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Preservation issues and controversies : challenges of underutilised and abandoned places
No full textResearch and Enterprise Office at Unitec Institute of Technology focuses on opportunities, challenges, and problems in a wide variety of subjects. In 2019, a project of heritage digitisation in New Zealand was approved. The project aims to present vulnerable, underutilised, or abandoned historical heritage through a multimedia presentation on the one hand, and to set up an information tool for preservation, restoration, and maintenance, on the other. It aims to have both academic and practical value in advancing knowledge about heritage in New Zealand: to provide a means for establishing New Zealand's current state of knowledge in the practice of archiving heritage buildings; to be useful for the end-user; and to aid in learning about the built environment. This paper will present data collected in the first phase of the project. A literature review and data about New Zealand's current state of knowledge in the practice of archiving heritage buildings will be developed. International state of the knowledge in the field and the practice in Aotearoa New Zealand will be compared. The benefits of the project are expected to be wider than historical recording only and can be used for refurbishment of buildings, facility maintenance, etc
Insights into the impacts Facebook can have on management decisions for (recreational) sport horses in New Zealand
Get PDFThe aims of this project are to firstly explore whether recreational horse owners in New Zealand are using equestrian-themed groups on Facebook to gain knowledge and advice on matters of horse husbandry rather than using more evidence-based methods, and secondly to gather insights about the impact this form of decision-making can have on horses.
The research also explores reasons why professionals appear unable or unwilling to interact or respond to posts seeking or giving advice and replies to posts, even when the advice given is inappropriate to the situation, inaccurate, incomplete, and therefore compromises the welfare of the horse through poor decision making by owners. The ramifications of interacting or ignoring Facebook posts and advice given in equine-themed Facebook groups that the professionals have been tagged in, or that they come across in their personal Facebook dealings is examined as well.
The significance of this study is that it highlights the effect on the management of horses, and on equine professionals that casual advice given on Facebook has.
Previously published theory on New Zealand Facebook users and their motivation neglects to address advice sought for animals and particularly horses. This report demonstrates to what extent and in what circumstances Facebook users in New Zealand equestrian-themed groups are likely to ask for or give advice by inviting group members to complete an anonymous online survey. 160 people replied to the invitation to take part in the anonymous survey and data from 156 valid responses was analysed. The results are then discussed in a series of interviews with a range of equine professionals from around New Zealand. The mixed methods approach used in this project allowed me to firstly canvas a broad number of New Zealand horse owners on Facebook quantitively, and then to develop auto ethnographical learning through collegial discussion in the interview section
A collaborative design studio approach to safeguard waterfront resilience in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand
No full textThis paper discusses the potential of an interdisciplinary design studio to develop innovative thinking in response to the climatic and social challenges facing contemporary waterfront redevelopments. Climate change has a broad and growing range of environmental effects on coastal cities that demand urgent responses. The paper describes the development of a collaborative and interdisciplinary design studio that identified a number of design responses to meet the challenges of climate change. The studio brought together students and lecturers from architecture and landscape architecture along with relevant stakeholders (government agencies, practitioners, community) to collaborate on the redevelopment of the Onehunga Port in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand. Engagement with mana whenua (the indigenous people of specific areas of Aotearoa New Zealand) was critical. The students worked in teams to conduct critical research and design throughout a masterplanning design process. The outcomes of the studio included open-ended and propositional designs rather than the conventional masterplans. Students design work addressed complex problems, such as sea level rise, to develop a more resilient urban future. Beyond the immediate objectives of the studio, the interdisciplinary collaboration demonstrated a range of benefits, including students learning to work in teams, sharing complementary views, broadening perspectives and increasing social awareness
Discover. Develop. Deliver: An investigation of innovation processes and systems within New Zealand's red meat industry
No full textNew Zealand’s red meat industry faces challenges of the evolving alternative proteins sector, emerging consumer trends, and environmental concerns, all of which drive innovation. A hybridised lens of design thinking, systems thinking, and regenerative thinking was used to investigate the innovation processes and systems within New Zealand’s red meat industry. The case studies selected centred on the emerging relationship between Silver Fern Farms (a meat processor) and the Food Design Institute at Otago Polytechnic (a culinary educational institute that undertakes new product development as part of their curriculum) in the innovation space. Incremental innovations were found to be the primary output of the Silver Fern Farms’ stage-gate innovation process. Meanwhile, the Food Design Institute’s design thinking innovation process leads to more creative and radical innovations. Maintaining a competitive advantage requires the proactive response to the drivers listed above and the consideration for designing radical innovations. Several opportunities were identified for Silver Fern Farms and New Zealand’s red meat industry in general to maximise the co-creation of value for themselves, consumers, and socio-ecological systems. The majority of opportunities identified employ collaboration with other industries and organisations, especially those that utilise different frameworks and have expertise in niche markets. Opportunities include pathways for creating radical innovations and strategies for responding to the challenges
Marine debris in the nests of tākapu (Australasian gannets,Morus serrator) in the inner Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand
No full textMarine debris, principally plastics, are a persistent pollutant in marine systems (Law 2017). The recovery of plastics from the digestive tracts of both coastal and pelagic seabirds or from around their nests has demonstrated that plastics are ubiquitous across all oceans (Wilcox et al. 2015; Jagielle et al. 2019) and has led to the use of these birds as indicators for the distribution and relative amount of marine plastic debris (Hartwig et al. 2007; Ryan et al. 2009; van Franeker et al. 2011; van Franeker & Law 2015; Acampora et al. 2016)
Re-thinking the Manikarnika Ghat
No full textRESEARCH QUESTION:
How can an architectural solution enhance the human experience of mourners in the context of the commemoration of death at Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasi?
ABSTRACT:
“Benares is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together.” - Mark Twain
For Hindus, Varanasi (also known as Benares or Kashi) is considered a sacred place for cremations. Over the ages, cremations at Varanasi have been carried out in open-air wooden pyres, where the body is burned using wood. These open-air cremations occur on the stepped platforms constructed all along the banks of the sacred River Ganges, which flows through Varanasi. Such places are referred to locally as “Ghats”. The Manikarnika Ghat is the oldest and most famous of these Ghats. However, increasingly, the practice of open-air cremation is causing many issues, predominantly concerning pollution, lack of hygiene, overcrowding, and congestion.
This research endeavours to remodel the Manikarnika Ghat into a modern crematorium whilst preserving the traditional practices associated with death at this site. Modern crematoria the world over operate indoor electric furnaces where the bodies are incinerated. However, in this author's view, a straight adoption of this modern approach would not be appropriate in the context of Varanasi. Instead, this research adopts the three lenses of Issues and Problems, Religious Beliefs, and Traditions and Practices to develop a solution. To identify an appropriate architectural response, a literature review of key research and precedent studies of national and international crematoria, along with an in-depth analysis of site and context were undertaken. Based on the resulting research design strategy, this study proposes a cluster of built spaces and infrastructure supporting traditional open-air cremations, an indoor electric crematorium, and other services at Manikarnika Ghat. Responding to the environmental concerns yet preserving the traditions and spirit of the Ghats, this study seeks to keep the mourners’ experience as the central focu
Orbital vacancy
No full textRESEARCH QUESTION:
How can the microgravity environment of Low Earth Orbit inform the design of an orbital tourism experience?
ABSTRACT:
Within the next decade humans are set to become an interplanetary species. This is not the beginning of the end for our habitation on Earth. The technologies and innovations required to travel vast distances through Space and inhabit other worlds will feed back into Earth, allowing a new foundation for a more sustainable future.
Historically, humanity’s adventures into Space have provided an opportunity to look back at Earth and consider how far we have come. From the vantage point of Space, astronauts become susceptible to a cognitive shift known as the “Overview Effect”. The experience leaves astronauts with a heightened environmental consciousness and an advocacy for global cooperation that lasts a lifetime. This architectural project is designed to utilise the Overview Effect and influence the minds of participants.
Space stations traditionally operate as orbiting laboratories and have been designed to maximise economic or scientific return. An engineer driven design results in laboratory equipment and spatial efficiency being prioritized to the detriment of the career astronauts operating the station. These stations have cramped living spaces, busy work schedules and disorientating layouts, which affect the health and wellbeing of their inhabitants.
This project postulates at how a new typology of Space station could be designed to accommodate paying guests whilst also exposing participants to the Overview Effect
Effects of intermittent fasting on glycaemic control in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A scoping review protocol
No full textRESEARCH QUESTION:
What empirical evidence is available regarding the use of intermittent fasting in affecting glycaemic control in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus
Co-relation of wind power generation and weather in New Zealand
No full textIn this study, the generation data from April 2018 to March 2019 were sourced for this study from 4 wind farms across NZ are selected with weather stations close
Innovative models and partnership contribution for sustainable economic growth
No full textUnlocking the potential of New Zealand’s knowledge base, its people and diverse resources will be vital in realising socio-economic and environmental benefits for Aotearoa, New Zealand. This small nation has the potential to be a world-class leader in industries that use niche technologies and leverage partnerships. Some leading New Zealand firms are already championing this cause through their membership of the Climate Leaders Coalition (CLC), promoting business leadership and collective action on climate change. The synergistic model employs partnership contribution to propel growth, using knowledge, people and resources in a future-directed approach for industries facing strategic challenges in an environment of disequilibrium. This position paper draws on a desktop review of literature, organisational and media reports, and national data to show how some members of the CLC are leading action in emissions mitigation and sustainability. The findings evidence the many ways organisations can leverage partnerships and innovation to align with signals from government and industry, even in some of the most challenging contexts. The paper concludes with an example from the construction industry, with clear implications for our future combined tertiary education organisation, and its mandate to create a vocational education system that is geared for the needs of the future