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Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

On February 22, 2011, a magnitude Mw 6.2 earthquake affected the Canterbury region, New Zealand, resulting in many fatalities. Liquefaction occurred across many areas, visible on the surface as ‘‘sand volcanoes’’, blisters and subsidence, causing significant damage to buildings, land and infrastructure. Liquefaction occurred at a number of sites across the Christchurch Boys High School sports grounds; one area in particular contained a piston ground failure and an adjacent silt volcano. Here, as part of a class project, we apply near-surface geophysics to image these two liquefaction features and determine whether they share a subsurface connection. Hand auger results enable correlation of the geophysical responses with the subsurface stratigraphy. The survey results suggest that there is a subsurface link, likely via a paleo-stream channel. The anomalous responses of the horizontal loop electromagnetic survey and electrical resistivity imaging highlight the disruption of the subsurface electrical properties beneath and between the two liquefaction features. The vertical magnetic gradient may also show a subtle anomalous response in this area, however the results are inconclusive. The ground penetrating radar survey shows disruption of the subsurface stratigraphy beneath the liquefaction features, in particular sediment mounding beneath the silt ejection (‘‘silt volcano’’) and stratigraphic disruption beneath the piston failure. The results indicate how near-surface geophysics allow the characteristics of liquefaction in the subsurface to be better understood, which could aid remediation work following liquefaction-induced land damage and guide interpretation of geophysical surveys of paleoliquefaction features.

Articles, Christchurch uncovered

Continuing on from our last FAQ post, here are the answers to a few more of the questions we face regularly here in Christchurch. 1)      Are you doing this for a school project? Yes, seriously. This gets asked more often … Continue reading →

Audio, Radio New Zealand

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker, New standards for earthquake prone buildings in Christchurch, Some schools reopen, while others face permanent closure, PM says Defence Force's role to check CV, Plans to burn the Koran on hold not cancelled, Chances of magnitude aftershock hitting rapidly decreasing.

Audio, Radio New Zealand

The earthquake may have rattled the Canterbury province but it certainly didn't affect the local representative at the national secondary school Maori speech competitions. In He Rourou, we hear the impromptu speech by Satrianni Reihana, she chose to talk about extolling one's own virtue.

Audio, Radio New Zealand

It's 10 years since an earthquake killed 185 people in Christchurch. Ports of Auckland workers the latest people to be vaccinated against Covid-19. And Papatoetoe High students are back to school following three community Covid cases at the college. Nicola Wright has the news.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Damage to the building that housed the LSI English Language School on Peterborough Street. The side wall where bricks have fallen from has been covered up, and the area around the building has been cordoned off. Piles of bricks are still visible on the site.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A woman casts flowers into the Avon River during the River of Flowers event held in Riccarton Bush, commemorating the second anniversary of the 22 February earthquake. In the background is the string quartet from Christchurch Girls High School which played before the event.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A scanned copy of a black and white photograph belonging to University of Canterbury alumnus Colin Lau. Colin describes the photograph as follows: "Botany Department on the left and School of Forestry on the right, according to the note on the back of the photo".

Articles, Christchurch uncovered

For some of us, that title may have conjured up childhood memories of making ‘sand-saucer’ gardens for the local flower show or ‘pet and garden’ day at school. But I’ve actually something different in mind. We have found quite a … Continue reading →

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

On February 22, 2011, Christchurch-based journalists were jolted out of their normal work routine by a large 6.3 magnitude earthquake that killed 185 people, wrecked the city and forced reporters to reappraise their journalism. This study considers how the earthquake affected journalists’ relationship to the community, their use of sources and news selection. A theory of collective trauma is used to explain the changes that journalists made to their reporting practice. Specifically, Christchurch journalists had a greater identification and attachment to their audience post-earthquake. Journalists viewed themselves as part of the earthquake story, which prompted them to view sources differently, use those sources differently and see advocacy as a keystone of their news work after the disaster. This study adds to a growing scholarship about journalists and trauma, but focuses on what the event meant for local reporters’ choice of sources and news selection rather than measuring rates of psychological distress.

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

This thesis examines how 18 University of Canterbury students based in Christchurch experienced housing insecurity during the three years after a series of major earthquakes from late 2010 and throughout 2011. I adopted a qualitative exploratory approach to gather students’ accounts and examine their experiences which were analysed using constructivist grounded theory methods. Three core categories were identified from the data: mobility, recreating security, and loss. Mobility included the effects of relocation and dislocation, as well as how the students searched for stability. Recreating security required a renewed sense of belonging and also addressed the need to feel physically safe. Lastly, loss included the loss of material possessions and also the loss of voice and political representation. The theory that emerged from these findings is that the extent to which students were able to control their mobility largely explained their experiences of housing insecurity. When students experienced a loss of control over their mobility they effectively addressed this by being resourceful and drawing on existing forms of capital. This resourcefulness generated a new form of capital, here called security capital, which represents a conceptual contribution to existing debates on students’ experiences of homelessness in a disaster context.

Research papers, Victoria University of Wellington

It is well established that urban green areas provide a wide range of social, aesthetic, environmental and economic benefits. The importance of urban green spaces has been known for decades; however the relationship between urban livability and green areas, as incorporated in overall urban green structure, has become the focus of international studies during the last 10 to 15 years. The spatial structure of green space systems has important consequences for urban form; configuring urban resources, controlling urban size, improving ecological quality of urban areas and preventing or mitigating natural disasters. However, in the field of architecture or urban design, very little work has been done to investigate the potential for built form to define and differentiate the edge to a green corridor ... This thesis therefore poses the hypothesis that architecture and urban design critically mediate between city and green corridor, through intensification and definition of the built edge, as a means of contributing to an ecological city form.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of children cutting The Worry Bug Project cake. Behind is Ciaran Fox and Sue Turner from All Right? (left), Deputy Mayor Vicki Buck (middle), and Julie Burgess-Manning and Sarina McCormick from Kotuku Creative (right). All Right? were supporters of The Worry Bug Project. Buck was the MC of the event. Kotuku Creative were the designers and publishers of The Worry Bug Project. The photograph was taken at The Worry Bug book launch at St Albans School on 8 July 2015.

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

Five years on from the 2010-2011 Canterbury earthquakes, research has shown an increase in hyperarousal symptoms in school children. While Cognitive Behaviour Therapy is currently the gold standard for treating Post-Traumatic Stress, there are insufficient clinicians to treat the high numbers of children in post-disaster communities. Alternative non-verbal interventions in school based settings that target the physiological basis of hyperarousal may be more effective for long term stress reduction in some young children. Neuroscience research suggests that drawing activates brain areas connected with the autonomic nervous system, resulting in relaxation and self-regulation. The aim of the current study was to determine whether a 20-minute drawing lesson during the afternoon of the school day would reduce stress in children with hyperarousal symptoms. The study had a single subject ABA design. Four children participated, two of the children exhibited hyperarousal symptoms, and the other two did not, as determined by teacher and parent responses on the Behaviour Problem Index (BPI). The children’s selfreported stress (measured by the Subjective Unit of Distress (SUD) thermometer) and physiological stress (measured by finger temperature) were recorded at the start and end of each session during baseline, drawing lessons, and return to baseline phases. The results of the study showed a general reduction in physiological stress during the drawing lessons for the children with hyperarousal symptoms. However, the results indicated some discrepancies between the children’s physiological stress and perception of stress, which may suggest that the self-report measure was inappropriate for the children in this study. Overall, the study suggests that drawing lessons show promise as a school-based intervention for reducing stress in children with hyperarousal. More research is required to address the limitations of the present study, and before the study can be applied to the whole classroom as a positive strategy for managing stress at school.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of students from the School of Design at the University of Technology Sydney constructing Eye of the Storm out of blue tarpaulin flags. The flags were strung across Worcester Street bridge for Canterbury Tales - a carnivalesque procession which was the main event of FESTA 2013.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of students from the School of Design at the University of Technology Sydney constructing Eye of the Storm out of blue tarpaulin flags. The flags were strung across Worcester Street bridge for Canterbury Tales - a carnivalesque procession which was the main event of FESTA 2013.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "New Zealand's Governor-General Anand Satyanand and his wife Susan Satyanand visited sites around earthquake stricken Canterbury today. (L-R) Selwyn District mayor Kelvin Coe, Christchurch city councillor Bob Shearing, Lady Susan and Governor-General Anand Satyanand visit badly affected Halswell Primary School".

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "New Zealand's Governor-General Anand Satyanand and his wife Susan Satyanand visited sites around earthquake stricken Canterbury today. (L-R) Selwyn District mayor Kelvin Coe, Christchurch city councillor Bob Shearing, Lady Susan and Governor-General Anand Satyanand visit badly affected Halswell Primary School".

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "New Zealand's Governor-General Anand Satyanand and his wife Susan Satyanand visited sites around earthquake stricken Canterbury today. (L-R) Selwyn District mayor Kelvin Coe, Christchurch city councillor Bob Shearing, Lady Susan and Governor-General Anand Satyanand visit badly affected Halswell Primary School".