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Using Digital Humans to Deliver Stress Management to Women With Breast Cancer: Feasibility and Acceptability
(ResearchSpace@Auckland, 2024-12-15) Clayden, Cerys Rebecca; Broadbent, Elizabeth
Breast cancer patients experience a myriad of social, emotional, and physical stressors following diagnosis and treatment. Cognitive Behavioural Stress Management (CBSM) is a 10-week in-person group programme that improves stress management skills and decreases the risk of adverse outcomes of stress in breast cancer patients. However, CBSM is limited in its availability. Digital humans offer a novel method to deliver CBSM to patients remotely and autonomously to improve accessibility, but feasibility and acceptability must first be evaluated. The aim of this thesis was to examine the acceptability and feasibility of a digital human in delivering one module of CBSM to breast cancer patients post-treatment. Fifteen female patients who had completed active treatment for breast cancer and fifteen female healthcare clinicians working within cancer-related spaces were recruited from New Zealand. Patients and clinicians completed one 60-minute module of CBSM delivered by a digital human, containing psychoeducation about stress and deep breathing exercises. Patients and clinicians completed a questionnaire post- session on acceptability. Feasibility was measured through the practicality of recruitment and the trial methods. Pre- and post- intervention changes in stress, relaxation, and anxiety were assessed using visual analogue scales. Perspectives about Large Language Models (LLMs) were assessed pre- and post- intervention to inform potential incorporation into future iterations. Conventional content analysis was conducted on responses to open-ended questions collected post-intervention. Findings indicated moderate acceptability and feasibility of the digital human intervention. Patients were more accepting of the intervention than clinicians. Stress and anxiety decreased from baseline to post-intervention, and relaxation increased. Content analysis found two dominant themes regarding (1) the intervention, and (2) the digital human. Participants liked the interactive session and the digital human’s warm appearance but disliked the long length, information density, and impersonalised nature of the session. Participants expressed cautious curiosity about LLMs and wanted them to be further researched. This was the first study to assess the feasibility and acceptability of CBSM delivered by a digital human in breast cancer patient populations. Findings supported feasibility and acceptability, and suggested developments to be made, including shortening the length of the session and personalising it to the user. Future research should investigate the integration of LLMs and develop further modules of digital human delivered CBSM.
Can AI Deliver Empathetic Medical Consultations? A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Ratings of a Digital Human and a Human Physician in High and Low Empathy Consultations
(ResearchSpace@Auckland, 2024) Verma, Ruby; Broadbent, Elizabeth
Background: Clinical empathy in medical consultations can improve patient outcomes. However, individual and system-level barriers in healthcare systems limit equitable access to empathic care. Digital humans (DHs) are being used to address these challenges, but no RCT has investigated their ability to deliver empathic consultations compared to human physicians. Aim: The study’s primary aim was to investigate the effects of empathy skills (high or low) and source (DH or human physician) on participants’ perceptions of a brief medical consultation. Method: A factorial RCT with a 2x2 between-groups design was conducted. 124 adults aged 18 years or over were recruited through social media and randomly allocated to one of four conditions: high-empathy human physician, low-empathy human physician, high-empathy DH, or low-empathy DH. Participants completed the experiment online using the Qualtrics platform, where they watched a 4.5 minute video of a consultation with an actor for the common cold before completing the study questionnaire. Differences in clinical empathy, trust, competence, warmth and adherence intention ratings were compared between groups. Results: There was a significant main effect of empathy skills. On average, high-empathy consultations were rated higher on clinical empathy, warmth, trust, competence and adherence intention (all p <.0.5) than low-empathy consultations. A significant interaction between empathy skills and source was found for clinical empathy ratings (p = .001), with the high empathy human physician receiving the highest scores. Source significantly affected participants’ perceived adherence intention for the actor (p = .010). No significant differences between the human and DH consultations were found for the other outcomes. Conclusion: Overall, findings support the integration of DHs into strained healthcare systems. These agents can use high-empathy skills to perform comparably to human physicians in routine consultations. DHs can utilize clinical empathy to build warm, trusting and competent relationships, that improve the potential for compliance. The study extends empathy-related findings with human physicians to DHs and provides insights into the development of effective agents. A closer inspection of the ethics of using AI in patient care is encouraged. Future research using Large Language Models could investigate whether these results apply to dynamic and real-world patient settings.
Long-term Quality of Life Outcomes in Head and Neck Cancer Survivors
(ResearchSpace@Auckland, 2024) Thompson-Williams, Elizabeth Isla; Miles, Anna
Aim: Understanding the impact of head and neck cancer on quality of life is crucial for enhancing survivor well-being. This study aims to explore regional-specific outcomes using patient-reported outcome measures (PROMS), which have not been extensively studied locally. It also seeks to provide a current perspective on quality of life amidst the evolving landscape of head and neck cancer. Head and neck cancer is a diverse disease with evolving etiological factors. As the population ages, age-related cancers will increase, posing challenges alongside comorbidities in cancer care. Unique challenges arise from younger patients with human papillomavirus (HPV)-related oropharyngeal cancer surviving longer with treatment-related toxicities, straining healthcare services. Method: This mixed-methods observational study includes a retrospective clinical records audit and a prospective cross-sectional online survey. Ethical approval was obtained from Auckland Health Research Ethics Committee (Application No. AH25628). Findings: In the Greater Wellington Region, the majority were male (72%) and over 50 years old, with 45% aged 51-70 and 42% over 71. New Zealand Europeans comprised 70%, followed by New Zealand Māori (9%). Many patients (44%) travelled over 50 kilometres for treatment, primarily referred by public medical professionals (94%). Predominant cancer sites included skin (36%), oral cavity (32%), and oropharynx (21%), often diagnosed at advanced stages. Treatment often involved multimodal approaches, with a high prevalence of P16+ positive oropharyngeal cancers treated with radiation (91%). Quality of life assessments revealed a mean score of 102 out of 148 on the FACT-HNC scale, indicating relatively good quality of life. Challenges persisted with voice disorders (mean VHI-10 score 6/40) and depression (HADS mean 18%). Fear related to physical appearance was evident (mean FNAES score 9/30). Utilisation of supportive services highlighted significant reliance on dental, dietetics, and speech-language therapy, with psychological support identified as the most desired service. Specialist cancer care providers were most frequently perceived as helpful. Conclusions: This study provides critical insights into challenges faced by head and neck cancer survivors in the Greater Wellington Region, Aotearoa New Zealand. Addressing these and advocating for tailored support services can enhance survivorship experiences and outcomes. Collaborative efforts across healthcare sectors are essential to meet evolving patient needs effectively.
Nutrition, growth and body composition in moderate to late preterm babies
(ResearchSpace@Auckland, 2025-03-28) Hazelhurst, Jaimey; Alexander, Tanith
Moderate to late preterm (MLPT; 32+0 to 36+6 weeks’ gestation) babies account for over 80% of preterm births worldwide and are increasingly recognised as being at an increased risk of mortality, neurodevelopmental delays and later cardiometabolic complications. Despite this, there is limited literature to support standardised nutrition guidelines during hospital admission after birth, resulting in significant variation in clinical practice. The primary aim of this thesis was to investigate associations between nutritional intake during hospital admission and growth and body composition outcomes at discharge and at 4 months’ corrected age (CA) in MLPT babies. This research is a secondary cohort analysis of the DIAMOND trial, a multicentred, randomised, controlled, factorial-design study of 532 MLPT babies admitted to 5 neonatal units (NNU) across New Zealand. Nutritional intakes were collected until discharge or 28 days, and growth and body composition were assessed at discharge and 4 months’ CA. Relationships between growth and body composition and nutritional intake were analysed using Pearson correlation coefficients and multiple linear regression models. Many associations were observed with a variety of nutrients, especially with outcomes at discharge. However, few remained at 4 months’ CA. Key findings included associations between total and enteral protein during hospital admission and increased weight z-score change (p = 0.02) and reduced fat mass percentage at 4 months’ (p = 0.02). Interestingly, total and enteral fat had the strongest associations, increasing fat mass percentage at discharge (p = 0.0009) but at 4 months’ CA, increasing fat-free mass percentage (p = 0.002), fat-free mass (p = 0.02), and change in head circumference (HC; p = 0.008 and 0.007, respectively) z-score. EP ratios within recommended ranges were associated with reduced fat mass outcomes at 4 months’, particularly in the moderate preterm (MP) cohort, reducing fat mass percentage (p = 0.02), fat mass (p = 0.04), fat mass z-score (p = 0.04) and fat mass index (p = 0.04). Intravenous (IV) fluids were not associated with enhanced growth or increasing fat-free mass and in some cases were associated with reduced growth with prolonged use. This data suggests that a prompt transition to full enteral feeding, coupled with adequate and balanced nutritional intake during NNU admission, benefits growth and body composition in MLPT babies. Future research should investigate the causal role of EP ratios in altering growth and body composition and explore the longitudinal outcomes in this population of babies.
‘E malu le ‘anofale I le fale’ Samoan migrants' experiences with homeownership in Aotearoa
(ResearchSpace@Auckland, 2024) Tagaloasa-Letalu, Ruanna; Wolfgram-Foliaki, Ema; Baice, Tim
Research in New Zealand indicates significant disparities in homeownership between the various ethnic communities. This is of concern as it confirms that some ethnic groups face more challenges than others regarding housing tenure and security. One such disadvantaged group discussed in the New Zealand studies is Pasifika people, where, according to Tanielu (2019), “Pasifika are over-represented in homelessness, emergency housing and renting, and massively under-represented in home ownership”. Data from (Stats NZ, 2020) reveals that “Pacific peoples and Māori were less likely to own their home or hold it in a family trust than other ethnic groups, and that these groups, “in particular, experience poorer housing outcomes”. The result of previous research raises concerns for the Pasifika community in terms of their future security and welfare in New Zealand. In previous studies by Grimes and Young (2009), data showed that in 2006, there was a 56.8 per cent overall homeownership rate, with only 28.8 per cent of these properties owned by the Pasifika ethnicity group. Looking forward from this point, the data from (Stats NZ, 2016) showed that although there was an increase in New Zealand home ownership, the percentage had declined in previous years for Pasifika people in New Zealand (and Māori). The net result was that “the proportion of their populations living in an owner-occupied dwelling fell faster than for the total population”, with Pasifika home ownership dropping to a mere 20 per cent (Stats NZ, 2020). According to the Pacific Aotearoa Status Report (Ministry of Pacific Peoples, 2021b) 8 per cent of New Zealand comprises the Pasifika community. Within this group, almost half is comprised of people of Samoan descent. This means that the percentage of Samoan homeowners, relative to overall ownership, is extremely low in New Zealand, and raises the question of why this is the case. My research stems from the distinct lack of available scholarship into Samoan homeownership and a desire to ascertain the enablers, challenges, and factors that a group of Samoan migrants have needed to adopt to achieve this. The findings are of significant benefit as they may assist with future development into solutions to help Samoan people in New Zealand own homes.
Counselling Through the Unknown: How the professional and personal lives of counsellors in Aotearoa, New Zealand, were hijacked by COVID-19
(ResearchSpace@Auckland, 2024) Major, Caroline; Beddoe, Liz; Joy, Eileen
Since the early 2020s, COVID-19 has swept through the world, affecting everyone, including counsellors and their practice. The impacts on counsellors and their clients are still being brought to light. This study set out to explore how counsellors in Aotearoa, New Zealand, experienced and thus understood COVID-19, what informed their views and how they made meaning of it. The lived experiences of eight counsellors who worked before and during the pandemic were gathered using semi-structured interviews. The data was then analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Four interrelated themes were constructed, with an overarching theme of COVID-19 being a hijacker disrupting the counsellor's personal and professional lives. This shared trauma was experienced collectively and individually. The counsellors reflexively used previous life experiences together with their individual experiences of the hijacking to create meaning and work with clients during the pandemic and potentially after. This study has made further research and recommendations for further questioning the idea of counsellor neutrality and counsellors' and employers' responsibility to acknowledge the impact of disasters or pandemics on mental health professionals. Instead, it recommends acknowledging counsellor positionality and embracing it in their practice.
Next POI Recommendation Using Higher-Order Travel Patterns
(ResearchSpace@Auckland, 2025-02) Liu, Shengzhe; Zhao, Kaiqi
With the rapid development of location-based social networks (LBSNs) and the growing scale of user check-in data, the next POI recommendation has become a key technology for enhancing user experience and increasing service provider value. However, traditional methods have shown limited performance in capturing collaborative relationships between user check-in sequences. The graph-based model, while capable of modeling such relationships, struggles to effectively extract higher-order information from check-in sequences. Although recent advances in hypergraph-based research offer new directions for obtaining higher-order information, existing hypergraph-based methods often perform poorly on datasets with smaller data volumes. To address these challenges, this study proposes a Higher-Order and Global Information Fusion Model. This model leverages two-hop subsequences in user check-in data to uncover higher-order relationships between sequences while preserving the ability to model global user check-in patterns. Specifically, the proposed model extracts two-hop subsequences from user check-in sequences to construct a higher-order graph, capturing frequent and periodic patterns in user behaviors. Simultaneously, inspired by the concept of global trajectory flow graphs, the model captures POI transition patterns from a global perspective by modeling users’ movements between POIs. Building on this foundation, the model integrates key spatio-temporal information, including user preferences, POI categories, and check-in times. By effectively combining local and global representations of POIs and incorporating rich spatio-temporal context, the model demonstrates high accuracy on real-world datasets, especially in cold-start scenarios. Our experiments on real-world datasets validate the effectiveness of combining higher-order relationships derived from two-hop subsequences with global POI transition patterns captured by the trajectory flow graph, highlighting their importance in next POI recommendation tasks. This study provides new insights and valuable references to more comprehensively characterize user mobility behaviors and develop advanced POI recommendation models.
Investigating the three-dimensional morphology of the upper airway using computed tomography
(ResearchSpace@Auckland, 2025) O'Hagan, Lomani Archibald; Mirjalili, Ali; Clarke, Alys
The human upper airway is an anatomical region of vital physiological and clinical import. It comprises the nose, paranasal sinuses, pharynx and laryngeal airspaces, which form a continuous and diverse array of geometries ranging from simple tubes to labyrinthine passages. While the upper airway’s general anatomy has long been understood, its morphological variation is less clear. This project aimed to investigate the morphological variation of the human upper airway, specifically of the nasal portion. An archive of 104 computed tomography scans of adult heads was reviewed and the upper airways digitally isolated out to produce three-dimensional models. Statistical shape modelling using principal component analysis was then undertaken on 25 of the airway models. The principal component analysis was limited to the nasal airway, i.e. from the anterior nares through to the nasopharynx, excluding the paranasal sinuses. The nasal airway was found to significantly vary in its morphology across 3 different modes. Firstly, in its general size, scaled in terms of the anterior-posterior and superiorinferior axes. Secondly, in its height, in terms of the superior-inferior axis only. Thirdly, in terms of its superior-inferior curvature. After these three modes the morphological variation of the airway was minimal and insignificant. This study confirms principal component analysis as a practicable method for investigation of three-dimensional anatomical shape variation and provides further insights into how upper airway morphology differs between individuals. Knowledge of this morphological variation may be useful clinically and have applications for future computational modelling or educational purposes.
A systematic literature review of the environmental impacts of space activities: planetary boundaries for the New Space age
(ResearchSpace@Auckland, 2024) Foo, Darcy R.; Mankelow , Cody; Dowling, Thomas
Meeting the 1.5oC global warming goal of the Paris Agreement is becoming tenuous and six of the nine planetary boundaries, a framework outlining safe limits of anthropogenic pressure on the environment, have been transgressed. A seventh will likely being crossed in the coming years. The meteoric rise of the commercial space sector, dubbed New Space, is adding fuel to the fire and is forecast to continue to grow into a $1.8T USD industry by 2035. This poses significant environmental risk to the upper atmosphere and Earth’s orbits as space activities are the only direct source of pollution in these areas. Operating with limited environmental oversight, there is a tragedy of the commons unfolding which some researchers have called an uncontrolled geoengineering experiment. To understand the scope and scale of the environmental impacts of the New Space economy, an iterative systematic literature review following the ROSES protocol was undertaken. Assessing 4254 papers published over 60 years it was established that there are environmental impacts which can be assessed using the planetary boundaries framework. Specifically, the boundaries most at risk from New Space activity are climate change, stratospheric ozone depletion, and atmospheric aerosol loading. Using the planetary boundaries framework, the orbital environment was also considered due to its increasing congestion. 252 papers were given critical appraisal and 21 were included in a qualitative synthesis of the impacts against each discussed boundary, Earth’s orbits, and the regulatory environment governing space activities. The findings of this review indicate that space technology has progressed much faster than research into its environmental impacts. Indeed, knowledge of these impacts has declined over time as the nature and intensity of activity has evolved. The emissions from rocket launches and object re-entry into the atmosphere may have more of an impact than previously thought and the orbital environment is becoming dangerously crowded due to mega-constellations. Crucially, the planetary boundaries which are furthest from transgression, stratospheric ozone depletion and atmospheric aerosol loading, are under threat from New Space activity. International collaboration between industry and governments will be required. Regulatory overhaul and further research into the environmental and socio-cultural impacts of New Space activity is urgently needed.
Edge AI Application and Optimization: FPGA-Accelerated Railway Damage Detection and Progressive Quantization Framework
(ResearchSpace@Auckland, 2025) Yan, Dongwei; Ma, Sean Longyu
The increasing demand for real-time, low-power artificial intelligence (AI) applications has driven the deployment of deep neural networks on resource-constrained edge devices, such as Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). This thesis focuses on developing an efficient railway damage detection system using FPGA-based hardware and proposes a novel quantization framework to address the limitations posed by hardware constraints. Chapter 1 presents the design and implementation of a railway track detection system, which comprises four main components: an enhanced railway damage image dataset, an FPGA integrated with a convolutional neural network (CNN), a host computer for interaction and visualization, and an intelligent vehicle platform. The intelligent vehicle captures real-time images of railway tracks using a gimbal-mounted camera and transmits them to the FPGA for damage detection. The detection results, including track status and precise damage location, are wirelessly sent to the host computer for visualization. Although the system achieves real-time performance and low power consumption, aggressive model quantization is required to fit the FPGA’s resource limitations, which results in a reduction in accuracy. To mitigate this issue, Chapter 2 introduces a progressive quantization framework that incrementally reduces the bit-width of weights and activations while preserving model accuracy. The framework incorporates advanced techniques, including the Straight-Through Estimator (STE), Arctangent Soft Round (ASR), Minimize Discretization Error (MDE), and a filtering mechanism. It is evaluated on six neural network architectures—ResNet18, ResNet20, VGG7, VGG16, MobileNetV2, and ShuffleNetV2—using CIFAR-10 and Tiny ImageNet datasets. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approach significantly improves quantized model accuracy, achieving near-full-precision performance in most cases. Future research will focus on integrating the progressive quantization framework into the railway damage detection system, with the goal of balancing resource efficiency and high detection accuracy. This work provides a practical and scalable solution for deploying AI-based monitoring systems on edge platforms, contributing to real-time edge AI applications in critical infrastructure maintenance.
Along the Arahura
(ResearchSpace@Auckland, 2025) MacPherson, Bradley; Barton, Chris
Human-made climate change, population growth, and the expansion of primary industries have dramatically affected New Zealand's natural environment since the arrival of European settlers. Further to this climate change threatens human life across the planet putting pressure on countries to reduce emissions to prevent catastrophic rises in temperature. This thesis explores how future loss of land also threatens personal and collective identity. Identity; being inherently relational, relies on the external world to define itself, highlighting the existential threat to identity posed by destruction of land. The link between land and identity is integral within a Māori world view, land is seen as being intertwined with whakapapa(genealogy) and tribal history. Kai Tahu academic Hana O'Regan, in the book Ko Tahu, Ko Au explains: "On a spiritual level the land was carved with the histories of the iwi, thus hosting not only the living but also the past, the tupuna who had gone before the tribal atua that guarded the rohe." This link between identity and land is also present in 20th Century Modernist New Zealand Art, though rather than seeing land and individual as intertwined, artists created a fictional dialogue with landscape by applying ideas upon nature. Art historian Francis Pound critiques this lens, explaining that in viewing the landscape as a blank canvas, artists ignored existing life and culture already present within Aotearoa; Pound refers to this fiction as a "noisy silence." This research aims to engage with art and literature through a critical lens by focusing on, where identity is uncovered by viewing the land as sacred and sublime. These shared cultural links between land and identity are explored through model making and hand drawing, culminating in a covered bridge and chapel located on the Arahura River, retelling the story of Kai Tahu's discovery of Pounamu. The project aims to highlight the threat to identity from human-created environmental erasure.
Bacterial Extracellular Vesicles: a new target for a diagnostic device
(ResearchSpace@Auckland, 2024) Al-Mohammedawi, Maysaa; Swift, Simon; Dauros Singorenko, Priscila
Extracellular vesicles are produced by all the species across the domains of life, suggesting that vesiculation represents a fundamental principle of living matter, and over the years, the study of bacterial extracellular vesicles (bEVs) has gained more attention regarding their roles in bacterial survival, interactions with other cells and pathogenesis. The first aim of my study was to isolate and characterize bEVs from Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). I found that using Size Exclusion Chromatography (SEC) technique, the bEVs at fractions 2-5 gave highest particle counts enriched with protein contents for E. coli and S. aureus during characterization with Nanosight Tracking Analysis (NTA) with size mean of 50-200 nm. Moreover, the structure of bEVs was confirmed with Transmission Electron Microscopical (TEM) showing regular spherical double membranes structures of a size range 50-100nm. Western blotting with Anti-LPS antibody detected LPS bands in both cell lysate and EVs of E. coli UPEC 536. Results of the dissociation constant (Kd) of different concentrations of single strand DNA aptamer (GN6-Cy5) aptamer achieved binding affinity towards E. coli DH5α, Nissle 1917, MG 1655 and UPEC 536 at 223.4, 325.5, 320.2 and 300.4 nM, respectively based on detecting the fluorescence intensity. This was confirmed by Stimulated Emission Depletion (STED) Microscopy during examining the GN6 aptamer and some red spots were detected around the surfaces of E. coli UPEC 536 bacteria. Recently a new dye was introduced to our Lab for labelling the bEVs called Acoerela (Aco), I applied the Aco-600 to dye the UPEC 536 EVs. Despite optimizing the ideal concentration of less to nil detected noise in the system background for theAco-600, UPEC 653 EVs and GN6-Cy5 aptamer, results of ZetaVeiw fluorescence analysis using 488nm laser didn’t detect any signal for labeling UPEC 536 EVs with the Aco-600, neither during incubating the UPEC 536 with GN6-Cy5 aptamer. The STED images for labelling UPEC 536-EVs with Aco-600 dye showed orange-stained spherical structures of EVs of a size around 100-150 nm. While no co-localization was detected from STED nor confocal microscopy images after incubation of the labelled UPEC 536 EVs Aco-600 mixture with the GN6-Cy5 aptamer.
Tailored to Me: Adapting Preference Assessments to Make Them More Acceptable and Effective for People Living with Dementia
(ResearchSpace@Auckland, 2024) Bigwood, Lily; Sharp, Rebecca
For individuals living with dementia, meaningful engagement with preferred activities is a vital component in maintaining quality of life. It is important to provide individuals with dementia effective methods to support their decision making, to ensure they have access to preferred activities and that their environment is tailored to them. Preference assessments have been found to be effective for people living with dementia. However, most evidence based behavioural assessments, such as preference assessments, have been predominantly validated for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Therefore, there are likely aspects of the assessment that need to be adapted to better suit the needs of adults living with dementia. The current study aimed to explicitly measure aspects of the assessment that need to be taken into consideration. We asked behavioural practitioners to identify practice issues in conducting preference assessments with people living with dementia, and then empirically evaluated the standard and the adapted versions in an alternating treatments design. Adaptations were also designed with input from our participants with dementia and their carers. Our measures included, choice and engagement, direct observation of indices of affect and verbal behaviour, and indirect social validity questionnaires. Our results varied across participants, however, based on common themes, we were able to develop some prompts for professionals conducting these assessments in the future. These themes varied from changing the language used, incorporating social attention, and creating a more natural environment, to align more with the social rules common amongst this population. Through incorporating these adaptations into the assessment, we observed increases in social validity measures of happiness, as well as a decrease in confusion levels amongst some participants. Our findings support that determining what is going to be more acceptable or effective for someone is completely variable, however, our study provides a helpful guide of social rules and environmental contingencies that may make preference assessments more valuable for people with dementia.
Creativity and Imagery: A Study of the Relationship between Creativity and Sensory Imagery
(ResearchSpace@Auckland, 2024) Maliekkal, Magna Christopher; Lambert, Anthony J
Theorists in psychology have long argued that mental imagery plays a pivotal role in the creative process. This study focused on sensory imagery - visual imagery, and two dimensions of auditory imagery: the mind’s ear and inner voice and its association with creativity. Considering the multifaceted concept of creativity, four different domains were assessed: Creative process, creative activity domains, creativity recognition, and divergent thinking. The instruments used for assessing sensory imagery were: modified Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (Marks, 1973), Auckland Scale of Auditory Imagery & Inner Speech (ASAIIS; Schelp, Quigley-Tump, Purdy, & Lambert, 2024). Creativity was assessed using self report measures and an objective task : Creative Process Assessment Scale (Gorlich, 2023), Divergent Association Task (Olson et al. 2021), and modified Creative Achievement Questionnaire (Carson et. al. 2005). The data were collected using a Qualtrics survey. The analysis consisted of 167 participants. Four multiple regression analyses were run using SPSS software to find: 1. Associations between dimensions of sensory imagery and creative process assessment, 2. Associations between dimensions of sensory imagery and creative activity domains, 3. Associations between dimensions of sensory imagery and creativity recognition and finally, 4. Associations between dimensions of sensory imagery and divergent thinking. The results of the analyses revealed interesting results. The first three analyses' results indicated associations between sensory imagery dimensions and: creative process, creative activities domains and creative recognition. Further observation on individual predictor variables showed no significant relationship between visual imagery and any of the domains. The central finding of the study is the significant relationship of inner voice with three domains of creativity: creative process, creative activities domain, and creative recognition. The study also found a significant relationship between both dimensions of auditory imagery i.e. mind’s ear and inner voice on creative process assessment even though there was no significant indication of the relationship between mind’s ear and creative activities domains and creativity achievements. There was no evidence of a significant association between sensory imagery and divergent association tasks. The results highlight the role of auditory imagery on self-reported creativity.
Pokémon GeO: Queer and Disabled Narratives in an Unintentional (P)GIS
(ResearchSpace@Auckland, 2025) Peek, Amber; Sila-Nowicka, Katarzyna; Martin, Michael
Pokémon GO has been a quintessential title in the location-based game (LBG) genre since its release in 2016. In the time since its release, there have been many changes to the game, however perhaps none more significant than the move to volunteered geographic information (VGI). Pokémon GO uses VGI through OpenStreetMap (OSM) environment data and the Niantic Wayfarer community suggestion/ratification platform for its points of interest, known as wayspots. The Wayfarer system allows Pokémon GO (and its predecessor, Ingress) players to define the most significant aspects of their real-world locales and bring them into the game world. As such, PokémonGOcan be understood to be an unintentional participatory GIS (PGIS) – built with the purpose of being an entertaining video game but creating VGI as a byproduct. The presence or absence of certain cultural experiences and narratives in the Pokémon GO wayspots presents players with an image of the area they find themselves in that is almost exclusively defined by players from that area. These narratives are investigated using Wellington, New Zealand as a case study. Despite having rich history in both areas, Pokémon GO is found to be lacking in wayspots corresponding to queerness and disability in Wellington. The broad absence of these themes is shown to be a combination of real-life biases making them less visible in the real world and part of a broader issue of diversity in video games in general.
The impact of storm sequences on coastal erosion: a Case Study on Tairua Beach, New Zealand
(ResearchSpace@Auckland, 2024) Wood, Sophie Ellen Rose; Coco, Giovanni
Under climate change, storms are projected to increase in frequency and magnitude, leading to a possible increase in the occurrence of sequences of storms. This thesis aims to investigate the impact of storms and storm sequences on shoreline change and to understand which storm characteristics “drive” shoreline change. Using Tairua Beach as a case study, hindcast wave characteristics were used to identify and analyse individual storms and storm sequences. Linear regressions were used to test the relationships between shoreline change and wave characteristics, revealing that storm power had a statistically significant relationship to shoreline change during individual storms. This relationship was also reflected in storm sequences; furthermore, a statistically significant relationship between initial shoreline position and the tidal range of the first storm and shoreline change was also seen for storm sequences. Additionally, a multiple linear regression showed that shoreline change during a storm sequence can be predicted based on the initial shoreline position and the sum of storm power. Findings also revealed temporal elements to the occurrence of storm sequences: seasonal variability and phases of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Results show that the most intense storm sequences are more likely to occur during the La Niña phase of ENSO. These insights provide a further understanding of how storm and storm sequences influence shoreline change and the drivers behind these changes. The findings highlight the importance of including the impacts of storm sequences in future coastal management strategies, especially considering current climate projections.
Understanding Household Climate Priorities
(ResearchSpace@Auckland, 2024-12-16) Austin, Hayden; Atkinson, Quentin
With the 2030 emission reduction deadline that represents a critical turning point in efforts to limit global temperature rise fast approaching, the urgency for climate change mitigation efforts is growing. Despite significant progress being made by the United Kingdom and other nations through decarbonisation policies, achieving the necessary reductions will require widespread behaviour change at the individual level. While public awareness of the risks associated with climate change, and intentions to reduce individual CO2 emissions have increased over the past decades, prior research has highlighted a barrier to optimised emission reduction. A perceived impact – actual impact gap exists in our understanding of common household emission reduction behaviours. The perceived CO2 reduction of low impact behaviours such as recycling, energy efficient lights, and reducing food waste are overestimated, while high impact behaviours such as reducing flights, energy efficient appliances, and switching a petrol car to an EV are underestimated. With the UK, and other nations falling behind their critical 2030 emission targets, this perceived impact – actual impact gap needs addressing. If efforts by governments and climate organisations are successful in motivating populations to take action to mitigate climate change, their emission reduction is likely to stray from what is optimum. The research in this thesis set out to retest the perceived impact – actual impact gap within an online survey of 1400 UK participants and administer 3 experimental messaging treatments in the form of knowledge boosts attempting to improve the perceived impact accuracy. The theoretical framework for the knowledge boost interventions were based on core components of Theory of Planned Behaviour, Technology Acceptance Model, and COM-B. This research successfully replicated the existence of a perceived impact – actual impact gap, however the 3 experimental conditions were not successful in reducing the perceived impact – actual impact gap. While this study failed in altering the perceptions of the participants, the case for further research in this area remains strong. Potential high return on investment behaviours suitable for future ‘nudge’ interventions based on the theoretical frameworks were highlighted. Future research to address the perceived – actual impact gap should consider strategies to overcome potential barriers such as prior held beliefs, misinformation, and careless responding. Given the limited time remaining to meet 2030 climate targets, bridging this gap is crucial for enabling effective and impactful climate action at scale.
Efficient Real-Time Railway Fault Detection Using FPGA-Based Edge AI System
(ResearchSpace@Auckland, 2025) Fu, Yulin ; Ma, Sean Longyu
Railway fault detection plays a crucial role in ensuring the safety and reliability of the railway infrastructure. In this study, we propose a real-time railway fault detection system implemented on Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), leveraging the efficiency of Binary Neural Networks (BNNs) for edge computing applications. BNNs, characterized by 1-bit weights and activations, offer significant advantages for low-latency, real-time monitoring tasks due to their efficient bitwise operations and minimal memory requirements. This makes them particularly well-suited for embedded systems, where low power consumption, high throughput, and real-time decision-making are essential. To address the challenge of resource utilization imbalance in FPGA-based systems, we introduce a novel DSP packing algorithm specifically designed to optimize Digital Signal Processor (DSP) usage while minimizing reliance on Lookup Table (LUT) resources, two primary resources in FPGA architecture. This approach effectively balances the usage of FPGA resources, enabling efficient deployment of the model on resource-constrained platforms. Experimental results show that our system achieves state-of-the-art detection accuracies of 90.9% and 93.4% with the RBPnet2 and RBPnet4 models, respectively. Furthermore, our FPGA-based solution outperforms conventional Central Processing Units (CPUs) and Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), achieving 82.77× and 9.64× improvements in energy efficiency, respectively. This work highlights the significant potential of FPGA-based BNNs for real-time railway fault detection, offering a robust and energy-efficient solution for edge computing applications. The high performance and low power consumption of the system demonstrate its suitability for deployment in consumer electronics and industrial IoT systems, where real-time monitoring and localized data processing are critical.
Cohesive Adaptability
(ResearchSpace@Auckland, 2024) Halliday, Imogen; Saad, Farah
The climate crisis has rapidly evolved into one of the most pressing challenges of our time. This thesis specifically addresses the growing vulnerability of housing to recurrent and devastating climate events, such as hurricanes and rising sea levels, which pose significant threats to both people and their homes. Consequently, the displacement of long-term residents is becoming an increasingly urgent issue, demanding immediate solutions. The core hypothesis revolves around the viability of “co-housing” as a socially and environmentally sustainable response to this crisis. Situated within the context of Aotearoa, New Zealand, the research aims to provide permanent cohousing solutions for individuals displaced from affected areas. The thesis commences by constructing a theoretical framework designed to elucidate the intricate relationship between cohousing, environmental considerations, and the needs of its occupants. Additionally, the research seeks to develop a flexible methodology capable of transcending geographical and architectural constraints, facilitating adaptation to diverse settings and occupant profiles. The primary objective is establishing three model cohousing sites across Aotearoa, New Zealand, each showcasing adaptable design solutions tailored to diverse topographies, climates, and communities. In a hypothetical scenario, these three sites will accommodate identical occupants to explore and compare the multifaceted interaction between cohousing, occupants and the environment in distinct ways. The design objectives encompass multiple facets. The thesis delves into environmentally sustainable construction methods, materials, and systems, aiming to minimise environmental impact and enhance climate resilience within cohousing contexts. It also explores architectural strategies that foster a symbiotic relationship between cohousing occupants and their natural surroundings. Furthermore, the study assesses ways to integrate environmentally sustainable living practices seamlessly within the cohousing framework, incorporating passive design principles and selfsufficient design approaches. Finally, the design strongly emphasises prioritising the comfort and well-being of cohousing occupants, achieved through communal areas, private retreats, and adaptable spaces that promote social interaction, collaboration, and individual privacy within the context of rehabilitation. Methodologically, this research adopts a designthrough- research approach, primarily relying on qualitative methods. Through this holistic approach, the thesis aims to offer valuable insights into the potential of cohousing as a socially and environmentally sustainable solution for climate rehabilitation in the unique context of Aotearoa, New Zealand.
Investigating the abundance of and information regarding exotic insects on native plants in New Zealand
(ResearchSpace@Auckland, 2024) McCullough, Madeleine; Ward, Darren
Exotic insects have ecological, economic, and human health impacts worldwide. In New Zealand, exotic insects have predominantly been prioritised based on economic impacts with less emphasis on ecological impacts. However, there is an ongoing need to understand potential future invading insects while also managing those that are already here. This research aims to increase understanding of the potential impacts of exotic insects on native New Zealand plants and to determine the usefulness of different record types for gathering data on exotic insects. Firstly, I sampled insects from select species of native plants at 18 Regional Parks around Auckland. I recorded environmental and disturbance variables and identified the insects collected to the lowest taxonomic level possible. Secondly, I downloaded over 86,000 records of exotic insect species in New Zealand from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and analysed two record types: citizen science observation records (from iNaturalist) and specimen records (from digitised museum collections). I compared the differences between the two record types over taxonomic levels, temporal and geographic scales, and species body size. In the field study there was a significant increase in exotic insect abundance with increasing weed coverage; and some differences between plant species, with māhoe (Melicytus ramiflorus) having the highest total abundance and diversity of insects on average. The composition of insects was dominated by the exotic passionvine hopper (Scolypopa australis). In comparing record types, I found some differences between citizen science and specimen records, including the year of the record, the insect order, and the average body size of the species. Records from citizen scientists are focused on a smaller subset of exotic species, which is biased towards collecting larger bodied species and may indicate a lack of awareness of many other exotic species present in New Zealand. This research adds to the understanding of associations between native plants and exotic insects in New Zealand, and the potential impacts of these insects in native ecosystems. Additionally, this research provides insight into potential uses and biases of citizen science observation records and specimen records, specifically for exotic insects in New Zealand.

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