title: Improvement of mechanical performance of industrial hemp fibre reinforced polylactide biocomposites

authors: Sawpan, Moyeenuddin Ahmad

subjects: polymer–matrix composites

abstract: In this work, mechanical properties of chemically treated random short fibre and aligned long hemp fibre reinforced PLA composites were investigated over a range of fibre content (0–40 wt.%). It was found that tensile strength, Young’s modulus and impact strength of short hemp fibre reinforced PLA composites increased with increased fibre content. Alkali and silane fibre treatments were found to improve tensile and impact properties which appears to be due to good fibre/matrix adhesion and increased matrix crystallinity. A 30 wt.% alkali treated fibre reinforced PLA composite (PLA/ALK) with a tensile strength of 75.5 MPa, Young’s modulus of 8.18 GPa and impact strength of 2.64 kJ/m2 was found to be the best. However, plane-strain fracture toughness and strain energy release rate decreased with increased fibre content. The mechanical properties of the PLA/ALK composites were increased further due to alignment of long fibres.

text: Improvement of mechanical performance of industrial hemp fibre reinforced polylactide biocomposites In this work, mechanical properties of chemically treated random short fibre and aligned long hemp fibre reinforced PLA composites were investigated over a range of fibre content (0–40 wt.%). It was found that tensile strength, Young’s modulus and impact strength of short hemp fibre reinforced PLA composites increased with increased fibre content. Alkali and silane fibre treatments were found to improve tensile and impact properties which appears to be due to good fibre/matrix adhesion and increased matrix crystallinity. A 30 wt.% alkali treated fibre reinforced PLA composite (PLA/ALK) with a tensile strength of 75.5 MPa, Young’s modulus of 8.18 GPa and impact strength of 2.64 kJ/m2 was found to be the best. However, plane-strain fracture toughness and strain energy release rate decreased with increased fibre content. The mechanical properties of the PLA/ALK composites were increased further due to alignment of long fibres.

year: 2011-03

title: Developing a motor analogy to teach children how to tackle safely in rugby union

authors: Povey, Kayla

subjects: motor learning

abstract: Implicit motor learning strategies have been shown to have benefits when learning a new skill, because they encourage users to accumulate little to no declarative knowledge about the motor task. The aim of this thesis was to investigate whether a specific implicit motor learning approach, learning by analogy, could help children perform safer rugby tackles and potentially reduce the risk of concussions.  
Chapter One is a review of current literature and discusses concussions, concussions in rugby, various implicit motor learning theories, and current research.
 Chapter Two represents the process in which focus groups were held with small groups of people who all had varying experience of rugby tackling. The focus groups were designed to supply us with knowledge, common ideas and themes, and the fundamentals of a safe rugby tackling, to then help us develop an analogy or analogies that encompassed most of what defines a safe rugby tackle. The first challenge was to identify the important fundamentals in a rugby tackle. From the focus group, the fundamentals commonly mentioned were ‘same foot same shoulder’, ‘eyes focused upward’, ‘head to the side’, ‘cheek to cheek’, and ‘strong wrap’. Animals were a common theme mentioned among all groups, highlighting the importance of the use of animals when developing analogies for children. Based on this information, we were able to come up with two analogies “tackle like a raging bull” (analogy 1) and “tackle like an angry bear hugging a pillow” (analogy 2).
Chapter Three details a pilot study that was conducted on 11-year-old rugby playing children. The pilot study was designed to test the two analogies that were developed in Chapter Two. All participants underwent two consecutive trials in a baseline control condition without receiving any instructions. Subsequently, half of the participants engaged in two trials using analogy 1, while the other group conducted two trials using analogy 2. The groups then swapped and completed the remaining analogy condition. 
The baseline control condition had the highest score across most of the tackling fundamentals, albeit not significantly different from either analogy 1 or analogy 2. Analogy 2 closely mirrored the control condition in most aspects. Notably, the 'dip' (cheek to cheek) aspect in analogy 2 scored marginally lower than the control, while 'same foot same shoulder' obtained a diminished score. However, analogy 2 exhibited superior performance in the wrapping technique, displaying similarities in other aspects as well. Conversely, the 'same foot same shoulder' fundamental received relatively low scores across all conditions.
This informs us that more research is required to obtain conclusive data, with a larger participant group, stronger analysis methods, addressing the impracticality of specific fundamentals when tackling a bag versus a human, and developing analogy 2 “tackle like an angry bear hugging a pillow” further to include the aspects it scored low on.

text: Developing a motor analogy to teach children how to tackle safely in rugby union Implicit motor learning strategies have been shown to have benefits when learning a new skill, because they encourage users to accumulate little to no declarative knowledge about the motor task. The aim of this thesis was to investigate whether a specific implicit motor learning approach, learning by analogy, could help children perform safer rugby tackles and potentially reduce the risk of concussions.  
Chapter One is a review of current literature and discusses concussions, concussions in rugby, various implicit motor learning theories, and current research.
 Chapter Two represents the process in which focus groups were held with small groups of people who all had varying experience of rugby tackling. The focus groups were designed to supply us with knowledge, common ideas and themes, and the fundamentals of a safe rugby tackling, to then help us develop an analogy or analogies that encompassed most of what defines a safe rugby tackle. The first challenge was to identify the important fundamentals in a rugby tackle. From the focus group, the fundamentals commonly mentioned were ‘same foot same shoulder’, ‘eyes focused upward’, ‘head to the side’, ‘cheek to cheek’, and ‘strong wrap’. Animals were a common theme mentioned among all groups, highlighting the importance of the use of animals when developing analogies for children. Based on this information, we were able to come up with two analogies “tackle like a raging bull” (analogy 1) and “tackle like an angry bear hugging a pillow” (analogy 2).
Chapter Three details a pilot study that was conducted on 11-year-old rugby playing children. The pilot study was designed to test the two analogies that were developed in Chapter Two. All participants underwent two consecutive trials in a baseline control condition without receiving any instructions. Subsequently, half of the participants engaged in two trials using analogy 1, while the other group conducted two trials using analogy 2. The groups then swapped and completed the remaining analogy condition. 
The baseline control condition had the highest score across most of the tackling fundamentals, albeit not significantly different from either analogy 1 or analogy 2. Analogy 2 closely mirrored the control condition in most aspects. Notably, the 'dip' (cheek to cheek) aspect in analogy 2 scored marginally lower than the control, while 'same foot same shoulder' obtained a diminished score. However, analogy 2 exhibited superior performance in the wrapping technique, displaying similarities in other aspects as well. Conversely, the 'same foot same shoulder' fundamental received relatively low scores across all conditions.
This informs us that more research is required to obtain conclusive data, with a larger participant group, stronger analysis methods, addressing the impracticality of specific fundamentals when tackling a bag versus a human, and developing analogy 2 “tackle like an angry bear hugging a pillow” further to include the aspects it scored low on.

year: 2023

title: Kōtuku Kai Whakaata

authors: Jacob, Casey-Anne Roimata-Aroha

subjects: Tumuakitanga

abstract: He iwi a Ngāti Hauā nō roto o Tainui waka, ā, ko tōna rohenga kei te rāwhiti o te rohe o Waikato. Mai anō ka mau tonu a Ngāti Hauā ki tōna arikitanga, nō runga i te whakapapa kia kawea te iwi kia puritia e Ngāti Hauā tōna arikitanga me tōna mana motuhake. Ko tā tēnei tuhikura, ko te whakatōmene i te kukuwhatanga o te rangatiratanga o Ngāti Hauā mā ngā pūrākau o ngā ariki tekau, nāna anō i pīkau i te arikitanga o Ngāti Hauā. Ka puritia e rātou te moemoeā o tō rātou tupuna a Tarapīpipi, te Pou whakawahi Kīngi tuatahi. Nā te moemoeā o ngā ariki, o ngā iwi o taua wā ka tū mai a Tarapīpipi ki te whakapou i te Kīngi tuatahi i te tau 1858. Hei whakapūaho i te whakatairitenga o te ao kōhatu o te Māori me te nohonga o te Pākehā ki Aotearoa nei, ka tīmata tēnei rangahau ki te pāpā o Tarapīpipi, ki a Te Waharoa. Ka whakatakina ai i ngā ariki o Ngāti Hauā, ngā uri tākerekere o Te Waharoa. Ko ia pūrākau o tēnā Tumuaki, o tēnā Tumuaki he tirohanga ki ngā piki me ngā heke o ia reanga mai i te tāmitanga o te Māori, ā, he manatu ki te mana o te tino rangatiratanga me kotahitanga. Ko te pakirehua matua o te rangahau e whakautua ai e tēnei tuhikura, koia tēnei: He aha te Tumuakitanga? Ko tāna urupounamu hāpai, he aha ngā pūrākau o tēnā ariki, o tēnā Tumuaki o Ngāti Hauā?

Ngāti Hauā is an iwi (tribe) of the Waikato-Tainui confederation based in the eastern Waikato area. For over 200 years, Ngāti Hauā has maintained the role of ariki, based on whakapapa, to lead the iwi into prosperity. This thesis seeks to explore the evolution of the leadership of Ngāti Hauā through the pūrākau of eleven of its ariki who have carried the chieftainship of Ngāti Hauā since the 19th century. They have all maintained the vision of their ancestor Tarapīpipi, the inaugural Kingmaker. A collective vision of unity, prosperity, and peace by ariki and iwi of that time, culminated in Tarapīpipi crowning the first Māori monarch in 1858. To elucidate the juxtaposition of an ancient Māori world and the settlement of Pākehā in Aotearoa, this research starts with the father of Tarapīpipi, Te Waharoa. It then traces each consecutive ariki of Ngāti Hauā who all are direct descendants of Te Waharoa, through the medium of pūrākau (story). Each story is an insight into the struggles and triumphs of each generation since the colonisation of Aotearoa and is a powerful reminder of self-determination and unity. The principal question this thesis aims to answer is: What is the Tumuakitanga? It’s subsidiary question is, what are the stories of each paramount chief of Ngāti Hauā?

text: Kōtuku Kai Whakaata He iwi a Ngāti Hauā nō roto o Tainui waka, ā, ko tōna rohenga kei te rāwhiti o te rohe o Waikato. Mai anō ka mau tonu a Ngāti Hauā ki tōna arikitanga, nō runga i te whakapapa kia kawea te iwi kia puritia e Ngāti Hauā tōna arikitanga me tōna mana motuhake. Ko tā tēnei tuhikura, ko te whakatōmene i te kukuwhatanga o te rangatiratanga o Ngāti Hauā mā ngā pūrākau o ngā ariki tekau, nāna anō i pīkau i te arikitanga o Ngāti Hauā. Ka puritia e rātou te moemoeā o tō rātou tupuna a Tarapīpipi, te Pou whakawahi Kīngi tuatahi. Nā te moemoeā o ngā ariki, o ngā iwi o taua wā ka tū mai a Tarapīpipi ki te whakapou i te Kīngi tuatahi i te tau 1858. Hei whakapūaho i te whakatairitenga o te ao kōhatu o te Māori me te nohonga o te Pākehā ki Aotearoa nei, ka tīmata tēnei rangahau ki te pāpā o Tarapīpipi, ki a Te Waharoa. Ka whakatakina ai i ngā ariki o Ngāti Hauā, ngā uri tākerekere o Te Waharoa. Ko ia pūrākau o tēnā Tumuaki, o tēnā Tumuaki he tirohanga ki ngā piki me ngā heke o ia reanga mai i te tāmitanga o te Māori, ā, he manatu ki te mana o te tino rangatiratanga me kotahitanga. Ko te pakirehua matua o te rangahau e whakautua ai e tēnei tuhikura, koia tēnei: He aha te Tumuakitanga? Ko tāna urupounamu hāpai, he aha ngā pūrākau o tēnā ariki, o tēnā Tumuaki o Ngāti Hauā?

Ngāti Hauā is an iwi (tribe) of the Waikato-Tainui confederation based in the eastern Waikato area. For over 200 years, Ngāti Hauā has maintained the role of ariki, based on whakapapa, to lead the iwi into prosperity. This thesis seeks to explore the evolution of the leadership of Ngāti Hauā through the pūrākau of eleven of its ariki who have carried the chieftainship of Ngāti Hauā since the 19th century. They have all maintained the vision of their ancestor Tarapīpipi, the inaugural Kingmaker. A collective vision of unity, prosperity, and peace by ariki and iwi of that time, culminated in Tarapīpipi crowning the first Māori monarch in 1858. To elucidate the juxtaposition of an ancient Māori world and the settlement of Pākehā in Aotearoa, this research starts with the father of Tarapīpipi, Te Waharoa. It then traces each consecutive ariki of Ngāti Hauā who all are direct descendants of Te Waharoa, through the medium of pūrākau (story). Each story is an insight into the struggles and triumphs of each generation since the colonisation of Aotearoa and is a powerful reminder of self-determination and unity. The principal question this thesis aims to answer is: What is the Tumuakitanga? It’s subsidiary question is, what are the stories of each paramount chief of Ngāti Hauā?

year: 2023