16168 research outputs found
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Quality of cellulose and biostimulant extracts from Oedogonium calcareum cultivated during primary wastewater treatment
No full textA practical two-product cascading biorefinery was developed to extract a biostimulant and cellulose from the freshwater filamentous macroalga Oedogonium calcareum grown while treating primary wastewater. Biostimulant production provides a valuable extract with production of disinfected residual biomass for further product development. Both Escherichia coli and F-specific RNA bacteriophage, indicators of human pathogens contamination, were absent from the residual biomass. The chemical composition of the biostimulant was complex, consisting of growth-promoting substances, free amino acids, and minerals. The O. calcareum cellulose fractions yielded between 9.5% and 10.1% (w/w) with purities from 84% to 90% and closely resembled microcrystalline cellulose. Biostimulant extraction improved cellulose quality by increasing crystallinity from 59% to 62%. Biomass condition, drying process, and biostimulant production influenced the crystallinity index. This study demonstrates a two-step process of biostimulant and cellulose extraction from wastewater-grown Oedogonium, simultaneously disinfecting biomass and isolating high-quality cellulose as a sustainable alternative to conventional extraction methods
Understanding perceptions of severity and reporting of child-to-parent family violence
No full textIt is widely understood that family violence (FV) is underreported, and research — predominantly on intimate partner violence (IPV) — suggests that the perceived severity of FV is one of the many factors important in decisions about whether to report to police. Previous research has identified several factors that affect perceptions of IPV severity (e.g., gender, type of harm, and history of violence), and the types of appraisals that contribute to perceived severity (e.g., victim fear and hurt, the harmfulness, aggressiveness, ordinariness and justifiability of aggressor behaviour; and victim responsibility for aggressor behaviour). But less is known about factors that contribute to perceptions of severity and reporting decisions for other types of FV, including child-to-parent violence (CPV), where children are the aggressors against their parents.
Therefore, the overarching aim of this thesis was to gain a better understanding of whether perceived severity is associated with the likelihood of reporting CPV, and to identify factors that may affect the perceived severity of CPV. We set out to achieve this aim with two survey studies. In the first study, we examined whether participants’ perceptions of CPV severity were related to the likelihood they would report CPV to the police, and analysed the effect of aggressor gender and developmental stage, and parent gender on perceptions of severity. The results indicated that perceived severity was moderately associated with participants’ likelihood of reporting CPV, and that parent gender — rather than aggressor gender or developmental stage — affected those perceptions of CPV severity.
In the second study we set out to identify the appraisals that may contribute to perceptions severity and investigate the effect of context about previous use of CPV on perceived severity. We found that perceptions of severity appeared to consist of judgements about the extent to which the victim was impacted by the aggressor’s harmful behaviour, with the items for victim fear and hurt, the harmfulness and aggressiveness of aggressor behaviour, and severity forming a coherent index for perceived severity. We also found that overall, context about previous use of CPV did not affect the perceived severity of CPV. Taken together, the findings presented in this thesis have contributed to the growing body of research on CPV, as well as furthering our understanding of factors related to perceived severity and reporting decisions for FV in general. The results could be used to inform efforts to increase FV reporting to police and improve the support offered to families experiencing CPV
Experimental investigation of timber-to-steel connection using self-drilling wing screws
No full textSelf-drilling wing screws are well-suited for hardwood and pressed material boards and are explored as an alternative connector to traditional bolts for connecting thick hot-rolled steel with timber. The wing avoids force-feeding of the screw into the timber which prevents the timber from cracking. However, limited studies were found on the timber-to-steel connection using self-drilling wing screws under shear loading. This paper investigates the shear behaviour and capacity of self-drilling winged screw connections between radiata pine timber and hot rolled steel plate through the experimental test. In addition, tensile coupon tests, screw bending tests, moisture content tests, screw pullout tests, and screw bearing tests were performed to determine the material properties of the steel, timber, and screws. A total of 70 experimental tests were conducted on the timber to steel connection connections with different steel thicknesses (8mm-20mm), timber thickness (15mm-45mm), numbers of screws (1-3), and screw axis angle (45°-90°). The failure mode is theoretically analyzed using Johansen yield theory. The resulting data from Eurocode 5 [24] was compared with experimental results as current AS/NZ standards lack adequate guidance in addressing timber-to-steel connections. From the above comparison, it was found that the Eurocode 5 [24] was under-conservative by 90%. Based on the experimental results, new design equations for calculating the shear capacity of self-drilling winged screws are proposed
Research-informed translation of mental strategy teaching materials into isiXhosa
No full textBackground: This article critically examines the nature of isiXhosa translations in mathematics learning materials, specifically focusing on the doubling and halving unit within the ‘South African Grade 3 Mental Starters Assessment Project (MSAP): Teacher Guide’. Teaching in home languages is encouraged in the Foundation Phase, but unfamiliar standardised isiXhosa translations in support materials often contain barriers to understanding and/or distortion in meaning.
Aim: The article addresses three questions: (1) To what extent is there fidelity and alignment of the translated isiXhosa materials to the original mathematical meaning? (2) To what extent do the selected terms align with the everyday isiXhosa that learners are accustomed to? (3) What are the implications for future translation of such materials?
Setting: Analysis of the isiXhosa translation of a doubling and halving teaching unit and adapted translation for use in a Grade 3 classroom in the Eastern Cape.
Methods: This qualitative research uses Toury’s Descriptive Translation Studies theory.
Results: The findings highlight several ambiguities and incoherent translations. The article advocates for a comprehensive approach to translation, emphasising the importance of maintaining conceptual fidelity and clarity.
Conclusion: The authors suggest the need for transliteration techniques in translations to support teacher and learner access to mathematical sense-making.
Contribution: This research provides insights for translators of materials and implications for teachers, proposing an approach to translation. In particular, it argues that the involvement of Foundation Phase teachers in the translation of such materials is crucial
The robots are coming for your students' feedback
No full textThe Data Analytics team at The University of Waikato gathers student feedback (as rich qualitative data)
but manual analysis of these comments poses a time
challenge for reporting. To address this, we explored
the possibility of condensing qualitative information
by leveraging natural language processing (NLP)
technology, specifcally Google’s NLP sentiment analysis.
We employed a robust coding framework to test the
validity of NLP-coded student feedback, analysing 1000
comments from the University’s 2021 course evaluations.
Results show a statistical correlation between our
sentiment analysis and NLP, ofering promising evidence
for NLP’s efcacy in providing accurate, high-level insights into student feedback sentiment
Influence of pumice and fines contents on the extent of particle crushing in pumiceous sand-silt mixtures during undrained cyclic triaxial loading
No full textPumiceous particles have a distinct vesicular nature as well as a complex surface texture that makes them potentially vulnerable to crushing under cyclic loading. Pumiceous sand mixtures have received more scientific attention than pumiceous silts in this regard. Researchers have found the undrained cyclic behaviour of pumiceous sands to be significantly different from that of hard-grained sands because of the particle crushing that occurs during cyclic testing and/or sample reconstitution. The liquefaction resistance of pumiceous sands is also considered to be higher because of the pore-water pressure distribution in the sample that occurs during particle crushing. The undrained behaviour of pumiceous silt has only been studied once previously: such material did not crush during sample reconstitution and undrained cyclic testing, which was attributed to a cushioning effect taking place between silty, non-crushable particles and coarse sandy pumice particles. Whether there are thresholds of fines content and/or pumice content at which pumiceous soil mixtures start to behave more similarly to hard-grained soils are yet to be unravelled and remain relevant for engineers and scientists. This paper analyses particle crushing after sample reconstitution and undrained cyclic triaxial testing of three pumiceous natural soil mixtures (lacustrine tephra deposits) from northern New Zealand having fines (< 0.075mm) and pumice contents ranging between 20% and 70% and 30% and 51%, respectively. The results examine potential changes in (1) fines content, (2) pumice content, and (3) undrained cyclic behaviour by comparing both pore-water pressure and axial strain development of the pumiceous soils with other crushable and non-crushable soils
Enhancing child development services for neurodivergent children in Waikato: A qualitative study
No full textBackground: Children with neurodevelopmental disorders often face unmet needs, placing their well-being at risk. Effective healthcare delivery is important to enhance outcomes for these individuals. In New Zealand, limitations in funding and resources, compounded by escalating demand, have led to deficiencies in the provision of Child Development Services (CDS). This has resulted in prolonged waiting lists and children missing out on essential support.
Objective: This project aimed to develop a proposed service delivery model for the Child Development Centre (CDC) in the Waikato district by considering stakeholders' perspectives regarding support for neurodivergent children and ways to adapt service delivery to ensure improved health and social outcomes.
Participants: Stakeholders from health and education sectors, including CDC service users, clinicians, healthcare managers, education professionals, and policy representatives, were recruited using purposive sampling.
Methods: This qualitative project had two phases: The first involved 41 semi-structured interviews inspired by grounded theory principles to uncover current perspectives and improvement ideas. The second phase, guided by co-design principles, featured two focus groups to formulate a service delivery model grounded in participant insights and literature.
Findings: Findings revealed concerns about inadequate support, delayed CDC services, pathway navigation challenges, and inadequate infrastructure. Participants emphasised the need for improved collaboration, increased therapeutic support, age-spanning support, and a community-focused CDC integrated with schools. Findings are visually summarised in a proposed service delivery model.
Conclusion: Enhancing experiences and outcomes for neurodivergent children requires collaborative, integrated efforts across sectors. The proposed service delivery model serves as a tool for guiding systemic changes and policy development
PoT-PolKA: Let the edge control the proof-of-transit in path-aware networks
No full textThis paper presents a scalable and efficient solution for secure network design that involves the selection and verification of network paths. The proposal addresses the challenges related to compliance policies by introducing a Proof-of-Transit (PoT) feasible implementation for path-aware programmable networks. Our approach relies on i) a source routing mechanism based on a fixed routeID representing a unique identifier per path, which serves as a key for PoT lookup tables; ii) the “in situ” that allows to collect telemetry information in the packet while the packet traverses a path. The former enables path selection with policy at the edge, while the later allows to perform path verification without extra probe-traffic. A P4 programmable language prototype demonstrates the effectiveness of this approach to protect against deviation attacks with low overhead. The results show its scalability considering the protocol overhead as the path length increases; a significant reduction in network’s forwarding state for fat-tree topologies depending on the workload per path (flows/path). Finally, experimental results show a RTT comparison evaluation, the impact of PoT computation, protection to path deviation and seamless path migration keeping flow protection
Interstellar neutral hydrogen in the heliosphere: new horizons observations in the context of models
No full textInterstellar neutral (ISN) hydrogen is the most abundant species in the outer heliosheath and the very local interstellar medium (VLISM). Charge-exchange collisions in the outer heliosheath result in filtration, reducing the ISN hydrogen density inside the heliosphere. Additionally, these atoms are intensively ionized close to the Sun, resulting in a substantial reduction of their density within a few astronomical units from the Sun. The products of this ionization—pickup ions (PUIs)—are detected by charged particle detectors. The Solar Wind Around Pluto instrument on New Horizons provides, for the first time, PUI observations from the distant heliosphere. We analyze the observations collected between 22 and 52 au from the Sun to find the ISN hydrogen density profile and compare the results with predictions from global heliosphere models. We conclude that the density profile derived from the observations is inconsistent with steady-state model predictions. This discrepancy is not explained by time variations close to the Sun and thus may be related to the temporal evolution of the outer boundaries or VLISM conditions. Furthermore, we show that the cold and hot models of ISN hydrogen distribution are not a good approximation closer to the termination shock. Therefore, we recommend a new fiduciary point based on the available New Horizons observations at 40 au from the Sun, at ecliptic direction (285.°62, 1.°94), where the ISN hydrogen density is 0.11 cm−3. The continued operation of New Horizons should give better insight into the source of the discussed discrepancy