bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hydrogen from Ammonia by Catalytic Spillover Membrane
Authors:   , Tailby Jonathan Mark
Published: December 2021

One of the major challenges to be overcome before hydrogen fuelled vehicles can become commonplace is to store hydrogen with sufficient storage density to be practical. One approach to overcoming this challenge involves converting the hydrogen into a secondary fuel that can be stored more easily, such as ammonia. This introduces the challenge of efficiently retrieving the hydrogen from the secondary fuel with sufficient purity to be used in a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell. Putting the hydrogen producing reaction inside a membrane which is capable of filtering out hydrogen creates a membrane reactor which can increase hydrogen purity and can accelerate the reaction both kinetically and thermodynamically. The most effective materials currently known for hydrogen membranes are high palladium alloys of copper and silver. These are able to absorb hydrogen on the side with high hydrogen partial pressure and desorb that hydrogen on the side with low hydrogen pressure. Palladium metal is also able to interact with some catalysts by hydrogen spillover. Hydrogen is transported from the surface of the catalyst to the palladium surface more quickly than the hydrogen can desorb from the catalyst, this potentially accelerates both the catalysis and the hydrogen filtration. This research aimed to create a catalytic spillover membrane to extend the possibility of ammonia as a secondary fuel for hydrogen transport. In this research, several methods to produce a nickel catalyst on the surface of the palladium were explored: electrodeposition with and without a lithographic template; spray coating with nanoparticles; and preshaped nickel mesh and nickel foam. These potential catalysts were tested for ammonia decomposition. Templated electrodeposition created the most effective catalyst, but the nickel foam was most easily applied to the next stage of the research. The nickel foam catalyst was subsequently retested for ammonia decomposition in three scenarios: in contact with palladium foil; in a reactor with a palladium membrane; and in contact with a palladium membrane. The presence of a palladium membrane improved decomposition more than spillover contact between nickel foam catalyst and palladium, however, the combination of spillover contact with a palladium membrane increased the ammonia decomposition further. The rate of hydrogen flux through the palladium membranes was calculated for the experimental results. These were compared to flux values predicted by a model equation. The results showed that spillover contact between nickel catalyst and palladium membrane increased the hydrogen flux through the membrane.. The research outcomes have generated new knowledge and improved understanding of the morphology and role of nickel catalysts in accelerating ammonia decomposition. The research highlights the complex relationship between reactor design, gas flow paths, catalyst presentation and catalysis chemistry, suggesting promising areas for future research.
Glacial-interglacial productivity in the Polar Frontal Zone, southwest Pacific Ocean
Authors:   , Liston Melanie Anne
Published: December 2021

The Southern Ocean has a central role in regulating global climate change. Research has shown evidence of changes in biological productivity are coincident with increased iron deposition and rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations. The current data suggests these processes occur homogenously throughout the Southern Ocean, where research largely focuses on changes in biogenic silica as a proxy for upwelling and enhanced opal production. The role of calcium carbonate productivity, however, is rarely discussed, or is referred to in terms of preservation changes associated with shoaling and deepening of the lysocline. This assumption ignores potentially important effects of carbonate productivity and inter-basin complexities on ocean-atmosphere CO2 exchange. Two gravity cores (TAN1302-96 and TAN1302-97) collected from the southwest Pacific Polar Frontal Zone (PFZ) provide more insight into productivity changes and inter-basin differences across glacial-interglacial timescales. Detailed geochemical analysis, together with δ18O stratigraphy and 14C chronology, were used to reconstruct glacial-interglacial changes in terrigenous input and paleoproductivity in the PFZ. Sedimentological and biological analyses provide additional information to support the geochemical observations. This study highlights two distinct productivity modes (i.e. biogenic silica and calcium carbonate) that vary over glacial-interglacial timescales and with respect to the position of the Polar Front (PF). Key findings include; 1) a systematic series of key biological changes are repeated during glacial Terminations I (TI) and II (TII), the order of which depends on the position relative to the PF; 2) calcium carbonate productivity dominates the early part of the Termination north of the PF, whereas the production of biogenic silica dominates the early Termination south of the PF; 3) following TI and TII, calcium carbonate leads productivity in the early interglacials (i.e. MIS 5e and the Holocene), followed by the production of biogenic silica during the late interglacials, concurrent with declining atmospheric CO2 concentrations.
Exploring the Coordination Potential of Monodentate and Bidentate Bicyclic Guanidine Ligands
Authors:   , Luiten Cara
Published: December 2021

This thesis reports investigations of the interaction of arene-bicyclic guanidine ligands, using the 1,3,4,6,7,8-hexahydro-2H-pyrimido[1,2-a]pyrimidine (hppH) guandine (Figure i) as a foundation, with a variety of metal centres. Beginning with 1-benzyl-1,3,4,6,7,8-hexahydro-2H-pyrimido[1,2-a]pyrimidine (Ph(CH2hpp)), attempts were made to coordinate this ligand to group 1 metal N{SiMe3}2- salts, which resulted in a novel NaN{SiMe3}2 crystal structure. Ligands comprised of a phenyl group with multiple hpp units in varying substitution patterns were also synthesised and reacted with group 1 metal N{SiMe3}2- salts to investigate the possibility of bidentate and tridentate arene-hpp coordination. This resulted in the synthesis of two novel compounds containing KN{SiMe3}2. Both sigma and pi-interactions with potassium were observed in the crystal structure of one of these compounds. NMR data that support analogous coordination to lithium and sodium analogues were also obtained.   The ligands with multiple hpp units were introduced to highly reactive main group antinomy and bismuth species in an attempt to achieve a coordination with increased hapticity of the pi-interaction. A novel antimony structure was obtained with asymmetric coordination of an arene-hpp ligand in which an intramolecular C-H activation was achieved.   An N-phosphino guaninde was synthesised and employed in this research due its potential to coordinate through both its available nitrogen and phosphorus atoms. This ligand was reacted with a variety of metal centres which revealed information about the strength of the N-P bond in the ligand. Two novel crystal structures were obtained which both contained novel group 1 clusters with coordinating hpp units.  Finally, attempts were made to coordinate Ph(CH2hpp) to transition metal halides and N{SiMe3}2- salts. These attempts resulted in one novel crystal structure.
Developing Procedural Generation Tools for Video Game Audio Designers
Authors:   , Wratt Christopher
Published: December 2021

In video games, audio is often a vital element in the creation of immersive gaming experiences. One set of techniques that are particularly well suited to attaining this immersion are procedural audio techniques. These techniques enable enhanced immersion through supporting close synchronisation between player and game state in ways that are difficult to achieve with other game audio techniques. While this is the case, there is a lack of GUI and script-based tools that support the use of such techniques. This thesis explores this lack, and documents the development of two new video game tools for the creation of procedurally generated audio.  The first of these tools is a Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) library that supports the playback and real-time manipulation of MIDI files in the Unity game engine. The tool achieves real-time procedural audio, yet fails to meet required levels of time accuracy and is only a partial success. The second tool developed is a plugin hosting application that enables the use of the popular audio plugin format, VST2, in the Unity game engine. The tool succeeds in achieving VST2 effect plugin loading and, at the time of the completion of this thesis, is the only tool capable of embedding such plugins into applications developed in a major game engine. This will be of significant benefit to game developers who wish to achieve a high degree of immersivity in the music and sound design in their games.
Designing a Personalised Mobile Application to Improve Engagement With PFMT Therapy Amongst Women From Pregnancy To One Year After Delivery
Authors:   , Jones Mahkaila
Published: December 2021

Women who are pregnant, or have given birth are at high risk of developing Pelvic Floor Disorder (PFD) due to the physical stress placed on the pelvic muscles during this time. When left untreated, PFD can cause symptoms such as incontinence, organ prolapse and pelvic pain in sufferers. Pelvic Floor Muscle Training (PFMT) is a highly effective means of treating and preventing symptoms of PFD. However, adherence rates to PFMT remain low.  Amongst the biggest barriers to adherence are incorrect technique, lack of knowledge, memory, time, low motivation and stigma. As with the physical symptoms of PFD, these barriers impact sufferers in ways unique to each individual. Findings from the existing literature suggest that personalising the intervention to accommodate these varying factors may improve adherence.  This study focuses on the development of a personalised mobile application to improve engagement with PFMT amongst women from pregnancy, up to one year after delivery. The goal of the application is to improve engagement with PFMT through addressing key barriers to adherence, and guiding correct performance of PFMT.  An initial design criteria and five user personas were developed. The criteria and personas were used to develop prototypes, which were then user tested. The designs were then refined based on user feedback. Designs were also informed by feedback from interviews with clinicians and women.  The results of this study indicate that a mobile application is an ineffective means of guiding PFMT technique. However the application proved effective in addressing the barrier of memory through the use of context based triggers. The integration of the Hooked model in the application design had a low to moderate effect on improving engagement with PFMT. Opportunities for a personalised design approach in the areas of instruction, facilitation of exercises and preferences for application features were identified.
Adapt
Authors:   , Henley Ethan
Published: December 2021

This paper presents a system for digitally manufacturing hyper personalised sets of cutlery for stroke patients. Stroke produces a wide variety of physical, cognitive, emotional and social effects that vary widely among individuals and may include weakness or paralysis on one side of the body, contractures and inability to rotate joints. This design addresses the factors including weakened grip strength, contracted wrist and fingers, limited range of motion in the wrist, hand tremors and lack of control. Becoming independent again is an essential stage for patients and difficulty performing standard eating tasks is a commonly reported effect after stroke, which is challenging physically and emotionally. There are existing ergonomic eating aids on the market, but none that offer personalisation for the widely different physiological effects of stroke, or that effectively integrate a sense of progression and achievement, which is the key to keeping patients motivated and confident throughout the rehabilitation process. This study investigates the way design can help reduce product related and social stigma for upper limb stroke rehabilitation patients in the use of cutlery. This research explores the way that a parametric system can be implemented to aid clinicians in identifying the individual needs of patients against a list of criteria. This design study has developed a set of cutlery that assists patients, making them feel confident and comfortable using cutlery in situations outside of their homes, as well as assisting as a therapy device. This research presents a parametric system that allows for controlling the variables relative to the design criteria based on the patient’s physiological abilities. The variables include the ability to change the diameter and size of the handle, the curve of the utensil in the (x,y) plane, the angle of the handle in the (x,z) plane and the depth of the finger groove which accommodates the index finger. The paper presents the main findings from how participants experienced stigma, clinicians feedback on the appropriateness of the cutlery designs, and how personalisation contributes to motivation within therapy.  These main findings conclude that cutlery designed for stroke patients needs to be personalised, as each patient has very individual needs according to their very individual impairments. Current cutlery does not address them all and even less address them through personalisation. The specific variables in the system need to be controlled and restricted to ensure that all 40,000 of the possible outcomes are effective.
Accepting an Assisted Sleep - Addressing Barriers that Influence Engagement with Continuous Positive Air Pressure Therapy through Design.
Authors:   , O'Brien Katie
Published: December 2021

This paper aims to answer the question ‘What are the initial experiences of people who use Continuous Positive Air Pressure (CPAP) therapy, and how can design address barriers that influence engagement within the first week of therapy?’  Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) is a respiratory sleep condition that is characterised by a repetitive collapse of the upper airway during sleep, causing a lack of oxygen and build up on carbon dioxide within the body. Left untreated, OSA can lead to serious medical conditions that may significantly reduce one’s quality of life and risk early death. The primary treatment for OSA is Continuous Positive Air Pressure (CPAP) therapy. This is a machine that pumps pressurised air through a facial mask to keep the airway open during sleep. Even though CPAP is the most effective treatment for OSA, it is known to be burdensome and adherence is problematic.  This thesis identifies the barriers that influence CPAP engagement through literature reviews, online surveys, cultural probes, and interviews with manufacturers, clinicians and CPAP users. The barriers identified include first impressions, product-related and social stigma, the ability to troubleshoot issues and the level of support, education and feedback present in the initial stages of therapy.  The outputs from this research focus on improving the user experience through design-based interventions. First, packaging solutions that focus on the interaction, the user’s first impressions, display of product information, and ease of assembly of the equipment. Second, a website that addresses education, support, customisation and the ability to troubleshoot issues. Third, customisable aspects that focus on personalisation of the CPAP equipment through 3D knitting processes that develop customised fabric hose covers. Lastly an application that addresses feedback, support and troubleshooting issues. Concepts are assessed against their relevance to the design criteria.
Transference of Self Concept in First Impressions of Similar Others
Authors:   , Nicolls Ceara
Published: December 2021

Forming rapid and reasonably accurate impressions of other people to determine the potential for threat is a crucial human skill that has evolved over millennia. That said, often these first impressions may be inaccurate as the processes underlying person perception are subject to bias. Transference is one such bias which occurs when an encountered novel individual, for whatever reason, is similar enough that he or she activates the mental representation of a ‘significant other’ which is then “transferred” to that novel individual. In particular, judgments of the new person are assimilated to both evaluations (positive or negative) as well as the specific trait content of the activated representation. The current research proposed that the self-concept as activated by self-similar stimuli can act in a similar fashion. Specifically, it was proposed that activation of the self-concept – through encountering an individual who is similar to the self – may trigger transference of self-concept-related feelings and emotions to a novel other. The current research tested this prediction in four experiments by comparing participant judgements of own self-concept with trait-related judgements about novel targets, half of which were modified to resemble the perceiver. It was expected that participants would rate participant-similar stimuli as more similar to themselves than non-similar stimuli. Overall, experimental results did not support this hypothesis in that participant judgements and evaluations of self-resembling faces did not differ significantly from judgements and evaluations of stranger-similar faces in any reliable pattern. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to previous research on first impressions, transference, and self-concept.
What are the chances? How descriptions of probability affect risky decisions
Authors:   , Pickett Jared
Published: December 2021

People make different decisions when they know the odds of an event occurring, (e.g. told 10% chance of an earthquake that year) than when they draw on only their own experience (e.g. living in a city with, on average, one earthquake every 10 years). It may be that when we make decisions based on our past experience (decisions from experience) we are more likely to choose a risky option when it can lead to the biggest win and avoid it when it can lead to the biggest loss, this effect is called the Extreme-Outcome rule. Across three Experiments we tested the Extreme-Outcome rule by having participants make repeated choices between either safe or risky options which had the same expected value. In each experiment, we varied the magnitude of the reinforcer’s participants could win in both an Experience condition and a condition that had both description and experience information. In Experiment 1 where we had two reinforcer sizes (small and large) we found an Extreme-Outcome effect in the Experience condition, but not the Description-Experience condition. In Experiment 2 we tested a prediction of the Extreme-Outcome rule that participants would be sensitive to the best and worst outcome by adding another reinforcer size (reinforcers were small, medium and large) and therefore on some trials neither alternative included an extreme outcome. We also removed zero as a potential outcome to investigate whether zero aversion might be driving the effect of reinforcer magnitude in the Experience condition. We did not find response patterns consistent with an Extreme-Outcome rule in the Experience condition. Instead, participants were least risk seeking when the reinforcer was small, but there was no difference in levels of risk seeking between the medium and large reinforcer trials. In other words, there was an effect of the low-extreme outcome but not the high-extreme outcome. Like Experiment 1, in the Description-Experience condition risk preference was not influenced by reinforcer size, but the absolute levels were higher. To investigate whether this increase in risk preference was due to removing the zero, in Experiment 3 we manipulated whether zero was present or absent. When zero was absent, risk preference was not influenced by the size of the reinforcer in the Description-Experience condition, but there was an effect of the low-extreme outcome when zero was present. We also found an effect of the low extreme outcome in the Experience condition regardless of whether zero was present or absent. Overall, these findings suggest the Extreme-Outcome rule needs to be modified to take into account the effect of the low extreme but not the high extreme outcome.
A Model Of Engagement For Correctional Practice
Authors:   , Gannaway Lisa
Published: December 2021

Despite recent advances in correctional rehabilitation, rates of treatment attrition remain high and low efficacy rates suggest improvements in treatment development and delivery are needed. Treatment engagement is an important concept which remains poorly understood. In order to enhance understanding and facilitate higher levels of engagement in treatment, robust theoretical models need to be developed. In light of this, two key questions need to be answered; (1) what is engagement? And (2) what are the underlying causal mechanisms which facilitate or hinder engagement? I explore the contributions of current conceptualisations and models of correctional treatment engagement. I explain how evolutionary psychology, agency, norms and the therapeutic alliance can contribute to our theoretical understanding. These concepts are then integrated to form the Model of Engagement for Correctional Practice. Engagement is conceptualised as a set of adaptive, goal-directed behaviours occurring as a result of the dynamic interactions between contextual, psychological and social processes. I argue that these factors influence the nature of the therapeutic alliance and subsequently participant engagement. The model is then evaluated in terms of critical features required for a robust theory of engagement. I then suggest some practice principles and guidelines to demonstrate how this model can be applied to enhance treatment engagement.
Effects of International Exposure on Corporate Social Responsibility of the Chinese Corporate Sector: The Moderating Role of CEO Duality
Authors:   , Ravi Radhika
Published: December 2021

International exposure of a firm into new environments is one of the most important paths to firm growth. It provides growth opportunities and learning, and poses challenges of managing uncertainties of the new institutional environment, and demands of diverse domestic and international stakeholders. Despite the abundance of research on the effects of international exposure of a firm on its performance, the effects on corporate social responsibility (CSR) are not well understood. In addition to examining the direct effects of the international exposure of a firm on CSR activities in the home country, this study also examines the moderating role of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) duality in the association between international exposure of a firm and CSR activities in the home country.  Drawing from institutional theory and agency theory, this study argues that international exposure of a firm leads to a decrease in CSR activities in the home country. It further posits that CEO duality also negatively affects CSR activities in the home country. Further, the proposed moderation hypotheses argue that the negative effects of international exposure of a firm on CSR activities in the home country are stronger for firms with CEO duality as compared to non-duality. The proposed hypotheses are tested with data from 240 publicly listed Chinese firms between 2008 and 2016, consisting of 1920 firm-years. The panel data is analysed using Linear Mixed Modelling (LMM) with the SPSS software. The findings support all the proposed hypotheses.  This study makes three key contributions. Firstly, the study uses the institutional theory and agency theory to provide evidence for the negative effects of international exposure of a firm and CEO duality on CSR activities in the home country. Secondly, it enhances the understanding of how CEO duality acts as a boundary condition between international exposure of a firm and CSR relationships. Thirdly, it contributes to the emerging economy multinational enterprises literature by enhancing understanding of the proposed relationships in the context of the Chinese corporate sector.
Characterisation of a dual-colour retinoic acid reporter system for analysing cells and embryos
Authors:   , Black Bianca
Published: December 2021

Vitamin A is an important component in the diet as its metabolites, the retinoids, play key roles in a vast range of cellular functions, from production of germ cells, to embryonic development and right through until adulthood. The function of retinoids, in particular retinoic acid (RA), is especially important during early embryonic development, where it is responsible for many different key developmental events. Some of the processes controlled by RA include brain region patterning, Hox gene expression, axis establishment and somite formation. Here, we aimed to characterise the expression pattern of retinoic acid in the early murine embryo and isolate cell populations from a range of RA concentrations to analyse the mRNA expression.  To do this, we used a transgenic mouse line which expressed a reporter plasmid that was able to show, through the expression of two fluorescent proteins, areas of high RA concentration and area of low RA concentration. We tested the function of this reporter system in vitro, using cell lines which were transfected with the plasmid and exposed to RA in their growth media. This worked showed a somewhat does-dependent response from the reporter system expressing the fluorescent proteins. We then imaged transgenic embryos at various stages of early development, to ascertain the areas of RA expression and repression. Here, we saw fluorescent protein expression patterns that indicated both high and low concetrations of RA. Using this information, we dissociated transgenic E8.5 embryos and sorted the cells based on their levels of expression of the two fluorescent proteins, as well as by tissue type, which had been marked with antibodies. mRNA was extracted from these populations and PCR was performed to identify the presence of Hox genes and to see any difference in expression patterns across the various cell populations.
Learning to code: A narrative inquiry - “Without code we would probably be like cave people”
Authors:   , Popat Shahira
Published: December 2021

In 2018 there was educational change in New Zealand with the introduction of new curriculum content for digital technologies. A key component of the digital technologies curriculum content was computational thinking where all students from Years 1 to 10 were expected to learn core coding concepts. The reasons for introducing coding into schools reflected a range of ideologies including preparing children to contribute meaningfully to society in the digital age. This narrative inquiry aimed to explore the value of coding in the curriculum through the experiences of students in Years 7 and 8. The research questions to meet this aim were; Why do students think coding is taught in school? Do students use coding outside of school? Why do students want to learn how to code and how do students think coding might help them or be useful?  Curriculum ideologies underpinned this study as a theoretical framework to evaluate student experiences of coding across two case studies. The narratives were derived from focus group interviews held at two different schools. Similarities across the case studies included students’ beliefs about the benefits of including coding in the curriculum. Students’ felt confident that learning coding allowed them to; understand the digital world, create digital products, prepare for the future, teach others and fix broken technology. They could not comprehend what their lives would be like without technology and therefore coding. Some students believed that “without code we would probably be like cave people”.  The main difference between the case studies was the level of teacher direction. This reflected a contradiction between competing curriculum ideologies and addressed the broader debate in education of 21st century skills versus powerful knowledge. The contradictions highlighted how the pedagogical design of coding in the curriculum could be effectively structured.  Traditional knowledge and teacher explanation were found to be important to students when learning more complex coding. However, globalisation is a key concept for education in a digital age. Therefore, opportunities can be created for students to build on knowledge and collaborate in new and challenging ways. Treating coding as a social practice by teaching students to connect with the wider community or to use programming for social good can engage them with experiences beyond their own. This does not mean abandoning the elements of 21st century learning, such as students’ own experiences or active learning. Drawing on the strengths of both traditional knowledge and 21st century learning approaches can lead to more powerful knowledge creation.
Conversations from the Coalface: Positive Asymmetry and the Culture of Silence that Surrounds the Pike River Mine Tragedy
Authors:   , Mulholland Catriana
Published: December 2021

Charles Perrow (1999) once famously noted ‘Where body counting replaces social and cultural values and excludes us from participating in decisions about the risks that a few have decided the many cannot do without, the issue is not risk, but power.’ This dissertation explores positive asymmetry (Cerulo 2006) and the culture of silence that surrounds Pike River Mine disaster that killed 29 men on the West Coast of Aotearoa/New Zealand on 19 November 2010. This asymmetry involves habitual ways of thinking and behaving which increase the propensity to ignore an approaching worst case scenario in order to meet intended outcomes. Increasingly lauded in ‘get rich quick’ cultures, positive asymmetry can be lethal in mining and other hazardous workplaces where there is pressure to meet demands of the market that override pre-existing flaws in systems and culture, and it is often accompanied by practices of eclipsing (acts of banishing, physical seclusion, shunning) clouding (impressionism, shadowing) and recasting (rhetorical, prescriptive behaviours).  There is a culture of silence that accompanies this cognitive symmetry in relation to the case of Pike River Mine which existed from its early development and continues years after the fatalities in a culture of socially organised denial; which is one in which there is a collective distancing among individuals due to norms of emotion, conversation and attention (Norgaard 2011). What happened at Pike River Mine was not the result of an attention deficit model. There was plenty of information. The mine had some good safety systems. They were not utilised. So what was going on?  In this thesis, I look to the James Reason Model of Accident Causation used before the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the disaster and argue that although this does well to describe risk and to illustrate accident causation as a failure of organizational systems, it cannot as a structural model possibly describe the cultural logic and power dynamics which lay beneath the competition driving decision-makers within these systems. Pike River Mine was a case of deliberate risk and hibernating beneath that risk was (and still can be) a base of unchecked power. It follows that any ‘errortolerant’ systems we design for safer workplaces will only work insofar as there is an ‘error-intolerant culture’ inside the industry. Pike River Mine was not an isolated incident and if we fail to look to the power that lay behind that deliberate risk taking, there will be more ‘Pikes’ to come. There exists a triple helix to this tragedy consisting of power, risk and asymmetry. In practising vigilance, we need to look to the junction of these three, for therein lies the perfect storm of conditions for future human tragedy and financial disaster in whichever industry chooses to practice it.
Deaf Ni-Vanuatu and their signs: A sociolinguistic study
Authors:   , Iseli Jacqueline
Published: December 2021

This thesis provides the first documentation and description of the signs created and used by deaf individuals in Vanuatu. The specific aims of this research were as follows: to establish the sociolinguistic context experienced by deaf people in Vanuatu; to identify the repertoire and characteristics of signs used by the deaf participants; to compare features of participants’ individual signs with the characteristics of home signs and emerging sign languages; and to consider the degree of similarity and potential similarity of signs between participants and how this reflects individuals’ opportunities for contact with other deaf people and signing interlocutors. The limitations of this study are that field methodology for data collection was developed in situ as conditions allowed. The sociolinguistic context for deaf Ni-Vanuatu confirms that language isolation leads to marginalisation from community and society. The study established that these home sign lexicons were limited in quantity and conceptual range, and that shared background knowledge was essential for comprehension. Overall, 22 handshapes were documented, and the predominant handshapes unmarked. Most participants preferred handling strategy for depicting signs. Some evidence of noun-verb distinction was noted in the repertoire of some participants. However, across this range of formational characteristics, results showed significant individual variations. Furthermore, multiple barriers have precluded development of a shared sign language and any form of deaf community.
2084: The Fantasy Compact
Authors:   , Sanchez Laura
Published: December 2021

For the last two decades, social media has increasingly dominated our day to day interactions. We have evolved into digitized creatures able to communicate on a daily basis to a broad and varied audience, comprised of people we know, people we hardly know, and people we have never met. Through images, tweets, status updates and posts, everyone has an ability to view and harness a variety of opinions, emotions, stories and ideas at a moment’s notice. It’s in those instances when a person resonates with a certain moment or place they are in, that they create a narrative through a caption or a hashtag that’s attached to an image which allows everyone who views it to read a story of someone’s experience. This digital/virtual age poses new questions for interior architecture, a practice that generally orients itself in the realm of physical, built space. It is the intent of this research to offer a new kind of design approach, more relevant to our current digitized lives, to see what it might offer for urban interior speculations.  Through exploring ways of tapping into this narrative and ‘flipping the script’, we can explore a new kind of design tactic that brings forward the power that social media narratives can have on the built environment and interior strategies. The city of Los Angeles will be used as a testing grounds for narrative urban interior tactics, to see how it could offer the city whimsical and outlandish interventions that respond to the people currently interacting with certain sites in it. As a nod to George Orwell’s 1984 future speculations, this project is a counterpoint that offers an optimistic, open and free speculation tool by providing a constant dialogue between the public and designer through the forum of Instagram.  This project teases out the ideas that narrative can create instinctual, intuitive and thought-provoking designs that can be spectacles, attractors, events or counterparts that open up a potential to talk about interior in a new realm, where it can contribute on larger scales like the urban setting. Urban interior tactics provide outcomes that even in an exterior setting can still create moments of interiority around them as well as within them that bring together two conditions in a propositional manner as opposed to being opposites.  In order to translate the narratives into conceptual design outcomes, drawing and model making will be used as the primary exploratory tools. This offers the audience different means of perception to be gauged through putting it back out into the forum it was derived from, allowing for three final outcomes that respond more accurately to how people react to open narrative as a design tool.
Cultural Magnitude: Interactive visual mapping - A hybrid network for indigenous data
Authors:   , Curle Shayna-Lucy
Published: December 2021

This research has been undertaken in response to the limitations of standard mapping techniques, in particular, those that use ESRI-based technology and delivery. The work argues that our ability to understand the complex nature of indigenous ontologies and spatial models are affected by the available tools and their ontological frameworks. It sets out to visualise, in a tool, traditionally non-physical, but inherently spatial, data and information. The map, in a traditional sense, now becomes a fluid, open, self-referential virtual topography or ‘space’, challenging the rational top-down fixity of western cartographic representation. As an architectural thesis, it seeks to create holistically structured space as a virtual edifice and is concerned with that which is not represented and concludes that the most important aspect of creating a mapping framework for an indigenous ontology is to understand the inseparable relationship between people, knowledge and land.  The research describes a tool designed and built by the author that contributes to cultural and spiritual health (whai ora) and wellbeing of Māori. Through its ontological framework, it aims to provide an alternate map that enables users to navigate and share cultural knowledge. The central concept is to ‘re-connect’, in particular, urban and disenfranchised Māori, through the creation of a virtual space that can be customised and inhabited in various ways by its users. It questions and challenges what is included and what is excluded, what can be represented, asking where might culture have a ‘place’? How might people and their environments effect change in themselves? In others?  Cultural Magnitude is the exploration of the development of a tool that acts as a digital representation and storage place of whakapapa and taonga, and as a cultural resource for Māori to understand their spiritual bounds to physical locations - a tangible foundation for a digital marae.
“Kanaky, my land, for your liberty I will never stop fighting”: Investigating Kanak women activists’ roles, experiences, and strategies within the independence movement in Kanaky, New Caledonia
Authors:   , Cottingham Prasanthi
Published: December 2021

This research uses a post-colonial feminist lens to investigate how development towards gender equality and equity can be promoted alongside processes of decolonisation in Kanaky-New Caledonia. In particular, it explores the ways that Kanak women in the pro-independence movement negotiate gender and indigeneity, and how these interactions subsequently influence society and the movement. Three key themes emerged from this research: violence, gender roles within the customary context compared to the western political context, and the responsive strategies that women employ. Issues raised related to violence focus on: physical violence related to political unrest, removal of self-determination, racial gaslighting around independence negotiations, gender and racial discrimination, and physiological and mental health. This thesis finds that Kanak women have different roles in customary contexts compared to political contexts. This thesis subsequently investigates how Kanak women experience and interpret these roles and highlights links and disconnects between gender roles and experiences in these two spheres. Tensions and negotiations between the customary sphere and the political sphere become very clear in institutions like the Customary Senate which occupies a place between the customary sphere and the Western political sphere. The Kanak women independence activist participants in this research utilise a plethora of strategies to navigate challenges they face in the customary sphere, in wider society, and within the independence movement. This indicates significant self-mobilisation of Kanak women towards gender equitable social change, which development actors should value and support. This research emphasises the intersectionality of Kanak women’s experiences, the importance of self-determination to gender and development strategies, and the value of recognising and supporting self-mobilisation. Based on these research findings this thesis argues that decolonisation and decoloniality are integral to gender-focused development.
The effect of institutions and failure-based learning on entry mode choice
Authors:   , Kargozar Naghmeh
Published: December 2021

This study investigates the role of learning from failures and how learning from failure of others shapes the entry mode choice of subsequent entrants – a choice between joint venture (JV) and wholly owned subsidiary (WOS). A review of the entry modes and institutional perspective literature has revealed that research to date has focused on the effect of successes rather than failures. While it recognises the effect of other firms’ entry mode on the entry mode decisions of subsequent entrants, it has overlooked the influence of failures’ on entry mode. It is important to investigate the effect of failure of other firms since it has been recognised by organisational learning scholars as a valuable source of information for firms to improve their performance, decrease their uncertainty and consequently influences their actions.  Therefore, the present research applies institutional and organisational learning perspectives as the underpinning theories to examine how the failure of others determines the entry mode choice of a firm. Further investigation was carried out on how a firm’s entry mode decision in response to regulative and normative institutions might be asymmetric. Additionally, firms’ responses to institutional dimensions were analysed further by investigating how they would change with experience in the host country and in other foreign countries.  This study applied a quantitative approach to answer these questions in the context of China. The data for this study consists of 1021 observations invested by 622 foreign firms from 2003 to 2012. Through a logistic regression analysis, this study found that the failure of prior entrants with JV structure increases a new entrant’s tendency to choose JV over WOS. Moreover, regulative distance negatively influences the choice of JV whereas the effect of normative distance was found to be positive. Regarding the effect of experience, host country experience was found to be an influential factor that mitigates the effect of regulative and normative distance on the entry mode choice.  The findings of the present research contribute to both institutional and entry mode literature by demonstrating that firms make their entry mode decisions based on information inferred from prior entrants’ failures. This research also contributes to organisational learning literature by showing that responses to failures are not merely avoidance-based, but rather based on the firm’s evaluation of the cause of failure.
Moemoea: A digital tool to train secondary school student resilience and motivation for success
Authors:   , Johnson Thomas
Published: December 2021

Secondary school students in New Zealand have been underachieving in recent years, with one of the largest performance gaps between high and low performing students in the OECD. With an overrepresentation of Māori, Pasifika and low socioeconomic students in this low performing group, this research explores an innovative solution and presents a business case of Moemoea- a digital tool to train resilience and self-motivation to support student success. Disruption of jobs with automation in future workplaces from rapid technological advancement requires workers to be proficient in digital literacy, resilience, and self-motivation. The literature suggests that these skills lead to improved confidence and academic outcomes and were the same capabilities required beyond school, in the new digitally focused work environment.  This research interviewed 14 Māori, Pasifika and low socioeconomic secondary school students, collecting first-hand experiences of resilience, motivation, and resources that support successful academic outcomes at school. The research findings identified an untapped opportunity between high digital skills and access to technology and a lack of student motivation and resilience levels to harness this advantage to improve student learning.  Government ministries are identified as a likely customer because they are the entity currently addressing the performance gap between high and low achievers in New Zealand secondary schools. The findings and business case demonstrate the feasibility of investment in the research and development of both Moemoea and other possible solutions to poor performing students.
The Suburbanisation of the Poor? Investigating the distribution and concentration of deprivation in Auckland and Wellington, New Zealand 1991-2013
Authors:   , Roche Joseph Arthur
Published: December 2021

Inequality has emerged as a key issue in contemporary global urban debates. Many developed cities across the world are characterised by growing social–spatial inequalities, housing liberalisation, and gentrification, which limit the housing options of poor households. When the poor have limited housing options, they must deploy coping mechanisms. There is recent international literature on the suburbanisation of poverty predominantly in European and American cities. The aim of my research is to identify whether – given rising house prices – there has been a shift of the urban poor away from the central cities in New Zealand, towards the middle suburbs and peripheries. Furthermore, my research seeks to observe whether poor populations are becoming more concentrated. Using the New Zealand deprivation score, I analyse the trend towards a marked suburbanisation of deprivation in the two biggest cities in New Zealand, Auckland and Wellington. I find a shift of deprivation away from the city centre and towards the middle and outer suburbs in both cities. I find that the spatial distribution of deprivation changes with the macroeconomic conditions of the time. I also find in cases of no ‘suburbanisation of the poor’ that instead the poor are crowding and consuming less housing. These findings can inform future urban development practices.