Search

found 1259 results

Images for district; more images...

Images, Alexander Turnbull Library

The title reads 'Satellite to plunge to earth "People should see quite a show." A 'NASA' satellite heads towards New Zealand; someone inside says 'Beep! Beep! Christchurch CBD here we come! Woo-hoo!' Context: A great deal of the CBD (Central Business District) in Christchurch is being demolished, considered to dangerous or too expensive to restore. A defunct 6.5 ton NASA satellite falls to earth this week... 26 pieces, with a combined mass of 500kg will survive the fiery re-entry and hurtle towards us. NASA doesn't have much idea of where it will land so it may demolish some of Christchurch. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).

Research Papers, Lincoln University

The sample of water referred to in the present note was collected by the writer on the 21st January, 1889, in the Otira Gorge, from a spring which is stated to have been first discovered shortly after the earthquake of the 1st September, 1888. From the results obtained this water might be termed siliceous and sulphurous. It is essentially different from the water from the Hanmer Springs, and pertains more to the character of the waters of the Rotorua district. It differs, however, from these waters in having only a portion of its carbonic anhydride replaced by silica, and in containing less dissolved matter.

Audio, Radio New Zealand

Nine to Noon continues to look at who's in the running to head up our biggest cities after local elections in October, with a focus today on the 11 candidates vying to be mayor of Christchurch. Three-term mayor Lianne Dalziel announced last July she'd be stepping down as mayor, having overseen nearly a decade's worth of the city's rebuild following the devastating earthquakes. The two major contenders for the role are Burwood city councillor Phil Mauger and former Canterbury District Health Board chief executive David Meates. Other contenders include the city's Wizard, a coffee boss, pro-gun pastor and a candidate who's stood in every election since 1971. For more, Kathryn is joined by David Williams, the South Island correspondent for Newsroom.co.nz.

Audio, Radio New Zealand

Questions to Ministers 1. CHRIS AUCHINVOLE to the Minister of Commerce: What legislative and regulatory steps has he taken to help restore investor confidence in the financial markets? 2. Hon ANNETTE KING to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: Does she stand by her reported statement that it would be pre-emptive to rule anything out because the Government was still working its way through extensive recommendations by the Welfare Working Group? 3. TE URUROA FLAVELL to the Minister of Transport: Ka aha ia ki te whakapaipai ake i te āhua o ngā rori i te tuawhenua, he hapori Māori nei te nuinga o ngā tāngata ki reira, ā, e kiia nei e ētahi, he pērā aua rori ki ngā mea o ngā ao pōhara rawa atu? * Translation: What will he do to improve the conditions of roads in rural, predominately Māori communities, some of which have been described as of third world status? 4. Hon TREVOR MALLARD to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his answer to Oral Question No 1 yesterday in relation to unemployed 15 to 19-year-olds, "If we look at the household labour force survey, we see that there are 26,700 people in the 15 to 19-year-old category"? 5. TIM MACINDOE to the Minister of Health: What progress are district health boards making in providing faster cancer radiation treatment for patients? 6. GRANT ROBERTSON to the Minister of Health: Are district health boards being funded sufficiently to maintain the level of services they provided in 2010/11? 7. KEVIN HAGUE to the Minister of Labour: When will the new chief inspector for mining and additional inspectors in the planned High Hazards Unit become operational? 8. CHARLES CHAUVEL to the Minister of Justice: Does he agree with the Chief Justice that the scheme for disclosure by the defence in criminal cases contained in the Criminal Procedure (Reform and Modernisation) Bill is "inconsistent with the defendant's right to have the prosecution prove its case beyond reasonable doubt" and with the late Chief District Court Judge that punishment at sentencing for procedural non-compliance "is conceptually incoherent and therefore arbitrary"? 9. Hon TAU HENARE to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: What is the Government doing to help teen parents get ahead? 10. Hon LIANNE DALZIEL to the Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery: How many letters of offer from the Crown will be sent to insured residential red zone property owners this week? 11. NIKKI KAYE to the Minister of Internal Affairs: What announcements has he made today on improving flexibility for community groups receiving grants from gaming societies? 12. DARIEN FENTON to the Minister of Labour: Does she stand by her statement about making changes to mine safety that "until the royal commission of inquiry makes its findings, we will wait accordingly"?

Research papers, The University of Auckland Library

The 2010–2011 Canterbury earthquakes, which involved widespread damage during the February 2011 event and ongoing aftershocks near the Christchurch Central Business District, left this community with more than $NZD 40 billion in losses (~20 % GDP), demolition of approximately 60 % of multi-storey concrete buildings (3 storeys and up), and closure of the core business district for over 2 years. The aftermath of the earthquake sequence has revealed unique issues and complexities for the owners of commercial and multi-storey residential buildings in relation to unexpected technical, legal, and financial challenges when making decisions regarding the future of their buildings impacted by the earthquakes. The paper presents a framework to understand the factors influencing post-earthquake decisions (repair or demolish) on multi-storey concrete buildings in Christchurch. The study, conducted in 2014, includes in-depth investigations on 15 case-study buildings using 27 semi-structured interviews with various property owners, property managers, insurers, engineers, and government authorities in New Zealand. The interviews revealed insights regarding the multitude of factors influencing post-earthquake decisions and losses. As expected, the level of damage and repairability (cost to repair) generally dictated the course of action. There is strong evidence, however, that other variables have significantly influenced the decision on a number of buildings, such as insurance, business strategies, perception of risks, building regulations (and compliance costs), and government decisions. The decision-making process for each building is complex and unique, not solely driven by structural damage. Furthermore, the findings have put the spotlight on insurance policy wordings and the paradoxical effect of insurance on the recovery of Christchurch, leading to other challenges and issues going forward.

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

1. INTRODUCTION. Earthquakes and geohazards, such as liquefaction, landslides and rock falls, constitute a major risk for New Zealand communities and can have devastating impacts as the Canterbury 2010/2011 experience shows. Development patterns expose communities to an array of natural hazards, including tsunamis, floods, droughts, and sea level rise amongst others. Fostering community resilience is therefore vitally important. As the rhetoric of resilience is mainstreamed into the statutory framework, a major challenge emerges: how can New Zealand operationalize this complex and sometimes contested concept and build ‘community capitals’? This research seeks to provide insights to this question by critically evaluating how community capitals are conceptualized and how they can contribute to community resilience in the context of the Waimakariri District earthquake recovery and regeneration process.

Images, Alexander Turnbull Library

A rescue worker carries the dead body of a woman out of the crumbled remains of a building. Nearby is a copy of the 'Building Code'. Context - there are questions being asked about whether some of the buildings that collapsed too readily in the Christchurch earthquake of 22 February 2011 had been subject to stringent enough building code regulations. The Department of Building and Housing said the vertical shaking in the central business district was both extreme and unusual and early indications suggest it was much more violent than designed for in the building code standards which are based on the kind of shaking expected to happen every 500 years. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

This paper provides a comparison between the strong ground motions observed in the Christchurch central business district in the 4 September 2010 Mw7.1 Darfield, and 22 February 2011 Mw6.3 Christchurch earthquakes with those observed in Tokyo during the 11 March 2011 Mw9.0 Tohoku earthquake. Despite Tokyo being located approximately 110km from the nearest part of the causative rupture, the ground motions observed from the Tohoku earthquake were strong enough to cause structural damage in Tokyo and also significant liquefaction to loose reclaimed soils in Tokyo bay. Comparisons include the strong motion time histories, response spectra, significant durations and arias intensity. The implications for large earthquakes in New Zealand are also briefly discussed.

Videos, UC QuakeStudies

A video of a presentation by Garry Williams during the fourth plenary of the 2016 People in Disasters Conference. Williams is the Programme Manager of the Ministry of Education's Greater Christchurch Education Renewal Programme. The presentation is titled, "Education Renewal: A section response to the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake".The abstract for this presentation reads as follows: The Canterbury earthquakes caused a disaster recovery situation unparalleled in New Zealand's history. In addition to widespread damage to residential dwellings and destruction of Christchurch's central business district, the earthquakes damaged more than 200 schools from Hurunui in the north, to the Mackenzie District in the east, and Timaru in the south. The impact on education provision was substantial, with the majority of early childhood centres, schools and tertiary providers experiencing damage or subsequent, with the majority of early childhood centres, schools and tertiary providers experiencing damage or subsequent operational issues caused by the ensuing migration of people. Following the February earthquake, over 12,000 students had left the school they had been attending and enrolled elsewhere - often at a school outside the region. Shortened school days and compression of teaching into short periods meant shift-sharing students engaged in the curriculum being delivered in more diverse ways. School principals and staff reported increased fatigue and stress and changes in student behaviours, often related to repeated exposure to and ongoing reminders of the trauma of the earthquakes. While there has been a shift from direct, trauma-related presentations to the indirect effects of psychological adversity and daily life stresses, international experiences tells us that psychological recovery generally lags behind the immediate physical recovery and rebuilding. The Ministries of Health and Education and the Canterbury District Health Board have developed and implemented a joint action plan to address specifically the emerging mental health issues for youth in Canterbury. However, the impact of vulnerable and stressed adults on children's behaviour contributes to the overall impact of ongoing wellbeing issues on the educational outcomes for the community. There is substantial evidence supporting the need to focus on adults' resilience so they can support children and youth. Much of the Ministry's work around supporting children under stress is through supporting the adults responsible for teaching them and leading their schools. The education renewal programme exists to assist education communities to rebuild and look toward renewal. The response to the earthquakes provides a significant opportunity to better meet the needs and aspirations of children and youth people. All the parents want to see their children eager to learn, achieving success, and gaining knowledge and skills that will, in time, enable them to become confident, adaptable, economically independent adults. But this is not always the case, hence our approach to education renewal seeks to address inequities and improve outcome, while prioritising actions that will have a positive impact on learners in greatest need of assistance.

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

Rising disaster losses, growth in global migration, migrant labour trends, and increasingly diverse populations have serious implications for disaster resilience around the world. These issues are of particular concern in New Zealand, which is highly exposed to disaster risk and has the highest proportion of migrant workers to national population in the OECD. Since there has been no research conducted into this issue in New Zealand to date, greater understanding of the social capital used by migrant workers in specific New Zealand contexts is needed to inform more targeted and inclusive disaster risk management approaches. A New Zealand case study is used to investigate the extent and types of social capital and levels of disaster risk awareness reported by members of three Filipino migrant workers organisations catering to dairy farm, construction and aged care workers in different urban and rural Canterbury districts. Findings from (3) semi-structured interviews and (3) focus groups include consistently high reliance on bonding capital and low levels of bridging capital across all three organisations and industry sectors, and in both urban and rural contexts. The transitory, precarious residential status conveyed by temporary work visas, and the difficulty of building bridging capital with host communities has contributed to this heavy reliance on bonding capital. Social media was essential to connect workers with family and friends in other countries, while Filipino migrant workers organisations provided members with valuable access to industry and district-specific networks of other Filipino migrant workers. Linking capital varied between the three organisations, with members of the organisation set up to advocate for dairy farm workers reporting the highest levels of linking capital. Factors influencing the capacity of workers organisations to develop linking capital appeared to include motivation (establishment objectives), length of time since establishment, support from government and industry groups, urban-rural context, income levels and gender. Although aware of publicity around earthquake and tsunami risk in the Canterbury region, participants were less aware of flood risk, and expressed fatalistic attitudes to disaster risk. Workers organisations offer a valuable potential interface between CDEM Group activities and migrant worker communities, since organisation leaders were interested in accessing government support to participate (with and on behalf of members) in disaster risk planning at district and regional level. With the potential to increase disaster resilience among these vulnerable, hard to reach communities, such participation could also help to build capacity across workers organisations (within Canterbury and across the country) to develop linking capital at national, as well as regional level. However, these links will also depend on greater government and industry commitment to providing more targeted and appropriate support for migrant workers, including consideration of the cultural qualifications of staff tasked with liaising with this community.

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

Worldwide, the numbers of people living with chronic conditions are rapidly on the rise. Chronic illnesses are enduring and often cannot be cured, requiring a strategy for long term management and intervention to prevent further exacerbation. Globally, there has been an increase in interventions using telecommunications technologies to aid patients in their home setting to manage chronic illnesses. Such interventions have often been delivered by nurses. The purpose of this research was to assess whether a particular intervention that had been successfully implemented in the United Kingdom could also be implemented in Canterbury. In particular, this research assessed the perspectives of Canterbury based practice nurses and district nurses. The findings suggest that a majority of both district and practice nurses did not view the service as compatible with their current work situation. Existing workload and concerns over funding of the proposed service were identified as potential barriers. However, the service was perceived as potentially beneficial for some, with the elderly based in rural areas, or patients with chronic mental health needs identified as more likely to benefit than others. Practice nurses expressed strong views on who should deliver such services. Given that it was identified that practice nurses already have in-depth knowledge of their patients’ health, while valuing the strong relationships established with their communities, it was suggested that patients would most benefit from locally based nurses to deliver any community based health services in the future. It was also found that teletriaging is currently widely used by practice nurses across Canterbury to meet a range of health needs, including chronic mental health needs. This suggests that the scope of teletriaging in community health and its potential and full implications are currently not well understood in New Zealand. Significant events, such as the Christchurch earthquakes indicate the potential role of teletriaging in addressing mental health issues, thereby reducing the chronic health burden in the community.

Research papers, The University of Auckland Library

The region in and around Christchurch, encompassing Christchurch city and the Selwyn and Waimakariri districts, contains more than 800 road, rail, and pedestrian bridges. Most of these bridges are reinforced concrete, symmetric, and have small to moderate spans (15–25 m). The 22 February 2011 moment magnitude (Mw) 6.2 Christchurch earthquake induced high levels of localized ground shaking (Bradley and Cubrinovski 2011, page 853 of this issue; Guidotti et al. 2011, page 767 of this issue; Smyrou et al. 2011, page 882 of this issue), with damage to bridges mainly confined to the central and eastern parts of Christchurch. Liquefaction was evident over much of this part of the city, with lateral spreading affecting bridges spanning both the Avon and Heathcote rivers.

Images, Alexander Turnbull Library

Finance Minister Bill English holds a large axe that represents the 'budget' and says 'I wanted to retrieve all my spending tools, but, sadly, with allotted time short, I could only grab this!..' He is standing outside the barrier that surrounds the Christchurch CBD. Context - The Christchurch central business district has been largely out of bounds to anyone but those dealing with the after-effects of the earthquake of February 22 but business owners have been allowed restricted access to retrieve gear and belongings. The 2011 budget looks as though it will be focused on paring everything down because of the sad state of New Zealand's economy at present (made worse by the need to rebuild Christchurch), hence the axe. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).

Images, Alexander Turnbull Library

Aspects of Christchurch life after the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011, modelled on acts performed at the Buskers' Festival being held in Christchurch. Include `Silt walking'through liquefaction; 'Orange zone', representing the paralysis of homeowners whose properties were classified as 'orange', or of undecided status; 'Jugglers "Marryatt" and "Red Zone"': the Christchurch CEO, Tony Marryatt, juggles with money, his large pay rise, while the red-zoned householder juggles with unattractive options; 'The boy [CBD] with red tape all over him', referring to the cordon which was strangling the Central Business District; the columnist Joe Bennett with his dog, refusing to move from his house in Lyttelton, a cause celebre of resistance to the earthquake authorities in those days. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).

Images, Alexander Turnbull Library

Depicts huge elderly woman with 'CERA' on her dress scolding smaller adult dressed as schoolboy near bustop with sign 'CBD red zone tours' Text reads 'And don't talk to strangers and don't cross the road and remember to eat your lunch..' Context: After the 22 Feburary 2011 earthquake in Christchurch, the central business district (CBD) was marked as a red zone. Red zone areas were deemed unsuitable for habitation due to significant damage and at high risk of further damage from low levels of earth shaking. CERA (Christchurch Earthquake Recovery Authority) ran public bus tours of the Christchurch CBD from November to December 2011. For safety reasons the public was not allowed off the buses as it was a dangerous and active demolition site. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).

Research Papers, Lincoln University

The New Zealand Kellogg Rural Leaders Programme develops emerging agribusiness leaders to help shape the future of New Zealand agribusiness and rural affairs. Lincoln University has been involved with this leaders programme since 1979 when it was launched with a grant from the Kellogg Foundation, USA.On 2 March 1987 the Bay of Plenty region suffered an earthquake of magnitude 6.3 on the Richter scale, centred at Edgecumbe. Severe damage to personal and industrial property and drainage systems occurred. In hindsight, although much of the damage was covered by insurance, loans, public and government contributions, the continuing reconstruction costs have had a tremendous impact financially on individuals and the District as a whole. By highlighting some of these ongoing costs and suggestions of alternatives other Rural communities may be better prepared to lessen the effect of a natural disaster such as the Edgecumbe Earthquake of 1987.

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

This report contributes to a collaborative project between the Marlborough District Council (MDC) and University of Canterbury (UC) which aims to help protect and promote the recovery of native dune systems on the Marlborough coast. It is centred around the mapping of dune vegetation and identification of dune protection zones for old-growth seed sources of the native sand-binders spinifex (Spinifex sericeus) and pīngao (Ficinia spiralis). Both are key habitat-formers associated with nationally threatened dune ecosystems, and pīngao is an important weaving resource and Ngāi Tahu taonga species. The primary goal is to protect existing seed sources that are vital for natural regeneration following major disturbances such as the earthquake event. Several additional protection zones are also identified for areas where new dunes are successfully regenerating, including areas being actively restored in the Beach Aid project that is assisting new native dunes to become established where there is available space.

Research papers, The University of Auckland Library

The city of Christchurch has experienced over 10,000 aftershocks since the 4th of September 2010 earthquake of which approximately 50 have been greater than magnitude 5. The damage caused to URM buildings in Christchurch over this sequence of earthquakes has been well documented. Due to the similarity in age and construction of URM buildings in Adelaide, South Australia and Christchurch (they are sister cities, of similar age and heritage), an investigation was conducted to learn lessons for Adelaide based on the Christchurch experience. To this end, the number of URM buildings in the central business districts of both cities, the extent of seismic strengthening that exists in both cities, and the relative earthquake hazards for both cities were considered. This paper will report on these findings and recommend strategies that the city of Adelaide could consider to significantly reduce the seismic risk posed by URM buildings in future earthquake.

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

Novel Gel-push sampling was employed to obtain high quality samples of Christchurch sands from the Central Business District, at sites where liquefaction was observed in 22 February 2011, and 13 June 2011 earthquakes. The results of cyclic triaxial testing on selected undisturbed specimens of typical Christchurch sands are presented and compared to empirical procedures used by practitioners. This comparison suggests cyclic triaxial data may be conservative, and the Magnitude Scaling Factor used in empirical procedures may be unconservative for highly compressible soils during near source moderate to low magnitude events. Comparison to empirical triggering curves suggests the empirical method generally estimates the cyclic strength of Christchurch sands within a reasonable degree of accuracy as a screening evaluation tool for liquefaction hazard, however for sands with moderate to high fines content it may be significantly unconservative, highlighting the need for high quality sampling and testing on important projects where seismic performance is critical.

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

This paper presents insights from recent advanced laboratory testing of undisturbed and reconstituted specimens of Christchurch silty-sands. The purpose of the testing was to establish the cyclic strength of silty-sands from sites in the Central Business District (CBD), where liquefaction was observed in 4 September 2010, 22 February 2011, and 13 June 2011. Similar overall strengths were obtained from undisturbed and reconstituted tests prepared at similar densities, albeit with higher variability for the reconstituted specimens. Reconstituted specimens exhibited distinctly different response in terms of lower compressibility during initial loading cycles, and exhibited a more brittle response when large strains were mobilised, particularly for samples with high fines content. Given the lower variability in natural sample response and the possibility of age-related strength to be significant for sites not subjected to earthquakes, high quality undisturbed samples are recommended over the use of reconstituted specimens to establish the cyclic strength of natural sands.

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

This paper presents an examination of ground motion observations from 20 near-source strong motion stations during the most significant 10 events in the 2010-2011 Canterbury earthquake to examine region-specific systematic effects based on relaxing the conventional ergodic assumption. On the basis of similar site-to-site residuals, surfical geology, and geographical proximity, 15 of the 20 stations are grouped into four sub-regions: the Central Business District; and Western, Eastern, and Northern suburbs. Mean site-to-site residuals for these sub-regions then allows for the possibility of non-ergodic ground motion prediction over these sub-regions of Canterbury, rather than only at strong motion station locations. The ratio of the total non-ergodic vs. ergodic standard deviation is found to be, on average, consistent with previous studies, however it is emphasized that on a site-by-site basis the non-ergodic standard deviation can easily vary by ±20%.

Research papers, The University of Auckland Library

The 2011, 6.3 magnitude Christchurch earthquake in New Zealand caused considerable structural damage. It is believed that this event has now resulted in demolition of about 65-70% of the building stock in the Central Business District (CBD), significantly crippling economic activities in the city of Christchurch. A major concern raised from this event was adequacy of the current seismic design practice adopted for reinforced concrete walls due to their poor performance in modern buildings. The relatively short-duration earthquake motion implied that the observed wall damage occurred in a brittle manner despite adopting a ductile design philosophy. This paper presents the lessons learned from the observed wall damage in the context of current state of knowledge in the following areas: concentrating longitudinal reinforcement in wall end regions; determining wall thickness to prevent out-of-plane wall buckling; avoiding lap splices in plastic hinge zones; and quantifying minimum vertical reinforcement. http://www.2eceesistanbul.org/

Research Papers, Lincoln University

The 2010 and 2011 earthquakes have had a devastating impact on the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. The level of destruction has been especially evident in the central business district where it has been estimated over 1000 buildings have already been or will eventually require demolition. Although, contrary to expectations, most of the fatalities were in relatively modern buildings, the Victorian and Edwardian era building stock was especially hard hit in terms of property damage. Unfortunately this era and style of building were also the focus of the most successful inner city revitalisation projects to date. A major research project is now underway examining the impact on the earthquakes on one of these revitalisation areas. The first step is to examine the international literature on similar inner city revitalisation or gentrification areas and in particular the characteristics of owners and occupiers attracted to this type of environment. This is the focus of this paper.

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

The performance of conventionally designed reinforced concrete (RC) structures during the 2011 Christchurch earthquake has demonstrated that there is greater uncertainty in the seismic performance of RC components than previously understood. RC frame and wall structures in the Christchurch central business district were observed to form undesirable cracks patterns in the plastic hinge region while yield penetration either side of cracks, and into development zones, were less than theoretical predictions. The implications of this unexpected behaviour: (i) significantly less available ductility; (ii) less hysteretic energy dissipation; and (iii) the localization of peak reinforcement strains, results in considerable doubt for the residual capacity of RC structures. The significance of these consequences has prompted a review of potential sources of uncertainty in seismic experimentation with the intention to improve the current confidence level for newly designed conventional RC structures. This paper attempts to revisit the principles of RC mechanics, in particular, to consider the influence of loading history, concrete tensile strength, and reinforcement ratio on the performance of ‘real’ RC structures compared to experimental test specimens.

Research Papers, Lincoln University

The Christchurch earthquakes brought to an abrupt halt a process of adaptive reuse and gentrification that was underway in the south eastern corner of the central business district. The retail uses that were a key to the success of this area pre-earthquake could be characterised as small, owner operated, quirky, bohemian, chaotic and relatively low rent. This research reports on the progress of a long term, comprehensive case study that follows the progress of these retailers both before and after the earthquakes. Findings include the immediate post-earthquake intentions to resume business in the same location as soon as possible were thwarted by government imposed cordons of the CBD that were only lifted nearly three years later. But, businesses were resilient and generally reinvented themselves quickly in alternative suburban locations where government “rebuild” restrictions were absent. It remains to be seen if this type of retail will ever return to the CBD as government imposed plans and the rents demanded for retail space in new buildings appear to preclude small owner-operated businesses.

Audio, Radio New Zealand

The integrity of the entire public service is under scrutiny after revelations about the close relationship between a private security firm Thompson and Clark and the SIS and the Ministry for Primary Industries. In March, the State Services Commissioner Peter Hughes ordered an investigation after it was revealed the firm spied on Canterbury earthquake claimants for Southern Response. That was was further widened to include the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment which has been accused by Greenpeace of using the company to spy on them. On Tuesday as a result of RNZ inquiries, Mr Hughes widened the investigation even further to cover all government department and scores of other public sector agencies such as District Health Boards. State Services Minister Chris Hipkins is demanding answers. The SIS emails show a staff member and one of the Thompson and Clark directors were old friends who met regularly. Also an OIA request from RNZ News has triggered the uncovering of what the Ministry for Primary Industries describes as potentially serious misconduct by several former staff members. Joining us to explain the details are the reporters who have been doing this digging, Checkpoint's Zac Fleming and Conan Young. Thompson and Clark's Gavin Clark declined to come on Morning Report but in an email said Thompson and Clark is willing to cooperate fully with the SSC and will await the investigation to take its natural course.

Research papers, The University of Auckland Library

Micro - electro - mechanical system (MEMS) based accelerometers are now frequently used in many different parts of our day - to - day lives. It is also increasingly being used for structural testing applications. Researchers have had res ervation of using these devices as they are relatively untested, but now with the wider adoption, it provides a much cheaper and more versatile tool for structural engineering researchers. A number of damaged buildings in the Christchurch Central Business District (CBD) were instrumented with a number of low - cost MEMS accelerometers after the major Christchurch earthquakes. The accelerometers captured extremely high quality building response data as the buildings experienced thousands of aftershocks. This d ata set was amongst one of only a handful of data set s available around the world which provides building response data subjected to real ground motion. Furthermore, due to technological advances, a much larger than usual number of accelerometers has been deployed making the data set one of the most comprehensive available. This data set is utilised to extract modal parameters of the buildings. This paper summarises the operating requirements and preference for using such accelerometers for experimental mod al analysis. The challenges for adapting MEMS based devices for successful modal parameters identification are also discussed.

Research Papers, Lincoln University

To the casual observer, community gardens may look like places where people just come to grow fruit and vegetables. Through digging beneath surface appearances, however, the research literature suggests that there is more to the creation of and participation in community gardens than that which is immediately apparent. The overall aim of this research was to explore and interpret the meaning of community gardens in terms of the sought and experienced well-being of the individuals who participate, and their associated communities. This research was undertaken in the Christchurch/Selwyn district, in the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquakes of 2010-2011. This research utilised the technique of photo-elicitation interviews to study the meanings attributed to community gardening, in the post-earthquake environment. Five gardens were investigated. Results show that a range of meanings, and well-being outcomes are experienced through a combination of physical, educational, aesthetic appreciation, contemplative, creative and social connections within the garden and within the overall context of nature. Significantly, within the post-earthquake environment, the community gardens can offer participants the opportunity to appreciate life and what it means for them.