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Pharmacological Optimisation of Tumour Targeted Immunostimulants for Clinical Development
No full textThesis embargoed until 11/2027
Motivation, Identity, and Mana-Enhancing Pathways to Success: First-Generation Postgraduate Students in Aotearoa New Zealand
No full textTo be the first in one’s family to attend university is a significant achievement. Many first-generation students carry the hopes and aspirations of whānau (family) members with them to university. While they may not inherit academic capital in the traditional sense, first-generation students draw on cultural, relational, and experiential strengths to navigate unfamiliar academic spaces and expectations.
This doctoral research sought to understand the motivations, experiences, and identity negotiations of first-generation students enrolled in postgraduate study at an Aotearoa New Zealand university. It aimed to identify the personal, relational, cultural, and institutional factors that shape these journeys and to determine what enhances or hinders success and wellbeing. The research was guided by a layered theoretical framework integrating Orbe’s (2008) Person-in-Context Theory, the Mana Model (Webber & Macfarlane, 2020), Self-Determination Theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000), and Bourdieu’s (1973) concepts of habitus, capital, and field, providing a holistic lens for interpreting these experiences.
Guided by a constructivist ontology and a pragmatic, multiple methods design, the research comprised three interrelated studies. Study One drew on survey data from 717 first-generation undergraduate and postgraduate students across seven faculties. Using an adapted version of Vallerand’s Academic Motivation Scale, the study examined demographic patterns and motivational orientations, revealing that pleasure, prospects, and accomplishment were key motivators for most participants, although a minority expressed apathy or uncertainty toward study.
Study Two used four focus groups with 17 master’s students to explore factors influencing postgraduate participation and persistence, highlighting the importance of relational belonging, mana-enhancing supervision, and transparent academic structures, alongside continuing tensions around confidence and access to institutional knowledge.
Study Three involved individual interviews with five participants who had completed Upgrade: Skills for Postgraduate Study. Although Upgrade was not specifically targeted at first-generation students, its focus on academic preparation provided insight into how such programmes can foster confidence, agency, and connection during postgraduate transitions.
The findings emphasise that first-generation postgraduate journeys are shaped not only by individual motivation but also by relational, cultural, and structural conditions. They suggest that equity in postgraduate education requires environments that are transparent, mana-enhancing, and responsive to the diverse knowledge pathways that first-generation students bring
National Bed-Level Change in New Zealand’s Coastal Hydro Systems
No full textThe inundation of lowland rivers due to rising sea levels creates slackwater conditions that tend to favour sediment deposition and the aggradation of riverbeds. This progressive transition away from a long-term geomorphic steady state may lead to sudden and hazardous fluvial adjustments in floods, including avulsion and the inundation of previously unaffected land. For highly dynamic bedload-dominated coastal river systems, the potential for aggradation and morphological adjustment is even greater. Despite well-established future sea level rise (SLR) projections, the extent of riverbed level responses in the diverse collection of coastal lowland river mouths remains largely unexplored. Here, a practical, multi-indicator approach for assessing bed level change using readily available data on key indicators has been developed. This approach was applied to the lowermost reaches of twelve of New Zealand’s (NZ) bedload-dominated rivers, termed “coastal hydro systems” (CHS), under four climate change scenarios up to 2150. After categorising sites based on their geomorphic class, data was collected on local factors (morphological features, infrastructure, future flow changes), sediment mass balance, and accommodation space.
Results demonstrated that all sites experienced a rise in bed levels when subjected to sea level rise. Distinct relationships were found between the available accommodation space and potential rates of sediment accumulation in each geomorphic class. High sediment loading and an abrupt threshold for overbank inundation suggested that hāpua-type lagoons such as the Rakaia and Ashburton Rivers were the most likely to exhibit high dynamism under sea level rise. Our ability to evaluate response characteristics is limited: firstly, by the complexity of morphodynamic processes and feedbacks at the coast, and secondly, through our approximative models of bedload yield and grain-size composition in these rivers. Nevertheless, this first-order ranking of susceptibility among river outlets is an initial step in the important task of assessing evolving risk in fluvial and estuarine environments and prioritising adaptation measures in a changing climate
Bridging the Gaps in Post-Disaster Recovery: A Transition Framework for Developing Countries
No full textDisasters disproportionately impact developing countries, exacerbating inequalities and trapping marginalized groups in cycles of poverty and vulnerability. Post-disaster recovery (PDR) efforts in these regions often focus heavily on initial phases, with attention waning in later stages due to new disasters and resource diversion. This shift intensifies challenges and hinders successful transitions to long-term recovery and resilience-building.
The PDR process encompasses all activities following a disaster event, beginning with the Response phase, which focuses on immediate life-saving actions, restoration of essential services, and short-term relief for affected communities. This is followed by the Recovery phase, which addresses medium-term needs such as rebuilding livelihoods, restoring infrastructure, and strengthening community systems. Finally, PDR extends into the Long-term Reconstruction and Development phase, aimed at achieving sustainability, resilience, and ‘Building Back Better’ (BBB). A key challenge in PDR is managing the transitions between these phases. The lack of clarity, coordination, and oversight during these transition periods often hinders progression into long-term recovery. In many developing countries, PDR efforts struggle particularly at these points of transition, which can result in the failure to achieve intended goals and objectives. In many developing countries, PDR efforts often fail during these phases, falling short of their goals and objectives. As a result, they are unable to build resilience, leaving communities trapped in a cycle of vulnerability. This thesis examines the recovery transition to explore why PDR frequently fails to progress into long-term recovery in the developing country context. A comprehensive literature review identified three primary PDR phases with two distinct recovery transitions: Response, Recovery, and Long-term Reconstruction and Development. The study design aligns with an exploratory mixed-method approach. The first phase of the study comprised an extensive literature review of 15 case studies, providing critical insights into various PDR processes, transition phases, and the challenges encountered therein. Based on the analysis of this initial phase, a draft version of the Recovery Transition Framework (RTF) was developed to conceptualize and address observed gaps in recovery transitions.
In the second phase, empirical fieldwork was conducted across five disaster-affected districts in Pakistan and Sri Lanka, selected due to their frequent exposure to disasters and the presence of newly-established disaster management institutions. Findings from this phase informed the refinement of the RTF, which was revised to include three core principles, Recovery Governance, Stakeholder Engagement, and Capacity Development, each supported by three key propositions.
The third and final phase involved a validation process to assess the relevance, applicability, and practicality of the revised RTF. Due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, this validation was conducted through an online questionnaire targeting key stakeholders in disaster recovery.
The RTF proposed in this research provides practical tools to address challenges such as poor disaster governance, limited local administration and community participation, ineffective communication and coordination, and inadequate data management. It emphasizes transparent decision-making and early planning for project transfers and sustainability. In terms of theoretical contributions, this study addresses a critical gap in disaster risk management literature by proposing a comprehensive framework with actionable components to enhance recovery transition processes in developing countries. It also lays the groundwork for future research and supports the broader applicability of transition-focused approaches in post-disaster contexts
Seismic behaviour of rockable bridges on soil under multi-directional excitations
No full textAllowing footings to rock has been used as a low-damage seismic design, e.g., the 315 m long Rangitikei Viaduct in New Zealand that can rock at all pier supports. With rocking capability, the bridge has experienced more than ten thousand earthquakes without damage. However, most existing studies on rockable bridges only consider one-directional excitations, even though in earthquakes bridges always experience multi-directional ground excitations. This research aims to experimentally investigate the effect of three-directional excitations and soil support on bridge rocking through large-scale shake table experiments. The results from one- and two-directional horizontal excitations were also investigated to elucidate the bridge behaviour. To reveal the influence of flexible support, the result of a rocking bridge on soil support is compared with that of a rigid base support. The result shows that neglecting multi-directional excitation can underestimate the development of footing rocking, bending moments, and girder rotations. The consequence of soil deformation for the bridge rocking is more pronounced when three-directional excitations are considered
Gratitude or Anger: Emotional Reactions to Negative Feedback and the Moderating Role of Core Self-Evaluation
No full textNegative feedback is crucial in performance management, aiding in mistake correction, role
clarification, and self-improvement. However, employees often struggle to benefit from it,
experiencing negative emotions, reduced self-efficacy, and disengagement. Existing research on
its effectiveness has produced contradictory findings, underscoring the need for further
examination. Grounded in cognitive appraisal and self-verification theory, this thesis explores
how supervisor negative feedback interacts with employees’ core self-evaluations (CSE) to
influence emotions (i.e., anger and gratitude) and their subsequent impact on affective
commitment. Data was collected from a two-wave survey of 251 employees in a Chinese
petrochemical enterprise. Data analysis was conducted using Mplus 8.3 and SPSS 29.0. The
results suggested a significant moderating effect of CSE on the relationship between negative
feedback and gratitude. Specifically, negative feedback was negatively related to gratitude when
employees’ CSE was high and positively related to gratitude when their CSE was low.
Additionally, the overall moderated mediation was significant. For employees with high CSE,
negative feedback had a negative indirect relationship with affective commitment via gratitude.
Conversely, for employees with low CSE, the indirect relationship was positive. No other
significant results were found. Taken together, this thesis contributes to a more nuanced
understanding of negative feedback by highlighting the roles of positive emotions. It further
shows that core self-evaluation plays a boundary role in shaping these emotional reactions
Pre-European Māori Fishing in the Bay of Plenty
No full textThis thesis explores the historical ecology of Māori marine fisheries in the Bay of Plenty, Aotearoa New Zealand. This is accomplished through the new identification of 7531 fishbones from three areas of the Papamoa SupaCenta development site and the examination of 15 previously published fishbone assemblages. This research aims to identify and characterise the pre-European Māori marine fisheries in the Bay of Plenty through the lens of historical ecology. This will be explored through the research question: Do historical ecology processes associated with the sites' coastal landforms, marine habitats, and capture technology explain the spatial and temporal variation in Bay of Plenty fish assemblages?
The results of this study found two distinct groups, with mackerel contributing to either more than 50% or less than 35% of the fishbone assemblages. The former group is the most common, with 12 of the 18 assemblages belonging to this group, and likely represent mackerel fisheries that utilised mass capture fishing practices. The latter group were varied in their fishing practices, representing a snapper fishery (Pilot Bay), a tarakihi fishery (Omaio), estuary netting practices (Maketu North 2017), offshore rocky reef hook and line fishing (Asher Block), or a combines netting and hook and line fishing practices (Otaiparia and PSC area G).
This research demonstrates that the ease of procurement related to the sites’ coastal landforms and marine habitats was the key motivator for the spatial and temporal variation in the Bay of Plenty fishbone assemblages.
This thesis contributes to the broader understanding of pre-European Māori fisheries, providing groundwork for future research related to marine fisheries in the Bay of Plenty and other areas of Aotearoa
Developing Deep Learning-Based Intelligent Analysis Expert System for SEM Images of Metallic Materials
No full textThis study integrates deep learning technology with materials science knowledge to construct a multi-scale intelligent analysis expert system for failure analysis of metallic materials. To address the bottlenecks of traditional methods that rely on empirical judgment, inefficiency, and insufficient interpretability, a three-stage innovative solution is proposed. First, as the foundation stage of the system, a multi-label classification system based on EfficientNet and Vision Transformer is developed to achieve precise recognition of engineering metal defect from SEM images, with the highest accuracy of 98.45% and industrial-grade real-time performance (24.57 FPS). Second, building upon the achievements of the first stage and addressing its "black box" limitation, an explainable AI framework is established by leveraging enhanced Grad-CAM++ technology to generate spatially semantic-enhanced heatmaps, revealing the correlation mechanism between deep learning decision-making logic and microscopic damage features. A human-machine collaborative knowledge feedback system is proposed for closed-loop optimization by integrating expert experience and model iteration. Finally, through the integration of tensile testing and transfer learning, a cross-scale correlation model is established to link the dynamic evolution of Q235 steel microstructures with macroscopic mechanical properties. This research addresses the high-throughput auxiliary diagnosis challenge of engineering metal SEM images, overcomes the "black-box limitation" in material analysis, and enables correlation with material mechanical properties. The proposed system forms a self- explanatory, knowledge-driven, and transferable intelligent analysis expert system for metallic materials, providing a scientifically reliable decision-making support tool for industrial failure diagnosis and material performance prediction
Biodiversity Monitoring in Remote Marine Environments: Advancing Environmental DNA/RNA Sampling Workflows
No full textTe Ūranga: Transforming the Onehunga Wharf Historic Industrial Precinct into a Multifunctional Quarter through Adaptive Reuse
No full textAdaptive reuse offers a critical pathway for reimagining industrial heritage sites within contemporary urban contexts. This research focuses on Onehunga Wharf, a historically and culturally layered precinct on Auckland’s Manukau Harbour. It investigates how adaptive design strategies can retain historical meaning while enabling urban renewal that is socially and culturally responsive. The central question asks: How can the architectural and cultural heritage of Onehunga Wharf be reimagined through adaptive reuse that honours its past, responds to the present, and fosters its evolution into a multifunctional urban quarter?
The research draws on contemporary heritage conservation theory, with a particular focus on industrial and intangible heritage. Key objectives include interpreting Onehunga Wharf’s layered Māori and Pākehā histories, assessing its built fabric, responding to planning and community needs, and developing a heritage-led masterplan supported by a speculative adaptive reuse proposal for the site’s historic wharf sheds. The methodology integrates historical analysis and design thinking to propose an intervention—Te Ūranga Market—that engages with both tangible and intangible heritage values.
Challenging rigid conservation frameworks, the research proposes a more flexible, value-based approach to industrial heritage adaptation. By prioritising continued relevance and public engagement over static preservation, it contributes to the evolving discourse on industrial heritage in Aotearoa New Zealand. Demonstrating how adaptive reuse can reconcile memory, function, and future viability through thoughtful, place-based design, the work advocates for a more resilient and contextually responsive urban future