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Te papa noho-a-kupe : whakatere nga ripa tauarai : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for a Masters of Design at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand
No full textMātakitaki-a-Kupe, the southernmost tip of Te Ika-a-Māui is a physical convergence point of our atua Māori, the raw forces, thresholds and interface between their domains. The forest of Tāne bloom amongst the secluded valleys of Aorangi, his korowai for Papatūānuku. The oceans of Tangaroa crest high bringing life and death, and the waters of Parawhenuamea swirl and carve the land, toward the undercurrents of Hinemoana and acidify at the threshold. This wāhi tapu is a thin landing between maunga, moana, awa and ngāhere that amplifies the intensity of these collisions. Ngā Rā-a-Kupe tower over you and cascade down into the depths to join the giant wheke that led Kupe to Aotearoa. The many locations that bear the name of the great navigator Kupe represent the voyaging spirit of our ancestors, reminding us of where we come from, our connections across moana and the direction of our future - kia whakatōmuri te haere whakamua. The Ngā Rā-a-Kupe kaupapa, set out by Ngāti Hinewaka hapū of Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa provides the anchor stone for this rangahau Māori that connects ancestral knowledge, mātauranga Māori and re-emerging technologies to inform kaupapa Māori design. Centering the practices of tohunga hanga whare aims to ground this pātaka whakairinga kōrero in a shared whakapapa with the materials and narratives, understood through indigenous methods of wānanga, hīkoi, kōrero tuku iho, pūrākau, and whakatauki. The practice of the tohunga retains the sanctity of the whare and allows us to revitalise traditional knowledge through contemporary structures, ensuring that this practice retains and upholds the tikanga and kawa of the built form in te ao Māori. Painting the links between the whare and the waka draws into sight the voyage we are embarking on into the future, attuned to the knowledge of our ancestors
Unveiling anti-inflammatory peptides from Lion's Mane mushroom (Hericium erinaceus): Preparation, bioactivity assessment, and peptides identification
No full textLion's Mane mushroom (Hericium erinaceus) is acknowledged worldwide for its substantial contribution of medicinal compounds and nutrients, including protein. The efficient extraction and hydrolysis of proteins are essential for revealing their bioactive properties. This study demonstrates that the optimal pulsed electric field (PEF)-assisted extraction achieved a 42.44 % increase in protein extraction efficiency relative to traditional alkaline extraction (p < 0.05). H. erinaceus protein contained 44.59 % essential amino acids and exhibited 71.33 % in vitro digestibility. Pepsin-trypsin hydrolysis produced the most significant anti-inflammatory activity, resulting in a 36.2 % reduction in nitric oxide and a 31.8 % decrease in interleukin-6 levels (p < 0.05). Subsequent fractionations employing membrane ultrafiltration and size exclusion chromatography effectively purified the peptides, resulting in enhanced anti-inflammatory activity (p < 0.05). This research discovered nine important peptide sequences containing 50–100 % hydrophobic amino acids in Lion's Mane mushroom proteins, which could aid in the synthesis of natural anti-inflammatory peptides.fals
Seasonal Effects and Heritability of Litter Size at Birth and Weaning in Commercial Rabbits in Central Mexico (2015–2021)
No full textReproductive performance in rabbits is highly sensitive to seasonal environmental variation and management practices, while the proportion of variance attributable to additive genetics for litter-level traits is typically low. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of year and season on litter size at birth (BR), litter size at weaning (WR), and weaning rate (WT), and to estimate the heritability of these traits in a commercial rabbit farm. A total of 770 kindling events recorded between 2015 and 2021 were analyzed. The mixed model for BR included the fixed effects of year and season, and the random effects of sire and residual error. The model for WR included the same structure, with BR added as a covariate. Least-squares means for fixed effects were used for pairwise comparisons using Tukey’s test. Year and season effects were significant for BR (p < 0.005), and the year effect was also significant for WR (p < 0.021). Litter size at birth ranged from 7.80 (dry season) to 9.21 (year 2020), with higher means observed during the semi-dry (8.52) and humid (8.56) seasons compared to the dry season (7.80). Litter size at weaning varied between 4.65 and 5.81 kits depending on the year. Weaning rate showed interannual variation (56.1–68.2%), but seasonal differences did not reach statistical significance (p < 0.075). Heritability estimates from the sire variance component were low: 0.01 for BR, 0.04 for WR, and 0.05 for WT. These results indicate that phenotypic variation in prolificacy in this population was predominantly driven by interannual and seasonal environmental factors, as well as perinatal management practices, while the additive genetic contribution was marginal.fals
Dispute avoidance in New Zealand construction projects during pre-contract stage : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Construction, School of Built Environment, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand
No full textThe construction industry is prone to disputes due to its complex, time-spanning and risky nature. Anywhere in the world where the construction industry is active, disputes are also prevalent, which costs the project’s objectives and good relationships among parties. New Zealand (NZ) construction industry also significantly contributes to the country’s economy and experiences disputes similar to any other country. The importance of researching the construction industry disputes has been identified, and dispute resolution, dispute avoidance and causes of disputes were highly focused. However, in the area of dispute avoidance, there has been minimal research on the possibilities during the pre-contract stage to avoid future disputes; therefore, this study has aimed at developing a pre-contract dispute avoidance toolkit for the NZ construction industry. To achieve this aim, four objectives were established namely; identification of causes of disputes, investigation of the dynamics of causes of disputes in NZ, identification of pre-contract measures to avoid potential disputes in NZ and development & and validation of a pre-contract dispute avoidance toolkit for the NZ construction industry.
After the background study of previous studies in the area of construction-related disputes in international and NZ contexts, a systematic literature review on causes of disputes was carried out to identify an all-inclusive and objective list of causes of disputes. The systematic literature review identified 29 core causes of disputes, and amongst them, poor contractual arrangements, employer-initiated scope changes, and unforeseen site changes were found in most of the previous studies of causes of disputes. Then court case study on actual court cases of NZ was carried out. Based on the court case analysis, it has been concluded that the majority of disputes arose out of traditionally procured contracts, and disputant parties were mostly the principal and the contractor. Further, characteristics of causes/attributes of disputes such as significance (after considering both frequency of occurrences and level of centrality), dependencies and underlying themes were investigated. The lack of understanding of the purpose of the Construction Contracts Act was identified as the cause/attribute with the highest overall significance as well as highest centrality (a cause with the highest number of dependant causes). Considering the commonalities of the causes of disputes, five themes of causes were identified as, poor contract understanding, poor contract practices, poor contractual formation, over expectations of contractor and over expectations of principal. An attribute map illustrating the overall significances of causes/attributes linkages among attributes and themes (including attributes under themes) was also created, which provided a more organized direction and structure for the remainder of the study.
Fourteen expert interviews were carried out searching for pre-contract dispute avoidance measures. 84 pre-contract measures to prevent construction-related disputes were identified under five themes. Each avoidance measure is recorded with the most responsible parties and relevant pre-contract stages. The key characteristics of these measures are clarity and communication, risk management, proper documentation and standardization, review and continuous improvements, and collaboration. Clear scope documentation and expectation management meetings were emphasized as the most important steps by respondents. Based on the gathered data from various research stages, an interactive toolkit was developed using Microsoft Power BI. The toolkit generates three outputs: dispute avoidance steps, causes/concerns of disputes, and relationships between them, based on user inputs regarding the pre-contract stage, party, and theme. Users can multi-select these inputs and explore specific dispute avoidance steps in detail, while visualizing linked causes. It underwent a two-stage validation process, including interviews and a focus group with New Zealand construction experts, leading to improvements in its functionalities and content.
In general, this study has contributed to both industry practitioners and researchers by providing an innovative and interactive solution to use during the pre-contract stage of traditionally procured construction projects in NZ which is capable of avoiding potential disputes. This study recommends further exploration of the purposes of the New Zealand Construction Contracts Act's clauses. Since the study focuses on traditionally procured projects, future research could evaluate the applicability of the dispute avoidance steps to other procurement methods. It also proposes evaluating or expanding the pre-contract dispute avoidance toolkit for use in other procurement methods, with the potential to enhance it using broader data or language models to generate more accurate discussions on pre-contract dispute avoidance
Customer experience in immersive virtual reality retail : exploring behaviors, emotions, and touchpoints across the shopping journey : a thesis with publications presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Information Technology, School of Mathematical and Computational Sciences, Massey University, Albany, Auckland, New Zealand
No full textImmersive Virtual Reality (iVR) is transforming the retail landscape by merging sensory engagement with the personalization and convenience of digital platforms. As part of the rapidly evolving metaverse, iVR has the potential to redefine customer experience (CX) and create immersive, multisensory shopping environments. However, understanding how iVR shapes customer behaviors, emotions, and interactions across the shopping journey remains limited. These gaps hinder businesses from fully optimizing CX in this emerging domain. This research aims to address these challenges by exploring the influence of iVR retail touchpoints on CX and developing frameworks to advance theoretical and practical knowledge in iVR retail.
This study employed a human-centered design methodology, integrating systematic literature reviews, semi-structured interviews with VR design experts, and iVR experiments with end-users. The literature review established a theoretical foundation, identifying challenges and opportunities in iVR retail. Semi-structured interviews with experts explored critical touchpoints, emotions, behaviors, and the design processes underlying iVR environments. Complementing these, VR experiments, card-sorting activities, and end-user interviews captured the behaviors and emotions of participants across the pre-purchase, purchase, and post-purchase stages of the shopping journey.
This study offers significant theoretical advancements by extending the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) model to better capture the complexities of CX in immersive virtual environments. It provides a nuanced understanding of how sensory stimuli influence emotional responses and consumer behaviors, particularly within iVR retail contexts. This extension enables a more comprehensive analysis of the relationships between touchpoints, emotions, and shopping processes. Additionally, the study adapts the Double Diamond framework, tailoring it to meet the unique demands of iVR design. This refined framework supports designers in addressing the iterative nature of immersive retail experiences across discovery, definition, development, and delivery phases. Additionally, the key outcome of this research is developing a CX framework that detailed the iVR customer journey, illustrating how user interactions, emotional responses, and behaviors evolve across the pre-purchase, purchase, and post purchase stages. These findings not only highlight the underlying mechanics of creating positive CX in iVR environments but also identify the drivers of emotional connection and satisfaction, laying the groundwork for further exploration and application in this transformative retail medium.
This research contributes to both theoretical and practical understanding of iVR retail environments. Theoretically, it advances models such as the S-O-R model and refines the Double Diamond framework, aligning them with the complexities of immersive technologies and offering tools for analyzing how iVR reshapes CX. Practically, the study provides actionable design guidelines to address key challenges in iVR retail, including improving usability with intuitive interfaces, enhancing accessibility through features like voice navigation, and fostering emotional engagement via sensory-rich experiences. These guidelines support the creation of inclusive, engaging, and effective iVR shopping environments that serve as a roadmap for future studies for exploring and validating emergent technological innovations in iVR retail
The ethical octopus : exploring care-full co-production through a participatory ethnographic feminist praxis : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Design at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand
No full textListed in 2025 Dean's List of Exceptional ThesesCo-production is a participatory design approach that is increasingly being used for relational, transdisciplinary and complex research. With a multitude of definitions, it isn’t always easy to narrow down what is or isn’t counted as co-production. In general, this approach aims to carry out research with the people who might benefit or be affected by the research, becoming genuine partners in all stages of the research. Through principles of sharing power, prioritising relationships, building capacity and using participatory means, co-production blurs the boundaries between academia and communities and centres people’s lived experiences.
Using a case study of women’s health — Care-full Co-production — this thesis explores the use of co-production within an Aotearoa New Zealand context, by collaboratively developing a library of research questions with women about women’s health. Gentle conversations over a ‘Cuppa & Cake’ provide an opportunity for building relationships with women across the country to share experiences and build new knowledge about women’s health. A participatory ethnographic feminist praxis guided the development of a nuanced understanding of co-production in action. Taking a reflexive and reflective perspective on the micro and macro aspects of the case study, this process-focussed research is a detailed and descriptive explanation of theory and practice.
Through a metaphor about an octopus, a set of provocations guides the structure of this thesis. Responses to these provocations, along with examples from Care-full Co-production, provide a deeper understanding of the key considerations for carrying out co-production embedded with an ethics of care. By exploring the head and arms of The Ethical Octopus, this thesis positions co-production as an ethico-onto-epistemology, with a focus on the core principles that are vital to co-production. The provocations and principles discussed in this thesis provide researchers and practitioners with an accessible approach to applying co-production in other contexts
Living rivers : an ecopoetics of mutuality and flow : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Creative Writing at Massey University, New Zealand. EMBARGOED until 2nd May 2028
No full textEmbargoed until 2nd May 2028This Master’s thesis examines relationships with rivers in order to explore the porosity between our shared, animate lifeworlds. It asks how language and the praxis of ecopoiesis can be used to acknowledge this relationship and explores how an ethic of care, gratitude, reciprocity and respect contributes to it. Situated within ecocriticism, and drawing on ecofeminist critical theory, this thesis uses both critical and creative enquiry to dwell in the following questions: What is my relationship with rivers? How can language and literature be used to reveal mutualities between rivers and humans? How does my desire for whitewater kayaking and re-creation help or hinder rivers? What do New Zealand’s laws and policies offer in the way of protecting the health of rivers? Is a rights-based framing of rivers enough? What does a kinship approach offer? What do rivers teach us? And importantly - what does a river want? The critical portion of the thesis uses a literature review to explore ecofeminist critical theory and embodied enquiry, and examines the interrelated theories of ecocriticism, ecopoetics and ecopoiesis. It delves into worlding and contrasts rights-based framings with a kinship approach. It investigates a grammar of animacy and enquires into the history and strengths of the lyric essay – the chosen form for five of the six creative pieces which follow the critical enquiry. Overall, I argue that the praxis of ecopoiesis - the conscious practice of being with and alongside the living world and beholding this through language - both illuminates and amplifies the value and importance of our relationships with the living world. In a time increasingly riven by difference, to be-held by and be-hold the living world, to re-cover and re-learn connections and to embrace a grammar of animacy is one way of building stories of care
Survey of husbandry practices and captive environments for North Island brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli) housed in facilities within and outside New Zealand
No full textNorth Island brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli), endemic to New Zealand (NZ), are held in captivity both within and outside of NZ. However, more knowledge is required regarding how kiwi are housed and managed. This study aimed to characterise the demographics and reported health/ behavioural issues of the captive population of kiwi, investigate current housing and husbandry practices, and explore the association between reported behavioural problems and housing practices. Between November 2021 and June 2022, all 31 facilities holding kiwi were invited to participate in a questionnaire. Thirteen facilities within NZ (92.9% response rate) and ten elsewhere in the world (58.8%) responded, covering 97 kiwi in NZ (93.3%) and 40 outside NZ (83.3%). Kiwi in NZ were younger on average than birds elsewhere. Environmental conditions, including enclosure size, temperature, and lighting, varied across facilities. Health issues were reported in 39% of kiwi and behavioural in 20%, with common behavioural issues including stereotypical or reproduction-related behaviours. Kiwi in those facilities outside of NZ were heavier and housed in smaller enclosures. Kiwi in nocturnal houses were more likely to be reported as displaying behavioural problems than off-display enclosures. A higher proportion of NZ kiwi were housed in nocturnal houses compared to elsewhere, and one in five NZ kiwi were reported as displaying a behavioural problem, compared to 1/8 in other countries. Behavioural issues in kiwi may be underreported due to their nocturnal nature, and both behavioural and health challenges could negatively impact their welfare. Further research is essential to optimise captive conditions and improve health, behaviour, and welfare outcomes for this iconic species.fals
Stable isotope analysis of New Zealand sea lion (Phocarctos hookeri) whiskers shows distinct regional ecological niches
No full textA region's isoscape (isotopic values within a marine ecosystem) can vary markedly, providing the ability to assess the foraging and migration behaviours of apex marine predators through stable isotope analysis of inert tissue such as whiskers. Additionally, these values can be used to determine the area of origin. The New Zealand sea lion (Phocarctos hookeri) breeds over 7 degrees of latitude from Otago Peninsula (45.8°S), South Island, New Zealand, to Campbell Island (52.5°S), a 750 km distance. For most of their range, there is incomplete description of their foraging ecology and diet.
We analysed δ13C and δ15N stable isotope ratios from pup whiskers (n = 160) from the five main breeding areas, across three distinct regions for New Zealand sea lions. We investigated isotopic niches for each breeding area to give insight into foraging behaviours and determined whether isotopic values could be used to identify the place of origin of individuals. We found significant differences in isotopic values between the five breeding areas except Enderby and Dundas Islands, Auckland Islands. The differences between breeding areas are likely driven by a combination of prey abundance, distribution and consumption by the pups' mothers, underlying oceanographic variability, varying isotopic baselines, and potential impacts from human influences. Isotopic niche widths were greatest in the Auckland Islands region. This research highlights the value of stable isotope analysis to investigate regional scale variations of apex marine predators foraging and could provide insight into anthropogenic and environmental factors that could influence resource usefals
pH-responsive compartmentalized alginate beads enable spatial control of sequential nanozyme reactions
No full textControlling two-step sequential catalytic reactions through external stimuli is a powerful approach for developing responsive chemical systems with potential applications in, for example, logic-gated sensing, process-sequence checking and programmable pollutant remediation. Here, a pH-responsive compartmentalized hydrogel bead system was fabricated via coaxial microfluidic electrospray, in which gold (Au) and iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanozymes were spatially segregated into distinct domains. We systematically assessed the pH-dependent reactivity of Au and Fe3O4 nanozymes between pH 2 and 9 to evaluate individual catalytic activities. Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) exhibited glucose oxidase (GOx)-like activity at pH 8–9, quantified by a cobalt‑carbonate (Co/CO₃) UV–vis assay, while Fe3O4 NPs showed strong peroxidase (POD)-like activity at pH 2–3, quantified by 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS) oxidation. Leveraging this pH-selective behaviour, the Au-rich domain catalyses glucose oxidation to generate hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), which then diffuses into the Fe3O4-rich domain for decomposition. Compared to free and single hydrogel system, the compartmentalized system enhances the reaction efficiency by minimizing interference between nanozymes through spatial separation.fals