Summer 2015
contents
4 shorts
News from around Unitec.
6
6 a natural step
Applied Molecular Solutions is Unitec’s latest
research foci.
9 restoring ecologies
Stephane Boyer is using molecular biology to
measure the success of ecological restoration.
12 wellbeing The Parakai tavern has been transformed into
a house of wellbeing.
16 bird life
9
Keeping birds at a healthy distance is the aim of
a Unitec research project.
18 harnessing creativity
The Henderson Youth Art Project is transforming
the town centre.
22 talking to buildings
18
Regan Potangaroa has led a research delegation
to post-Pam Vanuatu to find out why so many
buildings were damaged.
24 clean-up operation
Civil engineering student Jason Beer is on a mission
to improve industrial stormwater quality.
28 cat carnage
22
31 obituary
editor Marcus Williams
published by
writers Joe Dawson, Katie Moore
Unitec Institute of Technology
design Catherine Lawson
Private Bag 92025,
A warming climate could spell trouble for native
species, Glenn Aguilar’s research shows.
Gail Dallimore pays tribute to Peter Hughes.
editorial assistant Thiruna Selvaratnam
photographer Matt Crawford
cover illustration Greg Straight
printing Centurion Print
28
Victoria Street West,
Auckland 1142, New Zealand
ISSN 1176-7391
phone 0800 10 95 10
www.unitec.ac.nz
Taking an outside in
approach to research
This edition of Advance focuses
on research undertaken with
and for our stakeholders in
community, industry and iwi.
This issue is filled with different examples of how Unitec
staff are solving problems, exploring opportunities and
generating solutions for people and organisations. It’s an
eclectic mix, ranging from smaller student projects through to
large scale strategic initiatives, reflecting the wide variety of
work and the many domains in which our staff and students
are doing research.
The common thread is that the research comes from, or
has been co-created with, people outside of Unitec, and
undertaken with their goals in mind. This is what we have
called an ‘outside in’ approach to research. This approach is
a feature of Unitec’s new Research and Enterprise Strategy
2015-2020, and is a big focus for us as we develop a distinct
research identity as an Institute of Technology.
The traditional concept and language around academic
research is built on an assumption that new knowledge and
innovation are created inside academia and that this flows out
to society. Phrases like ‘knowledge transfer’ and ‘technology
transfer’ demonstrate these inbuilt concepts where the ideas
belong to the researcher, who does their work, develops their
findings and then takes this to the outside world.
However, if we as tertiary institutions only pursue this type of
work, then we are missing out in a major way. Most knowledge
and ideas emerge outside academia, simply because that is
where most people are. But these people often don’t have the
research expertise necessary to turn the ideas into solutions,
products, concepts or outputs. So, as the stories in this
issue demonstrate, there is a great opportunity for exciting,
innovative work that makes a difference.
This is not a criticism of other modes of doing research – for
example investigator-led and blue skies research all have
their place. However, what we hope to achieve through this
issue is for you to get a feel for the particular relevance of
thinking ‘outside in’ when it comes to research at Unitec. That
means looking to apply the disciplines and insights of research
expertise to ideas that others bring to us, and in this way
serve their needs and those of our community, industry and
iwi partners, as well as our role as a provider of knowledge
and skills.
I trust you will enjoy the projects outlined and come and talk
to us at Tuapapa Rangahau; Research and Enterprise if you
want to know more.
Marcus Williams
Dean Research and Enterprise
Research and Postgraduate Centre
If you have any questions about the research articles in this issue of Advance, please contact the Unitec Research
and Enterprise Office. We’d love to hear from you. 09 8154321 extn 8574 / email: research@unitec.ac.nz
Summer 2015
3
ADVANCE SHORTS
SHORTS
4
unitec.ac.nz
Bottle to crack Asian market
They also decided to involve Unitec’s design
department, setting the goal of designing a
bottle that would both reflect Kiwi innovation
and appeal to the Asian drinking culture of
sharing. The resulting bottle, dubbed The
Provider, has been deemed the vessel the
burgeoning Kiwi craft beer industry can use to
get their product to a market many times larger
than New Zealand.
Eleven students had to learn about the
complexities of bottle design – the neck,
shoulder, body, heel, punt – and the
characteristics of Asian drinking culture.
A real world research and design project has
seen students come up with an export bottle for
the Asian craft beer market. To help Kiwi craft
brewers tap into the growing market the New
Zealand arm of global glass manufacturers O-I
decided to create a bottle that would appeal to
the Asian drinker.
O-I New Zealand business development manager
Bayard Sinnema says The Provider is now being
promoted to around 40 craft breweries, which
might be interested in exporting to Asia but can’t
stretch to producing a bottle run of 600,000.
Once enough have been ordered production can
begin. “Collaboration can be a mutually beneficial
process and given the right framework each of us
can learn and extend ourselves,” Sinnema says.
Showcase of Unitec research excellence
Unitec’s annual Research Symposium boasted
an exciting mix of research narratives from all
areas of Unitec and from those at every stage
of their research journeys, from undergraduate
students to members of our Professoriate.
These partnerships are a first for Unitec and are
made possible only through the high esteem
with which these colleagues are held, their
dedication to leadership and their areas of
expertise over a long period of time.
The daylong celebration of Unitec’s research
featured a mix of staff and student research
competitions and parallel sessions.
The Symposium also featured a Celebration of
Honour for Josie Keelan, Regan Potangaroa and
Rau Hoskins. The celebration acknowledged
the mahi of these three colleagues in relation
to their successful partnering with Nga Pae o
te Maramatanga, New Zealand’s Maori Centre
of Research Excellence, QuakeCoRE: the Centre
for Earthquake Resilience, and BRANZ on the
National Science Challenge, Building Better
Homes, Towns and Cities: Koi nga wa kainga hei
From left: Regan Potangaroa, Aroha Hudson from the
whakamahorahora.
Unitec Council, Marcus Williams, Josie Keelan, Rick Ede and
Mere Tunks from Runanga o Te Whare Wananga o Wairaka
New research centre opens
Unitec has partnered with NIWA, China’s Wuhan
University and Chinese technology company
LJDY to set up the Centre of Computational
Intelligence for Environmental Engineering
(CIEE). The Centre will focus on improved
environmental monitoring, using Computational
Intelligence, GIS, GPS, 3D Visualization, Internet
of Things technologies and data science to
provide a clearer picture of how the environment
is performing.
The CIEE offers education in computational
technology and environmental engineering
and will conduct high level collaborative research.
Unitec Computing Head of Department Professor
Hossein Sarrafzadeh says there is enormous
potential for the new CIEE. “These organisations
combine with Unitec to form a highly credible
team.”
NIWA Chief Executive John Morgan says the
collaborative nature of the new venture was one
of its greatest strengths.
SHORTS
A 3D view of Auckland city showing how its
environment is performing in real time will be one
of the first projects tackled in a new international
collaboration.
Big year in community development
It’s been a big year for Community
Development at Unitec. 2015 kicked
off with the inaugural Community
Development Conference at the
Waitakere Campus, an event Social
Practice Head of Department John
Stansfield says was a roaring success,
selling out a month early and featuring
a huge range of speakers and
attendees.
The event also marked the launch
of Whanake: The Pacific Journal of
Community Development, the second
edition of which is out this November.
Whanake is a Unitec ePress publication
to be published twice a year for
practitioners who love community
development. Edited by community
development legend Gavin Rennie
the journal mission is to serve as a
crucible of democracy, where people
come together to share their dreams
and plan their common futures. It
has refereed papers of 4000-6000
words, reviews, practice notes from the
field, and opinion pieces. The journal
provides space for posing questions,
documenting emerging trends in
research and practice, and sharing case
studies and biographies.
Find Whanake at
www.unitec.ac.nz/epress/index.
php/whakane-the-pacific-journal-ofcommunity-development/
Summer 2015
5
A natural step in
the right direction
Our environment, communities and industries are set to benefit
as molecular biology takes centre stage.
Following hot on the heels of Cyber Security,
Applied Molecular Solutions is the second of an
eventual three subject areas that Unitec has
chosen to expand capability in.
In its 2015-2020 research strategy, the
organisation established strategic goals
to concentrate resources in areas that
had demonstrated the capability to grow
significantly.
MOLECULAR
BIOLOGY
Each research area selected has the potential
to make a big impact on areas of need and
opportunity in the New Zealand economy,
environment and community. Unitec CE Dr Rick
Ede says it will create high profile exposure
for Unitec, as well as leading to more industryengaged staff, highly responsive programmes,
and potential business opportunities.
Run by the Department of Natural Sciences,
acting head Dr Dan Blanchon says the focus
on Applied Molecular Solutions will allow
for work of greater value to be done, and for
collaborations with other disciplines to be
forged. Blanchon says molecular biology offers
technologies which today are considered
fundamental for biology, and is an area where
Unitec is already active.
“This is something that we’ve been doing for
a while so this is kind of celebrating that, but
it is also going to be a springboard to expand
what we are doing,” he says. “Molecular biology
includes techniques or technologies that can
be applied to real world problems, so having
it as a research focus means we can put more
investment into looking at the problems with
these technologies.
“It gives us the ability and skills to actually
get some answers to the on-the-ground
community and industry generated problems.
It’s definitely a natural step and recognises
what’s already here and the potential of what
could come.”
What is here already are a number of
people already using molecular biology in
their research (see the following story on
the work being done by Stephane Boyer),
good collaborations with other institutions
including Massey and Lincoln Universities, and
relationships with industry and community.
Clockwise from top
left: Sofia Chambers,
Mark Large, Stephane
Boyer, Dan Blanchon
and Marie-Caroline
Lefort are all working
with Molecular Biology
Most of the work already being done at Unitec is
in animal welfare, conservation, biosecurity and
agriculture. Blanchon says what they need to
look at now is how to become a catalyst for other
networks around Unitec.
“How do we use our concentration of expertise and
our technology and investment to actually help
other areas? There are lots of natural synergies we
can explore and a logical one to look at is human
health. A lot of the technologies we’ve got could be
applied to disease screening, or could be used to
show the students in human health programmes
how to interpret the data in these disease
screenings.
“But then the question is, who else can we bring on
board?”
MOLECULAR
BIOLOGY
"We can look at
the genetics of
organisms at a
landscape scale,
which allows
us to work
with landscape
architecture.”
"Molecular biology
includes techniques
or technologies that
can be applied to real
world problems.”
Blanchon says there are many possible applications
for molecular biology, including solving problems
in the landscape architecture, building and civil
engineering departments.
“Molecular biology is not restricted to our
department, it is now a fundamental part of
biology, and we have several areas at Unitec that
do work. We can look at the genetics of organisms
at a landscape scale, which allows us to work with
landscape architecture. You can use molecular
methods to determine where timber has come
from and if it’s sustainably harvested, which has
the potential to bring in our building technology,
architecture and sustainability people. And you can
also use these methods to test water quality which
may be of interest to civil engineers."
“There are of course highly controversial topics
such as genetic engineering where expertise in
social science and communication is key – we see
our colleagues in Communication Studies, Social
Practice and Performing and Screen Arts as natural
collaborators in this research focus too.”
contact
Sofia Chambers, Mark Large, Stephane Boyer,
Dan Blanchon, Marie-Caroline Lefort
ECOLOGY
Molecular methods
help measure success
Molecular biology can help restore ecosystems, making it a powerful
tool for industry and community. And Unitec’s new research foci Applied
Molecular Solutions will ensure more of this kind of work takes place.
A fully functioning ecosystem is a complex
thing, made up of thousands of different parts
interacting with each other.
A big focus of Boyer’s current research activity
is developing better ways of restoring mining
areas after the machines have moved on.
So restoring an ecosystem to its original state
following a disturbance or development is no
easy feat. Getting it right takes careful work and
years of monitoring to make sure it is thriving.
“I would like to use molecular biology to develop
a way to do a better job of restoring mining
areas,” Boyer says.
Molecular methods are increasingly being
used to properly measure how a restored
ecosystem is performing - and these methods
are at the heart of Unitec’s new research focus,
Applied Molecular Solutions. It is technology
that Unitec natural sciences lecturer Stephane
Boyer says can make a significant difference to
conservation and ecological restoration.
“The idea is to use some of the recent molecular
methods like high throughput DNA sequencing
to give a more accurate and non-subjective idea
of restoration success. The way people have
been looking at restoration success is mostly to
look at how many plants have come back, and
how much vegetation cover they get after a
few years.
Summer 2015
9
“But this doesn’t tell you whether the
ecosystem actually functions as well as it
did and whether all the things in the soil or
environment – the species like invertebrates,
fungi and microbes – are still there.”
Boyer says a functioning ecosystem will
have all the right species making all the right
interactions within it. “Using these molecular
methods we can measure which species
predates others, or what the associations
between species are. Is this preserved in the
restoration or not? If there are no interactions
taking place in an ecosystem it won’t work.”
“I would like to use
molecular biology to
develop a way to do a
better job of restoring
mining areas.”
ECOLOGY
Doing it properly means conserving what
is destroyed for development, rather than
creating something completely different to
what was there before and which may be prone
to invasive species coming in.
“If you remove a whole vegetation from a
native ecosystem and then plant a few trees,
in between those trees there is a lot of bare
ground and that’s the ideal terrain for invasive
species like weeds to come in.”
Boyer plans to use a method called DNA
metabarcoding, which allows for the creation
of an inventory of all the species that occur in
an environment before it is altered and after
a restoration. This shows what has been lost,
what may need to be actively reintroduced,
whether it worked well, and whether
everything that was there before has returned.
Boyer aims to assess how ecosystems that have
been translocated - physically picked up and
moved - to make way for coal mining on the
West Coast have been restored, particularly
at the Solid Energy-owned Stockton, New
Zealand’s biggest coal mine. Boyer worked
closely on the relocation of the Powelliphanta
snail at Stockton and is applying for funding
for a project to test how well the ecosystem
translocation has worked in that area.
“The good thing with this mine is they have
been using the method where they move a
complete ecosystem from one side of the mine
to another side that has been mined already, so
instead of destroying the whole system, they
pick it up and put it down on the other side.
“This is very promising in terms of restoring the
full ecosystem very quickly and this is what we
want to test as it is likely to give good results.
They’ve been doing it for 20 to 30 years on that
site, so there is a historical site we can go to and
see whether it conserves communities right
after the translocation, and whether this is a
longstanding thing and it stays that way for
20 or 30 years.”
Solid Energy Environment Manager Phil Rossiter
says that a huge amount of time, effort and
resources are invested in mine rehabilitation,
so the effort must result in effective and
enduring outcomes.
“Any tools or insights that enable better
understanding, design and success are very
useful,” he says.
ECOLOGY
“The kind of research undertaken by Dr Boyer
puts rigour behind the all-important but not allencompassing applied science that results from
years of developmental work and observation.”
“the molecular method
to test whether
a restoration has
been successful can
be applied to any
restoration project.”
Rossiter says the company would be interested in
the results of the study Boyer is proposing.
“We check the water quality of aquatic ecosystems
in mine site restoration down to single cellular
algae, so it is logical to explore terrestrial
ecosystems down to a microbial level. Stephane’s
research very much centres on this approach.”
Boyer says the molecular method to test whether
a restoration has been successful can be applied to
any restoration project. The method could also be
used to test whether the creation of an ecosystem,
like riparian planting on a farm where there
wasn’t an available sample of how it was before
agriculture moved in, is working.
“Most of my experience is with mining and one
of the big issues they have with restoring areas
is they have to manage the site for 10, 20, 30
years after the restoration. If they can’t get
mining closure for up to 30 years, it can be very
costly in terms of money but also in terms of the
environmental image and how they sell their
restoration work for other projects. But if they
have a method that is much faster and conserves
the ecosystem better they can save money in
terms of managing the site after restoration.
They can get mine closure much faster and that
is a selling point.”
contact
Stephane Boyer
Summer 2015
11
Provincial pub to
community hub
Unitec is at the grass roots of a community development project that’s
boosting the health and wellbeing of a small South Kaipara town.
COMMUNITY
CONNECTION
12
unitec.ac.nz
unitec.ac.nz
Unitec staff and students have been closely
involved in the transformation of the former
Parakai Tavern into the new, communityfocused Te Whare Oranga o Parakai, or House
of Wellbeing. The new and improved Te Whare
is at the heart of the South Kaipara Community
Development Scheme, which also includes a
food revolution and plans for an artisan trail to
promote tourism.
Launched earlier this year Te Whare is already
well utilised, hosting a monthly farmers’ market
and community groups throughout the week.
It’s covering its costs and there are big plans for
the future, including shared work spaces for
local freelancers and creative entrepreneurs, and
rooms for visiting health professionals.
It’s a far cry from the building’s former life as pub,
restaurant and gaming room. Working alongside
industry professionals, Unitec interior design and
architecture students replaced the bar and pokie
machines with a classroom, community kitchen
and flexible open spaces. Big plans are afoot for
the exterior too, with landscape architecture
students set to develop community gardens and
a playground.
The transformation began after the pub closed
in 2012. After sitting empty for six months the
building and grounds, owned by the Parakai
Licensing Trust, were offered to the Helensville
District Heath Trust to take over. Helensville
District Heath Trust general manager Charm
Torrance says she was at first reluctant to take
it on - the job seemed too big, the required
investment too high.
But Torrance has a history of tackling big
tasks and seeing them through – she was a
driving force behind the establishment of the
Helensville Birthing Centre – and in the end the
potential benefits to Parakai and South Kaipara
outweighed the challenge.
“When it was handed to us from the licensing
trust my immediate response was ‘no thanks’.
It looked like a liability. But I was charged with
doing something with it and with the steering
group we came up with the idea for a house of
wellbeing.
“We had meetings about what to do and the
idea came from the community. The big
difference in the place is it is now a house of
wellbeing and not a pub. The local community,
especially Māori, said if it’s going to be that there
shouldn’t be any alcohol at all. So anyone who
uses it has to understand they can’t bring alcohol
into the building.”
COMMUNITY
CONNECTION
An old pub in a rural town has been transformed
from the local watering hole into a place of health
and wellbeing.
INVALUABLE EXPERIENCE FOR STUDENTS
For Jayde Williams and Maria Powell the experience of working on a real and important social project has
been incredible. The two third year interior design students were chosen to take the design from concept
to reality and worked with architects Design Tribe to get the work done. To get to the finished product Jayde
and Maria had to take the concepts from the studio and implement them in the live project.
“Working on the project certainly baptised us in the real world of interior design,” Maria says. “The
experience of working with Jayde and my student cohort demonstrated to me how much more productive
working as a team can be. We discussed, expanded on ideas and made decisions far more swiftly with the
reassurance that a few heads were far better than one."
COMMUNITY
COMPUTING
CONNECTION
Unitec got involved at the start and
Community and Health Services Head
of Department Pam Malcolm sits on
the steering group. Malcolm says Te
Whare Oranga o Parakai presented the
perfect opportunity to connect with the
community and offer the kind of real
world learning students thrive on.
“It was a fantastic opportunity for
our students to be involved in what
was happening out here,” she says.
“For students across Unitec there
were lots of opportunities for things
like placements, and once it’s up and
running, we believe social and health
sciences students will be able to come
out here for practicums.”
Torrance says the partnership with
Unitec is brilliant.
“It was very serendipitous. We did a
presentation to Wendy Horne (Executive
Dean, Faculty of Social and Health
Sciences) and Pam Malcolm and as we
started talking they got excited about
the opportunity to have students come
in and do something that was real, out
of the classroom and in the community.”
Creative Industries and Business Deputy
Executive Dean Athina Tsoulis has also
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played a significant role in driving
the project.
The first opportunity lay with design
students. The buildings and grounds
were in a state and needed refreshing.
Under the project management
of landscape architecture lecturer
Susannah Kitching the place was made
over, giving it the rejuvenation it badly
needed. Kitching says the chance to get
involved in a real deal project – with all
its complications and challenges – was
excellent experience for the students.
“It’s a real life project so they had to
deal with a client, a brief and ultimately
a budget,” Kitching says. “I think the
interior students were really surprised
by the experience of coming up with a
concept in the studio and then a few
months later working on the real build
and having to adjust their ideas to what
was feasible. It’s also about engaging
on a community level and responding to
what those needs are.”
To get a gauge on how the project is
going so far the Helensville District
Health Trust has used the Metro
Voucher Scheme to fund a research
project designed to evaluate its success
and help set the course for the future.
The Scheme sees grants of up to $5,000
provided to Small to Medium Enterprises
or Non-Governmental Organisations
willing to match that amount for a
tailored research project with an ITP.
Unitec Social Practice lecturer Sue
Elliott is using a qualitative research
methodology called Most Significant
Change (MSC) to assess where the
biggest impacts have been made.
“It’s a participatory approach in that
many project stakeholders are involved
both in deciding the sorts of changes to
be recorded and in analysing the data
collected,” Elliott says.
“It is useful in monitoring as it can
be used throughout the project and
provides information to help with
programme management. As an
evaluation tool it provides data on
impact and outcomes that can be used
to help assess the performance of the
project as a whole.”
The first phase of Elliott’s research was
to find out what has been the most
significant change as a result of the
South Kaipara Community Development
Scheme project. This was done by
asking 12 people involved in the scheme
and the steering group to tell a story they feel
epitomises the project.
Elliott asked each participant how they became
involved and what their current involvement
is; to describe a story that epitomises the most
significant change that has resulted from the
project in the South Kaipara area; why this story
is significant.
"there are big plans for
the future, including
shared work spaces
for local freelancers,
and rooms for visiting
health professionals."
“The next step was a systematic selection of
the most significant stories by the steering
group,” Elliott says, a process she facilitated in
September.
“The selection process leads to a discussion
of the value of these reported changes and
helps people to continue to plan for the future.
The process of choosing leads the group to
discuss what values they are looking for and to
understand what the impact is.
COMMUNITY
COVER STORY
CONNECTION
Top from left, Te Whare in use; the community kitchen; manager Imelda
King, researcher Sue Elliott and Charm Torrance; caretaker Tania Sterk.
“It’s a method that can be more organic
because it takes into account different people’s
impressions of what is significant.”
To prepare for the discussion Elliott categorised
the stories into a number of domains.
“The steering group were asked to read the
stories and I asked each member of the group
to select the story they found most significant
and why. Surprisingly, in each domain there was
agreement on the most significant story.
“Preliminary analysis of the comments was
conducted with the group and I will now
review the comments and write up a fuller
analysis which will be used to guide future
planning of SKCEDS.”
Torrance says the experience so far has been
positive and the future is looking bright too.
“It’s been a very exciting relationship. All this
incredible design was done by Unitec students,
we gave them some ideas and then gave them
free reign. Our partnership with Unitec is by
no means over. We have quite a bit more work
to go.”
contact
Sue Elliott
www.thrivekaipara.org.nz
Summer 2015
15
Putting research
to the test
A new funding programme which fosters research collaboration
between industries and institutes is proving a win-win for everyone.
METRO
VOUCHER
The Metro Group, whose members are
the six urban Institutes of Technology
and Polytechnics (ITPs) in New Zealand,
launched the Metro Voucher Scheme
earlier this year. The Scheme sees
grants of up to $5,000 provided to
Small to Medium Enterprises or NonGovernmental Organisations willing
to match that amount for a tailored
research project with an ITP.
Peter Visser, from Key Industries, says
his company jumped at the chance to
take part in the Metro Voucher Scheme
as it provided the opportunity to tap into
Unitec’s research capabilities and gain
an independent evaluation of one of
their new products.
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unitec.ac.nz
“We provide our customers with a broad
range of agrichemicals and pest control
products that are at the forefront of the
market, particularly in New Zealand,”
says Visser. “One of our more recent
products is Bird Free, a natural bird
repellent designed to reduce damage to
fruits, buildings and facilities caused by
harmful birds.”
Visser says Bird Free will be popular with
businesses such as cafes wanting to
deter birds from their courtyards, or fruit
packing houses where birds roost and
the resulting faecal droppings can lead
to biosecurity risks.
“As it is very new in concept, Bird Free
has yet to be properly evaluated in the
unique New Zealand environment.
When we heard about The Voucher
Scheme, we thought it was a great
opportunity to collaborate with
Unitec, where the Department of
Natural Sciences has the ability to
independently test Bird Free.”
Dr Kristie Cameron, lecturer in applied
animal behaviour at Unitec, has been
developing the research project with
three students who are completing their
Bachelor of Applied Science. “We have
two purpose-built bird aviaries which
each house ten birds. At this stage, with
these birds, the students are trialling the
effectiveness of using three different
methodologies for testing the Bird Free
product,” says Cameron.
“Over the next couple of months the
students will continue to test these
three methods, establishing which
one is the most effective. Once we
have confirmed what the most
workable method is, we will graduate
to field tests.”
Senior lecturer Dr Diane Fraser and
associate professor Nigel Adams from
the Department of Natural Sciences
were both instrumental in developing
the project and the relationship with
Key Industries. Fraser says that the
benefits the students experience from
working on a real world project like this
are irreplaceable.
“Not only are the students gaining
insights into the development of a
project from start to finish, but they
are also exposed to all the real world
challenges that go with it, such as client
expectations and strict deadlines.
“Working on a project that has practical
impact and the opportunity to work
for a company means they are building
their reputation with industry, which
could provide employment prospects.
As well as this, the Metro Voucher
Scheme offers the students the
opportunity for ownership of a project
and that is invaluable.”
"As an SME, the
Voucher Scheme
provides us with
access to funding
to support our
research"
Fraser adds that it’s not only
the students who benefit from
participating in the Voucher Scheme,
but also the Unitec staff members
involved.
“Academic staff teaching in a degree
programme are required to be actively
involved in research within their
discipline. The Voucher Scheme and its
associated collaboration with industry
provides individual staff members
with the opportunity to participate
in industry relevant research, which
benefits the students, the staff
member, the department and the
reputation of Unitec in the provision
of quality degree programmes.”
She says staff are well supported in
this by Unitec’s Research and Enterprise
Office.
As for Key Industries, Visser says the
relationship with Unitec is mutually
beneficial. “As an SME, the Voucher
Scheme provides us with access to
funding to support our research,
allowing us to achieve outcomes that
we would otherwise not have been
able to afford.
“Equally important though, is that
Unitec provides Key Industries with an
independent evaluation of our product
that is seen as non-commercially
biased. This is vital in a commercial
environment because, from a client
perspective, it adds depth and
credibility to the product information
we present to them.”
This type of symbiotic relationship
between Key Industries and Unitec is
one of the primary reasons the Metro
Voucher Scheme was set up. By making
funding available to businesses within
New Zealand, the scheme provides a
practical platform to encourage closer
links between institutes, industry and
community groups.
METRO
VOUCHER
“Method one is to watch and observe
the birds’ reaction to the repellent.
Method two involves placing food at
varying distances from the Bird Free
and observing the behaviours of the
birds. The final method is to record the
location of the birds’ faecal droppings in
terms of its proximity to the Bird Free.
Kristie Cameron, Peter Visser
and Dianne Fraser
contact
Kristie Cameron and
Dianne Fraser
Summer 2015
17
COMMUNITY
ART
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unitec.ac.nz
Channeling
creative energy
Unitec’s Design and Contemporary Arts Department is helping to
reduce graffiti and vandalism in Henderson by working with local
youth to create vibrant public murals.
“Late last year Auckland Council identified ten
graffiti vandalism hotspots over the region and
looked to partner with organisations to reduce
vandalism in those areas,” says Brian Taylor,
Community Safety Programme Manager for
Auckland Council.
“Unitec was a perfect fit for Henderson as
they were looking to do an arts project with
young people in that community. We provided
funding to Unitec to deliver a 12 month project
activating community spaces with young
people. Since then we have been playing a
supporting role in helping Unitec connect with
Auckland Council stakeholders and engage in
Auckland Council processes that allow these
activities to happen.”
Unitec Academic Leader Paul Woodruffe says
that HYAP works to reduce graffiti in the
Henderson town centre by offering constructive
alternatives for local youth to get involved in.
“Essentially we are creating a safer and more
vibrant town centre by channelling the creative
impulses of youth in positive ways.”
With just under 25 per cent of 15 to 24-yearolds in the Henderson-Massey area not in
training, education or work, the project also
aims to reduce this figure by creating pathways
for local youth into tertiary study.
“Aside from Auckland Council, we also partnered
on this project with the Kākano Youth Arts
Collective, an art programme for youth in West
Auckland. Through workshops with Kākano and
from information provided by the HendersonMassey Local Board we created a map detailing
the high-density graffiti areas in Henderson,”
says Woodruffe.
“We then worked with Mandy Patmore, Creative
Director of Kākano, to identify the primary
motives behind graffiti art. Through focus
groups, we established that graffiti artists are
more often than not looking for recognition and
ultimately would like a way to productively use
their creative talents in their future lives.
COMMUNITY
ART
Funded by Auckland Council, with support
from Unitec, the Henderson Youth Art Project
(HYAP) came about in response to the Council’s
Graffiti Prevention Plan.
"HYAP works to
reduce graffiti in
the Henderson
town centre by
offering constructive
alternatives for
local youth to get
involved in."
“From there we designed the programme for
HYAP. The project initially sees Mandy identify
local youth who are interested in using their
creative talents to pursue tertiary education,
but who perhaps lack the exposure or
knowledge to get there.
“We then hold workshops at Unitec with these
kids, engaging them in a process that embraces
their skills and provides them with a very
public creative outlet, satisfying their desire
for recognition. These workshops also offer
exposure to learning and campus life, as well
as providing participants with a collection
of work that they can use in their tertiary
entrance portfolios.
Summer 2015
19
COMMUNITY
COMPUTING
ART
HENDERSON PROJECT
FOLLOWS EARLIER
WORK
The Henderson Youth Art Project follows on from earlier
work in a similar vein. Woodruffe, Hung and Witehira are
part of the Everyday Collective which has been working
on community consultation using experimental creative
approaches since 2012.
A project in Avondale called ‘Creative Spaces’ worked
with local community and business to use creativity and
events to address social and economic problems.
The project worked on the premise that visible change
on the streets can act as a catalyst to change in other
areas and increase participation and investment. Their
work continues in Henderson.
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unitec.ac.nz
“Ultimately, over the year, these HYAP workshops
will result in 12 large public murals created in
Henderson in graffiti hotspots. We will also hold a
number of events which will see local youth create
live art in public places in Henderson.”
"Insights gained will
be used to develop a
template for a public
youth art programme.”
Mandy Patmore, Creative Director of Kākano Youth
Arts Collective, says the project has already been a
huge success with two of her students set to apply
for Design and Contemporary Arts courses at Unitec.
“HYAP has given direction to the youth involved in
the project,” says Patmore. “Working with students
and staff from Unitec has really shown them a
potential pathway for the future. In the process, we
have also managed to add a whole lot of colour and
coolness to Henderson!”
COMMUNITY
ART
Taylor says that although the project is only
halfway through, it is already viewed as a success
by Auckland Council. “The main priority at the
start of the project was to see a reduction of
graffiti vandalism in Henderson town centre and
we noticed that reduction quite quickly. We also
noticed other achievements that are harder to
measure, like the large number of encouraging
comments on social media around the beautiful
murals that the young people and Unitec have
painted in the town centre. Or the positive
response from some of the young people
involved who are now keen on entering into
education pathways with Unitec.”
help change lives as well as reactivate Henderson
town centre as a vibrant, positive, and visually
interesting place to be.”
Unitec’s Matauranga Maori Education Advisor,
Johnson Witehira, as well as Academic Leader
and street artist Bobby Hung have also been
driving forces behind HYAP. Hung says he is very
enthusiastic about its progress. “Our goal is to
Woodruffe agrees, adding that the Unitec team
will be using the insights they gain throughout
the duration of the project to develop a template
for a public art youth programme that can be
replicated in other low-decile areas.
Although the project is now focused on
Henderson, both Auckland Council and Unitec
see it as a pilot programme.
From left Bobby Hung,
Johnson Witehira,
Paul Woodruffe and
Mandy Patmore
Taylor says that at the end of the project,
Auckland Council will evaluate its success and
identify what worked well and what could be
improved for next time. “Once we have had time
to reflect on the project outcomes we should
absolutely identify how the model can be used in
other communities or vandalism hotspots.”
contact
Paul Woodruffe, Bobby Hung,
Johnson Witehira and
Mandy Patmore
Summer 2015
21
Building resilience in
post-Pam Vanuatu
ARCHITECTURE
COMPUTING
A team of researchers lead by Regan Potangaroa is helping aid agencies
develop a road map to a safe and secure future for Vanuatu.
As Vanuatu moves from response
phase to recovery mode in the
aftermath of Cyclone Pam, the focus is
shifting towards preparing the Pacific
nation for the future.
To help plan for how Vanuatu’s villages
can rebuild and strengthen, Kiwi
humanitarian, architecture lecturer
and researcher Regan Potangaroa
has visited the country and prepared
a report for aid agencies like Unicef,
communities and governments that
will be involved in the complex job of
rebuilding.
Potangaroa, a post-disaster
reconstruction expert and Associate
Professor at the Unitec School of
Architecture, spent two weeks on the
ground in Vanuatu in June and July. He
says four months after Cyclone Pam
ripped through things were “still pretty
grim”.
He travelled with Unitec postgraduate
architecture student Jessica Hulme and
two University of Auckland architecture
students with the aim of researching
why so much damage was caused to
buildings and developing a plan for how
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unitec.ac.nz
villages can rebuild in a way that will
better protect them in the future.
The result of their work is a report
recommending a focus on building
community resilience born out of the
circumstances of individual villages.
“We went over to have a look at postPam Vanuatu to try to work out what
happened. It’s very difficult to work out
what caused the damage and it’s useful
to know that if you’re going to do a
reconstruction,” Potangaroa says.
While recovery from such a catastrophic
event is largely social, Potangaroa says
there is definitely space for people with
technical skills to make a contribution.
The team used a research approach
known as ‘Talk to the Buildings’ to
assess what worked well in the Vanuatu
context and what did not. Talk to the
Buildings uses what are considered to
be the ten most important patterns of
building that go into the making of a
home. Those patterns – including how
a roof carries the look and meaning of a
home, how a building captures light and
how it responds to its site – will inform
how rebuilding should be approached.
Potangaroa says the approach has
several advantages for technical people.
Buildings don’t lie: the approach can be
used in different cultural and geographic
contexts and it doesn’t rely on language
translations.
Because there are many factors
complicating any disaster
reconstruction, whether it’s in a
developed country like New Zealand
or developing nations like Afghanistan
or Vanuatu, being able to draw base
conclusions from what the buildings
‘say’ is valuable. They found that the
worst damage was to buildings that did
not accurately reflect the way of life or
conditions in Vanuatu. These included
brick churches which did not withstand
the winds, houses built using gabled
rather than hipped roofs, and things
like imported sheds which had been
modified to better reflect the value
placed on the area just outside the door.
“If you just build a shed it will get
altered to suit their purposes – that’s
what humans do – and then it will be
weakened. Life there involves the inside
of a house and the area just outside the
door so that needs to be incorporated.”
In Vanuatu the challenge goes beyond the
physical difficulties of construction. The role of
the chiefs and the hierarchy between national
and provincial government are also important
considerations that need to be navigated. But
there is common ground on which to build,
Potangaroa says.
“There is a desire on behalf of the aid agencies,
government departments and the villages
themselves to be stronger and to learn from
what has happened for a potential future
disaster,” he says. “Ultimately the goal is to
use the Resilient Village Approach to develop
a village plan with activities for building or
enhancing resilience. The emphasis is on that
rather than coping or vulnerability.”
"The worst damage
was to buildings
that did not reflect
the way of life
in Vanuatu.”
The Resilient Villages Approach is designed to
allow different villages to build the ability to not
only withstand adverse events but also thrive,
based on their own particular situation. The
focus is on community self-reliance; sustainable
village housing, infrastructure and community
facilities; maximum protection from natural
disasters; and the preservation of community
heritage, culture and natural environment.
This means using the reconstruction as an
opportunity to up-skill the local community,
build culturally and environmentally appropriate
houses, and create a livelihood for residents.
Potangaroa says most of the challenges of
rebuilding communities after a disaster are
social, but those problems can be solved with
the help of technical experts.
“We can ease the social issues with technical
advice. You can address social complexities with
technical expertise – you might unlock solutions
you weren’t aware of.”
contact
Regan Potangaroa
ENGINEERING
Doing the dirty
work for cleaner
stormwater
ENGINEERING
Cleaning up the stormwater from industrial sites can be a headache for
the concrete industry. But engineering technology student Jason Beer
has found a clever way of removing more of the unwanted residues.
ENGINEERING
COVER STORY
“Zinc, copper and suspended
solids represent a significant
threat to Auckland water quality,
so reducing contaminants was
the motivation ”
A project aimed at cleaning up
stormwater before it is returned to the
natural environment has seen Unitec
student Jason Beer find a possible
solution for the concrete industry.
Beer, in the final stages of a Bachelor of
Engineering Technology (Civil) degree,
has just completed a research project
under the supervision of Unitec Civil
Engineering senior lecturer Dr Babar
Mahmood that found simple changes
could make a big difference to the
quality of stormwater being returned to
the sea.
A former lab technician for concrete
manufacturer Stevenson, Beer worked
with his old employer to look into ways
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unitec.ac.nz
of improving the performance of the
stormwater filtration system at its
Penrose concrete plant. Stormwater
management is a high priority to
Stevenson and the concrete industry in
general. Zinc and copper are common
contaminants in industrial and road
areas attributable to traffic and the built
environment.
“I worked for the lab at Stevenson and
was carrying out some performance
monitoring for the Penrose concrete site
and the stormwater sand filter there,”
Beer says.
“I was doing quarterly performance
monitoring and noticed zinc and copper
were present at higher than desirable
levels. Zinc, copper and suspended
solids represent a significant threat to
Auckland water quality, so reducing
contaminants was the motivation and
the main project objective.”
Stevenson uses an above-ground sand
filter system which all stormwater from
a ‘high risk’ portion of the site passes
through before it is discharged into the
Manukau Harbour. The system currently
uses a filter media made up of 50 per
cent peat and 50 per cent sand. Beer’s
project was to look at how different
media might bring the levels of zinc and
copper down.
“Initially my idea was to use something
cool and innovative as a filter media,
As a filter peat does most of the contaminant
removal, while sand is used to help water drain
through in a timely manner.
Beer built laboratory-scale physical sand filter
models to test a range of different media
combinations using peat and sand in different
ratios.
“All of them were able to reduce zinc and copper,
but the 80:20 mix was the best.
“Part of my testing was to make it as real
world as possible which is why I designed the
miniature sand filters and used the Penrose
site stormwater: the water with the real
contaminants rather than making something
synthetic in a lab and adding stuff in that sort of
controlled manner.”
Whether Stevenson implements changes as a
result of Beer’s findings will depend on other
factors, but he is hoping to progress the study
further next year.
“It will come down to a balance. There is a
requirement for how fast water has to drain
through and with more peat it slows down, so
it comes down to finding a balance between
performance of the treatment and how well
it drains through. Every six months they do
maintenance where they take off a fine sediment
layer that builds up, so it might mean doing that a
bit more often. It will be cool if they do.”
Stevenson Concrete Customer Services Manager
Kevin Mischewski says any research that can help
inform environmental practice and performance
is of high value to the company. He says once
Beer’s research is analysed and looked at by their
stormwater consultant it could be implemented.
COVER
ENGINEERING
STORY
maybe recycled materials, chopped up plastic
bottles or wool, as well as some of the more
common things. But when I looked at the Penrose
system it became apparent I might be able to
improve it using what is already there. At the
moment it is a 50:50 peat and sand mix, so it
looked like I might be able to increase the peat
and reduce the sand content.”
“If we can replace what we have now with
something that may have better results that
would be great. Anything that can improve things
is worth looking at.”
Babar Mahmood says the findings will interest
any industry using a sand filter for treating
stormwater. He hopes to submit Beer’s study for
consideration for conferences in New Zealand
and Australia next year, and for the project to
continue. The findings of this work were also
accepted for the October Unitec Undergraduate
Research Competition organised by the Unitec
Research Symposium.
“We had to look into the contact time between
the media and the water, which was four minutes
in this project,” Mahmood says. “The next stage
will be to look at different contact times - if the
contact time is 10 minutes or 20 minutes or half
an hour, is that going to improve its efficiency?
There is space for more work.”
contact
Babar Mahmood
and Jason Beer
Summer 2015
27
Warmer world
poses cat threat
Cats. People love them more than any other companion animal. But feral
and stray animals are also one of the most destructive pests we have, and
climate change is making them more of a problem.
Parts of New Zealand currently inhospitable
to stray cats will become much more
accommodating as the planet warms up, data
modelling shows.
Those behind the finding say this could put
vulnerable native species, especially birds, at
even greater risk of predation as more areas
become highly suitable to stray animals.
In a study published this year in the Applied
Geography journal, Unitec natural sciences
lecturer Glenn Aguilar used species distribution
modelling to describe the ranges that are highly
favourable to un-owned cats, and investigated
the potential impact of climate change on their
future distribution.
Using Auckland cat population data sourced by
co-author Mark Farnworth from organisations
including cat welfare group, the Lonely
Miaow, Aguilar created models that provide a
visualisation of what could happen in the future.
Aguilar has been working with stray cat and cat
colony data sets since 2012 and his previous
published articles have shown links between
population density, economic deprivation and
the occurrence of stray cats. Generally a dense
population is an indicator that stray cats will also
be present.
With records from 1991 to 2011 Aguilar has
been able to build a detailed picture of how
stray cats are dispersed around the city. South
Auckland, Glen Innes, the central city and pockets
of West Auckland have been shown to have the
highest populations of stray cats, with spikes in
December and March coinciding with breeding
patterns.
“We can show statistically they are concentrated
in urban areas,” he says.
Because of this, the Auckland model can be
projected onto other similar urban areas to
illustrate the potential distribution of the animals
in those areas. Aguilar says while owned cats
tend to have a limited home range based around
food and shelter provided by the owner, unowned cats experience much greater pressure
to disperse. Because of this, urban areas can be
considered a potential exporter of stray cats.
And when they do disperse their impact could be
devastating. Globally, cats living in a wild or feral
state distant from human populations are held
responsible for at least 14 per cent of extinctions
of birds, mammals and reptiles. Urban
un-owned cat populations may act as a source
of animals that turn feral and colonise adjacent
rural or semi-urban areas which may be of high
conservation value.
The release and availability of new climate
change data sets last year sparked a new
project, the results of which Aguilar hopes will go
towards future conservation planning.
“I had the idea that we could take all this cat
distribution data from Auckland and try to
expand it throughout New Zealand and see
whether there’s an effect when you have a
climate change scenario for modelling,” Aguilar
says.
“Last year the fifth report of the International
Panel on Climate Change adopted the Relative
Concentration Pathways (RCP), describing
trajectories of greenhouse gas concentrations
as the basis for its report. I was able to download
the data for several pathways for 2050 and 2070
and used them to model the impacts of climate
change on the distribution of this species.”
Feral cats pose
a huge threat
to native species
“In warming conditions
resulting from
increased greenhouse
gas concentrations
the areas that have
greater environmental
suitability for cats is
shown to increase."
CLIMATE
COVER STORY
CHANGE
A changing climate could see the number of
stray cats and cat colonies in New Zealand boom,
threatening native species.
Aguilar said the resulting Geographic
Informations Systems (GIS) maps show an
increase in the areas suitable for un-owned cats.
“In warming conditions resulting from increased
greenhouse gas concentrations the areas that
have greater environmental suitability for cats is
shown to increase. It gives an idea that if climate
change does occur, and there is a lot of modelling
that shows it will, then it will have an effect on
important organisms and the distribution of
important organisms.
“This will be of concern to conservation planners.
Managing stray cats is already costing a lot of
money - the SPCA regularly asks people to adopt
cats.”
The Lonely Miaow Association founder Peter
Dormon says Aguilar’s research paints a very
possible picture.
Summer 2015
29
GIS MAPPING GIVES A
GLIMPSE INTO THE FUTURE
FAVOURABLE RANGE 2015
Geographic Information Systems mapping is a useful tool for other
species as well. Aguilar says data modelling can also be applied to other
invasive species to show the effects of climate change.
“We are also working on mapping five invasive species in New Zealand
to see how climate change is affecting their movement.
“For example, there is a species of palm called the Chinese Windmill
Palm and it is an indicator of climate change. Using the same software
we are able to show there is a movement to the south, increasing the
potential distribution in New Zealand.”
“Cats can survive in very cold climates,
such as the Auckland Islands and
Kerguelen, but do thrive in warmer
climes,” he says. “The dispersal of
stray cats into rural and semi-urban
CLIMATE
CHANGE
“The dispersal of
stray cats into
rural and semiurban areas
is definitely a
threat to the
native wildlife."
areas is definitely a threat to the
native wildlife in nearby areas of high
conservation value.
“The number of stray cats and
colonies is at least partially controlled
by food supply. If climate change
results in more prey birds, lizards,
mice and rats, then there will probably
be more stray cats and more cat
colonies.”
A greater range suitable for cat
populations includes areas close to
conservation sites, including in the
central North Island, the top of the
South Island and central areas of
the South Island. Aguilar hopes his
research will help inform how we plan
for limiting the effects of such an
eventuality.
30
unitec.ac.nz
Absence
ONE 2070 SCENARIO
“There are a lot more sites that are
highly suitable for stray cats in future
conditions. Now they are not suitable
but in warming conditions their
suitability is shown to increase.
“The modelling could provide some
guidance in strategy and policy
making. It’s an interesting exercise
when trying to build an idea of how
climate change can affect some
species, not only stray cats.
Presence
Absence
THE CHANGES
“Like all models, it is constrained by
what you put into it. Time will tell - it
could be a possible outcome but also
a starting point for further studies
and more research.”
Aguilar says the comparison between
today and the 2070 high greenhouse
gas concentration trajectory was the
starkest illustration of what could
happen.
“It simply shows there is an increase
in the area favourable for stray cats,
from current to future conditions, and
it’s quite a lot. It shows there is a wide
area where the range has expanded.”
Presence
Absence in both conditions
Range Contraction
Range Expansion
Presence in both conditions
contact
Glenn Aguilar
Peter Hughes
Library Director at Unitec 2007-2015 - Leader/Mentor/Friend
The Unitec Library Director, Peter Hughes,
died in August 2015. He will be much missed.
Peter was the consummate professional and
outstanding leader. He led the Library team
over the last eight years to achieve great results
in various projects and ensured staff provided
exceptional service to staff and students.
I first met Peter at the University of Auckland
in 1979 when, as the NZ & Pacific Librarian, he
gave a seminar to Dame Anne Salmond’s post
graduate students about what the library could
do to support their research. He arranged for
interlibrary loans of Maori Land Court Minute
Books from Archives New Zealand for me. The
interest and support he gave set the course of
my life to become a professional librarian.
As well as tertiary libraries - Sylvia Ashton
Warner at the Auckland College of Education
and the University of Auckland - Peter also
worked at research libraries including the
Alexander Turnbull Library in Wellington and
the Auckland Institute and Museum Library.
In both these libraries he was instrumental
in setting up projects to make manuscript
collections, particularly material written in
Māori, more accessible. At the Museum under
Peter’s leadership, Jenifer Curnow described
the papers of George Graham, Percy Smith, and
Te Rangikaheke. At Turnbull Peter wrote an
annotated bibliography of Katherine Mansfield’s
papers and edited the Turnbull Library Record
for several years. In this time he taught other,
including Jane Wild and Dr Jane McRae, how to
edit.
Peter was interested in New Zealand small
printing presses. In 2000 he edited A book in the
hand: essays on the history of the book in New
Zealand (Auckland University Press) with Penny
Griffith and Alan Loney.
PETER
HUGHES
Every two years Unitec conducts a survey of
library users, using Insync Surveys. In 2014
Unitec was placed in the top quartile of the
forty libraries surveyed in Australasia. In all five
categories the library achieved higher positive
results in the ‘aggregated comparison tables’
than 12 other participating libraries, including
Griffith, Monash, QUT, RMIT and the University
of Auckland. For example, compare Unitec’s
‘positive’ score for library staff of 90% to the
aggregated average of 88%.
Marcus Williams, Dean of Research and
Enterprise at Unitec, noted “Peter had always
been a stalwart for research at Unitec and did
stellar work in advancing the dissemination
of new knowledge and ideas from Unitec
researchers and creative practitioners. Under his
watch Research Bank was developed and one
of the last things he did for the Unitec Research
Committee was a comprehensive piece of work
creating the important Scholarly Communication
Guidelines."
Throughout his library career Peter was involved
with the Library and Information Association
of New Zealand (LIANZA) at both the local and
national level. In 2003 Peter was awarded a
Fellowship of LIANZA for his contribution to
the library profession through demonstrating
outstanding leadership and research qualities
through his involvement in working groups and
numerous publications such as A checklist, New
Zealand royal commissions and commissions of
inquiry, 1864-1981 (NZLA, 1982). Amongst other
significant activities Peter started the Research
Special Interest Group which continues to focus
on sharing best practice with other librarians
working in Research Libraries and Institutions.
Peter’s values and vision will continue to provide
the foundation for the Library Team to build on
at Unitec.
Gail Dallimore
Acting Director, Library Services
Library and Learning Commons
Summer 2015
31
phone 0800 10 95 10
fax +64 9 815 2905
web www.unitec.ac.nz
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139 Carrington Rd
Mt Albert
Auckland 1025
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10 Rothwell Ave
Albany
Auckland 0632
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5-7 Ratanui St
Henderson
Auckland 0612