bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hamilton's Kirikiriroa Gully: Engaging with waterway social life from the ground up
Authors:   , MacIntyre May Jan
Published: November 2021

The social value of waterways and gullies in new suburban development is something that is often overlooked and given limited resources to be developed. They have the potential to be intense centres of neighbourhoods and provide much needed social relief in the age of rapid urban expansion. This thesis explores the social potential of Kirikiriroa gully in Hamilton where suburban development has occurred at an alarming rate. The research extends the traditional top down masterplan design methodology used for large project sites by investigating the reverse of this, a study of life on the ground to inform the design.  Using on-site analytical and design methods, the design attempts to reveal the workings of the landscape in a way that a masterplan cannot. Key to this was the identification of three important social experiential typologies within the gully system. The understanding and documentation of the relations and forces that produced these types facilitated adjustments to strategically identified sites, with the intention of intensifying the relevant social ecology of the gully at that site. This intensification is intended to influence the wider neighbourhoods and the gully system more broadly.
Bamboo Fale: Climate of Change
Authors:   , Cayford Emily
Published: November 2021

The world is currently sitting on the brink of a massive upheaval as Climate Change continues to intensify. At this stage, there is no apparent turning back: the only remaining option is to adapt. While many countries are already feeling the effects, the most vulnerable lie within the Pacific Islands.  With 70% of the Samoan population living along their coastline (The World Bank, 2016), the country is identified as one of the most vulnerable Pacific Islands. It is prone to high waves and storm surges, along with tropical cyclones, which destroy livelihoods and housing, as well as claiming lives.  The traditional architecture of Samoa was originally built to withstand such weather events, but has not been adapting to resist the increased cyclone intensity and rising sea levels. The materials and building practices currently used within Samoa do not have the properties to resist these extreme weather events.  Western building practises have been introduced and into the Samoan construction industry, but has not yet successfully been integrated. Combinations of traditional and Western building practises are, instead, resulting in buildings more vulnerable than ever. This issue remains unresolved, with unsuitable housing remaining one of the largest dilemmas currently faced by Samoa’s inhabitants.  Samoa recently graduated from the classification: Least Developed Country, to be classified as a Developing Country (Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience). This places Samoa as one of the more developed nations of the Pacific, therefore encouraging Samoa to take the lead in resilience to the ever imposing effects of Climate Change. Samoa has a close relationship with both New Zealand and Australia and therefore has access to building expertise, education and materials. Why, then, is Samoa so lacking in architectural resilience to the effects of Climate Change?  This paper endeavours to investigate this gap and, in turn provide a potential resolution. These solutions could aid other Pacific countries as well as encouraging further architectural resilience that can then be mirrored by the remaining, vulnerable countries of the Pacific.  This thesis first investigates the question:  “Why has Samoan culture not developed stronger architectural resilience against Climate Change?”  This thesis then evolves to question:  “How can Samoan architecture be hybridised to influence increased architectural resilience against Climate Change?”
Punching Above Our Weight: How a small island nation navigates the world of global strategy
Authors:   , Ibbetson Oliver
Published: November 2021

This thesis evaluates three of New Zealand’s foreign strategy documents, the China Strategy, the India Strategy, and the ASEAN Strategy. It assesses New Zealand’s performance against these strategies in order to elucidate the interplay between diplomatic, economic, and security strategies, and how this impacts on New Zealand’s approach to these partners.  The different elements of policy exist in a complex environment of interdependent flows. In ASEAN strategy, security policy is linked to trade policy; in Indian strategy, international sport is linked with domestic tourism; and with China strategy, global reputation is linked with lowering barriers to trade.  To date, New Zealand’s China Strategy has been successful, as New Zealand has performed well against the goals its set for itself. While it may be tempting to suggest emulating the China Strategy in other markets, this thesis argues that the success of the strategy is due to the unique set of circumstances of the two countries. When we look at New Zealand’s approach to India the importance of customisation is evident. Strategies exist in a complex environment where multiple attempts and methods may be required in order to best elucidate the most successful approaches.  This work argues that country strategy should be sufficiently adaptive to take into account the complex environment of each nation, while holding New Zealand’s trade interests as a premier function.
Randomness in classes of matroids
Authors:   , Critchlow William
Published: November 2021

This thesis is inspired by the observation that we have no good random model for matroids. That stands in contrast to graphs, which admit a number of elegant random models. As a result we have relatively little understanding of the properties of a "typical" matroid. Acknowledging the difficulty of the general case, we attempt to gain a grasp on randomness in some chosen classes of matroids.  Firstly, we consider sparse paving matroids, which are conjectured to dominate the class of matroids (that is to say, asymptotically almost all matroids would be sparse paving). If this conjecture were true, then many results on properties of the random sparse paving matroid would also hold for the random matroid. Sparse paving matroids have limited richness of structure, making counting arguments in particular more feasible than for general matroids. This enables us to prove a number of asymptotic results, particularly with regards to minors.  Secondly, we look at Graham-Sloane matroids, a special subset of sparse paving matroids with even more limited structure - in fact Graham-Sloane matroids on a labelled groundset can be randomly generated by a process as simple as independently including certain bases with probability 0.5. Notably, counting Graham-Sloane matroids has provided the best known lower bound on the total number of matroids, to log-log level. Despite the vast size of the class we are able to prove severe restrictions on what minors of Graham-Sloane matroids can look like.  Finally we consider transversal matroids, which arise naturally in the context of other mathematical objects - in particular partial transversals of set systems and partial matchings in bipartite graphs. Although transversal matroids are not in one-to-one correspondence with bipartite graphs, we shall link the two closely enough to gain some useful results through exploiting the properties of random bipartite graphs. Returning to the theme of matroid minors, we prove that the class of transversal matroids of given rank is defined by finitely many excluded series-minors. Lastly we consider some other topics, including the axiomatisability of transversal matroids and related classes.
Collaboration in the process of legislative lobbying: A study of a disabled peoples organisation lobbying for change in New Zealand 1989-1993
Authors:   , Ruane Nicholas
Published: November 2021

This thesis examines lobbying from the disabled people’s organisation Disabled Persons Assembly (DPA) NZ from 1989 until 1993. It explores how the organisation conducted lobbying activities with respect to two pieces of New Zealand legislation with constitutional significance: The New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 and the Human Rights Act 1993.  This thesis places the plight of minority groups within the political process squarely under the research microscope and asks: what factors explain the different outcomes to the DPA’s lobbying efforts to the Bill of Rights in 1990 and the Human Rights Act in 1993?  More specifically it examines the DPA’s decision to collaborate with the New Zealand Aids Foundation (AF) during the 1993 Human Rights Act campaign. Collaboration with the AF was a controversial decision that resulted in heated discussions within DPA. Some members were concerned about the political risks of aligning with the AF. DPA leadership however saw a possibility for broad human rights legislation, and took the decision to collaborate. They were convinced that collaboration would bring benefits in the form of greater resources, access to Parliament and better relationships with the media which would all lead to an enhanced capacity to make the case to the public.  The thesis argues that by working with the AF, DPA was able to change its lobbying narrative from one solely focussed upon disability rights to one that broadened out to broader human rights protections. DPA was not positioning itself as a minority group arguing for narrow exceptions to existing legislation, a tactic it had pursued in previous campaigns. The campaign proved successful, gaining support from MP’s, as the Human Rights Act was perceived to have public support.  The thesis also shows that to understand DPA’s successful strategy it needs to be seen in the context of a failed effort from a previous campaign. DPA’s campaign to lobby for the 1993 Human Rights Act began from the point of an unsuccessful fight to have disability rights included in the 1990 Bill of Rights. DPA was, in effect, ‘locked in’ to fighting the 1993 campaign from that point.
The Reproductive Biology of Deep-Sea Elasmobranchs and Batoids from Chatham Rise and the Sub-Antarctic Region of New Zealand
Authors:   , Dutilloy Adèle
Published: November 2021

The reproductive biology of thirteen poorly studied deep-sea elasmobranch species, on Chatham Rise and the Sub-Antarctic region of New Zealand, was assessed. The study species are all commonly caught as bycatch in commercial fisheries and include: three viviparous species (Centroselachus crepidater, Centrophorus squamosus, Deania calcea), five deep-sea catsharks (Apristurus spp.), and five deep-sea batoid species. However, due to a lack of knowledge on their general biology, ecology, and taxonomy – the impact of fishing on these species is unknown. A species’ resilience to fishing pressure depends on its biological productivity and susceptibility to capture. Accurate assessment of maturity is critical to understanding productivity and the effects of fishing pressure on fished stocks. Maturity is commonly assessed macroscopically, using a visual assessment that lacks precision and relies on subjective judgement. The wide array of macroscopic maturity assessment keys, used internationally, employ various sets of characteristics to define the same reproductive processes, which can lead to errors and inconsistencies in maturity assessment and parameter estimates (e.g. length-at-maturity), making direct comparisons between studies difficult. Objective reproductive measurements (oviducal gland size, follicle size, uterus width, follicle number and gonad weight) were used to assess the validity and quality of the macroscopic maturity staging key used in New Zealand, towards determining the onset of maturity and accurately distinguishing between macroscopic stages. The results showed that no single measurement gave a clear-cut indicator of maturity and some fish classified as ‘maturing’ were very likely ‘mature’. Uterus width, follicle size and gonadosomatic index values were found to be the most useful attributes in determining the onset of maturity. Uterus width and follicle size were also useful in determining differences between different macroscopic stages, whilst gonadosomatic index values were useful in distinguishing between reproductive strategies. Histological observations, with a particular focus on sperm storage, were also used to inform the quality of macroscopic maturity assignment. Sperm storage was observed for the first time in Centroselachus crepidater, Centrophorus squamosus and Brochiraja asperula. This study successfully highlighted problems in the macroscopic maturity assessment key currently used in New Zealand and proposes an improved, more objective macroscopic staging key. The improved key aims: 1) to assist in distinguishing between maturity stages, particularly between stage 2 (maturing), stage 2 (resting) and stage 6 (post-partum) females, by examining the same key reproductive structures across all macroscopic stages, and 2) to provide more representative maturity data for use in fisheries and demographic models, for more robust assessment of the impacts of fishing pressure on poorly studied deep-sea chondrichthyans.
How New Zealand schools manage the transition of disabled students leaving secondary education: A multiple-case study
Authors:   , Fraser Cameron Stuart
Published: November 2021

The transition from secondary education to post-secondary life is a difficult one for students with intellectual disabilities. Schools are key to the preparation and management of this transition. There is little New Zealand (NZ) research on the transition of disabled students and lack of examples of effective practice. A multiple-case study was used to investigate the transition practices of three schools teaching disabled students with ORS (Ongoing Resourcing Scheme) funding. Qualitative data was collected through interviews and observations of staff members. Findings were that the schools began the process by no later than the students being 16-years-old and ensured the student and family were at the centre of the planning. Schools taught a combination of functional life skills and self-determination skills. Community inclusion was practiced through work experience and visits to potential future environments. Common post-school barriers in transition included reduced support and few opportunities. A forthcoming government review of ORS funding for disabled students aged 18-21, highlights the need for future research to investigate these post-school barriers.
Healthcare in the Digital Age - The Future of Health Records
Authors:   , Slevin Eliot
Published: November 2021

Electronic Health Record software (EHR), is used by medical professionals regularly to interact with patient records. The functionality of this software is key to public health, however the quality of this software does not match it's importance, or its cost.  Developing innovative healthcare software is a difficult due to the inherent challenges of complexity, risk, and distribution faced by healthcare software.  In response these challenges, this thesis proposes Barnett: a novel system to store, share, and interact with health records across institutions. Notably, this system moves control from the vendor to the user - through iterative, crowd based improvement, and ownership. This allows the system to fit unique, and varied user needs.  Barnett was developed through an interdisciplinary qualitative research process, grounded in perspectives from design, software engineering, healthcare; and interviews with healthcare professionals.  The survey of current EHRs, healthcare models, and the design process indicates that developing systems which enable a faster iterative cycle of design, development, and distribution is potentially a more sustainable approach to electronic health records.
Private Sector and Corporate Social Responsibility: Understandings and Perspectives of Different Stakeholders. Case study of a Mining Company in Laos
Authors:   , Souvansay Pisay
Published: November 2021

Corporations play a significant role in social and economical development globally. They play a significant role in supporting and boosting economic growth and local development as they provide job opportunities, contribute to infrastructure development, and generate income and wealth in societies. However, corporations also bring some negative impacts. Corporations, in particular those in extractive industries, can create a wide range of harmful effects and hazards to human health and livelihoods as well as to the environment. The negative impacts have attracted significant attention from related parties and prompted corporations to take a great deal of care in managing their impacts. As a result, companies are trying to improve their business strategies and corporate social responsibility (CSR) is one of these strategies by which companies try to differentiate themselves from others and to mitigate their negative impacts.  CSR has gradually emerged over many decades and recently became a focus of discussion among businesses and other stakeholders. However, the consensus on the definition of CSR is still limited. Various definitions of CSR have been created based on the interests, perspectives and expectations of different organisations.  This research explores the different understandings and perspectives of different groups of people around the way private sector is implementing CSR in Lao PDR, focusing on a foreign mining company as the case study. The research will also identify how these perspectives and expectations impact the strategies of CSR, especially regarding to rural development and poverty reduction in Laos.  The results of this thesis show that CSR is relatively a new concept in Laos but it is increasingly significant with the government and businesses themselves both paying more attention to CSR concerns. There is still unclear and common understanding among key stakeholders namely, government, business and other related stakeholders such as communities and other organisations. Fulfilling the legal obligations seems to be sufficient for the business and the government to claim that they are CSR companies while the community and other organisations expect corporations to do more than what only in the contract. In order to promote and encourage CSR to be effective and efficient, mutual understanding needs to be created, negotiated and agreed among keys stakeholders.
The Impact of Protectionism on the Completion and Duration of Cross-Border Acquisitions
Authors:   , Callaghan Rehanna
Published: November 2021

This study investigates the impact of protectionism in a host country on the completion likelihood of an announced cross-border acquisition and the time required to complete the acquisition. Adopting a legitimacy perspective, I identify and test boundary conditions at the firm and national levels to study the relationship between protectionism and cross-border acquisition completion and duration. I hypothesise that in host countries with a high level of protectionism, as reflected by the level of non-tariff barriers, cross-border acquisitions are less likely to be completed and the time taken to close the acquisition deal increases. I also propose that the relationships between protectionism and acquisition outcomes are moderated by critical target firm characteristics and the host country's economic condition. Specifically, these moderators include target firm size, target firm performance, the degree to which the target industry is sensitive to national security concerns, and the host country's GDP growth. I test these hypotheses using a sample of 675 cross-border acquisition attempts by firms in the manufacturing and services industries (excluding financial services) into the U.S. and Canada between 1995 and 2015. The results of the statistical analysis support the prediction that the higher the degree of protectionism, the lower likelihood of acquisition completion and the longer the duration is between acquisition announcement and completion. Findings also support the predicted moderating effects of the target firm size, performance and national security concern. However, the hypothesised moderating effect of the host country's GDP growth was not supported by the results. This finding suggests that host country protectionism impacts cross-border acquisition attempts, irrespective of the host country's economic development. These findings have significant implications for legitimacy-based explanations of cross-border acquisitions. In particular, the results of this study indicate that when protectionism is high, the host country is more likely to raise concerns around the legitimacy of foreign firms. In turn, these firms face adverse host country scrutiny which can result in a failed acquisition attempt, or an extended and therefore, costlier acquisition deal. The framework and findings of this study contribute to an institution-based view and, in particular, to a legitimacy-based perspective in the research on the internationalisation of firms.
Machining Ornament: An investigation into contemporary machining practices and the creation of patterned ornamental surfaces
Authors:   , Saunders Samuel
Published: November 2021

Robotic tools open a new frontier in surface articulation. The combination of computer modelling with robotic tools allows the transfer of digital information onto physical objects with comparative ease. This permits a more intricate approach to building; where the architect can incorporate new ornamental effects onto surfaces increasing the diversity of our built environment. This use of contemporary tools to articulate surfaces has heralded a return of ornament to the artistic repertoire of the architect. Once again, the architect can be involved in the intricacies of instilling narratives into material surfaces.  This thesis identiﬁes this resurgence in ornamental effects and aims to question how robotic tools facilitate the creation of ornamental architecture. This thesis involves the digital creation of patterns which considers the creation of parametric designs that hold a particular narrative. This thesis also experiments with the potential of metal sheet forming to identify the parameters that guide the sheet form. These two topics work in unison whereby the digital design has been limited by the parameters discovered through physical experimentation. The machining process of Incremental Sheet Forming (ISF) is investigated as to its potential in the manipulation of sheet metal. Speciﬁ cally, the robot is used to discover the potential of sheet forming through the creation of a full-scale prototype.  This practical research shows how considered use of robotic tools can bring greater connection to our built environment. Intricate detailing of architecture boosts the experiential connection between the building and inhabitant, strengthening a person’s attachment to their physical environment.
Truthmaking and the world-time parallel
Authors:   , Leniston-Lee Gareth
Published: November 2021

There is a close structural parallel between the way we talk about time and the way we talk about modality (i.e. matters of possibility, necessity, actuality etc.). A consequence of this is that whenever we construct a metaphysical argument within one of these domains, there is a parallel argument to be made in the other. On the face of it, this parallel between possible worlds and moments in time seems to commit us to holding corresponding attitudes to the ontological status of non-present and non-actual entities.  In this thesis I assess a claim made by Sider (2001: 41-42) that truthmaking – the idea that truth is grounded in existence – provides a way to avoid the commitment to ontological symmetry that this world-time parallel seems to foist upon us. Truthmaking challenges presentists, who deny the existence of past entities and actualists, who deny the existence of merely possible entities, to come up with a way of grounding truths that are ostensively about the events and entities that they deny exist. Sider’s claim can be broken down into three propositions:  1. Truthmaking provides reason to reject presentism. 2. Truthmaking does not provide reason to reject actualism. 3. Truthmaking breaks the ontological symmetry between time and modality.  In this thesis I argue that while 1 is false, 3 remains true. While I am not a presentist myself I do not think that truthmaking provides a sound basis for rejecting the position. Much of this thesis is dedicated to defending presentism against the challenge truthmaking poses. I also don’t believe that truthmaking undermines actualism, but do not commit myself to any particular actualist response to the truthmaking challenge in this thesis. My central aim is to show that the presentist has a viable response to the truthmaking challenge and that this response does not have a viable parallel in the modal case. So while I think that both presentists and actualists can provide adequate responses to the challenge truthmaking poses, truthmaking still breaks the symmetry because the arguments made in defence of each position are very different. So one might rationally accept one argument but not the other.
Supporting staff in their interactions with children who have learning support needs: The role of a student music therapist
Authors:   , O’Rourke Helen
Published: November 2021

This research explores the question “How can a student music therapist support staff in their interactions with learners in a special education setting?” To answer this question secondary analysis of data was used to examine clinical notes that had been collected as part of my music therapy practicum experience at a special education school. The data selected for thematic analysis was collected between March and May 2017, and focused on three groups which were co-facilitated by myself and other school staff. Six main themes emerged; Expanding on Existing Music use; Collaboration; Interaction Styles; Supporting Staff in Music; Staff Witnessing Student in Music; and Expanding on Māori Materials. In addition to this, three sub-themes emerged relating to the use of; Elements of Music; Instruments; and Repertoire. The main themes relate to ecological approaches to music therapy such as community music therapy (Ansdell, 2002) and resource oriented music therapy (Rolvsjord, 2016). They indicate that the student music therapist engaged with a broader approach to music therapy than traditional closed door models of practice. The integrated model of team work in the school was important in creating an environment of fluid knowledge sharing and collaborative approaches. This integrated approach to music therapy work can enrich the culture of the special education context and is in line with Ministry of Education Special Education policy and philosophy (Twyford, 2009).
'The Bitter Sweetness of the Space Between': Creative Reflections of Pasifika Ethnic Mixedness
Authors:   , Fatu Emily
Published: November 2021

This Master of Arts thesis investigates and draws conclusions regarding how creative arts present accommodating spaces for articulating and understanding cultural mixedness amongst Pacific populations in New Zealand. New Zealand is home to an expanding Pacific population; statistics identify a growing number of these Pacific people who are multi-ethnic, and who are claiming their mixedness in official census data. As Pacific populations have grown, Pacific artists have risen to national prominence in visual, literary and performing arts. Many of these artists have themselves been of mixed ancestry. This thesis examines the work of three female New Zealand artists of mixed Samoan-English or Samoan-Indian descent, asking, “How do these artists and their work express their cultural mixedness?” Discussion centres on mixed media visual artist Niki Hastings-McFall, who is of English and Samoan descent; spoken word poet Grace Taylor, also of English and Samoan descent; and musical performer Aaradhna Patel, who is of Indian and Samoan descent. Placing both the creative work and public commentary of these three artists at its centre, this thesis explores how these artists publicly identify with their Samoan heritage as well as their other heritage(s); how they use their art as a platform for identity articulation; and how creative arts provide flexible and important spaces for self-expression. The thesis draws its theoretical underpinnings from Pacific studies, art history, transnational cultural studies and postcolonial studies, and utilizes Samoan and Tongan conceptions of vā as a key analytic tool.
Analysis and Prediction of High Frequency Foreign Exchange Data
Authors:   , Kennedy Adrian Patrick
Published: November 2021

This thesis investigates the stochastic properties of high frequency foreign exchange data. We study the exchange rate as a process driven by Brownian motion, paying particular attention to its sampled total variation, along with the variance and distribution of its increments. The normality of its increments is tested using the Khmaladze transformation-2, which we show is straightforward to implement for the case of testing centred normality. We found that while the process exhibits properties characteristic of Brownian motion, increments are non-Gaussian and instead come from mixture distributions. We also introduce a technical analysis trading strategy for predicting price movements, and employ it using the exchange rate dataset. This strategy is shown to offer a statistically significant advantage, and provides evidence that exchanges rates are predictable to a greater extent than current mathematical models suggest.
'It's either Maccas or uni': A Bourdieusian analysis of working-class youth in New Zealand
Authors:   , Lockyer Orin
Published: November 2021

School to work transitions is often presented as a binary choice. You either pursue a university education that is framed as a sure-fire pathway to both social and economic mobility, or you pursue a ‘lesser’ form of industrial and vocational training, with little of hope of advancement. However, this thesis argues that this assumption must be contested, as it obscures the complexity of all school to work transitions and the potential for social mobility in these ‘lesser’ forms of education. Through interviews with young men and women who are training as an apprentice or have recently completed their apprenticeship, this thesis hopes to provide a more complex snapshot of school to work transitions, focusing on how apprentices find and adapt to their new trade.  My overall argument centres on Bourdieu’s theory of practice which is often discussed concerning the specific class-based outcomes of education for students from different class conditions (Bourdieu 1977). While this approach is useful to showing the complexity of school to work transitions from supposedly ‘lesser’ pathways, this approach is overly reliant on habitus, presenting a type of individual agency that is primarily reproductive and non-conducive to any potential transformation. Instead of focusing on just habitus in understanding this transition, a greater emphasis is placed on Bourdieu’s concept of ‘field’. Specifically, how field conditions can influence both the degree and the type of agency within a field, presenting a more complicated conception of agency that can be simultaneously reproductive and transformative.
Gazing Into the Crystal Ball: Are Majority Groups Threatened by a Minority-Majority Future?
Authors:   , Lescelius Jason
Published: November 2021

By the mid to late 21st century, it is projected that ethnic European majority groups will account for less than half the total populations of many Western countries. As a result of this projected ethnic shift, these countries will become “minority-majority” nations. Three experiments were conducted in New Zealand to investigate how present-day majority group members (New Zealand Europeans) perceive and react to a projected minority-majority future. It was found that those exposed to a minority-majority future expressed greater feelings of ingroup sympathy than those presented with present-day demographic information. However, contrary to the findings of similar research conducted in North America, the minority-majority future was not associated with negative attitudes towards migrants or greater ingroup serving biases. When comparing two projected future conditions (New Zealand European-majority future vs. a minority-majority future), participants in the minority-majority condition expressed greater belief that the nation would possess more positive characteristics than those in the New Zealand European-majority condition. Additionally, the experimental condition was found to moderate the relationship between future expectations and present-day attitudes and action intentions. Depending on the strength of expectations for future societal dysfunction, development, and benevolence, participants in the minority-majority condition were more or less likely to engage in present-day pro-diversity actions or perceive diversity as threatening. Implications for theoretical research and New Zealand intergroup dynamics are discussed.
Minimal Realism about ordinary objects
Authors:   , van Hulst Chrissy
Published: November 2021

In 2015 Daniel Korman published an incredibly important book called Objects: Nothing out of the ordinary, in which he defends a position known as conservatism about ordinary objects. He contrasts this position with two other positions – eliminativism and permissivism – and provides comprehensive arguments against these two positions. Korman takes eliminativism to be the view that ordinary objects do not exist. Even though this is indeed one of the claims eliminativists make, by itself it is not a good description of what eliminativism entails. For eliminativism, as ordinarily conceived, contains three main claims: i) the anti-realist claim that certain entities do not exist, ii) the claim that we are making an error when we assert that those entities do exist, and iii) the prescriptive claim that we should eliminate talking and thinking about those entities. These three claims together entail eliminativism. Korman, however, identifies eliminativism merely with the first anti-realist claim. Since Korman‟s focus is on the anti-realist claim, this thesis departs from Korman‟s tripartite division and instead frames the debate in terms of Minimal Realism and Minimal Anti-Realism about ordinary objects. Minimal Realism is simply the view that ordinary objects exist, and includes views such as conservatism and permissivism. Minimal Anti-Realism, by contrast, is the view that ordinary objects do not exist, such as eliminativism as Korman defines it. By refocussing the debate in terms of Minimal Realism and Minimal Anti-Realism, it becomes apparent that there are a variety of Minimal Realist positions which claim that ordinary objects do indeed exist, but which have been left out by Korman. My goal is to supplement Korman‟s arguments with literature published since the publication of his book, and to show how Minimal Realism responds to the arguments for eliminativism. In particular, I focus on the Debunking Argument, the Argument from Arbitrariness, the Overdetermination Argument, the Argument from Vagueness, the Argument from Material Constitution, and the Problem of the Many. After setting out these arguments, I discuss some recent objections, and show how Minimal Realism can respond to the proposed arguments and objections.
DUPLICATE DO NOT PUBLISH - Fracture: The reception of the 'other' author in Aotearoa
Authors:   , Arathimos Michalia
Published: November 2021

The fracturing of cultural identity is a common trope in postcolonial literatures. Traditional binaries of 'self' and 'other' are now complicated by cultural hybridities that reflect the intersectionality of migrant identities, indigeneity and the postcolonial national 'self'. Where the binaries 'self' and 'other' do not hold, creative forms like the novel can go some way towards exploring hybrid and 'other' experiences, both as a reinscribing and reimagining of the centre, and as a complex 'writing back'. This thesis investigates the complex positioning of the hybrid or double-cultured individual in Aotearoa in the last forty years. While postcolonial models have been used to expose the exoticisation of the 'other' in fictional texts, Part One of this thesis goes a step further by applying these models to real authors and interrogating their representations as static objects/products in the collective 'text' of media items written about them. Shifts in 'our' national literary identity can be traced in changes in responses to 'other' authors over time. Using an interdisciplinary approach, the first part of this thesis proves that there are differences in the media‟s portrayal of six Māori and 'other' ethnic authors: Witi Ihimaera, Keri Hulme, Kapka Kassabova, Tusiata Avia, Karlo Mila and Cliff Fell, beginning with the 1972 publication of Ihimaera‟s Pounamu Pounamu and ending in 2009 with Tusiata Avia‟s Bloodclot. Part One of this thesis mixes media studies, postcolonial literary analysis, and cultural theory, and references the work of Ghassan Hage, Graham Huggan, Margery Fee, Patrick Evans, Mark Williams, and Simone Drichel. Part Two of this thesis is comprised of a novel, Fracture. While Part One constitutes an investigation of the positioning of the 'other' author, Part Two is a creative exploration of two double-cultured and dispossessed indigenous characters' lived experience. The novel follows a Greek-New Zealand woman and a Māori man who go to a rural pā to protest fracking, or hydraulic fracturing. While the first part of the thesis explores the positioning of the „other‟ outside of the white self, the novel aims to portray the effects of such 'othering,' on the individual and demonstrate how the historical/political event can be a real experiential locale for the 'other'.
Christian experiences and imaginings of the Secular in New Zealand
Authors:   , Carter Jessica
Published: November 2021

This thesis explores how the Secular comes to materialise in the lives of a small group of Pentecostal-Charismatic Christians in Wellington, New Zealand. It presents an ethnographic account of how Christians experience and imagine the intertwined relationship between the religious and the Secular as they navigate social spaces, construct their identity, and make sense of the world. I argue that the Secular is not simply a residual state following the demise of religion, but rather, it is a discursive sensibility that produces religious subjects, and shapes a particular way of thinking about religion and its place in society. The Christians in this study seek to reject, counter and shape secular sensibilities, but they are also embroiled in producing the Secular. Consequently, they problematise dominant understandings of the Secular and religion as intrinsically separate and opposed domains. Based on four months of fieldwork in a Pentecostal-Charismatic church, and interviews with nine church congregants, this thesis reveals that Christian lives involve complex and multifaceted ways of being both Christian and secular.
A study of the interplay between the law and organisational codes of conduct with regards to sexual harassment in New Zealand
Authors:   , Menne-Spohr Heike
Published: November 2021

The aim of this research is to fill a gap in the New Zealand literature which is to investigate whether the sexual harassment legislation is being understood, implemented and monitored in organisations effectively.  This thesis explores how organisations in New Zealand are using tick-box compliance when implementing sexual harassment legislation into their employee policies and procedures documents due to the ambiguity of certain words. It looks at the role that Human Resources consultants and trade unions play, and further using the endogeneity model, the thesis explores the effect that tick-box compliance has on the legal consciousness of sexual harassment in organisations and third parties.  Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with Human Resources professional at public and private sector organisations, Human Resources consultants as well as trade union representatives who are actively involved with the implementation and management of sexual harassment policies in the workplace.    It was found that organisations had implemented sexual harassment policies and procedures several years previously and that these had not been changed significantly due to a lack of change in the law itself. The findings also indicate that the organisations implement sexual harassment polices using a tick-box approach and they do not necessarily fully understand the legislation. It was suggested that the emphasis had shifted from sexual harassment to bullying and that the third parties like trade unions and Human Resources consultants see more cases of this than sexual harassment.   The thesis concludes that although organisations have sexual harassment policies and procedures, these are outdated and are not part of the legal consciousness of organisations, trade unions and Human Resources consultants. The ambiguous nature of the wording in the law itself and the lack of guidelines for organisations on how to implement them has resulted in tick-box compliance and organisations do not know if their policies are effective or not. Further the low penalties for sexual harassment behaviour means that there is no incentive for sexual harassment victims to raise complaints.
ΔFosB: A Molecular Mechanism of MDMA Dependence
Authors:   , Foote Jason
Published: November 2021

Rationale. 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is a widely used illicit substance and some users show signs of abuse and dependence. It has been suggested that addiction reflects persistent neuroplasticity and one proposed mechanism has been a change in the expression of the transcription factor, ΔFosB.  Objectives. This study determined whether ΔFosB expression in reward-relevant brain areas was altered as a function of MDMA self-administration.  Methods. Rats were separated into triads. One rat self-administered MDMA (master rat) and the other 2 rats received either MDMA (yoked MDMA) or saline (yoked saline) infusions contingent on the behaviour of the master rat. Testing continued until a total intake of 350 mg/kg of MDMA was delivered. Two days following the final self-administration session, rats were sacrificed and perfused transcardially. Brains were removed, and ΔFosB immunohistochemistry was conducted. ΔFosB expression in striatum and medial prefrontal cortex was compared across groups.  Results. Unfortunately the tissue from many of the yoked MDMA rats was compromised and therefore data from this group were not included in any analyses. MDMA self-administration produced a significantly greater expression of ΔFosB in the ventromedial and ventrolateral portions of the caudate putamen when compared to expression produced following yoked saline exposure. Within the infralimbic cortex, accumbens shell and dorsolateral caudate putamen differences approached significance. A significant correlation between ΔFosB expression in the ventromedial caudate putamen and cumulative active lever presses across the final 5 days of self-administration was also found.  Conclusions. These findings provide the first evidence of MDMA-induced expression of ΔFosB. Increased expression of ΔFosB was observed in regions associated with the development and maintenance of drug addiction. These data support the idea that induction of ΔFosB may present a mechanism by which MDMA can induce alterations in genetic transcription, which may underlie the development of MDMA dependence.  Future studies should utilise antagonism of ΔFosB via region-selective administration of Δc-jun in order to further elucidate the role of these transcriptional changes in the development and maintenance of self-administration.
Problematizing the photographic images of pedagogical documentation: A Foucauldian Analysis
Authors:   , Whitaker Daniel
Published: November 2021

Photographic practices and the images they generate play a dominant role in documenting and assessing children’s learning and development in the early childhood education environments of Aotearoa-New Zealand. In the context of pedagogical documentation these visual practices are predominantly enacted through the medium of digital photography, utilized both locally (through assessment documentation) and nationally (through various policy documents). My concerns are in regards to the normalizing and regulatory effects of such visual practices, and how the photographic image is implicated in the construction of particular subjectivities in diverse populations of young children. The revised Aotearoa-New Zealand early childhood curriculum, Te Whāriki (2017a) is the first iteration of the national document to include photographic images and thus presents a timely opportunity to engage with questions concerning this contemporary visual politic.  By means of addressing these concerns I work within a post-structural epistemological framework, drawing methodological insights from the philosophy of Michel Foucault and Gilles Deleuze/Félix Guattari. This Rhizomatic epistemology, inspired by both Deleuzio-Guattarian and Foucauldian scholarship, is an experimental mode of inquiry that acts to illuminate, resist and transgress dominant discursive constructs and the subjectivities they produce. Each chapter of this thesis takes the diffuse realm of photographic practices and processes of subjectivity in the context of education as their impetus, making linkages between texts, concepts and the child subject.  This thesis suggests that an entanglement of both neoliberal and ‘psy’ rationalities are constitutive of particular visual-discursive practices, which mutually serve individualizing ends and construct particular subjectivities at this point in history. These predominant discourses and the subjectivities they are productive of are perceived to be problematic on the grounds that they place burdensome levels of responsibility on the young citizen and act to erode other educational values such as collective responsibility and community. It is further suggested that these predominant discourses are problematic in the sense that they act to foreclose other ways of thinking and being in educational settings to the effect of limiting other possible subject-positions (thought or unthought) that both child and teacher might come to inhabit within these spaces.