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Synthesis, characterisation, and properties of powder metallurgy transition metal-based high entropy alloys for electrocatalytic application
Get PDFWater electrolysis is an eco-friendly route for hydrogen production when compared to other routes such as steam reforming, coal gasification, biomass gasification etc, however only 4% of hydrogen is being produced through water electrolysis. Water electrolysis proceeds via two half-cell reactions namely oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). HER is a two-electron transfer process while OER is a four electron/proton transfer process. Hence OER is energy intensive and affects the overall efficiency of water electrolysis. To improve the efficiency of water electrolysis, it is necessary to develop an efficient electrocatalyst for OER process. Ir and Ru based oxides are the state-of-the-art electrocatalysts for OER, however their natural abundance is minuscule, hence they are expensive. Transition metal based electrocatalysts are emerging materials for OER applications due to their high natural abundance and low cost. However, these materials exhibit poor conductivity and consequently poor catalytic activity. Hence to overcome the shortcomings of conventional electrocatalysts a new class of multi component alloys termed as high entropy alloys (HEAs) are getting popular for electrocatalytic applications. However, most of the HEAs for OER are not self-supporting and being synthesised in powder form are often coated onto conductive substrates such as Ni foam and carbon fibre. Hence this powder based electrocatalysts are not suitable for industrial scale hydrogen production. In addition, most synthesised HEAs consist of Co which is an inherently expensive material. To overcome these current drawbacks in this field, this thesis considered three Co free self-supporting HEA combinations namely NiMnFeCu, NiMnFeCrCu and NiMnFeCr which were successfully synthesized. Among the synthesized HEAs examined, NiMnFeCr was found to exhibit an overpotential of 300 mV after it was subjected to 100 cycles of cyclic voltammetry (CV) activation. Furthermore, the NiMnFeCr HEA synthesised exhibited a compressive yield stress of 306 MPa manifesting the excellent combined properties of not only catalytic activity but also mechanical strength. The research showed that NiMnFeCr was a suitable candidate material for industrial scale water electrolysis and hence can be considered as a potential replacement for the conventional, prominently used electrocatalysts such as Raney nickel, Ir and Ru oxide- based catalysts. The excellent catalytic activity demonstrated by the HEA NiMnFeCr could also be attributed to its work function of 3.02 eV which is the lowest value of work function of other studied HEAs
Aotearoa's heart language: An investigation of compulsory te reo Māori language learning for non-Māori teaching students in Aotearoa New Zealand
Get PDFTe Reo Māori is becoming more prominent on our airwaves, in government agencies and within schools. Within a wider education system that increasingly seeks to give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, teachers in New Zealand are being asked to become more competent in their development and use of Te Reo Māori, despite over 70% of teachers identifying as New Zealand European. The Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand passed a requirement in 2021 specifying that new teachers should demonstrate Te Reo Māori competency at between level 3 and 4 of the Māori language curriculum by the time they graduate from their initial teacher education. Learning any second language as an adult can be challenging, and so the Teaching Council’s requirement is a big ask, particularly for non-Māori teaching students who may have had little to no exposure to the Māori language prior to enrolling into the teaching programme.
This thesis reports on a qualitative study that investigated the experiences of four non-Māori pre-service teaching students in relation to the requirement that they learn Te Reo Māori as a part of their teaching degree programme. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather data, incorporating culturally responsive approaches during data collection and thematic analysis was undertaken to identify findings. The backdrop for this study was an interpretivist paradigm that recognises the socially constructed nature of each individual’s reality. This research paradigm was appropriate for this research study as I sought to interpret and understand the experiences of each participant with the Teaching Council’s Te Reo Māori requirement. An interpretivist research design also aligns with a qualitative approach to data collection which made this paradigm a good fit for the research project.
The findings suggest that the new Teaching Council requirement is leading to language progress, although there have been challenges for the participants. All four participants have increased their knowledge, understanding and confidence to engage with Te Reo Māori. There was also a noticeable shift in cultural competence amongst all four participants. A very positive outcome when considering that all of the participants came into the teaching programme with little to no experience with Māori language and culture. However, learning Te Reo Māori has at times been confronting for these participants, primarily when historical issues associated with colonisation and the repression of the Māori language have surfaced. Technical aspects of second language acquisition have also caused challenges such as in relation to correct pronunciation and participants’ opportunities to use Te Reo Māori.
An over-riding theme from this research has been that although the Teaching Council’s language learning mandate presents an ambitious challenge for pre-service teachers, the four participants in this study have all experienced what can be characterised as a transformative learning process in relation to their Te Reo Māori journey thus far. That is, each participant had learning moments where they were able to critically reflect on their worldview and prior knowledge of Māori language and culture. Through this transformative process not only did the participants gain a deeper understanding of a Māori worldview, but they were able to transition this understanding into their developing teacher practice to the benefit of themselves and their students. While the participants for this study were purposively selected, the positive outcomes evident in their language learning journey suggest that there is potential for this new Teaching Council mandate to be achievable. The findings suggest that this new mandate might be a powerful lever towards a cultural shift for our English-medium teachers and within their classrooms as Te Reo Māori becomes more prominent. This study is also significant because of the scarcity of research on this new policy, and on non-Māori who are required to learn Te Reo Māori as part of their teaching degree. There could be wider significance for this research in the public sphere with attitudes potentially shifting more favourably towards Te Reo Māori and a bicultural country, centred on a Te Tiriti o Waitangi partnership. The findings of this study will be of use to future and current non-Māori teaching students to help navigate this new mandate. Teacher educators could benefit from the implications for culturally responsive teaching and learning. This study may inform researchers in the field of linguistics and education who might wish to build on the results of this research project to inform further studies. Finally, policy makers may be interested to learn about the benefits and challenges that have emerged from this new Teaching Council mandate. Lastly, this research presents an exciting opportunity to showcase this new Teaching Council mandate, and what one participant in the present study described as the ‘heart language’ of New Zealand, with the potential for Te Reo Māori to flourish beyond language classrooms and Māori-medium education and into our mainstream education system, where it belongs
Sickness experience and language : aspects of Tongan and Western accounting
Get PDFIn this study of Tongan healing practices, the author has chosen not simply to record participants’ roles or medicinal preparations but rather, the concern of this study is to understand the ‘doing’ of sickness as a social practice.
Two main sociological techniques have been applied. Firstly, a hermeneutic - phenomenological approach was used to attain recordings of, and to analyze, the sickness theorizing of members of Tongan society. The ‘sickness talk’ of these members provides a record of some aspects of contemporary Tongan healing practices. The ‘sickness talk’ is also analyzed using Wittgenstein’s concept of ‘rule-usage’ in the ‘language game’ of sickness. This form of analysis indicated certain individual and public relevances which are grounded upon the Tongan way of life. Thus speakers’ accounts are analyzed in terms of what sickness talk ‘shows’ as well as what it ‘says’, disclosing cultural process instead of simply cultural product.
Discussion on ‘diagnosis’ shows that in order to define the problematic situation of sickness, the phenomena are organized into a classification, that is, members have to ‘capture’, ‘fix’, ‘concretize’ the confronting transient phenomena and apply a sickness label as a ‘working definition’. Tongan sickness ‘types’ are shown to be not only different from Western ‘types’, but aspects of the process of constructing that difference are also shown to be implicit in the sickness talk. Diagnosis as a social process is not seen as the labelling of an ‘objective fact’, ‘a sickness’; nor is therapy understood as being some ‘thing’ that gets a person ‘better’. Tongan explanatory models, developed to explain sickness causation, differ essentially from Western explanatory models of sickness in that Tongans have developed a social model of prevention and cure while in the West, a biological model has been developed. Explanation is understood here not as the causal accounting of sickness but as the explanation of enigmatic consequences.
The latter sections of the study on doing sickness as ‘kinship’ and as ‘healer’ not only add to the record on contemporary healing practices but also emphasize the Tongan social model of sickness. This study therefore, is not only a record, albeit a partial one, of contemporary Tongan healing practices, it also shows how these particular Tongans define certain sickness situations and devise a strategy to resolve that problematic situation. That is, it shows how committing certain experiences to language ‘is’ the ordering process. Rather than any magico-religious or scientific-biological model providing the basis of sickness practice in Tongan society, kinship is proposed as the underlying organizing principle.
The comparative mode of analysis, in relation to Tongan and Western sickness theorizing, avoids presenting Western explanation as a model by which Tongan theorizing can be evaluated. Instead, in analyzing Tongan healing practices showing knowledge and relevance(s), substantive dimensions of Western theorizing and practice are disclosed.
In selecting a limited number of members’ sickness accounts over a period of six and a half months in Tonga, I have not attempted to randomly sample the Tongan population in order to generalize my ‘findings’ to the whole of Tongan society. Instead my interest has been to give an interpretation of some aspects of Tongan sickness theorizing which may or may not be altered by similar and more extensive studies in the future.
Contrary to what may be seen as being medical and anthropological expectations, Tongan traditional healing practices have not declined since Western contact, rather, they have developed from reportedly limited skills at that time, to an extensive network of healing practice today
Book cover 'David Bowie and the Art of Music Video'
No full textThis is the original image created by the author for the book cover design. The published book can be found at https://hdl.handle.net/10289/15924.The book cover for 'David Bowie and the Art of Music Video' was designed and painted by Lisa Perrott, who is the copyright holder for this cover image. Lisa Perrott painted this image using water colours on paper, then photographed the painting and designed the cover design using photoshop
Impact of the 1962 New York Agreement on Indigenous West Papuans’ Political, Cultural and Territorial Rights: A historical and legal analysis of West Papuans’ rights to self-determination
Get PDFWest Papua was incorporated into Indonesia under the 1962 New York Agreement, which was signed between the Netherlands and Indonesia without involving indigenous West Papuans. The Agreement attempted to legitimise Indonesia’s claim of sovereignty over West Papua. It is the narrative around this Agreement that effectively dictates indigenous West Papuans' lives, including their subjugation to historical and ongoing human rights violations. This thesis closely examines the legal grounds of Indonesia’s claim, with a particular focus on whether the New York Agreement was legitimately and authentically implemented through the processes of the 1969 Act of Free Choice.
Using primary and secondary sources, this thesis examines the legality of Indonesia’s occupation in West Papua. It begins with the circumvention of international laws that prevented indigenous West Papuans from gaining the benefit of international decolonisation regimes during international decolonisation periods, which ultimately led to the re-colonisation of West Papua. A careful historical examination confirms that the indigenous people of West Papua have lost their legitimate standing in international law. The thesis contends the intentions behind the creation of the New York Agreement were not genuine, but that the Agreement was a purposely imposed colonising law to recolonise the territory.
By employing key legal arguments, this thesis contends that Indonesia's sovereignty claim over West Papua is legally invalid, historically unjustified and morally unacceptable. On reviewing both historical and ongoing violations of the human rights in the region, this thesis further argues that an internationally mandated process of self-determination should be considered as a legal remedy. The claims of indigenous West Papuans are historically supported, legally grounded and empirically demonstrated. This thesis establishes legal frameworks within the international law and institutions that can be utilised as practical pathways to West Papuan self-determination, with a particular focus on options within the United Nations systems
What works for midwives supporting māmā through emotional distress?
Get PDFPregnancy and the postnatal period are particularly vulnerable times for mothers’ mental health, with an increased risk of women experiencing depression and anxiety during this time. Therefore, understanding the level and type of service midwives provide to māmā who experience emotional distress is vital to know what midwives need in order to provide the right care to their clients.
The aim of this study was to find out what tools and resources community-based midwives find most helpful to support the needs of māmā. Seven semi-structured interviews were conducted, including four Māori midwives, who were able to provide insight on their experiences caring for mothers with mental health needs. Overall, the interviews reflected a strong sense of care and empathy from midwives during their time caring for mothers. Midwives appeared to rely on their interpersonal skills and intuition about emotional distress, and emphasised the importance of connecting with people and utilising support from their communities. Whilst midwives were interested and engaged with providing appropriate care to mothers, they were unbeknown to some of the clinical resources that could be available to their clients. The complexity of referrals and access to mental health services was central to the midwives’ frustration around caring for mothers, as well as a lack of education relating to kaupapa Māori, cultural competency, and mental health processes.
Recommendations based on this study are to provide midwives with education and training on topics like kaupapa Māori, on social and mental health resources and processes for referral to increase their ability to support and care for mothers who experience emotional distress. Improvements to the pathways for referrals and access to mental health services is essential. Future research should focus on understanding why midwives aren’t using a range of online apps and tools, and increase awareness of the available modes of support available
Hierarchical, informed and robust machine learning for surgical tool management
Get PDFThis thesis focuses on the development of a computer vision and deep learning based system for the intelligent management of surgical tools. The work accomplished included the development of a new dataset, creation of state of the art techniques to cope with volume, variety and vision problems, and designing or adapting algorithms to address specific surgical tool recognition issues. The system was trained to cope with a wide variety of tools, with very subtle differences in shapes, and was designed to work with high volumes, as well as varying illuminations and backgrounds. Methodology that was adopted in this thesis included the creation of a surgical tool image dataset and development of a surgical tool attribute matrix or knowledge-base. This was significant because there are no large scale publicly available surgical tool datasets, nor are there established annotations or datasets of textual descriptions of surgical tools that can be used for machine learning. The work resulted in the development of a new hierarchical architecture for multi-level predictions at surgical speciality, pack, set and tool level. Additional work evaluated the use of synthetic data to improve robustness of the CNN, and the infusion of knowledge to improve predictive performance
Exploring researchers' views on metrics and research impact: Internal report
Get PDFResearch excellence is a goal that universities and researchers alike strive for, but how do we identify and measure research excellence? Do quantitative metrics demonstrate the impact that researchers are aiming for? This report details the results of an exploratory case study investigating how researchers responded to a range of quantitative metrics. As a part of their approach, the project team interviewed thirteen academic staff at the University of Waikato across a range of disciplines.
A thematic analysis of the interviews was carried out, bringing to light eight dominant themes from the participants’ discussions:
• No one-size fits all - impact and excellence varies greatly across disciplines and matter more to some disciplines than others
• Lack of understanding of metrics and reliance on h-index
• Metrics are subjective and can be gamed
• A general nervousness around metrics or disdain, especially for Altmetrics
• Cultural considerations and the importance of the collective
• Disconnect between what they value and what they think their peers value
• Publishing decisions are driven by a diverse range of factors
• Varying levels of importance in getting research out into the public including OA
This paper argues that metrics can be used as a tool for researchers, but should be understood in the context of non-quantitative measures. Metrics alone cannot determine how impactful a researcher’s contribution may be. It is important for researchers to be recognised as individuals in order for them to tell the story of their work. This will require upskilling both for researchers and those who evalu-ate research
The heat goes on: Simplifying the identification of energy hardship
Get PDFEnergy hardship affects over 6% of households in New Zealand, defined as the inability to afford and obtain energy services. In late 2021, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment proposed 26 indicators to identify energy hardship. However, this study aimed to explore the leading causes and consequences of energy hardship in the following year, including relevant variables not included in the proposed indicators. A survey of 1278 Kiwi respondents was conducted to understand their demographic and energy consumption patterns. Using 17 of the proposed indicators, the severity of energy hardship was measured and related to other important variables. Results showed that energy unaffordability, poor housing quality, and choosing between food expenses or energy bills were the main drivers of energy hardship. Consequences included feeling cold due to restricted energy consumption and accumulating energy debt. This study provides valuable insights to simplify the identification of households experiencing energy hardship and highlights the main areas of focus for policy development aimed at eradicating this problem
Development of immunoaffinity columns and immunoassays for the collection, partial purification and measurement of sporidesmin A and its metabolites
Get PDFMissing pages 229 - 236Monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies were produced for the development of competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (cELISA) for sporidesmin A, the mycotoxin that causes facial eczema in grazing livestock. Derivatives of sporidesmin conjugated to a number of proteins were used as immunising antigens and plate-coating antigens for cELISA. Two immunoassays, each detecting the presence of a different region of the sporidesmin A molecule have been developed. They allow the two major sporidesmins found in grass or in Pithomyces chartarum cultures to be distinguished. Organic solvent extraction of samples was avoided so that water-soluble metabolites could also be detected.
To assist in the selection of animals resistant to facial eczema, the cELISAs were applied to a study of the metabolism of sporidesmin A in sheep. The cELISAs distinguish between sporidesmin A and its metabolites, as one antibody detects only sporidesmin A and the other detects sporidesmin A and metabolites. After sheep were dosed with sporidesmin A it was possible to monitor the excretion of the toxin in bile and its metabolite(s) in both bile and urine using the appropriate cELISA. There were no differences between resistant and susceptible sheep in the cumulative totals or excretion rates of immunoreactive metabolite in animals dosed with sporidesmin A.
The detection of sporidesmin metabolites in sheep urine by cELISA was shown to have potential as a biomarker for measuring exposure to toxic pastures which could give early warning of the risk of facial eczema.
An immunoaffinity chromatography matrix was prepared by coupling antibody to cyanogen bromide-activated Sepharose. The matrix bound sporidesmin A and immunoreactive metabolites from urine, and bound analytes were eluted with 40% methanol in water. The matrix capacity for sporidesmin A was 900 ng of sporidesmin A bound per mL of matrix, and for sporidesmin metabolites from urine it was approximately 500 ng of sporidesmin A immunoreactive equivalents per mL of matrix.
A method was developed for the preparation of milk for immunoaffinity chromatography so that blocking of columns by milk fats was avoided. Sample concentration obtained using the immunoaffinity chromatography lowered the limit of quantification for the previously developed cELISA for sporidesmin A in milk by a factor of 100.
A trial was carried out to determine whether sporidesmin residues appeared in milk following experimental ingestion of the toxin. Using the cELISA, sporidesmin metabolites were detected in milk samples collected after dosing. Further evidence for the presence of immunoreactive material was obtained by using immunoaffinity chromatography to recover the material from milk. Positive results in the sporidesmin A specific cELISA suggest the presence of free sporidesmin A at picogram levels. Purification from a much larger sample, and analyses by HPLC and mass spectrometry are needed to confirm this result.
It should now be possible to use the anti-sporidesmin antibodies in immunochemical technologies and formats which are suitable for on-farm use. These could be used to help minimise exposure to sporidesmin A and provide an important advance in animal health