bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Numerical Simplification and its Effect on Fragment Distributions in Genetic Programming
Authors:   , Kinzett Alan David
Published: November 2021

In tree-based genetic programming (GP) there is a tendency for the program trees to increase in size from one generation to the next. If this increase in program size is not accompanied by an improvement in fitness then this unproductive increase is known as bloat. It is standard practice to place some form of control on program size. This can be done by limiting the number of nodes or the depth of the program trees, or by adding a component to the fitness function that rewards smaller programs (parsimony pressure) or by simplifying individual programs using algebraic methods. This thesis proposes a novel program simplification method called numerical simplification that uses only the range of values the nodes take during fitness evaluation. The effect of online program simplification, both algebraic and numerical, on program size and resource usage is examined. This thesis also examines the distribution of program fragments within a genetic programming population and how this is changed by using simplification. It is shown that both simplification approaches result in reductions in average program size, memory used and computation time and that numerical simplification performs at least as well as algebraic simplification, and in some cases will outperform algebraic simplification. This reduction in program size and the resources required to process the GP run come without any significant reduction in accuracy. It is also shown that although the two online simplification methods destroy some existing program fragments, they generate new fragments during evolution, which compensates for any negative effects from the disruption of existing fragments. It is also shown that, after the first few generations, the rate new fragments are created, the rate fragments are lost from the population, and the number of distinct (different) fragments in the population remain within a very narrow range of values for the remainder of the run.
Interrogating the Liberal Peace in East Timor
Authors:   , Behrend Margaret
Published: November 2021

Peace operations from the 1990s have increasingly been driven by the assumption that conflict and social unrest can be ‘solved’ through the establishment and support of liberal structures. Known academically as liberal peace, this approach advocates the liberalisation of politics and economics, and the establishment of rule of law and international human rights norms, claiming such liberal structures offer the necessary foundation to lasting peace. This claim has become unquestioned logic for many of the international bodies and individual actors that participate in the peace industry and has led to a standardised approach to post-conflict situations. However, is this “peacebuilding consensus” justified? Does liberal peace foster sustainable peace? This thesis interrogates the concept and application of liberal peace to assess the extent to which liberal peacebuilding delivers on its claims and provides the foundations of sustainable peace. Due to the enormous size of such a project and the limitations of this thesis, I focus on one case study in my analysis of the liberal peace approach – East Timor. Relying on a single example of peacebuilding allows for a more in depth discussion of efforts, however, it is insufficient to draw broader conclusions about liberal peace. This body of research, therefore, is intended to contribute to existing academic work that evaluates liberal peace. Where this thesis deviates from existing research, however, is in the application of an immanent critique to assess liberal peacebuilding in East Timor...
Mixing Business with Politics? The Role and Influence of the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum
Authors:   , Le Quesne Simon
Published: November 2021

Since 2004, the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF), an annual bilateral business-led Forum, has facilitated the engagement of high level state and non-state Australian and New Zealand actors in debate, unofficial dialogue, networking, information and idea exchange. Yet very little is known about the event, who participates and what the ANZLF produces. Drawing on extensive interviews with key participants and organisations, this thesis examines the Forum’s genesis, its form and modalities, and the substance of the meetings. While the literature on “track two” diplomacy and regional integration often exaggerates the importance of business and other non-official actors in the process, evidence from the ANZLF case suggests that these participants merely promote, but do not transform trans-Tasman economic integration policy. Rather, the ANZLF has served as a tool for governments to expand their capacities and to draw on alternative resources. The ANZLF is an example of unofficial diplomacy helping governments to build strategic relationships with a variety of non-governmental actors to advance specific objectives. From a New Zealand perspective, the thesis argues the Leadership Forum has been beneficial in building relationships, networks and trust as the country engages in asymmetrical integration with Australia.
Thematic Teaching and Student Engagement in a Non-Academic Year 12 Mathematics Course
Authors:   , Pomeroy David Charles Hay
Published: November 2021

The recently revised New Zealand Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 2007) encourages mathematics teachers to engage their students through the use of meaningful contexts for learning. One approach to making contexts for mathematics more meaningful is to explore a single context over a series of lessons, an approach known as thematic teaching. Prior studies of thematic mathematics teaching have failed to reach a consensus on the relationship between thematic teaching and student outcomes such as achievement and attitude toward learning. This study used a pragmatic, mixed methods design to examine the relationship between thematic teaching and student engagement with two classes of low-achieving senior students in a New Zealand secondary school. It examined which student characteristics appeared to be related to whether students engaged with thematic teaching, and the reason students gave for their preferred teaching styles. Students experienced four thematic lessons with the theme of the human settlement of the Pacific Islands and four non-thematic lessons during a coordinate geometry topic. Each student‟s engagement was assessed every lesson using questionnaires and observations, and students were interviewed in order to elicit their views on thematic teaching. Collectively, no difference was found between student engagement in thematic and non-thematic teaching. However, many individual students found either thematic or non-thematic teaching more engaging. English language learners tended to prefer non-thematic teaching, some reporting that they found the theme an unhelpful complication. There is preliminary evidence that Pakeha students may engage with thematic teaching to a greater extent than Pasifika students. Students did not engage in learning when they did not understand the mathematical content, even when they were interested in the theme. The study augments the thematic mathematics teaching literature by examining variability in the apparent effects of thematic teaching, and articulating students‟ experiences of thematic teaching. It gives guarded support for the current policy emphasis on teaching mathematics contextually and reveals some potential pitfalls associated with teaching mathematics thematically.
An Alternative to Development Framework: A Study of Permaculture and Anarchism in Global Justice Movements in New Zealand
Authors:   , Gaisford Tazia
Published: November 2021

This study is a response to calls for alternatives to development by postdevelopment authors and critics of post-development alike. It asks “can the praxis of permaculture and anarchism provide an alternative to development?” Although alternatives to development arguably do not exist untouched by the dominant development paradigm, it is possible to imagine and to create the different possible organisations based on principles of mutual aid, direct action and self-management. Anarchism as a politically focused social philosophy and permaculture as an ecologically focused design philosophy are mutually beneficial in strengthening each other. The combined analysis of alternatives to development uses case studies in the Wellington Region, primarily Climate Camp Aotearoa, with permaculture and anarchist principles, and contributes another perspective to the post-development debate. The two approaches share converging central ethics, principles and struggles of praxis. They recognise that transformative change is necessary. Whether it is called a cultural revolution, transition or paradigm shift, the underlying recognition is that we need to live more harmoniously with each other and the natural environment by creating diverse post-industrial societies. Many tools, principles and processes advocated by alternative development and post-development are the same. However, the combination of those tools, principles and processes, and how they are designed and applied in relation to each other systemically, are significant in determining whether or not the intent is that of an alternative to development. Solidarity and stewardship, decentralisation and autonomy, tight multiple feedback mechanisms and a whole system design approach are some of the alternative people-focused solutions proposed by anarchism and permaculture. Fieldwork research was conducted using the qualitative ethnographic and action research methods of participant observation from a constructionist and post-development perspective. Global justice networks are given importance as examples of the anarchistic intent of alternatives to development.
The Role of Exports in African Economic Development: A Comparative Study of Mauritius and Tunisia
Authors:   , Carey Simon Michael
Published: November 2021

Mauritius and Tunisia stand out as two remarkable exceptions to the African economic growth experience. Since their respective independences in 1968 and 1956, both have achieved average real GDP per capita growth well in excess of three percent per year. Export policies featured highly in the developmental strategies of both countries as they transitioned through a dependency on agriculture into manufacturing and then services. What makes this comparison so interesting is that despite such similar success, Tunisia and Mauritius are fundamentally very different. This study comprises the first ever in-depth comparison of these two countries, presenting a qualitative analysis and then augmenting it with a comprehensive set of econometric tests. The focus is on the relationship between exports and economic growth, but the discussion explores the wider context in both countries. Using the Granger-causality approach, we find strong evidence for export-led growth in Mauritius, but no significant evidence of any causal relationship in Tunisia. On the basis of a broader analysis we argue that exports were still important in both countries, but appear to have been more central to the growth process in Mauritius. This broader analysis also highlights that other factors – such as a strong institutional environment – were important in facilitating or directly contributing to such consistent growth.
Ka ora ngā Kōrero Hītori o Ngāti Konohi mā roto mai i ngā Mahi Whakaako Waiata i te Kapa Haka o Whāngārā-mai-tawhiti
Authors:   , Rangihaeata Piripi Kaahe
Published: November 2021

Ko te whāinga matua o tēnei tuhinga, ko te wānanga, ko te tātari i te huarahi whakaako i ngā kōrero hītori, i ngā kōrero tuku iho i roto i ngā mahi kapa haka. Ko ngā huarahi pēnei i te haka, i te waiata, i te mōteatea e whakatauira nei i te āhuatanga o te ako ā-waha, ā-hinengaro, ā-kupu, ā-whatu hoki. Hei whakatauira ake i tēnei kaupapa rangahau, ka noho ko taku kapa haka o Whāngārā-maitawhiti hei kapa patapātai māku mō tēnei kaupapa rangahau. Ka rua, ka whakamāramatia ake ngā huarahi e whāia ana e rātou ki te whāngai, ki te pupuri i ngā kōrero hītori o Ngāti Konohi. Kua tīpakohia tētahi momo titonga nō ia tau i tū ai Te Kapahaka o Whāngārāmai- tawhiti mai te tau 1995 ki te tau 2011. Hei tauira ko ētahi o ngā kaupapa titonga waiata e hāngai ana ki te hītori o Paikea mai i Hawaiki ki Whāngārā. Ka noho ko Paikea hei kupu whakarite mō te matenga o tētahi kaumātua nō Ngāti Konohi. Ka noho hoki ko ngā hononga i waenga i a Ngāti Konohi me ētahi atu iwi hei kaupapa mō ētahi/ tētahi o ngā waiata/ haka/ mōteatea. Ko te mea nui, he titonga waiata ēnei e puta ai, e pupuri ai ngā kōrero hītori a Ngāti Konohi ake, ā, he mea tuku iho i roto i te wā, mai tēnā whakatipuranga ki tēnā whakatipuranga. Hei te mutunga, ka kitea mēnā he tika, he hē rawa rānei tāku whakapae, ‘Ka ora ngā kōrero hītori o Ngāti Konohi mā roto mai i ngā mahi whakaako waiata i te kapa haka o Whāngārā-mai-tawhiti.’ Inā e pūkana nei, inā e whātero nei, inā e ngangahu nei, inā e ora nei!
Youth Suicide, Subjective Well-Being and the Role of Place in New Zealand
Authors:   , Snider Anne-Marie
Published: November 2021

One of the major shifts in our social structure over the last 50 years has been a switch in the relative well-being positions of young and old. This is reflected in their suicide rates where, in contrast to the gradual decline in the propensity of older populations to take their own lives, that of the young has risen dramatically. Not confined to New Zealand, this ‘generational switch’ raises important questions about the changing relative distribution of incentives and rewards for living across the age domain. The purpose of my thesis is to document this change and explore its implications. I do so by analysing the current distribution of subjective well-being across contemporary age groups including differences between men and women and Māori and non-Māori. Of particular interest is the link between suicide, subjective well-being and social capital – the levels of social connectedness that prevail in the lives of the young adults relative to their parents’ generation. As a geographer I’m particularly concerned with the role of local capital (community connectedness and trust) in nurturing well-being, and hence the variation that well-being exhibits across places within a country. While thoroughly investigated between nations, relatively few studies document geographical variations in subjective well-being within countries, particularly in terms of how these statistics differ by age. I find that not only does dissatisfaction with life (unhappiness and other measures of subjective well-being) rise as teenagers approach adulthood, but that it peaks in the 30s and declines slowly thereafter in a pattern reflective of the prevailing pattern of suicide. Moreover I find that, in addition to partnership, income, employment status and housing tenure, satisfaction with life among young adults in particular also varies across local communities, and cities. As such, the young exhibit a heightened sensitivity to place in ways that raise important questions about the nature of communities in which children are raised. It is this new information which I bring to a discussion of current initiatives dealing with mental health and the prevailing strategies advocated in New Zealand.
Phylogeography of the Common New Zealand Wrasse Species, Notolabrus Celidotus, and the Phylogenetics of the Pseudolabrine Tribe
Authors:   , Scott Surrey Lisa
Published: November 2021

The New Zealand coastline and marine environment is a diverse place and presents plenty of dispersal obstacles to many of the organisms that live there. This thesis investigates the phylogeography of one of the most common fish species around the coast of New Zealand, the endemic wrasse Notolabrus celidotus, using the mitochondrial DNA control region and compares genetic variability to another common New Zealand wrasse, Notolabrus fucicola in a local setting. These species are part of a tribe of temperate fish, the pseudolabrines, which can be found throughout the South and North-West Pacific. The phylogeny of this tribe was also analysed using the mitochondrial 16S gene to investigate the relationships among the New Zealand pseudolabrines and to those species elsewhere. The results suggest that pseudolabrines from mainland New Zealand are closely related and are likely to have originated from southern Australia while species from the Kermadec Islands and other northern islands are more closely related to the species of eastern Australia. The Notolabrus and Pseudolabrus genera should be reviewed to remedy paraphyly of Pseudolabrus. Furthermore, N. celidotus shows no population structuring throughout its range and appears to be rapidly expanding. Genetic variability was similar for both N. celidotus and N. fucicola. The results suggest that the pseudolabrine tribe has made multiple migrations to New Zealand where Notolabrus celidotus was able to spread around the three main islands and, likely facilitated by a long planktonic larval duration, was able to maintain high gene flow among populations.
The Characterization of TA-289, a Novel Antifungal from Fusarium sp.
Authors:   , Quek Natelle C H
Published: November 2021

Natural products offer vast structural and chemical diversity highly sought after in drug discovery research. Saccharomyces cerevisiae makes an ideal model eukaryotic organism for drug mode-of-action studies owing to ease of growth, sophistication of genetic tools and overall homology to higher eukaryotes. Equisetin and a closely related novel natural product, TA-289, are cytotoxic to fermenting yeast, but seemingly less so when yeast actively respire. Cell cycle analyses by flow cytometry revealed a cell cycle block at S-G2/M phase caused by TA-289; previously described oxidative stress-inducing compounds causing cell cycle delay led to further investigation in the involvement of equisetin and TA-289 in mitochondrial-mediated generation of reactive oxygen species. Chemical genomic profiling involving genome-wide scans of yeast deletion mutant strains for TA-289 sensitivity revealed sensitization of genes involved in the mitochondria, DNA damage repair and oxidative stress responses, consistent with a possible mechanism-of-action at the mitochondrion. Flow cytometric detection of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation caused by TA-289 suggests that the compound may induce cell death via ROS production. The generation of a mutant strain resistant to TA-289 also displayed resistance to a known oxidant, H2O2, at concentrations that were cytotoxic to wild-type cells. The resistant mutant displayed a higher basal level of ROS production compared to the wild-type parent, indicating that the resistance mutation led to an up-regulation of antioxidant capacity which provides cell survival in the presence of TA-289. Yeast mitochondrial morphology was visualized by confocal light microscopy, where it was observed that cells treated with TA-289 displayed abnormal mitochondria phenotypes, further indicating that the compound is acting primarily at the mitochondrion. Similar effects observed with equisetin treatment suggest that both compounds share the same mechanism, eliciting cell death via ROS production in the mitochondrial respiratory chain.
Major Total Conversion in English: The Question of Directionality
Authors:   , Bram Barli
Published: November 2021

This research investigates the directionality of major total conversion in English, where major total conversion is defined as the process and at the same time as the result of deriving a new lexical item by altering the part of speech of the base without marking the alteration overtly, as in the presumed pair dry – to dry. The question is whether there is a reliable strategy for deciding which member of a pair is the base and which member is the converted counterpart. Various attempts had been made to resolve the controversial directional issue, but the results have been inconsistent. The investigation aims to discover whether or not there exists a coherent notion about how to decide directionality by considering four factors assumed in the literature to reflect directionality. A large corpus of potential examples of major total conversion was collected to act as test materials. The four factors were compared for each major total conversion pair to see to what extent there was agreement among them. Results showed the factors did not agree to the expected extent. The findings are discussed in detail and it is claimed the inconsistencies can often be explained with recourse to a few general principles. In conclusion, on the whole the four factors considered are consistent with one another. In other words, the notion about how to determine directionality in major total conversion is coherent and can be maintained for English.
A Study of Our Knowledge of Persons with Special Reference to the Work of Dr. Martin Buber
Authors:   , Brown Denzil J.
Published: November 2021

The field of philosophy is wide and varied, and often appears to be remote from the common life of men. Yet this remoteness is only superficial for the problems with which philosophy deals arise in the first instance from questions which occur to the man in the street, though he may not pursue them systematically. He cannot avoid meeting them, though he may avoid trying to answer them. What is the meaning of life? What is the meaning of the universe? Is the ordering of nature, of society of the individual organism quite fortuitous or according to some unwritten law? How do we know other people and objects? What is the nature of God? That these questions are dependent upon human reflection is not hard to see. They arise out of reflection, and they depend to a greater or less degree upon reflection for their answer. But we may go further and question reflection itself: What is the nature of reflection? What is its subject matter? Is reflection reliable? In other words, “How do we know?” The examination of this question constitutes that aspect of philosophy known as “Epistemology”, and upon the answer to that question the fate of philosophy depends to a great extent.
Reading across texts: perceptions and performance of early adolescent readers
Authors:   , Cohen Robin Esther
Published: November 2021

Learning Media have introduced an anthology series that draws on writing previously published in the School Journals with the addition, lately, of commissioned work. The series is designed to meet the new curriculum objectives for English, social studies and science with less practised readers. A title in the series will typically contain narratives as well as personal accounts by experts, loosely related to a theme in the social studies or science curriculum. A survey of how the titles were being used indicated that teachers were treating the contents of the anthologies as single texts and that the advantages of reading across texts related to a theme were not being realised. A study was therefore conducted with an intermediate school class in order to establish an activity cycle that would exploit the potential of anthologies as a resource for reading-to-write from multiple sources. The experience gained from the study suggests that the cycle should contain instruction on transforming sources and this skill needs to be practised within the framework of a discourse synthesis task. In the study, the task appeared to be the driving force that determined what was read, what information was selected, the student's stance towards the information, and what guided the monitoring process. Reading proficiency did not appear to make a substantial difference to the way the task was interpreted nor in the way the task was accomplished tactically, suggesting that discourse synthesis is an issue of experience with the component skills.
Factors Affecting the Care of Acutely Unwell Ward Patients: A Multiple Case Study
Authors:   , Quirke Sara Jane Michaela
Published: November 2021

Suboptimal care of acutely unwell ward patients is of growing concern internationally. As empirical study of the problem is underdeveloped this thesis explores factors affecting suboptimal care of acutely unwell ward patients. In order to bring a theoretical understanding to this area, a concept analysis of the term suboptimal care was undertaken. The results of this concept analysis were then used to inform the design and analysis of this multiple case study. The cases for this study were two general surgical and two general medical wards located in two hospitals in the North Island of New Zealand. Interviews and focus groups with nurses, doctors, and managerial staff were undertaken using a semi structured interview approach informed by the concept analysis. Organisational and ward documentation was also reviewed. Using categorical aggregation and pattern matching, an analytical framework emerged from the data. This framework was then used to conduct within, cross case, and hospital analyses. Key findings of this research reveal that workload, teamwork, communication, leadership, skills and knowledge deficit, and organisational systems and processes are significant factors affecting care of acutely unwell ward patients and that these factors are not unique to specific contexts. Polarised views about workload were expressed by those who manage organisations and those who deliver care at ward level. Current approaches to improving care of the acutely unwell ward patient have involved the introduction of service initiatives. However, this study demonstrates that service initiatives alone are insufficient to improve care for acutely unwell ward patients. Recommendations from this study are that strategies should be put in place to support and develop clinical shift leaders and that staffing resources should be reviewed in the context of contemporary acute care settings. These must be informed by the views of organisational managers and ward staff leading to an integrated hospital-wide understanding of factors affecting care of the acutely unwell ward patient.
The Influences of Performers and Composers on Selected Violin Works of Johannes Brahms
Authors:   , Lee Joanna
Published: November 2021

Joseph Joachim was the most influential violinist in Brahms’s life. Not only did the pair have a close personal friendship, but they also admired and respected each other on a professional level. Their high esteem and appreciation for each other led to performance and compositional collaborations. One of the most beloved and well-known works of Brahms’s violin music, the Violin Concerto, was dedicated to Joachim. Indubitably, Joachim influenced the Violin Concerto. Regardless, there are many debates on how much of an input Joachim had on the concerto. In order to examine the influences of performers and composers on selected violin works of Johannes Brahms, the three sections in this paper will investigate Joachim and Brahms, then discuss the importance of a performer-composer’s relationship in the 19th century and, finally, assess the amount of Joachim’s influence on the Brahms Violin Concerto. Each category will have an introduction and information presented in a biographical form, a historical form and musical analysis. Some of the following analysis may be hypothetical, yet, a possibility. Further part of my research will conclude with a recital programme consisting of the Beethoven Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61, I. Allegro Ma Non Troppo, Brahms Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108, Sonatensatz/Scherzo movement of the F-A-E Sonata, and Hungarian Dances No. 1, 5 and 7. This will take place on June 18, 2011 in the Adam Concert Room at New Zealand School of Music at 10:30 A.M.
Poverty Diagnostics in the Philippines: Assessing Impacts of Programs through Generalised Linear Models (GLMs)
Authors:   , Bancolita Joel E.
Published: November 2021

The Philippines is a country where a quarter to one-third of the population is poor. Although the nation has managed to lower poverty incidence in some years, its booming population increases the poor population dramatically. This is why alleviating poverty is a pinnacle program in the country. In aid of poverty alleviation endeavor, this study focuses on assessing which programs had been effective in alleviating poverty given other family characteristics. Aside from descriptive methods, employing Generalised Linear Models (GLMs) and categorical data analysis are the focus in analysing the effects of existing intervention programs on status of improvement and income of families. In addition, varying effects of programs depending on values of other covariates are also analysed. Descriptive analysis and modeling are applied on the panel data of families. Intervention programs namely scholarship, Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) and government housing or other housing financing program (GHFP) have been run together with other family characteristics to describe improvement in welfare and income. Interaction effects, between access to intervention programs and other aspects of the family, have been derived to give a richer picture of the phenomenon. The study has come to conclude that the programs are indeed effective in improving lives of families, with some effects varying on some levels of other explanatory variables.
The Synthesis of Carbohydrates for the Treatment of Disease
Authors:   , Dangerfield Emma Marie
Published: November 2021

In this thesis I investigated two aspects of glycobiology. In the first, I investigated the potential of α-GalCer analogues to be used in cancer immunotherapy. Two 4-deoxy α-GalCer analogues, with either a sphinganine or a sphingosine base, were synthesised using a convergent strategy. The α-GalCer sphinganine derivative was synthesised in 14 steps from D-arabinose, and in an overall 13% yield. The α-GalCer sphingosine analogue was synthesised in 13 steps also in 13% yield. Biological analysis revealed that both 4-deoxy analogues possessed comparable activity to α-GalCer in mice, however demonstrated significantly reduced hNKT cell activity. The reduced activity was attributed to species-specific differences in iNKT cell glycolipid recognition rather than reduced CD1d presentation. From these results we suggest that glycolipids developed for potent CD1d-iNKT cell activity in humans should contain a ceramide base with the 4-hydroxyl present. The second part of this thesis focused on protecting group free methodology for the synthesis of sugar mimetics that have proven potential as glycosidase inhibitors. In this work I developed an efficient, high yielding and diastereoselective strategy for the synthesis of a number of five and six membered azasugars. This strategy utilises two novel reaction methodologies. The first enabled the stereoselective formation of cyclic carbamates from olefinic amines, the transition states controlling the stereoselectivity during this reaction are discussed. The second reaction facilitated the synthesis of primary amines without the need for protecting groups, the scope of this reductive amination methodology is also investigated. The five membered azasugars 1,4-dideoxy-1,4-imino-Dxylitol, 1,4-dideoxy-1,4-imino-L-lyxitol, 1,4-dideoxy-1,4-imino-L-xylitol and 1,2,4-trideoxy-1,4-imino-L-xylitol were prepared in 5 steps, in good overall yields (57%, 55%, 54% and 48% respectively), and without the need for protecting groups. The six membered azasugar DGJ was prepared over six steps in 33% yield using similar methodology. The synthesised compounds were also tested for anti-tubercular activity using a BCG alamar blue assay.
Celebrating Difference: Architectural Conflation within an Urban Fabric
Authors:   , Anderson Casey
Published: November 2021

Celebrating Difference questions New Zealand’s current civic architecture, and the way we will design these environments in the future. This thesis explores various cultural literary precedents supported by two detailed case studies and a civic scale architectural design project. Firstly, this thesis explores a global stance on multi-culture and difference and investigates a contemporary breakdown of difference, culture and multiculturalism. The reader is then taken through a journey of New Zealand’s civic history, with an emphasis on cultural and social climates, and their acknowledgement or celebration through architectural discourse. Multicultural Australia, Bernard Tschumi’s metaphorical consumption and a literal exploration of food’s contribution in the civic arena are all literary examples examined within the research with an emphasis on re-direction and possibly unseen correlations within civic scale design. These examinations are to question an international field of cultural architectural discourse and identify events and forms that contribute to cultural celebration. The two case studies examined are Federation Square, Melbourne city and Wellington’s CBD, in New Zealand. These studies highlight each space’s exhibition of cultural celebration and aid in defining key characteristics that encourage cultural celebration through architecture. The hypothesis aligns the study’s key findings with the design project, Architectural Conflation within an Urban Fabric. This correlative piece identifies human similarity as a critical point of understanding in the equation of difference. When similarity is acknowledged, a closeness is formed allowing a greater understanding of human difference to be achieved – doesn’t make good sense. A re-discovery of Raw Foods, Landscape and Materiality are determined as key architectural attributes that aid in creating environments that celebrate difference through architectural discourse.
Us & Them: Being at a Residential School, Perspectives from Students, Staff and Whanau
Authors:   , London Porsha
Published: November 2021

Residential special education for students with diverse learning needs continues to be one of the most complex and contested areas on the education spectrum. This thesis explores a live-in boarding school for girls with special learning, social, emotional, and behavioural needs. The participants view was sought to understand the value placed on the school by those who use and provide the services. The methodological approach was a case study design underpinned by a constructivist paradigm. Twelve participants volunteered to be interviewed. The participants were made up from three stakeholder groups these were teachers, residential workers, students‟ and parents/whānau. An inductive content analysis procedure was used to identity four overarching themes. Overall, all stakeholders thought the school served a purpose and they strongly support a continuum of services, including special residential schools. However, there is clearly a stigma attached to the school, which seems to be a barrier to the school operating in a more inclusive way. This setting the participants believed was more inclusive for the girls as they did not experience the marginalization of the mainstream.
A Different Shade of Pink: Literary Thresholds and Cultural Intersections in Italian Chick Lit
Authors:   , Balducci Federica
Published: November 2021

This thesis investigates the Italian production of chick lit, a particular segment of contemporary women’s popular fiction developed in the mid 1990s in Anglophone countries. A worldwide phenomenon born out of Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’s Diary (1996) and the HBO TV show Sex and the City (1998), chick lit novels portray the professional, emotional and sentimental anxieties of white, middle-class, heterosexual and financially independent women in a witty and humorous tone. The arrival of chick lit and its successful translation into Italian in the late 1990s has prompted many local writers to engage with the genre, but the growing body of chick lit written in Italian and its place in the cultural and literary landscape have yet to be assessed. This thesis explores recurring themes, narrative strategies and stylistic features deployed in Italian chick lit novels not only against their Anglo-American models, but also in relation to Western popular media culture and the Italian tradition of romanzo rosa, its cultures and practices as well as its legacy. It shows the presence of distinct intertextual patterns in dealing with key generic features, such as the identification with the female protagonist and her journey toward self-empowerment, the relationship with consumerism and popular media culture, and the humorous style. This thesis also assesses the nature of chick lit as both a literary genre and a sociocultural phenomenon across countries and languages through theoretical perspectives of cultural studies and feminist theories on women’s popular culture and Western popular postfeminism.
The Landscape of Empire: the Place of Landscape in 19th Century Colonial Novels
Authors:   , Gordon Rebecca Leah
Published: November 2021

This thesis presents a comparative research study of four novels published within two years of 1881 in four colonies of the Victorian Empire. The novels are Waitaruna: A Story of New Zealand Life by Alexander Bathgate from New Zealand, Gathered In by Catherine Spence from Australia, Neville Trueman: The Pioneer Preacher, a Tale of the War of 1812 by W. H. Withrow from Canada, and finally The Story of an African Farm by Olive Schreiner from South Africa. These novels were chosen because of their close publication dates. My purpose is to compare the depictions of landscape in each novel.  The purpose of this study is to discover the depiction of landscape in the novels and the effect of the landscape on the characters. Because the authors were writing as English subjects in a non-English setting, they each had to engage differently with the landscape in their novel, depicting the settler experience of colonising the new country. Each novel’s portrayal of landscape is analysed using the text and placed into the historical context of the colony and the literary development of the colony.  The findings of all four novels are compared to identify the differences and similarities discovered in the initial analysis. These final chapters show that landscape was closely tied with the settlers’ conceptions of religion, the treatment of the indigenous people, and settler experience in the particular colonies as represented by these authors. The importance of this thesis and the comparative study at the end is that my study gives an in depth analysis of four novels from four different colonies that have previously not been compared. The selection of the novels based solely on date of publication makes the comparison all the more interesting because these novels were not chosen due to their content, so the similarities and differences of the novels point out the similarities and differences of the authors’ literary portrayals of the colonies in a comparison study that has not yet been done.
Evolution and Recovery: Adaptable Housing Reconstruction in Post Disaster Scenarios
Authors:   , Shearer Liam
Published: November 2021

Every year disasters affect hundreds of millions of people, causing damage that can take months or years to recover from. The reality of carrying out the processes of reconstruction and recreating functionality is a complex and difficult task; too often it is measured in a time period of several years. The issue to be addressed through this research is the response of the built (or rebuilt) environment to the requirements of people who have been displaced following a major disaster. This thesis develops a building typology and process that can adapt to the changing requirements of the stages of the redevelopment process in a post‐disaster scenario. The research focuses on natural disasters, more vulnerable populations and regions and specifically on housing reconstruction. It explores the idea of a solution that can be applied widely, to many different climates and contexts; the research question then amounts to ‘can a solution be created that can ‘evolve’ to meet the needs at each stage of a post disaster reconstruction scenario?’ The thesis explores existing post‐disaster response and reconstruction models and discusses the focuses and priorities of each. The requirements of displaced people are studied, in terms of response by the built environment, and the benefits of staged development versus end product discussed. The roles that major groups, such as local authorities and NGOs, play in orchestrating the reconstruction process are discussed as well as the important, and sometimes overlooked, role that those affected by the disaster may have. The discussion and research then informs the design proposal. Four sites are selected and used as parameters for developing the built response to the first stage of reconstruction. The selected sites are then used to show how a generic shelter may first be adapted to be suitable for a specific climate and context and then how they may be added to and grown to become permanent and suitable housing for the displaced people. The staged redevelopment process from a partially generic emergency deployment presented in this thesis can provide a solution, or framework for a solution, to many of the problems raised by the research and here, but it cannot be a solution by itself; architecture or design in post‐disaster scenarios must be supported and driven heavily by planning and management from local, national and international sources to be successful and fully realised.
Understanding the Congruence Between Teacher Intention and Student Learning Outcome
Authors:   , Rush Perry
Published: November 2021

Research into what takes place between the instructional intent of a teaching act and students’ experience of the same act is central to better understanding teaching and learning. In this case study, individual teacher and student interviews, qualitative observation and textual analysis were used to compare teacher intention with student learning outcome, to judge congruence between the two. The study, in a large urban primary school, focused on two classrooms of students from 9-­‐13 years old. Congruence between teacher intention and student learning outcome, was examined over five consecutive lessons that aimed to achieve a particular outcome. It was found that teachers’ and students’ explanatory context was influential. In particular, the alignment between conceptions of learning informing teacher intention and task was significant. Where the conceptions aligned, there was greater congruence. Where there was a disjuncture, congruence was compromised. In addition teacher knowledge of curriculum content, the pervasiveness of task perception and the impact of outcome space was material. The study highlights an opportunity for further research into the congruence between teacher intention and student learning outcome where deep conceptions of learning inform instructional intent and into the impact of teacher belief systems on the conceptions of learning held.
The Early Quaternary Marine to Terrestrial Transition of the Southeastern Wairarapa, New Zealand
Authors:   , Nowland Sam Winiata
Published: November 2021

This study examines the final emergence of the southeastern Wairarapa within a sequence stratigraphic framework. New exposures of the Pleistocene marginalmarine Hautotara Formation, and non-marine Te Muna Formation allow facies to be detailed and sequence architecture to be analysed. Cyclicity observed within the facies successions of the Hautotara and Te Muna formations are placed in a series of four motifs. These motifs record 40 kyr glacioeustatic cyclicity superimposed upon the basinward to landward progression of the environments, showing the region shallowing through time. The positions of the top of the Pukenui Limestone and the base of the Hautotara Formation are revised, and are now at the top of the “Pukenui C” - a widespread marker bed, which also removes a historical nomenclatural gap. The recognition of the significance of the coccolith Gephyrocapsa sinuosa within the underlying Pukenui Limestone allows this contact to be dated at 1.73 Ma. The ~1.6 Ma age limit provided by a number of tephra within the lower sediments of the Te Muna Formation allow the ages of the examined formations to be constrained further. The eight 40 ka cycles identified within the Hautotara Formation suggests deposition between 1.73 and 1.42 Ma. The Hautotara - Te Muna Formation is revealed to be diachronous, with the base of the Te Muna Formation type section shown to be much younger, 1.12 Ma, than the 1.58 Ma age of the lower contact observed elsewhere in the region. A series of palaeogeographic reconstructions at 1.73, 1.58 and 1.57 Ma demonstrate how closely related sedimentation patterns are to structural growth, with marginal-marine Hautotara Formation sedimentation persisting in the centre of the study area well after the initiation of Te Muna Formation terrestrial deposition to the north and south of this site.
In Victory, Defeat: Olivia Manning’s Balkan and Levant Trilogies and Evelyn Waugh’s Sword of Honour
Authors:   , Hawcroft Frank
Published: November 2021

Olivia Manning's Balkan and Levant trilogies (1960-65, 1977-80) and Evelyn Waugh’s Sword of Honour trilogy (1952-61) are sequences of historical novels set during the Second World War. This thesis compares and contrasts these sequences as conservative fictional voices from a period of social and literary transition. My first chapter discusses how ideas of heroism and sacrifice prove outmoded and unsupported by institutions during the war. Particularly in Waugh's trilogy, but to a lesser extent also in Manning's sequence, models of heroism taken from past texts—such as colonial adventure stories—are shown to be inadequate. Heroism is only possible on a small scale and involves moral compromises. The second chapter considers the treatment of being English outside England. Depictions of foreign countries are considered in the context of the fading of the British Empire and British global power. Colonial life is attractive in a nostalgic sense but is problematic in the present. Episodes about Jewish refugees in both sequences are discussed as symbolising defiance of the entropy of imperial decay as well as attempts to find post-imperial models for intervention. The third and final chapter examines the uses of literature and culture in the novels and how they hint at ways out of the historical binds discussed in the first two chapters. Literature and the teaching of literature have a propagandistic function but also subvert this function by offering escape from the realities of wartime. I also touch on the connection between literary creativity and the subversion of gender roles. I argue that while these sequences construct a generally negative perspective on social changes during the war, this is not unchallenged by subversive undercurrents such as these. The conservative Catholic morality of Waugh's trilogy contrasts with Manning's willingness to raise questions about gender, class and colonialism, but in both authors' works the war is presented as a time in which initially optimistic ideals and hopes are disappointed, while the validity of these ideals in the first place is also questioned.