bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Systematic studies of graphite intercalation compounds with various intercalants using a first-principles calculation
Authors: Mizoguchi Teruyasu , Kawaguchi Naoto , Shibata Kiyou
Published: July 2022

Graphite intercalation compounds (GICs) are formed by inserting various atoms and molecules between the layers of graphite. Among these GICs, five structures have been reported wherein a single atom M was intercalated into graphite with chemical formulae MC6 and MC8 and different stacking orders. The formation energies of the GICs with these crystal structures and various intercalants (M) were investigated using first-principles calculation. Consequently, the formation energies of all the GICs reported to be synthesized were negative, indicating a good agreement with the experimental results. Our study also provides insights into the relative stability required for synthesizing GICs. Furthermore, we determined the negative formation energies of GICs for M =Sc, Y, Fr, and Ra, which are yet to be reported.
The annual-hydrogen-yield-climatic-response ratio: evaluating the real-life performance of integrated solar water splitting devices
Authors: Kölbach Moritz , Höhn Oliver , Rehfeld Kira , Finkbeiner Manuel , Barry James , May Matthias M.
Published: July 2022

Integrated solar water splitting devices that produce hydrogen without the use of power inverters operate outdoors and are hence exposed to varying weather conditions. As a result, they might sometimes work at non-optimal operation points below or above the maximum power point of the photovoltaic component, which would directly translate into efficiency losses. Up until now, however, no common parameter describing and quantifying this and other real-life operating related losses (e.g. spectral mismatch) exists in the community. Therefore, the annual-hydrogen-yield-climatic-response (AHYCR) ratio is introduced as a figure of merit to evaluate the outdoor performance of integrated solar water splitting devices. This value is defined as the ratio between the real annual hydrogen yield and the theoretical yield assuming the solar-to-hydrogen device efficiency at standard conditions. This parameter is derived for an exemplary system based on state-of-the-art AlGaAs//Si dual-junction solar cells and an anion exchange membrane electrolyzer using hourly resolved climate data from a location in southern California and from reanalysis data of Antarctica. Moreover, the advantage of devices operating at low current densities over completely decoupled PV-electrolysis is discussed. This work will help to evaluate, compare and optimize the climatic response of solar water splitting devices in different climate zones.
Cu-Catalysed Coupling of Aliphatic Amines with Alkylboronic Esters
Authors: Dennis Francesca , Romero Arenas Antonio , Rodgers George , Andrews Johnathan , Peralta-Arriaga Samantha , Partridge Benjamin
Published: July 2022

We report a Cu-catalysed oxidative coupling of aliphatic amines with alkylboronic esters to give high value alkyl amines, products found widely in applications from medicinal chemistry to materials science. This operationally simple reaction, which can be performed on gram scale, runs under mild conditions and exhibits excellent functional group tolerance. The terminal oxidant of the reaction is O2 from the air, avoiding the need for additional chemical oxidants. Investigation into the reaction mechanism suggests the intermediacy of an alkyl radical, generated from the boronic ester upon activation through an amino radical transfer process. To demonstrate its utility and potential for late-stage functionalization, we showcase the method as the final step in the total synthesis of a TRPV 1 antagonist.
Obstrüktif uyku apne sendromu tanılı hastalarımızda COVID-19 prevelansı ve hastalığın klinik seyri
Authors: BERİK SAFÇİ Sinem , PINAR DENİZ Pelin
Published: July 2022

Amaç: Bu çalışmada polisomnografik olarak obstrüktif uyku apne sendromu (OUAS) tanısı konulan hastalarımızdan SARS-CoV-2’ ye bağlı yeni koronovirüs hastalığı (COVID-19) geçirenlerin, demografik ve polisomnografik özelliklerini incelemeyi, uyku apne sendromunun COVID-19 için risk faktörü oluşturma durumunu değerlendirmeyi amaçladık. Yöntem: Çalışmada 2018-2019 yıllları içinde polisomnografi ile OUAS tanısı konulan 287 hastanın, Tele-tıp yöntemi ile izinleri alınarak dosyalarına ulaşıldı. Bu hastaların demografik özellikleri, polisomnografik parametreleri, ek hastalık ve obezite varlığı, COVID-19 pozitif ise hastalık nedeni ile hastaneye yatış oranları istatistiksel olarak değerlendirildi. Bulgular: Otuz iki (%11.1) hastanın COVID-19 polimeraz zincir reaksiyonu (PCR) testi pozitifti. COVID-19 geçiren OUAS hastalarının yaş ortalaması 50.4±10.9’dı. Olguların %78’i erkekti, %71.9’unun vücut kitle indeksi 30’un üzerindeydi. COVID-19 olan ve olmayan OUAS’lı hastalarda en sık görülen ek hastalık hipertansiyondu. COVID-19 geçiren 32 hastanın 18’inin ağır dereceli OUAS’ı vardı. Uykuda solunum parametreleri değerlendirildiğinde COVID-19 geçirenler ile geçirmeyenler arasında apne hipopne indeksi, oksijen desaturasyon indeksi, ortalama ve minumum oksijen saturasyonları arasında istatistiksel olarak fark yoktu. COVID-19 geçiren beş olgu hospitalize edilmiş, bir olgunun yoğun bakım ihtiyacı olmuştu. Sonuç: OUAS’ın şiddetli COVID-19 hastalığı ile ilişkili olan majör komorbiditeler ile kuvvetli ilişkisi bulunmakla birlikte hastalığa eşlik eden hipoksi, uyku süresinin azalması ile immünite zayıflaması ve sitokin fırtınasına olan etkisi OUAS’ın bu komorbiditelerden bağımsız olarak da şiddetli COVID-19 için bir risk faktörü olabileceğini düşündürmektedir.
Wade in the Water: Reestablishing the natural landscape through the cultural landscape
Authors:   , Christensen Greta
Published: July 2022

The impact of global warming is often debated as a future issue which encourages complacency, inaction and even debate as to whether or not it is occurring at all. In low lying coastal cities such as New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A. however, this uncertain future is already a reality. The delta cities ageing storm water infrastructure had been heralded as one of the worst civic engineering disasters in history and, since Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005 breaching the levee walls and flooding most of the city, the fear that New Orleans may be destine to become a modern day ‘Atlantis’ has hindered, not only the city’s ability to recover, but also to adapt to and mitigate the effect of temporary and permanent flooding.

The research takes the position that abandoning New Orleans is not an appropriate or reasoned response to the proliferation of the city’s vulnerability to flooding. The city’s cultural landscape is made up of a multiplicity of contexts and layers because the dynamic between the delta environment and New Orleans’s acculturated inhabitants is one of ebb and flow. Thus, it is not a place that could be reproduced anywhere else. As the existing storm water infrastructure, which is design to ‘defend’ the city from water, reaches the end of its lifespan there is an opportunity to rethink this system altogether. The research proposes that by identifying the underlying ecological system that makes up this environment, landscape architecture in itself can act as infrastructure - capable of serving the social and environmental needs of the local community, by producing an infrastructure that has evolved out of the local cultural landscape.

The thesis argues that it is possible to retain a sense of place identity and also ‘accept’ water back into the site by responding to the site’s multifaceted context. In order to achieve this the research considers, not only the ecological function of the terrain of water; but also how people orientate themselves in an active landscape; and how their culture may find cohesion through design which engenders place attachment and therefore reinforces place identity.
The Three Great Soviet Composers and Mstislav Rostropovich – Talent, Music and Politics in the Soviet Union
Authors:   , Gijsbers Lucy
Published: July 2022

Mstislav Rostropovich, the most famous cellist of the second half of the twentieth century, had a close relationship with Dmitri Shostakovich, Sergei Prokofiev, and Mieczyslaw Weinberg. These three composers are hailed by some as the three greatest Soviet composers of the twentieth century,¹ although in New Zealand and much of Western society little of Weinberg's music has been played. They lived under the reign of Joseph Stalin, and were greatly restricted in what they could compose. Whilst Weinberg in 1953 was arrested in Russia for 'Jewish bourgeois nationalism', the music of Shostakovich and Prokofiev was banned in 1948; deemed antidemocratic and too formalistic. All three composers wrote cello works for Rostropovich. Whilst Shostakovich's cello works are regularly performed - most likely because Rostropovich championed this composer's works above all others - Weinberg's cello works are not. Prokofiev's Sinfonia Concertante used to be avoided by cellists because of its difficulty, but in recent years it has rapidly gained in popularity. Weinberg's music is slowly gaining recognition for its worth. Rostropovich did not even play some of Weinberg's cello works which were dedicated to him, as he had an altercation with the composer.

This essay explores the relationship between the four musicians, the influence they had on one another, and their reaction to the political climate in the Soviet Union and elsewhere. Rostropovich in particular was very politically active, and used his fame to influence politics. Ultimately the cellist was awarded over fifty prizes for both musical and humanitarian efforts.

¹ Steve Schwarz. Review of 'The Golden Key', Classical Net Review, 2004.
Putting wellbeing back into welfare: Exploring social development from beneficiaries' perspectives
Authors:   , Sudden Alicia
Published: July 2022

New Zealand implemented the first definitive welfare state in 1938, institutionalising the responsibility held by the state to protect citizens and uphold their wellbeing. Since then, the swift and pervasive implementation of neoliberal reforms in New Zealand have transformed the social development landscape, and the wider economic setting. New Zealand is now in the midst of unprecedented levels of inequality and child poverty. Yet in the face of increasing hardship, the welfare system has become increasingly residual and punitive towards those in need.

The most recent overhaul of the welfare system occurred in July 2013. These reforms came with a marked push toward reducing benefit recipient numbers, evidenced in the use of off-the-benefit figures as a measure of a successful system. However, this narrative obscures the experiences and wellbeing of people behind these figures, which is particularly problematic given the increased employment instability and financial insecurity fostered by the current labour market. This thesis aims to explore the experiences of those who have come off the benefit since July 2013, either temporarily or permanently, in order to understand how the current welfare system is impacting those it is intended to support.

In order to best capture the voices of former and current beneficiaries, this thesis utilised a mixed methods approach. A survey was conducted to identify patterns and trends from the voices of over 200 participants. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to enrich the quantified results, and understand the narratives and experiences of individuals in more depth. By drawing on a post-development framework, this thesis works toward creating a space for an alternative discussion around welfare that goes beyond the hegemony of economic-centric dialogues. The findings suggest that the welfare system is failing to adequately support those facing hardship or facilitate positive off-the-benefit transitions. Instead, it is fostering the neoliberal assault on citizenship and social rights, and deepening the growing inequalities within New Zealand society.
Towards the Making of User Friendly Public Space in China: An Investigation of the Use and Spatial Patterns of Newly Developed Small and Medium-Sized Urban Public Squares in Guangzhou and Shenzhen
Authors:   , Nguyen Ngoc Minh
Published: July 2022

This thesis investigates how new small and medium-sized public squares are designed and used on a daily basis in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, two major cities in the Pearl River Delta, China. Given an extreme lack of open public space in these cities, these newly developed public space are expected to improve the life of millions of Chinese urban citizens; however, many of them are frequently criticised as inconvenient for users. How to improve the performance of these small and medium-sized public squares is therefore a critical issue faced by the city planners and designers. However, to dates, academic studies of public space in China are primarily focused on the architectural expression of the space or the development of the ‘public sphere’ in China. Hence, information about the actual use of small and medium-sized public squares in China is virtually absent.

In order to fill this gap in knowledge on how these new public space are designed and used, this thesis examines 13 small and medium-sized public squares that have been (re)developed over the last 15 years in Guangzhou and Shenzhen using primarily the space syntax methodology, including direct (non-participant) observations and space syntax analysis techniques. The thesis focuses on the examination of three aspects: static occupancy and its relation to actual physical settings, transient use of the space and its relation to urban configuration, and the location preferences by Chinese users and the underlying visual logic.

The findings from this thesis document a significantly different way of using public squares in China, as compared to their Western counterparts. Specifically, these spaces are used primarily by the elderly and organised activity groups. This collective way of using public space in China in combination with a wide range of cultural specific activities such as “exercising”, “babysitting”, “playing chess/cards” and “group-singing” has resulted in different spatial use patterns. In particular, this thesis has documented a strong preference for visually exposed locations, with much activity occurring at the centre rather than at the edges of public space, which are the most popular locations in public space in the West.

Apart from providing valuable insights about the use and design patterns of small and medium-sized public squares, this research also proposes a number of spatial principles that could provide some guidance for designers and policy makers in the making of more user friendly public space in China in the future. Last but not least, findings of this thesis also hope to stimulate further studies of public space in China, especially those using Space Syntax methods.
Investigating the Effects of Oocytes on Proliferation Rate and Gene Expression of Mouse Ovarian Surface Epithelium-Derived Cancer Lines
Authors:   , Armstrong Gina
Published: July 2022

The origin of the most common form of ovarian cancer (OC), epithelial OC (EOC), remains a contentious issue. Due to disease heterogeneity, EOC is unlikely to originate from a single progenitor. This research explores an alternative hypothesis for the origin of EOC. During ovarian development, granulosa cells (GC) recruited from the ovarian surface epithelium (OSE) associate with oocytes. During follicular growth, oocyte-secreted growth factors (OSF) facilitate GC phenotype and function. Thus, if oocytes are lost prematurely from non-growing follicles, naïve GC remain. These cells, devoid of their germ cell regulator, may proliferate leading to neoplastic transformation and heterogeneous tumour phenotypes.

This study aimed to elucidate the effects of OSF on (i) proliferation of, and (ii) candidate gene expression in, two mouse OSE-derived cancer cell lines, namely mOSE T2 (p53-/-/Akt/c-myc) and BR (p53-/-/Brca1-/-/Akt/c-myc). The OSF tested were oocyte-secreted media (OSM) containing rat OSF, as well recombinant (rec) porcine (p) BMP15 and pGDF9. Tritiated-thymidine uptake was used as a measure of cell proliferation and quantitative PCR was performed to measure gene expression levels of Cdh1 (epithelial marker), Foxl2 (granulosa cell marker), Dab2 and Muc16 (cancer markers).

Exposure of mOSE T2 cells to OSM, but not rec pBMP15+pGDF9, resulted in decreased (P<0.02) proliferation rate but no change was observed in mOSE BR cells. Additionally, a decrease (P<0.02) in Muc16 mRNA levels was observed only in the T2 cell line incubated with OSM, but not rec pBMP15+pGDF9 and the BR cell line remained unaffected. Interestingly, Muc16 and Bmpr2 mRNA levels were lower overall in the mOSE BR, compared to the T2, cell line.

In summary, both proliferation rate and expression levels of the tumourigenesis marker Muc16 were reduced in the mOSE T2 cell line after the addition of OSF. This supports the alternative hypothesis that proliferation of naïve OSE-derived GC is kept in check by OSF however, upon premature loss of oocytes or more specifically in the absence of OSF, these cells may proliferate and develop into EOC. Importantly, OSF were unable to suppress proliferation rate and Muc16 mRNA levels in cancer cells with a Brac1 mutation.
The Nest: A community for the homeless
Authors:   , Martin Selena
Published: July 2022

Homelessness is a problem that occurs all around the world, and the lack of support from the government means that the amount of people becoming homeless is increasing. There is a lack of knowledge around the homeless as they are generally not just homeless; they are affected by illnesses or addictions and simply putting them in a place with a roof and food is not the answer.

Clifton Terrace carpark under the Wellington Motorway is the chosen site for this thesis. It is a ‘lost’ site due to its history and the damage that occurred when the motorway was constructed. I designed a community that will help bring the space under the bridge back to life. I hope that this will set a premise to similar areas around New Zealand and the rest of the world that are generally considered unpleasant spaces.

The use of this site will not only benefit the homeless and give them a new start, but it will also benefit the people of Wellington, as it will open up more opportunities for generating income. It will reconnect the city and community, and it will also create a nice park and recreation space for people to spend time that is sheltered and easy to access.

To fully understand and provide a solution which will overcome the issue of homelessness, research was undertaken on the following areas:• The homeless and their situation to understand more about the reason people end up in their situation.

• Homeless shelters and communities to understand what the homeless are currently offered and what is successful and not successful in shelters around the world.

• Clifton Terrace carpark to make the most of what it has to offer for the homeless.

• Under the bridge sites to explore how other people have reused abandoned sites.

• Park spaces to aid in creating a space that the public and the homeless can both enjoy and that will be well used.
Public Space Intimacy
Authors:   , Royfee Alexander
Published: July 2022

Architects historically devote their analytical and critical attention to architecture as an object, as a monument, separate to its context. Consequently, this thesis explores how architecture can create intimacy in public space. This proposition is investigated through a design through research approach, where action and reflection focuses on creating design knowledge. In combination with an iterative design process, film was used as the primary method, to design for the body. This thesis follows a linear structure where the literary and physical context of the research precedes the design explorations. Three scales were used from the installation, house and public building, each increasing in complexity. The aim was to allow the smaller scale explorations to inform the larger scale work; to challenge the historical hierarchy between large and small scale spaces. In the process, the explorations developed an architectural language and series of qualities which can be used to create intimate public spaces. To conclude, public intimacy is achieved by designing from the inside out, scaling up and down to create a series of small scale spaces within a larger space, which give form to qualities of edge, depth and atmosphere, which afford a sense of intimacy.
The Edge of Chaos
Authors:   , Isaacs Christopher
Published: July 2022

Wellington was founded on a diverse ecosystem junction. In 1840, 625 hectares of land surrounding the city centre was set aside by The New Zealand Company to be protected and enhanced but not built upon. In 1873 the land was gifted to Wellingtonians by the Crown. Encroachments and development in the city have seen this Town Belt land reduced down to 400 hectares. Only recently has it been increased up to 520 hectares and now steadily increasing (WCC, June 2013).

In landscape, changes in population or community structures that occur at the boundary of two differing habitats are known as the ‘edge effect’. Due to lack of oversight by the Wellington City Council, Wellington has a growing tension created at the junction between the green and grey, the edge condition.

“At the Edge of Chaos, unexpected outcomes occur. The risk to survival is severe.” — Michael Crichton, The Lost WorldWhen the land was set aside the national population was around one hundred thousand, Wellington alone is now three times that. With a growing population, our Town Belt edge is where the interaction of nature and human activity happens progressively; it is also where we find modern ecosystem junctions, at this edge condition that Gilles Clément refers to as ‘The Third Landscape’, and Doyne Farmer calls ‘The Edge of Chaos’.

Wellington’s Belt edge is now taken up largely by encroaching backyard fence lines, a lack of continuity along its linear length, few celebrated access ways, and largescale ecological and access fragmentation.

Using these categories as a mitigation framework, this investigation proposes to daylight this Third Landscape at selected sites, not only to help initiate the process of healing, but also to celebrate the unique attributes of the edge between green and grey. This research proposes to develop this unique edge by perceiving it not only as the Third Landscape and The Edge of Chaos, but also as a ‘Heterotopia’ – a type of edge condition that Michel Foucault refers to as a ‘place of otherness’ reminiscent of a mirror, a liminal zone. Using these theoretical frameworks to design a set of interventions along Wellington’s ‘Liminal Edge’, the thesis sets out to purposefully disrupt private and public use and create multiple Moments where users can begin to better understand and fully respect the unique and fluid ecosystems that define the urban edge.

This thesis investigates the tension along the edge where urbanisation and urban sprawl collide with green spaces. Overall this edge is not productively utilised by the growing population in Wellington – and as a unique set of environmental conditions, it provides unique opportunities to enhance Wellingtonian’s awareness of their impact on our fragile and reactive natural environment.
Ebb to Flow: The Awakening of a Neglected Urban Waterway
Authors:   , Jadeja Jay
Published: July 2022

The revival of urban waterways and the potential they have to reshape communities is a global issue that deals with the fabric of human interaction and nature. For nearly all communities across New Zealand, the local waterway has been heralded and adorned by many of its residents. Yet the reality is that this is often done in vain. It is not enough to watch over our creeks, streams and rivers with tender eyes, they need to be felt and embraced by human touch. A stream that lacks interaction falls into the quagmire of cyclical neglect.

Using the Porirua Stream as a case study, explorations into accessibility,infrastructure, barriers, topography and hydrology are conducted to achieve the ultimate goal that turns the estuarine corridor into the beating ‘heart’ of the community; the engine of its life and soul. Not just figuratively but in reality, the Porirua Stream must become a system emulating this vital organ in the way it functions and its role in the larger context of its surroundings.

Infrastructure, buildings, and extensive vegetation encroach onto the perimeter of the Porirua Stream and has contributed to the atmospheric, sensual and physical divide which consequentially plagues the city.

Restructuring and redefining the multitude of barriers is needed for establishing new opportunities to build a usable and successful riverfront. Rather than parting the urban network, the possibilities for bridging communities through streams is a way to reshape entire communities.

Considering the vital importance of community life, it is important to transform the river domain through small scale and strategic interventions with significant impact, rather than creating massive changes that allude to a blank canvas with apparent disregard for the real ‘on the ground’ human experience. Strategic interventions deal with overlapping issues simultaneously to manage varying conditions and constraints.

The historical manipulation and prioritization of hydrological systems for economic toil, has rendered the modern urban waterway as mostly ‘dead space’, ill and ignored. Streams are left suffocated by the encroaching urban sprawl. The impact these conditions have left on a small city centre is known through their vulnerabilities to flooding and poor water quality. To survive, the stream needs to claim land back and have space to breathe.

The investigation exposes the importance of considering an entire watershed and observing the stream as a complex network, rather than a linear passage. The importance of the ‘human experience’ was paramount through the exploration of spatial values that the stream offered.
Spatial Ambiguity: Rethinking and Intensifying Social Space
Authors:   , Sison Jeanne Eunice
Published: July 2022

For several reasons, public perception leans towards a negative association with collective housing typologies. Aside from associations with low-quality, low-income social housing situations, slums and ghettos, and dissimilarities with the traditional and well-loved detached housing typology, concerns for lack of privacy and a decreased sense of ownership for their home are high on the list of reasons why collective living is yet unpopular, at least in New Zealand. Though provisions for shared spaces and collaborative living exist, they are often underused and unloved as a result. The challenge is for designers to translate these issues into physical, strategic parameters, that can be manipulated as a designed response to territoriality and ownership in a dense social and collective urban housing context.

Recent trends have been showing a global evolution of tradition. In view of ongoing transformations in patterns of daily living, the way that occupied spaces are designed must also evolve. A housing model that is more economic, ecologically responsible, flexible, and affordable is needed. Social housing is allocated to people on the basis of their need, mostly to those with the greatest unmet housing need. Likewise, the concept of cohousing has been going through a revival, as a steady reaction to contemporary intangible social and societal issues - such as loneliness, mental distance, and declining house ownership.

This thesis presents an approach to suburban intensification which addresses the fundamental aspects of individual and community appropriation of space. It argues that an acceptable and desirable model for social and common living can be developed as an alternative to low density suburban living in a Wellington context. The thesis proposes that this can be achieved by developing ideas and strategies based on territoriality, commoning, and a thorough understanding of social context and its architectural implications, that increases the appropriative power of co-living residents over the shared spaces they occupy. The success of such a model will be dependent on the investigation of thresholds between public and private territories, public facilities and a variety of activities within the cohousing complex that are capable of supporting strong links with the wider community, shared spaces that stimulate social interaction, and flexible living spaces that meet the needs of a diverse suburban demographic.

Overall, the research established a manifesto about alternative modes of contemporary living, providing opportunities to engage with the built environment in a more ecologically and socially sustainable way.
Investigation into the relationship between mindfulness and grit, and the role of meditation experience in the relationship, across cultures
Authors:   , Raphiphatthana Buaphrao
Published: July 2022

Mindfulness, namely awareness of present experiences that is non-elaborative and non-judging in nature (Kabat-Zinn, 1994), and grit, a combination of perseverance and passion for long-term goals, are psychological constructs that have each received much attention lately in both popular culture as well as the scientific literature. However, to date, no existing studies in the psychological literature have explored the potential relationship between the two constructs. Thus the chief aim of the present thesis was to address this gap in the literature by examining how grit and mindfulness relate to each other over time and in different samples. Additionally, a secondary aim of the present thesis was to illuminate the influence of meditation experience on the relationship between the two constructs. Lastly, since mindfulness and grit have been developed and researched chiefly within the Western context, the thesis also sought to compare how the two constructs are experienced across Western (New Zealand and the U.S.) and non-Western (Thai) cultures.

The main objectives were investigated across three separate studies. Study 1 focused on the relationship between mindfulness and grit within university students from New Zealand (concurrently and longitudinally), while Study 2 addressed the cross-cultural aspect by comparing the relationship between the two constructs across Thai and NZ university students. Study 3, although it also included a cross-cultural comparison across Thai and American community samples, focused on an investigation of the potential moderating role of meditation experience on the relationship between mindfulness and grit in the two investigated cultural groups.

Together, the main results from the three studies revealed that though there are some differences in the associations between the facets of mindfulness and components of grit at the facet level, at the overall construct level, mindfulness and grit, as predicted, were positively and moderately associated across all cultural groups. However, surprisingly, meditation experience was found to be a be a nonsignificant moderator of the relationship between mindfulness and grit for both Thai and American samples. Nonetheless, the main findings across the three studies imply that mindful individuals tend to also be gritty regardless of cultural background and meditation experience. This finding provides a foundation upon which future research can build on and has great practical potential across organizational, clinical, and educational contexts.
København Traces: Place-making through form - An Inquiry into Architectural objects, Embodied Occupation and Place
Authors:   , Ewart Jesse
Published: July 2022

This proposal is an architectural enquiry into how intertwined formal qualities of surface, volume and geometry affect occupation at different scales. The intention is to design performances that promote a shared agency between the volumetric spatiality of the architectural object and its occupant. The research aims to experiment with this through a meshing of formal tests and spatial perception, which together act as an apparatus to activate the research questioning. The results of this research, in influencing the embodied occupation, will contribute to understanding how form influences a sense of place. Globalisation reduces our sense of belonging through repeatable spatial formulas, returning to an identity of place is significant in activating essences of the city. Avoiding the ever-increasing presence of the term Rem Koolhaas calls the ‘generic city’ and allowing for interconnecting of small and public scale conditions for people. Using scaling as a device to reinterpret architecture and the urban spatial condition of place, the DNA of past and present architectural objects are distilled and extracted from the Copenhagen context then projected back into the drawings. Towards the enmeshing of structure, material, light, colour, geometry and spatial perception – derived through the manipulation of the Copenhagen formal context - this research expands on notions of place and how it is understood. This research operates as a series of iterative experiments through the design of three projects: an installation, a mid-scale building, and a public building. The design research situated in an urban context, the port area of Copenhagen, and specific elements of the site are chosen for their opportunities in testing form, occupation and place.
Strengthening Workspaces: Adapting Wellington’s Earthquake Prone Heritage Buildings for Co-Workspaces
Authors:   , Vance Lara
Published: July 2022

In the late 1960s the Wellington City Council surveyed all the commercial buildings in the city and marked nearly 200 as earthquake prone. The owners were given 15 years to either strengthen or demolish their buildings. The end result was mass demolition throughout the seventies and eighties.¹ Prompted by the Christchurch earthquakes, once again the council has published a list of over 630 earthquake prone buildings that need to be strengthened or demolished by 2030.²Of these earthquake prone buildings, the majority were built between 1880 and 1930, with 125 buildings appearing on the Wellington City Council Heritage Building List.³ This list accounts for a significant proportion of character buildings in the city. There is a danger that the aesthetic integrity of our city will be further damaged due to the urgent need to strengthen these buildings. Many of the building owners are resistant because of the high cost. By adapting these buildings to house co-workspaces, we can gain more than just the retention of the building’s heritage. The seismic upgrade provides the opportunity for the office space to be redesigned to suit changes in the ways we work. Through a design-based research approach this thesis proposes a framework that clarifies the process of adapting Wellington’s earthquake prone heritage buildings to accommodate co-working. This framework deals with the key concepts of program, structure and heritage. The framework is tested on one of Wellington’s earthquake prone heritage buildings, the Wellington Working Men’s Club, in order to demonstrate what can be gained from this strengthening process. ¹ Reid, J., “Hometown Boomtown,” in NZ On Screen (Wellington, 1983).

² Wellington City Council, List of Earthquake Prone Buildings as at 06/03/2017. (Wellington: Absolutely Positively Wellington. 2017).

³ ibid. 
A Stage of Our Own: Women Devising Theatre in Aotearoa New Zealand
Authors:   , Banks Hannah Joyce
Published: July 2022

Women have been at the forefront of devised theatre since it became a prevalent method of making in New Zealand in the 1970s, and yet they are underrepresented in our history and discourse. Scholars across the globe have written about the connection between women and devised theatre. In 2016, Syssoyeva and Proudfit went so far as to say that “The history of modern theatre is a history of collaborative methods and the history of collaborative methods is a women’s history” (5). However, almost no literature exists in New Zealand about women in devised theatre. This thesis begins that research by making some of the history of women devising in New Zealand more visible and asks how this new knowledge could affect the current experience of women in devised theatre.

This study originates from my own devising experiences as a woman theatre practitioner and investigates the perceived tension between our undocumented history and the problematic experiences of women in devising today. The autoethnographic methodological approach of this research included interviews with thirteen individual women who were selected as significant devising practitioners and an online questionnaire exploring gender in devised theatre that collected over 100 anonymous responses. This led to six months of practice as research where myself and four other women devised a series of showings that focused on process not product. Using an intersectional feminist approach, we explored gendered behaviour in a devising process and investigated possible solutions to some of the difficulties that we, the interviewees and the questionnaire respondents had experienced. Overall, the thesis demonstrates that the lack of knowledge about our own devising theatre history, and the scarcity of documentation in our industry means that it is difficult for practitioners to learn from one another, to progress the conversation, and to create devised theatre spaces that are free from oppression.
Factory Futures - The Factory as a Spectacle
Authors:   , Petterson Luke
Published: July 2022

Currently, in New Zealand, pipfruit processing factories typically adopt the vernacular farm shed-like typology, which makes the business’s identity invisible to the surrounding community. The architecture presents itself as anonymous facades sprawled across large sites, expressing no association with the surrounding community, the industry, or New Zealand’s pride in the industry. New Zealand prides itself upon its horticultural industry, yet its factory designs fail to evidence this pride through architectural identity. While the designs of modern factory typologies for the New Zealand wine industry are challenging the traditional model of anonymous utilitarian forms – resulting in designs that establish relationships with the site’s broader context and identities that express the industry’s iconic qualities, whereas factory typologies for the New Zealand horticultural industry have not yet undertaken this important step. This thesis asks:How can the architecture of New Zealand’s pipfruit processing industry be reconceived to reflect pride in its identity, while contributing positively to the communities located adjacent to these factories?

How can architecture be engaged as a vehicle for establishing programmatic expression and place identity for New Zealand’s pipfruit industry, and in this way, also help establish ‘Factory Futures’?

This design-led research investigation seeks new and meaningful design principles for factory design relating to pipfruit processing that can help mitigate the negative aspects of anonymity in industrial factory typologies relating to one of New Zealand’s most successful export industries, while enhancing people’s awareness of and pride in New Zealand’s horticultural industries through its factory architecture.
Architecture for Edgewalkers
Authors:   , Song Hyemi
Published: July 2022

‘Diversity’ and ‘Inclusion’ are keywords that are becoming more prevalent in architectural discourse, including a return to a discussion of, otherness. ‘Otherness’ is a sense of being different from normative ideals – people who are defined as ‘other’ are also called edge walkers. In this sense, in the opening up of discursive boundaries, by pushing cultural limits, Edgewalkers are described as “cultural brokers” who contribute towards shaping “new ethnicities in the New Zealand context” (Fleras, Spoonley, 1999, 214). Moreover, within architecture, there has been a shift to consider the conditions and support that can be provided for diversity (RIBA, n.d). Within this context, this proposal explores how architecture can be designed for Edgewalkers. The research will be carried out through a design-led research methodology. This methodological framework follows Jane Rendell and Peter Downton; the thesis which pursue an iterative approach of exploration, which is then reflected on. Key methods of the thesis will include, drawing, modelling, digital processing, photography, filming and collaging will be used as a method to abstract and extract qualities of the site. The thesis will explore the research question through three different architectural scales. The first phase of the project will produce an installation, second and third phase will produce a public building each which will be a response to the research question. To conclude, this thesis demonstrates how different spatial strategies encourage people to feel like they belong and are safe.
Sacrosanct & Sound
Authors:   , Al-Ali Mohammed
Published: July 2022

In our age of sensory experience and understanding, iconographic rhetoric is arguably the primary medium used to seduce our perception. We ornament and adorn architecture superfluously to satisfy the eye. What of the ear? Over time, it is evident to see that architects have lost their connection and insight into the realm of sound, and yet we as humans are able to experience and distinguish a vast spectrum of sound frequency; so why not alter our approach to architecture to accommodate for our acute and powerful sense of audition? Thus, architecture needs to rediscover this sensory dimension to generate a more inclusive and evocative design.

Historically, aural design has been a catalyst in architecture in producing spaces that bathe in resonance and reverberance to achieve a sense of absolute immersion with the architectural form. It was eras of preliteracy that were coupled with exceptional acoustic logic; and it was not until oral traditions transformed into visual ones, that the primacy of sound sensitive criteria was retrospective (Sheridan & Lengen, 2013).

It is then essential to rebirth this ancient knowledge of aurality and its influence on form and identity. Thus, the thesis intends to explore how sound can be used as a design generator to create architectural form reflective of an identity or place. The research will harness a sound sample that resonates with a locale, which will then influence the architectural space. Understanding the nature of sound will also reflect the process of acoustic exploration and the manipulation of sound parameters to create form. In doing so this will allow architects to create visceral spaces once again. The outcome of this thesis will portray an architectural solution generated primarily by sound.
Robotic Arm Prefab Panels: A Proof of Concept
Authors:   , Stricot-Tarboton Glen
Published: July 2022

Prefabrication is a technique currently used in construction all over the world. The efficiencies of prefabrication allow for a more affordable and sustainable method of construction. This form of mass production is achieved through the use of modern technology, however, there is minimal customisation in these products for the end user.

Although automation has advanced in manufacturing, the growth of automation in construction has been slow. Robotic automation inherently allows for mass customisation. Robotic arms are flexible, accurate and easily programmable for discrete tasks. Coupled with a systematic computational environment to control them, they have the potential to transform how we build as well as respond to changes that the future may hold. Currently, there is no automation in the New Zealand building industry which offers a mass customised end product.

This research develops a system which can achieve mass customisation in prefabricated architecture. In order to achieve this, the use of parametric software and modern fabrication methods will develop a system which is able to fabricate architecture which is unique, while taking advantage of mass production efficiency in time, cost and lack of waste. The intended value of this research is to act as a proof of concept to the building industry in New Zealand.

Success of this concept could allow manufacturers to find value in further research in this field, allowing prefabrication to begin transitioning towards an automated industry.

This project is a scoping project to a) verify that current computational and robotic technology can be brought together to create a new method of production and b) identify issues for further development.

This research will act as a guidebook for future research into using robotics to achieve mass customisation in prefab panels by identifying the strengths and weaknesses of robotics and aiding the necessary shift in our construction industry from mass production to mass customisation.
Foreign Investment in New Zealand Manufacturing
Authors:   , Deane Roderick Sheldon
Published: July 2022

While there is no shortage of personal opinion on the subject of foreign investment in New Zealand it is nevertheless an outstanding example of poor documentation. The outcome of such a situation is all too often grossly misinformed opinion. Misunderstanding occurs by no means solely because of a lack of knowledge of basic facts. It extends also to considerable confusion surrounding the likely theoretical effects on the economy of a foreign capital inflow. This is especially true of overseas investment in New Zealand's manufacturing industry, and perhaps doubly unfortunate in view of the increasing importance of the sector. Over one quarter of the country's total 1963-64 factory output was attributable to companies with substantial foreign financial affiliations. In the same year, they accounted for 20 per cent of the total factory employment, and 5 per cent of the total number of establishments. Yet prior to this study there was complete ignorance of facts of this type. Apart from information on capital flows and income accruals as they affected the balance of payments, detailed empirical evidence simply did not exist.