Thesis - Doctoral
Recent Deposits
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Numerical scalar curvature deformation and a gluing construction
In this work a new numerical technique to prepare Cauchy data for the initial value problem (IVP) formulation of Einstein's field equations (EFE) is presented. Our method is directly inspired by the exterior asymptotic ... -
Understanding health-seeking behaviours of people in Indonesia; and developing, piloting, and evaluating a culturally appropriate intervention for people with diabetes
Indonesia is facing a dual burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases. Childhood-immunisation coverage is lower than most countries in Southeast Asia, with vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks frequently reported. ... -
An investigation into the meat processing waste biorefinery: design, integration and optimisation
In recognition of the possibility of utilising biomass waste streams as sustainable carbon resources and thus reduce society’s dependence on non-renewable carbon sources, the application of the biorefinery concept has been ... -
Travelling towards 2050: Climate change, storytelling and the future of travel
Climate change is a serious threat that is expected to have grave consequences for humans and ecosystems. Current travel (both daily commuting and holiday tourism) is a significant contributor to climate change. Therefore, ... -
A Mechanism for Attending to 'Unusual' Object Properties, and its Role in a Model of Object Categorization
Categorization is one of the most fundamental aspects of human cognition. From soon after birth, humans form categories based on most of our sensory inputs. Stevan Harnad (2005) famously said, “To cognize is to categorize: ... -
Wind and Shifting Sands: Sensing Place and Identity on Chatham Island, 1850-1950
The climate and environment of Chatham Island shatters romantic notions of the sun-drenched Pacific paradise. Part of New Zealand since 1842, these cold-water islands are seldom included in nationalistic thought, and ... -
The long and the short of it? An explanation of the spacing effect over long time scales
The spacing effect is the observation that repetitions spaced out in time produce better learning and retention than repetitions massed closer together in time. There has been a long history of research on the spacing ... -
Rich Reading and Reminiscing: Benefits of Parent-Preschooler Interactions for Children’s Developing Language, Behavioural Regulation, and Socio-Emotional Competencies
Given the importance of the preschool years in the development of children’s language, behavioural regulation and socio-emotional competencies, the purpose of this thesis was to empirically examine relations between ... -
Capturing realities of informal housing in Aotearoa/New Zealand : implications for health and wellbeing
Research shows population health outcomes are inextricably linked to a range of social indicators, with poor housing (along with lower levels of income, educational attainment and social connectedness) associated with ... -
Magnetic resonance imaging of saccadic eye movements in Parkinson’s disease
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with cardinal signs of bradykinesia, tremor, rigidity and postural instability. Current PD treatment only alleviate symptoms of PD, however, there is an ... -
The exploitation of Mayor Island obsidian in prehistoric New Zealand
Obsidian in New Zealand was exploited from a variety of sources, and has been found in the majority of New Zealand archaeological sites. The presence of obsidian from the Mayor Island sources in most sites has been noted ... -
Investigations of the Mechanisms of Diabetes Remission: A Focus on Adaptive Thermogenesis
Background The prevalence of diabetes and obesity have continued to rise over the last 30 years. In New Zealand one in three adults are have obesity and one in twenty have type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Thus, there ... -
The impact of leptospirosis in northern Tanzania
Leptospirosis is an underappreciated cause of human illness and livestock production loss in the tropics. Our understanding of the burden of disease, reservoirs and sources of human infection, and the performance of ... -
Aspects of Self in Schizotypy: Basic and Narrative Sense of Self among Individuals at Psychometric Risk for Schizophrenia
The contemporary approach to detecting and studying schizophrenia, known as operational psychiatry, reduces the disease to a list of perceived and inferred signs and symptoms. Advocates of the phenomenological approach to ... -
The role of PsbX and PsbY in Photosystem II of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803
Photosystem II (PS II) is the water-plastoquinone oxido-reductase responsible for splitting water in photosynthesis. The core of the enzyme is surrounded by 13 low-molecular-weight (LMW) proteins (<10 kDa). In this study, ... -
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) physiotherapy management: a cohort, observational, prospective, longitudinal study across the South Island of New Zealand
Physiotherapy management for CRPS is considered to be essential. However, there is a lack of validated evidence-based treatments. There is controversy between what treatment methods are safe or effective. Physiotherapy ... -
Diodorus Siculus Bibliotheke 17.1-61: A Translation & Historical Commentary
Book 17 of Diodorus' Bibliotheke covers the campaigns of Alexander the Great, from his accession in 336 BC to his death in 323 BC. This thesis provides a fresh translation and commentary for the first half of Book 17, up ... -
The neolithic period in Thailand
There are two principal models that purport to interpret the evidence for the origins of the Neolithic period in Thailand. Both stress the importance of rice cultivation and the domestication of a range of animals. One ... -
The impact of hepatic steatosis on liver circulation, transplantation, ischaemia-reperfusion injury and its relation with nitrous oxide
Obesity is now a major health threat in the developed world. To investigate the impact of obesity-induced steatosis on hepatic blood flow, portal venous and hepatic arterial blood flow were measured in the anaesthetized ... -
Arletty and Jean Harlow : a comparative analysis of two film stars of the 1930s
Stardom is an important mechanism through which both national identity and gender norms are articulated. By adopting a comparative approach, this thesis investigates the intersections between film stardom, femininity and ...