bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Managing Risks of Violence in Decriminalised Street-Based Sex Work: a Feminist (Sex Worker Rights) Perspective
Authors:   , Armstrong Lynzi
Published: November 2021

It is widely understood that street-based sex workers are vulnerable to experiencing  violence in their work. The Prostitution Reform Act (PRA) was passed in New  Zealand in 2003, decriminalising sex work with the intention of supporting the health,  safety, and human rights of sex workers. This thesis explores strategies to manage  risks of violence amongst women working on the streets in New Zealand, considering  how the law change has impacted on the management of these risks, and whether  further change is required to better support the safety of street-based sex workers.  Drawing from the perspectives of women working on the streets, this thesis  challenges portrayals of street-based sex workers as passive recipients of violence.  The experiences and perceptions of these women highlight the diverse violencerelated  risks they managed from a range of potential perpetrators, including passersby,  individuals approaching as clients, other sex workers, and minders. The shift to  decriminalisation has not eliminated violence. However, the findings suggest that the  law change has provided a framework that better supports existing risk management  strategies. For instance, in removing the possibility of arrest for soliciting, the PRA  has provided an environment in which these women have sufficient time to screen  potential clients on the street. Moreover, the perceptions of these women suggest that  the law change has to some extent improved the relationship between police and  street-based sex workers. Nevertheless, whilst decriminalisation has created an  environment more conducive to sex worker safety, it is clear that challenges remain in  addressing violence against sex workers. Since the sex industry does not operate in  social and political isolation, moral discourses continue to stigmatise and threaten the  wellbeing of street-based sex workers.  The overall conclusion of this thesis is that whilst decriminalisation was an important  first step, moving forward to proactively challenge violence against street-based sex  workers requires a paradigm shift away from discourses that support violence, to a  more positive acceptance of street-based sex work in New Zealand society.
Drown-proofing New Zealand: The Learn-to-Swim and Prevent Drowning Campaigns, 1936-1956
Authors:   , Maynard Jessica
Published: November 2021

This thesis examines the development of recreational amateur swimming in New Zealand between 1936 and 1956. During this period, swimming ability and drowning prevention became issues of national importance and extensive measures were introduced to encourage the expansion of amateur swimming culture. The growth of interest in swimming was partly a response to the perception that drowning deaths were too common. This thesis discusses the trends and characteristics of deaths by drowning. The extension of swimming was also largely thanks to the efforts of the Labour Government, elected in 1935, which instituted a new and active approach to enabling leisure. In 1936, just months after being elected, Labour made its first move towards extending New Zealanders’ opportunities for aquatic recreation by offering greater support to voluntary swimming and lifesaving associations. In 1938, under the newly enacted Physical Welfare and Recreation Act, the Government launched the Learn-to-Swim campaign, followed by the Prevent Drowning campaign in 1949. These campaigns helped to establish ‘proper’ swimming as a valuable part of modern life, an increasingly popular leisure pursuit, and an expected skill, as well as advocating the necessity of ‘water wisdom’. By 1956, the perceived need for government intervention into leisure had diminished and swimming and drowning prevention were once again viewed as private matters, the concern of the individual and not of the state. Consequently, the Government (now that of the National administration) withdrew its support from the campaigns. However, swimming was firmly established as an enjoyable, valuable, and important recreational pursuit. Thus, the Water Safety campaign was launched by voluntary swimming and lifesaving organisations to take the place of the Learn-to-Swim and Prevent Drowning campaigns. This thesis argues that the 1936-1956 period was one of significant growth in recreational swimming and the state was an important and active agent in this process of modernising New Zealand’s swimming culture.
"You can never be on one side alone": Some Young Somali-Kiwi Women's Narratives about Identity, Resettlement and Community Development in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand
Authors:   , James Emily Kathryn
Published: November 2021

This research investigates how young Somali women are navigating through the resettlement process while negotiating their own identities in Wellington, New Zealand. It is important as it addresses two main research gaps: 1) it focuses on research with young Somali women at university and 2) it offers a strength-based analysis. The research also addresses important development concerns about how former refugees can better contribute into their host societies. Employing the use of participatory methods within a feminist qualitative methodology, I created a project that enabled the young women to voice their opinions regarding identity construction, cultural maintenance and their goals for the future.  I conducted approximately 150 hours of ethnographic research at organisations that catered to former refugee needs. I found a young female Somali student who worked as my Cultural Advisor and enhanced my credibility and access within the Somali community. I then conducted a focus group and five individual interviews with young Somali women to hear their narratives about their resettlement experience and their advice on how to improve the process for others. I conducted five interviews with key informants at organisations that provide support services for former refugees. The key informants gave the policy perspective on refugee resettlement as well as advice on how support services and the government can approve the transition for former refugees.  The results of this study revealed that the young women did feel tension at times negotiating their Somali culture and that of their host society but found benefits in both. The importance of the family resettling successfully was vital for the young women especially the wellbeing of their mothers and other female elders. The key informants echoed these sentiments and voiced the necessity for more women-focused support services. The young women also will be facing a second resettlement process through their emigration to Australia as they search for more job opportunities and a better Somali cultural connection.
Grasshopper
Authors:   , Thompson Jonathan
Published: November 2021

Screenplay
Looking Up from Down Under: New Zealand’s best options amid China’s rise and the U.S. foreign policy rebalance to the Asia-Pacific
Authors:   , Friesen Ryan
Published: November 2021

With the rise of China and the United States (US) foreign policy rebalance to the Asia-Pacific meeting in international space, small states like New Zealand have decisions to make about how to manage their balancing act between the two major powers. This research is the result of an extensive literature review of the available material coming from international relations scholars, diplomats, governments, and news media. The focus of this thesis is on the options a small state like New Zealand has amid China’s rise and the US foreign policy ‘pivot’ to the Asia-Pacific since late-2011, but some attention has been given to how the US rebalance has been rolled out and New Zealand’s position therein. The findings point to a spectrum of options available to New Zealand which goes between choosing a China-centric economic focused set of foreign policies on one end, and backing US interests both in economic and security terms on the other end. It is clear New Zealand has chosen a middle ground and has adopted a hedging strategy designed to optimize its relationship with both the US and China. The task ahead for New Zealand is to use what influence it has to foster an environment where the likelihood of conflict between the two major powers is reduced without giving up too much independence in foreign policy decision making.
Hizbullah's Changing Identity
Authors:   , Davy Glenn
Published: November 2021

Hizbullah’s initial entry into Lebanon’s confessional political system seems contradictory considering the organisation’s perpetual view that this electoral system is corrupt and the very cause of Lebanon’s problems. Hizbullah views this system to have disenfranchised the Shi’a of Lebanon.   Since its emergence in the 1980s Hizbullah has shifted from the religiously motivated goal of an Islamic revolution in Lebanon to the more nationalistic and secular project of providing ongoing resistance to Israel. This movement can be explained if we consider two separate facets of Hizbullah’s identity: It’s primordial Shi’a identity, and its identity as a resistance movement. A movement from the former to the latter has taken place.   This work argues that Hizbullah has moved away from placing importance on that which defined it primarily as an organisation seeking the advancement of Shi’a to an identity that places more emphasise on its resistance activities against Israel. This latter identity is more instrumentalist in nature. While placing importance on its Shi’a identity was not counter-productive to participating within politics, it did oblige Hizbullah to adopt more idealistic political projects. Therefore, this shift initially allowed Hizbullah to deal more effectively with the pragmatic realities of political life in Lebanon, for which it requires more broad-based cross-communal support. However, recent events in the Middle East have indicated that Hizbullah’s resistance identity may not necessarily guarantee it political success.
A Network Perspective of Value Co-Creation in Cross-Border Relationships: Changing from 'One of Them' to 'One of Us'
Authors:   , Sun Ruoyi
Published: November 2021

For SME exporters, developing an effective value co-creation strategy appears to be a good way to overcome resource constraints and other market structural barriers in internationalisation. As an emerging topic in the marketing literature, value co-creation is mainly studied in B2C markets, and the understandings of value co-creation are still quite fragmented and abstract with limited empirical investigations. Inspired by the recent development of the business network theory and S-D logic, my thesis presents a new theoretical framework for value co-creation in cross-border business relationships. Through an in-depth case study, this research confirms ten propositions in relation to the theoretical framework and identifies the most important motives, attributes and outcomes of value co-creation. Some insights in the case are unique to value co-creation, such as hierarchical resource integration. The findings in this research indicate that the co-creation of symbolic value and the emerging value co-creation network will benefit participating firms and also attract more firms to join. Compared with other types of business relationships, the uniqueness of value co-creation is the significant interplay of trust and resource integration. More importantly, this study shows the creation of a novel network, including both B2C and B2B markets, which is wider than the integration of the prior individual networks. Overall, this new value co-creation network is competitive and viable for SME exporters to overcome internationalisation barriers. It also shifts the network position from being ‘one of them’ to becoming ‘one of us’ in the eyes of local network incumbents in the export markets. This is the fundamental goal that a SME exporter may achieve in the export market, for the benefit of long-term survival and growth.
Community Music Therapy: A Pathway to a Sense of Belonging in a School Environment
Authors:   , Davidson Gary
Published: November 2021

This research investigated the intersection between a student's work in a special school, where one of the primary aims was to develop students' sense of belonging, and Community Music Therapy (CoMT). A sense of belonging was understood to be a feeling of safety and comfort that engenders a willingness to engage with the environment and the people within that environment. Narratives of work with two students in the school have been analysed to uncover themes relating to CoMT, especially with regard to 'belonging'.  Secondary analysis of the data was used in conjunction with a narrative enquiry. Data was collected using clinical music therapy notes; school documentation; Individual Education Plans; notes on group observations; notes on discussions with teachers support staff, parents and care givers; and video recordings. The music therapy student's experiences with each of the two students were described in narrative form, separately, and in chronological order to preserve meaning. The stories were then written again (restoried) in relation to the characteristics of CoMT.  The findings suggested that in both cases, students displayed a greater willingness to take part in the organised and informal communal musicing that took place within various contexts of the school. It also showed that the student music therapist resourced the participants on a relational level, resourced their personal strengths and enabled them to access the wider community resources.
Success: A measure of what we value?: An exploration of the discursive construction of educational success in the public domain
Authors:   , de Waal-Stevens Eliza
Published: November 2021

In a time of rapid technological and social change, questions are being asked about whether current notions of education can adequately prepare students for a future that is often described as uncertain and complex. Public debates arising from these questions suggest that while education is generally highly valued, the ideals and purposes, or indeed, what is considered successful education, is neither clearly defined nor commonly understood. This is reflected in a public discourse that consists of fragmented issues, short-term solutions and apportioning blame. Based on the premise that language both reflects and constructs aspects of society, this thesis analyses a range of contemporary public discourses to examine the concept of success in education, at the school level. The data includes foundational educational documents from the Ministry of Education, press releases, and reported newspaper articles.  Using Critical Discourse Analysis, in the style of Fairclough, Wodak and van Dijk, I examine linguistic constructions associated with success in detail, and consider these in a wider social and historical context. My research reveals seemingly innocuous language features that undermine deeply held democratic views of education and reconstructs them to fit within managerial mechanisms of neoliberal ideology. I argue that the resulting conflicts between the social and economic values underlying educational discourses are reflected in the lack of coherence across the wide range of complex issues in the public discourse. Furthermore, this conflict contributes to diminishing engagement with these issues, a sense of confusion about what is desired for education, and increasing indifference to inequities in New Zealand education today. The conclusion I draw from this is that such conflict makes it impossible for key participants in educational debates to make progress towards a coherent and effective educational framework for the future.
Critical perspectives on the transformative potential of higher education in Aoteara New Zealand
Authors:   , Grootveld Chelsea Maria
Published: November 2021

The global economic recession has resulted in unprecedented levels of inequality among the masses and paradoxically extraordinary levels of wealth and fortune among an elite few. In Aotearoa New Zealand, there is a widely held belief among Māori that higher education provides the key to dismantling inequalities and a ‘good education’ will help in the making of a better life. This research study looks at how to create positive transformation for Māori through education by exploring the inter-relationship between higher education, transformation and social class in contemporary Aotearoa New Zealand.  Based on semi-structured interviews with 30 ‘highly educated’ Māori from diverse backgrounds, aged 25 to 46 years old, this thesis explores the perspectives and tensions that arise for contemporary Māori who are creating a landscape for themselves and their whānau (family), particularly how higher education is complicit in both the potential to transform and the potential to constrain transformation. At the end of the day, are highly educated Māori simply maintaining the status quo, or are they in fact building organic intellectuals with the capacity to create and effect positive transformation for the collective?  The research found that higher education success was a key enabler for transformation. Higher education opened doors and provided opportunities for participants to build critical consciousness and accrue material wealth as individuals in order to contribute to collective (whānau, hapū and Iwi) transformation. Only half of the participants identified with social class and therefore class consciousness was not a lever for transformation, rather it was at the level of whakapapa (genealogy) where transformative consciousness might be accelerated. Whānau is the critical transformation site and participants are leading transformative strategies in a range of dynamic ways, however, at present this action is uncoordinated. The findings showed scope for increased cohesion and collaboration in order to develop innovative strategies which draw on ‘both’ cultural and material wealth to address structural inequalities and enliven whānau, hapū, iwi and Māori transformative aspirations.
We Belong to No Soil: Nation and Narration in the Work of Emily Perkins
Authors:   , White Emily Tehrase
Published: November 2021

Emily Perkins' work exemplifies a shift in the way the nation is represented in New Zealand fiction. In place of the cultural nationalist acceptance that the writer should attend faithfully to the New Zealand referent and seek to define the nation we find doubt, uncertainty and resistance. This shift has been observed positively in some contemporary criticism, notably in Anna Jackson and Jane Stafford's Floating Worlds (2009). But other commentary, such as Patrick Evans' 2003 'Spectacular Babies' essay, is highly negative. There is a surprisingly small amount of critical attention dedicated to contemporary New Zealand writing. This thesis will offer some reasons for this lack of commentary and propose a framework within which Perkins' work can be analysed. It will also identify the ways in which Perkins' work refers to the nation and how this differs from the way in which the cultural nationalists referred to the nation. I argue that new critical modes are required to approach contemporary New Zealand writers like Perkins that reach behind the cultural nationalist influence. Accordingly, I position Perkins' way of representing New Zealandness alongside that of early writers Benjamin Farjeon and Katherine Mansfield, to show that a non-essentialised identity can be expressed in the text. The contemporary approach to this endeavour can be compared to what I call "pre-nationalist" writing, although early avoidances of the New Zealand referent were not as deliberate as they now are. I argue that like Katherine Mansfield, Perkins' textual relationship with New Zealand is metonymic rather than referential. Her writing conjures up New Zealand without generalising it or essentialising it. In this thesis, I address three of the primary ways that Perkins achieves this in her writing. Firstly, she addresses the meaning of place and its significance in the formation of subjectivity. Secondly, she deliberately avoids taking an overt political stance and use of the Māori referent. The absences in her work contrast with detailed attention to what is there, and so appear as a presence. In this sense her work depends largely on how the reader is able to interpret the absences and provide what is unsaid. Thirdly, her attention to New Zealandisms, linguistic idiosyncrasies and her use of taboo language refer to New Zealandness but simultaneously reveal self-consciousness. I argue that the diagnosis of New Zealand identity as 'floating', while useful, is problematic because it tends to have a silencing effect on discussions of contemporary literature. Characterising New Zealand identity as 'floating' appears to signal the end of the conversation and to assume that because the literature cannot be categorised, it cannot be discussed either. This thesis will suggest alternative ways of addressing New Zealandness which open up, rather than close, new possible perspectives on contemporary New Zealand literature.
Unfurling routes of self-determination in Aotearoa New Zealand: The Black Women’s Movement 1978 – 1982
Authors:   , Okeroa Erina
Published: November 2021

Self-determination is a transformative process of ideas and action. It can manifest in a variety of ways but is often dependent on the meeting of likeminded people, the circumstances they find themselves in, and the energy that fuels them into action. This thesis is a theoretical and empirical exploration of Māori and Pasifika women’s self-determination in Aotearoa via a study of the Black Women’s movement from 1978 to 1982. The primary focus is on the complexities, connections and contradictions of their identification with Blackness as part of an assertion of self-determination and Tino Rangatiratanga (Māori self-determination). Using the indigenous concepts of mauri (life force), whanaungatanga (familial relationships) and the koru (unfurling koru frond), this research shows how their Black identification was an important catalyst for a particular type of self-determination, asserted within the political landscape of both the public and private spheres. Black women often negotiated spaces of activism, making their struggles central to, and an example of, the core values that drive anticolonial activist politics. This investigation adds to current Māori activist literature, by addressing the largely ignored solidarity between Māori and Pasifika women within anticolonial activist movements of the era. Overall, the thesis contributes to a wider understanding of the particular racial and gendered dynamics of social and political movements in Aotearoa.
Influx: Architecture responsive to conditions of flux
Authors:   , Bowman Nicola
Published: November 2021

Milford Sound is extremely vulnerable to visitor fluctuation. The vertical landforms and pristine natural landscape attracts over 500,000 tourists to the site each year. Due to the remote location and restrictions on developing accommodation in National Parks, Milford Sound is a day-trip-destination. This generates high volumes of tourists that arrive and leave at the same time, causing congestion and immense pressure on the facilities and the surrounding natural landscape at Milford Sound Village. Although the small township is built for visitors, the current visitor facilities do not respond to daily and seasonal visitor fluctuations. The buildings are at capacity at peak time and are empty and underutilised at low times. This has significant implications for the experience of the site, there are increasing reports of visitors feeling crowded (Booth, 2010). The unresponsive built fabric also impacts the state of the surrounding natural environment by preventing natural processes and ecosystems from thriving. With visitor numbers on the rise (McNeill,2005), Carey (2003) questions how many people can “they continue to pump into a destination before you start to remove the attraction from the destination”.  Situated alongside resilience thinking, flux is a topic of heightened relevance within architectural thinking, yet it has received very little attention. This thesis proposes responsive approaches to accommodating flux, through ‘static’ architectural forms. By introducing a series of hybrid and connected structures, architectural form is developed symbiotically with function, as a means of exploring operative forms of architecture. Architectural responses to flux have been primarily researched through design. The design outcome is a connected network of visitor facilities that acts as an ‘instrument’ in the landscape, reorganising the flow of visitors. Six concrete pavilions, connected by pathways, collect and disperse visitors along the site, encouraging an immersion experience in the World-Heritage listed natural environment. The architecture is constructed of buried, floating, carved and balanced elements. This thesis presents an example of architecture that creates an experience of engaging with the landscape and not with the crowds.
Investigating the relationship between Psychopathy, Fear Conditioning, and Facial Affect Recognition
Authors:   , Casey Allanah R.
Published: November 2021

Psychopathic offenders are often considered to be untreatable, especially dangerous, and at very high risk of reoffending. Psychopathy has generated considerable research interest. Despite this interest, our understanding of psychopathy is relatively poor, with ongoing debate regarding how best to define psychopathy, and a lack of clarity regarding how psychopathy develops. Etiological theories of psychopathy posit deficits in recognising and responding to others’ emotions, and an attenuated experience of fear as crucial mechanisms in the development of psychopathy. The aims of this thesis are to investigate the pattern of psychopathic traits present within an inmate sample, and to investigate the relationship between these psychopathic traits and performance on two tasks related to etiological theories of psychopathy: facial affect recognition and fear conditioning. Part One of this thesis addresses the first aim, investigating the presentation of psychopathy in the current sample. The relationship between psychopathic traits in the present sample was largely consistent with previous research. A Principal Components Analysis identified two factors of psychopathic traits: a Bold/ Fearlessness factor which measures an absence of fear and anxiety and the presence of self-assurance, and a Mean/ Disinhibited factor which measures the presence of externalising and disinhibited behaviour, alongside aggression and the use of other people for one’s own gain. These findings are discussed in relation to common conceptualisations and operationalisations of psychopathy.   Part Two of this thesis uses the measurement of psychopathy from Part One to investigate performance on a facial affect recognition task and a fear conditioning task. The Violence Inhibition Mechanism theory suggests that psychopaths should show impairments on facial affect recognition tasks, particularly in the recognition of fearful and sad facial expressions. However, in the current research psychopathy was unrelated to affect recognition, across all emotional expressions. When criminal offenders were compared to a student sample, the offenders showed poorer affect recognition than the students. These results suggest that there may be an effect of antisociality on affect recognition, but no effect of psychopathy. Low fear theories of psychopathy suggest that psychopaths should be impaired at learning conditioned fear associations. However, the present study found no evidence of psychopathy-related deficits in fear conditioning. Rather, higher psychopathy was related to better fear conditioning, with higher scores on the Mean/ Disinhibited factor predicting better discrimination between the conditioned and neutral stimuli.   Taken together, these findings suggest that psychopathy was not related to deficits in either affect recognition or fear conditioning. These findings are inconsistent with etiological theories of psychopathy, and question common assumptions about the deficits which characterise psychopathy.
A Study of Issues and Techniques for Creating Core Vocabulary Lists for English as an International Language
Authors:   , Sorell C. Joseph
Published: November 2021

Core vocabulary lists have long been a tool used by language learners and instructors seeking to facilitate the initial stages of foreign language learning (Fries & Traver, 1960: 2). In the past, these lists were typically based on the intuitions of experienced educators. Even before the advent of computer technology in the mid-twentieth century, attempts were made to create such lists using objective methodologies. These efforts regularly fell short, however, and – in the end – had to be tweaked subjectively.  Now, in the 21st century, this is unfortunately still true, at least for those lists whose methodologies have been published. Given the present availability of sizable English-language corpora from around the world and affordable personal computers, this thesis seeks to fill this methodological gap by answering the research question: How can valid core vocabulary lists for English as an International Language be created?  A practical taxonomy is proposed based on Biber’s (1988, 1995) multi-dimensional analysis of English texts. This taxonomy is based on correlated linguistic features and reasonably covers representative spoken and written texts in English.  The four-part main study assesses the variance in vocabulary data within each of the four key text types: interactive (face-to-face conversation), academic exposition, imaginative narrative, and general reported exposition. The variation in word types found at progressive intervals in corpora of various sizes is measured using the Dice coefficient, a coefficient originally used to measure species variation in different biotic regions (Dice, 1945).  The second study proceeds to compare the most frequent vocabulary types in each of the four text types using an equal-sized collection of each text type. Of special interest is the difference between spoken and written texts.  Though types are arguably the proper unit to investigate when comparing vocabulary variation, few learners would want to approach vocabulary learning one word type at a time (Nation & Meara, 2002; Bauer & Nation, 1993). The third study thus compares the effect reordering words as families (as opposed to types) has on core vocabulary lists. An analysis is made of the major differences resulting from grouping the members of each word family under a single headword and summing their individual frequencies.  Methods are then discussed for how core vocabulary lists of various sizes can be constructed based on the findings of these three studies. Recommendations are made regarding the size and composition of the source corpus and the core list extraction and construction methodology based on the learning objectives.
Seedling Survival in Forest Re-vegetation Sites within Wellington Peninsula
Authors:   , Anton Valades Victor
Published: November 2021

Transplanting native seedlings is a widely used restoration tool to enhance biodiversity in urban areas. Due to labour and economic needs of this tool, it is crucial to maximise the survival rates of the transplanted seedlings. In this research, I monitored, over a six month period, the status of wineberry (Aristotelia serrata), cabbage tree (Cordyline australis) and lemonwood (Pittosporum eugenioides) seedlings in their initial years after transplanting. The seedlings, up to 4 years old, were located in 11 forest re-vegetation sites in Wellington city, New Zealand. Using mixed effects models to predict the mortality probability of each species, I analyse the relative importance that variables (e.g. soil conditions or grass competition) have in the mortality of the seedlings. Lemonwood seedlings experienced the lowest mortality rates (<2%), independent of age. The models predicting probability of mortality of wineberry and cabbage tree indicate that grass competition and water availability are crucial variables in the mortality of these species during the initial 6 months after transplanting. Combinations of plant size (e.g. height) and certain environmental variables (e.g. soil conditions or slope) crucially affect mortality of wineberry and cabbage trees from one to three years of age. Based on these results, I provide recommendations, such as appropriate planting date and ideal length of maintenance tasks, to maximise survival rates of native plants within the first years after transplanting. A longer monitoring period and similar research of other species are required to assist forest re-vegetation groups in Wellington city achieving more cost- and labour-efficient re-vegetation management.
Earthquake risk over time windows: Do people bias risk to the end of an interval?
Authors:   , Velluppillai Justin
Published: November 2021

Located on the edge of two tectonic plates, New Zealand has numerous fault lines and seismic risk across the whole country. The way this risk is communicated affects whether people prepare effectively or at all. Research has shown that perceptions of risk are affected by slight changes in wording, and that probabilities commonly reported by experts and media are often interpreted subjectively based on context. In the context of volcanoes, research has found that given a certain probability of a volcano in a specific time window, people perceive risk as higher in later time intervals within that window. The present study examines this pattern with regard to earthquakes and aftershocks in the New Zealand context. Participants in both Wellington (N = 102) and Christchurch (N = 98) were presented an expert statement of earthquake risk within a given time window in Wellington and aftershock risk in Christchurch, and asked to rate their perception of risk in specific intervals across the time window. For a Wellington earthquake, participants perceived risk as incrementally higher toward the end of the 50 year time window whereas for a Christchurch aftershock, risk perception increased slightly for the first three intervals of the 12 month time window. Likelihood of preparing was constant over the time windows, with Wellington citizens rating themselves more likely than Christchurch citizens to prepare for either an earthquake or aftershock, irrespective of current level of preparedness. These findings suggest that people view earthquakes as more likely later toward the end of a given time window and that they view aftershocks very differently to scientific predictions.
The Dancing Floor of War: A study of Theban imperialism within Boeotia, ca. 525-386BCE
Authors:   , Wilson Alex
Published: November 2021

This thesis is a reexamination of Thebes’ relationship with the neighbouring Greek poleis (city states) of Boeotia in early Greek history, including but not limited to the so-called Boeotian League or Confederation. Although it is generally acknowledged that Thebes was the dominant city of Boeotia in the Archaic and Classical Periods, scholarly opinion has varied on how to classify Thebes’ dominance. At some point in the period considered here, the Boeotian states gathered themselves together into a regional collective, a confederation. The features of this union (in which Thebes was the leading participant) obscure Thebes’ ambitions to subjugate other Boeotian states. I argue here that it is appropriate to define Thebes’ relationship with Boeotia as imperialist.  I begin with a methodological consideration of the application of imperialism to ancient Greek history. The thesis considers in the first chapters three stages of development in Theban imperialism: firstly an early period (ca. 525) in which Thebes encouraged nascent Boeotian ethnic identity, promoting its own position as the natural leader of Boeotia. Secondly, a period (ca. 525–447) in which a military alliance of Boeotian states developed under the leadership of Thebes. Thirdly, a period which was the earliest true form of the Boeotian Confederation, contrary to scholarship which pushes the date of the Boeotian collective government back to the sixth century. I argue that the Boeotian federal constitution of 447–386 gave Thebes sufficient control of Boeotia to be classified as an imperialist structure.  A final chapter independently considers the evidence of Boeotian coinage, which has often been used problematically to inform historical analysis of Boeotian relations. I argue that on cultural and economic grounds alone the numismatic evidence suggests that Thebes’ dominance in Boeotia extended to monetary influence.
Students' Choice of a Business Major and Career: A Qualitative Case Study of Motivation to Study Finance and Banking
Authors:   , Mao Sokalyan
Published: November 2021

Little is known about how or why Cambodian university students choose a major and a future career. The decision regarding a major is important for a student’s life and future career. The Cambodian labour market has a shortage of graduates in science, technology, engineering, maths and agriculture and a predicted oversupply of business graduates. In recognition of the mismatch between the supply of business graduates and the demands of the labour market, the current study was designed to explore why and how Cambodian students choose a business major and a future career.  This qualitative study employed a multiple case study design. The study utilized semistructured interviews to collect data from five male and five female students enrolled in finance and banking majors, who volunteered to participate in the research. Data analysis was mainly inductive with consideration given to the expectancy-value theory (Eccles, 2009) using a within-case and cross-case analysis within a thematic approach.  The findings were that value beliefs were important in students’ choice of a major. Students chose a finance and banking major because they believed that this major would have good employment prospects and lead to a worthwhile career. Other reasons included the interest value related to the subject and to a career, their beliefs in their ability to earn a business degree, and usefulness to the long-term plans of business ownership. In some cases, students chose the business major over a preferred major for diverse reasons including: not wanting to move away from family; a family’s desire to provide security for female offspring; the prohibitive costs of the preferred major; and doubts about their ability to succeed in the preferred major. The extended family was influential in decisions around choice of major and career. Participants listened to the advice of older siblings. The financial support of parents was also pivotal. Farmers did not want their children to work in agriculture and saw business as offering a better life.
"Nourishing ourselves and helping the planet": WWOOF, Environmentalism and Ecotopia: Alternative Social Practices between Ideal and Reality
Authors:   , Kosnik Elisabeth
Published: November 2021

A growing number of people around the world are becoming familiar with the phenomenon of ‘World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms’ (WWOOF). This movement originated forty years ago in England, but has since spread around the world. Estimations suggest that WWOOF currently has more than 90,000 signed-up members internationally. Over the last four decades WWOOF has developed as part of an environmentalist social trend in contemporary, although predominantly Western, societies. The members of WWOOF largely share a green, “ecotopian” attitude towards nature, living in the country, and the sustainable use of resources, health and nutrition, anti-consumerism and anti-capitalist ideals. This thesis is the first comprehensive ethnographic study of this international phenomenon. In it I provide an analysis of the complexities of this environmentalist social trend, and the interconnections between environmental, socio-economic, and political processes within WWOOF.  By applying a combination of methods, including participant observation as a WWOOFer in Austria and New Zealand, interviews and informal conversations with WWOOFers, hosts, directors, and voluntary organisers, as well as the founder of WWOOF herself, and the analysis of documents produced by WWOOF groups, and e-mail interviews with a number of WWOOF directors, I was able to gain a multi-sited and multi-layered perspective of the international WWOOF movement. In this analysis I ask where the ideals of WWOOF originated and how the morality of “ecotopian” thinking informs the lifeworlds of the participants. The aim of this thesis is to investigate the international WWOOF movement as it is experienced, narrated, and negotiated by its members. It demonstrates the tensions between ideals and lived reality, the contradictions and compromises, and the vast range of interpretations of their ideals that lead to internal conflict. In trying to overcome these tensions, social practices emerge that blur the boundaries between “ecotopian” green values and mainstream attitudes. I argue that by engaging in a range of alternative environmental, social, political, and economic practices the members of the WWOOF movement feel that, despite some contradictions and necessary compromises, they at least partially succeed in achieving the aims and ideals of WWOOF and their visions for a greener lifestyle and ecological society.
The Application of Ecological Resilience to Urban Landscapes
Authors:   , Garcia Emilio Jose
Published: November 2021

The understanding of resilience is a key concept for improving the adaptive capacity of cities to deal with and take benefits from unpredictable changes while keeping on evolving. However, in urbanism and architecture, a theoretical framework to use resilience in urban, landscape and architectural design is still needed. This thesis proposes an instrumental theory that can work as a link between the ecological theory of resilience and its utilisation in urban and architectural design. Through the implementation of this new knowledge, it should be possible to provide insight into the structures, dynamics and self-organizing processes that sustain the resilience capacity of cities. The research has developed a methodology for analysing the ecological resilience of urban landscapes using an urban morphological approach. The method has been tested on case studies in Auckland, New Zealand, and Tokyo, Japan, showing it is possible to observe changes in the resilience of the urban fabric.
Dual Numbers and Invariant Theory of the Euclidean Group with Applications to Robotics
Authors:   , Daher Mohammed
Published: November 2021

In this thesis we study the special Euclidean group SE(3) from two points of view, algebraic and geometric. From the algebraic point of view we introduce a dualisation procedure for SO(3;ℝ) invariants and obtain vector invariants of the adjoint action of SE(3) acting on multiple screws. In the case of three screws there are 14 basic vector invariants related by two basic syzygies. Moreover, we prove that any invariant of the same group under the same action can be expressed as a rational function evaluated on those 14 vector invariants.  From the geometric point of view, we study the Denavit-Hartenberg parameters used in robotics, and calculate formulae for link lengths and offsets in terms of vector invariants of the adjoint action of SE(3). Moreover, we obtain a geometrical duality between the offsets and the link lengths, where the geometrical dual of an offset is a link length and vice versa.
Facilitating the Human Scale: A Response to Urban Intensification
Authors:   , Gould Samuel
Published: November 2021

Over the last half century, globalization has catalysed a new wave of urban expansion. Implications of this growth will further intensify the complexities of the urban metropolis, where transecting transit networks, communication infrastructures, production and consumption undergird a multifaceted set of economic and social processes. A recent paradigm shift over the last half-century has seen change in terms of the city being viewed in formal terms to being considered for its dynamic ways. This shift has not only seen the traditional hierarchical urban condition questioned, but reflects the amorphous trends in urban growth. The main intention of the research is to develop a model framework for re-appropriating established industrial infrastructural components to facilitate the human scale in the face of an intensifying urban realm.  The work of James Corner, Rem Koolhaas, Bernard Tschumi, Charles Waldheim, Alex Wall and Richard Weller are critically engaged to inform this thesis’ theoretical framework. This research explores the viability of these theoretical imperatives in addressing issues typically associated with urban intensification, specifically the spatial, cultural and sociological implications of urban encroachment into the industrial precinct.  Overall the research suggests the act of leveraging phenomenological qualities inherent to industry landscapes can play a fundamental role in appropriating the human scale within this contextually indifferent typology.
Gradient Strategies: Reconciling the Public and Private Realms in Suburbia
Authors:   , Stringer Alan
Published: November 2021

Last century saw significant changes in the way we occupy land for living. Technological advances in individual and mass transportation has both extended city peripheries and effectively claimed the suburban public realm for the automobile. Analysis of historical residential development models reveals that our traditional neighbourhood characteristics and qualities have deteriorated as a direct result of this shift. The urban expansion and resultant neglected street environments are two imperatives for change which lead to the core focus of this research; the reconciliation of the public and private realms within suburbia. A holistic approach to design recognises the benefits of considering community and individual needs simultaneously. This is reflected in the design of a residential subdivision seeking alternative street patterns and use hierarchies, both aimed at stimulating the public realm. Under this premise a robust place-based perception of ‘community’ is important to the idealised functional operation of the public suburban street requiring an effort from the entirely private domain of the suburban house. A graduated transition from public to private is the means used to mediate the pre-existing tension. Through the acquisition of a series of strategies a gradient between public and private is achieved to successfully facilitate and manage the connection to the street from within the house. Thus, the urban responsibility of housing is realised and addressed allowing the private house dweller to participate in the activation of the suburban street.