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Mosaic governance for urban verge greening: Engaging property owners and addressing socio-spatial inequities
No full textUrban street vegetation is a vital component of a city’s greening infrastructure, offering significant environmental, social, and health benefits. However, achieving its full potential requires active engagement from households, particularly in the context of road verge greening, where responsibilities often fall at the intersection of public and private ownership. This study explores the potential of a mosaic governance model for urban verge greening, emphasising its potential to reconcile socio-spatial diversity and foster equitable participation. Drawing on a mixed-methods survey of property owners in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand, the research examines the motivations, barriers, and socio-spatial factors influencing residents’ participation in verge greening. The findings highlight that while mosaic governance holds promise for encouraging collaboration and addressing urban greening complexities, it must account for the diverse socio-spatial characteristics, motivations, and challenges of residents. Communication, resource provision, and public education are essential to overcoming barriers such as limited knowledge and access to resources. The study makes conceptual and empirical contributions by extending the mosaic governance model to incorporate socio-spatial characteristics of place and stakeholders, stressing the importance of equitable participation in urban greening
Pilot Project - Operationalising Tactical Urbanism as Urban Design Process.
No full textThe current urban design process in Aotearoa, New Zealand represents a significant challenge to the discipline of Landscape Architecture. As the current long-term planning procedure continues to disempower local communities and result in planning paralysis. The assumption about urban planning remains that it’s an integral socio-political function for that’s existed for millennia, orchestrating spatial organisation, infrastructure provision, and long-term city visions. Though its success, value and efficiency in the past few decades in Aotearoa, New Zealand has caused serious questioning about our reliance on long-term planning.This thesis explores how re-imaging the process of urban design through the inclusion of tactical urbanism as urban design process. Could bridge the gap between communities, those in power and fill the gaps created by long-term planning failures. While seeking to understand the potential involvement of Landscape Architects in this alternative design method. Situating the research in Ōtautahi, Christchurch this design-led research investigates tactical urbanism as urban design process, through detailed analysis of an urban landscape. Community participation and a tactical urbanism design intervention to test ideas and collect data to inform permanent future changes.With the intention to understand tactical urbanism’s potential to develop localised design and work as urban design process to combat planning paralysis. Contributing to the discourse of Landscape Architecture by offering a design process that empowers the relationship between the designer and local community. Resulting in an inclusive and vibrant urban space, informed by participatory ideas and design testing to ensure the creation of a space that reflects community values and local context.</p
Almost-Contractive Maps Between Fourier and Fourier-Stieltjes Algebras
No full textThis thesis investigates the Fourier and Fourier-Stieltjes algebras, denoted by A(G) and B(G), associated with a locally compact group G, objects fundamental in the study of abstract harmonic analysis. These algebras are defined as spaces of coefficient functions of representations on locally compact groups. Their Banach dual spaces VN(G) and W*(G) are respectively von Neumann algebras and W*-algebras whose structures depend on the properties of Haar measures and functions of positive type. A norm-gap phenomenon for bounded homomorphisms between Fourier and Fourier-Stieltjes algebras is studied, the phenomenon where such homomorphisms cannot have norms strictly between 1 and 1 + ε. Potential values for ε are explored through multiple techniques. One is a result about almost contractive maps between C*-algebras, namely that they satisfy an almost multiplicative domain principle. Another is a collection of norm-gap estimates for elements of the Banach dual VN(G). A third is the reduction to the case where G is abelian, which is already well-understood in the literature.</p
The complex-step Newton method and its convergence
No full textConsidered herein is a modified Newton method for the numerical solution of nonlinear equations where the Jacobian is approximated using a complex-step derivative approximation. We show that this method converges for sufficiently small complex-step values, which need not be infinitesimal. Notably, when the individual derivatives in the Jacobian matrix are approximated using the complex-step method, the convergence is linear and becomes quadratic as the complex-step approaches zero. However, when the Jacobian matrix is approximated by the nonlinear complex-step derivative approximation, the convergence rate remains quadratic for any appropriately small complex-step value, not just in the limit as it approaches zero. This claim is supported by numerical experiments. Additionally, we demonstrate the method’s robust applicability in solving nonlinear systems arising from differential equations, where it is implemented as a Jacobian-free Newton-Krylov method
Culturally Diverse Perceptions of EEG and Neurofeedback Research and How to Address Them to Reduce Sampling Bias
No full textLittle is known about whether cultural norms affect participation in Electroencephalography (EEG) research in general and in the applied context of EEG-based neurofeedback for emotion regulation training. As EEG administration requires direct contact with the head, this might interfere with cultural norms regarding the appropriateness of touching the head, and thereby prohibit individuals from taking part in such studies. However, the exclusion of participants given their cultural background limits generalization. To better understand a variety of cultural views, we investigated the perception of and attitudes towards EEG and neurofeedback across a culturally diverse group from Aotearoa New Zealand (N = 181). Descriptive and content analyses of online survey responses across all participants showed that most participants were not sure what EEG was or were unsure about its function. Knowledge about the neurofeedback methods was also minimal. Participants had helpful suggestions for making the research environment more comfortable. However, using neurofeedback for emotion regulation training was seen critically. Even within this research-keen, largely NZ European group, knowledge of EEG and neurofeedback was patchy —a gap that probably dampens participation by other cultural groups. Providing clear information upfront, creating a welcoming study environment, and letting participants choose the technician's gender should broaden the inclusiveness of future neuroscience research
Resistance to State-Corporate Crime: The Case of Pike River
No full textThis thesis explores the nature of resistance in the context of state-corporate safety crimes, specifically with regard to the 2010 Pike River mine disaster in Aotearoa New Zealand. Despite the vast amount of state-corporate crime scholarship, including literature focused on the context of work, there is little known about the nature of resistance. Therefore, this thesis contributes to existing criminological scholarship by illuminating how resistance emerges under the conditions of state-corporate safety crimes. The researcher conducted 22 semi-structured interviews: nine with key informants and thirteen with family members bereaved by the disaster. Interviewing people with different relationships to the disaster enabled a critical examination of the various factors that encouraged, fostered, and influenced resistance efforts, as well as those that worked to inhibit, quash, and dispel resistance. The findings determined that there is a ripple-effect of resistance, whereby those impacted by the disaster engaged a wide-variety of resistance efforts, ranging from small to large-scale activities, across micro, meso, and macro levels. And, that involvement in resistance shifted over time and was affected by wider state and corporate responses to the disaster. The findings demonstrate that state-corporate safety crimes under neoliberal-capitalist governance amount to a form of structural violence that can be classed as ‘social murder’. The use of a ‘resistance continuum’ is proposed as an appropriate tool to visibilise the diverse and rich broad spectrum of resistance efforts against state-corporate safety crimes. The argument concludes that resistance must be underpinned by a commitment to radical transformative change to fundamentally overcome the harmful and oppressive structures of power that generate safety crimes, and that dictate who is victimised who is made accountable.</p
Financial Quantification of Future Climate Extremes: Three Applications in Aotearoa New Zealand
No full textAs climate change accelerates, escalating extreme weather events and rising sea levels present increasingly material threats to infrastructure and real estate investments. Despite this, few tools exist to quantify the financial implications of future climate extremes on these long-lived assets. This thesis pioneers several novel methodologies that directly translate physical climate science outputs into inputs for quantifying financial risk on these assets. First, it combines Generalised Extreme Value (GEV) analysis with sea level rise projections and property-level data to estimate the timing and extent of future insurance retreat from coastal properties in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Second, an innovative atmospheric-hydrological modelling chain is developed to generate probability distributions that reliably reflect changes in climate extremes. This framework is then used to project how the Annual Exceedance Probabilities (AEPs) of major riverine floods evolve as global temperatures increase. The analysis demonstrates how different hydrological responses to climate change can either amplify or dissipate the atmospheric climate signal. Third, evolving probabilities of exceedance are deployed in the creation of two novel metrics: Loss of Design Life and its counterpart, Time to Design Failure. These metrics quantify the reduction in infrastructure design life resulting from climate change-induced increases in the frequency of extreme precipitation and discharge events. They are used to estimate the time until design failure of riverine infrastructure, such as bridges and levees, under climate change. By doing so, these metrics enable direct translation of physical climate science into the financial valuation of long-lived assets, including infrastructure and real estate. Fourth, the thesis investigates how evolving probabilities of exceedance due to sea level rise affect residential properties in coastal inundation zones, revealing a near-certain likelihood of damaging inundation within the next few decades, often after private insurers have retreated.</p
“You gotta be fucking roided, you gotta be ripped, you gotta be dialled”: Body Image, Gym Culture and TikTok use among Young Men in Aotearoa
No full textHistorically, research has overlooked men’s experiences of body image dissatisfaction. However, the ‘drive for muscularity’ has increasingly been recognised as a key experience of body image dissatisfaction, particularly with the popularisation of gym culture and increased appearance pressures among men. Social media has played a large role in the normalisation of the muscular ideal, with newer platforms such as TikTok making already unrealistic body ideals inescapable with powerful algorithms. TikTok is one way young men receive messaging about body ideals and expectations, with GymTok content becoming increasingly popular. There is a lot left unknown about the effects of this content on young men, and understanding their experiences is crucial in gaining understanding. One of the most effective ways to do this is to ask young men directly. In the present study, I interviewed 12 young gym-going men (ages 16-21) in Aotearoa about their lived experiences of body image and TikTok. I explored how participants talked about their reasons for attending the gym and their experiences there; their bodies and body image; and their experiences and use of TikTok in the context of the gym and body image. I adopted a critical realist approach, and used reflexive thematic analysis to developed four themes. Working It Out captured young men’s dissatisfaction with their bodies and how the gym appears to offer a promise of change and a way to deal with challenges. Gymperatives explored the imperatives which emphasise the importance of ‘doing’ the gym right and taking it seriously. These imperatives were apparent both inside and outside of the gym, and reflected neoliberal notions of productivity. Nobody Wins encapsulates young men’s understanding that body ideals are rife with double standards and knife edges; participants acknowledged the unrealistic standards on TikTok yet still felt pressure to live up to them. Finally, A Faulty Toolkit reflected participant’s difficulties coping with the pressures, using the tools they have available within the constraints of acceptable masculinity. My research highlights that young men experience body image pressures comparable to those of other genders. However, the reinforcement of restrictive masculine norms, particularly in online spaces, can create barriers to help-seeking, making it feel impossible. Normalising conversations with young men that challenge restrictive masculinity and unrealistic online appearance ideals is key to expanding societal ideas of body image dissatisfaction and its impact on men.</p
How does information flow influence researchers' environmental attitudes balancing scientific fieldwork activity and environmental protection in Antarctica? Insights from a social-ecological agent-based model
No full textTitle slide and abstract of oral presentation at the XX IASC Biennial Conference in Amherst, USA, June 16-20, 2025.FUNDINGTe Pūnaha Matatini: Human activity in the McMurdo Dry Valleys - rescue, knowledge and understanding our role as a vector of change</p
From Drone to Drawings: Documenting the Evolving Landscape
No full textThis thesis explores the potential of drone and lens-based technology in architectural site analysis, focusing on how different types of drones can be effectively used to showcase advanced site analysis techniques and support architectural design in diverse and dynamic environments. Traditional methods, while valuable, often lack the efficiency and precision offered by modern drone technologies. By integrating tools like LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and photogrammetry, this research investigates how drones can enhance site analysis by capturing accurate spatial data and providing insights into complex environments.Using the Red Rocks site, located south of Wellington, New Zealand, as a primary case study, a series of multiple drone data flights demonstrate the practical applications of this technology. The research examines how integrating various drones with unique capabilities can enhance accuracy, efficiency and versatility in site analysis for architectural projects. The methodology combines traditional site analysis techniques with advanced drone workflows, offering a comprehensive understanding of how to optimise drone operations for architectural purposes.The findings highlight the benefits of mastering multiple drone technologies, from LiDAR and photogrammetry, to improve the documentation and analysis of complex sites such as coastal and rural environments. This thesis demonstrates how these technologies can improve decision making processes, enhance the quality of architectural designs and highlight the value of innovative site analysis techniques. By showcasing the potential of drone technology in architecture, this research encourages its integration into architectural workflows to foster efficient and creative design practices.</p
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