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Investigating technologic advances in water sampling
No full textWater quality monitoring on a regular basis is an important part of managing New Zealand’s waterways and gauging changes in the aquatic environment. Traditional methods of taking samples from boats or canoes can be expensive, labour intensive and have health and safety risks.
Advancements in drone technology have made it possible to sample bodies of water via a drone platform in areas where boats or personnel are unable to access. Large expensive boats with a licenced skipper where people lean over the side to take samples will no longer be needed and labour costs with a drone can be reduced to as little as one or two operators who stand on the shore.
Before drones can be used as water sampling devices it is critical to assess their effectiveness in collecting samples without affecting the quality of data collected. This research investigated the production and modification of a novel, low cost, open source Niskin bottle (device that can be attached to a drone), to assess its effectiveness in collecting water samples compared to traditional methods of a Van Dorn.
The water samples were taken from several locations using the created device and traditional method, with samples tested in the lab and graphed to compare for significant differences and similarities. The findings of this research show that the quality of water samples collected using the novel drone device was not significantly different from that of samples collected using traditional sampling techniques. The study also demonstrates that low-cost water sampling devices can be constructed using off the shelf parts and electronics
Introducing a civic heart to Mt Roskill
No full textRESEARCH QUESTION:
Can a civic heart regenerate the suburb of Mt Roskill with informed design decisions based on architectural psychology?
ABSTRACT:
Auckland is rapidly progressing. Improvements have been made to transport infrastructure, new and vibrant urban developments are being built, and support for youth development has been increasing. However, some suburbs have been left behind from the progress around them. One such suburb is Mt Roskill. The present research aims to help the suburb of Mt Roskill catch up to the progress made around it and re-instill a sense of community.
Three significant issues arise when confronting this problem. The first is the lack of robust public transport infrastructure, in comparison to the rest of Auckland. The second is the lack of a vibrant and connected town centre. The Te Puketāpapa (Mt Roskill) council brief identifies these problems, along with the third and most pressing issue; a lack of support for local youth and their career pathways.
The solution to these problems suggested in this project was a community complex, incorporating architecture that directly addresses the issues outlined above. To create a lively, inviting and connected town centre, the research proposed integration of architectural psychological principles that would ensure a streamlined design process and enable a deeper understanding to design decision-making. To create a solution that is unique to Mt Roskill, the Te Aranga Principles were utilised to set the architecture in its context and enhance the prominent features of the site.
The question arises: Can a civic heart regenerate the suburb of Mt Roskill with informed design decisions based on architectural psychology? When breaking down the state of knowledge in the field of architectural psychology for this project, three design drivers to investigate arose. An efficient circulation scheme that connects the various functions of the site, the promotion of a safe and inviting atmosphere, and the methodology to encourage interaction. Architectural psychologist David Canter described how mental mapping could be used to create and influence circulation. Architect Grant Hilderbrand embeds the instincts associated with a safe and inviting atmosphere in psychology, and urban designer Vikas Mehta outlined theories on how to manipulate the street to allow for social interaction; these three theorists together informed the process of the present project.
These techniques and approaches outlined in the texts and reinforced by precedents informed a logical design process. The method of site orientation, forming the circulation of a transport hub/community centre and developing a methodology for the functional layout of the complex, was learned and applied through these areas of knowledge. Producing a final design through a streamlined process that could be replicated in other ‘left behind’ suburbs.
Site: Mount Albert Road and Dominion Road intersection
Place-making: An urban lifestyle complex
No full textRESEARCH QUESTION:
How can urban design theories revitalize Mambalam Station and Ranganathan Street to make it a better place for people to experience a safer, cleaner, and more prosperous lifestyle?
ABSTRACT:
The form of a city can impact its residents, and thus, the present proposal focuses on how a place can be designed to create an image of a city that is lively, safe, and healthy, enhancing the user experience. The project seeks to respond to these questions in order to create a sense of liveliness in the people who occupy the busy urban space of Theyagaraya Nagar, also known as T. Nagar, a central marketplace in Chennai, India. The project focuses on redesigning a marketplace and plaza in Central Chennai, which is currently highly congested. Its primary idea is to create a relationship between the physical fabric and the social realm of this area, which will improve the occupants’ lifestyle as well as that of its frequenters (residents, shoppers, etc.).
Chennai is known as the Port city as it is located near the Bay of Bengal, and the city’s major occupation is fishing and trading like that of Hong Kong and Singapore. It is the second-largest port city in India after Mumbai. Chennai is one of the most rapidly developing cities in South India, and T. Nagar is one of the important commercial hubs that is located in central Chennai. India is known for its unity in diversity with all of its people belonging to different areas and eras. As a whole, the city is complete with the diverse people living in it. India is clogged with a huge number of people and becomes increasingly congested day after day, especially in places where daily activities take place such as the markets, shopping complexes, grocery shops, fast food centres, etc. In some cases, the crowds in these places tend to increase and are so severely populated that they become highly unhygienic and cramped for buyers and shopkeepers alike. This research aims to analyse one of India’s busiest and most congested commercial hubs: Ranganathan Street and Mambalam Station, located in the western part of T. Nagar. Using various theories related to place-making and urban planning proposed by various researchers, the precedent studies are analysed. The ultimate goal is to design a marketplace and plaza that deals with the congestion problem in Ranganathan Street and Mambalam Station, creating a better place for people and allowing them to experience a safer and cleaner environment and an improved lifestyle.
For examining precedents and undertaking a literature review, a systematic review of the literature and its importance to people’s experience through urban forms is carried out. The studies show how public-private space can contribute to city planning in order to fulfil the user experience goal by taking Snohetta’s Oslo Opera House in Norway and Wynyard Quarters in New Zealand as precedents. It also involves resolving the problem of congestion in the context of urban sprawl. It assists in the creation of an image and well-organized spaces to be experienced and enjoyed by users using place-making theories in urban design.
Place-making regards the benefits derived from the social cohesion and social capital associated with effective public spaces in which people witness improved health conditions, lower incidence of crime and conflict and possess a great sense of place (Wood and Corti 2008). The relationship between people and the built environment is essential, especially how it can be manipulated by design, specifically with the implementation of user experience principles in order to enrich a space, which will be analysed to create a more functional and successful urban form for the T. Nagar marketplace. Some of these ideas of place-making are implemented mainly across Ranganathan Street for people to experience a sense of belonging to the place, believing that the design will help people live in a safe and healthy communit
Reconnecting to my ancestral akapapa
No full textRESEARCH QUESTION:
How can Cook Island design principles be embedded into the development of a papakāinga model that embraces Cook Island culture?
ABSTRACT:
Indigenous cultures around the world are facing a similar issue of identity confrontation. Consequently, creating a disconnect between the preservation of indigenous culture and its people. Intergenerational trauma confronts vulnerable minorities to adversity and misrepresentation. Forced to recognise insufficient knowledge of heritage, disconnected identity, and limited te reo. Individuals who seek to educate themselves in the absent cultural knowledge, strive to reconnect and regain a sense of belonging.
The effects of the Second World War and promising opportunities brought waves of Pacific Island people to drift to Aotearoa. In the 1950’s, Aotearoa had advertised to the Pacific Islands their intriguing experience for a modern lifestyle, employment and wide-ranged opportunities. A captivating offer for Cook Island families to cross the Pacific Ocean and embark on a foreign journey to the “land of the long white cloud”.
A rise in immigrant numbers and increase of overstaying visas in the 1970’s, had put pressure on targeted Pacific Island people. Today, the third-largest minority group in Aotearoa, are Pacific Island people.
This research project explores indigenous methodologies, applied in an architectural papakāinga approach. The design model is informed by values and design principles conceived from engaging with key stakeholders.
Indigenous Architecture is a movement that progresses (or translates) towards educating others about preserving the essence of culture throughout the built environment. The indigenous culture demonstrates the importance of buildings that reflect the essence of its people, land and culture in a dominantly colonial context. In Māori and Pacific Island customs people need to feel the authentic sense of belonging without extensively justifying their connection to it.
Site: Arorangi (Rarotonga, Cook Islands
Use of the game-based learning platform KAHOOT! to facilitate learner engagement in animal science students
No full textGamification of instructional activities is a useful approach that educators can use to promote more effective learning environments by increasing problem-solving, critical thinking and competence in the classroom. ‘KAHOOT!’ is an online multi-player real-time quiz game that allows students to measure learning in an engaging, immediate and entertaining manner. Lecturers can measure how well students absorb information and tailor their teaching to the next step or re-teach a concept after poor uptake by students. Seventy-two students participated in a 20-question survey about their experiences with ‘KAHOOT!’. Engagement scores were correlated with assessment grades to measure if ‘KAHOOT!’ affected student learning and achievement. The survey was deemed statistically sound in reliability and validity testing, and a principal components analysis (PCA) revealed that the attributes were strongly linked. There was no relationship between engagement score and assessment grade, indicating that ‘KAHOOT’!’ did not directly increase achievement. However, assessment of individual responses identified that students found it to be a positive social learning technology as it provided a fun, competitive and immersive end to a class.
The benefits of fostering engagement, enjoyment and immersion within adult learning are especially important for maintaining a level of achievement within education to ensure that students are better equipped to deal with challenges and can turn a potential failure into an opportunity to improve their scholarship. The challenge provided by this study is to identify now how to measure the value of ‘fun’ activities in the tertiary classroom as a reinforcer for engagement, participation and learning
'Online from Monday’ : the experiences of tertiary teaching staff during the New Zealand Covid-19 emergency response
No full textAbout the project
Years of teaching
How familiar are you with online teaching?
Before and after : how do you feel about online delivery?
The experience of students
Communication : clarity of communications
Communication : staff-student interactions
Communication: face to face
What we did wel
Institutional determinants of carbon financial accounting practices
No full textThis paper investigates how and why firms affected by Emissions Trading Schemes (ETSs) are financially accounting for carbon in a voluntary setting.
Using institutional theory, the authors seek to identify the determinants of a firm’s decision to adopt a particular carbon financial accounting practice. We identify the recognition and measurement practices for carbon-emission allowances using data gathered from the annual reports of ETS-affected firms in Australia. These practices are identified in the five stages of carbonemission allowance transactions, namely, when these are: (1) received for free, (2) purchased, (3) used, (4) sold and (5) surrendered.
Inconsistencies in carbon financial accounting practices are observed. The findings reveal that carbon-emission allowances are recorded as intangible assets, but most firms provide incomplete information on their carbon financial accounting practices. Firms also exhibit inconsistencies in specifying how they are ‘recognising’ and ‘measuring’ carbon-emission allowances. The results provide evidence of coercive (regulation) and mimetic (size, leverage and listing status) pressures being the main determinants of carbon financial accounting practice.
The findings will help accounting policy-makers in understanding how and why ETS-affected firms financially account for their carbon allowances. This can assist the development of a uniform carbon financial accounting guidance. Given the few studies in the field of financial accounting of carbon emissions under ETSs, this research will also give meaningful insights to academics and researchers
Computerising the New Zealand Building Code for automated compliance audit
No full textOne key ingredient in the automated compliance audit process is the availability of a computable form of normative requirements (e.g. codes and standards), which are usually written in natural language intended for human interpretation and not readily processable by machines. The predominantly ‘Blackbox’ approach of hardcoding these computable normative rules into a compliance audit system has been reported to be problematic and costly to maintain in response to frequent regulatory changes. The current research sets out to investigate to what extent normative texts can be represented as computable rules for automated compliance audit as well as to ease maintenance in response to changes in the source documents. A set of priority compliance documents supporting the New Zealand Building Code has been selected as the subject for a case study. This paper describes the digitisation and quality assurance process, the knowledge extraction experience, and challenges identified during the study. Furthermore, the paper explores how the legal knowledge captured by the digitised rules can be used effectively in an automated compliance audit environment. The findings from the study suggest that a semi-automated digitisation process is feasible and up to 80% of prescriptive text can be translated and encoded into the open standard LegalRuleML. However, only approximately 50% of these can be used directly in an automated compliance audit environment without any human intervention. The lessons learnt from the study can be used towards improving the digitisation process. Ultimately, this could in turn help to improve the natural language source text in subsequent revisions of the codes
Waiora Healing Home : creating better quality of life for children with life-limiting and terminal illnesses in N.Z.
No full textRESEARCH QUESTION:
How can architecture make a positive contribution to palliative and hospice care for children in order to enhance their quality of life?
ABSTRACT:
What does wellbeing and dying well mean? Hospitals are for treatment and the purpose of getting well, often lacking the holistic care that focuses on wellbeing. Hospices provide end-of-life care and are about dying well, while respite provides care for the patient and enables a break for the primary carer. Palliative care, in turn provides the comfort and support needed for the patient and their family during the battle of life-threatening or life-limiting illnesses. Ongoing reviews indicate that New Zealand has minimal targeted hospice and respite care for children, services that currently exist retrofitting into a building and existing framework. The project aims to facilitate a child-centric focus, which currently has not been a major focus of current hospices. Hospitals are renowned for institutional long corridors, bland, uncomfortable interiors, harsh lighting, maintain a busy environment and tend to have no place for the family to stay immediately with their child during their stay appropriately.
Two key aspects that are often overlooked architecturally in the healthcare sector are the integration of the natural environment using blue (water) space and green (biophilic) space, creating visual and physical connections with the outdoors. Social interaction; integrating family into the process along with the ability to connect with those in similar circumstances and create a sense of community. Research from well recognised architectural writers such as Charles Jencks and Steven Verderber expresses how social interaction, the creation of community and connection to nature plays a vital role in the process of heal - ing. The need for a purpose-built hospice and respite sympathetic to the needs of New Zealand children and their families is apparent. The purpose of this research is through the exploration of biophilic design concepts and patient-centered design, to create a more comfortable and positive healing environment that breaks down barriers around illnesses and creates dignified exits. The project will utilise design elements that encourage a holistic view of healthcare and create an advocate for change in the health care sector
Defining the methodology of integrated research in the process of digital documentation of architectural heritage: case study Lizori, Italy
No full textThe aim of this paper is to define the methodology of integrated research in the process of digital documentation of architectural heritage. The thematic framework of this work was stimulated by participation in a professional workshop in Lizori, Italy, held in June 2018. The paper presents a result based on the integration of traditional and instrumental methods of heritage surveying. This specific method of integrated research uses a variety of tools, in the process of morphological specifications of different parts of a historic building. The specific nature of architectural heritage requires the integration of different methods in order to achieve a high level of accuracy. The Lizori digitisation project, on the one hand, aims to present an almost unknown historical heritage through multimedia valorisation, and on the other, to set up an information tool for restoration, maintenance and valorisation