bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
An analysis of the bass playing of Scott LaFaro as part of the Bill Evans Trio 1959 - 1961
Authors:   , Clark Rowan 
Published: November 2021

<p>Scott LaFaro is widely regarded as a highly interactive bass player, and within the context of the Bill Evans Trio it is commonly believed he was able to cast aside the traditional time keeping role of the jazz bassist. His considerable reputation seems to rest on this understanding, but as this exegesis aims to show, the general understanding of his legacy within jazz history is open to question More broadly, this exegesis highlights the fact that any claims about his legacy are supported by very limited analysis of his techniques and approaches, rendering any absolute portrayal of LaFaro misleading. This exegesis aims to provide a thorough analysis of LaFaro’s performances within the Bill Evans Trio. By analysing a representative sample of his work in that context, I hope to discover common techniques and traits that LaFaro employed on a regular basis and which characterise his unique approach to bass playing within a small jazz ensemble. With the identification of these characteristics, a clearer picture of Scott LaFaro can begin to emerge, as can a more accurate understanding of his legacy.</p>
Hope or hype: A critical assessment of Jatropha curcas for domestic biofuel production in Senegal
Authors:   , Campbell David 
Published: November 2021

<p>This thesis was designed to critically test the suitability of Jatropha curcas as a plant feedstock for liquid biofuel production in Senegal. Many countries around the globe have attempted to incorporate bioenergy into their broader energy supply mix, and liquid biofuels are a key component of a low-carbon economy to replace fossil fuels for transport and electrical generation. The Senegalese government instituted a national biofuel plan between 2007 and 2012 to achieve energy independence through biofuels with an annual production target of more than a billion liters of oil. The plan was intended to reduce problems with energy scarcity and price fluctuations, contribute to local economic growth, and expand agricultural production to degraded or otherwise fallow land. The project was largely unsuccessful, and to date there has been no significant oil production from Jatropha curcas for the national energy supply. This research study was developed to understand the key barriers to the success of this program and mitigate the mistakes of future project developers and policymakers. Preliminary literature reviews and examples from similar endeavors in other countries suggested three main barriers that would be primary determinants of success or failure: the agronomic suitability, and therefore production and yield capacity, of Jatropha curcas to the Senegalese climate; the socio-economic challenges of integrating a broad national plan with smallholder farmers and assuring that the economics are fair for both growers and buyers; and the policy framework developed by government agencies, development organizations, and commercial interests to support an emergent biofuel industry. A mixed-method research design including document reviews, interviews and surveys, and case studies was employed to answer the key questions of why and how the Senegalese biofuel program has failed to achieve its intended goals. Results from this study indicate that Jatropha curcas is unsuitable as a plant feedstock for liquid biofuels in Senegal at this time, due to significant shortcomings in all three key categories examined. The plant is vastly underproductive and requires considerable investment in scientific improvement of yield, pest tolerance and seed oil content; the economic gain is neither adequate to justify smallholder farmers to adopt it as an alternative to existing crops nor for project developers to generate income from fuel on the open market; and supporting policy has not been consistent or favorable enough to carry this emergent industry from nascence to maturity. There are, however, encouraging signs of resilience in two particular case studies that provide insight into how future programs could be structured, most notably in the Sine-Saloum Delta region. Further research should be devoted to specific economic schemes and innovative financing options for community focused biofuel programs.</p>
The door behind the bamboo curtain - Chinese law and policy on refugee status
Authors:   , Song Lili 
Published: November 2021

<p>This thesis systematically considers the law and policy on refugee status in the People’s Republic of China. It considers relevant Chinese legal provisions, applicable bilateral and multinational treaties, as well as China’s refugee policy and practice. It also presents and analyses first-hand information collected through interviews with refugees and aid workers. China is an emerging destination of refugees and other displaced foreigners. Although China is a party to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, Chinese law contains no provisions governing the definition of a refugee or the determination of refugee status. Further, there is a gap between the criteria for asylum in the 1982 Chinese Constitution and the criteria for refugee status in the 1951 Convention. In practice, although the Chinese government has generally allowed the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to process individual applications for refugee status, the Chinese government has practically performed the function of refugee status determination in large-scale influx situations through policy decisions. In these situations, the security, political, and strategic interests of China have often overshadowed China’s commitment under the 1951 Convention. China has been cautious about recognising refugees on its territory. However, the Chinese government has clearly demonstrated a growing interest in addressing the issue of refugee recognition within a more formalised framework. In conclusion, this thesis recommends that China adopt a legal refugee definition in line with the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and develop a predictable and fair national RSD mechanism.</p>
Message threads: Exploring interpersonal communication through smartphones: how we weave our lives in a hypermediated world
Authors:   , Verkerk Jayn 
Published: November 2021

<p>This thesis is about human behaviour as it relates to computer mediated communication. Smartphones are an accepted part of everyday life. We use them to wake us up in the morning, we play games on them while we wait for the bus, and take photos with them. Smartphones also enable communication. We can phone while in transit, coordinate meeting up with friends, share our lives on social networking sites, and check in on email and text throughout the day. How does this technology affect how we interact? In public situations we retain contact online, but this multitasking affects how we relate to others socially. Smartphone texting allows us to keep in constant touch with friends and family, though interaction is fragmented and asynchronous. As we are always available, and never alone, these open lines of communication also affect how we see ourselves. In choosing the smartphone I critically question the attention and priority given to these devices in daily life. Mobile phones have changed the soundscape in public places: dialtones, beeps and people speaking in public on their phones is common. Users interact continually with their phones, store substantial data on them, communicate through, and consequently develop a bond to, the physical object. What could these ubiquitous portable computers tell us if, instead of being passive agents in a dependent relationship of user and phone, they actively listened, or could reflect back the nature of their role in our lives?</p>
He mana taonga, he mana tangata: Māori taonga and the politics of Māori tribal identity and development
Authors:   , Hakiwai Arapata Tamati 
Published: November 2021

<p>In museum studies, museums have been examined in terms of their historical role in collecting and exhibiting the culture of colonized peoples, and their contemporary participation in identity politics, repatriation and relationships with source communities, but their role in indigenous tribal development has never been the focus of a major study. This thesis sets out to examine this phenomenon and thereby address a major gap in the literature. In New Zealand, Māori tribes are actively pursuing social, cultural and economic development initiatives as an expression of their mana motuhake or self-determination. The development ethos that is guiding many of these tribes has at its core the wellbeing of their people and the importance of their culture and tribal identity to social and economic development. The research into this extraordinary politics of Māori tribal identity and development seeks to understand the role Māori taonga play both historically and within contemporary Māori communities as part of tribal self-determination and the advancement of Māori development and identity. The questions framing the study include the following: What is the nature of Māori taonga and what is their relationship with the politics of Māori tribal identity and development? What value are museums, collections of taonga or other cultural heritage in the process of iwi development which is taking place during the Waitangi claims process and Post Settlement phase? Using a research methodology that incorporates a Kaupapa Māori paradigm, as well as methodologies used in museum studies and related fields, this research investigates the experiences of a number of Māori tribes with regard to their tribal taonga and cultural heritage projects including tribal exhibitions. Major case studies include Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāti Porou along with an examination of secondary sources such, as tribal websites, tribal visions and strategic plans, and other published materials. The research findings demonstrate that taonga are important and enduring symbols of Māori identity, which are often used in the assertion and promotion of tribal self-determination and development. Māori tribal values such as mana, whakapapa, manaakitanga, tikanga, kōrero, whanaungatanga and kaitiakitanga along with taonga related kupu (words) shape and influence many tribal development strategies. The literature and interviews from tribal members confirm the enduring significance of taonga to whānau, hapū and iwi. The research demonstrates the role taonga play in sustaining the inter-generational continuity of tribal culture and the ‘connectedness’ of taonga to the wider culture, including the pivotal role they play in informing and shaping tribal development futures.</p>
Do New Zealand public library workers self-censor controversial library materials? - An exploration of their knowledge and views on the promotion of intellectual freedom in the library
Authors:   , Nieuwoudt Juanita 
Published: November 2021

<p>The first objective of this study is to investigate how much knowledge public library workers have of the role of libraries in upholding intellectual freedom. Secondly, to establish whether, and for what reasons library workers would opt to self-censor in the face of controversial library materials. Lastly, to determine whether library workers require further information and training in order to achieve the professional anti-censorship standards as promoted by LIANZA. I used a qualitative methodology to collect data and conducted nine interviews with library workers from public libraries situated in the central North Island. They were asked to share their views on twelve books - selected for their controversial content - to determine which, if any, self-censorship actions they would take in respect of each individual title. They were asked to give reasons for self-censorship actions. They were also asked to share their knowledge of intellectual freedom in libraries. The key findings for the first objective were that all the participants were familiar with the concept of intellectual freedom in libraries, but none of them were aware of the content of the LIANZA statement or their own library’s policy. Almost all the participants relied heavily on their management for information in this regard, even if the information is conveyed informally. Secondly, the participants often selected self-censorship actions, with the main reasons being a personal distaste of the item or fear of offending library users. Lastly almost all the participants said that they felt sufficiently informed on intellectual freedom in libraries and required no further training.</p>
Developing the New Zealand Soundmap: An exploration of soundmap practice, site listening, locative media and the sound environment
Authors:   , Keys Richard Benjamin 
Published: November 2021

<p>This text is an exegesis written in accompaniment to the development of the New Zealand Soundmap. The origin and development of soundmap practice and the emergence and development of related environmental sound practices are detailed. The exegesis concludes with an exposition of the development of the New Zealand Soundmap itself. Soundmap practice emerged from the sonic explorations of the World Soundscape Project, who coming out of Simon Fraser University of Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, pioneered the first soundmaps in the early 1970’s. From its origins soundmap practice has spread and developed into its current form as a new media practice. This thesis deals with the development of a regional web-based soundmap for New Zealand. Various discursive strains from media studies, sonic arts, and phenomenological philosophy are woven together to explain the impetus, and value of soundmap practice and related environmental sound practices such as soundwalks and site-listening. The thesis ends with a critical analysis of successes and failures of the project towards its stated goal: to facilitate awareness of an engagement with the local sound environment.</p>
News & the politics of satire: TV3's 7 Days
Authors:   , Robêrt Elyse Katherine 
Published: November 2021

<p>As New Zealand’s favoured satirical television show 7 Days reconstitutes the week’s current affairs and offers up a valuable counter narrative to traditional news media through its remixing of the conventions of news and the panel quiz show. Whilst many academics have studied satirical television in the US and UK contexts very little attention has been paid to the collection of New Zealand television satire and local audiences’ preference for satire over other local comedy forms. In comparing the three television systems several characteristics emerge as unique to 7 Days and New Zealand’s satiric tradition; an affinity for self-deprecating humour, the targeting of hubris, and the assailing of tall poppy syndrome; the hailing and sustenance of public feeling, and thereby the nourishment of nationalism and a communal ‘Kiwi’ identity. Television satire dealing in news and review is a well-established practice but is often referred to in academia and popular culture as simply a ‘genre’ when it rather operates as somewhere between a discourse and a genre. Television satire is born of a strong literary tradition but literary criticisms fail to adequately address the functions of contemporary satire; its affective powers, the limits of its uptake, and the ideological footing of its critiques. Examples from US and UK television are considered as precursors to New Zealand satire, and a close analysis of 7 Days reveals that it is not only the conventions of genre that limit satire’s incarnations but also an unstable broadcasting history and an uncertain future.</p>
Tensional processes and perception of form in three selected compositions by Kaija Saariaho
Authors:   , Jenkins Brad 
Published: November 2021

<p>The primary feature that gives ‘spectral music’ its stylistic uniqueness within the field of art music is the blurring of the traditionally distinct roles of harmony and timbre, through the use of chords derived from the naturally occurring overtones of instrumental timbre (often referred to as timbre chords). Development of these chords typically occurs very gradually, meaning it is often difficult to perceive the overall form of a spectral work based on the progression through its constituent timbre chords. This approach contrasts with the traditional reliance in both art music and other Western music styles on perceivable pitch-based development as a primary means of providing musical tension and form. Composers of spectral music must rely on the manipulation and development of other musical parameters to provide sufficient interest through ‘foreground ornamentation’ while its underlying harmonic/timbral macrostructure unfolds beneath. This analysis shows how key musical parameters are manipulated over time to provide tension and resolution (or, in Wallace Berry’s terminology, ‘progressive and recessive processes’ ¹ ), giving spectral works a perceivable, dynamic form. Parameters examined include rate of harmonic change, dynamics, spectral/registral spread, rhythmic activity, sound/noise, spectral density and harmonicity/inharmonicity (the latter two providing a spectral analogue to conventional notions of dissonance). Particular focus is placed on the rate of harmonic change in the selected works and changes in the harmonicity/inharmonicity (through spectral distortion) of harmonic material that give spectral music its distinctive harmonic character. The way in which these ‘parameter curves’ intersect with one another is also examined. For this study, three works by Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho are analysed. The works cover a range of forces and display varying degrees of overtly ‘spectral’ influence: Nymphéa (1987) for string quartet and electronics, Du Cristal (1990) for orchestra, and Cendres (1998) for piano, cello and flute. Analysis of the background levels of parametric change reveal how Saariaho manages to maintain microstructural interest in her spectral works while adhering to an underlying macrostructural plan. Findings from this analysis will also be discussed in relation to how they have influenced my own creative output for my MMA portfolio.</p>
Seeing Eye to Eye? The presentation and understanding of interpretation at a New Zealand heritage site
Authors:   , Caddigan Elise 
Published: November 2021

<p>Old St Paul’s is an iconic New Zealand heritage site managed by Heritage New Zealand.¹ It is a site that tells both national and local stories and draws a wide range of international and domestic visitors. Key recommendations made by the New Zealand Ministry of Tourism in their 2010 and 2015 strategies were that the country is no longer automatically perceived as ‘authentic’² by international visitors, and that heritage in New Zealand should be striving to deliver engaging, educational and rich cultural and social experiences. Using Old St. Paul’s as a case study, this research asks if New Zealand heritage sites are providing exhibitions, interpretation and stories that successfully communicate the site management’s presentation goals to visitors. This relationship is evaluated through the exhibitions and interpretation used by site management, and compared with visitor understanding and their experience of these. This research uses interviews and visitor surveys to gauge the management/visitor relationship at Old St. Paul’s. An in-depth interview with the site’s manager is analysed and presented comparatively against the results gained from conducting visitor surveys. This research provides an investigation into contemporary heritage practice in New Zealand and offers a pilot study for future development in the heritage sector. Furthermore, it is suggested that heritage sites could adopt similar summative practices to those used in the museum sector in order to monitor visitor satisfaction and the perception of quality.</p>
Exploring the role Social Media plays in the student learning experience of 2014 university life in NZ
Authors:   , Panekham Aloundeth 
Published: November 2021

<p>The purpose of this study is to explore how university students and lecturers use social media to support their learning and particularly to understand how such emerging technologies usage impacts student learning experience and class communication. In this research, social media tools under consideration are social networking sites, media sharing sites, creation and publishing tools, social bookmarking, and the Internet messaging. This research employed purposive selection to obtain the quality of data from semi-structured interviews of twelve students and four lecturers from the Victoria University of Wellington who are known to have experience of using social media tools in their courses. The study identified two major usages of social media to support learning activities, five key usage activities for students and four major usage activities for lecturers. Students’ choices and usages of social media applications were more diverse compared to the lecturers. The usages and preferences of students from different disciplines were varied. Moreover, there were numbers of social media interactions and communication among the students and their peers. Even though the interaction and communication between students and lecturers through social media was minimum due to the limited uses of social media for formal learning in class by lecturers and students, the lecturers and students expressed that the usage of social media helped improve class communication. Students’ engagement was only area that affected by social media choices and communication using social media by lecturers. The choices and communication by students would affect greater and wider aspects of student learning experience such as learning ability, communication and collaboration, problem solving, access to information, and productivity. Even though the usage of social media to support learning by students and lecturers did not impact student learning experience equally, the findings suggest that it helps facilitate learning activities, benefit students, and enhance the student learning experience to some extent.</p>