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Influence of policy interventions on electric vehicle adoption in New Zealand: an empirical analysis
No full textThe rise in the transport emissions are one of the primary concerns that has prompted the need for transition towards cleaner transportation alternatives. Acknowledging that EVs
can play key role in curbing these transport related emissions, New Zealand has reformed its policies over a decade to promote their adoption. This study evaluates the impact
of the financial incentives and penalties under New Zealand’s Clean Car Discount(CCD) accompanied later by introduction of the Road User Charges (RUC) on the EV adoption
patterns in the country. Thus, employing a combination of Structural Break Analysis and Regression Discontinuity Design followed by a Difference-in-Differences approach to
assess the causal impacts of these policies, using the initial registration data from 2014 to 2024. The structural Break Analysis and the Regression Discontinuity Design validated
the timing and the immediate effects of the policy shifts coinciding with the exact policy timeline. While the Difference-in-Differences approach confirmed that there were significant
causal impacts of these policies by comparing the EV registration trends to that of Queensland, Australia. Additionally the sharp drop observed in average carbon emissions,
coinciding with the policy shift timeline, substantiated the effectiveness of targeted policy interventions in mitigating transport related emissions. Therefore, fostering New Zealand’s transition towards a low emission economy
Tree Canopy Cover in Waihī 2024
No full textThe aim of this report is to provide local authorities in New Zealand with a basic understanding of the urban tree canopy cover within their cities and towns
Ship-based lidar evaluation of Southern Ocean clouds in the storm-resolving general circulation model ICON and the ERA5 and MERRA-2 reanalyses
No full textGlobal storm-resolving models (GSRMs) are the upcoming global climate models. One of them is a 5-km Icosahedral Nonhydrostatic Weather and Climate Model (ICON). Its high resolution means that parameterizations of convection and clouds, including subgrid-scale clouds, are omitted, relying on explicit simulation but still utilizing microphysics and turbulence parameterizations. Standard-resolution (10-100 km) models, which use convection and cloud parameterizations, have substantial cloud biases over the Southern Ocean (SO), adversely affecting radiation and sea surface temperature. The SO is dominated by low clouds, which cannot be observed accurately from space due to overlapping clouds, attenuation, and ground clutter. We evaluated SO clouds in ICON and the ERA5 and MERRA-2 reanalyses using about 2400 days of lidar observations and 2300 radiosonde profiles from 31 voyages and Macquarie Island station during 2010-2021, compared with the models using a ground-based lidar simulator. We found that ICON and the reanalyses underestimate the total cloud fraction by about 10 and 20%, respectively. ICON and ERA5 overestimate the cloud occurrence peak at about 500 m, potentially explained by their lifting condensation levels being too high. The reanalyses strongly underestimate fog or near-surface clouds, and MERRA-2 underestimates cloud occurrence at almost all heights. Outgoing shortwave radiation is overestimated in the reanalyses, implying a ”too few, too bright” cloud problem. Thermodynamic conditions are relatively well represented, but ICON is less stable than observations and MERRA-2 is too humid. SO cloud biases are a substantial issue in the GSRM, but it matches the observations better than the lower-resolution reanalyses
To be or not to be ethical : adaptive governance in the chaotic landscape of GenAI in education - lecturers’ perspective.
No full textThis study examines the ethical challenges that educators face as they integrate artificial intelligence (AI) technologies into higher education. Drawing on historical parallels from disruptive innovations and employing the Adaptive Governance framework, the research explores lecturers’ ethical awareness, dilemmas, and the evolving practices necessary for responsible AI adoption. Using semi-structured interviews with early-career academics across New Zealand universities, the study reveals a general consensus on the indispensable role of AI in modern education, alongside concerns regarding academic integrity, vague institutional guidelines, and professional uncertainties. Preliminary findings indicate that while AI is primarily viewed as a supportive tool to enhance teaching and foster inclusivity, its integration is complicated by ethical ambiguities and inconsistent policies. These insights underline the urgent need for comprehensive, evidence-based guidelines and university-wide initiatives to navigate the complexities of AI ethics and balance technological innovation with responsible educational practices, thereby guiding policy and practice in the digital age
Tree Canopy Cover in Balclutha 2021
No full textThis report was prepared by Professor Justin Morgenroth and Dr. Ning Ye at the School of
Forestry, University of Canterbury. The aim of this report is to provide local authorities in New
Zealand with a basic understanding of the urban tree canopy cover within their cities and towns
Understanding how ethical leadership & perceived organizational support effect employee wellbeing with recruiters.
No full textThis study investigates the relationship between workload and wellbeing among recruiters working in recruitment agencies across New Zealand, with a focus on the moderating effects of ethical leadership and perceived organizational support. Using a cross-sectional survey design, data was collected from recruiters across various recruitment agencies to assess whether ethical leadership and perceived organizational support could buffer the impact of workload on recruiters' wellbeing. Moderated regression analyses were conducted to explore these potential buffering effects. Contrary to expectations, the findings showed no significant moderating effects of ethical leadership or perceived organizational support on the relationship between workload and well-being. However, both ethical leadership and perceived organizational support demonstrated stronger direct effects on this relationship. These findings suggest that, for recruiters in New Zealand, the influence of ethical leadership and perceived organizational support were more important to wellbeing than workload
Highly-efficient defibrillation of bamboo-based lignin-coated cellulose nanofibrils via facile hydrothermal and ethanol solvothermal pretreatments
No full textTo develop a clean and facile method to prepare lignin-coated cellulose nanofibrils (LCNFs) derived from
bamboo, this study aims to investigate the effects of hydrothermal and ethanol solvothermal pretreatments at
various temperatures and durations on the efficiency and performance of mechanical defibrillation. The variations on contents and structures of chemical constituents, microscopic and crystal structures, and nanomechanical properties of bamboo cell walls as well as the micro-morphology, water retention value (WRV),
thermal stability, and dispersibility of resultant LCNFs were comparatively investigated. The results indicate that
ethanol solvothermal pretreatment at lower temperatures yields superior defibrillation efficiency compared to
hydrothermal pretreatment. The thermal stability of the resultant LCNFs is enhanced because of the retention of
lignin components. The ultrafine LCNFs achieved the smallest diameter of 14.78 nm and the highest WRV value
(789 %) when subjected to a 30 wt% ethanol solvothermal pretreatment for 60 min at 180 ◦C. More hemi-celluloses were hydrolyzed, and more hydrogen bonds among the network of the three main chemical components were disrupted, while fewer β-O-4 structures in lignin were affected after ethanol solvothermal
pretreatment. This promotes shear strength during the grinding process and provides a promising way for
manufacturing bamboo-based LCNFs
Examining and addressing stigmatising attitudes of health professionals towards minor-attracted persons
No full textIndividuals who experience sexual attraction towards children, often referred to as minor- attracted persons (MAPs), are a highly stigmatised population. Stigmatising attitudes, characterised by negative stereotyping, social isolation, and dehumanisation can have detrimental effects not only on the mental health of these individuals, but also on their willingness to seek help to access support services. Among health professionals, stigmatising attitudes and misconceptions can hinder their ability to provide effective, non-judgemental treatment for MAPs, potentially increasing the risk of offending in the future. The current study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a brief informative video intervention in reducing stigma and increasing professionals’ willingness to provide treatment to MAPs.
Using a mixed-subjects design, 28 participants were randomly assigned to either an intervention or control group. Both groups completed a survey measuring willingness to treat as well as stigma attitudes across subscales of dangerousness, intentionality, deviance and punitive attitudes, at two time points (initial testing and one-month follow up). Results revealed that participants in the intervention group reported lower stigma scores across all subscales with significantly lower scores across subscales of dangerousness and punitive attitudes at initial testing compared to the control group. The intervention group also reported significantly higher scores on the willingness to treat subscale at one-month follow up. These findings underscore the importance of specialised training for health professionals to address common areas of stigma and promote more empathetic, evidence-based responses when working with MAPs. While the small sample size limits the generalisability of the results, this study contributes to the growing literature promoting anti-stigma interventions as a means of contributing to reducing the risk of child sexual offending by increasing the availability of early, accessible, and effective care towards MAPs
The Pacific “Ocean of Peace” and the nuclearisation challenge
No full textThe 1986 Treaty of Rarotonga, which prohibits the acquisition, testing, and stationing of
nuclear weapons in the South Pacific nuclear free zone, has a vital role to play in the “Ocean
of Peace” concept currently under development by Pacific Islands Forum leaders. This may
not be immediately obvious as none of these activities is currently taking place in the zone.
However, the treaty is important in ensuring that this prohibition is not breached in a future
context of escalating strategic competition between the nuclear powers. The main danger lies
in the possible deployment of nuclear weapons on nuclear-capable ships and planes that rotate
through Pacific ports and airfields ostensibly as extended “visits.” Such a possibility is already
associated with US basing developments in northern Australia and Micronesia driven by a new
US strategy of dispersion and flexibility. While described as rotational visits, they are, in effect,
introducing the possibility of permanent deployment of nuclear weapons into the nuclear free
zone in the case of Australia (which is a party to the Rarotonga treaty). This suggests the need
to put guardrails on military visiting access agreements such as those between the US and Fiji
and Papua New Guinea, and between China and Solomon Islands. This will in turn require a
collective effort to revitalise the use of the prohibition of the stationing commitment (article
5) of the treaty, to clarify the crucial caveat clause allowing “visits,” and a commitment to use
the accountability mechanisms provided in articles 8–10 to ensure compliance