bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A gendered difference? Female experience of drug and alcohol treatment in New Zealand
Authors:   , Conroy Jaime Marie
Published: December 2021

This study examined women’s experiences of drug and alcohol treatment in New Zealand, with a focus on Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT). The qualitative literature on the treatment experiences of substance-using women is scarce, especially in a New Zealand context, with the majority of literature being quantitative, male-focused, and lacking the female voice. Available literature suggests that substance-using women have unique needs and experiences which must be addressed and acknowledged in treatment for a long-lasting positive change. This thesis aims to explore the experiences of women who have or are attending substance use treatment in New Zealand and their recommendations for improving substance use treatment for women. Areas examined include the experience of stigma, connections and relationships in treatment, and the importance of knowledge. These factors culminate in an exploration of participants’ suggestions for improvement. The current study is qualitative, feminist-informed and employed the use of semi-structured interviews with 11 women who have been or are currently in treatment as well as two service providers. The data from these interviews was analysed using Thematic Analysis, finding that women in this study overall had positive experiences. However, there were several areas for improvement suggested by participants including a need for greater access to treatment options, particularly gender-sensitive, holistic approaches. A need for greater knowledge amongst service providers, especially General Practitioners (GPs), on how to treat problematic substance use and the available treatment options was also expressed. Women on MMT had similar, yet varied, experiences compared to those attending other treatments.
Autonomy of Public Service Delivery Units in Vietnam: An Institutional Perspective
Authors:   , Vo Minh Thi Hai
Published: December 2021

Intrigued by the burgeoning commercialisation of public services in Vietnam, this research seeks to understand the nature of autonomy that public service delivery units have been given as part of the greater effort of the Government of Vietnam to separate business and service provision from state management. In addressing this objective, the research bases its analysis on historical institutionalism and sociological institutionalism that illuminate insights into institutional factors shaping the autonomy policies and the implementation of the policies in practice. The main data sources the research draws on are legal documents, government reports and in-depth interviews with managers and staff of public service delivery units.  The research findings illustrate that autonomy is very limited in many aspects of management because the autonomy reforms are largely influenced by the socialist-oriented market path dependence. Amidst the exhaustion of resources and legitimacy due to the regime’s flawed economic structure and inherent problems of cronyism and corruption, autonomy is utilized primarily as a strategic instrument to mobilize resources indispensable for the socialist survival. This policy direction creates incentives for the various forms of rent-seeking and corrupt behaviour among public service delivery units, occasioning the rapid and aggressive commercialization of public services. While the root of these problems lies in the intent of the policies, these problems are further nurtured by historical and cultural factors, and seriously compounded by the absence of an effective regulatory and accountability system and the lack of political commitment to fight corruption from the top leaders.  The research addresses the gap in the academic literature by offering an illuminating insight into the nature of autonomy of a country context and demonstrating the merit of converging historical institutionalism and sociological institutionalism for the study of public policies. The research’s significant contribution to policy-making is that it highlights the need to build institutions to fit in well with the reform ideas, especially when such ideas are borrowed or transferred from advanced countries with well-developed institutional foundations.
The South Pacific Convergence Zone as Depicted in Reanalysis and Satellite Products
Authors:   , Luke Harvey Thomas
Published: December 2021

The South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ) is the largest rainfall feature in the Southern Hemisphere, and is a critical component of the climate of Southwest Pacific Island nations. The small size and isolated nature of these islands leaves them vulnerable to short and long term changes in the position of the SPCZ. Its location and strength is strongly modulated by the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle and the Inter-decadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO), leading to large inter-annual and decadal variability in rainfall across the Southwest Pacific. Much of the analysis on the SPCZ has been restricted to the modern period, more specifically the “satellite era”, starting in 1979. Here, the representation of the SPCZ in the Twentieth Century Reanalysis (20CR) product, which reconstructs the three-dimensional state of the atmosphere based only on surface observations is discussed. The performance of two versions of the 20CR (versions 2 and 2c) in the satellite era is tested via inter-comparison with other reanalysis and observational satellite products, before using 20CR version 2c (20CRv2c) to perform extended analysis back to the early twentieth century. This study demonstrates that 20CR performs well in the satellite era, and is considered suitable for extended analysis. It is established that extra data added in the SPCZ region between 20CR versions 2 and 2c has improved the representation of the SPCZ during 1908-1958. Well-established relationships between ENSO and the IPO with the SPCZ are shown to be present through the entire 1908-2011 period, although it is suggested that the physical link between the IPO and the SPCZ has changed between the first and second half of the twentieth century. Finally, evidence of a southward trend of the SPCZ over the past century is presented, potentially due to an expansion of the tropics as a result of climate change.
Dead Among the Living: Burning Bodies in Inner City Wellington
Authors:   , Moller Zoe Jaye
Published: December 2021

The architecture of cremation has struggled to embrace an identity; it has remained ambiguous in its architectural typology and religious association since it was first introduced into western society. Additionally, the absence of a ritual place for death in urban life is one manifestation of the contemporary idea that death does not belong in the modern living city. Death is seen as having no place in a society obsessed with youth and vigour; it has become an architectural taboo. The increased reluctance to physically address death as the inevitable consequence to life has resulted in death associated architecture eroding to the point where it has become absent in our everyday lives.   With the expansion of Wellington during the 1800’s, cemeteries formerly on the outskirts (Mount and Bolton Streets) became engulfed by the sprawling city. Overflowing with corpses by the 1900’s, these sites now remain dormant, eliminating any opportunity for the public to ‘see’ death daily. Situating a crematorium within a Wellington urban context will not only address this issue, but also successfully meet the demand for more burial spaces, as Makara Cemetery is nearing capacity, and Karori Cemetery is already full. A site located in the ‘dead centre’ of Wellington’s central business district becomes the testing ground for a new urban crematorium – one that aims to reduce the anxiety around death by inclusion of it within people’s everyday lives. It aims to provide mourners with a more meaningful experience, and the general public a cosmopolitan necropolis. The presence of an urban crematorium and columbarium provides continual opportunities for people to reflect on their own mortality, honour and remember the dead, and be reminded to live while they can.   A methodological approach of testing architectural sequences in relation to pattern language theory will allow for a thematic progression for mourners from sorrow to acceptance through the use of light, shadow, and sectional arrangements. This investigation into the meaningfulness of relationships between people and buildings, life and death, translates into spaces ready to be further invested with meaning by mourners.
The Hyphenated Zone: Exploring the Connection Between Actual and Virtual Space
Authors:   , Gill Gabrielle
Published: December 2021

This research operates at the nexus between actual and virtual space. In interior architecture we can use tools to produce virtual experience, being immersed in a world or space different to your physical location. These tools can include, but are not limited to, actual materials, forms, spaces, and arrangements. Virtual space is described as the non-material spatial experience. This experience disconnects us from the physical actual environment that we live in. The best example of this is that of a cinematic experience. When we watch a film in a cinema, the actual physical environment we usually occupy is re-contextualised through a lack of light; our focus is then given to the light and movement produced by the projected image where we become encapsulated by this sense of virtual that we cannot control. We experience a sense of space different to our own and occupy this space although it remains less tangible than the physical world we live in.   This thesis proposes a redesign to the public areas for the site of — Ngā Taonga Sound and Vision in Wellington. Currently, the only access the public has to the collection is through digital means, a small cinema and collection of computers in the media library. This project aims to create engaging, embodied encounters with the digital collection of Ngā Taonga Sound and Vision through a series of interior installations within the site. These installations extend the virtual interior created by the sound and moving images further into the boundaries of the actual, physical interior.   The exhibition spaces of Ngā Taonga Sound and Vision offer a rich testing site, and provokes the question, how can we create more immersive, engaging encounters of the incredible films collected by Ngā Taonga? The purpose of an archive is to preserve the past for future generations. Although the site currently allows some opportunities for the public to access the collection, it lacks a sense of immersion that can be explored through interior architecture interventions.
Learning to be Mindful: An Exploratory Study into the Perceived Benefits of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Training for a Music Therapy Student
Authors:   , Graham Jessica O. M.
Published: December 2021

Mindfulness training has become very popular in recent years and has proven successful for reducing anxiety and depression and enhancing coping skills (amongst other benefits). This research project explores the perceived benefits of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) training on a music therapy student working with young people with complex needs in special education. Secondary analysis of clinical records (session notes and a reflexive journal) was employed and included the use of both inductive and deductive methods of analysis. Five themes were developed (framed as themes of learning) including: Presence, Non-striving, Beginner’s Mind, Acceptance, and Patience with a final key finding being the effect of modelling to the students. Findings showed these benefits emerging through a journey from early data (before MBSR training) to later data (after MBSR training) and suggest that mindfulness training can be beneficial for both music therapy students and (indirectly) to those they work with. The themes and perceived benefits proved very interconnected with each relating to several others and ‘Being Present’ emerging as an over-arching theme. Similarities between benefits discovered and certain principles of music therapy were discussed and whether the benefits found may have occurred naturally through the course of music therapy training amongst other factors of change and natural growth.
Conspicuous Invisibility: Votive Offerings from Female Dedicators on the Athenian Acropolis
Authors:   , Wellington Stacey
Published: December 2021

The mechanics of Athenian society in many ways empowered citizen women as essential components of their community. This reality, being at odds with Athens’ pervasive patriarchal ideology, was obscured by men anxious to affirm the status quo, but also by women who sought to represent themselves as ‘ideal’ examples of their sex. Using the votive offerings dedicated by women to Athena on the Athenian Acropolis in the Archaic and Classical periods as a basis, this thesis explores such tensions between the implicit value of Athenian women, which prompted them to engage meaningfully with their wider community, and the ideological edict for their invisibility. This discussion is based primarily on two points: firstly, that the naming of a male family member in votive inscriptions denotes female citizen status, thus articulating citizen women’s independent value and prestige within the polis; and secondly that the ubiquity of working women among the dedicators, and value of the offerings themselves, reveals women as controlling financial resources to a more significant extent than other sources would have us believe. In both cases, the actual value and authority of the female dedicators is concealed as the women aimed for a perception of conspicuous invisibility to legitimise their engagement with the public sphere.
Intangible Narratives; An investigation on immersive architectural visualisation in VR
Authors:   , Leung Kar Wing
Published: December 2021

Within the current context of digital architectural construction and immersive representation exists a problem of ‘ocularcentrism’ as defined by Pallasmaa. Recent immersive developments such as Google Earth VR, or Realities.io, focus primarily in working within the tangible experience, purely emphasising on geometric forms and physical artefacts. They largely ignore the more experiential and intangible qualities of space, which are crucial elements in a real embodied physical experience of architecture. Phenomenologists such as Pallasmaa, Holl, and Zumthor expand on this, identifying that architecture clearly exists as something beyond just the tangible. Architecture fundamentally is an experiential and spatial art, incorporating not just the geometric sense of space but also aspects of the intangible such as sound, movement, lighting and interaction. As a result of this tangible-bias, virtual-reality’s current use within architecture as an immersive medium is largely limited. Most developments can be described as ‘an immersive virtual photograph’ of architecture rather than an experience of one.  This research is a response to studies that directly address the problem of ‘ocularcentrism’ while also exploring the methods and techniques that can translate intangible qualities into virtual architecture. Utilising a Real-Time Virtual Environment (RTVE) and Virtual Reality (VR) tool set, this paper virtually reconstructs the case study of the Kowloon Walled City. It proposes a novel working methodology for immersive architectural visualisation with VR and adds to the on-going research in the field of phenomenology within architecture.
Re: Privacy; investigating the accessibility of online legal documents in relation to the privacy paradox
Authors:   , Calvert Elizabeth Ivy
Published: December 2021

Website Terms of Service and Privacy Policy documents are the delivery methods employed by online services to inform internet users of how information is treated on their platform. When users fail to read or understand these documents, many issues can arise. These issues take shape in the form of unwillingness to use services, misunderstandings of how online data is treated, and/or user concerns for personal privacy. Currently, the leading factors influencing user motivation to read these documents include (but are not limited to) document length, complicated language, and time required to read. To encourage users to engage with these documents, this research investigates the delivery methods service providers use to present these legal documents online. During the course of this investigation, the proposal of a new method of presenting website Privacy Policies to users is explored. This tool, ‘Re: Privacy’, was developed with the aim of increasing user awareness of online data treatment, whilst minimising the factors that dissuade users from reading the official document. Published alongside Re: Privacy is a comprehensive analysis of website legal documents and user understanding of these documents. This analysis also provides an investigation into user understanding of current website legal documents, and how user understanding can be improved.
Exploring the Impact of Resettlement on Women: A Case Study of the Nam Mang 3 Hydropower Dam in Central Laos
Authors:   , Lueyeevang Singkham
Published: December 2021

Over the last decade, construction of hydropower dams has increased rapidly around the world, including in developing countries. For many countries including Laos, energy production and export play a significant role in promoting and boosting economic growth and development. Energy production generates substantial revenue and foreign exchange from exporting electricity and expands economic activity domestically. However, construction of hydropower dams also causes negative effects on the people who live at and around the dam site. Some local communities have been affected indirectly, while others require relocation to other areas bringing significant change, including for women. This research explores the impact of resettlement from hydropower dam creation on women by using the Nam Mang 3 hydropower dam in central Laos as a case study. This dam, completed in 2005, required the relocation of approximately 150 households from two villages at the dam site. The research draws on a social constructivist epistemology, qualitative methods including semi-structured interviews, and analysis of relevant policy documents. Interviews involved 18 participants including both male and female from the three affected villages. Results indicate that the resettlement of villagers by the Nam Mang 3 hydropower dam has generally improved living conditions of the resettled communities. Women were found to have greater opportunities to benefit from home-based business, employment and wage labouring. In addition, with better access to modern facilities and services, women have been able to save greater time from agricultural activities and divert this time saving to other economic activities. Overall, access to water supplies, roads, and transport have reduced women’s workload significantly. Access to improved health services and facilities have also improved women’s wellbeing. Girls have greater opportunities to attend school and seek employment in towns. However, this research identified some challenges experienced by the resettled such as the reduction of agricultural and grazing land area, and that new livelihood options were not accessible to all women. Instead of these challenges, the experience with the Nam Mang 3 hydropower project has highlighted one of the key lessons learnt that is worth highlighting for future resettlement programs, which is to have the resettlers fully engaged in the entire process of resettlement and livelihood strategy development.
Revitalization of Ancient Institutions: The 1394 Governance Code for the Joseon Dynasty of Korea by Jeong Do-jeon
Authors:   , Chong Kyongran
Published: December 2021

The Code of Governance for the Joseon Dynasty written by Jeong Do-jeon in 1394 was the first legal document written in justification of a new Korean dynasty. The eminent Korean historian Han Young-woo has credited the political scheme formulated in the Code for promoting democratic ideas of power separation. This study argues that the Code cannot be considered as an attempt to introduce a new power structure in this way, as it was primarily concerned with revitalizing idealized Confucian institutions mobilized by the ideological force of weixin 維新 (revitalization) of guzhi 古制 (ancient institutions) and with creating a society modelled on Confucian values and hierarchical order laid out in the Chinese work, the Zhouli (Rites of Zhou). In his Code, Jeong used this system of government structure as the principle of ancient state institutions, to justify the position of the new Joseon throne, and he also adopted the legal format of the 1331 Yuan law book, Jingshi dadian, in which royal authority took precedence over that of the government. This study emphasizes not only Jeong Do-jeon’s conservative adherence to the continuity of state institutions from the previous Goryeo dynasty (a replica of the Chinese Tang and Song systems), but also the priority he gave to the new Joseon monarch as a stabilizing force within the new dynasty, and argues that the Code was written to ensure continuity and priority, and cannot be considered as an attempt to introduce a new power structure.
Freeform 3D Printing: A Sustainable, Efficient Construction Alternative
Authors:   , Papageorge Armano
Published: December 2021

Since the beginning of the 20th century, modernism introduced to the world an architectural composite that consists of concrete, steel and glass. Heading into the 21st century, the use of these three materials has only expanded as it continues to be the most economically efficient means of construction. While digital technology in design and construction continues to evolve, the materials at which we construct architecture has remained the same. Given the rapid growth of the human population, new and more sustainable approaches to construction methodologies and materials need to be explored and utilised. This research will demonstrate the potential of freeform 3D printing as a sustainable and efficient alternative building method. It outlines contemporary digital design techniques including computation and simulation tools as a means to define and test this proposed building method including structural optimisation tools to create the most structurally efficient form from additive manufacturing. The computational methods described are then applied to a manufacturing process that includes a 6-axis robotic arm. The final result is a building methodology that supports a computational workflow from design conception to manufacture.
Livy's Witch-hunts: A Study of Investigations into Veneficium found in Livy
Authors:   , Grandy Liam
Published: December 2021

This thesis is an exploration of large scale incidents of veneficium as they are depicted in Livy’s Ab Urbe Condita. Livy’s earlier books include references to four quaestiones de veneficiis, investigations into poisoning, which resulted in the executions of thousands of people. This study attempts to understand what happened while hypothesising why they occurred.  Veneficium and its associated words have often been declared ambiguous, referring to poisons, potions, and, eventually, magic. However, this interpretation developed significantly later than the events seen in Livy and is anachronistic. This thesis explores this language and so we can understand what veneficium meant during the quaestiones de veneficiis of the fourth and second centuries BC and in Livy’s own time, and how it evolved to become magical and thus colour modern scholarships. Using this knowledge, we can review and reconsider Livy’s reports to gain a fresh understanding of what actually happened during the quaestiones and how the motifs and themes of these investigations reveal that they were in fact social responses to a period of rapid change to Roman life in the second century BC. This final point is reaffirmed when we engage with interdisciplinary theories from anthropology and sociology. By considering theories and models from these schools we can confidently say that, while venefici were not witches, their persecution was a type of witch-hunt.
Masculinity & Objectification: A phenomenological study of contemporary shifts within masculinity
Authors:   , Benge Dave
Published: December 2021

Notions of masculinity are changing. Many men conduct themselves in ways that blunt traditional hegemonic masculine norms of sexism and homophobia. Do these changes represent movement toward gender equality, or are they workings of an adaptive and amorphous system of power relations that is reshaping to fit with the times? This thesis is grounded within epistemologies of feminist standpoint theory and takes a phenomenological approach to methodology in investigating how men construct and experience their perceptions of masculinity and gender performance within homosocial networks. I conducted three focus groups with different male friend groups, and one focus group of a women’s friend group. These are supplemented with an autoethnographic focus on reflexivity in which I investigate my own thoughts, reflections, and past life experiences in concert with these focus groups. I used objectification as a main theme of study both to understand the more nuanced qualities of its role within gender relations, and as a springboard to understand the wider ramifications of what attitudes toward objectification represented. These focus groups demonstrated wide gaps in phenomenological accounts and understandings of everyday life activity both between women and men, and between men and other men. Two themes emerged from the data. The first trend involved contemporary constructions of masculinity that incorporate historically unmasculine behaviors and attitudes. This is explored within debates of R. W. Connell’s (2005) theory of hegemonic masculinity and two of its offshoots: inclusive masculinity (Anderson 2009), and hybrid masculinity (Bridges & Pascoe 2014). The second theme focused on empathy and the difficulties in its development when relationships of power, domination, and difference are involved. I argue that empathy needs to be developed in ways that favor more affective and compassionate forms of responding to others’ emotions, rather than cognitive or role-taking forms that aim to understand others’ emotions from their perspective. Finally, I incorporate these themes to discuss the possibilities, limitations, and complexities in forming a profeminist consciousness in men. This thesis aims to contribute to debates around recent changes and potential ‘softening’ in the structure of hegemonic masculinity by retaining a critical focus on relationships of power and domination. In doing so, I hope to skirt between the optimism of inclusive masculinity and the cynicism of hybrid masculinity to develop a model of profeminist consciousness that welcomes the softening of masculinity but places equal value in critically reflecting on one’s power, privilege, and position within society.
‘It’s part of who I am’: Tā’aloga ma fa’asinomaga ma fa’aSāmoa - Sport, identity, and culture in the lives of Samoan-New Zealanders
Authors:   , Connolly Josh
Published: December 2021

Samoan-New Zealanders have become increasingly prominent within New Zealand sport since the mid-20th century. Despite the apparent desirability of players with Pacific Island heritage their presence is also met with resistance and apprehension in both professional and amateur settings. Discourse that frames the relationship between Samoan-New Zealanders and sport often does so in terms that rely on stereotypes and the naturalisation of sporting ability and participation suggesting that they are ‘built’ for sport. This thesis offers a counternarrative to such discourse exploring the ways in which sport, particularly rugby, is a culturally embedded practice for Samoan-New Zealanders. I argue that for Samoan-New Zealanders sport exists as an example of Marcel Mauss’s fait social total or Total Social Phenomenon (TSP) by virtue of the range of cultural institutions and practices that find expression within it. As such it is deeply and uniquely immersed within the fa’aSāmoa or Samoan culture. This thesis is based on seven months of ethnographic fieldwork, participant observation, and talanoa conducted in Wellington, New Zealand. It seeks to explore the ways in which sport is a culturally embedded practice as a means of interrogating the notion that Samoan-New Zealanders are ‘born to play sport’.
Isolation and Characterisation of Toxic Secondary Metabolites Produced by Black Mould
Authors:   , Hudson Daniel
Published: December 2021

Microbial secondary metabolites, commonly called natural products, have been crucial for the progression of modern medicine. Not essential for the basic functions of life, secondary metabolites are instead produced to provide a competitive advantage in the environment. The method of action is commonly toxicity to other species in their environment, thereby harming or killing the competition. These toxic properties have allowed them to be utilised as antimicrobial and antitumor agents, however this same toxicity is able to cause detrimental health effects in humans causing symptoms ranging from minor to life threatening.  The black mould Stachybotrys chartarum is capable of producing very toxic secondary metabolites called macrocyclic trichothecenes. Satratoxin G (6) and H (7), are two of the most toxic naturally occurring compounds in the world. This has made S. chartarum a common target when adverse health has been associated with damp and mouldy dwellings. However, there is very little evidence for this link beyond its ubiquity and ability to produce the aforementioned highly toxic macrocyclic trichothecenes.  This research investigates S. chartarum and the toxic secondary metabolites it produces, with special emphasis on satratoxin G and H. Different culturing methods and resulting morphology are assessed. The satratoxins were isolated from crude extracts and full characterisation by 1-D and 2-D NMR spectroscopy was done. This process revealed differences from the accepted literature, and spectra are reported herein to aid in future identification. The importance of genetics and the public health implications of mould contamination are also discussed.
From ‘women’s business’ to ‘men’s business’: Exploring connections between vasectomy acceptance and equitable gender relations in South Tarawa, Kiribati
Authors:   , Hill Alex
Published: December 2021

Engaging men in sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) has implications for gender equality and sustainable development. Promoting vasectomy can foster more equitable gender relations between partners, but research on this topic is extremely limited. My research shows that, in Kiribati, vasectomy uptake is both a cause and a consequence of gender equitable relationships, but connections are complex. Vasectomy uptake can also result from, and lead to, inequitable behaviours.  Links between vasectomy uptake and gender relations among couples in South Tarawa, Kiribati were explored using a qualitative case study informed by feminist theory and principles from indigenous methodologies. Semi-structured informal interviews were held with five vasectomised I-Kiribati men and their wives, interviewed as a couple and individually. Comparative analysis was undertaken with two same-sex focus group discussions, one with non-vasectomised men and the other with their wives; and with six key informant interviews. Information generated was analysed thematically and further triangulated with international and Kiribati studies.  Among the participant-couples, vasectomy decision-making seemed equitable, consistent with other household decision-making. Notably, the wives were actively involved in their husbands’ decision to be vasectomised. Husbands were often prompted by egalitarian concerns. However, vasectomised men are in the minority and challenge gender normative behaviour. Family planning was widely viewed as women’s responsibility.  Most participants felt vasectomy created new opportunities that empowered women. Yet, some participants knew of men who used their vasectomies to control their wives’ sexual and reproductive agency, and to enable extramarital relationships. Although vasectomy freed women from contraceptive responsibility, significant shifts in the gender division of labour did not follow, but exceptions existed.  This research shows that gender equity is likely to be a pre-condition of vasectomy, and that vasectomy can lead to equitable outcomes. Moreover, gender relations within and among couples were multifaceted and contradictions existed. My research makes a strong case for why heterosexual men should be central to gender and development.
Livelihood Impacts of Smallholder Rubber Plantations: Case Studies of Two Communities in Vientiane Province, Lao PDR
Authors:   , Onta Alounxay
Published: December 2021

In Laos rubber plantation investment has increased significantly in recent years, supported by the Government. Farmers decide to cultivate rubber trees in order to generate greater income and diversify their agricultural activities. However, rubber planting also creates impacts on the livelihoods of farmers. This research aims to examine the impacts of rubber plantations on two communities in Vientiane Province. Utilising the sustainable livelihood framework, this research seeks to understand how the introduction of rubber plantations affect livelihood activities, the local land use system, and the environment in the case study communities. Key positive impacts include increased income and job opportunities. However, increased rubber planting reduces the availability of land for crops and livestock rearing and also creates some adverse environmental impacts. Overall, rubber production significantly modifies local agricultural production systems and resource use decision making in communities.
Tangible Animation - Designing Organic Performance with Multi-Material 3D/4D Printing
Authors:   , Hone Nicole
Published: December 2021

Movement transforms a physical object from static to alive. Multi-material 3D printing has the potential to create complex organic effects, given its ability to blend rigid and flexible materials. Add in the fourth dimension of time and the designer’s role extends beyond the design of the object itself and into the choreography of its movement. Despite the presence of this technology over the last decade, there is a lack of research that explores the aesthetics and application of organic movement. Current designs that are dynamic tend to focus on a single motion or lack a supporting context. Meanwhile, there is a desire for authentic, immersive experiences in museums, theme parks and films. In response, this research aims to showcase the potential for multi-material 3D/4D printing to design the organic performance of objects for the exhibition and film industry.  In this thesis, a thematic analysis defines the qualities of organic movement as having a curved shape, variable speed and multimodal composition. Research through Design with a Criteria-Based approach is then used to guide an iterative design process, seeking to translate these qualities into moving objects. The outcome of this research is a series of futuristic aquatic plants, 3D printed with pneumatic chambers and filmed within the context of a narrative. Effective organic behaviour is designed through the digital control of form and materiality, combined with natural physical interactions involving the environment, humans and other 3D prints. The interplay between these two disparate worlds builds on the concept of computer-generated objects (CGO). The design output demonstrates the value of CGO in creating compelling visuals on-screen and sensory interactive encounters in real life. The work highlights the importance of movement and tangibility in bringing objects to life in the same world as the audience. The research also contributes to advancing the practice of physical prop design through the development of 4D printing techniques. It elicits discussion around how multi-material 3D/4D printing aligns with the future of creating immersive experiences for the exhibition and film industry.
The Tailored Traveller: Exploring digital vehicle data and large-scale FDM 3D printing to produce a luxury sleeping space
Authors:   , Rykers William
Published: December 2021

This research is focused towards the use of large-scale FDM 3D printing within the automotive industry, specifically to design a bespoke habitable sleeping environment attached to a Range Rover Sport. 3D printing has risen as a viable form of manufacturing in comparison with conventional methods. Allowing the designer to capitalise on digital data, enabling specific tailored designs to any vehicle model. This thesis asks the question “Can design use the properties of digital vehicle data in conjunction with large-scale FDM 3D printing to sustainably produce bespoke habitable sleeping environments for an automotive context?” Further to this, FDM 3D printing at a large-scale has so far not been explored extensively within the automotive industry.  FDM 3D printing is an emerging technology that possesses the ability to revolutionise the automotive industry, through expansion of functionality, customisation and aesthetic that is currently limited by traditional manufacturing methods. Presently, vehicle models are digitally mapped, creating an opportunity for customisation and automatic adaption through computer aided drawing (CAD). This thesis takes advantage of the digitisation of the automotive industry through 3D modelling and renders as a design and development tool.   This project explored a variety of methods to demonstrate a vision of a 3D printed habitable sleeping environment. The primary methodologies employed in this research project are Research for Design (RfD) and Research through Design (RtD). These methodologies work in conjunction to combine design theory and practice as a genuine method of inquiry. The combination of theory and design practice has ensued in the concepts being analysed, reflected and discussed according to a reflective analysis design approach. The design solution resulted in an innovative and luxury bespoke habitable sleeping space to be FDM 3D printed. Through the use of digitisation, the sleeping capsule was cohesively tailored to the unique design language of the Range Rover Sport. This thesis resulted in various final outputs including a 1:1 digital model, high quality renders, accompanied by small scale prototypes, photographs and sketch models.
The Culture of Couch Surfing Amongst Students
Authors:   , De Ruysscher Denzel
Published: December 2021

This thesis explores ‘couch surfing’ as it becomes more prevalent within the tertiary student experience. In recent years, there has been a significant decline in the availability of housing in all major cities in New Zealand. Rental accommodations been particularly hard hit with the number of properties available for occupation under increasing demand. Despite this shortage universities have continued to expand, offering an increased number of positions to students. This dichotomy has impacted university students looking for ‘affordable accommodation.’ This has led to a recent surge in students undertaking studies without fixed abodes for either short time periods or in some cases for the duration of the university trimesters or year, commonly referred to as ‘student homelessness.’ The students are faced with a new reality; a reality of relying on short term peer support for accommodation, known as couch-surfing. This research considers the impact of accommodation uncertainty within the tertiary student experience and specifically asks what impact the current global phenomenon of couch surfing is having on either alleviation or amplification of the physical and/or emotional stresses and strains associated with attending university. This study interviews students who have experienced uncertainty around their accommodation arrangements and as a result have engaged in couch surfing practices. The aim of this study is to gain a holistic overview of the impact this experience of uncertainty and temporary accommodation has on a student’s life and uses photography as a tool within human-centred and participatory design approaches to assist in the expression and interpretation of the couch surfing experience during university study.  At the outset, more portrait photography approaches such as model headshots are used to illustrate the student couch surfer and their accommodation experience and surroundings with the purpose of capturing the couch surfers in the moment in mind. Following on from this the study introduces the ethnographic method of Photovoice and asks the couch surfing student to record their own accommodation experience through the taking of more self-focused photos that include their surroundings and expressions of the experience. As a final experience, a workshop was designed and facilitated to synergise the student voice on the experiences of couch surfing. This experience was also documented through photography.  The culmination of these research approaches is a visual output in the form of a photobook that will showcase the overall narrative of the thesis. The main objective of the thesis and visual output is to explore the lifestyle and experiences of student couch surfers and to visually amplify a collective student voice that speaks to the emergent and unique phenomenon of couch surfing, that has had an impact on their university experience.
Modelling annual earnings with unemployment: Non-random selection in female workers
Authors:   , Robertson Oliver
Published: December 2021

Female earnings are underrepresented in the earnings and earnings dynamics literature. This underrepresentation is largely a result of the di erences in participation rates between male and female workers. Female workers tend to have more frequent changes in employment status, and more periods of unemployment than their male counterparts. These periods of unemployment result in observations with zero earnings, and common transformations such as the logarithm are not de ned for zero values. This means that any analysis of the logarithm of earnings is forced to exclude periods where an individual does not work, and cannot take into account the e ect of moving into or out of employment. The higher rate of unemployment in female workers also increases the risk of sample selection bias. If selection into employment is non-random, then estimating earnings equations based on only workers will result in biased estimates. This thesis takes a novel approach by focusing on the annual earnings of females, and in doing so introduces two methods for addressing the issues associated with zero earnings observations. First, the Inverse Hyperbolic Sine (IHS) function is introduced as an alternative to the logarithm. The IHS is de ned for zero values, allowing for the creation of descriptive statistics that take into account periods of unemployment and changes in employment status. While the IHS has many properties that are useful when working with annual earnings, this thesis also highlights a number of estimation issues that can arise when using the function that have not previously been mentioned in the literature. Second, a new correction for sample selection bias that has been proposed by Semykina and Wooldridge (2013) is used to model the annual earnings of female workers. Both the sample selection bias correction and the IHS are applied to data on prime aged females from the Survey of Families, Income, and Employment (SoFIE) data set.
How has access to general practitioner services changed since the Primary Health Care Strategy 2001?
Authors:   , Thomson Michael
Published: December 2021

With a governmental review of the health system impending, it is timely to examine whether the universal capitation-based subsidies engendered by the 2001 Primary Health Care Strategy have achieved and maintained their strategic goal of expanding access to general practitioners and reducing inequities. Prior scholarship finds evidence of reduced fees and increased consultation numbers and rates during the roll-out period, but the long-run picture remains unexplored, and there are multiple hitherto unexamined sources of endogeneity to unravel. This thesis addresses these gaps by examining New Zealand Health Survey data between 2002/03 and 2015/16. I examine the distribution of co-payments, utilisation and unmet need due to cost using regression modelling, accounting for endogenous self-reporting errors and selection effects through instrumentation and Heckman modelling, respectively. I propose a novel instrument to account for selection bias in self-reported fees, applicable in contexts where general practitioners play ‘gate-keeping’ roles for tertiary services.  I find that the expanded universal subsidies were associated with improved access for Māori and more preventive visits as intended. However, patients with the greatest health need made far fewer doctors’ visits per annum than before. After providing universal subsidisation, the fees paid by high- and low-income groups also converged, and low-to-middle-income earners made more use of services but high-income earners did not. The higher rates of utilisation for both the whole population and for Māori have not survived in recent years. I discuss a range of possible explanations for these developments, with particular attention paid to the role of both the capitation subsidies and the subsequent Very-Low Cost Access price-capping scheme.  This research contributes evidence to international scholarship on the link between universal healthcare subsidisation and equity of access, with attention to local nuances. It further provides domestic policymakers with an understanding of the contemporary scope and correlates of poor healthcare access ahead of the health system review.
Communication Breakdown: Differing Relationship Wellbeing Effects of Positive and Negative Spin in Communication Behaviour
Authors:   , Cartwright Robert
Published: December 2021

Romantic couples must regularly navigate interactions to maintain satisfying relationships, but it is unclear how people’s variability in communication behaviour is linked to relationship wellbeing. Varying communication behaviours may display responsiveness to a partner’s needs by adjusting behaviour appropriately. Or else, inconsistent behaviour may undermine partner trust by fuelling uncertainties about commitment. Across two studies, we investigated how a person’s variability of communication behaviour was associated with their own wellbeing and their partner’s wellbeing. Specifically, we assessed spin, a measure of how often a person switches between communication behaviours. We predicted that switching between positive behaviours would be linked with higher relationship wellbeing but, conversely, switching between negative communication behaviours would be linked with lower wellbeing. We assessed spin in positive and negative forms of relationship behaviour over three weeks (Study 1; 78 couples) and over a single interaction (Study 2; 112 couples). Effects for spin in positivity emerged only in Study 1. For women, switching daily positive behaviour over three weeks was associated with higher partner relationship wellbeing but unexpectedly lower wellbeing for women (controlling for mean-level positivity). This suggests that, for women, being responsive to partners in diverse ways is beneficial for the partner but comes at a personal cost. Effects for spin in negativity emerged in both studies. Switching negative behaviour was linked with lower partner wellbeing in both studies, indicating that use of different negative behaviours is more dysfunctional than the sum of individual relationship behaviours. Across both studies, additional tests illustrated that these effects were independent and not due to variability in the magnitude of behaviours. Our findings show variable behaviour may benefit partner wellbeing when behaviour is positive, but inconsistent negativity interrupts intimacy processes to undermine wellbeing. Our research highlights the importance of considering behavioural variability when studying relationship maintenance processes over time.