title: Hydrodynamic modelling of proposed expansion of the Port of Tauranga shipping channels and wharves

authors: Mullarney, Julia C.

abstract: The impact of the Stella Development Plan, specifically proposed wharf, reclamation and channel extensions, on the hydrodynamics of Tauranga Harbour were investigated using a depth-averaged barotropic numerical model, Delft3D. The model was calibrated and validated using field observations collected in March 2017 after the completion of capital dredging in 2016. The model calibration and validation scores for water level were consistently excellent. Calibration and validation scores for velocity were mostly excellent, but some locations outside the region of interest had lower scores; but are not considered to impact on the reported results. Water elevation changes resulting from the proposed extensions were less than the calibration and validation errors, and indicate negligible impact on tidal elevation and timing. The main impact of the extensions was a large decrease in flow speed within the deepened channel in Stella Passage. No signficant changes were evident beyond the extent of the channel extension, although there were some slight changes in flow direction associated with the abrupt depth transition into the new dredged channel. Comparison between the harbour hydrodynamics before and after the 2015/2016 capital dredging indicated that previous studies that investigated potential impacts of port and marina developments adjacent to Stella Passage will still be valid beyond the immediate area of wharf and channel extension.

text: Hydrodynamic modelling of proposed expansion of the Port of Tauranga shipping channels and wharves The impact of the Stella Development Plan, specifically proposed wharf, reclamation and channel extensions, on the hydrodynamics of Tauranga Harbour were investigated using a depth-averaged barotropic numerical model, Delft3D. The model was calibrated and validated using field observations collected in March 2017 after the completion of capital dredging in 2016. The model calibration and validation scores for water level were consistently excellent. Calibration and validation scores for velocity were mostly excellent, but some locations outside the region of interest had lower scores; but are not considered to impact on the reported results. Water elevation changes resulting from the proposed extensions were less than the calibration and validation errors, and indicate negligible impact on tidal elevation and timing. The main impact of the extensions was a large decrease in flow speed within the deepened channel in Stella Passage. No signficant changes were evident beyond the extent of the channel extension, although there were some slight changes in flow direction associated with the abrupt depth transition into the new dredged channel. Comparison between the harbour hydrodynamics before and after the 2015/2016 capital dredging indicated that previous studies that investigated potential impacts of port and marina developments adjacent to Stella Passage will still be valid beyond the immediate area of wharf and channel extension.

year: 2018

title: Menstrual Tracking, Fitness Tracking and Body Work: Digital Tracking Tools and Their Use in Optimising Health, Beauty, Wellness and the Aesthetic Self

authors: Friedlander, Anna

abstract: Digital self-tracking tools can be part of body work to measure, monitor, and optimise progress towards idealised versions of the self. Fitness and calorie trackers are obvious examples but menstrual tracking apps, which can track a large range of bodily ‘symptoms’, can also be part of body work. In this article, I present accounts of young people’s menstrual and fitness tracking experiences from existing literature, illustrating how both types of trackers can function as part of their users’ body work. I interweave these stories with an autoethnographic account of my own embodied experiences with and through menstrual and fitness tracking apps. I explore the ways in which health, beauty, and wellness can become enmeshed in self-tracking practices; how emotions, stress, and sleep can become personal problems to solve; how tracking tools can make body work feel more ‘real’; and the mutual but asymmetrical shaping of digital tracking tools and their users. Though there is an existing body of work on young people’s experiences of digital self-tracking tools more generally (particularly health and fitness tracking tools), young people’s use of menstrual tracking apps is a relatively understudied phenomenon to date. The themes identified in this article point towards possible avenues for future research.

text: Menstrual Tracking, Fitness Tracking and Body Work: Digital Tracking Tools and Their Use in Optimising Health, Beauty, Wellness and the Aesthetic Self Digital self-tracking tools can be part of body work to measure, monitor, and optimise progress towards idealised versions of the self. Fitness and calorie trackers are obvious examples but menstrual tracking apps, which can track a large range of bodily ‘symptoms’, can also be part of body work. In this article, I present accounts of young people’s menstrual and fitness tracking experiences from existing literature, illustrating how both types of trackers can function as part of their users’ body work. I interweave these stories with an autoethnographic account of my own embodied experiences with and through menstrual and fitness tracking apps. I explore the ways in which health, beauty, and wellness can become enmeshed in self-tracking practices; how emotions, stress, and sleep can become personal problems to solve; how tracking tools can make body work feel more ‘real’; and the mutual but asymmetrical shaping of digital tracking tools and their users. Though there is an existing body of work on young people’s experiences of digital self-tracking tools more generally (particularly health and fitness tracking tools), young people’s use of menstrual tracking apps is a relatively understudied phenomenon to date. The themes identified in this article point towards possible avenues for future research.

year: 2023-05-18

title: “Landlords wouldn’t give my application a second look.” Discrimination exacerbates inequalities in access to private rental housing

authors: Terruhn, Jessica

abstract: This report and the key insights are based on findings from a housing survey that was conducted with 800 residents in neighbourhoods in Auckland, Hamilton and Christchurch. 
• Perceptions of unfairness in Aotearoa’s housing sector are widespread. Renters, Māori, younger people and low-income groups as well as residents in neighbourhoods with high levels of housing deprivation are most likely to think that people are treated unfairly when trying to rent or buy a home in Aotearoa. 
• Nearly one in three respondents reported having experienced discrimination when trying to rent or buy a home in Aotearoa. Renters, Māori, younger people and low-income groups as well as residents in neighbourhoods with high levels of housing deprivation are most likely to report experiences of discrimination. 
• Advantage and disadvantage in securing a home are determined by a combination of interlocking factors, including income and employment status, age, family status, and race/ethnicity or skin colour. These patterns suggest widespread experiences of potentially unlawful housing discrimination. 
• People strategically try to avoid and mitigate discrimination. Expectations of being discriminated against and of being advantaged influence where and how home seekers search for housing. This finding signals that experiences of rejection play a role in constraining people’s housing choices. 
• The survey findings suggest that discrimination, as part of tenant selection, contributes to housing precarity and inequalities in access to rental housing. Therefore, this research points to an urgent need to address housing discrimination, especially in the context of high levels of residential mobility among renters and intense competition for rental properties.

text: “Landlords wouldn’t give my application a second look.” Discrimination exacerbates inequalities in access to private rental housing This report and the key insights are based on findings from a housing survey that was conducted with 800 residents in neighbourhoods in Auckland, Hamilton and Christchurch. 
• Perceptions of unfairness in Aotearoa’s housing sector are widespread. Renters, Māori, younger people and low-income groups as well as residents in neighbourhoods with high levels of housing deprivation are most likely to think that people are treated unfairly when trying to rent or buy a home in Aotearoa. 
• Nearly one in three respondents reported having experienced discrimination when trying to rent or buy a home in Aotearoa. Renters, Māori, younger people and low-income groups as well as residents in neighbourhoods with high levels of housing deprivation are most likely to report experiences of discrimination. 
• Advantage and disadvantage in securing a home are determined by a combination of interlocking factors, including income and employment status, age, family status, and race/ethnicity or skin colour. These patterns suggest widespread experiences of potentially unlawful housing discrimination. 
• People strategically try to avoid and mitigate discrimination. Expectations of being discriminated against and of being advantaged influence where and how home seekers search for housing. This finding signals that experiences of rejection play a role in constraining people’s housing choices. 
• The survey findings suggest that discrimination, as part of tenant selection, contributes to housing precarity and inequalities in access to rental housing. Therefore, this research points to an urgent need to address housing discrimination, especially in the context of high levels of residential mobility among renters and intense competition for rental properties.

year: 2024-08