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Embodied Patriarchy: Reproductive Lives, and Home/host Country Experiences of North Indian Immigrant Women in Aotearoa
No full textCompared with native-born populations, migrant women access and use fewer sexual and reproductive healthcare services, making the sexual and reproductive health of immigrant women a public health issue in most host countries. In Aotearoa New Zealand, the Indian diaspora has been growing since the 19th century, but there is little research on Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH henceforth) practices of and amongst Indian migrant women. This absence of research is surprising given that Indian women migrate in almost equal numbers to men. Further, the average age of Indian migrant women to Aotearoa is currently 30 years – an age where sexual and reproductive decisions are often central to their settlement in their new home countries. In this thesis, I thus seek to address this knowledge gap by unpacking the sexual and reproductive decision-making experiences of a small number of North Indian immigrant women living in Aotearoa, highlighting the influences of their home and host countries and the implications for local public health policy in their host country.Informed by a social constructivist epistemology and feminist scholarship, I explore the experiences of twenty-five North Indian immigrant women living in different cities in Aotearoa New Zealand using a qualitative research design. I gained access to rich and nuanced stories of these immigrant women’s experiences through semi-structured, multiple, one-to-one, interviews. I then took a thematic analysis approach to identify recurring themes and patterns within their narratives. These themes and narratives inform the chapters of this thesis.The uniqueness of this thesis and its contribution to human geography can be found in the conceptual framework used to analyse and interpret the data. I drew on Doreen Massey’s framework of an ‘extroverted sense of place’ to understand the social complexities of two different geographical places (home and host countries) as they were reflected in the lived experiences and decision-making of these women. In particular, Massey’s ideas were helpful in exploring the negotiations and navigations undertaken by these women within the distinct discourses of their two different worlds (home and host countries) where SRH representations, narratives, meanings and behaviours contrast.Through my analysis and drawing on Massey’s previous scholarship, I conceptually develop and posit ‘embodied patriarchy’ as a way to show how, despite migration, these first-generation immigrant women continue to navigate patriarchal normativity throughout migration and their post-migration lives. Using this concept, I underscore how the socio-cultural norms associated with it from their home country, particularly around premarital chastity, internalised stigma and cultural discouragement towards gaining SRH knowledge, significantly influence their decision-making in the host country, leading to low prioritisation of SRH and low utilisation of healthcare services. I also outline how the host country’s discriminatory health policies intersect with embodied patriarchy to perpetuate forms of oppression and marginalisation post migration.The research findings here suggest that the inclusion of compulsory, comprehensive and culturally appropriate SRH education for North Indian immigrant women as a part of their resettlement process could improve SRH service uptake and public health outcomes in Aotearoa. I also recommend that North Indian immigrant men be included in educational programmes to help address gendered patriarchal norms, improve power dynamics in heterosexual relationships, and promote a culture of gender equality. Furthermore, I advocate for increased collaboration between migrant communities, policymakers, and healthcare providers to design and impart culturally sensitive education among migrant communities.In conclusion, using a feminist geographic lens, I argue that it is important to acknowledge the traces of places (and cultures) within women’s sexual and reproductive health through attention to embodied patriarchy. Without attention to this influence on immigrant women’s SRH decision-making, their abilities to access the essential human rights that are reproductive choice, reproductive rights, and above all Reproductive Justice (RJ) may be impeded in their new place of residence.</p
Threads of Time
No full textNew Zealand’s built environment holds invaluable stories that contribute to our nation’s history. However, as time has passed and communities have evolved, these tangible structures and the stories within have been demolished. Their memory reduced to a sign lining the forecourt where the structure once stood. The Dunedin Stock Exchange Building, constructed in 1869 and demolished in 1969, was a key landmark on Princes Street, established during the city’s development from the Gold Rush era. Throughout the century, it housed three occupations: the first University of New Zealand, the head office of The Colonial Bank, and The Stock Exchange. Now, over 50 years after its demolition, the building has been replaced, and the memory has been lost. Using this building as an example, the thesis argues how the floorplans of the three occupancies can uncover the intangible stories, preserving the building’s cultural essence and re-engaging the community with its lost history. Drawing on the theoretical frameworks of Gaston Bachelard, Marco Frascari, and Robin Evans, the research investigates how the ‘ghosts’ of the building, interpreted from the floorplans, conjure glimpses of the lost space, evoking memories and access to the reverie. Finally, the study explores how these interpreted glimpses of design interventions can be reintroduced into the modern streetscape, capturing the memory and fostering a renewed sense of cultural continuity. This thesis challenges conventional approaches to architectural heritage preservation, proposing imaginative and sensory-driven strategies to re-establish a connection to our lost architecture.</p
Contextualizing career development: Cultural affordances as the missing link in social cognitive career theory
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A Circular Economy: Building from Unbuilding
No full textThe construction industry operates within a fast-paced and highly intricate environment, where optimising time, efficiency, resources and money is crucial. Among this workflow the industry accounts for around 50% of waste that heads straight to landfill, much of it being plastic waste. There is a limited availability within New Zealand to formulate a successful workflow following an up-cycling approach which views these materials as more than just waste, and rather, an opportunity to design. This research advocates for up-cycling these materials into valuable resources and products, challenging the perception of waste and presenting a dual opportunity: sustainability and economic gain while providing a system of up-cycling.The research offers practical solutions and a structured workflow for industry implementation, leveraging technologies like 3D printing to integrate sustainable practices seamlessly. The resulting high-value products can be used in fit-out stages or to revitalise urban areas, demonstrating the transformative potential of up-cycling in construction.</p
Harmonising History
No full textNew Zealand was a recently established colony with its governance under the British Crown by the 1870s, and was beginning to become aware of its vulnerability to enemy attack with its lack of coastal defence structures. There was a growing threat from Russia following the Crimean War, and New Zealand knew it would be an easy target for a potential invasion. The New Zealand government realised it could not solely rely on Britain for protection, and following a series of scares from the Russians, decided to fortify its shores to safeguard the main ports. They were erected in Auckland, Wellington, Port Chalmers and Lyttelton, and consisted of observation posts, bunkers and gun installations, etc. In Wellington, forts were erected at Point Gordon, Point Halswell and Kaiwarrawarra. Fort Ballance, situated at Point Gordon and constructed in 1885, stands as one of the most significant coastal defence structures in New Zealand as it is one of the most well-preserved forts of the nineteenth century. Fort Ballance continued to be armed during the First World War, however, it was retired in 1925 due to the outdated guns. It saw a brief revival during World War Two, but didn’t serve any real purpose after that, returning to the abandoned state we see today. The efforts to fortify were a reaction to a threat that never came, their efforts left to erode, to be claimed back by the hills and forgotten. Many historic fortifications share a similar story, many stories slowly losing to time. This thesis revives the forgotten stories of the site by designing an architectural intervention that draws upon the site’s lost geometries, narrative elements, and the atmospheric essence that remains. The resulting experiential space, integrated with the existing structure, serves as a tool to acknowledge and engage with the past. The design-led research employs a range of planning strategies informed by key authors, and techniques to convey the site’s narrative and affective qualities, culminating in an additive intervention. Layering is employed as a critical design technique, synthesising these elements to create a cohesive architectural outcome.</p
Investigating the Interactions Between Bartonella quintana and Human Neutrophils
No full textBartonella quintana is a fastidious Gram-negative bacterium that occupies the intra-erythrocytic niche. Spread by the human body louse, B. quintana is the etiological agent of urban trench fever, a disease of poverty, poor hygiene, and alcoholism. Unfortunately, B. quintana is a pathogen that thrives amongst those most vulnerable, including the immunocompromised and homeless, with countries in Europe and Africa recognising it as a re-emerging pathogen. B. quintana infections can result in many clinical manifestations, ranging from asymptomatic to potentially life-threatening chronic bacteraemia and endocarditis. Despite the increasing prevalence of B. quintana and its ability to cause serious disease, very little is known about the pathogen and many aspects of its infection strategy are yet to be characterised. Neutrophils are the most abundant white blood cell and are key for controlling microbial infections. Given their abundance and function, it is likely neutrophils interact with B. quintana during infection, but little research exists on the B. quintana - immune system interplay. Due to this knowledge gap, the goal of this project was to establish the basic interactions between B. quintana and neutrophils, using HL-60 cells differentiated to resemble a neutrophil model (nHL-60).Some bacterial pathogens can combat the antimicrobial properties of neutrophils and survive intracellularly. Research demonstrates that some Bartonella species can survive in host cells such as endothelial cells and some are able to manipulate the antimicrobial functions of neutrophils. B. quintana intracellular survival in nHL-60s was assessed using a gentamicin protection assay. Infected nHL-60s were lysed and bacterial colonies were enumerated to indicate bacterial intracellular survival. B. quintana was found to survive up to 72 hours within nHL-60 cells despite their antimicrobial properties. Induction of premature nHL-60 death was also assessed using a cytotoxicity assay, which revealed no difference in the viability of infected or uninfected nHL-60 cells. A major virulence factor in the B. quintana arsenal is the VirB/D4 Type IV secretion system and the effectors (Beps) it injects into host cells to divert cell functions. To investigate targeting of nHL-60 cells by two well-studied Beps, BepC and BepE, translational fusion proteins containing a Bep fused to beta-lactamase were created. Expression of some of these proteins was confirmed in S17-1 E. coli, however expression could not be detected in B. quintana. Further studies are required to understand why.</p
On the lifespan of nonzero background solutions to a class of focusing nonlinear Schrödinger equations
No full textThe global solvability in time and the potential for blow-up of solutions to non-integrable focusing nonlinear Schrödinger equations with nonzero boundary conditions at infinity present challenges that are less explored and understood compared to the case of zero boundary conditions. In this work, we address these questions by establishing estimates on the lifespan of solutions to non-integrable equations involving a general class of nonlinearities. These estimates depend on the size of the initial data, the growth of the nonlinearity, and relevant quantities associated with the amplitude of the background. The estimates provide quantified upper bounds for the minimum guaranteed lifespan of solutions. Qualitatively, for small initial data and background, these upper bounds suggest long survival times consistent with global existence of solutions. On the other hand, for larger initial data and background, the estimates indicate the potential for the intriguing phenomenon of instantaneous collapse in finite time. These qualitative theoretical results are illustrated via numerical simulations. Furthermore, importantly, the numerical findings motivate the proof of improved theoretical upper bounds that provide excellent quantitative agreement with the order of the numerically identified lifespan of solutions
Redefining Rehabilitation
No full textMental health within the New Zealand Defense Force (NZDF) is a critical and growing issue, with limited resources available for serving and retired military personnel. Rehabilitation facilities for veterans in New Zealand are extremely scarce, despite alarming statistics indicating that one in three personnel are experiencing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (Hoge et al., 2014). This thesis proposes a redefinition of rehabilitation design, treating both the occupants suffering from PTSD and the site itself as equal clients. By prioritizing the healing and recovery of both the human and the landscape, this research highlights the synergy that can be achieved through dual-purpose design.This thesis aims to shift the design mindset to integrate and highlight the landscape, fostering restoration and protection of the whenua (land). Focusing on unutilized wasteland areas, specifically the Rangipo Desert, neighbouring Waiouru Military Base. The site was chosen for its proximity to the NZDF but, more importantly, for its extreme environmental conditions. This barren landscape provides an ideal canvas for investigating dual-purpose recovery. The outcome of this research is a speculative exploration of how rehabilitation accommodation can be designed to promote healing for both human occupants and the physical landscape. The proposed solution advocates for an evolution in rehabilitation design, one that balances the purpose of human recovery with the guardianship and regeneration of the land. Through simple yet impactful design interventions, this research aims to redefine rehabilitation spaces as tools for both personnel and environmental restoration.</p
Data Quality Assurance in Construction Environmental Product Declarations for Whole Building Life Cycle Assessment
No full textThe construction industry strongly impacts climate change due to its contribution to environmental emissions. The rise in digital environmental product declaration (EPD), a valuable source of data for whole building life cycle assessment (WBLCA), poses significant risks to the reliability of sustainability assessments due to data quality assurance issues. In addition, there has been a lack of focus on product-level uncertainty estimation using EPD for WBLCA and exploration of the challenges and their cumulative effect on data quality assurance. This research builds on the work of researchers who have developed methods to assess EPD quality. However, these methods are not sophisticated enough to report data quality assurance quantitatively and incorporate the result in uncertainty analysis. This research aims to develop a methodology that assesses the data quality assurance of construction materials EPD to improve the reliability of WBLCA through the use of trusted data. The research adopts a mixed approach, including three major phases. The first phase entails the definition and measures of variables. The second phase includes assessing the significance of the challenges and data quality assurance (DQA) indicators, developing the DQA model, developing the intelligent knowledge-based decision support system (KB-DSS), utilising the DQA score for uncertainty analysis, and assessing EPD reporting. The third phase includes validating the research outputs through presentation and survey to experts. Content analysis was employed to analyse the qualitative data while several statistical techniques were employed to analyse the quantitative data collected from 169 respondents globally.The research reveals the top-most challenge in LCA implementation for EPD development and EPD implementation for WBLCA, which includes ‘Problems with data availability and quality for LCA’ and ‘Poor quality of several underlying PCRs’, respectively. This suggests incorporating robust data quality mechanisms into the EPD development process and integrating proper guidance for developing product category rules (PCRs). Furthermore, verification was reported to be the most significant indicator of data quality assurance. The unique classification of the challenges and DQA indicators shows critical areas for stakeholders.The relationship between the challenge in LCA implementation for EPD development, EPD implementation for WBLCA, and DQA indicators, as revealed by the PLS-SEM analysis, indicates that both categories of challenges strongly influence each other. In contrast, the ‘Challenges → Data Quality Assurance Indicator model’ reveals 39% certainty in improving DQA when the challenges are resolved. The ‘knowledge and policy awareness’ category of the challenges is critical, indicating the need for stakeholders to invest in capacity building regarding EPD development and WBLCA. Subsequently, a multi-level framework with tailored approaches to resolving the challenge categories was developed. The intelligent KB-DSS, including a DQA model based on the Fuzzy Synthetic Evaluation (FSE) method, was developed to support EPD data quality assurance assessment. The DQA model consists of eighteen (18) indicators in five groups. The ‘Data reliability’ group is the most significant indicator group. The data quality assurance index (DQAI) from the DQA model formed the basis of the DQA score computation. Following the development of the DQA model, the intelligent KB-DSS with embedded DQA model and action plans from literature was developed in Microsoft Visual Studio. In order to demonstrate the applicability of the intelligent KB-DSS and DQA score, a case study validation using the concrete element in the project was conducted, and the findings provided empirical evidence as regards the tool implementation for WBLCA reliability decision-making. Finally, all the research outputs have contributed significantly to theory, methods and practice. The study provided valuable insights into the challenges associated with EPD development and utilisation which is lacking in existing studies. Stakeholders can leverage this information to resolve the challenges in EPD development and utilisation. Furthermore, this is the first study to introduce the concept of data quality assurance in EPD context and develop a metric system to measure data quality including a decision support system that can help facilitate data quality assurance assessment process. These outputs are expected to enhance the quality of EPDs for WBLCA, support sustainable decision-making, and provide a foundation for future research on EPD data quality in sustainability assessments.</p
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