bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Role Identification: an Impediment to Effective Core Primary Health Care Teamwork?
Authors:   , Ross Jean
Published: November 2021

This study, which is methodologically grounded in qualitative research and philosophically informed by critical social science, explores important aspects of the socio-political context in which practice nurses and general practitioners (core primary health care team) work within a team environment. It is indicated in the literature that there are benefits for improved health care through the development of collaborative teamwork. However, there have been many barriers identified which prevent collaborative teamwork. Amongst the many barriers, is the lack of role clarity and attitudinal differences. Role clarity and attitudinal differences are the topic of this thesis. This thesis explored and highlighted whether the lack of role clarity and attitudinal differences do indeed impede the team's success, and are barriers to teamwork. The views and opinions of practice nurses and general practitioners understanding of their own and each other's current roles within the general practice setting were explored. The participants had the opportunity to discuss together, in focus group meetings, their thoughts on the topic. This raised their awareness of their taken for granted ideas on role and teamwork. Focus groups offered the participants the added opportunity to question each other which allowed for a deeper and more fulfilling understanding of role. New understandings that emerged could lead to alternative models of health care and influence the future delivery and planning of general practice. The thesis concludes by offering a potentially suitable model/framework which has been developed to further the understanding of teamwork in the future.
Distributed Small-Scale Wind in New Zealand: Advantages, Barriers and Policy Support Instruments
Authors:   , Barry Martin
Published: November 2021

Despite having one of the best wind resources in the world, New Zealand’s wind energy industry is growing at a slower rate than the OECD average. This is arguably due to a lack of appropriate government support, with industry development largely being left to the market. These conditions have created a wind industry with the following four characteristics: a trend toward large-scale wind farms (leading to increased local opposition), a small number of investors, a high geographic concentration of wind capacity and a limited local turbine manufacturing industry. These characteristics are arguably limiting the potential growth of New Zealand’s wind industry. This thesis investigates whether small-scale wind (SSW) farms can alleviate these limiting characteristics and thus provide for a higher rate of industry growth. The approach is to investigate the advantages of, barriers to, and most effective policy instruments for SSW internationally, and apply these to the New Zealand context. Local research was conducted through interviews with 19 energy industry stakeholders and a rural mail survey questionnaire, to which 338 people responded. Research found that SSW offers a number of advantages: significantly higher local public acceptance; facilitation of community ownership; the potential for distributed generation benefits and support for the local turbine manufacturing industry. Given these findings, it is argued that SSW can provide for a higher rate of industry growth in New Zealand. The key barriers constraining SSW in New Zealand are its high cost, obtaining resource consent, a high degree of perceived investment risk, the electricity pricing system and the electricity market structure. The feed-in tariff appears to be the best policy instrument to overcome these barriers, along with the provision of investment subsidies and the classification of SSW as a controlled activity under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA).
Pacific Women's Stories of Becoming a Nurse in New Zealand: a Radical Hermeneutic Reconstruction of Marginality
Authors:   , Southwick Margaret R
Published: November 2021

This thesis examines Pacific women’s experiences of becoming a nurse and their first year of practice post Registration, within the New Zealand context. The participant’s stories of being students and beginning practitioners are inter-woven with my own reflections as a nurse and nurse educator who also claims a Pacific cultural heritage.  To create the space in which our stories can be laid down, the thesis includes a description of the migration and settlement of Pacific peoples in Aotearoa/New Zealand. This description shows how Pacific people have been systematically stigmatised and locked into marginalised positions by mainstream dominant culture.  The thesis deconstructs taken-for-granted and self perpetuating conceptualisations of marginality that currently underpins most theoretical explanations and proposes a reconstructed map of marginality. This deconstructed/reconstructed map of marginality is used as a template through which the experiences of the participants are filtered and interpreted.  Radical Hermeneutics provides a philosophical underpinning for this project that has as one of its objectives the desire to resist reducing complexity to simplistic explanation and superficial solutions. The thesis challenges Nursing to examine its role in reproducing the hegemonic power of dominant culture by applying unexamined cultural normative values that create binary boundaries between ‘them’ and ‘us’. At the same time the thesis challenges Pacific people to move past hegemonically induced states of alienation and learn how to walk in multiple worlds with confidence and power.
An Exploration of Language and Nursing Practice to Improve Communication in the Context of Ear Syringing
Authors:   , Lally Elsa June
Published: November 2021

Action research is a critical reflective process that involves spirals of cycles if of planning, acting, reflecting/evaluating and replanning the next cycle. This action research inquiry explores communication and nursing practice in an effort to improve practice and enhance patient care. Implications of this study indicate that action research is a method that works, and it is a satisfying way of challenging and changing nursing practice.  Using ear syringing as a procedure, in the general practice setting and at two separate surgeries, another Practice Nurse and I co-researched this study during working hours. 12 people consented to participate in the research that involved the audiotaping of each ear syringing interaction. Following each transcription of the recording, my co-researcher and I read our own and then each other's transcripts, and listened to the recordings. We then met to discuss and reflect on our findings and to plan the next cycle.  Throughout the process, my co researcher and I found a number of areas of practice we could change or enhance. Changes included the use of technical language such as "contraindications" and "auditory meatus", the side effects of syringing, improvements in communicating situations where ear syringing is not recommended and the options available, and post procedure information. These changes became a significant challenge and areas for improvement when both my co-researcher and I forgot the changes, thus repeating previous errors and omissions. This factor highlighted the need to practise any changes prior to interactions, and to have a cue card on hand to facilitate recollection and to cement improvements into practice.  Although time constraints limited this inquiry to three cycles, at the final meeting we agreed to continue the reflective process we had begun to explore our practice.
As a Nurse in the Family: Three Women's Stories of What it Means for a Female Nurse to be a Caregiver to a Family Member Who is Ill, Elderly or with an Enduring Illness
Authors:   , Rochford Nola Marie
Published: November 2021

In this research three female registered nurses relived their experiences of being caregiver to a family member who was ill, elderly or with an enduring illness and explored whether they chose, or felt obligated, to assume the role of caregiver because they were nurses.  This research was an exploratory descriptive study utilising narrative as inquiry and the method of story-telling. It is women-centered, taking into account the unpaid role of caregiving within families most often fulfilled by women, due to habitual gender bias. The stories of the participants Marie, Polly and Frances (pseudonyms) were audiotaped, transcribed and analysed using core story creation and emplotment.  At the end of each story emerging themes were identified and compared for similarities and uniqueness, then simplified through the use of diagrams. Four main themes were identified and renamed to highlight research findings - these were the culture of nursing, silence of the nurses, emotional cloudiness, and the natural role of the nurse.  Through this study it is hoped that nurses will be more aware of the impact their caregiving roles have had on their lives. The importance in acknowledging the effects of caregiving, relevance of informing employers to promote supportiveness, implications for workforce development and recognising the loss of objectivity in caring when emotions are involved, are identified in this research. Further indepth research about these concepts would be a valuable contribution to the nursing profession and ideas for future research have been identified.
The Human Cost of 'Caring' Care for Registered Nurses in Clinical Practice
Authors:   , Blair Sylvia Margaret Shona
Published: November 2021

This research utilised a focus group methodology to discover what nurses in clinical practice considered 'caring' care meant for them. Six registered nurses volunteered to participate in the project. They practised over a variety of clinical settings within a public hospital, which provided both acute and elective surgical and medical services to the community, including an extensive elderly population.  Taking these important 'caring' care statements, I then explored with the group what factors in their work environment hindered or enhanced their identified 'caring' care. New Zealand nurses identified similar themes and concepts important to their 'caring' in clinical practice as did their overseas counterparts.  This study also highlighted the impact the health reforms had on individual clinical practice at this hospital. The effects of the institutional changes in response to the health reforms were far reaching at both a personal and professional level.  Caring is an important concept found in nursing practice. It has been widely documented by nurse scholars, researchers and nurse authors that care is at the core of nursing practice. Some have even referred to care as being the heart of nursing. The findings from the present research indicates the importance nurses place on caring in their day to day encounters with patients. It also demonstrates how nurses express their care and their perceptions of the importance care has in their clinical practice.
Chosen Moments: a Reflective Journey Illustrating Terminally Ill Patients Choosing the Moment to Die
Authors:   , Maries Viona Jane
Published: November 2021

In this project the author reveals how she is observing and thinking as she cares for people who are dying. She records her reflections and insights and most profoundly reveals that there is life right up to the moment of death, having observed terminally ill patients choosing the precise moment to die. She describes her observations of these moments by using poetry and stories, and explores the implications for her practice as a result.  The author presents her reflections using an individualistic, reflective and exploratory perspective which is informed by the work of nursing scholars; Taylor (2000), Benner (1984) and Johnstone (1999). This paper is framed using the metaphors of a journey and a window to indicate the reflective process that the author used to journal her observations in practice over time. This offers a professional and personal record of the author's insights.
Caring and Bioethics: Perspectives, Predicaments and Possibilities
Authors:   , Cleary Helen
Published: November 2021

This thesis presents an explorative study of the place of caring in bioethics. Through the examination of various sources of literature from the disciplines of nursing, feminist theory and ethics, and bioethics, a case is developed that argues for a valid respected place for caring, as an ethic of care in bioethical decision-making. Evidence is presented and examined from all three disciplines including critiques of caring, an ethic of care, and bioethics from all disciplinary perspectives. The case is built by providing evidence to support the fundamental importance of caring to human life, health, relationships, and survival at the broad societal level. This is supported by more detailed and specific evidence regarding the value and the ‘good’ of caring and the ethical aspects of caring. This is presented from the feminist and nursing perspectives, along with a critique of the negative aspects of caring practices. The next stage of the case presents a layout of the discipline of bioethics, using an historical perspective to illuminate the influences of bioethics’ deep past, as it still affects the discipline in the present. The development of contemporary bioethics’ current status is presented along with critiques from bioethicists themselves, and nursing and feminist theory and ethics. In the case at this point, from a bioethical perspective, two major predicaments appear to prevent an ethic of care obtaining a valid place in ethical decision-making in bioethics. These are the justice/care duality, and the conflict between different conceptions of care and autonomy. The bioethical objections and arguments put forward regarding these predicaments are picked up, meticulously and comprehensively examined and refuted, establishing a sound case for the inclusion of an ethic of care in bioethical decision-making.
A Voyage of Grief and Beauty: a Phenomenological Study of the Experience of Supporting a Family Member with an Intellectual Disability Who is Dying in a Community Setting
Authors:   , Marlow Susan Anne
Published: November 2021

This thesis reports on a research project which explored the phenomenon of supporting a family member with an intellectual disability who is dying in a community setting. The research purpose was to enhance professional understanding of what it is like to encounter this lived experience. Literature back-grounding the phenomenon and philosophical and theoretical constructs embraced by the researcher are outlined. An explanation is given of the hermeneutic phenomenological methodology which was utilised.  The main method of collecting research data was through conducting five open-ended interviews with participants who had supported a dying child or sibling. The participants’ family members were aged between 3 and 52 years old at the time of their deaths. Their specific intellectual disabilities included Down syndrome, a metabolically induced disorder and a non-identified syndrome. The family members had died from a variety of terminal illnesses and in a range of community settings.  Interpretive analysis was achieved through reflexive journaling and hermeneutic intuiting of interview transcripts and field notes. The research findings have been subjected to rhetorical consideration in the light of further literature and poetic texts. Research findings are expressed metaphorically as groups of boulders representing themes and sub-themes. Three major themes were revealed as having impacted on the river voyage shared by participants and their dying family members. These were Interlocked Companionship, Search for New Balance and Permeable Interaction.  An assessment is offered of the strengths and weaknesses of the research project. The thesis concludes with recommendations for reflective practice, evidence based practice, service development and areas of future research.
The Science of Multiplicities: Post-Structuralism and Ecological Complexities in Design
Authors:   , Feast Luke
Published: November 2021

This research investigates the potential contribution of the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze to design research. Through a comprehensive review of the literature an understanding of the themes of immanence and anti-essentialism in naturalism and environmental ethics was generated. Using interpretations of Deleuze’s philosophy with the sciences of complexity, I investigate the themes identified through the extension of the notion of self-organising material systems to the socio-technical realm of design research. Through the analysis of architecture and design discourses in the 1990’s an immanent field of design research is presented. The implications are drawn out through the investigation of a general ethico-aesthetic theory of design research through the comparison of problematic and axiomatic epistemology. The research concludes by presenting a better understanding of the relationship of issues of the environment and design as well as providing a conceptual framework that can enable productive dialogue between architectural and design discourses.
Temperature Variation, Resource Concentration, and Foraging Behaviour Influencing the Effect of Monomorium Sydneyense (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) on the Ant Community of Tauranga, New Zealand.
Authors:   , Stringer Lloyd Damien
Published: November 2021

Introductions of ants into new areas can dramatically influence resident ant populations. A recent ant introduction to New Zealand is the Australian myrmicine, Monomorium sydneyense Forel. The effects of this ant on the resident ant fauna of Tauranga were assessed, as well as the role of temperature and food concentration on competitive dynamics. Aspects of foraging characteristic and intraspecific behaviour were studied in order to aid management decisions, should population control by toxic baiting be required. There was a significant difference in community structure in M. sydneyense invaded communities compared to uninvaded ones, although the abundance of no individual species was significantly affected or was displaced by M. sydneyense. Temperature was found to play a strong role in the competitive dominance of M. sydneyense. Monomorium sydneyense dominated a larger proportion of baits at warm temperatures, however it secured significantly less foods at cooler temperatures. Temperature preference trials in the laboratory supported field observations as M. sydneyense displayed a preference for warmer temperatures, compared to Pheidole rugosula Forel which showed no preference for any of the temperatures tested. Monomorium sydneyense showed a distinct preference for the protein based food resources that were offered, including the ant bait X-Stinguish®. Foraging distance trials showed that M. sydneyense workers were never observed foraging more than 2.8 m from their nest. The probability of only 50% of baits being occupied by M. sydneyense at a distance of 1 m from a nest suggests that intensive baiting would be required to manage populations of this ant, highlighting that the population management of M. sydneyense would be difficult. Aggressive behaviour was displayed between workers from different nests, suggesting that there is a reduced likelihood of this ant attaining high population densities in New Zealand.
Journeys Cross Divides: Nurses and Midwives' Experiences of Choosing a Path Following Separation of the Professions
Authors:   , Mulcahy Dianne Mary
Published: November 2021

In 2003 the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act was introduced and established separate regulatory authorities for nursing and midwifery. This study is designed to explore the experiences of dually registered practitioners affected by this divide, as now there are two separate and possible paths, and two corresponding sets of competencies to fulfil. The design for this qualitative descriptive study utilised the written and oral narratives of three practitioners affected by this professional regulation and demonstrated its impact on their career development. Individual storytelling, as narrative, provided a theoretical lens aiding insight into their experience and pattern of decision making. In addition, symbolic consideration of the study data was provided by collective storytelling via the perennial myth of the hero journey. Shifting professional ground following the Health Practitioners Competence Act 2003 generated a focus for the inquiry into practitioners’ modes of adjustment. For the practitioners in the study, transition between the occupational roles of nursing and midwifery comprised the possible career trajectories. A status passage, as the process of change from one social status to another, is described and includes the transitional experience of anticipation, expectation, contrast, and change. The findings from this research provide illumination of the nuances of professional decision making as a lived experience, and highlight how these practitioners dealt with shifting meaning, values, awareness, choices, and relationships. Aspects of group agency and identity, change management, and professional role transition were revealed. Life pattern, revealed through narrative, was an important research construct for exposing the ways in which the participants negotiated change, and displayed the function of their thinking and reasoning through dilemmas. Perception of individual and group identity revealed attitudes of esteem to the dominant discourse, and exposed dynamic tension between work patterns and life stage. Renegotiating arrangements of personal and professional commitment resulted from this dynamic interplay, and the relationship to stress and burnout was explored.
A Heuristic Journey of Discovery: Exploring the Positive Influence of the Natural Environment on the Human Spirit
Authors:   , Bridgen Annette Frances
Published: November 2021

The intention of this heuristic study was to explore and discover the essence of the positive influence of the natural environment on the human spirit. The study quest was identified as a central concern that evolved from my personal experience of spiritual awakening in the natural environment and an interest in the concept of connectedness in nursing care and practice. The study also focused on the self of the nurse and the qualities of holistic nursing care. Guided by heuristic methodology developed by Moustakas (1990) the thesis traces a journey of discovery. Using conversational interviews, six nurses were asked to describe their experiences of their spirit being positively influenced in the natural environment. These nurses were also asked if these beneficial experiences had any flow-on effect to their nursing practice. From these interviews various commonalities of experience were identified as well as some experiences unique to the individual participants. The participant knowing was articulated using Reed’s (1992) dimensions of relatedness in spirituality as a framework. Reed describes these dimensions as being able to be experienced intrapersonally, interpersonally and transpersonally. A substantive body of nursing and non-nursing literature was explored to support the participant knowing and provide strength to the discussion. The study discovered that the human spirit is positively influenced in the natural environment. The three actions of personal healing and wellbeing in the natural environment, knowing self – knowing others and sustaining self in nursing practice were valued by the participants as contributing to the quality of their nursing care. In bringing together spirituality, the natural environment and nursing, holism was discovered to be the significant and connecting constituent. The study has some implications for the discipline of nursing that are also discussed.
Community Enterprises: Enduring Institutions for a Newer World
Authors:   , Teahan Bernard
Published: November 2021

Community enterprises have long endured. Why they have endured and why there are undergoing a renaissance is explained by the very nature of their constituent parts: a sense of self, a love of and the need for community, the pursuit of solidarity, and enterprise attributes. These are the driving forces behind community enterprises, which have melded together to deliver significant benefits to many New Zealand communities over many years. Although community enterprises are not for every enterprise circumstance and every community, they reflect underlying truths of human nature, and when successfully employed, will endear themselves to their communities. When unsuccessful, they may generate strong emotions of rejection. This thesis explores these themes and their relevance to contemporary New Zealand society. It pursues the question of why some communities have a strong affinity for the concept of community enterprises and others do not; and argues for their importance as a complementary structure in a global world rightly and properly dominated by private enterprise. Distinctive features of community enterprises, including ownership, the pursuit of mixed economic and social goals, and the influence of politics, are also examined. Finally, the thesis tells the dynamic story of community enterprises in contemporary New Zealand through eight vignettes and four case studies. This thesis supports a contention that community enterprises are enduring and endearing institutions that can significantly benefit the well-being of a community.
The Children of Women in Prison
Authors:   , Kingi Venezia Marlene
Published: November 2021

The central focus of this thesis is on children whose mothers are sent to prison. Both the mothers and their children are vulnerable populations; they are likely to have experienced family violence, abuse, drug and alcohol misuse, chaotic lifestyles and disrupted close relationships. In addition, many imprisoned mothers are single parents who are detained far from their families and support systems; this makes the maintenance of relationships between them and their children fraught with difficulty. During the course of this research, 56 imprisoned mothers and the caregivers of the children of 11 of them were interviewed to gather data on how these children and the caregivers were faring while the mothers were in prison and on how the situation could be improved. At a later date 37 of the women, some of whom had been released into the community, were re-interviewed about how their relationships with their children had changed over the time since their last interview and about their current concerns. The results confirm findings from overseas research which identifies the need for programmes and facilities to assist women in prison to maintain their relationship with their children during their sentence. For the successful reintegration of the women into society and the reunification of their families, support and assistance are essential. This support and help is needed by the children, by the temporary caregivers and by the mothers. It is needed both during the period of the mother's imprisonment and after she has been released. Recommendations have been made about policies and practices that are likely to achieve these goals. Directions for future research have been suggested.
Childbirth: a Momentous Occasion Muslim Women's Childbirth Experiences
Authors:   , Mitchell Khurshid
Published: November 2021

This thesis explores the perception of three Muslim women’s experience of childbirth, in a setting surrounded by health professionals who largely have little understanding of their needs and experience of being in the world. The women’s stories reveal that giving birth in a cross-cultural setting is stressful. The women had to adjust to an environment which challenged their beliefs and values, in one case with no extended family or cultural support. This stress is long lasting as evidenced in the women’s stories. Various forms of narrative such as a letter, excerpts from conversations, and interviews, have been used in presenting this research, in order to illuminate Muslim women’s birthing experiences particularly to health colleagues in Aotearoa-New Zealand. Given the opportunity to tell their story, all the women highlighted both the positive and negative aspects of their birth experiences. Excerpts from the narratives of Khadija, Ayesha, and Amina, describe the reality of their experiences. The overarching theme in this thesis reveals the uniqueness of each woman’s story. This thesis identifies situations that heightened the vulnerability of the women. It concludes by identifying recommendations and reading material for nurses and midwives in education or practice to become informed, so that 20,000 Muslims in Aotearoa-New Zealand may receive an acceptable level of culturally safe practice.
An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the Verbal Chaining Element of "Autopilot", a Rote Learning Programme Used by Teachers of Yr. 1-3 Students
Authors:   , White Kevin
Published: November 2021

A rote-learning programme, "Autopilot", was used for a five-week period with two classes of Year 2 students, to teach the verbal chains: days of the week, months of the year, the alphabet, counting in ones, twos, fives and tens. A quasi-experimental multiple baseline was used with the two classes. After five weeks of instruction all seven chains were reassessed and the percentage of positive changes were compared. The class receiving Autopilot made an average positive change increase of 80. 05%. The class receiving a regular class programme over the same five-week period, made apositive change increase of 39.5%. When the treatment was switched, the class who had received Autopilot continued to maintain or increase the length of the chain. This research shows that the use of a rote leaming programme, such as Autopilot, is an appropriate tool for the teaching of verbal chains in junior school classes.
'Can Mummy Come Too?' Rhetoric and Realities of 'Family-Centred Care' in One New Zealand Hospital, 1960-1990.
Authors:   , Chenery Kim Therese
Published: November 2021

The development of ‘family-centred care’ began in the United Kingdom during the 1950s and 1960s in response to ‘expert’ concern for the child as an ‘emotional’ being. John Bowlby’s maternal deprivation thesis suggested that constant maternal attention in the early years of life would ensure emotionally healthy future members of society. Application of this theory to the hospital children’s ward indicated that young children should not be without their mothers for long periods of time. This theory and the subsequent release of the Platt Report in the United Kingdom in 1959 provided the necessary ‘scientific’ justification allowing mothers greater access to the historically restrictive hospital children’s wards. Influenced by trends in the United Kingdom the tenets of the separation thesis were reflected in New Zealand government policy towards child care and the care of the hospitalised child. However, the wider societal context in which these changes were to be accepted in New Zealand hospital children’s wards has not been examined. This study explores the development of ‘family-centred care’ in New Zealand as part of an international movement advanced by ‘experts’ in the 1950s concerned with the psychological effects of mother-child separation. It positions the development of ‘family-centred care’ within the broader context of ideas and beliefs about mothering and children that emerged in New Zealand society between 1960 and 1980 as a response to these new concerns for children’s emotional health. It examines New Zealand nursing, medical and related literature between 1960 and 1990 and considers both professional and public response to these concerns. The experiences of some mothers and nurses caring for children in one New Zealand hospital between 1960 and 1990 illustrate the significance of these responses in the context of one hospital children’s ward and the subsequent implications for the practice of ‘family-centred care’. This study demonstrates the difference between the professional rhetoric and the parental reality of ‘family-centred care’ in the context of one hospital children’s ward between 1960 and 1990. The practice of ‘family-centred care’ placed mothers and nurses in contradictory positions within the ward environment. These contradictory positions were historically enduring, although they varied in their enactment.
Phylogeography of Maoricicada Cambelli (Hemiptera: Cicadidae): MtDNA Evidence Interpreted Using Phylogenetics and Nested Clade Analysis
Authors:   , Hill Kathy Barbara Rose
Published: November 2021

New Zealand, because of its wide range of habitats and rapidly changing, well-studied palaeohistory provides an excellent opportunity to investigate the impact of earth processes on the distribution of taxa. There are now a variety of studies on plants that investigate such patterns, and a growing number of studies on animal taxa. Most studies have supported the hypothesis that current patterns of distribution of New Zealand taxa were created by dispersal, mediated by landscape and climatic conditions over time, and have contradicted the panbiogeographic hypothesis that explained distributions via vicariant landscape changes such as lateral displacement along the Alpine Fault. This thesis presents a detailed phylogeographic history of a widespread, endemic New Zealand cicada, Maoricicada campbelli, that is abundant throughout much of the South Island and is also found in the central volcanic plateau of the North Island. Mitochondrial DNA sequences of 223 individuals from 70 populations of M. campbelli were studied using both traditional phylogenetic methods and nested clade analysis (NCA). As found in a previous study of 35 M. campbelli individuals, geographic structuring was strong, with two main clades (North Island+northern South Island versus Otago) representing diverse lineages that may in fact be different species. Population structuring within the northern South Island clade suggested that the central South Island was mostly uninhabitable during glacial periods and demonstrated a sister-group relationship between northern and southern Southern Alps populations to the exclusion of the more central Southern Alps populations. Population histories estimated from NCA support the hypothesis that most M. campbelli populations were formed through dispersal rather than via fragmentation or Alpine Fault vicariance. Three areas of ring-species-like secondary contact were found between the Otago and northern South Island clades, between lineages that had been isolated for approximately 2.3my. Further study is predicted to confirm the presence of additional suspected contact zones, and will demonstrate whether the different lineages are reproductively isolated or hybridising at these areas of secondary contact.
Acquisition of a Learned Operant and Critical Flicker-Fusion Rate in the Tuatara (Sphenodon spp.)
Authors:   , Woo Kevin Lawrence
Published: November 2021

Scientific investigation of the sensory world and behavior of the tuatara is limited. This study incorporates both ecological and psychological perspectives to test learning and visual perception using a novel operant technique and flicker-fusion rates to measure visual discrimination in tuatara. We posed four main questions: (1) can a reliable method examine learning and visual perception in tuatara?, (2) what is the critical flicker-fusion (CFF) rates for tuatara and how does it relate to motion detection ability?, (3) can stimulus control be transferred to a Y-maze from an open field arena?, and (4) what are the implications for behavioral ecology, conservation, and species welfare? Tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus) were trained using an operant conditioning procedure with food reinforcement to respond to discriminative stimuli (S+) of various flicker-fusion rates, and ignore a non-discriminative stimulus (S-). Tuatara discriminated CFF rates between 2.65-45.61 Hz, but not at 65.09 Hz. The upper threshold between 45.61-65.09 Hz is comparable to other mammalian, avian, and herpetological species. Tuatara demonstrated a learning capacity for acquisition of an operant task as well as cognitive development for learning and memory strategies. Visual discrimination is important to tuatara and may facilitate behavioral responses to many context-dependent ecological processes (i.e., predator/prey/kin recognition, mate selection, environmental discrimination, optimal foraging strategies, and communication). By understanding the importance of visual stimuli, the study provides a better perspective of the tuatara natural sensory world. Additionally, a reliable method was established that can be used for more comprehensive psychophysical experiments to further access visual perception and learning in all reptiles, with the potential to examine other sensory mechanisms such as audition, chemoreception, and tactility.
An Analysis of the Quality of Life of Older Women in New Zealand 2001, "I'm Still Me Inside"
Authors:   , Munro Isobel
Published: November 2021

This study explores the quality of life for one hundred and seventy-five older women from many parts of New Zealand, who are no longer in full-time paid employment. The women were self-selected through a process of social networking and have responded to a questionnaire on the quality of their life. Sixteen of the women living in the greater Wellington area were interviewed. Demographics such as age, marital status, income and education were obtained. The project examines some of the variables and their interactions, which contribute to the quality of life for older women. These are income, housing, health, social connectedness and life cycle events within the context of individual and societal attitudes. The respondents have been grouped in younger and older cohorts, those women under or over 75. The study records their subjective perceptions of material wellbeing and health together with their thoughts and feelings about this stage of their life. The  women's awareness of being valued, and by whom they were valued made a significant contribution to the quality of their life, as did a sense of belonging and being useful in the locus of family and community. Good health coexisted with illness and disability, but costs associated with healthcare were of concern. They took pride in the skill of 'making do', a legacy of war and depression. Respondents were clear that a positive attitude was necessary for coping with older age and that owning your own home contributed to their feeling secure. For most participants New Zealand Superannuation was their main source of income. While there was considerable diversity in their situations, relating to their previous life history, this study indicates that most of the older women felt comfortable with their life, despite some perceptions of 'ageism' in the community. They expressed concern for others rather than themselves.
Westminster Regained: the Applicability of the Westminster System for Executive Power in India, Ceylon and New Zealand After Independence
Authors:   , Kumarasingham Harshan
Published: November 2021

This thesis investigates the applicability of the Westminster system for the sovereign executives of India, Ceylon and New Zealand. These three countries became independent in the late 1940s and though individually having different contexts share constitutional and institutional resemblances, thanks to their Westminster legacy, that allows a valuable and original triangular study. The thesis analyses the crucial first decade of independence to assess the events, decisions and political environment of these New Westminsters and how the local executives adapted and reacted to the Westminster system in this constitutionally nascent era. This thesis will examine and compare the three case studies from a common theoretical approach. Firstly, each country’s cultural background and conditions will be analysed to comprehend not only the context in which Westminster functions, but also more importantly to understand the exercise of power available within the localised social and political arena. The cultural conditions are crucial since they impact directly on the constitutional and political exercise of Westminster executive power and give an invaluable insight into how the ambiguous and flexible tenets of Westminster were interpreted in local contexts. Secondly, the concept of horizontal accountability and delegative democracy will be tested in the New Westminsters to see how well the purported checks and balances of the Westminster model operate on the executive level in the crucial nation building era. Prime Ministers are unquestionably important, but how well the Cabinet and the Governor-General (or constitutional President) operate as actors of accountability and how well all three actors conform to the Westminster cultural and institutional expectations of their office is also highly relevant. The actions and inactions of these executive actors of this early era are fundamental to the future functions and expectations of their offices. Finally, there will be an event or issue selected during this decade, which has path dependent resonance, since it would in future become critical to the operation or complexion of the country. Often this event or issue had not yet been fully appreciated, but had been allowed to develop through the employment of Westminster flexibility and power demonstrating the importance of this critical juncture period. The adaptable Westminster system was an essential element in the political development of these countries.
The Dynamics of Coupled Oscillators
Authors:   , Holland Nigel Lawrence
Published: November 2021

The subject is introduced by considering the treatment of oscillators in Mathematics from the simple Poincar´e oscillator, a single variable dynamical process defined on a circle, to the oscillatory dynamics of systems of differential equations. Some models of real oscillator systems are considered. Noise processes are included in the dynamics of the system. Coupling between oscillators is investigated both in terms of analytical systems and as coupled oscillator models. It is seen that driven oscillators can be used as a model of 2 coupled oscillators in 2 and 3 dimensions due to the dependence of the dynamics on the phase difference of the oscillators. This means that the dynamics are easily able to be modelled by a 1D or 2D map. The analysis of N coupled oscillator systems is also described. The human cardiovascular system is studied as an example of a coupled oscillator system. The heart oscillator system is described by a system of delay differential equations and the dynamics characterised. The mechanics of the coupling with the respiration is described. In particular the model of the heart oscillator includes the baroreceptor reflex with time delay whereby the aortic fluid pressure influences the heart rate and the peripheral resistance. Respiration is modelled as forcing the heart oscillator system. Locking zones caused by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), the synchronisation of the heart with respiration, are found by plotting the rotation number against respiration frequency. These are seen to be relatively narrow for typical physiological parameters and only occur for low ratios of heart rate to respiration frequency. Plots of the diastolic pressure and heart interval in terms of respiration phase parameterised by respiration frequency illustrate the dynamics of synchronisation in the human cardiovascular system.
Seismic and Gravity Investigations of the Central Volcanic Region, North Island, New Zealand
Authors:   , Stern Timothy Andrew
Published: November 2021

Gravity and seismic refraction studies were undertaken in order to investigate the geological structure of the Central Volcanic Region. A detailed analysis of density determinations from bore-hole rock samples, three seismic refraction surveys and a spectral analysis of the magnetic anomaly field are described. Interpretation of the observed gravity anomaly fie ld for the Central Volcanic Region is initially undertaken by analytically separating the observed anomaly field into its regional and residual components; the almost entirely negative residual anomaly field is then interpreted in terms of varying thicknesses of near-surface, low-density volcanic rocks. At Mangakino and just west of Taupo, however, it is found that the calculated gravity anomaly effect of the seismically determined thickness of low-velocity, and hence low-density, volcanic rocks is less negative than the observed residuals; at both locations "secondary residuals" of about -200 μN/kg remain unexplained. Models are presented that account for these secondary residuals as being due to discrete volumes of low-density molten rhyolite emplaced within the seismic basement. The second method of gravity interpretation used in this study involves modelling all components of the observed gravity anomaly field . This necessitated giving consideration to both the gravity effect of the subducted Pacific plate and to seismic data bearing upon the variation of crustal thickness and mantle density throughout the central North Island. A gravity model for the central North Island is developed for which the important features are:  i) The crust of the Central Volcanic Region is deduced to be only about half the normal continental thickness, and underlying the crust is an "anomalous", low-density upper mantle. This finding from the gravity model is supported by the results of a previous study of upper mantle seismic velocities and from the interpretation of a longrange seismic refraction survey carried out within the Region. These seismic data indicate the depth to, and the velocity of the upper mantle beneath the Region to be 15 km and 7.4 km/s respectively. ii) The positive gravity anomalies that predominate over the western and northwestern North Island can largely be explained by gravity edge-effects associated with variations in the crustal thickness and mantle density within the back-arc areas of the North Island. The gravity model is interpreted as lending support for a previously made proposal that the Region is the site of asymmetric back-arc spreading, and that the crustal rocks now being created are transitional in character between typical oceanic and typical continental.
Common Property Resource Management in Vanuatu - Perspectives from a Community
Authors:   , Leathers Amanda
Published: November 2021

Vanuatu's common property natural resources provide essential ecological services for the global community and sustain the livelihoods of 80% of the Vanuatu population. Sustainable management of natural resources is dependent on locally developed systems that govern common property resources. Understanding the drivers of commons management problems from local resource-users' perspectives is essential to know how local governance systems can be supported and strengthened. I explore locally identified drivers of commons management problems using a case study of the Tangoa Island community of South Santo, Vanuatu. Methods include participatory rural appraisal (PRA) techniques and 31 interviews with local people. Literature from Vanuatu as well as 18 interviews with Vanuatu government departments, NGOs, and aid donors informs how relevant the issues identified in the case study are for other communities across Vanuatu. I found that drivers at different contextual scales, from local to global, affect two main elements of a community's cooperative capacity for commons management - social cohesion and governance systems. The issues identified by the Tangoa Island community affect many Vanuatu communities because they are driven by wider processes of social, cultural, economic, and institutional change. Approaches to support and strengthen local social and governance systems can target drivers at multiple contextual scales.