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Five new records of Pyrenula (Pyrenulaceae) for New Zealand
Get PDFPyrenula (Pyrenulaceae) is a poorly studied genus of lichenized mycobiota in New Zealand. Following the sampling of lichens from over 50 vegetation plots established within the Auckland Region by the Auckland Council, we have recognised a further five species of Pyrenula: P. leucostoma (Zahlbr.) R. C. Harris, P. microcarpa Müll. Arg., P. pyrenuloides (Mont.) R. C. Harris, P. subumbilicata (C. Knight) Aptroot and P. subvariolosa (C. Knight) Aptroot from the New Zealand Botanical Region. These discoveries increase the number of Pyrenula accepted for New Zealand from 10 to 15, and extend the range of two species previously regarded as endemic to Australia. The discoveries also highlight the importance of undertaking more comprehensive lichen sampling within New Zealand’s ecosystems. We recommend that, for those regions where permanent vegetation plots have been established for long-term monitoring, an assessment of lichen diversity should also be included in their initial sampling phase and monitoring protocols. With these additions, as well as changes in the taxonomy of New Zealand Pyrenula, a revised key to the known species of Pyrenula in New Zealand is presented
Forecasting water-level fluctuation in water-supply dams of the Auckland and Waikato regions
Get PDFDams play a vital role in supplying fresh water to many cities all over the world. With increasing pressure on and demand for natural resources, water supply remains a scarce resource worldwide. During times of uncertainty, predicting the future availability of water supply by considering various hydrometric and anthropogenic variables will provide a framework for future scenario forecasting and a model-based approach to sustainable water management. To this end, this project proposes a multivariate time-series analysis and forecasting model to both analyse and forecast daily water-level fluctuations in three watersupply dams: Upper Nihotupu, Waitākere and Mangatangi, located in the Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland and Waikato regions of Aotearoa New Zealand
Agricultural robot
No full textINTRODUCTION
Agricultural robot design and construct for the field and green house
Robot use for weed detection and spraying Pesticides which is operated by Remote Control
OBJECTIVES
The goals are the requirements that the gadget must satisfy. They are as follows:
• Using small machines to decrease human labour in the agricultural field long-lasting and cost-effective
• The use of tiny robots in the agricultural sector will minimise human labour
•Easily operate the robot by controlling it with a remot
Super sensory safari
No full text[RESEARCH QUESTION]
How can architecture become a mechanism for experiencing adventure, enchanting past, and custom and tradition in a safari in Matobo?
ABSTRACT
Culture is a fascinating notion encompassing various aspects of the community: customs, events, beliefs, values, and art ‒ that converge to shape the built environment. This research project is about unifying history, culture, and architecture in the context of a safari in the distinctive landscape of Matobo National Park, Zimbabwe.
Due to colonial influence, the livelihood of modern Zimbabweans contrasts with the traditional. Although some customs have carried on to the present day, the built environment generally no longer reflects this, aside from a few examples in rural areas. The incentive for this project is to create an architectural design that reinvents and represents traditional Zimbabwean architecture. It is the product of exploring how to derive from traditional architecture and translate its fundamental elements into a kind of blueprint for contemporary Zimbabwean Architecture. To start, an analysis of precedent Zimbabwean Architecture such as Great Zimbabwe was done to investigate theories and themes surrounding them to serve as design drivers. The assumption is that the necessity and availability of materials influenced the traditional built environment making it an architecture of fundamental needs more than aesthetics. However, idealism and nostalgia seem to be significantly involved in traditional and vernacular architecture leading to contemporary architecture that manifests its inspiration primarily through aesthetics, such as in tourism.
Proposed is a contemporary indigenous safari lodge, a visitor and a community centre interspersed throughout the park to create a sensory experience. This architectural intervention endeavours to create a more meaningful experience for the local community of Matobo Hills and its visitors
Building inclusivity, diversity and equity in my practice: A case study
No full textThe case and our initial responses
My observation and analysis
My approach with a clear intention
The theoretical framework i base my approach on
What happened next was a great opportunity
The outcome
The benefit of that victory flows o
Understanding mortality through the lens of contemporary photography: How can explorations of the abject and the uncanny in contemporary photography provoke experiences of embodiment and mortality?
No full textThis essay explores how contemporary photography can provoke an embodied experience in an audience to help initiate the contemplation of mortality. Emerging research and a growing ‘death positive’ movement proposes that death awareness can contribute to improved wellbeing (Society for Personality and Social Psychology, 2012). Through practice-based research and ethnographic methods, I investigate how the photographic image might play a part in connecting its viewers to mortality. The theoretical framework for this research is influenced by Roland Barthes, who claimed that every photograph is a representation of death. The research is also influenced by Sigmund Freud’s concept of the uncanny and Julia Kristeva’s writings on abjection
Crossing over the cultural boundary to success: A case study
No full textThe case and our initial responses
My observation and analysis
My approach with a clear intention
The theoretical framework i base my approach on
What happened next was a great opportunity
The outcome
The benefit of that victory flows o
Project dilemmas
No full textSuccessful management of a project depends upon a series of appropriate decisions throughout the project life cycle. Such decisions are not necessarily straightforward and project managers who make those project-level decisions often face dilemmas. This paper presents findings from a research project that uncovered some of those dilemmas in the context of multi-case study in the software industry. We used a Theory of Constraints thinking process tool called the Evaporating Cloud to analyse dilemmas by examining their underpinning reasoning and assumptions. Four dilemmas were identified and investigated which were related to customer satisfaction, ensuring security and flexibility, defining specifications, and responding to new opportunities. Analysing these dilemmas led to useful insights into the challenges of choosing best practices in project management. It was found that the root cause of those challenges was the process of interpreting and transferring prescriptive project management concepts and methods to an actual project. The Evaporating Cloud was found to be be a powerful tool to explain the problem at hand and expose faulty assumptions
Structured phylogeography and restricted gene flow among populations of Fairy Tern (Sternula nereis) across Australasia: implications for the endangered New Zealand population
No full textThe Fairy Tern Sternula nereis is an Australasian tern that breeds in Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand, with the last having the smallest breeding population, listed as ‘Threatened – Nationally Critical’ by the New Zealand Department of Conservation. Here, we investigate the genetic relatedness and level of endemism (gene flow) of the New Zealand Fairy Tern S. n. davisae population compared with the larger breeding populations in Australia, S. n. nereis, and New Caledonia, S. n. exsul, using the NADH subunit 2 (ND2) region of the mitochondrial DNA. We found that the three main populations (n = 86) were genetically distinct, with a different fixed haplotype restricted to New Zealand (n = 15) and New Caledonia (n = 16), and that the estimated gene flow was low to zero, indicating no interbreeding between the populations. The current genetic evidence is consistent with observations of morphological and behavioural differences among the populations, and we suggest continued independent management of the population in New Zealand and further surveys and independent management of the New Caledonia population
Cutting plastic construction waste
No full textThe tonnes of construction waste that go to landfill each year are a significant environmental hazard. A research centre at Unitec is working to change this with an innovative project to help construction companies reduce the amount of plastic waste they discard