bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Ayurvedic Concept of Vega of Visha - A Review Article
Authors: Praveen Kumar  , Manish Rajak  , Santosh Kumar Vishwakarma  
Published: November 2021

Ayurveda Samhita describes various types of Visha such as Sthavara Visha (Inanimate poison), Jangama Visha (Animate poison) and Kritima Visha. These types of Visha, when it enters into the body, it passes through the different Dhatus and give rise to different stages of Vega in the body and according to these Vegas, different types of signs and symptoms appear on the body. The main aim of this review article is to compile and evaluate the concept of Visha Vega and their sign & symptoms. All the descriptions of Visha Vega mentioned in different Ayurvedic texts were critically analyzed and discussed to check their relation. After analysis, it is observed that all the symptoms which appear during entering of the Visha are mainly due to their Vegas. As gradually stages of Vega progresses, their signs and symptoms gradually become more severe. After critically analyzed it is concluded that if we diagnosed the different Vegas of Visha at the right time, we could treat those patients better.
An FPGA Based Hardware Accelerator for Remote Surveillance Cameras
Authors:   , Kane Alexander John Petre 
Published: November 2021

<p>The Blackeye II camera, produced by Kinopta, is used for remote security, conservation and traffic flow surveillance. The camera uses an image sensor to acquire photographs which undergo image processing and JPEG encoding on a microprocessor. Although the microprocessor performs other tasks, it is the processing and encoding of images that limit the frame rate of the camera to 2 frames per second (fps). Clients have requested an increase to 12.5 fps while adding more image processing to each photograph. The current microprocessor-based system is unable to achieve this. Custom digital logic systems perform well on processes that naturally form a pipeline, such as the Blackeye II image processing system. This project develops a digital logic system based on an FPGA to receive images from the image sensor, perform the required image processing operations, encode the images in JPEG format and send them on to the microprocessor. The objective is to implement a proof of concept device based upon the Blackeye II’s existing hardware and an FPGA development board. It will implement the proposed pipeline including one example of an image processing operation. A JPEG encoder is designed to process the 752 × 480 greyscale photographs from the image processor in real time. The JPEG encoder consists of four stages: discrete cosine transform (DCT), quantisation, zig-zag buffer and Huffman encoder. The DCT design is based upon the work of Woods et al. [1], which is improved on. An analysis of the relationship between precision and accuracy in the DCT and quantisation stages is used to minimise the system’s resource requirements. The JPEG encoder is successfully tested in simulation. Input and output stages are added to the design. The input stage receives data from the image sensor and removes breaks in the data stream. The output stage must concatenate the data from the JPEG encoder and transmit it to the microprocessor via the microprocessor’s ISI (image sensor interface) peripheral. An image sharpening filter is developed and inserted into the pipeline between the input and JPEG encoder. Because remote surveillance cameras are battery powered, the minimisation of power consumption is a key concern. To minimise power consumption a mechanism is introduced to track those modules in the pipeline that are in use at any time. Any not in use are paused by gating the module’s clock source. Once the system is complete and tested in simulation it is loaded into hardware. The FPGA development board is attached to the image sensor board and microprocessor board of the Blackeye II camera by a purpose-built breakout board. Plugging the microprocessor board into a PC provides a live stream of images proving the successful operation of the FPGA system. The project objectives were exceeded by increasing the frame rate of the Blackeye II to 20 fps, which will not decrease with additional image processing operations. The project was viewed as a success by Kinopta, who have committed to its further development.</p>
DUPLICATE DO NOT PUBLISH - Bike your City: Planning and Designing Cycling Infrastructure in the Urban Environment
Authors:   , Jiang Jack J. 
Published: November 2021

<p>Cycling is a memory of the past for most of us, the lack of support from the authorities on the cycling infrastructure made it difficult to attract people to cycle in the city. Urban sprawl, traffic congestion, car dependency, environmental pollution and public health concerns have pressured cities around the world to consider reintegrating cycling into the urban environment. Design as a research method was utilised to investigate the effectiveness of design methodology and workflow for cycling infrastructure from an architecture and design perspective. Using Wellington City as a design case study, this research aimed to improve the legibility, usability and the image of cycling as a mode of transport in the city. To achieve this, a customisable graphical design framework and branding strategies were developed to structure and organise the design components within cycling infrastructure. The findings from the iterative design processes were visualised through the appropriate architectural and presentation conventions. This research provided an unique architectural perspectives on the issues of cycling infrastructure; the results would support the transportation advisers and urban planners to further the development and integration of cycling, as a viable mode of transport, within the city.</p>
Crowdsourcing the Cadastre: The Applicability of Crowdsourced Geospatial Information to the New Zealand Cadastre
Authors:   , Clouston Andrew David 
Published: November 2021

<p>Crowdsourcing has transformed how geographic information is collected, stored, disseminated, analysed, visualised and used (Sui et al., 2013b). Yet, crowdsourcing has had little impact on core government geospatial data. This ‘authoritative data’ is often tightly controlled with a focus on data quality and security for protection from unauthorised change (Rice et al., 2012). Opportunities for consumers, users and existing data producers to contribute their skills and information to enhance authoritative government geospatial data has been limited. The adoption, or use, of crowdsourcing by Government has been slow (Haklay et al., 2014). The New Zealand Cadastre, managed by Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) is an example of a core government geospatial system that has collated and managed data for over a century. Despite data meeting the contemporary acceptance standards when it was integrated into the cadastre, data quality is often questioned by users as inaccuracies or discrepancies are identified (Opus, 2013). Web 2.0 technologies and easy to use mobile devices enabled geospatial capability and a user skill base to an increased acceptance of crowdsourcing as a means to build and maintain geospatial datasets (Kostanski, 2012, McLaren, 2011, Rice et al., 2012). Accordingly, if cadastral data is to be maintained and enhanced to meet modern expectations for multiple use (LINZ, 2013a, Cadastre Ltd, 2003), one option is the use of crowdsourcing (Grant et al., 2014, LINZ, 2013a). This thesis examines the potential applicability of Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) as a specific form of crowdsourcing within an authoritative database - the New Zealand Cadastre. Using a two phase quantitative and qualitative methodology, the perspectives of users, data providers and administrators are explored to ascertain the applicability of VGI to the New Zealand Cadastre. This thesis finds that crowdsourcing concepts could enable users to contribute data or information, re-conceptualise the role of the existing data providers (predominately licensed cadastral surveyors) and enable the reuse of cadastral related work. Cadastral VGI can provide advances in data collection and maintenance processes; if users, data producers and administrators change their perception of what crowdsourcing is, and what it can provide. However, the importance of user perception in the quality of the dataset will need to be strongly considered in any integration of VGI into the cadastre or other authoritative datasets.</p>
Fragility and excluded minors
Authors:   , Clark Ben 
Published: November 2021

<p>Let Ɲ be a set of matroids. A matroid, M, is Ɲ -fragile, if for every element e, either M\e or M/e has no minor isomorphic to a member of Ɲ . This thesis gives new results in matroid representation theory that elucidate the relationship between Ɲ -fragile matroids and excluded minors. Let ℙ be a partial field, and let Ɲ be a set of strong stabilizers for ℙ. The first main result of this thesis establishes a relationship between Ɲ -fragile matroids and excluded minors for the class of ℙ-representable matroids. We prove that if an excluded minor M for the class of ℙ-representable matroids has a pair of elements a,b such that M\a,b is 3-connected with an Ɲ -minor, then either M is close to an Ɲ -minor or M\a,b is Ɲ -fragile. The result motivates a study of the structure of ℙ-representable Ɲ -fragile matroids. The matroids U₂,₅ and U₃,₅ are strong stabilizers for the U₂ and H₅ partial fields. The second main result of this thesis is a structural characterisation of the U₂- and H₅-representable {U₂,₅,U₃,₅}-fragile matroids. We prove that these matroids can be constructed from U₂,₅ and U₃,₅ by a sequence of moves, where, up to duality, each move consists of a parallel extension followed by a delta-wye or a generalised delta-wye exchange. Finally, we obtain a bound on the size of an excluded minor M for the class of U₂- or H₅-representable matroids with the property that M has a pair of elements a,b such that M\a,b is 3-connected with a {U₂,₅,U₃,₅}-minor. Our proof uses the first and second main results of this thesis.</p>
The employment information needs of people with intellectual disabilities
Authors:   , Henry Andrew 
Published: November 2021

<p>Three dimensions of Nick Moore’s (2002) model of social information needs: agents, mechanisms and form, were used to analyse the employment information needs of people with intellectual disabilities in New Zealand. Through semi-structured interviews with people with intellectual disabilities, care givers, disability professionals and supported employment providers it was found that people with intellectual disabilities have great difficulty looking for employment information and that information alone is not enough to encourage people with intellectual disabilities into pursuing employment opportunities. Previous experiences and expectations played a strong role in discouraging information seeking. Many participants were nervous about beginning to look for employment information as they had very little previous experience in doing so, and held reservations about their chances of being successful. Printed information is not very relevant and tailored or personalised information is the most effective, preferably delivered verbally, in person. Trust and authority were important aspects of information for all of the participants. Structural barriers around minimum wage exemptions and employment subsidies were mentioned as significant by the employers and supported employment agencies. A lack of promotion, due to resource constraints of these services was also sighted as a major barrier and employers believed there was a lack of awareness of the extent of the support available in workplaces. The confidence derived from achieving educational and vocational qualifications is often denied to people with intellectual disabilities through educational structures and the ways in which knowledge is tested and demonstrated. This study has shown this to be a major factor influencing the employment information seeking process of people with intellectual disabilities.</p>
Pursuing Self-determined Responses to Climate Change in the Cook Islands: Exploring the Interface between Government Organisational Directive and Local Community Engagement with Climate Change Adaptation
Authors:   , Lusk Anabel 
Published: November 2021

<p>Small island communities are considered to be amongst the most ‘at-risk’ populations in the world to the impacts of climate change. Global, regional and national entities have framed the plight of Pacific communities through climate change discourses. This study contributes to an emerging line of inquiry that investigates how applying the concepts of ‘vulnerability’ and ‘resilience’ to frame communities might contribute to community empowerment, or marginalisation. Focused on the institutional setting of the ‘Strengthening the Resilience of our Islands and our Communities to Climate Change Programme’ (SRIC Programme), this thesis explores the engagement between government organisations of the Cook Islands and communities of Aitutaki to form adaptation responses to climate change. Qualitative methodologies coupled with Pasifika methodologies provide a culturally responsive approach to the research. This approach accommodated local narratives and indigenous knowledges throughout the study. The findings from semi-structured interviews suggest that Cook Islands government organisations increasingly frame Aitutaki communities through the concept of ‘resilience’. Interviews with community representatives suggest that Aitutaki communities use indigenous knowledges to make sense of changes in their local environment, without always understanding the science-based notions of climate change. Engagement approaches such as ‘knowledge sharing’, could offer a pathway to increasing community autonomy and confidence in climate change discussions, whilst also contributing to enhancing socio-ecological resilience. To maintain a ‘critical’ political ecology approach, governmentality theory was used to explain how power relations might be embedded in resilience discourse. Insight is offered into how the government-community relationship could enable ‘technologies of government’ as the SRIC Programme progresses. It is suggested that the social conditions of Aitutaki communities could pose sites of resistance to governmentality. Recently implemented, the SRIC Programme demonstrates potential for supporting self-determined responses to climate change and enhancing socio-ecological resilience in Aitutaki.</p>
The Political Economy of New Zealand’s Consumers Price Index
Authors:   , Higgs Corin 
Published: November 2021

<p>The structure of New Zealand’s Consumers Price Index has changed many times over its 100 year history. As New Zealand’s most influential and consequential official statistic the CPI performs political and distributional functions that affects ‘who gets what and when’. Some observers suggest that change in the structure of the CPI is merely the consequence of technological improvement which in turn alters the conduct of policy-making and politics. This study turns that assumption on its head by demonstrating that it is politics that has altered the technology known as the CPI. Through the examination and evaluation of the changing political and economic context that the index operates within, this thesis work finds that the CPI was transformed by the very political forces it was designed to contain. This thesis argues that because the index functions as political decision-making tool that supports the setting of salaries and wages, benefit levels and interest rates, change in the form of the index is a result of struggle among interests affected by these highly political decisions. This thesis makes its case through analysis of primary sources and official documentation relating to the development of the index. The first case study tracks the origins of the first official index in 1914, devised in order to learn what it cost a ‘working’ family to meet its basic needs through its transformation into a tool that set wages and measured price change in the wider economy. This is reinforced by a study of change to the index since the 1970s, focusing on the use of the CPI in the conduct of monetary policy that resulted in a politically driven change to the measurement of household inflation. These case studies are further supported by examination of the secondary literature on price indexes, monetary policy and institutional change theory. This thesis adds to the body of knowledge on theories of institutional change by presenting evidence of the conflict that has caused political change to the technology of the CPI.</p>
How (Not?) to Adapt Chekhov: Adventures in Dramaturgy
Authors:   , Ridley Nathaniel 
Published: November 2021

<p>Despite rapid growth of adaptation theory in the last two decades, there is a gap in the field. Books like Linda Hutcheon’s A Theory of Adaptation (2006) and Julie Sanders’ Adaptation and Appropriation (2006) approach adaptations from an audience’s perspective, describing the effects of the adaptation process and providing a robust taxonomy, identifying all of different forms that adaptation might take. They do not, however, describe the details of the process of adaptation itself, even though they often refer to the need for a process-oriented account of adaptation. Existing adaptation manuals focus on screen-writing, leaving someone with an interest in the specifics of adapting a play nowhere to turn. This paper begins to address this gap in the available knowledge by documenting the adaptation process involved in the creation of four new adaptations of Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, targeted at a New Zealand audience. The experiments presented here confirm what is suggested by a survey of the reception of English-language adaptations of Chekhov: there is no single correct method for adapting a play. An adapter's greatest challenge can be identifying which strategy is appropriate for the conditions they face. This project experiments with different adaptive methods and strategies, developed by looking at other English-language Chekhov adaptations, including techniques of approximating the setting, language and themes to a target audience. I attempt to identify which methodologies will achieve the desired results, revealing a variety of different challenges, advantages and weaknesses inherent to each approach. Moreover, both the research and the experiments suggest how the success or failure of an adaptation depends on a variety of contextual factors, including the target audience's relationship with the adapted work, the dramaturgical characteristics of that work, and the abilities of the adapter.</p>
Everyday Life in the Ancient World: Four Re-Collections
Authors:   , Jenner Lynn 
Published: November 2021

<p>The thesis is made up of four separate but related texts recording the author’s investigations of loss, searches and re-constructions. Questions of ownership are also examined, with particular reference to objects of cultural and artistic significance. The Holocaust is a major focus, especially attitudes of the New Zealand government and New Zealanders themselves to the refugees who wished to settle here before and after World War II. The thesis is a hybrid of critical and creative writing. The first three texts, “The autobiographical museum”, “History-making” and “Cairn”, are also hybrid in genre, containing found text, new prose and poems, discussion of other writers’ work and the author’s experiments in ‘active reading’. The fourth text is an Index which offers an alternative reading of the other three texts and helps the reader to locate material. While somewhat different from each other in form, all texts focus on the activity of gathering objects and information. All four texts are fragmented rather than complete. Interviews with curators, education officers and CEOs in two Australian museums that have Holocaust exhibits provided information on the aims and processes of these exhibits. Meetings with six Holocaust survivors who act as volunteer guides in museums and reactions of visitors to the museums provided other perspectives on the work of the museums. The author also reports on visits to the Holocaust Gallery at the Auckland War Memorial Museum and the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand in Wellington. Activity Theory, a cultural-historical model often applied to the analysis of learning and pedagogy, is used in the thesis as a metaphorical backdrop to the author’s own activity. The author’s focus on intentions, tools, processes, division of labour and financial pressures reflects the influence of Activity Theory as does the author’s willingness to let understanding take shape gradually through tentative conclusions, some of which are later overturned. Over the period of the research, records of the past are recovered and re-examined in the present, as was intended. Individual and collective memory, including archival records, fiction and poetry are resources for these investigations. The author receives an object lesson in the power of the informal networking role of the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand, as well as benefiting from its formal displays and materials. During the research the author writes records of the present because it seems necessary to do so. By the time the research ends, these have become records of the past – an outcome which Emanuel Ringelblum would have predicted but was a surprise to the author.</p>
Contextual factors affecting the development of digital library education in Vietnam
Authors:   , Do Van Hung 
Published: November 2021

<p>In Vietnam the need for digital library education (DLE) has increased significantly in the last two decades. Educating staff to establish and manage digital libraries has become a critical issue. However, there are no DLE programmes offered by library and information management (LIM) education providers in Vietnam and we do not know why this is the case. The aim of this study is to investigate and understand the factors affecting the development of DLE for LIM practitioners in Vietnam. The interpretive study employed a qualitative approach and its findings are based on the analysis of data gathered in 17 individual interviews and 11 focus groups with key stakeholders, as well as from documentary evidence. The stakeholders involved in this study include LIM practitioners, LIM managers, LIM lecturers, library school deans, government policy makers, academic library directors, professional association chairpersons and LIM students. To guide the data gathering and analysis, an initial conceptual model of factors affecting DLE was developed from three sources: Fullan’s Educational Change theory, Nowlen’s Performance Model in continuing education for practitioners, and Rogers’s Diffusion of Innovations theory. The study found seven major factors were affecting the development of DLE in Vietnam: the government, the information technology infrastructure, the prevailing social and cultural values, the efforts of change agents, the attitudes of key stakeholders, the characteristics of DLE design, and the nexus of the educational needs of library staff and the libraries in which they were working. Of these the government factor was the most influential. These factors were inter-related and affected DLE development at different levels. The initial conceptual model was revised based on the study's findings. The revised model provides a contribution to educational change theories relevant to the identification and understanding of factors affecting professional educational programmes in universities in developing countries. The study’s findings are also of value to governments, libraries, library schools and library associations for developing relevant policies and new curricula for DLE, and for establishing new professional development programmes in DLE for library staff.</p>