11319 research outputs found
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New Zealand Deprivation Index 2018 - TA53: Marlborough District
No full textFor further information about data sources, interpretation of the graphs, and cautions, please see the separate Introduction Chapter
All data relating to the 2018 census is provided by Stats NZ, https://www.stats.govt.nz/
New Zealand Deprivation Index 2018 - TA46: Lower Hutt City
No full textFor further information about data sources, interpretation of the graphs, and cautions, please see the separate Introduction Chapter
All data relating to the 2018 census is provided by Stats NZ, https://www.stats.govt.nz/
Quantifying habitat selection and foraging ecology of broadnose sevengill sharks (Notorynchus cepedianus) in southern New Zealand
Full text linkInvestigating distribution of apex predators is essential for understanding their habitat requirements and can provide insights into community ecology. The aim of the present study was to quantify the habitat selection and foraging ecology of broadnose sevengill sharks (Notorynchus cepedianus) in southern New Zealand. Baited remote underwater videos (BRUVs) were deployed during seven sampling trips in Te Whaka ā Te Wera (Paterson Inlet), Rakiura (Stewart Island) between February 2018 and October 2019. The number of unique individual sharks observed per deployment was used as an index of relative abundance. Habitat data hypothesised to influence shark distribution were gathered in situ and related to relative shark abundances in a multi-model inference framework using a suite of Poisson generalised additive models. Based on minimum Akaike Information Criteria (AIC), the best fitting model (deviance explained = 61%, r2 = 0.72) included positive associations with (i) water temperature, (ii) distance from the seaward entrance to the inlet, (iii) prey abundance, and (iv) coarse sediment type, and negative associations with (v) ambient light, (vi) depth, and (vii) water visibility. These results corroborate previous findings of strong seasonal patterns in abundance of sevengill sharks, with higher densities in warmer summer months, and lower densities in cooler winter months in California, Argentina, Tasmania, Washington and New Zealand.
The food web of sevengill sharks was analysed using stable isotope analysis. Isotopic ratios of carbon and nitrogen were measured from white muscle tissue of nine bycaught specimens, and compared to potential prey and primary producers from southern New Zealand. Mean proportion of organic matter derived from coastal macroalgae (65%) was significantly higher than mean proportion of organic matter derived from pelagic suspended particulate organic matter (SPOM; 35%), suggesting a preference for food webs linked to coastal macroalgal dominated habitats. Females held significantly higher proportions of macroalgae-derived carbon (67%) than male sharks (61%), indicating the potential residence in coastal habitats by females, corroborating studies from Tasmania, Washington and California. Trophic level estimates based on nitrogen isotopes ranged from trophic levels 3.5 – 4 (mean = 3.9), similar to previously identified high trophic levels for this species. No significant geographic or ontogenetic variability was identified using stable isotope analysis.
These results suggest a combination of multiple abiotic and biotic variables influence distributions of broadnose sevengill sharks in southern New Zealand. Therefore, future management should prioritise an ecosystem-based approach, protecting potential prey species and different habitats important for these sharks. The dominant contribution of macroalgae-derived organic matter in broadnose sevengill shark diets reiterates their likely important interaction with the wider coastal communities they inhabit in southern New Zealand. These findings will be useful for predicting the distribution and critical habitats of broadnose sevengill sharks elsewhere, in order to identify and prioritise potential areas for management and conservation priority
‘A Lightbulb in the Darkness’ - How NGO Social Workers Conceptualise the Strengths Perspective in Child Welfare.
Full text linkThe Strengths perspective has a long history within social work policy and practice (Saleebey, 1996). Evolving overtime, this capacity focused approach to supporting families make change has continued to be at the forefront of interventions, particularly in the challenging area of child welfare social work (Turnell & Edwards, 1997; Cousins, 2015; O’Neil, 2005; Kemp et al, 2013). The principles of the Strengths perspective; particularly around the sharing of power, collaboration and inclusion, respect and clients as experts in their own lives can seem at odds with statutory responses to child welfare concerns (Ward, 2015; Saleebey, 1996; O’Neil, 2005).
Additional to this, child welfare social work in Aotearoa New Zealand is facing challenging times (University of Otago, 2017). There have been numerous reviews and restructuring to the statutory organisation, currently Oranga Tamariki, responsible for managing child welfare concerns, attempting to improve outcomes for at risk children and families (Atwool, 2019). The most recent changes in 2017 indicated more of a shift from state responsibility to community responsibility in managing child welfare concerns, directly impacting NGO social workers.
This research aimed to explore this tension and identify how NGO social workers conceptualise the Strengths perspective and its application to child welfare cases. 12 registered NGO social workers participated in semi structured interviews, giving insight into how they navigate a Strengths based NGO role, with preliminary themes presented to a focus group for feedback. The interview and focus group data, considered alongside an extensive literature review, resulted in seven dominant themes emerging in a thematic analysis: the construction of knowledge of the Strengths perspective, relationships are key, the interface between NGO and statutory, success with Strengths, limitations and barriers, the entanglement with Oranga Tamariki and cultural frameworks. These themes indicate current perceptions of the Strengths based, NGO social work position within the statutory child welfare system and offers pathways forward to support NGO social workers, Oranga Tamariki and families, to successfully engage the Strengths perspective in child welfare cases, ultimately improving child safety and family wellbeing.
Recommendations have been developed from the findings of this research. These include NGOs reviewing their policies regarding Strengths based practice, ensuring policy expectations are supportive of this approach being utilised, supporting stronger relationships growing between NGOs and Oranga Tamariki and social workers having a collective understanding within their organisation of the Strengths perspective and application expectations. Developing cultural competency across both statutory and NGO social work organisations was also highlighted, to enhance successful Strengths based practice with Maori and Pasefika families
Implementing ADOC in community-based rehabilitation services in New Zealand for adults with stroke: a participatory action research study.
Full text linkThe GOUT-36 prediction rule for inpatient gout flare in people with comorbid gout: derivation and external validation
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Research on logistics service quality evaluation indexes of automobile special steel of BJ Company
Full text linkThe development of iron and steel logistics is a major strategic measure for the iron and steel industry, especially for the iron and steel circulation industry, to change the mode of operation and development and to promote the development mode from extensive to intensive.The transformation and development of China's manufacturing industry from low-end to high-end improves the scientific and technological content and added value of the manufacturing industry and objectively requires China's iron and steel industry to develop from a low input-output ratio to a high-quality model to produce high-quality products needed by users, improvere source utilization efficiency and reduce defective products and customer complaints. At the same time, the establishment of competitive iron and steel enterprises and the establishment of e-commerce platform put forward the requirements of high-quality logistics for the service quality of third-party logistics enterprises. As a practitioner of high-quality steel logistics in China, BJ provides overall solutions for automotive steel processing and distribution. With the goal of becoming the highest-quality logistics service provider and logistics value creator, BJ is committed to providing customers at home and abroad with overall solutions for high-quality logistics, shipping agents,multi-modal transport, freight forwarders, warehousing, railways, roads and supply chains. It has formed a fully functional network advantage and focused on the development of high-quality logistics of automotive steel plate on the basis of market segmentation so as to provide customers with overall logistics solutions of high value-added services. Moreover, BJ is responsible for logistics services of steel high-quality supply chain. In order to adapt to the transformation of Chinese industry to high-end and green manufacturing, logistic industry must embark on a high-quality logistics road.
First of all, this thesis reviews literature, mainly from aspects of logistics service evaluation,iron and steel logistics service evaluation, logistics service supply chain, to understand the current research situation in related fields. Then, it introduces relevant theories used in this thesis, including total quality management, lean management, SCOR model, logistics industry green evaluation, service quality theory,and balanced scorecard. Thirdly, this research analyzes the current situation of logistics service quality evaluation of automotive special steel products of BJ. Fourthly, based on actual investigation, this thesis constructs the basic idea of the reduce defective products customer complaints reviews literature, mainly logistics service management, SCOR model, logistics industry evaluation, service quality theory, design of index system of the guidance of principles of convenience and rationality (high efficiency, customer satisfaction, cost saving and environmental friendliness), the indexes are selected from the aspects of safety, economy and greenness, and the index system is used to evaluate the quality and performance of BJ's high-quality logistics and other typical enterprises or industries. In this research, the evaluation index is applied to BJ, and the effect of service quality evaluation index of high-quality logistics in BJ is analyzed. This research found that after the application of the evaluation index of high-quality logistics, the key performance indexes of enterprise, such as return order timeliness rate, user complaint rate, transportation cost, greening and recycling, have been C5 hazard and risk control, C6 safety and enforcement rate, E2 freight information query service, and E4 supply chain cooperation rate, via the feedback of the management team, were found difficult to be assessed and implemented in it is suggested that while applying the evaluation index of high-quality logistics, quantitative measures should be taken to make up for its shortcomings.
This thesis realizes the innovation from the following two aspects:
(1) Perspective innovation: first of all, this thesis defines the concept of
high-quality logistics, and systematically combs the index system of high-quality logistics, which is intended to reflect characteristics of systematization, digitalization, intelligence and transparency. High-quality logistics is the sublimation and in-depth exploration of lean and fine logistics, which enriches the research of quantitative analysis and performance evaluation in the field of iron and steel logistics and supply chain.
(2) Application innovation: introduce more mature theories such as total quality management, lean management and service quality theory into the field of high-quality logistics. Apart from embodying the four principles of traditional logistics: timeliness, accuracy, safety and economy, and highlighting the characteristics of green, ecological, systematic and innovative, it conducts empirical comparative analysis. That is, by comparing and analyzing the performance of enterprises before the implementation of quality evaluation scheme and after the implementation of quality evaluation scheme, we can not only find shortcomings in the operation of enterprise logistics services, but also test and revise the theoretical scheme with practice.
This research help enterprises solve the problem of logistics quality evaluation and enhance their market competitiveness, provide new ideas for performance evaluation in the field of iron and steel logistics, and the method of comparative study enriches case study in the field of logistics management to serve as useful exploration for the model of case study in this field
Early innate immunity against mycobacterial infection
No full textInfection by Mycobacterium tuberculosis is not consistently prevented by the only licensed vaccine, bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG). It is widely believed that adaptive immune memory confers protection against tuberculosis (TB). Although that particular immunological correlate has led to development of a wide range of new vaccine candidates, none have enhanced protection against TB. To improve vaccination, the essential events of immune responses which progress either to disease or control of bacilli must be identified.
Phagocytes populating the lungs include not only macrophages, but granulocytes and dendritic cells as well. Given this breadth, the central dogma that alveolar macrophages dominate early mycobacterial infection begs better experimental evidence. I measured the early lung immune response to infection in naturally resistant mice to compare the involvement of distinct phagocyte subsets. Fluorescent M. bovis BCG tdTomato and cytometry were used to quantify the lung phagocyte compartment and which cells took up mycobacteria 1-14 days post-infection. Contrary to popular belief, granulocytes were the predominant infected cell on the first day of infection, before alveolar macrophages. Granulocytes accumulated early but did not persist – an important contrast against animal genotypes which are more susceptible to mycobacterial disease.
Besides stimulating adaptive immunity, it is likely that BCG immunisation provides protection by altering innate aspects of the secondary response to mycobacteria. In immunised mice, lung innate immune cells differed both prior and in response to re-challenge infection. Before re-challenge, immunised lungs contained twice as many alveolar macrophages compared with unimmunised mice, and the majority expressed the surface integrin CD11b. Interstitial macrophages and dendritic cells were also more abundant in immunised mice than in unimmunised mice. Alveolar macrophages expressing CD11b were enriched for transcripts encoding products involved in activation, intracellular pathogen response, cytokine and chemokine signalling, opsonisation of microbes, and phagocytosis of mycobacteria. In immunised mice, CD11b-high macrophages were more rapidly recruited early after challenge, and comprised the majority of infected macrophages. These alterations indicate a macrophage compartment which is poised to respond more rapidly and effectively to microbial invasion of the lungs.
The canonical cytokines associated with protection against mycobacterial infection are not restricted to antigen-specific adaptive lymphocytes. The response of innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) to infection was distinct in BCG-immunised mice, producing cytokines more frequently 1 day post-challenge, and featuring expansion of group 3 ILCs (ILC3s) associated with supplementing alveolar macrophage responses. In particular, a population of ILC3s expressing both RORγt and T-bet transcription factors emerged after challenge in immunised mice, which produced interleukin-17 twice as frequently as T-bet-neg ILC3s by 14 days post-challenge. These modifications to the lung ILC compartment may contribute to the enhanced responsiveness of phagocytes during early infection.
In sum, these findings provide additional context to the early immune response to mycobacterial infection, and offer examples of how it is modulated by BCG immunisation beyond adaptive immunity. Early predominance of granulocytes in taking up mycobacteria provides explanation as to why host immune responses and disease outcomes vary so dramatically in different disease models. In immunised mice, the changes to lung macrophages after mucosal BCG immunisation may represent elements of trained innate immunity underlying protection against infection. In future, these aspects of the early immune response may serve as more useful correlates of protection in the development and assessment of candidate vaccines against TB
Essays on climate finance transition risk
No full textThis thesis analyses the financial implications of climate transition risk. It brings new insights to the topic from three perspectives: (i) the prediction of corporate carbon footprints using machine learning techniques, (ii) a bottom-up loan-level stress-test of the exposure of leading United States [U.S.] banks to climate transition risk in their syndicated loan portfolios, and (iii) an empirical analysis of climate distress risk at the corporate level for S&P 500 non-financial firms.
The first essay in Chapter 2 predicts corporate carbon footprints with publicly available data and machine learning techniques. Carbon footprints are a popular proxy for transition risk at firm-level, as they indicate the amount of greenhouse gas emissions associated with firms and thus their contribution to global warming. The need for prediction arises because only a limited subset of firms disclose emissions, while in contrasts there is growing interest from investors and regulators for emissions data. A two-step framework that uses a Meta-Elastic Net learner to combine predictions from multiple base-learners is the best emission prediction approach. It results in an accuracy gain based on mean absolute error of up to 30% versus the existing models. Further, it shows that the prediction accuracy can be improved with additional energy predictors and additional disclosures in particular sectors and regions.
The second essay in Chapter 3 examines banks’ exposure to climate transition risk. A bottom-up, loan-level methodology incorporating climate stress-test based on the Merton distance to default model and IPCC transition pathways is implemented. Estimations of corporate carbon footprints are matched to syndicated loans initiated in 2010-2018 and aggregated to the loan portfolios of the twenty largest banks in the U.S. Descriptive results indicate that banks vary in their climate transition risk due to their considerable exposure to the energy sectors and due to borrowers’ carbon emission profiles from other sectors. Banks’ transition risk profiles are stable over time, save for a temporary (in some cases) and permanent (in others), reduction in their fossil-fuel exposure after the Paris Agreement. Stress-testing results show that the median loss is 0.5% of loan value, extrapolated to be a 4.1% decrease in core capital [CET1] but this is much larger in the 1.5oC scenarios (12%-16% of CET1 capital) and there is significant tail-end risk (62% of CET1 capital). Banks’ vulnerabilities are driven by the ex-ante financial risk of their borrowers more generally, highlighting that climate risk is not independent from conventional risks.
Finally, the third empirical essay in Chapter 4 investigates whether climate risk affects firm-level default (distress) risk. Using the Merton distance to default model, it explores for the presence of climate distress risk in S&P 500 non-financial firms during 2010-2018, employing both corporate carbon footprints and climate risk disclosure in 10K filings. The system generalized method of moments regression shows that climate risk has a negative impact on firms’ distance to default, but this impact is limited to transition risk and the disclosures of this risk in annual filings. Meanwhile, backward-looking measurements of transition risk such as corporate carbon footprint (Scope 1 and Scope 2) or disclosure of physical risk do not have a similar effect in the U.S. context. The essay also indicates that the Paris Agreement temporarily strengthens the negative relationship between climate risk and distance to default in the year 2015. However, this effect is short-lived and fades away in the later years