bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Retaining the Knowledge of Older Experts in an Organisational Context and the Role of ICT
Authors:   , Joe Carmel
Published: November 2021

The oldest members of the post-World War 2 baby boomer generation — born between 1945 and 1963 — are soon nearing retirement, reducing or reviewing the extent of their participation in the workforce in the future. This has significant implications, especially for organisations relying on knowledge workers‘ expertise and experience, as within this cohort resides knowledge that is valuable to organisations. In New Zealand, the problem is twofold. First, Generation X — born between 1964 and 1981 — is numerically only 75% of the size of the baby boomer cohort. The workforce as a whole is predicted to grow at a slower rate after 2016 than it has between 1991 and 2006. Second, organisations will lose valuable knowledge if they do not act to remedy the potential impacts of this demographic phenomenon. The research topic is relevant at a time when few organisations have given serious consideration to the loss of expertise. There is extensive literature on the baby boomer generation, and on the information and communications technologies that exist to support knowledge-related activities such as capture and storage, facilitating access, and sharing and dissemination. However, less specific information was found on the infrastructure or processes for successfully retaining the knowledge of older experts. Do organisations know who the experts are and how their expertise may be retained? This action research study using qualitative methods explores how two organisations define the types of knowledge they will lose when experts leave. An in-depth study of one organisation‘s infrastructure and processes for retaining the knowledge of a specific expert in a key business setting, reveals that his expertise was valued but less understood. The study identified similarities between some characteristics of the expert‘s expertise and elements of wisdom. The findings are presented with reference to an existing research framework pertaining to wisdom as a type of expert knowledge. The framework was adaptable as a representation of the older expert‘s knowledge, and could also be related to the organisation‘s knowledge retention process. The study‘s contribution is a model that integrates knowledge retention with the knowledge framework of an older expert. This research study complements a rise in practitioner efforts to address knowledge loss concerns overseas — by extending our understanding of the nature of the knowledge that organisations value, how this knowledge can be retained, and how ICT can support the knowledge retention imperative
Rothko on Speed-Dial: Explorations of the Metaphysical Spatiality, Aura, and Mechanical Reproduction of Architecture
Authors:   , Aui Jansen
Published: November 2021

This research explores the relationship between architectural space and the abstract expressionist art of Mark Rothko. Rothko’s large format, post-1950’s paintings employing his signature ‘color-field’ style instigated much discourse relating the works to ideas of spatiality: particularly those of atmosphere, emotional intensity, and the abstract presentation of space. This thesis begins with the observation that there is a certain ‘authenticity’ lacking in reproductions of Rothko’s art, where the full effect of the ‘original’ is lost or betrayed in the process of its reproduction. From this premise within art, it finds an analogical relationship between architecture and its reproduction, particularly in photographed space and in the conventions of architectural representation. In both these cases, the full effect of the ‘space’ they describe (their ‘original’) is argued to be in some way lost. To explore this analogy, this thesis firstly develops a relationship between the artist and space: that ‘within’ the artwork, and that between this art and physical spaces (the artist’s studios and spaces of exhibition). Secondly, this thesis develops a shift of the artist’s spatial thinking toward architecture, with particular reference to Walter Benjamin’s concept of the ‘Aura’ of the original work of art. As read through his essay, The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction [1936], the Aura is interpreted as the essential ‘authenticity’ of the Original work that is lost within the act of reproduction. The argument concerning Rothko and spatiality is therefore furthered through specifically focussed readings of how this Aura might manifest metaphysically (i.e. experientially, as opposed to physically), through a parallel discussion of Rothko’s art and several ‘thematically’ related architectural case studies. In doing so, it explores the way Auratic architectural experiences can be invoked within the perception of an embodied presence. In both the applied aspect of this research by design thesis, and in its conclusion, there is a relationship highlighted between architectural convention (as reproduction), abstraction, and the immediacy, authenticity or Aura of a spatial encounter. It is concluded that from this singular study of an abstract painter, architects can learn something of the direct exchange or translation between the users of architecture and the transcendental realm of the ideas of architecture or space.
Porosity and Play: Sustaining Public Life in New Zealand's Suburban Shopping Centres
Authors:   , Moreno Michael
Published: November 2021

Throughout history, public plazas and town squares have provided the public realm for people to meet and "people watch". However the privatisation of public space has resulted in the demise of these traditional exterior public domains. These have been replaced by strictly controlled interior shopping malls, which place limitations on public behaviour. The concepts of 'play' and 'porosity' are possible remedies to the limitations. The purpose of this research is therefore to discover how the concepts of ‘play’ and ‘porosity’ can guide the redevelopment of New Zealand’s suburban shopping malls so as to enhance the quality of public space without detracting from the malls' commercial performance. In essence, 'play' is the spontaneous interaction which enriches public life and space, and is an encapsulation of the ideas of Jan Gehl, Elizabeth Farrelly and Quentin Stevens. 'Porosity', a concept coined by Nan Ellin, involves mixing views, programmes, ecology and paths within the same space. This revealed itself to be a method by which a space might be manipulated to support play. The 'boundary' is considered by both Stevens and Gehl to be an ideal space for play to occur, as it provides people with something to work against. Consequently, the boundary is investigated as the space where play and porosity interact. The investigation of play, porosity and the boundary includes an examination of international mall precedents and New Zealand case studies. The findings from these studies and a review of relevant literature are eventually tested in a design case study. This involves a redevelopment of Pakuranga Mall in Auckland, and includes a detailed investigation of a single boundary at an architectural scale. The design successfully proves that that a specific type of play can interact with porosity at a boundary in order to locally enhance the quality of public space. However the design also raises further questions about the concepts of porosity and play. Porosity was achieved in both the master plan and the design of the single boundary and was therefore developed at both the macro and micro scales. However the concept of play was successfully introduced only at the micro level of architectural development at the boundary. Therefore, the conclusion to this thesis discusses whether the interaction of play and porosity is limited to the boundary, or if the two concepts can be developed further to interact at a macro scale beyond the confines of a single boundary.
Dwelling through Multiple Places: Landscape, Identity and Transitory Dwellings in New Zealand
Authors:   , Muir Dawn
Published: November 2021

In light of various mechanisms of globalization, the increased mobility of life today has led to an increased ability to dwell in multiple places. Second homes or transitory dwellings are the result of this movement and exemplify our desire to dwell in multiple places. An essential motive to use and purchase a transitory dwelling is the landscape. Thus this thesis examines the importance of transitory dwellings, primarily investigating their relationship with the New Zealand landscape. The first section explores the place of home in the landscape. Also explored in this section is the relationship between the primary home and transitory dwellings. Discovered here is importance of transitory dwellings for concepts of identity and sense of place. The second section considers the importance of the landscape, both within the discipline of architecture and within a New Zealand context. The significance of the New Zealand landscape is discussed as it has become a symbol of our culture. The third section consists of case study analysis based of representations of traditional and contemporary transitory dwellings in New Zealand. The case studies illustrate the significance of place or site as playing an equal part in defining the importance of transitory dwellings. Within the final section the focus shifts accordingly to my own design work which has been driven by the research objective to examine the strong connection between landscape and transitory dwelling within a New Zealand context. What resulted was a design that interacts with the landscape in several ways. The design enters into the land, hovers slightly above, and appears to dramatically release itself from it. The construction of the platform, either by subtracting or adding, creates new solid grounds in continuation of the natural topography. Thus the new architecture claims territory over the landscape while still working in harmony with it.
High Frequency Ultrasonic Wave Propagation in Anisotropic Materials
Authors:   , Dawson Andrew Paul
Published: November 2021

The influence of highly regular, anisotropic, microstructured materials on high frequency ultrasonic wave propagation was investigated in this work. Microstructure, often only treated as a source of scattering, significantly influences high frequency ultrasonic waves, resulting in unexpected guided wave modes. Tissues, such as skin or muscle, are treated as homogeneous by current medical ultrasound systems, but actually consist of highly anisotropic micron-sized fibres. As these systems increase towards 100 MHz, these fibres will significantly influence propagating waves leading to guided wave modes. The effect of these modes on image quality must be considered. However, before studies can be undertaken on fibrous tissues, wave propagation in more ideal structures must be first understood. After the construction of a suitable high frequency ultrasound experimental system, finite element modelling and experimental characterisation of high frequency (20-200 MHz) ultrasonic waves in ideal, collinear, nanostructured alumina was carried out. These results revealed interesting waveguiding phenomena, and also identified the potential and significant advantages of using a microstructured material as an alternative acoustic matching layer in ultrasonic transducer design. Tailorable acoustic impedances were achieved from 4-17 MRayl, covering the impedance range of 7-12 MRayl most commonly required by transducer matching layers. Attenuation coefficients as low as 3.5 dBmm-1 were measured at 100 MHz, which is excellent when compared with 500 dBmm-1 that was measured for a state of the art loaded epoxy matching layer at the same frequency. Reception of ultrasound without the restriction of critical angles was also achieved, and no dispersion was observed in these structures (unlike current matching layers) until at least 200 MHz. In addition, to make a significant step forward towards high frequency tissue characterisation, novel microstructured poly(vinyl alcohol) tissue-mimicking phantoms were also developed. These phantoms possessed acoustic and microstructural properties representative of fibrous tissues, much more realistic than currently used homogeneous phantoms. The attenuation coefficient measured along the direction of PVA alignment in an example phantom was 8 dBmm-1 at 30 MHz, in excellent agreement with healthy human myocardium. This method will allow the fabrication of more realistic and repeatable phantoms for future high frequency tissue characterisation studies.
Pre-CAD-Frication: Re-establishing Automotive Paradigms to a Manufactured Architecture
Authors:   , Anderson Shaun Anthony
Published: November 2021

Through the late Twentieth Century, leading vehicle manufacturers increasingly eschewed the drive from mass production and instead focused upon lean production, where output has been determined according to demand. Automotive manufacturers no longer stockpile parts, but vehicles are now made to order, and in doing so the automotive industry has attained flexibility within production; a factor that has historically been unattainable with the simplistic rationalities of mass-production. Automotive manufacturers are now guided with digital design tools, and have further addressed the complexities of flexible production and the modular composition of the 21st Century automobile. Through the utilisation of digital design tools, digital collaboration, organisational capabilities and product technologies the 21st century automobile has successfully shown the world that highly complex products can be produced both efficiently and effectively, with versatility and high craft. The building industry has not been so swift to exploit the opportunities offered by digital lean production; often still constructing in the same laborious manner it has done so for hundreds of years. Digital lean production offers strategies for exerting efficient, sustainable design within contemporary architecture. Through the design of a flexible dwelling, this thesis establishes how the principles of digital, lean production can be utilised within Building Information Modeling to address the issues of speed and precision within the design and manufacture of contemporary architecture.
Towards a New Pacific Theatre: Practice‐Led Enquiry into a Model of Theatre Making that Relates to the Geography, Cultures and Spiritual Values of Aotearoa/New Zealand
Authors:   , Van Dijk Bert
Published: November 2021

This practice‐led research enquiry sets out to develop and test a model of theatre practice that relates to the unique geographic, cultural and spiritual dimensions of Aotearoa/New Zealand. In this practice, actors are connected with their body and the earth (they have feet), archetypal qualities inherent in nature and culture are incorporated into training and performance (return of the gods), a sense of adventure and risk‐taking is emphasized, and the practice relates to the multiple cultures and communities of Aotearoa/New Zealand. Presence, defined as the ability to be sensorially alive in the moment, and site‐specific performance, a creative response to locality, emerged as two of the key strategies to connect with self, other and the environment. By investigating selected principles, strategies and values from the indigenous, pre‐European, Māori performing arts (whare tapere), devised theatre, the Michael Chekhov technique, and Japanese Noh theatre, an intercultural approach to site specific theatre evolved that interweaves the four pathways of collaboration, connection, exploration and transformation and their corresponding values. After considering the political and ethical issues of intercultural performance a number of principles to guide the process of intercultural exchange were formulated and tested. A vital component of this study was the creative development and performance of Ex_isle of Strangers – a site‐specific work developed in response to the tangible and intangible dimensions of Matiu/Somes Island. The research generated moments of practice that investigated the creative potential of residential devising processes and the transformative value of audience mobility in performances that involve physical and metaphorical journeying. These moments provided the participants (performers and spectators) time, space and opportunity to interact with one another and with the site they occupied, thus significantly increasing their level of physical and mental engagement with the work.
Development of a Compact, Configurable, Real-Time Range Imaging System
Authors:   , Jongenelen Adrian Peter Paul
Published: November 2021

This thesis documents the development of a time-of-flight (ToF) camera suitable for autonomous mobile robotics applications. By measuring the round trip time of emitted light to and from objects in the scene, the system is capable of simultaneous full-field range imaging. This is achieved by projecting amplitude modulated continuous wave (AMCW) light onto the scene, and recording the reflection using an image sensor array with a high-speed shutter amplitude modulated at the same frequency (of the order of tens of MHz). The effect is to encode the phase delay of the reflected light as a change in pixel intensity, which is then interpreted as distance. A full field range imaging system has been constructed based on the PMD Technologies PMD19k image sensor, where the high-speed shuttering mechanism is builtin to the integrated circuit. This produces a system that is considerably more compact and power efficient than previous iterations that employed an image intensifier to provide sensor modulation. The new system has comparable performance to commercially available systems in terms of distance measurement precision and accuracy, but is much more flexible with regards to its operating parameters. All of the operating parameters, including the image integration time, sensor modulation phase offset and modulation frequency can be changed in realtime either manually or automatically through software. This highly configurable system serves as an excellent platform for research into novel range imaging techniques. One promising technique is the utilisation of measurements using multiple modulation frequencies in order to maximise precision over an extended operating range. Each measurement gives an independent estimate of the distance with limited range depending on the modulation frequency. These are combined to give a measurement with extended maximum range using a novel algorithm based on the New Chinese Remainder Theorem. A theoretical model for the measurement precision and accuracy of the new algorithm is presented and verified with experimental results. All distance image processing is performed on a per-pixel basis in real-time using a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). An efficient hardware implementation of the phase determination algorithm for calculating distance is investigated. The limiting resource for such an implementation is random access memory (RAM), and a detailed analysis of the trade-off between this resource and measurement precision is also presented.
Language AND Content? How do Curriculum Teachers of Year 12 English Language Learners Combine Two Disciplines?
Authors:   , Gleeson Margaret
Published: November 2021

The provision of language instruction in secondary schools for students who speak English as an additional language (EAL) is moving from the domain of the English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) classroom where it traditionally lay. Increasingly, curriculum teachers are urged to take responsibility for language learning within their subject areas. How are curriculum teachers responding? Has this affected their professional relationships with ESOL teachers? What is the nature of the professional engagement between language and content specialists? This qualitative investigation uses an exploratory case study approach to examine the beliefs and teaching approaches identified by secondary school curriculum teachers as beneficial to learning for EAL students in their classes. Data were gathered using a questionnaire, interviews, and classroom observations for seven participant teachers, then analysed thematically using a conceptual framework derived from content-based language teaching principles. The findings were that these teachers’ approaches to teaching language appear to be shaped by their disciplinary beliefs and pedagogical content knowledge. Their openness to applying a systematic language focus to their teaching seemed to relate to whether their curriculum area was characterised as ‘hard’ or ‘soft’. They struggled to differentiate between language and literacy learning and largely assumed language to mean vocabulary. This indicates that many language challenges facing EAL learners may be invisible to their teachers. Curriculum teachers’ unfamiliarity with research-based language teaching has implications for teacher education and professional development. This study suggests the urgency for compulsory pre-service teaching courses to illustrate how disciplinary meaning is shaped by specific language forms. It also indicates that curriculum teachers with specialist qualifications in teaching EAL learners may provide a powerful link between ESOL and subject expertise.
Ensuring Uncertainty? The International Political Economy of Over-The-Counter Derivatives Trading
Authors:   , Bateman Seth
Published: November 2021

Over-the-counter (OTC) financial derivatives are increasingly used in a globalising financial market as tools for risk management. However, the advent of large financial crises as a result of their use raises issue as to the risks derivatives themselves might pose to the players who use them, as well as to the international financial system as a whole. It is, therefore, a key question to ask what regulation might be apt for trade in OTC derivatives. This thesis considers how a post-structuralist account might offer important insight into how this question is understood. Post-structuralist, as well as broader social constructivist and non-rationalist critiques help illustrate some of the limits to objectivist rationalism in practices of financial risk management. This thesis argues that the danger of ignoring such critiques include a continued “illusion” of individual and state-actor control over macro-economic processes, such as the phenomenal volume of trade in OTC derivatives contracts today. In this light, therefore, the regulation of OTC derivatives is not just a political question of who does and should have explicit policy control over economic and regulatory processes; but it is also a political question over knowledge constructs, and how particular technologies and specialist discourses are developed that enable “experts” legitimacy and power where it is not necessarily justified.
An Investigation of the Factors that Influence User Acceptance of Mobile information Systems in the Workplace
Authors:   , Scornavacca Eusebio
Published: November 2021

Mobile information systems (IS) such as field force automation and mobile office applications are rapidly being adopted by a large number of organizations. Despite its popularity and widespread adoption, the body of knowledge regarding user acceptance of mobile information systems in the workplace still is largely anecdotal. The purpose of this study was to develop and rigorously test a model of the factors that influence user acceptance of mobile information systems in the workplace. A thorough review of relevant literature in electronic business, mobile business, user acceptance of technology and user acceptance of mobile technology provided the basis for the development of the conceptual model that guided this research. The model hypothesized that temporal, spatial and structural characteristics of the portfolio of tasks performed by users of mobile information systems in the workplace (namely, temporal requirements of job, spatial dispersion of job, spatial dependence of job, job structuredness and job interdependence) would influence their perceived individual need for mobile information systems (PINMIS). It also suggested that the perceived individual need for mobile IS would influence the performance expectancy as well as intention to use mobile IS. In addition, the model posed that system portability would influence effort expectancy and intention to use mobile IS. In order to develop a research instrument, construct domains were specified and an initial set of items was generated. This was followed by an extensive purification process which consisted of card sorting and expert review rounds, survey pre-tests as well as a pilot study with 234 respondents from a large telecommunications company in New Zealand. The results obtained in this stage helped to refine the measurements and provided the foundations for the main study. The main study was based on a survey with 309 respondents from a wide range of organizations in New Zealand. Using Partial-Least-Squares (PLS) the data collected in the main study was used to test the model. The model was successfully validated and statistically significant evidence was provided that temporal requirements of job, spatial dispersion of job, spatial freedom of job and job interdependence positively influenced PINMIS. On the other hand, job structuredness did not significantly influence PINMIS. It was also found that PINMIS significantly influences performance expectancy and that system portability has a positive effect over effort expectancy as well as intentions to use mobile IS.
Consumer Intentions to Use Electronic Banking Channels: The Role of Task-Channel Fit
Authors:   , Hoehle Hartmut
Published: November 2021

The increase in electronically mediated self-service technologies in the banking industry is changing the way banks service consumers. Despite a large body of research on electronic banking channels, no study has been undertaken to explore the importance of the fit between electronic banking channels and banking tasks. Nor has there been research into how task-channel fit and other factors influence consumer intentions to use electronic banking channels. Integrating task-technology fit theory with acceptance and adoption research, this research develops and tests a research model that explains how the task-channel fit (TCF) and other factors impact on consumers' intentions to use electronic banking channels. An exploratory study was first conducted, investigating industry experts' perceptions towards the concept of task-channel fit of electronic banking channels. The findings demonstrate that the concept was perceived as being highly relevant by bank managers. A research model was then developed drawing on the existing literature on electronic banking channels. Following this, five exploratory focus groups were conducted in order to assess the initial conceptualization of the research model. Subsequently, a survey questionnaire instrument was developed using judgment rounds and two pretest evaluations. Central to the scale development was the measurement of the TCF construct. Drawing on IS strategy and alignment literatures, a parallel instrument was created in order to determine TCF across several unique dimensions. A pilot study assessed responses from 280 consumers using Internet banking for two different banking tasks. Overall, the scales demonstrated high reliability and showed adequate construct validity. The analysis of the pilot study suggested that the TCF construct and other antecedents of consumer intentions to use Internet banking explained a substantial amount of variance in the dependent variable. The scales were refined in light of the pilot study. In the main study, 340 responses were collected from consumers using Internet banking for account inquiries or financial loans. The results showed that the TCF construct was a strong predictor of consumers' perceptions on the usefulness of Internet banking and their attitudes towards these services for both banking tasks. Overall, the TCF construct and other identified variables accounted for at least 63% of variance in the dependent variable.
(The) Margin(s) Speak! A Multifaceted Examination of Practising ‘Men who have Sex with Men’ Development in Bangkok
Authors:   , Burford James
Published: November 2021

In this study, I explore the experiences and understandings of twenty-seven participants involved with ‘men who have sex with men’ (MSM) development interventions in Bangkok, seeking to better understand the complex realities that emerge in practising MSM development. I endeavor to interrogate the development field’s limited understandings of sexuality as well as the discourses present (and absent) in existing Queering Development research. By acknowledging my personal journey in and through this re-search, I also examine authentic ways-of-being a queeresearcher, noting the challenges I faced and power I discovered in re-searching and re-presenting my own work. Ultimately, I explore the link between the paucity of local developing queer narratives in Queering Development and the limited space students have, to be visibly queer in mainstream theses – to do this I use the metaphor of ‘the margins’. In framing this re-search, I draw nourishment from queer, critical, poststructural and Participatory Action Research epistemologies. Methodologically, I carried out semi-structured interviews and focus groups, as well as using other tools such as mapping and story writing. I also spent time ‘hanging out’ at both Rainbow Sky and Bangkok Rainbow, enabling both a deeper appreciation of the work carried out by the organisations as well as providing an opportunity to gather materials. The generation of data did not cease once I left ‘the field’; I continued to produce autoethnographic texts including poetry and a re-search performance which I used both as a method of enquiry and re-presentation of this study. This multifaceted approach enabled diverse questions (emerging across disciplines) to be addressed in my work. To re-present my analyses of participants’ accounts I have celebrated different ways-of-knowing re-search. I have used poetry and consciously performative writing, visual art (including graffiti) and performance alongside traditional scholarly prose. This approach enables multiple voices to emerge all over the page, questioning the hegemony of the bound, straight-lined thesis and the ‘legitimate’ knowledges it generally contains. I argue that queer postgraduate students may be able to open spaces to produce authentic work, despite pressures to perform straight research texts. Yet, pressures to conform to traditional understandings of theses may be painful reminders of their own positions in academia and society. Overall, my study offers intimate, multifaceted perspectives on the agency of MSM development practitioners in Bangkok and my own experience of finding power through queeresearch. I hope it will contribute to more nuanced understandings of local practitioners of MSM development in Queering Development literature, and to scholarship on queer postgraduate students’ experience of re-search more generally.
A Proteomic Analysis of Fibre Degradation and Assimilation by Butyrivibrio Proteoclasticus
Authors:   , Dunne Jonathan Craig
Published: November 2021

Butyrivibrio proteoclasticus B316T is a Gram-positive, lignocellulose degrading bacterium that is prevalent in the rumen of animals grazing pasture, and is one of only a few rumen microbes known to degrade and utilise xylan in vitro. Xylan is a hemicellulose that comprises up to 45% of the polysaccharide component of ruminant forages. Often as little as 30% of the total energy content of forages is utilised by the ruminant due to poor hemicellulose degradation by the fibrolytic rumen microbes. An opportunity exists to improve forage degradation in the rumen, which is predicted to improve the productivity of forage fed ruminants. A clearer understanding of the strategies employed by fibrolytic rumen microbes to degrade and utilise lignocellulose is important in realising this goal. Almost 10% of the B. proteoclasticus genome encodes proteins involved in polysaccharide metabolism and transport, which includes 134 fibrolytic enzymes that are active upon plant fibre. Many of these are clustered into one of 36 polysaccharide utilisation loci that also contain transmembrane transporters, transcriptional regulators, environmental sensors and genes involved in further polysaccharide metabolism. Gel-based and gel-free proteomic analyses of the cytosolic, cell-associated, and secreted fractions of cells grown on xylan were used to identify proteins involved in the degradation, assimilation, and metabolism of hemicellulose. A set of 416 non-redundant proteins were identified, which included 12 extracellular and 24 cytosolic polysaccharidases, and 59 proteins involved in the uptake and further metabolism of polysaccharide degradation products, many of which were substrate-binding protein components of ATP-driven transporter systems. In cells grown on xylan, several of these proteins displayed significant protein abundance changes relative to cells grown on the monomeric sugar xylose, in a pattern that reflected the growth substrates used. A model of xylan degradation by B. proteoclasticus based on these results hypothesises that B. proteoclasticus attacks the xylan backbone and main substituent groups of hemicellulose in the extracellular space, assimilates the xylooligosaccharides and performs the final stages of degradation within the cell. These results provide insight into a xylan degrading enzyme system that has evolved to efficiently degrade and utilise hemicellulose, extend our understanding of the enzymes that are likely to play important roles in hemicellulose degradation, and support the notion that Butyrivibrio species are important contributors to rumen fibre degradation.
Stille: The Art of Being Silent
Authors:   , Macann Emma
Published: November 2021

This thesis discusses the importance for people within the confines of high-density, metropolitan cities to find a collective moment of retreat through an architectural landscape of silence. Silence is becoming a desired and yet difficult to obtain commodity in modern western society. Due to intensified work and home commitments combined with overwhelming sensory manipulation in the urban environment, stress and psychological overloading is common. Stress and psychological overloading is problematic with regards to a sense of connectivity to other people. With constant sensory onslaught it is becoming increasingly important to create moments of stillness, which in the course of controlling and manipulating external stimuli allows for mental and physical retreat through contemplation. Historically places of silence and contemplation in western urban settings were places of worship. These spaces are designed to encourage groups of people to congregate and experience internal reflection while establishing a sense of togetherness. As western society moves towards secularisation, finding moments of silence collectively becomes even more significant in harvesting and maintaining a sense of belonging. Through referencing Juhani Pallasmaa and philosopher Max Picard an in-depth exploration into sensory design and what silence embodies is established. This, in combination with a critique of the detrimental current situation in modern society, asserts reasons for the need to revert to simplified sensory experiences in order to increase personal awareness of self and others. Nature and its pivotal role in stimulating a sense of silence is investigated through current theory and personal design explorations. This research is reinforced by case studies into successful modern places of retreat, for example Dominique Perrault’s Bibliothéque Nationale de France. Such schemes are used to understand notions of ritual and removal within a city setting. By incorporating silence (both visually and aurally) into an everyday city park in London, opportunities are created for the wider public to encounter and benefit from Stille.(1)   (1) — German: English translation is Silence
Planktic Foraminifera-Based Sea Surface Temperature Estimates and Late Quaternary Oceanography off New Zealand's West Coast
Authors:   , Kolodziej Andrew Peter
Published: November 2021

Planktic foraminiferal assemblages were used to investigate the paleoceanography of the Eastern Tasman Sea over the last 480 kyrs (Marine Isotope Stages 12-1). One hundred and sixty-two faunas (96 picked and identified as part of this project (MIS 12-6) added to 66 census counts from Dr. M. Crundwell (MIS 6-1)) have been assembled from Marion Dufresne piston core MD06-2986 (~43˚ S. off New Zealand‟s west coast, 1477 m water depth). Faunal changes through the last five glacial-interglacial cycles are used to track surface water mass movement. Glacial periods are dominated by the eutrophic species Globigerina bulloides, with significant contributions from the temperate species Globoconella inflata. Temperate species Neogloboquadrina incompta and Gc. inflata dominate interglacials, with the former dominating the warmer parts and the latter dominating the cooler parts of the interglacials. Modern Analogue Technique (MAT) and an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) were used to estimate past sea surface temperatures (SST) based on the foraminiferal census counts data (23 species, ~46,000 specimens). SSTs show that MIS 12 was the longest, sustained cold period, while the coldest temperature was recorded in MIS 5d (~8º C). Interglacials MIS 11 and 5e are the two warmest stages of the record, with SSTs reaching ~18.5º C, about ~2º C warmer than present day. We find that contrary to either the western Tasman Sea or offshore eastern New Zealand, the eastern Tasman Sea has been fairly isolated from any major influx of subpolar or subtropical species carried in with surface water from either high or low latitude sources. Subtropical taxa abundance (Globigerinoides ruber, Neogloboquadrina dutertrei (D), Globigerinoides sacculifer, Globigerinella aequilateralis, Sphaeroidinellopsis dehiscens, Truncorotalia truncatulinoides (D), Beella digitata) is low (average ~0.6%) and only prominent during peak interglacials. Subantarctic taxa abundance (Neogloboquadrina pachyderma, Neogloboquadrina dutertrei (S)) is low (average ~5.1%), but significant, particularly in glacial periods. Comparison of faunal and SSTANN data along with ratios of Nq. pachyderma:Nq. incompta (previously referred to as coiling ratios of Nq. pachyderma) and absolute abundance of planktic productivity (a productivity proxy) suggest that the STF migrated northwards towards the site in all glacial periods, and may have moved over the site in MIS 12 and possibly MIS 5d. A latitudinal SSTANN 25 comparison between offshore eastern and western New Zealand reveals that MD06-2986 (~43º S) is most similar (~0.5º C) to ODP Site 1125 (~42º S). On the contrary, ODP Site 1119 (44º S) is ~5º C cooler than MD06-2986. This comparison highlights the significant changes in surface water masses off eastern New Zealand that exist in such a short span of latitude because of the influence of a complex submarine topography.
Governing Sustainable Subjects: Environmentality in Polity, Economy and Civil Society
Authors:   , Hamlin Morgan J.
Published: November 2021

“Sustainability” is a broad concept that is used to guide a diverse range of government policies, corporate governance practices, and environmental movements; promote ethical and ‘green’ consumer products; and to transform existing production and consumption practices, to name but a few. While these various manifestations of sustainability differ from one another, they appear to be linked by a shared narrative. In this thesis, I utilise Norman Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis to investigate if and why sustainability discourses share a common narrative. I focus on the relationship between the management of the population and the supposed boundaries between the state, market, and civil society by exploring the emergence of the terms “environmental sustainability” and “sustainable consumption” within the practices and narratives of governance and self-regulation. By combining Slavoj Zizek’s notion of ideology with Timothy W. Luke’s concept of environmentality, and Michel Foucault’s conceptions of governmentality and power, I argue that the governmentalisation of sustainability is the common thread that runs through the three narratives that I analyse. More specifically, I argue that quotidian sustainability narratives have the effect of regulating human conduct through largely apolitical and technical understandings of environmental problems, disciplinary practices, and practices of the self that appear to remove risk from the act of consumption and everyday life.
Detection of Inorganic and Metal Nanoparticles using qNano – IZON Science’s Nanoparticle Analysis System
Authors:   , Ali Nadiah
Published: November 2021

This thesis investigates the potential and capability of the qNano instrument, a nanoparticle analysis research instrument developed by IZON Science Ltd. The qNano operates on the basis of the Scanning Ion Occlusion Spectroscopy (SIOS) technology which is similar to the Coulter technique also known as resistive pulse sensing. This coupled with an adjustable nanopore and IZON’s recently developed Variable Pressure Module (VPM) makes qNano a versatile nanoparticle analysis apparatus. In this study the potential of the instrument to detect inorganic and metal nanoparticles is explored. Polystyrene, silica, gold, silver, and magnetic nanoparticles have been used in this research to better understand the system and its components and to discover the capacity of the instrument to detect these particles. Using polystyrene nanoparticles, it was found that the adjustable nanopore exhibit membrane softening and follows the Mullins effect. Each of the apertures also possesses a characteristic window of operation, which refers to a range of stretch setting for accurate particle detection. The adjustable nanopore also allows for sizing particles with different diameters. The effect of surface functionality in the signal output was also investigated. Gold nanoparticles were synthesized via the citrate reduction method and the study of gold nanoparticles suspended in IZON’s standard buffer solution was looked into in depth. It was found that the gold nanoparticles aggregate in the buffer solution due to the presence of potassium chloride (KCl) salt which screens the electrostatic stabilization provided by the citrate ions. Silver nanoparticles show similar aggregation. With the concentration of gold and KCl remaining constant, resistive pulses caused by gold aggregates were detected after a period of three hours. Varying the concentration of gold nanoparticles shows that larger aggregates are formed as opposed to small aggregates with higher population. Identification of different types of particles present in a solution is yet to be achieved at this stage. Silica and magnetic nanoparticles were studied briefly. Successful measurements of magnetic particles were achieved with the aid of the pressure module. However, aggregates of magnetic particles were also formed and can be seen with the naked eye after solution was left standing overnight. Casein stabilized silica particles shows erratic current readings as the ethanol used in fabricating the silica particles collapse the casein micelle structure thus making the stabilization by casein void. Overall, this thesis has shown the qNano instrument’s ability in detecting nanoparticles other than biological molecules. This thesis also shows the potential of qNano as a versatile research instrument. The prospect of further research using this instrument is tremendous especially in characterising in greater detail inorganic and metal nanoparticles.
The Livre d'Airs et de Simphonies Meslés de Quelques Fragmens d’Opéra 1697 of Pierre Gillier: An Edition and Study
Authors:   , Gerrard Kathleen
Published: November 2021

The Livre d’Airs et de Simphonies meslés de quelques fragmens d’Opéra de la Composition de P. Gillier (Book of Airs and Instrumental Pieces mixed with some operatic fragments composed by Pierre Gillier) was published in Paris in 1697. Its contents are dedicated to the twenty-three year-old Philippe duc de Chartres (son of Philippe I duc d’Orléans, only brother of Louis XIV). Of the life of Pierre Gillier (1665- died after 1713), we know only that he possessed an haute-contre voice, and was employed as a chamber musician in the households of Philippe I duc d’Orléans and of his son, Philippe II. The Parisian courts of the Dauphin, and of Philippe I supported the secular arts that Louis XIV (self-exiled at Versailles), had rejected. There was an insatiable appetite for amateur music making in late seventeenthcentury France, notably in the broader societal context of airs: the salons. Composers generally wrote individual airs (of the serious and drinking types), complete operas, or theatre works. In such a context, Gillier’s publication is unique: his declared aim was to assemble a collection of serious songs linked together tonally in suites with instrumental pieces by means of their keys, for chamber music performance. As a precursor to the arrival in France of the multi-movement sonata and cantata, Gillier’s grouping together of instrumental and vocal movements to make larger musical entities has exceptional interest. His procedure has close links with theatrical practice. The thesis includes a critical edition of Gillier's complete collection made from the copy preserved in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France as F-Pn/ Rés. Vm7 305. The edition is prefaced by a study of performance practices in vocal and instrumental music in late seventeenth-century France.
Te Papa: A Forum for the World? A Narrative Exploration of a Global Public Sphere
Authors:   , Schorch Philipp
Published: November 2021

The reinvention of the museum as "forum" within the new museology and the notion of the "public sphere" are inextricably linked. Both concepts have been theoretically scrutinised in museum studies, critical theory, cultural studies and other academic disciplines, but there is a lack of empirical insights into their actual functioning. This thesis offers an empirical interrogation of the "museum forum" idea. It sheds ethnographic light on cross-cultural encounters in a "cosmopolitanised" world illuminating what it means to experience a museological space and how a public sphere is "lived". Drawing on a long-term narrative study of global visitors to the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Te Papa), this thesis humanises Te Papa as a particular global public sphere, or discursive space. The critical hermeneutic analysis facilitates an understanding of "cross-cultural dialogue" and the "public sphere" as interpretive actions, movements and performances made by cultural actors. By exploring individual experiences instead of totalised abstractions, this study dissects the complexity of cultural worldmaking and politics elucidating "interpretive contests" and their "enunciation". Due to the in-depth empirical insights and their multilayered contextualisation, the "museum forum" evolves from an abstract idea into a concrete discursive world of negotiations. This thesis examines Te Papa as a particular place, space and empirical reality. It interrogates seemingly universal concepts such as "culture" and "politics" producing empirically situated, contextualised and rich theoretical propositions of significance for the human sciences in general as well as critical museum studies in particular.