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Search Marsden awards 2008–2017

Search awarded Marsden Fund grants 2008–2017

Fund Type: Marsden Fund

Category: Standard

Year Awarded: 2016

Title: Active submarine landslides ride on gas pockets

Recipient(s): Dr JJ Mountjoy | PI | NIWA - The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd
Dr GJ Crutchley | PI | GNS Science
Dr JM Carey | AI | GNS Science
Professor K Huhn | AI | University of Bremen
Professor S Krastel | AI | University of Kiel (Christian-Albrechts-Universitat)
Dr AR Orpin | AI | NIWA - The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd
Dr IA Pecher | AI | The University of Auckland

Public Summary: Submarine landslides have generated the largest tsunami on Earth. The tsunami potential of submarine landslides depends on many things, but especially on the rate at which material moves. On land a continuum of movement rates is known, from slow incremental creeping to rapid catastrophic failure. But on the seafloor, ongoing incremental failure has only recently been recognised and represents an ideal natural laboratory to understand how landslides move. Using 3D seismic data and seafloor drilling samples we will analyse landslides offshore of New Zealand that are on the move. We are investigating two hypotheses: 1) Pressurised gas beneath the landslides causes ongoing downslope movement (seismic data reveal gas accumulating beneath, and escaping from, the landslides), 2) Earthquakes control movement (recent drilling results reveal that liquefaction can occur within the landslides). We will use cutting-edge geotechnical testing to assess how the seafloor responds to gas pressure and earthquake shaking. We will combine these test results with field-based pressure measurements within a 3D geological model, and then simulate movement in the landslides to test our hypotheses. New insight into how submarine landslides move will ultimately help determine their tsunami hazard potential.

Total Awarded: $870,000

Duration: 3

Host: National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd

Contact Person: Dr JJ Mountjoy

Panel: ESA

Project ID: 16-NIW-027


Fund Type: Marsden Fund

Category: Standard

Year Awarded: 2012

Title: Activism, technology and organising: transformations in collective action in Aotearoa New Zealand

Recipient(s): Assoc Prof S Ganesh | PI | University of Waikato
Dr LJ Kenix | AI | University of Canterbury
A Mead | AI | Victoria University of Wellington
Prof C Stohl | AI | University of California, Santa Barbara

Public Summary: While commentators maintain that digital technologies have made formal activist organisations redundant, this project questions that proposition by examining how emerging and established forms of social justice organising intersect in the new technological environment. It addresses major debates about technology and collective action by asking three questions about (a) relationships between technology and the efficacy of individual activists across formal and informal contexts; (b) the impact of digital technologies on formal and informal forms of participation; and (c) relationships between technology and the formation of collective action goals across formal organisations and informal groups. These questions are addressed in two research domains. Taking an organisation-centric approach, we will survey 2000 formal members of three large advocacy organisations, and also develop a Facebook app to study how nonmembers increasingly engage with and affect these organisations. We will also take a protest-centric approach, studying emerging coalitions between formal and informal groups at three actual protests. To do so, we will not only use interviewing and observation methods, but also participants’ own digital documentation. Analyses in both domains will significantly advance global studies of contemporary social justice by shedding unprecedented insight into dynamics among technology, organisational forms, and collective action.

Total Awarded: $773,913

Duration: 3

Host: University of Waikato

Contact Person: Assoc Prof S Ganesh

Panel: SOC

Project ID: 12-UOW-033


Fund Type: Marsden Fund

Category: Fast-Start

Year Awarded: 2016

Title: Acute Mental Health Wards: Therapeutic Spaces or Stigmatising Places ?

Recipient(s): Dr GLS Jenkin | PI | University of Otago
Dr E Chrysikou | AI | University College, London
Dr DHM Peterson | AI | Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand
Mr CG Watson | AI | C Watson Consultancy Limited

Public Summary: During the twentieth century, isolated rural mental asylums were replaced by community based psychiatric care and acute mental health wards attached to many of our urban hospitals. Segregation from society was an overt goal of the original institutions, and was considered to support the aims of treating and managing mental illness. Contemporary mental health practice prioritises integration with society as a key part of treatment. Yet to most of us the modern acute ward remains as much of a mystery as the asylum was. An acute ward is a publicly funded but private space with restricted access. Emotive media reporting on incidents involving such places have stigmatised what is intended to be a therapeutic space. So what is in the new 'black box' of mental health care? What is the purpose of the new psychiatric space and what is the therapeutic philosophy? What is the architectural design and social regime of these institutions based on, and what are the effects on those who use and work in them? This multidisciplinary study draws on perspectives from social science, psychiatry, nursing and architecture to understand the architectural design, therapeutic philosophy and social regime of the modern acute mental health unit in New Zealand.

Total Awarded: $300,000

Duration: 3

Host: University of Otago

Contact Person: Dr GLS Jenkin

Panel: SOC

Project ID: 16-UOO-088


Fund Type: Marsden Fund

Category: Standard

Year Awarded: 2013

Title: Adaptation to life on land: how plants developed UV sunscreens

Recipient(s): Dr KM Davies | PI | The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited
Professor BR Jordan | PI | Lincoln University
Dr SC Deroles | AI | The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited

Public Summary: The emergence of plants onto land was one of Earth’s major evolutionary events. The first pioneers faced many environmental challenges, not least of which was damaging UV-irradiation. We will address the hypothesis that acquisition of an inducible pathway for making UV-absorbing flavonoid pigments was key in land plant evolution, and investigate how the genes required for this arose. We will use the exciting liverwort model Marchantia, making use of its genome sequence and rapid genetic transformation. Liverworts are the closest living relatives of the first land plants and our best hope of elucidating genetic changes that allowed adaptation to land.

Total Awarded: $739,130

Duration: 3

Host: Plant and Food Research

Contact Person: Dr KM Davies

Panel: CMP

Project ID: 13-PAF-014


Fund Type: Marsden Fund

Category: Standard

Year Awarded: 2010

Title: Adaptive computer-based cognitive training for post-stroke rehabilitation

Recipient(s): Prof T Mitrovic | PI | University of Canterbury
Prof Ohlsson | PI | University of Illinois at Chicago
Mr MM Mathews | AI | University of Canterbury
Dr A McKinlay | AI | University of Canterbury

Public Summary: We will develop a new ontological modelling methodology that will enable computer-based training systems adapted to users' specific cognitive functioning abilities. Current intelligent systems do not take the user’s cognitive functioning into account; they assume all users have the same level of cognitive functioning, with no restrictions on memory, attention, learning capability, or speed of processing. This new modelling method will be tested in the context of adaptive cognitive training for stroke patients. Current assistive technologies provide simple reminders to stroke patients to compensate for memory loss, but do not provide adaptive training. The proposed intelligent and adaptive training system will use the created methodology to monitor each patient's cognitive deficit and initiate adaptive strategies (e.g. provide specific exercises or tailored advice). Such adaptive training is extremely important to a country with an ageing population such as New Zealand, as it decreases substantial costs of specialized human treatment and patient care. This project will provide a framework for neuropsychological researchers to conduct similar rehabilitative research into training strategies with other brain injuries (even degenerative conditions like Parkinson’s disease). It also advances the field of knowledge engineering and paves the way for next-generation, human-centred intelligent systems.

Total Awarded: $721,739

Duration: 3

Host: University of Canterbury

Contact Person: Prof T Mitrovic

Panel: EIS

Project ID: 10-UOC-006


Fund Type: Marsden Fund

Category: Fast-Start

Year Awarded: 2014

Title: Adaptive evolution in changing environments: can epigenetic variation compensate for low genetic diversity?

Recipient(s): Dr KF Smith | PI | Cawthron Institute
Dr F Prosdocimi | AI | Medical Biochemistry Institute, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro

Public Summary: The capacity of populations to adaptively evolve is generally thought to be constrained by their existing heritable genetic variation. Until recently, heritable genetic variation has been almost exclusively identified with variation in genomic DNA nucleotide sequences. However, there is increasing acceptance that non-DNA nucleotide sequence-based variation – collectively termed ‘epigenetics’ - can affect ecologically important traits. Biological invasions provide an opportunity to observe evolution, within historical time scales, as introduced taxa adapt to novel biogeographic habitats in which they have not evolved. Despite such challenges many invasive species are extremely successful in new environments, often out-competing locally-adapted native species. Using a highly invasive marine invertebrate, Didemnum vexillum (phylum: Chordata), as the experimental species this study will investigate environmental induction of changes in two distinct sources of epigenetic variation, DNA cystosine methylation and A-to-I RNA editing. These modifications have been associated with population- (DNA methylation) and individual-level (RNA editing) adaptation to environmental stress. The current rapid pace of global environmental change will undoubtedly challenge the adaptive capabilities of many taxa. This study will increase our understanding of the contribution of epigenetic processes to adaptive evolution and of how organisms may cope with environmental change.

Total Awarded: $300,000

Duration: 3

Host: Cawthron Institute

Contact Person: Dr KF Smith

Panel: EEB

Project ID: 14-CAW-002


Fund Type: Marsden Fund

Category: Standard

Year Awarded: 2016

Title: Advanced mathematical and cryptographical tools for software protection

Recipient(s): Professor SD Galbraith | PI | The University of Auckland
Associate Professor G Russello | PI | The University of Auckland

Public Summary: Malware and software piracy are major issues in computing. Software developers use 'obfuscation' techniques to secure their code against reverse engineering. A fundamental open problem is to develop secure and practical obfuscation tools that also provide an assurance to end-users that a program is not malware. Recent developments in mathematical cryptography have, for the first time, hinted at approaches to this problem. However, a number of basic mathematical questions remain to be solved, and the current theoretical approaches are not practical. Further, most theoretical work does not apply in modern software environments such as mobile apps and web apps.

The fundamental challenge that we address in this project is the development of practical obfuscation tools for apps whose design and security analysis are informed by recent theoretical developments in cryptography. We will rebuild the foundations of practical obfuscation, taking into account the richness of the new tools and ideas that have been developed by theoreticians in recent years. This is an ambitious goal that requires a wide range of expertise. Our project will pave the way for the future development of program obfuscation technologies.

Total Awarded: $590,000

Duration: 3

Host: The University of Auckland

Contact Person: Professor SD Galbraith

Panel: MIS

Project ID: 16-UOA-144


Fund Type: Marsden Fund

Category: Standard

Year Awarded: 2009

Title: Advances in scattering theory and solvable models

Recipient(s): Professor GJ Martin | PI | Massey University
Professor B Pavlov | PI | Massey University

Public Summary: Contact with the external world takes place by detecting waves and particles scattered by objects in it; understanding this process is one of the most important tasks of physical and mathematical models. Classical schemes fail for operators with continuous spectrum (divergence of perturbation series). Typical problems include
1. Scattering of acoustic waves - Helmholtz resonator.
2. Scattering of electrons in quantum networks.
3. Plasma waves in electron channels: propagation and trapped modes.
We develop innovative methods to solve these problems via fitting zero-range solvable models, intermediate operators, and nonlinear resonance duality. Applications in quantum networks and tomography are developed.

Total Awarded: $533,333

Duration: 3

Host: Massey University

Contact Person: Professor GJ Martin

Panel: MIS

Project ID: 09-MAU-084


Fund Type: Marsden Fund

Category: Fast-Start

Year Awarded: 2013

Title: Affect and identity in contemporary television drama

Recipient(s): Dr AM Moewaka-Barnes | PI | Massey University

Public Summary: Although widely understood as entertainment, television dramas bring highly selected ‘realities’ to the screens of almost every household in the land, influencing identity, norms, practices and the kinds of lives, communities and nation we aspire to and foster. As an entrenched genre within a heavily mediated world, such programmes elicit audience engagement, debate, dissent and affect. Audiences get to know themselves and others through this influential and powerful medium; but this is not unproblematic. There is limited research exploring local television drama representations; importantly, we know very little about how these may impact on individuals and groups within our society. The proposed study aims to understand how contemporary Aotearoa/New Zealand television dramas (e.g. comedies, soap operas, series and one-offs) influence the lives of New Zealanders, with a focus on Maori representations and Maori/non-Maori relationships, by exploring new theorising on affect and applying Kia Manawanui: Kaupapa Maori Film Theoretical Framework. A database of dramas will be created, selected items analysed and audience interviews conducted, addressing the question: how do we respond, make meaning and act as a result of these representations? This project extends my masters and doctoral studies, particularly through the application, testing and potential extension of these two fields.

Total Awarded: $300,000

Duration: 3

Host: Massey University

Contact Person: Dr AM Moewaka-Barnes

Panel: SOC

Project ID: 13-MAU-083


Fund Type: Marsden Fund

Category: Standard

Year Awarded: 2012

Title: Affective practice, identity and wellbeing in Aotearoa

Recipient(s): Assoc Prof HE Moewaka-Barnes | PI | Massey University
Prof MS Wetherell | PI | The University of Auckland
Ms B Borell | AI | Massey University
Assoc Prof TN McCreanor | AI | Massey University

Public Summary: ‘Race’, culture, and nationhood are continually reproduced in both daily activities and key events, through embodied social meanings and practices. Our research project explores little-studied acts of commemoration/celebration that express nation and community. Waitangi Day, Anzac Day, Matariki, Chinese and Gregorian New Year build and divide, acknowledge and deny, include and exclude and are focal points where we represent ourselves to each other and the world. They are rich in meaning, wairua and emotion for all citizens, whether participating directly or not and have major implications for identity, wellbeing and social cohesion. Our research will focus on the affective politics evoked as people relate, engage and grapple with cultural observances and often charged acts of remembrance in Aotearoa/New Zealand. We will produce new conceptual knowledge around wairua and emotion as neglected dimensions of relationships between Maori and non-Maori. Innovative methods will be produced in a convergence of kaupapa Maori and affect theory approaches, using multiple qualitative techniques to gather rich, diverse, multimodal data from Maori and non-Maori. The project is a strong collaboration between Maori and non- Maori team members that will train two doctoral students, build new theory, method and research capability in a unique, cutting edge investigation.

Total Awarded: $739,130

Duration: 3

Host: Massey University

Contact Person: Assoc Prof HE Moewaka-Barnes

Panel: SOC

Project ID: 12-MAU-019


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