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Evaluating social perceptions, attitudes and participation in water resource management in Invercargill
No full textPublic participation in water resource management is crucial for community development and resource sustainability. It is a way in which citizens can contribute local knowledge, experience and opinions to the policy process and have a more direct role in shaping policies and rules that affect them and their environments. This study aims to assess the perception and awareness of the Invercargill community towards the water quality and availability in Invercargill, their attitudes on water resource management in Invercargill and their experience in water-related engagement forums. To address these goals, a 32‐item public opinion survey was distributed among 100 participants of the Invercargill community and an interview was conducted with the Invercargill City Council. The results demonstrate that participants are overall satisfied with their water supply, with a higher satisfaction shown among people on rainwater supplies. The public perceived protecting water quality and availability as a very important issue facing the community and contamination was the key issue selected as afflicting the local water body. However, an apparent disparity was observed between the community and the council in that the latter perceived water availability (or lack thereof) as a higher threat. Respondents agreed to needing stronger laws to protect the quality and availability of water in Invercargill. A surprising result showed a large amount of uncertainty pertaining to the council’s performance in ensuring resilient water supplies from contaminants or earthquakes and other natural hazards, investing appropriately to manage flooding, and adequately planning for future water need. Community engagement in water-related issues was significantly low, with only 27% of the respondents willing to attend water-related local engagement events in the future. Results suggest more education and outreach is needed to provide additional information pertaining to drinking water supplies, the quality and availability of water in the community, and hazard prevention and control. Age was a key factor in information delivery as the participants of older age ranges favoured print material while the younger demographic preferred social media and the water utility website. The findings of this research have important implications for local agencies seeking to increase communication and engagement relating to water among the community. It is hoped that the results of this study would benefit the policy and planning executives in Invercargill in optimising the existing water resources for urban development
Onehunga waterfront and climate adaptation : a Unitec Landscape/Architecture studio
No full textThis paper discusses the potential of a landscape/architecture student joint studio to develop design strategies for a waterfront development that adapts to the environmental challenges of climate change. The authors developed a studio methodology to help students build collaboration and capacity to address real-world problems. The collaborative approach started with the deliberate engagement of a multiplicity of stakeholders, drawn from government agencies, practitioners, the community and mana whenua. The studio approach offered architecture and landscape architecture students the opportunity to work in teams, to conduct critical research and to address critical contemporary issues through the design process.
Using the Port of Onehunga in Auckland as a case study, this paper presents the results of students’ collaboration with the Auckland Council development agency Panuku in 2019 and 2020. The selected student projects demonstrate how a collaboration between landscape architects and architects can contribute to creative solutions to address the effects of climate change. This process not only inspired innovative solutions in the first master plan phase, but also informed detailed interventions in the second building and publicspace design phase.
The results of the studio work demonstrate that alternative design strategies to the current generic waterfront model could be developed. These strategies explicitly address environmental problems, such as sea-level rise, to develop a more resilient waterfront development. The results of the collaborative studio project bring valuable insights for the local community in their search for design strategies to adapt to climate change. The results of the studio also contribute to the international search for alternative solutions for the design of waterfront development projects around the world
Inclusive and consistent assessment of architectural drawings across teaching teams on Architectural Technology courses
No full textThe purpose of this project is to encourage best practice by seeking to rationalise the process of how teaching team members assess architectural drawings. This is to mitigate the influence of personal subjectivity and therefore produce more reliable and inclusive assessment decisions across the members of teaching team
Stoking the flames of the digital fireplace. How can the practice of vlogging contribute to an understanding of the presentation of self in contemporary oral history making?
No full textStoking the Flames of the Digital Fireplace is a creative practice based project with an ethnographic and auto-ethnographic focus in which I experiment with and analyse the medium of video-logging (vlogging) on the Youtube platform, interviewing New Zealand vloggers along the way to gain insight into how lifestyle vlogging functions as a means of relating oral histories, and how this new role within modern media impacts on the performance of self, culture and identity. The result of this research is a Youtube channel and specifically, four topic focussed vlogs, as well as the exegesis that discusses my journey and findings
A Treaty based framework for mainstream social work education in Aotearoa New Zealand : educators talk about their practice
No full textINTRODUCTION:
Globally, indigenous social work educators have pursued decolonisation and the development of decolonising practices as part of the indigenous peoples’ rights movement and based on social work principles of self-determination and social justice. Māori have advanced decolonisation based on the original partnership that was envisaged in the Treaty of Waitangi signed between Māori and the British Crown in 1840. Aotearoa New Zealand social work education has a stated commitment to a Treaty-based partnership approach.
METHODS:
This research engaged focus groups along with interviews of social work educators from nine of the 19 programmes across Aotearoa New Zealand to explore if, and how, this commitment to a Treaty-based approach was being demonstrated in the real world of practice. A diverse group of participants included Māori, Pākehā, Pasifika, and people identifying with other ethnic groups.
FINDINGS:
Māori and non-Māori participants gave a range of perspectives relating to practising within a Treaty-based context. The Treaty should be understood historically but also in its contemporary expressions noting the extra demands placed on Māori. Non-Māori had an important role in demonstrating Treaty partnership and confronting White privilege. The Māori cultural approach of Kaupapa Ma ̄ori was a foundation for a Treaty approach, and presented a challenge for non-Māori to learn this. A major challenge for programmes was having sufficient Māori staff.
CONCLUSIONS:
Based on the findings, a Treaty-based teaching and learning framework has been developed to support educators as they advance decolonising practices and the indigenisation of social work education in Aotearoa New Zealand
On New Urbanism in Auckland: A study in the integration of New Urbanist principles within the context Auckland's outer suburbs
No full textRESEARCH QUESTION:
How can design principles of New Urbanism be used to create a mixed-use urban development in Auckland’s growing suburbs?
ABSTRACT:
The city of Auckland has seen rapid growth in recent years. This in turn has led to the creation of rapidly developed suburban areas that may lack a sense of place, character, and structure. Flat Bush, a relatively new development in South Auckland, exemplifies such conditions in most facets of its design. These conditions have been propagated through the use of functional zoning, a concept born out of the modernist movement, which sees the separation of functions and activities into distinct and often isolated zones – resulting in a disconnected urban structure that favours the car over the pedestrian. In addition, the lack of a sense of place and character may be attributed to translation of industrial logic1 into architectural design, which has resulted in the creation of ‘cookie cutter’ houses repeated ad nauseam.
One measure by which a city a city may address such conditions is through the use of Traditional Urban design and Traditional Architectural design principles. Both approaches seek to address the shortcomings of contemporary design through the use of pre-existing models by adapting them to a contemporary urban environment. It is through the principles of New Urbanism, as laid out in Charter of the New Urbanism, that traditional urban design is approached throughout the research. It is Leon Krier’s pioneering book Architecture: Choice and Fait that provides the crucial link between the two approaches of traditional design – linking the Classical design language to New Urbanism under one design outcome. The research draws upon a number of precedents that display either one of the design approaches or both in order to inform the adaptation of traditional principles into Flat Bush.
Further, the research proposes the development of a traditional neighbourhood within the core of Flat Bush as a tool to mitigate the effects of functional zoning and its associated effects. Therefore, the research will investigate the interaction between different building typologies within a traditional urban structure through the use of Form Based Codes, with the aim of integrating functions and increasing density within an urban environment that is conducive to walkability, thereby, promoting and increasing potential interactions with residents themselves and with their urban environment.
Site project: Ormiston Central, Flat Bush, Auckland
The financial regulatory challenges of Lao state-owned commercial banks in joining ASEAN Economic Community : a management perspective
No full textRESEARCH SUB-QUESTIONS:
1. What are the benefits and disadvantages for Lao banks in joining AEC?
2. What are the financial regulatory challenges management face in joining AEC?
3. What financial regulatory strategies should the management of Lao banks adopt to compete with other ASEAN member banks?
ABSTRACT:
Joining the ASEAN economic community (AEC) brings both positive and negative impacts to Laos. The Lao banking sector is directly affected by ASEAN economic integration, specifically Lao state-owned commercial banks. Recently, Lao state-owned commercial banks are facing difficulties of joining ASEAN economic community because this integration requires Lao banks to improve and amend their financial regulations to meet the international standards. Moreover, AEC will create a high level of business competition among ASEAN members and business partners. This means that AEC will change business environments of ASEAN, create business challenges and offer business opportunities for ASEAN members. Consequently, Lao state-owned commercial banks need to understand and analyze their weaknesses, strengths, challenges and business status so that can create business strategies to again competitive advantages and compete with foreign banks who will come to invest in Laos.
This qualitative research study aims to investigate the perspective of managers on the financial regulatory challenges of Lao state-owned commercial banks in joining AEC, particularly in terms of reaching the international financial standards as well as exploring the business strategies of Lao banks to compete with foreign banks. In order to achieve the goals of the research, the semi-structured interview is employed to collect data from 11 participants (bank managers) of Banque Pour Le Commerce Exterieur Lao Public (BCEL).
According to the research findings, it reveals that the challenges of Lao state-owned commercial banks consist four main factors which are lacking skilled labour of Lao banks, the limitation of upgrading and supporting IT systems to improve service qualities and banking products, lacking of funds to support business activities and the increasing of banking foreign investment. Besides, there are seven areas that Lao banks needs to take into their business strategies including improving human resource development, IT system development, financial regulation development, organisation development, customer relationship development, banking co-operation development and capital development.
Finally, this research study also recommends some key areas that Lao state-owned commercial banks can take into consideration such as promoting the knowledge of AEC more, promoting the awareness of the advantages and disadvantages of financial regulations and capital management, promoting Lao banking co-operation as well as improving customer relationship
The folly of suburban electrical boxes : re-assessing the suburban footpaths under Covid-19 lock-down L4 (25 March-27 April 2020) Auckland, New Zealand
No full text[Colour photographs of examples of suburban electrical boxes
Suicidal behaviours and moderator support in online health communities : protocol for a scoping review
No full textINTRODUCTION:
Suicidal ideation and suicidal behaviours are common yet complex mental health presentations that can pose significant challenges for health professionals. The inability to accurately predict the individuals who may move from experiencing suicidal ideation and associated behaviours, to completing suicide, presents one such challenge. This can make it difficult to provide interventions and support to those most in need. Online health communities are one possible source of support for individuals who experience suicidal ideation and behaviours. These communities are becoming an increasingly popular way of accessing support, often with life-saving consequences. Within online communities, support is offered by various individuals including, in some instances, health professionals from various backgrounds, who work as online health community moderators. Given the growth of online communities and the increasing number of health professionals working as moderators, this scoping review seeks to map the literature that has focused on health professionals working as online community moderators, who interact with members experiencing suicidal ideation and behaviours. Mapping the existing literature offers benefits to both research and practice by identifying gaps in the research and providing a beginning knowledge base of current practice that can inform the training and development of health professionals working as community moderators.
METHODS AND ANALYSIS:
This scoping review will follow the methodological framework of Arksey and O’Malley, later adapted by Levac et al. To ensure appropriate rigour, this protocol uses the 20-item Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses and extension for Scoping Reviews. Literature will be identified using a search strategy developed in consultation with a specialist research librarian at the university where the researchers are employed. Ten multidisciplinary databases will be independently searched by two researchers, and both researchers will screen for inclusion, and undertake the data extraction. The first author will perform a quality assessment of the articles that are selected for inclusion. A second researcher will complete a random audit of 20% of the included articles to assess for quality and suitability in answering the research questions. The first author will complete the analysis and synthesis of the data. A numerical and narrative synthesis of the included studies will be provided.
ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION
The scoping review has been deemed as being exempt from ethical review as no data will be collected from human participants. The results of the scoping review may be published in a peer-reviewed journal, thesis, presented at relevant conferences, and shared with relevant knowledge users
Ayllu - Community : modular "kit" school in the Andes of Peru
No full textCover title: Ayllu - Community : modular "kit" school in the Andes of Peru
Principle supervisor: David Turner on title page ; Cesar Wagner on declaration
RESEARCH QUESTION:
How can modular schools benefit the growth of agricultural communities?
ABSTRACT:
The number of schools in poor rural communities is too few for the number of children that live in the small communities of the Andes of Peru. There is a high percentage of uneducated people especially in those areas as poverty and lack of governmental support are key issues that people face in conjunction with the challenges of altitude and weather conditions in their everyday lives.
This research project is a community-focused design that intends to enhance the study environment and skills of the students, to help improve the productive circle within the community. Focusing on helping the students with a better education that in the future, can give back to their community and families.
The project will develop a modular ‘kit’ school design that will focus on the agricultural communities that are considering alternative education and passive technologies that would help to improve the way schools are built and operate in rural communities. The location of the project is in the city of Cusco, Peru but the project will analyse other possible locations where the modular design can be utilised. The research project analyses the climate and topography of the CRFA (Rural Alternation Training Centres) schools of the Andean region.
... The site is in the community of Occopata, Cusco; which is known for its communal bond and agricultural lifestyle. The design aims to be adaptable for the different CRFA schools that face extreme weather conditions in the High Andes