The gradual decrease in the saturation state of calcium carbonate in the ocean due to the absorption of anthropogenic CO2 is expected to enhance the dissolution of skeletons and shells of calcifying organisms. Experimental tools are required to investigate and determine the extent of changing ocean chemistry and impacts on the dissolution of biogenic CaCO3...

Background: Prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity has risen dramatically over the last few decades, suggesting a causative role for environmental factors, including activity, diet and eating behaviours.Objectives: To determine the prevalence, change in prevalence and degree of tracking of overweight and obesity in a birth cohort of Dunedin children from age three to seven...

This thesis compares the self-reported physical and mental health status, utilisation and satisfaction with Student Health Services, of domestic and international students in Health Sciences First Year and the Health Sciences stream of Foundation Year at the University of Otago.This was a cross-sectional survey sent out to 590 undergraduate Health Sciences First Year students 6...

This thesis is an investigation of the way engagement with visual art promotes spiritual well-being, with a particular focus on teenagers. The power of art to move the human spirit and transform human lives is well-known both in Christian practice and in youth work circles. This research sets out to examine the dynamics at play...

How do cultural stereotypes change? The following thesis addresses this question by examining how repetition and reiteration of cultural stereotypes in Selina Tusitala Marsh's and Tusiata Avia's poetry enables cultural stereotypes of the Pacific woman's body to be reframed. Recognising developments in technology and art, the stereotypes of the Pacific have undergone many permutations.