bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Studies on the Synthesis of Marine Natural Product (-)-Zampanolide and its Analogues
Authors:   , Wang Jingjing 
Published: November 2021

<p>(-)-Zampanolide is a microtubule-stabilising marine natural product, with promise as a cancer drug candidate. The potential therapeutic application of zampanolide has fuelled worldwide interest in its total synthesis, but few analogue studies have been reported. Analogues afford the possibility of examining the structure-activity relationships with a view to optimising for potency and medicinal viability. This project seeks to devise a new route to zampanolide and generate a series of analogues for bioactivity evaluation. The initial approach to zampanolide and a number of designed analogues was through disconnections at C20 by an N-aldol reaction, at C1 by Yamaguchi esterification, at C8-C9 by metathesis and at C15-C16 by alkynylation. During the development of fragment syntheses, problems were encountered with protection of the secondary hydroxyl group at C19 and establishment of an aldehyde at C15. Useful natural and analogue fragments were generated during this exploratory phase. The order of connections was revised, and effort has been put towards the improvement of the synthetic efficiency. A three-component reaction involving (triphenylphosphoranylidene)-ketene, also known as Bestmann ylide, as a linchpin was envisaged to provide the dienoate of zampanolide. This is an expanded application of Bestmann ylide and therefore the scope of this linchpin reaction was investigated using simple alcohols and aldehydes. Success in the scoping study fortified this approach, and the coupling of the C3-C8 and C16-C20 fragments of zampanolide proceeded with good yields and stereoselectivity of the E,Z-geometry. The planned late stage connections were tested on model substrates. The side arm attachment by a chiral boron reagent-promoted aza-aldol reaction failed to produce desired product on a simple model. However, model substrates that better account for the functionality of the zampanolide macrocycle are proposed for subsequent studies. In case these also do not succeed, reliable alternative methods described in the literature would be used. Several methods were scanned for the asymmetric alkynylation required for the C15-C16 bond connection. That involving ProPhenol and diethylzinc produced an excellent yield with a model alkyne. Although the stereoselectivity of the alkynylation is yet to be optimized, it was also tested on the full zampanolide fragment generated from the Bestmann ylide reaction. A small amount of the desired product was isolated, establishing 16 out of the 18 carbons of the macrocycle. Formation of a macrocycle is close at hand.</p>
The Application of Spectral Induced Polarization to Determination of Hydraulic Conductivity
Authors:   , Joseph Sheen 
Published: November 2021

<p>Spectral Induced Polarization (SIP) is a geophysical technique that measures the frequency dependence of the electrical conductivity of a material. This thesis is an attempt to investigate the potential of using SIP as a proxy to predict the hydraulic conductivity of New Zealand shallow coastal aquifers. SIP measurements were made on sand samples that are typical of New Zealand coastal aquifers with a custom built impedance spectrometer and sample holder allowing the measurement of a phase difference as small a milliradian. Even though the relaxation time shows a small dependence on pore fluid conductivity, especially at lower pore fluid conductivities, this variation is not serious enough to affect the hydraulic conductivity estimation at the field scale, but could be significant in the investigation of mechanisms that cause polarization in porous media. Measurements on sieved fractions of sand established that there is an excellent correlation between the Cole-Cole relaxation time constant and grain size. The Cole-Cole relaxation time constant is very sensitive to the grain size distribution. Hydraulic conductivity predictions were attempted using various existing models. While the results are encouraging, it looks like there may not be a single universal model to predict hydraulic conductivity using SIP response. When a correction term in the form of a multiplication constant is used, all the tested models seem to make very good predictions. But the constants calculated by fitting to the measured data could be applicable only to the type of materials studied. The dependence of the existing models on quantities like counterion diffusion coefficient, electrical formation factor and porosity makes hydraulic conductivity prediction challenging as these quantities are difficult to measure accurately in a field setting. Nevertheless it is concluded that SIP can be successfully applied to study hydraulic conductivity of New Zealand shallow coastal aquifers.</p>
Robust Multichannel Microphone Beamforming
Authors:   , Anderson Craig 
Published: November 2021

<p>In this thesis, a method for the design and implementation of a spatially robust multichannel microphone beamforming system is presented. A set of spatial correlation functions are derived for 2D and 3D far-field/near-field scenarios based on von Mises(-Fisher), Gaussian, and uniform source location distributions. These correlation functions are used to design spatially robust beamformers and blocking beamformers (nullformers) designed to enhance or suppress a known source, where the target source location is not perfectly known due to either an incorrect location estimate or movement of the target while the beamformers are active. The spatially robust beam/null-formers form signal and interferer plus noise references which can be further processed via a blind source separation algorithm to remove mutual components - removing the interference and sensor noise from the signal path and vice versa. The noise reduction performance of the combined beamforming and blind source separation system approaches that of a perfect information MVDR beamformer under reverberant conditions. It is demonstrated that the proposed algorithm can be implemented on low-power hardware with good performance on hardware similar to current mobile platforms using a four-element microphone array.</p>
Strategising for Resilience
Authors:   , Collins Simon 
Published: November 2021

<p>The term “resilience” is used to describe aspects of businesses that are able to withstand potentially destructive changes in the commercial environment in which they operate. Few studies have investigated the ability that some firms have not just to endure disturbance, but to buck market trends and improve, grow and capitalise on potentially destructive change. This thesis aims to elaborate our existing understanding by contributing empirical knowledge on resilient firms through the examination of the research questions: In the context of the New Zealand Manufacturing sector during the Global Financial Crisis, what contributes to resilience in firms? And, do dynamic capabilities play a role in the resilience of firms? To address the identified gap in the literature, this research analysed the strategies of seventeen New Zealand manufacturing firms during the Global Financial Crisis utilising a qualitative, case study approach. Teece’s (2007) Sensing, Seizing and Transformation dynamic capabilities framework was used to analyse and categorise the firms’ actions. The findings confirm some, but also refute other, pre-existing assumptions and understandings regarding the resilience of firms that are offered by the prevailing literature. This thesis contributes to the field of theory by offering evidence for five propositions that extend the existing resilience literature. These are: first, that the dynamic capabilities framework provides a useful means through which to examine the resilience of firms; second, resilient firms appear to have bundles of dynamic capabilities that provide resilience when present; third, certain capabilities appear to be necessary but not sufficient to create resilience; fourth, capabilities that enable firms to generate additional efficiency and margin appear to be among the most valuable in the creation of resilience, and fifth, capabilities that increase the ‘volume’ of knowledge, and improve the flow of, and access to, knowledge within a firm also appear to be among the most valuable for creating resilience. This examination of the concept of resilience presents new perspectives on why some firms perform better during crises, and how advantage is created and maintained when the environment generates barriers to performance. The results progress resilience as an emerging concept in the strategic management literature in two ways: first, the addition of empirical evidence extends and elaborates current theory regarding what constitutes resilient action in firms; and second, the results highlight the strengths and weaknesses of applying a dynamic capabilities framework to explore strategic management concepts.</p>
Fore to Form
Authors:   , Irvine James 
Published: November 2021

<p>Designing for sports equipment demands excellence. The sheer nature of competition drives athletes to achieve the unachievable. This obsession to improve shifts from the athlete to the designer. The continual development and availability of materials, technologies and processes makes the role of the designer more critical than ever. Though the one real opportunity for innovation lies in how the designer interprets and utilizes these technologies. The question that this research asks is: Can the integration and synchronisation of contemporary digital tools reshape the design process of golf clubs? This investigation predominantly uses an experimental ‘research through design’ approach based on the ideas and methods derived from a number of professional design projects and theoretical design approaches. It argues that the unique combination and application of emerging digital tools can expose a breadth of creative design opportunities for golf club design. Golf clubs, like any other sports equipment must be designed with the underlying, crucial theme of performance improvement. The term performance can be broken down into two aspects; mental (visual) and physical (functional). The criteria for these aspects changes with each individual and demands a new level of customisation. This thesis investigates how this could be achieved and proposes innovative pathways to integrate individual performance data as form defining inputs. It also explores the potential of new digital aesthetics to enhance functional criteria yet preserving critical features of traditional club design.</p>
How did a Music Therapy Student Work with Patients with Dementia Who Were Anxious and/or Agitated?
Authors:   , Chin Hsiau Wung 
Published: November 2021

<p>This research aimed to uncover the strategies and techniques that I used in my work with patients who have dementia and who were anxious and/or agitated. The objective of this study was to examine and learn from my work in order to improve my own, and potentially others’ practice. Secondary analysis of data collected from my music therapy clinical practice in a hospital was used as methodology of study. The analysis found 21 techniques and strategies in my work with patients with dementia who were anxious and/or agitated. They include the use of: (1) Choice; (2) Culture of race (used Maori songs); (3) Direct Engagement; (4) Exploration; (5) Familiar Song; (6) Favourite Songs; (7) Following the Patient; (8) Identity; (9) Imitation and Matching Patients’ Sound Making; (10) Improvisation; (11) Lyrics; (12) Matching Tempo; (13) Object-Musical Instrument (drum); (14) Observation; (15) Physical Interaction; (16) Safety; (17) Space; (18) Tempo; (19) Verbal Interaction; (20) Voice Only; and (21) Volume. These techniques and strategies were developed as I learnt from different articles, books, own experiences as well as supported by my supervisors. Apart from helping patients to reduce their anxiety and/or agitation, maintaining or increasing socialisation, interaction, and general wellbeing of patients seemed important too. Patients are likely to experience less anxiety and/or agitation if their needs are being supported. Findings will be of interest to music therapists and music therapy students working in hospitals or in dementia units in New Zealand. Future research about music therapy work with patients with dementia who are anxious and/or agitated together with their family members is suggested.</p>
How did Music Therapy Contribute to Patients’ Quality of Life in a Hospice and Palliative Care Setting?
Authors:   , Jeong Ah Young 
Published: November 2021

<p>This qualitative research explores how I, as a student music therapist, contributed to patients’ quality of life (QoL) in a hospice and palliative care setting. The study principally focuses on the different music therapy and personal approaches that I used and which seemed to contribute to patients’ QoL. The research was carried out at a hospice in New Zealand and I had sessions with in-patients, day hospice patients and out-patients who were all at varying stages of illness. In this research, secondary analysis of data is used to answer my research question. The data used in this study are the clinical notes and reflexive journals that I gathered while working with 67 patients in a total of 194 sessions. Because QoL is a broad complex concept, I have chosen to use a conceptual framework suggested by music therapy theorist Even Ruud (1997) to put a structure to answering my research question. In thematic analysis, the data were both deductively and inductively analysed. The findings describe music therapy methods, activities, strategies and techniques as well as personal approaches I employed which seemed to promote a sense of affective awareness, agency, belonging and meaning, and coherence of life in patients receiving hospice and palliative care. This study indicated that Ruud’s (1997) framework has particular meaning in the context of hospice palliative care and that the framework could be extended for use in hospice and palliative care. The clinical vignette further provide an exploratory view of the use of music therapy techniques and the quality of relationships, and how both of these contributed to increasing a patient’s QoL. In the discussion, the findings are further explained in the light of other studies. In particular, ‘being with’ patients underpinned all of the musical and personal approaches that I made in working with hospice patients and this is evaluated as an overarching point. Although Ruud’s (1997) idea of QoL was a good fit in my study, the study may suggests how his model could address ways in which affective awareness, agency, belonging and meaning and coherence of life can be supported with various music and personal approaches in the context of music therapy in hospice and palliative care settings.</p>
Stratigraphic Investigations into the Late Miocene-Early Pliocene of the Northern Aorangi Range, Wairarapa
Authors:   , Bertaud-Gandar Tamsin Lesley Beatrice 
Published: November 2021

<p>The late Miocene-early Pliocene geology of the Makara and Ruakokoputuna Valleys in the northern Aorangi Range, south-east Wairarapa, is described in detail. In this area, a succession of Neogene sedimentary units laps onto basement rocks of Cretaceous age, and late Miocene-early Pliocene stratigraphy varies markedly, from bathyal mudstone to high energy coastal environments, over distances of only a few kilometres. Sections were measured at four key locations, which provided reference sites for stratigraphic changes across the study area. Additional detailed field mapping was carried out around Te Ahitaitai Ridge. Depositional environments were interpreted using grain size analysis, macrofossil and foraminiferal assemblages, and palynology. Foraminiferal biostratigraphy was used to constrain the ages of samples. Data obtained by these methods were combined with previous authors’ work to produce a synthesis map, unit correlations, and geological cross-sections of the Makara and Ruakokoputuna Valleys. Late Miocene-early Pliocene geological history is interpreted, and a depositional model is proposed to explain the presence of giant cross-beds in the Clay Creek Limestone. Despite major differences in lithology, the Clay Creek Limestone and Bells Creek Mudstone are shown to be partially laterally equivalent, while the overlying Makara Greensand is shown to be a diachronous unit which ranges from late Miocene (Kapitean) to early Pliocene (Opoitian) in age. This revised stratigraphy raises questions about the current classification of the Palliser and Onoke Groups, and provides new insights into regional geological history. The late Miocene-early Pliocene stratigraphy records a history of regional subsidence, punctuated by episodes of deformation which caused localised uplift and erosion. Previous seismic imaging studies identified one such episode of accelerated crustal shortening and deformation in the Wairarapa region near the Miocene-Pliocene boundary. The Clay Creek Limestone has proven to be a useful marker horizon for constraining the timing and style of deformation, which is interpreted to have occurred prior to 7.2 Ma. Major differences in stratigraphy between the upthrown and downthrown sides of the Mangaopari Fault indicate that the fault was active during this deformational episode. Lithostratigraphic units from the study area have been correlated with units in other parts of the Wairarapa, and these correlations suggest that late Miocene deformation in the region may have propagated from south to north.</p>
Voices in the Reo: Music, Community and Membership in a Rātana Brass Band
Authors:   , Thomas Helen 
Published: November 2021

<p>This study explores the brass bands of the Rātana community. Te Hāhi Rātana (the Rātana Church) is a Māori Christian church based in Aotearoa New Zealand. Between 1932 and 1984 Te Hāhi Rātana established seven brass bands, which today constitute an amateur brass movement with over eighty years of history and several hundred active band members around the country. Rātana brass bands are widely recognised as emblematic of the Rātana Church and associated political movement, yet the bands gain only passing mention in New Zealand music histories and reference works. This thesis presents the first in-depth research about Rātana brass bands. Based on fieldwork conducted over a one-year period, this thesis investigates Rātana brass banding in its community context. Taking a contemporary ethnographic approach, I explore aspects of symbolism, performance and membership, discussing some of the localised meanings and functions of the brass band in the Rātana context. The research presented in the thesis centred around interviews and interactions with members of one of seven Rātana brass bands, whose voices I incorporate into the text. Observations of the band members playing in church and marae contexts form the basis for narrative ethnographic descriptions and interpretive discussion. Drawing on ‘insider notions’ of community and banding, such as the idea of whānau (family), I explore the Rātana community and faith through the brass bands. This study considers some of the ways in which brass band music serves to bind and sustain the musical collectivities of the bands themselves, and the large, geographically spread, spiritual community of which they are a part.</p>
Whakatipu te Pā Harakeke: What are the success factors that normalise the use of Māori language within the whānau?
Authors:   , Muller Maureen 
Published: November 2021

<p>Despite the language revitalisation efforts of kōhanga reo and kura kaupapa Māori, the Māori language is still endangered. The population of highly proficient speakers is dwindling (Statistics New Zealand, 2013). The Māori language is not a language of everyday use across a range of settings (Te Puni Kōkiri, 2008). Language experts have identified intergenerational transmission as the principal means of evaluating the vitality of a language and a key factor in reversing language shift (Fishman, 1991; Spolsky, 2004). This requires re-establishing the Māori language in the home. Although there is evidence of the re-emergence of intergenerational Māori language transmission, this is at the initial stages and is not yet the norm in Māori society. The process of transferring the Māori language from generation to generation depends on decisions by parents to learn and use te reo Māori on an everyday basis in their interactions with their children. Whilst educational institutions can support whānau and communities, they cannot take their place (Fishman, 1991). Community support is vital because a living language requires a pool of active speakers, in particular those who speak the language to younger community members. This thesis examines the efforts of eight whānau who have contributed to the revitalisation of the Māori language by ensuring the language is transmitted intergenerationally to their children. All but one of the parents learnt Māori as a second language in their adult years. Six critical success factors emerged from the findings that can be utilised by language planners and parents wanting to normalise the use of Māori within the whānau. The factors include critical awareness, family language policy, Poureo, support, resources and increasing parental language skills.</p>
Forgotten Integration: An investigation into the integration of Post-Olympic Parks
Authors:   , Warren Marcus 
Published: November 2021

<p>The Summer Olympics occur every four years, capturing the hearts of the world for a nite period of time. During this time, the eyes of the world are set on the host city of whom provide a facility and an infrastructure to accommodate not only the athletes, but the millions of spectators that attend the events and the memorable moments that ensue. While the Summer Olympics and it’s park are focused heavily upon during the games, integration of the site into the host city has become largely forgotten post-Olympics. Ultimately, these once vast locations have now become deserted and dystopia environments within the host city. This thesis addresses the problem of integrating Olympic parks back into the context of the host city by enabling new and diverse spaces. The work of Charles Waldheim, Rem Koolhaas, Alex Wall, Tricia Cusack and Dennis Saunders are employed over five main ideas: wetland urbanism, urban grid, edge extension, fragmented distribution and landscape occupation. Strategic integration of post-Olympic Sites into the existing host city can arguably be done so by creating a multi-programmatic system that adapts and transforms to respond to the dynamic needs of both the Olympic Site and the local urban context of the surrounding city. This thesis considers the task of integrating the Sydney Olympic Park back into Sydney’s context, transforming its current form into a state of integration with the host city that is successful. The thesis produces a design, based on five key design principles which have been created through conclusions of research: wetlands, extension, grid, distribution and occupation.</p>