13553 research outputs found
Sort by
An Overview of Early Psychosis Care in New Zealand—A Need for Culturally Adapted Service Models
No full textBackground: It has been over 20 years since a review of early psychosis services in New Zealand was completed, and it is unclear if services now meet international best practice. Furthermore, significant disparities in psychosis experiences exist in New Zealand, and it is unclear whether service structure might contribute to such disparities. Given the current restructuring of the health system in New Zealand, now is the optimal time to understand strengths and weaknesses in early psychosis care provision. Methods: All early psychosis services in New Zealand (n = 12) were surveyed. Leads from each service completed a survey on the general elements of their service, alongside the First-Episode Psychosis Services Fidelity Scale, which allows comparison with international early psychosis services. Results: Specific services are provided across 11/20 districts, leaving 9 without any dedicated early psychosis care. Service strengths included short wait lists, comprehensive assessments, good provision of case managers, team managers and psychiatrists and good length of care. Relative weaknesses included provision of therapy, limited age ranges, high numbers of inpatient referrals, poor Clozapine usage and limited family participation. There was also a lack of services for people at risk for psychosis. Lack of cultural support staff, models and confidence in meeting cultural needs was also evident. Conclusion: While New Zealand early psychosis services are relatively comparable to international services, certain areas of weakness need to be addressed by decreasing variability in service eligibility, increasing care for those at-risk, wider availability of therapy and family involvement and improved cultural services
Eigenvalue Analysis of IBR Instabilities in Power System
No full textThe global transition towards renewable energy has led to a significant increase in the integration of Inverter-Based Resources (IBRs), such as solar, wind, and battery storage systems, into power grids. While this shift is crucial for reducing carbon emissions and fostering sustainability, it also introduces challenges to grid stability due to the replacement of conventional synchronous generators with IBRs. Unlike traditional generators, IBRs lack inherent mechanical inertia, relying instead on advanced control systems to interface with the grid. This fundamental difference raises concerns about small-signal stability, particularly in low-inertia grids with high renewable penetration.This thesis explores the small-signal stability impacts of IBRs in modern power systems, focusing on grid-following (GFL) and grid-forming (GFM) inverters. The study is conducted on two systems: the IEEE 9-bus test network and the South Island Power System (SIPS) of New Zealand, a large-scale renewable-rich grid. Eigenvalue analysis and participation factor evaluation are employed to assess oscillatory modes, damping characteristics, and the dynamic behavior of power systems under varying IBR penetration levels.Key findings reveal that GFM inverters significantly enhance stability by emulating the behavior of synchronous generators, particularly under high renewable penetration, whereas GFL inverters struggle in weak grids due to phase-locked loop (PLL) synchronization limitations. Hybrid configurations of GFL and GFM inverters demonstrate complex interactions, highlighting the need for coordinated control strategies. The analysis of SIPS further validates the benefits of GFM inverters in improving damping, thereby supporting their suitability for high-renewable systems. This research emphasizes the critical role of advanced inverter control strategies and configurations in addressing stability challenges in low-inertia grids. While the scope is primarily limited to first assessment of small-signal stability, the study recommends pathways for further exploration, including the use of dynamic simulations, impedance-based methods, and the impact of network topology on stability. The findings contribute valuable insights for designing robust, renewable-integrated power systems capable of meeting the demands of a sustainable energy future.</p
The Spatiality Of Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique
No full textThis dissertation focuses on the spatiality of Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique. Since the “spatial turn” of the last century, the concept of “space” has become increasingly significant in the studies of social sciences, philosophy, sociology, literature, and fine arts, with a growing emphasis on its role. Yet musicology has yet to develop equivalent methods to explore the spatiality of musical works and the ways in which spatiality is determined by the interrelationships between historical context and works. The existing spatiality research in various fields argues for the relationship between human consciousness, social practices and social space. Drawing on Henri Lefebvre’s influential research into spatiality, I have separated space into three categories: mental, social, and physical space. The reason for choosing Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique is that, as a musical work, it not only possesses literary narrativity but also hints at the composer’s personal experiences and the social spaces he inhabited through its programme and musical sounds. The study of this work will make possible the development of methodologies for researching the spatiality of musical compositions from multiple perspectives.This dissertation is divided into five chapters to examine each of the five movements of the Symphonie Fantastique. In the analysis of each movement, I initially link the spaces depicted in the programme with the composer’s own spatial context and creative process, examining how these spaces influenced the composer’s life and ignited the desire to compose. Meanwhile, the space in which Berlioz was situated influenced and shaped his understanding of space and was manifested in his works in a dynamic form. Thus, this research explores the attributes of the social space in which Berlioz once lived and practised, including the locations he mentions in his Memoirs, such as the rural locations of his childhood, on the one hand, and urban Paris – his home for most of his adult life – on the other. In each case, the spatiality of the geographic setting can be seen to have shaped his approach to Symphonie Fantastique. These spatial qualities in the music are then approached in each chapter through a two-fold approach to analysis: First, I study the spatial sense described by the melody, structure, texture and instruments. Second, I explore how Berlioz depicts or suggests different spatial senses through the combination of programme and musical sound. In addition, I also examine the spatiality of the performance (from both the performers’ and listeners’ perspectives) of Symphonie Fantastique in light of Berlioz’s writing on orchestration. By revealing how Berlioz integrated personal experiences and social spaces into his compositions, this study expands the theoretical framework of musical spatiality research, offering new perspectives for a more multidimensional understanding of music. This demonstrates that Symphonie Fantastique is not only a musical masterpiece but also an important case study in exploring how composers express and reflect the social and cultural environment of their era through music.</p
Stream Symbiosis, envisioning a socio-ecological balance between people and urban streams.
No full text“Rivers, lakes, streams, and springs are the bloodlines of Papatūānuku, the earth mother” (Te Aho, 2019). This view from Mātauranga Māori reflects a deep connection to water that has been disrupted by urbanization and population growth, fragmenting ecosystems and disconnecting youth from their local ecologies. This research examines ways to restore awareness of human impact on nature and reshape our spatial relationships with landscapes.Wellington’s Whaitua-based water management model restores community-led decision-making, fostering local ownership and stewardship of waterways. This shift offers an opportunity for landscape-based education that builds resilience and a stronger connection to the land.Using design-led methodologies, this research integrates both Western and Indigenous knowledge to strengthen people’s bond with the landscape. Through community engagement, it aims to build a more tangible relationship with urbanized streams, especially among youth. The Kaiwharawhara catchment, Wellington’s largest stream system and only open estuary, provides an ideal setting for this approach (Zealandia, 2018). Leveraging its unique biodiversity, educational routes will be developed through schools and sites along the stream, creating a cultural and environmental learning corridor.Educational tools at key sites will foster environmental stewardship, helping youth appreciate the interdependence of flora, fauna, and ecosystems. Design interventions across the catchment will promote stream accessibility and safeguard hydrological and ecological functions for future generations. By drawing on the land’s history as a provider and the Māori practices of sustainable stewardship, this research seeks to revive the mauri (life force) of the landscape, creating a lasting symbiosis between people and land that educates and inspires.</p
The Mediating Influence of Plant Communities on Alpine Soil Respiration in a Changing World
No full textSoil respiration is a critical carbon flux from the terrestrial biosphere to the atmosphere. It is influenced by various ecological conditions including temperature, plant community composition, and insect herbivory. Global changes are altering these conditions through climate warming, the proliferation of invasive species, and promoting insect outbreaks. Understanding how these global changes influence soil respiration is essential for accurate modeling of the carbon cycle. However, the role of biotic communities as mediators of these global changes remains unclear. To address this uncertainty, I examine soil respiration dynamics through field experiments, an observational study, and a global meta-analysis. My objectives were to: 1) determine the direct and interactive influence of warming and plant community change on peak soil respiration rates across diverse alpine communities; 2) examine the influence of warming and plant community change on the effect of warming on soil respiration; 3) determine if an invasive plant modifies the effect of aboveground insect herbivore effects on soil respiration; and 4) explore potential plant-mediated mechanisms by which insect herbivores affect soil respiration.I show that plant community composition significantly modifies how soil respiration responds to warming during the height of the growing season. Specifically, I found that soil respiration in sites with high woody plant cover exhibited a higher relative sensitivity to warming across widely distributed alpine sites. I also found evidence that plant community composition modifies the temperature sensitivity of soil respiration among plots in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, United States of America. However, unlike the previous analysis, the most influential plant functional group in this study was graminoids. Across both of these studies, my results reveal plant functional groups were highly influential mediators of the relationship between temperature and alpine soil respiration on both local and global scales. I also examined how increasing insect herbivory affects soil respiration and how an invasive plant species modifies this relationship in a New Zealand alpine grassland. Insect herbivore abundance was linked to increased soil respiration, but I found no significant difference between native and invasive host plants. This investigation also revealed that soil microbial communities, particularly bacterial abundance, mediate the effects of insect herbivores on soil respiration. Results from my global meta-analysis suggest that plants regulate these mediation effects through multiple mechanisms including modifications to soil communities, plant litter composition, and plant resource allocation. Among these, belowground resource allocation showed a particularly strong relationship to herbivory. This plant-mediated response may be the dominant process by which insect herbivores alter soil microbial communities, and thereby influence soil respiration. These findings further highlight the crucial role of plants in mediating the impacts of global changes on soil respiration. By integrating studies with local and global perspectives into a single narrative, I provide substantial evidence that plant communities regulate how global changes will influence soil respiration dynamics. I show that consideration of these communities is essential for refining ecosystem carbon models, particularly as climate change and plant invasions rapidly alter plant functional group representation among alpine ecosystems. The insights in this thesis also provide direction for further studies into the mechanisms underpinning plant-microbial interactions and their implications for soil respiration. Ultimately, this knowledge will improve ecosystem carbon models and our understanding of carbon dynamics in an era of rapid ecological change.</p
Central South Slavic Linguistic Taxonomies and the Language/Dialect Dichotomy: Rhetorical Strategies and Faulty Epistemologies
No full textAbstract
This article analyzes the epistemology of the language/dialect (L/D) dichotomy. The L/D dichotomy gives rise to disputes between “splitters”, who want to split the speech of a given region into more than one “language”, and “lumpers”, who view the region as speaking one “language” albeit with diverse “dialects”. While numerous linguists have declared the L/D dichotomy theoretically meaningless, thus taking an “agnostic” approach, linguists interested in a particular case study often take sides in lumper/splitter disputes. Such linguists, who the authors call “assertionists”, adopt a variety of rhetorical strategies to make their case. Taking as a case study assertionists writing about Central South Slavic, this article identifies three main strategies: the “avalanche of trivia”; the “appeal to imaginary evidence”; and the “denigration of the political”. Both lumpers and splitters adopt all three strategies to conceal the poor epistemological foundations of assertionism
Sense perception and epistemological concerns in Euripides' tragedies
No full textThis thesis will discuss the varied relationships with knowledge and belief as depicted in four tragedies of Euripides: Heracles, Helen, Ion, and Bacchae. Comparisons to the epistemological approaches of the early Greek philosophers will help to identify uniquely Greek ways of justifying belief and arriving at knowledge. These philosophers sought intellectual consistency and had argued for various basic principles that governed both the arrangement of the cosmos and our ability to perceive it. Similarly, the characters of Euripides’ plays give voice to their attempts to reconcile their conclusions about how the world should work based on logical thinking, and the reality their senses reveal to them.This thesis will argue that at least three different epistemologies can be identified in the four plays. There is a divine epistemology which receives the least justification and does not represent a complete (or unified) body of knowledge. There is a secular epistemology which questions traditional knowledge and draws conclusions based on immediate circumstances and sense perception. Finally, there is an initiatory relationship which affirms traditional knowledge and the value of belief due to their ability to produce practical benefits in this life and the afterlife. A precedent for the functional coexistence of multiple systems of belief can be found in the philosophical poem of Parmenides. These two seemingly contradictory bodies of knowledge are endorsed by a divine authority. Heraclitus takes a more personal approach and argues that introspection via contemplating the soul can reveal truths about the cosmos. Such approaches to the acquisition of knowledge may be complementary. For example, a recent paper by Mirto (2016) discusses the relationship between humans and gods in Euripidean tragedy and identifies a cautionary formula that human characters adopt in order to interact with beings they do not fully understand. This formula involves considering multiple possible explanations for the unknowable.This thesis will not invoke the questionable biographical tradition that placed Euripides in close contact with the philosophers of his time. Instead it will argue that fictional constructions present epistemologies by nature, and that the presence of multiple epistemologies and the observable relationship with the philosophers that preceded Euripides can be ascribed to the Greek intellectual milieu of the classical period.</p
Understanding Street Tree Inequities: The Interrelation of Urban Layout and Socio-Economics
No full textNo description supplie
The Spatiality Of Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique
No full textThis dissertation focuses on the spatiality of Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique. Since the “spatial turn” of the last century, the concept of “space” has become increasingly significant in the studies of social sciences, philosophy, sociology, literature, and fine arts, with a growing emphasis on its role. Yet musicology has yet to develop equivalent methods to explore the spatiality of musical works and the ways in which spatiality is determined by the interrelationships between historical context and works. The existing spatiality research in various fields argues for the relationship between human consciousness, social practices and social space. Drawing on Henri Lefebvre’s influential research into spatiality, I have separated space into three categories: mental, social, and physical space. The reason for choosing Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique is that, as a musical work, it not only possesses literary narrativity but also hints at the composer’s personal experiences and the social spaces he inhabited through its programme and musical sounds. The study of this work will make possible the development of methodologies for researching the spatiality of musical compositions from multiple perspectives.This dissertation is divided into five chapters to examine each of the five movements of the Symphonie Fantastique. In the analysis of each movement, I initially link the spaces depicted in the programme with the composer’s own spatial context and creative process, examining how these spaces influenced the composer’s life and ignited the desire to compose. Meanwhile, the space in which Berlioz was situated influenced and shaped his understanding of space and was manifested in his works in a dynamic form. Thus, this research explores the attributes of the social space in which Berlioz once lived and practised, including the locations he mentions in his Memoirs, such as the rural locations of his childhood, on the one hand, and urban Paris – his home for most of his adult life – on the other. In each case, the spatiality of the geographic setting can be seen to have shaped his approach to Symphonie Fantastique. These spatial qualities in the music are then approached in each chapter through a two-fold approach to analysis: First, I study the spatial sense described by the melody, structure, texture and instruments. Second, I explore how Berlioz depicts or suggests different spatial senses through the combination of programme and musical sound. In addition, I also examine the spatiality of the performance (from both the performers’ and listeners’ perspectives) of Symphonie Fantastique in light of Berlioz’s writing on orchestration. By revealing how Berlioz integrated personal experiences and social spaces into his compositions, this study expands the theoretical framework of musical spatiality research, offering new perspectives for a more multidimensional understanding of music. This demonstrates that Symphonie Fantastique is not only a musical masterpiece but also an important case study in exploring how composers express and reflect the social and cultural environment of their era through music.</p
Blurred Line
No full textNZ primary schools are largely designed for able-bodied and able-minded children, yet in both our major cities and rural towns, disabled people represent between 10-16% of the population. This thesis seeks to explore the transformative potential of architectural design in empowering children with disabilities while seamlessly integrating disability facilities into the fabric of New Zealand schools.Adopting a research through design strategy, the study’s scope encompasses a thorough contextual analysis, user-centered design, and innovative architectural interventions, all with the goal of enhancing the sense of identity and comfort of children. By engaging with people with disabilities, families, and experts, this thesis employs design as a research methodology to create inclusive, sensory-sensitive, and culturally respectful environments. It evaluates the impact of these interventions, emphasising sustainability and long-term usability, and provides practical implementation guidelines. The research also contemplates the broader societal implications of these design interventions, paving the way for a more inclusive and supportive society. This thesis proposal represents a significant step toward all schools enabling the full participation and empowerment of the young access community in New Zealand.</p
Access Repository Dashboard
Do you manage Victoria University of Wellington? Access insider analytics, issue reports and manage access to outputs from your repository in the CORE Repository Dashboard!