scholarly journals Looking Up to the Stars. A Call for Action to Save New Zealand’s Dark Skies for Future Generations to Come

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (23) ◽  
pp. 13472
Author(s):  
Karolina M. Zielinska-Dabkowska ◽  
Kyra Xavia
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Outer Space ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
National Level ◽  
Light Pollution ◽  
Night Time ◽  
Night Sky ◽  
The Impact

The rapid development of technology coupled with humanity’s desire to reach beyond terra firma, has resulted in more than 60 years of Outer Space activities. Although the exploration of space has provided many advantages and benefits to society so far, including vast, new information that has greatly added to our understanding of our planet and beyond, unfortunately, mankind’s footprint has negative aspects that need to be minimised as much as possible. In recent decades, a major worldwide problem has emerged in regard to the significant increase in light pollution from ground-based illuminations, as well as a lack of proper regulatory frameworks to mitigate the issue in order to protect the night sky and astronomical research. More recently, due to the escalating demand of air space for microsatellites and the rapid development of these new space technologies, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), a new problem has arisen connected to visual light pollution (VLP). New Zealand has been especially affected, as, because of its dark skies, it has the third highest number of astronomical observatories in the world. The aim of this research is to identify critical areas for broader investigation; an action plan to improve the impact of new technologies is urgently required, not only at a national level but also worldwide. This is crucial in order to preserve humanity’s right to access the night sky and to also enable continual professional and amateur night-time observations for the present and the future, as well as for New Zealand to become a Dark Sky Nation.

scholarly journals Evidence That Reduced Air and Road Traffic Decreased Artificial Night-Time Skyglow during COVID-19 Lockdown in Berlin, Germany

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (20) ◽  
pp. 3412
Author(s):  
Andreas Jechow ◽  
Franz Hölker
Keyword(s):  
Road Traffic ◽  
Satellite Image ◽  
Color Temperature ◽  
Light Pollution ◽  
Artificial Light ◽  
Night Time ◽  
Sky Brightness ◽  
Night Sky ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Night Sky Brightness

Artificial skyglow, the brightening of the night sky by artificial light at night that is scattered back to Earth within the atmosphere, is detrimental to astronomical observations and has an impact on ecosystems as a form of light pollution. In this work, we investigated the impact of the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on the urban skyglow of Berlin, Germany. We compared night sky brightness and correlated color temperature (CCT) measurements obtained with all-sky cameras during the COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020 with data from March 2017. Under normal conditions, we expected an increase in night sky brightness (or skyglow, respectively) and CCT because of the transition to LED. This is supported by a measured CCT shift to slightly higher values and a time series analysis of night-time light satellite data showing an increase in artificial light emission in Berlin. However, contrary to this observation, we measured a decrease in artificial skyglow at zenith by 20% at the city center and by more than 50% at 58 km distance from the center during the lockdown. We assume that the main cause for the reduction of artificial skyglow originates from improved air quality due to less air and road traffic, which is supported by statistical data and satellite image analysis. To our knowledge, this is the first reported impact of COVID-19 on artificial skyglow and we conclude that air pollution should shift more into the focus of light pollution research.

Corporal Punishment: Law Reform Lessons for Australia from South Africa and New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laetitia-Ann Greeff
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Corporal Punishment ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
National Level ◽  
Law Reform ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
In Loco Parentis ◽  
A Charge ◽  
The Impact

This article compares the law reform methods employed by South Africa and New Zealand to eliminate the defence of ‘moderate and reasonable chastisement’ to a charge of common assault, to determine the best possible law reform strategy for Australian jurisdictions, within the context of its federal system of governance. South Africa and New Zealand banned corporal punishment on a national level, with South Africa prohibiting the use of corporal punishment by way of the judicial condemnation of the Constitutional Court in 2019, and New Zealand’s legislation to ban corporal punishment through Parliamentary processes in 2007. Corporal punishment in the home is still legal in Australia if administered by parents or those in loco parentis. This article focuses on the three Australian States that have enacted human rights legislation—Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and Queensland—and the impact of this legislation on judicial law reform. In this regard, the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty is discussed in terms of its ability to limit public interest litigation’s viability to strike down inconsistent legislation. The article suggests that all three countries can learn from one another concerning the successes and/or failures of law reform. Furthermore, the article concludes by acknowledging that even though formal abolition is the norm in South Africa and New Zealand, corporal punishment remains widespread. Parents and those in loco parentis must be supported by continual education initiatives to bring about requisite social and cultural change.

scholarly journals The inequity of morbidity: Disparities in the prevalence of morbidity between ethnic groups in New Zealand

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 2235042X2097116
Author(s):  
Jason Gurney ◽  
James Stanley ◽  
Diana Sarfati
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
National Level ◽  
Morbidity Burden ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Level Data ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Impact

Objective: The burden of chronic disease is not evenly shared within our society. In this manuscript, we use comprehensive national-level data to compare morbidity burden between ethnic groups in New Zealand. Methods: We investigated the prevalence of morbidity among all New Zealanders aged 18+ (n = 3,296,837), stratified by ethnic group (Māori, Pacific, Asian, Middle Eastern/Latin American/African, European/Other), using national-level hospitalisation and pharmaceutical data and two measures of morbidity (the M3 and P3 indices). Results and Conclusions: We observed substantial disparities for Māori and Pacific peoples compared to other ethnic groups for the vast majority of commonly-diagnosed morbidities. These disparities appeared strongest for the most-common conditions – meaning that Māori and Pacific peoples disproportionately shoulder an increased burden of these key conditions. We also observed that prevalence of these conditions emerged at earlier ages, meaning that Māori and Pacific peoples also experience a disproportionate impact of individual conditions on the quality and quantity of life. Finally, we observed strong disparities in the prevalence of conditions that may exacerbate the impact of COVID-19, such as chronic pulmonary, liver or renal disease. The substantial inequities we have presented here have been created and perpetuated by the social determinants of health, including institutionalised racism: thus solutions will require addressing these systemic issues as well as addressing inequities in individual-level care.

scholarly journals Chronic exposure to dim light at night suppresses immune responses in Siberian hamsters

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 468-471 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracy A. Bedrosian ◽  
Laura K. Fonken ◽  
James C. Walton ◽  
Randy J. Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Immune Responses ◽  
Immune Function ◽  
Delayed Type Hypersensitivity ◽  
Light Pollution ◽  
Light At Night ◽  
Night Time ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Siberian Hamsters ◽  
Survival And Reproduction ◽  
The Impact

Species have been adapted to specific niches optimizing survival and reproduction; however, urbanization by humans has dramatically altered natural habitats. Artificial light at night (LAN), termed ‘light pollution’, is an often overlooked, yet increasing disruptor of habitats, which perturbs physiological processes that rely on precise light information. For example, LAN alters the timing of reproduction and activity in some species, which decreases the odds of successful breeding and increases the threat of predation for these individuals, leading to reduced fitness. LAN also suppresses immune function, an important proxy for survival. To investigate the impact of LAN in a species naive to light pollution in its native habitat, immune function was examined in Siberian hamsters derived from wild-caught stock. After four weeks exposure to dim LAN, immune responses to three different challenges were assessed: (i) delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH), (ii) lipopolysaccharide-induced fever, and (iii) bactericide activity of blood. LAN suppressed DTH response and reduced bactericide activity of blood after lipopolysaccharide treatment, in addition to altering daily patterns of locomotor activity, suggesting that human encroachment on habitats via night-time lighting may inadvertently compromise immune function and ultimately fitness.

scholarly journals Physical behaviour of anthropogenic light propagation into the nocturnal environment

2015 ◽  
Vol 370 (1667) ◽  
pp. 20140117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Aubé
Keyword(s):  
Radiative Transfer ◽  
Natural Environment ◽  
Spectral Power ◽  
Radiative Transfer Model ◽  
City Centre ◽  
Light Pollution ◽  
Transfer Model ◽  
Light Sources ◽  
Night Time ◽  
The Impact

Propagation of artificial light at night (ALAN) in the environment is now known to have non negligible consequences on fauna, flora and human health. These consequences depend on light levels and their spectral power distributions, which in turn rely on the efficiency of various physical processes involved in the radiative transfer of this light into the atmosphere and its interactions with the built and natural environment. ALAN can affect the living organisms by direct lighting and indirect lighting (scattered by the sky and clouds and/or reflected by local surfaces). This paper mainly focuses on the behaviour of the indirect light scattered under clear sky conditions. Various interaction processes between anthropogenic light sources and the natural environment are discussed. This work mostly relies on a sensitivity analysis conducted with the light pollution radiative transfer model, Illumina (Aubé et al . 2005 Light pollution modelling and detection in a heterogeneous environment: toward a night-time aerosol optical depth retrieval method. In Proc. SPIE 2005, vol. 5890, San Diego, California, USA). More specifically, the impact of (i) the molecular and aerosol scattering and absorption, (ii) the second order of scattering, (iii) the topography and obstacle blocking, (iv) the ground reflectance and (v) the spectrum of light devices and their angular emission functions are examined. This analysis considers different behaviour as a function of the distance from the city centre, along with different zenith viewing angles in the principal plane.

scholarly journals ASSESSMENT OF LIGHT POLLUTION IMPACT ON PROTECTED AREAS IN CHINA

2017 ◽  
Vol XLII-2/W7 ◽  
pp. 1307-1312 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Jiang ◽  
G. He ◽  
Y. Ni
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Buffer Zone ◽  
Local Area ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Light Pollution ◽  
Optical Remote Sensing ◽  
Night Time ◽  
Pollution Impact ◽  
The Impact

The Protected Areas (PAs) with natural, ecological and cultural value play important role in biological processes, biodiversity and ecosystem service. During the past years of rapid urban expansion in China, the spatial range and intensity of light pollution unprecedented increase. Historically, optical remote sensing and field survey data had been used to reveal that human activities impacted on PAs for individual areas and few papers documented the issue of light pollution impact on PAs at national scale. Here, time series night-time light satellite images of Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Operational Linescan System (DMSP-OLS) were selected to assess the light pollution impacted on PAs in China. The method we proposed can be effectively applied to assess the impact of light pollution on PAs and the percent of dark PAs decreased by 35.38 % from 1992 to 2012 at nationwide. The trend of light pollution of most PAs in stable, however, light pollution of the local area is increase significantly, especially in northern Xinjiang, Gansu, Xizang, Yunnan, Jiangsu and Shandong. Considering the current status of light pollution encroach into PAs, two strategies of appropriate buffer zone and wide measured for light pollution are also recommend.

scholarly journals File-to-Factory: Transferring Design Intent to Manufacture

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Maya Robinson
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Digital Fabrication ◽  
Building Industry ◽  
Building Information Modelling ◽  
Building Information ◽  
Increase Productivity ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Industry Professionals ◽  
The Way

<p>Digital fabrication has become a common way of producing and constructing designs more efficiently, challenging the traditional methods of construction, and the way we design. Despite the new technologies used to enhance the design process, there is still a disconnect between design and construction. Building Information Modelling (BIM) has been a step towards creating a more fluid workflow. However, it is not currently being fully utilised within New Zealand. Along with a lack of interoperability, this has contributed to the limited productivity of the construction industry. The ability to take a BIM model direct to manufacture is critical to leverage the information of the model and reduce expensive remodelling. The use of BIM tools not only aims to maximise efficiency when delivering a project but also provides a new way of working and a solution to improve file-to-factory production.   Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA), although relatively new to the architecture and building industry, could have substantial benefits for the way architecture projects are designed and constructed. This process consists of a set of guidelines that take into consideration the manufacturability and assembly of the design from the very beginning. Qualitative and experimental methods have been used for initial and developed testing drawn from case studies, a review of the literature, and data from interviews with industry professionals. Five interviews were conducted with industry professionals across the design to manufacturing spectrum. The interviews identified current issues within the architecture and building industry directly related to file-to-factory.   A new file-to-factory workflow has been developed utilising BIM tools and DfMA principles to explore the impact this process could have on the buildings we design and construct in New Zealand. The workflow does not consist of new processes or tools but instead couples the two together. By utilising the existing BIM technology and implementing DfMA, this means the designer can consider both the requirements of the design and how the design will be manufactured and assembled. The collaborative workflow can eliminate the need for remodelling, and reduce errors, cost, and time. This is significant to the industry because it begins to streamline the design-to-construction process and allow for the industry to grow, advance, and increase productivity.</p>

scholarly journals BIM Education -Case New Zealand

10.29007/lcf3 ◽  
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taija Puolitaival ◽  
Tina Booth ◽  
Ali Ghaffarianhoseini ◽  
Kenneth Park
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Longitudinal Research ◽  
National Curriculum ◽  
National Level ◽  
National Education ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Architectural Engineering ◽  
Skill Gaps ◽  
Curriculum Guidelines ◽  
The Impact

This article is a first step in a longitudinal research in New Zealand context to identify what impact national education approaches have on uptake of BIM education in individual tertiary institutes. Although BIM and BIM education as research topics are on rise, there is limited research on national approaches and their impact on width and depth of BIM education and through that graduate capabilities and BIM adoption by the industry. Case study approach has been selected to investigate first the challenges encountered by the tertiary institutes, how these can be addressed at national level and in later stages what the impact has been to the width and depth of BIM education and graduate outcomes. Only a limited number of countries such as UK have introduced national approaches to BIM education. In New Zealand National BIM Education Working Group (NBEWG) was established in December 2014. The group has representatives from seven tertiary institutes who have strong interest in including BIM as part of their programmes. NBEWG promotes integration of BIM into all architectural, engineering and construction programmes in New Zealand by providing national curriculum guidelines and guidance in adopting BIM curriculum. A survey was conducted among the institutes to identify the key challenges encountered in BIM integration. Among these were knowledge and skill gaps among faculty, crowded curricula, and limited time for development work.

scholarly journals The Impact of the Perceived Value of Records on the Use of Electronic Recordkeeping Systems

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Matthew James Lewellen
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
Organizational Context ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Perceived Value ◽  
Digital Information ◽  
Research Model ◽  
Recordkeeping System ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact

<p>Today’s electronic documents and digital records are rapidly superseding traditional paper records and similarly need to be managed and stored for the future. This need is driving new theoretical recordkeeping models, international electronic recordkeeping standards, many instances of national recordkeeping legislation, and the rapid development of electronic recordkeeping systems for use in organizations. Given the legislative imperative, the exponential growth of electronic records, and the importance to the individual, organization, and society of trustworthy electronic recordkeeping, the question arises: why are electronic recordkeeping systems experiencing different rates of acceptance and utilization by end users? This research seeks to address that question through identifying the factors that influence a user’s intention to use an electronic recordkeeping system.  Although a significant body of research has been dedicated to studying system use in various situations, no research in the information systems discipline has yet focused specifically on electronic recordkeeping and its unique set of use-influencing factors.  This research creates a new conceptual research model by selecting constructs to represent the technology acceptance literature and adding additional constructs to represent organizational context and knowledge interpretation. It also introduces a new construct: the perceived value of records.  A survey instrument was developed and administered to a sample of public servants from the New Zealand government in order to evaluate the research model quantitatively and determine the relative importance of the factors.  By identifying the factors that impact the use of electronic recordkeeping systems, this research will inform future strategies to improve the capture and retention of our digital heritage. As Archives New Zealand states: “Do nothing, lose everything. If no action is taken, public sector digital information will be lost.”</p>

scholarly journals The Impact of the Perceived Value of Records on the Use of Electronic Recordkeeping Systems

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Matthew James Lewellen
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
Organizational Context ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Perceived Value ◽  
Digital Information ◽  
Research Model ◽  
Recordkeeping System ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact

<p>Today’s electronic documents and digital records are rapidly superseding traditional paper records and similarly need to be managed and stored for the future. This need is driving new theoretical recordkeeping models, international electronic recordkeeping standards, many instances of national recordkeeping legislation, and the rapid development of electronic recordkeeping systems for use in organizations. Given the legislative imperative, the exponential growth of electronic records, and the importance to the individual, organization, and society of trustworthy electronic recordkeeping, the question arises: why are electronic recordkeeping systems experiencing different rates of acceptance and utilization by end users? This research seeks to address that question through identifying the factors that influence a user’s intention to use an electronic recordkeeping system.  Although a significant body of research has been dedicated to studying system use in various situations, no research in the information systems discipline has yet focused specifically on electronic recordkeeping and its unique set of use-influencing factors.  This research creates a new conceptual research model by selecting constructs to represent the technology acceptance literature and adding additional constructs to represent organizational context and knowledge interpretation. It also introduces a new construct: the perceived value of records.  A survey instrument was developed and administered to a sample of public servants from the New Zealand government in order to evaluate the research model quantitatively and determine the relative importance of the factors.  By identifying the factors that impact the use of electronic recordkeeping systems, this research will inform future strategies to improve the capture and retention of our digital heritage. As Archives New Zealand states: “Do nothing, lose everything. If no action is taken, public sector digital information will be lost.”</p>

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