16168 research outputs found
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E hoki mai nei ki te ūkaipō | Return to your place of nourishment [Te Kōputu a te Whanga a Toi | Whakatāne Art Gallery]
No full textE Hoki Mai Nei ki te Ūkaipō | Return to Your Place of Nourishment brings together works by four wāhine Māori artists, Aimee Ratana, Aisha Roberts, Hollie Tawhiao and Maraea Timutimu, which explore narratives of pakanga (conflict) through toi (art). In this show, the four artists weave together their unique practices and stories to present a cohesive yet diverse examination of conflicts, with a particular focus on the artists’ own whānau, hapū, and iwi narratives.
Curated by Hāwea Apiata
The influence of maritime freight cost tail risk on publicly traded industrial and transport companies
No full textThis study examines the influence of maritime freight cost tail risk events on stock market prices of industrial and transport-related firms. Our findings reveal a significant asymmetry: extreme negative movements in these indices have a disproportionately large adverse impact on stock returns compared to extreme positive movements. As these indices serve as barometers of global economic health, sharp declines signal contractions in global demand, fuelling investor apprehension. These concerns outweigh the potential benefits of lower input costs for most firms. We also uncover substantial heterogeneity amongst stock responses. Notably, owing to their perceived higher risk, smaller firms and those with ESG controversies are more severely impacted by these negative tail-risk events. Further, we document that strong ESG commitments are sometimes beneficial during negative tail risk events, but not always. These mixed findings suggest that the effects of ESG commitments during tail risk events operate through multiple channels, and these impacts may vary depending on firm characteristics and the nature of the ESG activity
Development of a real-time technique for in-sditu measurement of pH in capacitive deionisation
No full textCapacitive Deionisation (CDI) as a desalination technique proves to be one of the most promising technologies owing to its simplicity and ease of manufacturability. The longevity of CDI depends on a number of factors, such as the ability of carbon to withstand Faradaic reactions to CO2. Furthermore,
like other technologies such as (reverse osmosis) RO and (electrodialysis reversal) EDR, scale formation is known to affect its hydraulic efficiency. The slow mineral deposition of magnesium and calcium carbonate is responsible for such phenomena. The extent of the problem is one where the
hydraulic efficiency of the device drops well below 10%, a state where the device is considered to be at the end-of-life as it is too difficult to pump water through it. In the preliminary study we examined the performance of an industrial scale (membrane capacitive deionisation) MCDI module that has
been in operation intermittently for 5 years to establish familiarity with the performance of a used module.
In the main study, we described a new technique for observing the chemical state within the spacer channel of a CDI cell, the part of the electrode that is prone to blockage. This new technique for the direct measurement of pH is based on colourimetric analysis of a novel synthetic formulation of a
pH-sensitive dye dissolved in the electrolyte phase. The basis for this novel technique combined a simple optical microscope integrated with a microfluidic device. This microfluidic device containing a microreactor cell of 750 picolitres in size was fabricated to host the electrochemical reaction (electrode and electrolyte phases) demonstrated in this study that recreates the “CDI effect” of an industrial cell.
The pH indicator formulations were synthesised from a 1:1:2 ratio of phenolphthalein, bromothymol blue and methyl red in an ethanol solution. The pH indicator, which we denote as the standard formulation (SF), had a density of 0.93 kg/L and pH of 2.74. This was the formulation that was subsequently used in the main part of the study. The dye was characterised by visible range
spectroscopy and subsequent conversion to (hue saturation value) HSV colourmap coordinates using the 1976 CIE (International Commission on Illumination) chromaticity model. This enabled the development of a range of pH-Hue relationships using best approximated by sigmoid functions. In
the analysis of these functions, we investigated the sensitivity of the pH-Hue relationship to variation in the SF formulation due to selective electrosorption of the dye. It was shown that the variation in functions produced was not significant and that the general pH-Hue relationship did not break down
into a non-usable form.
Application of the novel technique was initially performed on a membraneless cell configuration. The pH profile was investigated from a starting range of interest of pH 8 to 9 where scale formation occurs. In the second series of reactions, we demonstrated microreactor CDI configurations with varying degrees of membrane coverage from 12.5% to 100%. It was found that the pH variation in the spacer channel was minimal or non-existent across the full charge cycle from adsorption through to desorption. This indicates that obscuration of the carbon surface blocks the protons diffusing from the surface of the carbon where it is generated by way of the standard faradaic reaction in CDI or blocking co-ions from being expelled from the membrane that may result in speciation that affects the pH.
We recommend longer in-situ observation type studies be performed to confirm the speciation chemistry present in the spacer channel typical of many situations where electrodes are reducing in performance by way of fouling and scale formation
The effects of strength asymmetry on cricket bowlers
No full textThis research examined strength asymmetry in cricket bowlers by assessing muscle strength across four key muscle groups: shoulder positions (SHLD-I, SHLD-Y, SHLD-T), gluteals (GLUT), obliques (OBLIQUE), and calves (CALF). Using isometric testing on a sample of bowlers (n = 9), significant strength differences were found in the shoulder muscles SHLD-I and SHLD-T, favoring the dominant limb, while SHLD-Y showed moderate but non-significant asymmetry. In contrast, gluteal and oblique muscles exhibited minimal and statistically insignificant asymmetries, indicating more balanced development. The calves showed a small but notable dominance-related difference. These findings highlight that upper-limb strength asymmetries, particularly in the shoulders, are more pronounced due to the unilateral demands of bowling, whereas lower-limb and core muscles may benefit from more symmetrical loading. The study emphasizes the importance of targeted strength training to correct muscular imbalances, enhance performance, and reduce injury risk, and calls for further research into the long-term impacts of strength asymmetry on athletic performance and durability
Image retrieval systems based on embeddings for trustworthy AI
No full textEmbedding-based image retrieval systems have become essential for applications that require high accuracy, computational efficiency, and adaptability, particularly in fields like healthcare and agriculture. These systems utilize deep learning models to generate high-dimensional feature embeddings, enabling scalable and precise image retrieval. This study evaluates two distinct retrieval pipelines: the Domain-Specific Retrieval Pipeline (DSRP) and the Pre-trained Feature Extraction Pipeline (PMRP). The comparative analysis, conducted across multiple datasets including medical imaging, agricultural analysis, and general object retrieval, highlights the advantages and trade-offs between these approaches.
The results demonstrate that PMRP achieves consistently higher retrieval accuracy across all datasets, with near-perfect performance in tasks like leaf disease detection and general object retrieval. In contrast, DSRP, while benefiting from domain-specific adaptation, does not surpass PMRP in overall performance and exhibits variability depending on dataset characteristics. Despite its domain- tuned architecture, DSRP showed increased computational complexity without a proportional
increase in accuracy. Additionally, PMRP maintains more stable inference times, making it a preferable option for real-time applications.
Beyond retrieval accuracy, this study explores challenges related to dataset diversity, bias mitigation, explainability, and adversarial robustness. The findings underscore the importance of balancing retrieval precision with computational feasibility, particularly when deploying systems in high-stakes environments. Future research should focus on enhancing dataset representation, developing fairness-aware learning mechanisms, improving model transparency through explainable AI techniques, and strengthening adversarial defenses to ensure the security and reliability of embedding-based retrieval systems. By addressing these challenges, such systems can evolve into more efficient, interpretable, and ethically responsible solutions for real-world applications across various domains
New Zealand English and Te Reo Māori: A critical perspective on the loanword narrative using data from translingual picturebooks
No full textAims/Purpose: New Zealand English has been characterised by the use of vocabulary ‘borrowed’ from the Indigenous Māori language since early contact between English and Māori speakers. In this paper, we consider the relevance of the ‘loanword narrative’ to New Zealand English, examining data from translingual picturebooks published in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Design/Data: We built a small corpus of 10 translingual picturebooks spanning a 30-year period beginning in the early years of Māori language revitalisation.
Analysis: We applied techniques of language analysis from descriptive linguistics, including studies of loanwords.
Findings: We find some evidence of linguistic ‘borrowing’.
Originality: However, in texts created by Māori content creators, with Māori cultural themes, a language practice akin to pedagogical code-switching or pedagogical translanguaging is observed. Māori content creators alternate between languages, treating Māori lexemes as distinct from NZE, preserving Māori orthographic traditions, and providing translation, explanation, or contextual support of Māori lexemes for NZE reader comprehension. Our observations find parallels in translanguaging studies in bilingual early childhood settings, and they are supported by new psycholinguistic research that has identified the development of substantial body of linguistic knowledge about the Māori language by non-Māori speakers through societal exposure.
Significance: We argue that the prevailing loanword narrative does not account for Māori language usage in translingual picturebooks developed by Māori content creators. Rather, we find a clear pattern of differentiation between Māori and NZE
Landing error scoring system: The effect of head turned position and dual tasking
No full textSport has many mental and physical health benefits. However, with overall participation in sport
increasing, sport-related issues and injuries are also increasing. Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL)
injuries are common knee injuries in athletes and the general population, often occurring through non
contact mechanisms. The Landing Error Scoring System (LESS) is a screening task used to identify
athletes at higher risk of non-contact ACL and musculoskeletal injuries, where higher scores indicate
poorer landing mechanics and greater risk of injury. Although the LESS is reliable, its predictive value
is debated and it has been criticised for lacking validity in a sporting context. Previous studies have
adapted LESS protocols in attempts to increase sport specificity, with changing head position or
completing a dual task potentially suitable for this purpose as linked with ACL injury situations in
sports. This thesis contains two experimental chapters.
In the first experiment, 35 participants (22 males, 13 females) performed the LESS in two conditions
allocated in a random order. In the control condition, participants jumped horizontally with both legs
from a 30-cm high box to half their body height, landed with both feet, and jumped vertically as high
as possible in one motion. In the head turned condition, participants performed the same double-leg
jump landing movement while maintaining eye contact with an ‘X’ marked on a wall to their right, in
line with the landing area. Participants performed three trials in each condition. Group mean LESS
scores were significantly greater (P = 0.027) in the head turned (mean errors = 6.8 ± 1.5) than the
control (mean errors = 6.4 ± 1.4) condition, with the mean difference of 0.4 errors being of small
magnitude (Cohen’s d = 0.27 [0.51, 0.03]). No significant difference was found in the odds of being
categorised at risk between conditions (P = 0.625, odds ratio = 3.00 [0.312, 28.8] based on a 5-error
threshold. On an individual level, 28 participants were at risk in both conditions, although 13 had a
meaningful increase in LESS score of one or more in the head turned condition. Average jump heights
were significantly lower in the head turned condition, with the mean difference of 2.1 cm being of small
magnitude (Cohen’s d = 0.20 [0.07,0.34]). Overall, performing the LESS with a head turned position
appeared to increase the complexity and sport specificity of the task. Future research is required to
determine the ability of the LESS to predict ACL injuries with a head turned condition as this aspect
was not assessed.
In the second experiment, an element of cognitive challenge was incorporated to the LESS in attempt
to recreate the complex athlete-environment relationship of sports. In experiment two, 41 participants
(20 males, 19 females, 2 others) performed the LESS in two conditions allocated in a random order.
The control condition was the same as in the first experiment. In the tone counting condition,
participants completed the same double-leg jump landing movement while mentally counting a random
series of high-pitched and low-pitched tones, known as a tone counting task. Group mean LESS scores
were not significantly different between tone counting (mean errors = 6.0 ± 1.3) and control (mean
errors = 6.2 ± 1.5) conditions. Average jump heights were significantly lower in the tone counting than
the control condition, with the mean difference of -4.2 cm being of small magnitude (Cohen’s d = 0.48
[0.30, 0.66]). No significant difference was found in the odds of being categorised at risk between
conditions (P = 1.000, odds ratio = 1.00 [0.20, 4.95]) based on a 5-error threshold. Overall, performing
the LESS with a secondary tone counting task significantly decreased jump heights with a small effect
size, corroborating an increased cognitive load during testing that impaired jump performance.
However, LESS scores were not meaningfully influenced.
Overall, introducing a head turned position to the LESS task increased LESS errors significantly, and
introducing a tone counting task or head turned position decreased jump heights. Although future
research is required to determine the ability of the LESS to predict ACL injuries with these dual tasking
conditions, this Thesis demonstrates that the complexity and sport specificity of the LESS task can be
increased by introducing dual tasking requirements
15 yr of interstellar neutral hydrogen observed with the interstellar boundary explorer
No full textThe interactions of our heliosphere with the surrounding local interstellar medium (LISM) lead to a range of observable phenomena such as energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) from the boundary regions of the heliosphere and the influx of interstellar neutrals (ISNs) into the inner solar system. Hydrogen is the dominant neutral species in the LISM, but due to ionization and radiation pressure, only a fraction of the ISN H atoms reach the inner solar system close to Earth. Monitoring this signal therefore provides observational constraints on our assumptions of the LISM and the solar-activity-dependent loss processes inside the heliosphere. The IBEX-Lo instrument on board the Interstellar Boundary Explorer has been the only instrument so far to measure ISN H atoms directly, together with ISN D, He, Ne, O, and ENAs in the energy range from tens of eV to 2 keV. This study covers 15 yr of IBEX-Lo ISN H observations, i.e., more than one solar cycle and includes two solar minima when the ISN H signal in IBEX-Lo is strongest. Despite the very intense ISN He signal, the ISN H signal can be retrieved with appropriate knowledge of the instrument, choice of optimum observation season, and supporting modeling. The retrieved ISN H signal shows a clear anticorrelation with solar activity. The resulting ISN H maps are available in orbit format and in ecliptic coordinates and will be the basis for future more detailed comparison with heliosphere models
Associative learning deficiencies underlying aberrant feeding in the valproate rat model of autism
No full textAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a heterogenous neurodevelopmental condition
prevalent in over 1% of the global population. Aberrant feeding behaviours and
feeding dysregulation are a prevalent and understudied difficulty. Individuals with
ASD often present with poor health outcomes, including over/under eating, obesity,
and restrictive feeding associated with poor dietary habits, however the underlying
mechanisms are poorly understood. Here we propose an explanation for some
neural mechanisms that may be responsible for feeding dysregulation present in
ASD. We demonstrate that valproate rat models of ASD (VPA ASD) have a blunted
neural response to LiCl-induced conditioned taste aversion and show
transcriptional changes in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus. Findings of this
study also show that VPA ASD rats have significantly higher neural activation in the
nucleus accumbens and the dorsal vagal complex in response to food, compared to
controls. Our research suggests that some of the feeding abnormalities seen in
people with ASD may stem from signalling deficiencies in brain areas involved in
associative learning responses following ingestion of foods that cause malaise.
Extremely restrictive feeding behaviours seen in ASD phenotypes may be caused by
difficulties identifying foods that make them sick. These findings contribute to
understanding neuromolecular drivers of anomalous feeding behaviours in people
with ASD
Study on hydrogen storage performance of as-milled Ti-V-Cr-Fe-Mn high entropy alloys
No full textThis study aims to fabricate and optimize BCC-based high-entropy hydrogen storage alloys through mechanical alloying. The research systematically investigates the effects of processing parameters (including milling time, ball-to-powder ratio, rotation speed, and process control agent (PCA) addition), alloy composition, and heat treatment on the phase structure, thermodynamic stability, and hydrogen storage performance of the fabricated alloys. Furthermore, the study compares the microstructure and hydrogen storage properties of alloys fabricated by different methods (mechanical alloying and arc melting).
Firstly, the study optimizes the mechanical alloying parameters, revealing the critical roles of milling time, ball-to-powder ratio, and rotation speed in forming BCC structures and nanocrystalline grains in Ti-V-Cr-Mn-Fe alloys. The regulatory effects of PCA addition on powder yield and particle size are also analyzed. Subsequently, the impact of composition on hydrogen storage properties, including hydrogen absorption/desorption kinetics, thermodynamic behavior, and cycling stability, are explored by varying the Ti content and Mn/Cr ratios. It is found that increasing Ti content enhances the proportion of C14 Laves phases, while increasing Mn content effectively suppresses Laves phase formation, thereby increasing the BCC phase fraction and improving hydrogen storage kinetics.
Additionally, the role of heat treatment is examined. Microstructural evolution analysis reveals the phase transformation behavior among BCC, FCC, and Laves phases under different heat treatment conditions and their effects on hydrogen storage capacity. Specifically, as the temperature increases, the BCC structure first decomposes into a BCC + FCC dual-phase structure, followed by the precipitation of the Laves-2 phase within the FCC phase. After high-temperature treatment, the lattice constant of the BCC phase decreases, and the synergistic effect of the Laves and FCC phases results in a slight reduction in the hydrogen absorption and desorption capacity of the alloy. Finally, by comparing different fabricating process, the differences in microstructure and hydrogen storage performance of Ti25V35(CrMnFe)40 alloys prepared by these methods are investigated. The results suggested that Mechanical alloying significantly enhances initial the activation performance and hydrogen absorption kinetics of the as-milled alloys are improved compared to the counterparts of as-cast alloys