Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Team New Zealand'

This thesis operates on two levels. Firstly, it is an account of the ongInS, composition and experiences of the predominantly Maori New Zealand Native football team in Britain, Australia and New Zealand during 1888-89. Secondly, it uses the main themes and incidents of the tour as a basis to examine some aspects of the interaction between race, class, imperialism and sport during the late nineteenth century - both within Britain and in her colonies. Patterns emerge which question existing interpretations as to the diffusion and strength of an elite British ethos which linked sport to higher social and political ideals and to the maintenance of imperial objectives. The thesis IS divided into SIX chapters. The first two trace the composition of the team, motives for the tour and initial responses to it in New Zealand. The wider focus is on a set of colonial aspirations which saw the tour as having an important bearing, positive or otherwise, on British perception of the fledgling New Zealand colony. Points are also raised concermng the relationship between Maori and European in this process. Chapters three, four and five, covering the tour of Britain, are primarily based around a dichotomy between elite and working class interests which is revealed in contrasting responses to a predominantly Maori team and to its behaviour both on and off the sports field. An assessment is made of the suspect motives of those who controlled and financed the tour, and comparisons are also made with the 1868 Aboriginal cricket team to Britain. The final chapter and Conclusion challenge standard interpretations of the Native team and consider its wider value as an indicator of new perspectives on the study of sports history. Research is based very largely on newspaper sources. More than seventy publications, both metropolitan and provincial, have been consulted in Britain, Australia and New Zealand.

This research explores the determinants of inter-partner learning in alliances. The potential for organisations to learn from their alliance partner is well recognised in the literature. The Knowledge Based View of the Firm (KBV) posits that an organisation’s knowledge base, especially its tacit knowledge base, is a source of sustainable competitive advantage. Three key determinants of inter-partner learning are: intent to learn, transparency (i.e. willingness to share knowledge) and receptivity (i.e. capacity to learn). These three concepts are used to guide a single case study of an alliance between a National Sport Organisation (NSO) and a Professional Sport Franchise (PSF). Data was obtained through semi-structured interviews with key informants at both organisations. Each individual transcript was colour coded in relation to each of the four research questions. All relevant quotes were then copied into separate files for each organisation and categorised by research question. The results of the study suggest that 1) despite historical conflict, the relationship between alliance partners is becoming increasingly positive; 2) intent to learn was low in both organisations but higher in the NSO; 3) the NSO was more transparent than the PSF; and 4) receptivity was low for both organisations. Key conclusions of the research are that the NSO and PSF are failing to take full advantage of the opportunities presented by their relationship, but intent, transparency and receptivity remain useful concepts to explore inter-partner learning.

This thesis investigates the implementation of the ‘Team-Teach’ behaviour support training programme in New Zealand. This school-wide training package develops generalised skills in behaviour management and de-escalation for students who are exhibiting extreme and violent behaviour. The Team-Teach framework also provides training in physical interventions that are designed for use in schools, and with children. The legal issues associated with the use of physical intervention are also addressed during the training in addition to recommended best practice for the development of policies and procedures. Prior evidence suggests that behaviour support training with a physical intervention overlay can result in increased confidence and safety for staff members and a reduction in the levels of physical intervention and incidents. The purpose of this study was to investigate participant opinion of Team-Teach training immediately after course delivery and further into implementation in addition to an investigation into the barriers and facilitating factors affecting the impact of Team-Teach within two New Zealand special schools. The research employs a mixed method pragmatic paradigm utilising document analysis, questionnaire and interview survey to ascertain the impact and implementation issues related to Team-Teach training. Quantitative analysis of course feedback ratings and attitudinal scales were combined with the qualitative thematic analysis of written comments and interview transcripts to inform the discussion. The results present a positive endorsement of Team-Teach training both immediately after the training course and further into implementation and compare favourably with the findings of previous international studies. Research participants reported a significant increase in personal confidence and a perceived reduction in incidences of extreme behaviour and physical intervention. The perceptions of research participants to initial training in New Zealand varied considerably between training providers and there were also notable differences between groups in different work roles and with different levels of experience. Research participants expressed concern over the lack of adaptation of the Team-Teach syllabus to embrace the New Zealand context. Research participants endorsed use of the ‘positive handling plan’ (PHP) as a way to legitimatise and standardise practice in difficult situations. It was however clear that neither school had developed genuine parental partnerships in either the creation or effective communication of these plans. There was a general agreement that parents should be able to access Team-Teach training but significant concerns were highlighted over how this could be achieved in practice. Research participants endorsed the Team-Teach model of training ‘in-house’ tutors to provide contextual and responsive internal capacity. There was a general agreement that the physical interventions taught were effective and appropriate for use with children. Participants clearly expressed concerns related to the teaching of too many physical interventions that were not required and recommended that training in physical interventions should be in class teams and specific to actual need. There was a clear indication that research participants believed this training should receive official recognition at the highest level as an acknowledgement that physical intervention is sometimes necessary in schools and that there is a legitimate way to achieve this.

The use of multidisciplinary team approach has become one of the preferred service deliveries to help children and young people with high and complex needs. However, there has been little empirical research in this area, particularly within the New Zealand context. Further, a common problem in the existing studies is the use of subjective rating scales or self reports to collect data. Therefore the aim of this study is to describe the team processes of three intersectoral teams in the New Zealand High and Complex Needs Unit using objective data collection method, as well as exploring particular issues associated with the three teams. Valid instruments were developed in order to record the meeting behaviour as frequency tally and the participants were interviewed to seek their views on the issues associated with their team. The results suggested that the teams engaged in positive team behaviour 82% to 93% of the meeting duration and negative meeting behaviour were observed during 2% to 5% of the meeting times. Further, the teams spent just under half of the meeting time in proposing and discussing goals and strategies. The teams were able to reach decisions and distributed responsibilities in less than 6 minutes. More than half of the participants had positive attitudes towards collaborative work and considered the team meetings as an effective mechanism for problem-solving and plan evaluation. The facilitators and the barriers identified in this study are consistent with the literature. Implications for future practice and research are discussed.

Background: Due to the unique demands of the sport, athletes playing football perform a variety of differing training methods to improve physiological performance. These include strength, endurance and sprint training. While the effects of strength and endurance training have been well researched, the effects of repeated-sprint training on blood and muscle variables in well trained males and females are not well known. An understanding of changes to the blood and muscle during and following an exercise bout are important, so to gain an understanding of the type of stress and resulting adaptations that may occur. Also, while a large volume of research in training adaptations has been performed on males; little has been done on females. To date, some research indicates metabolism during moderateintensity exercise may differ between males and females; however, no study has compared repeated-sprint exercise. Therefore, it is unclear as to whether males and females would have a differing physiological response to repeated-sprint training. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a repeated-sprint bout on molecular signalling in muscle and blood measures and heart rate in well-trained footballers. Additionally, we compared running times and sprint decrement (%). Research Design: Eight female senior University football players (Mean ± SD, age, 19 ± 1 y, VO ? 2peak 53.0 ± 5.1 ml·kg-1min-1) and seven male senior University football players (Mean ± SD, age, 19 ± 3 y, VO ? 2peak 59.0 ± 6.6 ml·kg-1min-1) volunteered to participate in this study. Participants performed four bouts of 6 x 30 m maximal sprints spread equally over a 40 min period. Sprint time was measured (at 30 m) for each sprint and sprint decrement was also calculated for all bouts. Muscle biopsies were taken from the vastus lateralis muscle at rest, 15 min following exercise and 2 h into recovery. Venous blood samples were taken at the same time points as the biopsies while capillary blood lactate was measured at rest and 3 min following each sprint bout. Repeated measures ANOVA and Post hoc t-tests were performed to determine significant differences between the two groups (male vs. female) and time points. Findings: Both groups had a significant (P<0.05) increase in blood lactate (mM) after the first bout of repeated sprints, with no differences between females (pre 0.9 ± 0.4 mM – post 10.0 ± 1.6 mM) and males (pre 0.8 ± 0.3 mM – post 10.0 ± 3.5 mM). Blood lactate remained elevated compared to rest (P<0.05) following bouts 2, 3 and 4 for both females (12.0 ± 3.6, 12.0 ± 3.3, 12.2 ± 3.8 mM respectively) and males (11.9 ± 2.9, 11.6 ± 2.3, 11.5 ± 4.0 mM respectively), with no differences between groups or time points (P>0.05). There were no differences (P>0.05) between the female and male athletes in mean heart rate attained at the end of each bout of repeated sprints (187 ± 2 v 190 ± 2 bpm respectively) or during recovery between sprints (140 ± 2 v 130 ± 2 bpm respectively). There were no differences between groups or time points in blood insulin (P>0.05). Fastest 30 m sprint time and mean 30 m sprint time during the repeated-sprint bout was faster for the males than females (4.58 ± 0.12 v 5.26 ± 0.27 s respectively; (P>0.05)). However, there were no differences in running velocity during the sprints between the males and females (165 ± 0.4 % vs. 155 ± 0.05 %; P>0.05) when expressed relative to velocity at VO ? 2peak (vVO ? 2peak). Also, mean % decrement during the repeated-sprint bout was lower in the males then females (4.9 ± 1.3 v 7.1 ± 1.9 % respectively; P<0.05). No changes were observed in total or phosphorylated Akt at any time-point or between genders. However, while total 4E-BP1 was lower, the ratio of total to phosphoryalated 4E-BP1 at rest was greater in males than females (P<0.05). Finally, there was also a significant decrease in 4E-BP1 phosphorylation post-exercise in males (P<0.05), but not females. Conclusions: There were no sex differences in blood lactate or heart rate throughout the repeated-sprint bout. These findings suggest that there were no cardio respiratory or lactate production/clearance differences in the response to a repeated-sprint-training bout between sexes. However, while males were faster than their female counterparts, the average relative speed was similar between sexes, suggesting a similar relative volume of work was performed during the sprint bouts. However, the females did have a greater decrement in sprint performance indicating a greater ability to recover sprint performance in the males. Sex differences in resting total and phosphorylated 4E-BP1 may indicate greater potential for muscle growth in the male athletes during basal conditions. However, differences could be due to factors other than sex, including previous training history. There was a lack of change in plasma insulin or Akt, but, similar to resistance exercise, a significant decrease in post-exercise 4E-BP1 phosphorylation for the males, but not females. The sex differences in the 4E-BP1 phosphorylation response post-exercise could be due to differences in the metabolic disturbance in the muscle during and following maximal sprints. Keywords: blood lactate, heart rate, muscle

Background: To date, there is a lack of research that has focused on the needs of late cochlear implanted adults with prelingual deafness. The specific study aims were: (1) to explore the met and unmet long-term needs of late cochlear implanted adults with prelingual deafness from their own perspectives and those of the employees at SCIP; and 2) to identify a consensus of the most important met and unmet long-term needs of late cochlear implanted adults with prelingual deafness. Method: This study used a modified Delphi technique with two rounds. In the first round, nine adults who were considered experts on this topic participated in semi-structured in-depth interviews. The participants were five late cochlear implanted recipients with prelingual deafness who were involved in the Southern Cochlear Implant Programme in New Zealand, and four clinicians from the programme. The interview transcripts were analysed using qualitative content analysis. The results from the first round were used to inform the development of the survey for the second round. The second round of the study involved surveying the same participants who participated in the first round. These surveys were quantitatively analysed so as to discover which needs were considered important and met, and important and unmet for the cochlear implant recipients, from the perspectives of the two categories of participants. Results: The first round of the study revealed 42 met needs and 39 unmet needs that fell into 15 categories. Of these needs, 26 met needs and 18 unmet needs were identified as being important by a majority of the participants in the second round. Conclusion: The results from the study may impact potential CI recipients’ and their families’ expectations of what the device can provide, as well as the development of future services and governmental policies in the area.

International education has been a growing trend globally over the past thirty years. Since the late 1980s, the popularity of study abroad programme amongst Japanese students has also seen a significant increase following the international education trend. A more recent trend in international education has been the development of shorter term study abroad programmes and the value of these programmes has been widely recognised in Japan. In response to Japanese government initiatives, Japanese secondary schools have developed short-term programmes in order to develop students’ international awareness. As a result, a large number of Japanese high school students have participated in a short-term study abroad programme in the last 20 years. Japan and New Zealand have a long history of sister school relationships. By 2012, 191 Japanese high schools had established sister school relationships, and these school links have provided the impetus for exchange programmes; which means that many Japanese high school students visit New Zealand schools to study in short-term programmes (for less than 3 months) or longer. Several scholars have investigated the learners’ outcomes of the short-term study abroad of university students. From their studies, it has been established that the main learning objectives of study abroad programmes, are second language acquisition, intercultural competence and personal development. However, little is yet known about the outcomes of younger students who have participated in short-term programmes; only a few attempts have so far been made to analyse the case of Japanese secondary school students’ short-term programmes, and few still refer specifically to programmes in New Zealand. One of my main objectives was to determine a) what were the objectives of Japanese secondary students to participation in a short-term study abroad programme in New Zealand, b) whether they feel satisfied that their objectives have been. Also, as other researchers mentioned, could benefits such as second language acquisition, intercultural competence and personal development be claimed by secondary schools participating in these programmes – specifically the Darfield High School short-term programme that is my case study. In order to do this, I conducted two surveys with four different groups of Japanese secondary school students who visited Darfield High School from 2009 to 2012 as a case study. The findings suggest that many Japanese secondary school students expected to improve their English conversation skills, but they did not feel much improvement in this area after the programme, however, upon reflection, after the programme, students recognised that they had gained far more than they had expected in a general sense. For example, many participants expected to learn about some of the aspects of New Zealand culture as a result of the programme and indeed many students felt that they accomplished this objective, in addition to learning more about their own culture. It is anticipated that the results of my research will assist those who organise study abroad programmes, assist students to maximise their learning, and benefit organisations who host students from overseas.

Varmare klimat är något som kontinuerligt påverkar glaciärer planeten över och har under det senaste århundrandet vidtagit en global ökning av negativa massbalanser. Denna trend kan bidra till variationer i havsnivån och orsaka problem med översvämningar över hela världen. Övervakning och observation av världens glaciärer är därför väldigt viktigt och genom att skapa modeller som tillåter insyn i glaciärernas respons till atmosfärisk fluktuation går det att åstadkomma en djupare förståelse för hur den globala uppvärmningen kommer att utvecklas. I detta projektet återskapas massbalansen för Brewster Glacier, Nya Zeeland, för perioden 2005 – 2015 genom tillämpning av graddagar. Modellen har försetts med data från ett nyligen genomfört nedskalningsprojekt som har producerat atmosfäriska data för perioden 1979 – 2015 vilket tillåter modellen att köras. Resultaten som presenteras kommer att bidra till större inblick i graddags-modellen om huruvida tillvägagångssättet att använda enkel temperatur- och nederbördsdata är tillförlitligt för att porträttera massbalansen för glaciärer.
Warmer climate is something that is continuously affecting glaciers across the planet and has during the last century gained a global increase in negative mass balances. This trend has contributed to sea-level rise and had other impacts on water resources. Monitoring and observing the worlds glaciers is therefore very important and by creating models that allows insight in the glacier response to atmospheric fluctuation, it is possible to obtain deeper knowledge on how the global warming will develop. In this project, the mass balance of Brewster Glacier, New Zealand, is reconstructed for the period 2005 – 2015 using a degree-day approach. The input for the model has been obtained from a recent downscaling project that has produced atmospheric data over the period 1979 – 2015 that allows the model to run at a daily temporal resolution. The results presented are going to contribute to a greater insight in the degree-day model as to whether the approach of using simple air temperature and precipitation data are reliable to portray the mass balance of glaciers.

XLam New Zealand Limited is the first company in New Zealand to manufacture Cross Laminated Timber (CLT); structural timber panels used for roof, floor and wall diaphragms in commercial and residential buildings. Commissioning of the factory began in April 2012, but it is not yet fully complete. The panels are currently being produced discretely rather than in a production line, and some plant is yet to be installed. It is important that procedures and control documents are implemented from the beginning in a new factory. This Project provides these, as well as recommendations to improve the long term production of CLT in New Zealand by developing: 1. A Quality Assurance (QA) Framework for the CLT manufacturing process. 2. A CLT Design Guide to aid engineers and architects in structural design using CLT. 3. A Health and Safety Framework to control hazards and develop a culture of health and safety within the factory. 4. A 10 year financial forecast model to analyse possible future expansion options for XLam. This Project has been prepared in partial fulfilment of the 2012 Master of Engineering Management (MEM) degree at the University of Canterbury – ENMG 606: Project.

Term time employment of tertiary students has increased dramatically following funding policy changes in the global Higher Education sector. Taking a comparative approach, this study of students at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, investigates the decision to work during the academic term, the characteristics of such employment, and the perceived impacts on the university experiences of New Zealand domestic and Chinese international students. The study revealed similarities and differences between the two largest student populations. Compared to their New Zealand peers, Chinese international students are less likely to take term time employment. Among those who have worked, New Zealand domestic students do so for financial reasons, while Chinese international students value the work experience in the host country. Chinese international students receive much lower wages and tend to have shorter employment durations. In terms of perceived impacts, both New Zealand domestic and Chinese international students express a generally positive attitude towards their employment decisions, with a limited but clear awareness of the negative impacts. Interestingly, for those who have never worked, Chinese international students indicate a much stronger willingness to join the student workforce in the future. New Zealand domestic students, however, are much less likely to work if they can afford not to. This research provides empirical information about international students’ term time employment in the New Zealand context. Specific advice and mentoring services are needed at both university and government levels to provide ‘a more safe and supportive’ employment environment, especially for international students.

This thesis consists of two parts: the first examines the Expectations Hypothesis of the Term Structure for New Zealand, and the latter examines the predictive power of the term spread on future economic activity in New Zealand. For both parts, I divide the sample period into two sub-sample periods – the pre-OCR period and the OCR period. Using Mankiw & Miron’s (1986) approach for testing the expectations hypothesis, the findings in this paper suggest that the theory is consistent with New Zealand data during the OCR period. I attribute the success of the theory to the introduction of the Official Cash Rate system in March 1999. The change from targeting the settlement cash balance to targeting an interest rate variable has substantially improved the predictability of short-term interest rates. In regards to the predictive power of the spread, the findings in this paper support the conventional view that the spread is positively related to future economic activity. Using Hamilton & Kim’s (2002) approach, I decomposed the term spread into an expectation component and a term premium in an attempt to find out whether these two variables have distinctly separate effect on future economic activity. My findings are in contrast to that reported by Hamilton & Kim. In particular, I find that the term premium in some cases is significant and negatively related to future economic activity in New Zealand. I attribute the negative relationship to lower long-term interest rates and a fallen term premium in New Zealand.

Soil P fractionation was used to examine changes in soil inorganic and organic P under grazed irrigated pasture in a long-term field trial at Winchmore in Mid-Canterbury. The soil P fractionation scheme used involved sequential extractions of soil with O.5M NaHCO₃ @ pH 8.5 (NaHCO₃ P), 0.1M NaOH (NaOH I P), 1M HCl (HCl P) and 0.1M NaOH (NaOH II P). The Winchmore trial comprised 5 treatments: control (no P since 1952), 376R (376 kg superphosphate ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ 1952-1957, none since), 564R (564 kg superphosphate ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ 1952-1957, none since) 188PA (188 kg superphosphate ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ since 1952) and 376PA (376 kg superphosphate ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ since 1952: Topsoil (0-7.5cm) samples taken from the different treatments in 1958, 1961, 1965, 1968, 1971, 1974 and 1977 were used in this study. Changes in soil P with time showed that significant increases in soil inorganic P occurred in the annually fertilised treatments (l88PA, 376PA). As expected, the overall increase in total soil inorganic P between 1958 and 1977 was greater in the 376PA treatment (159 µg P g⁻¹) than that in the 188PA treatment (37 µg P g⁻¹). However, the chemical forms of inorganic P which accumulated in the annually fertilised treatments changed with time. Between 1958 and 1971 most of the increases in soil inorganic P in these treatments occurred in the NaHCO₃ and NaOH I P fractions. On the other hand, increases in soil inorganic P in the annually fertilised treatments between 1971 and 1977 were found mainly in the HCl and NaOH II P fractions. These changes in soil P forms were attributed to the combined effects of lime addition in 1972 and increased amounts of sparingly soluble apatite P and iron-aluminium P in the single superphosphate applied during the 1970's. In the residual fertiliser treatments (376R, 564R) significant decreases in all of the soil inorganic P fractions (i.e. NaHCO₃ P, NaOH I P, HCl P, NaOH II p) occurred between 1958 and 1977 following the cessation of P fertiliser inputs in 1957. This was attributed to continued plant uptake of P accumulated in the soil from earlier P fertiliser additions. However, levels of inorganic P in the different soil P fractions in the residual fertiliser treatments did not decline to those in the control which indicated that some of the inorganic P accumulated in the soil from P fertiliser applied between 1952 and 1957 was present in very stable forms. In all treatments, significant increases in soil organic P occurred between 1958 and 1971. The overall increases in total soil organic P were greater in the annually fertilised treatments (70-86 µg P g⁻¹) than those in the residual fertiliser (55-64 µg P g⁻¹) and control (34 µg P g⁻¹) treatments which reflected the respective levels of pasture production in the different treatments. These increases in soil organic P were attributed to the biological conversion of native and fertiliser inorganic P to organic P in the soil via plant, animal and microbial residues. The results also showed that annual rates of soil organic P accumulation between 1958 and 1971 decreased with time which indicated that steady-state conditions with regard to net 'organic P accumulation were being reached. In the residual fertiliser treatments, soil organic P continued to increase between 1958 and 1971 while levels of soil inorganic P and pasture production declined. This indicated that organic P which accumulated in soil from P fertiliser additions was more stable and less available to plants than inorganic forms of soil P. Between 1971 and 1974 small (10-38 µg P g⁻¹) but significant decreases in total soil organic P occurred in all treatments. This was attributed to increased mineralisation of soil organic P as a result of lime (4 t ha⁻¹) applied to the trial in 1972 and also to the observed cessation of further net soil organic P accumulation after 1971. Liming also appeared to affect the chemical nature of soil organic P as shown by the large decreases in NaOH I organic P(78-88 µg P g⁻¹) and concomitant smaller increases in NaOH II organic P (53-65 µg P g⁻¹) which occurred in all treatments between 1971 and 1974. The chemical nature of soil organic P in the Winchmore long-term trial was also investigated using 31p nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and gel filtration chromatography. This involved quantitative extraction of organic P from the soil by sequential extraction with 0.1M NaOH, 0.2M aqueous acetylacetone (pH 8.3) and 0.5M NaOH following which the extracts were concentrated by ultrafiltration. Soils (0-7.5cm) taken from the control and 376PA annually fertilised treatments in 1958, 1971 and 1983 were used in this study. 31p NMR analysis showed that most (88-94%) of the organic P in the Winchmore soils was present as orthophosphate monoester P while the remainder was found as orthophosphate diester and pyrophosphate P. Orthophosphate monoester P also made up almost all of the soil organic P which accumulated in the 376PA treatment between 1958 and 1971. This indicated that soil organic P in the 376PA and control treatments was very stable. The gel filtration studies using Sephadex G-100 showed that most (61-83%) of the soil organic P in the control and 376PA treatments was present in the low molecular weight forms (<100,000 MW), although the proportion of soil organic P in high molecular weight forms (>100,000 MW) increased from 17-19% in 1958 to 38-39% in 1983. The latter was attributed to the microbial humification of organic P and indicated a shift toward more complex and possibly more stable forms of organic P in the soil with time. Assuming that the difference in soil organic P between the control and 376PA soils sampled in 1971 and 1983 represented the organic P derived from P fertiliser additions, results showed that this soil organic P was evenly distributed between the high and low molecular weight fractions. An exhaustive pot trial was used to examine the relative availability to plants of different forms of soil inorganic and organic P in long-term fertilised pasture soils. This involved growing 3 successive crops of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) in 3 Lismore silt loam (Udic Ustochrept) soils which had received different amounts of P fertiliser for many years. Two of the soils were taken from the annually fertilised treatments in the Winchmore long term trial (188PA, 376PA) and the third (Fairton) was taken from a pasture which had been irrigated with meatworks effluent for over 80 years (65 kg P ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹). Each soil was subjected to 3 treatments, namely control (no nutrients added), N100 and N200. The latter treatments involved adding complete nutrient solutions with different quantities of N at rates of 100kg N ha⁻¹ (N100) and 200kg N ha⁻¹ (N200) on an area basis. The soil P fractionation scheme used was the same as that used in the Winchmore long-term trial study (i.e. NaHCO₃ P, NaOH I P, HCl P, NaOH II p). Results obtained showed that the availability to plants of different extracted inorganic P fractions, as measured by decreases in P fractions before and after 3 successive crops, followed the order: NaHCO₃ P > NaOH I P > HCl P = NaOH II P. Overall decreases in the NaHCO₃ and NaOH I inorganic P fractions were 34% and 16% respectively, while corresponding decreases in the HCl and NaOH II inorganic P fractions were small «10%) and not significant. However, a significant decrease in HCl P (16%) was observed in one soil (Fairton-N200 treatment) which was attributed to the significant decrease in soil pH (from 6.2 to 5.1) which occurred after successive cropping. Successive cropping had little or no effect on the levels of P in the different soil organic P fractions. This indicated that net soil organic P mineralisation did not contribute significantly to plant P uptake over the short-term. A short-term field experiment was also conducted to examine the effects of different soil management practices on the availability of different forms of P to plants in the long-term fertilised pasture soils. The trial was sited on selected plots of the existing annually fertilised treatments in the Winchmore long-term trial (188PA, 376PA) and comprised 5 treatments: control, 2 rates of lime (2 and 4 t ha⁻¹ ) , urea fertiliser (400kg N ha⁻¹ ) and mechanical cultivation. The above ground herbage in the uncultivated treatments was harvested on 11 occasions over a 2 year period and at each harvest topsoil (0-7.5 cm) samples were taken from all of the treatments for P analysis. The soil P fractionation scheme used in this particular trial involved sequential extractions with 0.5M NaHCO₃ @ pH 8.5 (NaHCO₃ P), 0.1M NaOH (NaOH P), ultrasonification with 0.1M NaOH (sonicate-NaOH p) and 1M HCl (HCl P). In addition, amounts of microbial P in the soils were determined. The results showed that liming resulted in small (10-21 µg P g⁻¹) though significant decreases in the NaOH soil organic P fraction in the 188PA and 376PA plots. Levels of soil microbial P were also found to be greater in the limed treatments compared with those in the controls. These results indicated that liming increased the microbial mineralisation of soil organic P in the Winchmore soils. However, pasture dry matter yields and P uptake were not significantly affected. Although urea significantly increased dry matter yields and P uptake, it did not appear to significantly affect amounts of P in the different soil P fractions. Mechanical cultivation and the subsequent fallow period (18 months) resulted in significant increases in amounts of P in the NaHCO₃ and NaOH inorganic P fractions. This was attributed to P released from the microbial decomposition of plant residues, although the absence of plants significantly reduced levels of microbial P in the cultivated soils. Practical implications of the results obtained in the present study were presented and discussed.

Aim of this research has been to make an analysis of long and medium term morphological dynamics that may affect the regulated gravel-bed braided rivers as the Piave river (Italy) and the Waitaki river (New Zealand). The Piave river (drainage area around 4000km2), is one of the largest rivers in the north-east of Italy, the study reach is, mainly, 37 km long, and represent the intermediate course of the river within the mountain district. In addiction were been study different sub-reaches until a minimum of around 1,5 km long. The Waitaki river (drainage area around 11000 km2), is a large gravel-bed river draining the eastern slope of Southern Alps, South Island, New Zealand, has been analyzed along a 13 km long subreach. The flow regime and the sediment supply of these rivers have been considerably altered by hydroelectric dams, flow diversions and, along the Piave river, gravel mining. In addiction, river dynamics have been affected by the construction of stream-bank protection structures. To document these changes, an historical analysis was performed using aerial photographs, cross section survey data and a LiDAR dataset. Morphological features that were examine included planform configuration, active corridor extension, channel width, channel top depth, flow area, number of channels and bed elevation. Vegetation features that were examine included, instead, areal island cover extension and different vegetation class extension. The results indicate as remarkable changes occurred during the study period. In both river there was a marked tendency to the diminution in the number of channels and in the active corridor extension, just subsequently to the main flood events is possible see an increase in the active corridor extensions. Along the Piave river was possible see a marked tendency to narrowing and channel incision during the last 80 years. The island, along both rivers, tend to encroachment and maturation for many years, occupying the active corridor. The island extension could decrease just after considerably flood events (RI > 10 years) or thanks to many close flood events. Regarding islands, has been possible see their tendency to joining with perifluvial vegetation, in consequence of long no-flood periods.
Obbiettivo della presente ricerca è quello di eseguire un’analisi di lungo e medio periodo sulla dinamica della morfologia fluviale riguardante fiumi a canali intrecciati a fondo ghiaioso, sottoposti a regolazione dei regimi idrici, come il fiume Piave (Italia) e il fiume Waitaki (Nuova Zelanda). Il fiume Piave (area del bacino di circa 4000 km2), è uno dei principali fiumi del nord-est d’Italia; il tratto analizzato ha una lunghezza di circa 37 km e si trova nella parte centrale del bacino montano. Inoltre, sono stati studiati diversi sottotratti fino ad un minimo di 1.5 km di lunghezza. Il fiume Waitaki (area del bacino di circa 11000 km2) è il più importante fiume delle Nuova Zelanda per valori di portata, scorre dal versante est delle Alpi del Sud dell’isola del Sud della Nuova Zelanda; il tratto analizzato ha una lunghezza di circa 13 km. Il regime delle portate e l’apporto di sedimenti di questi due fiumi sono stati considerevolmente alterati dalla presenza di dighe per la produzione di energia idroelettrica e dalla presenza di opere trasversali e di difesa spondale. Per studiare le variazioni che si sono succedute nel tempo si è eseguita una ricostruzione storica con l’ausilio di fotografie aeree, dati storici di rilievi topografici e un set di dati LiDAR. Le caratteristiche che si sono analizzate sono l’estensione dell’alveo attivo, la larghezza massima dei canali, la profondità massima dei canali, l’area bagnata dei canali, il numero di canali e le caratteristiche altimetriche del letto del fiume. Si sono, anche, condotte analisi sulla variazione e la dinamica della vegetazione presente in alveo, attraverso la misurazione dell’area delle isole fluviali e l’estensione delle diverse tipologie di vegetazione presente nell’area perifluviale. I risultati ottenuti indicano come nel corso degli anni considerati vi siano stati delle variazioni considerevoli. In entrambi i fiumi c’è stata una marcata tendenza alla diminuzione dei numeri di canali e dell’estensione de corridoio attivo, solamente a seguito di eventi di piene rilevanti è stato possibile osservare un aumento dell’estensione del corridoio attivo. Lungo il corso del fiume Piave è stato possibile osservare una marcata tendenza all’incisione del canale durante gli ultimi 80 anni. Le isole fluviali tendono a maturare e stabilizzarsi per molti anni, occupando così il corridoio attivo. L’estensione delle isole diminuisce solamente a seguito di eventi di piena con tempi di ritorno marcati (> 10 anni), oppure a seguito di eventi che si succedono frequentemente, anche se di intensità minore. Infine si è potuto notare una tendenza delle isole fluviali a fondersi con la vegetazione perifluviale circostante, limitando ancor più l’estensione del corridoio attivo.

Due to various corporate scandals and failures, there has been a renewed interest on the role of boards in the performance of firms. This thesis examines the relationship between the key board characteristics and firm performance. Unlike most studies on boards which predominantly use only financial variables affecting governance, I take a different approach by combining them with non-financial variables. This combined set of variables is used for theoretical and empirical modelling. Based on the extant literature, I develop a conceptual framework and a set of hypotheses to examine the relationship between board characteristics and firm performance. Board characteristics considered in this research include board size, director ownership, CEO duality, gender diversity, educational qualification of board members and number of board meetings. Additionally, I use board size as a moderating variable to examine how the effect of other board characteristics is contingent on board size. Firm performance is measured by return on assets. I test my hypotheses on a longitudinal sample of 156 firms over a four year period from 2004 to 2007. My sample includes all firms listed on New Zealand stock exchange as on November 2007. Empirical analysis is undertaken using Generalised Least Squares analyses. The findings of the study show that board characteristics such as board size, CEO duality and gender diversity were positively related with firm performance, where as director ownership, board meetings and the number of board members with PhD level education was found to be negatively related. Board size was found to be moderating some of these relationships, indicating the critical role being played by board size in the design and role of corporate boards. The findings also provide partial evidence to different governance theories, further indicating the need for theoretical pluralism to gain insights into boards’ functioning. The study contributes to the understanding of board-performance link by examining both the traditional variables such as board size, CEO duality, and number of board meetings as well as other organisational attributes such as gender diversity and competence variables represented by women and PhD holders, respectively. The theoretical framework and the findings of my thesis are expected to stimulate scholars for further research to identify the contingency conditions upon which the board characteristics and firm performance may be dependent.

The aim of this thesis is to provide an overview of the health of Pacific Islands young people in New Zealand, with a particular emphasis on the effects of their dietary and lifestyle behaviours upon long-term health. This research is based on the observation that noncommunicable, or life-style, diseases are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality for Pacific Islands people in New Zealand, that these diseases are invariably attributable to dietary and lifestyle habits, and that these habits become instilled during the adolescent period. Three main methods were undertaken to achieve this aim. The first constituted a review of literature concerning the health of Pacific Islands people in New Zealand, including a discussion of what health means to Pacific Islands people, along with the main health issues that this population encounters. The importance of food to Pacific Islands people is also considered in this review, along with the influence of diet on Pacific Islands people's disease patterns. Existing studies concerning the dietary habits of Pacific Islands youth are also detailed. The second stage of the research involved conducting research into the health of Pacific Islands young people in Christchurch, based in part on the methodology and findings of these previous studies. As the thesis will show, while Christchurch has the fourth largest Pacific Islands population in New Zealand, this population is considerably smaller than those in other main centres. This means that Pacific Islands people have less health resources and services available to them. This research revealed that Pacific Islands young people in Christchurch, and in New Zealand in general, consume a diet that is high in fat and low in other nutrients. Research into the health of Pacific Islands young people is deemed necessary to help to counter the high incidence of lifestyle related diseases in the adult population. Further, by identifying potential health outlooks for the future generation of Pacific Islands adults, research in Christchurch will be useful in ensuring that services and resources to meet Pacific Islands people's specific health needs.

碩士
國立中興大學
生物產業機電工程學系所
99
GABA tea is a traditional tea and is known in rich with γ-amino butyric acid (GABA). In order to evaluate the hepatoprotection of New Zealand GABA tea on the effects of chronic liver injury induced by carbon tetrachloride in rats, the New Zealand GABA tea was produced by Eterna Holdings Limited, and was analyzed the change of compositions before and after lyophilizing. Results exhibited that the contents of total catechins, total polyphenols and individual catechins of New Zealand GABA tea were reduced, but no significant change in the GABA contents after lyophilizing. Male rats (SD strain) were divided into five groups: normal control group (Control), New Zealand GABA tea of low-dose treatment group (1X Gtw), high-dose treatment group (5X Gtw) and 200 mg/kg Silymarin positive control group and 20% CCl4 as negative control group. On the 0th week in the tea samples and silymarin fed one week for protection, and then fed with CCl4, at 1st week. Rats were weekly recorded the body weight and feed intake for 8 weeks. The results showed that fed with New Zealand GABA tea and silymarin, had lessened the increase in liver weight that caused by CCl4. CCl4 caused liver damage, and increases the serum AST and ALT. Treatment with 1X Gtw, 5X Gtw and Silymarin showed effectively reducing in the parameters of AST and ALT. In additional, histopathological findings show that Silymarin, 1X Gtw, 5X Gtw group can reduce the CCl4-induced liver cell vacuolization and necrosis, as well as the histopathologic scores decrease. However, no effect is noted in the hepatic fibrosis in each group. Furthermore, the antioxidant activities had no significant difference between the control and treated groups. In conclusion, no significant change of New Zealand GABA tea in the GABA contents after lyophilizing. Animal experiments also showed that New Zealand GABA tea can reduce the liver damage caused by CCl4 on serum AST and ALT values, and attenuate the vacuolization and necrosis in the chemical-induced liver injury in rats.

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This paper focuses on vaginal breech birth of singleton babies in New Zealand using a review of international literature to inform discussion on the care of women presenting at term with an uncomplicated breech presentation.

This thesis set out to examine the effect of maternal undernutrition and exposure to stressors between pregnancy day 50 to 100 and 100 to 147 of pregnancy on the ewe and her lamb. The long-term effects of these stressors during pregnancy on lamb growth, plasma cortisol response to a stressor, metabolism, behaviour and future reproductive success were examined. Mid-pregnancy shearing The component of mid-pregnancy shearing that causes the increase in lamb birth weight is unknown. It was hypothesised that the increase in lamb birth weight was due to the stress response of the ewe to shearing. This work examined the effect of a range of stressors at approximately day 80 of pregnancy. These stressors included yarding, crutching and sham-shearing that may be components of the shearing procedure that produce a stress response. In addition, repeated stressors between day 74 and 106 of pregnancy including isolation, sham-shearing and exogenous cortisol injection were used to examine the role of a longer-term stress response on lamb birth weight. Mid-pregnancy shearing has consistently resulted in an increase in lamb birth weight, however all the other stressors investigated had no effect. Therefore, the hormonal stress response of ewes to shearing was unlikely to be the cause of the increase in lamb birth weight. Mid-pregnancy shearing also resulted in minor changes in ewe and lamb behaviour 12 to 24 h after birth. Shearing during pregnancy had no effect on the cortisol response of ram lambs to handling or castration however differences were observed between singleton- and twin-born lambs. Ewe nutrition during pregnancy Ewes mildly undernourished in between days 70 and 107 of pregnancy that were then provided with adequate nutrition between days 108-145 of pregnancy gave birth to lambs with similar birth weights as ewes well-fed during both periods. Therefore the effects of undernutrition on lamb birth weight can be minimised if undernutrition can be limited to the earlier period (day 70-107 and 108-147 of pregnancy). Mild undernutrition in both periods (day 70 – 145 of pregnancy), resulted in lambs that were lighter and that exhibited behaviours associated with a greater ‘drive’ to maintain contact with their dam than lambs born to ewes well-fed during the same period. This suggests that even mild undernutrition in both mid- and late- pregnancy should be avoided. The effect of maternal nutrition and lamb litter size on the behaviour of female offspring was examined at 1 and 2 years of age. Litter size had no effect on ewe behaviour at 1 year of age however at 2 years of age twin-born ewes had higher maternal behaviour scores than triplet-born ewe lambs. Nutrition of the maternal grand dam during pregnancy had only a minor effect on the behaviour of female offspring at 1 year of age and no effect on maternal behaviour at 2 years of age.

This research examines the way employees perceive risk in a non-governmental healthcare organisation that provides care and support for people with mental, intellectual and physical disabilities. Thirty-four respondents from all levels and services within an NGO participated in in-depth semi-structured interviews to explore the meaning of the concept of risk from their own viewpoints, as well as their perspectives regarding types and sources of risk in their work and initiatives for controlling and dealing with such types and sources. This involved discussing the role of training in improving the awareness of employees in minimising risk, and the effect of training on the entire risk management process. Additional information was obtained by the researcher from documentation and personal observation. Themes that emerged from analysing data pointed to the interrelated link between perception and risk. Accordingly, the study found that risk is culturally constructed, individualistic, and subjective. It was evident that risk is a perceptual matter affected by beliefs, feelings, knowledge, culture, image, context, and the experience of people. The culture of fear of risk and of perceiving risk as something purely negative was dominant among the participants, who viewed risk as an unfavourable issue that does not have opportunities, which creates another source of risk – the risk of perception of risk. This research demonstrates that the perceptual aspect of risk emphasises the central role of people in any risk management process. For effective risk management, all perspectives should be considered. This requires a participatory system of managing risk, improving the awareness of people about risk, and modifying the culture of risk among them. Training has a significant role in the achievement of these fundamentals.

This qualitative research enquiry sought to develop an understanding from forty-four women, comprising twenty-two couples in committed lesbian partnerships, of how they managed the long-term impacts of child sexual abuse, both on themselves and on their relationships. This is an area that is under- theorised in the literature. A number of key findings emerged from the analysis. The sexual abuse that women had experienced had impacted their adult lives in various ways. Of these the personal aspect featured most highly, with feelings of self-blame, shame and low self esteem commonly reported. Those women who reported physically invasive sexual abuse also reported a wider variety of effects, and in proportionately greater numbers, than women whose abusive experience had not encompassed that particular dimension. Just as the survivors were impacted in a variety of ways by their abuse, so too were their partners, although the effects upon the partner varied over time and in intensity depending on the length of the relationship and the degree of resolution experienced by the survivor. Despite challenges the over all view of couple relationships was positive, and couples were able to articulate coping strategies they felt would be useful to others in similar circumstances. Partners were able to identify with many of the relationship issues outlined by heterosexual male partners of female survivors, although lesbian partners had more a positive view of counselling. The emotional support and commitment of a caring partner was clearly valued although in these partnerships both women wanted their relationship to be based on more than the reparative needs of one member. Finally, being lesbian was no barrier to seeking counselling assistance. A large proportion of the participants had used counselling as a way of working through their experiences of child sexual abuse and had found this to be valuable. These findings have implications for social work practice with child and adult female survivors. They emphasise the long term impacts of sexual abuse, the important contributions made by partners and counsellors in supporting women sexually abused as children and the levels of inter-sibling sexual abuse perpetrated by brothers. The research findings also contain information from the women themselves on what facilitated their ability to cope with the effects of child sexual abuse from the varying perspectives of survivor, partner and couple. This will be essential information for counsellors and social workers wishing to employ strengths and evidence-based approaches in their work with this client group and others, particularly heterosexual women and heterosexual couples.