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Soraya Healing Heaven [بهشت ثریا]
No full textRESEARCH QUESTION
How can the role of architectural design enhance the well-being of women undergoing cancer rehabilitation located in Shiraz, Iran?
ABSTRACT
Health centres provide essential primary medical care with a patient-centric, community-based approach. This study focuses on encouraging social contact among cancer-stricken women in Shiraz, Iran, who stay in a rehabilitation facility. The choice of Shiraz (known for its rich cultural heritage) for a women specific facility stems from unique Iranian cultural norms. Iranian women’s health issues, including cancer, frequently require specialised care due to the country’s exceptional values. Iranian women who suffer from health problems such as cancer frequently require specialised medical attention due to particular cultural, sociological and even systemic aspects of the Iranian healthcare system. These exceptional values include religious convictions, cultural perspectives on women’s health, socioeconomic circumstances, and the design of Iran’s healthcare system. Shiraz’s establishment of a specifically designated rehabilitation facility for women would detect and respect these cultural considerations.
Such an environment may promote open dialogue and support for female cancer patients. This proposal recognises the impact of the built environment on well-being and community. Materiality and green spaces (biophilic design) are neglected aspects of healthcare architecture that foster connections and community. This research explores incorporating Islamic architectural ideas, inspired by examples like Maggie’s Oxford Centre in the UK, to create a more inclusive and supportive treatment space in order to break stigmas surrounding illnesses and promote a medical setting where patients can receive after treatment care while having their cultural values and dignity respected. However, The facility is about creating wellness rather than explicitly a facility for end-of-life. This research aims to develop an increasingly welcoming and supportive rehabilitation treatment space that dismantles stigmas surrounding illness by exploring these spaces’ spatial, material, and social aspects
News from the UNITEC Herbarium
No full textThe Environment and Animal Sciences Biodiversity Pathway at Auckland’s Mt Albert Unitec campus ffers a Bachelor of Applied Science (B.A.Sci.) and as of 2023 a Master of Applied Science (M.A.Sci.). For these degrees, students undertaking environmental studies are taught a range of field skills (Fig. 1),ecology and notably taxonomy (Fig. 2,3). To aid with teaching field ecology and taxonomy, in 2001 the faculty started what was initially intended to be a ‘small’ teaching herbarium.
SCOPE
The Flora and Lichenized Mycobiota of New Zealand. UNITEC has an emphasis on the northern part of New Zealand, particularly the lichens of the Kermadec Islands, Northland, Kaipara (Mataia), Waitakere Ranges, urban Auckland, Auckland Regional Parks, Hauraki Gulf Islands (notable collections from Rangitoto, Motukaikoura and Tiritirimatangi), Waikato and Chatham Island
From neglect to renewal: The impact of adaptive reuse on heritage conservation - Carlile House
No full textRESEARCH QUESTION
How can the neglected Carlile House be adaptively repurposed to serve a better community function while safeguarding its historical significance?
ABSTRACT
This project arose from the recognition of a significant gap in awareness involving the conservation of heritage architecture, which has led to the neglect and eventual demolition of many historic buildings.
Preserving historic architecture creates a sense of place for the community within the ever-growing surrounding city, and a permanent piece of history. Better engagement between the public and these buildings will generate awareness of Heritage significance often overseen when they are no longer in use or have deteriorated. Conserving existing Heritage architecture and adapting appropriately is an economical and sustainable approach where retaining existing architecture can benefit climate change and environmental emission targets. It can prevent embodied energy and extra material from wasting in landfills.
This project investigated the Category 1 Heritage building, Carlile House located in Grey Lynn, Auckland. It explored how the existing building and the site could be conserved through multiple methods and adapted through a possible extension to create a better function for the community and existing owners, The United Church of Tonga. Adaptation included functions missing from the community such as small local business facilities, living/hotels, a community hub, and smaller intimate parks or public spaces. A design-based approach was executed through research and an analysis of the existing building, site, culture, and social engagement. Appropriate precedents and literature analyses of successful projects and theories were also explored and thematically analysed along with interviews and questionnaire exploration.
The purpose of the project was to adaptively repurpose Carlile House to serve a better community function while safeguarding its historical significance. Key design drivers and architectural themes arose through the research and were analysed through the research to develop a considered outcome
Influence of annealing on thin film/substrate interface and vacuum ultraviolet photoconductivity of neodymium fluoride thin films
No full textHigh photon energy vacuum ultraviolet radiation (VUV, 100−200 nm wavelength) is challenging to detect. It easily degrades conventional silicon and semiconductor photodetectors. Fluoride photodetectors can be the answer, but the correlation between fabrication parameters and photodetector performance is not known. Here, the effect of annealing is investigated on the characteristics of neodymium trifluoride thin film/quartz substrate interface and NdF3 photoconductivity within the VUV. Thin films are deposited on unheated and heated (600 °C) substrates with post-deposition annealing. Dark current of films on unheated substrates decreases by as much as 1/10 as resistance increases from 1 −12 TΩ after annealing. Dark current of films on heated substrates increases even after annealing, resulting in similar photo and dark currents of ≈303.7 nA and poor detectors. Fluorine diffuses from the film to the substrate during deposition, exacerbated by substrate heating but not by annealing. Fluorine diffusion degrades crystallinity near the interface, increasing the dark current. Fluorine diffusion is absent when MgF2 is used as the heated substrate. Unannealed NdF3/MgF2 detector on 600 °C-heated substrate and 600 °C-annealed NdF3/SiO2 detector on unheated substrate exhibit similar resistances of ≈14 TΩ. Considering the film/substrate interface and annealing is crucial when developing VUV photodetectors
Three-dimensional discrete element analysis of liquefaction behaviour of crushable pumice sand
No full textFrom an engineering viewpoint, pumice sand particles are problematic because of their crushability and compressibility. While laboratory and in-situ tests can be implemented to characterise their behaviour, these tests are generally time-consuming and expensive. In this paper, the liquefaction behaviour of crushable pumice sand specimens is examined using the Discrete Element Method (DEM). Each pumice particle is modelled as a sphere, which, when the maximum contact force reaches the limit condition, will break and split into 14-ball inscribed tangent spheres. Initially, the results of laboratory single-particle crushing tests are used to represent the breakage characteristics as a function of particle size. Next, using the open-source code YADE, 3D model specimens in a loose state are prepared and isotopically consolidated at prescribed levels of confining pressure. The numerical specimens are then subjected to cyclic loading under the undrained conditions. The results showed that the DEM model could replicate the laboratory-obtained experimental results, offering explanations on the effect of particle crushing on the cyclic deviator strain. The microscale observations also provide better insights into the evolution of force chains within the specimens, resulting in a clearer understanding of pumice sand behaviour during cyclic loadin
Advantages of project-based learning through industry engagement: A case study
No full textProject based learning
Case study – project management
Cascading learning into Industry: The project management experience
Benefits – ākonga
Benefits – lecturer
Risk
Sucess stories (Manukau Institute of Technology
Students' perspective on use of ChatGPT in civil engineering education: Phase 1
No full textThe space around artificial intelligence (AI) tools/models that have been developed is continuously changing. Especially, the emergence of new AI tool i.e. ChatGPT (Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer). Tertiary institutions in New Zealand such as Unitec has a student-centred approach to teaching and learning. The current code of practice regarding academic integrity at Unitec needed to be reviewed. Therefore, this study was initiated with a focus to understand students’ perspective on the use of ChatGPT in Civil Engineering discipline at Unitec. This is a very early stage of this project. The specific objectives were to collect and analyse the information regarding (i) students’ ability to use ChatGPT, (ii) how much AI literacy do they (students) have, (iii) challenges thar are being faced by students when it comes to understanding key aspects of Civil Engineering courses(es), (iv) limitations of ChatGPT, etc., and (vi) to develop clear guidelines to incorporate the use of ChatGPT in our teaching and learning environment. The findings of this study/project would help us to develop clear guidelines for the use of ChatGPT for a course or a set or courses for Civil Engineering students at Unitec. Some of the key research questions were: (i) how many students are familiar with ChatGPT capabilities (ii) how many students have used Chat GPT or any other AI tool for academic purpose before, and (iii) how many students have used Chat GPT for Civil engineering related tasks or assignments, (iv) effectiveness of ChatGPT in terms of aiding understanding of key aspects of a course (v) limitations of ChatGPT in terms of finding answers for specific topics/problems within a course, etc. A questionnaire was created and distributed among the Civil Engineering students in one of the selected courses. The selected course was water and wastewater treatment (WWT), which has a good mix of learning outcomes for theory, standards, and design calculations. The data analysis is in progress. However, the study results showed that there is a good mix of students who are familiar with the capability of ChatGPT. There are students who have used ChatGPT weekly/biweekly basis. The results showed that the specific topics sought (in the selected course) using ChatGPT were the definitions of key parameters, waste management, treatment processes, calculations, nitrogen cycle, etc. 22% BEngTech and 37.5% NZDE students thinks that ChatGPT was less effective in terms of understanding of WWT processes. The students feedback showed that ChatGPT was less effective for the key topics such water and wastewater standards/specific values of New Zealand, design calculations and providing incorrect calculations/answers for course specific topics. This study also discusses some of the ethical aspects of using ChatGPT in academic settings, which may be useful to develop clear AI guidelines for the department and/or institution
Developing a novel flavoured low alcohol beer using New Zealand honeydew honey and yacon concentrate
No full textDemand for low alcohol beer (LAB) is growing around the world as consumer attitudes towards alcohol consumption shift, with health consciousness and sober driving listed among the possible drivers. In New Zealand, LAB is defined as having no >1.15 % alcohol by volume (ABV). In industry, physical or biological processes are used to produce no- and low- alcohol beer; however, these methods are typically inaccessible to home brewers, and literature on accessible methods is non-existent. New Zealand honeydew honey (NZHDH) and New Zealand yacon concentrate (NZYC) have recently been chemically profiled in the literature. NZHDH and NZYC contain fermentable sugars, while NZYC also contains a very high percentage of fructooligosaccharides (FOS). This paper aims to incorporate these food materials into LABs using a method accessible to home brewers. The resultant LABs had an alcohol content between 0.61 and 0.86 % ABV, well under the 1.15 % threshold. Results from sensory analysis showed that all beer samples were somewhat acceptable to consumers; however, penalty analysis determined that hedonic scores could be improved by making the beers more sweet, bitter, and hoppy. Correspondence analysis revealed that the beers containing NZYC were more ‘foamy’ and ‘brown’ than all other beer samples, properties most likely related to the protein content and colour of NZYC respectively. Beers containing NZYC were also found to contain FOS and/or inulins, which are non-digestible sugars and therefore hypocaloric. This study provides an accessible method to produce LAB and shows how NZYC may be incorporated into LABs to yield a functional food
Rebuilding identity and resilience for coastal communities: How can we rebuild identity and resilience for coastal communities?
No full textGlenbrook Beach is about 60km from Taamaki Makaurau CBD, and the nearest shopping centres are 15 minutes away in Waiuku. Glenbrook has always been a site my whaanau has used as a means for my mother to pass down Indigenous practices and knowledge. The rapid growth and change at Glenbrook have made existing communities uncomfortable due to the loss of community spirit. Dominating Paakehaa views intensifies the sense of belonging to minority groups.
During the January 2023 Taamaki Makaurau floods, houses at Glenbrook were in ankle-waist-deep water. Many properties around Aotearoa and the Pacific have recently experienced extreme climate events, specifically in coastal areas. These events emphasise the importance of anticipating change and preparing communities for climate events. Aotearoa and the Pacific can benefit from this research by understanding:
How can we rebuild identity and resilience for coastal communities?
This research follows a Kaupapa Maaori Rangahau framework focusing on maatauranga-aa-iwi and contemporary puraakau. The research uses several methods to analyse the site’s context and a mix of iwi and community engagement practices to test nature-based solutions and complex infrastructure to better respond to the social and environmental needs of Glenbrook. The design looks at climate adaptation, mitigation, resilience, planting, materials and lighting to respond to climate issues Glenbrook is facing while enhancing community links through identity and sense of belonging. The impacts of historical and current colonisation impacted Indigenous people’s sense of belonging and created difficulty for Māori in Aotearoa to remain ahi-ka to manage the whenua skilfully. The land relies heavily on Indigenous management to respond to climate change.
SITE: Glenbrook Beach, New Zealan
Unlocking stock market insights: Comparing the efficiency of ARIMA and HWES in New Zealand Index predictions
No full textRESEARCH QUESTIONS
Which model offers higher accuracy for the NZX indicies?
How do these models handle market volatility unique to New Zealand?
What are the implications of each model for practitioners and researchers in global and emerging markets