Rangahau Aranga: AUT Graduate Review
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Welcome from Mark Orams, AUT’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research
Get PDFI am delighted to see this special edition of Rangahau Aranga focused on Rainbow Research. Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makaurau – AUT is a community that welcomes and values diversity. We understand that different ways of being, living and thinking add to the richness of the human experience and as a university this adds to our learning, leadership and contributions. What is especially important in this edition is that we are able to profile research which explores rainbow community experiences and perspectives. Thank you to our postgraduate research students, their supervisors and collaborators who have undertaken the research presented here. Your work is important and sharing this through this special edition of Rangahau Aranga adds value to our understanding and to our growing reputation as a university for all.
Ngā mihi nui,Professor Mark OramsDeputy Vice-Chancellor Research/ Manukura Tautoko Tuarua a Rangaha
Intrinsic Dynamics of Brain Functional Connectivity in Relation to Women’s Menstrual Cyclic Phases and its Impact on Their Stress, Life Satisfaction, and Social Distress
Get PDFResearch has reported that the fluctuations of sex hormones like estrogen and progesterone lead to neurological changes in the different brain regions across the menstrual cycle and its phases: menses, follicular, and luteal. Although some psychological changes have also been reported for women across their menstrual cycle, not enough studies have approached this topic from a neuropsychological perspective. For this reason, I am investigating brain connectivity fluctuations across a 32-day menstruation cycle and its impact on women’s life satisfaction (LS), perceived stress (PS), and emotional support (ES). For this study, I am using the data (n=406) that has been collected by the Human Connectome Project. I am using an experimental research methodology looking at correlations (connectivity) between brain regions and associated variables of menstrual cycle phases (menses, follicular, and luteal) across a 32-day menstrual cycle, and what this tells us about the participants’ LS, PS, and ES total scores. In neuroscience, artificial intelligence (AI) techniques are applied to understand complex brain functions, brain and behaviour relationships, and shows potential to diagnose neurological disorders and interventions. AI, and elastic net regression, which is a type of statistical technique for neuroimaging data, will be used to analyse the brain activity relationships that I am investigating. In my presentation, I aim to discuss whether functional connectivity in brain regions is linked to women’s LS, PS, and ES, and the implications of this for menstrual health. This pilot study, by using a big data set of relatively healthy participants to further our understanding of this topic, will help to open doors for future research with similar investigating aims for more impactful menstrual related health conditions like Premenstrual Syndrome and Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder
Sino-Foreign Co-Production in the Post-Pandemic Era: Effects of Policies on Facilitating Film Co-Production
Get PDFAt this symposium, I will present my research findings which explore the implications of film co-production policies for practitioners engaged in Sino-foreign co-production projects. The research is guided by the theoretical framework of Richard Peterson's production of culture perspective (2004) and John Thornton Caldwell's production culture (2008). Specifically, my presentation will concentrate on film policies and relevant industry documents that have direct relevance to film practitioners in the Australasian region. The dynamics of government relationships are likely to exert an influence on policy-making processes. New Zealand was the first Oceanic country to sign the Memorandum of Agreement with China on the Maritime Silk Road in early 2017. Since then, it has brought opportunities and challenges for New Zealand film industry practitioners. Six official co-production projects with China have been approved since 2019 (New Zealand Film Commission, 2023). For New Zealand film industry practitioners keen to collaborate with their Chinese counterparts in the post-pandemic era, the Belt and Road Initiative presents an opportunity to seize the advantages of the current times. Therefore, filmmakers in both countries should understand the impact of these policies on the Chinese film industry and Sino-foreign co-productions. This qualitative research collected primary data from semi-structured interviews with film practitioners from New Zealand, Australia, and China, and secondary data from documents, government policies, and reports, as well as publically available online industry interviews. A thematic analysis is conducted to examine the data and answering and exploring one of PhD research questions: what would industry policies and documents mean for film practitioners working in co-productions. My research finding shows, through acquiring comprehensive knowledge, film industry practitioners can make informed choices and select collaboration methods that align with the needs of their projects, thus avoiding unnecessary complications or challenges
The dual journey of navigating the ‘awa of higher education’ from a Māori doctoral student’s lens
Get PDFFor many Māori students, staying in the main flow of the awa (river) is not easy in New Zealand’s mainstream education system. But with the right support mechanisms and structures in place, it is possible, for a Māori doctoral student to achieve educational success as Māori in higher education. This paper discusses what is entailed in the dual journey of a first in family, Māori doctoral student when completing a doctoral qualification alongside a Māori journey in strengthening connections within te Ao Māori (the Māori world). The narrative shares insights of the researcher’s experiences which led to the development of an Indigenous methodology model called ‘He Pūtauaki Model’. A number of key factors for ensuring her success as a Māori doctoral candidate was the continual support and guidance provided from kaumātua (elders), whānau (family), hapū (sub-tribe) and iwi (tribe), over a four-year period of completing the doctoral journey, and when a Mahitahi approach was adopted by her supervisors and reinforced by other Te Ipukarea Research Institute postgraduate students made a difference for her in overcoming the challenges that an Indigenous Māori doctoral student can face when navigating the awa (structural mechanisms and psychosocial challenges) at Auckland University of Technology (AUT).  
What's Good in the (Neighbour)Hood? Examining the Wellbeing of Urban Regeneration using Administrative Data
Get PDFNew Zealand (NZ) faces substantial housing challenges with a housing crisis brought on by housing shortages, rising housing costs, poor quality stock and overcrowding issues. Kāinga Ora is the primary government agency responsible for social housing and urban development in New Zealand. It has made significant investments towards increasing the housing supply, with plans to increase housing supply by 40,000 homes in the next 15 years. Over 90% of Kainga developments are in NZ’s largest city, Auckland, with 90% of those dwellings being social housing. These investments aim to improve wellbeing, liveability, social connections, and place-based identity through the provision of affordable homes, shared community spaces and active transport options. Urban regeneration has the potential to alleviate our housing burden and thereby have positive long-term impacts on community wellbeing. The purpose of this research is to identify and quantify the wellbeing impacts of urban regeneration in NZ. Evaluations of major urban developments are often overlooked, resulting in uncertainty about the long-term effects of urban regeneration on the community. There is substantial scope for comprehensive empirical research that provides social return-on-investment information. To this end, this research empirically estimates the impact of urban regeneration on wellbeing. New Zealand has adopted a well-being approach that supports public policy advice. The use of “big data” allows researchers to derive data-driven evidence to support this advice. The wellbeing framework used in this research draws on the NZ Treasury’s Living Standards Framework (LSF). Wellbeing outcomes of urban regeneration are grouped across three domains: (1) human capital – education and labour market outcomes; (2) physical and mental health and (3) crime and safety. Wellbeing outcomes in this research are constructed from administrative data from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), administered by StatsNZ, which houses a wide range of administrative and survey data collected from government organisations
Predicting Rainfall-Induced Landslides in Muriwai, Auckland: A Comprehensive Multi-Model Approach for Enhanced Risk Management
Get PDFLandslide studies hold significant importance in understanding and mitigating the risks associated with these geohazards. Particularly in regions like New Zealand, where diverse topography and climatic conditions contribute to frequent landslide occurrences, such studies are crucial. This research focuses on Muriwai, Auckland, a region that has experienced substantial landslide activity triggered by rainfall. The study adopts a multi-model approach, integrating both empirical and process-based models to predict rainfall-induced landslides. This approach leverages the strengths of individual models, including logistic regression, random forest, support vector machines, artificial neural networks, and decision trees, thereby enhancing the robustness and accuracy of predictions. A comprehensive dataset, comprising historical landslide records, climatic data, and terrain and geological data, is used to train and validate these models. The data is spatially aligned within a unified Geographic Information System (GIS) database, ensuring consistency and accuracy in the analysis. The multi-model ensemble provides a probabilistic prediction of landslide occurrence, which is visualized as a landslide susceptibility map. This map serves as a valuable tool for understanding the spatial distribution of landslide risks in Muriwai. The performance of each model and the ensemble is evaluated using several metrics, ensuring the reliability of the predictions. The results are interpreted to understand the influence of different factors, particularly climatic parameters, on landslide occurrences. This study's findings contribute to effective landslide risk management and mitigation strategies in Muriwai, Auckland, and provide valuable insights for similar studies in other regions
A Study on New Zealand Television: Professional Perspectives on Industry Sustainability
Get PDFFragmented by the plethora of internationalised television choices, audiences are now scattered across a multitude of programme options on a variety of global Subscription Video on Demand (SVoD) streaming platforms, broadcasters and television services. New Zealand audiences are predominantly choosing globalised services (Glasshouse Consulting, 2021). This research examines what the New Zealand television industry is doing to remain relevant and connected to its audiences. I seek to fill a gap in the current knowledge on the impact of international SVoD television services such as Netflix, Disney+, and Apple TV+ on the local industry as New Zealand domestic audiences appear to shift away from local services and storytelling. The research examines New Zealand television industry professional expert perspectives to identify and interpret the values, conflicts and challenges of protecting (while fostering the growth of) local culture through content, and the impact of public policy. Data has been collected via in-depth semi-structured interviews with industry experts. Open-ended questions have allowed for flexibility in the interview process, so that subjects can delve into their experiences, views and perspectives. The qualitative data has been analysed using thematic analysis, with patterns and themes that have emerged within the layers of data identified and discussed (Braun & Clarke, 2013; Braun et al., 2019). This presentation will address preliminary research findings which identify how the industry's need for economic sustainability has often compromised local productions and local cultural objectives, opening a debate on whether local stories are produced for local audiences or whether they should transcend national boundaries. The research reflects differing views on who should moderate and determine the cultural specificity of content, and where the sector should focus
A Rights Perspective on Parent Advocacy for their Transgender Children in Aotearoa New Zealand School Settings (Short Form Summary)
Get PDFBaby in a Crib: Fall or Prevention
Get PDFFor babies, a fall from a crib can cause significant injuries or even death. In this presentation, I aim to present a comprehensive review of baby healthcare relating to the baby’s state, either awakening or sleeping, illustrating the fundamental practical issues explored in this study. For example, opportunities to improve babies’ safety against falls in families with working mothers have been overlooked. Moreover, I will discuss the proposed architecture as well, designed using computer vision techniques and movement sensors to further alleviate the falling scenarios in my study. In this research, a comprehensive review has been done on fall safety for babies ages 6 months to 4 years of age, which brought remarkable solutions for babies’ safety and motivated this research work. The main objective of this project is to build up an alert-based system that can avoid and reduce the risks of falling or dangerous scenarios for babies. At the first stage of the Baby Fall Prediction System, the primary objective is to detect the postures of the baby in a crib while sleeping or just awakening with the help of machine learning algorithms and convolution neural network based model. This system will then be integrated with the Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) sensors in a ‘smart onesie’ to identify potentially risky scenarios such as babies crawling, rolling over, standing, or climbing the side of the cot. Based on the identified scenarios, parents or caregivers will be given an alert to warn them about risky scenarios. The proposed research project will be beneficial for the baby as well as the parents. The developed system could reduce infant mortality and contribute to society’s welfare
Evaluating Alternative Metaheuristic Algorithms for Procedural Content Generation in Game Design
Get PDFProcedural Content Generation (PCG) has emerged as a powerful approach for automating game content creation, offering significant benefits in terms of cost reduction and time efficiency compared to traditional game design and development processes (Zhang, Zhang, & Huang, 2022). While Genetic Algorithms (GAs) have been widely used in PCG, alternative metaheuristic algorithms such as Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) have demonstrated their effectiveness in delivering high-quality solutions and efficient optimization capabilities across different problem domains (Amato, 2017). However, their application in PCG remains limited. I aim to evaluate the performance of PSO and ABC in map layout generation, challenging the conventional use of GAs. By comparing three metaheuristic algorithms (GA, ABC, and PSO) I seek to assess the effectiveness of these approaches in generating game levels and identify any obvious differences in their performance characteristics. Comprehensive experiments are conducted, applying GA, ABC, and PSO to a map layout generation. Metrics like convergence speed and content quality are used to evaluate the generated game content. My findings reveal that both ABC and PSO demonstrate advantages over traditional GA implementations when generating game levels, indicating their potential for enhancing PCG. In this presentation, I will share the results of comparing three metaheuristic algorithms (GA, PSO, and ABC) in map layout generation for game levels, emphasizing the potential benefits of leveraging diverse algorithmic approaches to create more captivating and immersive game worlds. Also, I will conclude with a call for further research in this area to expose new possibilities in content generation. By considering varied metaheuristic approaches, game developers can improve content generation techniques and create more captivating and interactive player experiences