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Reinstatement of Usnea capillacea Motyka (lichenized Ascomycota, Parmeliaceae) to the New Zealand lichenized mycobiota
No full textThe taxonomic histories of Usnea capillacea Motyka and U. articulata (L.) Hoffm. (Parmeliaceae) in New Zealand are discussed. Habitat preferences and molecular and morphological differences between the two species support reinstating Usnea capillacea to the New Zealand lichenized mycobiota for specimens currently referred to U. articulata
Keyboard warriors: Writing as a tool for positive change. Practitioner thesis
No full textFrom children’s literature through to the works of poets, scholars and activists such as bell hooks and Audre Lorde, it is widely acknowledged that writing can help create a better world. In this practitioner thesis, I examine the tools that writers can use to help inspire positive social and environmental change.
I am a multi-disciplinary writer whose works include plays, fiction, children’s fiction, nonfiction and creative nonfiction. Through this study, I wanted to learn how I could use my writing skills to contribute to a world in which our environment, animals and people thrive.
My research has been undertaken using a reflective, creative-practice-led, autoethnographic framework, influenced by ecofeminism. This thesis reflects upon three of my works (three artefacts)—a children’s book about a rescue cat, a book of short stories about the ways in which humans treat animals, and a web series about miscarriage—and a case study on how I have used the written word to change the law.
Following the analysis of the artefacts and case study using reflection on-action, the thesis moves to reflecting for-action and in-action, providing an overview of my works-in-progress and how the lessons learnt during this research inform my creative practice now. I also discuss the texts that were instrumental to the development of my creative practice and examine my personal positioning in relation to the themes and ideas explored in my writing.
Although some tools are identified as supporting the facilitation of positive change through writing, there are difficulties in assessing the ways in which writing—particularly fiction writing, with its open-ended possibilities for interpretation—directly leads to positive change. It became clear that the real change must occur not within the reader, but within the writer. Therefore, the tools the writer needs are the tools to change themselves and their creative practice—tools including reflection, the ability to position themselves within a wider professional practice, intentionality, and an understanding of the values that drive them.
Recently several other ecofeminist texts—both academic and literary—have emerged, demonstrating that many writers wish to spark or contribute to positive social and environmental change. Future work on the power of writing to help make a better world might focus on the ways in which writing classes could be elevated beyond skills-based study to empower writers to discover their values and learn how to write with intention
A study on the quality of carbon disclosures, emissions, and firm value of New Zealand listed companies
No full textThis study examines the quality of carbon disclosure (QCD) and its impact on firm value and carbon performance of 99 of New Zealand's largest listed companies, collectively representing over 90% of the New Zealand Stock Exchange’s (NZX) market capitalisation. Data was gathered from annual reports of these listed companies for the years 2021 and 2022. The QCD index was used for data collection, and regression analysis was performed. The findings show a 30% increase in QCD scores from 2021 to 2022. The increase can be attributed to heightened environmental awareness and New Zealand legislation mandating climate-related disclosures for certain entities, as specified by the External Reporting Board’s (XRB) climate standards, effective from 2023. The overall QCD score remained relatively low at 36.5%, showing a lack of disclosures in areas, such as emission reduction strategies and engagement with stakeholders.
The findings also show a positive relationship between QCD and firm value, indicating that higher-quality carbon disclosures can positively influence firm value. The study finds negative associations between carbon emissions and firm value, as well as between carbon emissions and QCD. This suggests that companies with high carbon emissions have lower-quality disclosures, indicating reduced transparency and effectiveness in communicating carbon-related information to stakeholders. Overall, New Zealand-listed companies display an encouraging trend of improving carbon disclosure in anticipation of the forthcoming mandatory reporting in 2023
Thermal performance of school buildings: Impacts beyond thermal comfort
No full textBased on field study data regarding the winter indoor thermal environment of three classrooms with different building envelopes, this study compared and evaluated these environments, not only related to students' thermal comfort but also to their health. The inadequacy of the conventional New Zealand school building for maintaining a comfortable and healthy winter indoor thermal environment has been identified. A classroom with thermal mass had 31%, 34% and 9% more time than a classroom without thermal mass when indoor temperatures met 16 °C 18 °C and 20 °C respectively and has 21.4% more time than the classroom without thermal mass when indoor relative humidity was in the optimal range of 40% to 60%, in a temperate climate with a mild and humid winter. Adding thermal mass to school building envelopes should be considered as a strategy to improve the winter indoor thermal environment in future school design and development. Adding thermal mass to a school building with sufficient insulation can not only increase winter indoor mean air temperature but can also reduce the fluctuation of indoor air temperatures. This can significantly reduce the incidence of very low indoor temperature and very high indoor relative humidity, and significantly improve the indoor thermal environment
The role of architectural history research: Auckland’s NZI building as William Gummer’s attempt at humanity
No full textIn response to the third thematic sub-stream of the 38th Annual SAHANZ Conference, this paper will discuss the role of architectural research in the architecture of Gummer and Ford, the Auckland-based practice, often described as one of the most prolific bureaus in interwar New Zealand. The paper is a fraction of a three-staged project, “Gummer and Ford,” developed by a team of researchers from the Unitec Institute of Technology in response to an event recognised as a milestone in the New Zealand architectural calendar – the 2023 centenary of the firm’s establishment.
This paper explores the design principles of William Gummer, the principal designer of the firm. From 1914 to 1935, Gummer consistently published his view that the goal of the architect was to cater to humanity’s highest instincts. He was unwavering but vague on how this is achieved; through composition, unity, contrast, proportion and scale, appropriate use of materials is all needed to produce buildings of good character. But what did he really mean by this? A close reading of three books Gummer considered invaluable to architectural students – The Essentials of Composition as Applied to Art by John Vredenburgh Van Pelt, Architectural Composition by Nathaniel Cortlandt Curtis, and The Mistress Art by Reginald Bloomfield – offers a direct insight into the influences behind his thinking about architecture and his architectural production. Directly traceable to Gummer, the three titles include clear, precise instructions on both the functional and artistic nature of architectural design.
Interestingly, this paper employs a method not dissimilar to Gummer’s design method. These books taken together, along with Gummer’s own writing, a study of renderings and construction drawings, and close observation of the buildings, an architectural analysis of Gummer’s work becomes possible – it is what Gummer himself referred to as Architectural Research. This historically focused study will bring a new perspective to understanding the value and contribution of traditional architects, not only in New Zealand but other English-speaking countries
Poverty, wealth and no revolution in sight: Social work, community development and promoting the art of dissent as insurrection during the neoliberal era
No full textThis article explores the impact of neoliberalism on the linked areas of social work and community development practice, and makes the contention that practice is often poverty driven rather than poverty informed. Using notions of dissensus and insurrection, the argument is made that the authority of the neoliberal discourse on the social structures of Aotearoa New Zealand creates conditions in which revolutionary reform is difficult, leaving the better option of continuous, variously situated, insurrections and dissents against the neoliberal story that responsibility for fault is seated within individual families and communities rather than being a function of deliberately created policies that serve the wealthy at the expense of the poor
曾经的哈尔滨人——犹太侨民伯尔顿记忆中的哈尔滨音乐生活 = Reconstructing the vibrant musical life of Harbin Jewish diaspora: Ex-Harbin musicians in the memories of Peter Berton
No full text文章以曾在哈尔滨生活过多年，并随哈尔滨交响乐团赴日本演出的、已故美国南加州大学教授彼 得·伯尔顿（Peter A. Berton，1922-2014）有关哈尔滨音乐生活的文章和回忆为主，佐以《以色列原居中国犹太 人协会简报》、国外哈尔滨犹太人网站、美国大屠杀博物馆网站上的相关通讯、照片和文字，来重构20世纪20- 40年代哈尔滨的音乐生活。作为哈尔滨音乐活动的参与者与见证者，伯尔顿的回忆不仅为我们研究那个时代 哈尔滨都市声音景，观提供了珍贵的第一手资料，对我们了解当时哈尔滨专业及社会音乐的发展、音乐社团、 音乐与政治、从哈尔滨走向世界的音乐家等也提供了鲜活的例
Experimental study using recycled waste tyre as sustainable clay soil stabilisation
No full textClay presents construction challenges to geotechnical engineers as it shows high compressibility, low shear strength and high level of volumetric changes behaviour. Therefore, the properties of clay need to be improved before it can be used in any type of construction. Clay soil stabilisation using either mechanical or chemical methods are normally adopted to improve its properties. However, some of these methods are reported to be ineffective, expensive and harmful to the environment. In Malaysia, around 8.2 million tyres are dumped in landfill annually. The dumping of tyres will lead to long-term environmental impact. Hence, it is proposed to reuse waste tyres for clay soil stabilisation. This research investigates the effects of recycled waste tyres on the compaction and strength properties of clay soil. Clay soils were firstly mixed with 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20% of waste tyres and each mixed sample was tested for compaction and unconfined compressive strength tests. The results show that the optimum moisture content (OMC) increases, and maximum dry density (MDD) decreases with increasing waste tyre content. Meanwhile, unconfined compressive strength (UCS) reaches a maximum value at 10% waste tyre content and then decreases with further increments of waste tyre. It can be concluded that waste tyres have the potential to be used as an additive for sustainable clay soil stabilisatio
Is our heritage falling through the gaps?
No full textWhen it comes to an urban environment, the first things that often come to mind are the buildings, structures and spaces that surround us and have meaning for us. In Aotearoa New Zealand, we also have explicitly significant buildings and structures that we consider part of our heritage, despite being relatively young compared to many other nations. The country’s cultural heritage sites, buildings and objects are treasures of distinctive value. They can be roughly divided into four overlapping categories: archaeological sites, historic buildings and structures, places of significance to Māori, and cultural landscapes.1 All ethnic groups residing in Aotearoa New Zealand have contributed to the country’s cultural heritage, and “the result is an evolving mix of Polynesian, European, and also Asian, ways of seeing and doing, making each new generation of New Zealanders slightly different from the previous one and yet intimately linked to it.” These heritage sites and buildings are part of our urban and rural environment, and are assets with distinctive value and meaning to both Māori and Pākehā
Room for rangatahi: Housing security and rangatahi Māori
Get PDFRight now, rangatahi Māori experience some of the worst housing conditions in Aotearoa, and successive Governments have failed to provide policy frameworks that adequately protect the rights of rangatahi and their ability to feel secure in their housing, regardless of tenure type. While the Government has focused predominantly on home ownership schemes as a means to address housing security for young people, many rangatahi are unable to attain home ownership because of the exorbitant cost of housing in Aotearoa, decades of intergenerational inequity and ongoing racial discrimination. These factors have left many rangatahi in rentals or social housing long-term, housing options that, in Aotearoa, provide inadequate security of tenure. This research draws on literature and statistical data to provide insights into how Aotearoa’s housing conditions are impacting housing security for rangatahi. Instead of a narrow focus on home ownership, I argue that a broader approach to housing from local and central Government is required. I outline the impacts that the cost of housing, control over decision-making and connection to people and place can have on rangatahi and their ability to live fulfilled and prosperous lives, here in Aotearoa