Doctoral Theses

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https://hdl.handle.net/10292/4

The Doctoral Theses collection contains digital copies of AUT doctoral theses deposited with the Library since 2004 and made available open access. All theses for doctorates awarded from 2007 onwards are required to be deposited in Tuwhera Open Theses unless subject to an embargo.

For theses submitted prior to 2007, open access was not mandatory, so only those theses for which the author has given consent are available in Tuwhera Open Theses. Where consent for open access has not been provided, the thesis is usually recorded in the AUT Library catalogue where the full text, if available, may be accessed with an AUT password. Other people should request an Interlibrary Loan through their library.

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Foot-stretcher angle and rowing performance
(Auckland University of Technology, 2004) Soper, Clara
The rower and coach are challenged with identifying the appropriate skiff setup, technique, and the movement pattern that best fits the rower’s anthropometry and performance level. Limited research has investigated different skiff setups and the impact they have on a rower’s performance. The series of studies in this doctoral thesis aimed to: (1) provide an overview of knowledge regarding the ideal rowing technique from a biomechanical perspective; (2) provide indicators of on-water and ergometer performance reliability; and (3) evaluate experimentally the effects of altering the footstretcher angle on rowing performance and technique. Prior to investigating the effects of changing the foot-stretcher angle on on-water sculling or ergometer rowing, the ability of rowers to replicate their performance was determined. Reliability of repeated 90 s on-water sculling trials was between 4-5% and 1-2° for performance and oar angle parameters respectively. Performance reliability of 500 m and 2000 m simulated races on the RowPerfect and Concept II ergometers were then calculated. The results clearly showed that performance by national level rowers was more reliable over 2000 m than 500 m and on the Concept II ergometer compared with the RowPerfect ergometer. The typical variation expected in a national level rower’s performance for 2000 m trials on the Concept II ergometer (race time = 0.7%, 95% CL = 0.4 – 1.5; mean power = 1.3%, 95% CL = 0.8 – 2.9) is small enough for worthwhile changes in performance to be detected. Rowing performance and technique were assessed during 2000 m trials on the Concept II ergometer with the foot-stretcher angle set at the standard foot-stretcher angle (41°) plus five degrees either side (36° and 46°). Overall, mean power output and total 2000 m time significantly improved at the steeper foot-stretcher angle of 46°. The clarity of the performance improvements was not mirrored by kinetic and kinematic changes. For the male rowers, an increase in time to reach peak normal foot-stretcher force during the drive phase was pre-empted at the catch by a reduction in the ankle angle, placing greater stretch on the plantarflexors. It is suggested that the delay in time to peak normal foot-stretcher force may be due to a combination of the greater stretch on the soleus muscle and increased seat displacement required for the same lower limb angular positions to be achieved with application of peak force. Relative to the male rowers, the small changes exhibited by the female rowers at steeper foot-stretcher angles may be associated with reduced functional strength. Because changes in rowing technique cannot always be visually observed with improvements in performance, it is suggested that sensors on a skiff are necessary to assist the coach in judging when performance (skiff velocity) improves with some form of intervention. This research has contributed knowledge regarding the reliability of on-water and ergometer rowing protocols. For the first time, significant performance improvements have been demonstrated with a foot-stretcher angle of 46°, compared with 36° or 41°. Applying these performance improvements to competitors’ race times at international regattas would equate to improved placing’s. Rowers and coaches need to consider the mechanical advantages the foot-stretcher angle may contribute to rowing performance. Further investigation using skiffs rather than ergometers is required once the technical difficulties of conducting such studies are overcome.
Identification, transport and treatment of adhered deleterious substances of stormwater in an urban catchment
(Auckland University of Technology, 2004) Ng, Warren Heng Wan
This thesis develops and presents a practical, rapid and cost effective method of assessing the most efficient strategy to limit sediment and associated contaminants from entering and impacting on Auckland’s waterways. Although sediment removal objectives have been defined by Auckland Regional Council’s stormwater quality guidelines, the deployment of treatment systems based upon current best management practice does not ensure that these objectives will be achieved. Due to the lack of established methods for the collection and analysis of stormwater related contaminants, an elaborate sampling and analytical protocol was established to validate the results obtained. The research has been undertaken as a series of studies with specific sampling methodology described in detail at the beginning of each study. Current issues and practices relating to the local stormwater industry are also reviewed. The accumulation of metal contaminants in estuarine studies is typically considered in terms of the preferential accumulation of heavy metals in the sediment fine fraction and the accumulation of these contaminants in the bulk sediment. For these data to be considered in the context of stormwater treatment, a third factor, looking at the total mass load distribution of these contaminants within the particle ranges of sediment is introduced. This thesis proposes that a substantial amount of coarser particles are making their way into our receiving environment and that attached to them are a significant proportion of the total contaminant load. Although the contaminants on coarse particles may not be bioavailable in their original state, they undergo physical changes while in transport and once deposited the chemical and biological effects on the receiving environment will ultimately be just as detrimental. A contaminant yield assessment method is developed in which the removal efficiency of every stormwater contaminant can be accessed based on a target sediment removal range. From a cost-benefit perspective, the marginal benefit of higher contaminant removal is also discussed. Finally the framework of a contaminant-based stormwater model, incorporating provenance, nature and transport is developed to access the true nature of stormwater contamination discharged to the receiving environment. The model will generate generic particle and contaminant distributions, which may be used by policy makers to predict treatment efficiencies based on target sediment removal objectives.
Effect of simulated altitude exposure on sea level performance
(Auckland University of Technology, 2004-01-01) Hinckson, Erica
Exposure to natural altitude using the "live high-train low" method improves athletic endurance performance at sea level by 1-2%. This method can also be employed with hypoxic devices that simulate altitude, but there is limited and conflicting research on their efficacy. Consequently, three studies were undertaken to investigate changes in sea level performance of endurance runners following exposure to altitude simulated with hypoxic tents. The device was chosen because of its potential for incorporation into the athlete's routine. In Study 1, 10 runners received altitude simulated with hypoxic tents (~9 h overnight at 2500-3500 m) and trained at sea level, while 10 runners in the control group performed usual training. Athletes in both groups performed a lactate-threshold test, but only the altitude group performed a run to exhaustion. The effect on 4-mM lactate speed was unclear, owing to poor reliability of this measure. There was a 16% increase in time to exhaustion in the hypoxic conditioning group, equivalent to a 1.9% (90% likely limits, ±1.4%) increase in speed in a time trial. Effects on performance were not apparent four and eight weeks after use of the tents. To improve precision of the effect of the tents and to determine the effects on performance of different durations, a further controlled trial was performed. A reliability study (Study 2) was first conducted to investigate the potential for runs to exhaustion to provide reliable measures of performance. Eight runners performed a test consisting of three runs to exhaustion lasting ~2, ~4 and ~8 min on six occasions over 14 wk. The critical power and log-log models were used to provide factors for converting variability in time to exhaustion into variability in equivalent time-trial time. Variabilities in time to exhaustion expressed as coefficients of variation for predicted 800-3000 m timetrial times were ~1-3%. A crossover study (Study 3) was then conducted in which 11 athletes performed usual (control) training and usual training with altitude exposure by using tents for 25 ± 3 days (mean ± SD) for 8.1 ± 0.6 h.d-1, progressing from a simulated altitude of 2500 m to 3500 m above sea level. Washout period between control and altitude treatments was four weeks. Performance was assessed with treadmill runs to exhaustion as in Study 2. Improvements in mean predicted times (altitude-control) for standard competition distances of 800, 1500 and 3000 m derived from the runs to exhaustion were 1.0% (±1.3%), 1.4% (±1.2%) and 1.9% (±1.5%) respectively. There was some evidence that hypoxic exposure favoured those athletes carrying the I allele for angiotensin converting enzyme. In summary, the main finding from the series of studies is that hypoxic tents are likely to enhance sea level endurance running performance by ~1-2%.
Uncovering "regimes of truth": locating and defining discourses associated with hydro-electric development in New Zealand
(Auckland University of Technology, 2004-01-01) Wells, Philippa Katherine
Constructing, contesting and consuming New Zealand's tourism landscape: a history of Te Wairoa
(Auckland University of Technology, 2004-01-01) Bremner, Hamish
The thesis focuses on documentation regarding the historical growth of tourism at Te Wairoa, Rotorua, New Zealand. Te Wairoa acted as a gateway to Otukapuarangi and Te Tarata of Rotomahana which represented an iconic tourism landscape in the nineteenth century. A theoretical engagement with tourism studies and the utilisation of history as an analytical device reveals that the consumption of the tourism landscape is an ongoing, contested, and negotiated cultural construction of place.The history of tourism development at Te Wairoa exhibits the entrenchment of European colonial power in New Zealand. However, within the structures of colonial authority, strategies of survival for the colonised are employed. In this particular case, the strategies include the engagement with Western ethics of capitalism, the manipulation and appropriation of symbols of the 'other', and the control of access through land ownership. The economic and social development of Te Wairoa, based on a tourism economy, also highlights the existent tensions in both a colonial and post-colonial relationship in New Zealand.The research further argues that individual tourism sites reflect culturally ascribed values associated with place. As the combination of exogenous and endogenous social, cultural, political and economic forces evolve so to does the production and consumption of the tourism landscape. Evidence for these considerations is provided by publicly available historical material including archival documents, historical literature, contemporary accounts, newspapers, and government records. The result is an in-depth study which provides an original and thematic interpretation of the history of Te Wairoa as well as supporting a model for investigating change in the cultural construction of place.
The relationship between objects and identity in occupational therapy: a dynamic balance of rationalism and romanticism
(Auckland University of Technology, 2004-01-01) Hocking, Clare
This thesis uncovers the rational and Romantic assumptions about the relationship between objects and identity that are embedded in occupational therapy, and critiques current practice from that perspective. It is based on an initial assumption that there is in fact a relationship between people's identity and the objects they make, have, use and are associated with. This assumption is explored through an interpretive examination of the fields of literature that are commonly identified as informing occupational therapy, supplemented by selected popular literature. The exploration takes a philosophical approach, guided by notions from philosophical hermeneutics, including pre-understandings, the hermeneutic circle and fusion of horizons. The conclusion reached is that people informed by Western philosophies interpret the identity meanings of objects in both rational and Romantic ways. To inform the study, the nature of rationalism and Romanticism are then explained, and the implications of these philosophical traditions in relation to objects and identity are teased out. This interpretation is guided by a history of ideas methodology, which entails approaching historical texts from a new perspective, in this case the identity meanings of objects. Thus informed, occupational therapy literature, primarily that published in Britain between 1938 and 1962 is examined from the perspective of objects and identity. What is revealed is that rational and Romantic understandings of objects, and of patients' and their own identity are clearly discernible. Such understandings afforded early occupational therapists both ways to organise their growing knowledge of the therapeutic application of crafts and the transformative outcomes of occupational therapy intervention. Gradually however, factors both internal and external to the profession served to undermine therapists' Romanticism. Primary amongst these were World War II, which saw a redeployment of occupational therapists from mental health to physical rehabilitation settings; advances in rehabilitative medicine, which brought a reduction in secondary complications and the adoption of teamwork; and the development of new practice areas including domestic rehabilitation using gadgets to enhance function and pre-vocational rehabilitation. As a result, tensions between rational and Romantic understandings crystallised around two long-standing controversies. These were whether or not craft equipment such as weaving looms should be adapted to serve specific remedial purposes, and whether it was the process of making a crafted object or the quality of the finished product that was more important. In the event, these contested ideologies became largely irrelevant as craftwork was sidelined from mainstream practice. With it, occupational therapists' Romantic vision of transforming people's lives through creative activity also slipped away. Several reasons for this loss of one of the profession's founding philosophies are proposed. They include the substantial absence of the professions' philosophical foundations from its education, and the paucity of theory and research methodologies that might have informed the nature and process of transformative change that earlier occupational therapists had observed and reported. The thesis concludes by arguing for the importance of recovering a balance between rationalism and Romanticism. A call to action is issued, addressing change in educational practice, concerted research effort to identify and articulate transformative processes within occupational therapy, and political action focusing on the inclusion of Romantic perspectives within policy and strategic documents.
Within the web: the family/practitioner relationship in the context of chronic childhood illness
(Auckland University of Technology, 2004-01-01) Dickinson, Annette R
This study explores the phenomenon of the relationships between practitioners and families who have a child with a chronic illness. Using a heremeneutic phenomenological method informed by the writings of Martin Heidegger [1889-1976] and Hans-Georg Gadamer [1900-2002], this study provides an understanding of the meaning of 'being in relationship' from the perspective of both families and practitioners.Study participants include ten family groups who have a child with a chronic illness and twelve practitioners from the disciplines of nursing, medicine, dietetics, physiotherapy and speech therapy who work with children with chronic illness. Narrative audiotaped interviewing was the means by which the participants told their stories about times that relationships worked well and when they did not. These stories uncover the every day realities of 'being in relationship' and provide another understanding of the relationship between family and practitioner.The findings of this thesis suggest that chronic childhood illness 'throws' families and practitioners together into a web of relationships that must work for the sake of the child. The relationship is primarily conducted between adults. Children are usually excluded. In order to understand and manage the child's illness, practitioners and families 'go around' and act 'in-between' relationships. While the quality of the relationship from the family perspective is not essential to the chronic illness journey, relationships are more successful when practitioners recognise the uniqueness of each family web. The nature of the relationship is often simple, yet it co-exists with complexity. This thesis proposes that a 'companion relationship' between practitioners and family may offer a more effective and satisfying way of working. It also challenges practitioners to consider the voice of children within health care relationships.
The philosophy and practice of holistic health care
(Auckland University of Technology, 2004-01-01) Nelson, Deborah Ann
For almost three decades 'holistic health care' has been a widely invoked term. It is called upon as an antidote to mechanistic science, as justification for the use of alternative therapies, as instruction to good practice and even as a boundary marker in establishing professional identity. In the service of these intentions it has assumed various meanings. The first aim of this study is to identify from the literature, the illusion of shared meaning that saturates this term and to expose the implications of this lack of clarity. The elusive nature of the meanings attributed to holism and the problem of determining an appropriate method of pursuing these meanings is addressed. A particular understanding of conceptual analysis and practical reasoning are defended as adequate tools. The group of ideas from which the term holism can be distinguished, individualism, dualism and reductionism, form the context of the examination of understandings of wholeness. Eight distinctions of wholeness are examined and the common conceptual feature of 'purpose' is suggested. This requires considerable justification which is provided by an exploration of the notion of 'partness'. Recourse to the seminal work of Smuts (1926) is sought and the derivation of the idea of holism from evolution theory is explored. A key understanding explored is the nature of emergent properties and their role in the holistic doctrine, 'the whole is more than the sum of the parts'. Employment of the word holism in social science, philosophy, and biology is examined and a number of fallacies about holism exposed. With a somewhat clearer understanding of holism, and a working notion of wholeness, theories of health are discussed as contenders for a philosophical basis for 'holistic health care'. While several show some congruence, it is argued that the Foundations Theory of Health can be shown to demonstrate the characteristics of work for wholeness identified in this work. The conclusion that holistic health care is in essence working creatively with incipient wholes, is explained and justified by a discussion about how a health worker might become more holistic in her practice.
Novel Mechanisms for Controlled Antigen Expression (KODE™ CAE) on Erythrocyte Membranes
(Auckland University of Technology, 2005) Gilliver, Lissa
Background: A major function of blood banking laboratories around the world is the ABO typing of blood from donors and recipients for the purposes of transfusion. Incorrect determination of donor and to a lesser degree recipients ABO blood types can result in a fatal outcome. Figures indicate that about 1:10,000 units of blood transfused is of incompatible group and death has been reported to ensue in 10% of cases. Some 33% of the mistakes that lead to these transfusion reactions have been attributed to breakdowns in blood banking procedure. Astoundingly, there is no standardised positive control in this field. A cell that weakly expressed blood group A and/or B antigens would be ideal for this purpose, but no natural weak subgroup cell is suitable as a control. The natural phenomenon by which glycolipids are able to be taken up by the RBC membrane was exploited to add blood group active A or B antigens and synthetic analogues to group O RBCs, thereby making them blood group A or B respectively. Control over the amount of antigen expressed is crucial. Methods: Several methods for the transformation of cells to express low amounts of A and/or B antigen by insertion were evaluated; including insertion of natural, modified-natural, and specifically engineered synthetic glycolipids into group O cells. Alternative methods using enzymes were also investigated - using glycosidases to strip antigen from cells and glycosyltransferases to synthesise A and/or B antigens on group O cells. Results: All the methods trialled were able to produce cells that showed weak expression of antigen against ABO blood grouping antisera. However, the synthetic glycolipid was found to offer significant advantages over the other methods. These features include: aqueous solubility, reactivity with all relevant active antibodies due to the generic presentation of the trisaccharide antigenic determinant, excellent batch to batch reproducibility, purity and homogeneity, capacity for production of unlimited quantity, superior insertion (compared to natural glycolipids both in efficiency and in low temperature insertion), and unmatched stability of transformed cells. Conclusion: Following a successful field trial and further validation trials, synthetic glycolipids were used to prepare an ABO analytical control in the product known as Securacell®, which was launched onto the Australian market by CSL Biosciences. This thesis details the successful development of the world’s first ABO blood grouping analytical sensitivity control system.
Secondary school students' self-efficacy in mathematics and achievement in diverse schools
(Auckland University of Technology, 2005) Marat, Deepa
Improving the achievement of students in New Zealand is a major commitment of the Government. In his report on the national education priorities, the Minister of Education (2003) clearly stipulates the key goals and strategies across the education system to improve educational outcomes. One of the two major goals, which is a part of the key priorities for the next three years, is to “reduce systematic underachievement in education” (p. 8). To attain this goal the focus of the Government will be, among others, to lift the achievement levels of the bottom 25% especially in literacy and numeracy, increase retention in senior secondary school, and increase achievement at higher tertiary levels by all cultural groups. Strategies focus on raising expectations for achievement of all learners, focusing on quality teaching, strengthening family and community involvement and focusing on learning outcomes. Fancy (2004), Secretary of Education in New Zealand, states that from the 1990s there is a shift in focus in the education sector from that of good administration to effective teaching and clearer expectations on student achievement. A crucial factor in achievement is self-efficacy. Research has been extensive on the relationship between self-efficacy and student achievement in academic settings. With increasing diversity in the student population, and wide disparities in achievement of students in New Zealand, the need to assess student self-efficacy emerges as a valuable source of evidence about students’ self-beliefs in achievement in distinct subjects, and in the use of cognitive, motivational, self-regulatory strategies and related determinants of achievement. The concept of self-efficacy is based on the triadic reciprocality model symbolising a relationship between: (a) personal factors i.e., cognition, emotion, and biological events, (b) behaviour, and (c) environmental factors (Maddux, 1995). Cognition, emotion and behaviour are the domains of personality which form the basis of research in self-efficacy. Self-report scales are most commonly used in the assessment of self-efficacy. The guidelines to construct scales to assess selfefficacy have been specified by Bandura (2001). These guidelines highlight the importance of developing self-report measures which are task specific, and take into consideration all three domains of self-efficacy and three levels within each domain. Suggestions to develop measures which are reliable and have content validity have been provided in the guidelines. Self efficacy is viewed as a multidimensional construct which shares a reciprocal relationship with various determinants of learning and achievement. The determinants considered in the present study include: (a) motivation strategies, (b) cognitive strategies, (c) resource management, (d) self-regulated learning, (e) meeting others’ expectations, and (f) self-assertiveness. The major aims of the present research are to assess diverse students’ self-efficacy in mathematics, and the relationship between self-efficacy and achievement. Students’ self-efficacy in the use of specific learning strategies is further explored. Teachers’ beliefs in the use of learning strategies within the classroom context are also surveyed. Situated in multicultural schools with groups of diverse students, participants were students who opted for mathematics in Form VI and Form VII from three schools, and mathematics teachers from one of the secondary schools. In Phase I, self-efficacy is assessed in the context of the three domains; that is, cognitive, behavioural and emotional self-efficacy. A survey of students and teachers’ self beliefs in the use of learning strategies is undertaken in Phase II of the study. The scores on the scales of self-efficacy in mathematics and in use of learning strategies are correlated with students’ achievement results in mathematics. While the findings from the study show students reporting moderately high levels of self-efficacy, the perceived levels of self-efficacy in the different domains is not reflected in achievement in mathematics. The reasons for this incongruence is explored in the context of student achievement trends, and the wider socio-cultural and historical context of New Zealand society, with recommendations including a four-point strategy to raise achievement of students.
Incidental Focus on Form in Teacher-learner Interaction and Learner-learner Interaction
(Auckland University of Technology, 2005) Zhao, Yuqin
Current attention in L2 acquisition research has been given to the integration of message-focused and form-focused instruction. One way to accomplish this is through the incidental focus on form during meaning-focused activities. Some studies have investigated incidental focus on form in different contexts and provided evidence that this incidental focus on form exists in L2 classes and that it facilitates L2 acquisition. The present study conducted further research into the effects of interactional patterns (Teacher-learner and Learner-learner) and learners’ proficiency levels (Advanced and Elementary) on the features of incidental focus on form (types of focus on form; types of feedback; linguistic forms focused on and types of immediate uptake). Over 10 hours of interactions with meaning-focused communication tasks were audio recorded in two interactional patterns and in two classes. The 336 focus on form episodes (FFEs) were transcribed and analyzed for four features of FFEs. The results revealed a significant difference in frequencies of FFE types between the two interactional patterns. Teachers were more active in responding to learners’ errors, but they were less active in initiating preemptive FFEs. No significant difference was found between the two proficiency levels. In terms of feedback, no significant difference was found between the two interactional patterns. Both teachers and learners were using similar types of feedback in the FFEs. Learners were as able as their teachers in ‘providing solutions’. Thus, Learner-learner interactions appear to be equally beneficial for L2 learning. Equally, there was no difference between the two proficiency levels. In terms of linguistic focus, there was no significant difference between the two interactional patterns or between the two proficiency levels. In terms of overall uptake responses, there was a significant difference between the two interactional patterns, mainly in terms of ‘no uptake’, ‘no opportunity for uptake’ and ‘no need for uptake’. However, there was no significant difference in terms of frequencies of ‘occurrence of uptake’. Thus, Learner-learner interactions appear to be equally beneficial for L2 learning from the perspective of producing successful uptake. No significant difference in terms of immediate uptake was found between the two proficiency levels. The results of this study suggest that in both Teacher-learner and Learner-learner interactions at both Advanced and Elementary levels of proficiency, incidental FFEs occur frequently, and the high frequency of immediate uptake in these FFEs can be considered effective for L2 learning. Because learners were able to work as a knowledge source for each other, spoken interactions should be encouraged between learners.
Constraints on interceptive actions in cricket
(Auckland University of Technology, 2005) Renshaw, Ian
Movement scientists are continually searching to enhance our understanding of human movement. Recent research has begun to examine representative movement models from sport to demonstrate how individual, environments and task constraints interact to shape movement behaviour. The series of studies in this doctoral thesis aimed to: (1) provide an enhanced theoretical understanding of the constraints on interceptive actions by focussing on movements from cricket; and (2) provide practitioners with applied research findings that can underpin effective pedagogical practice. Initial examination of the discrete interceptive action of cricket batting demonstrated that perception and action is constrained by an interaction of batting skill and bowling action information. Specifically, perceptual discrimination was shown to be more complex than previously thought. Initial findings demonstrated that more expert batters were able to utilise information from within bowler’s actions in order to determine the spin type deliveries of expert wristspin bowlers. Conversely, club level players were not able to use this information. Further analysis revealed that idiosyncrasies within bowlers’ actions also impacted on discrimination ability. The unique delivery actions for specific spin ball types resulted in differences in discrimination ability of the national and club level players. Ability to identify ball type was also constrained by the availability of different information sources; more familiar ball types or those ball types with distinctive flight characteristics could be identified with ball flight only, whereas ball types that were less familiar or had less distinctive flight patterns required access to body action information. Finally, national-level players were able to utilise ball flight information to reach performance levels above those of club players when body action and ball flight information were available. This factor has important implications for the development of perceptual training programmes. Given these findings, the usefulness of bowling machines for developing appropriate information: movement couplings are brought into question. Therefore, movement analysis of four high-intermediate level batters batting against a bowling machine and bowler of the same speed information was undertaken. Results demonstrated that removing information on body action led to changes in the timing and coordination of the forward defensive shot. Specifically, this was caused by changes in the bat swing as batters tried to time their initial movements to ball release in the bowling machine condition. Using the bowling machine did not lead to a catastrophic breakdown in performance, but did lead to poorer technique. The results emphasised the importance of practice organisation which maintains specific information: movement couplings and provided additional support for the prospective control of human movements. Taken together, the findings from these studies suggest that more expert players should avoid the use of bowling machines during practice. Conversely, less skilled player’s movement patterns may be less influenced by their use as they cannot utilise bowler’s action information, although practice use should be restricted after basic coordination patterns have been established. Analysis of locomotor pointing strategies of six professional bowlers was undertaken to elucidate control mechanisms. Results revealed that despite highly inconsistent starting points, bowlers achieved levels of variability (0.08 m-0.16 m) at the bound step consistent with those seen in international long jumpers hitting the take-off board. Inter- and intra-step analyses revealed that bowlers were able to regulate their steps as and when required to throughout the whole approach. This regulation strategy only continued while it was required. Results provide support for prospective control of locomotion, as well as providing further evidence that the nested task constraint at the end of the run-up, in conjunction with the availability of vertical reference information in the vicinity of the take-of area results in different control strategies than previously observed in earlier studies. This thesis has contributed knowledge regarding the theoretical understanding of how interaction of individual, environmental and task constraints underpin both discrete and continuous interceptive actions. For the first time perceptual discrimination capability in cricket batting has been shown to be a function of an interaction between batting skill and bowler movement patterns. Additionally, when batters are not able to use the information sources provided by the bowler, different coordination and timing patterns were observed during performance, supporting a prospective control explanation of movement control in cricket batting. The thesis has provided new evidence to show that task and environmental constraints determine movement strategies in locomotor pointing of cricket bowling. Bowlers’ run-ups were found to be visually regulated from very early steps and that steps were adjusted as and when required throughout the whole of the run-up. The theoretical findings of the thesis have some important practical applications. Application of these findings would fundamentally change the way that both sport science support and coaching is delivered. Future studies need to explore how manipulating constraints can enhance batting and bowling performance.
Monitoring and enhancing the performance of competitve cyclists
(Auckland University of Technology, 2005) Paton, Carl D.
Sport scientists and researchers often use laboratory-based tests to monitor competitive cyclists and to investigate training strategies and other interventions that might provide a worthwhile enhancement in performance. The series of studies in this thesis ain to: (1) provide an understanding of major issues related to test error when monitoring competitive cyclists using performance tests; (2) determine the magnitude of the smallest worthwhile enhancements in performance that matters to competitive cyclists; (3) evaluate experimentally the efficacy of a novel training intervention with competitive cyclists.
Fuzzy ontology and intelligent systems for discovery of useful medical information
(Auckland University of Technology, 2005-01-01) Parry, David Tudor
Currently, reliable and appropriate medical information is difficult to find on the Internet. The potential for improvement in human health by the use of internet-based sources of information is potentially huge, as knowledge becomes more widely available, at much lower cost. Medical information has traditionally formed a large part of academic publishing. However, the increasing volume of available information, along with the demand for evidence based medicine makes Internet sources of information appear to be the only practical source of comprehensive and up-to date information. The aim of this work is to develop a system allowing groups of users to identify information that they find useful, and using those particular sources as examples develop an intelligent system that can classify new information sources in terms of their likely usefulness to such groups. Medical information sources are particularly interesting because they cover a very wide range of specialties, they require very strict quality control, and the consequence of error may be extremely serious, in addition, medical information sources are of increasing interest to the general public. This work covers the design, construction and testing of such a system and introduces two new concepts - document structure identification via information entropy and fuzzy ontology for knowledge representation. A mapping between query terms and members of ontology is usually a key part of any ontology enhanced searching tool. However many terms used in queries may be overloaded in terms of the ontology, which limits the potential use of automatic query expansion and refinement. In particular this problem affects information systems where different users are likely to expect different meanings for the same term. This thesis describes the derivation and use of a "Fuzzy Ontology" which uses fuzzy relations between components of the ontology in order to preserve a common structure. The concept is presented in the medical domain. Kolmogorov distance calculations are used to identify similarity between documents in terms of authorship, origin and topic. In addition structural measures such as paragraph tags were examined but found not to be effective in clustering documents. The thesis describes some theoretical and practical evaluation of these approaches in the context of a medical information retrieval system, designed to support ontology-based search refinement, relevance feedback and preference sharing between professional groups.
Family factors in bilingual children's code-switching and language maintenance: a New Zealand case study
(Auckland University of Technology, 2005-01-01) Yu, Shanjiang
The purpose of this study is to investigate family factors in relation to young Chinese immigrants' code-switching and language maintenance. Specific attention is given to children's code-switching behaviour and how parents respond and the effect of parental response upon children's language choice in any subsequent utterance. Attempts are also made to identify the family factors that might have an effect on making language choice. Data were collected monthly through naturalistic tape-recording of families' conversations for one calendar year. Recordings of every other month were transcribed and coded for analysis. A questionnaire was used with the children's parents to obtain general family background information as well as to compare the parents' language beliefs and their actual language behaviour in real life.Results indicated that within an average of 28.1 months of stay in New Zealand, the use of Mandarin Chinese, their ethnic language, was dramatically reduced. In typical family conversations, the parents were using Mandarin Chinese in only 75.6% of their conversational turns and that figure for the children was 65.1%. If the amount of mother tongue use at home is an indicator, then the speed of shift in these families investigated appears to be relatively fast. Few parents, however, felt that their children were using too much English or ever attempted to stop them doing this, despite the fact that all the parents claimed that they very much wanted their children to maintain the ethnic language and were fully aware of the importance of their role as the main input source of their ethnic language. This seems to suggest that the marketplace value of the mainstream language is overtaking the core value of their ethnic language.Results also showed that parental use of English caused a substantially increased use of English from their children. There tended to be an "upgrading" towards English in the children's language choice suggesting that code-switching could be a temporary stage for the children along the gradual process of language shift. On the other hand, the parents were also found using more English after their children's code-switching. One of the reasons for this might be that the parents want to improve their English and regard their children as an ideal person to practise English with.With regard to daily communication functions, results showed that children often resorted to English for daily speech acts indicating that language function replacement has occurred for many daily communicative functions resulting from a gradually reduced use of the ethnic language.Many family factors were found to be affecting language use in the families: the presence of grandparents and the decision to return to their birth country for residence in the future were clearly correlated with increased use of the ethnic language; the parents' level of English language, on the other hand, was found to be related to the amount of English used, though with exceptions.These results strongly suggest that English is taking over the family domains that used to belong to the ethnic language. Parents who want their children to maintain their ethnic language need to put daily effort into action. Without painstaking daily effort, language shift will and probably is happening no matter how strong their theoretical beliefs might be.
Preexercise strategies: the effects of warm-up, stretching, and massage on symptoms of eccentric exercise-induced muscle damage and performance
(Auckland University of Technology, 2005-01-01) Weerapong, Pornratshanee
This thesis uncovers the rational and Romantic assumptions about the relationship between objects and identity that are embedded in occupational therapy, and critiques current practice from that perspective. It is based on an initial assumption that there is in fact a relationship between people's identity and the objects they make, have, use and are associated with. This assumption is explored through an interpretive examination of the fields of literature that are commonly identified as informing occupational therapy, supplemented by selected popular literature. The exploration takes a philosophical approach, guided by notions from philosophical hermeneutics, including pre-understandings, the hermeneutic circle and fusion of horizons. The conclusion reached is that people informed by Western philosophies interpret the identity meanings of objects in both rational and Romantic ways. To inform the study, the nature of rationalism and Romanticism are then explained, and the implications of these philosophical traditions in relation to objects and identity are teased out. This interpretation is guided by a history of ideas methodology, which entails approaching historical texts from a new perspective, in this case the identity meanings of objects. Thus informed, occupational therapy literature, primarily that published in Britain between 1938 and 1962 is examined from the perspective of objects and identity. What is revealed is that rational and Romantic understandings of objects, and of patients' and their own identity are clearly discernible. Such understandings afforded early occupational therapists both ways to organise their growing knowledge of the therapeutic application of crafts and the transformative outcomes of occupational therapy intervention. Gradually however, factors both internal and external to the profession served to undermine therapists' Romanticism. Primary amongst these were World War II, which saw a redeployment of occupational therapists from mental health to physical rehabilitation settings; advances in rehabilitative medicine, which brought a reduction in secondary complications and the adoption of teamwork; and the development of new practice areas including domestic rehabilitation using gadgets to enhance function and pre-vocational rehabilitation. As a result, tensions between rational and Romantic understandings crystallised around two long-standing controversies. These were whether or not craft equipment such as weaving looms should be adapted to serve specific remedial purposes, and whether it was the process of making a crafted object or the quality of the finished product that was more important. In the event, these contested ideologies became largely irrelevant as craftwork was sidelined from mainstream practice. With it, occupational therapists' Romantic vision of transforming people's lives through creative activity also slipped away. Several reasons for this loss of one of the profession's founding philosophies are proposed. They include the substantial absence of the professions' philosophical foundations from its education, and the paucity of theory and research methodologies that might have informed the nature and process of transformative change that earlier occupational therapists had observed and reported. The thesis concludes by arguing for the importance of recovering a balance between rationalism and Romanticism. A call to action is issued, addressing change in educational practice, concerted research effort to identify and articulate transformative processes within occupational therapy, and political action focusing on the inclusion of Romantic perspectives within policy and strategic documents.
Vibration of branched circular cylindrical shells as applied to airway walls
(Auckland University of Technology, 2005-01-01) Au, Pui Ming
This research focuses on investigating the vibration characteristics of branched circular cylindrical shells with applications to airway passages. Analytical modelling is carried out based on Donnell-Mushtari equations of thin elastic membrane type of shells while numerical validation is conducted using the Finite Element Method (COSMOS/Works). Further validation of the results is performed using experimental investigation of tracheobronchial tissues dissected from pigs. The analytical, numerical and experimental results are in acceptable agreement. Further investigation of the vibration characteristics of the airways for cases which cannot be dealt with analytically is carried out using COSMOS/Works. Results show a strong trend relationship which suggests that the natural frequency of the trachea and the primary tracheobronchi is approximately 10 Hz. Radial resonances of lower bronchi are predictable through trends found in this work that the resonant frequency is a linear function in certain region of generations.
Airway smooth muscle response to vibrations
(Auckland University of Technology, 2006) Du, Youhua
The main goal of this research was the in vitro investigation of the stiffness response of contracted airway smooth muscles under different external oscillations. Living animal airway smooth muscle tissues were dissected from pig tracheas and stimulated by a chemical stimulus (acetylcholine). These tissues were then systematically excited with different external vibrations. The force change was recorded to reflect the muscle stiffness change under vibration. The static and dynamic stiffness of contracted airway smooth muscles in isometric contraction were determined before, during and after vibrations. A continuum cross-bridge dynamic model (the fading memory model) was modified to accommodate smooth muscle behaviour and dynamically describes the cross-bridge kinetics. A two-dimensional finite element model (FEM) was developed to simulate longitudinal and transverse vibrations of the tissue. An empirical equation, derived from the experiments, is incorporated into the FEM. The results indicate that the stiffness of active smooth muscles can be physically reduced using external vibrations. This reduction is caused by a certain physical position change between actin and myosin. The dynamic stiffness has the tendency of decreasing as the frequency and/or amplitude of external vibration increases. However, the static stiffness decreases with an increase in the frequency and amplitude of excitation until it reaches a critical value of frequency where no variation in stiffness is observed. It is postulated that the tissue elasticity and mass inertia are the main contributors to the dynamic stiffness while the actin-myosin cross-bridge cycling is the main contributor to the static stiffness.
Talking Pictures: A Creative Utilization of Structural and Aesthetic Profiles from Narrative Music Videos and Television Commercials in a Non-Spoken Film Text
(Auckland University of Technology, 2006) Ings, Welby
This thesis is about storytelling. It is presented in three parts, a major output with two supporting components. The first and primary section is the short film. The second is an exhibition of images, props, and environments created for the work. The third is the exegesis. Situated as creative practice, the project tests and develops structural and aesthetic hypotheses in the creation of a non-spoken film text. These hypotheses are shaped by considerations from two areas.The first is design for narrative music video. An analysis of selected texts leads to a creative reconsideration of the role and profile of imagery, space, time, sound, enigma, closure, and narrative voice. The second area is typography. Reflecting on the anti-language, bogspeak, and the culture that has given rise to its development, the thesis develops inaudible typographical voices that operate as narrative contributions to the film.These two areas of consideration support a unique way of telling stories. This is significant because emerging uses of short film now take these texts beyond the theatre. They are marketed as commercially available stories in their own right. As distribution companies are formatting them on DVDs, viewers are seeing these stories not once, but many times. It is useful therefore, for the design of such texts to consider alternative methods of narration that might work to preserve the durability and complexity of their stories as they unravel over repeated screenings.
Modeling of an electroactive polymer hydrogel for optical applications
(Auckland University of Technology, 2006-01-01) Paxton, Robert Alan
In this work a finite element model is proposed to describe the swelling of poly(acrylic acid) hydrogels under the influence of an external electric field. The specific application of this model is for optical applications, but the design could be used equally well for other applications such as sensors and actuators.The model is proposed as five individual modules, which work in conjunction with each other but which can also function independently. This independence allows the model to provide intermediate results to the user, and also permits each module to be improved or adjusted individually without affecting the operation of the overall model. The first module is the Electrical module, which calculates the external electric field present in the hydrogel by solving Laplace's equation. The second module is the Chemical module, which uses the electric field to calculate the diffusion and migration of ions through the hydrogel/solvent regions. The third module is the Force module, which uses the change in ion concentrations to calculate the resulting change in osmotic pressure (force). This force is then used in the Mechanical module to calculate the deformation of the hydrogel, based on the assumption of linear elasticity. Finally, the fifth module is the Optical module, which uses the deformation to calculate the theoretical change in focal length.To verify the operation of the model, numerous experiments were conducted with the deformation of a poly(acrylic acid) hydrogel being measured under various external voltages with different electrode configurations. Overall, the model agrees quite well with the experimental results, but also highlights some interesting discrepancies that will need to be considered in future work. There is also some scope for improvement in the experimental method used, but again this is left for future work.

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