bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Through the Looking Glass
Authors:   , Moh Kimberly
Published: December 2021

This thesis questions, what characteristics constitute architecture and how can a design based body of research push the boundaries to question standard convention of architecture? My research proposes that there is a lost opportunity in conventional architecture design when the limitation of two-dimensional images cannot fully convey the reality of space. Conventionally architecture is viewed as static and unchanging however, this research disagrees with this proposition and explores the opportunity for there to be an immersive experience throughout the design stage. This research project asks how can we bridge the gap between the architecture created in the physical world versus the virtual?  Scaled physical modeling is traditionally the key visual representation of architectural design. However, people often can’t fully understand the intricacies of a scaled model. Through my research, I explore how VR technology could provide solutions to let people experience the materiality and craft of a real-life model. Restrictions in perception of scale, materiality and circulation hinder the thorough understanding of experience in space.   There is an opportunity to collaborate and merge the experience of physical modeling in the digital realm. By using handcrafted physical models, my work brings the imperfection of real life into the digital realm. Allowing the materiality from the real world to ground the project with the familiarity that only real space can induce.   Papercraft and modeling by card are the chosen material and method of constructing these real-life scaled models. Photogrammetry is used as a process to translate these physical “objects” into digital mesh. The physical and virtual world can work together harmoniously to create interesting results. The material properties of physical models are highlighted but have the advantage of being able to be easily manipulated (scale, multiply, move etc) in the digital realm. By using VR in order to explore these created environments allows the users to grasp the full nature of the materials and craftsmanship of physical models in a 1:1 scale. This hybrid way of designing celebrates the benefits and advantage of both the physical and virtual world and is a start to bridge the gap between them.
Playces: Architecture That Affords Play
Authors:   , Villareal Karla
Published: December 2021

This research portfolio examines the nature of play and its relationship with architecture. It researches how play is afforded by, and affords, the design of public space, rendering them places of play: Playces. Although play is an important component of everyone’s lives, this research portfolio focuses on adult play.  Like art, music, dance and literature, play is a way of engaging and expressing our being in the world. It is a pleasurable activity that also serves a biological function. Play nurtures the mind and challenges our physical capabilities. It is a critical component of human development.  Play is largely associated with childhood but maintaining a sense of playfulness is also a critical component of fulfilling adult lives. As we become adults, however, we tend to devalue the significance of play, relegating it to specific times and setting. We usually play in structured settings, solely dedicated to playing, unlike when we were children; we make very little distinction between play and other activities.  A person’s propensity to play depends not only on their physiological and emotional state, but also on their environment. Play, unfortunately, is rarely encouraged in urban spaces and even more seldom is it integrated in the design of architecture. As a result, it has generated a society of disconnection, comfortable in the predictability of their surroundings. Architecture has the potential to design for a ludic environment. It can establish a new and ever-changing relationship with adults and re-engage them to the built environment through design for play. A playful framework can allow spaces to inspire new states of mind and detach adults from their everyday reality. Spaces can invite new relationship with the built environment, one of participation and ambiguity, allowing social interactions to thrive, routine to be interrupted and adults to become spontaneously engaged. These areas are investigated following a research through design methodology to provide an understanding of the qualities that can pave way for the ideas of playful urban design.  Through a design as research methodology, Playces aims to discover how it can design a play-space that is not specifically created to accommodate play but invites players to appropriate that space through play.  Play is explored at four designs phases, which implement a range of playful design techniques. Phase one serves as a preliminary exploration of play through the design of an installation. Phases two and three explore how architecture can possess the same playful interaction in the magnitude of a medium-scale and large-scale public space. The final design is a journey through space where conditions essential for play become evident.
Desirable and Sustainable: Consolidating strategies for developing sustainable products
Authors:   , Wylie Kere
Published: December 2021

Society’s consumption, economic systems, and exponential population growth is creating more material waste than it can process. Mass production plays a large part in this unsustainable material consumption resulting in ecosystems collapsing.  This thesis was done in partnership with SUPER Design Studios (SUPER), a registered design company founded by the author. The thesis was started in response to the need for everyone and everything to be waste-free while acknowledging that current sustainable alternatives were not bringing us closer to this goal.  The objective of this thesis is to explore and propose a new Sustainable Product Development Strategy (SPDS) to create products that are effortlessly and enjoyably sustainable.  The research starts with an analysis of current sustainable product development practices; followed by interviews with sustainability industry experts focusing on the opportunities, barriers and difficulties they find working within the field. The research found that the perceived issues with sustainable products are not inherent in the products but can be attributed to flawed approaches typically used in their development. To address this issue a new SPDS was identified, by combining successful product development strategies. The SPDS encompasses a focus on three key domains. Firstly, the development team needs to be empowered and encouraged in a sustainable mindset. Secondly, the project brief needs to put the customer and environmental needs at equal importance. Thirdly, a business mindset which motivates collaboration with external individuals including stakeholders, customers and other key disciplines, needs to be developed.  The SPDS was trialled through validating and conceptualising a sustainable toothbrush product using a hybrid circular economy and subscription business model. This development encompassed strategies that utilised the SPDS methodology including design thinking, competitor analysis, a thematic analysis of secondary research, case studies, tree analysis, expert interviews and customer surveys. Overall a strong case was made for using the SPDS for the development of successful and sustainable products.  The sustainable toothbrush concept is presented in the accompanying business case which proposes that SUPER goes ahead with further development and research to create the first of a new generation of sustainable products utilising the SPDS methodology.  The hope is that applying the SPDS will create successful sustainable products that outcompete conventional products, leading to industry competitors following suit and in doing so replace the sustainable product industry.
Privacy and the Communitarian Self
Authors:   , Moore Benjamin
Published: December 2021

Contemporary philosophical debates about privacy turn on important questions regarding selfhood. Minimally, someone who endorses the possibility of informational privacy is committed to the idea that there are ‘selves’ or ‘persons,’ and that it is possible to decide what information relates to them and how. I argue that most popular accounts of privacy rely on a liberal conception of the self. In the Kantian tradition, persons are characterised as ‘transcendental subjects,’ always partly prior to, and unencumbered by, their particular circumstances. Communitarians argue, however, that the liberal notion of the self offers only a partial account of personhood. It is not possible to reason as a transcendental subject because, in various ways, our sense of self is defined by circumstance. Our connections to various communities – such as a family, religion, or state – as well as the shared representations and meanings we rely on to gain self-knowledge, are indispensable parts of what it is be a person. Drawing on the work of Michael Sandel, Charles Taylor, and Alisdair MacIntyre, I argue that to properly account for our want of privacy and its moral significance, we must look to the complex relationships between a person, their personal information, and the communities they inhabit.
Paleoenvironmental analysis of the Hautawa Shellbed, Whanganui Basin
Authors:   , Elliott Joanna Eveline Grace
Published: December 2021

The Hautawa Shellbed, Whanganui Basin is described in detail to uncover lateral variations in depositional paleoenvironment. This was achieved through the in situ documentation of the macrofaunal assemblage and its taphonomic attributes at three localities. The sites from west to east are: Ridge Road, Old Hautawa Road, and the type section on West Road. They are all exposures on farm tracks and cover a 20-km range across the central Whanganui Basin. The descriptions were collected at 15-cm intervals and analysed using k-means clustering and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to uncover trends within the data set. Combining the assemblage data with the taphonomic has allowed six major biofacies to be recognised. In turn, the arrangement of the biofacies in the sections suggest three subunits: A, B, and C. Subunits A and C are laterally continuous between all of the sections and always relate to the lowermost and upper-most portions of the Hautawa Shellbed. In contrast, subunit B is only observed to occur at West Road overlying subunit A. These subunits have can also be equated to sequence stratigraphic terminology. Subunits A and B form an onlap shellbed and subunit C a backlap shellbed. Hence, the Hautawa Shellbed represents deposition during the transgressive systems tract of a single cyclothem. This study is unique compared to other Whanganui Basin stratigraphic research in its statistically robust approach for comparing data gathered at various sites along outcrop strike to better understand the preserved paleoenvironment. To support the macro-faunal investigation, census counts of foraminifera were conducted for samples collected from the fine-grained sediments encompassing the Hautawa Shellbed at each of the three sites. Together, the macrofaunal and foraminiferal studies reveal temporal and spatial paleoenvironmental changes within the Hautawa Shellbed. The presence of biostratigraphically important fauna within the Hautawa Shellbed has been used to link the unit to other similar formations in both the Whanganui and East Coast Basins. This key assemblage which highlights the Nukumaruan-Mangapanian Stage boundary at 2.40 Ma includes: Zygochlamys delicatula, Crassostrea ingens, Phialopecten thomsoni, Phialopecten triphooki, and Mesopeplum convexum. The paleoenvironmental variations observed and presented here for the Hautawa Shellbed have been combined with published work on other parallel formations to produce a paleogeographic map of the Whanganui Basin for 2.40 Ma.
My VRchive. Developing a Methodology for creating Immersive Gaming Content and Interaction for Virtual Reality
Authors:   , van Rooyen Gerrit Jacobus
Published: December 2021

Writing for and designing a methodology for Virtual Reality (VR) can be difficult as the technology around this medium grows at a fast pace. Many game designers and directors of VR experiences still claim to make things up as they go along, with no definitive methodology for content and interaction design existing yet. So far, some guidelines have been set to help prevent discomfort, but clearly not enough has been done to look at how and why we should design for VR specifically. As VR is a very immersive medium that can allow the user to potentially use their entire body as they would in the real world to interact with an experience, we need to take precedents from real world interaction when designing VR experiences. This thesis focuses specifically on game design and content generation by looking at board and table top elements as the realworld precedent. To demonstrate my findings, I have created an experience named My VRchive. Much like a sketchbook an animator uses to save ideas for later use, My VRchive will house small experiences created from my research, into content and interaction design, in a format that can be added to and shared. At the finalisation of this thesis three experiences were created. My theory is that if more designers adopt this strategy, we can all add to this growing methodology of how to develop immersive content and interaction for VR gaming and experiences.
Quarantine
Authors:   , Murray Thomas
Published: December 2021

This thesis is set in a world similar to many pieces of science fiction literature and film. The world is fighting against the outbreak of a lethal and highly infectious pathogen that threatens to decimate the global population. The virus spreads quickly and has no current known cures or vaccines. Whilst the backdrop for this thesis is fictional, it addresses a very real concern that could face society. The research and outcomes of this thesis were based on a detailed study of quarantine solutions with the intention to quickly control and treat a virus pandemic. The focus was given to the architecture of emergency quarantine hospitals but also to a specific pathogen that this proposal is based upon, the H5N1 virus, more commonly known as Bird Flu. This thesis proposes to investigate a movable architecture dedicated to quarantine which can transport itself between cities and set up where it is most needed, be that in a busy city or a cluster of small villages. This allows for ease of access for those infected as well as quick integration back into society should those who are isolated respond well to treatment. The thesis will propose a potential direction for the further development of modern human quarantine, a system that will be ready and waiting for the day that it is desperately required.
Places of Pain and Shame: Adaptive Reuse of Negatively Connotated Places
Authors:   , Winstanley Gemma
Published: December 2021

Our landscape is a patchwork of scars, remnants of a painful past. A range of homes, sites and institutions with a history of confinement, racial discrimination or an involvement in war, massacre and genocide. These places, which often walk the thin line between our constant need to remember and the overwhelming urge to forget, often invoke pain, shame, guilt and ultimate futility because of the events that occurred and the ideologies they represent.  These places, defined here as negative heritage - conflictual sites that become the repository of negative memory in the collective imaginary, have become prolific the world over as we redefine what inheritance we preserve in our landscape for current use and to pass on to future generations. What this suggests is that, with the passing of time, what we consider to be heritage can become highly malleable - shaped to fit the parameters of local or national value systems and perceptions of identity.  The aim of this thesis is to examine the political, cultural or social conditions attributed to these stigmatized spaces that enable one site to be reused while another is condemned. It asks how does this influence of collective memory and perception affect how we design for the possible reuse of these sites?  The findings of this research inform the design of a process for the adaptive reuse of some of our most potent places of pain and shame. The development of this process drew on the specific history of memory, erasure and preservation in the architecture of Levin’s dilapidated Kimberley Centre, once New Zealand’s largest state-run institution. The process will allow for the development of strategies for managing stigmatized spaces, where the tendency to obliterate traumatic sites, whether materially or psychologically, must be rationalized with an effort to frame architecture as containers of sets of events, a multifaceted collection of histories in context.
Street ARt: Using Augmented Reality to Create Digital Street Art
Authors:   , Peacock Stefan
Published: December 2021

The long-imagined fiction of a digitally supplemented world is fast becoming a reality. Augmented Reality technology is advancing at a rapid rate, approaching mass adoption and use. Available to anyone with a modern mobile phone, Augmented Reality allows for a number of possibilities, augmenting the physical world with information or content of varying types. These possibilities have a number of implications for both utility and creative expression. This thesis explores the use of Augmented Reality as a tool for creative expression, comparing its use of the physical world to Street Art’s use of the street. Street Art uses the street as an artistic resource (Riggle, 2010) to provoke and elicit response. Augmented Reality uses physical location and context to strengthen its content and deliver information or entertainment. Augmented Reality Artworks have contested physical space (Skwarek, 2014; Veenhof & Skwarek, 2010) and shifted the boundaries of curation (Garbe, 2014).  This thesis compares the histories of Augmented Reality and Street Art, resulting in a proposal for using Augmented Reality as a method for Street Art, allowing artists to create Digital Street Art. Research through Design explores this practice, creating Digital Street Art works that use the possibilities of Augmented Reality technology to use the street as an artistic resource. Using digital techniques like animation, interactivity, data visualisation and three-dimensional imagery; this thesis aims to explore how the Digital Street Artist can create work that engages with the public space and provoke a response. This is explored through several Digital Street Art responses to the public space and issues that can be addressed within it. These responses are designed to use digital techniques and AR technology to make artistic use of the street. Allowing it to be both Digital in nature and Street Art in essence.
Towards a General Theory of Markets: A Social Practice Theory Approach
Authors:   , Gosling Martyn James
Published: December 2021

In recent years new conceptualisations of marketing have been founded in social practice theory. Markets and market boundaries, however, while debated, have not been re-theorised and definitions remain based in the neoclassical economics paradigm. Social practices theory provides a basis for defining markets and market boundaries by practices and their performances by market actors. This thesis advances the debate on a general theory of markets by theorising a new conceptual model of markets as social structures demarcated by nine specific categories of routinised practices described here as parameters. A qualitative study grounded within the social constructionist epistemology was conducted to explore the market practices model, particularly the categories of practices forming the parameters that define market boundaries. The New Zealand mobile telecommunications market provided an opportunity for a situational-specific exploration involving interviews with service providers, users, and regulators as actors performing in the market between 1990 and 2014, triangulated against 26-years of documentary evidence. The research enabled understanding of practices through the comparison of performances between progressive eras in the mobile telephone market in New Zealand. The findings supporting the market practice model not only advance new theory that extends our understanding of markets and market boundaries but also provide context for marketing academics. Furthermore, the model provides new perspectives for business strategy and policy development. The thesis concludes with a summary of contributions to the academic knowledge of markets and an overview of directions for future research and debate.
Environmental engagement through behaviour change interventions: A case study of litter reduction in New Zealand Schools
Authors:   , Thomas Rachel Maree
Published: December 2021

Litter has serious implications for the environment and is recognised as a significant form of marine and terrestrial pollution. A major source of litter pollution is recreational litter. Although litter is identified as an environmental problem, the propensity to litter continues within society. Behaviour change interventions have significant potential to influence the production of recreational litter. A shift in littering behaviour is necessary to reduce the environmental impact litter has on terrestrial and marine ecosystems. This research used the framework Community-Based Social Marketing to identify the barriers and benefits of littering as well as interventions to increase the reduction of littering in a school setting. The behaviour change interventions hypocrisy and goal setting were selected and separately implemented in two Intermediate schools in the Greater Wellington Region of New Zealand. Behaviour change was assessed using pre, post, and follow up litter counts on school grounds, and supported by interviews with student, teacher and parent participants. Results found both interventions to be significant in reducing the rate of recreational littering when used in conjunction with education. Goal setting was also found to be significant in reducing wrappers in school lunches. Cognitive, situational, and personal variables, as well as key stakeholders, were also recognised as influencing the litter and packaging behaviour of participants. Findings from this research can be used to support the selection and implementation of future behaviour change interventions and campaigns, specifically those targeting the behaviour of littering in a school setting.
Early Eocene Palynology from Mead Stream, New Zealand
Authors:   , Cooper Thomas Foster
Published: December 2021

This study documents the first detailed palynological analysis of early Eocene strata from the Lower Marl unit at Mead Stream, southern Marlborough, New Zealand. Examination of marine palynomorph assemblages and palynofacies analysis were used to improve biostratigraphic resolution and investigate paleoclimate across the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO; ~53–49 Ma)—a period characterised by the highest temperatures of the Paleogene. Early Eocene New Zealand dinocyst zones from NZE2–NZE4, and the Charlesdowniea coleothrypta zone are established across the Lower Marl for the first time in this study. Marine palynomorph assemblages originating in outer-neritic conditions and deposited on the upper slope represent low energy transport along the margin of a terrestrial discharge plume. Palynomorph assemblages do not provide insight into sea surface temperature (SST) trends. Palynomorph assemblages may reflect extremely low surface productivity. Cycles in organic matter between marine-dominant limestones to terrestrial-dominant marls, controlled by changes in temperature and seasonal precipitation, may represent orbital forcing by way of precession cycles; however the limited range of high resolution data from this study cannot statistically confirm this. An overall increase of allochthonous organic matter across the Lower Marl is likely representative of long-term background warming, culminating in peak EECO temperatures. The base of a hyperthermal, represented by carbon isotope excursion (CIE) previously identified at Mead Stream has been redefined in this study. High abundances of warm water, extreme salinity taxa coincide with the onset of this warming event.
Te Kēmu Hauora - Designing a mobile game to facilitate education and improve healthcare engagement
Authors:   , Price Sophie
Published: December 2021

This thesis addresses the research question “How could a mobile game be designed to facilitate education and improve healthcare engagement around skin sores in children?”. Health behaviour issues such as lack of education and low adherence to treatment regimes impact the success rates of treatments in children for common ailments such as skin sores. Skin sores are a particular health issue in New Zealand where the rates of admission to hospital for serious skin infections in 2006 were double that of USA and Australia (Craig et al., 2007, p. 278-282). Hospitalisation can be prevented by ensuring treatment regimes for skin sores are correctly completed after early diagnosis (Gray et al., 2013, p. 2). Literature states that game design is a viable solution to healthcare issues, as it can be used alongside persuasive strategies to engage and educate children around their treatments. However, there is a gap in the literature and existing precedents for health games addressing treatment of common ailments. This thesis addresses the research question through developing design criteria for a health game by identifying suitable theories to encourage positive health behaviors and educate children. These include: simulation, personalisation, reward and flow theory, as well as the information, motivation, strategy model to increase engagement with treatment. These criteria are used alongside user personas and journey maps methods to create the design output of a mobile health game to educate and engage New Zealand children around the treatment of skin sores. The game was tested for education, engagement and usability during the design process. Methods for user testing included observation, an adaption of the System Usability Scale and semi-structured interview questions. Thematic analysis of the testing results showed that most participants were engaged with the game and gained education around treatment steps. Insights on user testing with children for education, engagement, and usability are reported. The final output was refined and accessed against the design criteria. Findings from this thesis discuss how game design techniques including simulation, flow theory and reward can be used to educate and engage children with treatments of common ailments.
Pipelines And Tight Rhymes: Virtual Media And Hip-Hop In Japan & New Zealand
Authors:   , Witty Andrew William Peter
Published: December 2021

This thesis looks at hip-hop as a contemporary pop cultural phenomena and its relationship with media in the construction of underground hip-hop communities in Japanese and New Zealand settings. My work on hip-hop in Japan illustrates how global networks influence a traditionally mono-cultural society reckoning with a style connected to African-American experience. A New Zealand setting illustrates how virtual networks allow connections to wider hip-hop culture from a geographically isolated setting and legitimises the local scene. In looking at both settings side-by-side, this thesis underscores the various ways that virtual networks and their increased visibility are used contemporaneously in the construction of local hip-hop scenes as a tool to understand and promote hip-hop music. Based on a mix of virtual fieldwork, fieldwork in New Zealand, as well as fieldwork in Japan, this thesis shows that questions of authenticity in hip-hop have become more complex through different manifestations of hip-hop culture that challenge traditional understandings of the genre’s meaning. This is a result of the varying levels of user-agency in virtual networks. In a Japanese setting, we see an increased importance placed on virtual networks, allowing hip-hop fans and musicians alike to be part of the immediate conversation. Language barriers to hip-hop’s dominant English vernacular mean that this conversation is generally filtered through the most dominant networks and ‘mainstream’ culture. These impressions of hip-hop are the driving forces of style for the Japanese scene, leading to a collapse of the dichotic underground/mainstream divide seen in the earlier generations of Japanese hip-hop. In a New Zealand setting, virtual networks are used to connect with English speaking hip-hop musicians overseas, allowing musicians to operate in ‘underground’ virtual communities that are not physically manifested in New Zealand. By drawing attention to the ways that hip-hop culture is formed, legitimized, and understood in these two geographic and cultural settings, this thesis demonstrates that hip-hop culture exists in an integral relationship with virtual media and explores questions of appropriation, imitation, and authenticity.
A Longitudinal Investigation of the Impact of Operational Deployment on the Psychological Wellbeing of New Zealand Defence Force Service Personnel
Authors:   , Morrison Kelsey Laura
Published: December 2021

The deleterious impact of combat on psychological wellbeing has been documented as early as 490 B.C. by Greek historians (Bentley, 2005), and researchers continue to delve into this phenomenon today. Published literature in this field largely emanates from the United States and United Kingdom, whilst research from New Zealand is largely absent. The current study seeks to fill this gap with an investigation of the impact of overseas deployment on the psychological wellbeing of New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) military personnel. This study utilised data from 1410 NZDF military personnel who operationally deployed between 1 July 2015 and 31 October 2016 and completed two questionnaires: (1) immediately following deployment, and (2) six months after returning home. Regression, moderation, mediation, and path model analyses were used to analyse the data. Several key findings were obtained. Firstly, combat stressors, as expected, predicted posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms but surprisingly not psychological distress. PTSD, as expected, predicted distress. Secondly, moderation analysis revealed that experiencing medium to high levels of non-combat stressors in addition to combat stressors was likely to result in exacerbated levels of PTSD symptoms. Thirdly, demographic characteristics such as being in the Navy, being female, and not being in a relationship were all identified risk factors for poorer psychological outcomes (PTSD symptoms and psychological distress), whereas neither ethnicity nor prior deployment experience functioned as risk factors. Lastly, mediation analysis revealed that PTSD partially explained the relationship between combat events and posttraumatic growth, suggesting that PTSD symptomology may prompt military personnel to appraise outcomes from their deployment, and subsequently experience personal growth. Implications of the current research lay in the potential for improvements to be made to the education, training, and support offered by the NZDF to their service personnel.
Hello, computer. Approaches to designing speech-based user experiences
Authors:   , Schultz Stefan
Published: December 2021

The burgeoning field of speech–based user interfaces, pushed heavily by most major technology vendors, including Google (with Assistant), Apple (Siri), Amazon (Alexa), and Microsoft (Cortana), presents a new challenge in designing end user experiences; one where we cannot rely on there being a visual element at all. With the individual interests of the vendors, we have seen a growth of very distinct guidelines and platforms, resulting in a lack of consistency across the field. There is an opportunity to consider these platforms and this modality of interaction, and how we can design for it more generally.

By reviewing the current array of literature on voice and conversational user interfaces, as well as general speech and user interface metaphors, an understanding and framing for the potential of this field is to be achieved. The different core vendors and their corporate attitudes and business goals are examined to find issues that may affect building for them. Thematic analysis of the current vendor and platform-specific guidelines (such as Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines) will allow for determining important commonalities, feeding the creation of a set of voice-focused usability heuristics to evaluate these designs. Finally, the broader research is distilled into a systematic approach for designing speech–based experiences. Technical case study work is informed, and reciprocally informs this approach, ensuring it works in practice.
Connections, Identity and Resilience Amongst International Students at Victoria University
Authors:   , Wells Charlotte
Published: December 2021

This study used a re-storying methodology to develop narratives of 13 Asian students who came from overseas to study in New Zealand at Victoria University. These narratives considered connections the students made both on and off campus and their reflections on how these connections shaped cultural identity. The research also explored students’ experiences of resilience and agency. Their stories revealed strong connections made with other international students but less well formed relationships with domestic students, where ties are superficial despite programmes designed to facilitate these connections. The exception was the stronger connections students developed with domestic minority learners, such as Pasifika and Maori students. Volunteering, rather than paid work or homestays, were contexts that offered community connections. Student narratives suggest that the experience of studying at VUW refreshed home country identity but also encouraged a flexible identity with a growing awareness of cultural diversity, which for some students, constituted a global citizen perspective. While all students reported struggles, they maintained resilience in the face of challenges, using their networks to sustain them, rather than formal support services. They demonstrated agency in making moves to improve their situation and that of prospective students. Micro-aggressions encountered did cause social suffering but students confronted racism, in their own way, trying to enlarge cultural space at university. Leadership opportunities taken, along with the difficult social encounters they navigated, lead to personal change and growth. Implications of these findings, for policy makers and providers of support services, are discussed.
Milton's Manly Angels
Authors:   , Lissington Thomas
Published: December 2021

The masculine nature of the angels in Paradise Lost, in conjunction with their sexuality as revealed in Book VIII, prompted C. S. Lewis to try and explain away, not entirely convincingly, any potential “homosexual promiscuity” in his Preface to the epic. But other critics are unconcerned about the angels’ sexuality, probably because, unlike Lewis, they see them as essentially immaterial beings.  In what follows I argue that a complete understanding of the angels’ sexuality must rest on Milton’s gradual revelation of the angels’ morphic substance, critical to their sexuality and gender identity. Milton’s use of the conventions associated with classical pastoral in depicting the angels suggests a male homosocial model analogous with the learning institutions of Milton’s own historical context – helpful when it comes to establishing the type of society, and relationships, in the heaven of Paradise Lost. Similarly, an exploration of bi-erotic elements occurring elsewhere within the Miltonic canon helps contextualise the bisexual potential of angelic desire.  With these things in mind, a comprehensive understanding of the angelic sexuality can be achieved through close study of instances of desire, and sexuality, in Paradise Lost. The strong parallel between the angels, and Adam and Eve infers the potential for their descendants to evolve into a similar state of intimacy free of “Of membrane, joynt, or limb, exclusive barrs”.
Architecture and Urban Agriculture: Merging architecture and a local food system in Wellington, New Zealand
Authors:   , Zahner Thomas
Published: December 2021

Urbanisation and agricultural development have for centuries had an interdependent relationship with each other, where the sophistication and systemisation of food production has led to the evolution and advancement of the city (Lim, Food City 5). Current global food systems seem to be exacerbating a disconnection between people and food production while concurrently harming the environment and biodiversity extensively (Kirschenmann 109). Therefore the demand for sufficient food for a growing population carries with it many challenges for environmentally, socially and economically sustainable food production (O’Kane 268). Local food systems are capable of mitigating many of the issues caused by the globalised food system, adapting local food production to suit the health and environmental needs of a community (O’Kane 274). This results in a more active participation in the food system by the community, increased social cohesion, a promotion of satisfying social and cultural interactions around food, a fostering of social responsibility and stewardship of local land, a nurturing of biodiversity, and a strengthening of the community’s economic vitality (O’Kane 271).  This design research investigates the social and environmental benefits of integrating a localised food production system into an urban setting in Wellington, New Zealand, through the cross-programming of urban agriculture with architecture. The research aims to provide social and environmental benefits to a community and place, as well as raise awareness of the importance of a sustainable and accessible food system. This thesis suggests that merging architecture and urban agriculture can positively improve the quality of life of the residents as well as positively benefiting the surrounding environment and biodiversity.
Microseismicity during geothermal stimulation at the Ngatamariki geothermal field: New detections via a matched- filter method
Authors:   , Matson Gabriel
Published: December 2021

The high-temperature, ﬂuid-dominated Ngatamariki geothermal ﬁeld is located in the central Taupo Volcanic Zone, North Island, New Zealand, and is used to generate electricity via an 82 MW power plant. Injection wells have been in operation since June 2012. During June and July 2012, injection well NM8 was injected with with cold water in order to improve reservoir permeability. Geothermal stimulation and production may trigger microearthquakes by ﬂuid ﬂow through the reservoir. Close clustering of microseismic events’ hypocentres relative to the source-receiver distance results in many events having similar waveforms. We capitalize on this relationship by using a matched-ﬁlter detection method in which high-quality seismograms corresponding to a well-recorded earthquake (“templates”) are cross-correlated against continuous data to reveal additional earthquakes with similar characteristics. Clustering of the detections’ hypocenters also implies that small variations in travel times between two events corresponds to small diﬀerences in hypocentral locations, which is the foundation of the double-diﬀerence relocation method.  Using an 11 station seismic network, we detect 863 events via cross-correlation of 110 matched-ﬁlter templates during the two months stimulation testing. We locate each of these detections using a double-diﬀerence relocation method by which events are relocated based on relative travel times. The locatable seismicity delineates: a northern Ngatamariki cluster, a southern Ngatamariki cluster, and a cluster to the south, at the neighboring Rotokawa ﬁeld. Seismicity in the northern Ngatamariki cluster (522 events) is of greatest interest for this project due to its proximity to well NM8 and temporal signature relative to injection. The seismicity cluster centers around well NM8 at a depth of 2.1 km below sea level. Events in this cluster extend to up to 2.5 km from the injection well. An increase in seismicity near NM8 lags behind the onset of injection by 4–8 days. In contrast, a seismicity-rate decrease coincides with injection shut-in without any time lag. Local magnitudes in this cluster span the range −0.09 ≤ Ml ≤ 1.66 with a completeness magnitude of 0.25. Seismicity within 200 m of NM8 is induced by thermal stresses caused by the diﬀerence in temperature between the injectate and the reservoir. Seismicity further than 200 m, but still within this cluster, from NM8 is induced via pore ﬂuid pressure increases from the injected ﬂuid. The coupled mechanism acts on two diﬀerent length scales and is known as a thermoporoelastic mechanism. The matched-ﬁlter detection of microseismic events allows interpretation of extent of injection well stimulation and the relationship between injection and seismicity.
The infinity stadium: Intensifying the sublime in post-event stadia
Authors:   , Sorger Finn
Published: December 2021

The Stadium is a blend of commercialism, functionality, regulation and iconicism. At the height of its power, a Stadium is an unrivalled example of the Sublime functioning at a massive scale for a collective and for individuals simultaneously. Every year, large-scale stadia are built for events such as Olympic Games or World Cups which then become underused or even abandoned after the event has finished. Despite this, these facilities continue to be built. This thesis argues that the challenge then, is to design the Sublime into the post-event stadia architecture.  This thesis looks to explore architectural design methods that invest the post-event stadia with the Sublime. The aim is to intensify the Sublime, often found at the height of the event, in post-event situations. Explorations in scale and programming are used to test such intensifications. Can the Sublime – which, to paraphrase Burke, is “the strongest of emotions causing astonishment because of unimagined eloquence, greatness, significance, or power, and which is experienced by the user as awe, wonder or even dread, fear and terror” - be found after the event?  This research uses iterative design experimentation to tease out the Sublime at three scales: that of an installation, then a domestic scale and then an urban-public scale. This research ultimately looks to create a project that uses the Sublime as a main driver and design criterion for creating a Stadium that is as effective at low capacity as it is at full capacity through the enticement of the Sublime.
Ko toku reo ko toku ia mana: My language, my identity - The Pacific language nest: How language, culture and traditions are supported and promoted for the Pacific communities of the Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau in Aotearoa New Zealand
Authors:   , Glasgow Ali
Published: December 2021

Within the early childhood sector of New Zealand, Pacific language nests have played a pivotal role in promoting Pacific education, language development and building Pacific communities. Pacific Island language nests have emerged as foundational contexts that have facilitated learning, family and community engagement as well as promoting cultural aspirations. This study focusses on the Pacific Nations of the Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau Islands; all share the status of New Zealand Realm states, and have languages which are at extreme risk of language death.  This research examines the extent to which families and communities engage with the language nests. It investigates challenges that impact on the support and promotion of language, culture and traditions for the Pacific language nest. This study explores practices and processes in the Pacific language nest, and how these practices are evolving and adapting within the contemporary early childhood education sector.   Using a combination of Sociocultural and Indigenous theoretical framings, I apply an ethnographic approach to three case study settings. Applying the methods of observation, talanoa (informal group discussion), document, video and audio analysis, and reflective field notes applied in the study, and guidance of a Pacific advisory group I seek out the cultural, social and linguistic conceptualisations and practices that take place in the Cook Islands, Niuean and Tokelauan language nest settings.   Findings from this study reveal that Pacific ECE language services are delivering programmes that embrace cultural practices in which children are immersed in culturally and linguistically rich learning environments. Language experiences are varied and designated mat time music and group sessions provide and are utilised for Indigenous language learning opportunities. The language nest provides a hub for the Pacific Island communities and the expertise of the wider family. Intergenerational participation is a significant feature. Grandparents and elders of the community, in particular, maintain a prominent role in the provision of authentic cultural and linguistic programmes for the Pacific nations of the Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau islands. The language nest is providing a crucial role in stemming the decreasing use of vernacular language in these nations.  This study provides a framing of valuable knowledge that adds to the body of knowledge and provides an in-depth understanding of the Pacific language nests of the Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau communities in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Silencing and institutional racism in settler-colonial education
Authors:   , Macdonald Liana
Published: December 2021

Twenty years ago, Charles Mills argued that a Racial Contract underwrites and guides the social contract and assigns political, economic, and social privileges based on race. This thesis argues that a settler manifestation of the Racial Contract operates through processes and structures of silencing in the New Zealand education system. Silencing is a racial discourse aligned with state ideologies about biculturalism that supports ignorance and denial of the structuring force of colonisation. Within schools, a state narrative of biculturalism advances the notion of harmonious settler-colonial race relations by marginalising or denying violent colonial histories and their consequences in the present.  Silencing in the education system is examined through the lived experiences of Māori teachers of English language as they teach New Zealand literature in secondary school classrooms. Interviews with nineteen teachers and observations of four teachers' classroom practices (with follow up interviews from the teachers and some of their students) reveal that everyday classroom interactions perpetuate silencing through a hidden curriculum. This hidden curriculum appeals to settler sensibilities by: drawing on teaching pedagogies that soften or mute historical harm, validating “lovely” knowledge about Māori society and assessment approaches that privilege settler-colonial imperatives. This thesis identifies that harmonious notions of biculturalism circulate through the spatial and temporal dimensions of secondary schools because epistemological structures (policy, curriculum, and pedagogy) silence the meanings and effects of colonisation. In this way, a Settler Contract operates to sustain institutional racism in the New Zealand education system and white supremacy in settler-colonial societies.