bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Water in Pinus Radiata Wood Secondary Cell Walls: An Investigation Using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Synchrotron X-Ray Diffraction
Authors:   , Hill Stefan James 
Published: November 2021

<p>The mechanical properties of wood allow it to be used for numerous purposes. For most purposes, drying of the wood material from the green state, sawn from the log, is first required. This drying step significantly improves the strength properties of wood. It is therefore clear that moisture in wood plays an important role in determining the bulk mechanical properties. Over the last century, many studies have been carried out to investigate the way in which the water content wood affects the bulk mechanical properties. More recent studies have focused to the individual chemical components that make up wood to understand the observed changes in bulk mechanical properties. Models of the nanostructure of wood contained; cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, and the arrangement and location of these components in terms of their mechanical properties was interpreted through what was described as the 'slip-stick' mechanism, by which wood, in its green state, maintained its molecular and mechanical properties under external stresses. This model, while insightful, failed to account for the presence and the role of water in the nanostructure of wood. In this work, synchrotron based X-ray diffraction and NMR studies, have been used to develop a new model, in which water plays a vital role in the determination of the mechanical properties of wood in its green, part-dried, and rewet states. X-ray diffraction showed that changes occur to the molecular packing of cellulose crystallites with change in moisture content, and that these changes begin to occur under mild drying conditions, i.e. drying in air at ambient temperatures. These changes depend on the severity of drying, whether ambient or forced oven drying, and are to some extent reversible. A spin-diffusion model was constructed using dimensions obtained from Xray diffraction, comparisons between predictions and experimental data from an NMR study showed that the location of water was dependent on the moisture history of wood. In the green state, at least some of the water in the wood cell wall forms a layer, between the cellulose crystals and the hemicellulose and lignin matrix. If dried and then rewet, this water associated with the cellulose crystals was not present to the same degree as in the green state, allowing a closer association of the hemicellulose with the cellulose. The effect of this change in water distribution in the wood cell wall on the bulk mechanical wood properties was shown in mechanical testing. The nanostructure of the wood cell wall therefore should be considered to contain cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin and water, where each component contributes, according to its molecular properties, dynamic mechanical properties which are reflected in the bulk material properties.</p>
The Currency of Identity: Ireland 1978 to 1992
Authors:   , Murphy Barbara 
Published: November 2021

<p>Following 10 years in operation, the European Monetary Union (EMU) has been shaken by the global financial crisis and some peripheral states have experienced significant economic shock. The pitfalls of currency unions have been well documented in the literature of International Political Economy (IPE), so the situation that these states find themselves in cannot come as a surprise to any member country. Without highly synchronised economies, some states will suffer significantly in the event of an exogenous shock. This begs the question why a country would make an "irrational" choice to join the monetary union to begin with. The predominant IPE theories on how the EMU was formed are explained using rational choice with material interests as the focus for interstate bargaining. By arguing that they really have no choice to begin with, rational choice theory renders small states impotent. Unsatisfied with this reductionist answer, this body of work explores the participation of one of the states currently in trouble by introducing a constructivist theory of economic identity politics. Exploring the historical record of Ireland in the period of 1978 and 1992, this work reveals that Ireland in fact had choices, and the "irrational" choices it made were significantly influenced by Irish identity politics. However Ireland's "irrational" motivation can only be understood by including economic identity politics into the analysis. It will reveal that the supranational institutions of the European Union can serve as economic instruments to further nationalist goals. In the process the institution can become embedded in the nation such a country like Ireland is now a hybrid - highly European monetarily while it still remains distinctively Irish. As small states now make up the majority of the European Union this thesis adds to our understanding of small state participation in its most ambitious institution thus far.</p>
Newcomers as Accessories: A Study of Basque and Catalan Autonomy Campaigns through Immigrant Integration Strategies
Authors:   , Davies Danielle 
Published: November 2021

<p>This thesis examines the political autonomy campaigns of subnational entities. Subnational entities may be defined as political entities located below the state level whose members are connected through historic territories and socio-cultural identities. Catalonia and the Basque Country are presented as the two case studies of this thesis and are approached with a comparative framework. From the outset, an examination of the Westphalian state structure of the international political system is provided, with particular emphasis on the political position of subnational entities. The thesis then utilises the contemporary phenomenon of international migration and explores the international immigration trends that affect Catalonia and the Basque Country. The potential tension at the intersection of international immigration and subnational autonomy campaigns is analysed, guided by the question of whether Catalonia or the Basque Country approach foreign immigration as a hindrance or a help to their political autonomy campaigns. The integration policies of Catalonia and the Basque Country are then assessed, as well as an analysis of the alternative political relations which Catalonia and the Basque Country have formed based upon the issue of foreign immigrant integration. This thesis finds that although the sovereign state structure continues to dominate the international political system, Catalonia and the Basque Country demonstrate how subnational autonomy campaigns continue to be pursued. Furthermore, this thesis finds that Catalonia and the Basque Country have recently utilised the issue of foreign immigrant integration as a stratagem for enhancing their informal political competencies.</p>
Semantic Influences on Overt and Covert Visual Attention
Authors:   , Weaver Matthew David 
Published: November 2021

<p>People are constantly confronted by a barrage of visual information. Visual attention is the crucial mechanism which selects for further processing, subsets of information which are most behaviourally relevant, allowing us to function effectively within our everyday environment. This thesis explored how semantic information (i.e., information which has meaning) encountered within the environment influences the selective orienting of visual attention. Past research has shown semantic information does affect the orienting of attention, but the processes by which it does so remain unclear. The extent of semantic influence on the visual attention system was determined by parsing visual orienting into the tractable components of covert and overt orienting, and capture and hold process stages therein. This thesis consisted of a series of experiments which were designed, utilising well- established paradigms and semantic manipulations in concert with eye-tracking techniques, to test whether the capture and hold of either overt or covert forms of visual attention were influenced by semantic information. Taking together the main findings across all experiments, the following conclusions were drawn. 1) Semantic information differentially influences covert and overt attentional orienting processes. 2) The capture and hold of covert attention is generally uninfluenced by semantic information. 3) Semantic information briefly encountered in the environment can facilitate or prime action independent of covert attentional orienting.4) Overt attention can be both preferentially captured and held by semantically salient information encountered in visual environments. The visual attentional system thus appears to have a complex relationship with semantic information encountered in the visual environment. Semantic information has a differential influence on selective orienting processes that depends on the form of orienting employed and a range of circumstances under which attentional selection takes place.</p>
Complementarity: Towards Robust Human Rights Governance in the New Zealand State Sector
Authors:   , Greatrex Helen Patricia 
Published: November 2021

<p>Successive governments have committed New Zealand to implementing international human rights standards domestically. In terms of practical governance, what does this mean and how might effectiveness be measured? A face-value answer can be found in domestic laws and institutions relating to human rights. However, this thesis argues that the effective implementation of ratified international human rights goes well beyond what this thesis terms the law+litigation approach (crucial though that is). By tracing developments historically, analysing the policy and governance issues, and using case studies this research shows that effective implementation is characterised by a new concept: 'complementarity'. This concept is about an increasing coherence between a number of factors affecting the state sector which impact on the fostering and delivery of human rights. These include international and domestic dimensions, law and public policy, public fairness, administrative pragmatism, and proactive and reactive approaches to implementation. Greater complementarity is shown to produce another term suggested in the thesis: robust human rights governance. The opposite - fragile human rights governance - is also explored. As well as the complementarity model, this research also suggests there are six phases in New Zealand's human rights history. It is argued that the sixth most robust stage has been reached, but that there are elements of previous stages that are weak, developing or non-existent. Leading on from this 20 criteria to assess what effectiveness 'looks like' in relation to robust human rights governance are also developed. Although this is primarily a New Zealand study, the widespread adoption of human rights standards by many states inevitably means that the issues are relevant to other countries, even though there are always varying degrees of similarity-difference in constitutional background and developed or emerging human rights systems. This thesis shows the pathways, the mechanisms, the evolving frameworks and the approaches that would help to differentiate robust from fragile human rights governance. The tools in this research should therefore enable a more nuanced assessment of effectiveness in terms of robust human rights governance.</p>
The Maori Arts in Education: The Importance of Being : How Maori Arts Education Contributes Towards a Holistic Approach of Knowing Based on the Inter-relatedness of Understanding, Doing, and Being
Authors:   , Hindle Rawiri 
Published: November 2021

<p>This thesis examines the impact of the Nga Toi professional development and implementation model on resource teachers of Maori and Maori advisors. It explores the inter-relatedness of understanding, doing and being in relation to professional development, and teaching and learning in general. With the intention of acknowledging that 'being' is an equally important component in arts education. This research is a qualitative investigation into the phenomenon of Nga Toi Professional Development and is embedded within a Kaupapa Maori paradigm. Eight participants were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. The interviews were transcribed and analysed using themes that arose out of the data itself. The data was categorised into the three areas of doing, being and understanding to allow for an analysis of what the respondents were saying in relation to the research question, 'How can Maori arts education contribute towards a holistic approach of knowing based on the inter-relatedness of understanding, doing, and being?' It is the interconnectedness of these three concepts that allow for a deeper knowing of things. This could be described as a knowing of the mind, body and soul and equates with terms such as realisation or 'in the zone' and enlightenment. The design of the Nga Toi professional development acknowledged and incorporated the allowance for 'being', as interpreted in this study, into the planning. This created some ambiguity in planning as some things emerged through the process and the learning was retrospective or came out of being reflective. Some of the structures, such as the dramaturgy processes assisted in creating an environment which in equal parts challenged yet supported participants to move into unknown spaces. Integrating 'being' as an integral part of arts education challenges current thought that everything has to be assessed and have an outcome. Being challenges this approach to learning as it is often the immeasurable quotient in a performance or action. Being in the arts evokes an emotional or even spiritual response; you know when it's there but can't predict what it will look like or the impact it will have. From the facilitators perspective success in the Nga Toi professional development was expressed through developing skills, understandings and being through experiential or practical workshops and following it up with the theory. A major intention of this study is to create a space and a dialogue for debate and discussion in regards to the inclusion of 'being' in arts education.</p>
Applying Kabeer's Social Relations Approach to Village Health Volunteers in Rural Papua New Guinea
Authors:   , Heather Ruth 
Published: November 2021

<p>In this thesis I explore the effectiveness and sustainability of the Village Health Volunteer system within the East Sepik Women and Children's Health Project (ESWCHP), Papua New Guinea. The ESWCHP is a well-established project that provides a health infrastructure for primary health care services in rural areas of the East Sepik Province. The ESWCHP supports Church Health Services, and village women who volunteer (Village Health Volunteers) to provide primary care in rural village settings. In 2006, I undertook research to assess the impact of the ESWCHP. The assessment showed that rural people were very supportive of the Project and that it had made a significant, positive difference to health in rural villages. There was however, an overwhelming response to the research from Village Health Volunteers (VHVs) with requests for a greater level of support from rural people and the ESWCHP (in terms of training, payment, and status) and greater consistency of medical supplies. In this qualitative thesis research, I revisited the 2006 data using a combined theoretical frame of gender and development, participatory development and Sen's capability approach. I developed a detailed method based on Kabeer's Social Relations Approach (1994) to guide the process of interpretation, analysis and representation of memories, notes, and data. Through the analysis of social relations, I examined questions concerning the effectiveness of the VHV system in the face of escalating maternal death rates and epidemic levels of HIV/AIDs, and its sustainability. The analysis showed that the ESWCHP was facing compounding gender inequalities that put sustainability of the VHV system at risk. The analysis also showed that on the basis of key health indicators, the ESWCHP health infrastructure with its current heavy reliance on VHVs was neither successful nor effective. Research is urgently needed to identify a sustainable and effective model of rural health care to address the rapidly escalating maternal death and HIV rates of rural people in PNG.</p>
The Development of Learning Regions in New Zealand: An ICT Perspective
Authors:   , Toland Janet Mary 
Published: November 2021

<p>The term "Learning Region" is used to identify a region which is innovative, economically successful, and inhabited by citizens who are active members of their local community. Such regions are characterised by strong links between local businesses, community groups, and education providers. Within a regional area interaction and exchange of information is easier and cheaper than in a national or international context. The success of an individual organisation is directly related to the quality of information available locally. Information technology can be an important tool in improving the flow of knowledge between the stakeholders within a region. The study examines the role that information and communication technologies (ICTs) play in the development of learning regions in New Zealand, and how they can be used to improve the quality of information flows both within the region itself, and between the region and the outside world. In particular the research considers what contribution ICTs make to organisational learning and innovation. Historical methods are used to build up a picture of the significant changes that have taken place within two contrasting regions of New Zealand between 1985 and 2005. The two selected regions are Southland and Wellington. Data was collected by searching regional newspapers, and conducting interviews with key figures in each region. A "6-I" framework of the "ideal" features of a learning region was developed from the literature review and this was used to analyse the data. The findings show a clear linear progression in terms of the development of hard ICT based networks, but a less clear pattern in terms of soft social networks where the same issues were revisited a number of times over the years. Though there was evidence of a relationship between the soft networks that existed at the regional level and the utilisation of hard ICT networks within a region it was difficult to quantify. Hard and soft networks evolve differently over time and the relationship between the two is nuanced. Both regions were successful in setting up high quality ICT networks. However, with the exception of the education sector, both regions struggled to co-ordinate their soft networks. Though good social capital existed in each region, especially in Southland, it was located in different interest groups and was not easy to bring together. This lack of co-ordination meant that the possibilities opened up by ICT infrastructure in terms of increasing innovation were not fully realised. Both regions demonstrated many of the characteristics of learning regions but neither region was able to bring all aspects together to reach their full potential. The thesis demonstrates the important role that soft social networks play in the successful utilisation of ICT networks within a regional setting.</p>
Developing 'My Way' in Chinese Language Teaching: Qualitative Case Studies of Teachers' Personal Practical Knowledge
Authors:   , Sun Dekun 
Published: November 2021

<p>Much of L2 teacher cognition research has focused on L2 English education with native speakers teaching adult students at private institutes and tertiary levels. The present study was set up to investigate Chinese language teachers' personal practical knowledge (PPK) in teaching Chinese in New Zealand secondary schools. Taking qualitative case study as the approach, the present study selected three teachers as participants - two native Chinese speakers (immigrants) and one non-native Chinese speaker with Chinese heritage background - to explore the characteristics of their PPK, and to identify the factors shaping that PPK. The purpose of the study is to gain insight into teacher professional development processes. The data for the present study are mainly interviews with the teachers, supplemented with classroom observations of their teaching, post-lesson discussions, and my field notes. Data analysis and interpretation revealed that each teacher developed her own unique characteristic of PPK, which was captured by a dominant image, an overriding perspective that guided her practice. The factors shaping their PPK and practice are shown to be their prior knowledge, particularly ideologies originating from their native culture, their awareness of their status as native and non-native speakers, their teaching experience, and the institutional context. However, the extent of the impact on each teacher differed depending upon their personal background and level of professional development. The present study supported the view that a teacher's PPK is the dynamic integration of her prior knowledge and understanding of the situation, is oriented toward practice, and is constructed and reconstructed out of the narratives of a teacher's life. Based on this study, a number of implications have been identified for teacher development, as well as suggestions for further study of teachers' PPK.</p>
Stress Resistance in an Extreme Environment: Lessons Learnt from a Temperate Symbiotic Sea Anemone
Authors:   , Palka Milena Sylwia 
Published: November 2021

<p>Coral bleaching, the loss of symbiotic dinoflagellates (zooxanthellae) or their photosynthetic pigments in response to environmental stress, is of huge global concern. In contrast to tropical corals, which are highly sensitive to fluctuations in environmental parameters such as temperature, light and salinity, zooxanthellate invertebrates in temperate waters rarely bleach despite highly variable conditions. In this study, we tested the effects of salinity with combined effects of light and temperature stress on the photophysiology and stability of the temperate symbiotic sea anemone, Anthopleura aureoradiata, through chlorophyll fluorescence. In the field it was demonstrated that A. aureoradiata was resilient to abiotic fluctuations of considerable magnitude in the intertidal zone. Salinity was revealed to range naturally between a winter low of 30 and summer high of 40 ppt in an elevated tide pool with no measurable effects on the photophysiology of A. aureoradiata residing within. In a controlled environment, only extreme high and low salinities had an effect on the zooxanthellar photosystem, with a wide range of tolerance between 15-50 ppt dependent on the levels of temperature and light. Both high and low light, and temperature, also impacted upon photophysiology. Moreover, each of these variables independently, as well as combined, exacerbated the impact of salinity stress. In addition, the duration of exposure played an important role in the survival of this symbiosis, with only 48-96 h exposure to the extreme salinities of 5, 10, 55 and 60 ppt inducing irreversible photosynthetic failure, bleaching and death. Thus, the data supports the idea that this anemone-zooxanthellar symbiosis is highly resilient to considerable amounts of abiotic stress, a likely a function of the robust photophysiology of its zooxanthellae. This resilience to bleaching suggests that A. aureoradiata and its zooxanthallae have evolved a combination of powerful defensive mechanisms to help aid against the heterogenous environment from which they come. I will present an overview of these osmoregulatory mechanisms, photoacclimatory strategies and behaviours that this symbiosis likely deploys in order to combat environmentally realistic ranges in abiotic factors. Further studies would be necessary to deduce whether it is the host or zooxanthellae which are responsible for the breakdown of this symbiosis.</p>