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The role of landscape architecture at public open-air rock art sites - case studies in Canterbury, Aotearoa New Zealand : A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Landscape Architecture at Lincoln University
No full textRock art is a valuable and vulnerable taonga | treasure both in Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally. The theory and practice of landscape architecture and rock art conservation and management hold many of the same values and concerns. However, very little research addresses the specific overlap between these fields. From the literature, it is difficult to gain an idea of the reality of the situation: what role do landscape architects have in the conservation and management of open-air rock art sites?
This dissertation aims to explore the overlap between these fields from a landscape architectural perspective and to begin to bridge this gap in the literature. While the international context of rock art conservation and management informs this project, its focus is on a specific subject and geographic area: publicly accessible open-air Māori rock art sites of Waitaha | Canterbury in Aotearoa New Zealand. This allows for a detailed and context specific investigation. A novel, holistic, hybrid methodology was developed and applied. This included a specialist interview with Amanda Symon, Trustee of the Ngāi Tahu Māori Rock Art Trust, a multiple case study protocol, including the development and application of a case study framework, and the hybrid, critical discussion of the resultant findings.
The research demonstrates that landscape architects have had a limited role at public, open-air rock art sites in Waitaha | Canterbury, but that there are many avenues by which landscape architecture may be able to make a contribution to the conservation and management of such sites, as part of a transdisciplinary, tangata whenua led team. These may include responding to the unique risks and opportunities these sites present, finding visitor management solutions, potential involvement in landscape assessment for planning or legislative purposes, facilitating transdisciplinary research or development, and the possibility of mutually beneficial educational and research relationships between rock art conservation and management and landscape architecture institutions.
This dissertation has a specific regional focus on Waitaha| Canterbury’s historical, cultural, and environmental context. This research, however, is nested within the global context, and many of the topics addressed, methods discussed, questions raised, and further research opportunities proposed could be adapted to be more broadly applicable
Testing the reproducibility of active-distributed temperature sensing for measuring groundwater specific discharge beneath a braided river
No full textBraided rivers are a major contributor of groundwater recharge, yet little is known about how recharge rates vary in time. Existing methods for estimating groundwater recharge from rivers (i.e., river loss) are inadequate for studying highly heterogeneous braided river systems at a sufficient spatiotemporal resolution. To do so, active-distributed temperature sensing (A-DTS) is employed, which combines fibre optic temperature measurements with an active heat source, enabling high-resolution quantification of water fluxes. In this study, twelve successive A-DTS surveys were conducted during a 24-hour experiment on a 100 m horizontal subsurface hybrid fibre optic cable installed at 5 m depth beneath a braided river. The experiment was carried out under conditions where the river stage and flow were relatively stable to demonstrate the reproducibility and effectiveness of the A-DTS method for measuring groundwater specific discharge. This foundational work will provide a high level of confidence in the method for future studies aimed at evaluating temporal variations in groundwater recharge. The median groundwater specific discharge values calculated over the 24-hour period had a very narrow range from 3.5 to 4.0 m d‾¹ across the wetted footprint of the river, which is within the measurement error of the installation (6 %), indicating relatively stable groundwater recharge during the experiment. This provides confidence in the repeatability of the A-DTS method as an effective technology for quantifying river loss over longer time periods, to understand seasonal variability of groundwater recharge in braided river systems
Effects of KRTAP20-1 gene variation on wool traits in Chinese Tan sheep
No full textChinese Tan sheep lambs are recognised for having tight ‘spring-like’ curly wool when young, but this phenotype disappears with age. This wool consists of shorter, fine wool fibres (which are usually unmedullated) and heterotypic hair fibres (which are frequently medullated), which are referred to as ‘halo hair’. Both the wool and hair fibres consist of α-keratin proteins embedded in a keratin-associated protein (KAP) matrix. Of these KAPs, the KAP20-1 gene (designated KRTAP20-1) and its effect on four fibre traits (mean fibre curvature, mean fibre diameter, fibre diameter standard deviation, and coefficient of variation of fibre diameter) of Tan lambs was studied. Seven previously identified KRTAP20-1 variants (A, B, D, E, F, G, and H) of KRTAP20-1 were revealed, but the previously identified variant C was not present. Of the seven variants detected, only two (A and G) were common and present at frequencies greater than 5%, and the effect of these on the fibre traits of the finer wool fibres was assessed. It was found that variant G was associated with an increased mean fibre curvature in these wool fibres. This suggests that KRTAP20-1 might possibly be expressed differentially in the two fibre types, which may be of future value in breeding
Preparing for climate change risks in the destination management plans of Regional Tourism Organisations in Aotearoa New Zealand
No full textClimate change impacts are being experienced by tourist destinations around the world, with Aotearoa New Zealand being no exception. Recent extreme weather events have severely impacted the tourism system in the country, necessitating consideration of emergency management by destination tourism organisations across the ‘4 Rs’ (risk reduction, readiness, response, and recovery). In 2020, the New Zealand government mandated the country’s regional tourism organisations (RTOs) to develop destination management plans (DMPs) which explicitly addressed risk and crisis management. This paper analyses the completed DMPs to examine the extent to which they address risk and crisis management in destination management, particularly as this relates to the likely impacts of climate change. Findings reveal considerable differences in the extent to which these issues are addressed. While some DMPs include detailed and specific assessments of natural hazard risks in their region, other plans make no mention of the issue at all, or include generic statements. Generally the plans give greater consideration to climate change mitigation, particularly as it relates to lowering carbon emissions, than to climate change adaptation or to preparing for risks and crises by developing emergency management plans. The paper concludes by highlighting challenges in the current RTO system, whereby funding and resources differ greatly between regions
A global review of 50 years of polar tourism scholarship
No full textThe first peer-reviewed journal article on polar tourism was published in French by Canada-based Louis-Edmond Hamelin in 1974, marking 2024 as the 50th anniversary of polar tourism scholarship. This presentation discusses the results obtained from a meta-review of journal articles (n=626) searched in 22 different languages and tracks the development of polar tourism scholarship over time (1974-2022). The meta-review employed a keyword search of two online scholarly databases (Scopus and Google Scholar) and other regionally relevant searches. We identified four main phases of polar tourism scholarship. The early days of research (1974- 1991) represented an ‘exploratory’ phase, with an average number of less than one publication annually. This initial period was followed by an ‘establishment’ phase (1992–2006), during which the average number of publications per year increased to nine. A ‘development’ phase (2007-2016) followed, in which polar tourism scholarship grew substantially and solidified at about 19 publications annually on average. The final phase (starting in 2017), labelled the ‘integration’ phase, witnessed the average yearly number of publications to be generally more than twice that of those during the development phase and were dominated by multi-authored and multi-disciplinary scholarship. Also, this recent phase is the most linguistically diverse, with 10 publication languages represented, although articles in English continue to dominate the polar tourism literature (almost 75%). This is a finding not well-explored in previous meta-reviews, and it represents a growing scholarly interest across national boundaries and beyond those states typically associated with polar tourism. The incorporation of articles published in languages other than English allows us to present for the first time a comprehensive and global overview of scholarly output on polar tourism. This linguistic diversity is critical to understanding polar tourism as its growth intensifies and diversifies
Did emotional intelligence traits mitigate COVID-19 uncertainty effects on financial institutions’ board decision-making process?
No full textThis study uses a qualitative research mixed methods design to explore the Coronavirus pandemic’s uncertainty effect on mature board governance practices and a board decision processes framework within 16 large Australian financial services entities. Findings provide support for two effects. Firstly, the Coronavirus pandemic had led to a hesitation effect on the board members on-going journey of developing a conscious sense of ‘self’ and awareness. Secondly, the skills and diversity of personalities of directors comprising the board has a positive impact on the effectiveness and success of strategic decisions. The ongoing ambiguity impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on effective board decision-making processes was investigated. The board members expressed confidence in the Australian financial services sector’s ability to overcome the global Coronavirus pandemic’s temporary uncertainty impact on board decision processes frameworks. Future research may extend the focus to senior executives’ or owners’ EI personality traits to investigate the relationship between such individual’s or teams’ traits and ongoing effective board decision-making processes during uncertainty in either developing or developed countries or a cross-cultural study
Edible coating of blueberries enriched with New Zealand native plant leaf extracts: A novel application : A Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Food Innovation at Lincoln University
No full textEdible coatings with functional active ingredients could be a promising approach to the shelf-life of fresh blueberries, while preserving the fruit post-harvest quality, texture and nutritional content. Fruit appearance, texture and flavour are important quality traits that affect consumer choice. Kawakawa and horopito are two native plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, of significant cultural importance and have gained popularity for their traditional medicinal properties, and recently, culinary applications. This study investigated antimicrobial and physiochemical properties of blueberries coated with carboxymethylcellulose-based edible coating containing 0.2% concentration of kawakawa, horopito and kawakawa-horopito leaf extracts during a 10-day shelf-life study. The physiochemical post-harvest properties were evaluated, including fruit weight loss, colorimetric analysis, firmness, and total soluble solids concentration. The microbiological activity was analysed through counting the colony forming units for yeast and mould, Gram-negative bacteria and aerobic mesophiles. The coated blueberries significantly (p ≤ 0.05) preserved the physiochemical properties compared to uncoated blueberries, but there was no significant difference (p ≥ 0.05) among treatments of kawakawa, horopito and kawakawa-horopito leaf extracts. There was no antimicrobial activity detected by the coated bluberries. Overall, this study indicates the potential for leaf extracts from New Zealand native plants and their role in active edible coatings of fruits that are highly perishable. Future work investigating the quantification of piperine and polygodial, present in kawakawa and horopito, respectively, would provide useful insights in understanding the functionality of the leaf extracts in the edible coatings
A trajectory of financial inclusion: An empirical analysis of Ghana households : A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Lincoln University
No full textThe need for a paradigm shift towards inclusive growth has recently received increased attention from governments and policy-makers. Financial inclusion plays a central role in inclusive growth. This is because financial inclusion is an enabler of economic growth, poverty reduction, income inequality reduction and women empowerment, especially in developing countries such as Ghana. Notwithstanding these benefits, the level of financial inclusion in Ghana is low.
The World Bank provides a roadmap (the gateway to financial inclusion) on how to move people from being unserved (financial exclusion) to being served (financial inclusion). This roadmap highlights the need for households to have access to formal financial services such as payments, credit, savings, insurance, and remittances. This means that measuring the level of a country’s financial inclusion must include these services for it to be representative. Previous studies focused on banks and neglected other financial intermediaries, such as insurance companies (insurance financial services) in creating a financial inclusion index to measure a country’s level of financial inclusion. This study includes insurance in creating a financial inclusion index for Ghana for our study period (1980 to 2021) to find that there have been improvements in the level of financial inclusion during that time. This suggests that several financial sector reform programmes implemented in Ghana, as well as legal and regulatory reforms in the banking and insurance sectors, have had a positive impact on financial inclusion in Ghana. The financial inclusion score average was 0.25 for Ghana for the study period, which categorizes Ghana as a low financial inclusion country per Sarma’s (2008; 2012) categorization. Overall, however, the upward trend in financial inclusion in Ghana during the study period is an encouraging sign for the push to ensure all Ghanaian households are financially included. The study investigates what factors drive financial inclusion in Ghana and finds financial inclusion has a positive, significant relationship with GNI per capita and MSCPS in Ghana. Conversely, the study finds a negative relationship between financial inclusion and the real effective exchange rate. Government spending, inflation and money supply are negatively but insignificantly related to the level of financial inclusion in Ghana. Finally, I find that insurance and financial service imports (positive), urbanization (positive), mobile money availability (positive), fixed telephone ownership (negative), and remittances (positive) had no influence on the level of financial inclusion in Ghana during the study period.
The literature suggests that there is no consensus on the direction of the relationship between financial inclusion, poverty and income inequality. To investigate the direction of the relationship for Ghana, the study runs an ordinary least square multiple regression using household consumption (a proxy for poverty) as the dependent variable, which is regressed against several independent factors including our comprehensive financial inclusion index. I find that level of financial inclusion, which averages 0.25, did not improve household consumption (reduce the prevalence of household poverty) in Ghana during the study period. A possible explanation could be the structure of the financial system of Ghana is not well-developed and financially included (Ghana is classified as low financial inclusion country with an average financial inclusion score of 0.25) to reach majority of the households (especially poorer individuals and households) to effectively reduce the prevalence of poverty in Ghana positively. The ineffectiveness of the financial sector in the allocation of funds causes low labour productivity, which increases the prevalence of poverty amongst households. In addition, an underdeveloped financial system with a low level of competition creates an ineffective financial system and discourages improvements in the level of financial inclusion in an economy. Our finding is supported by a recent study that found household consumption improved countries that had a financial inclusion index score of 0.356 or higher. For the relationship between financial inclusion and Human Development Index (HDI), which is the proxy for income inequality in this study, I find that financial inclusion positively and significantly influences HDI in Ghana. A possible explanation could be that financial inclusion enables households and individuals to afford education to build their skill and capacity, which can help them to secure employment with better and sustainable disposable income to reduce the overall level of income inequality in the country. Access to finance (through borrowing from the financial sector) can support the financial needs of individuals and households as well as help those individuals with entrepreneurial ambition to start small businesses, which can generate further income for them. Further, access to the financial sector helps individuals to save and invest their excess disposable income to generate investment income. Therefore, financial inclusion helps to reduce the level of income inequality amongst households in Ghana. I also find that the GDP per capita growth, ICT literacy and personal inward remittances have positive, significant effects on the HDI level in Ghana, whereas government spending and rural population growth have an inverse effect on HDI. Inflation (negative) and trade openness (negative) both have an insignificant impact on HDI in Ghana over the study period. I also find that FII*GNI per capita is positive and significantly impacts the HDI.
An index to measure the level of women’s empowerment in Ghana is missing from the Ghanaian empirical literature. This study uses the PCA approach to create a women empowerment index for Ghana using four dimensions (labour and economics; good-life and health; politics, governance and leadership; and education and skill building) to find that the level of women’s empowerment improved year-on-year during the study period (1990 – 2021). Despite the fact that many studies have suggested that financial inclusion improves women’s empowerment (and vice versa), a study examining the direction of the relationship is missing from the Ghanaian literature. This study investigates the relationship and finds that financial inclusion and women empowerment are positively related during the study period, which means Ghanaian women are increasingly being empowered as time passes. In investigating the relationship between financial inclusion and women’s empowerment, I find that labour and economics, and politics, governance, and leadership exhibit positive, significant relationships with the level of financial inclusion in Ghana whereas good-life and health, and the education and skill building dimensions exhibit a positive but insignificant relationship with financial inclusion in Ghana over the study period
Exploring the role of the BabyBoom transcription factor in enhancing somatic embryogenic transformation efficiency for Vitis Vinifera cv. ‘Sauvignon Blanc’ : A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Agricultural Science with Honours
Get PDFGrapevine (Vitis vinifera) has been integral to New Zealand’s history since its introduction in 1817 and now contributes over $2 billion NZD annually through wine production. Despite its economic importance, Vitis vinifera remains a clonally propagated crop with approximately 50 cultivars available in New Zealand, of which ‘Sauvignon Blanc’ accounts for two-thirds of total production. However, this monocultural reliance renders the crop highly vulnerable to unforeseen diseases and climate change. Importation of genetic material to increase genetic diversity is restricted by stringent international laws and prohibitive costs, making genetic modification a promising alternative. Yet, traditional hormone-based tissue culture methods for genetic transformation of Vitis vinifera are inefficient, often leaving transformed cells indefinitely suspended in the callus stage.
To address this, improvements in tissue culture efficiency can be achieved through transcription factor (TF) manipulation, particularly focusing on BABY BOOM (BBM). BBM has been consistently highlighted in literature as critical for facilitating somatic embryogenesis (SE) transformation. Our study supports this finding by analyzing BBM gene expression through qPCR in embryogenic callus, non-embryogenic callus, leaf, and floral tissues of ‘Sauvignon Blanc.’ Results revealed a substantial difference in BBM expression, with embryogenic callus showing a 2^-ΔΔCT value of 16,518.63, equivalent to a ~4.2 log10 fold-change compared to leaf tissue and a 1.4 log10 fold-change relative to green callus (571.09). This significant upregulation of BBM highlights its role in SE and suggests its potential as a key target for enhancing transformation efficiency in recalcitrant crops like Vitis vinifera.
This study underscores the importance of TF manipulation in overcoming barriers to genetic modification and offers a pathway for improving genetic diversity and resilience in economically vital crops
Applicability of building information modelling (BIM) to structural design workflow
No full textThere have been many studies on different aspects of building information modelling (BIM), however the majority of those are focused on the general engineering, construction or architectural aspects with limited studies on the applicability of BIM to specialised civil/structural engineering field or structural design workflow. The main objective of this research is to evaluate the perception, overall understanding, current usage, and the main barriers to adoption of BIM in the context of structural engineering. For this purpose, an online survey was developed and distributed to structural engineers across New Zealand. The results provide valuable insight on the current status and the structural engineers’ awareness and experience levels regarding BIM. It is found that the usage of BIM for structural design workflow is significantly low due to various reasons, predominantly due to the interoperability of BIM and structural analysis applications, and the relatively low knowledge and training on the specific applicability of BIM in structural design context. Additionally, the need to significantly change the existing customary structural design workflows to adopt BIM, plus the current procedures and requirement by building consent authorities were found to be the most significant barriers to increase the adoption of BIM in the structural engineering context