25813 research outputs found
Sort by
Integrating Community Live Reviews into Academic Publishing: Five Case Studies
No full textAcademic peer review is fundamental for scientific knowledge dissemination, and various initiatives are
exploring how the peer-review process could be more open, efficient and rewarding. We report five case
studies where a live community-based review session was integrated into the editorial workflow of an
academic journal (Current Research in Neurobiology; CRNEUR). Five manuscripts, submitted as preprints,
underwent Live Review—a structured collaborative review session led by PREreview, an open science project
advancing openness in scholarly evaluation. With each case, PREreview team members facilitated a 90-minute
online discussion where registered participants provided real-time discussion and worked together on an online
structured peer-review document. Authors could join as observers or to answer questions, and journal editors
could join as observers. Participants then volunteered to write up the session notes into a final review and
summary statement. Review participants had the option to sign the review. The finalized review was then
published on PREreview’s open preprint review platform approximately two weeks after the Live Review
session. The published review was assigned a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) for participating reviewers to
obtain credit for their reviewing effort. The published review was then incorporated into CRNEUR’s editorial
process to inform editorial decisions. Results suggest that the speed of this community review can be as rapid
as the standard peer-review process for CRNEUR during the same time period, and a small sample size survey
of the Live Review pilots attendees showed agreement on several questions including the review being
respectful, time efficient and scientifically rigorous. We discuss how live, community-based review
approaches could be further developed, scaled and sustained
Classifying Canopy Complexity to Assess the Reliability of Airborne LiDAR in Urban Forest Assessments
No full textAssessing tree structure is critical for modelling ecosystem services, a task commonly undertaken in urban forests
by tools like i-Tree Eco. Traditional inventory methods are resource-intensive, and subject to bias resulting from
plot sampling in highly heterogeneous urban forests. This study explores the potential of airborne laser scanning
(ALS) to enhance urban forest assessment by assessing the accuracy of ALS-derived tree attributes across strata of
contrasting structural complexity. Using moderate-density ALS data (20.25 points/m²) from 84 urban forest plots
in Christchurch, New Zealand, comprehensive structural metrics were extracted, and 20 key metrics were
selected through statistical analysis to classify plots into three structural strata using hierarchical clustering.
Results from analysis of similarity (R = 0.55, p = 0.001) confirmed that these strata had statistically distinct
structural complexities. ALS-derived height and crown width estimates showed strong agreement with field
measurements (R² ≥ 0.84; relative RMSE ≤ 21 %), especially in plots with the simplest canopy structure. Crown
base height estimates were less reliable (R² = 0.07; relative RMSE = 55 %), reflecting challenges in describing
lower canopy features with moderate-density ALS data. Crown segmentation success and tree attribute accuracy
also varied by plot complexity, with reduced performance in structurally complex plots due to crown overlap and
occlusion. We propose that integrating ALS-based stratification into ecosystem service assessment tools (e.g., i Tree Eco) will support structurally representative sampling and improve input reliability in urban forest
ecosystem service assessments by identifying scenarios where ALS-derived estimates suffice versus where field
data remain essential
Smart homes, sustainable futures : novel models for realistic residential demand-side management in Aotearoa New Zealand
No full textConcerns about climate change and energy security are driving changes to energy systems around the world, increasing electrification and electricity generation from intermittent renewable sources, such as wind and solar. Both strategies are expected to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, their implementation brings challenges for electricity systems. In particular, electrification increases peak electricity demand, accelerating degradation of network components and driving increased system-wide costs, and intermittent renewable generation increases the difficulty of balancing supply and demand, due to the unpredictability of the climate conditions on which wind and solar generation rely.
Demand-side management (DSM), the practice of modifying the level or pattern of electricity consumption, can reduce peak demand and/or align demand with intermittent supply. DSM can consist of either energy efficiency, reductions in demand without compromising desired outcomes, or demand response (DR), where demand is shifted according to signals. DSM is employed to differing degrees in industrial, commercial, and residential sectors and is subject to technical, economic, and behavioural constraints, which vary by sector, load and application. Electricity demand in the residential sector is driven primarily by human behaviour and is the largest driver of variability and peak demand. Many households are sensitive to DSM signals and many residential loads can be shifted with little impact on human outcomes, so the residential sector is a key target for DSM.
However, current deterministic and stochastic models of electricity demand do not accurately capture behavioural dynamics, the understanding of which is critical for successful residential
DSM. Agent-based models (ABMs) represent the actions and interactions of individual “agents”, where emergent group behaviours arise from the sum of individual agents’ actions, and can better account for variability. This thesis explores the potential for ABMs to better capture the important behavioural dynamics of energy use, improving understanding of residential DSM potential.
First, an ABM is developed to simulate variable electric vehicle (EV) driver behaviour, including the use or non-use of standard delayed-charging algorithms, in a representative residential electricity distribution network in Aotearoa New Zealand. While non-use of delayed-charging algorithms is shown to cause a three-fold increase in demand exceeding distribution transformer rated capacity, delayed-charging algorithms are standard-issue in most available EVs. Importantly, these analyses show simple ABMs can capture both the variability of individual behaviour (EV driver decisions) and the emergent behaviour of groups (aggregate EV charging demand), confirming their suitability for modelling electricity demand in the residential sector, where both elements are key.
Second, this ABM is expanded to a generalisable model of residential electricity demand. This model is informed by high-level census data and includes sub-models for appliance use, lighting, space heating, and water heating. The model is validated in two stages: (i) comparison of modelled demand with real transformer loads in select neighbourhoods, and identification of model sensitivity to changes in behavioural assumptions; and (ii) comparison of modelled demand with real demand in three further neighbourhoods in varied locations, across multiple seasons and changes in aggregate behaviour resulting from Aotearoa New Zealand’s 2021 COVID-19 lockdowns. Modelled and real demand agree across all neighbourhoods, and across seasonal and behavioural changes, showing the ABM’s ability to incorporate individual behaviour and socioeconomic factors, which make it well-suited to energy demand modelling, especially in cases requiring consideration of the preferences of multiple stakeholders, such as electricity companies and consumers across the socioeconomic spectrum.
Third, this generalisable ABM is applied to a series of case studies: (i) energy efficiency increases for appliances, lighting, and space heating in income Decile 1-10 neighbourhoods in Auckland and Christchurch; (ii) DR at varying levels of appliance and hot water cylinder (HWC) scheduling according to time-of-use electricity prices in an income Decile 5 neighbourhood in Auckland; and (iii) installation of distributed solar photovoltaic generation and battery storage in income Decile 1-10 neighbourhoods in Auckland and Christchurch. These case studies show the ABM’s ability to identify socioeconomic disparities, such as higher consumer savings from space heating interventions in higher-income households, and unintended consequences, such as increased peak demand from high participation of HWC scheduling according to DR programs, both of which are key takeaways for the design of effective and equitable residential DSM interventions.
Overall, the modelling approaches presented in this thesis, and ABMs more generally, are well- suited to assessing the impacts of a range of energy policies and supporting decision-making about demand-side energy interventions. Benefits from this model’s implementation are expected to derive primarily from early identification of beneficial and non-beneficial areas of the possible demand-side solution space, including co-benefits and unintended consequences, which will inform further research and contribute to a just, equitable, and sustainable energy transition
Artificial Intelligence in the Construction Industry: a Case Study on Developing an Intelligent Building Permit Management System
No full textAmid rapid technological advancements and escalating environmental and urban challenges, the need to leverage
advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Building Information Modeling (BIM) to enhance
construction process management and urban planning becomes evident. The transformative potential of these
technologies in the construction industry is evident, particularly in complex urban settings. This study presents the
development of a smart system for managing building permits in the Syrian Arab Republic, utilizing the Python
programming language and the Flask web framework, built upon BIM principles. The integration of AI with BIM
is well documented for its effectiveness in improving process management within the construction sector. The
system aims to enhance the efficiency of the traditional permit issuance process by increasing transparency,
reducing time and costs, and improving accuracy and organization. Implementation of this system in a Syrian city,
as a case study, led to significant improvements in processing speed, accuracy, and overall user satisfaction. This
paper discusses the system’s design, implementation, and impact on the efficiency of building permit transactions,
highlighting how digital solutions can significantly contribute to urban planning and development processes. The
methodology aligns with the guidelines outlined in the governmental directive for building permits in Marota City
(2023), ensuring compliance with local regulatory frameworks
Role of sparsely glacierized basins and groundwater in semiarid Andes periglacial headwaters.
No full textA better understanding of headwater hydrogeology in the semiarid Andes is critical because high-elevation basins are considered water towers for the main valleys, where water demand is over-allocated. While the body of literature generally focuses on the contribution of glaciers to streamflow, there is little information on the contribution of sparsely glacierized basins and the origins and processes of groundwater generation at high elevations. The Corrales catchment in North-Central Chile contains both heavily and sparsely glacierized sub-basins as well as the highest public borehole in the region, making it suitable to fill such scientific gaps. Geophysical surveys and a pumping test were carried out to obtain information on groundwater flows beneath the Tapado terminal rock glacier and a main tributary of the Elqui River. Radioactive and stable isotopes were used to characterise the hydrological connectivity and the origins of water in the headwater basins. Low electromagnetic velocities and resistivities indicate the presence of liquid water beneath the rock glacier, suggesting the upper limit of a proglacial aquifer. The downstream valley aquifer appears transmissive and dominated by old waters (several decades) that are a mix of high-glacierized and sparsely glacierized basins. In addition, stable isotopes reveal distinct signatures for high-glacierized and sparsely glacierized basins, which may be attributed to isotope fractionation. These results suggest that water isotopes can be used to distinguish between waters originating from high-glacierized and sparsely glacierized basins. The study also identifies the presence of old waters in the sparsely glacierized basins, which indicates long-term storage, slow release or slow turnover times. This finding is crucial for understanding the evolution of late-season baseflow and streamflow in the context of climate change. As the contribution of such basins to total streamflow is significant, a better understanding of hydrological processes in sparsely glacierized regions is required
How can we make GPS tracking studies more open, reproducible, and collaborative? A vision for the OpenGPS platform
Get PDFThis paper introduces OpenGPS, a platform envisioned for
the archiving and processing of human mobility GPS data.
The OpenGPS addresses the need for a centralized, privacy-preserving system that securely stores, shares, and analyzes
GPS tracking datasets. The platform is envisioned to develop
in three phases. Phase I focuses on collecting metadata from
existing GPS tracking studies worldwide, providing a foundation for future research. Phase II involves archiving GPS data
with standardized formats and robust privacy safeguards, ensuring data is accessible while protecting individual privacy.
Phase III integrates advanced analytical tools and workflows
directly into the platform, enabling efficient analysis and fostering collaboration among researchers. The OpenGPS aims
to overcome the limitations of current human mobility studies by offering a standardized repository that enhances reproducibility and openness in research. By facilitating the
sharing of data and methodologies, the OpenGPS will promote new insights and innovations in human mobility research. This platform is poised to become a critical resource
for the scientific community, bridging gaps in data availability, and enabling comprehensive meta-analyses across different geographical and temporal scales. Through OpenGPS, researchers can collaborate more effectively, share resources, and advance the understanding of human mobility patterns globally
Acculturation and its effects on cultural identity and wellbeing : an interpretative phenomenological analysis of Afghan women’s experiences living in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Get PDFMillions of people around the world flee their homelands due to persecution and conflict. As refugees in host countries, every single one of those people will undergo an acculturation process as they try to rebuild their lives within vastly different cultural contexts. Whilst there has been considerable research into resettlement stressors and their impact on mental health, far less is known about the long-term outcomes of the acculturation process on former refugee’s sense of cultural identity and wellbeing. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), this study explored the experiences of female Afghan former refugees who had been living in Aotearoa New Zealand for many years. Three common sub-themes emerged from their experiences of the acculturation process: overcoming obstacles, maintaining a cultural balance, and shifting gender power dynamics. Common sub-themes around cultural identity included: living out of cultural context, ‘losing’ one’s homeland, and making a new home. Participants described struggling through the acculturation process but then finding a cultural equilibrium which they maintained through a series of checks and balances. They all considered themselves to be Afghan-Kiwi but felt their personal identity had not changed, only how they identified culturally. Participants had created, both literally and metaphorically, a home within a home – the inner bastion was Afghan, and the outer walls Kiwi. Exploring participants’ retrospective experiences of resettling in a new country has helped deepen understanding of the acculturation process and its effects on cultural identity in the longer term. The sense of cultural integration and wellbeing felt by participants also served to highlight the positive impact that government policy and local non-governmental organisations can have on refugee and former refugee populations. By allowing participants to be heard in their own words, this study helps to relocate the focus of acculturation research back to the level of the individual and lends depth to other quantitative findings
Enhancing Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) through personalised triggers in virtual reality.
Get PDFThis research investigates the effectiveness of personalised Autonomous Sensory
Meridian Response (ASMR) triggers in enhancing users’ ASMR sensations within
virtual reality (VR), addressing the central question: Do personalised triggers
enhance ASMR sensations in VR? The study compares personalised and
non-personalised triggers in a VR-based ASMR application across four dimensions:
effectiveness, efficiency, duration, and subjective emotional responses.
A mixed-methods approach with a primary focus on quantitative analysis was
employed, supplemented by qualitative insights. Participants engaged with an
immersive VR application featuring ASMR content and personalised elements. They
completed an in-game task, followed by a self-report questionnaire to gather
quantitative data, and participated in short semi-structured interviews to provide
qualitative feedback.
Quantitative results revealed that personalised triggers slightly improved ASMR
tingling intensity, onset time, duration, and pleasantness, though enhancements were
not necessarily significant. Qualitative results concurred with these findings, as
participants preferred the personalised triggers due to its customised nature and
calming properties. Distraction, absence of diversity in triggers, and minor design
flaws were noted as well, pointing to areas for improvement. Other findings further
revealed connections between emotional tendencies and ASMR responsiveness, i.e.,
the pre-experiment calmness level and the likelihood of musical frisson are positively
correlated with ASMR tingling intensity.
The study highlights the potential of personalisation in immersive ASMR
applications through VR, demonstrating its tendency to enhance the overall ASMR
experience while outlining a clear pathway for future optimisation
Development of a TOPAS/Python based toolkit for nuclear medicine imaging applications.
Get PDFComputer simulations are a powerful tool for modelling and predicting complex phenomena
in the natural world, where they model the environment, financial markets, and medicine. The
application of simulations in the world of medical physics are evident, with examples such
as modelling particle transport. In this research, a functioning simulation of a single-photon
emission computed tomography system was developed as a tool for medical physicists to use
for validation and experimentation. Computer simulations are particularly useful in medical
physics as they allow for non-invasive experimentation without the potential for harm to any
patients.
A collimator extension was successfully developed in the TOPAS C++ extension framework.
The extension allows users to create hexagonal-holed collimators of any size, and
allows modification of key parameters such as: material, hole length, hole diameter, and
septal thickness in a way akin to definitions of other geometry components. The collimator
behaviour was validated, showing that it successfully absorbed diagnostic energy photons at
non-perpendicular angles, allowing for the resolution of sources of different shapes. Measuring
collimator efficiency showed that efficiency was typically higher than expected, however
this result was inconclusive. A digitiser element was developed to simulate the non-collimator
elements of the gamma camera, namely the scintillation crystal, photomultiplier tubes, and
associated electronics. The Python-based solution was able to match the behaviour of a
real system in terms of energy resolution and windowing across multiple tests. The spatial
blurring and resolution tests showed that the digitiser consistently over-blurred detected
photons leading to unrealistically poor spatial resolution performance over a range of target
resolutions in the typical system range. Finally, the capabilities of both sections integrated
together were tested by simulating a myocardial perfusion imaging study. Sources simulating
a normal and abnormal heart were imaged at a range of projection angles before then having a
central slice processed into a sinogram and reconstructed. The projection images were transformed
into sinograms and those were successfully reconstruction with both a backprojection
and filtered backprojection method. Unfortunately, low photon counts in each projection
image, especially in the abnormal heart simulation, led to poor quality reconstructions where
it was not clear if a slice corresponded to the normal or abnormal heart source
Engineered change : how invasive macrophytes restructure communities in springs.
Get PDFAlthough invasions are threatening the integrity of natural ecosystems globally, invasive aquatic macrophytes that are spreading into remote New Zealand streams have received limited attention despite their potential to alter ecosystems drastically. By modifying physical conditions, ecosystem engineering macrophytes such as Erythranthe guttata and Nasturtium officinale may differentially affect native species, potentially degrading communities and making them difficult to restore. We resurveyed six Canterbury high country spring systems sampled 19 years ago to evaluate changes in macroinvertebrate and macrophyte assemblages revealing that non-native macrophytes have invaded many isolated, previously pristine springs, driving variable and often non-linear changes in macroinvertebrate communities. While sensitive taxa like mayflies and stoneflies declined, Potamopyrgus antipodarum snails thrived under the altered conditions, resulting in the homogenisation of the diverse spring communities. The proliferation of P. antipodarum is concerning given their predisposition to become ecologically dominant, and their potential resistance to restoration. Moreover, our results indicate that macroinvertebrates respond faster and to lower levels of invasion than the native macrophyte community, suggesting that significant shifts in macroinvertebrate communities may precede full system invasion. In addition, a mesocosm experiment to compare macrophyte management strategies suggested that hand-weeding, which simultaneously removes macrophytes and associated macroinvertebrates, effectively and selectively reduced macrophyte-associated taxa. Therefore, proactive and appropriate invasive species management addressing both physical and biotic changes will be essential to protect remote ecosystems, which often serve as the last refuges of biodiversity and play a disproportionately large role in the provisioning of ecosystem services and functioning