bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Urban Interiority: Designing interior space through the lenses of shelter, place-making and atmosphere
Authors:   , Stace Deborah 
Published: November 2021

<p>The discipline of interior architecture suffers from a lack of discipline specific theory, a definitive title and definition, and an understanding by the general public of the role and scope of this area of design. Many definitions view interior architecture (otherwise known as interior design or simply interiors) as existing only within the context of architecture. However a recent growth in interest and discussion around interiors has highlighted the fact that those within the discipline no longer view a fixed physical enclosure or architectural envelope as defining conditions of interior space. Architecture as a prerequisite to interiors has come into question, which also questions our understanding of the conditions that define interiority. The concepts of shelter, place and atmosphere have been identified as contributing to an understanding of interior space. This research uses these three concepts as ‘lenses’ which contribute to an understanding of alternative ways of experiencing and designing interior space. The program of a bus shelter has been selected in order to test how these concepts can create an experience of interiority in a form that is not conventionally understood as interior space.</p>
Study into the use of applied library and information studies (LIS) research in New Zealand libraries
Authors:   , Turner Kathlyn Jennifer 
Published: November 2021

<p>The purpose of this research project was to determine the perceptions of information professionals in New Zealand regarding applied LIS (Library and Information Studies) research. To achieve this aim, a purposive sample of 130 tertiary and non-profit government libraries / information centres was selected from the New Zealand Contacts in Libraries directory. The chief librarians or library managers from these institutions were invited to offer their opinions using a brief questionnaire that included Likert and Verbal Frequency scales (Appendix A). Alternatively, the questionnaire could be distributed to another information professional from the organisation. Practitioners' reasons for and against consulting research, their tendency towards conducting it themselves and encouraging others in their employ to produce it, and ways by which the relationship between LIS research and practice might be improved were assessed using the survey instrument. The amount of research consultation undertaken by survey participants was analysed according to the following variables: * Highest library / information qualification, whether it contained a research methods / project component, and how recently it was completed; * Major subject area (other than library / information studies) of tertiary-level study; * Experience in current position; * Level of management responsibility; * Specialty area of responsibility; * Library / information centre size; * Organisational context of the library / information centre; * Participation in conferences / professional meetings. The study found that the amount of research consultation by information professionals comprising the sample was low, and levels of research production and encouragement for employees to conduct research were even lower. Participants most often consult the research to stay current with trends and developments in the field of LIS, and to support workplace activities such as decision-making, problem-solving, planning and evaluation. The research is most often not consulted due to time constraints. Despite small data sets that necessitated some caution in the interpretation of results, associational relationships were apparent between the amount of research consultation and all of the participant variables listed above, with one exception (level of management responsibility). Information professionals responding to this study also indicated that the most effective strategy for improving the current relationship between the LIS research and practice communities is the encouragement of research productions that include practical guidelines for the application of results in a workplace context.</p>
The Readability and Usability of Building User Guides
Authors:   , Anderson Michael 
Published: November 2021

<p>Building user guides are intended to inform building occupants about the building systems within their workplace. They are created to describe and document all the necessary information pertaining to the buildings operation, maintenance, management and basic trouble shooting procedures. They have been found to be useful, as building systems are becoming increasingly complex. There is evidence to suggest that the Building User Guides are designed at a level that is too technical and too difficult to use for the average building user and that they are therefore not doing their job. This research evaluates how easily building occupants are able to read and use building user guides, that have been designed for use in green buildings (where they can contribute to the building’s New Zealand Green Building Council’s sustainability rating). Twenty-three Building User Guides by a range of firms and writers were sampled from all over the country. The building user guides were assessed for their readability and how easy they are to use. Their readability level was assessed using the Simple Measure of Gobbledegook (SMOG) as a basic measure of readability, while a second measure, a word frequency profiler was used to assess the vocabulary needed to read current building user guides. A usability study was completed through a user survey. This was completed by 47 respondents. The survey used both a Performance Test and a Text Evaluation Questionnaire to assess the building user guide’s usability. The readability study found that the building user guides were written at a level that meant the majority of New Zealanders would struggle to comprehend. The constant use of technical language and jargon present in the building user guides detracted from the overall readability of the document that. A consequence of these results would be the users failing to understand aspects of a building user guides. Furthermore, this could lead to the incorrect use of a building’s services, which in turn could affect the efficient use of GreenStar rated buildings and their performance in practice. The usability study found that users were capable of finding some set information within the building user guide. Of the tested aspects in the usability survey it was found that the contents page had the biggest impact on the participant’s perception of usability. Other key aspects found that would increase the usability include: bolder headings, a clearer layout, the addition of a frequently asked question section as well as the ability for the building user guide to be searched for key words. A set of guidelines were developed from the findings of this research, for future building user guides to follow.</p>
The Impact of Trade Liberalisation on Decent Work: The Case of the Philippine Sugar Mill Workers
Authors:   , Jadoc Johana Sellado 
Published: November 2021

<p>The impact of trade liberalisation on the structure and nature of work is a divisive topic. On the one hand, there are those who support trade liberalisation by pointing to the potential employment generation (Kelly & Prokhovnik, 2004) and the upward pressure on workers’ skills levels (Mander & Goldsmith, 1996). In contrast, there are those who remain critical and argue that trade liberalisation results in job losses, downward pressure on working conditions and limited opportunity for unskilled workers (Solidar, 2007c; 2007e). Impacts that indicate an improvement in decent work are often framed as ‘social upgrading’ while any deterioration in decent work is seen to result in ‘social downgrading’. Research in this field, while growing, tends to assess the impact of trade liberalisation from a national, sectoral or organisational perspective, while little is known of the workers’ perspective. Adopting a worker perspective, this thesis examines the impact of trade liberalisation on decent work among sugar mill workers in the Philippines. Using a qualitative single case study method, the study draws on the changes in employment and work conditions in a sugar mill when liberal trade policies were introduced. The study uses both primary and secondary data. Primary data were taken from representatives of the workers, the employer and the government sector at national and workplace levels. The study highlights the trade-offs between indicators of decent work and finds that decent work can be influenced by institutional frameworks in addition to employment strategies. Trade liberalisation resulted in numerical flexibility where permanent workers were reduced while contractual workers were hired as cost reduction measures and a way of avoiding labour laws that are protective of permanent workers. A shift of employment demand toward semi-skilled or skilled workers was also found. Thus, this research directs the attention of future research on trade liberalisation and decent work towards more vulnerable workers such as contractual workers. Furthermore, it highlights the need to increase the coverage of legislative protection to include non-permanent workers. Lastly, it challenges the Philippine government to increase the skill level of its workforce to facilitate employment generation.</p>
Paradigmatic Rejuvenation
Authors:   , Conway William 
Published: November 2021

<p>In 2010 Neil Challenger, Head of the School of Landscape Architecture at Lincoln University, stated that the malls surrounding Christchurch drove the life out of the inner city of Christchurch. His economic and sociological concerns were expressed even before the earthquake occurred, and this forms the current hesitation on the rebuilding of Christchurch’s inner city. The position of this research proposal is to establish whether an urban architectural intervention can address these economic and sociological concerns and the potentially devastating effects the suburban mall has had on urban life within Christchurch. The thesis specifically asks whether establishing a mall typology as a landmark building within the inner city can strategically engage the damaged historic buildings of post-earthquake Christchurch in ways that actively preserve these historic remnants. The main intention of this research is to engage the damaged historic buildings of post-earthquake Christchurch in ways that actively preserve these remnants and are also economically viable. By preserving the remnants as active, working elements of the urban fabric, they act as historic reminders or memorials of the event and associated loss, while also actively participating in the regrowth of the city. The thesis argues that contemporary architecture can play a strategic role in these imperatives. Overall this research argues that there exists a distinct requirement for large-scale retail in the inner city urban environment that recognises and responds to the damaged cultural and historic architecture of inner city Christchurch. The objective of the thesis is to propose means to rejuvenate not only the economic vitality of central Christchurch,but also its historic character.</p>
Valued But Broken: Reconstructing Damaged Built Heritage
Authors:   , Page Bradley 
Published: November 2021

<p>Heritage buildings are an important element of our urban environments, representing the hope and aspirations of a generation gone, reminding us of our achievements and our identity. When heritage buildings suffer damage, or fall into disrepair they are either met by one of two extremes; a bulldozer or painstaking repair. If the decision to conserve defeats the bulldozer, current heritage practice favours restoration into a mausoleum-type monument to yesteryear. But what if, rather than becoming a museum, these heritage buildings could live on and become a palimpsest of history? What if the damage was embraced and embodied in the repair? The Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament on Barbadoes Street, Christchurch is the case study building for this thesis. Suffering damage in the Canterbury earthquakes of 2010 and 2011, the Cathedral sits in ruin waiting for decisions to be made around how it can be retained for future generations. This thesis will propose a reconstruction for the Cathedral through the analysis of precedent examples of reconstructing damaged heritage buildings and guided by a heritage framework proposed in this thesis. The employed process will be documented as an alternative method for reconstructing other damaged heritage buildings.</p>
Open Communitition
Authors:   , Segard Achille 
Published: November 2021

<p>The recent enthusiasm in popular culture for massively multiplayer online environments has proven that eclectic online communities have the potential to develop powerful problem solving capacities through the enactment of a collective intelligence. In collaborative design, this calls for the implementation of a shared environment leveraging the collective intelligence of online communities through open competition. The goal is to spur innovation through a public process where the emerging design ideas are available to all competitors. Foreseeing a radical change in the identity of the architect, becoming but the designer of these emergent communal design environments, this paper aims at making the case for this alternate CAAD model through the execution of a pilot study. This study, based on the Serpentine Pavilion procedural framework, sends a sample group of designers to a shared videogame environment, where they are asked to create their own pavilion using a kit of parts drawn from the reverse engineering of Frank Gehry’s 2008 pavilion. These iterations are scored in real time against a set of quantitative programmatic requirements, but they are also assessed qualitatively through more subjective criteria by the community of competitors, enriched by the immersive virtual experience of each other’s designs. Observation and analysis of participants has been undertaken through the recording of design sessions and online survey. This pilot study is currently being undertaken, yet the initial results hint at displaying much potential for a participative, intuitive and instantaneous form of collaborative CAAD based on communal competition.</p>
Negotiating Gender and Police Culture: Exploring the Barriers to Retention and Progression of Female Police Officers in New Zealand
Authors:   , Chan Shannon M. 
Published: November 2021

<p>Women officers represent a minority within the New Zealand Police (Police) particularly within the senior ranks. In recent years, Police have made concerted efforts to increase women’s representation as well as improve the working environment. However, recent reviews of the 2007 Commission of Inquiry into Police Conduct have reported that women continue to face barriers to full integration and furthermore, that the changes to the police culture have reached a plateau. New Zealand and international research have established that police culture continues to pose a barrier to women’s full acceptance within policing. This culture is characterised by predominantly white, heterosexual males, who form what has been described as a “cult of masculinity”. Therefore, women find they must adopt the culture in order to “fit in” and be accepted as “one of the boys”. Adopting a qualitative framework, this research involved semi-structured face-to-face interviews with sworn female police officers. Exploring female police officers’ experiences identified five pertinent barriers to women’s retention and progression. These were the emphasis on physical skills and excitement, the police camaraderie and the cult of masculinity, sexual harassment within the workplace, women’s minority status, and balancing motherhood with policing. It was found that the persistence of these barriers came back to core features of police culture. Due to the strong allegiance to the positive aspects of the police culture, such as the camaraderie, negative features such as sexual banter and harassment were subsumed within the wider culture. Negative features were tolerated and accepted as part and parcel of working in the Police. Women’s narratives demonstrated that they adhered to core police culture features and thus contributed to the sustenance of the culture. Furthermore, how women articulated their experiences and perceptions of barriers was complex and nuanced. Many held the belief that there were no longer any barriers for women in the Police, yet such positive views were in contradiction with their own experiences. The tension between “perceptions” and “reality” creates a situation where the Police currently sit at a crossroads between the “old” culture and the new rhetoric of “change”.</p>
The coexistence of cryptic algal species: Temporal and spatial distribution of filamentous members of the red algal order Bangiales in the Wellington region
Authors:   , Ansell Rebecca 
Published: November 2021

<p>Current research on marine cryptic species, through the use of molecular tools, is revealing unexpected diversity and relationships [...]. A number of cryptic filamentous Bangiales have been recorded from Wellington, New Zealand; all morphologically indistinguishable and all apparently occupying the same niche within the upper inter-tidal. Researchers have reported finding more than one member of the filamentous Bangiales coexisting at a single location in Wellington’s inner harbour (Farr et al. 2001, Wendy Nelson pers. comm.). This raises the question: to what extent are these cryptic lineages coexisting? Are there differences in their temporal and spatial distribution? Does distribution at a small-scale, within sites in the Wellington region, reflect the physiological differences and ecological adaption reported from the culture studies of Bödeker et al. 2008? This research sought to investigate the small-scale distribution of these cryptic lineages to test for temporal or spatial variation, and draw conclusions about the nature of their coexistence in the Wellington region. To achieve this, samples were taken from six sites in Wellington over a period of nine months. Molecular methods, as described in Chapter 2, were utilised to identify the various taxa. This identification data then provided the basis for the ecological analyses presented in Chapter 3.</p>
Hybrid Control of a Segway Platform Developed in MRDS
Authors:   , Thomson Douglas James Ormiston 
Published: November 2021

<p>A Segway RMP200 has been bought by Victoria University for the purpose of making an autonomous robot. The focus of this project was to create reusable services that use existing navigation algorithms to control the Segway within an indoor environment. A SICK LMS100 laser rangefinder was added to detect obstacles and allow localization of the Segway within a known map. A hybrid navigation algorithm consisting of an A* path planner with a dynamic window is used for motion planning and obstacle avoidance. The control system followed a Service Oriented Architecture implemented in Microsoft Robotics Studio using the C# .NET programming language. Four services were created during the project to interface with the SICK LMS100 scanner, control the Segway RMP200, implement the hybrid navigation algorithm and provide a graphic user interface for the system. Tests show that the Segway is able to navigate and maintain localisation within the operating environment by identifying and associating corner and door landmarks within the environment.</p>
What do young people think of development?: An exploration into the meanings young people make from NGO media
Authors:   , Tallon Rachel Alexa Margaret 
Published: November 2021

<p>Young people are not passive, homogenous audiences of media that is produced by international humanitarian and development organisations (NGOs). They actively read and engage with the messages cognitively and emotionally and in the process create new meanings. This thesis is an investigation into what interpretations young people make from NGO media. The twin goals of education and fundraising present certain difficulties for NGOs who view developed world schools as a key site for awareness-raising for both their brand and global issues of injustice. Critics are concerned that when representation is aligned directly and simplistically with charity, powerful messages are signalled to the viewers. The nature and impact of these messages are yet to be fully understood as there is little empirical evidence of how young people receive and interpret NGO media. This research directly addresses this gap. The research identifies and maps various interpretations that young people have on encountering images and messages produced by NGOs. Year 10 social studies classrooms were chosen as the context for data collection and 118 young people and seven teachers from five diverse secondary schools in New Zealand participated. They were canvassed using qualitative methods that included focus groups. The approach for this research was informed by postdevelopment critique which examines the power of the discourse of development in constructing ideas about people and development. The findings show young people to be astute and critical interpreters of NGO media. Teachers reported that NGO media is very influential and could be problematic in forming a solely negative view of the global South. Most of the young people approved of the sector’s charitable work but many expressed doubts about NGO expenditure and the accuracy of the imagery. A key finding is that many said they knew the images were designed to make them feel guilty in order to elicit action which was usually a donation. The findings support other research among adults and show the early development of attitudes towards NGOs and ideas about the developing world. The significance of a conflicting emotional response towards NGO marketing is a central finding for this thesis. This conflict of wanting to help and yet not being able to do so created a tangible tension within the young people and affected how they viewed people in the global South. Young people in New Zealand are emerging actors in the global development industry and their ideas will shape North-South interactions in the future. This research directly contributes to understanding the power of the NGO sector to mediate global relations across difference, a process of which there are moral and political implications.</p>