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On the lifespan of nonzero background solutions to a class of focusing nonlinear Schrödinger equations
The global solvability in time and the potential for blow-up of solutions to non-integrable focusing nonlinear Schrödinger equations with nonzero boundary conditions at infinity present challenges that are less explored and understood compared to the case of zero boundary conditions. In this work, we address these questions by establishing estimates on the lifespan of solutions to non-integrable equations involving a general class of nonlinearities. These estimates depend on the size of the initial data, the growth of the nonlinearity, and relevant quantities associated with the amplitude of the background. The estimates provide quantified upper bounds for the minimum guaranteed lifespan of solutions. Qualitatively, for small initial data and background, these upper bounds suggest long survival times consistent with global existence of solutions. On the other hand, for larger initial data and background, the estimates indicate the potential for the intriguing phenomenon of instantaneous collapse in finite time. These qualitative theoretical results are illustrated via numerical simulations. Furthermore, importantly, the numerical findings motivate the proof of improved theoretical upper bounds that provide excellent quantitative agreement with the order of the numerically identified lifespan of solutions
Te Paepae o Te Rātū: He whāinga takahanga waewae nō tuawhakarere
This internship project focuses on establishing the provenance of Rongowhakaata taonga collected by Lt. James Cook and the crew of the HMS Bark Endeavour during its journey of discovery from 1768-1771. The project presents evidence to support Rongowhakaata's claims to taonga, specifically a set of hoe kōwhaiwhai (painted paddles) presented to Cook and the Endeavour crew. It reveals a significant miscarriage of due diligence and failure to consult or engage with Rongowhakaata in this matter, resulting in a false narrative and exclusionary orthodox perspective. The project involves determining the provenance of taonga, locating Rongowhakaata ancestors who were present during the collision, and reconciling the events of the Cook collision with the maramataka lunar calendar. Through textual analysis and comparison of primary, secondary, and tertiary literary sources, the project aims to establish Rongowhakaata's narrative and the extent to which the iwi was involved during Cook's arrival. The project contributes to the decolonization of time and knowledge by locating the events of the Cook collision within the maramataka lunar calendar; utilising months recorded by Tairāwhiti tohunga for 1769.</p
Drawing a line : thoughts and observations
Our environment is changing. The climate has cracked the whenua. Globally and here in Aotearoa, people are retreating to safer grounds. Climate-induced crises compound the growing population, straining equality, manifesting urban sprawl, crushing infrastructure, and taking lives. I do not seek to solve these issues but explore opportunities for reciprocal inhabitation. The site, Te Matau-a-Māui (Hawke’s Bay), exposes regional, urban, and architectural opportunities.As I explore the opportunities for Te Matau- a-Māui, what is the role of the sketch? What does it do?Drawing a Line is design-led research that uses hand and digital drawing as the primary investigation tools. I explore what the sketch produces and what it invites me to pursue and question. Throughout this research, the sketch is a design generator, creating threads through the experiments that I reflect on for opportunities in urbanism and architecture.Through drawing both with a pencil and digitally, and at a wide range of scales, I have begun to imagine the potential of a new Te Matau-a-Māui as a series of towns around the edge of the lowland plain, much of which was once wetland, connected by a piece of transport infrastructure. The proposal is a sketch of what Te Matau-a- Māui could become. By questioning the sketch, I found it can explore contentious grounds indeterminately, providing clarity and ambiguity. The sketch allows me to hold back and observe, giving time to question outputs.</p
Softening the City Sensescape
'Softening the City Sensescape’ identifies and counters ways current Landscape Architecture design rhetoric and design responses fail to recognize the needs of neurodiverse individuals in urban centre landscapes. Neurodiversity is recognised as a growing issue as population rises and city stimulus grows along with it — how might landscape architecture respond? Through critical review of relevant literature and case-studies alongside fieldwork studies the research develops design strategies that allow the inclusion of these demographics into societal shared spatialities. Hand drawing, photography, installation and fieldwork methods are used as means of investigation in conjunction with an event-based survey of neurodiverse opinions and experiences to test and refine these design strategies.The research finds that by using a toolkit designed with neurodiverse experiences landscape architects can effectively create refuge from the stimuli that urban infrastructure produces. This contributes to advancing spatial justice in the design of streetscapes.</p
Antarctica Online: Engaging learners in an interdisciplinary online conversation about Antarctica
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Learning from Frobenius
Learning from Frobenius
Robin Skinner, Victoria University of Wellington
Late in the nineteenth century, the German writer, Herman Frobenius (1841–1916) published the first survey of the architecture of the Pacific entitled Oceanische Bautypen (1899). As his title suggests, this study focussed upon building type taking no cognisance of climate, need or culture. It was an exercise in architectural autonomy by a writer who never left Europe. Possibly an indirect legacy of the work of French theorist, Jean-Nicolas-Louis Durand (1760-1834), it came from a thread in architectural history within which typology was appraised separately from cultural logic. It was taxonomy of form disconnected from tradition and site.
This paper discusses the omission evidenced in Frobenius’s work, taking this case study as a point of departure to discuss the design of some buildings erected in the Pacific through to the present day. Arguably, there is over a century of some built works that exhibit a comparable blindspot. Possibly designed by people with limited experience of the Pacific, there are built examples that reveal an indifference to climate, need and available resources. This paper seeks to provoke discussion. As was the case in 1899, it considers if design disconnected from people and site persists, and if so, asks how can we improve.
Keywords: architectural design, climate responsive design, Herman Frobenius (1841–1916
Public Spaces for Older People: A Review of the Relationship between Public Space to Quality of Life
This paper investigates the relationship between public spaces and quality of life (QoL) for older adults, aiming to identify knowledge gaps within the context of population ageing and urbanisation. Recognising the growing importance of sustainable urban development, the research explores how cities can foster active ageing and improve QoL through accessible and inclusive public spaces. A scoping literature review identifies five key QoL domains for older adults: autonomy, meaningful activities, positive social relationships, leisure opportunities, and health. To identify knowledge gaps, a review of the literature was conducted for each of the highlighted themes. The review highlights areas requiring further investigation, including the interplay between environmental design and social connections, intergenerational perspectives on public space liveliness, the influence of context on QoL and the built environment, and the value of qualitative research in this field. By contributing to the understanding of QoL in relation to public spaces through the lens of person–environment fit theory, this study aims to inform urban design, landscape architecture, and policymaking in the creation of age-friendly communities with inclusive public spaces
The Framing of Fatness in the Profession of Psychology in Aotearoa New Zealand
Stigma and discrimination based on body size is pervasive in Western society. Weight-based stigma among mental health professionals is common, with harmful and unfounded assumptions about weight affecting diagnosis and treatment. Fat bias further intersects with other forms of oppression such as sexism, racism, classism, and ableism. Psychologists have an ethical and professional responsibility to work towards recognising and resisting oppressive discourses and practices in health care. In this study, I sought to understand the ways in which clinical psychologists in Aotearoa New Zealand both uphold and resist harmful dominant discourses about fatness in their clinical work with fat clients.This research was critical, exploratory, and qualitative in design, drawing on principles of social justice and critical discursive psychology. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 clinical psychologists located across Aotearoa New Zealand working in mental health or medical settings. Thematic discourse analysis was used to analyse the transcribed interview data. The results indicate that the participants largely reproduced biomedical and neoliberal discourses, as well as Eurocentric psychological tenets that psychopathologised the causes of fatness; favoured a dualistic approach to the mind-body relationship; neglected the body as a site of meaning and identity; and disregarded the social, structural, and cultural determinants of health. Participants’ views of fat client subjectivities intersected with clients’ other marginalised identities, including gender, race, and ethnicity. Most participants reported discomfort with the topic of their client’s fat body, and frequently evidenced avoidance of the topic. Participants positioned themselves as either ‘health advocates’ whose obligation was to support the client’s pursuit of ‘health’, or as ‘client advocates’, who sought to protect the client from shame associated with their fat body. Participants were seen to attempt to resolve the tensions between these opposing positions by ignoring the fat body, enacting a kind of ‘fat erasure’ in therapy. Participants further reported difficulty with finding appropriate language for talking about fatness, with all terminology surrounding fatness considered to be ‘troubling’. Recommendations include addressing psychologists’ bias towards fatness in training through integrating critical and Indigenous perspectives into postgraduate training, and specific training on professional bias, including fat bias. Furthermore, training perspectives require reorientation away from overemphasising mental processes towards an integration of mind-body in which the body is constituted as a site of meaning and identity. Psychologists can work towards a fat-friendly clinical practice by engaging with fat activist literature, weight-neutral models of health, and models of therapy that locate the client’s presenting concerns within broader cultural, political, and social contexts.</p
Photoluminescence-based temperature sensing using TTFA sensitized NaMgF3 nanoparticles doped with europium
The temperature-dependent luminescence of crystalline nanocomposites has shown to have promising applications for temperature sensing in systems requiring a high resolu- tion and fast response time over a wide range of temperatures. Through the utilization of novel synthesis methods, highly luminescence nanocomposites present an exciting possibility for capturing spatial temperature distribution details with sub-micrometre precision, surpassing the capabilities of traditional temperature sensing methods. This thesis focuses on developing the foundation for a wireless, luminescent-based temper- ature sensor for the monitoring of power grid assets in New Zealand, by examining the compound NaMgF3 doped with trivalent europium (Eu3+) and sensitized with 2-thenoyltrifluoroacetone (TTFA). The structural and luminescence properties of this compound were studied to determine an optimal europium concentration that produces reproducible and high-resolution temperature-dependent luminescence over a temper- ature range attractive for such electronic devices.The examination of X-ray diffraction patterns yielded an anisotropic expansion of the unit cell volume with Eu3+ concentration, along with the formation of impurity compounds indicating the incomplete incorporation of Eu3+ into the nanoparticles.The luminescence characterization observed a decrease in the 5D0 → 7F2 relative to the 5D0 → 7F1 Eu3+ transitions, and a decrease in the luminescence lifetimes, with increasing Eu3+ concentration. Furthermore, systematic changes in the Judd-Ofelt parameters, quantum efficiencies, and stimulated emission cross-section were explained using a model of surface and core europium sites, whereby high Eu3+ concentrations result in greater core site emission.Strong temperature-dependent Eu3+ emission was found over the 300 - 460 K tem- perature range, with sample degradation occurring at temperatures above 460 K. A simple kinetic model is evaluated whereby excitation occurs directly into the TTFA ligand and subsequent energy transfer to the 5DJ states of Eu3+. From this model, thermal quenching is shown to be a result of greater back transfer between the 5D0 state of Eu3+ and the T1 state of TTFA, placing the T1 and S1 states of TTFA at 2.62 eV and 3.54 eV respectively. Furthermore, it was found that the relative sensor sensitivity ranges from 0.2 to 2.8% K−1, and is amongst the highest of any inorganic nano-thermometers. The resolution was found to be higher than 1 K over the 300 - 460 K range, with the finest resolution being 0.1 K, indicating that this compound is an excellent candidate for temperature sensing.</p
Exploring Community Perceptions of Addiction and Harm Reduction Strategies in Aotearoa New Zealand
This study investigated how community members in Aotearoa understand and perceive drug addiction and harm reduction strategies, through a discussion of two specific harm reduction strategies: needle exchange programmes and supervised consumption sites. Needle exchange programmes and supervised consumptions sites were selected as the focus of this study as they tend to be associated with addictive drug use, specifically injection drug use, rather than recreational drug use. Eleven community members participated in semi-structured interviews. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis to identify patterns of perceptions regarding addiction, harm reduction and harm reduction strategies. Nine themes were developed from this analysis: the process of addiction, engagement in drug use to feel ‘normal’, addiction causes harm, marginalisation and stigmatisation of people who experience addiction, criminalisation hurts people who need to be helped and supported, harm reduction versus prohibition, harm reduction is beneficial, relevance and salience of harm reduction varies, and opposition to harm reduction in others. As no such studies have been conducted in the Aotearoa New Zealand context, these findings establish a foundational understanding of how some community members in Aotearoa understand and perceive addiction and harm reduction. Participants viewed addiction from a holistic perspective, emphasising the role of both biological and social influences in the onset and maintenance of addiction. Moreover, there was overwhelming support for harm reduction within the sample, often positioned alongside critiques of the current punitive, prohibitionist approach to drug use and people who use drugs. Further research is needed to gain deeper insight into how community members view addiction and harm reduction, with a focus on increasing education and garnering greater awareness and support for harm reduction in Aotearoa.</p