ResearchArchive at Victoria University of Wellington
Not a member yet
9130 research outputs found
Sort by
Barriers to Women's Career Advancement in the New Zealand Hospitality Industry
The glass ceiling effect is a widely researched phenomenon that highlights the multi-layered barriers to women’s exclusion in senior management positions internationally. Traditionally, research has focused on evidence for the deficit in women’s promotion in predominately corporate spheres with minimal inclusion of service sectors. The following research will address a key literature gap in the context of New Zealand, with an analysis of the glass ceiling barriers for career women in the hospitality industry. The qualitative study utilised a postmodern feminist lens and included 13 semi-structured interviews with current female duty managers in the localised Wellington, NZ region. The study found that the glass ceiling effect was maintained for female managers through the production of misogynistic cultures, gender-stereotyping, and old boys’ networks that functioned on intersectional levels. Obstacles were produced through customers, industry norms, and organisational practices that minimised participants ability to perform general operations, garner promotions, or access support in detrimental circumstances. The research concludes that women’s professional development is hindered due to the interplay of workplace structures, broader socio-cultural beliefs, and resistance to female leadership. Based on the findings, recommendations for further emphasis on equitable and ethical industry practices are outlined to address the glass ceiling effect, thereby increasing employee investment and retention
An examination into the ways in which museums communicate about and engage audience on climate change and environmental issues on their Facebook platforms
Climate change is one of the biggest challenges that the world is facing at the moment. The climate change issue has been identified as “one of the most significant and fastest growing threats to people and their heritage worldwide” (García, 2019). It affects many aspects of people's lives and the planet. The social, physical, environmental and economic worlds are all impacted by climate change. Due to human activity, the temperature increases globally, leading to more severe and frequent natural disasters (Jigyasu, 2019). The Ministry for the Environment has identified aspects on which there will be likely impacts of climate change. These include higher temperatures, flooding, water resources, sea-level rise, health, biodiversity, built environment, transport, agriculture, and business and finances (Ministry for the Environment, 2019). The extensive list provides details only for New Zealand. While other countries will likely have similar impacts, other aspects may also be included and might be more severe. Climate change could potentially have a more significant negative impact on developing countries in comparison to developed countries (Dotson et al., 2012). However, some people are still uncertain about the scientific facts about the causes and effects of climate change and the impact of human actions (Parker et al., 2019)
New Zealand violin teaching contexts and their impact on teacher practice in private studios and out-of-hours music centres.
The out-of-hours music programme provides free instrumental music lessons to primary school aged children and has a long-standing history in New Zealand, dating back to 1929. While this government-funded programme has been part of the primary school sector for more than fifty years, there is little to no research about its teaching or how it functions. Out of hours music centres are unique to New Zealand and while being attached to the primary school sector are run independently outside school hours. Many of these centres offer violin lessons and generally, their teachers also work as private violin teachers. Are violin teacher’s pedagogical practices different depending on whether they teach in a centre, or in their own studios? This sociocultural study presents a critical analysis into beginner violin pedagogies and the similarities and differences between the out-of-hours music context and the private studio
Beyond the dollar: Carbon farming and its alternatives for Tairāwhiti Māori landowners
This research explores landowner preferences for various land use options suitable for Māori land in Te Tairāwhiti, on the East Coast of the North Island of Aotearoa-New Zealand (henceforth Aotearoa). A particular emphasis is placed on the applicability and feasibility of native forest carbon farming within the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS) and opportunities, barriers and risks associated with this land use. Alongside this focus, is a wider investigation into the socio-cultural, environmental and economic co-benefits Māori landowners associate with traditional and emerging land uses in Te Tairāwhiti. This study uses a transformative research approach that is rooted in the spirit of kaupapa Māori research.
Some 90 percent of Māori land in Te Tairāwhiti has severe limitations which restrict land use options to plantation forestry or pastoral farming for most landowners. A response to these limitations, and a land development option favoured by government agencies, and the academy, is for ‘unproductive’ Māori land to be retired into permanent native forest carbon sinks – a solution frequently proffered as a positive means to address national climate change commitments and local environmental and socioeconomic issues. Whilst these objectives, and the land use preferences of Māori seemingly converge, the wider history of land loss and alienation influences perceptions of fairness and equity for Māori landowners who may feel pressured by the lack of attractive land use options to establish permanent carbon sinks, which can effectively constrain land use options for future generations.
Through case study analysis of a Māori sheep and beef farming incorporation participating in the NZ ETS, this study suggests an economic case for carbon farming in Te Tairāwhiti. However, institutional and socio-cultural barriers hinder the participation of Māori landowners in the NZ ETS. The second focus of this thesis has been an investigation into how native forest carbon farming is viewed when compared to other novel and existing land uses suitable for Māori land in the Waiapu catchment (a highly erodible catchment in Te Tairāwhiti).
Interviews with key informants were employed to curate a set of land use options for Māori landowners to appraise, using multi-criteria analysis, at two wānanga. Four land use models were created for appraisal by 16 Māori landowner participants. The strength of association between a co-benefit and a land use was collectively deliberated upon in each of these models, and ratings were assigned to reflect this association. These ratings have aided in assessing the wider value of land uses for Māori in the region.
The results from this research indicate an overwhelming preference for native forests when compared to other suitable land uses. Native forests are most closely associated with environmental co-benefits (erosion control, water quality, biodiversity and withstanding and limiting climate change) and social and cultural co-benefits (skills development, employment, reconnecting with the land, and self-determination/autonomy). The strong performance of native forestry stands in stark contrast with other land uses under consideration such as exotic forestry (Pinus radiata within the study scenario) and sheep and beef farming which occupy the majority of ‘productive’ land in Te Tairāwhiti. Exotic forestry and sheep and beef farming are associated with few benefits beyond employment and skills development. There is also a clear perception in the quantitative and qualitative data that these uses disconnect Māori landowners from their land and reduce the ability of communities to be self-reliant.
Interestingly, other novel land uses under consideration such as perennial horticulture (including blueberries, macadamia nuts and apples), medicinal cannabis and hemp, and hunting and tourism were also valued more than exotic forestry and sheep and beef farming. These results indicate that existing land uses, sometimes implemented without express input from local communities, are now the least preferred land uses. In addition, novel and untested land uses such as medicinal cannabis and hemp, which do not exist at any scale in the region, are preferred over existing uses - even when there is scant evidence of success at any scale.
These results push back at the prevailing Pākehā dominated orthodoxy, which has existed from the early days of colonisation and holds that monoculture land uses, for profit above all else, are best suited to the land and the people. It is clear, from this study, that Māori landowners wish to move back to a vibrant multi-faceted land use regime – exemplified by diversity over homogeneity – that characterised the pre-colonisation Māori economy. This research accordingly introduces and explores a value articulating process that increases understanding of the aspirations and values of Māori landowners, and can assist Māori in progressing their land use futures
"Evidence of me" becoming "evidence of us": A case study of the policy, processes and responses of selected GLAM institutions to personal donations of collections and artifacts
Research problem: Donors are important contributors to collection development in GLAM institutions, yet interactions with potential donors and communication of procedures and policies is under researched. To address the gap this research project investigates the policies and processes of selected institutions to manage personal donations and examine the challenges and responses this has raised. Methodology: A case study research design used two methods of data collection for each institution . Nine participants form five GLAM institutions were interviewed using semi-structured interviews, three each at the two larger institutions and all were conducted face-to-face. A donation webpage content analysis was performed for each of the five participating institutions. Results: Collection policies and principles were found to be critical components of all institutional appraisal processes, although there was evidence of some flexibility in implementation. Relationships with donors were based on collaboration and trust. Participants valued these relationships and invested time building them, facilitating respectful discussions over more challenging aspects of donation including restrictions and ownership. Institutional donation webpages were more diverse, demonstrating that institutions held different views over the value of this platform as a donor communication and information resource. Implications: While the selected institutions have, from their perspective, developed positive donor relationships this research provides some recommendations regarding website presence to make webpages a more valuable resource for donors. Future research could focus on the donor perspective of gifting to the selected institutions, or investigating website use by donors and whether it is perceived as an important source of information
Taxation, user cost of capital and investment behaviour of New Zealand firms
This paper investigates the relationship between the user cost of capital (UCC) and the investment behaviour of New Zealand firms both in the short and long run. The key goal is to understand how policy changes that influence this cost of capital translate into changes in productive investment in New Zealand. Previous analysis on the UCC investment relationship in New Zealand focused on short term impacts on overall investment, and implied there was a limited investment response among capital heavy manufacturing firms. This was at odds with results from other countries (e.g. Belgium, France, Germany, UK). Our paper extends the New Zealand analysis in two ways: it re-estimates the prior results based on additional data and improved specification tests, and it also estimates an error-correction model that more consistently estimates the long-term impact of UCC changes on the capital stock. Our short-run findings are relatively consistent with prior New Zealand research. However, the long-run response of investment with respect to UCC changes (an elasticity of -1.4) is much larger than that implied in the prior research and previous estimates from macrodata. Furthermore, manufacturing firms also appeared to change their capital stock sizably from these estimates. The large response from our error correction estimates imply that the non-linearity of the dynamics of any investment response (e.g. due to lumpiness) needs to be accounted for when considering the long run consequences of any policy changes that affect the user cost of capital
The Synthesis and Evaluation of Heterocycles as Anti-Tuberculosis Agents
Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), worldwide. Currently, the efficacy of TB treatment regimens has declined due to the rise in antibacterial resistance and the shortage of new TB drugs. Thus, much effort has been spent in anti-tuberculosis drug development and in identifying new therapeutic targets against Mtb. One such target is NADH dehydrogenase-II (NDH-II), an essential enzyme in the mycobacterial electron transport chain that is not present in mammalian cells. In this thesis, four classes of heterocyclic compounds that have the potential to target NDH-II and their evaluation as anti-tubercular agents, are described. An overview of TB drug development and NDH-II as a promising target for TB drugs are described in Chapter 1.
In Chapters 2 and 3, the potential of anti-tubercular drugs based on the quinolinequinone (QQ) scaffold is described. QQs have previously shown promise as TB drugs by activating NDH-II to overproduce harmful reactive oxygen species leading to bacterial cell death. Chapter 2 describes the total synthesis of the QQ natural products ascidiathiazone A and ascidiathiazone B, and derivatives thereof, using a synthetic route that allows for high divergency and the efficient synthesis of the natural products and their intermediates. To this end, the first total synthesis of ascidiathiazone B is reported, as is the identification of ascidiathiazone A as a promising anti-tuberculosis drug with an MIC of 1.6 μM against Mtb. Insight into the ability of a representative quinone, 7-chloro-6-chloroethylamino-2-methyl-QQ, to increase NDH-II activity is also described. In Chapter 3, the syntheses of thirty-two simplified QQs with different functional groups at the 6- and 7-positions of the QQ scaffold are described. These compounds were screened against Mtb, with the lead compound from this library, 7-chloro-6-propargylamino-QQ, exhibiting an MIC of 8 μM against Mtb. Structure-activity data revealed diminished biological activity for QQs bearing tertiary amines, as compared to those with secondary amines, suggesting that the presence of a hydrogen bond donor at the 6- and 7-positions of QQs may play a critical role in antimycobacterial activity.
In Chapter 4, the synthesis and anti-mycobacterial activity of chromonyl-pyrimidines is presented. Chromonyl-pyrimidines have a structural resemblance to quinolinyl pyrimidines, a class of known NDH-II inhibitors and anti-TB agents. Chromones have shown promise as TB drugs, though they have not yet been reported to bind NDH-II. Despite this, chromonyl-pyrimidines contain a ketone functionality that may be able to bind the quinone binding site. For the first eleven-member library of chromonyl pyrimidines synthesised, all but two of the compounds exhibited inhibitory activity against Mtb, however, the growth inhibition was modest (MIC = 36-684 M). Accordingly, a second generation of chromonyl pyrimidines was synthesised, which included six compounds with improved potency against Mtb – all with an MIC value of 12.5 μM. The activity of these chromonyl pyrimidines was attributed to the presence of aromatic rings both on the pyrimidine and the chromone scaffolds, though changes to the electronic properties of the aryl groups, i.e. the incorporations of electron-withdrawing and electron-donating groups, did not affect inhibitory activity.
Finally, in Chapter 5, a library of phthalazinones and pyrimidinyl-phthalazinones with anti-tubercular activity is described. While phthalazinones have not yet been extensively explored as anti-mycobacterial agents, the phthalazinone scaffold has the potential to act as an uncoupler. Uncouplers are typically weak acids or bases that act on the electron transport chain by dissipating the proton motive force and ultimately preventing the generation of ATP. In Mtb, this uncoupling process is detrimental and leads to cell death. Phthalazinones are weakly basic and, due to their bicyclic ketone-bearing motif, has the potential to bind NDH-II at the proposed Q-site. Accordingly, a series of phthalazinones was synthesised to investigate their anti-tubercular activity and uncoupling activity. From the library of phthalazinones, N-tert-butyl- and nitro-substituted phthalazinones elicited high inhibitory activity, both with an MIC value of 3 μM. Of particular note among the pyrimidinyl-phthalazinones was the 4-fluorophenyl-pyrimidinyl-N-heptyl phthalazinone, which showed high potency against Mtb with an MIC of 1.6 μM. Further biological studies showed that some phthalazinones increased the rate of NADH oxidation in mycobacteria, which could be a result of uncoupling activity, while a number of pyrimidinyl-phthalazinones decreased NADH oxidation rates. These mechanistic results indicated that the two classes of compounds may have different modes of inhibition
Mātauranga Māori and anti-microbials: Searching for new tools to control the spread of Kauri Dieback
Phytophthora are plant pathogens, well known for devastating thousands of ecologically, culturally and economically significant plant crops worldwide. In greek Phytophthora translates directly to ‘plant destroyer’. Though it is ‘fungus-like’, Phytophthora are eukaryotic oomycetes, more closely related to brown algae and diatoms. Phytophthora have three key lifecycle stages: oospores, zoospores, and mycelia.
Kauri are ancient conifer species dating back to the Cretaceous period (145 mya) and are now rapidly declining due to Kauri dieback caused by Phytophthora agathidicida. P.agathadicida causes root rot in Kauri trees and was first misidentified as P. hevave on Great Barrier Island in the early 1970s. Its origin is unknown however research argues it may have evolved from P. infestans, the pathogen that caused the Irish potato famine in 1845. For Te Āo Māori, Kauri are highly regarded tīpuna (ancestors) and Kauri Dieback is alarming to many Northern Iwi. Kauri wood and resin are highly sought and economically valuable resources. The Waipoua forest is the largest Kauri forest and the most impacted by Kauri Dieback. Over 25% of Kauri in the Waitākere ranges are either infected with P. agathadicida or are symptomatic, a percentage that is steadily increasing. A rāhui (temporary ban) was placed on the Waitākere ranges by local iwi Te Kawerau a Maki in 2018 as a preventative measure to reduce movement of P. agathadicida in soil. Apart from track closures, scrubbing and spraying equipment - before and after entering the forest - is the only tool of management. Sterigene disinfectant is the only treatment to reduce the spread of Kauri Dieback. Sterigene kills zoospores, mycelia and sporangium but is ineffective against P. agathidicida oospoores. Sexually produced oospores are responsible for the long-term survival of Phytophthora as they have a thick cell wall.
The first part of this thesis examines a range of commercially available disinfectants and their efficacy against P. agathidicida oospores. These results confirm that Sterigene and/or Trigene are not effective against P. agathidicida oospores. My results also show that 2% bleach, 1% Virkon, and 70% ethanol all reduce oospore viability. Napisan also reduced oospore viability, but also interacted with the viability stains, therefore further investigations are needed. Napisan is an oxygen bleach, commercially affordable and easily accessible in supermarkets. Unlike sterigene and bleach, Napisan is safe to use on clothes, wool and soft textiles. If effective against oospores and the other lifecycle stages, Napisan could be a promising solution to help reduce the spread of Kauri Dieback
Motherhood Employment Penalty and Gender Wage Gap Across Countries: 1990–2010
In this paper, we employ twin birth as an instrument to estimate the effects of fertility on female employment using 72 censuses from 37 countries in 1990–2010. Next, we document a strong linear association between gender wage gap and the estimated motherhood employment penalty both across countries and within countries. Reductions in the gender wage gap are associated with decreases in motherhood employment penalty. Our estimates suggest that a reduction of one percentage-point in the gender wage gap is associated with a decrease of 0.4 percentage-points in the estimated motherhood employment penalty. Our finding supports the notion that job prospects and gender equality in the labor market play a direct role in a mother’s labor supply response to childbirth
Value Relevance of Integrated Reporting using a Novel Approach: Comparative Cross Country Evidence of Mandatory and Voluntary Implementers
This thesis examines the value relevance of accounting information under integrated reporting (IR) in a comparative mandatory and voluntary setting. A meta review is conducted of all published work focusing on integrated reporting since 2011, which provides detailed insight into the gaps in the IR literature. Multiplicative log-linear model is used in measurement, which is a novel technique that mitigates the shortcomings of traditional value relevance models. The findings show that value relevance of summary accounting information increases after the implementation of IR in the mandatory setting. In the voluntary setting, market effect and the existing reporting paradigm effect the value relevance of accounting information under IR. If the market is large and existing reporting requirements are robust voluntary adoption of IR has minimal to no effect. However, in smaller markets with less rigorous reporting environment, adoption of IR does result in increased value relevance of accounting information. Compared to traditional models, the multiplicative model provides estimates that are more stable over time and shows better explanatory power. Overall, the findings of this thesis show that capital
providers value the information content of IR under specific circumstances. This thesis contributes to the IR and value relevance literature by providing the first comparative cross-country evidence of the effect of IR in the change in value relevance of reported accounting information. It provides policy relevant input to the standard setters of IR by demonstrating the effect of IR in the decision usefulness of summary accounting information. The thesis further provides robust evidence of the efficacy of using the multiplicative log-linear model in measuring value relevance instead of the traditional linear additive models