling me to tell this research story. However, this was not the research journey I expected to take when I first set off. Through this inquiry process I learned about the influence of society and colonisation on the construction of identity. I learned how pressures and stereotypes, aligned with socialisation processes, lie beneath our consciousness and inform our individual and collective identities. The conversations with fellow participants of the study highlight the limitations in our understanding of what it means to be Māori and achieve educational success “as Māori” amongst contemporary youth today. The findings of this study suggest that multiple complex Māori identities exist amongst contemporary Māori youth. Further research and discussion about what it means to “be Māori” needs to occur to ensure that we cater for the needs of all Māori learners. Recommendations include establishing a professional development programme for teachers to address the way knowledge is constructed and perpetuated in a contemporary, postcolonial society. A focus on motivation, gender, indigeneity and special/gifted abilities was not investigated in this thesis.
Don't Poo-Poo the Toilet: Architectural Contributions to Human Waste
Authors:   , Rickards Micah
Published: November 2021

Eliminating waste is a natural bodily function, common to all, yet its protocols are evidence of a strange discomfort in society. This thesis investigates the ways in which this discomfort manifests in the architecture of the toilet, suggesting in the process that the toilet is space that is more significant than the architecture profession might acknowledge. A toilet and its accompanying infrastructure are not typically considered architecture. While a necessary feature of a building, a typical toilet must be discrete, private, with an emphasis on functionality; any particular design flair - unless it is of service to concealment - is considered unusual. Such architectural tendencies cannot be separated from attitudes to excrement, which is generally considered disgusting, worthless or dangerous. These negative attitudes are not strictly scientific or rational in their foundation ; instead, attitudes to excrement and the toilet are culture and context specific. Accordingly, the architecture of the toilet in the West is neither inherently 'correct', nor 'desirable'- rather, it is the product of specifically Western perceptions of waste, which are shrouded in negativity. In this light, this thesis argues that the architecture of the toilet should not be viewed as an unquestionable norm. Instead, the profession should be considering its responsibility to interrogate the place of waste in our society. Don't poo-poo the toilet: architectural contributions to human waste reveals that the toilet is an architectural manifestation of broader societal attitudes towards what is considered dirty. The toilet unifies all of human kind at a common, base level, and yet it reveals much about how the human world is divided into categories of clean and dirty, proper and improper, good and bad. This thesis thus offers a lens for viewing the world we live in, through the dirt of this architecturally neglected space.
Intelligence-Friendly Environments: a Study of New Zealand Primary School Classroom Design in Relation to Multiple Intelligences Theory
Authors:   , Alsaif Fatimah
Published: November 2021

Education of young children has been the focus of academic research for many years. However, the impact of educational settings on the effectiveness of classroom instruction and learning progress is largely unconsidered. Multiple intelligence theory (MI) postulates that different types of intelligence affect our ability to learn and that educational programs should be accommodated to each learning style. The present study takes this approach a step further, by proposing that MI elements could be incorporated into classroom design, thus enabling students with different preferences to learn more effectively. Therefore the aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of New Zealand existing primary classroom settings in relation to the theory of multiple intelligences. This includes proposing possible improvements to the interior design of classrooms with the aim of enhancing children’s learning potential. The thesis includes a case study of four classrooms conducted through: (a) interviewing the classroom users −four teachers and twenty students aged 9-11; (b) observing the daily use of existing classroom settings; and (c) surveying the design of the existing classrooms. The key findings of the study are that most users have a very positive view of their traditional classroom settings but that at present MI theory is not strongly supported by the settings observed in the four classrooms. Classrooms mainly support linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligences, whilst other intelligences are treated as secondary or complementary activities. However, MI settings - proposed by the researcher- are often already present in the classrooms or are suggested and/ or recommended by at least one user. The key conclusions of this study are that: (1) case study classrooms settings support mainly traditional views of intelligence and teaching; (2) applying MI theory to classroom designs could lead to more efficiency in learning environments; and (3) New Zealand schools could benefit from applying the different MI settings. Thus the study identifies the need to further evaluate cultural implications of MI theory in New Zealand culture. In addition, further studies need to integrate space saving furniture into single classrooms, allowing for more effective MI settings.
John Elder Moultray (1865-1922) History Painter or Historical Journalist?
Authors:   , Park Marilyn Edwina
Published: November 2021

This thesis was undertaken to investigate J. Elder Moultray‘s history paintings, his broader artistic oeuvre and journalistic output, and to place him in the context of nineteenth-century New Zealand art, journalism and the history painting genre generally. It is also intended to fill a lack of previous art-historical scholarship surrounding Moultray and his history paintings. Moultray‘s own diaries and published articles, as well as newspaper reports about him, provide a biographical sketch of his life and his own views on art history. A discussion of the development of the history painting genre, a detailed analysis of his history paintings and comments on his paintings from critics, both during his lifetime and after, leads to a number of conclusions. These suggest that Moultray‘s diminished reputation as an artist has resulted from a number of factors, including changing fashions in artistic styles, poor documentation in the referencing of his works, and a changing political climate which has desired to leave behind uncomfortable images of the New Zealand colonial wars. The latter is related to both his contemporary marginalisation and the deterioration of many of his paintings in the public domain. Unpicking the layers of Moultray‘s history paintings reveals their relevance to contemporary art-historical issues. In addition, Moultray‘s resistance to modernism and continuation of a nineteenth-century academic art practice into the twentieth century provides today‘s art historians with considerable insights. By exploring a body of Moultray‘s paintings, in tandem with his writings about art, the thesis reveals a significant contribution to New Zealand art history.
Divine Sovereignty and State Authority in Israel and Iran
Authors:   , Partow Negar
Published: November 2021

This thesis investigates the relationship between religion and politics in Israel and Iran through examining the development of Revolutionary Messianism as the founding philosophy of these contemporary states. These states differ in their political history and structure. In both cases, however, Messianism has been the core religious ideology in their understanding of revolution and their religio-political identity in the contemporary Middle East. Revolutionary Messianism negates the existence of apolitical and apocalyptic messianic theologies and gives rise to the emergence of new state actors: theological politicians and political theologians. This thesis examines the transformation of messianic ideology in the context of Israel’s and Iran’s security politics, their political structures, their legal systems, and their social environment. In doing so, it demonstrates the lasting impact of the messianic ideas on religion and politics in these states. It argues that the transformation of messianism has resulted in political elitism, the rise of new forms of fundamentalism, and the de-sacralisation of theology. This thesis offers a new analytical model for studying the relationship between religion and politics in Israel and Iran by identifying three phases: Revolutionary Messianism, State Building Messianism and State Maintenance Messianism. This model allows us to not only analyse the development of Revolutionary Messianism during the Revolutionary Phase but it crystallises the relationship between religion and politics after the establishment of the post-revolutionary states. In addition, it explains how these states define secularism, secularity, and secularization. It clarifies the boundaries that each state determines between religion and politics and the impacts of the development of Revolutionary Messianism on societies. It argues that in both cases politics is not subordinate to theology, but in fact it changes theology, and consequently religion.
The Parsi Dilemma: A New Zealand Perspective
Authors:   , Weaver David John
Published: November 2021

The Parsis of India are a very small but important ethnic group, traditionally living in Gujarat but in modern times mainly located in Bombay, where, under the British Raj, they established themselves as leading merchants, politicians and professional people with an influence far exceeding their numerical strength. Since Indian Independence in 1947, that influence has declined as has the total size of the Parsi community in India. Many members of the community have dispersed overseas and during the last twenty years, New Zealand has emerged as a growing destination of choice. Many reasons have been put forward both by academia and by members of the Parsi community itself for the steeply declining numbers ranging from religious and ethnic exclusivity to loss of fecundity and consequential fall in the birth-rate to below the sustainability level. In my initial research for this thesis, I became aware that one reason for the decline, which did not feature in academic discourses but which seemed to be important, was the significance of Parsi culture, in particular the traditional emphasis on individual achievement, at the expense of communal cohesion. In seeking to corroborate my hypothesis, along with whether or not the current drive to migrate from India to countries such as New Zealand is having a positive or negative influence on the long-term chances for Parsi survival, I have carried out in-depth interviews with a cross-section of Parsis now resident in New Zealand. The outcomes of these interviews, together with a careful study of Parsi history and an analysis of their very distinctive culture, form the basis for my study. These outcomes and analyses have created an overall picture, which has confirmed my belief that the most important contributing factor to demographic decline amongst the Indian Parsi community has been their traditional drive towards individual material success. They have also shown that individual choice has been the principle post-Independence migratory driving force. There are more negative than positive elements associated with this migratory drive with the future of both Parsi identity and Zoroastrianism under serious threat through increasing dispersal and religious, ethnic and cultural dilution. This deteriorating situation is further exacerbated by internal strife fuelled by passionate ethno-religious debate over the best way forward.
Enhancing Professional Development through Classroom Action Research Projects: A Case Study of Secondary English Teachers in Palu City, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia
Authors:   , Thamrin Mukrim
Published: November 2021

This study explored the experience of five senior secondary teachers in Palu city, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia who participated in a pilot of Classroom Action Research (CAR) project that held by the Provincial Education Office (locally termed as DIKJAR Provinsi) five years ago. These teachers attended a five-day CAR workshop in 2005 and went on to conduct a small-scale project of CAR in their own classroom working collaboratively with other teachers in their schools. The main purpose of this study was consider the benefits and barriers of doing CAR, to understand the nature of support from school principal, colleagues and supervisor that helped the teachers conduct a successful CAR project, to investigate factors that impact on the sustainability of the practice of CAR beyond one pilot over a longer timeframe, and to find out teachers’ perception of how CAR as professional development (PD) programme should be effectively planned and implemented. This study adopted a qualitative case study approach. Purposive sampling was used to select the teachers who participated in the CAR pilot for the study. Data was collected through in-depth interviews, brief semi-structured interviews with a closed-response questionnaire, and the collection of policy documents. Interviews were also held with local DIKJAR staff and one of the workshop instructors who provided documents pertaining to the pilot. The thematic analysis of this data revealed that engaging with CAR impacted on teachers’ teaching practices, teachers’ awareness and better understanding of students’ learning problems, and their role as a teaching professional, and their personal and professional development. Some notable barriers that teachers experienced during their CAR project were insufficient knowledge of CAR concepts, lack of advice, lack of assistance from research project collaborators and a time constraint. The study found teachers were well supported by school principals with administrative help as well as recognition of effort. Colleagues provided support as mentors or giving advice. The study also found 3 of 5 teachers continued CAR approaches in their classroom after their first pilot experience, believing CAR is a path toward their own PD; while the other two gave limited knowledge of CAR as the main reason for the lack of motivation to carry on. This study also found for CAR to be a sustainable practice for teachers, such a PD programme should be designed to fit the teaching background and subject area of participants and provide internal (e.g. school principals, colleagues), and external support (e.g. mentors from teacher educators, teacher trainers, and master teachers) as well as the chance to get recognition of their work. The implication of the study for facilitating teachers to grow professionally through CAR is discussed.
Global Diffusion of a New Product Class: A Study of New World Wine
Authors:   , Pascoe Andrew
Published: November 2021

Understanding the drivers of product diffusion in global markets is a key determinant of success in marketing a product internationally. Factors such as national culture that are specific to a particular country market play a significant role in determining the speed of diffusion in that market. Examining the diffusion of New World wine provides an opportunity to test existing theories in the context of a new product class innovation as opposed to a new product innovation (as is the case in the existing literature). In addition, the study of diffusion of a new product class provides an opportunity to measure diffusion rates, within global markets, against a key explanatory variable in diffusion theory, 'prior experience of a previously introduced idea'. This is due to the fact that global markets have had previous experience with other wine product classes, before the advent of New World wine. This explanatory variable is an important part of classic diffusion theory however it has not been tested in a cross national sense. Through the study of 47 countries/regions that encompasses all countries in the world (at time of publication), the research found a strong negative correlation between 'prior experience of a previously introduced idea' and market share growth of New World wine across global markets. The author suggests that a key potential factor for this finding relates to the existence of a quality status hierarchy in existence in countries with higher levels of prior experience, resulting in a lower quality perception for a new product class in this market, when compared to a market that does not have an existing status hierarchy in place due to lower prior experience with a similar product. This concept potentially extends the cross national diffusion literature. In addition this research may provide important implications for managers in developing global marketing strategies.
The Great New Zealand Botnet: Broadband to the Door an Asset or Security Issue?
Authors:   , Gibson Kyle
Published: November 2021

This research explores the level of security awareness, of domestic Internet users in New Zealand. Awareness and online security are the top priorities of the New Zealand Cyber Security Strategy, but little research has been conducted to gauge the current level of security awareness in context with common mitigation strategies. The majority of the literature on the subject is primarily focused on organisational technology security and awareness so this had to be put in context with domestic users. A sample set of Facebook friends of the researcher were asked to respond to an online survey. The survey explored the respondents' attitude and selfevaluated level of security awareness, and their awareness of a subset of mitigation strategies from the Australian Defence Signals Directorates' 'Strategies to Mitigate Targeted Cyber Intrusions'. The respondents demonstrated a good level of security awareness regarding patching and anti-virus, but there is a need for more education regarding access control and social engineering.
Speaking the Same Language: Using Controlled Vocabularies to Search Museum Collections Databases
Authors:   , Chapman Emma
Published: November 2021

This study set out to see how controlled vocabularies help people find collections materials in electronic museum databases.It did this by interviewing collections staff from four museums. Eight people from library and non-library work areas at the four museums, who regularly search a museum database in the course of their work, were asked about their experiences with using controlled vocabularies to search. How people used controlled terms depended upon their job tasks and upon their knowledge of terms, past experience and training, and whether they trusted that terms would deliver good search results. Difficulties in using them were identified as being to do with terms themselves; the knowledge of the person searching; and the quality of information in the database. Despite controlled terms rarely being used alone for searching, respondents considered that controlled terminologies are important tools within museum databases for accessing collections. Controlled terms are resource intensive and need institutional backing to work well. Peer support, formal training, staff with database and controlled terms experience, and access to terms lists are some specific factors that would assist controlled vocabularies to work better for the people who search museum databases. Museums need to allocate sufficient financial and administrative resources to controlled terms, if they are serious about improving access to their collections.
Physiological Observations and Nursing Interventions in the Pre-Arrest Patient: A Descriptive Study
Authors:   , Ryton-Malden Tara Marie
Published: November 2021

Aim: To identify how nurses respond to abnormal physiological observations in the 12 hours prior to a patient having a cardiac arrest. Methods: A descriptive observational design was used to retrospectively review the observation charts and nursing notes of 28 patients who had an in-hospital cardiac arrest, during a 20 month period. This study was performed in a large, tertiary teaching hospital in New Zealand. Key Findings Only one patient met the hospitals minimum standard of four hourly observations and a full set of vital signs were performed on only three patients. The nursing responses were limited to increasing the frequency of observations or informing the doctor. There were few other interventions to treat the abnormality. Eight (32%) patients who had either no response or a partial response to their abnormal physiology did not survive. The nursing documentation demonstrated that abnormal neurological observations were tolerated for significant periods of time and were not acted upon in 62% of these patients. The nursing documentation revealed that the delivery of oxygen was often insufficient to meet the patient's requirements and the medical staff were aware of less than half the patients with abnormal physiology. Discussion removed statement re pt survival: This research identified major deficiencies with recording patient vital signs. If these are not recorded regularly, patient deterioration will be missed and treatment cannot be initiated. Nurses need to respond to abnormal physiology beyond repeating vital signs and informing the medical staff. They are accountable for initiating interventions to prevent further deterioration. Conclusion: The early recognition of patient deterioration and treatment are essential to prevent cardiac arrest. Education strategies are required to improve compliance with recording patient vital signs, communication between nursing and medical staff and how to respond to patient deterioration. The barriers to these must be addressed and solutions sought if patient mortality is to be improved.
Establishing and Understanding of Group Dynamics and Process within Single-Session Music Therapy Groups Open to Both Adolescents with Mental Illness and Mental Health Staff
Authors:   , Upjohn Beatson Erin Beth
Published: November 2021

The purpose of this research was to gain an understanding of group dynamics and process within single-session music therapy groups open to both adolescents and mental health staff. The study investigated factors that influenced group dynamics; how existing understandings of group process were evidenced within the sessions and how the groups could best be facilitated. A qualitative, exploratory method was used. Secondary analysis of clinical data from seven group music therapy sessions was carried out. A process of thematic analysis was applied to the narrative data and recordings of group improvisations were analysed using an adapted version of the Music Therapy Group Improvisation Analysis Model (MTGI-AM). It was found that developmental group process was evident within single sessions of music therapy. For example, a process of moving from disconnection, to establishing common ground, developing musical cohesion, then taking risks and negotiating closure, was audible within group improvisations. Group dynamics were affected by the physical environment and wider institutional contexts; by the leadership styles and structures implemented; the contributions of group members; the quality of existing and emerging connections between individuals; and aspects of the individuals themselves. The structure of music provided stability, mediated energy levels and presented opportunities for individuals to develop leadership and autonomy. Groups became more autonomous and took more risks as musical and interpersonal cohesion was established.
Non-Combatant Immunity and 'Just War'
Authors:   , Russell Amy
Published: November 2021

Moral philosophers and the international political community alike have traditionally valued the lives of civilians over those of soldiers. The first part of jus in bello, the doctrine which aims to characterise the just conduct of war, states that 'civilians, as non-combatants, must not be attacked or killed', whereas the only requirement concerning the killing of soldiers is that any attack must meet the requirement of proportionality: it must not cause so much harm that the good it does is overridden. Similarly, Article 51 of the Geneva Protocols states that 'the civilian population and individual civilians shall enjoy general protection against dangers arising from military operations', and that 'the civilian population as such, as well as individual civilians, shall not be the object of attack'. The requirement of proportionality is mentioned only with reference to the protection of civilian life or cultural objects, except in the general statement that 'it is prohibited to employ weapons, projectiles and material and methods of warfare of a nature to cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering.' The specific protections offered to combatants are limited to wounded, sick or shipwrecked combatants, and prisoners of war - those combatants who most closely resemble civilians. The Protocols do state that all attacks must be limited to 'military objectives', but the definition of these objectives is permissive, to say the least: 'Military objectives are limited to those objects which by their nature, location, purpose or use make an effective contribution to military action and whose total or partial destruction, capture or neutralization, in the circumstances ruling at the time, offers a definite military advantage.' To kill enemy soldiers in large numbers surely offers a definite military advantage. This thesis examines the moral basis for the distinction that these laws and doctrines draw between soldiers and civilians. I explain why the distinction between combatant and non-combatant casualties is not, in a significant proportion of cases, a morally sound one. I argue that any moral justification of the principle of non-combatant immunity must be of a utilitarian nature, pointing to its ability to limit the overall carnage of warfare. The implications for jus in bello of recognising that the principle can be justified only on these grounds are wide-ranging and important. If we want to retain civilian immunity, we must accept a utilitarian simulacrum of that doctrine. I argue that applying utilitarian standards to the just conduct of war will lead us to prefer very different sorts of policies from those currently embodied by jus in bello. Thus what we think about civilian immunity may have consequences for what we think about the moral foundation of our doctrine of just war.
The Alkaline solvolysis of allyl bromide in alcohol-water solvents
Authors:   , Donald Valda Hilary
Published: November 2021

The rate of the alkaline solvolysis of allyl bromide has been measured in various ethanol-water and methanol-water mixtures. This has been found to increase with increase in solvent polarity. An attempt was made to explain this behaviour in terms of partial ionisation of the substrate. It has been suggested that in nucleophilic substitution the individual specific rate constants for attack by alkoxide or hydroxide ions are a better indication of solvent effects than the apparent overall rate constant.
Underground Architecture: Connections Between Ground-Level Public Space and Below-Ground Buildings
Authors:   , Wright Aimee
Published: November 2021

The main objective of this research is to develop an underground space framework which establishes design solutions to underpin the successful design of underground buildings. The poorly conceived nature of contemporary underground space often means it has little, or no contribution to its above-ground environment, as it neglects the significant relationship between the ground plane, and above and belowground space. As a result of this omission towards its above-ground environment, urban design theory and practice have neglected the subject of underground space, where it is presented typically as ancillary spaces, of a highly fragmented nature. This problem is addressed through a literature review, establishing the treatment of underground space within urban design literature, a taxonomy analysis of the physical form of 90 contemporary underground buildings, and a discussion of the five archetypes of underground space. Developed from the findings of each of these research sections, an underground space framework is established. The framework is divided into six guideline categories with which each focusing on a major design issue relevant to underground space. The presentation of each guideline briefly states the issue, its objective, and then suggests various solutions for implementing the specific objective. The guidelines are intended to be flexible, where they are selected, developed and applied with regard to the underground buildings unique site and programme characteristics. The design case study, an extension of Wellingtons Museum of City and Sea located at Post Office Square, demonstrates how these guidelines can be used, through selecting, developing and then applying, suitable guidelines in response to its specific site and programme requirements. In total, the research suggests that the underground space framework can underpin the successful design of underground space through establishing strong physical connections between below ground and above ground public space. This can be achieved through blurring the boundaries between above and below -ground space, revealing historical underground elements above ground, and considering the underground as a viable option to resolving specific urban design issues present above ground.
Intensifying the Grid: A Typology for Medium Density Housing to Accommodate the Changing Demography of Wellington Suburbs
Authors:   , Stiles Rose
Published: November 2021

The combination of an increasing population, changing demographics and an ageing housing stock is driving the need for new and more varied housing types. Attempts to address these concerns have been less than satisfactory, leading to urban sprawl and the destruction of neighbourhood character. Residential intensification is a way of providing new housing while preserving both Wellington's compact urban form and open space. This thesis explores a process to increase housing density in the inner suburbs without a loss of urban form and character. Developed through design led research, the study first identifies those neighbourhoods most suited for intensification as Wellington's historic gridded suburbs. A representative street is then selected, and a strategy for integrating medium-density housing is developed. It then applies the principles in two multi-unit developments to address modern concerns with enhanced liveability and improved connection with private outdoor space. By manipulating the buildings in plan and section, complex internal configurations are possible, resulting in different sizes and types of dwellings, which accommodates varied demographic groups and household sizes. Through the elevation, the designs are then integrated into the local character of the site by reinterpreting the street's context in a contemporary manner. The design resolution was reached through a cyclical process, developing and being tested incrementally. The general principles of the design can be extrapolated and applied to other Wellington gridded neighbourhoods. They can also be applied to other locations with similar urban morphology in other New Zealand and Australian cities.
The Social Cloud for Public eResearch
Authors:   , John Koshy
Published: November 2021

Scientific researchers faced with extremely large computations or the requirement of storing vast quantities of data have come to rely on distributed computational models like grid and cloud computing. However, distributed computation is typically complex and expensive. The Social Cloud for Public eResearch aims to provide researchers with a platform to exploit social networks to reach out to users who would otherwise be unlikely to donate computational time for scientific and other research oriented projects. This thesis explores the motivations of users to contribute computational time and examines the various ways these motivations can be catered to through established social networks. We specifically look at integrating Facebook and BOINC, and discuss the architecture of the functional system and the novel social engineering algorithms that power it.
Using Clustering Techniques to Guide Refactoring of Object-Oriented Classes
Authors:   , Cassell Keith
Published: November 2021

Much of the cost of software development is maintenance. Well structured software tends to be cheaper to maintain than poorly structured software, because it is easier to analyze and modify. The research described in this thesis concentrates on determining how to improve the structure of object-oriented classes, the fundamental unit of organization for object-oriented programs. Some refactoring tools can mechanically restructure object-oriented classes, given the appropriate inputs regarding what attributes and methods belong in the revised classes. We address the research question of determining what belongs in those classes, i.e., determining which methods and attributes most belong together and how those methods and attributes can be organized into classes. Clustering techniques can be useful for grouping entities that belong together; however, doing so requires matching an appropriate algorithm to the domain task and choosing appropriate inputs. This thesis identifies clustering techniques suitable for determining the redistribution of existing attributes and methods among object-oriented classes, and discusses the strengths and weaknesses of these techniques. It then describes experiments using these techniques as the basis for refactoring open source Java classes and the changes in the class quality metrics that resulted. Based on these results and on others reported in the literature, it recommends particular clustering techniques for particular refactoring problems. These clustering techniques have been incorporated into an open source refactoring tool that provides low-cost assistance to programmers maintaining object-oriented classes. Such maintenance can reduce the total cost of software development.