bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A New Zealand study of association between crime and the state of the economy
Authors:   , Xu Shuhan 
Published: November 2021

<p>The aim of this thesis is to investigate whether there are associations between economically motivated crimes and macroeconomic variables. Economically motivated crimes include burglary, fraud and theft. Non-traffic offences are used as the measurement of overall crime levels, and an association between non-traffic offences and macroeconomic variables is analysed as well. Forecasting the number of people charged with burglary, fraud, theft and non-traffic offences is another objective of this thesis. Association between economically motivated crimes and the unemployment rate is also analysed at a regional level. Methods used in this thesis include Vector Autoregressive (VAR) models, Vector Error Correction Models (VECM) and Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) models. VECM and VAR models are used to produce Granger-Causality tests and impulse responses in order to summarise the associations between crimes and macroeconomic variables. All modelling methods are used to generate forecasts. The conclusion from this thesis is that there are associations between crime and some macroeconomic variables at a national level. The biggest impact on crime is its own value in the past. The impact of macroeconomic variables is minor, and this makes the sign of the impact less important. In fact, the sign of the impact is hard to conclude because it moves between positive and negative in different periods. At a national level, the growth rate of unemployment causes the growth rate of burglary, theft and non-traffic charges. The association between unemployment and crime becomes insignificant once all macroeconomic variables are included. Overall, the growth rate of personal weekly average income or household debt and disposable income ratio (both measuring personal or household financial condition) causes an increase in the growth rate of burglary, theft and non-traffic charges. Movement of inflation causes an increase in the growth rate of fraud charges. At a regional level, growth in the unemployment rate causes an increase in theft charges in Auckland and Northland. In Nelson/Marlborough/West Coast, growth in the unemployment rate causes growth in burglary charges and vice versa. Growth in the unemployment rate causes growth in the rate of fraud charges, but this is found in Northland only. Forecasts produced by this study suggest that the number of people charged with burglary, theft, fraud and non-traffic offences will continue to decrease up until 2019, but at a lower rate of reduction.</p>
The Wishbone Ridge at the Chatham Rise Intersection: Structural Characteristics and Tectonic Implications
Authors:   , Barrett Rachel 
Published: November 2021

<p>Geophysical data show that the West Wishbone Ridge, offshore of eastern New Zealand, is best described as having previously been a crustal transform fault, which first propagated along the eastern margin of the Hikurangi Plateau as subduction along the New Zealand sector of the Gondwana margin began to slow and reorientate between 105 and 101 Ma. Variation in the strike of the West Wishbone Ridge has resulted in contrasting compressional and extensional zones along the ridge. These regimes reflect the direction of strike offset from the direction of fault propagation, and constrain the sense of motion along the West Wishbone Ridge as having been dextral. We find evidence that Cretaceous subduction along the Chatham Rise margin extended east of the margin offset at 174°W that marks the edge of Hikurangi Plateau subduction beneath the margin. Rotation of the Chatham Rise margin between 105 and 101 Ma was accommodated by westward broadening of the extensional zone of deformation associated with the West Wishbone Ridge near its intersection with the Chatham Rise. The amount of offset along the ridge indicates that significant transform motion along the West Wishbone Ridge south of ~40.5°S ceased ca. 101 Ma, coeval with the cessation of spreading of the Osbourn Trough, and of subduction of the Hikurangi Plateau. Additionally, we find anomalously thick oceanic crust adjacent to the WWR and north of the Hikurangi Plateau (>12 km thick). This is attributed to the proximity of this crust to the Hikurangi Plateau Large Igneous Province. The results of this study are based on seismic reflection and magnetic data recently collected during the 2016 R/V Sonne survey SO-246, as well as previously collected seismic reflection profiles and satellite gravity data.</p>
A life cycle analysis of living: Measuring behaviour and the impact of dwelling rather than the dwelling alone
Authors:   , Bakshi Nilesh 
Published: November 2021

<p>This research addresses the need for a more sustainable way of living by arguing that the current approach to green architecture, limited by the current criteria, needs to be refined in response to the needs of the finite world. In comparison with earlier ways of living, modern society has a large dependence on technology. This dependence only further reinforces the overall detrimental environmental impacts of human behaviour. The original contribution to knowledge this thesis contributes is to establish the effect of behaviour on the total impact of a dwelling by measuring behaviour in the act of dwelling in New Zealand households. The thesis maps human behaviour; first looking at global practices and raw materials extraction: and second New Zealand's interaction with the global market. The inherent relationship between manufacturing nations and countries like New Zealand entails an indirect link revealing how international policies can be influenced by the average New Zealand household. By means of an in-depth life cycle assessment, approximately 400 households are examined to identify the embodied energy in the act of dwelling, including ownership of the various household items that use finite raw materials in both operation and manufacture. This research identifies the existence of crucial "Hidden Emissions" that are currently not considered in national and international CO₂ accounting methods. This research also identifies the links between appliance ownership, its usage and how these vary for different types of appliances. The outcome of this research posits, first, a theoretical framework for establishing impact as a result of behaviour, dubbed the “Effect on Operation” formulae, making it possible to measure behaviour in total emissions and how this impacts climate change. Second, this work identifies key changes in both the energy generation sector and in household behaviour to meet current emissions reduction targets. The hypothetical reduction scenarios presented in this thesis identify the possibility of a prospective change in the relative importance of embodied energy when compared to the impact of operational energy. This reveals a possible future in which embodied energy may well account for over sixty per cent of total emissions associated with household behaviour, suggesting several avenues for further research.</p>
Capture and Activation of Carbon Dioxide Using Guanidine Superbases
Authors:   , Bomann Grace 
Published: November 2021

<p>Due to its abundance and low-cost, carbon dioxide is a desirable C₁-building block within organic transformations. However, the thermodynamic and kinetic stability of CO₂ often necessitates preliminary activation before it can be inserted into organic molecules. This prompts the need for compounds that can effectively promote the activation of CO₂. This research investigates the capture and activation of carbon dioxide using a class of superbases that incorporate the bicyclic guanidine unit, 1,3,4,6,7,8-hexahydro-2H-pyrimido[1,2-a]-pyrimidine (hppH, 1). A series of compounds containing multiple hpp-units assembled around a phenyl ring scaffold were synthesized and investigated in the functionalization of CO₂. The work presented in this study has demonstrated the ability of protonated superbasic hppH derivatives to efficiently and effectively capture and activate carbon dioxide from ambient air to form the corresponding guanidinium bicarbonate salts. A series of optimization reactions was carried out, and showed that addition of substoichiometric concentrations of a proton source activates these guanidine compounds to their fully protonated cationic forms, and results in CO₂ capture through bicarbonate formation. A series of protonation studies were employed to fully characterize the cationic species. The tetraphenylborate and hydrochloride guanidinium salts were synthesized, isolated, and characterized by ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR spectroscopic analysis. Molecular structures of relevant crystals were obtained through single crystal X-ray diffraction. These structures revealed a complex hydrogen-bonding network within these ionic species, and showed efficient delocalization of the formal positive charge within the protonated guanidinium units. The guanidine superbases were implemented in a series of reactions attempting the functionalization of CO₂ and an alcohol to form corresponding alkylcarbonate products. However, the synthesis of these carbonate products was not achieved under the reaction conditions employed. This lack of success has been attributed to the hygroscopic nature of this class of compounds, resulting in the preferential capture of ambient water.</p>
Seeing Things Differently: The use of mobile app interpretation and its effect on visitor experience at two heritage sites in Aotearoa New Zealand
Authors:   , Aitken Jessica 
Published: November 2021

<p>The practice of contemporary heritage interpretation has seen increased investment in digital technologies and more recently in mobile applications. However, few empirical studies assess how effective mobile apps are to the visitor experience of heritage sites. What kind of visitor experience do mobile apps provide? How do mobile apps deliver on the aims of interpretation for heritage sites? What types of apps work best? What are the challenges for developers and heritage professionals? A qualitative research approach is used to examine two case studies; High Street Stories: the life and times of Christchurch’s High Street Precinct and IPENZ Engineering Tours: Wellington Heritage Walking Tour. These case studies ask what kind of experience mobile apps offer as an interpretation tool at these heritage sites. To investigate the topic, email interviews were carried out with heritage professionals and digital developers; together with qualitative interviews with visitors recruited to visit the case study sites using the mobile applications. This study explores two current examples of mobile app technology in the heritage sector in a New Zealand context. The results of this study aim to augment current literature on the topic of digital interpretation. This study seeks to offer heritage managers and interpreters some key factors to consider when making decisions regarding the methods used to present and interpret heritage sites to visitors and in developing new interpretation and digital strategies that include mobile applications. Although each scenario presents its particular set of considerations and all heritage sites are different, it is hoped these recommendations can be applied and offer working models and strategies.</p>
Megarons and Minoan Hall Systems: A Comparison of the Large Hall Systems in Minoan and Mycenaean Architecture
Authors:   , Teahan Melanie 
Published: November 2021

<p>Scholarship comparing the Minoan Hall System with the Mycenaean ‘megaron’ has in general emphasized either the similarities or differences between the two types of suite. Early archaeological literature tends to equate the two suites, with scholars such as Joseph Hazzidakis (Hazzidakis 1934:16-17) suggesting that the differences between the two can be explained by differences in climate between Crete and mainland Greece. On the other hand, in more recent scholarship, the two forms are distanced from one another, in effect polarizing the two architectural forms. Comparisons such as these tend to imply that the form of both types of hall system is very regular, with each suite likely hosting the same function as the next. In order to study the similarities and differences between the Minoan Hall System and Mycenaean ‘megaron’, 27 Minoan hall systems and 15 megaron-units have been analysed and compared. These hall systems will be compared in their form, in the way they were incorporated into the surrounding building, and in the features they incorporate. To discuss how the hall systems were incorporated into buildings, Space Syntax Analysis will be used alongside a typology of access and circulation developed by Miriam Clinton (2013) for Minoan architecture. The climate-controlling features of open-air spaces, pier and door partitions and hearths will also be discussed. A close examination of a wide variety of Minoan Hall Systems and Mycenaean ‘megarons’ shows that both forms differed considerably from site to site. Within each architectural form are examples of vastly different sizes, which are incorporated into buildings in very different ways. It is likely, therefore, that these buildings would have functioned in different ways. With this wide variation, it is unsurprising, therefore, that in comparison while some Minoan Hall Systems and Mycenaean ‘megarons’ are very different, others are very similar. It is likely that the functions of some of these more standard hall systems may have overlapped. An examination of the climate-controlling features of open-air spaces, pier and door partitions and hearths reveals that Minoan Hall Systems and Mycenaean ‘megarons’ likely did not differ primarily based on differences in climate. Though these features would have certainly been used for climate control, it will be shown that they likely had some other significance. Finally, from this comparison some tentative and broad conclusions about the possible functions of the two types of hall system have been drawn.</p>
"Where the Nightmares End and Real-Life Begins": Radical Unreliability in Sydney Bridge Upside Down
Authors:   , Clayton Hamish 
Published: November 2021

<p>The unreliable narrator is one of the most contested concepts in narrative theory. While critical debates have been heated, they have tended to foreground that the problem of the unreliable narrator is epistemological rather than ontological: it is agreed that narrators can be unreliable in their accounts, but not how the unreliable narrator ought to be defined, nor even how readers can be expected in all certainty to find a narration unreliable. As the wider critical discourse has looked to tighten its collective understanding of what constitutes unreliability and how readers understand and negotiate unreliable narration, previously divided views have begun to be reconciled on the understanding that, rather than deferring to either an implied author or reader, textual signals themselves might be better understood as the most fundamental markers of unreliability. Consequently, taxonomies of unreliable narration based on exacting textual evidence have been developed and are now widely held as indispensable. This thesis argues that while such taxonomies do indeed bring greater interpretive clarity to instances of unreliable narration, they also risk the assumption that with the right critical apparatus in place, even the most challenging unreliable narrators can, in the end, be reliably read. Countering the assumption are rare but telling examples of narrators whose reliability the reader might have reason to suspect, but whose unreliability cannot be reliably or precisely ascertained. With recourse to David Ballantyne’s Sydney Bridge Upside Down, this thesis proposes new terminological distinctions to account for instances of such radical unreliability: namely the ‘unsecured narrator’, whose account is therefore an ‘insecure narration’. Ballantyne’s novel, published in 1968, has not received sustained critical attention to date, though it has been acclaimed by a small number of influential critics and writers in Ballantyne’s native New Zealand. This thesis argues that the novel’s long history of neglect is tied to the complexities of its radically unreliable narration. With social realism the dominant mode in New Zealand literature from the 1930s to the 60s, the obligation of the writer to accurately render—and critique—local conditions with mimetic accuracy was considered paramount. Even those critics to have argued the novel’s importance often maintain, largely or in part, a social realist view of the book’s significance. Doing so, however, fundamentally elides the complexity of the novel’s narrative machinery and to deeply ironic ends: for, this thesis argues, Sydney Bridge Upside Down deploys its insecure narration as a complaint against the limits of social realism practised in New Zealand. Its unsecured narrator, Harry Baird, slyly overhauls realist reference points with overtly Gothic markers and cunning temporal dislocations to thus turn social realism’s desire for social critique back on itself via radical unreliability.</p>
Living in the 'liveable' city: Housing, Neighbourhood, and Transport Preferences in New Zealand cities
Authors:   , Holmes Frederick 
Published: November 2021

<p>This thesis investigates preferences for housing, neighbourhoods, and transport in Auckland, New Zealand, supplemented by a comparison with similar research in Wellington and Hamilton. The topic is significant for New Zealand as there is an increasingly urban population, and the interconnected areas of urban form and transport can help the country reduce carbon emissions and provide a healthier, more enjoyable lifestyle for its people. The influence of residents’ preferences and their relationship with urban form on achieving compact city development is investigated. Historical and current planning rules and policies provide context for an analysis of how urban planning, preferences, and location and travel choices interact. Auckland’s housing and transport policies show a pattern of path dependency: decisions favouring greenfield development, sprawling low-density suburbs, and car-centred transport have driven subsequent investments and influenced the ease of using alternative transport modes. Such rules have also reduced the availability of housing in accessible, medium- to high-density neighbourhoods and may have contributed to the rising costs of this type of housing. A stated choice survey of 3,285 Auckland households was conducted to investigate the extent to which there is an unmet demand for compact development and alternatives to car travel. Using the survey results, a multinomial latent class model was developed to examine the preferences of households and the trade-offs they may be willing to make when choosing where to live. This type of model allows for identification of preference groups as a means of understanding the heterogeneity of preferences across the population. There was an unmet demand for accessible, medium-density housing, with some households willing to trade off dwelling size and neighbourhood type for higher accessibility or lower prices. The study also found that more people currently drive than would prefer to, with long journey times, safety concerns, unreliable services, and a lack of infrastructure acting as barriers to active and public transport. Households preferring low density are more likely to occupy their preferred dwelling type and be able to use their preferred transport mode. In contrast, those preferring high accessibility or driven by price are more likely to experience a mismatch between their preferred and current dwelling type, and are less likely to be able to use their preferred transport mode.</p>
Making Meaning Together: Heritage site management and new approaches to meaning-making
Authors:   , Jemmett Cindy 
Published: November 2021

<p>This dissertation looks at how those who manage and interpret heritage sites are incorporating into their practice, new thinking about the way visitors make meaning. Recent research has emphasised visitors' agency, and drawn attention to the cultural and political work of heritage performance. The ways visitors use emotion and imagination has also received greater attention. Rather than heritage value as intrinsic to sites, and best identified by the professional, recent theoretical understandings position visitors as active co-creators of heritage. How these new ideas might be applied in practice, and how organisations could most productively share authority for meaning-making, has not been sufficiently addressed. This research positions itself in that gap, and seeks to contribute to a conversation about how theory translates to practice. The Department of Conservation (DOC) was selected as an information-rich case study. At the time of research, the Department was in its third and final phase of new policy work that places greater emphasis on working in collaboration with others. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with four DOC staff from across a range of roles. A further three interviews were undertaken with DOC partners and a contractor connected with sites discussed by DOC interviewees. The findings show that while heritage managers accept that visitors will make a variety of meanings at a site, they do not currently have a robust understanding of the meanings their visitors are making; of what they think and feel, and what a visit to the site really means to them. Only recently has getting this knowledge really appeared a priority, and organisations are still working out how best to collect this data, and how it could then inform their practice. This lack of understanding has inhibited practitioners' ability to respond to visitors, and to recognise the cultural work they do. When it came to partnerships, organisations were more invested in both understanding and responding to the other party. In some cases, they were willing to add to or modify their own ideas about what the value of the heritage was, or what stories it could be used to tell. A flexible and reflexive practice is advocated, in which organisations are clear about their own goals, recognise and engage with the meanings visitors and partners make, and are open to the possibility of being changed themselves in the process.</p>
Death, A Notion
Authors:   , Loft Holly 
Published: November 2021

<p>Contemporary Western society has all but abolished the need for a formal grieving process with death becoming an avoided, feared, and shameful topic. In a brutal revolution from the omnipresent death of the past, death is now unfamiliar and displaced. An all-consuming society rushing to beat mortality by finding new ways to extend one’s lifespan, becoming increasingly secularised and refusing to permit the ugliness of death within the collective happiness of today’s society. This results in places for remembrance and acceptance becoming scarce, with silence and stillness becoming confused and conflicted with the noise of cars and footsteps. Therefore the void between life and death grows larger, increasing in depth and stature as awareness fades. This thesis raises the question of interior design and architecture as a key participant in the discussion of death in contemporary western society. The fractured relationship between death, bereavement and society is analysed in order to establish how societal attitudes and the perception of death has shifted. More precisely the research explores the specificity of an interior spatial design needed to assist the grieving process associated with the loss of a loved one, both at an individual level, and as a collective experience thereby seeking to create a plane of resonance between the land of the living and the obverse, the land of the dead.</p>