AUT Research Repository (Auckland Univ. of Technology)
Not a member yet
14707 research outputs found
Sort by
Positive Pressure Ventilation Systems and Indoor Air Quality: PM₂.₅ Outcomes in Residential Buildings
No full textFine particulate matter (PM₂.₅) presents a risk to residential indoor environments, particularly during winter, when occupancy is high and natural ventilation is reduced. Evidence from intervention-based field studies is limited, especially under real-world, continuously occupied conditions.
This study investigates the effects of positive pressure ventilation (PPV) systems on indoor PM₂.₅ concentrations in 24 homes across New Zealand. Using a pre-post intervention design, PM₂.₅ concentrations, temperature and relative humidity were measured in living rooms and master bedrooms over six week periods before and after PPV installation during winter.
Following PPV installation, mean indoor PM₂.₅ concentrations decreased across all homes, with reductions ranging from 38% to 62%. Linear mixed effects regression modelling supported the observed reductions while accounting for outdoor PM₂.₅ and building characteristics. Indoor PM₂.₅ concentrations were higher in living rooms than in bedrooms, although post-intervention reductions were similar between rooms. Indoor-outdoor (I/O) ratios exceeded 1.0 in half of the homes prior to PPV installation and fell below 1.0 in most homes post-installation, indicating reduced dominance of indoor sources.
Post-PPV reductions in indoor PM₂.₅ were larger during peak activity periods than non-peak periods and tended to be greater in homes with larger indoor-outdoor temperature differentials, suggesting that building envelope performance influences PPV effectiveness.
This study presents field-based evidence that PPV systems can reduce indoor PM₂.₅ in homes during winter, especially where initial indoor concentrations are high and thermal separation from outdoors is greater. The findings highlight the combined importance of ventilation, envelope performance, and occupant behaviour in reducing indoor PM₂.₅ exposure
Shared Visions: A Cross-Generational Documentary Collaboration in Vava'u, Tonga
No full textThe authors are collaborators on Sylvester Tonga’s doctoral documentary, filmed with the weavers and farmers who sustain these agricultural traditions in Leimatu’a, his village of origin in the Vava’u Islands of Tonga. An archipelago of fifty-one atolls, Vava’u lies 300 kilometres north of Tonga’s capital, Nuku’alofa. Using screengrabs and photographs made by the production crew with the Leimatu’a contributors, they consider how Sylvester’s cultural identity shaped both the community filming process and the cross-generational collaboration between himself, a Tongan migrant to New Zealand, and the New Zealand-born Tongan producers, Rewi Amoamo and Nikolase Meredith. Here, they reflect on the conceptual and methodological intricacies that have emerged from this cross-generational teamwork between a migrant Tongan who has lived his adult life in Auckland and a New Zealand-born Tongan production crew
Imagining Justice Transformation in Aotearoa: Possibilities and Pitfalls
No full textIt is well‐noted that for as long as there have been prisons, there has been continued resistance to their use and calls for alternatives. Debates amongst advocates for change in the justice system fixate on whether prison reform or abolition is the answer. This article engages with narratives from 16 semi‐structured interviews with people who advocate or work in the justice system. The participants included penal populists, prison reformers, and prison abolitionists. Despite differing in their politics, participants recognised that the criminal punishment system in Aotearoa needs to change. This article sheds light on both diverging and collective visions for change, in the hopes of highlighting the possibilities and pitfalls of transformative change.</jats:p
Visualisation Within Sustainability Reports: Insights From a Stigmatised Industry Company
No full textPurpose: This study aims to examine how a tobacco company operating within a stigmatised industry uses visualisation in its sustainability reporting to manage and mitigate organisational stigma.
Design/methodology/approach: Information and data for the study was collected from Philip Morris International (PMI)’s reports and from semi-structured interviews with PMI’s sustainability report preparers. Data was analysed using qualitative methods. Legitimacy theory with a focus on the concept of moral legitimacy was used to interpret the findings.
Findings: The findings show that PMI strategically uses persuasive visualisation through numerous stigma management approaches in their attempt to deflect stigma or even leverage on it to their advantage. By highlighting its social and environmental responsibilities through visualisation, the company attempts to reshape its public image and strengthen legitimacy. However, despite its sustainability efforts, a stigmatised tobacco company may struggle to change the beliefs of all stakeholders so achieving moral legitimacy will remain elusive without major changes to its core business.
Research limitations/implications: This study enriches the sustainability accounting and reporting literature by offering real-life examples of the utilisation of visualisation in sustainability reports by a stigmatised company.
Practical implications: Our study provides empirical evidence on how visualisation in sustainability reporting can strategically construct legitimacy by crafting persuasive and emotionally engaging messages that meet stakeholder expectations.
Originality/value: The study highlights the importance of visual literacy and contributes to a better understanding of the utilisation of visualisation in communicating sustainability messages
The Prevalence and Factors Associated with Workforce Attrition and Intention‐to‐Leave Among Healthcare Workers in New Zealand: A Systematic Literature Review and Meta‐Analysis
No full textDespite increasing concern about the stability of New Zealand's (NZ) health workforce, no prior synthesis has estimated the prevalence of attrition or intention‐to‐leave. This systematic review and meta‐analysis included 32 studies and followed Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analysis and Meta‐Analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology checklist guidelines to estimate these rates and identify associated factors. Attrition was highest among midwives (26.0%, 95% CI: 17.0%−36.0%), doctors (26.0%, 95% CI: 24.0%−27.0%), and those without postgraduate qualifications (29.0%, 95% CI: 26.0%−32.0%). Intention‐to‐leave was most prevalent among midwives (54.0%, 95% CI: 42.0%−66.0%) and in studies conducted between 2000 and 2010 (33.0%, 95% CI: 20.0%−47.0%). These findings highlight substantial workforce instability, with clear variation by profession, time period, and educational level, underscoring the need for targeted retention strategies to support the sustainability of NZ's healthcare system.</jats:p
Sowing the Seeds of Wildlife-Friendly Gardening: Does a Garden Biodiversity Assessment Promote Uptake of Pro-Biodiversity Gardening Behaviours?
No full textResidential gardens have the potential to support native biodiversity across cities. Certification programmes designed to motivate residents to perform pro-biodiversity gardening actions require a formal process of garden biodiversity assessment. We evaluated whether a garden biodiversity assessment process was effective at motivating pro-biodiversity gardening behaviours. A one-off garden assessment accompanied by feedback was trialled on 89 residents in 2020/2021. Four years later we surveyed this group and a matched control group to determine whether the assessment had a motivating and long-lasting positive effect on pro-biodiversity gardening. Results were mixed: while 57% reported the assessment did not influence subsequent gardening decisions, 38.5% confirmed that the assessment process had motivated the changes they made and 56% said it helped them understand at least a little better how they could enhance biodiversity in their garden. This understanding was positively associated with how useful they rated their tailored feedback but was not associated with their biodiversity score. The two groups didn’t differ in the extent to which biodiversity enhancement was considered when making changes, and a larger proportion of the control group made biodiversity-positive changes. The number of changes made was not associated with age, income, education, years at the address, bird knowledge, or environmental engagement, but was positively associated with their nature connection score. While we provide some evidence to support the use of biodiversity assessments, ongoing support in the form of collaborative partnerships between gardeners and local government could be more effective at achieving favourable biodiversity outcomes.</jats:p
How Might Comorbid Conditions Co-Occurring With Child Autism Impact Parenting Stress?
No full textPurpose
Many Autistic individuals present with comorbid conditions, including internalising and externalising behaviours, sleep issues, intellectual disabilities, and gastrointestinal dysfunction. We investigated the impact of these child comorbidities on parenting stress in an effort to elucidate the underlying mechanism and how they interact with autistic core symptoms. In total, three theoretical models were tested, being the Amplification, Additive, and Mediation Hypotheses.
Methods
Participants were 453 parents of an Autistic child reporting on their child’s core symptoms, comorbid conditions, and their parenting stress.
Results
Correlation analyses reveal moderate associations between the comorbid conditions and parenting stress, but uncovered a weak link between core symptoms and parenting stress. Regression analyses revealed that, when key variables were allowed to adjust for one another, comorbid conditions were found to be independent predictors of parenting stress. A subsequent path analysis indicated that internalising and externalising behaviours partially mediated the relationship between core symptoms and parenting stress. There was no evidence to support the Amplification Hypotheses, and limited evidence to support the Additive and Mediation Hypotheses.
Conclusion
The findings reinforce the argument that Autistic children require multidisciplinary services and interventions that stretch beyond their primary diagnosis. Further suggestions for future research into child comorbid factors and parenting stress are discussed
Worker Mobility Across Regions in New Zealand: The Role of House Prices and the Impact on Earnings
No full textThis thesis investigates the complex relationship between house prices, geographic worker mobility, and earnings growth within New Zealand. Geographic worker mobility – defined as the movement of workers across regions within a country as they change jobs or seek better employment opportunities – plays a critical role in driving economic activity and social integration. However, the interplay between housing prices and worker mobility remains underexplored in the New Zealand context. This thesis specifically examines how regional house prices influence inter-regional worker mobility and how such mobility affects short-term individual earnings growth. By addressing this gap, the research aims to provide insights into three interconnected questions:
1. In any given year, how many workers move to a different region to take a new job, and how does this geographic mobility vary across different worker characteristics?
2. How do house prices affect inter-regional worker mobility?
3. How does geographic worker mobility influence individual earnings growth in the short run?
The empirical analysis leverages data from Statistics New Zealand’s Integrated Data Infrastructure, which provides a large and de-identified dataset on employment, housing, and demographic trends across regions of New Zealand. The study employs advanced econometric techniques, including gravity models, to analyse worker mobility patterns and their determinants.
Between 2000 and 2020, the average geographic worker mobility rate was 4.5 per cent. Analyses of worker demographics reveal that younger workers and those of non-European ethnicity are more likely to relocate compared to other groups. In terms of destination preferences, workers predominantly move to large urbanised regions (e.g., Auckland, Wellington, and Canterbury) or neighbouring regions. These patterns highlight the importance of agglomeration and proximity in shaping inter-regional mobility decisions.
Findings reveal that house price fluctuations significantly impact worker mobility decisions. Higher house prices in the region of origin increase outflows, while higher house prices in destination regions deter inflows. These effects, however, vary considerably across worker demographics. Notably, older workers are more responsive to rising house prices. One possible reason is that they have greater equity in their homes and are more likely to capitalise on higher property values to fund migration. Younger workers, who may have less equity or face higher barriers to relocation, are less affected by changes in house prices.
Worker mobility correlates positively with earnings growth, but outcomes vary. Migrating to large urban regions – particularly those aged 25-29 and 40-54, males, European and Asians – saw faster earnings growth, suggesting urban wage premiums. Conversely, workers leaving large regions experience slower growth, potentially trading earnings for housing affordability or limited high-paying jobs in smaller regions.
This research underscores the importance of integrating housing affordability into regional economic policies and migration strategies. By understanding how house prices influence worker mobility, policymakers can design targeted interventions to support workers affected by housing market challenges while fostering sustainable regional development
A Robust Secure and Energy-Aware Cross-Layer Framework for IoT Networks
No full textThe dual challenges of energy constraints and multi-layered cyber threats must be addressed in order to secure Internet of Things (IoT) environments. To overcome the above problems, we propose a secure and energy-aware cross layer framework for IoT networks. Our framework is based on the combined role-based access control, machine learning based anomaly detection, and lightweight encryption. We explore context-aware defenses that can remain scalable and energy efficient while dynamically adapting to changing attack vectors. The performance of the proposed framework is evaluated using real hardware (Z1 and EXP430F5438 motes) after being validated by simulations on the Cooja and NS-3 platforms. The results demonstrate up to 30% energy savings over AES while preserving high detection performance for both active and passive threat models and over 95% packet delivery. These results highlight the necessity of adaptive, multi-layer strategies for contemporary IoT deployments and show that a secure, scalable, and energy conscious IoT design is feasible
Interactions and Connections of Safe Egress Factors in Hospital Designs
No full textPurpose
This study examines fire safety design in hospitals, aiming to identify and understand the factors that influence its effectiveness through control and evacuation while addressing challenges related to patient mobility.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employs a qualitative narrative approach, systematically reviewing 130 relevant articles and research papers. Conducting a systematic literature review identified 10 key factors of safe egress in hospitals that affect patient evacuation. Then, through semi-structured interviews, 25 field experts confirmed those findings and added two more key factors.
Findings
This study found patient mobility rate and conditions as the most crucial key factor influencing safe egress apart from the other 12 factors which are occupant types, occupant behaviour, exit characteristics, interior layout, fire spread and fire cells, building fire-rated materials, required safe egress time/available safe egress time, fire detection and suppression systems, signs and evacuation elevators, building model simulation and staff training.
Research limitations/implications
This study’s limitations include the non-inclusion of the most recent fire incident reports due to their unavailability to the public. Additionally, reliance on secondary data sources in some areas introduces the potential for inaccuracies. The scope of the literature review was also limited by language (English only). The robustness of the methodology followed mitigates the limitations of the study.
Practical implications
This study assists field professionals – including architects, fire engineers, consultants, medical staff and firefighters – as well as the general public, by providing critical design information to ensure the safe evacuation of all hospital occupants, particularly patients, thus participating in achieving the United Nation’s goals of creating safe environments and fostering sustainable, resilient infrastructure while ensuring the safety of people of all ages. Moreover, the new factor of patient mobility conditions is an addition to the body of knowledge that would interest academics.
Originality/value
The novelty of the study identified patient mobility conditions as the key influencer for safe fire egress at hospitals while discussing the interrelations between the 12 critical factors