bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Surfacing some implications of the sharing economy: A New Zealand perspective
Authors:   , Dunn Caleb 
Published: November 2021

<p>This thesis highlights major influences and effects that the sharing economy appears to be having on New Zealand businesses. The sharing economy is “a socio-economic ecosystem built around the sharing of human and physical resources” (Matofska, 2014). It has enabled consumers to borrow and/or lease resources owned by other businesses and even individuals within a nation’s economy as a whole. The purpose of this study is to uncover insights into whether New Zealand businesses are preparing or have prepared to counter the effects of the shifting market landscape, in the form of the sharing economy, and how have these reactions manifested. The distinctiveness of this particular study is the focus on primary information collection and emphasis on cross- industry and organisation empirical research. A comprehensive literature review has been undertaken to capture the nature of previous studies in this subject area and frame the direction that this research will take. Subsequent to the literature review, it was decided that qualitative in-depth interviews with ten business managers from New Zealand companies would provide the best scope in identifying the key reactions and effects of managers to emergence of the sharing economy. The results demonstrate that a majority of the participants have re-considered their operational strategy, with many moving into niche areas of their industry to deliver value that cannot be matched by sharing platforms. Resource allocation and worker conditions have also adjusted to better suit the dynamics of a market environment that has been influenced by the sharing economy. A number of issues in adaptation to the sharing economy have also been unearthed. Regulatory disputes and market suitability to sharing processes have been the major causes for concern, but through collaboration with a variety of stakeholders, those who have adjusted have found success in creating what they indicate are prosperous environments. Some incumbents have been unyielding as their industry experiences disruption from the sharing economy, and the results of this thesis demonstrate that this is done at their own detriment. Incumbent firms must be wary of the growing levels of sophistication of sharing platforms and whether their adaptions thus far are sustainable in the long term.</p>
A Curated Cacophony: Implementing an Intangible
Authors:   , Wright Oliver 
Published: November 2021

<p>This research investigates a progression away from acoustics formed by spaces and towards spaces that are driven by target acoustics. Despite architecture and acoustics’ shared consideration of form, materiality and inhabitation, too often acoustics is neglected from design and so is treated remedially, nullifying creativity. A case study project was undertaken to investigate the opportunities and limitations of two parametric tools, Galapagos (a generative solver) and Pachyderm (an acoustic simulation tool), to develop acoustic qualities in early architectural design. Yet, what are these acoustic qualities and how could they be measured? Testing of cafes in the Wellington CBD was undertaken to investigate these questions. Six cafes were acoustically tested and five patrons from each of these completed a subjective survey. The café testing suggested that Reverberation Time (RT) could be an effective acoustic measure to direct architectural design. The café with the lowest patron enjoyment rating also recorded the longest RT and highest Sound Pressure Level (SPL), reinforcing the relationship between these three elements. Through these findings, patron enjoyment was concluded to be dependent on SPL and SPL was concluded to be dependent on RT (Whitlock and Dodd, 424). In order to increase patron enjoyment, Galapagos was utilised to explore possible forms that met a target design RT of 0.7 seconds. An RT of 0.7 seconds was chosen as it was shorter than the AS/NZS 2107 (2000) maximum and was comparable to the cafés with the two highest subjective enjoyment ratings. Through a parametric and analogue design methodology, Galapagos and Pachyderm were used to investigate how acoustic goals could shape a café design. The case study project produced a design that not only meets this acoustic criterion but harnesses form to sculpt sound. Instead of applying absorption to flat surfaces, the convex curves on the north and east facades disperse sound, producing both a diffuse environment and an engaging architectural element. This integrated investigation demonstrated that a parametric and analogue design process can be implemented to create a acoustically and architecturally effective design.</p>
Late Holocene Sedimentation on the Southern Kāpiti Coast
Authors:   , Nolan Rackley Michael 
Published: November 2021

<p>The Kāpiti Coast is a broad low lying coastal plain on the western coast of New Zealand’s North Island. The coastal plain has formed over the last 6500 years through rapid progradation of coastal sediment, developing a distinct cuspate foreland. With numerous coastal communities across the low coastal plain, recent coastal erosion of the southern coastal plain combined with forecast sea level rise has drawn attention to coastal hazards. However, understanding these hazards has been hampered by a lack of information on the Holocene tectonic and sedimentary development of the coastal plain. This study focuses on the southern portion of the Kāpiti Coast using a geological approach to document coastal outcrops and drillcores. Using detailed sedimentological analysis including description, grainsize, composition and shape, in addition to observation of the modern environment, a detailed facies scheme and depositional model for the southern Kāpiti Coast are produced. Combining the interpreted depositional environments and age control provided by C14, OSL and well-dated pumice deposition, progressive coastal progradation and a transition from marine to terrestrial environments is reconstructed for the southern Kāpiti Coast. Records from this study reveal rapid sedimentation, at rates of up to 12.6m/1000 years within this southern limb, slowing dramatically with coastal retreat beginning within the last 400 years. Recognising the vertical offset of the beach/dune boundary as a marker of past sea level recorded in the cores and outcrops, a 1m uplift is recognised at the southernmost point of the coastal plain. In addition to constraining the penultimate movement of the Ohariu Fault, it contrasts with the tectonic stability of the central part of the coastal plain and subsidence further north. Such insight into vertical base level change across the coastal plain has implications for future coastal hazard identification.</p>
The darker side of the moon: Satanic traditions in New Zealand as magick systems
Authors:   , Latham John 
Published: November 2021

<p>When people discover the topic of my thesis they usually ask "Why Satanism?". In 1998 Satanism caught my attention when I was doing an undergraduate paper in sociology, the sociology of religion. Here I encountered several studies on the Satanic Ritual Abuse phenomena (SRA, also known as Satanic Panic and Satanism scare) See appendices for a brief history of SRA of the late 1980's and early 1990's in England, America, Australia and here in New Zealand. SRA evolved from accusations that satanic cults were involved in rituals where children were physically and sexually abused, and possibly killed. There were also reports that children were being bred for such practices. Both here and overseas cases were investigated by government agencies. The Peter Ellis case is perhaps the defining example of SRA in New Zealand. See appendices for an overview of this case In 1999,I noticed the census figures between 1986 and 1996 showed a growth of New Zealanders who identified as Satanist during the height of SRA scare, with the number rising nearly 400% (from 240 to 906). From this several questions arose: perhaps most importantly what is Satanism: why had this number grown: and how does one become a Satanist? As I began researching answers to these questions, I became aware of elements that were not apparent from the literature. Not all Satanism is about being evil and using black Magick. The spelling of Magick with a 'k' is to differentiate between religious Magick and show (illusional) magic. This is explained in more detail later. Some elements of Satanism link it closely with other Magick traditions. In this thesis I discuss two questions: what is Satanism in New Zealand and is there a relationship between Satanism and other Magick traditions in New Zealand?</p>
Literary Serial Killer Fiction: The Evolution of a Genre
Authors:   , Cook Grant 
Published: November 2021

<p>This study examines the dynamics of post-war American serial killer fiction as it relates to social and literary contexts. In the context of history and development, this study considers the impact and origins of particular works and how they have influenced the stylistic and thematic evolution of a particular subgenre I have called literary serial killer fiction. Emphasis is placed on select narratives that directly (or indirectly) transform, challenge and critique the genre conventions in which they are written. Of interest is the evolution of general serial killer fiction as a postmodern phenomenon, in terms of its popularity with the reading public, and in line with the growth of media interest in representations of serial killers. I draw on literary theory (in particular, ‘new historicism’) to demonstrate that the appeal and tropes of serial killer fiction reflect socio-political interests indicative of the era from where they were produced, and to show how the subgenre of literary serial killer fiction can be categorized using its own particular set of defining features. I examine these aspects in detail in relation to the following selection of fictional serial-killer narratives: Jim Thompson’s The Killer Inside Me, James Ellroy’s Killer on the Road, and Brett Easton Ellis’s American Psycho. For brevity’s sake, I have selected American narrative works that employ first-person narration and are transgressive in the way they focus on characters who defy convention and push boundaries, as do the narratives within larger genre traditions and protocols. In my view, these works are the purest examples of literary serial killer fiction in that they are characteristically unlike other examples that can easily be categorised under other literary genres. The appeal and popularity of the genre, alongside the functional aspects of the trope, leads me to conclude that it is an ideal form to interact with popular cultural narratives, while also allowing subversive interplay between both real and fictional concerns. The appeal of the genre to those authors who usually write outside of it, particularly in regard to its transgressive and allegorical qualities, is also of particular interest to this study. Because of the hybrid nature of the genre and the ease with which the central trope of the fictional serial killer transcends genres, the resulting possibilities provide a transgressive outlet for authors who wish to test boundaries, in both a literary and an ontological sense, in regard to the commentary serial killer fiction allows on the state of contemporary American literature and society.</p>
Quantum Confinement of Chiral Charge Carriers in Ring Conductors
Authors:   , Yang Lei 
Published: November 2021

<p>We theoretically study the quantum confinement effects and transport prop- erties of quantum ring (QR) systems. In particular, we investigate QRs made out of the following materials: single-layer graphene (SLG), single- layer transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) and narrow-gap semiconduc- tor quantum wells (SQWs). Via perturbation theory and assuming that the ring aspect ratio is small, the general subband dispersion relations of these hard-wall ring confined systems are determined. These dispersion results agree with and extend on previous works. We discover the necessity of including both a size-quantisation energy and an angular momentum dependent energy shift to the dispersion equation due to their sizeable impact on the conductance of the system. The topological properties of these QR systems is also investigated. We find that QR confinement of materials may destroy the topologically non-trivial properties of states. The topological phase can be recovered when the band structure is inverted and the confined material parameters satisfy certain critical widths and gap limits. An analytical expression of the conductance for QRs (with symmetrically- arranged leads), in the presence of the perpendicular magnetic field piercing the centre of the ring, is derived. We study the geometric (i.e. Berry) and dynamic phases of the system that arise from the interference of partial waves in the ring branches. We discover that the Berry phase is modified by a correction term that arises purely from the quantum confinement of the materials. This has generally not been taken into account by previous studies. The explicit analytical expressions of the phase correction term are derived and shown to be proportional to the angular momentum dependent energy shift, present in the dispersion relations, for lead injection energies close to the subband energy. Overall, this study finds that the material-dependent phase plays a significant role in both the dispersion relation and the conductance of QRs and thus provides a useful insight for future experimental efforts with regards to transport in QR systems.</p>
Monte Carlo Simulation of Adsorption Processes on Heterogeneous Crystal Surfaces
Authors:   , Rajabibonab Leila 
Published: November 2021

<p>The simulation of adsorption processes on a heterogeneous crystal surface is the main interest of this thesis. Two applications of this event have been developed with Kinetic Monte Carlo simulation. One is how to control the crystal growth by macromolecules and the other is how to measure the effective rate of interactions near a crystal surface. The first part of this thesis, considers the effective rate of catalytic conversion on a heterogeneous catalytic surface. We assume the crystal surface has two types of active site, one is neutral and the other one is highly active. We compared our result from simulation with the analytical method that is given by the homogenization theory. Our result revealed the importance of patterns of surface energies and the size of them on reaction rate. In the second project we consider the adsorption of a homopolymer chain on a crystal surface with two types of surface energies in order to limit the growth of one site and let the other sites grow more. We developed a new Kinetic Monte Carlo simulation method in this part, which was also applied to block copolymer chains that are more complex than a homo-polymer chain. Using this method four important phases of the polymer chains at high temperatures and also the free energies of the system across different patterns of active sites have been found. We tested different types of co-polymers to find the most differentiative block copolymer for controlling the crystal growth.</p>
Tales of Possession: A Study of Possession in the Novels of A. S. Byatt and John Fowles
Authors:   , Edwards Samantha 
Published: November 2021

<p>This thesis focuses on four works: John Fowles’s The Collector and The French Lieutenant’s Woman, and A. S. Byatt’s The Game and Possession: A Romance. The French Lieutenant’s Woman and Possession have frequently been treated together in academic criticism as Possession was a deliberate response to the former. I have extended this pairing because these four works are built around the idea of ‘possession’. While most critical discussions consider the notion of ‘possession’ as one theme among many, this thesis proposes that ‘possession’ dominates the characterisations in these works. The starting point for my argument is Jean Baudrillard’s theory of possession as outlined in his chapter “The System of Collecting”. Baudrillard proposes that “[p]ossession cannot apply to an implement” (7). To possess an object it must undergo an “abstractive operation” (7) until it is “divested of its function and made relative to a subject” (8). This thesis translates that subject-object relationship to characters, where one character is the possessor, another the possessed. While the possessive drive can take on multiple forms, in these works romantic, erotic, intellectual, and creative desires come to the fore. The Collector and The Game involve a one-on-one dynamic. The first is one man’s attempt to romantically possess his female obsession, the second is one woman’s attempt to creatively appropriate and possess her sister. Both novels are preludes to the more complex examinations of possessive intent in the novelists’ later work. In The French Lieutenant’s Woman Charles Smithson undertakes an erotic and romantic quest to possess Sarah Woodruff. Along with this is the socially possessed Ernestina Freeman. The contemporary scholars in Possession all compete to intellectually and creatively possess the Victorian poets Randolph Henry Ash and Christabel LaMotte. The possessive parties in these works attempt to stabilise their projections under the delusion of reciprocity. Only the title of Byatt’s novel hints literally at ‘possession’, but in all of these works ‘possession’ reveals the nature of relationships between human beings.</p>
Estimation and Probabilistic Linkage in Sample Surveys of Anonymous Organisations
Authors:   , Jury Nicholas 
Published: November 2021

<p>Drug use takes on many forms, normally this will be just the occasional alcoholic drink, certain individuals drug use develops into habitual use, or more extreme drugs, and then into full addiction. Some of these addicted individuals realise the harmful nature of their addition and join the anonymous support group, Narcotics Anonymous. This study focus' on the creation of population size estimates, and an estimate of the size of the persistent population between two survey years. These estimates are created from the 2004 and 2008 surveys run by the Narcotics Anonymous Fellowship, as this is an anonymous organisation with no register of the membership database maintained. Population size estimation for an anonymous organisation is established using simulation methods. The bootstrap estimation was used to estimate characteristics about the two populations. Probabilistic matching was used to identify individuals who were in both the 2004, and 2008 surveys. Once identi ed, a logistic regression model was used to establish what impacts an individual to remain in the programme. Factors that impacted an individual being persistent in the population included the individual education, employment status, and if they had worked through all the 12 steps of Narcotics Anonymous.</p>
Out of place: Rewriting a landscape signature
Authors:   , Baker Alison Leonora 
Published: November 2021

<p>South Wairarapa, in New Zealand’s lower North Island presents an interesting collision; the landscapes forms and features evidence distinct separation between traditional landscape values and recent European economic developments – a separation evident in most New Zealand regions. Combined with its low urban socio-economic outlook and the utilisation of unsustainable farming practices, the region is in decline both ecologically and socially. Near irreversible damage has been done to the landscape. Engineered floodplain manipulation, land clearing, and intensive individualistic farming has resulted in continuing land degradation, flooding, droughts, severe waterway contamination, pollution, and habitat destruction. Utilising a design led approach in a three-scale investigation with focus assumed on the Ruamahanga River catchment, this thesis investigation explores how designed intervention with regards to the Wairarapa waterway systems can promote a re-emergence of place and placement in Wairarapa to reflect an integrated relationship with the processes of one’s landscape. It discusses how this interaction could be landscape transformative, re-introduce the prosperities of historic Wairarapa, promote sustainable farming practices, and recover declining ecologies. The investigation also discusses the wider New Zealand issue of rural waterway acknowledgement, and its relationship to place, culture, and identity discourse. This study has been ethically approved. Approval number 22990.</p>
The Poiesis of Systems
Authors:   , Smith Jessica 
Published: November 2021

<p>This thesis looks at how to engage with the existing ‘poiesis’ of the Kapiti region north of Wellington, to reveal the large scale ecological systems operating in this coastal landscape, making them legible at the human scale. The research has also developed into an exploration of how sites should produce their own boundaries, and how simplistic structures can bring together the large-scale systems down to an engaging human scale. Kapiti is a region undergoing fast development and change. Since the days of early European settlement the natural processes once found in there have been altered or depleted to allow for human infrastructure. This has left it with degraded dune and wetland ecosystems. Through the lens of different ‘Acts / Catalysts’ this research uses a variety of design approaches to privilege the human perspective of experiencing space. The design outcome of this research is a series of wooden catalyst structures arranged along a transect starting in Kapiti Island and ending at the foot of the Tararua Ranges.</p>
Arbuscular Mycorrhizae of Phormium Tenax in a restored New Zealand wetland across hydrological gradients
Authors:   , Coles Alexandra 
Published: November 2021

<p>New Zealand has lost over 90% of its former wetlands and many that remain are in a degraded state. Restoration projects are often impeded by the failure of native plants to establish back into non-native dominated communities. Phormium tenax is fast growing and acts a nurse plant in wetlands, accelerating the establishment of slower growing native woody species. The roles of below ground organisms are increasingly recognised as affecting plant community dynamics, and this study investigates the diversity of a group of pervasive organisms, the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), growing in symbiosis with Phormium tenax. Next generation sequencing was used to create two libraries to determine the sensitivity of coding and non-coding molecular markers when characterising the AMF community associated with Phormium tenax. AMF communities colonising individual plants were found to be diverse, and varied across restoration stages, but uncorrelated with soil moisture. The composition of of AMF communities changed seasonally and I observed more AMF hyphae and arbuscules in winter.</p>