16168 research outputs found
Sort by
Factors influencing women in engineering in New Zealand
No full textThere is a significant underrepresentation of women in engineering disciplines at the tertiary level in New Zealand, posing both economic and equity challenges. Innovation and creativity, which are crucial to engineering and the New Zealand economy, benefit from diverse perspectives. However, various factors such as parental and teacher influence, self-perception, and societal stereotypes impact girls' career choices. This study uniquely investigates the factors influencing women’s interest in engineering in New Zealand, drawing insights from current engineering students and high school students. Key barriers identified include insufficient career guidance, lack of promotion of the engineering profession, and the perception of engineering as a masculine field. Additionally, life experiences play a crucial role in deterring girls from pursuing engineering careers
Extent of seagrass in Tauranga Harbour: a comparison of satellite automated classification versus manual delineation of aerial imagery
No full textThis report outlines a comprehensive analysis of seagrass extent in Tauranga Harbour, New Zealand, using advanced remote sensing techniques. It compares two key methods: satellite-based supervised classification using Random Forest, and manual delineation via aerial photography. The research focuses on mapping the spatial and temporal changes in seagrass habitats, particularly the native species Zostera muelleri, from 1959 to 2024. Complementary to the satellite-based classification method, an easy-to-use graphical user interface (GUI) was developed, enabling users to efficiently access satellite imagery and generate detailed habitat maps.
The supervised classification using Random Forest proved effective for detecting seagrass habitats, achieving high accuracy (0.92 for Sentinel-2 and 0.88 for Landsat imagery). Despite occasional misclassifications, particularly in areas with high chlorophyll concentrations (i.e., the Tauranga Harbour sub-estuaries), the method provided a more time-efficient and scalable alternative to manual delineation. Aerial photography and manual mapping served as an important comparison but are less efficient in capturing less visible seagrass areas in deeper water or fragmented meadows
Enterprises’ sustainability orientation: A natural language processing approach
No full textSustainability in business is widely viewed as a strategic orientation decision. However, comparatively, little is known about assessing sustainability orientation and its drivers and implications for enterprises. This thesis examines sustainability orientation from a diverse perspective and focuses on sustainability orientation using corporate narratives. Specifically, this thesis harnesses the power of natural language processing (NLP) techniques, which is a field of artificial intelligence (AI), as a tool for research in extracting insights from textual communication.
The thesis comprises three studies along with a cohesive synthesis of their implications. First, I begin by drawing on the vast literature on corporate social sustainability (CSR) to explore contextual factors that drive enterprises' behaviour towards sustainability. Specifically, the results illustrate that CSR practices are associated with external constituents' scrutiny levels. It is strongly related to political factors and social visibility and partially to media exposure. In addition, the study provides evidence to illustrate that positive influences on CSR practices may have been short-lived when a longer time horizon is considered.
Second, by exploring small and middle-sized enterprises (SMEs), I elucidated the implications of a communicated sustainability orientation strategy on enterprises' economic performance. I used the communication of social values as a signal of sustainability orientation and explored its impacts, also considering social actions as an additional signal of sustainability orientation. The findings suggest that the effect of communicating social values on economic performance varies between social enterprises and traditional commercial enterprises. Unlike traditional commercial enterprises, social enterprises do not achieve economic performance advantages by communicating social values. Instead, it is the social actions of social enterprises that positively influence economic performance.
Third, I explore sustainability orientation through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) lenses. The last empirical study explores the effect of a communicated SDG orientation strategy on the economic performance of traditional commercial enterprises and social enterprises. The results demonstrated a positive relationship between the communication of a narrow set of SDGs and enterprises' economic performance. The extent of this effect is similar between social and traditional commercial enterprises. The results take on the meaning that stakeholders might appreciate an enterprise's SDG orientation strategy that concentrates on a narrow set of SDGs within distinct purpose-driven institutional contexts.
This thesis is an effort to increase transparency about critical aspects of enterprises' sustainability orientation: its assessment, influential factors and implications for economic performance. This doctoral thesis provides significant practical and theoretical contributions to understanding the complex dynamics between sustainability orientation and business context. By focusing on the evolutionary nature of social norms, this research provides an aggregated view of how environmental pressures affect an enterprise's practices towards sustainability. This thesis also offers an initial step in examining the relationship between a communicated sustainability orientation strategy and enterprises' economic performance. It highlights that social enterprises and traditional commercial enterprises experience different external pressures and should tailor their sustainability orientation strategies to their specific context. Moreover, this thesis reinforces that innovative NLP approaches can overcome challenges in measuring sustainability orientation
Exploring cross-modal association in canine (canis familiaris) scent detection: A framework for training dogs to identify multiple odours
No full textDog’s olfaction abilities and trainability have made them valuable companions in scent detection tasks for centuries. While research has focused on dogs detecting single odours, there is a gap in understanding if they can emit different responses to different odours. Based on the principles of stimulus control and existing evidence of dogs’ ability to learn to perform similar tasks, it was hypothesised that dogs, using cross-modal association through olfaction and vision modalities, can match odours to corresponding shapes. Using an automated scent delivery apparatus, four dogs were trained using operant conditioning procedures to discriminate between two odours and select a corresponding shape. One dog met the mastery criteria and progressed to three odours. It was found that dogs were able to discriminate between odours at greater accuracy than chance, confirming our hypothesis. Yet, all dogs did display a bias towards one of the four touchscreen quadrants. The findings were similar to those observed in other studies involving different animal species, but the accuracy rates observed in this study were lower than those reported in other similar studies. These findings have implications for tasks the detection of multiple scents and further the understanding of dogs’ abilities to perform cross-modal discrimination tasks. This study established a methodological framework for cross-modal scent discrimination tasks but there are several improvements to the methods that might enhance dogs’ performance in future research
Evaluating biochar and fungi for the remediation of PFAS in landfill leachates.
No full textPer- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have become widespread environmental
contaminants, often detected in various ecosystems, including waterways, and found in
numerous products such as cosmetics. In New Zealand, PFAS contamination poses a
significant risk to both environmental and human health. This study works towards developing
an innovative PFAS removal technology utilizing biochar to adsorb PFAS and fungi to degrade
PFAS. The work was broken into several stages, the first finding suitable growing conditions
for fungi on biochar and attempting to quantify the growth, the second examining biochar
adsorption properties, first with humic acid and the second with PFAS. Three different types
of fungi, Oyster, Shiitake, and Pekepeke (native to New Zealand), were cultivated on biochar
and substrates made from woodchips and other organic materials. Growth was best on a
combination of biochar and woodchip. The chloroform fumigation method showed that the
oyster/biochar culture had a growth of 17.6 mg/g/day, while shitake/biochar was 14.6 mg/g/day
and the oyster/biochar/woodchip had a growth of 20.7 mg/g/day.
Biochar had a low adsorption capacity (5 mg/g) and affinity for humic acid. The Freundlich
isotherm gave a marginally better fit to adsorption data than the Langmuir and SIPS isotherms.
The low adsorption was due to both humic acid and biochar having predominantly negative
charges, biochar had a surface charge of 0.824 mM -ve charges/g biochar, six times that of dry
soil which has a surface charge of 0.125 mM/g soil. Biochar was tested for its ability to adsorb
three species of PFAS (PFBSA, PFHexA, PHHepA). Under the environmentally relevant
PFAS concentration ranges tested, biochar adsorbed all of the PFAS, resulting in no PFAS
being able to be detected in solution. PFAS adsorption to the biochar is predominantly by
hydrogen bondin
Navigating the noise: evaluating the occurence of vessels and cetaceans within tamatea/dusky sound
No full textVessel use associated with recreation and tourism is currently increasing without limits in Dusky Sound. Passive acoustic monitoring was used to investigate spatiotemporal presence and potential cooccurrence of vessels with the endangered resident subpopulation of Fiordland bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and migratory humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) within Tamatea/Dusky Sound, Fiordland Marine Area (FMA). Hydrophones were deployed between February 2022 and November 2023 at three recording sites to collect soundscape data within Dusky Sound. The internal coastline of Five Fingers Peninsula, inside Taumoana Marine Reserve, was identified as a previously unrecognised area of significant usage for Fiordland bottlenose dolphins. Detected humpback whale presence coincided with peaks in migration, and though identified by previous visual surveying efforts, the extent of their presence in the area during their northward migration was previously unreported. Humpback whale presence was significantly higher in June compared with other months, which is consistent with their described increased vocalisation behaviour during the northward migration.
Vessel presence detected by passive acoustic monitoring was primarily dictated by usage patterns of tourism and recreational vessels and was greatest in the channel south of Anchor Island, a highly utilised access into Dusky Sound from the outer coast. Monthly equivalent continuous sound levels (LEqs), produced using Automatic Identification System vessel records and sound propagation modelling, illustrated that sound exposure levels regularly reached ~150 dB re 1 µPa2.s within the study area. Cruise ship transits were the major contributor to these high levels, with noise levels exceeding the recommended behavioural exposure threshold for continuous sound in much of the area during the late spring and summer months. Proactive management strategies including vessel limits, speed restrictions (slowdowns) and exclusion zones (dolphin protection zones) are likely required in the future to protect these species before the potential impacts from increased tourism is seen in Tamatea/Dusky Sound
Developing researcher capability: What can I research and how do I do it?
No full textWorkshop delivered at the 5th WACE International Research Symposium on Cooperative and Work-Integrated Education, 19 April 2024, University West, Sweden
Automation of the landing error scoring system using inertial measurement units
No full textThe quantification of biomechanics is important for making informed decisions when implementing appropriate training interventions for improving performance and reducing injury risk. This study evaluated the viability of movement data provided by wearable inertial measurement units (IMUs) to automate the scoring of the Landing Error Scoring System (LESS). The LESS is an assessment tool used for identifying high-risk movement patterns in a double leg jump landing; however, the LESS is scored by experts using 2D video recordings, which limits large-scale screening. Movement data provided by three IMUs were used to train several out-of-the-box machine learning models, aiming to predict the result of the 17 LESS scoring items individually. Raw movement data was processed and segmented into the key phases of the movement, where additional features were derived from these segments. A supervised learning approach was taken, using a dataset containing 218 LESS scores derived from 40 participants as the desired output for each model. Comparisons were made between various subsets of features, and the features with the greatest importance on accuracy in the best performing models were extracted. Results showed limited improvements to a ZeroR approach, and features with the greatest importance on the best performing models had minimal relevance to the movement involved. Performance of LESS scoring automation using IMU data may be improved with further developments on this approach
An investigation of factors that influence running footwear selection and subjective perceptions
No full textBackground: Many runners consider shoes important to sport participation. Selecting running shoes requires runners to navigate marketing claims and anecdotal evidence to find shoes that meet their needs. Salespeople in running stores often guide runners in their footwear selection, with runners often selecting shoes based on their subjective perceptions of comfort, performance, and injury risk reduction. The validity of this approach is questionable as the advice from salespeople can lack evidence base and runners’ footwear perceptions may be biased. Although previous research identifies the importance of salespeople in shoe selection, little is known regarding how runners choose their shoes in store. Furthermore, it may be possible to influence runner behaviour through education-based interventions and salespeople recommendations, although the effects of education and recommendation on shoe choice are largely unknown.
Aim: To explore the in-store running shoe selection process and the influence of education and expert recommendation on runners’ shoe selection and subjective perceptions.
Methods: This Thesis is comprised of seven Chapters, five of which are formatted as academic papers suitable for peer-reviewed publication. First, a systematic review was conducted on factors that influence road running shoe selection. Secondly, 101 runners visiting specialty running stores were surveyed on their running shoe choice, running history, conscious behaviour, and perceived influence of salespeople on their shoe selection. Thirdly, a thematic analysis was used to evaluate how 38 salespeople perceived the salesperson-to-runner interactions. Fourthly, in a double-blind randomised controlled trial (RCT), 56 runners were randomly assigned to a control or educational video prior to purchasing new running shoes. Runners reported shoe selection behaviours, running history, consciousness during purchase, injuries, and subjective perceptions over three months using online surveys. Lastly, in a single-blind crossover RCT, 21 female runners underwent a clinical gait analysis process and ran on a treadmill at a self-selected pace using their own shoes and two experimental shoes with different product descriptions. One shoe was described as a basic running shoe, whereas the other as a shoe gait-matched to their running style. Subjective perceptions including comfort, performance, and injury risk were reported using visual analogue scales (VAS), and spatiotemporal parameters and resultant tibial acceleration were monitored during running trials.
Results: Forty factors reported to influence running shoe selection were sourced from the seven studies included in the systematic review. These factors were thematically sub-grouped in five categories: subjective, shoe-specific characteristics, market features, peer evaluation, and runner characteristics. From the 101 runners surveyed in specialty running stores, over 43% of them primarily sought advice from running shoe stores (salespeople) and 25% sought advice from other runners (i.e., family, friends, and running clubs). Runners consistently prioritised fit, comfort, familiarity, and gait analysis during shoe selection. These priorities were aimed at reducing injury risk, with over 20% of surveyed runners in-store reporting sustaining a running-related injury in the previous six months. Based on the 38 interviews conducted, salespeople aimed to build relationships through demonstrating expertise to drive business by making a sale and creating future business. In the RCT providing evidence-based education to runners on shoes, runners that thought less about which shoes to buy were more satisfied at three months post-purchase (89.7 ± 11.2 mm versus 79.8 ± 25.7 mm, p = 0.023) and all runners reported increased subjective performance in new shoes compared to old ones (p = 0.006) based on VAS scores. There was a trend (p = 0.054) for runners to choose different makes and models of shoes after viewing an educational video. In the laboratory-based RCT, runners preferred their own shoes over gait-matched and basic shoes, but rated subjective comfort, performance, and injury risk (p < 0.001, all measures) more favourably in gait-matched than basic shoes, while maintaining similar running biomechanics.
Conclusion: Road runners that buy shoes from specialty stores rely on the recommendations of salespeople and other runners, despite the unknown quality of this advice. Salespeople build trust with runners through demonstrating expertise and using gait analysis to sell shoes and create future business. Runners in specialty stores focus on subjective factors derived from trying on shoes in-person, such as comfort and fit, with the main goal of reducing injury risk. The subjective perceptions of footwear of runners are manipulable, which further complicates choosing shoes based on desirable factors such as comfort or risk reduction. Additionally, runners typically buy shoes that are familiar to them despite interacting with scientific evidence that they believe influence their behaviours. Runners that think less consciously about their shoe choice are more satisfied with their shoe selection. Current practice of in-store gait analysis and shoe recommendation may not be effective in meeting runners’ desired goals or be evidence-based, with the most appropriate shoe recommendation practices for individuals a challenge to establish
Reactive compatibilization of harakeke fiber-reinforced poly(lactic) acid/polybutylene succinate blend
No full textDifferent blends of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and polybutylene succinate (PBS), and their harakeke fiber-reinforced composites were studied. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the PLA and PBS are incompatible and poorly miscible. Tensile strength and tensile modulus of the blends were found to reduce as the amount of PBS increased. Reinforcement alone was not able to significantly improve the mechanical performance of the blend, which is lower than that of neat PLA. Therefore, simultaneous reinforcement and reactive compatibilization were performed using harakeke fiber, and dicumyl peroxide as reinforcement and compatibilizer, respectively. This produced about 201% increase in the crystallinity of PLA. Compared with the PLA/PBS blend, the dual effect approach increased the tensile strength and tensile modulus by 31% and 148%, respectively. Likewise, dynamic mechanical analysis showed that the thermomechanical properties of the composite greatly improved